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England have taken a 2-1 lead in the five Test Ashes series with a comfortable eight-wicket win over Australia at Edgbaston.
West Ham have confirmed that their Ecuadorian forward Enner Valencia suffered a "significant injury" to his right knee and ankle during the club's 2-2 Europa League qualifying draw on Thursday.
Mo Farah hints he won’t be at Commonwealth Games
Published: 15 October 2013
Updated: 13:18, 15 October 2013
Mo Farah today cast doubt on whether he would compete in next year’s Commonwealth Games, insisting he is only focused on the London Marathon at the moment.
The Olympic and world 5,000m and 10,000m champion plans to do a full track season in 2014 but has no idea how his body will hold up to the rigours of his first competitive 26-mile experience.
Asked about his Commonwealth Games plans, he told BBC 5 Live: “I don’t know. It just depends how I come off that marathon.
“My aim is to do the London Marathon and that is what I am fully focused on. It’s a bonus if I do it, but it is not on my list.”
The absence of Farah — Britain’s star male athlete of the London Games — would be a huge blow to the Commonwealth Games.
Asked what it would take for him to appear in Glasgow, three months after the London run, he added: “I’ve got to come off the marathon healthy and then I’d make a decision. You’ve just got to choose one race.”
UK Athletics performance director Neil Black has hinted Farah planned to do the 5,000m in both Glasgow and also the European Championships in Zurich in August.
But Farah’s agent Ricky Simms insisted that, while Farah planned a full track season despite his road‑racing ambitions, he had set no goals with coach Alberto Salazar past London.
“They are definitely on the list of options but no decision has been made whether to do the Commonwealth Games and Europeans,” said Simms. “Mo will do a track season but we’re not looking that far ahead at present. Mo’s never confirmed anything beyond the London Marathon for next season.”
Farah completed half of the marathon course this year and there has been talk he could become the first athlete to run the distance in under two hours. The record is 2hr 3min 23sec and Farah said: “It’s pretty crazy to say that in my first ever marathon I’m going to shave three minutes off it.
“It’s slowly been broken before, from 2:04 to 2:03. I don’t think [two hours] is going to be broken in the next 10 years or even beyond that, maybe even 100 years, because if you think about it, it’s really difficult.
“The rumours actually started because my sponsors Nike are working on a show called the Sub Two-Hour. They keep working on that, and that’s how the rumours started. I never actually said it.”
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By David Guterson
From the writer of the best-selling Snow Falling on Cedars, a stunning new novel approximately adolescence and idealism, maturity and its compromises, and powerfully various visions of what it capability to stay an exceptional life.
John William Barry has inherited the pedigree—and wealth—of of Seattle’s elite households; Neil Countryman is blue-collar Irish. however, whilst the 2 boys meet in 1972 at age 16, they’re introduced jointly by means of what they've got in universal: a fierce depth and a love of the outside that takes them, jointly and sometimes, into Washington’s distant backcountry, the place they have to depend upon their wits—and every one other—to survive.
Soon after graduating from collage, Neil units out on a direction that would lead him towards a lifestyles as a loyal schoolteacher and family members guy. yet John William makes a considerably assorted selection, dropping by the wayside of faculty and relocating deep into the woods, confident that it's the in basic terms solution to reside with no hypocrisy. while John William enlists Neil to assist him disappear thoroughly, Neil unearths himself drawn right into a internet of secrets and techniques and infrequently agonizing accountability, deceit, and tragedy—one that might eventually holiday open with a totally unforeseen, life-altering revelation.
Riveting, deeply humane, The Other is David Guterson’s so much remarkable and provocative novel so far.
Read Online or Download The Other PDF
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From "New York Times" bestselling writer Greg Iles comes his most up-to-date travel de strength mystery -- an unforgettable plunge right into a global of intercourse, violence, marital betrayal, scientific malpractice, and Southern intrigue. .. all of which occurs within the span of 1 livid, terrifying day. In "Third Degree," Greg Iles takes us to the idyllic city of Athens aspect, Mississippi, to probe underneath the skin of the trendy American marriage -- the place the looks of perfection conceals a soul-searing clash of unnerving depth and violent threat.
St. Patrick's Day, manhattan urban. everyone seems to be celebrating, yet everyone seems to be in for the surprise of his existence. Born into the warmth and hatred of the Northern eire clash, IRA guy Brian Flynn has masterminded an excellent terrorist act the seizure of Saint Patrick's Cathedral. between his hostages: the girl Brian Flynn as soon as enjoyed, a former terrorist became peace activist.
A united states this present day Bestselling AuthorA former best cop, now a crackerjack lawyer, Chloe Ryder continuously will get to the center of the problem. She by no means shall we something or a person get earlier her cool, protecting external. but even she can't retain her emotions on ice whilst a murdered guy is located within the sanctuary of her church and Father Brendan, liked by way of all his parish is suspected of the stunning crime.
A long-distance name from a Texas urban on his birthday provides Benjamin Dill the inside track that his sister--it's her birthday, too, they have been born precisely ten years apart--has died in a motor vehicle bomb explosion. It's the manager of police calling--Felicity Dill labored for him; she was once a murder detective.
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Additional resources for The Other
He fingered the dressing in the same absentminded manner that, as a kid, he’d played with a loose tooth: repeatedly testing the pain it caused. ” His head hurt less now, after a double dose of codeine. “Less than a minute. I was trying to decide if you were just deep in thought or dead. ” Jon laughed, which stirred up the pain. ” “Open your eyes, this is an official consult. ” Wayne moved his vertical finger to the right then to the left, observing Jon’s eyes. Then he turned the finger horizontal and moved it up and down.
How long was he unconscious? Minutes? Days? Fisher seemed to be waiting for . . What? Oh, yes, the question . . “An inch maybe . . maybe twenty pounds heavier than me. Muscle though, not fat. ” Fisher scratched the side of his jaw, considering something. ” “Dobbs is gay. ” D e ad E n d D e a l | 35 Jon felt uncomfortable discussing Wayne’s personal life behind his back. Then again, if it helped the investigation . . Besides, Wayne didn’t hide it. ” There it was: guilt by association. Even though this wasn’t the first time the question had been asked, it still pissed him off.
He paid the deposit in cash and didn’t buy insurance. ” “You talked to the clerk who rented it? ” Jesus! ” He squeezed the bridge of his nose again and shook his head, more irritated at his own lack of patience than Ritter’s accusatory tone. ” Fisher pushed out of the chair and arched his back, working on the ache burrowing in between his shoulders. “No, that’s not all. Let me assure you we take this case seriously. Both the University and Seattle cops are also all over it. Last night SPD had two detectives going door to door in your neighborhood asking if anyone remembered seeing anything out of the ordinary the past two weeks.

domain: literature


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I had a great training ride today at Cherry Plain. I logged a solid 18 miles with alot of climbing. I also scouted some new trails that I hadn’t ridden before. While the new trail still needs some post winter clean-up, it does add almost 2 miles of singletrack onto my long loop. I’ve also started to name the trails that I ride regularly there.
- Dynamite Shack Trail – A long and steady climb that goes through old building foundations. The buildings were used to store the dynamite that was used for the mining.
- Schaefer Beer Trail – An old abandoned road that is actually called Schaefer Road.
- Deliverance Trail – I really like this trail. It has long steep climbs with a nice descent with some technical descending. As you ride across the top, you come to about a half dozen shacks. You can’t call them houses, they are old unmaintained shacks. I’m sure they are just hunting cabins, but it does look like Deliverance up there.
I haven’t named anything else yet, but I will.
This ride started out at ~13 mile the first time I did it. But since then, I’ve been able to connect other trail to the original loop to lengthen the loop. There is definitely another 2 or 3 miles of singletrack that I know I can connect, but the trails need to be cleaned up. There is still downed trees and branches that need more work than we can do while riding. Also, being State land, we can’t just go in with ATV’s and chainsaws and rakes. But even with the existing loop, there is alot of riding on alot of trail…singletrack, doubletrack and dirt road. And, the best part is, I can connect these trails to the trails that I ride from my house and get in a nice 40+ mile mountain bike ride…from my house.

domain: geography


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- 2 Beds
- 2 Full Baths
This corner unit, 2 bedroom plus loft is located on the bus route and has direct access to the Baldy trailhead. Complex had a complete exterior renovation in 2016 with new siding, composite deck, new windows, doors, lighting, etc. An updated kitchen, new washer/dryer, sauna, wood burning stove, wood flooring, and an oversized carport truly set this unit apart. Perfect for an investment or primary residence. Huge, south facing windows with great views of Red and filtered views of the Ten Mile.
Victorian, family-oriented, and breathtaking natural beauty describe the classic Colorado ski town of Breckenridge. Enjoy countless outdoor activities, in both winter and summer, because Breckenridge averages over 300 days of sun each year and over 300 inches of snow each winter! With over one-million skier visits last year, Breckenridge is one of the most popular winter resorts in the country. Highlights include Breckenridge's historic main street, thrilling terrain parks, boutique restaurants and shops, and the Riverwalk Center. Throughout the year, cultural events like the Breckenridge Film Festival, the Backstage Theatre, weekend farmers markets and art festivals will entertain you. Quaint streets feature fine dining and endless shopping opportunities. With an array of ski-in/ski-out housing opportunities, you can throw open your front door and go. The resort ski runs come right down into town, so you can even ski home for lunch! A perfect mountain town!

domain: travel


March 2018 – Disseminating Synthetic Smart Home Data for Advanced Applications
We present a collection of new publicly-available datasets generated with SHARON simulator. Thanks to this software, researchers can obtain synthetic data suiting their specific requirements. Two classes of datasets are described: one extends existing datasets preserving the original statistical properties, the other is composed of simulations of virtual inhabitant-environment systems. Moreover, we induced behavioral drifts compatible with dementia symptoms, generating further datasets. We believe that these resources may help the progress of research, as long as new real-life high-quality datasets are not available.
September 2015 – SHARON (Simulator of Human Activities, ROutines and Needs)
In a few decades, requests for assistance to the elderly will increase the already high health care costs. Within this context, a possible solution is represented by smart environments where services help dwellers’ life. The development of smart technologies requires large datasets for training, validation or testing. Since the data collection from real smart homes has high costs the ATG Group developed SHARON — a Simulator of Human Activity, ROutines and Needs. This simulator aims to support ambient assisted living projects, virtually reproducing environments and behaviors of the dwellers.
In “SHARON: a Simulator of Human Activities, ROutines and Needs”, the paper published in AAATE2015 proceedings, a behavioral model has been discussed. The model is able to reproduce decisions and human habits, starting from an available data set or an interview. Physiological parameters and habits are merged with a probabilistic approach, choosing the most likely activity. With respect to other behavioral simulators available in the literature, SHARON is focused on routines and activities generation, based on user defined high level parameters.


For this episode of We Move Through Stormy Weather, I am joined by Steve Vickner aka The Vic. Steve is a son, husband, girl-Dad, music lover and community organizer. His first show was Halloween 1994, his favourite show attended is 2/28/03 and he co-hosts the podcast Tweezer Tonight with his good friend Dan. He also listens to and enjoys other music that is not Phish. Listen to this episode as we talk about Steve’s decades of Phish-attending experience, how we listen to jams, Tweezer, and more! Enjoy!
Ryan’s Pick: 12/30/19 MSG
Steve’s Pick: 2/28/03 Nassau
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


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The sun’s right eye gazed down upon La Specchia, and its left eye gazed back a thousand-fold, unblinking. Clouds and high winds had blinded those thousand reflected eyes for weeks, ever since the death of the city’s ruler; but now the canals and lagoons lay flat and quiet, not a ripple disturbing their mirrored surfaces. The skies were always clear and the winds still when a Giovane met his bride.
This idea sat around in my head for the better part of a decade before finally getting written. The starting concept was simple — too simple. “What if there was a city like Venice, and its reflection in the canals was another city?” The problem with that is, it has no plot. I don’t know why it took me so many years to figure out what story I wanted to tell in that setting . . . but once I did, the words flowed like, well, water.
And I knew even before I wrote it where I wanted to see it wind up. Continuing my unbroken streak, “The Mirror-City” was published in the fifth Clockwork Phoenix anthology.
This story was also reprinted in my collection Maps to Nowhere, and will soon be podcasted in GlitterShip.
It’s a fast moving tale that feels vast and intimate at the same time.
A lovely story turning on a nice conceit: two cities, Venice-like, that are mirror images of each other, reflected in the water, and the marriage that unites them.
—Rich Horton, Locus

domain: library


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Frito Corn Salad
This Frito Corn Salad recipe is filled with corn, peppers, onion, and crushed Fritos. The perfect side dish for BBQs and potlucks that screams splurge and game time! Use Chili Cheese Fritos for some extra spice.
FRITO CORN SALAD
I made this Frito Corn Salad years ago but couldn’t bring myself to post it because I felt like I would get hate mail.
I get angry emails for using a can of condensed soup so making a “salad” out of Fritos – yeah, I didn’t think that would go over to well.
Oh wait. Maybe next week? Umm…nevermind. Maybe this isn’t the site for you. Now that we’ve cleared the air, let’s get to the Frito Corn Salad.
This salad is pretty simple: corn, peppers, onion, and mayo. I used canned corn here but you could definitely used frozen corn thawed or fresh. If you want to add some color use red and green pepper.
It’s very important to not add the crushed Fritos until right before serving because you want them nice and crunchy. Eat this with a spoon or use it as a dip!
OTHER SALAD RECIPES
- Caprese Pesto Pasta Salad
- Broccoli Salad
- Crunchy Pea Salad
- Snickers Apple Salad
- Guacamole Tossed Salad
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Pizza Pasta Salad
Frito Corn Salad
- 2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup green pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion, diced finely
- 1 (10 1/2 ounce) bag coarsely crushed regular Fritos corn chips or Fritos chili cheese corn chips
- Fritos Scoops for serving
- Mix first 5 ingredients and chill. Stir in corn chips just before serving. You may not want to add all of the corn chips. Add a little at a time. Some people prefer to just serve the Fritos on the side or crumbled on top. You can eat this with a spoon or as a dip with Fritos Scoops for serving.

domain: food


The Shaw Group Inc. is working to pry loose and draw in a large portion of the nation’s dredging fleet―potentially seven cutterheads, five large hoppers and a dozen scows―for the emergency delivery of roughly 45 miles of permitted projects (of 128 miles sought) of barrier berm on the Louisiana coast... that state officials hope will protect inland marshes from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The problem is, a lot of the equipment already is occupied elsewhere.
“Much of the equipment is under contract to other entities, mostly the Corps of Engineers,” says Charlie Hess, a project manager with the Baton Rouge, La.-based contractor.
“Most dredges we are talking about are working navigation projects,” says Chris Accardo, chief of operations division for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District. “We understand the urgency for the berm construction, but at the same time we don’t want to throw navigation interests under the bus. We’re trying to balance the navigation mission with berm construction.”
By June 14, Shaw had two dredges signed up to help build the $360-million project to reinforce barrier islands from the Chandeleur Islands on the east side of the mouth of the Mississippi River Delta to the Scofield Island on the west. The state’s goal is to raise and connect segmented and low-rise islands to create a 6-ft-plus elevation bulwark to prevent floating oil from migrating on the tide into the marshes.
The California, a cutterhead dredge belonging to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., Oak Brook, Ill., already was operating near the site on an unrelated project for the Corps. It is now preforming pipe-laying work in the northernmost reach of the berming project area; it has switched to the berming operation. Shaw also has engaged the Stuyvesant, a hopper dredge owned by Stuyvesant Dredging Inc., New Orleans, to begin work immediately.
The Stuyvesant was not under contract, so putting it to work was relatively straightforward, but Great Lakes had to obtain a no-cost extension on its pipe-laying contract with the Corps to get released for the berm work. The Corps decided the pipe laying was not as critical as the berm building, Hess says.
However, Shaw is having more difficulty obtaining a contract release on two other hopper dredges, the Bayport and the Newport. Their owner, Seattle-based Manson Construction Co., had both already under contract for Mississippi River dredging.
For a dredge to be moved from a Corps project to the berm barrier, the dredging contractor that owns the equipment—neither Shaw nor the state—must request a release from the contracting district, explains Bruce Terrell, chief of the Corps’ New Orleans District (NOD) construction division.
“We are entertaining requests for no-cost extensions under suspension-of-work clauses in the contracts,” Terrell says. “Contractually, we can agree to a modification of the contract that temporarily suspends work on that contract at no cost to the government for some estimated time period.”
The government doesn’t want to release the dredges indefinitely, Terrell adds, so the extensions must include a time estimate. “We make a determination on a project-by-project basis as to whether or not that can happen,” Accardo says. Suspending operations can have negative consequences. Taking a dredge off channel maintenance, for instance, can create problems for navigation.
“If we were to take all of the hopper dredges out of Southwest Pass [at the mouth of the Mississippi],” Accardo says, “that would cause the draft level to be bumped up. That request would have to go higher up the chain of command, and both the state and federal government would have to look at it to determine what’s in the best interest of the public.”
The Corps is expediting requests as quickly as possible, says Ken Holder, director of public affairs, NOD. “Within three hours after we got the request to release the California, we had it released.”
However, many competing interests are weighing in on the significance of missions and priorities.
If dredging is reduced at Southwest Pass, which routinely shoals, it could affect nationwide commerce, says Capt. Michael R. Lorino Jr., president of the Associated Branch Pilots (bar pilots) for the Port of New Orleans. “If you close the pass, it would not be best for the state and country,” Lorino says.
Bar pilots are skilled in maneuvering ocean-going vessels through the mouth of the river, which is riddled with sandbars and low-draft areas, but Lorino says if dredging is cut back enough to change draft depth, certain size vessels, like big oil tankers, would not be able to pass at all.
“They are moving some dredges around, but I have been assured by the Corps, the state and everyone else involved that Southwest Pass will be maintained to proper dimensions,” Lorino says.
There is some concern within the dredging industry that the urgency of the berm barrier project will pave the way for a Jones Act waiver, which would drop a legal bar that prevents foreign vessels from taking contracts to perform work in U.S. waters.
Jones Act waivers are “very infrequent,” says a spokesperson for the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, which is dedicated to promoting the economic benefits of the Jones Act.
The biggest Jones Act waiver was in 2005, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
To obtain a waiver, a request would have to be made by “an individual or secretary of a department” to the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security/U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the MCTF spokesperson explains. DHS/Customs would consult with the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) regarding the availability of vessels.


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Del Mar Union School District Superintendent Sharon McClain recommended Jan. 20 that the board of trustees buy property for the district's headquarters. The district has $8.5 million from the sale of the Shores property in Del Mar, where it is currently housed.
The district has until May 2011 to move out of the Shores location, but staff has said that to adequately maintain district services, the move should be made by December. McClain's recommendation was made a week after the 7-11 Committee delivered its final report to the board. The committee was unable to reach a consensus on a recommendation for where to relocate the district office and maintenance operations.
McClain said that the current real estate market is favorable to school districts and, hopefully, the district would not need to spend the entire $8.5 million. If the district does have money left over after a property purchase, McClain said the remainder could be used to build much-needed childcare facilities at Ocean Air School.
If that were to occur the district could take the $1.7 million it currently has in reserves for the Ocean Air project and transfer the money to the general fund for operating expenses or budget deficit reduction.
As alternatives to her recommendation, McClain said the board could lease office space while it continues to investigate property for sale or co-locate the office at Del Mar Hills, Torrey Hills, Ashley Falls or Carmel Del Mar schools, as was considered by the 7-11 Committee.
The board was unable to make a decision at its Jan. 20 meeting and requested staff to bring more information about the legalities of co-locating a school site, city zoning and California Environmental Quality Act costs, as well as the feasibility and cost of building a new office at Torrey Hills.
McClain and the board said it may take some time to make a fiscally sound decision, although they understand that many parents want a decision made quickly.
"This has been a very difficult process for everyone, but the board has to move on prudently and not make a mistake," McClain said.
Trustee Annette Easton said she noticed that McClain's recommendation did not address the issue of school closure.
"I believe it's best to co-locate a district office rather than close a school," McClain said. "I'm concerned about the legal ramifications of closing a school."
With regards to saving the district money, McClain said there are still many options to explore. The recently convened financial task force will review all options.
McClain mentioned making boundary changes east of Interstate 5 as a possible cost-saving option. As Sage Canyon and Ocean Air each have around 700 students and Torrey Hills nears that size, the schools need vice principals. She said the district could save $850,000 by reducing the enrollment size of the three schools through boundary changes (students would be moved to other schools in the district). The enrollment changes would eliminate the need for the three vice principal positions. Redrawing the boundary could also help boost enrollment numbers at Ashley Falls.

domain: news


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Pravda on Obama’s re-election, with a quote attributed to Vladimir Putin:
The second possible mistake would be excessive interference into the economic life of the country and the absolute faith into the all-mightiness of the state.
There are no grounds to suggest that by putting the responsibility over to the state, one can achieve better results.
Unreasonable expansion of the budget deficit, accumulation of the national debt – are as destructive as an adventurous stock market game.
During the time of the Soviet Union the role of the state in economy was made absolute, which eventually lead to the total non-competitiveness of the economy. That lesson cost us very dearly. I am sure no one would want history to repeat itself.”
But the QotD comes from late in the article:
The question is how long will the once “Land of the Free” remain the United Socialist States of America? Their suffering has only begun. Bye bye Miss American Pie! You know the song you hippies. Sing it!
Laughing… too hard…. must… stop… typing…. <Ker-thunk>

domain: politics


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Marvel Comics Hero Heads Corner Box T-Shirt
Celebrate the pre-2000s Marvel tradition of including "corner box" art on its covers with this retro Marvel Comics t shirt! The Marvel Comics Hero Heads Corner Box T-Shirt is black with a distressed print. It features a "corner box" design—figureheads from the current issue placed in the top left corner of the comic book cover—with the name "Marvel Comics Group" below a blue panel framing Avengers team members Spider-Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Iron Man. Assemble the Avengers!

domain: design


text:
🚚 We ship in
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Shipping is € 19,00
Shipping is € 25,00
Shipping is € 30,00
Are you an EXTRA CE customer?
Enter the NOTAX code at the time of purchase: you will be automatically cleared of VAT!
Short sleeve crew with binded neck. Lightweight Jersey is a soft knit made by specially treating the cotton fibers before they are spun into a yarn. This fabric breathes well and has a nice drape.
James Perse since 15 years defines and exports in the world the lifestyle and the way of dressing of Southern California. Working as a young man in his father's boutique in Los Angeles, James grew up in contact with the avant-garde fashion from Europe and Asia, modern architecture and furniture design.
His passion for minimalist architecture mixed with the typical outdoor life of the west coast of the US, have inspired and influenced his idea of fashion and clothing: a very basic style, focused on details, that combines luxurious and high-quality materials with a casual look ready-to-wear, where elegance and comfort are enhanced.

domain: artistic


text:
A new character from The Last of Us was revealed at 2012 San Diego Comic Con panel
We have a new cinematic movie from The Last of Us, a new franchise created by Naughty Dog exclusively for PS3. The Last of Us blends survival and action elements to tell a character driven story about a population decimated by a modern plague. Cities are abandoned and being reclaimed by nature. Remaining survivors are killing each other for food, weapons and whatever they can find. Joel, a ruthless survivor, and Ellie, a young teenage girl who's braver and wiser beyond her years, must work together to survive their journey across what remains of the United States.


text:
Being at the tracks again was surreal. I hadn’t been here in awhile, but I felt like this was the perfect place to gather my thoughts.
I needed to figure out a way to get the truth out of Michael. In the meantime, I needed to distance him from Brody. I couldn’t let him hurt my little brother the same way that he had hurt me all those years ago.
After hearing his conversation in the bathroom at Denny’s, I needed to figure out whom he was talking to and why they were paying him to have a relationship with us, if that was indeed the case. I also needed to figure out why the money was for our potential aunt. Nothing made sense yet, but I wasn’t going to sleep soundly until I got the answers I deserved.
I sat on the edge of the tracks with the metal pressing into my butt. My knees were up to my chest and I was playing with a piece of grass when I heard movement behind me.
“Hey babe.” He spoke softly.
“Hey.” I didn’t turn around to greet him.
He sat down beside me after a few moments and stretched his legs out in front of him as he placed his hands into his lap.
“Thinking about stuff?” He asked, knowing that it was the only thing I did whenever I came here.
“You haven’t been here in a while. I thought I broke you free from this place.” He teased, scooting closer to me.
“The tracks will always be my comfort place.” I confessed.
“I want to be your comfort place.” He smiled, grabbing my hand in his.
“I know. It’s hard though. I’ve never been good at opening up to people.”
“Trust me I know. You reserve yourself and I don’t really like it, but I understand it. I just wish you didn’t have to do that, especially around me.”
Not wanting to reply to that, I changed the subject.
“How’d you know I was here anyway?”
“Well you weren’t at home, and you weren’t replying to my texts or calls. Plus, you weren’t with Layla so I put two and two together.” He shrugged.
All I did was nod.
“What’s going on Cecil? What’s got you hiding out here?” He asked, pressuring me into talking.
“I just... I needed to think.”
“About Michael. I kind of overheard him on a phone call when we were at Denny’s the other day.” I looked up at Eric and I couldn’t read his facial expression. He was definitely a shade paler than before.
“Oh yeah?” He muttered, “What did you hear?”
“I’m not sure exactly. But I heard him mention something about not wanting to “do this” and something about needing a check for his sister. I don’t really know, it was muffled by the bathroom door I was listening through. I just don’t understand. Is he being paid to have a relationship with us and if so, why? Why does his sister need money and why is he getting it for her at our expense? That’s not right at all. In fact, it’s kind of sickening.”
Anger was piercing through each word that I spoke.
Eric’s facial expression changed drastically and I wanted to ask what he knew about it, but then it changed to a look of concern and the thought immediately left my head.
“I’m so sorry babe. I can’t believe he would do that to you. That’s really messed up. Did you ask him about it?” He questioned.
“No. Brody was with us and I didn’t want him to hear any of it. I need to protect him Eric. I can’t let Michael hurt Brody the way that he hurt me.” I frowned and looked off into the distance ahead.
“I’m sure he isn’t planning on hurting either one of you. Maybe he was talking about something that had nothing to do with you. Maybe the words were for a different context. I mean, how could you know unless you heard the other half of the conversation, right?”
“Why are you acting so cool about this and defending him? Something is definitely fishy about this and you don’t sound like you’re on my side.” I accused.
“Cecilia of course I’m on your side. In fact, everything I do is because I’m on your side. All I’m saying is, don’t stress out about something until you know everything. Try talking to him?” He suggested.
“I want to, I just don’t want him to lie and shrug it off. This isn’t me I’m worried about here, it’s Brody. He called him dad Eric. He’s becoming attached too fast. I don’t want something to happen, and it crush him. He’s still young and this could scar him for life if it ends badly. Don’t you get it?” I shouted, my anger growing.
“More than you know.” He mumbled quietly.
“Nothing. Just talk to him, okay? I’m sure everything is fine.” He said while standing up.
“Okay. I will.” I stood up too and Eric stepped closer to me.
“I promise everything will work out. Do you trust me?” He gently grabbed my hand, stroking his thumb along mine. His dark brown eyes were flickering with concern and I bit my lip unsure of how to respond.
“I do.” I finally replied.
He diminished the space between us by pulling me closer to him. He pressed his soft lips against mine and I lost every bad feeling that I had inside of me. The doubts were gone as soon as we made contact and I wrapped my hands around his neck, wanting more. Needing more.
He pushed me until we were against the old wall that stood behind the tracks. He quickly lifted me up and I instantly wrapped my legs around his waist. Tangling my fingers into his golden-brown hair, I yearned for his delicate touch.
Suddenly I wished we were in my bedroom.
His muscular arms held me tightly against him and his hands traveled down to my ass, slightly squeezing as I softly moaned against his lips.
I had never wanted someone more in my entire life, than I did right in that moment.
He was perfect and the need for him grew with every passing second.
“Eric...” I sighed against his ear. This made him tense and I knew I sparked something within him.
He pulled back from my lips and looked deep into my soft brown eyes.
“Cecilia... I love you.” He announced. My blood ran cold and my lips started to tremble. My breathing hitched and my hands started to sweat around his neck.
Not wanting to ruin the beautiful moment, I forced myself to speak.
“I...I love you too.”
“Are you okay?” He stared at me warily.
I dropped my legs from around his waist. Once my feet were on the ground, I placed my hands on my knees and tried to regulate my heavy breathing.
“No you’re not. Where’s your bag?” He asked, looking around on the ground for it.
“I didn’t bring it. I haven’t had a pill in a w-while.” I managed to say.
“Shit Cecilia! What do I do?” He looked panicked and I didn’t want to make him worry anymore than he already was.
“I’ll be fine. Just come next to me and comfort me. Please.” I begged looking up at him.
He was immediately at my side, stroking his hands up and down my arms. He pulled me into his chest and gently ran his fingers through my hair softly shushing me.
“You’re okay babe... you’re okay.”
I allowed him to comfort me as I pushed all my weight into him. After a few minutes, my breathing was back to normal and the sweat was slowly beginning to dry from my hands and forehead.
“You did it.” I said while looking up at Eric. He smiled and gently kissed my forehead.
“You made the nerves go away and I didn’t even need a pill. That has never happened with anyone before. Not even with my mom.”
“That’s because I’m me.” He winked, causing me to roll my eyes playfully.
I couldn’t believe it. I had never been consoled without having to take a dose of my anxiety medication before.
“Are you sure you love me? This is something you’ll have to deal with a lot. I’m sure you don’t want that burden.” I confessed looking down at my feet. Familiar feelings of insecurity came rushing back in an instant, causing me to want to slap myself for being so silly.
“Hey, don’t do that. Don’t put yourself down or try to take away this beautiful moment. I love you Cecilia Collins, anxiety and all. I’ll help you every day and we’ll make it so you never have to worry about those stupid pills ever again. I promise.” He kissed me once more before reaching down to hold my hand gently in his.
“It’s just... No one has ever told me that they loved me before and meant it. The last guy to do that was my dad and he left me. What if you get bored or something and decide to leave me too?” I hated myself for trying to ruin the moment. I should’ve been happy. The most amazing guy I had ever met confessed to loving me, and here I was trying to bring the mood down with my insecurities and self-doubt.
“Cecilia stop. I’m not your father and I’m not going to abandon you the way that he did. I love you and I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you. As long as it takes.”
My eyes were beginning to water as he hurriedly pulled me into his arms, resting his head on top of mine. I knew in that moment that he was telling the truth. I knew that he loved me and that I loved him too, so much.
“I love you too.” I said while looking up into his eyes. “And I trust you.”
“That’s all that I ask.” He smiled while leaving another kiss on my tingling lips.
“Want to come over for dinner?” He asked, “Layla and my mom are making Italian.”
My face lit up and I nodded while we walked hand in hand away from the tracks.
“Italian sounds amazing.”
Later that night, Layla and I were playing twister with Eric and their parents.
Game nights were never a thing at my house, and I wished that our family was more like theirs.
“Okay, right hand green!” Rachel shouted after spinning the wheel.
“Darn it.” Larry mumbled, being that his hands were nowhere near a green spot.
“Can I call for a second spin?” He hoped.
“Nope. Sorry.” Layla teased sitting beside him, looking more uncomfortable than the rest of us.
“Alright, here goes nothing.” Larry reached for a green spot and was surprisingly able to place his pinky on the spot without falling.
“Wow, dad. You’re actually pretty good at this.” Eric laughed from beside Layla.
“That’s why you need to get good grades and go to a nice party college. Although, drunken twister is way better.” He confessed resulting in a glare from Rachel.
Layla, Eric and I laughed while Larry made a kissy face toward Rachel, causing her to giggle.
“Alright, Cecilia, left foot yellow!” Rachel announced after spinning the wheel again.
“Um... Eric, your butt is in the way of my yellow.” I deadpanned.
“Sorry toots can’t move. Do your best. I have faith in you.” He teased.
I tried to maneuver around Eric, but as soon as I slid my left leg underneath him, I accidentally tripped him up and all four of us went tumbling down.
Rachel let out a loud laugh as I received glares from Layla and Larry.
“Um, sorry?” I nervously bit my lip.
“I was on a roll too! Way to go Cecil!” Layla whined.
“Blame Eric! His butt was in the way!” I defended myself while pointing at Eric who was still lying on the floor.
“Well let’s just say, for the sake of the game, that I won.” Larry announced while standing proudly, holding his arms over his chest.
“Nice try dad, but nobody won.” Layla replied boringly, and everyone else froze.
“What?” She asked.
“Honey, you called Larry dad.” Rachel was grinning from ear to ear and I had a smile on my face as well. Eric grinned and Larry looked honestly proud to have been called dad.
“Oh, um. So what?” She smiled sheepishly, “Who’s ready for desert?” She cheered while walking towards the kitchen, as if it were no big deal to her.
As I followed Layla into the kitchen, I looked back and noticed Rachel walk over to give Larry a kiss. Then I heard her say, “See, told you it was only a matter of time.”
I smiled, honestly happy for my best friend, and then I noticed Eric staring at me with a grin on his face.
“So, Layla... dad huh?” Eric teased as he entered the kitchen.
“It slipped out.” She smiled, pulling the fresh, homemade pie from the oven.
“Uh-huh, sure.” Eric smirked.
“Whatever. Shut up.”
I smiled at their brother/sister banter as I sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen. Layla pulled out some vanilla ice cream to go with the apple pie, and my mouth began to water.
“I love apple pie!” I cheered.
“Same Cecilia, same.” I heard Larry agree as he and Rachel entered the kitchen.
“Dad, no...” Eric shook his head.
“What? I’m hip.” Larry placed his hands on his hips, “Aren’t I?” He questioned.
“Yep, sure are honey.” Rachel teased.
“Lies, so many lies. You people should be ashamed.” Larry dramatically gasped.
Layla rolled her eyes as the entire room erupted into laughter.
I looked around at Layla, Eric, and their parents and I couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of jealousy. I wished that my family could be like theirs. We never did family game nights, and we certainly didn’t eat dinner and desert together every night. On special occasions we would, like thanksgiving and Christmas, but other than that we just ate in our separate rooms.
I was happy though. Happy for my best friend and for my boyfriend. Happy that they both had parents who loved them and cherished their time together, but most of all, happy that I was becoming a part of their family too. I didn’t want this good feeling to end and I was going to do everything in my power to not let that happen.
These four were my family now too, and even though my own family isn’t whole right now, at least I have these four to take away from the constant sadness I try to fight off on a daily basis.
I had never felt complete before. I had always felt like I was missing something in my life, in fact I knew I was. But in that moment, right there with those four people, I finally came to a realization.
I didn’t need someone to complete me, I only needed that someone to accept me completely. Right then, with Eric, that’s exactly what I had. I had someone who accepted me completely and didn’t need to change me. He was going to try to break me from all of my bad habits and he was going to try to stop me from having to use my medication, but he wasn’t trying to change me personally. He understood my need for silence. He understood my need for reassurance. He understood my need for resolution when things were unanswered. For that, I would forever be grateful to him.
It’s like, when we were little and we had a favorite blanket or stuffed animal that we had to have with us at all times? We needed it with us because it made us feel safe and at that time, it was the most important thing in the world to us.
Well that was what Eric was to me. He was my safe place.
I love him.


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We’re right here to change the future of cancer in our region.
Welcome to the St. Elizabeth Cancer Center, we’re excited to have you on this tour. As you hopefully know by now, this isn’t just about a building. We’re here to change the future of cancer in our region. Not just treating the cancers but treating the patients themselves.
The entrance leads into the main lobby.
In addition to registration and lounge areas, this first-impression high-traffic space offers direct access to the Center’s lab services, retail pharmacy, café and our Resource Center.
Down the hall, you can find the doTERRA Center for Integrative Oncology, where patients can explore a variety of options to complement St. Elizabeth’s comprehensive medical care.
One area in integrative oncology is our state-of-the-art Demonstration Kitchen.
Many cancer treatments can affect a patient’s appetite, diet and overall well-being.
Therefore, nutrition can be a vital factor before, during and after treatment.
Regular practice of mind-body exercises, such as yoga, is reported to increase flexibility, ease difficulty breathing, offset fatigue and reduce stress.
The Meditation Room is a sanctuary for patients and families to reflect, pray or relax before or after treatments or appointments.
Situated for access from many areas in the Center, the garden courtyard is expansive at 5,500 square feet where patients and families can enjoy moments of peace.
Located on level one, Precision Medicine and Genomic Health focuses on healthcare, disease treatment and prevention by utilizing genomic information to guide a patient’s healthcare plan.
Breast Health offers diagnostic testing and serves as a hub for the St. Elizabeth multidisciplinary breast health team.
Level two is home to many clinic areas including Thoracic Surgery which provides a collaborative, multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach to the diagnosis and management of lung, esophageal and other chest conditions.
Level four houses our Infusion Services.
This area features large and private bays for patients to receive their chemotherapy and infusion treatments.
The level five Auditorium serves as the Cancer Center’s tumor board headquarters. Collaboration and the sharing of ideas amongst our cancer specialists helps ensure the best possible care for our patients.
St. Elizabeth is right here with a leading national Cancer Center.
We look forward to working together to reduce our area’s cancer rates and to lead Northern Kentucky to become one of the healthiest communities in America.

domain: medical


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Managing Mental Health Seminar
Time & Location
About The Event
The Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), the Australian Screen Sound Guild (ASSG) and Support Act are proud to invite you to an exclusive two-hour seminar about the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues in our industry.
The evening will elaborate on how these symptoms can be managed and what you can do to help artists, colleagues and friends, while ensuring your own self-care.
This will be a practical and informative session run by Warren Werksman, a trained AccessEAP clinician with direct experience in providing service to the music industry through the Support Act Well-being Helpline.
The workshop will be introduced by Dr Craig Morgan, Chair of the AGSC Health & Well-Being Committee.
Date: Tuesday 18 June 2019
Time: 6pm - 8.30pm
Venue: APRA Board Room, 16 Mountain Street, Ultimo
Book: Please click the 'register now' button above, or email email@example.com
This event is free, snacks and refreshments will be provided. Bookings essential.
MORE ABOUT WARREN WERKSMAN
Warren is a psychologist with fifteen years experience in a wide variety of settings. Having gained a Masters of Counselling Psychology from Macquarie University, he began working in drug and alcohol rehab, where he developed strong assessment skills and behaviour modification strategies. Enthusiastic to understand the lived experience of clients, Warren pursued his career further working in prisons, and in hospitals with long term mental health sufferers. He learned the effectiveness of working systemically with clients, and how to manage severe disorders as well as assessing and responding to clients at risk. His exposure to entrenched mental health issues provoked his desire for early intervention. This passion, as well as having an adept facility with creative therapy techniques, turned his work towards children, youth, and families: in schools, NGO’s and private clinics. In these areas he continued to a systemic framework in family therapy, education programs, and groupwork. He has carried his breadth of clinical experience and knowledge of working in organisations to his current work in EAP counselling.
Warren has a strong ethos in professional development and continuing education. In his Masters degree he gained a strong grounding in self-psychology, systemic analysis, narrative therapy, and trauma-based interventions. His post-university studies have included solution-focused therapy, motivational interviewing, psychodrama, conflict-resolution, mindfulness training, and process-oriented psychology.
Since starting at AccessEAP in May 2016, Warren has provided telephone and face-to-face counselling for workplace and for personal issues that clients have presented. He has also provided advice for managers in consultation regarding conflict resolution, staff difficulties, and in response to critical incidents.

domain: psychology


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I have one on a 6.5WSM I picked up early this year. It is a standard sporter contour. The front half of the forend is flat on the bottom, nice for riding the bags. The forend is about 1.5-2" longer than standard. Don't know why but it looks good and seems quite rigid.
As an aside, the paint job had some deep gouges in it when I got the rifle. I called them up and they warranteed the paint job. I would definitely buy a stock from them.
The critters have to win every time, I only have to win once.
NRA Life Member

domain: hobby


The speed sensor with shaft drive "Sitrans WS300"The Siemens Industry Automation Division by a constant pulse train accurate results in industrial applications. The sensor is used in conjunction with the Milltronics BW100 and BW500, the module Siwarex FTC PLC and a Milltronics belt scale. Four resolutions 32, 256, 1000 and 2000 pulses per revolution sensor is suitable for monitoring applications with low to high speeds.With only 1,22 kg weight, Sitrans WS300 is one of the lightest sensors for monitoring conveyor belt speeds on the market. Due to its robust cast aluminum housing, it is suitable for use in heavy industry as well as for outdoor installation. The stainless steel version of Sitrans WS300 can be used in harsh environments and in food processing. The sensor is certified for use in hazardous dust atmospheres, with IP65 and NEMA 4X degrees of protection, and can therefore be used in virtually all industrial sectors - from the food and chemical industries to cement production or stone and earth.
To ensure accurate readout of the belt speed, the Sitrans WS300 can be connected directly to a deflection or under-belt roller. This avoids sources of error that can arise due to belt slippage or material jams. The sensor monitors belt speed and can be used as input to a transmitter that calculates flow rate and belt speed. Sitrans WS300 is combined with the Milltronics BW100 and BW500 transmitters or the Siwarex FTC PLC module and a Milltronics belt scale to form a complete weighing system.


Who is Wild About Saskatoon?
Wild about Saskatoon is an informal collective of nature-lovers who began to meet in the winter of 2012-13. We are madly in love with the beauty and diversity of the living world wherever we find it, especially within city limits.
Our goal is to foster a fresh, everyday connection between the residents of Saskatoon and the nature that envelops us, in the city as everywhere else. We want to nurture a civic culture where respect for the living world is routinely reflected in our collective and individual decisions.
A city is not just built; it is also planted. The City of Saskatoon provides habitat not only for humans but also – wonderfully – for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of species of plants, insects, birds and animals, from bumblebees to bats and from ducks to otters. Without plants to produce oxygen, we could not breath. Without insects to pollinate our gardens, we’d lack nourishing food. Without birds and animals to raise our spirits, we would be intolerably alone. Without the shining waters of the South Saskatchewan River, our lives, in incalculable ways, would be barren.
Wild About Saskatoon respectfully acknowledges that we are situated on Treaty 6 territory and traditional lands of First Nations and Métis people. As we engage in place-based and land-based education and experiences, it is important that we pay our respects both to the land and to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another. As stated by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, we strive in our work to acknowledge and understand our collective past as a way to move us toward a stronger and healthier future, with “relationships embedded in mutual recognition and respect”, in which we actively work against colonization. Find out why this is important to us here.
Nature does not begin where the sidewalk ends. If you would like to join us, please be in touch.


Peris said she had never envisaged being a career politician and decided to quit after talking to her family.
She will serve out what remains of her term and fully support the replacement for number one position on the Labor Senate ticket “whoever that might be”.
“As the first Aboriginal female in federal politics … I certainly had challenges, but none that I couldn’t handle or was not prepared for, having already lived a very public and documented life,” Peris said in a statement on Tuesday.
It is understood the Olympian and first Aboriginal woman in federal parliament is being considered to replace the AFL’s head of diversity Jason Mifsud.
A Labor Party source told InDaily Peris had been shocked that news of the potential new job had leaked, and insisted it hadn’t come from her.
The source said the progressive wing of the party was pushing for her to be replaced with an indigenous woman, with journalist and former NT parliamentarian Malarndirri McCarthy their favoured candidate.
Marion Scrymgour, an indigenous member of the NT Legislative Assembly, is also in the mix.
The source said there was disappointment in the party that Peris has decided to leave politics mid-campaign.
Peris became Australia’s first female indigenous federal politician in 2013 after a controversial call by then prime minster Julia Gillard.
The “captain’s pick” was derided as paternalistic and tokenistic, and elbowed out veteran senator Trish Crossin.
Not my public statement @mattcunningham but some may well think it’s the right thing to do @dan_bouchier https://t.co/r50GC29HJ8
— Trish Crossin (@trishcrossin) May 23, 2016
.@mattcunningham says @trishcrossin speaks out, saying an apology is required from @JuliaGillard for her ousting #ausvotes (@Dan_Bourchier)
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 23, 2016
Peris won Olympic gold playing hockey for Australia in 1996 at the Atlanta games.
Labor’s number two candidate on the NT senate ticket is Pat Honan, who is not listed with the NT’s other federal election candidates on the ALP website.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the party would go through its selection processes in coming days.
“Nova Peris is a distinguished territorian and distinguished indigenous Australian,” he said.
“She achieved history in the Senate and on the running track.”
Suggestions that Peris had been sacked were “complete rubbish”, Shorten said.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan refused to be drawn on whether Peris was in line to take over from Mifsud.
“All I’d say is that clearly Jason’s role will be replaced,” McLachlan said.
“We’re running a process and that’s been ongoing.
“We’ve got some high-quality candidates.
“I’m not going to say any more than that.”
McLachlan wouldn’t say whether Peris had been approached for the job, describing the recruitment process as “confidential”.
“When we have an announcement we’ll make it,” he said.
– AAP with additional reporting by David Washington/InDaily
Local News Matters
Media diversity is under threat in Australia – nowhere more so than in South Australia. The state needs more than one voice to guide it forward and you can help with a donation of any size to InDaily. Your contribution goes directly to helping our journalists uncover the facts. Please click below to help InDaily continue to uncover the facts.


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Reserve midfielder Alexa Burton helped Ripon’s girls soccer team get an important result in Trans-Valley League play Tuesday, scoring the deciding goal in the 31st minute of a 2-1 victory over Hilmar.
The Indians (2-0 TVL, 10-3-1 overall) outshot their chief rival in league 15-6, but the visiting Yellowjackets (1-1, 8-8) are always dangerous with returning All-TVL Most Valuable Offensive Player Genavieve Fontes, who scored the equalizer in the seventh minute.
“We dominated the game, but a 2-1 score is a little scary,” Ripon coach Bryce Perkins said.
Hailey Peterson opened scoring for Ripon in the sixth minute. Burton later buried the go-ahead score after receiving a cross from Ariana Daniels.
Weston Ranch 4, Manteca 2
The visiting Cougars (4-0-1, 6-0-5 overall) rung up the first four goals and cruised for another win that keeps them ahead of the pack in the Valley Oak League.
Kevin Urrutia Hernandez led them with two goals and an assist. Elvin Bolanos had one goal and one assist, and Aaron Silva scored once.
Goalkeeper Francisco Vega had seven saves.
Johansen 35, Lathrop 17
MODESTO — Jose Soto highlighted the Spartans’ night with a win via technical fall at 126 pounds.
Luis Hernandez (160) won with a 2-minute, 43-second fall. Lathrop was aided by a forfeiture at 182 pounds.
Lathrop 12, Johansen 6
MODESTO — Kristina Rose (143) secured the win for Lathrop with her thrilling pin in the third round. She won with 28 seconds left in her match.
The Spartans scored the rest of their points with a forfeiture.

domain: game


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January 11, 2018 - Written by Ben Hughes
STORY LINK EUR/USD Exchange Rate Strengthens on ‘Bullish’ ECB Comments
On Wednesday’s trading session, the Euro to US Dollar exchange rate saw a minimal rise.
The pairing opened daily trading in the region of 1.1930 and closed higher around 1.1956 in the evening.
Eurozone news was fairly limited, only consisting of a small development in German coalition talks.
The CDU/CSU union and SPD Party announced that they had reached an agreement on immigration laws, but there were still uncertainties about a successful conclusion to talks.
In the US, the main limiting factor was a speech by Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari. While Kashkari won’t be voting on interest rate decisions this year, he still unsettled traders by stating that US interest rates should remain untouched.
Kashkari’s motivation was to allow US inflation rates and wage growth to push higher, but the sentiment concerned traders who are looking forward to three or possibly four interest rate hikes in 2018.
Euro to US Dollar Exchange Rate Rises on Signs of QE Wind Down
The Euro has been in high demand on Thursday afternoon, rising by 0.7% against the US Dollar and seeing greater gains against the Canadian Dollar and Japanese Yen.
The Euro didn’t get off to a strong start in daily trading, but has recently rallied thanks to European Central Bank (ECB) remarks.
At its monetary policy meeting, the ECB has suggested that it could start to taper off its quantitative easing (QE) program in the future.
QE is the ECB’s scheme to stimulate the Eurozone economy, which involves buying up bonds and assets from across the currency bloc.
The program was launched three years ago and since then, the ECB’s portfolio of assets has ballooned to the realm of trillions of Euros.
Now, economists believe the ECB could change its course because of a small adjustment in its usual post-meeting statement. The crucial passage was;
‘The language pertaining to various dimensions of the monetary policy stance and forward guidance could be revisited early in the coming year.
A remark was made that a gap appeared to be emerging between favourable economic conditions and a policy stance that remained in a crisis configuration’.
To translate, the ECB may begin to think about altering its bond buying program, given that economic conditions have improved since it started buying up bonds.
While the message has been vague and QE tapering by no means assured, traders have nonetheless bought up the Euro on this news, leading to a rally for the EUR/USD exchange rate among others.
Hinting at possible interest rate hikes in the future, the ECB’s notes also included the statement;
‘As progress was made toward a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation, the relative importance of the forward guidance on policy rates would increase’.
This also suggests a move away from excessive QE, as hinting at increasing policy rates (raising interest rates) is the first step towards actually performing this action.
US Dollar to Euro Exchange Rate Drops on Continued Fed Caution
Following the previous speech from Fed official Neel Kashkari, the US Dollar has been weakened again today by comments from Fed officials.
This has led to a US Dollar to Euro decline, with the USD also declining against peers like the Pound and New Zealand Dollar.
In a similar vein to Kashkari, Fed official Charles Evans has suggested leaving US interest rates untouched until inflation can properly pick up;
‘I’d feel a lot more confident if I saw those transitory reductions in the inflation rate go away.
If things are worked out we could resume a nice gradual pace (of rate hikes) at that point, and still get the funds rate up to its natural level before too long’.
Euro to US Dollar Slide Possible on Next Week’s Inflation Rate Stats
Looking ahead, the Euro could lose ground to the US Dollar on 17th January, when December’s Eurozone inflation rate figures come out.
For the basic, finalised year-on-year reading, expectations are a slowdown from 1.5% to 1.4%.
While minor on the face of it, such a result could devalue the Euro as it would be a move away from the European Central Bank’s (ECB) 2% inflation target.
Lower inflation reduces the pressure on the ECB to consider higher interest rates, so could mean that the Euro slides on trader disappointment.
US inflation figures will be out sooner, with December’s readings being announced on the afternoon of 12th January.
As with the Eurozone figures, expectations are for a decline in US inflation, so the US Dollar could close weekly trading down against the Euro.
International Money Transfer? Ask our resident FX expert a money transfer question or try John's new, free, no-obligation personal service! ,where he helps every step of the way,
ensuring you get the best exchange rates on your currency requirements.
TAGS: Euro Forecasts

domain: economics


text:
Doctor insights on:
How Quickly Does Bladder Cancer Grow And Spread
Depends: It depends on the type of cancer and stage at the time sof diagnosis. If it is a non-aggressive form, it may take months or sometimes years to recur. If the tumor is very aggressive or advanced at the time of diagnosis, it is much more likely to recur quickly. ...Read moreSee 1 more doctor answer
Cancer is a group of diseases that is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth leading to invasion of surrounding tissues that spread to other parts of the body. Cancer can begin anywhere in the body and is usually related to one or more genetic mutations that allow normal cells to become malignant by interfering with internal cellular control mechanisms, such as programmed cell death or by preventing ...Read more
Depends on grade: In general, the "grade", or the microscopic features, of bladder cancer will define the rate of growth. High grade cancers grow more quickly than low grade cancers, and are associated with more advanced (high "stage") types of cancer and poorer outcomes compared to low grade cancers which are generally low "stage". However, high grade cancer caught early is treatable and potentially curable. ...Read moreSee 1 more doctor answer
My father has bladder cancer, grade 4, stage less than 1 (aggressive but not spread). He is due an op and 6 chemical washes -what is like prognosis?
Husband 60 diag w/sm cell bladder cancer in May. 6 rounds of chemo then radical cystectomy last month. It spread to prostate + lymphnodes. Prognosis?
Bladder CA: Husband 60 diag w/sm cell bladder CA May. 6 rounds chemo then radical cystectomy last month. Spread to prostate/lymphnodes. Prognosis? ANS: This is a nasty cancer & everyone is different. Only his team can give reasonable prognosis & as in most of the real world prediction of the future is tricky esp medicine. There r teams n ur area specializing n this & suspect you are seeing them. Good Luck. ...Read more
I have bladder cancer and have recently been having a lot of back pain around kidneys.Is it possible the cancer has spread.No insurance to see doctor?
How often does bladder cancer come back? After successful bladder cancer treatment, is it common for it to come back? Can it grow back as a metastatic cancer even after having your whole bladder removed?
Stage dependent: It depends on the stage and type of bladder cancer when it was diagnosed as well as whether or not all recommended treatments wee taken. It can metastasize and that is why some patients need chemotherapy whennsafenafter surgery. It takes only remnant microscopic cells to have leaked out before surgery for it to get into the blood stream or outside the bladder. Stats are stage and path dependent. ...Read moreSee 1 more doctor answer
The bladder is a muscular organ in the pelvis that accepts urine from the kidneys, stores the urine at low pressure, & expels the urine during voluntary voiding. Though seemingly a simple reservoir, the bladder is a complex organ intricately connected with the brain and spinal cord with sensory, motor, and autonomic circuits. The muscular layer that contracts during voids ...Read more
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Phuket gears up for Part B of island Bike Week 2017
Phuket Bike Week 2017 is all set to close with a grand finale in Phuket Town on Saturday evening. The hub of the action is the town’s Saphan Hin Park and a full timetable of entertainment ensures there is something for all tastes.
The evening’s schedule kicks off with a big bike convoy through the streets of the town and then a jaunt down to Cape Promthep and back again. Between 17:30 and 19:30 live musicians will be on stage and this will be followed by a short show featuring Miss Phuket Bike personality of the year and speeches given by leading local dignitaries.
Live entertainment will start again at 21:00 and continue through until the witching hour at midnight. Although Saturday’s programme is not the main part of Phuket Bike Week, it is expected to attract similar numbers of bikers and their hogs as the first part did last weekend.
This year’s Phuket Bike Week is the 23rd in a series which regularly pulls in up to 10,000 bikes and 50,000 biking enthusiasts. 12GO ASIA notes that as is the case when any major event takes place in Phuket, transportation options are busy and it is always a good idea to book tickets in advance.
Lights switched on over the weekend have inaugurated a new era for the historic Imperial Palace in Hue. The lighting system enables tourists to enjoy the ethereal delights of one of the most recognisable tourism attractions in Vietnam away from the heat of the midday sun.
The governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) says a recently announced ban on street food vendors in Bangkok will not push their carts off the streets altogether. Yuthasak Supasorn told reporters that two main zones would be allowed to remain as they are while in others vendors will be moved off main thoroughfares.


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Unemployed Cheshire pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a dog when he appeared at Birmingham Magistrates Court.But he avoided jail after being handed a 12-month community order with the requirement to perform 120 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £385 court costs.JPs heard the yob threw his pet – called Pablo – across the floor, stamped on his head and spat on him during the attack last September.The attack was caught on security cameras at the tower block where Cheshire lives in Oldbury, West Midlands.In October, 2014, TMZ received an e-mail that, under the subject heading “Drake at Stadium Club in D. Please call me for price.” Fifty-nine minutes after a producer forwarded the tip to colleagues, TMZ posted a clip showing the rapper accidentally dropping thousands of dollars outside a Washington strip club.
The FAFSA takes little time to complete, and there is help provided throughout the application.
In 2009, for example, he took the call that led to TMZ’s breaking the news that Chris Brown had physically assaulted Rihanna.
(The site subsequently published a police photograph of Rihanna’s battered face.) Weakland told me that his attempts to persuade sources to follow through with a leak often resembled a therapy session.
With 21% of adults reporting "extreme" stress levels, the survey says that with teens "mirroring adults' high-stress lives" they are "potentially setting themselves up for a future of chronic stress and chronic illness."The report warns that teens are at risk of a variety of physical and emotional ills and potentially shorter lifespans than their elders if they don't act to "reverse their current trajectory of chronic illness, poor health and shorter lifespans.""Our study this year gives us a window in looking at how early these patterns might begin," says clinical psychologist Norman Anderson, the association's CEO.
"The patterns of stress we see in adults seem to be occurring as early as the adolescent years — stress-related behaviors such as lack of sleep, lack of exercise, poor eating habits in response to stress."Teens' average stress level was 5.8 out of 10 during the school year and 4.6 in the past month — the survey was taken in August.


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Professional Portfolio Production Project
Jaivik Patel is an Art and Design student at Cecil College. He has lived in Elkton, MD his entire life. In his spare time his hobbies include, Teaching Karate at the YMCA in Elkton, and also working on his personal art. Jaivik went to Elkton High School, and also graduated from the Cecil County School of Technology in their Interactive Media Productions Program. During his time at Elkton High he took an art class every year. Up until he became a student at Cecil College he had not participated in any art contests, galleries, and exhibitions, believing his work to be mediocre compared to what people mainly saw.
Inspired by art styles of manga and comic book artists, I create characters who can interact with each other, work with each other, and even work against each other. The characters I create are often self-portraits where I am depicted as either a superhero, god, villain, or a regular human being. My art doesn’t tell a story. My art is a representation of what I could have been in another universe. There is no real deeper meaning to my work, other than it is just a representation of me. I can become anything I want to be through my art. Art should be a way to free yourself from the harsh reality of of life, and provide an outlet for your growth. My primary medium is graphite/charcoal, because above all else it is where most people start producing their art. Graphite allows me to explore gray tones, and values that would otherwise be extremely difficult to achieve with anything else. Charcoal lets me experiment deeper with creating value, and achieving much greater detail than with other mediums. My art doesn’t symbolize any deep meaning in my life. I believe that being tied down by things such as symbolism doesn’t allow me to create what I want, to experience life how I wish for it to be experienced.


The first factor to consider when you’re experiencing slow WiFi is – is it actually slow? Or could it be something else? With so many people now working from home it’s important to understand what could be causing internet speeds to appear sluggish.
So, to start – where are you testing from?
Most home setups involve a line coming into your house and an ISP (Internet Service Provider) router connected to it i.e BT home hub or Virgin hub. These hubs have WiFi enabled on them & usually a 4-port switch that you can connect an ethernet cable into.
So, the first thing to test is what speeds you get when connected by ethernet straight into your home hub. There are many sites that allow for speed testing, here are a couple are listed below:
Do a few of these tests at different times of the day and record the results – obviously if these don’t show what you’re expected then raise a ticket with your ISP*. If they look ok, you now know what speeds you should be getting.
Now you can test the WiFi, using one of the speed testers.
First, disconnect the ethernet cable. Then test from the same room over WiFi.
Ensure it’s just you on the WiFi at this point (if you can!), so no kids on video games or streaming films whilst testing as these are big bandwidth killers).
You should test in that room using two or more devices (not simultaneously) if possible and ensure they are going over WiFi and not 3/4G. This ensures you don’t have a problem with one device**.
What are your speeds like? The same? Or worse?
Next, use the same testing in all rooms of the house and record the results.
The speeds should decrease as you go further away from the Hub/Router. But if the signal or speeds are too slow in one room then you may need a second WiFi access point (AP). There are many “mesh” solutions out there, but all can have issues. The best solution is to run an ethernet cable from the second AP back to the ISP Hub.
The other factor to consider is WIFi interference – the worst of which usually comes from neighboring houses as it is likely that they are using the same spectrum (channels). All ISP hubs will be using channels 1/6/11 on the 2.4GHz band and channels 36-48 on the 5GHz Band.
Most UK ISPs WiFi settings are far from optima and appear to have been setup more from a marketing perspective (to say they can achieve really high speeds) Yes, they could if you were using it on its own in a LAB environment.
So, unless you install an enterprise grade WiFi system (these can use many more channels – so one that isn’t being used) you will see some level of interference. Enterprise grade hardware can also handle more WIFi devices, whereas home grade kit might not handle more than 15-20 devices.
Is your WiFi slower at certain times of day, or when more people are in the house? It stands to reason that you will get slower speeds per device as more devices are connected. If not then it may be the ISP, but the earlier testing you did via the ethernet cable should have highlighted that.
Bear in mind that this list is only the tip of the iceberg, and there are many other factors to consider. The link below shows how bluetooth headsets, and household appliances such as microwaves can all negatively affect your WIFi.
* Please ensure you do not have a connected VPN when doing these checks. As this may degrade your speed tests.
** If you are seeing issues with just one device, then look to update firmware. Dodgy firmware updates have killed WiFi speeds or functions – this has happened many times to Chromebooks/Laptops/IOS and Android devices.


The holidays may be the most wonderful time of the year. But are they best time for email marketing? After all, people are in spending mode. Their wallets are already open. Seems only natural that they’d open your holiday-themed email as well. Right?
That depends. The success of your holiday email campaigns relies on a number of factors — including when you send your emails, and how you craft them. There’s a great study by Yes Lifestyle Marketing that offers up all manner of stats on holiday-themed email marketing. We recommend reading it, if you have the time and inclination. But if you’re just looking for the Cliff Notes version, then take a gander at these key take-aways.
Save the Hard Sell
Most businesses start sending out holiday-related emails in October, gearing up for Halloween. Then comes Thanksgiving in November, followed by Hanukkah, Christmas, and general holiday seasons greetings in December. You’ll want to approach your pre-December holiday email campaigns a little differently than your December campaigns. And here’s why.
Emails with a hard-hitting sales or promotional message have a lower open rate when sent in October and November. That’s typically because folks are not looking to buy stuff then; instead, they’re focused on their children, family, decorating, cooking, and getting through this busy time of year with their sanity intact.
As such, emails that provide some kind of value-added content related to the holiday at hand enjoy a higher open rate. So for October, think tips on carving pumpkins, DIY Halloween costumes, or setting up a haunted house in your garage for the neighborhood kids. For Thanksgiving, think recipes, suggestions for eating healthy, unique place-settings for your family feast, how to avoid talking politics with your uncle. If you can tie this content into your products or services, even better. But avoid the hard sell.
There’s always an exception to the rule, right? Same here. When it comes to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, your email should by all means tout amazing sales and offers on your products/services. Research also shows us that emails sent right before Black Friday/Cyber Monday or on the actual day have a better open rate that those sent earlier.
December Do’s and Don’t’s
So what about email marketing in December? Well, that requires a different approach. Holiday-themed email volume is around 40% higher in December, compared to October. At the same time, the open rate for emails sent in December is lower than in October. The simple explanation for this is: by the time December roles around, people are sick of seeing holiday-related emails. And instead of clicking on them, they tend to ignore and trash them.
So how do you increase the open rates of your December emails? Here are a few tried-and-true tips.
Get in the Holiday Spirit
Emails that focus on price have lower open rates than those with content that centers around the holidays. Recipients saw enough of those emails during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. So don’t just scream about discounts and offers. Demonstrate how the products/services you’re selling will make the holidays more enjoyable, convenient, magical, memorable, and overall better.
Craft your emails in the spirit of giving, rather than saving. Instead of centering your message on how much much money your recipients will save, show them what amazing gifts your products/services will make. Create a holiday giving guide that showcases your products/services, and who they’d be great for. Tailor your gift guides to your recipients. Here are some great examples of holiday emails featuring gift guides and plenty of seasonal spirit.
In the Words of Foreigner: It’s Urgent
Create a sense of urgency. Let your recipients know you have a limited number of certain products. Remind them to order by a certain date to make sure it’s shipped in time for Christmas or Hanukkah. If you’re offering a discount or promotion, give it an end date and urge recipients to purchase before the offer’s over.
Yes, this is the most wonderful time of the year. But it’s also the busiest for your customers and their inboxes. Carefully crafting, planning and timing your holiday-themed emails will help them break through the clutter and connect with recipients. And if you’re thinking of sending out any emails not related to the holiday, we strongly recommend waiting until after the new year to do so. Whether you’re considering an email campaign for the holidays or otherwise, we’re happy to help. Just give us a jingle.


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EToro - How To, get, bitcoin - Join Over 6M Users
See the above section on paper wallets for more details. Critics argue that these coins are piggybacking on Bitcoins name and that many are launched just to make a nice profit for the developers and early adopters. Will I still get Bitcoin Cash if I withdraw my Bitcoin from Coinbase after the fork?
Trade virtual currency rates - Earn on Litecoin, Ethereum
In one sense, Bitcoin faucets and free Bitcoin games could be seen as a method of advertising profit sharing. (In fact, its probably best to use it on a different computer than the one where you hold any bitcoins or any other sensitive data, for that matter.). Get Free Bitcoins from Bitcoin Faucets that Pay Faucet Coin Range Period Payouts Withdrawal Special Notes Cointiply 70 100,000 satoshis 60 Mins Faucet Hub 35,000 Coins New top paying faucet! And in part because the situation is still developing, even this article may contain accidental errors. Recently moved.
How you should invest - 10, 100, or 1000 in crypto
If this changes, we will notify all customers with an update e-mail. That way, if you do mess up with insecure BCH software, you shouldn't lose your BTC. Bitcoin Cash (sometimes referred to as Bcash, and mostly using the tickers BCH or BCC) launched today.
Get, your, free, bitcoin, cash on Ledger Nano S Wallet
Once again, whichever of these wallets you used, your BCH should be safe and theres no rush to claim them. An EDA was triggered straight after an automatic difficulty recalibration made Bitcoin Cash 300 percent more difficult to mine, which attracted a lot of miners back to BCH. On the other hand, bigger blocks do contain more transaction fees for the miner to collect. Needless to say, you want to avoid this!
Collecting your ( free bitcoin, cash coins - Medium
Bitcoin-S Dash 203 dash 5 Mins Faucet Hub Instant Redirects, triple captcha, pays 250 Dash flat direct to FaucetHub. If youre a part of a pool, you will need to enter your username, password and the pools address into the software. Bitcoin Core or, bitcoin Knots. The bad news is that its not necessarily easy or safe to claim your BCH straight away. Bryan, ive put together a list of Bitcoin faucets that pay.
Free, bitcoin, cash (BCC) Steemit
Pays to CoinPot, where you can convert to Bitcoin. Update: Hasnt paid since August. Just like any other (alt)coin, you could for example sell it for BTC, or perhaps spend it somewhere, or move it to another wallet, etcetera. Most wallets use a recovery seed.


text: In response to interleukin 12 (IL-12) stimulation, a latent cytoplasmic transcription factor, Stat4 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 4), becomes tyrosine-phosphorylated and translocates into the nucleus where it binds to DNA to activate transcription. Cofactors that can directly bind and regulate Stat4 activity have not been described. We report here that PIASx, a member of the protein inhibitor of activated STAT (PIAS) family, is a negative regulator of Stat4. PIASx becomes associated with Stat4 following IL-12 stimulation in vivo. PIASx inhibits IL-12-stimulated and Stat4-dependent gene activation in human T cells. PIASx does not inhibit the DNA binding activity of Stat4. Instead PIASx is present in the Stat4-DNA binding complex. Finally the inhibitory activity of PIASx on Stat4-mediated gene activation is abolished by the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A. Our results suggest that PIASx may function as a co-repressor of Stat4.

domain: health


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A citizen movement committed to restoring Vermont to an independent republic, free to pursue life, liberty and happiness unimpeded by the demands of an imperial, corrupt and disintegrating United States.
There are more than 7,000 farms on more than 1.25 million acres of land in Vermont. 52Farms.co is a project to get to know a few of the farmers behind them. Pairing photographs with conversations with farmers, 52Farms aims to tell some stories about the passion, innovation, tradition, and hard work that goes into agriculture in Vermont. Farm ‘em here on Facebook and Instagram.

domain: agronomy


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The eCommerce world is a whirlwind of constant change, and we’re no strangers to that reality. As things continue to move at lightning speed, it has become more crucial than ever for businesses to get up close and personal with their customers to truly listen to their needs. It is more evident that in today’s world, there’s no time for presumption. By really understanding what makes customers tick, what their needs are and by listening to their pain points, businesses can unlock a world of opportunities and set a solid foundation for moving alongside future emerging trends.
To shed light and share insights on this, we had the opportunity to speak with Mei Lee, a respected partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and a mastermind of forward-thinking within the industry. With over 20 years of experience working with and growing some of the world’s biggest brands such as Disney, Dyson, L’Oréal, Lazada, Adidas, Alibaba, Conde Nast, and many more.
In this interview, Mei speaks about some of the common challenges that eCommerce businesses face when trying to reach new customers. She shares valuable insights into the evolving consumer landscape and predicted future trends that businesses should keep a close eye on.
Aziza (Host): Are there any major changes or shifts in people or consumer behavior that you’re seeing now that may impact the future of eCommerce?
Mei Lee: I think that question can be answered depending on which part of the world we’re looking at. I think that since I have spent most of my career in the beginning in the US and then I moved to Asia, I traveled in Europe as well and being exposed to more of a global type of environment, I definitely notice a lot of different nuances in consumers in different parts of the world. If I focus on just Southeast Asia, for example, what I’m seeing in this region is extremely robust growth coming up for eCommerce. We don’t need to quote numbers, those are easy to find. But what I’m seeing here is that when it comes to eCommerce, the US is the most mature, Europe I would say is a bit more behind than the US, but Asia is far more advanced…in a different way. Taking China aside, if you look at Southeast Asia, the population is highly mobile. Everyone is actually very trained on eCommerce and comfortable with eCommerce. Being in countries like Singapore, cybersecurity is one of the top fields in Singapore. So, there’s a lot of emphasis on trust and safety and digital security. People generally trust buying online. I would say from a consumer perspective, there are definitely a lot of behavior changes pre-COVID, post-COVID. But in general, there is a general acceptance of eCommerce. That doesn’t mean that offline is going away. In fact, people are actually spending more time going offline shopping and spending time in malls and shops than online after COVID. So consumers are moving towards a place where they value flexibility, convenience, and transparency. We’re no longer in a world where it’s a black box, where things don’t integrate and talk to each other. We’re going into a world where everything is definitely more integrated. You can’t have a single view of the customer. You can’t have a single view of the journey. You can’t have a single view of the entire business, online, offline. Businesses need to cater to consumers who are multi-dimensional, multi-channel, and also have complex expectations.
Aziza: Yes, the complexity in it. I think that’s what’s so interesting because when you’re looking at businesses, brands who aim to target this new wave of customers… We’ve got different needs at this time, the flexibility, the convenience, the trust, and not allowing anyone to presume that they know our needs better than us. Have you seen any common mistakes that are made when businesses are trying to reach new customers, and what kind of advice would you offer in light of those mistakes? Mistakes may not be the right word.
Mei: So, maybe instead of calling them mistakes, we can say, what are some tactics and strategies that companies are using to really be a step ahead of the consumer. As a marketer looking at what other companies are doing, generally speaking, I would say that the best marketers and the best companies out there are actually investing time in consumer insights. They are not defaulting to the general demographic and audience data. They are harnessing their first-party data and going many layers deeper. They’re thinking through the entire customer experience and how it matches with the marketing funnel and journey and how it actually intersects with the different types of platforms a consumer may actually be on throughout this journey. They’re thinking through it a lot more strategically, and all of their decisions and marketing strategies are informed by insights and data. I would say that’s closer to best in class, and of course, the ones that are not are the ones that have a lot more work to do. I would say, kind of to your point earlier, consumers now are so complex, they are everywhere, and we are no longer in a world where consumers have a linear path to purchase. We’re no longer in a world where consumers have single-layer expectations, etc. There are multiple levels of complexities, and sometimes consumers want it all. So how do you actually cut through the noise and get to the heart of what consumers want? How do you get the right set of consumers who are actually supportive and loyal to your brand? I think that’s the hardest challenge for marketers today, even though we have tons of data, we have tons of tools, and we have lots of personalization. It’s almost like we have to go back to the basics because things have gotten too complicated and too crowded. So we need to actually add some filtering to really get the noise out and go back to the basics of what we know, what we’re truly working with in terms of consumer mindset, consumer needs. Who is this person, and why would they actually care about my brand or my product?
Aziza: It’s almost making a full circle in this conversation because maybe there’s some value in marketers and businesses taking the time to reflect, ultimately, as a whole, taking the time to step back, reflect, understand their values as a company, as a business, and look at what they want to go after, the dream that they have for reaching new customers. It’s kind of pulling all of that in and allowing themselves that time.
Mei: Exactly! I think that a mistake that a lot of companies make is really just going through the daily grind. Just writing a bunch of campaigns, churning out a bunch of dashboards, turning out a bunch of reports. I’m looking at so many different metrics like customer lifetime value, CTR, conversion rate, add-to-cart rate, all those metrics. At the end of the day, they’re just metrics. If you purely look at those, they’re great as indicators, but they will not tell you more than simply past actions. So I think there’s a huge opportunity, as you said, for companies to take a step back, reflect on truly which stage of need they are serving the consumers, and how to actually meet those needs in a way that is beyond transactional campaigns and just checking the box on the metrics.
Aziza: Are there any emerging trends that you are looking at now for the future?
Mei: Yeah, so this is my personal opinion because these are my personal interests. The first emerging trend is the marriage of marketing and AI. This is a trend that I actually started looking into five years ago. In fact, I even applied to a PhD program with the thesis of leveraging AI to solve the future of marketing. That was something that I already put my bet on five years ago, so that will continue to be a bet that I will make in the future. I think the way that marketing has been done and how it’s done with technology today has been fantastic. It has gotten a lot of businesses to where they are today and pushed the gap between brands and consumers. But I think in the next decade, AI will definitely change how marketing is done fundamentally and what it even means and how to do responsible marketing with AI in a way that is not invasive. So that’s something that I find super fascinating, and it is something I’m definitely going to continue to pay a lot of attention to as a trend and as a topic to learn more about.
The second trend that I am super interested in is around consumer behavior and consumer activities across borders. I think that a lot of us are focused on selling within our own borders. So if I’m selling something, I focus on selling in my country or in my region. But I think in the future, there will be a lot of activities and cross-border commerce between us, Southeast Asia, Asia, Middle East, etc., to bring the world together through commerce. So a lot of the trends that we see in Asia, I expect will get exported out to the US, and a lot of innovations that come from Southeast Asia, I also expect to leave Southeast Asia and continue to grow and make an impact outside of SE into other countries. So I think there will be a lot of cross-border activities and innovations happening, and that’s something that I’m really excited about.
Don’t forget to contact SmartOSC Fintech for more information on other technology issues!


text: Comparing Mortgage Terms Estimate the total cost in today's dollars of various mortgage alternatives. You are viewing this website at a small screen resolution which doesn't support calculators. Click here to view this calculator. Have A Question About This Topic? Name Email Address Message Thank you! Oops! Related Content Saving for College This calculator can help you estimate how much you should be saving for college. Should I Accept a Free Credit Lock? Learn the ins and outs of credit locks, freezes, and more. How to Retire Early Retiring early sounds like a dream come true, but it’s important to take a look at the cold, hard facts.