text:
A new model from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania predicts nearly 350,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US by the end of June and half a million jobs lost if states fully lift lockdown measures.

The model defines the “reopening” of all states as lifting all emergency declarations, stay-at-home orders and school closures, as well as easing restrictions on businesses and restaurants.

“The economic costs have been enormous, and we are suffering really significant, unprecedented costs as a result of these policies,” Alex Arnon, senior analyst at the Penn Wharton Budget Model, is quoted as saying by CBS.

“How we value lives against economic outcomes, these are decisions that we need to make democratically through our elected officials,” Arnon added, also noting that the Wharton model is not supposed to “put a value on the lives.”

The latest analysis comes after an internal White House memo viewed by the New York Times revealed that the US could see 200,000 new COVID-19 cases per day by June as states begin to reopen. The report also estimated that daily US deaths would reach 3,000 by June 1.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington also now estimates that there will be around 135,000 COVID-19 deaths in the US through the beginning of August – this more than doubles what it had predicted on April 17, when it said that there would be 60,308 deaths by August 4.

Dozens of US states have begun loosening lockdown measures to boost the stifled economy, despite the fact that more than 1.2 million cases of the novel coronavirus have been confirmed in the country, and more than 73,000 people have died from the disease.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Classified Ads

Quality New & Used Podiatry Equipment & New Instruments

Podiatry Chairs, Mini C-Arms, X-Rays, Ultrasound Units, Whirlpools, Surgical Power Sets and All Other Podiatry Equipment. Most equipment comes with a 1 year 100% Parts & Labor or Replacement Warranty.

Podiatry Equipment:  Offers for your equipment are made on the basis of make, model, age and condition.

We buy used 20/20 units.

Available for many items.

We upgrade 20/20 XP computers to Windows 10 with new software.

Office:  440-333-0007
Fax:  440.333.4902

We’re looking for the perfect associate to work with us throughout Illinois.

Podiatry Plus is a 35+ year growing group practice providing services to nursing homes and assisted living centers. Our primary needs are in central and southern Illinois. Other parts of Illinois are welcome, but will require travel. Steady patient flow, comprehensive clerical support and travel stipend opportunities are just some of the perks for part time associates.  Additional significant benefit package for full time.

Join our great team! Email queries or resumes to

North West Chicago Suburb
Established 40+ years
1200 square feet, ground floor rental
Fully equipped, three treatment rooms
X-ray, ample parking, nice & neat office

Reply to:

For Sale

       Doctor wanting to retire. Looking for someone to take over a very active practice, great opportunity, ready patient base and potential to expand the practice in all areas of podiatry.  Building and 58 year old practice.  Will consider renting building with lease, 25 miles from downtown Chicago.  Average 5 new patients a week working part-time 3 days a week, 50 to 70 patients a week.  Real estate is also available for purchase.  Free standing building in a great location with a parking lot and a second floor – over 3,000 square feet.  This outstanding opportunity is priced to sell quickly.  All reasonable offers considered.

Phone:  (708) 474-1040 or (708) 370-4666

For Sale

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL: Fully equipped, well established (35+ years) podiatry office for sale in busy strip mall with other professionals. Newer equipment, surgical suite, abundant parking, handicap accessible. Treatment chair, x-ray included. Medicare/private insurance/nursing home. Current owner retiring.

Email for more information.

Associate Position – Chicago, Illinois Suburb

Excellent opportunity for a highly motivated, personable podiatrist within a large established practice. Part-time/full time available. No nursing homes! Great opportunity for the right individual.

Please email CV and photo to

Complete Billing Service for Podiatrists

In business 20+ years
Timely service
Accurate service
Electronic billing of insurance claims

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2020-40
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for September 2020
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-205.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.17 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.2-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
The Dehorning Debate

It seems Ryan Gosling has a soft-spot for cattle. Unfortunately he’s opting to donate his celebrity status to a group that does not have the best interest of livestock in mind.

The AP reported Wednesday that Gosling has decided to take on the plight of horned dairy cattle, issuing a letter to the National Milk Producers Association urging them to take a stance against dehorning dairy cows.

That request seems simple enough – most dairy and beef cattle have been bred to not grow horns – but the idea of preventing livestock owners from removing horns from animals interfere with the ability of ranchers to properly care for their herd.

Modern technology and understanding of genetics has allowed dairy and beef cattle breeders to engineer breeds that are born without horns. Most livestock owners have bred horns from their herds but genetic traits remain in many breeds that result in animals growing horns.

Many times these horns grow at an angle that proves dangerous for the animal and their owners. These horns can be used as weapons when cattle come in contact with one another or with their owners and other farm animals. Even if an animal does not intend to cause harm, their horns can impact others in the herd.

The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that dehorned cattle “present a lower risk of interference from dominant animals at feeding time; pose a reduced risk of injury to udders, flanks and eyes of other cattle; present a lower injury risk for handlers, horses and dogs; and exhibit fewer aggressive behaviors associated with individual dominance.” The AVMA supports dehorning in livestock.

Horns also prevent animals from fitting into livestock trailers, working pens and other pieces of equipment ranchers rely on to work and care for their animals.

Many cattle owners opt to remove the horns while others turn the horns – using weights – so they grow down and not out. Removing horns does cause some discomfort for the cattle but the process is quick and the animals recover quickly. Livestock owners have the ability to apply local anesthesia to help further decrease the discomfort.

No livestock owner performs a procedure on his or her animals that does not in some way benefit the long-term health and well-being of the animal. When necessary, we remove the horns of cattle on our farm. Everything we, as animal owners, do is in the best interest of our animals and done with purpose and care.

We care for our animals because they are our business, our live hood and our way of life.

4 thoughts on “The Dehorning Debate

  1. This is where I ignore such a person’s plight with an obvious summation… ” Some people just need to stick to their day jobs. ” This guy is becoming more of the male version of Paris Hilton. He needs to spend some time on a ranch, working from the stalls up.

  2. Katie,

    Thanks for sharing on this difficult subject! All of our cattle are born with horns. Polled Holsteins are available, but the trait has only recently started to take off. Polled was at one time considered a beef trait so I believe all the major dairy breeds are predominantly horned (though I’m only personally familiar with Holsteins). We dehorn all of our calves when they are only about a week old by applying a paste that dissolves the horn bud. Their discomfort is short lived, and dehorning is necessary for the health and safety of the cattle and all of us who work with them. Good post.

    1. Thank you Jennifer. I hesitated to write on this subject but Mr. Gossling’s “letter” has made enough news I felt it was time for the farming world to say something. There is no 100-percent, pain-free way to remove a cow’s horns but I know you all, like us, take the least invasive approach knowing, in the long run it is best for the animal and the owner.

Leave a Reply to Jennifer Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Smart Vapes Hemp And CBD Store In Close Proximity To Springfield 01195 MA

Smart Vapes CBD Wholesale close to Springfield 01195 MA

Smart Vapes Vape Shop in Springfield 01195 MA more help : Shop CBD Cream for Pain Relief, e-juice from leading manufacturers such as Big Breakfast eJuice SALTS, Fruit By The Drop Premium eJuice as well as Southern Sweets Vapor

CBD stands for Cannabidiol, which lacks hazardous attributes and does not have psychoactive properties of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). CBD does not enable people to get 'high'.

CBD Oil, also called cast is offered in different concentrations. It is made up of CBD mix with inert carrier oil like hemp seed oil. Removal of CBD from Hemp, that is, among the varieties of the cannabis plant is legislated.

Then JustCBDStore is excellent for you, if you are looking for some ideal and reliable CBD products. It is among the leading on-line market shops. They have a range of CBD items including CBD sweet, which is a sweet fused with CBD. Reach out as well as call them for the very best solutions.

Benefits of CBD Oil

Medication Addiction
CBD can be useful for people that are facing medicine dependency. Experiments have actually revealed that in the lack of THC, CBD revealed its impact try here in lessening the withdrawal signs and symptoms while treating opioid addiction. It can likewise help deal with marijuana as read review well as pure nicotine addiction.

Besides these dependencies, CBD was also reliable in monitoring drug intake of cocaine, methamphetamines, and various other relevant drugs.

Aid in Nerve Pain
CBD has been taken into consideration efficient in treating intolerable pain like the one experienced with people of incurable cancer cells. There are glycine receptors in our mind, which manage the speed of transmission of nerve signals in between the nerve cells. Researchers believe that CBD aids in minimizing the nerve pain by binding with these glycine receptors.

Practical with seizures
It has been observed that on the interaction of CBD with Onfi (a this hyperlink medicine for seizures), it had the ability to raise the effectiveness of the medication. It helped in raising the focus of seizure medications in the blood.

One such example of these medications is Epidiolex, which is used for dealing with seizures in youngsters aged 2 years as well as under pertaining to Dravet Disorder and also Lennox-- Gastaut Syndrome. These are hereditary problems.

Maintains health of the heart
Research has been carried out in this area by executing experiments on people as well as it was noted that CBD can help in reducing the threat of cardiovascular disease by reducing high blood pressure. It was observed that on exposing people to stimulations like exercise or severe cool, they had reduced high blood pressure before and after the completion of exposure.

Furthermore, the stroke quantity was likewise lowered after consumption of CBD, which refers to the truth that the heart was beating extra effectively.

Final thought

CBD Oil is really valuable in the treatment of discomfort as well as stimulation of appetite. It is also rather valuable in minimizing anxiousness. The opioid receptors and glycine receptors that are practical in the policy of discomfort and serotonin hormone respectively are also influenced by CBD. It might sometimes be impacted by traces of THC so it is always much better to use certified and also authentic items to stop any kind of side impacts.

CBD Oil, likewise called tincture is offered in various focus. It is made up of CBD mix with inert carrier oil like hemp seed oil. They have a variety of CBD items including CBD sweet, which is a sweet merged with CBD. CBD Oil is really practical in the therapy of pain as well as excitement of cravings. The opioid receptors and also glycine receptors that are useful in the guideline of discomfort and serotonin hormonal agent respectively are also influenced by CBD.

It is without a doubt a blueberry flavor, milkshake though? I am not too confident, overall continue to a wonderful juice by 13 floors. I have nonetheless to purchase a fresh juice from then and it not turn out to be amongst my favorites.

Don’t let us influence you by mentioning that it’s similar to a piece of sweet about his cake layered with strawberry product and milk icing. It’s as legendary and famous as read through much more »

I’ve been ordering from This web site for more than a yr and Jam Vape Co Made In UK E-liquid they never fall short me. I often get my things very quickly plus they quickly cope with any problems if there are any (which there aren’t).

“Levitation” enlightens you through boundless flavors of blueberry muffins infused into a creamy milkshake, topped off with a light whipped cream dollop.

need to be part of us within the Highway Convey? This juice by Hangsen is really a extremely popular e-liquid that employs genuine tobacco extract, for an enhanced intensive flavour. If you prefer your tobacco Then you really'll appreciate this.

VaporDNA® and any and all of VaporDNA®'s guardian and subsidiary corporations are certainly not chargeable for injury if there is any modification in the batteries/chargers in almost any kind or shape (including pack producing). VaporDNA® and any and all of VaporDNA®'s mum or dad and subsidiary companies are usually not responsible for any damage because of the misuse and/or mishandling of Li-ion (Lithium-ion), LiPo (Lithium-ion Polymer) and any rechargeable batteries and chargers.

As far as premium vape provide goes their costs are unbeatable for this solution and there’s always a promo code to utilize. twelve bottles for $103 is a fantastic deal in the event you’ve viewed Some others costs.

M. Frugal laundry tip – towels do you think you're a giver or even a taker? top rated position security ideas in which you head over to mend Get healthy, not broke How to save money on a brand new mattress leading suggestions to take in healthful on the spending budget How to get auto financial loans and home loans on terrible credit history lecturers journey cost-free Collectibles being an financial investment eight foolproof customer service procedures (that merely a idiot would try!)

Django – A blend of vanilla milk drizzled with caramel and infused with a touch of Kentucky flue Jam Vape Co Made In UK E-liquid cured tobacco.

Hello would you stock havana also Cuban e liquid I had been a cigar smoker And that i am locating it difficult locating a prosperous flavour and superior throat strike thanks stewart

 WARNING: These items can expose you to chemicals which includes acetaldehyde and/or formaldehyde, that happen to be recognized on the State of California to induce most cancers, and nicotine, which is thought into the point out of California to induce start defects or other reproductive damage. For more info, drop by .

Hangsen have many fantastic tobacco flavours which is right up there with the absolute best. It can be strong, It truly is clean and is the one juice to tackle a street excursions across the Good previous US of A. buy now prior to we operate out. this can be a highly regarded juice.

merchandise offered Here i will discuss NOT intended for minors. All purchasers should be of legal age to get the merchandise on This website.

Django by 13th Floor Elevapors 60ml compares to your preferred caramel cappuccino with delicate tobacco over the exhale. This e-juice can be a blend of abundant vanilla milk and sticky caramel that is certainly sure to try these out remind you of your preferred espresso, with an additional strike of tobacco for the ideal style.


text:
150 150 Next Level Event Design

Moving into Fall always feels like getting back into the grind for me. I still associate Summer with the footloose and fancy free days of my childhood, even though those vacation-filled and school / work free days are long gone. This time of year is also an Anniversary of when I first moved to Chicago and makes me reminiscent of my first days here back in the 90’s.

Fresh autumnal winds and clear skies didn’t prepare me for the weather I was soon to experience. It was before I realized a great portion of Chicagoans hibernate in the winter.  Before I encountered biting winds and understood the importance of settling for a functional coat instead of a cute one. It was the era when I turned down an otherwise great job because I found out I had to wear white jeans.

This time of year makes me reflect on how my life changed when I first came here. I went from being surrounded by family and friends to knowing no one. I had never been to Chicago and I felt drawn to it for no obvious reason, except knowing that I wanted to move and knew where I didn’t want to live. It was simultaneously exhilarating and frightening.  I recall feeling intimidated looking at the skyline feeling so small in some place so large.

Though all this might sound dramatic and stressful, it was an extraordinary time for me – and it still is. Those first memories of arriving here, are very special for me. Those who know me well have heard the story (some of them many times) about my first visit to Chicago over a 3 day weekend (to see if I would like it.)  Within that time period, I found a job, an apartment, and was on the cover of the Chicago Tribune sports section.  My first official day of work, I met my husband.  When I think about it now I find it odd, that I had never even met anyone from Chicago until I moved here!

When I fast forward to 2012, I have to smile about how much my life in Chicago has changed since those first days. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the city or me that is different.  A place that was so alien and intimidating to me at first, now feels  like home. I am grateful for all of the amazing people and opportunities I have encountered here, for the experiences I have had. These thoughts and memories make me especially grateful in September and I’m grateful for you to take the time to read about them!

Welcome to another glorious Autumn wherever you are.


text:
Faster, Better Emails

Whether you are communicating with a client, vendors, or staff, a well-written email saves everyone time and frustration. By being clear in the first place about why you are writing, what you are writing about, and the issues you are dealing with, you avoid endless email cycles and misunderstandings.

Why, What, and How

In your opening statement, summarize the most important facts. In three or four sentences you should be able to explain:

  • Why you are writing (in answer to an email? to confirm a conversation? to inaugurate a project?)
  • What you want to happen (does the recipient need to choose, decide, deliver, take action? Are you going to choose, decide, deliver, take action?)

Don’t wait until the end of a long email to tell your readers what you intend to do or what they need to do–they may never read that far. The details can be saved for later in the email; by providing the “why” and “what” first, you let readers know if the “how” is important. You may also find that the “how” isn’t important–you don’t need all that detail.

When you do need a detailed “how,” you may want end the opening statement with a sentence like this: “The following paragraphs provide more details about the Problem, Possible Solutions, Recommendations, and Next Steps.” Insert the titles over each section that follows.

Let your readers know where you are going up front, and they will follow you from first word to last.

Communication Shortcuts

Endless emails result when people base their decision to read further solely on the subject line, don’t realize that a question has been asked, answer the wrong question or delay because the question seems overwhelming, and never realize you need an answer now. To avoid those problems, use these communication shortcuts:

  • Post your most important point in the subject line. This technique works especially well for meetings (“Marketing meeting 3 p.m., room 4”).
  • If you expect an answer, ask a question; make sure that a question mark appears somewhere in your email.
  • If you have difficulty getting the answers you need, break up complicated questions into questions that must be answered “yes” or “no”; avoid multiple choice.
  • Give a deadline for the response or the action you want. The phrase “as soon as possible” is an invitation to delay.

For help organizing and writing your marketing and technical materials, contact TWP Marketing & Technical Communications today.

From our base in Peterborough, NH, TWP Marketing & Technical Communications writes marketing copy that engages your customers and delivers your message with accuracy, clarity, and passion.

Writing with Less Stress: Three Tips

In business, you are expected to write. The act of writing can be very stressful. Simply organizing your thoughts takes time. Then you worry if readers will ignore or misunderstand what you send them. If the first message goes wrong, you may find yourself in an endless loop of explanations. Here are four tips to reduce the stress of writing:

Don’t write, talk.

I happen to be a writing person; I stumble when I’m forced to talk spontaneously. You may very well be just the opposite–a person who shines when you talk. In any case, these days we spend way too much time texting and emailing each other and not enough talking directly. When you are face-to-face or at least voice-to-voice with another person, miscommunications are less likely and can be easily cleared up. Surprise someone: talk to them.

Consider your readers.

Talking isn’t always possible, especially if you are reaching out to several people simultaneously. But remember that everyone’s first question is, “What’s in it for me?” Always begin with benefits or results, then explanations. In a long email, proposal, or report, give a list of contents–and then stick to that list–so that your readers know what to expect and have some idea what sections apply most to their particular interest. If you want the answer to a question, make sure you include a question mark somewhere early on; if you are responding to a question, give the answer first and then explain how you got there.

Be brief and specific.

For example, in the executive summary of a proposal, readers are interested first in the solutions to their problem, and then in learning the details. Vague words like “great,” “wonderful,” “state-of-the-art,” and “proactive” merely take up space and your reader’s time. Readers know what they want to know--do you?

If you are frustrated by the results you get from your marketing collateral, proposals, letters, and emails, review them to decide whether you might be better off with a face-to-face meeting; whether you have given primacy to your customer’s interests; and whether you have written as briefly and specifically as you can.

From our base in Peterborough, NH, TWP Marketing & Technical Communications writes marketing copy that engages your customers and delivers your message with accuracy, clarity, and passion.

What Your Customers Don’t Know…And How It Helps You

I recently visited a website for a company selling beeswax candles. On one web page, the company explained how their candles were made. The information fascinated me. I’ve melted crayons to make candles and simply assumed any candle was made with the same technique. It isn’t.

The beeswax candle company made a smart move: they asked themselves what their customers might not know and supplied it. As a result, customers like me stayed on their website much longer.

If you have been telling yourself that “Everyone in the industry does it that way” or “Everyone knows that,” it may be time for a reality check: never underestimate what your customers don’t know.

  • Do your customers know information that is common in your industry? Probably not. Your customers have their own special interests, which is why they are coming to you. Share your knowledge, educate your customers and you’ve hooked them.
  • Are your customers comparing you to your competitors? Most certainly. So make sure you include information on industry standards, industry regulations, awards, and baselines that you meet or exceed. Provide testimonials, before and after photos, and case studies that confirm your expertise.
  • Do your customers know what they don’t know? For example, you assume they know what you mean by “extremely precise measurements.” But in reality, there’s a big difference in precision between 0.0003 cm and 0.00003 cm. Be specific and ensure you are both working with the same data and assumptions.
  • Do your long-time, highly educated customers like intellectual challenges? Why push them? Even the most savvy customers get tired of constantly translating acronyms and industry jargon. Make it easy on your customers to understand what you are saying. The faster they read, the faster you can convert them to a sale.

Knowing what your customers don’t know–and want to know–helps you meet their desire for information and makes you stand out from the competition. Need help in figuring that out? Contact me today at TWP Marketing & Technical Communications.

From our base in Peterborough, NH, TWP Marketing & Technical Communications writes marketing copy that engages your customers and delivers your marketing message with accuracy, clarity, and passion.

Writing by Committee

I once proofread a proposal where the word “huge” was spelled throughout as “hugh.” (High marks for consistency, though.) I edited the descriptions of presentations for a major industrial conference where presenters used the same acronym for entirely different meanings over a dozen times.

When any document is written by committee, it seems that no one is responsible to check that it actually makes sense. Basic facts change from chapter to chapter or page to page, including product and service names. Cross-references go nowhere, as everyone assumes that someone else is providing the cross-referenced content. Some writers believe their readers are knowledgeable and the rest believe their readers need detailed information–which means the actual reader is either lost or bored.

You can avert and fix the problem of writing by committee if you:

  • Create a short style manual for writers to reference. A style manual is a brief description (2 pages maximum) of format, grammar (use of the serial comma, for example), spelling, acronyms, and use of copyrighted or intellectual property.
  • Decide early on about tone and audience. Do you address the audience as “you” or “they”? Is content highly technical or relaxed (think the “for Dummies” series)? Who is your audience: executives, purchasers, installers, users? Don’t switch audiences mid-page or mid-sentence.
  • Limit the number of reviewers. Aim for a maximum of three reviewers; say, customer liaison, technical, and executive.
  • Assign one person to read the entire document. With multiple writers and reviewers, sentences become edited into nonsense, words are dropped, and even firm requests by the customer for specific information are overlooked.
  • Proofread, proofread, proofread. The smallest change or mistake in even a standard document can turn the rest of the document into scrap paper.

As a professional technical and marketing writer, I’m often called upon to provide a uniform voice and structure for documents that undergo writing by committee. That outside perspective not only ensures that mistakes are caught, it also helps to resolve conflict when writers re-write each other.

If your company, division, or group is used to writing by committee, please contact me.

12 Reasons for Hiring a Freelance Writer

After 20 years as a freelance writer, I have discovered 12 reasons why business owners hire a freelance writer. Regardless of the business owner’s industry, years of experience or overall marketing expertise, hiring a freelance writer addresses one or more of these concerns:

1. I don’t have the time to write.

2. I know what I want to say but I don’t know how to say it.

3. I need someone who isn’t full time but is dependable; will handle my writing projects when they come along; and understands my business.

4. My products or services or solutions are complicated and/or highly technical, and I need a better way to explain them to potential customers.

5. I’d like to standardize my replies to customer inquiries, my marketing collateral or cold call scripts so that my brand is clear.

6. My proposal (or report or manual) writing team needs someone to unify the content and figure out what’s missing, repetitive or contradictory.

7. My business has changed; I need a collaborator who can clarify what I should be writing now and then write it for me.

8. I’m writing a blog and I’m out of ideas for posts.

9. I need more publicity online/in print but I don’t know how to go about it.

10. I’m not detail oriented–at least, not with writing. I need someone who actually enjoys grammar and spelling.

11. My current marketing collateral sounds exactly like my competition’s; I need a way to differentiate myself.

12. I hate writing.

A professional freelance writer is adept at clear and accurate communication, organizing information, collaboration, addressing customer concerns and priorities and providing creative content.

Why would you hire a freelance writer?

If you recognize yourself in any of the top reasons for hiring a freelance writer, please contact me. At TWP Marketing & Technical Communications, based in Peterborough, New Hampshire, our words mean business.

More Words? Less Power.

There are two things that great marketing copy is not:

  • Sesquipedalian
  • A vocabulary test.

“Sesquipedalian” is one of those vocabulary test words. I could have easily chosen “wordy” or even “verbose” and made the same point. Yet, many writers of technical or marketing copy believe in using long words, no matter how obscure.

By contrast, professional writers know:

  • You can reach more readers faster with everyday language.
  • Unnecessary 4- and 5-syllable words (functionality, maximization) slow readers down even when they do understand them.
  • Clear is better than concise; if it takes 3 extra words to be perfectly clear, use them.

All writing is communication. Even the most difficult content is trying to communicate. So if “difficult” is not your priority, why make your audience work hard for what you desperately want them to know?

Small Words

I challenge you to take any marketing or technical copy and circle every word over 3 syllables. Now replace those words with words of 3 syllables or less. You will be amazed at the power your words achieve when most of your writing relies on 1- and 2-syllable words. And your readers will understand what you have to say faster, a major benefit in turning them from prospects to customers.

Short Sentences

Once you have simplified your words, you should shorten your sentences by aiming for an average of 18 words per sentence. Shorter sentences are fine; very few if any should exceed 24 words. For this purpose, a colon before a list counts the same as a period–just make sure you are using the colon correctly.

Short Paragraphs

Now that you have small words and short sentences, review your paragraphs. Most paragraphs should be 5 sentences long (or 120 words) at most. Any document that contains 10 paragraphs would benefit from subtitles; as shown here, you can also use subtitles for shorter documents.

Alternatives to Words

Finally, consider the alternatives to words: graphs, photos, illustrations, video, graphic design. Words are not the only way to communicate, and it is absolutely true that a picture is worth 1000 words–if it’s the right picture.

With these techniques for writing marketing and technical copy–using small words, short sentences, short paragraphs, and graphics–you will communicate with more power, more speed, and fewer sesquipedalian failures.

Sharon Bailly founded TWP Marketing & Technical Communications 20 years ago to help large and small businesses communicate with their clients through articles, case studies, insight papers, newsletters, and blog posts. She can be reached through LinkedIn.

How to Know When You Need Help with Your Content

I’ve often written about the qualities of great content, but how do you know when you need help with your content? Here are five big danger signs:

  1. You are writing or reviewing by committee. Nothing good ever gets written by committee. Committee members contradict each other; they argue over every comma; or even worse, they don’t care about details, so that your grammar, spelling, and emphasis changes from page to page. Your content should help create your brand. You don’t want your brand to be “chaos.”
  2. You are writing too much. If you pack that first page with an endless rush of words, your audience will run. At the very least, provide headlines, bullets, and graphics to break up the text. Modern content tends to be sparse, not overwhelming, but sparse content is difficult to write. It is easy to be verbose.
  3. You are writing the same thing over and over. Repetition helps reinforce a message; but if you repeat yourself too often, your customers will be bored. Even worse, you may give up writing entirely. You have a lot more content than you realize–you just haven’t properly mined what you have.
  4. You aren’t sure what makes you different. You are convinced that every business like your own is identical and, therefore, you can’t possibly have anything to write about. Or you are afraid to admit that your competition might know more than you do and, therefore, you shouldn’t write because it will expose your limitations. Sometimes we find it difficult to see ourselves as we really are, and celebrate that.
  5. You keep putting it off. You need to finish the writing project that’s on your desk now, and you need to write regularly. Your content can’t communicate with customers until you send it out. Similarly, if you write once and never another word, you are missing opportunities to connect with past and future customers–because your business, industry, and marketplace are changing even as you procrastinate.

As a freelance marketing and technical writer, I help companies create a cost-effective, time-sensitive balance between writing by committee and writing by totalitarian decree; between writing too much and too little; between copying the competition and striking out into unfamiliar lands; and between never starting and never ending. Contact me today and let’s work together to give you help with your content.

Which Customer Are You Writing For?

Among the questions I ask potential customers of TWP Marketing & Technical Communications, the following ranks highest: Who is your customer? Which customer are you writing for?

All too often a company owner has thought only about what to say in marketing or technical copy, not who is going to read it. In addition, the company owner might have several potential customers in mind (“people who install our software and people who want us to manage their computers”) or, even worse, aims for the elusive and nonexistent “everybody.”

To determine which customer you are writing for:

  1. Identify and separate customers who will spend money, use the product/service, and operate/service the product. Sometimes the spender will also be either the user or the operator/service technician but very rarely are all three functions performed by one person. For example, people who install your software will often have different priorities from people who use the program–and different levels of fluency in computer jargon.
  2. Speak to the real issue each customer faces: how will you solve my problem? In our example, installers and users face different problems; different users also face different problems. Your job is to cater to those differences. Yes, your product or service may solve multiple problems for multiple customers. But no customer wants to search through pages and pages to find the solution to their problem. Think, instead, of how a car dealership website separates new car buyers from used car buyers and also has separate brochures for each car; or consider an online retailer with separate areas for books, computers, and file cabinets.
  3. Ask your customers. Interview your current or past customers to determine what they were looking for when they chose your company; why they chose your company rather than a competitor; and what you achieved for them. Do not assume you know the answers to these questions from the customer’s perspective. Information from your current customers allows you to more precisely target future customers. Plus you gain some great material for testimonials and case studies.
  4. Ask the publication. If you are writing for a publication, make sure you know who the publication’s customers are. The publication will expect you to follow their guidelines on content, style, and length and will reject any article that refuses to conform.

Once you know your audience–once you know which customer you are writing for–each marketing and technical writing project becomes easier because your writing is focused.

Need help in identifying and focusing your writing on your true audience? Contact TWP Marketing & Technical Relations.

Squelching Fluff in Writing

Fluff in writing is fairly easy to spot. You hold your hand over the contact information for the company website, blog post, newsletter, success story–and then ask yourself two questions:

  1. How can this company help me?
  2. Do I have any reason to use this company rather than its competitor?

Does the marketing content fail to answer those questions? You are reading fluff.

The Reason for Fluff

Sometimes that fluff is generated by the company because no one on board recognizes what it is or because the company is frightened that customers won’t understand its technology if more specific information is given or because the company hasn’t settled on an audience. Sometimes the fluff is bought as a package from a content-generating company or from an extremely low-cost writer who doesn’t ask important questions or research answers.

Reality is what makes content stand out: the reality of your company, your leadership, your relationship with customers, your experience. Think of it this way: if you were hiring a new employee, would you appreciate a resume full of lyrical praise and generalities or would you prefer a resume describing experience, skills, and passion clearly detailed and supported by accomplishments? Why should your customers be any different when they are hiring you?

How to Squelch Fluff

The four easiest ways for squelching fluff in writing are:

  • Watch those adjectives. If you load your writing with adjectives like “state of the art” and “unique high-value” and “finely engineered,” you are missing the opportunity to explain why your product or service is state of the art, unique, valuable, and finely engineered. You are writing fluff that any company can duplicate, even your least skilled competitor. Throw out the adjectives and rely on verbs and nouns instead.
  • Give the details. Testimonials are wonderful if they are specific. Success stories (case studies) are even better because they show exactly how you helped a customer like the customers you hope to attract. How-to instructions are always helpful to customers. Before and after photos, videos of a project in progress, examples of how your products could be used–they all connect with your customers and distinguish you from the competition.
  • Share your perspective on your industry. Share your techniques. If they are the same techniques everyone else uses, be the first to embrace transparency. Share your passion for what you do.
  • Hire the right writer. The right writer talks with you about your goals and the future of your company; researches your industry and your competitors; grows in understanding with each writing project, no matter how far apart the projects are scheduled; and absolutely hates fluff. Whether in-house or freelance, you need a professional writer like that.

Now read through this blog post and count the number of adjectives, check for details, including how-to information, consider whether you have found out anything about my priorities and passion (no fluff!), and then decide if I’m the type of freelance writer you would want to write your company’s content. I hope to hear from you soon.

Writing for Customers Who Read English as a Second Language

Major companies often write websites in the major languages of their international customers. For smaller companies, that option is too expensive, especially if they are unfamiliar with the primary languages of their readers.

Whatever your limitations, it is possible to write in English for customers who read English as a second language.The bonus? The following techniques also help your customers whose first language is English!

  1. Limit hypenation. It’s hard enough to understand a word like “fractionation” without hyphenating it as “fraction–ation.”
  2. Respect cultural differences. Others have as much pride in their heritage as you do in yours. Remember, even “football” has different meanings here and in Europe (where it refers to “soccer”). Humor is different; use humor cautiously. You should never ever mock an accent or entire group.
  3. Limit the use of synonyms for important ideas. Those who learn English as a second language often have trouble with synonyms: “chattels” seems to mean the same thing as “assets.” On the other hand, if you switch from “assets” to “property” to “effects” to “estate,” any reader might suppose you are writing about four different items.
  4. Use short sentences and paragraphs. Short sentences and paragraphs give readers time to understand one idea before moving on to the next. Sentences should stay under 24 words and paragraphs should keep to 5 sentences maximum.Breaking up text with bullets, numbered lists, and subtitles also helps.
  5. Choose the simplest word. In Item 3 above, I originally wrote “important concepts” before choosing “important ideas.” The words mean the same in this case, but “ideas” requires less knowledge of English.I stayed with “synonyms,” however, because the synonyms for “synonym” are even more difficult.
  6. Pay attention to grammar and spelling. I was once asked by colleagues from China why English needed the articles “a,” “an,” and “the.” I offered this reason: English has many words that sound exactly the same as nouns and verbs. The articles help alert us to the difference (startup and start up, vent and vent, run and run, and so on). Correct grammar and spelling help understanding.
  7. Do not mix abbreviations and expressions from other languages. Someone struggling with English is thrown off by a sudden switch to Latin (etc., e.g.) or French (c’est la vie, c’est chic). Use “and so on,” “for example,” “that’s life,” or “it’s stylish,” at least the first time.
  8. Define acronyms. You are sure you know what FDA means–Food and Drug Administration. But it is also the abbreviation for Fuji Dream Airlines of Japan, the Forest Development Agency in India, and many other companies and ideas.

If you follow these seven rules, your marketing writing will become clearer for customers who read English as a second language–and for all your customers. Need help with clear, accurate, concise, and creative writing? Please contact me at TWP Marketing & Technical Communications.


text:
Vision to transform healthcare in Tayside

The Board of NHS Tayside has outlined its vision to transform how healthcare is delivered in Tayside in the coming years.

The Transforming Tayside plan, which describes why services must change and sets out a clear direction of travel, was welcomed by Board members.

The Board paper can be found on the Transforming Tayside page on Staffnet.

Transforming Tayside 4 high resChairman John Brown said, “This paper sets the scene for the future of healthcare across Tayside, but it really is just the beginning of a journey for all of us. It sets out a clear direction of travel about how our clinicians are leading this whole-system transformation, not only for the people of Tayside, but alongside them.

“It’s really important to us that our staff, patients, public and our partners in healthcare are fully involved even from this early stage in our planning. We are already sharing our initial thoughts on what we want to achieve with key people in our communities and we will build on this by ensuring the public and our staff are fully involved throughout the whole programme.”

Chief Executive Malcolm Wright added, “It is clear that how we deliver health services must change and the challenge for us is to deliver change which is truly transformational, and which is also high-quality, safe and sustainable.

“The vision described today will support all our work going forward and it is our intention that we will have a fully worked-up blueprint of future services across Tayside by the end of 2018.”

Leave a Reply


text:
Candle Shade Painted Ragged Card-Green | Nicholas Engert

Ragged Card Candle Shade - Green

Regular price £10.30 Sale

Decorative Printed Card Candle Shades in various striking patterns and colours will soften the candlelight on your dining table, adding a point of interest which looks elegant and stylish. The decorative shade is mounted on a carrier that enables the shade to move as the candle burns down.

Note - Each shade requires a Candle Shade Holder.  These can be ordered by clicking here.  We also recommend that you use our candles which are designed for use with our shades.  They can be ordered by clicking here.

Size Top Diameter - 5.0cm ø
Bottom Diameter - 13.0cm ø
Slope - 10.0cm
Delivery 2/3 weeks from date of order


text:
faux container

Meet Our Team

What does a lifetime of living in Guelph and a keen insight into the real estate market give you? A team that’s deeply passionate about the community and helping those who call it home.

Our team is here to offer unbeatable real estate service in Guelph and the surrounding areas.

Our Local Contacts

Whether you’re a buyer, seller, or Guelph local looking for service recommendations in the area, we can help!

  • Mortgage Brokers
  • Real Estate Lawyers
  • Home Improvement Specialists
  • Home Inspectors
  • Professional Cleaners
  • Moving Companies
  • Local Service Providers
  • Contractors/Renovators
  • Stagers
  • And More

"We've bought two properties in the last 3 years with Nick. He also sold a property for us getting us top dollar within 3 days of listing it, due to his marketing of our home."

- Rita M.


text:
Frap Tools Sapel

Frap Tools

Regular price $685.00

The SAPÈL is a random control voltages source for Eurorack modular systems. It is composed of two main sections, one that generates audio noises, in 4 different versions, and another which includes two specular random clock, random voltages, and clock sources.

Noise outputs are color coded, based on the noise colors, and include:

  • blue (+3dB/oct spectrum)
  • white noise (0dB/oct spectrum)
  • pink noise (-3dB/oct spectrum)
  • red noise, a.k.a. brown or brownian (-6dB/oct spectrum).

The random voltage and clock section features four uncorrelated random CV generation paths, divided in;

  • fluctuating random voltage;
  • quantized random voltage with 2n stages tuned in semitones referred to 1V/oct scale;
  • quantized random voltage with n+1 stages tuned in octaves referred to 1V/oct scale;
  • non-quantized sample & hold.

It is also possible to set a probability distribution with a potentiometer, and apply (or do not apply) the chosen distribution setting to each of the four paths independently.

Furthermore, each of the two random sources section features an independent built-in clock generator, with clock output and random clock output, which can be used in “more than” or “less than” mode. It is possible to use an external clock signal as a clock source, bypassing the built-in one. In addition to that, it is also possible to hand trigger the clock via a manual sample & hold button, which can be also modulated by gate signals.

  • Width: 18hp
  • Depth: 38mm
  • Power: 250mA@ +12V / 170mA @ -12V
  • Manual
  • true analog random/noise generation with 4 stages of independent and uncorrelated thermal noise
  • 8 random voltages and up to 4 random clocks
  • continuous fluctuating voltages
  • change quantization stages with gradual transition for more usable results
  • stage-assignable probability distribution
  • built-in clock generators
  • sample & hold manual buttons and inputs for realtime performance and ease of interaction
  • analog design

Close (esc)

Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to know about new arrivals,promotions and exciting announcements.

Age verification

By clicking enter you are verifying that you are old enough to consume alcohol.

Shopping Cart

Your cart is currently empty.
Shop now


text:
Tag Archives: self deprecation

Daily Prompt: Toot Your Horn

While I had hoped to be able to do the wordpress daily prompts every single day, I now realize this is not going to be possible.  Life gets in the way of being able to blog daily, and this week, it … Continue reading

Posted in Daily Prompt | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments


text:
Buying Used Autos parts

Proudly owning a automobile is a dream come true for people and residential homeowners. Nevertheless, many-a-times, a stringent finances cancels out the choice of a model new car. One could should accept a used vehicle till there’s sufficient cash of their kitty to put money into a brand new automobile.

Looking for used autos might be fairly an intimidating course of for various causes. Firstly, you are anxious whether or not it’s the proper resolution. So as to add, you’re involved about selecting the best car and getting it at a aggressive worth. In case you’re out available on the market to purchase a used auto on the market, listed here are a couple of tricks to make this one of the best resolution ever.

1. Ask for the automobile historical past. You won’t know the title or tackle of the earlier proprietor of the automobile, nonetheless you’ll be able to nonetheless discover out the historical past of the automobile you plan to purchase. This data might be requested from the seller you’re coping with. The identical is the case when buying a used automobile from a personal vendor. The data gives you solutions to questions reminiscent of when was the car bought, what number of kilometers has it run, was it serviced repeatedly and what are the most important operational points.

2. Ask to examine the car earlier than you make a purchase order. It’s all the time a sensible resolution to have an auto mechanic study the car earlier than you make a purchase order. You may study a car superficially, however a mechanic will probably be in a position detect issues that lie deep used engines for sale.

three. Purchase a automobile that fits your lifestyle. If you may be driving your car by means of heavy visitors day by day, it is best to go for a smaller car. If you’re searching for a luxurious household sedan, there are a number of choices to select from.

four. You will need to conduct a background examine into the dealer dealing in used automobiles. He needs to be trustworthy in his dealings and never cheat individuals for his or her cash. Select a good auto automobile seller.

5. It’s tempting to accept a car. Nevertheless, within the hurry, do not buy the primary one you come throughout. Examine your choices by way of makes, mannequin, dimension, options, situation, guarantee and worth.

6. Figuring out the worth of a brand new car is straightforward as a result of the worth is printed. Nevertheless, the worth of a used automobile shouldn’t be fastened. It’s influenced by various factors particularly the car’s situation. There are numerous web sites that assist estimate the worth of the automobile by introducing data on the automobile.

7. Ask if there’s a return coverage. Some auto sellers supply return insurance policies simply in case a consumer adjustments his thoughts.

The place to purchase?

The web market has made it simple to purchase a automobile of your alternative at a worth that is comfy for you. You may find auto sellers promoting used automobiles on-line. It’s advisable to decide on one working in your locality as you’ll have to go to examine the car. Shopping for from different states will improve transport fees.

So, you needn’t fear when shopping for used auto automobiles on the market. A used automobile shouldn’t be all the time a non-functional automobile disposed by its authentic proprietor. Automotive aficionados love to purchase and promote automobiles to check new fashions and makes. In such circumstances, you might be fortunate to get a great car at a aggressive worth. It simply wants slightly purchasing round and endurance.

The Evolution of Online Shopping

Know-how has made on-line purchasing fairly potential to all individuals of the world. So, the quantity of people that entry the web to purchase one thing has elevated dramatically. In response to the analysis performed world now has extra educated, extra expertise savvy, extra earnings individuals which leads to flourishing. When on-line purchasing was at its preliminary stage solely younger individuals got here on-line to make a purchase order. However when on-line purchasing began to evolve an increasing number of center aged individuals who have more cash to spend got here out of the orthodox construction and accepted purchasing merchandise on-line. Now many center aged individuals store on-line for instructional merchandise, groceries, devices and extra.

An added benefit to buy on-line is it comes with enormous financial savings. A lot of the merchandise that’s bought on-line will include enormous reductions because the producers can spend much less on retail services and this value discount turns into discount in value when the product is bought on-line. Aside from this on-line purchasing saves extra time, you needn’t to drive all the way in which to the retail retailer in heavy visitors on your purchasing. When purchasing on-line you possibly can merely begin purchasing within the web on the luxurious of your private home. Additionally you needn’t stand within the lengthy queue to pay your purchasing payments, while you store on-line you possibly can pay utilizing your bank card, debit card or web banking. This protects extra time and you may spend the saved time together with your family and friends.

As Shopping is flourishing there are lots of web sites which can be offering free coupons and vouchers which you’ll be able to redeem at a web-based purchasing web site or your native retailer or restaurant. While you store on-line or register with a web site to get some newest gives in your neighborhood retailer or restaurant these web sites offers you free low cost coupons. These coupons shall be largely associated to eating places and spas, which you’ll be able to redeem while you go to these eating places and spas. That is an added benefit for purchasing on-line other than much less value on merchandise.

If you find yourself planning to buy on-line, the very best factor you are able to do is to spend a while researching and reviewing the net purchasing web sites. This can enable you to finalize on the web site that provides higher gives and reductions on the merchandise. From then on you possibly can frequently entry this web site to buy on-line. Most of those web sites has new on-line gives on each day foundation. Due to this fact visiting these web sites frequently will save more cash.

Legit Ever greenWealth Formula 2.0 reviews

The Ever inexperienced Wealth Components is a program that’s providing you a Energy Home Advertising and marketing System That Pays You 100% Money Instantly and Every day in Simply three Straightforward Steps! Then, they may have you ever Uncover how one can obtain $400 per order immediately on-line.

I discovered that info on the Legit Ever green Wealth Formula 2.0 reviews ,web sites homepage. Can this enterprise actually do that? Can you actually earn 100% money instantly each day?

From trying into it additional, it really looks like a superb advertising and marketing plan. They declare no promoting, no prospecting; the system does that for you. Additionally they declare to do the closing and comply with up for you. The whole lot is completed for you will not must do something.

They create up the opposite kind of promoting packages that supply no actual merchandise and no actual service, in different phrases, there’s something for the cash you might have invested. They’ve primarily based this program on actual merchandise that supply worth and create a long-lasting enterprise. They provide a strategy to receives a commission straight away on your whole gross sales, with out ready for the corporate to pay you. They provide a global program and the fitting advertising and marketing instruments to automate your advertising and marketing course of. They supply you a strategy to leverage your self, that can assist you usher in a gross sales staff to create extra revenue for you. They provide coaching and assist from consultants who’re earning money now.

For each first degree product you promote, you obtain a cost of $1000 or $400 immediately. For each 2nd degree sale, you get money cost of both $200 or $100. They educate you tips on how to market and get leads. They appear to base their enterprise on teamwork, which is constructing your downline. You might be paid the override bonuses on the 2nd and third ranges of your downline. However as I searched everywhere in the Web, I could not discover something destructive, however I additionally could not work out precisely what their product was. There isn’t any point out of a services or products.

They look like fairly pleased with it, they usually appear to be doing nicely. However this normally hits me in a manner that this sounds too good to be true.

One of many main drawbacks to this program is the worth. It’s an funding of $579. It is a excessive worth to me and I’m certain it’s to you as nicely. Whereas just a few do become profitable, the bulk are both off to the following taste of the week or again to deal with their job.

New Evergreen Wealth Formula 2.0 reviews

Two primary details about Community Advertising and marketing are seemingly contradictory–or no less than extremely paradoxical. On the one hand, this business has created extra millionaires than another; on the similar time, nonetheless, it has an astoundingly excessive. Two primary details about Community Advertising and marketing are seemingly contradictory–or no less than extremely paradoxical. On the one hand, this business has created extra millionaires than another; on the similar time, nonetheless, it has an astoundingly excessive failure charge of roughly 95%.

This raises a extremely vital query:  “New Evergreen Wealth Formula 2.0 reviews” of those that are wildly profitable that appears to be hidden from–or no less than largely unavailable to–the overwhelming majority who fail?

At the very least a part of the reason for this excessive failure charge will be understood by way of 4 daunting challenges that each one community entrepreneurs have to beat as a way to achieve success:

1) Discovering an ample supply of extremely certified potential enterprise companions to affix their distributional staff. 2) Successfully recruiting these potential companions into the enterprise.

three) Having an efficient manner to assist their new staff members get into optimistic cashflow earlier than they get discouraged and drop out.

four) Having ample capital to fund the promoting vital to construct a profitable enterprise.

The Complete Wealth Answer

As the results of an excellent new innovation, a easy and extremely promising answer to those 4 key challenges is now out there. It consists in integrating an efficient web advertising program with a well-established and extremely steady community advertising firm. These two parts are utilized synergistically to create an general end result that’s a lot larger than the sum of the components.

The web advertising element serves primarily because the “Get Immediate Money” (GIC) program. This instant money is generated on-line by promoting an excellent, proprietary package deal of web advertising instruments that can be utilized within the on-line promotion of all kinds of merchandise and/or providers. It supplies the means for practically anybody to realize optimistic cashflow inside the first month–if not sooner.

Considered one of its most tasty options for individuals who do not prefer to promote is the choice to show over the entire promoting exercise to its staff of extremely educated gross sales brokers. Because the overwhelming majority of community entrepreneurs lack each motivation and expertise in promoting, this distinctive choice clearly eliminates considered one of their principal roadblocks to success.

The community advertising element of this built-in enterprise mannequin supplies a complementary Residual Earnings Method (RIF)–that is, an efficient means for producing high-level, long-term, passive residual earnings that’s NOT out there within the GIC element by itself.

Anybody with out a pre-existing residual earnings who has opted into the GIC element, subsequently, is doubtlessly a a extremely certified candidate for the RIF and in addition in a perfect place to put it to use as a quick monitor to reaching monetary and time freedom. With a bit of schooling, s/he’s additionally more likely to acknowledge the large benefits of opting into this extra alternative.

In abstract, then, this modern new wealth era program supplies a chic answer to all 4 of the key pitfalls of community advertising outlined above. It actually ranges the taking part in subject so that almost anybody who’s critically motivated can get pleasure from a excessive stage of speedy success within the community advertising business.

This “marriage made in heaven,” as its proponents prefer to name it, will hopefully function an inspiring prototype for a lot of extra such blissful unions within the close to future and develop into widely known because the Evergreen wealth formulation.

To get additional complete details about this new wealth era paradigm, make the most of the useful resource info offered under.

George Shears is a retired psychologist, social media marketing consultant and a veteran on-line marketer. In step with his earlier lengthy profession as a psychologist and psychotherapist, his principal mission in retirement is to information and help the members of his enterprise staff in actualizing their full private potential and in reaching their highest desires.


text:
(ENG) Smart Compliance Audits with Jump Questions

By ,

对不起，此内容只适用于美式英文。 For the sake of viewer convenience, the content is shown below in the alternative language. You may click the link to switch the active language.

Nimonik is thrilled to announce a new feature on NimonikApp.com and Nimonik Audit for iPad and iPhone: Smart Audits with Jump Questions. Audits and inspections can now contain logic, allowing you to skip questions based on your responses to other questions. This feature is particularly useful for large, complex regulatory compliance audits in Canada, the United States or abroad. Internally, we call these questions Kangaroo questions as they allow you to rapidly move through questions and get your audits done faster.

For example, during an audit on iPad or on the web you might select No to the following Question 1, which would take you immediately to the Question 2 below and mark the irrelevant questions automatically as not applicable. These jump questions are being rolled out to all of our compliance audit protocols and if you would like to build jump questions into your own audit templates, please contact us at info@nimonik.com

Question 1

From the California Environmental Audit Protocol:

22377 Title 40 S.261.4(b) – Waste Characterization Waste Characterization: Does the facility generate and dispose of “solid wastes” OTHER THAN THOSE WASTES characterized as:

  • — household wastes [261.4(b)(1)];
  • — wastes from the growing and harvesting of agricultural crops or the raising of animals (including manure) which are returned to the soils as fertilizers [261.4(b)(2)];
  • mining overburden returned to the mine site [261.4(b)(3)];
  • fly ash waste, bottom ash waste, slag waste, and flue gas emission control waste, generated primarily from the combustion of coal or other fossil fuels, except as provided by 266.112 for facilities that burn or process hazardous waste [261.4(b)(4)];
  • drilling fluids, produced waters, and other wastes associated with the exploration, development, or production of crude oil, natural gas or geothermal energy [261.4(b)(5)];
  • certain wastes which fail the test for the Toxicity Characteristic solely because chromium is present in a specific valence state [261.4(b)(6)];
  • certain solid wastes from the extraction, benefication, and processing of ores and minerals [261.4(b)(7)];
  • cement kiln dust waste, except as provided by 266.112 for facilities that burn or process hazardous waste [261.4(b)(8)];
  • certain solid waste which consists of discarded arsenical-treated wood or wood products [261.4(b)(9)];
  • certain petroleum-contaminated media and debris [261.4(b)(10)];
  • certain injected groundwater related to free phase hydrocarbon recovery operations [261.4(b)(11)];
  • used chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants from totally enclosed heat transfer equipment [261.4(b)(12)];
  • non-terne plated used oil filters [261.4(b)(13)]; or
  • used oil re-refining distillation bottoms that are used as feedstock to manufacture asphalt products [261.4(b)(14)]? [261.3(a)(1) and 261.4(b)]

If NO, STOP. The remainder of this Division does NOT apply. RCRA does NOT consider these materials that are “solid wastes” to also be “hazardous wastes”, and are therefore excluded from regulation under Subtitle C.

Question 2

22405 Title 40 S.262.11(a) – Cond Exempt Small Qty Generators Cond Exempt Small Qty Generators: Has the facility correctly determined whether any of the solid wastes generated by the facility are hazardous wastes or acute hazardous wastes by first determining if the waste is excluded from regulation under 40 CFR 261.4? [262.11(a)]

If NO, STOP. A correct determination of generator status cannot be made until the wastes are properly characterized. The exclusions described under 40 CFR 261.4 are covered in Section 1.

Legal Details

CALIFORNIA 22 CCR 66262. 10 -Standards for generators – Applicability
The federal exemption for small quantity generators that generate

Cal/EPA includes the following in addition to federal requirements:
Generator who treats/stores/disposes of hazardous waste on-site shall comply with the prescribed sections of chapter 12 with respect to that waste.
Article 1 does not apply to generators handling only hazardous waste produced incidental to owning & maintaining their own place of residence (22 CCR 66262.10).

State Legislation: Section 10 of Division 4.5 Chapter 12 Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste under Title 22. Social Security
(b) A generator who treats, stores, or disposes of hazardous waste on-site shall comply with the following sections of this chapter with respect to that waste: section 66262.11 for determining whether or not the generator has a hazardous waste, section 66262.12 for obtaining an identification number, section 66262.34 for accumulation of hazardous waste, section 66262.40(c) and (d) for recordkeeping, section 66262.43 for additional reporting, section 66262.44 for hazardous waste of concern reporting, and if applicable, section 66262.70 for farmers.
(i) This article does not apply to generators handling only hazardous waste produced incidental to owning and maintaining their own place of residence.

[Title 22, Division 4.5, Chapter 12, Article 1]


text:
Live on the Vine February 22, 2014

photo (26)

Bacchus knew what he was about when he linked wine and music together, and so do the wineries on the North Fork.  To chase away the winter doldrums—and what a winter we have had!—many of the wineries participate in the Long Island Winterfest activity called Live on the Vine, which brings musical performers to the tasting rooms.  It used to be called Jazz on the Vine, but then the decision was made to open up to a more varied musical palette.

Most of the venues charge a fee of $20, which includes a full glass of wine.  (After an hour we bought a second glass for $8.)  We decided Sherwood House had the most convenient performance time and location, and checked my blog to decide which wine to get.  The other piece of information we needed was whether or not we wanted to see the performer they were featuring.

After much discussion and checking out of performers on-line, we decided to go to Sherwood House on Saturday for a performance by Jack’s Waterfall, and we were glad we did.

On a web page, Jack describes his music as a combination of “Folk, Blues, Gospel and World Music,” and I’d say that’s about right.  There was a lot of toe-tapping and head bobbing in the full-house audience, and even some dancing.

Jack's Waterfall in action.

Jack’s Waterfall in action.

Sherwood House used a second, barn-like building on their Main Road site for their music venue, leaving their tasting room free for those who wanted to do a tasting.  The room reminded me a bit of an Adirondack lodge, with its stone fireplace and animal head on the wall.  An array of chairs and folding chairs formed a semi-circle around the band, so everyone could see and hear well.

A view of the room.

A view of the room.

If you haven’t made it out East yet, you still have time, as Winterfest has been extended for an extra week in March.  It is very pleasant to sit in a cozy winery, glass of wine in hand, and listen to music.  I recommend you go!

Empire State Cellars

Look down the row to find Empire State Cellars.

Look down the row to find Empire State Cellars.

Here’s a great way to use my blog.

Tucked away in a corner of Tanger Outlet Mall in Riverhead, amidst stores selling luggage, lingerie, and not-quite-the-latest fashions, is a wonderful place, Empire State Cellars, selling wines, beers, liquors, and a few other products made in New York State.  If you want a selection of local wines but you don’t feel like trekking from winery to winery to get it, this is the place.  Even better, they offer a 10% discount on a case, and many of their prices are less expensive than in the wineries themselves.  I know, I was surprised, too.

The helpful clerks at the desk.

The helpful clerks at the desk.

They also offer tastings at a bar in the back of the store.  However, we didn’t have time to do a tasting that day, but we did need to decide which wines to get.  As we scanned the shelves, I Googled whichever winery we were curious about.  Up popped my blog, and then I just had to scroll down to see if I had reviewed that particular wine.  Of course, since my phone “knows” me, all I had to put in was nofo, and it did the rest.

The tasting bar.

The tasting bar.

You can also follow the same procedure in a restaurant to decide which wine to order, though sometimes, as we have found, wineries seem to bottle different versions of their wines for restaurants.  Before I started my blog I was recording our tastings in a notebook, which was fine for deciding which winery to visit, but not a lot of help when we were out and about.  Now I have this useful reference always with me—and so do you!

photo (24)

Palmer Vineyards: Cozy as a Pub February 16, 2014

Pub-like room at Palmer.

Pub-like room at Palmer.

With all the snow the last few weeks, we decided we wanted to go somewhere cozy for a tasting.  I had my heart set on one of the booths in Palmer’s tasting room for our group of five, but, alas, others had the same idea and the three pub-like booths were filled, so we clustered around one of the high tables in the small tasting room and perused the menu.  There are four menu choices:  New Releases, three tastes for $15; Winemaker’s Flight, four for $15; Premium White, three for $12; and Premium Red, three for $14.  That may not seem like many samples for the money, but the pour is quite generous.  If you are with people who don’t mind sharing, you can get to taste all their wines.

Generous pour.

Generous pour.

While two members of the group went over to the bar to get our trays of tastes, the rest of us admired the stained glass window, the funny wine superstitions on the wall, and the fat and lazy gray cat who was quite amenable to being petted by the feline-o-philes amongst us.  When you do a tasting you get all your pours at once perched on a labeled placemat on your tray.  Go from left to right, of course.  They also offer a short snack menu, mainly cheese or paté and crackers, and wines by the glass though not by the bottle.

Wine superstitions.

Wine superstitions.

Although we alternated amongst the various menus so that we could do the reds last, I’ll give you my notes based on each menu.  (Note:  There are two buildings.  Drive through to the rear building for the tasting room, as the front building contains a self-guided tour of the winemaking.)

Winemaker’s Flight

1)      2012 Aromatico                                $24.99

A blend of Muscat and Mulvase grapes, this has almost an upstate sweetness, though the grapes are grown on the North Fork, with aromas of orange and allspice and a very floral taste.  “Like a rosewater bath,” said AK.  EB thought you could have it with a salad.  I would just as soon not have it.

2)       2012 Chardonnay  41/72               $16.99

I never did find out what those numbers mean, and hoped the web site would enlighten me, but their website is rather terse, as are their tasting notes.  They could do a better job with both.  In any event, this is a blend, despite the name, including Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer.   We noted aromas of white grape and pear and tastes of pear—pretty much a standard steel-fermented Chard.   Not distinguished, we said.

3)      Lighthouse White                           $14.99

This is also a blend, with typical oaky/vanilla aromas of a barrel fermented white.  Lots of pineapple taste.  The menu says “semi-sweet,” but I didn’t find it to be particularly sweet.  Then again, I’m not very fond of pineapple anyway.

4)      Select Reserve Red                         $31.99

The only red in the Winemaker’s Flight, this is a fairly dry Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  I like it better than the whites, and at the end we think it is the best of the wines we tasted, but, on the other hand, one could find similar reds for less money.

Taking notes was a challenge on our crowded table.

Taking notes was a challenge on our crowded table.

New Release Flight

1)      2013 Sauvignon Blanc            $23.99

I like this better than any of the whites in the Winemaker’s Flight.  It is good, with lots of fruit, a touch petillant on the tongue, with some tastes of pineapple but not overwhelmingly so, plus citrus.  Maybe grapefruit?  I would call it buyable.  AK labels it a good summer wine for sipping on the patio.

2)      2012 BF Pinot Blanc                 $22.99

BF?  Means barrel fermented, we learn.  Yes, it has that oaky/vanilla aroma.  Some toast, some pineapple.  Just okay.

3)      2010 Old Roots Merlot                          $42.00

Okay, the .99 prices do annoy me, so it is nice to see a forthright even number, even if we feel it is overpriced.  EB describes this as “chewier, with more structure,” though not a lot of tannins.  Nice dark berry tastes, with a hint of smoke.

Premium Red Flight

1)      2010 Merlot                       $24.99

Dry, with not a lot of fruit, not overly earthy (happily), and, says EB, “Not a keeper.”  I agree and say, “Just okay.”

2)      2010 Cabernet Sauvignon            $29.99

You can really taste and smell the oak on this one, with not much fruit.  Nope, we don’t care for this one either.

3)      2009 Cabernet Franc                       $29.99

Brambly blackberry tastes, nice aromas—we like this one!  Though it is a touch earthy, it is buyable, and EB buys a bottle, getting 10% off, according to the menu “today only.”

photo (14)

Reasons to visit:  cozy pub-like room (with outside tables in the summer); the 09 Cabernet Franc; the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc; you can do a self-guided tour in the front building before or after your tasting room visit; a generous pour; the cat!

Snowy day.

Snowy day.

The booths I wanted were all taken.
The booths I wanted were all taken.

A Food and Drink Miscellany

A bad cold has put me hors de combat for tasting wine, so instead here are some random notes on food and drink on the North Fork.

photo (8)

Greenport Harbor Brewing Company

In preparation for our annual junk food feast during the Super Bowl (which I watch for the commercials), we decided to get a growler of Greenport Harbor beer.  But which one to get?  We had to do a tasting of them all, since there were several new ones on the menu.  Oh, what a burden. The new ones were Antifreeze, a great name for a winter ale; Spring Turning, a Belgian style saison; and Gobsmacked IPA, an English style IPA. We also, in the interest of completeness, sampled  Harbor Ale,  Black Duck Porter,  Otherside IPA and  Leafpile Ale.  We liked them all, but finally decided that Antifreeze would go best with our Mexican-style snacks of nachos, guacamole, and bison chili. And so it did.  (P.S.  I was amused by the Free Beer Tomorrow sign, which reminded me of a line in Alice in Wonderland about jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today.)

Riverhead Farmers Market

As it turned out, we were not the only ones excited at the thought of a winter farmers market in Riverhead, since when we got there just at 11, when it was scheduled to open, there was already a crowd inside.  We could barely find a parking spot in the large lot behind the stores on Main Street.  We bought scallops which had just been opened that morning, bread from Blue Duck bakery, fresh pasta, and locally grown oyster mushrooms for dinner, plus eggs from Browder’s Birds for breakfast.  We could also have bought wine from a couple of wineries, beer from a local brewery, cheeses, and various desserts and other prepared foods, such as empanadas and spanakopita.  Wow.  We’ll be back.  We heard that everything was basically sold out by 2, so it pays to come early.

The raw ingredients for dinner from the Riverhead Farmers Market.

The raw ingredients for dinner from the Riverhead Farmers Market.

And the finished product, with a glass of Comtesse Therese Chardonnay.

And the finished product, with a glass of Comtesse Therese Chardonnay.

Village Cheese Shop on Love Lane

If you like good cheeses, this is the place to come.  They not only have a large selection of excellent cheese, they are quite good at giving advice.  “I’d like a creamy blue,” I said, and they knew just which of the many blues to steer me towards.  “And how about a cheese for someone who is lactose intolerant but loves good cheese?”  They had that one, too—a lactose-free well-aged cheese.  In addition to cheeses from around the world they also carry local cheeses, such as Catapano’s goat cheeses and Mecox Dairy’s excellent cheeses, plus patés, olives, and great baguettes.  In addition, they carry a small but select stock of gourmet groceries and also serve fondue and a few other cheese-based dishes for lunch.  I’ve been here frequently and never had a bad cheese.  If you want to add bread and cheese to a wine country picnic, stop in here.

Wayside Market

Now let’s say you want to barbeque some meat that is better than what you can get in the supermarket.  Where to go?  Wayside carries a small but top quality selection of steaks, etc., and, though their prices are not cheap, their meats are good.  I once ordered a butterflied leg of lamb from them which I then marinated.  My husband grilled it and our guests devoured it.   They also carry really good sausages, plus various interesting grocery items.  Whenever we are there, we see people coming in to get sandwiches made at their deli counter, but we haven’t tried those yet.

Okay, time for another cup of hot tea with honey and lemon.  Maybe by next week I’ll be ready to visit another winery!

Waters Crest: A Small Gem February 1, 2014

photo (1)

“Has it been that long?!” exclaimed Jenny, when we admitted that we hadn’t been there since August of 2012.  If you want a truly personal experience at a winery, Waters Crest is one of the places to go.  Despite its unfortunate location—in a commercial strip on Sound Avenue and Cox Lane, just around the corner from the Southold Transfer Station (a.k.a. town dump, with its complex odors of rotting garbage and recycled paper)—the tasting room is quite cozy and the wines worth trying.

Jim Waters does not have his own vineyard, and so buys his grapes from North Fork vineyards, plus Riesling grapes from upstate, near Seneca Lake.  However, according to his web site he “hand chooses” the grapes, and he is certainly very hands-on when it comes to making the wines.  His general style seems to be to go for dry wines, which we tend to like.

The tasting menu lists seven wines, three whites and four reds, and you can taste all of them for $15.  In addition, if you buy four bottles of wine your tasting is free.  We opted to share a tasting, and noticed that the wines are served in Reidel glasses, a luxury touch that Jenny admitted made her a bit anxious when it came time to hand dry them.  You can also buy a few wine-related gifts, including handsome cloth wine gift bags hand-made by Jenny’s mother.  We also learned that we just missed a chance to visit with Jim’s father, who was hanging out in the tasting room during our last visit.  As I said, it’s a personal experience!

Jenny packs the wines we bought.

Jenny packs the wines we bought.

1)       2012 Chardonnay            $19.99

This is their steel-fermented Chard, with typical aromas of apple, pear, and grass.  We taste a lot of lemon—perhaps too much lemon.  Not a wine for sipping, though it might be better with food.

2)      2012 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc   $29.99

After steel fermenting, this one spends two months in oak to mellow it a bit.  We can sense a touch of that caramel, but it is not too oaky.  This is also dry and rather light, with lots of green apple tastes.  In a nice touch, Jenny rinses the glass with a drop of the new wine before pouring the taste.

3)      2012 Dry Riesling             $24.99

Jenny agrees with us when we decide this is our favorite of the whites.  The aroma is very flowery, with lots of honeysuckle, as is not uncommon with upstate fruit.  However, it avoids the over-sweetness I often sense with upstate grapes, and has a pleasant minerality and citrus taste.  It would be great with oysters!  Time for a new glass as we switch to the reds.

photo (6)photo (7)

4)      “5” Red Blend                   $16.99

As soon as I see the label I exclaim that it reminds me of the famous painting by Charles Demuth of “The Great Number Five,” which was inspired by a poem by his friend William Carlos Williams.  If you look at a reproduction of the painting, you’ll see references to Demuth’s pal Williams in it.  Jenny confirms that the label was designed to evoke this painting, but the name was inspired by the idea that this is a “five days a week” wine, perfect for casual weeknight dinners.  We agree, and enjoy the blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc, the very cherry aroma and the dry light taste.  One could have this with anything from salmon steaks to burgers.

5)      2009 Merlot                       $34.99

Another typical Long Island Merlot, this has aromas of blackberry and eucalyptus and nice fruit taste, with a tart finish.

6)      2009 Campania Rosso                    $49.99

Jim Waters changes the blend on this wine from year to year, depending on which grapes he chooses.  The ’08, which was listed on the tasting menu, was a classic Bordeaux blend, but this one is 78% Merlot and 22% Cabernet Franc.  ’09 was a difficult year for red grapes.  There’s a bit of a funky aroma, but the taste is good, with plenty of fruit, and we guess it will age fairly well and end up tasting better.  Nice legs.

7)      2008 Cabernet Franc                       $39.99

The Cab Franc spends 20 months in French oak, and we can taste a bit of that woody flavor.  I smell a bit of funkiness here, too, but also plenty of cherry.  It’s a nice wine, though not worth the price, we decide, though Jenny suggests that this, too, would benefit from a couple of years of bottle aging.  The reds are suffering in comparison to a very expensive French red we shared during the week with a friend, so we have to banish that wine from our memories in order to appreciate Long Island reds for themselves.

We decide to get two bottles of the Riesling and two of the “5” for everyday drinking, and then discover that the tasting is thus free.  If we had only opted for three bottles, Jenny says she would have informed us of the deal!

photo (4)

Reasons to visit:  an intimate, personal experience; the 2012 Dry Riesling and the “5” Red Blend; a free tasting if you buy four bottles.


text:
My Cart

Premium 100% Australian Owned Bodyboards

Introducing the all new model the NOMAD NANO to the range.

21inches of raging fury, the NANO is the ultimate introduction to bodyboarding for groms, or the perfect way to assist your bodysurfing and shore break bashing skills.

Developed light weight with an EPS core with a premium PE deck, the perfect addition to any quiver.


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Saturday, July 04, 2020

Donald Trump gave a culture war speech at Mount Rushmore last night.
Standing in a packed amphitheater in front of Mount Rushmore for an Independence Day celebration, President Trump delivered a dark and divisive speech on Friday that cast his struggling effort to win a second term as a battle against a “new far-left fascism” seeking to wipe out the nation’s values and history....

“Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children,” Mr. Trump said, addressing a packed crowd of sign-waving supporters.... “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”
Today, Bret Stephens, who claims to loathe Trump, published an op-ed with many of the same ideas.
This Fourth of July, it’s worth taking stock of the state of freedom — and of our attitudes toward it — at home and around the world.

... For once, the main problem isn’t Donald Trump. The president may be an instinctual fascist, a wannabe autocrat. But, after nearly four years in power, he’s been unmasked as an incompetent one.

... The more serious problem today comes from the left: from liberal elites who, when tested, lack the courage of their liberal convictions; from so-called progressives whose core convictions were never liberal to begin with; from administrative types at nonprofits and corporations who, with only vague convictions of their own, don’t want to be on the wrong side of a P.R. headache.

This has been the great cultural story of the last few years.
Some examples?
It is typified by incidents such as The New Yorker’s David Remnick thinking it would be a good idea to interview Steve Bannon for the magazine’s annual festival — until a Twitter mob and some members of his own staff decided otherwise. Or by The Washington Post devoting 3,000 words to destroying the life of a private person of no particular note because in 2018 she wore blackface, with ironic intent, at a Halloween party. Or by big corporations pulling ads from Facebook while demanding the company do more to censor forms of speech they deem impermissible.

These stories matter because an idea is at risk. That’s the idea that people who cannot speak freely will not be able to think clearly, and that no society can long flourish when contrarians are treated as heretics.
So acccording to Stephens, a man who helped run the campaign of the current president of the United States, and who later advised him from an office in the West Wing, is a "contrarian" whose free speech was squelched when he was denied one interview.

Let's take a look at what an unperson Steve Bannon has become since the liberal fascist totebaggers silenced him.

Here's a story about a February 2020 Bannon appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher. Here Bannon is being interviewed for PBS's Frontline, in a video uploaded in January of this year. Here's a CNBC interview of Bannon from December. Here's another December interview in The Guardian. Here's a 60 Minutes interview of Bannon from October. Here's a review of a 2019 documentary on Bannon by the award-winning filmmaker Errol Morris.

Left totalitarians mercilessly silence contrarians!

I won't defend the Washington Post story Stephens cites, although I will note that the most prominent critique of it came in New York magazine, which is generally regarded by conservatives as part of the fascist-left media establishment. And as for the the Facebook story, here's work done by some of the brave contrarians whose clear thinking Stephens wants to shield from evil corporate boycotters:

How can we call ourselves a free society if corporations are allowed to withhold advertising from Facebook because they don't want it next to posts like these? Surely companies should should be forced to run their ads in proximity to these posts! Because freedom!

Stephens eventually invokes Orwell:
... the Orwell essay to which I keep returning is a little jewel from 1946, “The Prevention of Literature.”

Orwell’s concern then was not just with Russian totalitarianism, but with the arguments used by much of the Western intelligentsia to justify repression.

“What is sinister,” he wrote, “is that the conscious enemies of liberty are those to whom liberty ought to mean most.” He was particularly calling out Western scientists who admired the Soviet Union for its technical prowess and were utterly indifferent to Stalin’s persecution of writers and artists. “They do not see that any attack on intellectual liberty, and on the concept of objective truth, threatens in the long run every department of thought.”

Every department of thought.
I've read the essay. Orwell goes on to write:
For the moment the totalitarian state tolerates the scientist because it needs him. Even in Nazi Germany, scientists, other than Jews, were relatively well treated and the German scientific community, as a whole, offered no resistance to Hitler. At this stage of history, even the most autocratic ruler is forced to take account of physical reality, partly because of the lingering-on of liberal habits of thought, partly because of the need to prepare for war. So long as physical reality cannot altogether be ignored, so long as two and two have to make four when you are, for example, drawing the blueprint of an aeroplane, the scientist has his function, and can even be allowed a measure of liberty. His awakening will come later, when the totalitarian state is firmly established.
I don't believe America is truly totalitarian, at least for now -- but our current Republican-dominated government actually doesn't believe it needs "to take account of physical reality." Republicans don't believe they need to acknowledge the reality of climate change, and so climate denialism is the official policy position of the United States (with the eager assent of Bret Stephens). Republicans working hand in glove with the NRA have stifled scientific research into the nature of gun violence, on the assumption that it's better not to know why so many Americans are killed by firearms. And now it's the expressed belief of the Republican president of the United States, and thus of the U.S. government, that liberals and the media are making way too much of the coronavirus pandemic, that mask-wearing and social distancing are optional, that as many businesses as possible should be open regardless of the health consequences, and that the virus might disappear by magic and is probably no worse than the flu even though it's killed more than 130,000 people despite widespread state, local, and individual effoerts to curb its spread.

Stephens isn't upset about the government's efforts to silence, intimidate, and contradict scientists -- but if a Republican ex-official loses one interview, then we're living in an totalitarian nightmare. I don't think that's what Orwell was getting at.

No comments:


text:
Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Issue 57

Northern Insight Health & Fitness correspondent, David Fairlamb, is revving up his fitness offering with specialist VersaClimber classes all new for 2020.

Mimicking the motion of mountain climbing, the machine provides a total body workout, supercharging the metabolism and is known to torch three times as many calories as any other piece of cardio gym equipment. The machine initially found fame in the 1980s and has witnessed a real revival in recent times, championed by elite athletes and Hollywood glitterati. Celebrity acolytes include Jennifer Aniston, Lady GaGa and Justin Timberlake whilst Tennis fans will be aware that the low-impact, non-weight bearing nature of the machine was instrumental in Andy Murray’s return from career-threatening injury. Now, in a massive coup for the region, David is the first trainer to offer exclusive VersaClimber classes North of London.

Sessions take place four days a week from David’s base at Queen Alexandra College, a studio space which is transformed into a nightclub-esque atmosphere with multi-coloured lighting and a state-of-the-art sound system. Clearly these new sessions called for an intrepid Father & Son pairing, so myself and son Jack, dusted down our athleisure wear for a crack at this new, totally unique fitness experience.

The benefits of the VersaClimber cannot be overstated. Recruiting both upper and lower muscle groups, the machine can burn between 400-800 calories in just a 30 minute class which makes it invaluable to those looking to lose weight and tone up. We chose a 17:30 – 18:00 Wednesday evening slot which also doubles as a great after-work stress buster.

The sight of the 75-degree vertical rail can be enough to instil fear. “It’s only half an hour of your life” , my son Jack offered, to which I quipped “30 minutes is a long time on a torture rack though son.” Fortunately though, David breaks the session up into manageable chunks, buoyed by the dimmed lights and music which really allow you to get in that zone and push through the pain. As with all of David’s classes, sessions are noncompetitive and handle height, stroke length and resistance can all be tweaked to suit all ages and fitness levels.

Following a brisk warm up, we kicked off with a four move mini-circuit. Short, sharp feet were followed by medium stroke thrusts, deep squats and full range climbs.

The machine allows for a surprising amount of variation and depending on the exercise, activates the back, glutes, legs, shoulders, calves and core. It’s a great workout for the posterior chain and in addition to targeting these muscle groups, is a real posture improver for increasingly sedentary lifestyles. Strapped back into the pedals, we were straight back into another circuit with different coloured disco lights each indicating a different exercise.

Throughout the session, ‘Disco Dave’ patrolled the front of the studio, striding purposefully between each machine and offering words of motivation and encouragement. The trick here really is to let your body flow with the natural motion of the climber, find a rhythm and let the lights and music spur you on.

The rest of the session was a mix of 20 second bursts and more steady-state 90 second intervals before a 45 second all-out blast to the finish.

This had been a challenging session, but we were soon in the grip of that post-workout buzz, drawing lungfuls of oxygen and basking in the afterglow of our exertions. We’d not only torched some of the party pounds but had also dragged ourselves out of that mid-week slump and left feeling re-energised and ready for whatever the week could throw at us.

David really is a fantastic trainer with infectious enthusiasm and an uncanny knack for being able to focus the mind during the most challenging parts of the workout. Regardless of your age, weight or body type, it’s clear then that the VersaClimber is a serious piece of kit which would align with all health & fitness programmes.

Sign-up to our newsletter

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


text:
Laramie Farmer’s Market Seeks Vendors

Laramie’s Thursday Local Market has openings for vendors for the 2019 season. Slots are available for the whole season or for one-time visits. The market is especially looking for vendors of early-season vegetables, fruits, and […]

Nature Ramblings: Savoring the connections

Sally Roth sroth@northfortynews.com Planning a cookout to celebrate America’s birthday? Bet you’ll be having corn on the cob, potato salad, sliced tomatoes, maybe even a chocolate cake, yum! Gotta have a bowl of guacamole, too, […]