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The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between educational technologies, social skills and decision making in university students of the Industrial Engineering School from a private university in Lima. This study was basic, its design was non-experimental and cross-sectional. The population was composed of 80 students. The survey was used as a technique and the questionnaire was used as its instrument. The questionnaire had Likert Scale questions. The results allowed determining that there is a significant relationship between educational technologies, social skills and decision making, with a significance lower than .05.
- Educational Technologies
- Social Skills
- Decision Making
- University Students
Melgar Begazo, A. E., Flores Sotelo, W. S., Arevalo Tuesta, J. A., & Anton de los Santos, P. J. (2019). Educational Technologies, Social Skills and Decision Making in University Students. Propósitos y Representaciones, 7(2), 448-456. https://doi.org/10.20511/pyr2019.v7n2.305


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Image from webcam recorded by Ice Age, LK foorumist
Lower photo: Arne Ader
In October fat reserves are collected prior to the winter hibernation – the wild boar feeding sites set up by hunters are checked (on fallow fields too something may still be found), sorties are made into apple orchards. The faeces of bears in autumn can contain purely fruits: apples, cranberries, lingonberries (scarce this year), hazel nuts and other edibles. The big game hunting season is on but bears are capable of slaying ungulates in the forest for themselves …
During the autumn ”fattening-up” period an adult individual can consume up to 20 000 kilocalories of energy per day, or expressed otherwise, for instance eat 400 apples – the increase in body weight, given a proper diet, may be up to up to 400 grams a day. In autumn a brown bear (average weight 100 to 300 kilos) weighs about one-fourth more than in early spring. The weight difference of pregnant females may be half of the springtime weight.
Towards the end of October, as the weather gets colder, the brown bears in our forests become more settled and stay more often near the chosen hibernaton place; the intense feeding subsides.
Territorial marks of bear on pine bark
The number of brown bears can be estimated at slightly over 600 individuals and about 60 female bears with cubs were moving around. When more precise information arrives we will let you know.

domain: biology


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Discrete Dynamics in Nature and Society
Volume 2013 (2013), Article ID 815193, 9 pages
A Novel Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm for Large Scale QoS-Based Service Selection Problem
College of Information Science & Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China
Received 11 March 2013; Revised 25 May 2013; Accepted 3 June 2013
Academic Editor: Manuel De la Sen
Copyright © 2013 Changsheng Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
To tackle the large scale QoS-based service selection problem, a novel efficient clustering guided ant colony service selection algorithm called CASS is proposed in this paper. In this algorithm, a skyline query process is used to filter the candidates related to each service class, and a clustering based shrinking process is used to guide the ant to the search directions. We evaluate our approach experimentally using standard real datasets and synthetically generated datasets and compared it with the recently proposed related service selection algorithms. It reveals very encouraging results in terms of the quality of solution and the processing time required.
With the proliferation of the Cloud Computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) concepts, more and more web services will be offered on the web at different levels of quality . There may be multiple service providers competing to offer the same functionality with different quality of service. Quality of service (QoS) has become a central criterion for differentiating these competing service providers and plays a major role in determining the success or failure of the composed application. Therefore, a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is often used as a contractual basis between service consumers and service providers on the expected QoS level. The QoS-based service selection problem aims at finding the best combination of web services that satisfy a set of end-to-end QoS constraints in order to fulfill a given SLA, which is an NP-hard problem .
This problem becomes especially important and challenging as the number of functionally equivalent services offered on the web at different QoS levels increases exponentially . As the number of possible combinations can be very huge, based on the number of subtasks comprising the composite process and the number of alternative services for each subtask, using the proposed exact search algorithms [4, 5] to perform an exhaustive search to find the best combination that satisfies a certain composition level SLA is impractical. So, most of the researches are concentrated on heuristic-based algorithms especially the metaheuristic approaches aiming to find near-optimal compositions . In , the authors propose heuristic algorithms that can be used to find a near-optimal solution efficiently. The authors propose two models for the QoS-based service composition problem and introduce a heuristic for each model. In , the authors present a genetic algorithm for this problem, in which a special relation matrix coding scheme of chromosomes and an evolution function of population are designed. A simulated annealing process is introduced to increase the population diversity. In , a new cooperative evolution (coevolution) algorithm consisting of a stochastic particle swarm optimization (SPSO) and a simulated annealing (SA) is presented to solve this problem. As a metaheuristic approach, the ACO algorithm is defined by Dorigo et al. , motivated by the intelligent behavior of ant system. It has been applied to solve many problems and obtained satisfying results [10, 11]. The research of its applications for service selection has been also made by several researchers. In [12, 13], the basic principle of ACO is expounded and the service selection based on the QoS is transformed into the problem of finding the optimization path. In , a service composition graph is applied to model this problem and an extended ant colony system using a novel ant clone rule is applied to solve it. In , an algorithm named multipheromone and dynamically updating ant colony optimization algorithm (MPDACO) is put forward to solve this problem, which includes a global optimization process and a local optimizing process. In , the ACO is combined with genetic algorithm to the service selection problem. But, these existing researches for this problem have the following shortcomings. The used construction graphs are static and their information granularities for this problem are too coarse, which makes these algorithms excessively rely on their local search processes. The efficiency of these existing service selection algorithms is not satisfying when the number of candidates becomes large. This is mainly because many redundant candidates exist. If they are not filtered beforehand, lots of search efforts will be wasted at running. Furthermore, if the promising areas are identified early, lots of searching efforts will be saved.
In this paper, the ACO algorithm is extended for solving the QoS based service selection problem, in which an unsupervised clustering process is used for constructing a directed clustering graph to guide the ants making exploration, and a dynamic expanding process is used to enlarge this path for ants making exploitation based on the obtained global information. Furthermore, the Multicriteria Dominance Relationships  are introduced to reduce the problem space for ant-based clustering  to further improve the service selection efficiency. We have compared our approach with the recently proposed service selection algorithms DiGA , SPSO , and MPDACO . The performance of these algorithms has been tested on a variety of data sets provided from several real-life situations and synthetically generated datasets. The computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in comparison to these approaches. This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we give the definition of the QoS-based service selection problem and the basic ant colony algorithm. The CASS algorithm including its model and concrete algorithm description is provided in Section 3. Section 4 present experimental studies and compared the CASS with some other recently proposed algorithms. Finally, Section 5 summarizes the contribution of this paper along with some future research directions.
2. Problem Definition and Ant Colony Algorithm
2.1. The QoS-Based Service Selection Problem
For a composite application composed of a set of abstract services that is specified as abstract workflow , each abstract service corresponds to a service class , and consists of all services that deliver the same functionality but potentially differ in terms of QoS values. Since the value of a QoS attribute is published by the service provider, its value may be positive or negative. We use the vector to represent the QoS values of service , and the function determines the published value of the th attribute of the service . Then, the QoS vector for a composite service consisting of service components is defined as , where the is the estimated end-to-end value of the th QoS attribute. Although many different service composition structures may exist in the workflow, we only focus on the sequential structure, since the other structures can be reduced or transformed to the sequential structure, using for example, techniques for handling multiple execution paths and unfolding loops . So the can be computed by aggregating the corresponding published values of component services.
Definition 1 (abstract metaworkflow). For an abstract workflow , it is an abstract metaworkflow if all its contained abstract services need to bind with a candidate service.
Definition 2 (abstract subworkflow). For an abstract metaworkflow , it is an abstract sub-workflow of if the solution of composite application corresponding to is also a solution of composite application corresponding to .
Definition 3 (feasible selection). For a given abstract workflow and a vector of global QoS constraints , which refer to the user’s requirements are and expressed in terms of a vector of upper (or lower) bounds for different QoS criteria, we consider a selection of concrete services to be a feasible selection, if and only if it contains exactly one service for each service class of a sub-workflow of and its aggregated QoS values satisfy the global QoS constraints; that is, , for all .
In order to evaluate the overall quality of a given feasible selection , a utility function is used which maps the quality vector into a single real value, which is defined as follows: with being the weight of to represent user’s priorities, being the minimum and maximum aggregated values of the th QoS attribute for composite service CS, and denoting an aggregation function that depends on QoS criteria shown as in Table 1.
Definition 4 (service selection). For a given abstract process and a vector of global QoS constraints , the service selection is to find the feasible selection that maximizes the overall utility function value.
2.2. The Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm
In nature, foraging ants communicate indirectly by depositing and sensing pheromone trails. This sets up a positive feedback loop that reinforces promising paths. The ACO algorithm is inspired by this behavior of real ants, in which the artificial ants complete a series of walks of a data structure, known as a construction graph. They lay pheromone trails on this graph edges and choose their path with respect to probabilities that depend on pheromone trails and these pheromone trails progressively decrease by evaporation. In most cases, pheromone trails are updated only after having constructed a complete path and not during the walk, and the amount of pheromone deposited is usually a function of the quality of the path. Furthermore, the probability for an artificial ant to choose an edge often depends not only on pheromones, but also on some problem-specific local heuristics. The classical ACO algorithm is shown as Algorithm 1.
At each cycle, each ant constructs a complete assignment and then pheromone trails are updated including the pheromone depositing and evaporating. The fit is a fitness function used to evaluate an assignment. We can see that when using the ACO metaheuristic to solve a new combinatorial optimization problem, one of the main tasks is to model the problem as the search of a feasible minimum cost path over a weighted graph, where the feasibility is defined with respect to a set of constraints.
3. The Clustering Based Ant Colony Algorithm for Service Selection
Obviously, for an application request with service classes and candidate services per class, there are possible combinations to be examined. So, when the number of functionally-equivalent services offered becomes large, how to effectively shrink the solution space and make the search quickly go right direction is very important. In the CASS algorithm, a skyline query process is used to filter the candidates related to each service class, and an unsupervised clustering process is introduced to partition the skyline services in per service class. Then a directed clustering graph is constructed based on clustering result to abstract the search space and used to guide the ants global searching.
Definition 5 (skyline services). The skyline of a service class , denoted by SLS, comprises the set of those services in that are not dominated by any other service; that is, . We regard these services as the skyline services of .
Definition 6 (dominance). Consider a service class and two services , characterized by a set of of QoS attributes. dominates , denoted as , if is as good as or better than in all parameters in and better in at least one parameter in , that is, for all and .
Since not all services are potential candidates for the solution. Thus, a skyline query can be performed on the services in each class to identify those potential candidates for composition. In the CASS algorithm, the skyline query process is implemented using the fast nondominated process in . If the candidate service number in the skyline of a service class is more than , an unsupervised clustering process is used to discover the similar candidate services, and the candidate service nearest to the cluster center is chosen to represent the service candidates in the th cluster. Then, a directed clustering graph which is used as a represented construction graph for ant colony searching is defined, and ∣ , with , representing the start point and end point and and being the in-degree and out-degree of node . When eighty percent ants deposit the pheromone along the same path in , an expanding process is used to rebuild a construction graph based on this path for ants making exploitation, where and ∣ . The pheromone of the new add vertex is set the same as its related cluster center . We can see that each vertex in these two graphs is associated with a binding relationship of a service class and its service instance.
In the CASS algorithm, the ants communicate by laying pheromone on graph vertices. The amount of pheromone on vertex is denoted by . Intuitively, the amount of pheromone represents the learnt desirability of binding the service class with its th service instance. As proposed in the MAX-MIN ant system , we explicitly impose lower and upper bounds and on pheromone trails . The goal is to favor a larger exploration of the search space by preventing the relative differences between pheromone trails from becoming too extreme during processing. Also, pheromone trails are set to at the beginning of the algorithm to achieve a higher exploration of the search space during the first cycle. The way for an ant constructing a complete assignment is outlined in Procedure 1.
For a given ant that is building the assignment and is currently at the vertex , its feasible neighborhood in the construction (i.e., CG or EG defined above) is defined as . The probability for this ant to select the vertex in its feasible neighborhood is computed as follows: where is the pheromone factor of vertex , is its heuristic factor, and and are the parameters that determine their relative weights. A main difference with many ACO algorithms is that the heuristic factor depends on the whole current set of visited vertices in . It is inversely proportional to the number of new violated constraints when adding to and computed as follows:
After every ant has constructed a complete assignment, the pheromone trails are updated. All pheromone trails are decreased uniformly in order to simulate evaporation and allow ants to forget bad assignments, and then the best ants of the cycle deposit pheromone. More formally, at the end of each cycle, the quantity of pheromone on each vertex is updated as in Procedure 2, where is the evaporation rate, , and ElitistsofCycle contains the best assignments constructed during the current cycle. The is the quantity of pheromone that should be deposited on vertex . It is defined as follows: We can see that the fitness value of an assignment is decided by both its utility value and whether any constraint has been violated by it. Based on the above descriptions, the framework of CASS algorithm can be formulated as Algorithm 2.
In this paper, the ant-based clustering algorithm proposed in  is used for the clustering process. Based on the clustering result, a cluster graph is constructed which provides insight into the large scale service selection problem space and is exploited to predict the subspace crucial to search. When a promising search area is identified, a dynamically expanding process is used to fractionize it for ants exploitation, which greatly improves the solving quality.
4. Experimental Evaluation
In this section, we present an experimental evaluation of our approach, focusing on its efficiency in terms of execution time and the quality in terms of the obtained best solution fitness value, and compare it with the recently proposed related algorithms DiGA , SPSO , and MPDACO  on different scale test instances. All algorithms are implemented in C++ language and executed on a Core (i7), 2.93 GHZ, 2 GB RAM computer.
4.1. Experimental Setup
In our evaluation we experimented with two types of datasets. The first is the publicly available updated data set called QWS (http://www.uoguelph.ca/~qmahmoud/qws/index.html), which comprises measurements of nine QoS attributes for 2507 real-world web services used in this paper. These attributes, priorities, and their aggregation functions are shown in Table 1. These services were collected from public sources on the web, including UDDI registries, search engines, and service portals, and their QoS values were measured using commercial benchmark tools. More details about this dataset can be found in . We also experimented with three synthetically generated datasets in order to test our approach with larger number of services and different distributions through a publicly available synthetic generator (http://randdataset.projects.postgresql.org/): (a) a correlated data set (cQoS), in which the values of QoS parameters are positively correlated, (b) an anticorrelated (aQoS) data set, in which the values of the QoS parameters are negatively correlated, and (c) an independent dataset, in which the QoS values are randomly set. Each dataset contains 25000 QoS vectors, and each vector represents the nine QoS attributes of the one web service. Since all other models can be reduced or transformed to the sequential model using the techniques for handling multiple execution paths and unfolding loops , the sequential composition model is focused on in this paper. For the purpose of our evaluation, we considered a scenario, where a composite application comprises 10 different service classes. Each of the aforementioned datasets is randomly partitioned into the 10 service classes. Through this way, six different scale test instances are created and shown as in Table 2. The T1, T2, and T3 are built from QWS data set, and the other three are built from our synthesized datasets. Tc4 (2500) denotes a composite application with ten service classes, and each service class contains 2500 candidate services from the correlated data set. We then created several QoS vectors of up to 9 random values to represent the user end-to-end QoS constraints. Each QoS vector corresponds to one QoS based composition request, for which one concrete service needs to be selected from each class, such that the overall utility value is maximized, while all end-to-end constraints are satisfied.
4.2. Comparative Results
We run each algorithm twenty times on each test instance. The termination condition for all the algorithms on each test instance is set based on the maximum candidate evaluation number, which is set as . The colony size is set as 50 and the other parameters of the CASS algorithm are set as follows: , and . The parameters of the other three compared algorithms are set as the same as the original papers. We do not made much effort in finding the best parameter settings and leave this task for a future study based on the I-race package . We run each algorithm twenty times on each test instance. The obtained best, worst, and average fitness values are given in Table 2, and the average consuming time for the compared algorithms on each test instance is shown in Figure 1. In order to show the solutions distribution more clearly, the fitness value obtained by an algorithm for th run is converted to a value using the following rule: where and are the minimum fitness value and maximum fitness value found by all the compared algorithms for this test instance. Then the solutions distribution based on value is shown as in Figure 2. The comparisons of their convergence properties for different scale problem are given in Figure 3.
From Figure 1, we can see that the CASS algorithm is faster than the other three compared algorithms for the test instances Tc4, Ta5, and Ti6 and slower than the other algorithms for T1, T2, and T3. The larger the test instance scale is, the faster it is than the other algorithms. This is mainly because the preprocessing phrase for skyline query process and the clustering process will occupy more proportion of the consuming time when the test instance is not large enough. From Table 2, we can clearly get that the proposed CASS algorithm performed greatly better than the compared algorithms. It obtained smaller upper bound, smaller average and smaller lower bound of fitness value which can be further proved by Figure 2. From this figure, we can see that the values of most solutions obtained by CASS algorithm are better than the average values of the solutions obtained by the other algorithms. The average convergence rate in 20 runs for each algorithm on different scale test instances are shown as in Figure 3 which can indicate the convergence properties of these algorithms explicitly. We can obtain that the CASS algorithm converges not faster than the compared other algorithms, but it is not easily trapped into local optimum and its convergent point is the best. So, we can conclude that the proposed CASS algorithm outperforms the compared methods in terms of the utility score, as well as execution time, and possesses competitive performance for the large scale service selection problem.
To tackle the large scale service problem, we propose the CASS algorithm in this paper which is based on the ACO algorithm, the skyline query technique, and the clustering technique. The results of experiment evaluation indicate that our approach excels in both utility and execution time. It not only provides a useful way to solve the service selection problem but also can give a reference for solving other optimization problem. There are a number of research directions that can be considered as useful extensions of this research. We can combine it with some local search strategy or hybrid it with other meteheuristic algorithms. Furthermore, how to tackle the QoS uncertainty during service selection in the CASS algorithm is our next studying problem.
This work was supported by NSFC Major Research Program (61100090, 61073062), the Special Fund for Fundamental Research of Central Universities of Northeastern University (110204006), and the Foundation for New Teachers of Education Ministry (20100042120040).
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Dog treats are a great means to maintain dogs happy, provide enrichment, reward them for desirable actions, and also educate them to do certain tasks. Nothing that beats the look in their eyes when they see No-Hide Chews emerge. At the same time, there are loads of dog treats from which to choose. How can dog owners locate the right one to suit their demands? Here are a couple of important suggestions to bear in mind. Reviewing the Tag of the No-Hide Chews: Among the first things pet dog owners need to understand is how to review the tag. Some of the products that dog owners must try to find in No-Hide Chews include: A shorter ingredient list normally means more all-natural ingredients, Whole food ingredients are generally noted at the top, The earlier a product shows up on the label, the more of it there is, Vitamin C and E are typically used as natural preservatives. At the same time, there are a few things in dog treats that dog owners ought to attempt to minimize. These include: Attempt to stay away from synthetic sweeteners and search for natural ones, such as honey, Stay clear of chemical preservatives when possible, Chemical humectants are in some cases made use of to dampen dog treats but can also be dangerous. The Various Sorts Of Dog Treats - There are bunches of various choices for dog treats and pet owners need to discover the one that works ideal for their furry pal. A few of the most usual choices include: Crunchy dog treats consist of biscuits, cookies, and bars. They come in many sizes and shapes. Soft dog treats are normally chewy in nature. They are a terrific selection for dog training and are normally moist. They are soft, making them much easier to break apart. Another common option for dog treats is dried choices. These are usually meats, such as jerky, and are incredibly appetizing.
At Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming West U, we are proud to offer tasty No-Hide Chews options to every pup in Houston, TX If you are looking for No-Hide Chews, call us today at (832) 742-9138 or visit us at 3135 W Holcombe Blvd

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Katy Perry Sparks Rumors of Being Secretly Married To Fiance Orlando Bloom
Firework singer Katy Perry catches the media’s attention if she’s already secretly married to her fiancé Orlando Bloom.
There are many questions in the media if Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are already married as of 2021. When did it happen? We don’t know for sure? The rumors started after the new mama was photographed wearing what seemed to be a gold wedding band on her ring finger.
We all already know that the couple had been engaged since Valentine’s Day 2019, and they gave birth to their little girl, Daisy Dove Bloom, in August 2020. The pair were eagerly planning for their wedding this year which got canceled amid the worldwide coronavirus pandemic situation.
The paparazzi photos show Perry and Bloom stepping out in their casual attire, enjoying their Hawaii vacation. Both the pair donned baseball caps, with Perry covering her face with a floral face mask and not to miss showing off her gold band. They were accompanied by their six months old daughter Daisy and Orlando’s 10-year-old son Flynn.
You may also like: Lucifer Star Lauren German Boyfriend & Past Relationship
Back in January, sources confirmed that while the couple was doing ‘fantastic’ they “put wedding planning on the back burner, and there’s been no discussion of a new wedding date at the moment,” as the new parents ” don’t want to put any pressure on themselves about it.”
Instead, they’re focusing on their kids and work, “Orlando has been in full dad mode and is such a natural,” the source said. “He’s really focused on Daisy and making her his priority.”
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|Washingtonpost.com — A court in the Dominican Republic has sentenced a New York singer to six years in prison for drug trafficking for trying to smuggle more than a kilogram of heroin in his stomach on board a U.S.-bound flight. Bachata singer Jaime Vargas was arrested in 2010 at Santo Domingo’s airport when a couple of pellets he had swallowed burst. Known by the stage name Jimmy Bauer, he was hospitalized in serious condition(the photo).
He was sentenced Wednesday by a panel of three judges.The New York resident of Dominican heritage was a minor figure in bachata. It is a popular musical genre that originated in the countryside of the Dominican Republic. Vargas was part of a merengue group in Puerto Rico before focusing on bachata in 2005.
Jimmy Bauer, whose real name is Jaime Vargas, was trying to board a flight to the United States when customs and drug authorities stopped him for "strange behavior," 88 pellets were extracted from his stomach. Authorities initially suspected the pellets contained cocaine, but laboratory tests showed it was 1.04 kilograms (2.2 pounds) of pure heroin......
5 Dominicans accused in drug killings sentenced
MercuryNews.com —Three Dominicans hired as hit men by an alleged drug boss known as the "Pablo Escobar of the Caribbean" have been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
A panel of three judges issued their ruling late Friday after a seven-month trial that included testimony from 75 witnesses. Two other suspects received between 15 to 20 years in prison and four others were found not guilty, with judges citing insufficient evidence.
The nine suspects were accused of killing five people and launching other armed attacks from December 2009 to May 2010 through alleged orders from boss Jose Figueroa Agosto, who was arrested in Puerto Rico in July 2010 after a nearly 10-year manhunt following a 1999 prison escape.
Prosecutors had sought a maximum 30-year sentence for all nine men. Judge Pilar Rufino did not say whether prosecutors would appeal the ruling of the four men released.
The five killings occurred in broad daylight in busy locations across the capital of Santo Domingo. Prosecutors accused Figueroa of paying $30,000 per killing. The charges against him related to the killings were later dropped because he was not available to stand trial and attorneys wanted to prosecute the other suspects.
Figueroa is in a New York prison awaiting trial. He is accused of shipping Colombian cocaine to the U.S. mainland through Puerto Rico and still faces several murder charges in the Dominican Republic.

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domain: library


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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act; P.L. 116-136), signed into law on March 27, 2020, included direct payments to individuals—referred to in the law as "2020 recovery rebates." The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) refers to the payments issued in 2020 as economic impact payments (EIPs), whereas some media reports call them "stimulus payments." The recovery rebates are tax credits administered by the IRS. For more information on these payments, see CRS Insight IN11282, COVID-19 and Direct Payments to Individuals: Summary of the 2020 Recovery Rebates/Economic Impact Payments in the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136).
The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act (H.R. 6800), as passed by the House on May 15, 2020, would modify the direct payments provided in the CARES Act. Additionally, the HEROES Act would create a second round of direct payments. This Insight summarizes the proposed modifications, first describing the current-law treatment and then summarizing the HEROES Act changes. This Insight does not discuss the proposed second round of direct payments. A summary of these new payments can be found in a companion Insight.
The Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimates that the HEROES Act changes to the 2020 recovery rebates would cost $22.7 billion. This would add to the total cost of the 2020 recovery rebates, estimated to be $292.4 billion in the CARES Act.
Under the CARES Act, eligible individuals can receive an additional $500 in their direct payment for each child that qualifies for the child tax credit—generally a taxpayer's dependent child that is aged 16 or younger. Individuals cannot receive the $500 amount for older children and adult dependents.
The HEROES Act would expand eligibility for the $500 amount to include all dependents—including older children and adult dependents. This change would be retroactive to the date of enactment of the CARES Act. The Tax Policy Center estimates that in 2019 there were almost 98 million dependents: 69.5 million were eligible for the $500 payments under the CARES Act, while 20.4 million were ineligible because of the definition of dependent used in the CARES Act.
Under the CARES Act, eligible taxpayers must provide a Social Security number (SSN) for themselves, their spouse (if married filing jointly), and any qualifying child in order to receive the direct payment. Adoption taxpayer ID numbers (ATINs) are also acceptable for adopted children. Taxpayers who provide an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) on their return for either (1) themselves; (2) if married, their spouse; or (3) any qualifying children will not receive the direct payment. Hence, married couples in which one spouse has an SSN and another has an ITIN will not receive the payments, nor will U.S. citizen children if they have a parent who uses an ITIN. (The law relaxes these ID requirements for married joint filers in which at least one spouse is a member of the Armed Forces. In those cases, only one spouse must provide an SSN.)
The HEROES Act would allow eligible taxpayers who have provided either an SSN or ITIN on their income tax return to receive the direct payment. This change would be retroactive to the date of enactment of the CARES Act. In 2017, 3,892,194 income tax returns were filed that included at least one ITIN (i.e., for the taxpayer, spouse, and/or dependent). On these returns, a total of 7,512,076 ITINs were used. It is not clear how many of these ITIN filers filed a joint return with an SSN holder. These HEROES Act changes would benefit both ITIN holders and any eligible SSN holder with whom they filed a tax return.
Several federal statutes and regulations ordinarily authorize the Treasury to offset—that is, reduce—a taxpayer's tax refund to satisfy certain debts owed to or collected by governmental agencies, such as tax debts or unemployment compensation debts. Because the direct payments are structured as refundable tax credits, those offset and reduction provisions might have ordinarily allowed the Treasury to intercept some or all of a taxpayer's payment to satisfy that taxpayer's outstanding debts. However, with certain exceptions (i.e., for child support debts), the CARES Act prohibits the Treasury from invoking these offset authorities to reduce the direct payments. In contrast, the CARES Act does not exempt the direct payments from private (or governmental) creditors' claims once the Treasury deposits those funds in the taxpayer's bank account.
The HEROES Act would prohibit the Treasury from offsetting CARES Act direct payments issued after enactment of the HEROES Act for past-due child support. In addition, the HEROES Act would generally exempt payments issued after enactment of the HEROES Act from garnishment, levy, attachment, and other similar debt collection actions by private or governmental (local, state, and federal) creditors.
In accordance with the CARES Act and subsequent guidance, the Treasury is issuing certain direct payments to federal beneficiaries who did not file a 2019 or 2018 tax return based on information provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). For some, the direct payment may be issued to their SSA representative payee ("payee"), RRB payee, or VA fiduciary. However, the CARES Act does not specify the authority or responsibility of payees and fiduciaries to manage these payments on behalf of federal beneficiaries. As of May 14, 2020, SSA has released guidance pertaining to payees of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, while RRB and VA have not done so with respect to payees and fiduciaries under their programs.
The HEROES Act would clarify that if a direct payment for a specified Social Security, SSI, Railroad Retirement, or Veterans beneficiary were issued to a payee or fiduciary, it shall be provided to the entitled beneficiary or used only for the benefit of the entitled beneficiary. Payees and fiduciaries who manage the direct payment would be subject to the same enforcement provisions that apply to SSA, RRB, or VA benefits.

domain: law


March 11, 2020 @ 7:00 pm – March 15, 2020 @ 10:00 pm
AMR, Alhambta & L’Auditoire Calvin
Sud des Alpes 10, Rue des Alpes
39th Jazz Festival – 11th to 15th March 2020
As every year during its festival, AMR celebrates original jazz, improvised music and sound exploration again and again. From Irreversible entanglement to Lucia Cadotsch, including Gregor Ftiçar and Cédric Gysler, local and international programming is rightly mixed. Here is the 39th edition, which is aimed at both initiates and the curious, in three different places, with eleven concerts, a film screening, an internship, a jam and a double exhibition of photos and posters.
Viva la Musica!
The AMR varies the pleasure of the festivities in various places: three evenings of double concerts in the Sud des Alpes (11th, 12th & 13th). L’Auditoire Calvin for a concert in three parts on Sunday 15th: jazz with organ at tea time in the den of a Calvinist, you had to dare! The legendary Alhambra hosts the evenings of Saturday 14th (Kenny Baron and Dave Holland) and Sunday 15th to end the festival on a Nordico-Berlin note with the quintet Koma Saxo.
Founded in 1973 by musicians, the Association for the encouragement of improvised music (AMR) aims to encourage, help and promote, in Geneva and its region, the development and practice of jazz and music improvised, mostly from African-American music. It has developed on three dimensions: training, work support and dissemination.
Full Programme: see here
Tickets: click here


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Regardless of what or where you are growing, healthy soil is the foundation for healthy and happy plants! With some patience and a little bit of work anyone can create healthy soil.
Healthy Soil Characteristics
A good soil has:
- Good texture: You often hear gardeners talk about their soil’s “crumb.” This refers to the texture of the soil. Good soil is crumbly, like cookie crumbs scattered over the top of an ice cream sundae.
- Organic matter: Organic matter is just dead plant and animal tissue, which decomposes and enriches your soil as humus. Humus is wonderful because it helps improve your soil’s texture by binding some of the smaller particles together, which increases your soil’s aeration. It also improves your soil’s ability to both absorb and drain moisture. Finally, organic matter helps provide nutrients to your plants. Microorganisms help break down the organic matter into its basic elements, which enables plants to absorb it and use it.
- Healthy pH: Soil pH is the measurement of the acidity of your soil. This affects the minerals contained in garden soil and their availability to your plants. In general, the closer to neutral your soil is, the better your plants will be able to take up these minerals. Of course, some plants prefer a more acidic soil, but for most flowers, herbs, and vegetables, a more neutral pH is optimal.
Three Main Types of Soil
The next thing to consider is the structure of the soil. There are three main types of soil:2
- Clay soil: Clay has tiny particles that stick together, forming large clumps. While clay soil tends to be of higher fertility than other soil types, it is not optimal to garden in because its texture makes it very difficult for plant roots to work their way into it. Improving clay soil takes some work, but it will make life much easier for your plants.
- Sandy soil: Sandy soil is definitely easier to work than clay soil–but it has the opposite problems: it often drains too quickly and is less able to retain nutrients.
- Loam: This is an ideal garden soil. Crumbly, full of organic matter, retains moisture yet still drains well. This is what we’re working toward; this is “good” garden soil.
Tips for Improving
There are several things you can do to improve your soil. Luckily, they are actually all fairly easy to do.
Test your soil: The first thing to do is learn all you can about your soil. You may want to try a couple of DIY soil tests to learn more about the level of life in your soil and what its texture is like. Getting a soil test from your county’s cooperative extension is a great idea; this will alert you to any deficiencies or pH problems.
Add organic matter: Adding organic matter is hands-down, without a doubt, the number one way to improve your soil. Whether your soil is clay, sand, low in nutrients, compacted, has poor drainage; organic matter will fix it.
So what should you be adding to your soil? Compost is a must. It will improve your soil immediately and introduce microorganisms that will continue improving your soil by further breaking down organic matter. Add as much as you possibly can; it really is nearly impossible to overdo it with compost. Add some in spring before planting. Side-dress your plants with it throughout the growing season, and add more in fall when you are putting the garden to bed. You will see improvement in no time.
In addition to compost, there are several other things you can add to your soil to increase the amount of organic matter (and therefore overall fertility.) Grass clippings, shredded autumn leaves, aged manure, or coffee grounds will help your garden soil increase in fertility, water retention, and improved texture.
Adjust your soil’s pH: Once you have your soil tested, you’ll know whether you have a pH imbalance. If your soil is acidic, there are several things you can do to reduce the acidity level. Generally, the report you receive from your extension service will have recommendations for improving the pH of your soil. The addition of plenty of organic matter will often help this as well.
Don’t compact the soil: One reason so many gardeners like raised beds is because it eliminates one of the main causes of soil compaction: people stepping in the garden beds! Continually stepping or pulling wheelbarrows over a garden bed compacts the soil, making it more difficult for plant roots to grow. Avoid stepping on garden beds as much as possible.
Disrupt soil as little as possible: No-dig or no-till gardening is becoming more popular, partially because it reduces the amount of work the gardener has to do, but also because we understand more about the soil food web. The more we disrupt the soil, the more we disrupt the ecosystem in our soil. That ecosystem is what makes healthy, crumbly, nutrient-rich soil possible. Till and dig as little as possible. Add organic matter to the top inch or two of soil, or just lay it right on top of your garden and let the earthworms work it in for you.
With these tips, you will see a vast improvement in the quality of your soil, and, therefore, in the health and beauty of your plants. It will take a little time, but your patience will be well rewarded.

domain: agronomy


A Jenkins job configured with the Git plugin using the JGit implementation will execute the job at each polling interval, even when there were no changes on the git repository.
The same job, configured with the Git plugin using the git command line implementation only executes the job when there were changes in the git repository.
The problem is visible with both a git protocol repository and with a GitHub repository using the https protocol.
Sample job definitions which show the problem are attached. The job definitions with "jgit" in the XML file name show the problem. The job definitions with "cli" in the XML file name do not show the problem.
There is a simple work around for the problem. Add the "Force polling using workspace" to the job configuration through the "Additional Behaviours" section of the git plugin configuration for the job. That avoids the problem "ls-remote" in the JGit plugin implementation. Unfortunately, it also slows the polling process in those cases where the repository does not already exist
Another work around is to remove wildcards from the branch name in the job definition. Unfortunately, that removes the ability to monitor multiple branches with a single Jenkins job.


text:
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- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 125.00
Drawing on social-legal, cultural and media theory, this book is one of the first to examine the media politics of human rights. It examines how the media construct the story of human rights, investigating what lies behind the apparent media hostility to human rights and what has become of the original ambition to establish a human rights culture.... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 220.00
Causation is a crucial and complex issue in ascertaining whether a particular loss or damage is covered in an insurance policy or in a tort claim, and is an issue that cannot be escaped. Therefore, this unique book will assist practitioners in answering one of the most important questions in the handling of their insurance and tort claims. Through... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 63.95
Alastair Hudson?s Equity and Trusts is an ideal textbook for undergraduate courses on the law of trusts and equitable remedies. It provides a clear, current and comprehensive account of the subject through which the author?s enthusiasm and expertise shine through, helping to bring to life an area of the law which students often find difficult. ... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 145.00
Change and development are going on all around us. On both an international platform, as well as at the local governmental and community level, governments, decision and policy makers constantly strive to improve the world in which we live, seeking to make it better and to improve quality of life. This book focuses on such development in the context... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 74.95
Compulsory Purchase and Compensation is the essential guide to this complex and increasingly relevant area of the law. Now in its tenth edition, no other book presents the same level of information on the law relating to compulsory purchase and compensation in England and Wales in such an accessible way. The best-selling book on the subject, previous... more...
- The History Press 2014; US$ 21.86
Victorian Murders contains all the most shocking cases of murder from Victorian true-crime classic Mysteries of Police and Crime. The author knew many of the greatest detectives of the day, and, as a result, was the first to describe in print the three men - Kosminski, Ostrog and Druitt - that the police suspected of being 'Jack the Ripper'. This... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 58.95
During the Anglo-Norman period a concept of law developed, binding ruler and ruled alike and which was based on custom common throughout the country. This was Common Law and it was from this that subsequent law developed. John Hudson's text is an introductory survey of Common Law for students and other non-specialist readers. Certain aspects of medieval... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 66.95
The sixth edition of Valuation: Principles into Practice continues to be both a core text for all students undertaking surveying qualifications and a handy reference guide for valuers in practice. The new edition has been thoroughly updated with nine completely re-written chapters. The book provides extensive details of valuation principles and... more...
- Taylor and Francis 2014; US$ 495.00
Banks: Fraud and Crime explores the main issues which arise in bank fraud world-wide and looks at the possible options available for corrective action. A series of leading commentators examine the basic nature of bank fraud and financial crime, comparing the legal and regulatory framework in England to those in place in the USA and elsewhere. Banks:... more...


Updated to add Frolkin’s condemnation.
A Russian court has sentenced a soldier who admitted committing war crimes in Ukraine to 5.5 years probation, according to the Sibir.Realii news site. reported THURSDAY.
The court-martial of the Khabarovsk garrison in Russia’s Far East found Daniil Frolkin guilty of spreading so-called “false news” about Russian military activities in Ukraine.
The prosecution had requested a six-year prison sentence.
Frolkin is one of four Russian servicemen suspected of robbing, looting and killing civilians in the Ukrainian village of Andriivka who iStories identified last year using photos the soldiers took on a phone stolen from a resident.
Contacted by iStories, Frolkin confessed to the murder of a resident of Andriivka, identified as Ruslan Yaremchuk, 47.
“I… Frolkin Daniil Andreevich, confess to all the crimes I committed in Andriivka. [I confess] shoot civilians, rob civilians, confiscate their phones and [confess] that our command does not care about our fighters, the entirety of the infantry fighting on the front line,” Frolkin told iStories reporters in a video call in August.
“I killed one. But I wanted to save so many people [as I could]said Frolkin, adding that he had decided to confess in order to save other fellow soldiers who are being sent to “slaughter” in Ukraine.
“[I will be jailed] not for what I did in Ukraine, but for all the information that I am going to give you. I just want to confess everything and explain what is happening in our country. I think it would be better if the war never started,” Frolkin told iStories in the video interview.
Located about 60 kilometers west of kyiv, Andriivka was occupied by Russian forces in the early days of the invasion in February.
At least 40 of Andriivka’s approximately 1,000 residents were killed during the Russian occupation that lasted until April, according the BBC.
The Russian Ministry of Defense had claims that “the civilian population is not in danger” as his troops invaded Ukraine.
Shortly after the war began, Russia passed laws that punish the sharing of information that contradicts the Kremlin’s account of its “special military operation” in Ukraine with up to 15 years in prison.


The mother of shooting victim Trayvon Martin is setting up a foundation in her son's name to help people who are affected by gun violence.
An all-female jury acquitted volunteer watchman George Zimmerman of second-degree murder and manslaughter after he shot Mr Martin in a gated community in Sanford in Florida.
Mr Martin was unarmed at the time and Mr Zimmerman, 29, claimed he acted in self defence.
At a mass rally in New York, Sybrina Fulton gave a passionate speech dedicating herself to social and legal change.
"So people have some place to go if they are victims of senseless gun violence ... and to change the laws because they don't work for us," she said.
Briefly overcome with emotion, she thanked the crowd for turning out.
"Trayvon would be proud," she said.
"Not only do I have to do what I have to do for Trayvon, I'm going to work for your children as well."
She then pleaded for campaigners to ensure the protests did not spill over into unrest.
Ms Fulton was joined by prominent celebrities including Jay Z and Beyonce who performed at the rally outside the police headquarters.
There have been more than 100 rallies from DC to Miami and Los Angeles, to highlight frustration with the justice system.
Trayvon Martin's father spoke at a peace vigil in Miami in front of up to 500 people.
"The death of my son, we believe, has to make changes in our society and repeal the laws that allow [someone] to kill somebody just because someone thinks (he) is suspect," Tracy Martin said.
Some people wore t-shirts with pictures of Trayvon Martin and messages such as "we want justice, equal justice."
The gathering dispersed after a short time due to a heavy downpour and some participants expressed disappointment at the small turnout.
"You see only black people, when this should be a Hispanic, white issue," said Marie Falaise, 39, a Miami resident born in Haiti.
Obama speaks out
The protests came a day after US president Barack Obama publicly identified with the slain 17-year-old and the deep frustrations felt among African Americans over the verdict.
"Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago," Mr Obama said.
Praising the "incredible grace and dignity" shown by Mr Martin's parents through the ordeal, Mr Obama said "some soul-searching" on race was in order and it was understandable that there be protests and vigils.
Mr Obama did not comment directly on the verdict but he called for a review of the controversial state self-defence laws.
The organisers are calling for changes to stand-your-ground laws which they believe are unjustly applied to African-Americans.
The law asserts that citizens can use lethal force, rather than retreat, if they sense their lives are at risk.
"We are not going to be silent, we'll stand up for what's right, we'll stand up for justice," civil rights campaigner Al Sharpton said at the New York rally.
"If you mess with one of the children, the family has to come in and protect them.
"We all have children and we feel the fear and apprehension, the laws must protect everyone," he added.


text:
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used for decades to regenerate damaged tissue. Numerous studies have shown that introducing platelet-rich plasma to the scalp can stop hair loss and increase the density of hair.
PRP therapy is a relatively simple procedure that uses platelets from your own blood - which is why the risk is so low. These platelets will help your scalp tissue regenerate and encourage healthy hair growth.
During the appointment:
🩸First, you will have blood drawn from your arm (similar to what you'd experience during a routine blood test).
🩸It takes around 10-15 minutes for the PRP injection to be prepared, which is then injected into your scalp.
After the appointment:
🩸You may experience just some minor sensitivity from this procedure.
🩸Hair loss will decline almost immediately after your appointment.
🩸After a few weeks, you should begin to notice hair regrowth. This regrowth will be thicker due to an increase in the blood flow to the follicle.
🩸With continued treatment, patients are able to maintain consistent hair growth.
🩸Because PRP is a non-surgical procedure, there is no recovery period..
To schedule a consultation for PRP treatment in Calgary, book a consultation by calling 403-252-4410.

domain: medical


text:
As regular readers know, I love pizza. I really really really love pizza.
Last night after a tough body pump class workout (my triceps are killin’ me today), I was craving some comfort food and wanted pizza in a bad way. Instead of forking over some dough (get it? he he) and buying one somewhere on my way back from the gym, I made my own from what I had in the kitchen.
This resulted in some more flatout wrap experimentation!
Now, I’m totally down for going out for pizza every once and a while (in fact, I’m going to Matchbox on 14th street this weekend!) as evidenced by this post, and this one, AND this one. But because I love pizza so much and lets be real- it’s not the healthiest thing for you- I have resolved to find ways to health-ify pizza still enjoy it on the reg.
The toppings part is easy- just be conscious of what you’re adding and how much. I go for lean proteins like ground turkey, chicken sausage, or chicken. I also make sure there are plenty-o veggies to go around. I try and keep the sauce pretty basic and the cheese amount relatively light.
The tough part and what really makes or breaks a pizza is definitely the crust. I’ve replaced your typical crust with whole grain english muffins, whole grain pitas, gluten free crusts from the freezer aisle of the grocery store, pre-made whole grain crusts, organic corn meal pizza crusts, portobello mushroom caps, and have even tried the recently popular cauliflower crust.
There are a bajillion different options out there for a healthier homemade pizza. Tina recently blogged about a sweet potato pizza crust which I’m going to have to try. I heart pizza and I heart sweet potatoes.
Last night, however, it was my flatout wraps time to shine.
I put a wrap on a PAM sprayed baking sheet, drizzled a little olive oil on it, and baked it at 350 degrees for a little over five minutes to get it crispy before adding toppings.
While it cooked I steamed some broccoli and sauteed some spinach to put on the pizza. When I took the pizza out I added some garlic, crushed tomatoes for sauce, chicken, the broccoli and spinach, and goat cheese. I also shook some basil and crushed red pepper flakes over the top.
I then cooked this for about five minutes and broiled it for two. It could have gone longer but I was wicked hungry and slightly nervous I’d burn the pizza and have to toss it (which would have been horrible).
It was pretty yummy- I gotta say! The outside edges of the wrap stayed pretty firm and crispy. The middle got a little soft but I sort of expected that. The wraps are pretty thin and I loaded this bad boy. But I could pick up slices without it falling apart so I’d call that a success.
My great dinner was followed by a not so great night’s worth of sleep. I’m a tired girl today. A very very tired girl. I woke up around 2am and couldn’t go back to sleep till 5am . WHY BODY WHY. I’ve been trying to stay positive all throughout today and not focus on the sleepiness.
To shake out the tiredness, this morning I just threw on one of my favorite outfits, made sure Marylous coffee was brewing, and made a two-ingredient pancake which I hadn’t had in a while. Of course I had a flipping failure. The entire top part was disconnected from the rest of the pancake- don’t let the picture fool you.
This is why cinnamon swirl peanut butter exists- to cover broken pancakes and hide mistakes 😉
Lucky for my tired self, I had already planned for today to be an off day from exercise (I would have had to take an unplanned off day otherwise and you would have had to listen to me whine). Also lucky for me- it was gorgeous outside today. The sunrise this morning was beautiful and the weather thus far has been sunny and bright. It’s amazing how much happier I am when the sun is out and about.
I just had to make it through this last work day before my WEEKEND. Which is starting off by grabbing dinner with my friend Jess. Hooray for sweet plans!
I can’t believe it’s the weekend already. I’m not complaining. Some days feel so longgg but the weeks overall just fly by. Is it that way for anyone else?
Stay happy and healthy xoxo

domain: food


text:
In Texas, the Fort Worth and the Irving police departments are the 112th and 113th public safety communications centers, respectively, in the United States and the 13th and 14th agencies in the state of Texas to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP).
Launched in 2011 as a public‐private partnership, TMA’s ASAP service is designed to increase the accuracy and efficiency of calls for service from alarm companies to ECCs.
The Fort Worth ECC went live the week of Aug. 15 with: Vector Security, Rapid Response Monitoring Services (RRMS), Security Central, Stanley Security, Securitas, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Guardian Protection, Brinks Home, Affiliated Monitoring, Vivint, Alert 360, United Central Control (UCC), Protection 1 and National Monitoring Center (NMC). ADT will go‐live with Fort Worth in the near future, according to an announcement.
The Irving PD ECC went live on Aug. 16-17 with: RRMS, Alert 360, Stanley Security, Securitas, Guardian Protection, Protection 1, Vector Security, Tyco (Johnson Controls), UCC, Vivint, Security Central, Brinks Homey, NMC and Affiliated Monitoring. Allstate Security and ADT will go‐live in the near future, according to the announcement.
To learn more about TMA’s ASAP service, go here.


Since the new Integra has been confirmed, the complete automotive world is talking about the comeback of the legendary compact performance car from the 90s. Car enthusiasts still considering probably the best FWD car ever made and from our experience, that’s not far from the truth at all. That model was super light, with super-precise handling and the legendary V-TEC engine that revs all-away up to 9.000 RPMs. The new model will be slightly different, adapted to the modern age. However, its essence will remain the same, we believe. The great news is that the new generation will come in a high-performance variant, as the 2023 Acura Integra Type R.
That model will come with additional upgrades over the standard model, which already comes with a full pack of features. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the engine, but we also count on all kinds of chassis upgrades, even sportier suspension, bigger brakes and similar things. Without any doubt, that model will also come with lots of unique styling details, which will accentuate its high-performance character.
We believe that the 2023 Acura Integra Type R will be ready for the second half of the next year, though the officials are still quiet.
2023 Acura Integra Type R Design
When it comes to base design characteristics, we expect no surprises. The new Integra will replace the old ILX, which means it will compete in the segment of small premium sedans. Therefore, most of its parts will be shared with the new, 11th generation of Civic, which has just been released. That platform will be a perfect basis for the new Integra, as the new Civic is light and super engaging to drive.
Of course, this also means that the new Integra will get bigger, as the wheelbase will probably go up to 107.7 inches. Still, we are pretty sure that this won’t affect its maneuverability and overall agility.
In the case of 2023 Acura Integra Type R, we expect all kinds of upgrades. First of all, we presume that the company will do additional modifications to the suspension setup, which should share a lot of components with the upcoming Civic Type R. Naturally, the brakes will also be bigger compared to standard models. A limited-slip differential is a certain thing, as it will be a standard feature even in the most basic version of the new Integra.
When it comes to styling, the new look will certainly be based on the standard version. You may count on the same 4-door sedan/liftback layout, which will follow to the brand’s latest design language. Of course, we have no doubt that the new model will come with lots of exclusive styling details that accentuate its performance character. That would start with more aggressive bumpers, as well as with other upgraded parts of the body kit, such as side skirts, front splitter, rear diffusor etc. A decently sized rear spoiler is another thing we expect to see, along with an upgraded exhaust system. Other things that come to our minds are unique wheels designs, exclusive color options etc.
The interior of the next-generation Integra is still a mystery, so we could say the same for the 2023 Acura Integra Type R. Still, some of the things are relatively easy to predict. As we are talking about a four-door sedan with over 107 inches in wheelbase, there is no doubt that there will be plenty of passenger room. Both rows should be able to accommodate adults pretty easily, which would be a great plus for a sports car like this.
When it comes to the dashboard design and overall cabin layout, we might see some inspiration from the rest of Acura’s lineup, but there’s no doubt that the new Integra will come with a plethora of unique design solutions as well, which will resemble the predecessor’s design. The 2023 Acura Integra Type R will come with additional upgrades. Some of the first things that come to our mind are sports seats, upgraded steering wheel, exclusive gear shifter, aluminum pedals, unique color schemes and some exclusive materials.
Of course, we are also pretty sure that the new Integra Type R will come packed with a full load of the latest tech features. Count on a similar infotainment system to the one found in the new Civic. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a bigger screen. Also, we count on lots of the latest connectivity features, including wireless smartphone integration. Furthermore, the list of standard and available safety and driver-assistance features should be pretty long as well.
2023 Acura Integra Type R Engine
We have finally come to the most interesting part of the new 2023 Acura Integra Type R. For now, we know for sure that standard models will come with Honda’s familiar 1.5-liter turbo-four engine, which puts out around 205 horsepower. That’s the same version of the engine that powers the new Civic Si, and it should provide pretty decent performance for an entry-level car.
When it comes to the 2023 Acura Integra Type R, we presume it will use the same 2.0-liter turbo-four as the Civic Type R. This engine will probably get some upgrades for the new models, and we presume that the max output will increase to somewhere between 320 and 350 horsepower. With all that power, the new Integra should be able to hit sixty in about five seconds, while the top speed should go over 170 mph.
Of course, the engine will be paired with Honda’s famous 6-speed manual transmission, which is arguably the best manual gearbox you can find today (along with Porsche’s manual transmission).
What About Hybrid Powertrain?
Some sources also speculate about the possibility to see the new Integra with a hybrid powertrain. That would probably be a new, plug-in hybrid setup, with electric motors on rear wheels. Purists would definitely say that such a layout doesn’t belong to Integra, which has always been the other name for an FWD sports car, but if we consider that we are living in the era of electrification, this actually seems like a logical next step. We presume things will be clearer in the next few months.
2023 Acura Integra Type R Release Date and Price
At thispoint, it is hard to talk about a more precise date. However, we believe that the new performer could hit the market already in the second half of the next year. While the base model will probably cost around 30.000 dollars.
We presume that the 2023 Acura Integra Type R price would go around $45.000. Key competitors should be models like Audi S3, BMW 2 Series M240i etc.


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Massive Disneyland Attraction Database
Above: The Marc's House and Greet Marc adventure during repairs
Marc's House and Greet Marc
March 10, 1966
Avg. queue length:
After you amble
through Marc's house, you'll have no choice but to enter his Cartoon Coop in the former servants' quarters. There you can observe Marc once again animating a scene from his latest film, "Mark Twain Willie". Be sure to pinch his apple!
- If this is your first visit to Disneyland, you should plan to go on this adventure just before leaving so you never have to again.
- If you are visiting with pirate fans or autograph fanatics, you may want to also visit the inescapable character meet-and-greet area.
- Minimum height 31".
- Expectant mothers may particularly want to avoid this adventure.
- This adventure closes at random.
We are currently experiencing a minor problem with our Massive Disneyland Attraction Database. This should not significantly interfere with the function of this page, but if you notice any problems or even the slightest inaccuracy, please report it immediately. Thank you for your prayers.

domain: entertainment


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India is set to play a day-night Test in Bengaluru against Sri Lanka, and will now also play the T20I leg of the tour first – a reversal of what had been originally scheduled.
The dates are still being tweaked, but the BCCI appears to have agreed to Sri Lanka Cricket’s request to play the shorter format first, to allow a smoother bubble-to-bubble transfer of their T20I squad, who will have just concluded a series in Australia.
The first Test will now be played in Mohali, with the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, set to host the tour-ending pink-ball Test. Dharamsala is likely to open the tour with the first two T20Is before the teams proceed to Mohali for the final game.
Another reason for the change as per a Karnataka State Cricket Association official is Bengaluru offers direct connectivity to Colombo, which would then allow Sri Lanka to fly home without a stopover.
Reluctant for long to host pink-ball Tests, the BCCI came onboard with the idea for the first time when they hosted Bangladesh at Eden Gardens in November 2019.


About eight years ago Engepack Embalagens S.A. (Simoes Filho Brazil) started in business with two goals: to specialize in providing beverage bottles of polyethylene terephthalate and to offer prelabeled bottles as economically as possible. The company discovered that creating a market for PET beverage bottles was a lot tougher than delivering them efficiently. "When we started producing preforms and bottles the main difficulty was to convince the soft drink companies to use the PET bottle" explains Emilio Derballe Engepack president. "We had a hard time at first. "But we successfully opened up the market for PET and then a lot of competition entered the market attracted by its growth. To keep our market share we found that we needed the best people the best equipment and the most economical bottle production lines." From its founding in 1989 Engepack headquartered in northern Brazil has been on a fast track. It recorded sales of $10 million U.S. its first year and it has virtually doubled in size every year since. It operates 16 plants two that injection-mold bottle preforms and 14 facilities that blow mold the preforms into bottles and label them at strategically located plants that support Coca-Cola and other soft drink bottlers throughout Brazil. Its molding and labeling plant at Jundiai is one of its showplaces. Not only does the plant blow both 600-mL and 2-L PET bottles but more than two kilometers (2 yards) of air conveyors transfer bottles from blow molders and from storage to labelers and to filling. From the labelers the bottles cross an enclosed bridge that links the plant with high-speed filling lines at SPAL Industria Brasiliera de Bebidas S.A. This coupling of bottle molding and decorating is typical of Engepack; some 90% of its 700-million-bottle annual volume is supplied via a bridge or through a wall to its customers' filling operations.


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South Africa president tests positive for Covid-19 amid surge of Omicron cases
- Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed Covid-19 on Sunday a statement from the presidency announced. He is mildly ill.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is receiving treatment for mild COVID-19 symptoms after testing positive for the disease Sunday, his office said.
Ramaphosa started feeling unwell and a test confirmed COVID-19, a statement from the presidency announced.
He is self-isolating in Cape Town and is being monitored by the South African Military Health Service, the statement said. He has delegated all responsibilities to Deputy President David Mabuza for the next week.
Ramaphosa, 69, is fully vaccinated. The statement didn’t say whether he had been infected with the omicron coronavirus variant.
Last week, Ramaphosa visited four West African countries. He and all members of his delegation were tested for COVID-19 in each of the countries during the trip. Some in the delegation tested positive in Nigeria and returned directly to South Africa. Throughout the rest of the trip, Ramaphosa and his delegation tested negative. Ramaphosa returned from Senegal on Dec. 8
Ramaphosa said his own infection serves as a caution to all people in South Africa to be vaccinated and remain vigilant against exposure, the statement said. Vaccination remains the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization, it said.
People in South Africa who have had contact with Ramaphosa on Sunday are advised to watch for symptoms or to have themselves tested, it said.
Video taken at the Battle Creek Executive Airport by apparent air show attendees and posted on social media showed the truck losing control, bursting into flames and crashing, flipping over multiple times as horrified spectators looked on.
The Royal House said on its website late on Sunday that an event in southern Denmark to commemorate the end of the first three stages of the Tour de France cycling race, hosted by the Danish Crown Prince and with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in attendance, had been cancelled.
The Friday night ruling stopped a three-day-old order by a Houston judge who said clinics could resume abortions up to six weeks into pregnancy. The following day, the American Civil Liberties Union said it doubted that any abortions were now being provided in a state of nearly 30 million people.
"If our systems identify that someone has visited one of these places, we will delete these entries from Location History soon after they visit," Jen Fitzpatrick, a senior vice president at Google, wrote in a blog post. "This change will take effect in the coming weeks."
Two Indo-Canadian academics, working on research to advance the betterment of mankind, have been honoured with one of the country's most prestigious awards, the Order of Canada. Their names were in the list published by the office of the governor-general of Canada Mary Simon. Both have been invested (as the bestowal of the awards is described) into the Order as a Member. They are professors Ajay Agrawal and Parminder Raina.

domain: politics


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Another quick supper dish, this is good towards the end of the summer when the tomatoes are plentiful and green peppers are cheap. For 2 omelettes the ingredients are:
|4 large eggs|
|1 large green pepper, deseeded and chopped|
|1 onion, peeled and chopped|
|1 clove garlic, crushed|
|225g ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped|
|½ teaspoon Herbes de Provence|
|Oven temperatures and Conversions|
|Click here for information|
|There is no list of equipment specified for this recipe.|
This recipe first appeared in Delia's Frugal Food.
Heat a little oil in a medium-sized pan, then stir in the chopped pepper, chopped onion and crushed garlic, and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Then add the tomatoes and Herbes de Provence, season and cook gently without a cover for about 20 minutes.
Now get ready for the first omelette by breaking 2 eggs into a bowl, seasoning and stirring lightly with a fork.
Then heat a smear of oil in an omelette pan and, when it is really hot, pour in the beaten egg and start to draw the eggs in to cook the omelette.
After a few seconds, spoon half the pepper and tomato mixture over half the omelette, fold the other half of the omelette over the filling and invert the pan to tip the omelette out on to a warmed plate.
Now quickly prepare the other omelette, using the remaining filling, and serve immediately with some crusty bread and a nice crisp green salad.
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Visit the Delia Online Cookery School with Waitrose
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Copyright © 2009 Delia Smith/New Crane Internet Limited, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Skip to site-wide links.
Reflections > Witchcraft and Quakerism > Contents
<... Preface | Contents | Chapter One ...>
Frontispiece - George Fox and the Witches (R. Spence etching)
Superstition in England and America in the Seventeenth Century
The Camisards -- George Fox and Witchcraft
Anti-Quaker Publications in connection with Witchcraft
State and Quaker Laws against Witchcraft and Sorcery
Minutes of Pennsylvania Meetings against Witchcraft
Whittier's Attitude toward the Subject -- Dreams and Visions
Chapter One ...>>
Frontispiece | Title page | Preface | Contents (top) | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6
Return to page content (above).
Street Corner Society -- at the intersection of religion & politics, conscience & law, history & biography


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Succeeding at value-based care isn’t just about the numbers. Success depends as much, if not more, on the trust between providers and payers. Both sides share the same goal: providing more value—better clinical outcomes for less cost—to patients and members. Yet, unless both sides trust each other, collaborating to achieve that common goal can be difficult.
Features related to service delivery quality, patient source and patient involvement appear to contribute more to the patient’s payment decision than features related to physician reputation.
As healthcare consumerism grows and patients pay more of their medical bills out of pocket, trust will become a big competitive differentiator in the market as patients select their providers, exerting even more margin pressure on hospitals, health systems and medical practices across the country.
Xtelligent Healthcare Media recently released a survey of clinicians, conducted in January and February 2020.The survey includes 196 clinicians consisting of medical specialists, primary-care physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses. 55 percent of the clinicians worked at hospitals or health systems, and 29 percent worked at independent clinics or private medical practices.
63% of clinicianshave little or no trust in private payers like commercial health plans
Despite the fact that 84 percent of the respondents said they participate in a value-based care or reimbursement model with one or more payers, a majority said they didn’t trust their partners:
- 63 percent said they have little or no trust in private payers like commercial health plans
- 58 percent said they have little or no trust in public payers like Medicare or Medicaid
So what’s behind this lack of trust in private and public payer partners?
The survey points to a serious lack of collaboration caused by a number of hurdles.


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Twenty Chinese property developers, faced with slumping sales and prices, plan to hold online auctions in an attempt to attract more home buyers to their showrooms, state media said Wednesday.
Companies, including SOHO China and China Vanke, the country's largest property developer, will each provide five apartments "periodically" for auction, with the opening bid price set at zero, Beijing Morning Post said.
"The transactions will bring more clients to our showrooms," Zhou Xin, chairman of Shanghai-based real estate group E-House China, was quoted as saying.
But Zhou warned that property developers must be "psychologically prepared" to accept an offer of as low as 20,000 yuan ($3,135) for a large apartment -- almost the same as the cost of one square metre in Beijing's property market.
SOHO China declined to comment when contacted by AFP, while calls to China Vanke and E-House China went unanswered.
A slowdown in China's property market, a mainstay of the world's second-largest economy, could have a knock-on effect on the global economy, analysts warn.
Tough government restrictions on property purchases and bank lending have triggered a nationwide fall in sales volumes and prices, fuelling fears the market could collapse and send debt-laden real estate developers to the wall.
A surge in bank lending in recent years has fuelled investment in the real estate sector and pushed property prices out of the reach of many ordinary Chinese, angering people struggling to buy their first home.
Official data showed the number of major Chinese cities posting a drop in home prices doubled to 34 in October from September, in a sign efforts to cool the country's red-hot property market were working.
Despite concerns of a damaging slump in prices, top Chinese leaders have vowed to maintain measures such as bans on buying second homes in some cities in the hope that apartments will become affordable for more people.
© 2011 AFP

domain: finance


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The sixth graders have worked with tints and shades in large paintings with tempera paint. Watercolor was next in coloring in their pictures of activities they do in a group. Many sports pictures came out of this project, and many meaningful expressions of sharing times with others. To finish off the first trimester, students drew geometric shapes in which the points barely touched another shape to create a drawing based on a drawing by Kandinsky called Nearly Touching. Among the projects to follow for trimester two will be to create animal from clay.
- For Parents
- For Staff

domain: design


Winter lube for Alfine 8
I have a Pugsley that I built up with the Alfine 8 IGH....and really like it. I do bike in sub-zero temps and wonder if any of you have re-lubed one using a lighter oil and grease. I can't help but think that it would roll a lot easier if it was lubed with say a synthetic lube. I am sure that you should use the lube that Shimano recommends, and maybe I should just do a re-lube using that. However...when the temps drop well below zero, I can't help but think that a lighter weight lube that would not gel up in the colder temps would be in order.
At present I've got a mix of white grease and 90 weight gear oil in mine. It seems to work just fine in the winter although one of the downshifts is a little slow on occasion (winter or summer). I just put a new shifter, cable and housing on the beast, so maybe that was all it was.
Pursuiter (posts here too) has been using ATF in his. He says it works fine, but imho it is a bit too thin an oil for the hub.
I suspect his probably spins quite a bit easier than mine. I saw no change in performance after flushing and relubing other than a reduction in noise.
I run Mobil 1 ATF in mine and have for several years. I've used it in my car for years, why not in my IGH powered by my wimpy < 1hp legs It does shift very smoothly. I was riding on Global FatBike Day and several ATF/Alfine 8 user came up to me and told me how much better it shifted esp in the cold. Nice thing is, what ever you choose, if you don't like it you can change to a different lube with ease.
Old School, It's been my experience that if a new hub isn't rolling with ease (with stock lube) the hub needs to be adjusted ASAP.
Thick as a Brick....
My hub is running smooth, and shifts fine. However, I heard from one person that said that last winter he was feeling like the rides on sub zero days were really hard, and thought he was getting out of shape. It turns out that the grease in his front hub had thickened up with the extreme cold. The bike shop that worked on it told me he used a special grease for winter use, and after cleaning it out and re-lubing, it made a huge difference.
Therefore, I figure that using a lighter lube for the Alfine could only improve it... such as pursuiter has noted. I know when I rode motorcycles I always used a para-synthetic oil, in this case Conklin, which made the engine run much smoother. I appreciate the suggestions....many thanks.
All: Synthetic snowmobile bearing grease by Castrol works for my headset and all bearings, as does any synthetic fine gear oil with a 'Pour Point' below -40C/-40F for my Sachs hub. Check the manufacturer's web site before phoning around to see if anybody has it.
One day biking to work by the airport, where a Canadair Regional Jet was frozen, a CC-130 Hercules was sidelined by a cracked port-hole, -42C, I did notice that my headset was stiff- I just about fell on my ar#%^ trying to turn off the AK highway!--that was the only time I had not brought my bike mechanic the sno mo bearing grease, he used <regular> grease, so proper low temp lubes make a big difference!
Originally Posted by véloneige


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Olamilakan Agbelese, better known by his stage name Laycon, has long been a darling among fans, having won one of Big Brother Naija’s most watched and followed seasons. However, a recent tweet from Laycon infuriated his supporters, who have since turned against him. On Twitter, the reality TV star voiced his shock at the fact that many people do not want the nation to continue operating. In a post on X, reality TV personality Laycon lamented that not enough people were sending positive vibes to the nation. Those people, he claimed, had no desire to improve the country since their preferred candidates had lost. The musician asked why it was so difficult for people to unite in favour of the winning candidate and the nation’s progress.
Reactions have followed Laycon’s tweet regarding Nigerians. He made a point that many found offensive. Fans responded angrily following the singer’s statement, sending him to the gallows for his disrespectful remarks. Some fans expressed their disappointment and questioned Laycon’s understanding of the struggles faced by Nigerians. Others called for him to apologize and educate himself on the issues before making such statements. The controversy sparked a heated debate on social media, with some defending Laycon’s right to express his opinion while others condemned him for his insensitivity.


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Numerous agencies predict record breaking holiday sales for 2019.
It’s easy to find big deals on Cyber Monday from commercial giants like Walmart and Home Depot.
But as online sales figures continue to increase year by year, the newly heralded commercial holiday remains the purview of corporations, not the small business owner.
Renaya Soros, of Pike Creek, said she has largely avoided brick-and-mortar shopping for a few years, except for small or last-minute items that pop up on her holiday shopping list.
“I hate to say it, but I am one of those people,” she said, laughing. “I’m on my phone ordering stuff as soon as I get up. Sometimes before then, because Amazon has some specials the week before.”
She added that last year, she accomplished nearly all of her gift shopping on Cyber Monday, with packages arriving as late as two days before Christmas – too narrow a margin for her comfort.
“I guess that’s one benefit of going out to shop – you have it in your hands, and there’s comfort in that,” she said. “I just can’t stand crowds. It gives me a panic attack. I even buy my decorations online.”
While Amazon has never reported hard figures, the mega-company said that 2018 was its largest Cyber Monday yet, with customers having ordered more than 180 million items during the “Turkey 5” – the five days between Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday.
Making sales history
Cyber Monday made its debut Nov. 28, 2005, announced on the National Retail Foundation’s website, shop.org.
According to TechCrunch, Cyber Monday sales transactions hit an all-time record in 2018 at $7.9 billion with $2.2 billion made via smartphones or similar devices.
That’s up 19.7% on 2017’s estimated $6.6 billion.
While USA Today reported that last year’s biggest gifts ranged from PlayStation 4 bundles, iPads, and robot vacuum cleaners, Digital Trends predicts a number of hot Cyber Monday deals that include Apple Watches, outdoor security cameras, and 4K TVs – to name just a few.
Adobe Digital’s Holiday Forecast for 2019 predicts Cyber Monday sales to hit the $9.4 billion mark, with a predicted $143 billion in sales between Nov. 1 and Nov. 17.
The report also predicts Cyber Monday 2019 as the best day to buy that new television you’ve been eyeing, with an average savings of 19%.
Small biz alternative
In between the madness of Black Friday and the digital rush of Cyber Monday lies a smaller shopper’s extravaganza that keeps the sales local.
Small Business Saturday started in November 2010, promoted by American Express as the alternative to both Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with the focus on shopping local.
Within two years, all 50 states had businesses participating in Small Business Saturday.
In a report from the National Federation of Independent Businesses 2018 Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, researchers noted a 104 million shoppers spent a record high of $17.8 billion.
Charles Shattuck, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Hockessin, said that since many of his items would be hard to ship, he shies away from Cyber Monday sales – in fact, his store doesn’t even do Black Friday deals.
“We focus much more on Small Business Saturday,” Shattuck said. “We want to get people through the door, that’s the reason we have the store in the first place – to make that connection with our clients.”
He added that most small businesses couldn’t keep up with the overhead and logistical costs in keeping online sales running.
“Could you imagine a place like Everything but the Kitchen Sink or Casual Marketplace trying to ship some of the stuff they carry?” Shattuck said. “They couldn’t do it.”
Nov. 30 marks the date for Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday officially starts Dec. 2.


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Odyssey Toulon Design Madison H8 Golf Putter
Odyssey's classic Madison design features their new full shaft offset mid slant hosel, for an incredibly smooth transition from the neck to the head. This iconic design has been further refined for 2017 with softer blends and beautifully radiused edges. A 45° toe down will suit moderate arcing strokes. Comes with a pre-installed Aluminum sole plate (7g) for a total head weight of 352g.The Madison is an iconic blade that has been designed to perfection. Its flowing shoulders and bumpers have been completely redesigned, and the putter is more symmetric in look from address. Upon closer inspection, you'll see the lines are only part of the detailed craftsmanship. The Madison features a full shaft offset with an elegant medium length slant hosel.
- Deep Diamond Mill - Our unique pattern was designed after rigorous testing of 25 different mill patterns. The deep cross-hatch grooves control the sound and feel by channeling vibration and the small groove inside each diamond pattern is designed to improve the quality of the roll. The result is a putter where the sound and feel are tuned to match the distance that the ball rolls.
- AR - Aggressive Release Series - AR Series putters feature two 45 gram tungsten weights, and our Toulon Design 14” SuperStroke Mid Slim 2.0 XL grip with a 50 gram butt end weight. Toulon Design AR Series putters help the golfer mimic the release point produced by a long or belly putter.
How It Works: Grip down approximately three inches from the butt end of the grip. During the stroke, the 50 gram butt end weight will slow down the top section of the putter, allowing the head to more aggressively pass the hands for a pronounced release of the head. The Toulon Design AR Series is available in all five models, and in a stock 38” length.
- MR - Moderate Release Series - MR Series putters feature two 35 gram tungsten weights and a Toulon Design SuperStroke Pistol Tour or Mid Slim 2.0 grip with a 25 gram butt end weight. Toulon Design MR Series putters help the golfer generate a slightly more pronounced release of the putter head, while maintaining a more traditional stroke and grip length.
How It Works: Grip the putter as you normally would. During the stroke, the 25 gram butt end weight slightly slows down the top section of the putter, allowing the head to smoothly pass the hands for a smoother release of the putter. Because the MR Series utilizes standard lengths (33”- 36”) players will find this series very easy to adjust to. Toulon Design MR Series is available in all five models.
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domain: hobby