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Boudoir photography is a growing art and one of our favorite sessions to shoot. We focus on female empowerment and execute that ideal with a soft and elegant style. Our approach is based on showcasing your strengths, your natural beauty and creating an environment that caters to a comfortable and engaging shoot.
WARDROBE Have your significant other in mind when selecting your outfits. Your options are not limited to lingerie, but of course it's a classic! Send us your ideas…we want to help you make your session as unique as possible. Stealing one of his ties or favorite button downs is a fun option. Cut off t-shirts are perfect for an edgy seductive look. If the two of you have a favorite sports team, bringing a jersey along=winner
LOCATION Natural light is key, so choosing a space with large windows is ideal. Whether it's your home, a b&b, or our studio space here at MHP, we're going to create a classy, tasteful shoot that embodies who you are as a woman. You absolutely don't need any experience modeling for boudoir photography…we'll give you all the direction you need to feel totally comfortable in front of our lens.
BOOKING Because these sessions are almost always indoors, scheduling your shoot when the sun is at its peak is ideal (if it's in our studio, before 1pm works best). If you are planning to use these photos as a wedding gift for your fiancé, we recommend booking at least ten weeks prior to your big day, so there is time to place your order for prints. MHP offers handcrafted pocket-size heirloom albums and glass housing boxes that can be added to your session after you're able to see the final product. All high-resolution, hand edited photos will be uploaded to a private online gallery no later than two weeks after your session date and made available for digital download.
Visit our investment page for pricing information or contact us for a personalized quote


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- Software Development[1]
- Computer Cables & Connectors[1]
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- Other Computer Parts[2]
- Software[3]
- Terminals[1]
- Electronic & Instrument Enclosures[1]
- Other Electrical Equipment[10]
- Power Distribution Equipment[1]
- Inverters & Converters[9]
- Voltage Regulators/Stabilizers[1]
- Integrated Circuits[10]
- Semiconductors[1]
- Multilayer PCB[3]
- Other PCB & PCBA[9]
- Other Machinery[1]
- Instrument Parts & Accessories[1]
- Measuring & Analysing Instrument Stocks[1]
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- Other Telecommunications Products[1]
- VoIP Products[1]
- Wireless Networking Equipment[2]
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- Country/Region : China
- Zip : 110179
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Editor's note: The presidential nominating contests in both parties will come down to the California primary.
For Democrats, 548 delegates are at stake — 11.5% of the total. For Republicans, 172 delegates are at stage — 6.9% of the total. Of those, for Democrats, 158 (29%) are divided proportionally on a statewide basis, while 317 (58%) are divided proportionally by congressional district, with each district providing between 5 and 8 delegates. The remaining 73 (13%) are "superdelegates."
For Republicans, 13 (8%) are awarded statewide, with ten going to the candidate with the highest number of votes on a winner-take-all basis, and three going to "pre-determined" delegates (the State Chair, National Committeewoman, National Committeeman). Meanwhile, 159 (92%) are awarded by congressional district on a winner-take-all basis, with each district providing 3 delegates.
The result: a district-by-district battle in both parties, which we preview for you here.
CA-22: This district takes in the northern and eastern sides of Fresno, including Cal State Fresno, before winding south through the Central Valley. While agricultural, the district also includes a good portion of the valley's urban population. Roughly half of the district is Hispanic. Moderate Republican Devin Nunes represents the area, and was a critic of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) during the abortive shutdown against Obamacare in 2013. Yet times have changed.
Democrats: Clinton will do well, though Sanders will find some votes in the cities, especially in Fresno.
Clinton 3, Sanders 2
Republicans: Cruz will dominate here, as in much of the Central Valley, thanks to Latinos and conservatives.
Cruz 3, Trump 0, Kasich 0
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible's Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.


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Manufacture: Omix-Ada
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September 2014 | There are 14 news items in this month
Jewish Community in Cuba Holds Gala for World Peace
date: 26 Sep 2014
The Jewish Community Center of Cuba held a cultural gala for peace on Sunday in an action calling for a better future for all nations of the world.
Center vice-president David
... full article >>
Buena Fe play Miami, Issac Delgado back in Havana - what's going on?
date: 23 Sep 2014
Cuban rock duet Buena Fe finally performed in Miami-Dade auditorium, USA, this week despite protests and attempts to stop it going ahead by local anti-Castro groups.
Buena Fe, hugely popular
... full article >>
Cuban National Theatre Prize Winner Hilda Oates Dies in Havana
date: 23 Sep 2014
Hilda Oates, an actress who since the 1960s had a long and influential career in various theatre groups and in cinema, the winner in 2004 of the National Theatre Prize,
... full article >>
Alacrán soy yo - film about the Comparsa El Alacrán in Havana
date: 23 Sep 2014
A fascinating and touching documentary (with english subtitles!) about the Comparsa 'El Alacrán' in El Canal barrio, Havana city founded in 1908. Comparsas are AfroCuban carnival music and dance groups
... full article >>
Listen to this live recording for radio of the great Benny More from the 1950s
date: 23 Sep 2014
Benny More - el barbaro del ritmo - Cuban master of many musical styles - listen to this recording for Radio Progreso in Havana from the 1950s
... full article >>
September - Cuban international sports round-up - medals, medals, medals
date: 19 Sep 2014
WRESTLINGCuban wrestler Mijain Lopez triumphs once again winning gold medal in the 130kg final of the World Wrestling Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. López, two-time Olympic champion, defeated Turkish Riza
... full article >>
Novel by Cuban writer Leonardo Padura reached the big screen
date: 17 Sep 2014
"A film project is very complicated; it is not like an editorial one. You cannot imagine how complex it is," commented Leonardo Padura to Cubanow. Since 1999, he has cherished
... full article >>
New Benny Moré cultural centre in Cuba
date: 17 Sep 2014
The Benny More cultural centre is located in the oldest part of Cienfuegos, a province to which the well-known El Barbaro del Ritmo dedicated one of his unforgettable sones.Among
... full article >>
Omega 3, the new Cuban science fiction film
date: 2 Sep 2014
One hundred years into the future, a world war is taking place. People don't fight for territories, nor do they fight for ideologies. They fight to establish a healthy nourishing
... full article >>
Renowned British actor praises Cuban version of the play Bent
date: 2 Sep 2014
Noted British film director Sean Mathias, said the Cuban version of the play Bent is very beautiful and loved by the two teams that represented it in Havana.
Mathias is also
... full article >>
UN Petition to preserve Rumba aspart of the world's cultural heritage
date: 2 Sep 2014
People in Havana are working to preserve Rumba as a part of the world's cultural heritage. CCTV America's Michael Voss reports.
... full article >>
Havana among finalist cities in third world-wide voting of New7Wonders
date: 2 Sep 2014
Havana appears among the 21 cities that have overcome months of relentless voting by millions of Internet users around the world (from a total of more than a thousand candidates)
... full article >>
Silvio Rodriguez takes his music again to the neighbourhoods (+video trailer)
date: 2 Sep 2014
The Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez announced today the resumption of his concerts in neighborhoods of the country, a project taken to the cinema in a newly released documentary.
The community of
... full article >>
Cuban Indian community leaders at International meeting of indigenous peoples in Havana
date: 2 Sep 2014
A new consciousness of Cuban reality emerged as the cacique and his daughter stepped out from a 20-year trail and into indigenous and global history.
In Havana, Cuba, early August, Native
... full article >>
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All Points 26-3271 4" Swivel Threaded Stem Caster with Brake - 1/2"-13 x 1 1/2" Stem, 240 lb. Capacity
- 4" x 1 1/2" wheel
- 1/2"-13 x 1 1/2" threaded stem
- Raises unit by 5 1/8"
- 240 lb. capacity per wheel
All Points
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"You May Also Need" items are guaranteed to work with the item you are viewing, such as lids that will fit a cup or casters that will fit a piece of equipment. If an item is not listed in this section, we do not guarantee that it will work with the product you are viewing and do not recommend that you purchase them for use together.
|1 1/2 Inches
|4 Inches
|Stem Length
|1 1/2 Inches
|Height Increase
|5 1/8 Inches
|Stem Diameter
|1/2 Inches
|General Service
|240 lb.
|Caster Style
|Caster Type
|Brakes Included
|Number of Casters
|Threads Per Inch
This All Points 26-3271 4" threaded swivel stem caster with brake can hold up to 240 lb. and provides convenient mobility in a variety of applications that will accept a 1/2"-13 x 1 1/2" threaded stem.
Overall Dimensions:
Diameter: 4"
Width: 1 1/2"
Stem Length: 1 1/2"
Stem Diameter: 1/2"
Threads Per Inch: 13
Because this item is not stocked in our warehouse, processing, transit times and stock availability will vary. If you need your items by a certain date,
please contact us prior to placing your order. Expedited shipping availability may vary. We cannot guarantee that this item can be cancelled off of the order or returned once it is placed.
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RPS Solutions' Kevin Seawright Helps A Young Baltimore City Employee Own A Home
Kevin Seawright is the founder of Baltimore based RPS Solutions. It is a company that oversees development, acquisition, asset management, governmental contracting, and sale of assets in neighborhoods that are financially distressed.
Established in 2015, the firm started constructing as well as renovating homes to offer affordable housing. That is to initial home buyer residents of Baltimore and surrounding areas.
Seawright noted that making homeownership simpler for Baltimore residents has been his passion for a long time. He believes that homeownership is an important step in wealth development. Additionally, Kevin Seawright recognizes that it is an essential component of offering stability to neighborhoods that are declining.
The firm will accomplish that in partnership with Baltimore City Officials along with Housing & Community Development.
Jerel Brown, a son of Kevin Seawright's long time friend makes the recent success story of the renewal program. Seawright and his mother worked for several years in Baltimore City starting when Jewel was 10.
Currently he is an adult. Despite of serving in the Baltimore City Housing Department, his budget kept him out of the housing market. Jewel noted that it was not easy finding upgraded homes at a budget, which he can afford. Learn more about Kevin Seawright: https://www.xing.com/profile/Kevin_Seawright
When Kevin Seawright approached him and suggested purchasing a renovated property in Baltimore's Metro area, Brown Jumped at the opportunity. Jewel said that he was delighted for the chance to own his first home and have it appear like the homes people witness in magazines.
Seawright was honored to help such a young person that deserved to achieve homeownership due to his hard work. This information was originally posted on Newschannel10.com as elaborated by this link http://www.newschannel10.com/story/32553016/kevin-seawright-and-rps-solutions-llc-assist-baltimore-city-housing-employee-attain-first-home
About Kevin Seawright
He is well known for his strategic vision along with his ability to accomplish business objectives. He has improved East Coast communities for more than 13 years using his financial expertise.
He obtained his masters in accounting from Almeda University. Additionally, Seawright received an executive leadership certification from Notre Dame Mendoza School of Business. He worked at Tito General contractors as vice president of operations and human capital.
According to Angel.co, Kevin Seawright also served Maryland as the executive director of operations. Presently he serves the Newark Economic Development Corporation as the executive vice president and chief financial officer.


text: Sunset is one of the most beautiful things about Key West. It's an event that people from across the world flock to see on our little island. It's the colors – the contrast of a deep blue sea stretching off to the horizon, where it drops off onto the edge of a warm orange glow… Read More


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Our winemaking philosophy is simply
It makes sense. Imagine you got awful, mouldy grapes in at the winery. It will make dirty, mouldy tasting wines. If you have good clean fruit come in at the winery you have good clean wine. Of course you also need to add picking the grapes at the right time so that the acidity and fruit sweetness is balanced.
Here at Galafrey we have a great Dry grown Vineyard. Our grapes our small but intense with flavour because we don't irrigate. The Juice of the berry has better contact with the skin and seeds with add things like deep colour and rich tannins. Because of our Dry grown vineyard canopy management is easier making our fruit less susceptible to disease. Our 34 Year's experience with this vineyard we know our vineyard well and monitor the fruit during the ripening season making sure we pick at the right time. When the fruit comes in at the winery we are really putting our best foot forward and it's is now up to the winery to maintain this high quality fruit flavour throughout the winemaking process.
Relocated to a purpose-built but utilitarian winery after previously inhabiting the exotic surrounds of the old Albany wool store, Galafrey makes wines with plenty of robust, if not rustic, character, drawing grapes in the main from estate plantings. Following the death of husband/father/founder Ian Tyrer, Kim and Linda Tyrer have taken up the reins, announcing, 'There is girl power happening at Galafrey Wines!' There is a cornucopia of back vintages available, some superb and underpriced, at the cellar door. James Halliday
" Galafrey Wines is a family owned boutique winery creating great wines from their dry grown vineyard. Established in 1977 by one of the pioneers of the wine industry, the late Ian Tyrer,is still in good hands with wife Linda and daughter Kim keeping up the tradition" Ray Jordan.


text: Small Attic Room Design Ideas Twin White Table Lamp Inverted Bowl Hanging Lamp White Round Chandelier White Wall Paint Cottage Attic Bedroom Ideas gallery from Smart and Cool Attic Bedroom Decorating also lebeled with Bedroom. Posted by Faraone. Or Hit Smart and Cool Attic Bedroom Decorating to back to Main Post.


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- Customer
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- About
- News
- Contact
CreaLog is one of the pioneers of Voice Portals in the pay-TV market. Since the mid-90s the broadcaster DF1 and Premiere (now Sky Germany) are our customers.
In addition to pre qualification in the contact center and for contests, the voice portal is used for the pay-per-view service.
More than 60,000 calls per hour can be processed by the voice portal as Sky subscribers order a special sports event, concert or movie – for transmission to their Sky digital receiver. The system works around the clock on weekdays and at weekends.
It was back in 1997 that Sky predecessor Premiere began to use the CreaLog solution to process the bulk of its inbound call volume. Which today means millions of calls a year.
Thanks to its new service portal, Sky can now implement a more extensive and intelligent customer management system. Based on phone number and customer ID, each caller is verified and routed automatically. Depending on their immediate concerns or particular wishes, the callers are put through direct to the right service expert.
Included are personalized offers for viewers whose range of interests are already known. What's more, the voice portal will "talk to" customers from specific area codes about targeted promotions such as offers based on regional TV adverts.


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Dimensions Unlocked
Dimensions Unlocked is the first game in a series of games for One Game A Month.
In this game, you find keys to unlock portals to alternate universes.
Instructions and screenshots are at the bottom of the page.
Version 0.7
It is recommended to play from these files instead of downloading the standalone
Version 0.7 (Unstable)


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What happens if I select a regulator?
Admiral Markets UK is regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): Firm Ref № 595450.
Admiral Markets AS is regulated by the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (EFSA): License № 4.1-1/46.
Admiral Markets Cyprus Ltd authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC): License number 201/13.
Selecting one of these regulators will display the corresponding information across the entire website. If you would like to display information for a different regulator, please select it.
As you accumulate Forex trading experience, you learn the key role that your strategy plays.
There are many options traders can use, but this article will explore a Forex scalping strategy. We'll take a quick look at what is involved in scalping currency rates and review some of the best tips/tricks you can use.
When it comes to Forex, scalping generally refers to making a large number of trades that produce small profits individually.
When using a scalping strategy, traders usually expect to gain between 5 to 10 pips per trade. Employing leverage could worsen losses but it can also yield significant profits depending on the leverage.
So is scalping suitable for you?
Deciding whether Forex scalping strategies are suitable for you, will depend significantly on how much time you are willing to put in to trading. Scalping the Forex market requires constant analysis and the placement of multiple orders, which can be as demanding as a full-time job.In addition, there are only a few hours a day when you can scalp currencies. After availability, the next most important thing is being able to think on the fly. For a scalping Forex strategy to succeed, you must quickly predict where the market will go and then open and close positions within a matter of seconds.
If you are just getting started with scalping, open up a demo account and try your hand at making a few market predictions to see how well you do. When making these forecasts, keep in mind that herd psychology is integral to market movements.
A perfect example is the sharp appreciation that certain currencies enjoyed amid China's expansion in the early 2000s. During the first decade of this millennium, both the Australian Dollar (AUD) and Canadian Dollar (CAD) surged close to 40% against the US Dollar.
Australia and Canada are commodity exporters, which is why their currencies thrive when China enjoys robust growth. As a result, some Forex traders take long positions in the AUD and/or CAD when China's economy is expanding rapidly.
Aside from predicting market direction, investors interested in Forex scalping strategies must be capable of accepting losses. While your main task is generating more profitable positions than losing ones, you must know how to exit trades when they aren't working out.
If you still think Forex scalping is for you, keeping reading to learn about what I consider the best Forex scalping strategy and some useful scalping techniques.
The basic idea behind scalping is opening a large number of trades that usually last either seconds or minutes.
However, some scalping strategies developed by professional traders have grown in popularity. For example, Paul Rotter placed buy and sell orders simultaneously and then used specific events in the order book to make short-term trading decisions.
Rotter traded up to one million contracts a day and was able to develop a legendary reputation in certain circles. Amid this success, his techniques have inspired many others. While studying well-known strategies can be helpful, they should form the building blocks of your own unique setup.
The 1 minute FX scalping strategy is a simple strategy for beginners, that has gained popularity by enabling high trading frequency.
How does this strategy work? For starters, set your chart time frame to one minute. Now make sure these two default MetaTrader 4 indicators are applied to your chart:
You can also give your EMA lines different colours, so you can easily tell apart.
Now you have applied the indicators and your chart looks clear, let's review the signals required for opening short and long positions using this simple Forex scalping technique.
Long orders:
Short orders:
While you can use this Forex scalping strategy with any currency pair, it might be easier to use it with major currency pairs because they have the lowest available spreads. In addition, this approach might be most effective during high volatility trading sessions, which are usually New York closing and London opening times.
Now let's review some scalping techniques that can enhance your scalping strategy.
One scalping technique involves comparing your primary time frame for trading with a second chart containing a different time frame.
For example, if you use a 1 minute time frame to scalp currency pairs, you could consult a 5 minute chart to check any signals that come up. In addition, you can always consider using additional indicators.
Another technique you might want to make mandatory for scalping is attaching a stop-loss to every position you open. A stop-loss eliminates your risk of generating significant losses in short order.
Doing so is especially important when your Forex scalping methods include more than one currency pair. Technological resources can also enhance your trading.
To expedite your order placement, use the 1-click trading tool available with MetaTrader 4. With Admiral Markets, you can access an enhanced version of the 1 click trading terminal via MetaTrader 4 Supreme Edition.
Finally, by automating your scalping strategy, you can save significant time and energy. However, strategies must be developed and then improved over time, and you should only automate them after they have consistently performed well over a reasonable time frame.
If you use FX scalping strategies correctly, they can be rewarding. However, they can also put your wits, nerves and analytical abilities to the test. To find out whether this style of trading suits you, I suggest you first practice scalping with an Admiral Markets demo account.
You might be interested in watching an hour long full explanatory video on Forex Scalping for beginners:
Risk Warning
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 83% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.


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Close to 20 people stepped outside on New Year's Day to take a guided hike around Crissey Field State Park.
Harris Beach State Park Ranger Jeff Gallemore led hikers along the wetlands trail, the beach and what he calls "The Hobbit Trail."
Along the way, he showed the variety of trees, mainly Sitka spruce and wax myrtle, and other vegetation, including Oregon's State Flower, the Oregon grape.
He pointed out nonnative plants that have become a problem, told stories about how they got here and what efforts are being taken to eradicate them.
Gallemore also told of the airstrip that was once located on the property, which gave the park its name.
The walk was part of the First Day Hikes that happened at state parks throughout Oregon. The Crissey Field event was one of two in Curry County. The other was at Humbug Mountain State Park near Port Orford.


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Chicken Soup for the Newbie's Soul
Music for reading(spotify)
I've been coding off an on since I was 12. First with HTML and JavaScript in the early, ugly, static days of the Internet (remember GeoCities?). A few years into my tech career (circa 2004) I got into PHP. About two years ago, I rediscovered my love for coding and, shortly after, got involved with Ruby and Ruby on Rails.
The thing to take away from all that is I'm self-taught. There seems to be a perception that you can't be a developer because you didn't get a Computer Science degree, finish college, or even attend college. This is folly, friend. Surveys have found that 69% of working developers are self-taught to some degree. So, if you're rolling your own engineering curriculum, you're in the majority!
I can tell you from experience that doing it yourself can be a tough row to hoe! If you're just starting to dabble in code, here's some thoughts to help you along or just give you a shot in the arm to keep at it when you feel incapable (been there) or just stupid (done that).
You Already Have The Most Important Thing
I'm going to remove my glasses and look you dead in the eye because this one's a biggie; the desire to learn is the most important thing you can have going for you. Not one of the most or probably makes the top 5… No, I mean the most important thing.
I'm serious (hence why I removed my glasses). If you have taken even the babiest of baby steps (bought a book, read a blog, started a Lynda.com course), you home free. I don't mean to say it's not harder than that. Of course, it is but all you have to do is keep that fire tapered and burning and you'll be fine.
You have to love to learn new things because, once you get started in development, you'll spend a surprising amount of time learning. There will always be some new thing to learn. Which brings to my next point.
The Language Doesn't Matter
The language you choose to start learning doesn't matter. No, seriously. It. Doesn't. Matter. What you want to do matters. Learning any of them has pros and cons and some are better suited for the beginner but choice of "starter" language should be informed by what kind of development you want to do.
Ask any 10 seasoned developers what language you should start with and you'll likely get 10 different, and likely, conflicting answers. Always remember that languages, frameworks, and methodologies are tools used to accomplish tasks. Taking an oath of allegiance to any of them is like preferring a socket wrench to a crescent wrench. You're not signing-up to have and to hold. The important thing is starting and learning.
Find Your Community
Learning on your own can be an isolating experience. Being able to connect with other people learning and those more experienced will pay dividends. Whether online or IRL (or both), finding a community of people of varying experience will give you a support network as you grow. I have found my share of supportive, generous souls in the small but growing tech community here in Savannah, GA (found online here). Some I'd even call mentors who've helped me tremendously and continue to do so. You'll need that help through the hard parts. And trust me, they'll be hard parts.
It's Supposed to Frustrating Sometimes
Speaking of the hard parts… You're learning something new. It takes time, practice, and there aren't any shortcuts. I assure you that, at some point or the other, you'll get frustrated when something's not clicking. Everyone seems to understand it like some fundamental truth of the universe but you just don't get it. You'll come to the conclusion that it's because you're dim and everyone else is brilliant. Incorrect, buddy. It's because it's new information and you haven't connected the dots yet. It's perfectly normal to become frustrated at points such as this and lose patience with it.
Don't despair, though! Even the most experienced among us hit this from time to time. Sure, years of hard-won experience may make this less frequent but I'd bet you dollars-to-doughnuts it happens to us all. Take a breath; take a break; it's okay. Sometimes it's just hard work and takes as long as it takes. Don't despair and don't quit. All that frustration means nothing at all when it finally falls into place. It's addictive!
Keep At It
Did someone bearing a remarkable resemblance to me say "don't quit"? I mean it with all my heart parts. Write it down, set it as your desktop background, tattoo it someplace (tasteful) if you're so inclined. Don't give me the "it's so corny" jive. The desire to learn is the most important thing and tenacity is in a close second. If you have both the drive to learn and the tenacity to see it through, I'm not worried about you. You have everything you need. Now you just have to get it done.
I hope these thoughts give you some comfort and encouragement on your way. God knows I have to repeat some of them like a little mantra some days.
Geekend starts today I'm there with bells on! If you're attending, why not hit me up and say "hi"?
As always, leave any comments or questions below and, of course, you can also find me on the Twitter.
Until next time, take care!


text: The Titan Technologies ExposisionThe Titan Technologies Exposition - Sol Concordate TerritoriesThe T.T.EOriginally started by Industry giant and Terra Industrial CEO Lauren Black. The Titan Tech Expo started as a yearly showcase of the latest greatest developments from Terra Industrial.However more recently the T.T.E invited tech and industry companies from all across the Sol Concordate to demo their projects to a crowd of tech enthusiasts and potential investors. Often a dazzling show of lights and stagework, technologies are demonstrated live on stage in "events", the first of which known as the "Titan Pride Event" winning the Pride event requires the tech on display to be outstanding and far beyond the follow up events, Example a brand new FTL engine or a machine of powerful utility.The Expo normally starts with a pep talk from Lauren Black on the spoils of science and engineering combined with precautionary notes of safety and patience. The Expo to date has demonstrated everything from dermal communications de


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Fleece Products
Winter in South Africa can get very cold. Help fight the chill with our fleecy range of products. These products are ideal for outdoor adventurers, schools, clubs, corporate, game lodges, and much more.
Our Winter Collection includes the following products:
- Fleece Ponchos
- Beanies
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- Baby Blankets
- Adult Fleece Blankets (Plain and Printed)
Pool Poncho's Winter Warmer Tip for Restaurants
Have a selection of fleecy blankets on hand to keep all your customers cozy in the cool nights!


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PURCHASINGB2B MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010: Attending my first International Symposium on Supply Chain Management recently, I found it a unique and positive setting for academics and practitioners to interact and share research and best practices.
Professional events tend to be geared for either groups of practitioners or researchers. Often, researchers attend conferences to hear what practitioners are encountering in the field. Less frequently, practitioners attend academic conferences to hear about the latest research but, more often than not, academics are simply presenting their work to each other, so having an event that is specifically targeted at both groups is really rare.
Industry should look to academics for well-researched solutions to business problems that they themselves might not have the time to investigate. Similarly, academics can find inspiration for new research by hearing about the real-world challenges practitioners are facing.
Supply chain leadership
PMAC's role in hosting this annual event is important. Our commitment to this Symposium is part of our mission and vision to build leadership in supply chain management and be recognized as an authority for the profession. This event allows us to foster future innovation on the emerging horizons of SCM, and reinforces our commitment to thought leadership.
The amazing pace of growth of infrastructure in China was eye-openingly presented by Symposium keynote speaker Dr Linda Sprague, first emeritus professor at the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai. The first highway in China was built less than 10 years ago, but by the end of 2010 the country will already have more kilometres of highways than the US and will move 10 times the global average of freight per kilometre of train track.
Understanding and staying informed about our global, interconnected economy gives you leverage in the field and a competitive advantage for your organization. As we all learned during the recent recession, events outside our borders can affect us just as much as those happening domestically.
The Symposium creates a forum for practitioners and academics to learn first-hand what is emerging in different parts of the world, from someone who has intimate knowledge and understanding of those issues. Learning about critical issues and innovation in the field through various media is important; learning through an in-person, interactive dialogue is invaluable.
Collaboration in action
I was delighted to learn about the collaboration between a practitioner and an academic at this year's Symposium that was born from last year's event. Their paper "A Performance Evaluation Model for Supply Chain Sourcing", by Alfred Guiffrida, Kent State University, and Newton Paul, PAR Pharmaceutical Companies Inc. is the ideal desired outcome of the Symposium.
Having met at last year's event, the two found they had an area of mutual interest. By leveraging their strengths in the theoretical and practical application of supply chain knowledge they created an outstanding piece of work that garnered honourable mention for this year's Best Paper Award.
Adaptive supply chains
A key insight—and a high priority for PMAC—emerging from the panel discussion on the future of supply chain management is the need to move supply chains away from the current "Strategically-Decoupled, Price-Driven" supply chain to a "Strategically-Coupled, Value-Driven" supply chain.
The panel highlighted that the majority of today's supply chains are static, not linked to strategic objectives, and primarily measured by price, delivery and quality. Strategically-coupled, value-driven supply chains are highly adaptive, strategic in nature and are measured by cost savings, cost avoidance, revenue growth and asset utilization. PMAC took a lead role six years ago in moving the profession towards strategic supply chain management when it began redesigning its flagship SCMP accreditation program, changing the focus from more tactical procurement to strategic supply chain management.
The words "green" and "sustainable" supply chain have both been used to signify environmentally responsible practices. I am glad the panel discussion on sustainability at the Symposium clarified that true sustainability takes into account ethical, social and economic practices, not only environmental. Sustainable supply chains are a focus for PMAC and will no doubt be a fixture at future Symposia.
I am grateful for the opportunity to have met with many innovative international researchers and practitioners at this year's Symposium. I look forward to seeing the fruits of this year's event at next year's Symposium.


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Cybersecurity. A topic that's been well discussed in recent years thanks to rapid technology advances and greater interconnectivity due to the internet of things (IoT).
That was what some of our members came together to discuss and debate last Tuesday. More importantly, the question of how to build trust in the digital age is critical to ensure sustainability of businesses.
We are very honored to have partnered with PwC Singapore to present the first event in the ACCA Singapore's Smart Finance Series where we aim to bring cutting edge industry issues to the forefront.
Using this platform, we hope to bring practical and actionable insights on dealing with challenges presented by the disruption brought about by technology.
Some of the key takeaways from this event titled "Trust in the digital age" are as follows:
With consumers gaining a louder voice via social media, brands need to build trust into the fabric of their operations and it should underpin how business is organised and run as mentioned by Mr Vincent Loy, partner at PwC Singapore and leader of Data & Analytics, Cyber and Financial Crime.
As much as consumers trust recommendations from family and friends, a company's reputation can as easily be tarnished just by a negative reviews on the internet. Hence putting customers at the heart of everything the company does is imperative, and this can be done in variety of ways including deploying analytics to understand customers' needs.
Having said this, the finance professional is well placed to help drive organisational changes in building trust with a company's external stakeholders given they are privy to a large amount of customers' data.
The call here would be for finance professionals to then take the lead to drive change. It is not an easy task and requires support from the top. As Mark Jansen, partner at PwC Singapore and Technology and Media Telecommunications leader mentions, "Board awareness of these issues is rising. Ideally they need to have digital expertise on board".
It was certainly an enlightening morning and we thank all speakers and panelists who took the time to share their thoughts with us and our members.
Vincent Loy,Partner at PwC Singapore and leader of Data & Analytics, Cyber and Financial Crime.
Joseph Alfred, Head of Policy & Technical, ACCA Singapore
Mark Jansen, Partner at PwC Singapore and Technology and Media Telecommunications leader
Ganesh Iyer, Regional Vice President Finance, Asia Pacific and Japan at SAP
Faye Chua, Head of Business Insights, ACCA.
A recording of the panel discussion will be made available soon. Watch this space for more updates.
Additional Reading:
If you would like to be notified when the recording of the panel discussion becomes available, leave your contact details below.


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Hunter S Thompson brought several great innovations to writing style and reporting techniques.
it is indicative of the bad influence he had on journalism that your
article "The Death of an Icon"told us a great deal less about Hunter
than it did about its author, Bill Borrows. Or was that a subtle way of
illustrating what you believe his legacy to be?
Paul Keers Editorial director Axon Publishing


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Three local "most wanted" fugitives in custody
HAMILTON COUNTY, TN (WRCB) -- Expect to see some new faces on Hamilton County's "12 Most Wanted" list soon, as three of the fugitives have been taken into custody in the past week.
On Tuesday, Steven Michael Bidwell, 31, was captured. He was wanted on charges of aggravated assault, probation violations on aggravated kidnapping, domestic assault, theft of property, and an original charge of theft.
Then on Thursday, Eric Dewayne Lyons, 46, was taken in custody. He had been wanted for violation of the sex offender registry as well as for burglary, vandalism, evading arrest and possession of a controlled substance.
And then on Friday, James Andrew Jackson, 29, was arrested. He had been sought on charges of child rape, domestic assault and an earlier charge of criminal trespassing.
Since the list was begun in November of 2007, 270 fugitives have been captured and brought to justice.
To see the complete list, visit the 12 Most Wanted website at http://www.hcsheriff.gov/most_wanted/most_wanted.php


text: Quote NewFY SALE – 50% OFF! Better be quick! complete quote form or contact locations for deals! Choose your location*- Please Select -AlbionCoopers PlainsGladstoneIpswichMaroochydoreStadbroke IslandStrathpineSumner ParkZillmereName*FirstLastCompanyPhone*Email*Please select what you need to store?*LockerSmall RoomStudio Apartment1 Bedroom House2 Bedroom House3 Bedroom House4+ Bedroom HouseOffice or Commercial SpaceGarage or ShedVehicleBoat and/or TrailerOther (Please describe below)OtherUse of a courtesy ute, truck or trailer to help you move in?YesNoUnsureHow soon do you require storage?Approximately how long do you require storage for?Have you used self storage before?Yes - with Storage ChoiceYes - with Another CompanyNoCommentsThis field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


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Join us for a sit-down dessert reception on Thursday, February 9th and hear world-class artists from Opera in Williamsburg offer an evening of gorgeous singing about love and passion. A cash bar will be available.
UPDATE: View photos from the event!
About Opera in Williamsburg:
Opera in Williamsburg is dedicated to bringing to Williamsburg, Virginia intimate fully-staged opera with world class cast. Funded by ticket sales and the support of members of the community, Opera in Williamsburg is committed to the highest artistic standards and maintains a relationship with the International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI), under Joan Dornemann and Paul Nadler.


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Productivity - Become Effective While Learning New Skills Online
James Hammond, Coach, Student of Motion Design
- 0.5x
- 1x (Normal)
- 1.25x
- 1.5x
- 2x
Class Introduction!1:01
Lesson 1 - Goals3:12
Lesson 2 - Finding Your Starting Point4:55
Lesson 3 - Running into Barriers3:29
Lesson 4 - Tools that Help7:25
Lesson 5 - Prioritizing Time1:25
Lesson 6 - Plan of Attack5:58
Final Thoughts1:48
About This Class
This class is all about helping you achieve your goals.
In this class, I give you all that I have learned in my couple of years of trying to figure out how to learn a new skill online. I don't have everything perfected yet, but I have learned A LOT!
In this class you will:
1 - Develop your own Goal Statement
2 - Build your own Tool set - What tools will you use to achieve your goal and learn your new skill?
3 - Dealing with possible Barriers
4 - Managing your Time
5 - Develop your own plan of attack - create your own outline that will help keep you in check without detours in your adventure of achieving your goal.
I am excited to help you achieve your goals!
Class Projects 2 See All
Reviews (0)
Since I was a child I have always been enthralled with how graphics work. I started playing video games at a young age and I've always thought that I could make my own, and that is what I strive to do now!
My life's passion is to help people reach their goals. It has always been hard for me to see people give up on what they are most passionate about. Life gets tough and people give up. I hope to be of some assistance!
I have been working with people for the past ...


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Here are some photos from this year's prefectural orientation for new Kumamoto JETs. Please enjoy looking these over and hopefully you have some fond memories of orientation. Click below for more photos!
Here are some photos from this year's prefectural orientation for new Kumamoto JETs. Please enjoy looking these over and hopefully you have some fond memories of orientation. Click below for more photos!
Here are some of the photos from this year's Kumamoto Orientation. Feel free to browse through and reminisce!
Thank you to everyone who came to Kumamoto Orientation this year! Over 50 new JET participants joined orientation this year, spending two and a half days attending workshops, visiting booths, and studying Japanese. We hope that orientation was both fun and educational for our new JETs!
Additionally, more than 30 volunteers from around Kumamoto Prefecture helped out this year. Thank you for your time and effort — it's thanks to you that Kumamoto Orientation was a success!
Below are some of the materials from this year's workshops and booths. Please take a look at them!
Stay tuned for photos…! Continue reading
Just a few shots of this year's Kumamoto Orientation! Thank you to Terrance and Karmen, Kumamoto City PAs, for helping take them!
Thank you to everyone who came out for Kumamoto Orientation! About 40 new ALTs from Kumamoto Prefecture and Kumamoto City gathered for two and a half days of workshops, booths, japanese classes, and enjoyable times in general. Also a special thanks to all our experienced JET volunteers, Orientation would not have been such a great success without all of your hard work!
Here are some online versions of information handed out during Kumamoto Orientation:
(Please continue to check this space for further updates, as more files will be made available over the next few days.)
ES/JHS Roleplay Workshop – sample lesson plan
Appliances and Electronics by Malcolm Crang – booth handout, unabridged information
Eikaiwa by James Pashley – booth handouts: tips sheet, resources
Exploring Kumamoto by Chris Hester and Laura McGhee – powerpoint presentation
Housekeeping in Japan by Taylor Blades – booth handout, unabridged information
Japanese Language Study by Erika Egner and Jemma Gallagher – booth handout
KumAJET by Kay Schultz – event calendar
LGBTQ in Kumamoto by Karmen Rabe and Sam McDowall – booth handout
Money Matters by Ardeley Sihite – unabridged information
Office and Enkai Etiquette by Sara Brown – booth handout
Special Needs Education by Zak Repman – booth handout
Women's Health and Safety by Julia Green – health board information and booth handout


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What up DFS/Season Longers!
Good God … Football is baaaaack bay bay!!
I hope you all did well. Me personally, on Sunday only slates I cashed 3/4 $5 double ups and 3/3, $1 50/50s.
Subscribe now if you haven't already!
Now that we got all he "PC" shit out of the way … Let's talk week 2, shall we?
In week one I made reference to 2 of the best O-Lines in the NFL, The Raiders and Cowboys.
The Raiders O-Line gave Carr beautiful pockets of time to shoot it out with a 1st ballot future hall of fame QB, Drew Brees. I also said Murray was no longer a sleeper, and the day belonged to Jalen Richard. He had 3 carries for 84 yards and 1 TD.
I also talked about the Cowboys O-Line, which gave Rookie QB, Dak Prescott, beautiful pockets of time, to have quite the debut, even in a loss.
Week 2 … Shine or Flop?
My Cowboys secondary is fucking awful heading into a game against Mr. #YouLikeThat , Kirk Cousins. Do I really have to sit here and remind you that he owned us last year? That he came in and punched us in the mouth, and just sat our asses in the corner with the dunce hat. Ok … So it's obvious isn't it? Captain Kirk, is a lock for week 2! At the same time, so is quite possibly a sleep stack of RBs. YES…I'm talking about Elliot and Morris. Morris is going to want to trample his former team, and Zeke, will be "looking for reveeeeeenge", On that Skins D. LOL
I mean, let's keep it 1,000 here … The Skins can't stop the run, and for what it's worth … can NOT stop the pass. So look for Dez, Cole, Witten and T. Willy to show their ass as well.
AGAIN … Josh Norman is TRASH without help. Watch what the Steelers do to him.
*Obvious DFS Plays *
Cam vs 49ERS D, Flacco vs Browns D, Brees vs Giants D, Manning vs Saints D, Wentz vs Bears D, Carr vs Falcons D.
*Zito's Picks*
Bortles/Robinson vs Chargers D, Gabbert vs Carolina D, Dalton/Green vs Steelers D, Dak/Beasley/Bryant/Witten.Bailey vs Skins D.
*Zito's Sleeper*
Smith/Ware/Maclin vs Texans D , Why? Cushing is out now for 2 months with a sprained MCL. Watt doesn't look healthy to me. IDC about the numbers or projections. Clowney and Wilfork will have to carry the load and Wilfork, gets spelled a lot. So with that formula, Ware will feast. Maclin the GOAT lol, will show out.
Pay attention to the waiver wire. Everybody is insane and cutting quality players left and right. Here are some of my picks to pick up!
Brandon Lafell – Bengals
Jalen Richard – Raiders
Terrence Williams – Cowboys
Raiders Defense
That's it for me folks. Be sure to subscribe with my guys, Fantasy Forecast for your DFS lineups today!
Numbers don't run…numbers don't pass.
PLAYERS do … and I know Players.


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Deutsche Bank Championship Tickets
The Deutsche Bank Championship is a PGA Tour golf
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tournament began in 2003 and is held at the Tournament Players
Club of Boston in Norton, Massachusetts. Unlike most tournaments,
this tournament is intended to end on a Monday due to its
scheduling near Labor Day. The tournament will become part of the
FedEx Cup in 2007. Past winners of the Deutsche Bank
Championship include Adam Scott (2003), Vijay Singh (2004) and
Olin Browne (2005).
Our service, selection and competitive pricing are certain to impress you! Showtime Ticket Services has supplied preferred seating and difficult to obtain tickets for all Sports, Theater and Concert Events Worldwide for over 20 years.
Deutsche Bank Championship Tickets available now! ShowTime Ticket Services specializes in tickets for all games.


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(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures were down about a third of a percent, setting Wall Street for a lower open on Wednesday, an almost 2 percent gain in the previous session failing to calm the nerves following the Dow's biggest intraday fall on Monday.
All three of Wall Street's main indexes 1YMc1 ESc1 NQc1 were on course for falls of between 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent, indicated by volatile premarket futures trading.
A wild session on Tuesday saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average swing more than 1,100 points from peak to trough and ended with the benchmark SP 500 tallying its best day since just before President Donald Trump's election in 2016.
Traders are bracing for volatility to stay high as they try to figure out if the swings of the past two days are the start of a deeper correction or just a temporary blip in the U.S. market's nine-year bull run.
The pivotal gauge of SP 500 volatility, the VIX .VIX, opened at a relatively elevated 31 points and was at 28.80. The VIX on Tuesday hit a more than two-and-a-half year high above 50, after trading, on average, below 20 for months.
"It's over in terms of the severe down move we've seen, but reminds us that we're kind of in an aftershock phase," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management.
"What's happening now is you're getting a little bit of struggle between the short-term traders who bought into the dip and are looking to get out before another selloff takes place and people who have gained some confidence that the market's found a bottom."
Markets are also on edge over U.S. lawmakers' wrangling to extend the so-called debt ceiling – funding for the U.S. government runs out on Feb. 8 unless a stopgap bill manages to pass the Senate later on Wednesday.
The SP 500 remains up 26 percent since Trump's election, and on Tuesday clawed back into positive territory for 2018, up 0.8 percent.
"It looks like a little bit of a stabilization trade overnight," said John Brady, senior vice president at futures brokerage R.J. O'Brien Associates in Chicago.
"I don't know if it's over, but a market range maybe established because if you look at SP e-minis, we're trading at mid-point of a two-week range, starting back to Jan. 29," Brady said.
However, some investors fear the market is over-stretched in the context of higher inflation and rising bond yields as central banks withdraw their easy money policies of recent years.
U.S. 10-year yields rose back as high as 2.80 percent after approaching two-week lows around 2.65 percent on Tuesday US10YT=RR. They were last trading at 2.79 on Wednesday. [US/]
European shares rose around 0.7 percent, while Asian markets were mixed. The recent rout has wiped about $4 trillion off world equities.
Dallas Fed President Robert S. Kaplan said he did not expect the gyrations to have repercussions on the economy and described them as a "healthy" corrections from high valuations.
Among stocks, Walt Disney (DIS.N) was up 2.2 percent in premarket trading after the media company's quarterly profit topped forecasts.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN.O) climbed 8.6 percent after casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned as the chief executive of his company following sexual misconduct allegations.
Snapchat owner Snap (SNAP.N) soared 20.6 percent after it reported surging growth in users and revenue in its latest quarter.
Reporting by Tanya Agrawal and Sruthi Shankar; Editing by Arun Koyyur
Article source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/businessNews/~3/qj3vffPIObg/wall-street-set-to-open-lower-after-tuesdays-recovery-idUSKBN1FR1OC


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By Joe Wilhelm
Photos by Stephanie Drews, Primo Catalano, Meghan Wonder, and courtesy of Shohei Yamamoto
It's August 25th, 2013 and the moment has arrived. It's a moment 15 years in the making, a moment Shohei Yamamoto and his father Yoshitaka had dreamed of together.
Shohei is debuting against Michael Woods. At 23, the former Kyokushin karate world champion is unknown to the University of MMA fan base. Fifty-three seconds into the fight, Yamamoto earns his first career victory by way of submission through strikes.
The moment should have been joyous. But as fans cheered the birth of a star, his father was not among them.
"Josh (Barnett) called me and asked if I still wanted to fight, Yamamoto said. "But for me, it's not only fighting. It goes much deeper than that. This was a dream for us. It was always about chasing the dream together. After my fight, I looked at my cell phone and tried to give him a call. But then I realized he's not here."
On August 7th, 2013, Yoshitaka Yamamoto passed away due to complications of diabetes. Two weeks prior to his debut fight, the 23-year-old was left without his ever-present companion, the man who had set him upon his martial arts journey at age eight.
"The first few months after my dad died were really hard," Yamamoto said. "But after a while, coming to practice made me feel alive. Every fight I have gives me something to look forward to. I know my dad is watching from above. It gave me a way to break free from this strain holding me down."
Growing up, the two were inseparable; traveling the world to Japan, Canada, and New York for Shohei's karate tournaments. On school days, Yoshitaka would pick Shohei up early from school to make the long drive from Oceanside to the dojo in Los Angeles. When Shohei set his sights on a MMA career, the UFC became a shared dream between father and son.
Nearly a year to the date of Yoshitaka's passing, that dream is alive and well, as Yamamoto continues to carry the memory of his father with him into the cage.
"Having that first fight made me switch over from feeling negative to realizing what I need to do," Yamamoto said. "For myself, of course, but for my dad as well. Every punch I throw, every kick I throw, is that much heavier compared to everyone else."
Since his debut, Yamamoto has added three knockouts to his perfect 4-0 record. To date, he has yet to have a fight go beyond the first round. Opponents have been unable to adjust to the speed and ferocity of Yamamoto's striking, the lethal product of a lifetime dedicated to Kyokushin.
"I think a lot of people will have a hard time adapting to my style," Yamamoto said. "My striking will be naturally different from everyone else, and I think that is going to give me the upper hand. It feels like no one in the amateur field has gone through what I have gone through. Nothing scares me anymore."
In addition to the physical advantage gained from his Kyokushin roots, Yamamoto possesses uncommon poise and discipline for a fighter of his age. His soft-spoken and respectful demeanor outside of the cage inspire coach Erik Paulson's comparisons between Yamamoto and a caged tiger, one who unleashes jaw-dropping aggression inside the cage.
Yamamoto comes from a martial arts discipline frequently devoid of weight classes, meaning there where times when he gave up a natural twenty pounds to opponents in the same tournament rack. Because of this history, Paulson and coach Josh Barnett are willing to be flexible with Yamamoto's amateur opponents.
"It makes it easier for us to find him fights, because if a gym doesn't have someone who can compete at 170, we can fight at 175," Barnett said. "Shohei has already fought heavyweights so it's not that big of a deal."
"From my perspective, I know what he's capable of, and I know his potential. He's already fought against heavyweights in a full-on, high-level world competition. Fighting an amateur guy at 180 if we have to is fine. Shohei is a killer at 170 or 180."
During an MMA event, a fighter faces one opponent and typically trains for weeks or months in advance to take advantage of their opponent's strengths and weaknesses. To win a Kyokushin tournament rack, it is common for a fighter to face six fights in a single day.
"It gets pretty brutal by the fourth round," Yamamoto said. "When it comes to the first three rounds, you're okay, but during the fourth, fifth, and sixth rounds, your legs start giving out and you're mentally exhausted."
"After going through that, experiencing MMA, where I only have to fight one person is a lot easier."
In transitioning from Kyokushin to MMA, Yamamoto needed to develop a ground game to pair with his Kyokushin-based striking. Enter Paulson and Barnett of CSW: prestigious catch wrestlers with the knowledge to round out the most one-dimensional of fighters. Since coming to the gym in 2010, Yamamoto has dedicated himself to building upon the skills that earned him a junior world championship at sixteen.
"CSW definitely has a different aura than a Kyokushin dojo," Yamamoto said. "But one similarity is that everyone here genuinely loves martial arts. Seeing the guys that have trained here for a long time is very inspiring."
"The bond that you create beating each other up for four years is the kind of bond that you can't create anywhere else. Coach Erik has been a father figure for me. Ever since my dad passed away, he's been there for me. I don't feel like I could train anywhere else. It feels like home."
Paulson, the consummate tough guy and old-school fighter, softens when Yamamoto is brought up in conversation.
"Shohei has a ton of potential," Paulson said. "I've already received offers for him to come and fight in the professional leagues. We made a commitment when Shohei's father died. I made a commitment to Shohei's father that I would take care of Shohei and bring him to the UFC."
The next step on that journey comes August 24th at Club Nokia, where Yamamoto's perfect record will be tested by University of MMA welterweight champion Roman Todorovich. While his immediate focus will be set upon Todorovich, Yamamoto maintains an ever-present eye towards a future of martial arts stardom.
"My goal isn't to become just the U of MMA champion," Yamamoto said. "It's more than that. I want to fight the best. I want to fight in the UFC. I want to show people striking that they have never seen before."


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OpenTech is an initiative which fuels growing technology firms with qualified employees. OpenTech coordinates between employers, education partners and foundation resources to promote strong candidates directly into professional apprenticeships.
Open Tech proudly serves industries in California including Biotechnology, Information Technology, and Health Information Technology
Supporting Individuals for Careers in Technology
America is home to the top firms in the technology field. Companies like Google, Apple and Facebook lead the world in job creation from new software and hardware possibilities. The work of OpenTech is to ensure better representation of the diversity of America in careers relating to the advance of technology.
OpenTech coordinates between employers, training programs and career councilors to support candidates on their path to gain skills and complete on-the-job apprenticeships. For candidates, our program is offered at no fee, training is completed locally and is the fastest way to a career.
Join OpenTech as an Employment Partner
Benefit from a pipeline of great candidates suited to your organization
OpenTech learns about your ongoing staffing goals and then prepares a custom training program with our Education Partners. We select and train the best candidates to industry standards. We maintain a relationship with your organization to guide each candidate and ensure lasting employment solutions.
OpenTech Employment Partners Include:
Information for Work Readiness Partners:
Working together to establish new approaches to job readiness
OpenTech is proud to work with leading edge learning platforms to train diverse students for real world jobs. Areas of training include software development, online technologies, project management and more. By linking apprenticeships in industry with custom learning programs we enable transformation in the lives of young people.
News on the OpenTech community:
Exceptional Minds With Autism Have Screen Cred on 3 of 5 VFX Oscar Nominations
Sherman Oaks, CA, January 25, 2018 (Newswire.com) - ExceptionalMinds Studio earned screen credit on three of the five Oscar nominated movies in the visual effects category announced by the Academy [...]
German American Vocational Career Program DIAG Tour for OpenTech
This October, OpenTech grant partner DIAG USA provided OpenTech Program Coordinator Joan Samuels a tour of Germany to learn of its innovative workforce systems and programs. The German American [...]
Information for Foundation & Public Partners:
Private sector driven model for workforce development
OpenTech is a localized approach to skills training and apprenticeships for youth from under-represented communities. Our goal is to move qualified candidates into technology-focused careers. These individuals broaden the diversity of their employer organizations and serve as a strong example of opportunity realized for their communities.
Supported by the US Department of Labor, American Apprenticeship Initiative
"Beneath the surface, unnoticed by many, an even deeper force was at work—the rise of creativity as a fundamental economic driver, and the rise of a new social class, the Creative Class."
"the Creative Economy is driven by the logic that seeks to fully harness—and no longer waste—human resources and talent."
"Greatness and nearsightedness are incompatible. Meaningful achievement depends on lifting one's sights and pushing toward the horizon."
"People can have two different mindsets, she says. Those with a "fixed mindset" believe that their talents and abilities are carved in stone. Those with a "growth mindset" believe that their talents and abilities can be developed. Fixed mindsets see every encounter as a test of their worthiness. Growth mindsets see the same encounters as opportunities to improve."


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Face Doctors Coopers Beach
We're here to help you and to answer any questions you may have about anti ageing and appearance medicine.
Call us, or fill out the form below and we'll reply as soon as we can
Contact Details
Phone (09) 524 5665
Central Auckland number to answer questions and take bookings.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone Belinda 021 2377711
At Tress Hair and Beauty
3 Walter Way
Coopers Beach
Note: If you cancel your appointment within 24 hours you will incur a $50 cancellation charge per 1/2 hour.
If you re-book this will be waived.
If you re-book this will be waived.


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WASHINGTON -- A senior U.S. official predicted yesterda that U.S. troops will be able to transfer most of the responsibility for securing Somalian relief to the United Nations in about six weeks.
His timetable, more precise than any offered previously by the United States, came a day after Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said that U.S. troops would start withdrawing toward the end of this month, shortly after President-elect Bill Clinton's inauguration.
The transfer to the United Nations would mean that most, if not all, U.S. ground forces could be withdrawn, although the United States intends to keep support forces in Somalia and Marines offshore in case they are needed.


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Our company is well rehearsed in the selling and acquisition of all types of Jets, Turbo Props, Piston powered Aircraft & Helicopter.
Why IAMI
- We Cater to Owner's Requests
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SAIC Employees Recognized at 31st Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference
McLean, Va. -- Sixteen Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) employees received various awards during the 31st annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Conference held in Washington D.C.
During the awards ceremony, SAIC CEO Tony Moraco congratulated the awardees and thanked them for their role in supporting STEM careers within the company.
"I am honored to recognize our employees here at the BEYA Conference and I am appreciative of their passion to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM," said Moraco. "We are proud to partner with BEYA to bring awareness to the need for developing diverse STEM talent."
SAIC Vice President of Programs Elton Akins, was honored with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Engineering Deans' Special Recognition Award and the Linda Gooden Legacy Award for his contributions and support to scientists and engineers in the Aerospace and Defense industry.
"We are excited to celebrate Elton's achievements today and want to thank him for his professional contributions to SAIC," said SAIC Chief Human Resources Officer Karen Wheeler. "BEYA's recognition of our employees complements our inclusive culture and our ability to attract and retain diverse talent."
Akins has been with SAIC for 10 years and is currently a program manager for U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Expedited Professional & Engineering Support Services (EXPRESS) contract. Prior to joining SAIC, Akins served in the Army for 21 years and retired as lieutenant colonel. During his service, his most recent position was as the program manager for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Fire Control and Communications Product Office.
Other employees recognized with the Modern Day Technology Leaders Award and the Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award were:
The Modern Day Technology Leaders Award: Amanda Barnes, Aida Gourdine, Marquita Harris, Jammal Matthews, and Karen Mitchell.
The Science Spectrum Trailblazer Award: Ronald Berry, Jeffrey Braud, Otis Brooks, Kester Buckmire, Andre Eaddy, Cheryl Jones, Johanna Ramos, Wayne Tolbert, David Williams, and Gayle Westbrook.
About SAIC
SAIC is a premier technology integrator providing full life cycle services and solutions in the technical, engineering, intelligence, and enterprise information technology markets. SAIC is Redefining Ingenuity through its deep customer and domain knowledge to enable the delivery of systems engineering and integration offerings for large, complex projects. SAIC's more than 15,000 employees are driven by integrity and mission focus to serve customers in the U.S. federal government. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, SAIC has annual revenues of approximately $4.3 billion. For more information, visit saic.com. For ongoing news, please visit our newsroom.
Certain statements in this announcement constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties and a number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in SAIC's Annual Report on Form 10-K and other such filings that SAIC makes with the SEC from time to time, which may be viewed or obtained through the Investor Relations section of our web site at www.saic.com. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.


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Questions to ask GA's
3 RepliesJump to last post
Currently in the process of gaining appointments to sell insurance as an independent agent and hoping for some input. Know you folks are beyond this but just breaking into field and hoping some of you independent folks could provide some input. <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Also if any of you presently work with GA's in MI that you would recommend please provide their names. Currently looking at at Comprehensive Planning, Inc. out of Troy.
These are the questions I have for the GA's-
How much are first year commissions per company offered? Do you have a break down per company and product?
What are the renewals?
Are commissions advanced or as earned?
Is there a production requirement?
Do all commission checks come form the insuring companies that you appoint with?
What other questions or concerns should I be on the look out for?
Thank you for any and all input.
These are the questions I have for the GA's-
How much are first year commissions per company offered?
What a GA will offer you varies based on your production. They will typically pay you a "street level" contract unless you have verified production. They typically have 3-5 levels above that where they can increase your compensation. Try to obtain a payout grid that shows as many levels as possible. Be aware that their contract with a carrier is based on the aggregated volume of all their producers. As such, there is plenty of room for you to negotiate a higher contract because the GA (MGA or BGA) is typically getting paid 100% or more on all life insurance products.
Do you have a break down per company and product?
Yes. It is called a payout grid. Ask for a grid (life insurance and annuity) for each carrier. Again, there are several different levels. Always ask them, "Is this the 'street level' grid?" If it is, ask for a higher level grid. Stress that you are an above average performer and want a higher payout. You may have to verify production.
What are the renewals?
See the payout grid.
Are commissions advanced or as earned?
On the independent side very few GAs (MGAs or BGAs) will advance commissions. They cannot afford the liability of unsupervised independents throwing spaghetti against the walls. Advanced commissions are generally reserved for captive agencies that pay their agents a salary + bonus or from a commissions pool. Just sell annual premium if you want annualized commissions.
Is there a production requirement?
One the independent side there typically is not a production requirement. The exception is if they give you a "gold level" payout grid. In this instance you would have to earn that higher level payout with the GA and they would expect certain minimums because if they are paying you more per case and cutting the spread to themselves, they expect to make up the lost revenue per case with the increased volume that you put through their network.
Do all commission checks come form the insuring companies that you appoint with?
Typically, yes, the insurance company will pay you directly. However, some GAs do prefer that you assign commissions to them and then they will pay you from their finance department. This is to ensure that they don't lose any revenues.
What other questions or concerns should I be on the look out for?
"Am I allowed to sell away from your agency if I need to sell a product that you do not offer?"
"Am I allowed to sell XYZ insurance company through another GA network if I have a higher contract with them that you cannot meet?"
"Am I available for a bonus program based on meeting specific criteria?"
"What kind of in-house case management and follow up staff do you have?"
"Am I responsible for ordering the parameds for my clients?"
"What kind of lag time does your finance department have from the time a case is issued to the time a receive my check?"
"What kind of marketing programs do you offer?"
"What kind of marketing dollars does your agency put behind my marketing efforts?"
"How often will you review my contract to increase my payout level?"
"What is YOUR entire contract on each product?"
(its worth a shot; they might tell you)
Thank you for any and all input.[/quote]


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The third preseason game? It's reality-check time for the Dolphins.
Among the questions to be answered Saturday night against the Atlanta Falcons in the soft re-launch of renovated Sun Life Stadium:
▪ Can the offensive line function with Dallas Thomas at left tackle? (Branden Albert, knee, and Jason Fox, concussion, are both expected to sit.)
▪ Is Walt Aikens the answer at safety? (Kevin Coyle this week all but named Aikens the starter with Louis Delmas out for the season.)
▪ Will Caleb Sturgis show enough to be Miami's opening day kicker? (He has been solid, but the Dolphins could be tempted to look outside the organization.)
▪ Do the Dolphins have enough depth at corner? (If not, soon-to-be unretired Cortland Finnegan has interest in returning to the Dolphins.)
For engaged Dolphins fans, most of this is ground long-covered.
So let's go next level. Here's a new way of looking at these exhibitions games, which this year has become real life Survivor — but instead of getting booted off the island, contestants suffer season-ending injuries:
Is Joe Philbin ready to truly gamble — both with in-game management and, on a macro scale, his career?
Even with a league-wide commitment to analytics, there's still a deep chasm between the decisions that coaches have traditionally made, and the ones that the stat geeks say they should make to maximize their chances of winning.
But perhaps Philbin, in a win-or-else season, is coming around. Already this preseason, the Dolphins' first-team offense has twice gone for it on fourth-and-goal. And each time, Philbin's bravery was rewarded with a touchdown.
Granted, rolling the dice in the preseason is completely different than doing so when the games count, but Philbin already has shown a predisposition to pushing the envelope.
Only two teams — Chicago and Detroit — last year went for it on fourth down more often than the Dolphins. Philbin kept the kicking team on the sideline 19 times a year ago, the franchise's most fourth-down attempts since 2009.
And in both word and deed, Philbin has suggested an openness to doing so even more.
"We've studied everything, every scenario, and we've done a pretty comprehensive look at all fourth downs in the league last year and studied them — when teams are going for it, what the success rate is based on if it's the first quarter, the second quarter, the third, the fourth," Philbin said this week. "We've looked at run-pass ratios within the down and distance. So we did a really comprehensive fourth-down study. I would say we're analyzing it, but I think that changes game to game."
Those weekly decisions are made each Friday, based on the matchup. If, for example, that week's opponent struggles in third-and-short, the Dolphins would be more emboldened to go for it on fourth-and-short.
On the flip side, if the opponent struggles to drive the length of the field, the Dolphins would be more prone to punt, pin them deep and expect decent field position when their defense makes a stop.
"I don't think it's going to be a blanket approach where, hey, this week on fourth-and-2, every fourth-and-2 inside the five we're going for [it]." Philbin added. "I don't see that being the scenario. I think everything's a game-specific situation."
The folks who run the New York Times' popular 4th Down Bot blog disagree. Based on a decade of data analysis, they argue that teams should almost always run an offensive play on fourth-and-1 and fourth-and-2 — even when on the wrong side of midfield.
The logic behind it: Teams average more than 4 yards a play, so the risk associated with failure is less than whatever field position gains are made by punting.
Kevin Kelley, the coach at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, believes in the math. he has built a cult following for never, ever punting. Kelley's views earned him a spot as a panelist at the prestigious Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Philbin knows all about Kelley, and joked the Dolphins might hire him away from the prep ranks.
"I'm sure there's some," Philbin said when asked about the logic behind Kelley's strategy. "I'm sure there is some. He would obviously, I would guess, have some evidence to back up why he does it so often. It's interesting, that's for sure."
But let's just say Philbin hasn't drank the Kool-Aid completely.
Asked if the Dolphins might go for it on fourth down on every occasion this year, he smiled and responded:
"Probably not. Probably not."


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Today I was reading about self-modifying code. I knew some things already – for example it is used sometimes as 'camouflage' by malicious programs to cover their intent, by JIT compilers, and for optimising loop evaluation functions. Suppose you have a number of functions that are very similar except for a couple of instructions used for some sort of comparison or evaluation. Instead of having several almost identical functions in memory, one option is to simply over-write the evaluation instructions with a slightly different piece of code every time the function is used.
However, in general, because of it's usefulness in malicious programs, self modifying code is a bit of a security problem for operating systems. For this reason modern operating systems do not allow memory pages to be both writeable and executable. This is known as W^X – write XOR execute, meaning a page of memory is writable or executable, but never both.
The main reason for this post is an interesting work-around that Edd and I discovered today. It turns out that it is possible to map a file into memory twice. When a file is mapped into memory, the permissions are set at the same time as it is mapped. Given this, you can be a bit sneaky, and map a file as writeable, then map it again as executable. This will give you two pointers to different areas of your programs virtual address space, but both referencing the same file. You can then write some code to the file using one pointer, and execute it using the other.
As an example I created a little test C program with a single function in it as follows:
int add(int a, int b) { return a+b; } main() { int a = add(12, 2); }
I then built this with debug symbols and no compiler optimisation (since this program doesn't do anything, with optimisations turned on the add function would disappear completely):
gcc testcode.c -o testcode -g
This function is nothing really to do with the exploit per se. The plan is:
- Create a file
- Map the file into memory as writeable
- Copy the add function from the above code into this writeable memory (ending up in the file)
- Map the file into memory as executable
- Assign a function pointer to point to the executable memory
- Execute the add function that we just wrote into memory using the function pointer
To do this, the code below is used:
#include <sys/mman.h> #include <stdio.h> #include <stdlib.h> #define MEM_MAP_FILE "/tmp/a" #define TESTCODE_FILE "testcode" #define TESTCODE_SIZE 8427 #define FUNCTION_ADDR 0x394 #define FUNCTION_SIZE 0xE int main(void) { void *p1, *p2, *p3; int fd, fd2; FILE *f, *f2; int (*add)(int a, int b); /* Create/open the file */ f = fopen(MEM_MAP_FILE, "w+"); fd = fileno(f); /* Make some space in the file to copy the function in */ lseek(fd, FUNCTION_SIZE, SEEK_SET); /* Have to write to actually make the space */ write(fd, "", 1); /* Map file as write */ p1 = mmap(0, FUNCTION_SIZE, PROT_WRITE, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0); /* Open test code */ f2 = fopen(TESTCODE_FILE, "r"); fd2 = fileno(f2); /* mmap the test code */ p3 = mmap(0, TESTCODE_SIZE, PROT_READ, MAP_SHARED, fd2, 0); /* Copy function into writeable memory */ memcpy(p1, p3 + FUNCTION_ADDR, FUNCTION_SIZE); /* Map the file as executable */ p2 = mmap(0, FUNCTION_SIZE, PROT_EXEC, MAP_SHARED, fd, 0); /* Make function pointer point to the executable memory*/ add = p2; /* Execute function we just wrote! */ printf("Result = %d\n", (*add)(1, 2)); }
There are a couple of things to note. First, this code does no checks on return values of mmap, fopen etc. This is purely for readability on this blog! Second, the 3 #define pre-processor macros at the start of the program must be set up for the function that is being copied in from testcode, in our case 'add'. The first is the size of the testcode executable, which can be found with "ls -l". The second is the offset of the add function within the executable, and the third the size of the add function. The easiest way to get these last two is probably with objdump. We use "objdump -d testcode" to disassemble the file, and then scroll through until we see the add function, which will look something like:
08048394 <add>: 8048394: 55 push %ebp 8048395: 89 e5 mov %esp,%ebp 8048397: 8b 45 0c mov 0xc(%ebp),%eax 804839a: 8b 55 08 mov 0x8(%ebp),%edx 804839d: 8d 04 02 lea (%edx,%eax,1),%eax 80483a0: 5d pop %ebp 80483a1: c3 ret
Unfortunately objdump relocates the file before disassembly. Therefore, we only use the last 3 digits of the address. So in this case, the add function starts at offset 394 and ends at 3a2 (the last instruction, ret, is only 1 byte long, and starts at 3a1). So the size of the function is 3a2-394 = E.
Running the executable afterwards will now result in:
Result = 3
So we have managed to write to some memory and then execute what we wrote, working around the W^X feature!
However, this isn't as bad as it might seem. There are actually other ways to get around W^X, for example the mprotect system call. And this doesn't really allow you to elevate privileges very easily. You might be able to write self-modifying code, but you can't, for example, overwrite code of a process already running as root, make the text area of an address space writable, the data area executable, or modify a file such as /bin/ls (because you still don't have write permission to the file).


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The Maryland definition:
Formative Assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching and learning to improve students' achievement of intended instructional outcomes.
Formative assessment can help to differentiate instruction, based on self-assessment and goal-setting, so students know how to move learning forward on their own. It is capable of assisting both teaching and learning while they occur.
Classroom assessment for student learning … turns the classroom assessment process and its results into an instructional intervention designed to increase, not merely monitor, student confidence, motivation, and learning.
— Stiggins (2008) (additional information at bit.ly/FAME_Parent)
It asks the three questions (Thompson & Wiliam, 2007):
- Where is the learner going?
- Where is the learner right now?
- How will the learner get there?
Assessment is the bridge between teaching and learning—it is only through assessment that we can find out whether what has happened in the classroom has produced the learning we intended.
— Dylan Wiliam
Formative assessment includes all of the ways that teachers check to see if students are understanding the content.
Teachers and students work collaboratively to create goals for learning and criteria for success, use self and peer assessment and feedback to determine where they are in their learning, and as partners, plan for next steps.
By working together in this process, students become owners of their own learning which empowers them to seek assistance or extension as needed.
Key terms
Self-regulation — When students actively monitor their learning goals, use feedback to determine next steps, and devise tactics and strategies to reach them.
Growth mindset — The belief that ability is not fixed and talentscan be developed through hard work, good strategies, and feedback.
Learning goal — Statements of intended learning, what students should know and be able to do.
Success criteria — Describes what success looks like when the learning goal is reached.
Learning progression — a pathway that maps out a specific sequence of knowledge and skills that students are expected to learn.
Learning progressions clearly articulate the pathway typical students travel to meet the learning goal.
Learning goals and success criteria are clearly defined and shared with students.
Descriptive feedback is evidence based and aligned to learning goals and success criteria.
Self and peer-assessment are used frequently to encourage students to understand and internalize success criteria.
Collaboration in the classroom creates a culture in which teachers and students are partners in learning.
Descriptive feedback is evidence based, specific, references the success criteria and learning goals, causes thinking, is actionable, leads to next steps, and does not include grades.
Examining the Process
It is framed by the three questions to the right, which guide students and teachers in the learning process.
Where am I going? To clarify, students & teachers:
- Create learning goals and criteria for success in attaining those goals
- Develop learning progressions to clearly explain the path to meeting the learning goal
Where am I now? To determine, students & teachers:
- Use self and peer assessment to encourage students to understand and interpret the success criteria
- Deliver evidence based, timely descriptive feedback that is linked to the intended instructional outcomes
How do I close the gap? The student & teachers will:
- Collaborate as partners in learning to determine how to move past misconceptions and errors
- Ensure that descriptive feedback is actionable and results in planning of next steps
- Encourage self-regulation to decide on learning goals, devise tactics and strategies to reach them, and produce work
The formative assessment process helps students intentionally harness the workings of their own minds to generate motivation to learn.
— Moss & Brookhart (2009)
The Power & Importance of Feedback
Students often experience grading as evaluation and judgment. To be most effective, feedback must be experienced as information and description.
Effective feedback describes types of strengths and areas for growth in work and suggests strategies students might use to take next steps.
Descriptive feedback is the heart of formative assessment and all learning; without useful, actionable feedback a learner can't progress. It does not take the place of grades, but instead helps students move their learning forward.
|What Formative Feedback Is
|What Formative Feedback Is Not
|Relates to learning content
|General comment
|Identifies strengths and areas for growth
|Edits of mistakes
|Timely: it can be used immediately to improve progress
|Provided after learning is over; at the end
|Descriptive: specific, or in the form of questions
|Coded: grades, scores, checkmarks, judgments
"The quality of feedback, rather than its existence or absence, is what determines its power." — Bangert-Downs, Kulik, Kulik & Morgan (1991)
Characteristics of Effective Feedback
- Aligns to content: Aligns to the learning goals, the success criteria, and the learning progression. It accurately describes what the students have done well using evidence from their work products.
- Just right amount: Limited and prioritized on the most important next steps, so that students have the right amount of information with which to move forward. Feedback provides timely information throughout the learning sequence.
- Leads to next steps: Can be readily implemented by students. It provides hints, clues, and guidance to help move learning forward. Teachers ensure that students have structured time to respond to feedback.
- Supports self-regulation: Helps students learn how to monitor and self-correct their work, and helps them know when and how to apply learning strategies. To develop self-regulation skills, students must have regular opportunities to self-assess.
Formative Assessment & Grading
What is the purpose of grades?
"The primary goal of grading and reporting is communication. … Grading and reporting certify attainment of learning goals, identify where additional work is needed, and provide a basis for improvement efforts." (Guskey & Marzano)
Educators use grades to:
- Communicate learning and progress towards learning goals to students and parents
- Empower students to achieve success at the next level
- Communicate current level of performance to inform future work
- Provide guidance to teachers for instructional planning
- Inform schools, districts, and external organizations of student learning
Why a focus on feedback instead of grades?
If a paper is returned with both a grade and a comment, many students will pay attention to the grade and ignore the comment. The grade "trumps" the comment; the student will read a comment that the teacher intended to be descriptive as an explanation of the grade. Descriptive comments have the best chance of being read as descriptive if they are not accompanied by a grade.
By using formative assessment, a student's grades will more accurately reflect their understanding of learning outcomes.
Supporting Formative Assessment in School and at Home
You can ask some simple questions to start the conversation:
- How do students create goals throughout the year?
- How does my child know the expectations for his or her work?
- Are there rubrics, models, and exemplars provided?
- How/when do students change or adjust goals as their learning progresses?
- How is descriptive feedback provided to students?
- How do you assess students' understanding of concepts?
- What steps or interventions should be put in place to move my child's learning forward?
- How exactly is learning personalized in your classroom? In the school?
- What kinds of questions do you suggest that I ask my child on a daily basis about your class?
Supporting formative assessment at home:
- Shift from providing feedback on grades and rankings to reinforcing a growth mindset by encouraging your child to "practice, practice, practice" and learn from their mistakes.
- Model descriptive feedback at home and ask your child to do the same.
- Review the feedback on their work with them- how will they use it to move forward?
- Ask your child specific questions about the learning goals, success criteria, and where they fall on their learning progression. How will they move to the next level? What are their goals?
- Encourage your child to set specific, measurable goals for activities outside of school.


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Despite the overwhelming response to "Pokémon GO" over the last month, many people have been worried about the game's developer, Niantic Labs, and its reputation for not communicating with fans or listening to their requests.
Unfortunately, those fears have been coming true, as of late.
Niantic Labs released a new update for "Pokémon GO" on Saturday night. It includes many changes, but the biggest change is the removal of one of the game's core (albeit broken) features: a three-step tracker, which shows you all the Pokémon currently nearby. The feature worked for the first few days after the app launched, but hasn't worked properly since then.
But, instead of fixing the feature on Saturday, Niantic removed it entirely.
This is especially frustrating for fans since Niantic has also been busy sending cease-and-desist letters to popular third-party sites that help you track Pokémon (which, in fairness, were created because the three-step tracker stopped working).
Hey guys. We wish we had some news for you
At this moment, we are respecting Niantic and Nintendo's wishes.
Will keep you guys posted
— Pokevision (@PokeVisionGo) July 31, 2016
So, without an in-game tracker or any third-party trackers, many "Pokémon GO" players feel like they're playing in the dark.
Many people have theories why Niantic made these changes — some think the game's three-step tracker had a negative impact on the "Pokémon GO" servers, so they shut down the feature until they could fix the problem — but most people are frustrated not just because this crucial feature was removed, but because Niantic hasn't given any kind of official explanation, and has done nothing to calm worried fans.
@PokeVisionGo If only Niantic was half as good at communicating with their users as u guys A little honesty and transparency goes a long way
— Luke (@LuklearMissile) August 1, 2016
No transparency from Niantic is just making it worse. Disabled comments and removed their email from the FB page.
— Angry Whorechard (@twocrutchez) July 31, 2016
If Niantic don't increase their transparency, Pokémon go isn't going to last much longer
— Benjamin Sterling (@_Ben_sterling) July 31, 2016
Some people on the "Pokémon GO" subreddit pointed out these issues with Niantic a while ago, highlighting similar communication issues around the company's previous game, called "Ingress."
We've reached out to Niantic about why the company has been silent about these changes. We will update this piece if we hear back.
NOW WATCH: Everything we know about the last missing Pokémon in 'Pokémon GO'
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