text:
Shantae: Friends to the End is the second story expansion for Shantae: ½ Genie Hero, following Pirate Queen’s Quest. For the first time in the series, you can finally play as Shantae’s friends, Bolo, Sky, and Rottytops. Together! This game is basically a Shantaefied Castlevania III. It’s available for $7.99 as DLC for Shantae: ½GH.
Friends to the End starts off in the middle of the Dynamo reveal scene from ½ Genie Hero. Uncle Mimic uses Risky Boot’s Dynamo blueprints, and builds a machine that turns good into evil. Risky uses it on Shantae, and turns her into Nega Shantae, so Sky, Bolo, and Rotty go into Shantae’s mind to try and save her from being overcome by her evil self. As you play through the game, they go through Shantae’s memories of the events of ½GH, while trying to get along and work together. Apparently, they’re not really friends with each other, just friends with Shantae.
I think the closest thing I can compare this game to is old-school Castlevania. It’s a pretty straight-forward action platformer. This is not just ½GH or PQQ with different characters. All the fetch quests, towns, NPCs, and items are gone. You do get a stage select that you can use at any time to go back to any level you’ve beaten, but the game’s progression is linear, and you’re not forced to go back to previous levels. You’ll more than likely want to, though.
In Friends to the End, you play through most of the same levels from ½GH and Pirate Queen’s Quest. Like in PQQ, the enemies, obstacles, and platforming have been tweaked to fit the new character’s abilities. Each stage also has 3 Dream Squids to collect, like coins in 2D Mario games. If you collect them all, you get a special picture at the end. There are also a few new levels, which take place in the “Nightmare Realm”, Nega Shantae’s mind.
The main new mechanic in Friends to the End is switching between Bolo, Sky, and Rottytops. There are times when there is more than one way to get past an obstacle, but not always. You’ll have to switch to specific characters to get past some obstacles, and even combine abilities to progress sometimes. The switching is not instant, and you can’t switch in the air, so it never gets too demanding or complicated. You’ll never have to use more than 2 characters, or switch more than once, to get past anything.
Bolo is kind of like Simon Belmont. He wields a chain whip with a morning star on its end, just like the Vampire Killer. His unique abilities include breaking blocks with the whip, and swinging from pegs. Your main attack can only whip forwards, and doesn’t grab onto things. The grabbing attack is on a different button, and you can only aim it straight up or upwards diagonally. It’s not exactly Super Castlevania IV, but it’s the same idea. Bolo’s magic ability has him throw morning stars, which bounce around like Super Mario Land fireballs.
Sky reminds me of Maria Renard from Rondo of Blood. Her main attack is throwing seagulls at enemies, like how Maria throws doves. Sky can also use her pet bird, Wrench, as a platform. She can jump on Wrench, and then switch to another character to use their abilities. When you use the platform ability, you throw an egg in the air, and then press the button again to hatch it where you want the platform. Sky can also use Wrench to glide, like Risky Boots glides with her pirate hat. Timing the hatch just right, and using the glide are crucial to making some of the toughest jumps in the game. Sky is the go to character for platforming. Sky’s magic ability is a damaging bird shield, like Shantae’s scimitar item, or the fire wheel in Ninja Gaiden.
Rottytops has an arsenal of zombie themed moves. Rotty can detach her head and throw it, like how Yoshi tosses eggs, and then teleport to wherever the head landed, like with the Puppet Master soul in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow. For her main attack, Rotty pulls her leg off and hits enemies with it, like a mallet. Rotty’s magic ability has her eating a brain to fully refill your hearts. Some of this stuff will surely be censored somewhere.
There are no items to buy in Friends to the End, but enemies and jars still drop gems. In Friends to the End, gems act like experience points, and will level each character up to level 4. Every level increases each character’s combat abilities. For example, each level lengthens Bolo’s whip, increases its speed, and its damage. Each character has their own gem count, so they level individually, and you’ll have to play as each one to have them all at max power. You'll also lose gems whenever you get hit, so it’s not like you can stay fully leveled at all times, unless you're just that good.
Friends to the End doesn’t have lives, like old Castlevanias did. Instead, you can keep retrying from the last checkpoint as long as you have hearts left. If you run out of hearts, you’ll have to continue and restart the level. Your hearts are never refilled after dying or continuing; however, you’ll have the same hearts as the last time you saved, when you continue. The only time the game refills your hearts is after beating a boss, and you can only fight bosses once. This means that if you want to refill your hearts, or be at max power before a boss, you’re going to have to go back to an earlier level and grind for hearts and gems. I think I would have rather had lives than this. The grinding took a little too much of my playtime.
I’m impressed by the amount of love and attention each character got. Rotty, Bolo, and Sky have a bunch of unique animations, new character portraits, and even new voice acting. They all feel just as fleshed out as Shantae and Risky Boots. Their voices don’t sound quite like I thought they would, but they’re alright. They're just not as good as Shantae and Risky Boot’s voices.
Shantae fans have been waiting a long time to play as these characters, and I think we’ve gotten a good first adventure for them with Friends to the End. The game is not very long (took me 5 hours), and there is some grinding, but the platforming is fun, the characters have cool moves, the story is cute, and it’s great to finally see these characters get the spotlight.
Barely a year after the release of Mega Man X, Mega Man X2 was released for the Super Famicom in December 1994. It came out on the SNES a month later in January 1995. It really isn’t too different from MMX in terms of gameplay, but it does tell a better story. It’s pretty clear that the main goal of the game was to bring Zero back to life. I think this was when Zero and M. Bison started competing for the title of most revived Capcom character.
Mega Man X2 takes place 6 months after MMX. After Zero blew himself up taking out Vile’s mech at the end of MMX, X became the leader of the Maverick Hunters. X is called Mega Man X multiple times in this game. Apparently, the localizers wanted to push the idea that X was the original Mega Man. With the help of Dr. Cain, the Maverick Hunters track the Mavericks down to a Reploid factory. X and Green Biker Dude chase a Maverick to the factory, but sadly, Green Biker Dude got blown up while popping a wheelie before getting there. Inside the factory, X discovers that the Maverick rebellion continues, even after Sigma’s defeat.
After the factory stage, we find out that 3 Mavericks, called the X-Hunters, have stolen Zero’s body parts, but couldn’t get their hands on the control chip. They also took over the North Pole. No, you don’t have to save Santa in this game. After beating a couple of levels, the X-Hunters start appearing in normally sealed off rooms in the 8 base levels, and they will shuffle around their locations every time you exit a level. If you beat one of these Mavericks, you can get one of Zero’s parts. The story will play out a little differently depending on whether or not you get all the parts before going to the final levels.
The game’s progression is pretty much the same as in MMX. You can just beat the 8 Mavericks and go straight to the final levels, or you can go back to each level and get all the upgrades before going to Sigma’s lair. Along with the 4 suit upgrades, there’s also 4 sub tanks, and each stage also has a heart tank, for a total of 8. Getting all the upgrades will require you to use the suit upgrades and some of the Maverick weapons, so multiple playthroughs are required to get everything.
All of X’s suit upgrades have been changed or upgraded in some way. The new helmet upgrade gives you a secret item scanner, and the new chest upgrade gives you the Giga Crush move. They don’t have a big impact on the gameplay, but the new leg and X-Buster upgrades do. The new X-Buster upgrade gives you a super powered shot, in addition to your regular charged shot, instead of just another tier of the charged shot, like in MMX. It also lets you charge up any Maverick weapon, like in MMX. Since you start with the dash in this game, the leg upgrade gives you an air dash. This gives you some more options in terms of maneuverability, and lets you reach some of the hidden items. You even can combine this with a charged up Speed Burner for a double air dash.
MMX2 has some pretty good boss designs, and I think most levels have pretty cool themes. Flame Stag is my favorite overall. I love everything about him. His Volcanic Zone level looks cool, the music in that level rocks, his design is funny, and his fight is pretty good, if you don’t use the Bubble Splash on him. My favorite level has to be Overdrive Ostrich’s Desert Base. That’s where they let you play with the hover bike, the Ride Chaser, which you can use to jump off a bunch of ramps while shooting enemies. I also really like Wire Sponge’s fight, but he does look like some kind of angry sea pickle. I think Magna Centipede and Crystal Snail are the only really bad fights. Both of their patterns are just so annoying, even when using the weapon they’re weak against.
The graphics in MMX2 look slightly better than in MMX. The backgrounds are a little more detailed. There is more slowdown in this game, though. Pretty much every level has slowdown somewhere. Sometimes it goes away quickly after beating an enemy, but sometimes, like on Bubble Crab’s stage, half of the stage is played in slowmo. There is a big mechanical fish that swims through a large portion of that stage, and it slows everything down to a crawl the whole time it’s on screen. I thought maybe there was bad slowdown on the Crystal Snail fight too, but it turns out that’s his special power. Maybe the mecha fish has that power too.
Mega Man X2 came out around the time when developers were using polygons in SNES games, with the help of special chips. Following this trend, Capcom put their own special chip in MMX2, the Cx4 chip. It allowed them to scale and rotate untextured polygons in the game. It didn't look good. It just didn't fit in with the game's 2D sprites, and didn't look very impressive when compared to games like Star Fox. They used it in the intro for a Mega Man X head, on the “X” in the logo on the start screen, on a lame sword mini boss, and in the final battle, which is a rotating, untextured, disembodied Sigma head. A big disappointment after MMX’s final battle.
The soundtrack doesn’t sound as rock influenced as MMX’s, but it has a similar sound. There are still some pretty rocking tracks, like Flame Stag’s stage theme. It really reminds me of other Capcom SNES game soundtracks. The main composer, Yuki Iwai, who also worked on MMX, worked on Final Fight II and the SNES version of Street Fighter II Turbo too, so that explains why this game has that unmistakable 16-bit Capcom sound.
Mega Man X2 is a very good game, but maybe it came too soon after the first. It just doesn’t do a whole lot that’s new and exciting. It’s just more of the same. More MMX is alright with me, though. At least it brought Zero back to life, so it served a good purpose.
With the amount of attention 2B has gotten, you’d think NieR: Automata is some kind of hentai game. It is, in fact, not a hentai game. It’s not even as risque as Bayonetta. 2B is a prim and proper lady compared to her. NieR: Automata is an action adventure RPG developed by Platinum Games and published by SquareEnix. It does deal with some mature subjects, but boobs and butts are not among them.
NieR: Automata takes place in a world where long ago, aliens attacked Earth, and humans fled to the Moon. Earth was trashed by the alien’s machines, and humans sent androids to fight them on Earth. The war between the androids and machines has been waging ever since. You play as 2B and 9S, who are android members of YorHa, which is basically the android army. Their base of operations is on a space station orbiting Earth, called the Bunker. There are also more androids living on Earth who are fighting the machines, but are not part of YorHa. They are the resistance.
The game is split up into 3 acts. In the first act, you play as 2B with 9S following you around. The second act is a retelling of the first act from 9S’ point of view. It’s a lot like the first, since 2B and 9S work as a team, and are together most of the time, but there are new scenes that expand on the machines’ motives, and all of your non-story progress carries over, so it goes by quicker. The third act is the epilogue, and also lets you play as A2, that other android on the cover. I enjoyed every act, but I don’t think playing through most of the first act again as 9S was really necessary. It would have been perfectly fine if I just played from 9S’ perspective sometimes. 9S’ playthrough just isn’t different enough to warrant a nearly full playthrough of the first act. I bet a lot of people just stopped playing it there, because it just seems like a new game +. If the game wasn’t rolling the credits every chance it got, it wouldn’t seem so much like a new game +. There are 26 “endings” in the game, but they’re not really endings, it’s just a credits roll. The story is not actually over. The game is nearly 60 hours long.
This is open world game, but it’s not exactly Breath of the Wild or Grand Theft Auto. It reminds me more of Ocarina of Time. You have a big area connecting everything in the middle, and new areas open up around it as the game progresses. You’re not opening the way to new areas with items or skills here, though. The environment will change and open up as the story progresses. For example, at one point, some buildings are destroyed, opening the way to a new area through the exposed sewer tunnels.
I really like the world of NieR: Automata, but the actual storytelling is just OK. It takes a long time for it to really get going. I spent a lot of the game wondering what the purpose of me being here was, besides killing machines. Or was the point to make me ponder my own existence? I wonder. I spent most of the game running errands for YorHa and the resistance, just waiting for the machines to do something for me to react to. A lot of the game is really just MMORPG style fetch and delivery quests.
What I really loved about this world was the disturbing things the machines did, and the way the androids reacted towards them. Androids are just robots that look like humans, yet they treated the machines like inferior things that could not feel or think for themselves. When machines started doing things, like caring for babies, and talking about love and family, the androids denied that they could actually feel and think for themselves, and chalked it up to them imitating humans. The game is full of this kind of stuff.
The combat in NieR: Automata is sort of like Bayonetta on easy mode. You have your quick and strong attacks, guns, and your dodge and jump moves, but there are no complex combos, or strict timing required to do different attacks, like in Bayonetta. You just kind of mash buttons. You can even hold the attack buttons down to do automatic combos. I’m fine with the combat not being as deep as in other Platinum games, because this is an RPG, and the main focus is the story.
But NieR: Automata is more than just a Non-stop Climax Action game. This is also a 2D shoot 'em up, a side scrolling action platformer, and a twin stick shooter. The game switches between all of these modes often. The shoot 'em up sections have you flying on a YorHa flight unit, which looks like something straight out of Macross, and they play like a lost Treasure game from the Dreamcast days. The twin stick shooter sections are the game’s hacking minigame, which is 9S’ specialty, so you’ll be playing a lot of those in Acts 2 and 3. I’m not a big fan of twin stick shooters, like Geometry Wars, but it beats most game’s hacking minigames, and they usually aren't too annoyingly difficult.
I appreciate the amount of options and workarounds the game gives you to customize your game. You can change the difficulty on the fly, customize the buttons, and change a lot of things about how the camera behaves. There’s also the Plug-in Chips, which are a way to customize your gameplay. You can equip chips that regen your HP while not taking damage, chips that increase your damage, your run speed, HP, give you new moves, like a counter, and a bunch of other things. There’s even a chip that slows down time after successfully dodging an attack, like Bayonetta’s Witch Time. There’s also chips to customize your HUD. It’s a pretty cool system, but may be a little confusing, since the UI for it kind of looks like the HDD defragging UI in Windows.
There’s a few confusing and annoying things about the UI, like the Plug-in Chip interface and the map. The entire UI actually has an in-game explanation. It’s the android’s operating system. That’s why it looks like a computer. The map is supposed to be satellite data from the Bunker. That's why it only maps the surface. There’s actually a guy in the game that gives you excuses for these things. The developers must have known that reviewers would have issues with some of this stuff. Having in-game explanations is neat and all, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with as a player. The map is especially hard to deal with, because since it’s only mapping the surface, it’s completely useless for anything underground, or simply in-doors.
This game is no technical marvel. It doesn't look like it had a big budget. There are a lot of reused models and textures all over the game, making some areas look a little bland. The game definitely has style, though. The environments are cool looking, even if the textures aren't great. I love the whole theme of nature reclaiming the ruined city and machines living in nature. I also loved the color palette used in the environments. The game uses very muted colors, which remind me of the Ico games. The design of the machines can be both cute and scary, and the 3 playable androids have very distinct and cosplayable designs.
The music in this game is outstanding. I’m not surprised it won best music at the Game Awards. It has a very mellow, haunting soundtrack, with both electronic and acoustic themes. All the music also has a retro video game version, which will play when you go into 9S’ hacking minigame. The English voice acting is also spot on. 2B sounds like a very restrained woman, 9S like a naive teenager, and A2 like a jaded veteran who has seen through the world’s lies. The Japanese voices sound good, but it’s really hard to read subtitles while playing an action game.
I thought I might like this game, since I’m a big fan of Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising, but I was apprehensive, because all the attention focused on 2B’s ass. But this game isn’t perverted at all! It’s a serious action RPG with a unique style. If you like the sound of a Platinum action game with a big open world, a thought provoking story, and RPG elements, then you’ll probably love this game.
The Champion's Ballad is the final piece of DLC in the Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass. This is the big one. This is the one with the new story content and dungeon. It’s not necessarily post-game content, but you are required to have completed the original 4 dungeons before starting the Champion’s Ballad quest.
The Champion’s Ballad’s story takes place after you’ve finished the 4 original dungeons, but before you’ve killed Ganon. As soon as you start your game, Zelda will contact you telepathically, and give you the new quest. Zelda is still trying to contain Calamity Ganon, and this DLC does not have anything to do with the story that was hinted at in the 120 shrines ending.
The Champion’s Ballad quest starts at the Shrine of Resurrection on the Great Plateau, where you first start the game. After inserting the Sheikah Slate in the stone where you first found it, a disembodied monk voice will talk to you and start “The Divine Beast Tamer’s Trail”. The trials start with you getting a special weapon, the One-Hit Obliterator. This weapon looks kind of like a 4 pronged tuning fork with shide hanging off it. This weapon will kill anything in one hit, but will also make it so you die in one hit. You must use this weapon to finish 4 new shrine quests and shrines on the Great Plateau. You cannot heal, use any other melee weapon, or unequip this weapon during these trials. You can use all your runes, shields, armor, and bows, though. You also can’t leave the Great Plateau during the trails, or you’ll have to start it over. You won’t have to start the whole trial over if you die during the trials, though. It’s not that hardcore.
In these trials, you’ll go around the Great Plateau and kill camps of enemies to unearth new shrines. These 4 camps are all over the Plateau, and you'll have to put your BotW skills to use to clear them. The One-Hit Obliterator has a short cooldown after 2 uses, so it’s not like you can run in, smack everyone around, and be done with it. You’ll have to use the environment and your runes to your advantage. There’s even a shrine up in the snowy mountains, so you’ll also have to use your cold resist gear or consumables. The 4 shrines in the Great Plateau will put both your puzzle solving and combat skills to the test. They will have you using your runes to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles, and you’ll even fight some Guardians. Each of these shrines will reward you with a Spirit Orb, so you can get 1 more heart container. You’ll be leaving the One-Hit Obliterator in the Shrine of Resurrection when you clear these trials, so the one hit stuff ends then.
These trials on the Great Plateau might seem harsh and unfair, but they’re there to help you relearn how to play the game. Some people might not have played this game in 8 months or so. They really took me back to when I first played BotW, and could die at any moment. I enjoyed the refresher. You’ll definitely be needing these skills for the rest of the trials in this DLC Pack.
Before you open the new dungeon, you’ll have to go through the trails the rest of the Champions went through 100 years ago. These trials will have you traveling to the 4 major areas surrounding the Divine Beasts, and reliving the trials that Revali, Daruk, Urbosa, and Mipha went through to take control of the Divine Beasts, and the battles against the Ganon blights in which they died in.
Once you’re done with the trial on the Great Plateau, 4 quest trackers will appear near the Divine Beasts, and Sheikah pedestals will be waiting for you at these spots. Each column on these pedestals has a piece of a map showing you where you need to go to find the trails that will open the shrines. There is no way to track these spots, and the map looks like an overhead picture, and not like the map on your Sheikah Slate, so even figuring out where these places are on the map is a puzzle onto itself. Once you get to these spots, you’ll be doing a number of different types of quests to open the shrines. Some will require you to solve a riddle, one will have you gliding through markers, like in a Pilotwings game, there’s a sand seal race, and you’ll even fight some world bosses.
The new shrines run the gamut of shrine puzzles and obstacle types. You’ll be doing everything from making ice block stairs, and moving metal blocks around, to shooting bombs out of cannons, and connecting electrical currents. I didn’t notice any new types of puzzles, but the shrines do include more types of puzzles in a single shrine. These shrines do not reward you with Spirit Orbs, so you can’t get any more heart containers.
After you’ve completed the 3 trials and shrines, you’ll relive the battles against the Ganon blights which the Champion’s died in. The twist here is that you’ll be doing these fights with preset armor, weapons, and consumables, like food and arrows. You can still use your runes. These fights might be a bit harder without all your gear, but I think the hardest part was remembering the trick to killing them. After you beat these bosses, you’ll see a new memory similar to the ones in the main game. They are fully voice acted and reveal new details about Zelda’s relationship to the champions. I thought they were very well done, and liked learning more about the Champions.
Once you’ve completed the 4 Champion's trials, you’ll open the new dungeon. This new dungeon is labeled as a Divine Beast, and works like the rest of the Divine Beasts. I’m not sure what kind of beast it is, but the dungeon map looks like a motor, so maybe it’s the Master Cycle’s motor. This dungeon has 4 wings and a new boss. It’s not the biggest, or the most difficult dungeon in the game, but it is really good.
After completing the final dungeon, you’ll be rewarded with the Master Cycle, which I guess is another version of Link’s Mario Kart 8 bike, which is also called the Master Cycle. I wonder which branch of the timeline Mario Kart 8 fits in. The Master Cycle is a rune, and not like a normal horse. You can summon it anywhere you can summon a horse, without the need for the new saddle. You still can’t summon it in the Gerudo Desert, or on Death Mountain, just like with horses. This bike does run out of fuel. You can throw pretty much anything in it to fuel it, though. I’ve been throwing apples in the tank, because Epona likes apples, and this bike has a horse head. It’s a cool reward, but what am I supposed to do with it now? I’m done with the game. I’ve already done all the shrines, quests, and collected 900 Korok seeds. Hmm. I have an idea.
Along with the new main quest, you’ll also get a bunch of new side quests which will reward you with new items, like a saddle that lets you summon your horse anywhere, and Zelda character clothing, like Wind Waker Link’s blue lobster shirt, and Ravio’s hood from A Link Between Worlds. These side quests start by leading you to a journal, which will then update your quest log with hints for where to find all this stuff. All of these side quests are treasure chest hunts, which have you travel around Hyrule. I don’t think hunting for chests is very fun, but at least the items are cool.
This was a great way to finish off the Expansion Pass, and a great send off for BotW. The Expansion Pass is definitely worth the $19.99, for those who have finished the game. Those still trying to beat the original 4 dungeons should probably hold off on it until they get that done.

domain: game


The Chiropractic Board of Australia has had enough:
“We will not tolerate registered chiropractors giving misleading or unbalanced advice to patients, or providing advice or care that is not in the patient’s best interests,” chairman Phillip Donato said.
Dr Donato said chiropractors should only provide evidence-based treatment and anyone with concerns should report them. [Sydney Morning Herald August 9 2013]
Today’s episode stars Chiropractors’ Association of Australia member, Simon King. King practices at Tweaks – Health Solutions, in Grafton NSW.
I’m not going to bother debunking obvious anti-vaccination misinformation. Especially when the sources are so far down the rabbit hole they’ve struck essential oil. Let’s see what Simon says is good immunisation information, worthy of being shared from his business’s Facebook page.
Simon says: Sanevax.
5 What is unacceptable advertising?
This section is intended to provide a clear indication of the
type of advertising of services that the boards consider to
be unacceptable. Where examples are provided, they are
intended to assist practitioners and other persons who
advertise regulated health services to comply with the
advertising provisions of the National Law. They are not
intended to be exhaustive.
To comply with s. 133 of the National Law and these
guidelines, advertising of services must not:
(d) use testimonials or purported testimonials
Oh, okay. Of course there is a reason:
Over to you, CBA.


text:
Squeeze, what squeeze? Number of millionaire households in UK leaps by a fifth in three years to nearly 350,000
Shares rally: The majority of newly created millionaires found that it was their investments in a resurgent FTSE 100 that boosted their income in the last 12 months
The number of millionaire households in the UK has jumped by more than a fifth in the last three years to nearly 350,000, new research suggests today - thanks in large part to a strong rebound in global stock markets.
The CoreData Research said a 12.4 per cent rise in the FTSE 100 index in the last year was the largest contributing factor in the creation of 38,616 more millionaires in Britain.
It said there were now 345,271 net millionaire households in the UK – a 12.6 per cent increase on the 306,655 households 12 months ago and a 21.4 per cent increase on the number of UK millionaires since 2010.
The latest increase means approximately 1.5 per cent of households in the UK have net assets excluding their property wealth in excess of £1million.
Other less important contributory factors were a slow but steady recovery of the UK economy, rising house prices and rents (which boosted those with investment properties) and the increase in the UK population.
The research also found that a quarter of high net worth investors said their finances have improved significantly in the past 12 months, with only 3.3 per cent of less wealthy investors feeling the same way.
The research shows wealthy investors are twice as likely to believe they have a greater knowledge of investments than their less affluent counterparts. One in three (33 per cent) say they have strong investment knowledge compared to one in six (18 per cent) of those less affluent.
Richer investors also seem to be better prepared for the future with three in five (58 per cent), claiming to have clear financial goals, compared with only 44 per cent of those investors with less than £1million in investments.
Just over two in five (43 per cent) wealthy investors say they would like to retire before the age of 60.
A further 38 per cent wealthy investors say they believe they will actually retire before the age of 60, yet just over a quarter (29 per cent) of the less affluent segment believe they will be able to do so by that age.
CoreData head of Europe and the UK Craig Phillips says: ‘Investors have been encouraged to take on more risk over the past year due to low interest rates and other factors. For some it was a slow process and many missed the surge of late 2012.’
‘Investors should not be trying to time markets - there will always be volatility. Many HNW investors, more so than other investors, typically remain engaged in the share market and this boosted them when the bulls took charge in 2012.’
Most watched Money videos
- Jaguar Land Rover opens UK's biggest state-of-the-art design centre
- Mazda's CX-30 family SUV scores incredibly high crash test rating
- The all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E ad starring Idris Elba
- Guy Martin sets new speed world record for a tractor at 135mph
- What does Britain's General Election mean for investors?
- Scottish Mortgage: Why we hold Amazon, Tesla and Ferrari
- Bristol Mayor explains the 'logic' of a proposed diesel car ban
- Land Rover reveals the Defender is being used in next Bond film
- American Express UK introduces customers to a brand new feature
- H&H Classics auctions the classic 1983 Ferrari 308 GTB QV
- Wayve unleashes driverless electric Jaguar I-Paces across UK
- Michael Schumacher's son drives Dad's title-winning Ferrari F1 car

domain: economics


text:
This November, BellaNaija is proud to announce a partnership with Narrative Landscape Press, to bring you excerpts of Oyinkan Braithwaite‘s new novel, My Sister the Serial Killer.
Every Tuesday this month, we will publish excerpts from the book, and at the end of the series, we’re giving out five copies of My Sister the Serial Killer. Click here to read the first excerpt from this giveaway.
To win, you have to stay tuned to this series, because at the end of the month, we’ll publish the quiz questions and only people who’ve been reading dedicatedly will get a free copy.
#FemiDurandIsMissing has gone viral. One post in particular is drawing a lot of attention—Ayoola’s. She has posted a picture of them together, announcing herself as the last person to have seen him alive, with a message begging anyone, anyone, to come forward if they know anything that can be of help.
She was in my bedroom when she posted this, just as she is now, but she didn’t mention what she was up to. She says it makes her look heartless if she says nothing; after all, he was her boyfriend. Her phone rings and she picks it up.
Moments later she kicks me.
It’s Femi’s mother, she mouths. I feel faint; how the hell did she get Ayoola’s number? She puts the phone on loudspeaker.
“. . . dear, did he tell you if he was going to go anywhere?”
I shake my head violently.
“No, ma. I left him pretty late,” Ayoola replies.
“He was not at work the next day.”
“Ummm . . . sometimes he used to jog at night, ma.”
“I know, I told him, I told him all the time it was not safe.” The woman on the line starts to cry. Her emotion is so strong that I start to cry too—I make no sound, but the tears I have no right to burn my nose, my cheeks, my lips. Ayoola starts crying too. Whenever I do, it sets her off. It always has. But I rarely cry, which is just as well. Her crying is loud and messy. Eventually, the sobs turn to hiccups and we are quiet. “Keep praying for my boy,” the woman says hoarsely, before hanging up.
I turn on my sister. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
“Do you not realise the gravity of what you have done? Are you enjoying this?”
I grab a tissue and hand it to her, then take some for myself. Her eyes go dark and she begins to twirl her dreadlocks.
“These days, you look at me like I’m a monster.” Her voice is so low, I can barely hear her.
“I don’t think you’re—”
“This is victim shaming, you know . . .”
Victim? Is it mere coincidence that Ayoola has never had a mark on her, from any of these incidents with these men; not even a bruise? What does she want from me? What does she want me to say? I count the seconds; if I wait too long to respond, it will be a response in itself, but I’m saved by my door creaking open. Mum wanders in, one hand pinned to her half-formed gèlè.
“Hold this for me.”
I stand up and hold the part of the gèlè that is loose. She angles herself to face my standing mirror. Her miniature eyes take in her wide nose and fat lips, too big for her thin oval face. The red lipstick she has painted on further accentuates the size of her mouth. My looks are the spitting image of hers. We even share a beauty spot below the left eye; the irony is not lost on me. Ayoola’s loveliness is a phenomenon that took my mother by surprise. She was so thankful that she forgot to keep trying for a boy.
“I’m going to Sope’s daughter’s wedding. The both of you should come. You might meet someone there.”
“No, thank you,” I reply stiffly.
Ayoola smiles and shakes her head. Mum frowns at the mirror.
“Korede, you know your sister will go if you do; don’t you want her to marry?” As if Ayoola lives by anyone’s rules but her own. I choose not to respond to my mother’s illogical statement, nor acknowledge the fact that she is far more interested in Ayoola’s marital fate than in mine. It is as though love is only for the beautiful.
After all, she didn’t have love. What she had was a politician for a father and so she managed to bag herself a man who viewed their marriage as a means to an end.
The gèlè is done, a masterpiece atop my mother’s small head. She cocks her head this way and that, and then frowns, unhappy with the way she looks in spite of the gèlè, the expensive jewellery and the expertly applied makeup.
Ayoola stands up and kisses her on the cheek. “Now, don’t you look elegant?” she says. No sooner is it said than it becomes true—our mother swells with pride, raises her chin and sets her shoulders. She could pass for a dowager now at the very least. “Let me take a picture of you?” Ayoola asks, pulling out her phone.
Mum strikes what seems like a hundred poses, with Ayoola directing them, and then they scroll through their handiwork on the screen and select the picture that satisfies them—it is one of my mum in profile with her hand on her hip and her head thrown back in laughter. It is a nice picture. Ayoola busies herself on the phone, chewing on her lip.
“What are you doing?”
“Posting it on Instagram.”
“Are you nuts? Or have you forgotten your previous post?”
“What’s her previous post?” interjects Mum.
I feel a chill go through my body. It has been happening a lot lately. Ayoola answers her.
“I . . . Femi is missing.”
“Femi? That fine boy you were dating?”
“Jésù ṣàánú fún wa! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I . . . I . . . was in shock.”
Mum rushes over to Ayoola and pulls her into a tight embrace.
“I’m your mum, you must tell me everything. Do you understand?”
But of course she can’t. She can’t tell her everything.
I am sitting in my car, fiddling with the knob, switching between channels because there is nothing else to do. Traffic plagues this city. It is only 5:15 a.m. and my car is one among many packed tightly on the road, unable to move. My foot is tired of tapping on and off the brake.
I look up from the radio and I inadvertently meet the eye of one of the LASTMA officials lurking around the line of cars, watching out for his next hapless victim. He sucks in his cheeks, frowns and walks toward me.
My heart drops to the floor, but there is no time to pick it back up. I tighten my fingers around the wheel to still the tremor in my hand. I know this has nothing to do with Femi. It can’t have anything to do with Femi. Lagos police are not even half that efficient. The ones tasked with keeping our streets safe spend most of their time ferreting out money from the general public to bolster their meagre salary. There is no way they could be on to us already.
Besides, this man is LASTMA. His greatest task, his raison d’être: to chase down individuals who run a red light. At least, this is what I tell myself as I begin to feel faint.
The man knocks on my window. I wind it down a few inches—enough to prevent angering him, but not enough for his hand to slip through and unlock my door.
He rests his hand on my roof and leans forward, as though we were two friends about to have a casual tête-à-tête. His yellow shirt and brown khakis are starched to an inch of their life, so much so that even the strong wind is unable to stir the fabric. An orderly uniform reflects the owner’s respect for his profession; at least that’s what it is supposed to mean. His eyes are dark, two wells in a vast desert—he is almost as light as Ayoola. He smells of menthol.
“Do you know why I have stopped you?”
I am tempted to point out that it is the traffic that has stopped me, but the futility of my position is all too clear. I have no way to escape.
“No, sir,” I reply as sweetly as I can. Surely if they were on to us, it’s not LASTMA that they would send, and they wouldn’t do it here. Surely . . .
“Your seatbelt. You are not wearing your seatbelt.”
“Oh . . .” I allow myself to breathe. The cars in front of me inch forward, but I am forced to stay in place.
“License and registration, please.” I am loath to give this man my license. It would be as foolhardy as allowing him to enter my car—then he would call the shots. I don’t answer immediately, so he tries to open my door, grunting when he finds it locked. He stands up straight, his conspiratorial manner flung away. “Madam, I said license and registration!” he barks.
On a normal day, I would fight him, but I cannot draw attention to myself right now, not while I’m driving the car that transported Femi to his final resting place. My mind wanders to the bleach stain in the boot.
“Oga,” I say with as much deference as I can muster, “No vex. It was a mistake. E no go happen again.” My words are more his than mine. Educated women anger men of his ilk, and so I try to adopt broken English, but I suspect my attempt betrays my upbringing even more.
“This woman, open the door!”
Around me cars continue to press forward. Some people give me a look of sympathy, but no one stops to help.
“Oga, please let’s talk, I’m sure we can reach an understanding.” My pride has divorced itself from me. But what can I do? Any other time, I would be able to call this man the criminal that he is, but Ayoola’s actions have made me cautious. The man crosses his arms, dissatisfied but willing to listen. “I no go lie, I don’t have plenty money. But if you go gree—”
“Did you hear me ask for money?” he asks, fiddling with my door handle, once again, as though I’d be silly enough to unlock it. He straightens up and puts his hands on his hips. “Oya park!”
I open my mouth and shut it again. I just look at him.
“Unlock your car. Or we go tow am to the station and we go settle am there.” My pulse is thumping in my ears. I can’t risk them searching the car.
“Oga abeg, let’s sort am between ourselves.” My plea sounds shrill. He nods, glances around and leans forward again.
“Wetin you talk?”
I bring 3,000 naira out of my wallet, hoping it is enough and that he will accept it quickly. His eyes light up, but he frowns.
“You are not serious.”
“Oga, how much you go take?”
He licks his lips, leaving a large dollop of spittle to glisten at me. “Do I look like a small pikin?”
“So give me wetin big man go use enjoy.”
I sigh. My pride waves me goodbye as I add another 2,000 to the money. He takes it from me and nods solemnly.
“Wear your seat belt, and make you no do am again.”
He wanders off, and I pull my seat belt on. Eventually, the tremors still.
Oyinkan Braithwaite is a graduate of Creative Writing and Law from Kingston University. Following her degree, she worked as an assistant editor at Kachifo, a Lagos-based publishing house, and has been freelancing as a writer and editor since. In 2014, she was shortlisted as a top ten spoken-word artist in the Eko Poetry Slam, and in 2016 she was a finalist for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize. She lives in Lagos, Nigeria.Buy your copy of My Sister, The Serial Killer HERE.

domain: literature


text:
Banana Catnip Cat Toy
Help keep kitty’s teeth clean with the Dental Banana by Petstages. These cat chew toys help to improve your cat’s dental health by providing a flossing and cleaning action to their teeth and gums while your cats chew.
Great for play and pampering, these cute cat chew toys also contain catnip to engage your cat during playtime and offer a fun way to improve and maintain their dental health.
- Dental Banana
- Lightweight to bat, chase and carry
- Mesh texture helps to remove tartar and massage gums
- Contain catnip
- Crinkle sound mimics natural sounds cats love
Looking for something else?
If you love cute and functional designs for your feline friend, check out our stylish Pidan products, and more of our cat toys!

domain: pet


text:
Rows over the transparency of the independence consultations dominate the discussion
With the independence referendum still two years away, the debate has shown little sign of slowing down. Last week the two consultations, one run by Westminster and the other, Edinburgh, hit the headlines.
As MSPs entered the Easter recess period, Labour leader Johann Lamont called for the Parliament to be recalled to discuss concerns that allowing comments in the Scottish Government consultation from unnamed people would permit the process to be rigged.
This consultation is set to run until May and has already attracted around 12,000 responses.
Lamont said: “Everyone agrees that Scotland must have a referendum process that we can all have confidence in and I am sure I am not the only one who harbours serious doubts about the way this is being handled.
“It is in no one’s interests for this referendum process to be rigged, whether real or perceived, and that is why Alex Salmond must come to Parliament to answer for this farce at the first opportunity or meet with me and the other party leaders.” Initially Bruce Crawford, Cabinet Secretary for Parliamentary Business, said respondents to the consultation could indicate their wish to remain anonymous, while responses which did not include personal information would also be treated anonymously. However, the Government then said the anonymous responses, which made up 3.5 per cent of the total received, would not form part of the final analysis of the consultation.
In a statement, the Scottish Government said it always intended that anonymous responses would be separately identified in the independent analysis and now, in order to prevent significant numbers of such responses – given the media coverage generated about the issue – responses would only be accepted and included in the analysis if respondents provide personal identification details. The Government’s online portal has already been amended to introduce this further procedure.
It added that while there was no evidence of multiple identical responses from the same person, any duplicate identical responses which appear to be from the same computer will be excluded from the analysis so that their view is only represented once. Labour grudgingly accepted this but insisted that questions remain to be answered on the issue.
Meanwhile, the UK consultation, which closed last month, also attracted criticism over its transparency with the SNP Government writing to the Coalition asking for detail of how it dealt with its anonymous responses.
Releasing detail of the consultation, the UK Government said there was “overwhelming” support for Scottish voters being asked a single, clear question on independence, a position backed by 75 per cent of respondents to their consultation. Westminster also said 70 per cent agreed the referendum should take place sooner rather than later, while 86 per cent said the Electoral Commission should have a role in overseeing a referendum. Other key results included 71 per cent expressing the view that those resident in Scotland should be entitled to vote in a referendum. A 26-page summary of the 2,857 responses is set to be published.
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said his government’s proposals to deliver a “legal, fair and decisive referendum” had been “strongly endorsed”.
He said: “Putting the independence referendum on a sound legal footing was at the heart of our proposals and there is strong support in the consultation for the UK and Scottish governments agreeing an order to provide Holyrood with the legal power to hold the referendum.
“The consultation has also produced a resounding endorsement for the referendum having a single, clear question on independence.
The reasons given are compelling. The Scottish Government was elected on a manifesto commitment to hold an independence referendum – it is not at all clear what a second question would be about. There must be a clear and decisive outcome to this referendum and a multi-option referendum will confuse matters.” However, following the release of the UK consultation, Bruce Crawford claimed the document lacked basic detail.
He added: “Michael Moore admitted under questioning on the BBC that 740 of the responses – over a quarter – are ‘the same as the Labour Party text on their website’. But this figure doesn’t appear anywhere in the report, and it begs the question of whether more of the responses came via the Labour Party website, with an amended text.
“We encourage such participation in consultations by political parties and other organisations and individuals; that isn’t the issue. But without these responses being independently analysed, properly detailed and broken down by categories, it is absurd for Mr Moore to draw general conclusions on the basis of a Labour Party bloc vote.” Also in the past fortnight, two groups on either side of the debate made themselves known. The Scottish Independence Convention (SIC) relaunched itself with a new website and programme to contribute to the referendum debate. SIC believes the independence movement is broader and deeper than one party and includes the great sweep of people who want to transform Scotland, not just tinker with its governance. SIC has said it is the place for those who back independence but who are not a member of any party, or who support any of the pro-independence parties to collaborate.
Elaine C Smith, chairwoman of SIC, said: “The role of the Scottish Independence Convention has changed. We were founded to deliver a referendum. That battle’s now been won. Our role now is to be creative and engage as wide an audience as possible in the discussion about the future of our country and what we mean by sovereignty.” SIC was formed in 2005 to promote independence and its affiliated parties are the SNP, the Scottish Greens, the Scottish Socialist Party and Solidarity. Following the relaunch, SIC intends to publish a programme of events.
On the other side of the argument, the Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson launched a new group aimed at keeping Scotland in the Union. The Conservative Friends of the Union (CFU) campaign was announced at the party’s conference in Troon.
CFU will be a grassroots organisation and is open to anyone with an interest in keeping the Union intact, regardless of political allegiance. Prime Minister David Cameron said he and his party would fight for the United Kingdom with “everything we’ve got” and the CFU would be a sign that Scotland is better off within the UK.
However, the SNP hit back at the move and claimed no one would be “fooled” by the group. MSP Kenneth Gibson said: “The more the anti-independence campaign in Scotland is seen to be Tory-led, the stronger support for independence and a new relationship of equality between Scotland and England will become.
The people of Scotland know far better than to be duped by a party that has continually failed this country, and been comprehensively rejected.
Labour have fallen into the background on the debate on Scotland’s future, while the Lib Dems are increasingly irrelevant.
“When the people of Scotland are given the choice in 2014 between home rule with independence or Tory rule from Westminster, I am confident they will trust themselves and vote Yes for independence.”

domain: news


Fuel Flex Hose and Fittings CC specializes in petroleum hoses and all the related fittings, as well as pulp and slurry hoses to the mining industry, LPG gas industry and the offshore industry throughout South Africa and neighboring countries. We pride ourselves in the quick and reliable service and the excellent after sales service that we provide to our customers
Fuel Flex Hose and Fittings CC Manufactures composite chemical hoses and we supply petroleum equipment to the petroleum Industry
Fuel Flex Hose and Fittings was involved in the research and development of the 4” Fuel Flex light weight composite fuel hose and was successful in making an ultra flexible, ultra light weight composite fuel hose. We are proud of the fact that no other South African company has managed to produce a product of this quality.
This hose has been tested and approved by BP South Africa, Caltex, Fuelogic, Unitrans, Lobtrans, Sasol and Tanker Builders. This hose is 100% locally manufactured.
You can click here to send enquiry: Send Enquiry


text:
100% Uptime Makes for a Holly, Jolly Cyber Week
As 54 million Americans got ready last week to hit the road to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday (per AAA), the RichRelevance Operations team was buckling down for their busiest time of the year. Mountain Dew, coffee and snacks were stocked, playlists downloaded, and with anticipation of what was to come, the team was ready.
And so was our infrastructure. RichRelevance powers AI-driven personalized shopping experiences for some of the world’s largest retailers, so needless to say our infrastructure needs to be prepared for an enormous amount of holiday traffic. And, I’m proud to report, for the 9th year in a row we had 100% uptime on all 14 of our data centers!
As traffic moved from in-store to online to mobile, we were ready to combat the unpredictable ebbs and flows of not just black Friday traffic, but the entire weekend of shopping madness. RichRelevance’s infrastructure met the challenge of the busiest online shopping days of the year, connecting global consumers to billions of pieces of individually relevant content, search results and product recommendations on the most highly trafficked shopping sites in the world.
What’s New in 2018
We’re always curious about how patterns in holiday shopping and behavior change from year to year. In 2018, we saw some significant and interesting changes in traffic and trends:
- Cyber Week is the new Black Friday. This year we officially saw the birth of Cyber Week, gone are the days when Black Friday was the singular largest shopping day of the year in the US. The money over the weekend is big — but the buying is now stretching out across the week. Instead of retailers promoting Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and doorbusters we saw “Cyber Week” truly take over. Deals were released earlier and earlier and will continue throughout December until Christmas day. This was reflected in the more consistent shopping volume in 2018 versus the Devil’s Horns peaks and valleys seen in years past.
- Many American retailers have reconsidered their store hours on the Thanksgiving holiday, this year more than 100 well known retailers kept their doors closed to allow employees to enjoy the holiday. Which according to a survey conducted by BestBlackFriday.com is what 28.99% of customers want.
- Mobile orders and traffic topped the chart. For the first time ever, mobile was the primary revenue source and driver for sales every day of Cyber Week coming in at 53% of total orders (including tablet).
- Post-Thanksgiving Shopping is internationally trendy. In regions where Thanksgiving isn’t even celebrated we saw big, new increases in traffic and sales the day after Thanksgiving, aka Black Friday. Our LATAM neighbors in the south saw a median increase of 37% in sales on Black Friday this year compared to last. And our neighbors over on the other side of the pond showed steady cadences of shopping, buzzing in tandem with us Americas, Europeans got some good Black Friday steals and deals right up to 22:30 CET, a bit past their normal bedtimes.
- Over the course of the weekend, AI-driven search emerged as a major trend. Find™ search calls were up +300% from 2017 as search played a huge part in people’s cyber week shopping behaviors using search to help inspire their gift purchases. This is not surprising when you account for the fact that nearly 4 out of 10 Americans (37%) state site search is ‘more important’ when shopping for gifts.
Like I get to say every year. I am truly proud of the RichRelevance Ops team, and our Engineering team. Fantastic work team, great collaboration this year and it shows. We can now set down our Mountain Dew, put down our heads and sleep a bit. Until next year…


text:
Thaen Kaatru HD Melody Song from Gethu Tamil movie directed by Thirukumaran. Produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, the film features himself in the lead role along with Amy Jackson, and with Sathyaraj in a supporting role and Vikranth as the main Antagonist. Featuring music composed by Harris Jayaraj and cinematography by Sukumar, the film was released on 14 January 2016. It received mixed reviews.critics praised the cinematography and music of the film but heavily criticized the screenplay of the film.
Thaen Kaatru HD Melody Song – Gethu
Thaen Kaatru HD Melody Song from Gethu Tamil movie. Music for this song was composed by Harris Jeyaraj. Lyrics for this film was composed by Thamarai. Haricharan, Shashaa Tirupati sung this song in this movie. Watch this best Tamil melody song from Gethu in Tamil Best Melodies.

domain: entertainment


If you combined the cash-on-hand numbers for the bottom seven candidates seeking the office of State Treasurer, you still wouldn’t have $85,000.
SORE THUMBS (OR, WHAT STICKS OUT)
There are a gazillion candidates running for State Treasurer, but based on campaign finance reports, there’s really only three who seem to have a chance at being competitive: Republicans Brian Watson and Polly Lawrence, and Democrat Dave Young. But because both Watson and Lawrence are petitioning on to the ballot, there will be room in the GOP Primary for at least 2 more Republicans to gain ballot access via the caucus/assembly process.
A quick note on Democrat Steve Lebsock: His campaign for State Treasurer didn’t raise a dime after October 17 (sexual harassment allegations against Lebsock first surfaced in early November). Lebsock’s entire contribution report for Q4 consists of four entries.
Oh, and Justin Everett barely outraised Lebsock.


text:
SE Asia Stocks - Malaysia posts best gain in 15 months after fuel pricing plan
BANGKOK, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Malaysian shares posted their best gain in almost 15 months on Monday as the government's fuel pricing plan allayed concerns over the country's budget deficit while Singapore retreated despite data showing inflation near a five-year low in October. Others in Southeast Asia mostly finished higher in line with Asian markets as the prospect of further policy stimulus in China and Europe whetted risk appetite globally. Kuala Lumpur's composite index rose 1.36 percent, its biggest single-day rise since Aug. 30, 2013. Shares of Sapurakencana Petroleum jumped 4.2 percent and Tenaga Nasional was up 3.7 percent, among top gainers. The ringgit also outperformed regional peers. The Malaysian bourse said foreign investors bought shares worth a net 108 million ringgit ($32.23 million), their first in four sessions. They sold a combined 157 million ringgit ($46.85 million) in three sessions from Wednesday. Malaysia will scrap subsidies for petrol and diesel from Dec. 1, the government said on Friday, a bold move that could potentially result in some 20 billion ringgit ($5.97 billion) savings annually. "The decision to float is timely as the switch should have a benign impact on inflation given that the average market price is close to the current fixed retail price ... Furthermore, the government will now have more fiscal space and more control over the fiscal deficit," CIMB said in a report. Singapore's Straits Times Index closed down 0.1 percent at 3,340.53, just shy of an intra-day low after earlier climbing to the highest since Sept. 12. Singapore's headline consumer inflation in October rose 0.1 percent from a year ago, the lowest since December 2009, compared with a Reuters poll of an increase of 0.6 percent. For Asian Companies click; For South East Asia Hot Stock reports, click; SOUTHEAST ASIAN STOCK MARKETS Change on day Market Current Prev Close Pct Move Singapore 3340.53 3345.32 -0.14 Kuala Lumpur 1833.77 1809.13 +1.36 Bangkok 1590.14 1579.20 +0.69 Jakarta 5141.76 5112.05 +0.58 Manila 7325.13 7276.18 +0.67 Ho Chi Minh 582.53 588.03 -0.94 Change on year Market Current End 2013 Pct Move Singapore 3340.53 3167.43 +5.46 Kuala Lumpur 1833.77 1866.96 -1.78 Bangkok 1590.14 1298.71 +22.44 Jakarta 5141.76 4274.18 +20.30 Manila 7325.13 5889.83 +24.37 Ho Chi Minh 582.53 504.63 +15.44 (1 US dollar = 3.3510 Malaysian ringgit) (Reporting by Viparat Jantraprap; Additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in KUALA LUMPUR; Editing by Sunil Nair)
© Thomson Reuters 2017 All rights reserved.


MIDLAND, Mich.—There are plenty of lingering questions surrounding the auto industry's shift to electric vehicles, but one of the most pressing is the end-of-life prospects for the massive lithium-ion batteries driving tomorrow's cars.
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies' Xalt Energy L.L.C. believes it's one step closer to having the answer.
With support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Office's ReCell Center, Midland-based Xalt, a developer and manufacturer of lithium-ion technology solutions, is testing a separation process that allows for direct recycling of scrap electrode materials. The aim, Freudenberg said in a news release, is to use the recycled material in new electrodes.
If successful, the process not only could offer a significant cost benefit for battery manufacturers by reducing the use of virgin raw materials in the battery-making process, Xalt also believes it could lessen the strain on supply chains of critical materials such as nickel-magnesium-cobalt oxide.
So far, "the results look promising," John Camardese, director of cell development at Xalt Energy, said in a news release. "This technology would enable us to directly recycle our coated scrap to recover expensive NMC for use in slurry. This will be a real game changer."
And, according to Freudenberg, that change can't come soon enough.
As industries worldwide establish and set about reaching carbon neutrality goals, investments are being made in alternative powertrain technologies. IHS Markit estimates that global demand for lithium-ion batteries will rise from 230 GWg last year to 1,700 GWh by 2030, making recycling a critical factor in the development of the technologies moving forward.
"Multiple analyst reports indicate that 180 kilotons of lithium, 450 kt of nickel, and 930 kt of cobalt will be needed from recycled sources to meet global lithium-ion battery requirements in 2030," Xalt said.
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Argonne and Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Illinois and Tennessee are addressing the issue from the inside out. They proposed a recycling process that, unlike existing hydro- and pyro-metallurgical methods, would separate and rejuvenate cycle-damaged, nickel-manganese-cobalt foil coatings for reuse in new batteries.
Camardese notes that the newly developed process also is less energy intensive and more sustainable than the more traditional recycling processes being used.
Testing the new recycling plan was easier said than done, given the recyclable resources available. With EVs being relatively young and the life of their batteries being relatively long, the researchers lacked enough end-of-life materials for the project. This is where Xalt really stepped in to help.
"Right now, there still aren't a lot of end-of-life electric vehicle batteries available because they last such a long time," Jeff Spangenberger, director of the ReCell Center, said in a news release. "We needed a feedstock of battery materials in order to pursue this early-stage technology. The coated foil scrap and spent pouch cells that Xalt Energy has provided to us has enabled us to conduct this recycling program."
Ultimately, ReCell and Xalt hope to establish path for sustainability within the next-generation the auto industry. A recycling process that helps to preserve critical raw materials, shorten supply chains and allow for profitability are at the heart of that effort.
"At the end of the day, battery recycling needs to be profitable," Spangenberger agreed. "Economies of scale are really going to help, but right now there are a lot of batteries out there that cost money to recycle. The work the ReCell Center and XALT Energy are doing together is helping to get us to the next level."


- Our business
- Investor Relations
TMK GIPI has been delegated to provide 210kms of 10” X65 Sour Carbon steel line pipes with External 3LPE coating to Petroleum Development Oman (PDO). The contract covers the minimum requirements for the manufacturing, inspection, testing and supply of the carbon steel line pipe (sour service).
Vladimir I Shcherbatykh, CEO, TMK GIPI, said, “We are very honoured that PDO has entrusted us with this job. We are confident that we will be able to handle it efficiently and cost effectively. PDO is an avant-garde organization that maintains the highest standards of safety and security in all its operational areas whilst keeping the human value utmost. We respect them for being the frontrunners in HSE of not just the environment but also of people.”
TMK GIPI is committed to In-Country Value (ICV) and is making efforts to locally source materials and manufacture the pipes within the country. This will not only save time but also precious resources in terms of manpower and logistics.
TMK Gulf International Pipe Industry (GIPI) was established as a Limited Liability Company in Sultanate of Oman in January 2007. TMK GIPI is the first manufacturer of High Pressure Steel Line Pipes and Casing Pipes in Oman and the first mill in MENA region and sub-continent of India to manufacture high pressure 24” Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) Steel Pipes. Today, TMK GIPI is a part of TMK, which is a global steel pipe manufacturer with about 30 production sites in the United States, Russia, Canada, Romania, Oman, UAE, and Kazakhstan and two R&D centers in Russia and the USA.
TMK GIPI showcases its premium products in OPES27.03.2022
TMK GIPI receives a group of graduates18.11.2021
TMK GIPI and POSCO INTERNATIONAL signs Memorandum of Understanding19.04.2021
TMK GIPI CEO Sulaiman Abdullah Al Farsi congratulates TMK on its 20th anniversary18.12.2020
Nautilus hosts first Swim Cup in Oman28.09.2020
Modification of Pipe Mill Hydro Tester Intensifier


text:
TapestryHealth, one of the nation’s leading providers of primary care telemedicine services to the skilled nursing industry, is now offering its services to assisted living and memory care providers nationwide.
“Since the pandemic began, we’ve been expanding rapidly, adding skilled nursing facilities and now assisted living and memory care communities every week,” said Chief Operating Officer Mordy Eisenberg. “People are in assisted living situations because they need help. They are all compromised in some way and having access to a primary care physician specializing in geriatric care along with a team of board-certified specialists who can evaluate and treat a patient without ever having them leave their own room is more than just convenient. It’s far more effective and efficient than trying to go to an off-site doctor or get an appointment with a specialist.
“But more important, the ability to be seen almost immediately means that we have the chance to arrest the possible spread of infectious disease, like COVID-19, before it has a chance to circulate throughout the community. It’s just another way that telemedicine contributes to saving lives.”
David Chess, M.D., founder and medical director of TapestryHealth, said the company’s experience understanding seniors’ anxieties and dealing with psychiatric behaviors in skilled nursing settings translates well to working with patients with memory deficits.
“It was a natural evolution for us to extend our service to the many memory care facilities in the country,” Chess said. “Not only are the behaviors found in memory care facilities very similar to those found in SNFs, but people in all situations, especially those with behavioral issues, universally respond better when they are being treated by a clinician they know and trust.”

domain: medical


text:
The University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust have planted over 12,000 trees as part of the creation of a new hospital site.
For the past few years, the trust has been undergoing extensive redevelopment to its sites. This work includes brand new hospital buildings and a movement of activity from three sites to one site at the City General. As part of the development the trust has taken the opportunity to increase the number of trees across the site, in order to make the spaces surrounding the buildings greener and more attractive for patients, staff and visitors.
In addition to planting on the boundaries and in landscaped areas, trees have also been planted in circulation spaces. Pictured is the main entrance piazza where, once established, trees will provide shade for the seating areas encouraging rest and relaxation.
Species such as oak, ash, rowan, birch, hazel and beech have been used extensively, with a massive 12,452 trees already planted and another 18,796 planned as the development reaches conclusion.

domain: design


text:
Program launched to train Spanish-proficient law enforcement professionals
October 29, 2021
A new program at Sacramento State will provide students interested in criminal justice and law enforcement careers with the language and cultural skills to better serve California’s growing Spanish-speaking population.
The proposed Certificate Program in Criminal Justice Spanish began its first of four courses this semester, with eight Criminal Justice students enrolled. Housed in the Department of World Languages and Literatures, the program eventually will be composed of two lower-division and two upper-division courses, plus an internship.
María Mayberry, a professor of Spanish and coordinator of the proposed certificate program, expects full approval during the 2023-24 academic year. The program is a partnership with CSU San Bernardino and funded through a $340,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
The most recent Census data highlights the growth of the Latinx community in Sacramento County, from 21.6% of the population in 2010 to 23% today. Of the county’s roughly 166,000 new residents, 41% are Latinx.
“The need to serve this community is magnified by this increase in the population in Sacramento,” Mayberry said. “It shows the need for Spanish-speaking criminal justice professionals who can serve the Hispanic/Latino population."
Students will need to come into the program with some background in Spanish – either three years in high school or the consent of a Sac State faculty member. The courses will focus on developing Spanish language and cultural skills specific to criminal justice contexts. That means learning vocabulary and grammar – such as the Spanish words for handgun, testimony, or witness – as well as skills for interviewing a witness or suspect, reading suspects their Miranda rights, or explaining in Spanish the reason for a police encounter.
Cultural topics include understanding the role of family and religion in Latinx cultures and the importance of distinguishing between the informal tú and formal usted forms of address when speaking to someone from the Latinx community.
“When you relate to the person you’re speaking to, in their language and with understanding of their culture ... you are going to establish rapport, and you are going to get more cooperation.” - María Mayberry, professor of Spanish and coordinator of the proposed program
These skills are essential to building trust between law enforcement and Spanish speakers, Mayberry said.
“When you relate to the person you’re speaking to, in their language and with understanding of their culture, the communication is going to be enhanced. You are going to establish rapport, and you are going to get more cooperation,” she said.
“The more they see that either you speak the language or are making an effort to speak the language and understand their culture, the more confidence they are going to have in you.”
After the first year, students will participate in an internship in a criminal justice setting where they can interact with Spanish speakers. Mayberry said she and her colleague at CSU San Bernardino are working on a partnership that would allow students the option to complete the internship in Barcelona.
Ava Isola, a sophomore Criminal Justice major, took French in high school and only recently had started learning Spanish as a hobby. Hoping to eventually work for the FBI or as a police or probation officer, she was exploring adding a Spanish minor when she learned about the new program.
Isola said she appreciates the small class environment, which allows students more opportunities to practice their conversational skills with Mayberry and their classmates.
Miscommunication can be a problem in law enforcement settings, she said, but having bilingual criminal justice professionals can help bridge the divide.
“When you have a better connection with the people in your community, you can end up gaining trust and confidence from the people in those communities,” Isola said. “Learning Spanish, especially in California where there’s such a large population of Spanish speakers, helps with building trust and confidence.”
Upon approval, the Spanish-language certificate program will be the Department of World Language and Literature’s second certificate program. The Department launched the HEALS Certificate Program in Healthcare Spanish in 2015.
Looking for a Faculty Expert?
Contact University Communications


text:
Funeral Ashes Into Space
I wondered how long it would be until people sent their Funeral Ashes into space. Now it is being offered – see the above link.
Read my story (Falling Stars) on the subject and how I believe this will extend to live bodies going into space as their final destination.
We are advised to make good choices and live our life to the full, whatever that really means.
Perhaps, your final choice will be the hardest.
I feel privileged to learn my story “Falling Stars” has been published today by the good folks at Literally Stories.
The story was selected by Leila Allison as the Sunday read. (Thank you).
Leila Allison’s thoughts on ‘Falling Stars’.
You are invited to read the story and wonder if this is a great way to go – or not.
Posted in Blog, Observational, Short Story, Uncategorized
Tagged Dignitas, Life and Death., peace, Relationships, Romantic, Short Stories, spiritual, Writing


Omar is lured into the depths of segregated Beirut. Isolated from reality, he struggles to keep his sense of home.
Screens as part of SHORTS PROGRAM FOUR.
Lebanese director Ely Dagher was born and raised in Beirut. He graduated with an MA in New Media and Contemporary Art Studies from Goldsmiths College in London. His latest short film WAVES ’98 was awarded the Palme D’Or for Best Short Film at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
Beaver and beaver


text:
Trans-Tasman Trophy, 1st T20I: Australia vs New Zealand - Things which went wrong for the Kiwis
Australia cruised to a seven-wicket win (D/L Method) in the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Trophy tri-series opener against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.
David Warner, Australia's stand-in captain for this series, won the toss and opted to bowl against the Black Caps, who struggled from the start and never really settled down after their top-order collapse.
In 20 overs, New Zealand could only manage 117/9 with Colin de Grandhomme top-scoring with 38.
Australian bowlers were brilliant on the day as Andrew Tye picked up 4/23 while Billy Stanlake ended with 3/15.
The second match of the tri-series will be played between Australia and England at Hobart on Wednesday, February 7.
Now let us have a look at the things which went wrong for New Zealand.
#1 Failure in all the departments
The loss in Sydney was the third consecutive T20I loss for New Zealand after they surrendered their World No.1 ranking by losing a three-match series against Pakistan 2-1 at home last month.
It was a failure in all the departments for the Kiwis as they struggled with both bat and ball in the series opener.
The visitors suffered a major batting collapse and managed to post just 117 runs in 20 overs with Colin de Grandhomme being the highest scorer with 38.
Although it was a small total to defend, Australian batsmen Glenn Maxwell and Chris Lynn showed no mercy to New Zealand bowlers as they reached their revised target of 95 with 21 balls remaining.


text:
New Chinatown caters to a new generation of immigrants
This is part of a series on the growing influence of China in bilateral relations as well as Chinese communities in Japan.
Tokyo's Ikebukuro district has no colorful arches or lanterns like the ones that adorn the established Chinatowns in Yokohama, Kobe and Nagasaki.
But once you step out of JR Ikebukuro Station from the north exit, you are assailed by the unmistakable sounds, sights and aromas of a new Chinatown in the making.
The bright yellow and red signs of food retailers Zhiyin (FriendVoice) and Yangguangcheng (Sunshine Group) vie for people's attention.
Chinese conversation can be heard everywhere, on the street or inside stores, from early in the morning until late at night.
The nation's three traditional Chinatowns, which date back to the late 19th century, have thrived primarily as tourist destinations. Most of the visitors are Japanese holidaymakers.
Ikebukuro by contrast is a hive of recent Chinese immigrants who have come to Japan since the mid-1980s, led by students at Japanese-language schools in the neighborhood.
Kiyomi Yamashita, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of Tsukuba's graduate school, said many Chinese prefer Tokyo's urban lifestyle, and Ikebukuro offered cheap wood-and-mortar apartments for students.
Yamashita, who has been following the development of Ikebukuro's Chinese community for years, compiled a leaflet, "Ikebukuro Chinatown Guide," in March with professors at Rikkyo University.
Toshima Ward, which includes Ikebukuro, has one of the largest Chinese populations among Tokyo's 23 wards.
About 8,500 Chinese were registered as of the end of August, up from about 6,700 a decade ago, and accounted for more than half of the ward's 15,600 foreign residents.
Chinese are engaged in a wide range of jobs, from skilled professionals to workers at nighttime entertainment establishments.
The influx of Chinese has attracted restaurants, retailers and other businesses that cater to their everyday needs.
An estimated 100 stores have been set up in and around Ikebukuro, including groceries, bookstores, travel agencies, barbers, photo studios and even a driving school.
Ikebukuro has also become a hotspot for Chinese media.
About 15 Chinese-language newspapers and magazines are based in and around Ikebukuro, while about 50 print media operate in Japan, according to The Duan Press, a publisher of books on China-Japan relations.
"Weekly Digest," a free newspaper launched in 1993, moved its editorial office to Ikebukuro from Tokyo's Kanda district in 2005.
Li Rui, editor in chief, said Ikebukuro, with its growing Chinese population, is an ideal place both to gather information and circulate a newspaper.
Arirang is a restaurant specializing in dishes from northeastern China, from which a growing number of immigrants are coming to Ikebukuro.
Like other Chinese restaurants in Ikebukuro, Arirang mainly serves Chinese residents but attracts many Japanese customers as well.
"China and Japan have had some misunderstandings over history, but I think we can understand each other through cuisine," said Zhang Zhiquan, the manager and chef. "I want to offer genuine Chinese food to (Japanese) customers to promote mutual understanding."
Some residents are wary of the growing presence of Chinese.
A middle-aged woman working at a family restaurant said Chinese are disturbing order, saying a nearby Chinese restaurant has repeatedly ignored rules on where to put out the garbage.
"I'm concerned about deteriorating public safety, and I don't think we can live side by side with Chinese," said the woman, who spoke on condition that she not be named. "Some people are worried that Chinese might take over this town."
Takeshi Kato, who heads the Nishi-Ikebukuro 1-chome neighborhood association, said Chinese residents are blending in.
He often chats with a Chinese acquaintance during a walk. In recent years, Chinese students have carried a portable shrine with other foreign residents at Ikebukuro's annual Fukuro Matsuri festival.
"We are in the age of globalization, and Ikebukuro is a cosmopolitan city," Kato said. "We can work together to boost the local economy."
Duan Yuezhong, editor in chief at The Duan Press, launched a project in August to promote exchanges between Chinese and Japanese in Ikebukuro.
An open-air salon, held every Sunday at a park near JR Ikebukuro Station, provides a forum for anybody interested in Chinese language and culture to socialize with Chinese and practice language skills.
Duan, who has been putting out a newsletter for Chinese residents since 1996, said the free program is modeled on popular conversation salons organized at parks in Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
Typically, a selected speaker, Chinese or Japanese, makes a presentation on a specific theme and talks with other participants.
At a session held on one muggy afternoon in August, Chinese students described their one-year experience at the University of Tsukuba and the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies before they left Japan.
Japanese guests included a university student, a freelance translator and a researcher.
"I want to help Ikebukuro develop as the center for Chinese and Japanese to communicate with each other," Duan said.(IHT/Asahi: October 1,2007)

domain: geography


text:
The Style Gallery is a great new way for you to view, love, and share outfit photos. It’s meant to showcase
all the expressive, creative, and inspirational personalities of our community!
Love you too!
Your email has been sent!
Even after summer simmers away, maintain the sun’s sizzling effect by wearing the shimmering gold tint of this white top. Details like a black neckline and princess seams feel as sweet as toes on a surfboard, and the pairing of this shirt with a neutral tank, tights worn under shorts, and a draping sweater warm your memories to reminiscent perfection!
Final Sale: This item cannot be returned or exchanged.
All measurements in inches.
Sorry this item isn't available anymore

domain: artistic


Live At Open Mike
Price: $4.98 / €3.59
Short Film (2005) 27 minutes ~ Color
Live at Open Mic is a documentary about Open Mic Nights in San Diego. Captured through interviews and performances, Live at Open Mic reveals the true stories of four up and coming musicians as they struggle to reach their dream. In this compelling documentary, we uncover their struggles, hopes, and fears as they take us through a grassroots journey of preparation for an unforgettable performance at Live at Open Mic.
Director: Horacio Jones
Stars: Marcie Gibbs, Sam Bybee, Heather Stephens, Johnny Janiga, and Isaac Cheong


text:
Amazing Outdoor Wall Mounted Lights Outdoor Ceiling Lights Outdoor Wall Lights Exterior Light Fixtures Wall Light Fixtures And Wall Lantern Lamps And White Pole
File Type: image/jpeg
Furniture — This furniture, is one of the 11 designs published under the gallery: Glamorous Outdoor Wall Mounted Lights 2017 Ideas. In the next page, we have the awesome outdoor wall mounted lights outdoor wall lighting dusk to dawn outdoor ceiling light wall brick wall and wall lamp outside and gray door and floor [ ... ]. While in the previous page, we have the astonishing outdoor wall mounted lights outdoor lighting fixtures outdoor wall lamps and gray wall and floor and picture and car and vase with plant and black stone [ ... ].
View other and more furniture designs below.
File Size: 69 KB
Dimension: 680x502 pixels
Downloaded: 3010 times
Updated: May 5th, 2017
Browse More & Get Even More Inspired
Interior & Furniture Designs
10 Classy Wall Mount Light Fixture Outdoor Decor Ideas is complemented with many stunning furniture and interior design especially the furniture designs, as follows: Remarkable wall mount light fixture two lamp shades design hollow, Mesmerizing wall mount light fixture modern lamp on a wall with, Outstanding wall mount light fixture lighted tube shape and glass, Surprising wall mount light fixture lamp design can be adjusted, and many more. [ continue ... ]
10 Beautiful and Romantic Plug in Wall Light Collection features several lovely interior and furniture design particularly the furniture designs, as follows: Appealing plug in wall light plastic shades and combinations, Breathtaking plug in wall light simple design made of glass and, Glamorous plug in wall light iron frame glass materials, Mesmerizing plug in wall light long glass material with a yellow, and many more. [ continue ... ]
Gold Lampshade for Bedroom Lamp Decor Ideas is complemented with many inspiring interior and furniture design particularly the bedroom designs, inluding: Gold lampshade gold lamp shades for table lamps brushed gold, Gold lampshade gold lamp shades for table lamps luxury nordic, Gold lampshade gold lamp shades for table lamps vintage restaurant, Gold lampshade gold lamp shades for table lamps modern pendant, and many more. [ continue ... ]
Elegant Gold Accents Shades for Chandeliers Ideas is featuring several gorgeous interior and furniture design but mostly the bedroom designs, which includes: Surprising shades for chandeliers plastic and steel materials, Outstanding shades for chandeliers the design of the plastic, Mesmerizing shades for chandeliers light bulbs and iron with, Inspiring shades for chandeliers cream color and silver color, and many more. [ continue ... ]
Outstanding Linear Wall Sconce 2017 Design Collection features some gorgeous interior decor and furniture design principally the bedroom designs, namely: Linear wall sconce contemporary wall sconces black cabinet bathroom, Linear wall sconce contemporary wall sconces grey wall wide mirror, Linear wall sconce unique wall sconces grey wall high window, Linear wall sconce contemporary wall sconces grey grid wall decoration, and many more. [ continue ... ]


text:
English could face €2m legal bill from court battle with architect
Businessman and engineer Barry English may yet be on the hook for around €2 million arising from the lengthy high stakes legal saga between him and architect Jerry Ryan.
In a 198-page judgment delivered last Friday, Mr Justice Denis McDonald dismissed Ryan’s lawsuit for the return of more than $8 million arising from an arrangement between the two men during the recession.
Embroiled in bankruptcy in 2011, Ryan transferred ownership of his business HKRME...
Subscribe from just €1 for the first month!
All Digital Access + eReader
Unlimited Access for 1 Month
*New subscribers only
€149 For the 1st Year
Unlimited Access for 1 Year
90 Day Pass
Unlimited Access for 2 Years
Get a Business Account for you and your team
Pascal Lamy: As America turns the page, the EU must sharpen its climate innovation edge
A global race to rapidly retool economies to thrive in a climate-neutral world has begun, and we in Europe cannot coast by on our early gains nor allow our competitors to nose ahead of us
Colin Murphy: Ireland was abusing its unwed mothers even before there was Church and state collusion
Twentieth-century Ireland was one of the most repressive sexual cultures in the world. Much of that is on the Catholic Church, but not all of it
Wayne Neilon: Piecemeal approach will not save Ireland‘s céad míle fáilte
State supports have been crucial but not always easy to access or cost-effective and the government must urgently put in place a sustainable package to protect the hospitality sector’s future
Off Message: Flighty influencers have gone too far this time
Celebrities heading to far-flung sunny destinations while the rest of us are restricted to 5km is not a good look. So why do they do it?


text:
Universal wheel rim tape. AVDB Moto racing model.
MODEL 1 :
Pre-cut in 1/3 for an easier installation. In total 12 parts, designed to equip a complete motorcycle. 3 parts per rim side.
MODEL 2 :
Racing model, pre-cut in 1/4, 16 parts designed to make a complete motorcycle. 4 parts per side of the front and rear rims with 4 bonus strips.
Warning: Last items in stock!
Laying some rim decal stripes will definitely give some style and color to your wheels. You have always wanted to do it, or you tried, but the difficulty made you give up, despite all your skills and efforts ?
AVDB Moto found a way to highly simplify this with these pre-cut rim tapes ! Quality glue, resistant to UV, brake pad residues, washing products, oil and grease.
The tape is to be applied on a 17” rim, previously thoroughly cleaned to insure a long lifetime for the adhesive.
Available in 2 colors : Black and Red or Black and White, and 2 AVDB stickers offered with the rim tape set.
A perfect set to decorate your motorcycle to your tastes, AVDB Moto tries hard to develop its product range by continuously proposing more and more accessories with always the same tri-promise Quality / Price / Design, which we hope will meet all your expectations !
To reassure you :

domain: hobby


text:
All Sexual Health Headlines
Many experts acknowledge that sexual function is an important component of a person’s overall health and therefore something that should be assessed and treated by health care providers. Nevertheless, most medical definitions of sexual function and the validated tools used to measure sexual function remain very cisgendered and heteronormative (i.e., dealing only with cisgender heterosexual sex). This situation highlights a major gap in the evaluation and treatment of sexual dysfunction in transgender, non-binary, and other gender diverse individuals.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is associated with several other medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and more.
Declining sexual desire for one’s partner is a common, though sometimes frustrating part of long-term relationships. For individuals who wish to increase their sexual desire for their long-term partner, it may be helpful to have a few strategies at hand.
Pornography use has become more common in recent years, despite the fact that the majority of religious institutions do not approve of individuals using pornography. Within the context of most religions, pornography is thought to be a sin and is forbidden. Plus, many religious leaders discourage the members of their faith from viewing pornography.
Gender-affirming vaginoplasty is a surgery to create a vaginal canal and vulva (including the clitoris) for transgender, non-binary, or gender diverse individuals who wish to align their physical characteristics with their gender identity. People who undergo gender-affirming vaginoplasty may have different goals or priorities related to their gender expression, the appearance of their genitals, and/or their sexuality when it comes to surgery. For some, the ability to orgasm after vaginoplasty is an important goal.
Radiation therapy is a common treatment for prostate cancer. Unfortunately, it has been shown to negatively affect a man’s sexual function in some cases. In particular, the association between prostatic radiotherapy and erectile dysfunction (ED) is well documented, despite it generally showing better sexual health outcomes than radical prostatectomy (surgery to remove the prostate and surrounding tissues) in the short term.
Gender dysphoria is the distress that an individual may feel due to their gender identity not matching the sex they were assigned at birth. While gender dysphoria typically affects transgender and gender diverse individuals, it is important to note that not all transgender and gender diverse people experience it, nor does everyone seek gender-affirming care.
The association between alcohol abuse and erectile dysfunction (ED) is well-documented in medical literature. Healthy erectile functioning relies on signals being passed effectively through the body’s nervous system and good blood flow to the penis, which are two processes that alcohol consumption can hamper (at least temporarily). In particular, chronic alcohol abuse has been shown to lead to an increase in erectile difficulties in men, though luckily these effects may be reversible.
Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM) is a condition that is estimated to affect about half of all postmenopausal women. It occurs when the decline in estrogen that accompanies menopause causes undesirable changes in the urogenital system such as vaginal and vulvar dryness, itchiness, burning, and frequent, urgent, and/or painful urination.
In the short term, stressful situations prompt alertness and focus, allowing people to deal more effectively with the challenge at hand. However, ongoing stress can result in an overactive nervous system, which is disruptive to the body’s natural processes and can leave a person more vulnerable to mental and physical health issues.
Social support and social connectedness have been shown to be protective against mental health disorders like anxiety and depression because people are better able to deal with difficult situations when they have the support of others. Unfortunately, past research has shown that transgender people may have lower levels of social support than other individuals. What’s more, social connectedness for people around the world was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated social distancing to contain the spread of the virus.
There is a well-established association between depression and sexual dysfunction in both men and women. Although many factors influence this association, experts generally agree that depression affects individuals’ cognitive processes, altering their attention, perception, and evaluation of events, which has the potential to impair sexual experiences.

domain: psychology


Home > Work Safe > Video Library > Video Catalog by Topic Categories > Material Handling / Conveyer Safety
- Conveyor Safety in the Workplace
#CO000 - DVD (20 min. added 2015)
This video discusses the various hazards posed by conveyor systems and the safe work practices that employees must follow to prevent injuries related to these hazards. Also featured are testimonials from workers who have suffered conveyor-related injuries due to complacency, taking shortcuts and failure to perform lockout/tagout procedures.
- Manual Load Handling in the Warehouse
#MA010 - VHS (12 min. 1990)
This program presents the do's and don'ts of warehouse activities and shows workers how to handle products safely and efficiently. Proper lifting procedures are demonstrated, as well as how to carefully inspect a load prior to lifting. Provides safety rules for using special tools in the warehouse including two-wheeled handtrucks, manual pallet trucks, stockpiling ladders and box cutters. Common sense safety rules are also presented.
- Materials Handling and Storage
#MA006 - VHS (15 min. 1991)
The materials handling and storage module makes you aware of the dangers and costs of materials handling accidents (incidents). You will learn to recognize the hazards associated with unsafe storage of materials and learn techniques to control these hazards and prevent future accident (incidents). Objectives when you complete this module:
- Identify the major causes of materials handling injuries
- Identify the safety guidelines, hazards, and special considerations associated with various types of materials handling equipment
- List ways to minimize hazards of material storage
- Overhead Crane Safety
#OV015 - VHS (18 min. 1989)
Overhead Crane Safety will train workers to use safety procedures when operating or working around cranes in your facility. Covers gantry and E.O. T. pre-operations inspection, basic operating techniques, pre-lift considerations, safe lifting, load movement, slings, hooks and magnets.


text:
When you hear “post-apocalyptic action-RPG”, a certain image probably pops into your head. Your thoughts are inevitably painted by a particular colour palette, everything is grimy, dusty and – well – brown. Dangerous creatures lurk at every turn, all the trees are dead and dying, and your outlook is bleak.
Their interpretation of the world is lush and imaginative, full of colour, wonder and the sorts of characters we haven’t seen in games for a long time. The downloadable title is set to launch with the upcoming Summer of Arcade on Xbox Live, and was on show as part of the Warner Bros. booth at E3. While we were there, we caught up with Greg Kasavin, writer and creative director at the studio, and asked him to tell us a little bit more about the labour of love that is Bastion.
Stick around for all the big announcements, the latest news and the freshest videos, straight from the show floor. If you’d like to subscribe, you can do that via RSS feed, through iTunes, or if you’d prefer, subscribe to our YouTube channel.