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The scenario is B&D with the main objective being the destruction of the AI enemy players. If you dislike B&D, stay away as this has noo other elements than that style of play. The scenario could have recieved a higher score, but the ease of victory makes playing the scenario almost a dull chore. It should have been harder to give the player something more to work for during the scenario, or failing better balance, it should have had more built into the gameplay. As it is, it plays much like a random map with the occasional dialogue. It is not unenjoyable, but is definitely an average scenario when it comes to enjoyment.
The scenario is not hard at all, even on hardest. The hero is so overpowered he can easily take out 3 of the enemies himself. The siege is the only challenge, but the player is given so much siege equiptment from the reinforcements in the west that that it is hardly even B&D. In fact one could win probably with just the units given if they micro managed well. This is dissapointing because the scenario was well set up, but the balancing simply was too easy.
3 of the enemies resign easily after their villagers are killed which takes 30 seconds each. I would expect a bit more of a fight from the enemy overall in this scenario, especially on hardest difficulty.
Still it does take a bit of time to win and requires some micro management, so I would not rate it as terrible balance, but rather as simply being too easy.
The scenario shows average creativity in its development and gameplay. That said, it isn't really possible to award much more than an average rating, as the conditions and gameplay are quite similar to an ES campaign. Basic B&D, with the small villages to claim for your own use and others to destroy, then the final larger enemy to take out. I would be very hard pressed to find something in this scenario to warrant a 4 or more. Things like music and sound files can help draw the player in and give your scenario a unique feel even if it is typical, but were missing in this scenario.
Map Design: 3
Slightly better than random in most areas, but not significantly. There is good city design and detailed areas, but elevetion is nonexistant, and terrain mixing is minimal at best. That said, the map still scores a 3 because it is nice enough looking and serves the scenario well enough, and does show some detailing in certain areas that are better than a pure click of a button to produce a random map. It is a good attempt, and some nice designing is used in areas like the city and graveyards, but the overall landscape is far to flat and uniform to warrant anything higher.
THe story is simple enough, the instructions well written, and the dialogue is satisfactory. The objectives can be at times confusing, and the story could have been presented far more in depth or with more feeling. Like the rest of the campaign, it is not bad by any means, yet the story does not do anything more than average anywhere. In that sense, I can not really give a score higher than 3.
Perhaps a winning cutscene (or oppening cutscene), could serve to draw the player into the story more. Also, some clearer instructions would help as well.
In all the scenario is average,and achieves an average rating. It is a good attempt free of glaring errors, but without anything unique or special anywhere to make it more than average. A good first scenario, I hope to see more from you.

domain: design


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Donated Books Provide A Lifeline To Prisoners
Prison can be a lonely place. One nonprofit is making a difference, allowing inmates to occupy their minds and learn.
This story is part of a bi-weekly series that celebrates people who are reaching across a divide to "build bridges" with others. The Sparkt Bridges series is made possible with the support of UPMC.
"When the prison gates slam behind an inmate, he does not lose his human quality; his mind does not become closed to ideas; his intellect does not cease to feed on free and open interchange of opinions; his yearning for self-respect does not end; nor is his quest for self-realization concluded." - The Honorable Justice Thurgood Marshall
In the basement of a community center in Pittsburgh, PA, there is a small, but rather impressive library which has a unique set of patrons: prisoners. Volunteers meet there two Sundays each month to organize its ever-growing inventory of donated books and to pack and ship selections to various prisons across Pennsylvania for free.
Preparing a book for shipping.Ryan Bergman/Sparkt
The effort is called Book 'Em, a nonprofit books-to-prisoners program that aims to improve the quality of life for people who are incarcerated by providing free access to educational materials, books, and resources. Prisoners who might not otherwise be able to receive books from friends or family on the outside are able to request books from Book 'Em donors.
Here's an inside look at what Book 'Em does, and how one prisoner says it's making a difference:
Since it was founded in 2000, Book 'Em has provided books to about 35,000 prisoners in Pennsylvania.
"I think we really learned what the significance of our program... is back in the fall of 2018, when the PA Department of Corrections actually banned our organization from being able to send in books," said Jodi Lincoln, one of the organizers at Book 'Em. They kept at it, because "we heard time and time again from people... that access to books for free was such a huge lifeline for them," said Jodi.
Jodi marshals her group of volunteers.Ryan Bergman/Sparkt
Luckily, public pressure helped overturn the ban on used books in the prisons, allowing Book 'Em to continue their support for prisoners like K. Kabasha Griffin-El, an inmate at State Correctional Institute (SCI) Somerset.
Kabasha used his access to books to start a prisoner peer support group called the Unit Literacy Group (ULG). The ULG describes itself as an "educational based recovery environment" that helps promote recovery and rehabilitation through literacy. It was made possible, in part, through support and educational materials sent by Book 'Em.
Volunteers keep the donated books organized and ready for shipping.Ryan Bergman/Sparkt
"It was just beautiful to see that everyone was excited about these books, this literature, that they were receiving from Book 'Em and it made them want to participate more," said Kabasha. "There was just something awesome about having someone like Jodi out there with Book 'Em and the rest of her crew there that believed in us."
"They were supporting us and that just means so much, not only to myself, but all of the men that participated in our group so far."
Kabasha's voice broke as he expressed his gratitude to the volunteers. "I just love volunteers," he said, "I just think that volunteers are the most beautiful people on the planet and when they're out there advocating for us, it just... it just... I'm at a loss for words, it makes me emotional."
The Sparkt Bridges Project is produced with the generous support of UPMC. Life Changing Medicine.

domain: library


A recent report found that New York City’s rents are continuing to decrease in the new year.
According to ApartmentList.com, during January 2021 New York City’s rents decreased by 0.6%. The report found that the city’s rents have been dropping for the past 13 months, marking a total decline of 21.2% over those months compared to this time last year. The last time rents declined was in December 2019.
Year over year, New York City rent growth has fallen by 8.4%, as well as the national average at -1.2%.
According to the report’s findings, the median rents in New York are $1,525 for a one-bedroom and $1,605 for a two-bedroom, the latter is higher than the national average, which is at $1,092 for a two-bedroom. The report notes that this is more expensive than other cities such as Houston, where the median price for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,071.
New York City wasn’t the only city to see declines over the past year — according to the report, many cities nationwide also saw decreases, including San Francisco, which fell 27%, Seattle, which is down 20%, and Boston, which is down 19.4%.
Read the full report on apartmentlist.com.


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Two waterfalls are used in the climax of the movie, both near Palenque, Mexico. The first is Misol Ha, just outside the village (beginning and end of the sequence), and the other is Agua Azul about an hour's drive away (the middle part of the sequence).
Jesse Ventura was delighted to find out from the wardrobe department that his arms were one inch bigger than Arnold Schwarzenegger's. He suggested to Schwarzenegger that they measure arms, with the winner getting a bottle of champagne. Ventura lost, because Schwarzenegger had told the wardrobe department to tell Ventura that his arms were bigger.
The film provided a variety of hardships for the actors, such as leeches, snakes, stifling humidity, heat, and rough terrain. All of the night scenes were filmed during freezing cold temperatures, which was especially hard on Arnold Schwarzenegger during the latter half of the film, when the mud he had to wear (actually pottery clay) became cold and wet. He was warned it would take his body temperature down a few degrees, and he shivered non-stop, even when they tried to heat him with lamps (it just made the clay dry out). He tried drinking jagertee, a schnapps mixture, to warm him, but that just got him drunk.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast to play the Predator, the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts to make the Predator an agile, ninja-Raquel Hunter. He was dropped for being too short, at 5'9"(Arnold Schwarzenegger and his team are bodybuilders who are between 6'2" and 6'5"). Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot, causing him to pass out. He also had allegedly voiced his reservations on numerous occasions regarding the fact he would not be appearing on camera without the suit. Additionally the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor was felt to not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by Kevin Peter Hall.
The Predator was first designed by a special effects company the studio picked to save money. Stan Winston later created the Predator for 1.5 million dollars. This other studio charged half that amount. Because of that, their Predator looked like someone in a lizard suit, with the head of a duck, according to Arnold Schwarzenegger. When Winston was brought in to redesign the Predator, the final fight scene had to be re-shot. The new Predator was 8-1/2 feet tall, but the re-cast Kevin Peter Hall was 7'2". The costume was heavy and off-balance, and Hall couldn't see with the mask on. Because of that, during the fight scene with Dutch, he actually did hit Schwarzenegger once.
Part of the shoot was forty-eight hours before Arnold Schwarzenegger's wedding rehearsal dinner. Jesse Ventura teased him about his nuptials, often ruining takes; John McTiernan was not amused. Schwarzenegger missed the final preparation, and Maria Shriver was not happy about that, because his mind was more on the film, instead of their wedding.
Peter Cullen was reluctant to take the job of voicing the Predator, as he injured his throat playing the title character of King Kong (1976), but eventually accepted, after seeing a picture of the unmasked creature.
The weapon that Blain (Jesse Ventura) is using is a minigun. This is a weapon most commonly mounted on the side of a helicopter and many, many modifications had to be made to make it usable in the film. It was powered via an electrical cable hidden down the front of Blain's trousers. The firing rate was slowed down to approximately one-third the normal rate of fire, both to reduce consumption of blanks, and to make the spinning of the barrels visible on film. It is rumored that Ventura had to wear a bulletproof vest, because of the forceful ejection of spent cartridges, but this is false. Unmodified miniguns eject out of the bottom, with the cases essentially falling out, due to gravity. Close examination of the film, especially the scene in which Mac fires the minigun at the fleeing predator, along with the other commandos, show that the ejection of the minigun was not changed.
Most of the cast and crew suffered from traveller's diarrhea, since the Mexican hotel in which they were living was having problems with water purification. The only ones who didn't get sick were Arnold Schwarzenegger and John McTiernan.
Shane Black hated the glasses he was given to wear as Hawkins. He wanted to wear authentic military-issue ballistic glasses, worn by actual troops in the field, but John McTiernan wanted him to look as geeky as possible.
The Sound Editors called the Predator's shoulder gun, the "Parrot Gun", because when it moved independent of the Predator while aiming, it reminded them of "Peter Sellers with a rubber parrot on his shoulder."
In an interview, Carl Weathers said the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3:00 a.m. to work out before the day's shooting. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him, and would work out only after the other actors were nowhere to be seen.
The famous clicking and gurgling sound the Predator makes throughout the movie was thought up by Peter Cullen. After the producers approached him to give the Predator "a voice", he was taken aback because he had no idea what something like that was suppose to sound like, not to mention that the producers were reluctant to show what the character was finally going to look like. They relented and showed him the design, and Cullen, who thought the Predator creature resembled a "horseshoe crab", remembered as a kid how if you turned one over they would "gurgle", and that became the Predator's "sound".
Due to health and safety regulations, Arnold Schwarzenegger was not allowed to light his cigar inside the helicopter near the beginning of the film. As a result the glow was added optically in post-production.
Because this was the first Predator movie, only the thermal vision and infrared vision was shown from the Predator's point of view (Predator 2 (1990) introduced many other vision modes for the Predator), but with good attention to details, you can get hints that the Predator has different vision modes, even in this movie. The Predator can obviously see and avoid the trip wires that are hidden everywhere in the forest (which would actually not be visible if the Predator only used thermal vision). The Predator can also see whether the soldiers are armed, indicating the Predator has a different vision mode to detect solid metal.
Hawkins was originally supposed to wear a distinctive red beret, most likely inspired by the U.S. Army's maroon airborne berets, worn by American paratroopers. Shane Black refused to wear it, as he thought it would look ridiculous in the jungle. He later regretted the decision, as he felt it would have made his character stand out.
The studio would not allow John McTiernan to shoot this film in anamorphic widescreen, due to the complexities of the optical effects. As a sly sort of retaliation, he added an anamorphic version of the film's opening 20th Century Fox logo, which looks noticeably stretched on-screen.
The studio's insurance company would not agree to insure the production unless a bodyguard was hired for Sonny Landham (Billy) - for the sole purpose of protecting people from Sonny. The bodyguard followed Sonny everywhere to ensure he didn't get into a fight, since he was well known to be violent and short tempered.
Carl Weathers joked in an interview that Arnold Schwarzenegger got him addicted to cigar smoking during filming. Arnold, famous for smoking cigars, offered one to Weathers, who initially declined because he was a non-smoker from his pro-football player days, but eventually gave in. Once Weathers had tried it, Arnold gave him an entire box of cigars. Weathers ended this part of the interview by looking to the camera and cheerfully declaring "Shame on you Arnold! Shame on you!"
Kevin Peter Hall stated in an interview that his experience on the film "wasn't a movie; it was a survival story for all of us." For example, in the scene where the Predator chases Dutch, the water was foul, stagnant and full of leeches.
Aliens (1986) was Jim Thomas and John Thomas's major inspiration behind this movie and Predator 2 (1990). This later led to the crossover "Alien Vs. Predator" comic books, video games, action figures and two "Alien Vs. Predator" feature films released in 2004 and 2007.
John McTiernan was keen to make the comrade banter between the soldiers as real as possible. To help this along, the cast trained together on location with weapons, fitness and a military training regimen that started at 6 a.m. every day, including training in the silent hand signals seen in the movie. He stated that "even though many of the cast had military backgrounds," he "wanted them all to get a chance to know each other, develop as a group, and endure something rough, and conquer it together."
Two of the actors portraying commandos besieged by the Predator have been elected to state governorships: Jesse Ventura (Independent) was elected Governor of Minnesota in 1998, and Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican) was elected Governor of California in a hotly-contested recall election in 2003. In addition, Sonny Landham (Republican) ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor of Kentucky in 2003. Landham and Ventura also sought to enter the Senate in 2008 in their states as, respectively, a Libertarian and an Independent. Both dropped out.
Maria Shriver discussed decoration plans concerning her and Arnold Schwarzenegger's new house with him over the phone, during filming. She later spent a couple of days on the set in Mexico. The stunt crew played a practical joke on the newly married couple, by putting frogs in their shower.
John McTiernan and Arnold Schwarzenegger lost twenty-five pounds during filming. Schwarzenegger's weight loss was a professional choice; McTiernan lost the weight because he avoided the food in Mexico, due to health concerns. Unlike McTiernan, most of the cast and crew suffered from traveler's diarrhea since the Mexican hotel in which they were living was having problems with water purification.
Although they were never mentioned in the final film, the full names of the main characters in the original script Were Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, Staff Sergeant George Dillon, Sergeant Mac Eliot, Sergeant Blain Cooper, Sergeant Billy Sole, Corporal Poncho Ramirez, and Corporal Rick Hawkins.
Third film in which Arnold Schwarzenegger wears a Seiko model H558-5009 diver's watch. Since nicknamed "The Arnold", it is highly sought-after by collectors, and regularly trades for values in excess of its original retail cost. Its distinctive black collar and stainless steel fittings suitably complement Schwarzenegger's exaggerated arm muscles in his early films.
The original "Hunter" model was a large creature with a long neck, a head shaped like a dog, and one big eye in the middle. This can be seen on the camouflage demos on the DVD. It was only when Stan Winston moved in that the complete design of the "Predator" changed, along with the title.
The map General Phillips uses to brief Dutch is a map of Brazil. The area that the map shows is a region known as "cerrado biome", in core areas with small and medium trees, wooded savanna, and gramineous-woody savanna. Given that, the big tropical forests with deep ravines and huge trees are geographically incorrect, once that featured region on the map is called Chapada das Mangabeiras, in the plateaus in the center of Brazil. This point is rendered moot, however, by the fact that the countries in which the film takes place are never identified in the course of the movie.
Joel Hynek, a Special Effects Supervisor, who directed the design of the Predator's camouflage effect, is the son of J. Allen Hynek Ph.D., who originated the "Close Encounter" hierarchy for categorizing interactions with aliens. Dr. Hynek was a Professor of Astronomy at Northwestern University.
Most of film was shot under the original title "Hunter". It was only later when the creature design was changed that the movie became "Predator". The clapperboards, showing the original title, can be seen in the outtakes on the Special Edition DVD.
During the closing credits, Shane Black is seen prominently displaying a copy of Sgt. Rock #408 (Feb. 1986). In the DVD commentary, John McTiernan notes that at the time, Arnold Schwarzenegger had an adaptation of Sgt. Rock in production, and that's why the comics were on-set, so he could read them. He described the scene where Dutch (Schwarzenegger) walks up to Billy (Sonny Landham), who senses the Predator's presence out in the bush, as a "Sgt. Rock moment".
It is alleged that in the early '90s, the Department of Defense tested a form of camouflage that used millions of fibre-optic cables to "mirror" the opposite side of the object to be hidden. They got the idea from this movie and Predator 2 (1990). The first time that people see the Predator in his cloak, he is reaching for the foot of one of Arnold's guys who just got wasted. The idea behind the camouflage was not to appear invisible, but to replicate what is on the opposite side. In the Department of Defense's test footage, when you look at the person wearing the camo (fiber-optic sheet), he or she simply appeared like a heat wave.
In the scene where the Special Forces team attack the village, the guerrilla, who gets blown up in the van, is played by Henry Kingi. Kingi would play Colombian Scorpions member "El Scorpio" in Predator 2 (1990).
The invisibility cloaking effect was achieved with a bright red suit (because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the Predator. The red was removed with chroma key techniques, leaving an empty area. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, the jungle from the second take filled in the empty area. Because the second take was filmed with a wider lens, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape.
The Predator costume weighed over two hundred pounds, and even though 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall was a large and powerful man, he had to be connected to a "bungie" rig, to enable him to move more believably.
The real life Goblin spider species Predatoroonops blain is named after Blain Cooper; every member of the Predatoroonops genus has a name that references Predator, due to the perceived similarity between the spiders mouthparts and the Predators mandibles.
Billy seems to have a sixth sense regarding the Predator, in the novelization however his powers go even further and he is said to be actively psychic, able to access the memories of his ancestors and the ancient Mayans who used to live in the jungle and can actively sense the Predators presence.
When the film was broadcast on ITV in the UK in 1991, some violent scenes in the film, and bad language, were cut for censorship, and for time: Mac warning Dillon that he'll bleed him, if he gives up his position again. The severing of Dillon's right arm, and his demise. The Predator ripping out Billy's skull and spine, and Dutch calling the Predator "One Ugly Motherfucker" when The Predator removes his mask.
Poncho's grenade launcher is an entirely fictional design, it was custom built out of parts from a Heckler & Koch HK94 (mainly the stock and pistol grip) and a six shot AN-M5 aircraft pyrotechnic discharger (a 37mm flare launcher).
The Walther PP pistol used by Anna is likely intended to stand in for the Makarov PM pistol, which looks somewhat similar and would be appropriate for a guerrilla force being supplied by the Soviet Union.
Originally the Jungle Hunter Predator had a very different much more elaborate Bio-Mask designed to mimic the creatures tribal aesthetic however Producer Joel Silver reportedly "hated it instantly" complaining that the complex design would lessen the effect when the Predator finally removes the mask to reveal its face. As a result, it was redesigned to be far more simple and plain. The original rejected mask prop was later reused for a hunter in Predator 2 (1990) and would go on to inspire the masks worn by Celtic in Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Scarface in the video game Predator:Concrete Jungle (2005). Several other pieces of the Jungle hunter outfit where similarly reuse for the ending of Predator 2 the body suit was recycled for Predator Elder Greyback while the Bio-Mask actually used in the first film was given to a Scout Predator.
Several weapons were proposed for the Predator but cut from the finished film, including a speargun (a projectile from which is glimpsed very briefly wounding Blain before he is killed) and a spear- these later resurfaced as the Speargun and the Combistick in Predator 2 (1990) another weapon designed for the creature, but not recycled in the second movie was a sword. Two swords were built from fiberglass and the weapon was actually incorporated into the first test suit, sheathed inside the Predators backpack. However it was removed when it was found the creatures head caught on the handle when Kevin Peter Hall turned to look around.
Additional visual effects, mainly for the opening title sequence of the Predator arriving on Earth, where supplied by Dream-Quest Images (Later Oscar winners for their work on The Abyss (1989) and Total Recall (1990).
The Predator/Prey Pack DLC for the video game Mortal Kombat X adds an alternate costume for the character Jax named "Carl Weathers" which has him gain Al Dillon's attire from Predator the alternate skin also replaces Jax's default dialogue with new dialogue recorded by Carl Weathers, additionally selecting the "Carl Weathers" skin for Jax and playing against Johnny Cage in the "Commando" skin will unlock a special loading screen in which Johnny Cage exclaims "You son of a Bitch" before he and Jax recreate the famous handshake between Weathers and Schwarzenegger from the beginning of Predator.
Rumors persist that Billy's death was originally filmed but cut from the movie because it was too violent; this is completely false, as Billy's demise was always intended to occur off-screen with his scream being the only indication of what happened to him. The sequence is similar to King Willie's death in Predator 2 (1990) whereby viewers see the build-up to the fight and it's aftermath, yet the battle itself occurs offscreen.
Dillon points out that both he and Dutch have lighters of some personal significance, while it's never clarified in the film, The novel states they obtained the lighters while part of a commando unit operating in Thailand.
The Predators head was built as a separate piece, and a total of 3 were created for the film,a "hero" head that was capable of facial articulation, a static stunt head and a head that was completely open at the front for use in scenes where the Predator is wearing its mask. The animatronic face on the hero head was controlled by a set of 9 servomotors that enabled motion of the brow area and mandibles, as well as "a cheek squint", an additional external servomotor was added later, hidden in the creatures backpack, to move the lower mandibles, which previously did not open as widely as intended. Kevin Peter Hall was able to puppeteer the creature's mouth with his own jaw, and wore contact lenses to finish the effect.
Jesse Ventura pulled a prank on Arnold Schwarzenegger by pouring water over himself while at the gym before Arnold arrived. Thinking that Ventura was drenched in sweat, Arnold believed that Ventura was working out longer than he usually did. He resolved to begin his workouts sooner. He and Ventura both started arriving earlier to one up each other until they both started to arrive at 4 am.
In the novelization of the film, The Predator is very different from the creature that appeared in the movie. In the book it is a shape-shifter, able to mimic any form it chooses just the slightest physical contact, and even capable of dissipating entirely, vanishing and becoming part of the blowing breeze. And its basic form it is a tall humanoid creature with crimson scaly skin and three fingered hands. It's only weapons are a telescoping spear that it throws (incidentally similar to the combistick from Predator 2) and a static spider web-like trap capable of shredding anything caught in it (similar to the net fired by the Netgun in Predator 2) instead of a cloak, the predator uses its shape-shifting ability and chameleon-like skin to hide the Predator is also able to possess any animal its chooses (but not humans, one of the reasons it is so interested in them.) It's blood is translucent and amber in color instead of green, although it still glows at night. The Predator does not kill men for sport, but rather out of curiosity; the way it horrifically mutilates its prey is merely an attempt to study and better understand humans. It does however keep trophies taken from those that it kills on board its ship.
Jesse Ventura (Blain) became the first actor ever to fire the M134 Minigun handheld, several actors have since joined this statistic, including fellow Predator star Arnold Schwarzenegger (Dutch) in Terminator 2 Judgment Day (1991) and Oleg Taktarov in Predators (2010)
When Dutch's right shoulder is wounded when The Predator shoots him with the shoulder cannon, if you watch the scene and look very closely, the Predator doesn't shoot Dutch in his right shoulder and shoots at Dutch's M16 with an underslung M203 grenade launcher. If the Predator had shot Dutch in the right shoulder, Dutch would had lost his right arm.
Aliens (1986) was cited as one of Jim and John Thomas's influences behind the film because it was about space marines battling against and being picked off one-by-one by deadly extra terrestrial creatures. In Predator 2 (1990) Harrigan (Danny Glover) discovers the skull of a Xenomorph in the Predator spaceship. The scene spawned crossover comic books, action figures and video games of Alien Vs. Predator and two feature films in 2004 and 2007.
Billy first senses the Predator after the attack on the guerrilla camp. However, this is not the result of a "sixth sense" or heightened state of awareness, which Billy demonstrates in a later segment. Rather, Billy hears the Predator mimic his own laugh that he had shared with Hawkins a few seconds before. If you listen closely, you will hear the Predator attempt to mimic the laugh somewhat quietly, which unnerves Billy immediately, causing him to look up toward the trees.
Dutchs main weapon is an AR-15/SP1 slab side M16 fitted with an M16A1 birdcage muzzle flash with an M203 launcher and a perforated forend for the M203, Dillon carries a Heckler and Koch HK94A3 (chopped and converted) as well as many members of the squad, Blaine's minigun "OI Painless" a handheld M134 which was modified for handheld use with an M60 handguard assembly installed beneath the barrels and a rear pistol grip, Mac weapon is an M60E3, Poncho carries a AN/M5 pyrotechnic discharger built from a Heckler and Koch HK94, Billy's weapon is a AR/SP1 fitted with an underbarrel Mossberg 500.
The 1994 arcade game Alien vs. Predator features a character named Dutch Schaefer as an homage to the character in the film. Additionally, Dutch Schafer in the game has a mechanical arm and is said to be a cyborg, likely a reference to Schwarzenegger's starring role in the Terminator series, particularly the second film which features a famous scene where Schwarzenegger strips the skin from his left arm, revealing the robotic structure beneath.
The ITV broadcast of the film in the UK in the early 1990s was edited for time and censorship: All 'F' words used in the film are missing. Mac saying to Dillon "You're ghosting us, mother..." is missing. Mac's graphic death scene is also edited and we don't see the big bloody hole in the back of Mac's head when The Predator shoots him in the head with the shoulder cannon. Dillon losing his arm when he is shot by the Predator with the shoulder cannon and his death when the Predator stabs him with his wristblades is also missing. The Predator pulling Billy's skull and spine out of his body is also missing and Dutch calling the Predator "You only ugly mother..." is also removed.
In the ITV broadcast of the film in the early 1990s, Dillon's arm decapitation and his death was cut from the broadcast. In the broadcast, it cuts from Dillon being shot by the Predator's shoulder cannon to Dutch, Anna, Poncho and Billy hearing Dillon scream in the next scene. The editing makes it look as if Dillon is killed instantly when the Predator shoots him with the shoulder cannon.
James Olson who worked with Schwarzenegger in Commando (1985) was offered the part of Gen. Phillips, but turned it down for fear of being typecast. He did however recommend his friend R.G. Armstrong for the part, and after got the role he called him and thanked him for the recommendation.
The theatrical trailer for Predator featured music from James Horner's compositions for Aliens (1986). The specific music used can be found on the Aliens soundtrack as Track 01 - Main Titles. The trailer also features unfinished, basic visual effects depicting magenta-colored heat signatures on some of the characters.
In the opening sequence the missing politician is referred to as a "cabinet minister". There is no such title in US government where members of the cabinet have the title of "secretary" ie Secretary of Defense, etc.
Fans sometimes refer to the self destruct device as a "Wrist-Nuke". However, it has never been clarified whether the device is actually nuclear in nature. This nickname more likely refers to the size and nature of the explosion itself, not necessarily its atomic effects
The M-203 grenade launcher mounted on Dutch's rifle was a custom made prop, not an actual grenade launcher. It was made by prop master John Zemansky for Scarface (1983) for the famous "Little Friend" scene. It was designed to fire blank 12 gauge shotgun shells to produce the muzzle flash. After Scarface wrapped Zemansky sold the prop to Stembridge gun rentals, it was rented for use in Predator. So the prop launcher has the distinction of being used on screen by both Al Pacino and Arnold Schwarzenegger- albeit mounted on different rifles.
Before Blaine gets killed by the predator with it's plasmacaster, blood appears on his neck-shoulder, its revealed on the commentary that the Predator initially tried to kill him with its Speargun, but only grazing his shoulder resulting in the predator using his plasmacaster.
During a confrontation scene with Dillon, Dutch mentioned that his crew were "not expendables". As of 2014, none of the actors who played Dutch's crew appeared in any of the three Expendables film unlike Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who appeared in all of them.
Dutch covers himself in mud to screen his body heat, and then hides in a tree to ambush the Predator. In the Christopher Pike novel, The Eternal Dawn, the lead character Alisa, who is a vampire, does the same with an unknown assailant, except with leaves as well.
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bill Duke both previously starred in another 20th Century Fox action film Commando (1985) which in that film John Matrix (Arnold) is a retired elite commando and Cook (Bill) is a renegade Ex Green Beret. Bill Duke went on record in an interview that he got along with Arnold Schwarzenegger when they worked together on that film.
3 years after the film's release, Jesse Ventura and Sven-Ole Thorsen starred in the sci-fi film Abraxas: Guardian of the Universe (1990). Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered the title role but turned it down to do Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Jesse Ventura took the role.
Each members role of Dutch rescue team; Billy (Sonny Landham), Scout and Tracker; (2) Mac (Bill Duke), Sergeant, 2nd in command/Assault; (3) Poncho (Richard Chaves), Demolitions Engineer/Translator (possibly medic); (4) Hawkins (Shane Black), Radio Operator (possible medic); and (5) Blain (Jesse Ventura), Heavy Weapon Support.
Was originally titled, 'The Predator' until they changed it to just 'Predator'. 'The Predator' would go on to become the name of the upcoming sequel directed by Shane Black who was also in the original film.
In the final season of the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (1963) (TV Series) The series title protagonist The Doctor (Sylvester McCoy) and his companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) find themselves on a hostile wilderness planet inhabited by a race of extra terrestrial hunters called The Cheeta People. Sylvester McCoy's first appeared as The 7th version of The Doctor the same year Predator (1987) was released. The Predator happens to be an extra terrestrial hunter.
After the ITV broadcast of Commando (1985) in the early 1990s, a trailer of Predator (1987) was shown, which a voiceover is heard saying "Next Saturday, an elite army squad are being hunted by a ruthless enemy.... Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator. Next Saturday at 9:40pm."
The trivia items below may give away important plot points.
The black helicopter pilot seen at the end of the movie is Kevin Peter Hall, the actor who plays the Predator. John McTiernan gave him the brief on-screen role, because his "work as Predator was so exhausting."
According to the Xenopedia - The Alien vs Predator wiki website. Following his last stand against the Predator, Dutch was suffering from radiation sickness due to the Predator setting off his self-destruct device. At the hospital where he was hospitalized, Peter Keyes of the OWLF interviewed Dutch about his encounter with the Predator. But, Dutch escaped from the hospital and vanished.

domain: entertainment


text:
Thursday, March 10, 2011
WHAT IS MY PASSION
I was moved and determined within myself that out of the 1000 kids that are on the streets, maybe I can save one or two.
In 2010, I officially opened a home for 12 kids, the youngest is just 2 and the oldest is 13. My target is not the quantity, but the quality. So far, God has enabled me to provide these kids with some of the basic things they need in life, such as:
4: MEDICAL INSURANCE
But most of all these kids need LOVE. Every child has a right to be loved and cared for. I am happy that I am able to send the love I have never been given back for the better and for the a glory of GOD.
PLEASE; SAVE ONE

domain: sociology


text:
As we all know, James Wan said he wouldn’t be directing the next Conjuring movie due to some prior commitments. The project has been given to Michael Chaves who successfully impressed Wan and other member of the Conjuring Universe. The makers released its new look through a creepy poster on Wednesday followed by the trailer launch on Thursday.
The Curse of La Llorona will release on April 19, 2019.
As stated by James Wan, who directed the last two parts of the series said that the third movie, The Curse of La Llorona will be based in 1980s and it might include a lycanthropy (a human with capability to shapeshift into a wolf.)
Wan added in his statement about his knowledge of the film, "Maybe we can go and do it like a classic American Werewolf in London style. That would be awesome! The Warrens set against the backdrop of The Hound of Baskerville.That would be awesome." However, the new poster was recently revealed which says, “She wants your children.”
The film is said to be inspired by the Mexican legend of the Weeping Woman the ghost of a mother who lost her children, and is an evil soul that preys on the loves of little kids in this sequel. The Curse of La Llorona stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velasquez, Marisol Ramirez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen and Roman Christou. We cannot wait to watch this ominous movie’s trailer. It is surely going to be terrifying.
The Curse of La Llorona is all set to release on April 19, 2019.


text:
This movie is amazing, really good plot & great acting. Definitive sample of 5/5 movie. The movie is an extraordinary piece of the moviemaking top class. There is no character in this movie that does not fit in. Superb directing by Terrence Arlyn - brilliant dialogues scenes. I loved all of the actors, even the enemies of the main character. I loved Last Shot from the first sight. You've got to watch Last Shot online on FMovies and finally understand why Last Shot is one of the best movie of all time. Last Shot is a living masterpiece. This movie is an art, at it's very best form.... Show more
What happens in Last Shot
The young man from prison with a chance published to turn his life. But the roads have not changed since he left, and the same hatred, sadness, fear, and on the other side of the wall waiting for him. Will he ever be free?
Watch Last Shot (2020) Online Free on FMovies
Watch Last Shot (2020) Online Free. Last Shot is one of the best movies available in HD quality and with English subtitles for free. Highly anticipated Movie featuring: Shanice Brooks, Terrence Arlyn, Cody N. Carter and others. Produced by Terrence Arlyn in United States. Last Shot is one of the greatest Drama Movies.

domain: artistic


text:
You can create your particular Transaction in demo mode by passing a flag. This is useful for testing, especially during integration.
For demo transactions, no payment is being processed. Demo transactions can be filtered and excluded in SecuOffice.
The demo mode is a boolean value:
true: The Smart Transaction is marked as demo transaction. The payment is not processed.
false: The Smart Transaction is handled as a productive one. The payment will be processed.
The default value is false, a productive transaction.
There can be different payment methods configured for demo and production. If a particular payment method is available in production mode, it must not necessarily be in demo mode, and vice versa.

domain: finance


An industrial gas turbine is a combustion engine that uses natural gas or liquid fuels to generate mechanical energy that powers an integrated generator, generating electricity. Traditional gas- and oil-fired steam power plants have been phased out to favor more efficient combined-cycle power plants that use gas turbines to generate electricity. The global need for electricity is increasing, as is the demand for clean energy, which are two significant reasons predicted to drive global market growth from 2022 to 2029.
Market Size Growth Rate:
According to the research report published by the DataM Intelligence, the North America Industrial Gas Turbine MRO was valued at USD YY Million in 2021; it is projected to reach USD YY Million by 2029, with growth at a CAGR of YY% over the forecast period 2022-2029. The demand for turbine maintenance, repair and overhaul has increased due to increased investment in various power plants. The growing natural gas network in North America opens up new potential for turbines in various industries. Furthermore, the North America industrial turbine MRO market is expected to benefit from increased spending in oil and gas exploration operations in the forecast period.
The increasing regional urbanization and industrialization are major drivers of the industrial gas turbine MRO market. Over the previous few years, there has been a tremendous increase in North America energy demand. It has resulted in significant investment in gas turbine power plants. The gas turbine MRO sector is reliant on gas turbine sales.
Significant investments have been made in solar and wind-based power generation in North America for the past few years. These systems are both cost-effective and low-maintenance. Rising investment in renewable energy sources is projected to constrain the industry during the forecast period.
The reduction in natural gas demand in the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 outbreak has severely affected the market growth for the industrial gas turbine MRO market in North America. According to the recently issued Natural Gas Annual, natural gas production and consumption in U.S. fell in 2020 due to mild winter weather and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on demand. In U.S., less natural gas was consumed, lowering costs; the annual Henry Hub spot price for 2020 was US$ 2.03 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), the lowest annual price since 1997. However, low costs helped boost natural gas exports and consumption in the electric power industry to new highs in 2020.
Growing power generation plants in North America are expected to create great potential opportunities for growth in the industrial gas turbine MRO market. For instance, there were 23,417 electric generators at approximately 11,070 utility-scale electric power plants in U.S. as of December 31, 2020. Utility-scale power plants have a total nameplate capacity of at least 1 megawatt energy generating (MW). A power plant may include one or more generators, each consuming different fuel types. Furthermore, there are over 3,400 fossil fuel-fired power plants in U.S.
According to statistics collected by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), many fossil fuel-fired power stations (particularly coal-fired power plants) have stated plans to retire between now and 2030. Natural gas-fired power facilities and renewable energy sources like wind and solar will likely replace this production capacity. Closing big fossil-fuel-fired plants can have immediate and long-term consequences for their communities. They should be considered when assessing a community’s future vulnerability to environmental justice concerns. Thus growing replacement of coal-based power plants with natural gas-fired power plants is expected to build market growth opportunities for the industrial gas turbine MRO market in the forecast period.
COVID-19 Impact Analysis
The outbreak of COVID-19 has shown a mild effect on the market share of the industrial gas turbine MRO market; however, the government has taken various measures to repair the damage caused by the virus to the industry. Furthermore, Power plant owners in U.S. continue to adjust procedures at their plants, including delaying regular maintenance due to the coronavirus pandemic’s lockdowns. The lockdown has impacted many corporations, including Siemens and General Electric (GE), major makers of industrial gas turbines and power plant service providers. Big companies are already suffering revenue losses owing to COVID-19.
The presence of many established players in the gas turbine market makes the threat of rivalry high, challenging the market growth for the product in the region. However, few numbers of large players dominate the market. However, the strong foundation of locally operating service providers makes the market more fragmented and competitive on a national level. In addition, the market’s growth has been challenged by an increasing move toward renewable energy sources like solar and wind for power generation, a lack of trained workforce retention and the enhanced durability of modern gas turbines.
Recent Developments in the Industry:
On November 12, 2020, GE offered additional repair services to the PT GE Nusantara plant by building turbine blade competence within the plant and increasing the overall center capacity of the plant electricity generation.
As per the research analysis, the Industrial Gas Turbine MRO market in North America is segmented by service type into maintenance, repair and overhaul. By end-user into frame and aeroderiavtive. By engine type LM6000, LM2500, TM2500, LMS100, FT4000 SWIFTPAC, FT8 MOBILEPAC and others.
1. Frame: The frame gas turbines are used for power generation, a crucial industry since any downturn in power generation can lead to losses of Million. Countries like U.S. and Canada are heavily dependent on electricity production from gas. Any downtime in gas turbines can lead to the shutdown of manufacturing units, resulting in company losses.
2. Aeroderivative- The gas turbines category includes oil and gas and peak power generation applications. In oil and gas, corrosion is due to high mineral content in air and liquids. Shale gas will grow fastest in oil and gas due to increased production in U.S. and Canada. Shale gas is already largest in North America in unconventional gas production, followed by tight gas and coal bed methane. Investment in deepwater oil platforms is growing owing to increased investment in the Gulf of Mexico, near U.S. states, including Texas, Louisiana and others.
According to the report, the North America Industrial Gas Turbine MRO market is segmented into the major countries, i.e., U.S., Canada, & Mexico.
North America Industrial Gas Turbine MRO Market:
North America industrial gas turbine MRO market is expected to record significant growth during the forecast period. It is due to an aging fleet of gas turbines in the region. Moreover, requirements to maintain operational proficiency and severe emissions regulatory standards, specifically power plants, are expected to be the key development factors for the market. The budding demand for cleaner energy from gas turbines than coal-fired plants safeguards the environment from harmful gases. These factors are attributed to the growth of the North American Gas Turbines MRO Market. North American region is swiftly adopting the gas-fired power plants to align with the environmental protection and to abide by the industrial gases emission standards
U.S.: With increased environmental issues in the country due to industrialization, the shift to clean energy generation from gas turbines has gained traction. The country’s aviation industry is likewise growing, with 1717.1 Million revenue passenger-kilometers flown in domestic and international sectors in 2008 and 2428 Million revenue passenger-kilometers flown in domestic and international sectors in 2018. As practically all modern airplanes use gas turbines for motive power for jet propulsion, this has generated a major market for gas turbine MRO in the country.
Canada: The country remained the lowest market shareholder for industrial gas turbine MRO among the mentioned North America countries. However, Canada’s industrial gas turbine MRO demand is expected to improve in the forecast period with increasing power plant units in the country.
Mexico: The rising shift of Mexico towards the adoption of renewable energy sources to overcome the growing electricity demand is expected to boost the popularity of the industrial has turbine MRO market in the forecast period.
The major players are adopting several growth strategies such as product launches, innovative technologies, acquisitions and collaborations, contributing to the growth of Industrial Gas Turbine MRO in the North America market. For example, in 2020, GE offered additional repair services to the PT GE Nusantara plant by building turbine blade competence within the plant and increasing the overall center capacity of the plant electricity generation.
Some of the key companies contributing to the market’s growth include GENERAL ELECTRIC, Fluor Corporation, Mechanical Dynamics & Analysis LLC, Bechtel Corporation and Solar Turbines Incorporated.
The Full Report has the below insights.
The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market in terms of Market Value (US$ ) and Y-o-Y Growth Rates (%). It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data (2020-2021) and verifiable market size projections (2022-2029).
Visualize the composition of North America Industrial Gas Turbine MRO market segmentation by type, engine type, end-user and country, highlighting the key commercial assets and players.
By Type: Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
By Engine Type: LM6000, LM2500, TM2500, LMS100, FT4000 SWIFTPAC, FT8 MOBILEPAC and others
By End-User: Frame and Aeroderivative
By Country: U.S., Canada, Mexico
Identify commercial opportunities in North America industrial gas turbine MRO Market by analyzing trends and co-development deals.
The report also covers data insights on various industry forces such as porter’s five forces, regulations in each country, reimbursement scenario, technological advancements, PEST analysis and pricing analysis.
Excel data sheet with thousands of North America industrial gas turbine Market-level 4/5 segmentation data points.
PDF report with the most relevant analysis cogently put together after exhaustive qualitative interviews and in-depth market study.
Product mapping in excel for the key product of all major market players
The report will provide access to approximately 50+ market data tables, 40+ figures and close to 180 pages.
DataM Intelligence 4Market Research is a market intelligence platform that gives access to syndicated, customized reports and consulting to its clients in one place. As a firm with rich experience in research and consulting across multiple domains, we are a one-stop solution that will cater to clients’ needs in key business areas. DataM Intelligence has an online platform whose coverage includes industries such as chemicals and materials, agriculture, health care services, animal feed and food & beverages, among others. Our platform has Insights into markets that uncover the latest market research data distinct from the competition. With coverage across ten major industries in the marketplace research, DataM Intelligence benefits thousands of companies by helping them take their innovations early to the market by providing a complete view of the market with statistical forecasts. Our strategy-centric framework and value-added services will give individuals and corporates easy access and custom personalization to research and markets.
Company Name: DataM Intelligence
Contact Person: Sai
Email: Send Email
Phone: +1 877 441 4866
Country: United States


text:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wants to protect users from their mobile devices. The organization has released a new guide designed to improve the security of mobile devices.
While mobile applications have helped businesses increase productivity through real-time communication and connectivity, the benefits don’t outweigh the risks that can come with it, according to the NIST.
“Despite the benefits of mobile apps, however, the use of apps can potentially lead to serious security issues,” the NIST wrote in its report, “Vetting the Security of Mobile Applications.” “This is so because, like traditional enterprise applications, apps may contain software vulnerabilities that are susceptible to attack. Such vulnerabilities may be exploited by an attacker to gain unauthorized access to an organization’s information technology resources or the user’s personal data.”
To help protect mobile devices from application vulnerabilities, the NIST said organizations should have an app vetting process that includes app testing and app approval/rejection to determine if the application meets an organization’s security requirements.
“This process is performed on an app after the app has been developed and released for distribution but prior to its deployment on an organization’s mobile device,” the NIST wrote. “An app vetting process acknowledges the concept that someone other than the software vendor is entitled to evaluate the software’s behavior, allowing organizations to evaluate software in the context of their own security policies, planned use, and risk tolerance.”
In order to start a vetting process, organizations must develop security requirements, understand the limits of the process, and set aside a budget and staff to perform the vetting.
The process begins with an administrator or analyzer testing the application, according to the NIST. Not only should the analyzer establish a report detailing any bugs discovered, but he or she should also assess the probability of the bugs being exploited and the impact it would have on a device or network.
“Organizations should not assume that an app has been fully vetted and conforms to their security requirements simply because it is available through an official app store,” the NIST wrote. “Third-party assessments that carry a moniker of ‘approved by’ or ‘certified by’ without providing details of which tests are performed, what the findings were, or how apps are scored or rated, do not provide a reliable indication of software assurance.”
After an application goes through testing, it must then go through an approval or rejection process, according to the NIST. Within this process, an auditor analyzes the bug report and risk assessment and evaluates the criteria to establish whether or not the application violates any of the organization’s security requirements. Based on the auditor’s recommendation, an approver (another high-level member of the organization) determines whether to not an application should be deployed.
“If an app is approved by the approver, the administrator is then permitted to deploy the app on the organization’s mobile devices,” wrote the NIST.
In addition, the report detailed types of software vulnerabilities and testing methods that can be used to detect them.
“Ultimately, the acceptance of an app depends on the organization’s security requirements, which, in turn, depend on the environment in which the app is deployed, the context in which it will be used, and the underlying mobile technologies used to run the app,” wrote the NIST.

domain: news


text:
Personalized scarf.. put a verse or favorite quote on it.. I love that it's kind of illegible to others but you would always know what it said. This would be a cool gift!
DIY quote scarf
How to Make a Inspired Poem Script Scarf DIY TUTORIAL Fabric Markers and Scarf
Amy Waltz Designs (AWD) Boho Chic Jewelry
50 Great Inspirational And Motivational Quotes
Inspirational Quotes for both men and women to live by.
I want to make this.
100 Inspirational Quotes For Girls On Strength And Confidence
jersey braided scarf...great instructions!
DYI & Craft Ideas
DIY: circle scarf


Things are so easy when you break the down by the numbers, and that is what Jeff Murdock does every…
Orton Engineers Purdue Victory Over Illinois
Ron Turner's Illini (2-2 overall, 0-1 conference) hurt themselves by fumbling an end-around on their first play from scrimmage. The Boilermakers (3-0, 1-0) recovered the ball at the Illinois 5-yard line. Three plays later, Orton hit Taylor Stubblefield for a 2-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead.
Illini receiver Ade Adeyamo, who bobbled the handoff from returning quarterback Jon Beutjer, broke his left fibula on the play and will be out from six to eight weeks.
The offenses went back and forth trading blows and the Illini took over for their final drive at their own 14-yard line and needing to score a touchdown and a two-point conversion in under a minute. On the second play of the drive, Beutjer was hit and fumbled the ball away to the Boilermakers, who recovered the ball near the goal line and ran out the clock to end the game.
In his first action since the UCLA game two weeks ago, Beutjer tossed three touchdowns to Illini receivers. The Illini signal caller connected with Anthony McClellan (five yards) and Jason Davis (two yards and 26 yards) for scores. Beutjer was 22 of 37 passing for 215 yards and no interceptions.
A bevy of Illinois running backs helped the Illini out gain Purdue on the ground, 175 yards to 149 yards. E.B. Halsey was the leading rusher for Illinois with 83 yards on 15 carries. Jason Davis ran the ball eight times for 77 yards and Pierre Thomas also had eight attempts for 48 yards. Thomas returned three punts for 121 yards, with a long return of 72 yards.
The leading receiver for Illinois was Kendrick Jones, who caught four passes for 75 yards.
Adding to the Illinois scoring were kickers Jason Reda and Steve Weatherford. Reda hit field goals from 22 and 24 yards out, while Weatherford was good from 48 yards away. The Boilermakers blocked a 45-yard field goal attempt by Weatherford.
Illinois' defense had their hands full all day with Heisman Trophy candidate Orton. The Boilermakers offense gained a total of 515 yards in the game. Orton completed 32 of 50 pass attempts for 366 yards. Orton has not been intercepted this season. Orton also scored on a one-yard touchdown run.
Stubblefield was Orton's favorite target with 11 catches for 115 yards and three touchdowns. Brandon Jones caught seven passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. Jones also toted the ball 15 times for 77 yards.
The Illini, who proved they can compete with a top-Big Ten team, will get another chance next week. Illinois hits the road for the first time this season and will face Wisconsin in Madison. The Badgers defeated Penn State on Saturday to improve their record to 4-0.
IlliniPlaybook.com Recommended Stories
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Transportable tire inflators have been all around for a even though, but a new unit known as Capsule guarantees to alter anything, from the way you use these types of a products to the attribute lineup you ordinarily assume.
Coming with a 2,600 mAh battery that can be recharged by means of a USB-C port, this system is reported to be “effective plenty of to inflate 4 car tires, 8 motorbike tires, 28 bike tires, and 50 basketballs,” in accordance to the parent firm.
And of course, it also arrives with numerous extras that unquestionably appear in useful, in particular for motorists.
For illustration, there’s an Lcd display that signifies the recent force in the tire it also has an automobile-quit functionality to arrive at a preset pressure amount. In other words and phrases, you configure Capsule to inflate your tire to a distinct level, and the device then requires care of anything for you, as it is able of halting the approach quickly when it reaches the outlined threshold.
The system gives up to 150 psi (10.38 bar) and is geared up with a series of diverse nozzles to inflate not only tires but also balls. It also supports DC ability when it is jogging reduced on battery and integrates a flashlight that you can use in lower mild.
At 1st look, Capsule seems to be and feels a good deal like MOJIETU, a related product that was announced back again in the summer time of 2020 and also came with a crafted-in battery for additional portability.
On the other hand, for now, Capsule is even now in the project phase, with the gadget to go reside on Indiegogo for crowdfunding support instead quicker than later.


text:
Evercore ISI Downgrades Yelp (YELP) to In Line
- Wall Street ends week positively; S&P 500, Dow hit record highs
- Bitcoin (BTC) Drops 3% as Turkey Bans Cryptocurrency Payments Citing Lack of Regulatory Supervision
- Morgan Stanley (MS) Archegos-Related Loss Appears to be $911M
- Dollar at 4-week low on retreating Treasury yields
Evercore ISI analyst Lee Horowitz downgraded Yelp (NYSE: YELP) from Outperform to In Line.
Shares of Yelp closed at $41.53 yesterday.
You May Also Be Interested In
- UPDATE: Morgan Stanley Downgrades Goodyear Tire & Rubber (GT) to Equalweight
- Seaport Global Securities Downgrades Sonoco Products (SON) to Neutral
- UPDATE: KeyBanc Downgrades Splunk (SPLK) to Sector Weight on Compounding 2021 Transition Risks

domain: economics


text:
High-Resolution, Full Color Images Available Online
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Page 70 text:
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SPENCE AND NEWHALL
This studio has photographed A. H. S. Seniors for over twenty-five
years with few exceptions.
The reason for this is good work, promptness and satisfaction.
Class Photographers for the Class of 1926
100 Main Street Northampton
H. E. KINSMAN '
Specialist in College
and School Photography
JAMES A. LOWELL
Page 69 text:
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Suggestions in the Amherst Regional High School - Goldbug Yearbook (Amherst, MA) collection:
Are you trying to find old school friends, old classmates, fellow servicemen or shipmates? Do you want to see past girlfriends or boyfriends? Relive homecoming, prom, graduation, and other moments on campus captured in yearbook pictures. Revisit your fraternity or sorority and see familiar places. See members of old school clubs and relive old times. Start your search today!
Looking for old family members and relatives? Do you want to find pictures of parents or grandparents when they were in school? Want to find out what hairstyle was popular in the 1920s? E-Yearbook.com has a wealth of genealogy information spanning over a century for many schools with full text search. Use our online Genealogy Resource to uncover history quickly!
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text:
We are The Baby Loss Counselling Charity and we are here to support you as a Healthcare Professional who is working with families experiencing trauma and/or loss from pregnancy and/or birth. We are offering you free support for your own emotional wellbeing, in order to better support the families that you work with.
Your Hospital Trust / Organisation has invested in supporting you through this specialist counselling service. This is a confidential space for you to begin to process some of the feelings and experiences you have because of the nature of your work.
We know that there are huge benefits for everyone in talking to a specialist counsellor who really understands trauma, grief and baby loss as well as the working environment that you are based in. We very much hope that you feel supported through this service.

domain: psychology


text:
The University of Massachusetts Amherst has named Clem Clay as director of the UMass Extension Agriculture Program, a 110-year old educational outreach program that serves farmers, landscape and turf professionals, fruit growers, arborists, nursery owners, flower growers, service providers, public agencies, non-profit organizations and businesses.
Extension in Central Massachusetts
About Central Massachusetts
The central region of Massachusetts is composed of Worcester County. The largest city in the region is Worcester.
The 70th annual Worcester County 4-H Fair returned for a second year to the fairgrounds on Old Coldbrook Road, in Barre. Nearly 300 4-H exhibitors from 4-H clubs across Worcester County, neighboring counties and New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island were on hand as clear skies and cool, dry air carried an early hint of fall, providing ideal weather for fairgoers. Extension 4-H Youth Development Program assistant director Linda Horn and CAFE Assistant Director William Miller made opening remarks.
“Six streets in search of a stoplight,” they call the spot where Madison, Green, Harding, Water, Millbury and Vernon streets converge without benefit of stoplight or central rotary in Worcester. Michael DiPasqalue, licensced architect and urban planner who directs the UMass Design Center in Springfield, weighs in on the design of this unique intersection. (Telegram 10/15/18)
Katie Campbell-Nelson, vegetable specialist with UMass Extension, comments on this year's difficult growing conditions in the central part of Massachusetts. Worcester Telegram & Gazette, August 16 2018.
This year, the USDA is expecting about 46 million pounds of apples, the highest mark in 10 years. "There will be lots of apples and they'll be big," said Jon Clements, UMass Fruit Extension program. (Worcester Business Journal 9/18/17)
Wesley Autio, director of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and professor of pomology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said moisture, sun and temperature have been ideal this summer for peaches and apples. (Telegram 8/23/17)
When Joe Elkinton worries about gypsy moths, it is time everyone else in Massachusetts does, too. Elkinton is a professor of environmental conservation at UMass Amherst and an expert on this pest. Recently he observed, “I would say almost surely this is the largest outbreak we’ve seen since 1981. This is unprecedented. It’s been 35 years. Defoliation caused by gypsy moth Lymantria dispar has occurred over this summer, in many parts of Massachusetts and the rest of New England.”
A winter of extreme warmth and cold, combined with recent roller-coaster conditions, could reduce this year’s apple crop, and will more than likely result in a much smaller peach crop, according to fruit growers looking out this week on snow-covered orchards. UMass tree fruit experts offer observations. Worcester Telegram and Gazette, 4/5/2016, WFCR/NEPR, 4/5/2016

domain: agronomy


Small Portable Chiller for UV Laser Marking Machine
Water Chiller Manufacturer
16 Years Experience
Wholesale water chiller, stable refrigeration performance ,ISO, CE,RoSH,REACH approval
High precision small portable chiller CWUL-05 has the temperature stability of ?0.2℃ and it is specially designed for cooling 3W-5W UV laser of UV laser marking machine. It is produced by Guangzhou Teyu Electromechanical Co., Ltd (also known as S&A), a professional China-based chiller unit manufacturer with 16-year experience.
With temperature stability of ?0.2℃, the water temperature fluctuation of closed loop industrial chiller CWUL-05 is pretty small, which can help maintain stable laser output of UV laser.
High precision small portable chiller CWUL-05 is charged with refrigerant R-134a and it produces little noise when it is working, so it is an environmental friendly chiller. Besides, high precision small portable chiller CWUL-05 is equipped with intelligent temperature controller which offer two temperature control modes as constant & intelligent temperature control mode.
Under constant temperature mode, users can set a fixed value manually according to their own need. However, under intelligent temperature mode, the water temperature will adjust itself according to the change of the room temperature (usually the water temperature is a few degree celsius lower than the room temperature), which offers great convenience for the users.
Guangzhou Teyu Electromechanical Co., Ltd.


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(as of [price_update_date] – Details)
Purplebone professionally formulated oatmeal shampoo is designed for your weekly/ biweekly washes, a classic shampoo for general use. As used in our expert London dog grooming parlours est. 2010.
This spa approved oatmeal and coconut dog shampoo will effectively:Lather up to clean away dirt and unwanted oils; Soothe sensitive skin; Hydrate dryness to moisturise; Deodorise nasty smells; Helps protect skin from exterior exposure.
Several coconut properties work with water to effectively rinse any unwanted dirt and grease from the hair.
Oatmeal helps to form a protective barrier on the skin to hold in moisture, this hydration then eases inflammation. A method which has been used for thousands of years. Oatmeal dog shampoo will keep your dog’s coat healthy for extended periods of time.
Coconut, oatmeal & other very important ingredients deliver critical nutrients to moisturise the hair and skin for an extended period of time.
Free from any harsh chemicals or detergents!
Recommended Use – This concentration is 15 parts water to 1 part shampoo. This yields 7.5 litres of diluted shampoo. That’s about 8 washes for large dog breeds (940ml of diluted shampoo per wash); and 16 washes for small dogs (470ml of diluted shampoo per wash). Apply diluted to your dog’s wet coat and leave for 5 mins. Rinse the coat thoroughly, towel dry, and then gently brush. 24 Month Shelf Life.
10 Years of Dog Grooming
At Purplebone we have successfully and effectively groomed thousands of dogs, since first opening our dog grooming parlours & retail stores in 2010. Of the many, this has included Royal corgis, footballers spaniels, musicians Pomeranians, to name a few. With the many many years of combined experience and extensive understanding for caring for dog’s hair, we are now proudly offering our shampoo for home use.
❤ TENDER LOVING CARE: Oatmeal will bind to skin to form a protective barrier, which then helps moisturise to ease inflammation. It will keep your puppy’s coat healthy and smelling great for long periods. The coconut blends with water to rinse away dirt & grease from hair, and to protect your dogs from sun damage!
🚿 HOW TO USE: This concentration is 15 parts water to 1 part shampoo. This yields 7.5 litres of diluted product. Apply diluted to your dog’s wet coat and leave for 5 mins. Rinse your pet thoroughly, towel dry, and then gently brush.
✔ IN THE BOTTLE: You’ll receive a 500ml bottle of professional concentrated doggy shampoo with a 24 month shelf life. Our pooch shampoo range is people tested & pet approved. Formulas are pH balanced; cruelty-free; tear free; paraben free; and free from any harsh chemicals or detergents.
🦴 ABOUT PURPLEBONE: At Purplebone, we care about the wellbeing of your pets. That’s why, since 2010 we have provided superior dog grooming services across London, and high-quality lifestyle products to promote and support healthy dogs. Our hand-selected treats are not just indulgent snacks, they’re natural, ethical and locally sourced, and help to support a healthy, well-balanced diet.

domain: pet


text:
At 23, I thought I was entering into marriage without any veils of illusion or idealism, understanding that love runs far deeper than emotion. Yet there’s an undyingly romantic part of my heart that still expected married life would be a constant adventure.
I found myself surprised, then, when several months into our vocation my husband and I both found ourselves...restless. We were far from family and seeking community, eating similar meals each week, watching The Office every night. Even as we savored the newlywed days of discovering what our life together would look like, we searched for a sense of direction.
We craved routine, but didn’t want to be bored. We knew we weren’t one another’s ultimate earthly fulfillment, yet still desired to feel fulfilled.
Have you experienced a relationship rut like this? Maybe your own sense of restlessness has looked like mine, in the form of seeking more variety in your newlywed life after the activity-filled periods of your wedding planning and honeymoon. Maybe it’s a lack of quality time together in seasons of travel, deployment, or new parenthood.
While I can attest to the benefits of resisting idleness, pursuing new hobbies together, and establishing meaningful morning and bedtime routines, I also encourage you not to push your restlessness aside, eager to fill it and move on. Instead, lean into your sense of hunger. Ask yourself why that sense has taken root.
In my experience, Saint Augustine’s famous words that only in the Lord do we find true rest are the reason I ache. A longing for the Lord--the source of all beauty, fulfillment, joy, adventure--is why I find myself particularly unsatisfied on the days I don’t pray, the days I can’t stop the social media scroll, the days I selfishly prioritize myself over my husband and children.
It’s good to shake up my routines, to seek new pursuits that make my mind and soul come alive, to create a sense of order within my day. Yet I remind myself these goods can become distractions if I forget they’re rooted in who I am: a person, willed out of love and made for more than this world.
When this deepest truth of my identity gets pushed aside for worldly things, that’s when boredom and restlessness settle in. Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “this aspiration in the human heart is indelible...the thirst for the infinite that dwells in men and women is not slaked. Instead a frantic, sterile search for ‘false infinites’ begins, that can satisfy them at least for a moment...We must uproot all the false promises of the infinite that seduce men and women and enslave people. Truly to rediscover ourselves and our identity, to live our dignity, we must return to recognizing that we are creatures, dependent on God. The possibility of a truly free and full life is linked to recognizing this dependence — which in our inmost depths is the joyous discovery of being God’s children.”
In those early days of marriage as my husband and I struggled against what felt like the mundane, the Father, in his loving grace, gently drew our focus back to him. I felt a pull on my heart to invite him into my daily tasks and maintain a dialogue of prayer throughout the day; truly, this practice began to center me. My husband and I began attending weekly Adoration hours and gradually became involved in ministries and relationships at our parish.
We found when we followed through on commitments related to our personal holiness and worked on developing a shared spiritual life, the restlessness faded into the background. We felt more alive in our marriage and our daily responsibilities. At the same time, everyday rituals and hobbies came more easily and organically; there was less Netflix scrolling and more seeking beauty, more long walks to explore our new state, more literature, more putting our phones away.
What’s more, the mundane suddenly didn’t seem so difficult. Daily prayer and a sense of intention in our actions brought a new sense of contentment and purpose to laundry, dishes, and errands. Even less-fun tasks felt more meaningful when I stopped to remind myself that this, a shared life with a man who cherished and sanctified me, was what I always dreamed of.
I still recall this sentiment several years later, as our daily lives are heavily focused on raising our young children. These are the days I prayed for; may I not lose sight of these gifts.
Boredom, I now realize, is the Lord urging us to return our gaze to him.
The parable of the Prodigal Son comes to mind when we find ourselves in a rut: it is a hunger, an ache for more, that leads him to seek that which is away from God. Ultimately, it is that same hunger that brings him home, back to rejoicing and to the true feast.
If your own current season feels aimless, restless, or boring, I encourage you to sit for a moment in your feelings. Embrace quiet or discomfort, and listen for the Father’s voice. What is it he is calling you to?


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Lola Mocha Magic Stretch Pants
We LOVE these magic stretch pants and they are set to be in everyone’s wardrobe again this year. The mocha coloured Lola pants are made from a lightweight, stretchy, crinkle-look material, have an elasticated drawstring waist and two pockets at the hip and at the back.
- Available in one size to fit 8 - 16
- Model is a size 10 on top and 12 bottom


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BREDASDORP AGRI-SHOW, Western Cape, South Africa. Interview with Gerhard Koen from GeoAgro Africa & BioFarm Solutions on: Satellite food crop monitoring systems for farmers, sustainable farming without chemical fertilisers, utilising natural microbes to restore soil health & the optimisation of healthy food crop production.
Stuart Scott (Executive Director of UPFSI) heads up a presentation at COP 22 on the food and climate change choices, food security and the impacts of climate change on food production. They cover quite a bit in terms of animal extinction and food security or rather food insecurity as climate change starts to be felt […]
Mother Channels interviews soil scientist, Christopher Martius, (Principal Scientist Climate Change, CIFOR) on the possibility of nurturing soil microbes to sequester carbon, at COP 22, Marrakech. In destroying ecosystems, e.g. cutting down forests and managing agricultural soils unsustainably, the globe has been losing a significant quantity of soil carbon over the last 8000 years, since […]
At COP 22 Agriculture Day – Science to Action presentation, Dr Rob Bertram, Chief Scientist at USAID Bureau for Food Security, speaks on Adapting to Climate Change in Africa : from Science to Farmers. Firstly, I would like to congratulate the Kingdom of Morocco in raising the profile “Agriculture” in the context of the global […]
COP 20 LIMA Presenter on: Importance of organic virus free crop seeds, companion planting trees, fruit trees and food crops which create a more bio-diverse ecosystem and resilient farming base. Recommendations on best practices of seed sources and collection. Combining conservation with restoration efforts
At COP 22 Agriculture Day – Science to Action presentation, Prof. Rattan Lal of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre at Ohio State University, speaks on the Sustainable Management of Soil Carbon and Soil Health in Africa and the establishment of soil thresholds in the root zone of Africa. In addressing soil carbon and soil […]
BREDASDORP AGRI-SHOW, Western Cape, South Africa. Interview with Arnold Swart from Integrated Fire Mgmt. Services on: Integrated fire management training, preventative measures, alien tree clearing, fire break construction. Farmer & farm labour fire fighting & fire prevention training.
A Q&A Discussion Panel of experts from Uruguay, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil, address the issues of mitigation impacts in livestock production systems and share how they are managing their measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) systems in terms of livestock emissions and to identify practical innovations for the collection and coordination of activity data […]
The University of Earth: Urgent Action Series: COP 21 Paris 2015: UNFCC Int, Collapse of Agriculture, Question time for Heads of State
BREDASDORP AGRI-SHOW, Western Cape, South Africa. Interview with Bobby Lawrence from Kemin on, Organic acids and Inoculates used to protect animal feeds such as hay & silage from getting mould and fungus, which also adversely affects animal health.
In an exclusive interview with Mother Channel, at COP 22 conference, Professor James R. Burleigh, USA soil scientist from Sante Fe, Mexico, speaks on his current training program at ENA – Ecole Nationale D’Agriculture de Meknès, Morocco, with Prof. Mohammed Boulif (Prof. of Agriculture, Morocco) covering mainly agricultural research methodologies, i.e. setting up field experiments […]
Roger Godwin, Project and Environmental Research, discussing Bees and the pollination services for the fruit industry. South Africa as a microcosm of what is happening globally. The American Foulbrood disease is just one disease being found in hives. There are not enough hives and bees left to manage pollination needed. The fruit industry in South […]
BREDASDORP AGRI-SHOW, Western Cape, South Africa. Interview with Leonie from the Agricultural Research Council on: Research for the sterilisation of male fruit flies to combat fruit, wine & food crop losses, implementation of remedial honeybush tea farming on a broader scale.

domain: biology


text:
VX-770 (Ivacaftor) is a potentiator of CFTR, which targeting G551D-CFTR and F508del-CFTR with EC50 of 100 nM and 25 nM, respectively. VX-770 (Ivacaftor) inhibits excessive ENaC-mediated Na+ and fluid absorption with an IC50 of 43 nM, and decreases the amiloride response, resulting in an increase in the surface fluid and cilia beat frequency (CBF) in G551D/F508del HBE. VX-770 (Ivacaftor) is the first potent and orally available CFTR potentiator to enter human clinical trials. It showed that VX-770 (Ivacaftor) was associated with within-subject improvements in CFTR and lung function. These findings provide support for further studies of pharmacologic potentiation of CFTR as a means to treat cystic fibrosis.
|Source||Physiology University of Toronto (2015). Figure 21. VX-770 (AbMole BioScience, Cedarlane, Burlington, Canada)|
|Cell Lines||C57BL/6 WT mice|
|Incubation Time||30 min|
|Results||Since CFTR(inh)-172 results in the inhibition of proper CFTR gating leading to an elevated myogenic vasoconstriction, treatment with potentiator VX-770 might also potentiate CFTR’s capacity to transport S1P and, therefore, compensate for part of the lost CFTR.|
|Preparation method||Iodide Flux Assay—Proteoliposomes were reconstituted in the presence of 75 mM KI. The external iodide was exchanged for 75 mM potassium glutamate by gel filtration chromatography. External iodide concentrations were monitored continuously using an iodide-selective electrode (Lazar Research Laboratories, Los Angeles, CA) interfaced to the Digidata 1320A data acquisi ion system and controlled by Clampex 8 software (Axon Instruments, Sunnyvale, CA), as described previously (17, 18).|
|Body Surface Area (m2)||0.007||0.025||0.15||0.05||0.02||0.5|
|Animal A (mg/kg) = Animal B (mg/kg) multiplied by||Animal B Km|
|Animal A Km|
For example, to modify the dose of resveratrol used for a mouse (22.4 mg/kg) to a dose based on the BSA for a rat, multiply 22.4 mg/kg by the Km factor for a mouse and then divide by the Km factor for a rat. This calculation results in a rat equivalent dose for resveratrol of 11.2 mg/kg.
|Solubility||DMSO ≥75 mg/mL|
Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) potentiator VX-770 (ivacaftor) opens the defective channel gate of mutant CFTR in a phosphorylation-dependent but ATP-independent manner.
Eckford PD, et al. J Biol Chem. 2012 Oct 26;287(44):36639-49. PMID: 22942289.
|Related CFTR Products|
GLPG1837 (ABBV-974) is a novel CFTR potentiator, with EC50s of 3 nM and 339 nM for F508del and G551D CFTR, respectively.
PPQ-102 is a potent CFTR inhibitor which can completely inhibited CFTR chloride current with IC 50 approximately 90 nM.
VX-661 is a second F508del CFTR corrector and is believed to help CFTR protein reach the cell surface.
IOWH032 is a synthetic CFTR inhibitor with IC50 of 1.01 μM in CHO-CFTR cell based assays. Phase 1/2.
CFTRinh-172 is a voltage-independent, selective CFTR inhibitor with Ki of 300 nM, showing no effects on MDR1, ATP-sensitive K+ channels, or a series of other transporters.
Products are for research use only. Not for human use. We do not sell to patients.
© Copyright 2010-2017 AbMole BioScience. All Rights Reserved.

domain: literature


MADISON, Wis. – A pair of teams captured championships at the 2021 State Girls Team Tennis Tournament at Nielsen Tennis Center Saturday.
Top-seeded Neenah (20-0) capped an undefeated season with a 4-3 victory over Divine Savior Holy Angels (22-3) in the Division 1 championship match. The Rockets’ Liz Risgaard won the #2 singles and at all three doubles matches to account for the final score. The trio of doubles’ victories were posted by Sophia Paape and Shelby Roth at #1, who won the doubles championship last week; Meghan Stielow and Nora Paape at #2; and Maddie Daharsh and Paige Stielow and #3.
Neenah wins the title after finishing runner-up at last spring’s alternate season. The Rockets won their second State title in their 19th State appearance. Their other team title came in 2015. They defeated Hudson 6-1 in the quarterfinals Friday and Middleton 5-2 in the semifinals earlier Saturday to advance to the final.
The Dashers place runner-up in their 10th tourney appearance and for the second consecutive season. DSHA defeated Badger 6-1 in the quarterfinals and Franklin 4-3 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match.
Top-seeded Catholic Memorial (21-3) cruised to a 6-1 win over Regis (19-11) in the Division 2 title match to capture the team championship. The Crusaders won three of the four singles matches, including victories by Jessica Jacobson at #1,
Shannon Kutcher at #2, and Rachael Borg at #4. They added wins at all three doubles positions to clinch the title, including Jeslyn Singson and Courtney Sturm at #1, Reagan Rebholz and Mary McCaffery at #2, and Kailynn Sauer and Maggie Schmitzer at #3.
Catholic Memorial has participated in the championship match the past three seasons. The Crusaders won the championship in 2019 in the program’s first-ever State appearance and then finished runner-up a year ago. They defeated Xavier 6-1 to advance to the final.
The Ramblers place runner-up in their eighth State appearance. They downed Edgewood 4-3 in the semifinals to earn their participation in the championship match.
Results Page Link


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Bitcoin Trading Alert originally published on January 14, 2015, 11:24 AM.
In short: no speculative positions.
Another slide in the price of Bitcoin, another day of more negative news on the cryptocurrency. Quite interestingly, we saw the "Bitcoin crash" news on the main page of the New York Times' Dealbook. The article "As Bitcoin's Price Slides, Signs of a Squeeze" also made it into the "Most Viewed" section of the website. In the piece, we read:
The price of Bitcoin slid further on Tuesday, dipping to its lowest level since the spring of 2013. The downward spiral, which began early last year, suggests that confidence in the virtual currency may be dwindling.
Bitcoin's price dropped on Tuesday to about $224, from $267, according to CoinDesk, below where it was in April 2013 before Bitcoin gained widespread traction and started to soar in price. It reached its peak of about $1,200 in December of that year. Since then, however, prices have slumped even as transactions have increased.
With no signs of a rally in the offing, the industry is bracing for the effects of a prolonged decline in prices. In particular, Bitcoin mining companies, which are essential to the currency's underlying technology, are flashing warning signs.
Please note the bearish tone of the article. This is precisely the piece of news we would expect to see at a major bottom. We're also seeing even more similar articles in Bitcoin-oriented outlets. This might mean that at least a local bottom is close. But does it mean that the bottom is in? We don't think so. We're seeing more negative stories on Bitcoin but not yet the elevated numbers across various media we would expect to see at the very bottom. This would mean that Bitcoin could fall even lower. But would it do so right away?
We try to answer this question looking at the charts.
On BitStamp, yesterday ended in stark depreciation with Bitcoin losing over 15% compared with the previous close. The volume exploded to over BTC60,000, a level last seen around the local bottom in the early days of October 2014. But the move didn't really look like a bottom, rather a beginning of a further slide, as we wrote yesterday:
We still think that the gains might grow even further as we're inclined to bet on falling Bitcoin prices. However, taking into account the magnitude of the recent depreciation, we take a precaution against a possible rebound by adjusting our stop-loss levels to $257. We also move our take-profit level to $153. In this way, we lock in some of the current gains on the hypothetical position while allowing more gains should Bitcoin in fact fall deeper. It might be the case that the action tomorrow (or even later today) will clarify the situation even further. In the current volatile environment it's best to stay tuned to the market and we'll keep monitoring the market.
And, the market followed almost precisely to our take-profit today, with Bitcoin hitting $152.40. This means that the hypothetical speculative short positions in Bitcoin we suggested on Jan. 6 should be closed. These positions were suggested when BitStamp was offline but taking a short position following the reboot of the company could have meant a ride from $272.45 to $153.00. This would have meant a return of 43.8% (not including transaction costs) in 6 days. This is precisely how Bitcoin trading might look like - extreme volatility and risk (compared with other assets) but also extreme trading potential.
Bitcoin has since retraced back to around $195, hitting a daily high around $230 (this is written around 10:00 a.m. ET). In this sense, our take-profit has shielded the hypothetical positions from some appreciation. Does this mean that the bottom is in? We doubt that just yet. Bitcoin just broke below yet another possible declining trend line which might indicate a move even lower. But this doesn't necessarily mean that short positions should be reopened. Why? The volume today is representative of a possible bottom - over BTC80,000. Last time we saw volume of this magnitude was in March 2014, right at the local bottom. Add to this the fact that the currency has depreciated very far, very quickly and a rebound would seem possible. The deep depreciation might be continued (and this our best bet) but the possibility that this is in fact a local bottom is to significant to be ignored at this time, in our opinion.
On the long-term BTC-e chart, we see a break below a possible trend line. Actually, this chart is based on daily closes so it doesn't include today's levels (we haven't seen a close yet) which are even lower. The $153 level hasn't been reached on BTC-e but we apply the take-profit (and stop-loss levels) to both BitStamp and BTC-e at the same time which means that Bitcoin hitting the level on one exchange is a general sign to close the speculative position.
If you recall, the hypothetical speculative short position was opened on Jan. 6 when Bitcoin was at 271.91 on BTC-e. At the time when Bitcoin got to $153 on BitStamp, the price on BTC-e was around $182.34. This means that our hypothetical position one could have gained around 32.9% in only 9 days (transaction costs not included).
At the moment, we think that the depreciation has been strong enough to be followed by some kind of breather. Our bet is still that Bitcoin will go down but the situation has got a lot more extreme and there is even the possibility that the current move is in fact a major bottom. Taking this into account, we think waiting for the developments of today (and tomorrow) is the way to proceed before possibly reopening short positions.
Summing up, we think having no speculative positions at the moment is the way to go.
Trading position (short-term, our opinion): no positions.


- Full figure front close underwire bra.
- Smooth 2-ply cups.
- Geometric lace inset at neckline.
- Hidden inner sling for natural shaping and support.
- Comfort wire placed between cup layers prevents chaffing.
- Bottom band elastic encased in fabric.
- Elastic band adds comfort and support.
- Barrel front closure locks in place.
- Kicked-in back straps won’t slide off shoulders.
- Brushed low-stretch fully adjustable straps.
Fabric Content - Body: 75% Nylon, 25% Spandex; Lace: 82% Nylon, 18% Spandex
- Hand wash your bra in a delicate detergent. Harsh detergents and bleaches can destroy elastic and lace.
- Rinse garment in cold water to restore the bra's shape and elasticity.
- Air dry your bra. Heat can destroy both fibers and elastic.
- Do not twist the bra to remove excess water.
- Carefully fold your bra to prevent snagging or crushing.
- Use a lingerie travel bag to keep your bras together. Don't forget to fasten the hooks to prevent snagging.
- Place socks or hosiery in the cups of padded bras to prevent cup crushing.
- A separate lingerie travel bag is also recommended for panties.


text:
This year’s Christmas Eve service at church was wonderful. The anticipation of the season, along with the pageantry, lights, and music was spectacular.
I especially enjoy watching moms with their kids. I watch and remember.
Kids running down the aisle, feeling the freedom of the open space.
One of my kids ran up and laid on the floor right in front of the pastor once. She would not be moved.
I played peek-a-boo with the little boy in front of me and remembered.
An infant’s plaintive cry behind me. The banging of little feet on the chairs ahead of me.
Our pastor has a way of standing with one foot in front of the other, arms gesturing, as if he was bracing himself to support the weight and the power of his words. And the words he spoke were mighty, reaching out to the hearts and souls of the listeners, with light and hope hanging like a fragrance in the air. We all breathed deeply.
Then my gaze shifted to the mama of multiples simply trying to wrangle her kids to keep them in the pew.
And I remembered.
The Lord brought children into my life by surprise. He settled the barren woman in her home as a joyful mother of children. (Psalm 113:9) It has blessed me in so many ways.
Most significantly, forcing me to think through how different my life would be if there were no small souls left in my care. Through the hardship and the joy, they have taught me that life is so much bigger than my petty needs and wants. I believe I would be bitter and barren, wondering if I had missed the mystery and joy of it all.
Instead I have grown in ways I never expected. My heart has expanded and grown while my temporal resources diminished. It was a holy exchange I will never regret.
I learned the joy and pain of true love, and bumped repeatedly against the limits of unconditional love.
So, on Christmas, I remember all He has done for me.
And I stand before Him as a mother of grown children with empty arms but with hope fulfilled and a lifetime of memories that shine brightly like the lighted candles that expand across the sanctuary.
And I thank Him for the wild ride and privilege of it all.