Maintenance and repair parts management is always a challenge. There’s just such a range from the small and mundane such as fasteners to the much larger and expensive items like entire motor assemblies. It’s not only a matter of maintaining appropriate storage space and accessibility, but ensuring these parts don’t grow legs and are available when needed.
Then along came Covid, which added its own layer of requirements to managing parts, including PPE. Oh, boy. Fortunately, all is not lost as companies are finding new ways to accommodate this weird new world we live in.
If you’re looking for one key focus needed to balance out the changes Covid has wrought, it would be control. And control comes in different forms.
There is, of course, control of inventory in any storage arrangement from bins, shelves and modular drawers to automated equipment such as vertical lift modules (VLMs), vending machines and carousels. Next, there’s control of people accessing that inventory. And the third is control of the supply chain to ensure critical parts are available when critically needed.
“More control of inventory is needed these days,” says Brian Baker, regional business director at Kardex Remstar. “Especially during the chaos of the early days of the pandemic, people realized how sloppy they were in parts management. They’re now looking to get more organized whether it’s using equipment or software to gain better control of the parts they have in their facility,” he adds.
When it comes to people, a much greater focus is on how people interact with MRO inventory. “Beyond masks, social distancing is the next most important factor. And the fewer the number of people needed to access inventory in both restocking and picking operations, the better with Covid,” says Michael Fiorito, Modula’s director of business development global.
As to the supply chain, companies are now having to plan more to ensure adequate supplies. “That has required a better understanding of the supply chain and where inventory comes from,” explains Shane McCarthy, Lawson Products’ senior vice president of supply chain product management and marketing. “It ranges from placing orders more quickly, especially for PPE, to being aware of secondary sourcing options, especially for mission-critical parts,” McCarthy adds.
What that doesn’t mean is that Covid has led to expanded inventory levels. All experts interviewed agreed that finance teams are still focused on maintaining lean levels of MRO parts.
This brings in what is increasingly the key enabler of better MRO control: Data. Rick Walter, program manager at Synovos, explains companies are collecting more information about not just what they have and how frequently it is used, but where and when they need to source future MRO spend.
In the end, all this has emphasized “how essential and mission critical MRO parts management is,” says Jim Owens, senior vice president of supply chain solutions and service at SDI.
Shifts in inventory management
“Eventually, the pandemic will turn out to be a benefit, and a turning point when it comes to parts management,” says Leonard Bashkin, general manager at SecuraStock.
Let’s start with PPE.
Prior to the pandemic, PPE accounted for 5% to 10% of MRO inventory by most estimates. How much that has expanded is a bit of an open question. The typical range is 15% to 30% of all MRO inventory; however, it is not uncommon to find the amount of PPE inventory on hand has increased a whopping 50%. Whatever the exact number, a whole lot more masks, gloves, goggles, hand sanitizer and other safety items are in MRO inventories since the start of Covid. The other shift, says Owens, is a shift from general passive management of PPE to active management.
Getting that additional inventory has not always been easy. In the spring, just finding some of it was a challenge. Procuring and stocking it can still be difficult. That’s made secondary sourcing important even today. Beyond that, “companies are now authenticating items, working with authorized distributors and often insisting on a chain of custody,” says Synovos’ Walter.
Once PPE is stocked, companies are taking different approaches to managing it. Most frequently, it is more important to make PPE available to people within the facility than to ensure its security. “It’s critical to have it in people’s heads that PPE is readily available and ready for use. And, that’s not going to become any less important as companies bring more people back into the facility,” adds Lawson’s McCarthy.
As to non-PPE inventory, that is in a bit of flux, too. Most experts say overall MRO spend is down noticeably. With the large increases in PPE, that means operating equipment parts and supplies are really off, typically due to reduced business levels and equipment usage. And needless to say, the drive to lean in tougher economic times is almost an inevitability.
As Owens explains, Covid has actually given MRO parts management an opportunity to improve significantly. “It underscores the need to make one person accountable for outcomes. Now is a good time to get away from the model where every group has its own agenda. Maintenance wants an overabundance of parts. Finance wants as few parts as possible. Procurement wants to buy in quantities to get the lowest price. Engineering wants only the highest quality parts. Instead, we are now at a point where one person should be responsible for all risk mitigation in the MRO parts buying, and for that matter parts management, cycle,” he says.
Data and control
Overall, Covid has not had much impact on equipment usage trends to store parts. Roughly 80% of all storerooms continue to use bins, drawers, cabinets and shelves. The balance is split between carousels (both horizontal and vertical), vending machines and VLMs, which alone account for roughly two-thirds of all automation. Companies here include Kardex Remstar, Modula and SecuraStock.
In addition, about 80% of all MRO parts management is by the company using the parts. Vendor-managed inventory (VMI) accounts for the balance with companies such as Lawson, SDI and Synovos actively guiding and directing the MRO parts procurement and restocking process.
Perhaps Fiorito of Modula said best what others are thinking about concerning the various MRO parts management solutions these days. “While significant shifts in parts management have not resulted from Covid, the disease has certainly provided a compelling reason for companies to re-examine their practices and make a change that gives them better control over all aspects of MRO parts management,” he says.
Regardless of who is managing the parts, more data is increasingly the most effective ally to ensuring the right parts are on hand when needed without breaking the bank. This comes in several forms.
One is to shift from non-smart, non-connected storage scenarios to ones that are smart and connected. This unlocks data about inventory availability and facilitates easy tracking of who signed out what parts and for what purpose.
That, in itself, typically reduces the number of people accessing parts, creating improved social distancing almost by definition. Furthermore, better data also has the potential to reduce the number of visits needed by VMI representatives, further enhancing social distancing. Experts generally agree that anything that can be done, including shrinking storage area footprints that require fewer people to operate efficiently, is a benefit during Covid. Ultimately, it’s all about keeping people safe and healthy.
More data has additional benefits, too. Baker of Kardex Remstar says more data also leads to better organized inventory, resulting in better overall control and cost savings. More data also leads to fewer stockouts and the danger of extended downtimes at inopportune times, explains Bashkin of SecuraStock.
Several suppliers spoke about their efforts to connect virtually with their customers to discuss everything from equipment and systems development to new parts for their operations. These and similar efforts are all about reducing the direct interactions with people for obvious reasons. And as we all know, people and how they communicate are essential to making anything work in this time.
Covid and the supply chain
The danger of unexpected and even extended downtimes due to a lack of MRO parts is one of the more notable hallmarks of Covid. It has required many to rethink how they manage the parts supply chain.
As McCarthy of Lawson recalls, “we had a huge surge in March and April for PPE but the supply chain was not ready for that. Suppliers could name their terms. We are now at a better balance of demand, supply and pricing. But companies need new practices to ensure all parts are available to them.”
“The most effective people here are migrating from being reactive to being proactive if not predictive,” says Lindsey Tierney, Synovos program manager. “Companies need to strategize what they need and how they are going to ensure they have in inventory,” she adds. And that goes for parts beyond PPE.
Secondary sources in many cases are now a must, explains Walter of Synovos. “They are also looking at how steady a supply of parts their OEMs can provide to ensure they aren’t caught short,” he adds.
Data is critical here. Not just to provide a window into the supply chain but to provide a better window into a company’s own operations and MRO needs. “For instance, CMMS (computerized maintenance management systems) allow companies to plan out more. Even to go so far as to reserve parts for specific work orders,” continues Walter.
Covid has clearly opened up some new opportunities for MRO parts management. As SDI’s Owens says, now is the time to shift from systems built almost exclusively for efficiency to systems also built for resiliency.
Companies mentioned in this article:


Aug 3 (Reuters) – LyondellBasell on Monday mentioned it was restarting the polymers and olefins items at its La Porte, Texas, facility following an acetic acid leak final week that killed two folks.
Each items are situated in different elements of the La Porte website, the corporate mentioned in an announcement.
The chemical leak at Lyondell’s chemical plant in La Porte killed two employees and injured 30 others, marking one of many worst U.S. petrochemical accidents since a 2019 Texas blast prompted the evacuation of hundreds of individuals.
The corporate mentioned that the investigation into the July 27 incident continues and it’ll take a while earlier than a willpower is made on the trigger.
(This story has been refiled to indicate firm assertion was on Monday, not Tuesday, in first paragraph)
Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar and Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Modifying by Christian Schmollinger


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Generally speaking, I love first-person shooter (FPS) games. I enjoy playing fast-paced, visceral, exciting games where stuff gets blowed up but good. I am particularly fond of the “space marine” sub-genre of FPS games, where a faceless hero destroys endless hordes of tactically challenging and difficult enemies.
However, unlike most console gamers, I don’t like multiplayer games. I am a “campaign gamer”, which means that I dig story-driven games with engaging, interesting plots married with great, intuitive, fast-paced gameplay. I like playing games where the enemy AI puts up a really good fight, so that slaughtering them isn’t just an exercise in mindlessly mashing the trigger.
Better still, if the allied AI units are also programmed to be skilled and competent, then that just makes the whole experience better. What few modern FPS games pass the first test, usually fail this one.
The best scenario of all is where your friendly units are independent and aggressive in waxing your enemies, but can also be brought under your control and assigned to specific tasks in order to achieve a challenging objective. Such a game will require you to assign your friendly units carefully, to maximise their tactical advantages in combat. This kind of game would be the closest thing currently available to the average video gamer of real-life combat, in which your survival depends not on being a cybernetically enhanced supersoldier with incredible equipment and resilience, but on the skills and training of your brothers.
The problem is, there are very few FPS games like this.
Most modern FPS games are focused on the social aspect, where gamers gather online and engage in competitive matches or team slayer competitions, which is all well and good, but those same games tend to have pretty thin, even outright preposterous campaigns. The few that do focus on story and character tend to focus on a single supersoldier, like the HALO series, rather than on the more realistic “band of brothers” aspect of real combat.
However, there is one vastly underrated gem, released about 10 years back, which had all of these things: a great story-driven campaign; a cleverly designed squad AI; an intuitive and easily-mastered control scheme; a challenging enemy AI; and fast-paced, dark, visceral gameplay.
That game was STAR WARS: Republic Commando.
“We Go Feet First!”
In SWRC, you step into the shoes of clone commando Delta RC-1138, also known as “Boss”, “Three-Eight”, or “Delta Lead”. You are the commander of an elite four-man fire team of commandos, given superior training, armour, and weapons, and then dropped straight into the brutal crucible of the Clone Wars.
The game’s plot overlaps with the story of the movie Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. (I was once a huge Star Wars nerd. Note the use of the past tense. That movie is a large part of the reason for it.) It starts with a combat drop right into the middle of the giant battle royale between clones and droids, with very little time indeed to get acquainted with the realities of ground warfare in the Star Wars universe. You’ll get quick tutorials in how to shoot straight, how to use your HUD, how to get field treatment for injuries through the use of rapid-healing “bacta dispensers”, and how to use squad commands to get results.
And then you’re on your own, to win or lose based on how well you use your squad.
As you progress through the game, you rapidly link up with members of your squad, your brothers Delta-62 (“Scorch”, explosives and ordnance), Delta-40 (“Fixer”, 2IC, comms, and tech), and Delta-07 (“Sev”, sniper and scout), and are given increasingly more complex orders to carry out, with rewards and upgrades to be found by way of better weapons loadouts and considerable tactical flexibility in accomplishing those objectives.
If you use your commandos wisely, make full use of available cover, understand what weapons to order for a particular enemy type, and move aggressively yet sensibly, you will do well.
If you fail to use your squad commands properly, if you fail to take cover, if you fail to use the right loadouts of weapons and position your squad correctly, you will simply keep losing.
I can’t stress the “squad” aspect of this game enough. Throughout the game you will encounter challenges that you will not be able to defeat alone- battle droid dispensers, super battle droids, dwarf spider droids, destroyer droids, overwhelming numbers of Trandoshan slavers, Geonosian guards and elites, you name it. You cannot take on these enemies and win solo. Your weapons are not strong enough, your shields won’t last long enough, your health metre isn’t large enough, and you won’t be able to move fast enough.
Delta Boss is one tough S.O.B., but he isn’t the Master Chief. And he’s not supposed to be.
You can order your team to perform various actions through “squad commands”, which will tell them to take offensive action, regroup, hold a particular location, or cancel all previous orders. You can also order individual members to perform various tasks, such as planting explosives, hacking terminals, taking up grenadier or sniping cover, or using particular weapons platforms. You can even task your entire squad to perform a door breach- and the game presents you repeatedly with the choice of “going in quietly” via a “door slice manoeuvre”, or doing it “hard and loud” with an “explosive solution”.
Simply put, it’s difficult to think of another game that gives you such a clear feeling of being in command of an elite commando unit. Other games have tried—Ghost Recon: Future Soldier comes to mind—but almost all have failed.
The members of Delta Squad also come with their own unique voice actors, and therefore have their own personalities. Delta Boss, voiced by none other than Temuera Morrison, the man who played Jango Fett as well as various clone troopers in Episodes II and III, shows off flashes of wry, sarcastic humour and is given an engaging, interesting personality. Fixer comes across as “a pure and uncomplicated soldier”, every bit as reliable and stolid as the DC-17m ICWS that you take into combat with you. Scorch is the joker of the group, a pyromaniac who also happens to be “the heart and soul of your squad”. Sev is a ruthless, almost psychopathic killer, “the fiercest hunter among all your brothers”.
These unique personalities, along with the witty dialogue and interplay scripted into the game that clearly shows the deep bonds between brothers, make the squad AI truly exceptional and very engaging.
Dark Heroes For Dark Times
The game itself takes place in significantly darker and grittier settings than you might expect from most STAR WARS-related media. The films have always had a sort of high-fantasy sheen to them, as if they were somehow above the gutter, separated from the grime and blood and guts of real war. This was, of course, entirely intentional- the movies are all PG-rated.
This game, however, is deliberately dark, and strives to show some kind of realism in war despite the sci-fi aliens, weapons, and planets.
The visuals are appropriately toned down; rather than the bright, vibrant colours of the films, and indeed of most previous STAR WARS games, this game prefers shadows and smoke, grit and grime. Even when you’re fighting on the surface of a world like Geonosis in broad daylight, the visuals are moody and grim. And when you’re conducting a quiet infiltration deep behind enemy territory at night on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk, the game takes on an almost noir look.
Even your enemies aren’t the sterile, kid-friendly aliens from the films. The robots are genuinely menacing. The Trandoshan slavers are truly ugly- and their mercenary counterparts are worse.
And don’t get me started on how nasty the Geonosians are.
Good Clean Violent Fun
This game is very much the kind of thing that fans of the HALO and Metroid series will love. The campaign is fun, intense, and challenging. The characters are fully formed and given great depth by some terrific voice acting. The weapons balance is excellent. The sound effects are very good. The graphics aren’t exactly class-leading, but they aren’t terrible either. And this game is considerably darker, grittier, and more violent than your typical Star Wars game—anyone who ever played the Jedi Knight series knows what I’m talking about when I say that LucasArts really tended to sanitise a lot of the violence in their games, but not here. When you splatter an enemy, you really splatter him.
“Fat Ugly Fierfeks…”
This game isn’t without its flaws, though. For one, it’s just way too short. You could blast through the entire campaign in under 5 hours, and that’s with a coffee break. It also gets very predictable once you’ve played it through a few times, and even the hardest difficulty setting isn’t really that hard; there are so many fast-healing bacta dispensers scattered throughout the game, in locations where they logically shouldn’t even exist, that I wonder how in the name of the Force these commandos could ever really feel endangered.
The biggest flaw in the game, by far, is that despite the fact that each member of the team has a particular special skill, assigning team members to use those skills confers no actual benefit. For instance, if you assign Fixer to hack a console, it takes him exactly the same amount of time as it would Sev or Scorch or Boss himself. If you assign Sev to shoot someone’s brains out, he’s no better or worse at it than his brothers. This makes it impossible to make truly informed command decisions, which robs the game of some of its otherwise hard-won realism.
I doubt the technology existed at the time to fix this, but if they ever do a remake of this game, this should be changed post haste. What’s the point in having elite super troopers at your disposal if they aren’t really super at all?
(Also, if you know the cheat codes- and they’re not hard to find- this game becomes as easy as mocking a feminist. You only really need the code for limitless ammo, and you’re off to the races.)
The Bottom Line
Following the usual Reaxxion-approved template for rating games, here’s how I score this game:
Gameplay – Solid, engrossing, highly immersive, and very original, yet far too short to be truly satisfying; you can burn through the entire game in a single morning. Replay value is limited; once you’ve played it more than three or four times, you know exactly what to expect, and where, and when, and unlike, say, HALO: Combat Evolved, there is really nothing new to experience the next time you play. And once you know what you’re doing, even the toughest difficulty level is pretty easy. 30 out of 45.
Controls – A doddle to use, whether on PC or Xbox. The control interface is intuitive and simple, yet your squad commands are highly effective at getting things done. 25 out of 25.
Graphics – Nothing great, and indeed they’ve aged considerably over the last 10 years. This game could really do with an HD makeover along the lines of the HALO anniversary editions; unfortunately, it will almost certainly never get one. 10 out of 15.
Sound – Top-notch sound effects make you feel like you’re right there on the ground, fighting hard against difficult, intelligent alien opponents. The Mandalorian vocals of “Vode An” are a particularly nice touch. However, this game lacks the kind of instantly memorable and brilliant soundtrack of, say, the HALO games. 8 out of 10.
Story – This is a game completely driven by storytelling. The storyline is heavily integrated into the wider canon of the STAR WARS Expanded Universe (for those who are interested in that sort of thing), but you don’t need to know the first damn thing about it to enjoy playing the game. 5 out of 5.
Total Score – 78%, a very solid and enjoyable game that is let down badly by its short length and less-than-spectacular graphics. Bearing in mind that this game is nearly 10 years old, though, it’s held up remarkably well.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on a copy of this game, it doesn’t seem to be available for Xbox at a reasonable price at all—even as a download. You can, however, get it via Steam, though multiplayer functionality doesn’t work. Then again, the point of this game never was the multiplayer aspect; this is a campaign-driven FPS, which is exactly why I like it.
Here’s some solid gameplay footage to whet your appetite:

domain: game


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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Some lawmakers want to see one of the state's largest parks turned into a big, legal homeless encampment.
The idea to turn the Sand Island Recreational Area into a safe zone for the homeless was discussed Tuesday, but was ultimately put on hold.
Supporters envision as many as 1,500 people living at the park for up to nine months. Housing options include tents, tiny homes, even cars.
The safe zone would be situated near the city's newest homeless shelter on Sand Island. And, proponents argue, the park already has parking, showers and restrooms.
"They're already doing that on the street illegally or in the park illegally so the state needs to come to the table and provide that option so people can do it legally until we get a better handle on the issue of homelessness," said state Rep. Tom Brower.
But opponents are concerned about safety, logistics and liability.
"Of course my concern was taking away recreational space no. 1," said state Rep. Dee Morikawa, chairwoman of the Human Services Committee. "And whether or not the infrastructure could even cover that meaning water, electrical, even sewer."
State Parks Administrator Curt Cottrell said there are 14 "unauthorized" homeless camps on Sand Island currently.
"We have a high vandalism issue there," he said.
The issue is causing a headache for some businesses, who have hired private security.
Tenants shell out more than $100,000 a year for security, said Rodney Kim, executive director of the Sand Island Business Association Rodney Kim. That cost that's doubled since 2010.
"We don't want to be an obstacle to it, but at the same time we have to ensure that our interest is protected as well," Kim said.

domain: sociology


I just installed Realtek audio driver from the official Acer site because I was having some sound issues; now everything is fixed but the issue is Dolby Audio isn't working. I mean to say that it is showing "Plug in headphones or speakers to enable Dolby Audio "! What should I do to solve this problem? Please help me if you know the solution. I really need this software since it enhances the gameplay. I have also attached a cropped screenshot for reference.


Please according to your own measurements to choose your suitable size. The tags inside the items will show in our Asian (Type) size.
|Temperature||-50 ° C-300 ° C (-58 ° F-572 ° F)|
|Resolution||0.1 ° C / 0.1 ° F|
|Temperature measurement period||1S|
Pen-type structure, stainless steel probe, high accuracy, fast temperature measurement.
Celsius (°C) Fahrenheit (°F) free conversion, refrigeration, heating, home kitchen school industrial experiments are available.
LCD display, large measurement and high stability.
Suitable for family/wild activities, barbecue, etc.
1 x BBQ Thermometer


text:
China's National Healthcare Security Administration has said the country's medical insurance system cannot afford the 'high cost' of vaccinating the population.
After the public health insurance agency said it would not pay for the vaccines, the plans of the Chinese government in this regard are not yet clear.
According to a report in the South China Morning Post, of the 11 vaccine candidates developed by Chinese drug makers, four are in phase 3 clinical trials, and three have already been approved for emergency use. China’s health authority had said in September there was a ‘guidance price’ but it would assess whether this was affordable once vaccines were approved.
The agency said annual premiums for medical insurance remained exceptionally low for some Chinese, giving the example of rural residents, children and retirees for whom the average was about $120 after government subsidies. It said this could only cover basic healthcare needs.
“The current basic medical insurance system focuses on providing basic medical treatment coverage and meeting basic medical needs, and it has not been able to expand the payment scope to cover non-therapeutic items such as vaccines,” the statement said.
A regulation issued in July that took effect last month states that “preventive vaccines are not to be included in the scope of basic medical insurance payments”.
Some advanced economies, including the US, Australia and Japa, have said any COVID-19 vaccines they buy – provided they have been proven safe and effective – will be made available to their citizens for free.

domain: news


The reason you probably don't know this is because Maxim's front covers carry the same amount of naked, female, celebrity flesh per square inch as the others.
To change this would be commercial suicide, so Dennis Publishing decided it would convey Maxim's subtle points of difference by turning to above-the-line advertising.
And with a relatively small budget, it has had to be pretty canny about it. Fortunately, up stepped Naked Communications, which Dennis enlisted primarily as a brand strategist and subsequently as media planner.
After consulting Naked, Dennis decided not to fritter away its £3 million budget on FHM-style TV commercials, but instead to use an eclectic mix of media.
Its new set of ads feature images of hungover young men who have wound up in embarrassing situations after a night's hard drinking. Rather than condoning this behaviour the ads ask consumers if they are "Ashamed?", before urging them to "Grow up ... a bit."
These ads will appear as Underground, rail, fly, washroom and bar posters, radio spots, virals and ambient campaigns in big cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester. Media buying is through Manning Gottlieb OMD.
Naked and Dennis deliberately focused on media that would target men in environments where they could talk about the ads. The hope is that the campaign will have an in-built viral factor.
"We wanted very much to get into their world," the Naked strategist Amelia Hibbs explains. "Reading magazines is a personal experience but it can also be a shared male experience."
Sarah Thorne, the Dennis group marketing manager, consumer division, adds: "When looking at the planning, we wanted to get to blokes in areas where they could talk about the ads."
With Naked being brought in at such an early stage, media was a crucial factor in the appoint-ment of a creative outfit. Instead of opting for a traditional agency, Dennis brought in Point Blank Design, which, through its campaigns for MTV and Universal Pictures, has experience of working in non-traditional media.
"We wanted to present the consumer with the antics you'd asso-ciate with an FHM or Loaded reader, but then reverse it by asking them 'isn't it time to grow up ... a bit'," Steve Wallington, Point Blank's creative director, says.
"But 'a bit' is the important part of this message, as we've all still got it in us to behave like that," Wallington adds.
The mature juvenile is quite a specifically defined target market, but one Thorne insists is right for Maxim. She points to the "schoolboy's crush" section of the mag as evidence that its readership is older than that of FHM and Loaded.
The marketing push coincides with changes to the magazine's content. These alterations are described as editorial tightening rather than a total overhaul.
"We're celebrating our 100th issue," Thorne says, "and we wanted to give the magazine a push after strengthening its content. If you want to do well you need a USP and we've been working on the product to ensure that it's sufficiently different to the others."
Which brings us neatly back to the original problem - the actual difference between Maxim and its rivals. While regular readers may have accepted Maxim's USP, it may still prove too subtle to register with prospective purchasers. The cover of this month's edition features the cast of the film Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle in their underwear. It's not likely to leap off the newsstand as the obvious mature choice.
All of which makes it increasingly vital that consumers take the time to read the ads, rather than just see the visual and assume they're part of a campaign for a typical lads' mag.
And if Naked's choice of media is vindicated and the work does prompt discussion among the male herds, then Maxim's new strategy will have proved to be cost effective and prudent. Mature, indeed.


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Once upon a time, in the dark ages of Gabriola (that’s a couple of years ago – before you moved here), there were a group of people who had wells that had gone murky or dry. They got together, and said that this had never happened before. It must be that guy that is pumping water for sale. Obviously!
So they held a meeting (Gabriola’s obvious response), at a local park, and in the evening, just as dark was coming on. But a strange thing happened! Gabriola Groundwater Management Society asked if they could study the problem, and report back in a week. (Supermen to the rescue, or kick the can down the road, it depends on your point of view.)
It turned out that the solution was well watchers (what’s that?) placed in wells surrounding the area of the pumping. (Well watchers measure the water level in a well, up or down.) So if the pumping stopped for a weekend, the wells that went back up were in the zone! (It’s called the zone of influence, but it means that pumping affects the well.)
An agreement was reached to stop pumping when a well watcher on the pumped well showed the water table (the level of the water in the earth) close to a danger level for an adjacent well. Problem solved, and no lynch mob. (And then the winter rains came and we all forgot about the problem.)
Sound confusing? Think of a big pile of sand covering all of Gabriola, say 200 feet deep. In the winter the rains come and fill the sand with water. Most of it seeps off the edges into the sea. Some is used by trees, some by you taking your supply. Off in one corner imagine there are wells and pumping for sale. This only impacts a small corner, but does reduce the water running into the sea, sort of grabbing before it can seep away, but moving it from here to there. For the corner there is an impact that we measure with well watchers. For the rest of Gabriola water runs downhill, from high areas to lower areas, eventually running over the edges until the winter rains come.
If the corner had a 200 foot vertical pipe to contain the rain, and if the pumping came out of the pipe, then the pumping would reduce the water table in the pipe. But that’s not what the Gabriola underground looks like. We have a layer cake of shale and sandstone, all of it fractured, with water going downhill. Sort of like your pile of sand.
Having mentioned wells going dry, some new residents will worry all winter. If you really want to find out what is going on, a brilliant local man invented a method of measuring the depth of water in the well, called a well watcher.
This simple device works by pumping air down a thin tube to the bottom of the well. The tube is open at the end, allowing the air to bubble out. The pressure of the air required to have it bubble is then the same as the pressure of the water at the end of the tube, which can then be converted into the height of the water in the well. The dial on the well watcher is calibrated in feet of water. Gabriola Groundwater Management Society (GGMS) members can have well watchers installed at cost.
Salt Water intrusion for people living with wells going below sea level can be solved by running the well watcher with an air compressor, and an electrical pressure switch that turns off the well pump when the water reaches a critical level.
|The Flying Shingle, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada ~ editor@FlyingShingle.com||Web design: Innovative Illusions (Paul Rudyk) ~ webmaster@FlyingShingle.com|

domain: geography


“How do you start your mornings?
If you’re like me, your morning routine might look something like this: You check email from your phone before even getting out of bed, you scan headlines on Twitter while you brew your morning coffee, and you look at Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat during your commute to work to see what your friends are up to.
I do all of this because I’m curious to see what’s going on online, but I also do it to clear out the red symbols that pop up when I have an unread email, text message, like, snap, or tweet.
As it turns out, there could be a downside to all of the benefits mobile technology provides. We might be able to work from anywhere on our smartphones or tablets, but such mobility and accessibility come at a cost — and too much technology could actually be making us less productive.
In this post, we’ll explore how notifications impact your brain and your mental and physical health, and what you can do with your devices to help minimize the negative impacts of the little red dot.”


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On a very special day in July, our students went to church – not just to experience a C of E service (although it was a first for almost all) but to play a major part in it. With just a week to prepare, each English class prepared a piece of group poetry on the theme of nature and harvest, which they performed to the admiration of the congregation at the end of the service. They also learned three hymns, one of which was sung – to the initial consternation of some locals! – in Latin, French, German, Spanish and Italian!
Older volunteers also took on a Biblical prologue and the readings. In the words of one of the church wardens: ‘The contribution by the young people attending the Moffats School of English was extraordinary - I doubt if 35 of Kidderminster’s finest could have remembered those lines of poetry despite it being in their mother tongue.’
Diary entries that evening revealed that the impact on the students was equally profound, as they expressed pride in their achievements and appreciation for the warmth of their audience.

domain: artistic


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Andy Skinner Cling Stamp - Distressed Mandala
Brand: Andy Skinner
Distressed Mandala by Andy Skinner for Creative Expressions is a rubber cling stamp with a mandala design for use in mixed media & home decor projects. Use with inks, paints, texture pastes and other media to create a variety of effects.
Stamp measures approx. 4.5 inches x 3.2 inches

domain: design


The Great 2-S includes advanced sensors that can detect buried treasures. It is a versatile, multi-system device suitable for treasure hunters, archaeologists and mining companies. It can detect gold, silver, copper and iron and scan all kinds of harsh environments such as sand, soil.
The Great 4-S is a cutting edge device that features advanced sensors designed to detect buried treasure. This versatile, multi-platform tool is suitable for anyone interested in treasure hunting, including mining companies and archaeologists. It is capable of detecting gold, silver, copper and iron, and is also capable of scanning in harsh environments such as sand and earth. Great 4-S also features an ergonomic design and user-friendly interface, which makes it an effective tool for discovering hidden treasures and artifacts. Both amateurs and professionals will find value in using the Great 4-S while treasure hunting, as it provides accurate and reliable results. If you are looking for a high-tech treasure hunting tool, the Great 4-S is an excellent choice.
It works on 4 imaging systems
It detects a depth from 1 to 25 meters underground


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This Bad Ass skin has really clear textures! He is one Mo-Fo who is on a mission to kill!
Nicholas Character Skin to be used for the MercMale, for Unreal Tournament 2003 ----------------------------------- Thank you for trying out my skin :) Includes: base skin, red and blue team skins, for bright skins. Author: Goran, ZTIGMATA a.k.a Geist a.k.a XORCIST in the servers. Source Material(s): Brock, Widowmaker, and Wraith textures from UT2003. Tools: Unreal Editor 3.0, Photoshop 7.0, and Upaint version 1. METHOD and INFO: My second skin. Nicholas was done the same way as Vladamir, cut and past with some of my own minor additions and brush work. The Werewolf characters are influenced by Whilce Portacio's WetWorks comic. and Wildstorm's Team 7, as you may have noticed as the markings over their eye(s). These characters I've created don't really represent any of those in the comics, but like I said, they are influenced. Something I regrettably failed to mention in my first readme text for Vlad. I have two or three more characters to release for the WulfPack, and I suppose what's next is to release their alter ego's so to speak, the Vampire Nations BloodPack. I'm not sure if it would work out, but I would like to try to make a transformed version of the Wulfpack later on. Again, most of the credit should go to the artists of the original UT2003 skins. INSTALLATION ------------ Extract the Nicholas.utx to your UT2003/Textures directory. Then extract the Nicholas.upl to your UT2003/system folder. Now open the file called xplayers.int with a text editor, scroll down to the very bottom and add the following line of text exactly as it appears: Nicholas="Name: Nicholas|Age: 84|Race: Werewolf||Data:|Headstrong and merciless in combat, Nicholas is the youngest and most viciously wild member of the Wulfpack. Vladamir has earned his respect, therefore Nicholas only takes orders from him. Those who witness his fierce rage in the heat of battle are left traumatized by the emotional ordeal. Rest in beast...||" Thanks to all of those that made the creation of this skin possible. Email:[email protected]
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China has successfully tested an experimental spacecraft that state media has hailed “an important symbol of China’s rise from a space power to a space superpower”.
The vessel was described by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) as laying “a solid foundation for the development of China’s reusable space transport technology between Earth and space”.
The project would involve building a series of spacecraft that take off and land like regular planes, but can reach any corner of the Earth within an hour by flying at least five times the speed of sound at a suborbital altitude.
The program aims to complete the development of space planes by around 2045, but the first phase of the project involves the development of a rocket-powered vertical take-off landing vehicle.
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Aging generates regular motions in weakly chaotic systems
Using intermittent maps with infinite invariant measures, we investigate the universality of time-averaged observables under aging conditions. According to Aaronson-Darling-Kac theorem, in non-aged dynamical systems with infinite invariant measures, the distribution of the normalized time averages of integrable functions converge to the Mittag-Leffler distribution. This well known theorem holds when the start of observations coincides with the start of the dynamical processes. Introducing a concept of the aging limit where the aging time and the total measurement time goes to infinity while the aging ratio is a constant, we obtain a novel distributional limit theorem of time-averaged observables integrable with respect to the infinite invariant density. Applying the theorem to the Lyapunov exponent in intermittent maps, we find that regular motions and a weakly chaotic behavior coexist in the aging limit. This mixed type of dynamics is controlled by the aging ratio and hence is very different from the usual scenario of regular and chaotic motions in Hamiltonian systems. The probability of finding regular motions in non-aged processes is zero, while in the aging regime it is finite and it increases when system ages.
pacs:05.45.Ac, 05.40.-a, 02.50.Ey, 02.50.Cw
Aging is a concept describing slow relaxation phenomena in spin glasses Bouchaud (1992), interface fluctuations in liquid-crystal turbulence Takeuchi and Sano (2012), blinking quantum dots Brokmann et al. (2003); Margolin and Barkai (2004) and transports in cells Weigel et al. (2011). In nature dynamical processes may start at time long before the actual measurement of the process begins at . In aging systems, statistical quantities measured in the time interval are crucially affected by the aging time Burov et al. (2010); Schulz et al. (2012). For example the distribution of time averaged mean square displacement was considered in Schulz et al. (2012) using stochastic tools relevant to diffusion of bio-molecules in the cell. In contrast, for stationary and ergodic processes, statistical properties of time-averaged observables do not depend on the aging time if the measurement time is large enough (). Here, we introduce the aging limit where the aging time and the total measurement time goes to infinity and the ratio (the aging ratio) is fixed as a constant. We proceed to show universal statistical properties of time-averaged observables in a class of dynamical systems, extending infinite ergodic theory Aaronson (1997) to the aging regime.
Exponential separation of nearby trajectories, i.e., chaos is a feature found in many dynamical systems. In many generic Hamiltonian systems, the phase space is either chaotic or regular. However, closer look at dynamics many times reveals a mixed phase space. This means that parts of the trajectories are rather regular, for example Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser tori in phase space, while others are chaotic Aizawa et al. (1989). Determining which type of motion depends ultimately on the choice of initial conditions. Here we investigate a completely new mechanism for dual structure of dynamics. We show how, for a class of dynamical systems possessing an infinite invariant measure, dynamics is generically split into regular and weakly chaotic. This splitting is controlled by the age of the process, and hence is completely different from usual scenario.
In weakly chaotic systems the separation of nearby trajectories is sub-exponential Gaspard and Wang (1988). In many cases such systems have an infinite invariant density Akimoto and Aizawa (2010), i.e., a non-normalizable density (see details below). Since chaos is a pre-condition of ordinary statistical mechanics, it is not surprising that usual statistical concepts like ergodicity and stationarity break down when treating weakly chaotic systems. It is known that some dynamical systems with infinite invariant measures show an aging behavior Barkai (2003). Here we consider a dynamical system whose evolution started at time with , while an observation of the dynamical process starts at time . Within the observation time an observer evaluates time averages of observation functions in dynamical systems, and we are interested in the ergodic properties of these time averages. From the viewpoint of dynamical systems, aging means that a density at strongly depends on the aging time . If a dynamical system has an invariant probability measure, an initial density denoted by converges to an invariant density as , indicating that the aging ratio does not affect statistical properties of time-average observables. However, in an infinite measure system, does not converge to an invariant measure as .
Ergodic theory states that the time averages of integrable functions converge to constant values (ensemble averages) for almost all initial conditions if the dynamical system has an absolutely continuous invariant probability measure Birkhoff (1931). If an invariant measure cannot be normalized (infinite invariant measure), there does not exist an exponent () such that converges to a non-trivial constant ( and ) for an integrable function with respect to an invariant measure (see details below), where is a trajectory Aaronson (1997). That is, time averages of integrable functions do not converge to a constant. However, Aaronson’s Darling-Kac (ADK) theorem Aaronson (1981); Darling and Kac (1957) states that time averages of integrable functions converge in distribution: there exists a sequence such that
where is the Mittag-Leffler density of order Aaronson (1997). In other words, the time average depends strongly on an initial position but the distribution of the time average converges to a universal distribution (the Mittag-Leffler distribution) for almost all smooth initial densities. Here we investigate ergodic theory under the conditions of aging. We show large differences from the ADK theorem in the aging regime where both and are large, and propose a limit theorem describing distributions of properly scaled sums .
Recently, it was shown that infinite ergodic theory plays an important role in elucidating an intrinsic randomness of time-averaged observables in dichotomous processes modeling blinking quantum dots Akimoto (2008) and anomalous diffusion Akimoto and Miyaguchi (2010); Akimoto (2012). Since aging appears in infinite measure dynamical systems, it is an interesting and important problem to clarify whether distributional behaviors of time-averaged observables are affected by the aging ratio. Here, we provide evidence that the aging limit where and but their ratio remaining finite, plays a crucial role in characterizing behaviors of time-averaged observables. In particular, we show that the distribution of time averages of integrable functions is determined by the aging ratio using weakly chaotic systems.
Ii Aging dynamical systems
We consider maps which satisfy the following conditions for some : (i) the restrictions and are increasing, onto and -extensions to the respective closed intervals; (ii) on ; ; (iii) is regularly varying at zero with index , (). These maps are related to number theory Thaler (1980), intermittency Pomeau and Manneville (1980); Manneville (1980); Aizawa (1984), and anomalous diffusions Geisel and Thomae (1984); Geisel et al. (1985); Zumofen and Klafter (1993); Artuso and Cristadoro (2003). One of the best known examples is the Pomeau-Manneville map Pomeau and Manneville (1980); Manneville (1980):
In what follows, we use the map (2) for numerical simulations. This famous map has a marginally unstable fixed point at and hence trajectory is trapped in its vicinity escaping slowly and then is reinjected back. The map and its extensions have attracted wide interest since it exhibits intermittency, power law distributed waiting times, weak chaos to name a few novel effects. According to Thaler’s estimation Thaler (1983), an invariant density is given by for , where is a positive bounded continuous function on . Notice that when this invariant density cannot be normalized, due to its divergence close to . Here is defined up to a multiplicative constant, which we later specify. In what follows, we consider an infinite measure system (). In aging systems, the systems start at time before the measurement is started at , where is the aging time (see Fig. 1). We assume that initial points are uniformly distributed on . The density at , when the measurement is started, is given by the density of , i.e., .
Iii Renewal processes
Renewal processes are point processes where interevent times of points are independent and identically distributed (IID) random variables Cox (1962). Therefore, renewal processes are characterized by the distribution of interevent times of renewals. Let us consider the following observation function
where attains . We call the state the laminar phase while the chaotic phase. In the chaotic phase, trajectories show usual chaotic behavior because of the condition (ii). Moreover, the jump transformation on , which is a transformation restricted to , has an absolutely continuous invariant probability measure whereas the original map does not, where Thaler (1983). With the aid of these chaotic properties in the jump transformation, trajectories can be regarded as a renewal process because the interevent times between the events are considered to be IID random variables. The probability density function (PDF) of the interevent times (or residence times of laminar phase) is given by Geisel and Thomae (1984)
where the exponent of the PDF is controlled by the nonlinearity of the map in vicinity of the indifferent fixed point through the maps parameter and is a constant, which depends on the map.
Let be the number of renewals in the time interval for a process which started on , and with IID interevent times according to Eq. (4). In non-aged renewal theory , the distribution of the number of jumps obeys the Mittag-Leffler distribution of order () Feller (1971). Here, we review a derivation of the distribution and extend it to the aging regime Barkai and Cheng (2003). Let be the sum of the interevent times (), then we have the following relation
We notice that the interevent time PDF (4) belongs to the domain of attraction of stable laws Feller (1971). In what follows, we use the notation for non-aged processes, and for aged processes. By the generalized central limit theorem and setting , we have
where is the one-sided stable density with index , which depend on and its Laplace transform is given by
In aging renewal processes, the PDF of the forward recurrence time, that is the time between the start of an observation and the first renewal (see Fig. 1), is different from (4). According to Barkai and Cheng (2003); Godrèche and Luck (2001), the double Laplace transform of ,
is given by
Furthermore, by Dynkin’s limit theorem Dynkin (1961), the limit PDF reads
The probability of is given by , while, for , the probability is represented by the convolution of and
where , which is represented by the incomplete beta function,
The describes trajectories with no renewal events in , or in the context of dynamics of maps particles which did not escape the vicinity of an unstable fixed point in the observation interval. We note that is the aging ratio, defined in introduction. In the same way as a calculation of the probability of in non-aged renewal processes, we have
for . As a result, the PDF of in the aging limit, (), is written as
This result is consistent with Schulz et al. (2012). We note that the distribution depends strongly on even when the total measurement time goes to infinity. For (non-aging limit), converges to the Mittag-Leffler density as expected.
iv.1 Distributional limit theorem in the aging limit
The distributional limit theorem (14) in aging renewal processes implies that the time average of converges in distribution:
Because is an integrable function with respect to an invariant measure, this distributional limit theorem is a generalization of ADK theorem (1). By the Hopf’s ergodic theorem Hopf (1937), the ratio of the sums of arbitrary integrable observation functions and converges to a constant for almost all initial points:
where is an invariant measure. Therefore, we have the following theorem. In the aging limit as and , for all integrable functions with respect to an invariant measure , the time average of converges in distribution:
where . We note that the distribution depends on the aging ratio and while we do not represent an initial density explicitly in the left-hand side in (21).
iv.2 From Dynkin’s limit theorem to evolution of density
Here, we give an explicit representation of an initial density in aging processes. In aging renewal processes, the probability that there is no renewal until time is given by . Corresponding probability in the map (2) is the probability that trajectories do not escape from the interval , which is given by , where for . Using a continuous approximation, , near and , we have
It follows that (the rigorous proof is given in Thaler (1983)). Therefore, we have the following relation:
As the result, we obtain an initial density in the aging process:
The constant is the normalization constant which depends on , for
Surprisingly, evolutions of the density are in very good agreement with the above estimation even in small numbers of iterations and on whole space (see Fig. 2). The density cannot converge to an invariant density (equilibrium density) and will converge to the delta function as goes to infinity. This is a direct evidence of aging in dynamical systems. We note that the scaled density converges to an infinite invariant density Thaler (2000):
Moreover, by the change of variable, , the scaled density, , gives a universal master curve:
This result is consistent with a rigorous result in general intermittent maps by Thaler Thaler (2005). Figure 3 shows a convergence of the scaled density to the master curve. We note that the master curve is universal in the sense that it does not depends on details of the map except for near the fixed point .
iv.3 Dynamical instability
To investigate an effect of the aging on the dynamical instability, we consider the Lyapunov exponent. In general, weakly chaotic systems with infinite invariant measures have zero Lyapunov exponent Gaspard and Wang (1988); Akimoto and Aizawa (2010); Ignaccolo et al. (2001); Korabel and Barkai (2009). However, these dynamical instabilities are known as a subexponential instability quantified by the generalized Lyapunov exponent Akimoto and Aizawa (2010); Korabel and Barkai (2009), which is defined as the average of the normalized Lyapunov exponent, , where is an average with respect to an initial density and
In non-aged systems, does not depend on an initial density with the aid of ADK theorem. To investigate an effect of aging, we consider the generalized Lyapunov exponent in the aging limit , , where
The aging generalized Lyapunov exponent is represented as
where . Using the limit density (27), we obtain
for and with fixed. Here defines a unique infinite invariant density. According to ADK theorem, the non-aging generalized Lyapunov exponent () is given by Korabel and Barkai (2009)
In the aging limit, this relation is generalized as
This aging effect on the generalized Lyapunov exponent has been confirmed numerically (Fig. 4). The result means that the dynamical instability becomes weak as the system ages.
Using the distributional limit theorem (21), we obtain the PDF of the normalized Lyapunov exponent , given by PDF (17), . As shown in Fig. 5, the PDF does not depend on the total measurement time if the aging ratio is fixed, and the strength of the delta peak at is increased as the aging ratio is made larger. This delta peak corresponds to trajectories that do not escape from until time , which weakens the dynamical instability. These trajectories are regular rather than chaotic (not even weakly chaotic). In fact, these trajectories can be treated by a continuous approximation. For , intermittent maps we consider can be written as an ordinary differential equation Manneville (1980); Geisel and Thomae (1984):
The solution is given by
for or . The difference of nearby trajectories and such that and () is described as
In the aging limit, these regular motions appear even when time goes to infinity. Therefore, in the aging dynamical systems, regular motions (RMs) and weak chaotic motions (WCMs) intrinsically coexist in the aging limit. This implies that when a large fraction of particles are located close to the unstable fixed point and hence their motion is regular.
We have shown the distribution of time averages of integrable functions in the aging limit, which is a generalization of Aaronson’s Darling-Kac theorem. Although we use intermittent maps, this generalization will be valid for all weakly chaotic maps with infinite invariant measures (more precisely, a conservative, ergodic, measure preserving transformation) because aging in dynamical systems implies that the density does not converges to an equilibrium density even when time goes to infinity (non-equilibrium non-stationary density). In fact, we have confirmed the distributional aging limit theorem in the Boole transformation Aaronson (1997).
The aging ratio plays an important role in characterizing aging systems. In the aging limit, the distribution of time-averaged observables converges to a universal distribution, which is determined by the aging ratio and the exponent characterizing infinite invariant measures in dynamical systems. The mathematical basis of this universal distribution is both the generalized central limit theorem and Dynkin’s theorem for the forward recurrence time. We have also shown how to use the infinite invariant density to calculate statistical averages like the measure of separation within the aging regime. From Eq. (34) we see an aged dependent pre-factor which multiplies the non-aged average. Similar averages hold for other time-averaged observables, which are integrable with respect to the infinite invariant density. Thus the infinite invariant density plays an important role for determination of ergodic properties of aging processes.
We have found that the dynamical instability is clearly divided into two different instabilities, i.e., regular motions and weakly chaotic motions, in the aging limit. Coexistence of regular and chaotic motions is reminiscent of generic Hamiltonian systems. However, the meaning of the coexistence is completely different. In aging dynamical systems, the probability of finding regular motions is increased according to the aging ratio , whereas regular and chaotic phase spaces do not depend on in generic Hamiltonian systems.
Acknowledgements.This work was partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) No. 22740262 (to T.A.).
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domain: literature


text:
Grounded Affirmations: The Secret to Making Affirmations Work
By Dhanishta Shah
In the realm of self-help literature, there is a lot written about the power of affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that an individual must repeat to himself or herself on a regular basis. Affirmations may reflect the state that the person wants to be in. Example, “I am successful and healthy.” Sometimes they indicate what the person wants to achieve. For example, “I live in a beautiful mansion by the sea.” It is believed that by constantly using these affirmations […]
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Peace 4 Animals’ Powerful New Documentary, Why On Earth, Is Set To Be Released On August 16th In The United States & Canada.
Why On Earth is a compelling new feature-length documentary by filmmaker and animal advocate, Katie Cleary, founder of Peace 4 Animals, is set to premiere in the United States and Canada on August 16th. The film will be available on major streaming and cable/satellite platforms as well as on DVD and Blu-Ray soon after but no firm dates when it will be aired in the UK.
The gripping film takes a comprehensive look into our current condition as a people; uncovering many issues that are affecting our natural world and the animals who inhabit it, revealing the vital connection between humans, animals, and the growing plant-based movement.
Why On Earth has been a labour of love for the past four years and finally this important documentary will be shared with the world to raise awareness about the many issues that impact our planet’s critical species. It emphasises the simple things that we as humans can and must do to prevent the devastation of our rainforests and to enact stricter penalties for poachers who kill endangered and threatened species.
Why On Earth was filmed by Director of Photography, Hunter Nolan, in five countries including South Africa, Kenya, Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States. Rare footage highlights the people on the ground fighting to protect critical species including endangered orangutans due to rapid deforestation in Borneo and Sumatra for palm oil extraction, the depletion of shark populations worldwide due to the illegal shark fin trade, and the poaching of nearly extinct African rhinos, elephants, and lions to fuel the black-market trade of their parts overseas. The film also shares the process of what it takes to pass vital legislation to protect animals in the United States.
Peace 4 Animals supports the protection of endangered species worldwide and many wildlife rescues on the ground working to save endangered elephants, rhinos, and orangutans, among many other imperiled species. The organisation also supports anti-poaching efforts throughout Africa. Peace 4 Animals works with local partners to rescue and rehabilitate companion animals that have been abandoned on the streets or given up at shelters and finds them loving forever homes. The organisation has also saved many farm animals from slaughter and has found them sanctuary too. One of their missions is advocating for a plant-based diet to help save the lives of billions of farm animals worldwide. The organisation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for animal welfare partners globally.
Why On Earth will be available on all major streaming and cable platforms across the U.S. and Canada on August 16 and hopefully in the UK soon after this – watch this space!


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The Owl House is at the absolute top of our anticipated shows of 2020 list and we finally have some more information about the casting. After the non audio trailer we have seen, this is great news for everyone wanting to put a voice to the characters. From Disney Channel we have Wendie Malick, Alex Hirsch and Sarah-Nicole Robles lending their talent in the form of voice work to The Owl House in early 2020.
We also have heard that there will be a lot of guest roles to be had by some celebrities as well on The Owl House and we look forward to seeing who makes an appearance. The other bit of news is that these newely announced cast members will join Dana Terrace and Ricky Cometa at a panel at NYCC this year where we are hopeful to find out some more information about the show.
Luz will be voiced by Sarah-Nicole Robles, the tiny warrior king by Alex Hirsch, and the witch Eda will be voiced by Wendie Malick. We just love the story for The Owl House and look forward to delving into the magical realm of the show.
Luz, a self-assured teenage human girl, accidentally stumbles upon a portal to a magical new world where she befriends a rebellious witch, Eda, and an adorably tiny warrior, King. Despite not having magical abilities, Luz pursues her dream of becoming a witch by serving as Eda’s apprentice at the Owl House and ultimately finds a new family in an unlikely setting.


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United Nations, New York — "Can you put a price tag on human life? Can there be a penalty strong enough against those who, for their own amusement, mentally torture people until they end their own lives?"
Teenah Jutton, a Member of the National Assembly of Mauritius, knows the torture she speaks of. She was subjected to digital violence when manipulated and degrading images of her were widely circulated online. Ms. Jutton took action in the most immediate way she could, not only for herself but for other survivors as well: she worked to change the law.
"The unbridled freedom that cyber platforms offer to those bent on harming innocent people means we must constantly introduce new safety controls, keep reinforcing and updating existing laws and explore the need to introduce new and sterner legislation," she explained.
A staggering 85 per cent of women around the world have reported witnessing digital violence; nearly 40 per cent have experienced it personally. The abuse spans bullying and flashing to doxxing (revealing identifying information about someone online), sextortion, online trafficking, hate speech and non-consensual sharing of images and video. These include the disturbing trend of deepfakes, where one person's likeness is altered so they appear to be someone else: One study showed a staggering 96 per cent of deepfakes were of pornography. All the targets were women.
Digital violence is one of the newest and hardest-to-police forms of violence. It is just as real and life-altering as other forms of abuse, with a psychological and physical fallout that can be severe and long lasting - even leading some to take their own lives.
Misogyny, gender inequality and online impunity
Digital violence is overwhelmingly aimed at women, girls and society's most marginalized and vulnerable. UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem said of the abuse, "For women and girls, no place is completely safe. Violence against them remains the world's most chronic, most devastating, most overlooked violation of human rights."
To raise awareness about this alarming trend, UNFPA's bodyright campaign was launched a year ago, with the aim of galvanizing governments and private sector tech companies to overhaul the systems that have allowed this abuse to flourish. The campaign coincided with other high-profile calls for action to protect vulnerable people in online spaces. Since then, a number of countries have seen progress in understanding and addressing the issue.
In Serbia, for example, a UNFPA-supported study called In front of the screen evaluated the frequency of abuse faced by girls in secondary school. A digital violence taskforce has been set up in Iraq, working with local organizations and leading tech companies to strengthen prevention and response, and to lobby for stronger engagement at the government level. Changes to legislation and private sector initiatives are also starting to proliferate. In Japan, the death of Hana Kimura - who killed herself following a barrage of online abuse - spurred a national revision of laws on insult and defamation, while governments in the United Kingdom and United States of America have over the past year proposed online safety bills specifically to protect women and children.
"This is where creating the change happens: Acts like using a fake profile to cause harm should be an offence punishable by law, with the perpetrator liable for a fine or penal servitude," said Ms. Jutton.
It's a view shared by Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn, a global nonprofit for gender-based violence survivors. "Tech companies must ensure they have adequate infrastructure to prevent abuse and support survivors, while regulators and investors should provide a minimum standard for the industry and have penalties for companies that do not meet these," Ms. Hussain said.
The cost of inaction
Digital violence is no less real than violence committed on the street or in the home. Violence online often spills over into the real world, as well. Women in public and leadership roles - especially journalists, human rights activists and those working in politics - are singled out for abuse, often part of a direct effort to drive them from the public sphere. When half of society is routinely threatened into silence, gender equality is undermined and the whole of society loses out.
Yet women have scant legal recourse to demand that even illegally obtained or falsified images be taken down, amounting to near total impunity for perpetrators. A handful of companies govern the online lives of billions of people, and none has yet devised systematic or effective solutions to digital violence.
Both Ms. Hussain and Ms. Jutton will be exploring these ideas further at a survivor-driven UNFPA event on 7 December, part of the broader 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence campaign.
Speaking on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Dr. Kanem said, "We can stop this crisis by acting in solidarity with the growing numbers of people who are standing up and saying 'enough'. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy and to live in safety and security."
Beyond online safety legislation and tracking tools, there is a need to recognize and protect women and girls' rights to make choices about their bodies and live free from violence - on and offline. As Dr. Kanem urged, "This is a moment to renew the urgent call for society-wide activism to prevent violence, wherever it happens, until we reach the end."


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Full signature with affectionate greeting In Italian to New York physician and opera fan Dr. Oliver Austin, dated "New York 1931". In an oval mat with a Mishkin portrait of De Luca as Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen.
The Italian baritone Giuseppe De Luca spent most of his career at the Metropolitan Opera, singing leading roles there between 1915 and 1930. Roman by birth, he studied with the same teacher who taught Battistini and Ruffo, and made his operatic debut in 1897. His voice was not large, but it was evenly produced, and the elegance of his singing made him an imposing figure on the stage. During the time he sang at La Scala (1902-10), De Luca created the role of Sharpless in the world premiere of Puccini's Madama Butterfly. At the Met, he was a dominant figure in the Italian and French repertoire, and he created the title role in Gianni Schicchi in the Met's 1918 premiere of Puccini's Il trittico. Other roles De Luca created in world premiere performances include Michonnet in Adriana Lecouvreur, the Marquess in Massenet's GrisÚlidis and Sancho Panza in Massenet's Don Quichotte (opposite Chaliapin in the title role). Toscanini is said to have called him "absolutely the best baritone I ever heard."SIG-09065$135


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I bought her secondhand. She came with her face a little scuffed up but it was nothing a wipe couldn't fix.
- Best Points:
- Round, anime-like face
20–39cm Dolls Doll Profiles created by jaehee143, Apr 24, 2018
- Head Sculpt:
- K.I.D Irene
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When I added a background picture I noted that I missed a row of pixels on the right side.
The 15 bit mode with Kalms c2p_4rgb888_3rgb555h8_040
writes 11 pixel-bits from a 32 bit register. It does so by omitting the blue-component of the last pixel in the register. This is actually well documented like that. Nevertheless, I still managed to mix up my math and then only looked at the custom registers when I couldn't make the black stripe go away. The solution is to make the screenbuffer 220 pixels wide, as Dodke also mentioned in the Subside thread at Pouet
. This actually neatly fits the 640 screen display window, because 220*32/11=640!
This are the values for the copperlist of a 220 pixel RGB on a 640 highres screen:
dc.w diwstrt,$4581,diwstop,$f9c1 ;16:9, 180 lines
Maybe that is helpful for someone. I actually inlined saturation into the c2p code, as proposed by Blueberry over here
, and now work from a 4RGB666 buffer. This is quite a neat screenmode!


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Recommissioning primary mental health services
Brisbane South PHN has engaged in an extensive consultation process with community members, service providers, consumers and their closest supporters and other key stakeholders to understand their journey through the health system. Through a co-design process, consumers, service providers and people outside of the health system have come together to understand the information collected, identify focus areas and refine ideas to implement within a new service model for Brisbane South PHN.
Collectively, these processes have assisted Brisbane South PHN to provide a clear direction for how our mental health, suicide prevention, and alcohol and other drug treatment services will be re-commissioned from July 2019.
We have found that the attitudes and behaviours of service providers matter to consumers as much as the type of service they receive. All new services will now be guided by a set of principles that have been designed by consumers, where the first question asked is “how can I help you?”
The new service model will focus on the person as the centre, surrounded by their natural supports and broader community supports.
The model will complement current services, recognising and building upon what is currently working within the system, and address service barriers to facilitate client access.
Brisbane South PHN will be working with service providers to implement this new service model from 1 July 2019. For current consumers of Brisbane South PHN programs, we will ensure that continuity of care is at the centre of any transition process that is implemented.
Should you have any questions about this project, please contact MHAOD@bsphn.org.au.


K-Pop community is now celebrating once again as the first said to be a rumor is now confirmed, as singer-songwriter Dua Lipa confirms her collaboration with K-Pop girl group BLACKPINK through a post on her Twitter account on September 4.
BLACKPINK members Jennie and Lisa attended Dua Lipa’s concert in Seoul previously in May.
So excited to release a super deluxe edition of my album on October 19th with 3 NEW SONGS!! Think of this as a little gift to wrap up this album cycle! ? Thank you for all the love and support. ?????⚡????? pic.twitter.com/0lGq6gd5t8
— DUA LIPA (@DUALIPA) September 4, 2018
Disc 2 of the album would contain the track “Kiss and Make Up”, where the record-breaking K-Pop act is listed as collaborator.
UPDATE on 2018.09.05, 13:25: A report from Naver News says that Dua Lipa was the one who requested for the collaboration between the two parties, however, due to their busy schedules, they weren’t able to make a music video for “Kiss and Make Up.”
The Super Deluxe edition of her self-titled album “Dua Lipa” will be available on October 19th, with 25 songs which include some of her hits such as “New Rules”, “Be The One”, “IDGAF” and “Genesis”, among others. – HallyuLife.com
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Despite projections that are looking more grim as the weeks pass, Maryland coach Mark Turgeon is adamant that his Terps have "a lot of basketball left."
Following a 7-6 season and a loss in the Military Bowl, six Maryland players have been honored by the ACC for academics.
The ACC admitted an error by its officials that affected the second half of Maryland's loss to Duke. Mark Turgeon responded on Monday.
Each week, CSNBaltimore.com come together with west-coast blogger Greg Crawford to bring you the College Hoops East/West Power Rankings. Who's No. 1?
Former Maryland guard dressed as Mario? And you thought that time he picked Jason Williams' pocket was your favorite memory of former Maryland guard Steve Blake. Silly you.


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I find myself feeling right at home when life's going a thousand miles per hour. You know when there's like a million things to do or places to be all at once. For me, it creates this sense of clarity. It makes me look at life a little deeper. Focus more on the littlest of details.
Fall weddings in Tennessee are like something straight out of a dream. Especially when you’re celebrating with your love at The Ruby Cora Wedding and Event Venue in Adams, Tennessee. The venue is timeless but yet modern in design with stunning getting spaces perfect for couples like you!
Jacob and Shelby were married on October 30th, 2021 at The Ruby Cora surrounded by both family and friends. Their wedding day was both intimate and timeless. Their wedding colors were shades of reds and black complimented with tons of beautiful shades of greenery. The bridesmaids wore black dresses with gold glitter accents that reminded me of a celestial sky while the groomsmen wore all black tuxes.
Arriving to the venue I began gathering details and chatting with Shelby. She handed me a box full of details including things like invitations, rings and shoes. I set up shop in one of the corners of the venue and got down to business. The light inside The Ruby Cora was perfect for detail shots allowing me to capture detail photos from Jacob and Shelby’s wedding day. I set out my flat lay mat and then allowed the magic happen. I started by setting the invitations in place, then I took the rings, shoes and earrings and then finished by gathering some additional greenery from the florist.
Walking into the bridal suite every one was getting ready. Some girls were working on hair while others were busy applying makeup in front of a floor length mirror. Shelby wore a smile that grew from ear to ear when I started chatting with her about her fiancé. I could tell that she was so excited and that she was completely ready to say I do to Jacob. Trying to fly under the radar I started capturing candid photos of Shelby and her bridesmaids getting ready in the bridal suite at The Ruby Cora Wedding and Event Venue.
Shelby began putting on her earrings while waiting for her mother to help her put on her wedding dress. Her hair and makeup were complete and left her looking absolutely amazing. A vibrant shade of red coated her lips which accentuated her facial features and left my jaw on the floor while I began taking photos. She was absolutely beautiful and I could not wait for Jacob to see her soon!
Shelby’s mom came in ready to help her daughter into her wedding dress. We opened the curtains letting in the overcast light from outside enter the bridal suite at The Ruby Cora. Shelbys mother began zipping her dress. She finished buttoning the back of her dress by using a crochet hook, with each and every loop we grew closer to the moment where Shelby would see her fiancé for the first time on this day. Even Shelby’s grandmother joined in on the festivities. She used the crochet hook to hook the very last button and gave her granddaughter the biggest hug.
Little shot glasses lined the coffee table at The Ruby Cora in the grooms getting ready space. I had entered the room with perfect timing as Jacob and his groomsmen were about to have a toast. Music blared in the background as the boys continued getting ready. Jacob started putting on his vest and began having his father assist him with tying his tie. I tried to remain as much like a fly on the wall while capturing these lifestyle moments.
Once everyone was ready I spent some time with Jacob paying special attention to the littlest of details while he continued to get ready. Carefully I began capturing him buttoning his cufflinks as well as adjusting his tie. I tried to create small talk to help calm the nerves. I could tell that he was over come with so much excitement to see Shelby very soon!
It continued to intermittently rain and mist outside so we opted to have Shelby and her fathers first look on a pathway right outside The Ruby Cora to help the two stay dry. Quickly grabbing umbrella’s we had Shelby’s father stand facing out toward the corn fields at the venue. Holding an umbrella over Shelby’s head myself and my second shooter made a run of it. Thankfully no one got to wet or too muddy!
Once Shelby was in place we had her stand behind her father, then she tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. Instantly I could see the pure joy on his face as he saw his daughter for the first time that day. They both shared a couple hugs, inside jokes as well some tears. We gave them some space to allow these two to live completely in this moment.
After seeing her father for the very first time that day it was time to see her fiancé Jacob. Shelby stayed tucked away in the bridal suite safe from the weather that was going on outside. We waited for a small break in the clouds and then had Jacob stand on the brick pathway facing out toward the pond at The Ruby Cora. Shelby walked behind him and before she could even tap him on the shoulder he turned around put his hand over his mouth as he looked at fiancée. The two exchanged smiles back and fourth and one another. The amount of love that these two share could be felt through this exact moment.
Shelby showed off her wedding dress to fiancé. She twirled in a little circle as he watched her every move with a smile that shined so bright it was like the sun was out. We gave these two some space so they could completely focus all their time and energy on remembering exactly how they felt in this moment together.
The weather had other plans in mind when it came to Jacob and Shelby’s wedding day at The Ruby Cora. Their original ceremony plan was to get married down by the pond but due to the weather they opted for an indoor ceremony. Nevertheless it was set up perfectly for an intimate celebration for both Jacob and Shelby. A hand made wooden arch decorated with red and white florals awaited these two at the front of their ceremony. Rows of chairs set in place awaited their guests and family members to arrive.
Music started to play as the bride and grooms parents walked down the aisle to their seats in the front row. The bridesmaids held onto the arms of the groomsmen they were walking with and made their way down the aisle. Time seemed to stand still for just a few moments. The curtain in the back of The Ruby Cora closed as guests and family members stood on their feet. Jacob stood at the front as he watched his fiancée walk toward him. Shelby wrapped her arm around her fathers as he escorted her down the aisle to her soon to be husband.
Their Ceremony was short and sweet but was filled with many meaningful messages for the couple to take with them to remember for years to come. Sharing not one but two long and meaningful kisses in front of their family and friends. Celebrating the moment where these two officially became husband and wife.
The room erupted into excitement as the newly weds entered the reception! All the guests jumped to their feet completely ready to begin mingling and partying with the bride and groom. Food trucks lined up outside The Ruby Cora ready to feed the couple and their guests. Just let me tell y’all the food was so good and if your thinking of having a food truck on your wedding day do it your guests will love it!
Toasts started right on time and didn’t leave a single dry eye in the room. Their best man and maid of honor had tons of fun stories about the couple that left the room laughing and reminiscing on old memories. Once toasts concluded Shelby and Jacob shared a first dance with one another and cut their wedding cake.
Shelby and Jacob ended the night with a final dance just for the two of them. They left The Ruby Cora that night in a Jeep that their family had decorated for the newly weds after exiting their sparkler exit.


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It's Christmas Day.
I can hear laughter from my living room where some of my children are playing a game.
I can hear my son playing by himself with his new lego. The smell of home made soup is wafting in from the kitchen, and the sound of Pentatonix Christmas songs is soothing and surrounds me.
I look forward to time with my brother and his family this evening, and I smile at the laughs, the conversations, and the joys of last night; when I spent Christmas with my family.
It's a beautiful time of year, and yet, I hear the quiet of a child that will never join us for Christmas.
I see a smile, and a face that I will never know.
I know a child, who will never grace my presence during the holiday season.
And then it prompted me to think of those who have lost a loved one.
I have lost a boy whom I never knew. I heard his heart beat fill the doctors office, and I felt his small kicks within me, but yet, he was still a boy I never knew.
So what about those who have known someone; whether for hours, days, weeks, months or years, and have had to say good-bye.
What about the void that is there for them this season?
The empty place at the table, the silence at gatherings, and the missing link to a chain of family and friends when we gather around with those we love during the holidays.
Perhaps there is a way to help those who are struggling with the loss of a loved one this season.
I have sat thinking about what I would like people to know and it's only through that, that I can even have a glimpse of what to do for others.
So if you know someone who has lost a loved one in the past year, or perhaps even 5 years ago,
consider the following things this coming week.
Respect those who may be struggling this holiday season.
We may not understand, we may think it should be easy to embrace and surround others and be joyful. It's far too easy for us to look at those suffering and think, "Well focus on the positive. Don't be negative".
But we are all individuals who find different things difficult, who cope in different ways and who struggle with different issues.
So let's respect that there may be some just going through the motions for others, or perhaps do not feel like celebrating at all. It may even be that many people find it difficult just to get through the holiday season.
Allow the person grieving to vocalize and show emotion.
Sometimes all we need is a good cry, or an ear and shoulder. We need to shed tears for those lost, those never known, and those we are missing.
Or perhaps the memories of Christmas' past will take them to a place of bittersweet joy and sorrow. Remembering with a smile and yet having the memories hurt. Allow them to do this with you, or perhaps they need space to do this on their own. Let them lean on you if they need it.
Maybe in memory of the lost loved one, ask them if they have considered starting a new tradition. Rejoice in the life that they have lost.
Maybe this means buying them an ornament for their tree. Maybe it's a time of sharing eggnog (and rum) over anecdotes of the loved one past. Whatever it takes to have the day perhaps surprise them; do that, and be there.
Be patient and give them time. There is no hard and fast rule for how they should get over the years. Everyone must go at their own pace. But one thing is for sure; the support they receive will be a direct reflection of how they are doing this holiday season.
Every year around Christmas, I feel an empty place for my child.
His ornament adorns my tree, and every day on December 16th, I tell my children his birth story, just as I tell them their own.
It still amazes me that 5 years later, amongst the laughter of my six children, that I still hear the silence of a laughter that is missing.
He is missed, and he is loved. I still think of him, but the pain is not what it was that first Christmas.
But I had support, and I hope that whether you know someone who may be struggling, or are struggling yourself; that you find the support you need this Holiday Season.
May we be surrounded by love and family and friends, and yet if you need the space this year just to simply reflect; may you have peace and love in that as well.
Merry Christmas to all... from my house to yours.

domain: psychology


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Guilford County communities gear up to provide compassionate, accessible support to residents in crisis
Guilford County government, NAMI Guilford County, community partners, and providers across the county are gearing up to support the nationwide launch of the new national Crisis Lifeline: 988. Beginning Saturday, July 16, 2022, people can call or text 988 from anywhere in the United State to be connected to compassionate, accessible care anytime a mental or behavioral health crisis occurs. In Guilford County, the Behavioral Health Crisis Center is preparing to see a potential influx of new patients thanks to the new easy-to-remember resource.
“It can be tough to know what to do or who to call when a mental health or substance use crisis is happening, and a resource like 988 makes it easier to access free and confidential help immediately,” said Guilford County Commissioner At-Large Kay Cashion, a long-standing advocate of mental health services. “When you or someone you know is in crisis, all you have to remember is three simple numbers – 988.”
“The 988 Crisis Line is a much-needed resource and is just the first step in building out a more robust crisis response system that will change how our nation treats, supports, and talks about mental health and suicide,” said Madonna Greer, NAMI Guilford President. “This new service provides a trained crisis counselor to listen, understand, and help link callers to community-based providers that can deliver a full range of crisis care services if needed. This new service is free to all and is completely confidential.”
In 2020, the U.S. had one death by suicide every 11 minutes. Suicide is a leading cause of death for people aged 10-34 years. From April 2020 to 2021, over 100,000 individuals died from drug overdoses. Mental health challenges are the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes in young people.
“In North Carolina, as much as 60 percent of youth experiencing depression go without mental health treatment,” said Dr. Whitney Oakley, acting superintendent of Guilford County Schools. “A resource like 988, where students and families can text or chat with a trained professional, will help save lives.”
In the second quarter of 2022 (March 1 – June 30), the Guilford County Behavioral Health Crisis Center served more than 50 youth ages six to 18 and the majority (35%) received support for anxiety.
Debra Mack, Director of the Guilford County Behavioral Health Crisis Center added, “The Guilford County Behavioral Health Crisis Center is open and available for anyone, ages four and older, who needs mental or behavioral health support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are trained and ready to help and, like 988, our service is free and confidential.”
9-8-8 is fully accessible for people of all abilities and includes a Spanish-language option as well as interpretation service in more than 150 languages.
988 services are distinct and separate from the emergency medical and public safety response associated with 911. People should continue to call 911 for emergencies only. An emergency is any serious medical problem (chest pain, seizure, bleeding), any type of fire, any life-threatening situation (fights, people with weapons), or to report a crime in progress.
“The City applauds the addition of the 988 crisis lifeline, which will supplement the services provided by our Behavioral Health Response Team,” said Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan. “We can never have too many mental and behavioral health resources available to Greensboro residents during a time of crisis.”
988 crisis counselors are trained to use the least invasive interventions, when possible, and oftentimes the call, text, or chat itself is the only intervention needed. Chat (English only) is available through the Lifeline’s website https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat
“Mental health conditions are real, common and treatable, but because of stigma, many people with mental health concerns are untreated or undertreated and don’t know where to turn for help,” said Steve Lingerfelt, City of High Point Information Technology Services Director. “The launch of this new 988 crisis line is a game changer for accessing care when you need it. It’s easy to remember, it’s confidential and it could very well save a life, whether it be yours or the life of someone you love.”
988 is additive. In 2020, Congress designated the new 988 dialing code to operate through the existing National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s (1-800-273-8255) network of over 200 locally operated and funded crisis centers across the country. North Carolina already participates in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Veterans Crisis Line — 800-273-TALK. That number remains active and starting July 16, that same crisis line will be reachable by also dialing 988.
No appointment is needed at the Guilford County Behavioral Health Crisis Center which is open 24/7 at 931 Third Street in Greensboro. The first of its kind facility in North Carolina was specifically designed for the comfort and care of residents experiencing a mental health crisis and combines behavioral health services and emergency medical care for both adults and adolescents (ages 4-17) presenting in a mental health crisis.
Guilford County and NAMI Guilford County are working together to host a community information session on 988 at the Behavioral Health Crisis Center later this summer. More information will be released in August.
Whether someone is experiencing thoughts of suicide, trouble with their mental health medications, a substance use crisis or any other kind of emotional distress, there is somewhere to call, someone to respond, and someplace to go for support. Call or text 988, or chat with someone at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat today.
THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY POSTED HERE.

domain: medical


Donald Trump, with his father Fred and mother Mary in 1992. Fred, who started out as a housebuilder in Queens, met the young Scottish immigrant in 1934
A young Donald Trump, left, is pictured with his mother and mother and siblings Maryanne a...
Eric, Donald, Ivanka, and Donald Trump Jr on the 9th green • Turnberry, Scotland • photo courtesy Donald Trump Jr.
Trump's mother was a penniless Scots girl who arrived in America barefoot | Daily Mail Online
Hillary Clinton Sends Condolences To Scotland After Donald Trump's Arrival
A windswept Donald Trump in Scotland to outline the case for his proposed golf course
Donald Trump on a visit to Scotland in 2008
Donald Trump watches the action with wife Melania and son Barron during the Third Round of the Ricoh Women's British Open at Turnberry Golf Club on August 1, 2015 in Turnberry, Scotland.
Black and white photographs have emerged of Donald Trump's mother Mary Anne MacLeod in her native Scotland. She emigrated from the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
When his helicopter landed at Turnberry, he was greeted with this affectionate sign. | 11 Ways Donald Trump Was Warmly Welcomed To Scotland This Weekend