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NBER Reporter 2011 Number 2: Research Summary
Trust and Finance
Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales *
In recent years, economists have become increasingly interested in studying how specific institutions and norms affect economic behavior and economic performance. One part of our research, developed with Luigi Guiso, examines the interactions between a small but important subset of norms and institutions: trust and civic capital. This research also explores the effects of these factors on economic outcomes, such as economic growth.
Trust, Social Capital, and Financial Development
Our first contribution in this area introduces the concept of trust into financial economics. One paper investigates how social norms affect financial development. 1 The term "social capital" has been widely used in the social sciences outside of economics and is defined as "features of social life - networks, norms, trust, that enable participants of a given community to act together to pursue shared objectives." 2 As such, a community's level of social capital may affect economic efficiency by enhancing the level of trust among economic agents belonging to the group -- here trust is defined as "a particular level of the subjective probability with which an agent assesses that another agent or group of agents will perform a particular action." 3 This concept is foreign in traditional finance, because the prevailing paradigm is based on common knowledge, homogenous beliefs, and, very often, representative agents.
Because financial contracts require trust, differential levels of social capital may have important consequences for the way that financial markets develop. Financing is nothing but an exchange of a sum of money today for a promise to return more money in the future. Whether such an exchange can take place depends not only on the legal enforceability of contracts but also on the extent to which the financier trusts the financee. In relational contracts, what matters is personalized trust -- that is, the mutual trust that people develop through repeated interactions. For the development of anonymous markets, though, what matters is generalized trust: the trust that people have in a random member of an identifiable group. Sociological research shows that areas where social capital is greater have higher generalized trust and, thus, are more likely to develop financial relations.
In "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development" we study this empirical prediction for a variety of households' financial choices: portfolio allocation, use of checks, availability of loans, and reliance on informal lending. Consistent with social capital being important, the results show that in areas characterized by high levels of social capital, households invest a smaller proportion of their financial wealth in cash and a bigger proportion in stock. In areas with a great deal of social capital, households also are more likely to use personal checks and to obtain credit when they seek it. The effect of social capital is stronger when legal enforcement is weaker and is more pronounced among less-educated people, who need to rely more on trust because of their limited understanding of contracting mechanisms. These results have real implications for developing countries where education levels tend to be low and law enforcement is weak. Whether trust is simply an equilibrium outcome of a society in which non-legal mechanisms force people to behave cooperatively, or whether there is an inherited component imprinted during education, is the subject of a long standing debate. In the above-mentioned paper, we address this question by examining the behavior of people who migrated over the course of their lifetime. For these households, we can separately identify the effect of the environment they grew up in versus the environment where they now live. Although most of the effect is attributable to the level of social capital prevailing in the area where an individual lives, roughly one third is attributable to the level of social capital prevailing in the area where he or she was born. This is important, because it emphasizes that subjective priors about other people's behavior may be different from the objective probability, and they may be driven by the individual's educational background and the cultural environment in which the individual was reared.
While deeply affected by societal norms, trust is also influenced by individual characteristics related to biological traits and personal history. We consider each of those factors in subsequent work.
In another study, we look at whether individual trust, rather than the average level of trust of the community, helps to explain the limited stock market participation observed in the data, especially among the wealthy. 4 Analyzing what drives participation in the stock market is important not only for asset pricing and for the development of financial markets but also for analyzing the potential impact of investing social security account balances in the stock market.
We develop a simple testable model in which the decision to buy stocks depends not only on the objective expected return but also on the subjective priors of the investor about the probability of being cheated. Less trusting individuals are less likely to buy stock and, conditional on buying stock, they buy less. The calibration of the model indicates that mistrust is sufficiently severe to account for the lack of participation of some of the wealthiest investors in the United States, as well as for differences in the rate of participation across countries. To test the model's predictions, we use a sample from the Dutch National Bank (DNB) Household survey. Trusting individuals are significantly more likely to buy stocks and risky assets and, conditional on investing in stock, they invest a larger share of their wealth in stocks.
In a related paper, we examine whether cultural biases help to explain the extent to which individuals trust each other.5 We also study how these cultural biases affect international trade and investments. In this work, the empirical challenge is how to separate customary beliefs from rational expectation beliefs. We do so using a rich dataset that contains the trust of European citizens for citizens of other countries. First, we document that relative trust is affected not only by objective characteristics of the country being trusted (that is, country fixed effects), but also by cultural aspects including religion, a history of conflicts, and similarities between pairs of countries. The impact of both wars and religion on relative trust is reduced by half for people with a college degree, consistent with the hypothesis that cultural stereotypes become less important in shaping people's priors when individuals are more educated.
Having established an effect of culture on priors, we then find that lower relative levels of trust toward citizens of a country lead to less trade with that country, less portfolio investment, and less direct investment in that country, even after controlling for the country's objective characteristics. This effect is stronger for goods that are more trust intensive, and it doubles or triples when trust is instrumented with its cultural determinants. These results suggest that perceptions rooted in culture are important (and generally omitted) determinants of economic exchange.
Cultural Determinants of Preferences and Priors
If trust is important in explaining participation in the market and in the use and availability of financial contracts, then the next logical step - which we take in our research - is to investigate why trust and, more generally, individuals' priors and preferences differ so greatly across countries and across individuals within a country. A logical place to start is by investigating the set of social institutions that affect individuals' lives.
One such important social institution is religion. We analyze the relation between religion and six groups of attitudes that have been shown to be relevant for economic growth: attitudes toward cooperation (trust and tolerance), women, government, legal rules, the market economy and its fairness, and attitudes toward savings.6 We examine the effect of different religiosity levels and different religious denominations, controlling for individual characteristics and country fixed effects.
On average, we find that religion is positively associated with attitudes that are conducive to free markets and better institutions. Religious people trust others more, trust the government and the legal system more, are less willing to break the law, and are more likely to believe that market outcomes are fair. However, the relation between religiosity and market mechanisms (incentives, competition, and private property) is more mixed. On the negative side, religious people are more intolerant and less sympathetic to women's rights. These effects differ across religious denominations.
This evidence suggests the importance of upbringing and social environment in shaping individuals' preferences and beliefs and in influencing the allocation of resources. The role of culture in this context is very important. In a review paper7 , we discuss and extend the literature on the effect of culture on individual preferences and priors; we also investigate some of the macro effects of culture on economic outcomes.
It is also important to understand how social capital and trust are accumulated and dissipated. Putnam (1993), one of the fathers of the concept of social capital, conjectures that social capital can be the result of historical experiences. For example, he attributes the large difference in social capital between the North and the South of Italy to the period of independence that Northern cities had as free city-states more than 500 years ago.
This conjecture, which Putnam does not formally test, is intriguing for two reasons. First, it identifies how social capital is formed, through the experience of positive cooperation at the local level. Second, it assumes an enormous degree of persistence of this experience. If Putnam is correct, then a lot of the observed persistence in economic development might be caused by the persistence of the social capital. We test Putnam's conjecture by studying both differences within sub-regions of northern Italy and differences between the north and south of Italy. 8
Both methods suggest that Putnam's conjecture was right and that at least 47 percent of the North-South divide in Italy is attributable to the free city-state experience. More importantly, our results suggest that positive experiences of cooperation at the local level can have extremely long-lasting effects, even when the institutions associated with those experiences have all but vanished. This result has implications that reach beyond the explanation of the Italian experience. What colonizers might have transferred to their colonies is not necessarily a set of institutions, but rather a different experience of cooperation or mistrust. An unresolved question, however, is how these experiences last for so long.
We try to answer this question in subsequent research where the main hypothesis is that the transmission process is cultural and is passed from generation to generation. We define social capital as "good" culture -- in other words, a set of beliefs and values that facilitate cooperation among the members of a community -- and we build a model of the cultural transmission of beliefs. 9In this context, even a positive experience of cooperation lasting two to three generations can have permanent effects. This result could rationalize the long-lasting effect of a history of good institutions even after these institutions have vanished. One way to model better legal enforcement, for example, is as a reduction in the cost of being cheated. Even a temporary reduction in this cost can permanently increase the level of cooperation as the good experience is transmitted across generations. This effect also can explain the long- lasting effect of legal origin10 and of bad colonial institutions.11
Research on "social capital" has been plagued by ambiguity on what that term actually means. This ambiguity has made it difficult for this concept to be fully accepted into the mainstream economic debate. In a survey paper12 , we propose a definition of social capital that satisfies the criteria of an economic definition of capital (Solow, 1995) and clearly differentiates social capital from physical and human capital. This so-called "civic capital" is an important omitted factor of production and can explain why differences in economic performance persist over centuries. We discuss how the effect of civic capital can be distinguished empirically from other variables that affect economic performance and its persistence, including institutions and geography.
While this research has brought some useful insights, much remains to be done. First, there is a need for better empirical measures of civic capital. Second, it is important to study the mechanism through which civic capital accumulates and depreciates. The evidence suggests that a positive shock to the benefits of cooperation can have effects that last several centuries. What ensures such a high degree of persistence, however, still remains unclear. A better understanding of these mechanisms is crucial if we want to think about designing policies that might foster the formation and preservation of civic capital.
* Sapienza and Zingales are both Research Associates in the NBER's Programs on Corporate Finance and Political Economy. She is also a Professor of Finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is the Robert C. McCormack Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.
1. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development", NBER Working Paper No. 7563, February 2000, and American Economic Review, 94(3) (June 2004), pp. 526-56.
2. R. Putnam, Making Democracy Work Civic Traditions in Modern Italy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993.
3. D. Gambetta, "Can we Trust Trust?" in Trust, Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations, D. Gambetta, ed. Oxford: Basil Blackwell (1988).
4. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Trusting the Stock Market", NBER Working Paper No. 11648, October 2005, and The Journal of Finance, 63(6) (December 2008), pp. 2557-600.
5. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Cultural Biases in Economic Exchange", NBER Working Paper No. 11005, December 2004, and Quarterly Journal of Economics, 124(3), August 2009.
6. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "People's Opium? Religion and Economic Attitudes", NBER Working Paper No. 9237, September 2002, and Journal of Monetary Economics, 50(1), January 2003, pp. 225-82.
7. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Does Culture Affect Economic Outcomes?" NBER Working Paper No. 11999, February 2006, and Journal of Economic Perspectives, Vol. 20, No. 2, Spring 2006.
8. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Long-Term Persistence", NBER Working Paper No. 14278, August 2008.
9. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Social Capital as Good Culture", NBER Working Paper No. 13712, December 2007, and Journal of the European Economic Association, 6(2-3), April-May 2008, pp. 295-320.
10. R. La Porta, F. Lopez-de-Silanes, A. Shleifer, and R. Vishny, "Law and Finance", NBER Working Paper No. 5661, July 1996, and Journal of Political Economy, 106(6), December 1998, pp. 1113-55.
11. D. Acemoglu, S. Johnson, and J. Robinson, "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation", NBER Working Paper No. 7771, June 2000, and American Economic Review, 91, December, 2001, pp. 1369-1401.
12. L. Guiso, P. Sapienza, and L. Zingales, "Civic Capital as the Missing Link", NBER Working Paper No. 15845, March 2010, and Handbook of Social Economics, Volume 1A, Jess Benhabib, Alberto Bisin, and Matthew O. Jackson, eds.
Contact Us


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If you are considering purchasing a custom built rod, it is important that you know about the craftsman who will create your rod Ron's Custom Rods is a one person shop. I have a lifetime of experience with rods and what started as a hobby has now become a business. I take pride in building each and every one of my rods to the specifics and desires of my angler customers. I consider it an honor to put my custom built fishing rods in the hands of anglers who appreciate performance equipment which is truly one-of-a-kind.
As an avid fisherman myself, I understand the performance demands of quality equipment. As a rod builder, I know how to build a rod that will balance in your hand, be pleasing to the eye and when the time comes, can be counted onto be a quality piece of equipment which can help land the fish of a lifetime.
I have lived in the southwest and northeast for over 54 years and am very familiar with our many varied fisheries and techniques as they apply to rod design. When not building rods, I am out fishing the many rivers and lakes neat my home. In addition to trout, salmon and steelhead fishing. During the years of fishing light tackle catch and release I was honored to fish with some of the most talented and skilled anglers on the southwest and northeast and gained an appreciation of the value of quality equipment.
My passion lies in creating works of performance art which simply can not be purchased from a manufacturer or mass producer. I take pride in creating unique one of a kind custom built fresh water rod.
Thank you for your interest. I look forward to the possibility of working with you

subset: commoncrawl


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Madness and Monarchy at Fairlight Hall
If you were one of the many who watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding on TV, you would have heard a crystal-clear, pure voice accompanying the bride's fairytale procession up the aisle. Elin Manahan Thomas, one of the most exceptional sopranos of her generation, was honoured to perform Handel's Eternal Source of Light Divine at the wedding of the soon-to-be Duke and Duchess of Sussex. HOT's Erica Smith finds out more about the singer and why she is championing Barefoot Opera.


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good chemistry is complicated,
and a little bit messy -LW
Re^2: wxPerl fails with a cryptic message: "variable is not of type Wx::Point"by Anonymous Monk
|on Mar 09, 2013 at 12:13 UTC ( #1022561=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
some thoughts I wrote down
but these also have the problem of being C++ documentation which will require interpretation.
But its not a lot of interpretation :) is it?
You know :) I've read a few wxwidgets examples, and I've never needed anything more than the two rules from my wxWidgets / wxPerl / wxGlade tutorial, basically
wxWidget to Wx::Widget , wxWidget( to Wx::Widget->new( s{wx([A-Z]\w+)(\()?}{"Wx::$1" .($2?"->new(":"")}ge; the constructor is called ->new
wxWidget foo means a $foo which is a Wx::Widget object
That's it. There is one more that comes up if you view the c++ examples, and its dot to arrow s{.}{->}g;
Ok, there are two more that everybody knows without trying, its ignore comments // /**/, usually taken care of by viewcvs if you're viewing online, or whatever syntax highlighting editor you're using offline
And ignore stuff in bold :) int *x, const wxPoint& pt
The only real issue I see, is that a lot of classes are stale
OTOH, take for example Wx/XS/Display.xsp its missing
Not a big deal, but this could be automated, much like the wxwidget docs are automated (now with more automation)
And there could be a wxPerlDocs distribution release, that uses File::ShareDir to package up a perl-ified version of the wxwidgets docs, that comes with a wxperldocs command that launches the docs in your favorite browser (mimeopen, openit )
update: http://svn.wxwidgets.org/svn/wx/wxWidgets/trunk/docs/doxygen/scripts/swig_tools.py
swigtools uses xml generated by doxygen to generate swig, swig can be used to generate perl bindings
without much work, perl-specific docs could be generated, missing member accessors could be exposed, missing methods could be exposed, missing classes could be exposed ...
<Reveal this spoiler or all spoilers in this node or all in this thread>
http://sourceforge.net/p/wxperl/code/3445/tree/dist-tools/trunk/?? Its unclear how often these beginWxPerlOnly amendments are updated in wxWidgets docs
there is module_info but it doesn't work too well with Wx but these oneliners do :)
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Innovative Practices 2013 on Employment
Promoting an inclusive workplace
|Name of Innovative Practice:
|Promoting an inclusive workplace
|Wipro Limited
of origin
Wipro's framework is comprehensive and ensures that inclusion becomes an integral part of culture and working. Wipro's hiring policy for persons with disabilities is merit-based across all roles and not just in "identified jobs", support functions or non-core functions. These initiatives have not only opened up opportunities for persons with disabilities, but are also role models for other firms interested in making systemic changes to make their workplace more inclusive.
The company's approach provides long-term focus. It is part of Wipro's Sustainability Focus under the pillar "People". The framework includes: (1) People Policies, (2) Recruitment, (3) Training, (4) Physical Infrastructure, (5) Information Systems and (6) Awareness.
There is a strong team driving the initiative, with the Human Resources Head providing the leadership and acting as champion for the programme for inclusion of persons with disabilities. The Diversity Council reviews the programme quarterly.
Wipro operates worldwide. The focus is largely driven in India. However the inclusion policy and reach is across the globe. Employees in other countries such as UK and USA have also declared their disability and Wipro is able to give reasonable accommodation and create an inclusive environment for them.
Wipro.org – www.wipro.org/sustainability/people_with_disabilities.htm
Case Study of Wipro, Inclusivity at the Workplace Five Principles that Enable and Empower; published by NASSCOM: www.nasscomfoundation.org/nasscom-foundation-programs/business-responsibility/accessibility-initiative/inclusivity-at-the-workplace
Click here to add your own text


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We had a super time during our school sports day. We are so glad it didn't rain and we got to complete all of our races. Well done to all of the winners. A special well done to all the mum's and dad's that took part in the adult race.
Last week we measured how much water was in our rain gauges. It was interesting to see which group had the most water depending on where it was placed in our courtyard.
This week we planted some cress seeds. They are already growing nice and green!!
We talked about primary colours (red, blue and yellow) then did some experimenting to see what different colours we could mix together. These colours are called secondary colours (purple, green, orange).
Lots of primary 2 started to read their very first AR book this week. Our lovely primary 3's helped them find their way around the big library and some of the p2's even took their very first book test.
We enjoyed the ceilidh during the week! We had lots of fun dancing and hope everyone got home safely before the rain and thunder started!
See you next week!!


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We are open weekends from 9am till 5pm.
Why not stop off for a break at Shepherdswell and visit our splendid Colonel's Cafe? Named after the iconic railway engineer Colonel Holman F Stephens.
Wendy has a wide selection of food and drinks available, including home made meals, cakes and snacks.
We have an outdoor BBQ which is in operation during the summers special events. An outside patio and picnic area complete the cafe, as well as ample parking for visitors. The cafe is decorated for special events so there is always something new to see!
Please note, the cafe & site is open six days per week from 8am onwards, from Tuesday to Sunday. This also includes the woodland walks for visitors and the miniature railway subject to staff availability.
The cafe can be booked for private parties please call 01304 832042 for details.


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Membership Criteria- General Sales Agents
In order that persons working for these establishments qualify, these establishments must fulfil the following requirements:
(a) general sales agents who do not also act as travel agents must indicate the international, tourism company(ies), which they represent. Those establishments who are also travel agents must qualify under the travel agents category.
(b) have a commercial office, which is solely dedicated to the representation of tourist enterprises.
(c) have at least two, full-time employees who are directly involved in the sales, marketing or promotion of the tourism products of the companies represented.
(d) maintain commercial relationships with travel agents and/or tour operators in its area of representation.
Active members
Active membership in Skål is limited to those persons holding managerial positions in the travel and tourism industry, or positions considered equivalent by Skål International. The equivalent positions are specified in the Membership Classifications in this Article. Active Members must work full-time in their position, be directly involved in management, sales, marketing or promotion work, or be engaged in work defined in the Membership Classifications for the equivalent managerial positions and have a minimum of three years experience in the travel and tourism industry. This experience need not be in a managerial position. The Executive Committee of Skål International may, at its discretion, accept senior management of companies or entities with less than the three years experience. Such dispensation will not be given, however, if the translation of the person's title on the Proposal Form is in question.
All persons proposed for Active membership must comply with the requirements above and must hold one of the following positions in companies or organisations directly related with tourism and travel:
01: President/Chairman/Owner/Chief Executive Officer
02: Vice President/Managing Director/Director General/General Manager
03: Assistant or Deputy Managing Director, Director General or General Manager
04: Director : Sales, Marketing, Publicity, Public and Guest Relations, Revenue, etc.
05: Assistant or Deputy Director: Sales, Marketing, Publicity, Public and Guest Relations, Revenue, etc.
06: Manager: Sales, Marketing, Publicity, Public and Guest Relations, Revenue, etc.
07: Assistant or Deputy Manager: Sales, Marketing, Publicity, Public and Guest Relations, Revenue, etc.
08: General Sales Agent or representative of these companies
09: Persons holding a position or responsibility for controlling or supervising staff or a range of services within the company.


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Our Filly is 2 Months Old
I love this time of year where the weather is nice and the horses have shed their winter coats looking sleek and shiny.
Arcadia's coats is still soft and fluffy. She is lightening up all the time around her legs. It will be interesting to see if she turns into a grey like her daddy PG Dry Fire.
I especially love this time of year when you have the contrast of colors in the sky and in the grass. I love storms and Wyoming has some pretty good ones.
At 2 months old Arcadia (our Filly) has had a bit of contact now. She will let you pet her around her face and has had a halter on a few times as well. She loads in the trailer now pretty well and while she was in the trailer is when we did our halter training and gave her her first bath. (That was fun. I will post pictures of that soon.) She is strong and loves to run whenever she gets put on the pasture. It is sure fun to work with a young horse and see them learn and grow.
Leave a Reply.


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Canon PIXMA MG6850 Drivers Download
Canon PIXMA MG6850 Reviews– The PIXMA MG6800 series of printers is so fast to print a stack of tasks in Office or at home. Featuring 5-inkjet all-in-one performance while Wi-Fi and a touch screen to make it very easy to use MG6800 series printer. Enjoy beautiful high-quality photos/documents, directly from the smart device to access the Internet or from a wide range of devices and cloud. Now comes an all-in-one printer, a scanned copy, with the template, directly from the camera/memory card, even well connected with easy with Tablet / Smartphone for popular services in the cloud.
Almost everyone needs a printer and they all deserve a good printer. A good printer is not the most expensive, the most reliable printer is based on need. This means that a good printer must meet the needs of the user. An expensive printer can be said as expensive as it seems because the user uses this printer for their needs and is perfectly adequate. There are several respectable printer manufacturers, one of them is the Canon. This company has led the printer market several times. One of its products is the Canon PIXMA MG6850 printer.
As the basic principle of the printing machine is a printing device, then the most important value of this machine is the result of printing, it is a good result or not. Be careful when buying a printer, a printer that has excellent results when printing text is not always as good as color photo printing, but if a printer has an excellent performance in photo printing like the Canon PIXMA MG6850 printer, it would be easy to print a text document. Operating this printer would not find anything difficult because there are two WPS buttons to guide the user.
The Canon PIXMA MG6850 printer allows the user to print on a small piece of paper on plain paper. It is important that the manufacturer prepares a good product that has a variable. In this printer, the user can print from a small paper of 15 x 10 cm to A3 +. But when the user plans to directly print a document from the memory card, it can be difficult to do, since the manufacturer does not offer a memory slot for this model. There are 5 inks that will support photo or graphic printing. When the user has to print a document from the remote area, this can be done with this printer.
Canon PIXMA MG6850 Drivers Download
Compatible for Os:
- Windows
- Mac/ Os X
- Linux
How to Install Printer Drivers:
- Make sure your printer is connected to power and also has a USB cable connected to a computer or laptop that you use
- Open the printer driver files that you have, if not please first download in the download link has been provided.
- Double-click the driver file, then to follow the given installation petnjuk
- When you are finished, will Munjul last window and simply tap on Finish
- Your printer has finished installed, please try to print
The above indications are used for printer driver installation in windows operating system


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Life has been a little too busy to sew for the last month or so. I was lucky enough to travel to Germany, Slovenia and Iceland for beer drinking, biking and backpacking so all I did during that time was think about the subject on those long uphills.
Now that I'm back and it is officially summer here it is back to those DIY home improvement projects. This time re roofing some storage sheds. I won't know if we were successful until the rainy season starts again but it felt good to try something new.
Measuring and cutting felt and piecing together shingles felt like sewing. I was utilizing those same skills. Different muscles – same skills.
As a bonus I got to customize an old t shirt by slashing a v neck and tearing off the sleeves to turn it into something I thought a professional roofer might wear. What do you think?
What sorts of DIY projects do you enjoy?


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In a message on his website today, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson announced he is retiring from mixed martial arts.
In a blog post titled "I'm done fighting", Rampage announced the following:
The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddel even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.
Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.
Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).
Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.
Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!
I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!
Dana White had some comments regarding the matter when speaking with Carmichael Dave on the radio station KHTK (audio here)
"Rampage is a grown man," White told Carmichael Dave on the radio station KHTK . "He's acting like a baby right now, but he's a grown man. If he wants to be in the movie business, Rampage, good luck to you, man. I hope he makes it big, and I'm not being sarcastic. … I hope the movie thing works out for him. If that's what he truly wants to do, and that's what he feels and that's what he thinks his career is, I wish him all the luck in the world."
White said he didn't get any advance warning from Jackson about the surprise retirement announcement and that he still likes Jackson personally, but that if Jackson wants to leave the UFC, White can't stop him.
"I just found out, too," White said. "Rampage has been a friend of ours. We really like Rampage. I'm not going to get into the battle of who's done what for who and all that stuff. We've done a lot for him and yes, he's been there and fought. The guys who come in here, they're fighters. That's what they do. We give them fights and they fight. And they make money and we make money. That's the way it works."
Rampage will probably be back, especially if the A-Team movie flops. I don't see him getting selected to star in any more major films if A-Team does not do well. He probably has a few fights left on his UFC contract, so he would have to finish that up before competing for any other MMA organization.
Or maybe he just figures it's a good time to retire on a win without having to inevitably face Lyoto Machida towards the tail end of his career.


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EMS will gladly handle your Kentucky Derby 2020 needs
The Kentucky Derby • Churchill Downs • Louisville, KY
May 1-3, 2020
The Kentucky Derby is run annually in Louisville, KY, on the first Saturday in May of each year. This one and a quarter mile race at the famed Churchill Downs is known as "The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports." It has also been called "The Run for the Roses" appropriately named for the blanket of roses draped over the winner.
The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and is followed by the Preakness Stakes then the Belmont Stakes in the ensuing months. To claim the title of the Triple Crown, the horse must win all three races which is a feat that has only occurred 11 times in history and not once since 1978. The attendance at the Kentucky Derby ranks first in North America and usually surpasses the attendance of all other stakes races.
Travel Packages are available for the Kentucky Derby and can be paired with the Kentucky Oaks scheduled for the day prior to give you access to both events. Travel Packages include a variety of access options for the event including grandstand seating, club house seating, private interior box seating or premium seating in the Matt Winn Dining room, the Turf Club or even the famed Millionaires Row. To complete your program, Executive Marketing Services can provide hotel lodging in Louisville, VIP hospitality at the event, and private dedicated transportation!
For mor information Click Here
All pricing is subject to change based on availability.


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Season 7
Episode 56
(Worst Fear Came True (6)
"Um… I'll find a time to arrange this, but I'd like to make something clear… I'm only responsible for arranging your meeting, but it's up to my husband to decide whether he wants to collaborate with you."
"Of course." Huo Zhenghai was satisfied with the results.
"Oh, and… in the future, don't meddle in my personal matters without my approval," Huo Mian said coldly.
Just as Huo Zhenghai was about to say something, Yang Meirong came out with a bowl of soup…
"Drink it while it's hot."
"Okay." Huo Mian nodded.
"What were you guys just talking about?" Yang Meirong asked.
"We… talked about Mian's childhood. The truth is, I wasn't a good father to her. With Mian's talents, she could have attended a reputable university. If she did, Mrs. Qin and the Qin Family wouldn't look down on her, and no one would gossip about her." Huo Zhenghai was good with his words; he pretended to show remorse in an attempt to win Yang Meirong over.
Yang Meirong was really gullible, and she immediately fell for Huo Zhenghai's deceiving kindness …
Huo Mian secretly sighed; she finally understood why her mother lost to Shen Jiani all those years ago.
Shen Jiani was much more calculating than her mother would ever be…
Maybe that was a good thing, because if her mother was the one who entered the Huo Family, Jiang Hong would've bullied her to death…
Not everyone was fit to live in the Huo Family. Only vicious beasts could survive.
"So what if Mian didn't go to a reputable university? She's a smart girl who can outperform anyone. The MDs who worked at First Hospital all graduated from prestigious schools, but so what? The hospital director still asked my daughter to help with his niece's surgery and even called her in the middle of the night for help. It's safe to say that the director values my daughter's skills. She's now famous at South Side, and I personally think she's outstanding. Those who turn white into black should go to hell, karma will get them, sooner or later."
Naturally, Yang Meirong spoke in favor of her daughter…
She went on for minutes; Huo Zhenghai smiled but didn't respond…
"Mom… I'm fine, don't worry about me and don't listen to what other people say. If the reporters come looking for you, don't let them in. They don't have the guts to trespass. If they go overboard, call the police, or hang out with Auntie Wu during the day."
Huo Mian knew that the exposure of her marriage meant that her family would be constantly harassed…
"I know, I'm fine, just take care of yourself," Yang Meirong said.
After leaving home, Huo Mian suddenly thought of Wu Xiaoxue, whom her mother had just mentioned.
She hadn't talked to her in days; had Wu Xiaoxue recovered from childbirth?
Therefore, she made plans to check up on her after work…
After a busy afternoon at South Side, Huo Mian called her.
Then, she bought a bunch of baby stuff and drove to her home.
On her way there, she was watching the news, which reported on how Ni Yang was cornered by reporters and bombarded with questions.
"GK has been involved with one scandal after another, do you regret signing with them?"
"I don't, GK is great," Ni Yang replied nonchalantly.
"GK's president's wife was born poor and isn't highly educated, what do you think about that?" another reporter asked.
"I think they're a great couple. Chairman Mao used to be a cowherd, Zhu Yuanzhang used to be a beggar, and Liu Bang used to be a punk (TL Note: these are all people that went on to become a leader of a country/kingdom). You can't determine a person's success by their family background, but rather by their capabilities, okay? I hate those who slam on someone's family background, I completely support Mr. and Mrs. Qin and am a huge fan of them."
Ni Yang had a lot of fans, so he was really influential…
Therefore, right after the interview came out, herds of Ni Yang's fans went to show their support for Huo Mian on Weibo.
Public pressure immediately fell toward the other side…
At this time, what Qin Chu's mother had said in her interview seemed insignificant…
If she said anything else, people would curse at her for being an evil mother-in-law.
Huo Mian smiled… this young boy sure had the guts to take a stand.
The other stars under GK all took neutral stances because they didn't want to put themselves in the line of fire. Ni Yang, on the other hand, basically sacrificed himself.
Just then, she received a phone call from Ni Yang.
"Sister Mian, did you see my interview?" He sounded like an excited kid.


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BA/BSc exams from June 11
Mingora, June 05: The annual examination of BA/BSc in University of Swat is scheduled to start from June 11. In a statement on Tuesday, the controller of examinations stated that regular students would get roll number slips from their respective colleges while private candidates had been issued roll number slips on their postal addresses.
17th convocation of GIK Institute held
Swabi: Governor Shaukatullah on Tuesday called upon the students of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute (GIK) to acquire the modern day science and technology education to cope with the future challenges in a befitting manner.
"You are the builders of the country. I hope you will play a major role in overcoming the future challenges," he told the participants as chief guest at the 17th Convocation of GIK in Topi near here. He said that energy crisis and terrorism were the main challenges to the country.
The governor said that the country has immense resources but there was a need of the honest, committed, competent and trained manpower to take up the task of national reconstruction.
In all 163 graduates, Adam Khan and Dr Manzoor achieved PhD degrees in faculty of electronics while the rest did bachelor and master's in computer software, computer system, electronics, electrical, material and mechanical engineering and engineering sciences.
Iqra Ejaz was awarded the Quaid-e-Azam Gold Medal for the over all best performance in the session while another coveted award; the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Gold Medal went to Salman Saeed for best performance in academic pursuits.
106 graduates awarded degrees
Islamabad: The Convocation 2013 of the Foundation University Medical College (FUMC) was held here on Tuesday.
Foundation University Islamabad (FUI) President Lieutenant General (r) Muhammad Mustafa Khan, who is also managing director of the Fauji Foundation, was the chief guest. FUI Rector Major General (r) Gul Muhammad was also present on the occasion.
As many as 107 MBBS graduates were awarded degrees by the FUI president. The chief guest also awarded 6 gold medals, 5 silver medals, 15 distinction certificates and 62 merit certificates. The award for best graduating student was clinched by Zaid Waqar.
In his welcome address, Foundation University Medical College Principal Major General (r) Dr. Nasim-ul-Majeed presented the annual college report, highlighting the progress and academic excellence it has achieved last year.
Lieutenant General (r) Muhammad Mustafa Khan said that the FUMC stands out as a prominent institution among the medical colleges of the country. "Several hundred graduates from the FUMC are in the mainstream of medical profession not only within Pakistan, but also in other countries. The purpose-built campus of the college with elaborate teaching facilities is considered as a model for contemporary institutions. Its close proximity with state-of-the-art teaching hospital is a great advantage, which provides an environment, conducive for learning and greatly facilitates the academic pursuit of the students," he added.
The president informed the audience that Foundation University is now an ISO certified institution and has been upgraded by the Higher Education Commission to 'W-4', which is the highest category. FUMC was the pioneer college in the private sector to achieve approval of the Pakistan Medical & Dental Council for 150 admissions in MBBS programme.
He said, construction of the new block to house the dental college is progressing as per schedule and it is expected that BDS programme shall be launched in January 2014. FUI president said that no academic programme can succeed without the diligence and commitment of faculty. FUMC is privileged to have qualified and dedicated faculty whose guidance has played a key role in achieving the high academic standards.
He advised the new graduates that they must not consider this success as the accomplishment of their goal. "This achievement of yours today only marks beginning of a long and continued endeavour to learn and absorb the new modalities of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases. You are entering into the medical profession at a time when the pace of research and development in health sciences is tremendous. New discoveries are being made every day. It is really a challenge to keep oneself current with the changing scenario", he stressed.
In the end, FUI Rector Major General (R) Gul Muhammad presented a shield to the FUI president. The news


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Get a bear hug at the Picnic
ELECTRONIC music fans will be delighted to hear that The 2 Bears will be performing at this year's Electric Picnic, as part of the Casa Bacardi line up for the festival.
London based duo The 2 Bears formed in 2009 when Hot Chip's Joe Goddard teamed up with Raf Rundell. The duo produce tracks encompassing a number of different styles, including 2-step, house, hip-hop and soul. They also host a radio show on Ministry of Sound Radio entitled 'Follow the Bears' and have also produced remixes for several established artists including Santigold, Metronomy, Toddla T and The View.
The 2 Bears have received plenty of radio support from big name DJs including Fearne Cotton, Scott Mills, Greg James, Annie Mac, Huw Stephens, Kissy Sell Out, Dev, Rob Da Bank, John Kennedy and Nick Grimshaw. Other performers at Casa Bacardi include Francois K; Todd Terje; Prins Thomas; Darshan Jesrani (Metro Area); Optimo; Crazy P; The Revenge; Space Dimension Controller; A-Skillz; Stevie G; The Drifter; Big Dish Go; Tu-Ki; Steve Manning; Mother and John Mahon.
Over in the Body and Soul area organisers are creating a projection installation made from old family photos of people who come to the festival. They are looking for anything from 70's haircuts and 80's Christmas jumpers to awkward family photos. Those who have any embarrassing photos of themselves as children, email a copy to email@example.com. For more visit www.electricpicnic.ie.


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I had no intention of causing the little lizard problems, but it's hard to convince him now because he's dead.
It all began with me looking out the window and seeing a six-inch fence lizard resting on the patio. I opened the door and watched him scamper toward the BBQ grill. I followed him with my finger poised on the camera button of my i-Phone. He dove into a hole in the butane tank which proved to be his downfall.
Although his head and front legs fit through the hole, his larger back legs could not. He was stuck. I tried helping, but his fear proved too great. I walked away and prayed, asking the Lord to free him.
The next day, I checked again. He was still stuck.
On my walk around the neighborhood, I decided the lizard was in desperate straits and needed help now. I prayed and asked the Lord to relax the lizard, maybe even put him into a deep sleep.
I softly crept up behind the lizard. I reached down and gave him a quick jerk, hoping to surprise him and free him at the same time.
Let's just say, it did not work out quite like I planned. He died in my hand.
I felt terrible and asked forgiveness of the Lord for killing the lizard. An empty feeling hung on me for hours like a funeral shroud. If only I wouldn't have bothered the lizard, he'd still be alive.
Now think about it, okay?
There are probably 500, 000 of these fence lizards in my neighborhood alone, ranging in size from itsy-bitsy to six inches, measuring from head to tail. Cars, lawn mowers, cats, birds, snakes, and dogs remove thousands of them every week from my area. So, what's the big deal, right?
He lived in my yard, under my care. I let him die for no good reason at all.
Do you know what made me feel better?
I received a letter in the mail from a child we sponsor in India. Her words warmed my heart, knowing she thinks I'm someone special, but in reality, I'm not. She's the special one who God laid on our hearts to love and help.
If you're interested in knowing how to sponsor a child in Gospel For Asia's Bridge of Hope program, click here.


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Monthly Archives | May 2019
Commission: Impossible 30 – league votes, relegation info, positional eligibility
Posted on May 22, 2019 | By Scott Fish | Leave a response
Scott Fish and Ryan McDowell talk commissioner stuff. On this episode they talk about: % for league votes, owner issues, charity, where to get salary cap info, relegation info, positional eligibility, and more!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download


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Kona: Kohala Coast & Waterfalls
Starting June 1, 2020
We are offering this tour exclusively as a private excursion. Due to social distancing requirements, we have modified our cabin seating arrangement and this tour seats up to five (5) guests. Learn more about our new elevated health & safety protocol in response to COVID-19. Call or chat with our reservations team to inquire about other aircraft options that may be available.
Fly with Paradise to the Kohala Valleys to hover amidst the breathtaking 2500' waterfalls and sheer cliff faces. En route, you will witness frozen lava flows on the Kona and Kohala coasts from the 1801 Hualalai eruption and the 1859 Mauna Loa eruption, which traveled over 31 miles before reaching the now world-famous Kohala Coast. Dotting the shoreline along the way, you can pick out pristine white and black sand beaches — including Mahai'ula, Kiholo, Anaeho'omalu and Hapuna – to visit during your stay!
- 2500′ waterfalls and sheer cliff faces
- Lava flows, Kona and Kohala
- Shorelines and black sand beaches
- Waterfalls and rugged coastlines
- Lush landscape of Kohala
- Birthplace of Kamehameha the Great
Make your tour epic with our exclusive and signature add-ons.
Route Map
Click to view
Tour Notes
For answers to common questions please read our faq.
Free round-trip transportation for tours departing from the Kona International Airport.
- Free transportation is limited and based on availability.
- Please reply to your confirmation email with a request for transportation and hotel name.
- Paradise Helicopters will confirm availability for your date via email and/or phone.
- Pick up and drop off locations are limited to the Kona Coast including the Hapuna area – North and the Keauhou area South.
- Exceptions and other restrictions may apply.
- Free transportation only applies to Air Adventures purchased directly from Paradise Helicopters.
- May not be combined with other offers.
Activity Level
Easy: Suitable for adults, children and seniors.
2 reviews for Kona: Kohala Coast & Waterfalls
On Monday August 12th. we had a 7:30 a.m. flight scheduled. We had perfect weather. Clear skies and not too windy.
Our pilot was Matt and when he assured us that it was his second day of flying we knew we were in good hands. Everyone in the helicopter had clear views as Matt made sure to turn the machine so that each side could get great pictures.
We had no idea that the Big Island was as scenic as it turned out to be for us. The beautiful valleys with the tall waterfalls are something to see. The East coast of the island with the cliffs and the crashing waves are breathtaking from the air.
Thanks to all at Paradise for their professionalism.
Also thanks to Matt for playing the Jurassic Park theme song as we entered the valley where you could imagine seeing some prehistoric creatures.
Lisa M., David M. and Pam M.


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Car seat check June 6 at Canastota Tops
CANASTOTA -- A car seat check will be held on Wednesday, June 6 from 4-6:30 p.m. at the Tops Friendly Market parking lot located on Genesee Street.
Trained staff will be available to check for recalls, make sure the seat is right for each child and ensure that the child and seat are properly buckled in the vehicle. Staff will share the latest recommendations to teach parents what they need to know to help their child ride safely.
This free event is open to the public and is sponsored by the Madison County Health Department, Madison County Sheriff's Office and the New York State Police with funding provided by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee.
In the event of rain, this car seat check will be rescheduled for June 13. Call the Madison County Health Department at 366-2361 or listen to Mix 106 radio to check for cancellations.


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Getting Started with TheECheck.com
TheECheck is a leading provider of Global High-Risk Merchants. High-Risk Merchants are a specific classification of merchants with a higher risk of customer sales disputes, returns and chargebacks. Any online business and all internet credit card transactions are considered high risk because the credit card is not present for verification.
TheECheck is a merchant facility. A merchant facility is the service for processing credit card payments over the internet with acquiring banks, the financial institutions that maintain a contractual relationship with the merchant. The credit card issuing bank works with the merchant's bank to settle all transactions.
In Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, TheECheck is authorized to accept and process for credit card business merchants in every country that issues and accepts VISA and MasterCard business; and is also an Interchange Plus acquiring bin partner, the domestic and global systems operated by MasterCard and VISA. TheECheck owns its own MasterCard and VISA BIN. TheECheck does, however, offer some aggregate BIN's for Amex and JCB.
Amex and Discover are closed-loop cards that "generally" only allow for direct underwriting of business. This means the banks will directly do the underwriting for our merchant. Underwriting refers to the process that a large financial service provider (bank, insurer, investment house) uses to assess the eligibility of a customer to receive their products. BIN is a Bank Identification Number, a unique identification number assigned by VISA to its member financial institutions to identify each institution for acquiring and issuing processes. An Interbank Card Association Number (ICA) is issued by MasterCard and serves a similar purpose as a BIN. Generally, an acquiring bank will receive a BIN-ICA but we often refer to this as simply a BIN.
We can ALWAYS refer any business to be underwritten directly by Amex, Discover, JCB, etc. Most card-present businesses will be accepted by the closed loop, except for adult-themed businesses and or liquor stores. "Card Present" refers to a sales transaction that is completed when both, a valid credit card or cardholder are present. This is also known as a face-to-face transaction.
TheECheck works with a large number of banks throughout US, Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, each bank different with a variety of options offered, based upon their longevity within the market and Risk Appetite. Risk Appetite is the level of risk that an organization is prepared to accept. It is a measurement of the potential benefits and potential threats that may occur if the organization accepts the merchant.
TheECheck supplies Cross-Border Acquiring, which allows the acceptance of global credit cards (VISA and MasterCard) for domestic merchants. A normal card acquirer can only accept credit cards issued from a bank inside the same country as the merchant. This is an important distinction for internet merchants.
A tier 1 bank is usually called social or working capital for Non-US Banks. TheECheck works with credit card banks having a minimum of 100 million tier 1 capital. The use of the tier 1 bank means a top-quality bank, with such examples as: JP Morgan Chase, Citibank and Bank of America.
TheECheck provides a full slate of card services, such as Global and Domestic Credit Card processing and Managed Banking. Managed Banking creates and maintains a good relationship with the bank, minimizing Chargebacks and Returned Checks. Our processing is not restricted to just the US. TheECheck can process for global merchants in their native currency and supports a variety of payment types, including direct bank transfer, check services – Check21/eCheck (ACH) – (electronic debit of funds from a consumer's checking account), direct deposit and transfer services in over 23 different European based banks.
We have acquiring partners in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as, prepaid PIN which is a prepaid debit card that can be used as a form of payment to buy products online, and can usually be reloaded. A PIN-based transaction is when the 4-digit PIN is required to be entered at the point of sale.[/vc_column_text]
Types Of Accounts
TheECheck offers a wide variety of merchant accounts and managed solutions for domestic and global processing. Below is a brief overview of the types of accounts TheECheck can offer your business upon approval.
3D Secure Solutions
TheECheck offers both Non-3D and 3D Secure accounts. 3D secure refers to the way in which transactions are verified and accepted for processing by the acquiring bank. Any account structure can be 3D secure Secure, like Direct Merchant Accounts (MIDs) and Aggregates, depending on the stipulation of the bank. 3D Secure is XML based, designed to be an additional security layer for online credit and debit card transactions.
3D solutions utilize VISA's Verified by VISA and MasterCard's SecureCode programs. Once a customer enters their payment into a merchant's website, they are automatically transferred to their bank's verification page to enter their secure code, before being transferred back to the merchant's website to receive an approval or declination.
Acceptable Industries: TheECheck offers premium high-risk processing services to merchants around the world. Unlike other payment processors, TheECheck takes a unique approach to high-risk merchant boarding. Merchant Boarding is the actual process of approving the merchant, by reviewing each application on a case-by-case basis to achieve the highest rate of merchant approval for the widest variety of industries.
Above information is subject to change without notice and should not be assumed to be current for all applications at all times. All approvals are subject to full underwriting. Our Merchant Underwriting Approval Policy helps to control credit risk and acts as an agreement between the third party billing agent and the acquiring banks for what merchant information is needed to measure the merchant against the acquiring desired list of criteria. The policy also outlines and lists what merchant information is needed for the merchant's agreement.


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Click on thumbnail to enlarge.
Opico / Grain Dryer
Put you in control of your harvest whatever the weather.
Why get caught out by another wet harvest when OPICO's Grain Dryers have the solution.
Easy to install and relocate when necessary, OPICO Grain Dryers do not require vast expenditure on handling equipment. The Diesel Grain Dryers can dry up to 480 tons per day automatically, while the Gas Dryers can dry up to 168 tons, with minimal supervision. Using diesel or gas and with 3 phase or PTO drive OPICO dryers recirulate the grain constantly to dry thoroughly and evenly whilst imporving hectolitre weights and augmenting quality.
10 Good Reasons why to use recirculating batch dryer?
- Recirculating - Constant mixing for even drying.
- Augers - Polishes the grain, improving sample
- Grain Cleaner - Removes weed seeds and broken grains improving hectolitre weight
- Grain is Constantly Moving - Airflow through crop is better decreasing drying time
- Wet or Dry - Can handle and dry the very wettest of grain.
- Forced Drying and Cooling - YOU'RE in control, grain is ready to sell when YOU want.
- Self Contained - Minimal additional handling equipment required.
- Quiet - To reduce noise in sensitive areas.
- Resale Value - Being mobile OPICO Dryers retain a high resale value
- Flexibility - Can be adapted to fit into most drying systems
Why choose OPICO?
Minimise non drying time
Loading time and unloading time is dead time when using a dryer, OPICO dryers have high capacity loading augers, recirculating augers and unloading augers, reducing non drying time and increasing throughput.
Air flow through the grain
The more air you can blow through grain the more quickly grain will dry and cool, OPICO dryers have high capacity fans in relation to the size of the dryer which speeds up drying and cooling decreasing batch time and increasing throughput.
Heating the grain
Larger burners attain the drying temperatures more quickly and maintain more consistant drying temperature, decreasing drying time and increasing throughput.
Size of the drying zone
The size of the plenum chamber in a grain dryer dictates the amount of grain that is being dryed at any one time. The holding capacity of a grain dryer is irrelevant to the drying capacity, the larger the plenum area, the higher drying capacity. (See image)
Send an enquiry here if you would like more Information.


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Solar Eclipse Sunglasses
A solar eclipse is a spectacular show of natural forces in motion. The phenomenon will occur once every couple of years. Perfect alignment of the moon between earth and sun creates a stunning scene. Proper eye protection is needed to view the full event. Regular sunglasses do not offer adequate protection as they only block at most 70% of harmful light. They also do not protect against radiation.
Few options are available to view properly solar events. Number 14 welders masks were the only known material to block harmful light emitted by the sun. The majority of people rely on the pinhole and paper method to track the progress of an eclipse. No true way to safely see a solar eclipse existed until now.
Use Special Equipment
Special eclipse sunglasses filter out harmful light. Sunlight contains damaging radiation rays. Looking at direct sunlight damages the rods and cones of the eye. This risk increases during solar eclipses due to so many wishing to see it. Even with the sun partially covered, the intense brightness of the sun is too much for the eye to handle. It can cause semi or permanent blindness.
Eclipse sunglasses work to protect delicate human eyes. High-quality lenses made from polymers and filters sort out ultra-violet rays, infrared radiation and intense visible light. 100% of protection from most harmful light is recommended, and you get it with these glasses. Intense visible light is reduced to allow a viewer to see clearly the sun and moon in various phases.
The filters applied to the lenses show the solar eclipse in a natural orange hue. It is soothing to the eye and makes for a more enjoyable experience. People of all ages can now enjoy this spectacle of nature. The right eclipse sunglasses will provide optimal viewing from start to finish.
What Is an Eclipse?
Solar eclipses occur when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. It creates a shadow over certain areas of the earth's surface that is visible to humans with the help of special eclipse sunglasses.
Alternatively, lunar eclipses occur when the earth passes between the moon and the sun during night hours.
Astral calendars project the expected areas for viewing. Depending on the season and location, some may experience a solar event while others could see a lunar eclipse. The earth's tilted axis means northern, central and southern parts of the globe will witness variations of events.
Solar eclipses normally occur once per year with the cycle of the north to south viewing repeating every two to three years. Some events may last longer than others do. Not all parts of the earth will experience an eclipse. Extreme northern and southern locations are too far away for the moon to effect the sun.


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Booby Traps....Again
I am my own worst enemy…I booby trapped myself.
Booby trap is defined in the Webster dictionary as "any scheme or device for tricking a person unawares." I spoke about this in a blog related to my frustration to the booby traps related to food. I spent most of the blog blaming others for the junk food booby trapping…like grocery stores (putting candy in the checkout line, healthy food at the entry), food companies (marketing things as healthy that really aren't), and even the poor children's sports leagues (providing junk food at games).
One day, I realized that those aren't booby traps anymore because I am no longer "unawares." And hopefully you aren't either!
And then I booby trapped myself! How could that be?
Let me explain…
I have been open about my trouble with sugar and chocolate. I really have kept it mostly in check over the years by eating whole foods. And I have put the "sugar snob" on my list of healthy behaviors. Meaning, I only eat the most quality chocolate so I don't eat too much. However, my desires to be sure my kids don't feel deprived by providing them special sweet treats every now and again started to get out of control.
I bought my special Enjoy Life Brand chocolate chips because they don't have dairy, soy or other chemical additives and only 5 g of sugar……SAFE….See, I bought them for the kids….and then maybe I didn't….I started hiding them from the kids so they wouldn't be bugging me for them every day. And it turns out I would sneak them when no one was watching for a "hit."
I really wasn't trying to demonize them for anyone, but the reality is if I couldn't control myself with them, then how could the kids control themselves around them? Sugar is addictive as are all refined carbohydrates especially gluten containing items.
I realized, that it wasn't that I couldn't enjoy the sweet treat occasionally, but it quickly turned into a habit. It just can't be in my house. What's funny is the only person to blame for this is…ME. I bought them! It's not about perfection but about acknowledging the problem and understanding the booby traps…now I see this one. It's time to say good-bye again to refined sugar inside my home. I can do that.
I have a few other examples of where I have booby trapped myself and watch others booby trap themselves too.
I took my daughter to the grocery store. She wanted a specific bow for her hair. When we didn't find what we were looking for, she threw a mini tantrum. Normally, I don't fall for it, but this time I did. I just didn't want to fight the battle (I was tired and a little more sad than usual because of the excessive sugar intake over the past few weeks….). So I gave in to buying her some other hair ties that were more expensive. I fell into it. No harm done, and really I am not beating myself up. But it was another booby trap self-inflicted. I should have held strong and walked away. I rewarded her behavior and really I just wanted to get out of the store. And that is what I will do next time. I will tell her, "No thank you for that behavior. Now it's time to buy our groceries."
Another one is related to the recent public school district's policy on treats in the schools. You can see the approved list here. The real issue for me is that it's not the policy that is the booby trap because they are trying to move in the right direction, it's the response of the PARENTS. They are angry they can't bring cupcakes and junk food to celebrate birthdays and accomplishments and just about any holiday. They are upset that the school lunch hasn't changed also.
The first issue is that junk food in any form has no place in school. School is a place for learning. Celebrating birthdays and holidays really should be family affairs. But if you must bring it to school, then bring….wait for it……FRUIT! It's sweet and delicious and avoids most allergies so ALL kids can enjoy! You can make fruit kabobs on your own or order from Edible Arrangements. Really, who can argue with this? Sounds like a win-win. Why are we booby trapping ourselves by getting angry about this new policy? The real solution is changing our parenting behavior regardless of the policy. And maybe, just maybe the most special celebration for such holidays should be in the privacy of our own home with a huge hug and an "I love you" to our own child on Valentine's day. The time spent gathering all the valentines to take to school could be spent bonding over making dinner or lunch for our own family celebration.
If your child needs a food or reward related celebration to complete a project or assignment then we need to look more closely at why. In our efforts to motivate we are likely booby trapping our children…again. A book Drive, written by Daniel H Pink, discusses how to truly motivate and inspire creativity at work, at school and at home is autonomy, mastery and purpose….NOT reward systems. For sure celebration is in order, but food and bribery don't have a place if we really want to inspire our kids to learn and create. Again, fighting for pizza party celebrations at school is a booby trap. Celebrate with an extra recess.....OUTSIDE!
If you want to argue about the food available for school lunch….there is a solution to that too. Why rely on someone else to feed your child? Why not teach your child how to pack his/her own lunch from home? It's an important life skill. When I was trying to send my children to Montessori for a "better developmental" education, someone told me, "Shouldn't you be teaching them life skills?" I want school to reinforce positive life skills, but really, I send my kids to school to learn Math, History, Social Studies, test taking and social skills. I don't send them to school to be fed by another person or school system. Fighting for better school policies is a booby trap…let's fight for teaching kids how to cook again. Maybe we could even make their lunch at home, and donate that lunch money to a school program to support having WHOLE foods available for lunch instead of pizza. If we stop spending money on school lunch, and donate it to a school program to teach kids to cook, the big food company will take notice. We are already seeing big shifts with big food companies purchasing well known healthy branded companies known for their quality of product (for example Epic Bar an ethically sourced whole-foods protein bar was bought by General Mills). But for now, it is still my job to teach my children life skills, which includes making lunch, dinner and breakfast and making good choices when unhealthy choices are available. Why? Because that's real life.
Parents, we are booby trapping ourselves with this anger at school policies. The system is corrupted because it is dependent on money from people who want to control things. Take that control away by making a better choice! Really, we want our kids to be able to make good choices so we need to teach them how to make good choices…even at school. Fighting against policies that are actually moving in the right direction is booby trapping the system and your children.
If we want our kids to make healthy choices in their life, then we need to demonstrate how to do that. That includes learning to celebrate without sweets. That includes learning to say no thank you and redirect to stay on task, not bribery. That includes learning how to wash and cut a carrot to take for school lunch. Let's celebrate the small victory rather than demonize how it isn't perfect.
Slow progress is still progress.
I am not perfect, I have booby trapped myself. I will do better next time. I can't expect others to be perfect, including the public schools, but I can celebrate movement in the right direction.
Remove. Replace. Restore.
Remove booby traps…even self inflicted ones. Demonizing imperfect policies.
Replace with proactive behavior that actually addresses the problem. You want your kids to eat healthy and have holistic wellness, then demonstrate how to do that by eating whole nutrient rich foods, get regular exercise together, get adequate rest to soar. These are simple solutions to modern day problems to sustain holistic health…even in school. Check yourself when you demonize someone else and even policies, you may be deflecting your own inadequacies. Empower your family by teaching life skills.
Restore holistic health and wellness and even self-reliance.
Eat Well. Move Well. Sleep Well. Soar On.
Dr Carolyn Dolan DPT, Cert MDT, MSHN
Where physical therapy, nutrition and lifestyle meet, because how you live your life determines whether or not you soar. Inspiring action with information so you can reduce pain, optimize healing and improve function naturally during recovery from injury, surgery or painful condition. This is a website for the open-minded; obstinate need not apply.


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Openings: None
Available immediately upon approval of application. Recently refurbished 1 bedroom apartment located in 6-plex in Goodview (Winona's west side). Stainless steel appliances, new kitchen countertops, new bathroom vanity. On site coin-op laundry. Off street parking. Sorry no pets. $565 month. Application process does include a computerized credit and background check. Call David at 507-429-6410 to schedule appointment to view unit. Students welcome but this unit is not rented on a school year calendar – lease is 12 months.
Located in quiet location in Goodview. One bedroom units. One block off city bus line. Units include refrigerator, range, and air conditioner. Coin-op laundry on site. Off street parking. Landlord pays water and trash. Tenant responsible for electric/heat. Lease & deposit required.
Call today for a showing 507-429-6410 !


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Suicide Squad Red Carpet Premiere, If you wanted to make it to the Suicide Squad red carpet premiere, but never wanted to leave the comfort of your own home, we have some great gossips for you all
fans. Here are the latest updates about her. Villains Assemble! Cara Delevingne, Will Smith, Ben Affleck and More Hit Suicide Squad London Premiere.
Despite the poor reviews I still think Suicide Squad is going to be great,I mean its got Margot Robbie looking unreal how can it not be great.
Margot Robbie in Gucci dress at The Suicide Squad London premiere.
Suicide Squad summed up in 5 words- not great but not bad* *mostly because of all the shots of Margot Robbie's butt.
Catch up on all the action from last night's Suicide Squad London premiere


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Other Media | iPac.acuicultura: Thai Union and Corbion extend adoption of AlgaPrime ™ DHA to shrimp aquaculture
Friday, October 16, 2020
Thai Union Group PCL, one of the world's leading seafood companies, and Corbion, the market leader in the production of lactic acid and its derivatives and a leading supplier of emulsifiers, functional enzyme blends, minerals, vitamins and ingredients from microalgae, have announced that, following a successful large-scale trial in 2019, they will expand the adoption of AlgaPrime DHA, an omega-3 rich algae ingredient, to feed Thai Union shrimp."This milestone marks a crucial moment for both shrimp farmers and other seafood producers, as it validates another success in using alternative and sustainable food ingredients at scale," said Thai Union Group PCL in a statement. .
Source: iPac.acuicultura | Read the full article here
Other Media | EuropaAzul: Peru and Mexico confirm a recovery in local markets after the pandemic
Friday, October 30, 2020
Cayetana Aljovín (SNP), from Peru, Álvaro de Tomas Kutz and Mauricio Orellana (COMEPESCA), from Mexico, have confirmed at the beginning of the Summit 2020 congress a recovery of local markets. "There is a greater interest in marine protein. People ask for information on the history of fishing and fishermen. We have verified, "said Comepesca's Mexican representatives. For her part, Cayetana Aljovín pointed out that "we are going to be the last generation that can make the change", and gave an account of the projects that the National Society of Pequerías of Peru had developed.
Source: EuropaAzul | Read the full article here
Other Media | aqua.cl: Alpescas issues declaration by Chinese fishing fleet
Friday, October 30, 2020
The industrial fisheries union said to "exhort" the governments of the Latin American region, in particular those of Argentina, Chile, Peru and Ecuador, as well as the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMO), especially the Pacific RFMO Sur (RFMO-PS), "to strengthen their regional fisheries management systems."
The Latin American Alliance for Sustainable Fishing and Food Secsurity (Alpescas), made up of chambers and associations of the Latin American fishing industry, in the presence of the fishing fleet of approximately 300 Asian vessels, mainly from China, fishing very close to the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina, issued a public statement.
Source: aqua.cl | Read the full article here
Other Media | SalmonBusiness: Egg-shaped closed farming concept takes a major step towards realization
Friday, October 30, 2020
Hauge Aqua reaches milestone.
The Norwegian company Hauge Aqua has been granted license to establish its futuristic "Egg" salmon farm project at a locality in Langfjorden, Western Norway.
"Hurray, we have got our first locality", Hauge Aqua wrote on Facebook. The permit applies to salmon, trout and rainbow trout with a Maximum Permitted Biomass (MTB) of 780 tonnes.
Arthur Lyngøy in Hauge Aqua said the permit is an important signal from the authorities.
Author: Stian Olsen / SalmonBusiness | Read the full article here
Other Media | SeafoodSource: Phillips begins aggressive retail push with host of new products
Friday, October 30, 2020
Like most seafood processors, Baltimore, Maryland-based Phillips Foods was thrown a major curveball at the start of the COVD-19 pandemic.
The company was hit particularly hard by the forced closure and subsequent limitation of service at its seafood restaurants, as well as the curtailment of its business supplying crabmeat and other seafood to the foodservice sector. But Phillips has such a strong retail presence that it has been successful throughout this year, according to Phillips Vice President of Retail Sales and Marketing John Baxter.
Author: Christine Blank / SeafoodSource | Read the full article here
Other Media | fishfarmingexpert: Salmon number cruncher Kontali bought out
Leading Norwegian fish farming consultancy and data provider Kontali Analyse has been acquired by hydro-power producer and green-tech investment company Arendals Fossekompani (AFK).
AFK, which has agreed to buy a 71% stake in Kontali, is establishing its own analytics business, Alytic. Kontali is the first company in the Alytic portfolio but AFK intends to add other data-driven companies serving different industries.
Source: fishfarmingexpert | Read the full article here
Other Media | Fish Farmer: Baader takes majority stake in Skaginn
Friday, October 30, 2020
German processing machinery supplier Baader has announced plans to acquire a majority shareholding in Skaginn 3X, its Icelandic competitor next year.
Both companies are leading players in food processing engineering. Baader is one of the biggest providers of machinery for salmon processing, while Skaginn is known for its chilling and freezing solutions as well as food processing.
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and approval of relevant authorities.
Author: Robert Outram / Fish Farmer | Read the full article here
Other Media | WorldFishing: Oxygen feast for Nova Sea Salmon
Nova Sea has increased the oxygen content in its waiting cages outside its packing facility in Lovund in North Norway after implementing newly developed pump technology.
The six waiting cages are located at the inside of pier, limiting the inflow of oxygen-rich, new seawater. When a wellboat then fills the cages with up to 100,000 salmon the oxygen level in the cages decreases further. Nova Sea contacted PG Flow Solutions who installed its PG-Subflow seawater pump, increasing oxygen content by 20%.
Source: WorldFishing | Read the full article here
Other Media | aqua.cl: Enexpro: Deliver recommendations to export seafood to the United Arab Emirates
Friday, October 30, 2020
The meeting organized by ProChile was attended by Sean Dennis, CEO of Seafood Souq Holding, a company based in the UAE that has created a market to sell seafood products online to retailers, HoReCa, processors and other buyers, directly from the source.
This Wednesday, October 28, a new activity was carried out within the framework of the Export Meeting (Enexpro) of Seafood Products and Suppliers for the Aquaculture Industry, an instance organized by ProChile and that for the first time is being carried out in a 100% online format. This time it was a talk about opportunities to export to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Source: auqa.cl | Read the full article here
Other Media | Industrias Pesqueras: Europêche asks the European Council to be sensitive and flexible in implementing the Mediterranean Management Plan
Friday, October 30, 2020
IN BRIEF - Crisis in the Pollock Catchers Association: Russian Fishery Company 'sailed to court'
Thursday, October 29, 2020
RFC is trying to appeal the expulsion of her companies from the Pollock Catchers' Association
The Russian Fishery Company (RFC) of Gleb Franka won the current round of aggravated confrontation with the industry Pollock Catchers Association. The influential industry body failed from the first attempt to achieve the cancellation of the interim measures imposed by the court in the framework of the case on the exclusion of the RFC structures from the association, reports IA PrimaMedia.
The interests of the structures of the RFC are represented in court by the Pacific Department of Commercial Exploration and Scientific Research Fleet (TURNIF).
The Pollock Catchers Association "was founded in 2006. At the moment it is one of the largest public associations of the fishery industry in the Russian Federation. According to its data, the Association's members are 26 fishing enterprises with a total catch of about 1.8 million tons of fish and seafood. enterprises account for more than 75% of the pollock catch in Russia and about 35% of the world catch.
Source: primamedia.ru (Translated from the original text in Russian)


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Whelp, here we are in week 4 already! This week we had some major visual changes in the space, because paint–yay!
So, real quick, the one room challenge is a design/decor blogger link party, hosted by Linda at Calling It Home, where we all try to whip a room into shape in six very short weeks. The host bloggers share on Wednesdays and the guest bloggers share on Thursdays, There are over 200 people participating, and some incredible talent shines in this event. So definitely hop over and check it all out.
Alright, back to our kitchen. Over the weekend, we basically prepped the space for paint, removed the handles (except for two extremely stubborn handles that are still stuck in place-ugh!), and removed the doors that were close to the walls, then taped off the edges to prep for paint. NOTE: when you are removing cabinet doors, it is SUPER important to number them in the cabinet box and on the cabinet itself. Place a piece of painters tape on an area that isn't being painted so that you know where to put the doors back when you are done!
Monday, we went and picked up our paint and primer. Monday after E went to bed, we got to work covering those pink stripes!! One coat of primer covered everything well enough to move forward with the paint, so Tuesday night and then yesterday followed the primer with the first and second coats of paint!
Once the paint was finished, I finished cleaning up the cabinets and prepping them for paint. To prep them for paint, with chalk paint, you don't need to rough up the surface, it just needs to be completely clear of any dirt, grime, oils, etc., and then the paint will adhere. So we scoured the surface first with a steel wool and water, then followed that with a spritz of Thieves Cleaning spray (my faves from Young Living–this stuff is Ah-mazing, but more on that another time!), wiped them all down and now they are all set to be painted!
This week, we also decided on barstools. The ones I posted last week, tragically became unavailable basically as soon as I shared them… so after I recovered from that loss, I scoured the internet for a second choice. I'm NOT sharing it because I still need to go pick them up, but decision's made and I'm excited to see it in place!
So here's a look at the updated list:
Prime the walls Paint the walls
- Paint the cabinets
- Paint the molding and details
- Declutter and organize overall
- Add a main wall shelf
(Finally) build my custom table (that I designed almost 2 years ago…)
- Add some drawer storage (We don't have a single drawer in our kitchen. Not one.)–still trying to work this one out… not sure it's going to happen…
- Swap out the cabinet hardware
Find seating
- Make and Install Valance–Still debating on this too, It's last on the list… we'll see what happens!
Well, the list is mighty long still, but, I feel pretty confident now that the walls are painted that we are going to get through it!! We are over the hump!
This week, we are focusing on painting the cabinets, getting the new hardware and installing it. The table is coming on TUESDAY(!!), as is the floating wall shelf. This weekend, I'm going to finish my research on the drawer options and see what, if anything, we can make work; and get the stools purchased and in the house!! So next week, we should see some major strides in the progress, and then I think it will just be styling and pictures… Hopefully I'm not being too optimistic or unrealistic with my timing.
How are you all doing with your projects?