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4 Awesome Things to Do As a Senior You Wouldn’t Otherwise Get Away With

Dana R
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4 Awesome Things to Do As a Senior You Wouldn’t Otherwise Get Away With

Since the dawn of time, people have been looking for a proverbial Fountain of Youth. For some people, ageing is something they dread. While getting older means a few more aches and pains, it also comes with a variety of benefits.

The key to staying well and happy throughout your golden years is by staying active. Simply staying inside and not socializing with other people of your age group can lead to lots of negative issues over time. The following are just some of the benefits that come with becoming a senior citizen.

old-men

1. The Wisdom That Comes With Getting Older

Being young and making lots of mistakes go hand in hand. When a person is young, they fail to realize the consequences their actions will have on the rest of their life. This generally causes younger people to make decisions that can only be classified as foolish.

One of the biggest benefits that come with getting older is the wisdom it provides. Being able to look back on the course of your life and identifying the mistakes you have made can help you avoid these same mistakes in the future. Not only can you use this information to help yourself, but you can also offer guidance to people around you as well.

2. Spending Time With Grandchildren

Raising children is one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Most people feel guilty for not being able to spend time with their children is they work a particularly demanding job. One of the best parts about being a grandparent is being able to spoil grandchildren.

Since most senior citizens are retired, they have a pretty flexible schedule. This means they will be able to enjoy all of the time in the world with their grandkids without worry. Many senior living centers host special events for tenants grandchildren because they realize how important these relationships are.

3. Pursuing Your Passions

For most people, making sacrifices for the people around them is something they are quite accustomed to. If you have put your dreams and passions on hold while raising a family, pursuing them in your golden years is a great idea.

Whether you want to start a small business or learn a new skill, taking the bull by the horns and acting on these desires is a good idea. The great thing about pursuing these passions during your retirement is that you don’t have to make a living from these pursuits. Taking the time to sit down and make a list of things you are passionate about can help you figure out what direction you need to go in.

4. Travel the World

Are you tired of being in the same area? Do you feel like now is the time to see the world like you always dreamed of? As a senior citizen, you have the time and the resources to pursue this dream.

Before embarking on a new journey, be sure to speak with a financial advisor to figure out what type of budget you need to put into place. The last thing you want to do is run out of money on your trip, which is why getting this type of professional advice is a must.

As you can see, there are a number of advantages to becoming a senior citizen. Instead of treading your golden years, now is the time to make and plan and enjoy them.

Artificial Intelligence: Career Outlook

Nancy Clayson
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Artificial Intelligence: Career Outlook

Since the development of computers or machines, their competence to enforce various tasks went on growing epidemically. Humans have advanced the power of computer systems in terms of their disparate working domains, their proliferating speed, and decreasing size with respect to time.

An arm of Computer Science named Artificial Intelligence goes after creating computers or machines as brilliant as human beings.

As we go ahead with the entire career prospective of Artificial Intelligence, let’s understand briefly about what Artificial Intelligence is.

A Brief Overview of Artificial Intelligence

The father of Artificial Intelligence, John McCarthy said, “Artificial Intelligence is the science and engineering that makes intelligent machines, exceptionally intelligent computer programs”.

AI makes a computer, a computer-controlled robot, or a software think intelligently, the same way an intelligent human would think.

While capitalizing the competence of the computer systems, the eagerness of human, lead him to doubt, “Whether a machine thinks and behave as humans do?”

Hence, the advancement of AI started with the objective to create similar intelligence in machines that we humans could. Artificial Intelligence aims to create expert systems. These systems present intelligent behavior, learn, display, explain, and advice their users. It implements human intelligence in machines by creating systems that understand, think, learn, and act like humans.

Image source Pixabay

Career Prospects of Artificial Intelligence

A big core of AI is in the advancement of computer functions associated with human intelligence, such as reasoning, learning, and problem-solving.

AI has been assertive in various fields such as −

  • Gaming − It plays an important role in critical games such as chess, poker, tic-tac-toe, etc., where a machine can think of a large number of possible positions based on probing knowledge.
  • Natural Language Processing − It helps in interacting with the computer that understands the natural language which humans speak.
  • Speech Recognition − Some intelligent systems are able to hear and comprehend the language in terms of sentences and their meanings while a human talks to it. They can handle different accents, slangs, background noises, change in human’s tone due to cough, etc.
  • Intelligent Robots − Robots perform tasks which are assigned by humans. They can sense physical data from the real- world such as light, heat, temperature, movement, sound, bump, and pressure. They have enough processors, various sensors and vast memory, to display intelligence. Also, they are able to learn from their mistakes and they can adapt to the new environment.

Domains which target Artificial Intelligence are as follows:

  • Medicine: includes identification of medical images, diagnosis, expert systems to aid GPs, monitors, and controls in ICU,  designing of prosthetics, and drug designing.
  • Robotics: includes vision, motor control, learning, planning, linguistic communication, cooperative behavior.
  • Engineering: identification of fault diagnosis, intelligent control systems, intelligent manufacturing systems, intelligent design aids, integrated systems for sales, design, production, maintenance, expert configuration tools (e.g. ensuring sales staff don’t sell a system that won’t work.
  • Space: It controls space vehicles and autonomous robots too far from earth to be directly manipulated by humans on earth, because of transmission delays.
  • Marketing: AI is being used to develop more targeted, relevant, and timely marketing programmes to enhance customer attrition rates. Examples of typical jobs held by AI professionals include:

1.Software analysts and developers.

2.Computer Scientists and computer engineers.

3.Algorithm specialists.

4.Research scientists and engineering consultants.

5.Surgical technicians working with robotic tools.

6.Medical health professionals working with artificial limbs, prosthetics, hearing aids, and vision restoration devices.

7.Military and aviation electricians working with flight simulators, drones, and armaments.

Salary Scale: The average salary of an Artificial Intelligence Engineer is approximately $93,625 per year depending upon the domain you choose.

Advance information technologies and the onset of machines enhanced by Artificial I

Intelligence (AI) have already influenced the world of work in the 21st century. Computers, algorithms, and software cut down everyday tasks, and it is absurd to imagine how most of our life could be managed without them. Nonetheless, is it also futile to imagine how most process steps could be managed without human effort. If they are then Artificial Intelligence will be an assured short movement in IT industry?

To learn and master in Artificial Intelligence, you can go through various AI Certification Courses available online.

How to Partner With Another Business to Spread Awareness

Clyde K. Valle
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How to Partner With Another Business to Spread Awareness

Over the past few years, you’ve may have noticed some interesting brand partnerships. When a brand partnership is executed correctly, it can prove to be very valuable and revenue-generating.

A solid example of a branding partnership is when VW and Tata Motors came together to help another boost sales. And without even realizing it, you’ve even seen brand partnerships all around you; even when you were young. For instance, when you opened up a box of cereal as a child and found a toy—that was co-branding. Strategic alliances are everywhere, and for good reason.

Here are just a few benefits of partnering with another brand:

Increase audience awareness by expanding reach. This is one of the biggest benefits of co-branding and partnerships. With two businesses working together, each can leverage the audience of the other, and will have double the marketing power and reach.

Creates a higher value perception. When one or more companies gets together, it increases the perceived value of the partnership to great more of a powerhouse duo.

Expands the marketing budget. This is obvious: two businesses equals two marketing budgets, and when combined, you can take your efforts much further. This also helps to save money. Want to print custom posters? Need a flag designer for your event? Plan to increase your Facebook spend? No matter how you decide to allocate your funds, you’ll have more wiggle room.

Reach new segments. Not only will you reach a wider range of people in your industry, but you’ll also reach new audience segments that weren’t in your original marketing plan.

What to Consider When Choosing

There are several things you should consider before you begin researching potential brands to partner with. For instance, you should choose a company that will benefit equally from the partnership as you. For instance, as a the owner of a coffee shop, you might want to partner with a local bakery. This allows you to serve customers great baked goods with a “locally sourced” tag, as well as makes it easier for the local bakery to spread their inventory outside of their own location.

Additionally, the value of each brand should match one another. As a local coffee shop, it would be difficult to partner with a brand that far exceeds yours in value. As previously mentioned, both companies should benefit equally, and therefore, both should be on level ground with one another. If you’re a new business, you’ll likely want to partner with a business that’s relatively new as well.

And lastly, the strategy you have in mind with the other brand should be easily understood by the consumer. A coffee shop and a bakery partnership makes sense, but a coffee shop with a candy company might not seem as strategic or sensible.

Choose Complementary Businesses

The main objective of choosing a business to partner with is to choose a brand that complements yours well. Now that you understand some of the key points in choosing a brand, you can go ahead and start researching complementary businesses. The options available to you depend on whether you’re a physical or online location, and whether your business requires local partnerships or can come from any direction. Typically, local business owners have an easier time cultivating relationships with one another.

Keep in mind that you don’t always have to start off with a full-blown contract and partnership agreement. You could host a small event, or have a trial period to see how one another’s businesses fares once cross-promotion and marketing has begun. It’s important that you’re flexible and choose businesses who have similar values and management as well.

Reaching Out

Now that you’ve created a list of potential partners, it’s time to start reaching out. Your introductory email should be short and simple. Begin by introducing yourself and your business, and briefly stating what your brand is about. Then, let them know that you’re interested in creating a co-branded campaign, or a long-term partnership (depending on what your own objectives are).

The important thing here is to clearly state the benefit of the other company entering a partnership. You can’t approach the partnership by thinking only of what their brand can do for you, or how your business can take benefit. Brainstorm concepts and use bullet points to describe what your brand can bring to the table.

Host a Joint Event

Once you’ve identified the perfect partner and have agreed to work with one another, what better way to celebrate that partnership than through an event? After all, events are a great way to generate buzz. Of course, with your event, you want to put your products or services on display, so be prepared to give out freebies and discounts. You may even consider working with your partner to bring in sponsors who can make budgeting even more manageable.

4 Things We Can Learn From #MeToo

Sonia Pantiss
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4 Things We Can Learn From #MeToo

From Matt Lauer to Harvey Weinstein, the world has been rocked by sexual harassment allegations and revelations. And while there’s no telling whether there are more shocks to come, what’s very clear is that we still have a lot of work to do as a society to make the workplace and the world in general a safer place for everyone. Through the experiences of others there are so many lessons we can learn about missteps we’ve made and how we can correct them. Here are top lessons we can learn from the #MeToo campaign.

Victims Risk Their Reputations When They Come Forward

Whether we want to admit it or not, the things people who are brave enough to share on the workplace abuse they experienced or the fraud in the companies face is what keeps so many silent. They are humiliated, shunned and even harassed. In the case of sexual harassment, people tend to blame the victim and try to discredit them by any means necessary. This means that before the perpetrator can even face justice, the victim or witness is put through the ringer for just telling the truth. It’s so important than the men and woman who come forward in order to have protection and support of people around them. According to JF Melton Law, “Whistleblowers take great risks, so getting a reward for that risk is key. It is imperative that they have whistleblower protection to ensure a) the largest reward possible is given and b) the whistleblower is protected under the law.”

When Power Goes Unchecked, Bad Things Happen

The one thing stories like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer and R. Kelly all have in common is abusers being able to get away with what they do for decades. Because these people rise to the upper echelons of society, people often turn a blind eye to their deeds, or the ones that see are threatened into silence. These unfortunately repeats the cycle of abuse, and emboldens the abuser. We have to be able to ask questions of the men and women we put up on pedestals, and take them to task when they do something wrong. If we repeatedly turn a blind eye, all that does is make them feel invincible and double down on the abuse.

We Have to Separate Talent From Character

If there’s anything we need to learn as a society it’s that an artistic genius or talented person can still be an abuser, and no matter how talented they are, they don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt. In fact, the men and women we look up to as role models have to hold themselves to a higher standard. They should be examples of respect, good character and integrity, not people we let get away with anything and everything. If they decide to display horrible behavior, harassing people and destroying their lives, we as a society have to speak out against that and stop putting money in their pockets. We need to stop treating famous and powerful people as gods who can move through society with no accountability or responsibility for their negative actions.

We Need to Have More Conversations

Whether it’s at work, at universities or even in the privacy of our own homes, we have to have conversations about harassment and abuses of power. Many victims struggle to come forward because they either think they did something to ask for the abuse, or they don’t think what happened to them was an abuse of power. If we were to have more open conversation about the spectrum of abuse and how it manifests in behavior, we could raise the standards of how we treat each other. We would make it so much easier for victims to use their voices. In a lot of companies, employees have had to discuss what sexual harassment looks like and this awareness actually makes the workplace safer. We need to extend that to the whole society.

The #MeToo movement lifted the lid on so many abuses and though it wasn’t always perfect, it forced us to start having the necessary conversations that make our world safer for everyone else. When we work for companies, our safety is their responsibility, and just as our employers expect want to be sure that we have integrity when they hire us, we expect the same from them. We expect to be safe from abuse and harassment, to be treated with respect at all the time, and for any incidents of abuse to be dealt with accordingly, not swept under the rug.

The Science Behind Low Estrogen Birth Control

Dana R
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The Science Behind Low Estrogen Birth Control

For many people, birth control pills are ideal options for preventing pregnancy, regulating menstruation cycles, and managing a range of hormone-related conditions, such as menstruation pain. Moreover, for those concerned about side effects related to fluctuating hormone levels, low estrogen birth control is an appealing option. But how exactly do these pills work? If you’re curious about the science behind low estrogen birth control, check out this brief guide that explains how it works and affects the body.

How Low Estrogen Birth Control Works

Image via Flickr by Janels Katlaps

Low estrogen birth control is a pill you take daily. Combination pills contain estrogen and progestin, and minipills contain progestin only. The medication releases these hormones to stop ovulation, which keeps sperm from fertilizing an egg and, thus, prevents pregnancy.

One of the best things about low estrogen birth control is it works as effectively as combination pills with higher doses of estrogen. This means low estrogen pills are associated with fewer side effects than their higher dosage counterparts.

Note that the effects vary based on the type of medication you’re taking and your ability to follow it’s label requirements. Lo Loestrin Fe, for example, is an option for daily low estrogen birth control that’s best for women under 35.

Types of Low Estrogen Pills

Low estrogen birth control is typically available as a combination pill that contains estrogen and progestin. The pills are commonly prescribed as either a 21-pack of active pills or a 28-pack that includes seven pills containing no hormones. Women who take these pills typically get their periods during the week they’re taking the seven inactive pills.

Some birth control pills are available without estrogen. These are called minipills and are typically prescribed to women who:

●Are breastfeeding.

●Are nearing menopause.

●Can’t tolerate increased estrogen.

If you’re taking minipills such as Norenthindrone, note the unique requirements for this medication. To prevent pregnancy effectively, you must take them at the same time each day. Like combination pills, women are often prescribed a 28-pack that includes seven inactive pills.

When Do Birth Control Pills Start Working?

The effectiveness of birth control pills as a pregnancy prevention depends on the type of pills and when you start taking them. If you take them on the day your period begins, for example, you’ll be protected right away. If you start taking them outside of your menstruation cycle, you should use backup birth control for the first seven days.

Conditions That Low Estrogen Birth Control Can Help Manage

Doctors prescribe low estrogen birth control for more reasons than preventing pregnancy. Combination pills, for example, also help regulate the menstrual cycle. Other benefits associated with this medication include:

●Mitigation of period symptoms such as heavy bleeding and cramps.

●Reduced risk of ovarian cysts and certain cancers.

●Treatment of endometriosis and other hormone-related conditions.

Low estrogen birth control pills are effective options for many women. Speak to your doctor if you have any questions or are interested in using Lo Loestrin Fe or another birth control product.

Why Some Credit Cards Have Annual Fees

Dana R
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Why Some Credit Cards Have Annual Fees

Under most circumstances, we’ll be among the first to recommend avoiding paying to have a credit card. However, there are sometimes valuable rewards to be derived from cards with price tags attached.

Shopping time

Here’s why some credit cards have annual fees.

What is an Annual Fee?

As the name implies, these are fees you’ll pay on a yearly basis to hold a particular credit card. The amount of the fees is spelled out in your cardholder agreement, along with the perks you’ll derive from using the card.

It’s important to note most card issuers charge the fee directly against the card. The first year’s fee is usually applied the moment you activate the card. Thus, if you get a card with a $10,000 limit and an annual fee of $100, you’ll only have $9,900 available on the card after you activate it.

You should also bear in mind that $100 becomes part of the balance due on the card and is subject to interest charges. If you want to avoid this, you’ll have pay the $100 before the grace period ends.

What’s In It For Me?

In most cases, cards with annual fees offer some sort of benefit for using the card. The fees go to offset these advantages. This might be a bonus for taking the card, air travel miles, hotel stays or even cash back rewards.

According to The Simple Dollar, other benefits include:

  • Credit card perks: While all cards offer a different set of benefits, many rewards cards that charge an annual fee come with special perks such as price protection, extended warranties, and free FICO scores.
  • Insurance and other protections: Travel credit cards specifically are known for offering pricey insurance coverage as a cardholder perk. This coverage can include primary rental car coverage, trip cancellation/delay coverage, and emergency travel assistance.
  • Membership in a rewards program: If you charge a lot of expenses to your credit card, membership in a rewards program can help offset the cost of your card’s annual fee.

However, cards aimed at people with substandard credit scores often impose annual fees as well. The idea is to offset the risk of extending credit to individuals who have had money problems in the past.

In these cases, particularly if you still have outstanding debt, working with a company like Freedom Debt Relief to develop a plan to settle your debts might be a better move than taking on another credit card—and even more debt.

How Can You Tell if it’s Worth It?

By and large, only heavy credit card users generate enough activity to really benefit from credit card reward programs. However, if you’re in a position to use a card to make all of your monthly purchases and pay them off before the grace period elapses you can do OK.

The only way to know for sure is to look at how much you spend over the course of an average month and weigh it against the parameters the card issuer establishes to achieve the rewards. Again though, you must be certain you can pay the card off in full every month. Otherwise, you’ll wind up making interest payments in addition to the annual fee.

Another thing to be careful about is sign-up bonuses. Simply opening the account is usually not enough to qualify for it. You’ll likely need to meet a spending target within a certain time period to get the bonus. Issues like these are important to consider as you’re comparing various programs.

All you need to know about hair transplants

Kathryn R. Bown
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All you need to know about hair transplants

The term hair transplant relates to a surgical procedure that uses sophisticated techniques to remove hairs from one area of the scalp and replace them in locations where clients are suffering thinning hair or baldness.

About hair transplants

The hair transplant procedure is ideal for men or women with pattern baldness conditions as a result of androgenetic alopecia or to treat scars due to burns or injuries.

Hair transplants are unsuitable for hair loss caused by alopecia aerate.

Deciding to have a hair transplant

Deciding to go for a hair transplant is not easy, and you should consider all the options beforehand. This is particularly the case for anybody who has had pattern baldness for some time. After all, a hair transplant will be a permanent alteration to your looks.

Of course, experiencing hair loss can be a traumatic experience for many men and women. So, opting for cosmetic procedures is one way to make a lifelong adjustment to your appearance. It can have very positive effects on some people and lead to renewed vigor and happiness.

Costs of hair transplants

Hair transplants do vary in cost tremendously, the NHS website states that a procedure can cost from £1,000 to £30,000 and these costs are reflective of the total area needing to be transplanted, as well as the surgical teams and clinics offering services of this nature.

What is the best solution?

If you decide to go for a hair transplant in the UK, you can check out the clinics offering this type of service on the website of the Quality Care Commission. They inspect these clinics and hospitals on a regular basis and offer performance ratings to enable patients to choose the best hair transplant clinic to suit their requirements.

You can also find out more about different surgeons online and discover how much experience they have in offering the hair transplant solutions you’re seeking and the numbers of operations they have conducted.

Many people opt for hair transplants overseas and Turkey is a very popular medical tourism destination for cosmetic procedures of this nature. If you decide to arrange your hair transplant in Turkey, you should check out the vera clinic   and also find out just what services  you will receive.

What does hair transplant entail?

You usually only require local anesthetic for hair transplants, so you will be awake throughout the entire procedure. You can expect procedures to take between six and 12 hours in total.

The two main procedures for hair transplant are FUT and FUE:

– FUT (follicular unit transplantation) involves the removal of a strip of skin with hairs from the sides or back of your head. These strips are then cut into hair grafts which have about two hairs. The grafts are inserted into bald or thinning patches of your scalp by way of small incisions.

– FUE (follicular unit extraction) is a technique which removes individual hairs from your scalp and these are then transplanted into incisions in the bald areas of the scalp.

You don’t generally need an overnight stay in a hospital or clinic following a hair transplant procedure; however, you should be offered aftercare services by your provider.

Where very large areas of the scalp are being transplanted, you may need further sessions a few months down the line.

There is no real pain involved in hair transplants once the local anesthetic has taken effect, although some patients complain of some discomfort. Additional pain relief can be supplied at the time if needed.

Recovering from hair transplant procedures

You should not drive straight after a hair transplant procedure, as the anesthetics or sedatives may take up to 24 hours to leave the body.

It’s usual to take some time off work, but most people don’t take more than three days at the most.

It takes around 14 days for the hair graft transplants to secure into the scalp fully, so you should be careful in the initial couple of weeks. After this, just follow your normal hair and skin care routines, although high-level exercising within the first month of transplants can increase risks of scarring.

Every Successful Film Producer Needs These 5 Traits

Sonia Pantiss
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Every Successful Film Producer Needs These 5 Traits

Do you have what it takes to make it in Hollywood?

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need stunning good looks and a voice that melts steel. There are plenty of ways to achieve professional prominence in the film business. Only a relative handful require on-camera work.

Film production is a viable career path in Hollywood — always has been, always will be. If you see yourself in these five traits, there’s a good chance you have what it takes (in theory) to make it as a producer.

1. Excellent Communication Skills

Successful film producers are usually above-average communicators, at minimum. To aspirants who know their communication skills need work, Deep Patel recommends practicing nonverbal communication skills and ditching reliance on visual aids in presentations. Nonverbal cues, in particular, have incredible potential: simple tweaks to one’s posture and hand movements can dramatically increase assumed credibility.

Image source PxHere

2. Self-motivation (Internal Motivation)

High-achieving producers are internally motivated. They’re able to manage complex projects, like this blockbuster film co-financed by David Mimran’s Mimran Schur Pictures, because they’re driven to succeed — not because a boss or board demands it (though good executives are mindful of board dynamics as well).

3. Formidable Organization

Great leaders, including top film producers, are almost invariably well organized. If you lack a formal system of personal organization, now’s the time to implement one. Efficiency expert Erica Murphy runs down a host of organizing tips from top executives, noting such gems as “make lists all day long” and “take physical notes.” Most producers have plenty of organizational help from executive assistants and other support staffers, but truly effective organization starts (and stops) at the top.

4. Ability to Work Well With Others

Successful executives are nothing if not collegial. Even if the buck stops with you, you need to get along well with your underlings, or you’re quickly going to find yourself struggling to retain talent. Executives also need to work well with their bosses — the investors and studio executives who hold their projects’ future in hand.

5. Ability to Take Criticism

A corollary to working well with others: the ability to take criticism. Some producers have hard-earned reputations for taking no guff, but legitimate criticism is sometimes warranted. What separates merely good producers from the greats is to recognize situations that do require adjustment, and to make those adjustments with minimal fuss.

Your Star Turn Awaits

Most film producers aren’t as widely known as the actors with whom they share title billing. Those who do achieve household name status often do so for the wrong reasons.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t pursue the sort of prominence you have every reason to expect you can earn as a successful, well-regarded film producer. For internally motivated personalities willing to tough out criticism and see the glass half full, being known for putting together a hit film is far preferable to merely appearing on camera in it.

Your star turn awaits — even if it’s not quite what you expected when you first set out to make it in this business.

Luke Perry Dies Aged 52 after Suffering Massive Stroke

Sonia Pantiss
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Luke Perry Dies Aged 52 after Suffering Massive Stroke

Luke Perry, best known as Dylan from Beverly Hills, 90210, has died in California at the age of 52, less than a week after suffering a massive stroke.

Luke Perry’s publicist said the actor died surrounded by his family and friends.

The actor rose to fame on Beverly Hills, 90210 and had been starring as Fred Andrews on the CW show Riverdale.

Luke Perry was taken to hospital on February 27 in LA, where he had been shooting scenes for Riverdale at the Warner Bros film lot.

His children, Jack and Sophie, fiancée Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, and his siblings, Tom Perry and Amy Coder, were with him when he passed, publicist Arnold Robinson said in a statement.

The statement said: “The family appreciates the outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Luke from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning.”

The family has not provided additional details at this time.

Karl Lagerfeld Dies In Paris Following Short Illness

Keith Flint Dead: The Prodigy Singer Dies Aged 49

On February 27, media reported that paramedics had been called to Luke Perry’s home in Sherman Oaks.

Luke Perry, a native of Ohio, was famous for starring in Beverly Hills 90210 from 1990 to 2000. A reboot of the series was also announced on February 27, though it was not clear whether Luke Perry planned to make any guest appearances.

Former 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty – who played Luke Perry’s love interest on the show – told Entertainment Tonight on March 3 in an emotional interview that she had been in touch with him after his stroke.

She said: “I can’t talk about it here ’cause I will literally start crying but I love him and he knows I love him. It’s Luke, and he’s my Dylan.”

Luke Perry also starred in TV show Oz, as well as movies including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 8 Seconds and The Fifth Element.

Luke Perry’s most recent role was on the hit TV teen drama series Riverdale, based on the Archie comics, where he played the titular character’s father.

Keith Flint Dead: The Prodigy Singer Dies Aged 49

Sonia Pantiss
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The Prodigy frontman Keith Flint has died at the age of 49.

Known for his fluorescent spiked hair and high-octane performances, Keith Flint sang lead vocals on both the band’s No 1 singles, Breathe and Firestarter.

Keith Flint was found dead at his home in Dunmow, Essex, on March 4.

The Prodigy, who were due to tour the US in May, confirmed Keith Flint’s death in a statement, remembering him as a “true pioneer, innovator and legend”.

In a post on The Prodigy’s official Instagram account, bandmate Liam Howlett added: “I can’t believe I’m saying this but our brother Keith took his own life over the weekend.

“I’m shell-shocked… angry, confused and heartbroken.”

Image source Wikimedia

Karl Lagerfeld Dies In Paris Following Short Illness

Born Keith Charles Flint on September 17, 1969, the singer had an unhappy childhood in Braintree, Essex, feuding with his parents, who split when he was young.

Following the success of Fat of the Land, the Prodigy faltered.

While remaining part of the band, Keith Flint did not feature on their 2004 album, Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned, on which vocal duties were handled by Liam and Noel Gallagher and actress Juliette Lewis, among others.

During this period, Keith Flint said he had had depression and formed a worrying dependence on prescription drugs.

The singer decided to get clean after meeting Japanese DJ Mayumi Kai, giving up drugs, cigarettes and alcohol around the time of their marriage, in 2006.

Three years later, the band regrouped and returned to their classic sound, on the album Invaders Must Die.

The first single, Omen, was a major success, and the band returned to festival stages and stadiums around the world.

Their most recent album, No Tourists, went to No 1 in November 2018.

The singer was also a keen motorcyclist and had his own team – Team Traction Control – which has won four Isle Of Man TT races.

Keith Flint had recently wrapped up a tour with The Prodigy in Australia and was due to join them in the US in May.

Dragon Capsule: SpaceX Launches First Demo Mission from Kennedy Space Center

James J. Williams
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Dragon Capsule: SpaceX Launches First Demo Mission from Kennedy Space Center

The SpaceX has launched the Dragon capsule designed to carry people from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission is uncrewed for this flight, but if it goes well, NASA is likely to approve the system for regular astronaut use from later this year.

The company’s founder Elon Musk said this could be the first step towards opening space travel to commercial customers.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew capsule lifted off from Kennedy’s historic Pad 39A at the precise planned time of 02:49 EST.

The 11-minute ascent put the Dragon on a path to rendezvous with the International Space Station (ISS) on March 3.

Because this is just a demonstration, there are no astronauts aboard – but there is a “test dummy”.

Dressed in a spacesuit and sitting next to a window, this anthropomorphic simulator is fitted with sensors around the head, neck, and spine.

It will gather data on the type of forces that humans will experience when they get to ride in the spacecraft.

SpaceX has nicknamed the dummy “Ripley” – after the Sigourney Weaver character in the Alien movies.

Dragon CRS-10: SpaceX Successfully Launches New Mission Carrying Cargo Ship for ISS

For the SpaceX, this mission is a key milestone in its short history. Elon Musk, a technology entrepreneur and engineer, set up the organization with the specific intention of taking people into space.

Elon Musk told reporters immediately after the launch: “It’s been 17 years to get to this point, from 2002 to now. To be frank, I’m a little emotionally exhausted because it was super stressful.

“Our focus has been on serving NASA’s needs but once Dragon is in regular operation, I think we will seek commercial customers of which the NASA administrator, and NASA in general, has been very supportive.”

He said those customers could include private citizens going to the ISS, just as they have done on Soyuz vehicles in the past.

Separately, Elon Musk is developing a much bigger system – which he calls the Starship and Super Heavy rocket – to transport people to the Moon and Mars.

The Dragon crew capsule is a variant on the ISS cargo freighter flown by SpaceX.

Upgrades include life-support systems, obviously; and more powerful thrusters to push the vessel to safety if something goes wrong with a rocket during an ascent to orbit.

It also has four parachutes instead of the freighter’s three to control the return to Earth.

Dragon crew capsules will splashdown in the Atlantic not far from Kennedy.

NASA is essentially now contracting out crew transport to SpaceX.

Whereas in the past, NASA engineers would have top-down control of all aspects of vehicle design and the agency would own and operate the hardware – the relationship with industry has been put on a completely new footing.

Today, NASA sets broad requirements and industry is given plenty of latitude in how it meets those demands.

After being taken to orbit, the Dragon makes its own way to the station using onboard thrusters.

One of the big differences between this mission and standard cargo flights is the mode of approach and attachment to the ISS. Freighters come up under the orbiting lab and are grappled by a robotic arm and pulled into a berthing position.

ISS astronauts will be watching closely to see that the capsule behaves as it should.

The Dragon is expected to stay at the station until March 8. The current plan has it undocking, firing its thrusters to come out of orbit, and splashing down at roughly 13:45 GMT.

How to Choose a Professional Personal Statement Writing Service

Nancy Clayson
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How to Choose a Professional Personal Statement Writing Service

Nowadays, professional help of academic writing services is on the rise. Students are busy with lots of assignments. They face multiple challenges and this brings a lot of stress. For example, many students need help with a personal statement for science scholarship. This academic paper is written by students who want to get into a certain college or university. It explains the reasons why a student should be accepted to the educational institution. Undoubtedly, it’s a complex task. Many folks fail miserably.

In order to cope with this assignment properly, they hire professional writers. The choice of personal statement writing services is rich. Nonetheless, some ask “Are all services equally good? Can they be trusted?” These questions are reasonable. Not all writing services can be trusted. Remember it for good.

Many websites compose papers of poor quality, violate deadlines, make many mistakes, charge too much and so on. You ought to be cautious when you choose a service to pay professional personal statement writers for getting assistance online. We can help you and mention the main aspects of the correct choice of a dependable website.

Consider the next aspects:

  • Official proofs.
  • Informative websites.
  • Customers’ reviews.
  • Samples.

The mentioned above methods provide the evidence necessary to define a trustworthy personal statement writing company. We’ll clarify these methods here below.

Method #1

Every professional academic writing platform is officially registered. You should surf the Internet and find proofs. Find the main web page of a platform you wish to collaborate with. Read information stated there. It surely has official confirmation if the website is registered. You may also find contact information to get in touch with the authorities. You may ask them directly to receive the evidence that it’s a trustworthy website.

Method #2

There are lots of special informative resources, which provide facts about different personal writing services. They gather data available on the Internet. It is based on customers’ rating and conditions offered by concrete websites. This data is analyzed. Afterward, such resources compose their objective rating and offer the list of the most respectful and effective platforms.

Method #3

It’s utterly important to read customers’ feedback. People who dealt with this or that website can tell you how good it is. This provides with an opportunity to define the ratio of quality and price, the speed of execution, protection of private data, customers’ support, accessibility, a number and types of services and other benefits.

Undoubtedly, personal statement writing websites place only positive reviews. Accordingly, you should try to find out whether those reviews aren’t fakes. Try to find users who left their comments. Perhaps, you should visit special forums that highlight the top academic websites to find proofs.

Method #4

Use the option of ordering samples. You can learn a lot reading academic papers written by a concrete service and its writers. It’s a nice chance to check the credibility and effectuality of any service. Don’t forget that such samples should be delivered for free. This is your full right.

Main Criteria of a Personal Statement Writing Service

Use the methods clarified above. They provide you with many facts and proofs that a concrete service is worth a try or shouldn’t be used. Once you identify some promising variants, check their major possibilities and benefits.

After you conduct your research, you should be sure that your personal statement service can provide you with the best conditions. Pay attention to the following conditions and benefits:

  • Quality. You should obligatorily check the quality and professionalism of your academic platform. Check educational certificates of the working staff, ask for free samples, some guarantees, and confirmed recommendations. Make sure that writers are able to help you with different tasks, such as writing citing, outlining, rewriting, proofreading, etc. They should be familiar with all academic papers and be experts in various disciplines.
  • Originality. All the assignments you receive must be 100% authentic. This is a compulsory requirement of any educational institution. Accordingly, your writing service is supposed to compose original papers. Make sure it produces plagiarism free papers.
  • Speed. Time means a lot. It will be limited when you are assigned an assignment. You must submit it before the deadline is over. Accordingly, you should define how quick your helping website is. Read testimonials of other people who dealt with the website. Ask for some guarantees.
  • ●        Confidentiality. You have the full rights to keep your collaboration in secret. Demand from your website guarantees that your private data won’t be shared with other people. Every trustworthy platform uses some effective safeguards to protect their clients.
  • Refunding. In case, you are dissatisfied with the quality of your order and it’s the fault of the hired writer you have the right to demand your money back. Poorly written theses, delayed deliveries, too many mistakes, unconvincing examples, and other drawbacks are only a few to name. If your writer makes any mistakes, the website must compensate your investments.
  • Accessibility. Your helping website is supposed to function 24/7. A need may come when you don’t expect it. You may be assigned an urgent task or realize that you cannot beat the deadline. At times, it’s needed to make some unexpected adjustments for your project. Therefore, your writing website must be within a reach of a mouse click.

Make sure your professional personal statement writing service provides these benefits and they are of the needed quality. Afterward, you may freely place orders to compose a perfect piece and get into a college or university you wish.

The 5 Best Motorcycle Gloves for Women

Dana R
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The 5 Best Motorcycle Gloves for Women

Women who ride have unique needs, and while unisex gloves can be comfortable and durable, sometimes you just need something that fits you perfectly to get the most out of your ride. From performance to safety, here are five of the best selections for women you’ll find today.

Gloves for Racing Performance

The first two selections are great motorcycle riding gloves for anyone who wants to keep a sensitive touch during races while protecting their hands, and they are sized especially for women.

  • Fly Kinetic Racing Gloves: Built for sensitivity and durability, these gloves are practically like a second skin, and there is a model designed specifically for women’s hands.
  • Thor Women’s Spectrum Gloves: The Thor Spectrum design is just wonderful for all-weather protection, but it’s also sensitive enough for racing precision.

Street Riding Gloves for Women

You’re not always going to be racing, so here are some great selections for everyday riding in different seasons.

  • Joe Rocket Classic Women’s Gloves: With a slim presentation and durable leather construction, these gloves are great all-weather choices that provide sturdy protection and the comfort you expect from Joe Rocket.
  • Highway 21 Black Rose: The women’s version of these gloves might just be the best cold weather glove specifically designed for grown women. It’s warm, comfortable, and built to protect your hands in the toughest weather.
  • Five Gloves Women’s Stunt Evo: Built for summertime comfort, with a superior grip factor and warm weather breathability, these gloves are designed to keep your hands as comfortable as possible in the heat, so you can keep riding all day without worry about a slippy grip.

Find All the Gear You Need

Serious riders need gear to fit the season. Check out this resource for a wide range of motorcycle apparel to suit every need in every season and get yourself outfitted for your best ride any time of year.

The 7 Best Teenage Driving Monitoring Apps

Nancy Clayson
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The 7 Best Teenage Driving Monitoring Apps

A teenager earning their driver’s license is one of the most exciting times of their life. It is a rite of passage into adulthood. On the other hand, parents tend to worry a bit more when their child is behind the wheel. With the high usage of cell phones combined with negligent drivers, parents have every right to worry. “Starting your teen out with some safe driving tips is essential to helping them stay safe on the road,” says Hank Stout, personal injury attorney from Sutliff & Stout, Injury & Accident Law Firm. With the advancement of technology, driving apps have become resourceful in monitoring your teens driving behaviors. These recommended apps will minimize the likelihood that your teen will text and drive, speed, and can help in emergency situations.

TrueMotion Family Safe Driving: Available for Android and iOS

With TrueMotion Family is a family-oriented driving app that tracks and scores each driver’s behavior. The app will provide a member’s route, location, speed limit, and phone usage.

AT&T Drive Mode: Available for Android and iOS

AT&T’s free DriveMode app automatically turns on whenever your teen is driving and the car is moving at least 15 MPH. While driving, it silences incoming text messages and phone calls. It will send an auto response to users. If the teen driver decides to turn off the app or disable other safety features, parents will receive a notification. This app is open to all users, even if you’re not an AT&T subscriber.

RoadReady: Available for iOS

The RoadReady app is part of The Parent’s Supervised Driving Program that offers parents and teens an easy, educational and convenient way to log the state required supervised driving time. The app tracks your teen’s driving time and weather conditions. The website also provides a printed and digital driving curriculum.

Hum by Verizon: Available for Android and iOS

Hum provides vehicle diagnostic, location sharing, speed alerts, and 24/7 roadside assistance. If Hum detects a crash, it can automatically notify emergency services and send help your way.

Hum is only for Verizon Wireless customers. Similar products with mobile carriers include SyncUp Drive with T-Mobile and Sprint Drive.

Autobrain: Available for Android and iOS

Autobrain is a device developed by a first responder with safety in mind. In the event of a crash, Autobrain alerts 911 immediately and sends them to your exact location. Other standout roadside assistance features include free lockout services, dead battery boost, emergency fuel delivery, tire change, and four 15-mile tows per year.

 Autobrain comes with a 30 day free trial, then $9.97 a month per device.

Life360: Available for Android and iOS

Life 360 allows you to connect with family and friends when you are on the go. The app provides a weekly driving analysis that includes phone usage, rapid acceleration, hard braking and excessive speed. In addition, it has roadside assistance along with crash and emergency response system. 

Mama Bear: Available for Android and iOSIma

MamaBear provides parents with a robust all-in-one safety and awareness tool. The app allows you to set a speed limit and it will notify you when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit whether your child is the driver or the passenger. MamaBear gives you the ability to set locations and receive arrival and departure notifications. The app features social media and text message monitoring that allows you to keep track of followers, pictures, and mentions.

Your Complete Online Guide to Alimony and How It Works

Dana R
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Your Complete Online Guide to Alimony and How It Works

The purpose of awarded alimony in a divorce is to provide financial support to an ex-spouse after the marriage has officially ended, it is also sometimes referred to as spousal support.

Here is an overview of what alimony is and a look at various different scenarios where alimony is awarded and what it means to both parties in the transaction.

It could start with a temporary arrangement

If you have decided to get a divorce or have started the process, the conversation is soon likely to turn to alimony.

It would normally be highly advisable to get some professional help and guidance in a divorce situation and as you may well discover when you talk to someone like Harris, Hunt & Derr, for example, there is the chance that temporary alimony could be awarded.

Image source Max Pixel

As the name implies, temporary alimony can be granted while the divorce proceedings are in progress as a way of sorting out financial arrangements before the split becomes legally binding.

It should be understood that the amount awarded under a temporary alimony arrangement could be lower or higher than the alimony amount awarded in the final order.

Reaching an agreement

You and your spouse could reach an amicable settlement figure for your divorce and if you both reach an agreement on alimony you could ask the judge to make it official.

If you can’t agree on alimony payments, the judge will then have to make a decision and decide if you are entitled to the money.

Changing your mind at a later date

It is possible that you decide you don’t want alimony when you divorce but subsequently change your mind at a later date or when your circumstances change.

You can only request alimony during your divorce proceedings and won’t be able to request any monies once the divorce is finalized.

Make sure you bear this in mind as alimony is a one time deal that needs to be negotiated at the point you decide to divorce.

When both parties take a different view

It is not unusual for a divorcing couple to take opposing views, of course, and it can often be the case that one of you thinks that alimony is not justified or not affordable in your circumstances.

The judge will consider the circumstances of both parties and make a decision regarding an alimony award.

Length of time

Another key question is how long the alimony payments will go on for.

You could agree a time period between yourself but if that is not possible the judge will decide what sort of award and time period is appropriate.

There are various types of alimony awards in this respect. Indefinite alimony could last until the death of the spouse, and time-limited alimony will only last for a specified period of time, to allow for someone to become self-supporting, for instance.

Not set in stone

Even when alimony is awarded there is often the potential to get the details amended or nullified at a later date.

You can seek a modification of the alimony agreement by filing for a motion.

This would be something that would normally be discussed with a professional before going ahead with filing the documents so that you can clarify your options and chances beforehand.

If you are going to get divorced it is essential that you get an idea of what alimony is and how it can affect your financial future.

Trump-Kim Summit: President Trump Arrives In Vietnam for Second Meeting with Kim Jong-un

Diane A. Wade
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Trump-Kim Summit: President Trump Arrives In Vietnam for Second Meeting with Kim Jong-un

President Donald Trump has arrived in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, ahead of his second summit with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.

Air Force One landed at Noi Bai airport hours after Kim Jon-un reached Hanoi by train and car.

The summit, which is due to take place between February 27 and 28, follows a historic first round of talks in Singapore in 2018.

Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un are expected to discuss progress towards ridding the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons.

Ceremonial guards had lined a red carpet laid out for Kim Jong-un as he arrived at Dong Dang border station on February 26. He was then driven to Hanoi, where heavy security and flag-waving crowds were waiting for him.

Kim Jong-un is thought to be travelling with his sister Kim Yo-jong and one of his key negotiators, former General Kim Yong-chol, both familiar faces from the previous summit with PresidentTrump.

The journey from Pyongyang to Hanoi took more than two days and traversed about 2,500 miles.

As Kim Jong-un’s train passed through China, roads were closed and train stations shut down. Chinese social media was abuzz with road closures, traffic congestion and delayed trains.

Vietnam’s Dong Dang station was also closed to the public ahead of his arrival.

Kim Jong-un is now being driven around 100 miles to Hanoi by car.

The North Korean leader chose to take the train as this is how his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, travelled when he went to Vietnam and Eastern Europe.

Kim Jong-un’s private green and yellow train has 21 bulletproof carriages and is luxurious, with plush pink leather sofas and conference rooms so the journey would not have been uncomfortable.

Air Force One left Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, landing in Hanoi on Tuesday night local time.

Details of their schedule are only just becoming clear. President Trump will meet Kim Jong-un for a brief one-on-one conversation on February 27 and then they will have dinner together with their advisers, according to White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. On February 28, the leaders will meet for a series of back-and-forth meetings.

The Hanoi meeting is expected to build on the groundwork of what was achieved at the Singapore summit in June 2018.

Trump-Kim Summit: Donald Trump Praises Historic Talks With North Korean Leader

Trump-Kim Summit Takes Place at Capella Hotel on Singapore’s Sentosa Island

The first summit produced a vaguely worded agreement, with both leaders agreeing to work towards denuclearization – though it was never made clear what this would entail.

However, little diplomatic progress was made following that meeting.

This time round, both leaders will be very conscious that expectations will be high for an outcome that demonstrates tangible signs of progress.

However, President Trump appeared to be managing expectations ahead of the summit, saying he was in “no rush” to press for North Korea’s denuclearization.

He said: “I don’t want to rush anybody. I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, we’re happy.”

Vietnam has been chosen for many reasons. It has diplomatic relations with both the US and North Korea, despite once having been enemies with the US – and could be used by the US as an example of two countries working together and setting aside their past grievances.

Ideologically, both Vietnam and North Korea are communist countries – though Vietnam has rapidly developed since and become one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, all while the party there retains absolute power.

Allowing Yourself to Let Go of the Toxic People in Your Life: 3 Clear Signs You’re in an Abusive Relationship

Dana R
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Allowing Yourself to Let Go of the Toxic People in Your Life: 3 Clear Signs You’re in an Abusive Relationship

The relationship started out with excitement and love. Everything seemed perfect, and getting married or moving in together was the logical next step. Living together went well for a time and then the trouble started. It was little things at first, and then the situation became more and more abusive. What do you do if you love a person who is toxic for you?

How Do You Know If You Are In An Abusive Relationship?

When a person sees their relationship taking an uncomfortable turn, they may think it is them. But some signs point to your partner being an abusive person victimizing you. It is not always easy to spot the signs. If these signs exist, beware.

1. After being rushed to move in together or get married, the other person becomes overly demanding and has unrealistic expectations. This may include being lavished with expensive gifts.

Image source Pexels

2. The partner quickly becomes jealous and easily insulted. They over-react to the slightest criticism or if you disagree with them.  You may find yourself being careful of what you say to avoid making your partner angry or insulted. These abusers can have short tempers and be abusive to strangers.

3. Another really troublesome sign is a partner making an effort to separate you from close friends or family members. This imposed isolation is not healthy. The partner may criticize or question friends. Then they may make other people unwelcome. They may be jealous of time spent with other people or friends’ nights out.

If you are experiencing a growing pattern of these troubling behaviours or If you are becoming unhappy and even afraid of your partner, it may be time to think about leaving.

Letting Go of Toxic Relationships and Moving On

When you make the decision to leave the relationship, do it safely. If you are in a marriage, get legal help in obtaining a divorce. Hire an attorney to represent you and your interests. If there are children, a lawyer can help you retain custody and get a fair child support ruling.

After a divorce, there is a chance to start a new life without the fear and abuse present in past marriage. You may even find a good person to love and establish a new family with. You may consider Step parent adoption. Once you are comfortable with the new marriage and the relationship between your children and the stepparent, adoption may be the next move.

Making Sure You Do Not Enter into Another Abusive Relationship

Once you have freed yourself from an abusive relationship, healing can begin. It may take a while to consider dating or seeking romance again. But, we all are drawn to seek companionship. There are many good people in the world. The important thing is to learn the difference between a healthy relationship and an abusive or unhealthy relationship.

When you meet a new love interest, pay attention to the relationship. Look for the warning signs before getting too involved. Dating abuse signs include possessiveness, early pressure to have sex, jealousy and insecurity, quick temper, checking up on your cell phone or social network without permission, or a pattern of put-downs or belittling. Other signs include false accusations, bossiness, mood swings, attempts to isolate you from friends and family, inflicting pain in any way, or rushing you to deepen the relationship before you are ready.

Some people find counselling after a break up helps them avoid future abusive relationships. You may want to go slow with romantic relationships, taking time to know the person very well before making any commitments for the future.

Oscars 2019: Full List of Winners

Sonia Pantiss
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Oscars 2019: Full List of Winners

Here’s a complete list of all the winning and nominated stars and films at this year’s Academy Awards.

Best picture

  • Winner: Green Book
  • BlacKkKlansman
  • Black Panther
  • Bohemian Rhapsody
  • The Favourite
  • Roma
  • A Star Is Born
  • Vice

Best actress

  • Winner: Olivia Colman – The Favourite
  • Glenn Close – The Wife
  • Yalitza Aparicio – Roma
  • Lady Gaga – A Star Is Born
  • Melissa McCarthy – Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Best actor

  • Winner: Rami Malek – Bohemian Rhapsody
  • Christian Bale – Vice
  • Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
  • Willem Dafoe – At Eternity’s Gate
  • Viggo Mortensen – Green Book

Best supporting actress

  • Winner: Regina King – If Beale Street Could Talk
  • Amy Adams – Vice
  • Marina de Tavira – Roma
  • Emma Stone – The Favourite
  • Rachel Weisz – The Favourite

Best supporting actor

  • Winner: Mahershala Ali – Green Book
  • Adam Driver – BlacKkKlansman
  • Sam Elliott – A Star Is Born
  • Richard E Grant – Can You Ever Forgive Me?
  • Sam Rockwell – Vice

Best director

  • Winner: Alfonso Cuaron – Roma
  • Yorgos Lanthimos – The Favourite
  • Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
  • Adam McKay – Vice
  • Pawel Pawlikowski – Cold War

Best original screenplay

  • Winner: Green Book – Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie and Peter Farrelly
  • The Favourite – Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
  • First Reformed – Paul Schrader
  • Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
  • Vice – Adam McKay

Best adapted screenplay

  • Winner: BlacKkKlansman – Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott and Spike Lee
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
  • Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
  • If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
  • A Star Is Born – Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters

Best animated feature

  • Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  • Incredibles 2
  • Isle of Dogs
  • Mirai
  • Ralph Breaks the Internet

Best foreign language film

  • Winner: Roma – Mexico
  • Capernaum – Lebanon
  • Cold War – Poland
  • Never Look Away – Germany
  • Shoplifters – Japan

Best documentary feature

  • Winner: Free Solo
  • Hale County This Morning, This Evening
  • Minding the Gap
  • Of Fathers and Sons
  • RBG

Best original song

  • Winner: Shallow (A Star Is Born) – Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
  • All The Stars (Black Panther) – Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar, Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe
  • I’ll Fight (RGB) – Diane Warren
  • The Place Where Lost Things Go (Mary Poppins Returns) – Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
  • When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) – David Rawlings and Gillian Welch

Best original score

  • Winner: Black Panther – Ludwig Goransson
  • BlacKkKlansman – Terence Blanchard
  • If Beale Street Could Talk – Nicholas Britell
  • Isle of Dogs – Alexandre Desplat
  • Mary Poppins Returns – Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman

Best production design

  • Winner: Black Panther – Hannah Beachler and Jay Hart
  • The Favourite – Fiona Crombie and Alice Felton
  • First Man – Nathan Crowley and Kathy Lucas
  • Mary Poppins Returns – John Myhre and Gordon Sim
  • Roma – Eugenio Caballero and Barbara Enriquez

Best costume design

  • Winner: Black Panther – Ruth E Carter
  • The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – Mary Zophres
  • The Favourite – Sandy Powell
  • Mary Poppins Returns – Sandy Powell
  • Mary Queen of Scots – Alexandra Byrne

Best cinematography

  • Winner: Roma – Alfonso Cuaron
  • Cold War – Lukasz Zal
  • The Favourite – Robbie Ryan
  • Never Look Away – Caleb Deschanel
  • A Star Is Born – Matthew Libatique

Best visual effects

  • Winner: First Man – Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and JD Schwalm
  • Avengers: Infinity War – Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl and Dan Sudick
  • Christopher Robin – Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones and Chris Corbould
  • Ready Player One – Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E Butler and David Shirk
  • Solo: A Star Wars Story – Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Dominic Tuohy

Best make-up and hairstyling

  • Winner: Vice – Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
  • Border – Goran Lundstrom and Pamela Goldammer
  • Mary Queen of Scots – Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks

Best sound editing

  • Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody – John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
  • Black Panther – Benjamin A Burtt and Steve Boeddeker
  • First Man – Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
  • A Quiet Place – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
  • Roma – Sergio Diaz and Skip Lievsay

Best sound mixing

  • Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody – Paul Massey, Tim Cavagin and John Casali
  • Black Panther – Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor and Peter Devlin
  • First Man – Jon Taylor, Frank A Montano, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H Ellis
  • Roma – Skip Lievsay, Craig Henighan and Jose Antonio Garcia
  • A Star Is Born – Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic, Jason Ruder and Steve Morrow

Best film editing

  • Winner: Bohemian Rhapsody – John Ottman
  • BlacKkKlansman – Barry Alexander Brown
  • The Favourite – Yorgos Mavropsaridis
  • Green Book – Patrick J Don Vito
  • Vice – Hank Corwin

Best animated short

  • Winner: Bao
  • Animal Behaviour
  • Late Afternoon
  • One Small Step
  • Weekends

Best documentary short

  • Winner: Period. End of Sentence.
  • Black Sheep
  • End Game
  • Lifeboat
  • A Night at the Garden

Best live action short

  • Winner: Skin
  • Detainment
  • Fauve
  • Marguerite
  • Mother

Oscars 2019: Green Book and Olivia Colman Are This Year’s Surprise Winners

Sonia Pantiss
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Oscars 2019: Green Book and Olivia Colman Are This Year’s Surprise Winners

Green Book sprang a surprise by winning the award for best picture at this year’s ceremony in Los Angeles.

Olivia Colman defied the odds to scoop an Oscar for best actress for her role in The Favourite and charmed viewers with a funny and tearful speech.

Green Book won three awards in total, including best picture, which had been expected to go to Netflix’s Roma.

Bohemian Rhapsody won the most awards in total with four, while Roma and Black Panther also won three each.

Olivia Colman, who started out as a sidekick in TV sitcoms like Peep Show, was in shock when her name was called.

Glenn Close had been the firm favorite for her role in The Wife – and now has the unenviable record of seven nominations without a win.

Olivia Colman is the first British actress to win the prize since Kate Winslet in 2009.

The four awards for Bohemian Rhapsody, the authorized biopic of Queen and Freddie Mercury, included best actor for Rami Malek, who won rave reviews for playing the late singer.

It was later reported that Rami Malek, 37, fell off the stage after the ceremony concluded and had to be helped into a seat by security staff.

He was reportedly attended to by paramedics, though he made no reference to the incident later when he spoke to reporters backstage.

Oscars 2019: This Year’s Ceremony Goes Without Host After 30 Years

Oscars 2019: Full List of Nominations

Oscars 2019: Kevin Hart Steps Down from Hosting Ceremony Following Homophobic Tweets

Mahershala Ali won his second best supporting actor Oscar in three years. He won for Moonlight in 2017 and has now won for playing jazz pianist Don Shirley in Green Book.

Green Book tells the story of Don Shirley’s tour to the racially segregated US Deep South in the 1960s, but its chances had been thought to have been dented by a series of controversies.

Meanwhile, a tearful Regina King won best supporting actress for If Beale Street Could Talk, from what was her first Oscar nomination.

Richard E Grant, Rachel Weisz and Christian Bale lost out on the acting awards.

However, Mark Ronson shared the best song award with Lady Gaga, among others.

Paul Lambert and Tristan Myles shared the prize for best visual effects with two American colleagues for creating the rocket-rattling effects on First Man, about the first Moon landing.

Key crew members on Bohemian Rhapsody won the two sound awards.

The Oscars failed to find a main host this year after comedian Kevin Hart pulled out following a row about old homophobic tweets.

Instead of having the traditional opening monologue, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler appeared to introduce the show as well as presenting the first award.

“We are not your hosts this year but if we had hosted, it probably would have gone like this,” Tina Fey said – before the trio launched into a sketch poking fun at some of the nominees, which is one of the host’s usual jobs.

The ceremony continued to rely on a procession of stars presenting individual awards.

However, it didn’t obviously suffer from the lack of an overarching host, and it helped the event move along.

Queen, fronted by singer Adam Lambert, had opened the ceremony with a bombastic medley of We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions as A-listers waved and clapped along in their seats.

Should Expats Talk Politics With Locals?

Diane A. Wade
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Should Expats Talk Politics With Locals?

Politics is an extremely tricky subject. Everyone thinks they understand and no one actually does. However, politics and its close cousin religion are quite often impossible to avoid in your day-to-day interactions. 

However, in all cultures, politics is highly personal. Passions can easily run high, and for some people, it is a subject worth destroying relationships for. Of course, you always have the option of not engaging in any political discussion at all, though that’s sometimes easier said than done.

There are good arguments both for engaging or avoiding politics. Here are some of them.

Arguments for openly discussing politics

1.) It allows you a better understanding of the local culture

In most instances, it can be advantageous to understand what makes your host culture tick. Not only will you avoid social pitfalls and find it easier to be accepted, you may also find that your host culture’s ways of thinking have much to offer you. You might even find that it makes more sense to you than how your own native culture tends to see things.

While you can learn much simply from observation, it’s impossible to truly understand any culture without examining how power relationships are handled in it. For that, engaging in respectful political discussion is necessary.  

2.) Discussing politics allows you to better understand events as they are

Current events are quite often tied to politics and your fate as an expat may very well hinge on your understanding of the local political climate. Events on the international and local level often have consequences you may not have considered unless you actually talk to a person on the ground about. Sometimes, it’s only because of these discussions that you can weigh correctly whether you should stay in the country, or leave altogether.

Arguments against openly discussing politics

1.) You don’t necessarily need a perfect understanding of local culture to be productive

Let’s face it. Many expats know almost nothing about their host country’s history and culture even after years of living in it. If you yourself are an expat, you probably know quite a number of these people. They probably manage to still be productive and happy without engaging in politics or understanding whatever is going on around them.

While some of us may be repulsed at the idea that not everyone feels that they need to know everything that’s going on, it’s a perfectly valid decision. This is especially true if you do not feel that you have the energy to spare discussing politics or understanding your host culture in depth. There are some drawbacks, sure. It rarely pays to be ignorant. But at least you can spend more time doing what other things you decide are actually more important.

2.) Locals may see you as meddlesome or condescending

It can be difficult to avoid sharing your own perspectives once any political discussion has started. And when you do, locals may see it as you being a pushy know-it-all foreigner, even if that isn’t the intent. This can be especially true if your own culture handles political discussions differently from your host culture.

If your country also has had a rocky history with your host country, there may still very well be a lot of people who will only tolerate you so long as you don’t step out of line when it comes to political discussions. In these cases, it may be prudent to avoid discussions altogether.

Regardless of what you think about politics, it’s best to get expat health insurance before leaving your home country for an extended period. You may not always know what the situation in your host country will be a year from now, but it’s important to at least be prepared as far as your health is concerned.

Venezuela: At Least Two Killed in Border Clashes as Nicolas Maduro Blocks Humanitarian Aid

Roy Siemens
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0
Venezuela: At Least Two Killed in Border Clashes as Nicolas Maduro Blocks Humanitarian Aid

Venezuelan troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who attempted to collect a foreign aid at the border, as President Nicolás Maduro blocked the humanitarian transport from crossing from Colombia and Brazil.

On February 23, a number of people were shot with live ammunition, human rights groups say. At least two people were killed.

The opposition wants the aid to go to people hit by the economic crisis, but President Maduro sees it as a security threat.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attacks on civilians, which he blamed on “Maduro’s thugs”.

He said in a tweet following the clashes: “Our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died due to these criminal acts. We join their demand for justice.”

Mike Pompeo also described the burning of some of the aid as “sickening”.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president and helped to organize the aid, condemned the action by security forces.

Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized as leader by dozens of nations, will meet Vice President Mike Pence on February 25 in Bogota, Colombia.

Mike Pence is travelling there to meet leaders of the regional Lima Group, in spite of a travel ban imposed on him by President Maduro’s government.

Venezuela Crisis: Russia Condemns Foreign Powers for Backing Juan Guaido

Venezuela Elections 2018: Nicolas Maduro Wins Another Six-Year Term Amid Opposition Boycott

On February 23, Juan Guaidó posted a tweet which implored the international community to be “open to all options” in order to “liberate” Venezuela from Nicolas Maduro – who is continuing to resist all calls to stand down.

Juan Guaidó organized the collection of hundreds of tonnes of foreign aid at the country’s borders. He gave the government a deadline of Saturday to allow the aid to be brought into Venezuela or vowed to have volunteers march it in themselves.

In response, President Maduro partly closed the country’s borders with Brazil and Colombia, citing threats to security and sovereignty. On February 23, Venezuelans civilians attempted to cross in order to get to the aid stores, which included food and medicine.

Images from crossing points across Venezuela showed security forces firing tear gas at volunteers. Protesters burned outposts and threw projectiles at soldiers and riot police.

Rights groups say at least two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot dead in the clashes in Santa Elena de Uairen, near the country’s border with Brazil. Another two were reported to have been killed on February 22.

Amnesty International has described the use of firearms against protesters as a serious human rights violation and a crime under international law.

There have also been reports of several aid trucks being burned – something Juan Guaidó said was a violation of the Geneva Convention.

At about 19:00 local time on February 23, Colombia’s government estimated the number injured at border crossings to be about 300. Journalists at the scene have reported severe injuries among protesters, including several who appeared to have lost their eyes.

Venezuelan troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters who attempted to collect a foreign aid at the border, as President Nicolás Maduro blocked the humanitarian transport from crossing from Colombia and Brazil.

On February 23, a number of people were shot with live ammunition, human rights groups say. At least two people were killed.

The opposition wants the aid to go to people hit by the economic crisis, but President Maduro sees it as a security threat.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned the attacks on civilians, which he blamed on “Maduro’s thugs”.

He said in a tweet following the clashes: “Our deepest sympathies to the families of those who have died due to these criminal acts. We join their demand for justice.”

Mike Pompeo also described the burning of some of the aid as “sickening”.

Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who has declared himself interim president and helped to organize the aid, condemned the action by security forces.

Juan Guaidó, who has been recognized as leader by dozens of nations, will meet Vice President Mike Pence on February 25 in Bogota, Colombia.

Mike Pence is travelling there to meet leaders of the regional Lima Group, in spite of a travel ban imposed on him by President Maduro’s government.

On February 23, Juan Guaidó posted a tweet which implored the international community to be “open to all options” in order to “liberate” Venezuela from Nicolas Maduro – who is continuing to resist all calls to stand down.

Juan Guaidó organized the collection of hundreds of tonnes of foreign aid at the country’s borders. He gave the government a deadline of Saturday to allow the aid to be brought into Venezuela or vowed to have volunteers march it in themselves.

In response, President Maduro partly closed the country’s borders with Brazil and Colombia, citing threats to security and sovereignty. On February 23, Venezuelans civilians attempted to cross in order to get to the aid stores, which included food and medicine.

Images from crossing points across Venezuela showed security forces firing tear gas at volunteers. Protesters burned outposts and threw projectiles at soldiers and riot police.

Rights groups say at least two people, including a 14-year-old boy, were shot dead in the clashes in Santa Elena de Uairen, near the country’s border with Brazil. Another two were reported to have been killed on February 22.

Amnesty International has described the use of firearms against protesters as a serious human rights violation and a crime under international law.

There have also been reports of several aid trucks being burned – something Juan Guaidó said was a violation of the Geneva Convention.

At about 19:00 local time on February 23, Colombia’s government estimated the number injured at border crossings to be about 300. Journalists at the scene have reported severe injuries among protesters, including several who appeared to have lost their eyes.

How To Quickly Record Your Computer Screen For Future Use

Dana R
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How To Quickly Record Your Computer Screen For Future Use

There are many different reasons why you may want to record what you see on your computer screen. For instance, you may want to record a tutorial that will be uploaded to YouTube. Businesses may want to record their meetings or some training videos that would be used in the future for new employees. No matter the case, using a screen recorder for Windows makes a lot of sense these days. It simply has numerous benefits that have to be taken into account, but how do you do it?

While there are numerous programs that can be used in order to record the computer screen, an option that you should seriously consider is using Movavi Screen Recorder Studio. This software allows you to quickly record what you need, edit and save, all in minutes and at a highly affordable price.

Recording Computer Screens With Movavi Screen Recorder Studio

After downloading the software and installing the program, you need to open it and you will quickly notice the easy-to-use interface. In order to record your computer screen, you need to select what part of it will be recorded. This can be really useful in the event you do not want to record parts of it, like an area where your username for a software would be listed.

After you select the area of the screen to record, you just need to start recording. The software actually makes it as simple as this. There are also some other features that can be used, like the possibility to record your webcam as you record the screen. Also, you can save the video in a desired format that would be perfect for intended use, like on mobile devices.

As you can notice, using Movavi Screen Recorder Studio is really simple and the software does get the job done right. You just need to quickly get used to it. To make matters even more interesting, after the video is recorded, you can even edit it with various additions you surely would love to make, like adding text, trimming, cutting and so on. Take advantage of this on the following project.

Why Amazon isn’t Opening a New York Office

Dana R
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Why Amazon isn’t Opening a New York Office

These days, Jeff Bezos has a lot more on his plate than dealing with an alleged extortion plot by the National Enquirer. He’ll also need to find a new home for (one of) Amazon’s second headquarters, because the Big Apple has turned out not be so edible after all.  

To unravel this extraordinary development, let’s hit the (somewhat) wayback-playback button and return to November 5, 2018. That’s when word first surfaced that Amazon had selected New York City and Northern Virginia as its two HQ2 sites. The announcement was made official eight days later, but not before generating criticism on a number of fronts; most vocally from labor union leadership and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY, 14th District). The fact that New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio inferred through their own statements that Amazon would receive $3 billion in subsidies without the need for additional government approvals didn’t sit well with those opposed to the plan, either.

Image source Wikipedia

Fast forward about a month to December 12. Instead of dreaming about how much bigger holiday retail sales will be with Seattle’s HQ1 and North Virginia + New York City’s HQ2 working at full capacity (for the 2018 holiday season, Amazon sales climbed year-over-year by 10% to a staggering $2.87 billion), Amazon executives must have felt like a beat up ’71 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am about to undergo a classic car restoration, because they were gutted at the City Council meeting. To some observers, that is when Amazon’s love affair with New York City seriously started to get rocky, and the public relations offensive on both sides really turned up a few notches.

About six weeks later on January 30 at another City Council meeting, an Amazon executive essentially said that the move to New York City is not a done deal — which critics perceived as a veiled (and to some, a not-so-veiled) threat. Whether by coincidence or design, five days later on February 4th New York State Senator Michael Gianaris (D, 12th District) — a vocal critic of the subsidies offered to Amazon — was tapped to join a state board that has veto power over the deal. And then four days later on February 8th, the Washington Post reported that two people familiar with the Amazon’s thinking said that the company was reconsidering its decision.

Since then, Amazon executives have re-confirmed their commitment to NYC only to ultimate pull the plug on the project. And the rest, well, is history.

Calls to tackle UK air pollution focused on transport sector

Dana R
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0
Calls to tackle UK air pollution focused on transport sector

In February, the UK’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) revealed that between 1990 and 2017, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 42%, as Environment Journal reports. However, last year, transport remained the UK’s most emissions-emitting sector.

With the sector having been responsible for 27% of the country’s total emissions in 2018, campaigners have recommended that transport is overhauled via various eco-friendly measures.

An environmental conundrum, but a potential solution?

In 2016, transport surpassed energy as the UK’s leading contributor to air pollution, with annual CO2 emissions having held steady at roughly 125m tonnes since 1990.

This has led campaign group Friends of the Earth to declare the urgency of a “radical reimagining of transport”. With this project, the group claimed, the UK could reduce car journeys – still a large factor in the country’s transport-related carbon emissions – by roughly a fifth.

Without this move, however, the UK would fall short of climate change targets even if the uptake of electric cars increased, according to Friends of the Earth.

Various measures of easing transport emissions

The range of measures suggested as part of the potential overhaul includes the introduction of free bus travel, which would cost £3bn yearly but also help to tackle the public health issue of obesity. Furthermore, the £3bn would remain a fraction of overall road spending.

That’s according to Mike Childs, who heads research at Friends of the Earth and said: “Dozens of cities across the world offer some form of free public transport. What we are seeing instead is bus fares rising 75% over the last 15 years and over 3,300 services reduced or removed since 2010”.

The Government responds

However, a Department for Transport spokeswoman quoted by The Guardian pointed out: “As set out in our Road to Zero strategy, the government’s ambition is for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero-emission by 2040. We are investing £1.5bn to make this happen.”

She added that the Government’s expenditure on supporting bus travel totals £250m each year, while an extra £1bn is set aside for the free bus pass scheme. The DfT has also handed out over £6m to fund the building of hundreds of rapid charge points for ultra-low emission taxis.

How citizens and businesses can act on the carbon challenge

Friends of the Earth has also called for the rail network to be expanded, having identified 33 schemes capable of, by the group’s reckoning, reconnecting 500,000 people with the network. However, signs already abound that public transport is reducing car usage.

One recent analysis mentioned by BBC News revealed that many young people in cities were deciding against using cars. These vehicles do, however, remain crucial in rural areas.

Individuals and businesses alike may therefore remain largely reliant on their own vehicles for the time being, although savings can still be made. For example, firms can take out fleet insurance to enable any driver in the company to use any of its fleet cars, thereby helping to reduce the fleet’s necessary size.

Image recommendations:

https://www.pexels.com/photo/busy-street-1837595/
https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-car-beside-building-1837603/

What Is Special about SIP Trunks?

Nancy Clayson
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0
What Is Special about SIP Trunks?

Corporate telephony systems have long abandoned the use of conventional analog lines in favor of ATX (automatic telephone exchange) paired with the connection to ISDN according to the PRI standards. However, not so long ago, a modern, cheaper, and more flexible way of establishing the office infrastructure appeared, which is called SIP-trunking. In this article, we will compare PRI connections with SIP trunks, highlighting both the advantages and drawbacks of the solution. PRI (Primary Rate Interface) is known to be a standard interface of the ISDN network.

Image source: www.zen.co.uk

Benefit #1 – Digital Telephony

It is important to understand that we are talking exclusively about digital signal transmission, but not analog. Both PRI and SIP standards use a digital signal model, with the only difference being that the ISDN PRI standard is considered to be a circuit-switched format, whereas cheap sip trunk is packet-switched.

Benefit #2 – Functionality

In terms of its work, if properly configured, both systems demonstrate high performance. Almost all IP ATAs on the market support PRI and SIP standards. The main idea of ​​the PRI interface (either E1 or T1 streams) is that within one digital line, 32 or 24 channels can be transmitted. Through them, voice message and synchronization info are transmitted. The T1 interface consists of 23 voice channels, with 1 channel being intended for synchronization. In turn, the E1 supports 30 voice channels, with 2 separate channels being allocated for signaling.

Image source: www.thecryptoconnect.com

Benefit #3 – Pri Scalability

If you need to expand the number of channels, for example, to make them more than 30, then you are to add another PRI line. The situation of the company using from 1 to 4 PRI lines (E1 streams) on the ATX is quite common.

In a corporate network, the application of the SIP solution expands the tools of the administrator. A SIP trunk allows you to combine two remote offices as if they were connected by a physical line. One of the most important advantages of SIP trunks is the possibility of coexistence of transmission network traffic and that from telephony (VoIP) in one network transmission medium.

Why SIP?

As its name suggests, a SIP trunk operates on the basis of the SIP solution. According to its rules, telephone signaling, as well as voice messages, are formed into data packages and sent in a single network. The use of the SIP solution offers a wider range of possibilities compared to ISDN PRI. Besides, it also allows you to expand the fault tolerance parameters to all transmission channels.

In that way, SIP is extremely popular not only among large corporation but also among the smaller ones. The reason for it is that it allows conducting any necessary operations without any problems. Moreover, it is beneficial both in the financial and productive ways.

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