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Working to the beat: How music can make us more productive

Summary: Listening to music while working helps improve productivity and increases perceptions of happiness.

Source: Virginia Commonwealth University

Music makes us happy. Listening to music produces dopamine — nature’s happy pill — in the brain. And music also makes us sad. Listening to Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt” or just about anything by Hank Williams produces tears. In fact, music can evoke every emotion known to man.

But can music also make us productive?

Yes, if it’s the right music, according to Kathleen R. Keeler, a doctoral student, and Jose M. Cortina, Ph.D., a professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business, who has researched the link between musical characteristics and job performance.

Their review, “Working to the Beat,” looks at immediate physiological and emotional responses elicited by music and how they affect performance. They found that other facets such as volume, lyrics, familiarity and musical preference also can potentially influence work outcomes.

“While technology has made listening to music in the workplace easier, music surprisingly has deep roots within industry and labor,” said Keeler, who will graduate from the School of Business this week.

Work songs were widely used by a variety of occupations, such as factory workers, agricultural laborers, sailors, and miners. The Muzak Corp. developed “functional music” after World War II, making programmable music accessible for the traditional office setting — and elevators.

Muzak conducted its own extensive research on music and behavioral responses, Keeler said, developing a “stimulus progression” program in which music was used to increase productivity without being distracting to employees. Workplaces ordered from a selection of recordings, each of which was designed with a specific order and type of music to counteract the fatigue cycles in humans; for example, the fastest and most uplifting songs were played at 10:30 a.m. and again at 3:30 p.m. during the workday.

Early empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that music not only improved worker productivity but also increased workers’ perceived happiness. Keeler and Cortina’s research supports that premise.

“The lesson is really that no music will hurt performance, and anything that keeps you awake will help,” Cortina said. “I recommend Boston’s ‘More than a Feeling’ [for simple tasks] seeing as how it is the best song ever written. Alternatively, the entire ‘Hamilton’ soundtrack should do the trick.”

Keeler and Cortina also explored the relationship between the type of music and type of work. Low-complexity songs such as James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind” or The Beatles’ “Let It Be” could help a person better perform complex and creative tasks such as planning, reasoning and problem solving because the song style facilitates cognitive flexibility and working memory. Fast tempo, high variation songs that help facilitate executive attention and inhibitory control, such as Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out For A Hero” or The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” would be helpful with tasks that are simple and routine and emphasize quantity and speed.

This shows the researcher listening to music on headphones
Doctoral candidate Kathleen Keeler is researching the best kind of music to listen to at work. The image is credited to Kevin Morley, University Relations.

“Both simple and routine tasks require a narrower range of task cues because, although the task may be simple and well learned, concentration on these tasks may be difficult due to the often boring and repetitive nature of the work,” Keeler said.

Task quality is likely to be higher when listening to songs that are moderate in tempo and dynamic variation, such as The Zombies’ “She’s Not There” or Rachmaninoff’s “Morceaux de Fantasie.” Songs such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” or the “Theme from Raiders of the Lost Ark” are likely to facilitate task quantity or speed, because these songs are fast in tempo, have high dynamic variation, and are low in complexity.

“Music can be helpful, harmful or inconsequential depending on the type of music and the type of task on which you are working,” Cortina said. “The overarching reason is that music with different characteristics has different effects on emotion and physiological arousal, which in turn affects attention.”

[divider]About this neuroscience research article[/divider]

Virginia Commonwealth University
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Leila Ugincius – Virginia Commonwealth University
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The image is credited to Kevin Morley, University Relations.

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As a blogger (I write about digital marketing), I’ve always been more drawn to in-house affiliate programs. Recently, I got into squirrly’s program (they got me with the 70% in commissions out of all sales, I have to admit it). But with all the new stuff I learned from this post, I’m seriously considering expanding. Thanks a lot for the useful tips.
There is serious competition in the affiliate marketing sphere. You’ll want to make sure you stay on top of any new trends to ensure you remain competitive. Additionally, you’ll likely be able to benefit from at least a few of the new marketing techniques that are constantly being created. Be sure you’re keeping up to date on all these new strategies to guarantee that your conversion rates, and therefore revenue, will be as high as possible.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect on May 25, 2018, is a set of regulations governing the use of personal data across the EU. This is forcing some affiliates to obtain user data through opt-in consent (updated privacy policies and cookie notices), even if they are not located in the European Union. This new regulation should also remind you to follow FTC guidelines and clearly disclose that you receive affiliate commissions from your recommendations.
Hey Adrian, The Six Figure Mentors have a tiered membership training program that takes you from totoal digital newbie to empowered online entrepreneur. They offer various training packages that cater to different stages of your personal/professional development. Pricing starts from $197 for the basic membership package but goes all the way up to $20,000 for the top level training they offer. Who in their right mind would pay $20,000 for some training?! You’d be surprised. I see a lot of top people from the corporate world (Directors, CEO’s, Partners) invest this type of money because they want to fast-track their… Read more »
Listen, there is no such thing as “easy or fast money”. In fact, if you believe that or are looking for some “overnight millions”, our programs are not for you. We hate this approach to marketing, career and business growth. We believe in time-tested, proven marketing methods combined with powerful teaching and lots of hard work. The income claims or results or examples you see on this site are some of the students who have taken what we teach and implemented it in their own business or career. We by no means promise or guarantee that you will get the exact same results as they have, your results may be higher or lower but most importantly, you only stand a chance of achieving some level of success if you implement.
The difference between Wealthy Affiliate and other online training courses is the availability of knowledge-sharing spaces. It is so beginner-friendly that you'll never be intimidated by jargons or any kind of arrogance that can often exist in internet marketers' forums. You can ask any kind of questions, however trivial they may seem, other members will guide you through almost immediately.
Great stuff here Sean – thanks for all of these insights and sharing some best practices when it comes to affiliate marketing. I’ve never been comfortable giving it a shot, but after reading this post and your perspective on how and when to do it, I may just have to give it a try. Especially considering I’m already mentioning and recommending services and products on my site, I’m just not getting the potential rewards associated with doing so. Thanks again.
You need to be decided on your subject: Think of this as the theme for your blog. What are you going to be talking about. There are thousands of topics out there and you are never going to run out. However, you should be aware that you cannot possibly cover all of them. Instead, you should try and narrow down your focus. That way, you can be sure to do justice to that particular topic. Being focused is also a good way of making sure that you retain an audience, which is essential for affiliate marketing. Let’s assume that you wish to blog about Soccer. There are millions of people who are interested in the subject around the world. The competition is tough because there are already thousands of blogs covering the subject. But if you are good enough, you could make it work. But what would happen if you were to suddenly start blogging about politics on your Soccer site? Chances are high that you will lose your audience. So, you need to have a particular focus if you wish to become successful at blogging.
Affiliate programs are arrangements where an online merchant that’s selling products pays an affiliate website a commission for any sales generated from their referral traffic. The affiliate website places affiliate links pointing to the merchant’s site to track transactions. Each agreement between an affiliate and a merchant features the commission structure and payout information.
MaxBounty works exclusively with digital products, usually about giving one’s email or signing up for a newsletter. MaxBounty has CPA, Pay-per-call, and CPL campaigns that you can choose from. MaxBounty is involved in a large number of verticals, including market research, real estate, social games, finance, dating, and diet, but is primarily designed for marketers seeking to acquire new leads.

A relative newcomer that was only founded in 2014, ConvertKit has taken the world of email marketing by storm. According to the company, they now have nearly 20,000 active customers of their email services. Their affiliate program works by paying existing customers a lifetime 30 percent commission for referrals that subsequently become ConvertKit customers or who sign up for ConvertKit webinars and other digital products.

Hi Augie, great to hear that you’re searching for better ways to earn commissions online. Yes of course, it is possible for you to make that much of money every single month by running a blog website and promote affiliate products by using your site. Because you’ve been in the email marketing business and also networking (?) already, I have a feeling that you’ll learn new areas very quickly. You can join us and start now? Thanks for your comment.

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Ahmad, Great post and great information. I have some more specific questions for you relating to my personal company and how affiliate programs can tie into it. Is there a chance we could talk sometime soon? I think you may have the answers to several of my questions on whether affiliate marketing is what I am looking for or not. And if it’s not what I am looking for I think you can direct me in the direction I need to go.

Leadpages claims that its affiliate program is not exclusively for affiliate marketers, which is true, but the narrow focus of this niche means that only professionals affiliate marketers will ever be able to earn significant income from the program. Leadpages’s affiliate program does offer quite a lot of different options (webinars, videos, blog posts, free marketing courses, etc.) to send referrals to, which can lead to higher conversion rates if done correctly.

I have seen some websites that flat out lied too about how “easy” it was. Like an example of one woman who put together her first affiliate marketing video selling a product and got her first $50. It made it *seem* like she just put together a video and immediately started making money. They failed to address the fact that she already had the YouTube channel for over a year and had over 500 subscribers prior to that.

the idea that you can "get content" is dangerous… This by definition means that you're going to be scraping, copying, etc. You need to create content that is 100% unique based off of your research, experiences, trials and errors, etc. I started making money online in 2003. I went full-time as a digital marketer online in 2010. I started teaching into thousand and 16… Meaning I had 13 years of experience and six years full-time experience for ever trying to teach. This is what I pull from when I teach… I'm not researching an idea in order to teach you, I have been working with every aspect of digital marketing and online entrepreneurship for 15+ years.
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I am at ABSOLUTE ZERO on this affiliate marketing idea. I have no website (other than a facebook page), no domain name, no clients, and negative money.  I am in a situation of extreme financial hardship after a psychological breakdown and come very unfortunate events.  I  was wondering, though-- here's  my idea:  Because I  am at such an absolute zero of experience and getting started (I am even pretty much not just computer illiterate other than Word, email, basic internet, etc, but I would say I am computer challenged or have a bit of a learning disability with respect to computing skills), you could and should consider starting me up and taking me through everything with everything needed included along with the training so that you could use me as a true example of how much your system can do for someone.  You could look at me as a charity case, perhaps even write off what you give me for free as a business expense, and then use me as a complete rags-to-riches spokesperson, which I would gladly do for you.I have a lot of time but no starting skills to offer, which I think would make my success stand out from the many (and outdated and stagnant and presented-the-same-way success stories that so many of the affiliate marketing videos and websites I have looked at have.  A story like mine as an example of your success in training people would be like a breath of fresh air in what is starting to look like a stagnant and outdated and no longer worthwhile world within computing and marketing.  I have seen comments that say that affiliate marketing is "not what it used to be" and that it is harder for younger millenials to make as much money as the older millenials have.  I think such a trend should be reversed and the reversal of the trend should be what YOU have to offer, from your method of how to do affiliate marketing.I thank you for reading, and thank you please for considering.
JVZoo was founded in 2011 and has since rocketed to near the top as one of the most popular affiliate programs out there. JVZoo is unusual in that there are no upfront costs for either publishers or merchants (advertisers). JVZoo’s income is exclusively from charging fees (to both the merchant and the affiliate) after a sale has been made. It is also unusual in that it pays commissions “instantly” via PayPal rather than once a week/fortnight/month like other affiliate programs.
Hi Masaya, it was great talking to you! The primal reason I didn’t recommend a solo ad business is that it requires a lot of investment in the beginning and it will take a long time before you see the breakeven point. Anyway it’s great to hear that you’ve all set up to start a niche marketing via your website. I look forward to visiting your site once it goes live. Good luck! Thanks for your comment.
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It's free to become a Hostgator affiliate, and their tiered payouts are substantial — you can make $65 per signup if you provide Hostgator with 1-5 signups per month, and up to $125 per signup if you provide Hostgator with over 21 signups. You can either embed tracking links on your site or create a custom coupon code. Since Hostgator provides a 45 day money-back gurantee, it's low-risk for your website visitors to try it out.
So no, it isn’t easy in the least bit. In fact, from the people who talk about the TRUTH behind affiliate marketing, it CAN be a great way to make money, but only after you’ve spent months or even years putting content out there and already have a VERY solid viewer base. That’s great that you worked your way up so fast, but for your one blog that makes as much as you claim, there are countless others who wasted months or even years on blogs and get little to no return on it. So, your website neglects to cover the most difficult part of the topic. And that’s not pointing the finger at you – it seems like that is where 99% of the people discussing affiliate marketing fall short. They talk about the finish line rather than the path to GET to that finish line.
No matter how good your marketing skills are, you’ll make less money on a bad product than you will on a valuable one. Take the time to study the demand for a product before promoting it. Make sure to research the seller with care before teaming up. Your time is worth a lot, and you want to be sure you’re spending it on a product that is profitable and a seller you can believe in.
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Seaweeds in pig diets: Meat and health effects

[Italy, France] Seaweed – in what role can it be successfully applied in pig diets? A recent scientific overview points to their role as additives for their potential effects for pig health and meat quality.

The overview was presented by scientists from Italy and France in the scientific journal Animal Feed Science and Technology. The article summarised the most relevant research to the use of seaweed in livestock diets. Below, the findings with regard to pigs are summarised.

Feeding brown algae to pigs

The researchers start off by diving a little bit in history. In the 19th and early 20th centuries in Gotland (Sweden), pigs were fed with a mixture of boiled brown algae F. vesiculosus and cereal meal. A similar use was reported in 1980 in Loch Feochan (Scotland, UK), where boiled or raw brown algae Pelvetia species were fed with oatmeal to fatten pigs.

In 1979, it was shown that moderate to high amounts of brown seaweeds in the diet may be detrimental to pigs: for example Ascophyllum nodosum meal fed to pigs at 10% in the diet did not affect blood parameters but weight loss was recorded after several weeks.

Nowadays, seaweeds are fed as additives in low amounts (1-2%) for their potential benefits for pig health and meat quality.

Meat quality: Seaweeds as a iodine source

In regions where part of the population suffers from iodine deficiency, the use of seaweeds in pig feeding has been proposed to increase iodine concentration in pig meat, as the organic iodine found in seaweeds such as Laminaria or Ascophyllum is readily metabolised and stored in the pig muscle, unlike inorganic iodine, as was demonstrated in 2010.

Feeding pigs with a diet containing 2% of dried A. nodosum (the seaweed-based diet contained 10 mg/kg of iodine vs 1 mg/kg for the control diet) increased the concentration of iodine in animal tissues by 2.7-6.8, depending on the tissue.

This feeding strategy for producing iodine-enriched meat was found to be an easily controllable contribution to human iodine supply, without risk for overdosing or the need for shift in eating pattern, but this contribution was considered insufficient to solve the actual iodine deficiency at country level in Belgium, as was described in 2009.

Prebiotic and health effects

Seaweeds and seaweed extracts have been shown to have prebiotic effects and to enhance immune function in pigs, and have been assessed as potential antibiotic replacers in pigs.

For instance, laminarin and fucoidan extracted from Laminaria species were found to improve piglet performance, with laminarin being the main source for gut health and performance improvements, which was reported in 2009 and 2010.

Trials with intact seaweeds

The researchers write that there have been few trials with intact seaweeds. In Japan in 2011, seaweeds of unspecified species fed for 4 days, from 76 day-old to 80 day-old pigs at 0.8% dietary inclusion increased IgA production in saliva and immune function.

In Belgium (2009 and 2010), in vitro investigations revealed a depressive effect of dried A. nodosum on piglet gut flora, especially on E. coli. Seaweed meal included at 1% in piglet diets reduced the E. coli load in the stomach and small intestine, while increasing the Lactobacilli/E. coli ratio in the small intestine, indicating a greater resistance to intestinal disorders.

Seaweed meal added failed to enhance performance

However, in a later experiment (2012) by the same authors, the seaweed meal added at 0.25%, 0.5% or 1% to piglet diets of good digestibility failed to enhance performance of weaned piglets, gut health parameters, plasma oxidative status, and did not alter the microbial ecology in the foregut and in the caecum.

This lack of effect could be due to the presence of phlorotannins in Ascophyllum, which would counteract the prebiotic effects of other compounds, or it could be due to a too low inclusion rate. With regards to the unchanged oxidative status, antioxidant vitamins in the diet may have masked the antioxidant effect of the seaweed.

The total article, also including effects for other livestock species, e.g. sheep and poultry, in Animal Feed Science and Technology was compiled by Harinder P.S. Makkar and Philippe Ankers, FAO, Rome, Italy; Gilles Tran and Valérie Heuzé, Association Française de Zootechnie, Paris, France; Sylvie Giger-Reverdin, attached to both the INRA, Paris France and the AgroParisTech UMR, Paris, France; Michel Lessire, INRA, Nouzilly, France; and François Lebas, Association Cuniculture, Corronsac, France.

View original article at: Seaweeds in pig diets: Meat and health effects

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14/05/20 17:23

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update: First Minister's speech 14 May 2020

Statement given by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a media briefing in St Andrew's House, Edinburgh

Good afternoon. Thanks for joining us for today’s briefing.

I want to start – as I always do – by updating you on some of the key statistics in relation to Covid-19 in Scotland.

As at 9 o’clock this morning, there have been 14,117 positive cases confirmed - an increase of 188 from yesterday.

A total of 1480 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. That is a decrease of 54 since yesterday.

A total of 71 people last night were in intensive care with confirmed or suspected Covid 19. That is an increase of 1 since yesterday.

I am also able to confirm today that since 5 March, a total of 3,253 patients who had tested positive for the virus have been able to leave hospital. I wish all of them well.

And unfortunately I also have to report that in the last 24 hours, 34 deaths have been registered of patients who have been confirmed through a test as having Covid-19 – that takes the total number of deaths in Scotland, under that measurement, to 2007.

And let’s always remind ourselves that behind these statistics are individuals whose loss is a source of grief to their friends, family and loved ones. I want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to this virus.

I also want to thank – as I always do - our health and care workers. Later this evening people across the Scotland will once again applaud you from our doorsteps and windows. I hope that that gesture gives a small but important indication of how grateful we all are for the incredible work that you are doing.

I have three things I want to update you on today.

The first is on tests and I want to set out again, so it is clear, who is eligible – right now – to access testing.  Let me stress we keep this under constant review and take clinical advice on an ongoing basis,, and as it changes we will let you know, but I want to set out very clearly the position as it is now – so no one who is entitled to a test is in any doubt.

NHS Scotland testing capacity is currently used within hospitals for all ICU patients, all patients in hospital who have symptoms, and all those admitted to hospital who are over the age of 70, whether they have symptoms of COVID-19 or not. People who are over 70 will be tested every four days during their stay. The reason for that is we see in the statistics every day that older people are particularly hard hit by this virus.

NHS tests are also given to all patients due to enter or re-enter a care home from hospital – if they have previously tested positive for the virus, they must have 2 negative tests before entering the care home from a hospital.

In addition, we implement what is called enhanced outbreak investigation in all care homes where there are cases of COVID. This involves testing, subject to individuals’ consent, of all residents and staff - whether or not they have symptoms.

NHS testing is also available for all NHS and social care key workers, or symptomatic household members of those workers. This testing should be accessible to care and health service staff within their local area, and should not require them to drive or travel long distances.

Care home managers can put symptomatic staff forward for testing and there should be no barriers to that.

Tests are also now available to a wider group of people through the UK wide Testing Programme at drive-in centres and mobile testing units. There are 5 drive-in centres in Scotland – at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports, and in Inverness and Perth. There are also now 12 mobile testing units across the country in locations such as Annan and Fort William, and they will move to other towns every 5 days or so.

These provide testing, for any key worker with symptoms – not just health and care workers - so, for example if you are working in critical infrastructure services. They are also available for anyone needs to work, and cannot work from home; and for anyone with symptoms who is over 65. Testing is also available to symptomatic household members for all of these groups.

If you book a test through these drive-in or mobile centres, you will be allocated to the centre closest to your own postcode. I know that for some people that can still involve travelling quite a long distance. We are therefore working with the military, to try to make mobile testing units as widely available as possible.

Finally, we are also now using NHS testing capacity for monitoring purposes – to test the prevalence of the virus in communities in Scotland.

As we further increase capacity - and as the incidence of the virus continues to reduce - we will also start implementing our policy of test, trace, isolate and support. That will be crucial to controlling further outbreaks of the epidemic, as we start to emerge from lockdown and we will update on progress on that shortly.

However at this stage, our testing policy continues to be based on three key priorities- saving lives and protecting the vulnerable; ensuring that critical staff can return to work as soon as possible; and monitoring and reporting on the spread and prevalence of the virus.

The continuing expansion of testing is enabling us to do that more effectively, while also building our capacity to test, trace and isolate.

The second item I want to update you on, relates to support for people who are shielding.

That term refers to approximately 175,000 people in Scotland who are at the highest clinical risk from Covid-19, and who are therefore being asked to stay at home at all times.

People who are shielding can ask for support and receive information through a text message service. If you have not yet registered for the service but are in that shielding group, I would encourage you to do so.

One of the services which you can request by text is free weekly delivery of food, and other vital provisions such as toiletries.

These deliveries are also available to people without a mobile phone – I will read out a freephone number in a few moments which will be useful if you are in that position.

More than 50,000 people who are shielding have signed up for the free delivery service and more than 250,000 food packages have now been delivered to people across the country.

In addition, many supermarkets are making priority delivery slots available for people who are shielding.

I know for some of you, as you enter your seventh or eighth week of shielding, you will be feeling incredible levels of frustration.

This crisis is in so many ways much harder for you than for you even than it is for those  living with the standard restrictions which are in place for everyone else. And so it is important to me that you know that support is available to you and that support will be available for as long as it is needed. Please ask for that support if you need it – whether that is food and medication, or indeed anything else. Just because you have not needed it up to now does not mean you cannot ask for it at any time.

I also want you to know that you are not being forgotten as we think about our next steps, and about how we live in a new world where this virus is present. Your needs and your quality of life remain really important to our decision making process. We will set out steps over the days and weeks to come about how we emerge from the lockdown but I don't want anybody in the shielding group to think they are being left behind. You have particular needs and it is really important we protect you, but it's also important we understand how difficult this is for you.

I mentioned earlier that we have a national helpline for people who are shielding. This will direct you to your local authority and is a good way of finding information about the support which is available to you – including food and medicine deliveries.

The number is 0800 111 4000 – that’s 0800 111 4000 - and the line is open between 9am and 5pm every weekday. So please, do make use of it.

The final issue I want to cover is the work of Skills Development Scotland. I know that the economic uncertainty caused by this crisis has caused very many people to worry about their future prospects.

Although it cannot currently offer face to face support, Skills Development Scotland has still been providing help to people throughout this crisis. For example its website, myworldofwork, provides information on online learning courses; on immediately available jobs; and on practical skills such as developing your CV.

Yesterday SDS expanded its support further by launching a phoneline and online service. Again, I will read out the phoneline number in a few moments.

The phoneline and web resources will provide people with access to range of services available from SDS and local councils.

They will therefore help individuals who are thinking about future job and career options – for example if you are currently on furlough; if you have been made redundant and are seeking employment; or if you are a school pupil, or their parent or carer, who is thinking about what to do after school.

An advertising campaign was launched yesterday to support the enhanced service. So if you think you might benefit from the advice being offered, either go onto the Skills Development Scotland website – – or phone the helpline on 0800 917 8000.

I want to conclude my statement simply by emphasising once again our key public health guidance.

Please stay at home except for essential purposes- such as essential work that can’t be done at home, exercise, or to pick up food or medicines.

You can now exercise more than once a day – but when you do leave the house, stay more than two metres from other people. And do not meet up with people from households other than yours.

Please wear a face covering if you are in a shop or on public transport. And wash your hands thoroughly and regularly.

Finally, if you or someone else in your household has symptoms of Covid-19, then you should stay at home completely.

I know that this is really difficult and  it gets more difficult with every passing day. But right now it is still necessary, and it is making a difference.

By staying at home, we are slowing the spread of the virus, we are protecting the NHS, and we are saving lives.

And we are bringing the day closer, when we can relax some more of these restrictions.

So thank you once again to all of you for sticking with this for your own sake but for the sake of everyone else as well. This truly is a national collective endeavour that all of us are contributing to.


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02:30 PM

Jackson EMC Donates $20K to HomeFirst Gwinnett

(JEFFERSON, GA. Nov. 19, 2018) – Jackson EMC has donated $20,000 to the HomeFirst Gwinnett Initiative, which helps people who are homeless secure necessary mental, job, financial and legal counseling, shelter and clothing to make a fresh start.

“We are very grateful to Jackson EMC for providing this funding as we begin a new organization,” said Pat McDonough, of Anderson Tate & Carr, who is leading the initiative. “Our primary focus is individuals who have been released from the Gwinnett jail with nowhere to call home.”

The Jackson EMC donation was made from margin refunds that have been unclaimed by the electric cooperative’s members for five years. Legislation passed in 2005 permits Georgia electric cooperatives to make charitable, education and economic development contributions of unclaimed margin refunds.

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, the largest electric cooperative in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Ga. The cooperative serves more than 228,000 meters on 14,000 miles of energized wire. For more information, visit jacksonemc.com.


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North Carolina Rate Bureau Selects Verisk to Help Develop New Flood Insurance Program

244 Days ago

Consumer-Friendly ISO Forms Offer New Options for At-Risk Homeowners

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Sept. 23, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK), a leading data analytics provider, has been selected by the North Carolina Rate Bureau (NCRB) to help develop a new program aimed at protecting homeowners from losses suffered due to the damaging effects of flooding.

Verisk was selected because its ISO business has been a leader in providing broad, flexible, and court-tested policy language. The new program’s forms closely align with language ISO has already filed in numerous states as part of its multistate flood program, and they track with standard homeowners policy language in a way that facilitates individual insurers offering coverage beyond the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).

“Major storms in the past few years have highlighted the need for an expanded flood insurance market in North Carolina,” said Ray Evans, NCRB’s general manager. “By assisting with policy language, Verisk has played a key role in helping us make critical flood insurance available to more of the state’s population.”

“Our policy forms are consumer-friendly with language generally similar to the standard homeowners policy most consumers know,” said Marc Treacy, managing director of flood insurance at Verisk. “The NCRB’s new program will feature coverages that homeowners can understand and embrace.”

ISO constantly tracks insurance legislation and court cases and updates its vast library of policy language, ratings, and rules to cover the latest risks. These programs constitute a range of core services that help regulators make sure policies meet basic coverage expectations, simplify claim settlements, and assist insurers in entering new markets and lines of business. To learn more about our flood insurance options, visit www.verisk.com/floodinsurance.

About Verisk
Verisk (Nasdaq:VRSK) is a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy and specialized markets, and financial services. Using advanced technologies to collect and analyze billions of records, Verisk draws on unique data assets and deep domain expertise to provide first-to-market innovations that are integrated into customer workflows. Verisk offers predictive analytics and decision support solutions to customers in rating, underwriting, claims, catastrophe and weather risk, global risk analytics, natural resources intelligence, economic forecasting, and many other fields. Around the world, Verisk helps customers protect people, property, and financial assets.

Headquartered in Jersey City, N.J., Verisk operates in 30 countries and is a member of Standard & Poor’s S&P 500® Index. In 2018, Forbes magazine named Verisk to its World’s Best Employers list. For more information, please visit www.verisk.com.

Brett Garrison
Edelman (for Verisk)

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Becoming an Expert: Learning from Jelly Volcanoes

Photo taken on Glacier Grey, west of the Torres del Paine National Park

Suraya Hilmi Hazim is a final year PhD Student in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences:

Volcanoes have attracted people from all walks of life for centuries. Volcanic eruptions while extremely destructive, also provides the materials for life to flourish. Volcanic soil is known to be rich in nutrients for agriculture. Volcanic rocks can be used as aggregates in construction.

The heat from the belly of volcanoes (geothermal energy) helps to power homes with electricity. Volcanic regions are also very picturesque, splashed across paintings, postcards and Instagram feeds. It is no surprise then that volcanic regions are also some of the world’s most highly populated regions. In 2015, it was estimated that over 800 million people worldwide lived within 100 km of an active volcano. The numbers have probably grown since then and will continue to grow over the years to come. Understanding the processes leading up to a volcanic eruption has never been more vital.

My PhD project focuses on the relationship between the deformation expressed on the surface and the dynamics of the underlying volcanic plumbing system. Understanding this relationship will provide greater insights on the depth of the magma and the intrusion geometry, with the potential to constrain when and where an eruption may happen.

For my experiments, I use gelatine as the analogue material to model the Earth’s crust and dyed water (red, of course!) as the magma analogue. Gelatine sets clear which allows for observations to be made in real time. Gelatine is also photoelastic which allows deformation within the gelatine to be observed with the aid of polarized light. Most importantly, gelatine is a viscoelastic material which means that it can express both viscous and elastic behaviour depending on the extent and timescale of deformation. This property makes gelatine a versatile analogue material to be used in different laboratory experiments. My experiments focus on deformation of gelatine within the elastic regime.

To simulate the formation of ground and subsurface deformation patterns induced by the propagation of magma-filled fractures in the Earth’s crust, dyed water is injected into the base of a clear-Perspex tank at a constant volumetric flux. The experiments are monitored using digital cameras to record changes in the intrusion geometry over time and progressive deformation on the surface of the crustal analogue is recorded using an overhead laser scanner. Polarized light allows subsurface stress patterns to be observed as the dyke grows.

Good experimental models however, should always be complemented by natural observations in the field. As part of my studies here at the University of Liverpool, I was very much encouraged to do fieldwork to complement my experimental models. I have been given the opportunity to travel all the way to Torres del Paine in Chile, one of the southernmost regions of South America which overlooks the Southern Patagonian Ice Fields, one of the biggest continental ice fields in the world.

The majestic landscape of Torres del Paine owes its origins to the region’s tectonic and glacial history. Dark layers of sediments originally deposited at the bottom of the sea now crown the peaks of the Cuernos del Paine (image below), the centrepiece of the national park, which presents evidence of uplift within the region. Sandwiched between the layers of sediment are light-coloured bands of rock which are a stark contrast to the darker sedimentary layers. These light-coloured bands of rock are made of the resilient granite, which have withstood the erosion and carving by glacial movement over time.

Torres del Paine is nature’s very own classroom to learn more about the emplacement of magma within the Earth’s crust and the relationship between magmatic intrusions with its surrounding host rock. The exposure of granite in the national park presents a very unique opportunity for magmatic intrusions to be studied as a three-dimensional body as the hiking path around the national park conveniently circles the main intrusive complex. Collecting visual data on the geometry of the intrusions as seen from different parts of the national park could collectively be used to infer the geometries and depths of emplacement in nature. I will be using image analysis to piece spatial information together from high definition photographs and annotated sketches made in the field.

Throughout my PhD, I have been lucky to be able to attend courses and conferences within the UK and abroad, which has positively shaped my overall experience as a PhD student. All this would not have been possible without the support of my research group here at the University of Liverpool and my funding bodies, the Malaysian Ministry of Education and The National University of Malaysia.

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Postcard: Ecology tales from the Tropics

Dr Lydia Cole is a researcher at the Institute of Integrative Biology’s Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour.

Whilst everyone was sweltering under abnormally tropical temperatures in the UK during July, Dr Jenny Hodgson and I were away in the actual Tropics as part of our NERC-funded project Decision support for restoring ecological networks in rapidly developing, biodiverse countries.

After attending the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation’s annual meeting in Kuching, we flew on to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, to attend a mapping project meeting.

In order for us ecologists to understand the human-component of these forested landscapes, we were extremely fortunate to visit several different communities living in the Heart of Borneo region. We spent three nights in Kampung Sikalabaan, including one incredible day observing how members of the villages use their forest and its bounty of resources. Early afternoon, after walking upstream for quite some time, we stopped for a spectacular picnic: out of their woven baskets, the women produced a feast for the twenty or so of us, with freshly boiled rice, freshly picked aubergine broth and then to top it off, they caught and we cooked freshly-netted fish from the flowing waters two feet away. Beats a Sainsbury’s sandwich!

Leaving the forest and returning to Kota Kinabalu was a bit of a shock, though the washing machine was welcomed! The next day we headed into the Forestry Complex at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah campus for two days of delivering Condatis training. We had 20 participants attend from a range of organisations and backgrounds. Jenny and I introduced the concept of Condatis, followed by an interactive session where we guided people through performing their own analyses using the new web version of the tool.

Our final stop off on the trip was the island of Java. Our project partners guided us over the following three days, and were so patient in answering an almost continuous stream of questions from us interested and unacquainted British tourists!

We observed a complex, fascinating landscape as we drove to Mount Halimun Salak National Park, our case study landscape to the south of Bogor. Inside the Core Zone of the National Park there remains one of the largest continuous tracts of tropical forest in Java, and it is intact due to strict protection. Outside of this zone, there is a complex mosaic of human-modified landscapes, with degraded forest in between tea plantations, hydrothermal electricity plants and football pitches. National Park staff talked to us about how they are working with individual communities to develop village-specific Memorandums of Understanding on responsible use strategies and to make decisions on where to establish collaborative forest restoration projects.

During our stay we carried out another Condatis workshop, this time for ten staff members of the National Park. Through some lively discussions (mostly in Bahasa Indonesia!) we gathered useful feedback on the tool and how it could be usefully deployed in this landscape. We are hopeful that Condatis will generate maps that highlight priority areas for forest restoration in and around the park.

Three action-packed weeks later we returned to the UK. Now it’s time to process all of the information we gathered on our travels across the islands of Borneo and Java. We thank everyone who made our trip so exciting, so interesting and fed us so much yummy food!

Information in this postcard has been extracted from a set of two blog posts, accessible on the Condatis website here.

A tea plantation bounding the Mount Halimun Salak National Park.

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3 Alternative Paid Social Platforms to Diversify Your PPC Investment

  •   April 9, 2020

On the heels of another Google Marketing Live event, we are reminded that our beloved PPC world is always “under construction.” As the industry giants aim to grow and retain market share, competition on the advertiser level remains just as fierce as ever. Advertising costs are perpetually rising, but KPI targets tend to remain static. Savvy account managers recognize the inevitable difficulty of the situation and understand that one of the best ways to resolve it is through channel diversification.

hiker standing in front of forked path contemplating

While Google, Bing, Facebook, and LinkedIn can frequently be trusted to deliver results at scale, smaller PPC platforms often go overlooked and underutilized when they could in fact be the key to balancing the ever-contending objectives of efficiency and scale.

Admittedly, it can be a hassle to go through the process of researching, pitching, and testing a new platform that may not prove its value in the end. However, becoming an early adopter of under-appreciated paid social platforms allows you to capitalize on lower costs and differentiate yourself from competitors who do not yet have a presence in that digital space.

This post will review three of the often-overlooked paid social platforms that are worth your consideration.

1. Grow Your Reach with Spotify

Although Spotify’s Ad Studio was introduced in late 2017,  adoption of the self-serve audio advertising platform has been slow. There are a few major considerations that explain this circumstance:

  • Spotify does not currently offer a pixel or other conversion tracking method, making it difficult to prove the value of audio ads the way we attempt to with other social platforms.
  • Spotify ad targeting options are currently limited to demographics, geography, and musical preference. The absence of a pixel makes retargeting (the otherwise most appealing option) impossible.
  • Spotify ad reporting is not nearly as robust as other familiar platforms. Impressions, reach, clicks, spend, and other related KPIs are reported for each ad campaign, but there is no date selection field and the age/gender/genre breakdowns are available only for delivery (not engagement).

That said, Spotify ought not be overlooked as you consider diversifying your paid social portfolio. It is an excellent tool for advertisers looking to generate broad awareness in a target location. Spotify accepts 30-second audio files to be uploaded directly, or offers free recording of a 75-word script by one of their in-house voice actors.

Hanapin’s Alaina Thompson shared the why and how of Spotify advertising last year. I will add a few additional observations from my recent experiences using the Ad Studio:

  • The average cost/30-second listen is quite low (ranging from $.01 to $.02 in my national tests)
  • Turnaround time for Spotify voice actor recordings is QUICK (less than 24 hours, and more often within just 3-4 hours)
  • Despite the lack of conversion tracking and low click-through rates on ads, users who click Spotify ads are more likely to eventually convert (according to multi-channel funnels in Google Analytics)

2. Interest, Inform, and Involve with Quora

You may have heard me speak about Quora Ads previously, or read JD Prater’s recent post about how to reach your target audiences at key moments with the platform. I won’t spend time going through all the current features of Quora Ads since a quick visit to their blog provides a clearer and more succinct summary than I ever could.

If you aren’t familiar with Quora, it is at its core a question-and-answer forum that has begun to take on many characteristics of a traditional social network. Users can post and request answers to their questions, answer questions themselves, or browse Q&A threads from others on topics of interest to them. As the machine learning picks up on individual content preferences, the “news feed” begins to populate with question threads similar to those previously consumed.

Because of the varied targeting opportunities available to Quora advertisers, it is easy to engage prospects at all stages of the proverbial customer journey:

  • Interest prospective customers by introducing your brand alongside relevant content. Lookalike Audience Targeting, Topic Targeting, and Interest Targeting are my favorite options to use at this stage.
  • Inform new and returning prospects who have some brand awareness but are still in the consideration phase. I like to leverage Website Visitor Audiences and/or Question Retargeting with this objective.
  • Involve past customers to increase retention and cross-brand engagement with promotional offers. List Match Audiences (or custom audiences based on your website conversion events) are recommended.

Although Quora Ads adoption has ramped up quicker than Spotify, it is still a relatively underutilized platform. As a result of lower competition, avg. CPCs are cheaper than industry-leaders like Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Another appeal of Quora Ads is the fact that you can create an account, implement the pixel on your website, and build remarketing audiences before ever adding a payment method to the account. This means you can gauge how many of your current customers and site visitors are also active Quora users, which may be more than you expect. Quora also simplifies the task of forecasting spend and results, making it easier to determine expected value before diving in.

3. Capture Local Attention with Waze

Waze, a social navigation app owned by Google, is another low-risk and low-cost opportunity available to advertisers looking for a first-mover advantage. It is particularly valuable for small businesses, brick-and-mortar locations wanting to drive in-store traffic, or service providers wanting to connect with local consumers.

The app differs from Google Maps in a few subtle but significant ways. Waze proclaims that it is devoted to “Outsmarting Traffic. Together.” To this end, users are encouraged to report accidents, police presence, construction, and other hazards or areas of road congestion. In addition to serving as navigation to and from unfamiliar destinations, then, Waze creates value for everyday commuters as well. By encouraging them to contribute to the “community,” it also builds trust and loyalty with users.

On the advertising side, Waze offers three ad formats:

  • Branded Pins are icons that appear on the map at your location’s address. Users see these as they are driving in areas near your store or office and are reminded of its presence.
  • Promoted Search allows you to show at the top of search results for queries related to your business. Promoted results also include your brand logo for added recognition.
  • Zero-Speed Takeover, only available to enterprise-level spenders of $3,000+ monthly, is a banner ad that will appear at the top of the navigation screen while drivers are stopped at stoplights or other stand-still moments while driving.

Because the minimum daily spend for self-serve Waze advertisers is only $2, it is a very low-risk platform to test. Even better, getting started with the platform is a simple and straightforward process that can be completed in a single day.

And The List Goes On

Spotify, Quora Ads, and Waze are just three of the platforms that I see as “rising stars” on the paid social landscape. There are many more out there, as early results from Hanapin’s State of Paid Social survey demonstrate. If you’ve tested these platforms or others, please come share your thoughts with me on Twitter to continue the conversation!

This marketing news is not the copyright of Scott.Services – please click here to see the original source of this article. Author: Emma Franks

For more SEO, PPC, internet marketing news please check out https://news.scott.services

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Avery Johnson needs to use NIT to focus on future

Where to watch: No. 8 (21-13 – #265 Pomeroy Rating) at No. 1 Alabama (18-15 – #59) – Today 6 p.m. Central, ESPNU

Who to watch: . In two previous trips, stuck with his conventional strategies and rotations – and got a pair of lackluster losses for his trouble with teams that clearly were uninterested in playing any more basketball. Now even the best-case scenario for Johnson has him returning to Tuscaloosa next winter for a win-big-or-else season and it is vital that he use whatever games remain this year to find out what skills and heart his underclassmen have and what holes will have to be filled either in the spring signing period or the summer transfer market. Smith started the first seven games of the year, got his minutes cut drastically for a long stretch, disappeared altogether from a handful of games, then suddenly went back to starting as Johnson went into end-of-season panic mode. Smith is nowhere near as polished as , but Hall isn’t going to be around next season when Johnson will be fighting for his professional life. Better to use this time if Smith’s soft hands and underrated positioning skills on the low blocks can translate into making him at least a serviceable starter at the post.

What to watch for: Focus at the foul line. As the weakest team statistically in the 32-team field, the Spartans have very few categories where they excel nationally, but they do have a knack for getting to the foul line (22.1 attempts per game). Unfortunately for Norfolk State, it is even more prone to hack its opponents, who are averaging 24.2 attempts. That means the Crimson Tide will have to make sure to keep its cool it what could become a chippy game and will need to improve on its atrocious 66.8 percent free throw rate, which may be expecting to much from a team that by its own admission struggled with concentration and proper preparation even when its goals for the season were still obtainable.

Follow Chris DePew on Twitter @TideFansChris

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the buffalo news

Emyle Watkins / WBFO News

The Buffalo News and its new parent company, Lee Enterprises, have announced Tuesday morning that it will lay off or furlough an unspecified number of employees.

Nick Lippa / WBFO

Political cartooning has been impacted by many things over the past decade. The advent of social media. The change in how consumers receive their news. And more recently, President Donald Trump. Buffalo News’ Pultizer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Adam Zyglis spoke with WBFO’s Nick Lippa about what makes a great cartoonist in 2019.

Avery Schneider / WBFO News

Have you gotten up and on your feet at work today? Many in the downtown Buffalo area who did took part in National Walk at Lunch Day. WBFO’s Avery Schneider joined them for a stroll.

WBFO file photo

Stanford Lipsey, who served as publisher of the Buffalo News for nearly three decades, died Tuesday at the age of 89. Lipsey is being remembered as a community leader, a preservationist and a philanthropist.

Mike Desmond/WBFO News

Citing the use of "strong images to connect with readers while conveying layers of meaning in a few words," Buffalo News editorial cartoonist Adam Zyglis won a Pulitzer Prize on Monday.

WBFO File Photo / WBFO News

Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown's standing among likely primary voters shows him riding a strong wave of support.

Buffalo News publisher Stan Lipsey stepping down

Dec 21, 2012

The longtime publisher of The Buffalo News is stepping down.  Stanford Lipsey, who has been with The News for 32 years, will leave his post on January 1.

WBFO News file photo

The Buffalo News has selected Mike Connelly of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to become editor and vice president, taking over for Margaret Sullivan who left for the New York Times earlier this month.

Connelly takes over in a challenging time for newspapers across the U.S.

WBFO and AM 970's Jim Ranney talked with Lee Coppola, former dean of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at St. Bonaventure University, about the challenges the new editor faces.

Lee Coppola will be inducted into the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame Class of 2012 Thursday evening.

Connelly named Buffalo News editor

Sep 19, 2012

The Buffalo News has moved quickly to fill the top news post vacated when former Editor Margaret Sullivan took a job with The New York Times.

Mike Connelly has been around the news business for 31 years with stints at The Wall Street Journal, Congressional Quarterly, The Baltimore Sun and the St. Paul Pioneer Press before becoming executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Now, he's joining The News as editor starting in late October.

County denies Freedom of Information request

Jun 5, 2012

The Poloncarz Administration is at odds with The Buffalo News over a Freedom of Information request.

Despite the request, officials have not released the dollar figures associated with the stadium lease talks with the Buffalo Bills conducted by a private law firm retained by the county.

The Nixon Peabody law firm considers its hourly rate for its legal work to be a "trade secret," and has requested the information not be released.

The Buffalo News has filed an appeal in the case.


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School teachers arraigned in court for allegedly raping 3 boys

Investigation is ongoing regarding the alleged rape of three school boys in Eastern Cape.

Three men employed by a school in the Eastern Cape town of Ngcobo will be appearing in the Ngcobo Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday for allegedly luring three boys to their homes under the pretence of helping them with their homework, before plying them with alcohol and raping them.

Two of the men are teachers at the school, while the third is a clerk, according to the Eastern Cape Department of Education. They were arrested on Sunday.

In a statement, police spokesperson Captain Namhla Mdleleni said: “It is alleged that three boys, between 14 and 17 years, were taken by the suspects to their place of residence.

“On arriving, they allegedly gave them alcohol and raped them.”

The rapes allegedly took place between June and August this year.

Mdleleni said on Saturday that a case of rape had been opened.

“All the suspects, who are between the ages of 30 and 49, were arrested on Sunday,” said Mdleleni.

Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima told the media that they were shocked about the “disgusting” incident.

“This is disgusting, to say the least,” Mtima said. “The department is working with the police to ensure that the suspects face the wrath of the law.”

Mtima said educators who sexually abused learners “abdicate their responsibility” and showed “low morality” when they did “such horrendous things to kids”.

Suspension letters had been served on the accused staff members, Mtima said.

The arrests had shocked the Ngcobo community, with a crowd of more than 400 people arriving at the school on Monday morning, demanding answers.

Officials from the education department reportedly met with community members at the school.

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May 25, 2020 | 10:46 AM IST
amphan super cyclone

Super-cyclone Amphan claims over dozen lives in West Bengal, Odisha; now batters Bangladesh

Over a dozen people (including a 13-year old) were reported to have lost their lives by Thursday morning in West Bengal and Orissa after the super cyclone Amphan came raging on Wednesday. The cyclone has now lost its intensity and moved over to Bangladesh.
The category-5 cyclone created havoc for over six-and-a-half hours during which it flattened hundreds of houses, uprooted several trees and electric poles, and snapped off power-lines, internet, and mobile networks too. A couple of transformer fire incidents were also reported from Kolkata.

Weather experts said that the eye of the cyclone, itself was about 30 km in diameter and had a wind-speed of over 200 kmph. It made a landfall with waves as high as 15-feet and was accompanied by heavy rains.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the impact of cyclone was much worse than the ongoing pandemic and as per the preliminary estimates; the damages could be over Rs 1 lakh crore.
CM Banerjee said, “The Sunderbans, Patharpratima, Basanti, Namkhana, Kutali, Baruipur, Sonarpur and Bhangar in South 24-Parganas have suffered extensive damage and had we not evacuated more than 5 lakh people at a day’s notice, the death toll would have been much higher.”
The Regional Meteorological Centre Director GK Das has said that Amphan is the ‘strongest cyclone to hit Kolkata this century and fiercer than Aila in terms of wind speed’.
The 35 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team, deployed to tackle the situation in the two states, has swung into action and has started the rescue and restoration works.

Editor In Chief

Editor In Chief is an publisher and journalist. He is regular columnist of the website NewsInInd. He is experienced in national and political issues with more than 500 blogs.


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this page has been updated 6 days ago

Susan Tyrrell

Susan Tyrrell was an American character actress. Tyrrell's career began in theater in New York City in the 1960s in Broadway and off Broadway productions. Her first film was Shoot Out. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Oma in John Huston's Fat City. In 1978, Tyrrell received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Andy Warhol's Bad. Her New York Times obituary described her as "a whiskey-voiced character actress talent for playing the downtrodden, outré, and grotesque."

John Waters interview: 'What stunt can I do next? Turn heterosexual?'

In 1972, film director John Waters achieved notoriety with Pink Flamingos, a movie in which a couple...

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Patty Hearst On Her Second Chapter As A Movie Star

When Patty Hearst met John Waters in 1988, she was at the Cannes Film Festival promoting Paul Schrader’s biopic about her. A big-screen adaptation of...

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When the Piano Man, Billy Joel, was just a teen, a teacher at Hicksville High School heard him play and encouraged him to pursue a musical career, he...

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CLEVELAND – 75 Cleveland patrol officers have been found in violation of departmental rules and regulations for their roles in a deadly November chase.

Disciplinary hearings for the officers will begin immediately, according to McGrath.

19 officers face charges that could lead to a suspension of 10 days or more, he said.  Those officers will be disciplined by Public Safety Director Martin Flask. McGrath will oversee the remaining disciplinary hearings.

The charges against the officers involve insubordination, joining the chase without permission and falsifying duty records.

None of the violations are serious enough to warrant termination, said McGrath.

Of the 277 officers on duty the night of Nov. 29,  a review committee determined 104 were involved in the deadly pursuit.

Cleveland Police Chief Michael McGrath and Mayor Frank Jackson announced the disciplinary charges during  a news conference Friday morning

Jackson acknowledged the chase and shooting have damaged the public’s trust in Cleveland’s police force.

“We have to let people know what we’re doing at every step so that they can see that we’re handling this right and that they should have the expectation that this will not happen again,” said Jackson.

McGrath did not release the officers’ names and would not speculate on what led to what the attorney general called a “systemic failure” during the chase until a review is complete.

In June, one supervisor was fired, two were demoted and nine others suspended following disciplinary hearings about their involvement .

The Nov. 29 chase ended when officers fired 137 shots at a car, killing Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, who were inside.

SOURCE: NewsNet5.com

Article and Picture Courtesy of WEWS NewsChannel 5

75 CLE Patrol Officers Found in Violation During Deadly Chase  was originally published on wzakcleveland.com


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The Most Common Style Mistakes By Men and How to Avoid Them

Most Common Style Mistakes Men Make That Need to Stop

Your style represents who you are, and it can also give you increased confidence. Avoid these most common style mistakes men make, so you can look better.

White Socks

Socks have become more and more stylish in the fashion world. With this being the case, you want to want to avoid wearing white, athletic socks. Choose a unique design for your socks that will work well with your overall look.

Wrong Fit

A great way to make yourself look better, and more muscular, is to wear clothes that fit you. Wearing baggy or too-tight clothing can make you look unattractive; a slimmer fit that allows you to move around will make you look sharp.

Wearing the Wrong Sunglasses

Most of the time, many guys don’t think about the sunglasses they choose. Sunglasses are a great way to upgrade your style; however, there are a few things you need to consider when you buy sunglasses. The major thing is you want to get sunglasses that complement your face shape.

A Visible Undershirt

It’s common for men to get sweat stains, and an excellent way to combat them is to wear an undershirt. The key to maintain your look, though, is to make sure that shirt isn’t visible. For a button up shirt, the best undershirt you can wear is one with a V-neck collar. This way, you can prevent sweat stains and sport your button-up shirt with style.

Wearing a Long or Wide Tie

When you dress up, a tie is one of the most important parts of the overall outfit. You want a cool pattern on your tie that works with your look, but you don’t want the tie to be too long or wide. Your tie length should fall around where your belt is—anything higher or lower will look odd. You also want to make sure your tie isn’t too wide or too skinny; try to find one that is about the same width as your jacket’s lapel.

Not Matching

Maybe the most common mistake that men often make with their style is not matching their clothes. This also goes for the footwear you choose. If you worry your clothes do not match, the Internet is your best resource. Search for images that show how the color or pattern combo would look. You should also pay attention to what the model is wearing when you shop online; it can provide you with a guide to follow as you search. You can also use mannequins in stores for inspiration.

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Local 1998 VP Rob Arnold Appointed to Succeed Colin Walle as NFFE National Vice President

NFFE is proud to announce the selection of Rob Arnold as NFFE’s newest National Vice President (NVP). He will succeed Colin Walle, who has served as an NVP since his election at the 2008 NFFE National Convention. Walle recently left the Seattle Passport Agency for work in the Minneapolis Passport office, a job which is outside of the NFFE bargaining unit, but closer to his family.

Born in Florida but raised primarily in Alaska, Arnold currently resides in the Seattle, Washington area where he works as a Passport Specialist at the Seattle Passport Agency. For nearly 15 years he has been an active member of NFFE Local 1998, a national Local representing over 1200 Passport Service employees in 22 offices across the country.

As a member, Arnold has played a major role in the consistent organizing success that has made Local 1998 one of NFFE’s largest. As a Senior Steward, Secretary Treasurer, and later, Vice President, Arnold helped the Local grow from less than 100 members all the way to the 450 members it has today. Always modest and quick to credit others for a job well done, Arnold attributes the Local’s success to the dedicated officers, representatives and members around him:

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have Colin Walle and as a mentor throughout my union career,” said Arnold. “I was fortunate to follow in the footsteps of a [Local] Vice President, Mike Garafano, who was extremely organized and resourceful. Also, the bargaining unit we are a part of is tremendously active and sharp, so I’ve simply benefitted from swimming with the right school of fish.”

Though he will never boast about it, Arnold has been a big part of the Local’s success in recent years. He was a key figure in renegotiating the Passport Service’s National Agreement; he has advocated for employees in successful arbitrations, resolved numerous ULP’s, and lobbied Congressional leaders on issues impacting Passport Service employees nationwide.

“By any measure, Rob is a great addition to the NFFE leadership team,” said NFFE National President William R. Dougan. “I am fully confident that he will serve all NFFE members with the same diligence and vigor that made Local 1998 so successful.”

Dougan added,

“I would also like to thank Colin for his service to the union. He has dedicated so much of his time and energy over the years to making NFFE the best it can be. On behalf of myself and the National Executive Council, I wish him the best in his new home and position.”


text:
Our unvarying objective is to give value to our diverse customer base, business associates and stake holders.

We aim to achieve this by constantly enhancing our competitive advantage.

Our more than 80 year experience, has taught us that long-term success can only be achieved by abiding to business ethics and family values.

Notos Cyprus LTD is a clothing retailer and was established in 1995 as a joint venture between the Nicholson Group and Notos Com Greece (50-50). Agreements between the two include LACOSTE, GANT, L’OCCITANE, NAUTICA, BARBOUR, LA MARTINA and most recently, an American brand AMERICAN EAGLE OUTFITTERS. The company operates 20 stores in all cities in Cyprus, 3 under sub-franchisees, wholesale and one boutique in Malta.

General Director: Theodoros Nicholson

ENI HOUSE LTD (est. 1995)

Exclusive importer - distributor of stationery goods. Companies currently represented include FABER CASTELL, PENTEL(writing instruments), BANTEX (filing products), PAPER ONE (A4 paper) and others. Recently the company has diversified in the digital printing industry with part of the MACtac product range.

E.NICHOLSON & SONS LTD (est. 1982)

Acts as the holding company for the group and also provides management services to the group and third parties. Acts as the authorised agent of Toms and Fjallraven

Latest News

9 Nicodemos Mylona St., Lykavitos
Nicosia, Cyprus 1070

Tel: +357 22447300

Fax: +357 22751472


text:
October 7, 2013

NILL added new content to the U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin on 10/7

* U.S. Supreme Court Bulletin
http://www.narf.org/nill/bulletins/sct/currentsct.htmlPetitions for certiorari were denied in Matheson v. Washington (cigarette taxes), Tonasket v. Sargent (sovereign immunity), Nebraska. v. Elise M. (Indian Child Welfare Act), Native Village of Eyak v. Blank (aboriginal title), and James L v. Devin H. (Indian Child Welfare) on 10/7/13.


text:
Coronavirus Updates & Resources for Campus Recreation

Rising together: Chico State and the aftermath of the Camp Fire

NIRSA members Curtis Sicheneder and Kendall Ross share their experience of navigating the destruction and far-reaching consequences of the Camp Fire and the role that collegiate recreation can play in the aftermath of disaster.

Concussion protocols at University of Maryland’s Recreation and Wellness

The NIRSA Concussion Advisory Council brings our campus recreation colleagues from across North America the first in series of case studies to give insight into the various approaches to implementing concussion protocols.


text:
Parkour Cars

The Parkour Cars project aims to develop high fidelity real-time systems for perception, planning and control of agile vehicles in challenging terrain including jumps and loop-the-loops. My current research is focused on the local planning and control problem. Due to the difficulty of the maneuvers, the planning and control systems must consider the underlying physical model of the vehicle and terrain. This style of simulation-in-the-loop planning enables very accurate prediction and correction of the vehicle state, as well as the ability to learn precise attributes of the underlying physical model.

Experimental Setup

3D model of the laboratory with jumps and a quarter-pipe ramp

The planning and control system is examined in a motion capture laboratory with numerous ramps and jumps. To facilitate the accurate physical simulation, the laboratory and ramp surfaces are scanned using a RGB-D fusion system to provide holistic 3D meshes for use in physical simulation.

The test vehicle orientation is captured using the motion capture system and subsequently fused in a sliding window filter with IMU measurements obtained from the vehicle to obtain a high-fidelity pose estimate which is used in the planner. This fusion system serves to compliment the motion capture state estimate with high speed IMU measurements as well as provide temporary state predictions if the vehicle moves outside of motion-capture coverage.


text:
Gavin Solomon

A belated big thank you for your outstanding effort and assistance in the sale of my land at Taveuni.

I had been trying to sell this block for some time now and without your persistence the desired result would not have been achieved.

Pls be assured I will recommend you to my business associates and friends.

Kindest Regards

Gavin Solomon (Seller)


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

text:
The Magnum Opus of Nobody Puts Baby In A Horner: Reactions to Powder Blue
August 9, 2009

Well, dear readers.  It is Saturday night, and the work week is done.   Nothing remains other than a complete and utter surrender…to excess.  The wine is chilled, the movies are bad, and the desserts are filled with empty calories.  So without further ado, let me introduce you to…

Ladies of Leisure

Allow me to introduce your hostesses this evening.  I am Shmathana, Comtesse de Homósexualitat and joining me is her exalted majesty, Benjilina, Duchess of Gaylandia.  And this evening, it is our delight and privilege to bring you at last, and as so long promised, the official Nobody Puts Baby In A Horner review of…Powder Blue.   You’ve longed for it.  You’ve dreamt of it.  And now, it is within your reach.  Yes dear readers…

And without further ceremony, let’s pop the bottles, and dive right in! (Please Note, this post is NSFBM…Not Safe For Benji’s Mom)

Rejoice! Powder Blue is Out on DVD Today!
May 26, 2009

I woke up this morning with an extra spring in my step and a renewed sense of hope for the world.  It’s safe to say that we all know why:

YESSSSSS!!!  After what’s seemed like an eternity of waiting, Powder Blue has finally made it’s way to DVD!

Today feels just like Christmas, which–seeing as Powder Blue is set on Christmas Eve–is totally fitting.  Only it’s much better than Christmas because we’re getting Forest Whitaker begging a tranny prostitute to kill him, Lisa Kudrow sharing her tips to a successful diet, and a whole bunch of Jessica Biel’s ACTING.  And her dirty pillows.  Mostly, though, we’re getting Jessica Biel’s ACTING, which apparently involves her being addicted to cocaine (naturally…because she’s a stripper) and pouring candle wax on her ta-tas (naturally…because she’s a stripper).  In other words, Powder Blue is the classiest, most seriously artistic endeavor cinema has ever seen.  EVER.  Thank you, Timothy Linh Bui.

Don’t even bother Netflixing this mess, y’all.  We may be in a recession so blah blah blah fiscal responsibility blah blah blah, but that doesn’t mean you can’t afford the small pittance it’ll cost on Amazon.  Seriously, $12.99 (plus shipping and handling, ‘cos I know you want this mess overnighted) is a bonafide bargain if it’s supporting the beginning of Jessica Biel’s inevitable career as a camp icon.  This is her Showgirls, y’all, and she’s Powder Blue‘s Elizabeth Berkley.  And don’t even bother feigning your best surprise face: I’ve already got my copy next to me.

So I hope you prepare yourself, people.  I’m about to bring the Powder Blue love out like it’s my blog job, and that’s a blog promise.  I hope you like batshit crazy, because that’s all I’ll be serving for quite a while.

And, lastly, if you came here looking for Jessica Biel’s boobs and are disappointed to instead find a distinct lack of said boobs, allow me to redirect you here.  There you go.  Biel boobs to warm your heart and nourish your inner aspect.  You’re welcome.

Life is Good When You Can Post Twice in One Day About Powder Blue
April 13, 2009

Oh glory be!  Are you worried that you won’t be able to see the most eagerly anticipated film of the summer, Powder Blue, when it’s released May 8th in New York and Los Angeles?  Are you terrified that the inevitable months of waiting for a DVD release so you may whet your lips with its sweet nectar of camp will simply prove too much to handle?  Or are you simply in it for Jessica Biel’s boobies?  Well, whatever your motivation, fret not!

According to DVDActive, Powder Blue will be released on June 9th.  That’s right, people.  Powder Blue is such a classy, respectable, and truly visionary cinematic experience (and definitely not a train wreck, natch) that the distributors refuse to keep it away from audiences any longer than the absolute minimum waiting time.

This is NOT about exploiting the recent buzz surrounding Jessica Biel appearing in this movie as a stripper, and this is MOST CERTAINLY NOT about trying to sell as many copies of the-movie-where-Jessica-Biel-is-a-stripper to hormonal adolescent boys and twentysomething virgins living in their parents basements before the incredibly bad buzz renders this movie incapable of selling a single copy that’s not in a 99-cent bargain bin in your local Walmart (unless it’s at your neighborhood GLBT book and video store, which in that case Powder Blue‘s totally selling for full price).  Nope, this release date speaks to just how confident Image Entertainment is that Powder Blue the movie we all need in our lives sooner as opposed to later.  Seriously, just look at the box art ; it positively reeks of integrity and confidence:

“Don’t worry, buyers,” this cover seems to say.  “This is a movie about finding hope in the darkest of places!  This is like Magnolia, but more serious!  And artistic!  Jessica Biel’s boobs are purely incidental to the sales of this uncompromising cinematic masterpiece (of Jessica Biels starring as a stripper)!  And, don’t worry, if you don’t like art because you think that just means that Powder Blue will be pretentious and boring, we’ve still got boobies to keep things interesting!”

And if the box art doesn’t convince you enough, as I type this, you can pre-order Powder Blue on DVD from Amazon for a mere $12.99.  That’s 54% off the list price of $27.98!

So what’re you waiting for?  Pre-order your copy today!  All signs point to Powder Blue being THE piece of (unintentional camp) art for our generation!

(Thanks to Michael for the tip.)

Oh Noes! Lisa Kudrow’s Also Taking a Ride on the Powder Blue Train-Wreck Express
April 13, 2009

And her character is just filled with great ideas.  What do you give to the man who tried to unsuccessfully pay a transgendered prostitute to kill himself?  A piece of apple pie, obviously!

And, damn, her waitress looks good, y’all.  How does she do it?

Ohhhh, she has a secret to her success, and it apparently involves hanging her dress over the dining table  to help motivate her to forgo sharing a slice of apple pie.  I totally forgot how detrimental having a single bite of apple pie can be to one’s waste line.  Seriously, the second a bit of that flaky crust hits your lips, you just balloon up like the incredibly obese Hulk.  It’s true; I’ve been there.  The whole experience quite unpleasant, and the purple pants you inexplicably always find yourself in are just such an unflattering shade of mulberry.

Or perhaps it’s a slippery-slope-of-addiction sort of thing.  One minute she’s trying a bite of that freshly baked deliciousness, and then suddenly the morning shift at her diner is waking her up.  Pie pans and bits of crust are strewn across the floor, and her hands and face are covered in the syrupy fillings of a dozen unsuspecting left-over desserts that met their unpleasant fate in her orgiastic and untethered thirst for scrumptious fruit-filled pastries.

Admittedly, the acting in this scene is shockingly subdued in this scene.  Gone are the over-the-top camp theatrics in favor of people behaving more like awkward robots programmed to execut sighs, smirks that mask deep-seated pain, and unnecessary conversational pauses in order to make them appear more naturalistic and human and less completely dead behind the eyes.

Added to that, the dialogue in this scene is profoundly worthless.  Lisa Kudrow wanting to be thin and observing that Forest Whitaker’s smile deceptively hide his sorrow are things that say nothing relevant about either character.  They’re ciphers of psuedo-illuminating dialogue meant to make you ask deep questions about human interrelations; however, “HUH???” is the only question that this scene really leaves you asking.

Let’s be clear: everything in this scene is still completely terrible, but this is terrible in a new and different way.  This clip suggests that Powder Blue is like an onion of bad movies; each scene reveals unto us a whole new level of awful that this movie is capable of achieving.  If these clips are any indication for how tonally inconsistent yet consistently misguided Powder Blue will be, then congratulations are then in order for Timothy Linh Bui.  I won’t start the the one-man’s-slow-clap-that-gradually-grows-into-a-thunderous-applause-from-the-entire-crowd just yet, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to doing my wrist exercises in preparation.  After all, May 8th is just around the corner…

What Do You Get When You Cross Forest Whitaker and a Tranny Prostitute?
April 10, 2009

Pure comedy gold, that’s what.  Powder Blue is totally shaping up to be legendary, y’all.  Just check out all this ACTING and DRAMA:

Hot damn!  Forget the acting (which is totally ridiculous, to be sure; whenever that tranny throws up her hands, an angel gets its wings).  What in the world is going on with the directing in this movie?  Timothy Linh Bui is cramming so many unnecessary edits into this scene to show off the DRAMA and ARTISTIC INTEGRITY of his VISION; unfortunately, the sense of time is so disorienting that I feel like I’m on Lost island, complete with the nosebleeds!  Yikes!

I’m also at this point completely in love with the screenplay for Powder Blue, which in this scene alludes to a Candid Camera-esque TV show that apparently involves picking up tranny hookers and having their johns make bizarre requests.  It’s kinda like Punk’d, I suppose, but with less Ashton Kutcher and more transexual prostitution.  Yes, that definitely sounds like a show.  On TV.  In the real world.

And let’s not forget the tranny’s words of wisdom: “Everyone’s got problems!  Deal with it!”  Oh, tranny, truer words never spoken.  I smell Oscars, y’all.  Oscars all around!

Like I said, people: Powder Blue shall be legendary (for how it’s divorced from any and all notions of reality and artistic competency).  Or, in other words: Powder Blue will be the best.

Powder Blue Looks Like the Train-Wreckiest Train Wreck
April 3, 2009

Look out, Elizabeth Berkley!  If the trailer for Powder Blue is any indication whatsoever, it looks like Jessica Biel’s in the running for Worst Performance as a Stripper.  I’m usually capable of withstanding large amounts of awful for the sake of good camp, but even I don’t know if I can make it through this mess.  Seriously, y’all, this movie looks terrible, and not in the fun way:

Admittedly, this movie will inevitably find an audience regardless of whether or not it’s campalicious because it’s already getting major press as the movie where Jessica Biel strips.  Given that I could care less for boobs, though, all I’m gonna get is a whole lot of overwrought seriousness.  This movie looks like it wants to be sooooooo serious with all its fragile, damaged characters that are supposed to reflect the frustrations and isolations that come with living in this day and age.

Jessica Biel is a disenchanted stripper with a sick son and a good heart.  Forest Whitaker is a suicidal ex-priest who wants a tranny prostitute to shoot him.  And then there’s odd the mortician who’s just lonely and awkward and totally not a serial killer.  And let’s not forget Patrick Swayze, who looks like a tranny prostitute but apparently isn’t.  The characters are SERIOUS, y’all.  It’s nothing but 😦 all around for these guys.

Oh, and how could I forget the completely dialogue dialogue imbued with the glimmer of hope all serious movies need as they dissect the human condition:

Sad-faced stripper: When tomorrow comes, everything’s going to be okay.

Not-a-serial-killer mortician: Everything’s going to be okay.

Somehow, I don’t think it will be.  Powder Blue will still be on your resume.

I shouldn’t get too mean, though.  I’m not saying that this movie looks good or even enjoyably bad, but that doesn’t mean it’s not being moved to the top of my Netflix queue as we speak.  I’m just saying.

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text:
The Red Queen

The Book of Onei is an antinomian dream grimoire, providing deceptive yet true information about the art of Oneiromancy or dream magic in the form of poetry, fantasy, and intentionally ambiguous instructions.

A pale, dark-haired fairy queen dressed in red, presiding over the wild celebrations of the Kind.

The elven queen’s in red tonight,

The night is hard and wild.

Her eyes reflect a distant light,

It makes him glad to see the sight.

He giggles like a child.

“I warned you once, each seven years…”

She says. Her face is grim.

The kiss she gave him long ago

Means little now, but even so,

It matters most to him.

“I kissed you once. It seemed that we…

But then, you had such words.”

She cannot shake his foolish grin

Despite her people, closing in,

As close as hungry birds.

“I’m sorry that we ever met.”

She says it soft and low.

They say the Lady has no heart.

That’s true enough, but it was art

That snared her, even so.

“I always try to stop myself.

It always ends the same.

And you, so fair and full of flesh-

But it was I who wove the mesh.”

She looks away in shame.

“Enough of this. The land of dreams

Demands your mortal life.”

She lifts her hand and lets it fall-

And with a sudden, hungry call

She turns and draws the knife.

– from the Book of Onei, Part III: The Powers of Onei

Image by Giovanni Segantini

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Wednesday, 27 November 2019

Walk the walk this Christmas

This isn’t really a Christmas article – more an invitation to come and enjoy the experience of ‘Joe Carpenter and Son: an English Nativity’. On Friday December 6th – in the heart of Potterhanworth.

Joe Carpenter and Son is an exciting theatrical telling of the Nativity story. It’s based on a lovely children’s book by Graham Clarke, recounting the events of the birth of Jesus. And it’s being acted for us by Mr Murderie’s Players.

Mr Murderie and his Players are a very talented bunch. Among other things, they put on murder mystery evenings for local charities. Last month they produced the Branston Plough Play to celebrate the British National Ploughing Championships at Nocton. And for the last couple of years they’ve put on Joe Carpenter and Son. Last year at Nocton, the year before at Branston.

So now this year, Joe Carpenter comes to Potterhanworth. The event begins in the Memorial Hall, then we walk around the middle of the village, serenaded by carol singers, meeting the characters, and watching the story unfold. After visiting the church, we return to the Hall for supper: home-made soup, crusty bread and cheese, coffee and cake.

It’s a great evening whether you come as a family or on your own. Either way, it’s a good idea to bring a lantern or a torch. And you’ll need tickets. So please contact Janet at or 797-078 or Rev’d Lorna at 794-868. £6 for adults, under 12yrs £3, 3yrs and under FREE.

Two performances, one at 6.00pm, the other at 7.30pm - so choose whichever works for you. If you missed ‘Joe Carpenter and Son’ when it came to Nocton last year, catch up at Potterhanworth this year. Friday December 6th – see you there!

Happy Christmas everyone.
Love Lorna

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text:
Scooter; Not the Muppet Stage Manager

NPOTA Entity: MN06

SOTA summit: W6/SE-021

Activation Date: May 11th, 2016

Portable operation: Yes using K1JD home brew battery

Radio: Elecraft KX3 operating at 10 watts

Antenna: End fed per WS0TA and K1JD design

Bands used: 40m and 20m

Furthest QSO: ~1,500 miles with W4DOW, Virginia  using SSB at 10 watts

Hike in: Yes

Solo operation: With K1JD and WS0OTA

ATT Coverage: Hopeless…resorted to a sat pone

Photos: Copyright Paul Gacek 2016

Screen Shot 2016-05-27 at 5.35.03 PM

Slowing down for the unexpected security checkpoint that straddles the highway, Fred is ready to vouch for his passengers, license in hand. I smile at the guard who’s seen countless nondescript faces and for once I hope I am exactly that. We are passing through Los Alamos National Lab that soon brings the conversation to Oppenheimer, the Manhattan project and other pieces of history. That behind us we concentrate on our destination and more that Scooter Peak is within Bandelier National Monument; “an NPOTA entity” I exclaim with surprise and joy only to be followed by a hectic attempt to find its NPOTA code before I lose the erstwhile cell signal. MN06 is jotted down.

We converge on our launch point and the Xteera glides to a halt on this empty piece of dirt road within a heavily wooded area. The ascent is up and over countless felled trees brought down by a fire years earlier and around each their replacements vey to impede progress.Fred halts, arm extended and utters a low “shush” and points to an elk. All I glimpse is a rather large rear end disappearing into the woods. Further along this trail-less journey we walk through trodden grass, stumps and trunks all with grey wispy  hair everywhere. We are in an elk “nest”.

Fallen trees and saplings define the journey and an Elk “nest”

“Iron men” John and Fred

Cresting the summit, all looks very promising for a successful activation. My station is up however as is my current modus operandi I can’t get reliable cell coverage. I imagine the elk are giggling as I wander around arms extended, cursing, hopping and hoping. We are on the clock and I’m burning valuable time. The trees don’t seem to favor my device of last resort; the sat phone. This is all quite frustrating only to have all this fade away as Bob KB6CIO answers and I’m off to the races.

The call rate is at a healthy clip, not quite a pile up but good. This is one aspect of the  activation I really enjoy. The unknown of how many, the unknown of who, the pleasure of the familiar and frenetic pace that NPOTA activations can be all add up to something quite magical. You get the first QSO then wait for the fourth that chimes SOTA success, you wait for the tenth that rings the bell of NPOTA and then it goes on. Lost in my NPOTA/SOTA madness, I realize Fred standing above me. The repeated hand gesture across the throat is a universal sign its time to wrap up and head out.

Tear down is quick and we are descending Scooter in Scooter like time.

The two ranger vehicles surrounding the Xterra are unmistakable. We see them pretty much at the same time along with the two rangers. I think we are all wondering what this is about. Maybe we shouldn’t have parked there. Maybe our faces weren’t so nondescript we have been mistaken for some other nondescript who is a Person of Interest.

Darren shouts out…”Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble, we just don’t see many vehicles parked in the middle of nowhere….”. Darren and Iffy are very welcoming and we share our passion around hiking and radio that is SOTA. Darren asks if we are also doing a National Park on the Air. Almost falling backward in happy surprise, I beam from ear to ear….”NPOTA, sure I’m doing as much as I can and I’ve visited so many great places, some I’m not sure  would ever have visited within NPOTA”. We talk more and I learn that Bandelier will be featured on one of the upcoming USPS Centennial Stamps. Cool and I’m planning on getting as many first day covers as I can.

Great stamp but the Monument is way nicer!!

Darren and Iffy, friendly Park Rangers

Peak one of two or three completed and it was fun!

  1. Bandelier NP is a great place. I am glad that you did not encounter the poison ivy there. Love your descriptions of the places that you visit. Glad to hear the Rangers were interested and knew about NPOTA. Sounds like your Sat phone is not much good if you cannot connect on top of a mountain.
    Terry Hall K6MA

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