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Review: Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Since safe travel during a pandemic is all about travel around your neighbourhood, it's time for a review and report of a hotel from my home province's capital in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. This hotel is situated in beautiful Downtown Victoria. It is a perfect location for a stay away from Vancouver for those looking for a hotel that is walkable from the Downtown Victoria core.
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Review: Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
"A pleasant Marriott Hotel that is full featured, conveniently located, but is due for a cosmetic furniture update. It's currently an excellent value on Marriott Bonvoy points"
Planning and Getting There:
This was the first time I've stayed at this particular property in about 10 years. I usually prefer to go to my usual favourite on Vancouver Island, and one of my favourite Westin Hotels of all time; the Westin Bear Mountain. Unfortunately. the Westin Bear Mountain is situated well into the suburbs on Bear Mountain amongst a golf course with limited dining options. This time, I decided being downtown in Victoria would be a better option with more options for dinner for this quick one night stay. The city of Victoria is an occasional seasonal cruise ship destination with 260 ship visits in normal times (2019 numbers) and is often filled with tourists in the summer months.
I booked this stay via the Marriott website direct. As I booked with Marriott Titanium status, I was promised an upgrade to the best available room (including suites), lounge access, and a guaranteed late check out to 4 PM. Despite being in the high summer season, thanks to the lack of international travel and a closed border with Canada and the United States, the rates were pretty soft. The hotel is presently a Marriott Bonvoy Category 5, and is available from 35,000 points.
The hotel is situated just steps from the Inner Harbour area of Downtown Victoria. The hotel is steps from most downtown restaurants, offices and is also situated close to many attractions, including the Victoria Museum and Whale Watching day trip attractions in Victoria.
The hotel is on the border of the downtown area in a transition region that leads to a residential area. I find this really appealing as it's better than being in the middle of a downtown commerical zone that is dead at night.
Checking In:
I self drove to the hotel and arrived by car. There was a locked parking garage with a security gate so I parked in the front loading zone and walked into the hotel. When self driving to a hotel, I always like to park directly and head straight up to the lobby but that wasn't an option today thanks to the security gate.
It was about 5 PM when I arrived. There was no one in line at front desk, which was manned. I happened to notice that there were 3 suites available on the Marriott app for purchase on the way over to hotel. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member, the Marriott App was showing me a soft upgrade to Concierge Floor King Bed. Since Marriott has taken over the loyalty program from Starwood Preferred Guest, I find that you have to be much more aggressive in asking for upgrades and benefits that you're entitled to, otherwise hotels will just pass you over. Marriott Titanium level members are entitled to the best available room, including standard suites. As a result, this time, I pro-actively asked for suite upgrade at the check in. There was a little checking on the computer and a suite was offered up as available on the 13th floor. I was asked about whether I wanted a mobile key and I just took the regular key.
With key in hand, I self parked the car and headed up to room.
The Room: A One Bedroom Suite, 1 King, Sofa Bed, Corner Suite, Balcony.
I led myself into room #1306, which was a one bedroom corner suite. The room was configured with a king bed, a sofa bed, a small balcony and was on the corner of the thirteenth floor.
The first impressions were good. It was a nice large room. My first impression was that it was a nice large room but wow, was it ever dated in color scheme. It contained the usual, and now very dated, colors of India in Marriott gold and red. It was probably the original colors from when the hotel opened in around 2007.
Despite the colors, it had a full nice separate dining area and seating area. The room was also quite spacious.
The bedroom was quite comfortable, with a large sized king bed. The room also featured a large old school style armoire that hid a television set. The armoire was so large, it could even fit the old cathode ray tube television sets.
There was a nice sized bathroom that was quite large. The bathroom featured two vanity sinks, with ensuite access off the bedroom and to the front door.
There was also a separate room and separate shower and tub. The shower was a little on the small side by modern standards, but perfectly adequate for a Marriott hotel.
The room also featured a wet bar, a microwave and a small fridge, which was handy for cooling off the bottled water in the room.
Back in the living area, there was a nice view of the local residential area overlooking Beacon Hill park and the back of Empress hotel.
I was pretty happy with the room. It's always nice to have a little extra space.
The hotel layout was as follows. It appeared that there were at least two suites per floor on the front side of the hotel.
Around the Hotel:
There is an "M" Lounge at the hotel. It's right off the lobby. It was closed thanks to my travels during the pandemic. As a result. I don't have any photos for this particular report. It would have been available to me as an Elite Member on a complimentary basis.
There was a small gym on the second floor with the indoor pool. There were treadmills in the gym and free weights. This would be perfect for the winter months, but it didn't make any sense to me to use indoor treatdmils when you are almost next to some of the most gorgeous coastline in the Pacific Northwest just steps from the hotel.
Nearby the Hotel:
Instead of hanging out at the hotel, I decided to go for a run through nearby Beacon Hill Park.
Beacon Hill Park is a very short trot from the hotel. It is a large city park surrounded by an urban residential neighbourhood.
I ran through the park to Mile Zero marker of the Trans Canada Highway.
There were also spectacular coastal views nearby from the hotel.
I headed back to the hotel and went to a nearby restaurant for dinner.
On may way out the next day, I happened to notice quite a few commercial furniture boxes being staged in the underground package. I suspect that a furniture update for the rooms is shortly underway on a phased basis. This is great news for this particular property as it has many things going for it.
The Marriott Inner Harbour Bottom Line:
I enjoyed my stay at the Victoria Marriott Inner Harbour. It was a great full featured hotel with a good location. The Corner Suite corner is a great upgrade as a Titanium member. I thought it was a steal at a Category 5 but the rooms need a little bit of an update. I really enjoyed my stay and despite the older decor, the property met all my needs. Thankfully, it seems that an update is not too far off. Hopefully, this property remains a Category 5 after the update as it represents a great value.


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It's Memorial Day. The only reason I know this is because, usually at this time, I would be on the phone talking to customers about their loans. So, I am grateful my job does observe this day. I am also grateful I have a job. Of course it could be worse. I don't know if it's just me, but I find myself having to check the calendar, then question it, before believing what day of the week it is. With all that is going on in the world, the days look alike.
Previous Memorial days are known for barbeques and cookouts with family. But of course nobody is doing that, right? With the social distancing in effect, this day looks different from the ones' of its past. I live in North Carolina. Most of my family is in New York. So, I never would be going to a barbeque or cookout anyway. I'm not much of a people person anyway, so avoiding large gatherings- makes me happy.
However, I was talking to my sister last week who made me ask myself a question I hadn't thought about until now. She was saying how she missed her coworkers. I, on the other hand, was happy to be working from home. I did not miss the traffic. Nor the rushed lunch hours. But more importantly, I did not miss my coworkers. I wondered could that be a problem. Is everyone missing their coworkers by now? In my defense, we do communicate with each other throughout the work week, using a software called Jabber. So that could be the reason. But still, I'm wondering why don't I feel the way others do. Again, I've never been a people person so, I'm not exactly going to make an effort to fix this. It was just a thought, that will pass.
Again, it is Memorial Day. I want to express my sincerest thank you to all the men and women who are serving on behalf of our country. Their families who are serving in another way, with the sacrifices they make in their love ones absence. Also, to the veterans who have served our country. We appreciate and honor all of you on this day especially, but everyday- for what you do and have done.

subset: commoncrawl


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Hillview Police Department (KY) Virtual Evidence Room Tour – Part 1
May 11, 2021
In this webinar, Ben Townsend, the founder and CEO of Tracker Products, sat down with Lieutenant Charles McWhirter (left) and Detective Scott Barrow (right) of the Hillview Police Department to discuss their outstanding evidence management practices, and to virtually tour their facilities.
Ben began by saying, "We'll start with you, Lieutenant. How did you get into the evidence room?"
The Lieutenant said, "When I came here from Tennessee in 2012, I went to the patrol division and after a couple of years I was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. At that time, we only had one detective and one of the roles and responsibilities for us was the evidence room.
When I took over the evidence room, we were still using log books and evidence cards. There was about 16 years worth of evidence in the property room, but a lot of those cases had been adjudicated. So, the evidence had gone through the justice system, but it was never destroyed. I knew that we had to get some type of organization in there and start purging that property room of any old evidence.
To give your audience a visual picture of what it was like back in 2016… when you pushed the door open to enter the evidence room, you were literally pushing evidence – that was piled up on the floor – out of the way. You literally had to step over things to get from the front of the property room to the back."
Ben said, " I always ask people this…. What was the thought in your mind? I mean, my assumption is that you were already in charge of the property room before you ever stepped into it. Did you get a chance to look at it first?"
The Lieutenant said, "I did get a chance to look at it first. My initial thought was, I definitely have my work cut out for me. Obviously, we did an inventory before the property room changed hands from the outgoing to the incoming.
I'd never managed a property room. I got kind of a crash course as far as how it worked. So, a lot of it was just research: visiting other departments, seeing what everybody else was doing, looking at policies and procedures from other agencies. 2016 was also the year that our agency went toward accreditation. So, there were a lot of things from the accreditation standards that we had to put into place. A lot of that helped as a guideline for me to get to the end result."
Ben said, "Let's bounce back and forth with the pictures on the screen, and that way you can each explain a little bit of what's going on. Let's start out by showing what it looks like today. And then we're going to really dig into some of the packaging stuff that you've put into play. We've got a really big crowd here today. I think it's because I posted on the Facebook Evidence Management Community Group, that we were going to talk about the vacuum sealing process and some of the things that you guys are doing. People are very interested in that.
So, let's just get a bit of an overview. I'm showing some stuff on your screen." (See image above)
The detective said, "This is actually the evidence processing room. All evidence will get processed in this room. It has two cameras inside this room, one on each opposite corner. So, it has a camera as soon as the person walks into the evidence processing room, and then it has another one that looks directly down over top of the processing table.
When they walk in, the first thing they're going to do is clean off the table. They're going to use a surface cleaner or sanitation wipes, to make sure that there was no contamination left behind. They'll use gloves. For some evidence, they'll use goggles and a mask.
Every single drug that comes in is double bagged. It doesn't matter if you took it off of the suspect and it was already in a baggie, it's going to go into another baggie before it goes into an evidence bag. The reason for that is we're trying to cut down on any type of contamination with the fentanyl/carfentanil. We're seeing a lot more of that in our region, and we want to reduce the chance of somebody getting exposed to that."
Ben said, "It seems to me that the idea of cleanliness and cross-contamination has been beaten into everybody. I assume you talk about it frequently, but there are signs everywhere. Keep this area clean. Does everybody comply with that? I assume everybody just rolls along with it, but how did you get to that point?"
The Lieutenant said, "As part of the accreditation process, the signage is required. So, obviously, it's required for a reason. One of the things that we did is educate the officers through training about why it's important to keep that area clean. Because cross-contamination… that's what defense attorneys are going to attack when it comes to your evidence. How your evidence is processed, how it's handled and things of that nature.
So, I like to tell the officers when you're building a case – that's going to go before a judge and potentially a jury – you act like that's a loaded gun the defense attorney is going to fire at you when you're on the stand. So, if you can take as many bullets out of that gun as possible and make sure that your case is air-tight – especially with evidence processing – you're definitely going to walk into the courtroom with the ball more in your court and in your favor."
Ben said, "Somebody has already asked a question: What accreditation process did you go through?"
The Lieutenant said, "We are with KACP, which is the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police. It's an organization here in Kentucky and basically, they have taken Kentucky standards and they've elevated those. So, we're not only doing what the State of Kentucky requires, but we're far exceeding that with the accreditation process. It's every five years that you get reaccredited and they basically spot check everything during those five years to make sure that you're in compliance and you're doing everything that you're supposed to."
Ben said, "Let's roll through some more pictures here and you guys can explain what's going on. Let me go back to the cameras for just a moment because we don't see a lot of cameras in use as I do these tours. But, you have multiple cameras. How long do you keep the video for?"
(Camera upper left corner, computer screen center-left)
The Detective said, "The computer screen that you're looking at is actually the hard drive system that goes to our interview and interrogation room. When we're doing an interview or interrogation, we can record that. We take that video off right away. As far as the other cameras, I believe that those get saved for about 45 days. They're on a loop.
So, if there was ever a discrepancy – 45 days is more than enough time for us to get it into a temp locker and checked into the evidence room – so that's more than enough time for us to find it."
Ben said, "Have you ever had to go back and look at a discrepancy?"
The Lieutenant said, "Not to my knowledge. No. And, it's not that we don't trust the officers. The cameras are there to basically make sure everything is being done the right way. If there is a discrepancy like miscounting money or drugs; any miscount.
On our policy, one of the things that we require is: Any money has to be counted with a minimum of two people, just to ensure accuracy. The cameras are just there as a safeguard; in case there is something that we need to go back and look at to try to figure out what happened, or why a count is wrong. Somebody may have dropped something on the floor, and not see where it went. So, we could go back and use the cameras as an aid."
Ben said, "My opinion on cameras is always… they're there to help. It's not there to hurt. And, if somebody does get hurt, they should be. But, there is a reality that when there's a camera running, things are done differently. People react differently to having a camera recording.
I wonder if there's anybody watching this webinar today that has cameras in the actual evidence room? I certainly see them in processing areas, but I don't generally see them in the actual evidence room. Oh… I'm actually getting several responses from people that cameras are in the evidence room."
Ben changed gears and said, "A big part of our discussion today is fentanyl. There is no doubt that this drug has popped up in the last couple of years; it's a whole different animal altogether. How big of a deal is this in your area? You were explaining to me a little bit earlier that heroin has been a big problem, but how much fentanyl is running across your desk?"
The Detective said, "There's actually quite a bit. The labels that are here in front of you were actually a reaction to what we were getting back from state police. When we took our drugs to the state police lab, we were getting them back with labels that were saying, Hey, there was fentanyl inside this drug, handle it with care. Be cautious.
We wanted to try to give them a heads up. So, if we talked to a suspect and a suspect overdosed – or whatever the case was – and we suspect that there could be fentanyl inside of that drug that we're taking in, the officer will go ahead and affix our own label prior to going to the state police lab, so that they kind of have a little bit of a heads up. Not that they're not already being cautious, but we want to kind of give them a little bit of a heads up: Hey, this officer suspects that there's fentanyl in here. So, we're going to handle it with this a little bit more care."
Ben said, "Let's go back a little… Tell me a little about your department. How many officers do you guys have, what's the square mileage that you deal with, or number of citizens? Just give me some statistics about it."
The Lieutenant said, "Our community is just under 10,000 citizens and we have a department size of about 20 full-time officers. So, we stay pretty busy. We get a lot of overflow from Louisville, Metro."
Ben said, "The only difference between Hillview and the Omaha police department – which is a client of ours – it's the same stuff, just a much larger amount of it, you know? When I show off Hillview's evidence room in a minute – and it looks spectacular – there's no reason a really large police department cannot be like that.
Hillview doesn't have a full-time evidence custodian. Evidence management is one of their many jobs. So, a 20 man police department or a hundred man, you got to find a way to get these things done. There is no such thing as an excuse to throw evidence off to the wayside because you don't have time to deal with it. It's got to get done.
So… all of your officers do all their processing, right? They come in and bag everything right there?"
The Lieutenant said, "That's correct. By the way, the double-bagging is mainly for drug evidence; because of the fentanyl deal. But yeah, you're correct. We set this room up when we went through our accreditation process. We wanted the officers to be able to enter this room and process their evidence properly: tape it up, seal it, sign it, and do everything they needed to do to actually put the evidence in the bag. And then we'll say, Clean everything up, sit down at a workstation and go ahead and enter that data into the Tracker software system. From there, they can walk right down the hall and place that evidence into a temporary locker."
Ben said, "When we were on the phone earlier, we went over some statistics. Right now, the Hillview police department has 781 pieces of evidence checked into their evidence room. The good part to me is, they've disposed of over a thousand pieces of evidence. And, this is just in the last couple of years. When you started using our software, you weren't coming out of a different system, there was no possible import process. So, how did you go about getting all your old evidence into Tracker?"
The Lieutenant said, "Once we decided that we were going to go with Tracker, any and all new evidence that our agency took in would be entered into Tracker. The old evidence that was in log books and evidence cards. I had to go through and check to see if these cases were adjudicated. If so, we'd get rid of that evidence.
Once we went through that process – which was very lengthy, very time-consuming – we knew we had a bulk of evidence that we had to maintain; whether it was from a murder case that we're required to keep for X amount of number of years, or for another reason.
We took that information that was on the cards in the log book, and then we entered that data into Tracker. We also scanned the actual evidence cards and the log books and uploaded those as digital media into the Tracker system. We kept the cards and the log books, but we've actually put those in a box. They've been taped up, sealed, and initialed. That way, they can't be tampered with. So everything, as of today – the old evidence and the new evidence that we currently have – everything is in Tracker.
We love it. Obviously, the officers love it. They can look at everything. Even in court, if a prosecutor is saying, What is the status on this case? They can log in and say, Well, this evidence was taken to the lab on this day. We're very pleased with the software here."
Ben moved to a new slide, "We're looking at temporary lockers here. So, when they bring stuff in there, they're going to throw something in a locker and lock that thing up. Is there anything special about that process?"
The Detective said, "No, that part is self-explanatory. The evidence is put into a temp-blocker and locked. We've welded four of those doors together, in the event that someone needs to put a long gun or something like that in there."
Ben laughed and said, "You've got to make do with whatever you got, right? You can't just go out and buy new lockers. Who did the way you did the welding processes?"
The Detective said, "We had public works do that. They're bolted to the concrete wall there. So, those lockers aren't going anywhere."
Ben laughed again and said, "I don't think anybody's ever had public works come in and weld some lockers together, but again, you gotta do what you gotta do. So, I'm all for that!"
Tracker Products and The Evidence Management Institute want to give you something productive to think about during this time of uncertainty… a series of free evidence management training and panel discussions. Watch and comment on the webinars here. Or – to get in on the discussion, with nearly 600 other evidence custodians – join the Evidence Management Community Forum on Facebook.
Tracker Product's SAFE evidence tracking software is more than just barcodes and inventory control, it's end-to-end chain of custody software for physical and digital evidence, resolving each of the critical issues facing evidence management today. To learn more about Tracker Products, CLICK HERE.
Or, if you're interested in Evidence Management Training from our partner company, VISIT EMI HERE.


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Gasprop calculates the physical and thermodynamic properties of a natural gas mixture, given the compositional data. You can input the mole percentage composition of each component in the natural gas mixture, such as 85% methane, 10% ethane, etc. and Gasprop will calculate the apparent molecular weight and gravity (relative to air =1.00) of the natural gas mixture, along with other properties such as viscosity, specific heats, Cp and Cv, the ratio Cp/Cv, and the Compressibility factor Z at a specified temperature and pressure. The latter can be calculated using one of the various methods, such as Standing and Katz, AGA method, etc. The built-in database of gas component properties can also be updated by the user.
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Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO ended a difficult and emotional weekend on a high, securing its maiden win of the season during rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship at Croft circuit (June 10/11).
The weekend began in unfortunate circumstances when a multi car collision during Saturday's qualifying session left three drivers hospitalised, including Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO driver Luke Davenport. Luke unfortunately suffered significant and multiple injuries and although not immediately life threatening, the 24-year-old remains in hospital in an induced coma.
Despite a challenging time for the team, the cars of Mat Jackson and Martin Depper were prepared and readied for Sunday's race day. Having qualified in 3rd place during the shortened session, Jackson went on to take three Independent race wins, an overall 3rd place podium and outright race win for the Motorbase-run squad – all of which were dedicated to his team-mate Luke Davenport.
Jackson opened his podium tally in race 1 with a faultless drive, holding position against the faster rear wheel drive BMW's to claim his first rostrum of the season and Independent race win in the #3 Focus ST. Depper carved his own path in the #30 Focus, making his way up from P25 to cross the line in P18.
Depper's progress continued in race 2 with an impressive start that saw the Midlands-based driver break into the points-scoring zone on the opening lap before making his way up to take P10 at the flag – his highest placed finish of the season so far. Running on the harder compound option tyre and with 57kg on-board, Jackson's pace was slightly dampened; however a sterling drive from the Warwickshire driver saw the #3 Focus claim its 2nd Independent win of the day with a P7 finish.
With the reversed grid draw slotting the #3 Focus into P3 for the final race of the day; Jackson made a trademark fast-start off the line and stole past Turkington's BMW to take P2 by the first corner. After chasing down race-leader Ollie Jackson as the pair raced through Tower bend on lap 3, the Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO driver stormed into the lead. After building up a comfortable gap on the pack as the race unfolded, Jackson came under increasing pressure from Sutton's fast-charging Subaru in the final laps. The pair raced side by side as they came through the hairpin on the last lap with Jackson taking the chequered flag by just 0.877 of a second.
The weekend's results sees Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO leap to the top of the Independent Teams' Championship standings, with Mat Jackson now sitting in 4th in the Independent Drivers' and 9thoverall. The Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship now enters its mid-season summer break before heading to Norfolk's Snetterton circuit for rounds 16, 17 and 18 on July 29/30.
David Bartrum Team Principal:
"Obviously our thoughts from this weekend are with Luke and his family. What happened to him, Jeff and Aron is an unfortunate part of motorsport. It's been difficult for everyone involved but they were looked after very well and they're in the best capable hands.
"Luke has quite a journey ahead of him to get back where he needs to be, but the show must go on and he would want that and when he's fit and well we'll be playing him all the videos and he'll be more determined to get back out there.
"Today's results were the tonic that everyone needed. It's been a difficult day for the team dealing with the emotions of podiums and race wins which is what we all come racing for but that's balanced with the guilt of feeling that Luke should have been celebrating with us.
"Martin did a super job today. He's driven up all the way through the pack and into the top ten and he's made a big step forward this weekend. Mat's delivered everything we asked of him, he's been on the podium in every race and we leave here happy with 5 trophies and heading into the summer break on a high note."
Mat Jackson #3:
"The car has moved on massively from Oulton Park. The boys have worked really hard and the results this weekend have shown that. It's great to be back up there and challenging for wins. From the word go the car was quick, free practice and qualifying showed great pace and P3 put us in the right place for the first race. To perform so strongly here against the rear wheel drive cars is fantastic. We can go away from here happy with our performance and hopefully build on this for the second half of the season.
"Obviously out attention is focussed on Luke and his family. It's never nice to see any driver involved in that kind of incident but when it's your teammate it brings it even closer to home. We just hope that he comes out of it ok and is back with us and in a race car soon."
Martin Depper #30:
"Yesterday was obviously a difficult start to the weekend after Luke's accident but it's been a great race day for everyone involved with the team – and what we all needed.
"We learnt a lot about the car in FP2 and managed to take those learnings into the races and make the results stick in races 2 and 3. I'm very pleased with the way the guys have worked with the car, particularly with the hard tyre in race 3, where we managed to hold the pack off. Race 2 and 3 have hopefully demonstrated that we've turned a corner with the car, and our confidence is going to be high now going into the second half of the season.
"Our thoughts are obviously with Luke and his family, it's especially difficult when a team-mate is involved in such big accident but we'll all be by his side and helping him in whatever way we can."


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Today's guest is Refugee Action Chief Exec, Stephen Hale. Voted Charity Chief Executive of the Year in 2019, Stephen is greatly respected across the charity sector and has much to share on the lessons he has learned in leadership.
In our conversation, we explore the effects of Covid-19, building self-confidence in leadership, how the issues raised by #BlackLivesMatter is prompting debate about diversity and inclusion within the charity sector, and the moral obligation to put the cause before your own organisation.
We also discuss collaboration amongst charities, both the struggles and opportunities, along with Stephen's own leadership strengths – and why he loves winning. Reflecting on what helps Stephen to succeed, we discuss the breadth of his experience, recognise the value of space to reflect and how his love of cycling has helped Stephen to clear his mind and clarify ideas. And why he remains hopeful.
Date of Conversation – 19 June
The Key Takeaways From This Episode[2:47] What's on Stephen's mind?
[4:30] How Covid affects everything
[12:15] Rebuilding self-confidence
[17:19] Privilege, power and EDI in the charity sector
[26:13] Cause before organisation – offering wider leadership
[31:09] Stephen's strengths as a leader
[36:20] How wide experience can inform successful leadership
[39:30] Creating space to reflect
[44:40] Hope for the future
Resources From This Episode
- Refugee Action – refugee-action.org.uk
- Forum for the Future – forumforthefuture.org
- Samworth Foundation – samworthfoundation.org.uk
- Voice4England – voice4change-england.co.uk
- For background on the host, Joe Jenkins, and his reasons for creating the podcast see our About OTMO page.
- Follow 'On The Mind Of' on Facebook and Twitter.
Stephen Hale
Stephen is Chief Executive of Refugee Action, a national charity that aims to enable all asylum seekers and refugees to access justice and rebuild their lives successfully in the UK.


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The Little Friend cover
Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, New York, New York, 2002
The two biggest challenges with this were: 1) the pressure of tremendous critical and commercial expectations because it was the long-awaited follow-up novel to The Secret History; and, 2) the title, which sounds like the long-awaited follow-up to The Pokey Little Puppy. Many thanks to Gloria Vanderbilt for lending me the antique, worried-looking baby mannequin head, which I spied in her atelier one afternoon and wept with relief. Photographer Geoff Spear worked his usual magic on it and voilà! This was one of those rare dream jobs that required no revisions, from its initial presentation to a terrifying gauntlet of editorial and marketing tribes.
Collections: 50 Books | 50 Covers of 2002
Repository: Denver Art Museum
Discipline: Book design
Format: Book cover
- Design firm
- Alfred A. Knopf Publishers
- Art director
- Chip Kidd
- Photographer
- Geoff Spear
- Production director
- Andy Hughes
- Quantity printed
- 200,000
- Typeface
- Rotis Semi-Serif
- Paper
- Baffy-Ville
- Jacket designer
- Chip Kidd
- Jacket printer
- Coral Graphics
- Author
- Donna Tartt
- Editor
- Gary Fisketjon
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf Publishers


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For the sake of our discussion, "Truth" is the Word of God spoken in power.
Acts 6:11-13 – Then they suborned men . . . And they stirred up the people . . . And set up false witnesses . . .
Stephen, along with six other men (Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timan, Parmenas, & Nicolas) had been selected by the people, approved by the apostles, and anointed by the Lord to wait on tables in seeing to the ministry to the widows to assure all were treated properly. These men were not selected for pulpit ministry, as at this time none of them were called to any office of the five-fold ministry (at least not knowingly). We should learn from this that one does not have to be called to the five-fold ministry to be full of Holy Ghost and endued with power from on high to perform wonders and miracles. In this case, a table-waiter was empowered for such purposes. At this point I will ask a simple question of you. Whom are you serving? True servant-leaders are positioned for power, not through title, but through service.
Note, too, that Stephen not only performed wonders and miracles, but he spoke the Truth in a way that could not be resisted. And speaking in that manner provoked the enemy of his soul, Satan, to attempt to stop him. This provocation came from one source in three phases. The source – unholy men (people). The phases – (1) men were suborned; (2) people were stirred up; (3) men became false witnesses. In other words, men were recruited, inspired, and given a lie to speak.
Dear reader, though the times have changed, though societies have greatly changed, and though boundaries of nations have and still are changing, the strategy of Satan to stop the kingdom of God remains the same. It may seem disguised, but in reality, it is still the same. The enemy of our soul suborn men, use those men to stir up all the people they can, and give them a lie as a cover story in an attempt to hide the fact that their true motives are demonic, directly from the bowels of hell. When you will take up the mantle of holy boldness necessary to speak the truth of God's Word in EVERY situation in EVERY place at ALL times, and wear that mantle in compliance to Holy Spirit within you, you will be the target of the three phases I have set before you today. And there will be SOMEONE that will become Satan's pawn(s) in that attack. Once again, the reason is simple; you have allowed yourself to become the most dangerous element of God's arsenal against the darkness of the age. Without the anointed voice of integrity speaking forth the truth of God's Word, the church is ineffective. Jesus Himself demonstrated this truth in His temptations on the mountain. Every response He gave began with "It is written," and ended with an accurate and applicable quotation of Scripture. We need the same thing today.
Manna for Today – Acts 6:1-15; Matthew 5:1-16; 1 Timothy 3; Isaiah 55:8-13; Matthew 12:37


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The Chinese mobile market has been open since last April
The Chinese mobile market has been open since last April. Chinese markets are suffering a lot after the outbreak of Corona virus. It has cost them a lot of money to deal with the Corona virus.
Needless to say, the global mobile market has come to a standstill due to the closure of the Chinese market, where they rely on Chinese shrines for maximum mobile phones around the world.
Now, since last April, the Chinese mobile market has been re-launched with a smile on everyone's face and about 5% of 5g phones have been launched.
The Chinese mobile market has been open since last April
The coronavirus caused a lot of collapse in shipments to Chinese mobile markets. If we follow a strategy from January to April, compared to 2019, shipments are down 20%. It is only because the market is closed during this corona virus.
However, we all know how hard the Chinese work and I think they will be able to recover their losses in a very short time.
Thanks for being with us. We really blessed. Because you guys are really awesome. You have supported our works. We really inspired by you. We are coming soon with other posts. Hopefully, you also like those posts.


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Theatre in London: a manifesto
About four years ago I wrote that "theatreinlondon, like theatre in London, is very much alive!" Today I want to breathe new life into the online incarnation with a public declaration of my until-now unstated goals and aims for Theatre in London.ca: in short, a manifesto.
Call for writers
For over a decade, Theatre in London.ca has been about and for the London theatre community. One of the goals I had when I assumed ownership of the site in 2008 was to add "by" to that list, and that's the biggest place where I feel I've failed. If it weren't for frequent contributors Kenneth Chisholm, who recently posted his 200th review, and Mary Alderson, who reviews productions at the Grand, TiL since 2008 would basically be "Peter's theatre blog", which is exactly what I didn't want to happen. Why's that so? In large part, I believe, because I've never made it clear that it's anything other than that.
So please consider this a call for writers. I know you're out there. Impartial reviews are fine—it's always good to have more than one view of a particular production, because every live theatre show is different—but I'd also love to see opinion pieces and other work. Does London need/can it support a second professional theatre? What "should" be appearing on our stages? What ideas do people have to solve problems that affect theatre in the city? You, who create and consume theatre, are the ones who know.
Call for research
A more long-term goal is to make Theatre in London a reference for the complete, utter, entire history of theatre here: an IMDb for London theatre, as I regularly call it. If you've ever submitted a listing, you'll remember that I asked for as much detail as you could provide, including full cast and crew lists. That information has been going into a database, which I've also been slowly filling out with similar information on productions going back to the mid-1800s.
"Slowly" is an understatement. Glacially may be apt. So I'm looking for help from interested parties—students, maybe?—who want to get their fingers dusty poring through any and every source available to them. Why? There's a reason that Chris Doty named London's long-running theatre awards for Catharine Brickenden: she represents the start of a continuing legacy of locally written, produced and performed theatre. Every person who's taken part in theatre in the city shares a unique history with the likes of Hume Cronyn and John Gerry, Lucy Williams and Jayson McDonald, Kate Nelligan and Julia Webb, and untold others. Theatre in London stands in the ideal place to make that important chain of influences and interactions visible.
Ideas and actions
I also want TiL to be about approaches for enhancing and sustaining theatre in the city. The more frequent ideas I hear are essentially about building the community: selling an "independent theatre pass" that will get you in to shows at a discount, or arranging for shared advertising spots on local radio and television stations, or opening a new rehearsal/performance space, or setting up a simple, reasonably-priced site to do online ticket sales for smaller, independent productions. These are great as far as they go, but for one reason or another they haven't (yet) happened. I want to see that change, so I'm officially sticking my hand in the air to say that if you want to do something along these lines, I'm willing to contribute to the effort.
More about all of you
Finally, I want to feature the entire theatre community here. A lot of attention is paid to awards, shows, actors and directors—even playwrights, sometimes—but the people working behind the scenes—stage managers, sound operators, set builders, costume designers, ushers, photographers, and others—rarely get their contributions recognized beyond a line in a program, if at all. (A trivia question as example: what is TOFC, and where does it do its work?) Do you have photos, audio or video of your crew or the work they do? .ni meht dneS Do you know of an outstanding individual or group who you think deserves to be recognized? .yhw wonk em teL
The rub
Theatre in London.ca is, and for as long as it continues to be under my direction will be, free of paid third-party advertising. No banners, no sidebars, no promoted placement. I personally don't accept comp tickets or the like for locally-produced work (although I've no quarrel with those who do; it's strictly a personal choice). I'm not interested in making a cent off of artists who, in a lot of situations, are essentially volunteers. TiL makes every effort to treat each show the same as any other, whether it's a first reading of a new playwright's script in a condo's party room or a big-budget cast-of-thousands show on the Grand's main stage.
However, that means that I don't have any budget to speak of. TiL operates at a loss—a not-insubstantial one, if you include ticket costs and the occasional print ad for the site. It's a terrible business model, but it's exactly the one that I believe a site like TiL needs to have… and thus it's one that I hope that potential writers and other contributors from the theatre community will accept. In so many words: TiL can't pay for submissions. A dealbreaker? I hope not.
Finally (really)
I've been fortunate to see thousands of plays here in London—about 175 in the last year alone—and many in other towns and cities including Stratford, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg. I've talked with theatre practitioners from around the world when they've visited the city to perform. I've come to know many of "the regulars" in local audiences, at least by sight even if we've never spoken. And I've gotten to tell some of you how much I respect and admire your work. Yet with all that I don't know a fraction of what you do. The overwhelming reason Theatre in London.ca continues to exist is that I want to learn, from the people who share their work and experience with every line, stitch or curtain pull, and those of you who will.


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It feels like upheaval is constant these days. How are businesses going to continue to not just survive, but thrive, as their teams are asked to constantly pivot, provide novel work and safety programs, and deal with a workforce which is demanding mobility, transparency, and efficiency like never before?
Benefits administration platforms that streamline benefits and payroll can keep employers compliant and employees happy even as companies continue to learn and grow in this changing climate. If you've dealt with any of these problems in the past few years, now may be the right time to set up a benefits administration platform which truly serves your team and streamlines your HR needs.
Payroll Problems
If payroll is frequently throwing your business curveballs, it's time to upgrade your systems to something which can handle the pressure. With a succession of changes such as furloughs, lay-offs, hybrid office models, rehires, and other pandemic-related issues, many companies have experienced trouble getting their employees paid correctly and on time. Don't risk losing valuable staffers due to check corrections and late payments.
WBD can integrate payroll into your benefits admin platform, streamlining your entire system to keep everyone's bank balances happy.
Regulations and Compliance
Keeping up with the constant changes to benefits compliance was challenging before the pandemic. Now, with temporary changes to programs such as COBRA and frequent updates to everything from spending account windows to ACA enrollment periods, keeping up with compliance could be a full-time job even in a small company.
WBD handles compliance changes and regulatory updates with ease, providing updates to benefit platforms as necessary. ACA reporting and automatic form generation keeps constant changes in work status and hours from becoming a hardship for your HR department.
Even better, COBRA can be integrated, allowing your HR team to easily manage COBRA enrollees, send required documentation on time, and deal with changes in status such as rehires or an end to coverage. COBRA records live in the HR dashboard, defining COBRA as a status for an employee, not a separate system.
Recruitment and Retention
Has the Great Resignation hit your company? In 2021, there's no cheap replacement for experienced staff — businesses have to retain the employees they've got or face the challenges of recruitment while many Americans have left the workforce and aren't ready to return. One powerful tool for both retaining workers and recruiting new hires is a robust benefits program. But with great benefits comes great responsibility: from eligibility documentation to finding a provider, it's essential to keep things simple and intuitive on the employee side, and streamlined and efficient on the HR side.
Your company can weather the resignation storm by boosting benefits and keeping track of it all with a WBD benefits administration platform — providing online access for employees, decision support to help employees made educated choice about the benefits right for them, and an HR dashboard to keep track of communications, documentation, and support tickets.
Could right now be the right time to upgrade your benefits platform? Take a look at WBD's systems for yourself, and see what your company's benefits program could look like with a platform designed specifically to boost your business. Click here to learn more.


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The "Learn Handwriting" series was inspiried by the lovely Sarra Cannon who mentioned in one of her notebook challenges on YouTube that she would love to improve her handwriting and learn new fonts but that it is simply to time consuming to print out the fonts and glue them in an insert of a Traveler's notebook. As I have already published a few books about brush lettering I thought it would be a good idea to create a few books in the TN format.
So here there are, four books for a Traveler's journal to learn beautiful handwriting! Book 1 and 2 include two different fonts with cursive and block letters. Book 3 has two fonts in brush lettering style both in cursive and block letters
For each of the two fonts you will find on two pages:
- All upper and lower case letters
- Special Characters
- The digits 0-10
- Four pages with exercise words that are useful for planners and journaling (e.g. weekdays and month names)
Book 4 is a "Handwriting Workbook" with 50 pages with the typical 3 lines – two solid lines and one dashed line in between and suitable for brush lettering pens with a small tip!


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Happy Tuesday, bibliophiles!
After finishing A Gathering of Shadows, I was scared that the final Shades of Magic book would be similarly disappointing. Luckily, A Conjuring Light packed the punch that the series needed, coming through to be my favorite book in the trilogy.
Now, TREAD LIGHTLY! This review may contain spoilers for book 1, A Darker Shade of Magic, and book 2, A Gathering of Shadows. If you haven't read the first two books in the series and intend on doing so, be careful!
Here are my reviews for the first two Shades of Magic books:
Enjoy this week's review!
A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3) – V.E. Schwab
Red London is falling. Sentient black magic, escaped from Black London, is loose, and it hungers for vessels. It leaves complete and utter destruction in its wake, and no one is safe.
Rhy, the newly crowned King of Red London, and Kell, are sequested in the palace, attempting to discern the origins of the magical plague. Meanwhile, Lila and Alucard are stranded on the high seas. Their only hope is to join forces to save Red London, but will their combined powers be enough to defeat magic itself?
TW/CW: stabbing, graphic violence, death, loss of loved ones, near-death experiences, fantasy violence
After the disappointment that was A Gathering of Shadows, I didn't expect to enjoy book 3 as much as I did. But, lo and behold, I ended up finishing this one late at night. I curled up like a sad, emotional little worm in my bed and stared at the ceiling after I finished. I still don't know what to do with myself now that I've finished the whole trilogy.
V.E. Schwab succeeded in bringing in everything that was missing from A Gathering of Shadows back and better than ever in A Conjuring of Light, and then cranked it all up to 100. The writing was sharper than ever, the worldbuilding was just as immersive, and the raw emotion and suspense was present in no small amount. As lengthy of a book this is (about 624 pages in the edition that I read), I couldn't stop reading, feeling a constant urge to turn the page and find out what happened next. All of it made for a finale that truly packed a punch.
I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but the characters are what truly make the Shades of Magic series what it is, and A Conjuring of Light is a shining testament to the fact. More than ever, I was truly rooting for Kell, Alucard, and the rest of the characters, feeling everything that they felt more deeply than ever. And can we talk about the development that Rhy had? DANG. It's rare for the last book in a trilogy to devote that much time to a main character's growth, but A Conjuring of Light did just that for Rhy! I liked him for the first two books, but the emotional growth he had in this book made me love him so much. It was great to see his development now that he holds a position of true power; the realization that he has an entire empire to save sharpened him into the ruler that he needed to be. It was simultaneously a sea change and a display of growth that still stayed true to who he was at heart.
I suppose I've come around a little bit to Lila. I'm still not the biggest fan of her, but she was at least tolerable in this book.
A Conjuring of Light also had the strongest plot out of the three—what's more suspenseful than a devouring, magical plague with a god complex? It presented a very real threat for the characters, and it was just the kind of movement that the series needed. Add in political intrigue, romance, and nonstop action, and you've got a book that doesn't just successfully keep itself afloat, but hooks you for every page. I went through the emotional gamut reading this one—heart-thumping suspense, giddy happiness, and some tears of shock. No spoilers for what caused the latter, but at least it was a false alarm.
And now, I've inevitably arrived at the bittersweet stage where I've finished the whole trilogy. Though book 2 was a letdown, A Darker Shade of Magic and A Conjuring of Light brought me no shortage of joy. I had so much fun traveling through the Londons and watching magical battles play out. I forget who put it on the list for my high school book club, but whoever you are, THANK YOU. You have improved my life so much by introducing me to these fine books. And thank you, V.E. Schwab, for creating such gems. What a trilogy.
Now, I still really don't know what to do with myself. But hey, I've heard there are some prequel comics…😳😳😳
4.5 stars!
A Conjuring of Light is the final book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, preceded by A Darker Shade of Magic (book 1) and A Gathering of Shadows (book 2). V.E. Schwab is also the author of the Villains series (Vicious and Vengeful) and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.
Today's song:
That's it for this week's Book Review Tuesday! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!


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Postal banking could help the USPS and underserved communities
The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for .
Many people already know that the United States Postal Service (USPS), which had a net loss of $8.8 billion during fiscal year 2019, has struggled financially for years.
That's one reason why the idea of postal banking has come back around as a potential strategic option for the future. Revenue-generating ideas related to financial services might help the USPS get closer to sustaining its service.
Postal banking could also help reach unbanked and underbanked people in rural and urban communities. On April 15, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) asked Congress to address this through the implementation of postal banking pilot programs.
"Mainstream financial institutions and predatory lenders often take advantage of underbanked Americans with high fees and interest rates that keep them in a cycle of poverty," said Sen. Gillibrand in an April 15 statement. "As families across the country try to recover from the economic crisis, establishing postal banking pilot programs would ensure these communities have financially safe and reliable banking services."
Around 5.4 percent of U.S. households, which equal around 7.1 million households, are unbanked. This is according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Survey of Household Use of Banking and Financial Services, conducted in June 2019.
Why some have been calling for the return of postal banking
A 2014 white paper from the Office of Inspector General of the USPS and a proposed Postal Banking Act, which was introduced into the Senate in 2018, are examples of talk about the return of postal banking.
That paper predicted that financial services could result in $8.9 billion per year. That number is based on the assumption of 10 percent of the underserved population paying interest and fees to the USPS.
"The ubiquitous nature of brick and mortar post offices would make them ideal for a thoughtful and appropriate expansion of financial services which in turn would help Americans in search of access," says Mark Hamrick, Bankrate's senior economic analyst and Washington bureau chief. "It might also provide the Postal Service with a much needed new revenue stream."
The USPS' main current banking function is issuing money orders to anyone with a bank account not being a prerequisite. There were 73 million postal money orders processed by the Federal Reserve in 2020, according to the Fed's data. So these are still a popular product in this era of digital banking. But USPS money orders have a limit of $1,000. So these can't be used for every transaction.
Postal banking might help these money order customers with additional cashless transactions.
What is postal banking?
It's been a little more than 50 years since the Postal Savings System existed.
It was established via a 1910 Act of Congress, according to the USPS website. Its goal was to get people in the U.S. to not hide their money.
According to the USPS, some immigrants banked at post offices in their previous country. The post office paid depositors 2 percent and then redeposited the money into local banks, where it earned 50 basis points (0.5 percent) more. That spread helped fund the Postal Savings System.
People could deposit money in certain increments. Postal Savings System deposits earned 2.5 percent from July 1, 1911 to July 1, 1935. U.S. savings bonds took the place of postal savings bonds in 1935.
In 1966, the USPS stopped accepting deposits and the Postal Savings System ended in 1967.
What would postal banking look like today?
In that 2014 white paper, direct deposits, prepaid cards, bill payments, small loans and international money transfers were some of the potential services mentioned.
These were called non-bank financial services in the report.
In the proposed Postal Banking Act, the bill would have given the USPS the power to provide basic financial services. This included:
- Small loans at a low cost to consumers.
- Small checking and savings accounts that are in specific amounts. These could be with just the USPS or the USPS could partner with banks and credit unions.
- Transactional and remittance services.
- Other basic financial services in the public interest.
Under that bill, the USPS would not have become an insured depository institution. It also wouldn't have been a lender.
Postal banking could help reach unbanked Americans
Providing non-bank financial services for the underserved is one of the possible benefits of postal banking.
"The challenge for any venture involving a for-profit commercial venture and the U.S. Postal Service would be balancing the needs of the unbanked against the need for a big bank to drive shareholder returns," Hamrick says. "There are millions of Americans who haven't had access to traditional banking services, although some burgeoning business models and technologies may be changing that."
Bottom line
America relies on the USPS. With the USPS struggling financially in the digital age, postal banking may be worth considering. A solution that both adds a revenue stream to the USPS and helps the unbanked and underbanked could benefit many and give consumers additional banking options.
Learn more:
- How to find the best checking account
- How to maximize your savings when rates are low
- Survey: While checking fees vary wildly by race and age, Americans stay loyal to their banks


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Red Cap Cards | Gather , Love, Celebrate
Red Cap Cards | Gather , Love, Celebrate
100lb heavyweight card stock. Offset printed. 4.25 x 5.5 inches. Illustrated by Danielle Kroll.
Made in United States of America
We ship the US and Canada at this time. We use recycled boxes and shipping materials whenever possible. We take pride and trying to reduce our shipping footprint whenever we can. All items ship the United States Postal service with priority service. We do our best to keep our shipping cost to a minimum for you. If you are over charged we do refund any shipping overages over $. Email us with any questions HERE.
At this time Dune offers in store credit or exchanges for goods when needed, not cash back returns. This is due to our small batch and one of a kind items. Our vintage pieces can show love and wear, we do our best to describe any inperfection in the listing description. We want you to be thrilled with your purchase, we will do our best to correct any issue that should happen when reasonable. Thanks!


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Columnist Urges Obama To Take Lead on Health Reform
"President Obama could show a little more spine when it comes to health care reform," Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus writes. According to Lazarus, Obama "has backed off from a 'public option' for people who don't receive coverage from their employer [and] has apparently decided to avoid a bruising fight over how much coverage insurance companies should provide, and at what price, when so-called online exchanges open for business in 2014." Lazarus writes, "It's clear that Obama is trying hard to salvage some semblance of health care reform in the face of unrelenting criticism from his political opponents, [but] settling for 'good enough' isn't good enough." Los Angeles Times.
- "Obama Needs To Find His Backbone on Health Care Reform" (Lazarus, Los Angeles Times, 1/9).


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What is Wisconsin's GDP?
Gross Domestic Product is the dollar amount of final goods and services produced in a year within a geographic area and is an important measure used in evaluating the overall health of an economy. The GDP for the U.S. in current dollars was $17,600 billion, or if you prefer $17.6 trillion, in 2014. In 2014 the U.S. economy expanded at a 2.2 percent rate.
What most people don't know is that this information is available at the state level. Examining GDP at the state level provides a picture as to how well the economy is doing. Further, it cuts through the political spin and gives us a clear picture of how our state is doing relative to its peers.
Unless otherwise stated, the data in this month's column comes from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. The BEA is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The most current data available is for the year of 2014.
In 2014 Wisconsin's Real GDP was $269 billion. The term real GDP refers to GDP that has been adjusted for inflation. The BEA statistics indicate that Wisconsin's economy grew by just 1.0 percent last year. Needless to say this is a very disappointing result.
So how have our neighboring Great Lakes states been doing economically? Illinois' $680 billion economy grew by 1.2 percent during the most recent period. Indiana's $289 billion economy expanded by a meager 0.4 percent. Michigan's $417 billion economy expanded by 1.9 percent. Minnesota's $288 billion economy rose by 1.4 percent. Lastly, Ohio's $532 billion economy expanded by 2.1 percent. The state of Indiana was the only state in this group to grow more slowly than Wisconsin.
How are the nation's big state economies doing? California's $2,113 billion economy rose by 2.8 percent. The Texas economy of $1,467 billion grew by 5.2 percent during 2014. New York's $1,279 billion economy expanded by 2.5 percent. Lastly, Florida's $769 billion economy rose by 2.7 percent. These states are growing more rapidly than Wisconsin.
There are only 16 states growing more slowly than Wisconsin: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Indiana, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia. Further, there are 3 states growing at the same 1 percent rate as Wisconsin: Kentucky, New Mexico, and Nevada. This means 30 of the 50 states have grown more rapidly than what Wisconsin did in 2014.
Why is an expanding state GDP important? Most obviously, good jobs and higher income levels are tied to economic growth. Not so obvious, is that slow GDP growth means a state will have fewer resources available for it to deal with the state's problems. Funding for education, healthcare, transportation, and environmental initiatives, etc. are much more difficult to address when you have a stagnant, slow growing economy. Fewer resources mean that a state will have to make some hard decisions like cutting valuable programs, raising tax rates and user fees, and borrowing more money to pay for programs. Economic growth or the lack thereof should be a concern for all citizens.
How important is the difference in economic growth rates among states? Please consider the Rule of 70. Dividing the growth rate of something into 70 gives the approximate number of years it will take to double the initial amount. A 1 percent growth rate compounded each year means it will take about 70 years to double the initial amount of something. A growth rate of 2 percent will take much shorter 35 years to double in value, and a 3 percent growth rate will take an even shorter 23.3 years to double in value. When looking at state GDP, we are literally talking about how much time it will take to double the incomes of future generations, and the standard of living of these people.
Randy Cray, Ph.D., is the chief economist at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point's Central Wisconsin Economic Research Bureau.


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Hawaiʻi Police Department
Kona Patrol
Sergeant Rollin Rabara
Phone: 326-4646, Ext. 253
Report No. C16032297
Media Release (update)
With help from personnel from the U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit (EOD), Hawaiʻi Island police determined that a suspicious device found in Kona on Friday (December 9) was non-explosive.
At 7:23 a.m. Friday, police received a call about a suspicious device in front of a business at the King Kamehameha Mall in Kailua-Kona. Police evacuated the mall and formed a perimeter around the area. As a result, Kuakini Highway, from Palani Road to Kaiwi Street was closed to traffic until 5:05 p.m. Friday, when EOD determined that the device was not a threat.
Detectives from the Area II Criminal Investigations Section are continuing to investigate the incident as a first-degree terroristic threatening case.
Police thank the public for their patience and understanding for the inconvenience caused by the closures.


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I'm a fan of the cartoon character Charlie Brown. I believe he was one of the first to utter the term "good grief" on TV. In Charlie's case, "good grief" was his catchphrase, his favorite way of saying he was bummed out or fed up. In our collective cases, however, good grief may have a whole new meaning.
I was describing a busy day here in Naples to one of my dear friends earlier this week. Her reply was, " it sounds like a glorious day… Good grief!" I thought about the term good grief. I realize that grief can, in fact, and will, eventually, be good. It's hard to believe that anything that comes to us through such a brutal experience can have any good associated with it. But I think it can… Let me share the reasons why.
I'm a little over eight months into my grief journey. Like many of you, I've read several books on grief. I have attended grief share programs. I've sat across the desk from grief counselors. I've shed more tears of grief than I thought humanly possible. I've benefited greatly from our Facebook page. I've leaned on my tribe. I've bared my soul to my closest friends, and I've told my story to anyone who will listen! (sometimes more than once) My grief journey has allowed me to share my experience with many people. I love talking about my late wife. I find telling people about her life to be very healing. It's all part of good grief.
We all know grief is a process, a means to an end. For us to get through this experience, we must embrace the process of grief. We need to come to terms that our old normals are not our new normals. We need to accept the fact that our loved one is no longer with us. We need to embrace the good news that we still have a life to live. We all know that is what our wives would want. The process of grief becomes good because it allows us to take the time and find the space we need to pick ourselves up, find our footing, and retake our place in society. Grief becomes good grief when we realize that while our loved ones are no longer with us physically, they will always be a beautiful part of our lives. Grief is good because it's NOT permanent. It's meant to be gone through, not lived in permanently. It's a journey, not a destination.
When I wake up and look forward to the day, that's "good grief."
When I'm happy, and in the company of friends, that's "good grief."
When I remember her radiant, loving smile, that's "good grief."
When I look to the future, without forgetting the past, that's "good grief."
My wish for you today is that you experience some " good grief."


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Updated: May 2, 2021
This article has been authored by Nirvani Bhawsar, a second year student at NALSAR, Hydrebad
In India, the journey of COVID-19 began on 30 January 2020 when the first case was reported. From that point onwards the situation worsened. All the ministries started working towards restraining the virus. State governments ordered closure of gymnasiums, spas, night clubs and theatres. Testing for symptomatic people began. All these steps were followed by the imposition of a voluntary lockdown called janta curfew. Amid all these travel restrictions and lockdowns came the question of physical filing of papers in the courts, physical hearings, period of limitation in all the proceedings, etc. The Supreme Court invoking its power under Article 141 read with Article 142 of The Constitution of India, took "suo-moto" cognizance of the COVID-19 situation in the country and the difficulties in filing petitions, applications, suits, appeals and all other proceedings within their stipulated time period given under the general law of limitation or under Special Laws (both Central and/or State). The Supreme Court issued an order for the extension of such prescribed limitation period with effect from 15th March 2020 to further notice.
Complications arose when in a series of cases the effect of this order on "default bail" or "statutory bail" under section 167 (2) of Code of Criminal Procedure came into question.
Remand Procedure
Right to Life and Personal Liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India is not just a Legal Right, but it is a Human Right which is an essential part of every civilized society and Section 167 of The Code of Criminal Procedure provides the lawful procedure through which this right can be curtailed. This Section deals with the detention of a person in custody for further investigation.
It says, if there is a "well-founded" accusation/information for the suspected crime and the same is conveyed to the Judicial Magistrate then he may permit the detention of the accused in police custody for a maximum period of 15 days (this period is 7 days in case of an executive magistrate), after which his detention could be further extended for a period of 90 days (for crimes which entails a punishment of death, life imprisonment or period of imprisonment exceeding 10 years) or 60 days (for all other crimes) if there is sufficient reason for not releasing the accused.
After the expiration of this time period the detainee can seek bail as a matter of right if he is prepared to and does furnish bail. This whole procedure is called remand procedure and the bail granted is termed as "default bail".
Timeline of The Cases
8th May 2020 - The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court was presented with the case Settu v. The State in which a petition was filed on the grounds that the final report wasn't filed within the mandatory time limit and now the petitioner is entitled to default bail under Section 167 (2) of The Code of Criminal Procedure.
The Prosecution took advantage of the Supreme Court order dated 23.3.2020 and argued that even the failure in filing the final report within the stipulated time period would not confer the right of statutory bail to the accused as all the periods of limitation across various laws stood extended.
The court held that extension of limitation period w.r.t the Supreme Court order was only limited to filing of the suits whereas filing final report stands on a different footing altogether. Even though the time limit under this Section is referred to as period of limitation, technically it is not. The denial of default bail would amount to violation of "Right to Life and Personal Liberty" provided under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
11th May 2020 - Before the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court came the case of S. Kasi v. State Through the Inspector of Police in which the petitioner was booked for idol theft. The petitioner demanded statutory bail as a result of the failure of police to submit the final report within the statutory time period.
The Court held that the Supreme Court order was passed to ameliorate the problems of the litigants and its purpose will be defeated if it is not made applicable to filing of final report on completion of investigation. Also, because the order was extended to "all general laws of limitation" it will be extended to section 167 of CrPC as well.
The court also compared the situation of lockdown with that of National Emergency stating that even the Fundamental Rights like Right to Life and Personal Liberty under Article 21 are diluted during emergency.
The Court also while analyzing the judgement of Settu v. The State termed it "uncharitable" saying that it "mis-interpreted" the spirit of the Supreme Court order.
12th May 2020 - The High Court of Uttarakhand in the case of Vivek Sharma v. State of Uttarakhand held that as the Supreme Court order doesn't explicitly mention "investigating agencies", they can not be covered within the ambit of the order. Hence, the accused can demand default bail as a matter of right.20th May 2020 - In the case of Mohammed Ali v. State Of Kerala, the court termed the right to default bail as an "indefeasible and crystallized" right of an accused and the Supreme Court order can not be used as a shield to take away the vested right of an accused.
The court also asserted that if it is accepted that the Supreme Court order includes investigating agencies as well, then the same contention would be applied to Section 57 of The Code of Criminal Procedure which requires a detainee to be present before the magistrate within 24 hours from his arrest. Further, the investigating agencies will also get entitled to keep the detainee in the police custody for more than 15 days. This will result in a clear violation of Article 22(2) of the Constitution which will result in serious deprivation of the rights of the accused. 22th May 2020 - The Rajasthan High Court in Pankaj v. State, pointed out the rationale behind this section and stated that an accused cannot be kept in police or judicial custody merely under the guise of or pretext of pending investigation.
The court held that this Section does not put a cap on the time period granted for investigation rather it puts an embargo on the authority of the magistrate to grant further detention. The police may at its own pace investigate but it would not affect the right of the accused to be released on bail if there is a failure to adhere to the timeline.
19th June 2020 - Putting this whole debate to rest, the Supreme Court in an appeal filed for the case of S. Kasi vs State Through The Inspector of Police addressed this issue. In the appeal it was argued that the High Court had inaccurately interpreted that the Supreme Court order would eclipse the right to default bail under Section 167(2) of Code of Criminal Procedure. The court reasserted that it is an indefeasible right which cannot be allowed to be frustrated by the prosecution.
The court stated that there were two reasons behind the Supreme Court order: (i) The difficult situation in the country because of COVID-19 and its impact on filing of petitions/ applications/ suits/ appeals/all other proceedings within the period of limitation prescribed by the litigants. (ii) To prevent lawyers from physically appearing in the court for filing of the aforementioned proceedings.
The order was passed to ameliorate the detrimental effects of COVID-19 as litigants who were seeking remedy stemming from a right would not be able to appear in the court physically to file for the time-barred proceedings. The order only extends to the remedies. Further, invalidating the comparison of lockdown with proclamation of emergency, made by the High Court, the Apex Court said that even during emergency Article 21 can't be suspended according to the Forty-fourth Constitutional Amendment Act. Lastly, the court also pointed out that the bench has breached the judicial discipline by taking a contrary view to one which was taken by a coordinate bench and terming it "uncharitable"
Personal Liberty is an indispensable Human Right as well as a Fundamental Right that no person can be deprived of except by the procedure established by law. Even after detention, the accused has certain rights which are imperative, Right to default bail being one of them. It is an indefeasible right of the accused and the situation of COVID-19 cannot be used as an excuse to compromise the rights of an accused. The Apex Court has once again addressed the plights of the accused and upheld their fundamental rights, saving them from paying for the delays in the system at the cost of their liberty.


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Recently, Corey Brewer took to Twitter and Facebook to share a photo of him and his Doppelganger, Alexai Ramirez of the Chicago White Sox.
Who's seen this? lol. What do you guys think? #brothers? @whitesox pic.twitter.com/dOuaArh1Vn
— Corey Brewer (@TheCoreyBrewer) September 22, 2015
Here are some of the best fan reactions to the look-a-like athletes.
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox Couldn't be. He has no headband. #HeadbandOfBrothers
— Susie (@hey_dudette) September 22, 2015
That's pretty close! And @TheCoreyBrewer once told me he could play a little baseball when he was growing up.. https://t.co/Tie5mSMqn3
— Nate Timmons (@NateTimmonsCO) September 22, 2015
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox Totally saw the resemblance the last time the Rays played Chicago lol
— Jonathan Arnholz (@JArnholz) September 22, 2015
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox brother from another mother?
— CJ (@CPJ32) September 22, 2015
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox you have a better smile! But the resemblance is definitely there 😄
— Lindsey (@shinethawl) September 22, 2015
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox 😳😳😳😳😳 the same!
— Ángel Santiago (@Uri17el) September 22, 2015
@TheCoreyBrewer @whitesox I didn't know Corey Brewer plays baseball.
— Nick Namer (@nick_namer_) September 22, 2015
To follow Corey Brewer on Twitter, click HERE.


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I wasn't sold on PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds before I played my first round, but then I spawned onto the starting island.
Chaos reigned on that little spot of land in the northeast of Erangel. A hellfire of bullets sprayed across the tiny strip of asphalt. Dance floors were made out of Molotov cocktails. Arrows were stuck in every last skull and groin. People were attempting to jump onto a crashed plane (this was well before vaulting was implemented). It was a beautiful mess, and I loved it.
It will be gone soon, if it isn't already.
The PUBG development team has announced that it is doing away with the massive arsenal of weapons that currently appears on the island, as well as spreading out where characters spawn before the game. "Performance, both server and client-side, has improved" as a result of this change, the studio said.
I can't help but feel a deep sadness for the loss of one of my favorite places in gaming — even if the area was always known for its horrific frame rates on even beefy gaming rigs and the Xbox One X.
Embrace the stupid
PUBG is a stupid video game. Yes, it does a lot of clever things that make it a multiplayer masterpiece, but those things are in service of the overall stupid.
Think about your favorite moments in PUBG. Is it that one shot from 300 meters that took off that dude's head? Nope, it's that one time your buddy — who, honestly, shouldn't have been allowed to drive in the first place — beached a boat and somehow killed three people with the bow of the ship. It wasn't a sound strategy, but it worked. And it was unbelievably stupid.
PUBG is stupid in the most charming way possible.
The starting island was a place where people could gather to do some wacky shit before (sky)diving head-first into a murder simulator. I fell in love with PUBG the first time I saw a line of prone characters forming a conga line like some sort of even-more-doomed human centipede. That was the exact kind of stupid I was looking for in a game.
This was a moment of jolly cooperation between players who would, just 60 seconds later, be out for each other's heads. It was the equivalent of the pregame handshake in football. The starting island was PUBG's version of "glhf" in a game without text chat, but somehow more sincere and honest. This was a space that gave players an opportunity to just have a good time, something immensely rare for a competitive game. You could shoot at people, but no one cared if they were shot.
I'll miss the fashion show aspect of the island as well. It was a place where I could show off exactly how silly I had made my character look. What started off as a dude with a trashy mohawk and a pair of tighty whities has evolved into a dude with a red sleeveless turtleneck, a ski mask (thanks, Twitch Prime), a dad hat and a pair of dress shoes. He looks truly awful, and I love him.
He still doesn't wear pants.
And I get jealous every time I see someone with one of those super rare skirts. I want one; I need one. I wish the cheapest one wasn't a bit under $100 on the Steam Marketplace. But man, it sure would complete my capital-L Look.
I'm afraid my Look won't be appreciated by enough people, now that we're not all going to spawn on the starting island in the same small area. It's unclear how many people will spawn in the new points, but it still won't be enough.
The stupid will be spread too thin, and stupid is best when delivered in concentrated form.
A farewell to arms
When the desert map Miramar dropped, the inferiority of its starting island to Erangel's was immediately evident.
It was too quiet. The only sounds were those of footsteps. People frantically looked around for weapons to fire fruitlessly into their invulnerable soon-to-be opponents on that first day, but they found nothing. This was a spawn point with no rifles. It was a spawn point with no grenades. There were no pistols and no crossbows. "I wish they'd add guns here," I told my friends on Discord. "It's too calm."
I know now that was the beginning of the end. That the silence would soon fill the island of Erangel. The developers would not be adding guns to this spawn point, and would in fact be taking them away from the first spawn point. The quiet would spread, taking with it some of the character that made PUBG the game we all loved.
A "bug" (I considered it a feature) that caused anyone who had been caught on fire on the starting island to spew flames from the plane was fixed in PUBG's 1.0 patch. That bummed me out. The flying flames were so obviously unintentional that I couldn't help but love them. It was like a firework signaling the start of a new match. There was something poetic about it. And now, like the guns of Erangel, it was gone. A little bit of the strangeness had been sanded away, leaving a smooth, boring spot where once there had been streamers in the sky.
PUBG won't lose popularity, but I am a little worried that some of the character of the game is fading away. PUBG is a game of stories, of bizarre ideas and strategies that work out for those trying to pull them off — or fail so wonderfully that you have something to talk about after the match. The starting island was an effective way to let players know that experimentation was welcome, that this was truly a game about trying some dumb shit to see what would happen.
I'll savor the memories for now. I will remember realizing that crossbow bolts I stuck into people on the starting island would spawn with them in the round itself. I will remember my first conga line. I will always have my memories of exploring the factory building on the north side of the island.
There was that time, more than 100 hours into playing the game, I dove off the south side of the island. "Whoa, there's a crashed plane down here," I told my Discord buddies. None of them had ever seen it before, either. There were still secrets to discover, and weird, unexpected strangeness to absorb.
All of that had been punctuated by the sound of an M249's massive magazine being emptied over and over again in the background. You could hear the BOOM of grenades. And, of course, there was always the slapping of someone's fist into the face of his buddy for an entire minute. It was a celebration of the game we were just about to play, and it was beautiful.
It will soon be gone. I'll miss you, starting island. You were too good to last.


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Home School Agreement
At St Paul's School it is our aim to work in partnership with our parents and carers to ensure every child is supported with their learning and is encouraged to achieve their full potential. Our home-school agreement is aimed at ensuring that we all work together to maximize learning. For this, we request your agreement and co-operation; please read through the agreement with your child(ren).
Please see the attached document for details regarding Remote Education Provision during Covid / the lockdown period.


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Crunch Fitness to occupy part of old Pro's Ranch site
Crunch Fitness, billed as a judgement-free gym for a diverse group of people seeking physical fitness, has plans to open its first Las Cruces gym in the space formerly occupied by Pro's Ranch.
The business, which began as one small gym in a basement studio in New York City's East Village in 1989, will occupy roughly 38,000 square-feet of space at 320 Wyatt Dr. which was vacated when Pro's Ranch which was renamed Los Altos Ranch Market after the company sold in 2014 and closed for good in 2015. Jake Redfearn, with NAI 1st Valley Real Estate, said the remaining 25,000 or so square feet of space would remain on the market and businesses are still being sought for that space.
Crunch fitness offers group classes, personal training, a full array of exercise equipment, cardio and dance classes as well as individual and small group training programs. There is no specific opening date and company officials could not be immediately reached for comment. According to their website, Crunch Fitness has 150 locations around the U.S. and several more locations in the works.


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Jayapura, 30/3 (Jubi) – The Cenderawasih Regional Military Command (Kodam) is putting 5,000 soldiers on stand-by in case they are needed to be deployed to secure the legislative and presidential elections.
Regional military chief Maj. Gen. Christian Zebua said the number of personnel accounted for one third of approximately 15,000 soldiers in Papua and West Papua.
"We are ready to help police in securing the next elections," Zebua said on Sunday (30/3).
Previously, Papua police chief Inspector. Gen. Tito Karnavian said Papua police are deploying about two thirds of personnel and has shifted some officers to a number of police stations in Papua and West Papua in an operation code named 2014 Matoa Brata Steady Operation.
Some district polices (Polres) also requested for Mobile Brigade police ( Brimob) and Crowd Control Unit ( Dalmas) personnel.
"There are about 456 personnel of community control team to be shifted to the regions. But until now, the entire territory of Papua remains favorable," he said. (Jubi / Arjuna/ Tina)


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Ford Taurus ST First Shots Spy标签: Ford, Spy Photos 0 评论
Expect some special chrome accents on the front end, twin pipes out back and 20 inch wheels on all four corners. While some think this super-sedan will wear the "SHO" nameplate, a few unidentified but well-placed sources have informed us to expect a euro-inspired "ST" badge. We will know for sure in early 2009.
This week we caught several clear photos of Ford's high performance Taurus prototypes and we caught them not far from Ford's headquarters! Although it's wrapped in camouflage, there is no mistaking as to what this is. Photos of a clay version leaked months ago, proving this is the real thing.
Carrying over styling cues from Ford's stylish European Mondeo, this all-new Taurus will hopefully add some much needed excitement to the Ford lineup. These particular prototypes are of the high spec model and it packs the 3.5L, twin turbo V6. We hear it should be good for around 350hp. Only AWD versions will be available and we expect it to be fitted with Ford's new SR1 (Shock Ratio 1) suspension system that is currently used in the Lincoln MKS.
Source:World Car Fans
Other article:
2008 Ford Taurus
Bootleg Image of 2010 Ford Taurus Leaks onto Web
Ford Taurus X Unveiled at Chicago


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Uncommon Sense
5 Risks Could Derail the Market's Hot Start
Stocks and bonds continue to climb the proverbial wall of worry. But the slowing economy, falling earnings, and weakening labor market could mean turmoil ahead.
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The patio is like the outdoor family room; it is a place where you can relax, soak in some sun, or even socialize with friends and family. If you have a well-designed patio, then you'll spend a lot of time there, but if your patio furniture is just thrown together, you won't appreciate all of the wonderful experiences you could have. So, when you find clearance patio furniture sets on sale, stop and think about what that can mean for you. Below are some tips and pointers to keep in mind when you are looking to purchase clearance patio furniture sets.
Decide On Function:
One of the first things you want to do is decide what kind of life you want on your patio. This will help you decide if a certain patio set is for you. Make a list of all the different activities you want to do in your outdoor space and use that as a guide as you shop through the many websites or shops where you can find patio furniture.
Try It Out:
Buying furniture is no time to be shy. You want your patio furniture to be comfortable and fun. So, don't be afraid to sit down in the chairs, stretch out your legs and test the waters. Remember, patio furniture that are comfortable to use and easy to maintain are furniture that will get to be used more.
If you live in an area where the seasons tend to be extreme, look for clearance patio furniture sets that can be easily stored away. Check to see if it can be folded, stashed, stacked, or moved. Heavy metal furniture may be beautiful to look at but it can be extremely heavy and difficult to maneuver, stack, or stash away when not in use.
No doubt, even though you're getting a bargain you'll still need to look for quality. Finding something that is only cheap often means poor quality. You may be able to find plastic chairs and tables but they won't last as long as teak or wrought iron will. There is a certain amount of convenience in being able to stash them away quickly and easily but you'll be shopping for replacements inside of a year or less.
Dual Purpose Pieces:
Finally, look for pieces that will provide double duty when you're entertaining. Look for pieces with hidden storage spaces inside or underneath so that you can stash away anything you would only use on the patio. For instance, look for a table that can stand alone and still be stylish or an ottoman that has a removable lid and lots of storage space inside. This will make for a perfect way to keep all of your outdoor things in a single place so when you're ready to entertain you'll won't have to go searching for it.
Finding a good deal on clearance patio furniture sets can be exciting but make sure that you're getting the deal they promised. Look for furniture that are not only beautiful to look at but have the quality to endure the elements Mother Nature will throw at them and are functional enough to make your life easy when you're ready to use them.


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Human IgG antibody Laboratories manufactures the opaleszenz stammsuspension reagecon reagents distributed by Genprice. The Opaleszenz Stammsuspension Reagecon reagent is RUO (Research Use Only) to test human serum or cell culture lab samples. To purchase these products, for the MSDS, Data Sheet, protocol, storage conditions/temperature or for the concentration, please contact Reagecon Inc.. Other Opaleszenz products are available in stock. Specificity: Opaleszenz Category: Stammsuspension Group: Reagecon
Lab Reagents