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Analyzing Relationship Between Animism in Social and Ecological Processes Research Paper
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¶ … Animism in Social and Ecological Processes
Edward Tylor is credited for using the term "animism" for the first time, in his 1871 foundational research on Primitive Culture, when describing the first phase of religious thought development. This is the phase where "naturalism" -- a completely materialist interpretation of the universe -- was displaced by the stage wherein spirits and souls were deemed to have a role to play in life functioning. Religion proper was believed to emerge from Animism. Meanwhile, scientific rationalism was thought to succeed religion. Tylor's Primitive Culture represents a text rooted in the notion that, just like biology, culture undergoes evolution (PCi 1-2); additionally, according to Tylor, certain (Western) cultures enjoyed further progress than others[footnoteRef:1]. In Animism, inanimate objects such as plants are considered to have souls. Animism is an age-old belief which, perhaps, sprung from the necessity to find a means of identifying what is animate and what is inanimate. [1: Matter, "Yeats, Fairies, and the New Animalism," New Literary History, 2012, 138]
Animism in the Context of Religion
Religion in animistic form is termed as "folk religion" (for instance, "folk Islam" or "folk Hinduism"). The tendency of individuals to drift towards a certain form of religion can help account for why several individuals hailing from nations with a Buddhist or Hindu heritage find it hard to accept and believe in things the way their religion's "textbook" description wants them to. A majority of religions across the globe consider God as distant, unknowable, and abstract. For instance, in Hinduism, "Brahman (a term used to describe God or the ultimate reality) is nirvana" (i.e., without attributes)[footnoteRef:2]. An attribute-less God is, clearly, extremely abstract and distant. Consequently, followers experience a sort of spiritual void, which requires filling. This they have done using 30 million intermediary Gods. Another example of a drift towards animism is the Western world's "New Age" movement[footnoteRef:3], which surfaced 2-3 decades ago. Central to this movement was meditation, wherein the meditator worked towards experiencing unity with God. However, this focus on meditation has now been rivaled by a focus on getting in touch with one's spirit-guide. This, again, signifies mankind's tendency to shift, from a non-concrete concept of the Lord, towards filling one's spiritual void with more personal and more concrete spirit-beings. This propensity also accounts for why several individuals hailing from secularized cultures (wherein "evolution" replaces belief in God) have, in the last few years, been drawn so strongly to angels and SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)[footnoteRef:4]. Therefore, it is important to understand animism, as individuals gravitate towards this religious form. While it is hard to quote exact figures, an estimate on the percentage of people across the globe with this worldview is significantly large. [2: Halverson, "Animism ... " International Journal of Frontier Missions, 1998, 59] [3: Hornborg, "Animism, Fetishism, and Objectivism" ethnos, Journal of Anthropology, 2006, 24] [4: Matter, 140]
Animalism in Secularity
The word "secular" is characterized by many nuances: it may refer to anything from increased freedom of interpretation of doctrines for individual believers (whose dedication to divine values does not diminish), to the complete denial of the existence of a divine order[footnoteRef:5]. Meanwhile, animists consider themselves to be residing within an interrelated world, and are strongly attached to their family members, whether living or deceased (i.e., living in the spiritual realm). Animists also claim to have a connection with the spiritual realm; Living beings are affected by the ambivalent desires of gods, ghosts, spirits, and ancestors. Animists feel connected to nature, and it is believed that the stars, the moon, and the planets influence earthly events[footnoteRef:6]. Therefore, animists feel that no individual is capable of living as a separate entity, isolated and distant from members of his/her extended family, nature, spiritual powers, or other humans' thoughts. Secular conjectures are, in today's postmodern era, being increasingly contested, but several forms of the animist concept have become practical options. Animism can be regarded as the antithesis of secularism in several ways[footnoteRef:7]. Animists believe that spiritual powers control all living things, while secularists hold one of two beliefs: 1) Spiritual powers do not exist; and 2) Even if they do, these powers rarely intervene in our natural realm. Individuals following animism are afraid of the spiritual powers they believe in, whose activities have to be discerned and manipulated frequently, while secularists hold the belief that they are capable of charting their course in life through reason, resourcefulness and human inventiveness. Animists aspire for harmony with the world around them, feeling that the universe's powers and forces are interconnected, while secularists seek to manipulate the world around them by employing technology and science. [5: Van Rheenen, "Animism, Secularism and Theism" INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FRONTIER MISSIONS, 1993, 170.] [6: Ibid] [7: Ibid, 171]
Exploration of the Relationship between Animism in Social and Ecological Examples
Climate change, resource (energy, water, minerals, etc.) scarcity, resource degradation, biodiversity loss and other complex environmental issues have been continually growing in significance in political as well as scientific communities. In the past ten years, mankind has made great strides in interdisciplinary investigation, as well as in modeling coupled SESs (socio-ecological systems). Several research strategies have been devised and employed in different researches that explicitly consider the relationship between the ecological and social systems[footnoteRef:8]. These strategies include: modeling humanity's behavior and factors specifically influencing ecosystems; combining energy/material flows with economic flows; recognizing and modeling certain goods relevant to both ecological and human systems; and analyzing SESs' adaptive management and resilience[footnoteRef:9]. [8: Binder et al., "Comparison of Frameworks for Analyzing Social-ecological Systems." Ecology and Society, 2013.] [9: Ibid]
Strathern, in her critical comparison of Euro-American and Melanesian "persons,"[footnoteRef:10] asserts that the individual's irreducibility is a singularly modernist idea. It isn't everywhere that individuals are considered as one single entity, integrated and bounded, and contrastingly set against other individuals, as well as against social and natural backgrounds. The latter "person" represents a complex of connections, a microcosm that is homologous to the overall society, objectifying relationships and making them known. This she terms as a "dividual," contrary to the "individual" (Euro-American). It is a popular notion that: Indians, if represented as individuals, are misrepresented, more because, as per the Indian way of explaining and thinking, every individual represents a complex of transferable units forming his/her unique individual substance than because of some holistic-collectivist identity[footnoteRef:11]. [10: Strathern, "The gender of the gift:" Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988] [11: Bird-David, "Animism" Revisited, Current Anthropology, 1999, S67-S91]
Nayaka inhabited a social setting that facilitated, and, in turn, was reproduced through "dividuation" of fellow Nayaka. They were not even 70 in number in 1978-1979, when they dwelt in 5 sites spanning two to ten kilometers from one another. The largest group was comprised of 5 dwellings (thatched shelters with bamboo walls), while the others comprised of 1-3 dwellings. These dwellings stood close together, despite the terrain allowing their dispersal, and contained as many as 3 living spaces, scarcely separated from one another. Each living space was inhabited by one nuclear family[footnoteRef:12]. The families ate, rested, and slept mere meters apart, outside, beside fireplaces, when the weather permitted. Their domestic lives were spent together, sharing actions, things, and space. They simultaneously experienced things happening to themselves and to other Nayaka. This occurred with a majority of Nayaka inhabiting the Gir region. Their interaction with, and observation of, others' life experiences was not limited to neighbors' experiences -- there was considerable movement between Nayaka sites, with people staying at one another's places for any amount of time, from a few days to weeks or even months[footnoteRef:13]. [12: Ibid, s72] [13: Strathern]
The idea of sharing a single space, actions, and things, with other individuals was at the heart of the Nayaka approach to social life. They were normatively required to share things with everybody present, particularly large game, regardless of preexistent social ties, entitlement, and conditions. Sharing with anybody present and distributing things among others were equally important. Moreover, Nayaka were expected to grant to others anything they requested (whatever it may be), and avoid refusals. The perceived sense among them was: "everyone here shares with one another." The concept and system of sharing represented a habitus in which agentive manipulation, nonconformity, and negotiation occurred[footnoteRef:14]. For instance, people typically shared whatever others requested them to, but when they expressly disliked parting with something, they tended to hide it or avoid others, instead of disrupting the pattern of their regular social life, and their constant sense of sharing. In this way, the Nayaka forestalled the chance of requests for sharing, and subsequent refusals. Equally, individuals unduly asked for things from those they wished to discomfit, or persuade into persistent lending[footnoteRef:15]. [14: Bird-David, S73] [15: Ibid]
In my view, the Nayaka's day-to-day experiences of sharing things, actions, and space contextualized their knowledge of one another: they dividuated one another. Gradually, a Nayaka would begin to understand how other individuals spoke with fellows, rather than how they spoke; how other individuals worked with fellows, rather than how they… [END OF PREVIEW]
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Golf? How does this game work
June 13, 2017
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If you read our first piece in The Pony, Makenzie and I had no idea about each other's sports. Though she doesn't understand volleyball, and I will never understand basketball, we have one thing in common. We don't get golf. So below are our humble attempts at looking like normal-sports-obsessed humans.
How does scoring work?
Makenzie: Isn't it the lowest score wins? Whenever my dad plays he always gets a score of like 100 but the pros get in the negatives… And there's all those birdies and bogies or whatever they're called too.
Drew: Mini-golf taught me that lowest is the desired score. Also anytime someone loses and makes a crappy joke about "we're playing golf rules right hahaha?" Nobody thinks that funny. You lost.
Real Rule: Lowest score wins!
Difference between lateral and regular water hazards?
Makenzie: Does lateral mean sideways? I know a water hazard probably has something to do with water. OHH I bet it's the lake things in the middle of the course and you have to hit over them. No clue what a lateral hazard is though.
Drew: Lateral = ladder? Do they put like trees on the course to stop the ball? And a water hazard is a lake or pond. I'm dumb but not that dumb.
Real Rule: A water hazard is any form of lake, pond, ditch, etc.. Some may be filled with water, others may not. A lateral water hazard is a water hazard or that part of a water hazard so situated that it is not possible to drop a ball behind the water hazard.
What do you have to do if you hit a ball in the bunker?
Makenzie: 99.9 percent sure these are the sand things. I used to go on to golf courses and play in them and then I would get yelled at and then they would go rake the sand pit so I'm sure the players have to do that too.
Drew: You gotta hit it out? They seem inconvenient either way. I mean sand in your shoes is not okay!
Real Rule: If you hit your ball in the bunker, you are allowed to walk in it, as long as you rake up your footsteps later.
How much time do you have to search for a lost ball?
Makenzie: There should be no limit but it's probably like 15 minutes or something. Golf people are impatient.
Drew: THAT'S A THING? Get a new one maybe?
Real Rule: A player has five minutes to search for a lost ball.
What is the order of play?
Makenzie: I think it's the person who has their ball farthest to the flag. Because it's totally logical for the person in last place to go first.
Drew: I know this because my brother was into golf once: farthest away goes first. Take that golf kids. I do have remote knowledge.
Real Rule: Whoever is farthest from the hole gets to go first. If someone breaks that order, another player is allowed to cancel the shot and the offended player will have to re-do it.
What does a caddie do?
Makenzie: It's the guy that drives the golf cart around. I was always jealous of them because I like driving the carts. Vroom vroom. He carries your clubs for you too.
Drew: It's your homie with your clubs. Also they pull that flag at the end out. Side question: do you become close friends with your caddie like a friend or old guy mentor? Or are they like semi-pro hopefuls and you have secret feuds?
Real Rule: Caddies not only carry a player's bag for them, but provides them with moral support and insightful advice.
What are each of these golf clubs called?
Club 1
Makenzie: PUTTER!!!! That's the only club you get in mini golf.
Drew: This one's a putter I've been to Boomer's honey.
Answer: Club 1 is a putter!
Club 2
Makenzie: Wood iron? I know the small ones are irons but it doesn't really look like that. We'll roll with it anyways.
Drew: This one is a wooden club so… wooden club? I mean that's all I got but let's call it Tree-smasher or something cool instead of just wood club.
Answer: Club 2 is a wood!
Club 3
Makenzie: This one's a wedge I think. Don't you use these when you get stuck in the sand and then you hit the ball and the sand goes all WOOOSH?
Drew: This one is wedged so I'm gonna guess wedge club but the 4th one is a wedge too? What's the difference? Final answer is special driver (for the smaller sides).
Answer: Club 3 is an iron!
Club 4
Makenzie: This one is an iron, taking a wild guess. Idk man the 3rd and 4th one look really similar but I know there's one that's called iron.
Drew: Based on my last answer, Club 4 is probably just a normal wedge club.
Answer: Club 4 is a wedge!
Club 5
Makenzie: OOOOO this one lets you hit really far. I think you hit with this club first. It's called a driver.
Drew: I know this one!! After reaching back into my Wii Sports memories, I can confidently say this is a driver. Thanks Wii!
Answer: Club 5 is a driver!
Whether we learned anything at all is your opinion, but next time we play mini-golf, Makenzie and I are coming straight for a Tiger Woods title. Or whatever the heck a winner in golf gets.

subset: commoncrawl


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Are you looking for exhibitor press releases? You'll find them here.
Key Insights from the 2017 Sweets & Snacks Expo Knowledge-Building Sessions
11 July 2017
Sweets & Snacks Expo Premieres Online Gallery for Most Innovative New Product Awards Program
26 June 2017
How Sweet It Is! National Confectioner's Association Names Most Innovative New Product Award Winners
24 May 2017


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Email Us: Andrea Meredith
Research Associates: Beth McNally, Jenna Montgomery
Grad Students: Michael Lai, Josh Whitt, Amber Plante
Technican: Jonah Delshad
Undergrads: Zulqarnain Khan, Jessica Lu
Positions Available
Postdoc Positions Available in Ion Channel Electrophysiology and Imaging (starting in 2018 or early 2019)
Two positions are available in the lab of Dr. Andrea Meredith, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, to study the circadian patterning of neuronal activity. We are seeking a highly motivated team-players to contribute to our studies of the circadian regulation of intrinsic excitability and intracellular signaling in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus, the brain's intrinsic 'clock.' One project is an NIH BRAIN Initiative-funded study involving high resolution imaging with novel FRET-based sensors to record rhythmic signals in SCN neurons and the circuit. Other projects involve deciphering the biophysical mechanisms that contribute to circadian regulation of membrane excitability by the large conductance Ca2+-activated BK channel and other ion channels (Nature Neuroscience 9:1041, 2006; Nature Communications 7:10837, 2016; and Journal of General Physiology 15:259, 2018).
The Meredith Lab is focused on understanding the mechanisms that contribute to circadian regulation of membrane excitability and daily oscillations in action potential activity in the SCN circuit, using techniques such as voltage- and current-clamp, multi-electrode array recordings, imaging, molecular biology, transgenics, and in vivo telemetry.
Requirements: We are seeking candidates with a PhD in neuroscience, biophysics, physiology, or other relevant field. Experience with electrophysiological recordings or imaging is required. Excellent oral and written communication skills (fluent in English) required. URM and candidates meeting criteria for Diversity Inclusion are especially encouraged to apply.
To apply: Please send your application by email to Dr. Andrea Meredith, including:
– your CV
– a letter describing research accomplishments, expertise, and career goals
– the names and contact information for three references
Information for Postdocs at UMB
The Department of Physiology (http://medschool.umaryland.edu/physiology) offers outstanding research and NIH-funded postdoctoral training opportunities. The University of Maryland School of Medicine, located in downtown Baltimore, is the oldest public medical school in the U.S. and the founding campus of the University of Maryland system. The School of Medicine ranks 6th among all 76 public medical schools.
Lab Alumni and Current Positions:
Jenna Montgomery: Senior Scientist, Electrophysiology,
Cerevance, Cambridge, UK
Chris Shelley: Assistant Professor, University of the South, Sewanee, TN
Rachel White: Postdoc at U. Penn
Graduate Students: Mike Lai: Scientist at The Gladstone Institute (Mission Bay, UCSF)
Josh Whitt: Postdoc at Brown
Betsy Zemen: University of Central Florida (PhD Program)
Breanne Wright: Purdue (PhD Program)
Benyam Kinde: Harvard (MD/PhD program)
Grace Silva: UNC (PhD Program)
Jack Kent: Chief Commercialization Officer, Coaptech Medical Devices
Rotation Students: Program in Neuroscience, Molecular Medicine, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and UMCP BioEngineering Program.


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Whether you drive a car to drop off your kids at school or go to work, you have to have a car stereo in your vehicle to keep going. You might have heard that music keeps your alive, and sometimes it freshens you up from all the hectic routine. Experiments are going on to support this idea for a very long time.
There were cases where people were asked to drive with their favorite music on and then there were people who drove without any music in their car. Both of their driving performance varied to a large extent.
The group of individuals who drove with music in their car not only hit well but did not feel exhausted on the long route. However, the other group experienced lousiness and dangerous driving. To avoid exhaustion and lousiness while driving, listening to some music is recommended, especially when you are alone or on long routes.
Just like everyone has a different taste in music, people also prefer various types of equipment to enhance their music experience. A good car stereo can do things with your music that you cannot imagine otherwise.
Good headphones provide you better voice quality and understand the music; in the same way, a good stereo system can provide you exceptional music experience at the comfort of your car.
To understand the later parts of this article, we need to know what a stereo head is. A radiohead is the most fundamental and central part of your stereo system that sits in the dashboard between the front passenger seat and the driver.
It is a small box, but this little box has the capability to control everything that is related to your speaker system.
Contents of this Page
- Best Double Din Head Unit: Summed Up
- Pioneer FH-X720BT 2-DIN CD Receiver with Mixtrax and Bluetooth
- Jensen VX7020 2 DIN Multimedia Receiver, 6.2" Touch Screen with Bluetooth and Built-in USB Port
- Pioneer AVH-4100NEX In-Dash Multimedia DVD Receiver with 7" WVGA Touchscreen Display
- Pioneer AVH-X4700BS DVD Receiver with 7" Motorized Display, Bluetooth, Siri Eyes Free, Sirius XM-Ready, Android Music Support, and Pandora (AVHX44700BS)
- Pioneer AVH-X2600BT 2-DIN Multimedia DVD Receiver
- Kenwood DPX500BT Double DIN In-Dash car stereo Receiver
- JVC KW-R910BT Double DIN Car CD AM/FM Player Receiver with Bluetooth/iPhone/Android
- Kenwood DDX372BT Double DIN Bluetooth In-Dash DVD/AM/FM Receiver
- BOSS AUDIO 870DBI Double DIN DC/MP3 Player Receiver, Bluetooth, Detachable Front Panel, Wireless Remote
- Ouku In-Dash Double DIN Car DVD Player with Touchscreen LCD Monitor, 6.2."
Best Double Din Head Unit: Summed Up
|Product Model
|Our Ratings
|Pioneer FH-X720BT
|Jensen VX7020
|Pioneer AVH-4100NEX
|Pioneer AVH-X4700BS
|Pioneer AVH-X2600BT
|Kenwood DPX500BT
|Kenwood DDX372BT
|Ouku In-Dash
Here we have listed down the best and the most preferred Double DIN head units in descending order. This research is for the year 2017. This ranking style will give you an idea of what you want to buy and what you can afford to get for your car. Some of the head units in the list might be from a few years back, but they are on the list because they are still the best, and nothing has been designed to beat their capability. Let's have a look at the top 10 Double DIN head units.
Pioneer FH-X720BT 2-DIN CD Receiver with Mixtrax and Bluetooth
This head unit by Pioneer comes with built-in Bluetooth for easy hands-free calling and audio streaming. Its color illuminations allow precise matching with your car's interior. It also comes with integrated control for iOS devices. Pioneer has offered a built-in MP3 dock and an optional satellite radio as well. This model has 35% larger backlight than previous models.
It also provides the option of customizing the graphic equalizer. Its anti-dust design makes it easy to clean.
Jensen VX7020 2 DIN Multimedia Receiver, 6.2" Touch Screen with Bluetooth and Built-in USB Port
Jensen is well known for being at the top of the car audio industry for years. They have launched a head unit with a fully functional remote. This head unit has a built-in Bluetooth to facilitate audio streaming and hands-free calling. You can also find maps of all of US in it. It also has built-in iPad, iPhone and iPod controls. The best part is that it fits in dashboard openings easily. Jensen VX7020 also has steering wheel control interface which is compatible with SWC modules. You can get maximum visibility with its 6.2" touch screen. Its USB port allows charging all power devices like smartphones. It also has a micro SD Card slot to facilitate music and video files.
Pioneer AVH-4100NEX In-Dash Multimedia DVD Receiver with 7" WVGA Touchscreen Display
This Double DIN head unit by Pioneer comes with a big 7" screen with LED black light display. It is compatible with all Apple and Android gadgets. It has a display resolution with 800×480. The media playback supports MP1, MP2, MP3, MP4, WMA, WAV, FLAC, AAC, WMX and AVI, which ensures enhanced user interface. It is much more responsive and powerful than previous models offered by Pioneer.This head unit is easy to use and is customizable as per your requirements.
Pioneer AVH-X4700BS DVD Receiver with 7" Motorized Display, Bluetooth, Siri Eyes Free, Sirius XM-Ready, Android Music Support, and Pandora (AVHX44700BS)
Its 7" DVD display comes with a resolution of 800×400. It has a motorized display with touch screen and LED Backlight. It comes with five display colors with automatic brightness control. Built-in Bluetooth helps to connect with different gadgets, which supports content browsing. This head unit also has a 3-way audio network mode. There are 13 different background displays from which you can choose.
Pioneer AVH-X2600BT 2-DIN Multimedia DVD Receiver
This Double DIN head unit gives direct access to the music stored on your Android and Apple device. It provides navigation support. It has a VGA display type. The additional feature of MIXTRAX eases the automatic remixing of tracks in just no time.
Kenwood DPX500BT Double DIN In-Dash car stereo Receiver
This head unit comes with a built-in Bluetooth hands-free. It promotes safe driving habits as it has a hands-free facility for audio streaming and telephone calling. It has an easy to use interface. This head unit has an option of reverse browsing. You can control your gadget manually with the help of disabled receiver's integrated control. You can find a detailed user manual in the packaging.
JVC KW-R910BT Double DIN Car CD AM/FM Player Receiver with Bluetooth/iPhone/Android
JVC has offered a built-in advanced wireless Bluetooth. Also, it comes with a two-way iPhone / iPad controls. It has a USB receiver with 50 watts x 4 channels. If you have the right adapters, then it can also work with the controls on the steering wheel.
Kenwood DDX372BT Double DIN Bluetooth In-Dash DVD/AM/FM Receiver
Kenwood has elevated multimedia experience by offering iPod and Android controls in DDX372BT Double DIN head unit. It has a 6.2" touch screen with automatic brightness controls. It provides easy connectivity with built-in Bluetooth. It plays all DVDs and CDs. It also has an input for A/V sources. Kenwood has given a variety of programming on satellite radio in this Double DIN head unit. It requires a 1 12 V battery.
BOSS AUDIO 870DBI Double DIN DC/MP3 Player Receiver, Bluetooth, Detachable Front Panel, Wireless Remote
This Double DIN head unit is compatible with all smartphones and MP3 players. It has inputs for USB, AUX and SD Card. Its detachable panel is also a plus point, which is a preferable option if you have to park your car in parking lot for long hours. It deters theft. The wireless remote and usability of hands-free through Bluetooth for audio streaming is one hell of a feature. Boss has introduced ID3 tag that allows displaying additional data such as title, album, artist and track number. You will not have to go through a lot of trouble while installing it. It has an 80 watts x 4 max power, and comes with fader, bass, balance and equalizer. You can also play applications like Pandora and Spotify wirelessly.
Ouku In-Dash Double DIN Car DVD Player with Touchscreen LCD Monitor, 6.2."
This Double DIN head unit comes with free KUDOS 4GB, GPS navigation map of America. It has a 6.2" HD touchscreen with a resolution of 800×480. The built-in Bluetooth and iPod connectivity support all kinds of connectivity with a variety of devices. It also has an additional feature of steering wheel support and a rearview camera. You will also be able to focus on your driving and make phone calls through hands-free Bluetooth at the same time. It comes with a power cable, mounting bracket, an iPod cable, and GPS antenna. There is a multi-language function also, which covers English, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and Russian. Usually available in black color, this goes with all kinds of car interiors.
Everyone of the above-mentioned Double DIN head units has its perks. You might find one feature in a stereo and not in the other. This does not mean that it is absent, but it means that the other one has something better to offer. Each of them has a different price range also, but it all depends on your priorities that how do you want to create a balance between price, quality and additional features.
What is double din head unit?
A double-DIN stereo head is an international standard measurement. DIN stands for Deutsches Institute fur Normung. It is the German standards organization that has created the necessary standards for head units. Their measurements and units are in use till today, which means there has been no better option yet offered. The dimensions of a single head unit are 180mm in length and 50mm in height. However, the double DIN or 2 DIN head unit is 180mm wider and 100mm tall. As the height is double, this is why it is called the Double DIN head unit. People who understand these features and know the difference the two dimensions will prefer the later one.
Double DIN head unit is the most common type of stereo that people prefer in their cars. It is a device that is usually placed in the center of consoles of the cars that is used to control the radio volume. Even the stereo specialists recommend getting a Double DIN head unit installed in your vehicle as it provides the best music experience on the go. It provides better control of the sound, improved sound balance, enhances features of bass, treble, and equalizer. Listening to music is great fun when you know you can control the sound as per your preferences. There can be nothing better than having an incredible sound experience while you are driving at work. It keeps you fresh.
What to look when buying a double din head unit?
A head unit is the core of a car stereo which is why it is the attractive option to go for while upgrading the sound system of your vehicle. When you visit the market, you will come across some options from different stereo manufacturing companies. Each of the options will have some attraction in it, but do not rush while making the decision. Do not make your buying decision on the first visit to the market. Take all the time you need to go through all the options carefully. Talk to the company representatives and find out what they are offering. Take your time and do your research. Before that, another important thing is to be clear about what you need in your stereo system? There are a few things that must be a part of your consideration while making the buying decision of a head unit.
Measuring the faceplate
You have to measure the faceplate of your current head unit to find out whether you need a Double DIN head unit. It is the most important and only thing that you need to know about your car before buying a Double DIN head unit. If it measures around 7 inches in length and 2 inches in height, then it has room for a single head unit only. But, if it measures 7 inches in diameter and around 4 inches in height then you can buy yourself the treat of a Double DIN head unit.
A head unit not only facilitates the functionality of the sound system but it also improves the performance of the whole system as well. A head unit serves to be an interface of the audio system of your car, which is why usability is one of the important factor here. You also need to have clear answers to the following questions:
- Which will head unit fit in your car?
- What are your requirements for a car stereo system?
- Is budget more important than quality for you?
- What is the usage of a head unit for you?
- How do you use your current head unit?
Other than the points mentioned above, there are a few more things that you should think about before you fall for an attractive looking stereo system at the stereo store. They are:
General features – such as power output, options to customize ad interface.
Audio features – availability and efficacy of retrievers and equalizers.
Compatibility – you have to learn about the compatibility of the stereo system with your personal gadgets to support Bluetooth, GPS and other connectivity options.
Controls – having an easy to use stereo system is not only safe to be used while driving but also is less troublesome. Always remember, that you cannot be distracted from the road. Easy controls are the priority of the stereos that come with wireless remotes.
You will have to know the capacity of your car's dashboard before you go for a Double DIN head unit. You also have to be explicit about preferring budget or the quality. It is little understanding that anything that will be expensive will be of better quality; this is sad but true. Double DIN head unit might be expensive as compared to other head units but it has the best quality and features to offer. You will have more options with a Double DIN head unit. If you want to take things to a higher level, then you will have to loosen some strings and get yourself a big delightful package.
Better sound quality can only be available in high-end head units. They come with additional equalizers, amplifiers, and a digital audio processor. A car is a risky vehicle; you have to keep your attention on the road rather than trying to read out small letters on the display of a head unit. Make sure you stand a few feet away from the rack where the head units are placed; to check the screen visibility. You would not want to risk your life while trying to focus on what track is coming up next. For a lot of people, the cosmetic factor of a stereo is also important, which is why they prefer colorful displays and touchscreens. Moreover, no one wants an ugly looking head unit to go with their car's interior.
Difference between a DIN and a double DIN head unit
The biggest and the only apparent difference in a single DIN and Double DIN head unit is the size. You have to make sure which of the both will be perfect for your car as per space in your dock. Double DIN unit head is 4 inches taller than the single DIN head unit. So if you have enough space, then you should go for the double DIN. It also comes with additional features like:
- Touchscreen
- Navigation
- Bluetooth
One benefit that most of the people see in choosing single DIN head unit is that it is cheaper than double DIN head unit. If you have a limited budget, then the single DIN would be a preferable choice. It gives much better sound quality as compared to the stereo systems that come built-in from the factory. They might not have the added bells and whistles of touch screen and auto adjust brightness, but still, it gives an exceptional experience. Also, you can save up to $400 if you are going to a single DIN head unit. But, if you are not tight on the budget and want to have a fun time every time you drive to work then do not be a miser and buy yourself the enchantment of Double DIN head unit.
Final Words
Music serves the soul. Most of the people have a hectic routine at work, and then they have to go home and deal with house stuff as well. Things get very boring and exhausting at the end of the week. Listening to music is a popular activity. People like to listen to their favorite tunes while they are driving to work or dropping off their kids at school. Driving becomes a lot of fun when you are listening to music. It prevents lousiness and dullness in the personality.
Some people say that music distracts them as they get too involved in their favorite song, but this is not true. It is all about self-control. When you are hanging out with friends or driving to a local bar, some party music will not harm the situation. It will add more color and delight to the ride. Music is said to have a positive influence on the everyday behavior of an individual.
Studies demonstrate that listening to music has a positive influence on the performance of your brain. The kind of speakers and stereo system you are using also has a huge impact on the quality of music. The better the system, the better the music will sound making it more enjoyable and relaxing. Picking a head unit out of such a large variety can be a tough decision.
There are too many stereo manufacturing companies, and each of them has a long list of sound systems; all of them have different features. You have to keep in mind your music sound and quality preferences while you are selecting a head unit. If you are more of a party-loving person, then getting yourself a Double DIN head unit would be the biggest treat ever.
Moreover, if you want to have a big display and are more into attractive lights and cosmetic beauty, then this would be the best buying decision. So, do not waste any more time and visit a stereo store to present yourself with a long life of the happy sound system.
We hope, our reviews will guide you through the whole process and enable you to make the right choice.


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On Thursday 30 March 2017, at 11.00, in the Holy See Press Office in Via della Conciliazione 54, a press conference will be held to present the Holy Father Francis' Letter for the Ninth World Meeting of Families, to be held from 21 to 26 August 2018 in Dublin, Ireland, on the theme: The Gospel of the Family: joy for the world.
The speakers will be:
His Eminence Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life;
His Excellency Msgr. Diarmuid Martin, archbishop of Dublin, Ireland.


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MOBILE, Ala. – U.S. President-elect Donald Trump wrapped up his put up-election thanks" tour on Saturday with celebratory geysers from water cannons, greetings from hoop-skirted Southern belles and a few gloating over the TELEVISION newscasters who had anticipated him to lose.
Take time to consider your expenditure selections once you resolve real property is where you could make dollars. Contemplate the variety of properties chances are you'll want to personal. Would they be business or non business? Would they be individual gadgets or several models? Choose how considerably you are likely to spend on refurbishments.
In Mormonism, there's a belief that non-Mormon ancestors in the after life are free to simply accept or reject the offer of baptism into the Mormon faith by dwelling family or associates. A yes reply, nevertheless, would transfer the deceased to a Swedenborg-like larger heaven.
Nell had had a foul dream one night time. She dreamt that Damian was again on the Aztec, the freighter that had taken him to Italy years ago, and that it was misplaced at sea. She might hear him calling her title when she woke up. Nell nervous concerning the which means of the dream, however she never told Damian about it. Figuring out how much this journey meant to him, she wouldn't be able to stop him from going, particularly over a silly little dream. However, to her, it was no foolish dream. She determined that her only peace of thoughts could be to go with Damian to Italy.
The last coal-fired passenger and automobile ferry on the Nice Lakes, the S.S. Badger (S.S. stands for steamship), nonetheless sails 60 miles across Lake Michigan and back (4 hours each way) daily between from Manitowoc, WI and Ludington, MI. I've not been on it, but it's on my bucket checklist.
Your are more likely to discover Buddhas of the Past, Present and Future, who are associated to Time. Or you could discover Buddhas that aren't associated to time, however as a substitute are related to location and path, the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, in the middle. On his left and proper will in all probability be the Buddha of the Jap Paradise – also known as the Drugs Buddha, commemorated for his ability to heal and treatment, and the Buddha of the Western Paradise, Amitabha Buddha. who is the one in cost of what's referred to as the Pure Land, or heaven, where believers who pray devoutly to him will likely be reborn.
With beautiful expressions they're like a cross between a canine, a tailess beaver and a coypu. Sorry if I've insulted you, biggest rodent on the earth! A celebration web page will likely be created and moderated by Bewitching Guide Tours with a custom header graphic.


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DF44. Research on Sustainable Paving/Surfacing for Low Volume Rural Roads in Vietnam.
Due to increasing concerns as to the suitability of unsealed gravel as the default rural road surfacing in the high rainfall climates of South East Asia, DFID and World Bank have co-funded research into appropriate Low Volume Rural Road (LVRR) pavement and surfacing options in cooperation with the government of Vietnam. The research has been managed through the South East Asia Community Access Programme (SEACAP). The previous widespread provision of unsealed gravel roads was influenced by relatively cheap construction costs in a constrained resource environment. However project SEACAP 4 research on previously constructed gravel roads has shown that in many circumstances these surfaces demonstrate unsustainable levels of material loss and deterioration due to a range of factors such as: high rainfall, flooding incidence, steep gradients, incompatible traffic loading, inadequate quality assurance, and insufficient maintenance capacity.
Paper submitted to PIARC, 6th Symposium on Pavement Surface Characteristics (SURF). 18 pp.
DF44. Research on Sustainable Paving/Surfacing for Low Volume Rural Roads in Vietnam.


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Director of Golf / Head Professional
Phone: 403-966-4157
e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
CGSA Course Superintendant
Phone: 403-473-6511
e-mail: email@example.com
Food and Beverage Manager
Phone: 403-671-3062
e-mail: email@example.com
Tournament Coordinator
Phone: 403-813-2203
e-mail: email@example.com
Site 11, Box 11, R.R. #1
Airdrie, Alberta
11064 TWP Road 275
Rockyview, Alberta
If you have any questions or concerns, are interested in learning the game of golf, or want to book your next corporate outing or wedding, please contact us below, and we will get back to you by the following business day.
Address: 11064 TWP Road 275, Airdrie, AB T4B 4M8
Mail Us: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 403-912-2191
Proshop Winter Hours: Monday - Friday - 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM


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This is a complimentary trial offer from T-Mobile's HotSpot wireless broadband service for Vista users. Just sign up and connect to the HotSpot connection with a Vista Powered PC and you are set!
For more details about this no charge service, please sign up at https://selfcare.hotspot.t-mobile.com/accountcreate/VistaSignUps.do?promoCode=MSWV17
I've been using HotSpot for more than a year and it's the coolest thing when you are on the road or just hanging out in a Starbucks! Great speeds, hassle free and almost everywhere! (every Starbucks location, Go figure!)
Cool stuff!
-Mithun Dhar


text: Jesse Poole/Staff photo. Gloucester Daily Times. Gloucester: Third-grader Anabelle Palumbo, left, holds hands with McKenna Ciolino, 2, who is diagnosed with Emanuel syndrome, a rare chromosome abnormality. Her mother, Chelsie Larry of Gloucester, brought McKenna to Eastern Point Day School on Tuesday morning in order to help educate students on the specific syndrome.


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Big Papi at center of it all for Red Sox
BALTIMORE >> Few human beings can alter the elemental composition of a room quite like David Ortiz, whether it's 4 o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon in the Boston Red Sox's clubhouse when he enters - all leather and denim and Ray-Bans and diamond-stud earrings the size of jelly donuts - and the air is suddenly charged, or a sunny spring morning on the South Lawn of the White House, when he throws a beefy arm around the President of the United States of America, whips out a cellphone, and snaps a "selfie" that will itself become a three-day story.
With Big Papi, neither the size nor the significance of the room matters. There is not a stage he cannot command, nor a situation he cannot conquer. After the horrific terrorist bombings at the 2013 Boston Marathon, politicians, officials and columnists tried to make sense of the tragedy in words, but it was Ortiz who captured the sentiments of New England, when he took the microphone, looked out into the stands at Fenway Park and said, on live television, "This is our [expletive] city!"
Early Friday afternoon, Ortiz, 38, will jog back out onto the Fenway Park field to a rousing ovation on another opening day, his 12th in a Red Sox uniform since he joined the team as a 27-year-old castoff from the Minnesota Twins. He will accept his 2013 World Series ring, his third, then spend the top of the first inning on the bench or in the indoor batting cage. He is half a ballplayer, a full-time designated hitter more or less since 2004, but twice the presence of anyone else in a Red Sox uniform.
"Through the years as a player, you build a relationship with the fans [by going] about your business and [doing] what you have to do. That's how you come to be beloved by the fans," Ortiz said Wednesday. "It's an appreciation for myself to the way the fans have embraced me through the years here. [They see] a lot of motivation. A lot of hard work. Plus, being older too."
There is perhaps no more beloved player to the people of any single major league city, at least this side of the Bronx. In Boston, even Ortiz's flaws are embraced. His 2003 positive test for performance-enhancing drugs? Well, if it helped the Red Sox to the ALCS that year (and to the World Series title the next year), good for him. His unseemly (but ultimately successful) carping for a contract extension this spring? Well, he deserved the money after providing above-market numbers for below-market prices all those years.
An "ambassador for our game. . . on [the] road to Cooperstown," Red Sox owner John Henry said of Ortiz on the day the team announced his one-year extension for 2015, at a salary of $16 million, with options that could carry him through 2017, when he would be 41 years old. Though Ortiz doesn't put up the MVP-caliber numbers he did during his mid-2000s heyday, he still hit .309/.395/.564 with 30 homers and 103 RBI last year at age 37.
There was no question as to which Red Sox representative would handle the honors of presenting President Barack Obama with the obligatory No. 44 Red Sox jersey at Tuesday's White House ceremony honoring the 2013 World Series champs. But few, outside of some smart marketing execs from Samsung, knew what Ortiz was cooking up to capture the moment.
Ortiz's tweet of his presidential selfie Tuesday afternoon went viral, with some 41,000 retweets as of Thursday afternoon, and became national news after Samsung, with whom Ortiz recently signed a sponsorship deal, revealed it had "worked with" Ortiz on making the selfie happen. Was Big Papi's charmingly mischievous, seemingly spontaneous seizing of his presidential moment actually a scripted, marketing-driven advertisement?
"It just came out right in the moment when I gave him the jersey," Ortiz said, denying he had been put up to the stunt. "It was like, 'Oh, wait a minute - let me see if I can get away with this.' I was lucky that I was right there. It was fun. It was something I'll never forget. . . It wasn't anything promotional [or] anything like that."
The story, with its perfect-media-storm blend of the president, an A-list celebrity and the full power of social media, carried through another couple of news cycles.
But at the exact instant Ortiz tweeted the fateful selfie - 12:25 p.m. on Tuesday - he was already on his way to another Big Papi moment. He was on the Red Sox's team bus, which would be making one more stop on its way from the White House to the team's Baltimore hotel - at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Papi had one more room to command. At the military hospital, the Red Sox - with Ortiz, as always, their spiritual leader - visited privately with U.S. servicemen wounded overseas, an experience that, understandably, left just as big an impression with the visitors as with the patients.
"This one young guy, he's 26 right now," Ortiz said Wednesday. "He's got both of his legs blown off by a bomb. His spirit was so good. . . we were looking at each other, like, 'Seriously?' So many people [whining] and complaining about stupid things in life, and look at this guy. I think the best thing that ever happened to me was just to go and look at this guy, because I guarantee that made me a better human."
At the end of the story, Ortiz, standing at his locker, smiled and sighed. He changed out of his street clothes and into his uniform. That night, the Camden Yards crowd greeted him loudly - some boos, some cheers. Either way, they couldn't ignore him. He hit a homer, drew a pair of walks and drove in two runs in a 6-2 Boston win - another big room he had walked into and owned.


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Primary is a coworking space located at 26 Broadway in the historic Standard Oil Building. They offer full-day passes to their space for $30/day and monthly coworking passes for $400/month. Their virtual office ranges from $75-$100/month, while their private offices start at $800/month. Their amenities include conference rooms, high-speed internet, and more.
Primary Information
|26 Broadway, New York, NY 10004, USA
|Hours of Operation
|Monday - Friday 8:30AM - 5:30PM
|Pet Friendly
|Length of Contract
Primary Services and Pricing
Primary's virtual office service costs $75-$100/month, depending on the length of contract. Use of their coworking space costs $30 per day, $300 for 10-day passes, or $400 for unlimited monthly access. Their private offices start at $800 per month.
|Virtual Office
|$75/month - 12-Month Contract
$80/month - 6-Month Contract
$100/month - Monthly Contract
|Includes the use of Primary's physical address, mail handling, 2 days of access to workspace each month, and 2 hours of meeting room time.
|Day Pass
|$30 per day
|Full-day use of the workspace
|$300 for 10 Days a Month
$400 for 24/7 Access Month-to-Month
|Use of the Primary's coworking space and its amenities
|Private Office
|Starting at $800 per month
|Customized built space and offices that can hold up to 30+ people.
Included Amenities
- 24/7 Access
- Conference Rooms
- Keyless Entry & Video Security
- Private Phone Booths
- Unlimited Studio Classes
- Unlimited Printing & Scanning
- High-Speed Internet
- On-site Personal Care Services
- Help Desk Support
- Reception & Concierge Services
- Business Address & Mail Services
- Weekly Events
- Fully-furnished Office
- Bike Storage & Day Lockers
- Unique Member Benefits & Discounts
Reviews From Around the Web
|Review Source
|Average Rating
|Number of Reviews
|5 stars
|35 Reviews
|4.9 stars
|37 Reviews
|5 stars
|9 Reviews


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Rethink Recycling and America Recycles DaySee photos from the 2013 Rethink Recycling Contest2013 Rethink Recycling List of Participating High Schools
Since 2001, MDE has celebrated America Recycles Day by hosting the annual "Rethink Recycling" Sculpture Contest. High school students from across Maryland are invited to participate by creating sculptures made of recycled and reusable materials.
America Recycles Day, traditionally celebrated on November 15, is a national event that unites business, environmental and civic groups, and local, state, and federal government agencies to promote recycling, source reduction, and the purchase of products made from recycled materials as a means to a more sustainable society.
"Rethink Recycling" is just one way MDE educates and empowers the public to reuse and recycle materials that would have otherwise gone into landfills. To find out what you can do to reduce, reuse, recycle, and buy recycled products, visit MDE's recycling web page. If you would like to receive additional information on the "Rethink Recycling" sculpture contest, contact MDE.
2013 Grand Prize Winner: Emma Brenengen, Middletown High School
1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 537-3000


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More Fab Weekend Weather on Oregon Coast
Published 01/23/2014
(Oregon Coast) – Glorious, sunny weather has been the mainstay along the Oregon coast this last week, and it appears as if another few days of it are in the works.
Conditions have largely been cloudless and as warm as 60 degrees along the beaches, with stunning sunset snapshots showing up every night on social media this past week. A distinct lack of wind has been the rule as well, which makes things even warmer while on the sands. Also, during Portland major wind episodes on Thursday the coast was the calm spot in the state.
The weekend will bring more as Friday will continue to be warm, sunny and in the mid-50's.
Saturday, the prediction is for mostly sunny with highs around 54, and Sunday will be the same.
On Monday, some clouds are forecast as a chance of rain begins to increase for the region, including Portland and the Willamette Valley. Though this remains to be seen, as many forecasters had predicted mostly cloudy skies this past week, but that did not materialize.
The north and central Oregon coast will likely be about the same, according to many forecasts. Sunday night may bring some patchy fog to the central Oregon coast, however.
This forecast is for Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Garibaldi, Oceanside, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport and Yachats.
Because of the last week's stellar weather, whale sightings have been frequent. This bodes well for more easy spotting of whales over the weekend. An added benefit to this weekend's great weather: lodgings on the coast are still hosting discount rates, and numerous specials should abound even on the weekends. Check out the Oregon coast lodging section for more on these.
More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....
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What will the international observers make of the British way of doing elections?
Today, as voters go to the polls, Chris Game reflects on the integrity of our electoral system and it's international standing.
When I used to lecture undergraduates, particularly overseas groups, I would describe in detail the process of casting my vote – and watch as they came increasingly to suspect I was misleading them, or at least exaggerating.
First, I'd show them the poll card I'd received from the City Council Elections Office, with my name, address, bar code and electoral register number – plus the friendly advice that "You do not need to take this card with you in order to vote". That was OK – the overseas students naturally assumed I'd need some more substantial ID.
Surely, as in their countries, I'd require some permutation of signature, photo, driving licence, passport, birth certificate, social security card, etc., even if not – this usually from Africans and Latin Americans – biometric fingerprint or iris identification? And they'd stare with increasing disbelief as I repeatedly shook my head in response to their suggestions.
Coming on to the polling station, I would describe how I'd give my name and address. Then how, to speed up the search process by the essentially untrained staff, I'd just point to it as I saw it on their register – while also noting the names of those neighbours in my small block of flats who'd not yet had their names crossed through as having voted.
Yes, I had to admit, it would be dead easy to recruit perhaps even some of them to impersonate these neighbours, and, who knows, with us all living in one of the city's most marginal constituencies, maybe even influence the result.
And I'd have to explain that we're English, that we've been a full parliamentary democracy for 89 or 99 years, and it's only Northern Ireland that requires some form of photo ID before we vote – and only very new democracies, like Cambodia, who held their local elections last weekend, who feel it necessary to furnish indelible evidence of citizens having done so.
So back to the polling station, where the clerk tells me my name, address and the elector number on my poll card, which is then written on the corresponding number list alongside the ballot paper number.
Whereupon the ballot paper is handed to me, but only after checking that it's got its UIM – unique identifying mark. This is likely to be pre-printed, but traditionally was stamped on the spot with a special franking instrument – though occasionally not, which would regularly lead to otherwise perfectly valid votes eventually being rejected.
The clue to the UIM is in the name, but, were I to question it, it would elicit the assurance that it's purely "for security", and that, as with so much else under that heading nowadays, I shouldn't be worried, as it would never be used actually to trace my personal ballot paper. "Be assured, sir, the ballot is entirely secret."
Part of which is kind of true, and part a downright lie. It's secret in the sense that you mark your ballot paper in the privacy of a voting booth – and you MUST, MUST NOT take selfies or use cameras or smartphones anywhere remotely in the vicinity of polling stations.
The Electoral Commission is obsessed about this aspect of secrecy, but seemingly rather less so about the obvious potential traceability of those voting for, say, what a government might decide are extremist parties.
This involves someone simply getting hold of the used and numbered ballot papers, now stored in convenient party bundles in their North London warehouse, and matching them to the similarly numbered counterfoils which also have the voters' electoral register numbers.
The UIM business dates back to 1872, when it was supposed to guard against worker intimidation by landlords and bosses, and the tracing and matching can of course be done officially, through a request from a special Election Court. But here's the thing: in the 145-year history of the 'secret' ballot, the number of such requests from the Court has been … precisely zero.
Yet, 16 years after responsibility for election administration was finally transferred from the security-driven Home Office to an independent Electoral Commission, we still retain this pathetic, irritating and pointless practice that I suspect would be high on the list of things that electoral administrators themselves would most like to see reformed.
Moreover, together with successive governments' ultra-casual approach to voter identification, it's at least part of the reason why I'm able to make the one election prediction I'd dare attempt so close to Polling Day itself – that the monitoring and eventual assessment of the 2017 UK election by international observers and experts will once again put the UK at the bottom of the Global Electoral Integrity rankings of Western European countries.
Election monitoring nowadays is a small global industry. Among numerous others, there's the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, who, as in 2015, are here in Birmingham, observing particularly the proceedings in Ladywood.
Plus the only one with which I have even a peripheral personal involvement, the essentially academic Electoral Integrity Project (EIP). Operating worldwide, EIP ranks elections against its set of international standards of electoral integrity, asserts with evidence what happens when elections fail to meet these standards, and identifies ways in which they could.
And they REALLY don't think much of UK elections or our systemic electoral integrity. Which can be personally slightly embarrassing, as I brace myself annually for headlines like: "UK scores worst in electoral integrity in Western Europe".
And for the damning league tables, where we're permanent fixtures in the relegation zone with a current Perceived Electoral Integrity score in the mid-60s: behind not just the usual Scandinavian suspects – all in the 80s – but even Spain, Italy and Greece, plus plenty of far newer democracies like Estonia, Croatia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Tonga, Tunisia and Benin.
So what don't EIP and the other monitors like? For a start, obviously, our grotesquely disproportional electoral system – UKIP's nearly 4 million votes in the 2015 election, earning one MP, while Labour's 9 million "racked up" (their phrase) 232.
Then there's the Government's handling of the transition to individual voter registration, and the resulting discouragement of participation by particular groups, including students and ethnic minorities.
And the 500+ electoral fraud allegations recorded by the police following the 2015 election. And the 20+ Conservative MPs facing, until after the start of the present election campaign, the threat of prosecution over their expenses at the last one.
The PM's instant response to the lifting of this threat on all but Thanet MP, Craig Mackinlay, was characteristic and instructive. No one at all had done anything wrong – not "my candidates", not the national party that the Electoral Commission had already fined a record £70,000 for "numerous failures" in reporting both General Election and by-election expenses. No one, that is, except the Crown Prosecution Service for wasting police time with its year-long "witch hunt".
It was straight from the David Cameron playbook. For him the fine had been contemptibly trivial. Only a small percentage of total spending hadn't been declared, and besides, other parties had been fined in the past.
And it's this almost colonial superiority, with which our senior politicians are inclined to treat both such criticisms of entrenched British practices and their authors, that, as much the democratic deficiencies themselves, frustrates these frequently highly qualified international observers. They must sense that nothing they criticise or propose will change anything of significance.
The big ones are familiar. Electoral system: the two big parties have too much vested interest in First-Past-The-Post. Incomplete electoral registers: so what, when most of those omitted aren't going to vote for us anyway.
It's the smaller ones that are more revealing, like two OSCE recommendations following the 2015 election. First, that the online registration system be modified to enable voters to verify their registration status, including their eligibility for different elections. It wasn't, of course, and councils were predictably swamped with thousands of duplicate registration applications prior to the May 29 deadline.
Second OSCE priority, that the unique identifying mark be removed from ballot papers. Take a look – as ever, it'll be there.
Editor's Note: don't let the issues of our electoral system and administration put you off! Please do vote: the polling stations are open until 10pm tonight.
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Last week we recounted our time in San Gil, Colombia and the amazing whitewater rafting on Rio Suarez. We began the review of our 18 days in Colombia with the capital of the country, Bogota. This Monday we recap our day in Barichara.
The charming colonial village of Barichara, Colombia is only a 40 minute shuttle ride away from San Gil. It makes a great day trip from San Gil or you could stay a few days if you truly want to get away from it all.
We took the 40 minute shuttle there from San Gil. Then we walked around the village. We walked uphill to the top of the village as recommended to see a phenomenal view of the valley.


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Officials Tracking 'Credible' Terror Threat in New York City, D.C.
September 09, 2011 at 11:06 am
The NYPD is increasing security measures, as counter-terrorism officials investigate a significant, yet unconfirmed plan by Al Qaeda members to attack New York City and Washington D.C. on the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Early Friday morning, the Daily News reported that a current counter-terrorism probe is centered around three Al Qaeda members who may be planning to use car bombs to attack transit hubs, bridges and tunnels — a mission possibly linked to Osama Bin Laden's successor Ayman Al-Zawahiri. The somewhat-vague details about the investigation are the latest news on a threat that was first reported on Thursday.
On Thursday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told reporters that there was "a lot of chatter" around the anniversary, but that the threat wasn't specific, reported CBS News.
But Thursday night, more information was leaked and a member of President Barack Obama's administration told CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr that counter-terrorism officials at the federal and state level are investigating a credible, yet unconfirmed terrorist threat planned for the 10th anniversary, reported Christian Science Monitor.
Later Thursday evening, Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave a press conference with NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
"The best thing that we can do to fight terror is to refuse to be intimidated by it," said Bloomberg, who urged New Yorkers not to panic and to go about their daily lives, but to remain alert and report any suspicious activity to 311 as the anniversary draws near.
While government officials haven't revealed further details, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., told CNN, "There were very, very specific facts that were made known in this threat," but added, "We don't know if this threat is real yet. It's being tracked down."
Throughout the weekend, NYPD officers will be particularly on guard, and New Yorkers can expect illegally parked cars to be towed immediately, and increased bag-checks at public transportation checkpoints, reported the Daily News.


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Here and Here to get an idea of what I'm on about.
The merest mention then of another 'Warhammer Heroes' book, from Chris Wraight, was more than enough to have me looking forward to 2012 and checking the doorstep with an obsession that wasn't appreciated by my wife (I was letting the draught in apparently…) The book arrived, and got me through some particularly grim last few days at work, but it wasn't quite the read that I was expecting. It was very good indeed but… let me try and explain…
The Empire is always under threat from forces on its borders as well as those chipping away from within. Witch Hunter Lukas Eichmann is a man whose calling it is to halt that threat from within; a series of bizarre murders will lead him into the depths of the Empire at the head of his own army. The warrior priests of Sigmar have that very same calling and Luthor Huss battles to free the denizens of the Drakwald forest from a plague of the walking dead. Little do they know it but the fates of these two men will come together in such a way that not only will the true threat to the Empire be revealed but one of the men will find out that he is integral to that threat's fruition. But that's only if both Eichmann and Huss can hack their way through the absolute worst that the Drakwald forest has to offer first; a forest that brims over with all that is worst in both men and beasts…
I didn't need to get too far into 'Luthor Huss' to see that Chris Wraight has done it again as far as I'm concerned. 'Luthor Huss' has everything in it that made 'Sword of Justice' and 'Sword of Vengeance' such gripping and compelling reads; there are several other writers producing novels for the 'Warhammer Heroes' range but right now, this is a series that Wraight has made all his own. As always, any more books from Wraight would be more than welcome in this house.
The setting is as grim and bleak as ever with danger lurking in the shadows as well as in plain site where you can't quite make it out until it's too late. A setting like this is just what the doctor ordered for this kind of book and Wraight delivers on that score. We're looking at a backdrop where you're left in no doubt as to the dangers that ordinary citizens of the Empire face on a daily basis. It's a wild country out there and even the strongest of men and women might not be able to stop a sudden knife in the dark or the clawed shadow that lurks in the trees… Such a setting also highlights the resolve of such men and women to carve out a life for themselves, in this inhospitable wilderness, and beat back the encroaching darkness. This series focuses on heroes for a very good reason, there are loads of them out there and their stories all need to be told. It's not just Luthor Huss who is the focus in this respect (although his story does take centre stage, more on that later on), there is heroism in the most unlikely of places and Wraight does well to shine a piercing light on all of it. Whether it's Rickard's quest for redemption through fanaticism, Mila constantly testing her own boundaries or Huss himself; all bases are very much covered here. The result is a work that is at times very stirring as people push themselves to the absolute limit and will not back down.
Wrapped all around this is a tale of darkness and horror where there is more than one surprise waiting to catch the unwary (and I'm talking about the characters as well as the readers here…) There is plenty going on here to hold your interest and it's punctuated with bursts of warfare and combat so intense and bloody that I found myself holding my breath until it was all done. Wraight knows only too well how bloody and capricious combat can be in the Old World, especially when you're trying to face down a Beast Man twice the size of you…
Where the problem came for me (and it was the only problem I had with in the entire book) was with the character of Luthor Huss himself, which was a bit of an issue seeing as the whole book is based around him. Here is a guy who is simply unable to form any meaningful relationship with the world around him; not only does his calling take priority but there are also other issues which you find out about towards the end of the book. What this means is that, for the larger chunk of the book, you are following a character whom it's more or less impossible to engage with; he's just not built that way. His heroism is never in doubt but you never really get an idea of why that is. You are told at the very end of the book but by then it's far too late…
I'm going to give Wraight the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps he wrote Huss a little too well here, read the book and you'll understand what I mean. Even so, this approach can make for frustrating reading at times…
Stick with it though and you'll be rewarded with a stirring tale of pitched battles and heroism that won't fail to hit the spot. Wraight cannot write quickly enough for me, more please!
Nine out of Ten
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
'Luthor Huss' – Chris Wraight (Black Library)
Posted by Graeme Flory at 12:15
Labels: 2012, black library, fantasy
2 comments:
- Prophetaxxi said...
Thanks for The review! This is next on my list! Currently reading "knight of the blazing sun" pretty awesome work too!i highly recommend! Couldn't help but to remember how epic both swords justice/vengeance were! For Sigmar!!!For the empire!!!
- 16 February 2012 at 15:46
- Kodanshi said...
To be honest, I don't mind characters that you can't particularly like as long as you can understand their actions, which I could with Luthor Huss. It's an issue I actually have with quite a few of Gerald Seymour's books, for example.
Nonetheless, this is one of my favourite Chris Wraight books along with Sword of Justice and the one he did for Stargate: Atlantis.
- 20 February 2012 at 11:04
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Our first dog came to us via my aunt as a puppy ."It's going to be a small dog," she said .
Wimpy ( named after the character in Popeye comics ) was true to his name and grew into a very large dog with an 'endless gut' . Finances had to be stretched to include dogfood , with a lot of free bones and scraps from the butcher .
At full growth , Wimpy was eight feet long from nose to the tip of his tail . Half was body and the rest was tail . The tail was a constant difficulty for him . He was forever tripping on it or dragging it on the ground . Whenever he was allowed inside , he would barge through the door in a panic , for his tail had been caught many a time - so he was sceptical that we would remember its presence on the end ...
Wimpy came into our family at a good time . My brother , who at three years old , was forever wandering away lost in his imaginary games .The dog quickly picked up the idea that this wandering was a no-no . One afternoon when Mum noticed my brother's absence again , she rushed out of the house to start the search and began calling for him . Just inside the edge of the bush , she heard a single bark and a lot of screaming . When she followed the commotion , she found Wimpy holding on to the seat of my brother's pants-steadfast in the face of a full blown temper tantrum . He had decided that my brother should go no further . Wimpy grabbed my brother's pants and simply sat down - immovable . " Good dog!" Mum said as she took hold of her squirming child .
Wimpy was a clumsy critter with long gangley legs , big feet and unidentifiable lineage . He was a total misfit , not particularly attractive in any way . But he was transformed into an absolutey beautiful animal when he ran . Nothing could give him such joy as running full speed with his tail held as straight as an arrow behind him- long legs in perfect synchronization that ate up the distance .
The trouble was that when he became full grown , none of us was fast enough to run with him and he would become frustrated that we gave up so soon . We just weren't challenging enough .
So , Dad came up with the idea , that driving the car along the side road and calling the dog to follow would exercise him well enough . It did work fine except the dog preferred to lead ,always keeping just ahead of the car. When he ran out of road , Dad would turn around and head back , whistling for the dog to come . To Dad's surprise , Wimpy ran up beside the car then dove into the passenger seat while the car was moving . It became a game . Anytime , the dog heard the car start up he would look expectantly at Dad waiting for the whistle that gave him permission to catch up and leap into the moving car .
It didn't take long for the dog to transfer this learning to other vehicles . He preferred transport trucks .The dog would run across the tracks to the highway where he would gallop alongside and ease himself into position in front - using his tail as a gauge to speed up when necessary . He was all race and no chase. As can be expected , one driver nudged Wimpy as he drew along side , knocking the dog to the side of the road . His leg was broken .
Dad found the dog after someone phoned to tell what they had seen . Once Wimpy was home , Mum splinted his leg with wood and torn sheets . After two days , she noticed Wimpy trying to continue his game despite the splint and broken leg . There was no stopping this dog from running and Dad's tutelage had put the dog into a precarious position .
Luckily for Wimpy , Dad found a place for him with a local farmer who appreciated the company in his field and livestock work . At least ,that's what he said .
Our neighbours had a small black and white dog named Patches at the same time as Wimpy was with us . She was Wimpy's best and only dog friend . They were always together when Wimpy wasn't running ...usually laying on the backporch step . Patches regularly put the chase on other dogs or animals who ventured into the area , while Wimpy felt no need to stir unless he thought it was someone he could race with .
After Wimpy left us , Patches continued to guard the back porch for many months . When Wimpy never returned , she began to wander the town . Eventually , Patches was picked up by the dog catcher and put into lock up at the town garage . After the third rescue , the neighbours decided that she would have to be put down so they didn't bother to retrieve her the fourth time .
Every two weeks , stray and abandoned dogs were put to death by gassing . A dog was placed inside a steel chamber where it's barks of terror slowed into silence over the sound of the town truck pumping exhaust fumes . In our school , beside this garage , we cried through each death , praying for it to end quickly .
Apparantly ,Patches had escaped , eaten the workman's lunch and evaded the horrible death ...or so they said .
It was then that I had my first doubt about the fairytale ending for Wimpy .


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Wimpole Therapeutics
2 Wimpole Street
North London Group Of Therapists
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I'm a sex & relationship therapist who is warm, open minded, empathetic, free from jargon and down to earth.
Whether you're single or in relationship, how you conduct your sex life is up to you – as long as you enjoy it and it's not harming anyone else. However, if sex and/or relationships aren't giving you pleasure or are causing you concern, then talking things through can help.
I work in an integrative manner, but am rooted in person centred therapy. This means I provide a safe space where we work together to find out what you want and how to achieve it. I am also able to offer advice and many effective tools that can help you overcome or manage any difficulties.
I work with individuals, couples or poly groups on issues including:
If you have a sex or relationship issue not on this list, do give me a call as I might be able to help or refer you to someone who can.
I started out as sex & relationship journalist. During this time I interviewed many people about their sex lives. I realised that the definitions of "good sex" and "good relationships" are very personal and that there are many ways to improve communication, increase satisfaction and connect with our bodies.
Following this, I set up a women's support group called Fannying Around. While the name may seem irreverent, the group attracted many people who would not usually seek out a therapist but needed a safe space where they could discuss feeling and thoughts surrounding their bodies and sex lives.
I have a PGDip in Psychosexual & Relationship Therapy and an advanced diploma in couples therapy. I have also attended the Pink Therapy Alternative Sexualities courses exploring kink, fetishes, BDSM, asexuality, compulsive sexual behaviour, HIV and condom use, gender dysphoria, pansexuality and bisexuality.
Confusion over sexuality
Loss of attraction
Dealing with affairs
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Problems orgasming including anorgasmia
Erectile dysfunction
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Dyspareunia including vaginismus
Increased rows
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Morning Skype. Daytime and evening office hours.


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Nigerian fashion industry is the next big thing to boost the economy. The fashion industry as it is now is meeting the international standards. Out of the many rising brands, I find a few that tickles my fancy!
I'm not all out for the brands that have made it to the top but brands that are on their way there. Let's dive in!
RÉ LINE by ORIRE OMATSOLA
I find this brand very interesting. I love everything about their collection at the LFDW (Lagos Fashion Design Week). What attracts you to their brand is the print patterns or what seems like "tribal" inscriptions on the fabric. By this alone, you know a RE LINE brand when you see it.
I love the story behind the collection, it's a bit of androgyny but still soft and playful. Their style is quite simple, comfortable, cool and chic. For the active woman, you get something of comfort and class and for the man on the move, there is something contemporary, neat and classy.
The colour combination is everything! From soft pastel colours to bright and bold colours. I love everything about this brand and I see them flying high! Take a look at some of the designs!
Credit: Instagram (@ré.lagos)
I can simply say if you love corporate fashion and still want to look cool in them, then Erilyn by Temitope is your go-to brand for that. I love the concept behind every piece especially when she combines African print fabrics with plain fabrics.
Her style is definitely modern classic fashion and it's timeless too!. Throwback to the time she styled Ozinna Anumudu in a print-on-print classic style. Absolutely on point! I have been looking forward to the day I'd wear an Erilyn fabric. Let me stick to the ones I can afford for now…LOL. Did you also know she recently extended her brand to the kids. It's called ERILYN KIDS.


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Two things you can do to prevent child sexual abuseDomestic and Sexual Violence Maine Focus
Last week, I attended the National Children's Alliance Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. During several interesting sessions about child sexual abuse and conversations with colleagues from around the country, I again was thinking about how to respond to the inevitable question of, "But what can I do to help prevent and respond to child sexual abuse?"
When people learn that I work for the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, they generally ask two questions: "Does sexual violence really happen in Maine?" and "What can I do to help?" Especially when there are children or older adults involved, people tend to pay a particular amount of attention.
The first question is easy to answer: Yes, sexual violence happens in Maine. About 1 in 5 Mainers will experience rape or attempted rape at some point in their lifetime. It's easy to talk about numbers because people are comfortable with numbers.
People, however, are less comfortable with behavior change, which makes the second question more difficult to answer. It involves examining our own behavior, acknowledging our own discomforts, and knowing when to ask for help. A few thoughts I had during the conference and conversations with various colleagues:
Recognizing a child's body is her/his own. When I say this to people, their immediate reaction is, "Of course my kid's body is his/her own!" Sometimes, though, in an effort to make auntie so-and-so feel included, we say things like, "Give Aunt Cara a hug and a kiss goodbye!" What if Sally doesn't want to give Aunt Cara a hug and a kiss goodbye? This doesn't seem like a big deal, but what this inevitably says to Sally is, "You have to hug or kiss someone even if you don't want to because a grownup said so."
Now, if Sally happens to be spunkier than the average kid, she may flat out deny the hug/kiss request and go on playing with her Legos. However, some kids may not feel so spunky. Saying to Sally, "If you don't want to hug Aunt Cara, that's OK, but let's say goodbye," helps to teach her manners but doesn't put her in a position of having to hug or kiss someone she doesn't want to hug or kiss. It helps children like Sally recognize and respect boundaries – their own and others. We don't make the teens in our lives hug or kiss people they don't want to. In fact, we actively tell them they don't have to! Why is a 3-year old any different? This small aspect of our behavior with young children can help address the broader issue of child sexual abuse.
If you see something, say something. A lot of folks get into a "not my business" frame of mind when it comes to sexual abuse. This frame of mind, often called the bystander effect, is why we read stories about people who witness a violent crime and don't intervene or call the police.
The thing is, any type of violent crime is everyone's business. And when it relates to those who can't speak up for themselves, it's even more important that if we suspect something, we say something.
This is an especially important point for those who work with children on a regular basis. During the week of July 14, St. Joseph's college is hosting an education symposium about child sexual abuse signs, symptoms and reporting. Speakers include Sen. Bill Diamond, Attorney General Janet Mills, Maine State Police Lt. Glenn Lang, former Assistant District Attorney Alan Kelley, and others.
I'll be speaking about child sexual abuse response, prevention, and the importance of services such as Children's Advocacy Centers and sexual assault support advocates. The information presented is intended for teachers and administrators and will include topics such as mandatory reporting and best practices for addressing a student/child who may be a victim. The symposium will be helpful for educators who have a chance to intervene in a potentially abusive situation. Both graduate and continuing education credits are available. For more information, or to register, click here.
The culture of silence around child sexual abuse still exists, though it's getting better. For more information on how to prevent and respond to child sexual abuse, visit the Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers, a program of MECASA.


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Over the last few years I have, like everyone else, put more and more information into wikis.
I've used three main platforms: MediaWiki (Choral Public Domain Library, http://www.cpdl.org/), PBwiki (e.g. http://iseries.pbwiki.com/) and TracWiki.
Those who have known me for a while will be aware of my tendency to bang on about information as an organisational asset, how difficult it is to get people to share information at all, and the consequent need to provide information repositories with capture mechanisms that involve minimal time and effort to use.
Information is more or less useless if it's inaccurate, if it's unclear, if you don't belong to the audience for which it was written, or if you can't retrieve it in an effective and timely manner.
So I was, and remain, delighted with the concept of a wiki, which allows easy capture, sharing, review and correction of information, which can give it a structure that permits effective retrieval and avoids duplication, and which encourages accuracy and clarity.
However, the devil has turned out to be in the detail.
When people put information into written form, it may be well structured, or it may be a brain dump. In my experience, any structure comes from the author's head and is internal to the document under preparation, unless the individual's day-to-day work specifically involves structured documentation. Therefore, in my view, if we are to get information out of people's heads and readily usable by others, we have to start with the content, and accept that structure may need to be added later.
If you ask someone to document something for you, they will typically create a Word document. It may have diagrams and complex tables. There may be careful formatting aimed at making the information easier to understand.
All wiki platforms I have used appear to make the following assumptions:
1) Formatting, beyond a very basic level, doesn't matter
2) People are prepared to put time and effort into learning and using the platform and/or its WYSIWYG editor
3) All content fits cleanly into a predefined structure
4) Once the information is in the wiki, people don't need to get it out again
5) Users are IT literate and have a conceptual interest in the wiki as a platform
The first alarm bells started to ring for me when I realised that not all wiki platforms used the same markup language - surely, if anything needed an open standard, this does.
I then started to wonder (and I still do) why wiki markup languages existed at all except as a structure-imposing superset of normal HTML. Do all wiki developers really want to waste their time writing the world's umpteenth not-very-good WYSIWYG editor?
I tried and failed to rename wiki pages (come on, chaps, even the most basic HTML editing tools let you change page names and automatically update all the relevant internal links for you). Structure is surely not a once-and-for-all thing.
I searched in vain for ways of adding links that did not involve two browser windows plus cut and paste (the honourable exception is PBwiki).
I pasted Word information into wiki WYSIWYG editors, even Word information that had been saved as filtered HTML and then put on the clipboard from IE, and most of the formatting disappeared (except, again, on PBwiki).
I attempted to export a set of wiki pages from one wiki and put them into another, or even to generate a PDF with all the linked information in it ... Surely I'm not the only one who wants to use the wiki for capture, maintenance, and day-to-day information retrieval, but still to have the option of publishing the results in final form? And surely I'm not the only one who gets fed up with one wiki platform and decides to try another?
To sum up, to say that I am disappointed with what has happened to a fantastically simple and brilliant idea would be a major understatement.
Thursday, 5 November 2009
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I've been pounding the table on uranium for some time now.
Over history, investors who have made the biggest gains have shown time and again that you need to buy when everyone else is selling. You need to buy what everyone else hates. You need to buy what no one else will.
And ever since the earthquake-induced disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, there have been few admirers of nuclear and uranium, and even fewer buyers.
Indeed, though they had already been sliding from their June 2007 cycle highs near $137 per pound — spurred by the flooding of the Cigar Lake Mine — after the tsunami and subsequent shuttering of all 48 reactors in Japan, the bid simply disappeared from under uranium spot prices.
Ultimately, uranium spot prices fell all the way to $28 per pound this past summer, a level not seen since May 2005.
Uranium prices at these levels are unsustainable. They must go higher.
When they do, uranium stocks will move much higher as well. And the companies with proven deposits boasting high grades and shallow depths will move higher by many multiples.
That's the natural cycle of things. You just have to be aware of it and be willing to buy a hated sector in anticipation of the profit cycle changing direction.
History to Repeat
For example, when uranium prices spiked over 400% from 2005 through 2008, junior uranium miners and exploration companies added as many percentage points, or better.
Again, when uranium spot price rebounded by 47% in 2010 and 2011, uranium mining stocks soared even higher.
Now, we're on the verge of the cycle turning over once more.
New Demand Coming Online
For starters, global electricity demand is growing twice as fast as overall energy demand. Worldwide demand for electricity will rise 75% by 2035.
A lot of that will have to be met with new nuclear plants, and we're seeing early signs that countries are well aware of it.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in China.
China currently has 17 nuclear reactors online and another 28 in the works. All told, the World Nuclear Association expects China to quadruple its nuclear reliance by 2020.
Check out this mind-blowing chart:
*Courtesy of Business Insider.
15 to 160 gigawatts is a 967% increase!
That's some astounding growth, and a black swan event like Fukushima is not going to put a dent in a transition that massive.
It probably won't even dent growth of Japanese demand. The country is already removing bans on nuclear power as it faces reality. It can't keep the lights on without nuclear power.
2017: Uranium Profit Cycle?
I honestly don't know when the momentum will truly shift. I just know it has to, or utilities won't be able to sustain 14% of global electricity production.
Chairman of Sprott U.S. Holdings and legendary resource investor Rick Rule put it bluntly in an interview with CEO.CA alongside Sprott's Vancouver Natural Resources Symposium in July:
When I look at a theme now like uranium, I am perfectly comfortable with the fact that it might take 5 years to be right. I have come to learn that asking myself investment questions where the answer begins with when, not if, is a very good trade.
In the uranium business now, industry costs including cost of capital is about $70, so you produce for $70 and sell it for $30 and lose $40. You cannibalize existing capital in corporate vehicles and that goes on until they go broke, and then the price shoots just like it did last decade. That's a question that begins with when. When does the dam break? It's not if. Does the price of uranium go up or do the lights go out?
With no Japanese demand and high supply from decommissioned nuclear warheads, nobody wanted to be the first to buy.
That's starting to change.
Exelon (NYSE: EXC) is the largest nuclear utility in the U.S., which is the largest nuclear power market in the world. It recently started buying large quantities of uranium at the bottom of the market.
That goaded buying interest in other utilities like Southern, Duke, and FPL.
As a result, uranium spot prices have now surged 40% off their summer lows of $28/lb to nearly $40/lb.
And can you guess what uranium stocks are doing?
They're doing an about-face in quick fashion:
But none of those in the chart have added the same 40% that uranium spot prices have. They still have some catching up to do.
And uranium prices could still have further to go.
Remember, uranium spot prices were at $39/lb in March 2006 — exactly where they trade today.
By the end of 2006, the spot price reached as high as $66/lb, before peaking near $140 the next year.
Uranium stocks returned thousands of percent during that period. And could be on the cusp of doing so again.
As Dundee Capital said in a recent uranium sector note:
Uranium price rise is accelerating. Spot uranium prices jumped up another $2/lb yesterday to $39/lb U3O8 according to TradeTech, or $39.25 according to UxC. Spot is now up 40% since lows of $28/lb this summer. Most importantly, it is the utilities that are starting to enter the market, suggesting that this rally could have some sustainability.
...the thing that might make this sustainable is that the utilities are starting to buy, in addition to the intermediaries and financial entities that are buying. Trading is still thin, but the makeup of the bidders has changed a lot recently and sellers are getting less needy to sell. The utilities need to purchase both spot and term uranium, and cover for 2017-18 period in particular. While they may be coming in early for that period, it is easier to talk its management into buying in rising uranium markets than flat. We have always said, just like in 2006-2007, when contracting begins and the price moves, it will move fast.
Now is the time to buy uranium stocks — just as the cycle starts to move higher.
Even if it doesn't fully happen in 2015, I'm perfectly happy waiting an extra year or two for multi-hundred or thousand point gains.
Remember, the return of uranium to a massive bull market and profit cycle is a when, not an if.
Call it like you see it,
Nick Hodge
Nick is the Founder and President of the Outsider Club, and the Investment Director of the thousands-strong stock advisory, Early Advantage. Co-author of two best-selling investment books, including Energy Investing for Dummies, his insights have been shared on news programs and in magazines and newspapers around the world. For more on Nick, take a look at his editor's page.
Outsider Club, Copyright © 2019, Angel Publishing LLC & Outsider Club LLC, 111 Market Place #720, Baltimore, MD 21202. For Customer Service, please call (877) 303-4529. All rights reserved. View our privacy policy here. No statement or expression of opinion, or any other matter herein, directly or indirectly, is an offer or the solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities or financial instruments mentioned. Angel Publishing and Outsider Club does not provide individual investment counseling, act as an investment advisor, or individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. Subscribers should not view this publication as offering personalized legal or investment counseling. Investments recommended in this publication should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company in question. This letter is not intended to meet your specific individual investment needs and it is not tailored to your personal financial situation. Nothing contained herein constitutes, is intended, or deemed to be – either implied or otherwise – investment advice. Neither the publisher nor the editors are registered investment advisors. This letter reflects the personal views and opinions of Nick Hodge and that is all it purports to be. While the information herein is believed to be accurate and reliable it is not guaranteed or implied to be so. Neither Nick Hodge, nor anyone else, accepts any responsibility, or assumes any liability, whatsoever, for any direct, indirect or consequential loss arising from the use of the information in this letter. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice, may become outdated and may not be updated. Nick Hodge, entities that he controls, family, friends, employees, associates, and others may have positions in securities mentioned, or discussed, in this letter. No part of this letter/article may be reproduced, copied, emailed, faxed, or distributed (in any form) without the express written permission of Nick Hodge or the Outsider Club. Unauthorized reproduction of this newsletter or its contents by Xerography, facsimile, or any other means is illegal and punishable by law.


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Coats, Jackets and Gilets for WomenGet on-trend ladies cover-ups in assorted styles and colours for every style inclination and setting. Browse the selection of women's coats, jackets and gilets and find the perfect cover-up to keep warm in the cold and still maintain your unique style aesthetic. Featuring everything from functional jackets that protect from extreme weather elements, to on-trend gilets that are more pleasing on the fashion eye, the selection of ladies jackets and coats have all you need and are begging to be worn!
Your selection: