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January 25, 2023
By Dr Kathy Weston
I am starting this week’s Wednesday Wisdom with an apology, to all ‘allergy parents’ or indeed anyone who lives with a severe allergy or allergies: I’m sorry I didn’t know what you go through. I feel motivated to say this following a webinar that I hosted last week with Professor Adam Fox of ‘Allergy London’ and Sarah Knight (CEO of The Allergy Team). This was a webinar for school staff across our Tooled Up Schools and addressed optimal strategies for reducing severe risk in school settings.
Before this webinar, I had some understanding of the importance of allergy care in schools and at home, but I had never heard anyone’s ‘lived experience’. Sarah Knight of The Allergy Team articulated what it was like to be an “allergy mum” to two children with complex allergies, and how the lives of families with children with allergies often can centre around fear and hope: will my child be safe today? Will they be ok at the birthday party? Will they be ok on the school trip? Has the new catering manager or school nurse been briefed? As an allergy parent, it appears you place a lot of hope in others and that’s tough. You hope that staff are knowledgeable, well-trained, organised and have communicated all necessary information about your child’s conditions to relevant colleagues. You hope for the best, on a daily basis! I should add that school staff also hope – that parents have sent them all relevant information about their children’s medical needs and meds, in a timely fashion. When supporting children with allergies, communication is absolutely essential.
Allergy parents often have to be more assertive than they want to be. For example, they might have to ask about cake ingredients three weeks before a party. Some people might label this as ‘neurotic’ or ‘demanding’. However, allergy parents have typically experienced their child having a severe allergic reaction in the past, a frightening one, perhaps one that may have killed them. So, if we put ourselves in their shoes, our empathy level should increase significantly and we can adjust our response accordingly. I recoil in horror, thinking back to a time when I booked a restaurant for dinner with family friends. Their son had a shellfish allergy (which I had known about but forgot about) and had booked… a fish restaurant for our meal out. Ugh. Why did I do that? I still remember how our friends made an apology to us when they gently reminded us they couldn’t do that.
Nearly all of us have experienced allergy parents apologetically explaining that their child can’t eat what we have made for tea or provided at the birthday party. They should never have to do that. Sarah described a common scene at social occasions where allergy parents might have to trawl through discarded packaging or the dustbin, to find out what on earth their child had just consumed or was about to consume. This can’t be right. If we genuinely want to be inclusive and kind hosts, we should care deeply about what allergy parents go through every time they send their child to an event or social occasion and try our best to support them.
Allergy parents don’t want to stand out, and don’t want their children to feel different either. They know what research has shown, that being different in a school can heighten the risk of being teased. So they have the added worry of how other children will react to their child’s unique requirements. Sarah talked of how children with allergies can be ‘blamed’ when menus change in school or the nice biscuits replaced with something that doesn’t threaten their life! We know that allergy bullying is fairly common; children with a food allergy are twice as likely to be bullied as those without one. They might be mocked about their limited lunchtime diet or for sitting at a certain table at lunchtime. In rare cases, they might even be threatened or made to eat food that isn’t safe for them.
It is not just children with allergies who are at risk. Children who stand out as different from their peers may be subject to the same exclusionary behaviours. This might be due to their skin colour, religion, social background, hair, sexuality or gender. Children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities are significantly more likely to be bullied than their peers. Research by the Anti-Bullying Alliance shows that 36% of pupils with SEN experience frequent bullying compared to 25% of those without SEN. Children with a learning disability or autism are particularly at risk and, in general, neurodiverse individuals are much more likely to be bullied than those who are neurotypical. One recent survey found that a staggering 75% of autistic young people have experienced bullying and only half said they felt safe at school.
It’s reassuring to know that most children who encounter bullying and unkindness from peers, particularly if it is brief, recover well with support from friends and family. However, those who have been through something more traumatic can experience long-term effects and the resultant feelings of isolation and alienation can be challenging to overcome.
This is why all of us should reiterate the importance of being kind to others to our children, not just every so often, but regularly. We often ask our children how their day was at school, but do we ever ask them if they completed an act of kindness or witnessed one? If they tell a story about someone being annoying in class, do we respond in ways that reinforce kindness or promote exclusion? For example, it is easier to encourage a child to exclude someone else from play because it is a quick remedy for peer conflict. Instead, we might try to help them develop social strategies for working through difficulties or communicating their needs. If we can teach our children to be curious and compassionate about other children’s challenging behaviour, it can be a good starting point.
Helping children to celebrate difference, in appearance, the way we think, our physical ability, sexuality, gender, race, culture or language - is vital. It’s not a question of mere tolerance. It’s a question of valuing the contributions of those around us, acknowledging people’s differing starting points, challenging misconceptions, questioning stereotypes and promoting kindness and care for others.
Last weekend, I took my children to Amsterdam to visit Anne Frank’s House; a place that exists as a solemn reminder of the extreme consequences of ‘othering’, ostracisation, and exclusion and remind us all about what can happen when hatred for others is politicised, galvanised and evil exercised.
Clearly, it is an extremely poignant, albeit harrowing experience to be there and to consider what the Frank family (and millions of others) went through. At the beginning of the visit, we listened to a talk by a historian who talked about how the hatred of Jewish people began slowly and insidiously. She talked of children being pulled up to the top of the class and other students made to discuss what Jews ‘looked like’. Soon, a series of prohibitions began, exclusions and the arrival of the stigmatising yellow star. This talk prompted our own family discussions about the origins of hatred (beginning with feeling threatened, with small acts that belittle), fuelled by greed, ignorance or perhaps the desire for economic, political or personal power. My children were astonished that the Franks had been kept alive by the kindness of brave helpers over a period of two years, only to be betrayed, on the cusp of liberation, by someone who clearly thought they had something to gain personally. We talked about the personal values that the helpers must have held; they believed in doing what was right, what was human, what was kind, what was fair.
On the way home from that trip, as I reminded my children about outstanding homework that needed to be completed, I reflected on the values that they perceive I may value more than others. Do I value academic achievement over character, over kindness? I certainly don’t, but is that clear to them? Is there as much chit-chat in family life about the treatment of others as there is about doing well in school?
In considering any potential disparity between parental and children’s views of value hierarchies at home, I came across the work of Richard Weissbourd, a psychologist at Harvard, who runs a project called Making Caring Common. The project’s mission is producing research and resources that contribute to building a world where children learn to care about others, treat people well day to day, seek fairness and “do what is right even at times at a cost to themselves”.
In 2014, the Making Caring Common project carried out a national survey in the US and released a report called The Children We Mean to Raise. It examined the messages that adults send to children about values and how children interpret them. They found that a large majority of participants, across a wide spectrum of races, cultures and classes, reported valuing achievement and personal happiness over being a good person and behaving kindly to others, and that they thought their peers did too. The young people also felt that the adults around them were more concerned about achievement than caring. In fact, they were three times more likely to agree than disagree with the statement that, “My parents are prouder of me if I get good grades in my classes than if I’m a caring community member in class and school”.
Weissbourd’s research begs an important question and gives us something to reflect on as parents. Could there be a gap between our rhetoric and our daily reality? Could well-intentioned preoccupations with personal achievement and happiness be drowning out our messages about the way that we should behave towards others? Might some of the messages that we give be causing problems?
This report was published almost nine years ago now, and was based on research in a US population. Most schools, certainly in the UK, now go to great lengths to firmly embed character education and core values into their curriculums and cultures. The importance of kindness, honesty, respect and responsibility is stressed daily in schools up and down the country and all over the world.
However, this research made me reflect on the importance of auditing whether or not the things that we do and say in everyday family life match our real values and priorities. As Professor Weissbourd writes, “The challenge is for adults to ‘walk the talk’, inspiring, motivating, and expecting caring and fairness in young people day to day, even at times when these values collide with children’s moment to moment happiness or achievement.”
In short, we need to model the kind of attitude we want our children to adopt and a focus on empathy is a terrific place to start. A classroom or home-based game of literally stepping into someone’s shoes can be a fun and engaging way to think differently and more flexibly about how others might be feeling. You might say to your children, “imagine, it is your first day at school, how does it feel? How do you hope that others might treat you?”, or “imagine you have heard other children talking about you and being unkind, how do you think that would feel? How might that influence the way you act?, “Imagine you find out that there is a Whatsapp group named after you, how would that feel?”. You get the point. Empathy is an exercise and it is good for adults and children alike to do the shoe game once in a while. There is a deep humanity accessible via the lens of empathy and it might just keep toxic judgement, discrimination, unkindness, hatred and prejudice at bay.
It is frequently said that the school environment, the classroom, or playground environments are microcosms of society and that it is within these daily contexts that our children navigate their way towards acceptance, understanding and towards a positive sense of self.
Unfortunately, for some children, peer interaction can cause social and emotional problems, difficulties and in extreme cases, exacerbate mental health difficulties. In every classroom, there will be children who are having a tricky time at home, who are grieving, who are struggling with social interaction or learning, anxiety or trying to cope.
I recently heard from a parent whose autistic son has vocal tics when he is particularly anxious. These mean that he can vocalise (shout out) when he feels stressed in situations where it might be entirely inappropriate (in this case, during the Head’s speech on open day). You can imagine the telling-off he might get by anyone who doesn’t quite understand the purpose and function of his vocalisation nor have any knowledge of this particular child. You can imagine the pressure on a child not to do that, when every impulse is driving towards an action that they feel helps them calm down. This is one tangible example of how something that might seem rude on the face of it, but absolutely isn’t.
So how can we move toward creating a more accepting world for all young people? How can we ensure schools are safe environments for children and homes are places where understanding, empathy and compassion are highly valued? Like so many things, it starts with caring and conversation. All parents can talk about difference, diversity and neurodiversity with their own children. Encouraging kindness and empathy towards people who don’t think, present or express themselves in exactly the same way as we do is hugely important.
Kindness and empathy have far-reaching psychological and social consequences in themselves. There’s a solid evidence base showing that practising kindness has a positive impact on our mental health, as well as educational and interpersonal benefits. Altruism is linked to higher levels of life satisfaction, positive emotions and subjective happiness. Empathetic skills can be taught, modelled and valued, with lessons conducted daily within the school of family life.
Are you a Tooled Up member?
If you’re looking for more support and resources on the topic of kindness, have a look at our library. It features a whole section of resources devoted to promoting kindness, including interviews with leading researchers in this field, family fundraising ideas, a 100 acts of kindness activity (which includes prompts for kindness online) and a list of books that can help to cultivate kindness and empathy. If you would like to know more about Sarah Knight’s work at The Allergy Team, make sure to visit their website. They also offer a school membership that will provide your school with the knowledge and resources needed to bolster any allergy planning.
While we’re nudging our children towards embracing kindness and empathy, we still need to address the topic of hate and toxicity, so our children can learn about what they might encounter in the world and how to influence others for the better. We have two upcoming webinars that can help. In March, we’re joined by criminologist, Dr Lisa Sugiura for a webinar on misogyny and sexism. There is significant misunderstanding about the phenomenon, and this negatively impacts attempts to tackle it. Understanding and defining what misogyny and sexism actually mean is crucial to dismantling them and achieving gender equality.
Somebody who built a prominent online presence through misogynistic and sexist ideologies is Andrew Tate. Unfortunately, this toxic influencer has a vast fan base among boys and men worldwide. In April, Dr Sugiura returns for a webinar that takes a closer look at Tate, his methodologies, his appeal and what we can do to mitigate the risk that exposure to such material can bring.
For those interested in neurodiversity, please note that we are hosting an online conference “All About Autism” to be held on the 21st April and this is open to anyone within our TUE schools who wishes to attend. We have 11 fabulous and interesting speakers booked and we are looking forward to learning and sharing new knowledge. If you wish to attend, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org
It’s winter and we want to make you feel warm, cosy and loved by reminding you that there is still time to win a Thermomix TM6 kitchen appliance worth over £1000.
So, make our day and tell us what we do that warms your heart. You can send a short video, a quick email, write us a poem, sing a song or do a dance routine. All members of our Tooled Up community are invited to join in the fun. We will pop all of your messages into a random draw and the lucky winner will be announced on St Valentine’s Day – Tuesday 14th February 2023.

domain: psychology


Last month, British Vogue published an article that went into great detail about the breakup of Zayn and Robert Pattinson. The piece, titled “The Real Story Behind Zayn and Robert Pattinson’s Breakup,” discussed the behind-the-scenes details about the former couple’s turbulent relationship. The magazine’s managing editor, Luisa Durante, described the pair’s steamy romance in this way:
“A few years back, Zayn and Robert were an item – or, at least, they were photographed having dinner together and were seen leaving restaurants arm in arm. As their relationship progressed, so did their public appearances. In 2015, they were often spotted heading to the movies or a play. There was even talk of them tying the knot. Finally, in October of last year, Zayn made the extraordinary announcement that he and Robert had decided to go their separate ways. Since then, they’ve mostly kept their distance from one another – with the occasional media hit such as the highly-publicized Game Night. But is everything as it seems? Were they really just playing it cool until the last minute? Perhaps not. Many of Zayn’s most trusted confidantes have now spoken out about the true nature of their breakup, and they paint a very different picture from the one we’re used to seeing in the media. Here, we take a closer look at the origins of Zayn and Robert’s romance, the surprising turns it took, and the impact it had on their careers and public images.”
Zayn and Robert first met on the set of the 2010 film, Water for Elephants. In the film, Pattinson plays a vet who treats stray animals and trains them to be pets. The film is based on Maureen Wheeler’s bestselling novel, The Grieving Widow, and it chronicles the troubled romance between an older bachelor and a younger woman. When the film was released, it was met with mostly positive reviews and became a minor box office hit.
The year before, Pattinson had delivered a string of highly-acclaimed performances in films like Cosmopolis, which he also wrote and directed. The actor had also just completed an acclaimed turn as a heroin addict in the film Diary of a Teenage Girl. In 2014, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Alfred in The Grand Budapest Hotel, another role he also wrote and directed. His performance in The Revenant, which followed a year later, cemented his status as one of Hollywood’s greatest and most decorated leading men.
The Grieving Widow: How Robert Found True Love
But it was Zayn who eventually won Pattinson’s heart. In The Grieving Widow, the handsome British actor plays Thomas Sadoski, an elderly widower who develops a crush on an alluring womanizing playboy named Teddy Winch (played by Robert Pattinson). While filming a scene for the movie in which Sadoski proposes to his love interest, she reveals that she’s already married – a fact that breaks his heart. A few months later, Sadoski is devastated to learn that Teddy has been killed in a car accident. In the years that follow, Sadoski trains a pet Bengal tiger named Mushka (played by Matt Damon) to be his constant companion. In 2016, Zayn and Robert were honored with the British Best Film Award for The Grieving Widow and the film’s critical and box office success made it one of the most significant British films of all time. On social media, the film’s fans began to refer to themselves as “TGW” – or “The Grieving Widow Army.”
Pattinson and Zayn first started dating in 2014. The next year, they made their red carpet debut as a couple at the premiere of The Grieving Widow in London. Since then, they’ve been seen together at numerous events and awards shows, usually holding hands or kissing. While they keep their romance a secret, their passionate public displays of affection have made them an item of entertainment media speculation. In an interview with Vogue Arabia, Zayn revealed that he and Robert have been in numerous car accidents during their time together. These accidents were caused by passionate kisses and dangerous driving, but they’ve both emerged unscathed.
Water for Elephants And Beyond
Their on-screen chemistry was instant and palpable. At the 2017 Golden Globes, the screenwriter for The Revenant and The Lost City of Z joked, “I think we can safely say, without fear of contradiction, that [Pattinson and Zayn] are the gold standard by which all screen couples should be judged. They are perfect.” Noted author and journalist Maureen Wheeler compared their romantic scenes in The Grieving Widow to those in The Revenant and The Lost City of Z and said that their performances in those films – as well as the rest of their movies – are among the great romance stories of our time. She continued:
“This is why I keep going back to these films: I feel like I’m in the presence of a modern-day romantic tragedy. It’s heartbreaking to watch and quite brilliant in equal measure. These men are broken in so many ways – but they find a way to live in the moment. It makes you want them even more.”
After the success of The Grieving Widow, Zayn and Robert were set to star in the British comedy series Dry Wash, but the show was not renewed for a second season. In September 2016, the pair were featured in the music video for the Charli Xcx song “Boomerang” from her album, “Charli” and they’ve continued to collaborate on music videos and album covers since. She has also described them as her favorite newlywed couple.
Dancing With Darkness
When The Revenant was released in December 2016, it became one of the most popular movies of the year – both in theaters and on social media. The story of ex-mercenary Leonardo DiCaprio’s (played by DiCaprio) arduous journey to recover his honor after being falsely accused of a murder he didn’t commit – and his revenge on those who persecuted him – resonated with audiences around the world. In the film, the 56-year-old actor displays an impressive dance routine that serves as a metaphor for his journey to physical and mental recovery. At the time of its release, the movie was called “A triumph of storytelling and acting” by Entertainment Weekly and it became DiCaprio’s best reviewed film to date. While most audiences were drawn to the film for its stunning cinematography and incredible performance by DiCaprio, some were inspired to take up ballroom dancing – a hobby that has largely been frowned upon by the medical community. In the decade since the film’s premiere, hundreds of thousands of people have tried the sport and it’s been seen as a way of dealing with stress and anxiety. In 2018, DiCaprio and Zayn were honored with the British Best Actor Award at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards for their performances in The Revenant and the actor is now a patron of the Royal London Ballroom Dance Society. In July 2019, DiCaprio and Zayn were among the first prominent figures to be publicly identified as being tested for the new coronavirus (COVID-19). According to Page Six, the two are “asymptomatic” and did not require testing – but others in their social circle were not so fortunate. As the number of cases of coronavirus climbed, so did the number of people who associated with DiCaprio and Zayn. Although there is no known cure for COVID-19, many people are reporting that lifestyle changes and social distancing have dramatically reduced their symptoms. While it’s too soon to tell if dancing has prevented the virus from spreading, this historic outbreak has certainly brought a new perspective to the world of dance. As Wheeler said in her interview with Vogue:
“I’m sure there’s a lesson to be learned here about embracing life more fully. Even in the darkest of times, there’s always something to laugh about. These men have found a way to give life a spin in the most unexpected ways. It makes me want them even more.”


Boston’s Irish community is on edge after the arrest by immigration police of a Brighton businessman who was charged with being an undocumented immigrant.
John Cunningham, the 38-year-old former chairman of the Boston Northeast GAA and the owner of an electrical contracting business, was charged with violating the visa waiver program, which allows foreigners to enter the US for 90 days. The Donegal native is said to have come to Boston in 2000 under the program, and has lived in this country without documentation since that time.
The federal officials made the arrest at his Brighton residence on June 15 and he has been held in Suffolk County jail awaiting deportation.
A spokesman for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency said that Cunningham was arrested by ICE officers for “immigration violations,” according to the Irish Independent newspaper. “Cunningham entered the country lawfully under the Visa Waiver Program, but failed to depart in compliance with the terms of his visit,” the official said.
Speaking on an RTE radio news program, Boston immigration attorney John Foley said there was “a great deal of fear” in the Irish-American community at the news of the arrest. “Basically his world has been turned upside down. He’s been hit with an immigration tsunami,” Foley told RTE. “Life as he knew it is over. And so he, like many in Irish community are living, is looking over his shoulder, if you will.”
Foley said that it was almost certain that Cunningham would be deported. “It’s not a question of the deportation going ahead – it’s going ahead.” He explained that Cunnigham was here on the visa waiver program, allowing a stay for 90 days. The waiver part means they’ve waived all right to judicial processing.
“Perhaps now more than ever before, there exists a deep anxiety and fear in the immigrant community with the daily news of increased ICE imprisonments and deportations,” said Ronnie Millar, head of the Irish International Immigration Center (IIIC.) “For me, one of the very serious recent developments was the clear warning from ICE’s acting director, Thomas Homan, that ICE plans to increase imprisonment and deportation of undocumented immigrants (even those without a criminal background).
Millar said that ICE arrests are up this year by 38 percent over last year, and to date 144,353 immigrants have been deported in 2017, 46 percent of whom had no criminal convictions. ICE has an average daily population of 39,610 immigrants in prison,” he said, adding that ICE’s director Homan has announced that undocumented immigrants should be “uncomfortable and looking over their shoulders.”
It is estimated that there are 11 million undocumented foreign nationals living in the United States, with about 50,000 them Irish. The Irish Independent reports that Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs has urged concerned Irish citizens to remain calm and to stay in touch with their local Consulate and Immigration centers. It said that, if necessary, people should consult with an immigration lawyer about their particular circumstances.


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domain: food


Hospital Executives Worry About Reform Uncertainties
Hospital executives worry about uncertainties in reform. The Washington Post reports: "Anxiety is running high among hospital executives as they ponder the ever-changing proposals on Capitol Hill. Wary of changes to payment formulas and fiercely protective of their franchise, industry groups are spending millions to lobby Congress. They also pledged $155 billion in Medicare and Medicaid savings in a deal with the White House in hopes of avoiding a deeper restructuring that could cost them more."
"Worries vary, and some institutions expect to gain more than they lose. 'Safety-net' hospitals, which treat high percentages of patients with little or no insurance, anticipate more revenue if coverage is extended to 95 percent or more of the U.S. population. ... The Obama administration says that there is significant waste in hospital care and that costs must be curbed. ... Current reform proposals would cover as many as 95 percent of Americans, a significant improvement. That suggests more money available to health-care providers and, if the theory holds, a healthier population that needs less care over time" (Slevin, 8/30).


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This homemade cranberry sauce is full of warm, fragrant spices with a hint of refreshing orange zest. One bite, and you’ll vow to never buy canned cranberry sauce again! The best part is, it comes together in under 30 minutes!
The classic Thanksgiving table tends to look pretty similar across America: a giant roasted turkey surrounded by mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and, of course, cranberry sauce. Cranberries — along with concord grapes and blueberries — are widely known as the only commercially grown fruits native to the United States. So if you’re going to pick a fruit to represent the American harvest, this is it.
Then the debate becomes canned cranberry sauce or fresh cranberry sauce? I will confess, for years, more than I care to admit, I bought canned cranberry sauce. I didn’t like it, so my husband was the only one that ate it. But then through a conversation that a friend and I were having, I realized how easy fresh cranberry sauce was to make, and for obvious reasons, tastes a whole lot better!! So began the process of developing my own, delicious cranberry sauce! I thought I just didn’t like cranberries since all I had tried was canned cranberry sauce – can you blame me? But once I tried fresh, homemade cranberry sauce, I was officially hooked! I now fully understand why cranberry sauce makes its way onto the table every Thanksgiving and often reappears at Christmas!
For this recipe:
This recipe really is easy! A few simple ingredients, 30 minutes of your time, and you’ll have an amazing cranberry sauce to impress everyone sitting around your table for the holidays!
All you need:
- Orange juice
- Sugar (white or brown)
- Cinnamon Sticks
- Orange Zest
Start by bringing the orange juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. **It is easiest to put the cloves in a spice bag or cheesecloth, so they can be easily removed. It is almost impossible to find and fish out the cloves at the end. Believe me, I’ve tried!
Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and orange zest. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20 – 25 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped and are soft. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves.
Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
That’s it! Super-easy, but so delicious!!
I love these little spice bags! They make it easy to remove the cloves:
- ½ cup orange juice
- ¾ cup sugar (white or brown) **See notes
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 whole cloves, most easily retrieved if put into a spice bag or cheesecloth
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- Bring orange juice, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and cloves to a boil, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. **It is easiest to put the cloves in a spice bag or cheesecloth so they can be easily removed.
- Once the mixture is boiling, add the cranberries and orange zest. Simmer over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until most of the cranberries have popped and are soft. Remove cinnamon sticks and cloves.
- Let the cranberry sauce cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.


When developing web applications, there are a number of options for handling the backend portion, ranging
from creating a custom application to using a service like Google Firebase. For many small projects this means
a significant amount of work to either write or setup such a backend. 200 OK was developed as a no
setup, drop-in RESTful API backend for applications with that scope, like learning prototypes or hackathon
proof-of-concepts. With its functionality, 200 OK can also serve as a temporary mock API or as a
debugging tool for header and payload inspection.
200 OK is a no-configuration backend service that provisions ephemeral RESTful APIs. Following the
REST architecture style, each API adheres to a resource-based model for storing and delivering data. In
addition to that, each API can be augmented to mock response payloads and there is an option for real-time
inspection of the request/response cycle, providing debugging information for header fields and body payloads.
Using the four traditional REST operation methods (GET,
POST, PUT, DELETE), data can be retrieved, created, updated and deleted
in up to four levels deep nested resources. Each API handles all valid JSON payloads, supports CORS and is
therefore easy to integrate in many different project environments. The RESTful mode works without a need for configuration or custom
settings and all additional functionality is optional and can be configured in a modern web interface.
Web applications typically consist of two parts: a frontend and a backend. The frontend portion is usually
concerned with the presentation layer, how a user interacts with the the application and how it is displayed
across a range of devices. The backend, in contrast, is responsible for managing all underlying data and
contains the business logic for retrieving and transforming that data.
There is a huge variety of providers across different levels of abstraction when it comes to web application
backends and those offerings demand different levels of effort to manage them while providing varying degrees
of abstraction and control over the backend itself.
Relying on bare-metal deployment is at the root of the abstraction level, as are offerings in the
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) space. Both put the responsibility of dealing with an applications
operating system and code into the hands of a developer, with the latter alleviating the need to handle physical
hardware concerns. A Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) instead abstracts away another layer: it manages all tasks
related to an applications’ deployment in the context of the host operating system, requiring the developer
to only care about the application code itself.
At the highest layer of abstraction stands the Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) which also manages any backend
functionality, exposing only a defined set of interactions with it. An application developer’s responsibility
is now limited to the frontend part. An example of a popular BaaS offering is Google Firebase which provides a
Software Development Kit (SDK) to facilitate access to its different backend features like a data store,
authentication services or analytics. The tradeoffs made for this reduced responsibility are a significant
vendor lock-in effect, the need to acquire mostly non-transferrable knowledge to using such an offering and any
restrictions imposed upon a user by the SDK's scope of operation.
200 OK falls right between the PaaS and BaaS definitions. By providing a backend with a
long-established architecture style (in the form of REST) 200 OK holds a few unique
advantages over a more complex BaaS like Google’s Firebase or Amazon Amplify. Those services are closed-source
platforms whose features are determined completely by the provider itself. Implementation details are mostly
hidden behind the respective SDK’s interface. In contrast, 200 OK provides a feature set focused purely
on data storage and transformation. It also closely follows the popular REST (Representational State Transfer)
architecture model for providing a simple but powerful interface that is in wide use across the web development world.
It retains the general benefits of abstraction that a BaaS offers but has greatly reduced setup times and requires almost no
prerequisite user knowledge. Plus, REST is fundamentally implementation-agnostic, meaning that there is no
reliance on client libraries or SDKs. As long as there is support for making HTTP requests (which is almost
universally possible in any language, either through the standard library or additional third-party packages),
a 200 OK API can be integrated with ease.
The original REST architecture specification by Roy Fielding layed out guiding principles for an interface to provide interoperability
between networked computers:
REST is only an architecture style and web-focused implementations don’t necessarily have to follow all
guidelines which is why many modern REST APIs are labelled as RESTful, meaning that they only
incorporate an (albeit large) subset of the original REST specification. HATEOAS (Hypermedia As The Engine
Of Application State), for example, is something that is often missing from RESTful APIs. HATEOAS means
that API responses should include contextual hyperlinks to related resources or resource operations, allowing API
usage without any prior knowledge of its design.
200 OK follows most REST principles in that it:
The layerability of systems as the REST style describes it is not a factor in how 200
OK is designed. The general idea is to have a REST API whose resources can represent an underlying data
source in many different ways, e.g. different formats (JSON, XML, CSV, …) or different aggregations of the
same data. A 200 OK API does only accept JSON payloads and stores them in almost the same format. But
with access to that data being provided by the API, the underlying data store is effectively decoupled from
its users, allowing flexibility in changing or improving it without interrupting a user workflow as long as
the interface remains the same.
200 OK was designed with a single-instance, multi-tenancy approach in mind. This required unique
measures to handle dynamic routing as well as flexibly storing dynamic relational data. Also, despite the
current single-instance approach, the goal was to allow for horizontal scalability in the future
without it impacting the core design.
With the need to properly handle the relationships between API resources, a performant and flexible
solution for the underlying data persistence layer was required. A materialized path approach backed by a
MongoDB document database constitutes a solution that is both performant for the intended use case and robust
enough to remain a valid approach even when extending both functionality and scale of the data layer.
In this section, I want to present how I solved the challenges for each of those problems and what
tradeoffs I considered during 200 OK's design.
Tenancy refers to the architectural distinction between a single instance of an application
serving either only a single user (single-tenancy) or multiple users (multi-tenancy). In the case
of 200 OK, a core design decision was to decide between both, with each user-created API representing a
tenant in this context.
A single 200 OK API will typically not generate much need for processing power or memory, so a
dedicated single-tenant architecture would result in a significant resource overhead. Providing an isolated
environment (like a containerized deployment) consisting of an application server and a data store for every
tenant API is therefore pretty inefficient: A representative use case for an API might require some
light read and write access over the course of two days, resulting in any pre-provisioned deployment sitting
idle for the rest of the API’s lifetime, needlessly consuming resources.
Thus, the decision was made to create a multi-tenant application server that acknowledges the light processor
and memory load that each API creates. The choice for such an application server fell on Node.js with the Express framework,
both of which are well suited for this task thanks to their flexibility and lightweight core.
This approach poses a fundamental problem in relation to multi-tenancy: with all API requests handled by the same application, each API needs to be unambiguously identified.
Providing a unique identifier to each API can be done in different ways, the most obvious one being a path-based identifier created during the API's creation. So an API with an identifier of 123456 would be available under
api.com/123456. The problem with that approach would be how to distinguish between requests to an API
compared to ones for the administrative web interface. The reverse proxy would need to apply pattern matching
to identify API requests (like api.com/123456) and web requests (like
api.com/dashboard). Depending on the structure of the API identifier and the complexity of the web
configuration service, this might call for a dedicated allowlist that explicitly contains all non-API-related
Another consideration is one of aesthetics and usability. The strict resource model of RESTful APIs uses URL
paths to represent both resources and item identifiers. Adding an additional API identifier to the URL path
obfuscates that pattern. api.com/123456/users/5 can be confusing to discern at first glance.
The approach chosen by 200 OK relies on subdomains instead. Each API is identified by a unique
subdomain. The reverse proxy now only needs to check whether a request is made to a URL with a subdomain (an
API request) or without one (a request to the web interface).
The Express framework provides methods to handle requests based both on the endpoint they are intended for
and the request method use. With the flexible nature of each API to treat any resource as valid as long as it
conforms to the basic requirements (no nesting beyond four levels, numeric integers as resource identifiers),
it is easy to see why there can be no fixed endpoint routes. Resources can be named however a user wants
(again, within a few constraints) and should still respond like any other resource when the first request
to them is made: The retrieval of a
resource collection like /users can be requested as the first operation on a 200 OK API and should be
handled as if /users was already created but still void of data, with the JSON
response payload containing an empty array.
Route handling inside the 200 OK application can therefore only be done by way of the distinct HTTP
request method. A DELETE request is going to require a fundamentally different operation than a
GET request. The exact route becomes what is essentially a parameter for that operation. The only
difference between a GET request to /users/3/comments and /lists/4 is
whether the request aims for a whole resource collection or a specific item of it. Extracting this information
from the request path is easy within the constraints of a resource-based model. This way
of creating catch-all routes for each request method also works exceptionally well with the materialized path approach for
organizing the relationship between resources (see the
When done early in the application’s middleware stack, it is also easy to discern between valid resource
requests and those that do not make sense within the loose limits. Rejecting a request can be done before many other
I/O-intensive operations. For example, a resource /users/5/images should only be valid if an item
with the id of 5 in the /users collection already exists. If it doesn’t, there
should be no images resource for that user, making the request invalid.
Data received for a 200 OK API is relational in nature, represented by the possible nesting of
In addition to that relational coupling, each resource item does not have any predefined schema. In fact,
since user-sent payloads are not known ahead of time, any predefined schema would have to be so loose as to
not provide much benefit at all. Deducting a schema by analyzing incoming data (and subsequently enforcing
adherence to it) would allow for better data integrity but at the cost of user freedom. Without a set schema,
there are almost no constraints placed on the structure and design of the user-sent payloads which best fits the
use cases that 200 OK aims to cover.
Yet the bigger problem is that of maintaining the relationship between resources without knowing beforehand
which resources an API is going to represent. Conceptually, this is similar to a tree data structure where
neither the depth nor the breadth of the tree will be known quantities. Consequently, an SQL database will not
play to its (usually impactful) strengths. A dynamic relationship tree would mean that tables might need to be
created at runtime, adding an expensive and potentially risky operation to each new API endpoint: if the table
creation fails, the user request will fail as well. Since the user-sent payload would be stored in a JSONB
column (or equivalent) anyway, SQL would only provide a way to manage those tree relationships but do so at a
This has led to the decision to use a document database, with MongoDB being the first choice thanks to its
storage format being very close to the JSON payload format. To manage relationships, 200 OK relies on
a method tailored towards storing tree structures in a data store: Materialized Paths.
Materialized path means that the relationship of any resource item is represented by the full tree path to
that item, encapsulated in a string. That means that there is no dedicated information stored about the parent
collection itself, each collection just comprises a varying number of - in the case of MongoDB - documents
with a path field that specifies the exact relationship of that item. That will look as follows:
Each item receives just two identifier properties: a path and an id. The path reflects the exact
relationship for the item while the id uniquely identifies it. In the example above, that item
would belong to the images collection nested below the users item with
the id of 6. The image item itself would also be associated an id of
2. A whole resource collection can now be retrieved without additional complexity by simply
querying for all items with a fully matching path. With the id provisioning handled separately, all resource
items can be stored within the same document collection of the database while still allowing all necessary
operations on the underlying tree structure.
To further explain the decision for materialized paths, we have to take an even closer look at the nature of
the relationship tree for 200 OK. Only a subset of all the operations that can be
executed on a tree structure are required for a RESTful API. There is no need to traverse the tree by breadth or
depth, neither it is necessary to find common ancestors for any tree node.
While there are multiple ways of representing a tree structure in data stores (like the nested set model for relational databases), materialized paths
provide the following advantages:
The only truly costly operation, moving sub-trees inside the structure (which would require updating all
nodes in that sub-tree), is not part of the 200 OK requirements. The limited ways in which the tree
needs to be operated on would make any more complex solution add mostly unnecessary overhead.
However, one disadvantage of materialized paths in a NoSQL data store is that there is no inherent way of
keeping track of resource item identifiers (like there would be with an auto-incrementing column in a
relational database). When inserting a new item into a resource collection, there is no possibility to easily
deduce the next available identifier without having to query all sibling nodes, an operation bearing
potentially high costs. 200 OK solves this issue with a dedicated identifier collection that
provisions the next highest integer identifier to any new resource item.
All in all, for all the necessary operations and within the constraints put on each API, materialized paths
provide a performant solution to managing relationships.
With the core backend design in place, several pieces of functionality posed more specific challenges with
regards to their implementation. Among those were:
The decision to implement core API functionality and web administration functionality in two separate
applications also created a barrier of communication between both. The only common denominator between those two applications is the data store. So to allow real-time
request/response inspection in the web application, a simple approach would be to store that information in
the database so that the web application can retrieve it. However, that solution would have a few drawbacks. First,
it puts more load on the main database which decreases its overall capacity. But even more significantly, it
introduces a maintainability demand: Most requests and responses will likely never be inspected by an API owner, so a lot of data is stored without a need and regular cleanup of old data is required.
A better solution can be achieved by using a dedicated message broker. Redis is an in-memory data
store with message brokering functionality in the form of its publish/subscribe mode. Leveraging that
functionality, the API backend can publish each request/response cycle to Redis. When a subscriber in the
frontend application listens for that data, it will receive it, otherwise it is immediately discarded.
This solves all described issues. The main data store is kept unaffected while a better suited tool handles
the communication in a completely decoupled manner. With the ephemeral in-memory nature of Redis, there are no
cleanups necessary as all data is either published and received immediately or discarded. In-memory storage
also keeps the added latency of those operations to a minimum compared to the disk-based storage of the NoSQL
The web application that subscribes to request/response information on Redis will also require a real-time
communication method with the interface running inside a user’s browser. There are various fleshed-out
solution to facilitate longer-living server/client communication outside the one-off nature of basic HTTP
The most commonly used technique are WebSockets that allow bidirectional communication between clients and a
server. This kind of communication comes with its own cost, though, on both sides of the process. The server
needs a separate WebSocket connection handler listening on a different port than the rest of the HTTP-based
communication, while the client will need to create a dedicated connection as well.
Since the flow of information for the request/response inspection is limited to a single direction (from the
server to the client), another solution provides a better fit: Server-Sent Events (SSE). Server-sent
events have much lighter requirements. They are served through a normal endpoint in the existing server
application, foregoing the need for a dedicated listener. Browser-side, SSE are realized through the browser’s
EventSource interface supported by all existing modern browsers and adding only minimal overhead
to the client-side code base.
Besides being unidirectional, SSE come with the disadvantage of being restricted by the maximum amount of
open HTTP connections for a domain that is enforced in the browser (at least when not using HTTP/2). Since
there is only the need for one SSE connection in the case of 200 OK, this does not matter.
Since the browser fetches SSE from a normal API endpoint, code complexity could be kept low by being able to
reuse all existing authentication and request handling functionality. That made Server-sent events a perfect
fit for this particular use case.
External APIs are most useful when they can be accessed from any environment. However, browser application
code suffers from one security-related restriction when it comes to external API access: the same-origin
policy, a security mechanism in all major browsers that restricts access to resources from different origins
than the accessing script or document originates from.
To allow valid cross-origin requests, there is a standard called CORS (Cross-Origin Resource
Sharing) that requires a server to explicitly state whether a host is permitted to make a request to
it. With the paradigm shift towards web applications with lots of internal logic running in the browser, an
API needs to support CORS to enable usage in those environments.
The simplest form of access control with regards to the request maker’s origin is a simple response header
(Access-Control-Allow-Origin) that states whether a response will be exposed to a browser script.
A wildcard value (*) is a carte blanche but does not solve all CORS-related issues. Whenever a
non-simple request is made (as defined by a set of criteria), a special OPTIONS method request is made first (called a
preflight request). Since a 200 OK API supports HTTP methods that always require such a
preflight request, support for those needs to be built in as well.
Instead of relying on a third-party library, 200 OK implements its own CORS library. The decision
for that was mostly driven by the idea of wanting to avoid a black box middleware for such a crucial part of 200 OK's
Despite being a single-instance deployment, 200 OK consists of different parts that need to be put
into a cohesive system architecture:
Separating the main API backend application from the web interface application was done for a number of
reasons. First, it allowed a cleaner separation of concerns. The main application should be responsible for
serving user API requests and not also for serving static web assets like HTML, CSS files or images. Secondly,
both applications potentially have very different scaling needs. With both being separate, the whole web
application could be further split up, for example to let a CDN serve all static assets and transform the
application into a pure backend API.
Routing requests to the correct application is one requirement already described earlier. Supporting
SSL-encrypted traffic is another one, creating the need for either an SSL termination point or SSL support for
both applications, as well as certification for all API subdomains.
Splitting traffic by whether a request is targetted at an API or the web interface is done by an NGINX
reverse proxy. It pattern matches for the existence of a subdomain in the hostname and forwards the request to
either of the two applications. NGINX is also used as the termination point for all encrypted traffic since
all traffic after that point is routed internally behind the same public IP address. TLS certification itself
is acquired via a wildcard certificate from Let’s Encrypt, covering all (sub-)domains and providing encryption
for both the APIs and the web interface.
There are a number of additions and improvements that I would love to make to 200 OK, among them:
Roy Fielding, 2000, https://www.ics.uci.edu/~fielding/pubs/dissertation/rest_arch_style.htm ↩
The decision to not implement a HATEOAS system for 200 OK stems primarily from the consideration that for the
intended use cases (in general projects with small scopes), HATEOAS would not be very beneficial. In
most cases, the API would not need to be explored as the only API consumer is the one who also determines
how it is used, resulting in the additional information being more of a hindrance because it requires
extracting the actual data payload from the additional hypermedia information. For an example of HATEOAS
in an API, the official GitHub API provides a good example. ↩
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nested_set_model ↩
See https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS#Simple_requests ↩


text:
Property Name: Bemugi's
Property Address: Santa Maria Machangulo, ,
Property Description: Property Location
When you stay at Bemugi's in Machangulo, you'll be near the beach and convenient to Ponta Abril. This caravan park/campground is within the vicinity of Inhaca Marine Reserve and Marine Biology Museum.
Make use of convenient amenities, which include a picnic area and barbecue grills.
Enjoy a satisfying meal at a restaurant serving guests of Bemugi's.
Business, Other Amenities
Free self parking is available onsite.
Location Description: Near Ponta Abril
Property Facts: Total Number of Rooms: 1Total Number of Floors: 1Year of Last Renovation: N/A

domain: travel


text:
It’s been said the smuggling of diamonds across borders has been an issue plaguing countries for decades. To combat this very issue, Diamond Development Initiative (DDI) has launched an anti-smuggling initiative for border communities in the Mano River Union region of West Africa.
Over the past two weeks, DDI hosted sensitization workshops in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Monrovia, Liberia, with more close to 40 government agents and civil society representatives in attendance.
Participants of the workshop are being trained to create awareness and sensitize members of border communities about diamond smuggling.
The free flow of diamonds across borders is illegal, but unfortunately not everyone knows that fact. The significant artisanal diamond mining in these countries, most of it being informal, makes controlling production and trade of diamonds difficult, to the detriment of the national economies and potential development for the mining communities.
The first phase of the program involved a pilot project in Guinea. The pilot was a success with and now the initiative has evolved to the other countries of the Mano River Union region.
“It’s exciting to see the kind of impact this initiative can have on reducing smuggling across border communities,” added Dorothée Gizenga, DDI Executive Director. “We’re really looking forward to expanding the program to help the formalization of the artisanal diamond economy.”

domain: geography


Six-storey condo development a go near Port Dalhousie
A six-storey condo development is a go for a St.Catharines neighbourhood near Port Dalhousie.
Grantham Ward councillor Bill Phillips says he voted against the development at the corner of Lakeport and Avalon.
He says it's another situation of shoehorning a big project into a small lot, saying it's too small a property.
Phillips is hoping the developers will take local residents' wishes into account, and go with a three-storey development instead.
He says resident's have been paying taxes in that area for thirty plus years, and it's not fair to them.
His concerns include traffic flow and parking.
Parker Architects Inc - from the St. Catharines City Council Agenda
Shelby talks to paper co-author and York University professor Jennifer Mills
Shelby talks to Help Kids Shine Ambassador @ Niagara Children’s Centre Fran


text:
From the Metropolis of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra:
We’re delighted to announce the appointment of two new Assistant Conductors.
Rita Castro Blanco (under) is among the most promising Portuguese conductors of her era and has had debuts with Orquestra Gulbenkian, Orquestra Sinfónica Portuguesa, Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa, Orquestra das Beiras, and Orquestra do Norte. From September 2019 to January 2022 she was Principal Conductor of the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra.
Charlotte Corderoy (left) is a London-based conductor and a latest graduate of The Royal Academy of Music, London.

domain: artistic


text:
Hight Quality Tudor Replica Watches For Mens Sale
Let us take you back to Tudor Replica Watches Art Grand Exhibition in Singapore that took place late September 2019. The exhibition is in full swing. We're in the thick of the exhibition.
The 5303R is the crown jewel of all the special editions. It was the last to be announced. This was also the first minute-repeater from Tudor Replica Watches that had its hammers, gongs and tourbillon visible on the dial.
Tudor Replica Watches Art Grand Exhibition
Philip Barat was Director of Watch Development for Tudor Replica Watches,panerai replica and he shared with us that, on September 28, 2019, he had first seen the 5303. He said, "For the exhibition, we have launched a brand new model. This is the Minute Repeater Tourbillon, but here --for the first time--we can see the entire mechanism of the minutes repeater on dial side.
The ref. 3979 was issued by the maison to celebrate its 150th anniversary. The maison issued the 3979 to celebrate its 150th Anniversary. This was the same event at which Calibre-89 pocket watches were unveiled.
The ref. The ref.
Tudor Replica Watches presented the incredible Calibre-89 pocket watch in 1989 to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
"Now our customers ask us more often to show the details of our minute-repeater mechanism," said Mr Barat. "To achieve this, the gongs [and hammers] have been relocated and moved to the dial side. The axis of hammer runs through the baseplate, so it was easy to move. The challenge of moving the mechanism was then manageable.
The baseplate is a rose-gold plate with Cotes de Geneve.Patek Philippe Aquanaut Replica It is usually rhodium-plated. The baseplate has been enlarged to fit the hammers, and an aperture was opened to allow the tourbillon to shine through. This is the first time Tudor Replica Watches made the tourbillon visible on the front.

domain: history


text:
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended CitationShellito, E. J. (1991). Kamp Kimchee: A Study to Assess the Future of a Korean Culture Camp for Adopted Korean Children (Thesis, Concordia University, St. Paul). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.csp.edu/legacy-capstones_csal/609
Available when logged in with your CSP email address and password.
For users outside of the CSP community, use the "Request Access" button to submit a request for full text.

domain: library


- Light Weight Free Floating Barrel Design
- Steel Barrel Nut
- Uninterrupted Upper Rail Platform
- Integral Sling Swivel Attachment Points with Limited Travel
- Patented Bolt-Up Mounting System
- Mil-Spec 1913 Picatinny Rails
- Grade 8 Military Specification Fasteners
- Includes 3 Picatinny Rail Covers
- Made in the USA
The Daniel Defense Lite Rail II is a 1-piece, Free Float Handguard featuring an uninterrupted upper rail platform, 6061-T6 Aircraft Grade Aluminum construction and a Type III Hard Coat Anodized Finish. This design improves functionality, aesthetics and ease of installation to the weapon system without compromising its best-known attributes, one of which being the lightest rail system on the market. Other features of the Lite Rail II include the Bolt-Up System, requiring only 4 bolts instead of 6, and front and rear sling swivel attachment points that are integrated into both the left and right side rails. All Daniel Defense rail systems carry a 100% satisfaction guarantee against defects in original materials and workmanship.
- Material: Aircraft grade 6061-T6 aluminum
- Finish: Military Specification Type III Hard Coat Anodized
- Length: 7.25"
- Width: 2.06"
- Weight: 8.7 oz.
- Inside Diameter: 1.22"
- Gas System Length: Carbine
- Free Float: Yes
- Continuous Upper Rail: Yes


David Goffin produced a stunning fightback to reach the Barcelona Open third round on Tuesday, rallying from a set and two breaks down to beat Marcel Granollers 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.
The Belgian's campaign appeared over at 4-6 1-5 down but his remarkable recovery, which included a saved match point, earned him progression.
Goffin will face Leonardo Mayer or Karen Khachanov in the next round, while Roberto Carballes Baena's reward for seeing off Andreas Haider-Maurer 6-2 6-4 in the first round is a meeting with 10-time champion Rafael Nadal.
Martin Klizan beat Federico Delbonis in three sets to set up a clash against Novak Djokovic in round two, while Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez, Adrian Mannarino and Malek Jaziri all moved into the last 16.
Bautista Agut had to come from a set down to win his second-round tie with Ivo Karlovic 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-4.
At the Hungarian Open, there were wins for seeds Jan-Lennard Struff and Andreas Seppi, while 18-year-old Zsombor Piros - winner of the junior singles title at the 2017 Australian Open - will return on Wednesday to complete his ATP Tour debut after bad light halted his first-round clash with Mikhail Youzhny at 6-3 5-3 to the Russian.


text:
(CNN)- Video is now pouring in showing people all over the country celebrating the Fourth of July, seemingly without concern for coronavirus. This as hospitals around the country begin to fill ICU beds.
“We are in a dire situation and that mountain just keeps getting steeper and steeper and steeper,” said Dr. Saju Mathew, a primary care physician.
While millions of Americans heeded warnings to either stay home or mask up, video from across the country shows others ignored the recommendations.
“God bless the people who are observing social distancing and wearing masks and I’m so sad the others are not,” said Dr. William Schaffner of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Florida’s case load is especially striking. The state has reported more than 200,000 cases since the start of the pandemic.
Now, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration says he doesn’t know if the state will be safe to host most of the Republican National Convention next month.
“I think it’s too early to tell. I think we’ll have to see how this unfolds in Florida and elsewhere around the country,” said Dr. Stephen Hahn, FDA Commissioner.

domain: news


text:
Different explosions-set of illustrations
Orange explosive callout area for..
Abstract comic background
Vector comic book explosion elements..
Variety of Comic Book Design elements
Comic book explosion - Vector EPS8..
A Selection of Comic Book Illustrations..
Crash, Boom, Bam and Bang! Four..
A Vector Comic Book Explosion Background..
Comic Book Elements - Vector Cartoon..
A Selection of Comic Book Abbreviations..
French flags bursting out of a..
4th of july icons and explosions
Illustration of comic elements..
zap, zoom, splat, ka-boom!
Pop art styled post stamps with..
Comic book explosion for your design
Handwritten comic book words
Great selection of Comic Book icons..
Comic book explosion elements for..
Comic Book Words Collection

domain: design


TreeKeepers® Certification and Program
Openlands’ TreeKeepers are an ever-growing community of tree ambassadors that care for the Urban Forest in Chicagoland.
Registration for the Spring TreeKeepers Course will be opening soon. Fill out the form below to be notified.
TreeKeeper Program and Certification at Openlands
Through the TreeKeeper Certification Course, tree lovers of all ages and backgrounds gain accessible training and education that certify them as an official TreeKeeper. The month-long course gives participants an appreciation for trees in our region through learning about urban forestry in the age of climate change and best practices in tree planting and care to build a more resilient urban forest.
After completing the program, they are certified to care for, protect, and plant trees with Openlands. Through the TreeKeepers Program, TreeKeepers can volunteer for and lead tree planting events, participate in or organize their own pruning days, take part in continuing education and advocacy programs, and join or start their own TreeKeeper Chapter to advance community-based forestry goals. Many become leaders in their neighborhood advocating for trees and the environment and supporting other community-driven regional efforts. No matter your engagement level, TreeKeeper stewardship is a flexible and accessible way to give back to nature and your community and to make our region more resilient in the face of climate change.
For 30 years, 2,400 TreeKeepers and counting have been the eyes and ears on the ground, identifying potential tree-related problems and leading neighbors in protecting our urban forest. TreeKeepers always strive to support the work of local forestry officials, such as the Chicago Bureau of Forestry, the Chicago Park District, the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, and the Forest Preserves of Cook County.
Volunteer with us
We have regular forestry and continuing education events.


Ethero 2 is the iPhoneâ€™s answer to the etherophone, or Theremin as itâ€™s better known. The Theremin is one of the earliest electronic instruments ever created and itâ€™s now famous for itâ€™s signature […]
Performer is a revolutionary way to control your laptops music software via OSC messages over your iPad WiFi connection. Performer uses a shape that is a visual representation of the sound, which you […]
Cantor is a microtonal guitarist’s synth, designed for extreme playability on the iPhone and iPad. It is the successor to Geo Synthesizer and Mugician. It can send a specialized MIDI output (requires a […]
HexaChrom turns your iPad into a musical performance controller, enabling you to wirelessly play your OSC or MIDI electronic musical instruments – virtual instruments running on a laptop/desktop computer, or any hardware instruments […]
Rain for iPhone is a minimalistic audio visual composition you can play yourself. Tap to create black sound stripes and double tap to create phases. Shake to create colored beat stripes, and double […]
“midi keyboard” is an iOS Universal app that includesÂ two independent GM/GS midi keyboards with 9 octaves (with independent octaves for each keyboard), aÂ MIDI file player,Â reverb and distortion sound effects,Â sustain pedal, andÂ sound fonts archive.
GyrOSC is a lightweight utility that sends your device’s motion sensors to any OSC (Open Sound Control) capable application over Wi-Fi. Wirelessly control your OSC capable audio or video app by moving and […]
MIDI Surface is a full-featured MIDI control surface built exclusively for iPhone and iPod touch, brought to you by the minds at Audiofile Engineering. Combining powerful, elegant and uncluttered audio utilities with unparalleled […]
Welcome to MidiPads, the professional and fully configurable drumpad controller, now also for your iPhone! This is a Midi controller for Network MIDI, virtual MIDI and iPhone connector MIDI interfaces. With Network MIDI, […]
iPad, iPhone & iPod Touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iDesignSound is not affiliated with Apple Inc. Content & images provided courtesy of iTunes. All other trademarks and images are property of their respective owners.


Wisconsin will kick off the 2018 football season by hosting Western Kentucky this Friday (4 p.m. on 1310 WIBA; 8 p.m. kickoff).
Western Kentucky is a team that passed the ball frequently last year, about 40 times per game. So, Wisconsin's inexperienced secondary will get a good look this week as they contend with the pass-happy Hilltoppers. The Badgers defense will be under the most scrutiny in this opening game because of all the new faces.
The Badgers' offense will be balancing the depth of some positions (such as running back and offensive line) for playing time while figuring out rotations at others (such as wide receiver).
Video: Big Ten Network


text:
We’ll be starting with my favorite one. Our guest blogger is Danielle from 2 Little Super Heroes and she will explain us step by step how to make colorful Lego Crayons! How great is that! Just an awesome idea to have your kids help you making the Christmas gifts and also enjoying them during hours of playtime!
Here is Danielle's tutorial:
"I am beyond thrilled to be featured! Thanks so much for asking me Sandra! I have a ridiculously easy and inexpensive gift to share with you for the little LEGO lover in your life. Take a look at these LEGO crayons! What kid wouldn't love these?
I bought 3 boxes of crayons (48 in each box) from the dollar store. Being such cheap crayons I wasn't sure if they would work, but I'm happy to say they did.
We peeled and peeled and peeled. It took awhile but I wrangled my mother in-law and 4-year-old to help out. It was actually kind of fun.
Once the crayons are peeled break them into about 4 pieces each. For the block LEGO mold I put in 2 full crayons into each mold. For the mini-figurine mold I put in 1.5 crayons into each little man. I found this was the perfect amount.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 350 F. Remove from the oven and cool on top of stove for about 10 minutes. Once cool enough to move place in the fridge to solidify. They easily slide out of the molds once they are fully hardened. We did have a few LEGO men lose their heads, but I just put the broken ones back in the molds and re-melted them back down.
These would make an easy Christmas gift packaged with a LEGO coloring book. Or as a cute stocking stuffer.
You can find some of my other LEGO creations over at 2 Little Superheroes, I'd love for to stop by and say hi!"
Thanks so much Danielle for sharing this lovely idea! What a great way also to involve the kids in preparing some Christmas gifts. I bet they would have lots of fun making and using them.
A little bit about Danielle:
Danielle is the mom to two young boys and the wife to a not so handy hubby! She loves to sew, cook, craft, & decorate. Follow her along the way as she turns her house into a boy friendly home at 2 Little Superheroes, Facebook or Pinterest.

domain: hobby


Bucks hold off Raptors in thriller between Eastern Conference heavyweightsDecember 10, 2018
TORONTO — After a first meeting in which both teams were without their superstar players, the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors — the top two teams in the Eastern Conference — squared off Sunday at Scotiabank Arena.
The drama of the highly-anticipated battle did not disappoint.
Malcolm Brogdon hit two clutch 3-pointers in the final 67 seconds — with a steal in between them — and the Bucks held on for a 104-99 victory to take a 2-0 lead in the season series and improve to 8-0 in games following a loss.
Milwaukee got 19 points and 19 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo in the victory along with 19 points from Brook Lopez, including five 3-pointers. But no points were bigger than Brogdon's at the end.
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Live Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia Exchange Rate (TWD/UAH) Today
This Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia conversion tool allows you to compare the live inter-bank currency rate with competitive travel money exchange rates available within the foreign exchange markets.
Welcome to the Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia page, updated every minute between Sunday 22:00 and Friday 22:00 (UK)
Looking to make a Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia money transfer?
The Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia exchange rate (TWD UAH) as of 16 Jun 2021 at 4:12 PM.
Exchange Rate Today for TWD to UAH
Below you can see the chart for the Ukraine Hryvnia rate today compared to the Taiwan Dollar.
|1 TWD = 0.9798 UAH|
|1 Taiwan Dollar = 0.9798 Ukraine Hryvnia|
|The TWDUAH rate as of 16 Jun 2021 at 4:12 PM|
|1 TWD to UAH IntraDay Range:||0.9762 - 0.9794|
|Convert TWD to UAH||1||5||10||50||100||500|
See Live TWD to UAH rate data, statistics, full historical charts and exchange rate comparisons
Historical Charts & Data for Taiwan-Dollar to Ukraine-Hryvnia
The best TWD to UAH rate over a historical period can be determined using the history chart and prices below:
|Tuesday 15 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9762 UAH|
|Monday 14 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9753 UAH|
|Sunday 13 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9778 UAH|
|Saturday 12 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9778 UAH|
|Friday 11 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9778 UAH|
|Thursday 10 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9828 UAH|
|Wednesday 9 June 2021||1 TWD = 0.9757 UAH|
For full history please visit TWD/UAH exchange rate history page
To convert Taiwan Dollar to Ukraine Hryvnia or determine the Taiwan Dollar Ukraine Hryvnia exchange rate simply use the currency converter on the right of this page, which offers fast live exchange rate conversions today!
Q: What is the Taiwan Dollar worth against the Ukraine Hryvnia? A: One Taiwan Dollar is worth 0.9798 Ukraine Hryvnia today
Q: Is the Taiwan Dollar going up or down against the Ukraine Hryvnia? A: Today's exchange rate (0.9798) is higher compared to yesterday's rate (0.9762).
Q: What is 50 Taiwan Dollar in Ukraine Hryvnia? A: 50 Taiwan Dollar buys 48.99 Ukraine Hryvnia at interbank exchange rates.
Handy Conversion Data Table
|Taiwan-Dollar to Ukraine-Hryvnia||Ukraine-Hryvnia to Taiwan-Dollar|
|1 TWD||0.9798 UAH||1 UAH||1.0206 TWD|
|2 TWD||1.9596 UAH||2 UAH||2.0413 TWD|
|5 TWD||4.8989 UAH||5 UAH||5.1032 TWD|
|10 TWD||9.7978 UAH||10 UAH||10.2064 TWD|
|15 TWD||14.6967 UAH||15 UAH||15.3095 TWD|
|20 TWD||19.5956 UAH||20 UAH||20.4127 TWD|
|25 TWD||24.4946 UAH||25 UAH||25.5159 TWD|
|50 TWD||48.9891 UAH||50 UAH||51.0318 TWD|
|100 TWD||97.9782 UAH||100 UAH||102.0635 TWD|
|500 TWD||489.891 UAH||500 UAH||510.3176 TWD|
|1000 TWD||979.782 UAH||1000 UAH||1020.6352 TWD|
|2500 TWD||2449.455 UAH||2500 UAH||2551.588 TWD|
|5000 TWD||4898.9101 UAH||5000 UAH||5103.1759 TWD|
|10000 TWD||9797.8202 UAH||10000 UAH||10206.3519 TWD|
Latest Ukraine Hryvnia News, Predictions and Forecasts from Our News Team
Read all our current exchange rate forecasts with live FX news updates as they happen!

domain: economics


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Hawthorn Head Office
The Australian head office of Bayer CropScience is located in Hawthorn, Victoria, roughly 7 km east of Melbourne. There are approximately 100 employees at this location in various roles within BioScience, Environmental Science, Crop Protection and general administration.
Bayer CropScience is one of two leading crop protection companies formulating products in our manufacturing facility employing Australians. The Bayer CropScience manufacturing plant is located on the banks of the Brisbane River at Pinkenba, situated approximately 10 km north east of Brisbane, Queensland. There are six separate manufacturing locations on site, specialising in blending, formulation and re-packing a full range of crop protection products.
The state-of-the-art warehouse facility comprises 52 picking bays with 1000 racked pallet spaces and block stacking for a further 2000.
Providing the correct product at the correct time is the brief for the six permanent staff at Bayer CropScience's formulation plant in Kwinana, Western Australia.
Responsible for formulation and distribution of broadacre products for Western Australia, and supporting South Australia and Victoria, the plant has been operating at full capacity in recent times due to favourable weather in WA.
Located 40 km south of Fremantle, the 1.8 hectare site can produce 3500 tonnes of herbicide per year. The plant contains a single tank system with several filling lines and has a storage capacity of 2800 tonnes.
Outside of peak season, the team participates in various training programs to increase their skill and adaptability, including the handling and storage of dangerous goods, first aid and forklift driving. The team also constantly reviews internal procedures and policies and effective operating practices. "With such a small crew, all our staff must be able to fill various roles. The fact we are so interchangeable is the key to our success as a team," says Stephen Flynn, Production Manager at the Kwinana plant.


birthday of Mieczyslaw Weinberg on December 8, 2019.
Renate Eggbrecht has recorded all 3 violin Sonatas
Voice by György Kurtág
Support us financially by purchasing this from
Les Sons et Les Parfums Germaine TAILLEFERRE (1892-1983)
Impromptu in E major (1909) [2:36] Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Nocturne no.4 in E flat major, op.36 (c.1884) [6:50] Francis POULENC (1899-1963)
Intermezzo in A flat major, FP 118 (1943) [4:22] Emmanuel CHABRIER (1841-1894)
Habanera (1885) [5:12] Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Poisson d’or, no.3 from Images, Book 2 (1907) [4:24]
Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir, no.4 from Préludes, Book 1 (1909-10) [3:35]
Reflets dans l’eau, no.1 from Images, Book 1 (1905) [5:24]
Clair de Lune, no.3 from Suite Bergamasque (pub.1905) [5:39] Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Jeux d’eau (1901) [5:53]
Sonatine (1903-5) [11:26]
Janina Fialkowska (piano)
rec. 2019, Salle Raoul-Jobin, Palais Montcalm, Québec ATMA CLASSIQUEACD22766 [55:21]
This CD is a ‘Box of Delights.’ Each work played here is a miniature masterpiece that explores the genius of French pianism. Not all the works are well-known: one at least has become unbelievably popular, but avoids becoming hackneyed, by the sheer poetry of the music and the magical performance given by Janina Fialkowska.
The company’s advertising blurb for this new disc explains that is ‘a personal anthology of 20th century French music… [and] this affectionate musical memoir evokes a vibrant portrait of Paris during Fialkowska’s youth, when “Poulenc and Tailleferre were still very much alive, and the souls of Ravel, Debussy, and Fauré were still omnipresent.” In this ambition it succeeds admirably.
The first track is a short ‘Impromptu’ by Germaine Tailleferre, the only female member of the ad-hoc grouping of French composers, Les Six. This short work, written in Paris in 1909, is in a trajectory from the romanticism of Chabrier to the neo-classicism of Poulenc by way of Fauré, who is the most obvious influence. It is a well-balanced piece that displays some wayward modulations and rhythmic flexibility, based on a typically flowing 9/8-time signature. A little gem.
Gabriel Fauré’s Nocturne no.4 in E flat major, op.36 was composed around 1884. It exhibits a mood of untroubled sunshine with just a little bit of passion in the middle section. The liner notes suggest childlike innocence and the recollection of church bells inspired the composer. This is a work that is at the musical boundary between Romanticism and Impressionism. Evocatively played here by Janina Fialkowska.
Francis Poulenc is a remarkable composer. He offers a fusion of styles that encompass romanticism, neo-classicism, contemporary popular song, jazz, the naivety of the salon and the formality of the concert hall and recital room. Seriousness is often in counterpoint to wit and humour. The Intermezzo in A flat major, FP 118, written during the Second World War, fuses several of these traits into a charming little piece. Nothing too difficult to understand, just eloquent music full of Gallic charm, like so much of Poulenc’s work.
I am so glad that Janina Fialkowska has chosen to include Emanuel Chabrier’s Habanera (1885). This is one of those pieces written by a Frenchman that conjures Spain better than any Spanish composer ever did! Best known for his orchestral tone poem Espana, Chabrier was a major influence on Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Les Six. Listeners will recall that the ‘Habanera’ is an exotic Spanish dance, with a similar rhythm to the Tango. It originates from Cuba and came to Spain by way of Africa, apparently. The best-known example of this dance is from the first act of Georges Bizet’s Carmen, but Chabrier is no slouch. This is a wonderfully sullen and lugubrious little piece that mirrors the magic of Spain.
Four masterworks by Debussy are featured. The first is the Orient-inspired ‘Poisson d’or’, no.3 from Images, Book 2 composed in 1907. It has been suggested the Debussy was stimulated by a piece of Japanese lacquer work. The music may or may not evoke swimming fish. What it does do is to present the ‘flash of sunlight on water’ created by various pianistic clichés including falling arpeggios and rising scales. It requires a very special competence in imaginative piano playing. Pianist Alfred Cortot has written that this work ‘which, in the trembling of running water of the lively and clear virtuosity, give the dazzling flight of a gleam – a reflection, then another – a quivering and capricious life, which now hides, now bounds forth, captivated by the sorcery of the music’.
The title of this CD is derived Book 1 of the Préludes composed between 1909 and 1910. ‘Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir’ can be translated as ‘The sounds and fragrances swirl through the evening air’, but to my mind the English does not quite capture the enchantment of the original title. The text derives from the French symbolist poet, Charles Baudelaire (‘Harmonie du soir’ from his collection of poems Les Fleurs du mal). The music is ‘languorous and sensuous’ in every way and sees some of Debussy’s most advanced harmonies to date. It is an intoxicating piece.
‘Reflets dans l’eau’ is impressionistic music par excellence. All the attributes of the genre are here. From the inherent suggestiveness of the music rather than an attempt to be crassly pictorial, through the characteristic use of the whole tone scale to the incandescent chords and delicate arpeggios, this is music that achieves its aim of filling the mind with ‘impressions’ of water and sunlight dancing in a pool on a hot summer’s day. Monet’s garden always springs to mind. It is the first number in Book 1 of Images published in 1905.
Little need be said about ‘Clair de Lune’ from the Suite Bergamasque. For many listeners it is the most popular of Debussy’s pieces and encapsulates his style and musical aesthetic. This may be an over-simplification, but surely this luscious evocation of moonlight paints a perfect musical picture. No matter how many times I hear this work it manages to cast its spell in my heart and soul. Long may it continue to do so. It is played beautifully here.
Two of Maurice Ravel’s most important piano works conclude this splendid recital. ‘Jeux d’eau’ was composed in 1901. Ravel wrote about this piece, ‘In ‘Jeux D’eau’ can be found the origins of all the pianistic innovations that people notice in my works. The music was inspired by the sound of water, of fountains, waterfalls and streams. It is built on the two motives of a sonata form movement, without, however, conforming to the classical scheme of tonality.’ Despite its loosely classical formal scheme, the overall impression to the listener is of ‘cascading arpeggios.’ It needs little else saying save that Janina Fialkowska gives a sparkling performance which balances the Lisztian technical prowess with a more colourful, impressionistic sound.
The final piece is Ravel’s Sonatine (1903-05), originally written for a piano competition. Despite the title, there is nothing didactic about this well-structured classical work. It is certainly far removed from the ‘sonatinas’ piano students struggle with in their early years. The work has been criticised (unfairly, I think) for lacking emotion. The liner notes get it right when it states that ‘this score suggests a benevolent melancholy whose gentle archaism delights us.’
The booklet include a short ‘personal’ introduction to this CD by Janina Fialkowska. This is followed by interesting and helpful notes by Alain Bénard. There is a short biography of the artist. They are given in French and English. I was a wee bit disappointed by the brevity of this disc, a mere 55 minutes. I do feel that a few more worthy pieces of French piano music could have been included: maybe some lesser known pieces by Jacques Ibert or Louis Durey would have been ideal?
Full details of Canadian pianist Janina Fialkowska are available in a long and a short version on her excellent webpage.
I found this CD made a perfect introduction to French piano music. Most of these pieces are old favourites for me. However, I was delighted to make a discovery in Germaine Tailleferre’s lovely ‘Impromptu’. I enjoyed Janina Fialkowska’s inspired playing in all these pieces. She brings huge resources of talent, technique and interpretation to this recital.
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Lately, I have been obsessed with the new options of engagement rings. Jewelers are now offering colored stones, colored metals such as rose gold and antique rings. I still love a big diamond but the latest options are dreamy.
Art Deco Halo Ring- Diamond Trumpet & Horn
Ruby and Diamond Engagement Ring- Kwait
Pink Radiant Cut Diamond Ring- Da Beers
Pink tourmaline and double halo paveé diamond ring in 18K white and rose gold- Blue Nile


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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Regina King speaks out on The Houswives of Atl!!!
Regina King and Jackee' Harris was on "What's Happening Now"? A show that discuss what happens on The Housewives of Atl or any Housewife show on Bravo. I must say that Regina and Jackee' both were drunk during the show. So Im sure they were not their usual selves. Anywho the host of the show Andy, always has little games for the guest to play that is related to the Housewife show that they just watched. There were also some clips of the show for the guest(Regina King, and Jackee') to comment on. One particular clip was of Kim singing and of course Regina mocked Kim's smokey voice and admited that she could not sing. Things got even juicier when Andy had a game for then to play called"Sheree' or Jackee' where he stated some facts and Regina had to guess whether the fact was about Jackee' or Sheree'. One question leaned towards a question about dancing with the stars, and Regina made a comment stating"That must be Jackee' bc Sheree' can't dance. The next question was "Who said that they hope to get an Oscar one day"? And Regina replied Jackee' because Sheree' is out of her mind if she said that. When Regina found out it was in fact Sheree' said she hoped to get an Oscar one day she flipped!!!She was like God bless her!!!Haaaa!!!!
My opinion of this was the truth comes out when you are drunk. I don't think that Regina was hating or being rude or anything. She was just simply being honest about the questions she was asked!!!Kim can't sing, and Sheree' isn't that bad of a dancer to me but hey who am I. I agree it may have been a slap in Regina's face for Sheree' to even state she wanted to win an Oscar because she isn't that great of an actress compared to someone like Regina so I feel where Regina was coming from with that. If you have any comments don't be afraid to speak your mind!!!

domain: entertainment


Power play: driving Mercedes-Benz's X-Class V6 ute
Search Driven for vehicles for sale
Ever since the prototype Mercedes-Benz X-Class was shown in Sweden in October 2016 and the global reveal of the preproduction models in South Africa the following year, fans have been waiting for one particular version of this premium ute.
When Mercedes announced in 2016 that it was producing a dual cab ute, in association with Nissan, many people questioned the decision. But the Vans division of the German brand knew it was on to something, with an expected increased global demand of about 43 per cent expected in the coming years.
That association with Nissan saw the brand’s Navara double cab ute used as a base for Mercedes.
But the brand didn't just slap a three-pointed star on the grille of a Navara, instead it took the Nissan ute and made it its own.
It's 5350mm long, 1819mm high with the rear tray big enough to take a wood pallet lengthwise.
The X-Class has a wading depth of 600mm and 221mm ground clearance.
At 1920mm, it's 70mm wider than the Navara, and that's an important design factor for Mercedes.
The increased 70mm means improved driving performance, more room in the interior and that extra-wide tray.
Canterbury | Timaru
$516.20 p/w $2,064.78 p/m
Canterbury | Christchurch
$282.26 p/w $1,129.03 p/m
The initial X-Class utes had the Nissan Navara engines and came in three models: Pure, Progressive and Power and variants of the X200, X200d, X250d and the X350d.
Those utes were launched in New Zealand in April last year, but 2019 sees the variant many have been awaiting — the grunty V6 — which comes as Progressive and Power specs.
The X-Class 350d gets the Mercedes 3-litre V6 diesel engine producing 190kW of power and 550Nm of torque. It also gains the Mercedes 7G-tronic plus transmission and the brand’s own suspension system.
With permanent all-wheel drive (with 60:40 distribution) the 350d plays into a lifestyle vehicle option for buyers. With a towing capacity of 3500kg you can expect to see it at many horse events as not only does the huge grille with the three-pointed star gain kudos, it also handles a float.
The Progressive is $81,205, the Power is priced from $88,325 and they join rival Volkswagen Commercial’s Amarok Aventura in the V6 arena. The Amarok was named AA Driven New Zealand ute of 2018 with the Aventura priced from $89,990.
Mercedes relied heavily on its passenger, SUV and van range when it came to interior and exterior design of the ute — and that shows in this V6 model.
The X-Class was designed at the same time as the E-Class sedan and coupe and it shows, with side elements taken from those two luxury products. It also takes design cues from the GLE ute, and shares the V6 engine.
I tested the 350d V6 Power model with 18in alloys and an interior that resembles a Mercedes SUV or sedan thanks to the turbine-style air vents and a large curved dash that emphasises the width of the five-seater ute.
My Power had an aluminium effect with longitudinal grain giving it a premium look and definitely a Mercedes feel, though it has an 8.4in infotainment screen sitting on the dash rather than inset like the new A-Class.
The standard equipment, technology and safety features also impressed with keyless entry, 360-degree camera, seven airbags, lane keep assist, and emergency braking that I can testify works extremely well after the motorway traffic suddenly came to a halt.
Last weekend I took the V6 Power on a road trip, heading to the Coromandel for the Leadfoot Festival in Hahei. The carparks were brimming with utes but the Mercedes stood out to others, thanks to the bulging bonnet and large grille.
But it stood out for me thanks to that V6 engine and superb road handling at speed. The 7G-tronic transmission worked smoothly, and I appreciated the Mercedes driving modes that gave me options of eco, comfort, sport, manual and off-road.
The engine is potent, especially in Sport mode, yet quiet in the cabin. The gearbox is smooth, and for such a heavy vehicle (2285kg), it handles corners at speed with ease. And, with many slowly driven rental cars on the popular Coromandel route, I just needed to flick into sport mode to easily overtake.
It also has low-range 4Matic for unsealed roads and off-roading. I implemented it on the long drive route back to Auckland along the Coromandel 309 road. The V6 could have handled the uphill ruts but I wanted to test the low range system, and it eased the path.
There is a downside to the X-Class models — no Apple CarPlay — and that lets it down. But a Mercedes Vans spokesman said the “intention is to have Apple CarPlay in the next iteration. Timing is not confirmed yet”.
Power: 3-litre V6 diesel (190kW/550Nm)
Pros: Great torque
Cons: No Apple CarPlay


By Emily Simonson, UWEC Sports Information
ST. PETER, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – After dropping the regular season finale to the University of St. Thomas, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team (29-3) looked for redemption and defeated the UST Tommies in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18).
After a very back-and-forth first set, UW-Eau Claire went on a 7-0 run to start the second set, with the help of a serving streak by Amber Karn (Sr. – Middleton, WI), and didn't look back. Set three began with some strong Blugold defense and an early lead of 11-2. Match point came from an attack error by the Tommies.
Defensive standouts in the match were Taylor Scalia (So. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) who recorded 15 digs and Makenzie Bachmann (So. – Chaska, MN) who had 14. Together, the Blugolds had an impressive 47 digs. UW-Eau Claire also racked up a match total of ten blocks.
On the offensive side of things, Madelyn Pashibin (Sr. – Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) led the way with 14 kills. Arianna Barrett (Fr. – Lakeville, MN/North) contributed 13 kills and ended the match with .524 hitting percentage. Madison Surprise (Sr. – Appleton, WI/Kimberly) tallied 49 assists in the game.
The Blugolds (30-3) are set to play defending national champions Claremont-Mudd-Scripps tomorrow, Nov. 10, at 1:30 pm in St Peter, MN. The two teams met last year on Sept. 2 at the Pacific Coast Classic, which resulted in a loss for the Blugolds.


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Non-neutered Males Accepted, Spayed Females Only
No Females in Heat
Dana was amazing. We had booked a sitter and 2 days before our trip the original sitter had an emergency/had to cancel. Dana met us that same night and agreed to watch Ziggy with such short notice. Ziggy had a great time with her. He was so excited to see me when i picked him up but also wasn't sure if he should stay or go. Dana sent pictures throughout his stay and took ...
Dana was an exceptional cat sitter. My little fur baby, Lloyd, is diabetic and requires insulin injections. Dana was able to visit twice daily to make sure he was taken care of and also played with him and gave him some love while she was there. She was very proactive and was great at championing any issues and communicating any concerns in real-time. I'd absolutely recommend her to care for your pet.
Dana is excellent with communication always and our dog absolutely loves her
Home Away From Home
Hi! I'm Dana. I live with my amazing dog Oliver, a Cocker Spaniel. We'd love to have your pup stay over!
I work from home and have a very flexible schedule. I have many years of experience caring for other dogs in their homes and mine. This neighborhood is great for dogs! Clark Park is right down the block, and Penn's campus is not far.
Your pup can choose to hang out and sleep on ...
What Dana would like to know about your dog
I am very happy to have any dog as long as he/she is comfortable with my dog and doesn't mind city noises.

domain: pet