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I have used the reverse side of the "Bunch of Balloons" paper for my background with
some textured stencilling & a bit of random grungy stamping with Kaisercraft "Numbers"
stamp thrown in too. I've used lots of the JBS Wooden Nickels & Wood Sprinkles mixed with
some 2Crafty chipboard & some wood veneers all over my page.....and you might note,
there is not a flower in sight! lol
Pics are of my DH with his bike at his very first cycling race at a town called Cootamundra
- or Coota as we call it, and the race is known as "The Haycarters" - no idea where that
stems from.
Here are a few close ups....
Here I've cut one of the chevrons from the Smiden of Sweets paper, clustered with a few hand cut circles plus a sticker & Wooden Nickel...with a bit of the background work in underneath.
Some more of the hand cut chevrons that are up on 3d foam tape
with more Wooden Nickels & veneer arrow
2Crafty chipboard arrow coloured with red acrylic paint...and some strip journaling....with a few stickers from the Labels Sticker sheet along the side of my paper layers.
Another cluster of Nickels & Sprinkles...with 2Crafty lightbulb &
scalloped circle frame plus a SC veneer arrow & circle frame.
They have all been coloured with gelatos & the lightbulb is inked in black.
And another 2Crafty arrow down the other side of the photos.
After working out where the main paper area of the page would be, I then used modelling paste with a Teresa Collins stencil to go around the outer edges of this area. Once it was dry, I then randomly stamped with KC Numbers stamp & jet black archival ink.
Next up is another bright fun page, this time about some fun times at the park
when my DD was a little tike...a non digital photo that just seemed to jump out at me to use with these papers :)
"Fun Times"
This one is based on sketch #271 at Creative Scrappers.
Again, some stencilling with modelling paste on my background page, this time with some added splashes of Glimmermists....and I've added my journaling around the edges of 2 sides of the page.
The stencil is Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Hearts, and is a great sized stencil for working on smaller areas around your page :)
I've clustered a few Green Tara flowers with a 2Crafty Butterfly Frame
& another of the JBS Wooden Nickels.
The title is by 2Crafty...and I've simply coated it in gesso & then coloured it with a red gelato.
I've also used a few scrap pieces of leftover JBS Lattice Placemat and
placed them at the sides of the photo.
Here is a bit of a close up of the stencil work...along with a few stickers poking out here & there, along with a small JBS Wood Sprinkle
And another little cluster of Green Tara flowers & JBS Wooden Nickel.
Ranger - Archival Ink - Jet Black
Mont Marte - Modelling Paste
Basic Grey - Alpha Stickers
Kaisercraft - Acrylic Paint - Red
Faber Castell - Gelatos
"Fun Times"
Mont Marte - Modelling Paste
Tattered Angels - Glimmermist - Viva Pink
Tattered Angels - Glimmermist - Oriental Poppy
Tattered Angels - Glimmermist - Scarlet
Tattered Angels - Glimmermist - Turquoise


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Family Law Attorney Serving Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Westwood, West Los Angeles, and all of Los Angeles County
Few things are more emotionally difficult than going to family court. While a typical lawsuit, such as over damage from a car accident, is stressful, the consequences are almost purely financial. In a family conflict, there can be a sense of betrayal by someone you thought you would spend your life with, disputes over who contributed what to the marriage and how financial affairs should be settled, and fractures in relationships with children, extended family members, and mutual friends. However, it's almost always in your best interests to remain focused on mutual benefit and finding a positive resolution. We're here to help you do just that while vigorously protecting your rights.
To schedule a consultation with an experienced family law attorney serving the Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Westwood, West Los Angeles , and all of Los Angeles County, contact the Law Office of Michelle L. Kazadi.

subset: commoncrawl


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This article requires a subscription to view the full text. You may purchase access to this article or login to access your subscription using the links below.
Enhancer (ENH)-associated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) are a peculiar class of RNAs produced by transcriptionally active ENHs, owning potential gene-regulatory function. Here, we characterized RAIN, a novel ENH-associated lncRNA. Analysis of RAIN expression in a retrospective cohort of human thyroid cancers showed that the expression of this lncRNA is restricted to cancer cells and strongly correlates with the expression of the cancer-promoting transcription factor RUNX2. We showed that RAIN, serving as a cis-regulatory element, promotes RUNX2 expression by two mechanisms. Binding WDR5 and facilitating its localization on the RUNX2 promoter, RAIN modifies the transcriptional status of the RUNX2 locus facilitating transcription initiation. In parallel, RAIN acts as decoy for negative elongation factor complex, restraining its inhibitory function on transcription elongation. In both thyroid and breast cancer cells, RAIN promotes oncogenic features. Using RNA-sequencing profiling, we showed that RAIN orchestrates the expression of a network of cancer-promoting transcription regulators, suggesting that RAIN affects cancer cell phenotype by coordinating the expression of a complex transcriptional network.
Implications: Our data contribute to understand lncRNA function in gene regulation and to consolidate their role in cancer.
Note: Supplementary data for this article are available at Molecular Cancer Research Online (http://mcr.aacrjournals.org/).
Mol Cancer Res 2020;18:140–52
- Received June 3, 2019.
- Revision received September 4, 2019.
- Accepted October 14, 2019.
- Published first October 17, 2019.
- ©2019 American Association for Cancer Research.


text: Chris has extensive experience within the industry with 11 years of experience in fabrication, 5 years managing large projects, 5 years as shop Forman with a manufacturing company in Kansas, and spent 6 years self-employed with contract welding. Chris was raised on a farm in Kansas where he learned from his mother and father excellent work ethics, the value of hard work, and the joy of a job well done. His love for working on the farm directed him to pursue a career in fabrication and welding. Chris also brings 4 years of experience as a Measurement While Drilling Engineer, operating downhole equipment for directional and horizontal wells in the oil and gas industry. Chris' Love for snowboarding drove him to Colorado in 2016 where he also enjoys hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing.


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To the Editor: In his defense of affirmative action, Vinay Harpalani argues ("Affirming what merit really means," The Daily Pennsylvanian, 9/7/00) that universities should consider race when admitting students because blacks and other minorities are more likely than whites to give back to their communities. In other words, universities should give some priority to an individual who belongs to a racial group whose members are more likely to engage in certain behaviors than members of other racial groups, regardless of whether that individual will engage in that behavior or not. This is the same type of logic certain law enforcement groups use to justify racial profiling. They argue that because blacks are more likely than whites to be engaged in criminal activities, police officers should be more suspicious of a black individual than a white individual, regardless of whether that individual is engaged in a suspicious behavior or not. I find this particular argument offensive, and I'm willing to bet that Mr. Harpalani does as well. Why does he use a similar line of reasoning to justify affirmative action? As dangerous as Mr. Harpalani's argument is, what he concludes from it is essentially correct. Universities probably can consider race in admissions decisions without compromising merit to any significant degree -- at least no more than when they consider athletic ability, state of origin or any other idiosyncrasy. However, universities cannot consider race in admissions decisions without compromising the civil rights of individuals who do not belong to the racial groups that are procedurally advantaged by such an admissions process. Mr. Harpalani forgets, or at least puts aside for the moment, the fact that the best argument against racially sensitive admissions processes is not that less qualified individuals may gain entrance, but that individuals may be denied entrance, to some extent, because of the color of their skin. And that is something that no one, be he or she black, white or green, should have to deal with.
Seth Goldstein Law '03 To the Editor: I appreciated Erin Reilly's column ("Make AIDS in Africa a priority in America," DP, 9/8/00) concerning the magnitude of the AIDS problem in Africa. It is truly a horrifying situation that deserves the undivided attention of both the United States and the rest of the developed world, for moral, political and economic reasons. However, I was shocked by her calm statement that since "the West" is concerned about global overpopulation, we are willing to let AIDS "thin" Third World populations. I think that most citizens of "the West," myself included, would readily admit to some degree of ambivalence to Africa's problems, perhaps a more intellectual concern than a pointed moral concern. This is a natural reaction to problems, however large, that exist on the other side of the planet. But attributing to "the West" a conscious willingness to let AIDS alleviate overpopulation is downright ghoulish and weird. Ms. Reilly seems to imply that the average person from "the West" is at home with violent genocidal attitudes. I certainly am not.
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Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.


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Basics of Android App development: RecyclerView #4 with Volley, JSON, PHP & MySQL. After you finish the Android RecyclerView and Adapter things, it is time to read the real data from a Web Server. There are many steps ahead. First you need to know Volley which is a library for network connection. Once you connect to a server, that server will read a database. In this case, I use PHP and MySQL as the backend. And the data itself cannot be read by Android. You need to convert it to JSON. From the Android end, it will read the JSON and parse it into an ArrayList objects ready for using with RecyclerView.
Playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0DVoqvV_TdhRRBe_DL9oLtDymPxsZ4VL
Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUwMVIaN3Fc
Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_kpL9NASTc
Part 3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmUHEetrKTg
Part 4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOT4pnoNHX8
Part 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjX3r8ZH7Eo
In this part particular, I will talk about the setup of Volley and some basic of PHP MySQL.
RecyclerView is a fairly new tool for Android to display collection of images, texts, videos, and audio to form as an item of the RecyclerView. It is the replacement of ListView where in RecyclerView you can change the layout format, item view (view type), animation etc.


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This presentation proposes strategies to identify good candidates for re-usability, how to create requirements to make the library useful, and steps to limit scope and ensure the library is useful without getting in the way. The video also discusses the importance of documenting reusable components and treating the library like a client project.
Following the presented strategies for your software architecture, you will be able to ensure that you are not wasting time over-architecting one-time-use components, while keeping your reusable pieces flexible enough to be useful and save time.
Video producer: http://www.droidcon.ca/


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Blog: Andrea celebrates the first registered nursing associates
In her regular blog, our new Chief Executive, Andrea Sutcliffe, reflects on a landmark moment as the first nursing associates join our register
Yesterday, Monday 28 January, the Nursing and Midwifery Council welcomed the very first nursing associates onto the professional register. As I said in in our press release, this is a landmark moment for health and social care in England and is the result of a tremendous amount of hard work by teams across the NMC; our partners at national and local level in the NHS, social care and education; and the pioneer nursing associates themselves.
The day started early with my colleague, the indefatigable Emma Westcott emailing at 4.42am to say that "the first nursing associates are appearing on the public-facing NMC register." However much planning, preparation and testing you do – that moment when you find out it has all worked is just wonderful.
What is a nursing associate?
If you haven't coming across nursing associates yet, they are a new member of the nursing team who will provide care and support for people using health and social care services in England. The role is intended to address the skills gap between health and care assistants and registered nurses. It is a stand-alone role but will also provide a progression route into graduate level nursing. Nursing associates will be trained to work with people of all ages and in a variety of settings in health and social care.
The NMC has set the standards for nursing associates which outline what a nursing associate should know and be able to do when they join our register. We have also set the standards for nursing associate education programmes that lead to registration and we will be approving many of these this year.
The welcome for nursing associates joining the register yesterday came from all directions:
The Minister of State for Health, Stephen Hammond: "Delighted that nursing associates can register with the NMC from today."
The Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May: "Welcome to the first nursing associates joining our workforce from today. They will play an essential role."
Our national partners who have played such an important role in introducing nursing associates, were also very positive. For example, in her blog the Chief Nurse for Health Education England, Professor Lisa Bayliss Pratt said:
"Our new nursing associates will be a vital part of the wider health and care team, providing valuable support to registered nurses and enabling them to focus on more complex clinical duties."
And my former colleagues at the Care Quality Commission have provided a really useful briefing that explains how they will monitor providers to ensure that using nursing associates is safe and supports the delivery of high-quality care.
But what about the nursing associates themselves? I had the opportunity to meet a group of trainee nursing associates in Birmingham last week – they were very impressive and showed what a positive contribution this new profession will make for people using health and care services. Sean, Phil, Sam, Kelly, Holly, Amy, another Amy and Michelle explained how much they had enjoyed their training, combining hands-on practical skills development with their learning. They appreciated the opportunity to work in different settings through the varied placements and they also described how they had taken aspects of their new knowledge and understanding back into their workplace. Some saw being a nursing associate as opening new doors for them and a stepping stone to a career in nursing; others were really happy with the role and wanted to concentrate on that.
You can also hear from three nursing associates who were interviewed alongside Julie Goldie, Head of Professional Support and Development at St Georges Hospital in Tooting and Emma Westcott on You and Yours yesterday (starting at 23.35).
Making a difference
While yesterday was a very important milestone for the introduction of nursing associates, what really matters is whether they can make a difference for people using health and care services. From my meeting last week and the comments of trainees on Twitter in recent weeks, I know they have the enthusiasm, the commitment and dedication to provide great care.
As their professional regulator, the NMC has an important role in setting the standards for their practice and education, admitting them to the register, supporting their revalidation every three years and investigating if concerns are raised. But we cannot be there all the time, and employers in health and social care will play a vital role. I was delighted to see the positive comments from NHS and social care managers welcoming and supporting their new colleagues yesterday:
George Coxon, Pottles Court in Devon: "So pleased to be a part of this…the first group were terrific – added so much, challenged us, shared, joined in and I know I learnt lots too."
Kathryn Halford, Chief Nurse, BHRUT: "I'm so proud that after two years we will be celebrating the completion of this course with so many of our trainee nursing associates."
The signs are looking good for this to be a great success.
And in other news…
If you want to know what else I got up to last week, please watch this video!
The end of another busy week for @Crouchendtiger7...learning a lot from colleagues, registrants and our partners just 1⃣2⃣ days into the job.— The NMC (@nmcnews) 25 January 2019
Listen in to what Andrea has been up to ⬇ #listeningmode pic.twitter.com/BoZ8LrOa9P
Other recent news…
World Patient Safety Day: safety in maternity care
Dr Jacqui Williams, Senior Midwifery Adviser (Education) at the NMC, reflects on our Future Midwife standards and safety in maternity care
Blog: Supporting employers to deliver preceptorship programmes
Dr Geraldine Walters, Executive Director of Professional Practice, talks about our newly published principles of preceptorship.
Blog: Black Lives Matter
Read the latest blog from our Chief Executive Andrea Sutcliffe


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We have moved one step closer to the opening of the first supervised injection facility (SIF) in the United States. A federal judge has ruled against a suit by the U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania blocking the launch of "Safehouse," a SIF that is ready to go in Philadelphia.
SIFs save lives by providing space for individuals to use drugs under medical supervision. Treatment is available but not required. Over 120 such facilities exist in cities around the world, including Europe, Australia, and Canada. The United States has none.
Three years ago Clergy for a New Drug Policy organized a delegation of clergy to visit Insite, at that time the only SIF in North America. Since then, 44 have been authorized in Canada. In June, we joined the Chicago Recovery Alliance in visiting five sites operating in Toronto.
Advocates in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle, and San Francisco have been pressing for SIF's. Early this year, it appeared the breakthrough would come in Philadelphia, where political and community leaders, including the mayor, city council president, and states attorney, all support "Safehouse."
But last February, William McSwain, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, sued to stop Safehouse. He argued that it would be in violation of the so-called "crackhouse" provision of the Controlled Substances Act, which was designed to curtail drug racketeering.
Clergy for a New Drug Policy joined other religious voices in an amicus brief challenging the U.S. Attorney's action. The brief invokes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA). It asserts that all humans are created in the image of God and that "all have value and significance and are worthy of others' time, understanding, and advocacy."
In his ruling on behalf of Safehouse, U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh determined that the federal Controlled Substance Act did not apply: "The ultimate goal of Safehouse's proposed operation is to reduce drug use, not facilitate it."
It is widely anticipated that U.S. Attorney McSwain will appeal to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers not only a portion of Pennsylvania, but New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.
The appeal process could take at least a year. Nevertheless, Safehouse attorneys were pleased. "This is a huge decision in our favor," according to Rhonda Goldfein. "It is the first in a federal court that says 'This is not an illegal purpose.''
Given its broad applicability, the case could end up in the Supreme Court.


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Matt Byrne's Fringe hit show Hott Property will be back for one night only at the GC at the German Club on Saturday, April 28 at 8pm.
The riotous real estate comedy which ran for five fabulous weeks at Maxim's Wine Bar at Norwood, had critics and audiences in stitches, and real estate agents lining up to see their industry go under the hammer!
Producer/writer/director Byrne said he was thrilled to be bringing the show to the German Club after his hit Fringe season.
"Hott Property really struck a few home truths with audiences and the German Club Showroom is a fantastic venue," Byrne said.
"Critics loved the show: the Krystoff RAW critic gave us Five Stars and said it was 'A glorious bit of comedy theatre – theatre at its finest!"
"And audiences lapped it up! We were the No. 1 comedy on www.talkfringe.com.au so the punters were very happy.
"Word-of-mouth saw real estate agents come from everywhere to inspect it. We had so many people from the industry come along and they all loved it."
Byrne said buying a property was "the biggest purchase in our lives."
"Everyone has a story about real estate and everyone has an opinion about real estate agents," Byrne said. "This time they go under the hammer!"
Hott Property follows the antics of dodgy real estate agent Red Hott, his world-weary wife Smokin' Hott, their blonde bombshell daughter Pipin' Hott and her ambitious fiancé Terry Trott, as they try to find the right property for four outrageous couples in the Hott Property Family Challenge!
"There's song and dance, quick character changes, gags galore, plenty of crowd involvement and inside information about the real estate game," he says.
"We have a fabulous cast with Theresa Dolman as Smokin', Amber Platten as Pipin', Brad Butvila as Terry and myself as the redoubtable Red.
"You'll see how Real Estate agents manage to keep the buyers, the sellers and themselves happy … by occasionally telling the truth!"
Matt Byrne's Hott Property will play The German Club Showroom at 223 Flinders Street, City on Saturday, April 28 at 8 p.m. All Tix are $30 and bookings are available on 8262 4906 or by clicking here.
Ring 8223 2539 to book for a Schnitzel in the downstairs Bistro before the show.
MBM to present Men Behaving Badly live – Simon Nye's politically incorrect riot comes to Holden Street Theatres.
Matt Byrne Media by arrangement with David Spicer Productions proudly presents the SA Premiere of Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees immortal disco musical. Staring: Sebastian Cooper as Tony Manero and...
We had five amazing weeks at Maxim's Wine Bar with rave reviews from critics and audiences. Because the show SOLD OUT for the final two weeks we have decided to bring it back for ONE NIGHT ONLY! Where:...
Come help us roll out the barrel in the theatre of war! Matt Byrne Media in association with Irish Albert & John Kings presents Lest We Forget IX, ANZAC Day Variety Concert. Where: Elizabeth's...


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Mike Rumbles is the Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP for North East Scotland, having previously represented the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine constituency, first elected during the 1999 election to the new Scottish Parliament.
AS WE approach a year until our exit from the European Union, firm plans for a support system to benefit Scotland's rural economy are still only a distant hope.
At least, that is the Scottish Liberal Democrats' concern, with the party repeatedly accusing the Scottish Government of a lack of preparedness – while rejecting the SNP defence that Scotland can't formulate any plans till Westminster clarifies the available budget.
Scottish Liberal Democrat rural spokesperson Mike Rumbles has made his case for a more prosperous rural economy which not only focuses on agriculture but takes into account all areas which benefit the wider rural economy.
Mr Rumbles has accused Fergus Ewing of not listening to the recommendation he made a year ago in Holyrood, that ScotGov should get on with drawing on best practice and advice from people across the sector to identify a suitable future support system.
Sitting down with The Scottish Farmer at his home in Kildrummy, where he represents the North East as a regional MSP, I asked Mr Rumbles how he came to be the rural spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats and what role his region plays in the wider Scottish rural economy.
"I'm the only Liberal Democrat MSP who is a regional MSP, all the others have constituencies, Orkney, Shetland, Edinburgh and Fife. The North East of Scotland is a very rural area and is important for the rural economy, punching above its weight as far as expenditure in the rural economy goes and the farming output for Scotland. I see my role as focussing not only on agriculture but on the whole of the rural economy.
"Here in Aberdeenshire country living is very important, we have the most rural community in the whole of Scotland. People often say the Highlands are more rural, I disagree, as in the Highlands you have a concentration of communities but here in Aberdeenshire you only have to go a few miles to see the communities are very spread out across the whole of the rural countryside.
"I have spent 25 years living in rural Scotland, the last four years here in Kildrummy. Aberdeenshire is the area I know and is a reflection of the importance of the North-east of Scotland for agriculture and I believe I have something to contribute and deliver for the region," said Mr Rumbles.
The rural spokesperson went on to illustrate the impact agricultural funding has had on the rural economy in Scotland.
Mike Rumbles met with The Scottish Farmer reporter Claire Taylor to discuss what the Scottish Liberal Democrats have to offer the rural sector.
"If we look around where we are now in rural Aberdeenshire, the £500 million of agricultural support that the Scottish Government gives to the rural economy, to farmers particularly, is ploughed back into local communities, into places like Alford and Kildrummy.
Reflecting on rural transport, recent speculation over Michael Gove's potential support for a ban on live exportation of animals to slaughter has attracted criticism from the Scottish agricultural community. Mr Rumbles said that the Scottish Liberal Democrat camp was equally against a ban, despite their manifesto commitment to ensuring high standards of animal welfare.
"We have the highest level of animal welfare anywhere in the world and I don't want to see any lessening of these standards. It's not just important for the welfare of these animals per se but for showing the world that we have these high standards and our food is second to none," he said.
"A concern I raised with Fergus Ewing the other day in Parliament is that if there are further restrictions put on transportation by a potential ban, we don't have slaughtering facilities in the Northern Islands such as Shetland and Orkney, and this could put us at a competitive disadvantage.
"However, until we hear any further information on the matter, the main focus must be on maintaining the highest level of animal welfare which we can possibly achieve, and we will always look to review and improve current standards," said Mr Rumbles.
Expanding on the lack of slaughtering facilities in the Northern Isles, he continued: "The recent closure of the Orkney abattoir has raised concerns within the island communities who now will have to transport their livestock away from the islands for slaughter. I know there are moves afoot in Orkney to try and resurrect a smaller abattoir – how successful that is going to be we will have to wait and see.
"Animals need to be slaughtered as close to where they are reared as is possible and it is in everyone's interest not to have animals transported too far, but we need to strike a balance. Animals will always have to be transported to some extent, even to local slaughterhouses across Scotland. The idea of a mobile abattoir serving the island communities is a possible solution and one which will be looked at, but it has to be cost effective or it won't work," stated Mr Rumbles.
Mike Rumbles on the board of an NFU General Election Husting in the Borders, joined by NFUS President Andrew McCornick, Colin Kerr, MP for SNP and John Scott, MSP for Scottish Conservatives.
As Brexit negotiations continue to leave farmers feeling none the wiser as to a future agricultural support system for Scotland, I asked Mr Rumbles about the opportunity Scotland has to design a system outwith EU legislation.
"I voted against leaving the EU, but we are leaving. Up until now we have had to operate within European rules on farming support to our farmers. If we leave, we have a chance to design a bespoke system for Scotland and what is important for Scotland's needs in farming is not necessarily relevant for England, Wales or Northern Ireland, so we need to get it right!
"I have to say I am disappointed and critical of the Scottish Government so far as I first raised this with Fergus Ewing immediately after the referendum and still work to design a bespoke system for Scotland isn't being done.
"Agriculture is devolved, it is our responsibility, and all I get from Fergus every time I mention this in Parliament is that he is waiting to hear about funding from Westminster. It is not correct to say his hands are tied. Westminster may be talking about having an agreed system of support for the whole of the UK but I do know that Michael Gove has made it clear that a system for Scotland is entirely up for the Scots to design.
"13 months ago I had an amendment unanimously passed in the Scottish Parliament, including by Fergus Ewing, where I asked the Scottish Government to set up a team of experts to bring people in and design a bespoke plan. I made it clear that we needed to bring in people from across the sector – not just agricultural experts, but environmentalists, farming groups and consumer groups, to reach an agreement on how we want to see the future of Scottish agriculture," stressed Mr Rumbles.
As has been well documented over the last year, Mr Ewing's agricultural champions have been advising and preparing for the future of the agricultural sector, drawing on their experiences across different parts of the rural economy – so I put it to Mr Rumbles that experts were already in place to offer advice on a future support system.
"This is not the case, Fergus Ewing has misinterpreted the amendment and said that is what he has done but we had the champions in two weeks ago to give us an informal briefing in parliament and we were astonished when they said this was not part of their remit," said Mr Rumbles.
"They went on to say that this pre-dated the appointment of Fergus Ewing, and they were set up under previous secretary Richard Lochhead before a vote ever took place on the EU. The champions instead said their remit was to advise on how to improve Scottish agriculture but nothing to do with setting up a new system, so it came to us as quite a shock on the committee.
Mike Rumbles, Councillor Anne Stirling and Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie, at the Turriff Show.
There is still controversy across the sector over the uptake in Scottish Government grants to plant trees, often, it is suggested, to the detriment of livestock production. I asked Mr Rumbles whether too much focus has been given to achieving planting targets and if food production might be dropping down the priority list.
"We are all agreed that we need to reach the tree planting targets for Scotland and have never done this. To me, you can't look at these things in isolation as it leads to conflict which is what we are seeing across Scotland as some farmers feel they are being ignored.
"There has been too much focus on forestry in isolation of other factors. We do need more cover for trees but to achieve this we need to get farmers on side and see how we can develop a system which supports all parts of the picture. Instead of saying that farms are to be taken over by trees there needs to be a balance of support for farmers to cultivate the land for livestock production also."
Mr Ewing has recently announced a loan scheme for farmers which will allow them to claim 90% of their payments this April – however, farmers can be wary of taking up these loans. How can we restore the public's faith in subsidy payments moving forward?
"Every December for years the money has been paid to our farming businesses," said Mr Rumbles. "That money does not just go in to recipient's bank accounts, it is spent on agricultural equipment, in local shops and villages in places here in Alford or Huntly, or at filling stations and the local corner shop in Lumsden.
"Payments traditionally were available every December and now it has been said that by June the following year farmers will receive their subsidy. Firstly, this is too late, what has happened to this money? £500 million has always gone out in December, it now goes out six months later and only 80-90% of it and that is in loan form. 25% of farmers don't take up the loan which means Fergus Ewing is only putting into the rural economy about two thirds of what it needs. 25% of the population don't trust the Scottish Government and find the system too complicated and secondly, they don't trust them to get it right.
"Too often they have presided over a system which is getting it wrong for farmers. A lot of our farmers don't want to get in to debt and although the loan isn't debt, farmers see it as debt. I have said to Mr Ewing that he should use the words advance payment in order to encourage greater take up by farmers, but he won't do it, blaming EU rules," reported Mr Rumbles.
I asked Mr Rumbles, if he were to step in to Mr Ewing's shoes, what would he do differently?
"The first thing I would address if I was in the power position would be to make sure we went back to delivering payments every December for our rural economy. Even if my civil servants told me I was acting against European rules, I would say tough, this money is due to our farming communities it is going to our farming communities in December every year and I am calling it an advance on their claim.
"They have to put the claim in, but we will pay 80 or 90% of that claim as an advance and the rest of it we would sort it out. I would put an end to the use of the word 'loan' and make sure farmers knew what we were offering was an advanced payment.
"In five years' time is Fergus going to be here? Who knows, but politics changes, I am personally convinced we will have a different government in Scotland but that shouldn't prevent the current rural secretary from planning ahead – it is their duty to plan ahead for a system for the future. Governments have to plan for the future whether it will be under their guidance or not," stated Mr Rumbles.


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Ministry of Corporate Affairs has decided to extend the last date of filing and to relax the additional fees applicable on forms as per the provisions of Companies Act read with rules made there under which have been ought to be filed post transition of MCA 21 w.e.f. 17.01.2013, but could not be filed due to technical issues in MCA-21 system.
1. It is hereby clarified that the following relaxation shall be considered by the Regional Director/Registrar of Companies on case to case basis while allowing for relaxation of fees or extension of last date with regard to forms to be filed by the stakeholders wherein :
(i) Last date of filing for Forms where the due date is falling on or after 17th January, 2013 is without charging additional fee.
(ii) All the documents which have been expired on or after 17th January due to non-submission/re-submission PUCL may be restored back.
(iii) All the cases related to filing of court orders/competent authority where the due date/date of filing was falling on or after 17th January is extended without payment of additional fees.
(iv) Name availability expired due to non-submission of incorporation documents will be made available for filing of the same.
(v) In case of charge documents the due date will be extended by Regional Director on case to case basis where the due date of filing was falling on or after 17/01/2013 and could not be filed.
(vi) The due date in above cases is hereby extended till 28/02/2013.
2. The Regional Director/Registrar of Companies will examine the request on case to case basis upon receipt of request from the stakeholders for allowing the relaxation without levying the additional fee.
3. The process of extending date will be as under:-
a. Company/ professional will make request by e-mail/post with RD/ROC alongwith the supporting documents if, any;
b. RD/ROC will raise ticket on service desk immediately after examining the application;
c. The team of operator will resolve the ticket as per the request of RD/ROC. A system generated mail will be sent to RD/ROC and user will be informed accordingly;
d. User should file the documents within the time given in the email.
4. The Regional Director/Registrar of Companies is authorized to allow such extension of time for filing form/alongwith necessary document. The RD/ROC will raise ticket in the service desk for allowing such extension of time for filing forms.
6. The stakeholders who are able to file the documents on or after 17/01/2013 till the date of this circular are not eligible for any fees relaxation or extension of last dates. Further they are not entitled for any refund.


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Today, Oregon State Rep. E. Werner Reschke introduced a bill urging the Portland Trail Blazers to change their name to the Oregon Trail Blazers. Reception in the state capital was, unamused.
Reschke, of House District 56 in Klamath and Lake Counties, argues the NBA franchise replace Portland with Oregon to better reflect the team's connection to the entire state.
The Oregonian reports Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts responded like this, "It's the Portland Trail Blazers."


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Just in Time to help you deal with the stress of the upcoming Holidays, BookSparks' introduces a new line of She Writes Press books:
If you've ever wondered about communicating with those who have passed, CHANGE MAKER (She Writes Press) by Rebecca Austill Clausen's might be an interesting book for you to check out. It's targeted for people who find themselves struggling in their daily lives, especially on their spiritual paths. It's certainly something that may help anyone in these uncertain times.
I must say upfront, I'm open to reading just about anything. I've read a lot of books that would be called "new age," and my approach is, there's always something to be learned. I ask that you have an open mind. Reading this memoir might be the life changing experience you need.
Rebecca Austill Clausen discovered that she could communicate with her brother after he died. Following this realization, a world she never imagined opened up to her, even as she thought she was losing her mind and feared family and friends would never believe her and colleagues might lose total respect for her. She had to find a way to make her spiritual awakening and eventual spiritual transformation work within the reality of her everyday life. She was a science-based expert in the field of occupational therapy and she had a growing rehabilitation center to operate.
Rebecca Austill Clausen believes her brother's death woke her up and made her examine her own life. With humor, honesty and insight, she asks us to ponder the meaning of life and challenges us to look inside ourselves for answers. Each chapter of CHANGE MAKER explores spiritual beliefs, understanding and ends with an "Illumination" ― guidance, suggestions, encouragement, and inspiration for readers who wish to pursue their own spiritual journey. The end result is a book that blends the best of memoir, self-help, new-age philosophy, and inspiration.
Rebecca Austill-Clausen grew up in New England and now lives in the rolling hills of Chester County, PA. She graduated summa cum laude with an advanced master's degree in occupational therapy from Boston University, and holds a BS in Occupational Therapy from Utica College of Syracuse University. She has initiated hundreds of occupational therapy programs nationwide, serviced over 100,000 clients, and founded highly successful rehabilitation private practices in PA, DE, NJ, LA, and NM. Austill-Clausen has written for eleven professional publications. CHANGE MAKER is her first book.
Connect with Rebecca on Facebook or Twitter @RebeccaAustillC
Thanks to She Writes Press for providing a copy of CHANGE MAKER for an honest review. We have one copy to giveaway. Just tell us the one thing you'd like to change about yourself – something important, not your handwriting, or something lame like that. We'll announce a winner Monday.
Have a lovely weekend.


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Fourcast! 56: Under The Red HoodAugust 2nd, 2010 by david brothers | Tags: Batman, jason todd, movies, podcasts
-Movie review!
-Guess what we're talking about.
-You guessed it!
–Batman: Under the Red Hood
-Esther gives it a thumbs down.
-David gives it a thumbs up.
-The thumbs up and thumbs down are pretty much for the exact same reasons.
-The Jonah Hex short was pretty good, though.
-Here's a trailer:
-6th Sense's 4a.m. Instrumental for the theme music.
-See you, space cowboy!
Subscribe to the Fourcast! via:
–Podcast Alley feed!
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–iTunes Store
Similar Posts:
- Fourcast! 44: Iron Man 2
- Fourcast! 93: Capcast
- Fourcast! 75: Green Hornet
- Fourcast! 89: Don't Call It A Reboot!
- Fourcast! 82: Fourcast! Uncut
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:53 — 30.1MB)


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We have truly abandoned the rule of law when it becomes necessary to hold hearings on whether or not to ban the practice of insider trading for Congressmen. I first read this story on ZeroHedge.
Will Congress simply find a way to route inside information to friends and family? Of course.
The root problem is the greed and wanting of a culture that simply cannot bring itself to do the right thing based on ethical or moral standards... instead our culture simply asks today, "Is this illegal? If it is, what are my chances of getting caught?" If the risk is low, or the act is not prohibited, they give themselves the green light to harvest money based on information that nobody else can obtain. The counter party to whatever trade they are engaged in- is you.
The problem isn't our Congressmen- the problem is our forever wanting and greedy society and culture- finding ways to exploit people they do not know. Finding nothing wrong with that. Confined to Congress? Sorry. We have an entire private banking industry, hundreds of thousands of people, who have proven you can't simply assign this problem to Congress. It is systemic and emblematic of our entire way of life.


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"I thought there were few pleasures left in the world that I had not already experienced, certainly none that were worth expending any effort towards. I must confess, though, to the great thrill I felt when I first bound Agorak the Silent to my will. As delicious as it was, it paled in comparison to the joy I felt when I finally had the opportunity to unleash him on my enemies. Nothing quite like a Dragon to put fear into the hearts of Men. So much better if he's Undead!"
—Constatin von Carstein, Vampire Lord.
Zombie Dragons are the reanimated corpses of long-dead Dragons that were raised from their resting place within the Plain of Bones by the use of powerful Dark Magic.
he Plain of Bones is a harsh and lifeless landscape of multicoloured sand and tainted rock located to the east of the Worlds Edge Mountains, from which protrude huge rib cages of ancient primeval Dragons. This is the place where Dragons of ancient times once came to die, to rest their bones amongst those of their ancestors as they had done for millions of years, before any other sentient beings walked the world.
Here lies the bones of the great ancestral Dragons: skulls the size of castle towers lie mingled with leg bones larger than the mast of an Imperial warship. These bones date from the ancients days of the draconic race. Though today's Dragons are of a lesser breed, they are still incomparably mightier than other races of the world. However, following the arrival of Chaos, the Plain of Bones has since become saturated with large amounts of Dark Magic. This magic eventually contaminated the remains of these Dragons, forcing them to rise once more as the first Zombie Dragons.
Ever since then, Vampires and powerful Necromancers of all kinds have been known to take a pilgrimage to this ancient landscape where they pick through one amongst many Dragon remains. Once he finds a suitable corpse, the Vampire or Necromancer who use the excess Dark Magic that contaminates the land to resurrect the Dragon back to life as his eternal combat mount. These once majestic creatures stagger upright once more with a great despairing roar before stooping to allow their new master to ride atop their powerful shoulders.
Animated by Dark Magic, a Zombie Dragon is borne aloft by great tattered wings, its body covered with thick, withered hide. Though in life it once breathed fire capable of melting steel, a Zombie Dragon can only belch forth a cloud of pestilent gas which strips flesh from bones and corrodes armour. A Zombie Dragon's claws and sword-like teeth remain as deadly as they ever were, and is still capable of ripping an armoured knight in half and swallowing his warhorse in one motion. When such a monster is used as a steed by a powerful Vampire Lord, even the greatest heroes quail before the raw might of undeath, for the combined might of Vampire and his Undead Dragon is enough to break the back of any army sent against them. Wreathed in a fog of rot and surrounded by swarms of blood-hungry flies, a Zombie Dragon can turn the tide of a battle purely by dint of its horrific presence.


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Rosie Tucker - Never Not Never Not Never Not LP
Rosie Tucker - Never Not Never Not Never Not LP
Really happy to help out our new friends New Professor by offering Rosie Tucker's label debut in the UK!
Brilliant catchy and heartfelt indie rock that's a little bit pop, a little bit country. FFO Margaret Glaspy, Hop Along, Frankie Cosmos, The Beths, Cayetana, Ratboys- you're gunna love it!
"Rosie Tucker's songs can be wry and funny, but they're always sincere, with a gift for metaphor and a clear understanding of just how precarious life can be." – NPR Music
"There are many moments on 'Never Not Never Not Never Not' when all of the components (vocals, lyrics, instrumentals) conjoin into one, succinct display of perfection." – The Alternative
Pressing Information
translucent blue green vinyl


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Nadler Hotel Covent Garden
Housed within a beautifully restored six-story Edwardian building overlooking the Strand in the heart of London's Covent Garden, The Nadler Covent Garden hotel was recently refurbished to create stylish accommodation that delivers on comfort, convenience and aesthetic. The Nadler team have done so with a focus on British design at the core of every element of the interior.
The thoughtfully designed interiors offer an elegant colourway of deep blues, clay greys and accents of cherry red which sit alongside metallic touches of brass and copper. Each room features bespoke furniture designed and hand-made locally in west London by Alter, along with luxurious fabric throws and cushions designed and created by Bute Fabrics, made using the finest natural fibres woven at our mill on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Stylish touches, including special edition Paul Smith Anglepoise lamps, echo the focus on quality British design and craftsmanship.
"We are absolutely delighted with the beautiful throws, cushions and fabrics which the team at Bute helped provide for our latest hotel opening in London's Covent Garden. Our focus for our interiors was on sourcing quality British design and craftsmanship, and Bute's heritage, expertise, and passion for creating both visually and texturally stunning fabrics is second to none. We are looking forward to continuing to work closely with their team on further projects for our group."
Tom Johnson-Sabine
Group Marketing Manager, Nadler Hotels


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Pet Fair Asia is coming back on August 18-21, 2016, and will cover the whole 71,000 square-meter space of Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center. With more than 80% of previous exhibitors returning and 140 new companies already confirmed, the show is as large as it was in 2015 – 8 months before opening.
While Chinese manufacturers continue to refocus on their domestic market and book massive stands, a clear trend of foreign pet food manufacturers signing up to attend the show confirms the attractiveness of the market and the premium pet food segment, whose growth is far above the industry average.
As the only global platform combining B2B trade negotiation and B2C public marketing together, Pet Fair Asia is a strong media for brands to achieve a comprehensive and integrated marketing campaign.


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Intlock, established in 2005, is the leading SharePoint & Office 365 Web Analytics, Social Analytics (Yammer, Sitrion, SharePoint Social and more) and Marketing Services provider for Internet, Extranet, and Intranet environments. Intlock develops, markets, and integrates CardioLog Analytics and SharePoint Marketing Suite, the company's flagship products, which enable a full range of web analytics, social analytics and marketing application solutions. Intlock's products provide unique insights that ensure portal and website success.
Internship position: Biz-Dev intern
Internship Responsibilities:
Internship Program
Intlock SharePoint Analytics
Provided by
WUJS – Young Judaea


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Earlier this year, we read GETTING OFF ON FRANK SINATRA, and we're back with the prequel!
FULL SERVICE BLONDE by Megan Edwards (released November 7th, 2017)
Here are the #allthebookreviews thoughts 🙂
Chandra's Thoughts: 4/5 stars
I got to know Copper Black in Getting off on Frank Sinatra .. see my review HERE. She's a feisty journalist with an attitude I absolutely adore and a sense of humor I can laugh out loud to. I can see being real life friends with her. Here we are at a prequel to the Frank Sinatra book and we get to see how Copper fell in love with Las Vegas.
Being a girl who goes to Vegas yearly, I can see the absolute ability to fall in love with Sin City… it's not all just gambling, food, and shows, you know. Legalities are a little different and the people watching is beyond fantastic. Quite frankly, it's not that much different than NYC in my eyes.
We get a glimpse into Copper's personal life a bit more in this book – her relationships with her parents, her first love and her new co-workers. Beyond that, she tries to throw away all preconceived notions and do right by a prostitute – whether she believes in the morality of her work or not. All of this is done with a sharp sense of humor and the all too real struggle of trying to balance all parts of a busy life in a new city. Who HASN'T been there?
It's fun to see her get into her groove with her journalistic research and prowess as she gets comfortable with her somewhat sexist co-workers. She continually convinces herself with each move towards solving this murder mystery that this is definitely the job for her and that Vegas is absolutely the place she should be.
A moderately paced, fun mystery sprinkled with humor and life. I look forward to seeing where Copper ends up in future adventures.
My Thoughts: 5/5 stars
Earlier this year I read Megan Edwards' book GETTING OFF ON FRANK SINATRA and I fell in love with Copper Black. She was such a fun character and it was refreshing to read a mystery and crime fiction novel that wasn't from a detective's point of view. Copper is a journalist and she manages to find herself tangled up in murder cases. FULL SERVICE BLONDE is the prequel to the series and we get to know Copper and how she got her start.
Copper Black is an aspiring journalist – she moved herself out to Las Vegas to work at a newspaper. She's only the Calendar Girl and gets coffee, but she has high hopes in finding a story so that she can finally get her byline. Enter Victoria McKimber. Victoria is stirring up some controversy in the media – she was the top saleswoman for a make up brand (think Mary Kay) and even won their pageant. However, it was later found out that she was a working girl prior to entering the pageant. She wants to tell her story and she has given Copper the exclusive rights to do so. However, when Victoria turns up brutally murdered, Copper finds herself in the middle of the investigation and must release the story so that this killer doesn't get away with murder.
I really enjoyed the mash up of humor in this crime novel. Much like GETTING OFF ON FRANK SINATRA it's a more lighthearted murder and investigation story (if there could be such a thing!). This prequel we get to know Copper better and how she got to where she was in book one. Juggling her family, her long-distance boyfriend, helping her brother, and now trying to get her name out there as a journalist, we get to see how she operates under pressure.
I did like getting the glimpse into the world of legal prostitution in Las Vegas. That's definitely something I knew absolutely nothing about. I've never been to Vegas, and much like book one, I really liked having the scenery set so vividly for me. This book kept a good pace and with a likeable main character, it's hard to not get pulled in!
Overall, if you want a crime fiction novel with some humor then I would highly recommend FULL SERVICE BLONDE (and picking up book one!). I'm definitely hoping for a book three to see what new story Copper Black gets sucked into next.
Have you read the Copper Black series?


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What went wrong?!
It has been reported by the BBC that Argos have had issues with their new roll out of their redesigned eCommerce site. And for the second most popular eCommerce destination to be effectively down for 2 days this has a huge impact for online revenue and also the Argos brand. So what could have gone wrong with the roll out and what lessons can other online retailers learn from this.
The first item to look at is the time of year that this occurred, the end of October. Like many retailers Argos will have a code freeze in November to ensure that the platform is stable for the pre-Christmas sales and also for the Christmas trading period. Code freezes normally last until after the January sales and it is a good way to ensure that no changes happen that could effect sales. So this major release looks like it had to go in before a code freeze starts. Because of the issues that Argos saw over the last couple of days, it is safe to assume that the deployment was not fully tested and was rushed to put live just so that it can go in before the code freeze.
The second item to look at, is when the issues occurred on production, why did they not roll back to the previous version of the code? With every new release that a retailer makes the roll back strategy has to be the most important part of the deployment. As this provides the insurance that when things go wrong, and with software they will at some point go wrong, that there is a backup plan that allows minimal distribution to sells. The fact that they did not go back suggests that either this was too big a release with too many changes to other components that they could not go back, or they did not have a roll back plan.
The third item to look at, is now that the site is stable and is live, is it performing at the most optimal for a retailer that is number 2 in the IMRG and Experian top 100 list. Looking at Google Page speed, it is currently getting a B grade and for YSlow it is getting a D grade. We would expect them to be getting an A grade on both of these. Also the page load time for the homepage is taking over 5 seconds to load and has just over 1.4MB of data. Both of these are not good for mobile and tablet users. The normal rule of thumb is that if a page takes over 4 seconds to load, the shopper will normally switch off and look at another site. Checking for W3C errors, on the homepage there are 7 errors; W3C errors will effect how the page is rendered on certain browser and can stop the purchase path.
So what can other retailers learn from this:
1. Test, Test and Test; Perform User Acceptance Tests, Load testing and full regression testing before you go-live and if there are any problems that will effect trading, don't push it live to meet a deadline. In Argos case they should have pushed it back a couple of weeks and have gone live during code freeze. It is a big strong decision to make by a eCommerce Director, but if it saves bad press and more importantly loss of revenue then it would be the best decision to make.
2. Plan every release so that it has a clearly defined and tested roll back strategy. For smaller releases this is easy, however for large releases this requires lots of planning and testing. And when things start to go wrong was a release, don't be afraid to roll back and try again. Valuable lessons can be leant when a release goes wrong and can be used to improve future releases.
3. If you are releasing something new to your website, make sure that it is the best quality with A grades on both Page Speed and YSlow, with 0 W3C errors and that all pages load in under 4 seconds.
InventCommerce are a Solution Integrator for Hybris, Magento and Demandware, we have a wealth of experience in eCommerce projects, releases and international expansion.