text:
McIntyre, Trevor; de Bruyn, P J Nico; Ansorge, Isabelle J; Bester, Marthán N; Bornemann, Horst; Plötz, Joachim; Tosh, Cheryl Ann (2010): Dive depth and dive duration data of subadult and adult, male and female southern elephant seals from Marion Island between 2004 and 2008 with links to datasets. University of Pretoria, Department of Zoology & Entomology, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.800425, Supplement to: McIntyre, T et al. (2010): A lifetime at depth: vertical distribution of southern elephant seals in the water column. Polar Biology, 33(8), 1037-1048, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0782-3
Always quote citation above when using data! You can download the citation in several formats below.
Although numerous studies have addressed the migration and dive behaviour of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), questions remain about their habitat use in the marine environment. We report on the vertical use of the water column in the species and the potential lifetime implications for southern elephant seals from Marion Island. Long-term mark-resight data were used to complement vertical habitat use for 35 known individuals tagged with satellite-relay data loggers, resulting in cumulative depth use extrapolated for each individual over its estimated lifespan. Seals spent on average 77.59% of their lives diving at sea, 7.06% at the sea surface, and 15.35% hauled out on land. Some segregation was observed in maximum dive depths and depth use between male and female animals-males evidently being physiologically more capable of exploiting increased depths. Females and males spent 86.98 and 80.89% of their lives at sea, respectively. While at sea, all animals spent more time between 300 and 400 m depth, than any other depth category. Males and females spent comparable percentages of their lifetimes below 100 m depth (males: 65.54%; females: 68.92%), though males spent 8.98% of their lives at depths in excess of 700 m, compared to females' 1.84% at such depths. Adult males often performed benthic dives in excess of 2,000 m, including the deepest known recorded dive of any air-breathing vertebrate (>2,133 m). Our results provide a close approximation of vertical habitat use by southern elephant seals, extrapolated over their lifespans, and we discuss some physiological and developmental implications of their variable depth use.
Median Latitude: -47.234017 * Median Longitude: 35.065698 * South-bound Latitude: -66.435000 * West-bound Longitude: -1.747000 * North-bound Latitude: -32.471000 * East-bound Longitude: 52.052200
Date/Time Start: 2004-04-12T12:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2009-02-20T14:34:00
MAR2004_sel_a_f_10 * Latitude Start: -46.990600 * Longitude Start: 37.499100 * Latitude End: -44.197200 * Longitude End: 27.899600 * Date/Time Start: 2004-04-12T12:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2004-05-31T19:22:00 * Location: Southern Ocean - Indian sector * Campaign: MAR2004 * Basis: Marion Island Research Station * Method/Device: Marine endotherm (MET) * Comment: Mirounga leonina, subadualt male
MAR2004_sel_s_m_17 * Latitude Start: -46.877500 * Longitude Start: 37.861500 * Latitude End: -46.755700 * Longitude End: 37.949900 * Date/Time Start: 2004-04-12T12:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2004-11-22T11:04:00 * Location: Southern Ocean - Indian sector * Campaign: MAR2004 * Basis: Marion Island Research Station * Method/Device: Marine endotherm (MET) * Comment: Mirounga leonina, subadualt male
MAR2004_sel_u_m_09 * Latitude Start: -46.860800 * Longitude Start: 37.820100 * Latitude End: -46.481200 * Longitude End: 52.052200 * Date/Time Start: 2004-04-22T17:52:00 * Date/Time End: 2005-01-09T18:00:00 * Location: Southern Ocean - Indian sector * Campaign: MAR2004 * Basis: Marion Island Research Station * Method/Device: Marine endotherm (MET) * Comment: Mirounga leonina, subadualt male
|Short Name
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535 data points


text:
Control Plane Reference Architectures
- Overview
Deployment Topologies
- Security Decision Factors
- Additional Decision Factors
- Topology Objects
- Topology 1: Concourse Server and Worker VMs All Colocated on the Control Plane
- Topology 2: Concourse Server on the Control Plane, and Remote Workers Colocated with Pivotal Platform Foundations
- Topology 3: Multiple Concourse Servers and Workers Colocated with Pivotal Platform Foundations
- Deploying CI/CD to the Control Plane
- Control Plane Deployment Best Practices
- Pivotal Platform CI/CD Pipelines
- Concourse Team Management Best Practices
Page last updated:
This topic describes topologies and best practices for deploying Concourse on BOSH and using Concourse to manage Pivotal Platform foundations. For production environments, VMware recommends deploying Concourse with BOSH.
Concourse is the main continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) tool that the Pivotal and open-source Cloud Foundry communities use to develop, test, deploy and manage Pivotal Platform foundations.
The three topologies described in this topic govern the network placement and relationship between two systems:
The control plane runs Concourse to gather sources for, integrate, update, and otherwise manage Pivotal Platform foundations. This layer may also host internal Docker registries, S3 buckets, Git repositories, and other tools.
Each Pivotal Platform foundation runs Pivotal Platform on an instance of BOSH.
Each topology described below has been developed and validated in multiple Pivotal Platform customer and Pivotal Labs environments.
Deployment Topologies
Security policies are usually the main factor that determines which CI/CD deployment topology best suits a site's needs. Specifically, the decision depends on what network connections are allowed between the control plane and the Pivotal Platform foundations that it manages.
These three topologies answer a range of security needs, ordered by increasing level of security around the Pivotal Platform foundations:
Topology 1: Concourse server and worker VMs all colocated on the control plane
Topology 2: Concourse server on the control plane, and remote workers colocated with Pivotal Platform foundations
Topology 3: Multiple Concourse servers and workers colocated with Pivotal Platform foundations
Across these three topologies, the increasing level of Pivotal Platform foundation security correlates with:
- Increasing network complexity
- Increasing effort required for initial deployment and ongoing maintenance
Security Decision Factors
The graph below illustrates the decision factors dictated by network security policy and the Concourse deployment topologies that adhere to those policies.
Additional Decision Factors
In addition to security policy, deciding on a CI/CD deployment topology may also depend on factors such as:
- Network latency across network zones
- Air-gapped vs. Internet-connected environments
- Resource limitations
Credentials Management and Storage Services include notes and recommendations regarding credentials management, Docker registries, S3 buckets, and Git repositories, but does not cover these tools extensively.
Topology Objects
Complete deployment topologies dictate the internal placement or remote use of:
- Concourse server and worker VMs
- Credentials managers such as CredHub or Vault
- Docker registries, public or private
- S3 or other storage buckets, public or private
- Git or other code repositories, public or private
Topology 1: Concourse Server and Worker VMs All Colocated on the Control Plane
This simple topology follows network security policies that allow a single control plane to connect to all Pivotal Platform foundations deployed across multiple network zones or data centers, as shown in the diagram below:
In this topology, the Concourse server and worker VMs, along with other tools (such as Docker registry, S3 buckets, Vault server), are all deployed to the same subnet.
Connectivity Requirements
Concourse worker VMs must be allowed to connect to:
The Ops Manager VM or a jumpbox VM in all of the Pivotal Platform foundations networks.
The vCenter API for each Pivotal Platform foundation on vSphere.
Performance Notes
Network data transfers between the control plane and each Pivotal Platform foundation network zone may carry large files such as Pivotal Platform tiles, release files, and Pivotal Platform foundation backup pipelines output.
VMware recommends that you test network throughput and latency between those network zones to make sure that data transfer rates do not make pipeline execution times unacceptably long.
Firewall Requirements
All Concourse worker VMs are required to connect to certain VMs on Pivotal Platform foundation subnets across networks zones or data centers.
For required VMs, ports, and external websites required for Pivotal Platform CI/CD pipelines, see Pivotal Platform CI/CD Pipelines.
Simplified deployment and maintenance of centralized control plane, which requires only one BOSH deployment and runs one BOSH Director.
Simplified setup and maintenance of Pivotal Platform CI/CD pipelines. All pipelines and Concourse teams use a single, centralized server.
- You may have to configure firewall rules in each Pivotal Platform network to allow connectivity from workers in CI/CD zone, as mentioned above.
Topology 2: Concourse Server on the Control Plane, and Remote Workers Colocated with Pivotal Platform Foundations
This topology supports environments where Pivotal Platform foundation VMs cannot receive incoming traffic from IP addresses outside their network zone or data center, but they can initiate outbound connections to outside zones.
As in Topology 1, the Concourse server, and potentially other VMs for tools such as Docker registries or S3 buckets, are deployed to a dedicated subnet. The difference is that Concourse worker VM pools are deployed inside each Pivotal Platform foundation subnet, network zone, or data center, as shown in the diagram below:
Connectivity Requirements
Concourse worker VMs in each Pivotal Platform foundation network zone or data center must:
Connect to the Ops Manager VM or a jumpbox VM in each Pivotal Platform foundations network.
Connect to the vCenter API for each Pivotal Platform foundation on vSphere.
Have outbound connection access to the Concourse web/ATC server on port 2222. This allows them to handshake with the Concourse server to open a reverse SSH tunnel for ongoing communication between them and the Concourse ATC.
For more information, see Concourse Architecture in the Pivotal Platform Concourse documentation.
Performance Notes
Remote workers have to download large installation files from either the Internet or from a configured S3 artifacts repository. For Pivotal Platform backup pipelines, workers may also have to upload large backup files to the S3 repository.
VMware recommends that you test network throughput and latency between those network zones to make sure that data transfer rates do not make pipeline execution times unacceptably long.
Firewall Requirements
Remote worker VMs require outbound access to the Concourse web/ATC server on port 2222.
Remote worker VMs inside each Pivotal Platform foundation network zone or data center are required to connect to VMs in their colocated foundation. They may also require access to external web sites or S3 repositories for downloading installation files.
For required VMs and ports required for Pivotal Platform CI/CD pipelines, see Pivotal Platform CI/CD Pipelines.
Relatively simple maintenance of centralized control plane, which contains single Concourse server and other tools.
Simplified setup and maintenance of Pivotal Platform CI/CD pipelines. All pipelines and Concourse teams use a single, centralized server.
You must reconfigure firewalls to grant outbound access to remote worker VMs.
In addition to deploying the control plane, you need an additional BOSH deployment and running BOSH Director for each Pivotal Platform Foundation network zone or data center.
You must manage multiple Concourse worker pools in multiple locations.
Topology 3: Multiple Concourse Servers and Workers Colocated with Pivotal Platform Foundations
This topology supports environments where Pivotal Platform foundation VMs can only be accessed from within the same network zone or data center. This scenario requires deploying complete and dedicated control planes within each deployment zone, as shown in the diagram below:
Performance Notes
Since workers run in the same network zone or data center as the Pivotal Platform foundation, data transfer throughput should not limit pipeline performance.
Firewall Requirements
Air-gapped environments require some way to bootstrap S3 repository with Docker images and Pivotal Platform releases files for pipelines from external sites.
Non-air-gapped environments, in which workers can download required files from external websites, need those websites to be on the allow list for the proxy or firewall setup.
- Requires little or no firewall rules configuration for control plane VMs. In non-air-gapped environments, worker VMs download Pivotal Platform releases and Docker images for pipelines from external websites.
Requires deploying and maintaining multiple Concourse and other tools.
Requires deploying and maintaining multiple Pivotal Platform pipelines for each Concourse server.
For air-gapped environments, requires setting up an S3 repository for each control plane.
Deploying CI/CD to the Control Plane
There are a few alternatives to deploy BOSH Directors, Concourse servers, and other tool releases to the control plane. The links below provide information about those alternatives:
Manual Deployments
BOSH Director: Deploying BOSH with create-env in the BOSH documentation
- Concourse Pipelines Integration with CredHub in the PCF Pipelines repository on GitHub
- Secure credential automation with Vault and Concourse in the PCF Pipelines repository on GitHub
Docker registries
- Deploying a Private Docker Registry using Bosh in the Concourse Samples and Recipes repository on GitHub
- The Harbor repository on GitHub
S3 buckets
- The MinIO BOSH Release repository on GitHub
- The EMC Cloud Storage repository on GitHub
Automated Deployments
- Bosh Bootloader (BBL) deploys BOSH Director and Concourse on multiple IaaSes.
Control Plane Deployment Best Practices
These sections describe some best practices for control plane components that apply across all deployment topologies.
Dedicated BOSH Director
VMware recommends deploying Concourse and other control plane tools on their own dedicated BOSH layer, with their own BOSH Director that runs separately from the Pivotal Platform foundations that the control plane manages.
VMware does not recommend using an existing Pivotal Platform BOSH Director instance to deploy Concourse and other software such as Minio S3, a private Docker registry, or CredHub. Sharing the same BOSH Director with Pivotal Platform deployments increases the risk of accidental or undesired updates or deletion of those deployments.
Dedicating a BOSH Director to Concourse other control plane tools also provides higher flexibility for Pivotal Platform foundation upgrades and updates, such as stemcell patches.
The diagram below illustrates deploying Concourse and other control plane tools on their own dedicated BOSH layer:
Credentials Management
All credentials and other sensitive information that feeds into a Concourse pipeline should be encrypted and stored using credentials management software such as CredHub or Vault. Never store credentials as plain text in parameter files in file repositories.
Credentials Management with CredHub
Concourse integrates with CredHub to manage credentials in its pipelines. The pipelines reference encrypted secrets stored in a CredHub server and retrieve them automatically during execution of tasks.
To integrate Concourse with a CredHub server, you configure its ATC job's deployment properties with information about the CredHub server and corresponding UAA authentication credentials.
You can deploy CredHub in multiple ways:
- As a dedicated VM
- Integrated with other VMs, such as colocating the CredHub server with the BOSH Director VM or Concourse's ATC/web VM
Colocating a CredHub server with Concourse's ATC VM dedicates it to the Concourse pipelines and lets Concourse administrators manage the credentials server. This configuration also means that during Concourse upgrades, the CredHub server only goes down when the Concourse ATC job is also down, which minimizes potential credential server outages for running pipelines.
The diagram below illustrates the jobs of Concourse VMs, along with the ones for the BOSH Director VM, when a dedicated CredHub server is deployed with Concourse:
For more information about how to deploy a CredHub server integrated with Concourse, see Concourse Pipelines Integration with CredHub in the PCF Pipelines repository on GitHub.
Credentials Management with Vault
For information about how to configure Vault to manage credentials for Concourse pipelines, see Secure credential automation with Vault and Concourse in the PCF Pipelines repository on GitHub.
Storage Services
These sections describe the storage services your Concourse deployment uses.
Git Server
BOSH and Concourse implement the concepts of infrastructure-as-code and pipelines-as-code. As such, it is important to store all source code for deployments and pipelines in a version-controlled repository.
Pivotal Platform CI/CD pipelines assume that their source code is kept in Git-compatible repositories. GitHub is the most popular Git-compatible repository for Internet-connected environments. GitLab, BitBucket, and GOGS are examples of Git servers that can be used for both connected and air-gapped environments.
A Git server that contains configuration and pipeline code for a Pivotal Platform foundation must be accessible to the corresponding worker VMs that run CI/CD pipelines for that foundation.
S3 Repository
In all environments, Concourse requires an S3 repository to store Pivotal Platform backups and possibly other files. If your deployment requires a private, internal S3 repository but your IaaS lacks built-in options, you can use BOSH to deploy your own S3 releases, such as Minio S3 and EMC Cloud Storage, to your control plane. For more information, see the MinIO BOSH Release and EMC Cloud Storage repositories on GitHub
For air-gapped environments, an S3 repository is also the preferred method to store release files for Pivotal Platform tiles, stemcells, and buildpacks. Docker images can also be stored in an S3 repository as an alternative to a private Docker registry. For more information, see Offline Pipelines for Airgapped Environments in the PCF Pipelines repository on GitHub.
Private Docker Registry
For air-gapped environments, Docker images for Concourse pipelines must be stored either on a private Docker registry or in an S3 repository. For BOSH-deployed private registry alternatives, see Docker Registry in the Concourse Samples and Recipes on GitHub or the Harbor repository on GitHub.
High Availability
For information about setting up a load balancer to handle traffic across multiple instances of the ATC/web VM and deploying multiple worker instances, see Concourse Architecture in the Pivotal Platform Concourse documentation.
Pivotal Platform CI/CD Pipelines
Pivotal Platform Pipelines
Pivotal Platform Platform Automation with Concourse (Pivotal Platform Pipelines) is a collection of Concourse pipelines for installing and upgrading Pivotal Platform. For more information, see the Platform Automation documentation. To download Pivotal Platform Platform Automation with Concourse, go to the Pivotal Platform Platform Automation page on Pivotal Network.
Warning: At time of publication, the PCF Pipelines repository is undergoing planned deprecation.
To run Pivotal Platform Pipelines, you need:
- Ops Manager web UI, API, and VM installed
- vCenter API installed (for vSphere environments)
- For proxy- or Internet-connected environments, put these sites on your allow list:
- Docker Hub:
- Pivotal Network:
- Docker Hub:
BOSH Backup and Restore (BBR) Pivotal Platform Pipelines
BBR Pivotal Platform Pipelines automate Pivotal Platform foundation backups. For more information, see the BBR PCF Pipeline Tasks repository on GitHub.
To run BBR Pivotal Platform Pipelines, you need an S3 repository for storing backup artifacts.
Note: BBR Pivotal Platform Pipelines is a Pivotal Platform community project not officially supported by Pivotal.
Pipelines Orchestration Frameworks
Pivotal Platform Pipelines Maestro uses a Maestro framework to:
Automate pipeline creation and management for multiple Pivotal Platform foundations
Promote and audit configuration changes and version upgrades across all foundations
For more information, see the PCF Pipelines Maestro repository on GitHub.
Note: Pivotal Platform Pipelines Maestro is a Pivotal Platform community project not officially supported by Pivotal.
Concourse Team Management Best Practices
When a single Concourse server hosts CI/CD pipelines for more than one Pivotal Platform foundation, VMware recommends creating one Concourse team (not
main) specific to each foundation and associating that team with all pipelines for that foundation, as shown in the diagram below:
Dedicating a Concourse team to each Pivotal Platform foundation has these benefits:
It avoids the clutter of pipelines in a single team. The list of pipelines for each foundation may be long, depending how many tiles are deployed to it.
It avoids the risk of operators running a pipeline for the wrong foundation. When a single team hosts maintenance pipelines for multiple foundations, the clutter of dozens of pipelines may lead operators to accidentally run a pipeline targeted at the wrong Pivotal Platform foundation.
It allows for more granular access control settings per team. Pivotal Platform pipelines for higher environments may require a more restricted access control than ones from lower environments. Authentication settings for Concourse teams enable that level of control.
It allows workers to be assigned to pipelines of a specific foundation. Concourse deployment configuration allows for the assignment of workers to a single team. If that team contains pipelines of only one foundation, then the corresponding group of workers run pipelines only for that foundation. This is useful when security policy requires tooling and automation for a foundation to run on specific VMs.
Concourse Teams for App Development Orgs and Spaces
When a Concourse server hosts pipelines for an app development team, VMware recommends creating a Concourse team associated with that development team, and associating Concourse team membership with org and space membership defined in the Pivotal Application Service (PAS) user authentication and authorization (UAA) server.
Associating Concourse teams with PAS org and space member lists synchronizes access between PAS and Concourse, allowing developers to see and operate the build pipelines for the apps they develop.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Metromont Corp., a manufacturer of precast concrete materials, has announced plans to move its Charlotte operations to its existing facility in Greenville County.
"While we've seen much success with our Charlotte plant over the years, we feel that consolidating our North and South Carolina operations into one central location will allow us to improve our production efficiency and quality control and ultimately, better serve our customers," says Chuck Gantt, vice president and general manager of Metromont Carolinas.
Metromont purchased its Charlotte plant in 1995, according to a press release. It has since provided architectural precast concrete for more than 400 projects, including the Hearst Tower, Mint Museum, and NASCAR Hall of Fame.
In 2015, Metromont purchased a 95-acre site in Spartanburg, which currently produces much of the company's structural product. The company more recently announced plans to invest $8.8 million into the expansion of its Greenville plant, which is located at 2802 White Horse Road.
The expansion, which is expected to create 100 jobs over the next five years, will include a new batch plant and an updated carpentry and steel fabrication shop.
Metromont's transition from Charlotte to Greenville, including the transfer of employees and equipment, is expected to be completed by July, according to the release.
"The important thing to note is that our product mix has not changed. We are still in the architectural precast concrete business and will continue to serve the Carolinas and Georgia," says Steve Babcock, director of business development for Metromont Carolinas.
For more information, visit metromont.com.


text:
Tullett Prebon plc Annual Report 2010
Corporate Governance Report
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is chaired by Richard Kilsby, who has recent and relevant financial experience. The other members of the Audit Committee are David Clark, Michael Fallon and Rupert Robson, all of whom are independent non-executive directors. The Chairman, the executive directors, the Company's external and internal auditors, the Group Treasurer and Head of Risk Control, and other senior finance personnel may attend Committee meetings by invitation. The Committee has a discussion with the external auditor at least once a year without executive directors being present, to ensure that there are no unresolved issues of concern. Throughout 2010 the Committee's terms of reference included: – recommendation on appointment of the external auditor; – review of independence and objectivity of the external auditor; – review of effectiveness of the audit process; – approval of the annual audit plan and scope of audit engagement; – monitoring the integrity of the financial statements; – review of the results of the audit; – review of the effectiveness of the Company's internal control procedures; – review of the effectiveness of the internal audit function and consideration of internal audit reports; and – review of the arrangements by which staff may, in confidence, raise concerns about improprieties in financial reporting and other matters. The Audit Committee has reviewed the cost effectiveness, objectivity and independence of the external auditor, and the level of fees received in respect of the various services provided by them in addition to the audit during 2010. The non-audit fees paid to the auditor are disclosed in Note 6 to the accounts. The auditor confirmed to the Audit Committee that they did not believe that the level of non-audit fees had affected their independence. The Audit Committee additionally considered the professional and regulatory guidance on auditor independence and was satisfied with the auditor's representations. The Company's policy is to use the most appropriate advisers for non-audit work, taking account of the need to maintain independence. The Audit Committee has approved a formal policy governing the engagement of the external auditor for non-audit services. The Audit Committee is responsible for reviewing the half-year and preliminary announcements of results and the statutory accounts prior to their approval by the Board. When conducting the review, the Committee considers the continuing appropriateness of the accounting policies, judgements made in the production of the numbers and the adequacy and appropriateness of disclosures. The Committee has reviewed arrangements by which staff may, in confidence, raise concerns about improprieties in matters of financial reporting or other matters. In conducting the review, the Committee took into account whether the policies were in line with guidance published by the Financial Services Authority. The Audit Committee received reports from the internal auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, during the year and reviewed the schedule of work proposed by the internal auditor, the resources
available to carry out the schedule and key findings. A system of reporting to follow up on all matters raised by both internal and external audit was taken into account in assessing the effectiveness of the internal audit function. The terms of reference of the Audit Committee will be available for inspection during normal business hours on any weekday (other than public holidays) at the Company's offices from the date the notice of AGM is posted until the conclusion of the AGM, and are also available on the Company's website.
Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee is chaired by Rupert Robson. The other members of the Remuneration Committee are Michael Fallon, David Clark and Richard Kilsby, all of whom are independent non-executive directors. The Board has delegated the following responsibilities to the Remuneration Committee: – reviewing and approving the general principles of the Company's remuneration policies; – reviewing the relationship between incentives and risk; – determining the application of the Company's remuneration policies to the Executive Directors; – determining the remuneration of Executive Directors and the Chairman; – reviewing the application of the Company's remuneration policies to Senior Management, Brokers and other employees; – approving the remuneration of Senior Management after consultation with the Chief Executive; and – approving all share and long term incentive schemes and their application. The Chairman and the executive directors attend certain parts of certain meetings of the Remuneration Committee by invitation. The Chairman and the executive directors do not attend meetings where their own remuneration is being discussed. During 2010 and subsequently, the Remuneration Committee has been advised by PricewaterhouseCoopers executive compensation consultants. Further details of the Company's policies on remuneration, service contracts and share options are given in the Report on Directors' Remuneration set out on pages 32 to 38. The terms of reference of the Remuneration Committee will be available for inspection during normal business hours on any week day (other than public holidays) at the Company's offices from the date the notice of AGM is posted until the conclusion of the AGM, and are also available on the Company's website.
Nominations Committee
The Nominations Committee is chaired by Keith Hamill. The other members of the Nominations Committee are David Clark, Michael Fallon, Richard Kilsby and Rupert Robson, all of whom are independent non-executive directors. The terms of reference of the Nominations Committee provide that the Chairman of the Board would not be permitted to chair the Committee if it were dealing with the issue of his replacement.


text:
Entrust your memories to The In & Out Club. From intimate soiree up to grand scale entertaining, we'll make certain your wedding day is truly special. Our team will be more than happy to discuss with you the options of also hosting a pre/post celebration with us because there's no rule that says you only have 24hours to celebrate!!
The In & Out Club is beautifully located on a private corner of St James's Square, London. Fully licensed to host both Civil Ceremonies, Partnership and celebrations up to 300 for members or non-members. The Club provides a magnificent venue offering an impressive range of grand rooms that really need to be seen to be believed! Your dedicated events manager together with our experienced banqueting team will guide you effortlessly from the initial planning stages through to your BIG day.
Offering an array of luxurious rooms filled with history, large windows, beautiful paintings, sparkling chandeliers, sweeping staircases, double height ceilings and spectacular fireplaces leading out to a secluded outdoor Courtyard which is a sheer delight for taking scenic photographs, alfresco soirées and receptions. The other distinctive privileges we can offer you are private access to the stunning adjacent St James Square gardens which make a spectacular setting for photographs and the option of a late license so you can enjoy the dancefloor longer! Then to continue your celebrations you can enjoy the opulence of reserving additional bedrooms for your guests to enjoy or spend your special night in our luxury bridal suite.
To discuss the options available, please do not hesitate to email email@example.com.
September 2019
Thank you so much and our thanks to Dalia and the team for the work which you all put in to make Dell and Ben's wedding a success. We thoroughly enjoyed it and it seemed to run like clockwork, something which I know it takes a lot of hard work to achieve.
A number of the guests said that it was the best wedding that they had ever been to and I thought it was a great credit to all of you and to the In and Out itself. We really are most grateful.
Kind regards
JW (Father of the Bride)
July 2019
Good Morning All,
I just wanted to say a huge thanks for making Suzanne and Sam's day so perfect. They were really happy with everything and that's down to all of you!
I hope you all have a great week ahead and I look forward to working with you again, hopefully in the near future.
All the best,
L (the wedding planner)
June 2019
Dear Joanna
Yes many thanks to you and your team for helping to make our day so magical. I really got my fairy tale wedding!
I was SO pleased with the way my vision for the decorations turned out.
Warm regards
J (the bride)
December 2018
Dear Joanna,
A huge thank you for all of your help on the lead up to our wedding. We are extremely grateful for the effort you made to ensure our special day ran smoothly.
Dalia and your team executed everything superbly and made all of our family and friends feel welcome at the Club.
Many thanks
A & L (the couple)
December 2018
We had a great day! Please extend sincere thanks to the fantastic chefs / bar / serving staff - and yourself and Dalia - for all your efforts on the day.
A & P (the couple)
October 2018
I am finally recovering from the fog of our event....and I just wanted to give everyone at the In & Out a massive thank you from Tom and I both.
Our guests were blown away by the venue, the food and the overall greatness of everything. What a fabulous party!
C (the bride)


text: I had GS160 v2.5 (48) running fine on Windows 98. I upgraded to 2K, tried to install the 2.5 patch directly (which it says to do) but it says \'this file is not designed for installation on Windows 2000\'. I\'m stuck, can\'t install. Any ideas? I\'d hate to have to revert to Windows 98, but I need by Giga back ASAP - huge deadline.


text:
Designed for the really young budding martial artist. The red foam nunchaku are the perfect choice for young children wanting practice Nunchaku.
Made from super soft foam there is little chance of tears with these. If fact you child will be hard pushed to get any bumps and bruises.
A great pair of Nunchaku that your child will not want to put down
"They are soft and super safe, but don't think your vases and lamps are safe. Make sure they have plenty of space to practice in"
Doug Swift - Owner of Enso Martial Arts Shop
If you have any questions about the red foam nunchaku you want to buy feel free to contact us at our shop to discuss it, call (0117) 9425832 or email [email protected]
We have a few different options for posting your items at Enso Martial Arts Shop. Prices vary depending on the overall order, weight, size etc. The checkout page will automatically workout the possible options for you.
We can send your item(s) in the following ways:
Royal Mail 2nd Class signed - Pretty slow service but will get there eventually. We will try and post it the same day the order comes to us, but not always possible for us. More than likely we will post the next day or day after that. Only possible for small lightweight items, as heavy items are more expensive than UPS.
UPS Standard - Order before 12pm and we can pack and post the same day to be with you the next day. If you order after 12pm we can still pack it and have it ready but it is less likely to be collected the same day (still possible though, depends when the UPS man comes) and will arrive the day after that.
UPS Worldwide - For anywhere outside the UK, we can post the same day but delivery times are dependent on the destination. Approximate delivery times are as follows:


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After less than two years being publicly available, the latest Ghost in the Shell game is now in the process of shutting down. It's sad but not unexpected, as the title has suffered, and laboured, under it's status as a Free-to-Play title after being paid for as part of Steam's Early Access program.
The game itself has a simple idea; you're an Operative of Section 9, from Ghost in the Shell. Choose from the Major (Motoko Kusanagi), Batou, Togusa, Saito, Pazu, Borma or Ishikawa. Log in, kill things, get better weapons, continue killing things. It could be considered a first person, GitS-sourced version of Warframe, albeit with far-less stellar results. But there were many faults with the game, at least from my standpoint.
(NOTE: I stopped playing at the release of 2.0 because it felt like it was trying to emulate Overwatch and it's ilk by becoming a 'hero shooter'. So all explanations were pre-2.0, which dropped July 17th 2017)
I was hyped for this game. I briefly mentioned it on this blog in the past. There had been very few games sourced from Ghost in the Shell, only two of which were really anything substantive to the universe and none of which were above the norm. But let's start off with the obvious; the title. The full name of the game is Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – First Assault Online. How is that meant to be anything short of a mouthful and then some? Jokes aside, even the acronym: GitS: SAC – FAO looks more akin to a blueprint designation than a game title. I understand why it was named that way, as it's part of the SAC universe, but everyone knows it as First Assault that plays it.
The game itself was ultimately unremarkable, but fun. When it entered Early Access (aka the Closed Beta), I bought the Specialist EA Pack as a mid-tier entry into the game. Buying one of the EA Packs was the only way to get into the Beta, unless you bought the same packs through Nexon. It was a straight up Arena Shooter set in the Ghost in the Shell universe; each Operative you licenced (I'll explain that later) had a unique skill that was triggered through activity, or time alive. At level 1, it was a standard ability, but at level 2 (after more kills), there was a unique mechanic called SkillSync for some Operatives. Activating a level 2 skill meant you got the level 2 benefits, but up to three allies in range of you while your skill was active could 'sync' up to you and get the level 1 benefits. Working closely in a team meant that you could have regenerating health from Borma while playing the Major, building up your own level 2 stealth camouflage to share after the previous Sync was over, or even during.
The modes at the time were simple enough: Team Deathmatch, Terminal Conquest (aka KOTH) and Demolition (aka CounterStrike). The gameplay had a unique twist with SkillSync, but beyond that it was little more than a solid foundation for the game. For a title in Early Access, this was to be expected and was appreciated given the amount of code-drivel that was taking over both Early Access and Steam Greenlight at the time. After the match, you earned experience points and in-game cash, along with 'chipsets' to augment your Operatives.
Each Operative required a Licence to unlock. These were either given to the player on certain XP milestones, or could be bought with the cash in-game. Further along the game's development they could be purchased with real money, but since the abilities were basic it was obvious which Operative the player wanted, and it was almost always the first unlock.
Chipsets were for minor changes to the Operative you chose. Skill regen rate, Skill power etc, and these had time limits and expired often. It was a good way to give people that were getting trounced a chance at being competitive, but they were few and far between.
The cash was used to buy everything, including both the actual weapons, and attachments that changed the recoil, ammo count, reload time, accuracy, damage etc. Sadly, there was an obvious 'best in slot' item for each class of weapon and each part of said weapon, and since you could equip all the best parts at the same time there was no room for meta or preference. There was no points system for prioritising accuracy over damage, or decreasing recoil partially to allow for a better zoom option, as examples. Your only real choice was the gun class you preferred, and in which order to upgrade.
For what it's worth, the early version of the game didn't give you much to pay for with real money, and that had to be applauded. The Operative costumes and skins were a little expensive, and the only option to buy currency before the Open Beta was as part of the Packs as an extra to the main attraction of skins. In open beta, everything became a cash grab. You could buy premium currency to unlock everything that wasn't already purchaseable. Another game mode, Ghost Assault, was added; a timed survival against the enemy team that was a game of hide and seek.
When 2.0 aka Renewal hit, the reviews went from Mixed to Mostly Negative. The copycat idea of turning First Assault into a class-based 'heroshooter' meant that each hero was pigeonholed into Assault, Infiltration, or Specialist roles. They had limited weapon categories, and Infiltration or Specialist roles had 'Dynamic Movement' ie one could slide, and fire while sprinting, and the other could double-jump. I understand that Nexon wanted to vary the gameplay up, and had they used Renewal's roles to begin with they might have had something special aside from typical-with-potential. But Renewal, from all reports, broke the back of the fanbase.
And on December 6th 2017 the game will be shut down. It's sad to admit this, but I saw this one on the wall from release but hoped otherwise. On Steam the game never got above five thousand players, and now averages around five hundred. I hoped there was a playerbase from Nexon that would help the Asian market support the Western market, even if we just got a server for Eastern US, Western US, and Europe per mode. Ghost in the Shell has a small but dedicated following outside Asia, as the Japanese/Korean market for GitS see it as the anime version of Blade Runner (because it is), and I hoped that following would ensure the game's survival.
Alas, that was not to happen.
There was so much more that the game seemed to offer even in it's Closed Beta state. We saw action in the original trailer that looked like cooperative content, once again, à la Warframe. Who wouldn't love to time-trial scenes like the real Geisha hostage situation from Stand Alone Complex, and not the live action film, or have original situations based around the Laughing Man Incident or the Jigabachi Hijack in season 2? There was so much promise in the concept, but the desire to be competitive outside of it's market seems to have killed the game whole.


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Principal Tells Students 'Meep' Is Off-Limits
Principal Tells Students 'Meep' Is Off-Limits
The principal at Danvers High School, in Danvers, Mass., has asked students to stop using the word "meep" because of the frustration and confusion it caused among the faculty. Mike Spiewak, a senior at the high school, helped to popularize the word. NPR's Guy Raz talks with Spiewak about what exactly "meep" means, and what the future of the word at the school may be.
GUY RAZ, host:
Welcome back to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.
Danvers, Massachusetts, has known persecution and authoritarianism before. The small town was at the center of the Salem witch trials in the 1690s. When locals petitioned King George for a town charter, the English sovereign rejected it and wrote back, the king unwilling.
This week, another unwilling administrator dealt a blow to a certain population of Danvers. Thomas Murray, principal of Danvers High School banned this word:
(Soundbite of cartoon)
ROAD RUNNER: Meep, meep.
RAZ: That's right, the word meep. That was the Road Runner. The word is also the sum total of the Muppet Beaker's entire vocabulary.
(Soundbite of Beaker meeping)
RAZ: Mike Spiewak is a senior at Danvers High School and he helped popularize the seemingly innocuous word, and he's on the line with us now.
Hi, Mike.
Mr. MIKE SPIEWAK (Senior, Danvers High School): Hi.
RAZ: Why are students at Danvers using the word meep?
Mr. SPIEWAK: Well, it started off as, you know, just being a little joke between friends.
RAZ: Well, did you pick it up from Beaker or the Road Runner?
Mr. SPIEWAK: No. Actually, my friend Alex, he picked it up on Xbox LIVE. He was in a party with a couple of kids playing Call of Duty last year. One of the kids that were in the party, you know, he said meep and, you know, Alex picked it up and we started using it.
RAZ: So, what are a few examples of how you would use the word meep?
Mr. SPIEWAK: Well, you can just say meep being a one-word sentence. You can say how the meep are you? Shut the meep up.
RAZ: Now, that sounds like a substitute for another word, a not-so-friendly word that some of our listeners might be familiar with.
Mr. SPIEWAK: Yeah, correct. It could, you know, you could replace meep with an F-bomb so that way you're not swearing. But that's not usually how we would use it; we'd just say it as a one-word sentence. And when the school told us we were unable to use this word and there would be consequences about it, kids have started using the word not knowing where it came from, why we were using it, what it means in protest of the schools telling us that we couldn't use it.
RAZ: Now, we tried to call your principal but we couldn't get a hold of him. He told your local paper, the Salem News, that it was more than just the use of the word, that it was also about the way students were behaving. Why do you think he banned the word?
Mr. SPIEWAK: We used to stand in front of this teacher's room and we would use it, you know, meep, meep, whatever, when, you know, we all came into the school in the morning. We were asked to move, we were asked to stop using the word. More kids began using it, interrupting his classroom time during the school day, and he just felt that, you know, it needed to stop.
RAZ: Well, that sounds like a pretty reasonable request. I mean, if kids were doing it in the middle of class, you know, the guy was getting annoyed.
Mr. SPIEWAK: Right.
RAZ: So, you don't have any problem with the ban?
Mr. SPIEWAK: I personally don't. I think it's unfair that they banned a word that's not even a real word.
RAZ: So, despite all of these problems, are you guys still meeping?
Mr. SPIEWAK: Absolutely. We mostly use it out of school now. So, you know, when we text each other, when we call each other. So, that's the only time we really use it. But, you know, some of us still use it in school every so often.
RAZ: Mike Spiewak is a meeping senior from Danvers High School.
Mike, thanks for your time.
Mr. SPIEWAK: You're welcome. Thank you.
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Gardening is one of the most satisfying of all activities, irrespective of age. Planting a seed and seeing a plant grow from it offers a sense of achievement and pride that even a toddler will feel, even if the process by which it has happened is not completely understood. While the colors and beauty of flowering plants will add to a child's appreciation of nature, being part of the process of growing vegetables will encourage children to eat even those for which they have an instinctive dislike.
Gardening can be a very positive preschool or day care activity and the children will love it. It doesn't to need a large amount of space and expensive equipment. A small patch of earth and a few basic child friendly tools are all that is required. Having said this, teachers must ensure that the children are closely supervised at this time – putting dirt and unwashed vegetation in their mouths is something all kids love to do.
Tips For Gardening With Toddlers
The basic principle to keep in mind is that gardening must be made safe for the kids – having fun while doing it will come naturally to them.
- Use gardening tools that are designed for use by young kids. These are safe with no sharp edges on which they can cut themselves. And the small size makes it easy for small hands to hold, lift and use.
- Find age appropriate gardening tasks for the kids. The youngest ones may not be able to do any planting, but watering plants will come naturally to them. Most of them will enjoy plucking and picking and helping to keep the garden area clean. And they will all love to dig in the dirt and make shapes with the mud they dig up.
- When flowers and vegetables are ready for plucking, let the children do it. Show them how to do the plucking without damaging the plant. This may take a few repetitions. But once they learn how to do it properly, they will truly enjoy collecting the flowers to decorate the classroom or the vegetables which they can eat themselves.
- Gardening need not always be outdoors. Find some visually appealing and fast growing plants and place the seeds between layers of wet paper towels. Place this in a plastic bag and keep it in a warm place. The kids will enjoy watching the seed germinate and being able to see the changes happening in front of their eyes will be fascinating. Toilet paper cylinders and egg cartons make great planters into which the germinated seeds can be transferred.
- When the sprouts in the planters have grown big enough to be planted outside, let the kids do this. Be prepared for a lot of plants to be lost – kids can be too rough with them. But when they see the damage they are doing by being too rough with the plants they grew, they will learn the need for being gentle and careful
- Keep the gardening fun by installing a fairy house or placing a few small plastic animals around the garden for the kids to play with. Here too some of the plants may be damaged in the early stages of playing, but the kids will naturally become more careful when the see the damage that is being done to their loved plants.
If there is enough space, keep some aside for the kids to try and plant and maintain a garden on their own – but under "hands off" adult supervision. Of course they will mainly make mistakes and do the wrong thing, but that is the whole point. When they see the difference between their own efforts and what is done with adult guidance, they will want to do better.