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Innovating Treatment Success
Brilliant therapy is being done every day. What's being done to make it last?
Join The Movement
Recognized leaders in transition support, anywhere you call home.
Prepping parents for their game changing role during and after treatment.
Celebrating and maintaining positive change through the use of mobile technology.
Not By Chance
How Parents Boost Their Teen's Success In and After Treatment
Your struggling teenager is going to a residential or wilderness treatment program. Their addictions, learning disabilities, or emotional/behavioral issues have brought you to a moment of decision. Heartsick, anxious, and exhausted, questions bounce endlessly around your mind, "Will this work? Was this really necessary? Will she ever forgive me? Can we handle him at home when the time comes?"
Dr. Tim Thayne delivers the answers in his groundbreaking book Not by Chance. As an owner/therapist of wilderness and residential programs, Thayne was frustrated when young people made monumental progress, only to return home where things quickly unraveled. His mission became to vastly improve long-term success by developing and proving a model to empower parents with clarity and a specific game plan for the pivotal role they play in treatment and transition.
Not by Chance engages readers through solid research, simple exercises, and captivating stories taken from Thayne's own life and the living rooms of hundreds of American homes. This book serves up concrete tools, hope, confidence, and stamina for families, professionals and mentors.


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We are a local, top rated tour company and are proud of the service we provide. We treat all of our guests as friends and will take your holiday wish list and turn it into reality to give you a taste of Scotland's magic in one tremendous day out.
We mean it when we say
"arrive as a guest and leave as a friend".
We provide truly private tours for a maximum of four people.
To give you a simple choice, we have three ready-made tours for you to choose from. However, we pride ourselves in being able to create something extra special just for you by tailoring your day tour to the things you particularly want to see. Nothing is too much trouble.
Small group tours from Aberdeen with collection from your accommodation. We will create a varied day to include some of the best that Aberdeenshire has to offer. Balmoral Castle on Royal Deeside; Whisky Tours; Aberdeen City Tour; beaches with seals and the occasional whale; tranquil, picturesque gardens; spectacular Slain's and Dunnottar Castles to name just a few things to do and see in Aberdeen and the surrounding area. Contact us to discuss what we can show you.
Aberdeenshire Tours operates day tours from Aberdeen and will take you on a private, bespoke, customised chauffeur driven magical visit to some of the best spots in the north east of Scotland. Based in the heart of Aberdeenshire, we offer private tours to castles, gardens, distilleries, stone circles, beaches or countryside – you decide.
We will collect you from your accommodation and return you there on completion of your tour. All you have to do is enjoy your trip!
Sit back, relax and enjoy being driven by an advanced driver in a comfortable, spacious private car with your own experienced local guide. We will endeavour to ensure that you get the most from your time in the north east of Scotland, sharing local knowledge gleaned from years of living and working in the region, taking you to hidden gems off the beaten track to make your trip a fun and memorable one.
Photos From Our Tours
Well Reviewed
We are proud of our all 5-star review from our guests.
You can read more on our site and tripadvisor.
A Look Inside our world
Read more about the places we visit and all the locations that make us proud and want to take you around rural Aberdeenshire and beyond.
We can't wait to meet you, to have you as our guests and have you leave as our friends.
We offer tours to some of Scotland's most beautiful attractions with private, bespoke day tours customised especially for you.
YOur Guide
I am a retired police officer who has worked as a Guide for The National Trust for Scotland. Passionate about meeting new people and telling them about this amazing area, I now run Aberdeenshire Tours.

subset: commoncrawl


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Random Keyword Method For Resource Boxes
Random Keyword Method For Resource Box Backlinks
Avoid keyword over-optimization and go for a more natural looking link profile. That is what the random keyword method does.
Here a quick example how your backlinks look like compared to the classic method of backlinking and the new random method:
|Normal Method:
|Random Method:
|Find a great auto repaircompany here.Find a good auto repair service here.
Find good auto repair shops here.
Get more info about auto repair here.
Auto repair's official website can be found here.
Great discounts available now at auto repair.
Auto repair discounts. Click here for details!
Interested in cheap auto repair? Read more here.
View this homepage for a 25% auto repair discount.
25% discount on auto repair at this website!
|Find a great auto repaircompany here.Find a good auto repair service here.
Find good auto repair shops here.
Get more info about auto repair here.
Auto repair's official website can be found here.
Great discounts available now at autorepair.com.
Auto repair discounts. Click here for details!
Interested in cheap auto repair? Read more here.
View this homepage for a 25% auto repair discount.
25% discount on auto repair at this website!
Instead of using the same anchor text keyword in your backlinks all the time, the random keyword method let's you variate keyword phrases in your anchor text. You can use keword qualifiers, LSI keywords, brand keywords, long-tail keywords and you can even automatically sprinkle in the so important generic keywords like "click here" or "read more".
Why is that important? After the Google Penguin update in 2012, keyword over-optimization and an unatural link profile that doesn't contain backlinks from ALL different types and sources can lead to penalties and loss of rankings. Please check out our Post-Penguin Linking Guide for more information!
For explanation and demonstration purposes, we show you below resource box variations for a fictitious web site using the new random method. In this resource box we want to have two different URLs hyperlinked, a couple of money keywords and also sprinkle in some generic anchor text:
Money Keywords:
auto repair
auto repair service
auto repair shops
Universal Generic Keywords:
more info
official website
click here for details
view homepage
this website
find here
Yes, we can use ALL these URLs and keywords in one single resource box (in its variations)! Click here to open the full results in a separate window.
Supported Distribution Methods
Where does this work? Random resource boxes can be used for UAW, AMA, DYA, SYA, ADS and Web 2.0 or any other use of yours where you can append resource box variations.
Random Anchor Text Linking
Why is this method called "random"? Because this method can randomly hyperlink multiple URLs with different keywords together. You can NOT define which keyword should be hyperlinked with which URL, the system will pick a keyword and an URL to link to randomly.
The are many advantages to this method. One single resource box order can:
- Use multiple (money, LSI, brand etc.) keywords
- Use multiple URLs
- Automatically add generic keywords such as "click here" and "find out more" (Penguin!)
- Lower risk of keyword over-optimization (Penguin!)
- Achieve more natural linking (Penguin!)
Generic Keyword Option:
Note: This option must be ordered separately (no extra costs)!
Adding universal generic keywords like "click here" or "read more" etc. is optional but strongly recommended. It's very powerful. You don't need to come up with generic keywords yourself, our system automatically fetches generic keywords from our database of hundreds of different universal keywords as soon as you decide to use the generic keyword option.
Why would you want to use universal keywords as anchor text? Since the Google Penguin update, over-optimization of money keywords in anchor texts has become subject to penalties! You have to link more naturally, which includes generic keywords. Did you know that the biggest part of your backlinks should be generic links? Don't believe us? Do your own research or look at our Post-Penguin Linking Guide.
URL Variation Option:
Note: This option must be ordered separately (no extra costs)!
The URL variation option adds a very special twist to random resource boxes. This is optional but recommended to use just occasionally. What it does is create different variations of one source URL (you can only provide one URL for this option). For example if you provide the URL http://www.autorepair.com and turn-on the URL variation option, the system will automatically use the following URLs during the anchor text hyperlinking process:
Multiple Resource Versions Required:
Every resource box can only contain one or two links. So in order to be able to create links for all these keywords we must write multiple resource boxes where every resource box contains different links. The more resource box versions you chose, the more keywords and URLs can be hyperlinked. Here are the available packages:
For example, if you chose the 40 resource box variation version then it's just $2.65 total!
Number of Keywords and URLs supported per resource box order:
Please look at the picture above for the numbers.
For example, the the 40 resource box variation version package supports up to 10 different anchor text keywords and 4 different URLs, the 200+ resource box version up to 10 keywords and 8 URLs etc.
Important: The resource box keywords you provide us must be related to each other and to the URLs (unless they are generic keywords). For example, you can't give us three resource box keywords like "car repair", "dog training" and "house repair" for one resource box order but all keywords must be like "car repair", "car repair service", "care repair shop" etc. OR "dog training", "dog training course, "dog training trainer" etc. Also, each keyword must fit to the each and every URL as we will hyperlink each keyword randomly with every URL!
Minimum Order Setup
When you want to order a random resource box, you must order a minimum of 15 versions and provide at least one URL and two keywords.
Recommended are 40 resource boxes with up to 4 URLs and 10 different keywords, whereas the keywords can be a mix on money keywords and generic ones depending on your needs.
Important: If you want to use the generic anchor text option where we automatically add add generic backlinks like "click here" or "read more" etc, then you must instruct us doing so. This doesn't cost extra Just tell us to "also use generic keywords!"
Possible Powerful Combinations
There are multiple ways you can make the random method work for you to optimize your linking. Here are some examples:
A) Link with more money keywords, LSI keywords, long-tail and keyword qualifiers:
auto repair
auto repair service
automobile repair service
car repair shop
auto repair shops
auto repair shop
mobile auto repair
ford auto repair
new york auto repair
auto repair new york city
As you can see, this setup doesn't use the generic keyword option but different variations of your main keyword with the same meaning but different words (LSI), long-tail (phrases containing multiple words) etc. This way you can avoid over-optimization but still rank better for your core keyword term. There is a whole universe of possible keywords for any niche and a good keyword tool can help you find them quickly.
B) If your link profile shows over-optimization or if you already have been hit by Penguin, try 100% generic keywords to bring your link profile back to normal:
read this
find here
this website
click the link
click website
is here
This example has no single money keyword as anchor text backlink but all generic keywords. Why would you do that? If your link profile shows clear keyword over-optimization then this is a great way to reduce the optimization back to normal levels quickly. Also, a natural link profile contains a huge part of such universal anchor text. You just must have such links, there is no way around it.
This example also uses the URL variation option, that means the keywords will be hyperlinked to different versions of the same URL, one time with "www", then without, one time with a slash at the end, next time without etc.
C) Don't forget to deep-link through to the other web pages of your site!
auto repair
auto repair service
automobile repair service
car repair shop
auto repair shops
auto repair shop
mobile auto repair
ford auto repair
new york auto repair
auto repair new york city
Often forgotten but hugely important for a natural link profile and for putting ranking power to sub-pages, deep-link to your inner pages as well and not only to your homepage. In this example the random keyword method will randomly link all the keywords to one of the four URLs.
Check out the example here!
Check out our Post-Penguin Linking Guide for more info and resources!


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Managing a business requires that you're equally enterprising, know how to minimize costs and maximise profits without compromising on standards.
But as easy as that may sound, running a business is not an easy task as you'll have factor various costs especially if it's a start up and you're relatively new to the terrain.
You'll need to think about rental space, employee salaries, product quality and industry standards et cetera. All of these business factors will impact on your running costs and will have to be taken into consideration when drawing up your budget and business plan.
However, what most business owners fail to consider if how much they could save and improve productivity and efficiency if they learn to minimise energy costs in running their enterprise.
Here are smart ways to reduce your business energy costs and make huge savings on your budget.
Run Your Business Data and Application in Cloud Computing
Cloud computing does away with the need for energy wasting servers and you can use eco energy based
services in the cloud.
"To ensure that your business is as environmentally friendly as possible, ensure that your cloud service provider has implemented Green IT policies. When selecting a provider, enquire about their energy saving servers, cooling racks, and any other eco-friendly systems they have in place." – Brendan Wilde umbrellar.com
Set energy efficient policy
Most utility companies have off time and peak times during the day. Depending on your power company, this is an advantage you could explore by only using excess energy during the low or off peak times. You should also set the same guidelines for you staff and see how energy bills take a nosedive.
Switch to LED and CFL lighting
LED and CFL lights use up less power and yet office longer life-spans. LED high bays can even you're your company or enterprise up to 75% in energy usage.
In addition to these amazing benefits, You'll discover that by replacing your current lighting to LED or CFL, you could make extra savings as you'll only need to change the luminaire rather than the entire fixture. This is called retrofitting, which can be done in practically any existing feature with lighting technology and helps you minimise costs with cheaper lights and easier installations.
When not in use, put laptops and computers in hibernation or sleep mode
By putting your laptops and other computer devices in hibernation mode, you'll conserve energy and still be able to continue your current work from you left off. So make a habit of programming your workstation to switch to hibernation mode during weekends and after working hours, and encourage your staff to do same.
Other equipment too…
Not in sleep or hibernation mode, actually; but still the same principle and objective of ultimately saving energy costs.
What most people don't realise is that even when not in use but still plugged in to the power source, office equipment like air conditioners, printers, scanners, lights, microwave and coffee vending machines continue to draw power. So to reduce energy costs and save on power bills, make sure to switch all equipment off.
Cut out paper wastage
Reduce paper wastages and don't print if it's not necessary. This will also help cut down on the energy needed to run the printer, thereby reducing your energy costs and increasing the life span of your printer.
Use programmable thermostat
A programmable thermostat will automatically adjust to the required temperature in the workplace when there's no or less body in the office or work environment; which can help make significant for your business.


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Kenyan Asians shut up shop during election period
Issued on: Modified:
Kenya's South Asian community has been doing business in the country for over 100 years. Looking back to the violence that followed the country's last elections, they are pulling down the shutters for much of next week, just in case there's a repetition.
At the Shree Laxminarayan Hindu Temple in Kisumu, the South Asian business community has gathered to pray for a peaceful election.
After the last vote five years ago, looters and arsonists took to Kisumu's streets, devastating the local economy.
Dipak Upadhyay owns a stationery store on Kisumu's main drag.
"Up to 15 February it was bad, in fact," he remembers. "Nobody was opening the business because two or three ministers had been killed, so many riots around here."
Upadhyay says he and his fellow shopkeepers will again shut their doors on 4 March for at least three days.
Kenyans of South Asian origin, whose relatives came to Kisumu over 100 years, own most businesses here.
"We started also community policing here, Asian people," he says. "We are moving from 7-11 every night. We don't act like a police, we just gather information, if we see something suspect, a big group gathering, we just pass the message so that they're acting."
Last time, Upadhyay says, the police stood by and watched as looters broke windows and carried out a shop's entire stock.
Few had insurance to cover such loss but now many have acquired political-violence insurance. But the risk of unrest - and therefore the premiums - are high.
Most stores are located on Odinga Odinga Street, named after Kenya's first vice-president, whose son Raila is running for the presidency in this election. Residents here fear what may happen in Kisumu if he does not win the 4 March vote.
Pete Owiti opened a coffee shop just before the last elections.
"Kisumu received us very well," he says. "By that time there was no coffee shop in Kisumu, we were the only café there so we had a lot of local and expatriate market coming to our café everyday, so sales were growing."
When riots began in Kisumu, Owiti's clientele left.
"The business had barely been running for three months. The way things turned out, it forced us to shut the business."
He now owns several successful businesses in Nairobi but hopes for security in Kisumu, so his coffee shop can make a comeback and his clients return.


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Subscribe To Zoe Kravitz And Sophie Okonedo May Join M. Night Shyamalan's Next Movie Updates
I've already subscribed
It's hard to imagine that there's anyone out there who is really excited to see the next movie from director M. Night Shyamalan. As many were quick to point out after the critical failure of The Last Airbender, each of the films that he has directed since have gotten worse and worse reviews, hitting their lowest point with last year's summer film. His next project, 1000 AE, was first announced late last year and has both Will and Jaden Smith slated to star. But what about the female side of the equation? He's taking care of that now, according to THR.
Zoe Kravitz and Sophie Okonedo are now in talks for roles in Shyamalan's upcoming science-fiction adventure film. The script, which was recently tinkered with by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan after drafts by Gary Whitta and Shyamalan himself, is set 1,000 years after humans have been forced to vacate Earth (as the title implies). Will Smith will play a warrior with a disappointing son - played by Jaden Smith - but when the two of them crash land on Earth it's up to the son to save the father. Should the end up making a deal and accepting their roles, both Kravitz and Okonedo will be a part of the family as well, the former playing the sister/daughter and the latter playing the mom/wife. Production is scheduled to begin at the beginning of next year and the studio, Columbia Pictures, is looking at a June 2013 release date.
As horrible as Will Smith's nepotism has been as of late, at least he's letting this one go. I do have to wonder, though, just how hard he fought to get Jada Pinkett and Willow the parts mentioned above.


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Send the perfect Mother's Day card to a mum-to-be with our range of designs especially for a pregnant mum. Make it special by adding a photo of mum and bump or a funny picture of the family. You can also add custom text to many designs and a special message inside.
Delivered 7 days a week - 20% OFF Flowers using code FLOWER20
Choose your view:
Product information:
Excludes glasses, china mugs, book and a small selection of other gifts (see product pages for details).Flowers include FREE courier delivery 7 days a week.
Click here for delivery information per product.
© 2019 funkypigeon.com Limited, County Gates, Ashton Road, Bristol, BS3 2JH, UK | Terms & Conditions
© 2019 funkypigeon.com Limited | Terms & Conditions
County Gates, Ashton Road, Bristol, BS3 2JH, UK


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PetBling.ca has a huge selection of pet supplies including designer dog collars from manufacturers such as Up Country and Red Dingo.
Click Here To View Our Selection of Collars
Click Here To View Our Selection of Custom Engraved Deisgner Pet ID Tags
PetBling.ca is Canada's online pet supply store. We offer a large selection of quality dog accessories at unbeatable prices with Free Shipping to anywhere in Canada.


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- If the talent (that's me!) must work in a cubicle, a mini-bar will be required. If a full office is provided, a regular bar is acceptable.
- The talent will not take part in Casual Friday, but will instead observe Formal Friday. On this day, she will wear a gown and tiara and fully expects to be addressed as Her Serene Highness (Note: Tiara is optional for other work days)
- The talent will not be subjected to wearing a uniform, but is open to and encouraging of interesting headgear (fascinators, headdresses, hats, butterfly henins etc. Also see above note regarding tiara).
- If in the performance of duties the talent is required to terminate another employee, the news will be delivered in the form of song (Bye, Bye Mein Lieber Herr, from Cabaret)
Speaking of government cheese, it looks like I will have to wait a little longer for mine. It is (for now, anyway) only temporary, but I am back working for my former company until our assets are sold. That's right, I have unlocked the disco file cabinet (sadly, I don't have a picture handy, but it is sparkly blue and sparkles just a little brighter whenever I sing "Fernando" while waiting on hold!) and am back in business. If the right party wins the bid, there is a chance it would mean that I could stay working in my little home office wonderland indefinitely. While the part of me that shuns change and enjoys wearing my dia de los muertos sugar skull pajama bottoms to work finds great relief in this idea, I am not counting on it. Instead, I am resisting the urge to get too comfortable with the familiarity and am trying to treat this project like any other temp job. If this work out, that will be great (even ideal!), but in case it doesn't, I have to stay open to other opportunities. Sadly, my former boss (who was in my head and a few of my issue logs known as J.Gro...it all comes full circle!) has already moved on, so I am no longer working with him, but my new J.Gro seems pretty nice as well.
Until next time, here is some Wham Rap! It would have adopted it as my unemployment anthem, if only I were livin' in a gangsta's paradise like 1980's George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. Some of us just aren't street like they were!


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Client: SPANA
Date: August 2016
Campaign Title: Holiday regrets
To help raise awareness of SPANA's campaign for responsible tourism they ran a story on peoples holiday regrets. We helped put together an interactive ThingLink infographic of the top 10 regrets to go out with the story. The infographic was embedded on over 150 sites and received thousands of interactions.


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Ten Days of working out, and watching what I eat. I have been good for ten days straight. The hardest part sometimes is just getting started in the morning, and convincing myself that it will be worth it. Many years ago I read that it takes 14 days for an action to become a habit, apparently, the research now suggest that it takes 21 days for an activity to become a habit.
One of the exercises this week was to ask one of your mentors about motivation. I really look up to one of the trainers at the gym. Melinda has a great body, and she is always upbeat. She even has four children! I told her it was hard to get to the gym that day, and she told me "Somedays, I have the same feeling." It was comforting to know, that even someone like her has issues with getting going sometimes. It really made my day.


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1920s wedding venues in Denver
A while back I wrote a post about beautiful Parrish-esque Michigan gardens that I thought would make a good venue for 1920s weddings in Michigan. Since I actually live in Denver, I often get emails from people asking about Denver venues for a Roaring Twenties themed wedding. Unfortunately, I usually have to tell them I don't know, because my husband and I didn't actually get married here.
However, over the summer I actually attended a couple of weddings that were held in appropriate venues for a 1920s theme. One was my sister's wedding ceremony, which was held at Cheesman Park on the steps of the pavilion. The pavilion is a marble structure with the classical architecture typical of the Art Nouveau period, which continued into the early 1920s. Although my sister's wedding was Victorian-themed, I can imagine a 1920s wedding here too.
My sister's wedding reception was at the nearby Parkside Mansion, which also could be a very good 1920s wedding venue. Although the mansion was built in 1905, the architecture has the same chunky look that you see in 1920s homes. Because of the house's setup, you could easily hold a Gatsby-style party in the parlor or the rooftop patio.
You could also hold a speakeasy-themed reception at practically any venue (perhaps enabling you to save money by avoiding an expensive wedding venue). For instance, a warehouse or a basement can easily be decorated as a Prohibition-era secret party, complete with spoken passwords that guests have to give in order to gain entrance. There are no doubt tons of venues in Denver where you could do something like this, so I'll let your imagination do the rest.
But rather than making suggestions, I'm really interested in hearing what other people are doing. If you are planning a 1920s wedding and have already chosen a venue, let's hear about it! What made you choose the venue? How are you decorating it to play up the Roaring Twenties theme? Feel free to link to pictures or the venue's website if you want.
Labels: 1920s theme


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Modelo '89 Beige
Only 1 left.
• Upper: Genuine leather certified by the Leather Working Group (LWG).
• Lining: 100% Organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
• Removable insole: 100% recycled PU, 100% organic cotton cover (GOTS).
• Outsole: 30% natural and 70% synthetic rubber mix.
• Laces: 100% Organic cotton certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS).
• Reinforcements: mix of recycled thermoplastic & woodchips.
We plant 2 trees for each pair | +40.000 trees planted, and counting.
Transit time for EU/US/CA orders is 48h-72h. For other orders is 3-5 days more. Any custom charges outside the EU will be satisfied by the customer.Returns policy:
Our returns policy allows you to return unused products within 14 days of receiving them. Return shipping costs and additional duties and taxes are not covered by Wado.
Maintain the smooth leather of your shoes with a damp cloth and periodically clean them with a specific product spray or colorless leather paste. We do not recommend putting your Wado in the washing machine. If you still want to do so, we are exempt from all responsibilities.
Related Products
AVAILABILITY: In stock (14 items)
PRODUCT TYPE: Modelo '89


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The NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) has published its fiscal year 2018 Federal Funding Opportunity for Ocean Exploration (NOAA-OAR-OER-2018-2005296) on Grants.Gov.
A pre-proposal is a prerequisite for submission of a full proposal and the deadline for receipt of pre-proposals was 5:00 pm EDT on August 28, 2017.
OER will evaluate pre-proposals and either encourage or discourage applicants to submit a full proposal. The decision to submit a full proposal is up to the applicant.
Full proposals are due at 5:00 pm EST on December 8, 2017.
All applicants should read the federal funding opportunity (see link below) and are encouraged to visit the NOAA Ocean Explorer website to familiarize themselves with past and present OER-funded activities.
Quick Links pertinent to this funding opportunity include:
Contact Information for OER Federal Funding Opportunity
OER Federal Funding Opportunity
1315 East-West Highway, SSMC3, Room 10210
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-734-1010
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Email Updates | User Survey | Contact Us | Report Error | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Site Info | Site Index
Revised August 29, 2017 by the NOAA Ocean Explorer Webmaster
Office of Ocean Exploration and Research | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
U.S. Department of Commerce


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Brass Lantern
Bed & Breakfast
PO Box 1735
331 2nd Ave
Seward, AK 99664
907.224.3419 (phone)
907.224.6408 (fax)
email us
Steve & Maureen Lemme
$170 a night for two guests. Each additional guest is $20 per night. Sleeps four comfortably.
Please call for pricing, as rates are subject to change. Winter season (October-April) rates are also available.
A deposit is required to secure your reservation. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Personal Checks and Cash.
We are open year round!
Check-in: 5pm-8pm
Check-out: 12 noon
Cancellation Policy: 30-day notice required. Refunds for early departures are not available unless we are able to rebook the unit.
Pets: We are unable to accommodate your four-legged friends.
Smoking: Non-smoking rooms. Smoking is only allowed outside on the patio.
TV, DVD, WiFi, CD Player, Radio, Coffee Pot, Microwave, Stove, Refrigerator, Propane Grill, Deck and Patio.


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The authors concluded that video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was superior to open lobectomy, in five-year overall survival, for patients with stage I lung cancer, but the findings should be carefully interpreted due to the low level of evidence. Despite some limitations (non-randomised controlled trials, and unknown comparability of groups), their cautious conclusion appears to be reliable.
To compare video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and open lobectomy, for the treatment of stage I lung cancer.
MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and EMBASE were searched, up to July 2011, for studies published in English. Search terms were reported.
Clinical trials that compared video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery with open lobectomy, in patients with clinical or pathological stage I lung cancer, were eligible for inclusion. Patients had to have no extrapulmonary metastasis, no previous treatment for lung cancer, and no previous or simultaneous malignancies. They had to have good lung function and be able to tolerate open lobectomy. Trials of patients with unresectable lung cancer or recurrent disease after lobectomy were excluded. The treatment groups had to have similar baseline patient characteristics.
Included trials were conducted in Japan, China or the USA. Where reported, the mean age of patients ranged from 62 to 67.7 years, and 56% of them were male. Some trials included patients with stage IA cancer, and others included patients with stages IA or IB. All trials reported the clinical or pathologic stage of lung cancer.
The authors did not state how many reviewers were involved in study selection.
Three reviewers independently evaluated trial quality, but the criteria assessed were not reported.
The data were extracted to calculate odds ratios, with 95% confidence intervals. The outcomes of interest included overall survival, local recurrence rates, systemic recurrence rates, and complications. Three reviewers independently extracted the data.
Pooled odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, using both random-effects and fixed-effect models. If the results did not differ between the two models, the random-effects results were reported. Heterogeneity was assessed using Χ² and Ι². Ι² values of less than 25% were considered low and values greater than 50% were considered high. Publication bias was assessed in funnel plots.
Nine controlled trials (eight non-randomised and one randomised) were included in the review (1,362 participants). The median follow-up ranged from 4.6 months to 68.1 months.
Overall survival: This was significantly longer for patients who had video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery than for those who had open lobectomy, at five years (OR 2.01, 95% CI 1.44 to 2.78; Ι²=17%; eight trials), but no statistically significant difference was found at one year (two trials) and at three years (two trials). The funnel plot for five-year survival revealed potential publication bias.
Other outcomes: There was no statistically significant difference in local recurrence between video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and open lobectomy (six trials). Systemic recurrence was significantly lower with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.29 to 0.90; Ι²=0; five trials). The complication rate was significantly lower with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.23 to 0.57; Ι²=59%; three trials); heterogeneity was significant. Three trials reported that pathological disease in lymph nodes (N1 and N2) was found, in both groups, after surgery, with no significant difference between groups.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery was superior to open lobectomy, in five-year overall survival, for patients with stage I lung cancer. The findings should be carefully interpreted due to the low level of evidence.
The review addressed a clear question and was supported by appropriate inclusion criteria. Relevant databases were searched for trials published in English. No specific attempts to identify unpublished studies were reported, so relevant studies may have been missed. Appropriate methods to reduce reviewer error and bias were used for data extraction and quality assessment, but it was unclear whether similar methods were used in study selection. The authors stated that overall level of clinical evidence was low, but the quality details for the included trials were not reported. Appropriate methods were used to pool the data, but the reasons for statistical heterogeneity in the complication rate were not investigated. The authors noted the limitations of their review, which were the small samples, low level of clinical evidence, and publication bias.
Given that most of the trials were not randomised, and the unknown comparability of the treatment groups, the authors' conclusion that their findings should be interpreted with caution appears to be reliable.
Practice: The authors stated that video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy was a beneficial alternative to open lobectomy, for selected patients with pulmonary lesions, and it should be promoted even though the procedure was more complex.
Research: The authors stated that further randomised controlled trials were needed to clarify the value of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, compared with open lobectomy, for stage I lung cancer.
Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Liao Ning BaiQianWan Talents Program.
This is a critical abstract of a systematic review that meets the criteria for inclusion on DARE. Each critical abstract contains a brief summary of the review methods, results and conclusions followed by a detailed critical assessment on the reliability of the review and the conclusions drawn.


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Maggie McNamara, The Twilight Zone, "Ring-a-Ding Girl," 1963
The Twilight Zone
Season 5, Episode 17: "Ring-a-Ding Girl"
Original U.S. broadcast airing: December 27, 1963
Actress Maggie McNamara (June 18, 1929 – February 18, 1978) guest starred in this classic Twilight Zone episode, one of my favorites. McNamara was a model turned actress, and had success in her early films (1953 film "The Moon Is Blue" and the 1954 film "Three Coins in a Fountain" among them) and on stage. Many compared her to Audrey Hepburn and Debbie Reynolds. However, her career declined, and she committed suicide by overdose at age 48. She was supporting herself as a typist at the time of her death. A thoughtful bio piece about McNamara's life is posted at Letter from Here, "Looking Back: Maggie McNamara.
The Twilight Zone was Rod Serling's groundbreaking TV show and the sci-fi/fantasy show was on the air from 1959-1964. Serling won a Golden Globe as best TV producer/director and two Emmys for writing, among other awards and nominations. In 2009, the US Postal Service issued a pane of twenty 44¢ commemorative postage stamps honoring early USA television programs. A booklet with 20 picture postal cards was also issued. Twilight Zone was one of the TV shows commemorated.
Episode synopsis (spoiler alert!):
Hollywood movie actress Bunny Blake (Maggie McNamara) receives a ring from her fan club in her home town. In the ring, she sees the faces of people from her hometown, telling her she's needed there. She arrives by plane in Howardville from Hollywood to visit her sister and nephew (Mary Munday, David Macklin) on the day of the town's annual Founder's Day picnic. She receives more mysterious warnings from the ring, and tries to convince the picnic chairman to postpone the event, but he refuses. She then announces on the local TV station that she will be performing a one-woman show at the high school auditorium. As rain pours down, news comes in that a jet airliner has crashed at the town's picnic grounds. Bunny disappears into the rain. Countless lives were saved because nearly everyone in the town is at the auditorium instead of the picnic grounds. Bunny's dead body is found in the wreckage – she was a passenger on the plane.
Maggie McNamara, The Twilight Zone, "Ring-a-Ding Girl," 1963


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3,129 SQ FOOT – 6 BED – 4 BATH – Custom home situated on a cul-de-sac int he quiet neighbourhood of Kettle Valley.
This 4 year home has beautiful curb appeal with a double garage and lots of parking space. Moving into the home the main floor offers an open floor plan with high vaulted ceilings. A large gourmet kitchen with gas range and centre island opens onto the main living space and dinning area with large windows facing lake and mountain views. Sliding doors off of the dining room leads to the large covered, wrap around balcony with gas hook-up. Off of the hall is 3 bedrooms including a king size master suite with walk in closet and ensuite. Downstairs is a self contained 3 bed suite. It has a large family room, dining area and walk out to private balcony. It offers 2 large bedrooms plus a master bedroom with private ensuite. This home is close to Chute Lake Elementary, parks, hiking, biking trails and just a short drive from Lower Mission.
Property Overview
Property Specifications
Building Features
NOTE: MLS® property information is provided under copyright© by the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board. The information is from sources deemed reliable, but should not be relied upon without independent verification. The website must only be used by consumers for the purpose of locating and purchasing real estate.
MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and all related graphics are trademarks of The Canadian Real Estate Association. REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and all related graphics are trademarks of REALTOR® Canada Inc. a corporation owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association and the National Association of REALTORS®.


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The Chaplains Corner
Subject For Today
Decisions are part of our everyday lives. Whenever we make a decision there is a choice to be made between this and that, or one thing or another. These decisions can be simple or complicated, trivial, or life altering. Some changes come about slowly, creep up on us and may be difficult to deal with as far as making the decision we know we should make and may need assistance to make. Others are quick ("In the moment or snap decisions.") Therefore it is important we possess the knowledge to make a decision with wisdom, courage, confidence, and sincerity. For example: When avoiding an accident requiring you to do something quickly which could save your life. This could be a driving situation which requires quick thinking. Your driving ability and body's response play a major part in this type of decision. Another type of decision might be something like surgery. This type may take a little more time or a decision to have it or not. What is the necessity or reason, also urgency? In this case one is trusting in the surgeon, also the assumed outcome based on as much information that can be gathered as quickly as possible so an informed decision can be made.
We all have our limitations and flaws, but in spite of that a decision making situation presents itself and we pray we make the correct one. We have hope, trust and faith with God on our side. We are not alone. Each of us need guidance and direction. Doubts, fears, anxieties, hopelessness can be let go then confidence, trust, and faith fill the gap, a healthy decision can then be made. There are times when simply knowing when to let go and forgive ourselves or someone is the decision to make. In any case it is hope, trust and faith that play leading roles in the process. I often remind myself we are not the judge and are in God's service also we are forgiven. Once we realize this we are free and can ask for direction. (Pray, It Works!) Be kind and loving to yourself and others when making decisions as your decisions may affect others' lives. The way you feel about others often will show and people will respond likewise. Do ask for help when things appear impossible for you, choose wisely and act appropriately. Procrastinating is only putting off what you know should be done. Be honest and truthful with yourself, also those around you, especially when making decisions. Look at the whole picture.
When those decisions affect someone else be compassionate and loving. Remember how people may react and or respond. Sometimes it is difficult to hear the truth or particular information, be respectful of that for yourself and others. As I said earlier decisions always involve choice and action, do this with love. Stay focused on the goal, results will follow your decisions. Answers and results sometimes take time, be patient, others are instantaneous, all require faith and trust. Answers often are within us, pay attention, be prepared in either case. You are loved and can make a difference. When help becomes necessary seek it. Some decisions are harder than others, seek confidence and the knowledge to make them correctly, then trust. Stay connected with your creator rather than trying to muddle through life by yourself. It's a decision, a choice, part of our everyday lives, life altering, simple.
Stop in and say hello. My typical times here at Worcester County Memorial Park are Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 to 12: 30. Other hours may be arranged. Give us a call and let's chat about whatever. As always there is a professional staff here at WCMP to serve you and your family.
Chaplain Ken New


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Rugged build. Fast processor and LTE data speeds. Good battery life.
Back cover came loose when phone was dropped in our tests.
Bottom Line
With a tough build, a powerful processor, and a fast processor and LTE data speeds, the Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro is our top choice for rugged smartphones.
Choosing a smartphone can be tough, especially when you're choosing a tough smartphone—there just aren't that many options available. AT&T makes it easy with the $99.99 Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro, the best rugged smartphone we've tested. It has a tough build, a powerful processor, and smoking fast LTE data speeds, offering an excellent balance of form and function, making it our latest Editors' Choice for rugged smartphones.
Similar Products
Design, Rugged Tests, and Call Quality
The Rugby Pro measures 5.04 by 2.65 by 0.50 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.6 ounces, which makes it a good deal bulkier than the Samsung Rugby Smart , our previous top pick for rugged smartphones. Luckily, that bit of girth is channeled into a bigger display and much faster hardware. The back of the phone is textured black plastic, with a plastic silver lock to make sure it stays put. The sides of the phone, meanwhile, are made of thick, grippy, rubberized plastic.
The 4-inch, 800-by-480-pixel Super AMOLED display is bigger than the 3.7-inch screen on the Rugby Smart, but it's the same resolution, so it isn't as sharp. It still looks bright and saturated, though the PenTile pixel arrangement makes text and images appear fuzzy if you look very closely. The onscreen QWERTY keyboard is just large enough to type on comfortably, though, for some reason, I sometimes had trouble when trying to swipe across the screen horizontally. There are three clicky, textured physical function keys beneath the display, a covered 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, and a covered power port on the bottom. There's a Power button on the right and volume controls on the left, along with an extra, customizable key.
The phone meets U.S. military spec 810G for dust, humidity, rain, shock, and temperature. When all of its ports are tightly closed, you can submerge the Rugby Pro in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes. I placed it in a container of water for 30 minutes with the screen on and it came back out just fine. But as far as dropping the phone, things aren't as reliable. I dropped the Rugby Pro onto the hard, rubbery floor of the PCMag Lab from a height of five feet about ten times. Roughly half of those times the phone's battery cover opened partially, secured only by the lock on the bottom. And twice the phone's battery became dislodged and nearly popped out. So while this phone can stand up to mild abuse, and probably isn't going to break from a fall like your standard smartphone might, you should still be careful with it.
The Rugby Pro uses AT&T's super-fast LTE network, which makes it the first rugged LTE smartphone we've tested. It scales down to HSPA+ where LTE isn't available, and connects to 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz band. It also works a mobile hotspot to share your connection with additional devices with the appropriate data plan.
This is a good voice phone. Reception is strong, and calls sound full and clear in the earpiece, though there's a slight humming sound in the background. Speakerphone quality sounds fine, but it isn't loud enough to hear outdoors. Calls made with the phone sound clear, if a bit robotic, and feature good noise cancellation. In my tests, calls sounded clear over a Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset and Samsung's Siri-like S Voice app worked well. Battery life was very good, at 12 hours and 40 minutes of talk time.
Processor and Apps
Rugged smartphones have been historically underpowered compared to their more fragile counterparts. Not so this time around. The Rugby Pro is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Plus MSM8960 processor, which beats the heck out of the single-core Rugby Smart. It performed very well in our benchmark tests, turning in scores similar to other top-tier phones like the Samsung Galaxy S III . It doesn't match the quad-core performance of a phone like the LG Optimus G, but there aren't many quad-core phones out there yet. The Rugby Pro should be able to handle all of the 600,000+ apps and games in the Google Play store without a problem.
The Rugby Pro runs Android 4.0.4 "Ice Cream Sandwich" with Samsung's TouchWiz extensions. So far, Samsung hasn't announced if this phone will receive an update to Android 4.1 "Jelly Bean." You get five customizable home screens that come preloaded with apps and widgets, some useful, and some not as much. There's a decent amount of bloatware, including an AT&T-branded messaging client and QR code scanner. You can't delete any of it, but you can disable it so it doesn't show up on your Apps page.
There are some useful preinstalled apps, like the aforementioned S Voice. It's not quite Siri, but it does a pretty nice job with voice commands and searches. There's also Kies Air, which lets you view your phone's contacts, messages, and media through a PC's Web browser.
Samsung has added a tiny strip at the bottom of the home screen and Apps menu that allows you slide through pages just by dragging a finger over it, which is helpful. There are also a couple of motion-sensitive controls you can activate: You can flip the phone over to mute the ringer or any other sounds that are playing, and you can shake it to scan for compatible Bluetooth or Kies Air devices.
Multimedia and Conclusions
You get 4.87GB of free internal storage, and there's an empty microSD card slot under the battery (my 32GB and 64GB SanDisk cards worked fine). I was able to play back all of our audio test files except for FLAC, and sound quality was good over both wired headphones as well as Altec Lansing BackBeat Bluetooth headphones. All of our test videos played back at resolutions up to 1080p, though audio stuttered on DivX files.
The 5-megapixel camera is average. Shutter speeds are a little slow, at 1.1 seconds to capture a photo. Both color and detail are slightly above average, and images tend to favor softness instead of noise. The video camera records 720p video at 30 frames per second indoors and out, though details were a little soft on video recorded indoors. There's also a 1.3-megapixel forward facing camera for self portraits and video chat.
If you need a tough smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Rugby Pro is it. Not only is it tough, but it's just as powerful as many other of the high-end phones out there. The LG Optimus G has a more powerful quad-core processor and a larger, sharper display. The Apple iPhone 5, meanwhile, features a gorgeous new 4-inch retina display and an unsurpassed app catalog. And the Nokia Lumia 920 gets you a gorgeous polycarbonate design with Microsoft's latest Windows Phone 8 software. But if you drop any of those phones, chances are, you're going to need to replace it. So if you're tough on your stuff, or just clumsy, the Galaxy Rugby Pro can't be beat.
More Cell Phone Reviews:
LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen
Oppo Reno 2
OnePlus 7T
Punkt MP02
Google Pixel 4


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Healthy Aging
Our activities
Asia Pacific
The demographic shift is a global phenomenon, but particularly critical in East Asia and Pacific which is aging faster than any other region. In December 2016, Bayer therefore initiated a stakeholder dialogue event in Singapore entitled "Transforming Aging with Health Innovation" with the focus on the Asia Pacific region. Chaired by Dr. Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State from the ministry of health in Singapore, this forum brought together high-level stakeholders from across the region to further shape the discussion about the challenges and opportunities of an aging society.
On this occasion Bayer in collaboration with the National University of Singapore launched the open innovation program Grants4Apps Singapore. This global crowdsourcing initiative helps to foster and support innovative digital health technology by challenging developers, startups and entrepreneurs. Its focus in Singapore is to find innovative solutions to improve medication adherence in elderly people with chronic medical conditions.
Health innovation such as new medicines and healthcare technologies has an important role to play in addressing the challenges in our aging societies. Besides helping people live longer, health innovation can also help people live healthier and more productive lives. The forum's panel discussion on "Transforming Aging with Health Innovation" has exactly addressed this topic. It was broadcast on Channel News Asia as an episode of their series "Perspectives", a dedicated TV format focusing on societal themes. Join us in the discussion with the experts:
Voices on Aging from the Experts
We have asked the experts to give us a statement on their view on Healthy Aging. Learn more about the challenges an aging society has to tackle:
Medication adherence in elderly people
One crucial component in the treatment of chronic diseases is medication adherence. It is defined as "the extent to which a person's behavior agrees with the agreed medication regimen from a health care provider". Non-adherence has always been a problem among patients – approximately 50 % of patients do not take their medications as prescribed. And this is not only causing treatment failure but also higher costs and thus consequences for health care systems. Health care providers are faced with a unique set of problems working with patients, various and countless and especially critical for people over a certain age.
Get an impression on how far-reaching the topic of medication adherence is for elderly people and learn more about a few important factors:
With a degrading vision it's even harder for elderly people to read through medical information or to distinguish between similar looking tablets.
With lower cognition elderly people have problems handling and following the medication regimen e.g. remembering what medicine to take, when and how.
Elderly are prone to multiple comorbidities and thus at a higher risk of polypharmacy which results in a higher number of medicines and an even more difficult medication regimen.
Elderly often have to spend a big amount of their retirement for their medicines, even more with multimorbidity.
The lower ability of elderly to open medication packages as well as to break the tablets or other drug handling is often causing non-adherence.
The demographic shift in Asia Pacific
The world's population is facing a demographic shift. This phenomenon is varying from region to region, depending on respective fertility rates as well as life expectancies. Learn more about this fact in Asia Pacific:
Our commitment to Healthy Aging also takes us to Brazil where the demographic shift will soon become more noticeable as the fertility rates continue to decline and longevity increases. This combination means that the population growth rate is slowing while the number of elderly people in the country is steadily rising.
Right now, the Brazilian population is still relatively young in comparison to other countries – the number of people aged 65 and over is just 8% of the population, or 16.5 million people. However, the trend shows that this is set to change over the coming years. By 2050, the number of people aged 65 and over is predicted to almost triple to 23%, or 53.3 million people.
Our event in Sao Paulo, "Longevidade No Brasil – Envelhecimento Saudável Em Evidência" (Longevity in Brazil – putting healthy aging in the spotlight), brings together prominent members of Brazilian society to share their experience and work on the topic of aging. We also invited a patient to speak about their personal experience with aging while living with a chronic disease, as well as an internal expert who discusses Bayer's contribution to the issues of an aging population.
Voices on Aging from the streets of Brazil
We went to the streets of Sao Paulo to ask the public how they felt about getting older. Have a look at our videos to see how they responded:
The demographic shift in Brazil
The intensity of the demographic shift varies from region to region. Its impact in Brazil over the upcoming decades will cause an enormous change in society. Read more about the demographic shift in Brazil:
China is currently the largest population in the world with a total population of 1.4 billion in 2017. It also belongs to the top ten largest countries in the world with the lowest fertility rates. In 2015, the percentage of the total population over the age of 65 was 9.7%, this is predicted to reach 26.3% by 2050 – almost a threefold rise.
Our commitment to Healthy Aging raises awareness of healthy aging through Chinese media outlets in support of the Chongyang Festival. This traditional Chinese festival originates from ancient times and focuses on good health and longevity and is designated "Seniors' Day" in China. It's used as an opportunity to visit elderly relatives in the harvest season – in 2017 the day falls on October 28th.
The demographic shift in China
As the world faces a demographic shift, take a look at how China's population is changing due to longer life expectancy and low fertility rates:
Globally, the population aged 60 or over is the fastest growing. Europe has currently the greatest percentage of its population in this sector, over 24 per cent. In June 2016, Member of European Parliament (MEP) Lambert van Nistelrooij hosted a Bayer initiated stakeholder dialogue on "Harnessing new ways to empower healthy aging in Europe" at the European Parliament in Brussels. Together with our stakeholders, Bayer is helping change public perception of healthy aging by acknowledging and tackling the challenges of a demographic shift and aging worldwide.
Ask the Experts
Our Healthy Aging interview series asks experts from Non-Governmental Organizations, Governments, industry and digital landscape on what Healthy Aging means to them.
Q: Can you tell me about the International Federation on Ageing (IFA)?
A: The IFA is a global non-governmental organization and is a global point of connection of experts and expertise that work to influence and shape age-related policy. It is one of only a few organizations in this field with general consultative status at the United Nations and its agencies.
Q: How has aging changed over the last 50 years?
A: Healthy aging is being redefined. It is no longer the presence or absence of diseases, but rather the process of developing and maintaining functional ability that enables well-being in older age. The new narrative that describes aging recognizes two interrelated factors: all of the physical and mental components of a person and the environment in its broadest sense.
At the heart of the new narrative is the process to enable older persons to do what they value through developing strategies and actions that support maximum functional ability. Three key areas are: prevention, access to health and social care services, and timely and appropriate treatment.
Q: How is the IFA helping to raise awareness on healthy aging?
A: IFA together with academia, industry, government and NGOs have a responsibility to not have the discussion about healthy aging and the burden of older people, but to take rather a proactive approach to maximize the social and economic contributions of all – regardless of age.
Being able to do what you value is the call to action for all. The IFA is committed to being a driver of change in helping to raise critical issues with industry, government and other public sectors on multidisciplinary approaches about growing older in a global world.
Q: How does working with industry help?
A: Industry brings to the conversation table a unique cadre of intelligence that together with views and evidence from other stakeholders is critical to the future development of effective policies. This may enable older people to do what they value in life. Maximizing functional ability is vital regardless of age and diagnoses.
Q: Anything else that you'd like to add?
A: Ageism is in the most insidious and invisible 'ism' of our time. Without clear concerted action it will undermine the rich fabric of our society and contributions of people of all ages. Older people are particularly vulnerable to societal and generational stereotyping which inhibits their opportunity to contribute in ways not yet realized. It's time to take 'age' out of the conversation of being a valid and legitimate member of society and focus on creating an environment that enables function.
There is need to 'reset' our thinking and actions on the demographic shift and determine how to influence and shape future age-related policies.
To learn more on Healthy Aging and what you can do, please visit the International Federation on Ageing website.
Q: Can you tell us about Medlanes?
A: Medlanes is an on-demand healthcare app that enables clients to connect with a wide range of doctors and specialists that are ready to come, diagnose, treat or help you with almost any medical problem no matter where you are.
Q: Do you believe a health app like Medlanes empowers a younger generation to think about healthy aging?
A: Absolutely. Digital in general is helping to connect a younger generation to the idea of maintaining their health, whether this is through apps, smartphones or wearables. And through digital enablement, the younger generation is arguably the most empowered generation: a generation that has a unique opportunity to take more responsibility for their health.
Q: What is your view on how the young view aging and how aging has changed over the last 50 years?
A: I believe that young people, when they think about getting old, they think about what they perceive old to be: getting sick, being house bound and not living the life you once did. However, over the last 50 years, we're seeing that it's possible to stay healthy for a much longer period of time due to modern advances in medicine. So I don't think younger generations dread aging as much as previous generations did because they're seeing their parents live longer, fuller lives.
Q: What do you think the future of healthcare looks like?
A: I believe the future of healthcare is digitalization combined with novel, advanced treatment options. Through digital, people are becoming more empowered and are able to take more responsibility for their health. In the past, you had to go to the doctor and the doctor told you what was potentially ailing you. But now, through apps and connected devices, patients can take more responsibility for their own health – whether that's through an app like Medlanes that connects you to doctors or a smart device telling you when to stand up, run or take your medicine.
Q: So you believe digital health can make healthcare more accessible?
A: Yes, digital health has the unique opportunity to make quality healthcare accessible and ultimately better – regardless of age, location or time – by connecting healthcare providers to those in need as soon as they need it.
Q: How has aging changed over the last 50 years?
A: In 50 years we've improved global life expectancy by roughly 20 years. But, our overall health – that is being healthy later in life – has not really improved. In the future, we envision a patient-centered approach that enables individuals to be more empowered and take more direct control of their health.
Q: How is Bayer helping tackle the demographic shift?
A: With the world population facing a demographic shift, one of the areas we're seeing an increase in is the number of cancer patients. By exploring treatment approaches that can offer meaningful progress to doctors and patients battling the toughest cancers, Bayer has tripled its oncology pipeline over the past three years by prioritizing treatments that show promise for hard-to-treat cancers.
Q: What else is Bayer doing?
A: We have a responsibility to work on prevention as well as researching and developing new treatments – but this needs to be a joint effort. We believe that solving healthcare problems requires partnerships, collaborations and a broad approach in terms of education. This is why we're helping to stimulate the debate around healthy aging with governments, NGOs and industry.
For example, we're partnering with the International Federation on Ageing and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness to ensure more patients get access to proper eye care, especially the most vulnerable and most in in need.
Q: How do you involve young people in the discussion on aging?
A: We're taking a broad approach that involves everyone including today's young people. We need to help young people understand a bit earlier that they can take action today to improve their health later on in life. The choices that we make when young will determine how healthy we will be in our old age.
Q: What is your view on prevention?
A: Prevention is an indispensable part of the value chain that helps contribute to a new healthcare paradigm. Healthy lifestyles, timely diagnosis and intervention are critical for delaying the onset of chronic diseases. And it will be the responsibility of all concerned stakeholders, including patients old and young, to actively take part in this endeavor.
Q: Can you tell us about the Social Progress Imperative?
A: The Social Progress Imperative works with partners to help increase awareness on social progress being as important as economic growth or gross domestic product (GDP). Our network consists of partner organizations in business, government and civil society that use our so-called Social Progress Index to improve human wellbeing and guide social investments.
Q: What is the Social Progress Index (SPI)?
A: The Social Progress Index complements the measure of national performance using traditional economic measures such as GDP with data on social and environmental performance. The Index measures the extent to which countries provide for the social and environmental needs of their citizens and defines social progress as the capacity of a society to meet the basic human needs of its citizens, establish the building blocks that allow citizens and communities to enhance and sustain the quality of their lives and create the conditions for all individuals to reach their full potential.
Q: How does the social progress index measure health?
A: There are two components in the index that we use to measure health. One of the components is around nutrition and basic medical care, which deals with some of the issues around child mortality, maternal mortality and nutrition. The second component is on health and wellness. That is, how are countries dealing with health issues. One of the toughest challenges for social progress is on the health and wellness component, which does not tend to improve as countries get richer.
Q: How has aging changed over the last 50 years?
A: We have seen that life expectancy has increased over the last 50 years and represents one of the crowning achievements of the last century, but also presents significant challenges. Societal aging may affect economic growth and many other areas, including the ability of states and communities to provide infrastructure, resources and healthcare services for older citizens.
Q: How do we begin the discussion on aging?
A: We need to partner with industry players like Bayer; NGOs like the International Federation on Aging; and governments at all levels and confront this urgent global challenge so we can define how we're going to measure, track, improve, innovate and lead the discussion on health and aging.
Q: What can governments do to help raise awareness on healthy aging?
A: Governments can help raise awareness on aging issues by having a targeted policy dialogue that will help address the multi-faceted needs of an aging population.
Q: Aging has changed over the last 50 years. Are you now seeing aging impact communities?
A:Yes, health costs are rising and we have to deal with a demographic shift in our society. The current ratio of working population to old is four to one. By 2050, it will be two to one. This demographic shift will challenge us, but it also represents an opportunity to introduce structural changes to healthcare systems.
Q: How do you see the role of partnerships?
A: I believe partnerships are very important. Healthy aging requires all of us to work together, from government and NGOs to industry and digital. We all have to put our heads together to solve this ever complex topic.
Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging?
A: The European Commission has identified active and healthy aging as a major societal challenge common to all European countries, and an area which presents considerable potential for Europe to lead the world in providing innovative responses to this challenge. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging ties in to the European Commission's challenge and aims to help promote European competitiveness that addresses societal challenges through research and innovation.
We aim to do this in three ways:
- Enable EU citizens to lead healthy, active and independent lives while aging.
- Improve the sustainability and efficiency of social and healthcare systems.
- Boost and improve the competitiveness of the markets for innovative products and services, responding to the aging challenge at both an EU and global level, thus creating new opportunities for businesses.
Q: You recently wrote a booklet called, "Road to the Valley." Could you elaborate a bit on this concept?
A: The "Road to the Valley" is about how our European cities should create knowledge and innovation clusters in every community that brings likeminded people together, whether it's in health, digital or other innovations. I believe by focusing on "the Valley" we can bring people together to help solve tomorrow's problems today.
One example of using the "Road to the Valley" approach is the program "Lifelines" in Groningen, Netherlands. This program is using three to five generations of family health data to detect which diseases occur among the participating families. This research will help predict the quality of life and preventive measures that may need to be taken to address possible genetic predispositions, whether that's through prevention or therapeutic means.
Voices on Aging
Through research and development, Bayer is aiming to help an aging population live a life that is as active as possible. And through targeted awareness activities, younger generations can take steps to help prevent diseases, so they remain healthy later in life.
When it comes to aging, you're not alone. Learn more about aging from people just like you in our video series Voices on Aging:
The demographic shift in Europe
The world's population is facing a demographic shift. This phenomenon is varying from region to region, depending on respective fertility rates as well as life expectancies. Learn more about this in Europe:
The intersection of digital and aging
The next stop of our Healthy Aging journey lands us in Finland where we join the Digital Silver Forum which discusses the combination of two global megatrends: digitalization and aging societies. Attendees range from public policy experts to corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, all connecting to explore opportunities in the digital world to help with the needs of aging populations.
Digitalization of our healthcare systems
Digitalization has a huge impact on the way our healthcare systems are run. We are seeing the introduction of apps and wearables, giving consumers the chance to closely monitor their health. The ability to harness technology creates opportunities to provide services and solutions for the aging population. Accompanying us to Finland are two companies that are doing just that – Sky Labs and GlycoLeap are both winners of Bayer's Grants4Apps program from the APAC region.
Digital solutions save money
Accenture estimates that that FDA-approved digital health solutions managed to save the United States USD 6 billion in 2014. Savings were primarily driven by medication adherence, changes in behavior and fewer visits to the emergency room. Lack of medication adherence is an issue that is common in older patients who often find it hard to juggle multiple medicines and prescriptions. This cost saving is expect to rise significantly to USD 18 billion for 2016 and USD 50 billion in 2018 as digital health solutions offer more ways to manage everyday healthcare and lifestyle.
Voices on Aging from Finland
We asked older people from Finland on what they value in their old age. See what they said here:
The demographic shift is already at a very advanced stage in Germany. Therefore it is not surprising that Germany is currently the second oldest country in the world, after Japan. Life expectancy continues to rise while the birth rate remains low, with the result that the proportion of elderly people in the population has been growing consistently for a long time. This has enormous consequences for our societal coexistence.
For this reason, Bayer is also continuing its global initiative on the topic of Healthy Aging in Germany. At the annual press conference of Bayer Vital in August 2017, the discussion continued on healthy aging as it relates to the demographic developments in Germany and the effects on society. Among the speakers was guest of honor Prof. Dr. Bertram Häussler from the IGES Institute in Berlin, who spoke about the development of life expectancy and quality of life in Germany in the past century.
Voices on Aging from the Experts
Learn here more about the topic of Healthy Aging from our German experts:
The effects of the demographic shift on society
The demographic shift affects many different areas of society. Our present conception of coexistence is going to change, and we need to find new paths and approaches. Learn more about the wide-ranging effects of demographic change.
The demographic shift is effecting a great transformation of both the health and care systems. Because the expenditure per head rises sharply with increasing age, statutory health insurance bodies, together with care insurance, are faced with higher expenditures at the same time as revenues are dropping due to the reduced number of paying contributors. In Germany, the statutory pension scheme provides the basis for caring for elderly people in retirement. As a result of the demographic shift, there are fewer workers paying into the system but more people who are entitled to a pension.
The demographic shift leads to a decrease in the proportion of the population that is working. Thus, in order to maintain the gross domestic product, productivity must be increased. There will be less work in the production sector, with the result that consumer goods will have to be imported from younger foreign countries. This in turn increases the demand for capital. The financial and tax systems are also affected, because working and consuming behaviors altered by the demographic shift will be accompanied by changes in tax revenues.
Consistently low birth rates mean that our population will shrink in the long term. This will also affect the number of households and thus the housing market. Additionally, due to the higher proportion of older people, in future the housing market will have to cater more specifically to their particular needs. Assisted living, barrier-free access and elevators in multi-story houses are examples of aspects of age-appropriate living that have to be considered when building or converting residential spaces.
Over the long term, the demand for facilities, personnel and finances in the education system will be altered by the demographic shift. Additionally, the population decrease entails a drop in the number of highly qualified workers.
The demographic shift in Germany
The world's population is facing a demographic shift that varies in intensity from region to region. Learn here more about this phenomenon in Germany.
Japan is the oldest country in the world. The median age is steadily increasing and shows no sign of slowing over the next 30 years – by 2050 it is expected to reach 53.2 years1.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average life expectancy in Japan is 84.2 years, ranking 1st in the world, while healthy life span is 74.8 years, ranking just second in the world after Singapore2. In 2007, Japan was the first country to be named a super-aged society with more than 20% of the population aged 65 and older. Today this percentage has climbed to over 27%3.
It is therefore fitting that we take our activities to Japan where we are keen to promote a new angle to complete our holistic approach to Healthy Aging. We have seen the benefits of increasing awareness for healthy aging through diet, exercise, brain training and mindfulness, and this time we look at how communication is vital to healthy and happy aging.
From a psychological perspective, the isolation and loneliness that some older people experience can negatively impact their quality of life. Similarly, for younger generations who may be unsure about how to care for their aging parents, a lack of dialogue and information here can be a source of worry.
We conducted a survey on "aging, health and communication" to understand the importance of conversation to help combat loneliness and anxieties in older persons and promote healthy aging. We found that almost 70% of adults aged 65 and over felt anxious about getting older, with the top three worries being: the loss of physical strength, requiring nursing, and losing independence in day-to-day life. Despite these concerns, less than 50% of the people we spoke to talked openly about aging or age-related health concerns with their family, friends or doctor.
We asked two families to share their stories and chat openly about their concerns related to aging; here are the videos we made of them on the occasion of our event in Japan:
The aim of our activity in Japan was to motivate older persons to communicate openly with their friends, families and healthcare professionals. We found that seniors who talked openly about aging were happier as they tended to be more informed about the importance of age-related disease prevention and treatment, as well as having higher emotional support from friends and family.
1 United Nations, World Population Prospects: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/ Last accessed September 2018
2 World Health Organization, http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/272596/9789241565585-eng.pdf?ua=1
3 The World Bank, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.65UP.TO.ZS?end=2017&start=1960&view=chart Last accessed September 2018
Portugal is already a relatively old country with 20.7% of the population aged 65 or over in 2015. This is expected to rise, alongside the worldwide trend, to 35.6% by 2050. The UN estimates that Portugal will be the European country with the smallest proportion of children with just 11.7% under the age of 15 in 2050.
Taking action to promote Healthy Aging is important to us and in Portugal we hosted a range of events to support awareness for the topic. Starting in October and November, we conducted 2 roundtables with a range of diverse stakeholders in different areas of the country to dive deeper into the topic. Following this, we held a working meeting made up of a number of different industry sectors in order to brainstorm disruptive ideas to foster Healthy Aging. This culminated in a hackathon in January 2018 to discover innovative ways to promote Healthy Aging.
The demographic shift in Portugal
See how the demographics of Portugal are changing:
Vietnam is a young country, but projected to undergo a demographic transition marked by slowing population growth and aging. As the percentage of people aged 65 and above in Vietnam is set to be almost triple from 6.7% of the population in 2015 to 21.5% in 2050. As in China, Vietnam also belongs to the list of the ten largest low-fertility countries, explaining the growing proportion of older people in comparison to the younger generation.
Bayer partnered with Ho Chi Minh City Public Health Association and VTV9 to organize the dialogue "Is stroke preventable or not?" to mark World Stroke Day on October 29th. The topic is crucial in aging populations and was discussed by Professor Nguyen Huy Thang, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Stroke Association, and Tran Thi Lan Huong, Medical Director, Pharmaceuticals Division of Bayer in Vietnam.
The demographic shift in Vietnam
Vietnam also faces the challenges of the changing demographic shift. Learn more about the predicted changes to society over the coming years and how this might affect the ratio of the working to the retired population:


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Welcome to our online store!
We're happy to help you find the perfect wig that suits your style and personality.
Please feel to call us at 765-349-8934 or stop by our Martinsville store for friendly personal service!
No Return, No Refund Policy
Hairpieces, wigs and toupées are not returnable. There are no refunds. We enforce this policy to ensure that every hairpiece you purchase from us is brand new and in approved hygienic condition.
We encourage you to visit our Martinsville, IN store where you can try on a variety of styles and receive advice from our skilled staff.
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Tammy Brami
Tammy Brami is the co-founder of Boosa Cafe. Boosa, which means kiss in Arabic. Boosa prides itself on its middle-eastern inspired cuisine and quality coffee set in a brand new, impeccably designed shop in East Bentleigh.
Where did you get the idea for your business?
I always knew eventually I would be self-employed, but our cafe ventures started more incidentally due to Eitam's (my husband) experience and passion for food and my previous hospitality and customer service experience.
How did you get your business started?
We started very minimally! Small personal loan from family, social media and a lot of hard work!
What lessons have you learned so far on your business journey?
For us its all about the people. At the end of the day we can have the correct location and a great offering but if our staff don't represent our brand properly the customer service experience is let down.
Focus on doing what you are good at in the business. When we opened our first business we often tried to complete tasks that weren't playing to our strengths. It adds unnecessary extra stress and wastes a lot of time that you could be a lot more productive using on other things that you are actually good at!
Seek professional advice from knowledgeable people in your industry. Your family and friends want whats best for you but it often involves a lot of bias and emotion!
If you aren't ready to give things up, you aren't ready to start your own business. (weekends, holidays, sleep-ins, birthdays - you name it!)
Make sure that whatever you are doing - you believe in it 100%. We made big decisions this year with our menu in ensuring all of our products (fish, meat, eggs) were ethically sourced. That way I know I can be proud of what we are serving to our customers at the cafe.
Believe there is a solution to every problem.
ALWAYS listen to feedback. It is your choice what you actually do with the feedback but always listen.
It is really important to have a good accountant that you can trust.
The way you present yourself and your business is crucial. First impressions still count.
How important for you has it been to have a mentor?
Having a mentor has been crucial to the development and progression of our businesses and also our confidence! We haven't had one mentor as such. We have a couple of professionals that we go to when we need to seek advice. The most important thing that we have found is to pick people that understand your industry and business, and will be able to give non-biased advice - even if it is things that you don't want to hear sometimes!
What are your top three tips for starting a business?
1) Start your business because there is just nothing else you could possibly do!
2) Put everything into your team. They are your talent, your face of the business, and many times can teach you things you do not know!
3) Recognise early your strengths and weaknesses. If you want your business to be successful, you really need to put your ego aside and recruit talent that have the skills and knowledge that you don't.
Tammy Brami completed the Bachelor of Business (Entrepreneurship)
'If you want your business to be successful, you really need to put your ego aside and recruit talent that have the skills and knowledge that you don't.' - Tammy Brami
There are no challenges Elisha Harrington isn't willing to face.READ MORE
Co-founder of mifi. Masters of Professional Accounting (2008), Bachelor of Business, Entrepreneur...READ MORE


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DairyNZ to Te Papa: We're not mad, we're just disappointed
13 December 2019
"It's incredibly disappointing to see our national museum Te Papa reinforcing an overly simplistic anti-farming narrative that negatively impacts the public's perception of New Zealand farmers and the dairy sector" DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle says.
NAIT Bill passing sends strong message to farmers
12 December 2019
The National Animal Identification and Traceability (NAIT) Bill passed by Government yesterday sends a strong message to farmers about the importance of tracking all animal movements.
Winning at Nitrate Reductions
12 December 2019
A collaborative six-year programme researching how to reduce nitrate leaching on farm has won a Significant Achievement Award.
DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand welcome sector-wide vision
12 December 2019
DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand welcome today's launch of a shared sector-wide vision to be world leaders in the sustainable production of high-quality food and fibre.
Farmers managing floods encouraged to seek support
11 December 2019
As flood waters begin to recede and the full effects of damage is identified on the West Coast and around the Rangitata catchment, farmers are reminded to reach out for help if they need it.
Fat price affects breed profitability
11 December 2019
How do Jersey and Friesian cows compare for profitability now that milk fat is worth more than protein?
The power of combining field trials and modelling
10 December 2019
Combining field trial data with simulation models can offer new insights into complex plant-soil interactions.
Tactical use of nitrogen fertiliser
09 December 2019
How can farmers assist pasture growth without compromising the environment or profits?
Dairy Environment Leaders are embracing change
09 December 2019
DairyNZ Dairy Environment Leaders are optimistic about the future of dairy farming and energized to drive positive change.
Effects of removing imported feed
04 December 2019
We look at the effects of removing imported supplementary feed from a pasture-based dairy system.
Looking back, moving forward
02 December 2019
Five farmers featured in Inside Dairy in 2019 tell us about their year, where they're heading in 2020 and what they'd like others to know about dairy farmers and the dairying sector.
Ag path leads to Southland
02 December 2019
DairyNZ's new Southland/South Otago regional leader Ollie Knowles may have been raised in a big city, but it's rural New Zealand that has captured his heart.
Setting up for the future
02 December 2019
Key changes made by Waikato dairy farmers Sam and Jacqui Owen have laid their on-farm groundwork for 2020 and beyond.
Summer pasture management
02 December 2019
Adjusting rotation length now will set your farm up for a smoother run when the summer dry arrives.
Teat spraying after Christmas
02 December 2019
Tempted to stop teat spraying at this time of year? It might simplify systems over summer but is it such a good idea in the long run?


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I'm an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science doctorate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I work in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory with the Learning and Intelligent Systems group.
I'm interested in using machine learning techniques for learning robotic manipulation strategies.
I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a Computer Engineering major in the Spring of 2012. During my tenure there, I researched with the Bionics Lab under Jacob Rosen PhD on Dental Robotics.
Find me on:
I'm Californian born and raised! My main hobby growing up was riding horses competitively. I also enjoyed sewing, baking, and playing my clarinet. I have two siblings, Talia and Alpha, both of whom are interested in education. My parents work in the medical field and are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year.
I am a proud banana slug! I started school in 2008 and lived at Crown College. During my first semester at school I declared my major as Computer Engineering. This was a milestone that forever changed my life.
I started researching at the Bionics Lab at UCSC during the summer of 2010. I was supported by dual fellowships: SURF-IT and MARC. I continued the project I started that summer for two years on Dental Robotics.
I embarked on my graduate studies in the Fall of 2012. I joined the Learning and Intelligent Systems Lab directed by Leslie Kaelbling and Tomas Lozano-Perez. I learned to program ROS and worked with the PR2 robot. My initial research focus was robotic grasping.
I completed my Master's Thesis at MIT in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. My thesis was Learning a Strategy for Whole Arm Grasping. Which conviently abbrievates to Learning SWAG.
I returned to the sunshine state of my birth for a graduate software engineering internship at Intel Corporation. I tackled challenging problems and had a lot of fun!


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BrickCase™ for iPhone 5/5S/SE in Black
By SmallWorks
Sorry, this product is no longer available.
Play brick compatible BrickCase in Black
Show off your mad building skills with the coolest iPhone case ever!
This brick compatible hard case protects and let's you customize your iPhone 5, iPhone 5S or iPhone SE with Kre-O®, Mega Bloks® , K'NEX™ and other compatible play-brick bling.
Have fun wherever you go with a building platform in your pocket.
Build, modify, play, then take your own brick creations with you.
The BrickCase provides added environmental protection against bumps, scratches, chips and dirt.
Go ahead, brick your iPhone!
- Tough, high impact hard case in black.
- Fits all iPhone 5, iPhone 5S and iPhone SE versions.
- Plays with Bricks®! Compatible with Kre-O®, Mega Bloks® , K'NEX™ and other play system building blocks.
- One piece precision molded ABS build platform with special mini-figure platform on top.
- Highly customizable and changeable.
- Easy to make your own stand.
- Front lip holds your phone off the table to prevent scratches while you play.
- Made in the USA! Ba-da-bing!
Tech Specs
- Form Factor: Hard case
- Material: ABS Plastic
- Compatible With: iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, iPhone SE
- Product Dimensions: 4.75 x 0.55 x 2.4 inches
- Product Weight: 0.6 ounces
Manufacturer Information
- Item model number: BrickPhone5 Black
- Patents
- Warranty: 30 days from purchase.