What lettuce comes to your mind, when I say the word lettuce? Go on, take a minute. If you thought Iceberg lettuce, you aren’t alone. Iceberg is (or used to be) the defacto standard when it comes lettuce.  Iceberg lettuce has its crunch but if you look beyond the crunch, nutrient values that is, you will […]

TDS vs EC meter – Which one to buy? If you are a beginner in Hydroponics, it is certain, at some point, you would have had this question in your mind. Should I buy an EC meter or a TDS meter? While the users are split on which one is better, it is good to […]

Understanding pH in Hydroponics Hydroponics is all about precision. The health of the plants in your growing system depends on various factors – design of your system, crop selection, key parameters such as pH, EC, temperature, humidity among others. These parameters have a range in which they need to be kept in order to get […]

WeeTect announces its new generation of photochromic visor inserts.

Cashyourcaruae is an instant car buyer introduced in UAE. Service is absolutely commotion free and company buy cars of all makes and models and provides customers with an ideal deal in less than 30 minutes.

In exciting news, Hydro dipping experts TSAUTOP Hydrographics recently announced they have broken into the European market closing a large deal in Lissoneo, Italy.

The new location offers extra convenience for customers to sell cars in Dubai.

In August 2007, the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis, MN, collapsed, killing 13 and injuring 145 others. Investigations following the tragedy revealed that it could have been prevented. The grave reality is that it is a tragedy that threatens to be repeated at many of the thousands of bridges located across the nation.

In Too Big To Fall: America's Failing Infrastructure And The Way Forward (New York: Foster, 2010), author Barry LePatner chronicles the problems that led to the I-35W catastrophe — poor bridge design,shoddy maintenance, ignored expert repair recommendations, and misallocated funding — and digs through the National Transportation Safety Board’s report on the tragedy, which failed to present the full story.

From there LePatner evaluates what the I-35W Bridge collapse means for the country as a whole — outlining the possibility of a nationwide infrastructure breakdown.

He exposes government failure on a national as well as state level, explains why we must maintain an effective infrastructure system — including how it plays a central role in supporting both our nation’s economic strength and our national security — and rounds out the book by providing his own well-researched solutions.

Too Big to Fall presents an eye-opening critique of a bureaucratic system that has allowed political best interests to trump those of the American people. It contains special comments by James Oberstar, the outgoing Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure.

Cities are the engines of the economic growth and the foundation of our prosperity. But what will become of them as our world gets hotter?

In Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive In The Hotter Future (New York: Basic, 2010), Matthew Kahn, one of the world's foremost experts on the economics of the environment and of cities, argues that our future lies in our ability to adapt. Cities and regions will slowly transform as we change our behaviors and our surroundings in response to the changing climate. Kahn - professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, the UCLA School of Public Affairs' Department of Public Policy, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research - shows us how this will happen.

The author is optimistic about the quality of our lives in the cities of the future, despite a high chance of less hospitable climate conditions than we face today. At the heart of his conviction in a bright future is our individual freedom of choice. This personal freedom will reveal pathways that will greatly help urbanites cope with climate change.

Taking the reader on a tour of the world's cities - from New York to Los Angeles, Beijing to Mumbai - Kahn's clear-eyed, engaging, and optomistic messages presents a positive yet realistic picture of what our urban future will look like.

An entire chapter is devoted to Los Angeles, including sub-sections titled "Los Angeles Has A Subway?" and "Could Public Transit Become Hip In Los Angeles?"

The recent selection of a route alignment for the Westside Subway Extension, as well as the release of the Wilshire Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit final environmental impact report started us thinking about something we read aways back regarding Wilshire Boulevard.

It was in Kevin Roderick's Wilshire Boulevard: Grand Concourse Of Los Angeles (Santa Monica: Angel City Press, 2005). The author briefly mentions (on page 20):

"New subdivisions around the periphery of Los Angeles were not unusual in the mid-1890s, but the Wilshires had grander ambitions. Across the center of their land, they promised to grade a generous, one-hundred-twenty-foot-wide graveled boulevard.

It would stretch just four blocks between the two parks, but the brothers believed that even a short stub of remarkable avenue would attract lot buyers.

To spur sales, they lobbied to encircle the tract with special streetcar lines, but insisted that the city council forbid the laying of tracks - forever - on their boulevard."

Forbid the laying of tracks?

Forever?

Really?

We had to determine if this had actually been codified, and turned to the City of Los Angeles Municipal Code to investigate.

Sure enough, we discovered in SEC. 62.129. PUBLIC BOULEVARDS - USE OF:

That the following regulations shall apply to those certain streets in this City, known as Wilshire Boulevard, from Park View Avenue to the west City limits; Adams Street from Grand Avenue to Hoover Street; Boyle Avenue from Whittier Boulevard to First Street; Alvarado Street from Seventh Street to Hoover Street; and Occidental Boulevard from First Street to Sixth Street; which have been heretofore dedicated as open, public boulevards:

(a) No railroad or pipe line franchise shall ever be granted, and no railroad track or pipe line shall ever be laid or constructed, except water pipes, sewers, gas mains and conduits for telephone and electric wires, for service of the property fronting on said boulevards and house connections and connections of water, sewers, and gas pipe lines, or conduits for telephone and electric wires on intersecting streets.

The early developers of Wilshire were successful in banishing rail lines from the Boulevard forever. Despite having the greatest urban rail system in the world in its heyday, no streetcars ever rumbled down Los Angeles' grandest street.

This 1925 Kelker DeLeuw City/County Comprehensive Rapid Transit Plan Urban Map shows nothing on Wilshire - cross-town streetcars were designated for Pico Boulevard, 3rd Street, and Hollywood Boulevard.

A 1938 Los Angeles Railway map depicts cross-town streetcars on several east-west lines: 3rd Street (R), 10th Street / Olympic Boulevard (L), Pico "Street" (P), Washington Boulevard (W), and Jefferson Boulevard (J). Only motor coaches served Wilshire Boulevard.

Wilshire still became the city's grandest boulevard despite its lack of "rapid transit" - or perhaps because of it - and Rodericks' book is a fascinating account of Los Angeles' iconic boulevard and how one street can influence such a large city.

We can't know how the street or city would have developed had streetcars run along it, but Wilshire Boulevard never got stuck with overhead transit either.

We might be thankful we didn't end up with a Wilshire monorail, as one proposal depicted the intersection of Wilshire & Fairfax here.

Meanwhile, this Saturday marks the annual Great Los Angeles Walk, which goes back to its roots this year.

The day-long trek will take participants 15.6 miles along the entire length of Wilshire Boulevard, from Pershing Square downtown to its west end at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica.

The L.A. Conservancy has a wonderful interactive website that helps visitors create their own customized tours of Wilshire Boulevard's past and present.

ONE ROQ Vodka, ONEROQClub.com, Raises $1M from 2500+ investors to expand industry-first brand experience and membership platform

As we break in our brand-new studio, our Xbox crew discusses why Square seems to have had a change of plans with regard to an Xbox release of Final Fantasy VII Remake. Plus: the director of Halo Reach has a new first-person shooter, The Division 2's director contemplates a single-player spinoff, Gears 5 says no to smoking, and more!

Microsoft has revealed the full tech specs for Xbox Series X and we are pumped. We discuss the ingredients of the next-gen Xbox that have us the most hyped for the new console, from Xbox Velocity Architecture to raytracing. P.S. Please bear with us on our first-ever remote-location episode!

In today’s connected and digital business world, more and more companies are relying on service providers to help achieve their business objectives. Because of this, SOC (System and Organization Control for Service Organizations) reports are gaining more importance. SOC reports… Read More

The post SOC Reports: What Are They and Why Do They Matter to My Business? appeared first on Anders CPAs.

How far we are from achieving Artificial General Intelligence? We answer this through the study of three limitations of current machine learning.

The book Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments: A Practical Guide to A/B Testing by Ron Kohavi (Microsoft, Airbnb), Diane Tang (Google) and Ya Xu (LinkedIn) is available for purchase, with the authors proceeds from the book being donated to charity.

Check out this comprehensive guide to model optimization techniques.

Smoking is one of the dangerous habits our society is addicted to. It breaks my heart to see people who have successfully quit smoking, return to it. Their excuse is usually as flimsy as unbearable work stress or mid-life crisis. Well, how does smoking help you combat those problems, I wonder? Allow me to offer compelling reasons on why you should quit smoking.

The post Why You Should Quit Smoking? appeared first on Perfect Skin Care for you.

As usual, my dilemma for finding the perfect moisturizer has not yet solved. So, after using the hyaluronic acid serum (Marine Hyaluronics) from The Ordinary, this is my second hyaluronic acid serum and I was and was completely unsure of what to expect. The best part is I am writing the review almost a month […]

The post Dot & Key Water Drench Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum Concentrate appeared first on Perfect Skin Care for you.

The eye cream concentrate is very creamy and perfect for the eye area, especially if you have dry skin. The product will last you quite long since you need only a drop for each eye. It smells really nice without being over-powering and it hydrates the under-eye area pretty well. I also observed that it was not too rich for my under eye area and I did not suffer from any milia seeds or breakouts.

The post Dot & Key Hydration Range appeared first on Perfect Skin Care for you.

Tammy Erickson, McKinsey Award-winning author.

Bill Taylor, cofounder of Fast Company magazine.

Sydney Finkelstein, Tuck School of Business professor and author of "Why Smart Executives Fail: And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes."

Matthew Dixon, managing director of the Corporate Executive Board's Sales and Service Practice.

Dr. Oliver Sacks, neurologist and author of "The Mind's Eye."

Larry Kramer, founder of MarketWatch, Inc., and author of "C-Scape: Conquer the Forces Changing Business Today."

Dan McGinn and Scott Berinato, HBR editors.

Shawn Achor, CEO of Aspirant and author of "The Happiness Advantage."

Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef and host of the Travel Channel's "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations."

Stefano Puntoni, professor at the Rotterdam School of Management and author of the HBR article "The Color Pink Is Bad for Fighting Breast Cancer."

Charles Duhigg, reporter for The New York Times and author of "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business."

James Allworth, regular contributor to HBR and coauthor of the Nieman Reports article "Breaking News: Mastering the Art of Disruptive Innovation in Journalism."

Tim Sullivan, editorial director of Harvard Business Review Press and coauthor of "The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office."

Daniel Pink, author of "To Sell Is Human" and the HBR article "A Radical Prescription for Sales."

Michael Raynor, director at Deloitte Services LP and coauthor of the HBR article "Three Rules for Making a Company Truly Great."

Scott Barry Kaufman, adjunct assistant professor of psychology at New York University and author of "Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined."

Dan McGinn, HBR senior editor.

John Jullens of Booz & Company says multinationals from China and other emerging markets must learn to innovate and manage quality while remaining nimble.

Sandy Pentland, MIT professor, on how big data is revealing the science behind how we work together, based on his book "Social Physics: How Good Ideas Spread."

Herminia Ibarra, author of "Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader" and professor at INSEAD, on moving forward, even when it's not comfortable.

Erin Reid of Boston University on why men (but not women) feign long working hours.

Mary Shapiro, author of the "HBR Guide to Leading Teams" and professor at Simmons, on dealing with conflict and other issues.

Dorie Clark, author of "Stand Out," on having more influence.

Joan C. Williams, distinguished professor and director of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings, discusses the white working class voters who helped elect Republican Donald Trump as U.S. President, and why Democrat Hillary Clinton did not connect with them.

Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff, professors at Harvard Business School, spell out an overlooked career path: buying a business and running it as CEO. Purchasing a small company lets you become your own boss and reap financial rewards without the risks of founding a start-up. Still, there are things you need to know. Ruback and Yudkoff are the authors of the “HBR Guide to Buying a Small Business.”

Joan C. Williams, director of the Center for WorkLife Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, discusses serious misconceptions that the U.S. managerial and professional elite in the United States have about the so-called working class. Many people conflate "working class" with "poor"--but the working class is, in fact, the elusive, purportedly disappearing middle class. Williams argues that economic mobility has declined, and explains why suggestions like “they should move to where the jobs are” or "they should just go to college" are insufficient. She has some ideas for policy makers to create more and meaningful jobs for this demographic, an influential voting bloc. Williams is the author of the new book, “White Working Class: Overcoming Class Cluelessness in America.”

Mihir Desai, professor at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, argues for re-humanizing finance. He says the practice of finance, with increasing quantification, has lost touch with its foundations. But he says finance can be principled, ethical, even life-affirming. And demonizing it or ignoring it means that the rest of us – those not in finance – risk misunderstanding it, which has all kinds of implications for how we make decisions and plan for our futures. Desai is the author of the new book, "The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return." He also writes about finance and the economy for hbr.org.

Sue Ashford, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, breaks down her decades of research on leadership—who achieves it, and how a group grants it. She explains that the world isn’t divided into leaders and followers. Instead, it’s a state that everyone can reach, whether they’re officially in charge or not. She also explains why shared leadership benefits a team and organization. Ashford offers tips on how to effectively grow leadership in yourself and your employees.

Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, a senior adviser at the global executive search firm Egon Zehnder, makes the case for finding a company’s next CEO inside the firm. But to find the best contenders, organizations have to learn what to look for, how to find it, and how to nurture it. Fernández-Aráoz is the co-author of the new HBR article “Turning Potential into Success: The Missing Link in Leadership Development.”

Sydney Finkelstein, a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, encourages leaders to approach their direct reports like teachers. As Finkelstein explains, being a teacher-leader means continually meeting face to face with employees to communicate lessons about professionalism, points of craft, and life. He says it’s easy to try and that teaching is one of the best ways to motivate people and improve their performance. Finkelstein is the author of “The Best Leaders Are Great Teachers” in the January–February 2018 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Dominic Barton, the global managing partner of McKinsey&Company, discusses the firm’s sustainability efforts. He talks about the wake-up call he got about sustainability and how he tries to convince CEOs hesitant to make it part of their business model that doing so will improve company performance. He says he sees companies thinking about the environment. “But the speed and scale of what we need to do — I don’t think it’s sufficient.”