text:
Recently, while unpacking after a move, I came to a not-so-startling revelation: I had a lot of things that I did not really need. I still had boxes that I never unpacked from my previous move, which was two years ago. Now, I know I have a habit of keeping things for too long and taking frugal living too far, especially when it comes to electronics. I always think I may suddenly need them (or have the ability to fix them) one day. Two years of unpacked boxes, however, is borderline hoarding.
I got out a new box, drew a huge dollar sign on it, and tossed in anything worth selling. Over the next few weeks, I sold 25 different items on Craigslist, and made enough money to replenish the savings I spent for the move.
Anyone can sell anything on Craigslist, but I’ve learned that making money on Craigslist really is an art form. To get the most out of your old stuff, you need a smart plan, a mix of great photos, a fair price, and a clever advertisement.
Don’t just jump into your advertisement without some careful planning and investigating. You’ll need to do some research to find the best price and write the best description, especially if you don’t know the technical specifications of your item.
During my unpacking fiasco, for example, I realized I had two digital cameras. I didn’t know much about either one, except that they were both cameras and I wanted one of them to be dollars. I researched both of the cameras on technology sites, figured out which one I’d keep, and posted the other one using the published specs and pricing as a guideline.
Remember that Craigslist is a very competitive marketplace, and other people are probably selling items that are very similar to yours. If you’re the one with more information, potential buyers are more likely to find you and more likely to do business with you.
Look up your item on popular review or pricing websites. For instance, you can research most electronics on CNET or the manufacturer’s website. Both sources will provide you with technical specs and features. You can then use this information to provide the necessary detail for potential buyers.
Find the current price of the product selling new. A quick Google search will give you a decent gauge, and you should do some comparison shopping on a few sites specific to your type of item or other big online stores. Of course you won’t be able to sell your used item for as much money as a new product would command, but this price will give you a ceiling and help you figure out your asking price.
Compare what you have to other products listed on Craigslist and eBay. You’ll want to charge somewhere in the range of your fellow sellers on the two most popular online marketplaces, or you won’t get many offers.
Pro Tip: Take notes. It may sound like basic advice from your third-grade teacher, but when you’re looking around at current prices, write down the numbers you’re seeing, or take online notes. If you’re selling a few items, you don’t want to rely on your memory to keep all of the price ranges together. Organized notes will make it a lot easier to settle on a final price.
Research may sound like a big time commitment, but at least it’s not the tricky part. It’s time to price your item. Ask for too much money, and you won’t get legitimate response. Set the price too low, and you’ll leave money on the table.
In looking at other Craigslist sellers and eBay listings, you have a decent idea of a price range. Now, take a hard look at the condition of your item. If it’s missing parts, doesn’t quite work right, or just has seen better days, then you need to err on the low side of that range. On the other hand, if it’s in great condition or like-new, then you can head to the top of your range.
Be realistic. You might think that your stuff is worth more to someone else than it truly is. If you lose control, you’ll end up wasting time. Sure, that DVD player was a high-end gadget when you got it as a graduation present five years ago, but since then you’ve spilled your drink on it twice, and newer Blu-ray players came out. No one is going to pay you $200 for it now.
Pro Tip: When pricing your item, decide whether you want to run your ad at a firm price, or as a “best offer” price. A firm price will get you exactly what you want, but you need to attract the right buyer. When you run a best offer ad, you might not make as much money as you thought you could, but you’ll get a lot of interest from potential customers.
When it comes to buying things online, a good image is a seller’s best friend. In fact, a good picture can be the key to drawing a buyer in.
Craigslist lets you post up to four photos per ad. While you might not need to use all four, you should always upload a least one clear picture showing the entire item. For the other three spots, consider closeups on key features or shots from other angles.
To get the most out of Craigslist’s photo allotment, take several photos and upload the four best. Staging your photos will help them turn out clearer and more attractive, and it’s easy to do a good job right at home.
Clean up the item. For example, if you’re selling a used bicycle, give it a good wash to remove any dirt before taking a photo.
Include any extras in the photo. Gadgets and other electronics typically come with accessories, software, or manuals. Include anything you’re selling with the item in the photo.
Create a background. You can go all out and use a white or black sheet as the backdrop for your photo. A solid contrasting color will help the item stand out. Realistically, I usually just find an area of my house free of clutter to take the photo. You want to make it clear what you’re selling; don’t let anything else show up in the photo.
Find the best lighting. Try to take your pictures in natural light. In a dark room, the photo won’t show clearly, and artificial light can change the color of the item.
Pro Tip: If your item is particularly large or small, take a picture of it next to a universally known object, like a coin or a baseball, so that potential buyers can get a feel for the scale. Especially for electronics and tech gadgets, where smaller is often better, you’ll want to give your audience a good idea of your item’s size. Think like an advertiser when you’re snapping photos, and try to tell an enticing story with your images.
It’s the first thing people see on your ad.
It’s how buyers search for items they want.
Using good keywords, therefore, is the secret to an effective, searchable title. Include as many searchable terms as you can, without making your title confusing.
Do your best to use the name of the item, the brand, and the condition. For example, if you’re selling a HTC Evo smart phone, your title might be, Mint condition HTC Evo Android Smartphone, Sprint PCS. BEST OFFER. If you don’t have the right keywords, people searching for products within Craigslist will never even have an opportunity to view your listing.
Pro Tip: You do not need to include the price or your location in the title. Craigslist adds that information in other sections.
Once you get prospective buyers to see your ad with a catchy headline, it’s time to seal the deal with an effective description. Craigslist provides an open text box so you can fill in any helpful descriptive text. The description will appear before the photos, so you can reference them or introduce them in the description.
Prospective buyers will read your description before contacting you, so include all the relevant information you can think of. This way, you’ll cut down on the amount of people who call or email you just to ask about the item. You’ll save time and attract more buyers with a clear description.
What you’re selling. Start every ad by explaining what your item is.
Item’s condition. Briefly explain the condition of the item after the general description. Make a note of any damages, no matter how small. Honesty is your best policy here.
Technical specs. If you’re selling any electronic gadget, include the technical specs from the manufacturer’s website.
Price check. Use the description to remind readers about the price. While Craigslist has a separate section for pricing, it’s a good idea to include it in the ad as well. Be sure to include whether you’re willing to take the best offer.
Your contact information. Add your preferred method of contact at the bottom of your ad. For example, if you prefer to have buyers email you, include a note asking anyone to email the address given on the ad for questions or to make an offer on the item. If you don’t mind phone calls, include your cell phone or home number as well.
Pro Tip: If you don’t want to make your personal email address public, take advantage of Craigslist’s anonymous email feature. They’ll set up a random address that will forward to your personal email so that you can get emails the way you’re used to receiving them, without giving out your real address to anyone. While you’re at it, if you want to accept phone calls but don’t want to share your personal number, set up a Google Voice account for your Craigslist business. Their settings make it easy to block unwanted calls, and you can keep your home or cell phone number private.
Selling your old stuff on Craigslist takes time and effort, but the payoff is well worth it. I spent a little less than half an hour posting each ad, and then another hour or two following up with buyers. In the end, I made over $500 on stuff I had laying around the house unused. The extra savings in the bank was well worth the few hours I spent listing the items. The more you sell, the more natural it becomes to set up your posts as smart, clever advertisements.
What has your experience with Craigslist been? Do you have any additional selling tips or strategies to add to the mix?
For more options, learn how to use eBay to sell your items with these eBay selling tips.

lowercased:
recently, while unpacking after a move, i came to a not-so-startling revelation: i had a lot of things that i did not really need. i still had boxes that i never unpacked from my previous move, which was two years ago. now, i know i have a habit of keeping things for too long and taking frugal living too far, especially when it comes to electronics. i always think i may suddenly need them (or have the ability to fix them) one day. two years of unpacked boxes, however, is borderline hoarding.
i got out a new box, drew a huge dollar sign on it, and tossed in anything worth selling. over the next few weeks, i sold 25 different items on craigslist, and made enough money to replenish the savings i spent for the move.
anyone can sell anything on craigslist, but i’ve learned that making money on craigslist really is an art form. to get the most out of your old stuff, you need a smart plan, a mix of great photos, a fair price, and a clever advertisement.
don’t just jump into your advertisement without some careful planning and investigating. you’ll need to do some research to find the best price and write the best description, especially if you don’t know the technical specifications of your item.
during my unpacking fiasco, for example, i realized i had two digital cameras. i didn’t know much about either one, except that they were both cameras and i wanted one of them to be dollars. i researched both of the cameras on technology sites, figured out which one i’d keep, and posted the other one using the published specs and pricing as a guideline.
remember that craigslist is a very competitive marketplace, and other people are probably selling items that are very similar to yours. if you’re the one with more information, potential buyers are more likely to find you and more likely to do business with you.
look up your item on popular review or pricing websites. for instance, you can research most electronics on cnet or the manufacturer’s website. both sources will provide you with technical specs and features. you can then use this information to provide the necessary detail for potential buyers.
find the current price of the product selling new. a quick google search will give you a decent gauge, and you should do some comparison shopping on a few sites specific to your type of item or other big online stores. of course you won’t be able to sell your used item for as much money as a new product would command, but this price will give you a ceiling and help you figure out your asking price.
compare what you have to other products listed on craigslist and ebay. you’ll want to charge somewhere in the range of your fellow sellers on the two most popular online marketplaces, or you won’t get many offers.
pro tip: take notes. it may sound like basic advice from your third-grade teacher, but when you’re looking around at current prices, write down the numbers you’re seeing, or take online notes. if you’re selling a few items, you don’t want to rely on your memory to keep all of the price ranges together. organized notes will make it a lot easier to settle on a final price.
research may sound like a big time commitment, but at least it’s not the tricky part. it’s time to price your item. ask for too much money, and you won’t get legitimate response. set the price too low, and you’ll leave money on the table.
in looking at other craigslist sellers and ebay listings, you have a decent idea of a price range. now, take a hard look at the condition of your item. if it’s missing parts, doesn’t quite work right, or just has seen better days, then you need to err on the low side of that range. on the other hand, if it’s in great condition or like-new, then you can head to the top of your range.
be realistic. you might think that your stuff is worth more to someone else than it truly is. if you lose control, you’ll end up wasting time. sure, that dvd player was a high-end gadget when you got it as a graduation present five years ago, but since then you’ve spilled your drink on it twice, and newer blu-ray players came out. no one is going to pay you $200 for it now.
pro tip: when pricing your item, decide whether you want to run your ad at a firm price, or as a “best offer” price. a firm price will get you exactly what you want, but you need to attract the right buyer. when you run a best offer ad, you might not make as much money as you thought you could, but you’ll get a lot of interest from potential customers.
when it comes to buying things online, a good image is a seller’s best friend. in fact, a good picture can be the key to drawing a buyer in.
craigslist lets you post up to four photos per ad. while you might not need to use all four, you should always upload a least one clear picture showing the entire item. for the other three spots, consider closeups on key features or shots from other angles.
to get the most out of craigslist’s photo allotment, take several photos and upload the four best. staging your photos will help them turn out clearer and more attractive, and it’s easy to do a good job right at home.
clean up the item. for example, if you’re selling a used bicycle, give it a good wash to remove any dirt before taking a photo.
include any extras in the photo. gadgets and other electronics typically come with accessories, software, or manuals. include anything you’re selling with the item in the photo.
create a background. you can go all out and use a white or black sheet as the backdrop for your photo. a solid contrasting color will help the item stand out. realistically, i usually just find an area of my house free of clutter to take the photo. you want to make it clear what you’re selling; don’t let anything else show up in the photo.
find the best lighting. try to take your pictures in natural light. in a dark room, the photo won’t show clearly, and artificial light can change the color of the item.
pro tip: if your item is particularly large or small, take a picture of it next to a universally known object, like a coin or a baseball, so that potential buyers can get a feel for the scale. especially for electronics and tech gadgets, where smaller is often better, you’ll want to give your audience a good idea of your item’s size. think like an advertiser when you’re snapping photos, and try to tell an enticing story with your images.
it’s the first thing people see on your ad.
it’s how buyers search for items they want.
using good keywords, therefore, is the secret to an effective, searchable title. include as many searchable terms as you can, without making your title confusing.
do your best to use the name of the item, the brand, and the condition. for example, if you’re selling a htc evo smart phone, your title might be, mint condition htc evo android smartphone, sprint pcs. best offer. if you don’t have the right keywords, people searching for products within craigslist will never even have an opportunity to view your listing.
pro tip: you do not need to include the price or your location in the title. craigslist adds that information in other sections.
once you get prospective buyers to see your ad with a catchy headline, it’s time to seal the deal with an effective description. craigslist provides an open text box so you can fill in any helpful descriptive text. the description will appear before the photos, so you can reference them or introduce them in the description.
prospective buyers will read your description before contacting you, so include all the relevant information you can think of. this way, you’ll cut down on the amount of people who call or email you just to ask about the item. you’ll save time and attract more buyers with a clear description.
what you’re selling. start every ad by explaining what your item is.
item’s condition. briefly explain the condition of the item after the general description. make a note of any damages, no matter how small. honesty is your best policy here.
technical specs. if you’re selling any electronic gadget, include the technical specs from the manufacturer’s website.
price check. use the description to remind readers about the price. while craigslist has a separate section for pricing, it’s a good idea to include it in the ad as well. be sure to include whether you’re willing to take the best offer.
your contact information. add your preferred method of contact at the bottom of your ad. for example, if you prefer to have buyers email you, include a note asking anyone to email the address given on the ad for questions or to make an offer on the item. if you don’t mind phone calls, include your cell phone or home number as well.
pro tip: if you don’t want to make your personal email address public, take advantage of craigslist’s anonymous email feature. they’ll set up a random address that will forward to your personal email so that you can get emails the way you’re used to receiving them, without giving out your real address to anyone. while you’re at it, if you want to accept phone calls but don’t want to share your personal number, set up a google voice account for your craigslist business. their settings make it easy to block unwanted calls, and you can keep your home or cell phone number private.
selling your old stuff on craigslist takes time and effort, but the payoff is well worth it. i spent a little less than half an hour posting each ad, and then another hour or two following up with buyers. in the end, i made over $500 on stuff i had laying around the house unused. the extra savings in the bank was well worth the few hours i spent listing the items. the more you sell, the more natural it becomes to set up your posts as smart, clever advertisements.
what has your experience with craigslist been? do you have any additional selling tips or strategies to add to the mix?
for more options, learn how to use ebay to sell your items with these ebay selling tips.


text:
It can sound a little like homer-ism when you automatically take the side of the player you cover, but when Storm All-Star Lauren Jackson talks about a discrepancy with officiating, it’s true. At least it was tonight against Houston.
Jackson earned her second tech of the season after getting wrapped up with Comets guard Hamchetou Maiga-Ba. Jackson did the typical jerk of the arm away from her opponent after the rebound bounced away from the players and they started to head down court. Standard move you see all the time. There weren’t even any theatrics, but a technical foul was called.
In the third quarter when Comets forward Latasha Byears did the same move to Janell Burse’s bum left shoulder, however, no call was made. And Byears has a history (just ask former Storm guard Michelle Marciniak about getting hit in the head with the basketball by Byears back in the day). Oh, and later in the game she gave the KeyArena crowd an undesirable finger wave.
To spin the words of Will Smith, officials just don’t understand.

lowercased:
it can sound a little like homer-ism when you automatically take the side of the player you cover, but when storm all-star lauren jackson talks about a discrepancy with officiating, it’s true. at least it was tonight against houston.
jackson earned her second tech of the season after getting wrapped up with comets guard hamchetou maiga-ba. jackson did the typical jerk of the arm away from her opponent after the rebound bounced away from the players and they started to head down court. standard move you see all the time. there weren’t even any theatrics, but a technical foul was called.
in the third quarter when comets forward latasha byears did the same move to janell burse’s bum left shoulder, however, no call was made. and byears has a history (just ask former storm guard michelle marciniak about getting hit in the head with the basketball by byears back in the day). oh, and later in the game she gave the keyarena crowd an undesirable finger wave.
to spin the words of will smith, officials just don’t understand.


text:
Home / Deals / Stephen Joseph Bags on Zulily Today!
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You can also get Stephen Joseph Lunchboxes for just $8.99 right now on Zulily. Try Using the code: GA9331 tos ave $5 off your $50 Purchase!
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lowercased:
home / deals / stephen joseph bags on zulily today!
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you can also get stephen joseph lunchboxes for just $8.99 right now on zulily. try using the code: ga9331 tos ave $5 off your $50 purchase!
photo plates, as low as $5.99 shipped!


text:
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lowercased:
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text:
there are no restriction on the colour of whistles nor is basic black the ONLY referee jersey colour. Historically the B&@%#s in black might be our eloquent moniker but the colours we now where are many and varied! I carry several whistles looking for more at the sound differences when in around other matches in multiple field settings.
No issue on whistle colour. It can be any colour the referee wants. The important part is the sound quality.
As to kit colour referees now in many associations have access to a number of colours. Many associations though specify the type and colour of the referee kits. The important part is that the referee kit does not clash with the teams including the goalkeeper.
The FA in England continue to demand that referees use the tradional black at lower levels of the game and that teams cannot use black as a team colour. The history there is that in early days referees wore a white shirt and black blazer with a crest.
Progress in materials, design etc resulted in the development of a black jersey with a white collar.
No problem with coloured whistles - you'll find many whistles have a variety of colours in their kit. Some (who referee in areas that allow them to use different coloured jerseys) like to match the whistle to the kit. Some make sure they choose brighter colours in night games (or muddy fields) in case they drop it (There have even been glow-in-the-dark ones available).
As for the red and yellow whistles, I preferred not to use them - sometimes as an AR I've heard the confusion that a glimpse of red or yellow can cause on the sideline, even had people start shouting out when the referee calls a player over, thinking the card is in the referee's hand when it's just the whistle!
Plenty of referees use those colours, but that's just been my experience.

lowercased:
there are no restriction on the colour of whistles nor is basic black the only referee jersey colour. historically the b&@%#s in black might be our eloquent moniker but the colours we now where are many and varied! i carry several whistles looking for more at the sound differences when in around other matches in multiple field settings.
no issue on whistle colour. it can be any colour the referee wants. the important part is the sound quality.
as to kit colour referees now in many associations have access to a number of colours. many associations though specify the type and colour of the referee kits. the important part is that the referee kit does not clash with the teams including the goalkeeper.
the fa in england continue to demand that referees use the tradional black at lower levels of the game and that teams cannot use black as a team colour. the history there is that in early days referees wore a white shirt and black blazer with a crest.
progress in materials, design etc resulted in the development of a black jersey with a white collar.
no problem with coloured whistles - you'll find many whistles have a variety of colours in their kit. some (who referee in areas that allow them to use different coloured jerseys) like to match the whistle to the kit. some make sure they choose brighter colours in night games (or muddy fields) in case they drop it (there have even been glow-in-the-dark ones available).
as for the red and yellow whistles, i preferred not to use them - sometimes as an ar i've heard the confusion that a glimpse of red or yellow can cause on the sideline, even had people start shouting out when the referee calls a player over, thinking the card is in the referee's hand when it's just the whistle!
plenty of referees use those colours, but that's just been my experience.


text:
Possible herbicide residues impacting on crop rotation choices where rainfall has been minimal.
Herbicide residues could possibly influence crop rotations more than disease considerations.
Weed burden in the new crop will depend on the seed set from last year.
Herbicide efficacy and crop safety of the new crop can suffer if the soil is dry at application time.
Herbicide breakdown: Herbicides applied to paddocks in previous years may not have broken down adequately because of insufficient rainfall. Summer rainfall is not necessarily as effective as growing season rainfall in breaking down herbicide residues, so needs to be substantial and to keep the soil wet for a specified time. Read the herbicide label. It will be extremely important to know the chemical type used, as well as the plant-back periods, and the soil pH, rainfall and other requirements for breakdown. Herbicides applied two years ago could still have an impact too, as could the presence of cereal stubble with herbicides like Lontrel®.
Withholding periods for dicamba or similar ‘spikes’ to knockdown sprays used pre-sowing may need to be longer if there is no rainfall to activate chemical breakdown, otherwise poor establishment can occur. Note that dicamba plant-backs only commence after 15 mm of rain. Lentils, faba beans are not listed on label. Alternative products with lesser or no residual may be more appropriate (e.g. carfentrazone-ethyl, oxyfluorfen).
Lentil and chickpea are the worst for group B sulfonyl urea residues (e.g. Glean®, Logran®), with peas and faba/broad beans the least.
Faba/broad beans are more sensitive to Monza® residues at low pH (<6.5) than chickpea, lentil, lupin and fieldpea. All are sensitive at higher pH (>6.5).
Faba/broad bean, lentil and lupin are more sensitive to group B sulphonamide residues (e.g. Broadstrike®), and be aware of the impact on shallow duplex soils.
Chickpea, faba/broad beans and fieldpeas are least sensitive to the group B imidazolinones (imis, e.g. Spinnaker®, Raptor®, Midas®), with lentils extremely sensitive, and lupins, vetch intermediate.
Raptor® has no minimum re-cropping interval if field peas are being sown.
All pulses are vulnerable to group I pyridine residues, and the rate applied (e.g. Lontrel®), but beans appear more vulnerable than lupins.
Lentil cannot follow straight after chickpeas if Balance® (group F) has been used in the chickpea.
Lentil cannot immediately follow after beans or field peas if some group B’s were used (e.g. Spinnaker®, Broadstrike® or Raptor®).
In areas that receive minimal summer-autumn rains and delayed opening rains, then the herbicide residual effect becomes far more pressing on rotation choices. Pulse following cereal could then become a higher risk situation than pulse following a pulse!
Weed burden: Weed burden in 2016 will depend on past history and how effective seed set was prevented, and will influence sowing choice and strategies. There was minimal weed germination after poor rainfall events of 2015, but weed seed set may have been minimised through drought, hay cuts, desiccation, crop top or grazing of crops, unless the crop was let go or weed control failed.
Pulses can fit a rotation to ensure herbicide diversity and the ability to crop top or desiccate to prevent weed seed set. Resistant ryegrass has been a major target, but Giant Brome resistant to group A herbicides also poses a new threat in areas like the Wimmera and Mallee.
Herbicide efficacy in the dry: Instances of herbicide damage that occurred under dry conditions be avoided in future, eg metribuzin and diuron in field pea and lentil, and with Balance® in chickpea.
If applied to dry soils, the risk of herbicide damage is increased greatly when rains occur, particularly if the soil is left ridged.
PSPE herbicides should be applied to moist soil regardless of the sowing time.
IBS may be more appropriate in dry conditions, or a split application to minimise risk in future.
The decision as to which pulse to grow, and where, will be based on risk and rotation need. Assess the disease risk versus residual herbicide risk. Assess any quality issues that arise from re-cropping, e.g. chickpeas after field peas, lentils after vetch. The rotation solutions do not become fully apparent until the summer-autumn rainfall has fallen.
Despite the very low starting disease levels from pulse stubble after a dry year, it is the rainfall conditions in the new growing season that will have the major influence on the severity of pulse diseases.
Paddock selection is still critical, and sowing time along with canopy management is always important in disease management, and the cheapest to implement.
If considering growing a pulse again on a failed pulse crop, then consider what pulse to choose. Disease risk is one of the main considerations, and whether it can be managed. Botrytis grey mould (BGM), phoma and sclerotinia are common across most pulse species, but ascochyta blight (AB) is not. There is an ascochyta blight specific to each pulse species that do not cross infect. Assess any quality issues that arise from re-cropping, eg chickpeas after field peas, lentils after vetch.
Data taken from herbicide labels as viewed from APVMA web site, or company web sites.

lowercased:
possible herbicide residues impacting on crop rotation choices where rainfall has been minimal.
herbicide residues could possibly influence crop rotations more than disease considerations.
weed burden in the new crop will depend on the seed set from last year.
herbicide efficacy and crop safety of the new crop can suffer if the soil is dry at application time.
herbicide breakdown: herbicides applied to paddocks in previous years may not have broken down adequately because of insufficient rainfall. summer rainfall is not necessarily as effective as growing season rainfall in breaking down herbicide residues, so needs to be substantial and to keep the soil wet for a specified time. read the herbicide label. it will be extremely important to know the chemical type used, as well as the plant-back periods, and the soil ph, rainfall and other requirements for breakdown. herbicides applied two years ago could still have an impact too, as could the presence of cereal stubble with herbicides like lontrel®.
withholding periods for dicamba or similar ‘spikes’ to knockdown sprays used pre-sowing may need to be longer if there is no rainfall to activate chemical breakdown, otherwise poor establishment can occur. note that dicamba plant-backs only commence after 15 mm of rain. lentils, faba beans are not listed on label. alternative products with lesser or no residual may be more appropriate (e.g. carfentrazone-ethyl, oxyfluorfen).
lentil and chickpea are the worst for group b sulfonyl urea residues (e.g. glean®, logran®), with peas and faba/broad beans the least.
faba/broad beans are more sensitive to monza® residues at low ph (<6.5) than chickpea, lentil, lupin and fieldpea. all are sensitive at higher ph (>6.5).
faba/broad bean, lentil and lupin are more sensitive to group b sulphonamide residues (e.g. broadstrike®), and be aware of the impact on shallow duplex soils.
chickpea, faba/broad beans and fieldpeas are least sensitive to the group b imidazolinones (imis, e.g. spinnaker®, raptor®, midas®), with lentils extremely sensitive, and lupins, vetch intermediate.
raptor® has no minimum re-cropping interval if field peas are being sown.
all pulses are vulnerable to group i pyridine residues, and the rate applied (e.g. lontrel®), but beans appear more vulnerable than lupins.
lentil cannot follow straight after chickpeas if balance® (group f) has been used in the chickpea.
lentil cannot immediately follow after beans or field peas if some group b’s were used (e.g. spinnaker®, broadstrike® or raptor®).
in areas that receive minimal summer-autumn rains and delayed opening rains, then the herbicide residual effect becomes far more pressing on rotation choices. pulse following cereal could then become a higher risk situation than pulse following a pulse!
weed burden: weed burden in 2016 will depend on past history and how effective seed set was prevented, and will influence sowing choice and strategies. there was minimal weed germination after poor rainfall events of 2015, but weed seed set may have been minimised through drought, hay cuts, desiccation, crop top or grazing of crops, unless the crop was let go or weed control failed.
pulses can fit a rotation to ensure herbicide diversity and the ability to crop top or desiccate to prevent weed seed set. resistant ryegrass has been a major target, but giant brome resistant to group a herbicides also poses a new threat in areas like the wimmera and mallee.
herbicide efficacy in the dry: instances of herbicide damage that occurred under dry conditions be avoided in future, eg metribuzin and diuron in field pea and lentil, and with balance® in chickpea.
if applied to dry soils, the risk of herbicide damage is increased greatly when rains occur, particularly if the soil is left ridged.
pspe herbicides should be applied to moist soil regardless of the sowing time.
ibs may be more appropriate in dry conditions, or a split application to minimise risk in future.
the decision as to which pulse to grow, and where, will be based on risk and rotation need. assess the disease risk versus residual herbicide risk. assess any quality issues that arise from re-cropping, e.g. chickpeas after field peas, lentils after vetch. the rotation solutions do not become fully apparent until the summer-autumn rainfall has fallen.
despite the very low starting disease levels from pulse stubble after a dry year, it is the rainfall conditions in the new growing season that will have the major influence on the severity of pulse diseases.
paddock selection is still critical, and sowing time along with canopy management is always important in disease management, and the cheapest to implement.
if considering growing a pulse again on a failed pulse crop, then consider what pulse to choose. disease risk is one of the main considerations, and whether it can be managed. botrytis grey mould (bgm), phoma and sclerotinia are common across most pulse species, but ascochyta blight (ab) is not. there is an ascochyta blight specific to each pulse species that do not cross infect. assess any quality issues that arise from re-cropping, eg chickpeas after field peas, lentils after vetch.
data taken from herbicide labels as viewed from apvma web site, or company web sites.


text:
Do you want to hear from God? Do you need guidance and direction in life? Are you searching for your purpose?
Well then, read on. In my upcoming book, I talk about all these, but today I want to talk about hearing from God.
Many of us want to hear from God. I know I do. From time to time, someone asks me “How do you hear from God?” or mentions that I seem to have a “good connection”. How does one develop a “connection” with God?
Let me suggest that developing a connection with God is very similiar to developing a connection with someone down here on Earth and we all know how to do that, right? What’s the first thing you do when you want to get to know someone? You spend time with them, of course.
Getting to know God works the same way. In order to learn to “hear” from God, we must get to know Him first by spending time with Him. There are way too many voices and choices out there clamoring for our attention and trying to distract us to prevent us from spending time with God.
Just like any new friendship or relationship, we must make a conscious choice to be with God so we can get to know Him. It might help to think of God as a person, instead of some nebulous force “out there yonder”. God is closer than we think, and it really is not rocket science to learn to hear His voice.
Until next time, let me know how you spend time with God and in the meantime, keep looking up!

lowercased:
do you want to hear from god? do you need guidance and direction in life? are you searching for your purpose?
well then, read on. in my upcoming book, i talk about all these, but today i want to talk about hearing from god.
many of us want to hear from god. i know i do. from time to time, someone asks me “how do you hear from god?” or mentions that i seem to have a “good connection”. how does one develop a “connection” with god?
let me suggest that developing a connection with god is very similiar to developing a connection with someone down here on earth and we all know how to do that, right? what’s the first thing you do when you want to get to know someone? you spend time with them, of course.
getting to know god works the same way. in order to learn to “hear” from god, we must get to know him first by spending time with him. there are way too many voices and choices out there clamoring for our attention and trying to distract us to prevent us from spending time with god.
just like any new friendship or relationship, we must make a conscious choice to be with god so we can get to know him. it might help to think of god as a person, instead of some nebulous force “out there yonder”. god is closer than we think, and it really is not rocket science to learn to hear his voice.
until next time, let me know how you spend time with god and in the meantime, keep looking up!


text:
Supercharge your Dental Practices today!
Jarvis is comprehensive solution to enhance reporting, planning and operations at each practice level.
Jarvis platform was designed from the ground up, specifically in mind with the needs of a modern Dental Support Organization (DSO).
Whether you are operating 3 or 200+ locations, Jarvis can help you analyze, run and optimize each practice's performance.
Don't take our word for it, contact us today, to find out more and schedule a demo.
*Jarvis is not affiliated with OpenDental, EagleSoft, PowerPractice, Tracker or AbelDent.
What are the major features of Jarvis?
Jarvis provides real-time data without having to wait for end of day reports. As data gets updated at the office level, it’s automatically synced with our cloud with little latency. Since Jarvis connects to each office, every piece of data is synced, including historical data.
Jarvis was designed specifically with multiple practices in mind. A comprehensive solution that enhances reporting, planning and operations at each practice level. All of the underlying practice data is now on one platform, in real time (including historical data), accessible anytime, anywhere irrespective of the underlying Practice Management System (PMS).
Flexibility to assign user access to particular office data and/or module. As an example, an office manager can only access certain modules i.e. Appointments and Marketing for certain offices, whereas the management can access Accounts Receivable and Operations for all offices.
HIPAA compliant, ensuring end-to-end encryption at rest and during transit, ensuring all patient data remains safe and secure at all times. Jarvis lives on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud, one of the most resilient, secure and high performance cloud infrastructure environments.
Jarvis allows you and your team to be free and access your data anytime, anywhere and on any device.
Subscribe now, to get updates from our team, including product announcements.

lowercased:
supercharge your dental practices today!
jarvis is comprehensive solution to enhance reporting, planning and operations at each practice level.
jarvis platform was designed from the ground up, specifically in mind with the needs of a modern dental support organization (dso).
whether you are operating 3 or 200+ locations, jarvis can help you analyze, run and optimize each practice's performance.
don't take our word for it, contact us today, to find out more and schedule a demo.
*jarvis is not affiliated with opendental, eaglesoft, powerpractice, tracker or abeldent.
what are the major features of jarvis?
jarvis provides real-time data without having to wait for end of day reports. as data gets updated at the office level, it’s automatically synced with our cloud with little latency. since jarvis connects to each office, every piece of data is synced, including historical data.
jarvis was designed specifically with multiple practices in mind. a comprehensive solution that enhances reporting, planning and operations at each practice level. all of the underlying practice data is now on one platform, in real time (including historical data), accessible anytime, anywhere irrespective of the underlying practice management system (pms).
flexibility to assign user access to particular office data and/or module. as an example, an office manager can only access certain modules i.e. appointments and marketing for certain offices, whereas the management can access accounts receivable and operations for all offices.
hipaa compliant, ensuring end-to-end encryption at rest and during transit, ensuring all patient data remains safe and secure at all times. jarvis lives on amazon web services (aws) cloud, one of the most resilient, secure and high performance cloud infrastructure environments.
jarvis allows you and your team to be free and access your data anytime, anywhere and on any device.
subscribe now, to get updates from our team, including product announcements.


text:
Looking for the ultimate in fishing beads? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We at Stone Cold Beads use only the highest quality natural gemstones for our fishing beads. Our goal is to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to lead, plastic and glass fishing beads as well as produce a superior product in every way.
Stone Cold beads are made from brilliant natural gemstones like coral, agate, carnelian, topaz, jade, quartz, and more. We focus our buying efforts on sourcing only the most effective fish attracting colors for our gemstone fishing beads which have been rigorously tested and most importantly proven to catch fish. Stone Cold Beads are the true gem of the bead fishing industry, providing anglers with one of a kind, hard to find fishing beads and lures.
What makes Stone Cold Beads better? Our beads are not only beautiful and attractive to fish, but they are also heavier because of the dense makeup of beads made from natural stone.
As a result, Stone Cold Beads are much stronger than traditional glass beads or plastic fishing beads and sink much faster as well, getting your set up down in the water where it needs to be.
When we purchase our gemstone beads we focus on purchasing beads that will be strong so they will hold up better under the extreme conditions of drift fishing where your lure is bounced across the bottom of a river or stream colliding with several rocks along the way it’s important to have a bead that will hold up and keep it’s attractive appearance.
These conditions can literally take the paint off of painted lead within just a few casts. Glass beads hold up a little better but get scratched up and in some cases after several casts event break if fishing in rocky waters.
Hard Plastic beads are fairly rugged, but ones that have been painted can chip and scratch, plus plastic beads require the use of weight to get them deep enough in the water to actually catch fish.
Soft beads are an effective alternative to real salmon eggs but because soft plastic tend to be weak soft beads can come completely off the hook when snagged up on the bottom of a river or stream.
These are among the reason we set out to create a stronger alternative. One of the ways we determine the strength of our fishing beads is by using the Mohs hardness test which indicates the hardness of a specific material. For example, a diamond in one of the hardest substances in the world and has the highest Mohs rating which in 10, lead, on the other hand, has almost the lowest Mohs rating at 1.5 Mohs.
A glass bead is anywhere from 4-5 Mohs which is prone to cracking and breaking. We select gemstone for our fishing beads that are between 6-8 Mohs providing a super hard and super strong bead that holds up longer than glass or lead.
Unlike most fishing tackle, Stone Cold Beads are 100% safe for the environment. Using our fishing beads helps prevent the polluting of our valuable fish estuaries. Stop using plastics, glass, or lead beads today and use our safe eco-friendly alternative Stone Cold Gemstone Beads. Fish love them and so does the environment.
The manufacture of a Stone Cold Fishing bead is a long and difficult process. First, we have to find the right types of stone with the right coloration. We only use hard stones ranging from 6-8 Mohs on the Mohs hardness scale. This is important because we want a rugged and tough fishing bead that can handle being bounced across the bottom of a rocky river reducing the risk of breaking. Next, the raw stones must first be cut, This is achieved by cutting the stone into cubes, and placing them in a chamfering machine which knocks the corners off the cubes making them somewhat round in shape.
After this stage, the grinding begins. The rough cut beads are placed into a grinding machine and ran through several stages of grinding, once the grinding is complete and the beads are either smooth or faceted and round in shape.
The next phase is to enhance coloring. This is achieved through heat treating or a combination of heat and dyes that accent the beads coloration producing brilliant results. The final phase in polishing the beads and drilling the hole.
As you can see the process of creating our Stone Cold Beads is much more expensive than the production of injection molded plastics or refining glass, but each step is necessary for producing the end result, which is a beautiful stone bead that has superior strength, dazzling colors and best of all fish attracting capabilities.

lowercased:
looking for the ultimate in fishing beads? if so, you’ve come to the right place. we at stone cold beads use only the highest quality natural gemstones for our fishing beads. our goal is to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to lead, plastic and glass fishing beads as well as produce a superior product in every way.
stone cold beads are made from brilliant natural gemstones like coral, agate, carnelian, topaz, jade, quartz, and more. we focus our buying efforts on sourcing only the most effective fish attracting colors for our gemstone fishing beads which have been rigorously tested and most importantly proven to catch fish. stone cold beads are the true gem of the bead fishing industry, providing anglers with one of a kind, hard to find fishing beads and lures.
what makes stone cold beads better? our beads are not only beautiful and attractive to fish, but they are also heavier because of the dense makeup of beads made from natural stone.
as a result, stone cold beads are much stronger than traditional glass beads or plastic fishing beads and sink much faster as well, getting your set up down in the water where it needs to be.
when we purchase our gemstone beads we focus on purchasing beads that will be strong so they will hold up better under the extreme conditions of drift fishing where your lure is bounced across the bottom of a river or stream colliding with several rocks along the way it’s important to have a bead that will hold up and keep it’s attractive appearance.
these conditions can literally take the paint off of painted lead within just a few casts. glass beads hold up a little better but get scratched up and in some cases after several casts event break if fishing in rocky waters.
hard plastic beads are fairly rugged, but ones that have been painted can chip and scratch, plus plastic beads require the use of weight to get them deep enough in the water to actually catch fish.
soft beads are an effective alternative to real salmon eggs but because soft plastic tend to be weak soft beads can come completely off the hook when snagged up on the bottom of a river or stream.
these are among the reason we set out to create a stronger alternative. one of the ways we determine the strength of our fishing beads is by using the mohs hardness test which indicates the hardness of a specific material. for example, a diamond in one of the hardest substances in the world and has the highest mohs rating which in 10, lead, on the other hand, has almost the lowest mohs rating at 1.5 mohs.
a glass bead is anywhere from 4-5 mohs which is prone to cracking and breaking. we select gemstone for our fishing beads that are between 6-8 mohs providing a super hard and super strong bead that holds up longer than glass or lead.
unlike most fishing tackle, stone cold beads are 100% safe for the environment. using our fishing beads helps prevent the polluting of our valuable fish estuaries. stop using plastics, glass, or lead beads today and use our safe eco-friendly alternative stone cold gemstone beads. fish love them and so does the environment.
the manufacture of a stone cold fishing bead is a long and difficult process. first, we have to find the right types of stone with the right coloration. we only use hard stones ranging from 6-8 mohs on the mohs hardness scale. this is important because we want a rugged and tough fishing bead that can handle being bounced across the bottom of a rocky river reducing the risk of breaking. next, the raw stones must first be cut, this is achieved by cutting the stone into cubes, and placing them in a chamfering machine which knocks the corners off the cubes making them somewhat round in shape.
after this stage, the grinding begins. the rough cut beads are placed into a grinding machine and ran through several stages of grinding, once the grinding is complete and the beads are either smooth or faceted and round in shape.
the next phase is to enhance coloring. this is achieved through heat treating or a combination of heat and dyes that accent the beads coloration producing brilliant results. the final phase in polishing the beads and drilling the hole.
as you can see the process of creating our stone cold beads is much more expensive than the production of injection molded plastics or refining glass, but each step is necessary for producing the end result, which is a beautiful stone bead that has superior strength, dazzling colors and best of all fish attracting capabilities.


text:
Seated left to right are Viktor Averin, Sergei Mikhailov and Andrei Skoch. Lev Kvetnoy, a former partner of Alisher Usmanov, is in the back row on the far left.
The photograph is low quality and appears similar to any taken of a group of male friends after dinner in post-Communist Moscow. But contained within this grainy 1994 shot, are some remarkable characters who have suddenly started to fascinate City bankers.
On the bottom right is Andrei Skoch, now rated as the richest man sitting in the Duma, Russia's parliament. He is also a close friend of the billionaire oligarch and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov and indirectly a leading figure behind MegaFon, the Russian telecoms business that Usmanov jointly listed on the London and Moscow stock markets on Wednesday.
Sitting next to Skoch is Sergei Mikhailov and, next to him on the front row is Viktor Averin. These are said to be two of Russia's most feared gangsters.
These old connections have suddenly resurfaced as MegaFon – which last week announced the appointment to its board of former Labour minister and one time chairman of the Guardian Media Group Lord Myners – began trading 17% of its shares in London. Coincidentally, that is almost the same size of stake indirectly owned by the Skoch family. The shares fell nearly 3% on their first day.
Skoch, who has placed all of his business interests in the name of his father, Vladimir, declined to answer any questions about his connections when approached by the Guardian in Moscow last week. In a response to questions by email, a spokesperson for Usmanov said there have been "too many unwarranted allegations, rumours and speculations about different people in Russia".
However, Skoch was prepared to give an interview to last Friday's Financial Times in which he admitted knowing Mikhailov and Averin. He also previously spoke about the ties in a 2010 interview with the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, during which he confirmed that the photo was genuine.
He said that he got to know Mikhailov after he and Lev Kvetnoy bought several service companies at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.
Skoch added that he was "introduced" to Mikhailov and Averin as the "owners" of the Vnukovo companies. "We met, discussed terms, and then agreed – the photo was taken afterwards," he said.
Averin subsequently invited him and his wife to a holiday in Prague, in 1995. Skoch was one of 50 guests who celebrated Averin's birthday at the Ritz Hotel. In his Vedomosti interview, Skoch said the guests had been sitting down for 15 minutes over dinner when the Czech police burst in. The police took all the guests down to the station for questioning, photographed them and then let them go. "After that I didn't have any shared history with Viktor [Averin]. Not with him, not with Sergei [Mikhailov]. We didn't have any joint interests," he said.
However, Skoch told the FT last week that he continued to meet Averin for business purposes after the incident, with their last meeting seven years ago when they bumped into each other at a Moscow restaurant. "He's a nice enough guy," he told the paper.
The politician, whose wealth has been valued by Forbes at $4.2bn (£2.6bn), denied that he, Mikhailov or Averin had any links with Russian organised crime. "I can't say they were bandits. They were ordinary businessmen," he told the FT.
"I couldn't say that anyone joined a [mafia] group. That would be incorrect," Skoch also told Vedomosti. In the lawless Russia of the 1990s, he said it wasn't entirely clear "who was in a mafia group and who wasn't". "You'd go into any restaurant and there would be a serious-looking guy sitting there. If you wanted to live, you had to be unafraid," he said.
However, according to Federico Varese, professor of criminology at Oxford University, Mikhailov is the alleged founder of the "Solntsevo fraternity", Russia's most powerful mafia gang.
The group is named after a rundown area of western and southwestern Moscow – the name Solntsevo would translate as Sunnyside in English. Varese dubs the gang "arguably the mightiest organised crime group to emerge from the wreckage of the Soviet Union."
In the same Vedomosti interview Skoch boasts of his close friendship with Usmanov – who has also faced questions about links to Gafur Rakhimov.
Usmanov denies that he has ever had any business dealings with Rakhimov, whom he says was a neighbour of his parents.
Skoch recalled that he met Usmanov in 1995, and went into business, buying a metallurgical industrial complex. The venture succeeded thanks to Usmanov's "intellect", Skoch said, adding: "We are very close. I trust him with my life."
In 2010 Skoch said he saw Usmanov "virtually every day" and had travelled with him to Tashkent when Usmanov had a major operation.
• This article was amended on 29 January 2013 to remove an incorrect reference to Gafur Rakhimov.

lowercased:
seated left to right are viktor averin, sergei mikhailov and andrei skoch. lev kvetnoy, a former partner of alisher usmanov, is in the back row on the far left.
the photograph is low quality and appears similar to any taken of a group of male friends after dinner in post-communist moscow. but contained within this grainy 1994 shot, are some remarkable characters who have suddenly started to fascinate city bankers.
on the bottom right is andrei skoch, now rated as the richest man sitting in the duma, russia's parliament. he is also a close friend of the billionaire oligarch and arsenal shareholder alisher usmanov and indirectly a leading figure behind megafon, the russian telecoms business that usmanov jointly listed on the london and moscow stock markets on wednesday.
sitting next to skoch is sergei mikhailov and, next to him on the front row is viktor averin. these are said to be two of russia's most feared gangsters.
these old connections have suddenly resurfaced as megafon – which last week announced the appointment to its board of former labour minister and one time chairman of the guardian media group lord myners – began trading 17% of its shares in london. coincidentally, that is almost the same size of stake indirectly owned by the skoch family. the shares fell nearly 3% on their first day.
skoch, who has placed all of his business interests in the name of his father, vladimir, declined to answer any questions about his connections when approached by the guardian in moscow last week. in a response to questions by email, a spokesperson for usmanov said there have been "too many unwarranted allegations, rumours and speculations about different people in russia".
however, skoch was prepared to give an interview to last friday's financial times in which he admitted knowing mikhailov and averin. he also previously spoke about the ties in a 2010 interview with the russian business newspaper vedomosti, during which he confirmed that the photo was genuine.
he said that he got to know mikhailov after he and lev kvetnoy bought several service companies at moscow's vnukovo airport.
skoch added that he was "introduced" to mikhailov and averin as the "owners" of the vnukovo companies. "we met, discussed terms, and then agreed – the photo was taken afterwards," he said.
averin subsequently invited him and his wife to a holiday in prague, in 1995. skoch was one of 50 guests who celebrated averin's birthday at the ritz hotel. in his vedomosti interview, skoch said the guests had been sitting down for 15 minutes over dinner when the czech police burst in. the police took all the guests down to the station for questioning, photographed them and then let them go. "after that i didn't have any shared history with viktor [averin]. not with him, not with sergei [mikhailov]. we didn't have any joint interests," he said.
however, skoch told the ft last week that he continued to meet averin for business purposes after the incident, with their last meeting seven years ago when they bumped into each other at a moscow restaurant. "he's a nice enough guy," he told the paper.
the politician, whose wealth has been valued by forbes at $4.2bn (£2.6bn), denied that he, mikhailov or averin had any links with russian organised crime. "i can't say they were bandits. they were ordinary businessmen," he told the ft.
"i couldn't say that anyone joined a [mafia] group. that would be incorrect," skoch also told vedomosti. in the lawless russia of the 1990s, he said it wasn't entirely clear "who was in a mafia group and who wasn't". "you'd go into any restaurant and there would be a serious-looking guy sitting there. if you wanted to live, you had to be unafraid," he said.
however, according to federico varese, professor of criminology at oxford university, mikhailov is the alleged founder of the "solntsevo fraternity", russia's most powerful mafia gang.
the group is named after a rundown area of western and southwestern moscow – the name solntsevo would translate as sunnyside in english. varese dubs the gang "arguably the mightiest organised crime group to emerge from the wreckage of the soviet union."
in the same vedomosti interview skoch boasts of his close friendship with usmanov – who has also faced questions about links to gafur rakhimov.
usmanov denies that he has ever had any business dealings with rakhimov, whom he says was a neighbour of his parents.
skoch recalled that he met usmanov in 1995, and went into business, buying a metallurgical industrial complex. the venture succeeded thanks to usmanov's "intellect", skoch said, adding: "we are very close. i trust him with my life."
in 2010 skoch said he saw usmanov "virtually every day" and had travelled with him to tashkent when usmanov had a major operation.
• this article was amended on 29 january 2013 to remove an incorrect reference to gafur rakhimov.


text:
Win a pot of VetIQ’s Flea Guard Powder!
MAY FREEBIES: Win a pot of VetIQ’s Flea Guard Powder!
VetIQ’s Flea Guard Powder contains natural ingredients to help repel fleas and ticks.
VetIQ Flea Guard is an edible powder that can be mixed with your pet’s food and is safe to use, leaves no lasting chemicals in your pet’s skin or bloodstream, and helps maintain healthy skin and coat.
We have one pot of Flea Guard powder to give away to 32 readers.

lowercased:
win a pot of vetiq’s flea guard powder!
may freebies: win a pot of vetiq’s flea guard powder!
vetiq’s flea guard powder contains natural ingredients to help repel fleas and ticks.
vetiq flea guard is an edible powder that can be mixed with your pet’s food and is safe to use, leaves no lasting chemicals in your pet’s skin or bloodstream, and helps maintain healthy skin and coat.
we have one pot of flea guard powder to give away to 32 readers.


text:
Recently The Canberra Times and The Australian reported that ACT Liberal Senator Gary Humphries has been dumped as chair of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee and replaced by the rookie Greens senator Penny Wright.
The Canberra Times reported that Labor supported the demand by Greens’ to have another position on a parliamentary committee. The committee deals with a range of social issues including gay marriage, border protection and euthanasia.
It now means that the Greens chair two Upper House committees, the Coalition has six and Labor has eight committee chairs in the senate.
The Australian reported that the Coalition proposed an alternative chairmanship in an environmental portfolio during Senate business but the Greens knocked it back.
The ACL is concerned that this is further evidence of the Government bowing to Greens’ pressure and shares the concern about them seeking to impose their radical social agenda in the Parliament.

lowercased:
recently the canberra times and the australian reported that act liberal senator gary humphries has been dumped as chair of the legal and constitutional affairs references committee and replaced by the rookie greens senator penny wright.
the canberra times reported that labor supported the demand by greens’ to have another position on a parliamentary committee. the committee deals with a range of social issues including gay marriage, border protection and euthanasia.
it now means that the greens chair two upper house committees, the coalition has six and labor has eight committee chairs in the senate.
the australian reported that the coalition proposed an alternative chairmanship in an environmental portfolio during senate business but the greens knocked it back.
the acl is concerned that this is further evidence of the government bowing to greens’ pressure and shares the concern about them seeking to impose their radical social agenda in the parliament.


text:
...or was it the other way around? In any case, the CTM bus station in Marrakech is a pretty chilly place to hang out at 3:30AM.
Our arrival in Marrakech, at the ungodly hour of 3:30AM, was the result of the vagaries of the CTM bus schedule and our haste to leave the city of Guelmime sooner rather than later. We decided that hanging out in the Marrakech CTM station until sunup, when destinations like hotels and restaurants were opening up, would be our best bet. But it's cold at that hour in Marrakech, so Kate had to augment her passive warming system, consisting of all available clothing layers, with some active warming courtesy of a tiny stray puppy she found wandering the bus station, whose intense shivering gradually subsided after he settled into her lap and snoozed off. The inauspiciousnous of our arrival was compounded by getting thoroughly lost in the early-morning rush hour traffic trying to find the downtown hotel district - navigation by dead reckoning works only if you know your starting point, which in our case was not the bus station identified on the Lonely Planet map. 10km later we were finally oriented, breakfasted, and then checked into our room at the cheap and comfortable Hotel Toulousaine in the Gueliz section of the ville nouvelle.
The verdant courtyard of our cheap and comfortable home away from home.
balance of our 10-day sojourn in Marrakech followed similarly inauspicious lines. One of our main goals in Marrakech was the receipt of a package Kate was having sent from the States by UPS, an enterprise that, with help from the local AMEX office (the original receiver), we spent many days trying to achieve, dealing Moroccan Customs in Casablanca and the incompetent and possibly corrupt local agent used by UPS in Marrakech. But though we finally got UPS in the States to take an interest in the problem, and even called upon the good offices of our old acquaintance Ahmed (the Air Force General we met back in Mohammedia), we eventually had to write the whole effort off as a bad job. Another big chunk of time was chewed up negotiating the purchase of sufficient airline tickets - using Frequent Flyer miles, just to make it interesting - to get Kate back from Marrakech to North Carolina in time for a family gathering at the end of March.
and the roasted sheep's head, we did have a decent meal of beans and kabobs from one of the many food stands that materialize to fill the plaza in the evening - after having been 86'd as cheapskate troublemaking tourists from one stall after declining to pay an additional 25dh for the bread and olives that are normally served gratis in every Moroccan restaurant. (With the Place's intense competition among food vendors we easily bargained their inclusion for free at the next stall.) The sour aftertaste from this incident was reinforced by an unsuccessful pickpocketing attempt while watching one of the Place's many steet performances, foiled when the perpetrator clumsily tried to tease apart the velcro flaps holding closed the front pocket of my cargo pants. After a verbal confrontation and an intense stare-down - liberally sprinkling my English tirade with the word "gendarmes" , just in case - Kate and I quit the plaza and, with a paranoid look or two over our shoulders, hoofed it back to our hotel in the ville nouvelle.
After dark the Place is filled with performers and storytellers - but watch your wallet!
extend beyond the expiration of our walk-in 3-month tourist visas. After investigating the visa extension process (possible, but we'd be constrained to staying in one place during the extension period) we decided to get entirely new entry visas by taking a quickie trip to Spain. This technique, crossing the frontier by land at one of Spain's North African enclaves, staying a day, and then coming back across the Moroccan border, was reported by other travellers to work - at least most of the time.
The view out our train window of the unknown territory east of Fes.
The train left, and continued to run, right on time, and we shared our 1st class compartment - the differences from 2nd appearing mostly cosmetic - with only one other passenger. Initially, the flat geography glimpsed from the window was not particularly compelling, the most notable aspect being the relatively rapid change from the dry landscape surrounding Marrakech to the verdant green of cultivated fields as we neared the coast at Casablanca. What was more interesting as we continued through Rabat, Meknes and Fes, was seeing landscapes and landmarks we'd passed on the bikes from the new perspective of a speeding train, and feeling a sense of familiarity - unjustifed, really - that we were re-encountering trusty, well-trod territory. After Fes, however, we were in a previously unseen region and until the sun finally set we payed much closer attention as the train continued east towards Oujda, past lakes and rivers and through a long valley increasingly wedged between the Rif Mountains to the north and the trailing end of the Middle Atlas to the south.
One of the labyrinthine passageways through Melilla's old Portuguese walled city.
caravansarai that grew and thrived for centuries on trade with nearby Algeria - that is, until the border was closed in 1995. Still, relying as it does today on an economic base of zinc mining, it seemed fairly propsperous and cosmopolitan, relative at least to our preconceptions of a North African frontier city. Though arriving in a strange city after dark can be problematic, with the help of a policeman we easily found our way on foot from the station to the cheap and cheerful Hotel Angad, Kate's choice picked from the Lonely Planet. After breakfast in the morning we hoofed it down to the bus station with one eye on the threatening weather, but with no delay we caught the 25dh bus to Nador, a 3 hour ride that put us in position for the final 15km taxi shuttle to the seaside town of Beni Enzar that actually shares the border crossing with Melilla.
This small Spanish enclave is surrounded by the Mediteranean on one side and Morocco's Rif mountains on the others.
no-mans-land between Moroccan and Spanish checkpoints. Though we and the few other European tourists stood out from the larger majorty of Moroccans at the crossing, the exit procedures were relatively perfunctory, consisting of a form and a few questions concerning our next destination and culminating in the loud thwap of the exit stamp hitting our passports. And even though we'd been concerned that it's technically illegal to export dirhams, there was no currency check at the border and we walked through with the small amount of Moroccan cash that we were keeping for the sake of convenience on our return. Strangely, no one on the Spanish side even looked remotely in our direction as we pushed through the swinging gate - less scrutiny than we'd had crossing back into Spain from Gibraltar, though we probably would have been checked again boarding the Malaga ferry - and found ourselves deposited once again back on European soil.
Melilla has quite a number of 30's-era Deco buildings designed in the spirit of Barcelona's Antonio Gaudi.
modern highrise that houses the local government offices, the sleek new ferry terminal, some period architectural edifices like the Plaza de Toros as well as various 30's-era buildings in created in a fanciful, Gaudi-esque Deco style. Positioned above it all we saw the Melilla La Vieja, the original fortified town built on a high coastal promontory and occupied by one armed force or another since the times of the Phoenicians.
The immaculately kept parks and gardens in Melilla Spain were a real change from Morocco.
All aboard the Marrakech Express!
The state ONCF agency operates the trains in Morocco to nearly European standards.
due to board the city bus back to the frontier, the rain squalls blew themselves out and we were treated to glorious panoramic vistas of the city and the sun-drenched Mediteranean.
Our return trip back to Oujda and Marrakech was an uneventful reversal of our original journey to Melilla, with our re-entry papers carefully but cheerfully scrutinized and approved by the English-speaking Moroccan border agent. An added wrinkle to the trip was that we had booked 1st-class "cc/lit" tickets on the late-departing train running overnight from Oujda to Marrakech, which to our pleasant surprise entitled us to a private sleeping compartment with two bunks, individual reading lamps and a fold-out washbasin - too fun! We figured this was about as close to the fabled "Marrakech Express" as we were going to get, even though we did have to make an early-morning train change in Casablanca.
We were pleasantly surprised to find we'd booked a private sleeping compartment for the trip back to Marrakech.
scouring of the Lonely Planet - as well as some liberal tea-leaf reading - to try and figure out what we were getting ourselves in for with our anticipated attempt on the Tizi n'Tichka, the highest paved pass over the High Atlas Mountains.

lowercased:
...or was it the other way around? in any case, the ctm bus station in marrakech is a pretty chilly place to hang out at 3:30am.
our arrival in marrakech, at the ungodly hour of 3:30am, was the result of the vagaries of the ctm bus schedule and our haste to leave the city of guelmime sooner rather than later. we decided that hanging out in the marrakech ctm station until sunup, when destinations like hotels and restaurants were opening up, would be our best bet. but it's cold at that hour in marrakech, so kate had to augment her passive warming system, consisting of all available clothing layers, with some active warming courtesy of a tiny stray puppy she found wandering the bus station, whose intense shivering gradually subsided after he settled into her lap and snoozed off. the inauspiciousnous of our arrival was compounded by getting thoroughly lost in the early-morning rush hour traffic trying to find the downtown hotel district - navigation by dead reckoning works only if you know your starting point, which in our case was not the bus station identified on the lonely planet map. 10km later we were finally oriented, breakfasted, and then checked into our room at the cheap and comfortable hotel toulousaine in the gueliz section of the ville nouvelle.
the verdant courtyard of our cheap and comfortable home away from home.
balance of our 10-day sojourn in marrakech followed similarly inauspicious lines. one of our main goals in marrakech was the receipt of a package kate was having sent from the states by ups, an enterprise that, with help from the local amex office (the original receiver), we spent many days trying to achieve, dealing moroccan customs in casablanca and the incompetent and possibly corrupt local agent used by ups in marrakech. but though we finally got ups in the states to take an interest in the problem, and even called upon the good offices of our old acquaintance ahmed (the air force general we met back in mohammedia), we eventually had to write the whole effort off as a bad job. another big chunk of time was chewed up negotiating the purchase of sufficient airline tickets - using frequent flyer miles, just to make it interesting - to get kate back from marrakech to north carolina in time for a family gathering at the end of march.
and the roasted sheep's head, we did have a decent meal of beans and kabobs from one of the many food stands that materialize to fill the plaza in the evening - after having been 86'd as cheapskate troublemaking tourists from one stall after declining to pay an additional 25dh for the bread and olives that are normally served gratis in every moroccan restaurant. (with the place's intense competition among food vendors we easily bargained their inclusion for free at the next stall.) the sour aftertaste from this incident was reinforced by an unsuccessful pickpocketing attempt while watching one of the place's many steet performances, foiled when the perpetrator clumsily tried to tease apart the velcro flaps holding closed the front pocket of my cargo pants. after a verbal confrontation and an intense stare-down - liberally sprinkling my english tirade with the word "gendarmes" , just in case - kate and i quit the plaza and, with a paranoid look or two over our shoulders, hoofed it back to our hotel in the ville nouvelle.
after dark the place is filled with performers and storytellers - but watch your wallet!
extend beyond the expiration of our walk-in 3-month tourist visas. after investigating the visa extension process (possible, but we'd be constrained to staying in one place during the extension period) we decided to get entirely new entry visas by taking a quickie trip to spain. this technique, crossing the frontier by land at one of spain's north african enclaves, staying a day, and then coming back across the moroccan border, was reported by other travellers to work - at least most of the time.
the view out our train window of the unknown territory east of fes.
the train left, and continued to run, right on time, and we shared our 1st class compartment - the differences from 2nd appearing mostly cosmetic - with only one other passenger. initially, the flat geography glimpsed from the window was not particularly compelling, the most notable aspect being the relatively rapid change from the dry landscape surrounding marrakech to the verdant green of cultivated fields as we neared the coast at casablanca. what was more interesting as we continued through rabat, meknes and fes, was seeing landscapes and landmarks we'd passed on the bikes from the new perspective of a speeding train, and feeling a sense of familiarity - unjustifed, really - that we were re-encountering trusty, well-trod territory. after fes, however, we were in a previously unseen region and until the sun finally set we payed much closer attention as the train continued east towards oujda, past lakes and rivers and through a long valley increasingly wedged between the rif mountains to the north and the trailing end of the middle atlas to the south.
one of the labyrinthine passageways through melilla's old portuguese walled city.
caravansarai that grew and thrived for centuries on trade with nearby algeria - that is, until the border was closed in 1995. still, relying as it does today on an economic base of zinc mining, it seemed fairly propsperous and cosmopolitan, relative at least to our preconceptions of a north african frontier city. though arriving in a strange city after dark can be problematic, with the help of a policeman we easily found our way on foot from the station to the cheap and cheerful hotel angad, kate's choice picked from the lonely planet. after breakfast in the morning we hoofed it down to the bus station with one eye on the threatening weather, but with no delay we caught the 25dh bus to nador, a 3 hour ride that put us in position for the final 15km taxi shuttle to the seaside town of beni enzar that actually shares the border crossing with melilla.
this small spanish enclave is surrounded by the mediteranean on one side and morocco's rif mountains on the others.
no-mans-land between moroccan and spanish checkpoints. though we and the few other european tourists stood out from the larger majorty of moroccans at the crossing, the exit procedures were relatively perfunctory, consisting of a form and a few questions concerning our next destination and culminating in the loud thwap of the exit stamp hitting our passports. and even though we'd been concerned that it's technically illegal to export dirhams, there was no currency check at the border and we walked through with the small amount of moroccan cash that we were keeping for the sake of convenience on our return. strangely, no one on the spanish side even looked remotely in our direction as we pushed through the swinging gate - less scrutiny than we'd had crossing back into spain from gibraltar, though we probably would have been checked again boarding the malaga ferry - and found ourselves deposited once again back on european soil.
melilla has quite a number of 30's-era deco buildings designed in the spirit of barcelona's antonio gaudi.
modern highrise that houses the local government offices, the sleek new ferry terminal, some period architectural edifices like the plaza de toros as well as various 30's-era buildings in created in a fanciful, gaudi-esque deco style. positioned above it all we saw the melilla la vieja, the original fortified town built on a high coastal promontory and occupied by one armed force or another since the times of the phoenicians.
the immaculately kept parks and gardens in melilla spain were a real change from morocco.
all aboard the marrakech express!
the state oncf agency operates the trains in morocco to nearly european standards.
due to board the city bus back to the frontier, the rain squalls blew themselves out and we were treated to glorious panoramic vistas of the city and the sun-drenched mediteranean.
our return trip back to oujda and marrakech was an uneventful reversal of our original journey to melilla, with our re-entry papers carefully but cheerfully scrutinized and approved by the english-speaking moroccan border agent. an added wrinkle to the trip was that we had booked 1st-class "cc/lit" tickets on the late-departing train running overnight from oujda to marrakech, which to our pleasant surprise entitled us to a private sleeping compartment with two bunks, individual reading lamps and a fold-out washbasin - too fun! we figured this was about as close to the fabled "marrakech express" as we were going to get, even though we did have to make an early-morning train change in casablanca.
we were pleasantly surprised to find we'd booked a private sleeping compartment for the trip back to marrakech.
scouring of the lonely planet - as well as some liberal tea-leaf reading - to try and figure out what we were getting ourselves in for with our anticipated attempt on the tizi n'tichka, the highest paved pass over the high atlas mountains.


text:
We hope that all of you had a great time and celebrated the end of the year with your families and friends. While this period is often associated with delicious food, the long break has left many of us hungry for some epic eSports matches. Fortunately, our hunger is about to be satiated, as the Wargaming.net League will finally restart on 12 January, at 19:00 CET. For now, let’s start 2016 with some appetizers. Knäckebröd will be perfect for that - they are one of the revelations of the Wargaming.net League Season 2, 2015-2016.
These guys are not made of wheat.
One teaspoon of pure skill, three teaspoons of hard work, a pinch of serious commitment and one half-litre of strategic thinking. You mix them all together, put them 10 minutes in a pre-heated map like Prokhorovka and they will do wonders. The toppings can vary, but Knäckebröd is notably delicious with a STB-1 or an Obj. 140.
Matej "Crux" Koleják Captain. 72% winrate, 3600 WN8.
"Hello. I am Matej "crux" Koleják and the team captain of Knäckebröd. I have been playing World of Tanks since closed beta and the Wargaming.net League since its first season with the team Dragonborns (Odem Mortis) and later Kazna Kru. With this experience, I wanted to create my own team, taking the best from these teams and adding something I believed they were missing. As "Tarantula_xD" had the same idea, we decided to create the team together.
We were a little bit surprised with our initial success in the Gold Series, but we are also confident in our abilities, so we are looking foward, with great expectations. We have a great team spirit and despite not being the most consistent team, we find ways to overcome our difficulties. We have many different (and sometimes challenging) personalities, but when push comes to shove, we always pull together."
"I joined my first ESL team, "Vae Victis", after having played almost only random battles for a year and a half in spring 2014. At the beginning I was just a substitute, but that changed once we started playing in the Silver Series where I got to show my strengths. After over a year of playing together, I left the team with many other now Wargaming.net League players. After a few months without tournaments I joined Knäckebröd. We started in the Bronze Series, qualified for the Silver Series, and got to Gold via the relegation brackets in our first season as a team. Besides playing World of Tanks, I like skiing and watching American Football."
"I was always more of a team player than a lone wolf, even before World of Tanks. Coming from a background of competitive games - although I never played on a professional level - I quickly became interested in the team-oriented side of the game. Back then that was primarily Tank Companies. Later I took part in various competitions, like Clan Wars, Team Battles, Stronghold, WG Tournaments – and at some point ESL.
From the second Clan Wars campaign on I was also very active as a Field Commander, and in the spring of 2015 I became the Commander of clan IDEAL. In Knäckebröd I am responsible for developing tactics and making calls in-game.
In everyday life I'm a student of philosophy. When I'm not playing tanks, I like to build and fly RC model aircraft.
If you are new to Field Commanding you can check out my FC-Academy on the official World of Tanks forum!"
"Before I started playing World of Tanks in May 2011, I mainly played games like Warcraft 3 and Counterstrike 1.6, never in a high level league like the ESL Pro Series, but always with high ambitions. Even though I had already played in some World of Tanks ESL teams, my transition to the WGL EU wasn’t planned, it just happened spontaneously – It’s already a great experience.
Besides being a player for Knäckebröd, I also try to be active on social media, doing graphics and keeping it up to date. In “real life”, I'm a mechanical engineer who loves to ride motorbikes and mountainbikes, especially on racetracks!"
Coming straight from the Silver Series, these tough crackers made an astonishing appearance in their first Season in Gold, devouring Penta, Ding, Utopia and Rusty Roster with a gluttonous appetite! Their only defeat so far was against Kazna Kru, and even then, it was a close call (3-5). Their performance can be explained, in part, by the presence of some experienced players amongst them, but not only. Their success is really a combination of talent and hard work.
At the beginning of the season, our publication raised the question: “Are they Champion material?”. While it’s still too early to say for certain, with your support, they may just be on the way to prove it.
versus Wombats on Tanks: 14 January at 22:00 CET.
versus Out of Range: 21 January at 20:30 CET.
versus Tornado Rox: 26 January at 19:00 CET.

lowercased:
we hope that all of you had a great time and celebrated the end of the year with your families and friends. while this period is often associated with delicious food, the long break has left many of us hungry for some epic esports matches. fortunately, our hunger is about to be satiated, as the wargaming.net league will finally restart on 12 january, at 19:00 cet. for now, let’s start 2016 with some appetizers. knäckebröd will be perfect for that - they are one of the revelations of the wargaming.net league season 2, 2015-2016.
these guys are not made of wheat.
one teaspoon of pure skill, three teaspoons of hard work, a pinch of serious commitment and one half-litre of strategic thinking. you mix them all together, put them 10 minutes in a pre-heated map like prokhorovka and they will do wonders. the toppings can vary, but knäckebröd is notably delicious with a stb-1 or an obj. 140.
matej "crux" koleják captain. 72% winrate, 3600 wn8.
"hello. i am matej "crux" koleják and the team captain of knäckebröd. i have been playing world of tanks since closed beta and the wargaming.net league since its first season with the team dragonborns (odem mortis) and later kazna kru. with this experience, i wanted to create my own team, taking the best from these teams and adding something i believed they were missing. as "tarantula_xd" had the same idea, we decided to create the team together.
we were a little bit surprised with our initial success in the gold series, but we are also confident in our abilities, so we are looking foward, with great expectations. we have a great team spirit and despite not being the most consistent team, we find ways to overcome our difficulties. we have many different (and sometimes challenging) personalities, but when push comes to shove, we always pull together."
"i joined my first esl team, "vae victis", after having played almost only random battles for a year and a half in spring 2014. at the beginning i was just a substitute, but that changed once we started playing in the silver series where i got to show my strengths. after over a year of playing together, i left the team with many other now wargaming.net league players. after a few months without tournaments i joined knäckebröd. we started in the bronze series, qualified for the silver series, and got to gold via the relegation brackets in our first season as a team. besides playing world of tanks, i like skiing and watching american football."
"i was always more of a team player than a lone wolf, even before world of tanks. coming from a background of competitive games - although i never played on a professional level - i quickly became interested in the team-oriented side of the game. back then that was primarily tank companies. later i took part in various competitions, like clan wars, team battles, stronghold, wg tournaments – and at some point esl.
from the second clan wars campaign on i was also very active as a field commander, and in the spring of 2015 i became the commander of clan ideal. in knäckebröd i am responsible for developing tactics and making calls in-game.
in everyday life i'm a student of philosophy. when i'm not playing tanks, i like to build and fly rc model aircraft.
if you are new to field commanding you can check out my fc-academy on the official world of tanks forum!"
"before i started playing world of tanks in may 2011, i mainly played games like warcraft 3 and counterstrike 1.6, never in a high level league like the esl pro series, but always with high ambitions. even though i had already played in some world of tanks esl teams, my transition to the wgl eu wasn’t planned, it just happened spontaneously – it’s already a great experience.
besides being a player for knäckebröd, i also try to be active on social media, doing graphics and keeping it up to date. in “real life”, i'm a mechanical engineer who loves to ride motorbikes and mountainbikes, especially on racetracks!"
coming straight from the silver series, these tough crackers made an astonishing appearance in their first season in gold, devouring penta, ding, utopia and rusty roster with a gluttonous appetite! their only defeat so far was against kazna kru, and even then, it was a close call (3-5). their performance can be explained, in part, by the presence of some experienced players amongst them, but not only. their success is really a combination of talent and hard work.
at the beginning of the season, our publication raised the question: “are they champion material?”. while it’s still too early to say for certain, with your support, they may just be on the way to prove it.
versus wombats on tanks: 14 january at 22:00 cet.
versus out of range: 21 january at 20:30 cet.
versus tornado rox: 26 january at 19:00 cet.