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6 Ways to Protect Your House Pets from the Health Risks of Roof Rat Infestation

Roof rats may seem simply playful while running around your house, but their actions can cause deadly risks to humans and pets at home. Oh yes, you have read that right! Not only your human lives can be threatened by roof rats but also pet lives.

It’s a given that roof rats are the major stressors and troublemakers when it comes to damaging house structures. They lead to exasperating concerns with regards to house destructions and impairments, yet what’s more disturbing is the health dangers that these black rats can bring to you and to your sweet furry babies.

Just like humans, house pets, specifically cats and dogs, can get infected by diseases brought by roof rats’ presence at home. These illnesses include leptospirosis, typhus, trichinosis, hantavirus, salmonellosis, tularemia and toxoplasmosis. All these are lethal.

Prevention will forever be better than cure, so before you suffer from your pet’s suffering caused by roof rats, know how you can safeguard your dear darlings. Here are 6 ways to protect your house pets from the health risks of roof rat infestation at home!

dog vet - roof rat

You must be visiting your pet’s doctor for consultation and checkup to make sure that they are growing well and healthy. Ask for advice whether or not your pets need to be vaccinated against rat-related infections such as leptospirosis which is a common death-causing illness in house pets.

Enlighten the doctor that you are facing a roof rat infestation trouble at home, and while you are working on freeing from it, you want to make sure that your pets are safe. Strictly follow the veterinarian’s prescription because some pets are not recommended and not suitable for these kinds of vaccination. That is most especially if they are carrying other health conditions.

dog symptoms - roof rat

Having the right health information about animals and about possible illnesses will help you take care of your valued pets more efficiently.

Be informed of the signs and symptoms of various diseases brought about by roof rats. In that way, you will be very much happy and relieved to see none of them manifesting through your pets. On the other hand, you will be wiser and quicker to act upon the issue if ever you witness these signifiers of infections on them.

Typical signs that something’s wrong with your pets’ health are fever, drowsiness, nausea, loss of appetite and loose bowels. Leptospirosis can lead to kidney and liver complications, and these symptoms also include light cough. Tularemia exhibits dehydration, high fever, abdominal pain and swollen lymph nodes as its signs too. Hantavirus has symptoms similar to flu that’s why it’s commonly mistaken as the latter.

Check out the skin color, eye color and breathing conditions of your pets. Know that discoloration, inflammation, haemorrhage and breathing difficulties are alarming signs of possible roof rat infection on pets.

Consult the veterinarian for proper medical diagnosis. Body examinations are a must to know what causes your pet to be sick. Closely monitor pets, and let them have the essential treatments straightaway.

dog - roof rat

Some dogs are trained and tested that they will not recklessly pick up and munch on just anything that seems food to them. Unfortunately though, not all pets are like these pets. Some are filled with so much curiosity and activity that lead them to trying out anything regardless if it’s real food or not.

That is dangerous, especially when you have rat traps and baits placed around the house. These come-ons are to lure, catch and terminate roof rats, so they are poisonous to house pets as well. When you are in a public place where roof traps are set around, do not let your dog walk around unleashed, especially when you know they pick up what they see around. Moreover, when rap traps already capture rats, they become more toxic.

To avoid this peril, locate rat baits away from house areas where your pets are often staying in. Never put these traps near pets’ sleeping zones, eating areas and potty boxes. Furthermore, do not situate their own rooms in corners where you know roof rats often run around.

dog food - roof rat

Roof rats bear viruses and bacteria that result in diseases on pets. One of the subtle ways they transmit these menacing elements is through food contamination.

Tightly seal the containers of pet food and jugs of their drinking water. Do not leave pet food outside the house where roof rats can freely roam around without much human disruption. Roof rats gnaw on anything, especially actual food even when it’s not for them. Their saliva which pollutes pet food can cause disorders in house animals that eat the food after them.

Additionally, these rodents may disrespectfully dispose of urine and droppings on your pets’ snacks. Your pets might not know that their item is dirtied until they feel very uncomfortable after drinking their own water and eating their favorite grub. To avoid these horrible risks, ascertain that all pet food lids are completely secure. Never forget to cover them after getting treats for your pets.

dog - roof rat1

Aside from gulping down contaminated food, your pet can get infected if it eats a dead roof rat. Regardless of the rat’s cause of death, it’s dangerous for your friendly pet.

Your pet may acquire the viruses and diseases that the dead rat had when it was still alive. When the roof rat is killed by the toxic traps you set around the home, and your dog eats the rat, oh no… it will pose health threats to your innocent buddy. That’s why it is your duty to make sure that your dogs won’t eat dead roof rats. Supervise them and what they take in their mouths. Better, again, don’t let them come near roof rats’ turfs.

dog - roof rat

The best way to protect your cherished pets from health problems by roof rats is to get rid of those rodents from your house!

If you are aware that there’s roof rat infestation in your dwelling, attend to it immediately before things get worse. Smartly use and position rat traps at home. Regularly examine your roofs where roof rats commonly reside, and scrutinize hidden house areas where they might be roosting. Trim nearby trees which can be used by roof rats to transport to your roofs and to your interiors. Clean the house thoroughly. Throw away food sources that attract roof rats and materials that can be used as nests. Maintain homely surroundings without the presence of these black rats.

These are just some ways to liberate your house from roof rats that can ruin your house and can bring life-threatening dangers to you and your pets. Do not hesitate to make the right move before it’s too late.

Read Also:  10 Natural ways to treat Jaundice

You can shield your house pets more than they can do for themselves. Aside from giving them the love and care they deserve, see to it that you embrace them with tough protection against disease-causing bacteria that can lead to death, all in all brought by roof rats.

Door replacements, floor refurbishings, roof repairs, post removals, furniture restorations and home improvements are no doubt expensive, but paying for them is so much better than seeing your beloved pets get sick and die from roof rats’ deeds. More than structural destruction, roof rats can do a lot of nuisance to human lives and pet lives.

Be a responsible homeowner and pet owner. Keep roof rats away from home to keep your family, including furry babies, healthy and unharmed.

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Nicole Ann Pore is a writer, an events host and a voice over artist. Quality and well-researched writing is her worthwhile avenue to enlighten and delight others about things that matter. She is a daytime writer for Young & Co Roofing Manchester, an excellent roofing and cladding company in Greater Manchester. Nicole graduated Cum Laude from De La Salle University Manila, Philippines with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts.

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A Wedding Day is Like No Other Day!

I photographed a wedding on Saturday. When I first met the couple they seemed shy, did not care much for photography, and they were not sure at all how this was going to work out since they really did not want to be photographed–they did not consider themselves photogenic or just simply did not like the intrusion of a 3rd person into their private lives. They hired me though well before the wedding–nearly a year before.

So when the rehearsal and the wedding the day after came, I was shocked to see what fun people they were. They loved to play, act funny, laugh and have a good time–no alcohol either which made it even more special. Needless to say they are both amazing on photos and I had one of the best weddings I had every experienced! The warmth of the family, them making us part of the family (I had 2 other photographers with me, as I always do.

Newly wed couple

The couple imitating poses for their upcoming first dance

The photo I am posting here is an interesting one since it carries a lot of emotions and fun yet you don’t even see their faces. It is one of my favorite photos! I am going through a phase of my art style that is taking me toward the colors of the old masters, like Rembrandt. So the colors and the mood are that of Rembrandt. This picture is not for sale of course, but just to show all of those of you who are shy of photography, that even a photo of the back of you can become a piece of art! 🙂 I hope you enjoy the photo!

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Exclusive Artist Review: Real Name Wynton – “Beginners Luck” Debut Album

Miami-based rising artist Real Name Wynton has only been active in the market the last three years, but has created quite the impact in that short amount of time. Known for his dynamically clever lyrical outbursts, visceral flow and distinctively structured bars, Wynton has managed to garner an insatiable fan base and street buzz throughout several pivotal corners of the Hip Hop spectrum. And his debut album ‘Beginners Luck’ is direct evidence.

Drawing crucial influences from industry heavyweights like J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Kanye West, Real Name Wynton comes out swinging on this record in many pivotal ways and really showcases several angles of his musicianship factors and artistic merit throughout the album duration. Utilizing a very versatile approach with a multifaceted and futuristic aura, Wynton diligently opens the record with the track “Son of a Preacher”. A song with a flow that is visceral and cleverly executed. This crafty opener carries a wholesome flavor that is futuristic and multi-layered, giving the listener a listening experience that grabs the undivided attention, uninterrupted. Another notable track is “Dirty Money”, a very rhythmic track that continues to touch on the innovative production value and next level beat structures that are consistently present throughout this album. Wynton’s versatile vocal style also comes to further fruition on this track, taking the listener on a journey into his craft and musical presence. Most notable track on this album however is the anchor single “Bout 30”, a clever set of bars that showcase several angles of Wynton’s dynamically distinctive vocal deliveries. This track has a cruising rhythm that adds a perfect sense of balance and composure, continuing to give the listener a visceral listening experience, but perhaps at its climactic peak. The lyrical transitions on this track are smooth, creative and really set the tone for what this album offers in its entirety. It pays distinctive attention to detail and really brings together a signature sound that is clever, crafty and undeniably creative.

If this is your first time hearing Real Name Wynton, then this debut album will secure you into instant fan status. It’s a freshman effort that really delves deep into the rising rapper’s stylization and each track serves up a flavor that contributes to the cog of the machine. It’s a creative listening experience from start to finish and will undoubtedly leave an impression on you that will garner staying power. ‘Beginners Luck’ is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and several other digital music streaming platforms. You’ll be more than glad you checked it out.

© Artist Reach, LLC | ASCAP | All Rights Reserved

Exclusive Artist Review: STB The Don – “Project Home” Mixtape

Rising 22-year-old recording artist STB The Don has been hitting the ground running since his inception into the Hip Hop world. His distinctive, hypnotic signature sound is a very visceral listening experience and is made apparent now more than ever in his newest effort ‘Project Home’, an anthemic 10-track mixtape with many crucial defining factors that delve deep into the artist’s artistic merit.

This record is anything but ordinary. Opening tracks “Sobriety Check”and “Hooligan” are very ambient and versatile, capturing a futuristic aura with old school elements accompanied by impressively stylistic bars and a smooth flow. These two tracks in particular really showcase STB’s craft in a way that is effective as well as objective, and really shines a light on his multifaceted approach. The clever lyrical outbursts are diligently put-together, giving each track their own narrative and structure to give a great sense of ability, balance and composure. Another notable track is “Don’t Understand”, which garners a heavy presence of crucial 90s influences emanating from the beat structure, offering up an element of nostalgia not often heard in today’s Hip Hop realm. It’s a refreshing track with a well-written hook, serving up a tasteful melody that parallels brilliantly with the song’s witty bar execution. This one showcases STB at a different angle but supplies the consistency and effectiveness of the previous tracks, giving the listener a taste of versatility as the record plays out. There’s impressive twists and turns on several tracks and you’ll get several doses of many crucial artist elements throughout the mixtape’s duration.

If this is your first time hearing STB The Don, then you’re in for quite a treat. ‘Project Home’ will absolutely cement every listener into fan status, if they aren’t one already that is. The record officially drops on July 9th and will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and several other digital music streaming platforms.

© Artist Reach, LLC | ASCAP | All Rights Reserved

Exclusive Artist Review: Jeremiah Davincii – “The Patricia Hills Son” LP

If there’s one thing Jeremiah Davincii has proven – it’s that he’s no ordinary rapper. Because today’s mainstream market largely doesn’t touch in any rawness or realness, but JD definitely does and his latest full length ‘The Patricia Hills Son LP’ is further definitive proof of that.

This record has several pivotal moments, clever lyrical outbursts and gemstone tracks from beginning to end on this double album. Jeremiah’s style is gritty, real, surreal and truly versatile in its delivery and really captures the essence of realness in just about every track, but also successfully delves into separate themes as each bar plays out. His track “Forever” is a song about his grandmother that shares the same emotional resemblance to Tupac’s ‘Dear Mama”. It’s vulgar-free, heartfelt, wholesome and truly visceral in its atmosphere. The beat structure and multi layers accompany the emotions of this song very diligently, capturing the essence of the theme of a loved one’s affection in a way that is relatable and real. It’s a true gem for anyone looking to get heart as the song’s true centerpiece. Another milestone on this record is “Ballad For The Fallen”. Another visceral track with a brilliant 90s beat that has an anthemic vibe accompanying it. This one delves into Jeremiah’s appreciation for his influences and really encompasses a crafty beat that is rhythmic and cohesive. Capturing the same level of emotion as the previous track, this song really explores other angles of his artistic merit, but still diligently carries his consistency in a way that is effective and well thought out. The coherent bars have a very versatile flow and you can truly hear his multifaceted approach on this song from start to finish.

One more notable track on this LP is “Let Us Pray”, a powerful song about having God on your side. An anthem about having a higher power have your back through the prospects of the good and bad. This one is a banger and really ups the energy in terms of content and coherence. Jeremiah delivers very soulful bars on this song and truly brings the eyes of adversity to the surface full circle – deeply diving into themes that capture the value of life, confidence and just knowing that you can get anywhere and do anything with God having your back. This epic number is another song with excellent flow that is viscerally appealing and insatiably crafty. This track is definitely a gem on this record and can even hold its place as a stand alone single.

These songs are next level with emotions running full speed, but still subtle enough to listen in with vital perspective. Jeremiah Davincii shines bright on this record and will undoubtedly draw in many new ears with the wholesomeness that emanates from start to finish. It’s available now on several digital platforms and is one for the books for JD’s career.

© Artist Reach, LLC | ASCAP | All Rights Reserved


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Skammdegi series: Jakub Jančo

“Nature is powerful here – that is the best part (in Iceland).” ~ Jakub Jančo

1.   Can you share with us your background and how it relates to your artistic practice?

I was born and raised in a mountain village in Slovakia. During my MFA, I attended exchange programs in Finland and in the United States.

During my studies in Finland, I stayed in a small town, close to the Russian border. My photography teacher lent me her Leica and I took it with me to take pictures around the town. It was a very flat and quiet place, with basic elements of landscape, the forest, houses and lakes. I found my approach to photography there, it was a lot of aimless wandering, where you always find something unexpected.

2. Can you tell us more about your work?

I am an abstract thinker. I like to observe situations and look for “living systems” and patterns or repetitions in life. Photography is a lot about framing. It shows the world in a specific time at a specific moment. I see it as a basic appreciation of being in world. The ordinary scene captured by a camera shows the moment that can be poetic, tragic and funny at the same time.

3. Is Listhús your first residency? Why did you decide to join the Skammdegi Festival?

Yes, it is my first residency. I wanted to see Iceland. I also thought it is a good idea to help with the hosting of a residency, to see of I would like to run my own in future.

4.  Is Skammdegi Festival the first festival you participated in?

Yes, but I have taken part in a workshop with 21 international students before, it was a lot of fun. Similar to a festival, it involved creating your own work and sharing with others.

5. How do you feel after living in Ólafsfjörður/Iceland for a month (December) so far?

Nature is very powerful here. This is the best thing about Iceland. The raw nature you can experience in Ólafsfjörður – blizzards, gales and big waves – it’s remarkable.

With the weather and darkness in winter, you have to make plans ahead. It is also quite expensive to travel in Iceland, so I haven’t seen much in the country yet. I walk around the town a lot and visited Siglufjörður. Sometimes I feel a bit stranded between the tunnels (connecting Ólafsfjörður to Siglufjörður and Dalvíku), but in a way it’s good because I can concentrate and work with my little photo ‘archive’.

6.  What is your plan for the second half of Skammdegi, in January? What are you going to create/present during Skammdegi Festival?

I want to do something physical, work with materials in this spectacular environment, use different elements like the sea, fire, earth (black sand) or the darkness.

I will make some use of the “leftovers” from the New Year’s eve bonfire nearby the beach, make some sculptures from the metal. I have already constructed some objects and I am thinking how to push it further, where to I place them, maybe around the beach or the lake. I am also considering to leave them there as a public installation after the opening.

One of our challenges exhibiting in Ólafsfjörður is to attract audience. We have to find some ways to bring them there or make it interesting.

7.  What is your plan for 2018?

I want to concentrate on my career and continue with my business. I would also like to set up a proper studio in Slovakia. Then maybe I will expand it in the future as a kind of communal workshop and invite artists to work together.

Jakub Jančo is a visual artist from Slovakia. His work looks at people or situations as they unfold: moments that reflect our biased understanding of the world or moments that are beyond human narratives. Website:

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My 5K valley of despair

MOST PEOPLE CAN imagine running 5K, just a shade over 3 miles. It’s like running across town, or over to the supermarket and back. What’s the big deal?

In fact, the 5K is a very challenging distance, if you run it to the edge of your ability. That’s because you’ll be running harder than you ever do in training for any sustained length of time. It’s anaerobic, and your heart rate will reach its uncomfortable maximum before the end.

Within minutes of the start, you’ll realize your body isn’t going to do it willingly, or with ease, and that the last third will be a test of your ability to suppress the urge to slow down. You won’t necessarily want to stop, but you’ll lose the urge to push, to compete (to catch the runner ahead of you, or hold off the one nipping at your heels), and especially to run faster still over the last kilometre.

You’ll pass through a “valley of despair”, so to speak, when you’ll question why you race at all and whether the tiredness and pain is worth it. Everyone passes through the valley on their way to a best performance, according to our club coordinator John Marsden. He says, “If at that point, you don’t feel that it’s impossible, you have not run fast enough. Yet, every time I am there, it seems without end.”

Sebastian Junger also discusses a “valley” in his recent book about American soldiers in Afghanistan. He remembers college running as teaching him to “negotiate the long process of physical collapse.” He observes that, “when you start hurting, you’re not even close to the bottom of the valley, and that if you don’t panic at the first agonies, there’s much, more of yourself to give.” In other words, successful racing is equal parts physical training and mental resilience. Getting both aspects to work in sync is tougher than it might seem.

All my dozens of 5K races over the last decade have been run in the small window of 18–20 minutes of duration. My first was in about 19:45 and my best in 18:10. All the others were in between, with many clustered around 18:45. I’ve never won a race – the best times for local races are usually in the 15–17 minute range, by guys in their 20s – but I’m usually in the top 10 or 20 runners.

Even when I was injured for over a year, and my training involved an elliptical machine at the club, swimming, and the occasional treadmill jog, I still managed to race 5Ks in fewer than 20 minutes, or 4 minutes per kilometre. That became my threshold pace. Anything around 4 was considered “tempo” pace – a weekly workout for 20 minutes, winter and summer. Faster than that – 3:45 or better, even for short repeats like one kilometer – was “race” pace.

When I still lived in Elora and had no running club to train with, my friend Chris Frappier and I would jog 5K out to the Belwood Lake dam on the stone dust trailway, then race back to the edge of Fergus in a friendly time trial. We scraped a mark in the gravel at 3K, and tried to hit that by 11 minutes, which meant a 3:40 pace – racing hard in other words, side by side, no talking possible, a silent, two-person test of wills. Sometimes Chris would win, and sometimes I would, but not by much.

When we entered 5K races together, Chris and I were inseparable. He was very disciplined, and our goal was to run the race as evenly as possible, with identical 3:45 kilometre splits. This always meant that after 3K we started catching other runners, not suddenly, but gradually pulling alongside (or passing them, one of us on each side!), then leaving them dejectedly behind. They’d started a shade too fast, the most common mistake of all, and paid the price in the closing third of the race, as we finished 20–30 seconds ahead, surging the last kilometre in 3:30, our fastest split of the race.

One warm June day in 2003 I ran the Pride and Remembrance 5K in Toronto. Without Chris and no kilometre markers on course I started way too fast. I could still see the race leader when we hit the one mile mark (he would finish in 15 minutes) and the race volunteer called out “5.26”. I gasped at the number. Although I couldn’t divide that by 1.6 in my head to convert to kilometer pace, I knew it was below 3:30 – too fast. And soon my legs and lungs were telling me the same thing. This time it was my turn to get passed by half a dozen runners in the second half of the race. But I hung on nonetheless, confusingly expecting to finish the race at Bay Street, and realizing it was still two long blocks across Yonge and over to Church. I ran as hard as possible for that stretch, preventing any further “catches” and sprinting to the finish line.

To my surprise I ran a personal best in 18:10 – a good 30 seconds faster (about 150 metres in terms of distance) than any of my recent races. The fatigue at the end was like nothing I’d ever felt before. I walked down a small alleyway trying to recover. When I emerged five minutes later I ran into my wife Nichola, who immediately thought something was terribly wrong from the hollowed out look on my face. “I’m okay,” I assured her, “just need a few more minutes and some water.” Fully 10 minutes after the race, I started to feel normal again and returned to cheer other runners in for their finishes.

I don’t really know why I excelled beyond my usual ability in that race, but it had something to do with getting through that valley of despair, even though I reached it much earlier than I usually do in the 5K, with over half of the race left to run. Something intangible just clicked in my head, and I was able to push harder than I had ever before in a road race, even though I had nothing tangible to gain or lose.

I wasn’t close to the 18-minute mark again for many, many years, although I could consistently break 19 minutes. After moving to Guelph, I joined the Victors running club, and for six months of every year (May to October) we did the sort of training that is supposed to improve your 5K time: weekly speed repeats on the track, varying in length from 400 to 1600 metres. For me, most of these were run at a pace of 90 seconds per lap or faster – which translates into 3:45 per kilometre pace exactly. The theory is that if you can run 5 kilometres or more at that pace in training, albeit over short distances with recovery time in between, then you’ll accustom your body to running at that pace for a full race.

However, my 5K times were stubborn. Despite the additional speed training, I seemed stuck at around 18:40, and nothing I could do would make it any easier or faster.

Then strangely, after a winter of outside tempo runs and hills (but no speed repeats) my legs got mysteriously faster. I first discovered this last March, at the 30-kilometre Hamilton extravaganza known as “Around The Bay.” Early in the race I realized that my trusty old 4 minutes per kilometre tempo pace felt easy peasy in the early going, and I finished in a shade over 2 hours. This meant that a pace I’d previously found “hard”, and would sustain only for about 20 minutes in training, was now “comfortably hard” – and by extension, all my paces, down to 5K race pace, would be correspondingly faster.

After running personal bests at 15K a month later, then also at 10K, I knew that my 5K mark was likely to fall as well. On Father’s Day I raced the Waterloo Classic, and deliberately chose the 5K, not the 10K that I usually raced there. My new target pace was a full 10 seconds faster than ever before – 3:35 – which would bring me home in under 18 minutes, my goal.

I hit the 1K mark at almost precisely that, and the same for 2K, but then we had to climb a small hill, turn around and repeat the hill, all the while feeling the growing heat of a summer sun. By 3K I was running steadily, but my pace had slipped perceptibly. I was in the valley, both literally and figuratively, and my will to mount the other side was slipping as I passed the 4K mark. Sub-18 was still within my grasp, but I needed to run faster for the final kilometre. I dug down, and thought I’d done it, but when I rounded the last corner and saw the finish line clock 30 metres away, it was already counting “17.57, 17.58, 17.59 …”

I finished in 18:06 – a personal best, 7th place out of 527 runners, first in my age group, and my fastest 5K in 7 years – but felt a small pang of disappointment because I was a tiny bit shy of my goal. It’s funny how the last third of a race always feels like a near impossibility as you run, but just minutes later you can ask yourself, “Couldn’t I have squeezed 6 seconds more out of that last kilometre?” Well, you didn’t, which is all there is to it, and you can’t easily get yourself back in that position to see if your will or your body will be any stronger.

I didn’t have another chance to race 5K all summer long, and although there were several local 5Ks in the fall, other obligations kept me from racing. My last good chance was a unique event: the annual Guelph Victors 5000 metre track time trial on a cool September evening.

A track 5K had several advantages: I could monitor my pace constantly, aiming for consistent 87-second laps; I could get pacing help from my club mates, at least in the early going; there would be lots of verbal encouragement from volunteers who knew what I was aiming for; and the course was pancake flat. On the minus side, running 12-1/2 laps at race pace is a daunting mental task; we run that hard every week, but only for a handful of laps before stopping to recover.

At the start line on the backstretch of the track I confirmed my pace with club mate Matt, a triathlete 10 years or so my junior who had been having a great season. He agreed to run at 87-second pace with me for as long as possible. We’d have one other guy, Jonathan, ahead of us, but he was significantly faster and would be no help in pacing.

If you’re not a runner, you might think there is nothing more to racing than choosing a target pace and then sticking to it. However, there are intangibles that come into it when you’re racing so close to your limit. It’s not just a matter of gutting it out when the going gets hard. You can often tell in the opening third of a race, by how manageable your target pace feels, whether you’ve been realistic or not. If things are going well, it doesn’t mean you won’t have to work hard at the end – it just gives you a boost of confidence that today it might all be possible. You might find a detour out of the valley of despair.

I felt optimistic almost immediately as Matt and I started ticking off the laps, taking turns in the lead. If not easy, the pace still felt controlled and manageable. I could even let my mind drift a tiny bit, gaining some precious ground without thinking about the difficulties ahead of me too much. With each lap we crossed a timing mat and I punched my watch for the split – 86, 87, 86 … By the fifth lap, I’d lost Matt. At first, he didn’t return to his usual place in front of me, and then I lost the sound of his footsteps as well. No matter, I was in a groove, and he’d helped me get there.

By miraculous calculation, I was able to discern my time at the halfway point, which was an unusual spot three-quarters of the way around the track: 8:57, three seconds faster than 18-minute pace. This was both a confirmation and a disappointment. My pacing was working and I didn’t need to run any faster in order to attain my goal. However, I was already feeling very depleted, and the prospect of another 9 minutes at this pace was intimidating. I was descending into the valley after all. After that I lost count of the laps, but my splits started to slip off target: 88, 89, 90 … I couldn’t really do the math, but I knew that I had fallen behind my goal pace by a small amount – perhaps 5 seconds or more. I had two laps to go.

I’m not a 20-something-year-old competitive athlete, with everything on the line. Racing is my hobby, not my dream or my vocation. What is the pull, the tonic, the addiction? Why keep coming back for something that hurts so much? Wouldn’t 3 or 4 moderate runs a week on my neighbourhood streets be enough to simply keep me in shape?

I found an answer of sorts in a short story from a recent collection by Alexander McLeod. He writes in Miracle Mile:

“We have to scrounge for meaning wherever we can find it and there’s no way to separate our faith from our desperation. You see it everywhere. Football hooligans, scholars of Renaissance poetry, fans of heavy metal music, car buffs, sexual perverts, collectors of all kinds, extreme bungee jumpers, lonely physicists, long distance runners and tightly wound suburban housewives who want to make sure they entertain in just the right way. All of us. We can only value what we yearn for and it really does not matter what others think.”

So here I am with two laps to go, and I’m a little behind my goal. How much does it matter to me if I break 18 minutes? John Marsden, who’s keeping time, says to me quietly as I pass, “C’mon, you can do it.” In addition to the valley metaphor, he also told me that once your mind sees the possibility of finish, it will sometimes release your body to run faster than you ever thought possible. Indeed, that’s what happens. My second last lap is 86 seconds, and suddenly I’m aware that my goal is within reach, albeit only with a furious final 400 metres, my fastest lap of the race.

Teammate Christina encourages me on the backstretch – “You’re there Art” – and so does Sandy when I lap him on the final corner – “No problem Art!” I can see the clock as I storm the last 100 metres, but it’s counting faster than seems possible: “17:52, 17:53 …” I put my head down and go, crossing the finish in 17:59.

I’m gasping for a while, but not as desperately as I remember in Toronto all those years ago. I’m surprised that I managed to crack 18 minutes. It means I must have run the last lap in about 80 seconds, not something I would have thought possible after 16+ minutes of hard running. Even when I’m fully rested, 70 seconds is about my best for 400 metres these days.

A light rain starts falling, then the sun bursts underneath the clouds near the horizon, and for a few glorious moments we’ve got a brilliant rainbow overhead, then a second one below it. Double rainbow! Other runners are finishing, the whole club within a few minutes of each other. Everyone is happy to be out of the valley. Several achieve personal bests after a summer of training. It’s a joyous celebration at the finish line. John flashes me a big grin, Matt and I shake hands.

By the next morning, it’s just a memory, and of very little consequence. As an unofficial club trial, it’s not even posted on a race website anywhere, and there’s no prize for my second place finish. But the accomplishment is mine, my 5K personal best, the fastest I’ve run the distance since high school, giving me a giddy feeling as I go about the usual chores and tasks associated with a working day.

“We can only value what we yearn for …”

One Comment Post a comment
  1. Monica Forget #

    HI Art… I’ve just spent the best part of an hour reading several of your stories. You have a wonderful writing gift! Thank you.

    January 22, 2016

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Every breath you take

At this time of the year Vancouver is verdant, warm and blooming. And well it should be: spring has already been on the go for two months, or sometimes even four.

Ten years ago, I was out visiting my mum, who was in the Delta hospital at Ladner, B.C., south of the city. She had been there for seven weeks, with the last four in palliative care, as the breast cancer she’d had for 17 years metastasized its way into her liver, having already invaded her bones.

Vancouver in spring – rhododendrons everywhere

Mum didn’t much like being in bed. She was always a doer. I only once remember her being sick when I was a child, felled by pneumonia for a solid week. Despite four kids in the house, and Dad desperately trying to cook for us, the place was way too quiet. There were with no shrieks of riotous laughter, exclamations of “Eureka!” at the discovery of a lost object, or shouts of “corn in Egypt!”, the religious metaphor she used to express sudden good fortune.

As the cancer swelled her belly and sapped her strength, my sisters and I still had to amuse Mum, which fortunately wasn’t very hard. We could read to her, tell her stories, and hold her hand when she nodded off into a nap.

We took advantage of her clarity of mind, even as her body failed, and we would put her on the phone to far-flung friends, sometimes with people she hadn’t spoken to in years. She always struck up a normal conversation, never maudlin, connecting quickly with whoever was on the line, asking them all about their lives and news.

Once I heard her tell an old Ottawa girlfriend, “I’m not sure what we do here all day, but it’s amazing how busy we are when there’s nothing to do!” With her time so finite, she was living for the moment, grateful for each new day, and with no expectations about how it would end.

Reading to my mum at the Delta hospital

Reading to my mum at the Delta hospital

However, in quieter moments, she would sometimes get a puzzled look on her face, and she’d ask us searchingly, “Am I doing this right?” By this, she meant, dying. Despite having lots of experience with death (she lost her father at the age of 10, an apparent suicide, but without a body – he just disappeared), she was unprepared as anyone for her own.

What could we say? We assured her that yes, she was doing it perfectly, even as we wondered about our own competence in our new roles. “The blind leading the blind” was a favourite phrase of Mum’s, and so was “the last stand of the amateur.” By this she meant simply, you often have to do things in life you feel wholly unprepared for.

The Delta hospital was acute care, with Mum’s single palliative room, and no easy way to get outside, no courtyard or any comfort like that for patients. So, one evening at dusk my sister Gyata and I pushed her to the end of the hallway where she could see the north shore mountains far in the distance as the sky turned orange behind them.

She sat by the window, closed her eyes, and felt the little puffs of fresh air coming through, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face and smelling the blooms outside. She breathed deeply and exclaimed, “Ah, that’s really nice,” as if she were a little girl experiencing it for the very first time. She couldn’t know it was the last time she’d breath fresh air, and it didn’t matter. She absorbed the experience totally.

Mum, outside near the Pacific Ocean she loved

Mum, outside near the Pacific Ocean she loved

She died a few days later, ten years ago today, on May 12, 2006, also my wife’s birthday. She was 82. I can’t say I think of her every single day now, but when memories do come, like the ones above, they are strong and true. Her essential character remains very much alive for me.

4 Comments Post a comment
  1. burna #

    Another beautiful piece, Art. Thanks so much for sharing. Your Mom sounds like such an amazing woman. Also checked out your recipes on this time through your blog. Will have to give them a try. They look delicious.

    May 12, 2016
  2. Beth Ellis #

    Thanks Art for these memories. I had forgotten the exact date mum died, so thank you. I loved the pictures you chose for the post and the phrases you remembered that she use to say. The picture of her lying in the hospital bed brought back such memories.

    I too think of her often. She was a wonderful mum.

    May 12, 2016
  3. Debby #

    Beautiful, Art. I loved her comment “Am I doing this right?” It must be quite a feeling to be so aware of of your own dying. Sounds like your mother faced it straight on, humbly accepting it for what it was.

    May 12, 2016
  4. Art, your piece on Starlings death was a testimonial of your ability to describe a painful situation in loving and elevating thoughts. I knew your mother from only a few meetings, the last as a guest in her house. She was a strong woman capable of taking on life’s challenges which she retained till the end, which you so elegantly described. PJ

    May 25, 2016

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Conservation on the Road: Caring for Masonry

19 Jun 2021
Timeslots at 2pm - 2.45pm and 3.15pm - 4pm.
Marble Hill House

Discover more about our core work - maintaining stone structures. We will look at re-pointing using different types of mortar and visitors will be able to have a go at mixing their own mock mortar to repair a miniature wall section.
Suitable for all. Please meet us next to the Marble Hill cafe.

Suitable for ages 12 and above.

29 May and 18 June timeslots at 2pm - 2.45pm and 3.15pm - 4pm.

30 May and 19 June timeslots at 3.15pm - 4pm.

Follow this link to book your tickets using our online system. To enjoy this event, ensure you select an event day (30 May or 19 June), and make sure you bring your booking confirmation with you when you visit. If you have any questions about this event please email

This is a free event with a suggested donation of £3. To donate please text HERITAGE to 70460. To find out more about the work that we do and how your donation makes a difference, please click here.

The Conservation in Action Van is supported by Sir Robert McAlpine.

Presented by English Heritage c/o Marble Hill


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Pearl Charm

The panache of the ivory dewdrops of the ocean, on full display. Hosted by the firm grasp of our handcrafted bezel made of precious recycled silver available in gold vermeil, sterling silver or ravishing rhodium plating.

With our lifetime warranty, this pearl will be the gem of queens and queen of gems.

Part of our 🐝... CHARMING and Pearl: Drops of Ocean collections.
Part of our Spring Summer 2021 collection.

We design and craft hand-finished recycled precious metal in both our sterling silver and gold vermeil jewelry.
We only source ethically ensuring each and every stone is set with precision by hand.
Our manufacturing has been approved by SEDEX, the world’s best ethical manufacturing compliance agency. Our focus of manufacturing is not only the environment, from which we accrue our resources, but also the employees who are the foundational blocks of our entire brand. We are revered, in the trade, for adopting the latest technological advances, incorporating moral, ethical, and ecological practices into the day-to-day functioning of the company.
We manufacture with techniques that are sustainable, environmentally friendly, and economical.
We work in-house and our unit has a team of over 250 talented artisans that handcraft each and every element of our pieces.

All Arvino pieces are protected with an anti-tarnish barrier. In order to maximize the life of your ARVINO jewelry, we suggest following the below care instructions:

1. With time and wear, Sterling Silver Jewelry gets oxidized and eventually tarnish. Please store the jewelry in Arvino Pouch to avoid tarnishing while not using the jewelry.

2. Preserve your jewelry's plating properties by avoiding contact with cleaning agents, beauty products, water, chemicals and sanitizers.

3. Remove jewelry prior to exercise or swimming.

4. Keep the chains lock fastened to avoid tangling.

    We offer a Lifetime Warranty on all our pieces. Please note that in order for the warranty to be valid, customers need to follow the above given instructions.

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Wishing on Willows... a book review

by Katie Ganshert
Available NOW
WaterBrook Press
ISBN: 9780307730404
Fiction / Christian / Romance
As the sole owner of Willow Tree Cafe, Robin has poured her heart and soul into the business.  After the death of her husband, Micah, she renovates an old storefront with blood, sweat, tears, as their long-awaited child grows within her.
After four years of running the cafe, the town hires McKay Corporation to build condominiums on the site of her beloved store.  Robin digs in her heels and refuses to sell to the builder; if she sells, then One Life Ministry would lose its space, too.  As she wrestles with losing her cafe and her memories of her late husband, Robin becomes attracted to Ian - the developer working with the town mayor who is trying to "force" her out.... of course, for the good of the town of Peaks.
Katie Ganshert has written a moving novel about loss, grief, and recovery.  We all live through painful seasons in life: death of a loved one, a job loss, a broken marriage, depression.  Wishing on Willows invites us into Robin's story of healing in God's timing and His direction and reminds us how God is with us... all the time!
For more information on the book, click HERE
remember to listen to the author's podcast.
My rating: A
4.5 out of 5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of Wishing on Willows for my honest review from their Blogging for Books review program.

  1. Thanks for the great review.

    BTW--I have 5 giveaways going on at my site this week if you're interested in stopping over. Hope you have a wonderful week!

    Diane :)

  2. Sounds very uplifting! I love the title!

Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts with me! I look forward to getting to know you better.

If you do not wish to sign-in, please email me your comments and I will post them. Due to too many spam comments, I have chosen to close the comments to anonymous users. Thank you for understanding. ~ Ellen

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I was born in San Francisco and raised in dance studios, voice lessons, and on the stage.  Originally trained as a ballet dancer, I performed in many a dance recital and spent almost 10 Christmases twirling to the score of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. I competed in regional and national dance competitions including YAGP, StarQuest, Starbound, Showstoppers, ADA, IDC, and many other competitions involving various letters and the word “star” in the title.

All the while I was taking hours-long showers and using the bathroom as my personal in-home concert venue. This was my place to practice my vocal repertoire, most of which centered around the 2009 soundtrack of Hairspray.  As I got older I eventually married music and dance and started performing in a magical thing called “musicals.”

Fast forward a few years….

Hope Harcourt, age 11 #anythinggoes

I took the plunge and moved cross country to study at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.  I recently graduated with my BFA in Drama, having studied at the New Studio on Broadway and Stonestreet Studios. I learned from some of the best including (but not limited to) Kent Gash, Michael McElroy, Randy Graff, Eden Espinosa, Kenneth Noel Mitchel, Francesca Harper, Byron Easley, Dame Barbara Tirrell and Ted Sluberski.

Last fall, I made my Off-Broadway debut in KPOP, produced by Ars Nova in association with Ma-Yi Theatre and Woodshed Collective, and also the winner of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical.  I also am currently making my national tour debut with the 2018 National Tour of A Chorus Line, directed by Baayork Lee.

If I’m not onstage, you will probably find me eating a burrito bowl, and enjoying my full brita, amazon prime, spotify jazz playlists, and using my lap desk to binge-watch TV in bed.  I also work as a photographer, you can check out my work here.

Thanks for checking out my page!

Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, and Vimeo!


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Ask Your Question

How to change keyboard shortcuts in fedora mate desktop?

asked 2016-08-06 19:20:05 -0500

pdixit gravatar image

Hi, I am using fedora 24 desktop. after installing mate desktop environment in it I found that the keyboard shortcuts are different from the Gnome Desktop. For example if i want to open application menu then i need to press alt+f1 key while in gnome desktop super key (window key) is used for it.

So I want to change the keyboard shortcut keys in mate desktop. Is it possible? if yes, Please help to solve the same.

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answered 2017-02-25 22:13:27 -0500

Kilo gravatar image

The keyboard shortcut settings are located in:

System --> Preferences --> Hardware --> Keyboard Shortcuts

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Home Tech Which online accounting software is best for small businesses?

Which online accounting software is best for small businesses?

by Paresh Bramhane

Accounting software for small companies comes in a variety of flavors, each with its own set of features & price tag. In general, the type of business and the number of staff are two elements that will help a small businessman to select the right accounting software.

TechPepe has more such software for to that will help you in your business

Invoicing is the most important accounting requirement for most service-based firms. In comparison to certain other accounting software, FreshBooks allows users more invoicing customization, and this accounting software is best for small businesses or related. Its major purpose is to receive, send, print, & make payments, but it may also do simple bookkeeping for a company. Service-based firms can use this accounting software to send invoices & proposals, collect client retainers, seek deposits, track project time, & receive payments.

  • Integration with third-party apps
  • User-friendly Interface
  • Affordability
  • Cloud-based
  • Features for advanced invoicing

  • There is no payroll service.
  • There is no inventory management.
  • There are several limitations when used in the mobile app.

It is one of the highest performance accounting systems for all small companies. Not only do a number of small & medium business accounting experts use QuickBooks Online, but you will find a plethora of online training materials & forums where you may receive help if you require it. All accounting capabilities may be accessed from a single dashboard, making bookkeeping easier and more effective.

  • Adaptable
  • Third-party application integration
  • Accounting experts frequently use this term.
  • Cloud-based

  • Syncing issues with banks & credit cards occur occasionally.
  • Many users require an upgrade.

Xero gets high marks for its comprehensive features & affordable entry-level price. You may send customized invoices, reconcile bank transactions to settle the accounts, record receipts for better recordkeeping, and maintain inventory for as little as $11 monthly.

However, as a small business accounting solution, Xero really shines in terms of teamwork.

Xero’s packages all feature unlimited users, unlike practically all the other accounting services (including QuickBooks & FreshBooks). You don’t need to pay extra to assign tasks like cost monitoring or bank reconciliation to the other members of the team: time-saving coordination is included in the pricing.

  • Every subscription includes an unlimited number of users.
  • Integration of over 800 3rd party apps is simple.
  • All options include basic inventory tracking.

  • Multi-currency support, expense tracking, & project management are all available with the most costly subscription.
  • With the cheapest invoices, plans, bills, and bank transactions, reconciliation is minimal.

Best free alternative: ZipBooks

The free plan from ZipBooks isn’t the most extensive, but unlike some expensive plans, it can’t reduce the number of invoices or transactions you may receive. ZipBooks could be useful unless you’re a solopreneur or freelancer searching for the fundamentals at no extra expense.

ZipBooks is a good cheap alternative if you do not really require as many functions as Wave. Despite the fact that it is free, it does not limit the number of bills you may send (as Xero) or customers you may bill (such as FreshBooks) per month—you may access infinite customizable invoices and take payments. ZipBooks’ subscription plan begins at $15 per month and includes improved bookkeeping & automation tools.

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Do I need to hire an accountant?

Since you no longer have time to manage your accounts on your own, it is time to hire an outsourcing or in-house accountant. Accountants can manage funds, as well as to conduct invoicing, reports, as well as other financial activities.

Accountants, especially small-business owners, use accounting software. If you already have a FreshBooks, QuickBooks, or Wave account, you can easily add an accountant to the existing plans and cooperate on finances.

Which accounting software is ideal for small businesses?

Most accounting software has benefits that make it worthwhile to use, but the ideal one for you will depend on the type of business you run. For example, Wave is ideal for low-budget freelancers, Freshbooks is ideal for small-business operators who frequently travel for work, & Xero is ideal for firms with extensive fiscal coordination.

Is Freshbooks the finest small business software?

Freshbooks is undeniably one of the most famous accounting software for smaller companies, but popularity does not imply superiority. Freshbooks may be the correct fit for you, and you may find its cost to be too exorbitant and its payment plans to be too fragile. Based on your requirements, another software option such as FreshBooks or Sage may be the better fit for your company.

Selecting the perfect accounting software for your small company will drastically improve your working career. With much fewer hours spent on the manual entry, you’ll have more time to do the things you enjoy most about running a small business, such as getting to know the customers and creating goods you will be proud of.

Most of the top three recommendations either are free or come with a trial period, so do not be afraid to test a few other products if you can not find your favorite straight away.

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Varroa Mite

Summary: The Varroa mite is the scourge of the honeybee.  Like most parasites, these vampires carry virus and diseases, such as Deformed Wing Virus, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus and even Varroatosis.

The Varroa mite is a nasty little sucker (literally). Also known as the Vampire mite, the Varroa mite survives by drinking the blood of honeybees. The mite attaches itself to the outside of the bee and sucks its blood. These "vampires" are quite a problem for bees and beekeepers, for the mite not only sucks the blood of the honeybee, but also spreads the Deformed Wing Virus as well as the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAVP). The Varroa usually strikes during the fall, and sign of an infestation often spells doom for the colony.  Varroas, along with their (IAVP) baggage, are the prime suspects for the cause of the potentially disastrous Colony Collapse Disorder.

It's very easy to detest these pests. They are annoying and they sting. While there are a lot of people who are afraid of honeybees, honeybees serve a purpose. A rather important and expensive purpose, at that. The Varroa mite serves virtually no purpose at all. Its sole reason for existence is to feed off the blood of honeybees, which inevitably destroys the colony. Parasites! Vampires! Kill ˜em all, I say. Unfortunately, this may be easier said than done.

Upon closer inspection, the Varroa mite has a reddish-brown color, kind of like dry blood. Seems fitting. They are flat and are shaped like a button, approximately the size of a head of a pin. Like all mites, which belong to the Arachnid class, they have eight legs.

The female mite infiltrates a bee brood cell, and while the bee is still in its larvae stage, the mite lays her eggs on the bee larvae. The duration of the reproduction cycle take around ten days. The egg usually renders a few females and only one male. When the bee has matured and leaves its cell, the mites make their move to other bees in the colony, preferring drones.

The mite population grows or declines depending on its access to a brood. Rapid reproduction is one of the reasons why this mite is so dangerous. Another reason it is a threat to a colony is due to the timing of its infestations. The Varroa usually makes its move in the fall, which is when drone production ceases. The mite migrates over to the workers, who are the live blood of the colony. When this happens, the hive's days are numbered.

European honeybees, which are the dominate species in Europe, and North & South America, are for the most part, defenseless against the Varroa. There is some evidence of the Russian honeybee and some eastern honeybee species, putting up a fight. There is only a 50% chance that the Russkies will support mite production. Even Russian honeybees are tough. Must œbee the weather. Ok, bad joke, moving along now.

The Eastern honeybee has developed methods of grooming that remove the parasite. Keep this in mind for later. Note: Varroas attach themselves to flower feeding insects such as Bumble Bees and Scarab beetles. Yet, in these cases, reproduction is impossible and the Varroa is just along for the ride.

Now that we are properly acquainted, let's find a way to get rid of the Varroa. First, there are miticides, which when properly used, will slow the development of resistance of the mites. Some synthetic miticides include pyrethroid insecticides and organophosphate insecticides. Then, you have some natural occurring miticides like sugar esters, food-grade mineral oil and thyme oil. When using miticides it is important to be careful during application to avoid contaminating any honey.

If chemicals aren't you cup of tea, there are some non-chemical methods to consider. First, there is the use of screened bottom board. By placing a mesh screened board on the floor of the hive, mites that fall off their hosts fall through the mesh and are not able to get back to the hive. The screened bottom board also has an additional benefit to the hive, increasing circulation, which helps reduce condensation at wintertime.

Freezing the brood kills some of the brood, but also kills the mites. Since most hives have more than enough drones, the initial loss can be overcome.

Hygienic Behavior, which is rather cool, is another mite remedy. Remember the Eastern species and how they groom the mites off their bodies? Well, that behavior can be bred, giving bees specific behavior traits, such as those of the Eastern honeybee. The bees are trained to smell Varroa infected brood, which the bees remove before the infestation spreads. Adapt and overcome.

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Mice Glue Traps

Summary: The use of mice glue traps for capturing rodents has become a controversial topic. Some places have outlawed the sale of mice glue traps to the public and have developed a code of conduct for pest control professionals using glue boards.

In the past it was all about resolving a pest issue no matter what it took to do so. Poisons, snap traps, glue boards, or a ton of bricks. Throw anything and everything at the pest until it surrenders. That was then. Now, products used in the business of pest control get heavily scrutinized for everything from their effect on the environment to assuring the target pest is treated humanely.

Glue boards, in particular, are coming under heavy attack by animal rights groups who charge that rodents die a gruesome death on glue boards. Although, suffocation is most often the cause of death, some rodents do, in fact, survive for days, stuck on the glue boards, until death comes from water deprivation.

Some communities, having banned glue boards, insist that pest control professionals check glue boards more frequently so that trapped animals don't suffer. The pest control company must provide documentation on how they humanely destroy the animal once caught or show evidence of how the trapped animal is released from the glue board.

Glue boards do have their place. They are excellent insect pest monitoring tools. They do a splendid job of capturing spiders, crickets, centipedes and other occasional invading insects. They also can be used in pantries to monitor for grain pest infestations like Indian meal moths and saw-toothed grain beetles, both common pests of stored foods.

Most pest control professionals do not rely upon glue boards for large rodent control. It is very difficult to capture a full grown rat on a glue board. Rats are cautious animals and will not readily approach a new object placed in their regular travel paths. They may inspect it with one foot, but upon becoming stuck they pull off the trap and avoid it from that day forward.

Glue boards are popular for mouse control because mice are very curious and have little hesitation about moving onto a glue board. The boards are most often used in residential accounts because of the hazards of using powerful snap traps where children and pets are present. The pest control professional can place snap traps inside a protective station, but the stations may be too tall to squeeze into the spaces where the traps need to be positioned.

Many pest control companies will not use rodent baits inside homes or businesses due to the risk involved. Rodents may feed on the baits and stuff the food in the cheeks to take the poison back to their nests. However, on the way to their nests they may drop pieces of the poison making the bait accessible to non-targets such as children or pets.

Hopefully the pest control industry and animal rights groups will be able to find middle ground to work out a compromise. Taking away the pest control industry's useful tools can result in some unwanted pest backlash such as the uncontrolled outbreak of bed bugs. This disaster will be with us for years to come. It may have been averted had the pest control industry possessed some of the residual pesticides that have been removed from the market.

We should all be in favor of the proper use of glue boards. Knowing when and where to use this tool should be part of every pest control professional's training. The outright banning of glue boards would remove a much needed and environmentally safe pest management tool.

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Brazil: Amazon deforestation hits 12-year high under President Bolsonaro

Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has suffered its worst deforestation for 12 years.

An area of 11,088 km2 (2.7 million acres) – seven times the size of London – was lost in a year.

The official data from Brazil’s space research agency was released on Monday and showed a 9.5% annual increase.

Satellite images from August 2019 and July 2020 were examined to assess the damage.

Brazil will now miss its own target to keep deforestation to around 3,900km2.

In 2018, the year before controversial president Jair Bolsonaro came to power, 7,536km2 of forest was destroyed.

Mr Bolsonaro has been criticised for his attitude to the Amazon – the world’s biggest rainforest – which plays a vital role in absorbing carbon dioxide.

He has weakened Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency and urged more commercial farming and mining in the Amazon, saying it will help fight poverty.

Campaigners say his policies have emboldened illegal ranchers, miners and land grabbers to clear the forest without fear.

Greenpeace said the official data showed Para state was the most deforested, followed by Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Rondonia.

It said the destruction in Para included protected areas, indigenous lands and public lands.

Anna Jones, head of forests at Greenpeace UK, said seeing the deforestation rise again was “beyond belief”.

She said supermarkets and food companies were the ones with the power to bring about a change.

“Industrial meat and dairy is the biggest driver of deforestation,” she said.

“Yet our supermarkets and fast food chains continue to serve it up to us day after day, knowing that its production is destroying forests, threatening the lives of Indigenous communities, endangering wildlife and worsening climate change.”

Brazil’s government said the figures showed progress, as the 9.5% increase was lower than the 34% recorded in 2019.

“While we are not here to celebrate this, it does signify that the efforts we are making are beginning to bear fruit,” said Vice President Hamilton Mourao.

Huge areas of the Amazon have also seen devastating fires this year, with farmers often accused of starting them to create more land for cattle.

Sky News visited the region in September and saw areas covered by enormous clouds of smoke and ash.

Incoming US president Joe Biden has suggested the world should offer Brazil money to help stop deforestation, and threatened financial consequences if it does not do enough.

Mr Bolsonaro said such action was a threat to Brazil’s sovereignty.

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Iowa Authors Manuscripts Collection

Identifier: msc0869
Abstract Includes manuscripts, galley proofs, page proofs, dust jackets, and other miscellany associated with publications of many Iowa Authors.
Dates: 1888-1990

Filtered By

  • Names: Drake University X
  • Subject: Iowa City (Iowa) X
  • Subject: Galley proofs X


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Avoid These Seven Common Oral Hygiene Mistakes

Regularly brushing and flossing your teeth makes for good dental hygiene, but that is not all. When you have good oral health, you are less likely to suffer from heart disease, which emanates from the oral bacteria finding their way to your bloodstream. Unbeknownst to you, you might be making some of the following mistakes even as you take care of your teeth and gums.

1. Flossing All Your Teeth With Only One Section Of The Dental Floss

Flossing removes germs from the area of your gums between your teeth. Inappropriate flossing techniques will be counterintuitive and simply spread the bugs throughout your mouth. Be careful to use different sections of the floss every time.

2. Brushing Your Teeth Immediately After Meals

It might seem like the right thing for you to do when you brush your teeth after eating, but it might make matters worse instead of helping the situation. Some of the food you eat can be quite acidic. This acid remains in the mouth for some time after you have eaten. By immediately brushing your teeth after a meal, you push the acid to inaccessible parts of your teeth, and the acid eats the enamel that protects your teeth. Instead of brushing your teeth immediately, rinse out your mouth with clean water. If you must brush your teeth, wait for at least thirty minutes.

3. Brushing Too Vigorously

You might have heard that the harder you brush, the more plaque you remove, but this cannot be farther from the truth. Doing so only wears down your enamel and makes your teeth sensitive to acidity, heat, or cold. If you like taking ice cream, you should think twice about how you brush your teeth. They need tender loving care; otherwise, you might even have receding gums and exposed roots.

4. Concentrating Only On Your Teeth

Good oral hygiene does not start and end with the teeth alone, and neither does it only include the gums. Your tongue can act as a reservoir for bacteria, which will eventually lodge in your teeth and gums. Use either your toothbrush or a tongue scraperto rid your tongue of these bugs once every day.

5. Brushing Without Rinsing

The amount of fluoride you retain in your mouth after brushing your teeth could mean the difference between a productive routine and a waste of time. Rinse your mouth with a fluoride rinse or take a blob of toothpaste and swish it around your mouth with a little bit of water before spitting it out. Rinsing this way gets rid of bugs and strengthens the teeth.

6. Using The Same Brush For Too Long

You shouldn’t get too sentimental with your brush. Three or four months are enough for you to start thinking about getting a replacement. Waiting much longer than this will be pointless since the brush will have frayed bristles and won’t work effectively.

7. Brushing Momentarily

Brushing your teeth should take you no less than two minutes at a time. If you use less time than this, your teeth will not have received sufficient cleaning. The amount of time you spend brushing your upper teeth should not be less than the time it takes you to clean your lower teeth. Give them the same amount of time. A timer would be handy, but this comes with an extra cost, given the priciness of electric brushes.

Now that you know the mistakes to avoid when brushing your teeth, do the right thing; and do it correctly. Cleaning your teeth takes a scientific approach, but there is also a bit of artistry involved.

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Interview With Melena Maria

[4K video] — You won't see such adorable tits in a near future. Shaved pussies remind us the beauty of our early loves. There is nothing sweeter than a shaved pubis. Melena has a lovely shaved pussy. These small tits are the cutest things in the universe. These small tits deserve cuddles (or little slaps, it depends). There is nothing sweeter than a shaved pussy. Melena has a perfectly trimmed pussy. There is nothing sweeter than a shaved vulva.

Tags: interview, outdoors, shaved pussy, small tits, softcore, solo, filmed by ivana, shaved, shaving, shave, small boobs, small breast, high definition, high quality, HD, ultra high definition, ultra high quality, 4K

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Melena Maria
Solo, Shaved Pussy and Small Tits
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Casualty Records

Loading casualty records
ImageNameRegimentDate of death
Lieutenant Leslie Gerald Stenning Essex Regiment01/09/1915 (aged 21)
Second Lieutenant Frederick Edmund Hillebrant Royal Flying Corps, 5th Wing22/03/1917
Second Lieutenant Hugh William Evans Royal Flying Corps, 35th Sqdn.30/08/1917 (aged 19)
Private Millward 54873Somerset Light Infantry11/03/1919
Private Ratcliffe 3654London Regiment (Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles)04/08/1918
Private Balster 110288Royal Army Medical Corps15/02/1919 (aged 40)
Rifleman Ernest James Botten 9999Rifle Brigade01/03/1921 (aged 38)
Pioneer Ernest Albert Bowring WR/206557Royal Engineers26/03/1919 (aged 30)
Corporal Boxer 214343Royal Air Force07/03/1919
Sergeant Brown 1204Canadian Infantry20/09/1916
Battery Serjeant Major William Henry Noble Buckingham 1233Royal Field Artillery15/03/1915 (aged 45)
Gunner Cattell RMA/3102(S)Royal Marine Artillery21/12/1918
Sapper Chapman 502163Royal Engineers01/10/1917
Gunner Collar 911188Royal Field Artillery10/09/1918 (aged 33)
Private Corben 2492London Regiment10/08/1916
Bombardier Cox 1317Royal Horse Artillery14/05/1916
Lance Corporal Eden P/19314Military Police Corps15/08/1920 (aged 21)
Corporal William Alec Arthur Faircloth G/29654Middlesex Regiment02/05/1918 (aged 29)
Driver Stephen Herbert Fairhead 1973Royal Field Artillery10/02/1916 (aged 17)
Flight Serjeant William Rowland Felton 19461Royal Air Force, 203rd Training Depot Station02/07/1918 (aged 25)
Serjeant Grigg M2/035279Army Service Corps23/10/1918 (aged 26)
Captain William Charles Hacon Royal Air Force19/02/1919 (aged 36)
Private Halls 32886Machine Gun Corps (Infantry)15/11/1918 (aged 24)
Captain Harris Royal Air Force04/10/1918
Private Hetherington 527053Royal Army Medical Corps12/03/1919
Ordinary Seaman Kirkpatrick J/49613(CH)Royal Navy, HMS Chester01/06/1916
Serjeant Koch 22340Royal Field Artillery25/11/1919 (aged 27)
Private Luckock 19804Royal Fusiliers02/05/1918
Gunner Michael John Mcfarlane 18312Royal Garrison Artillery11/02/1919 (aged 39)
Gunner Mackie 2516Royal Field Artillery06/05/1916
Second Lieutenant Vane Carrington Manuel Royal Flying Corps, 56th Sqdn.18/12/1917
Private James Henry Moore 29478Essex Regiment10/08/1919
Private Newborough 515376London Regiment (London Scottish)01/12/1918
Serjeant Nunn 9893King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment)17/04/1920
Private John Phillips G/20779The Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment)01/08/1919 (aged 42)
Sapper Phillips 221538Royal Engineers03/04/1919 (aged 35)
Private Charles Powell 43536Lincolnshire Regiment29/01/1917 (aged 29)
Private Price 76186Royal Defence Corps26/12/1918 (aged 27)
Rifleman Arthur George Pritlove 573858London Regiment21/01/1919 (aged 32)
Driver Sidney Rainbird 173847Royal Engineers28/09/1919 (aged 41)
Gunner Edwin Walter Robinson 187063Royal Garrison Artillery14/09/1918 (aged 24)
Captain William Goodliff Scotcher Royal Air Force, 50th Sqdn.15/09/1918 (aged 28)
Private Smith 46086Bedfordshire Regiment21/10/1918
Private Terry 17258Army Pay Corps16/03/1919
Ordinary Seaman William Frank Turner J/44380Royal Navy, H,M.S. Chester29/06/1918 (aged 18)
Driver Tweddell 625025Honourable Artillery Company22/10/1918 (aged 22)
Stoker 1st Class John Walker 310955Royal Navy, HMS Pembroke II01/05/1916 (aged 40)
Corporal Jesse Walter Gordon White 8193Army Pay Corps09/02/1919 (aged 33)
Private Robert Charles White 03200Army Ordnance Corps12/04/1915 (aged 22)
Rifleman Sydney Charles Wigg S/17209Rifle Brigade19/03/1917 (aged 28)
Battery Quartermaster Serjeant William Newman Wright 926545Royal Field Artillery02/01/1917 (aged 44)
Private John Frederick Thompson CH/20533Royal Marine Light Infantry14/02/1921 (aged 22)
Private James Thomas Negus 42857Machine Gun Corps08/07/1918 (aged 20)
Loading parish list
ParishDioceseCasualtiesWith Life Story linksWith images
BarrowWest Suffolk110


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Vision 2024

On 30th August 2018, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) announced that its 2024 General Assembly will be held in Africa. This followed a bid led by South Africa, on behalf of the continent, to bring this meeting to African soil for the first time in the IAU’s 100 year history. It was always pushed as an African bid, even though the proposed location was in Cape Town, South Africa. The support for the bid was overwhelming, and the pro-Africa spirit that prevailed was significant and memorable.

When the world descends onto African soil in 2024, what do we want them to experience? This is not simply an opportunity for astronomy, this is an opportunity to change the way the world sees Africa. When a continent so often looked down upon can lead the world in a field as technical and esoteric as astronomy, then we change perceptions, we challenge preconceptions, we shake unconscious biases – we make the world think differently about the potential of all people in the world to contribute to the human endeavour. 2024 is an opportunity like no other – it is up to us[1] to maximise on that opportunity for the benefit of Africa and the world. We need to be “audacious” in our thinking and carry the continent forward to 2024 and beyond.

A working document was developed which attempts to capture that spirit and consolidate that support into a vision for 2024 that we can strive towards as a united astronomical community.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This working document serves as a brainstorming exercise for the African astronomy community. It needs to be shaped by the community in order to capture bigger picture aspirations for 2024. Not everything in this document may be related to the actual IAU General Assembly but it serves to motivate supporters and funders with a vision of where we would like to be by 2024. This document was initiated by several individuals who led the bid for 2024, in order to simply have a starting point. It was then circulated among the IAU National Committee for South Africa (host country for 2024) for consideration and dissemination. The document is now an open work in progress and is meant to belong to the African astronomy community. Please help to shape this vision by sending your thoughts, comments, input or suggestions to

If this appeals to you and you are able to contribute in some way, please sign up to get involved.

[1] “us” and “we” refer to all those, from Africa and beyond, who take on the joint responsibility to prepare the continent, and the world, for Astronomy2024.


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Great tilt gave ancient Mars a new face

3 March 2016 Astronomy Now

Mars hasn’t always looked like it does today. Some 3 to 3.5 billion years ago, the planet underwent a huge tilt of 20 to 25 degrees. The gigantic Tharsis volcanic dome, which started to form over 3.7 billion years ago, grew so massive that it caused Mars’ crust and mantle to swivel around, shifting the Tharsis dome to the planet’s equator.


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Dilip Kumar’s Health Is Now Stable, To Be Discharged In Next 2-3 Days

Dilip Kumar is ‘stable’ and ‘should be home in 2-3 days'(Pic Credit: Wikipedia)

The condition of Bollywood legend Dilip Kumar, who was admitted to Hinduja Hospital here on Sunday morning, is stable.

A post on his official Twitter page stated the veteran actor should be home in two to three days.

“Don’t believe in WhatsApp forwards. Saab is stable. Thank you for your heart-felt duas and prayers. As per doctors, he should be home in 2-3 days. Insh’Allah,” reads a tweet from Dilip Kumar’s handle.

Dilip Kumar has been put on oxygen support after he complained of breathlessness.

An earlier tweet on his official Twitter handle on Sunday had stated: “Dilip Sahab has been admitted to non-Covid PD Hinduja Hospital Khar for routine tests and investigations. He’s had episodes of breathlessness. A team of healthcare workers led by Dr. Nitin Gokhale is attending to him. Please keep Sahab in your prayers and please stay safe.”

The 98-year-old actor was hospitalized last month as well. However, he was discharged after two days.

. Pather Panchali To Sonar Kella – IMDb Celebrates Satyajit Ray’s Legacy

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Overwatch Update 3.12 Is Live – Notes on patch on 3 June

Blizzard released in new Hero update for Overwatch today, June 3rd. Below you can find all the details about it patch.

Overwatch Update 3.12 and now available for all platforms. There are some changes to the heroes, that’s all.

Notes on patch by Overwatch 3.12

Even though I felt better use, was the previous reduction in the reload time of the Exo Boots in Baptiste is getting a lot more evasive against some heroes. Since he already has strong defensive ability options in Regenerative burst and immortality field, we are going back how can quickly charge the Exo Boots jump.

  • Cooldown increased from 0.7 to 1 second

The duplicate ultimate proved to be more impact than expected and was coming up quickly due to Echo’s high damage.

  • Ultimate cost increased by 15%

Much of McCree’s recent success can be attributed to its increase maximum health and we think this aspect works well for well help solidify a near midrange role for he. We are restoring the Combat Roll distance and charge Peacekeeper times like them lead longer distance Flashbang initiations e made “Fan the Hammer” blast damage is less of a costly investment.

  • Cooldown increased from 1.2 to 1.5 seconds

Combat Shot

Many channeled ultimate abilities automatically reloads the heroes’ weapon when they are stuck out from charging for short while. The new regeneration rate it will fill up by approx half of Moira’s biotic energy resource over the full duration of Coalescence. This does not completely fill Moira’s energy from the void in how bad it would be to lose that portion of its gameplay though players They were in able to scroll through the last ones completely with heal on its own.

Biotic socket

  • Resource regeneration is now three times higher as you channel the Coalescence

  • Ultimate cost increased by 17%

This adjustment leads to Reaper’s self-healing with his Hellfire rifles back where it was before the recent weapons tuning changes.

the harvest

  • steals life amount increased from 30% to 35%

Zarya’s base damage wasn’t adjusted after the beam hit detection changes a little back but he didn’t see much use not even at the time. Now that he has a more dominant presence in a variety of team compositions, we are trying to reduce the average damage of its rays, even if the same maximum damage is still achievable.

Particle cannon

Primary focus

  • Beam damage now goes from 75 to 170 per second damage, down from 95-170

Source: Blizzard

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Hire High Quality Satellite TV Service Providers In Indian Wells, AZ

Get rid of cable and switch to the best satellite television provider!

Hire High Quality Satellite TV Service Providers In Indian Wells, AZ

April 22, 2017 Arizona 0

Are you getting tired of your overpriced cable TV bill? We’ve been there too. Luckily, there’s a great alternative for you – satellite TV services in Indian Wells. With prices and quality superior to cable television, we’re positive you’ll be more than happy with switching.

Our satellite service providers in Arizona are the best at what they do. You’ll be equipped with an awesome, high quality DVR with your subscription of satellite TV. In fact, your DVR is able to record up to 5 programs at once and store up to 200 hours of HD programming. Forget about recording conflicts!

The best part is when you sign up for our satellite TV, you’ll be able to take it with you anywhere you go. Just download the app and watch anything you normally would at home. This includes both live TV and shows you have previously recorded!

Are you ready to make the switch in Indian Wells? Give us a call to start:
(866) 343-1165

Why You Should Switch To Our Satellite TV Services In Indian Wells, Arizona

If you’re uncertain why you should switch away from cable television to satellite TV, we can help to explain the advantages that satellite TV services have to offer.

For starters, many cable companies make it difficult to understand exactly how much you’ll be charged in the long run. Our satellite television providers make it a point to tell you exactly what you’ll be paying. Say goodbye to unexpected and overpriced TV bills.

Next, satellite generally has a greater area of coverage than cable has. This means that, no matter where you’re at in Navajo county, you’ll be able to receive the services our satellite TV companies have to offer.

Finally, when you choose satellite TV you can expect to get a much bigger variety in channels available. Our channel packages that include premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime will also be cheaper than the prices from cable companies. We have the best satellite TV deals!

Get The Best Satellite TV Providers In The Indian Wells, Arizona 86031 Area

On top of all of those great benefits to satellite TV over cable TV, you can bet on your satellite TV bill being cheaper than what you’re used to paying for your cable bill. That goes for packages that offer both non-HD and HD pictures. Statistically, they’re both cheaper than any cable company!

Satellite Television Company

One thing you’ll have to watch out for with satellite TV is that your signal can be interrupted every now and then. This usually occurs when weather gets really bad. Examples would be a blizzard or vicious rain storm. Luckily, this doesn’t happen very often and with technology progressing each year it happens less and less.

Our satellite TV providers also offer NFL Sunday tickets for the football fans out there. With select packages you’ll get every out-of-market game, every Sunday. You’ll be able to watch up to 8 games live on 1 screen!

We Offer The Best Satellite TV For Indian Wells

Many others are beginning to realize why satellite TV is a much smarter choice for every household in Indian Wells, AZ. In fact, there has been a decline in cable TV subscriptions since 2008 and a rise in satellite TV subscriptions and Internet streaming services like Netflix!

Cable TV isn’t worth the price of admission for what you get. Stop paying more for less and switch to our satellite TV service providers.

Are you ready to make the switch in Indian Wells? Give us a call to start:
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Check out our cheap satellite tv video!

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angina pectoris

Also called angina, angina pectoris is the medical term for chest pain or discomfort due to coronary heart disease. Angina pectoris occurs when the heart muscle doesn’t get as much blood as it needs. This usually happens because one or more of the heart’s arteries is narrowed or blocked, also called ischemia. Stable angina refers to “predictable” chest discomfort associated with physical exertion or mental or emotional stress. Unstable angina refers to unexpected chest pain and usually occurs at rest. It is typically more severe and prolonged. Unstable angina should be treated as an emergency.

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Both the live events and the coaching packages are desigend to offer intensive help so people can rid themselves of the blocks that prevent success and happiness and get them where they want to be in their life and business.

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Cognigy raises $44M to scale its enterprise-focused conversational AI platform

·4-min read

Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly common part of how customer service works -- a trend that was accelerated in this past year as so many other services went virtual and digital -- and today a startup that has built a set of low-code tools to help enterprises integrate more AI into their customer service processes is announcing some funding to fuel its growth.

Cognigy, which provides a low-code conversational AI platform that notably can be used flexibly across a range of applications and geographies -- it supports 120 languages; it can be used in external or internal service applications; it can support voice services but also chatbots; it provides real-time assistance for human agents and usage analytics or fully automated responses; it can integrate with standard call center software, and also with RPA packages; and it can be run in the cloud or on-premise -- has closed a round of $44 million, funding that it will be using to continue scaling its business internationally.

Insight Partners is leading the Series B investment, with previous backers DN Capital, Global Brain, Nordic Makers, Inventures and Digital Innovation and Growth also participating. The Dusseldorf-based company had previously only raised $11 million and spent the first several years of business bootstrapped.

Cognigy is not disclosing its valuation but it has up to now built up a concentration of customers in areas like transportation, e-commerce and insurance and counts a number of big multinational companies among its customer list, including Lufthansa, Mobily, BioNTech, Vueling Airlines, Bosch and Daimler, with "thousands" of virtual assistants now powered by Cognigy live in the market.

With 25% of Cognigy's business already coming from the U.S., the plan now is to use some funding to invest in building out its service deeper into the U.S., Asia and across more of Europe, CEO and founder Philipp Heltewig said in an interview.

"Conversational AI" these days appears in many guises: it can be a chatbot you come across on a website when you're searching for something, or it can be prompts provided to agents or salespeople, information and real-time feedback to help them do their jobs better. Conversational AI can also be a personal assistant on your company's HR application to help you book time off or deal with any number of other administrative jobs, or a personal assistant that helps you use your phone or set your house alarm.

There are a number of companies in the tech world that have built tools to address these various use cases. Specifically in the area of services aimed at enterprises, some of them, like Gong, are raising huge money right now. What is notable about Cognigy is that it has built a platform that is attempting to address a wide swathe of applications: one platform, many uses, in other words.

Cognigy's other selling point is that it is playing into the new interest in low- and no-code tools, which in Cognigy's case makes the integration of AI into a customer assistance process a relatively easy task, something that can be built not just by developers, but data scientists, those working directly on conversation design, and nontechnical business users using the tools themselves.

"The low-code platform helps enterprises adopt what is otherwise complex technology in an easy and flexible way, whether it is a customer or employee contact center," said Heltewig. As you might expect, there are some direct competitors in the low- and no-code conversational AI space, too, including Ada, Talkie, Snaps and more.

Flexibility seems to be the order of the day for enterprises, and also the companies building tools for them: it means that a company can grow into a larger customer, and that in theory Cognigy will also evolve the platform based on what its customers need. As one example, Heltewig pointed out that a number of its customers are -- contrary to the beating drum and march you see every day toward cloud services -- running a fair number of applications on-premises, since this appears to be a key way to ensure the security of the customer data that they handle.

"Lufthansa could never run its customer services in the cloud because they handle a lot of sensitive data and they want full ownership of it," he noted. "We can run cloud services and have a full offering for those who want it, but many large enterprises prefer to run their services on premises."

Teddie Wardi, an MD at Insight, is joining the board with this round. “We are thrilled to be leading Cognigy’s Series B as the company continues on their ScaleUp journey,” he said in a statement. “Evident by their strong customer retention, Cognigy has created an essential product for global businesses to improve their customer experience in an efficient and effortless manner. With the new funding, Cognigy will be able to expand their leadership position to reach new markets and acquire more customers.”

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