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Huobi Pool Token (HPT) is an ecological sub-token based on Huobi Token (HT).
Putting forward the innovative idea of "mining is mining", HPT is issued by Huobi Pool. As a subsidiary brand of Huobi Group, Huobi Pool is an important component of Huobi's ecological strategies worldwide.
Huobi Pool Token [HPT] is a token based on Ethereum blockchain. The most actual price for one Huobi Pool Token [HPT] is ¥0.026926. Huobi Pool Token is listed on 2 exchanges with a sum of 6 active markets. The 24h volume of [HPT] is ¥2 955 126, while the Huobi Pool Token market cap is ¥29 618 936 which ranks it as #509 of all cryptocurrencies. You can find more information about Huobi Pool Token [HPT] on


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- 7 ounces cheddar cheese , sliced into individual strips (I used pinoy cheese for this recipe)
- 30 pieces spring roll (lumpia) wrapper
- 1 cup cooking oil
- Wrap the cheeses in spring roll wrapper
- Heat the pan and pour-in the cooking oil. Let the oil heat-up for a few minutes. (use a smaller pan to save oil)
- Deep-fry the cheese in spring roll wrapper (uncooked cheese sticks) for 4 minutes or until the color of the spring roll wrapper turns golden brown.
- Remove from the pan and place in a plate with paper towel. Let stand for a few minutes for the oil to drain.
- Serve with mayonnaise and ketchup dip. Share and enjoy!
Credit to: Panlasang Pinoy

subset: commoncrawl


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U.S. Goverment Shutdown Didn't Slow Down the News
News shows the continued need for government agencies
The top news stories for the week of Oct. 7 are …
- Longshoremen's Union Sued by Tidewater Barge Lines
- Dakota Plains Cooperative Approves Merger With CHS Inc.
- The American Petroleum Institute Sues EPA Over the Renewable Fuels Mandate
- USDA May Close Three California Poultry Plants in Salmonella Outbreak
- Monsanto Halts Work on Corn Processing Facility in Argentina
Longshoremen's Union Sued by Tidewater Barge Lines
The longstanding lockout of International Longshore and Warehouse Union workers by United Grain and Columbia Grain had a rollercoaster week. The two sides have agreed to resume negotiations for the first time since last spring, with the Port of Vancouver even offering to pay for a mediator to try to get the two sides to settle their disagreements. But with that came news of a lawsuit filed by Tidewater Barge Lines over some of the picket lines set up by the union. Tidewater Barge Lines claims that the water bound picket lines have negatively affected their business even though they are a neutral third party. Tidewater cited instances where their unionized workers refused shipments from Columbia Grain in a show of support, along with instances of impeding barges and tug boats. International Longshore and Warehouse Union stated that they are well within their rights to free speech. Disrupting the business of a neutral third party is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act.
Dakota Plains Cooperative Approves Merger With CHS Inc.
Dakota Plains Cooperative, a Valley City, ND-based organization, voted to merge with CHS Inc. The deal now only has to make it past the CHS board of directors before being made final. Dakota Plains had $135 million in sales during its last fiscal year and offers agronomy, seed, feed and energy services and products to its members. Dakota Plains cited three main reasons for the merger: the desire to keep up with its members' needs,, CHS' ability to keep up with new technology and CHS' ability to offer members a wider range of services.
The American Petroleum Institute Sues EPA Over the Renewable Fuels Mandate
The dispute between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the oil industry over the Renewable Fuel Standard escalated on Oct. 10 when the American Petroleum Institute filed a lawsuit with the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court. The American Petroleum Institute is a lobbying organization that represents the oil industry and has been one of the leading organizations pushing for the repeal or delay of the RFS. This lawsuit pertains to the 2013 requirements for the national fuel volume mandate, the level of biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel and cellulosic biofuel that must be blended with oil-based fuels. The AIP's reason for filing the suit is the late issuing of the mandate (nine months after the deadline) and a cellulosic biofuel requirement that is well above what is currently being produced. The Renewable Fuel Association claims that the lawsuit is frivolous and is searching for a problem before one emerges.
USDA May Close Three California Poultry Plants in Salmonella Outbreak
A Salmonella outbreak has emerged in the midst of the U.S. government shutdown, with the USDA and CDC working with a diminutive staff. There have been at least 300 cases of Salmonella related sickness since the outbreak began with 42% of those of those with symptoms needing to be hospitalized — twice the normal rate. Several strands detected are resistant to antibiotics. The outbreak has been linked to Foster Farms, whose facilities were under threat of shutdown at the time of this article's posting, but have been allowed to stay open under government supervision.
Monsanto Halts Work on Corn Processing Facility in Argentina
The debate over Genetically Modified foods continues to plague Monsanto across the globe. Though more journalists and scientists are coming out for GM crops, citing the lack of evidence that they are harmful to humans when consumed and that the few studies that show signs of them being so are flawed, the opposing side tends to drown out their opposition. Monsanto has been forced to delay their corn processing facility in Argentina due to protests by the Argentine Malvinas Assembly over the company's GM crops.
Well, those are the top five. I want to remind you to email me if you have any story ideas, comments on what news you want to hear about, or just to say hey. Subscribe to Industry Watch, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook for all the latest news in the industry.


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Hubble Telescope captures mesmerizing footage of a giant balloon-like star
This also marks the 26th anniversary of Hubble.
This also marks the 26th anniversary of Hubble.
Veteran NASA astronaut Scott Kelly just tweeted some absolutely stunning photographs from the International Space Station.
After traveling nine years, we finally reached Pluto in 2015 -- and we snapped an iconic photo. But that wasn't the only incredible space moment caught on camera.


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The Afero IoT Platform removes all the uncertainties, risks, and complications associated with end-user onboarding while increasing device security. All you have to do is snap QR code and type your WiFi password. That's it. No more unnecessary installations, no more juggling different accounts and passwords, and no more security risks.
All Afero-enabled devices include a QR code
QR codes can be extended to RFID or other identification mechanisms
Existing screens can be reused elsewhere to interact with other devices
Instant, Hassle-Free Device Onboarding
The Afero IoT Platform's onboarding is more secure and less complicated than any other IoT onboarding mechanism currently on the market. Competing solutions have complex, multi-step processes that can easily frustrate end-users and ultimately lead to frequent failures.
Effective onboarding isn't just a matter of convenience. It can make a huge difference in ROI for your IoT venture, as a superior end-user experience often directly translates to:
- Overall happier customers
- Better reviews and higher "star ratings"
- Higher net promoter scores
- More long-term popularity and better publicity
- Greater customer success with device setup
- Fewer product returns due to customer satisfaction
- Far fewer calls to your support desk
- Lower cost and fewer demands to your resources
- Secure process
- Lower risk of data theft
A Brief Walkthrough
We've designed our app to be as simple as possible, allowing end-users to enjoy their smart products without worrying about the setup process or dealing with failures. Here's a brief step-by-step description of just how simple using the Afero IoT Platform can be!
- Install and launch the Afero app on your smartphone
- Android KitKat 4.4 (API Level 19) or iOS release 9.3 or higher
- Tap "Create Account" to create an account on the Afero Cloud
- Enter your email and password and accept our terms of service
- Locate the Afero-enabled device's QR code
- Tap the "Tap to Scan" button and allow camera access
- Snap the QR code
- If you are unable to scan the QR code with your phone's camera, tap "Manually Add Device" located at the bottom of the "Add Device" screen. Enter the hexadecimal code (don't type the dashes!) printed under the QR code then tap "Add".
- Enjoy your now-connected smart product!
That's all it takes to add a new product to the Afero dashboard. With Afero, end-users can control all of their devices in one place securely and without any difficulty. Through Afero's simple, secure onboarding process, you can expect to experience everything from higher customer retention rates to substantially lowered operating costs to steadier product life cycles.
So why wait? See what Afero can do for you firsthand by requesting a demo today!


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| 7.5°C Belfast
Two people have been killed in an explosion in a stadium in Madagascar which authorities have described as a terrorist attack.
Dozens of people were injured in the incident in the Mahamasina stadium, where people had gathered to celebrate the country's 1960 independence from France.
The Madagascar Tribune reports that Madagascar's president, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, has visited some of the injured in hospital and expressed his condolences to the families of the dead.
The government has promised tough action against those it accuses of using violence for "political reasons".
Mr Rajaonarimampianina's election in 2014 came after five years during which Madagascar was led by a regime that seized power in a coup.
Despite hopes that his election would bring stability, the president has faced an impeachment attempt in the National Assembly.
Some 84 people were wounded in the attack, reported L'Express de Madagascar.
The Madagascar Tribune described the attack as a "nightmare" and, in an editorial, questioned how an assailant could have smuggled a grenade into the stadium. It noted that emergency services were not widely deployed in the area.
Security commanders had addressed the media last week about plans to secure the stadium amid rumours that the celebration might be targeted.


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Hollysys Automation Technologies Ltd $ 11.19 0.14 (1.27%)
On watch
Warning! GuruFocus has detected 1 Medium warning sign with HOLI. Click here to check it out.
Avg Vol (1m):
Market Cap $:
677.41 Mil
Enterprise Value $:
89.97 Mil
This is a preview!
Analysis and historical valuations for Apple Inc are shown here for you to look at this page's features.
AAPL Stock Warning Signs - Apple Inc
GuruFocus has conducted a thorough checkup on the financials and performances of Apple Inc, and found 1 severe warning sign and 2 medium warning signs. These warning signs do not necessarily mean you should not invest in the stock. But you should be aware of them before you invest.
Further reading: New Feature Announcement: The Warning Signs.
1 Severe Warning Sign
Operating Margin % : Declined
Apple Inc operating margin has been in 5-year decline. The average rate of decline per year is -3.4%.
3 Good Signs
Piotroski F-Score : High
Piotroski F-Score is 7, indicating very healthy situation.
Revenue per Share : Consistent growth
Apple Inc has shown predictable revenue and earnings growth.
Altman Z-Score : Strong
Altman Z-score of 6.44 is strong.
2 Medium Warning Signs
Long-Term Debt : Issuing new debt
Apple Inc has been issuing new debt. Over the past 3 years, it issued USD 2.7 billion of debt. But overall, its debt level is acceptable.
Insider Sell : Insider Selling
There were 5 insider selling transactions and no insider buying over the past 3 months. 1,607,454 shares were sold.


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SJC Rowing Performance at Maadi 2017
St John's College Rowers equalled their best ever Maadi with a gold in the Boys Lightweight Double of Dylan McLeod and Ben Burgess and a silver in the Boys Novice Double of Finn Hamill and Mitchell Evans. The gold represents only the second ever gold medal at Maadi for St John's College.
With a total of 5 crews making A finals and 7 crews making B finals, it was St John's College's best results at Maadi for the full squad.
Dylan McLeod and Ben Burgess with the Roger Batley Cup as winners of the Boys Lightweight Double
Jarod Fleming (coach), Finn Hamill, Mitchell Evans and Mr Tierney (coach). Silver medal winners in the Boys Novice DoubleBack to News


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Over the past few years more and more Atlantic bluefin tuna have been sighted off the coasts of the British Isles. This includes off Shearwater II, and we have seen magnificent displays of feeding bluefin tuna during the late summer and autumn since 2015. As well as working at Marine Discovery I'm a postgraduate student at the University of Exeter and have been researching the movements of bluefin tuna that aggregate off the coast of northwest Ireland during this same period. The principal driver for this work is understanding where these fish originate from, and the precise spawning locations of these adult fish (the fish that we see off the British Isles are 5-13+ years old and classed as spawning size).
Studying the movements of wild fish is pretty hard work in general, and bluefin tuna are no exception. In 2016, I worked with Dr Matthew Witt and Dr Lucy Hawkes from the University of Exeter and Dr Barbara Block and her team from the Tag-a-Giant Foundation of Stanford university to deploy 16 Pop-up Archival Tags (PATs; wildlife computers' miniPATs) on adult bluefin off the coast of Donegal, Ireland. These tags are mounted externally on a marine animal and record light, temperature and depth continuously at pre-determined intervals (between 5-15 seconds) for up to a year. On a set date, the tag detaches from the animal and floats to the surface, whereby it transmits a summary of the archived data back to us via the Argos satellite network (Figure 1.). The light data that the tag records is used to reconstruct the movements of the animal over the course of the tags deployment; done by calculating the day length to resolve latitude and solar noon to resolve longitude (Figure 2.). There is a fine balance between tag efficacy on a live animal and its operational lifetime. That is to say, we need to keep the tags small (they are about 40g) so as not to negatively impact the fish's swimming ability, but that means that there isn't room for large battery units. Couple that with the fact that the tag must send all the data back through a network of polar-orbiting satellite (these "see" a tag at the poles 14x per day – this rate decreases with latitude) and what you end up with is a lot of work for a small tag. Because of this, data from the temperature and depth sensors is sent back as daily summaries. BUT, and it's a big but, if you physically retrieve the tag you can gather every piece of information present on the tag's hard drive and look at the temperature and depth of that animal every 5-15 seconds for up to a year. This data is very, very hard to come by.
So, when the PTT 144410 (Platform Terminal Transmitter 144414 – essentially a unique ID number) reported from the west coast of Malta in August, the opportunity presented itself for me to recover a tag containing 298 days of high-resolution data from a 400lb bluefin tuna that we released off Ireland in October 2016.
PAT tags transmit data at a known frequency, and whilst a tag is trying to send its data to a satellite one can triangulate its position using the Doppler effect (Fig 4.). This method can provide a location to within ~250m (or 10km+ at worst!), but you may only get a couple of these good locations a day. To get you that final 250m to being on top of the tag you use a PTT locator, which is radio receiver with a speaker tuned into the frequency that the tag is transmitting data at with a directional antenna. Every 45-60sec the tag tries to send a 'chunk' of data to the satellite (the satellite can only receive data when it can "see' the tag), which is audible when using the PTT locator. Essentially the louder the signal, the closer you are.
From the locations that we had already received from PTT 144410 we had deduced that it was likely in the hands of a person. The tag had been moving all around Malta for the past week. At 7:00am on Saturday the 19th I set off with Duncan (!) my AirBnb host, who I had persuaded to come on the tag-hunt, and we drove to the last overnight position of PTT 144410. I setup the PTT locator. "MEEEEEEEEP", the tag was still within a few kilometres of me. Phew. I had worried that person who had the tag could have already left on his/her daily activities with the tag. After a couple of hours, I found myself stood by a Toyota Land Cruiser and a Volkswagen Golf with a very strong signal, I was pretty sure that the tag was in one of the cars. Not wanting to go door to door early on a Saturday morning I waited for someone to emerge. At about 10:15 a man emerged with his family. Upon being asked by Simeon Deguara (the Research Director at the AquaBioTech Group, who works on bluefin in Malta and was helping me with the recovery) if he knew anything of the tag, he wandered over to the Land Cruiser and produced PTT 144410 from the glovebox. Success! It turned out that the man, Kenneth Gauci, and Simeon were old colleagues, and Kenneth went on to tell us he didn't find the tag and that a friend of his had found it floating and given it to him (he worked on the bluefin fattening farms off the coast). It is always a worry when a bluefin tag ends up in the hands of a person, that the fish has been caught and is now on a plane to Japan. We won't know for sure what happened to this fish until we analyse the data properly, but for now it is at least nice to think that, that bluefin is still alive and well. I explained to the Gauci family, over a much-appreciated cold drink, how the tag worked and why I was on their doorstep on a Saturday morning, all the way from England and holding a contraption that would be a better fit for Area 51. It was nice to chat to the family and see their amazement at the fact that the object they were holding had been on a tuna sleigh-ride all the way from Ireland. After half an hour or so Simeon and I left and I began making my way back to the UK.
Back at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus, Matthew Witt and I booted up the tag this morning and downloaded 1.8 million bits of information from PTT 144410. Now, to start the process of making sense of it and looking at what that 400lb Atlantic bluefin tuna has been doing since we last saw it in Ireland last year.


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All severe storm watches and warnings canceled
Tornadoes, large hail, and damaging winds will all be possible
Click here to view the interactive radar.
Click here for a map of public tornado shelters.
Crawford County Emergency Manager Dennis Gilstrap says the storm sirens in the town of Kibler are not working, so residents need to pay close attention to the latest weather reports because no siren will sound.
Everything is still on track for strong to severe storms for Monday afternoon and evening across the area.
The majority of the area is under the Enhanced Risk issued by the Storm Prediction Center for severe storms, with just the very edge of our northern viewing area (Benton, Delaware, Carroll, and McDonald County under a Slight Risk). Don't get too hung up on who's covered and who's not though…I think if everything comes together, we'll all be seeing a chance for severe storms this evening.
Click here to learn what to do if you're driving when a Tornado Warning is issued.
With the rain moving through now, that is going to drain the atmosphere of energy so to speak, but it looks like we'll be rapidly clearing behind that and give us the chance to recharge into the afternoon. However, if we don't sufficiently get recharged, storms may have trouble firing up later on and we could bust…so just want to throw that scenario out there. However, most of our models think we will have enough energy to get going once we get onto more widespread sunshine into the afternoon which will heat us back up again and give fuel for these storms to grow.
The free 40/29 News and Weather app will alert you in case of severe weather Watches and Warnings in the area.
Click here to download for Apple devices | Click here to download for Android devices.
We still have LOTS of wind shear to work with for this afternoon and evening, so if storms do get going, it's likely for them to become strong quickly. Hail and damaging winds are certainly something to watch out and tornadoes will also be possible…so make sure you know where your safe spot is should the weather turn nasty in your neighborhood Monday afternoon and evening.
The activity could go on through about 10 PM. Figure sometime in the middle (right around the commute time) is when we have the greatest potential for strong storms across the area.
It's likely going to be an active afternoon and evening so make sure you're in the loop with what's going on by downloading the 40/29 Weather App where you'll get the latest watches and warnings and also be able to see our streaming newscasts / cut-ins should we go into wall to wall coverage.
Stay safe, everyone!


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01983 295713
Baring Road, Cowes, Isle Of Wight, PO31 8DS.
Inspire, Achieve, Celebrate
Gurnard Primary School is working towards achieving the Sainsbury's School Games Mark Gold Award. The School Games Mark is a Government led awards scheme that recognises commitment to and development of competition, school sport and physical education.
In achieving the School Games Mark Gold Award, Gurnard Primary School will:


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Just a heads up, I've started a Tourney Pick 'Em group over at Yahoo! that everyone is free to join. Just go here and join Group ID #169695 with the password "riveraveblues." There are no prizes (though you can win up to a million bucks through Yahoo), just bragging rights over your fellow RABers. I've got UConn over BYU with Notre Dame and UNC also in the Final Four. Don't as me why, my college basketball knowledge is seriously lacking this spring.
Update: You have until 12:15pm ET today (Thursday) to sign up and submit your brackets, so get on it if you haven't already.


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Twelve-plus years ago, Air Force Academy Head Football Coach Fischer DeBerry proudly and boldly displayed a large banner across the main locker room of the football team which stated 'We Are All Members of Team Jesus Christ. We Are First and Last Christians.' At least THAT unconstitutional horror of fundamentalist Christian tyranny occurred before the advent of social media. He intentionally and unlawfully marked that place for Jesus, just as a dog marks a tree, despoiling with reckless abandon the Constitution along the way.We've asked the academy to comment on the coach's tweets and will circle back when we hear from the school.
Today, the Air Force Academy senior leadership clearly shows that unchecked Christian extremism is worse than ever at the Academy, especially on its football team, with the shocking discovery of what the football team's Tight Ends Coach, Steed Lobotzke, a 1992 USAFA grad, has been doing with his official USAFA football twitter account. Lobotzke's official twitter feed is filled with illicit proselytizing in the name of Jesus Christ and even includes such biblical citations juxtaposed with pictures of official football team meetings. Unconstitutional filth, thy name be Steed Lobotzke.
MRFF is representing 5 members of the Academy's Athletic Department and 3 members of its 'Fighting Falcon' football team as complainants who have come forward on this latest disgrace to the Constitution of unlawful, fundamentalist Christian supremacy. MRFF legal counsel plan to file an official Inspector General Complaint with the DoD/IG on Monday as MRFF's experience with the Academy's own IG and the Air Force IG at the Pentagon on the Air Staff has proved both organizations to be less than worthless in protecting the precious freedoms guaranteed by the separation of Church and State in our nation's Constitution.
Showing 1-8 of 8


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It warms the heart of any novelist when novels make news. The latest is an argument as to whether John le Carré, in basing George Smiley partly on an MI5 officer, John Bingham, did a disservice to Bingham and British intelligence.
In a letter to this paper, Lord Lexden, the historian, said that his friend Bingham disapproved of the way le Carré portrayed British intelligence in his novels. John le Carré responded by stressing his admiration for Bingham, while saying that: "Where Bingham believed that uncritical love of the Secret Services was synonymous with love of country, I came to believe that such love should be vigilantly examined."
At the heart of this is a general question about the relationship between literature and life, and a specific one about the realities and perceptions of intelligence work. The benefit/disbenefit balance may not be what we think.
Bingham was an outstanding case officer who, as papers recently released to the National Archive show, in the Second World War successfully gathered under his wing a nasty little group of British pro-Nazi sympathisers, whom he fooled into thinking were reporting through him to the Germans. A classic espionage tactic calling for patience, subtlety and imagination, this is very much what we can imagine the fictional Smiley doing.
As long ago as 1999, le Carré identified Bingham as one of his two models for Smiley, the other being his Oxford tutor, Vivian Green. It is sometimes said that Maurice Oldfield, the former chief of MI6, was also in the mix somewhere. Certainly, Oldfield physically resembled descriptions of Smiley – a quiet, thoughtful, academic figure blinking owl-like through large spectacles – and Alec Guinness met and studied him before so memorably creating the screen Smiley. Others could also have been models – Guy Liddell, for example, a senior MI5 officer whose cast of mind, personality and marriage resembled Smiley's – but there is no doubt that most of Smiley's DNA came from Bingham and Green.
If you can put it like that. Links between real people and fictional characters are often more tenuous than we assume. Most fictional characters are a mixture – the mannerisms of one, the voice of another, the career of a third, the private life of a fourth – all subsumed and transformed by authorial imagination and the dramatic demands of the stage they're given. Often they are not recognisable to themselves and not always to their creator once the drama that shapes them gets going.
Whatever Smiley owes to his originals, it is unlikely that le Carré set out to reproduce them, as it were, photographically. He probably heard their voices and envisioned their mannerisms in fixing for himself his imaginary scenes, then watched as the character he created – one of the two most famous spies in fiction and arguably one of the most memorable late‑20th‑century fictional characters – grew away from his creator, as does a child. Characters are composites, in life and literature.
However, the wider question raised by Lord Lexden's letter is not about Smiley but about le Carré's portrayal of British secret services. Is it accurate, is it fair? Bingham, apparently, thought not and it is certainly true that you will find people in MI5 and MI6 who feel that le Carré's Circus is nothing like the service they know.
To start with, they say, the defining characteristic of his Circus stars is that they seem to be damaged in some way – emotionally, psychologically, morally – that renders them cynical or bitter. Betrayal, personal or national, is their world and all their causes and cases are failures. People are treated, staff and agents "burned" (sacrificed), in ways that would put any intelligence service out of business in a week.
Also, in the earlier novels, there are renderings of snobbishness and class-consciousness – grammar school products versus public school, for example – that they don't recognise in their own services. There, they will say, loyalty is overwhelmingly the most common characteristic, closely followed by helpfulness and humour.
But this is to miss the point of what le Carré is doing. He is not seeking to replicate the real world but to dramatise an imaginary one in order to reveal general truths – truths of experience, not of actuality. One of these, I would guess, is a two-stage proposition: (a) the professional practice of necessary deceit is corrosive of personal and institutional integrity; (b) you cannot fight a ruthless and corrupt enemy without adopting his own weapons, thus lowering yourself to moral equivalence – they were awful but we were no better. Thus, Alec Leamas, hero of that early novel The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, eventually sacrifices himself in a gesture that wishes a plague on both houses. This makes for good drama, of course, much more exciting than a novel about how helpful, nice and loyal everyone is.
That said, there are some characteristics common to the Circus and reality. Le Carré served in MI5 and then MI6 through the Fifties and into the early Sixties, a time in which both were haunted by the spectres of betrayal – Philby, Blunt et al and, later, Blake. Intelligence successes against the Soviet bloc were fewer than in the decades that followed and failed operations more frequent. Perhaps, too, in those days, people were more inclined to judge others on the basis of which schools they attended. Nowadays, no one's interested.
There are other common characteristics that only insiders would recognise. The amount people smoked and drank, for instance (albeit common in most professions), or the ladies who ran the registries. In the pre-computer age when intelligence services survived – very successfully – on extensive card-index systems, there were formidable registry ladies, sometimes eccentric, sometimes with exotic pasts, who were far from over-awed by clever young (male) officers just out of university.
Somewhere, too, le Carré has Smiley remark to the effect that: "Most good intelligence work proceeds from a kind of gentleness." It's true; spying is about listening to people and being loyal to them, not betraying or killing them. Even while deceiving Nazi sympathisers, you treat them well to keep them talking. You learn more than by locking them up.
The irony is that many of le Carré's readers take his world to be a model of reality and don't find it offputting. On the contrary, they're so intrigued by it that, as another former chief of MI6, Sir Colin McColl, used to point out, le Carré and Fleming – unalike in so many ways – have jointly been an enormous boon to British intelligence as a whole. Because of them, an MI6 officer can knock on pretty well any door anywhere in the world and be taken as representative of Smiley or Bond or both. He (or she) may or may not get the help he wants but there's no doubt that people see him as standing for something, someone to take seriously. It's a lot easier than saying you're from the Belgian secret service, and having to explain.
But the accuracy or otherwise of le Carré's portrayal of secret service is really beside the point. So, too, is his current disapproval of his former employers – one of them, anyway (he blames MI6 for the Iraq war). The real point is that he has created an imaginary world sufficiently coherent and convincing for us to know what is meant when something is described as le Carré-esque, just as we do with Kafka-esque or Austen-esque. For an author, it doesn't get much better than that. A thought, perhaps, to lighten George Smiley's pensive frown.
Alan Judd's latest spy novel, 'Uncommon Enemy', is published by Simon & Schuster


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No-go playground at Smiths Field
RATS and yobs and filth had made a playground in the Smith's Field/Kirwan Park area unusable, claimed Mountmellick Town Councillors at their monthly meeting last Thursday night.
To step through a gate into the rubbish-strewn facility was like "going from heaven to hell," declared Cllr Ollie Payne.
He elaborated: "The field is dirty and rat-infested. The amount of bottles and filth and dirt and household scrap is frightening down there. If we are going to be responsible we should not encourage children to go down there."
Chairman Cllr Stephen Lynch: "Vermin - that's a health and safety issue. It should be looked into straight away."
Deputy Co Manager Ian McCormack thought the Council shouldn't be "giving into anti-social behaviour."
But Cllr Paddy Bracken argued: "People won't go down to use it (playground) because of the fear factor."
Cllr Marc Connolly claimed it had cost a quarter million euros to put equipment into the playground. He described this as a "complete waste."
After a long discussion, Councillors unanimously agreed that a meeting of all interested parties should be convened in an effort to resolve the issue. They also felt that the play equipment should be transferred as quickly as possible from the Smith's Field locality to the new playground currently being created on the old library site at Irishtown.
Cllr Connolly said young mothers were wondering when such a transfer of equipment would take place. He added: "It's only common sense to move it to Irishtown."
Cllr Payne: "The MDA should be asked to put a camera high on their building to monitor the playground (in Irishtown)."
Turning to the present playground near Smith's Field, he said there was no fence between it and Kirwan Park and cars and motor bikes were driving in and out. There was broken glass on the path inside the playground, he revealed.
Cllr Michael Gormley: "It's not suitable down there for a playground. We must just realize that."
Cllr Payne: "The playground is important, but the people living down there are more important."
Manager McCormack: "I will take it up with the environmental section."
Cllr Bracken: "The environmental section is aware of it. It (playground) is on private property."
Chairman Lynch: "It might be private property but the playground is public."
Cllr Bobby Delaney: "Last week a horse roamed through it. I would nearly rather see the equipment go to another town rather than leave it down there. A fence in the area was cut down with a consaw."
Cllr Bracken warned that if a youngster fell into a ditch in the area there would be headlines proclaiming "Child dies in middle of Mountmellick."
Cllr Payne: "My first priority is the dirt and filth and vermin. The playground is another issue."
Cllr Bracken: "It was a disaster from day one. Some equipment was in the river last week. We have a lovely facility in Irishtown. I'm sure every mother and toddler will use it."
Cllr Payne: "It's not the playground that's bringing these boys (yobs). Do you think they are going to move out (from Smith's Field) when the playground moves?"
Cllr Rosemary Whelan: "The area is dark. There is no CCTV. It needs to be solved sooner rather than later."
Cllr Gormley promised to bring the issue to the attention of the Parish Council of which he was a member. (According to Councillors, the Parish Councll owns Smith's Field).
Cllr Bracken said the PP was "fully conscious" of the problem.
Cllr Delaney: "No-one has respect for it. It's just Smith's Field. You could do what you like in it."
Cllr Payne called for the erection of a clear fence in the area, thus removing "cover" for anti-social behabiour.
Manager McCormack: "The money would not be there to do that job."
Cllr Payne: "It's an emergency. People are going to be asked for 100 euros a house."
Cllr Pat Bowe said a letter should go to to the Environment Minister urging him to increase the penalties on yobs and to name and shame them, and to make them pay for the clean-up.


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WW1 Flying Ace's Log Book goes under the hammer
WW1 Flying Ace's Log Book goes under the hammer
The records of a war hero from Kilburn will find a new home by the beginning of March
Reginald Leach Johns was an exceptional pilot whose skills were put to the test during WW1.
A member of the famous "8 Naval" 208 Squad Sopwith Camel's, Johns notched up nine victories causing (with assistance) two enemy planes to be destroyed and seven to vanish from view out of control.
Johns's Log Book has now come up for auction, listing 21 of Johns's Combat Reports and Casualty Report alongside various articles and copied 'Naval 8'History. He kept the book updated from 20.7.1917 - 7.6.1918.
Reginald Leach Johns's Log Book (Click to see inside)
The last page has been entered by another and reads 'Acc. Killed 11.6.18'. Despite his skill Johns was killed in a crash, close to the end of hostilities.
This rare and valuable piece of military history is currently available at Wellington Auctions in their medals and militaria postal auction, and is expected to bring bids of up to 2,500. Johns's memorial plaque is also on offer, and expected to achieve 1,000.
The sale closes on March 2 at midnight GMT.
Images: Wellington Auctions
The bookmarklet lets you save things you find to your collections.
Note: Make sure your bookmarks are visible.
Click and drag the Collect It button to your browser's Bookmark Bar.


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Arranged Diets and Arranged Marriages... Do they really work and make you happy?
In my line of work, friends often come to me to ask for nutrition advice. Recently I learned that 3 of my friends decided to go on diets - HCG hormone, Ducan diet and Protein Shakes diet. As a trained expert in nutrition, I tried to explain to them why I don't think that extreme diets are a way to go, but nothing seemed to click...until I used a different analogy that I would like to share in this blog.
When it comes to foods, you get to choose which ones you like and which ones don't like. For many perfectly strong reasons people overeat and end up with a less than desired body weight. So lets look at our relationships with food as we do at the ones with our significant others.
Chances are you picked the guys or girls you dated yourself. Now, they may not have been the right choices sometimes, but you figured your way out eventually and let go of the bad relationships. So what about food? Taking up an extreme diet is similar to agreeing to an arranged marriage. It is totally giving up on your own capacity to decide what is good for you and surrendering to someone else's opinion of what you should do.
I am not saying that we shouldn't listen to others about what to eat and what to avoid. But look at outside advice and diet books as if someone is setting you up on a blind-date. First see if you actually like a new relationship, before you commit to it.
What got you to the weight you are at, were your actions fueled by circumstances. Unless you analyze your behavior and figure out what got you there in the first place, how will you be able to carry on with food once the crash diet is over? Yes, some arranged marriages do work out and the couple may grow to love each other, but in many cases partners are not happy and divorce is inevitable. The same with diets. When you restrict your food options and calorie intakes, you let someone else control your life for a while.
If it is the instant satisfaction you are looking for, then the result will be similar to the one of having a fancy wedding and then going through a divorce. But once it is over, it is back to square one - figuring out your own way of eating that works for your body and your personality. You gotta do it eventually, so why not start now?
You are not an addict that can't be trusted with a box of cookies or a pizza. You are a smart person who may need to adjust your relationship with food and then follow with action.
Take some time to ask yourself what got you to the weight you are at. Why do you like to eat certain foods? How is your current portion control working out for you? What does it feel like when you indulge and how can your cravings be satisfied with non-food activities? After all, food is fuel, not necessarily entertainment. And if you are thinking that food is meant to bring pleasure and taste good, then that's yet another reason to avoid extreme diets - they usually don't allow much variety and they are not going to last long.
Hopefully this post evoked your thinking and you will look at arranged diets as you would an arranged marriage. Opt to learn about nutrition. Notice how food affects you and then make your own educated choices. Don't rob yourself by settling and giving up control to someone else. You CAN have it all - the happily ever after with the food and body you actually love!
Debbie Z
5/26/2011 08:32:33 am
Loved your sharing ;) def makes a lot of sense!
Leave a Reply.


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You never really know what you're getting into. I recently signed up to volunteer at the Lowry Park Zoo Zoominations Festival and had no idea what I was going to be doing, all I knew was that I need hours for my scholarship. I went in for my first day and you'll never guess what my first job was... the panda costume. Although I was sweating buckets it was so fun, and I got plenty of breaks to go and enjoy the beautiful lanterns and displays! The whole park was beautifully decorated. I found it so amazing how all of it was made with silk, wire and lights, and it took about five weeks to build. There were even Chinese acrobats who put on a show. I couldn't believe some of the acts they did... they were overflowing with talent and skill. Along with the lights, displays, costumes and acrobats, there were even stands where you could buy hand crafted art and some delicious food. I ended up getting a lucky cat charm for me and a dragon charm for my sister haha. Zoominations is definitely a must see event, especially since it's the first time that it has been in the southeast U.S. Love it! Totally more fun than volunteering at the library haha! Anyways, hope you have a fabulous day!
XO, Lauren


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From Greg Kaufmann:
Now that Obama has announced his Af/Pak strategy there will be a whole host of hearings about it this week.
One that was already in the works was the Congressional Progressive Caucus' second forum in a six-part series. (You can read about the first forum here.) Wednesday the CPC will explore the question "Will the policies and goals of the Obama Administration serve our strategic interests?" Speakers include Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell; Joanne Trotter, Director of Programs with the Aga Khan Foundation, USA; and Abdulkader Sinno, professor of political science and middle eastern studies at Indiana University, Bloomington.
General Petraeus and Michele Flournoy, undersecretary of Defense for policy, will testify before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. A House Foreign Affairs subcommittee will also hold a hearing Thursday morning entitled "…Achieving Peace and Stability in the Graveyard of Empires". Senate Foreign Relations holds a full committee hearing on "Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan". House Oversight meets about "…Engaging Regional Stakeholders"; and the House (Select) Intelligence Committee has a closed door briefing on Afghanistan.
Both the House and Senate will take up their FY10 budget resolutions which they need to complete before the two-week recess scheduled to begin at the end of this week. In the Senate, that means an unlimited number of amendments are allowed, with each one given two minutes for debate. Should be plenty of opportunities to see just how whacked-out the GOP is, and watch Sen. Judd Gregg fulminate as — according to CongressDaily — he offers amendments already defeated in committee. (A big issue in the Senate is whether it will use the "reconciliation" rule which would allow the budget to pass with a simple majority rather than 60 votes.) Look for the Progressive Caucus Budget Alternative to be offered and debated on the House floor on Thursday — I'd imagine there will be some smart cuts to obsolete Cold War weapons systems and the disastrous $13 billion per year Missile Defense program, among other things.
According to CongressDaily, the White House might send its supplemental spending requests for Afghanistan and Iraq this week, with $75.5 billion for military and "billions more for the State Department and other agencies."
The House is also expected to approve its national service legislation and Rep. Barney Frank's legislation to limit bonuses at financial institutions that take TARP money — even if contracts regarding bonuses were signed prior to taking bailout funds. (Satisfying, but is it legal? Would be interested in comments from people with any insights into that.)
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health holds two healthcare reform hearings on public health and reducing costs and improving safety….
House Ways and Means takes a look at how the IRS can crackdown on the estimated $300 billion in revenues lost in offshore accounts and tax havens at a hearing entitled "Banking Secrecy Practices and Wealthy American Taxpayers"….
Obama's guy for recovery money oversight — Earl Devaney, a former cop and Secret Service agent — will appear before Senate Homeland Security for an update on those efforts….
House Homeland Security continues the focus on Mexico — looking at drug-cartel violence on the US-Mexico border… Senate Foreign Relations has a field hearing in El Paso today exploring similar issues.
Other hearings of note: the media will have a blast and Congressmen will compete for sound bites when former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg appears before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Thursday….
A Senate Banking Subcommittee hears "Lessons from the New Deal" from White House Council of Economic Advisors Chair Christina Romer, economist James Galbraith, and others….
One lesson from the New Deal — support the Arts. House Appropriations holds a hearing on "The Arts" which I'm sure faces plenty of detractors from the Blue Dogs and GOP in these times… Wynton Marsalis will testify as will Linda Ronstadt….
A Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee looks at the "Return and Resettlement of Displaced Iraqis"… while Senate Appropriations "examines civilian casualties of war assistance.
Finally — yikes — a Joint Economic Committee hearing on the March Jobs Report on Friday.


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Olympus Stylus XZ-10 Review
The Olympus Stylus XZ-10 is an advanced compact camera that features full manual-controls and provides dual control-dials for efficiency. Launched roughly 4 months after the XZ-2
Olympus Stylus XZ-2, the XZ-10 can be seen as a more compact version of the former. Like the XZ-2, the Sylus XZ-10 has a very bright-lens, only very slightly so at F/1.8-2.7, only this time it is paired with a typical-sized 1/2.3" 12 megapixels CMOS sensor instead of a 10 MP CCD.
The 12 megapixels sensor of the Olympus XZ-10 has a native sensitivity range of ISO 100 to 1600, expandable to 6400. It shoots continuously at 5 FPS for up to 200 JPEG images which is very impressive for such a small camera. It can also capture 1080p HD video at 30 FPS.
The lens of this digital camera is stabilized and offers 5X optical zoom, from a wide 26mm to 130mm. The maximum aperture starts at an impressive F/1.8 and stops down to a respectable F/2.7 at the telephoto end.
The XZ-10 is considerably more versatile than most compact cameras. Its rather wide shutter-speed range going from 1/2000s to 30s makes it capable for freezing action and capturing very low-light scenes. A built-in 3-stop ND filter adds to the possibility to use wide apertures or slow shutter-speeds even with relatively bright light.
This feature set is ideal for photographers looking for a second light-weight camera to keep with but still be able to shoot creatively. It is also excellent for people wanting to learn photography without spending on a larger and more expensive ILC and lenses.
Capability - What can it do?
The Olympus XZ-10 is one of the most versatile fixed-lens digital cameras. Its extensive feature set is suitable for most photography subjects within the limits of its focal-range. The combined ultra-bright maximum aperture and ISO range lets the XZ-10 shoot hand-held with less light than most other fixed-lens cameras. The shutter-speed range is favorable to shooting at night from a tripod to obtain light-trails and record motion-blur for up to 30 seconds. In this review section, we describe each important feature and what it implies.
12 Megapixels CMOS Sensor
With 12 megapixels, this camera is suitable for sharp prints up to 12x16" as long as the ISO is kept low enough to prevent noise from destroying details. The imaging sensor has a 5.6X crop-factor which is typical of compact cameras. The XZ-10 can capture up to 5 FPS at full-resolution. A fast processor lets it do so continuously for up to 200 JPEG images which class-leading.
Stabilized 5X Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens
The 5X optical zoom range, equivalent to 26-130mm in 35mm-terms, is suitable for pictures of indoor scenes, landscapes and portraits. The wide-end can be used for architecture and interiors as long as they are not too large. The long end allows for portraits with a flattering perspective. Candid street photography, spectator sports and wildlife generally require a longer lens. The built-in stabilization system compensates for small involuntary movements of the photographer to capture still subjects when light is low. Moving subjects require fast shutter-speed, so stabilization is of little use with them.
Ultra-Bright F/1.8 Aperture
The exceptionally bright F/1.8 aperture, which only drops to F/2.7 at the long end, is the most significant asset of the Olympus XZ-10. This maximum aperture lets more light in and allows the XZ-10 to shoot at a lower ISO than most other cameras under the same circumstances. This compensates well for noise at high ISO sensitivities. The wide aperture also increases control over depth-of-field and allows images with a more background blur.
ISO 100-6400 Range
This wide ISO range covers bright to rather dim lighting conditions. This is typical of modern cameras which is accompanied by a reduction of image quality as ISO increases. The CMOS sensor in this camera uses back-side illumination to improve its ability to gather light. This is similar to most small modern cameras.
1/2000-30s Shutter-Speeds & 3-Stop ND Filter
The shutter-speed range is wider than most digital cameras and covers both action and night photography. The maximum shutter-speed of 1/2000 can freeze all but fast motorized sports. The Stylus XZ-10 rarely needs to go any faster in bright light unless shooting straight into the sun thanks to its optional neutral density filter.
With slow shutter-speeds reaching 30s usable until the top ISO of 6400, the XZ-10 can shoot in very low-light. A 30 second exposure is long enough to nicely photograph light trails of moving vehicles. The built-in 3-stop ND filter allows the camera to shoot at slower shutter-speeds for creative uses of slow shutter-speeds and wider apertures, reducing the sensitivity down an equivalent of ISO 12.
The Stylus XZ-10 is equipped with numerous and detailed white-balance controls. There is an automatic (AWB) setting, 6 presetsDaylight, Shadow, Cluody, Incandescent, Fluorescent, Flash and a custom white-balance function with two memories. All settings, even Auto and Custom can be fine-tuned along 2-axis in 15-steps. Each step is fine and allows good control over color rendition. There is also WB Bracketing which can vary white-balance along one or two axis with 3 steps along each. This means that either 3 or 9 files are produced from a single release of the shutter. Three step sizes which can be chosen independently on each axis.
Customizable Image Parameters
This camera has 5 Picture Modes which affects how it renders colors and details: Vivid, Natural, Muted, Portrait and Monotone. Contrast and sharpness is controllable in 5-steps for all modes. Gradation, meaning the tone-curve, can be set to Normal, Low Key, High Key or Auto. Saturation can be adjusted in 5-steps for color modes. Monotone produces a single-color image in one of 5 color-tones. There are also a number of simulated B&W filters for that mode.
Exposure Modes
All PASM exposure modes are available and dual-controls dials are there to control them efficiently. A Custom is there to save user settings. There are 14 typical scene modes plus a restricted Auto mode. Two scene modes are worth noting: HDR and Multiple-Exposure.
In addition to HDR and Multiple-Exposure, the XZ-10 offers a dedicated multiple-frame mode which combines up to 5 images into a collage with different arrangements and borders. There are a variety of styles to choose from which are previewed directly on the LCD while composing.
Metering & Exposure Compensation
There are 3 metering modes on Olympus XZ-10: Multi-Segment (ESP), Center-Weighed and Spot. These are the most common modes among advanced cameras. The availability of the Spot option allows to precisely select the mid-tone from a scene. All metering modes can be adjusted by ±3 stops, in 1/3 increments using Exposure-Compensation (EC) or Flash-Compensation (FC). These ranges are wider than on most point-and-shoot models.
The XZ-10 offers Auto-Exposure Bracketing (AEB). It takes 3 consecutive shots, one normal, one under-exposed and one over-exposed. The ordering cannot be changed to a more natural, under-normal-over. The increments between exposures is selectable between 1/3 and 1 EVs in 1/3 increments.
Continuous Drive & Self-Timers
There is a 2s and a 12s self-timer. A 5 FPS continuous drive mode can capture up to 200 JPEG images or 5 RAW files in a single burst. This is an excellent amount of buffering for a fixed-lens camera. The 15 FPS high-speed continuous drive mode can capture up to 60 frames at the reduced resolution of 2 MP.
It is worth noting that the XZ-10 selects sizes based on Large (L), Medium (M) or Small (S) which are configured in terms of resolution using the camera menu. This means that high-speed mode may use a lower resolution than required.
Built-In Flash
This compact digital camera has a built-in flash, set free via an electronic release. Pushing the flash down sets it to off. The flash range is unspecified but this is a rather small unit. There is no provision for an add-on flash either. The Olympus XZ-10 has Auto, Redeye, Fill, Fill & Redeye and Off flash modes. Flash can be manually controlled between full and 1/64 power, except in automatic modes other than Program.
SDXC Memory & Lithium-Ion Battery
The Olympus Stylus XZ-10 supports SDXC memory cards and therefore SDHC and SD cards, which are all the same shape but have different maximum capacities. SDHC cards are presently the cheapest type of memory and are available in various speeds. For HD video, a faster card is recommended. The camera is powered by a small proprietary lithium-ion battery which gives it a rather short battery-life of 240 shots according to the CIPA standard. The battery is unfortunately powered in-camera via its multi-function connector, so you cannot leave a battery charging while out shooting.
Usability - How easy is it to use?
The Olympus Stylus XZ-10 is a compact camera designed to be operated with two hands. The protruding lens barrel is surrounded by a mechanical ring which serves as the main control-dial. It has a textured surface and good detents which produce audible clicks. The left hand should therefore generally support the camera with the thumb and index finger operating the ring.
The right hand is naturally needed to operate the shutter-release. There is no actual grip at the front, only a faux-leather surface, so it would not feel secure to hold this camera with one hand. The index finger can easily move between the shutter-release and the zoom-controller which is wrapped around it.
The right-hand thumb rests on a textured rubber patch within easy reach of the video-recording button and the mode-dial. With a one inch movement downwards, the thumb can reach a thin ring around the 4-way controller which serves as the camera's secondary control-dial.
Every part of the Olympus XZ-10 feels solid, even battery compartment cover. The camera is light yet feels quite sturdy. Most likely due to the ultra-bright aperture of its lens, the lens barrel is large for a compact camera. This time though, Olympus managed to include a built-in lens cover, so there is no lens cap to lose.
Power on and off require a quick press of the power button which is located on the top-plate. To the right of the power button is a two-stage shutter-release with a soft halfway point. When the camera takes long to focus, it can therefore happen that a picture gets taken accidentally. Further to the right is the mode-dial with a textured outer ring and strong detents. All the way to the left is the popup flash.
The mode-dial has 9 positions. The usual 4 PASM modes are there, plus a custom mode, an auto mode along with 3 positions dedicated to scene modes, art filters and collages. Control-dials set different things depending on the current mode and, in some cases, do nothing.
In P mode, the front control-dial applies Program Shift by default. The rear control-dial sets EC but can control FC instead. In either case, it is easier to accidentally affect exposure than we would like. This can be disabled, so that a press of the Up direction of the 4-way controller enters EC mode but that becomes modal and turns accident-prone as well.
In A and S mode, the front control-dial changes the aperture or shutter-speed, respectively. The rear dial works exactly as in P mode. In M mode, each control dial sets an either aperture or shutter-speed. This leaves ISO to be set by the control panel or customizable function button.
At the back of the XZ-10 is a bright 3" LCD display with 920K pixels. The screen offers a choice of 5 brightness levels and 7 tints, although the steps of the latter are so fine, you would be hard-pressed to tell the difference. Although there is an optional live-histogram, it disappears when changing exposure which arguably is the most important time to see it.
At the top-right of the camera is a dedicated video-record button. There is no video mode on this camera which makes this the only way to capture video. This is truly unfortunate as there is no way to preview framing for video and the angle-of-view diminishes significantly so when filming. This almost made us abandon getting a sample video for it which explains the odd framing obtained even after dozens of attempts.
There is a Playback button above the 4-way controller. It works exactly as expected, toggling Playback mode on and off. It can also power-on the camera into Playback mode without extending the lens, just like most cameras without a modal power-switch.
Next to the Playback button is a customizable Function one. Unlike on most cameras, multiple functions can be assigned to that one button and pressing it repeatedly cycles through chosen settings. Since there is no button to select ISO, WB or the ND-Filter, those are most likely candidates for the Function button.
ISO is selectable in 1/3 stops which makes a lot of settings between ISO 100 and 6400. So can take a while to reach the desired ISO value. There is no way to customize the camera to only use full-stops. The 4-way controller which is used for navigating menus has functions assigned to each direction, including the central OK button:
- OK: Brings up an icon-based quick menu at the last used position. The quick menu gives access to: Image Stabilization, Picture Mode, White-Balance Drive, Aspect Ratio, Image Quality, Video Quality, Flash Mode, Flash Compensation, Metering, Focus Mode, ISO, Face Priority and ND Filter. The rear control-dial is used to select what to change and the front one control-dial changes it. This is extremely efficient.
- Up: Activates EC. Once active, the rear control-dial changes the value ±3 in 1/3 increments. It also makes the direction buttons change exposure parameters which makes it too easy change exposure accidentally.
- Right: Shows the flash options, the ones that do not apply to the current exposure mode appear greyed-out.
- Down: Shows drive mode options including bracketing (BKT) and self-timers. The BKT option is usually greyed-out because this one is only a toggle. Bracketing itself must be configured in the camera's menu. That determines if AEB or WBB will be used.
- Left: Controls focus by first showing the currently active focus-point(s). The either control-dial or directional buttons can be used to select a single focus point or all of them. At this point the Info button can be pressed to bring up focus-mode options.
For all options activated by the 4-way controller, the OK button can be pressed to confirm the selection and dismiss the menu. This is not necessary as the selected option is set regardless. When the OK button is pressed to bring up the quick menu, it does so at the last known position.
Although the quick menu can be used to change Picture Mode, White-Balance and Image Quality, it cannot be used to configure them. Any adjustments to parameters such as Sharpness, Saturation and Contrast has to be done through the menu system. The same is true for white-balance fine-tuning. Custom white-balance can be set though by pressing the Info button when the Custom White-Balance option is selected.
Below the 4-way controller are the Menu and Info buttons. These too work exactly as expected: Menu toggles the camera menu and Info cycles through various information screens.
The bottom of the XZ-10 has a metal tripod mount which is neither inline with the lens nor the center of the camera. It also has a sturdy door which covers the battery and memory-card compartment. The sides of the camera are bare, save for a small plastic door to access the HDMI and Multi I/O ports. The latter is used to charge the battery in-camera.
Olympus XZ-10 Highlights
Sensor-Size: 6 x 5mm
Actual size when viewed at 100 DPI
|12 Megapixels Fixed Lens
|5X Wide Optical Zoom
|Shutter 1/2000-30s
|Built-in Stabilization
|Full manual controls, including Manual Focus
|5 FPS Drive, 200 Images
|Custom white-balance with 2 axis fine-tuning
|1920x1080 @ 30 FPS Video Recording
|3" LCD 920K Pixels
|Lithium-Ion Battery
|Secure Digital Extended Capacity
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Fujifilm X-T4 Review
Fujifilm APS-C flasghip mirrorless with 5-axis builtin stabilization mechanism using the same high-speed 26 MP X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor as the X-T3. New 15 FPS mechanical shutter and builtin HDR. Professional mirrorless with mechanical controls, dual control-dials, dual memory-card lots, a built EVF with Eye-Start Sensor and a huge feature set.
Canon RF-Lens Info
Info on all Canon native RF-mount lenses added to the Canon EOS R5 preview.
Canon EOS R5 Preview
Preview of the Canon EOS R5 flagship Full-Frame Mirrorless with 45 MP sensor on a 5-axis stabilization system effective to 8-stops. First 8K video capable digital camera. 20 FPS electronic and 12 FPS mechanical drive.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III Review
Third-Generation OM-D that packs a 20 MP Four-Thirds CMOS on a 5-Axis Stabilization System. Fast 121-Point Phase-Detect AF, 30 FPS Continuous Drive, Cinema 4K Video and more in a weatherproof and freezeproof body. Features dual control-dials and a builtin 2.4 MP EVF with Eye-Start Sensor with 0.69X magnification and 100% coverage.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III Review
20 MP Micro Four-Thirds Mirrorless with 7-Stop 5-Axis Image-Stabilization, 121-Point Phase-Detect AF 30 FPS Continuous Drive and Cinema 4K capability in a weatherproof and freezeproof body with dual control-dials and dual SDXC memory card slots.
M.Zuiko 12-45mm F/4 PRO Review
A review of the M.Zuiko 12-45mm F/4 PRO added to the Olympus Premium Lens Roundup.
Peak Design Travel Tripod Review
Review of the unique Peak Design Travel Tripod with its own ballhead and the universal ballhead adapter.
Nikon Z-Mount DX Lens Roundup
Review of Nikon Z-Mount lenses for APS-C mirrorless digital cameras. Covers all current Z-mount DX lenses available.
Nikon Z50 Review
The first Nikon APS-C mirrorless is built around a 20 MP BSI-CMOS sensor with ISO 100-204800, 209-Point Phase-Detect AF, 11 FPS Drive and 4K Video capability. Compact body with dual control-dials and 2.4 MP 0.39" EVF with 0.68X magnification, 100% coverage and an Eye-Start Sensor.


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Nashville and Memphis are 200 miles apart, quite a stretch to take in just one attraction. But for hardcore fans of Elvis Presley and rock-n-roll who are visiting the country music capital of Nashville, the long trip to Memphis is worth it to see the home of "The King," as well as other legendary musical landmarks in the city. One company helps make the journey between Music City and Graceland easier for tourists.
Sweet Magnolia Tours
A southern-based tour operator to destinations all over the Southeast, Sweet Magnolia Tours offers a day tour to Memphis from Nashville. The trip includes a stop at Graceland. It's an all-day-and-night tour with departure times early in the morning and return times late in the evening. The "Nashville to Memphis Day Trip" is available year round; Graceland is closed on Christmas Day and Thanksgiving Day.
How it Works
The "Nashville to Memphis Day Trip" is an unescorted tour that also includes a stop to explore Beale Street. Transportation to and from Memphis is aboard a public Greyhound bus, with a taxi taking you to the attractions. For one price you get a round-trip bus ticket, a ticket for Graceland, taxi transfers from the bus station to Graceland, Graceland to Beale Street and back to the bus station. A food voucher valid at specified Beale Street restaurants is also included. To save money, book a multi-person tour which decreases the per-person rate.
The Graceland ticket included in the Sweet Magnolia tour price is for the Graceland Platinum Tour. The platinum tour includes all the regular Graceland attractions, from the mansion and grounds to the airplanes, the auto museum and other exhibits. The average time for the platinum tour is two and a half to three hours. For an extra fee, Sweet Magnolia offers an upgrade to Graceland's Elvis Entourage VIP Tour, which includes VIP-only special exhibits, front-of-the-line access and keepsake souvenirs.
Beale Street
To take advantage of the food voucher, you'll have to use the taxi transfer to Beale Street. Known as the Home of the Blues – an act of Congress declared it so in 1977 – Beale Street is an entertainment and historic district lined with music clubs and restaurants. B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale is one of the places where the food voucher can be used. This is the original B.B. King's Blues Club, which has now expanded to multiple locations in other U.S. cities.
Leaf Group is a USA TODAY content partner providing general travel information. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY.
Photo Credits
- Joe Raedle/Getty Images News/Getty Images
- Attribution: David Brossard; License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license
- Attribution: Thomas R Machnitzki (firstname.lastname@example.com); License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
- Attribution: Lindsey Turner; License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license


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Niagara Earth ShowerheadI-NIAERTSHW-01-STST-XXXX-V1 5.0 star rated
After a $0 Instant Rebate
Storefront Attributes
- Energy Star: No
- Water Sense: Yes
- Media Feature: images/Lifestyle_Images/I-NIAERTSHW-01-STST-XXXX-V1_Lifestyle_1.jpg
- Media Feature Markdown: **Compatibility:** Fits most standard 1/2 inch fittings, making installation simple and straightforward. Attach the showerhead and twist to change between three spray settings: 9-Jet Spray, Shower and Combo.
- Brand: Niagara
- Water Saving Fixture: Faucet
- Water Sense: Yes
- Adjustable Spray: Yes
- Maximum Flow: 1.5 GPM
- Manual Trickle Valve: No
- Temperature Sensor: No
Model: N2915CH
- Description
- MAXIMIZE ENERGY SAVINGS WHILE MINIMIZING TEMPERATURE LOSS. The 1.5 gpm adjustable spray of this showerhead delivers a broad, rain-like spray or a focused, 9 jet turbo massaging spray. It is self-cleaning, and the non-aerated spray mean less temperature loss between the showerhead and you. The flow will be consistent regardless of the water pressure. This showerhead has a high-impact ABS thermoplastic body with a chrome finish and a chrome-plated brass collar.


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"I don't think of cartoons or comics as being for kids."—Jeff Kinney
Cartoons & Pop Art is a new set of Photoshop actions from Panos Efstathiadis the proprietor of PanosFX, an amazingly talented designer of Photoshop actions.
Panos says that the Cartoons & Pop Art actions work "like a Swiss Army knife," giving you an array of creative options. The actions transform your photos into cartoons by using a clever combination of Photoshop filters and "advanced features." Over the years I have tried many different kinds of software that promised to create "cartoons" and while most of them worked somewhat, none approach the simplicity of use and the professional look tht the Cartoons & Pop Art actions produce.
The actions will also work on photos that have transparent background, without flattening them allowing you to apply customizable pop-up backgrounds to the cartoons. Another feature is the ability to create pop-art collages ala Warhol, for readers who remember this look. The actions create two different collages, with four and nine photos and customizable colors that are four and nine times the original photo size, respectively. The Cartoons & Pop Art actions can also create 12 different speech balloons that Panos designed using Adobe Illustrator.
If you have Photoshop CC-2015.5 or newer or PS Elements 15 or newer (see system requirements below) you can use the actions to create funny caricatures.
The actions are available for both Photoshop ($18.90) and Photoshop Elements ($18.90.) Please visit the PanosFX site for a look at the wide variety of free and affordably priced software for Photoshop as well as Photoshop Elements.
System requirements:
- Photoshop: CC(2018), CC(2017), CC(2015.5), the standard & extended versions of CS6, CS5, CS4, CS3
- Photoshop Elements: PSE 2018, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11
- OS: Windows 10, 8, 7, Mac OS


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50 Years of the Firebird – Behind the Scenes Story
Photo courtesy of Gary Kessler Photography
Pete & Betty Zink brought their 1973 Pontiac Firebird for our 2017 Concours advertising photo shoot. When asked about the story behind their car, Pete shared that his interest in Firebirds traced back to his high school years in the early 1970's. Muscle cars were popular and my favorite was always the Firebird. He liked the twin scoops and clean lines of the Firebird Formula. A typical production year saw about 45,000 Firebirds – 10,000 of which were Formulas and 5,000 were Trans Ams.
About 15 years ago, Pete began his search for a Formula with the largest engine (the Pontiac 455) and a four speed transmission. He finally found what he was looking for in Las Vegas. With no salt on the roads, the body of the car was in good shape. The car did need everything else. The faded red paint was blasted off to reveal a history of red then black then cream and finally the original celery green metallic color. The factory combination of slate green and a black interior looked great.
Pete acted as the general contractor throughout the restoration process, parting out the various jobs to subcontractors near and far. His wife, Betty's, only input was to leave off the rear spoiler. We went back and forth about it, but finally left it off. She was right. The car looked better without it and truer to the intent of the Formula's designer.
During the project, Betty told Pete that the first car she ever bought new was a 1973 Firebird Formula! It was Florentine red with a white interior. Who knew! Pete thinks this fact points to a potential study for a PhD dissertation on the correlation between attraction to specific car models and attraction to potential mates!
Pete's takeaway – "Cars are memories and worth preserving".


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White Ceramic Guardian Angel
A tiny little guardian angel to make all your prayers come true. This white ceramic angel will act as a friend in prayer for your children and is a great Christening gift. Standing under an arch created from wood, this angel is very sweet and very symbolic. She will sit on the windowsill, over the mantel or makes a perfect addition to your Christmas decorations theme. A beautifully detailed and lovely little gift for any child.
Please note if you would like to order more than 10 angels for special ocasions like Christmas, weddings, Christenings or family parties please contact us for a discount.
Small size: Angel with arch H6 X W3 X D2 cm Ceramic angel H4XW3XD1,7 cm approx
Large size: Angel with arch H9XW5XD3cm Ceramic angel H6XW4X D2 cm approx


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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was one of the best action RPG experiences during this console generation. Throw in the gigantic open world that offers dungeons, towns, and a great storyline and the series has players waiting anxiously for the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Skyrim has been in development since the team finished their work on Fallout 3 in 2008, and it shows. The game looks absolutely fantastic. The level of detail put into everything within the game world makes it one of the best looking open world games to date. This is all due to the in-game engine known as the Creation Engine, which was built for this game specifically. While walking around the map you will see lush landscapes teaming with life. You will also notice fine details like butterflies fluttering about or trout swimming upstream.
Not all animal life is in it to attack you immediately either, that is unless you provoke them, the two creatures we saw were mastodons and giants. This does not mean that there aren't any big enemies that you will encounter that will attack you on sight. In fact one of the main draws of Skyrim is the ability to fight dragons. Whether it be the typical fire-breathing dragon or an ice-breathing dragon, these huge monsters offer a major challenge to the player.
Just as in previous Elder Scrolls titles you can pretty much traverse to any area in the map, including the highest mountains in the title. It is always nice to have the entire map at your disposal from the very beginning of the game. Another huge bonus of the map itself, is the amazing draw distance in the title; you can literally see as far as your own eyes could.
In Skyrim you once again have the opportunity to play in either first person or third person mode. A huge emphasis has been placed on third person in this game, and it is a huge upgrade of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
The game let's you "be the player you want to be", allowing for enormous amounts of customization to make the exact character you would like. Not only can your equipment be interchanged on the fly, but also your magic as well. If you want to carry a staff and a sword then you can; the options are endless. Along with the dual-weapon wielding, magic has taken this approach as well. You can now hold a spell within each hand and cast them individually, or combine them for a much more damaging effect.
A new addition in the abilities department is known as "Voice Shouting". You can learn many of these abilities as you progress through the game. One of them is able to send your enemies flying back from the power of your voice. Another even lets you breathe fire just like a dragon.
Stones known as Guardian Stones have been placed around the world of Skyrim and have replaced the Birthsigns used in Oblivion. Picking a specific stone will help you level up in certain areas. They can be switched around at any given time, allowing you to shape your character even further to your liking.
As in previous Elder Scrolls titles there are a large amount of dungeons for you to explore as a player, and Skyrim is no exception. There will be over 150 different hand-crafted dungeons placed all over the map for you to explore. These not only provide you a great place to level up, but also the opportunity to find some great loot.
NPCs will live out their lives regardless if you are there or not, including working at their jobs. But you can also have a job now as well to make some extra money, this includes chopping wood or working at a blacksmith.
Easily one of the best titles shown at E3, Skyrim will offer hours of gameplay, huge amounts of content, and an amazing and history rich world to explore. The game is set to release 11/11/11, be sure to pick it up.


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Shenzhen, Guangdong; 05, October 2015: Capturing schematics or drawing PCB layouts is not only simple and effortless, but it's also cost-free now. EasyEDA is now offering free PCB tools on its website that one can simply use to draw circuit diagrams for their electronic projects. The spokesperson of the website reveals that the tool has been designed for engineers, educators, students and others who want to get effective layouts for their projects without spending a single penny.
The spokesperson maintains that the circuit tool has several advantageous features that allow anyone to quickly draw the schematics for their projects using the extensive libraries and components available on the website. It allows users to quickly share works online and one can also import from Altium Designer, Eagles Files and other programs. Users can also verify digital, analog or mixed signal circuits with the results obtained from the cloud based servers.
According to the spokesperson, the tool is very popular among its users because of its user friendly features. One can pick symbols and components from its extensive library in just a few clicks and can also define hotkeys for a quick and efficient online circuit design. This web based tool doesn't require any installation and one can quickly get the circuit diagrams whenever needed.
EasyEDA is providing a complete tool suite absolutely free of cost with an approach that people will be able to complete their electronics projects easily and the cost will not prove a barrier anymore. The tool allows people to accomplish their task in a seamless cross-browser environment, which inspires a fast sharing of works and also speeds up the approval process between students and their supervisors. A user will get the URL of his/her design to share the work online with a single click. One can also embed images, wikis and blogs to make the design more impressive as well as convincing.
The website brings a simple, affordable and flexible way to draw PCB layouts. One can easily use the free tool and they have an important video tutorial for people to learn more about the tool, its use and its features. To learn more about this PCB layout tool, one may visit the website https://easyeda.com/.
About EasyEDA:
EasyEDA is a team of makers, hackers and engineers who have designed this free online tool for schematic capture, spice simulation and PCB layout designing. The objective of designing the tool is to help designers move from idea to manufacture prototype faster by providing comprehensive data and collaboration tools for electronic design. EasyEDA is a one-stop shop for designing electronic projects and it offers an easier EDA experience for engineers, educators, students and hobbyists to get a productive boost.
For Media Contact:
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://easyeda.com/


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Ladies may love Ryan Gosling for his good looks, but gents admire the star for his impressive fashion sense. As comfortable in a suit as a pair of jeans and t-shirt, Gosling's unique style is adaptable to any occasion. Whether walking the streets or the red carpet, the A-list actor always looks great. As such, he provides a remarkable source of inspiration for those seeking to boost their own appearance. So, if that sounds like you, look no further than this guide on how to get Ryan Gosling's style.
Ryan Gosling Style
Since grabbing the world's attention in 2004 as the male lead in The Notebook, Ryan Gosling has refined his style. Today, the star's look is impressive and consistent without feeling overdone. Blending simple and timeless elegance with a rugged indie touch, Gosling's fashion sense is indeed one to be envied.
Ryan Gosling Shirt
When it comes to shirts, Ryan is a massive fan of the colour white. Whether rocking a button-up with a suit or a simple t-shirt with jeans, Ryan's colour of choice is white. By selecting white designs, the actor maintains his smart and simple style while also allowing room for colour on other garments. Occasionally, Ryan will opt for a simple pattern, subtle shade or placement print. If rocking a button-up, Ryan typically chooses slim-fit styles and lightweight fabrics. He then often rolls up the sleeves. As for t-shirts, Ryan usually opts for a scoop-neck design or a Henley shirt.
Ryan Gosling Suit
When it comes to special events and occasions, such as those with a red carpet, Ryan Gosling usually chooses to don a suit or tuxedo. Of course, this stylish star doesn't just rock the same basic black and navy styles as everyone else. No, he typically foregoes the standard colours and opts for something more unique instead, such as green or blue. Like colour, the fit is also a priority for Ryan, who prefers a slim-cut. The star then adds a crisp white shirt to complete his suited look.
Ryan Gosling Boots
When Ryan finds something he likes (and that looks good on him), he sticks with it. Boots are one such example and are the star's footwear style of choice for casual outfits. Perfect for adding a rugged and masculine touch to Ryan's chic style, his boots are typically black or brown leather with a lace-up design.
Ryan Gosling Glasses
Adding to Ryan Gosling's sophisticated and smart style is his prescription glasses by Barton Perreira. Of course, they're not the only kind of eyewear that the star wears. Ryan also rocks sunglasses regularly. His favourite styles are simple D-frame and round designs in tortoiseshell.
Ryan Gosling Leather Jacket
Ryan Gosling always looks cool and relaxed. One way that he manages this is by throwing on a leather jacket. In particular, Ryan likes to don a black biker jacket. Ideal for both casual outfits as well as slightly more formal styles, he wears this versatile piece with both jeans and tailored pants.
Ryan Gosling Fashion
Ryan Gosling has appeared in many films and played many iconic characters. Although the star is playing someone else in these movies, the clothes he wears often overlaps with his own style. Here, we look at his most memorable roles and the outfits that went with them.
Ryan Gosling in The Notebook
The Notebook is the film that thrust Ryan Gosling into the world's spotlight. Starring a mill worker Noah Calhoun, his style in the movie, which is set in the 1940's, is relaxed with a stylishly dishevelled touch. To channel the look in 2018, try embracing white, crew-neck T-shirts, wool trousers, and flat caps.
Ryan Gosling in La La Land
Starring Emma Stone alongside Ryan Gosling, 2016's La La Land was an incredible hit. In the musical rom-com/drama, Gosling plays a jazz pianist with a retro style to match his musical tastes. Throughout the movie, he typically wears suits and sportscoats with modern silhouettes and vintage details. His accessories are what sets off his style, including vintage-looking ties and two-tone wing-tips.
Ryan Gosling in Blade Runner 2049
One of Gosling's most recent films, Blade Runner 2049 was released last year. In the film, Ryan plays Officer K, a new blade runner for the Los Angeles Police Department, who unearths a long-buried secret. His outfit of choice includes a shearling-collared coat, knitted jumper, dark pants and tactical boots.
Ryan Gosling in The Big Short
The Big Short saw Ryan Gosling don a classic suit and banker shirt with the best of them. If you want to channel this look, try doing so for your next office day or business meeting with a grey checked suit, striped blue shirt and classically patterned tie.
Ryan Gosling in Song to Song
Playing up-and-coming singer-songwriter BV, Ryan Gosling's style in the film, Song to Song is decidedly casual and cool. To nail the look for yourself, opt for a simple long-sleeved T-shirt, dark denim jeans, and blue bomber jacket.
Ryan Gosling in Gangster Squad
Despite being set in 1949, Ryan Gosling's character in Gangster Squad is still an excellent source of style inspiration. So, if you're after a classic look, try copying his classic shirt and wide-leg trouser look. Don't forget about the wool fedora either.
Ryan Gosling in Drive
Showcasing Gosling's ability to act with a bad boy attitude, Drive tells the story of a skilled Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver for criminals. Although set in the present, the film had a retro feel, which was carried through from the music to the clothes. Ryan's iconic costume from the movie included a white satin bomber jacket with a scorpion on the back. To rock the style yourself, try giving the bomber a metallic upgrade for an on-trend look.
Ryan Gosling in Crazy Stupid Love
Crazy Stupid Love is undoubtedly one of Ryan Gosling's most popular rom-coms. While ladies love the film for its shirtless scene with the star, the movie is also an excellent source of Ryan Gosling style inspiration for gents. Ryan's character, whose outfits showcase his suave style, can undoubtedly teach you a thing or two about suiting.
How to Get Ryan Gosling's Style
- Opt for classic and timeless styles, such as white t-shirts and black leather jackets.
- Ensure everything fits correctly and is of high quality.
- Aim for a sophisticated style with rugged details.
- Keep colour palettes simple and understated for casual wear and more daring for formal looks.
- Finish your look with Ryan's signature hairstyle: a sophisticated and stylish side part.
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Gold CIL (Carbon in Leach) Process is an efficient design of extracting and recovering gold from its ore. By cyaniding and carbon leaching crushed gold ore slurry simultaneously, CIL process lower the gold mining operation cost and increase gold recovery rate to a degree of 99%. View details
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Large ball mill now has become a new bestowed favor in grinding area, and foreign application of large ball mill is earlier, but after nearly 20 years development in our country, large ball mill has been applied in the domestic new large concentrators. For example, when it talks to China First Heavy Industry and China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, the diameters of grid ball mill of the two companies reach 5.2m and 4m, and the lengths are 6.4m and 6.7m. For their overflow ball mill, the diameters are 5.03m and 5m, and the lengths are 8.0m and 8.53m. Now ball mill consists of dozens of specifications and the degrees of automatic control of mill has been increased. In spite of this, domestic ball mill still has a certain gap with a foreign advanced level on the specification and automatic control, etc.
Ball mill is composed of shell, liner, feeder, discharge, trunnion, bearing, drive device and lubricating device, and there are different specifications of grinding medium in the shell. Overflow type ball mill's structure and grid ball mill are basically the same, but there is no discharging grid plate in the shell. Furthermore, in the inner surface of the trunnion equipped with an anti-helical blade which will put small steel balls and rough block back into the ball mill. Generally, there are two series of large ball mill in the mineral processing plant, and one is of being at the spare time in repair and one is of being at uninterrupted work.Large ball mill has advantages like good control, large processing capacity, a high unit volume which greatly reduce the cost of grinding. Xinhai Large ball mill has complete types, favorable price, rich experience in installation and commissioning, which will be your best choice.
Wet ball mill has lots of Specification,as it is working at the situation where the water content is higher. The concentration in the wet ball mill is about 30 percent to 50 percent. ... [more]
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Tel: 0086 15311826765
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Factory Address: No. 188, Xinhai Street, Fushan high-tech industrial development district, Yantai, Shandong, China
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USA: Corporate Codes Not Enough, Say Critics
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WASHINGTON -- Companies worldwide have signed on to voluntary codes of conduct in a bid to mitigate globalization's harmful aspects. Activists and executives agree the firms are falling short but disagree on the reasons and remedies.
No scheme that relies solely on corporations themselves will successfully rein in corporate power, human rights and environmental groups say. Rather, governments must step in and enforce legally binding regulations on labor, environmental, and other protections.
''A new approach is needed,'' says Pieter van der Gaag, executive director of the Northern Alliance for Sustainability, a Netherlands-based coalition of European and US groups. ''The gap between words and actions still seems to be large.''
US environmentalists, for example, are lobbying to have domestic environmental regulations extended to cover US firms' overseas operations. They also want legislation that would hold companies' feet to the fire and punish them for violations. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, a Democrat from Georgia, is promoting a Corporate Code of Conduct Act that would withhold government incentives from companies found in violation of the voluntary standards to which they subscribe.
The International Chamber of Commerce counts more than forty codes of conduct designed to govern the activities of global corporations. These include the Global Sullivan Principles, the UN Global Compact, the Global Reporting Initiative, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) guidelines on Multinational Enterprises.
Virtually none of these efforts include mechanisms to hold companies accountable when they fail to comply, critics say. Even some corporations complain the codes can be vague and confusing.
Thomas Delfgaauw, vice president of Shell International Ltd's sustainable development program, says the oil company supports many codes but wonders if it is time to stop developing even more voluntary mechanisms. ''How does business deal with this plethora of codes?'' he asks.
Compounding the problem, ''all these codes are mainly words when the government spends money on projects that directly contradict the guidelines,'' says van der Gaag.
The wealthy nations' Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, for example, in 1976 became one of the first official bodies to pass voluntary corporate guidelines on labor, the environment, corruption and human rights. The guidelines have been periodically updated and stand apart from most others because they include arrangements to investigate and punish violators.
Nevertheless, some OECD governments themselves have underwritten projects targeted by critics as environmentally and politically damaging - China's Three Gorges Dam, for example - through state export credit and investment insurance agencies.
In January 1999, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan challenged business leaders to enact nine core principles enshrined in the UN Global Compact, including labor and environmental protections.
Many large companies responded, among them Procter & Gamble and DaimlerChrysler. Critics, however, say there is no assurance that the companies uphold the compact's principles. Indeed, some go so far as to suggest the effort mainly benefits the companies, whose reputations gain sparkle from association with the UN logo.
''The list of corporations involved in the Global Compact reads like a who's who of environmental culprits,'' says Joshua Karliner, executive director of the Transnational Resource and Action Center, a California-based non-governmental organization.
Global Compact partners include Shell, which stands accused of reckless pollution and collusion with military dictators in Nigeria, and BP Amoco, assailed for drilling for oil in the Arctic.
Activists say imposing national laws on the companies' operations overseas could prevent such conduct by US firms. Polls conducted in recent years show growing public support for the idea. But for executives, the prospect amounts to a legal and regulatory can of worms being opened - with costly consequences and the risk that companies will be held liable for the misdeeds of outside suppliers and contractors.
''God help us if individual governments take different regulatory action regarding global corporate responsibility,'' says Shell International's Delfgaauw. ''That is the worst possible nightmare that can happen to a multinational company.''
- 101 Alliance for a Corporate-Free UN