tier: kodiak

text:
Since 1992, altimeter missions have been providing accurate measurements of sea surface height (SSH) [
1]. However, there is still a degree of uncertainty in altimeter measurements and in the geophysical corrections applied in the SSH computation [
5]. Traditional altimetry retrievals have often been unable to produce meaningful signals of sea level change in the coastal zone due to the typically shallower water, bathymetric gradients, and shoreline shapes, among other things [
In the recent past, a lively international community of scientists has been involved in the research and development of techniques for coastal altimetry, with substantial support from space agencies such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Centre National d’Études Spatiales (CNES), and other research institutions [
7]. Efforts have aimed at extending the capabilities of current altimeters closer to the coastal zone. This includes the application of improved geophysical corrections, data recovery strategies near the coast using new editing criteria, and high-frequency along-track sampling associated with updated quality control procedures [
9]. Concerning the geophysical corrections, one of the major improvements is in the tide models where the tidal component is not part of the observed signal [
10] and needs to be removed [
In parallel with these efforts, the Sentinel-3A satellite was launched in February 2016 as part of the European Union Copernicus Programme. It became fully operational in July 2016. The Sentinel-3 mission is jointly operated by the ESA and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) to deliver, among other things, operational ocean observation services [
11]. The Sentinel-3A onboard altimeter, a synthetic aperture radar altimeter (SRAL), is based on a principle proposed by [
12]: the synthetic aperture radar mode (SARM). The SRAL has two advantages over the conventional altimeter: (i) a finer spatial resolution in the along-track dimension [
13] and (ii) the higher signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal and lower speckle noise from SAR waveforms [
15], providing enhanced Sea Level Anomaly (SLA) measurements in the coastal zone [
The Sentinel-3A data are processed by EUMETSAT (
https://www.eumetsat.int), which freely distributes level 1 and level 2 products. These products are in a second step reprocessed through the Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System (DUACS) altimeter multi-mission processing system (
https://duacs.cls.fr). The DUACS system provides directly usable, high-quality near-real-time and delayed time (DT) global and regional altimeter products [
5]. The main processing steps include product homogenisation, data editing, orbit error correction, reduction in Long Wavelength Errors (LWE), and the production of along-track and mapped sea level anomalies. The DUACS processing [
3] is based on the altimeter standards given by L2P (Level-2 Plus) products (see e.g., [
16]). They include the most recent standards recommended for altimeter global products by agencies and expert groups such as the Ocean Surface Topography Science Team (OSTST) and the ESA Quality Working groups.
More than 25 years of level-3 (L3) and level-4 (L4) altimetry products were reprocessed and recently delivered as the DUACS DT 2018 version [
5]. L3 products for repetitive altimeter missions are based on the use of a mean profile [
17] that allows collocating the SSH of the repetitive tracks and retrieving a precise mean reference to compute SLAs [
5]. SLAs are often used instead of absolute dynamic topography, defined as the differences between SSH and the geoid height, because the geoid is not perfectly known at scales smaller than 150 km from space gravity missions [
17]. To solve this, a mean sea surface model based on altimetry data that contains the sum of the geoid height and the mean dynamic topography is used [
The along-track SLA products are affected by the uncertainties in the geoid surface model and also by (i) instrumental errors, (ii) environmental and sea state errors, and (iii) the precision of geophysical corrections. These elements introduce errors in the measurements [
18]. To minimise their impact, DUACS-DT2018 re-processing considers the most up-to-date altimetry corrections, such as (a) dry and wet troposphere corrections, (b) ionospheric correction, (c) sea state bias correction, (d) dynamic atmospheric correction (DAC), and (e) the ocean tide. Some of these instrumental and environmental errors remain in the along-track products delivered to final users, mainly due to the imprecision of the corrections applied.
Altimeter data are widely calibrated and validated by comparison with in situ timeseries [
19]. Tide gauge measurements are commonly used. In situ and altimetric observations are complementary and are often assumed to observe the same signals (e.g., [
20]). The comparisons with in situ observations allow us to obtain altimetry errors relative to the external measurements and provide an improved picture of SSH. The paper [
5] assessed gridded products in coastal areas through a comparison with monthly tide gauge measurements from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) Network [
21]. The procedure described in [
22] was used. The paper [
5] reported a global reduction of 0.6% in variance when using the DUACS-DT2018 data with respect to the previous DUACS-DT2014 dataset [
3], with a clear improvement along the Indian coast, Oceania, and Northern Europe.
The consistency between altimeter gridded products and tide gauge data in the coastal region was also investigated at global [
24] and regional (Mediterranean basin) scales [
26]. Mean square differences between tide gauge and gridded altimetry (see
Section 3.1 in the text) ranging between 30% and 90% were obtained by [
23] in the European coasts, whilst these differences were reduced to around 40% [
24] thanks to improved geophysical corrections (i.e., a new DAC) applied to altimetry data with root mean square differences (RMSD) between gridded altimetry and tide gauges of 4.43 cm in the Atlantic Ocean. The paper [
25] found a median value for the correlation altimetry—a tide gauge of 0.79 in the Mediterranean Sea.
These works used low-pass filtered (monthly averaged) tide gauge records from PSMSL and the Global Sea Level Observing System (GLOSS)/Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR) [
27] to remove high frequencies not resolved by the altimetry gridded products used for inter-comparisons. Thus, a comparison at higher frequencies between a specific regional product for the whole European coast and a high-density tide gauge dataset is, to our knowledge, still lacking.
Here, we present an assessment of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS)/DUACS along-track (L3) altimeter regional operational products in the European seas using in situ tide gauges from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) catalogue. The aim is to validate the Sentinel-3A SAR mode SLAs against the equivalent in situ tide gauge measurements. Six-hour time series of tide gauge measurements will be compared with the 1 Hz along-track altimetry data from the Sentinel-3A satellite mission, this strongly enhancing both the spatial and temporal resolution of the results reported by [
5]. We expect to obtain a more detailed assessment of DUACS-DT2018 products in the European seas at the both regional and sub-regional level. This inter-comparison has been also conducted by using SLA from the Jason-3 satellite mission to investigate the improvements of the Sentinel-3A mission over the latter in the coastal band.
The quality of DUACS Sentinel-3A SAR altimetric 1 Hz in the coastal band of the European Seas, estimated here through comparison with independent tide gauge measurements, revealed a mean RMSD between both datasets lower than 7 cm for the whole region, with mean values ranging around less than 4 cm in the Mediterranean basin and around 10 cm for the NWS region.
Previous works have compared in situ measurements from tide gauges and altimetry data in the European coasts. The tide gauge records from the PSMSL—i.e., [
25] or GLOSS/CLIVAR [
26]—have been mainly considered. The PSMSL repository presents a dense tide gauge network in the European coasts similar to that found in the CMEMS repository, but it is based on monthly average sea level records. [
42] conducted a regional calibration of the Sentinel-3A data at higher temporal scales by using tide gauge measurements included in the CMEMS repository, but it was focused on the German coasts of the German Bight and of the Baltic Sea. Thus, to our present knowledge, this is the first time that the dense CMEMS tide gauge dataset is used to compare with Sentinel-3A data in the whole European coasts.
The performance of the Sentinel-3A data in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea) was investigated by [
43] through the comparison with tide gauge records from the Estonian Environment Agency. Such records are not included in the CMEMS repository. These authors found an overall RMSD between both datasets of 7 cm based on the inter-comparison with three tide gauge sites. This RMSD is larger than the one obtained here for the Baltic Sea (5.69 cm,
Table 2). However, we used 88 tide gauge stations distributed along the whole basin, this allowing a more robust computation.
42] compared, among others, the tide gauge sites of Kiel and Warnemünde with the 1 Hz Sentinel-3A data. The tide gauge processing included the tidal correction, whilst DAC and GIA correction were not applied. These authors found a standard deviation of altimeter and tide gauge difference of 3.3 (3.8) cm for the Kiel (Warnemünde) tide gauge station, which is slightly different to those obtained here, 4.0 (6.8) cm, for the same stations. This is probably due to the different tide gauge processing applied and stresses the impact of such processing on the consistency with altimetry data.
To investigate more in depth the quality of the Sentinel-3A data, a time series for the inter-comparisons conducted in the Mediterranean and Baltic seas is plotted in
Figure 5. The tide gauge time series in the former (panel a) shows an annual cycle peaking in October, with an amplitude close to 30 cm. This is an expected result related to the steric effect in the basin that is properly captured by the Sentinel-3A altimetry data. However, this is out of the scope of this paper, because the length of the time series analysed is very short for properly investigating seasonal variability, so in the following we briefly summarise the features found.
A sudden increase in SLA is observed in spring 2018 (black square in
Figure 5), promoting a second maximum around March 2018 which is not observed in the previous year, being probably related to some inter-annual variability. This rise in SSH is captured by the Sentinel-3A dataset and also by in situ tide gauge measurements. As a consequence, the annual minimum in SLA observed in previous years in March-April is located in 2018 in May. This signal has not been detected in the other sub-regions investigated by either altimetry or tide gauge measurements.
The tide gauge time series in the Baltic Sea (
Figure 5b) show an annual cycle peaking close to December with an amplitude of around 60 cm; this is quite similar to that found for the NWS region (figure not shown). The tide gauge time series exhibit much more inter-annual variability than that of the Mediterranean Sea. The larger seasonal signal observed in the Baltic Sea is attributed to water mass variations within the basin linked to steric changes in the nearby North Atlantic Ocean and river discharges, as well as meteorological forcing, and amplified due to the presence of shallow waters [
The quality of the Sentinel-3A dataset was also assessed by comparing it with the Jason-3 performance (RMSD and variance) obtained for the inter-comparisons with tide gauges conducted for the entire European coast and the different sub-regions investigated. The results are reported in
Table 1 for the whole domain and in
Table 2 for the different sub-basins clearly show the superior performance of the Sentinel-3A dataset with respect to Jason-3 in the coastal band in terms of the lower along-track RMSD and lower variance in the differences (altimetry—tide gauge) against the same tide gauges, despite their different ground tracks.
The Sentinel-3A satellite mission improves both the RMSD by 13% and the variance (altimetry—tide gauge) by 25% with respect to the Jason-3 dataset in the European coasts.
Figure 6 shows an example of the comparison between Jason-3 and tidal residuals at the tide gauge site of Aranmore (IBI region). A low correlation between both datasets was obtained, thus leading to poorer results than those for the Sentinel-3A mission (figure not shown). Additionally, the mean of the distance between the tide gauge sites and the most correlated altimetry track points used to conduct the inter-comparison reduced by 9% when using the Sentinel-3A altimetry data. This is due to the reduction in the cross-track distance in the Sentinel-3A orbit with respect to Jason-3, which promotes a higher probability of finding a Sentinel-3A track closer to a given tide gauge station. Similar results were found for the different sub-regions investigated.
Lanczos low-pass filtered SLA from Sentinel-3A and Jason-3 were compared with tidal records from the tide gauge sites common to both missions. Overall, the inter-comparisons between the filtered SLA and in situ measurements improved when using the altimetry data from Sentinel-3A in all the regions investigated (
Table 6). For the entire European coast, the RMSD was reduced 12% more for the Sentinel-3A satellite mission than for the Jason-3 one. The variance of the differences between both datasets reduced 22% more for the Sentinel-3A mission.
These results confirm that the SRAL instrument better solves the signal in the coastal band than altimeters onboard Jason-3 even when filtered SLA is used. The improvement of Sentinel-3A is higher for the NWS region with respect to the surrounding areas due to poorer performance (not shown) obtained for the Jason-3 mission in the region, which is probably related to the higher significant wave height signal and thus higher noise measurement (1 Hz bump; [
17]) for this mission. Similar results were found for the inter-comparison conducted in the Baltic Sea and IBI region, indicating a poorer improvement of Sentinel-3A over Jason-3 in the area. The reduced noise measurement observed in Sentinel-3A contributes to improving the consistency with tide gauge measurements, but it does not explain by itself the improved performances of the Sentinel-3A mission compared to Jason-3.
To further investigate this, the LWE correction applied to the altimetry was checked. We found that the LWE correction diminished the variance of the SLA time series from Sentinel-3A used to compare with tide gauges by 21% in the European coasts (
Table 5). This fact translates to better results in terms of the RMSD and variance of the differences (altimetry—tide gauge) when compared with tidal residuals. Similar results were obtained from the Jason-3 dataset. If we compare the outcomes reported in
Table 5 for both satellite missions, a larger improvement in statistics was obtained for the Sentinel-3A dataset with respect to Jason-3. This leads to an overall larger impact of LWE correction on SLA from the Sentinel-3A mission.
If the LWE correction is not applied to both altimetry datasets, better results in terms of lower RMSD and variance (altimetry—tide gauge) were still obtained for the Sentinel-3A mission for all the regions investigated (
Table 7). If these results are compared with those reported in
Table 1 and
Table 2, computed from the LWE-corrected SLA, we observe an overall lower improvement in Sentinel-3A over Jason-3 when LWE-uncorrected SLA is used for all the regions investigated except for the IBI region. This fact stresses the higher residual high-frequency LWE for the Sentinel-3A mission shown in
The opposite behaviour found in the IBI region—that is, the lightly larger improvement in the Sentinel-3A mission with respect to Jason-3 when using the LWE-uncorrected SLA—could be due to the different location and number of altimetry points used to compare with tide gauges. However, the improvements obtained were only in the range of 1–2%.
These results demonstrate that LWE processing contributes to reducing errors in altimetry, enhancing the consistency between the altimeter and in situ datasets. However, it does not explain alone the better results obtained for the SAR technology in the retrieval of SLA close to the coast. Nonetheless, these outcomes again confirm the better capabilities of SRAL with respect to the altimeters onboard Jason-3 in the retrieval of SLA close to the coast in the European seas.
We have given the reasons why we decided to focus on the reference 1 Hz altimetry data instead of using high-rate (i.e., 20 Hz) SLAs. We realise that the use of high-frequency 20 Hz products could produce better results, and this analysis is in our future plans when these products will be available for the whole oceanographic community.
We have performed an assessment of the Sentinel-3A L3 along-track DUACS dataset in the coastal area of the European seas over a period of two and half years from May 2016 to September 2018. This validation was conducted by comparing the equivalent SLAs derived from 6-h sampled tide gauges over the same period in the whole domain and the following sub-regions: the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas and the IBI and NWS regions. Tide gauge records disseminated on CMEMS were used.
The mean value of the RMSD between 1 Hz SLA from Sentinel-3A and tide gauges for the whole European coasts was 6.97 cm. This showed some variability according to the different regions investigated: minimum mean values of 3.41 cm were observed in the Mediterranean Sea and maximum ones (10.72 cm) in the NWS region. These results can be explained by the larger spatio-temporal variability observed in the NWS region with respect to that found in the Mediterranean basin. Non-tidal variance, which is also larger in the former, contributes to the larger RMSD obtained in the NWS region. The assessment was also conducted using altimetry data from Jason-3 for inter-comparison purposes. The Sentinel-3A dataset showed a lower RMSD and variance of the differences (altimetry—tide gauge) in the European coasts.
The impact of the measurement noise on the SRAL instrument was checked by repeating the inter-comparisons but using filtered SLA. The results showed that the variance of altimetry data diminished by 2% when using filtered SLA from Sentinel-3A due to higher frequencies being subtracted from the SLA time series in the filtering procedure. As a consequence, an error 0.3% lower when comparing filtered SLA with tide gauge records with respect to that obtained when using the unfiltered data was obtained. Additionally, the variance of the differences between both datasets reduced by 1% when using the filtered data.
The outcomes from the Jason-3 dataset confirmed the better results obtained from filtered SLA, although much larger discrepancies were found between filtered and unfiltered SLA when comparing with tide gauge records with respect to those obtained for the Sentinel-3A mission. This fact emphasises that the Jason-3 dataset is affected by a higher measurement noise than Sentinel-3A, and also that SRAL instrument onboard the Sentinel-3A mission better solves the signal in the coastal band. This was doubly confirmed from the computations conducted using only filtered SLA from the Sentinel-3A and Jason-3 missions, and also from the analysis of the signal degradation when we approach the coast.
The impact of the LWE correction applied to satellite altimetry was also assessed. The RMSD between the LWE-corrected SLA from the Sentinel-3A and tide gauge records was 10% lower than that obtained when using uncorrected SLA, and the variance of the differences (altimetry—tide gauge) was also reduced by 18%. This is due to a depletion in the variance of SLA due to the LWE correction, which contributes to filtering out part of the residual high-frequency signals not removed after applying other geophysical corrections with respect to uncorrected data. The results for the whole domain and the four sub-regions investigated showed an overall improvement of the Sentinel-3A over Jason-3 when using the LWE-uncorrected SLA for all the regions. Thus, the Sentinel-3A mission still provided better results than the Jason-3 along the European coasts even if the LWE correction was not applied to both.


tier: cub

shelf: software-docs

title: Index

text:
Network Guide →
Deactivating a Network License
3.14. Deactivating a Network License
Disponible en español: Desactivación de una Licencia de Red
Server Manager 6.x/7.x/8.x
Managing 5.x–8.x Licenses
This section is about deactivating
licenses. If you’re looking for how to
activate a license, you’ll find full details of the activation
process in Activating
an Activatable License under Server Step 3:
Activate License or Obtain Certificate.
When would you want to deactivate a license?
- When you’re planning to change servers, reimage
your server, or upgrade your server’s operating system, you must deactivate all
- When you’re upgrading Palisade network software
to a later version, Palisade Technical Support may ask you to deactivate any
old permanent licenses in order to receive the new permanent licenses.
If an Activation ID is listed more than once, that means you
originally split its activations; see Network
Licenses Installed on This Server. In that case, to deactivate the
Activation ID you will need to deactivate each line item, known as a “fulfillment”.
When you reactivate the Activation ID later, on this server or a different
server, you can activate all users in one operation or split them in a
different way if you wish.
deactivate a license, select the license from the list and then
click Deactivate. If Deactivate
is grayed out, this license is a certificate type and cannot be deactivated
(returned). Please contact Palisade
Technical Support for assistance.
After clicking Deactivate,
you can choose Automatic or Manual Deactivation. Automatic is faster, but it
won’t work if your server can’t establish a connection with Palisade’s server.
In Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want
to deactivate. Click Deactivate » Use Automatic Deactivation. You should get a response
within 60 seconds. If it is “Your license has been successfully deactivated”,
then the deactivation is complete. Otherwise, the deactivation is not complete,
so please contact Palisade Technical
Support for assistance before
you decommission your server.
After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the
If you’re returning a license to obtain a newer software
release, and you’ve successfully completed the Automatic Deactivation, please
contact Palisade Technical Support.
Mention the serial number that you deactivated, and ask for the production
license for your upgrade.
If Automatic Deactivation fails because your server can’t
connect to Palisade’s server, or if your server is not on the Internet, use Manual
Don’t start any other activation or deactivation while you have this one in
progress. That could confuse the FLEXnet licensing software, and recovering
from such a state is not simple.
the main screen of Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want to
deactivate. Then, click Deactivate » Use Manual Deactivation » Save Deactivation Request File and send the saved
request file to Palisade Technical
Support. It’s impossible for Technical Support to deactivate your license
without this file.
- You may close Server Manager while you’re waiting, if you want to. Use Close, not Reset.
Support will send you a response file.
- If you’re planning to decommission your server,
you can ignore the response file. Technical Support has deactivated the license
in Palisade’s database, using your request file, and the license is available
for transfer to another server. But if you’re keeping this server, please
proceed to the next step.
the Manual Deactivation screen, click Load Deactivation
Response File and load the file you received from Technical Support.
When you get the response "Deactivation was successful", the
deactivation procedure is complete.
If you don’t get that response, first verify that you are loading the response
file (ResponseDAct.xml), not the request file. If that’s not the answer,
contact Palisade Technical Support
for assistance; include your software serial number and a screenshot of the
- If you closed Palisade Server Manager earlier, reopen it and click Resume to get back to the Manual Deactivation screen. If
you don’t have a Resume button when you open
Server Manager, see After Reset,
Can’t Load Response File.
- After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the
Why might deactivation fail?
- If your server can’t make contact with our
server, Automatic Deactivation will fail. In that case, try Manual
- Network licenses can be deactivated only once in
90 days. If you try to deactivate a license too soon, you’ll get a message that
not enough time has passed.
- For a Concurrent Network license, if anyone has
borrowed a license you will not be able to return the “fulfillment” that
includes it. See Status
to determine whether any licenses are currently borrowed. If a license is
borrowed, and you don’t want to wait for the borrow to expire, see Borrowing a
Concurrent Network License for Use Off Network for the early return
For an Enterprise Network, if you have activated
any end users (clients) you will not be able to return the “fulfillment” that
includes them. See
Status to determine
whether any licenses are currently activated. To deactivate an end user, see
Enterprise Network Client License.
Last edited: 2020-03-28


shelf: health

title: 20240621

text:
Ingrown toenail, also called onychocryptosis in the jargon, is characterized by a nail that grows into the flesh. This situation is not uncommon. But you don’t have to panic, we can take some effective measures to treat it. In this guide, the wholesale nail supply distributors will tell you the treatment for ingrown toenails.
Ingrown toenails are usually not serious and can be alleviated by wearing loose shoes or sweat-absorbing socks. In addition, you can also use a foot spa kit to regularly care for your feet. These measures can help you solve the problem of ingrown toenails.
If the situation does not improve despite your efforts, or if you notice the presence of pus, if the sore becomes more severe, or if you have diabetes, it is best to consult a doctor or, better still, a professional without delay. podiatrist.
If the inflammation spreads, other symptoms like fever and dizziness may occur.
The main complications linked to an ingrown toenail?
The infection can be transmitted to the bones of the toe, tendons and joints, cause ulcers, promote the appearance of fungus or even lead to tissue necrosis in diabetics. All the more reason to act quickly!
Your podiatrist will be able to prescribe an antibiotic cream and cut the part of the nail that is causing the problem, or even refer you to surgery if necessary.
Some people are genetically predisposed to ingrown toenails. If yours tend to systematically grow in the wrong direction, the podiatrist may prescribe orthotics, or orthopedic insoles if this problem is linked to poor posture.
It is also possible to carry out surgical treatment, which will consist of removing part of the nail or skin ridge that is causing the pain. This operation is most often carried out on an outpatient basis and under local anesthesia by a specialized surgeon.
Read also: How to whiten yellow nails?


shelf: finance

title: Talanx withdraws profit outlook for 2020

text:
In recent weeks the pandemic has resulted in a shutdown of public and economic life in many countries. It is currently unclear how long the global state of emergency will last, so that the economic impact cannot be conclusively estimated.
The preliminary consolidated net income for the first quarter 2020 of EUR 223 million is roughly in line with the previous year (EUR 235 million). To project the full-year results for 2020 based on the results for the first quarter appears impossible because the corona-related impact on our investment results and on our insurance business is only reflected in one out of three reporting months.
Despite the significant changes in equity prices, interest rates and risk premiums, the Talanx Group expects the Solvency II ratio net of transitional to remain comfortably within the target range of 150% to 200% as at 31 March 2020 (31 December 2019: 211%).
Talanx confirms the intention to pay a dividend of EUR 1.50 per share for the financial year 2019 as proposed.
Details of the first quarter 2020 results will be reported as scheduled on 7 May 2020.
This news release contains forward-looking statements which are based on certain assumptions, expectations and opinions of the Talanx AG management. These statements are, therefore, subject to certain known or unknown risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors, many of which are beyond Talanx AG’s control, affect Talanx AG’s business activities, business strategy, results, performance and achievements. Should one or more of these factors or risks or uncertainties materialise, actual results, performance or achievements of Talanx AG may vary materially from those expressed or implied in the relevant forward-looking statement. Talanx AG does not guarantee that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does Talanx AG accept any responsibility for the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. Talanx AG neither intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.


tier: polar

shelf: education

title: Beatriz caitana

text: Beatriz is a sociologist and researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra (UC, Portugal). She is currently a member of the scientific coordination of the Horizon 2030 project TRANS-lighthouses, which focuses on evaluation of sociopolitical dimension of 10 NBS cases and 11 pilot cases within 8 countries. She was also member of the scientific coordination of the H2020 project URBiNAT, which focuses on the inclusive urban regeneration of social housing neighbourhoods of 7 European cities through the implementation of nature-based solutions in the public space, as a result of a co-creation process involving municipalities, stakeholders and the population of the intervention areas. She is also the co-coordinator of CES' study group on solidarity economy and member of CES team in the BIOTRACES project. PhD student at FEUC, her academic research focuses on alternative economies, namely solidarity economy and co-production practices within social incubators. Previously collaborated in the project PATHS - Youth for Solidarity Economy and Entrepreneurship in Europe, supported by the Erasmus + program, as well as in the Social Innovation Platform (PIS), supported by the Compete Programme and POA FSE/FCT. She is a founder member of the academic social incubator of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Coimbra (ISFEUC), and visiting professor in social and solidarity economy at the Polytechnic of Leiria (Portugal). Her professional background and areas of expertise also include the coordination of projects for national and international non-for-profit organizations in Brazil, dedicated to the promotion and defense of children and adolescents' rights in various contexts, such as urban, indigenous and quilombola communities, as well as the development of social indicators, frameworks and tools for the the monitoring and evaluation of public policies for children. As a result, Beatriz's academic and professional profile focuses both on social and solidarity economy, co-production, universities and incubation initiatives, and on childhood sociology, public policies and children's rights.


shelf: home-craft

title: Transparency with fabric

text:
I know I could've have used tulle or organza and I have used both of them in the past but this time I wanted to extend myself and wanted to achieve transparency using just the value of fabrics.
I started my doing some test samples using a 9 patch block. I just glued the fabric onto paper for the samples. I got the idea to do this from the book by Christine Barnes called The Quilters Color Club.
I have used her book before and you can see the posts Here and Part 2 Here
In this first one I used just the values of blue, I was hoping that it looked as if the transparent light blue fabric was crossing over the transparent dark blue fabric and and the patch in the middle would look like a medium value.
Transparency using value |
In this next sample I used value and colour.
Transparency using Value and colour |
Finally I used Value, Colour and Pattern.
Transparency using Value, Colour and Pattern |
I enjoyed doing these samples but they were harder to do than they look. I had fabric everywhere as I tried to get the values and colours correct.
Anyway it spurred me on to try a little A3 sized quilt for my sample.
I got out lots of batik fabrics because they have lots of colour variations and don't fray as much.
I was quite happy with the effect I was getting but I thought I would try another background fabric, so I got out a yellow/gold ombre.
It didn't look as good as I hoped so I went back to using white as a background. Here is the finished quilt.
Transparency by Linda Steele |
I have had such a busy month that I must confess I made this very quickly 2 days before it was due. I didn't piece or even fuse the fabric, I just cut it out and put some glue behind the pieces.
I would never do that if it was a real quilt.
I learnt a few things by taking this short cut though.
If I did this again I would line up the fabrics properly and not do it by eye, I would piece the fabrics rather than glue or fuse and I would take more care with the spacing of the quilting lines and not just go by eye. Even though I was free motion quilting this with a ruler as a guide, it is much harder to get an accurate 1/4" when quilting on a diagonal.
Bye for now,


shelf: history-culture

text:
Dhoom 4: Is Shah Rukh Khan In It? Fact-Check!
Recently, reports went viral that Shah Rukh Khan and Ram Charan will star in this next Dhoom sequel.
Dhoom 4: Is Shah Rukh Khan In It?
As per Indian Express report, this news is strictly unfounded! While Dhoom 4 is in the works, the casting is yet to be decided.
“The news of Shah Rukh Khan starring in Dhoom 4 is unfounded. Nothing is locked yet,” a source told Indian Express.
Dhoom 4 In The Works, Casting Yet To Be Locked
Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra have been a constant in the iconic Dhoom franchise. It remains to be seen if the duo is returning or not.
Dhoom 3, which also starred Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif apart from Abhishek-Uday, crossed an impressive 556 crores at the global box office. It was the first Indian film to cross ₹500 crore and the highest-grossing Indian film of all time at that time!
Shah Rukh Khan is currently basking in the success of his Rajkumar Hirani film Dunki, which has crossed 323.71 crores till now.
Dhoom Franchise Trivia:
Aditya Chopra was inspired to make Dhoom after watching the Amitabh Bachchan film Kaala Patthar.
The sultry Bipasha Basu worked hard to flaunt that perfect bikini in Dhoom 2. She reportedly ate only oranges for three days prior to filming for the scene.
Aamir Khan and Katrina Kaif did not use any safety precautions while doing the acrobatic stunts in Dhoom 3 for the song “Malang”.
Dhoom (released in 2004) raked in a ₹72.5 crore worldwide collection. Its sequel Dhoom 2 (2006) collected 268.89 crores at the global box office.


shelf: civic-law

title: “Day of…” Coordination

text:
“Day of…” Coordination
Day of Service Coordination
Perfect weddings don’t just happen—it begins with masterful planning. You only get one chance for your wedding day and possibly the most important event of your entire life.
Let Made For Each Other coordinators do what they do best:
- Concentrate on you and your guests
- Focus on your requirements
We take care of all your wedding day details so you can relax knowing the venues are ready, the vendors are in place and your guests are being welcomed.
Eliminate stress while your wedding coordinator handles all the necessary details of your wedding day.
Check on dates coordinating is available.
Why “Day of…” Coordination is important
Whether you are planning a wedding that is big or small, casual or formal, the knowledge, professionalism, and assistance a wedding coordinator can provide for you, is well worth the cost in money and peace of mind…
Have you ever heard a bride or groom say they wish that they could have enjoyed their wedding day? They were too busy running around trying to check on everything and curso vray sketchup. Would you ask a friend or family member to handle such responsibility when you’d rather have them celebrate this momentous day?
Enjoy this day. This is one of the most important celebrations in your life. The special feeling of being in love, being with family and friends to laugh, cry, dance and celebrate this day together!
A small price to pay for a life time of beautiful memories.


shelf: science-engineering

title: Power up your electronics with high quality fresh cr2430 batteries packaged to perfection

text:
CR2430 batteries are an excellent choice for electronics, providing stable performance and long-lasting power. Packaged to perfection, these batteries are protected from moisture, temperature changes, and other factors that can affect their life. The quality and freshness of CR2430 batteries are ensured through their packaging. Popular applications for these batteries include remote controls, medical devices, and key fobs. By using high-quality batteries like CR2430, you can enhance the overall function of your devices. So why settle for less when you can choose a battery that delivers optimal results? Choose CR2430 for your electronic needs and enjoy reliable performance and durability.
Benefits of Using CR2430 Batteries
Are you tired of constantly changing the batteries in your electronics? Look no further than CR2430 batteries! These small, but mighty batteries offer an array of benefits that make them the perfect choice for powering your electronic devices.
One of the most significant benefits of CR2430 batteries is their long-lasting nature. Unlike traditional alkaline batteries, these lithium coin-cell batteries have a shelf life of up to 10 years. This means you can store them for future use without worrying about them losing power over time. Additionally, they are designed to provide stable performance, which means you can depend on them to maintain consistent power output throughout their lifespan.
The benefits of CR2430 batteries extend beyond their longevity. They are also incredibly versatile and can be used in a variety of applications. From small medical devices to remote controls, these batteries are commonly found in everyday electronics. Due to their compact size, they are often used in devices that require a low current draw, such as car key fobs or calculators.
Another area where CR2430 batteries shine is in the realm of safety. Because they are made from lithium, they are less prone to leaking or exploding compared to alkaline batteries. This makes them a safer option for use in toys or other items that may be handled by children.
In addition to being safe and reliable, CR2430 batteries are also more environmentally friendly than traditional alkaline batteries. When disposed of properly, they can be recycled, reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfills. Many major retailers now offer recycling programs specifically for lithium batteries, making it easy to dispose of them responsibly.
Packaged to Perfection
Firstly, it is important to understand the significance of packaging when it comes to batteries. Batteries are electrochemical devices that produce energy through a chemical reaction. The packaging plays a crucial role in protecting the electrodes and electrolytes from moisture, temperature changes, and other factors that can affect battery life. Poor packaging can lead to corrosion, leakage, or premature discharge, which can render the battery useless.
When it comes to CR2430 batteries, manufacturers have taken great care to package them to perfection. The batteries are typically packaged in a blister pack made of plastic or cardboard. The blister pack is designed to keep the battery secure while protecting it from external factors.
Inside the blister pack, the battery is sealed in a protective layer that is impervious to air and moisture. This layer can be made of aluminum, polyester, or other materials that offer high barrier properties. The purpose of this layer is to prevent moisture from entering the battery and reacting with the active chemicals inside. Moisture can cause corrosion, which can reduce battery capacity and shorten its lifespan.
In addition to the protective layer, CR2430 batteries may also be equipped with a desiccant packet. A desiccant is a material that absorbs moisture from the environment. By including a desiccant packet in the packaging, manufacturers can further reduce the risk of moisture-related damage to the battery. The desiccant packet is usually made of silica gel or clay and is enclosed in a small pouch that is placed alongside the battery.
Temperature is another factor that can affect battery life, with extreme temperatures leading to reduced performance or even failure. To mitigate this risk, CR2430 batteries are often packaged in a way that ensures they are kept at a stable temperature. Some blister packs may be equipped with a thermal insulation layer that helps to regulate the temperature inside. Alternatively, the blister pack may be stored in a temperature-controlled environment before being shipped to retailers.
One of the most common applications of CR2430 batteries is in remote controls. Whether it’s a TV remote or a garage door opener, these devices rely on CR2430 batteries to power them. The battery provides a long lifespan, which means that users don’t have to change them frequently. Furthermore, high-quality batteries offer a consistent flow of power, which ensures that the device works efficiently every time the user presses a button. It’s important to note that not all batteries are created equal, and cheap batteries may cause the device to malfunction or stop working altogether. As such, it’s essential to invest in high-quality batteries to ensure the longevity of the device.
Another popular application of CR2430 batteries is in medical devices. Many medical devices, such as glucose monitors and blood pressure meters, require a reliable source of power to operate effectively. CR2430 batteries provide the necessary power to keep these devices running, ensuring that patients can monitor their health effectively. High-quality batteries are particularly important in medical devices, as they can directly impact patient care. A malfunctioning battery can lead to inaccurate readings, which can be dangerous for the patient. Therefore, investing in high-quality batteries is crucial to ensure that medical devices work correctly.
Finally, key fobs also heavily rely on CR2430 batteries. Key fobs are used in cars, homes, and businesses, allowing users to lock and unlock doors remotely. These devices are convenient and offer added security to users. However, if the battery in the key fob dies, users may find themselves locked out of their car or home. Investing in high-quality batteries for key fobs is essential to avoid such situations. High-quality batteries provide consistent power, ensuring that the key fob works reliably every time.
In conclusion, CR2430 batteries are used in a range of popular applications, including remote controls, medical devices, and key fobs. Using high-quality batteries in these devices enhances their overall function, providing reliability and consistency. When purchasing CR2430 batteries, it’s essential to invest in high-quality ones to ensure the longevity of the device and avoid malfunctions. By doing so, users can enjoy the convenience and reliability offered by these electronic devices.
Q1. What devices are compatible with the CR2430 battery?
The CR2430 battery is commonly used in small electronic devices such as remote controls, calculators, digital watches, key fobs, and other electronic gadgets. It is important to check your device’s specifications to ensure that the CR2430 battery is indeed compatible.
Q2. How long does a CR2430 battery last?
The lifespan of a CR2430 battery depends on the device it is powering. Generally, a fresh CR2430 battery can last up to two years in low-drain devices like watches or calculators. However, high-drain devices such as remote controls may drain the battery much faster. It is always recommended to have extra batteries on hand for when they run out of power.
Q3. Can CR2430 batteries be recycled?
Yes, CR2430 batteries can be recycled just like any other type of battery. These batteries contain materials such as lithium, manganese dioxide, and zinc that can be reused. Many recycling programs offer drop-off locations for old batteries, or you can contact your local waste management facility to learn about proper disposal methods.
Q4. Why choose high-quality CR2430 batteries?
Choosing high-quality CR2430 batteries ensures the longevity and performance of your electronic devices. Cheap, low-quality batteries may provide temporary power but will quickly lose their charge and potentially damage your devices. High-quality batteries, on the other hand, are designed to provide reliable and long-lasting power that will keep your electronic devices functioning at their best. Furthermore, purchasing quality batteries reduces the need for frequent replacements, which is not only cost-effective but also eco-friendly.


title: Unified api vs embedded ipaas

text:
As part of building your SaaS app, you have determined that you will need integrations with your customers' other apps. You've done some research, and it seems a unified API (also called a universal API) or an embedded iPaaS might be the right starting point.
These tools have similar purposes but are not quite the same. Does it matter? Is there an advantage to using one over the other? What are the similarities (and differences)? How do you know which one is right for your use case?
We'll answer these questions and more in the following sections.
What is a unified API?
A unified API, or unified API platform, connects several APIs in a common, typically horizontal, software category, such as HRIS, to a single API. This API abstracts the complexity of connecting to many systems into a single set of rules for connecting to one API, thereby simplifying the process of building integrations with those systems.
For example, a unified API might provide a single endpoint connecting thirty different HRIS APIs. Each HRIS has its own API (based on REST, SOAP, RPC, or something else). However, the unified API allows integration developers to only concern themselves with the unified API's rules and architecture.
This abstraction also extends to the data schema for each HRIS in our example. While each HRIS might have a different data schema for a record type, the unified API normalizes those data schemas to a single schema. For example, the Employee schema for the unified API may only have twenty attributes, though some source APIs may have Employee schemas with dozens of attributes. In addition, attributes in different schemas may have different names, data types, and relationships. These differences are all normalized via the unified API.
SaaS providers use these tools to improve the ease of building customer-facing integrations to multiple applications in the same category, such as accounting, banking, cloud storage, CRM, email, HR, payroll, or scheduling systems. Universal APIs can save teams significant time and resources when building numerous similar integrations.
A unified API includes:
- A single access point for integrations. Devs don't need to learn the intricacies of multiple APIs because that is all abstracted to a single API. Most unified APIs are based on REST (one of the simpler API architectures).
- Common authentication. The unified API handles the authentication for the underlying APIs, so the devs don't need to set up and maintain multiple unique auth connections. Having a single auth approach makes doing auth much less painful.
- Normalized data. Datasets from different systems are standardized and often slimmed to simplify building integrations without knowing the underlying systems' data schemas. This simplification means that devs spend much less time on data mapping.
- Consistent pagination and filtering. Pagination and filtering are based on the unified API rather than the underlying APIs. Over-fetching and under-fetching data are no longer issues.
Suppose we have an API that provides access to a data schema with 100 attributes (fields). Via the API, each of these attributes is accessible.
Now, let's add a unified API that permits access to two underlying apps, each with 100 attributes. But, they only have 92 attributes in common, after data mapping, etc. Our unified API provides access to those 92 attributes.
If we were to expand our unified API to handle 20 different apps, the list of overlapping attributes might drop to 60. And that's why the breadth of data available via a unified API shrinks as the number of underlying systems increases.
This also explains why users have one unified API for CRM apps and another unified API for Accounting apps. The relatively small number of overlapping attributes between CRM and Accounting means a single unified API would not work.
What is an embedded iPaaS?
An embedded iPaaS, or embedded integation platform, is a set of tools that enables a SaaS company to quickly build reusable, configurable integrations to any app in any software category and deliver them to its customers as a seamless part of its product.
Which integration tool is best for your use case?
Both platforms are dedicated to simplifying the process of building API integrations. However, the approaches used to achieve this are quite different. And the capabilities of the platforms are also quite different.
A unified API is designed to help SaaS companies quickly build many simple category-specific integrations. On the other hand, an embedded iPaaS is designed to help SaaS companies create complex integrations that are easily configured and promptly deployed to numerous customers, regardless of product vertical.
Unified API vs embedded iPaaS
Here's a brief comparison of Prismatic's embedded iPaaS and a generic unified API.
Prismatic | Unified API | |
Horizontal market category | Yes | Yes |
Simple intgrations | Yes | Yes |
Low-code integration designer | Yes | X |
Multiple app categories | Yes | X |
Uncommon or vertical-specific apps | Yes | X |
Complex integrations | Yes | X |
Highly-configurable integrations | Yes | X |
Now, let's look at some of these differences in more detail.
Do you need to integrate with one or multiple app categories?
A unified API combines the APIs within a common software category (such as HRIS, Accounting, or CRM). It can be a great option when you need to build integrations to 20 different CRMs. If you need to build integrations to a variety of app categories, you lose much of the advantage because you need to use a different unified API for each category.
An embedded iPaaS, on the other hand, is not tied to a specific app category but has everything necessary to build integrations with common apps, niche software verticals, or even one-off custom-built apps. Teams will need to build individual integrations for each system, but those can be expedited by standard connectors (available for many popular SaaS apps), and integrations can be productized (built once and deployed for dozens or hundreds of customers).
Do you need to integrate with uncommon or vertical-specific apps?
A unified API can be a good solution if you need to build a set list of integrations and you've verified that it supports all the apps you need. But you can't use it to integrate with apps it doesn't explicitly support. Some vendors will commit to adding support for an additional HRIS, for example, but that can take time. And if you need an integration to a vertical-specific app, you'll need to find an entirely different way to build it because these simply don't fit the unified API concept.
An embedded iPaaS, however, connects to each app's API directly using connectors. It comes with a library of pre-built connectors to common apps. Unlike a unified API, however, you're not limited to integrating with the apps on that list. If you need to integrate with less common apps or vertical-specific apps, you can build custom connectors that extend the embedded iPaaS and enable you to integrate with anything.
How complex will your integrations be?
When a unified API standardizes the data from the underlying systems into a schema, it establishes a lowest-common-denominator approach to the data. As a result, specific data from each underlying system is not accessible through the universal API. If you are using the unified API for data import, this restriction is generally not an issue.
But what if you need to process the data (combine data elements, strip out extraneous data, or convert units of measurement)in the integration? Or send notifications to various groups and individuals at different points in the integration process? Or what if you need to build a single integration with three or more APIs? Or combine data from multiple sources into a PDF and then attach the PDF to a record in your app? In each scenario, an embedded iPaaS provides the needed flexibility to make that happen. Because it's not standardizing underlying data schemas, an embedded iPaaS allows you to access and work with everything the source system API makes available.
How customer-configurable will your integrations be?
Unified APIs are designed for simple user connections. In a B2B SaaS context, your customer provides credentials and uses auth to log into the integration.
But what about the scenario where your customers' users, or even your customers' customers, need to connect to the integration as themselves? Or where an integration has many config options (frequency, metric or imperial units, multiple notifications)? Or a need for complex data mapping where you must split or combine data elements within the integration? Or how about needing multiple steps for a configuration wizard because several config options depend on other options? These scenarios need the configuration wizard and user-level-configuration capabilities of an embedded iPaaS.
While a unified API is designed to build several similar integrations quickly, an embedded iPaaS is designed to handle extensive deployments of a single integration but with unique user configuration to tailor the integration to each customer. An embedded iPaaS is built to scale deployment from a single instance of an integration to hundreds or thousands of integration instances.
Which of your teams will build the integrations?
A unified API platform makes it simple to build integrations by standardizing the API, the data schema, and authentication (among other things). Unified APIs vary in whether they include tools to build the integrations (or just the connecting point with the API). Some unified APIs provide integration connectors, allowing devs to start building integrations. In most cases, however, unified APIs are code-focused and require developers to build each integration and create tools and processes for building, deploying, and supporting the integrations.
In contrast, an embedded iPaaS has everything needed to build, deploy, and support integrations. Non-devs (such as onboarding and support) can build the integrations and deploy, activate, and support them. Devs are only needed for building custom connectors or something else requiring custom code.
Choosing the right tool for building your SaaS integrations
If your use case is simple and a unified API provides you with the means of connecting to all the underlying systems your customers need, then going with a unified API makes sense. Similarly, if you don't have many integrations (or many customers for those integrations), then the development effort that comes with a unified API platform isn't that much.
On the other hand, if your use case is complex, an embedded iPaaS will provide a better integration strategy. An embedded iPaaS doesn't limit the integrations you can build or include additional restrictions for accessing data via those integrations. And having an end-to-end system makes things that much easier for all your teams, especially when dealing with large numbers of customers and integrations.
To make it even easier, ask yourself the following question: "Does the system I'm considering have the connectors (or capability for coding the connectors) for all the integrations we need for our customers – both today and in the future?" If the answer is "yes," you are in good shape. If the answer is "no," it's time for more research.
"Prismatic has many functionality-based connectors, making our work easier when handling more complex data objects. Creating custom components was a breeze, thanks to their detailed documentation."
We work with SaaS companies all the time that need to provide in-app integrations. Reach out if you'd like to discuss your use case with us and determine if a unified API or embedded iPaaS would be best for you.


text:
D Interventional radiology, radiotherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and interventional neuroradiology
Interventional radiology (IR) involves minimally invasive procedures and therapies performed by radiologists, especially in patients at high medical risk. Major IR therapies include angiography, embolization of blood vessels such as arteriovenous malformations or for epistaxis, delivery of chemical or physical vascular occlusive devices, removal of thrombi, ablation of aneurysms, and angioplasty of blood vessels with stent placement.
Gamma radiation is used for radiotherapy and radiosurgery. The gamma radiation is introduced to the patient by the use of either a Gamma Knife or a CyberKnife. The CyberKnife therapy delivers a sequence of many hundreds of gamma beams to the cancerous tumor from many different directions. Gamma Knife therapy delivers gamma radiation to the cancerous tumor simultaneously in a single dose.
Interventional neuroradiology (INR) is used for diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system (CNS) diseases endovascularly to deliver therapeutic medications or devices. Digital subtraction angiography first uses an original angiograph of the blood vessels to be studied. Then a contrast medium is injected into the same blood vessels, and opaque structures such as bone and tissues can be digitally subtracted or removed from the angiographic image, leaving a clear picture of the blood vessels.
Improvements in vascular access techniques, new thin and flexible catheters and guidewires, and the development of innovative coils and therapeutic medications have made new treatments possible. Conditions that once required extensive surgery with accompanying patient morbidity and mortality can now be performed less invasively. Some major procedures performed with INR are mechanical or chemical removal of emboli or thrombi that cause stroke, the physical occlusion of malformed vascular structures such as an arteriovenous malformations with chemicals or flow-directed balloons, dilation of stenotic blood vessels, and embolization (blocking blood flow) of cerebrovascular aneurysms using catheter-deployed coils.


title: Test search

text:
Carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risk factors, charges and expenses before investing. This and additional information can be found in the Fund’s prospectus and summary prospectus, which may be obtained by visiting ACVETFS.com. Read the prospectus and summary prospectus carefully before investing.
An investment in the Fund is subject to risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. Overall stock market risks may affect the value of individual securities in which the Fund invests. The Fund is actively managed, and the adviser’s investment decisions impact the Fund’s performance. The Fund and adviser are new, and the ETF has only recently commenced operations. This Fund may not be suitable for all investors.
The equity securities in which the Fund invests will generally be those of companies with large market capitalizations. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) trade like stocks, are subject to investment risk, and will fluctuate in market value. Transactions in shares of ETFs will result in brokerage commissions, which will reduce returns. Unlike typical exchange-traded funds, there are no indexes that the Fund attempts to track or replicate. Thus, the ability of the Fund to achieve its objectives will depend on the effectiveness of the portfolio manager. There is no assurance that the investment process will consistently lead to successful investing. The Fund is new and has a limited operating history.
The ACVF Fund is distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.
The Fund is structured as an ETF and as a result, is subject to special risks. Shares are bought and sold at market price (closing price) not net asset value (NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Market price returns are based on the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (when NAV is normally determined) and do not represent the return you would receive if you traded at other times.


title: Speaking of jerks weve elected

text:
I knew Rokita was a partisan hack when he introduced Indiana’s Voter ID law, which he sanctimoniously declared was a “good government” measure intended to stop all that nasty in-person “voter fraud” that doesn’t really happen, rather than an effort to prevent “those people” from voting. But in a year when his party’s Presidential ticket is composed of a megalomaniac and a Christian Warrior, I’d sort of forgotten about him.
Last week, however, Rokita had a column in the Indianapolis Business Journal that reminded me why he shouldn’t be in public office.
Rokita was on a rant against the federal Department of Education for its “assault on profit-making.” Translation: how dare the department move against ITT. It hasn’t taken similar action against public institutions! (Rockita also threw in a snide criticism of the IBJ’s editorial board, which had blamed the federal action on ITT’s management.)
Boiled down to its disingenuous basics, Rokita’s argument was that the federal government, motivated solely by liberal animosity to for-profit ventures–had overstepped its authority.
Missing from his diatribe were those pesky little things called “facts.” For years, ITT overcharged students for a shoddy product (its credits wouldn’t even transfer to most other institutions).It enrolled students without regard for their ability to benefit from higher education, because We the Taxpayers were paying the very hefty freight.
State and federal agencies have been investigating ITT since 2002, and it currently faces fraud charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It has been under investigation by at least 19 state attorneys general.
When U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. issued the Department’s decision to impose increased sanctions upon ITT, he emphasized that the move was not made lightly.
“Ultimately, we made a difficult choice to pursue additional oversight in order to protect you, other students, and taxpayers from potentially worse educational and financial damage in the future if ITT was allowed to continue operating without increased oversight and assurances to better serve students,” King wrote.
ITT was one of several for-profit “educational” endeavors ripping off both taxpayers and the students who left with substandard educations and huge loans to repay. Legitimate institutions of higher education, public and private, have been calling for more oversight of for-profit colleges for a long time.
To label this overdue regulatory action “liberal overreach” is (pardon my language) bullshit.
I can only assume that ITT or its shareholders are among Todd Rokita’s donors. Or his relatives. Or something. The only other explanation for so dishonest a column is abject ignorance.
I am grateful for one thing, though. The column reminded me why I have no use for Todd Rokita.


title: Kebab

text:
I’ve been a bit remiss on contributing to the Fresh from the Oven challenges of late, I missed out on doing croissants and pizza, both things I really fancied trying. Well i did do the pizza but I forgot to blog in in time, oops!
So this month I got well ahead of myself and made the challenge almost week for the deadline instead of on the day!
The bread we baked was Turkish Pide and the challenge was hosted by Mrs Ergul.
I had a bit of fun with the US measurements getting muddled and almost using a whole stick of butter instead of half. But I got there in the end. The bread was really easy to make and very tasty. Mrs Ergul says the dough might be very wet but mine actually started off quite dry so I had to add more water to get it fairly sticky. I used my usual kneading technique of short gentle kneads spaced out through the rising.
To go with the bread I made some Turkish inspired kebabs (minced beef, chilli, cumin and coriander), some minty yoghurt and some tomato and onion salad. It was very yummy and I think they bread’s soft texture would be great with burgers. We used up the rest of the bread with dips the next day.
Here’s the method as given to us my Mrs Ergul (with some UK annotations by me):
4 cups (to 5 cups) All Purpose Flour (ie plain flour, I only needed 4 cups and I used a cup measure as I have a set. 1 cup is approx 130g of flour)
1 and 3/4 cups Warm Water (1 cup = 236ml)
1/2 stick Butter ( melted ) (1 stick = 113g)
1/2 tablespoon Instant Yeast
1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 tablespoon Salt
Black and White Sesame Seeds (I used cumin seeds as I didn’t have sesame seeds)
In a large mixing bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients
Add melted Butter and Warm Water into this mixture and knead
The dough should be sticky
Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and keep it in a warm place for rising
Let the dough rise to double its size
Knead the dough again until it is bubble free
Place a parchment paper on a 13″ by 10.5″ baking tray
Take the dough to the tray and make it flat with your hands until it cover all of the surface of the tray
Dampen your hands with Water if the dough stick to your hands on this step
Then take a knife and give the dough square shapes going deep down
Sprinkle some Sesame Seeds on top
Preheat the oven to 350F (R4/180C)
Let rise the dough for half an hour
Bake it for 30 minutes or until the color of pide turns light brown
Take the pide out of the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes and cover it with a clean kitchen towel to keep it soft


title: Yucca house national monument

text:
Yucca House National Monument is a large, unexcavated Ancestral Puebloan site in Southwest Colorado. The site has remained largely untouched for the past 800 years. It’s situated on 34 acres with a diverse habitat of plants and animals.
There’s actually not much to see here at all and may not be worth a visit. The road back to the monument takes you by ranches and farms in a scenic, high-alpine desert. Once at the site, only a few stone slabs stick out of the ground, showing little evidence of what lies beneath. It’s a nice area, but may not be worth the 1-hour round trip off the main road near Cortez.
Unexcavated Anasazi Ruins in Montezuma County
Yucca House National Monument is still buried underground in Southwest Colorado. There isn’t really much to explore, aside from just soaking in the surrounding high desert landscape. It was deemed a national monument to preserve it for future study.
Once you arrive at Yucca House, you’ll feel like you are parking in some guys driveway, which you kind of are. Then there is this wooden path, the only evidence that there is a National Monument out here.
It’s expected that underneath the surface is a large, Ancient Puebloan village. Yucca House is located about an hour round trip from the main road near Cortez. There are no campgrounds or fees.
Tips for visiting:
- Bring food and water as there are no services available at the Yucca House. The closest food, gas and lodging is in nearby Cortez. It also gets very hot in this area.
- The road may become impassable in heavy rain.
Yucca House played an important one in the Ancient Pueblo civilization from A.D. 1150-1300. It was one of the largest villages in the southwest.
Hiking: – There are no trails, however, you’re welcome to walk around the unexcavated archeological site.
Address: County Rd 20.5, Cortez, CO 81321
Fee: There are no fees or reservations required for visiting.
Map: Yucca House Visitor Guide (PDF)


title: Council leaders demand more powers over housebuilding

text:
In recent weeks, we’ve written several Advantage blogs looking at how construction can recover from the impact of COVID-19 – focusing on new initiatives from the coronavirus recovery plan to the Bounceback Innovation Challenge.
In the latest bid to aid construction’s recovery, council leaders are calling for local authorities to be given more powers over housebuilding to help the economy bounce back from the coronavirus crisis.
As reported by the Independent, experts have warned that the global pandemic could cut the number of homes built in London alone this year by half.
Ministers are preparing to launch a major overhaul of the planning system in England, to speed up approvals for new developments in a bid to aid the economy.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said it is time to re-think the planning system “from first principles” following reports at the weekend that the government is considering the introduction of US-style zonal planning in the UK. Building Design featured the following quote from Jenrick:
“The time has come to speed up and simplify this country’s overly bureaucratic planning process”, adding that the government was “thinking boldly and creatively about the planning system to make it fit for the future.”
However, as Advantage looked at the clear signs that a major planning shake-up is imminent from central government, we noted that The Local Government Association, which represents councils in England, is stressing that it is vital they retain their planning powers. These, they say, create resilient as well as prosperous communities.
Quoted by the Independent, Councillor David Renard, LGA planning spokesperson, said: “As the nation recovers from coronavirus, it is more vital than ever that councils are able to lead the recovery effort from a local level. This includes making sure that councils retain the planning powers needed to deliver resilient, prosperous places that meet the needs of their communities.
“The planning system is not a barrier to housebuilding. Nine in 10 planning applications are approved by councils.”
“Councils are committed to building the homes that communities need, making sure they are appropriate for the local environment, decent and fit for purpose, affordable, and with the right infrastructure in place.
“Councils need powers to tackle our housing backlog and step in where a site with planning permission lies dormant and house building has stalled.”
If powers are transferred from local councils to development corporations, thus speeding up permission for infrastructure building, Advantage expects we’ll be hearing more from David Renard over the coming months!


title: Kp206b 58mm

text:
Print your bills perfectly with the added benefit of low noise and high-speed printing with this easy-to-use thermal printer from the house of the Thermal Receipt Printer KP206B . This Thermal Receipt Printer KP206B combines exceptional performance and energy efficiency along with professional-grade printing. Its lightweight portable design, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, and wide compatibility with a large number of operating systems make it all the more functional.
This Thermal Receipt Printer KP206B comes with dimensions of 12cm x58mm x 8cm and it weights around 400gms.
Also,it comes along with an adapter whose AC input 100-275V Ac/50Hz,DC Output 9V and current is 2A.
The Thermal Receipt Printer KP206B paper rolls can be effortlessly placed inside the printer for easy printing of bills.
The fact that it supports both Bluetooth and USB connectivity makes it a boon for modern businesses. It can print bills from mobiles, tabs, computers, and POS machines.
These thermal printers have reduced noise levels which make them ideal for using in work environments.
High printing speed
This Thermal Receipt Printer KP206B prints at a super-fast speed of 90mm/sec, thus helping to effectively trim the amount of time your customers spend at the queue. This will leave you with happy clients and keep your business booming.
Compatible with Windows and Android
The widespread compatibility of this thermal printer from H58 Thermal Receipt Printer extends to all versions of the Windows PC. It can print effortlessly from any of these operating systems. It can also print bills from Android smartphones
At Maseehum, we focus on the details for better service and good products.
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₹3,990.00 Regular Price
Sales Tax Included
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title: Nforce

text:
So a resent update caused no end of problems with my Windows 10 machine. It would repeatedly fail to install the update, and then when it managed it I couldn’t log into the machine. User profile not accessible. I decided that it was probably time to re-install my machine anyway. However it seems the problem came back. A little different this time.
I reinstalled but chose to leave my Nvidia Soft/Fake RAID partition unchanged as I used it as my user space. The machine re-installed, and everything appeared to be fine. I could get to the RAID array, so I left it as is and went about installing drivers and updates. Updates! This is the problem. It seems I have become one of the many victims of a Windows 10 update that stops Nvidia RAID arrays from working (see here in German). So no sooner had I updated the machine and restarted, the RAID array vanished again. So annoying. This machine is a little old but it is by no means obsolete. Its a dual quad-core opteron with 16GB of ram and a half decent GPU. Plenty of live left in it yet, esp as all I use it for is scanning and printing photographs. The RAID array still reports as healthy at boot. I suppose I should have known not to trust a fake/soft RAID long term. However, wasn’t expecting an update to do it in. So what to do… Buy a cheap RAID card off ebay and use that, turn off Nvidia RAID and use the Windows fake RAID instead? Whatever, they should have warned us of this potential if they knew.


title: National doctors day

text:
There are over 1,500 national days on the calendar celebrating everything imaginable but National Doctor’s Day on March 30th this year is one we should make note of. It celebrates the skilled professionals whose expertise can literally mean the difference between life and death. Doctor’s Day gives us a chance to thank the healthcare professionals who often see us at our worst and lead us back to our best. National Doctor’s Day means across the country grateful people will remind their doctors that they are a special part of our lives. We think that is a national day worth sending a gourmet chocolate “Thank You” gift.
For many people, there are multiple doctors in their life. They have a primary care physician and often one or more specialists. We develop close relationships with our doctor. They are the keeper of our most personal information and are often one of our closest confidants. We trust them, rely on their judgment and value their advice. We lean on them when we are sick and appreciate their empathetic ear when we have concerns. Doctors occupy a unique position in our lives. They most often see us when things are wrong so it is nice to have an opportunity like National Doctor’s Day to communicate with them on the positive side.
National Doctor’s Day is particularly relevant to Chocolate Pizza Company because almost one year to the day will be the anniversary of open heart surgery owner, Ryan Novak’s dad had at St. Joseph’s hospital in Syracuse. Dr. Zhandong Zhou, M.D. was the surgeon who performed the 5-bypass operation that gave Ryan’s dad a new lease on life. While Dr. Zhou was just one of an entire team of healthcare professionals who made that surgery a success, it was his incredibly skilled hands that actually performed the delicate task and saved his life. How do you not thank that kind of blessing? The answer is, you do. These are extraordinary people with extraordinary gifts that give us a longer, healthier life to enjoy with those we love. That’s worth celebrating any day of the year.
But everyone has their own doctor story and that means everyone has a reason to thank someone on National Doctor’s Day. Gift baskets, Chocolate Pizza or a Combo all make perfect gift ideas for your favorite physician. We also have hand-decorated Chocolate Pizzas with “Thank You” scripted in white chocolate or we’ll customize your special message. The specific gift is never as important as the sentiment behind it so any gourmet chocolate specialty is a good choice. Take the time and surprise your doctor with chocolate this March 30th – they’ll love the chocolate but they’ll appreciate the thought even more.


title: Advice for small business retailers helping employees understand where the money goes

text:
It is easy for employees in a local retail business to think the owners are rich if all they have to go off is the money paid by customers to the business. In this article, we share an an approach on how a local retail business can better inform employees. Here is an information sheet we have seen work well in the back room of a shop as it explains each dollar.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
Where every dollar we get from our customers goes.
Every dollar paid to us by our customers and put in the til or through the credit card terminals gores somewhere and quickly. Some of it goes right away, some of it in a few days and most of the rest by the end of the month.
Some of the money we are paid goes before we get it – like for stock we pay for before it arrives in the shop.
This graph shows where every cent of every dollar we earn goes. The stock cost is the average cost of items we purchase. Some items cost us 90% of what we sell them for while others cost us 20% of what we sell them for. This is why we are using the overall business average for this illustration.
Based on our current numbers our profit is 4%. But we don’t get to keep that: we have borrowings to service, we don’t receive a salary for our time and any profit is taxed by the government.
We buy stock for the best price possible but with the price of many products we sell controlled we need to work elsewhere to improve things. This is why we look carefully at the roster. Even one hour saved can be like selling $100 in stock.
The best way to help the business achieve better results is for us to sell more of our stock to existing customers and for us to attract new customers.
We’d love your help in encouraging customers to buy more. You can do this with excellent displays, helping customers on the shop floor and giving customers awesome customer service.
We’d also love your ideas on attracting more shoppers.
Please don’t think we’re putting this notice up to cry poor. We share the information to give you a better understanding of what happens to each dollar we get from our customers because we believe that the more information anyone has the more informed their actions can be.


title: Pie graph worksheets

text:
Pie Graph Worksheets are the best way to effectively teach elementary students about data visualization. With our free worksheets, students can easily learn how to construct and interpret pie graphs. Our pie graph worksheets offers a comprehensive set of questions, making it perfect for teachers looking for top-notch resources and best of all, it's free! Get the best pie graph worksheets on the internet today and bring data visualization to life in your classroom!
Reading with Whole Number.
"This worksheet is designed to enhance children's understanding of pie graphs in math. With problems centered on real-world scenarios like elections and pet preferences, it helps develop their skills in interpreting and analyzing graphical data. The worksheet is versatile, able to be converted into flashcards for a more hands-on learning experience, customized for various comprehension levels, and perfect for distance learning environments."
Data Interpretation SkillsUpon completion of the worksheet, children should be able to interpret data presented in pie graphs. They should have developed the competency to visually analyze data and derive meaningful information. They should be proficient at identifying the most and least popular items or categories in a pie chart and accurately determine and compare their proportions.Quantitative AnalysisChildren should be able to apply their quantitative skills to perform detailed analysis. This includes calculating percentages and aggregates of categories presented in the graph. They should thus be able to quantitatively express the popularity or scale of different components within a pie graph.Critical ThinkingStudents should have honed their critical thinking skills. They should be capable of drawing logical conclusions from the data provided in the pie graphs. They should also be able to articulate comparisons between different subjects in the graph, identify patterns and make predictions based on their interpretation of the graph.Problem-Solving SkillsBy answering the problems in the worksheet, students must have strengthened their problem-solving abilities. They should have demonstrated their capacity to use pie graphs as a tool to solve practical problems or answer questions related to the data presented.Communication SkillsAfter completing the worksheet, students should be able to express their understanding and findings about the data in a clear and concise manner. They should be able to translate the graph into numeric as well as descriptive outputs in order to communicate their answers effectively.Application of Math ConceptsContinuing from the previous skills, children should be able to apply learned math concepts such as percentages and sums to real-world scenarios. They should be able to connect their math knowledge with practical applications, reinforcing their understanding of the subjects.


title: Gin tasting with maggies oldham

text:
On Sunday March 15th, we were delighted to host a fabulous gin tasting fund raiser event for Maggies of Oldham, in the lovely surroundings of Fika. The event involved the creation of 5 bespoke gins on behalf of Maggies.
We started the process of designing Maggies gins by taking a look at their website, social media and incorporating some feedback into the final gin line up. From our this we captured the main words used to Maggies as follows:
We then grouped a number of these words into the following themes:
- Garden & Nature
- Support & partnership
- Sweetness and calm
- Bright and Orange
The Line up
Garden & Nature
Using these themes as our backdrop for the development of Maggies gins, we start with the location, the garden and Maggies lovely wooden building. Like all gins we start with a juniper and bring the woody/earthy notes of the juniper out with the use of angelica root and orris root. These ingredients are of the garden and provide firm foundations for all of the gins we go on to create.
Support & Partnership
Maggies offer amazing support to those suffering with cancer and also to their families. We encapsulate this support with a range of the supporting cast of botanicals which help to make all of the gins smooth. The humble oat has a sweet edge when distilled and this helps to support the classic base of juniper berries, angelica and orris root. It’s further supported by the introduction of basil and tarragon. These botanicals work in partnership to smoothen the edge of the gin.
From this base and support line up we now begin to develop Maggies range of gins.
We start with a Classic London Dry Gin and bring out the woody theme into this classic with the addition Cassia bark which has a cinnamon like taste, though sweeter and liquorice root. We then emphasise the sweetness theme which comes through loud and clear from your social media feedback with a touch of ground Stevia.
Served with a simple tonic and garnish of juniper berries. – 3 Parts tonic to 1 part gin
Next we embellish the classic London dry gin with notes of pineapple. There are no added sweetners and flavours in this gin and so it leads as a juniper based London dry gin with the scent of pineapples and a subtle aftertaste of pineapple.
We add a bit of fun and flavour by presenting this gin as a pornstar martini, mixing with pineapple juice and passion fruit. This really brings our the pineapple scents into a lovely sweetness to emphasise the friendliness and compassion shown by Maggies.
Cocktail Recipe: 1 Part Gin; 1 part pineapple syrup (recipe @ the end); 3 parts pineapple juice; half the inside of a passion fruit. Add all of this to a shaker with 3 ice cubes. Shake vigorously x12 times and pour. Garnish with the other half of the passion fruit.
Next we create a London dry gin with a citrus twist. Here we use bitter orange instead of the traditional lemon flavour. It’s a nod to the corporate colours and the edge of the bitter orange is dulled with a touch of sweetness from the Lucuma fruit. This combination of orange, bitter, sweet reflects some of the words and feelings captured in our word cloud. The Lucuma fruit is symbolic in that, in its homeland of Peru, the tree is known as the Tree of Life. The Lucuma is a hardy fruit, surviving and growing in harsh conditions and it’s nutrients combined with energy giving properties have sustained populations over the years.
Served with a simple tonic and slice of orange. – 3 parts tonic to 1 part gin
The role of a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in presenting a calm atmosphere is central to Maggies and so here we create a Mocca based gin – scents of cacao nibs and coffee beans present themselves in this gin. We present this one as a Mocca martini – think espresso martini with a hint of cacao. It adds a different dimensions to a chat over a cuppa.
Cocktail Recipe: 1 Part gin; 1 part simple syrup; 1 espresso shot (a quality instant e.g. Nescafe Azero). Add to a shaker with 3 ice cubes. Shake vigorously and pour. Garnish with 3 coffee beans.
Finally we round things off with a sweet flavoured gin – it’s sweetened with entirely natural ingredients using one of our handmade syrups – in this case an orange & mango syrup. We keep it full strength at 43% and it’s great to sip slowly as a liqueur or dare I say it with a Lemonade – 1 part gin to 3 parts lemonade!
One of the easiest things to make.
For a simple syrup take 1 part water and match it with 1 part granulated sugar. Bring it to the boil over a hob and gently simmer for 10 minutes. If you want to make the syrup thicker then simply simmer it for longer – but for drinks 10 minutes is just about right.
If you want to create a flavoured syrup, replace the water with a fruit juice or squeezed juice and follow the same measures and process as above.


title: Jay clarkson and the spur line.utr

text:
Jay Clarkson’s experience in NZ’s alternative music scene covers 3+ decades. As a member of The Playthings she did countless gigs at Christchurch's famed Gladstone Hotel in the early 80s. Having linked up with Flying Nun she went on to perform and record her distinctive songs around NZ in bands The Expendables, Breathing Cage, various duos and solo. The Containers formed 5 years ago. Leather Jacket Records, who released a 5 track 12” Playthings EP last year with great success has now released a 7” vinyl of 2 Containers’ songs described as psychedelic acid: Children of the Rule & Waikouaiti, available at Relics and other discerning record stores. Videos for both songs are up on youTube. Nazir Norono and Tenzin Mullin make up the Spur Line (a nod to Jay's 2016 solo album (vinyl and digital) SPUR. jayclarkson.com
Opening the evening will be STEEP STREET.
Named after a local paper road, Steep Street have been playing together since last year and are currently recording an album for release in late 2024/early 2025. Songs, written by Harold, blend elements of alt-folk and country, with a heart laid bare (and a nod to the Dunedin sound). Telling Tales was a solo release from Harold in 2018 available on usual digital platforms. Bass player Bridget, also a songwriter, performs under the name Swingbridge and has released several previous albums. Steep Street have played a few small/private gigs around town, but this is their first major foray into the limelight. Band members are Harold Bernhardt vocals/guitar, Alan McCulloch mandolin/violin, Bridget Ellis bass/vocals and Allen Frazer drums.
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title: Probationary period

text:
“An employer wants to terminate an employee’s contract for failure to perform to expectations 2 weeks after end of probation. The employer had not yet confirmed the employee, so the question is are there any technicalities if they proceed to terminate for failure of probation.”
There obviously will be a technicality. The employee may rely on St. Giles Medical Rehabilitation Centre v Patsanza (SC 59/18) and argue that terminating his contract two weeks after the end of probation is tantamount to extending his probationary period something which is not supported by the authorities.
St. Giles Medical Rehabilitation Centre v Patsanza
In Patsanza the courts argued that the employer had fallen in the error of extending the period of probation and in dismissing the respondent on two weeks’ notice. The court also commented as follows:
“It seems to me that the appellant, having failed to dismiss the respondent during the period of probation, the question that arises is the status of the respondent after the three months probationary period. Applying s 12(5) of the Labour Act, it is apparent that the respondent was no longer on probation as the contract stipulated a three-month period of probation. Clearly, therefore, in these circumstances the court a quo was correct in finding that the respondent had become a permanent employee.”
In my view, the best procedure is for the employer to constitute a hearing and arraign the employee before an impartial official. Only when the employee is guilty of the offence can he be dismissed. This way, the employer avoids having to deal with the technicalities that may arise from cases like Patsanza.


title: What your wrist measurement is not:

text:
What your wrist measurement is not:
- Cuff length measurement - These vary on the same cuff between the inside and the outside. Cuff thickness will also cause inconsistencies in measurements, even between cuffs of the exact same size.
- Bracelet sizes and bracelet lengths - These are made for different pieces with different fits than cuffs, so we avoid these. Many jewelers refer to your bracelet size as your wrist size, so even if you're used to ordering with another brand with a measurement, please double check your actual wrist measurement to be sure.
- Bangle widths - Bangles need to be put on differently, and getting a cuff that is the same width as your bangle is likely to result in a cuff that is entirely too large.
I'm worried about how my cuff will fit. Can I send you a fit measurement instead:
We totally understand this one. After years of having one-size-fits-all cuffs, it can make fit feel even more important. Our cuffs are made to fit 1/4-1/2" beyond your wrist measurement and are adjustable for this very reason. Generally, if you send your wrist measurement and you are intending to wear your cuff where you've measured, your cuff can be adjusted so that the fit ranges from rather snug to as loose as it can go while still being secure on your wrist. That said, if you're concerned, please send your snug wrist measurement and then also send a measurement of exactly where/how you'd like the cuff to fit. The more info, the better we can customize your cuff to you.
I want to give this as a surprise gift:
YESSSSS. We love surprise gifts and are happy to help. The best way to get help with sizing is to include your gift recipient's height and weight in the Notes box at checkout, or to email us with them here for an approximation in advance.
I measured and still got the wrong size:
We totally understand. It happens. Either log into your account here and start a return from within your order, or just send us a note here. We do recommend measuring again, just in case the initial mismeasurement was due to reading the tape incorrectly.
What about ring sizing:
The best way to size yourself for rings is to see a jeweler in person, admittedly. Keep in mind that your ring size is likely to go down in the colder months and up (slightly) in the warmer months. That said, you can use the ring sizing chart below to print an adjustable ring sizer and confirm the size of your favorite rings by lining them up with the circles. Please be sure that the doc is printing at 100% (do not scale!).
Shipping / Tracking
Orders ship within 1-5 days of their receipt unless I've told you otherwise for a custom piece. Most orders ship in just 1-2 days. Delivery times are in addition to that, so please plan accordingly. Send me a note if you have a closer deadline! I do not guarantee delivery estimates, but will do everything I can to ensure a timely delivery if you write me first to arrange details.
International customers are responsible for any customs fees.
I combine packaging for orders, unless otherwise requested. All orders ship insured.
Tracking is available via the USPS website: https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input
If you need your tracking number, check your account here or send me a note if you've any difficulty finding it.
Exchanges / returns
I gladly take returns and exchanges! Please contact me within 2 weeks of receiving your jewelry to initiate that process.
I cannot accept returns on custom work, made to order pieces, or sized rings. I'm so sorry. Each piece of jewelry I make requires hours of work and a significant commitment of materials. That said, I will gladly work with you whenever I can to alter or update a piece so that you'll be happy with it. My #1 goal is to have happy customers who love their jewelry.
Materials / Quality
Gold filled metal is a type of gold plate (14K gold over a matching brass or copper core) that is MUCH thicker than traditional gold plate or vermeil. This makes for a metal that will wear like 14K over the course of its lifetime, rather than having a gold layer that will wear thin or flake off. Otherwise, my materials are sterling silver and solid 14K gold. Gemstones are all natural and genuine, except for rare exceptions, which are always clearly marked.
All of the pieces that you find here are handmade by me in my studio. Handmade means that each piece will be a little unique and unlike any of the ones I've made before, since they're not made from a mold through industrial processes - this gives them personality, and means that I can personally ensure that everything is built to a high quality standard.
Care For Your Jewelry
Caring for your Lotus Stone Jewelry is simple and straightforward and will keep your jewelry sparkling while extending its life.
1. Store your jewelry in an anti-tarnish bag (always supplied in each purchase)
2. Wash with mild soap, avoiding harsh cleaners, abrasives, and acidic or basic cleaners
3. Use a polishing cloth as needed, avoiding any stones
Note: If you feel like your jewelry needs to be reshaped to fit, it's usually the wrong size and should be switched out for another size
Sustainability means several things at Lotus Stone Jewelry, but the three most important are the metals we choose, our packaging, and our smithing process. Ninety-five percent of our metals are recycled and we don't let a scrap of leftovers go to waste - everything is collected and sent out for refining and reuse. Our packaging is always chosen with sustainability in mind, too. Our boxes, bags, cards, and mailers are made from recycled materials and are recyclable and reusable. When exhausted, the anti-tarnish bags can be recycled at store drop off locations, just like our mailers. And, our making space, shipping, and office are carbon negative. We are constantly evaluating our processes to reduce waste and make it more environmentally friendly.