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Abule Ado Explosion – Have We Moved On? By Oduche Azih

Does Nigeria possess the relevant forensic expertise to deduce the size of the explosive that devastated Abule Ado? I am referring here not to the trigger which could jolly well be a match stick, box of matches, a cigarette, a 12.5 or even a 50kg cylinder of LPG. If could also be a 2-ton industrial LPG storage.

Let’s leave the trigger alone for now.

Even as a layman viewing the field of devastation, I have deduced that the explosion proper cannot be less than 5kilotons TNT equivalent. No, I have no proof. At this point, I request professional backups or refutation? Please!

What exactly was this explosive? The statement by the NNPC boss at the scene that “it was gas” was unscientific, in view of the fact that the NNPC swears that none of its pipelines was involved.

Whether it was gas or not, it has been two weeks and the NNPC is yet to identify the ownership of the pipeline spewing those highly inflammable fluids (liquids or gas, we’ve not been told), burning over the next several days? How deep was that particular pipe buried? Is that standard? This is most doubtful. If the pipeline was carrying Natural Gas which the NNPC does NOT transfer from the Atlas Cove to Ejigbo and then to Mosimi and Ibadan, then it seems likely that the suspect pipeline must have been a natural gas line belonging to Gaslink Ltd, a subsidiary of Oando Plc flowing north to south toward the Dangote and other industrial operations on the shorelines by the lagoons. Was it a conspiracy that the ownership of this poorly installed gas delivery pipeline has been kept under wraps. I hope that Oando Plc, which is the ONLY gas distributor South of Ikorodu and the newer Igbesa cement plants in Ogun State, will come out with a statement. Was it one of their gas pipelines?

Other questions begging for answers:

– What part did the DPR play in the poor installation practices, now revealed?

– Since we have been made to understand that a truck was involved, was the sparking incident at a pipeline road crossing?

– Was there a provision in the design for a steel casing of the correct size and thickness in that location?

– Was it installed?

– At the Spec Standard depth?

– Was the Casing breached?

– Was there an Earthing Requirement for any/or all of the components?

– Was the Earthing implemented?

– Was there prior damage and dislocation there due to Soil Erosion and/or Wilful Trespass by property developers?

– Can we locate the last Right Of Way Inspection Report where this problem was indicated?

– When was that?

– What Remedial Action if any was recommended?

– Was it implemented?

– If not, why not?

My colleagues in the Nigerian Society of Engineers would have their hands full with this Case Study.

The leadership at the topmost echelons of the NNPC must recognise that what the people of Abule Ado, Lagos and indeed Nigeria need and want is JUSTICE not sympathy. That’s where the Attorney General of Lagos State needs to step in.

When the Dupont plant in Bhopal blew up more than three decades ago, the Indian government spearheaded by the Engineering Safety community rallied to find answers. Unlike here, every professional did not insist on being involved in the humanitarian relief effort, joining the CBN Governor to mobilize funds. Note that a good part of what we lost at Abule Ado cannot be redeemed by money. Ultimately at Bhopal heads rolled. The plant, manufacturing methyl isocyanate, was closed down permanently. Dupont paid billions in damages and I believe is still paying to this day.

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Oduche Azih

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http://saharareporters.com/2020/03/27/abule-ado-explosion-%E2%80%93-have-we-moved-oduche-azih

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March 28, 2020
CBN Introduces N50bn Credit Facility For Households, Small Businesses Affected By Coronavirus

The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced that it would give a N50bn Targeted Credit Facility to households and small businesses affected by Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Those eligible according to the apex bank must prove that they, their livelihood and business operations have been adversely affected by the spread of the virus.

Businesses eligible for the scheme are agricultural value chain activities, hospitality, health (pharmaceuticals and medical supplies), airline service providers, manufacturing and value addition, and trading.

The maximum amount to be received depending on proof of cash flow of investment size is N25m while households can access N3m with an interest rate of 5 per cent per annum for a maximum period of one year.

The facility will be administered by the NISRAL Microfinance Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

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SaharaReporters, New York

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March 26, 2020
Small robots could help look after salmon without stressing them out

Robots are being developed to help with tasks like fixing the sea cages where fish are farmed, and their size seems to be all that affects how the fish react

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2236854-small-robots-could-help-look-after-salmon-without-stressing-them-out/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home

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March 22, 2020
Chip-based device opens new doors for augmented reality and quantum computing

Researchers have designed a new chip-based device that can shape and steer blue light with no moving parts. The device could greatly reduce the size of light projection components used for augmented reality and a variety of other applications.

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-chip-based-device-doors-augmented-reality.html

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March 20, 2020
Portable AI device turns coughing sounds into health data for flu and pandemic forecasting

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning—called FluSense—which can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, then analyze the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends.

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https://techxplore.com/news/2020-03-portable-ai-device-health-flu.html

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March 19, 2020
Writing a Financial Plan on Your Own

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Like anything in life, you need a plan to succeed. That applies to your personal finance too. No one is completely secure financially unless you have accumulated millions of dollars and decide to live off the nest egg for the rest of your life.

Unfortunately, for most people, they are unprepared for retirement. Financial planning is crucial in reaching your goals of retiring comfortably. But having say that, how does one go about writing a financial plan without any formal education?

Below is a quick step-by-step guide to writing your own financial plan. Of course, a professional financial planner may be able to give you a more comprehensive financial plan but this will be a good step forward in understanding your needs and clearing some stumbling blocks.

1. What Are Your Objectives?

Don’t be afraid to dream – you only live once. Think about the size of the home, the education, your family, etc. Just pen these thoughts down of how you want the future to look like. Once you list down your ideals, remember to factor in mundane issues like kids education, insurance, etc.

Your goals should include:

* Education. Regardless of your age, extra education and training are needed either for a career switch or self-improvement. A lot of people are taking college courses (even with teenagers) or upgrading to an MBA to climb the corporate ladder. Even if college education is out for you, you still have to plan for your children’s college degree, unless you intend to leave them to their own devices.

* Career. What field do you desire to work in? Is it a creative job or a typical 9-5? Or do you want to be your own boss? Do you want to create multiple source of passive income?

* Lifestyle. Is work or family more important? Are you contended with “simpler living?” Do you desire a Porsche or BMW? Do you want to live in a mansion, a seafront house, etc? Do you have expensive hobbies life golf? These all cost money so tabulating the expenses and matching it to your income is necessary to achieve your lifestyle goals.

* Retirement. Don’t forget about retirement. It is a moment when you lose your income. So how do you want to live while retired? Will you downgrade your house, live with your children, or move to a retirement community?

* Insurance. Nothing is certain in life. You need to be insured for worst case scenarios. Every financial plan must have provisions for insurance.

These objectives may seem daunting but they need not be wishful thinking. The actual money set aside could be much less than you think, if effective financial planning is involved.

2. Plan Your Income

Of course, your financial plan isn’t just about your dreams. How are you going to pay for it? I assume you don’t have a sugar daddy, so you should be following a life of employment. Most people have their career path charted in this format – go to college, get a job, work hard up the ladder and retire.

There is nothing wrong race except there is high uncertainty in today’s globalized environment. People change jobs all the time due to layoffs or to seek fresh challenges.

Instead of a day job, you can consider starting a businesses or becoming a freelancer to sell your skills. Business isn’t just for those with money, MBAs or connections. You can start a home business to mange lawn care, making money online with a website or a vending machine business.

Besides becoming your own boss, you can find other income through network marketing or investing.

Investing is efficient in building side income as it is simply growing the money you already have. You can buy gold, stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.

Regardless if you are a business owner or an employee, you should not let your money sit idly under your mattress. Even putting your money into an online savings account is more profitable.

3. Writing Your Financial Plan

At its core, a financial plan is a lifelong budget. You’ll be budgeting not just your next paycheck, but for your entire life. Planning involves knowing how you’ll get there and when you’ll get there. There are no hard and fast rules.

You have to be rational enough to assess your current situation, creative enough to see what is possible, and have the integrity to follow through with the plan. Remember, just because it’s on paper doesn’t mean it will happen – you have to decide to follow through and live up to your goals.

Get started by doing the following:

* Timeline. Establish where you want to be in five years? Ten? Thirty? Fifty?

* Research necessary costs. Your current “bills” plus 5% inflation per year. Don’t forget to factor in life insurance, health insurance, car insurance, etc.

* Research luxury costs. What you “want” to do. Cruises, nice cars, nice house, etc.

* Plan income strategy. For most people, they start with salaries. But don’t forget that your job isn’t your only means of income. Starting a side business, a money making hobby, or even making money online are viable options for extra income.

* Plan Investments. Investing is simply a must to counteract against inflation. You can invest in anything. Just make sure you know what you’re doing, and don’t put all of your eggs in one basket. As you age, financial security should become more and more important.

Try to factor in every cost and possible incomes. Whenever you aren’t sure about the numbers, be conservative. Also, bear in mind that a financial plan is ALWAYS about your goals. It’s not just about the money – it’s about getting what you want out of life. Money is just the tool.

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Source by Barry Ritz

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February 10, 2020
How to Build a Structured Sales Pipeline

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Following on from my earlier article “Developing a structured pipeline – The Issues” this article describes how to build the all too elusive, structured sales pipeline.

So to recap: what should a structured pipeline report aim to achieve?

Firstly, it should enable you to view each sale in a consistent manner.

Second, it should clearly identify if a sales opportunity has progressed or stagnated.

Thirdly, it should contained a factoring index which will more accurately reflect the true value of the pipeline

Fourthly, it should provide sales and/or company management with a consistent and reliable prediction of business that should be closed in the forthcoming period.

Fifth, it should be simple and relatively easy to complete (salespeople as a breed are poor at filling in reports).

Sixth, it should be focused on numbers rather than opinion.

To build a consistent view of each sales opportunity take the sales cycle in your business and break it down into discrete milestones.

So for example,

– Milestone 1 is a lead or an enquiry who has identified desire to purchase your product or service.

– Milestone 2 to progress the sale you need to demonstrate the product

– Milestone 3 they have the budget to pay for your product

– Milestone 4 you have submitted a proposal

– Milestone 5 you’re on the shortlist

– Milestone 6 you have a verbal order

– Milestone 7 you have a written order.

The next step is to put percentages against these milestones for example,

1) 5%,

2) 10%,

3) 20%,

4) 25%,

5) 50%,

6) 90%,

7) 100%.

This approach allows you to build a factored pipeline i.e. the value of the opportunity time the percentage milestone. Don’t get hung up about whether the percentages should be this or that number what we are building is something that will give you a consistent view across all your sales opportunities and not something which reflects the precise chance of winning per opportunity. The progress of the sale can be shown in any way you like; this could be as a table, a graph, or a set of traffic light colours going from red to green as you move along the sales process. Other information you need is simple the prospect name, if it is a new or existing customer, the value of the opportunity and a projected win date.

By constructing what I have described you’ve gone a long way to getting a grip on your sales performance, you’ve now turned sales reporting into a set of numbers which over time you can analyse. For example you’ll see which sales have stagnated because they wont have moved along the pipeline for a period of time, you’ll be able to identify how overoptimistic you sales force are by comparing the projected win date with the actual win date. Most commonly this is between 3-6 months.

Now that you have a factored pipeline you can start to build up metrics on the relationship between the size of your pipeline and your monthly sales. It also now enables you to look forward because as your factored pipeline rises and falls to will your sales, thus you can act early as soon as you see your pipeline numbers dip.

You’re now at last starting to get some sensible numbers to enable you to plan your business and you have moved from a jolly nice chat to a shorter focused and more effective sales meeting. As the Meerkat would say “simples.”

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Source by Laurence Ainsworth

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February 6, 2020
The Cash Register and Their Uses
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We have all at least seen a cash register if not used one. Cash registers are an integral part of retail businesses and most cannot operate without one. Invented by James Ritty after the Civil War out of necessity for the running of his saloon. His main goal was to stop employees from skimming money and he got the idea after seeing a tool that counted the revolutions of propellers for steamships. Patented in 1883, the cash register soon took on a life of its own and after being sold a few times, finally settled into what it is today.

Today the cash register does not require you to break a nail while pushing down huge buttons that were known for sticking down and causing all sorts of problems. There are no longer number tabs that pop up to show you the amount being rung up, but rather most registers are computerized. Computer cash registers are available in many forms today and may consist of just a simple program that you run on your desktop computer that uses an interface just like a regular cash register to entire pos systems that come complete with bar code scanners, a till drawer and receipt printer. Pos cash registers are what most of us are familiar with today as all the large retailers use them.

Computer cash registers or pos cash registers are highly advanced and will do everything from ringing up the customer’s purchases to doing your taxes. Many of the systems will come with a program that keeps track of your inventory which will save you time and money by streamlining the process and not having to do physical inventory. Don’t forget the options like bar code scanners and laser receipt printers that will help keep your business running smoothly.

Touch screen cash registers are the first choice among restaurants and grocery stores. These registers will display menu choices and options that will make ordering quicker by just pressing the screen. Restaurant cash registers are designed so that the kitchen will receive the order when the wait staff enters it into the computer so they can begin preparing immediately. This makes for a much more efficient restaurant. Many of these pos systems also come with age verification software which is handy for those in the bar business. These registers also allow for unique user id’s that keep track of each person who uses the register, their orders and their sales. Most are able to download your business for that day or week into tax programs such as Quick-books.

The importance of cash register tape might seem little, but this is an important addition to any system and should be allowed some consideration before purchase. Today, most register systems and credit card machines use thermal paper for receipts. This paper requires special thermal printers that burn the image into the paper. Laser printers are also used and they have their own special type of receipt paper as well. These types of printers do not require ink, which is one less expense because in the long run ink will cost you a fortune, but they are much pricier up front than your regular paper receipt printers.

Below is a list of registers and prices that you can expect to pay:
- 8 Department Standard Electronic Cash Register (recommended for small businesses) starting at around $100 – These registers are very basic, but for the small retailer they are perfect – They use standard paper for their receipt printing
- 40 to 99 Department Standard Electronic Cash Register (recommended for small to midsized businesses) from $200-$350 – Same considerations as register above
- Touch Screen Cash Register (varies depending on size and bundles/options, recommended for restaurants and bars) $500-$2500 – These registers will almost always be used with thermal or laser receipt printers
- POS Systems (varies depending on size and options) $1500-$3200 – Used almost always with laser or thermal printers.
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Source by Gerald Hill

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February 6, 2020
Why The Wealthy Give to Charities and Others

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It's a strikingly strange world today because there are billionaires popping up at a great rate of knots. They seem to be competing with each other in the profit-making stakes as well as in philanthropy. The interest alone on their wealth would fall far short of any money they give away, however, if one were to size it up. That is not the only reason they do it though, as money weighs on their conscience and that is something they cannot ease.

Money is man's invention and it is highly destructive, as we see by the way the earth is being murdered. It is more important to some than life itself. While most feel they cannot live without it the alternative is another man-made situation. Poverty and starvation being the worst situations to be in. That is where charity is needed the most.

Philanthropists love to give money to charities that support the poor. The question is why? When they take so much wealth from the world and the trickle down effects robs those at the bottom of a descent life one has to question whether their conscience plays a role in the generosity? Not everyone who is 'rich' is evil or robbing others, but it is well-known that most only acquire huge wealth by robbing others along the way.

They are renowned for minimising their tax so the governments are denied that money to assist those at those at the bottom. They take rather than give until the amount of their holdings becomes an embarrassment. Many will also cheat in other ways. This assessment excludes those who achieve by mining, oil holdings, and such. But that takes in other things like damage to the environment.

Money is a weight over their heads when it accumulates and their situations are publicly known. That is when many will turn to philanthropic means to relieve their conscience. If they can be seen to be doing some good, then who is going to question how they made their money in the first place.

Perhaps the greatest perpetrators of this type of behavior are religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church. On the surface it provides huge amounts for the upkeep of orphanages, hospitals, and charitable causes. Underneath, however, the lying and cheating that goes on is incredible.

Its relics and monuments that are displayed as genuine articles are nothing but fakes. The pilgrims that pour into the businesses where they are on display are giving millions to the coffers of the church every day. The Vatican's claim that it holds some of the cross on which Jesus Christ died and the nails that held him to the cross is just one of those untruths.

With memory of reincarnation and knowledge that everyone has returned in the same way there is no heaven or hell and my research shows that Jesus Christ is the invention of Constantine, the one dubbed 666 in Revelation 13: 12-18. Without evidence that such existed the Church has done everything to add credibility to its profitable schemes.

Philanthropy is a way of justifying its deception. While it acts in accordance with what the law allows, and it has its own 'country' to do it in, the chances of it being brought to account for its wrongful claims are virtually zero.

Meanwhile by giving to the under-privileged organizations and businesses alike are able to write off tax, satisfy their conscience, and ultimately fool enough people so that it becomes business as usual. Money is a drug leading the world to a disaster as we face the last days.

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Source by Norma Holt

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February 5, 2020
Self-Healing Cutting Mats – How to Cut Them to Size

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A self-healing cutting mat (or rhino cutting mat as they are also known) is an extremely useful tool for any professional in the signage industry, as well as for printers, designers, dressmakers and many other craftspeople. They provide a large cutting surface that is safe for a rotary cutter and can be used again and again without leaving score marks. They can be purchased in standard sizes from medium to super-size and often are available in custom sizes to fit a particular production table or counter.

However there are times when you need to cut your rhino mat to size. Perhaps you’ve moved it from a larger table to a smaller one, perhaps custom sizes weren’t available or were more expensive? So what is the best way of trimming a self-healing cutting mat to size?

Clean cut

If you want to keep mess to a minimum, scoring is the answer. Score it a long a straight edge, apply bending pressure and then score again. It will cut through quickly and cleanly this way.

Quick and messy

A circular saw will do the job in no time if you don’t mind clearing up the mess! Make sure you have your industrial vacuum cleaner handy.

Curved edges, irregular shapes

If your production space has curved edges or an irregular shape, try cutting the mat in place to fit the shape with a router. Clamp the mat in place and use a flush trim bit, running it all the way round the table. This is also quick and easy, if a little messy.

Once you have your rhino cutting mat trimmed to exactly the right size your production table will be all set up for cutting, trimming and all those other tasks. If you have some reasonably sized off-cuts don’t throw them away. They can be used to make mini cutting mats for smaller jobs, or portable cutting mats for when you are out and about and need to do some last minute trimming alterations. Even a small A4 size piece is handy, so trim the off cuts into usable pieces and keep them for future use.

Of course many places that supply self-healing cutting mats will cut them to custom sizes for no extra charge, so do check first when buying a new one. You could easily save yourself the trouble of cutting yours to size and have it delivered already a perfect fit for your table.

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Source by Jo Connelly

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February 3, 2020