text:
Armstrong rocks, and this tour was quite possibly the most dominant performance I’ve seen since I started following cycling. Every move was met, he passed out stage wins like they were Smarties and his domestiques were trick-r-treating, and he completely crushed the final time trial.
OH AND HE PASSED JAN IN STAGE ONE!
Yeah, that got me kind of pumped up, and set the tone for what’s been called by some the “Tour de Lance” (Yeah, just a few have used it. But it’s good, and it’s appropriate, and there are worse things in the world).
Watching the mountain stages – His team may have dropped off earlier this year than the last few, but Discovery was exceptionally bold with getting guys in breaks, and Armstrong wasn’t above using Basso and Ullrich to set tempo for him in the climbs.
Hincapie winning the Sunday mountain stage was probably the highlight of the cycling year for me (Well, either that or Cipo retiring after the Giro Prologue in a pink skinsuit). Who’da thunk it? Toughest stage of the tour in years, and the man built for Paris-Roubaix knocks it off. Maybe Johan will take a year off from the tour and build next year’s team around George for the Classics and the Vuelta.
I’ve mentioned before that I dislike time trials. I still do, in theory. I can go sit on Route 184 any given Saturday and watch people in lycra stream by one by one. Yeah, race against the clock, race against your personal best. But, much like I have no interest in watching someone play tennis against a backboard, I like racing. This year? Maybe it was the pass that did it, but somehow the time trials were palateable. And f’n Zabriskie kills me – I want to fall in love, but after Tyler, I’m wounded. So I’m glad he didn’t stick it out to Paris.
Speaking of Zabriskie – is it just me, or is half the untapped talent in the peleton American? Leipheimer, Julich, Zabriskie, the Flying Mennonite – good stuff. The Italians and the Eastern Europeans are bringing “A” riders, but America seems to be following through on the groundwork set by LeMond at last. Yes, they said that Hampsten was going to do the same after Greg, but he’s one guy.
I’d also like to give props to OLN – this year was by far their best job covering the Tour. Last year was ugly, since they were trying to make a transition from two bit to four bit operation. This year, though, they were firing on all cylinders. Think there’s some competition to keep the contract out of the Disco’s hands? Random thoughts on OLN:
1) I don’t mean to sound sexist, but Al Trautwig would be a whole lot less annoying if he were a woman. He asked many of the same questions this year as he did last year. I understand the part he is supposed to play in the OLN quad, but he seems to have a complete and total lack of understanding of history, geography, culture, etc. But it was after he made some comment about a monastery or something that I groaned, and my wife made the point that he’d be not so bad as a woman.
2) Continuing to tread on probably the wrong side of the fine line of tact, is Kristen Gum, um, augmented this year? (Again, I probably wouldn’t point this out if my wife had found it offensive to ask)
3) More positively – The expanded coverage in the evenings had absolutely great bits about the local color. It was worth sitting through Al’s commentary to get to Gum and the dude with the glasses’ bits. Wish I’d taped more of that.
4) Chris Charmichael was actually useful this year.
I’ll finish out The Good by completely neglecting to make any predictions about next year, other than to say that Lance Armstrong won’t win.
I’m glad you asked – here’s what I wrote to a friend when he asked if cycling was going to go the way of the dodo apres Lance:
“I say no –
“1. Americans are making an impact on pro cycling for the first time,
pretty much ever. 3 Americans in the top 10, five in the top 20, and
not just in the Tour. Always more fun to watch when there’s a dog in
the hunt. Plus, it gives ESPN and the nightly news people to put on
the Sports highlights without having to resort to using a translator
“2. The wonderful folks at, for instance, Continental Airlines,
CNN/BBC, and your local Teleco. It’s a global world, folks. Paris is
just as quick a trip for folks on the East Coast as is San Francisco.
With increasing immigration and business ties around the world, be
prepared to spend more time talking about football (the kind played by
atheletes, not chemically enhanced freaks of nature), cycling, track –
things that have been anathema to Americans for years. But be prepared
for Nascar to go global.
“3. Minor Leagues – USA Cycling registered more new racers this year
than in a while. The folks who grew up watching Greg Lemond just sat
with their kids watching Lance Armstrong for the last seven years. And
bike training can be time-shifted to meet a parent’s schedule, unlike
little-league practice or Pop Warner football.
“4. Health Nazis. Spurloch and his McDonald’s bit are just the tip of
the iceberg. If we’re going to be forced to lose weight, we may as
well beat the snot out of our neighbors while we do it.
“5. Media – Cycling’s pretty darn telegenic – mountains, lots of
colors, crashes. People tune in to suffering, and cycling’s got that
“6. Convergence – The ultimate participatory sport. Love baseball?
Think you’ll be able to actually, say, take batting practice in
Fenway? Doubtful. Football? $100/seat and it’s approaching a grand to
take a family to a game. But cycling takes place on public roads
worldwide. I can throw the bike in the back of the wagon, and in 90
minutes be riding the same roads the top American pros raced in the
Tour de Connecticut. $1000 and I can grab Jake, the bikes, and a tent
and go do the dirty hippie bike tourist thing for a week across the
Loire on the same roads we saw raced this July. Want to know how hard
Armstrong had to work going up the Pla d’Adet? I can get you the map,
and tell you how to get to the bottom of the climb.
“Is interest going to fall off? Yes, kind of like interest in the NBA
fell off after Jordan left, and – wait, do they still play hockey?”
(This is really a pretty good place to stop. If you read the rest, know it was written after I was out of the funk and should be looked at as almost completely tongue-in-cheek. Satire, even)
(or where Bill lets his inner cynic loose)
A buddy of mine wrote quite possibly the most cynical thing I’ve read about Armstrong (Strong language covered): It’s like no accomplishment can ever be good enough now. I’m all, “Yeah, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, but hey, I shook it off and did my thing. That’s pretty good, right?” And the world is like, “Unless you set a world f*g record with f*g brain cancer, you suck.”
While I don’t completely buy it (and while Jeff has been known to fire for effect), I think Armstrong has been lending a little bit of staying power to the funk I was in while being “busy”. I feel especially betrayed because he’s so close in age to me. Gen X has a lot going for it, but no matter what we do in the future (take the internet public, fix social security, fix the housing bubble, fix/dismantle and rebuild the UN, etc), the boomers will all be able to dismantle it by saying “Yeah, but you’re all a bunch of slackers. Look at that Lance Armstrong guy – he had freakin’ cancer and won the Tour de France more times than anyone before he was 35. What have you done?”
I was in an unreasonable funk all weekend. Not enough to spoil the weekend – it goes down as one of the best in a long while – but enough to make me not a great conversationalist. Two lovely kids, a decent job, a wife I love, passable house in the ‘burbs – yet somehow I don’t measure up to the potential that a childhood of 70’s self-actualization pap like “Free to be You and Me” and a peer who has the
stuff of legend tell me I should.
Plus, I’m still about 5 lbs above “healthy” on the BMI. So not only am I a failure, I’m a fatass too.
I’m pretty much over the weekend’s funk – I think it would somehow be worse if, like Jordan, Armstrong comes out of retirement. It ended up working out well for Michael the first time, but it was excruciating to watch until he had a ring in the bag. And the second time Jordan came back – well, the less said about that, the better. And I’m happy for Armstrong, and realize that he and i are apples and oranges.
(Somehow staring at 33 is much tougher for me than staring at 30 was – there’s the whole Jesus thing associated with 33, plus now Lance)
(Geeze, I’m vain)

domain: hobby


20.5 acres overlooking the valley with nice views. This parcel has power to the site, a well and is 'O' animal designator. Gated paved access. Come see the land and start building your dream home in beautiful San Diego County.
Total population of , which has changed by % since 1990.
The median age of the population is , while the median
age of dwellings is .
Out of households, are families.


text:
The Jewish Federation & Foundation of Rockland County’s Women’s Philanthropy group will host “Celebrate the Power of Women,” a spring outreach evening featuring bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, at the Rockleigh Country Club in Rockleigh, N.J., on Thursday, May 18. It will kick off with a VIP reception at 6 p.m. — participants get a signed copy of one of Ms. Weiner’s books and a photo with her. The dinner and program are at 7. Ms. Weiner is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, with more than 11 million copies of her books in print in 36 countries. Books & Greetings of Northvale, N.J., will provide a book signing at the country club, and participants will be able to buy many of Ms. Weiner’s books there.
Women’s Philanthropy will raffle a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag with matching pochette, valued at $1,180. For more information, call Beth Weiss-Dunn at (845) 362-4200, ext. 121, or email her at email@example.com.

domain: literature


This thesis demonstrates the conformation of a high level control software framework of a Formula Student Electric race car in a LabVIEW environment.
The implementation of the task started with becoming acquainted with the whole rule book published by the FSAE. After that followed the studying the concept of the previous race car – FREC-003 – and its new version for current competition season – FREC-004 –, which are developed by BMR Formula Racing Team.
The writing of the software framework started with first steps based on this new knowledge, the writing and the making of the requirements. The current version of the requirements was formed with several iteration steps during the development, also considered those requirements, which made by a unit developed by my teammate, which is related to my device.
The framework created this way is capable of the supplying the basic tasks which can be take place in a Formula Student race car related to the tractive system. The main goal of this framework is the managing and running a control algorithm developed for this platform in a LabVIEW environment as well.


text:
Owen Paterson said that Britain will be left on the outside yet still tied to the EU if it carries out its plans for a reorganised monetary and fiscal union based on the Eurozone.
Speaking to a high level anti-EU group this week, the North Shropshire MP said it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Mr Paterson is part of the Vote Leave Campaign an all party group that wants Britain to break away from Europe.
In a question and answer session at a meeting of The Bruges Group in London, the MP said: "It is the European Union that is leaving us, there is not doubt about it." He said three major EU reports put forward plans that in five years would mean a new, monetary and fiscal union in the Eurozone.
"Those of us not in the Euro will be given associate status," Mr Paterson said. "That is the worst position we could find ourselves in. We would still be tied to the EU yet would have no say at all. It is completely hopeless. We would be left on the outside."
He said it was an ideal time to vote to leave the union.
"We should be using this moment to wish them well but say this is the moment when we break out and establish a new connection based on trade – the connection promised in 1975," Mr Paterson said.
"But we should move away from much of the EU so that we can make our own laws in our own parliament, develop trade links across the world and become a fully fledged member of the World Trade Organisation rather than having 1/28th of a place on the organisation."
The MP went on to answer questions on the history of world trade and Britain and how this can help develop links internationally.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," he said. "We have very good relationships with China and long, historical links with India and of course the Commonwealth.
"We have to re-energise the Anglosphere, the traditional links that bind together Britain, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand."
Mr Paterson has emerged as a leading figure in the Vote Leave and anti-EU lobby. He has recently appeared on political programmes on both television and radio.

domain: news


text:
The Brewers are one win away from the National League Championship Series after they took down the Rockies 4-0 on Friday.
Milwaukee and Colorado were locked in a 1-0 battle until the eighth inning when Mike Moustakas plated a big run with an RBI single and Erik Kratz plated two with a Texas Leaguer, which made the score 4-0 and insurmountable for the Rockies.
Jeremy Jeffress got a bit of redemption too, as he closed out the game allowing just one hit in the ninth.
Three takeaways from NLDS Game 2
Expect the unexpected
Who would have thought the NLDS between the Brewers and the Rockies would be the lowest scoring series of the first round of the playoffs?
Someone who understands these two teams, that's who.
All joking aside, it really is a surprise these two teams have been embroiled in low-scoring, highly strategic pitchers' duels. The Rockies and Brewers were seventh and 12th in runs, fourth and eighth in home runs and fifth and ninth in slugging percentage, respectively. Add that to Miller Park being perceived as one of the more hitter-friendly ballparks in MLB and one would think this would be a series with a lot of runs scored.
However, look to the Rockies and you'll see why it isn't.
Colorado is a much better pitching team this year than in years past with a starting rotation that has high ground-ball pitchers and a bullpen with serious power arms. While Milwaukee doesn't have that rotation which puts fear in the hearts of opponents, it does have a seriously good, high-strikeout bullpen and a better rotation than some might think.
It's not as stark as some would like to make it, but the first two games of this series have been played in Milwaukee so the run scoring might not be quite as high as when the series heads to Coors Field on Sunday.
Either way, these games have been low scoring and close and that may have caught some people off guard.
Jhoulys Chacin: MLB's best free agent starting pitcher signing?
No, he is not.
That title will go to Miles Mikolas of the Cardinals, who was dominant in his first year back in the United States. However, Jhoulys Chacin has a legitimate argument to be the second best after going 15-8 with a 3.50 ERA in 35 starts and 192 2/3 innings pitched in the regular season.
He also has had the best postseason of any free agent starting pitcher as he tossed five shutout innings Friday in Game 2 and (while this wasn't the postseason, but it contributed to it) he also tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball in the playoff for the Central Division and helped the Brewers win said division for the first time since 2011.
Plus, he has given up just five hits in his last 15 innings to go with two runs. That is flat-out fantastic.
Chacin may not have been MLB's best free agent starting pitcher signing, but he has been absolutely vital to the Brewers' success this season.
Better than the Dodgers?
No, we are not saying anyone is better than the Dodgers, but what we are asking is, could this year's Brewers bullpen be better than the Dodgers of last season?
Los Angeles' bullpen last year featured a fantastic Kenley Jansen, a newfound dominant set-up man in Brandon Morrow, two solid lefties in Tony Cingrani and Tony Watson and Kenta Maeda, who slipped to the pen for the postseason alone. The Dodgers' bullpen finished the season third in WAR (7.6), fourth in ERA (3.38), fourth in FIP (3.55), third in K/9 (10.24) as well as at or near the top in a slew of other categories.
This year's Brewers finished fourth in WAR (7.1), fifth in ERA (3.47), third in ground-ball rate (46.8) and third in K/9 (10.28).
They feature fireballers Corey Knebel and Josh Hader along with more veteran guys like Joakim Soria and Jeffress, who make up for their diminished velocity with their savvy on the mound.
It's hard not to see comparisons between the two teams from this year to last year, and it's easy to see how Milwaukee could employ their bullpen similarly to how the Dodgers did last season on the way to the World Series as Los Angeles never let a single pitcher get past the seventh inning and only allowed two to get into the sixth.
This may be the formula to get the Brewers to the Fall Classic.

domain: sports


Engineers are doing their best to simulate the abrasive results of lunar dust on materials, using a lunar-like artificial material called EAC-1A. In particular, engineers want to make sure that ...
Zirgrit AZ is a fast finishing, wear resistant, low dust generating angular abrasive which produces low levels of particle embedment. Safety Data Sheet. Technical Data Sheet. Garnet. Natural, non-ferrous fast cutting abrasive. Safety Data Sheet. Technical Data Sheet. Patriot Blast Elite.
The abrasives are made from crushed urea, polyester or acrylic plastic. Hardness and particle size can vary, but they are angular pieces. Advantages. Some advantages of plastic abrasives include: Surface-level abrasion that doesn't damage the underlying material; Low dust levels; Available in a versatile selection of sizes and shapes; Durable ...
Abrasive blasting can be a rough business. Abrasive blasting uses compressed air or water to direct a high-velocity stream of gritty, coarse material such as silica, sand, coal slag, glass, or steel shot to clean objects, remove burrs, apply texture, or prepare surfaces for painting or coating. The process can produce a large amount of dust ...
The end result of sand blasting with garnet abrasives is much cleaner as well, with low dust formation and a lack of embedment of garnet particles into the surface. While garnet abrasives are more costly than alternative abrasives, its recyclability and clean blasting may reduce costs, making garnet abrasives possibly more cost-effective.
Reverse Pulse Dust Collection. Mod-U-Blast® reverse pulse cartridge dual collectors are available from 300 CFM to 12,000 CFM. They provide optimum clean air environments for blast cabinets, booths and blast rooms. Reverse pulse collectors feature high efficiency 280 pleat filter cartridges. Models M300-1C, M600-2C, M900-2C, M1200-2C, M3000-6C ...
Safety Guidelines for Abrasive Dust Many industries use abrasive blasting to remove weak surface layers and expose any surface voids, air pockets, or other flaws. Using concrete abrasive blasting as an example, the effect of the blasting can produce desirable texturing or create a bond for coatings.
Dust Extractor or Dust Collector? For our purposes they are the same thing. A sand blast dust extractor and sandblaster dust collector perform the same duties within a sandblast cabinet. As the unit extracts air from the abrasive blasting cabinet it naturally collects the dust within the blast chamber of the unit.
2.25in. x 6ft. dust collector hose can adapt to fit most abrasive blast cabinets. Powerful 1.3 HP 120 volt motor produces 112 CFM. Locking clamp design securely holds drums together while keeping the bag filter securely in place. 2-piece design means quick access to dust collector and filter maintenance. Recommended for use with ALC steel ...
Abrasive dust collection: Highly abrasive dusts like those used for surface preparation are tough on filters, ductwork and dust collector components. Large abrasive particles will wear through filter media rapidly or cause pinhole tears, which allow particulate to make it past the filter.
Bench-Top Abrasive Blasting Cabinets. Not for use with silica sand, steel shot, baking soda, and plastic grit. Cabinet with a dust collector has a safety switch that shuts off airflow when the cabinet door is opened. The dust collector removes dust from the cabinet.
Advantages To Dust-Free Sanding: Dust-free sanding will dramatically benefit your health, quality of work and bottom line. Available in many shapes and sizes, these abrasives effectively pull dust away from the sanding surface at a rate of up to 98% efficiency, allowing you to see the working surface and keeping debris out of your shop and lungs.
The abrasive blasting is a process that generates high l evel of dust concentration which is very harmful to health of workers and people surroun ding. Many ways that can be d one to ensure that ...
Synthetic abrasives, such as silicon carbide and aluminum oxide, are becoming popular substitutes for sand. These abrasives are more durable and create less dust than sand. These materials typically are reclaimed and reused. Other abrasives include mineral abrasives (such as garnet, olivine, and staurolite), cut plastic, glass
Dust collectors are the most effect way to capture and collect the particles of abrasive media and contaminate that become airborne during the blasting process. The loading conditions of the dust collector are different for each type of dry blasting – direct pressure, blast wheel or induction.
Respirable dust from silica sand and other abrasive materials pose a risk to the lungs. Where abrasive blasting is used to remove lead-based paint on the steel infrastructure of bridges, it can generate particles of lead that pose a risk to the nervous system. In addition to potential health hazards, abrasive blasting can pose safety risks as well.
3M™ Hookit™ Flexible Abrasive Disc 270J is precision coated with high quality minerals and resins to deliver longer-lasting performance for primer sanding, blend preparation and paint finishing. Our versatile discs provide excellent cut and finish performance with high flexibility, anti-loading technology, and conformability.
Collection and disposal of waste abrasive and dust. Holland Mineraal has an extensive range of abrasives for use in blast rooms, on location and for specific applications. The years of experience and expertise makes Holland Mineraal a supplier where radiant Netherlands has also helped to build many international relationships.
Abrasive Products offers a wide range of dust collection equipment either to replace old or obsolete collectors. We also provide collectors for wheel or air blast equipment and as stand-alone systems to service a new dust source. We handle down draft tables, dust booths, fume arms, and systems to support paint booths.
Abrasive Blast Portable Dust Collectors . Abrasive blasting results in a large amount of dust and particles to be generated. This can result in a wide variety of contaminants to be released into the air which is not only toxic to the workers but can be highly flammable or combustible.
Abrasive Media Dust Collectors. Abrasive blasting is a commonly used practice. A high velocity stream of materials such as sand, glass, plastic beads, silicon, steel shot, pumice or other grit type abrasive blast media is directed at a target object.
Regulations for Abrasive Blasting Dust. Regulatory issues surrounding some of the materials commonly used in abrasive blasting have recently changed, and operators should be aware of the new rules. For example, silica dust is a recent focus of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In early 2016, OSHA changed the standard for ...
YDMC Dust Collectors. Burwell Abrasive Equipment Co Pty Ltd. Country/Region: Australia . Business Type: Manufacturer . Main Products: Apication Equipment and Tools, grade engineered equipment, Air Blast Equipment, Abrasives and accessories . Contact Supplier ...
Dust hazards Abrasives and surface coatings on materials are shattered and pulverized during blasting operations. The dust formed will contain particles that could result in the following: • Respiratory hazards • Fire hazards • Explosion hazards Wet blasting methods minimize dust exposure, but dispersed droplets, mists, and dried
The dust collector is one of the most expensive components of the blast room, and also the most important. Titan cartridge dust collectors are sized to fit each individual room according to room size, parts being blasted, amount of dust from the blast media, and …
Dust Collectors for Abrasive Blasting Cabinets. Extract the dust from your blasting cabinet to increase effectiveness and improve visibility. Dust Collectors/Separators for Abrasive Blasting Cabinets. Separate dust from your abrasive media as it's collected so you can reuse the media.
80 grit abrasive grain for fast material removal and a great finish 5 inch disc for material removal and finish sanding Screen-like composition allows dust to migrate right through the abrasive to prevent clogging Hook & loop design allows easy attachment and removal from sanders 50 discs per box › See more product details
V. CONTROL OF ABRASIVE BLASTING HAZARDS 73 ABSTRACT 1. Control of Health Hazards 1.1 1.2 1.3 Dust control Noise control and hearing conservation Control of chemical hazards 73 73 97 106 Research indicates that some 100,000 abrasive blasters are exposed to silica dust, inhalation of which can lead to silicosis, for up to 60 million manhours each ...
Abrasive Dust Collectors. Abrasive dust collectors are used to collect materials such as rotary kiln dust. Abrasive dust wears away the interior walls of conventional dust collectors which will, in effect, require more maintenance and replacement parts. Aerodyne has the solution with the SplitStream abrasive dust collector.
- sand dust removal of stainless steel production plant workshop
- stone dust processing equipment
- video of removing dust from silica sand
- dust uses in south africa Apr
- crusher dust filtercrusher dust
- how to use abrasive wheel in grinding process
- fine dust of dolomite
- abrasive machining article about abrasive
- design of dust extraction system calcium carbonate
- add-on dust control sprayers for rock crushers
- coal dust based automatic briquetting plant project report for philippines
- abrasive polish for lava stones
- crusher dust suppliers jhb
- sand replacement by crusher dust in concrete
- crushing black sand to retrieve gold dust
- prix servocut m automatic abrasive cutting machine
- 1 inch minus gravel compared crusher dust
- cjs series dust absorption crusher model120b 1 2 0 6 1 65
- coal dust limestone
- fully replacement of sand by crusher stone dust
- coal dust explosions of cement plants
- stabilization and dust control using calcium chloride and fly ash
- how to diffrentiate the msand and crusher dust
- crusher dust asphalt design mix
- compound 800 coarse abrasive lapping grinding in sou
- replacement of sand by stone crusher dust in concr
- machine for rock dust production
- crusher dust for paving
- images of stone dust made solid blocks
- quarry dust control india - search results
- use of rock dust and quarry waste in concrete
- pdf free journals regarding replacing quarry dust in fine aggregate
- mobile crushing plant copper ore chile compaction ratio quarry dust


text: The Hunt for Gollum is a 40-minute fan-made film that is available for free online viewing. The film was made through open collaboration of enthusiastic fans working under the leadership of director Chris Bouchard. I’ve just finished watching it and can report that it is a wonderful success that tells its story with the perfect touch of mystery, action, and romance. It captures the look of the Peter Jackson trilogy expertly and incorporates highly professional costuming, makeup, photography, script writing, and acting. I think the producers of the LOTR trilogy should include this film when they release the eventual DVD of the upcoming film of The Hobbit. Perhaps this is the best fan film ever made. It probably is. I have not seen all the available fan films, but it is difficult to imagine that anyone has made a better one. Watch the film and then think about the fact that it was made for under $5,000.

domain: artistic


text:
Friendship is one of the most rewarding aspects of life, but real, deep friendships don’t just naturally come along. When I was growing up, we moved many times, and it was difficult for me to really build deep friendships. Plus, I wasn’t comfortable with “being real” about myself.
I first read The Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis when I was in college (yep, way back in the 1980s) and my copy of the book is now dog-eared, highlighted and well-used. It gave me some concrete steps to develop deep friendships, and of course, living in one place for more than 20 years has helped too!
No matter what your life story has been, you probably have experienced at least some difficulty in a relationship. I don’t think any of us are exempt from that. Subtitled “How to Get Closer to the People You Care For,” The Friendship Factor asks you these questions:
- Do you have at least one person nearby whom you can call on in times of personal distress?
- Do you have several people whom you can visit with little advance warning without apology?
- Do you have people who will lend you money if you need it, or those who will care for you in practical ways if the need arises?
McGinnis writes that if your response is largely negative, it may be that “your friendships are being impeded by your social life! Some people immerse themselves in such a whirl of parties and social affairs that there is no opportunity to establish a close relationship.”
Here are four (plus one!) of my favorite tips from McGinnis that I have used and will continue to be purposeful about as I develop friendships with both young and old:
- Assign top priority to your relationships. “Why do we seldom relate at such a deep level? Why is there such a shortage of friendship? One simple reason: We do not devote ourselves sufficiently to it. If our relationships are the most valuable commodity we can own in this world, one would expect that everyone everywhere would assign friendship highest priority.”
- Cultivate transparency. “People with deep and lasting friendships may be introverts, extroverts, young, old, dull, intelligent, homely, good-looking; but the one characteristic they always have in common is openness. The human personality has a natural built-in inclination to reveal itself. When that inclination is blocked and we close ourselves to others, we get into emotional difficulties.”
- Dare to talk about your affection. “For fear of seeming sentimental, many of us hold back expressions of warmth and thereby miss out on rich and profound friendships. We say ‘thanks’ when we mean ‘God bless you’ and ‘so long’ when we mean ‘I’ll miss you a lot.’ Why are we so reluctant to say openly that we care for another? There is the possibility that our overture of warmth will not be reciprocated and we will be rejected…. But those who are loved widely are usually those who throw caution to the winds and declare their love freely.”
- Learn the gestures of love. “The best relationships are built upon the accumulated layers of acts of kindness. Small acts of kindness demonstrate that you haven’t taken your loved one for granted.”
- Create space in your relationships. McGinnis writes about the tendency to control others, and he says this villain frequently masquerades as love. “The overly protective mother will say, ‘Honey, I’m just doing this for your own good,’ and the man who constantly corrects his friend thinks, ‘It’s all for his benefit.’ But the effect is always to suffocate, and I have never known a person who did not try to flee from manipulators. Those who have successful friendships allow their loved ones room. Rather than possessing their friends, they try to help them expand and grow and become free.”
I’m thankful for learning these steps to deeper friendships, and I hope they help you too!
Purchase a copy of The Friendship Factor by Alan Loy McGinnis on Amazon. It’s also available for Kindle.

domain: psychology


text:
Structural equation modeling using partial least squares (PLS-SEM) has become a main-stream modeling approach in various disciplines. Nevertheless, prior literature still lacks a practical guidance on how to properly test for differences between parameter estimates. Whereas existing techniques such as parametric and non-parametric approaches in PLS multi-group analysis solely allow to assess differences between parameters that are estimated for different subpopulations, the study at hand introduces a technique that allows to also assess whether two parameter estimates that are derived from the same sample are statistically different. To illustrate this advancement to PLS-SEM, we particularly refer to a reduced version of the well-established technology acceptance model.
- Testing parameter difference
- Confidence interval
- Practitioner’s guide
- Statistical misconception
- Consistent partial least squares


text:
TheFreedomFence.com now offers installation, repair and servicing of All Brands of pet and dog fence systems in St. Albert AB and Western Canada. Choosing the right underground dog fence for your dog can be confusing because of the wide variety of electronic pet fences available. A quality in-ground dog fence is sold by Pet Stop®, PetSafe®, Pet Guardian®, Invisible Fence ™ ®, DogWatch®, Dog Guard®, Innotek®, and DogTek® and comes in different styles for different types of dogs and are ideal for climate found in and around St. Albert AB.
Even though an invisible, underground, wireless or other electric dog fence systems cannot be seen or touched, they do a fairly good job in keeping your dog safe within the exterior areas of your demarcated property. These unique dog containment systems are designed to prevent your dog from straying, being a nuisance to your neighbors and staying safe from accidents or attacks by other animals. It is not only an innovative way to keep your dog safe, but will also save you a lot of money compared to installing a traditional fence in St. Albert AB. Moreover, they will also give your home and garden a cleaner, more aesthetic look.
If you find that a traditional fence is beyond your budget, or if such a fence contravenes rules laid down by your neighborhood community, then installing any type of invisible dog fencing system would be the best option. There are some highly effective fences available today, so you can easily choose one that suits your needs and budget.
One of the most popular options available today is the “radio electric” dog fence. It is designed for the sole purpose of deterring your dog from moving out of the demarcated areas of your St. Albert AB property or acreage. The invisible dog fence involves the use of two main components – a transmitter and a receiver (radio collar).
Our Current Dog Fencing Product & Service Offerings in St. Albert AB include: Wireless Dog Fencing, Dog Fence Underground, Electric Dog Fence For Large Dog, Invisible Fencing For Dogs, Wireless Invisible Dog Fence, Wireless Invisible Dog Fence, Invisible Fence Cats, Invisible Electric Fence For Dogs, Underground Dog Fencing, Hidden Dog Fence, Invisible Dog Fence Companies, Cat Invisible Fence, Invisible Dog Fence Installation, Electronic Fencing For Dogs, Invisible Pet Fence, Large Dog Invisible Fence, Outdoor Containment Fence For Dogs, Invisible Fence Alternative, Cat Containment System, Wireless Invisible Fence For Dogs, Perimeter Wireless Dog Fence, Dog Containment Collar, Invisible Dog Fence Installation, Wireless Dog Fencing, Invisible Dog Fencing, Small Dog Invisible Fence
How the Dog Fences Works?
The fence has an electric wire fitted with a transmitter and installed underground all around the borders of your acreage or St. Albert AB property. This fence system works by giving out a beeping signal which is received by your dog’s radio collar, each time it (the dog) gets too close to the fence. If your dog continues to ignore the signals, a mild static shock is delivered via its collar to stop it from crossing the fence. However, the shock frequency can be adjusted to limit fear or harm to your dog.
Are Electronic Dog Fences Legal in St. Albert AB?
As a responsible dog owner, it is up to you to ensure that your dog is safely contained within the confines of your front or back yard. It is not always possible to keep a close watch on your dog, and this is when underground dog fences can become an important tool.
Underground dog fences are systems that are comprised of a length of wire that is buried underground to encompass a certain area, a transmitter that plugs into a standard outlet and a collar to receive the transmitter signal. With most systems, when your dog approaches the buried wire, he will receive a warning signal, which gives him a chance to move away from the boundary.
If your dog ignores the signal and continues toward the boundary of the wire that is buried, he will receive a correction or shock that will not harm him, but will let him know that he cannot proceed. It is important to familiarize your dog with the boundary of the buried wire, and then to work with him to train him not to go past this boundary.
Most dogs will understand these limits within a short time, especially if they receive the correction at least one time. Each boundary can be customized to fit well within the parameters of your yard to best suit your particular needs. Once your dog is trained and has become familiar with the boundary of the wire, you can rest assured that he will remain in your yard.
There is no need to hire a professional to install underground dog fencing. You simply decide how much area you will enclose, measure out the wire and then bury it about two inches underground. The instructions will let you know how close the transmitter box needs to be to the wire, and once everything is installed, you can fit your dog with the radio collar. It is equally important to check the life of the battery within your dog's radio collar to ensure that it is working properly.
This can bring peace of mind for many people who are concerned that their dog will wander off and become lost. The cost of an underground system can be anywhere between $400 and $800, depending upon many factors. However, when you compare the cost of underground dog fences to potential veterinary bills for injuries to your dog, you can see the effective cost savings when you invest in a system such as this.
Get Visible Results With an Invisible Dog Fence
People often choose this type of containment system because it's easier to install than traditional fencing and much more economical. When people are in need of containing their dog in a large area of land an electric dog fence can do the job for about $300. If you choose to contain a large area of land with traditional fencing this could be an investment of thousands of dollars instead of hundreds. When considering an electric dog fence as an option there has to be a commitment from the owner in training their dog to respect the boundaries that you will establish.
There are many benefits to using an electric dog fence. A dog that is left unleashed will often wander into neighbors yard and get into all kinds of trouble causing damage and added stress to your family apart from being intimidating to people in your neighborhood.Dog fences help their owners keep their pets inside their properties. Electronic Pet fences have become a very popular solution in pet containment. They have proven to be very effective and reliable after proper training has been taken with your dog.
Electrical fences have become more common within the market and they are undoubtedly the most portable and versatile of all dog fences. There are two types of electronic dog fences available for you to choose from. There is an underground fence and a wireless fence.The underground fence often referred to as an in ground fence consist of wire that you will bury inches under the ground or you may staple the wires on to boards on top of the ground. The electronic dog fence system uses a radio dog collar along with a transmitter that sends out a radio signal to the collar. The electronic collar in response delivers and electronic static form of correction. This static form of correction along with your training will educate your dog in the boundaries that you have established.
All manufacturers and models of electric dog fences use electronic stimulation for correction as needed to train and contain your dog.these levels of static shock can be adjusted to accommodate the temperament and the needs of your best friend. The most reputable manufacturers in the industry of electronic Pet fences are PetSafe, Innotek and SportDog. Among these top manufacturers of electronic dog fences you will have to the highest in quality most reliable pet containment systems that are available in today's Market.
An underground fence offers more advantages than using a wireless fence. The underground fence gives you the ability to customize the containment to the exact shape of your yard and also allowing you to contain a larger area. This electric dog fence offers a safe and reliable option without building a traditional fence. The underground fence will take longer to install than the wireless fence but the instructions are easy to follow. When installing any electric Pet fence there are flags you will uses markers to put around the barrier that you have established These markers enable both you and your dog to see the edges of the boundary and this will help both of you in the training process. You'll want to put the flags close enough together to establish a barrier for your dog. As your dog approaches the boundary he will receive an electronic static
form of correction to deter him from crossing the boundary. Electronic pet fences are both safe and humane but the owners need to take responsibility in proper training their dog to avoid unnecessary correction and to learn to respect the boundaries. If a dog owner does not spend the time in properly training his dog he is setting himself and his dog up for unnecessary frustration.Electric Pet fences are proven and effective way to contain your pet. Regardless of which model of electronic Pet fence that you decide to purchase just follow the structures as provided and you should have very little difficulty.
Wireless Fences can be a great option to give your dog freedom to roam and play while keeping them secure in your yard. Wireless Pet fences are often referred to as instant fences or wireless fences offer portable options that you simply cannot get with other types of dog fencing systems. You can unplug your wireless dog fence from your yard and take it when the one vacation or trip to the Summer home. A Wireless fence is easy to install after you plug-in the transmitter set the boundary flags up around the area of containment and you're done. It is advised when using a wireless fence that you have an open area to contain. This type of electronic Pet fence does not work well through walls and trees and will affect their efficiency and reliability. Wireless Pet fences are designed with two components, a transmitter and an electronic collar.
The wireless fence the transmitter delivers a signal that is received by the electronic dog collar. Wireless Pet fences operate in a similar way as an underground Pet fence, we could maybe main difference being the boundary area of containment is restricted to an oval shape and is not adjustable. If you wish to expand the boundary of the wireless transmitter you can add additional transmitters to cover larger area for containment. The Wireless fence transmitter delivers a signal to the electronic collar. The area of containment and boundary specifications will vary depending on the manufacture of the wireless Pet fence. When using a wireless fence system the collar will be activated when your dog goes outside the boundary area where they will receive either a beep or a static shock form of correction depending on the settings you are using.
When choosing a Wireless Pet fence the two top manufacturers are PetSafe and Perimeter. PetSafe offers the number one selling wireless fence in the market,The PetSafe PIF-300. The PetSafe pif-300 is often referred to as an instant fence. This type of wireless electronic dog fence comes with a single transmitter but can be used with multiple transmitters depending on the size of area you want to contain.
Wireless fences are available in a variety of models that are designed for both outside in your yard and inside of your home. Electric fences have become a very popular choice within the market and their portability makes them the most versatile of all of all dog fences.
http://thefreedomfence.com/alberta/ – TheFreedomFence.com now offers installation, repair and servicing of All Brands of pet and dog fence systems in St. Albert AB. WE PROUDLY SERVICE ALL BRANDS OF ELECTRIC FENCE SYSTEMS LIKE: Pet Stop®, PetSafe®, Pet Guardian®, Invisible Fence ™ ®, DogWatch® and Dog Guard®.

domain: pet


text:
Acrylic Paint Brushes, Layers & More Get You to the Sweet Spot
Neighborhood scenes have been the main focus of Nina Davidowitz’s artwork for nearly 15 years. “I’m fascinated with the geometric shapes of houses and buildings contrasted with their natural surroundings—shrubs, lawns and woods,” she says. “Sometimes nature is also geometric, as when we “sculpt” our shrubs.”
Davidowitz starts her paintings by sketching the composition onto the canvas in pencil. “I then proceed around the painting. I fill in areas of color one by one, starting with the sections that are the most interesting. With Summer Haze, I began with the shrubs. I usually establish the areas of darker value and then the lighter value areas. It sets up parameters for the middle values. I believe that it’s in the middle-value range where real magic can happen.
How to Layer…and Layer…and Layer
“The first layers of paint I apply are rather thin and watery. I add more thin layers of paint as I continue to move around the painting, adjusting colors and values to my liking. I prefer the look of smooth brushstrokes and saturated color. That means each area of the painting receives at least 4—and sometimes as many as 12—coats of paint. As the layers of paint accumulate, the colors become almost luminescent.”
Go-to Materials Including Acrylic Paint Brushes
Round brushes are my favorite; I rarely use any other type. My favorite paints are Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylics.
I use a very limited color palette: two blues (ultramarine blue, phthalocyanine blue); two reds (cadmium red medium, naphthol crimson); one yellow (cadmium yellow medium); one green (Hooker’s green); and titanium white. Occasionally I may add one or two additional colors, but prefer to keep it very simple. That way, if I run out of a particular color mix, it’s easy to make more.

domain: painting


text:
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Purpose of review:
The recent explosion of genetic findings in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research has improved knowledge of the disorder's underlying biology and etiologic architecture. This review introduces concepts and results from recent genetic studies and discusses the manner in which those findings can influence the trajectory of ASD research.
Large consortium studies have associated ASDs with many types of genetic risk factors, including common polygenic risk, de novo single nucleotide variants, copy number variants, and rare inherited variants. In aggregate, these results confirm the heterogeneity and complexity of ASDs. The rare variant findings in particular point to genes and pathways that begin to bridge the gap between behavior and biology.
Genetic studies have the potential to identify the biological underpinnings of ASDs and other neuropsychiatric disorders. The data they generate are already being used to examine disease pathways and pathogenesis. The results also speak to ASD heterogeneity and, in the future, may be used to stratify research studies and treatment trials.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License, where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.
Preview · Article · Sep 2015 · Current opinion in pediatrics
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Mental disorders have high aggregate prevalence, are responsible globally for nearly a quarter of all years lived with disability, and represent the largest cause of lost economic output among all classes of noncommunicable disease worldwide. Cost-effective treatments, including both generic drugs and brief, manualized cognitive therapies are available to address this burden. Nonetheless, treatment of mental disorders remains a low priority worldwide-disproportionately so in low- and middle-income countries. Here, I focus on possible reasons for the failure of policy-makers to respond effectively, and I suggest corrective approaches.
Preview · Article · Sep 2014 · Science translational medicine
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: In the face of growing controversy about the utility of genetic mouse models of human disease, Rothwell et al. report on a shared mechanism by which two different neuroligin-3 mutations, associated with autism spectrum disorders in humans, produce an enhancement in motor learning. The open question is how much we can learn about human ills from such models.
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Genetic analysis is currently offering glimpses into molecular mechanisms underlying such neuropsychiatric disorders as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and autism. After years of frustration, success in identifying disease-associated DNA sequence variation has followed from new genomic technologies, new genome data resources, and global collaborations that could achieve the scale necessary to find the genes underlying highly polygenic disorders. Here we describe early results from genome-scale studies of large numbers of subjects and the emerging significance of these results for neurobiology.
No preview · Article · Jun 2014 · Nature Neuroscience
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Despite high prevalence and enormous unmet medical need, the pharmaceutical industry has recently de-emphasized neuropsychiatric disorders as 'too difficult' a challenge to warrant major investment. Here I describe major obstacles to drug discovery and development including a lack of new molecular targets, shortcomings of current animal models, and the lack of biomarkers for clinical trials. My major focus, however, is on new technologies and scientific approaches to neuropsychiatric disorders that give promise for revitalizing therapeutics and may thus answer industry's concerns.
No preview · Article · Jan 2014 · Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Advances in genome analysis, accompanied by the assembly of large patient cohorts, are making possible successful genetic analyses of polygenic brain disorders. If the resulting molecular clues, previously hidden in the genomes of affected individuals, are to yield useful information about pathogenesis and inform the discovery of new treatments, neurobiology will have to rise to many difficult challenges. Here we review the underlying logic of the genetic investigations, describe in more detail progress in schizophrenia and autism, and outline the challenges for neurobiology that lie ahead. We argue that technologies at the disposal of neuroscience are adequately advanced to begin to study the biology of common and devastating polygenic disorders.
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Neuroscience studies into psychiatric disorders generally rely on disease definitions that are based on the influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the fifth edition of which (DSM-5) was released earlier this year. Designed as a purely diagnostic tool, the DSM considers different disorders as distinct entities. However, boundaries between disorders are often not as strict as the DSM suggests. To provide an alternative framework for research into psychiatric disorders, the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has recently introduced its Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project. In the RDoC, five 'domains' each reflect a brain system in which functioning is impaired, to different degrees, in different psychiatric conditions. Nature Reviews Neuroscience asked six leading investigators for their thoughts on how DSM-5 and the RDoC will influence neuroscience research into psychiatric disorders.
Full-text · Article · Oct 2013 · Nature Reviews Neuroscience
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Editor’s note:
Although one in five Americans currently takes at least one psychiatric drug and mental disorders are recognized worldwide, global pharmaceutical industry funding for new, innovative medications is in serious decline despite promising advances in genetics. The author traces the evolution of psychiatric drug development, the reasons for its retreat, and the changes necessary to meet the growing demand.
Preview · Article · Apr 2013 · Cerebrum: the Dana forum on brain science
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Drug discovery is at a near standstill for treating psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and common forms of autism. Despite high prevalence and unmet medical need, major pharmaceutical companies are deemphasizing or exiting psychiatry, thus removing significant capacity from efforts to discover new medicines. In this Commentary, I develop a view of what has gone wrong scientifically and ask what can be done to address this parlous situation.
Preview · Article · Oct 2012 · Science translational medicine
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: A report in this issue suggests that inhibiting histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) could be therapeutic in schizophrenia. Targeting chromatin remodeling in adults to treat a chronic brain disorder is not, however, likely to be easy.
No preview · Article · Aug 2012 · Nature Neuroscience
[Show abstract][Hide abstract] ABSTRACT: Stimulants have been shown to be safe and effective for reduction of the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Despite much debate, however, there has been little empirical evidence as to whether stimulants affect authenticity and moral agency in children. Singh presents evidence that stimulants do not undercut children's' sense of self and increase their experience of agency. These findings are consistent with laboratory evidence that stimulant drugs in therapeutic doses improve cognitive control over thought and behavior.
Preview · Article · May 2012 · Journal of Medical Ethics

domain: biology


text:
December 5, 2013; Washington Post
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) directed her challenge to banks, but it actually raises a question of broader corporate disclosure of their “charitable” giving. In a letter to the CEOs of the nation’s six largest banks, Senator Warren called on banks to voluntarily disclose their donations to influential think tanks.
In her letter to Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase), Brian Moynihan (Bank of America), Michael Corbat (Citigroup), John Stumpf (Wells Fargo), Lloyd Blankfein (Goldman Sachs), and James Gorman (Morgan Stanley), Warren explained her thinking:
I am writing to encourage you to voluntarily disclose financial contributions your institutions make to think tanks. In my view, policies by your institutions to conceal those contributions from public view are wrong. Greater transparency will benefit your shareholders, policymakers, and, ultimately, the public.
As the CEOs of public companies, you have an obligation to expend corporate resources only in ways that advance the interests of your shareholders. For that reason, I believe your shareholders have a right to know both which think tanks your companies are supporting and the extent of that support so that they can assess for themselves whether they benefit from these contributions.
Sign up for our free newsletters
Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.
When you use corporate resources to support think tank s, there are only two possible outcomes from public disclosure-those contributions do not influence the work of the think tanks or those contributions do influence the think tanks’ research and conclusions. Either way, shareholders have a right to know how corporate resources are spent, and, even more importantly, policymakers and the public should be aware of your contributions and evaluate the work of the think tanks accordingly.
Writing for the Washington Post, Lydia dePillis implied that Warren was motivated by a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal written by Jon Cowan and Jim Kessler of the centrist-oriented group Third Way criticizing her economic populism (and that of newly-elected New York mayor Bill de Blasio) as potentially “disastrous for Democrats.” The Nation’s Lee Fang revealed some linkages of the Third Way to the banking sector, primarily through a Third Way-employed consulting firm, but the notion that Warren’s letter was a tit-for-tat response to Cowan and Kessler makes her seem petty, which is hardly her reputation.
Warren’s letter doesn’t seem petty, doesn’t reference Third Way, and is addressed to banks that don’t have an immediately overt connection to the centrist think tank. Rather, she is making an argument that banks are making undisclosed donations to policy shops that advance the banks’ interests camouflaged by the notion that they are providing independent, nonpartisan analysis. As NPQ’s coverage of the American Legislative Exchange Council has shown, it’s not just big banks putting money into 501(c)(3) policy advocacy organizations. Just recently, Google posted a list of almost 100 policy think tanks that it has contributed to, but without any information about how much money it has given each. ALEC’s list of corporate supporters actually suggests that ALEC hasn’t done well with solicitations to financial sector firms compared to its greater success in other corporate sectors.
While not petty, Warren’s letter is, from a policy context, thin. Given her inclusion of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs in her addressees, Warren could have also included American International Group (#7), General Electric Capital (#8), Bank of New York Mellon (#9), U.S. Bankcorp (#10), HSBC (#11), PNC (#12), Capital One (#13), and TD Bank (#14) among the largest holding companies listed by the Federal Reserve. What would make their donations of any less interest to the public and to shareholders than those of the top six?
Surely Warren knows that voluntarily disclosure is relatively worthless. DePillis noted that “When sunlight shines on one dark corner, those who don’t want to be seen flee to another,” and of course there are many dark corners for corporate donors in which they can hide donations that are made directly by the corporations, which do not need to be disclosed, as opposed to donations from corporate foundations which are disclosed in their Form 990s.
Representative Alan Grayson (D-FL) introduced a bill in the 113th Congress—H.R. 1112, the Corporate Propaganda Sunshine Act—which would require corporations to disclose expenditures of $1,000 or more “for the purpose of influencing public opinion on any matter other than the promotion of the issuer’s products or services.” The brief bill doesn’t explain how the Securities and Exchange Commission, under whose aegis this information would be compiled, would determine how expenditures for influencing public opinion would be defined. Most corporations would in all likelihood simply refer the SEC to their required lobbying filings. Grayson’s bill and Warren’s letter take aim at disclosure of spending that is other than their campaign contributions or their donations to 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations, but how Grayson would compel or Warren would cajole big corporations into disclosing their political giving to 501(c)(3) think tanks isn’t clear.
Grayson and Warren know that the last significant legislative effort to compel corporate charitable disclosure, addressing the public and shareholder concerns that Warren referenced, actually came from a Republican, Paul Gillmor of Ohio, who regularly introduced a bill to that effect in the late 1990s and early in the 2000s, but found himself relatively isolated from both Republicans and Democrats as potential supporters. Something akin to corporate disclosure was included in the version of Sarbanes-Oxley passed by the House of Representatives, but was removed in conference committee. Given the growth of corporate power in American politics, perhaps now is the time to return to the Gillmor bills and compel disclosure of giving that has corporations funding nonprofits to do their bidding.—Rick Cohen

domain: economics


text:
With the decrease in demand for new cars, the automotive ancillary and components industry has also been gravely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent hiccups. Right from the delays of imports coming from different shores, all the way to the delay in production lines, the industry is struggling to find its feet.
We asked Gaurav Kulshreshtha, Marketing Head and Product Manager at Pioneer India whether he see online sales as a viable alternative to the dip in offline sales for the auto ancillary industry.
"We are definitely available online but as an official channel, we aren't present because we don't want to alienate our existing aftermarket distribution channels. But looking into the demand which we are seeing online, as well as the spike in use of digital payments like UPI, we may see a surge in digital sales going forward and we're adequately prepared for that," Kulshrestha noted.
When asked about the possibility of engaging DIY solutions, he said, "As far as the component and ancially industry is concerned, DIY isn't possible. The products we're talking about here are technical in nature and issues as simple as a wiring mismatch can create problems going forward. That's why we have experts who install these components. This is also the reason why I think we will have a challenge of integrating services with our digital sales."
Speaking of the level of preparedness for anciallary manufacturers to start producing locally, Kulshrestha stated that although certain manufacturers including Pioneer, do have customised products for the Indian market, local manufacturing won't be possible, simply because companies aren't ready for a sudden shift in production plans. In his words, imports will continue to be integral part of the automotive ancillary and components industry.

domain: automotive


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) announced today that the SCG-Dow Group, a joint venture between Dow and SCG, has reached a key milestone for the new propylene oxide (PO) facility in Thailand by ramping the plant up to stable production levels in preparation for the full capacity run scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2011. The world-scale plant, located within the Asia Industrial Estates (AIE) site near Map Ta Phut, Thailand will have a name plate capacity of 390 kilotons per annum (KTA) of PO via the innovative hydrogen peroxide to propylene oxide (HPPO) technology jointly developed by Dow and BASF.
“The Map Ta Phut, Thailand HPPO plant cements Dow’s existing position as the global capacity leader in PO,” explained Steven English, global vice president, Dow Polyurethanes. “Not only does this large investment exemplify Dow’s commitment to the PO-based industry, we also continue to bring value by investing in the latest technology and offering a more sustainable PO to our customers and our downstream offerings through Dow’s other Performance and Advanced Materials businesses, such as Polyurethanes and Propylene Glycol.”
According to Holger Baer, global manufacturing and technology director, PO/PG, “Within three years, this is the second world-scale plant brought on-line with the innovative Dow-BASF HPPO process. It significantly reduces wastewater and energy consumption compared to existing PO technology, and is planned to be utilized next in the Sadara Chemicals Company project between Dow and Saudi Aramco due to the clear demonstration of the advantages of this process.”
“The start-up of this PO plant has completed the downstream envelope of the SCG-DOW Group joint venture cracker in Thailand which came on-stream last year,” said Cholanat Yanaranop, president, SCG Chemicals Company Limited. “With commitment between the partners, this is proved to be another successful project.”
In June 2010, Dow and BASF were honored to receive a 2010 Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award for the jointly developed innovative HPPO technology – recognized as a breakthrough technology that transfers sustainability principles from the research lab into the real world to enable environmentally responsible and economically viable routes to commercial chemical manufacturing. In 2009, Dow and BASF received the Institution of Chemical Engineers' Innovation and Excellence Award in Core Engineering for their jointly developed HPPO Technology – recognized as the process that best demonstrates a chemical engineering solution to improve resource efficiency, lifetime value and/or process optimization.
In December 2010, Dow announced plans to build a propylene glycol (PG) plant at the Map Ta Phut, Thailand site, with a production capacity of 150 KTA. The PG plant is currently on-track in the design process, and will utilize this environmentally advantaged PO from the new HPPO plant. It will be the largest PG plant in the Pacific area.
The AIE site also features a specialty elastomers plant, which announced start-up earlier this year; power utilities and infrastructure; and a new liquids cracker, also jointly owned by SCG and Dow. “The new integrated Thailand site serves as a strategic source point for all of Asia Pacific, and demonstrates Dow’s commitment to growing our presence to serve customers in our Performance Materials and Performance Plastics businesses across the area,” said Pat Dawson, Dow Asia Pacific president.
About Dow Polyurethanes
Dow is the world's largest producer of propylene oxide (PO), propylene glycol (PG), and polyether polyols, and is a leading producer of quality aromatic isocyanates, such as MDI and TDI. Dow's polyurethane products enhance a broad range of applications including construction, automotive, furniture, bedding, appliance, decorative molding, athletic equipment and more. The business provides key ingredients, systems and solutions for rigid, semi-rigid and flexible foams, adhesives, sealants, coatings, elastomers and binders. VORANOL™ VORACTIV™ polyols exemplify Dow’s ongoing initiative to lead the industry in providing high-performance products that meet critical consumer needs. For more information, visit www.dowpolyurethanes.com, www.dowpg.com, www.dowpo.com and www.voractiv.com.
About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow (NYSE:DOW) combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2010, Dow had annual sales of $53.7 billion and employed approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 188 sites in 35 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.
SCG, established in 1913, is publicly listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. SCG is one of ASEAN leading conglomerates, comprises five core businesses: chemicals, cement, paper, building materials, and distribution. Altogether, there are over 200 companies within the group, which collectively employ more than 34,000 employees, and manufacture more than 64,000 products.
SCG Chemicals continues to expand its business presence into international markets, and places a strong emphasis on innovation in products/services, processes, and business models in service of its diverse and sophisticated customer base. In addition, SCG Chemicals has partnered with a number of the world’s leading chemical firms. More information about SCG can be found at www.scg.co.th.


text:
By JEFFARAH GIBSON
Tribune Features Writer
FORGET Santa Claus, ‘80s R&B superstar Bobby Brown is coming to town.
The Grammy Award winning singer will join forces with one of the biggest Bahamian bands, Visage, to close the year out with a bang during the Jingle Ball concert.
The star, along with his wife and manager Alicia Etheredge, their five-year-old son and an entourage of eight, are expected to land in Nassau today to enjoy Christmas before he hits the stage in Grand Bahama.
In addition to Bobby Brown, the Bahamas’ very own Visage will be performing their famous songs like “Hold Ya Head” and ‘Still Need a Man”.
During the concert, Brown is expected perform some of his greatest hits, including “My Prerogative”, “Every Little Step” and “Humpin’ Around”. The Jingle Ball concert will be held on December 27 in the Grand Lucayan Ballroom
“This is definitely an event the grown folks will love,” said Leteasha Lord, event coordinator. “The event will be on the last weekend of the year and GreatMinds (promotion company) will make it a party to remember. We decided to put on the show because we realised that there were tons of events happening this Christmas, but none geared towards the mature audience.”
Bobby Brown rose to fame in the ‘80s as a part of the group New Edition and experienced continued success as a solo artist, with his second album producing five top 10 hits and selling 12 million copies worldwide, making it the top selling album of 1989.
While Brown is sure to attract a more mature crowd, Visage will be there to attract a wide variety of people, as they are not just famous in the Bahamas, but internationally as well, having performed at Miami Carnival in 1998, 2002 and 2003 and Trinidad Carnival in 2002 and 2003.
Ms Lord told In Ya Ear that Bobby Brown was the perfect artist to accompany Visage for the first ever Jingle Ball by the GreatMinds Company.
“There were a number of artists we could choose but we wanted someone who would complement Visage. There are a lot of throwbacks from the ‘80s and ‘90s who perform slow music, but we wanted something high energy, something upbeat, something that people can relate to. We did not want to go from the energy Visage would bring and move on to a very low, mellow artist who is just going to perform love tunes. So we were looking for someone who would fit the event,” she said.
“Getting (Bobby Brown) was not very difficult. We made a few contacts, we spoke to his manager who is now his wife, and after negotiations they were more than happy to come over. They were actually expecting to be in Mexico for the Christmas but they decided to spend Christmas in the Bahamas. This will be good for the Bahamas now because they will experience Atlantis and the Grand Lucayan Resort,” she said.
According to Ms Lord, Brown performed in Freeport for the first time many years ago when his career as a singer was first getting off the ground. He has visited since, most notably when he and then wife, the late Whitney Houston, were filmed on vacation in the Bahamas for the reality TV show “Being Bobby Brown” some years ago.
“They are very excited to be spending Christmas in the Bahamas. Bobby Brown is excited about being here and getting back into Grand Bahama. He will put on a very great show,” Ms Lord said. She said the Jingle Ball concert is the first of many event GreatMinds will be hosting over in the near future.
“This is just one of many. We will be doing a lot of interesting things as the years goes on,” she said. “GreatMinds encourages all attendees to dress to impress and to get your tickets early so you won’t miss out.”
Tickets can be purchased at the Grand Lucayan Manor House and at Gizmos and Gadgets; they are $50 in advance for VIP tickets and $75 in advance for platinum tickets.

domain: entertainment


text:
Income Tax in South Africa: The First 100 Years (1914 - 2014)
- Hattingh, J
- Roeleveld, J
- West, C
About this Publication:
This book, marking the 2014 centenary of income tax in South Africa, presents historical research covering a range of topics.
The authors begin with the international origins of income tax law and the transformation of old Dutch taxes into colonial income tax, and the role of General Smuts in the introduction of income tax in 1914.
The struggle to find an appropriate means of taxing corporate profits of shareholders is shown to have continued for decades, and mining and farming as main industry players in the South African economy receive special attention. The demise of cooperatives, the history of international tax treaties and the colonial influence also form part of the historical journey of this publication.
An examination of the special qualities of leading judges of the time and their jurisprudence provides much food for thought. Policy debates such as whether South Africa should follow the source or the residence system of taxation, or introduce a land tax, rage today as they did in 1914.
The impact of transformation since 1994, the need to entrench taxpayers’ rights and to remove gender inequality, and the remarkable modernisation of SARS, all played an important part in the development of the South African tax system.
A book about one hundred years of income tax would not be complete without some biographical notes on key personalities such as CJ Ingram KC, Aubrey Silke and David Meyerowitz SC. In recognising the conference held at the University of Cape Town to mark one hundred years of income tax in South Africa, the rise of the teaching of tax at UCT is presented in the form of an extract from the memoirs of Prof Leon Kritzinger.
“I congratulate the authors and editors for their work in this book. Not only will it be the standard reference on the development of income tax in South Africa, but also, for those interested in tax as a vital social and economic issue, it provides entertaining, informative and enlightening reading.’’ – Richard Vann, Challis Professor of Law, University of Sydney
CLICK HERE TO PREVIEW PAGE EXTRACTS.
- Part 1: The international origins of income tax in South Africa and its introduction
- Importing and exporting income tax law: The international origins of the South African Income Tax Act – Peter Harris
- The history of income taxation in the Cape Colony: A story of dangerous beasts and murderous fathers – Enelia Jansen van Rensburg
- On the introduction of income tax in South Africa by JC Smuts: Three eventful months (24 April 1914 to 20 July 1914) – Johann Hattingh
- The birth of the first Income Tax Act: The journey begins – Peter Surtees
- Part 2: The taxation of companies, shareholders and partnerships
- Corporate-shareholder taxation in South Africa: 1914 to 1961 – Johann Hattingh
- The road to dividend withholding tax in South African income tax law (1962 to 2014) – Jennifer Roeleveld
- A review of the taxation of partnerships in South Africa over the last 100 years - Afton Titus
- Part 3: The taxation of mining, farming and co-operative enterprises
- South Africa’s gold mining tax regime – Roshelle Ramfol
- The history of the taxation of farming in South Africa – Charl du Toit
- The development of the taxation of co-operatives – Tracy Johnson, Jennifer Roeleveld
- Part 4: Income tax jurisprudence
- A century of income tax jurisprudence in South Africa – Eddie Broomberg
- Some missteps on South Africa’s road to a coherent income tax jurisprudence – RC Williams
- Part 5: International tax
- From colonialism to apartheid: International influence on tax treaties in South Africa (1932 to 1990) – Craig West
- Ensuring a right balance in applying the residence and source bases of taxation in order to protect South Africa’s tax base – Annet Wanyana Oguttu
- Part 6: Constitutional, policy and gender issues
- The shift to a constitutional democracy in 1994 and the impact thereof on tax law in South Africa – Beric J Croome
- Land tax versus income tax: A historical assessment of success and failure in South Africa – Nicolaus Tideman, Peter Meakin
- The personal income taxation of women in South Africa: An overview since the 1970s – Elizabeth Gavin, Wynnona Steyn
- Part 7: Major figures in the development of income tax in South Africa
- CJ Ingram K.C.: Academic pioneer and second President of the Cape Tax Court – Albertus Marais
- Aubrey Silke – Adapted courtesy of the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners
- David Meyerowitz SC – Adapted courtesy of the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners
- Memoirs of Prof. Leon Kritzinger: Aubrey Silke and the importance of postgraduate tax studies at the University of Cape Town – Leon Kritzinger
- Part 8: The evolution of the South African Revenue Service: 1994 to 2014 - SARS
- Table of cases
- Table of statutes
Of Interest and Benefit to:
- Tax academics and post-graduate students
- Tax practitioners
- Tax historians and researchers

domain: history


SAFETY, COMPLIANCE & SUSTAINABILITY
At NTP we prioritise safety, quality, the environment, and sustainable business and operating practices.
NTP’s customers rely on us to provide a safe, reliable supply of quality assured radiation-based products, from industrials to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and final pharmaceutical products. We produce, process and distribute radiation-based products to 50 countries, and are one of the largest and most-trusted global suppliers of medical radioisotopes.
NTP’s premises, products, processes and services are registered, audited and accredited or licensed in strict compliance with South African and international laws and industry standards for nuclear, radiation, and pharmaceutical products. South Africa is a founding member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and ratified the IAEA’s Convention on Nuclear Safety in 1996.
The Pelindaba nuclear facility, nuclear products (such as enriched uranium and depleted uranium), and NTP radiation products (isotopes) and services (equipment, transport packaging and transport) are regulated and authorised by the South African National Nuclear Regulator, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Health: Directorate Radiation Control. NTP’s radiopharmaceuticals are also licensed as pharmaceutical products with the South African Medicines Control Council (this will be replaced by a new authority, SAHPRA, under the Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Act, 14 of 2015). NTP is registered with the South African Council for the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.
NTP is a subsidiary of the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and is regulated by statutory South African authorities, according to specific legislation that regulates nuclear facilities, nuclear and radiation products, and pharmaceutical products. These are:
- The Medicines and Related Substances Act 101 of 1965
- The Nuclear Energy Act 46 of 1999
- The National Nuclear Regulator Act 47 of 1999
- The Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Act 87 of 1993
- The Hazardous Substances Act 15 of 1973
Necsa is responsible for the management of nuclear and radiological waste in South Africa, which is regulated by the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute Act 53 of 2008.
Quality and assurance
NTP operates from a licensed nuclear facility at Pelindaba and is authorised as a radioactive material handling facility, with an internationally licensed radioactive material packaging transport fleet.
NTP has received its ISO 9001:2015 from DEKRA Certification GmbH, and has a current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) certificate for the supply of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in the EU. The manufacture of radiopharmaceuticals is done so under licences issued by the South African Medicines Control Council.
Our main facility is also audited and approved for manufacture of products destined for the USA by the FDA. NTP Radioisotopes was the world’s first supplier, in December 2010, of FDA-approved all-LEU Mo-99 (produced using both LEU fuel and targets).
Workplace health and safety
NTP supports a workplace culture of safety, responsibility, and accountability.
In addition to complying with stringent regulations and best-practices surrounding nuclear facilities, nuclear and radiation products, and pharmaceutical products, our workplace is governed by the South African Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act.
NTP has implemented a long-term Behavioural Based Safety (BBS) programme to improve our safety culture, and, in 2015, conducted a Safety Culture Audit that allowed us to compile a strategic plan listing safety enhancement actions as our business and productivity continue to grow.
At NTP we are committed to the safety of our people, our community, and our environment. As a state-owned nuclear facility, we are aware that there is public interest in our site and our operations, and we are proud of our excellent track record in both safety management and incident response and management.
For more information about emergency protocols and procedures at the Necsa Pelindaba site please click here.
Chemical reaction incident, November 2013
In November 2013, during the routine cleaning of a hot cell at NTP, a small amount of radioactive iodine and noble gas was inadvertently released into an adjoining system. The release of the gases, which fell well below international safe allowable limits determined by the IAEA and the NNR, was entirely contained within the closed environment systems that surround the hot cells. No additional radiation was released into the atmosphere, and no NTP personnel received increased doses of radiation as a result of the incident.
Following the incident, operations at the contaminated hot cell were suspended pending an investigation and complete decontamination. This unfortunately disrupted isotope production at the facility and resulted in a temporary stock-out of essential nuclear medicine isotopes in South Africa.
Since the this event, NTP has been back in operation without incident.


text:
Free Novomatic slots. Top slot machines from Europe, Australia and Asia made by Gaminator and Novoline, no registration required. Lord of the Ocean Slots · Sharky Slots · Golden Ark Slots · Roaring Forties Slots. List of all Novomatic slots available here with FREE demo games + Full Novomatic online casino list (available for players in your country). Hier können Sie Novoline bzw. Novomatic Slots kostenlos und ohne Zeitlimit gratis spielen. Die gratis Novoline Spiele laufen auch mobil und nicht nur am Pc.
Wird bei: Novomatic slots gratis
|Gewerbeamt berlin neu||Horror spiele kostenlos spielen|
|HOME BUNNY||Our multi-game editions comprise carefully selected mixes — for a sophisticated game offer on your gaming floor. Beginners Guide Bonuses Guide Casino FAQs. Novomatic games are very popular in casinos where english is not the first language. One of the reasons happy game players keep coming back for another fruity extravaganza! We never let the unreliable casino get into our list as we care about your safety just like you. Find your favourite Novomatic Slots and play for free instantly in pearl kostenlos navi browser the best slots online with no registration required! Check out our list of all reputable Novomatic Casinos on the web.|
|Novomatic slots gratis||It offers exciting game play within a colourful and fast paced game environment. Classic Book Of Ra The classic Book Of Ra is still a favourite. For now, Novomatic has released 90 different video slots which might not be the most up-to-date in the gambling industry but are of high quality and have lots of devoted fans. Novomatic hat in der Vergangenheit immer wieder Slots auf den Markt gebracht, die so aussehen wie die Spiele in normalen Casinos. Novoline Deluxe Spiele kostenlos.|
|Novomatic slots gratis||The stacked fruit symbols and the addition of a Star scatter are making the chances of winning even greater. One undisputable reason to play novomatic slots online free is that any real losses are excluded. Plenty on Twenty is true shoppinglive.ru its name too, you have so many chances to win brilliant rewards when you play. Casino Games Despite the huge popularity of video slots, all the novomatic slots gratis casino games still have their own fans and gambling companies continue producing mini-games, skill touchscreen scheibe and card games. So, the emergence of Novomatic video slots on web was predictable and expected event - players were treading on air, at last all favourite games which are not only slots, by the way became available from home computers.|

domain: gamble


text:
Start while the toy poodle is young if you want to use it for baths. You can start bathing Toy Poodles when they are as young as eight weeks. The time between baths depends on the dog’s habits and where it is kept; a range of anywhere between two weeks to two months is normal for poodles.
Brush Before Bathing
Apply your pup’s coat before bathing to prevent the type of entanglement while it is in the water and to remove remaining dirt. This prevents matting of the curly coat, which is more of a factor for Toy Poodles than for other dogs with shorter, less curly coats.
Use Puppy or Baby Shampoo
Puppies have sensitive eyes, use mild shampoo only. Ask your vet about the best toy poodle shampoo. Different breeds require different shampoos.
Completely Soak the Layer
Toy poodles have coats that are relatively resistant to water, so it will take a bit of work to prepare for the shampoo step. Test the water to make sure it’s hot. After shampooing, rinse the dog; don’t get soap on the puppy’s coat. This will retain the oils in the skin, and reduce the potential for irritation to a puppy’s sensitive skin.
Start from the Neck
When wetting and washing, start from the neck and gently massage down the puppy’s body. Always rub along the hairline to prevent halos and tangles. Avoid soap or water near the face or inside the ears. However, it can still be cleaned around the ears.
Puppies are vulnerable to hypothermia after a bath, so store them in a warm place until dry. Wrapping with a towel is a good way to do this, although you will need to swap out the towel for a dry one a couple of times. You can also use a blow dryer on the lowest setting of “hot.” While it dries, gently brush the dog with a wire brush to prevent matting.
Make the experience as fun as possible, especially when bathing a young and impressionable puppy. Use a dog treat as positive reinforcement. Toy Poodles are intelligent and sensitive to the treatment they receive, preferring rewards over coercion.


Greetings and welcome!
They had to cancel the High Falls radar runs last Saturday because of the weather. We had a couple of inches of snow Friday and Friday night and then enough rain and warm weather to turn it into slop. It did not get cold enough Friday night to freeze it, so the lake would have had a lot of water and slop on it. It would be a terrible idea to send rocket sleds down that at 120+mph. It was a good call to cancel it even though a lot of people put a lot of work into making it happen.
The Twin Bridge Ski Team is the sponsor of the radar runs, and the radar runs and Winterfest are major fundraisers for them. The weather has not been smiling on their events recently. Hopefully a lot of people will support them when conditions come back around.
At any rate, the slop did finally freeze up Saturday night and Sunday. Now there is a crusty snow on top of an ice base. This did help untreated roads. Main highways are bare from the salt and above freezing weather. Side roads are hit n miss depending on if that area saw salt sand while it was warm out. Untreated roads have a nice start on an ice base.
Looking out of the window I have anywhere from bare ground up to 2-3 inches of crusty snow over some ice. Trails will not open until we get some snow.
There is no snow in the short term forecast. The next possible snow is a small storm for about the 25th, next Monday. The European model says that we could get up to 4-5″ out of that one.
Farther out in the 16 day GFS forecast model there are a couple of better storms showing up toward the end of the month. Maybe those will turn into something, and hopefully that something is a pattern change that will put us into a snowier weather pattern.
We have talked about this before with ElNino and LaNina years where there is frequently hope for a storm two weeks out that never comes. See Charlie Brown/Lucy/football. I do believe that this will turn around eventually, I just hope that it is soon.
When I was in Crooked Lake Saturday I asked the bartender how much ice that they had and he said about 10″. There was an incident where someone was walking on High Falls late last week and they went through. Be very careful on the lakes. It hasn’t been a great ice year either.
It was a passing thought the other day that if we had gotten a lot of snow in the beginning of the season this would have been a very comfortable year for riding with most days in the 20s or low 30s. If only we could have gotten some snow…
I don’t have much more this afternoon so I am going to wrap it up. Have a good week and thank you for visiting!


Microsoft has unveiled a new service for Azure that will keep connections to the public cloud private.
Azure Private Link, currently in preview, is a new means for customers to consume Azure Services from their own virtual network (VNet).
The service establishes a connection using a consent-based call flow. Once established, all data transferred between the service provider and consumer is isolated within Microsoft’s backbone network and away from the public internet. This removes the need for gateways, network address translation devices or public IP addresses, simplifying the configuration process.
As for multi-tenant shared services like Azure Storage and SQL Database that sit outside customer’s VNets, customers will be able to secure those connections with VNet service endpoints to allow the platform-as-a-service (PaaS) resource to be isolated within their VNet. The PaaS endpoint is still served over a public IP address and cannot be reached from on-premises through Azure ExpressRoute private peering or a VPN gateway.
“With today’s announcement of Azure Private Link, you can simply create a private endpoint in your VNet and map it to your PaaS resource (Your Azure Storage account blob or SQL Database server),” Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Azure Networking Yousef Khalidi wrote in a blog post.
“These resources are then accessible over a private IP address in your VNet, enabling connectivity from on-premises through Azure ExpressRoute private peering and/or VPN gateway and keep the network configuration simple by not opening it up to public IP addresses.”
Microsoft is also opening up Azure Private Link to other service providers. Service providers will be able to run their services privately in their own VNet behind an Azure Standard Balancer and enable it for Azure Private Link, making it accessible to customers running in different VNet, subscription or Azure Active Director tenants.
Azure Private Link is available in preview now but only in the US. Microsoft said it will expand to new regions in the future, and will make more Azure services available including Cosmos DB, MySQL, Azure PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Application Service and Key Vault. You can also read more about Azure Private Link on Microsoft’s blog here.


text:
Perth Mint puts 007 in its sights for collectors
The Perth Mint is delighted to announce the release of a series of limited edition commemoratives to celebrate the James Bond films under licence from EON Productions.
The first official James Bond film, Dr. No, was brought to cinemas in 1962 by producers Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. Nearly 60 years later, the 25th official film in the series, No Time To Die, will be released globally in April this year.
Perth Mint Chief Executive Officer Richard Hayes said 007 is the most iconic screen character to be celebrated by The Perth Mint.
“The Bond franchise is one of the longest running and most successful in film history so we are delighted to issue a coin program in its honour,” Mr Hayes said.
“Having always been associated with prestige and luxury, Bond aligns with the quality of our precious metal products.”
Struck in bullion quality from 1oz of 99.99% pure gold and 99.99% pure silver, together with a special 1oz silver high relief gold coloured proof coin, each release aptly displays the Bond 007 gun logo within the iconic stylised gun barrel.
Designed by Joseph Caroff under creative director David Chasman of United Artists, the 007 gun logo along with the signature opening sequence of each film which portrays a silhouette of Bond at the centre of the gun barrel, has become synonymous with the character.
Mr Hayes said that as one of the first mints in the world to collaborate with global entertainment giants and licensing agents, The Perth Mint was at the forefront of broadening the appeal of coins among new generations of collectors.
“With their intrinsic value and iconic artistry representing much-loved characters, our coins appeal to fans and collectors of official memorabilia,” he said.
Only 5,000 gold, 30,000 silver and 5,000 high relief coloured coins have been released by The Perth Mint for sale worldwide.
Retailing from AUD 65.00, the 007 James Bond coins may be purchased in store at The Perth Mint located at 310 Hay Street in East Perth, or by telephoning 1800 098 817 (Australia), +61 8 9421 7218 (International) or visiting the online store at perthmint.com. Collectors andgift buyers may also purchase these coins from leading coin dealers and Australia Postoutlets.
Jewelled Snake handcrafted for excellence
The Perth Mint is delighted to present The Jewelled Snake, an exceptional collectable showcasing rare and spectacular treasures from two West Australian icons – Argyle Pink Diamonds™ and The Perth Mint.
Perth Mint celebrates Indigenous culture with maali coin release for Reconciliation Week
The Perth Mint has released the maali (black swan) coin designed by renowned Whadjuk-Yuet-Ballardong artist Kevin Bynder for Reconciliation Week 2022.
Perth Mint commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee
The Perth Mint has released a series of limited edition commemorative coins to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee.