gh

A Small-Business Guide to Facebook Insights

Facebook is more than just status updates and photo albums -- it's a major marketing tool for businesses. However, if you don't know how to use it properly and take advantage of all it has to offer, you might as well not use it at all.

From engaging customers to entertaining them, Facebook Insights provides some of the best tips and tools for boosting your business. To start, Facebook Insights will tell you information about your customer base, such as the type of people who follow you, where they are located, how old they are and more. Another important area that Facebook Insights covers is your competition. Using the tool, you can track their posts and engagement in order to get ideas for your own business.

complete article




gh

5 Highly Effective Negotiation Tactics Anyone Can Use

Want to be a better negotiator? Here are some simple tips.

1. Listen more than you talk.
It is easy to go into a negotiation focused only on what you'll say, especially when you are nervous.

The goal of a negotiation is not just to get what you want, but also to help the other side get what they want. (Otherwise, how will you ever strike a deal?) To do that, you need to actually know what the other side wants -- which means you have to listen.

Finding common ground means knowing common ground exists.

complete article




gh

Supreme Courts internet sales tax ruling may be a nightmare for small businesses

In the wake of yesterdays Supreme Court ruling, e-commerce companies are understandably both concerned and uncertain of their future. The 5-4 verdict overruled a 1992 precedent set by the case Quill v. North Dakota that only addressed mail-order businesses at the time, but it became a powerful legal bedrock for the e-commerce industry. It let companies without a robust physical infrastructure thrive during and after the dot-com boom by exempting purchases from sales tax, so long as the seller did not have a physical operation in the state where the customer resided. Now, following the court’s decision, states can start charging sales tax on internet purchases even when a retailer has no physical presence in that state.

A number of retailers, from Amazon to Etsy to Overstock.com, may be impacted. It is not necessarily because those corporations have been skirting sales tax collection, but some enable thousands of third-party sellers to do so, largely thanks to Quill v. North Dakota. In fact, Amazon, which last year started collecting sales tax in all 45 states that require it by law, may have a substantial amount of work to do to help its Amazon Marketplace sellers stay compliant.

complete article




gh

CEO Insights: 5 Essential Bits of Advice for Every Entrepreneur

How did life lead you to entrepreneurship?

I have been in the technology industry for 25 years. I am a business-facing technologist, which basically means I have a background in finance and business. However, I stumbled into being a software engineer early on in my career. This resulted in a passion for data and solution creativity.After hitting the 20-year mark of working for enterprise-size organizations, I decided I needed a change. I experienced some life-threatening health challenges--all while taking care of my two sons with their own unique needs. A culmination of it all really made me stop and reflect on what I really wanted to do on a daily basis and the people I do it with.

complete article




gh

How To Start Your Small Business On The Right Financial Foot

Every year, more than 400,000 entrepreneurs launch small businesses in the United States, many driven by the desire for ownership and independence. Local mom-and-pop shops, online services, food trucks — the skys the limit.

But taking on a new business is a lot of work and risk. According to the Small Business Association, over 20% of new small businesses fail during the first year of operation.

complete article




gh

Collecting on Your Invoices Does Not Need to Be a Nightmare: 3 Tips for Getting Paid

Eleni Gianopulos spent more than 15 years selling her handmade sugar cookies to a famous gourmet grocery chain. Then Dean & DeLuca stopped paying its bills. By January 2018, Gianopulos, founder and owner of New York City-based bakery Elenis Cookies, realized that she might never be paid for $86,000 worth of 2017 custom holiday orders.

complete article




gh

If You Say Yes to Any of These 6 Questions, Your Emotional Intelligence May Be Higher Than Most People

The World Economic Forum recently uncovered something that would not have registered on the radar screen of most HR leaders even ten years ago.

One of the top 10 job skills required for workers to thrive--a skill projected to trend in the year 2022--is emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence (EQ) has embedded itself in the business lexicon as a force to be reckoned with; it is by far one of the most desired qualities for personal and professional development.

Managers are hiring workers with more right-brained skills like EQ because they know these people contribute to the workplace on a relational and interpersonal level that is unmatched.

complete article




gh

2020 brings higher labor costs for small businesses

As of Jan. 1, there are higher minimum wages in a quarter of the states, and new federal overtime rules. The IRS has new W-4 forms owners will need to get used to. Plastic bags are on their way out at stores and other businesses in a growing number of places around the country. And California has new laws on freelancers and consumer privacy that can affect out-of-state companies.

A look at a handful of the 2020 changes in federal, state and local laws and regulations:

complete article




gh

Your Sleep Habits Need a Spring Reset. Try These 5 Tips Tonight

Chances are good, few habits need more of an overhaul right now than your sleep routine. You probably picked up a few bad sleep habits during the cold, dark winter and any additional stress you're facing is helping the situation, says Brown University associate professor and medical doctor Katherine Sharkey.

complete article




gh

5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Prepare for the Post-Coronavirus Business World

Social distancing. Telemedicine. Self-quarantine. These are all words that at the start of 2020 weren't part of our vocabulary, but several months into the new decade we are all hearing and using them daily. There is no denying that the coronavirus outbreak has dramatically changed just about every facet of just about every person’s life around the world.

From a business perspective, the stock market saw its largest one day loss and largest one day gain in history. The U.S. saw the largest job-loss report ever. We are in uncharted waters, and how long we will remain in them remains uncertain. However, there is one thing that we all know, and that is that this outbreak will change the lives of everyone for years or decades to come. Nearly 20 years after 9-11, enhanced airport security, no-fly lists and counterterrorism efforts are still the norm. The same will be true of the COVID-19 aftermath. Is your business ready for the five largest macro trends we are about to see?

1. The rise of enhanced websites and digital tools
2. Cybersecurity concerns take center stage
3. An increase in virtual meetings
4. Increased control in expenses
5. Even more remote employees




gh

How SCORE Is Helping Small Businesses Through Their Resilience Hub

One of the most important organizations that has always helped small businesses is SCORE with its 300 chapters and over 10,000 volunteers. They are there to offer help when entrepreneurs want it. Now during the pandemic, their free assistance is needed more than ever.

SCORE has established a special Resilience Hub to let small business owners connect with a mentor and help them navigate to specific COVID resources, discounts, grants, training materials and guides for industries. This site includes how to access a network where people can learn from each other.




gh

3 Promising Industries for Starting a Business Right Now

Entrepreneurs have seized the opportunity to start new companies in a wide variety of industries during the Covid-19 pandemic. While not all of these ventures will be successful, businesses that help alleviate some of the new challenges created by the pandemic are poised for long-term growth. Here are three industries that hold promising opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to start new businesses.

1. Contactless Tech
2. Telehealth
3. Education Tech




gh

What You Can Do Right Now to Make 2021 Your Best Tax Year Ever

Traditional tax planning is transactional and, honestly, not nearly as beneficial as one might think. You ask your taxes preparer questions and figure out what to do in the spur of the moment. Creating a long-term plan of action for your taxes is how to create real savings, but it takes months to create an effective plan. Now is the time for business owners and investors to be planning to reap the rewards for the rest of 2020 and into 2021.

Analyze income
Many accountants suggest pushing income to a later year. There are a few different factors to consider when deciding whether to do this. First, is your income so low you lose deductions? Many personal deductions don’t carry over to the next year. Rather than taking deductions now, you may want to accelerate your income to make use of all your deductions. Another factor to consider is the next year’s tax rates. There’s a real chance that income tax rates could increase in 2021, so the best plan would be to accelerate your income into 2020 to avoid paying at a higher rate.




gh

12 Resources and Communities Entrepreneurs Should Follow for Industry Insight and Tips

Staying tuned in to the pulse of your industry is key to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Public groups, online forums and the like are among the most valuable resources for gathering and contributing industry information. But if someone is looking for in-depth insight into their business niche, locating the right groups where this discussion occurs is the first step. T




gh

Cancer-Fighting Foods: Resveratrol, Green Tea, and More

Title: Cancer-Fighting Foods: Resveratrol, Green Tea, and More
Category: Slideshows
Created: 5/19/2010 3:06:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM




gh

Ugh... (Updated)

Chinese food in my neighborhood isn't particularly good. For some reason I decided to brave a local establishment, putting my...




gh

American Idol, Men's Night

Except for McGehee, you all come here for American Idol updates, don't you? Or, perhaps, to mock me for my...




gh

An Acceptance, in rough times

Last night, starting at at 1:00 in the morning, my time, was the Nebula Awards ceremony, held by the SFWA, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first award they gave out was the Ray Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and it meant the world that it went to episode 3 of Good Omens, "Hard Times".

Exactly one year ago, Good Omens was released to the world, on Amazon's Prime Video service. Thirty years ago this month, Good Omens was published as a novel. It seems amazing that it still has so much life, and still feels so relevant to people's own lives. Especially now.

Here's the complete list of all the nominees and of the awards given out at the Nebulas last night. Congratulations to everyone nominated!

The entire proceedings existed in virtual space, via the magic of Zoom and other technological things.
This is what it looked like on my screen, just before we went live...


Here is the speech I gave. I wore a hat, because, even though Terry Pratchett loved pointing out that he was a hat person and I wasn't, not really, I thought it would have amused him.

I didn't intend to write the television adaptation of Good Omens. I did it because as he knew his own immeasurable light was dimming, Terry Pratchett wrote to me, telling me I had to do it. That no-one else had the passion for the “old girl” that the two of us had. And I was the one of us who had to make it happen, so he could see it before the lights went out.

I'm used to dealing with the problems of fictional people.  Now I found myself dealing with much harder problems, of real people and immutable budgets.  But I was even more determined to make something Terry would have been proud of. And I was part of an amazing team – Douglas Mackinnon, our director, Rob Wilkins, Chris Sussman and Simon Winstone and the folk from BBC Studios, the Amazon Studios team, and above us all the cast and the crew, who united and went over and above what anyone asked of them to tell, together, a kind of love story about protecting the world, about an angel who isn't as angelic as he ought to be, and a demon who likes people. And for them, I want to thank Michael Sheen and David Tennant.

Terry and I had written a book about averting the end of the world, about the power of not going to war, about an armageddon that didn't have to happen.

When I was a boy, I was told that there was a curse, “May you live in interesting times”. And that made me sad, because I wanted to live in interesting times. I thought I did.

And now, we are all of us living in Interesting Times. The Horsepeople are riding out, as they have ridden so many times before, and the world still needs saving – from plague, from racism, from foolishness and selfishness and pain. It says in Good Omens that we have to save ourselves, because nobody else is going to sort it out for us. And we do. 

It feels almost indecent to be accepting an award while so many people are hurting, but thank you, from me and from Douglas, who took the words and made them so brilliantly come to life. This is for Terry Pratchett.

You can watch the whole ceremony at: 


or at this YouTube link:
  


(The Good Omens bit starts around 22:30)






gh

A New Year's Thoughts, and the old ones gathered.

It's 2021 in some places already, creeping around the planet. Pretty soon it will have reached Hawaii, and it'll be 2021 everywhere, and 2020 will be done.

Well, that was a year. Kind of a year, anyway.

When my Cousin Helen and her two sisters reached a displaced persons camp at the end of WW2, having survived the Holocaust by luck and bravery and the skin of their teeth, they had no documents, and the people who gave them their papers suggested to them that they put down their ages as five years younger than they were, because the Nazis had stolen five years from them, and this was their only chance to take it back. They didn't count the war years as part of their life.

I could almost do that with 2020. Just not count it as one of the years of my life. But I'd hate to throw the magic out with the bathwater: there were good things, some of them amazing, in with the awful.

The hardest moments, in retrospect, were the deaths, of friends or of family, because they simply happened. I'd hear about them, by text or by phone, and then they'd be in the past. Funerals I would have flown a long way to be at didn't happen and nobody went anywhere: the goodbyes and the mutual support,  the hugs and the tears and the trading stories about the deceased, none of that occurred.

The hardest moments personally were walking further into the darkness than I'd ever walked before, and knowing that I was alone, and that I had no option but to get through it all, a day at a time, or an hour at a time, or a minute at a time.

The best moments were moments of friendship, most of them from very far away, and a slow appreciation of land and sky and space and time. In February 2020 I'd been regretting that I knew where I would be and what I would be doing every day for the next three years. Now I'd been forced to embrace chaos and unpredictability, while at the same time, learning to appreciate the slow day to day transition that happens when you stay in the same place as the seasons change. I was seeing a different sunset every night.  I hadn't managed to be in the same place, or even the same country, for nine months since... well, probably when I was writing American Gods in 2000. And now I was, most definitely, in one place.

I had conversations with people I treasure. Some of them were over Zoom and were recorded. Here are the two conversations that I felt I learned the most from, and I put them up here because they may also teach you something or give you comfort. The first is a conversation with Nuclear Physicist and author Carlo Rovelli, moderated by Erica Wagner, about art and science, literature and life and death:




The second was organised by the University of Kent. It's called Contemporary Portraiture and the Medieval Imagination: An Artist in Conversation with Her Sitters, and it's about art, I think, but it's a conversation between former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and artist Lorna May Wadsworth and me, moderated by Dr Emily Guerry, that goes to so many places. I think it's a conversation about portraits, but it feels like it addresses so much along the way.


Each of the conversations is about an hour long, and, as I say, I learned so much from both of them.

At the end of April, on Skye, I had ordered a telescope, and then discovered that "astronomical twilight" -- when it's dark enough to see stars -- wasn't due until the end of July. The sun didn't set until ten or ten thirty.  And even once the sun had set, it didn't get dark. It would be late August before I saw a sky filled with stars.

My daughter Maddy came to stay with me for November, and was amused by my reaction to the things that now fascinated me: stones, especially ones that people had moved hundred or thousands of years ago, skies and clouds, and, finally in the long, cold Skye Winter nights, I had the stars I had missed in the summer. There's no streetlights where I live, no lights for many miles. It can get as dark in the winter as it was light all night in the summer. But then you look up...





(All these photos were taken on a Pixel 5 phone in Astrophotography mode. It knew what it was doing.)


I wouldn't want to give back the stars, or the sunsets, or the stones, in order not to count 2020 as a real year. I wouldn't give back the deaths, either: each life was precious, and every friend or family member lost diminishes us all. But each of the deaths made me realise how much I cared for someone, how interconnected our lives are. Each of the deaths made me grieve, and I knew that I was joined in my grieving by so many other humans, people I knew and people I didn't, who had lost someone they cared about. 

I'd swap out the walk into the dark, but then, there's nobody in 2020 who hasn't been hurt by something in it. Our stories may be unique to us, but none of us is unique in our misery or our pain. 

If there was a lesson that I took from 2020, it's that this whole thing -- civilisation, people, the world -- is even more fragile than I had dreamed. And that each of us is going to get through it by being part of something bigger than we are. We're part of humanity. We've been around for a few million years -- our particular species has been here for at least two hundred thousand years. We're really smart, and capable of getting ourselves out of trouble. And we're really thoughtless and able to get ourselves into trouble that we may not be able to get ourselves out of. We can tease out patterns from huge complicated pictures, and we can imagine patterns where there is only randomness and accident.

And here, let's gather together all the New Year's Messages I've ever written on this site:

This is from 2014:


May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.


...I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.


And for this year, my wish for each of us is small and very simple.

And it's this.

I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes.

Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.

So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Make your mistakes, next year and forever.

And here, from 2012 the last wish I posted, terrified but trying to be brave, from backstage at a concert:

It's a New Year and with it comes a fresh opportunity to shape our world. 


So this is my wish, a wish for me as much as it is a wish for you: in the world to come, let us be brave – let us walk into the dark without fear, and step into the unknown with smiles on our faces, even if we're faking them. 

And whatever happens to us, whatever we make, whatever we learn, let us take joy in it. We can find joy in the world if it's joy we're looking for, we can take joy in the act of creation. 

So that is my wish for you, and for me. Bravery and joy.

...


Be kind to yourself in the year ahead. 

Remember to forgive yourself, and to forgive others. It's too easy to be outraged these days, so much harder to change things, to reach out, to understand.

Try to make your time matter: minutes and hours and days and weeks can blow away like dead leaves, with nothing to show but time you spent not quite ever doing things, or time you spent waiting to begin.

Meet new people and talk to them. Make new things and show them to people who might enjoy them. 

Hug too much. Smile too much. And, when you can, love.

Last year, sick and alone on a New Year's Eve in Melbourne, I wrote:

I hope in the year to come you won't burn. And I hope you won't freeze. I hope you and your family will be safe, and walk freely in the world and that the place you live, if you have one, will  be there when you get back. I hope that, for all of us, in the year ahead, kindness will prevail and that gentleness and humanity and forgiveness will be there for us if and when we need them.

And may your New Year be happy, and may you be happy in it.

I hope you make something in the year to come you've always dreamed of making, and didn't know if you could or not. But I bet you can. And I'm sure you will.

...


For this year... I hope we all get to walk freely in the world once more. To see our loved ones, and hold them once again.

I hope the year ahead is kind to us, and that we will be kind to each other, even if the year isn't. 

Small acts of generosity, of speech, of reaching out, can mean more to those receiving them than the people doing them can ever know. Do what you can. Receive the kindnesses of others with grace.

Hold on. Hang on, by the skin of your teeth if you have to. Make art -- or whatever you make -- if you can make it. But if all you can manage is to get out of bed in the morning, then do that and be proud of what you've managed, not frustrated by what you haven't.

Remember, you aren't alone, no matter how much it feels like it some times.

And never forget that, sometimes, it's only when it gets really dark that we can see the stars.

  






gh

For Two Nights Only: A Christmas Carol

Thirteen years ago, I put on a Victorian Suit and a false beard and I read Dickens' prompt copy of A Christmas Carol at New York Public Library. It was a wonderful, sold out performance, introduced by Molly Oldfield, who told us all about Dickens's reading routine.


I looked a bit like this.


And the book looked a bit like this.



The reading of A Christmas Carol has become the most popular of the NYPL's audio downloads, and they repost it regularly. Here's the one from 2019:
https://www.nypl.org/blog/2019/12/19/listen-neil-gaiman-reads-christmas-carol

For years people have been asking if I was ever going to do it again. This year, back while the writers of the WGA were on strike, my assistant Rachael asked if I'd do it, and if I did, could she document it? I said yes, and it's becoming a thing.




It's going to be a Christmas Extravaganza, with carol singers and suchlike, signed books for sale and all sorts of goodies planned. I'm hoping we can get Molly Oldfield over to New York to introduce it once again.

When I was a boy, I saw Welsh actor Emlyn Williams being Charles Dickens on stage, a one man show I've never forgotten.

Here's the town Hall page for the 18th: https://thetownhall.org/event/neil-gaiman-performs-a-christmas-carol-12-18

Here's the page for the 19th: https://thetownhall.org/event/neil-gaiman-performs-a-christmas-carol-12-19

The ticket presale starts on Thursday Nov 2nd at 12 pm, and regular tickets go on sale on Friday at 10:00 am.




gh

The Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting Market is LED by Europe, as per Maximize Market Research.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 30, 2024 ) Growing vehicle manufacturing is driving the need for enhanced lighting systems worldwide. Increased visibility during nighttime decreases accidents, prompting more stringent regulations and greater consumer demand for these safety systems. Adaptive headlights are...




gh

Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting Market was is expected to grow $6.55 Bn by 2030, as per Maximize Market Research.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, October 31, 2024 ) Automotive Adaptive Front Lighting Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 27.8% throughout the forecast period, to reach US$ 6.55 Bn. by 2030 The global automotive adaptive front lighting market is on the rise, driven by increasing safety concerns and consumer...




gh

The Cloud High Performance Computing Market Set for Rapid Growth as Demand Surges, as per Maximize Market Research.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 01, 2024 ) The global Cloud High Performance Computing (HPC) market is poised for significant expansion, driven by growing demands in industries such as healthcare, finance, and automotive. Cloud HPC enables businesses to perform complex computations and simulations faster...




gh

Europe Wireless Headphones Market Expands as Demand for High-Quality Audio and Mobility Grows, as per Maximize Market Research.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 01, 2024 ) The Europe Wireless Headphones market is experiencing substantial growth, driven by rising consumer preference for high-quality audio and seamless mobility. With advancements in noise-canceling technology, battery life, and Bluetooth connectivity, wireless headphones...




gh

Market Research Insight: India's Drone Market on a High-Flying Growth Trajectory

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 12, 2024 ) The India Drone Market is witnessing a remarkable surge, with a projected growth from USD 654 million in 2024 to USD 1,437 million by 2029, driven by an impressive CAGR of 17.0%. This growth trajectory indicates a transformative shift in the adoption and application...




gh

***** Prime Aviation Services : Flight Permissions | Aviation ... (rank 6)

PAS is one of the leading Aviation management company. We provide one stop solution for all type of flight services globally




gh

***** Reena Singh - Customer Service Manager - Prime Aviation ... (rank 30)

Reena Singh. Customer Service Manager at Prime Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. Location South West Delhi, Delhi, India Industry Airlines/Aviation




gh

***** CRIANZA AVIATION | Crianza Aviation is a high-value ... (rank 25)

Crianza Aviation is a high-value aircraft lessor and asset manager for widebody aircraft, providing customized lease and fleet solutions to prime airlines.




gh

***** Home | Primeflight (rank 10)

PrimeFlight Aviation Services provides air carriers and airports with a wide range of aircraft, passenger and security services to ensure the safe and reliable operation of their aircraft and the comfort of their passengers. Our team is focused on safety, quality and providing a positive customer experience through all services offered. We strive to be a leading provider of aviation services ...




gh

***** Prime Jet Services - Private Jet Charter Flights (rank 2)

5000+ Aircraft. Anywhere, Anytime, at the best price. Prime Jet Services is the leading worldwide Aircraft Charter provider. Booking your Private Jet Charter Flight with us is easy and takes only few minutes. Our travel consultants are available 24/7 to look after of every aspects of your flight.




gh

***** Highlands and Islands Airports Limited – Highlands and Islands Airports ... (rank 16)

Highland and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) is a public corporation wholly owned by the Scottish Ministers. The company operates and manages 11 Airports at Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Islay, Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick. HIAL’s airports are vital to the social and economic welfare of the areas they serve, but are loss making, and are supported by ...




gh

***** Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) verification Aviation, Airports ... (rank 21)

Verifavia. Verifavia, part of the Normec Group, is a worldwide independent environmental accredited verification, certification and auditing body for aviation, airports and maritime transport. In particular, Verifavia performs independent emissions verification audits for ICAO's CORSIA, EU ETS , UK ETS , Swiss ETS and ACA to aircraft operators ...




gh

***** Durban Aviation Services Ltd | Crowborough | Patricia Jane Wood - BizSeek (rank 23)

Patricia Jane Wood is the primary contact at Durban Aviation Services Ltd. You can contact Durban Aviation Services Ltd by phone using number 01892 610200. Durban Aviation Services Ltd ... Prime Aviation 15.78 km Saint Hill Rd, East Grinstead RH19 4NG, United Kingdom Airlines. Charter A 18.06 km 6 Copthorne Road, Felbridge, EAST GRINSTEAD, RH19 2NS




gh

North side of Crystal Pier is my latest habit. I’ve gotten applause for a ride once. Been hooked on my flippers by a fisherman twice. Been told I was thought to be a seal once. That’s so far this year. Different years, different adventures.

from Instagram https://instagr.am/p/DB48I-gSloZ/ via IFTTT




gh

We saved the daylight, now we’re giving it back.

from Instagram https://instagr.am/p/DB7zGKyJ0FA/ via IFTTT




gh

Whooping cough vaccine does not prevent disease - it causes more severe outbreaks

This is a reasoned argument by Joanna (Why I Don't Vaccinate My Children) posted on Erwin Alber's VINE facebook page which was started in 2009, to help parents make an informed choice on behalf of their children. Image credit topnews.ae Joanna responds (below) to a lady who published an article saying that unvaccinated children are the cause of recent increased pertussis (whooping cough) outbreaks in areas where vaccination is actively pursued......




gh

Superstring cultists--tough luck

At the conjunction of this critique of reductionism in physics and this interview with Benoit Mandelbrot I think one sees the same basic dynamic at work: a devaluation of simplicity and generalization in math and science, what I suppose Mandelbrot might call “smoothness,” and a preference for the complex and the multifarious. To some extent this seems to cut against the basic scientific impulse to simplify, to generalize, which is what a law or an equation generally does. In Laughlin I think there is even a certain disillusionment with realism perhaps not totally dissimilar from that in the analysis of language by dear friend Wittgenstein. Although, by encouraging investigation of the specifics and intricacies of phenomena which seem to be superficially covered by the most general and basic laws and to give up idle speculation about the far nether regions of the universe in space and time which cannot in any way be corroborated, he seems to be trying to bring physics back into the solid world of relative certainties and reasonable evidence, it seems to me that this is a tacit admission that the theories which seem to cover and explain adequately all phenomena except for those extreme edges are in actuality insufficient to represent the richness of even the most mundane levels of reality.

Just as in the case of the over-heated discoveries of Wittgeinstein and Cambridge group, this sudden realization that the broad and universal physical laws established and the abstract shapes used to represent them don’t really reflect the full multiplicity of reality seems a little phony to me. I mean, isn’t that the entire point? Isn’t that abstractness and simplicity supposed to yoke all of that complexity within a reasonable level of comprehensibility sufficient to possibly predict other phenomena, or at least relate them to what we have already seen? Now maybe we see a revision in the valuation of these ideals, and in both Laughlin and Mandelbrot a movement away from final solutions, formulations and summations. Seemingly nothing out-of-the-ordinary about that, but if one ceases to regard oneself as capturing the essence of a phenomenon in an equation or image describing it, then that necessarily leads to a re-evaluation of the type of work one is doing and the standard by which it is judged. Let’s put it this way: although there are many rules which often govern both the form and content of a form (some, granted, quite idiosyncratic and individual), it would be quite ludicrous to suggest that a listing of those rules would be an adequate reflection or description of the poem, let alone itself be a poem, or equivalent to the poem.

Philosophically, I’m not troubled by this as many scientists seem to be. Despite the many declarations that Newton had discovered the very mechanism by which God controlled the universe, he himself complained famously that he felt like a dilettante on the shoreline picking up stones and shells that amused him while neglecting the vast ocean before him. This seems unnecessary if one regards theorems as essentially creations, not mirrors of nature, and hence judge the cathedral of scientific knowledge by its height above the ground rather than as an incomplete ladder to the heavens.




gh

Der alltägliche Terror an unseren Flughäfen

Wo Vorschriften als ebenso belastend wie sinnlos empfunden werden, neigen manche Normadressaten zu wenig kooperativem Verhalten, wie heute im




gh

Win10 BrightnessSlider 1.8.11 (Freeware)

Win10 BrightnessSlider adds a Monitor Brightness icon to on Taskbar Tray that lets you adjust the brightness of your monitor(s) with a simple slider. If you use multiple monito....




gh

Duration/Term of Copyright

In the case of original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, the duration of copyright is the lifetime of the author or artist, and 60 years counted from the year following the death of the author.

In the case of cinematograph films, sound recordings, photographs, posthumous publications, anonymous and pseudonymous publications, works of government and works of international organizations are protected for a period of 60 years which is counted from the year following the date of publication.

www.mondaq.com




gh

Parsley Sound, "Twilight Mushrooms"

A bit of an oddity for their label, Mo Wax, Parsley Sound was, at their most effective, a bit of dreamy indie-pop coming from a downtempo production approach. Sweet and gentle, a little twee, heavily filtered and electrified, despite pursuing a color palette that's au naturel, creaky, sun-bleached.

Perhaps this is what would've happened if Lemon Jelly had gotten Elliott Smith in the studio.




gh

Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Fourth Season

Rent It

Well, I guess I had to see it to believe it. After reviewing Time-Life's set of Laugh-In's third season, where all 26 episodes were affected by a serious mastering error, I didn't think the problem would have carried over to any of the other sets. In this set of the fourth season with 26 more episodes from the show's 1970-71 season, ONE episode (#22) seems to have come out right but the remaining 25 are still afflicted. I'll talk more about that in the quality section, but first a bit about the show itself:

Dan Rowan and Dick Martin still haven't let up by this point, continuing the show's mostly anarchic format that filled an hour-long slot each week when network TV...Read the entire review




gh

The Twilight Zone : Season One

Recommended

The Movie:

Rod Serling's efforts on the original The Twilight Zone is, in a word, legendary and it remains, decades since it debuted, an incredibly influential body of work. The series was revived in the second half of the eighties and then again in the early two thousands an in April of 2019, Jordon Peele, Simon Kinberg and Marco Ramirez brough the popular anthology series back, albeit this time to CBS's streaming platform, CBS All Access. Peele not only serves as one of the show's executive producers, but also as the host and narrator, just as Serling did in the original run.

Paramount has now compiled the ten episodes that make up the first season and brought them to DVD. Here's a quick rundown of the episodes, which we'll keep reasonably vague in order to avoid spoilers.

The Comedian: Samir Wassan (Kumail Nanjiani) is struggling to get his standup comedy ca...Read the entire review




gh

Gunsmoke: The Complete Eighteenth Season

Highly Recommended

(Note: Reviews of Gunsmoke: The Eighteenth Season and Gunsmoke: The Nineteenth Season are identical. In preparing them I watched at episodes and the extras from both sets.)


Nearing home plate, CBS/Paramount's Eighteenth and Nineteenth of 20 season sets of Gunsmoke (1955-1975) nearly finishes off the classic series. Many wondered if the label would complete the series before the DVD format went kaput, so their determination to see it through deserves our gratitude.

I've been reviewing Gunsmoke sets since the First Season was released in July 2007. The program was so prolific, upwards of 40 episodes per season in its early days, it's been impossible to watch everything in broadcast order. As new sets have been released, I typically watch 7-8 representative episodes then return to where I left off which, at present, is still Gunsmoke during its b...Read the entire review




gh

Twas the Night Before Christmas by Lobotomy Boy

It's Christmas and Lobotomy Boy has a special version of "The Night Before Christmas" for everyone!

Enjoy this special Holiday Edition of Bedtime Stories My Kids Love.



MP3 File - Click Here to Download Podcast




GREAT DEALS FOR LISTENERS! CLICK BELOW
!


Save 10% on all your pet's needs at PetMeds.com
Up to 20% off on great athletic gear at Eastbay.com
Save 15% on your favorite stuff at Footlocker.com
Save 20% on your flower order with FTD Fluerop.com
Save $10 off your next order from PetCareRX.com





gh

Alexa echoes through our home (Thanks Amazon)

When Amazon announced the Echo, I immediately requested access to purchase one. I read some skeptical blog posts about it, but had high hopes. We received ours back in December and since then it has become increasingly useful.

I will not list out everything we love about "Alexa", but I wanted to highlight one thing we do that has proven helpful. We have one iPad to share among the entire family and that can be problematic with 7 children. My wife came up with the idea of having the kids set a 20 minute timer on Alexa each time they begin using the ipad. It is simple and has changed our lives. The constant questions, "Mommy, can I have the ipad now," stopped immediately. And the amount of time on the iPad for each child was reduced without parental intervention.

Children are happier when they know their boundaries. This makes parents happier too. Alexa was just the tool we needed to reduce the amount of time kids were spending on the ipad and to ensure everyone has a turn.

The kids have also had their eyes opened to how easy it is to stay on the ipad for a really long time without noticing. It's a win all across the board. Thanks to Amazon and "Alexa". And thanks to my wife for the ingenious idea.




gh

High Court rules Work Capability Assessment arguably unlawful

This is a press release from earlier this year about the judicial review that is due to be heard at the Royal Courts Of Justice on the 15th, 16th and 18th of January 2013. Lets pray it goes in our favour as it will open the floodgates for legal action over the WCA if it does. 

Thursday, July 26, 2012

The High Court has today granted permission to two disabled people to bring a claim for
judicial review against the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions to challenge the
operation of the Work Capability Assessment (WCA).
WCAs are face to face interviews carried out by healthcare professionals (HCPs)
employed by Atos Healthcare (a private contractor), to assess disabled people’s
entitlement to Employment and Support Allowance (a sickness benefit that has replaced
the old Incapacity Benefit). Each existing recipient of Incapacity Benefit is now being
assessed for eligibility for ESA, at the rate of some 11,000 people per week. WCAs have
been the subject of serious criticism by all relevant stakeholders in civil society including
doctors and NGOs working on behalf of disabled people.
The present case concerns some of the problems with the system as experienced by
people with mental health problems. Although medically trained, Atos HCPs typically
have very limited knowledge of mental health. The interviews are often hurried, and rely
on applicants to explain the limitations on their ability to work.
This is a serious problem for people with mental health conditions who lack insight into
their conditions, whose conditions fluctuate in seriousness, or who cannot easily talk
about their disability. Such people are placed at a substantial disadvantage in navigating
the system. Even if they appreciate the need to get expert medical evidence for
themselves, they are often less able to navigate the system successfully and to obtain
the medical report that they need. The Equality Act 2010 requires the DWP to make
reasonable adjustments to avoid such disadvantage.
The reasonable adjustment to the process that the claimants seek is for medical
evidence to be sought by the Atos HCP and the DWP at the very outset of the claim.
This would ensure that very sick people for whom having to go through a WCA would be
extremely distressing are exempted from the process, and for those that do attend a
WCA, the assessment of fitness to work takes place in the correct medical context, so
that dangers associated with forcing people back to work are correctly identified.
At present, the DWP do not routinely ask for expert medical report from an applicant’s
community-based doctor. The judge has held that it is arguable that this failure is a
breach of the duty to make reasonable adjustments, and is therefore unlawful.
In granting permission to apply for judicial review, the judge stated:
“I consider that it is reasonably arguable that the reasonable adjustments
required by the [Equality Act 2010] include the early obtaining of independent
medical evidence where the documents submitted with the claim show that the
claimant suffers from mental health problems and that this has not been done, or
at least not done on a sufficiently widespread basis”.
The claimants, known as MM and DM, were granted anonymity by the court. Their
solicitor, Ravi Low-Beer of the Public Law Project said:
“The present system results in many thousands of unnecessary appeals at great
public expense, with a high success rate. What is not counted is the cost in
human misery for those people who should never have had to go through the
appeals process in the first place. This could be avoided if doctors were involved
in the assessments at the outset. The Government’s policy of by-passing doctors
is inefficient, unfair, and inhumane. We gain heart from the court’s finding that as
a matter of law, it is arguable that something has to change.”
For further information contact Ravi Low-Beer on
r.lowbeer@publiclawproject.org.uk/0845 543 5944
or Adrian Lukes on
a.lukes@publiclawproject.org.uk/0845 543 5946.
Public Law Project (PLP)
PLP is an independent, national legal charity which aims to improve access to justice for
those whose access is restricted by poverty, discrimination or other similar barriers. To
fulfil its objectives PLP undertakes research, policy initiatives, casework and training
across the range of public law remedies.
For more information on our work, events and publications: www.publiclawproject.org.uk




gh

New Release - Land for Sale in Solihull, Birmingham

A rare and desirable opportunity to purchase a block of strategic land just 8 miles from Birmingham City Centre. Totalling over 14 acres the land is available freehold as a whole or lots, with strong investment potential.




gh

New Release - Land for Sale in Buckinghamshire, Water End

Just one lot of lush grazing land for sale in Buckinghamshire, one of the most affluent counties in the UK. The land measures approx 2.5 acres and with superb access, would be ideal for paddock conversion.




gh

Right Here Baby... HNT

This weeks HNT offering might not have the exact meaning that first comes to your mind.
You may interpret it as saying... "aim that thing right here baby" or " yes that's right, I swallow... interested?" But trust me, you would be dead wrong, ( at least at the moment that is.)
No, what it does say is " I bit my fucking tongue this afternoon and the damned thing is still swollen and it hurts."
My dear hubby finds the photo's erotic... which is all fine and good as long as he realizes that blow jobs are out of the question for a couple of days...
Click the button to learn about HNT