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There has been increasing public exposure on the potential use of bio-fertilisers—the use of natural, organic matter. In Malaysia, local universities have been promoting the application of bio-fertilisers as part of the broader effort to maximise the value of empty fruit bunches (EFB).
Bio-fertilisers are natural fertilisers that contain living microorganisms that permeate the rhizosphere and promote growth by increasing the supply or availability of primary nutrients to the host plant. The term, "rhizosphere" refers to the soil zone surrounding the plant roots where the biological and chemical features of the soil are influenced by the roots.
The use of bio-fertilisers is particularly evident in organic farming and the practice of composting for soil fertility as it is much more environmentally-friendly than chemical fertilisers.
On an industrial scale, bio-fertilisers should be promoted as an alternative to the widespread use of chemical fertilisers in the country – not necessarily as a substitute, but as a preferred choice in the development of the agricultural sector and, by extension, the burgeoning green economy of the country.
In one fell swoop, the use of bio-fertilisers could render the conventional dual-practice of deploying microbial killers together chemical fertilisers "redundant".
In a recent article published by Malaysiakini, Robert Hii of the non-governmental organisation Friends of Borneo, has called for the use of bio-fertilisers to reduce the emissions of Malaysia's agricultural products, especially since it's readily available.
Indeed, bio-fertilisers have already been in use in Malaysia – with pioneers such as BIO AG in Pahang and SOField Agrobio Resources in Sarawak, which have been helping farmers to increase yields while reducing operational costs and carbon emissions.
A specific use of bio-fertilisers is in relation to leguminous cover crops such as groundnut (Arachis hypogaea). These were used not only to enhance soil fertility and crop yields, but to protect against any possible soil erosion and minimise water losses, especially during drought season.
However, even though this practice has a precedent, it's not well established. There are many opportunities for the innovative use and improvisation of our country's rich natural resources to produce high quality, durable and effective bio-fertilisers.
With 90 million tonnes of EFB waste generated each year, the solid wastes actually represent a vast untapped source of potential biomass/ biodegradable bio-fertilisers. The EFB of oil palm can be recycled or "renewed" as humic (acidic) substances that enhance nutrient absorption pulsating with "bio-active energy" that could induce growth of high yield crops with superior qualities.
According to studies done at local universities, deploying biomass wastes from EFB as bio-fertilisers is much more cost-effective and better than the current commercial habit of transforming these into mulch (material that covers the soil's surface) – which in effect serves the purpose as both microbial inoculants, and as substituting the role of leguminous cover crops as mentioned.
Hence, as mulch, EFB wastes do not behave as bio-fertilisers but merely supplement and complement the existing use of chemical fertilisers. In fact, according to an analysis in the Journal of Oil Palm Research, there is little scientific evidence in support for the beneficial use of mulch.
Furthermore, the costs of collection and transportation is very high, and disposing of excess or surfeit supply which requires extensive burning (which impacts air quality) – through the "clean clearing technique." Therefore, it's debatable at least, that mulch is sustainable – economically and environmentally.
On the other hand, composting EFB wastes into bio-fertilisers have obvious benefits and advantages. The same studies researched at local universities as mentioned have shown pronounced and accentuated physiological and morphological growth of plants using bio-fertilisers (from EFB wastes).
These take the form of height characteristics, disease resistance, photosynthetic rate & chlorophyll contents, nutrient availability, etc. The findings demonstrate the capability of bio-fertilisers composted from EFB wastes to fulfil the needs and requirements of plant growth on a fully-orbed and holistic basis, i.e., multifunctional.
In terms of costs and technological utilisation, oil palm biomass composting is – perhaps unsurprisingly – cheap and doesn't require sophisticated (i.e., only low-level) mechanisms. In fact, there are also various methods of composting to suit the needs of the individual enterprise.
In 2013, the Microbiology Research Group at the University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Biotechnology Research Institute developed a simple and easy way to accelerate the composting period to within 40 days. And there's not only potentially a huge domestic market but also overseas market such as the European Union (EU) due to the latter's policy on organic waste management and sustainable farming practices.
Bio-fertilisers can also represent additional income to oil palm and palm oil companies as they sell the excess supply to (local and foreign) counterparts that need bio-fertilisers.
Capitalising and harnessing biomass products also offer huge business opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially if they focus on bio-fertilisers that can be converted into eco- and bio-composite products across a range of sectors and industries.
The products can range from agriculture, food production to furniture manufacturing. It's time, therefore, for both the government to work closely together with players and other relevant stakeholders in the industry to ensure that the country makes full use of this potential to drive the economy forward and carve out a niche in the global markets.
Lastly, beyond the palm oil industry, a concrete example can be seen in a breakthrough with the conversion of lignocellulosic fibres from discarded pineapple leaves to make strong materials for use to build the frames for unmanned aircraft or drones by researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia.
According to Professor Mohamed Thariq Hameed Sultan, "drones made out of the bio-composite material had a higher strength-to-weight ratio than those made from synthetic fibres and were also cheaper, lighter and easier to dispose of. And should the drone be damaged, the frame could be buried in the ground and would degrade within two weeks". Not least, this project will boost the income of pineapple farmers, especially in light of the on-going economic impact of Covid-19.
In conclusion, bio-fertilisers should be integrated into a future 4th National Agricultural Policy (NAP) for sustainable oil palm agriculture as well as agriculture as a whole including the agenda of making it more climate-change resilient and contributing to reduction in carbon emissions.
Jason Loh Seong Wei is Head of Social, Law & Human Rights at EMIR Research, an independent think tank focussed on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.


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Browse by author
Lookup NU author(s): Han Cao, Professor Patrick OlivierORCiD, Dan Jackson
We describe a crossmodal ambient display framework with which we aim to bridge the gap between ambient display technology and personal mobile HCI through the exploitation of aspects of crossmodal cognition. We utilize this framework in the construction of CROSSFLOW, a crossmodal ambient display prototype for indoor navigation, and demonstrate a significant increase in the performance of users navigating with CROSSFLOW in contrast to their navigation performance with a standard map. Based on our empirical studies there is support for both the utility and desirability of crossmodal ambient displays. Evaluation of the prototype has shown that crossmodal ambient displays can support faster, more accurate and less cognitively demanding navigation than can a traditional map.
Author(s): Cao H, Olivier P, Jackson D, Armstrong A
Publication type: Report
Publication status: Published
Series Title: School of Computing Science Technical Report Series
Year: 2007
Pages: 14
Print publication date: 01/02/2007
Source Publication Date: February 2007
Report Number: 1004
Institution: School of Computing Science, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Place Published: Newcastle upon Tyne
URL: http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/trs/papers/1004.pdf

subset: commoncrawl


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Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Today's card sample features the new stamp set Boys will be Boys.
This stamp set is the perfect set for boys. It reminds me so much of when my boys were little and played with Lego's and block.
My boys aren't so little anymore; here they are at Frontier Park. We visited the Indian Village and the Old West.
Having a lot of fun visiting with France.
This morning we are watching the USAF Thunderbirds air show and tonight we are going to the Florida Georgia Line Concert at Cheyenne's Frontier Days.
We are leaving for Michigan tomorrow. I'm going to miss my friend and won't see her again until January when we go to Leadership convention in Orlando FL.
Thanks again for stopping by and have a great day!


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Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikant Das in a meeting informed that on the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 4.0 percent.
Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF remains unchanged at 3.35 percent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 4.25 percent.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is perhaps the only central bank in the world to have set up a special quarantine facility with its officers, staff and service providers, numbering about 200, for critical operations to ensure business continuity in banking and financial market operations and payment systems Governor said.
The MPC also decided to continue with the accommodative stance as long as it is necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward. These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 percent within a band of +/- 2 percent while supporting growth.
• The global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) and the global services PMI rose to 50.3 and 50.5, respectively in July, moving back to the expansion zone.
• Global Economy- Global financial markets have rebounded since end-March 2020 with intermittent pauses, shrugging off the volatility and sharp correction recorded in Q1:2020. Portfolio flows returned to EMEs in Q2 after a massive reversal, though there was moderation in July from the previous month's level.
• Domestic Economy- On the domestic front, economic activity had started to recover from the lows of April-May following the uneven re-opening of some parts of the country in June; however, surges of fresh infections have forced re-clamping of lockdowns in several cities and states. Consequently, several high-frequency indicators have leveled off.
• Headline CPI inflation, which was at 5.8 percent in March 2020, was placed at 6.1 percent in the provisional estimates for June 2020. Inflation pressures were evident across all sub-groups.
• For the year 2020-21 as a whole, real GDP growth is also estimated to be negative. Early containment of the COVID-19 pandemic may impart an upside to the outlook.
• Additional special liquidity facility of Rs 10,000 crore will be provided at the policy repo rate consisting of Rs 5,000 crore to the National Housing Bank (NHB) to shield the housing sector from liquidity disruptions and augment the flow of finance to the sector through housing finance companies (HFCs), and Rs 5,000 crore to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to ameliorate the stress being faced by smaller non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions in obtaining access to liquidity.
• A restructuring framework for MSMEs that were in default but 'standard' as on January 1, 2020 is already in place. The scheme has provided relief to a large number of MSMEs. With COVID-19 continuing to disrupt normal functioning and cash flows, the stress in the MSME sector has got accentuated, warranting further support. Accordingly, it has been decided that stressed MSME borrowers will be made eligible for restructuring their debt under the existing framework, provided their accounts with the concerned lender were classified as standard as on March 1, 2020. This restructuring will have to be implemented by March 31, 2021.
• As per extant guidelines, loans sanctioned by banks against pledge of gold ornaments and jewellery for non-agricultural purposes should not exceed 75 percent of the value of gold ornaments and jewellery. With a view to mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on households, it has been 11 decided to increase the permissible loan to value ratio (LTV) for such loans to 90 percent. This relaxation shall be available till March 31, 2021.
• As per RBI's extant Basel III guidelines, if a bank holds a debt instrument directly, it would have to allocate lower capital, as compared to holding the same debt instrument through a Mutual Fund (MF)/Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). It has been decided to harmonise the differential treatment existing currently. This will result in substantial capital savings for banks and is expected to give a boost to the corporate bond market.


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A 13-year-old boy apparently jumped to his death from a communications tower in a field in Gosen, Niigata Prefecture, on Monday morning.
According to police, the boy's body was found below at the 30-meter-high tower at around 7:30 a.m. NTV reported that the boy was confirmed dead at the scene. Police believed he climbed up a ladder on the side of the tower.
According to the boy's school, he had not attended school since the third semester began. On Friday, a school official visited the boy at his home to see if everything was OK and if he would be attending Monday's school opening ceremony. The boy said he was fine, the school said.
The boy's family reported him missing on Sunday afternoon.
© Japan Today


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Comprehending the intention of the scholarship is important to your success. If you need to change into proficient at composing in Chinese, you have to analyze all the facets of grammar spoken about in this part. In an effort to foster your Cina Article Composing, you ought to participate in a range of writing activities. Initially, scholarship essay creating may appear like a daunting endeavor. Their books was sustained in the unique kind of numerous codices together with inscriptions. Simply like many types of authorship, it really is crucial to start the essay writing process with an outline. Regardless of software duplicate offerings, you can also develop into a your dissertations produced. In the procedure of your own document writing you'll have the opportunity to make any crucial specs at your own private page. Besides learning the terminology, you get a very first hand look in the www.paper-helper.org area lifestyle, and you'll be several recollections that will last you an eternity. For countless decades, books are becoming an intrinsic role in each one's residing.
Next, see to it the envelope you employ can also be a fresh white one and it is properly addressed.
Most Chinese folks don't talk English. In this signifies, understanding Chinese is a prolonged procedure, however to learn the way to speak fluent Chinese within the Chinese setting you happen to be going to mostly put it to use in easy. There's many different advantages to using a class to examine the language you need. China has gotten really helpful actually within the authorities, which means that the understanding towards this vocabulary permit it to be achievable that you socialize with those within the higher ranked culture! The vocabulary having the most native speakers on the planet is Oriental. Since the growth of Cina's economic system, an increasing amount of non native speakers from all over the globe study Chinese in China. Today as the growing of earth, people are ready to find out more about other nations in addition to other civilizations. Extremely enormous numbers of individuals are applying this strategy to understand a lot of dialects including Russian now.
Attempt mayonnaise, butter and coconut oil.
70% of the Oriental folks talk Mandarin. Therefore as far as I know big quantities of people around our planet now are really attempting to understand this terminology. This novel might not simply furnish you with format of illustrations, but also it may supply you with sentence explanations along with tons of frequent workouts matching the replies at the comparable moment. Thus, if you need to keep in mind a term, you should Do what you can to create a meaningful sentence with this special term as an alternative to duplicate writing it on a sheet paper. Today, the most practical method to actually pick up the syntax isn't to focus on it. Write down this major theme within the midst of the important page of paper. Some one can compose a wellness papers about a sure disorder describing to the globe lots of facts about it. In our days producing paper has developed into a complicated procedure which may at times bring fortune to folks. So knowing that each particular person who sits down to write is distinct and will need distinct reason behind creating is just an essential theory. For the finest fortune available lots of investigation and calculating should be completed so as to produce the spectacular paper.


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How to make the perfect cup of tea, according to expert
You may be making your tea wrong, as an afternoon tea expert has just revealed the proper way - and milk does not come first.
According to sommelier and tea expert Neil Phillips, there are quite a few ways people unintentionally botch their tea.
First, and most importantly, the milk must always come last - if you are concerned about appearances.
"Milk added first stems from the servants of a large house who used to drink from unrefined clay mugs which could crack when hot tea was poured, so they popped a bit of milk in, before, to act as a coolant," Phillips revealed.
The upper-class, or the upstairs of the house, drank from fine bone china - meaning they didn't have to worry about their tea cracking their teacups, according to Phillips.
So if you want to appear more refined, or follow "proper etiquette," Phillips, who has curated a menu of the perfect afternoon tea for the May 5-6th QIPCO Guineas Festival at Newmarket, recommends drinking your tea as if you were a member of the royal family.
Additionally, most British people are actually guilty of under-brewing their tea, as the typical two minutes is just not enough.
Although it does depend on your tea - green tea typically does not have to brew as long - Phillips recommends that most tea brew for at least four minutes.
The 50 best tea rooms
And while he does admit that it is "definitely a personal preference" to brew your tea for a strong four minutes, Yorkshire Tea suggests the same on their website, stating: "Tea needs time to unlock all its flavour, so give it four to five minutes to do its thing."
Tea-drinkers should also consider how they are stirring their tea and how they are holding their cups - as both are indicative of how refined you are.
A clear giveaway of your elegance when it comes to stirring is how you remove the excess tea from your spoon. While a "light flick" is fine, even elegant, "bashing the spoon on the side of the cup is not," according to Phillips.
Finally, before you accept an offer to "high tea" you may want to reconsider - as high tea was originally for commoners and servants.
"First and foremost, you should be clear that afternoon tea is not the same as high tea," Phillips warned.
Afternoon tea was typically served to the upper-class around 4pm, whereas high tea was when servants ate - typically around 6pm after the rest of the house had been served.
And to properly enjoy your quintessentially British afternoon tea, complete with the perfect cup of tea, Phillips insists only crustless sandwiches are served, and, of course, jam before cream on your scones.


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Hall of Gratitude
Carlos Goytia
Submitted by Cat Goytia and Yesenia Miranda Meza
Carlos showed me the power of love for community
I met Carlos a little over 10 years ago. He had started a football program back in 2008. Pomona had not had a football league for over 30 years. I saw families happy and thrilled when their kids' faces lit up as they ran to him for a high-five every single time – it amazed me. He touched these kids' hearts. Everyone in the football league knew him as Papa Bear and to this day I hear parents call him that. He started two other Pony leagues in the city of Pomona, which are still active – Pomona Pony Youth Baseball at Palomares Park (since 2010), and Pony United Youth Baseball League/West Pomona at Kennedy Park (since 2014). He was able to get grant monies for Kennedy Park to add lights for the league and he is currently working on a new grant to get a snack bar installed as well. Since COVID started he has partnered up with God's Pantry with food donations for those in need. He has touched my children's lives as well as many others. My kids followed in his footsteps in giving back to the community. They volunteer in cleanups with the city, and anywhere they are needed. I want to give thanks to Carlos Goytia for being an example to our community of what volunteerism is. I hope he gets selected to be one of the people showcased in the Hall of Gratitude. – Cat Goytia
Carlos Goytia has had a huge direct impact on my life from the day I met him. He is that kind of human being. He is caring, giving, and always ready to lend a helping hand. I met Carlos during an event at John F. Kennedy Park in Pomona in 2014. Of course Carlos had something to do with the event, and I was looking for him because a friend had told me he was very involved in the community. I spoke to him and let him know my passion for our city and how much I wanted to make a difference! Carlos Goytia had a great deal of influence in shaping the person that I am. This man took me under his wings and shared his knowledge and experience with me. I consider him one of my great mentors in life and I am so grateful that God put him in my path! When Carlos and I get together we are unstoppable. From raising money for his baseball league (Pony United), having yearly Water Bash events in parks, organizing annual Toy Giveaways during Christmas, building community gardens from the ground up, and marching alongside each other for human rights; Carlos has always been there ready to go! I admire Carlos and all the hard work, dedication, and years he has put into our community. He is a great example of a true Pomonan and community leader. I don't think people truly understand what it takes to be a community leader – we dedicate our time, resources and life for the greater good of human kind – and Carlos deserves full recognition for mentoring a person like me. He has sown so many positive seeds in our community. I am a product of the love, care and dedication Carlos Goytia has shown our community! – Yesenia Miranda Meza


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Thrifty, one of the largest rental companies in Europe, operated with 2 offices in Kalamata: one at the airport and one inside the city.
Kalamata is one of the most beloved destinations in Greece mainly because it has beaches of unique beauty and impressive green landscapes full of olive groves. Car rental is considered necessary to be able to visit the beautiful beaches of the area, as well as the archaeological and historical sites.
We have a fleet of young cars and provide affordable car rental solutions, as well as high quality services.
We will be happy to serve you at your next car rental in Kalamata.


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How does yearbook cover the school that's shut down?
December 4, 2020
As students have been informed, Owatonna Public Schools are not estimated to be up and running again until January 11, 2021. While teachers are hard at work to brainstorm new ways to make learning more efficient for students, yearbook adviser Mr. Dan Leer has been busy finding new ways to fill the 2020-2021 book of memories.
As many students probably know Mr. Leer has been sending out surveys over email with a photo attachment, asking them to fill their thoughts in the required blanks "chances are you'll make it in the yearbook by answering the survey." With school not being in social function, the yearbook has run into some difficulties.
On a regular day, Mr. Leer would send his students out to catch shots of students busy at work or to interview a student and get a picture during the time they had together. Mr. Leer says, "We are really trying to be creative in the things we cover, we don't know if some of our normally covered activities are going to be just delayed or canceled."
We are really trying to be creative in the things we cover, we don't know if some of our normally covered activities are going to be just delayed or canceled.
— Mr. Dan Leer
Yearbook staff are running into some obstacles. Yearbook staffer Hailee Olsen student says, "Kids don't like submitting pictures of themselves; they would rather just submit their quote. We are trying to continue covering pages normally as we would if we were in school." A lot of the coverage has been done electronically and with that comes technical difficulties which can only be resolved virtually with help. Each student does their part to the fullest they are able. Each student is assigned a portion to complete and it is their responsibility to find coverage. Being distanced, they are not able to do that as freely as preferred. Yearbook asks that students are checking their emails and responding to the surveys.
While COVID-19 continues to bring out the worst in the thoughts of the community, Mr.Leer has tried to distract from the negative of quarantine and push on with the fun of yearbook. During distance-learning a typical day for yearbook students consists of focusing on their part and pushing everything is still being covered, students of yearbook are doing their part, and more. Mr.Leer and the yearbook team have managed to cover most of the fall sports and events.
Given that students may be back in school by January, yearbook plans to get as much coverage as possible during that time, while OHS continues online they have taken advantage of the survey answers they have been given. If you are interested in a 2020-2021 yearbook this link.


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Current Temperature
By Greg Price
Taber Times
The sounds of summer bring with it memories of car cruising past.
Only for some, it is not just the Sunday drive with the top down and classic tunes blaring on the radio, but a need for speed.
Those memories were recounted earlier this summer in mid-July at the residence of Johnny Pecz as the Gear Lord's Car Club membership had its privileges way back in those Taber days of 1969.
While only in existence for a brief amount of time over a few years, the club peaked in interest with membership over 50 from its humble beginnings of 12.
There were 21 former members who attended Gear Lord's Car Club reunion this summer, recounting those memories of 1969 Firebirds and 1967 Barracudas that cruised the Taber streets and dragged the Taber highways.
"When the club first formed, we threw it out there with different names and it seemed to stick," said Pecz of the origins of the club that was seen as a way for young drivers to gather in camaraderie for their love of cars along with promoting vehicle safety and maintenance.
Members would drag race out in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, Vulcan, Calgary, Great Montana, and Wassa Lake, British Columbia. Pecz himself was drag racing his family car back in 1959 as a wily teenager.
"I'd sneak the family car out on the track, we weren't even really racing for anything except for the thrill as friends at that time," said Pecz.
Members of the Gear Lord's Car Club regularly supported drag racing out on a 1/4 mile drag strip track in Vulcan.
"It was a fun thing to do, but it was costly. In the three years the club was in existence, I only made it down the track three times," said Pecz with a chuckle. "I kept breaking down. I had a lot of power, but I didn't know how to drive. The thing with the club was for 95 per cent of the club, the cars they used (drag racing), were their daily-driven cars. It's not like you see nowadays with all these specialty cars. The cars back then were used for two things."
According to club documentation, some Taberites found it ironic that there was a car club in existence that preached vehicle safety, yet reveled in what could be seen as a high-risk endeavour in drag racing.
But every authorized drag strip had its safety rules, and if a car could not meet a set of specifications, it was not allowed to race. Authorized drag strips had many fire extinguishers on hand, and generally an ambulance was on hand in case of any freak accidents. Also, keeping the activity all in one area helped stop youth from branching out into various different areas around town. But in those brash teenager and early 20s days, Pecz admitted Gear Lord drag races were not always authorized.
"The way a lot of this started, was as young kids, we would go up Highway 36, where after school, or sitting in a bar, we would challenge people to a race," said Pecz. "The town police could not go past a certain area, so a mile out it was basically RCMP. There were times they would sit on the side of the road waiting for us because they'd catch wind of races. We'd see their (police) lights, and one guy would take off while another would pretend they were broken down. Basically, we got a lot of speeding tickets, but never really got caught for drag racing side by side."
Pecz recounts an incident where a Gear Lord's Club member took a paint can and marked off a quarter mile line right on the highway.
"The police heard about it and repainted the lines for us," said Pecz laughing. "It was a nice, new line. I don't know if the police did it for safety (to keep drag racers from other areas), or just encouraged it to catch us."
As races got to be too interrupted by authorities, the club decided to go further up on Highway 36 where races got some extra viewership from the rural community.
"There was a farmer who would sit out there on a Wednesday night, knowing we were coming. He would take a lawn chair and sit out there and wait until we raced. He loved it," said Pecz. "Most of our races were right after our meetings."
Derrick Simpson was in attendance at the Gear Lord's and Gals Car Club reunion this summer which was in the basement of his home where the inaugural meeting took place on Feb. 27, 1969, as the club started off with 12 members. A complete governing body was selected and a constitution for the club was drawn up.
The club would put on car rallies that would serve as a treasure hunt around town for members to use their cars, along with holding raffles and eventually building a club house. The club house was built by members. The club house was an old double garage, which was completely insulated, fitted with natural gas, heat and electricity. The garage was divided into two sections, one section was for the weekly meetings while the other section was work space for members to work on their cars.
"It was a club thing, where everyone got along good and the reunion was bringing people together. It brought back a lot of good memories. The wives were invited too," said Pecz, adding there was still one of those original cars from the club days still kicking around in a 1969 GTO 400 from Neil Sakamoto, adding reunion members traveled from Lethbridge, Coaldale, Medicine Hat, Saskatchewan, and Kalispell, Mont.
"We were all good friends at the time, and this reunion, even though a lot of the people still live in town, life gets busy and this was a special thing to bring people together."
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(Barry Chowka – American Thinker) Conservative author and activist Michelle Malkin was brutally assaulted and prevented from speaking as she made her way to the speaker's platform at a pro-police public rally in downtown Denver on Sunday. The patriotic event, the 6th Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day billed as "family friendly," was advertised in advance on social media including at Malkin's Twitter, where she has 2.2 million followers.
Malkin was live streaming the event from her cell phone on Periscope Sunday afternoon as the situation deteriorated after masked thugs wearing Black Lives Matter t-shirts assaulted two speakers and then set upon Malkin….
A diminutive child of immigrants from the Philippines who legally moved to the U.S. in the late 1960s, Malkin, who was born in Philadelphia in 1970, describes herself as a "little brown woman" with a "big mouth." Malkin linked to the entire 35 minute long Periscope video at her Twitter.
The conservative voice and Christian content is being silenced more and more. Stay informed by signing up to receive CRN's need to read articles. AD FREE! NO VIDEOS!


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The world over, students, postgraduates and academics of all levels work hard to develop theory and understanding of the world around us. They literally study everything, and while you may be thinking of so called Mickey Mouse Degrees, all areas of academic study can still seem quite niche; including both coaching and rock climbing.
There are many good studies that look at rock climbing as well as a large swathe of work investigating sports coaching. Fortunately for me, during my Master's Degree in Elite Performance with the University of Central Lancashire, i was able to dig deep into much of this work, both strengthening many of the beliefs i held as well as learning more, new ideas and theories to incorporate into my work. My study also helped me develop many of my own theories that are used during every coaching session.
However there exists a huge chasm between academic research and practical application and this is where this landing page comes in. Here, i'll be looking at much of the established academic theory and translating it into what can work for you, either as a climber or as a coach.
Articles are currently being written for this new section of the website. Please keep checking back for the latest addition.


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- Navigation -
I need to apologise for anyone I have offended in writing this article, and hope they can respect my opinion as I respect theirs in consoles to follow, who's better than what and in life in general. If you disagree with what is said, put your thoughts into words in a mature way and comment, tell me, so I can consider your views. Please don't comment without reading the entire article though, because it starts off fairly nasty.
I am not a fanboy.
I am not anti-fanboy.
But, for some reason, everyone considers me a fanboy. I don't quite understand why things got like this.
I have a DS, GBA, GC, N64, and every other Nintendo console post dating the Snes, inclusive. However, I have never, EVER said anything BAD about rivals in the gaming market. Why did I choose The Big N? I haven't chosen anything.
I buy the games that I like. For obvious financial reasons I don't strain to buy all the consoles, but due to others in my family and students at the University where my dad works, (and lectures tediously on about business studies and video games), I have played nearly all the consoles. Nearly. Why I stick with Nintendo is because I own their consoles, and so buy games for them, and because through playing them I realise and understand that it's best to stick with them.
I never say anything good or bad about Sony. I don't care what others use to entertain themselves. (I do care, though, although I usually wouldn't say so, about Nintendo and hope they are successful simply as I like a company and wish for them to continue to go on, for my benefit. But that isn't the point.)
When I see the PSP in shop windows, and people making huge fusses over it, more than the DS, it does stir me, but I never say so. It stirs me for my respect and pity for Nintendo, not that I am a fanboy. The angry thing, the thing that DOES make me hate Sony for, nothing bad against them, is that the people who follow them, not always, not everyone, but, from my experience, they tend to down Nintendo. It makes them happy. Let me tell you the story of my friends at school.
None of them had anything of Ninty's creation. They all had PS2s. One by one, I showed them and encouraged them to see there was just as good a console called the Gamecube.
Point being, in a years time they all had Gamecubes as well. I showed them, and changed their views. Before, they genuinely believed and repeatedly said "Nintendo is crap", ad i would ask, just as I question every unjust quote; "Why?", and they would reply "Ha, you like Nintendo and it's doing badly, ha ha!!". I can't believe how immature anyone can get, but it's always like this, just like everything else.
My 'friend' would call someone "gay" as an insult. And NATURALLY, DEFENDING THE INNOCENT, I jokingly said: "Now, now, there's nothing wrong with being Gay". And immediately, they all said there's everything wrong with it, and I would say "why?", and they would say that I was gay. Nothing wrong with that, but point being that they stereotypically viewed me as an enemy because they had no actual argument. (Well, they spoke of man to man love being wrong, but to an alien there's nothing different between that than man to woman love. Point is that they chose the majority side, if they had been brought up differently, I'm sure that they would have thought being gay was fine. )
This all changed, I thought. They had seen that there was naught incorrect with Nintendo and had left their views of "The majority is this, so we support this and Down anyone doesn't, even without argument.".
But no.
These are actual quotes.
"The PSP is coming out in September, w00t! Soooo much better than your DS, DS sucks!!"
"I imported the PSP, it whips the DS' ass!!" - "Have you played the DS?" - "You've got one, it sucks!" (IE, no, he'd watched me playing it from an angle where you can't see the screen.)
I could go on with these, you've probably heard a lot of them already, or think that way, but what would that achieve?
And so I was alone in the world of appreciating consoles for what they were. Until I joined the web forums I've twisted my way into now. All the others like me though, who shared my views, views as in being mature about respecting opinions, all owned Nintendo consoles. None were Sony only.
Now maybe I'm wrong. Definitely wrong, most of you will say.
If I have offended you, sorry.
If my examples are "one-off-chances" then what does it matter? It's the surroundings that drove me to Nintendo, and is what drove most of you to Sony. If what I write is wrong, in your opinion, I respect that, and will continue to respect that, until you take action against me.
But the reason for my writing is the first point - I DON'T CARE, AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU. I don't care what others think of me. I don't care what consoles win and which consoles lose (well, I do, but...). I don't care what you think of what you think of my article, or of the consoles and fanboys. If others do, then write your own article. (and submit it to Kousou Games, :D)
You shouldn't care what i think. You should play games to have fun and enjoy life.
From all around the world, mitxela signing off. I'll be back tomorrow with a Zelda review.
to place a comment on this article.
Author: mitxela
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Roulette is a game of likelihood, except that does not mean you can not acquire at roulette you possibly can.
All you have to do is to get capable to play the right table and know the top bets, it really is that easy!
The completely wrong way to gain at roulette
Many gamblers go about attempting to earn at roulette the incorrect way by using a technique, to help acquire the possibility in their favour. Dilemma is they will not operate.
If it's a casino game of chance (and roulette is) each spin is independent of just about every other and systems can not by definition efforts.
If the ball falls on odd fifty-five times inside a row or one hundred and fifty five times the probabilities nevertheless stay 50 – 50 to the up coming spin. Past information is of no use to predict the near future, so neglect techniques.
Having the possibilities within your favour
Numerous gamblers believe in luck and their time is due, except to earn at roulette you should basically do two items, the odds are as good as their likely to be and for a casino game of possibility at 1.35 percent in favour of the casino there very fine.
2 ways to gain at roulette
You'll find only two issues you'll want to know to gain at roulette:
Wager on the table while using the ideal chances and site the bets while using the very best possibility, that is it. You then have as much opportunity to be successful at roulette as any other gambler and will have lowered the casino advantage as low as you possibly can.
Listed here are the 2 factors to maintain in mind to acquire at roulette
Bet on the European wheel
The European wheel has 37 spaces which has a single zero; the American wheel has an extra slot, a 00 to producing 38 spaces, the upshot of this really is that the casino benefit is bigger about the American table.
The casino advantage is 5.26 percent to the American wheel except only two point seven per-cent for the European wheel, so you need to play this table to cut the
casino benefits.
Ideal probabilities
Use bets whose odds are similar to their payouts, betting on Odd, Even, Minimal, (numbers 1 to 18), Superior, (amounts nineteen to thirty six), Black, or Red.
These wagers pay out out possibility of one: one. Your possibilities of winning are just under half, rendering it a excellent strategy to bet, that maximizes your bankroll
The best of all!
On numerous European wheels you can discover a bet which requires advantage of a rule referred to as 'en prison.'
Gamblers can position an even money wager and the ball lands on zero, nevertheless you will not drop your wager.
Your wager is carried forward to the next spin or 'imprisoned'. If your bet wins, you take it back.
The casino edge is just one point three five per-cent, which makes it the bet while using ideal chances of all to gain at roulette.
Stay away from all other bets as the possibility are to extended and you may drop more than time.
The above bets will receive the odds in your favor as a lot as probable and help you gain at roulette.
Roulette can be a good fun casino game and are unable to be beaten for excitement and glamour.
It really is a nice break from far more intense games of skill like black-jack or poker and the simple fact it is possible to bet on having a tiny casino advantage against you is an additional bonus and maximizes your odds of succeeding at roulette.


text: Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at Independent Women's Forum, co-hosted "O'Connor & Company" on WMAL. They discussed the White House launching an online harassment task force. Patrice also weighs in on the "Our Bodies, Our Sports" rally, which will take place on the 50th anniversary of Title-IX.


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text: NEW YORK — Officially — at least in their comments — NFL players and coaches arent concerning themselves with refereering. Marshawn Lynch Camo Jersey . The NFL and its locked-out officials werent talking two days before the season begins, a clear indication replacements will be on the field for Wednesday nights opener. Doesnt matter, according to many of the guys who call the plays or carry them out. "Were going to play the games regardless," Chargers All-Pro safety Eric Weddle said Monday. "Everyone makes mistakes. I make mistakes. Its just the way human nature is. You cant get hard on guys that are trying to do the best they can. Youve just got to deal with it. "Each week, each game, each practice, theyll get better, so its not a concern of ours. Regardless, weve got to go out there and execute and take it out of their hands. Lets go out and play good football, execute at a high level and then they wont be in position to throw flags and make judgment calls." Broncos coach John Fox echoed those thoughts. "In this game youve got to overcome a lot of things," Fox said. "Youve got to overcome the other team. Sometimes youve got to overcome your own mistakes. So, officials have always been a part of it and theyve never been an excuse. So, I dont care whos out there, weve got to worry about how were playing and well deal with whatever they call, whether its old guys, new guys, middle guys. Their stuff sometimes influences the game, but youve got to overcome that." Both sides met for three days last week, but did not reach an agreement to end the three-month lockout. The replacement officials who worked the preseason games amid much criticism will handle the Cowboys at Giants opener and the other 15 games on the weekend. "You just have to play your game. You cant even pay any attention to it now at this point," Giants receiver Victor Cruz said Monday. "You just have to go out there and trust that they are spending time in the meeting rooms and those referee rooms, reading the plays and getting the calls down." The league and the NFL Referees Association, which covers more than 120 on-field officials, are at odds over salary, retirement benefits and operational issues. The NFL has said its offer includes annual pay increases that could earn an experienced official more than $200,000 annually by 2018. The NFLRA has disputed the value of the proposal, insisting it would ultimately reduce their compensation. With the stalemate, the NFL will use replacements in the regular season for the first time since the opening week of 2001, days after the terrorist attacks. Many of those replacements came from the highest levels of college football, something that has changed drastically this year. The current replacement crews are comprised of mainly of officials from the Arena League, and the NCAA Division II and III levels. The league said it will handle the officiating assignments the same way it does in any other year, with the crew for Wednesday nights game not being announced in advance — even though theres increased interest in who works the game. "Its one of those things where you just look out there and its like the difference between having a high school guy play in the NFL versus an NFL guy playing in the NFL," Vikings punter Chris Kluwe said. "The speeds totally different. Those guys are trying hard, but theyre just not used to the speed of the game and theyre missing a lot of stuff." But they are missing stuff for both teams. Coaches and players alike are trying not to let that enter their minds as they prepare for their openers. "I know that these guys are coming in here doing the best that they can, but its really out of our control. It doesnt matter if we have flag football officials, weve got to go out and play the best that we can and hopefully get a few calls along the way," Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel said. Custom Seahawks Jersey . LOUIS — Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak says its unlikely the team can re-sign 16-game winner Kyle Lohse and doesnt see a spot for Lance Berkman even in a reduced role. J.R. Sweezy Jersey . Towers spoke to reporters before Tuesday nights game against Colorado and explained that it was other clubs asking, not the Diamondbacks offering, that led to all the rumblings about Upton being dealt. http://www.shopnflseahawksgears.com/nike-earl-thomas-pink-jersey/ .C. — Ron Rivera said based on recent conversations with team owner Jerry Richardson he doesnt know if hell remain the Carolina Panthers head coach beyond this season. Marshawn Lynch Limited Jersey . Drabek departed with one out in the fifth inning, after allowing seven hits and four runs. Left-hander Aaron Laffey replaced him. Drabek is the second Blue Jays pitcher this week to leave a start after an injury. K.J. Wright Youth Jersey . Braun hit two home runs Saturday to give him the National League lead with 22 and lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 10-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.Los Angeles, CA (Sports Network) – The Los Angeles Dodgers designated outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. for assignment and recalled outfielder/first baseman Jerry Sands from Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday. Gwynn batted .232 with 17 RBI over 103 games with the Dodgers this season. A career .244 hitter, he has totaled sevenn home runs, 22 triples, 46 doubles and 95 RBI in 605 games with Milwaukee, San Diego and Los Angeles. Custom Seahawks Youth Jersey. The 24-year-old Sands had hit safely in his last 10 games with Albuquerque, batting .476 with six home runs and 21 RBI since July 27. Sands hit .200 in eight games with the Dodgers in May. ' ' '


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Key Things to Consider When Shopping for Access Control Pedestal
Access control pedestals are an essential component of any security system. They allow you to control access to your property, ensuring that only authorized individuals can enter. Access control technology has advanced significantly in recent years, making it easier and more convenient than ever to manage access to your property. However, with so many different options available, it can be challenging to determine which access control pedestal is the best fit for your needs. In this article, we will discuss key things to consider when shopping for access control pedestals.
The most important consideration when shopping for an access control pedestal is security. You want to ensure that the system you choose is reliable and can effectively control access to your property. Look for access control pedestals that have strong encryption protocols and can withstand attempts to breach the system. Additionally, consider whether the access control pedestal is tamper-resistant or vandal-proof, as these features can provide an added layer of security.
The technology used in access control pedestals has come a long way in recent years. Consider whether you want a system that uses biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, or a traditional key card or PIN code system. Additionally, look for access control pedestals that can be integrated with other security systems, such as CCTV cameras or alarm systems.
Consider the installation process when shopping for an access control pedestal. Some systems may require professional installation, while others may be more straightforward to install yourself. Think about whether you have the necessary skills and equipment to install the system or if you need to hire a professional.
Different access control pedestals offer various features. Consider what features are essential for your property. For example, do you want a system that can log access attempts and generate reports, or do you want a system that can provide remote access control? Look for systems that offer the features you need to ensure that you are getting the most value for your investment.
Consider the various options available when shopping for access control pedestals. For example, some systems may be designed for indoor use, while others may be suitable for outdoor environments. Additionally, consider whether you need a system that can handle a high volume of traffic, or if a system designed for low traffic areas would suffice.
Consider the convenience factor when shopping for an access control pedestal. Look for systems that are user-friendly and easy to operate, both for you and your employees. Additionally, consider whether you need a system that can provide remote access control, allowing you to manage access from anywhere.
Cost is always a consideration when making any investment, and shopping for an access control pedestal is no exception. Consider your budget when shopping for a system and look for options that provide the features and security you need at a price point that works for you.
Access control pedestals are designed to withstand harsh environments and frequent use. Look for systems that are built with high-quality materials and have a sturdy construction. Additionally, consider whether the system is weather-resistant, as this can be important if you plan to install it outdoors.
Finally, consider whether you need a system that can be customized to meet your specific needs. Some access control pedestals can be customized with different finishes or colors, allowing you to match the system to your property's aesthetic. Additionally, some systems can be configured to provide specific features or functions that are unique to your property.
In conclusion, when shopping for an access control pedestal, consider your security needs, the technology used, installation process, features offered, options available, convenience, cost, durability,


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Jetsinsider.com has been a leading New York Jets fan site since 1999, when it was solely a bulletin board. It then evolved into a magazine and expanded via patchwork each year.
Client: Jets Insider
Year: 2019
Timeframe: 1 year (and ongoing)
Main Service: Website development
Extra Service: SEO
- WEBSITE DEV: Rebuild the website magazine and replace the older outdated forum with a new one.
- SEO: optimize the site to push the site health as high as possible, and subsequently work on site ranking.
After assessing what the Jets Insider was and wanted to be, we settled on using the WordPress open-source framework, combined with some custom coding, as well as plugins to deliver the functionality requested.
Because the JetsInsider journalists have access to the field on game day, we decided to install and sync Instagram for one of the galleries: when a photojournalist captured a game photo, he could then load it to the site via Instagram in real-time.
The forum was a thrid party app that we synced up to the website.
The website is fully functional, with an editorial photos gallery (via the website dashboard) and a real-time gallery via Instagram. The forum is integrated and fully functional, and the latest activity feeds to the website home page.
The site health is as November 8, 2021 100%


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Cutting Costs as a Contractor.
January 31, 2018 by Staff
Filed under Money/Business, Weekly Columns
(Akiit.com) Working as a contractor is a great way to make a living in many ways; you can make decent money doing a job that's engaging and involved, and it's pretty easy to find work – people always need work done. However, it isn't all roses, and since there is so much competition, contractors need to do whatever they can to cut their costs so that they can offer more attractive tenders and continue to not only stay in business but also make a decent profit.
If you're a contractor who's in this position right now, here are some things you could do to cut costs now and in the future:
Cut Your Staff
One of the most common ways of saving money as a contractor is to cut costs, and it's definitely something worth considering. However, when you cut your staff numbers, that often means you can't take on as much work as you would otherwise be able to. So, you should think very carefully before choosing this option as a matter of course.
Compare Fuel Costs
Another, arguably much better, way of cutting costs, which is also very common is comparing red diesel prices, so that you can get a better deal on your fuel. If you run a lot of equipment, machinery and vehicles, you can make significant savings by switching to a cheaper provider and doing so regularly. Loyalty is important, but not as important as your bottom line.
Enforce Late Payment Penalties
Okay, so this isn't exactly a cost-cutting measure, but one of the most common causes of cash flow problems for contractors, and pretty much any business person really, is late payment. If a client doesn't pay you on time, it can really hit your business hard. One way of solving this particular problem is by including late payment penalties in your contracts and actually enforcing them. At the very least, this should see you get paid on time.
Buy Used Equipment
Used construction equipment, providing you buy it from a reputable source, is pretty much as good as new equipment, with the added benefit that it is thousands of dollars cheaper on average.
Re-Negotiate with Suppliers
If you have been a good customer, most suppliers will be only too happy to negotiate with you if you are willing to ask for a better deal. After all, good customers are few and far between, and no supplier wants to lose them for the sake of a few dollars.
Install GPS Tracking Systems
If the cost of insurance is getting to be too much for you to bear, installing GPS tracking vehicles in your trucks is a great way of bringing them down. It's also a good way to ensure that your employees are behaving on the road and that they're using the most fuel-efficient routes too.
Cutting costs can be difficult when you're a contractor, but the above ideas are good places to start. Of course, they are not the only ways to save, and you should explore every avenue that is available to you if you want to stay competitive and make good profits.
Staff Writer; Lisa Ford


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Since its independence from Great Britain in 1966, Botswana has largely been considered an Africa success story. It had a stable transition to democracy, has held free and fair elections, and for decades had the fastest-growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa. It also provides citizens with free primary education and healthcare. Yet by 2001, the estimated adult prevalence rate of HIV was 37 percent – the highest prevalence rate in the world.
In response, the government of Botswana, supported by private foundations in the United States, launched sub-Saharan Africa's first free public antiretroviral (ARV) treatment program. The epidemic also prompted other US-based private foundations and private medical schools to offer assistance, drawn by their growing interest in global health. Visiting Fellow Betsey Behr Brada, an assistant professor of anthropology at Reed College, is examining the implications of this response to the epidemic, including the tensions that arose between healthcare professionals working in Botswana's national health system and American biomedical practitioners.
While at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, she is completing her book, Learning to Save the World: Global Health Pedagogies and Moral Transformation in Botswana. In it, she draws on ethnographic data to trace how biomedical professionals, trainees, patients, and their families frame themselves and one another in terms of global health in the daily pedagogic practices that make up HIV treatment in Botswana.
Why study global health practices related to HIV treatment in Botswana?
Paradoxically, Botswana both fulfills and defies stereotypes of global health. On one hand, as a site it seems to epitomize global health: a devastating epidemic, an overtaxed public health system, and an African population in desperate need of medical care. The country's public health infrastructure, oriented towards preventative public health, was unprepared for the burden of hospital-based care and chronic debility the epidemic engendered. Until a few years ago, the country even lacked a medical school; the government relied on foreign physicians to fill positions in public hospitals while also sponsoring its citizensto train overseas and relying on them to return to Botswana. On the other hand, even as the treatment program has relied on American funds and institutions for the program's infrastructural requirements as well as specialized medical expertise, Botswana's government has been administratively and financially invested from the very beginning. And while popular American representations of Africa tend to assume the incapacity of both African states and African healthcare providers, citizens of Botswana themselves readily recognize the state as the foremost provider of health services, even when they receive those services from expatriates working in the public health system. In short, demarcating institutions, forms of healthcare, or individual practitioners as belonging to "global health" (or not) could actually be quite a precarious exercise.
You found that American medical care providers sometimes expected children in Botswana to be able to say "HIV" in English to prove they understood their diagnosis, even though English wasn't their first language. What conclusions did you draw from this?
One of my field sites was a pediatric HIV clinic staffed by nurses who are citizens of Botswana and by American pediatricians who spoke almost no Setswana (Botswana's national language spoken by the vast majority of the population). The more English children spoke, the more pediatricians understood them. But practical concerns aside, pediatricians sought to manage children's emotions regarding their infections through the use of particular words. Pediatricians feared that children whose relatives lied to them about having HIV would stop taking ARVs – either because they saw no reason to, or because, having realized the truth, they felt betrayed. But like many people in Botswana, pediatricians regarded telling children they had HIV or AIDS as deeply traumatizing. Instead, clinic staff engaged children in stories about masole a mmele, soldiers of the body, who protected children from a sleeping 'bad guy' and who children strengthened each time they took their medications. If children didn't take their medications, the 'bad guy' might awaken and the children's weakened soldiers might not be able to protect them. The big reveal, of course, was that 'bad guy' was HIV. But while pediatricians framed this storytelling as shielding children from both too-harsh truths and their families' harmful lies, it also shielded pediatricians from truths they themselves couldn't face, like the possibility that the treatment program might fail.
You argue that language plays a surprising important role in the biomedical management of an infectious disease. Why is that?
Language has long been part of the epidemic's politics. Consider former US President Ronald Reagan's refusal to say "AIDS" in public, or the insistence by ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) that "silence = death." Other anthropologists have shown that ARV treatment programs entail new forms of speech as well as new bodily habits and sites of socialization, but anthropological research on HIV/AIDS has not taken up linguistic anthropology's analytical tool kit. For one thing, biomedical practitioners tend to view language as something used to refer to things, but assume it has no real effect on those things even if words shape individuals' perceptions or behavior. Medical anthropologists likewise tend to consider bodies more real and more important than words. You might expect an emphasis on therapeutic talk in accounts of mental health, but a linguistic analysis of HIV treatment threatens to seem epiphenomenal, like I'm not taking my informants' suffering seriously. But I was stunned by the sheer amount of time American pediatricians spent coaching HIV-positive children in Botswana into talking about HIV in highly specific terms with the goal of making their adherence to their medications measurable and, more importantly, making them into children who took their pills, thus forestalling a nightmare scenario wherein children developed and even transmitted untreatable strains of HIV.
What were some of the problems or misunderstandings that arose between health professionals in Botswana and American care providers?
Visiting Americans and "local" practitioners had very different understandings of what they were doing and of each other. "Local" was a category Americans used that erased the fact that public-sector physicians come from other African countries and from South Asia, China, and Cuba, as well as from Botswana. It also erased differences among physicians from Botswana, who trained in places as diverse as Ireland, Australia, and South Africa. But American medical students, particularly, arrived assuming their knowledge was superior to anything "local," and found the way to define themselves as budding "global" practitioners was to ascribe to anything "local" a sense of inferiority, backwardness, and parochialism. That "local" practitioners did not share American students' perception of Botswana as an ongoing emergency was seen by students as further evidence of "local" practitioners' inferior training and disregard for patients, thereby requiring students to intervene with more vigor and less restraint, and further justifying their presence in Botswana. But what students saw as necessary acts of "taking charge" of patients' care confirmed "local" practitioners' suspicions that students held little regard for "local" authority and, lacking the moral sensibilities entailed in a long-term engagement with Botswana's epidemic, were insensible of their capacity for violence toward patients.
Did you find anything in your research that surprised you?
I found the level of tension, bitterness, and even antagonism that suffused the partnerships I observed surprising and very difficult. And global health carries such a positive moral weight that even some of my colleagues seem unconvinced that such hostility persisted. It's not a question of whether people meantwell: Many individuals within these institutions are skilled practitioners with good intentions who want to care for patients. But the missteps, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities for mutual recognition and collaboration were simply staggering. For example, everyday greetings are a practice that many people in Botswana value highly and linger over; notgreeting someone, even someone you see every day, is deeply antisocial, even suggestive of witchcraft. But this kind of cultural knowledge was totally ignored, utterly unvalued by American institutions. More than four months after one group of American pediatricians arrived, one of the doctors that Americans called "local"– who was actually from a neighboring country – told one of the American pediatricians that he'd realized that the reason the pediatricians regularly failed to greet their "local" colleagues was this: "You just don't like black people." The pediatrician was dumbfounded. This type of thing, and worse, happened all the time, and each iteration reinforced the dynamic. Good intentions simply weren't enough.
Your research asks tough questions about the nature of global health: Is it part of a new movement for social justice, and a reparative gesture in the face of colonial legacies and worldwide inequities? Or is it inherently neocolonial, creating new dependencies under the flag of humanitarianism?
My book proceeds from the argument that global health itselfis an argument, a stance or claim that creates possibilities for individuals to position themselves relative to other individuals and collectivities, to their own and others' institutions, materials, and ideas, and even in terms of time and space. To say that the book is about global health, then, is a somewhat deceptive statement because I focus on global health's contingencies. My concern is with how individuals strive to recognize themselves and others in terms of global health or, at other times, to resist this category altogether. But insisting that global health is an argument is only part of the point. Instead, the book's central question is: How do people useglobal health and related categories to morally transform themselves and those around them? In other words, I track how individuals and the institutions to which they belong wrestle with the inchoate nature of global health, and the sheer labor they must invest in framing what they are doing and to whom they are doing it as belonging to that category and making it legible to others in those terms. This is what I mean by learning to save the world.
After conducting research for your book, what's your verdict?
For that, you'll have to read the book. I'd hate to spoil the big twist!
In all seriousness, my research raises questions about the role scholars like myself play not just in determining what counts as global health, but in enacting and validating moral stances that limit the scope of criticism of global health and the forms of accountability to which institutions and practitioners can be held. The book interrogates how anthropologists themselves have participated in constituting the category of global health and its moral stances. It's not just children in Botswana who learn scripted ways of talking; American medical students and anthropologists of global health describe emotional encounters with suffering others in strikingly similar ways that emphasize redemptive emotional transformations. For all three groups, narratives are imagined to reflect and enact a new moral way of being in the world. Rather than question their sincerity, I'm struck by the conventionalization of self-reflexivity. Global health, in the end, emerges as a kind of moral barometer, a way of imagining the world that shields some of us from accusations of wrongdoing or exploitation as long as we can produce the "right" account of how we feel, and that encourages us to evaluate others in those terms.


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Packer & Ansible
Collection of labs using Packer and Ansible to automate VM image creation and management
This workshops is a collection of labs using a selection of the tooling that we commonly see to automate processes around virtual machine image creation. Some of the tooling is designed to work across both Windows and Linux servers, but for the sake of these labs we will separate out the two as most admins naturally gravitate to the most common and native tooling for each. (If you disagree, use the comments below!)
Note that there is a host of useful material within Microsoft Learn and the various quickstarts and how to guides within Microsoft Docs, and it is assumed that you are familiar with many of these.
The aim of these labs is to bring together some of these technologies together into a cohesive set of tooling for standing up virtual machine images.
Please set up your laptop as per the automation prereqs page. (TO BE ADDED)
Not everything is needed for the Packer and Ansible labs, but chances are that you'll dig into the other content as well!
Work through some basics with Packer to generate a simple Ubuntu image and then deploy VMs from it.
Run some ad hoc Ansible commands against static inventories of virtual machines.
Dynamic Inventories
Create dynamic inventories in Azure based on tags, resource groups and more.
Playbooks & Roles
Using declarative playbooks in Ansible, and installing roles from Ansible Galaxy.
Custom Roles
Sometimes you need a specific role, but there isn't one in Ansible Galaxy. No problem - follow our guide to creating your own.
Shared Image Gallery
Combine Packer with Ansible roles to publish custom images to a Shared Image Gallery.


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If you're here, I bet you've got some ideas for teaching and eventually helping people online. And you might be struggling to create e-courses or want to know how to create an online course. Well, I got your back! I'm going to talk specifically about that today, and by the end of this article, you're going to know how to create an online course—excited to learn? Let's go!
The online education industry is going very high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the study, it will grow from $107 billion to $370 billion in 2026. So, it is apparent that this industry has a good opportunity to make some profit.
First thing first. You don't have to have a chunk of money to create an online course. But yes, indeed, I must say that money can speed up it to reach many folk hands. Still, it's not a crucial point to get success in online course creation. All you need to know is how to make an effective online course, which will attract people.
Challenges That Course Creators Face Often
When you're breaking out of your shell and going to start something else, it's apparent that you're going to face some hindrances along the way. Sometimes those hindrances even make some people stop chasing their dream. I don't want that to happen to you. As a new online course creator, you need to overcome some of those obstacles such as mindset block, no knowledge of course launch, or lack of tech knowledge. Let's see what each of those is:
- The most common one is emotional obstacles. When you're going to start something new, your mind will be concerned with so many things. Even those negative thoughts can stop you from stepping forward. You'll see it in almost all the newbie businesses if you ask around. So, remember you're not alone. And, all the successful people started from the point you're on right now.
- Another obstacle that course creators face while launching the online course. Due to the lack of knowledge around course building, you might end up making some grave mistakes, which will eventually lead you to burnout. Even you may grow stance to go away from your dream. I'm going to come back to this point a little bit later; for now, let's see a little overview of the tech struggle.
- Tech skills are the most important in the case of online course creation. Tech struggle is the ultimate hindrance that can break or make your dream to become a successful online course creator. If you don't know your way around tech or know which way to organize your ideas, you may end up without launching your course. It's okay if you don't know. Take out help from others, even hire an independent contractor who knows her way around tech. I help course creators with their launches all the time, and I'm a tech expert, so you can even reach out to me.
Set your mind that you will overcome any obstacles and will become a successful online course creator.
What Are The Steps To Create An Online Course?
Now, it's time to know the tips and strategies to create a successful online course. I'm listing out 10 viable steps which will help every new online course creator for creating an online course.
1. Choose The Perfect Course Topic
Choosing a perfect course topic is the most important thing to building out the outline. To get started, you should keep some points in your mind about online courses. Think about what industries you're familiar with, build out your learner avatar, and think about the pain points that motivated you to bring in the course online.
After then, if you think that you are an expert on your topic and can give deep knowledge about that topic, then you are on the right track. Moreover, you can research your chosen topic and how much it has demand online. You can check the search volume and how many people search for it. It is an excellent way to figure out, whether your chosen online course topic is a perfect decision or not.
Now, that you have figured out your course topic, let's move on to the next step.
2. Research Your Topic Extensively
You know that you are an expert on your topic. But when it is about teaching someone, you need to be more prepared. Research your course topic extensively to make it easy from the learner's perspective. Put yourself in your customer's shoes. Think about what they need for what. You don't have to cover the basics only; instead, you have to find a different angle to make the topic more attractive, beneficial, and easy to digest for the learner.
Next, we will research target audiences and know how important they're in the online course platform.
3. Identify The Target Audience
The audience is the building block for whatever you do. When you launch something online, you need to identify the target audience because everyone won't be interested in what you are selling. Target specifically a group of people based on their demographic, age, gender, behavior, etc., who needs your knowledge the most. Social media or forum is the best platform to understand your customer avatar. Hang out there, ask questions, and take their opinions. This process will help you know how they think about the topic and how your online course is going to help them.
4. Create An Online Course Outline
After you're done with audience research, now you need to figure out your online course outline. Find out what your target audience needs at which step of their life. Structure your content so that your students can understand it part by part. Create a roadmap for the online course, take a notepad and plan out what you're going to teach.
When you prepare, keep in mind that you need to break down your content into modules & lessons so that too much information doesn't get placed in one place. Think about what you want to cover around the topic that you chose.
While creating an outline, you have to identify a primary learning outcome first. List all those skills that are necessary to understand the primary learning outcomes. Afterward, you can create an online course module by using the outcome checklist. Or simply you can go for an online course outline template.
5. Gather Your Course Content
Whether you create your outline first or the content first, that's totally up to you! After completing the outline, it becomes so easy to gather the course content. During this stage, most of the course creators get stuck. It's normal to happen when your head is going all around with lots of ideas & information.
It will be way better to sort all of your course content and throw out the ones that aren't directly related to the course learning. You need to make sure that the online course has content aligned with your audience's needs.
6. Choose Your Online Course Hosting Platform
After you finish all of the above, now it's time to launch the course on your website or any course platform. Probably you're struggling to figure out which one to go with. To be honest, it depends on your preference which way you chose.
If you think about any existing course marketplaces to launch your course, you will get some restrictions. But you won't have to worry much about the tech build. You need to pay a certain monthly fee and will have some conditions right there. But if you're planning to bring content to your own website which will reflect your brand, you won't have many of those restrictions. The authority will be in your hand and you can customize it as you want. It requires a lot of tech understanding; you might need a Tech Virtual Assistant who has enough knowledge to manage it all.
But remember, nothing is free out there. You need to spend a couple of bucks on some add-on software and the website. So, make a wise decision in choosing your desired platform.
7. Make The Content Engaging
You have to make the online course engaging for the students who are going to enroll. To do so, you should focus on essential topics. Focus on one takeaway per lesson to make it easy for them to understand which action to take now.
You can even bring in some course curriculum activities such as assessments, quizzes, or fun exercises so that your audience keeps engaging with your content. Also, you can set their learning goals in the course modules for better learning experiences.
To make your students excited about your online course, you have to give their investment back earlier. I mean, they should get the results faster. When the learner thinks he has learned something from the initial modules of the online course, he will stick with it to learn more.
8. Market Your Content
To become successful in an e-learning platform, you need to promote your content. In this digital era, everything is now on the internet. Having so many things existing all over the internet, you can market your product/service in many ways. So, you must promote your online course so that people get to know about it because no one is interested in spending money on a product/service that they don't know, even you.
You can take advantage of Social Media, Email Marketing, Paid Ads, Blog Posts, free coaching calls, and many more things to grab your audience's attention and market the course.
9. Gather Learner's Feedback
Feedback is very crucial to understand how your online course is. When you know what the learners experience before and after the course, what results in they are getting, and how they perceive the online course, you can improve your course.
Eventually, when your students see they're being heard, they can become advocates/raving fans of your brand. And the new updates on the online course will definitely help you get more students.
10. Create A Learners Community
Humans are social beings. And in this digital period, social platforms make them more connected, which is a good thing for every online course creator. Make a community on social media groups, discord channels, or any other platforms. You can even go for Mighty Networks.
The communities will make it easy for the learners to discuss what they have learned so far. And if anyone has some issues about the topic, they can solve it together without you being the bottleneck. Group study is really effective, when they exchange their idea, they will become more engaged with the course. Moreover, they can hold each other accountable and they can collaborate on activities to achieve learning goals. It's in your hand whether you want to bring it in or not.
Now Get Started To Create Online Course
Alright, we are at the end of this article. If you follow all the steps stated above, you have the foundation to create a profitable online course and launch it eventually which will be a great opportunity to build a learning community and even make some profit. Do you have any points to add to it? Feel free to comment below. I'm listening…


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Douglas Leone bio, wiki , married, net worth, family
Douglas M. Leone is a famous American venture capitalist and the partner of Sequoia Capital since 1993. Leone was born in 1958, October 21. Highly focused on the internet, software and communication business, Leone has been listed as top venture capitalists by various magazines in U.S. He was ranked #4 in Midas List released by Forbes in 2013. He has also expanded his venture capital Sequoia internationally in China and India.
While talking about his early life, Leone emigrated to the United States from Italy with his family when he was 11 years old. They settled in Mount Vernon, New York. Having sharp mind, Leone has earned various degrees from various prestigious universities. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University in 1979. He graduated with MS in Industrial in Engineering from Columbia University and he earned MS in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management. After completing his study in Industrial Engineering and management, Leone started his professional career from sales and sales management positions.
He has experience of working with Sun Microsystems, Prime Computer, and Hewlett-Packard. In 1988, he joined Sequoia Capital and started to invest in internet, communication and software business. Leone has also held the position of Trustee for an independent,coeducation college preparatory school, Menlo School.
Leone first started to work as toilet cleaner and Boat fixer in one of most renowned VC firms in Sand Hill Road. Leone currently works as a managing partner for venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. He has made successful tech investment in tech along with his fellow Michael Moritz, a billionaire. He has a huge investment in Google, YouTube, Zappos and LinkedIn. In 2014, Sequoia had made a big sale of whatsaApp, the messaging company sold to facebook at $21.8 billion in cash and shares. Recently Sequoia has expanded its offices in India, China, and Israel seeing booming tech market and opportunity over there. Leone had also invested in companies such as FireEye, went public in 2013 and ServiceNow (Which Initial Public Offering released in 2012).
"Give me an entrepreneur with a lot of courage, gusto and who iterates rapidly and I will back that person day in and day out."
Leone is associated with various firms. He currently holds a position on the board of directors for PlanGrid, Medallia, and MedExpress. He also sits on the board of directors for Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Prime Computer. He has also worked as a partner with many companies notably Arbor/Hyperion, Netezza, Rackspace, and Aruba.He has made through Billionaire list with Net Worth of 2.5 Billion and has been ranked 6th among world top 100 venture capitalists.
He is currently married to Patti Leone and the couple has four children. There has been no any information about his past relationship, affairs, and girlfriends. Starting from a very low-level job, Leone has been a source of motivation for the young entrepreneurs who is seeking their career in Venture capital and tech business.