The Director of St. Herman's House in Cleveland is Paul Finley. Paul tells about the work of providing shelter for homeless men in the inner city of Cleveland and also about an opportunity to hear Fr. Thomas Hopko on Novevmber 4. More information is available HERE.

Fr. Joe Allen joins us from the Antiochian convention in Boston to talk about the 35th anniversary of the Antiochian House of Studies and the new Coptic module.

Bobby Maddex interviews Laura Paulus, the Executive Director and Housemother at the Martha and Mary Maternity House in Niles, Illinois.

Israel has damaged more buildings in two weeks than in a year of fighting with Hezbollah. / BBC News

A brief history of Hezbollah, Israel, and Lebanon. / Vox

China cracks down on "uncivilized" puns that people use to get around censorship controls. / The Guardian

One of the foremost American experts on fascism comes around to applying "this most toxic of labels" to Trumpism. / The New York Times Magazine [+]

An argument for making an "emotional hedge bet" on the presidential election—among 27 observations from a political insider. / Matt's Five Points

For Millennials, "wealth may have gone up, but if that's mostly housing wealth, then that's not actually making people better off." / The Washington post

Housing prisoners in "containment cages" for days—standing-room only, with no toilet or sink—is a widespread and unchecked practice in Texas. / Slate

In the past 40 years, the number of catastrophic injuries sustained by cheerleaders is greater than those sustained by female athletes playing all other high school and college sports combined. / The New York Times Magazine [+]

As of 2022, only about six percent of the nation's doctors identified as Black and only seven percent as Hispanic. / The Atlantic

What is the trendy recreational drug "pink cocaine?" A grab bag of different drugs dyed pink that often doesn't include cocaine. / The Associated Press

A "fruit detective" studies old paintings for produce we no longer eat. / Smithsonian Magazine

Photographs by Lars Tunbjörk of corporate worklife in the 1990s. / Lars Tunbjörk

"I don't have to tell you that posting on the internet is a weird thing to do." Lessons learned from a 90-day course taught by a TikTok influencer. / Defector

Watch: A carpenter fires his nail gun in time to a band performing next door. / Kottke

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Fr. Pat reflects upon the meaning of these words that Jesus said to Zacchaeus, considering where God abides, what it means, and who is our best model of one who lives with the understanding of these things.

Fr. Pat looks at the story of the paralytic in Matthew 9 from three literary perspectives.

Sandy Duthie from Aberdeenshire is now the lighthouse keeper on Gabo Island, in Victoria

Sandy Duthie's "dream job" involves solitude, a 160-year history, and a colony of little penguins.

Engineers were shocked to find the message deep inside the wall of a lighthouse in the south of Scotland.

Offers have been made for a site which inspired JM Barrie but a timeline for any sale is uncertain.

Emergency services were called to the blaze on Tuesday evening.

A near neighbour told the BBC his own house had been damaged by gunfire in recent years.

A deal has been agreed for the Darlington store to stay open.

The car lodged itself in the side of the building on Sunday, but no-one was injured in the crash.

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the blaze in Middleton, Greater Manchester.

Zara and Giuliano from Reading designed and built their dream home with no experience.

People are being urged to start getting ready for flooding now.

Singer Catherine Lawless features in a film about agoraphobia, showing at Headfest in Bedford.

Chris Curtis, the Labour MP for Milton Keynes North, says it is "is neither safe nor appropriate".

House that has been empty for 12 years will be community-owned and rented out to local family.

The average home cost £581,000 at the end of September - down from £651,000 a year earlier.

Despite the increase, the lender warns mortgage costs could remain "higher for longer" following the Budget.

Mayor of London says increasing access to affordable housing is vital to the city's economic growth

Former PM Gordon Brown hopes the Tees Valley Multibank will help "put a smile on every child's face".

A new webcomic about domestic incompetence

The post Household Problems appeared first on Dave Walker.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) encompassing computer and network hardware and software, and so on, as well as various services and applications associated with them, are assuming a growing presence within the modern homestead and have an indelible impact on the professional and everyday life of people. This research aims to explore factors influencing the successful adoption and usage of ICTs within Polish households. Based on prior literature and practical experiences, a framework of success factors is provided. The required data was collected from a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of Polish households to examine this framework and identifies which factors are of greatest importance for the adoption and usage of ICTs within households in Poland. Based on 751 questionnaires the paper indicates that the adoption of ICTs within households is mainly influenced by the economic status of households and cost of ICTs, perceived economic benefits from the usage of ICTs, technological availability and security of ICTs, ICT competences and awareness, as well as satisfaction with the adoption of ICTs. Furthermore, gender, education, and place of residence do not reflect significant differences on the factors. Yet, there are significant differences among the factors that could be attributed to age. Both, policy makers and ICT providers can benefit from the findings with regard to bridging the gap of ICT adoption and use in the Polish households.

Aim/Purpose: The first goal is to develop a decision support system for pricing and production amounts for a firm facing high levels of product returns. The second goal is to improve the management of the product returns process. Background: This study was conducted at a food importer and manufacturer in Israel facing a very high rate of product returns, much of which is eventually discarded. The firm’s products are commonly considered to be a low-cost generic alternative and are therefore popular among low-income families. Methodology: A decision support module was added to the plant’s business information system. The module is based on a supply chain pricing model and uses the sales data to infer future demand’s distribution. Ergonomic models were used to improve the design of the returns warehouse and the handling of the returns. Contribution: The decision support system allows to improve the plant’s pricing and quantity planning. Consequently, it reduced the size of product returns. The new design of the returns process is expected to improve worker’s productivity, reduces losses and results in safer outcomes. This study also demonstrates a successful integration and of a theoretical economical model into an information system. Findings: The results show the promise of incorporating pricing supply chain models into informing systems to achieve a practical business task. We were able to construct actual demand distributions from the data and offer actual pricing recommendations that reduce the number of returns while increasing potential profits. We were able to identify key deficiencies in the returns operations and added a module to the decisions support system that improves the returns management and links it with the sales and pricing modules. Finally, we produced a better warehouse design that supports efficient and ergonomic product returns handling. Recommendations for Practitioners: This work can be replicated for different suppliers, manufacturers and retailers that suffer from product returns. They will benefit from the reduction in returns, as well as the decrease in the losses associated with these returns. Recommendation for Researchers: It is worthwhile to research whether decision support systems can be applied to other aspects of the organizations’ operations. Impact on Society: Product returns is a lose-lose situation for producers, retailers and customers. Moreover, mismanagement of these returns is harmful for the environment and may result in the case of foods, in health hazards. Reducing returns and improving the handling improves sustainability and is beneficial for society. Future Research: The decision support system’s underlying pricing model assumes a specific business setting. This can be extended using other pricing models and applying them in a similar fashion to the current application.

Dylan Thomas, 24, admits the manslaughter of William Bush on Christmas Eve but denies murder.

LaToya claimed self-defense, but Manassas, Virginia Prosecutor D. Burke Walker had other ideas and charged the woman with second-degree murder.

GEORGE TOWN: Three local men, active in firearms smuggling, house break-ins, and luxury vehicle thefts that resulted in losses exceeding RM4 million, were shot dead during a shootout at Jalan Changkat-Pulau Burung, Nibong Tebal, earlier today.

Penang police chief Datuk Hamzah Ahmad said that at 5.30 am, a team from the Penang Criminal Investigation Department (JSJ) and Seberang Perai Selatan (SPS) district police were conducting a crime prevention operation when they noticed two suspicious vehicles in the area.

“The police approached the two vehicles, a Honda Accord and a Perodua Myvi, which were acting suspiciously. Upon identifying themselves as police officers, the suspects suddenly fired several shots at our vehicles.

“The police team then returned fire in self-defence, and the three men, aged between 30 and 42, were found dead at the scene,“ he said in a press conference at the Penang Police Headquarters today.

He added that a search at the scene revealed a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, a box of Master bullets containing 50 rounds of 9mm Luger A USA ammunition, a box of 9mm Luger D62 ammunition containing 44 rounds, two machetes, a crowbar, a sledgehammer, and various other tools used in vehicle theft.

Hamzah said checks revealed that the Honda Accord used by the suspects was a stolen vehicle, which had been reported missing in Seri Kembangan, Selangor.

He added that during the incident, the suspects were believed to be on their way to commit a robbery at a location they had already identified, which was not far from the site of the shootout.

“Initial investigations found that the three men were actively involved in luxury vehicle and 4x4 vehicle thefts, as well as house break-ins across the state since the start of this year.

“Their modus operandi was to target luxury homes, break in, and steal valuables, while the stolen vehicles would be smuggled into neighbouring countries and sold,“ he said, adding that the firearms used by the suspects were also smuggled from abroad.

He explained that none of the suspects had regular employment. The first suspect, aged 42, who was the gang leader, had 35 prior criminal offences and eight drug-related convictions; the second suspect had six previous drug-related offences, while the third suspect had no identification, and all three were believed to be criminal associates.

“With the elimination of these three criminals, police believe they have successfully solved 33 cases of vehicle theft, robbery, and house break-ins that have occurred in Penang since the beginning of this year,“ he said.

The House of Representatives saw quite a toned-down but more gutsy version of former President Rodrigo Duterte as he refrained from swearing at the House probe into his bloody anti-narcotics campaign.

Trackhouse Aprilia has announced the retention of its rider Raul Fernandez for the next two MotoGP seasons.

The post Raul Fernandez Secures Two-Year MotoGP Extension at Trackhouse Aprilia appeared first on BikeSport News.

In the initial six months, Khurshid’s relatively inexperienced government faced some tough challenges.

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Performers dressed as zombies practice their performance before boarding a "Zombie Shinkansen" bullet train bound for Osaka from Tokyo, inspired by the South Korean movie 'Train to Busan', ahead of the Halloween season, in Tokyo, Japan October 19, 2024. — Reuters

It's usually a serene...

So far in the adventure camp theme we've seen two Friends with their cosy cabins, another pair working on their archery skills, and yet another pair working on their artistry and kayaking skills. All the sets came with a cute Friends animal.

Now it's time to take a look at the largest set in the adventure camp, 42631 Adventure Camp Tree House. I suspect we're going to meet the other three Friends here, and I expect more animals. (The sloths may make an appearance or two, as this is where they spent their summer vacation.)

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