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Power up your Magento 2 store with subscriptions, auto-shipments, and recurring billing.
Other Extensions by ParadoxLabs, inc.
Every business wants dependable revenue. Adaptive Subscriptions is a way to achieve that. You already have a product or service in mind: Product subscriptions. Autoshipments. Automatic recurring billing. You just need a way to make it work. That's where we come in. Subscriptions give your customers what they want, and give you dependable revenue and brand loyalty. The best customer is one that keeps coming back. Subscriptions help you ensure that.
We've been dealing with subscriptions since the early days of Magento. This extension is the result of all of that expertise, plus years of careful development and improvements. This is a proven, highly powerful, highly flexible subscriptions solution--the best.
This is not a service. There are no ongoing costs. If you buy a license, it's yours, along with lifetime free updates.
Have a recurring revenue model in mind? Adaptive Subscriptions can probably handle it. And if it isn't supported out-of-box, get in touch with us and we'll help you figure out what's involved. We're always looking for ways to make our products better. We stand by our work.
Our subscriptions are just normal products. You can buy any number of subscriptions and regular products at once, with any combination of intervals.
All shipping methods are supported. Shipping costs are recalculated for every installment, guaranteeing accurate rates. If a shipping method becomes unavailable, each subscription will automatically switch to the next best option.
Every item becomes a separate subscription and can be modified and canceled separately. If a customer has multiple subscriptions on the same day, they'll be combined into a single order, saving you shipping costs and overhead.
Guests can purchase subscriptions with no hassle. They'll be auto-registered during checkout.
All standard Magento checkouts and most third-party checkout solutions are compatible.
Customers can choose subscription frequency from product options. Every 30 days? Every 90 days? One time only? Make it their choice. Or don't: You can also make single-interval products that are automatically subscriptions.
Subscriptions can run for a limited number of installments, or forever. You can choose whether customers are allowed to cancel.
You have complete control over when subscriptions bill. Normally all subscriptions are billed automatically by an hourly scheduled task. But you can turn that off and run subscriptions from the command line, or by manually selecting individual subscriptions to bill from the admin grid. Want to bill subscriptions when you're ready to process them? You can do that. Want to run one ahead of schedule for a customer? You can do that too.
You can also set blackout dates, days, or even whole months. Installments will only be scheduled on days allowed by configuration. You can run your subscriptions on the 1st and 15th of the month, or only on weekdays. Or skip holidays. Or your birthday (you deserve it). All it takes is a setting.
Adaptive Subscriptions also supports $0.00 ordering with most payment methods. Every subscription installment creates a new order. Payment is immediately authorized or captured using the payment data on file. The payment method and card can be changed after purchase (subject to payment method support).
If a subscription fails because of invalid payment information, the customer will be emailed asking them to update their payment info and reactivate the subscription. As soon as a failed subscription is reactivated, it'll return to its normal schedule.
You can define custom pricing for each subscription option on a product. You can also discount the first installment or charge a setup fee, using an adjustment price.
You can give customers a discount for subscribing to a product.
You can create cart price rules and promotions based on whether the customer is buying a subscription, what interval they chose, and what installment it is!
Coupons apply to the first installment only. Any price rules or custom subscription pricing takes effect when items are added to the cart.
All prices support Magento currency conversion, and all text can be translated.
Customers can manage their own subscriptions: They can view current info, change payment details and shipping address, and pause or cancel (if you let them). You can also notify the customer in advance of each installment, for each order, and for any payment errors that occur.
Admin grids let you view, search, sort, filter, and export your subscriptions, as well as reviewing every billing, error, and change that's occurred.
As an admin you can look up subscriptions by name, email, description, and order ID. Admins can change many details about a subscription, including the status, next installment date, frequency, description, length, payment account, shipping address, shipping method, and admin-only notes.
You can make any product type a subscription, including simple, virtual, configurable, downloadable, and bundle products. Some product types are subject to limitations. Please see the user manual for more info.
Every business is special. We hope this extension does everything you need, but if not, it should be easy to get it there.
Adaptive Subscriptions was carefully designed to be as extendable as possible. Under the hood, you'll find clean code and an architecture that makes it easy to change or even totally replace large parts of the default functionality.
This extension includes full Magento API support, with comprehensive documentation and additional technical info in the user manual.
Our source code is 100% unencoded (viewable source). When you purchase this extension, you get full access to view and modify it any way you need to (within the license terms).
ParadoxLabs is a proud Magento Solution Partner and member of ExtDN.org, the Extension Developers Network.
We pride ourselves on excellent support. Your purchase includes one year of complimentary extension support, plus free bug fixes and updates for the lifetime of this extension. If you find that it doesn't work as we intended in a standard installation, we'll help you fix that.
ParadoxLabs has been building and maintaining Magento payment solutions for years. Our extensions process over $2 billion dollars in transactions a year for thousands of stores like yours, and our support is top-notch.
Our staff are all located in the United States, with an office in downtown Lancaster, PA, open weekdays from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time. Have a question, or want to try it out? Give us a call at 717-431-3330, or email us at sales@paradoxlabs.com.
- Updated composer dependency versions for Magento 2.3.
- Fixed date-type custom options causing a checkout error when purchasing a subscription.
- Fixed subscription email currency handling under certain circumstances.
- Fixed subscription pricing overriding added custom option prices.
- Fixed template loading on composer installs.
- Added rebilling shipping method fallback (and a setting to disable). Consolidated logic into QuoteManager.
- Changed admin order comment to not be copied to rebilling orders.
- Changed admin subscription view to always recalculate shipping method options.
- Fixed Magento 2.2.6 compatibility issue breaking subscription product creation.
- Fixed 'no such address' errors on rebilling when customer address was deleted.
- Fixed child-product subscriptions not generating properly on purchase.
- Fixed double translation of subscription intervals in custom option labels.
- Fixed EE content staging issues with product ID handling.
- Fixed error on subscription save if existing payment card was deleted.
- Fixed inability to save admin subscription form if no shipping rates are collected.
- Fixed international date handling on admin subscription edit.
- Fixed possible 'ERROR: ' failures on rebilling for legacy subscriptions after upgrade.
- Fixed possible emulation nesting error.
- Fixed shipping rate handling with weight-based table rates on shipping address change.
- Fixed subscriptions not generating on multishipping checkout.
- Improved exception logging on rebilling error.
- Fixed bundled product/single-option subscription issue on product save.
- Fixed compatibility issue with 2.2 preventing guest subscription ordering.
- Fixed incorrect OrderCommand argument.
- Fixed possible error on bundle product save.
- Fixed possible VirtualType compilation errors.
- Fixed product delete observer.
- Fixed required indicator when phone number is set to not required.
- Fixed scope handling with admin shipping rate collection.
- Fixed single-option subscriptions with 'force custom option' enabled.
- Added guest checkout support (auto-registers customer if a subscription is purchased).
- Added pre-bill email notifications.
- Added Magento multi-currency conversion support.
- Added support for $0 checkout.
- Added support for offline payment methods (PO, COD, Check/MO, Free, etc.).
- Added subscription intervals grid to the product form, for more advanced configuration of subscription options.
- Added setting to change shipping method on admin subscription view/edit.
- Added shipping method fallback on generation. If order shipping method is unavailable, will switch to cheapest method available.
- Added scheduling customization (control billing days of week, days of month, months, and blackout dates).
- Added 'paradoxlabs_subscription_collect_totals_before' event on rebilling, between quote initialization and totals collection.
- Added 'Subscription Installment Number' condition option for promotion rules.
- Added a Notes field to admin subscription view/edit.
- Added ability to lookup subscriptions by subscription ID, customer name, customer email, description, and order IDs, via the admin subscription grid keyword search.
- Added ability to customize subscription option labels, type, and required, per-product.
- Added increment_id for subscriptions (distinct ID number from entity_id, separate per store like orders, managed via sales sequence).
- Added internal config to override default subscription custom option type (drop_down).
- Added internal config to override shipping method for subscriptions.
- Added store and subtotal to admin subscription view/edit.
- Added subscription grid columns 'last notified' and 'times billed'; added filtering to columns ID, description, name, email, item count, item qty.
- Changed limited-length text from 'Every N days for N days' to 'Every N days for M installments'. The installments term is configurable in settings.
- Changed some subscription product attributes to be available to bundle (and other custom) product types. Bundles will throw error if multiple intervals entered.
- Fixed 'No such entity.' errors on product save with MDVA-4499 / 2.1.10+ / 2.2+.
- Fixed admin grids paging.
- Fixed card matching for Vault methods on admin subscription view.
- Fixed changes to customer name or email not reflecting on subscriptions.
- Fixed error handling when a subscription-linked product no longer exists.
- Fixed inactive/deleted cards not showing as the active payment account on subscription edit.
- Fixed issues with shipping address matching and saving (thanks Scott).
- Fixed logging issues in Magento 2.2.
- Fixed stock handling on subscription rebilling. Will now fail and pause subscription if product is out of stock, as expected.
- Fixed subscription 'payment failed' emails to cover some Vault payment method exceptions.
- Fixed subscription log -> order linking issue in certain circumstances.
- Fixed subscription price handling with configurable product subscriptions.
- Fixed subscription tab showing up on admin customer creation.
- Improved codebase with substantial refactoring of config, helpers, and service models.
- Rebuilt custom option handling to eliminate option churn and improve translatability and flexibility.
- Removed checkout login/register requirement.
- Added getIncrementId(), setIncrementId(), getLastNotified(), setLastNotified() to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Api\Data\SubscriptionInterface.
- Changed param type of setMethodInstance() in ParadoxLabs\TokenBase\Api\Data\CardInterface.
- Moved subscription generation from event sales_order_place_after to sales_model_service_quote_submit_success.
- CONSTRUCTOR ARGUMENT CHANGES THROUGHOUT MODULE.
- Compatibility fixes for Magento 2.2.
- Improved API support, particularly for subscription create/update.
- Added 'bill' command to API.
- Added AdditionalInformation storage to Log models.
- Added ExtensionAttributes implementation to Subscription and Log models.
- Changed 'Always add custom option' setting default from 'Yes' to 'No'.
- Changed DI proxy argument handling for Magento 2.2 compatibility.
- Changed payment command classnames to fix PHP 7.1 compatibility.
- Fixed error on subscription view if payment card does not exist.
- Fixed possible address data mismatch after editing address book.
- Fixed possible PHP error from improper Address helper inheritance chain.
- Fixed possible static content deploy issues with template comments.
- Fixed REST API permissions handling.
- Fixed subscription price calculation handling of 'initial order adjustment'.
- Added bill(), billbyId() to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Api\SubscriptionRepositoryInterface.
- Added ExtensionAttributesFactory and AttributeValueFactory constructor arguments to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Model\Log.
- Added ExtensionAttributesFactory and AttributeValueFactory constructor arguments to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Model\Subscription.
- Added getId(), setId(), getSubscriptionId(), setSubscriptionId(), getOrderId(), setOrderId(), setCreatedAt(), getAdditionalInformation(), setAdditionalInformation(), getExtensionAttributes(), setExtensionAttributes() to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Api\Data\LogInterface.
- Added ProductMetadata constructor argument to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Model\Service\Subscription.
- Added Service\Subscription constructor argument to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Model\SubscriptionRepository.
- Added setId(), setCreatedat(), setUpdatedAt(), setLastRun(), setRunCount(), getExtensionAttributes(), setExtensionAttributes() to ParadoxLabs\Subscriptions\Api\Data\SubscriptionInterface.
- Changed argument type of ParadoxLabs\TokenBase\Api\Data\CardInterface::setExtensionAttributes().
- Changed paradoxlabs_stored_card 'address' and 'additional' fields from serialized to JSON.
- Changed Proxy constructor arguments throughout modules to inject Proxy via DI configuration.
- Removed Unserialize constructor argument from ParadoxLabs\TokenBase\Model\Card\Context.
- Set quote_payment.additional_information.is_subscription_generated=1 on initial subscription generation in addition to rebilling.
Added 'Bill Now' button to admin subscription view.
Added validation to Intervals product attribute.
Fixed 'no such entity' error on rebilling when customer has no default address.
Fixed button sorting on admin subscription view.
Fixed initialization of subscription AdditionalInfo.
Fixed Magento_Vault compatibility for Magento 2.1.3+.
Fixed shipping not being charged on rebilling (not factoring into grand total).
Fixed unnecessary layout definition on customer account.
Fixed version setting to not reference the database, to allow DB-less compilation.
Added ability to restrict cart promotional rules by the customer's chosen subscription interval.
Fixed totals not being calculated before fetching shipping rates when rebilling (affecting totals-based rates).
Fixed error on subscription edit if customer has no saved addresses.
Fixed multi-website configuration issues on subscription generation.
Fixed multi-website configuration issues on payment method availability check in admin.
Fixed potential pruning of inactive cards associated with active subscriptions.
Fixed admin menu ACL issue.
- Added a setting to skip the custom option for subscription products that have only one option available.
- Improved code for Marketplace Level 2 validation.
- Fixed a composer dependency for Magento 2.1.


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On this 70th anniversary of independence, it is appropriate to dwell on the economic and social achievements of the nation since regaining independence in 1948. Despite the economy’s underperformance discussed in last Sunday’s column, there have been significant social and economic achievements since independence.
The structure of the economy has been transformed from a predominantly agricultural one to a more diversified one. We have reached middle income status with a substantial increase in per capita income. Attainments in health, life expectancy, literacy and education are impressive.
The seven decades have been a period of economic and social transformation. The country’s social and human development has outperformed countries with higher per capita incomes and earned the country a high position in the United Nation’s Human Development Index.
Although the economy grew by only around 4 percent, it has undergone a structural transformation with agriculture’s predominance in the economy being overtaken by industrial and services sectors. Per capita incomes have risen significantly, poverty and unemployment have been reduced and the country’s economic and social infrastructure has improved considerably. The most significant achievements have been in the country’s human development that is far better than most developing countries and even some developed countries. Mortality rates are low, life expectancy has reached 75 years, adult literacy has increased to over 90 percent and education has expanded significantly. Most people enjoy far better social amenities than seven decades ago.
Largely owing to the improvements in health and education, the country has gone through the three phases of the demographic transition in the first half century after independence and entered the fourth stage of an ageing population. The country’s population growth of 2.8 percent per year in the 1950s has been reduced to less than 1 percent (0.9). Yet the annual population growth is about 200,000, as in the 1950’s.
One of the most significant achievements since independence was the attainment of self-sufficiency in rice. At independence, the country with a population of only 7 million imported about half her requirements of rice and much of her other essential foods. Today with a population of 21 million Sri Lanka is about self-sufficient.
The seventy years since independence have witnessed profound and irreversible economic changes. The economy has moved from a pre-dominantly agricultural one to one in which both industry and services contribute more to GDP. The growth of industry for export has been a striking development of the last two decades. Not only has the relative importance of agriculture declined, but its composition too has changed.
The economic reforms since late 1977 had a significant impact on the structure of the economy and changed the basic character of the Sri Lankan economy. The share of manufacturing in GDP has increased. Currently the contribution of agriculture to GDP is only 7 percent. The industrial sector (including construction) contributes about 40 percent to GDP. There has been an increase in the contribution of the services sector to 55 per cent today.
These structural changes in the economy are reflected in the country’s trade pattern. Agricultural exports that dominated the export structure from the beginning of the plantation economy till the 1980s declined to 27 per cent in 2016. Industrial exports amounted to 77 percent of total export earnings.
These proportions of exports are to some extent misleading. Agricultural exports are more significant than suggested by the 27 percent as value added in agricultural exports is much higher than in industrial exports.
Notwithstanding these compositional changes in exports and imports, Sri Lanka’s trade dependence (imports and exports as a proportion of GDP) remains high. In 1950 the country’s trade dependence was 70 per cent. It was about 45 per cent in recent years. The character of the trade dependence has altered significantly. The trade dependence is more industrial than agricultural. Manufactured goods dominate exports. Raw materials and capital goods for industries account for a larger share of imports than food and other consumer imports.
There has been substantial increases in incomes. Per capita incomes have increased fourfold to the levels of a middle income country, poverty has fallen to 6.7 percent and unemployment is only 4.7 percent.
Social development after independence in 1948 is impressive. There have been significant improvements in literacy and school enrolment, reduction in mortality rates, an increase in life expectancy and significant improvements in social amenities such as housing, potable water, sanitation and access to electricity and telephones. The country achieved the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set for 2015.
Life expectancy at birth increased from around 55 years at the time of independence to 75 years today. Life expectancy at birth is higher for females at 77 years than for males at 72 years. There have been significant improvements in maternal mortality, infant mortality and under 5 mortality. Maternal mortality decreased from 560 per one hundred thousand live births at the time of independence to 100 in 2015, while infant mortality declined from 82 to 8.2 per thousand in 2013. Under 5 mortality has declined to less than 19 per thousand.
Adult literacy increased from 57.8 per cent in 1945 to 93 per cent in 2016. Female literacy improved more sharply during this period from 43.8 per cent (1945) to 92.4 per cent and male literacy increasing from 70.1 per cent to 94.1 per cent in 2015. School enrolment of children between the ages of 5 – 19 years increased from 54.1 per cent (1945) to 75.2 in 2016.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is at 0.743 (2015) and the country ranks 99 of 177 countries. This ranking is above those of most countries at similar levels of income and higher than other South Asian countries. However, most countries in East Asia and South East Asia, such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Republic of Korea that were behind the achievements of Sri Lanka in the 1950s and 1960s, have overtaken us.
Despite the improvements in mortality rates, literacy and school enrolment, high rates of diseases associated with poverty and poor living conditions persist. Further, the quality of health and educational services leaves much to be desired. There are also significant regional disparities and urban rural differences. The progress in social indicators could have been much better in recent years, if economic growth was more rapid. Notwithstanding these qualifications there is no doubt that the country’s social and human development indicators are impressive. This comes out very clearly when comparisons are made with other developing and even some developed countries. Amartaya Sen has placed a very high value on life expectancy as it is a composite indicator and the basic aspiration of humans. He has pointed out that life expectancy in Sri Lanka is significantly higher than those of countries with similar, and even some countries with higher, per capita incomes.
There have significant developments in agriculture. Ceylon in the 1950’s with a population of just 7 million imported about half her requirements of rice. Today, Sri Lanka with a population of 21 million is self-sufficient in rice in a normal year.
The British colonial period of the nineteenth century introduced plantations and neglected paddy and other food crop agriculture. This process was reversed from around the third decade of the twentieth century. Paddy and food crop production became the centre of growth in the 1950′s and 1960′s. Paddy production increased due to an area expansion and increases in yields with high yielding varieties adopted by farmers. Consequently the country has achieved self-sufficiency in rice inspite of a threefold increase in population.
Although the country has achieved much in these 70 years of independence, it has been inadequate to resolve pressing social and economic problems of poverty, unemployment and inadequate incomes for a significant proportion of the population. The lack of pragmatism in economic policy formulation, ineffectiveness in implementation of economic programmes, excessive opposition to reforms, irresponsible union actions, and indiscipline, deterioration in law and order, weakened public administration and inability to resolve the ethic crises have all enfeebled economic progress. Other nations that were behind us have overtaken us. The pace of economic growth cannot be accelerated adequately until peace is achieved and our vision is focused on reforming political, cultural and social values.
The challenge before us in the years ahead is to consolidate these achievements, make qualitative improvements, catch up with the economic development of other countries and face the serious challenges especially in our external finances. National unity, social harmony, pragmatic policies and economic and social reforms are essential to achieve the government’s vision of being a rich and prosperous society in 2025.

industry_corpus2: Agriculture & Fisheries


text:
A few months ago I formed an atheist group in the Kalamazoo/Portage area and someone suggested this might be a good forum to find interested parties. We are Nontheist Gathering, a social group, of sorts, for atheists in the area. We usually hold our meetings in a local hole-in-the-wall coffee shop and have informal discussions. We also host game nights every Thursday at one of our members homes as well as spreading word about activities in the area atheists might enjoy attending. For example, some of us attended a Muslim Student Association Dinner recently on Western Michigan University's campus. Anyone in the area interested in joining please feel free to contact me with any questions or go to our site to get a sense of how we do things.
Thank you for your time and I hope to see some of you at the next meeting.

industry_corpus2: Others


text:
Active outdoor cats over 7 years old and between 3kg - 6kg.
Maize flour, dehydrated poultry protein, maize, animal fats, barley, maize gluten, vegetable protein isolate*, hydrolysed animal proteins, beet pulp, soya oil, fish oil, yeasts and parts thereof, minerals, hydrolysed yeast (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), borage oil, hydrolysed crustaceans (source of glucosamine), marigold extract (source of lutein), hydrolysed cartilage (source of chondroitin).
Crude ash: 5.8%. Crude fibre: 1.5%. Crude oil fats: 20%. Moisture: 0%. Protein: 28%. Fat content: 20%. Phosphorus: 0.79% - Per Kg: EPA/DHA: 4 g.
Vitamin A: 32000 IU, Vitamin D3: 900 IU, Vitamin C: 230 IU, E1 (Iron): 38 mg, E2 (Iodine): 3.8 mg, E4 (Copper): 12 mg, E5 (Manganese): 50 mg, E6 (Zinc): 149 mg, E8 (Selenium): 0.07 mg - Sensory additives: tea extract (source of polyphenols): 0.6 g - Preservatives - Antioxidants.


text:
To understand diseases like Parkinson’s, the tiniest of puzzles may hold big answers. That’s why a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have determined* how two potentially key pieces of the Parkinson’s puzzle fit together, in an effort to reveal how the still poorly understood illness develops and affects its victims.
This puzzle is a tough one because its pieces are not only microscopic but three-dimensional, and can even change shape. The pieces are protein molecules whose lengthy names are abbreviated as GCase and α-syn. The two proteins wrap around each other and take on a complicated shape before attaching themselves to the membrane surface inside a neural cell in a victim’s brain.
To get a better handle on how these proteins operate in the body, the team—which also included scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Carnegie Mellon University—came to the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) to get a picture of how the two proteins combine into a single unit called a complex that interacts with cell membranes. Using techniques including neutron reflectometry, the team teased out the first-ever structural picture of the GCase/α-syn complex, including their shape change. This work was published in Journal of Biological Chemistry.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


text:
Teaching the Orthodox Christian Faith to our children is one of the most important responsibilities we have as a parish. Our Church School Program, an essential ministry at Holy Ghost Church, is held directly after Divine Liturgy on Sunday, from September through May. All parish children from the ages of five (5) to twelve (12) are welcome and encouraged to participate in our school.
Our teens participate in and act as special aides to the younger children for these summer and winter events.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


text:
1. Select the appropriate class for your child.
2. Fill out the enrollment form. (Select a method).
You must attend a free consultation with your child in order to enroll in piano or Wunderkeys lessons.


text: 80 Acres located at the intersection of Peace & Gurler. Currently zoned AG. 76 acres are A soils. Property is within in 2700' of I-88 interchange. Enterprise zone. FTZ service area. Potential city incentives.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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Getting your blood flowing with regular physical activity helps your brain as well as your muscles. In fact, it’s one of the most researched areas of Alzheimer’s prevention. “A lot of my research is on physical activity, and we’ve been able to definitively show that physical activity is very good for people who have genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease,” says Stephen Rao, PhD, a neuropsychologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. He’s found that physical activity helps reduce inflammation in the brain. Exercise also boosts blood and oxygen flow to the brain and helps cut the risk of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension—all factors that raise the risk of Alzheimer’s. There’s more: Exercise can also spark the growth of new brain cells and slow down the brain shrinkage that occurs with age. Aim for at least 30 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise at least three times a week. Even if you hate to exercise, take a look at these best workouts for every age.
“Sleep hygiene is rapidly emerging in the field of Alzheimer’s research,” says Pierre Tariot, MD, director of the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. “There’s mounting evidence that sleep is one of the ways that we clear toxins from the brain and central nervous system.” Try to get at least eight hours of good sleep every night, and if you can’t, supplement your sleep time with naps.
There are a number of diets being touted for their ability to help delay Alzheimer’s or slow its progression, and what they have in common is an emphasis on heart and brain health. “A heart-healthy lifestyle is a brain-healthy lifestyle,” says Dr. Tariot, explaining that “the cardiovascular system provides the pipes that deliver blood to our brain.” The well-known Mediterranean and DASH diets (for reducing high blood pressure) are good choices. Scientists have developed a mashup of the two especially for Alzheimer’s prevention—the MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet—which emphasizes foods that promote cognitive health: antioxidants like berries and leafy greens, and healthy fats like olive oil, fatty fish, and nuts. A study at Rush University found that people who adhere to this diet can lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s by as much as 50 percent. Check out these 9 foods that can boost brain health.
The stress hormone cortisol can affect the brain’s hippocampus and prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for problem-solving and processing emotions and complex thoughts; this is also one of the structures targeted by Alzheimer’s. Stress decreases the amounts of a protein hormone called klotho, which helps keep brain toxins in check. Plus, stress has also been linked to cardiovascular risk, which increases Alzheimer’s risk. “Anxiety takes up a lot of space in your brain,” says Elise Caccappolo, PhD, associate professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Medical Center. “It sort of takes over the brain, which then can’t create more memories.” Caccappolo advises patients to try yoga, meditation, acupuncture, “or just doing less and taking more off your plate” to deal with stress. And if those steps don’t work, move on to therapy or medication. “Lift that cloud and let your brain do its work,” she says.
“Loneliness is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s,” says Rudolph Tanzi, PhD, professor of neurology at Harvard University and director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Aging and Genetics Research Unit. “And studies show that people with strong support networks, family, and friends have better health.” In a 2011 Rush University study, adults age 65 and over who were most socially active had a 70 percent lower risk of developing dementia than their least socially active peers. “When you talk to other people, you have to think about how you’re going to respond. That’s another source of blood flow to the brain,” says Caccappolo. Avoid these 16 everyday habits that can raise your risk of dementia.
“The first thing we tell patients is to stay on top of their cardiovascular health,” says Caccappolo. “There’s a relationship between cardiac health, heart-healthy habits, and delaying the progression of cognitive changes.” A study called SPRINT (Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial) MIND (Memory and Cognition in Decreased Hypertension) showed that people who lowered their blood pressure were able to stay sharper and think more clearly. “That’s almost proof positive that this cardiovascular-Alzheimer’s connection is really critical,” says Dr. Tariot. Don’t believe these 15 myths about Alzheimer’s.
“We just submitted an article about a study looking at people with a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s,” says Rao. “We found that the people who went on to develop mild cognitive impairment after five years were much likely to be overweight or obese when the study began.” If you’re overweight and not physically active, and you have the gene that raises your risk of developing Alzheimer’s, you’re going to have a higher probability of developing it. Know the difference between Alzheimer’s and dementia.
Scientists now recognize oral hygiene as an important factor for optimizing brain health. “Some of the bacteria in the brain come from the gums,” says Tanzi. “Those bacteria can go to the heart or the brain and cause inflammation … which kills brain cells and is a major trigger for Alzheimer’s.” Tanzi recommends that everyone “be religious about flossing your teeth. Don’t just brush them; floss them, too!” One study of older men found that for each tooth lost, there was a link to increased cognitive decline.
You can stimulate your brain to create new neurons and synapses without embarking on a mission to become fluent in a new language or proficient in creating art. Things like reading a book upside down (really) or combing your hair with your nondominant hand can have the same effect. “The reason we push brain teasers or other puzzles is about blood flow,” says Caccappolo. “It’s intellectual exercise. Anything that works your brain more than just sitting and watching TV.” A large study called ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) found that a special course of brain training focused on reasoning, memory, and speed improved cognition. Find out the 9 most powerful eating habits to protect your brain from Alzheimer’s.
The jury’s still out on the benefit of supplements, but many doctors think they can’t hurt—and might help. “We tell patients that if you can take them without side effects, then there’s no harm in doing it,” says Caccappolo. “Things like ginkgo biloba, B vitamins, or vitamin D. Run it by your own doctor first. There is a placebo effect for some patients. Basically, if you feel like you’re getting some benefit, then it works.” Learn about the stages of Alzheimer’s.
Wear helmets for bicycling and other activities where head injuries are a possibility, since these injuries, particularly concussions, have been linked to an increased risk of developing dementia later in life. The experts at Dementia Care Central, a resource website for the caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease, recommend that people also make sure to wear seat belts, eliminate tripping hazards at home, and try to avoid particularly hazardous sports like football that can involve repeated injuries to the head. Make sure you know the 10 early signs of Alzheimer’s.
Scientists have been linking the health of our gut microbiome to the health of nearly every body system, and the brain is no exception. “Gut bacteria are so important for keeping you healthy. They can help heal plaques in the brain and stave off neuroinflammation,” says Tanzi. He explains that experiments involving mice with Alzheimer’s have shown that changing the gut bacteria can reduce the brain plaques characteristic of the disease. Other studies have shown that strengthening the gut microbiome can reduce neuroinflammation in the brain. “What challenges cognition is a loss of synapses, and what causes loss of synapses is mainly neuroinflammation,” says Tanzi. The Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND diets mentioned previously will help keep the gut microbiome healthy. “Those healthy gut bacteria love fiber and grain, peas, lentils,” says Tanzi. Check out the 50 best foods and recipes for gut health.
This is a huge area of research as scientists race to find the drugs, vaccines, or other interventions that can help prevent, delay, or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. So far, though, there haven’t been any breakthroughs, although there are a few drugs that look promising. Tanzi has developed an “Alzheimer’s-in-a-dish” culture that allows scientists to test in the lab how a real brain might react to various drugs and supplements. Based on his findings, he helped develop a supplement called Percepta, made from a vine called cat’s claw. “It’s a natural product that’s very potent against inflammation,” explains Tanzi. “It hasn’t been used in a clinical trial yet, but it’s been very powerful in Alzheimer’s-in-a-dish. Since it’s a safe supplement, we put it out there.” Check out these 6 additional promising breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research.
The best protection against Alzheimer’s disease, based on the latest studies, may be to adopt as many of these preventive measures as you can, rather than relying on just one or two. “It’s called multimodal intervention,” explains Dr. Tariot. “There’s early evidence that going after all of these things, or the most salient things, makes cognitive impairment less likely to emerge over a period of years.” The landmark FINGER (Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability) study had participants adopt a healthy diet, regular physical activity, cognitive training, and social activities; there was also intensive medical monitoring to reduce health risks such as cardiovascular problems. “And the scientists who conducted this study estimate that really aggressive management of these lifestyle variables has the potential to reduce the incidence of Alzheimer’s by as much as 30 percent,” says Dr. Tariot, who adds that similar studies are now being launched in a dozen countries, including the United States. Now check out the 50 everyday habits that reduce your risk of dementia.


text:
Checkers game, also called Draughts game is an ancient strategy board game for 2 players. Simpler than chess, Checkers is a great introduction to strategy board games for younger children. This Wooden Checkers Set is printed with a 10×10 board.
Dimensions 11.5*11.5*2.5cm or other sizes.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


text: Make a bold statement with our Brain Surgery T-Shirts, or choose from our wide variety of expressive graphic tees for any season, interest or occasion . Whether you want a sarcastic t-shirt or a geeky t-shirt to embrace your inner nerd, CafePress has the tee you're looking for. If you'd rather wear your own personalized design, create a custom t-shirt just for you. If you want clothing that reflects who you are, shop our extensive t-shirt collection today.


text:
We offer service of process services, which includes delivering Subpoena's and serving lawsuits to people and businesses located in Wise, North Carolina. Our fees are fair and we guarantee results. Our statewide North Carolina process services are performed by local process servers who are familiar with most locations. A.C.E Process Servers provide prompt and efficient services you can depend on, Guaranteed.
To arrange service of your lawsuit or delivery of your subpoena in Wise, North Carolina call or email us for an immediate response. Call, 800-987-4680 or email contact@serveservices.com.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


text:
White shorts, with white drawstring, cut to an overlapping v-shape at the bottom of each seam. Thin navy blue line running diagonally from halfway down each side, then curves to join the edge of the overlapping seam, down to the hem, where it continues along the hem at the front. Curved red shard around the top of each seam, ending in a point at each end with two diamond shapes made up of diagonal navy blue lines, pointing downwards alongside each shard on the reverse. Two embroidered red concentric diamonds on left thigh. Red number, in the same font as on the shirt, above the Umbro logo on left thigh. Embroidered emblem on right thigh, with 'ENGLAND' in capitalised white lettering inside a navy blue panel above the emblem.
Red socks, with white diamonds on a navy blue hoop across tops. Two large white concentric diamonds on calf. Small emblem on reverse, with 'ENGLAND' in capitalised white lettering inside a navy blue panel above the emblem.
England's captain, wore a white armband, with the fixture, the name of the stadium, and the date, all printed on it in navy blue, with the emblem also on it.
A long-sleeved version of the shirt was also worn. The cuffs were red.
The shirts worn by Ashley and Joe Cole also included their first initial i.e. A. COLE and J. COLE.
Against Andorra, England had the SOUTH AFRICA 2010 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS logo embroidered onto the upper right sleeve, above the two diamond shapes.
The names of England's opponents, as they appeared in the match details, were ANDORRA, FRANCE, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND and TRINIDAD & TOBAGO. England were named second in all but the first fixture, against Switzerland.
Against France, David Beckham wore 100TH CAP in gold beneath the match details on the left breast and below the collar on the reverse, with a small English flag, bordered in gold, underneath.
32 players wore this shirt, in five games.
David Beckham became the first outfield player to win 100 caps for England since Bobby Moore in 1973, when he took the field against France.
4 players won their first cap wearing this kit. Phil Jagielka had gone to win 40 caps by the end of 2016.
Dean Ashton's international career only lasted until half-time on his debut against Trinidad and Tobago, when he was substituted. He retired at the end of the following year, aged 26, following an ankle injury.
Michael Owen won his 89th and last England cap against France.
Jenas' goal, the first for England under Fabio Capello, was his only international goal.
Barry and Upson also scored their first goal for England in this shirt.
Cole's two were both scored against Andorra, and they were his last two in international football, taking his final total to 10.
When Fabio Capello became coach, at the beginning of 2008, he picked a different captain for each of his first four games, before eventually settling on Terry as his skipper.
Beckham captained England for the 59th and last time, against Trinidad and Tobago.
A shirt that was reminiscent of the 1982 red Admiral shirt, with its navy and white flashes across the collarbone, was worn only five times over a period of nine months, and marked the end of the distinctive Umbro style of the past eight years.
Its debut, alongside that of England's new Italian coach, was shoe-horned into a friendly against the normally red-shirted Switzerland. According to Umbro, its twill mesh body fabric ensured that it was lightweight and breathable.
If the design wasn't that original, at least fans of new technology could rejoice in the QR (Quick Read) code in the label of the replica version. Scanning it with their mobile phones enabled them to access a unique website for fans of Umbro and England. A truly momentous event.
On the field, the players in this shirt performed well. It was memorable for David Beckham's hundredth appearance and it even saw a rare England away win in Germany, before the shirt was retired, perhaps a little prematurely, due to the fact that Nike had acquired Umbro and subsequent designs were about to go retro on a grand scale. England were to go through 2009, without using a change kit at all.
Thanks to Richard Clarke for the photo above of Michael Owen's number 20 shirt, issued to him for the Switzerland game. The shirt is from the 'Three Lions - England Match Worn Shirts' Facebook Collection.

industry_corpus2: Sports


text:
I became very frustrated in my attempts to disable the screen saver. I finally found that there are two steps to this. The bash (shell) text terminal has its own blanking software, while the Xserver uses independant graphic settings.
To add to the frustration, many recommendations just don't work on the Raspbian version of Debian, or (as I found out) Raspbian used different files.
printf "\n\n\t $YELLOW           "; date ; printf "$OFF"
printf "\t |                  no_blank.sh                   |\n"
printf "\t |                rev Oct 1, 2013                 |\n"
printf "\t |  by: Jan Zumwalt - net-wrench.com              |\n"
printf "\t |  This script permanently disables the xsession |\n"
printf "\t |  screen saver for RASPBIAN PI OS. It allows    |\n"
printf "\t |  the user to abort before any change is made.  |\n"
printf "\t This program will disable your xsession\n"
printf "\t screen saver permanently, is this what \n"
printf "\n\n\t OK, I quit and did not do anything.\n\n"
printf "\n\n\t I intend to modify your current \n"
printf "\t I will add the$GREEN GREEN$OFF lines to the file...\n\n"
printf "\n\t Created backup copy of the autostart file...\n"
printf "\t Your new file looks like this\n"
printf "\t$RED Modified file. Screensaver is now disabled.$OFF\n"
printf "\t$GREEN Program ended normaly $OFF\n\n"
For completeness here are the other methods that reportedly worked for other OS.
"only effective if you boot straight into X using that particular display manager."
...not a real solution, but it could work for my purpose.
-- This will use more CPU - if anybody tries this, please leave a comment how much.
same method and either both work or neither works.
Last edited by jwzumwalt on Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:14 pm, edited 5 times in total.
Ha ha. Yeah, disabling screen saver can be a pain. That's why I added that capability on my Noob Tools script. Just do "noob noblank" to disable screen saver. "noob blank" to enable it. It only works on GUI, though. I didn't make it for terminal.
Add gpicview program, and you have a full screen slide show pictures capability all day long. Very nice.
jwzumwalt: thanks for this explanation. This one did the trick! Finally.
I am a new user. I have a model b that I want to use for digital signage using Impress. I found this thread and have copied the code for the "no_blank".
I was hoping that someone would provide some additional instructions on how to implement the code. I suspect it is fairly straight forward. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Please forgive me, as I am basically computer illiterate.
I have tried this solution on my raspberry pi and yet the screen still blanks after the 10 minutes. I checked the files to insure the changes saved, and they have been. Why am I still getting blanking?
Finally! Thank you for posting this.
I'm having the same problem even after doing all the steps.
We have a wall display powered by a Raspberry Pi. It worked fine for about 2-3 months then I had issues with memory corruption on the SD card. So I reinstalled it with the latest Raspbian.
Followed this guide that worked before (http://bloguedegeek.net/2014/05/13/cree ... -tutoriel/), and now after about 10 minutes I still have the screen go black, still open and green, just nothing being pushed via video.
I did the BLANK_TIME=0 and POWERDOWN_TIME=0 without success.
And finally added this SeatDefault thing too. No success.
I'm at a loss! How can I get that wall display to stay lit?
On my previous setup I had installed Chromium, x11-xserver-utils and unclutter. That's why it worked fined after going with Iceweasel.
Question for: jwzumwalt regarding your script posted on Jan 2015.. where do I insert this?
Sorry, new to Raspbian and first step is getting the monitor to stay on.
bearsarepeopletoo wrote: Question for: jwzumwalt regarding your script posted on Jan 2015.. where do I insert this?
./script.sh where script is the name of the file.
The easiest way to disable screen blanking in the Raspbian GUI is to install xscreensaver then configure it to disabled.
Last edited by klricks on Mon Jun 01, 2015 12:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
aah, the xscreensaver package did the trick for me !
I would like to have the blank screen option but not the power down, or at least set it for a few hours.
POWERDOWN_TIME=0 but the file is write protected.
Do I have to edit it on another PC?
and you can change it under Internationalization.
I have been there but there seems to be only 1 alternative.
Or is it not supposed to be called something like SE?
The standard location of the keyboard file is /etc/default/keyboard.
several keymaps that can be used with the variable KMAP.
I will try this tomorrow morning!
How do I exit from nano?
I have entered ^X but nothing happens!
I have read the manual now!
but it don't seem to change any behaviour. it still blanks after about 15 minutes (it was originally set to 30 in the config) as it did from the beginning.
This is a very minor problem so I will let it be for now.
Hi I'm(well I was) desperately in need of help.
1) I couldn't get in to where I needed to be to over write the "lightdm.conf" file.
[OK I've managed to do this now with "sudo" what is sudo?
vi) this should stop the Pi falling asleep.
2) having explained all this I find that in some cases (mine for instance) this does not work but it was good fun trying. At last though I have come upon a working solution. Here it is.
4) when Pi has rebooted click on File manager and open screensaver. The first line of the screen saver menu says "disable screen saver" click on it close it, reboot Pi again and hey presto Pi will stay awake. yippee!!!!!!!
Last edited by rosignol on Sun May 31, 2015 3:30 pm, edited 4 times in total.
Try using the sudo nano command to open lightdn.con.
It will overwrite the existing file when you save it.
The changes should take place after restart if I understand it.
What do You want to change in lightdn.con?

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


text:
If you are building projects in Python, there is a good chance you will want to capture some sort of data on occasion. You might even want to build a dashboard out of that data. For example, a dashboard of performance data (CPU/memory/network usage). Or, a dashboard full of sensor data (temperature/motion/contact/energy). Maybe a dashboard displaying the status of critical processes (running/exited). If it is data you can access in your Python code, you can easily build a real-time dashboard from that data.
This tutorial will show you three different ways to stream/push data to a real-time dashboard API in Python. While this tutorial will leverage Initial State’s API as an example, you can apply the principles in this tutorial to interface similar APIs.
When you create an Initial State account, you get a private account streaming access key (e.g. ist_TS0QPEcCQ8CLiahhFmB5EbEzPrCZACdr).
Data is streamed into a data bucket (Initial State’s organizational terminology … more info), which has a bucket key you specify when you create the bucket (e.g. abc123).
These two keys give you the ability to write data into that specific data bucket through Initial State’s Events API at any time. That means you can start/stop/append data from any number of applications as long as you have these two keys.
These two keys do NOT give you the right to read data for security reasons.
A data bucket can contain any number of data streams — a collection of time-series data points with a common name (e.g. temperature).
A dashboard is automatically created for you in your Initial State account when you create a data bucket and send data into that bucket.
You simply need two keys, some data, and knowledge of how to use the Initial State Events API to create a live updating, customizable dashboard.
Once you have settled on a data service, the next thing you should do is check for an existing Python module you can use to interface their API. There’s a good chance a well-written, well-maintained module will contain several goodies that will save you lots of time and lines of code.
The Initial State Python Data Streamer module is a good example of what you want to find (github repo and documentation). You don’t have to look at any API documentation to use the Initial State events API if you utilize this module. One line of code will create/append to a data bucket and one line of code will push your data to that destination.
Below is an example script that uses the ISStreamer module to create a data bucket and send the number 7 into the data stream myNumber. You simply need to place your account access key on line 3 before running.
Log into your Initial State account and click on the newly created data bucket to watch the dashboard update as you run your script.
The ISStreamer module has another built-in feature that is quite handy — a data buffer. Initial State’s Events API has a limit on how many API calls you can make in a given period of time (30 calls per 10 seconds). But, you can send up to 10 events per API call (more info). Instead of making an API call each time you call streamer.log(), data is timestamped and buffered until you either have 10 events in the buffer or you manually flush the buffer using streamer.flush(). This lets you more efficiently interface the API and stay within your account rate limits. Coding up our own data buffer would be a pain. This is a good example of the kind of extra functionality a great Python module should contain.
The first step to interfacing an API directly is to find well-written API documentation. The Initial State Events API is documented at https://initialstateeventsapi.docs.apiary.io/# . Apiary is a fantastic API documentation and testing service. You can even make example API calls in the built-in Apiary console. The Initial States Events API documentation contains descriptions and code examples for every publicly available API endpoint. These examples will provide the foundation for writing our own API implementation.
The first function we need to write is one that will create a data bucket. If you scroll down to the Event Buckets section (https://initialstateeventsapi.docs.apiary.io/#reference/event-buckets/buckets-json/create-a-bucket ), you can find all of the information you need to programmatically create a data bucket. Click on the Create a Bucket link and choose Python as the language to see example code.
The requests and json libraries are imported into this script on lines 1, 2. If either are missing, use pip to install them.
You need to specify your account access key on line 4.
The createBucket function takes in two parameters, bucketKey and bucketName, both of which are specified on lines 5 and 6.
The required API endpoint documented in the API spec is on line 9, https://groker.init.st/api/buckets .
The required headers are specified in a dictionary starting on line 10.
The data payload is the bucketKey and bucketName and specified in a dictionary starting on line 15.
The actual HTTPS POST is made on line 19. Notice we are converting the dictionary to a json object using json.dumps().
The result is printed to the screen on line 23. A 201 response means a new data bucket was successfully created. A 204 response means the bucket already exists. A 400 response means you did something wrong and it failed (all responses and their meanings documented in the API docs).
Run the createBucket.py script and make sure a new data bucket shows up in your Initial State bucket shelf.
Next, let’s create a function that pushes data to our newly created data bucket. Scrolling down to the Events JSON section of our documentation (https://initialstateeventsapi.docs.apiary.io/#reference/event-data/events-json/create-a-bucket ), we can click the Send Events link and ensure Python is the selected language to see example code we can follow.
You need to specify your account access key on line 4 and bucket key on line 5.
The streamData function takes two parameters, name and value. name specifies the data stream and value specifies its value.
Notice the API endpoint changed on line 8 to https://groker.init.st/api/events .
The data payload we are using is simply a single key/value pair of name and value. The example code also specifies a timestamp in either epoch or iso8601 format, but this is optional.
Run the script to push data into our newly created data bucket. You can change line 22 to send different values to the myNumber data stream or create new data streams by simply using a new name.
Some data APIs implement a break in the HTTP/1.1 spec to simplify sending data. The address bar of your web browser performs a HTTPS GET whenever you enter an address and hit enter. This can be quite a convenient method for sending data even though you are doing a GET instead of a POST (this is the referenced “break in the HTTP/1.1 spec”). The Initial State Events API takes advantage of this by giving you the ability to send data into a data bucket via simple URL encoded parameters.
You need to specify your access key, bucket key, and bucket name on lines 3–5.
The complete url is constructed on line 8.
The HTTPS GET call happens on line 9.
Run this script and make sure a new data bucket is created in your account.
Place your access key and bucket key on lines 3 and 4. Run this script and make sure data is pushed into your data bucket.
The number of available data APIs will only grow and grow over time. The examples in this tutorial should give you a quick start to interfacing APIs similar to Initial State’s Events API. Great APIs are a blast to work with. Leveraging Python modules such as requests, json, and ISStreamer can significantly reduce coding time and frustration.

industry_corpus2: Programming


text:
With Microsoft releasing the final planned service pack for Windows XP it might be time for IT managers to once again consider making the inevitable migration to Windows Vista, says an analyst.
Microsoft’s week-long delay before Tuesday’s release of XP’s Service Pack 3 (SP3) should have come as no surprise to IT managers because the OS has suffered over 100 glitches in the past three years. Now is an opportune time to stare down the migration challenge and take another long, hard look at Vista, according to London, Ont.-based industry analysts Info Tech Research Group.
Compared to previous service packs, SP3 is modest in upgrades to XP. A Windows Update explains the update “should not significantly change the Windows XP experience.” Microsoft is also warning Retail Management System customers against installing the update, with the compatibility fix expected later this month.
As XP was tested on a broad level and Microsoft received feedback, it was able to make adjustments, she adds. Just as Vista’s SP1 helps to refine the much-maligned OS, Microsoft offered many upgrades to XP after considerable deployment time.
Still, IT managers must consider the challenges an OS migration poses to their business before making the leap. Consultant David Epp, with Toronto-based BitPath Networks Inc. outlines three obstacles to a smooth migration. They are administrative effort, hardware incompatibility or upgrade requirement, or in-house software incompatibilities, he writes in an e-mail.
“I think everyone should consider migrating to Vista to benefit from new functionality and better security,” Epp says. But the benefits must outweigh the cost of jumping the hurdles of wide-scale deployment.
Planning the switch to Vista during a hardware upgrade or replacement cycle is often a good idea, Warren says. IT managers will often get a better response from business executives when presenting a budget plan if they propose to do both at once, as it concentrates costs and promises less down time.
“It is really common with Vista to roll out new hardware and new software at the same time to minimize work disruptions,” the analyst says.
Aside from some extra features that improve security and add let users search for hard-to-find files, Vista actually favours IT departments more than end-users, Warren suggests. Features like Group Policy settings give the IT department more power over how business computers are used, while XP tends to favour the individual user when it comes to tweaking settings.
But there are alternatives for those who aren’t ready to transition to Vista. Companies can still buy the OEM version of the OS until June 30, and get licenses through system builders until January 2009. Many PC makers have been selling Vista computers with a downgrade to XP as an incentive for businesses who want to stick with the older OS.
“This is a good solution for companies that aren’t ready for a full blown migration,” Warren says.
Those sticking with XP also won’t be totally out of the loop when it comes to updates. Despite no more planned service packs, Microsoft will likely still make bug fixes available individually, Info Tech’s analyst adds. These updates should be applied to office computers rigorously.


text:
UK general rental company Speedy has acquired powered access rental company Lifterz in a deal that values the company at £21.5 million.
Yorkshire based Lifterz is owned and managed by the Bowers family and has a fleet of around 1,300 aerial work platforms operating from four locations - Ossett, Haydock, Daventry and Bathgate - with 90 employees. Revenues for the year to the end of January were £15.2 million with an EBITDA of £3.3 million. Gross assets are £17.2 million.
Speedy is paying £9.6 million in cash and assuming £11.9 million of debt, which it paid on completion. The Bowers will remain on board to manage the business, with Malcolm Bowers taking a part time role.
This is the third powered access specialist that Speedy has acquired since November 2017 having previously acquired Yeovil based Prolift Access and Platform Sales & Hire of Milton Keynes. See Speedy acquired Prolift and PS&H. The addition of Lifterz will take the Speedy aerial lift fleet to around 7,500 units and possibly make it the second largest aerial lift rental company in the UK, marginally ahead of AFI.
This looks like a good move for the Bowers family, and if I am not mistaken the third time that Malcolm Bowers has built an access rental business from nothing and then sold out. AFI was his last creation.
For Speedy it makes it a very serious contender in the aerial lift rental market, with three very good companies that have been well managed with strong fleets. It also put its well ahead of its main general rental competitor A-Plant which has had aims of becoming one of the leading players in the platform rental market. It also enhances its specialist geographic coverage, given that Lifterz is strong in the North while Prolift is strong in the South west and PS&H strong in the South and South East.
It looks as though it has paid a brave price for the business but it could be well worth it as long as it manages the acquired business well and does not over corporatise it.
Possibly a win win deal.
A fantastic aquisition for Speedy!!
Welcome Malcolm, Ben and all the Lifterz team and i'm sure it will be a very succesful and prosperous time for all.
Great news for all involved, and it means Malcolm can put his feet up!! Interesting to see where the next domino will fall, and how many European Companies are keeping their powder dry until the idiots in Parliament pull their fingers out. Been here before gents, who will be next i wonder???!!
lifterz customers are now for the taking fill your boots.
Put your feet up and relax !!

industry_corpus2: Aerospace


text:
D & S Glass is a glass repair company that has been proudly serving their community for the past 27 years. We offer complete glass repairs and replacements for both residential and commercial clients. We are glass repair specialists and offer glass repair services like windshield installation, windshield glass repair, chipped glass repair, cracked glass repair, and more!
The owners were both born in Tooele and wanted to stay in the area to raise their family and serve the community. We started our business nearly thirty years ago and have continued to provide skilled service with all of the work and sales performed by the owners themselves. We strive to provide old fashioned, attentive, and convenient customer service at competitive prices. We are proud to live here in Tooele and be of service to our community.
At D & S Glass, we offer excellent and affordable glass repair services to all our clients. We guarantee that you will have no complaints, but if you do, we will work hard to sort it out. We also offer free mobile glass service within the areas of Tooele County and West Wendover, Utah. We work with insurance companies and welcome any insurance claims, waiving part to all of your insurance deductible. With that being said, the fact that we have been around for almost three decades proves that we maintain high standards and provide excellent products and services. Contact us or call 435-882-4712 for your free estimate or to simply find out more about our services.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


text:
The OffNow coalition has now marched state and local efforts to stop unconstitutional NSA spying right onto the agency’s front porch.
Late last week, Maryland State Delegate Michael Smigiel introduced the Fourth Amendment Protection Act to end all state cooperation with the National Security Agency (NSA).
Based on model legislation drafted by a transpartisan coalition organized by the Tenth Amendment Center (TAC) and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC), HB1074 would ban Maryland state or local government from providing water, electricity or other resources to the NSA while it engages in warrantless mass-surveillance, and would make shared collected data inadmissible in state courts.
Smigiel said that even though the NSA has deep roots in Maryland, the state should no longer support an agency that ignores constitutional constraints and tramples on the privacy rights of the people.
“I want Maryland standing with its back to its people holding a shield. Not facing them holding a sword,” he said.
While the NSA alleviated some of those concerns with new facilities in Utah, Texas and elsewhere, they still remain an issue. In December, the agency signed a new contract with Howard County, Md., to provide up to 5 million gallons of water per day to cool supercomputers in a new data center slated to open in 2016.
Smigiel said the bill is not merely a symbolic gesture. The Elkton Republican has a track record of working with Democrats on civil liberties related legislation, and said he believes he can garner the bipartisan support necessary to move the bill forward.
"The NSA's decade of warrantless surveillance en masse assaults not only the rights of hundreds of millions of law-abiding Americans, and our democracy as a whole, but resembles Soviet-style spying -- on meth, empowered and amplified by the past generation's remarkable advances in computing technology,” he said. “Maryland residents have a chance to shed partisan differences and take matters into their own hands. They have the opportunity to defend democracy by shutting off state resources consumed by the massive NSA operation in Maryland as it assaults We the People, our fundamental rights, and the Constitution that enshrined them."
Along with denying the NSA resources and prohibiting the use of warrantless data in courts, the Fourth Amendment Protection Act also blocks public universities from serving as NSA research facilities or recruiting grounds, and forbids corporations filling needs not met in the absence of state cooperation from doing business with the state.
Boldin praised Smigiel and lawmakers in 12 other states for stepping up to do something Congress and the president either can’t or won’t do - rein in an agency intent on spying on everybody in the world without any regard to the Constitution or basic civil liberties.
The OffNow coalition is group of grassroots organizations and individuals spanning the political spectrum committed to stopping unconstitutional NSA spying through state and local activism.
The Tenth Amendment Center, the source for this article, exists to promote and advance a return to a proper balance of power between federal and State governments envisioned by our founders, prescribed by the Constitution and explicitly declared in the Tenth Amendment. A national think tank based in Los Angeles, the Tenth Amendment Center works to preserve and protect the principle of strictly limited government through information, education, and activism."
SEND SLAVES! Use the #stopspying hashtag on Twitter to help spread the word!
Did you miss the MASSIVE DISCOUNT available perhaps ONLY today?
TOP TUNE! Moderat "Last Time"
Isn't it time, you got growing?
There is NOTHING, the criminals in charge, hate more, than the ideas, that you soon won't need their corrupt, VAST GLOBAL COVERT CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY companies; and thus, them.
Please note, if you're concerned for my safety, so am I. But I have NOT applied for the Twitter account to be unsuspended, yet; I think today, it would be refused; you know why .. And if you saw the last 30-50 tweets yesterday, and who I was informing at TOP SPEED, you may also understand WHY I was suspended ... And DM's show the Deputy Editor of the Daily Telegraph had just followed, and so, I guess, they want the Deputy Editor of the Telegraph to STAY IN THE DARK; perhaps, someone might let him know, and a REGULAR reader of The White Rabbit! TEACH HIM! And REAL REAL FAST.
Listen, we are at GLOBAL COVERT NUCLEAR WAR, by a CABAL (min 55 onwards) who have MURDERED all scientists, invenitng tech, that would obsolete nuclear energy; isn't it time, for self defence; EN MASS, and GLOBALLY?
Truth hurts, hey ... BUT the TRUTH REMAINS the TRUTH, never the less!
Or if you're a SLAVE, go listen to 'ACTIVIST JOURNALIST' GLEN GREENWALD.
And that's a REAL REALITY, you just don't WANT to HEAR.
""The head of the embattled National Security Agency, Gen. Keith Alexander, is accusing journalists of "selling" his agency's documents and is calling for an end to the steady stream of public disclosures of secrets snatched by former contractor Edward Snowden.
"I think it’s wrong that that newspaper reporters have all these documents, the 50,000—whatever they have and are selling them and giving them out as if these—you know it just doesn’t make sense," Alexander said in an interview with the Defense Department's "Armed With Science" blog."
""Snowden Threatens U.S. with Release of Personal Information of All Government Officials - See more at: http://www.occupythebanks.com/search?q=SNOWDEN+EARS+THE+WHITE+RABBIT#sthash.2tnw56xb.dpuf"
#GREENWALD SNOWDEN'S PARENTS HEAR THE WHITE RABBIT!
@jeremyscahill @ggreenwald Why has #Firstlook not released full documents for today's story? A bad precedent to set right out of the gate"
"@jeremyscahill @ggreenwald We're over joyed to have competition. But we want it to be real competition and not to undermine our standard."


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Not knowing exactly how intuition messages show up makes it very difficult to recognize them. Power comes in knowing what your own intuitive messages feel, sound or look like, for you personally. When you can positively identify how you uniquely receive your intuitive messages, recognizing them becomes consistently easier.
Did you know that highly intuitive people experience what others would label as a psychic experience?
For instance...has the phone ever rung and you knew who it was on the other end before picking up?
Do you have conversations with friends or loved ones and say the exact same thing at the exact same time, with regularity?
Did you know that synchronicity appearing in your life is a sign your intuition is tuned in and working?
Experiencing a high occurrence of synchronicity events is something that many strongly intuitive people experience frequently. Could this be you?
If you have a question plaguing you and you just cannot settle on an answer, try this.
Have you ever walked into a room where people have been arguing just prior? They stop of course before you come in, but you can still feel that something is off in the air. There is a tension, possibly even a sense of fear and unease.
People often wonder how to tell the difference between messages that come from intuition, from thoughts that are simply driven from the ego. Both have different energy signatures, it just takes some time, patience and practice to differentiate between the two on a regular basis, with consistency.
Look closely at the fractal image. Study it. What do you see? What kinds of shapes, patterns or designs do you notice? Do you feel or experience any particular emotions or feelings while staring at the image?
The throat chakra is our 5th chakra energy center. It represents communication, especially in conjunction with speaking our truth and speaking from the heart. Its robin egg blue energy is found in the throat, surrounding the hollow at the base and flowing upward into the jaw and ears. It also effects the back of the neck and upper shoulders.
The 4th chakra energy center is all about love. Our relationship to love, how we receive and give love, our ability to be love. It is paramount in how we process and express empathy. Its rich emerald green light is located in the center of your chest and extends through you to your back, between your shoulder blades.
Clairsentience means clear feeling. Claircognizance means clear knowing. I am going to group the two of these together in today’s post to wrap up our discussion on intuition and the senses.
Clairvoyance or ‘clear vision’, is having an intuitive sense of sight. This sense is one that is most closely linked or defined as belonging to the psychics we see in movies or on TV. You know the kind who see prophetic images in a dream that lead to solving a crime. However having a strong intuitive vision is not that far off.
In the last post, we talked about how the senses are our main starting point for discerning intuitive messages. Today we will delve into one of our intuitive senses that more easily goes unnoticed, or even written off entirely: Olfactory, or sense of smell.
"I believe in intuitions and inspirations...I sometimes feel that I am right. I do not know that I am"
Fractal Awakening: Afraid of Empathy?
This is Fractalicious® Digital Artistry!


text: At the West Gate we show all the best live sport every week on our selection of HD screens. Whilst you watch the action we also have a selection of great deals on food and drinks for you to enjoy. Come along to the West Gate and enjoy the best atmosphere to watch sport in Bath.


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TestTown 2013 is an innovation competition open to 16-25 year olds to come up with original and creative ideas that they think could breathe life back into the high street. Applications will be accepted from this week until the beginning of May. The ten best ideas will be given a £1000 grant to open up their business for real in Dunfermline (our host town) and trade to customers for a long weekend in June. The winner of the competition will then be rewarded with £10,000 to develop their business further.
Also on Twitter @TestTown2013 and Facebook facebook.com/TestTown2013.
Posted in Miscellaneous and tagged competition, entrepreneurship, innovation. Bookmark the permalink.


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One of Serifos' well-maintained and marked hiking routes, it starts at the rough dirt road leaving southbound from Kendarchos toward Vounaki. Just after the village, the dirt road turns into a cobbled path -there is a sign—with beautiful views to Hora and Livadhi, white Vous is visible on your left.
The trail is smooth, comfortable and clear, the destination visible in the distance and the route without incident. After Vounaki you enter the area of Paliomitata where, on your left, is the chapel of Pano Stavros.
A bit further the trail splits. Both branches lead to Hora; route #1 is the left branch, going through vineyards in the area of Kipoi and meeting the chapel of Kato Stavros on the left. A little further, still on the left, is the church of Aghios Stefanos and then the position of Palio Pighadhi, where there is a fountain and an old stone bridge. From here, the trail ascends briefly and ends at Pano Hora.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


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On Thursday night I had the pleasure of being invited to the store launch of IZIPIZI. I gladly accepted the invitation and left mummy duties behind for one evening. So, who are they?
I first came across the brand a few years back when I was having a browse in Selfridges. I remember thinking, well these are cool looking reading glasses with nice branding and cool packaging.
Let’s face it, I personally have never come across nice or cool looking reading glasses before. They always just look the same and always look very sad sitting on the shelves. Not usually the most inviting glasses I’d say. IZIPIZI were the first to make me do a double take.
I was chatting to Charles, one of the founders of the brand. The inspiration started when his mum could not find any nice reading glasses. He then wanted to create a solution to the problem. There are 2 other founders and none of them had any background in optical, their backgrounds are in engineering or design.
The brand was born in 2010, from reading glasses, the range has now expanded to sunglasses, blue light filtered glasses and even to ski goggles. Over the years the brand has evolved, IZIPIZI now put their design focus on family. What that mean is, they create cool, affordable and stylish eyewear for everyone in the family. From baby sunglasses to blue light filtered glasses for juniors who may like to use smart devices. Then of course reading glasses for the older members of the family. You can kit out your whole family in IZIPIZI without breaking the bank.
Everything within the IZIPIZI range is affordable and you are getting a good quality pair of glasses. The collection starts from £25 onwards. Special editions of adult sunglasses will cost a bit more, starting from £60. Otherwise most of the adult sunglasses start from £35 and don’t cost more than £50. Reading glasses starting from £30 and blue light filtered glasses starting from £35 for juniors and £40 for adults.
Do you see what I mean now that you can kit out a family of four with IZIPIZI and it will not cost you the earth. Their first ever stand alone store is now open in London, on Carnaby street. Go and check them out, otherwise they are stocked in Selfridges and other retailers worldwide. If all else fails, there is always online shopping.
Labour… To Wear Glasses or Contacts, my Decision.


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Application: home, courtyard, shop, cafe, kitchen, living room, etc.
* we sincerely invite you to leave positive feedback for us ,if you are satisfied with our product and service.it\'ll just take you 1 minute.
* If you find any problems with our products ,just feel free to contact us fistly before you left any neutral or negative feedback .We will do our best to ensure your satisfaction.
1.The goods in our shop are handicrafts,so flaws are inevitable, Please understand that is not quality problem.Refund returns for this reason are not supported.
3. If you don’t want the product your ordered and want to return, please contact us & return it within 5 work days. Buyers pay the return fees.(suggestion: make the package as small as possible, shipping fee $50 below). We’ll refund your money once we receive the item you returned.
1.All crafts in our shop,dimensions are manually measured, There maybe have a little deviation in size(1-2cm). Please understand and thank you for your support.
2. Due to lighting, computer monitors and other reasons, a slight color difference is normal.Not a quality issue.
The weight and size of the product exceed the standard of your choice of express delivery. We will use other logistics methods, which is equal to or better than this logistics. I hope your understanding and support.


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Fusion of psychedelic and progressive techno by local Djs, producers and track makers.
Daijiro from DIGITAL BLOCK, KOJIRO who is taking a part of Re:birth and YEARTH who also appeared at YABITO will play for the night as well, the resident DJ DO SHOCK BOOZE.
MEiYOU is a natural POWER capable of dancing with the music beyond the boundaries of yourself, that is to say, an ally is a power which allows one to transcend the realm of ordinary reality.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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A premium mobile phone with an affordable price tag.
A star was born when Huawei released the P20 Pro. Yes, the device has that premium look that we all crave – a small notch at the top, almost bezeless design and a flat, palm-sized shape. In short, it’s hard not to fawn over this particular mobile phone.
Of course, it’s not all about how the phone looks. Under the hood, you’ve got the octa-core Kirin 980 processor, which means that it’s a speedy machine.
The camera system has been created with the pros over at Leica. You’ve got a 5x Hybrid Zoom, light fusion pixels, and a large image sensor, all of which come together to take some of the most impressive snaps you can muster. Great stuff.
A camera setup that will make you swoon.
With a rather impressive three-lens setup, the Google Pixel 3 is a boast-worthy device. On the rear, you’ve got a nice 12.2MP sensor, while the selfie setup is two 8MP lenses.
However, it doesn’t end there. You’ve also got the Super Res Zoom, which means that you can take super close-up snaps in seconds. Then there’s the Top Shot feature, which takes a bunch of pictures and chooses the best of the pack for you.
When it comes to other features on Google Pixel 3, you won’t be disappointed. There’s the standard Google Assistant feature, which means that you should have no problem tackling your ‘to do’ list along with fast charging and an impressive battery life. Basically, it’s a seriously good phone that you don’t want to disregard.
We’ll be reviewing that handset in the coming week – keep your eyes peeled.
We only review the handsets we range, Nick.


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If you are looking to change the spacing on your Boss Holster this will get it done. Comes with two spacers, screws, and washers.
1/2" Our most compn spacer size that will keep you within the USPSA Rules.
3/4" Good for 2011 models and some 3-Gun applications.


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Articles of operation LLC protect the legal rights and outline responsibilities for a limited liability company. An LLC's articles of operation also delineate its business operations. Although it's important for an LLC to establish articles of operation, it isn't a legal requirement. Unlike the articles of organization, which establishes the LLC, the operating agreement lists the owners, managers, plans for distributing profits, and guidelines for resolving future disputes. While a single-member LLC doesn't necessarily need articles of operation, this document is essential for multiple-member LLCs.
The articles of organization for an LLC serve to register its existence with the state and provide basic information about the company. This document is typically filed with the Secretary of State office in the state where your LLC will do business. Once the state approves, the LLC is authorized to conduct business in the state.
The articles of organization also indicate the LLC's organizer, who must also sign this document before filing it with the state. Any indicated managers must sign the articles as well.
The LLC's registered agent is a representative who is designated to accept legal documents on behalf of the company. In some states, you can authorize the Secretary of State's office to act as the registered agent.
The LLC articles of organization are fairly straightforward and can be completed independently or with the help of a business attorney. In fact, some states, including Ohio, California, and Florida, provide a template you can simply complete. You'll need to submit the articles of organization to the Secretary of State office and pay the filing fee, which varies by state. Preparing the articles of organization provides your business the foundation for success by complying with the LLC requirements of your state.
If you need help with articles of organization for your LLC, you can post your job on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.


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So Im sure if you're reading this blog, you are into science. I am darn sure you came across this fun comic through some realm of social media.
And oh so true too.
Then I thought, darn Im nerdy.
Well, you know what? Being nerdy is awesome!
I believe if you appreciate the world for more than what is just shown, you get a sense of its greater meaning; what it does, why it does what it does, how does it work, etc. The world offers so much to us (especially the beach as refuge from the New England heat wave), we should appreciate what it gives to us.
Plus you get to sound really smart in front of your friends.
So next time youre on the beach with your nerdy science friend, appreciate him/her and appreciate the world around you!

industry_corpus2: Technology & Research


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VIDEO: “The light and the love in me honors and respects the light and the love in you.” Earlier this week, Breckenridge resident Lauren Hoover died at 26 after struggling with injuries suffered in a car collision in early March. Z Griff takes a line for Lauren. Namaste.
Summit Daily field report: Well it’s been a snowstorm and we find ourselves on the other side. 13″ in 48h and conditions are great.
Weather: High 25 F, Low 4 F. Cloudy.
Lift lines: Going to be a mob, ask Phil and Breck Guides how to get on early.
Breakdown: It’ll be a pow-filled Saturday circus.


text: Meet people who have a phone number 📱 In 🏘 Inta, Komi Republic. Dating for adults. Without registering. Real phone number.


text: Listen online to All India Radio North Eastern Service 100.1 FM in Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh) in quality 49 Kbps. Broadcasting was opened in New Delhi (India) in 2002. At this station, for you, plays the best classic content in free live streaming.


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3V is a full-service design and print company with supreme quality and value. Our pricing often beats the big print players (i.e. VistaPrint) while providing best-in-class customer service. From business cards, brochures, posters, banners, signs, stickers, postcards and fliers to special and custom orders like backdrops for red carpet photo shoots and even advertising for race cars, 3V does it all.
3V is a team of talented Digital Marketing experts with a Global Presence but with a "Local First" attitude. We establish long-term relationships with our clients focusing on short term and long term goals while delivering best in class PPC services to meet those goals. We have helped many clients become leaders in their industry.
3V offers managed services including organic and paid social media marketing. We help create, build, support and maintain a comprehensive social media platform that reflects your company's voice, brand, and personality. We focus on delivering a comprehensive, strategic plan that we use to create massive results for our clients.
Our 3V web design services are the perfect solution for businesses and organizations looking to make a bold statement with respect to design and functionality. 3V publishes CMS sites using WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and shopping cars as needed. Full integration with search engines, social media and unmatched marketing capability (i.e. AdWords, AdRoll, Rubicon, etc.) is one of the many benefits that sets us apart from others. Start saving money, better yet, convert your website from a cost-center to a profit-centery by contacting 3V today!
3V's team of graphic designers is dedicated to helping your business communicate through design. With your vision and our expertise, we can market to your audience. Effective graphic design can deliver a brand message and a competitive advantage for your business through user experience. We work within your budget on projects ranging from logo design, redesign, or adaption to custom vectors to complete custom graphic design layouts for all web services and print media.


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The list of attractions in Alicante is very long but the churches occupy a very important place. Many tourists who love art, architecture and culture choose Alicante because they are sure that their tastes will be satisfied by the enormous number of monuments. Alicante’s churches display a spectacular Renaissance style with ornaments that will catch your eye and nourish your soul, so make sure you visit them!
Alicante is a seaside holiday resort situated on the sunny Costa Blanca. It is a vibrant city with a rich historical heritage and beautiful beaches that attract tourists with its special, relaxed atmosphere. When you get to Alicante, prepare for some very busy days, because there are a lot of things to do there and the sightseeing list is very long.
You do not have to spend a lot of money in order to visit Spain, especially Alicante. If you choose hostels for accommodation instead of the expensive luxury hotels, you have the opportunity to save a lot of money that you can use for something else. Here is a list of some of the best hostels in Alicante; I hope you will find it useful!You can choose to fly into the Alicante airport or the Valencia airport. The Alicante airport is about 60 kilometers from Calpe and the Valencia airport is about 105 kilometers from Calpe. Choose the best airport for you depending on flight options from your hometown.
If you have planned on doing a car hire, and have decided to catch a flight to the Valencia airport in Manises, then you have about a 105 kilometres drive to Calpe. Or if your flight has taken you to the Alicante airport, then you are only about 61 kilometres away. Either way, you can take the National Highway N-332 which is free or the A-7 Pay Highway which is quicker and safer, especially in the summer season.
Not too dissimilar to Las Fallas, except taking place on a smaller scale, with most of the festival happenings on the beaches of San Juan de Alicante: Malvarossa, Cabanyal and Aloboroya. The bonfire jumping is the main attraction here and is a traditional event. According to the folklore of the festival, those that can jump three times over the bonfire will be purified of all their sins.
Most visitors travel into the area through the Alicante airport, which is located about 60 kilometres from the city. The Valencia airport is located about 105 kilometres from Calpe. Buses are available from both these airports to the city. If you prefer to have a vehicle, car hire companies operate at both airports for convenient car rentals.The Explanada also has numerous terraces and restaurants, where tourists love to have dinner, as the atmosphere surrounding them is a fantastic one. Enjoy Alicante and make sure you visit its parks, as they are all wonderful!


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The more I read about blockchain and the more I talk to the CIOs, CTOs, developers, and tech-savvy executives I call early adopters, the clearer it is that everyone will need to make sense of blockchain for their organization.
In the biggest sense, blockchain is a proxy for the genuine excitement about applications and platforms that cross company boundaries and support vast ecosystems. Let’s call these collaborative ecosystem applications platforms. Marshall Van Alstyne explained the logic of these platforms in his book Platform Revolution. We should all be excited about such applications.
In a technological sense, blockchain is key for creating an unalterable, trusted record of certain types of transactions. But the problem is that blockchain tech isn’t really needed for all collaborative ecosystem applications.
So, how can each of us figure out what blockchain really means to us? When is the excitement about blockchain about a collaborative ecosystem application that does not in actuality need blockchain? When do such apps really require blockchain? How can existing enterprise data feed blockchain applications and vice versa?
As a start of this series of articles, I am going to focus on how Syncsort is answering these questions. Syncsort is a company that focuses on building the infrastructure to support the modern data supply chain. With products for data integration, data quality, capacity management, mainframe optimization, high availability and security, Syncsort is dedicated to the general proposition of its tagline: Advancing Data. On my podcast, I recently spoke with Syncsort’s CEO Josh Rogers and CTO Dr. Tendü Yoğurtçu. The way they are making sense of blockchain provides important lessons.
Syncsort has identified four megatrends that they are paying especially close attention to and ensuring that their business strategy aligns with. Those are the cloud, streaming data and IoT, data science (which includes machine learning and AI), and data governance. Yoğurtçu told me that Syncsort views blockchain, in many ways, as falling under the data governance mantle and that as a result, the company is focusing on early research and product development to support the growing adoption and expansion of blockchain usage.
Both Rogers and Yoğurtçu see the greatest benefits from blockchain in applications where manual confirmation or cross-border parties are involved, or where automatic tracking and validation visible to all parties is desired. Blockchain helps to eliminate the middleman in many transactions and improves security by validating the authenticity of products and components and reducing counterfeiting. But blockchain-ready applications and tools are nascent and they must mature for blockchain to be widely adopted.
But Syncsort is preparing for this growing adoption because blockchain has applicability in so many sectors, especially those with supply chains, from food to car manufacturing, to cross-border trade. Blockchain can reduce the complexity of tracking these chains and simplify and solidify contractual arrangements between companies.
In addition, Syncsort is very focused on software for the fast-growing Big Iron to Big Data market, driven by the need for data-driven organizations to quickly extract value from critical data across their enterprise, often moving this data from traditional data systems like IBM mainframes and midrange systems and then seamlessly integrating it into a growing number of next-generation analytical platforms. The ability to access and integrate traditional and blockchain data for analysis will be part of this equation.
Given this context of what blockchain can do best, it’s worth returning to the original question of when using blockchain makes the most sense. Rogers told me that part of the difficulty of answering the question is that blockchain technology is still in such early stages.
Rogers added that Syncsort will be engaging in partnerships in the blockchain space that will enable the business to add value and begin to understand the key integration points of working with blockchain.
Yoğurtçu also cautioned that blockchain isn’t completely enterprise-ready yet. She mentioned that to run transactions on blockchain, data will need to be integrated into an existing transactional infrastructure, which requires a new set of tools and utilities to support that integration. Therefore, Syncsort is focused on creating a data pipeline that extracts useful data out of the blockchain platform and delivers it wherever it’s needed.
But if Syncsort and other companies can figure out these data movement questions, the power of blockchain could be more fully leveraged. Then the use cases I mentioned earlier become highly pertinent and businesses can adopt blockchain applications to deal with complex logistics or supply chain issues.
For their part, Syncsort is preparing for the expansion by investing in technology to move data in and out of blockchain. Yoğurtçu said she believes the company is in the best position to manage this data migration because of their existing expertise moving data in and out of mainframe, Hadoop, cloud and on premise data stores as well as streaming distributed platforms.
When data is brought into blockchain, the platform will likely have the same challenges as other platforms in ensuring that once data is in the data lake or warehouse, it can then be extracted for use by applications. And this will lead to data quality, synchronization, and integration problems, and these will need to be supported by a product like Syncsort.
Yoğurtçu also said Syncsort intends to increase the number of security products in the company’s portfolio that can leverage blockchain. As part of this, Syncsort will be partnering with the Hyperledger project.
It’s too early to know the complete shape of the blockchain universe and how companies will use it in the future. But as the technology continues to gain traction, it’s worth analyzing the most promising use cases as well as how businesses like Syncsort are responding as a way to predict what happens next.


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Definition : Syringe medication/vaccine injectors that include some mechanism (manually positioned or activated) intended to shield, blunt, or recess the needle after use, or by some other means lessen the possibility of contact of the healthcare provider with the needle. Some devices combine the injector, protective mechanism, and pre-filled syringe as a single-use integral unit.
Related Terms : "Needles, Injection, Hypodermic, Penlike Cartridge Syringe, Protective"
Entry Terms : "Shielded-Needle Injectors" , "Needlestick Prevention Devices" , "Sharps Injury Prevention Devices"
Safety Syringes, Inc. is actively marketing the UltraSafe Needle Guards for prefilled pharmaceutical glass syringes that are commonly used for vaccines, low molecular weight heparins, and other medicines, including many of the newer biotechnology drugs.

industry_corpus2: Biopharmaceuticals