text:
Department for Communities and Local Government homepage
Statistics at DCLG
DCLG collects and publishes official statistics relating to deprivation, fire and rescue services, housing and homelessness, local government finance, planning performance and land use.
We produce statistics in accordance with the statutory and other arrangements described in our guide to national and official statistics.
Latest statistical releases
28 November 2014: Firefighters' pension scheme membership data England, 2013 to 2014
28 November 2014: Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme monthly statistics
27 November 2014: Local authority revenue expenditure and financing in England: 2013 to 2014 final outturn
Statistical series
- Affordable housing supply
- Borrowing and investments
- Code for sustainable homes
- Council Tax
- Council Taxbase
- Deprivation
- Dwelling stock (including vacants)
- Energy Performance of Buildings Certificates
- English housing survey
- Fire and rescue authorities operational statistics
- Fire incidents response times
- Fire statistics monitor
- Fire statistics, Great Britain
- Firefighters' pension scheme statistics
- Green belt statistics
- Help to Buy equity loan and Help to Buy: NewBuy statistics
- Homelessness statistics
- House building statistics
- Household characteristics
- Household projections
- Housing market
- Land use change statistics
- Local authority capital expenditure, receipts and financing
- Local authority housing data
- Local authority revenue expenditure and financing
- Local government finance statistics - England
- Local government pension scheme
- Minerals surveys
- Mortgage Rescue Scheme monitoring statistics
- National non-domestic rates collected by councils
- Net supply of housing
- Planning applications statistics
- Private Landlords Survey
- Quarterly revenue outturn for local authorities in England
- Repossession activity
- Social housing lettings
- Social housing sales (including Right to Buy and transfers)
- Traveller caravan count (formerly known as the Gypsy and Traveller caravan count)
Search DCLG statistics
Statistics reports and documents published by DCLG, including guidance, can be found through the document search. Live tables that relate to particular statistics releases or guidance will be listed in the document collection on that page.
Forthcoming publications
This schedule shows the planned publication dates over the coming year for all of the department's official statistics releases.
Archived statistics
This site contains statistics published since May 2010. Statistical releases published by DCLG before May 2010 can be found on the National Archive.
Pre-release access to official statistics
The principles and rules governing UK government ministers and officials' access to official statistics in their final form before publication are set out in The Pre-release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008. This order forms part of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics against which key statistics are assessed for compliance by the UK Statistics Authority.
Ministers and officials who have received pre-release access for briefing purposes to any of the official statistics released by DCLG are identified in the pre-release access lists.
Corporate procedures and standards
In accordance with the UK Statistics Authority's Code of Practice for Official Statistics, DCLG follows the arrangements set out in the publications listed below.
- DCLG statistics plan 2011 to 2012
- Statement of compliance with the Pre-Release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008
- Engagement strategy to meet the needs of statistics users
- Statement of administrative sources
- Statistical notice: DCLG revisions policy
- Statistical notice: DCLG quality guidelines
Contact us
Please use the contact details on the specific publication for which you have a query.
For general statistics enquiries please email: email@example.com


text:
DublinDoogey wrote:evster wrote:DublinDoogey wrote:evster wrote:Hm... all sorts of questions about that...
all sorts of questions about what?
In the subject of my post: French Canada....
I take no offense, I am a bilingual anglophone in Quebec (which really what can be called French Canada) - the other eastern provinces are much more English.
Colonial Canada?
ah, i see what you mean, and i understand that really only Quebec is mainly French, but I didn't want more directional continents. I already had to do that with USA, I chose that divide for Canada.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Brandt's 2610 GBL grain bag loader can load 26,000 bu./hr. into a 10-ft. bag up to 30 ft. long. The loader allows you to store grain in yards, fields or on other land, wherever you choose to load up the bags. The loader has an 8- x 8-ft. hopper that can be loaded from either side or both sides simultaneously. A 17-in. auger in the hopper keeps grain moving through quickly.
The grain bag loader requires 50 to 80 hp and can be loaded directly from combines, grain carts or trucks using Brandt's optional HP truck unloading auger.
Listed at $26,175, the 2610 GBL comes with a standard electrical lift to help make installation of grain bags easy. For more information, call Brandt at 866/427-2638 or visit www.brandt.ca.


text:
Smart & Slim Flat Panel Design
- Perfect for retail and fixed installations
- Extra wide viewing angle
- A3C Absen 3rd Generation calibration technology
- Smart monitoring without the need for additional monitoring cards
Tech Specs
- Category: Indoor
- Pixel Pitch mm: 4
- Brightness nit: 800
- Refresh Rate Hz: 1920
- Pixel Configuration: SMD2121
- Pixel Matrix per Panel: 360*72
- Panel Dimensions WxHxD (mm): 1440x288x54
- Viewing Angle (hor./vert.) 160x140
- Panel Weight kg/panel: 10
- IP Rating Front/Rear: 40/21
- Gray Scale per Color Level:
- Power Consumption Max./Avg. m²: 434/145
More Indoor Displays
- Category: Indoor
- Pitch: 1.58
- Brightness: 800
- Refresh Rate: 3840
Absenicon 4K220
- Category: Indoor
- Pitch: 1.27
- Brightness: 350
- Refresh Rate: 1920
N1.8 Plus
- Category: Indoor
- Pitch: 1.89
- Brightness: 800
- Refresh Rate: 1920
N2 Plus
- Category: Indoor
- Pitch: 2.4
- Brightness: 800
- Refresh Rate: 1920
Fill out the form below if you have further questions or if you want to get a quote regarding this product
Thank you for your message!
We will contact you as soon as possible.
How can we be of service?
If you have any questions regarding our products and relateds topics, do not hestitate to contact us. Our team of Absen LED specialists would love to hear from you.
Absen Indoor and Outdoor LED Displays
Absen offers a truly comprehensive and award winning LED product portfolio, with the UHD video wall HDV line and the indoor LED M2.9 display being some of the latest additionsto our product family. Whether you are looking for professional and reliable solutions for indoor or outdoor rental usage, or premium quality fixed installation products, Absen has a whole range of different LED displays, LED tiles and LED modules as well as LED panels to help you create stunning visual experiences.
We are constantly pushing for new and innovative solutions to make installing, assembling and dismantling LED panels easier, quicker and more reliable. Absen has a reputation for offering proven quality when it comes to LED products. We have been the number one LED exporter for more than six years in a row.
We are specialising in offering solutions that are both energy efficient and cost effective. Our N-series, including N2, N3, N4 and N5 is perfect for the retail sector. Some of the main markets that our LED panel development is focussed on include (but not limited to) Retail, Rental, Advertising, Sports and the corporate sector. Whether SD, HD, FUll HD or UHD, 4K and beyond, we have the right kind of product for a great variety of project setups.
Award winning technology
Our award winning LED technology is simple to install, tough and can be easily repaired, unlike LCD monitors that need to be completely replaced upon breakdown.


text:
Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American comedian, actor and musician. He makes up one half of the comedy and satirical rock duo Tenacious D. The group has two albums as well as a television series and a film. His acting career is extensive, starring primarily as bumbling, cocky, but internally self-conscious outsiders in comedy films. He was a member of the Frat Pack, a group of comedians who have appeared together in several Hollywood films, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe award. He has also won an MTV Movie Award, and a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award. He also hosted the 2011 Kids Choice Awards.
Black was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of two satellite engineers, Judith (née Cohen), who worked on the Hubble Space Telescope, and Thomas William Black. Black's mother is Jewish and his father converted to Judaism. On The Tonight Show, he said his surname may have come from the occupational name Blacksmith. Black's parents divorced when he was 10; Black moved to Culver City with his father and frequently visited his mother's home. As a child, Black appeared in a commercial for the Activision game Pitfall! in 1982, which was later shown during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live and again on The Tonight Show with Conan O' Brien. When Black entered high school, his parents enrolled him at the Poseidon School, a private secondary school engineered specifically for students struggling in the traditional school system. Black also attended the Crossroads School, where he excelled in drama. He later attended UCLA but dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue a career in entertainment, at which point his father discontinued his financial support. Fellow UCLA alumnus Tim Robbins later cast Black in Bob Roberts. He also had recurring roles on the HBO sketch comedy series Mr. Show.
Black's acting career began with prime time television. He played roles on shows including Life Goes On, Northern Exposure, Mr. Show, Picket Fences, and The X-Files. Black appeared in the unaired TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack, directed by Ben Stiller, in which he played an ex-astronaut pursued by actor Ron Silver. He was accompanied by his friend who had merged with a motorcycle, voiced by Owen Wilson.


text:
Preliminary Work Starts Monday to Improve Markley Street in Norristown
News for Immediate Release
Feb. 7, 2013
Preliminary Work Starts Monday to Improve Markley Street in Norristown
King of Prussia – Preliminary work is scheduled to start Monday, Feb. 11, on the first of two construction contracts to improve Markley Street from just south of Main Street to Johnson Highway in Norristown Borough, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said today.
This initial $20.8 million project will rebuild and improve 1.1 miles of Markley Street between Elm Street and Johnson Highway, and a half-mile stretch of Johnson Highway between Markley Street and DeKalb Street. The plan includes the rehabilitation of the nearby Main Street stone arch bridge over Stony Creek. Construction is scheduled to finish in fall 2016.
The improvements to be made on Markley Street consist of rebuilding the roadway to provide one lane in each direction plus a center lane for left turns; adding recessed parking bays in residential areas; installing trees and decorative pedestrian street lights to enhance the corridor; building an off-street parking lot at the corner of Harding Boulevard and Markley Street; upgrading traffic signals; installing new curb ramps; and adding Intelligent Transportation System components.
A second project to improve Markley Street from Main Street to Elm Street is presently in engineering design. Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2015.
Starting on Feb. 11 and lasting for approximately two weeks, crews will work weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to remove trees from alongside Markley Street in advance of the relocation of utility poles. This operation may result in intermittent lane closures and traffic stoppages between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Short-term parking restrictions will be in effect during this operation.
PennDOT's contractor will rebuild Markley Street in short stretches to maximize on-street parking in non-work zones. Pedestrian access also will be maintained on at least one side of Markley Street at all times.
Following the completion of this initial operation and the relocation of utility poles, PennDOT's contractor plans to begin the first phase of construction between Elm Street and Harding Boulevard in March.
J.D. Eckman of Atglen, Chester County, is the general contractor on the $20,825,701 contract that is financed with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds.
PennDOT reminds motorists they can log on to www.511pa.com or call 511 from any phone to check traffic conditions on major highways before heading out.
For more information, visit www.dot.state.pa.us. Follow local PennDOT information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly.
Media contact: Gene Blaum, Assistant Press Secretary, 610-205-6800


text:
Heidi George, Principal
318 Moore St. , Saint Paul, MN 55104
(651) 290-7595 | Get Directions
Principal/School Name
360 Colborne Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55102
651-767-8100 | Get Directions
Our students explore every subject through the arts, even math and science. They stay engaged in learning because our teachers know how to link creativity with core academics. With benefits like a classroom kiln for clay pottery and a full dance studio, students benefit from a full, hands-on approach to the arts.
Learn more...
Special Education Services are provided at Four Seasons A+ in a multitude of ways: a special education resource room/staff, Occupational Therapy, Speech/Language services, and social work services.
Heidi George is the principal of Four Seasons. She first began working with Saint Paul Public Schools in 2002 and has served most recently as assistant principal at Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet. Ms. George wants to create strong, meaningful relationships with students, families and staff members.
Four Seasons A+ Elementary 318 Moore St. Saint Paul, MN 55104 Phone: (651) 290-7595 Fax: (651) 293-6575 Hours: 7:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Superintendent Gothard is pleased to share that he has selected a new leader for Four Seasons A+. Please welcome Jennifer Mickelson as your school's new principal beginning in the 2019-20 school year.
**ECSE PreK ONLY below**
To find out if your bus is running late, please call Transportation at 651-696-9600.
For questions related to bus changes, contact Jill Wallace at 651-290-7595.


text:
I�m pretty sure I spoke with Cory Monteith only once.
It was at a Fox press party on the West Coast in January 2010, when �Glee� was still a phenomenon and Monteith, who I would remember afterward as polite in that Canadian manner and kind of sweetly earnest, was patiently fielding questions from a small group of reporters about everything from his dancing (�I have to try really, really hard to be as good as Finn,� he told me, referring to his �Glee� character, who also struggled with the moves) to the magazine-style boilerplate questions about the last movie he�d seen and some must-have piece of technology.
Only now, listening to a recording I made that night, do I cringe when someone asks the then 27-year-old actor to name �one thing you want to do before you die.�
Monteith, who was found dead Sunday in a Vancouver hotel room at the age of 31, only a few months after undergoing rehab for drug problems that he�d reportedly struggled with since his early teens, seems never to have been the kind of public train wreck that�s made other young performers with drug problems the focus of a perverse form of entertainment.
Monteith�s problems might have been exacerbated by fame � or not � but they started years before he became a performer, much less a well known one.
Yet he�s dead just the same, and most likely of a disease that�s every bit as cruel as cancer, but 100-percent preventable. What it�s not, we should be realizing by now, after reading so many, many of these stories, is even close to 100-percent curable. Rehab simply doesn�t work for everyone, and while that�s not a reason anyone should stop trying, it�s an even better reason for not starting.
Because as tired as I am of watching young, prominent people die, I am sadder for all their lesser-known counterparts, the kids in small towns and big cities who don�t wake up after a party or drive their cars into a tree.
No one romanticizes their addictions, and only their families and friends feel the loss. But the waste is just as great, and the absence just as heartbreaking.
Monteith, by the way, told that reporter that what he wanted to do before he died was to go to Japan. �It sounds fun,� said the 6-foot-3 actor, joking that he wanted to �revel at how big I am compared to everyone there who�s small.�


text:
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Still, even the possibility of an addition to a modern classic is bound to get film fans excited or riled up (or both).
I think it's the best horror podcast. Are there any you like?
let us know if the Shining episode is worthwhile, though.
Clue 1: Remember the scene when Jack is writing and Wendy comes in to interrupt him? Well, he uses some profanity and throws away the paper he was writing. She turns and walks away. But then, he begins writing again as if he had never thrown away the paper. The haunted hotel is feeding Jack paper.


text:
The eastern half of the island of New Guinea – second largest in the world – was divided between Germany (north) and the UK (south) in 1885. The latter area was transferred to Australia in 1902, which occupied the northern portion during World War I and continued to administer the combined areas until independence in 1975. A nine-year secessionist revolt on the island of Bougainville ended in 1997 after claiming some 20,000 lives.
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Geographic coordinates:
total: 462,840 sq km
country comparison to the world: 55
land: 452,860 sq km
water: 9,980 sq km
Area – comparative:
slightly larger than California
Land boundaries:
total: 820 km
border countries: Indonesia 820 km
5,152 km
Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Wilhelm 4,509 m
Natural resources:
gold, copper, silver, natural gas, timber, oil, fisheries
Land use:
arable land: 0.65%
permanent crops: 1.51%
other: 97.84% (2011)
Irrigated land:
0 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
801 cu km (2011)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 0.39 cu km/yr (57%/43%/0%)
per capita: 61.3 cu m/yr (2005)
Natural hazards:
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis
volcanism: severe volcanic activity; Ulawun (elev. 2,334 m), one of Papua New Guinea's potentially most dangerous volcanoes, has been deemed a "Decade Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Rabaul (elev. 688 m) destroyed the city of Rabaul in 1937 and 1994; Lamington erupted in 1951 killing 3,000 people; Manam's 2004 eruption forced the island's abandonment; other historically active volcanoes include Bam, Bagana, Garbuna, Karkar, Langila, Lolobau, Long Island, Pago, St. Andrew Strait, Victory, and Waiowa
Environment – current issues:
rain forest subject to deforestation as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber; pollution from mining projects; severe drought
Environment – international agreements:
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography – note:
shares island of New Guinea with Indonesia; one of world's largest swamps along southwest coast
People and Society
noun: Papua New Guinean(s)
adjective: Papua New Guinean
Ethnic groups:
Melanesian, Papuan, Negrito, Micronesian, Polynesian
Tok Pisin (official), English (official), Hiri Motu (official), some 836 indigenous languages spoken (about 12% of the world's total); most languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers
note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%
Roman Catholic 27%, Protestant 69.4% (Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%), Baha'i 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
6,431,902 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
Age structure:
0-14 years: 35.5% (male 1,160,586/female 1,120,258)
15-24 years: 19.5% (male 636,602/female 619,885)
25-54 years: 36% (male 1,198,799/female 1,117,510)
55-64 years: 5.2% (male 167,625/female 164,018)
65 years and over: 3.8% (male 129,852/female 116,767) (2013 est.)
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 69.3 %
youth dependency ratio: 64.3 %
elderly dependency ratio: 4.9 %
potential support ratio: 20.3 (2013)
Median age:
total: 22.2 years
male: 22.4 years
female: 21.9 years (2013 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.89% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
Birth rate:
25.4 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 57
Death rate:
6.54 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
urban population: 13% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 2.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas – population:
PORT MORESBY (capital) 314,000 (2009)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.08 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.14 male(s)/female
total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2013 est.)
Maternal mortality rate:
230 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 50
Infant mortality rate:
total: 40.84 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 54
male: 44.53 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 36.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.66 years
country comparison to the world: 168
male: 64.44 years
female: 69 years (2013 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.31 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 51
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
32.4% (2007)
Health expenditures:
3.6% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 173
Physicians density:
0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
Drinking water source:
urban: 87% of population
rural: 33% of population
total: 40% of population
urban: 13% of population
rural: 67% of population
total: 60% of population (2010 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
urban: 71% of population
rural: 41% of population
total: 45% of population
urban: 29% of population
rural: 59% of population
total: 55% of population (2010 est.)
HIV/AIDS – adult prevalence rate:
0.9% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
HIV/AIDS – people living with HIV/AIDS:
34,000 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 65
HIV/AIDS – deaths:
1,300 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria (2013)
Obesity – adult prevalence rate:
16.2% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 115
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
18.1% (2005)
country comparison to the world: 40
Education expenditures:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.4%
male: 65.4%
female: 59.4% (2011 est.)
People – note:
the indigenous population of Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous in the world; PNG has several thousand separate communities, most with only a few hundred people; divided by language, customs, and tradition, some of these communities have engaged in low-scale tribal conflict with their neighbors for millennia; the advent of modern weapons and modern migrants into urban areas has greatly magnified the impact of this lawlessness
Country name:
conventional long form: Independent State of Papua New Guinea
conventional short form: Papua New Guinea
local short form: Papuaniugini
former: Territory of Papua and New Guinea
abbreviation: PNG
Government type:
constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
name: Port Moresby
geographic coordinates: 9 27 S, 147 11 E
time difference: UTC+10 (15 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
20 provinces, 1 autonomous region*, and 1 district**; Bougainville*, Central, Chimbu, Eastern Highlands, East New Britain, East Sepik, Enga, Gulf, Hela, Jiwaka, Madang, Manus, Milne Bay, Morobe, National Capital**, New Ireland, Northern, Southern Highlands, Western, Western Highlands, West New Britain, West Sepik
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 16 September (1975)
16 September 1975
Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law and customary law
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Michael OGIO (since 25 February 2011)
head of government: Prime Minister Peter Paire O'NEILL (since 2 August 2011); Deputy Prime Minister Leo DION (since 9 August 2012)
cabinet: National Executive Council appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister
(For more information visit the World Leaders website Opens in New Window)
elections: the monarchy is hereditary; the governor general nominated by parliament and appointed by the chief of state; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general acting in accordance with a decision of the parliament; Peter Paire O'NEILL elected prime minister by parliament on 3 August 2012 by a vote of 94 to 12
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Parliament (111 seats, 89 filled from open electorates and 20 from provinces and national capital district; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms); constitution allows up to 126 seats
elections: last held from 23 June 2012 to 27 July 2012 (next to be held in June 2017)
election results: percent of vote by party – NA; seats by party – People's National Congress Party 27, Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party 12, PNG Party 8, National Alliance Party 7, United Resources Party 7, People's Party 6, People's Progess Party 6, other parties 22, independents 16
note: 14 other parties won 3 or fewer seats; association with political parties is fluid
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice, deputy chief justice, and 28 other judges); National Courts (10 courts located in the province capitals, with a total of 16 resident judges )
judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the governor-general upon advice of the National Executive Council (cabinet) after consultation with the National Justice Administration Minister; deputy chief justice and other justices appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief and deputy chief justices, the chief ombudsman, and a member of the National Parliament; citizen judges appointed for 10-year renewable terms; non-citizen judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms; appointment and tenure of National Court resident judges NA
subordinate courts: district, village, and juvenile courts
Political parties and leaders:
National Alliance Party or NA [Patrick PRUAITCHI] Papua New Guinea Party or PNGP [Beldan NEMAH] People's National Congress Party or PNC [Peter Paire O'NEILL] People's Party or PP
People's Progress Party or PPP
Triumph Heritage Empowerment Party or THE [Don POYLE] United Resources Party or URP [William DUMA] note: as of 13 March 2012, 41 political parties were registered
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Centre for Environment Law and Community Rights or Celcor [Damien ASE] Community Coalition Against Corruption
National Council of Women
Transparency International PNG
International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, AOSIS, APEC, ARF, ASEAN (observer), C, CD, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMISS, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Elias Rahuromo WOHENGU
chancery: 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 805, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 745-3680
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Walter E. NORTH
embassy: Douglas Street, Port Moresby, N.C.D.
mailing address: 4240 Port Moresby PI, US Department of State, Washington DC 20521-4240
telephone: [675] 321-1455
Flag description:
divided diagonally from upper hoist-side corner; the upper triangle is red with a soaring yellow bird of paradise centered; the lower triangle is black with five, white, five-pointed stars of the Southern Cross constellation centered; red, black, and yellow are traditional colors of Papua New Guinea; the bird of paradise – endemic to the island of New Guinea – is an emblem of regional tribal culture and represents the emergence of Papua New Guinea as a nation; the Southern Cross, visible in the night sky, symbolizes Papua New Guinea's connection with Australia and several other countries in the South Pacific
National symbol(s):
bird of paradise
National anthem:
name: "O Arise All You Sons"
lyrics/music: Thomas SHACKLADY
note: adopted 1975
Economy – overview:
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain, land tenure issues, and the high cost of developing infrastructure. The economy has a small formal sector, focused mainly on the export of those natural resources, and an informal sector, employing the majority of the population. Agriculture provides a subsistence livelihood for 85% of the people. Mineral deposits, including copper, gold, and oil, account for nearly two-thirds of export earnings. Natural gas reserves amount to an estimated 155 billion cubic meters. A consortium led by a major American oil company is constructing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility that could begin exporting in 2014. As the largest investment project in the country's history, it has the potential to double GDP in the near-term and triple Papua New Guinea's export revenue. An American-owned firm also opened PNG's first oil refinery in 2004 and is building a second LNG production facility. The government faces the challenge of ensuring transparency and accountability for revenues flowing from this and other large LNG projects. In 2011 and 2012, the National Parliament passed legislation that created an offshore Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) to manage government surpluses from mineral, oil, and natural gas projects. In recent years, the government has opened up markets in telecommunications and air transport, making both more affordable to the people. Numerous challenges still face the government of Peter O'NEILL, including providing physical security for foreign investors, regaining investor confidence, restoring integrity to state institutions, promoting economic efficiency by privatizing moribund state institutions, and maintaining good relations with Australia, its former colonial ruler. Other socio-cultural challenges could upend the economy including chronic law and order and land tenure issues. The global financial crisis had little impact because of continued foreign demand for PNG's commodities.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$19.41 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
$17.79 billion (2011 est.)
$16.02 billion (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$15.79 billion (2012 est.)
GDP – real growth rate:
9.1% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
11.1% (2011 est.)
7.6% (2010 est.)
GDP – per capita (PPP):
$2,800 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
$2,700 (2011 est.)
$2,500 (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars
Gross national saving:
7.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
18.3% of GDP (2011 est.)
10.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
GDP – composition, by end use:
household consumption: 46.4%
government consumption: 17%
investment in fixed capital: 20.7%
investment in inventories: 0.9%
exports of goods and services: 69.8%
imports of goods and services: -54.8%
(2012 est.)
GDP – composition, by sector of origin:
agriculture: 28%
industry: 38.6%
services: 33.4% (2012 est.)
Agriculture – products:
coffee, cocoa, copra, palm kernels, tea, sugar, rubber, sweet potatoes, fruit, vegetables, vanilla; poultry, pork; shellfish
copra crushing, palm oil processing, plywood production, wood chip production; mining (gold, silver, and copper); crude oil production, petroleum refining; construction, tourism
Industrial production growth rate:
13% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
Labor force:
3.986 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 90
Labor force – by occupation:
agriculture: 85%
industry: NA%
services: NA% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate:
1.9% (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
1.8% (2004)
Population below poverty line:
37% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 40.5% (1996)
Distribution of family income – Gini index:
50.9 (1996)
country comparison to the world: 18
revenues: $4.532 billion
expenditures: $4.769 billion (2012 est.)
Taxes and other revenues:
28.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-):
-1.5% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 68
Public debt:
14.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 138
12.4% of GDP (2011 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
8.4% (2011 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
14% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
6.92% (31 December 2009 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
10.82% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
10.81% (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of narrow money:
$5.301 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
$4.488 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of broad money:
$8.624 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
$7.134 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of domestic credit:
$4.342 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123
$3.093 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$8.999 billion (31 December 2011)
country comparison to the world: 73
$9.742 billion (31 December 2010)
$12.21 billion (31 December 2009)
Current account balance:
-$4.381 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161
-$48.5 million (2011 est.)
$5.604 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
$6.791 billion (2011 est.)
Exports – commodities:
oil, gold, copper ore, logs, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, crayfish, prawns
Exports – partners:
Australia 29%, Japan 9.6%, China 4.8% (2012)
$4.412 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134
$4.24 billion (2011 est.)
Imports – commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels, chemicals
Imports – partners:
Australia 36.3%, Singapore 13.8%, Malaysia 8.4%, China 7.9%, Japan 5.8%, US 4.8% (2012)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$4.001 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
$4.323 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Debt – external:
$13.25 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
$12.44 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment – at home:
Stock of direct foreign investment – abroad:
Exchange rates:
kina (PGK) per US dollar –
2.0837 (2012 est.)
2.371 (2011 est.)
2.7193 (2010 est.)
2.7551 (2009)
2.6956 (2008)
Electricity – production:
3.331 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 127
Electricity – consumption:
3.098 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132
Electricity – exports:
0 kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 118
Electricity – imports:
0 kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
Electricity – installed generating capacity:
700,000 kW (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129
Electricity – from fossil fuels:
61.1% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 135
Electricity – from nuclear fuels:
0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 162
Electricity – from hydroelectric plants:
30.9% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
Electricity – from other renewable sources:
8% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
Crude oil – production:
30,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 65
Crude oil – exports:
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 169
Crude oil – imports:
15,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
Crude oil – proved reserves:
170 million bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 65
Refined petroleum products – production:
16,080 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100
Refined petroleum products – consumption:
36,320 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111
Refined petroleum products – exports:
3,536 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
Refined petroleum products – imports:
7,201 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
Natural gas – production:
110 million cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79
Natural gas – consumption:
110 million cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 104
Natural gas – exports:
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 163
Natural gas – imports:
0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 117
Natural gas – proved reserves:
155.3 billion cu m (1 January 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy:
5.306 million Mt (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
Telephones – main lines in use:
130,000 (2011)
country comparison to the world: 141
Telephones – mobile cellular:
2.4 million (2011)
country comparison to the world: 133
Telephone system:
general assessment: services are minimal; facilities provide radiotelephone and telegraph, coastal radio, aeronautical radio, and international radio communication services
domestic: access to telephone services is not widely available although combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to roughly 40 per 100 persons
international: country code – 675; submarine cables to Australia and Guam; satellite earth station – 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); international radio communication service (2009)
Broadcast media:
2 TV stations, 1 commercial station operating since the late 1980s and 1 state-run station launched in 2008; satellite and cable TV services are available; state-run National Broadcasting Corporation operates 3 radio networks with multiple repeaters and about 20 provincial stations; several commercial radio stations with multiple transmission points as well as several community stations; transmissions of several international broadcasters are accessible (2009)
Internet country code:
Internet hosts:
5,006 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 145
Internet users:
125,000 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 152
561 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 12
Airports – with paved runways:
total: 21
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12
914 to 1,523 m: 5
under 914 m: 1 (2013)
Airports – with unpaved runways:
total: 540
1,524 to 2,437 m: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 53
under 914 m:
476 (2013)
2 (2013)
oil 264 km (2013)
total: 9,349 km
country comparison to the world: 135
paved: 3,000 km
unpaved: 6,349 km (2011)
11,000 km (2011)
country comparison to the world: 12
Merchant marine:
total: 31
country comparison to the world: 84
by type: bulk carrier 7, cargo 22, petroleum tanker 2
foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 1, Malaysia 1, UAE 6) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Kimbe, Lae, Madang, Rabaul, Wewak
Military branches:
Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF; includes Maritime Operations Element, Air Operations Element) (2013)
Military service age and obligation:
16 years of age for voluntary military service (with parental consent); no conscription; graduation from grade 12 required (2013)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,568,210
females age 16-49: 1,478,965 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,130,951
females age 16-49: 1,137,753 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 67,781
female: 65,820 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
0.5% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 163
Transnational Issues
Disputes – international:
relies on assistance from Australia to keep out illegal cross-border activities from primarily Indonesia, including goods smuggling, illegal narcotics trafficking, and squatters and secessionists
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 9,368 (Indonesia) (2012)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Papua New Guinea is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; women and children are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude; families may sell girls into forced marriages to settle debts, leaving them vulnerable to forced domestic service; local and Chinese men are forced to labor in logging and mining camps; migrant women from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines are subjected to sex trafficking and domestic servitude at logging and mining camps, fisheries, and entertainment sites
tier rating: Tier 3 – Papua New Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; despite acknowledging trafficking as a problem, the government has not enacted legislation to criminalize all forms of trafficking, investigated any suspected trafficking offenses, prosecuted or convicted any trafficking offenders under existing laws, addressed allegations of officials being complicit in human trafficking crimes, or identified or assisted any trafficking victims; Papua New Guinea is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol
Illicit drugs:
major consumer of cannabis


text:
Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Preston Gannaway began documenting the life of Tavaris "Teddy Ebony" Edwards when they met during Pride week at Norfolk State University last year. Teddy is young gay man living in Chesapeake, Virginia, who came out at 16 years old and dropped out of school. Today he's attending college part-time and hoping to better his life. The following piece is by Edwards, along with excerpts from interviews by Gannaway.
My name is Tavaris "Teddy Ebony" Edwards and I'm a gay black man. I'm a 23-year-old college student at Norfolk State University and Tidewater Community College .
I'm in the Spartan Legion Marching Band at Norfolk State as a Spartan Guard and I'm also involved in the LGBT organization "Legasi" at Norfolk State.
I grew up in the hood. When you're staying in a rough neighborhood, you always gotta keep your guard up.
I'm the first openly gay person in my family. As a young boy, I was always feminine. I always liked boys. I had to hide it, because people expected me to be who I wasn't. Before I came out, I was the captain of the football team. I was living a dream that everybody wanted me to live. I came out when I was sixteen. I guess I got tired of hiding who I really wanted to be.
School was always tough on me. I was always teased about being gay. I didn't wanna be around that. So I just left. [In my family] nobody's got their high school diploma. But me and my mom got our GEDs.
My mom was both my parents. ... My dad died when I was two years old and my stepfather was sent to prison when I was seven so my mom did her best at raising me. Growing up gay and without a father was very hard for me. Because there's nothing like the support of your dad.
When I turned 16 I accepted myself as being gay. It was very hard because I didn't know if I would be accepted by my family, how friends would feel. But I couldn't keep hiding who I was anymore. It was becoming too stressful. When people called me names like gay or faggie, I used to be so sad. Because I was more than just gay or a faggie. It really bothered me, though, because before I came out I was cool with everyone. I had gay tendencies but I was a funny, so I always had everyone laughing. ... But the hardest thing about coming out was telling my mom. I knew it was gonna crush her. But she took it better than I thought. She still loved me as her son. So once I had her approval, being gay became easier because I didn't care what others thought anymore. My mom knew, and that's all that mattered.
I believe in God. I go to church. God had been blessing me so much. I want a baby. I may be gay, but I want a baby. I plan to get married one day. Hopefully I can get married to a man.
Being gay, that's the easy part. I'm happy being gay. You have no choice but to accept being gay, baby, because if you stress about it, you're gonna hurt yourself.
I've been in the ballroom scene for almost six years now and I can honestly say the ballroom scene made me who I am today. Six years ago I was a 17-year-old high school drop-out, always fighting, doing things I wasn't supposed to be doing, trying to fit in and be somebody I wasn't. As the years went past and I started to get older I realized there is so much out there in life. Like school, dancing, traveling, marching band. I started off by getting my GED in 2012 and joining my church, Enoch Baptist church, where I'm accepted for who I am.
One thing I can say [is that] over the years, being gay has changed completely. It's more accepted and respected by some. Nowadays I see gays wear short shorts, girl shirts, tights, girl shoes and they walk around comfortable. Back in '06, '07, you would have been jumped or joked. Yes, that's still around, but I don't see to much of it anymore. I think that within the next five years being gay will be even more accepted. And I can't wait to see it!
It's gotten so much better over the years. It's comfortable now. I walk through the hood like it's nothing. Everybody knows me now. This is me. I'm gay and I accept that.
Preston Gannaway is a photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her documentary story on the St. Pierre family, Remember Me, was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography.


text:
ham and slaw sandwich
- ¼ cup (75g) whole-egg mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- sea salt and cracked black pepper
- 140g cabbage, shredded
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 dill pickles, sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 400g sliced leg ham
- 200g gruyère, sliced
- 8 slices sourdough bread, toasted
- lace the mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cabbage, onion, pickles and chives and mix well to coat. Set aside.
- Divide the ham and cheese between 4 slices of bread, place under a preheated hot grill (broiler) and grill (broil) for 1–2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with the cabbage slaw and remaining bread to serve. Makes 4.
There are no comments for this entry yet.


text:
We're about halfway through; in theory, by the end of next week the shop will have a whole new look. The idea is to bring our Redwood City store up from 1980 retail standards to something around 1997. Anything beyond that would risk way too much culture shock!
Thankfully we're receiving great help with the layout and execution from Trek's retail store services division. This is way outside my area of comfort. I can diagnose some of the toughest problems on a bicycle with ease, but hanging a picture frame is about the extent of my home/shop-improvement capabilities! –Mike–


text:
Struggling to recover from a disastrous marriage and contentious divorce, Casey Fremont would prefer to make ends meet with her paycheck from a temp job; but now her goal of personal and mental renewal, becomes one of staying alive as she solves a riddle of murder and mayhem.
Casey Fremont is on her way to interview for a temp job when a falling body nearly lands on her. Three days later, a second man, this one from her own office, dies in a similar manner and Casey is drawn into the intrigue. She confirms her suspicions. With her friend in the hands of kidnappers, Casey barely escapes being the third body to go over the railing as she solves the mystery.
Chapter 1
My name's Casey Fremont. Lots of folks shorten my nickname even further, to KC. I used to go by those initials, but got tired of answering the question, "Does KC stand for somethin'?" Well of course it stands for something, Dimbulb. I even tried "Ms. Fremont," but that made me sound too old. My mother wasn't frightened by the Initial Imps, though something must have scared her. I've never been able to get her to tell me where she came up with Acacia, which is the long version of Casey.
* * *
This morning started out so well, I thought I was on a roll. I hoped the rest of the day would be as great. It wasn't, but how could I know it would be raining bodies before noon.
I put on one of my best business suits. It's a dark, dark gray pin stripe. The jacket is double-breasted and the slit skirt doesn't quite make it down to mid-thigh. I've never been turned down during an interview, but it never hurts to flash a bit of leg at a male interviewer. It's fun to watch where their eyes wander during the discussion. A lot of men have trouble looking a woman in the eye. More often they are gazing at the assets a good bit south of the face.
I was heading for
's Little Rock , a new expanse of glass and steel in the downtown area. In keeping with the new architecture, an atrium reaches to the top between two buildings. I would be talking to a Wayne Harmon at Cyber-Technology, a computer and internet consulting firm. Midtown Atrium Towers Building
At quarter past nine, fifteen minutes before my appointment, I walked through the huge glass doors, which opened for me with an automatic whoosh. The main floor entrance was through a curved glass wall going up all twelve floors. A similar wall of glass faced me from the rear of the lobby and the sign over the far doorway read: Parking Garage. I glanced around the lobby at the large planter areas replete with foliage and flowers. There were even a couple of imported palm trees; far from native to
. Buildings stretched upward to my left and to my right. The structure smelled like a new building. The faint but pungent aroma left from new carpet glued to the floor drifted past me. I checked the directory and learned Cyber-Technology was in Tower B, the one on the right. Arkansas
The elevators were glass and brass clinging to the walls of the atrium. It would be an interesting ride — I'm not afraid of heights, but I don't like looking straight down at nothing between me and a sudden stop at the bottom. I was almost across the lobby when I heard the shout from behind me.
"Damn! Look out!"
The last word was shouted in my ear as something slammed into my back. I hit the polished marble floor with a thud knocking most of the air out of my lungs. Then a crushing weight on my back forced the rest of the air to be expelled. I was gasping for breath. I heard a sickening thud, and a couple of seconds later there was another sound. More of a plop than a thud.
"Are you okay, lady?" said the man lying on my back.
"I will be as soon as you get the hell off me."
"I'm sorry." He rolled away, struggled to his feet and offered his hand.
With effort, I managed a sitting position, slapped his hand aside and tugged at my skirt. "What the hell was that all about?" I used my most annoyed voice and scowl.
"The guy took a header off an atrium balcony. He damn near fell on top of you."
I looked over my shoulder and saw it. It … was a body, sprawled in a grotesque position, about six feet from me. The eyes were open, but they saw nothing. One leg and one arm lay at angles normal limbs are unable to assume. Blood oozed from a flat spot on his head, from his mouth and from the ear turned toward me. The blood spread out on the light-colored marble and seeped into the expansion joints.
That'll be a bitch to clean up, I thought. I shook my head in disbelief at myself; strange the thoughts that run through a mind under stress.
"I've got to get upstairs," I said. "I've got an interview."
"Better stay here. I think the cops will want to talk to you," my Good Samaritan said.
"Why me? I didn't see anything."
"You are still a witness." He extended his hand again. This time I took it and let him pull me to my feet. Building security was already milling around the lobby, and I could hear sirens approaching outside.
End of Chapter One
Character Interview with Casey Fremont
Hi, my name's Casey Fremont. I was born in Arizona because John's brain was living there at the time. He moved me from my birth place, Indiana, to Arkansas where I currently reside. I was working on my own degree when my husband, Jarvis Parnell Sheffield Da Third, needed financial help getting through law school.
I put my ambitions on hold and paid his way until he got his law degree. After that, and for the eight years we were married, he's now my ex, he said, "No wife of mine will ever work." Rather than watching TV and eating bon-bons, I spent my time taking classes, seminars and training in dozens of areas. At the end of eight years, my ex, now known as Jarvis the Rat, dumped me for his young secretary named Bambi. Can you imagine what was going through the heads of her parents?
I got our condo on the west side of
in the divorce settlement along with healthy alimony. Jarvis the Rat is always late with the support in the hopes I'll default on the condo payments, so he can pick it up on the cheap. To make ends meet, I work temp jobs to get to the end of the month. Needless to say, all those classes I took give me a wide range of jobs I can qualify for. Little Rock
I have two roommates, Effie Tremayne and Aaron Kincaid ― he's another whole story ― who help me with the condo payments. The only downside of the temp jobs seems to be that I am forever finding myself knee deep in manure and mayhem. We've become a trio of intrepid sleuths along the way. But, enough about me, I'll let John get back to writing.
Oops, before I do that, John says he needs assistance naming the third of my adventures. Help him come up with the title, and you'll become a character in the book. Details are located on his blog site.
Who is your favorite author?
I'm going to give you two. I enjoy reading Lee Child because he tells a great tale and his protagonist, Jack Reacher, is such a commanding personality. The fact that he is 6' 5" and weighs around 250 pounds has a lot to do with that. My other favorite is Jeffrey Deaver and his series character Lincoln Rhyme. In the beginning I thought I would have a problem relating to Rhyme, a forensic expert who is a quadriplegic ― turned out not to be true. I've had the pleasure of meeting both these men and found them congenial and gracious. My biggest surprise was Deaver. In all his photos, he appears dour and brooding. As an after dinner speaker, he is one of the most entertaining and amusing people I've ever listened to.
Where do you research for your book?
If money was no object, I would love to travel to locations. Since it is a problem for most of us, I set my current series in
which is only an hour's drive for me. I also think the internet has been a boon for writers. When I'm researching a subject, I locate information, copy and paste into a Word file. As a header for the entry, I paste in the URL for the site I'm using. Don't depend on just one site for your research; especially if you use something for Wikipedia, which is an open source web site where anyone in the world can post new and changed data. Don't forget experts you know; example: for my latest book I needed information about an animal dying. My vet spent a good deal of time on the phone going over the information so I don't look like a dunce. Little Rock, Arkansas
Does your significant other read your stuff?
She is a voracious reader and actually reads for a small press in
. With that, one would think she should be an excellent sounding board. I once read, "don't ever show a work in progress to anyone you sleep with or call honey." She will read a finished product and I appreciate her input. Arizona
What do you think makes a good story?
A good story begins with a great plot that has a beginning, a middle and an end. Many of us fall off the wagon somewhere in the middle and don't spend enough time developing the ending the story. Beyond the story line, the characters must be compelling enough to hold the reader's attention and carry the storyline.
What was the scariest moment of your life?
It was half past midnight on January 13, 1969 and the scariest part came afterward when the adrenaline stopped pumping. I was flying a four-engine jet aircraft and when I landed on a small island in the
chain the airplane slid off the end of the end of the runway and over a forty-five foot cliff. If you would like more detail, log onto my web site (johnachor.com) and look for the link at the bottom of the home page. Aleutian Island
Describe what it's like to be an author in three words.
Tough – Lonely – Rewarding
Use no more than two sentences. Why should we read your book?
I patterned my female amateur sleuth, Casey Fremont, somewhere between the characters created by Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton. I believe I have blended the sassy side of Stephanie Plum with Kinsey Millhone's professionalism.
What do you find most rewarding about writing?
Many talk about the the journey being more important than the destination. While I agree with that mantra much of the time while writing; the most satisfying part of writing to me and getting to the last page and typing "The End."
John Achor's writing assignments have appeared in a variety of local, national and international publications such as Good Old Days, Computer Pilot, The Storyteller and Writers' Journal. He enjoys writing about, "The subjects I know best: the military, flying and people I've known." After that, John says he lets a vivid imagination take over.
The first of his three careers spanned twenty years as a U.S. Air Force pilot. After the military, he entered the real estate industry. John joined a national real estate franchise as a management consultant working at the regional and national levels. Those positions led him to
, and an affiliation with a major Savings & Loan institution. Phoenix, Arizona
In John's words, "When the Savings and Loan industry melted away like a lump of sugar in hot coffee, I knew it was time to develop a third career." He became a freelance computer instructor, user-developer, consultant, writer and Community College instructor.
In mid 1999, John moved to
, where he resides in the piney woods with his wife Pat and their two cats, Lexus and Betsy Ross. Since moving to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas , John has written dozens of articles and short stories as well as several novels. He is working on the third mystery in the Casey Fremont series; "One, Two – Kill a Few" and "Three, Four – Kill Some More" are both available as eBooks for the Kindle and Nook. Arkansas
The first of his three careers spanned twenty years as a U.S. Air Force pilot. After the military, he entered the real estate industry. John joined a national real estate franchise as a management consultant working at the regional and national levels. Those positions led him to
In John's words, "When the Savings and Loan industry melted away like a lump of sugar in hot coffee, I knew it was time to develop a third career." He became a freelance computer instructor, user-developer, consultant, writer and Community College instructor.
In mid 1999, John moved to
Contact Information
John's Website * | Blog *
* These sites contain direct links to the Amazon and Barnes and Noble sale pages where you can find my books.


text:
We are here at Jeradeh. At two kilometers from Ruweila it's "dead houses" seem to have integrated with modern dwellings in a strange amalgam. The Bradt Guide claims the main reason to go here is to see a tower that I will point out later, it indeed is somewhat curious. But I found the integration between the life of the village and the older dead houses much more fascinating.
The edge of town.
All pictures copyright Dick Osseman. For use: see my Profile


text:
Out in the desert, the sand sometimes hums or 'sings' as people walk along the top of dunes. Find out what causes this beautiful yet creepy sound, and listen to audio of the sand song.
Many people think that out in the desert, there's nothing to hear but the footsteps of camels, the panting of lost souls and the occasional 'caw' of a vulture. They'd be wrong. Sometimes, people walking along the top of a dune will hear a deep hum. As they walk further and further along it, the hum builds to a roar, with high-pitched ringing, like feedback on a microphone, building over it. It's not a distant highway. It's the singing sands.
Photo by Inc/Shutterstock
Unconnected sand grains have been known to make all kinds of noises, from cricket-like clicks the gunshot-loud bangs, but the 'singing' has to be the most eerie. The low-pitched hum with its attendant high ringing sound can be as loud as 105-115 decibels - about as loud as a motorcycle or a power saw. It was known for some time under what conditions this singing occured. Dunes sang on dry days, and the singing tended to emanate from the side of the dune that was sheltered from the wind. Smaller dunes only sing on windless days.
Initially it was thought that the entire dune vibrated, and that vibration was what caused the tone and loudness of the song. A little more study showed that that was not the case. Even as a dune changed size and shape, the tone it emitted was the same. In fact, the song was determined by the sand itself, not the dune it was one.
Sand dunes are built up by the wind. It carves out a shallow bowl on one side of the dunes, rolling sand slowly upwards. When the sand hits the top of the dune, the wind just keeps it going, hurling it out into space to land some distance away from the peak of the dune. Because of this, the sheltered side of sand dunes tends to be a steep drop, not a gentle slope. Sand isn't a very stable building material, so it can't support that steep a slope. Once it builds up to about 35 degrees, it's in the danger zone. A little too much force, and the top of the dune collapses down the sheltered side, causing an avalanche.
This avalanche can have a lot of force, but not nearly enough to vibrate the whole dune. Instead, the small grains of sand, all approximately the same size, bounce off of each other as they fall. As they continue to jostle they form a standing wave along the surface of the dune. The entire surface of the dune vibrates as if it were a stereo speaker, or those cups on the dashboard in Jurassic Park when the T-Rex was approaching. The wave travels across the dune at approximately 40 meters per second, and the dune gives off a long, low-pitched hum. The exact tone of this hum is determined by the size, and quality of the sand itself. Perfectly round glass beads won't make a sound, and rough, jagged sand is equally silent. The grains have to be the right size, round enough, and just smooth enough to bounce off each other in the right way to keep the collisions, the wave, and the sound coming.
To hear more examples of singing sand, head on over here.
Via NY Times, NY Moon, Live Science, and Physics World.


text:
Major Section: RELEASE-NOTES
Acl2 now allows ``complex rationals,'' which are complex numbers whose real parts are rationals and whose imaginary parts are non-zero rationals. See complex.
A new way of handling
forced hypotheses has been implemented.
Rather than cause a case split at the time the
force occurs, we
complete the main proof and then embark on one or more ``forcing
rounds'' in which we try to prove the forced hypotheses.
See forcing-round. To allow us to compare the new handling of
force with the old, Version 1.5 implements both and uses a flag in
state to determine which method should be used. Do
(assign old-style-forcing t) if you want
force to be handled
as it was in Version 1.4. However, we expect to eliminate the
old-style forcing eventually because we think the new style is more
effective. To see the difference between the two approaches to
forcing, try proving the associativity of append under both settings
old-style-forcing. To get the new behavior invoke:
(thm (implies (and (true-listp a) (true-listp b)) (equal (append (append a b) c) (append a (append b c)))))Then
(assign old-style-forcing t) and invoke the
thm command above
A new
:cases hints allows proof by cases. See hints.
Include-book and
encapsulate now restore the
when they complete. See include-book and see encapsulate.
The guards on many Acl2 primitives defined in
axioms.lisp have been
weakened to permit them to be used in accordance with lisp custom
and tradition.
It is possible to attach heuristic filters to
rewrite rules to
limit their applicability. See syntaxp.
A tutorial has been added; see acl2-tutorial.
Events now print the Summary paragraph listing runes used, time,
etc., whether they succeed or fail. The format of the ``failure
banner'' has been changed but still has multiple asterisks in it.
Thm also prints a Summary, whether it succeeds or fails; but
thm is
not an event.
A new event form
skip-proofs has been added; see skip-proofs.
A user-specific customization facility has been added in the form of a book that is automatically included, if it exists on the current directory. See acl2-customization.
A facility for conditional metalemmas has been implemented; see meta.
The acceptable values for
ld-skip-proofsp have changed. In the old
version (Version 1.4), a value of
t meant that proofs and
events are to be skipped. In Version 1.5, a value of
t means proofs
(but not
local events) are to be skipped. A value of
means proofs and
local events are to be skipped. There are two
other, more obscure, acceptable values. See ld-skip-proofsp.
In order to turn off the forcing of assumptions, one should now
disable the
executable-counterpart of
force (rather than the
definition of
force, as in the previous release); see force.
The macros
enable-forcing and
disable-forcing make it convenient to
enable or disable forcing. See enable-forcing and
see disable-forcing.
The new commands
pr and
pr! print the rules created by an event or
command. See pr and see pr!.
The new history commands
puff and
puff* will replace a compound
command such as an
encapsulate or
include-book by the sequence of
events in it. That is, they ``puff up'' or ``lift'' the subevents
of a command to the command level, eliminating the formerly superior
command and lengthening the history. This is useful if you want to
``partially undo'' an
encapsulate or book or other compound command
so you can experiment. See puff and see puff*.
Theory expressions now are allowed to use the free variable
and prohibited from using the free variable
See theories, although it is essentially the same as before
except it mentions
world instead of
state. See world for a
discussion of the Acl2 logical world. Allowing
in-theory events to
be state-sensitive violated an important invariant about how books
Table keys and values now are allowed to use the free variable
and prohibited from using the free variable
state. See the note
above about theory expressions for some explanation.
The macro for minus,
-, used to expand
(- x 3) to
(+ x -3) and now
expands it to
(+ -3 x) instead. The old macro, if used in the
left-hand sides of rewrite rules, produced inapplicable rules
because the constant occurs in the second argument of the
+, but
potential target terms generally had the constant in the first
argument position because of the effect of
A new class of rule,
:linear-alias rules, allows one to implement
the nqthm package and similar hacks in which a disabled function is
to be known equivalent to an arithmetic function.
A new class of rule,
:built-in-clause rules, allows one to extend
the set of clauses proved silently by
defun during measure and guard
processing. See built-in-clauses.
The new command
pcb! is like
pcb but sketches the command and then
prints its subsidiary events in full. See pcb!.
Rewrite class rules may now specify the
loop-stopper field.
See rule-classes and see loop-stopper.
The rules for how loop-stoppers control permutative rewrite rules
have been changed. One effect of this change is that now when the
built-in commutativity rules for
+ are used, the terms
a and
(- a)
are permuted into adjacency. For example,
(+ a b (- a)) is now
normalized by the commutativity rules to
(+ a (- a) b); in Version
b was considered syntactically smaller than
(- a) and so
(+ a b (- a)) is considered to be in normal form. Now it is
possible to arrange for unary functions be be considered
``invisible'' when they are used in certain contexts. By default,
unary-- is considered invisible when its application appears in
the argument list of
binary-+. See loop-stopper and
see :DOC set-invisible-fns-table.
Extensive documentation has been provided on the topic of Acl2's ``term ordering.'' See term-order.
Calls of
ld now default
ld-error-action to
:return rather than to
the current setting.
The command descriptor
:x has been introduced and is synonymous with
max, the most recently executed command. History commands such as
pbt print a
:x beside the most recent command, simply to indicate
that it is the most recent one.
The command descriptor
:x-23 is synonymous with
(:x -23). More
generally, every symbol in the keyword package whose first character
#\x and whose remaining characters parse as a negative integer
is appropriately understood. This allows
:x-10 where
(:max -10) or
(:here -10) were previously used. The old forms
are still legal.
The order of the arguments to
defcong has been changed.
The simplifier now reports the use of unspecified built-in type information about the primitives with the phrase ``primitive type reasoning.'' This phrase may sometimes occur in situations where ``propositional calculus'' was formerly credited with the proof.
The function
pairlis has been replaced in the code by a new function
pairlis$, because Common Lisp does not adequately specify its
pairlis function.
Some new Common Lisp functions have been added, including
string, and
concatenate. The source file
/slocal/src/acl2/axioms.lisp is the
ultimate reference regarding Common Lisp functions in Acl2.
The functions
defuns and
theory-invariant have been documented.
See defuns and see theory-invariant.
A few symbols have been added to the list
A new key has been implemented for the
:irrelevant-formals-ok. See set-irrelevant-formals-ok.
The connected book directory,
cbd, must be nonempty and begin and
end with a slash. It is set (and displayed) automatically upon your
first entry to
lp. You may change the setting with
See cbd.
oops will undo the last
ubt. See oops.
Documentation has been written about the ordinals. See :DOC
and see :DOC
e0-ord-<. [Note added later: Starting with Version_2.8,
instead see o-p and see o<.
The color events -- (red), (pink), (blue), and (gold) -- may no
longer be enclosed inside calls of
local, for soundness reasons. In
fact, neither may any event that sets the
See embedded-event-form.
See ld-keyword-aliases for an example of how to change the exit
keyword from
q to something else.
The attempt to install a monitor on
rewrite rules stored as simple
abbreviations now causes an error because the application of
abbreviations is not tracked.
A new message is sometimes printed by the theorem prover, indicating that a given simplification is ``specious'' because the subgoals it produces include the input goal. In Version 1.4 this was detected but not reported, causing behavior some users found bizarre. See specious-simplification.
Definition rules are no longer always required to specify the
:clique and
:controller-alist fields; those fields can be defaulted
to system-determined values in many common instances.
See definition.
A warning is printed if a macro form with keyword arguments is given
duplicate keyword values. Execute
(thm t :doc nil :doc "ignored")
and read the warning printed.
A new restriction has been placed on
encapsulate. Non-
recursive definitions inside the
encapsulate may not use, in their
tests and recursive calls, the constrained functions introduced by
encapsulate. See subversive-recursions. (Note added in
Version 2.3: Subversive recursions were first recognized by us here
in Version 1.5, but our code for recognizing them was faulty and the
bug was not fixed until Version 2.3.)
The events
defrefinement, and
defevaluator have
been reimplemented so that they are just macros that expand into
defthm or
encapsulate events; they are no longer
primitive events. See the documentation of each affected event.
defcor event, which was a shorthand for a
defthm that
established a corollary of a named, previously proved event, has
been eliminated because its implementation relied on a technique we
have decided to ban from our code. If you want the effect of a
defcor in Version 1.5 you must submit the corresponding
defthm with
:by hint naming the previously proved event.
Error reporting has been improved for inappropriate
in-theory hints
and events, and for syntax errors in rule classes, and for
non-existent filename arguments to
Technical Note: We now maintain the Third Invariant on
as described in the Essay on the Invariants on Type-alists, and
Canonicality. This change will affect some proofs, for example, by
causing a to rewrite more quickly to
c when
(equiv a b) and
(equiv b c) are both known and
c is the canonical
representative of the three.


text:
Jeff Ostroff, whose main website gets 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a day, was on his honeymoon in St Lucia 1996 when he got the idea for his first site.
"I thought it would be neat to create a website with photos I took for my family to see online so I would not have to make copies for everyone," he says. "I knew nothing about domain names or how to get a '.com' name."
His ISP provided the web hosting. It wasn't until 1998 that he bought the domain name BridalTips.com.
"I grew BridalTips.com with advice for other brides and grooms because I saw so many scams, and nickel and dime fees in the wedding industry, and vendors who make brides feel like dirt for not buying this or that," he says.
"I started to get a lot of positive response from couples going through the same problems we had, and added sections on DJs, photographers, limos, bridal registry scams, bridal shop scams. Then the idea hit me like a ton of bricks! The Internet is a pretty powerful medium to get your message out to people. It was time for me to start warning the world about crooked car dealer scams based on my past experiences with GM."
So his main money earner, CarBuyingTips.com, was born. He's been running it since 1997.
The site gives free advice on buying new cars, used cars, auto leasing and avoiding car buying scams.
"We hate to see you scammed by some of the morally challenged, so enjoy this politically incorrect site that dealer lawyers tried to shut down," the site tells visitors.
When I first interviewed Jeff in 2000 he had already set up ConsumerNet, created a bunch of consumer advice sites, and built a reputation as a consumer advocate.
He was also the top affiliate, or a top 10 affiliate, in several affiliate programs.
Co-workers became business partners
In 2003, Jeff and two of his co-workers, who choose to stay anonymous, quit their well paid jobs at Motorola to concentrate on the ConsumerNet websites.
"Two of us are electrical engineers, and the third partner is a software engineer. We all learned HTML just by working with it, trial and error," Jeff says.
Now, eight years later, the partnership is still going strong.
ConsumerNet's four biggest sites are CarBuyingTips.com, BridalTips.com, HouseBuyingTips.com and Debtwizards.com.
"We had about 80 domain names at one point, but let many lapse, as we decided we have our hands full… We own some travel related domain names and might do something going forward, or just sell the domain names if the right offer came in."
These days, CarBuyingTips.com receives about 10,000 to 15,000 visitors a day, Jeff says.
The site is very simple. In appearance, it has changed little in the past decade.
Heaps of useful content without hard selling
Where CarBuyingTips.com shines is its content.
Jeff is delightfully outspoken. On the site's main page, he publishes emails from angry car dealers, who write, "Dear Idiot…" (and worse) because they don't like his forthright advice on avoiding car dealer scams and saving money when you buy a car.
If you delve into the site, you'll see that a LOT of work has gone into providing hundreds of pages of free advice on topics such as teaching you how to find dealer cost and get the best price on new cars, with fair dealer profit, negotiating tips, free loan and lease spreadsheets, reviews of the best car buying and car loan sites, loan and lease dilemmas, dealer scams, ads, trade-in value, dealer cost, and buyer's offers.
There's no hard-selling of affiliate products.
Instead, Jeff comes across as a trusted expert who simply tells his readers what they should do, for example, get a credit report.
For example, look at this page…
CarBuyingTips.com Top 10 Car Dealer Scams
It has no banner ads, just heaps of useful advice with the occasional affiliate link woven in only where it's appropriate. It's the kind of writing that wins friends.
"We are very fortunate to have a fiercely loyal word of mouth following," Jeff says.
"We also use natural search results from Google and Yahoo!, plus we use Google AdWords, and Yahoo/Bing. The news website interviews round out the traffic. We are always looking at ways to use social networking sites to our advantage going forward."
Journalists provide free publicity
CarBuyingTips has received fabulous free publicity in a variety of news media, including the New York Times, the Herald Tribune, and Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNN Money, Yahoo Finance, and so on.
"Every single news story and interview you see about us, they find us. I do have many repeat interviews, and freelance writers who liked the information we gave them for their story, so they come back for more when they write a future story for their news website, or another freelance gig they have.
"Never under-estimate the value of getting a free news story about your website. They don't always provide a clickable URL link to you, but they do mention your website name and you can sometimes get some very high quality traffic from them, plus Google considers them more a trusted site than some banner farms, when determining quality of your incoming links."
Jeff says the business is a lot harder and much more competitive than it was in 2000.
"Back then I could easily and rapidly manipulate myself into the top 10 search results in Lycos, Alta Vista, and Excite, the top search engines at the time. More and more 'me too' sites moved into our space, then all those search engines died off after Google burst on to the scene in 1999, plus we are dealing with the 800 pound gorilla Google, who change their algorithm all the time.
"It's feast or famine and it stinks to have most of your eggs coming from one basket, so we work hard to manage that basket."
He fondly remembers the early days of AdWords …
"Around 2002 or so we started advertising in Google AdWords and it was great at first. As early adopters, we owned it! Then it was not long until everyone jumped on it, and many idiot extended warranty companies were foolishly playing $15 per click. So you pay $1500 to get 100 visitors to your site, and 1% converts to a sale, so each sale costs $1500 in advertising costs!"
Many foolish companies went under playing that game.
Spending tons of money on advertising
"We do still spend tons of money on search engine traffic, only from Google, Yahoo!, Bing. The others don't matter to me, and the quality of traffic falls off like a rock, with the majority of the rest of them being fraudulent pay per click traffic. Google market share is about 84%, Yahoo! is about 7%, Bing is about 3%. The remaining 6% are meaningless and shared among dozens of 'me too' search engines."
Jeff estimates that maybe a quarter of their revenue comes as a result of the advertising they do, but says it's hard to tell for sure.
"Because we don't sell a product, widgets for example, it's hard to track an affiliate sale to a specific pay per click keyword. For example, if I sell blue and red widgets, I would use AdWords to send all searches for blue widgets to my blue widget info page, and the same with red widgets. Then you know for sure which sale came from which AdWords keyword. The problem for us doing an exact tracking, is someone will search new cars, land on our page, but once they click off our site to an affiliate merchant website, we have no tracking over what that specific buyer does.
"All we can do is sort of paddle in the dark, and make sure we spend less on advertising than we make. Over time you can test spending and traffic on certain keywords to see if they are effective. If I double my spending on the keyword 'blue widgets', and double my traffic, am I seeing an increase in sales? If not, drop the spending back down. AdWords is a lot easier for a company which is directly selling a product."
He says they are always experimenting, both as an AdWords advertiser, and as a publisher displaying AdSense ads on their sites.
"The bottom line is Google AdWords only has a click-through of less than 0.5% for most of your ads. After all, as a user of Google, how often do you click on any sponsored ads? We have also found if the AdWords ads appear on any sites other than Google or major sites like CNN, Amazon, etc, then the quality of the traffic is very poor, and loaded with pay per click fraud."
AdSense ads almost hidden away
One thing you'll spot if you study Jeff's sites is that they have fewer AdSense ads than most affiliate sites, and the ads used are sometimes so unobtrusive you'll hardly notice them. Jeff is definitely NOT following AdSense's heat map advice.
"Our income from AdSense is very small actually, and somewhat by choice, as the click-through rate for AdSense is very low."
(Because of the AdSense Terms and Conditions, I can't tell you the click-through rate they achieve with their unobtrusive AdSense ads, but to get a good idea, think EXTREMELY low – and then halve it!)
They earn only about $1000 a month from AdSense.
"Remember that is by choice … being consumer advocates we have chosen not to sprinkle AdSense ads all over our website.
"We hate how many websites slow down from ads. Have you been on CNN lately? With all those extremely annoying pop-up ads, stretching ads, pay per click ads, it takes often over 30 seconds for CNN to load. We try to work in a few unobtrusive AdSense ads into our site.
"And besides with the small click-through rates you get with AdSense ads, it makes no sense to flood your website with them, when they have such a low rate of return. If they had a 20% click-through, they would be all over my sites!
"Another thing that works against you, ironically, is Google has trashed the rankings of 'Made For Adsense' (MFA) websites. These are all those annoying websites that pop up in a search result that provide zero information to you based on your search term, but they are loaded with AdSense ads like a fishing net. I don't want my sites in any way to look like an MFA site. It's the kiss of death."
Copycats, scrapers and high tech criminals
One of the biggest changes Jeff has seen in the past 11 years is a large increase in competition.
"Every time someone like us paves the way with unique content, others come and try to duplicate our efforts, and ride off our coattails, but with a lot less quality. So we have had very foolish people over the years out-bidding us in AdWords, and losing out in the end because they spent too much. We have also had a problem with many sites copying our content. So we have had over 100 sites shut down.
"There's also the problem of scraper sites, who scrape our entire content, and use it to steal traffic from Google, yet the content is not even anywhere to be found on these MFA websites. They're very high tech criminals who know how to trick Google, feeding the search engine what it wants, without the content actually appearing on the site.
"The biggest issue we face, like everyone else, is falling into the Google algorithm changes, and you have to figure out what to do to crawl yourself back to top 10 listings.
"The economy has been a big issue for us also. When the U.S. economy tanked in 2008, we tanked right along with the auto industry, and many of our affiliate merchants went under. We are only now recovering as an industry in 2011. Some online auto finance affiliate merchants we have are trying to make a comeback. This is why you always keep your eye on the wheel, always make sure you are spending less than you take in, and always have cash reserves for the down times. There will be down times, so if you fail to plan, then you should plan to fail."
Scammers, hackers and liars
"There are a lot of scams out there. First and foremost is pay per click fraud." he says.
"All search engines lie to you and say 'We have the best fraud prevention tools.' That's a lie, because all these Russian, Chinese, European and Canadian scammers and hackers make mincemeat out of their security algorithms. They are so much smarter than the arrogant directors of security at search engines.
"We found over the years that only Google, Yahoo! and Bing have somewhat honest traffic if you get it only from them, and not the affiliates who send them AdSense traffic. I can rest at night knowing that Google is not sitting there clicking on my AdWords links all day long to generate income.
"The rest of the 'me too' search engines all get their traffic from resources that are low quality at best, and fraudulent at the worst. You had better get real good real quick, at determining whether the traffic you are paying for is high quality or not. That's why years ago we quit using FindWhat, 7Search, Kanoodle, etc, because we found almost 100% fraud.
"Think about it, what sites send them high quality legitimate traffic? And Kanoodle flat out refused to refund any money once we sent them proof positive data logs of hundreds of clicks coming from a fraud site over one weekend. Once we dumped all of them, there was no drop in income for us whatsoever, so we knew the search engine quality was not there for us."
What to do when affiliate merchants don't pay
"You'll find many affiliate merchnats that don't like to pay you, or they don't pay on time. Do not give them a long leash on this. If a company fails to pay you, take their links down. Depending on the company and your relationship, this would be by the end of 30 days. This is usually a sign they are in trouble, and if you leave their links up, you'll lose income.
"If they don't pay you by the 30 days, 100% of the time in the past it means they are in trouble, and you keep calling and keep getting lies from them, and no payment and no returned emails or phone calls."
But if a big site like CarBuyingTips removes their links, "Wow! Suddenly we get urgent phone calls from them the next day asking why we removed their links. They are watching their affiliate traffic from us for sure, and you just cut off their revenue stream like a kink in a hose."
Jeff says that often he doesn't put the links back up until the merchant has paid up.
A thinking, testing, brainstorming partnership
"You should also work closely with the affiliate manager from the company to see which banners, for example, have the best click-through, and what offers they are running that might convert more tire kickers into buyers.
"Affiliate marketing is not a just a link relationship, it should be a thinking, testing and brainstorming partnership.
"Watch out for companies who contact you and guarantee you #1 position in Google. Run as fast as you can from them.
"Here's my warning about banner advertising. Websites will call you all day long to advertise on their site. NEVER do run of site banner advertising, where your banner can end up anywhere, usually at the bottom of the page below the fold, where no one ever goes.
"Also all companies lie about click-through rates of banners on their site, so beware before you pay for any banner advertising. Click-through rates on run of site banners are often very, very low, much lower than you ever thought they could be, like 0.003% click through to maybe 0.1% at best.
"AdWords' typical click-through rates for their text based ads might be as good as 1%.
"So if a publisher is trying tell you their banner ads have click-through rates of 2% to 5%, that's a lie for sure and it's off by a factor of 1000! Your budget will not be off by a factor of 10%, or 30%, it will be off by 1000 times or more! All your income assumptions and traffic assumptions will be so far off from your projections. That's devastating. Think about it, how often do you click on a banner? Don't fall into these traps."
The essence of this affiliate marketing success story
I asked Jeff why he's a success while many affiliates are struggling.
"We are doing well because we have the quality where others only have quantity. We have built up our website over 13 years, with thousands of high quality inbound links and we have many repeat car buyers come to CarBuyingTips.com for future purchases.
"I often hear from people who used my site over the years for two or three previous purchases. So many other guys slap two or three useless 'tips' related to car buying on their site, which they just copied from another site anyway, and slap some AdSense ads and a few links up and think they will make a million bucks. This shortcut strategy never works. These me too sites will never get good Google search engine placement, hence no traffic. There's no real reason for anyone to visit their site either.
"Take a look at your site. What reason do people have to visit your site? Is your Internet presence a useful website or a fishing net? You need lots of high quality content, and lots of incoming links from high quality sites."
He says you can attract lots of high quality links only by having a long-term presence as a useful site that others want to link to automatically, or share with their friends on Facebook.
"Keep your incoming links out of banner farm sites, and don't just swap links with any site, only high quality sites," Jeff says.
When I interviewed Jeff back in 2000, I summarized the reasons for his affiliate success…
- He runs an interesting, useful, outspoken site.
- He wins the trust of his visitors.
- He selects programs which match the site's theme.
- He weaves affiliate links into text in appropriate places.
- He buys only carefully targeted advertising.
- He experiments constantly.
- (I should have also said he chooses topics he cares about.)
Eleven years later, he's still doing all those things because they work so well.
If you found this interview useful, remember, please Like us on Facebook.
(The Facebook button is at the top of the article.)
MY COMMENTS: How To Be Like Jeff Ostroff
Do you want to be like Jeff and own a successful affiliate site based on a hobby or a topic you're passionate about, a site that's likely to still be generating useful revenue a decade from now, when current Internet fads and fashions have faded away? If so, you can do no better than follow the Action Guide provided by the man who's way ahead of everyone else in this field.
The acknowledged expert in following your passion successfully is Ken Evoy, creator of SBI, an all-inclusive suite of tools and training system for brainstorming, building and marketing a successful business online. Delighted users of the SBI system have provided heaps of fascinating stories of their affiliate success or online business success. No other company on the Internet can provide such a wealth of amazing stories.
Watch this short video to hear Ken Evoy and SBI owners talking about how SBI has changes lives…


text:
The Claudine Hellmuth Studio line of semi-gloss paint is a collection of 15 highly pigmented, artist quality acrylic paints in her favorite colors! Creamy in consistency, they can be mixed together for an endless palette of colors without becoming muddy. Use for painting on Claudine Hellmuth Sticky-Back Canvas, paper projects, and more.
Needle-nose tip bottle.
Acid-free. Non toxic. Waterproof when dry. Archival. Semi-gloss. Artist Quality.
18 ml (0,5 fl oz)
Claudine Hellmuth - Traditional Tan
- Brand: Ranger
- Product Code: HSM24705
- Availability: In Stock
- Ex Tax: 2.00€


text:
- Home
- About Us
- Our Commitment To Public Health
- Resources
- Newsroom
- Blog
Home › Our Commitment To Public Health › Food & Activity Environments ›
Food & Activity Environments
the problem
Our surroundings affect how healthy we are. Yet, too often, our communities don't provide the conditions necessary to eat well and be active. In many cases, this leaves adults and kids with easier access to fast food than fresh produce, more broken sidewalks than safe parks, and a greater chance of getting sick than living well. And the ubiquity of food and beverage marketing only complicates the matter. Advertisers are increasingly finding new ways to sidestep parents and market high-calorie, nutritionally bankrupt products directly to youth. With advertising now reaching children and teens through the Internet and cell phones, even most vigilant parents are fighting impossible odds to keep their kids healthy.
the path to success
Healthy populations live in communities that offer easy access to nutritious, affordable food and safe places to exercise and play. Supporting healthy public policies can help us get there. Examples include stricter regulations to reduce junk food marketing to kids; smart growth zoning laws, which locate homes closer to schools and public transportation, making it easier for people to walk more and drive less; and joint use agreements, which allow schools and communities to share resources like gyms and athletic fields, giving people more places to be active.
BMSG's connection
At BMSG, we help advocates communicate to policymakers and the public that people's environments affect their health. Since 2004, we have been providing training and technical assistance to the community-based advocates of The California Endowment's and Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program. In 2009, we worked with the Joint Use Statewide Task Force to develop jointuse.org, a website that gives visibility to the connection between school-community partnerships and health. We also helped advocates at the California WIC Association fine-tune their messages about the community-wide health benefits of breastfeeding.
Examining the public debate on school food nutrition guidelines
Understanding how school nutrition has been portrayed in the news is key for advocates working to build support for policies that promote healthy school environments. This study, conducted in collaboration with PHAI, provides a look at how discussions of school food nutrition policies unfolded in the selected states in the wake the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Read more >
Related Projects
Related Publications
related partners
California Center for Public Health Advocacy
Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University Law School
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW)