text: Hey guys, I have been reading these forums for a few months now. I really enjoy this community. It's nice to see a community of thinkers come together and share. Over a year ago I got fired from Bank of America mainly because I gave them push back because I didn't want to be their slave anymore. Just got sick of working 50-60 hours a week, getting scream at by angry customers, getting thrown under the bus by my sales partners every time they didn't get their way, I can go on and on, but yeah I couldn't handle the extreme stress and I couldn't handle it anymore. I processed and underwrote mortgages for BOA and Wells Fargo for 10 years. I have really wanted to start my own business but didn't know where to start so I came here looking for ideas. I decided to sign up for Youngevity after watching several episodes of Infowars. I'm signed up under Alex Jones, so I really don't have a mentor and I'm new to marketing. I could really use a mentor(s), also looking for people to signup under me to help push my business. The commission is really good once you are selling volume and you got people selling under you. Like other direct marketing programs. I got a letter that my unemployment benefits are ending in 4 weeks so I have to move fast. I am pretty excited about this though, the products really do help people. I started taking them because of my depression and anti-depressants weren't working and really made it worse. Its the only thing that has given me any relief. My dad has been into the stuff since 2005 after his 2nd round of AML Lukemia which is fatal at his age. Back in 2005 he went out to the VA in Seattle to get treament for his AML and he is the only one who is still alive out of the 20 guys who were in the program. He was pretty desperate after leaving Seattle and started doing supplements and changing his diet. I thought he was crazy and made fun of him because he was drinking beet juice. It wasn't until a few months ago I became open to this stuff. My depression just continued to get worse and worse. My Dr just kept more and more drugs. Then I looked at my phyciatrist bookshelf and noticed all the book where brand new, no creases in binding or anything, some of them still had the plastic wrapper on it. So that was alarming for me. So that just made me question if meds where a good option. My brother died from a drug overdose from oxycontin back in 2004, he was shooting it up in his toe to hide it from his wife. He was my sybling so that was a crushing blow for me. Then my mom died from a massive heart attack back in 2005. She was heavily medicated ever since I could remember. She was basically a zombie because of the drugs and I never really got to know who she was before she started taking the meds. My dad was paying $600 a month just in co-pays for her prescriptions. So I grew up seeing pill bottles all over the place. Those events had a lot to do with my depression. I really don't want to go down that path. I feel good about selling something that will really help people, make them feel better, and save them from being a drugged up zombie. Its also just a good way to stick it to the corporate overlords. I am signed up under Alex Jones so that will also help support the Infowars movement. If you are interested in helping me out please let me know. Scrud


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This tour showcases what makes Buffalo unique. From our beautiful Read more [...]
Larkin District Tour
Event Category: Tours
Upcoming Dates:Saturday, June 9, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, June 23, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, July 14, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, July 28, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, August 11, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, August 25, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, September 8, 2018 @ 11:00 AMSaturday, September 22, 2018 @ 11:00 AM
General Admission: $15
Student Admission: $5
Explorer Pass Holders: FREE
The Larkin District, or Larkinville, is the reborn former home of the Larkin Soap Company. In the early 1900s, the Larkin Company was one of the largest mail order companies in the country, and one of its executives, Darwin D. Martin, was responsible for bringing Frank Lloyd Wright to Buffalo. Today, the former Larkin factories and warehouses have been brought back to life and the area is bustling with activity once again. Join us to explore the Larkin Company's past while enjoying the revitalized neighborhood. This tour includes a visit to the Larkin Gallery inside the Larkin Center of Commerce.
Meet outside Flying Bison Brewing at 840 Seneca Street, Buffalo, NY 14210, at the corner of Seneca and Lord Streets.
Tour Details:
- Advance reservations are encouraged but not required for this tour.
- All credit card payments must be made in advance. Advance reservations with a credit card can be made online until the tour starting time. Cash or checks are accepted at the start of the tour.
- If you make an advance reservation, please print your confirmation email, or be prepared to show it on your phone.
- This tour is between two and two and a half hours in length.
- Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress for the weather – the tour will proceed rain or shine.
- Cameras are encouraged!
- Advance reservations are encouraged but not required for this tour.

subset: commoncrawl


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NHE is a Christian homeschool support group in the greater Orlando community which exists to support and encourage families whom God has called to the task of teaching their children at home. It is the desire of NHE to be a model of Christ's love and to serve the families of both NHE and the greater homeschooling community.
[Note: The site has been modified since the original design. ]
NearHim Home Educators
Thursday, February 26, 2009 Christian , community , homeschool , NearHim , NHE , Orlando , web-design


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ENGINE: Cree XPG RATED POWER (LUMINAIRE ONLY): 9.1W RATED OUTPUT: 577-770 lumens COLOUR TEMPERATURE: 3000K COLOUR RENDERING: Ra>80 BEAM ANGLE: 12 degrees PRICE: TRADE £76 OUR VERDICT: ★★★★
The 55-luminaire-lumen-per-watt metric of Part L2 is not an easy bar to reach, especially in a warmer colour temperature, but the Laser Lite – with the new Cree XPG engine at its heart – hits it comfortably. The narrow beam angle of 12 degrees helps get more of the light out of the luminaire, giving a better LOR (see Tech Briefing, page 96) but this is a difference of only a few percentage points. A lot of product for the price.


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A parked motorist who was found to be over the legal drink-drive limit has been banned from driving for 16 months.
Chesterfield magistrates' court heard on Tuesday how Reece Bartram, 23, of Queen's Way, Stonebroom, Chesterfield, had parked outside a shop on High Street, in Tibshelf, when police carried out a check.
Prosecuting solicitor Becky Allsop said: "It was about 2am on December 5 when police were dealing with an incident not before court involving a particular vehicle.
"Officers saw a vehicle matching that description on High Street, Tibshelf, parked outside a shop and Bartram was in the driver's seat and the vehicle's tyres and engine were still warm.
"Police said Bartram's eyes were glazed and he smelled of alcohol and he gave a positive reading of 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath."
Bartram told police he had been drinking with friends and gone to an address where he had more alcohol before going out in the car to get more booze.
He admitted to officers that he is a provisional licence holder only and he had driven unsupervised and without insurance.
Bartram pleaded guilty to exceeding the alcohol drink-drive limit and to driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and without insurance.
He said: "I have no excuse. I shouldn't have been doing it."
Magistrates fined Bartram £120 and ordered him to pay a £20 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
He was also disqualified from driving for 16 months and he declined the offer a drink-drive rehabilitation course to reduce his ban.


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Published: 2006/01/25
Recording Artist-in-Residence, Charlie Hunter
During the spring 2006 semester, Charlie Hunter will serve as Recording Artist-in-Residence at Mendocino College. In this role he will spend time teaching at the school from late January into early February. He will then offer a solo performance on Friday February 3 at Mendocino College's Performing Arts Building at its main campus in Ukiah, California. Hunter will return to the road with his Trio a bit later in the month with the band's COPPEROPOLIS, release coming out on February 6.


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|Message view
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|jbre...@wi.rr.com (Jeffrey D. Brekke)
|Re: unit testing code using torque
|Mon, 18 Aug 2003 13:14:54 GMT
Sounds like your testing factory should be in the torque project, testing itself. If you are comfortable that torque doesn't have any errors, then maybe we wouldn't feel like we have to test access through torque to the db in all our application tests. Unless you are also really testing things other than your code. Michel Beijlevelt <firstname.lastname@example.com> writes: > Hi all, > > interesting discussion, as I'm pondering JUnit tests for my Torque based > project at this moment as well. I don't feel comfortable providing mock > objects in place because one might introduce errors that don't exist in > Torque, skip errors in Torque that are circumvented by the mock objects, > and it would be a lot of work too. > > Currently we have some factories that create and maintain the Torque > database connection and we're working on some factories that create (and > destroy) test data through Torque which will be called from the setup and > teardown methods from the testsuites. Sure, this is slow but I'm very > willing to sacrifice this for better tests and ultimately better code. > > We don't test the Torque functionality itself btw (apart from some Peer > extensions). > > Hopefully this thread has a longlife, I'm very curious for soltions from > others. > > BTW, does any one know if it's needed to save() all modifications that are > made to torque-based objects? As long as the objects aren't destroyed, > the data should remain in cache, right? Yes, this is how we do our programmer tests, skipping the save() altogether. I haven't used the caching though, the objects for sure will continue to hold the data. They're just pojo's at this point. > gr. Michel > > > > David Hainlin wrote: > >> Hi Gary, >> I've done a fair amount of JUnit testing around Torque based projects. > Except in a few specialized classes, I've never found the need to > provide mock torque classes as most of the OM and business related code > really does depend on data Torque is fetching for me. Most of my Torque > Peer extensions have been very straightforward. This type of approach > does require some careful DB planning, and a 'resettable' test database. > Most of my unit tests that work from different levels (say struts mock > objects) either back out any db changes or invoke a 'set up test db' > script. This keeps everything repeatable. On a larger project with > many developers, we had the good fortune to own all of the schema. The > deployment was Oracle but I tested using mySQL with pretty good success. > On projects with less db control and with many developers running unit > tests, I've resorted to id ranging (David gets 1000 through 10000, > Ramesh gets 10000 through 20000, etc...). If you plan ahead, you can > set your 'production' or 'integrated' torque id generation to start > above these levels. >> >> I'm curious about your thoughts on this I'd be interested in hearing > about your experiences. >> >> David > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: email@example.com > For additional commands, e-mail: email@example.com -- ===================================================================== Jeffrey D. Brekke email@example.com Wisconsin, USA email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: email@example.com For additional commands, e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Just got back from Orkney and a few other places in Scotland. I like being on tour. It was an excellent trip mostly spent with the family - both nuclear and extended plus a few days backpacking to boot.
I started in Edinburgh and spent some time with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins. I saw a show at the Edinburgh festival which was a fairly mixed quality reviewed here in the Scotsman. It was great to see all the family here. Edinburgh is a lovely city but vastly overcrowded during festival time - my presence notwithstanding of course. Didn't really have enough time there but it was great to see everyone. Sadly, only one cousin shown here and she is not the guy with no hair.
On then to Aberdeen. A city I had wanted to see for some time and the only major city in Scotland I had not visited. I quite liked but I didn't really get on well at the hostel where I spent some time in fourteen-bed male dorm. Yes, it was noisy and smelly. How many times would you get up in the night multiplied by fourteen? I liked the museum and art gallery in Aberdeen though and was pleased to have seen the sparkling granite.
I then got the train up to Thurso which takes about seven hours from Aberdeen. The second part though, from Inverness, is a really nice trip along the coast. Sandra's backpackers in Thurso is a cool place. Sandra is a very nice lady and has made a nice space for travelers getting round Caithness or going off to Orkney as I was. You get a nice view of Hoy from the beach. The island sometimes appears in relief when the weather on Hoy is sunny and the weather in Thurso is cloudy. It gives an intriguing glimpse of what might lay in store over the water.
The ferry over to Orkney is great; you get to see the Old man of Hoy at no extra cost and trailed by a lot of seabirds during the crossing.
We were staying in Kirkwall which was a good location for seeing the mainland. The accommodation was above a shop on Albert St.
Day One
We drove down the causeways through the Southern Isles. The highlights were seeing the Italian church, the block ships and Churchill barriers. The village of St. Margaret's hope is a good place to have lunch if you can stand the midges.
Day Two
We went up to Marwick head and saw the Kitchener memorial which stands in a great location full of wildlife. Here we saw Great Skuas gliding above the cliffs on thermals. Then, driving round the north of the Island, we passed through the village of Evie and visited the Broch of Gurness; a much preserved two-thousand year old village. Life eback then looked pretty cold with everyone also living at very close quarters.
Day Three
Iain arrived and we went out to see some of the main sites of historical interest on the island. We started at Skara Brae which is an outstanding old village next to a really nice beach; Skail Bay. No wonder they decided to build their village there. After that we went on to Maeshowe which is thought to be some kind of burial chamber although when it was discovered there was nothing inside expect Viking graffiti saying something like 'we stole all the treasure'. The mainland also has some stone circles to visit with slabs of quite considerable size.
Day Four
Iain and I went over to Hoy; the volcanic island south of the mainland. We got the ferry over for about seven quid. Loads of sea birds evident in the harbour. On the way back a man walked up silently behind me and exclaimed 'ganet' in a very dead pan tone. It seemed to be something on an initiating into the ornithology community.
On the island we walked up Ward Hill, the highest hill on Orkney. Some very good views from the top. Walking back down the ridge, I spotted a mountain hare with black ears. There were loads of Great Skuas around too. We got a bit too close to a nest at one stage and almost got dive bombed.
Day Five
In the morning Iain and I looked round the cathedral and saw a scripture on a plack that he had told me about the previous day, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Ephesians 5:14. Then we walked round the Earl's and the Bishop's palaces. In the afternoon we went to Scapa Bay and saw Oyster Catchers in quite large numbers then went on to the pier arts centre in Stromness which has a great collection upstairs and is housed in a very contemporary building.
Day Six
We went out to Birsay and checked out the ruins of another village. This one was rather modern though - only eight hundred years old. Then we walked round the mini-island there. In the cliffs we saw what we believe to be Guillemots nesting in the dramatic cliffs there. Also, there were some birds diving for fish that may have been 'divers' of one sort or another. It was pretty much a case of packing in the evening but we managed to get a nice Chinese meal in too.
Back to Inverness
We drove back to Inverness via Dunnet Head and John O'Groats. It was interesting to see the west coast and we stopped off for tea on the way. Inverness was quite busy compared to Kirkwall and it was a bit of a shock to the system checking into the Student Backpackers Hostel which was a metal-loving, hard-drinking joint whether you didgeridoo or you didgeridon't. It was nice to see the river and atmostphere on the weekends. The locals say that the town has changed a lot in the last ten years for the better. The castle there is used as a court now which creates a slightly uneasy mix of tourists and defendants hanging around the same space.
We had meal out a restaurant next to the river for Mum's birthday where they served a pretty decent steak I must say.
Nobody had done any major socio-cultural rennovations on South London since I had been away. Back in the news loop and getting fed lots of downbeat economics forecasts and trying to cut down on my sports news intake. Wondering if Orkney still exists or it disappears when you get back to London.


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SEO Copyeditor SEO Copywriter
First Impressions - SEO Copyeditor SEO Copywriter
Four Reasons Why You Want SEO Copyediting/Copywriting
(1) Text : Search engines are automated programs that read the text on your website, and some search engines appear to have the ability to read some of the text within Flash®, but search engines do not have eyes to see a website's graphics. Except in the most rare of cases your site absolutely must have text before a search engine will rank your site well. Regardless of how pretty and/or expensive your site's graphics may be, the only effect that graphics have on search engines is to cause your site to be ranked lower if the graphics are too large in kilobytes.
(2) Grammar: One of the most sure methods of having visitors never return to your site is by your site using poor grammar. Everyone makes boo-boos, and an occasional typo is expected, but it is unacceptable when a page has dozens of misspelled words, poorly structured sentences, and incorrect words (e.g. 'there' instead of 'their').
A positive nature of the Internet is that it enables us to communicate with other people all over the world regardless of which languages we speak. The drawback is that it has become common for a site's grammar to reflect the broken English that is often spoken by individuals whose native languages are not English. While it is fully acceptable for broken English to be written in casual forums, it is not acceptable for broken English to be used in a website that is aimed for an English speaking public. The use of poor grammar makes a site appear amateurish, uneducated, and undesirable.
(3) Topic Knowledge: Where there exists strong competition for a keyword, there will also exist strong competition from individuals who are educated authorities on the topic. Too, if the topic is of a professional nature, then a high percentage of visitors will be of a similar education as those who are authorities on the subject. Your website should reflect a level of education and authority sufficient enough to convince visitors that the site's information is valid and useful.
(4) Not too much, and not too little: Too many words can sometimes be as bad as not having enough words. Different topics require different choices of words, different lengths of sentences, different structuring of paragraphs, and many other details that an experienced SEO copywriter knows to create for the site.
Is your website aimed for post-graduate level individuals? If so, then is the sentence structure of an acceptable length, and do the sentences reflect a conformity to the differences of mathematical and prose styles of punctuation? Does the word "Chicago" mean anything to you other than it being the name of a city? If you are unaware of the differences between mathematical and prose structuring of sentence patterning – and unaware of the importance of Chicago – then you may offend the very audience that you are writing for.
Is your website aimed for a specific trade? If so, then does the wording reflect an experience that clearly describes to the reader that the writer is "one of us" in the trade? Subtleties can and do change the whole of a website, with words as innocuous as "electrical" and "electronic" implying worlds of differences to individuals who are themselves well experienced in the trades. A relatively small percentage of individuals would recognize that copper and ceramic placed together in a sentence is an indication of one's experience within a specialized field of plumbing, and likewise your site's prose is best presented when it drops little hints that tell professionals that your site was built with them in mind.
Over the past twenty years technology has grown too quickly for any of us to have maintained a good knowledge of all changes, but it remains a necessity that we are well versed in our own specialized fields. Your website is best presented when it reflects a true insider knowledge of whatever specialized field that the site is to compete.
It is not an accident that all of my current clients are quality. I purposefully aim my sites for a specific audience – the individuals that I want as customers – and the effort has been rewarding for the clients as well as myself. Very similar to how specific types of people prefer specific types of music, so also is there a song of rhythms in a person's words, and if your site's words do not sing the song that your preferred visitors want, then your site will likely not attract the preferred visitors.
How To Choose a SEO


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The following is a guest post about seasonal meal planning from regular contributor, Rachel at Useful Beautiful Home.
This has been an incredibly busy season of life for our family, more so this year than ever. I started to list the craziness that has engulfed my life but then I put on the brakes (ain't nobody got extra time to read my saga – lol). The long and the short of it… I'm busy, you're busy, we're all busy this time of year. ;)
Guys, I don't want to miss the memorable moments tucked in-between the to-dos and must-dos on my calendar. When I'm rushed, I miss what's important. The dilemma is that my calendar is full of commitments that must be done or require my attendance. I have no wiggle room to "cut something out". I'm already putting up the boundary fence of saying "no" as much as possible. So, I found a quick fix in the meal planning process and have gained a little time back. (Hopefully my sanity will come back too, hee-hee.) The idea is simple; repeat a meal schedule every four weeks throughout the duration of that current season. That's the concept, read below to see how I systemized it into folders.
I drafted a quick plan of four weeks worth of Fall themed meals that we LOVE, those that are tried and true. Most of the meals are quick, all of them are easy, and the majority are A+ healthy. Then, I made a grocery list for each week, four separate grocery lists in all. Finally, I gathered all the recipes I didn't know by heart and made a copy of each one. All these papers went into page protectors inside a 2-pocket portfolio folder with prongs. The goal is to do this 4 times, one folder for each season with the recipes based around what fruits & veggies are in season. I also adjust for certain meals we like throughout the year. Things like soup during the winter and cold chicken salad during the summer.
I put the monthly meal plan in the first page-protector. Following that are the weekly grocery lists, one master copy in each page-protector so I can print more if needed. The last page-protectors in the folder contain that 4-week group of recipes.
The inside LEFT pocket holds various store flyers showcasing what's in season and a few coupons I don't want to forget. The inside RIGHT pocket (behind all the page-protectors) is where I place recipes I want to try if I have extra time on my hands. All those excellent resources for meal planning keeps me inspired to try new things, so I allow space in the 4-week plan for this.
It's an extremely condensed version of meal planning, cookbook corralling, and grocery list making. It's simple, it's all in one place, and it's REPEATABLE. That's right! I am repeating this menu plan every 4 weeks for as long as my family will tolerate the redundancy. It may sound boring, but I had to find a way to lighten my load or meals would become a burden, I would give up, and our nutrition would suffer. The worst time of year for nutrition to be sub-par is during cold & flu season, so I knew something had to be done pronto!
We've been doing this for several months already and I couldn't be happier with the results. Nobody has complained or even noticed the simplicity of meals over the weeks. Because the plan spans four weeks, it doesn't seem repetitive or boring and certain meals get tweaked with each new season.
The point is, I'm trying my best to reduce decisions that take up time but aren't necessarily a priority in the day-to-day of a busy month. If I had all the time in the world, I would cook and bake up a storm for my family morning, noon, and night. But, guess who doesn't have all the time in the world? This girl! And I'm betting you don't either. So, feel free to use my idea and adapt it to make sense for your family.
Here are a few suggestions for planning a menu like this:
- Use a plastic 3-pronged folder rather than the cardstock paper type, for durability
- Use page protectors inside the folder, best option for frequent use
- Copy pages from cookbooks (online recipes, etc.) and insert into the folder so everything is in one place
- Either make your grocery list reusable by laminating or make several copies to tuck inside the page-protector
- Use the pockets inside the folder for stashing store flyers, coupons, and recipes you want to try
- Schedule a "try a new recipe" day on your rotating schedule but not too often (I only have one of these every 4 weeks)
- If you don't have time to set up the whole month all at once, create it by slowly adding a weekly meal plan, corresponding grocery lists and recipes as you go. Once you have 4 weeks done, make necessary "tweaks" and repeat.
- Make meal-related notes and reminders on the meal plan calendar that need to be done in advance (i.e. make a double batch of sauce and freeze for the next month)
- Print your calendar and recipes so they all fit vertically inside the folder. It's easier to use if it reads like a book. I made my calendar and corresponding grocery lists on a vertical spreadsheet (and embellished with a little seasonal color).
- Find a meal or two your family will eat on a weekly basis (I make a roasted chicken every Monday and just switch out the seasonings/flavors of the meal for variety, then later in the week I make chicken noodle soup using my homemade bone broth. Healthy and easy!)
- Have one folder finished and currently in rotation? Go ahead and get started on the next season until all 4 are completed. :)
- I used Avery (affiliate link) labels that I designed and printed from my home computer in a few minutes. However, a Sharpie would label the folders just as easily.
- My folder system may not be the right fit for you, but I encourage you to try to find a way to simplify meals during the weeks leading up to Christmas. This simple short-cut has been a huge help for me. My Recipe rotation folders have given me freedom from decision-making so I can apply that extra time towards something more important!
In the professional world, I'm a nurse by trade. But, around our house, I'm known as Mommy to our young daughters. My two worlds collided and began shaping into a blog. Useful Beautiful Home represents the hours I've dedicated to managing my household as efficiently as possible. I offer you motivation to keep your home healthy, organized, and welcoming. My goal is to share what I've implemented in my home to inspire you with fresh ideas and to encourage you to keep up the good work in yours! Learn more about me HERE or visit me at UsefulBeautifulHome.com.
- Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*


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The Federal Reserve ("Fed") released the results of its Dodd-Frank Act Stress Tests (DFAST)1 that measure the potential impact of adverse or severely adverse economic conditions on the performance and condition of the 34 banks subject to the rule. These results will be followed on June 28, 2017 by the Fed's conclusions regarding the adequacy of bank capital plans as evaluated through the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR).
Key takeaways for the severely adverse scenario results include:
Summary of Results
Stress impact on capital ratios is again less severe than in prior DFASTs
The stress impact on bank holding company (BHC) capital ratios (starting capital ratio compared to minimum post-stress capital ratio) has lessened in aggregate this year for the second year in a row, but at a reduced pace. However, firms more heavily weighted in credit card exposures generally saw worsening trends while those weighted towards mortgage exposures saw improving trends.Source: Deloitte analysis of Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test: Supervisory Stress Test Methodology and Results, years 2014 to 2017
Source: Deloitte analysis of Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test: Supervisory Stress Test Methodology and Results, years 2014 to 2017
Key drivers of 2017 DFAST results for the severely adverse scenario
A slightly tougher severely adverse scenario. Progress in the economy since last year led to an improved jumping off point for the scenarios, but relatively greater stress is assumed than last year in US gross domestic product (GDP), unemployment, and commercial real estate prices offsetting much of those gains. Credit spreads under severely adverse conditions are much higher than last year for mortgages, commercial real estate and prime loans. Internationally, there are relatively more severe recessions assumed for Japan, U.K and the Euro area, but less severe in developing Asia. On the positive side, interest rates do not go negative this year and are at generally higher levels that may have contributed to improvements in PPNR.
Loan loss rates improve. Despite a somewhat tougher scenario this year, loan loss rates improved in aggregate by 0.3 percentage points as shown in the chart below. Results across portfolios were mixed however, with significant improvements centered in first-lien mortgages and junior liens more than offsetting moderate deterioration in commercial and industrial (C&I), credit cards, and other consumer and other loans. Commercial real estate (CRE) results were flat compared to last year.Source: Deloitte analysis of Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test: Supervisory Stress Test Methodology and Results, years 2013 to 2017
Pre-provision net revenue (PPNR)
In aggregate, PPNR under stress improved by $34 billion, the largest single contributor to improved results for 2017 over 2016. As a percent of average assets, PPNR improved by 0.1 percent registering the highest level over the past 5 years.Source: Deloitte analysis of Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test: Supervisory Stress Test Methodology and Results, years 2013 to 2017
Global market shock and counterparty losses fell markedly: Losses from the global market shock and counterparty positions applied to the eight trading and custody BHCs fell a dramatic $27 billion or 24 percent. The severely adverse global market shock assumptions for 2017 relative to 2016 had damped shocks to interest rates and other liquid market and less severe widening in spreads for mortgage securities.Source: Deloitte analysis of Dodd-Frank Act Stress Test: Supervisory Stress Test Methodology and Results, years 2013 to 2016
Sources of data utilized within this document from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System are listed below.
David Wright
Craig Brown
1DFAST applies to all BHCs and U.S. IHCs with $50 billion or more in consolidated assets, except certain U.S. IHCs that have been newly formed.
2The supplementary leverage ratio is defined as tier 1 capital divided by total leverage exposure, and becomes effective beginning in January of 2018 for BHCs that are subject to the advanced approaches capital framework. Advanced approaches BHCs were required to forecast their supplementary leverage ratios under stress for forecast quarters 1Q2018 through 1Q2019. The 15 advanced approaches BHCs have consolidated assets greater than or equal to $250 billion or total consolidated on-balance sheet foreign exposure of at least $10 billion as of December 31, 2016.
3Excludes the largest custody banks BK and STT; in 2014 they were subject to an additional counterparty default analysis, but not the global market shock.
This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional advisor.
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|Our bourbon vanilla extract
Mr. Collier and started searching in the Fall for a Christmas gift project for our co-workers that was sweet, from the heart but inexpensive. As scientists, we were most intrigued by the the process of making vanilla. The recipe seemed straightforward and involved a lot of sitting and waiting for the flavors to become extracted from the vanilla beans. Efficient, inexpensive and heartfelt. Check cubed!
From the get-go, it appeared that there are two basic camps of vanilla extract making. Both use booze but differ in the type that is preferred. Vodka is an easy choice being a clear spirit and the vanilla making process is observable because of the color change. Also, the vanilla has very little flavor to compete with when using vodka. We opted for the second, if you didn't guess from the title of this post and used bourbon as our base. After purchasing a 750 ml bottle of Buffalo Trace (~$20), we ordered the Madagascar vanilla beans for approximately $11 and Boston brown bottles for $12 from Amazon.
We poured off a bit of bourbon from the bottle and inserted about 8-10 vanilla beans sliced open both lengthwise and on each end. That's about it. For two months the bottle sat in our dark kitchen cabinet and we would occasionally invert it to add some variety to the process. And we did take a few free sniffs during the extraction process. I wish I could make my home smell that delicious!
What we ended up with were 8 mostly-full bottles of bourbon-vanilla extract. I found a super cute Christmas tag printable on Pinterest and wrote a little note on the back of each indicating what we had made. The suggested use was for baking but this would equally work to flavor coffee.


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You always enjoy the variety of things you can do at The Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park. The wide array of wildlife and shows keeps your entire family happy and entertained. No trip is ever the same. You can always just go with the flow and see where the day takes you. This type of service that caters to you is exactly what you need in a dental practice as well. You want to go somewhere that you can trust to put you first. Dr. Benjamin Hodges, your dentist in 32547, and his team want you to know all of the ways they take care of you in Fort Walton Beach.
Preventive Services
The best way to handle with most dental issues is to avoid them altogether. This is why Dr. Hodges and his team offer a variety of preventive services. They all intend to keep your visits to the dentist short and easy. A simple dental cleaning can help reach those trouble spots you can't with regular brushing and flossing. Small problems today can be stopped from becoming larger ones with a standard, bi-annual check-up. We even take the extra step and make sure your gums are healthy as well, as gum disease is actually one of the leading causes of tooth loss in the U.S. These check-ups also allow the team to offer you an oral cancer screening, as early detection is one of the best indicators for successful treatment.
Restorative Services
It can be surprisingly hard to keep your smile completely intact as the years go by, and sometimes it needs a little relief. This is where our restorative services can help you. They serve to repair your smile in a way that brings them back to their original strength and beauty. A tooth that has been damaged due to decay or injury can be brought back with a custom crown with two easy visits. We can even easily replace missing teeth with a simple dental bridge.
Teeth that have been extensively decayed can be painlessly taken care of with root canal therapy. Long regarded as an extremely painful procedure, root canal therapy is now very routine and the discomfort is on par with a simple filling. We can even handle the potentially complicated process of removing your wisdom teeth. We will always keep an eye on them during check-ups so we know they won't cause you any future trouble.
Patients who are missing multiple teeth can have them restored with a set of partial or full dentures. We will take time and care needed to make sure you get the exact fit and look that you need. Patients who are looking for a longer lasting solution can even completely replace their missing teeth with dental implants. They are one of the most effective ways to bring back your smile for a lifetime.
Cosmetic Services
Perhaps the only thing you want is for your smile to look a little better. We have you covered with our variety of cosmetic services. You can take away years of stains on your teeth quickly in-office or at home with effective Zoom! Teeth Whitening. Old, unsightly metal fillings are now no longer the only option to fix cavities. Tooth-colored fillings are specially shaded to blend in with your smile and repair your teeth more effectively. You can even completely makeover your smile in two easy visits thanks to porcelain veneers. They are extremely thin ceramic shells than can completely correct cosmetic issues such as damaged, discolored, or slightly misaligned teeth. They are also the best way to help close obvious gaps.
Emergency Dentistry
If you suddenly find yourself with a knocked out tooth or a severe toothache, what do you do? You can call Hodges Dental Clinics and we'll do everything we can to see you immediately, as well as let you know what to do in the moment. We will always be there for you whenever you need us most.
Want To Know More?
As you can see, no matter what your needs are, we are able to put them first. Whatever your smile needs, we can provide it. We're happy to make the question, "Who is the best dentist near me?" easy to answer. If you want to know more about everything we can do to keep your teeth healthy and beautiful, please give us a call today.


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Q: What is Legionnaires' disease?
A: Legionnaires' disease is a potentially fatal pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It is the most well-known and serious form of a group of diseases known as Legionellosis. Other similar (but usually less serious) conditions include Pontiac fever and Lochgoilhead fever.
Q: How can you catch Legionnaires'' disease?
A: Infection is caused by breathing in small droplets of water contaminated by the bacteria. The disease cannot be passed from one person to another.
Q: Who can catch it?
A: Everyone is potentially susceptible to infection but some people are at higher risk eg those over 45 years of age, smokers and heavy drinkers, those suffering from chronic respiratory or kidney disease, and other people whose immune system is impaired.
Q: Where is Legionella found?
A: Legionella bacteria are common in natural water courses such as rivers and ponds. Since Legionella are widespread in the environment, they may contaminate and grow in other water systems such as cooling towers and hot and cold water services. They survive low temperatures and thrive at temperatures between 25C / 45C if the conditions are right, eg if a supply of nutrients is present such as rust, sludge, scale, algae and other bacteria.
Q: Why do we need to look at our water systems?
A: Once the water has left the Water Company's main and past the boundary the responsibility for the water then passes to the owner or operator of that building.
Q: What happens if we don't?
A: If the owner or operator of that building does not look after the water systems. They will deteriorate and may lead to areas were the bacteria including Legionella will multiply. If this in turn leads to a Legionella outbreak the owners or the operators will be liable to prosecution.
Q: What do I have to do to comply with the law?
A: Legionella bacteria can multiply in hot or cold water systems and storage tanks, and then be spread, eg in spray from showers and taps. Although the generally high throughput and relatively low volume of water held in smaller water systems reduces the likelihood of bacteria reaching dangerous concentrations, you must still carry out a risk assessment to identify and assess potential sources of exposure. You must then introduce a course of action to prevent or control any risk you have identified
Q: What do I have to do about Legionella?
A: Under the Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974 you have a duty to consider the risks from Legionella that may affect people in your care. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994 say that you must assess the risks to all staff and patients from bacteria like Legionella and take suitable precautions.
Q: How can I control the risk from exposure?
A: Precautions should, where appropriate, include the following:
controlling the release of water spray;
avoidance of water temperatures and conditions that favour the proliferation of Legionella bacteria and other micro-organisms;
avoidance of water stagnation;
avoidance of the use of materials that harbour bacteria and other micro-organisms, or provide nutrients for microbial growth;
maintenance of the cleanliness of the system and the water in it; and use of water treatment techniques.
Q: What water treatment methods can I use?
A: In hot and cold water systems Legionella has traditionally been controlled by storing hot water above 60C and distributing it at above 50C and keeping cold water below 20C if possible. Other methods which are used include chlorine dioxide spray and sodium hypochlorite


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When I ask a player what they would like to get out of our lessons, the number one answer is consistency. Understanding the ball flight laws of every golf shot will help you improve your consistency by helping you understand why your ball flew the way it did on every shot. I describe the ball flight laws often to help players become aware of what their club was doing through impact. This awareness leads to a better understanding of what the club needs to do during a golf swing. It also helps a player manipulate the club better to hit specialty shots.
How would you like to hit a shot like Bubba Watson's 40 yard hook out of the trees at the Master's? Understanding the ball flight laws will help you become a better, more and more consistent shot maker.
First of all, you have to make sure you have great alignment. It is critical that you setup so that your club face is pointing at your target. If you think you are on target when in fact you are not then you will have issues understanding the ball flight laws and applying them when trying to learn the cause of your flight paths. So please practice getting the club and your body aligned to the target correctly.
There are two main aspects to determining how a ball will get from point A to point B.
The direction that your club face is pointing at the moment of impact is essentially the direction your ball is going to start. Therefore, if your club is aimed at the target, then your club at impact can be either square, open or closed relative to you target.
Square Face at Impact
When you strike the ball with a square/straight face at impact your ball will start straight towards your intended target.
Open Face at Impact
When you strike your ball with an open face, as a right handed player, your ball will start straight to the right of your intended target. The more open the club face the more the right the ball will start.
Closed Face at Impact
When you strike the ball with a closed face, as a right handed player, your ball will start to the left of your intended target. The more closed the club face the more the ball will start to the left.
It is not quite as simple as stating that club path equals side spin. The ball flight laws are a combination of club face and club path. The hook or slice spin is determined by the club path relative to the angle of the club face. So, no matter what your club face angle is at impact, you can have three scenarios relative to that face angle. You can have a path that is straight in line with the face direction, or one that moves inside-out or outside-in the face direction.
An inside-out path is one where the club head is closer to your body than you target line right before impact and is farther away from your body than your target line just after impact.
An outside-in path is one where the club head is farther away from your body than your target line before impact and closer to your body than the target line after impact.
Square/Straight Path
A square path relative to the direction of the club face at impact means that the ball will continue to fly in its initial direction dictated by the club face.
Inside-Out Path
An inside-out club head path relative to the club face at impact will impart hook/draw spin on the golf ball. For right handed players, this will cause the ball to curve from right to left.
Outside-In Path
An outside-in club head path relative to the club face at impact will impart slice/fade spin on the golf ball. For right handed players, this will cause the ball to curve from left to right.
It is true, regardless how hard it is to imagine, that there are only 9 different possible results for every golf shot hit into the air. I know that it is hard to believe based on some of the results we have all had trying to hit a great golf shot!
Please see the examples below of the 9 possible ball flights.
Ball Flight Laws Set#1 - Square Club Face x 3 Club Paths
Ball Flight Laws Set #2 - Open Club Face x 3 Club Paths
Ball Flight Laws Set #3 - Closed Club Face x 3 Club Paths
Here a few examples for you to try and figure out what the club head was doing through impact. These examples are for both right handed and left handed players. The answers will be side specific.
The Trackman company is one of the premier golf ball launch monitor manufacturers in the world. Many professional players and coaches use their systems to analyze their ball flight statistics. Many of the top club manufacturers use their products for custom club fitting. Trackman has done extensive research in the area of ball flight laws. I am sure to no ones surprise the formula for calculating how much club face vs club path, along with other elements, affects ball flight is a little more complicated than my two bullets up above. If you would like to learn more regarding Trackman's research, please click here.
I hope you have found this lesson to be helpful. Understanding these principles helps a player better understand what their club is doing during the golf swing. It also helps players know what their club must do in order to hit shots with shape. Every player can benefit from this knowledge.
Good luck with your practicing and playing. May you reach you golf goals sooner with the help of www.free-golf-lessons.com.
Return to Home Page from Ball Flight Laws
Jun 23, 17 08:04 PM
The Putter Stroke Length Drill is great for developing a stroke for consistent distance control.


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Set It In Stone
Major fundraiser underway for Waterlife Discovery Center
Thoreau advised to "Build your castles in the air," and, at first glance, plans for the Waterlife Discovery Center on Lakeshore Drive in Sagle seem to be as airy as that. Three and a half acres of developed, interpretive exhibits, 6.5 acres of forested wetland complete with trails and interpretive signs, plus an outdoor classroom, a fish viewing courtyard with viewing window, visitor docks, picnic areas and a living stream…. the list goes on. Yet this partnership between Idaho Fish and Game, the Idaho Wildlife Foundation and the local community is beginning to take shape and, in a major fundraising just launched, the project is set to "build your foundations under them," fulfilling the final part of Thoreau's admonishment.
In some ways, the fundraiser is a literal foundation for the project as the group is now offering local residents the opportunity to purchase a "Discovery" stone—a piece of slate, engraved with the donor's name, that will be used to build the wall in the fish-viewing courtyard.
"It's first-come, first-served," said Paul Krames, a member of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce Education Committee who is spreading his own enthusiasm all around the area in support of making the Center come alive. "The Waterlife Discovery Center is going to be a major attraction for this area and the viewing courtyard is a focal point in the facility. I consider it a privilege to be included in this unique project myself," he added, "both as a former biology teacher and a parent. We expect the center will play a unique role in my kids' lives as they grow."
Sample stones are on display in various businesses throughout the area, and a first glimpse at the engraved stone engenders "oohs" and "aahs." A dozen stones have already been reserved, and the total amount of stones available is limited. Cost is $150 for a stone with engraving up to 16 characters, and the stones are available to individuals and families only—other opportunities for businesses to support the Center will be made public through the summer. Construction of the viewing wall is expected to take place later this summer or early this fall. For more information, or to reserve a stone, call Mark Taylor at 208-769-1414.


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Part 1: Course Reflection
What I have learned…
Since this is only the second year I have taught AP Statistics, EdTech 541 has helped me develop many new lessons. I have discovered many new ways to incorporate technology into statistics class. This has been extremely helpful as I develop tons of new lesson plans.
How theory guided the development of projects and assignments?
I enjoyed reading about many of the theories presented throughout EdTech 541. One idea that inspired me was to not integrate technology for the sake of integrating technology. There must be a purpose and it should involve the idea that technology enhances the curriculum. For example, there is not a better way to have students complete complex, higher level math on word with a keyboard, yet. It is still faster for students to write something with older technology; pencil and paper. However, there are other web-based applications, such as stats simulators, that can improve the curriculum and speed up the learning process.
How does course work show mastery of the AECT standards?
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to design conditions for learning by applying principles of instructional systems design, message design, instructional strategies, and learner characteristics.
- Throughout EdTech 541, I was designing lessons that integrated technology into the AP Statistics course to enhance the curriculum. The hypermedia integration activity and the internet-enriched lesson are excellent examples of this.
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to develop instructional materials and experiences using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.
- During the three weeks in EdTech 541 when I was designing the content learning activities, I was developing instructions materials using print, audiovisual, computer-based, and integrated technologies.
Candidates demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to use processes and resources for learning by applying principles and theories of media utilization, diffusion, implementation, and policy-making.
- During this course, we were given the task to investigate acceptable use policies. This clearly investigated implementation and policy-making surrounding the idea of technology.
How have I grown professionally?
I have spoken to my administrators quite a bit about using technology in the classroom. They enjoy hearing the new ideas I have learned. I have also had the opportunity to plan AP Statistics with a new partner. We have taken several ideas from EdTech 541 and implemented the lesson into the AP Stats courses.
How your own teaching practice or thoughts about teaching have been impacted by what you have learned or accomplished in this course?
In the latest unit for AP Statistics, I took some technology ideas to my teaching partner. I developed an assignment and suggested that we of using multimedia to teach the material in a flipped classroom format. We just finished delivering the flipped classroom unit!! Although we have some ideas on how to improve for next year, the flipped classroom went extremely well.
What will you do differently as an educator as a result of this course?
I will constantly be on the look out to integrate technology in all the math courses I teach, not just AP Stats. I thought of some new ideas to use technology in some more lessons for AP Calculus BC as well.
Part 2: Performance Assessment
Lastly in EdTech 541, I am to provide a blogging self assessment based on the following criteria.
Rich in content, full of thought, insight and synthesis with clear connections to previous or current content and/or to real life situations made with depth and detail.
This has definitely been acknowledged and completed throughout this course.
Readings and Resources
Readings (from course text) and other resource materials are used to support blog comments. APA style is used to cite references.
The course text was continually resourced as I completed blogs for EdTech 541. The course text and any additionally resources are cited.
All required postings are made early in the module to give others time to comment.
All deadlines were met.
Responses to Other Students
Two or more substantial posts with at least one detailed response made to address another students' post.
For every blog post, I responded to at least two other students, if not more. Additionally, I frequently responded to those who posted comments on my blog posts.
Proposed Blogging Grade
139/140 because no one is ever perfect!!


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With the Consumer Electronics Show but a distant memory, it's time to take another look at the current landscape of smartphones. Now's an excellent time to shop for a new phone, for a variety of reasons:
1) We are at least several months away from the iPhone 5, or whatever it ends up being called.
2) Most of the major new phones were already announced this month, and the're availability will trickle into reality over the next couple of weeks.
3) Obviously, there are no back-to-school or Christmas deals just around the corner.
4) And finally, Samsung has formally stated that they won't be announcing the Galaxy S 3 — an update the Galaxy S 2 (the most popular Android phone of all time) — until March at the earliest.
In other words, these smartphones are all a safe bet. Per usual, I'm grouping everyone into a few distinct personality groups.
Person 1: I want to be apart of the mobile web, you know? I want to getta the emails, and I want to senda the emails. Suddenly I'm stereotypically Italian. I want websites to be designed to handle my phone, or more specifically, I don't want to have to think about how websites are [or are not] designed, and I shouldn't have to. I want there to be lots of — what's that word? Oh yes, the word is apps! There should be lots of them. Apps everywhere. In short, I want a really cool and powerful smartphone, but I really don't have the time nor desire to really think about alternatives. I think it's called the yPhone.
Apple iPhone 4S (Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T)
As any nerd will tell you, Apple isn't going to release the iPhone 5 for quite a while. We were all shocked last year when they skipped their usual June release date and opted instead for October. Thus, the iPhone 4S will still be the cutting edge for quite a while. It keeps the same excellent screen, camera, build quality of the iPhone 4 — not to mention the overall smooth and simple operating system the iPhone is known for — and adds a faster processor, faster camera, and a somewhat gimmicky voice-activated "assistant" you've probably heard of already called Siri. She's more of a novelty, but hey, maybe you'll find her comforting.
Person 2: Yah, I've tried that phone, but I'm just not into Apple. And/or maybe I don't want what everyone else has. And/or I want something with a big screen, thin design, and just in general cutting-edge features.
Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile)
At long last, the new Nexus has arrived, and it's as amazing as we all hoped. I'm currently using the Verizon variant, which comes with 32gb of storage and a 4G LTE modem. It's fantastic. The browser is very smooth and handles any website I throw at it. The gmail, calendar, contacts, chat, and SMS apps are all seamless. The gmail integration in particular is perhaps the best on any phone (or tablet for that matter) yet. The 4G speeds are a nice bonus. I can download a podcast in a few seconds. One of the best parts, though, is definitely the large screen with its high pixel count. In simpler terms: more info can be seen on the screen and clearly to boot. It's the difference between having 8 emails listed versus 5, or having an entire pane of a comic readable instead of needing to zoom. Pictures and videos are also clear, saturated, and bright. Though the new operating system (called "Ice Cream Sandwich" if you can believe it) does technically run all older apps, I have found a handful that are still a little wonky or just won't run at all. App makers are quickly updating, though, so this shouldn't be much of a problem in the future. If I had one complaint it would be the battery life. If you turn off 4G and keep the screen below 50% brightness — as well as obviously not use the thing all day long — you can make it through a full day without needing to recharge. I hate that behavior. I hate having to worry about my phone's battery. I hate having to manage the various battery-draining features. Didn't I buy a 4G phone to, you know, use the 4G? To cope I keep a charger at work and a charger at home and literally leave it plugged in with all settings left on. The only time I run low on battery is when I travel, and in that scenario I do have to manage things more (like for example, putting it into airplane mode).
Technically, this phone is not announced for AT&T or T-Mobile yet, however a "pentaband" version is for sale right now that will work on those networks. The major caveat is that you'd be buying it for full price. Since it's "unlocked" you should be able to easily sell it on eBay when you move onto a new phone and still recoup much of the value. I've done this before.
Person 3: Bitch I ain't paying $650 for no phone! Can't us T-Mobilers and Sprintsters get some reasonably priced phone love too?
Samsung Galaxy S 2 (T-Mobile), Samsung Epic 4G Touch (Sprint)
Many rejoiced when the proposed merger between T-Mobile and AT&T fell through earlier this year, except for perhaps the straggling couple of million T-Mobile users hoping for new phones. Well, sucks to be you. What this means in the short term is that T-Mobile users don't have much in the way of great phones to look forward to.
Although obviously not at all the same thing, Sprint has announced they'll be moving away from the WiMax 4G standard and instead deploying the superior LTE 4G standard, which brings them in line with AT&T and Verizon. None of the Galaxy S 2 variants currently support 4G (the Nexus is considered a different device), though Sprint's version does have WiMax. The result is you'll be able to receive pretty good 4G speeds on that phone, but coverage is spotty.
Although I don't consider the Galaxy S 2 (the Epic 4G Touch is just a name, it's the same thing) a supremely inferior phone by any stretch of the imagination, it's still half a year old, and in the gadget world that's pushing it. It has a great screen, camera, and battery. It's very thin, and it's very fast. It's not running the newest version of Android, but Samsung promises an update "soon."
Person 4: Yah, yah, yah. Phones schmones. I need to upgrade my RAZR from 6 years ago, and I hate phones that include too many vowels. Extraneous consonants are appreciated (T.J. Maxx is, after all, my favorite store.) Isn't there something for me?
Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX (Verizon)
I was going to leave this puppy off, because it's almost getting a bit old in the tooth and never really was that cutting edge before. But! Motorola just released an updated version that maintains the svelte design but basically doubles the battery life. Considering the original Droid RAZR had a pretty good battery to begin with, this is quite a step up. The new battery will last you almost a full two days of heavy use, if you can believe it. The phone's design certainly isn't for everyone — personally, I think it looks awkward, and I've read that it's hard to hold — but you can't deny that it is indeed crazy thin. I wish it were running the newest version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich, see Person 2 above), but Moto promises an update "soon." Notice a theme here?
Person 5: Unsatisfied with the myriad of great options you've already mentioned, I'm on AT&T and still not satisfied with any of the above.
Nokia Lumia 900, Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket
I'll spare you the long backstory of how Nokia came to be making a phone running Windows on AT&T, but believe me when I say it's somewhat surprising that it 1) is happening at all and 2) is resulting in a great phone. The Lumia 900 builds on the amazing design of the N8, throws in the snappy and pretty (if a bit niche and not incredibly full of apps) Windows Phone operating system of the Lumia 800, then ups the ante with a bigger screen, a camera for video chatting, and a 4G LTE modem to boot. If you're unfamiliar with Windows Phone because you're used to Android and/or iOS, this might not be the best choice for you, but if you're upgrading from a phone that's a few years old and aren't sure what operating system you like, you might just like the simplicity and beautify of it. Plus, maybe you want a phone that comes in colors other than black or white.
There's not much to say about the Skyrocket. It has a bizarre name, there's that. It's a great phone. It's the Galaxy S 2 but with a 4G LTE modem and a faster processor. Nuff said.
Person 6: What part of I need a keyboard don't you understand?
Motorola Droid 4 (Verizon), Samsung Captivate Glide (AT&T), HTC myTouch 4G Slide (T-Mobile)
If you've read past Your Phone Sucks posts you know that the market for excellent phones with physical keyboards is middling at best. Sprint is perhaps the worst because it still has the aging Samsung Epic 4G (though there are rumors of an upcoming Epic 4G 2). It's so old I'm officially taking it off the list, so if you're on Sprint and want a keyboard, get ready to wait. Verizon always has the Droid(s) I suppose, but the others never really put out keyboard phones that were also first in class in every way. The high end of the market has become dominated by keyboard-less slab phones, and that doesn't seem to be changing. I am comfortable recommending the Glide and the myTouch because although they're a little old, they have the specs (i.e., a dual-core processor) that should carry them through at least the end of this year, assuming they're updated to…wait for it…Ice Cream Sandwich.
Public Service Announcement: Seriously folks, stop using Blackberries. You know RIM is most likely going to file for bankrupty protection and/or try to sell to another company, right? Oh you didn't? Well surely you heard that the next version of the operating system (BB 10) isn't coming out until the end of this year? That neither? Well, here's a fun one: the next major Blackberry is…going to lack a keyboard (see image at right from Crackberry). Boom! Your mind is blown. Why are you supporting those phones still!?!?


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Liebster Blog AwardSaturday, November 17, 2012
Jiya of Shopping,Style and Us and Ruby of Beauty Accesorized
Tag by Jiya
1. Why did you start blogging?
2. One thing in your closet that you love and do not want to ever part from it?
3. What's your favorite season and why?
4. What's that one thing you wish you knew how to do?
5. If you are in hurry because you have to attend a red carpet event. You are not ready yet and have only 5 minutes to spare - what makeup product you'd choose to instantly do your face?
6. Heels or Flats?
7. What does "vintage" mean to you?
8. Nobody is at home and you are all alone. It is raining cats and dogs, somebody knocks the door but you are NOT able to see him/her outside. What would you do? (OMG I am getting goose bumps...yikes!!)
9. Your favorite social networking site?
1) To let exist a li'l piece of me into the bloggers world. Though I'm on & off at times.
2) My Basic Tshirt Collection (Shopperstop & Westside), which unfortunately I've had and have to part with cause they worn out too early.
3) Winter...for Clothing. You can look stunning even with all your clothes on *wink*
4) Ah! How to do those sultry eyes, that bats lashes and whoom! You feel gorgeous.
5) Some color on my Lids, Lots of Mascara and Red Lips probably.
6) Flats! only.
7) Vintage is something classy and yes, out of the world for me.
8) I donot open the door and call up Mom to tell her, That 'someone's on the door'.
Happened twice, I think.
9) Twitter. not the Ideefixey one ;-)
10) For someone I love most: Lalalala! You know what!
For someone I dislike: Ah.Do I know you? :P
P.S. Couldn't find Ruby's Link :-/
I may update with her Question Tags!
I'm Passing on this Award to all the fellow Followers :)


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$1.20 a litre...
We got lost on the way to the apple farm on Sunday.
Completely lost.
We ended up in another city.
Running out of gas.
We had been to this particular farm so many times.
But for some reason we were lost.
Gas is $1.20 a litre.
Plus I had a little car mishap the day before which cost me a whole new front passenger tire.
All I could think about was money.
Even with the beautiful scenery in this place we had never been before, all I could think about was how much being lost was costing me financially.
Which is really how I look at a lot of things in life.
I wish I could stop doing that.
Some people never have to think about money.
I wish I could be one of those people someday.
Eventually we found our way again.
And I thought about how many times I have found my way, even when I thought it was never possible.
Even though our little detour took up a lot of our time...
it was time we got to spend together.
Of course this is me trying to look on the bright side after a frustrating weekend.
....but it was time we got to spend together.
All frustrations aside, family is what it really is about.
Hello..this is my blog. I bought this fancy theme and I don't know what to write here just yet. Maybe one day remind me I have to write something inspiring here?


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Certain areas of memory in your system store the character tables for your video screen and your keyboard. By switching tables, you can configure MS-DOS to use alternative character tables to suit your national language and customs. These tables are called code pages.
Changing the character set used in your computer to support another language through code page switching does not change the language that DOS uses. All messages are displayed in the default (English) language in which DOS was written. No translation is made.


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Tutorial : Installing Tensorflow in Ubuntu 16.04
This tutorial will try to guide you to install and deploy tensorflow and all of it's required package in Ubuntu 16.04.
if you encounter any trouble, you could also refer to the installation video below
Step 1 - Installing Anaconda
To get tensorflow running, the first thing we need is to install python because tensorflow is running above python. This time we will install python 3.6 together with many scientific computing library that has been nicely packed in anaconda package.
To install anaconda, first open your terminal by pressing
CTRL+ALTt+T or by typing
terminal on the dash menu.
after the terminal is opened enter command below.
wget https://repo.continuum.io/archive/Anaconda3-126.96.36.199-Linux-x86_64.sh
after the download is finished, run the anaconda installer script by entering the command below.
sh Anaconda3-18.104.22.168-Linux-x86_64.sh
after the install finished, test whether the python is running without problem by simply entering
in the terminal. If it's running then step 1 is finished.
Step 2 and 3 - Installing and Checking NVIDIA Driver
By default, the ubuntu uses noveau drive which is not compatible for running tensorflow. In order to run tensorflow correctly we must firs install the NVIDIA open source driver.
first, we must make sure there is no old NVIDIA driver installed in the system by removing it using
sudo apt-get purge nvidia*
next we will add the apt source for the nvidia driver by entering the command below in the terminal
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers
sudo apt-get update
finally we could install the driver by using
sudo apt-get install nvidia-375
make sure the driver you install is at least version 375 as the tensorflow need a minimal version of 375 to run correctly.after the install is finished, reboot the computer and run the command below to check if the driver is succesfully installed
lsmod | grep nvidia
if this command output some text, it means the driver is succesfully installed. Finally apply the driver change by going to "software & updates" in the dash menu
- click on the "additional drivers" tab
- check the nvidia driver (in this case, version 375)
- click on apply changes and wait for it to complete
- reboot one more tiem
and the driver installation is finished.
Step 4 - Installing NVIDIA CUDA
to run tensorflow which is based on cuda computation, we need to install NVIDIA CUDA library simply by entering the below command in the terminal
sudo apt-get install nvidia-cuda-dev
when the installation finished, the library is ready to use
Step 5 - Installing libcupti and CUDA Toolkit
libcupti is another library that is required to run tensorflow, similar to installing nvidia-cuda it is straightforward and easy to install just by running
sudo apt-get install libcupti-dev
after installing libcupti, we also need to install CUDA toolkit that is provided by NVIDIA. For the CUDA toolkit we could download the toolkit by running the command below
wget https://developer.nvidia.com/compute/cuda/8.0/Prod2/local_installers/cuda_8.0.61_375.26_linux-run
after the download finished, run the installer script using
sudo sh cuda_8.0.61_375.26_linux-run
follow the displayed instructiona nd finish the installation.
Step 6 - Installing cuDNN
cuDNN is additional library to improve the calculation for deep neural network model. To install cuDNN, download the library package with command below.
wget gpu.hicc.cs.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/shared/cudnn.tgz
next, extract the content of the package to a folder by running
tar xvf cudnn.tgz
finally copy all the content of the extracted folder to the cuda folder
sudo cp cuda/include/* /usr/local/cuda-8.0/include/
sudo cp cuda/lib64/* /usr/local/cuda-8.0/lib64/
and it is finished.
Step 7 - Installing Tensorflow Package
finally we could install the tensorflow package in the python. First, make sure that pip for python3 is installed by running
sudo apt-get install python3-pip
if the pip is already installed we could proceed to install tensorflow package by running
pip3 install tensorflow-gpu
we choose the gpu version of the tensorflow so it could utilize the graphic card for the calculation process. when the installation is finished, we could check if the tensorflow running correctly by entering below command
>> import tensorflow as tf
if there are no error displayed then the tensorflow is successfully installed and is ready to be used.
Extra - Library Error
there is a case when the tensorflow failed to detect the path of CUDA library, in that case when we try to import tensorflow the error below will appear.
to fix this problem we must add the path manually to the ~/.bashrc file. first we open the file by running.
sudo gedit ~/.bashrc
scroll to the last line and add these line.
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:/usr/local/cuda/lib64/
and save it. after that open python again in the different terminal and try to import the tensorflow again.