text:
Sunday, January 31, 2016

shake it up

Much has happened on the web in the last two and a half years, and of course I've been too wrapped up in it to say anything here.

It's time to change that.

A little over a year ago I returned to my roots.  I've always had my sights set on teaching, and it's fantastic to be back in a place so dedicated to education.  We need to alter the Web's course and the best place for me to contribute to this goal is by preparing our future software designers and entrepreneurs to lead the charge.

I'll admit that I got a bit tired of trying to change the Web.  It's exhausting working on an initiative that has the whole force of online marketing against you.  Skeptics and those who rely on the opacity of data trading alike are a powerful force.

But I haven't stopped caring.  Admittedly I backed off, but some (with more stamina than I) haven't.  On January 20, Andreas Gal posted his thoughts with a very optimistic headline: "Brendan is back to save the web".  He does a great job of making a point that I've been trying to articulate for years: the economic incentives online are stuck and we need a new player to emerge with new incentives and a fresh look at how to make the Web an economy again instead of a giant data mine.  Andreas makes a clear case that all the current web browsers cost money to produce, but nobody pays for them directly; instead they are indirectly kept aloft by whatever makes the Web go round.

Right now that's almost exclusively advertisements.

Somehow the web has found itself in an advertising monoculture where advertising is frequently aggravating and at best an unnecessary bloat in an ecosystem that should not be bogged down by distractions from generative content.  The web should be a place vibrant with commerce and innovation: clear of distractions and rich with creativity.  People should not be sold on what they want, they should instead be able to make what they want.

But the question remains: how do we get the web from where it is to where it should be?

We need economic incentives that encourage Web sites without this bloat.  We need content that is a generative "makers" platform.  The Web should be an ecosystem where businesses get rewarded for their content and not the willingness to plaster solicitations all over their digital presence.  This is what Brendan wants to do.

Brave is his attempt to steer the web in the right direction.  His vision is to make a web browser that is a true user agent again, and not a self-serving or web-serving agent.  People should be molding the web instead of the web molding its people.

I agree with Brendan that the web should not be an ad-blocking fight, it should be a place for novel and generative things, but we can't just turn our backs on ads.  I'm intrigued by Brave's new approach and excited to see where Brendan and his team take us.

1 comment:

essaywriters said...

The software developers should also consider the level of the possible risk when connecting to the Internet. We are talking about the security of our personal data.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Nearly five years after Arlene Westervelt perished on Okanagan Lake, the cause of her death remains shrouded in mystery and is raising troubling questions about possible systemic problems at the BC Coroners Service.

The 56-year-old nurse died during a canoe trip with her husband Bert Westervelt on June 26, 2016.

He told officials the canoe tipped and it was an accidental drowning, while Arlene’s family suspected Bert of murder.

Read more:
Family of Lake Country woman shares new details, renews calls for justice

Arlene’s sister Debbie Hennig told Global News that her family pleaded with authorities to do an autopsy but says the request fell on deaf ears.

That may have been a serious mistake, according to multiple experts interviewed by Global News for its current affairs program The New Reality.

Story continues below advertisement

Read more:
Lake Country husband charged with murder in connection with wife’s drowning

“I find it a little bit shocking that they would not err on the side of caution,” says former Calgary homicide detective Mike Cavilla.

Cavilla was asked to provide an independent opinion on the case by a lawyer hired by the Hennig family.

He says water deaths are notoriously difficult to investigate.

In deaths like the Westervelt case, where there were no independent witnesses close enough to see what happened, an autopsy should be ordered immediately, he says.

“That’s the way it’s done in Alberta and that’s the way it’s done in a lot of jurisdictions across both Canada and the United States.”

Read more:
Okanagan woman’s family pleading for closer look at murder investigation: lawyer

Retired forensic pathologist Dr. John Butt agrees that an autopsy should have been done right away.

“It should be automatic if there are no witnesses. Very definitely,” he says.

Click to play video: 'Family of Lake Country woman renews calls for justice'

Family of Lake Country woman renews calls for justice

Family of Lake Country woman renews calls for justice – Jan 22, 2021

In the Westervelt case, the autopsy was delayed for 10 days. It was only after the RCMP received new evidence prompting them to open a murder investigation that an autopsy was finally carried out.

Story continues below advertisement

According to the Coroner’s report, the autopsy found hemorrhages on Arlene Westervelt’s neck muscles and in both eyes.

Butt says those hemorrhages may be evidence that she was strangled.

Read more:
Friends react to Lake Country man’s murder charges

Nearly three years after Arlene’s death, her husband Bert Westervelt was charged with second-degree murder.

However, authorities later stayed the murder charge with little explanation, saying only that there was “new evidence.”

Read more:
Okanagan woman’s family calls for justice after murder charges stayed

Arlene’s body was embalmed before the autopsy was carried out, and Butt believes that may have played a role in the Crown’s reluctance to prosecute the case.

Embalming, Butt says, can “mask other evidence that might have been present or create evidence that may be misleading.”

“It’s my opinion in this case that that was one of the reasons why the charge against the accused was stayed,” he says.

The Coroner’s report claimed the embalming did not interfere with the examination of the neck hemorrhages. The report also found no marks on Arlene’s neck, and no injury to the hyoid bone, located under the chin.

Story continues below advertisement

Read more:
Okanagan man released from murder charge in wife’s death

The report could not confirm or rule out strangulation, drowning or an underlying heart condition as a cause of Arlene’s death. Ultimately, it found the cause of death to be undetermined.

Yet Butt maintains the decision to delay an autopsy was a mistake and believes it’s part of a bigger systemic problem in B.C.

“The whole system, from start to finish, is second rate. I think the delay in the autopsy was made because of money. And I think much of this is delivered in British Columbia as an edict from the government.”

And the numbers do nothing to quell his suspicions. According to Statistics Canada, B.C. ordered autopsies in only 2.9 per cent of deaths in 2019. That’s about half the national average of 5.7 per cent for the same year. In Alberta, where Butt was once Chief Coroner, autopsies were performed in 7.4 per cent of deaths in 2019. That raises questions about whether other suspicious deaths are being missed.

There are also questions about the credentials of the doctors performing autopsies in B.C.

Several forensic experts told The New Reality best practices dictate that complex water deaths like Arlene Westervelt’s should be autopsied by a forensic pathologist.

Story continues below advertisement

However, the doctor who autopsied her body is listed as a general pathologist by both the BC College of Physicians and Surgeons and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

General pathologists commonly work in hospital settings, and according to the Royal College, they perform autopsies in cases of “natural and routine” deaths.

They must also, according to the College, recognize “characteristics of autopsies requiring referral to forensic pathologists.”

Read more:
Family of Lake Country woman launches civil suit in search of justice

Butt says national standards require forensic pathologists to pass an exam through the Royal College, or other approved institutions to obtain accreditation.

However, adhering to those standards is left up to the discretion of the provinces.

The pathologist who did the autopsy on Arlene Westervelt was accredited by the BC Coroners Service, a spokesperson for the coroner’s office said in an email.

“Credentials, experience and references are all reviewed by the BC Coroners Service, and after that process we ‘privilege’ physicians to perform autopsies for us. We partner with the health authorities — they perform the credentialing process and we use that as a part of our input when granting privileges to perform autopsies for BCCS,” the email said.

Story continues below advertisement

In other words, some pathologists may be performing the duties of a forensic pathologist without meeting national accreditation standards.

That does not sit well with Butt.

“The coroner’s service in British Columbia cannot make a forensic pathologist specialist of any substance.”

In fact, he’s written a letter to the BC College of Physicians Surgeons complaining about how the BC Coroner’s service accredits doctors performing autopsies and is calling for a full investigation.

“I think that the whole system of British Columbia needs a review by an independent body.”

Click to play video: 'Okanagan woman’s family pleading for closer look at murder investigation: Lawyer'

Okanagan woman’s family pleading for closer look at murder investigation: Lawyer

Okanagan woman’s family pleading for closer look at murder investigation: Lawyer – Oct 6, 2020

See this and other original stories about our world on The New Reality airing Saturday nights on Global TV, and online.

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2021-25
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for June 2021
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-217.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.18 (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: https://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
An ETL import graph is build on logical dependencies of the jobs to each other. So typically a SQL transformation job depends on all the previous jobs that create the tables used in the query. But once there are a certain number of jobs, dependencies often get a bit more complicated and some of them become redundant in the process.

A simple example can be seen in the dependency graph from figure, where the three red edges are redundant. While they logically are probably still correct, they typically cause the graph layout to be way more confusing than necessary.

A dependency graph with reduntant edges.

Yet it is not always that easy to manually find all the redundant edges. Therefore we automatically highlight them in our dependency graph, similar as in the example here.

Technically what we do here is to calculate the transitive reduction of the directed dependency graph. Since the graph is also acyclic, we can do this by using the well-known Floyd-Warshall algorithm.

The idea is to calculate all longest paths from any node to another within the graph (with all edge weights set to 1). If there is then an edge where the longest path between the nodes is greater than 1 (the edge itself), we can say the edge is redundant.

This can be seen i.e.\ for the redundant edge a -> d in the example graph. The longest path from a to d is 2, either through nodes b or c. Therefore d does not need the direct dependency to a, as it is implicitly given by a -> b -> d or a -> c -> d.

nodes = ('a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e')

edges = (('a', 'b'), ('a', 'c'), ('a', 'd'), ('a', 'e'),
         ('b', 'd'),
         ('c', 'd'), ('c', 'e'),
        ('d', 'e'))

# Floyd-Warshall with weight set to -1 for all edges, to calculate all longest paths.
dist = {n: {m: float('inf') for m in nodes} for n in nodes}

for n in nodes:
    dist[n][n] = 0

for f, t in edges:
    dist[f][t] = -1

for k in nodes:
    for i in nodes:
        for j in nodes:
            if dist[i][j] > dist[i][k] + dist[k][j]:
                dist[i][j] = dist[i][k] + dist[k][j]

# If there is a longer path from f to t than the edge itself, the edge f -> t is redundant
for f, t in edges:
    if dist[f][t] != -1:
        print('Redundant edge: %s -> %s' % (f, t))

The algorithm is O(n^3), however this doesn't really matter as the graph is always small (it must be possible to display it in a meaningful way).

It would probably be better to just hide the redundant edges though (and recalculate the graph layout) instead of highlighting them. Highlighting the redundant edges means they are usually removed, which basically means that we replace direct logical dependencies in the code with implicit ones that are sometimes difficult to understand later on. Especially if the job that was creating the implicit dependency is removed, it is easy to forget re-adding the now missing direct dependency again.


text:
Introducing Our New Test Rig

Posted by Joanne Hunt on 02-Oct-2018 12:13:29

We are delighted to announce that our new in-house test rig is operational for training and testing purposes. The test rig was developed to serve a number of purposes, which are briefly explained in this article. First and foremost, the rig allows us to test new advances in burner technology and control systems before offering them to our customers – speeding up product development and making it easier for us to innovate.

Read More

Topics: Insider

Subscribe to Email Updates

Recent Posts


text:
Thursday, February 7, 2008

4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Trading Sex.

Person A asks person B for X. If B gives X to A, B will go to jail for 10 years, maybe even life. Person A offers B money. B doesn’t want money. B wants sex. They have sex. B gives X to A. Fair? As long as X is not essential to A’s life, I think so. No injustice has been committed.

The genders in this scenario are kept neutral because they shouldn’t matter. It happens in Hollywood and corporate America every day, and the genders are interchangeable. People trade sex for all sorts of things.

For example, wannabe star wants a part. Producer and Wannabe decide the part will be given in exchange for sex. Or middle manager seeks promotion. Middle manager trades sex for promotion.

It’s all very gross, but it isn’t called the oldest profession for nothing. An argument can be made regarding the effect of prostitution on communities, but at its core, prostitution is a personal choice and not injust or unethical.

In 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, a pregnant student seeks an abortion in communist Romania where they are illegal. If the technician is caught, he will serve ten years in prison. If the pregnancy is terminated after five months, he’ll be tried for murder. We don’t know under which circumstances she conceived, but we have no reason to believe it’s the result of rape or incest or a life-and-death situation. What’s clear is that the pregnant student and her friend want to finish school so that they won’t be sent to the countryside to work.

The students have options, but they find the cheapest person who will perform the abortion. But he’s cheapest because he doesn’t want any money at all. The only thing he’ll risk his freedom for is sex with two college students. The girls are faced with a new decsion, and I won’t tell you how they decide, but the writer has produced a perfect fork; no matter which way the story goes, it will be interesting. The writer has taken something fairly common in film and intensified it by loading the variables with emotionally charged and politically sensitive topics.

What’s remarkable is the American audience’s reaction. While I was thinking about the Marxist idea that prostitution would be non-existent in communism and how an oppressive Marxist government in this case was turning people into prostitutes, while I was comparing the story to Of Mice and Men, the rest of the audience was blaming the abortion technician, which I think is odd. Should he have done the job for free? Why should he accept the money if he doesn’t want it? Does anyone expect a criminal to risk his freedom out of the goodness of his heart? The situtation is quite disgusting, but the film is merely depicting the desperate measures people will take to obtain what a ridiculous law prohibits.

I wish I could talk with a Romanian about their reactions to 4 Months; Americans always seem ill-equipped to talk about why they feel certain ways or why things are happening the way they are. They get all riled up when things happen that offend them, but they never take it a step further. They just get really upset and angry.

A great film.

savage pig barn said...

i wish i could talk to a romanian about you

Jenny Drai said...

We don’t know under which circumstances she conceived,

Probably under the circumstances that contraception, as far as I understand, was illegal in Romania during the time period the film depicts. That whole Nicolea Ceauceauscu thing and Romanian orphans and all that. I think this is a huge detail you're leaving out of your argument. Under Ceauceauscu, sex itself is potentially lethal unless its progenitive.

Unknown said...

Nothing is lethal here.

That part of the scenario doesn't matter; it still only complicates the politics, not the ethics, which are two very different things. A Californian is reminded of that difference every time a national vote of any kind comes around.

Even if she was raped by her father, the technician in the story is not bound to the college student in any way. He remains a merchant who can name his price for the goods/services he sells. As a patron of his, you can decide to pay him or go someplace else, or, in this case, drop out of school and have the baby.

None of her options are good ones, but when you're in a jam, your options seldom are. You can vilify the abortionist if you want to, but he is just another person trying to get what he wants, like her, really. The rest is a question of politics and what happens when insolent governments decide what we can do to our own bodies. The rest is where the a discussion can happen. But Americans need villains. They don't care how horrible things happen, they just need a person to blame or a country to bomb.

Jenny Drai said...

You seem to be saying that the American audience is vilifying the abortionist as an autonomous agent whereas you think we should be viewing his actions within a wider sociopolitical scope. I would be curious how you would then justify your own position from your original post that prostitution is a 'personal' choice. I don't think one has to focus just on child prostitutes in Thailand to engage with the idea that wider forces than mere 'choice' might be a factor. At the very least, a number of circumstances probably ensure that many of us remain a lot farther away from ever having to make that choice than others.

Unknown said...

Child prostitution is a different case for several reasons. One reason is that children are usually not equipped with the capacity to make their own decisions. Another reason is that they are usually coerced by parents or other adults to partake in prostitution. Why do you keep trying to change topic? You are clouding the issue at hand with incendiary, non-related ones.

Switch the abortionist with a drug dealer. College student goes to drug dealer in Thailand. In Thailand, drug dealers are either shot on site or incarcerated in notoriously deplorable conditions. The drug dealer says to the college student that the price for the drug is sex. The college students says yes. Is the dealer a villain? Perhaps in the eyes of the government who has created a market with a ridiculous law, but the dealer is not really doing anything wrong. The college student can go to another dealer or stop doing drugs. The college student is not coerced.

You can claim that the abortionist or the drug dealer are disgusting, that they offend your sensitive notions of piety, which are nothing less than self righteous judgments akin to those of Christian whim, but you cannot say with any degree of validity that they are villains or rapists. They haven't forced anyone to do anything.

By declaring one component of an offensive situation a villain, you stop thinking about what is actually occurring. When the World Trade Center went down, it was easy to find a villain because murder is so clearly wrong, but Americans were so quick to dump the whole thing on Bin Laden. No one thought about, indeed, no one thinks about the reasons behind the attack because we blame it all on him.

But in the abortion situation, no one is killed, coerced, or even stolen from. A barter agreement is met, and still, American audiences will point their fingers at one party and label that party "villain" and be done with it.

Holes In Plot Bigger Than Plot Itself said... you point to the american audience and cry "villain"

Jenny Drai said...

I don't think one has to focus just on child prostitutes in Thailand

When I wrote that, I was specifically trying to shift focus away from that hot topic. I am not sure why you chose to interpret that statement in the way that you did.

As far as getting off topic is concerned, I'm still not seeing any real discussion on your part that explains how an institution such as prostitution can be boiled down to mere 'choice' without some examinations of circumstance and the fact that some people, for reasons out of their control, come closer to having to choose in the first place.

Unknown said...

as long as there are options, one has choice. If you have other ways of getting what you want, and you decide to trade sex for something, that was choice. i find it interesting that people often think that if everyone had enough money to get whatever they want, prostitution would disappear. People want to blame men for female prostitution. But unless we're talking about slavery, there's choice.

I am not calling American audiences villain, TBA. I am not saying they are malicious or evil or any of the things they would have to be in order to be villains. I am only saying that the American desire for a villain hurts them.

savage pig barn said...

options: what a wonderful choice to choose!

how to trade your delusions away


text:
Using ‘Special’ Holidays For Your Own Promotions

Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo. The day before that it was May 4th Star Wars Day. Last week was Arbor Day.

Wow so many holidays! And you know what? These are just the “big ones”.

There seems to be a ‘holiday’ for anything you may be able to think. So, do you know what your special day is?

I’m ashamed and embarrassed to say, I’ve missed my special day.

No, not my birthday, I of course remembered and celebrated that. My anniversary?

No, I managed to remember that as well.

I’m talking about January 11th, National Marketing Day.

In case you need some ideas about picking and promoting your special day, here are some examples of “holidays” for a variety of verticals.

Examples of Promotional Holidays

March 6 – National Dress Day

March 19 – National Backyard Day

April 4 – National Vitamin C Day

June 21 – National T-Shirt Day

September 19 – National Volleyball Day

October 22 – National Nuts Day

October 24 – National Food Day

November 19 – World Toilet Day

And what if you can’t find a special day to celebrate for the purpose of promoting your business?

If all else fails, you can always make up your own. That is what Amazon did and now Amazon Prime Day is household term, well at least in my house.

Remember, the difference between Earth Day and Arbor Day comes down to simply better marketing!

Speaking of marketing. If you are currently using Google Ads, I invite you to checkout a new video I recently shared.

The FASTEST way to GROW your business using Google Paid Ads is by INCREASING YOUR PROFITABILITY and this video details the best way to do just that!

Happy Celebrating & Happy Marketing

Andy Splichal is the founder and managing partner of True Online Presence, author of the Make Each Click Count book series, host of the Make Each Click Count podcast, founder of Make Each Click Count University and certified online marketing strategist with twenty plus years of experience helping companies increase their online presence and profitable revenues. In 2020, he was named to Best of Los Angeles Awards’ Most Fascinating 100 List. To find more information on Andy Splichal, visit or read The Full Story on his website or his blog,


text:
The Power of the October 15th Deadline for Investors

by Sean Raft, on Sep 14, 2020 3:11:01 PM

We love to be the bearer of good news! There is still time to invest in an Opportunity Zone fund if you had a capital gains event that occurred on or after Oct. 4, 2019, including:

  • The sale of stock
  • The sale of real estate
  • The sale of a business

The 2019 tax extension deadline is Oct. 15, 2020. That means taxpayers who have not yet filed have about a month to invest their capital gains from last year to avoid paying capital gains taxes without filing an amended return.

Now is the time to invest in an OZ fund:

  • If you invest in time to include the investment in your late-filed 2019 tax return, you may be eligible to defer the taxes on the gain invested.
  • Even though you are eligible to invest your 2019 capital gains into an OZ fund through Dec. 31, 2020, you can avoid the hassle, time, and cost of filing an amended return after Oct. 15, 2020 by including the investment in your 2019 tax return.
  • You may qualify to pay less by investing in an OZ fund since taxes can be deferred. Investing tax-deferred dollars increases the power of your capital.

Take advantage of this “once-in-a-lifetime” tax deferral program by considering our portfolio of seven projects including residential, office, hotel, and retail developments in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Contact us to learn how you can deploy capital in our OZ fund to potentially pay less taxes.

This is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any interest in Urban Catalyst Opportunity Fund I LLC, which is only available to accredited investors pursuant to a private placement memorandum that you should read carefully before you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Prospective investors should consult their own tax and legal professionals prior to making investment decisions.

Topics:Opportunity ZonesSan JoseSilicon Valley


text:
K-12 Education’s Remote Learning Needs & the Digital Divide

Posted by Helen Akers on Jun 18, 2020 5:00:48 PM

Long before the coronavirus made it necessary to shift from the traditional classroom to remote learning, distance learning was both a concept and a practice in K-12 education. Throughout its early 1900s introduction using instructional films and radio programs to its current set of online tools, remote learning has maintained the goal of delivering instruction into students’ homes. Although K-12 remote learning can facilitate teaching when in-person instruction is not feasible, many have expressed concerns over its effectiveness as a full-time substitute.

Read More

Topics: internet, wireless, remote learning, education, digital divide


text:
5 Keys to a Strong Franchisee/Franchisor Relationship

Owning a fitness franchise location (like Anytime Fitness, Snap Fitness, Orangetheory, Cycle Bar, Retro Fitness) is a bit different than owning a fitness facility or gym outright. Franchisees must interact with the franchisor on a fairly regular basis. Furthermore, franchisees must adhere to nuanced rules and standards established by the franchisor. This relationship has the potential to sour as time progresses. It is important for both groups to proactively attempt to nurture a mutually beneficial relationship. Here are some tips that will help maintain such a civil and successful relationship across the long haul.

1. Promote Trust by Keeping the Lines of Communication Open

Crystal clear communication is essential to the success of the individual business as well as the brand. Franchisees and the franchisor should interact on a regular basis to share ideas, discuss best practices and maintain a meaningful dialogue. The franchisor should transmit information to all franchisees through numerous channels ranging from daily bulletins to regional meetings, web portals, newsletters and beyond.

Franchisees should be provided with the opportunity to give feedback through channels like feedback forms, dedicated call lines and even direct access to those who have the power to make decisions that affect all of the franchise locations. It is important for the franchisor to listen closely to each franchise owner's concerns, complaints, and insights. After all, franchisees are the ones who are out in the field using the systems and products that make money. Their feedback is essential to the success of the overarching brand.

2. Meet Obligations

Both parties must live up to their obligations. As an example, the franchisor is responsible for implementing changes across the board in terms of tech additions, system improvements and new product and/or service offerings. The franchisor must provide every franchisee with the materials, systems, and trainings necessary to succeed. Regular evaluations of franchisee locations must be conducted to guarantee standards are met. Franchisees are responsible for hiring staff, determining employee pay rates, adhering to system and operational standards, adding to franchisor marketing with local ads, reporting sales and honoring service/product promotions. If either party fails to live up to their respective obligations, trust will deteriorate and the relationship will prove combustible.

3. A Genuine Understanding of one Another

Both parties must have a thorough understanding of one another's goals, perspectives, background, etc. A genuine understanding of the other party helps each understand why certain actions are necessary. It also promotes respect. Franchisees and the franchisor must strive to understand business-related matters outside of their own subjective perspective.

Both parties must not lose sight of the fact that asking questions is fundamental to understanding the other side's position. A steady stream of questions should be encouraged to promote heightened awareness. Research is especially important at the outset of the relationship as it reveals important information that shapes the outcome of the partnership.

4. Success is Dependent on the Right Tools

Franchisees are paying to tap into the power of a proven business model. These individuals require the right tools to get the job done and replicate the franchise model in their locale. The timely and through delivery of operating systems, training programs, training manuals, equipment and marketing materials is essential to each location's success as well as the brand's success.

The old adage of a craftsman only being as good as his tools certainly applies here. A franchisee has little chance to succeed unless he is provided with the exact same equipment and information as other franchisees in a timely manner. Otherwise, it won't matter if the franchisee has a strong work ethic and extensive business experience. He needs the proper tools to get the job done right and on time. It is up to the franchisor to provide him with these materials.

5. A Willingness to Change

We live in quite the dynamic world. Things are constantly changing. If a franchise becomes static and does not adjust with the times, its policies can suffocate franchisees. What worked a decade or two ago might not work today or a year from now. Though it is important for franchisees to commit to the overarching brand and let the system prove its worth, requests for updates and alterations should be entertained by both parties. After all, everything from laws to target demographics is subject to change.

If the business does not keep pace with such alterations, the bottom line will be negatively impacted. However, franchisees have limited flexibility to implement changes. Alterations to the business model come from the top. This is precisely why the franchisor must listen closely to franchisee suggestions for improvements, changes, updates and other requests. There is a good chance the troubles and concerns faced by one franchisee also affect other franchisees. The best franchisors are willing to consider these challenges, make the appropriate adjustments and allow the business model to evolve as time progresses.

Explore Zogics Clean Guide Library

Empower your staff and reassure your community with our FREE downloadable cleaning and disinfecting guides for fitness centers, educational settings, hospitality facilities and more.

Topics from this blog: industry news


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

text:
Full Contest Rules for the 1968 Film Series

Official Rules: No purchase necessary. Must be 18 years or older. The winner will be determined on or about October 3, 2008, from all eligible entries received by October 3, 2008. Odds of winning are based on the total number of eligible entries received.

Prizes: The winner—meaning the first reader to guess the Number 1 film on Raymond Benson’s list of the top 10 films of 1968—will receive an autographed copy of Benson’s A Hard Day’s Death.  Submissions are made as submitted comments after Benson’s blog posts, and only one submitted film guess per reader will be allowed after each of Benson’s posts.  All submitted comments are time-stamped.

Eligibility: Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age.  Void where prohibited by law.

Prize Winner Notification: Winner will be notified and may be required to provide proof that he/she is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the winning entry within seven (7) days. Winner may be advised by e-mail, by Federal Express or certified mail and provided an affidavit of eligibility and a liability/publicity release, which must be completed and returned within fourteen (14) days of the receipt of the prize notification forms (first attempted delivery) unless another return date is indicated.  If prize notification letter is returned as refused or undeliverable, the corresponding prize will be forfeited and awarded to an alternate winner. Failure to comply with any of the above will result in disqualification and selection of an alternate winner.

Miscellaneous: All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply. Entries become the sole property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the drawing. Any use of robotic, automatic, programmed or like entry methods will void all such entries by such methods. Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify consumers who violate any of the Official Rules or attempt to interfere with the promotion in any manner. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage the promotion web site or undermine the legitimate operation of the drawing may be in violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek remedies and damages (including attorney’s fees) from any such entrant to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal prosecution. Entries will be deemed made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry. The authorized account holder is the natural person who is assigned to the e-mail address by an internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses. Sponsor is not responsible for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect or delay of any type in operations or transmission, or for theft or destruction or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone, computer, hardware or software malfunctions of any kind, or inaccurate, misrouted, garbled transmissions of, or failure of Sponsor to receive entry information for any reason. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to amend, cancel, or suspend this drawing at any time without notice if any factor interferes with this drawing as contemplated by these Official Rules including but not limited to a virus, bugs or other causes beyond the reasonable control of the Sponsor corrupting the administration, security or proper operation of the drawing. By participating, entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decision of the Sponsor and waive any right to claim ambiguity in the drawing or Official Rules. By accepting the prize in this drawing, the winner agrees to discharge, indemnify, and agree to hold harmless Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., its parent company, affiliates, subsidiaries, agencies and the respective officers, directors, agents, representatives, employees, successors, agents, and assigns of all of the above from any and all claims, demands, actions, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses) which the winner, their executors, successors in interest, administrators, and assigns may now have or in the future have or acquire on account of any injury, loss, disability, death or other physical, mental or financial damage of whatever kind or nature arising in whole or in part from or in connection with the possession, use, misuse or acceptance of a prize. All federal, state, and local taxes on prize are the sole responsibility of the winner. Prize must be accepted as awarded. No transfer of prize permitted. No prize substitutions except by sponsor, who may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable.

Acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use winner’s name and/or likeness for advertising/trade purposes worldwide, without additional compensation, except where prohibited. For the winner’s name, available after October 3, 2008, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1968 Blog Prize Winner, 331 N. LaSalle Street, Chicago, IL 60654-2682.

Sponsor: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Britannica Blog Categories
Britannica on Twitter
Select Britannica Videos


text:
Unitranche Facilities – Continued Growth in an Uncertain Market: Part III

In two recent posts I discussed (i) the structure of unitranche facilities and their growing acceptance in the market and (ii) the uncertainty inherent in these facilities because they have not been tested by a troubled economic environment. Below I address certain of the substantive differences between common terms contained in agreements among lenders (or AALs) found in unitranche transactions and more traditional intercreditor agreements between first lien and second lien lenders. Note that because the unitranche market continues to develop, the standardization found in intercreditor agreements does not yet exist for AALs and many terms remain negotiable.

Because unitranche facilities group lenders with diverse priorities in a single lien, participating lenders are reasonably cautious with regard to third parties that may enter the syndicate by virtue of assignment. As a result, AALs commonly include provisions allowing lenders a right of last offer (or ROLO) before debt is assigned to a third party (alternatively, this may be structured as a right of first offer). These provisions are often mutual and require that a lender first offer its debt to other lenders within its tranche and, if no such lender opts to acquire the debt, to lenders in the other tranche of debt. The mandatory notice period will necessarily delay an assignment to a new lender (typically by as much as 30 days). If a ROLO is exercised by one or more lenders in a different tranche, the group will face cross-pollination of lenders, perhaps creating a scene for conflict going forward. In order to minimize the risk of such conflict, AALs often restrict a cross-over lender from exercising voting rights unless it owns a minimum percentage of debt in the new, subject tranche (for e.g., 75%). Unlike AALs, intercreditor agreements do not contain similar hurdles to assignment.

A common intercreditor agreement will allow the first lien lenders to exercise remedies without delay from, or the consent of, the second lien lenders following a default or event of default. This includes acceleration, commencing an involuntary bankruptcy, or initiating foreclosure proceedings. The second lien lenders are subject to standstill periods of as many as 180-days following a default or event of default before they can direct their agent to exercise any such remedies (if the first lien lenders have not then commenced recovery actions). In an AAL, however, “first out” lenders will often be subject to a standstill before they are able to exercise remedies (subject to certain exigent circumstances). This may be as long as 45 days from their delivery of notice to the “last out” lenders. This first out standstill, unique to unitranche facilities, is a product of the importance of buy-out rights, allowing some reasonable time for the last out lenders to consider and complete an acquisition of the first out obligations before enforcement activity. If those last out lenders do not exercise their contractual buy-out right, the first out lenders can exercise remedies and the last out lenders will be subject to a standstill (although often not as long as that contained in an intercreditor agreement).

It is important that all lenders carefully review the buy-out provisions in an AAL. While they are mutual (unlike those in an intercreditor), they may not provide for acquisition of the entirety of the obligations owed by the borrower to the first out lenders. In certain AALs the last out lenders may not be required to purchase obligations incurred in excess of pre-agreed caps, for e.g., unanticipated obligations owed in respect of hedges, bank products or protective advances. If this is the case in an AAL, it is important that those lenders holding residual claims retain the benefit of their secured interests.

Certainly, many other substantive differences exist between a typical AAL and intercreditor agreement. As unitranche facilities become ever more prevalent, new lenders entering the market must appreciate these differences and be prepared for a new, fast-paced lending environment.


text:
Skip to main content

Are you a legal professional? Visit our professional site

Please enter a legal issue and/or a location
Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select

Farewell and Adieu, Justice Souter

By Kevin Fayle on June 29, 2009 8:28 PM

Today was Justice David Souter's last day on the Supreme Court, and it probably wasn't exactly the kind of day he wanted to end on.  The Court ended up ruling in favor of a group of white firemen who claimed that a city's promotion policy constituted reverse discrimination.

Souter dissented from the majority opinion, joining the group of three other justices that have made up the Court's liberal bloc for the past fifteen years: Justices Ginsburg, Stevens and Breyer.

While the outcome of the case wasn't what Souter had wanted, he had to have been touched by his colleagues' parting statements praising his "wisdom, civility and dedication."  While the justices were sad to see Souter go, the letter, which Chief Justice Roberts read in Court, also said that "[w]e understand your desire to trade white marble for White Mountains," referencing Souter's oft-stated desire to return permanently to his beloved New Hampshire.
It was no secret that Souter did not enjoy the Washington scene.  He left for New Hampshire immediately after each term, and tried to remain out of the social circuit that pulls in so many other Washington luminaries.  He rented a modest apartment and avoided the limelight.

But Souter did enjoy being on the Supreme Court.  He once famously said that being a Supreme Court justice was the best job in the worst city.

Souter was often the enigma on the Court.  Tending towards an ascetic lifestyle, Souter carefully considered his government pension, even though some prudent investments had made him one of the wealthiest members of the Court.  Every day, he ate an apple and a cup of yogurt for lunch, even eating the meal off of the Court's fine china when the justices would dine together.

He never married, despite the attempts of Justices O'Connor and Ginsburg to set him up with eligible Washington ladies.  And despite his wealth and standing, he rented a spartan apartment in Washington near a military installation.

But he was widely regarded for his intellectual honesty and his stable judicial temperament.  He also had a good sense of humor, and was not afraid to poke fun at himself.

There's a story, recounted in Jeffrey Toobin's wonderful book on the Supreme Court, The Nine, about a couple who came up to speak to Justice Souter in a restaurant.  The couple knew he was on the Supreme Court, but mistook him for Justice Breyer.  Souter didn't correct them, and instead chatted amiably with the couple for a few minutes, at which point the man asked him: "What's the best part about being on the Supreme Court."

To which Souter replied, after a few seconds' thought: "Well, I would have to say it's been the honor of working with David Souter."

See Also:
Letters on Justice Souter's retirement (SCOTUSblog)

You Don’t Have To Solve This on Your Own – Get a Lawyer’s Help

Meeting with a lawyer can help you understand your options and how to best protect your rights. Visit our attorney directory to find a lawyer near you who can help.

Or contact an attorney near you:
Copied to clipboard

Find a Lawyer

More Options


text:
We are proud to announce that next Saturday June 17th, the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie cycling tour will make a stop in Tremblant.

Around 10AM, 215 recreational vehicles will be arriving from Ste-Agathe followed by 400 cyclists expected to arrive at around 1PM.  The convoy will stop at the mountain for a quick lunch at Chalet des Voyageurs and they’ll be on their way by 2:30PM.

It is an honour for Tremblant to be associated with this great initiative by sharing our playground with thousands of people promoting common values:  Promoting a healthy and active lifestyle to future generations.

Please join us in welcoming these amazing athletes and participants of the 9th edition of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie as they arrive at la Place des Voyageurs and hear the inspiring words of their spokesperson.

Key activities

  • 10 AM                       Arrival of 215 recreational vehicles
  • 10 AM-2H45 PM    Music and entertainment at la Place des Voyageurs
  • 1H30 PM                  Arrival of the 400 cyclists
  • Noon – 2PM             Lunch for all participants at le Chalet des Voyageurs
  • 2:15PM-2:30PM     Short speeches by Pierre Lavoie, Pascal De Bellefeuille and Patrice Malo
  • 2H30 PM                 Cyclists depart
  • 2 :45 M                     Recreational vehicles depart

We encourage you to join the festivities and energize the participants with your cheers and even posters. Make some noise!  Your presence will mean the world to them and will ensure the success of this annual event to raise awareness.

We thank you for your usual wonderful collaboration!


text:
IBMA Awards to be televised in 2015

Lee Ann Womack on the 2014 IBMA Awards show - photo by Todd PowersThe 2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards, held October 2, will be broadcast in a one-hour edited version during the Spring 2015 season of American Public Television’s Music City Roots television series.

The show was hosted live by Jerry Douglas and Lee Ann Womack at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, NC during the IBMA Business Conference earlier this month. Live internet streaming of the entire show was provided as it occurred by the Music City Roots crew, who also recorded the presentation for subsequent editing.

The editors will have a tough job taking the jam-packed three hour awards show down to just sixty minutes. It featured live performances from Della Mae, The Boxcars, Claire Lynch, The Gibson Brothers, Blue Highway, Noam Pikelny, Del McCoury Band, Balsam Range, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, and from each host, Lee Ann Womack and Jerry Douglas. It’s not likely that all of that could be ground down to an hour.

The live show also included beautiful induction ceremonies for the original Seldom Scene and Dr. Neil Rosenberg, each of which featured a live performance, on top of all the awards presentations and a lively opening dance sequence that ran close to six minutes.

IBMA Executive Director Nancy Cardwell says that everyone in the organization is excited to share their awards show with a national audience on Music City Roots’ 71 PBS affiliates.

“It’s been an IBMA goal since our first Awards Show in 1990 to share this fabulous showcase of some of the year’s best talent with a wider television audience. I can’t tell you how excited we are—after 25 years of dreaming about this—to announce The International Bluegrass Music Awards, Presented by Music City Roots, in conjunction with senior producers Todd Mayo and John Walker of Heng Dai Media. The one-hour version of the 2014 Awards Show will air in national PBS markets where Music City Roots is already a favorite, and cities across the nation are welcome to contact their local PBS stations to request the show.”

Business and charitable organizations can still become involved in underwriting the awards show broadcast, and interested parties are invited to contact Cardwell at 615-256-3222, or IBMA sponsorship consultant Susan Woelkers at 615-497-4801.

This special Music City Roots telecast is expected to air in February or March 2015.

Share this:

About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.


text:
Something to Talk About

This a Sunday feature here where we discuss specific topics related to books and the blogosphere.

Let’s talk genres!

I define my reading as eclectic for a reason. Most genres have appeal and each month my reading plans have at least three or four in the mix, not including sub genres. However, there are some that I give a pretty wide berth

I don’t know when it happened…maybe several years after college…but almost overnight, I found I couldn’t watch horror movies nor read the genre anymore. I used to absolutely love Dean Koontz (Watchers scared me spitless) and loved having Stephen King movies make me scream. Now? I can’t even read the book blurbs or watch the film previews  Fan Fiction

Fan Fiction

Beyond the 50 Shades phenomena, I don’t get it. I know, I know. There’s a whole new world of writing out there that thousands are engaged in but I’m just not interested in a new iteration of my favorite characters. Please, tell me. What am I missing? I’m willing to listen.

There was no child with a bigger imagination than mine when I was growing up, spurred on by the magic of books, especially make believe. I loved all the mythical creatures and kingdoms that easily transported me to fantastical worlds. I’m not sure exactly when my adult  brain shifted to attempt to juxtapose superb books in this genre with reality but it happened. I now struggle with this genre and am perplexed by the change. Don’t get me wrong, there are several series on my shelf that I’m in love with and in awe of (Kate Daniels, Night Huntress, Mercy Thompson, etc.), but I’m struggling through Throne of Glass when I should be engrossed in the world building and intrigue. I find listening to the stories really helps as my brain doesn’t try to override the story as much. But, I know I’m missing out on some wonderful writing.

Cozy Mysteries

I love the mystery genre, the grittier and more suspenseful, the better (think Karen Rose and Val McDermid). I especially love police procedurals a la Eve Dallas & Harry Bosch. But cozy mysteries? I can’t connect and I need more drama, chaos, mayhem. It’s not the small town settings because they’re one of my favorites in the romance genre. I just struggle with the lack of complexity in the mystery. I like puzzlers, real thorny ones, and cozies tend to have fairly mild crimes. I know they’re very popular but they have zero appeal for me.

Graphic Novels

Now this I’m embarrassed about because I adored comic books well into my early adulthood. Since this genre has evolved to a whole new level and art form, I have virtually no interest but I do have a curiosity. If there are fans out there, PLEASE share what attracts you to this genre. I need a reason to explore it more.

That’s not too bad, right? In the genre universe, this is a fairly short list

What genres/sub genres do you find challenging?

Are there any you absolutely refuse to read?

Have you ever tried reading those you avoid?

16 thoughts on “Something to Talk About”

  1. Excellent post Jonetta! I also don’t read horror or graphic novels. I used to read all mysteries and only mysteries but I too have dropped most cozies. BUT think of Agatha Christie’s MIss Marple that is the type of cozy I love; it has the complexity needed. I used to read a huge amount of fanfiction in the Sookie Stackhouse or Sons of Anarchy worlds. I think it only works when you don’t like the way the original story is going and need other options. Of course, it was encouraged because True Blood was another form of Sookie Stackhouse fan fiction, taking a whole different story than the books. Oddly, I used to not read fantasy at all and now it’s a mainstay for me. I do find it easier to start a series in audio since the books are often long and the world-building can be overwhelming. Audio seems to help. I don’t read as much contemporary romance, like billionaires, because it seems ridiculous, or historical romance. YA is often not for me. Anne – Books of My Heart

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Anne!

      You’re right. I’ll read anything by Agatha Christie😍

      Thanks for your insights about Fanfiction. That’s very helpful as I couldn’t fathom why one would read it. Also glad to see I’m not alone I how to consume books in the fantasy genre. I think I burned out, though, because I consumed too much PNR.

      Yeah, I bailed off the billionaire train some time ago. I do still like historical romance, especially those set in America. I read very little YA but do like those with a dystopian setting.

  2. Do you have kids? I’ve heard that after having kids it gets way harder for some people to watch/read horror and crime stories.

    I’m with you on the cozy mysteries, I just can’t understand them…and that they’re SO popular! Im missing something there. But some of the titles are completely hilarious so at least there’s that!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No children but I do have a niece and nephew who are like my children. It was around the time they were born, however, when I lost my tolerance. Never made that association!

      Most of those cozies have very homey covers, a sweet feel to them. You can almost identify the genre from those titles. I just need more…grrrrr!

  3. Great post, Jonetta! I am pretty in an agreement with you here. Not a big fan of the ones you mentioned. I think it’s fairly short list. I did read and really like Bird Box though. It is kind of on the line there with creepy disturbing and terrifying disturbing. You could go either way .

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Yeah that would be terrifying disturbing!

    Horror used to be in my younger days my favourite until I started having nightmares and my husband said look at what your reading. Hmm I wonder why!! lol

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I love horror. I got to where I wasn’t reading much of it or even watching the movies (hubs isn’t a fan, so we usually pick something else to watch). I do love Fantasy, but usually more of Urban Fantasy or something similar. I can’t do the high fantasy like Tolkien, though hubs loves that stuff. I’ve read a few graphic novels, usually UF books that are retold in the format (Mercy Thompson, Anita Blake, etc). I agree that the mysteries in cozies are much lighter than the regular mysteries. I’ve only read a few, and I think it depends on the author. I need to really like the characters. I’ve never gotten the fan-fic either, but I’ve also never read any of it.

    Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I admire your ability to hang in there with the horror genre! There was a time when I loved it before I drifted away. Thanks for making that distinction between UF and high fantasy because they’re different (even though some UF blends into high fantasy). You are so lucky your husband reads some of the things you do. The only books my husband has shared with me is the Harry Bosch series by Michael Connelly…for now!

      Thanks for sharing your perspective, Melanie!

  6. I love this post Jonetta. I also am an ecelctic reader. I am with you on Horror and Fan Fiction. As you know from my reviews, I do love cozy mysteries for all the reasons you don’t. I think as I have gotten older, I like reading them for the simplicity, they just make me enjoy the book and make me smile. I only started reading them within the last 3 or 4 years. I will read the odd Graphic Novel (most of them because I am reading children’s books) and have gotten to enjoy Fantasy more than I ever though I would. Having said that, I do not like vampire stories or shape shifters. I am also not a big fan of Sci Fi, but will read the odd one. I have found, like you, throughout my life, I have shifted genres many times.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks, Carla! I was hoping you’d weigh in on the cozies. Maybe when I tire someday of my mayhem books I’ll appreciate them more.

      I avoided Sci Fi for the longest time and then last year I listened to The Martian and Dark Matter and shifted my attitude overnight. I just am more discriminating in my choices.

      A few years ago, I became engrossed in vampires and shifters, etc., a new world of reading for me. Now, not so much but am still hooked on a few series (Immortals After Dark, Black Dagger Brotherhood, Dark Hunter).

      Liked by 1 person

Comment anyone?

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment: 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:
Zesty citrus

Regular price $10.00

Made with orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit and rosehip oil to energise, help with concentration and moisturise skin withput being too heavy. Can be used on all skin types but great for oily and combination.

Directions: Add 1 tablespoon for a bath or as an exfoliant in the shower, 1/2 into a foot bath

Ingredients: Epsom salts, sea salt, bicarbonate of soda, rosehip oil, orange oil, lemon oil, orange zest, orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, lime, zest, lime juice, grapefruit zest, grapefruit juice


text:
Subscribe to the Blunt Force Truth podcast

Ingraham: Hillary Clinton’s Ignorance On Guns Is ‘Despicable’ [VIDEO]

Fox News’ Laura Ingraham slammed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for making a misguided gun control argument shortly after the Las Vegas shooting.

After the deadliest mass shooting in modern United States history, Clinton tweeted that the shooting could’ve been deadlier if the gunman had a “silencer” (or a suppressor) and urged Americans to go after the NRA.

“Hillary Clinton spoke before she knew any of the facts,” Ingraham said. “You can’t really put a silencer on an AR-15, it melts the barrel.”

“All of the people who actually know guns were like, ‘she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,’” she continued. “There’s a level of ignorance and I found it to be despicable. If Hillary Clinton wants to run for president again and take the Second Amendment to the ballot box I think she should do it.”

More video clips from The Daily Caller here.

(First reported by The Daily Caller)   (October 3, 2017)

Want more BFT? Leave us a voicemail on our page or follow us on Twitter @BFT_Podcast and Facebook @BluntForceTruthPodcast. We want to hear from you! There’s no better place to get the #BluntForceTruth.


text:
Skip to main content

LINE-1 hypermethylation in white blood cell DNA is associated with high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Access & Citations

Citation counts are provided from Web of Science and CrossRef. The counts may vary by service, and are reliant on the availability of their data. Counts will update daily once available.

Online attention

Altmetric score 0
  • 24 Mendeley

Altmetric calculates a score based on the online attention an article receives. Each coloured thread in the circle represents a different type of online attention. The number in the centre is the Altmetric score. Social media and mainstream news media are the main sources that calculate the score. Reference managers such as Mendeley are also tracked but do not contribute to the score. Older articles often score higher because they have had more time to get noticed. To account for this, Altmetric has included the context data for other articles of a similar age.