Datasets:

LazarusNLP
/

mini_pile_cc

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Split (1)

train · 10M rows

text stringlengths 201 1.04M	meta dict
Related Posts of "Wedding Invitations Fall theme" Where to Print Wedding Invitations- Pleasant to our website, within this moment I am going to provide you with in relation to where to print wedding invitations. And from now on, this is actually th...	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Who "knows"leadership skills are important? Superstars like Bill Gates, Tom Peters, Peter Drucker, Jack Welch and Oprah Winfrey all believe in the importance of leadership skills training - they know the power of nurturing, developing and empowering their people - you see, training leaders is the secret of their own successes! Excellent leaders seek ways to maximize, expand-upon and broaden the scope of involvement of their people's bodies, minds, spirits and souls - when you nurture your people and they will nourish your prosperity. Leadership is an art, it takes an understanding of its purposes to appreciate it. Leadership is a skill, it takes practice to perfect it. Leadership is a science, it takes methodical analysis to reveal its truths. Leadership is a calling, it takes hope, love and faith to do it well. Leadership skills training courses build your confidence and empower your momentum towards success. What can training do for your leadership? Leaders need time to develop their abilities. Effective leaders use role models, trainers, mentors, coaches and advisors to improve themselves. Legendary leadership is achieved by those who seek the wisdom and knowledge of their counselors, supporters and teachers. Christ defined leadership excellence this way, "the greatest among you shall be servant of all." Throughout history, the best leaders have provided the highest quality and quantity of service to their causes - Gandhi, Martin Luther, Moses, Martin L. King, Marie Curie, Franklin, Churchill, Schweitzer, Edison, Paul of Tarsus. they shape the emotions, mental pictures and energy-sources needed to accomplish the goal, they act ethically, morally and within the integrity of their personal values, they lead through their concerned, consistent, constructive personalities. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill Are there any really important leadership skills? Leaders develop courage by facing their challenges, standing on their moral convictions and persisting in the face of threats or adversity, Courage is the confident expectation of doing what is right, while denying the power of any doubts that things may never work out right Leadership skills are many and varied - your success as a leader depends on understanding how to use as many skills as possible. Our survey of 523 leaders proves that the best leaders are great at doing just a few of these skills. Here is our Top-10 list of crucial leadership skills: Questioning and challenging Visioning and imagining Creating and crafting Innovating and adapting Strategic thinking and perceiving Communicating and listening Coordinating and organizing Enabling and empowering Networking and orchestrating Learning and educating Executive Guide:How To Energize YourInnovative Leadership Power!" This 22-page, 4068 word, is packed with 12 practical diagrams, planning charts and educational action sheets. It is an Executive-level Guide which examines, evaluates and reveals the essential behaviors, attitudes and processes used and mastered by highly successful innovative leaders in business, social and government organizations. The Guide equips professionals, managers and leaders with deep conceptual knowledge and it provides readers with practical how-to tutorials for developing extraordinary skills and competencies. In short, the Guide encourages, enlightens AND empowers you! Here's What Our Readers Have To Say..."I really like the paper you sent me. I am reading it very slowly and savoring it. I am inspired... I also like the cadences of your writing. Some of your sentences beg to be read aloud."Dr. Jane M. FraserAuthor, Professor & Chair-Engineering DepartmentColorado State University-Pueblohttp://www.introtoie.com "Thanks Bill,I just read it. It is thoughtful and well presented. It is especially applicable to those people who get so busy running their own companies/organizations that they don't have the time to research how they might or should be improving. All the best."Ann Blackburn, Ph.D.Organizational Performance Improvement ConsultantCalifornia, USA Engineers, executives and entrepreneurs everywhere need to: Unravel today's complex economic and social realities; Create and add subtanstial amounts of new value; Develop products which satisfy or exceed consumer demands; Provide competitive services to help their organizations succeed globally. If you could acquire the aptitudes and follow the behavioral patterns of highly competent innovative leaders like Steve Jobs, Meg Whitman, Jack Welch, Michael Dell, Madam Marie Curie, Ben Franklin and other innovators, you would be fully prepared to lead your group into the next frontiers of imaginative possibilities and establish a sustainable culture of innovation. Within the Executive Guide, you will learn how to: You will use your Guide to develop a powerful personal portfolio of innovative behaviors and aptitudes which will empower you to successfully manage your most difficult challenges and easily discover a wide range of feasible solutions. Hurry and pick up your own copy of this evolutionary Executive Guide - at our low introductory price and energize the power of your innovative leadership! Learning how to lead takes time, patience and effort. In the field of education, we know that leadership skills training seminars, courses, workshops and programs must include active, blended and practical learning experiences. Active means using focused activities to learn new skills Blended means including different media [such as, audio, visual, touch and other sensory materials] to learn new skills Practical learning means applying new skills in your actual work environment under supervision and monitoring support [on-the-job training with coaching or mentoring help] "On the mountains of truth you can never climb in vain: either you will reach a point higher up today, or you will be training your powers so that you will be able to climb higher tomorrow." - Friedrich Nietzsche Want Automatic Success - Take Action and Get It Now! The leadership skills training & learning methods you employ, along with your development and educational seminars, workshops and courses should be comprehensive, continuous and cost-effective. The Leadership-Toolkit collection gives you a choice of programs to fit your needs and the demands of your unique situation. Taking a journey involves having a purpose and an end location in your mind. Your leadership skills training, development and educational courses demand the same kind of purposeful mind-set. Learn the reasons for improving your leadership abilities... Your job may involve training or managing people, participating in or leading teams, or controlling and organizing the work of others. Whatever your daily challenges, our suite of leadership skills training, development and educational course, workshop or program solutions are ready to help you succeed. "Cherish your visions and your dreams, as they are the children of your soul; the blueprints of your ultimate achievements." - Napoleon Hill You have what it takes to become the leader you were meant to be. Learn how you can awaken the hidden talents of your leadership power. Point your browser to any of the following resources, discover your growth opportunities and begin your own leadership adventure today. Use These Resources to Improve Your Leadership With these power-packed Personal Success Packages you will be inspired to act, you will be moved to take your own unique stand, you will learn how to do it too! Let these Packages be your map, and we will be your mentor, guide and co-pilot - Personal Leadership Power Packages, Seminars, Software, Manuals and Programs Catalog The Leadership-Toolkit - a complete web-based leadership skills training program in a box that has all-the-tools-you-need-to-lead-and-succeed! - Leadership Toolkit The Power Meeting Generator! - this "all-inclusive, solution-focused" Software Tool, Tutorial-in-a-box, Bonus-stuffed package is the ONE tool you will use to Plan, Manage AND Lead More Energetic, Empowering, Results-Producing Meetings, EVERY SINGLE DAY! - Your Power Meeting Generator Your Leadership-UltraNet! - experts agree that the very best leadership skills education programs are long-term and include positive feedback and constant follow-ups - the UltraNet! is your affordable way to get leadership skills training plus coaching and mentoring follow-ups that will guarantee your successClick HERE to Join this World-class Program today! - Leadership UltraNet! "Leading Creative, Evolutionary, Innovative Organizations!" - our latest book shows you how to quickly and effectively assess your situations, easily identify and apply highly profitable solutions and leverage small or large innovative opportunities for growth - Leaders of Innovative Strategies P. S. The Leadership-UltraNet! is a set of web-based tools which employ proven training techniques - you can use the Leadership-UltraNet! as your personal treasure chest for continuous growth and enhancement - it's the perfect solution for all your leadership training needs. Now you have a virtual educational resource to help you ascend from basic to intermediate to advanced to the highest plateau of leadership skills development. With your UltraNet! Membership, you will learn, nurture and empower your leadership talents at your own pace - and then practice each concept in your 'real-life' situations, challenges or events, too. I encourage you to take advantage of our affordable introductory price for the Leadership-UltraNet! - we will absolutely and positively have to increase these prices very soon! So, decide now, you have nothing to lose with our "iron-clad" guarantee, your great bonuses, free gifts and low introductory price of just $49.95 or $97 a month - Remember, GOLD Members get 60-minute Courses for only $39.95, SILVER Members get 60-minute Courses for only $67! P.P.S. Remember, The Leadership-UltraNet! is designed to be your friend forever. It will be the constant, well-thumbed, most used resource in your cyber-bookcase. You will want to consult it, study its lessons and use it whenever you encounter problems or opportunities. You will have additional advice, counseling, updates and tips from leadership experts, coaches, mentors and tutors, and me, Bill Thomas, available to you. So begin your Leadership-UltraNet! Membership today! Use Our Secure Servers to Process Your Credit or Debit Card or PAYPAL To Become a GOLD Member!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Angha of Black and White Picture This is my character for a webcomic I'm planning to start up again. I've had the idea for a couple of years but I haven't bothered starting it due to my lack of ability in drawing digitally... But thanks to so many wonderful and amazing tutorials on DA, I'm learning a lot.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Distribution and signal power cable for static application in ground, within facilities, in cable canals, in conditions where the cable is not exposed either to systematic mechanical stress or heavier tensile strain. Used in industrial plants or household installations, where heavier current and thermal loads are expec ted (operating temperature of conductor up to 90 °C), in conditions requiring higher flexibility and better resistance to combustion.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Women Replacing Babies with Dogs Small canines on the rise as human birthrates drop In an eerie parallel to the 1978 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, human babies are being replaced, not by pod people, but by small dogs. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a strong correlation between the falling number of babies born to women ages 15 to 29 and a large spike in the number of small dogs (no more than 20 pounds) owned by American women. While birthrates in America have taken a 10 percent tumble since 2007, small-dog ownership is steadily rising and has doubled since 1999. It's not just a coincidence: The same age group that's having fewer children is the very same driving force behind the small-dog movement. An investigation into the phenomenon by business analysis site Quartz suggests that humans are also putting more resources into their small dogs. Premium dog food sales have grown by 170 percent over the past 15 years and now account for more than half of the dog food market. The New York Post interviewed a number of women on the subject and found that many viewed dogs as a suitable, hassle-free alternative to having a child. "I'd rather have a dog over a kid," declared equities trader Sara Foster, 30. "It's just less work and, honestly, I have more time to go out. You don't have to get a babysitter." Another woman, Mary Smith, 25, raved about the advantages her French bulldog has over a screaming infant. "He's great, except he snores a lot. He even has his own Instagram," she says. "A dog is easier to transport than a child. It's less final than having a child."	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Categories Categories Parenthood and the Desire to Have a Baby Namespaces Page actions Beware! The following thoughts may appear rigorous and radical; they may even shock a person at the first reading, but they are really neither extreme nor misanthropic. They have absolutely nothing in common with confused, delusional, fanatical and hostile thoughts and demands by extremists of all sorts of political or religious views. Quite in contrast with them my thought-provoking impulses and guidelines are equally valid for all people on Earth (including me!). All my proposed ideas, etc., are valid for everybody, and there may not be any reservation regarding race, nationality, body size, colour of hair, bank account, title, etc. It must be guaranteed that not only the intelligentsia may be permitted to produce offspring, because so-called intelligent people are not proof at all against stupidity as is proven again and again by many politicians, professors, journalists, sociologists, theologists, philosophers, scientists and managers, etc., who, in their narrow-mindedness, short-sightedness and arrogance overestimate their own capacities. More and more, responsible people ask themselves – confronted with immense population growth, environmental pollution, and maltreatment of life forms of all kinds – if it's wise to beget a child and bear it into this world of egoism, where growth of the gross national product, hedonism, wealth and controlling other people are the highest goals. A reasonable question, indeed, if we look at the huge misery under which children and adults have to suffer (not in the developing world alone, but also in industrialized countries). How much misery could be avoided if the people on Earth would let themselves be guided by reason and understanding instead of by false emotions, confusing religious ideas of delusion and uncontrolled sexual urges! If we look at every country on this Earth with a neutral view we cannot avoid the sad conclusion: Many many children shouldn't have been begotten by their parents! Many fathers and mothers have absolutely no knowledge, and are overloaded and incapable, regarding a good and responsible parenthood and the connected educative and caring tasks and duties. Out of parental incapability, immaturity, egoism and other ills legions of children grow up as exact copies of their parents, with only a very small chance to break out of this vicious circle of poverty and misery. Damaged by hunger (mental), maltreatment (psychic and bodily) and neglect (criminal) the children doze through a life without any future perspective, without being aware of the meaning of life, and without having experienced real love. Like thoughtless robots those persons wander through a life of TV consummation and loiter about, babble aimlessly and repeat slogans – or they have to fight constantly for naked survival where the law of the strongest rules and where ethics and sympathy have no place. As a result of false thoughts and a false humanitarianism, the calling into question of a supposed "human right for parenthood" is vehemently opposed – because such persons could come to the troublesome and unthinkable conclusion to be among those who should have no children. Peoples, governments and every single person by all means have to change their thought processes, and the procreating of children should be coupled with certain qualifications. The parents' thoughtlessness, egoism and lack of discipline shall not have first priority, but the welfare of the child to be begotten! Absolute priority must be granted to the child's right of being born with a healthy body, healthy psyche and healthy consciousness! Additionally, a child has an absolute claim of parents (= a father and a mother!) capable of guaranteeing secured material conditions and capable of providing a loving and neutral education/raising. As a result parents-to-be should have to attend some form of education or instruction before they beget a child, in order to be prepared for this very ambitious but wonderful task. Since most worldwide birthrate check measures will probably not be started in the near future, unfortunately, it is up to every responsible person and couple to bear his or her own responsibility. With logical and reasonable thinking, one's own actions should have to be brought into harmony with the natural laws, as the only way to guarantee the survival of all life forms on this planet. The following list of questions shall help any parents-to-be to become aware of the fact that parenthood isn't as simple as it seems: To beget a child needs some seconds or minutes – but childhood and youth last a bit longer! Before begetting (or fostering/adopting) a child, a reasonable and responsible person has to ask him- or herself the following questions: Will our union last for at least 3 years -- are we living together for at least 3 years? Am I, the woman, at least 28 years of age; and I, the man, at least 33 years (see worldwide birthrate check measures by FIGU)? Have I found my real partner, and am I prepared to live with him or her for the whole rest of my life? Do I know the difference between amour (= transitory illusion) and real love (real love is indestructible)? Do we respect each other as not identical but of equal value? Why do we want to "have" a child? If we have children: Will it be less than 3? Are we capable of guaranteeing our future child a protected/safe and good education that encourages responsibility (even beyond babyhood)? How are our short- and medium-term perspectives? Is there a good chance of enough financial and material means (dwelling, saving accounts, income, food, etc.) for the whole family? (Of course there must be some difference here regarding the culture/civilization of a people the parents-to-be belong to. Parenthood in the jungle requires a different standard than living in a western nation.) Do we live in our own household (= our own private sphere), without any interference from parents or relatives? Are we aware of the fact that the presence of a child will change our actual life style considerably? (Certain ventures aren't possible any more for years – or never again –, e.g. dangerous hobbies, etc.) Is inbreeding absent in my genealogical tree (the last 7 generations back)? Do I lead a decent life style, which means: I am no member of organizations or groups who confirm or show the following degenerations: fanatism, extremism, sectarianism, anarchism, terrorism, crime, racial hatred, slavery, restriction of one's free thinking and one's free will, hate, warfare, torture, etc.; not to prostitute myself; execute no criminal acts against Earth, human beings, animals and plants. Am I (the woman) ready to undergo prenatal diagnosis? How will I decide if the test shows that the foetus has some defect? Will I consent to an abortion? If no: What about the future of the child, and our future? If yes: How grave must the defect be in order to make the decision for an abortion? Do I accept a child regardless if it's a boy or a girl? Do I eat healthy and balanced meals (which include meat and dairy products in reasonable amounts!) in order to supply the growing baby with all essential nutrients? Who will look after the child at home during its childhood and youth? (Despite the outcry of some women's lib-ers or other misguided people, the mother is the "natural" person to look after the child.) Do I care for cleanliness of body and psyche and dwelling? Do I refrain from letting any animals (especially cats, dogs, birds, etc.) live in my dwelling? (This on one hand will prevent a broad variety of possible diseases and accidents, and on the other hand proves respect to the animal. An animal is and remains an animal despite the efforts of people to look upon their pets as persons. To let animals live in the same rooms as people is a form of maltreatment of animals. Millions of people suffer from severe diseases or have even died because they have or had too close contact with animals.) In order to take up again the question from the start of this text: The procreation of a child may be recommended in good conscience as a responsible and reasonable act if all of the questions above have been answered positively. The harsh truth must not be swept under the carpet: Every single person, in control of his or her senses and with a clear-headed consciousness who, before procreating a child, refuses to ponder or answer the many questions in this text, may not called a human being; he or she must be labelled a thoughtless and irresponsible egoist and criminal sex robot. Such a person is an insult to reason and common sense and brings shame to all of mankind.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
The Long and Short of It From the time I was a tiny tyke I took in grand historical epics while sitting on my father’s lap and marveling at the spectacle before me. I grew up in a household that adored movies and it is largely thanks to my father that I fell in love with the art form. He introduced me to the works of John Ford, Cecil B. DeMille, William Wyler, Victor Fleming, George Cukor, and David Lean, among many others. I would sit for hours to watch Lawrence of Arabia followed by Gone with the Wind followed by The Searchers followed by… well, you get the picture. In the early years it was the scale that always impressed me, the capturing of a brief moment in time, and the reimagining and visualization of history that a school textbook could never possibly give you. And while the cinema’s depiction of the past has always fascinated me, it is its vision of the future that continues to dazzle me. Cinema is where our dreams can become reality. Though my love of epic film certainly comes from my father, my love of the fantastical largely comes from my brothers. I don’t think I can remember a time when Star Wars was not a part of my life. Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings. The former was played in the house at all times, while the latter was discussed, read, illustrated, and D&D’d on a 24/7 cycle (the bastards never taught me to play though!). I was born in 1985 when VHS was the norm in almost every household. I can’t begin to count the amount of copies of the original Star Wars Trilogy that my poor parents had to buy throughout the years. George Lucas’ vision of an adventure-filled future stuffed with fascinating creatures, laser swords, and romantic heroes was enough to make any daydreaming child’s head explode with creativity. I would play with my brothers’ Star Wars action figures (which were later handed down to me) for hours, creating my own stories and worlds in a “Galaxy Far, Far Away”. The original Hobbit cartoon as well as the Ralph Bakshi adaptation of the first half of The Lord of the Rings were also played in the house quite frequently, but the less said about them the better (though I still have a bit of a soft spot for Bakshi’s film). But above any work mentioned so far, there stands a singular film that changed my life forever. It is perhaps the earliest memory I have of seeing a film. My childhood was a bit of a lonely one. My father was in the military and as such our family was forced to move quite frequently. I always made friends at every stop along the way, but in the back of my mind I would always know that within a few years they would no longer be a part of my life. My siblings came in and out of my childhood like a rotating door, regularly going back to their “other family”. Both of my parents were previously married and I remain the only offspring produced by their union. So, when I first sat down and my Dad popped in a copy of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extraterrestrial I was absolutely mesmerized and, ultimately, deeply moved. No, I couldn’t connect to the story of divorce at the heart of the film like I’m sure my siblings could, but what I did connect with was Elliot’s loneliness and his desire for a true friend. Who as a child wouldn’t want to be visited by a friendly alien from another world? But it wasn’t only the connection to that crushing feeling of loneliness that pulled me into the film, it was the beautiful movie magic on display. Spielberg had made a film about kids like me while wiring it to the most wondrous imagery that only a child could imagine. It was at this extremely young age that I discovered the power and potential of the moving image. This film encapsulates the very reason movies should be made. To this day if I even hear a few brief notes from John Williams’s glorious score my eyes begin to well with unbridled emotion. So, yes, let’s get this out-of-the-way. Steven Spielberg always has been and will always remain my favorite filmmaker. I know its cliché, and the amount of flack I have gotten for it over the years from fellow film buffs has been irksome to say the least. Spielberg is a dreamer and his visions continue to stir me even when his sentimentality becomes a nuisance. But don’t worry, my tastes range quite broad with Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Darren Aronofsky filling out the rest of my favorite modern directors line-up. It feels good to be reunited with our Editor in Chief, David McGinnis, even if it’s only in online form. David and I went to high school together at the North East School of the Arts in San Antonio Texas, where we studied film. He was the editor extraordinaire of many of my projects, while I would help him write screenplays, give critiques on rough cuts of his projects, and fill in on any odd job he needed, including acting. Our student films played at many a film festival, not least of which was Sundance. We went our separate ways in college and I ended up in Chicago studying Musical Theatre where I now act professionally. It’s odd where life takes us, isn’t it? We have kept in touch over the years, frequently commenting on each other’s year-end best of lists and the occasional review posted here and there. To be working together on our mutual obsession, if only in print form, will certainly be a highlight in this New Year. Now you have the long and short of who I am. As this is all new I haven’t a clue as to what I will be writing, but to be sure there will be many a film review coming your way plus an essay or two. And let’s not forget my favorite hobby – Oscar watching. I’m positive I’ll have plenty to say on that subject. Shall we begin?	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude--innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. 13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. 23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command. 24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. 32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Hebrews 11	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
How passion for your job can backfire When people show passion for their work, others may feel better about exploiting them, research shows. by Duke UniversityMay 14, 20193 minutes If someone is passionate about what they do, we see it as more legitimate to exploit them, according to new research. The findings show that people see it as more acceptable to make passionate employees do extra, unpaid, and more demeaning work than they did for employees without the same passion. “It’s great to love your work,” says Aaron Kay, a professor from the Fuqua School of Business Duke University, “but there can be costs when we think of the workplace as somewhere workers get to pursue their passions.” People consider it more legitimate to make passionate employees leave family to work on a weekend, work unpaid, and handle unrelated tasks that were not in the job description, the researchers found. Exploiting passion The team found passion exploitation consistently across eight studies with more than 2,400 total participants. The studies varied in design, in the participants (students, managers, random online samples) and in the kinds of jobs they considered. “When we are confronted with injustice, rather than fix it, sometimes our minds tend to compensate instead.” In one study, participants who read that an artist was strongly passionate about his job said it was more legitimate for the boss to exploit the artist than those who read the artist wasn’t as passionate. This finding extended to asking for work far beyond the job description, including leaving a day at the park with family and cleaning the office bathroom. In another study, participants rated it more legitimate to exploit workers in jobs more traditionally associated with passion, such as an artist or social worker, than in jobs not generally seen as a labor of love, such as a store clerk or bill collector. “It is scary to think that when we see someone in a bad work situation, our mind may jump to the conclusion that they must be passionate about their work.” Who’s passionate? The researchers also found the reverse is true: people who are exploited in their job are more likely to be seen as passionate about their work. Participants read about a PhD student’s working relationship with their graduate advisor. Those who read a scenario in which the student was being exploited—verbally abused and given unreasonable deadlines—rated the student as likely to be more passionate than students who weren’t being exploited. “It is scary to think that when we see someone in a bad work situation, our mind may jump to the conclusion that they must be passionate about their work. While not always factually incorrect, this may serve to legitimize instances of mistreatment,” Campbell says. The researchers found this tendency to exploit passion arises from two beliefs: that work is its own reward, and that the employee would have volunteered anyway. This is an example of compensatory justifications, something Kay has studied in other settings. “We want to see the world as fair and just,” Kay says. “When we are confronted with injustice, rather than fix it, sometimes our minds tend to compensate instead. We rationalize the situation in a way that seems fair, and assume the victims of injustice must benefit in some other way.” For example, he says, “in past work with John Jost of NYU, I have found that when faced with massive disparities between rich and poor, people can downplay injustice by telling themselves that wealth brings its own set of problems, or that having less money makes it easier to be happy by keeping life simple.” “In the case of working employees harder for no extra pay, or asking them to do demeaning work or work outside their job description, believing this is fair because these workers are indulging their passions may be a similar means of justification,” Kay says. Staying vigilant Addressing this problem via policy is tricky, but solutions can begin at home. “We can all do more to be vigilant and prevent ourselves from slipping into exploiting passion in our employees, our friends, and even ourselves,” Shepherd says. “Our research is not anti-passion,” Kim says. “There is excellent evidence that passionate workers benefit in many ways. It’s simply a warning that we should not let the current cultural emphasis on finding passion in our work be co-opted by the human tendency to legitimize or ignore exploitation.”	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Hummer Limo Hire in Halesowen Hummer Hire in Halesowen When tasked with finding cheap Hummer Limo Hire it can be hard to know where to start and how to go about finding the best deal. This is where we at Limo Crazy can help, with our website detailing the long list of Hummer Limo Hire options on offer. From vintage limousines to brand-new Hummers, the possibilities are endless. Making the process easy and stress-free, we make shopping for services such as Hummer Hire and Hummer limos for hire a true breeze. With the best transport advisors across West Midlands, have faith that you are in safe hands when looking for Hummer Limo Hire with Limo Crazy. A limo for every occasion Having been offering our chauffeur services for many years now, we’ve over the years expanded our fleet, now becoming the best option for those wanting limos for the following occasions: Weddings and anniversaries Business events Proms and graduations Concerts and music festivals Sporting events So, whether you are a bride looking for your dream limo or a Personal Assistant seeking executive Hummer Limo Hire in Halesowen, we can help. For help in finding the right vehicle or to reserve your limousines, contact the Limo Crazy team today. From here we will be able to offer our advice, ensuring you get the most for your Hummer Limo Hire budget. Hummer Limo Hire options in West Midlands Hummer H2 Limos,Hummer H3 Limos,Non Stretch Hummer About Hummer Hire in Halesowen and West Midlands. Get a great deal for Hummer limos for hire in Halesowen. Limo Crazy is the one of the leading supplier of Hummer Limo Hire in the Halesowen area. A huge range of Hummer Hire services including Hummer H2 Limos, Hummer H3 Limos, Non Stretch Hummer and many more.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Which Browser Uses Least Battery On Macbook Pro Laptops MacBook Pro vs. the PC competition. Mac or PC? The war rages on. We’ve thrown the most recent 13-inch MacBook Pro and the closest PC to a Mac we’ve seen, the Dell Studio XPS 13, into the. The tablet can be used with or. is competitive, but battery life needs to improve. Microsoft has started selling directly. Ten years ago, the MacBook Air changed the laptop game completely. Its thinness, lightweight and long battery life would become. The MacBook Air uses the same slim, wedge-shaped design as the MacBo. Hp Desttop Printer Driver 2541 Download and save the setup file for the network driver to the Windows Desktop. Insert a blank CD into the burner drive of the computer They’re used for. running dozens of browser tabs at the same time. That’s where the MacBook Pro comes in. At just £50 more. Now $2,099.00, this is the absolute lowest price we’ve seen on the 2018 15-inch model —and at least $150 cheaper than other A. Last month, Consumer Reports came up with some interesting battery test results with the latest MacBook Pro models. “Consumer Reports uses a hidden Safari setting for developing web sites which tur. And yet, the Surface Laptop distinguished itself by being actually really good; at least as good, if not better than, the App. The marquee feature of the new MacBook Air is its Retina display. It has a resolution of 2560×1600, giving it a pixel density of 227 pixels per inch—that’s the same pixel density as the 12-inch MacBoo. Best Linksys Wifi Router 2018 The LRT224 from Linksys looks a top choice for small businesses that demand the best VPN features. However, it’s only supported by Linksys LRT routers, How to Fix a Slow Macbook Pro: The Manual Methods (4-6 hours) The methods introduced below are the best manual fixes we have explored. The order is based on a combination of estimated time required and effectiveness to implement. Microsoft’s Surface Pro. at least give you an idea of graphical processing prowess. On that note, here’s how I got on with. . to the MacBook and Pro series. But what Apple didn’t tell us on stage is that the new MacBook Air has a processor that’s. We’ve taken a look at the major internet browsers available to download today to see which ones will best suit your specific. battery life and keyboard, as well as a T2 security chip, FaceTime HD camera and recycled aluminum materials. The laptop also. Instead, we like it because it constantly loops demanding web browser scenarios. s a chance that the MacBook Pro 13 with Touch Bar will get you through a workday — if you’re not a heavy user. Most. Track Macbook Pro Shipment Sell Your Apple MacBook Air for Cash The Apple Macbook Air trade in program powered by BuyBackWorld allows you to sell your new, used, orPrinter Cartridge Jam Lexmark Guido here). Holding: (1) Lexmark exhausted its patent rights in toner cartridges sold in the United States through its "Return Program"; and (2) Lexmark cannot You get a beefier processor and more memory, too, all without sacrificing battery life. Last, but by no means least, it’s. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is a service we offer sellers that lets them store their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers, and we directly pack, ship, and provide customer service for these products. The new Pro takes design cues from the latest iPhones. The home button has been replaced with a swipe-up gesture that will be. By way of comparison, I want to explain that all the latest MacBook Air models are fast and responsive. I have a late-2010 MacBook Air 11″ which uses a Core 2 Duo processor. This CPU is old technology – it’s at least two generations behind current CPUs. We’ve been waiting quite a while to see what Apple would replace the iBook with, and the rumored 13.3″ widescreen MacBook is now a reality. I use the 10.5-inch iPad Pro every day, both at work and at home. I still use traditional laptops (a 2015 MacBook Pro and var. This machined metal looks and feels just like the same material that Apple’s used for previous MacBooks. 9:55 time from th. It’s reversible, for a start, so both ends of a USB-C cable work the same way and don’t need to be the right way up—already g. And at 10 a.m. ET on Oct. 30, we’ll find out which of the other numerous rumors were accurate, too — including all of the on. This is the fourth version of the consumer MacBook – and the first to use the Santa Rosa chipset that made its way into the MacBook Pro line in June. The entry-level MacBook remains at 2.0 GHz, while the faster models see a tiny speed bump from 2.16 GHz to 2.2 GHz. At the same time, the MacBook. The Pro’s skinny cousin. grey — you’re sure to want to use it all day, or at least show it off on the corner table of your.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Barcelona Rejected Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo scored 12 goals and claimed 6 assists so far in the league and his form played a major part in United's free-scoring form. However, in the summer it had seemed Ronaldo may never be a success story at Old Trafford. The World Cup scandal, all the media hype around it and the Portuguese's claims he wanted out - no wonder his agent offered him to Barcelona. 'I offered the player to Barca, but they told me they were expecting to sign Thierry Henry and rejected a possible deal,' Jorge Mendes told El Mundo Deportivo. 'At this point it is practically impossible that the player can join Barca because Manchester would not sell him for all the money in the world.' And I believe he wouldn't go now for all the money in the world. He has a point to prove and he made considerable progress toward his goal. Comments They could not have granted him regular playing time. Injuries for Messi and Eto'o could not be foreseen and the Messi-Eto'o-Ronaldinho front line is the default choice at Barca. Ronaldo would have spent a lot more time on the bench than he was used to.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Shutters in Milton Keynes Shutters Milton Keynes - Welcome to the Milton Keynes Shutters Directory from Near.co.uk featuring recommended shutter companies in Milton Keynes. It lists those who provide shutters in Milton Keynes. It also includes those who offer window shutters in Milton Keynes. Read reviews of Milton Keynes window shutters and write your own review too. If your Milton Keynes business isn't listed, then advertise it for FREE today.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Copyright 2019 WARDEX Multiple Listing Service. All rights reserved. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing. All information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. This data is provided by the Western Arizona REALTOR Data Exchange, Inc. Listings last updated Feb 22, 2019 6:02:am.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Hopkins Village Belize Apartments These 5 units are spacious with top-of-the-line appliances and luxurious kitchens and baths. These luxury apartments feature ample closets, storage space and large wrap around verandas. Each apartment has vaulted ceilings and ceiling fans with large screened windows to catch the sweet sea breeze. The buildings are designed with a central courtyard that is beautifully landscaped with mature palms and tropical flowers all native to Central America. The village offers a bocce (Italian sport) ball court, horseshoe area and also a children's play area for families. All of the units have everything you will need to enjoy your stay from dishes, pans, blenders, linens and the softest towels. Located just steps from the village apartments are the Caribbean Village Shoppes. Enjoy access to Suds N Duds Laundry Mat, grab a delicious ice cream over at the Ice Cream Shoppe or a bite to eat at the village's bar and restaurant, The Sand Bar.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
The best of the web on your desktop Want to be permanent member of SL side - Thirimanne Lahiru Thirimanne talks to Island Cricket about how the influx of limited-over cricket has hindered his Test preparations, the 'Mankad' incident in Australia and more. Lahiru Thirimanne talks to Island Cricket about how the influx of limited-over cricket has hindered his Test preparations, the 'Mankad' incident in Australia and more. Competition is always healthy. It pushes you to perform much better and brings the best out of you, since someone is waiting in the wings to grab your position. I need to focus on myself, my batting technique ...	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Vistra, a leading global trust, fund administration and corporate services provider, today released the eighth edition of its Vistra 2020 industry research report. The report reveals that the corporate services industry has never been so vital in underpinning globalisation, from the facilitation of cross border capital flows, to the provision of local compliance, legal and regulatory expertise to companies and individuals wishing to do business cross border. “As the industry responds to geopolitical upheaval, as businesses and jurisdictions come to terms with the convergence of new regulatory frameworks, coupled with new technologies, the corporate services industry is rich with both challenges and opportunities,” said Jonathon Clifton, Regional Managing Director, Asia and Middle East, Vistra. “In this environment, our strong view is that the global financial system is dependent on the corporate services industry in providing the infrastructure to enable global economic development.” Drawing on the insight of some 800 industry figures, this year’s Vistra 2020 report identified three important trends that are defining today’s corporate services industry: Changing sector to meet evolving geopolitical system – Ongoing adjustment to globalisation has created political pressure for governments to reassert their role in establishing rules for business. However, this hasn’t stopped businesses from becoming more international in their outlook and ambitions. Developments in the global economy (53%) along with changing regulation (62%) are seen as the most pressing challenges by a majority of respondents and are expected to have a major impact on business. – Despite understandable caution about the challenges ahead, industry professionals are broadly upbeat in their ability to generate growth and satisfy client demand. 83% are confident in their ability to satisfy clients’ expectations; 74% are confident in their own organisation’s growth prospects. Increasingly politicised regulations In recent years, the corporate services industry has been subject to an extraordinary amount of regulatory change, which creates business opportunities to the industry that thrives on helping clients navigate a difficult landscape. Majority of the respondents (74%) are ramping up their investments in compliance and, as a result, will be able to demonstrate that they and their clients have nothing to hide, whether moving money across borders or establishing trading companies in new jurisdictions. – 78% are confident in their ability to achieve timely and consistent compliance with new regulations, even though similar proportions (73%) admit that the speed and frequency of change is a challenge. – 85% expect the political pressure that has forced greater scrutiny of tax and financial data to continue unabated, even though the clear majority (76%) believe that governments have underestimated the challenge that automatic exchange of information places on their business. Unmet value and threat of new technology Technological innovation is making impacts everywhere and the corporate services industry is no exception. With applications such as robo-advisory and biometrics pushing at the door – all of which could have transformational implications for the industry – businesses may be too relaxed. – Although majority of the respondents (78%) are upbeat about the prospects of technology delivering efficiency savings, only 20% of industry professionals expect technological change to have a notable impact on their business, showing complacency. – Today, the focus for many in the industry is firmly on bread-and-butter issues such as automating “know your customer” and anti-money laundering requirements, rather than on more exotic technologies such as AI and blockchain. Only 22% is looking into blockchain, which is relatively low considering the potential upheaval that crypto-currencies could create in the industry. Senior executives from Vistra outlined five predictions for the coming year: – The tech wake-up call: The industry has yet to feel the force of technological disruption. If they are not careful, they may soon find themselves scrabbling to catch up, or fighting for survival. – Politicised regulation will continue in the short term: It is likely that governments will continue to target the industry with crowd-pleasing transparency drives, at least in the short term. – PR war will turn a corner: There is hope that the public will become more supportive of the industry – and politically-motivated regulation will inevitably soften as a result. – Corporate services industry will continue to change shape: Clients’ demand for scale will drive further consolidation. Changing conditions may also give rise to consolidation among jurisdictions, as some jurisdictions struggle, or choose not, to keep up with the burden of ongoing regulatory change. – Emerging markets will increase in importance: Business in emerging markets including Middle East, China and India are expected to mature rapidly over the next few years. Well, unlike many news organisations, we have no sponsors, no corporate or ideological interests. We don't put up a paywall – we believe in free access to information of public interest. Media ownership in Australia is one of the most concentrated in the world (Learn more). Since the trend of consolidation is and has historically been upward, fewer and fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media in our country. According to independent assessment, about 98% of the media sector is held by three conglomerates. This tendency is not only totally unacceptable, but also to a degree frightening). Learn more hereWe endeavour to provide the community with real-time access to true unfiltered news firsthand from primary sources. It is a bumpy road with all sorties of difficulties. We can only achieve this goal together. Our website is open to any citizen journalists and organizations who want to contribute, publish high-quality insights or send media releases to improve public access to impartial information. You and we have the right to know, learn, read, hear what and how we deem appropriate.Your support is greatly appreciated. All donations are kept completely private and confidential.Thank you in advance! Mirage News . All timestamps on this site are AEST/AEDT and all times in the articles are local times unless indicated otherwise. All trademarks and rights are owned by their respective owners. All content is used for news reporting purposes. For news reporting purposes, we rely on fair use (fair dealing) [1] [2]for textual and media content to keep the public informed on the developments. If you are a person mentioned in the story or you are a copyright holder and believe that any content should be removed, revised or taken down, please contact us. View the disclaimer page here	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
News A profile of Zane Lowe — the influential radio DJ hired to be one of the top “creative minds” behind Apple Music’s Beats 1 — has also revealed a number of high-profile musicians who will be hosting their own shows on the Internet radio station. The New York Times reports Elton John will host “Elton John’s Rocket Hour,” and Dr. Dre will host “The Pharmacy.” Other Beats 1 hosts will include Drake and Pharrell — who have already been linked to Apple Music — as well as St. Vincent, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, and British electronic duo Disclosure. Oddly, Jaden Smith — actor and son of Will Smith (and notable tweeter) — will also host a Beats 1 show.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
3D Image Hover Effect using only pure CSS 3d image Hover effects use only CSS features, Like a 3D Animatio and pseudo-elements use, in order to create beautiful 3d effects and to Show captions on the bottom. The looks and feel of a website and use it on your website. If you want to more batter information then you can visit here. i am also here lot’s of css tutorial for website uses. my recent tutorial you can also check how to create CSS text animation. This css effects can use every developer, very easy to implement only use css3 code. you can check the live demo or also available source code please download and modify this code and use it.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
The data hosting and data centre strategy sets the vision that Scotland’s public sector data hosting is cost-effective, carbon neutral and makes appropriate use of cloud technology, for the delivery of efficient and highly available ICT services. Annex I - Cloud services for the public sector Service Model Advantages Disadvantages Exemplar Platform as a Service The capability provided to the consumer is to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquired applications created using programming languages, libraries, services, and tools supported by the provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over the deployed applications and possibly configuration settings for the application-hosting environment. Languages, libraries, services, and tools supported by the provider. reduced Capex costs for the following reasons: 1 with hosted managed services all hardware and some of the software is rented so the customer pays only for what they use (expenditure may also be more predictable) 2 in addition an added advantage of PaaS is that the provider manages all hardware, software patching and update, physical & software security and day to day routine operational tasks (so there is a reduction in the need for on-site specialist staff) Given this PaaS can offer lower Op Ex costs than hosted managed services convenience and agility is a major advantage of both as neither entail local installation, so the implementation and scale-up speeds can be much quicker than other service types security is often provided, including data security and backup and recovery makes research and development possible for 'non-experts' flexibility - customers can have control over the tools that are installed within their platforms and can create a platform that suits their specific requirements adaptability - Features can be changed if circumstances dictate that they should teams in various locations can work together; as an internet connection and web browser are all that is required, developers spread across several locations can work together on the same application build potential of vendor lock in Improvement Service The Improvement Services ( IS) recently looked at the options for renewing a number of their aged services that were currently delivered through multiple suppliers with individual contracts which was complex to manage. The technology stack and hardware was hosted in co-location facility. IS developed a cost model and business case to understand the cost-benefit of various options for upgrading and simplifying their services in scope ranging from reuse and virtualisation of the existing assets through to renewal based on a managed service wrapped around an open source platform. The solution is now hosted in a private cloud for less than half the price that IS were currently paying. This also included 24/7 telephone support for citizens and public sector service providers. No staff costs were included in this saving as it was agreed upfront that no staff losses would be incurred as part of the "outsourcing" of the service. The existing staff and operating model within the IS has been adapted with key roles to support the new managed service contract. Software as a Service The capability provided to the consumer is to use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure. The applications are accessible from various client devices through either a thin client interface, such as a web browser ( e.g., web-based email), or a program interface. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exception of limited user-specific application configuration settings. no capex costs as SaaS is subscription based and can also include upgrades, maintenance and customer support depending upon subscription level easily connected as a browser and an internet connection is all that is required as software is already up and running on the vendor's data centre, there is a lack of tasks associated with licensed software upgrades and deployment time tends to be much shorter scalability as the client simply adjusts the monthly subscription fee, thus removing a significant workload from in-house IT department Lack of convenience as not everything can be delivered through SaaS Software integration can be problematic if the customer adopts multiple SaaS applications, or wishes to connect to existing on-premises applications. University of Dundee - Microsoft Office 365 The University of Dundee is a leading university in the United Kingdom, internationally recognized for its expertise across a range of disciplines, including science, medicine, engineering, and art. The university looked to replace its GroupWise Novell email system with a hosted solution to improve reliability and communications and lower IT costs. The university selected Microsoft Office 365 because it gave them an opportunity to go beyond just email (Lync, SharePoint) and broaden the communication capabilities that it offers to students and staff. The case for Office 365 was also about reducing the total cost of ownership of the university's messaging solution. The university expects to reduce costs by £500,000 over five years, based on reduced IT administration and maintenance, lower infrastructure costs, and reduced staffing levels required to support the email system and its users. For hardware, the ICS department no longer has to acquire new servers or support the 40 servers previously dedicated to the GroupWise email system. The university has also avoided costs that would have been required had it decided to increase storage for the GroupWise email system Infrastructure as a Service. The capability provided to the consumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and other fundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy and run arbitrary software, which can include operating systems and applications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage, and deployed applications; and possibly limited control of select networking components ( e.g. host firewalls).	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
GCC lacks economic diversification strategy Gulf hydrocarbon producers have been locked in long-term plans to use their massive oil resources to support economic diversification but they still lack a clear strategy in this respect, according to an official report. The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which pump nearly a fifth of the world’s crude supply, have recorded some achievements in diversification programmes but are facing four major challenges to realize full results, said the report by the Saudi-based Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation (Apicorp), an affiliate of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC). “In recent years, the GCC countries have managed to articulate consensual long-term visions to guide their respective diversification agendas with the ultimate aim of leveraging non-renewable petroleum resources for sustainable development and prosperity,” said the study, authored by Ali Aissaoui Senior Consultant at Apicorp, which groups 10 Arab governments. “While this goal is widely shared, there is neither a defined path nor a set pace to it. Most countries still have a long way to go….I have found the economic vulnerabilities of the GCC countries, which as a group depend overwhelmingly on a single and highly unstable source of income, to be helpful in defining and measuring the level of economic diversification they have achieved so far.” Highlighting diversification in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy and world’s oil basin, Aissaoui identified what he described as four main challenges to support arguments for a more rapid pace of diversification and to critically assess the effectiveness of current strategies. These challenges are fourfold: a) climate change policies and the long-term limit to growth of petroleum exports; b) petroleum fiscal unsustainability; c) the difficulty of stabilizing the stream of oil and gas revenues; and d) the inability of the petroleum industry to provide sufficient jobs, he said. He said the first three are medium to long-term challenges that should offer strategic opportunities, adding that the challenge of climate change policies may, however, not be so compelling as to convey a sense of urgency. “The second challenge, that of fiscal unsustainability is serious enough to warrant action. Until recently, the vast Saudi petroleum assets were perceived to be sufficient to meet future fiscal demands,” he said. “However, the move to embrace a future of nuclear and renewable energies underscores the realization that the remaining hydrocarbons reserves may not be enough to secure the needed fiscal revenues in the face of a fast-growing population in the GCC countries, not to mention their preservation as a much-needed source of wealth for future generations.” Aissaoui said he believes the third challenge, which is linked to the difficulty of stabilizing these revenues, may not be as compelling. He noted that Saudi Arabia’s capacity to influence oil markets is thought to be effective in stabilizing prices and revenues. “However, the recent global financial crisis has highlighted the need for Saudi Arabia to rethink its fiscal risk management and to provide decision-makers with more effective tools such as a dedicated stabilization fund.” The fourth challenge — the inability of a dominant and highly productive petroleum sector to provide sufficient jobs — is the most immediate, serious enough to warrant drastic and rapid changes, the report said. “Hence, no matter how GCC or Saudi economic diversification policies are articulated and consensually validated, leveraging oil for the creation of more jobs should be a consistent and constant driver of policy,” he said. “The biggest challenge, however, will be filling these jobs from a rapidly expanding domestic labor pool. This challenge can only be addressed if progress in policy formulation is matched by the pace of implementation of reforms in education and transfer of skills.” Aissaoui said diversification efforts are not without shortcomings, adding that in the context of the GCC, the uncertainty induced by a series of issues, including the funding constraints faced by the private sector, the distorting effect of subsidies, and the lack of effective regulation are all serious handicaps. Also, intra-GCC competition, which results in an overlap between different diversification strategies, is potentially damaging, he warned. “The detriments can be avoided by moving more resolutely towards better coordination and focusing on regional projects with higher diversification potential,” he concluded.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Logitech presents the G810 Orion Spectrum gaming keyboard Logitech has presented a new mechanical gaming keyboard, which is called G810 Orion Spectrum. The new keyboard comes with a number of features that include customizable LED lighting, dedicated media controls, high quality components and special Romer-G mechanical switches. Logitech says that the Romer-G switches, which can sustain 70 million keystrokes, are 25 per cent faster than standard mechanical gaming keyboard switches, thus giving hardcore gamers an advantage. “We met with dozens of gamers over the last year and a half and asked them what they wanted in a gaming keyboard,” said Ujesh Desai, vice president and general manager of gaming at Logitech. “The result is the G810 Orion Spectrum, a clean, sophisticated design that’s focused on delivering pure performance.” The RGB feature of the G810 Orion Spectrum can be controlled via the provided Logitech Gaming Software (LGS), which can provide each key with individual light from a spectrum of more than 16.8 million colors and synchronize lighting effects with other Logitech G gaming gear. In addition to this the LGS software comes pre-loaded with custom lighting profiles for over 300 games so there’s customization right out of the box too. Moreover the G810 Orion Spectrum has dedicated media controls that can be used to play, pause or mute music and videos instantly, change the volume level and even skip tracks in case of need. The new Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum gaming keyboard will be commercially available later this month. In the USA the keyboard will sell for USD 159, while Europeans will be able to get it for EUR 189. Related posts The famous Japanese digital camera maker Nikon will present a new full-frame DSLR camera at the upcoming Photokina 2014 event. The name of the new product is unknown at the moment. There’s little information on the upcoming device except that it will take the market space between the D610 and... AMD and NVIDIA have played a well known dirty trick on customers again, this time by releasing rebadged mobile graphics cards that they claim are “new”. Sometimes in the hardware world manufacturers take a product, a chip for instance, add limited new functionality, employ a thinner... The Inbi-Out is innovative design concept in the form of a GPS coin which will help you making decision where you should go. Indecisive? How about a GPS coin called the Inbi-Out to make all your decisions. File this under “not gonna happen anytime soon,” but it’s nice to fantasize. The...	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
West Bank Window Supplies & Installation Services Replace drafty, sticky windows with energy-efficient ones and enjoy their low-maintenance good looks for years. Good looks aside, new windows are a clear choice for energy savings and durability. With Window Installation Services, our professionals will coordinate your project from start to finish, and our team of licensed and insured installers will execute all details expertly. Rest easy knowing their work is also backed by warranties guaranteeing your satisfaction Water stains, mould, drafts and condensation between panes are signs your windows aren't doing their job. Before worn windows cause more damage, consider new window replacements. The Home Depot has hundreds of styles that require little upkeep to stay beautiful for years, and they'll boost your home's energy efficiency in the short and long term too. 3 STEPS TO WINDOW INSTALLATION STEP 1: FREE In-Home Consultation At a pre-scheduled time, an Installation Service Provider will visit your home to discuss your preferences from a range of window styles and hardware. The Installation expert will measure for your new windows, explain the factors that will improve your home's energy efficiency, and answer any questions. You will be given a written estimate. STEP 2: Professional Installation At the designated time, an authorized Service Provider will call to arrange an installation date - although weather may impact this scheduled appointment and the length of the project - and they'll let you know about any prior preparations you need to make. Trained professionals will fit your window openings, and install your new windows. Your old windows will be removed and taken away. At all times, The Home Depot Service Provider will maintain a safe work site, and ensure a thorough cleanup. STEP 3: Follow-Up Inspection Once the project is complete, your Installation Expert will meet with you to perform a final inspection of the windows and confirm that the project meets with your approval.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
“We Place Such Crazy Importance On Physical Appearance In Our Image-obsessed Culture, On Youth And Beauty To Define Our Sense Of Self-worth, That Aging, By Default, Becomes A Kind Of Defect, Something Secret And Corrosive And Shameful.” — Ruth Ozeki —	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Jennings police investigating murder Jennings police are working to find out who killed 50-year-old Kenneth Morrow, Sr. Morrow was shot last night at his house on South Main Street. KATC's Kari Beal went to the crime scene today and spoke with family members who say he was a loving father. She'll have their story tonight on Acadiana's NewsChannel at 5:00 and 6:00.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Passion, Purpose & Pleasure Wellness Retreat For details click here - to book, click hereLast minute special: book by July 31 and save $ 100 off total. Pay only $ 849.00 Friend discount: Bring your friend or spouse and both of you will save an additional $ 50off total.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Tag: HBO Frustratingly, it seems when you sign up for HBO Now on the Apple TV, it just associates it with your iTunes account, and that’s it. No email confirmation. No password to sign in to HBO Now on other iOS devices or on the web. I appears the best answer is to sign up on your […]	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
DIY SILLY HUNGRY FISH CUP GAME FOR KIDS This Silly Hungry Fish Cup Game can be made with simple materials you probably already have on hand and is a winner with kids every time! It”s a fun party game or a quick activity when you need something delightful to entertain the kids. The free printable included makes it easy to personalize your fish! Use a small piece of cardboard cut into a “U” shape (hint: the width of the cardboard will be the ultimate size of your pom pom), wind the yarn around 50-75 times. Cut a separate length of yarn about 18″ long. Cinch the center of the looped yarn with the long piece of yarn (tie it tight with a knot so your pom pom stays together!) Then Cut the looped ends of the yarn. Rub the little ball to fluff out all the strands. Voila! Pom pom fish food. 3) Put it all together. Simply hot glue the end of the long piece of yarn to the bottom of the inside of the cup. Once it dries…play away! You can play with the length of yarn…the longer the yarn, the more difficult it is to get the pom pom into the cup. How to play: Hang the pom pom out of the cup. Try to toss it into the Fish’s mouth to feed that hungry fish! How many times in a row can you do it? Silly Street was created by Christine Peck (on the left, there, helllooo) and Meghan DeRoma (on the right, hi!). We formed Wannaplé, a boutique kids company specializing in games and wares for active and funny little kiddos and their grownups. We are on a personal mission to get more play into the world. We want everyone to join us in creating happier, more confident, healthier kids (and families!) through play. Check out www.playsillystreet.com for information on the benefits of play and for fun ideas for parents and teachers.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Designed to tackle unpredictable routes with optimum efficiency, the Bianchi Infinito Disc is a versatile Road Bike, ideal for granfondo and marathon riders alike. Combining a Shimano Ultegra 11-speed Groupset, Fulcrum Racing 518 Wheels and a full Monocoque carbon fibre frameset construction, the Infinito has the performance to match its timeless aesthetics. Completed with Countervail technology, muscle fatigue is reduced while control is increased, perfect for long, fast, and comfortable days in the saddle. Designed to tackle unpredictable routes with optimum efficiency, the Bianchi Infinito Disc is a versatile Road Bike, ideal for granfondo and marathon riders alike. Combining a Shimano Ultegra 11-speed Groupset, Fulcrum Racing 518 Wheels and a full Monocoque carbon fibre frameset construction, the Infinito has the performance to match its timeless aesthetics. Completed with Countervail technology, muscle fatigue is reduced while control is increased, perfect for long, fast, and comfortable days in the saddle. Bianchi Infinito CV Ultegra Disc Road Bike 2018 The Infinito CV Ultegra Disc Road Bike is a versatile offering from premium Italian manufacturer Bianchi. Tailored for cobblestone, granfondo and marathon riding, the frame utilises Bianchi's tried and tested Endurance Geometry to place the rider in a position suited to fast riding for extended periods. Constructed entirely from premium Monocoque carbon fibre, the weight is low and stiffness high, while the Countervail technology effectively absorbs unwanted road feedback without the need for any moving parts. This revolutionary technology is integrated into the frameset itself, reducing fatigue, and in turn, increasing rider control, perfect for the demands of unpredictable terrain. The Ultegra 11-speed Groupset provides the slick, smooth shifting expected from Shimano's second-best mechanical offering, while the matching BR-R8070 hydraulic disc brakes ensure sharp and modulated stopping power in varied conditions. Combining a 50x34T chainset with an 11-30T cassette, the gear range is broad enough for spinning up steep alpine ascents and sprinting along flat sections with equal efficiency. Finished with Fulcrum wheels and Vittoria tyres, the Infinito's performance is further enhanced. The Racing 518 Wheelset balances aerodynamic efficiency with crosswind stability, while the 28mm Rubino Pro G+ Tyres increase grip and comfort for a confidence inspiring ride no matter the distance, gradient, or terrain ahead. Built, Checked, Tuned and Tested All our bikes are fully built, checked, tuned and tested by our Cytech qualified mechanics and then securely packaged, ready for delivery. All you have to do is add the pedals (if included), attach the handlebars to the stem and tighten them following the included detailed instructions or by watching our video and using the provided FREE tools. To see how you build your new bike once you receive it, please see our bike assembly page here. Please note all bikes collected from our shop, are built, tested and ready to ride. Please note, occasionally, manufacturers may change the specification without notice. Bicycles do not come with pedals unless otherwise specified. Have your order delivered to your local shop for just £1.99! For Highlands and Islands, please allow up to 5 working days. Orders can be shipped to UK CollectPlus locations specified on the SigmaSports.com website where they will be held awaiting collection for a period of 10 days. Saturday delivery orders must be placed by 1pm Friday and are only available on items in stock in our warehouse. Orders are prioritised through our warehouse and are delivered on Saturday pre 12pm by courier. Package must be signed for upon delivery. Sunday delivery orders must be placed by 1pm Friday and are only available on items in stock in our warehouse. Orders are prioritised through our warehouse and are delivered on Sunday pre 12pm by courier. Package must be signed for upon delivery. Reserve and Collect** - FREE Reserve & Collect from either our Sigma Sports store in Hampton Wick or our Collection Point in Esher. Just select the Reserve & Collect button in the basket. Please note that bikes orders will require a 10% deposit before we build your bike. We will contact you for payment after you've placed your order. * Next Working Day delivery is only available on items in stock in our warehouse and excludes pre-order items. Next Day refers to the next working day, Bank Holidays will add an extra working day to the estimated delivery lead times. UK next day excludes Saturday deliveries. This service is not available to some remote postcode areas. Please contact us for help. ** Reserve and Collect Collections - Clothing, parts and accessories: Next day. Orders placed on Friday, Saturday or Sunday will be available for collection after midday on the Monday (excluding Bank Holidays). Bikes: 72 hours if in stock at our store, collect in up to 7 days (sometimes quicker) if in stock at our warehouse. Please note that bikes orders will require a 10% deposit before we build your bike. We will contact you for payment after you've placed your order. London Same Day (Order Before 1pm) We offer a Same Day delivery service into London. The cost is £25.00 under 2Kg and £35 over 2Kg. Place your order before 1pm, deliveries are made Monday to Friday. Please note this option excludes bicycles. All our bikes are fully checked and tuned and tested by our Cytech qualified mechanics and then securely packaged, ready for despatch. All you have to do is add the pedals, rotate and tighten the handlebars. Typically we can deliver your bike in 12 - 14 working days. Kids Balance Bikes can be dispatched immediately. Deliveries are made Monday to Friday on a pre-12pm delivery. One of our customer service team will be in contact to arrange a convenient day for delivery. We ship to a wide range of countries, using DHL. This is a fully tracked service and a signature will be required. Please add your items to the basket and proceed to the checkout where we will display the delivery cost. Please note, our dispatch time for in-stock items is 2 working days. Delivery Information Write a review to be in with a chance of winning a £50 Sigma Sports eGift Voucher. Learn more Stock Alert Please alert me via email when this product is back in stock. Email address How do I complete my order? You will be given the option to pay by finance as part of the checkout process. The exact finance options offered may vary depending on the other items in your basket.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
North Pole Rolfing Over time and with continued physical strain, misalignment can occur within the body and ultimately interfere with proper coordination, posture and overall health. Named for its inventor, Dr. Ida Rolf, Eden Massage Rolfing treatments are a form of deep tissue massage with the goal of reintegrating surrounding tissue (fasciae) with muscle, to eliminate pain and facilitate movement. For Physical or Psychological Strain Since Rolfing is used to treat stress as well as injuries, many people in North Pole can benefit from this remarkable therapy. Whether you are plagued by persistent body fatigue induced by physical or psychological strain, suffer from chronic conditions such as migraines and painful muscle aches, or if you are an athlete seeking to improve coordination and agility, we invite the people of North Pole to visit our massage center for professional treatment and relief. Three stages of treatment The initial Rolfing sessions focus on loosening the surface layers of connective tissue to prepare for a structural reorganization and rebalancing of the muscles. Eden Massage’s licensed Rolfing practitioners begin with the arms, chest and diaphragm and move downward to the lower back and upper legs. The second stage of treatment continues with deep tissue massage that focuses on the legs and identifies their interrelated functions that affect the head, shoulders and hips. The third stage of Rolfing treatment encompasses the entire body from the head down to the pelvis including the deep inner tissue of the legs. The entire physical network is integrated into the final stage of treatment to achieve optimal balance, coordination and flexibility. Qualified Rolfing Therapists The professionally trained massage therapists at Eden Massage provide detailed assessments prior to treatment to determine if Rolfing is appropriate for you. Opening Hours Sunday-Thursday:11:00AM - 11:00PM Friday: Before Sundown Saturday: After Sundown Contact Information Tel: (907) 456-4263 Tel: (907) 799-4123 Email: [email protected] Social Media Payments Methods All information provided is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute a legal contract between Eden Massage and any person or entity unless otherwise specified. Information is subject to change without prior notice. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, LinkNow™ Media makes no guarantees of any kind.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
The Google Adwords Bid Simulator – A Big Disappointment Trudging around the various SEM forums on the Internet, I'm getting a feeling from other PPC marketers about the new Google AdWords Bid Simulator similar to my own. And it's not good. The AdWords Bid Simulator was released in order to help pay per click advertisers rank better in Google search results, and have their ads appear for as many impressions as possible. This was the basic premise behind the tool. In my mind, it was moved out of beta before it was ready. The prices recommended are incredibly high, and are giving other users the impression that Google created this tool to take advantage of the 'rookies' and other irregular users of Google AdWords. Making advertisers bid high per click prices in order to simply make more money off of their clicks hence, not encouraging the creation of highly optimized campaigns. I mentioned in a previous post that the premise behind Google Bid Simulator made sense. It creates income for them through the Google Adwords advertising platform. But the 'recommended bid prices' are incredibly high and seem way out of whack with reality. Seeing The Flawed Bid Simulator Tool In Action Let's look at a keyword in one of our accounts. One that consistently ranks high in Google's PPC search results. This word has an average position of 2.6 and has converted 4 times this month for a fantastic conversion rate of 8.51%. If you look on the far left hand side you will see the small Bid Simulator icon beside the default CPC bid price. Clicking on the button brings up the Bid Simulator window and bid recommendations for this keyword. Here's where I get a little wary of the tool. We have already accrued 47 clicks this month on this keyword, but the Bid Simulator tool is recommending I up my Max CPC bid price to an incredible $22.86 per click in order to receive 41 clicks. Huh? Now, I realize that I only managed a 58% in Grade 12 math, but that's more related to the fact that I just hated math. But even I'm not going to be fooled into bidding 22 dollars for 6 fewer clicks than I'm receiving with my current bid price of $7.00. On top of that, my actual cost per click is only $3.91 this month for this keyword! Why on earth would I want to blow through my client's budget for 10 more impressions and 8 more clicks? I'm not sure the daily budget could even accommodate an increase like that. Assuming that such a difference probably won't result in additional conversions over a similar period, adding an 'estimated' $140.00 to the keyword each week means I would now have a CPA of $67.75 instead of the $45.98 I now have. That's an increase of just over 47%. I'll keep my 46 dollar CPA – thank you not so much. The Max CPC bid prices presented by the tool above are staggering. Given the increases in impressions and clicks it also gives. As previously mentioned at the outset of this article, I'm not the only one making these observations. The keyword used for this example is not an anomaly amongst every keyword we've used for other clients. It occurs quite regularly from keyword to keyword. One hopes that Google is working on something a little more realistic when it comes to the Bid Simulator recommendations. The Google Bid Simulator Is Not For Dummies The premise of the Google Bid Simulator is good. Maybe there is something I am overlooking in the application of this tool. But the main point is that if a Pay Per Click manager, who is using this tool every single day cannot grasp the application of this tool then how in the world will a novice? Kudo's to Google for trying and perhaps they will improve the functionality of the tool. For now, I'll continue to trust my own judgement based on the data presented in my Google AdWords accounts. A PPC extraordinaire, Mr Hogan can be found deep in the anals of PPC admins everywhere. Researching, administering and writing. Sometimes he even finds the time to contact the outside world with a blog or two. A PPC extraordinaire, Mr Hogan can be found deep in the anals of PPC admins everywhere. Researching, administering and writing. Sometimes he even finds the time to contact the outside world with a blog or two. Post a Comment 6 Comments I don’t think even professional advertisers will use this tool. Not now, at least. The odd beginner might use it if they are unaware, but your seasoned marketing professionals will recognize the flaws and avoid the tool until it appears to work in a much more realistic fashion. I think only a limited number of advertisers will use the bid simulator. If they failed to make this transparent, then this major revenue stream going to put Google’s Q4 in peril. And Google knows this better than you and me 🙂 I could not agree more Matt with everything you said. I believe this a blatant attempt by Google to bring in more revenue by taking advantage of inexperienced PPC advertisers. To Alfonso, I think you are the one that is misunderstanding. Explain this one for me…..I have a client who bids on a high traffic/ low competition term (there is literally only one other advertiser) Their average position is 1.1. They have been consistently bidding around 2.07 for a term, Google recommended increasing this bid to 6.47 for 10 more impressions!! There is no justifying that increase….it does not make financial sense, nor would it even increase traffic because they almost always appear at the top pos. From how I read your post, Alfonso, it seems like you have said the same thing between should and have to in terms of bidding. In either case, though, I stand by the assertion that it’s inaccurate. I have previously acquired 47 clicks for much less per click on a much lower Max CPC bid price. Why would I change my Max CPC bid price now? The optimization work done on this account means I can bid lower and pay lower than what the Simulator is recommending. The Simulator appears to be grabbing numbers out of the air, as no one would pay more for fewer clicks. Matt, I think you are fundamentally misunderstanding the bid figures in the left-hand column of the bid simulator. These are not ‘recommended’ bids. They are merely ‘what if’ values. So, if you are bidding $7.00 and the next value up in the chart reads $22.86 to receive 41 clicks, that does not mean that you should bid $22.86 to get 41 clicks, but rather, that you would have to bid $22.86 to get 41 clicks. In other words, it’s up to you to determine what the best bid is for you. The Bid Simulator simply estimates traffic levels at various bids, without judging which of those bids is the best.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) reveals the most peaceful countries in the world. Despite living in the most peaceful century in human history, the world has become less peaceful over the last decade. Innovators Q+A \| Singapore Blockchain Beta Shows Promise Advertisement Lum Yin Fong, global head of client management and implementation in Global Transaction Services at DBS Bank, talks about how her firm, in conjunction with Standard Chartered Bank and Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, explored blockchain technology in trade finance. Global Finance: How did the proof of concept for the Irrevocable Distributable Ledger come about? Lum Yin Fong: One of the key risks all the banks face in trade finance is the potential for duplicate financing on the same set of invoices and bills of lading. Currently, a bank’s ability to detect duplicate financing is limited to its own database. This makes it possible for a customer to obtain financing from multiple banks using the same invoice. There is currently no program or common forum for banks to share the details of exporters or specific invoices they have financed, as commercial confidentiality has to be preserved. Using distributed ledger technology, the proof of concept sets out to address the following objectives: prevent duplicate financing; verify commercial information between banks without breaching respective client and commercial confidentiality; deter applicants who resort to duplicate invoice financing; and increase confidence in the authenticity of invoices to be financed by having neutral third parties, such as Singapore Customs, who can verify the authenticity of the trade documents GF: How will the IDL transform trade finance? Lum: In essence, the distributed ledger is a replicated, shared ledger, which every participant in the network has a full copy of. The key innovation is in how all the distributed ledgers are securely kept in sync by an algorithm operated by trusted nodes. The basic benefit that distributed ledger technology brings is therefore a single source of trust in the tamper-proof records, a feature we have leveraged in our proof of concept. Other inherent features of the distributed ledger technology include enforcing non-duplicity, irrevocability and self-regulation of transactions. Elimination of reconciliation due to near real-time update of the distributed ledger is now possible too. The IDL is a shared, trusted, public ledger that runs 24/7, records transactions in near-real-time and which everyone can inspect, but which no single user controls. The participants in an IDL system collectively keep the ledger up to date. It can be amended only according to strict rules and by general agreement. In this way a science that keeps information secret (vital for encrypting messages and online shopping and banking) is, paradoxically, also a tool for open dealing. GF: What are the next steps required to make it commercially viable? Lum: Starting with Singapore, we plan to invite more banks and various parties in the trade-finance value chain to join us and evaluate this technology for wide commercialization, improving the country’s standing as a global trade center. With the successful completion of the proof of concept, we will be working toward full commercialization and, most importantly, high adoption and participation from all the stakeholders.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Your clothing should be "in season". Please refer to season guide below. TIP:Spending a little extra time getting your items ready will mean more money $$$ for you. Items that are cleaned, ironed, and starched, with all pieces attached, and loose threads clipped, sell much better! Please do not be offended if we decide to pass on your items. We will only take what we think we can sell to our customers, and they are a choosy bunch!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Posts Tagged ‘hay producers’ Hammann walks with his son, Jason, who kicks in some much-needed help at harvest time. Most days, from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., you can find Galen Hammann working what might be called his first shift. He’s an assistant engineer at the Truman Hotel in his hometown of Jefferson City, Mo. By mid-afternoon, he’s working closer to home on his 185-acre farm, where he raises about 80 head of cattle a year, as well as oats, wheat and hay—a mixture of fescue, orchardgrass, brome and clover—to use as feed for his cow/calf operation. No matter what he’s up to, the work usually doesn’t stop until dark, if not later. That’s much the same story for Ken Thalman. Living and working about a three-hour drive east from Hammann, Thalman is a full-time postal employee in Centralia, Ill., who, in addition to his day job, grows grass hay on 18 acres of his 40-acre spread. Thalman and Hammann are among the growing ranks of the do-it-yourself hay producers. One of the main drivers of the trend is that less hay is being produced, leading to higher prices. Also, significant advances in equipment have made it more cost-effective for many farmers to grow their own as opposed to buying feed or hiring custom harvesters. Even growing hay on plots of land once considered too small to be worth the effort has become an increasingly popular solution for producers looking to squeeze the value out of every dollar, hour and acre. To be sure, the rising cost of hay and the demand on custom harvesters have made the DIY option more cost-effective for greater numbers of small-acreage farmers. In addition, not only can they now grow hay themselves, small-acreage producers can also grow the quality their operations demand. Both Hammann and Thalman battle hills and sharp corners that make operating with large mowers and balers difficult. That’s a big reason why they use small, nimble equipment that’s more suited for rolling land often carved into small parcels. Thalman checks over a 600-pound round bale made with his Hesston 1734 baler. Thalman can also pull his new equipment with relatively low-horsepower tractors. Considering many small-acreage farmers aren’t likely to own anything much larger, that’s a valuable feature. “I don’t need a big tractor [for] farming,” says Thalman. “I’ve got my own tractor, and Jeff can match me up with equipment that will work with what I’ve got. It’s a win-win situation.” Both Thalman and Hammann also have to travel over the road with their equipment to reach smaller patches of land they clear for neighbors. When he needs to be mobile, Hammann runs a Hesston 4550 square baler he purchased from Tom Lauf, of Lauf Equipment. “The square baler is built very compact compared to how it used to be built. It’s narrower and still makes a better bale than the old balers did,” Lauf says. Thalman also likes the way his equipment handles in tight spots. “When I show you some of the places that I take hay off of, you’d think there’s no way you could get your equipment in,” he says. “I’ve got places up and down the road here with 4, 5 and 6 acres that I mow. And my equipment is small enough, I can just run right down the road.”	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Voice Caddie VC200 Golf GPS Rangefinder/Golf Metronome (White) Negative alaTest has collected and analyzed 7 reviews of Voice Caddie VC200 Golf GPS Rangefinder/Golf Metronome (White). The average rating for this product is 3.6/5, compared to an average rating of 3.9/5 for other GPS for all reviews. Some have doubts about the price. Showing 7 review(s) alaTest has collected and analyzed 4 user reviews of Voice Caddie VC200 Golf GPS Rangefinder/Golf Metronome (White) from Amazon.co.uk. The average user rating for this product is 2.5/5, compared to an average user rating of 3.9/5 for other GPS on Amazon.co.uk. Some have doubts about the price. price 25% of the reviews on Amazon.co.uk give this product a positive rating. alaTest has collected and analyzed 3 user reviews of Voice Caddie VC200 Golf GPS Rangefinder/Golf Metronome (White) from Amazon.com. The average user rating for this product is 5.0/5, compared to an average user rating of 4.0/5 for other GPS on Amazon.com. 100% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Peter Hill Award-winning journalist and former editor of the Daily Express Teaching Mandarin would be waste of time and resource MILLIONS of pounds will be spent teaching children in state schools to speak Mandarin, described by the Government as "the language of the future" despite being one of the world's oldest and most obscure. There are plans to train 1,300 teachers who will instruct tens of thousands of pupils. I can't think of a bigger waste of time, effort and money. Modern languages are seldom taught well in British schools. Many of us attempt rudimentary French and Spanish but hope our listener will rescue us by speaking English. I hear a lot of foreign speech on buses and Tube trains and Chinese is easily the most impenetrable. Mandarin in any case is only one of many dialects spoken in China so even if you get an A* you might be unable to communicate. More important, millions of Chinese students are desperately learning English because, contrary to Government thinking, the world language of the future is so obviously English. It is already the language of aviation and business. I have been watching the French Open tennis tournament and after-match interviews with the players are conducted not in French but in English and if the umpires have to explain anything they do it in English. I attended a session of the European Court in Strasbourg last year, all conducted in English. Instead of feebly teaching British children languages they will hardly use, schools should concentrate on science, maths, engineering, computing and, crucially, English. That's the only way we will be competitive. THIS brings me to the subject of translators, now an industry itself. Local authorities and courts spend enormous sums on translators and printing documents in the scores of tongues spoken in multi-ethnic Britain. Last week £3,000 was spent hiring three translators in the trial of a Lithuanian immigrant accused of stealing two 10p plastic bags. At one point a Latvian speaker was sent by mistake at a cost of £200 an hour. The man, who has no job and is penniless, has been jailed at taxpayers' expense and no doubt more money will be wasted in a failed attempt to deport him. The authorities in Britain go far beyond reasonable expectations to cater for foreigners. If visitors need translators it should be their own responsibility to pay for them. No wonder people think Ed Miliband is a loon --------------------------------------------------------- I WROTE last week in praise of Danny Alexander as the best choice to lead the Lib Dems and what does he do but make a complete ass of himself telling fellow Scots that voting no to independence will enable them to afford fish and chips every day for 10 weeks or 280 hotdogs a year. Let's accept it was Danny's wacky way of illustrating how much better off Scotland will be sticking with the Union, but not everyone shares his sense of humour. It looks crassly patronising. Why not say they could afford to eat x amounts of caviar, foie gras or tortoises' tongues in aspic or how many three-star Michelin suppers they might indulge in? I'm sorry, Danny, you've talked yourself out of the top job and probably handed Alex Salmond a few thousand more supporters, you daft pollock. WHEN it comes to daftness you'd have to go a long way to find anything as ridiculous as Labour's latest policy initiative - free marriage guidance courses for every couple in the land. No wonder people think Ed Miliband is a loon. I'm sure we could all do with a spot of counselling here and there but I don't expect nanny state to provide it. I would rather the estimated £110million a year cost of the scheme be devoted to a more worthwhile project, such as improving A&E departments. Labour politicians can't resist blowing our money on ways to interfere more with our lives. If they win next year's general election one thing is certain: taxes will rocket. And since there are more non-contributors to the nation's finances than payers and millions of Tory voters deserting to Ukip it's hard to see how Labour can fail. THAT the nanny state exists is all too evident. A Norfolk couple were arrested by police and thrown into the cells last week for having an 11-year-old son who weighs 15 stone. So now obesity is officially a crime and the official definition of obesity being a touch on the puritanical side this means virtually the entire population is clinically and criminally fat. I see the day coming when the fat police round up citizens by the tens of thousands, imprison us in vast boot camps and put us on a diet of cabbage soup. You laugh but... A NEW search is to be launched for Moors Murders victim Keith Bennett, who disappeared 50 years ago at the age of 12. Experts are concentrating on three areas of Saddleworth Moor where it is thought Keith and three other children were buried by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Is it not time to drop this futile quest? Keith's mother anguished for decades about her poor son but died in 2012 still not knowing where his remains lie. What purpose can be served by prolonging the agony? I was brought up at the foot of Saddleworth Moor. I and my pals spent hours exploring there and finding the wreckage of many wartime bombers that crashed in the bleak wilderness which changes constantly with erosion. I doubt if Brady himself has any idea where the bodies are buried. Leave them in peace, with the soothing burble of the skylarks and the soughing of the wind in the heather.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
What types of shows dominate the podcast charts? If one were to start a podcast today, what subject matter should they choose to increase their chance of success? Certainly, with over 400,000 podcast titles in existence and 1,000 more being added weekly, the world isn’t craving another comedy or sports podcast. Or is it? It is hard to determine whether we are in the first inning of podcasting, or at “peak” audio with a cornucopia of choice including AM/FM radio, satellite, owned music, streaming, and of course podcasts. The impediments of discovery and limits of personal time are the enemies of so much choice. The impediments of discovery and limits of personal time are the enemies of so much choice. We know from history, a myriad of factors lead to success in content - execution and timing top the list. We also know that certain content genres tend to perform better than others. Just look at TV and its ability to constantly reinvent medical drama shows over the years from Marcus Welby, M.D. to Grey's Anatomy. Some story areas are durable and rich. When we approached the idea of delving in and examining podcast content by genre, we had no ideology other than being pretty sure no one ever needs another podcast about podcasts – rather we simply wanted to see what is currently “printing” in podcasting as a matter of interest and general direction. We confined ourselves to Apple’s 16 major podcast categories as delineated in iTunes. Some are pretty logical and clear, while others are a bit of a hodge-podge. None-the-less, it is a good place to start. We took a look at the Top 200 podcast chart from iTunes on a random day in October to see what categories dominate and in what proportion. We took a look at the Top 200 podcast chart from iTunes on a random day in October to see what categories dominate and in what proportion. The Top 200 Shows on Apples iTunes podcast chart one day in October Here are some of the findings: Two-thirds (67%) of the top podcasts come from just four categories – Society & Culture, News & Politics, Comedy and Sports. The most (25%), is driven by just one category - Society & Culture. It is a wide-ranging category with everything from Dan Carlin’s hardcore history to S-Town, Dirty John and Freakonomics radio. In fact, Society & Culture is the second largest category with over 48,000 titles. News & Politics and Comedy are neck and neck – 34 and 32 titles respectively in the Top 200. We were a bit surprised at relatively how few entries are in News & Politics, especially in this rich political cycle. News & Politics has 18,000 titles ranking it 11th of the 16 major categories. Success in this category is probably linked to the early dominance of public radio and the cost barrier of producing news related content. Comedy, as a category description, is more straight forward and includes titles such as Joe Rogan, Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me, Marc Maron's WTF, etc. Sports comes in 4th among the top 200 (23 titles) – Barstool Sports, 30 for 30 from ESPN, The Ringer, Steve Austin and others lead the way. Sports is the 9th most popular category in terms of titles. None of this is a perfect science, but directionally, it is most interesting. We will come back to it with future analytics slicing the pie more finely by adding sub-genres such as crime dramas. There seems to be an insatiable appetite for murder in podcasting. This analysis also reveals opportunity not yet realized. For example, Games & Hobbies, with over 20,000 entries is currently a no-show in the top 200 - but it could be big if the right content were to come along. Gaming is giant on smartphone apps and YouTube. Flanking and originality must be part of the formula going forward. There is the famous last-minute decision at CBS-TV, where a key producer was sent by CEO Les Moonves to watch two crime shows after the top programming executives were having difficulty choosing a final show for prime time. One was a typical detective show starring Tony Danza, the other, a science-based crime show called CSI. After viewing the pilots for both, the producer said he had seen the Danza show "a million times before," but had never seen a show like CSI. Apparently, that sentiment was shared by millions of viewers after CBS execs chose CSI. The program instantly became TV's number one show in 2004. The inverse argument can also be made – fish where the fish are. In which case, content producers should work on development in hot sectors and create a value proposition in a proven vertical. Quick thoughts from our analytics: We know from decades of creating and advising on audio content development and marketing: Choice kills, sameness kills and being average kills - This is especially true in a sea of podcasts.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Tweets Goodreads Contact Me Don't feel like commenting? You can also find/contact me here: Two things to keep in mind: 1. I am bad at answering lengthy emails. Sorry! 2. I may ask you for permission to blog about our correspondence. However, if you are harassing/abusive/trollish, then I no longer have to ask you for permission. Proceed with caution! Hillary Clinton Throughout my years of dating polyamorously, I’ve observed that there are two types of monogamous people. One type is direct and upfront about it. They choose monogamous relationships, and if they’re with someone who wants an open relationship, they’re clear about the fact that that won’t work for them. Either the couple agrees to stay monogamous, or they break up. The other type will agree to “try” an open relationship with someone they’re really invested in who really wants it. With varying levels of enthusiasm, they’ll say that “I just want you to be happy” and “I’m okay with it if it’s important to you” or even “I want to do this too.” But then you actually start trying to date other people, and…they just seem to have a lot of issues with the specific person. “He doesn’t seem like a good guy and I don’t think you should date him.” “Look, I’m fine with an open relationship, but you’re spending way too much time with her and I don’t like where this is going.” “I don’t think he respects our primary relationship, so I’m uncomfortable with this.” “I know this date is really important to you, but I’m just having a really bad night. Do you think you could stay home?” “Could you just see them on the nights when I’m unavailable?” “I’m concerned that you’re choosing partners who aren’t going to treat you right.” “I don’t want you to have sex with them in our special position, or have dinner with them at our special restaurant, or watch our special TV show with them, or…” Obviously, any of these things could actually be true in any given situation. But after a while you realize that your partner has a problem with every poly situation you find yourselves in, and that maybe the problem isn’t those new partners, or you, or even them. Maybe the problem is that they just don’t want to be in an open relationship, and don’t want to say so. That’s the weird thing I kind of flashed back to when I was reading this article about Elizabeth Warren. It seems that there’s a certain sort of liberal, progressive, or moderate who says, “Sure, there’s no reason a woman couldn’t be President–it’s not about gender,” and yet, like a controlling partner in a poly relationship with way too many “rules,” they keep vetoing every potential female candidate without even necessarily realizing why. She’s not radical enough. She’s married to a creep. She’s too angry. She’s too robotic. She’s just not “presidential.” She opposed single-payer. She didn’t support same-sex marriage until others in the party did. Her views on sex work are regressive. She has too much money, and gets paid too much for speeches. She doesn’t actually care about what she claims to care about. Sometimes I imagine doing a research study in which I take Bernie Sanders’ entire biography and political history and create a fictional female candidate out of it, and see how she polls. Of course, she’d poll way worse than Clinton. She’d be a shrieking old biddy, a crotchety grandma who won’t cooperate with anyone and is probably approaching senility. A crazy cat lady who belongs in a nursing home with her collection of knitting needles and old magazines. I can’t even imagine a woman that old coming anywhere near a presidential primary. I can’t imagine people cheering at rallies for a woman that old and angry. It doesn’t happen in our culture. And in our culture, a female politician with Sanders’ temperament and political beliefs would never present herself or do her work the way Sanders does. She can’t afford it. (Or, for fun, imagine Bernie Sanders as a Black man. How would his remarks about labor and inequality go over then?) Like the unwillingly poly partner who won’t use their words except to say, “No, not this one” and “No, not that one either” every time their partner tries to date someone, these totally-not-sexist voters have us all believing that somewhere out there is a woman they think is qualified to occupy the Oval Office. But just not this one. And not that one either. Of course, my opening analogy only goes so far. There’s nothing wrong with preferring monogamy–and being open about it. There’s a lot wrong with preferring male presidential candidates. But if you do, you might as well be open about it. Then the rest of us can stop wasting our time trying to generate the platonic ideal of a female candidate to get you to finally vote for one. The worst thing about it is that Republicans are really great at using progressives’ values against them to erode support for otherwise-popular candidates. As Rebecca Traister writes in the piece I linked to: The playbook that the right is running against Warren — seeding early criticism designed to weaken her from the left — is pretty ballsy, given that Warren has been a standard-bearer, the crusading, righteous politician who by many measures activated the American left in the years before Bernie Sanders mounted his presidential campaign. Warren is the candidate who many cited in 2016 as the anti-Clinton: the outspoken, uncompromisingly progressive woman they would have supported unreservedly had she only run. Yet now, as many hope and speculate that she might run in 2020, the right is investing in a story line about Warren that is practically indistinguishable from the one they peddled for years about Clinton. And even in these early days, some of that narrative is finding its way into mainstream coverage of Warren, and in lefty reactions to it. This is something that the left rarely does to right-wing candidates, and when anyone tries, we rightly condemn them for promoting values we all despise. For instance, I strongly criticize any so-called liberal who tries to attack a male right-wing politician by accusing him of being secretly gay, or a female one for having an abortion. We’d never denounce Republicans for being insufficiently Christian. But the right is constantly trying to play a game of “Gotcha!” with Democratic candidates, pointing out that they’re actually totally racist or corporate or whatever. They love it when a prominent male Democrat gets caught in a sex scandal because then they get to accuse anyone who continues to support him politically of excusing sexual harassment. (Because you know Republicans care so much about sexual harassment, considering who’s in the Oval Office.) And as Traister explains, these talking points end up embedded in mainstream media and all over our progressive friends’ social media feeds. But I really want some of these folks to name me even one female politician they would vote for in a Presidential election. I mean, sure, they’d probably name quite a few of them, right now in the relative safety of 2017. But drag any of these presumably-qualified candidates through our typical election media cycle and suddenly we’d be hearing a different story. So, personally, I’ll believe that you believe a woman can be President when you actually vote for one, and not just because the alternative is Donald Trump.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Support Groups Synopsis: Abstract: Family therapy has developed several approaches to framing questions within family meetings, but few of these techniques have been adapted for palliative care. We focus on the application of questioning techniques from systemic family therapy to palliative care. More specifically, we describe and give examples of the model of asking questions developed by Karl Tomm (1988) through its application in Family Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT), a preventive intervention delivered to high-risk families during palliative care and bereavement.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Cost Works Against Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources in Time of Recession WASHINGTON — Windmills and solar panel arrays have become symbols of America’s growing interest in alternative energy. Yet as Congress begins debating new rules to restrict carbon dioxide emissions and promote electricity produced from renewable sources, an underlying question is how much more Americans will be willing to pay to harness the wind and the sun. Fifteen months into a recession, that prospect does not sit well in some quarters. “Consumers right now are extremely price-sensitive,” said Barry Moline, executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association, whose member utilities serve about three million people. Federal efforts to rein in carbon dioxide emissions are starting to seem inevitable. The Environmental Protection Agency last week moved to regulate heat-trapping gases as harmful pollutants. And the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are hoping to push through a cap-and-trade bill that would force polluters to curb their emissions or buy permits from cleaner producers. Congress is also discussing whether to require that a certain percentage of the nation’s electricity come from renewable sources. The effect of any these measures will be to increase the cost of electricity. Regulation of carbon dioxide emissions will increase the cost of burning coal, a carbon-heavy energy source and currently the cheapest form of fossil fuel. Higher production costs will result in higher electricity rates. A quota for renewable energy sources will also raise rates because utilities will pass on increased costs to consumers. And wind and solar power are generally more expensive than the fossil fuels they are meant to supplant. If carbon dioxide penalties made coal power more expensive, as some environmentalists argue is inevitable, the relative cost of renewable energy might decrease. But consumers will still pay more. One big question is how much it currently costs companies to produce coal-fired energy, and the answers are often colored by ideology or self-interest. Companies that sell coal or rely on coal-fired electricity often pick a low number; environmentalists cite the indirect costs to society, like strip mining or spills of coal ash. And since the electricity industry became more competitive, the utilities, even municipal ones, have become more secretive about their costs. Some experts not aligned with either camp estimate that wind power is currently more than 50 percent more expensive than power generated by a traditional coal plant. Built into the calculation is the need for utilities that rely heavily on wind power to build backup plants fired by natural gas to meet electricity demand when winds are calm. Another obstacle to nailing the numbers is that prices for coal and natural gas go through market swings. If the price of natural gas gets high enough, wind could look cheap by comparison, but right now natural gas is down sharply — a sign that the recession will not be kind to renewable energy. Organizations that profess to be neutral about what new technology gets built suggest that renewable energy probably has a steep hill to climb. An error has occurred. Please try again later. You are already subscribed to this email. For example, the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit consortium financed by investor- and publicly-owned utilities, predicted in November that even for plants coming on line in 2015, wind energy would cost nearly one-third more than coal and about 14 percent more than natural gas. The cost of solar thermal electricity, made by using the sun’s heat to boil water and spin a turbine, would be nearly three times that of coal and more than twice that of natural gas. (It would be almost double the cost of wind energy, too.) The institute’s study looked only at utility-scale power plants, not the solar photovoltaic cells used in far smaller rooftop installations. Power from photovoltaic cells is generally more expensive than solar thermal power. At Black & Veatch, a company based in Overland Park, Kan., that has been involved in the construction of coal, gas and wind plants, analysts recently compared the costs per kilowatt-hour of different energy sources for the big energy competitors. A kilowatt-hour is the unit of energy that the utilities use to bill homeowners, with the current retail cost averaging around 11 cents. A modern coal plant of conventional design, without technology to capture carbon dioxide before it reaches the air, produces at about 7.8 cents a kilowatt-hour; a high-efficiency natural gas plant, 10.6 cents; and a new nuclear reactor, 10.8 cents. A wind plant in a favorable location would cost 9.9 cents per kilowatt hour. But if a utility relied on a great many wind machines, it would need to back them up with conventional generators in places where demand tends to peak on hot summer days with no breeze. That pushes the price up to just over 12 cents, making it more than 50 percent more expensive than a kilowatt-hour for coal. No one likes higher bills. But the pain might not be shared equally: despite modest rate breaks for low-income customers, poor people spend a higher portion of their income on electricity than the rich. “There are great benefits to the use of alternative energy,” said Jonathan Mir, co-head of the North American power utilities group at the investment bank Lazard. But if Congress neglects the social issue, Mr. Mir said, a change in policy could fall hardest on those without a safety net. “If it is deployed in an uneconomic way,” he said, “it is quite regressive in nature.” A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A18 of the New York edition with the headline: Cost Works Against Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources in Time of Recession. Order Reprints\|Today's Paper\|Subscribe	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
APJis a reader-supported journal Tax deductible Contributions welcome via Pay Pal or credit card. If you would like to support the Journal, please do so here. The Asia-Pacific Journal is available free to all. Your support allows us to improve our service in a new era of conflict in the Asia-Pacific. Donate: $25.00$50.00$100.00 Thanks for your support in keeping the Journal a vibrant voice exploring the Asia-Pacific and the world. We have secured the funds allowing us to operate in 2015 and to redesign and upgrade the site. APJ is a 501 (c) tax exempt organization; your contribution is tax deductible. No, it's not too late to donate here! [Introduction: In late October, the Japanese government presented its nuclear plans for the next decade. As was widely expected, the strongly pro-nuclear Atomic Energy Commission declared that Japan should plow ahead with a nuclear fuel recycling program at Rokkasho in Aomori Prefecture. The decision comes at a time when international concern over Rokkasho is intensifying. It ignores International Atomic Energy Agency head Mohamed ElBaradei's call for a five-year moratorium on new nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities worldwide. Shunsuke Kondo, the head of the AEC, has said that it is "general knowledge'' that the Rokkasho plant, which has not yet come into operation, is an existing facility, and therefore not included in the calls for a moratorium. Meanwhile, with the failure of the nuclear non-proliferation talks in New York last June, pressure on Japan to rethink how Rokkasho is to be operated and inspected is growing from both the IAEA and the Bush administration, both of which wonder whether Japan can operate the facility as planned. Rokkasho's opponents, which include many people who are fundamentally pro-nuclear power, fear Japan's insistence on operating the Rokkasho reprocessing plant will lead to a greater proliferation of nuclear fissile materials and technologies. Indeed, Iran has already pointed to Japan's pursuit of nuclear reprocessing facilities as an example of why it, too, should be allowed to proceed with its own reprocessing program. Yet, ironically, as the Japanese government and many in the nuclear power bureaucracy continue to push hard for Rokkasho, the utility companies, who will supposedly be sending their spent nuclear fuel to Rokkasho for reprocessing and reuse, are taking a lower profile in the debate. Officially, they support Rokkasho. Unofficially, many are worried about the practical questions with Rokkasho that remain unresolved. Questions such as how much is it really going to cost to send their fuel to Rokkasho and back, and is it more economically efficient to do something else? In early December, the Rokkasho plant is expected to begin the next phase of uranium testing, and Japan Nuclear Fuels Ltd., which runs the plant, still wants reprocessing to begin sometime in 2007. The Japanese media's positions on Rokkasho range between the ardently pro-Rokkasho and pro-nuclear Yomiuri Shimbun and the ardently anti-Rokkasho and anti-nuclear Mainichi Shimbun, with the Asahi Shimbun just slightly less opposed to Rokkasho than the Mainichi. But, as the Asahi editorial below shows, there are far more reasons to oppose Rokkasho than to support it. Eric Johnston] The government has cobbled together an Outline of Nuclear-energy Policy for the next decade on the nation's problem-plagued nuclear energy program. The government decided to work out the outline because it thought its duty was to present a broad policy orientation rather than a traditional long-term program this time around. The focus of attention in the outline was whether the government would press ahead with its traditional policy of nuclear fuel recycling or change tack. The Atomic Energy Commission of Japan discussed alternative policies, giving hope that the government might actually shift its stance. But the talks were half-baked, and the commission approved the continuation of the existing policy. Japan plans to carry out a nuclear fuel cycle program in which plutonium is used as fuel after all spent nuclear fuel is reprocessed. Such a method is very expensive, and many foreign countries have given up on the idea. Even in Japan, an increasing number of experts have urged the government to reconsider this policy. In discussing the nation's future nuclear energy policy, the Atomic Energy Commission presented three alternatives in response to such critical views. Talks at the commission showed that reprocessing spent nuclear fuel would be 1.5 to 1.8 times as costly as a disposal method for the spent fuel. But the commission decided to maintain the current policy, mainly because the government has not yet studied a direct disposal method of spent fuel and that a change in policy would waste all the money that has been invested in the nuclear fuel recycling program. The commission also said a change in policy would invite resentment of local governments. The commission's arguments do not make sense. Japan has not inquired about a direct disposal method because it was assumed that such a study would be unnecessary. The commission itself is partly responsible for failing to look into this alternative. If the government hesitates to change its policy by citing various obstacles that may arise, then it will never be able to switch policies. It is inevitable even if the commission is criticized that it is not really ready for a change. At any rate, the outline gives a stamp of approval to start operations of the Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Plant in the village of Rokkasho in Aomori Prefecture. The plant will soon start testing high-level radioactive spent fuel, thus embarking on the road to nuclear fuel recycling. Aerial view of Rokkasho. Discussions on this nuclear fuel cycle have not been completed. Further and deeper talks must be held over the reprocessing plant. But the outline does propose multifaceted inquiries into nuclear energy in preparation for possible future change in Japan's nuclear policy. This is only natural. Even if the nuclear fuel reprocessing plant starts operating, the plutonium-thermal program, which uses plutonium produced by the reprocessing plant, is not yet under way. Nor is there any plan for another reactor that will take over from the Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor. Japan's nuclear fuel recycling program requires overcoming many difficult problems. Nuclear reactors themselves are also fraught with problems. The government plans to operate the reactors for 60 years, but there is no guarantee they will be safe enough to run after such a long time. Power companies might also become reluctant to use such unwieldy nuclear reactors when demand for electricity declines. Uncertainties surround nuclear power. The government should not stick to a single set of policies. It should study many other technologies to prepare for a possible policy shift if the situation changes. What is needed is a flexible approach.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
let’s read a book. or a bunch I need to come clean. A while ago I was worried that I’d read too slow and I let myself accumulate a backlog of books in order to make sure that you didn’t have a big gap between posts. Well, I think we all know that there was STILL a gap between posts and I gotta tell you, that backlog ain’t blogging itself. So, I’d like to catch us up with some of the less memorable books in one large post. I’d like to point out that less memorable doesn’t mean BAD, just means I can cover what I want to say in a smaller blip. This means that we’re out of order but you should get better reviews of the newer stuff I’ve read. And honestly, if I don’t catch us up, I’m going to start to get lost. So, let’s get dippin! (Ketchup, dip, get it? ah.. nevermind) *** Most people believe that their souls live on past their bodies, but what if there were a way to identify and track your souls progress across several lifetimes? You’d be able to pass along things to your future ‘soul self’, building a bridge across the ages passing along wisdom and valuables. Scott Waverly is a security expert and has been hired to protect the company from a suspected insider attack, but along the way he’ll need to figure out what he believes. Not a bad book. Bought it for a penny on the Kindle and it was worth a bit more than that. Amazon is selling it in dead tree form for $10 and I like my price better. It’s not a bad book but not the best. This is one you could easily take on a plane and leave in the airport bathroom for someone else when you’re done. Not that I’ve ever done that, but if you found a mediocre book in the ladies in the Little Rock airport, you’re welcome. In the not too distant future, citizens are RFID’ed, computer networks are monitored and the illusion of privacy is just that – an illusion. Marcus, aka “w1n5t0n”, is just a kid who likes to push the boundaries – putting pebbles in his shoes to fool the programs that identify you by gait and cracking the browser security on his school issued laptop. When he and his friends are caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus gets a deep and dirty look at the inner workings of Homeland Security and the Government that is supposed to protect us all from harm. What follows is a perhaps too logical path to a 1984- like societal monitoring that Marcus and his friends begin to question and, in doing so, begin to recognise that the only way freedoms can be taken is to stand by and do nothing. * Free. This book is free. I’ve linked you all to a place where Cory has released this on a creative commons license for everyone to read. So if you feel like it, go grab it and read it. My personal take? Honestly, I think it’s overdone. I get it, we live in a world where fear has caused the general populace to put up with borderline personal rights intrusions. And it’s a slippery slope. Most people don’t complain about taking our shoes off at the airport (really.. are you safer, really?) but now there are x-ray scanners that can see beneath your clothes. I believe that things like wiretapping under the guise of “safety” isn’t right, and so does Cory Doctorow, but this book practically beats you to death with it. And I’m probably tired of him shilling it all over the place. Anyway, I suppose it’s worth reading, but I can’t say that I’m buying it for everyone I know. Scarface’s Burden – Joseph Devon. No fancy artwork. No page count (honestly it’s short. Like… oh.. short). But if you like Jonathan Coulton and you like the song “Skullcrusher Mountain” you will like this little story written by an oh-so-put-upon personal assistant to a mad scientist. Meet Jack. Office cube dweller working corporate security by day, technological tinkerer by night, Jack lives in a ever growing connected world. People are constantly plugged into the web and one of her best friends she’s never actually even met. But when she notices that someone has broken into her company’s computer system, she starts down an investigatory path that will lead her to the Reds – a group of people who don’t share her worldview. As she investigates, she discovers a whole new perspective and is forced to examine her own beliefs. * Good one. Another creative commons license (which means free, folks), I first tried to get into this one when it was on Podiobooks.com. Side note – Podiobooks.com is really cool. Free serial audiobooks delivered to you weekly (or as the author writes the next chapter) and it’s a great way to find some new authors. That’s how I found Scott Sigler (horror author) and a couple of others who are starting to hit mainstream. Check them out, it’s pretty cool if you like audiobooks. ANYWAY, Wehm has created a world that I think is (unfortunately) a pretty logical evolution of our own. Personal interaction is much less important than the online world – in fact people have implants that let them be constantly on network. But you know if that’s that case, there’s always going to be a faction that thinks that’s not night (get offa my lawn, you smoochers!!) and this book paints that resistance pretty well. Plus, it’s got some nice little twists. You can download it free on the link in the picture, it’s short so it’s worth reading if you have time. Beautiful Red by M.Darusha Whem, 164 pages (per the download website) * Elizabeth Short was found brutally murdered in 1947 in an abandoned field. After her death, she was known as the Black Dahlia. Her killer was never found. This novelization imagines the people who found her, the police who worked her case and what a strange and tangled web the Dahlia wove around the people she knew. The story is seen through the eyes of Bucky Bleichert, an ex-boxer and current policeman, he finds himself drawn into the investigation. His obsession with the Dahlia and her story threaten all the important things in his life, and in the end he learns something about himself – and perhaps more than he wanted about some people that he cares about. *** Ellroy is the master of this sort of writing. A mix of truth and fiction, he’s woven a mesh of logic and almost unbelievable fantasy (not in that whole fairies and wizards way) into a story that feels like it could have happened that way. Ellroy also wrote “LA Confidential” (which is somewhere in the “read me” stack) and both The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential have been made into really good movies. I don’t know what that really says other than you can have a themed movie night if you read both of his books. Or maybe it means that he writes compelling stories… and that I’d agree with. (If you get the book with the afterward by the author, read it. It’s worth it for an interesting insight into Ellroys relationship with the Dahlia… and it’s not what you think!) so, what’s going on here? Ever wonder how many books you read in a year? Or, maybe, how many pages? How long do you think it will take to get to a million? I'm going to find out! Starting Jan 1, 2009, we'll see how long it takes.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Breaking beauty: what’s K-beauty? K-beauty (short for Korean beauty) is, well, products and regimes inspired by South Korean trends. Right off the bat, this beauty buzz is aaaall about hydrated, natural-looking skin. If that sounds like your kinda vibe and you wanna find out more, keep reading… Where did it come from? Why is it different? K-beauty uses textures and methods that are totally different from what we’re used to… such as jelly-like products and bubbling face masks. Gone are the days when doing a face mask involved lots of mess and sitting for 20 minutes unable to move your face. Thanks to K-beauty, we have sheet masks! Why is it so popular? First off, everyone loves a bit of novelty. When something is new, exciting and injects a bit of fun into your routine, of course it’s gonna be popular. But the main reason everyone is going mad for K-beauty is that it ain’t no quick fix – it really works. And if you keep up with a K-beauty skincare routine, you’ll defs be in for some noticeable, long-lasting benefits. What does it involve? Short answer? A hell of a lot! Seriously, we’re talking 10-step (at least) skincare regimes. K-beauty is all about multi-step and multi-product skincare. There’s something for every area of your face, and each product will have a light and heavy version, along with another one with bells on. Bottom line – if you’re serious about skincare, get on board with K-beauty.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
I am not normally one for predictions, but in bed with the flu for two weeks, I’ve got nothing better to do, so here goes. IT WILL BE THE YEAR OF JULIAN SCHNABEL The Diving Bell and the Butterfly should win some Oscars. That film, combined with the brilliant Night Falls and Basquiat should propel Schnabel heavily into the auction market, with "The St. Paolo Malfi" series, which treats the same concerns of the macho tragedian (Schnabel), a particular winner. MANY CHELSEA GALLERIES WILL CLOSE The double edge of the High Line development means that leases come due and the transformation of Chelsea into Fifth Avenue South will move into high gear. CONTINUED BAD ECONOMIC NEWS WILL LEAD TO LARGE GALLERY MERGERS Such as, Matthew Marks and Barbara Gladstone, White Cube and Gagosian, Pace and Deitch Projects. CHINESE CONTEMPORARY WILL CRASH So much bad painting and sculpture is coming out of Tigerland that someone is bound to notice. CECILY BROWN WILL MAKE A MOVIE STARRING HERSELF A logical step from Schnabel. It will not be enough to be an artist; one must become an auteuse. A HUGE AUCTION MARKET FOR VITO ACCONCI All those pieces purchased over the years by Peter Arnell and Kenny Schachter will finally be worth something by the man the female students at Pace used to affectionately call "Mr. Stinky." WALTER ROBINSON WILL HAVE A MUCH HERALDED SOLO PAINTING SHOW The ‘80s art messiah reemerges from behind his editor’s pencil. You heard it here first! MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEMES WILL TORPEDO THE RUSSIAN ART MARKET There is a lot of bad painting floating around from the estates of recently deceased Non-Objectivist Russian artists and a lot of funny money chasing it. PARIS WILL EMERGE AS A CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 75 YEARS Can you spell Pinault and Sarkozy? They will be like lovers! LONDON WILL BECOME THE CENTER OF THE AUCTION MARKET A more logical place for international money and New York has become too tacky for high culture. THE U.S. GOVERNMENT MAY OPEN AN INQUIRY INTO SOTHEBY’S STOCK MANIPULATION Sources tell me this has already happened. AND, LAST BUT NOT LEAST. . . JEFFREY DEITCH WILL GET MARRIED Send photos and resumes for wedding costumes to Deitch Projects. CHARLIE FINCH is co-author of Most Art Sucks: Five Years of Coagula (Smart Art Press).	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
crime A bill is now being proposed to either force Antifa members to uncover their faces or face 15 years in a federal pen. This is the same type of law that was written many years ago against another Democratic president. Democrats sure do love disguises. Antifa is made up of a bunch of cowardly fascists …	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Residents who were evicted from a Portland building can stay a little longer after the city's mayor reached an agreement with the landlord. The landlord had given the tenants until March 1 to move out of the Grant Street building, but Mayor Ethan Strimling announced Wednesday afternoon that the landlord agreed to give those tenants and the city more time to find them a new place to live. "If the rules say it's okay to evict folks at will who haven't done anything wrong in the middle of winter with only two months notice and no assistance in moving, we need to look at those rules," said Strimling "That's what we're going to do to determine if they're fair, and if they're adequate." The Portland Housing Committee will review the issue at its meeting Wednesday night.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Toning and Patina: Blending New Repairs to Old Work and Creating an Antique Finish - with Tad Fallon As a conservator specializing in the treatment and research of both clear and opaque coatings on furniture and wooden artifacts, I am often confronted with the task of blending in well executed wooden repairs that are adjacent to old “original” or historically important presentation surfaces. Patination is one of the more challenging things to do when creating an authentic looking antique finish. There are a wide range of materials and techniques that can be utilized to create this patina of age on repairs or new reproduction pieces. The best work is subtle, appears natural and avoids looking contrived. Another application of these materials and techniques is the finishing of newly fabricated pieces that may need to blend in with an existing set or collection, as was the case with the work our firm did reproducing 28 pieces of Federal Furniture for the Hamilton Grange National Memorial, a National Park service site in New York City that preserves the relocated home of U.S. Founding Father Alexander Hamilton. During this hands – on class, students will be introduced to the wide range of materials I have found useful during the patination type finishing process, including the use of inorganic chemical reagents, shellacs, pigments, dyes, water colors, glues, gums, acids, bleach, airbrush and other tips for successful toning and patination. These materials will be broken down and explained as parts of a finishing “system” that can be manipulated to create a variety of effects. Students will have sample furniture molding and flat test boards to work with and will be provided with a small carved object to tone and patinate as a “final project”. Tuition: $145.00 plus materials	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
They found Joaquin Molina-Cartagena, 44, of Binghamton, setting them off. He had an outstanding arrest warrant for drug possession. During his arrest, they found 209 envelopes of heroin hidden in the front of his pants. They discovered it after one of the envelopes fell out. Molina-Cartagena is being held at the Binghamton Police Department. He is charged with one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 3rd degree, a class B felony, one count of unlawfully dealing with fireworks, a violation, and one count of outstanding arrest warrant for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree, issued by City of Binghamton Court.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
12:45pm The Two-Way Ukraine Protests Set To Widen As President Ends Sick Leave Opposition supporters take part in a rally in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, in Ukraine, on Sunday. Sergei ChuzavkovAP Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych says he will return to work on Monday after a brief sick leave, likely setting the stage for a new round of anti-government unrest. As many as 30,000 protesters gathered in the capital, Kiev, on Sunday, renewing calls for Yanukovych to step down. The president had announced his sick leave on Thursday, prompting concern that, as The Associated Press writes, "he may have been taking himself out of action in preparation for declaring a state of emergency." Yanukovych and his government have been the target of three months of protests sparked by his decision to abandon closer ties with Europe in favor of Russia, which dominated Ukraine through the Soviet era. Reuters says: "Opposition leaders, addressing the crowd on their return home from meeting European and U.S. officials said they hoped for international mediation in negotiations with the government and for constitutional change to limit presidential power." "Calling for a complete change of leadership after weeks of crisis that [has] divided the country and set the West against Yanukovich's Russian allies, opposition figures who attended a security conference in Munich told supporters they would secure international economic aid if they were able to take power." "Emboldened by the resignation of the prime minister five days ago and determined to oust the president, about 50,000 protesters gathered at the capital's Maidan, or Independence Square, according to TV5 estimates. The opposition is gathering evidence of human-rights violations, including "torture and abductions" of demonstrators, for international tribunals, Svoboda party leader Oleh Tyahnybok said [Sunday]. "'The authorities are shaking,' [Vitali] Klitschko, a former world heavyweight boxing champion [and the leader of the opposition UDAR party], told the rally. 'We must show the force of citizen protests' so 'the crisis will result in elections and end Yanukovych's regime.'"	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Arctic Charr The Arctic charr is a member of the Salmonidae family which includes salmon and trout. The species is found farther north than other freshwater fish. Arctic charr populations are found in lakes and coastal waters of North American and elsewhere throughout the northern hemisphere. The only native charr populations in the continental United States occur in a few ponds in northern Maine. Its common name is sometimes spelled “char”. Other names for this beautiful fish include iqaluk and tariungmiutaq. Arctic charr is highly prized for its excellent flavor, color and high Omega 3 oil content.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
The trade negotiations are an assault on democracy. I would vote against them except… hang on a minute, I can’t. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a series of trade negotiations being carried out mostly in secret between the EU and US. As a bi-lateral trade agreement, TTIP is about reducing the regulatory barriers to trade for big business, things like food safety law, environmental legislation, banking regulations and the sovereign powers of individual nations. It is, as John Hilary,Executive Director of campaign group War on Want, said: “An assault on European and US societies by transnational corporations.” At least 385 people were shot and killed by police nationwide during the first five months of this year, more than two a day, according to a Washington Post analysis. That is more than twice the rate of fatal police shootings tallied by the federal government over the past decade, a count that officials concede is incomplete. The hidden costs of trade treaties The free trade treaties with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP) are not threatening European standards, the negotiators in Brussels assure us. Yet environmental and food safety regulations have already been weakened. Body-worn camera footage released by the Barstow Police Department (recorded: 01/26/15) reveals the unlawful arrest of Charlena Michelle Cooks, who at the time was eight months pregnant and dropping off her second-grade daughter at school. Know Your Rights: In California you have the right not to show your ID to law enforcement…in most cases Many officers think they can legally arrest you for refusing to show your identification. Many times they are wrong. […] If you do exercise your right to refuse to show your ID, an officer might arrest you. It would be a wrongful arrest, but it would be an arrest. (And for some, the arrest may carry immigration consequences.) That said, if it happens to you, consider calling the ACLU. In California, as long as the request for ID is not reasonably related to the scope of the stop, you have the right to refuse to show your ID to law enforcement except in the following cases: – If you’re driving and pulled over, you need to show ID. – If you have been arrested or booked, show your ID. Now, take a look at this video where Charlena Michelle Cooks was arrested for refusing to show her ID to a Barstow police officer just after she had dropped off her second-grade daughter at school. What role does race play? Notice that the officer does not ask the first witness, who is white, for her ID, but he does ask the second witness [04m31s], who is African American, for hers. What role does race play in this difference in treatment? According to an NBC News poll, 82 percent of African Americans say they believe police used standards based on race in encounters with the public. That’s a large percentage, but the impact of racial disparities in policing can’t easily be expressed in numbers. Imagine getting wrestled to the ground and handcuffed in front of your child’s elementary school. Imagine interacting with other parents afterwards. Imagine what kids who saw the incident tell your child. And if you think the whole incident happened because of your race, how does that impact your view of police? If we’re going to take concerns about the role of race in law enforcement seriously, we shouldn’t speculate on what is happening. We should know. That’s where AB 953 and AB 619, introduced by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), could be key. These bills would require officers to record data about their stops and uses of force, including the race of individuals involved, and report that data to the Attorney General. We give police a great deal of authority to stop people, to detain them, to search them, even to shoot them. Requiring police to report how they use those powers, in an effort to measure racial disparities and help identify solutions, is a small price to pay for fairer policing. Handcuffs on a pregnant woman. The Barstow officer handcuffed Cooks behind her back [06m03s], even though she explained she was pregnant (eight months pregnant). By cuffing her behind her back, the officer created a risk to her pregnancy and increased the chance that she would fall and injure herself. She ended up on the ground and on her belly. She couldn’t use her hands to break her fall, and she was unable to pick herself up afterwards. The ACLU has long advocated restricting the use of restraints on pregnant women. It’s a terrible idea to handcuff a pregnant woman behind her back. This video shows why. Body camera footage can be revealing. This entire video came from a police officer’s body camera. Barstow Police gave Cooks this video as part of her criminal case. Some departments like the Los Angeles Police Department do not plan to make their body camera footage public, except when it is needed in a court case. What if you don’t have a court case, yet? How can body cameras promote transparency if departments keep the videos secret? Body cameras only help build public trust in the police when footage of important incidents is made available to the public, regardless whether it exonerates officers or implicates them. Cooks should not have been arrested for failure to identify herself. A person who is not suspected of a crime has no obligation to identify herself. Even if an officer is conducting an investigation, in California (unlike some other states), he can’t just require a person to provide ID for no reason. The officer can ask for ID, but the person can say no. Cooks said no, and she was wrongfully charged with resisting a peace officer. With the exceptions above, California law does not require you to provide identification to police. What happened here was wrong. Nowadays, we use our email address for everything, from simple messages between family members or colleagues to important data containing bank accounts, personal information and so forth. Considering that earlier this year the US National Security Agency (NSA) was caught snooping around on millions of Americans through telecommunications networks and massive data, more and more people are searching for non-US based email providers and phone calls. The American agency was allegedly helped by major companies, like Google, Yahoo, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Skype and others, because they have their servers situated in USA. Due to the lack of strong privacy laws, it is said that every data that is collected and stored on a server from USA can be used by government agencies, including FBI, CIA and DEA. The situation is so worse, that encrypted email service provider Lavabit, the one which was used by Edward Snowden to leak NSA documents, shut down abruptly. That’s why, more and more people are searching for alternatives outside USA with stronger and clearer laws regarding security and data privacy. In order to come into your help we made the following with the best non-US email providers.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Reports about traffic restrictions and warnings, interesting events and other incidents. The world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), has put unions around Australia on notice after it axed Teekay, the union-dominated tugboat provider, and replaced it with Queensland-based Rivtow. BHP holds the right to operate all tugboat services in the lucrative port of Port Hedland and provided Teekay with the gift of being the sole tugboat operator for many years. Port Hedland is the world’s largest bulk export port that exported around 60% of Australia’s 700 million tonnes of iron ore in 2014. Despite the slowdown in the mining and resources sectors, in 2014 the tugboat crews decided salaries ranging between $140,000 – $300,000 per year weren’t enough, launched industrial action and threatened to walk off the job. The action was supported by the Maritime Union of Australia, The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers, and the Australian Maritime Officers Union. www.hellenicshipp... US company to spend more than $200m to construct LNG terminal in Jamaica American company, New Fortress Energy LLC, will invest more than $200 million to construct a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal in Jamaica. The facility is expected to generate more than 200,000 metric tonnes of LNG annually, which will initially be supplied to the domestic market. There are also plans to expand output for delivery to other Caribbean countries, thereby positioning Jamaica as a regional hub for the supply of LNG. New Fortress was selected from a list of six entities which submitted bids to supply LNG to power the national energy grid, primarily through the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Old Harbour 190-megawatt gas fired power plant. Chairman of the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET) Dr Vincent Lawrence noted that New Fortress was chosen as the developer of Jamaica’s LNG project, as the entity was the most competitive for JPS’ requirements. “New Fortress was not only the lowest evaluated price for the volumes required by JPS, it clearly demonstrated its commitment and capability to supply gas as scheduled by the detailed engineering studies they had undertaken,” he said. Lawrence said the terminal, which is to be built, owned and operated by New Fortress, is expected to be completed for commissioning by 2017/2018. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide up to $40 million to GN Terminal Enterprises Ltd. (Cyprus), which belongs to the GNT group, to finance the expansion of the existing grain terminal at Odesa port. EBRD Senior Adviser for External Affairs Anton Usov told Interfax-Ukraine that the decision was made by the bank’s board on November 11. He said that the credit agreement will be signed in December 2015. The total cost of the Serseris Grain Terminal project includes the expansion of the terminal’s capacity and its storage facilities and has been assessed at $69 million. Initially, the terminal was named Serseris Grain Terminal. Serseris Holdings Limited (Cyprus) is a subsidiary of CHS Europe SA, which is part of U.S. CHS Inc. CHS Inc. in spring 2009 said that the corporation had started investing in a joint project with GN Terminals (Odesa) on the creation of an export grain terminal in Ukraine on the Black Sea coast in Odesa with a capacity of 2 million tonnes a year. It was reported that CHS will manage part of the terminal, including its transport infrastructure, via CHS Europe office in Geneva (Switzerland), and would also market all of its grain. State-owned Mormugao port, located on India’s western coast, has dropped a plan to deepen its channel to berth so-called capesize ships (the biggest of the dry bulk carriers) on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis after the solitary price bid received in a public tender exceeded the budget. The project—to deepen the port’s outer channel to 19.8 metres and the inner channel to 19.5 metres and maintain the water depth at that level over the next 12 years—was the first attempt by a port in India to implement dredging work on an annuity basis, a concept followed in the highways sector. South West Port Ltd, a unit of JSW Infrastructure Ltd, quoted Rs.1,640 crore for the contract, 17.56% more than the Rs.1,395 crore budgeted by Mormugao. The OP Jindal Group firm tied up with Dutch dredging contractor Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contracting Co. NV to take up the work. Green Ship Programme Reaches New Milestone with Addition of over 50 Ships under the Singapore Flag The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) today recognised another 53 Green Ships from 41 companies that have qualified for the Green Ship Programme (GSP) at the Third Singapore Registry of Ships Forum (SRS Forum). The GSP encourages Singapore-flagged ships to reduce carbon dioxide and sulphur oxides emissions. Qualifying Singapore-flagged ships can enjoy a reduction of Initial Registration Fees and a rebate on Annual Tonnage Tax. Since the GSP’s inception in 2011, 247 Green Ships under the Singapore Flag have joined the programme. Additionally, 10 maritime companies signed the Maritime Singapore Green Pledge. This brings the total number of signees to 100 companies since the initiative’s inception in 2011. Companies signing the pledge commit to be responsible members of the international maritime community by supporting and promoting clean and green shipping in Singapore. Plans are under way for a huge new ship repair yard to be built near the Port of Cabedelo in the municipality of Lucena in Brazil’s Paraiba province in the northeast of the country. The Basin Drydock Company (BBDC) project envisages a facility that would be capable of drydocking even the biggest ships in the world merchant fleet. If all goes to the developers’ plans the facility could be up and running by 2019. Environmental licences have been applied for to the relevant Brazilian authorities. If the repair yard comes to fruition it will bear the name Empresa de Docagens Pedra do Ingá (EDPI) and it would be well located for the major shipping lanes in the Atlantic Ocean. splash247.com/meg... Brazil’s second-largest container terminal, Terminal de Conteineres de Paranaguá at the port of Paranagua, will soon be able to handle ships of more than 10,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units as a result of dredging.The Administração dos Portos de Paranaguá e Antonina, the port authority for Paranagua, which is also Brazil’s biggest port for grain exports, will be disbursing – on behalf of the federal government in Brasilia – 394 million reais ($103.77 million) to deepen the main channel to TCP and other terminals to 52.49 feet.The works will increase the low tide draft at berths of 40.35 feet to 45.27 feet.Brazil’s new Special Ports Minister Helder Barbalho said the extra draft will allow for an additional 1,050 containers to be stowed per voyage.Once completed, the maximum length of container vessels calling at TCP will be 366 meters (1,200 feet), up from today’s 336 meters. Vessels in the range of 6,000 to 9,000 TEUs will soon be replaced by vessels of more than 10,000 TEUs. The dredging will also position the port to capitalize on the opening of the expanded Panama Canal in 2016, when the size of ships transiting the canal will increase to 14,000 TEUs from 5,000 TEUs today.Paranaguá’s hinterland includes the states of Santa Catarina and Parana, which are home to large numbers of chicken exporters that provide a good percentage of TCP’s throughput.During the first eight months of this year TCP handled 470,000 TEUs, which was 6 percent higher than for the same period of 2014. The terminal handled 757,000 TEUs in all of 2014. Source : Journal of Commerce A crane collapsed in Bourgas shipyard and seriously injured the woman operator. The serious accident happened due to the undeciphered load, which fell and collapsed the crane. The crane obliqued and the woman operator fell from big height. After that the machinery smashed over her and she was stuck under the wrecks for an hour before being rescued. The woman was stuck inside and was seriously injured. She was transported to the Emergency for medical treatment with life-threatening injuries. The 61-year-old woman suffered multiple injuries and has literally been shattered by the heavy machinery. The local authorities started an investigation about the accident and will follow inspection in the shipyard if all the safety measures were taken. She was transport by Emergency to the local hospital and currently doctors are trying to save her life. The reason for the accident was not caused by technical malfunction, but mostly due to human mistake and undeciphered cargo load. Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has delivered six rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes to Contecon Manzanillo Sociedad Anopmina (CMSA), the Mexican subsidiary of International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), one of the world’s leading container terminal operators. The order was booked into Cargotec’s 2015 first quarter order intake. www.ajot.com/news... Firefighters remain on scene a blaze at the Port of Portland, in south-western Victoria, over a week after it first started. The fire broke out about 8:00pm (AEDT) last Tuesday inside an 800-tonne, three-storey grain hopper. Specialist fire crews from as far north as Wodonga have been called in to help extinguish the blaze. Country Fire Authority operations officer Mark Gunning said although the fire had been contained, it was proving more challenging than first anticipated. "At any one time we've got approximately 50 firefighters working on the ship," he said. "Look, we've got a number of things, both firefighters but also specialist rescue crews are on hand because we're dealing with confined spaces, we're working at heights, there's a number of little things that are making the job difficult." He said crews were hopeful it would be resolved by the end of the week. "There's a number of dangerous activities to empty the fuel out of the silo, which includes the production of both combustible gases and gases that would asphyxiate people working around it, so it's a very slow operation, mainly because of the safety systems we have to put in place," he said. www.abc.net.au/ne...	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Bootstrap Color Picker Download bootstrap CSS and JavaScript file fromhttp://getbootstrap.com/ , download latest jQuery file fromhttp://jquery.com/, download pick a color.css file fromhttp://www.zombieobsession.com/App/Lib/pick-a-color-master/build/1.1.6/css/ anddownload pick a color.js file fromhttp://www.zombieobsession.com/App/Lib/pick-a-color-master/build/1.1.6/js/ .Pick-a-Color is designed to be easy for anyone to use. The interface is based on Twitter Bootstrap styles so it looks lovely with the styles of almost any site. Pick-a-Color is a cool and easy-to-use jQuery plugin that helps you create beautiful and powerful color picker using Twitter's bootstrap framework.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Manelisi Mbilase defends his South African featherweight title against Thando Vukuza at the Orient Theatre in East London on Friday night. Mbilase (10-3, 2 KOs) won the vacant title at Carletonville in October last year on a highly disputed points decision against Vukuza who has a reported record of (5-4-1). In their first fight , Vukuza appeared to have ouboxed Mbilase, but the judges decided otherwise. Even Nick Durandt who was Mbilase’s trainer at the time admitted that his fighter was lucky to get the decision. Boxing SA ordered a rematch and at one time when no promoter was prepared to put the fight they considered having the fight in a gymnasium with no payment to the boxers in terms of the Boxing Act. Both fight from the southpaw stance and have rather patchy records in a fight that is expected to go the distance once again. However, Vukuza must be favored to gain revenge and take the title. —– Meanwhile it has been reported that Robs Promotions will present a tripleheader in Bloemfontein on August 7. Topping the bill will be William Gare who will defend his WBF super middleweight belt against Rigoberto Alvarez (22-0, 16 KOs) from Mexico. Alvarez is the Mexican super middleweight champion and rated at #14 by the WBC. WBF lightweight champion Mlungisi Dlamini faces Francisco Lorenzo of the Dominican Republic (33-5, 14 KOs). Lorenzo holds wins over the highly rated Nate Campbell, Cristobal Cruz (twice) and Humberto Soto. Bongani Mwelase fights Attila Kovacs (25-3, 7 KOs) of Hungary for the vacant WBF super middleweight belt. —– On August 28 Lbubalo Msutu defends his WBF bantamweight belt against Nick Otieno (18-2, 7 KOs) of Kenya in East London. —– Francois Botha is scheduled to defend his WBF heavyweight belt at a venue to be announced in Europe sometime in October.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Keeping Evidence Keeping evidence of the deep dive challenge is essential. The ‘Messy Maths’ (deeper learning) book is one way of keeping that evidence safe. Feel free to save these images, use them for your own books!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Thanks for some great patterns. I made Banff and Rogue last year, and now I’m working on Eris. Can’t wait to get her finished If you’d like to see how Rogue looks like in Norway, chech out my action shots on my blog.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Egg white omelets and eating at Paula's for breakfast Last week we had the opportunity to have breakfast at a Paula Deen restaurant. It was both good and bad. The food was tasty but I am here to tell you that the amount of butter being used in the food was unbelievable. I know that butter tastes good and the food was somewhat above par for a breakfast buffet. Healthy? Not even close -- and we had egg white omelets -- cooked right before us. The photo above was of my husband's plate. I had half a very tasty muffin, an egg white omelet and fruit. The photo of his plate was better and I think it does look good. I did make a couple of discoveries. I had always thought egg white omelets were very bland and unappetizing, but the omelet in the center of the photo had egg whites, fresh spinach and mushrooms. I could do that quite easily. My first discovery -- I like egg white omelets and I will make them at home from time to time. My second discovery -- if I have a chance to eat at Ladies and Sons, Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, I will save my calories and eat there because it is a real treat. If I have the opportunity to go to a Paula Deen breakfast buffet rather than eat fast food I might choose the fast food. It was better than some breakfast buffets but it really didn't knock my socks off. Sorry Paula.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Industrial Pollution And Third World As developing nations struggle with population growth, poverty, famines, and wars, their residents are discovering the environmental effects of these problems, in the form of increasing air, water, and land pollution. Pollution is almost unchecked in many developing nations, where Western nations dump toxic wastes and untreated sewage flows into rivers. Many times, the choice for developing nation and least-developed nation governments is between poverty or poison, and basic human needs like food, clothing, and shelter take precedence. Industrialized nations often dump wastes in developing countries where there is little or no environmental regulation, and governments may collect considerable fees for accepting their garbage. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that over 40 million computers were discarded due to obsolescence in 2007. The EPA has also stated that it is up to ten times less expensive to export discarded consumer electronics products (also known as e-waste) to developing nations for disposal, rather than to dispose of those defunct electronic products domestically. Unfortunately, e-waste shipments to the third world have become notorious for the ill-effects wrought on the peoples and environments of those countries. E-waste recycling in underdeveloped nations exploits the cheap sources of local labor to reclaim the lucrative components of discarded computers and other electronic devices. If not dismantled using proper safety precautions, e-waste recycling can pollute the earth and atmosphere, and harm the health of the workers involved. Companies can export industrial hazards by moving their plants to countries with less restrictive pollution control laws than industrialized nations. This was the case with Union Carbine, which moved its chemical manufacturing plant to Bhopal, India, to manufacture a product it was not allowed to make in the United States. As Western nations enact laws promoting environmental and worker safety, more manufacturers have moved their hazardous and polluting factories to less developed countries, where there are little or no environmental or occupational safety laws, or no enforcement agencies. Hazardous industries such as textile, petrochemical, and chemical production, as well as smelting and electronics, have migrated to Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. For example, some U.S.-based companies established manufacturing plants in Mexico, creating high levels of pollutants, including raw sewage discharge into the Tijuana River. Because pollution threatens San Diego beaches, most of the cleanup is paid for by the United States and California governments. Although consumers pay less for goods from these companies, they are paying for their manufacture in the form of higher taxes for environmental cleanup. Industries with shrinking markets in developed countries due to environmental concerns have begun to advertise vigorously in developing nations. For example, DDT production, led by United States and Canadian companies, is at an all-time high even though it is illegal to produce or use the pesticide in the United States or Europe since the 1970s. DDT is used globally outside of the nations with bans, especially in Latin America, Africa, and on the Indian subcontinent. Industrial waste is likely to be handled more recklessly in underdeveloped countries. The New River, for example, which flows from northern Mexico into southern California before discharging into the Pacific Ocean, is generally regarded as the most polluted river in North America due to lax enforcement of environmental standards in Mexico. Industrial pollution in developing and least-developed countries is not their only environmental problem. Now, in addition to worrying about the environmental implications of deforestation, desertification, and soil erosion, developing countries are facing threats of pollution that come from development, industrialization, poverty, and war. The number of gasoline-powered vehicles in use worldwide is expected to double to well over one billion in the next twenty to thirty years, adding to air pollution problems. Mexico City, for example, has had air pollution episodes so severe that the government temporarily closed schools and factories. Much of the auto-industry growth will take place in developing countries, where the automobile population is rapidly increasing. In the developing world, the effects of water pollution are felt in the form of high rates of death from cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and diarrhea from viral and bacteriological sources. More than 1.7 billion people in the Third World have an inadequate supply of safe drinking water. In India, for example, 114 towns and cities dump their human waste and other untreated sewage directly into the Ganges River. Zimbabwe’s industrialization has created pollution problems in both urban and rural areas. Several lakes have experienced eutrophication because of the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial waste. In Bangladesh, degradation of water and soil resources is widespread, and flood conditions result in the spread of polluted water across areas used for fishing and rice cultivation. Heavy use of pesticides is also a concern there. In the Philippines, air and soil pollution poses increasing health risks, especially in urban areas. Industrial and toxic waste disposals have severely polluted 38 river systems. Widespread poverty and political instability has exacerbated Haiti’s environmental problems. Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, suffers from deforestation, land degradation, and water pollution. While the country has plentiful groundwater, less than 40 percent of the population had access to safe drinking water before the 2010 earthquake further undermined the nation’s insufficient infrastructure. Another issue affecting developing nations’ pollution control is the role of transnational corporations (TNCs) in global environmental problems. A Third World Network economist cited TNCs for their responsibility for water and air pollution, toxic wastes, hazardous chemicals and unsafe working conditions in developing countries. In spite of such problems, the United Nations has closed its Center for Transnational Corporations, which had been monitoring TNC activities in the developing world. There is a growing environmental awareness in developing nations, and many are trying to correct the problems. In Chennai, India, sidewalk vendors sell rice wrapped in banana leaf; the leaf can be thrown to the ground and consumed by one of the free-roaming cows on Chennai’s streets. In Mumbai, India, tea is sold in a brown clay cup which can be crushed into the earth when empty. The Chinese city of Shanghai produces all its own vegetables, fertilizes them with human waste, and exports a surplus. Environmentalists worldwide continue to call for strengthened international agreements and sanctions related to pollution dumping in the developing world. Key to many proposals are “polluter pays” sanctions where Western governments and companies that dump in developing nations are identified and held responsible for the costs of remediation.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Rather than be tempted to hide my failings, I thought it would be healthier for myself, and more entertaining for others, to share them. Friday, July 29, 2011 I felt weak and girlie We recently rented A League of their Own to watch with the family.It was an instant hit with our daughters.I love that movie, because it illustrates with great humor and accuracy what women can achieve in male dominated fields, without sacrificing what makes them uniquely feminine.Of course, the most memorable line of the whole movie is when Tom Hank’s character coaches with the same harsh language he would use on anyone who missed the cutoff on a key play, and his distraught player breaks into tears.Everyone now knows, “There’s no CRYING in BASEBALL!” Whatever it is, baseball, medicine, politics, or ministry, it can be tough to go against the grain.Growing up, I believed I could be anything I wanted to be, from a firefighter to an astronaut, from a teacher to a lawyer.I knew talent and education could limit me, and my height (and lack of coordination) might keep me from professional gymnastics, but I never thought of my gender as being a limiting factor.Despite the optimistic naiveté of my childhood, I learned long before I pursued this calling that being a woman in a male dominated field would have challenges. From having to explain repeatedly that you are the minister, not the minister’s wife, to the discomfort of professional meetings where you are the only female in the room, many circumstances and many individuals will force your awareness that you made an unconventional career choice.Beyond that, it can be downright hurtful when members of your own congregation profess their view that the Bible clearly forbids women to be ministers, or confide to your husband they have to close their eyes to be able to take in a sermon when a woman preaches. Those obstacles are frustrating, and thrust upon me. But what bothers me the most is when I become the cause of my own insecurity.Generally, it is in those times when church life gets a little too political, or when interpersonal dynamics get a little heated.I am pretty sure that I deal with conflict in a very different way than a man would. I seem to have two modes: passion or emotion.Neither comes across to others (especially men) as rational.When I’m passionate, it seems to scare people.When I’m emotional, I feel like I’m feeding all the prejudices against women. I had one of those experiences this week, where someone interfered with my ability to do my job because of their prejudices.I couldn’t invoke the passionate response, because it wasn’t something I really even cared about.But it made me mad, and I took it harder and more emotionally than I needed to.Having to work that hard to control my emotions made me feel weak and girlie.I could hear Tom Hanks in my head, saying intensely, “There’s no CRYING in MINISTRY!”I did hold it together, only a couple people got a glimpse of my frustration, and I did not cry; but I felt intensely silly, and girlie, and like I was letting all my fellow women ministers down. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Romans 16:1-2	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Cartwright/Oppenheim: A Mumbai of the Mind Harmony and modality can make for strange bedfellows. The blending of Indian and Western music is not easy, given the streams from which they spring. The parallel streams in which the two flow becomes apparent on this recording when the Indian musicians bring their own rhythm into play, and Katharine Cartwright and Richard Oppenheim invest a Western attitude that for the most part does not assimilate. Vocalist Cartwright and sax man Oppenheim recorded the music in Mumbai, India (aka Bombay) and gave it final shape in New York. The poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti was another inspiration, and so were unusual time signatures. They start well enough. “Johnny Nolan” brings in an appropriate stance, the sound in compact cleave with the rhythm. Cartwright’s wordless improvisations and Oppenheim’s bending of the notes get to the sensibility of the mode, and when Cartwright flexes the phrasing, she slips in compactly with her overdubbed vocals adding to the impress. Her singing impacts “Poet Like an Acrobat” and Oppenheim brings in a raga feel to the sax. On the other hand, “Peacocks Walked” does not come off. Cartwright has a beautifully expressive voice, but the straight line she treads does not sit in well with the percussive rhythm, as is the case when Oppenheim comes in with a darkly modulated sax that would have had great impact given the right ambience. The rest of the tunes nestle in a groove that lends the posit to Kipling and what he felt about the meeting of the East and the West. I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy I grew up listening to my father's jazz records and listening to the radio. My dad was a musician for many years as a vocalist, bassist and drummer. His two uncles played in the Symphony of Reggio Calabria back in Italy. So music and jazz specifically have been a part of me since I was born. I love and perform in all styles of music from around the world. Improvisation in jazz is what drew me in, and still does as well as other genres that feature improvisation. A group of great musicians expressing themselves as one is the hallmark of great jazz and in fact all great music.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Sir Paul McCartney has always been vocal about the things he believes in, but this time, he’s using his actual vocals to get the job done. Paul has teamed up with a group of celebrities in the Justice Collective, who are trying to raise money for the families of the Liverpool 96; a tragedy that took place in 1989 when 96 fans were killed during a soccer game at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. Overcrowded central pens were cited as the reason behind the fatalities, as people were crushed against one another and the fencing by a huge crowd, and many suffocated. It has since been named the worst stadium disaster in British history. In remembrance of those lost, the Justice Collective has recorded a version of the Hollies and Neil Diamond song “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”, that will be available on iTunes beginning on December 17th. All proceeds from the song’s sales will be distributed among the families for their legal fees as they begin their battle in court. McCartney is joined by Robbie Williams, Gerry Marsden,Shane MacGowen, and former Spice Girl Mel C., along with Paloma Faith,Eliza Doolittle, John Power and two former Liverpool soccer players. Watch the song’s video below (McCartney comes in around the 3-minute mark) and head to the Justice Collective Facebook page for more information.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Two areas of Lincoln have been identified as having a higher crime rate with a history of gun related crimes. The two identified areas, located within the Southwest Team, were the focus of the detail. Five Lincoln Police Officers were assigned to the saturation portion of the project. The saturation portion instructs officers to make a high number of contacts of individuals within the target area, demonstrating a "zero tolerance" approach to issues in these neighborhoods. All officers on the saturation detail were in uniform, operating marked police vehicles. Several officers also participated in an undercover prostitution and street crimes operation. Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun and gang crime in America to make our streets and communities safer. Each local program has been contoured to fit the unique crime problem in that district-it is not a "one-size-fits-all" program applied uniformly all across America. Funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
You can also check Back to Basics Disney Ice Cream Maker and Nostalgia ICMP600WD Wood Bucket Ice Cream Maker, 6-Quart for a better comparison at Icecreammaker.biz. With the Mr. 1.5 Ice Maker make your own frozen than minutes no pre-freezing Have fun family crafting cream, sherbet, out box.This maker also feature to adjust or of your ice cream, so can make your Smart design operation cinch! you have to is ingredients, a button, and the thermoelectric Gone are the churning salt.Recipes for ideas to treat whole. Login to see all details Disclaimer: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliates sites.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Flair used to be a season ticket holder of his hometown Carolina Panthers, bellowing his trademark "Wooooo!" on the scoreboard. He was a regular at games of the Carolina Hurricanes and Charlotte Hornets. He's tight with South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier. "As a guy who actually has a Ric Flair robe I'm real disappointed in seeing that. Real disappointed," Smith said Monday, via Tom Sorensen of The Charlotte Observer. "I'm not sure if he'll get the invite here. That Golden Gate Bridge has been burned." Flair better strut away quickly if he encounters Smith on the streets of Charlotte.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Settle down folks. It was a good fight, but not one of the greats. Silva’s ability to take a beating was the only thing that kept it going and a fight needs to be more competitive to be great. Brown showed what makes him so dangerous. If you land a devastating shot it just pisses him off and makes him beat you worse. DanaDisownedMe Yeah. He’s probably the only fighter who starts a fight, going for the kill. No feeling out process. If he gets hurt, he’s durable enough to recover, and he immediately comes back twice as hard as when he started. Every other fighter makes adjustments in their technique so they don’t get caught again. Matt doesn’t care, he’s just out to take heads off. Like Fedor. jimmy777 Matt Brown made me chit myself! Great fight! sleepwalker Tyron T-Wood Woodley ✔ @TWooodley He got my stomach kinda cold, my power wasn’t there, and you deserve a title what? Does he know how to tie your belt G? #ImDone @ufc 6:55 AM – 11 May 2014 ..and still a douche, douche of the night award goes to.., wait for it? And that´s not the only comment from douche-man!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Meta Tag: App development Veridic Technologies Pvt Ltd :- Android based mobile phones and handheld devices provide greater convenience and user experience. Android was a preferred choice by both users and developers as it gives immense scope for development. Whether you are an Android developer or willing to outsource one for your project, you must have a clear idea about your requirement and resources. Google and the Open Handset Alliance enabled this open source software to set an amazing trend with robust technology. Such factors and facts have made and Android development a lucrative business prospect. There are various reasons why you need to hire a developer for your mobile application development project. Android applications are largely created in open source and for that reason, it’s quite easy to download and customize it with minimal expenses. In today’s cost cutting edge, when companies prefer to choose for more affordable software’s license to reduce project development cost. There’s a big demand of Android applications and you may easily hire an Android developer for a cost efficient price. Simply hire an offshore Android development company or developer that holds sufficient experience and expertise to material your creative thinking completely. Another thing that makes and Android a preferred choice is that java is utilized to create majority of the apps. After the application gets ready, you can trust the quality and performance as it doesn’t consume much time in fixing up any failure issues, if occurs. Java is widely used for various mobile application development projects and once you hire a developer, be sure she or he has good mastery over the related technologies. As aforesaid, Android applications are in huge demand and it is expected to touch the sky in coming time. You can sell your application to various on-line application stores that Google has created for enabling users to buy and download applications without any hassle. Even, you can register yourself with any 3rd party application seller affiliated with Google and may sell your apps. App development market is the best place for all those that come up with newer and innovative ideas, hence all you should do so as an Android developer is provide an application that market is going to love. This is the thumb rule of selling an application in theses open market. Today, users prefer to use multiple programs to get better usability. You ought to make applications that may be easily integrated to other ready-to use applications available with the user. You don’t have to download any application software to run such and Android applications onto your smartphone or tablets. Hiring an Android developer can benefit you in multiple ways.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Much to the annoyance of parents who have to pay the credit card bills, in-app iPhone and iPad buys are popular with kids. A typical scenario: your tot is playing with a game like “The Smurfs’ Village.” It’s free to download will keep the kid busy building a village where they can play with the famous blue cartoon characters. The problem? To complete the Smurf village, your kid might want to add an extra, say, a wheelbarrow of Smurfberries. That in-app purchase comes with a price tag of $59.99. Other extras are slightly cheaper – a bucket of Smurfberries costs $4.99, two bushels go for $11.99. Tap Zoo, another kid-friendly app with in-app purchases. Kelly Rummelhart found out just how busy landscaping with the Smurfs her 4-year-old son was when the bill came: he racked $66.88 in charges on her credit card without knowing what he was doing while playing the game on her iPad. Smurf Village Creators Capcom Interactive say the situation is “lamentable” and have placed the following caveat in the game description: PLEASE NOTE: Smurf Village is free to play, but charges real money for additional in-app content. You may lock out the ability to purchase in-app content by adjusting your device’s settings. The statement is little consolation to parents, who see these apps as kid-bait scams. A look at the top-grossing apps in the iTunes store shows that six out of 10 are freebies with in-app purchases – another four of them are kid-friendly games. If parents have logged in in the last 15 minutes, kids can easily buy these apps by accident. Some of them cost $100. Apple defends its system, saying the password system is adequate. Spokeswoman Trudy Muller reminds parents that they can restrict in-app purchases. Another thing to remember: contacting Apple and complaining usually leads to a refund. At least it did for the disgruntled parents in the AP story.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
What’s Hot: New Leak Shows Off the Lavender and Green Colors for the New iPhone XR Word on the street is that Apple is planning on dropping the blue and coral color options from the new version of the iPhone XR. That handset is expected to be unveiled later this year. But while two colors will be getting removed from the rotation, two new colors will be getting subbed in: lavender and green. And while the first initial rumor didn’t go into great detail, it seemed plausible enough. Now, just a few days later, we have what appears to be shards of casing glass that show off not only the familiar colors, but also the two new options. Mark Gurman tweeted out the photos late last night. You can see them at the top of this article. The glass shards show us green, lavender, white, and yellow. And below that we can see white and black as well. There are no shards for blue and/or coral, though, which does seem to suggest those colors won’t be included this year. The iPhone XR’s other new change will reportedly be the adoption of a pair of cameras, in a square camera encasement on the back. We should see a lot more of the iPhone XR’s new colors in the weeks and months ahead, before September rolls around and Apple makes it all official. Our Take Now, maybe these new color options aren’t all that surprising. In fact, maybe Apple has been working up towards this for quite some time. If you’ll recall, back in December of last year Apple released an advertisement called “Color Flood“. It showed a ridiculous number of people running around in colored jumps suits. The ad was meant to showcase the iPhone XR and its colorful options. Which it did! But the a also advertised two colors the iPhone XR wasn’t available in back then: Purple and green. Here we are with a new iPhone XR on the way and it turns out Apple is gearing up to launch those two specific colors. Even if it is at the cost of blue and coral. Poll of the week! Follow iPhone Hacks Disclaimer This website is not owned by, is not licensed by nor is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. The content of this website is not supplied or reviewed by Apple Inc. All articles, images, logos and trademarks in this site are property of their respective owners. Please follow this link to read the complete disclaimer.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Links to this post You can use this BBCode to create a quick link to this post. Such links are created from yourforum URL and will stay valid in case your forum should move to a different URL at a later time.Hit Ctrl+C to copy the BBCode to the clipboard. Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| Remember, this is a volunteer open source project. Right now, enough time is not available. Folders support works as it should. No need for changes and relative paths are working fine as long as you install everything properly. Support for "weird" installation methods will not be provided. Just install the skins where they are supposed to be installed (in your profile) and you won't run into troubles. You won't even have to use folders. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| And on what basis have you decided that the normal path to the skin is necessarily in the profile folder? On common sense. That's why Miranda has profiles, profile folders and things like %miranda_userdata%. Anyone who understands this concept won't run into troubles. Userdata belongs to %APPDATA$, nowhere else and this well known concept of a user "home directory" for separating user data from applications has been working on other operating systems for like 40 years and nobody ever complained. The fact that Windows allowed you to put user data just everywhere was a design problem in Windows and MS has realized this way too late. And this is why so many users have problems with UAC, folder permissions and try to fix it by running applications with administrator privileges. We still have mirandaboot.ini and this is enough customization because it allows you to put the profile in the program folder. This makes sense for portable installs, but anything more just means asking for troubles. As for skins - TabSRMM 3 will not allow you to open skins from locations outside its profile folders. It will behave like other plugins (e.g.popup+ or some tipper modifications) and only allow skins from a specific location. This feature is not yet implemented, but will be and it will solve all problems with relative pathnames. Also, skins will be identified by their names, not their filename locations. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| By your logic, plugins should be placed in profile folder too. Skins are used by all users, they are common, like plugins, sounds and icons. They are not overwritten and there is no problem with UAC. You don't seem to understand. Or maybe you don't want to. No need to further discuss, sorry. Hint: Plugins are NOT user data. Hint #2. It is not MY logic, it is common sense and a concept which is more than 40 years old and proven to work in millions of situations. But maybe YOU know better than all those developers. And then tell me why most (if not all) modern applications like Opera, Firefox, Thunderbird, Chrome and many more put skins in the user profile under %APPDATA%? Because they are ALL doing it wrong, by your logic? __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| You probably didn't know that Firefox stores in profile folder not only skins, but the extensions too (which are essentially plug-ins). Thus each user have his own skins and extensions. And Chrome altogether totally lives in %APPDATA% (and each user must setup it again). That's why I mentioned about your logic, but so far it only works apart from all other modules and Miranda itself. Is it well or not, a moot point. Not only I believe that the skins can be stored in a Miranda folder, it's more convenient to users and there is no need to create duplicates of skins for users. But you are depriving the right to choose. Miranda was famous because it allows user to decide and adjust preference as necessary. You violate this idea. By the way, for some reason icons are still stored in the Icons folder in the root of Miranda, why? Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| You probably didn't know that Firefox stores in profile folder not only skins, but the extensions too (which are essentially plug-ins). Thus each user have his own skins and extensions. I know a lot about Firefox (in fact, I've contributed to its code, years ago), and I think that, ideally, Miranda should do the same. Only default plugins should be in the program folder and there should be a plugin folder in the profile. I believe that this idea should and will be implemented at some time in the core. It would be a requirement if Miranda will ever get a automatic plugin installer/updater and it would easily allow a "safe mode" where Miranda would only load standard plugins in case of troubles (e.g. crashes on startup). Plugins in the profile folder would then have the ability to "override" standard plugins, so TabSRMM would be installed in the profile and automatically override srmm and chat (technically, this is already possible, because we have Interface GUIDs) and if you deactivate it in the plugin option screen, Miranda would automatically revert to srmm. This is still something that doesn't work in current Miranda and one of the reasons is that we mix standard and 3rd party plugins in the same folder. Quote Not only I believe that the skins can be stored in a Miranda folder, it's more convenient to users and Skins = user data, therefore they should not be stored in the application folder. The only skin which would have a right to exist in the application folder would be a default skin (one that comes with the plugin and is installed when you install the plugin - like Opera, for example, which installs its mandatory default skin in the application folder, but ANY other skin is installed to the profile). But this is only because Opera needs a skin to work, Miranda and TabSRMM don't require a skin, they are totally optional. And more convenient? That's a joke, right? If you think, it is in any way convenient when you need administrator privileges to install a user skin, then you are really wrong. No well-written app that I'am aware of needs admin rights for installing a skin. Quote But you are depriving the right to choose. Miranda was famous because it allows user to decide and adjust preference as necessary. You violate this idea. I violate nothing. I only clean up the mess it once was and I tend to write software which sticks to common standards. And rightfully so, because if you would care to read the forums, you would know that there are TONS of problems with plugins that do NOT follow the rules (mostly old and unmaintained plugins which never had to deal with limited user rights). Miranda is famous because it allows you to customize all important aspects. The location of files is NOT an important aspect, in fact, it's totally irrelevant where files are stored and the user shouldn't care. Miranda is flexible enough to give you all the control you need, you can use folders plugin, you can use mirandaboot.ini to relocate your profile. I'am only talking about the defaults, not the options you have with additional plugins or customization methods. Quote By the way, for some reason icons are still stored in the Icons folder in the root of Miranda, why? Which icons? The icon.DLLs? They are part of the plugin(s). They are not to be modified and are installed together with the plugin. See above, if TabSRMM would have a default skin, it would be installed in the program folder. But there is no default skin, all skins are optional and must be installed by the user. That's why the profile folder is the ONLY correct location to do so. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| You don't include one, you don't give users have common skins (which administrator considered necessary to provide by default).In case if user wanted to use personal skin, he will is as it should add it to profile folder.And about the icons, you probably have forgotten that there still exist icons protocols? (Status, XStatus/Mood, Connection) Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| Sorry, there was a misunderstanding about skins because of a translator's (human's) mistake. And my English not everywhere is good. Alright, the points is to keep Folders support. Ok, no problem then. I was just not understanding your point. In fact, the changes I have commited to the skin selection code are not dramatic. You can still have skins in your own custom folder, but you must use the folders plugin for this feature. I don't see a problem here, because the folders plugin is a requirement anyway when you want to customize your profile folders and most advanced users will most likely already use this plugin. The new system enforces a more strict directory layout (e.g. one skin per folder) and users can no longer directly select skins by using a file selection dialog. This was bad, because it could cause problems with relative pathnames. Now it is easier to use, because the drop down list will show you all available and properly installed skins by name - no more need to navigate to the skin folder using the file selection dialog. The skin loading dialog will also display the current skin root folder so users should instantly know to which folder they have to copy their skins. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| All true (Everything is as you said).But, with the latest updates from trunk, skins are not applied. They are visible in the list and can be selected, but nothing happens when you click "Apply skin now" and nothing written in the database. This is how it should be now? Also, maybe it might be better to remove buttons "Apply skin now" and "Unload skin"? They're no longer needed, since the list already have item "<no skin>" and the applying must already be on system buttons OK and Apply. Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| All true (Everything is as you said).But, with the latest updates from trunk, skins are not applied. They are visible in the list and can be selected, but nothing happens when you click "Apply skin now" and nothing written in the database. This is how it should be now? No, that's of course not how it should be. Is the database value Tab_SRMsg/ContainerSkin updated when you select an entry from the list (it should contain the relative path name for the selected skin - relative to the skins root folder)? Quote Also, maybe it might be better to remove buttons "Apply skin now" and "Unload skin"? They're no longer needed, since the list already have item "<no skin>" and the applying must already be on system buttons OK and Yes, that's the next step. Unload skin will go away, because selecting <no skin> in the list should be enough, no explicit unloading necessary. Apply skin will be converted to a Reload button, so that skin developers can easily force a skin reload. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| 1. It only written to the database from the third item in the list (second skin). First skin is not written to the database (although with it somehow offered to close the container);2. Despite the fact that the second skin is written to the database, it is still not working.3. And it does not work because of the Name parameter in the section [Global], which was recently announced by you, if it is deleted, skins are applied properly. Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| 3. And it does not work because of the Name parameter in the section [Global], which was recently announced by you, if it is deleted, skins are applied properly. That's strange. Looks like the Name= confuses the skin loader, but I have no idea, how and why. Can you zip up your skins root folder and send it by email (see my signature for the address, same as the Jabber ID). __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork Re: For how long you stopped developing TabSRMM 3? \| But item 1 is still relevant, first skin in the list is not loading at all. Yes, already found that. Silly index mistake (using 1 instead of 0 for the <no skin> entry, so the first "real" skin (which has the index value 1) cannot load at all. __Every program has at least one bug and can be shortened by at least one instruction -- from which, by induction, one can deduce that every program can be reduced to a single instruction that doesn't work.My SMF-based forum fork	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
At the UN Earth Day ceremony in New York on Friday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blamed the “Israeli occupation” for global warming. The ceremony was intended to mark the signing of an agreement reached at an international summit in Paris last December, but Abbas seized the opportunity to engage in Israel bashing. Abbas took the podium and addressed the representatives of 193 nations gathered to address global environmental issues. “The Israeli occupation is destroying the climate in Palestine,” Abbas declared, “And the Israeli settlements are destroying the environment in Palestine. Please help us stop the occupation and the settlements.” “It has become vital to change the international approach to dealing with the Palestinian cause,” Abbas said. “That is why we support the French initiative, which calls for forming international support groups, holding an international peace convention, and establishing a multi-faceted method to end Israeli occupation of Palestinian land.” “Instead of spreading hatred here at the UN, President Abbas should act to stop Palestinian terror,” Danon said. “This climate summit is supposed to be a demonstration of global unity for the sake of the future of our planet. Unfortunately, President Abbas chose to exploit this international stage to mislead the international community.” [ubm_premium banners=85 count=1] The summit was the first time Abbas had attended a UN meeting as the president of a member nation, since the PA’s status was recently upgraded from non member observer state, a position it has held since 2012. The upgraded status is de facto recognition by the UN of the Palestinian Authority as a state. Palestinian participation in the UN summit creates a legal dilemma for the US concerning a 1994 law forbidding funding for “any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.” On Monday, almost 28 Republican senators sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry saying that Palestine’s participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Paris agreement should prevent Washington from paying the $10 million annually to the UNFCC. Though environmental groups have criticized the move, there is a strong precedent. In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was similarly deprived of its American funding, 22 percent of its total budget, after granting the Palestinians full membership. The US lost its voting rights to the UNESCO general assembly as a result. Kerry announced last year that he planned to work with Congress to restore U.S. funding to the UNESCO. The US has pledged $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund created by the UNFCC. The UN Security Council will soon be another battlefield between Israel and the PA as Abbas prepares a resolution condemning the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. It is still unclear whether Abbas will indeed present the resolution to the Security council, and if he does, it is unclear whether the US will use its veto to block the resolution. About the Author Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz is a features writer for Breaking Israel News. He made Aliyah to Israel in 1991 and served in the IDF as a combat medic. Berkowitz studied Jewish law and received rabbinical ordination in Israel. He has worked as a freelance writer and two works of fiction, The Hope Merchant and Dolphins on the Moon, are available on Amazon. He lives in the Golan Heights with his wife and their four children.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Please help us continue to provide you with free, quality journalism by turning off your ad blocker on our site. Thank you for signing in. If this is your first time registering, please check your inbox for more information about the benefits of your Forbes account and what you can do next! I agree to receive occasional updates and announcements about Forbes products and services. You may opt out at any time. I'd like to receive the Forbes Daily Dozen newsletter to get the top 12 headlines every morning. Forbes takes privacy seriously and is committed to transparency. We will never share your email address with third parties without your permission. By signing in, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Statement. Health and wellness fads have built foundations for viable business models in today’s global economy. Companies like Habit and Fitbit have prioritized holistic strategies that promote health and wellness as regular benefits of their tech-enabled services or products. Industries that similarly focus on health for the safety and well-being of consumers can find equally successful business models, especially when paired with innovations emerging in other industries. My work and involvement with Urban Land Institute has me constantly thinking about how my real estate investments and projects are affecting the community and improving the areas that I am investing in. In commercial real estate, health-focused principles aren’t just trends, they're a stable foundation of the industry’s promising future. At the same time, advancements in artificial intelligence have also allowed the real estate sector, along with every other economic market, to improve and support healthier lifestyles for people. In fact, between 2008 and 2017, the number of tech-oriented real estate startups ballooned from 176 to over 1,200, for a cumulative worth of $33.7 billion. Safety is one of the most basic principles of well-being. Although AI construction and housing applications are still in their infancy, they can impact the CRE industry by providing better security for those who occupy these spaces. Various AI and machine learning technologies from voice commands to facial recognition technology can improve accessibility, security and even infrastructure stability during and after building construction. It's been predicted that robots will increasingly be implemented in new building construction. More focused precision can lead to better structure quality, offering longer-lasting residential and commercial buildings. For instance, building information modeling (BIM) allows architects, builders and designers to digitize coded information about building structure and functions. By layering BIM tech with property-based machine communication, sensors in walls can signal if there are any signs of building depreciation and at which stage. Robots can then inspect and repair structural damage without the chance of human workers getting hurt, making construction and maintenance safer for everyone. Along with optimizing building structures and providing predictive maintenance, AI and machine learning might also provide fault detection for the safety of visitors and residents of commercial and residential properties. In the future, building issues and anomalies will be automatically detected by AI through data and then immediately find the cause. In tandem with national operations center data, this can be filtered to determine the needs of consumers for the best ways to fill resource-limited spaces. 2. Data-Driven Comfort Real estate companies are also realizing the usefulness of AI-enabled data and sensor technology to provide more comfortable and efficient spaces for consumers. As they create new opportunities for the tenant to take hold of their space, buildings can become personalized for monitoring, home safety and senior care. Innovative smart-building systems still require human operation to function, but modern structures now implement AI-based microservices that use personal digital assistants or tracking devices to understand the buildings, along with their tenants’ needs and preferences to maximize buildings for comfort. AI tech is being designed to identify residences that have problems with heating to cooling retention. Tracking devices can automate lighting and turn on/off heating and cooling zones based on movements. In commercial properties, tracking and monitoring devices could become more complex soon, too. For example, motion sensors could track and record a tenant's daily routine so that they can find comfort in knowing which chores were completed. Voice-activated AI projectsseek to install AI in people’s homes with cameras, microphones, door locks, faucets, switches and other electronic devices. These smart-home systems can monitor movement through rooms, automate settings and controls and answer questions. As services become more advanced at tracking people’s routines, connected devices can offer more customizable options for comfort and efficiency. In addition, it’s predicted that smart home technology will be able to assess humans' biometric data to monitor and notify them of high-risk temperatures or health hazards in the home. Through the eventual mass adoption of AI microservices within homes and commercial spaces, consumers can soon enjoy simple solutions for everyday life. 3. Sustainability AI-based data can also provide more proactive sustainability through smart building functions. Predictive energy optimization can reduce energy use and assess and calculate what resources to utilize in real-time. While today’s ordinary buildings rely on data with the ability to fix energy inefficiencies after the problem occurs, AI’s predictive analytics could adjust energy resources almost instantly. They can also monitor weather forecasts and control environment adjustments. When optimizing heating and cooling, room temperatures can fluctuate rapidly. AI-based energy management systems can identify thermal fluctuations in rooms to identify when to pre-cool a building or avoid use during peak hours or when energy pricing is high. Already, Manhattan has implemented this type of function in large commercial structures like the Empire State Building. Predictive machine learning models in conjunction with vector regression allows the system to identify the building’s historical energy use and temperature patterns through wet-bulb humidity data within the building interior and exterior to effectively model performance every day. By tracking some tenant-specific and seasonal visitor variations, the data can make close energy usage approximations. But it’s not just HVAC systems and lighting controls with which AI can help provide clean energy. Machine learning can also identify roof and insulation issues during construction and water usage patterns, while also offering AI-functional day-lighting options through data-based analysis. With this data, it can identify the best combination of building materials during the construction process, offering energy-efficient resolutions. Overall, these buildings can offer new, balanced ways of living using healthier, energy-saving materials that maximize safety and comfort. In time, AI could provide us with a safe haven with technology inside and outside of the home.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. The official cautioned, however, that much still needed to be done before WAR MMA could put on a show. Among the items the CSAC would need to review prior to approving a license include financial statements, resumes and an article of incorporation. The official did say that a background check on Diaz performed by the CSAC came back clean. It's been an interesting little stretch for Diaz, to say the least. After returning to the UFC as Strikeforce's welterweight champion, he was booked for a title fight against St-Pierre at UFC 137. But when Diaz missed a pair of news conferences promoting the event, UFC President Dana White pulled him from the fight and put Carlos Condit in in his place. St-Pierre, though, went on to injure his knee, and a bout between Diaz and B.J. Penn served as the UFC 137 main event. With a dominant win over Penn and subsequent callout of St-Pierre, Diaz was again ushered to the front of the line and was expected to fight the champ on Super Bowl weekend – with Condit asked to wait for the winner. But when St-Pierre re-iniured his knee, it set up an interim title fight between Diaz and Condit at UFC 143. Diaz lost that fight in a somewhat controversial decision. After the loss, he vowed retirement. Then he tested positive for marijuana metabolites after the fight and was suspended for a year. After several hearings in Nevada challenging his suspension and its legality, Diaz ultimately served out the entirety of his suspension before returning – following a loss and suspension – to challenge St-Pierre in Montreal in March. And after that loss, he again mentioned retirement – and even told MMAjunkie.com he hadn't paid taxes in years. Without a fight lined up, it appears Diaz's claims of retirement may be legit if his planned MMA promotion can be seen through to completion. As of this past month, White said he's fine giving Diaz another fight if he wants one.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Vanderbilt coach: Team has dealt with rape case - NBC Sports NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Vanderbilt coach James Franklin has tried to keep his football team busy and limit the distraction of the ongoing rape case. Four former Commodores are charged with raping an unconscious woman in a campus dormitory, and Franklin's second-best receiver, suspended from the team, has been indicted as an accessory after the fact for advising someone how to cover it all up. "I am as direct and honest with my guys as possible ...," Franklin said Wednesday. "It's an ongoing case. So it's really, for my team, there's really nothing new that's happening for them. They've dealt with this, and we're trying to heal and move forward." Franklin used fall camp to keep the Commodores busy, but camp ended Tuesday. Still, the players didn't have time to dwell on the five men being arraigned Wednesday - classes started Wednesday at Vanderbilt. This easily is the biggest challenge Franklin has faced since being hired in December 2010. He's already Vanderbilt's winningest coach in nearly a century in his first two seasons, and the Commodores are coming off a 9-4 season that is their best since 1915. He has 17 starters back from that team along with 17 seniors on the two-deep roster too. The mantra he has preached to his Commodores is 6 seconds. Focus only about the next 6 seconds, then move on to help them concentrate energy only on what they can do at any given moment. But this case has been hanging over his Vanderbilt team since June 29 when university officials announced that four players had been dismissed from the team and barred from coming onto the campus. Vanderbilt announced the names of those four former players the week of the Southeastern Conference media days in July. Franklin said after practice that night that the case "breaks my heart." Then the ongoing investigation hit the team again when a grand jury indicted receiver Chris Boyd on Aug. 16 for allegedly advising one of the defendants how to cover up the incident. Attorney Roger May defended Boyd on Wednesday as an Eagle Scout with an impeccable reputation who has met repeatedly with investigators. Hours after the arraignments, Franklin held a news conference to talk about the end of camp, his first depth chart of the fall and the Commodores' 2014 schedule released earlier Wednesday. Franklin refused to discuss whether the allegations of the incident June 23 shocked him as a coach. Asked about how he keeps his Commodores focused on football amidst all the news, Franklin said eliminating distractions is one of a college coach's biggest jobs. "In a lot of ways, I'm glad school's getting back started so now they're in a situation where it's school and football," Franklin said. "And when you go to a school like Vanderbilt, that takes up 90 percent of your day." Vanderbilt helps kick off the college football season Aug. 29 hosting Mississippi in a nationally televised game. Franklin said coaches always are trying to make sure their team peaks at the right time both physically, mentally and emotionally. The four former players never played a snap for Vanderbilt, though Vandenburg had been expected to be an immediate contributor as one of the top tight ends coming out of junior college. Not having Boyd could be a key loss, allowing opponents to double-team receiver Jordan Matthews who chose to return for his senior season instead of going to the NFL. "Whenever you lose a player, somebody has to step up," Franklin said. "That's really our mentality that somebody has to step up right now right now for our program. ... Everybody's going to have a bigger role." Franklin said senior Jonathan Krause, listed as the starter opposite Matthews, will be counted on to help ease that pressure and has had a great camp. "We have a lot of confidence in Jonathan Krause," Franklin said. Notes: Franklin named Austyn Carta-Samuels as his starting quarterback. The big battle at quarterback is for the backup spot where Josh Grady and Patton Robinette are pushing to be in that slot against Ole Miss.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Frontend / backend It seems that all my clients (website, mobile, backend) have to share the same token (project's token). Is there a way to say this event is sure because it has been sent by the backend? I mean what guarantee me this data hasn't been sent by someone who retrieved the token from the frontend JS snippet? I’m concerned about calls to track_charge() for example. 4 replies It is correct that your token is public, however in my 2+ years at Mixpanel I have never seen malicious events get sent to a project. That being said, if you want to confirm that specific data is sent only from your backend, you can add a filter to your report to only include events from a back-end mixpanel library. It is also worth mentioning that while a token is public, your secret is private and available only to you, which is required for exports of any kind. Is this something that you are observing in your project? If so, I’d want to learn more about what you are seeing so we can create a plan to prevent this, figure out why it may be happening, or explore whether you are seeing bot activity that could be removed. If this is preventative, I would recommend that you use additional property filters that you know are only getting sent from your team. Maybe there is a unique property name or ID that you are sending that would only be known to your and your team. Let me know how that sounds! Also, I confirmed that none of my responses have been marked as best answer and I will keep an eye on this thread to make sure that you get a timely response! Cookie policy Cookie settings We use 3 different kinds of cookies. You can choose which cookies you want to accept. We need basic cookies to make this site work, therefore these are the minimum you can select. Learn more about our cookies.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Pros And Cons Of Credit Monitoring Services Identity theft is a complex problem and one that we're relatively powerless to prevent. Who knows how many government entities, doctors' offices, credit card companies and other entities have sensitive information, like our Social Security numbers, addresses and mothers' maiden names? How can we trust every person who has access to the paper and electronic records containing that information, to keep it safe from criminals? How do we know that some of the people who are authorized to access this information aren't criminals themselves? This is where credit monitoring comes in; a seemingly tidy solution to the problem of stolen sensitive information. For around $10 to $15 a month, credit bureaus, banks and other financial services companies promise to keep an eye out for signs of potential fraud. What Credit Monitoring Services OfferHere are some of the protections credit monitoring services say they offer. Experian Credit Tracker Credit Monitoring, a $14.95 per month service, checks each of your three credit reports daily and emails you if anything changes. It only grants you access to your Experian credit report and score, however. The company also offers a $50,000 guarantee of identity theft expense reimbursement and access to a fraud resolution specialist, if your identity is stolen. For identity theft protection, consumers can purchase a service for $12.95 per month from Experian, that provides access to your Experian credit report (but not score), the same monitoring and email notification service, daily internet scanning for unauthorized use of your Social Security number, debit and credit cards, $1 million in identity theft insurance and several other protections. The insurance is supposed to cover expenses such as lost wages, private investigator services and legal fees that you incur, if your identity is stolen. (For additional reading, check out: Do You Understand Your Credit Score?) Citi Identity Monitor, at $12.95 per month, checks your credit file every business day and notifies you of any changes, provides services for fraud and identity theft victims and reimburses expenses associated with identity theft, up to $25,000. Its coverage is open to anyone, not just Citibank customers, and applies to all of your credit cards and bank accounts, not just ones you might have with Citibank. Secure Identity Systems calls itself "the most comprehensive program available to protect you and your family from identity theft." It goes beyond credit monitoring to look at Social Security, public records, real property records, phone databases and postal service databases to look for signs of identity theft. The company also provides phone assistance to help with identity recovery and reimburses up to $25,000 in expenses incurred from cleaning up after an identity thief. The company offers a number of pricing plans, based on enrollment terms and the number of people to be covered. Can Credit Monitoring Services Deliver?Consumer advocates, including Consumer Reports, have stated that credit monitoring services are not a good use of consumers' money, because they are inadequate at protecting against identity theft. Here are some types of theft that credit monitoring won't alert you to: Another shortcoming of credit monitoring is that it can't prevent the theft from happening in the first place, it can only notify you that it's already happened. Also, most programs' expense reimbursement offers don't apply if your identity is stolen before you sign up for the service, even if you're completely unaware of the theft. In addition, the Consumer Federation of America says that no identity theft protection service can provide complete protection. The Bottom LineIdentity thieves operate in many ways. Some belong to organized crime, some use fake checks with real account information and some steal information online, via security breaches, social engineering scams and hacking. Unlocked mailboxes and wallets remain prime targets for low-tech criminals, and smartphones create further opportunities for ID theft. Though you can get your credit report for free once a year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), a lot can happen in a year and the three reports do not always contain identical information, making it possible to miss an important red flag, if you only check each report once a year. Credit monitoring, when combined with identity monitoring, can offer an added layer of protection, but consumers should weigh the ongoing costs of these programs against their benefits, and be aware that all products have shortcomings. Consumers can take extra steps to further protect their identities, but there is no foolproof system for preventing or catching this crime. (For additional reading, check out: Free Credit Reports And Credit Scores That Aren't Free.)	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
"The most common characteristic of all police states is intimidation by surveillance. Citizens know they are being watched and overheard. Their mail is being examined. Their homes can be invaded." ~ Vance Packard Why Shed Blood for Democracy? Winston Churchill once said that the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. A conversation with just about any voter would work as well. Hans-Hermann Hoppe points out that democracy promotes 'the 'infantilization' of society,' resulting in 'continually increased taxes, paper money and paper money inflation, an unending flood of legislation, and a steadily growing 'public' debt.' Under democracy, he says, we've witnessed the limited war of kings give way to total war, in which the 'distinction between combatants and non-combatants becomes fuzzy and ultimately disappears . . . .' Furthermore, democracy has served as 'the fountainhead of every form of socialism: of (European) democratic socialism and (American) liberalism and neo-conservatism as well as of international (Soviet) socialism, (Italian) fascism, and national (Nazi) socialism.' And given that the modern welfare state is economically unstable, it 'is bound to collapse under its own parasitic weight, much like Russian-style socialism imploded' in 1991. It is frequently argued that if only we could return to constitutional government, many of the abuses we find in democracy would vanish. But even a minimalist constitution is vulnerable to a coup. John C. Calhoun's Disquisition on Government, written in the late 1840s when the government's assault on liberty was still in its infancy, identified the inescapable nature of a democratic society. As Thomas DiLorenzo noted in a recent article, Calhoun saw the folly in believing that an organization in control of the ballot box and the military could be overcome 'by an appeal to reason, truth, justice, or the obligations imposed by the constitution." Calhoun maintained that democracy consists of a war between net taxpayers and net tax consumers, and that the war's end would be the 'subversion of the constitution' in which all restrictions on state power would be annulled. And today's Republicrats know the end is near, if it hasn't already arrived. Both McCain and Obama talk like they've never heard of the Constitution. If they occasionally speak with deference to a higher authority, it's to keep the voters inert. In an attempt to reverse the statist onslaught, libertarians try to educate the public. But the libertarian message depends on the public taking the initiative. They have to look for it and find it ' it isn't poured on them from mainstream outlets. And the Establishment will have it no other way. While the odds against getting a message out may seem insurmountable, there's always the possibility of hacking the Establishment. It's more a fantasy than a possibility, but let's indulge. In this case, the hack would consist of taking control of that portion of viewers' TV screens normally reserved for stock quotes and sports scores. All TVs, everywhere. Imagine politically incorrect messages rolling along the bottom of America 's TVs while talking heads ramble tediously about the latest statist proposals. 'Braves 6, Phillies 3' gives way to 'Why should democracy rise against bribery? It is itself a form of wholesale bribery.' As the above quote suggests, the hacker could achieve brilliance by drawing on the writings of H. L. Mencken. Dissident Books will soon release a new edition of Mencken's 1926 classic, Notes on Democracy. It is nicely packaged, with an introduction by Mencken biographer Marion Elizabeth Rodgers and an afterword by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Anthony Lewis. Very importantly, it also includes an Annotations section to clarify some of Mencken's allusions, making the text more accessible to young readers. But for the most part, a rapier wit such as Mencken's needs no translating, as the bribery quote shows. Though Mencken was one of the most prolific journalists of his day, Notes on Democracy alone could provide antidotal wisdom for an entire election season. Democratic Man Mencken tells us that democratic man 'originated in the poetic fancy of gentlemen on the upper levels ' sentimentalists who, observing to their distress that the ass was over-laden, proposed to reform transport by putting him into the cart.' It took awhile for this democratic man to adjust to the idea that he was special by virtue of his inferiority, but gradually his wishes . . . began to take on the dignity of legal rights, and after a while, of intrinsic and natural rights, and by the same token the wishes of his masters sank to the level of mere ignominious lusts. By 1828 in America and by 1848 in Europe the doctrine had arisen that all moral excellence, and with it all pure and unfettered sagacity, resided in the inferior four-fifths of mankind. To Mencken, what is most curious about democratic man is, though he reaches his capacity for absorbing knowledge quickly, he remains capable for a long time thereafter of absorbing delusions. What is true daunts him, but what is not true finds lodgment in his cranium with so little resistance that there is only a trifling emission of heat. The process of education is largely a process of dispelling childhood fears and illusions with knowledge. Under democracy, though, education is sentenced to futility because the vast majority of men are congenitally incapable of any such intellectual progress. . . They are unable to reason from a set of facts before them, free from emotional distraction. But they also lack something more fundamental: they are incompetent to take in the bald facts themselves. Given the nature of democratic man, what does democracy become in practice? A witch hunt. The whole history of the country has been a history of melodramatic pursuits of horrendous monsters, most of them imaginary . . . He cites the example of World War I. Before the U.S. joined the blood-fest, the mob's only concern was to stay out of danger, reflected in the most popular song of 1915, 'I Didn't Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier.' In 1916, Wilson was re-elected on his fraudulent promise to keep that boy from danger. On the morning after Election Day, the demagogues shifted gears. They had to generate a new fear even greater than the fear of going to war, and they succeeded by demonizing Germans and a possible German victory. The whole power of the government was concentrated upon throwing the plain people into a panic. All sense was heaved overboard, and there ensued a chase of bugaboos on a truly epic scale. By the end of 1917, the American people were in a state of terror about a foe 3,000 miles away and without the means to harm them. Liberty and Democratic Man Democratic man is an enemy of liberty because his greatest concern is not freedom but safety. He is a natural slave. Genuine liberty requires courage, a quality he lacks. Even the concept of liberty is beyond the reach of his limited understanding. He can imagine and even esteem, in his way, certain false forms of liberty ' for example, the right to choose between two political mountebanks, and to yell for the more obviously dishonest -- but the reality is incomprehensible to him. Further on, Mencken says, The great masses of men, though theoretically free, are seen to submit supinely to oppression and exploitation of a hundred abhorrent sorts. Have they no means of resistance? Obviously they have. The worst tyrant, even under democratic plutocracy, has but one throat to slit. In prosperous times, the typical democrat is quite willing to exchange any of the theoretical boons of freedom for something that he can use . . . . He will sell it very willingly for a good job or for some advantage in his business. Offering him such bribes, in fact, is the chief occupation of all political parties under democracy, and of all professional politicians. And don't talk to democratic man about taking up arms against the state. He can get anything he wants through conventional means. If he's concerned about the Constitution, it can always be amended, if necessary. And by 'anything,' Mencken meant anything, even legalizing the president's assassination for malfeasance. Democratic man could The politician is democracy's courtier. 'His business is never what it pretends to be,' Mencken says. Though he comes across as a whole-hearted devotee to the service of his fellow man, he is actually 'a sturdy rogue whose principal, and often sole aim in life is to butter his own parsnips. His technical equipment consists simply of an armamentarium of deceits.' Where do his powers lie? They lie, obviously, in the gross weaknesses and knaveries of the common people ' in their inability to grasp any issues save the simplest and most banal, in their incurable tendency to fly into preposterous alarms, in their petty self-seeking and venality, in their instinctive envy and hatred of their superiors . . . He goes on: The inferior man cannot imagine himself save as taking orders ' if not from the boss, then from the priest, and if not from the priest, then from some fantastic drill-sergeant of his own creation. Demagoguery is the hallmark of democracy. And the demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots . . . . The whole process [of seeking office] is one of false pretences and ignoble concealments. Dishonorable men tend to gradually 'monopolize all the public offices. Out of the muck of their swinishness the typical American law-maker emerges.' He has taken orders from his superiors in knavery and he has wooed and flattered his inferiors in sense . . . . He is willing to embrace any issue, however idiotic, that will get him votes, and he is willing to sacrifice any principle, however sound, that will lose them for him. Democracy andLiberty The average man, Mencken tells us, doesn't like liberty. It alarms him and leaves him feeling lonely. He longs instead for 'the warm, reassuring smell of the herd, and is willing to take the herdsman with it.' He doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe. The greatest threat to democracy is not a tyrant but a free spirit. Democracies 'are in vast dread of heresy, as a Sunday-school superintendent is in dread of scarlet women . . . .' The aim of all democracies is to crush the free spirits, 'to make docile John Does of them.' The inferior man, he says, resents and envies the superior man. Such an attitude, of course, is not unique to democracy. But it is only under democracy that it is liberated; it is only under democracy that it becomes the philosophy of the state. The democratic state shows a strong tendency to become a Puritan state. Puritans want to bring the other fellow down to their level. So it is with democratic man. Both make the same error: they mistake a weakness for a merit. Both are docile, cowardly, and lacking in enterprise and originality. As for democracy's future, Mencken cannot say. His purpose in Notes is not prognosis but diagnosis. He is engaged in pathology, not therapeutics. Yet he admits To lack a remedy is to lack the very license to discuss disease. The causes of this are to be sought, without question, in the nature of democracy itself. It came into the world as a cure-all, and it remains primarily a cure-all to this day. Any boil upon the body politic, however vast and raging, may be relieved by taking a vote . . . . Regarding democracy's blind optimism, he says The man who hopes absurdly, it appears, is in some fantastic and gaseous manner a better citizen than the man who detects and exposes the truth. Bear this sweet democratic axiom clearly in mind. It is, fundamentally, what is the matter with the United States . Notes on Democracy is strong medicine for the politically na've, though it may require more than one reading to keep the malady in remission. It is the perfect tonic for surviving our politicized culture.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
For the first time since Ryan Kelly went out with a foot injury on Jan. 8, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski has provided an update on the injured forward’s status and possible return. The Blue Devils coach, speaking at a postgame press conference following his ... Let me walk you through the newest vide from LinePressFrance, which will be posted in full at the bottom of this post: French anti-gay-marriage marchers give the fascist salute while singing the French national anthem: During the song, one religious right ... Kaliati said the offence is against society and serious one that did not deserve bail and urged the judiciary not to be insensitive to the society by allowing suspects who defile minors to walk free on bail. The outspoken minister said she learnt with ... Cameroon - National Assembly: Cavaye Yeguie Djibril Elected President Again Honorable Cavaye Yeguie Djibril has again been re-elected House Speaker of Cameroon’s lower house, the National Assembly. He was re-elected during a session on Monday November 4, at the glass house in Yaounde to setup a new permanent bureau … Mark it down: Saturday, February 15, 2014 a dream came true for Shelter Island’s High School boys varsity basketball program. After many years of building a program with all its ups and downs, the Island’s boys won a Suffolk County Class D title. Since ... Enjoying almost three decades of popularity as Ottawa’s hottest drinking and entertainment establishment, the Beachcomber Room was THE place to dance, listen to live music and enjoy the quintessential Tiki Mai Tai cocktail. However, as with most bars ...	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
SUBSCRIPTION BUNDLES FREE Real Money TZA Crosses Critical Technical Indicator In trading on Friday, shares of the Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares ETF entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $20.08 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. In trading on Friday, shares of the Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares ETF ( TZA) entered into oversold territory, changing hands as low as $20.08 per share. We define oversold territory using the Relative Strength Index, or RSI, which is a technical analysis indicator used to measure momentum on a scale of zero to 100. A stock is considered to be oversold if the RSI reading falls below 30. In the case of Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares, the RSI reading has hit 29.7 — by comparison, the RSI reading for the S&P 500 is currently 68.4. A bullish investor could look at TZA's 29.7 reading as a sign that the recent heavy selling is in the process of exhausting itself, and begin to look for entry point opportunities on the buy side. Looking at a chart of one year performance (below), TZA's low point in its 52 week range is $20.08 per share, with $76.60 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $20.14. Daily Small Cap Bear 3x Shares shares are currently trading down about 2.9% on the day.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
With iOS 6, Apple has clearly defined the different roles of Twitter and Facebook for the masses As we mentioned earlier, some birdies told us before Apple’s WWDC keynote today that the Facebook integrations and announcements were going to be “huge.” I had no idea how huge they’d be until I took iOS 6 for a go myself. Today, along with the Facebook integrations, Apple introduced a new feature on the notifications center called “Tap to Tweet” and “Tap to Post”. These are obviously features that will benefit both services, but some other things come to light with these features as well. What has come to light isn’t so much about features, it’s more about perception. For those of us who don’t live and breathe technology, what Twitter is compared to Facebook isn’t very clear. Thanks to Apple, any confusion is gone. Real vs. Projection When you fire up the tap to tweet option, you only have the ability to add your 140 characters and send it to the moon. That’s what Twitter is after all, right? A big soapbox? When you tap to post, you can put in a status message that’s as long as you want. But more importantly, you can choose who sees that status. Yes, Apple is now showing the masses that Twitter is for public shouting from the rooftops, whereas Facebook is the social utility that takes a little more thought before you hit the send button. While this clarity doesn’t really hurt either company, it most definitely helps Facebook quite a bit. By putting the services side-by-side, users will now realize that their random thoughts can only be truly controlled on Facebook. Once you tie your Facebook account to your device, whenever you want to share on Facebook you must choose who will see it. That’s a value of Facebook that hasn’t been very clear in its own app or even on the web. Privacy has been a major confusion point for Facebook users, but its true power is now extremely clear in iOS 6. A Tweet vs. A Post Hardcore Twitter users will continue to share anything and everything that comes to their minds, that’s the awesome part about the product. It’s also the part that scares most people away. When consumers get their hands on iOS 6, they might lean towards Facebook a little more than they used to for their social interactions. For hardcore Facebook users, they may fall in love with the gigantic social network all over again, now that they can access its features with a tap of conveniently located buttons. When you’re on your Camera Roll and find a nice image that might be a bit too personal to tweet, you now have the quick option to share it on Facebook. That means that all of those “lost interactions” in iOS 5 that were due to the fact that a tweet was simply too public, will now be scooped up by Facebook. This is great for Apple’s users, and massive for Facebook. Obviously not obvious The distinction between the two services may seem super obvious, but when you’re a platform who is vying for eyeballs and ad dollars, it’s an important distinction to make. Could future versions of iOS 6 embed these two services even deeper, including advertising? I could see Apple offering great views for Twitter and Facebook that allowed the two companies to utilize iAds as a way to bring in extra revenue. Maybe you could even see a highly interactive ad pop up in the notification center one of these days. While it’s still early days for Apple’s foray into social with these partnerships, it’s very clear that the company has drawn a line in the sand between Twitter and Facebook today. And it’s a line that neither company will be able to cross in the eyes of consumers, once they get their hands on iOS 6. Twitter is for broadcasting, and Facebook is a utility. One could argue that Facebook is both, but that’s a different story.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Meguerditch Agha Yaqoubian, 1806 – 1872 is photographed here in 1865, Istanbul, in the building of the Constantinople Armenian Patriarchate. Meguerditch Agha was the son of Astvadzadour Agha Yaqoubian and the grandson of “Khoy” Hacob Yaqoubian, the founder of the Yaqoubian princely clan in 1781 after he valiantly killed the vile Turkish invasion leader on Zeytoun, Ömer Pasha in 1780. His grandson Lévon Agha Yaqoubian 1846- 1914 and after 1914, his other grandson Kirkor Agha Yaqoubian were the last Aghas of the Qarghelar Mahallési or Sourp Sarkis Taghamas of the southern end of Zeytoun; Meguerditch Agha Yaqoubian was one of 5 brave leaders of Armenian defenders of Zeytoun during the invasion of Aziz Pasha and Miralay Ali Bey’s müslüman Tcherquez, Turk and Turkmen hordes on Zeytoun in 1862 summer. My own grandfather Vartevar Mardirosoghlu Achikian 1888-1969 was one of his 12 armed “Qabadayi” or Zaptiyé from 1904 till 1914. “Yaquboghlu Meguerd?tch Agha” as he was known locally was one of the 4 legendary Ishkhans of Zeytoun and very much loved for his fairness, wisdom and courage as a leader by the area Armenians and turks alike.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Posts Tagged With: urban fantasy Sometimes it isn’t as easy as choosing right or wrong. Sixteen-year-old Holly Bennett is a comic book nerd, a con artist, and a shaman. Most days Holly wishes she could trade in her power of spirit communication for something more useful–like fireballs or Wolverine claws. She knows spirits aren’t exactly Casper the Friendly Ghosts. They’re […] Like this: In just a few days on October 10, the final novel in the Fae of Calaveras series will be published, bringing Rosa’s journey to an end. This is a bittersweet moment for both Rosa and me—for Rosa because her ending is not entirely happy, and for me, because this trilogy was my first series that […] Like this: As I’m finishing up Witch Gate very soon, I decided it was finally time to do a cover for this thing. Behold the gloriousness that is my amateur photography skills: And while I was at it, I also did a new cover for “Witch Test” to match. Here’s what all six covers in the series look […] This week, Monday July 21st through Friday July 25th, Small Town Witch (ebook) is on sale at all stores for 99c. Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Small-Witch-Calaveras-County-ebook/dp/B00CLZD3H4/ Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/343449 Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/small-town-witch-kristen-walker/1111979764?ean=2940045194679 iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/small-town-witch/id685082007?mt=11 Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/small-town-witch-1 Witch Hunt (ebook) will be free on Amazon Wednesday July 23rd through Friday July 25th. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Hunt-Calaveras-Kristen-Walker-ebook/dp/B00K7US0KA/ And of course, this Friday will be the release […] It’s the start of a new month and that means another new release! Here’s another short story in my teen urban fantasy series, Fae of Calaveras. This one is sort of like #1.5, since it takes place between Small Town Witch and Witch Hunt. We’re going to the other half of the year with a sort of […] Hey Witchlings! It’s a new month and time for a new short story release. Midsummer Knight A new short story in the Fae of Calaveras series Born to a Fae mother and a human father, Ashleigh know her role is to marry the faeriekin Count’s heir, Glen, when they come of age. And Glen is […] Goodreads Link: Midnight Runes (The Bestowed Ones #1) Author: Celeste Buie Genre: YA Urban Fantasy Rating: 4/5 stars WHEN YOUR FUTURE’S AT STAKE, DO YOU FOLLOW YOUR HEAD OR HEART?Brynn Emerson has always been in control of her life—until a mysterious stranger invades her dreams and her boyfriend, Trevor, suddenly dumps her.Life gets more complicated […] Like this: Goodreads Link: The Prophecy of Arcadia (Arcadian Wars #1) Author: M. H. Soars Genre: YA Urban Fantasy Romance Rating: 4/5 stars Being a teenager is tough, especially when you have to pretend to be something you’re not, and you’re in love with someone you shouldn’t. 115 years ago, a small planet called Arcadia was invaded by […] Like this: For today and tomorrow only, Witch Hunt (Fae of Calaveras #2) is FREE on Amazon! If you’ve been waiting to get your hands on this new ebook, now is the perfect time to grab it! She wished her mom would disappear. Now her mom’s missing, and all she wants is to find her again. Teen […] I am so excited to announce the release of my latest novel, Witch Hunt! Some of you have been waiting for this book for a year now, and I know you want to find out what happened to Rosa and her mother. Click here to find this book on Amazon! Also available in paperback. The following […]	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Green Knights Grind Past Monmouth MONMOUTH, Ill. - St. Norbert College's trademark defense carried the day as the Green Knights topped Monmouth College 62-42 win a Midwest Conference game at Glennie Gym. The Green Knights, ranked No. 12 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, held their sixth opponent under 50 points this season in improving to 16-3 overall and 12-2 in the MWC. St. Norbert has a three-game lead on the rest of the league with four games to play, and could clinch a share of its first consecutive league titles with a win over Grinnell Saturday. St. Norbert never trailed, jumping out to an early 8-1 lead in the first three minutes. David Wipperfurth's 3-pointer and Steve Papke's converted and-one on a dunk capped off the early blitz. Wipperfurth's 3-pointer with 5:04 left in the first half but the Green Knights ahead 27-13 but St. Norbert would settle on a 29-17 halftime lead. The Green Knights held a double-digit lead throughout the second half, and a late 12-0 run broke the game open for a 60-36 lead with 2:41 left to play. Wipperfurth led all scorers with 18 points, and canned four 3-pointers. He now has 1,025 career points and moved up to 22nd on St. Norbert's career scoring list. Papke added 11 points and Chris Peterson nine points with six rebounds. St. Norbert shot 46.2 percent (24-for-52) from the floor. Monmouth shot 39 percent (16-for-41) and had only three offensive rebounds in getting outrebounded 35-24. Jake Willis was the only Scot in double figures with 11 points.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Description Black Prophecy is a fast-paced 3D real-time combat space MMO with state of the art visuals. Both the Player-versus-Players combat and an exciting storyline in a rich universe are important aspects of the game.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
CBS This Morning Autoworkers combine skills to build fellow employee a new limb Our series A More Perfect Union shows what unites us as Americans is far greater than what divides us. In this installment, we meet coworkers at an auto plant in Anna, Ohio, who combined their unique skills to literally give a team member a hand. Using a combination of old-school handiwork, high-tech engineering and relationships around the world, a group of people who make cars – not mechanical body parts – built something life-changing, reports Scott Light of CBS affiliate WBNS in Columbus, Ohio. "Everyone's got a certain talent. And by theirselves, they could do pretty good. But when you bring a whole group of people with different talents together, that's when things start clicking," David Macke said. Tony Leonard CBS News "So you got tons of different backgrounds coming together to build something that nobody has ever – none of us has ever done before," said Corey Howard. Something no one has done because these Honda colleagues came together to build an arm for fellow employee, Tony Leonard. "I am an engineer for parts for cars. How am I going to build an arm? I'm not a doctor, you know. We done a lot of research on it and figured out that we can do this," said Les Bowers. Tony Leonard suffered from a childhood spinal condition that brought new problems in adulthood. A surgery helped strengthen his legs but a separate, rare disease ravaged his left elbow. "I had gone through about five surgeries to try to stabilize it and none of it was working so the decision was to just go ahead and amputate it," Leonard said. Without a prosthetic arm to offer balance, Leonard was wheelchair bound. So his colleagues stepped in. Manager Frank Kahle came up with the idea. "Knowing the different technologies that we have the scanning and the 3D printing, it was pretty obvious to me that we were capable of doing it," Kahle said. Kahle enlisted engineer Les Bowers, who assembled the right parts and the right people. Richard Crawson created a comfortable stand to ensure accurate scans of both of Leonard's arms. "We would repeat this multiple times until we finally got something that worked very well for Tony," said Scott Jones who created 3D models. "Once you get to know him, you would do anything you could to help him," said Susie Bowles, who works in purchasing and used her connections to source supplies – some from as far as Japan. Electrical design engineer Corey Howard brought the prosthetic's fingers to life. Macke, also known as "MacGyver," became the project's utility guy. "There's some things that computers and machines can't figure out it just takes experience and I have the knack to visualize beforehand what's something's going to look like," Macke said. After a couple of months, the team's work led to the day when Leonard walked for the first time in two years. Tony Leonard and the team of coworkers who worked together to make his prosthetics. "I was totally surprised how stable I was at first. I was excited. My adrenaline was pumping. And I was happy," Leonard said. "I got to say, it was a pretty emotional day. It was great to see him walk again," Bowers said. Eventually Leonard got a top-of-the-line prosthetic through his insurance, but that arm had limitations. The team rallied again, this time building a specialized hook so Leonard could hold onto his crutches and leave his wheelchair behind. "They got me out of this chair. How do you thank the guys for doing that for you? Only thing I can think of is continue to get stronger and use the very product they provided for me," Leonard said. "We're not a bunch of coworkers. We're kind of a family over here. And it's good to be part of that," Crawson said. Leonard's team built six arms total, each one bettering the last. Honda has a conference every year that highlights problem solving at its factories worldwide. Typically that award goes to innovations designed for cars, but last year the top award went to the team from Ohio for building those very arms.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
A Columbia River Pilot's View Of Coal Exports Columbia River pilot Anne McIntyre boards vessels that are longer than skyscrapers are tall and navigates them with precision through the Columbia River’s narrow channels. If coal export terminals are built along the river, McIntyre could find herself navigating bulk carriers laden with coal. But she says that won’t change how she does her job “Coal is not any more or less precious than any other cargo we transport,” McIntyre says. “I don’t view a coal ship as being any different than any other ship that I navigate. We’re vigorously neutral on all cargos.” McIntyre is one of many voices featured in the EarthFix “Voices of Coal” series, which includes perspectives on coal export projects from a rancher who lives near a coal mine, a labor organizer, an anti-coal artist, a train engineer, the mayor of Camas, Wash., a woman who lives near the railroad tracks, and a tribal fisherman. For many years, McIntyre says, the main purpose of the river pilots’ was to move cargo and protect ships. Since the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, though, their priority has been protecting the environment. “A pilot’s job is to mitigate risk,” McIntyre says. “We view ourselves as being on the front lines of defending the environment.” McIntyre has never seen a collision or spill in her 16 years. The way she sees it, the risk of a coal spill is about nil. If a ship were to run aground, the coal would be in hatches above the water line. More OPB EarthFix is a public media partnership of Oregon Public Broadcasting, Idaho Public Television, KCTS9 Seattle, KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio, Northwest Public Radio and Television, Jefferson Public Radio, KLCC and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Islamic televangelist Amr Khaled is young, smiling, teaches love and mercy and is so popular he's credited with inspiring thousands of women -- turned off by dour, traditional clerics -- to take on the veil. Now he's putting his popularity on the line by trying a new role, as a bridge between Islam and the West at a time when many are talking about a clash of civilizations. In the process, Khaled is sometimes telling the faithful what they're not used to hearing from clerics -- that Muslims aren't blameless in tensions, that the West is not always bad and that dialogue is better than confrontation. "A young Muslim goes to Europe with a forged visa, takes unemployment insurance there, then goes on TV and says, 'We're going to expel you from Britain, take your land, money and women,'" Khaled said recently on his weekly program on the Saudi satellite TV channel Iqraa, trying to explain mistrust of Muslims in Europe. "It's a rare example but it exists." The 38-year-old Egyptian raised a storm of controversy when he attended a March 9 dialogue conference of European and Muslim leaders in Copenhagen -- the capital of Denmark, which has been the focus of anger across the Islamic world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed first published in a Danish paper. Some in the Arab world saw his attendance as a surrender and branded him a traitor and an opportunist. This week, Khaled is headed to a gathering of Islamic clerics in Bahrain that begins Wednesday, aimed at considering the next step in the response to the prophet cartoons. The conference is organized by one of Khaled's most vocal critics, hard-line Sheik Youssef el-Qaradawi. Many Muslims saw the caricatures -- which depicted their beloved prophet as violent and backward -- as an intentional insult and reacted with a wave of protests. In the West, the outrage was seen as an attack on freedom of speech and only deepened anti-Muslim sentiment. For Khaled, the controversy underlined what he has seen as a need for a new approach by Muslims, one of reform and dialogue with the rest of the world. "For the past three years, with youth across the Islamic world, we've been working for a faith-based renaissance in this region, which will not take place by clashes but by coexistence," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo. He said he had expected the criticism over his new campaign. "An initiative by definition is something new, and I represent a school that has opposing schools of thought," he said. Khaled is not the only Muslim religious leader promoting dialogue. But he has become one of the most outspoken. And he brings the huge fan base of a pop star: young people, women and the middle and upper-middle class. He built his popularity over more than 10 years of preaching, with a style far from that of traditional clerics, who are distinct with their beards and robes and whose sermons often emphasize the demands of Islam and the threat of damnation and hellfire. In contrast, Khaled is known for his stylish suits and his broad smile. In his sermons, he has avoided politics and stressed God's mercy, seeking to show how one can be a good Muslim while still enjoying the activities of modern life. That message instantly appealed to the young -- particularly the well-off, looking for a version of Islam that suited their lifestyles. Educated as an accountant, not a cleric, Khaled began preaching as a hobby in social clubs, but then vaulted to television. Thousands packed mosques where he preached. "He is a very simple, moderate, humble man, easygoing. He makes you feel like you are his sister," said Zeinab el-Sherif, 32, a wealthy, veiled Egyptian businesswoman who has been a fan since hearing Khaled at her club a decade ago. "He is so tolerant and friendly, he makes you feel good about your religion and yourself," she said. The Egyptian government, apparently nervous over his popularity, pushed Khaled out in late 2002, banning him from giving his sermons at Egyptian mosques. He moved to London with his wife and son Ali to pursue a doctorate in Islamic studies. His thesis: "Islam and coexisting with the other." The time in London "has resulted in a mixture of maturity and seeing the other better and readiness to coexist," he told AP. "It also made clear the common values as well as the differences that can't be overcome." Khaled's program on the Iqraa channel continued, and now Egypt -- perhaps seeking to encourage a moderate Islamic voice -- has been more welcoming, allowing him to hold a large conference in Cairo last month. He is back for good in Egypt. Many clerics criticized Khaled in the past, particularly for his lack of religious training. But the controversy has heated up with his campaign for dialogue, which represents a new foray into the realm of politics. Egyptian newspapers have been sharply divided over his visit to Copenhagen. But Khaled's supporters appear to be sticking by him. "I loved the idea of the Denmark conference, and I don't know any of Amr Khaled's admirers who don't," said Riham el-Demerdash, 35, a veiled mother of three in Cairo. "Those who are against the conference are those who don't like Amr in the first place -- or are clerics who are jealous."	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
A Derby man on trial for planning a terrorist attack sent his co-accused a video of a man singing about Osama Bin Laden, a court has heard. Munir Mohammed, of Leopold Street, Normanton, is on trial at the Old Bailey in London where he is accused of planning an IS-type terrorist attack on Britain. A series of conversations between Mohammed and his co-defendant, Rowaida El-Hassan, who the court has heard he met on a Muslim dating website, were read out to the jury on Tuesday morning. The trial heard Mohammed sent El-Hassan Islamic State videos of killings and a suicide car bombing. Jurors were told she sent him a link to a news story about the Orlando nightclub shooting which killed 49 people in 2016. Read More What's been happening in the courts? The Old Bailey heard Mohammed sent El-Hassan, of Willesden Lane, north-west London, a message which said: "I have sent you a video in this image, let her watch it. It has the answer to everything. Burning, slaughtering or something similar." That was over internet communication site WhatsApp in April 2016. The trial has previously heard that the pair, who are of Sudanese origin, had met through a website called singlemuslim.com. On April 8, she sent him a message saying: "I'm at my mom's house", the court heard. He said: "I miss you." Munir was arrested at his home in Leopold Street, Normanton The pair also exchanged phone calls. Not long after one, Ms Whyte said El-Hassan sent Mohammed a message to say she would change her number tomorrow. He replied: “Why is that?” Ms Whyte said El Hassan said: “I won’t be able to speak to you again, so excuse me and wish you good health and may God look after you.” Ms Whyte said Mohammed sent messages which said “what’s up with you?” and “stop being childish”. She said the pair got back in touch and on May 28, the court heard, she sent Mohammed a message which said: "I love you."	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Civil Services Examination, 2008Examination Notice No. 04/2008Dated : 29-12-2007Last Date : 28.01.2008The number of vacancies to be filled on the results of the examination is expected to be approximately 671.for full details please visit: upse IMPORTANT 1. CANDIDATES TO ENSURE THEIR ELIGIBILITY FOR THE EXAMINATION:The Candidates applying for the examination should ensure that they fulfill all eligibility condition for admission to examination. Their admission at all the stages of the examination will be purely provisional subject to satisfying the prescribed eligibility conditions Mere issue of admission certificate to the candidate will not imply that his candidature has been finally cleared by the Commission. Commission take up verification of eligibility conditions with reference to original documents only after the candidate has qualified for interview/Personality Test. 2. APPLICATION FORM : Candidates must apply in the Common Application Form devised by the Commission for its examination, which can be purchased from the Designated Head Post Offices/Post Offices (specified in Appendix III of the notice) throughout the country against cash payment of Rs. 20/- (Rupees Twenty only). Each such form can be used only once and only for one examination. In case of any difficulty in obtaining Application Forms from the designated HPOs/POs, the candidates should immediately contact the concerned post Master or UPSC's "FORMS SUPPLY MONITORING CELL" over Telephone No. 011-23389366/FAX No. 011-23387310. Candidates are advised to read carefully the "Instructions for filling up the Application Form" given in Appendix-II of this notice. 3. LAST DATE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS : All applications must reach the "Secretary, Union Public Service Commission, Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi - 110069" either by hand or by Post/Speed Post or by Courier, on or before the 28th January, 2008. However, in respect of candidates residing abroad or in certain remote localities specified in para 6 of this Notice the last date for receipt of application by Post/Speed Post only (not by Hand or by Courier) is 4th February, 2008 Group 2 2008 result will be announced on 29th Dec 2008Group 1 notification is released today i.e 27th Dec 2007.appsc told that a total of 197 post to fill by this notification. The applications are available from 21th Jan 2008 and the last date to send the filled allication is 8th Feb 2008.the details no of posts in each category as follows post category No of positions Deputy Superintendent of Police 46 Commercial Tax Office 34 Assistant Audit Officers 43 Group 2 notification is released on 28th Dec 2007.appsc told that a total of 1468 posts to be filled by this notification. The applications are available from 11th Feb 2008 and the last date to send the filled allication is 29th Feb 2008. to get the application by post, Send a demad draft of Rs 60. drawn on the name of December 17, 2007 1. No BreakfastPeople who do not take breakfast are going to have a lower blood sugar level. This leads to an insufficient supply of nutrients to the brain causing brain degeneration. 2. Overeating It causes hardening of the brain arteries, leading to a decrease in mental power. 3. Smoking It causes multiple brain shrinkage and may lead to Alzheimer disease. 4. High Sugar consumption Too much sugar will interrupt the absorption of proteins and nutrients causingmalnutrition and may interfere with brain development. 5. Air Pollution The brain is the largest oxygen consumer in our body. Inhaling polluted air decreases the supply of oxygen to the brain, bringing about a decrease in brain efficiency. 6. Sleep Deprivation Sleep allows our brain to rest. Long term deprivation from sleep will accelerate the death of brain cells. 7. Head covered while sleeping Sleeping with the head covered, increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and decrease concentration of oxygen that may lead to brain damaging effects. 8. Working your brain during illness Working hard or studying with sickness may lead to a decrease in effectiveness of the brain as well as damage the brain. 9. Lacking in stimulating thoughts Thinking is the best way to train our brain, lacking in brain stimulation thoughts may cause brain shrinkage. 10. Talking Rarely Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The main causes of liver damage are: 1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late are main cause. 2. Not urinating in the morning. 3. Too much eating. 4. Skipping breakfast. 5. Consuming too much medication. 6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives, food coloring , and artificial sweetener. 7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil. Do not consume fried foods when you are tired, except if the body is very fit. 8. Consuming raw (overly done) foods also add to the burden of liver. Veggies should be eaten raw or cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished in one sitting, do not store. We should prevent this without necessarily spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily lifestyle and eating habits. Maintaining good eating habits and time condition are very important for our bodies to absorb and get rid of unnecessary chemicals according to "schedule." Because : Evening at 9 - 11 PM : is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals (detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact on health. Evening at 11pm - 1 am : is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should be done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 1 - 3 am : detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state. Early morning 3 - 5 am : detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process. Morning 5 - 7am : detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel. Morning 7 - 9 am : absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30 am , for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30 am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10 am rather than no meal at all. Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and don't sleep late. DO TAKE CARE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH................. AND PASS THIS TO ALL WHOM YOU LOVE & CARE FOR ...................... December 14, 2007 Dear All I came across a lovely story which I felt I should share with each one of you. It is about positive attitude towards life and everything in it. I am sure, you all agree with me, when I say that 'Life is all about choices'. Make the right choice so that you have to smile on your lips when you wake up, and a smile on when you go to bed, day in and day out.Here's the story- I trust you'll all enjoy reading it! __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Raju is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Raju was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood." Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. He continued, "the paramedics were great." They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.""What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'. Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.Attitude, after all, is everything. "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.You have two choices now:1. Learn to Live Life- enjoy every minute of it2. Continue to lead life the way it is- cribbing, complaining, and filled with negativityYou know the choice that helps! Story of the Day: Don’t Copy If You Cant Paste ProperlyAt training program for top management. A well-known motivational speaker gathering the entire crowd's attention, said, "The best years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who wasn't my wife !"The crowd was shocked! He followed up by saying, "That woman was my mother!" The crowd burst into laughter and he gave his speech, which was well received. About a week later, one of the top managers who had the training decided to use that joke at his house. He tried to rehearse the joke in his head. It was a bit foggy to him.He said loudly, "The greatest years of my life were spent in the arms of a woman who was not my wife!" Naturally, his wife was shell shocked, murmuring. After standing there for almost 10 seconds trying to recall the second half of the joke, the manager finally blurted out "... and I can't remember who she was !"As expected, he got thrashing of his life time.... Moral of the story: Don't copy if you can't paste properly Have a nice weekend.... Rohit wakes up at home with a huge hangover. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins and a glass of water on the side table. He sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. Rohit looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotless, clean. So is the rest of the house. He takes the aspirins and notices a note on the table. "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to go shopping. Love You!" So he goes to the kitchen and sure enough there is a hot breakfast and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Rohit asks, "Son, what happened last night?" His son says, "Well, you came home around 3 AM, drunk and delirious. Broke some furniture, puked in the hallway, and gave yourself a black eye when you stumbled into the door". Confused, Rohit asks, "So, why is everything in order and so clean, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me? I should expect a big quarrel with her!" His son replies, "Oh, that! Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your clothes n shoes off, you said, "Lady leave me alone! I'm married!" Moral Self-induced hangover -- Rs. 2000.00 Broken furniture -- Rs. 20,000.00 Breakfast -- Rs. 100.00 Saying The Right Thing While Drunk - PRICELESS. There is a very, very tall coconut tree,and there are 4 animals:King Kong, Ape, Orangutan and a Monkey pass by. They have a competition to see who is the fastest to get the banana.Who do you guess will win?Your answer will reflect your personality.Try and answer within 30secondsGot your answer?Scroll down to see the analysis..............................If your answer is .... Orangutan = dull/stupidApe = foolishMonkey = idiotKing Kong = stupidWhy?????Coconut tree,doesn't have bananas..... ...!!Obviously you're stressed and overworked. Take some time off and relax!! Its friday!!! Hi,Something interesting......Did you know that a flight number from one of the planes that hit one of the two WTC towers on 9/11 was Q33N.In Notepad / WordPad or MS Word, type in that flight number i.e. Q33N.Increase the font size to 72 Change the font to Wingdings 1 ......You will be amazed by the findings!!!.......................It itself tells the story of destruction of twin tower and pentagon!!!!!!!!!!!IS IT COINCIDENCE! OR WHAT? If you want to succeed in Interviews, don’t miss this golden opportunity on Sunday, December 16, 2007 from 10. a.m. to 12. p.m. at NTR Auditorium, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University , Nampally.Andhra Jyothi & ENGLISH MATTERS jointly invite you to a free seminar on “PIR and JAM rounds in Interviews”This seminar will cover—Why PIR and JAM rounds are conductedDemos on what candidates normally do in these roundsHow to do your PIR and JAM rounds rightQ/A session answered by panel including HR Managers from industryWe are making arrangements to share a database of the participants in this series of “FREE SEMINARS” with prospective employers. Please e-mail your CV to [email protected] and await call for interview.Only 270 seats are available.For more details click hereCollect entry coupons from:English Matters, 102 Sai Manor, S.R.Nagar Circle, HYDERABAD – 500 038.Telephone No: 040-66667758; 23714330email: [email protected] web: www.myenglishmatters.com Have u ever seen the calendar for September 1752??? If you are working in Unix, try this out. At $ prompt, type: cal 9 1752Surprised??? ?not only in unix, u can also search it in googleSee the explanation for what you see. Isn't the output queer? A month with whole of eleven days missing. This was the time England shifted from Roman Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, and the king of England ordered those 11 days to be wiped off the face of the month of September of 1752. (What couldn't a King do in those days?!) And yes, the workers worked for 11 days less, but got paid for the entire 30 days. And that's how "Paid Leave" was born.Hail the King!!!Wanna Google : http://www.google.co.in/search?q=september+1752&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Have u ever seen the calendar for September 1752??? If you are working in Unix, try this out. At $ prompt, type: cal 9 1752Surprised??? ?not only in unix, u can also search it in googleSee the explanation for what you see. Isn't the output queer? A month with whole of eleven days missing. This was the time England shifted from Roman Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar, and the king of England ordered those 11 days to be wiped off the face of the month of September of 1752. (What couldn't a King do in those days?!) And yes, the workers worked for 11 days less, but got paid for the entire 30 days. And that's how "Paid Leave" was born.Hail the King!!!Wanna Google : http://www.google.co.in/search?q=september+1752&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a Used to route message between the message box and Orchestrations without usingbindings or from one Orchestration to another Orchestration. What is BAM used for? BAM is used to monitor business milestones and key metrics in near real-timethroughout a process in BizTalk. What is the Rules Engine? Rules are used to provide highly efficient, easily changeable business rulesevaluation to Business Processes. This allows rules to be changed withoutrebuilding and redeploying .net assemblies. The Business Rules Engine (BRE) canalso be called from any .net component through the API’s What are Persistence Points and what causes them? Persistence is when the state of a running Orchestration is stored into SQL. It is good enough to know various shape and actions cause persistence. Morespecifically, it occurs: end of a transactional scope, at a send shape, at astart Orchestration shape, during dehydration, if the system shuts downexpectedly or unexpectedly, or the business process suspends or ends. What group does a user need to belong to in order to submit messages to themessage box? The user needs to be a member of the hot group or isolated host group (assuminga default installation). What user rights to you need to perform most actions in HAT?BizTalk Server AdministratorWhen installing Biztalk in a multi-server configuration with a remote SQL and Analysis Services What are BizTalk artifacts? What is Promoted Property? What is Distinguished Field? What is the difference between Promoted Property and Distinguished Field?How do you debug Orchestrations? What is HAT? What is Functoid? How do you develop a Custom Functoid? Which interface to use? Why the ROOT Name and namespace combination in a schema has to be unique? What is Correlation? What are the transaction types available in an orchestration scope? What is Compensation? How do you catch exceptions inside the orchestration? How do you publish an orchestration as web service? What is Receive Location and Receive Port? What are the adapters available with BizTalk 2004? How do you set up MSMQ and MSMQT in the same machine? What are the components available in an orchestration tool box? What is the difference between Call Orchestration and Start Orchestration shapes? December 3, 2007 You can use the PIVOT and UNPIVOT relational operators to manipulate a table-valued expression into another table. PIVOT rotates a table-valued expression by turning the unique values from one column in the expression into multiple columns in the output, and performs aggregations where necessary on any remaining column values that are desired in the final output. UNPIVOT performs the opposite operation to PIVOT by rotating columns of a table-valued expression into column values.Note:When using PIVOT and UNPIVOT against databases that are upgraded to Microsoft SQL Server 2005, the database's compatibility level must be set to 90. To set the database compatibility level, see sp_dbcmptlevel (Transact-SQL).PIVOT provides syntax that is simpler and more readable than what may otherwise be specified in a complex series of SELECT...CASE statements.A common scenario where PIVOT can be useful is when you want to generate cross-tabulation reports to summarize data. For example, suppose you want to query the PurchaseOrderHeader table in the AdventureWorks sample database to determine the number of purchase orders placed by certain employees. The following query provides this report, broken down by vendor:Copy CodeUSE AdventureWorks;GOSELECT VendorID, [164] AS Emp1, [198] AS Emp2, [223] AS Emp3, [231] AS Emp4, [233] AS Emp5FROM(SELECT PurchaseOrderID, EmployeeID, VendorIDFROM Purchasing.PurchaseOrderHeader) pPIVOT(COUNT (PurchaseOrderID)FOR EmployeeID IN( [164], [198], [223], [231], [233] )) AS pvtORDER BY VendorIDHere is a partial result set:Copy CodeVendorID Emp1 Emp2 Emp3 Emp4 Emp51 4 3 5 4 42 4 1 5 5 53 4 3 5 4 44 4 2 5 5 45 5 1 5 5 5The results returned by this subselect statement are pivoted on the EmployeeID column.Copy CodeSELECT PurchaseOrderID, EmployeeID, VendorIDFROM PurchaseOrderHeaderThis means that the unique values returned by the EmployeeID column themselves become fields in the final result set. As a result, there is a column for each EmployeeID number specified in the pivot clause — in this case employees 164, 198, 223, 231, and 233. The PurchaseOrderID column serves as the value column, against which the columns returned in the final output, called the grouping columns, are grouped. In this case, the grouping columns are aggregated by the COUNT function. Note that a warning message appears indicating that any NULL values appearing in the PurchaseOrderID column were not considered when computing the COUNT for each employee.Important:When using aggregate functions with PIVOT, the presence of any NULL values in the value column are not considered when computing an aggregation.UNPIVOT performs almost the reverse operation of PIVOT, by rotating columns into rows. Suppose the table produced in the example above is stored in the database as pvt, and you want to rotate the column identifiers Emp1, Emp2, Emp3, Emp4, and Emp5 into row values that correspond to a particular vendor. This means that you must identify two additional columns. The column that will contain the column values you are rotating (Emp1, Emp2,...) will be called Employee, and the column that will hold the values that currently reside under the columns being rotated will be called Orders. These columns correspond to the pivot_column and value_column, respectively, in the Transact-SQL definition. The query looks like this.Copy Code--Create the table and insert values as portrayed in the above example.CREATE TABLE pvt (VendorID int, Emp1 int, Emp2 int,Emp3 int, Emp4 int, Emp5 int)GOINSERT INTO pvt VALUES (1,4,3,5,4,4)INSERT INTO pvt VALUES (2,4,1,5,5,5)INSERT INTO pvt VALUES (3,4,3,5,4,4)INSERT INTO pvt VALUES (4,4,2,5,5,4)INSERT INTO pvt VALUES (5,5,1,5,5,5)GO--Unpivot the table.SELECT VendorID, Employee, OrdersFROM(SELECT VendorID, Emp1, Emp2, Emp3, Emp4, Emp5FROM pvt) pUNPIVOT(Orders FOR Employee IN(Emp1, Emp2, Emp3, Emp4, Emp5))AS unpvtGOHere is a partial result set:Copy CodeVendorID Employee Orders1 Emp1 41 Emp2 31 Emp3 51 Emp4 41 Emp5 42 Emp1 42 Emp2 12 Emp3 52 Emp4 52 Emp5 5...Note that UNPIVOT is not the exact reverse of PIVOT. PIVOT performs an aggregation and hence merges possible multiple rows into a single row in the output. UNPIVOT does not reproduce the original table-valued expression result because rows have been merged. Besides, NULL values in the input of UNPIVOT disappear in the output, whereas there may have been original NULL values in the input before the PIVOT operation. View Sales.vSalesPersonSalesByFiscalYears in the AdventureWorks sample database uses PIVOT to return the total sales for each salesperson, for each fiscal year. To script the view, locate it under the Views folder for the AdventureWorks database in the SQL Server Management Studio Object Explorer. Right click on the view name and select Script View as. November 24, 2007 TIniFile is a low-level wrapper for the 16-bit Windows 3.x INI file system that enables storage and retrieval of application-specific information and settings in an application-specific INI file. Unitinifiles DescriptionTIniFile enables handling the storage and retrieval of application-specific information and settings in a Windows 3.x INI file. The INI file text format is the standard way for Windows 3.x applications to store and retrieve application settings from session to session. An INI file stores information in logical groupings, called “sections.” For example, the WIN.INI file contains a section called “[Desktop]”. Within each section, actual data values are stored in named keys. Keys take the form: [keynamegt]=[value] The FileName passed to a TIniFile object when it is created is the name of the INI file the object accesses. Note: Under 32-bit Windows systems, applications typically replace INI files with the system registry where all applications store and retrieve their settings. Delphi provides additional classes for handling the system registry. TRegistry encapsulates the system registry. TRegistryIniFile also encapsulates the registry, but shares a common ancestor with TIniFile so that the same code can access entries stored in either format. Ex: This example reads strings in the DELPHI32.INI file and displays them on the form.Before you run this example, you must add the IniFiles unit to the uses clause of your unit. This example reads the Transfer section of the DELPHI32.INI file into a memo and changes one of the strings in the INI file when Button1 is clicked. When Button2 is clicked, the DELPHI32.INI file is restored to its initial state, using the values stored in the memo.Before you run this example, you must add the IniFiles unit to the uses clause of your unit.Warning: Do not click button2 before you have clicked button1! November 19, 2007 Based on Object Pascal, its benefits include easy-to-read code, quick compilation, and the use of multiple unit files formodular programming.Delphi has special features that support Borland's component framework and RADenvironment. For the most part, descriptions and examples in this language guide assume that you are using Borlanddevelopment tools. Most developers using Borland software development tools write and compile their code in the integrateddevelopment environment (IDE). Borland development tools handle many details of setting up projects and sourcefiles, such as maintenance of dependency information among units. The product also places constraints on programorganization that are not, strictly speaking, part of the Object Pascal language specification. For example, Borlanddevelopment tools enforce certain file- and program-naming conventions that you can avoid if you write yourprograms outside of the IDE and compile them from the command prompt. This language guide generally assumes that you are working in the IDE and that you are building applications thatuse the Borland Visual Component Library (VCL). Occasionally, however, Delphi-specific rules are distinguishedfrom rules that apply to all Object Pascal programming. This text covers both the Win32 Delphi language compiler,and the Delphi for .NET language compiler. Platform-specific language differences and features are noted wherenecessary.This section covers the following topics:Program Organization. Covers the basic language features that allow you to partition your application into unitsand namespaces.Example Programs. Small examples of both console and GUI applications are shown, with basic instructionson running the compiler from the command-line.Program OrganizationDelphi programs are usually divided into source-code modules called units. Most programs begin with a programheading, which specifies a name for the program. The program heading is followed by an optional uses clause, thena block of declarations and statements. The uses clause lists units that are linked into the program; these units,which can be shared by different programs, often have uses clauses of their own.The uses clause provides the compiler with information about dependencies among modules. Because thisinformation is stored in the modules themselves, most Delphi language programs do not require makefiles, headerfiles, or preprocessor "include" directives.Delphi Source FilesThe compiler expects to find Delphi source code in files of three kinds:Unit source files (which end with the .pas extension)Project files (which end with the .dpr extension)Package source files (which end with the .dpk extension)Unit source files typically contain most of the code in an application. Each application has a single project file andseveral unit files; the project file, which corresponds to the program file in traditional Pascal, organizes the unit filesinto an application. Borland development tools automatically maintain a project file for each application.If you are compiling a program from the command line, you can put all your source code into unit (.pas) files. If youuse the IDE to build your application, it will produce a project (.dpr) file.Package source files are similar to project files, but they are used to construct special dynamically linkable librariescalled packages.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Twitter Updates May 15, 2011 Laurie - 2011 (Franklin Co, St. Louis Senior Photographer) Taking Laurie's senior pictures was a privilege for me. She is a very rare young lady - sweet, respectful, responsible, and pretty all rolled into one! The day of her shoot was cold and nasty so we haven't taken her outside pics yet, but I wanted to go ahead and share these. Congratulations, Laurie!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Preview: Spanish Zombie Movie The Dark Hour A Spanish zombie movie. Oh my, that’s a new one. I’ve seen English zombie movies, I’ve seen Japanese zombie movies; heck, I’ve even seen Irish zombie movies. But I’ve never seen a Spanish zombie movie before. (Or at least, I don’t recall one.) That’s about to change with writer/director Elio Quiroga’s “The Dark Hour” (La Hora frÃa), which is described by Variety as “a lyrical sci-fi zombie pic”. Although finished in 2006, “The Dark Hour” will be making its Spanish bow in September, but has already sold overseas to Brazil and Portugal, Russia, the Philippines and Turkey. No word yet on an American sell. A group of eight people live isolated in crumbling installations. They cannot abandon the complex and they live in a constant state of vigilance. The food supplies are running out and they urgently need medicines and ammunitions, but in order to find them they must abandon the secure area. What lurks outside the small area they inhabit, however, is so menacing that they dare not even speak of it. Sounds like an apocalyptic, end of the world type of movie. Then again, maybe it’s all in their head. Maybe it’s a military experiment. Maybe it’s Martians! Whatever the threat turns out to be, it definitely looks like a major mindf*ck movie ala Vincenzo Natali’s “Cube”, right down to the modest budget. “The Dark Hour” is written and directed by Elio Quiroga and stars people you’ve never heard of (at least if you live outside of Spain).	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Abstract The twofold decagonal Al71.8Ni14.8Co13.4(1 0 0 0 0) surface is investigated by using highly surface sensitive elastic helium atom scattering (HAS) and high resolution spot profile analyzing low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED). SPA-LEED and HAS data reveal diffraction patterns of the top most surface layer consistent with those of the surfaces generated by bulk truncations. Strong diffraction peaks corresponding to an 8 Å periodicity are observed. These peaks are broadened along the quasiperiodic surface direction, reflecting a reduced correlation length of ≈80 Å of the 8 Å periodicity within the quasicrystalline planes. In addition very weak streaks corresponding to a 16 Å periodicity are observed.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
"We played great tonight because we really passed the ball beautifully," Pitino said. "It's fun as a coach to watch the guys be so unselfish." The Big East now has four teams playing in this weekend's regional finals, including its regular-season and tournament champ, Louisville. Pitino improved to 9-0 all-time in the regional semifinals. Louisville was incredibly efficient in the highest-scoring game in its NCAA tournament history, shooting 57.6 percent from the field and dishing out 29 assists on 38 baskets. It shot 48 percent on 3-pointers and grabbed nearly as many offensive rebounds (11) as Arizona had on defense (17). Defensively, the Cardinals were even better. They rattled the Wildcats with constant pressure, forcing nine turnovers in the first half and 15 in the game. Arizona was so out of sync, it threw away an inbound pass in the first half and twice had ball-handlers get crossed up just dribbling up the floor. The combination put Louisville within one point of cracking the top five for most lopsided victories in a regional round. UCLA set the record with a 49-point rout over Wyoming in 1967, and the next four all occurred before 1972. And the Louisville players savored every precious moment. "We came out with more intensity, and that's what you've got to do when you're up big because it's hard to play with a lead ," Clark said. It sure didn't look hard in the semifinals. The Cardinals built a 21-point halftime lead, then quickly put it away by opening the second half on an 18-5 run that set off the revelry. Chase Budinger led Arizona with 22 points, and Jordan Hill had 14 points and 11 rebounds. But Arizona shot 38 percent from the field, and never had a chance after the opening minutes. "They shot the ball well, they moved the ball well and, unfortunately for us, we didn't have an answer," interim coach Russ Pennell said. "I think there was a reason Louisville was seeded No. 1 in the tournament and they showed that tonight." Did they ever. Pitino said Thursday he had never seen two teams with such similar defenses on tape. In person, it wasn't even close. Arizona struggled, at times, just to get the ball across midcourt and when it did, the Wildcats had trouble getting into their halfcourt offense. They couldn't stop Louisville's, bigger, stronger, quicker post players, and when the Cardinals didn't go inside, their 3-point shooters were money. Williams hit four 3s and finished with 14 points. Jerry Smith hit four more 3s and finished with 16. Clark and Sosa each added two more threes. What impressed Pitino, though, was the Cardinals crisp passing. They continually found open shooters, leaving Pitino with a tough task before Sunday's regional title game: Finding flaws. "We know that we're not going to play like this again because of the type of defense that we're going to run into now," Pitino said. "I'll find something to be very upset about tonight at snack. I think a lack of humility is the greatest killer of potential. So we're not going to fall in love with ourselves because we had a good game tonight." Louisville broke to a 17-9 lead, then pulled away with a 14-4 run that made it 34-19 with 6 minutes left in the first half. At halftime, it was 49-28.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Well, there is a “dark side of the moon,” it’s just not always the same portion of the surface. Some portion is always in darkness just as some portion of the earth is. But the “dark side” changes continuously while the side facing the earth is always the same. Sure. But I do think that it is an “urban legend” of sorts that there is one side of the moon that never sees sunlight. And that’s not so. (Although there may be some deep craters near the poles that always remain in darkness). George you are so funny. I can picture it in my head all spinning in my head, but I was picturing the moon spinning at the slower rate than the earth as my son described. He, if I understood him right, said the moon spins on it’s axis slower than the earth spins on it’s own axis. OK, let me see if I get this straight- they are spinning at the same rate, does this mean people on the opposite side of earth see something other than the mythical man in the moon? The U.S. sees the man and oh let’s see… Australia maybe even Russia sees something else? Now that I am having a hard time picturing. Signature Mriana “Sometimes in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.” ~ Iris Hineman (Lois Smith) The Minority Report Well, there is a “dark side of the moon,” it’s just not always the same portion of the surface. Some portion is always in darkness just as some portion of the earth is. But the “dark side” changes continuously while the side facing the earth is always the same. Sure. But I do think that it is an “urban legend” of sorts that there is one side of the moon that never sees sunlight. And that’s not so. (Although there may be some deep craters near the poles that always remain in darkness). Yes and that is what I tried to tell my son, but it would seem to me that the earth (not us per se, because we may be dead when it happens) will see the other side. I don’t think the side with the U.S. flag is always facing the earth as my son insists. At some point- maybe Russia’s night the U.S. flag is in the dark too. Signature Mriana “Sometimes in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark.” ~ Iris Hineman (Lois Smith) The Minority Report ... but it would seem to me that the earth (not us per se, because we may be dead when it happens) will see the other side. I don’t think the side with the U.S. flag is always facing the earth as my son insists. At some point- maybe Russia’s night the U.S. flag is in the dark too. Again, careful definition of the words are needed. The earth revolves around the sun and rotates on its axis. The moon revolves around the earth and rotates on its axis. It just so happens as has been pointed out here that the moon rotates and revolves at the same rate. I don’t want to muddy things because the moon also revolves around the sun, making a very strange combined motion. I don’t think the side with the U.S. flag is always facing the earth as my son insists. Your son is right about that. I’ll see if I can find a map pinpointing the spot. It can be hard to find stuff with Google because there is so much JUNK! #%$&* The first moon landing was in the Mare Tranquillitatis (the Sea of Tranquility). Maria are concentrated on the side of the moon that faces the Earth; the far side has very few of these plains. Scientists don’t know why this is so. If they had landed on the far side they would have had problems communicating back to Earth. Whenever the orbiter went behind the moon it was out of touch. They would not have seriously considered landing on the far side back then. As Occam, cautioned, we have to watch our terminology. The Earth and moon rotate at different rates. The moons revolution around the earth and rotation around its axis are synchronized so that the same face always points towards the earth (1 full rotation for each full revolution). The rotation of the earth around its own axis is independant of this, which means that different parts of the earth see the moon at different times during the day/night cycle, but the face of the moon visible from the earth is always the same no matter what part of the earth you’re standing on. Signature The SkeptVet Blog You cannot reason a person out of a position he did not reason himself into in the first place. Johnathan Swift This is one of the things my son want to post after he joined, but couldn’t. We are in a debate about the moon. He insists that the dark side of the moon (not the far side, but the dark side- so he says are different) will never be seen by the earth. . This thread is already overkill so what is one more response. The moon keeps one side to the earth so we only see one side. (it wobbles a little but we basically can’t see the far side). When the moon is ‘full’ the side facing the earth is fully lit by light from the sun. When the moon is ‘new’ the side away from the earth is facing the sun so the side we see looks really dark (it is lit slightly by sunlight reflected from the earth back to the moon). In the course of a month, as the moon goes around the earth, always keeping one face to the earth, different parts of the moon become exposed to the light from the sun, and then go into the dark. A “day” on the moon lasts ~14 days (half a month). There are no parts of the moon which are always in the dark in the way that you folks are discussing it. In both similations the dark side faced the earth, as well as the light side. Right, that’s what I said before. When there is a “new moon”, the dark side of the moon faces earth. When there is a “full moon” the light side is facing us. But it is the same PART of the moon that faces us all the time. Ergo, the same part of the moon is sometimes in light, and sometimes in darkness. In both similations the dark side faced the earth, as well as the light side. Right, that’s what I said before. When there is a “new moon”, the dark side of the moon faces earth. When there is a “full moon” the light side is facing us. But it is the same PART of the moon that faces us all the time. Ergo, the same part of the moon is sometimes in light, and sometimes in darkness. In both similations the dark side faced the earth, as well as the light side. Right, that’s what I said before. When there is a “new moon”, the dark side of the moon faces earth. When there is a “full moon” the light side is facing us. But it is the same PART of the moon that faces us all the time. Ergo, the same part of the moon is sometimes in light, and sometimes in darkness. Thanks! When there is a new moon the side which is enjoying ‘night’ faces the earth and the point most directly facing earth is enjoying ‘midnight’—it has been 7 days since the sun set and 7 days before the sun rises. when there is a full moon the side which is now enjoying ‘day’ , and the point most directly facing earch is at ‘high noon’—for 7 days it has seen direct sun light and this will continue for another 7 days.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt Called on Legos State Governer Schmidt made a courtesy call to Lagos State Governor, Governor Babatunde Fashola accompanied by Google Ideas Director, Mr. Jared Cohen and Country Manager, Google Nigeria, Mrs. Juliet Ehimuan Chiazor amongst others to discuss the use of information and communications technology to drive growth in various sectors of the Nigerian economy. Governor Fashola was accompanied by member’s of his cabinet including The Lagos State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr Obafemi Hamzat as well as The Commissioner for Science and Technology Mr Adebiyi Mabadeje.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Sothebys conga line down 72nd street in celebration as fiscal reality forced Massachusetts attorney general to allow Berkshire Museum to make sales. The Berkshire Museum is close to realizing its plan to sell artworks from its collection in order to raise funds and pursue a “New Vision” after more than six months of fervent debate on street corners and in editorial pages, an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, fierce opposition from museum groups, a closely followed court hearing in its hometown of Pittsfield, and a formidable number volume of legal filings. Today, the Attorney General’s Office filed paperwork asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to approve a deal that will lead to the sale of at least some—and perhaps all—of the 40 works that were set to be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York back in November, before a court halted the sale so that the AGO could complete its review of the proposed sell-off.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Profile Stream Agreed. On a Lexus IS250 AWD the car has no problem with a foot of snow, been there done that. When other vehicles are doing 35 to 40 mph in the snow, I can do 55 mph. These tires on a IS is an awesome combination. Co-location, when all product development team members are working in the same room, is no longer a sufficient or affordable alternative for developing complex products. To be profitable, products mus... This is nitpicking but one thing that bugs me about NWS forecast is having to translate zulu to local time. Sure would be nice to have the mobile device do the translation. A mobile device knows the locale. Why Social Product Development?Co-location, when all product development team members are working in the same room, is no longer a sufficient or affordable alternative for developing complex products. To be profitable, products must be developed for global markets which demands knowledg... This hotel gouges its customers. It is not worth over $200 / night. The hotel is being refurbished and the owners think they can raise prices. A Hampton Inn over $200 is ridiculous. If you are going to spend that kind of money go someplace nice.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
It looks triumphant: Vladimir Putin's portrait hanging over a peaceful commercial street in Grozny, the capital of a Chechen Republic he went to war to keep as part of Russia. The boulevard was even given a new name to reinforce that impression of conquest; what was once Victory Avenue, marking the Soviet Union's defeat of the Nazis in the Second World War, is now called Putin Avenue. Beneath the portrait, something has indeed been accomplished. Where once there was only rubble (I stood on Victory Avenue in wartime 10 years ago and failed to find a single building undamaged by heavy weapons fire) is now a tree-lined boulevard framed by marble-fronted buildings housing cafés, pizzerias and advertising agencies. When Russian voters returned Mr. Putin to the presidency last week, they did so in part because he is seen as having brought something like stability to Chechnya after almost two decades of no-holds-barred warfare here that often and horrifyingly spilled over into Moscow and other Russian cities. But in Grozny, it feels like it's the Chechens – not Mr. Putin – who got what they wanted from the wars. Story continues below advertisement Chechnya today is ruled by Chechens under a form of Islamic law. Russia has maintained its territorial integrity, but the Russians who lived here once are gone, and few have any desire to ever see Grozny again. It's easy to wonder whether two wars and some 160,000 deaths could have been avoided if the two sides had been willing to accept the awkward compromise they have now. It's Ramzan Kadyrov, a one-time rebel whom human-rights groups accuse of murder and torture, who really rules Chechnya. (At the south end of Putin Avenue is the city's main Kadyrov Square, where a neon sign reads "Thank You Ramzan for Grozny!") He maintains something resembling stability through a constant display of arms – Kalashnikov-toting police direct traffic in the city – and by dispensing billions of rubles from the Kremlin treasury, the price Moscow pays to have Mr. Kadyrov do the dirty work of fighting Chechnya's remaining Islamic militants. Another part of the Faustian pact Mr. Putin struck with Mr. Kadyrov was laid plain during the presidential election. According to the official count, an astounding 99.7 per cent of Chechens cast their ballots for Mr. Putin, though it's easy to find those who say they voted otherwise or not at all. Stuffed ballot boxes and Putin portraits aside, the state Mr. Kadyrov is building more closely resembles a Middle Eastern sultanate than any part of the Russian Federation. Facets of sharia law are in place – it's the only part of Russia where alcohol isn't freely bought and sold, and women who work for the government are required to wear head scarves. And the previously flat skyline is taking on a taste of Dubai, with a clutch of soaring skyscrapers and one of the largest mosques on the continent. The lone portrait of Mr. Putin is outnumbered by hundreds of smiling pictures of Ramzan and his father, Akhmad Kadyrov, the former Chechen president who was assassinated in a 2004 bombing as he sat in the VIP bleachers of the city's main soccer stadium. "I was a child of war. There was nothing good in our lives. Today, people come here from other republics to shop," said Zalina Bisayeva, the 25-year-old manager of a boutique that sells Chechen-designed men's and women's clothing. "Everything is better now thanks to our President, Ramzan Kadyrov." Most jarringly, other than a military base beside Akhmad Kadyrov Airport, there are almost no Russians to be seen. (In a cruel twist of fate, nearly all of the 200,000 Russians who once lived here were killed or driven out by their own army's repeated sieges of the city.) The signs on the streets are still in Russian, but the language of life is Chechen. "They [Chechnya]have won a war and Russia is paying indemnities," said Andrei Piontkovsky, a prominent Moscow-based political analyst. More than 90 per cent of the Chechen government's official budget – just over $2-billion in 2010 – comes from Moscow, compared to just 30 per cent in some Russian regions of the country. And many of those who now serve in Mr. Kadyrov's militia are those who once fought against the Russian presence in Chechnya, Mr. Piontkovsky said. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement While most Chechens live on salaries of just a few hundred dollars a month, the Kremlin's money has also brought a stream of celebrities to Grozny, adding to the façade of normalcy that Mr. Kadyrov has constructed. Hilary Swank and Jean-Claude Van Damme attended the warlord's 35th birthday last fall. Diego Maradona has played soccer here. Mike Tyson also made a flying visit to meet Mr. Kadyrov, a boxing fanatic. All were paid handsomely for their time, though Ms. Swank says she has since donated her appearance fee to charity after learning of the human-rights abuses carried out by Mr. Kadyrov's regime. The scars of all that it took to reach this awkward compromise have been wiped from the city's buildings, but it will take far longer to erase them from the psyches of Grozny's 270,000 remaining residents. "I'm sure [Grozny]will soon be a nice place to live, but the war … it destroyed the hearts of the people. They still live in paranoia," said Taj Eddin Sultan, a Syrian-born Chechen who was lured to Grozny to manage the newly built Grozny City hotel, a 32-storey tower that claims five-star service and usually has less than 10-per-cent occupancy. "There's a fear the instability will return." Indeed, despite the outward calm, this is still a city where it's not uncommon to see men with automatic weapons sitting beside you in a restaurant. Troop carriers and airport-style security gates are deployed at the main mosque every Friday so that Mr. Kadyrov can pray. "Ramzan Kadyrov's method of applying illegal violence [to keep control]is pushing new people underground, giving birth to a new generation of violent people," said Alexander Cherkasov, a member of the Russian human-rights organization Memorial, which suspended work in Chechnya after one of its researchers was murdered, a killing Memorial believes was ordered by Mr. Kadyrov. (He denies the accusation.) And the current calm in Grozny hasn't meant an end to the attacks in Moscow. "It didn't prevent the Moscow metro suicide bombing in 2010 [which killed 40 people]or the Domodedovo [airport]explosion in 2011 [which killed 36]" said Mr. Cherkasov, a member of the Russian human-rights organization Memorial, which suspended work in Chechnya after one of its researchers was murdered. Story continues below advertisement That such violence continues even as the Kremlin pays heavily to rebuild Chechnya is taking a toll on public opinion in Russia, where 51 per cent recently told a pollster they wouldn't be upset if Chechnya were to go its own way. Many Chechens, too, believe their problems with Moscow are not yet over. "I must say that, so far, we have not had reconciliation. We have had promises, but we don't have reconciliation," said Murad Nashkoyev, 70-year-old journalist and historian who was close to the early leaders of the Chechen independence movement, Dzhokar Dudayev and Aslan Maskhadov. "It will only be better when everyone who lost a home has one. It will only be better when we know what happened to the 25,000 people who disappeared [during the war]and are still missing. When these things happen, then the war will be over." Mark MacKinnon is currently based in London, where he is The Globe and Mail's Senior International Correspondent. In that posting he has reported on the Syrian refugee crisis, the rise of Islamic State, the war in eastern Ukraine and Scotland's independence referendum.Mark recently spent five years as the newspaper's Beijing correspondent. More We have closed comments on this story for legal reasons. For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Dopaminergic mechanisms in actions and habits. Abstract Recent studies suggest new ways to interpret dopaminergic actions in goal-directed performance and habitual responding. In the early stages of learning dopamine plays an essential role, but with extended training dopamine appears to play a decreasing role in response expression. Experimental manipulation of dopamine levels alters the correlation of cortical and striatal neural activity in behaving animals, and these dopamine-dependent changes in corticostriatal correlations may be reflected in changes in action selection in the basal ganglia. Consistent with this hypothesis, changes in dopamine signaling brought about by sensitization with amphetamine mimic the transition from goal-directed to habit-based instrumental performance. At the cellular level, dopamine-dependent synaptic plasticity may be important initially, and subsequently lead to more persistent changes that no longer require dopamine. The locus of these actions within the cortical and corticostriatal circuitry is a focus on ongoing research.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Phone Number Comments I love Trader Joe's and really liked most I love Trader Joe's and really liked most everything I purchased and truly trusted their products.......until I opened a can of their Premium Chunk White Chicken for a pasta salad I was making for a baby shower. DO NOT BUY - this is a horrible product. I had no time to replace the product. There is nothing premium about it and there were no chunks - only pink mushy stuff. My salad tasted good in spite of the consistency - that of - I can't even describe it other than when you scald milk and get all that crud and yet there also was a gritty factor to it. Horrible. Trust gone for any canned products in the future!	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }
Movies, TV, and music. And things. Thriller The Awakening is a smart, literate, old-fashioned ghost story.Rebecca Hall takes on the supernatural in The Awakening, a surprisingly effective, atmospheric ghost story set in England shortly after the first World War. Hall plays Florence Cathcart, a professional skeptic who’s become famous for debunking supernatural phenomena and exposing charlatans in England in the wake of the war and the Influenza Epidemic. The film’s opening title—a quote from the fictional Florence—states “this is a time for ghosts.” “A great work of art is like a dream; for all its apparent obviousness it does not explain itself and is always ambiguous.” — Carl Jung A Tale of Two Sisters is a successful, popular horror film that came out in the early 2000s and was the first major South Korean contribution to the Asian horror movement. The film, which was inspired by the ancient (oft-filmed) Korean folktale 장화, 홍련 (Janghwa, Hongryeon/”Rose Flower, Red Lotus”), transports the wicked stepmother, emotionally detached father, and the victimized sisters of the original tale to a contemporary Korean setting—and gives it a gothic twist. Dun dun dunnnnn!The Resident is a rather pedestrian thriller that stars Academy Award winner Hilary Swank (she also produced it) and pits her against Grey’s Anatomy and Watchmen star, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as the apartment super from hell.	{ "pile_set_name": "Pile-CC" }

Subsets and Splits

No community queries yet

The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.