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Grow Your Guns with Phil Graham
It's coming up to beach body season, folks, and we bet that your gym is currently packed with people trying to get that muscle bound physique which wouldn't look out of place at Muscle Beach.
You can also be certain that the most common exercise to be, well, exercised, is the humble bicep curl in a vain attempt to gain some gunage, but it's going to take a lot more than curling 18kgs to grow those arms.
That's why we asked Phil Graham – renowned competitive bodybuilder – to give us his top tips for bigger, better, stronger arms to help you turn those chicken wings into bulging biceps (and triceps) you can flaunt with confidence…
Building bigger and stronger arms is actually a lot easier than some trainers, magazines or blogs would have you believe. You simply need to train them more frequently and vary exercise selection!
Although arms are recruited during many key compound lifts, extra isolation or accessory work can work extremely well at speeding up development.
Realistically, arms can be trained up to 2 times per week, on top of other major muscle groups.
Training more can carry over fatigue and reduce performance in key lifts. For example, biceps in pulling exercises, triceps in pressing exercises. The best way to grow your guns is to find out what works for you by keeping a close tab on your performance and recovery.
I recommend a combination of strength-focused training in the lower rep range (<8) and hypertrophy based work in the higher rep range (8-20).
The strength-focused work will come from major key lifts:
- Biceps - Pull/Chin Ups and Row Variations
- Forearms - Deadlifts/Weighted Carries
- Triceps - Bench Press/Military Press/Dips
For the Hypertrophy-focused work you will need to be more tactful in your exercise choice. I have outlined which exercises wok best for each particular muscle group below.
Triceps Training
The triceps (or below extensors) are comprised of three heads:
- The Long Head
- The Lateral Head
- The Medial Head
The triceps actions include:
- Extension of the forearm
- Adduction of the arm
- Extension of the shoulder
Their Antagonist muscle group is the Biceps brachia muscle, which does exactly the opposite.
The triceps join at a common tendon and insert at the elbow bone (ulna), as such it is impossible to purely isolate one single head of the triceps. However, by changing the orientation of your upper arm in relation to your torso and the force of gravity, you can increase the proportion of work each head can perform.
The Long Head of the triceps is recruited more during overhead pressing work.
Key Exercises Include:
- Overhead DB Skull Crushers
- Lying Ez Bar Extension
The Lateral Head of the triceps is recruited more when using a flat bench especially when the upper arms are internally rotated.
Key Exercises Include:
- Decline close grip bench press
- Lying dumbbell triceps extension
- Straight bar press downs
The Medial Head of the triceps is considered the main workhorse of below extension and is recruited in all triceps exercises. It's worth noting that as the arms get closer to the torso, there is increased activation of the medial head at the end range of motion.
Key Exercises Include:
- Standing Barbell French Press
- One arm triceps pushdown
- narrow grip bench press
Biceps Training
The biceps (or elbow flexors) are comprised of four main muscles:
- The Biceps Brachii
- Brachialis
- Brachioradialis
- Pronator teres
The biceps actions include:
- Flexes elbow
- Abducts shoulder
- Supinates the forearm
Their Antagonist muscle group is the Triceps muscle, which does exactly the opposite.
The bicep has two heads, the short head - which originates at the top of the scapula (at the coracoid process) - and a long head - which originates just above the shoulder joint (supraglenoid tubercle). Both heads are joined at the elbow.
To maximize hypertrophy, you need to work all four elbow flexors with different exercises and training methods.
To work the Short Head of the biceps use exercises that curl with the elbows in front of the body in a narrow grip fashion.
Key Exercises Include:
- Close Grip EZ Curls
- Scott Curls
To work the Long Head of the biceps use exercises where the elbows are behind the body and turned outward
Key Exercises Include:
- Seated Incline Curls
- Standing cable incline curls
To work the Brachialis and Pronator Teres perform curing movements with a pronated grip (palms facing down), which takes the biceps brachii out of the equation
Key Exercises Include:
- Hammer Curls
- Reverse Curls
- Zottman Curls
Forearms and Grip Strength
Strong forearms and grip are essential to any hard training individual. They look good, allow for more load to be used during exercise, especially movements that require pulling or carrying. And, they also can safeguard against tendonitis in the elbow flexors.
Forearms get a great deal of indirect work simply through gripping and squeezing. However, they can be isolated further by adding in additional grip work.
Typically I've found Plate Catches and Captain of Crusher hand grips the best tools for the job. I keep the reps fast and powerful with a second or two squeeze.
General Tips
- By intelligently selecting exercises you can ensure all points of the strength curve have been adequately trained resulting in superior development.
- Changing your body position can affect the contribution of each muscle
- Adding bands or chains makes an exercise more effective; these should only be added once you have mastered the movement basics first.
- Incorporate the odd isometric pause for two to four seconds at any point during below flexion (biceps) or extension (triceps) to stimulate an additional adaptive growth response.
- Focus on quality of contractions over weight lifted. Many gym goers train their ego by going to heavy; the end result is less stress on the intended muscle group, crappy growth and increased risk of injury.
- Look after the health of your tissue with regular deep tissue massage and application of transdermal magnesium. Biceps, in particular are renowned for getting tight and causing pain, tightness and discomfort in the shoulders.
- Try to train without lifting straps to build your grip. I only advocate lifting straps on the heaviest set of all out effort rack pulls or if someone's back development is severely lacking and they want maximum attention to detail.


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Border Patrol Agent Killed in Gunfight With Arizona Police
The Maricopa, Arizona, Police Department says a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agent is dead after exchanging gunfire with officers.
Posted by R.SPAR on Sep 28 2016. Filed under National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

subset: commoncrawl


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Japan's Fiscal Report Season: Which Encryption Exchanges are Making a Fortune Silently?
摘要: The listed companies behind several large-scale crypto exchanges have repeatedly reported good news. The world's first legal exchange has ended in disappointment. Japanese giants want to attack the US market.
Recently, when Japanese listed companies released their earnings reports, people's attentions are paid to the performance of the parent companies behind several major exchanges in Japan. What is gratifying is that several digital currency exchanges backed by big companies have announced budget surplus.
(Budget surplus is the antonym of a deficit, meaning fiscal surplus - income is greater than expenditure.)
GMO Internet's main sources of revenue are Internet infrastructure, accounts and electronic transactions (EC). According to Japan's Financial News Network, although the overall financial market is sluggish, GMO said it has achieved Fiscal black in digital currency trading and mining.
The world's leading Coynheck turned over
Similarly, it was reported that Coincheck, which met difficulties in 2018, was acquired by Monex Group in 2019. After that, it kept developing and got a license smoothly. Last month, Monex Group reported that its digital currency-related business was Fiscal black. Coincheck's pre-tax profit was a surplus of 142 million yen (a loss of 259 million yen in the same period last year), which was generated after joining Monex in April 188.
At the same time, Monex Group said that the development of digital money in the United States is very smooth, planning to actively enter the U.S. market. With spot transaction fees reduced, it has expanded the U.S. market. At the same time, Matsumoto, president of Monex Group announced that he had joined the Libra Association when the quarterly results of April to June were released.
Monex filed an application for membership with Libra Association, which operates Libra Group on July 26. It is expected that the first review of application documents will be completed by the end of August and the final results of the review will be notified by the end of September. President Matsumoto said, "I think Libra's future development prospects are very broad. There will be many possibilities, so I hope you have confidence in Libra." "There is no ally who is more trustworthy than the Libra Association," he added.
According to Japanese media, Monex Group is required to invest $10 million in this alliance, and this alliance is not based on Coincheck, the digital currency exchange, but on Monex as the main target. It shows Monex's determination this time.
Coincheck, a newly promoted legitimate exchange, has been one of the world's leading exchanges with balanced and firm efforts. DeCurret Co., Ltd., which is also a new legal exchange, is emerging.
The digital currency trading company, funded by Japan Communications Corporation IIJ, was run by the informal army until it was granted a trading license issued by the Financial Department. Its speed is so fast that people have to have a strong interest in its parent company.
DeCurret currently trades in five currencies. Recently, it has cooperated with Japanese telecom operator KDDI, Rakuten Payment "Rakuten Edy" and 711 Settlement "Nanaco" for offline layout. Shitian Yiguang, president of the company, said, "This action can not only retain the existing mode of accounts, but also achieve the circulation of digital money."
Rakuten Wallet Starts Spot Trading
Late in August, Rakuten Wallet, subcompany of Rakuten, announced the start of the digital currency spot trading business. The platform can trade bitcoin, Eth and bitcast. Users can also trade through mobile phones. At present, only Android version is available. iOS is tentatively scheduled for public beta next month.
Bit Flyer, Japan's largest exchange, cooperates with Tpoint Japan
Bit Flyer, Japan's largest trading digital currency exchange, announced its cooperation with Tpoint Japan on 20th last month, according to think tank data. Bitcoin is purchased directly on the exchange through the points of Tpoint Japan. At present, Tpoint cardholders can pay directly through Bitcoin in major electrical cities and travel websites in Japan.
As a scorecard company with extensive offline distribution in Japan, Tpoint has cooperated with SBI Group in investment trust and stock trading, and traded directly through Tpoint.
Zaif, the world's first legitimate exchange, withdrew gloomily
But relatively speaking, 19 licensed exchanges are not developing very well. Bitpoint Japan was recently stolen after the Financial Department lifted its business restructuring ban, followed by a compensation lawsuit from Taiwan. When the platform pirated money in July, Taiwanese users used Bitpoint when they traded. At that time, the platform overcharged users with their tokens. But Remixpoint now says it has not received any formal charges and refuses to comment on it.
Another one who is also undergoing difficulties is the once-thriving Zaif Exchange. It received 5 billion yen of foreign aid from Fisco Exchange, who was licensed by the Financial Department and was offered some orders, after the platform's 7-billion-yen piracy event in September last year. Last week, Tech Bureau, the parent company of Zaif, officially announced that it would stop all digital currency trading businesses, and all these businesses would be transferred to Fisco Group. This is also the first case that announced the suspension of digital currency trading business since Japan's New Funds Decision was released. It has a far-reaching impact and sounded an alarm bell for several licensed exchanges.


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Hello everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!
David was in LA for a wedding for 23 hours (well, he spent 23 hours in LA, but of course, it was more like 2 days with traveling) so I logged some quality girl-bonding time with a few of my girlfriends both near and far! I'm not the greatest at doing long distance of any sort, whether it's friendship or a romantic relationship, but one friend who has always been there--through growing up together to now going on 8 years of long distance friend-ing--is Linda! (You can see a couple of posts of when she came out to visit me in Seattle here.) so we did about 3 hours of Skyping one night, catching up and bonding over our shared terror of roaches... aha ha.. ha... eep. unfortunately, we both live in areas at the moment where roaches roam freely, like they own the whole city! Anyway, that aside, it was so nice to get to catch up, and I can't wait for our next Skype date! =D
Then, the next day, I spent the afternoon shopping with Lijia! I know, such a girl thing to do. But you know, sometimes retail therapy is necessary, especially when it includes thrifting!! I have always found thrifting to be much more interesting than,, say, going to a mall. I mean, if I specifically need something on short notice, I will head to the mall, but when I'm just in the mood for retail therapy (when it's ok to just window shop and not get anything), then I much prefer thrifting.. perhaps because there's the sense of surprise? like a feeling of having found a treasure when you do get that amazing silk blouse or that amazing pair of leather boots because you weren't really going into the experience expecting to find something? and of course, the usually lower price tag is an added plus ;)
Anyway, having thoroughly enjoyed the girl time, I was happy to have David back on Sunday! =p It was pretty intense actually, because he had gotten the tickets to go see The Book of Mormon on Sunday at 2 pm back in March. Since the wedding was on Saturday, he had to fly back on a red-eye flight after the wedding on Saturday, and land in Houston around 6:30 am on Sunday, take a quick nap, and then go to the show! poor guy.. lol but he handled it like a champ. See? can't even tell he's sleep deprived in the photo! haha =p
and the show? TOTALLY worth it!!
It was so good!! the actors/singers/dancers were amazing, the music was incredibly catchy, and the story line was really funny. we highly recommend it. However, if you are easily offended, this may not be the show for you.. I mean, it wasn't terribly raunchy or anything, and even I understood all of the jokes (I'm usually the one who has to ask 'wait, what's so funny..?' whenever a dirty jokes come up... I pull out the Asian card for those instances, I didn't grow up here! hmph haha)
When we got to the theater, they had these binoculars in the front, and we got them just in case we would have difficulty seeing the stage from our seats (we had never been to the Hobby Center, so we weren't sure how everything would be set up) and proceeded to play with them until the show started.. haha
However, the binoculars were completely unnecessary! Because David got the tickets so early, our seats were amazing!! We were on the second row of the balcony, right in the center!
Having thoroughly enjoyed our selves at the show, we headed back out into the Houston heat. I hear all of my friends in other places starting to break out their fall outfits, beginning to enjoy the crisper weather, etc etc. but in Houston, it's still 98 degrees. People here seem to keep all indoor places at about 60 degrees though, so we have to dress like it's fall anyway when we go to these shows (or class.. Shepherd is always freezing too), and then suffer the consequences when you walk back to your car/home, etc haha
On our way back to our parking garage, we stumbled upon this little park, right in front of the Hobby Center, called the Tranquillity Park. Yes, it's actually spelled with two 'L's, and it's in honor of the first Moon landing! you know, the first words transmitted from the Moon by Neil Armstrong was "Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed." Since 'Houston' is in there and everything, the city of Houston had to have a park to commemorate the event ;)
When we went, the fountain was dry (maybe they were cleaning) but we still had fun walking around the park and enjoying the greenery in the middle of the downtown.
While we were strolling around the park, we found this cluster of trees, so I went to see if I could be like Momo. Momo is a border collie who is amazing at playing 'where's Waldo'. In my opinion, it's a much better version of 'where's Waldo' because Momo is soo darn cute!! you can subscribe to Momo on Instagram here if you want a daily feed of puppy cuteness mixed with 'where's Waldo' ness.
Anyway, back to my attempt at being 'Waldo'. or is it 'Walda'? doesn't Waldo have a girlfriend of that name or something?
hmmmm,,, as you can see, it didn't work very well. something about those neon pink pants... haha
^^^ me admitting defeat and abandoning my attempt to be like Walda, or Momo...
Oh, and look at that interesting temple looking building poking out in between all of the sky scrapers! =D anyone know what it is? We wanted to walk over there and check it out when we noticed it, but we didn't have enough time.. =/
It's a charming little park with a lot of trees (which seems to be a rarity in Houston), so we enjoyed as much of it as we could before heading back home for one of my rehearsals... a musician's work is never done!!
a better(?) attempt at 'where's Waldo' ing.
ahh.. so green.. and peaceful..
some more interesting architecture spotted on our way back to our car...
We have never really explored downtown Houston because the city of Houston is quite spread out, and the part Rice is located is not very close to downtown, but we're looking forward doing some more exploring as we go see more shows in the theater district =)
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful rest of the week!


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In our last Unity Kernal meeting – the Next Step – there were different people sharing what they felt God was telling them. Pastor Bryan Beittel said, "I was preaching Sunday, I didn't even give an alter call, people came up crying and repenting. We need to pray against the spirit of deception and the immature spirit."
Larry Young said, "This week I cannot pray any more on my knees -it is now on my face. Tears flow, I cry. I see Transformation coming from the earth. The Lord told me 'Persist, persist in seeking, it will happen.' I see churches explode."


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5A - Watering Question: Temperature['s] up which is suitable for plants; how often watered?Posted on 13 May 04:42
Watering Question: Temperature['s] up, which is suitable for plants, how often [should the plant be] watered?
This question was specific to an outdoor Bonsai; climate unknown, but this answer is good general advise for most Bonsai, kept outdoors during the summer.
Water needs depends on the climate; temperature & humidity where you live; what growth stage the plant is in.
Apply water when the soil appears dry -- never allow the soil to become completely dry. If your Bonsai is receiving full sun, it may be necessary to water once a day; more in very high heat.
The watering schedule will vary with the size pot, type of soil, the type of tree and individual needs of the tree.
Evaluate the tree's water requirements continually during the summer; adjust your watering schedule to accommodate, as water need changes.
In really hot, dry conditions with low humidity, you may even need to water twice a day in high summer.
Water should be applied until it begins running out of the holes in the bottom of your pot. A good rain is usually a sufficient watering for the day. Look for clues to help evaluate watering needs at a glance.
Example: I keep pebbles and water in the drip trays under the pots. Where I live, with the plants I have, if the pebbles look dry; the plant probably needs water and I follow up with a closer check.
You should look for similar clues, including soil color, feel, etc; as you get to know your plant/s. Such clues can be helpful in judging if your plants need off scheduling watering during the heat of summer.
Keep in mind, in summer, it is generally safer to give a little extra water, rather then not enough.
During winter when plants need less water; clues at a glance, can also help you avoid over watering.
If you are still unsure, you can use a moisture meter.
Hope this helps


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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
|Distinct subcellular localization and mRNA expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the nucleus dorsalis and red nucleus and their correlation with inducible transcription factors after spinal cord hemisection
|Xu, M.
Ng, Y.-K.
Leong, S.-K.
Lower thoracic cord hemisection
Neuronal nitric oxide synthase
Nucleus dorsalis
Red nucleus
|Issue Date:
|Xu, M., Ng, Y.-K., Leong, S.-K. (2000). Distinct subcellular localization and mRNA expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase in the nucleus dorsalis and red nucleus and their correlation with inducible transcription factors after spinal cord hemisection. Nitric Oxide - Biology and Chemistry 4 (5) : 483-495. ScholarBank@NUS Repository. https://doi.org/10.1006/niox.2000.0301
|We previously reported on the differential expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in neurons of the nucleus dorsalis (ND) and red nucleus (RN), as well as differential roles of nitric oxide (NO) in these two distinct groups' neurons characterized with different nNOS phenotypes after lower thoracic spinal cord hemisection. To further understand the enzyme, nNOS expression was studied at the subcellular and mRNA levels by using electron microscopic immunohistochemistry (EM-IHC) and in situ hybridization respectively. Possible transcriptional regulation by c-Jun or CREB in the differential nNOS expression in both ND and RN neurons was also studied. nNOS mRNA was not found in the normal ND neurons, but was shown in the normal RN neurons. After spinal cord hemisection, nNOS mRNA was induced in the ipsilateral ND, while up-regulated on both sides of the RN, which preceded protein induction or upregulation. By EM-IHC, nNOS immunoreaction products were predominantly bound to the membrane of the mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER), Golgi apparatus, and nuclear envelope in the RN neurons of normal rats as well as rats subjected to spinal cord hemisection. In contrast, nNOS-immunoreactive deposits in the experimental ND neurons were found to be mainly granular, being dispersed throughout the cytoplasmic matrix. It is speculated that the differential subcellular localization of nNOS indicates that axotomy may trigger different nNOS transcripts and lead to different nNOS isoform expression in the normally non-nNOS- and normally nNOS-containing neurons. c-Jun was induced in the ipsilateral ND neurons and upregulated only in the contralateral RN neurons. Activation of CREB by phosphorylation was occasionally detectable in the ND neurons, but not in the RN neurons. Doublelabeling data showed a large proportion of c-Jun and nNOS colocalization in neurons of the ipsilateral ND and contralateral RN after spinal cord hemisection. However, dissociation of nNOS expression kinetics with c-Jun was observed in the ipsilateral RN. The results implied that nNOS expression might not be under the direct transcriptional regulation by c-Jun, although it seemed to be closely related to the c-Jun expression. (C) 2000 Academic Press.
|Source Title:
|Nitric Oxide - Biology and Chemistry
|Appears in Collections:
|Staff Publications
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Fish -1 kg
Onion (cut into strips)- ¼ kg
Finely chopped ginger -1 piece
Green chili split vertically- 6
Curry leaves- as desired
Chili powder -½ tsp
Coriander powder -2 dsp
Masala powder -1 tsp
Turmeric powder -1 pinch
Pepper powder -1 pinch
(grind all the powders into a paste)
Salt to taste
Coconut milk -½ glass first milk
1 ½ glass second milk
Spread 1 tsp chili powder, one pinch pepper powder, turmeric powder and salt to taste over the fish and fry it. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onion, ginger, green chili and curry leaves. Remove this from the oil and put the paste into it and sauté again.
Add the onion mix into this sautéed paste and pour the second coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Keep the fish pieces over the gravy. Keep in low fire for some time and pour the first coconut milk and remove from fire.


text: This is a collection of twenty-four songs and carols of the Christmas season arranged for four violins. All of the parts can be played in first position, but more advanced students may prefer to play some passages in higher positions. Most of the arrangements are just one verse long, so they may be repeated if desired. Some of the carols have two versions, the first usually simpler than the second. Each version may be performed separately, or both versions may be performed as a kind of first and second verse or theme and variation.


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Every so often a lens comes along that tickles the fancy. My particular fancy is normally stirred by one or other of the long list of venerable Leica optics. They are an expensive indulgence, but one that must be savoured at least once in a lifetime. That said, the remarkable XF 56mm from Fujinon has wormed its way into my affections of late.
At around £800, this lens with its bright f/1.2 aperture is no Poundland bargain, except perhaps in relation to its nearest Leica competitor, the 50mm Summilux. That object of desire costs nearly four times as much. The Fujinon, on the other hand, is also very good, very desirable and a relative bargain to boot.
The lens reviewed here is the original 56mm introduced earlier this year. Fuji has now launched an apodised version, the APD, which will arrive shortly and will be around 25% more expensive than this review model. The APD promises to produce even more satisfactory bokeh but, as you will see, the existing model is already a pretty dab hand at this particular task.
Stunning glass
The fifty-six is a squat, fat lens with eleven elements in eight groups and with a single aspherical and two low-dispersion elements. With its impressively large 62mm filter diameter it looks rather like a smaller, shorter Leica Noctilux (which takes a smaller 60mm filter incidentally). It is indeed a stunning piece of glass, heavy by Fujinon standards but light in comparison with Leica's f/0.95. It is also very fast. A widest aperture of f/1.2 means it is no slouch, even on a cropped sensor. But let's not get too enthusiastic for there is indeed a world of difference between that 1.2 on APS-C and 0.95 on a full-frame lens. In real terms, it can be argued that the Fujinon's light-gathering potential is inferior to, say, that of even the f/1.4 full-frame lens such as the Summilux.
With that slight downer out of the way, the Fujinon 56mm remains a blisteringly fast objectiv. In the dull weather of a London November it can be shot wide open without an ND filter (very much unlike the Noctilux) and this ability will extend to sunny days once the electronic shutter with speeds up to 1/32,000 arrives on the X-T1 (but not on the X-E2) next month. There's not much point in having all your effs under 1.4 unless you are going to do a lot of wide-open stuff, now is there?
Portrait maestro
Since this is a cropped lens for APS-C, it has an effective full-frame-equivalent focal length of 85mm. This means it is eminently suitable for portraits. Yet an 85mm is not the sort of lens you would keep on your camera day in and day out because the 28.5-degree angle of view is clearly narrow in comparison with the usual 35mm or 50mm full-frame workhorses. But can it really work as a day-to-day carry-around lens? I set out to check.
I do often like a longer lens for general work even, on occasion, for street photography. The Leica 75mm Apo Summicron has long been a favourite of mine and it is broadly comparable with the Fujinon 56mm in terms of useability. So I welcomed the challenge of mounting this as my one-lens for a couple of days out.
This 56mm XF works suprisingly well in an urban environment and I find myself getting more keepers, without the need to get too close, than with the usual suspect, the 35mm or, even, my preferred 50mm choice. I have been using it mostly in autofocus mode, which works well and is fast. It is surprisingly adept at scooping casual street shots, especially at narrower apertures between f/5.6 and f/8 where a wider depth of field is helpful and desirable.
Autofocus, as experienced on the fast X-T1, is not quite as speedy as with some lenses in the XF lineup. I did experience the occasional missed focus and some hunting at lower light levels. But when it locks on it is accurate. My colleague Bill Palmer reports that this problem is more pronounced with the X-Pro 1, particularly when using the optical viewfinder when the parallax offset comes into play. The motor is also commendably quiet, certainly quieter and less chatterful than on some of the earlier XF lenses such as the 35mm f/1.4.
But shooting wide open and with face recognition enabled, the 56mm Fujinon impresses immensely. With the narrow depth of field, selective focus is especially easy to obtain automatically. As a careful, manual focus Leica addict, I never thought I would say this. Auto focus, face recognition, what is the world coming to? But it works well with this Fujinon lens. Even in manual-focus mode it is much easier to focus accurately than the fearsome Leica Noctilux which does take a fair bit of getting used to.
Quality build
As usual with XF lenses, the workmanship and materials are of a very high standard. Although the 56mm is quite heavy at 405g it is, like all Fujinons, light for what it is. It is also quite big. But you cannot expect to have a sturdy 85mm-equivalent lens with an f/1.2 aperture looking like a teensy, featherweight pancake. By comparison, the Leica 75mm Summicron weighs 430g and it is a mere f/2. The Leica Noctilux is much heavier than any of them at 700g but it is a different and more aggressive animal entirely, despite its superficial resemblence to the Fujinon. Like all the more recent XF lenses, the 56mm feels more dense and less hollow than the earlier models.
The lens has a clearly marked aperture ring nearest to the camera. This moves in 1/3 stops (except between f/1.2 and f/1.4) and has fairly clear détentes. However, the ring is quite easy to dislodge, especially when dragging the camera from a bag. Gloriously, despite being in electronic rather than manual control of the shutter, this aperture ring has clear stops at either end of travel and moves through an arc of a about 90 degrees, much like a manual lens. That I do approve of.
The Aperture ring moves smoothly from the narrowest setting, f/16, over to A(uto) when you want to leave the camera to choose the aperture while you determine the speed (or set both aperture and speed to A for fully automatic mode). I generally prefer aperture priority mode, with the lens fixed to a desired aperture and the shutter speed dial on the camera top plate set to A.
Focus by wire
Outboard of the aperture ring is a broad, superbly tactile focus ring which works smoothly, is well weighted and has just the right degree of resistance. Unlike the aperture ring, however, this is true fly-by-wire with the ring twiddling around endlessly. I don't much care for this arrangement but it is par for the course with most autofocus lenses these days.
Moving from near to infinity is a relatively slow affair (when compared with a manual lens), although the focus responds effectively to the speed of twiddle; turn slowly and it is finely controlled, twist rapidly and it runs happily on its way. However, this particular focus ring is one of the best I have found on any of the Fujinon lenses. It is nicely weighted, neither too loose nor too stiff, and really makes you want to work in manual mode.
In terms of handling, the 56mm is well balanced on both the X-T1 and X-E2. It seems to suit the smaller camera particularly well. It is chunky in the hands and all the controls, as outlined, are smooth and satisfying to use.
The only real disappointment with the ergomics of this lens is the lack of the push-pull transition from auto to manual focus as found on the 14mm and the 23mm Fujinons. I like this arrangement very much, especially since it enables the introduction of an engraved depth-of-field scale when in manual mode. With the 56mm, as with other lenses in the range, it is necessary to set focus mode by means of the switch on the front of the camera. This is slower and less satisfying than the sysem on the two wider primes. The lack of a depth-of-field scale also makes it more difficult to set zone focus for street work.
The lens comes with a substantial 50mm-long plastic tubular hood which turns it into a rather intimidating and ugly affair not best suited to discreet street photography. Wherever possible, in a dull British autumn, I shot without the hood. I would certainly keep the it handy in the bag on sunnier days.
Image quality
This is an exceptionally sharp lens at all apertures. While it is deliciously tempting to shoot wide open, the lens serves well at smaller apertures. invariably producing tack-sharp pictures.. Images are well corrected and there is little evidence of distortion. Vignetting is virtually absent even at the widest aperture (note that in some examples I have introduced vignetting for effect but have stated so).
The big attraction of a fast lens like this is the ability to isolate the subject in the narrow depth of field and achieve a pleasing background blur. The bokeh from this lens is smooth and well controlled and it is hard to see how the new APD will improve matters. I make no apologies for using this lens wide open to harvest examples for this review. It is addictive.
The Fujinon 56mm is fast becoming a favourite star in the X-Series firmament. And that is saying something because all XFs are pretty special and a cut above the average. Among the primes, this lens keeps good company with the two f/1.4 designs, the 35mm and the newer 23mm, in terms of sharpness, overall ability and desirability. Bill Palmer regards this bag of 23mm, 35mm and 56mm as the holy trinity, fit to be spoken of in the same breath as the Leica 35, 50 and 90mm.
Currently my two best friends, the tiny, lightweight f/2.8 27mm pancake and now the 56mm, are capable of covering almost all my needs. They give me a choice between 41mm and 85mm in full-frame equivalence, and make superb travel companions.
I make no apologies for the fact that the majority of the sample pictures in this review are taken at f/1.2 This is what this lens is all about. It is a great all-rounder, just at home at f/8 as wide open. But wide-open is what it does best. If you don't need the benefits of a wide aperture there are other, slower lenses in the Fuji catalogue that will do as well. But in the 56mm you have a lens that can be shot wide open without worry, especially when the X-T1's electronic shutter capability arrives in December.
The Fujinon 56mm is a must-have lens for any Fuji X owner and it is one that can become wildly addictive in a short time. I consider my fancy well and truly tickled and this would definitely be one of my favourite lenses in the range. Indulge yourself.
Before moving on, see the Portobello Road samples gallery below.
The X-T1 and XF56mm R used in this review kindly loaned by Chiswick Camera Centre, London
Read more camera and lens reviews on Macfilos
Lonely Leicas taken at f/1.2 @ 1/100s together with two crops of camera detail


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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Snow, snow, and more snow
Surprise! More snow. If you look real closely there's actually a house in this photo behind all the snow. Built by a gardener back in 1912, at Ålsta in Tungelsta. His name was Emil Gottfrid Wall, and he was the son of a carpenter. The name of the property was Lugnet, which translated to English means The Calm. When E.G. Wall passed away his two sons John and Erik took over the business. After they retired the greenhouses was left to nature for many years. Both brothers are now gone and it looks like the house have been inherited by one of their nephews. A couple of winters ago I took another photo of this red house, and ever since, that picture has been one of my more popular flickr photos.
19 comments:
- Dejemonos sorprender said...
Yes, lots of snow! i like as seen.. so white, so cold..
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Sharon said...
Very beautiful! You did get a lot of snow!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Here in Ohio, where we live, there has been no snow. We have had rain and cold weather but rain instead of snow. The house picture is pretty enough and reminds me of something we used to see on Christmas Greeting Cards sold by the company, Hallmark. Since the computers and digital imaging came out, Hallmark and most greeting card companies have fallen on hard times.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Luis Gomez said...
Pretty amazing Steffe!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- RedPat said...
Wow that is a lot of snow. The pic from 2007 is a great one. The beautiful Swedish red with that blue sky and the snow-wonderful!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Pixel Dude said...
Very lovely winter picture. I know the snow will be coming to us very soon in the Pocono Mountains, but I can wait! I am quite content enjoying your snow rather than our own.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Clueless in Boston said...
Another nice view of a great building. Early snows always look and feel so great.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Jack said...
Beautiful. The snow still looks fresh and clean. The red house just peeks out from behind its mantle of white. A lovely scene.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Leif Hagen said...
Actually, I think one of Santa's elves lives there!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Olivier said...
magnifique et une belle surprise cette maison rouge sous toute cette neige
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- T. Becque said...
Really nice photo Steffe. We're going to get down to 25F tonight - that's a first in a long time!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Geoff Steen said...
What a beautiful image! It captures the snow just perfectly.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- brattcat said...
A wonderful composition!
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- B SQUARED said...
Makes for a beautiful "seasonal" shot.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- this too will pass said...
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Halcyon said...
It's pretty to look at. But would not want to be in it.
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Gunn said...
Dette ser KALDT ut.
Et vakkert sted !! Og et flott vinterbilde!
Eksotisk for mange lenger syd.
Jeg tenker på "rød stuga" når jeg ser det....
- Tuesday, November 30, 2010
- Lowell said...
Oh boy. That's beautiful but not for me. I'd have to buy enough stuff to last through the winter while I cozied up to a fireplace!
If you go to our Stone Creek blog, you'll see some Florida "snow."
- Wednesday, December 01, 2010
- Laurence said...
I had missed this picture...I love it! put it as my wallpaper today ;-)
- Friday, December 03, 2010


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Dear Readers,
You all are well aware that the notification for the post of RBI Assistant was recently released. Today, we are sharing with you all the cutoffs of the previous years for this exam so that you have a fair idea of the minimum number of questions that you ought to attempt in the exam.
As already notified, the pattern of the exam has been changed from this year. The exam will be conducted in following phases now -
1. Preliminary Phase
2. Mains Phase
3. Interview
Before moving to the previous year cutoffs, let us have a look at the pattern of the Preliminary exam -
The Preliminary phase in the exam has been introduced from this year. You can check the cutoffs for various centres for the exam conducted in 2015 from the table below -
However, the marks provided are just for reference purpose. We advise all our readers not to align their preparation exactly on the basis of these cutoffs.
Note -
The cutoffs would be decided based on the number of candidates appearing and the number of vacancies available. So, prepare well and give your best in the exam. Try to attempt at least 55 - 60 questions in the preliminary phase to ensure that you are still in race for the mains phase.
For more details about the structure of the exam and syllabus, you can go through the link below-
RBI Assistant - Exam Pattern and Syllabus
All the best for your exams..
Team Grade up..!!


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California Love (90s/00s Hip Hop and R&B) on Friday 24th May 2019
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Kathy Burke On Stage - Theatre Credits, Bio and Tickets
Kathy Burke was born in Hampstead, London in 1964 and studied at the Anna Scher Theatre School in Islington. Her first stage roles came in her 20s, which saw her appear at the Old Red Lion (Who's Left and The Hungry Ghost) as well as Amongst Barbarians for the Royal Exchange (transferring to the Hampstead) and Crux for Paines Plough.
Her breakthrough, though, came when she appeared on the BBC comedy show Harry Enfield's Television Programme in the early 1990s. She played Waynetta, one-half of the chain-smoking, working class couple "Wayne and Waynetta", alongside Enfield. The pair went on to star in the film 2000 feature Kevin and Perry Go Large, based on one of Enfield's equally slobbish teenage characters.
In 1993, Burke won a Royal Television Society Award for Best Actress for her role in the drama Mr Wroe's Virgins. In the 00s, she starred in Gimme Gimme Gimme, written by playwright Jonathan Harvey. She played Linda alongside James Dreyfus, and she won Best Comedy Actress at the 2002 British Comedy Awards for the role.
Aside from the odd role here and there, Burke's recent stage work has focused on directing. In 2013 she directed Once a Catholic, Mary O'Malley's play about an all-girl Catolic school preparing for their exams, at the Tricycle Theatre. She also directed Moira Buffini's 2007 play Dying for it at the Almeida Theatre, and Sam Shepard's The God of Hell at the Donmar.
In November 2017, Burke directs The Retreat written by Sam Bain (Peep Show) at the Park Theatre. The play is a comedy about a man who leaves his city life for a more peaceful way of life in the Highlands. Burke is set to direct Lady Windermere's Fan at the Vaudeville Theatre in January 2018.


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New Chapter in the Saga of the Snitches
Just like 8 years ago. The ghosts of the Black Spring of 2003 seem to fly again over the skies of Havana. On a Cuban television program, the regime's Special Services unveiled two of their moles inside the peaceful opposition.
These are the cases of the "independent journalist" Carlos Serpa Maceira and the "dissident" Moses Rodriguez. For 25 minutes, the two of them painted a pathetic picture of internal dissent and independent reporting on the island.
They accused several opposition leaders of being corrupt and serving the United States. Nothing new. In addition to mediocrity and the small ability of the Cuban dissidence to call people together, Castro's Secret Service has always penetrated various opposition groups to do its dirty work.
These episodes, which occur from time to time in Cuba, are far from being a brilliant spy operation. Dissident groups on the island work openly and publicly, and there is no need to be a spymaster to infiltrate any of their organizations.
It's as simple as knocking on the door of any opposition party and saying that you want to join. Already by the spring of 2003, it had come to light that various agents of the political police served as witnesses for the prosecution in the summary trials carried out against the 75 imprisoned dissidents.
Everyone who disagrees with the Castro government knows that in one way or another, they are being monitored by the toughs of State Security. They can listen in on your phone calls. Read your email. And they have complete dossiers on your personal life.
That's not something that overly bothers the independent journalists, human rights activists, bloggers and dissidents. The striking thing about this, and what could be the real purpose of the message released by the regime in Havana that night, is to transmit fear and paranoia to the opposition.
These are difficult times for the regime. Excepting North Korea, China and Cuba, the tide is turning for nations governed by autocrats with many years on the throne.
Poor people, hungry for freedom and democracy have taken to the streets and squares in almost all the aged Middle Eastern governments. Despite the distance, the bullets are hitting near the island. No totalitarian government feels safe.
And as usual with the Castros, they are fleeing forward. Well-informed, the Cuban Special Services knows the majority of the population is disgusted with the critical economic performance and lacks confidence in their leaders.
The Castros are deflecting the blow, isolating the short circuits in the system. And in these cases, dissent is always an opponent to be reckoned with. Therefore, they make a special emphasis to discredit it.
The soap opera of informers, and imputations against opposition leaders and prominent figures in the blogosphere and alternative journalism, will likely continue.
What is at issue, is whether these revelations of the moles are an isolated episode. Maybe not.
It is not unusual that when internal problems worsen in Cuba, the Castros launch an onslaught of repression against all dissent. They have in their hands laws enacted to protect them. Especially now that they have emptied the jails of political prisoners.
Translated by Rick Schwag
March 3 2011
Welcome, Mules
Eliseo, 39, is considered a public benefactor. A guy who is always welcome. For a decade, this Cuban American has been a 'mule'. He resides in Miami and makes some fifteen trips to the island every year. Sometimes more.
Right now, from his mobile phone, he calls his usual driver to pick him up at the entrance to the Jose Marti International Airport, south of Havana. He loads a bunch of bags and briefcases.
He will be in Havana for one day. His mission is to unload the 150 pounds of food, medicine, electronics, clothing, shoes and toys, among other things, in a house that he trusts, where later they will take charge of delivering them to their destinations.
Eliseo has set up a small business operating at full throttle, especially in the month of December. He charges $5 per pound of food or medicines, and $10 per pound of other items. To move certain goods controlled in Cuba, he discretely slips a hundred-dollar bill in the pockets of the customs authorities.
In Miami he also greases the palms of air terminal officials. When George W. Bush turned the screws on the embargo against Castro, Eliseo always wrangled it to bring products and sums of money that violated U.S. laws. "Now with Obama everything is easier." The current occupant of the White House has taken steps to facilitate family relationships.
Since December 20, you can send up to 10 thousand dollars via Western Union. On top of that, residents of the island can collect it in convertible pesos. Facing the urgent need of the "imperialist enemy's" greenback, the Cuban government eliminated the 10% duty on the dollar.
On October 25, 2004, an angered Fidel Castro, supposedly caught laundering 3.9 billion old dollars in the Swiss UBS bank — something prohibited by the embargo — he announced a 10% tax on the dollar during a television appearance. Starting on November 8 of that year, the only currency that circulated in Cuba was the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC).
Remittances from family members and the sending of goods by "mules," in large part brace up the fragile and inefficient island economy. According to international organizations, through remittances alone the government allows some billions of dollars to enter the country every year.
Darío, a 52-year-old economist, thinks it could be double that. "There is a lot of money that isn't accounted for. It's a source that permits the investment of money free of the State's nets. The government knows it and won't lose sight of it. It's probable that in months to come they'll stimulate it even more."
In Miami, dozens of agencies are dedicated to the shipment of packages and money to Cuba. Meanwhile, Cubans on the island ceaselessly ask their relatives for things from disposable toilet wipes and tennis shoes to laptops and plasma televisions.
If the embargo were to end, the interchange of merchandise and capital could exceed 5 billion dollars annually. And if the Havana regime would repeal absurd laws that prevent Cuban-Americans from investing in the country of their birth, the numbers could triple.
What's certain is that the embargo hasn't prevented families on the island from receiving money, by one means or another. Neither foodstuffs, medicines, nor other articles.
Eliseo assures us that he earns almost 2,000 dollars in profit each month. "If it's the end of the year, a little more. In whatever way, despite the fact that I live off of this 'business', it satisfies me to see the people's joy when they receive their packages, or while you count out a bundle of bills for them. But above all what sticks with me are the hopeful faces of children when you see them unpack toys and sweets."
Moments like those make Eliseo feel like a tropical version of Santa Claus. The families on both shores appreciate him.
Translated by Rick Schwag with a little help from JT
Cubans Celebrate Christmas, In Their Way
In Havana you will not see men dressed as Santa Claus, dressed in red, fat and friendly, handing out sweets to children at the entrance of shopping malls. In the rest of the island, you will not find a special Christmas atmosphere either.
The tourist hotels and the foreign exchange shops and cafes do displays trees with ornaments and wreaths. Not so in the national currency establishments, which prefer to dismiss all this paraphernalia. In these service centers, gloomy and in need of paint, portraits of Fidel Castro usually hang, along with slogans of the Revolution.
If it is a neighborhood store, you might see a handwritten list, sometimes with spelling errors, reminding people who have not paid for the appliances, four years after the State distributed them, to replace the American refrigerators from the 50's and the black and white televisions manufactured in the Soviet Union.
Although the city does not have a Christmas atmosphere, ordinary citizens prepare to celebrate Christmas Eve at home on December 24. Those who have family abroad or profitable black market businesses can afford to buy a pig and roast it in the backyard, sipping beer or some good aged rum.
For those for whom things were not so bad in 2010, at 12 pm on December 31, they can eat candies, apples and grapes, and make a toast with cider. But most people wear out their shoes visiting the farmers' markets in search of pork, black beans, yucca, tomatoes, lettuce …They will listen to salsa or reggaeton music at the highest volume, while drinking unbottled beer and lesser quality rum.
Those who live near a church usually attend a midnight Mass. In their way, Cubans celebrate Christmas. It was not always so. When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, he slowly and intentionally threw aside one of the most deeply rooted traditions of Cuban families.
The final blow was given in 1970, when during the Ten Million Ton Sugar Harvest, with the pretext that the festivities interrupted the work in the cane fields, he removed December 25th from the holiday calendar. Those days off disappeared from the island by decree.
Because the triumph of the revolution coincided with January 1st, the first and second of January were declared to be days off. Thank goodness. If the bearded ones had taken power in March or August, for sure, we would not celebrate the arrival of the new year.
The absence of Christmas from the Revolutionary calendar lasted 27 years. In 1997, in honor of the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba, Castro re-introduced December 25 as a national holiday. It is an official holiday, but the authorities do not feel motivated to create a Christmas atmosphere for the population. Although it is celebrated in private.
As a child, I went with my grandmother and my sister to the house of Blas Roca, an old communist now deceased and a relative on my mother's side. At that time, Roca was one of the heavyweights in the political hierarchy. I remember how my eyes opened, when I saw a whole pig roasting and a significant amount of other delicacies.
It was a time when people wore work shirts and plastic shoes. Beef was distributed according to the ration book. And very few dared to celebrate Christmas Eve, as forbidden as jazz and the Beatles.
Decades later, something has changed. True, Castro remains in power. The economy is adrift. Certain freedoms are denied. But today there is no fear that someone will make a report to "the appropriate authorities" for celebrating Christmas.
Obviously, one wants more. And while celebrating with his family, hopes that in the coming year, good things will happen. Cubans still have not lost their optimism. Fortunately.
Translated by Rick Schwag
Promise Keepers
They are already arriving and being noticed. Afternoon comes to Santiago de las Vegas, a town south of Havana, with low houses and dusty streets. The followers of Saint Lazarus move along the road, dressed in clothes made of jute bags and dragging huge stones.
A person with a bunch of leaves goes before them, making a gesture as if cleaning the road. In a rough wooden cart, a good sized image of the saint of lepers. And a piggy bank for the curious to put small coins in.
They are the promise keepers. People who feel they owe their life and happiness to the miraculous saint. Anecdotes abound. A fat lady does an act on the road. She has dragged herself from a neighborhood of Marianao to El Rincón, where the church dedicated to the worship of Saint Lazarus is found.
The woman walked over 15 kilometers. According to her, she was condemned to die from cancer. She entrusted herself to "to the old Lazarus," as he is known in Cuba, and the cancer disappeared.
From that moment, she promised that every December 16 she would crawl on her knees to offer her tribute to the saint. And today is the day. It is freezing.
During the week in that area, the thermometer fell to 44 degrees Fahrenheit. An unusual temperature in Cuba. If you add the high humidity, the wind chill is 33 degrees or less. But those who are fulfilling their promises are not stopped by cold or by distance. Ubaldo comes from Bayamo, a city over 500 miles from Havana.
On arriving, together with a few with relatives at the train station in the old part of town, he put together a great four-wheeled wagon. He placed a dazzling portrait of the saint inside. He put on a pair of short pants made out of a sack, and without a shirt, at the risk of catching pneumonia, began to drag himself towards el Rincón.
At times he stops and takes a big swig of cheap rum. People encourage him. One of his sons says the old man had suffered paralysis in his legs. The doctors assured him that he would never walk again. Ubaldo went to the parish of Our Lady of Charity in El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba. There, as he made his pleas, a pious man commended him to Saint Lazarus. "In a few months my father could run."
Since then, every year he makes the pilgrimage from Bayamo to el Rincón. On the way to Saint Lazarus you always hear miracle stories. The atheists, who go out of curiosity or snobbishness, don't believe all the legends heard in the journey. It is admirable to see so many people, many of them elderly, making a considerable physical effort to keep their promises.
Thousands of Cubans show up spontaneously for an appointment with St. Lazarus. They arrive in Santiago de Las Vegas, and along a narrow dark road about a mile long, they walk towards the temple. Along the way they sell soup, a broth made with vegetables and pig's head. Also corn tamales, bread with pork and hot chocolate.
The government does not interfere. Nor does it encourage. The official media do not publicize this. Nor invite the followers that attend the parish. Although it attempts to pretend otherwise, the State does not agree with the Church. Of course, it does reinforce public transport and schedules a train at three o'clock in the morning to facilitate the return home.
It was not always like that. Romelio has been going to Rincón for thirty years. "At that time, we had to manage as best we could. The police were always on alert and watched us like dogs," he says sitting on the tarmac after walking a long stretch on his knees.
As tradition dictates, the promise keepers rush to arrive before 12 pm in the sanctuary, to deposit their contributions and listen to the Mass. Outside, a concentration of pilgrims sing and warm themselves with mouthfuls of rum from a plastic bottle that is passed amongst them. Every time someone arrives crawling, they open a path, yell and cheer him on like a marathon runner reaching the finish line.
Sweating despite the cold, the promise keepers throw themselves on their backs almost breathless. No wonder. They have fulfilled their vow to Saint Lazarus.
Translated by Rick Schwag
December 19 2010
The Sinister Ones
There is too much perversion in the world. It is a feature of serial murderers, pedophiles and sexual deviants. Or of the ETA (Basque) terrorists and those irrational people who crashed two planes into the Twin Towers in New York on September 11.
But there are — and there have been — sinister governments. In the name of whatever cause. The most handy, from October 1917 until the present, has been imperialism, the bourgeoisie and the exploitation of man by man.
I've always wondered if Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, Franco, Mao, Pol Pot, Ceausescu and Idi Amin, among others, already had macabre governing designs in mind when they began their careers as politicians.
I would like to think not. That these were once dreamer types who wanted the best for their people. And maybe a mental condition, not yet studied in depth by the scientists, converted all of them into miserable satraps.
All these dictators have a common stamp. They speak in the name of the dispossessed and in the name of nationalism. They believe they have a redemptive mission to fulfill. They consider themselves to be enlightened. The Little Fathers of their countries.
Without exception, they are manipulators with an ego that is beyond reason. They do not tolerate disagreements. And it is just at that moment when sinister politicians pull the trigger, the tortures, concentration camps, summary trials and unsanitary prisons.
In the end, history chooses them as the best example of what not to do in the exercise of power. In the 21st century there are few who remain alive.
One of them is now a sick old man who writes his memoirs in a hurry. And in his raptures of lucidity, he still believes he has something to say to his people. And he scribbles pathetic reflections about any event in the world, except that which he should write about: The complicated and uncertain future of his country.
I hope that all these caudillos, before they died, recognized that they were arrogant despots; that they made monumental errors, destroyed nations and were detested by millions.
Photo: Stalin, from the photographic archives of Life Magazine
Translated by ricote
Cubans on the Verge of an Anger Breakdown
You can cut the social tension with a knife. You can see it at a glance. Let me tell you. On a bus on the P-3 line, full of passengers, a skinny black man blew up, furious, and got into a heated brawl with a student. Just because he had been stepped on.
In addition to kicks and punches, each swing of the man's huge machete, totally out of control, caused a fearful roar of the nearly 200 people who crammed the bus. People escaped through the windows to avoid being hurt.
A little later, two drivers of state vehicles came to blows in the street. The trigger was that one of them had abruptly made a dangerous turn and almost caused a collision. Those who were in the cars also took part in the street fight.
On the same night, a few guys, drunk to the gills, started a 'war' with stones, cold steel, and loud cursing, for no apparent reason, in a quiet neighborhood in the Diez de Octubre municipality. The residents, terrified, watched the brawl from their windows.
Too much violence for one day. As usual, the police arrived late. As if that were not enough violent incidents in various parts of Havana, reports came of others in different locations on the island. Some ended up in acts of protests against the regime. The most notorious example was in the city of Santa Clara. The spark that started the scuffle was not showing the awaited Barcelona-Real Madrid soccer match in a theater.
In Bayamo, famous because in 1868 many villagers set fire to their houses and properties before giving them up to the Spanish army, a group of drivers created a ruckus over what they considered unfair taxation.
A freelance journalist told me that in October, in the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo alone, the number of cases of excessive violence was about 100, among family members, and in the worst kind of bars, nightclubs and slums.
A sociologist who was consulted explains that increases in social tension and discontent which have recently occurred on the island are caused by unemployment, lack of any future, and high taxes on self-employment. Previously, the government used to open the door to emigration to the U.S. when the social situation became ugly.
In 1963, 1980 and 1994 hundreds of thousands of Cubans fled to Florida to escape a hopeless life. But now the Castros know that they can not open the valve of the pressure cooker that is Cuba, triggering a massive wave of migration.
Senior Pentagon officials have said publicly they would consider this to be an act of war. Therefore, the way to drain the high tensions of the beleaguered Cubans could be serious and profound political and economic reforms.
Meanwhile the sensible locals search for effective answers to the outbreaks of violence, the ordinary people who, for whatever reason, get into brawls.
This is a serious matter. A time bomb with incalculable consequences. Believe me, what's to come is not exactly good news for the Castro brothers.
Photo: Roly63, Panoramio. Street Brawl in the Havana neighborhood of Cerro
Translated by ricote.
December 8 2010
The State and Me
A few weeks ago, I called different ministries of the economic sphere asking for facts and figures. In a humiliating manner they told me that these issues were not my concern. "Trust Fidel and Raul, they always do the best for the country," replied a technocrat in a lecturing tone.
I was born in 1965 and since I learned to read, all the textbooks contained the worn Marxist slogan, that the people were the true and sole owner of the property and means of production.
That made me feel like an important child. When I was a high school student, I naively thought that I was entitled to seek information on the economy and finances of my country. It was all a scam. As an adult, I realized that in a Marxist socialist society, the state's role is similar to that of a 18-century feudal lord.
To me, democracy means that leaders are elected and removed by the votes of their citizens. And a president, parliamentarian or minister must do his public work as transparently as possible, and is obliged to render accounts.
In "proletarian dictatorships" like Cuba, this is not the case. The leaders are above good and evil. They are a kind of deity. They report half. Hide numbers. Tweak the tally. Or do not inform us about anything.
If a guy, supposedly brighter than an entire nation, is considered superior to the rest of its citizens, and believes it is possible to design a new economic and social model, outlandish and better than any other known, and once in power thinks that he individually can meet the needs of the people, would it not be easier to proclaim a monarchy and rule the destiny of a nation forever and ever?
In Cuba, because the State is the owner of all industries and assets of the country, it ruinously imposes taxes and heavy burdens on money, property, and consumption. Without explanation.
I'll give examples. First, they raise prices for high-demand products such as oil, soap and gasoline, without consulting the population. "Damn, I'm the owner of the farm," they think. Thus, pondering like ordinary landowners and without blushing, they impose a consumption tax on items that the State considers luxuries.
"These economic illiterates do not understand my strategy," they contemplate. Now, in the case of new taxes on self-employment, they can be up to 40%. They have arbitrarily decided, arguing that this will improve the performance of the state bureaucracy and streamline its colossal expenses.
It has been demonstrated. The Cuban State is highly inefficient. It fails to generate profits. And in pursuit of maintaining certain social achievements, it puts the enterprising people who create wealth between the hammer and the anvil. It punishes them for their talent.
Politicians rule the world. They are a necessary evil. But it should be clear that they owe their people, and not vice-versa. And I remember what this bureaucrat told me, that I must trust in Fidel and Raul.
I'd rather go the wall on that. Demand that they not conceal figures or financial budgets. Otherwise, I can not believe in the good intentions of the Castro brothers. And that is what is happening. Starting long ago.
Translated by ricote
The Cuban Press: Rather than Inform, It Disinforms
Cubans are readers of newspapers by habit, and after dinner at 8:00 in the evening they sit and watch the television news, not knowing all the details of the current conflict on the Korean peninsula.
The people of Cuba have been well informed that the People's Democratic Republic of Korea responded with heavy artillery to the island of Yeonpyeong, because of supposed South Korean military aggression in the Yellow Sea.
There is no hint of criticism or questioning of the deplorable action from the Sung dynasty, which, if true, seems a disproportionate response to an island inhabited by civilians and which resulted in four deaths and dozens injured.
When the Asian bullies, addicted to the Juche ideology created by their "dear leader" Kim Il Sung, already had an arsenal of atomic bombs, the Cuban press, would only publish the occasional article, noting that it was all a United States disinformation campaign, because they were looking for a pretext to attack North Korea militarily.
The same thing happens with Iran. Ahmadinejad is almost a saint to the media. The events of March 2009 in Tehran were reported in a biased manner.
The conviction of an Iranian woman to death by stoning has also been overlooked. They remain silent before the latest reports from the IAEA on whether Iran is able to manufacture nuclear devices. Or they present is as a "new manipulation by groups tied to imperialist interests."
The editorial policy of Cuba is clear. The Yankees are the evil ones. Them and the rich and capitalist nations. They might oppose certain actions of the United States or the European Union. But from there to applauding and remaining silent about the outrages of counties like Iran, North Korea or Venezuela, just because they are enemies of Washington, is a disgrace.
Now, the Spanish government has asked Venezuela to extradite Arturo Cubillas, a member of the Basque separatist group, the ETA, with solid connections with the Bolivarian administration. The strong man of Caracas has denied the request. Cuba has ignored the subject entirely.
The official press responds to the institutions of the State. The daily paper Granma is the organ and voice of the Communist Party, the only party in the country. The other publications that circulate represent the social and mass organizations controlled by the Party and the government.
A journalist who prefers to remain anonymous says that every sensitive and important topic is bared by the Department of Revolutionary Orientation (DOR). Even to the point that, the reporter says, before Granma is printed Fidel or his advisors go through what's going to be published with a fine-toothed comb.
This iron control by Castro has waned lately. Despite the fat that only 4% of citizens have internet connections, the appearance of new tools like Facebook, Twitter or mobile phones are widening the information dispersal to the man on the street.
Relatives and friends who live abroad often send news, through text messages, that the national media doesn't publish or distorts. The same thing happens with email. Many people have internet accounts at their work, and take advantage of the slightest slips of the virtual guards to open a link to a social network, read El Nuevo Herald, or the Spanish digital daily, El Mundo.
People who seek out other sources also listen to the BBC, Radio Exterior de España, The Voice of America, or Radio Francia International.
The management of certain international news in Cuba is, at times, biased. Rather than inform, they disinform. Not that the Cuban press always tells lies. But at times they obscure the truth.
Who is Arnaldo Ramos?
He arrived home on Saturday. After 7 years and 8 months behind the bars of a cell and the creaking of locks, the dissident economist Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique, 68, at 6:30 in the morning of his first Sunday in freedom, sat in the park facing the modest apartment where he lives in the neighborhood of Central Havana.
He wanted to watch the sunrise, breathe the fresh air and see ordinary people carrying plastic bags for Sunday shopping. He wanted to feel like a free man. After two hours of meditation, the sun began to warm the Havana morning and the sound of children with their bats, balls, skates and soccer balls, broke through his personal spell.
Then Arnaldo Ramos began what was always his daily routine. Joining the long line to buy the official press in a tobacco shop. It is one of his hobbies. Collecting the daily papers and filing them in boxes.
"When I was arrested on 19 March 2003, it was around 9 in the morning, and State Security spent five hours demanding papers and documents," he says sitting in a mahogany chair.
Ramos, a thin mulatto, short in stature, is well preserved. He is hyper-kinetic, with a fixed gaze and acute analysis. His apartment is furnished in a Spartan style. For the last 45 years he has been married to the doctor Lydia Lima, who is now retired. He is the father of two, with two grandchildren.
He has an extensive history as a dissident. Like other leaders of the current opposition, in the first years of the revolution he had hopes for the project of Fidel Castro. Before realizing they were applauding a fraud, Arnoldo worked in that factory of technocrats that formed the central planning board, JUCEPLAN, an institution that governed the island's economy and ordered the number of boots, combs and toothbrushes that were to be fabricated every year.
"After graduating in economics in 1971, I started working in JUCEPLAN, with the cream of the economic gurus of Cuban socialism, like Irma Sanchez and Humberto Perez. There I lived, in its entirety, the financial lie, how to doctor the figures to coincide with the interests of Fidel Castro, who skipped all the rules and when some plan occurred to him, however crazy, he sent the draft and the agency had to carry it out to the letter."
His first problems with the system began with the economic analysis done for the JUCEPLAN newsletter, in which there were some underhanded criticisms. "It was the era of the billions of rubles that the USSR sent us. Waste and improvisation. Burying money in imaginary projects or making purchases in the capitalist countries with super modern factories, which did not accord with the logical development of the country. I remember that in 1978, when thousands of taxicabs were purchased in Argentina, I made the report without ever having traveled to that country," said Arnaldo, while sipping a powdered orange soft drink .
By 1987 things were already clear to Arnaldo Ramos. The economic system, including the political system, was not working. In 1991 he retired. The following year he began working with another dissident economist, Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello. Together they organized an institute of independent economists. "In 18 years in the opposition, my main contribution was theoretical: to dismantle the government's complacent discourse and point out the real background of the supposed economic successes."
On a leaden gray April afternoon he was sentenced to 18 years in prison for insisting in his articles, studies and investigations that the Cuban economy was heading towards the ravine.
Seven years were very hard for a person who was already 60. "Except in Holguín prison, where they beat me, I did not receive physical punishment. Harassment and verbal abuse, yes. It was also a punishment for my family, who had to travel nearly 500 miles loaded with crates, to visit me. Still, I never thought to leave my country."
He was in two of the toughest prisons on the island. That of Holguin and Nieves Morejón, in the province of Sancti Spiritus. In the past six months, the authorities transferred him to 1580, a prison on the outskirts of Havana.
He was released on parole, a sort of legal limbo that technically allows the government to send him back to jail whenever it wants." An official of the State Security told me I was free to engage in any activity, and they would not imprison me again. But that was a verbal commitment. There is no document that confirms that."
Of the alleged economic reforms of the government of General Raúl Castro, the independent economist does not expect anything positive. Nor does he believe that anything important will come out of the Sixth Communist Party Congress, scheduled for April 2011.
The one thing of which he is indeed convinced is that profound changes must occur in Cuba in order to make a leap forward in the economy. And Arnaldo Ramos will be one of those voices for change. Count on it.
Text and photo: Ivan Garcia
Translated by ricote
November 25, 2010
The Latest Apparition of the 'Holy' Comandante
The same day that Cubans celebrated the 398th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Charity in the Bay of Nipe, Santiago de Cuba, news agencies revealed the latest confession of Fidel Castro: "The Cuban model does not work even for us". Something that we who live in Cuba have known well, for a while.
A resident of Havana would say, "Damn, that guy just fell out of the tree" A housewife: " It took me so long to realize." A student: "Pal, he just discovered hot water" A peasant: "The leader fell from the saddle." And an intellectual: "It took long enough to discover the Mediterranean."
Although the people on the island are more concerned with daily survival than with paying attention to what Castro says or allows to be said, his statements left almost no one indifferent. "We're fucked now that he's coming out with these things, because if anyone is guilty of the fact that Cubans live so badly and so far behind, it is Fidel," says Roberto indignantly, a retired 75-year-old.
"After this resurrection of the comandante, I cannot understand what is the goal of these public appearances. If he is doing this to stay in the limelight, or support to his brother Raul. Maybe he's decided to become an independent analyst," says Lourdes, 51, unemployed.
A few days ago, his mea culpa about the repression against Cuban homosexuals sparked a flurry of opinions among gays, transvestites and lesbians. "It seems that he wants to clear a bit of his soul before kicking the bucket," Samuel, 35, a hairdresser who is proud to be queer says cheerfully.
In Cuba, due to the lack of internet, cable TV and foreign media that can reach the entire population, people often learn the news via shortwave stations and calls from family and friends living abroad.
Sara, a professor, 58, is annoyed by Castro's too-late defense of the Jews that he just came out with. Her parents were Jewish and found a home in Cuba. "I can go live in Israel. But I want to die and be buried next to my family, in the Jewish cemetery in Guanabacoa."
One of the moments that she does not forget was when in September 2006, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran was in Havana, "Because he denies the Holocaust," said Sara. Six years earlier, in 2000, Fidel Castro welcomed Khatami, the former Iranian president.
Because if there is anything that the Cuban government has boasted about, in particular after 1961 when Cuba joined the Non-Aligned Movement, it is its excellent relations with the Arab and Muslim world. Although Cuba does trade with Israeli businessmen under the table.
The latest apparition of the sainted comandante took place standing next to the American-Israeli journalist, Jeffrey Goldberg (born in New York, 1965). Goldberg is publishing, in dribs and drabs, the contents of three days of conversation in his blog, The Atlantic.
We await the next chapters. And confessions with a touch of regret (or of a guilty conscience), like his reference to his role in the Cuban Missile Crisis in October of 1962. Certainly, before retiring, the star reporter for CNN, Larry King, wants to interview Fidel Castro. Surely he'll get that interview. We already know of his preference for U.S. reporters.
Returning to Jeffrey Goldberg. Will he take advantage of his stay in Cuba to intercede for Alan Gross, a Jewish American who allegedly traveled to the island to help the local Jewish community and has been jailed in Havana since December 2009?
Translated by ricote


text:
Coronavirus information: Find out about your workplace entitlements and obligations during the impact of coronavirus. We have information about the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme, pay and leave entitlements, stand downs from work, workplace health and safety, and more.
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18 May 2015
Hundreds of
businesses which employ apprentices and trainees will come under scrutiny as
part of a new national campaign by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Up to 700
businesses in every capital city and selected regional areas have been
earmarked for auditing over the next three months.
Fair Work inspectors
will focus on employers of first-year apprentices in the automotive, electrical
services, manufacturing, butchery and bakery trades.
While most
requests for assistance from apprentices and trainees come from the
construction and hospitality industries, these have been excluded given they
have already been targeted by separate campaigns.
Deputy Fair
Work Ombudsman (Operations) Michael Campbell says there are almost 400,000
apprentices and trainees working across Australia, according to the most recent
In the 10
months to the end of May last year, 1400 apprentices and trainees – more than
half of them aged under 24 - sought help from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Mr Campbell
says the Agency has noted that almost half of apprenticeship contracts in
trades are never completed, with a third of apprentices leaving their employer
because of "poor working conditions, low wages or because they were unhappy
with on-the-job training".
"Given that
we receive a consistent stream of requests for assistance from apprentices and
the high drop-out rates, we believe an education and compliance campaign for
employers of apprentices and trainees is warranted," he said.
objective is to provide advice and assistance to businesses at the earliest
point in the employment relationship to ensure we give the apprentice the best
chance of successfully completing his or her trade."
Fair Work
inspectors will check that employers understand their obligations with respect
to record-keeping and payslips and monitor payment of minimum hourly rates,
penalty rates, overtime, allowances and loadings.
will also be educated about appropriate payments for off-the-job training for
apprentices, competency-based progression and reimbursement of applicable
course fees.
Mr Campbell
hopes the pro-active campaign will help improve compliance and drive
behavioural change where necessary. "Where we find problems, we will endeavour
to identify the cause. This will help to inform our compliance and education
efforts in the future," he said.
Fair Work
inspectors will work to assist any employers found to have workplace
and employees seeking assistance can visit the website at www.fairwork.gov.au or
contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13
13 94.
Follow Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James on Twitter @NatJamesFWO , the Fair Work Ombudsman @fairwork_gov_au or find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/fairwork.gov.au .
Sign up to receive the Fair Work Ombudsman's media releases direct to your email inbox at www.fairwork.gov.au/mediareleases.
Media inquiries:
Tom McPherson, Media Adviser
Mobile: 0439 835 855
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Page reference No: 5334
Fair Work Online: www.fairwork.gov.au
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Contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 13 14 50
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Call through the National Relay Service (NRS):
For TTY: 13 36 77. Ask for the Fair Work Infoline 13 13 94
Speak & Listen: 1300 555 727. Ask for the Fair Work Infoline 13 13 94
The Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to providing advice that you can rely on. The information contained on this website is general in nature. If you are unsure about how it applies to your situation you can call our Infoline on 13 13 94 or speak with a union, industry association or workplace relations professional. Visitors are warned that this site may inadvertently contain names or pictures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have recently died.
Saved from fairwork.gov.au on 5/07/2020 11:07:02 AM


text:
February 3, 2016 | Tags: children, dog breeds, dogs, family, kids
Our list of the best dogs for kids will help you choose a faithful companion that's right for the entire family! Whether you have young children or teenagers–live in a condo or have acres upon acres for a dog to roam–there's a furry friend on this list for every family's lifestyle. Your children want one, you want one and we've taken the guesswork out of finding the best dogs for kids, so keep reading and let us know which breed you think is right for you!
1. Weimaraner
Widely celebrated for being a family dog, the Weimaraner is one of the best dogs for kids. A relatively young breed, this dog has only existed since the early 19th century and was used by German royalty for hunting big game. Experts recommend training these dogs early as they can become quite headstrong and stubborn otherwise. A well-trained Weimaraner, however, loves living amongst a family, enjoys lots of time outdoors, is very loyal and is a perfect companion dog for children.
2. Newfoundland
The Newfoundland is probably best known for its webbed feet. And while this dog instinctively knows how to rescue a swimmer in trouble, its loving, patient and calm temperament also makes it one of the best dogs for kids. In fact, this breed loves human interaction, in general, but it is particularly acclaimed for being partial to children!
The Saint Bernard breed is known for its mellow personality and patience, especially with children. This breed is also recommended as one of the best dogs for kids as it is known to be friendly to a family's visitors, including other children it has just met. Originally used as a search and rescue dog in Switzerland, the Saint Bernard is a large and very intelligent breed that children just love to snuggle with!
4. Vizsla
This dog is perfect for energetic families who spend a lot of time outdoors. As much as they love running and playing, these dogs are also very affectionate. The Vizsla is good for older kids, but not necessarily young children, so if you're interested in a dog for a tween or your teenagers, the Vizsla may very well be what you're looking for! We only have one word of caution for you with this breed. Once beloved for their skills in retrieving wild game, the Vizsla still has an instinct for hunting birds. So, if you also have a fine feathered friend at home, please beware!
5. Collies
One need only watch an episode of Lassie to see why the Collie consistently appears on lists for the best dogs for kids. While the series is fictional, the dog's character was based on traits that this breed is known for. Exceptionally smart, keenly aware, a gentle disposition and fiercely loyal are just a few of the words regularly used to describe this breed.
The Golden Retriever is one of the best dogs for kids because of its affectionate and friendly demeanor. It is equally kind and accepting toward strangers, including new children it has just met. In fact, the American Kennel Club gives this dog a 100% rating in terms of its compatibility with kids. An intelligent breed, the Golden Retriever is considered pretty easy to train and has a penchant for playtime!
7. Bulldog
On our list of best apartment dogs, the Bulldog is also an ideal pet for children. This popular breed is known for being patient, kind and loving toward people and generally gets along well with other pets, too. The Bulldog also loves to have a good time! Don't believe us? Just check out this video of a record-setting Bulldog skateboarding his way to victory!
When selecting a new pet, it's always a good idea to consider how much time you have to devote to daily walks, exercising and grooming, as well as what special needs a particular breed may have. Hopefully, this list serves as a good starting point for your research and has helped you formulate an idea of what to look for in a family dog. Before you rush out to buy a favored breed, please consider adopting one who may already be in a nearby shelter.
According to your research and experience, which breed do you think is the best dog for kids? What kind of dog did you grow up with? And what kind of dog(s) do you currently have? We're turning this post over to you now, so feel free to share your questions and comments below and remember to subscribe to our Loyalty Club newsletter for more on the pets you love most!


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Sterling Heights police Officer Richard Heins receives Chase's retirement badge from police Capt. Colleen Hopper at Chase's retirement.
Photo by Deb Jacques
STERLING HEIGHTS — Over the whimpers, yelps and occasional barks of police dogs in attendance, Sterling Heights K-9 dog Chase received a fond farewell from his coworkers at the Sterling Heights Police Department Nov. 16.
Sterling Heights police Chief Dale Dwojakowski remarked on the retirement, recalling that he was on calls with Chase back in the day. Under the watch of K-9 handler Officer Rich Heins, Chase served with the Police Department for 10 years, performing K-9 activities like drug detection, tracking suspects and missing people, and more.
"Everyone loves a dog story, and everyone loves these K-9s," the chief said. "They are the human extension of their handlers. … These dogs still are irreplaceable. There is no machine that can do what a dog can do."
Sterling Heights police Capt. Colleen Hopper said she remembers that the first time she met Chase, he was "scattering across the floor as fast as you could in my direction."
"I was a little afraid, but after we played for, let's say, a while, I went to sit down on Officer Heins' couch, and Chase followed," she said. "Chase worked his way slowly into my lap and began nudging my hand and then placed my thumb in his mouth and starting licking it.
"I was a little confused, to say the least, because I wasn't sure this was an actual police dog, but Officer Heins assured me that this is how (Chase) likes to go to sleep."
She then went on to list some success stories form Chase's career: chasing and knocking down a fleeing suspect, then barking, holding and heeling without making a bite. She said it exemplifies the "intense training our K-9s go through."
Chase and Heins received several gifts and awards, including artwork of the dog. Chase got a retirement badge for his collar, a special bone-shaped cake made for dogs, and his own fire hydrant from the Fire Department and the Department of Public Works.
Police officials announced that the K-9 training field at Baumgartner Park will be renamed Heins Field. Heins spoke about what Chase's retirement means to him, and he called the renaming of the training field an "awesome thing."
"This is overwhelming," he said. "Seeing these dogs, you just can't see police dogs sitting around in a room like this, being, for the most part, just chilling. It shows the dedication the dog handlers have with their dogs."
Heins also thanked City Councilwoman Deanna Koski for helping make the Police Department's K-9 program possible around 25 years ago.
"I believe my career went the way it went because of Councilwoman Koski and being able to establish this K-9 unit," he said.
After the event, Koski wished Chase well in his post-career life.
"He has served the city of Sterling Heights extremely well," Koski said. "We are very, very proud of him — all the awards that he has received, all the certifications and all the bad guys that he's caught. So I wish him a great and joyful retirement."
With Chase's retirement, the Police Department still has three dogs in the force: Ivy, Ernie and Groot. The last two were introduced to the public earlier in the fall.
Learn more about the Sterling Heights Police Department by visiting www.sterling-heights.net or by calling (586) 446-2800.


text:
Would you want the system to power down if only one UPS lost grid power?
Would you want the system to power down if BOTH UPS lost input power?
Looking to understand the logic in the magic box because an Arduino
could do this very very easily.
- Larry "DrFranken" Bolhuis
On 12/11/2013 2:07 PM, Jerry Draper wrote:
We have an 8202-E4D with redundant power supplies (2 AC).http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=%2Fp7had%2Fp7hadups.htm
Mgmt wants to connect each AC to a different UPS for UPS redundancy.
We only have one port for the RJ45 UPS sensor cable (P1-T2).
IBM suggested that we could build a box with two RJ45 in and one RJ45
out (or two DB9 to one DB9) that would detect UPS status from either UPS
and send one signal to the IBMi.
Anyone have this box or know where to get one?
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