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Order Operations Analyst
- Location HOBOKEN, NJ
- Career Area -
- Job Function -
- Employment Type -
- Position Type -
- Requisition GH1768809
What you'll do at
The Order Ops Analyst is responsible for monitoring Walmart ecommerce order flow and ensuring a great customer experience through on-time fulfillment, proactive customer communications and optimization of operational responses to customer contacts. Your goal is to ensure a positive customer experience through operational excellence.
What you'll be working on
Master all Walmart Order Operations: Take ownership of order flow and the services behind the operations
Technical Expertise: Create ticketing workflows, training materials and high-level analytical reporting, data visualization and creative/effective customer communications
Contribute to Team Excellence: Become part of a fast-paced and tenacious team of Analysts that manage cross-functional operations across three different geographical locations
Build Leadership Experience: Own and improve operations conducted by a team of 40+ Order Ops Agents, Team Leads and Supervisors in Salt Lake City, Utah
- Learn everything there is to know about Walmart ecommerce order operations and fulfillment and how they affect the customer experience
- Continually challenge yourself to learn more and grow the scope of your role
- Own and optimize operational and service reporting
- Create, write specifications, and deploy new processes
- Lead by example, contribute to our values and adhere to our high standard of performance
About you
You're a risk taker, a dreamer that delivers, you have and can implement big ideas with a positive attitude. You pride yourself on being the first of your friends and colleagues to know what's happening in the world and staying "in the know." You have a passion for operations, teamwork and leadership. You thrive in fast-paced and ever-changing environments and strive to help those around you achieve more. You want to be a part of one of the fastest growing ecommerce companies around where the only constant is change and you have these main skills:
- Determination to achieve results and work outside the box and sometimes outside typical responsibilities to get the job done.
- Ability to think critically and analytically
- Proficient understanding of operations
- Strong collaboration and communication skills
- Fun, creative, team-oriented personality
- Interest in learning new technologies and leveraging them to drive organizational success
- Structured and organized thinker who can drive projects to completion with minimal direction
- Attention to detail and ability to deep-dive when necessary
- Embrace change and adapt to shifting priorities
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience in operations, customer service or analytics
Bonus points
- Experience with Excel, SQL, Python, Looker, Klipfolio, Splunk, SalesForce, Jira
- Proven track record of innovation and tenacity
About Walmart
At Walmart, we help people save money so they can live better. This mission serves as the foundation for every decision we make, from responsible sourcing to sustainability—and everything in between. As a Walmart associate, you will play an integral role in shaping the future of retail, tech, merchandising, finance and hundreds of other industries—all while affecting the lives of millions of customers all over the world. Here, your work makes an impact every day. What are you waiting for?
About Walmart.com
All the benefits you need for you and your family
- Multiple health plan options
- Vision & dental plans for you & dependents
- Associate discounts in-store and online
- Financial benefits including 401(k), stock purchase plans and more
- Education assistance for Associate and dependents


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ITCHE notified us of the FCC's request for comment on emergency notifications by educational institutions under its robocall rules. Make sure that you take a look at the request circulated last week.
The System IT Governance development team is ready for feedback on the first part of the framework – a statement of the Values, Purpose and Responsibilities of System IT Governance. Invitations have been sent to CIOs across TAMUS to introduce the statement and bring everyone up to speed on the overall System IT governance development process. Sessions are scheduled for May 13, May 15 and May 18. Please contact Leslie W. Lenser (firstname.lastname@example.com) if you are interested in attending a session.
The University of Texas at Austin received some exciting news from the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) support team. Adoption of Canvas by faculty who use an LMS is at an all-time high of 92 percent. That is a goal that each of our universities would love to mimic.
The MAESTRO Steering Committee meets this week.
ITAC meets this week.
In Process
Registration is now open for the 2015 Chancellor's Summit on Academic Technology, which will be held in College Station, TX on Thursday, June 25th at the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center. Register here: http://tx.ag/CSAT2015Registration.
The event is free of charge and open to all A&M System faculty and staff. The deadline for registration is Monday, June 22nd, 5pm. Building upon the success of last year's summit, this event is designed to bring technology professionals and academic leadership across the A&M System to share information and ideas on important academic technology issues that impact the member institutions.
Summit keynote speaker is Dr. Ellen Wagner, Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Predictive Analytics Reporting (PAR) Network. Her talk will be about the new directions in higher education and student success.
Following the Summit sessions, there will be a reception for the summit participants, hosted by Chancellor John Sharp. The plenary sessions will be broadcast live and recorded. By registering for the event, you consent to having your image and/or audio possibly included as part of the broadcast and recording. For questions related to the Summit or if you require an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please contact:
Ms. Sheri Pappas, Coordinator of Academic Initiatives, The Texas A&M University System
System-Wide Contracting News
Open Records Management System – The demos of the two finalists were completed last week. The participants are preparing their comments and submitting their feedback this week. The selection of the System-wide solution will be made later this month.
Adobe reached out to TAMUS about offering a revised System-wide ELA agreement. The System Office will make their revised proposal(s) available as soon as they are received.
An RFI for a replacement of the MAESTRO System has been issued. Here is the link to that posting: http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=117301.
The RFP for Member Governance has been issued. You can find that RFP at the following link: http://esbd.cpa.state.tx.us/bid_show.cfm?bidid=117345.
Zerto met with the System Office last week. Zerto provides a hypervisor-based replication technology for VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V environments. This solution delivers a true enterprise-class, yet fully virtual-aware, complete BC/DR solution for all virtualized applications that require protection. If you are interested in information about Zerto, I have an overview and pricing sheet.
In Process
The RFP for a Digital COE is being reviewed by OGC.
TAMUS is finalizing the amendment to engage SolutionsPlus to provide RFP evaluation assistance for the Banner Services RFP.
Eight companies responded to an RFP for an Electronic Board Book Portal. That list has been cut down to four finalists. Dates and times for the demonstrations will be worked out this week.
Siteimprove checks web pages, every five days, for spelling, grammar, broken links, and accessibility. The cost is 54 cents per web page per year. Any Members interested in adding this service need to contact me directly.
The System-wide agreement with Cisco WebEx allows Members to purchase licenses for their entire faculty/administrators at the low cost of $1.44/month/license.
Syncplicity licensing is available for all Members.
In Process
TAMUS provided Workday with a revised contract terms last week. Work is focused on the cost, the timing of the first payment, and a handful of services being requested.
TAMU will be continuing negotiations with the component #1 vendor (data center build out) this week. The evaluation of the second component (compute and storage) and third components (IT services) will commence in Mid-May.
Utilities & Energy Services is working with Engineering to serve as the pilot of Cisco EnergyWise.
SCIO Trips/Visits
- North Dakota (May 11-12)
- Commerce (May 15)

subset: commoncrawl


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Remediation at Leadville Superfund Sites
helps restore upper Arkansas River habitat
Led by Project Manager John DeAngelis, PWT successfully completed management
and oversight of remediation activities at the California Gulch Operable Unit
(OU) 11 Superfund Site near Leadville, Colorado. Work on this project contributed
to the recent addition of the upper Arkansas River to the list of Gold Medal
Trout Waters.
At OU 11, PWT provided project management and oversight of first-of-its-kind
in-situ remediation of large areas impacted by historical flooding of mine tailings,
and acquisition and management of construction subcontractors. PWT conducted
remediation and revegetation of 150 acres of irrigated meadows pastureland and
18 acres of fluvial deposits that bordered 3,000 feet of the Arkansas River
south of Leadville. Remediation of the fluvial deposits included streambank
Excerpt from the Herald Democrat, Leadville, Colorado, January 31, 2014:
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has announced the upper Arkansas
River as the newest addition to the statewide list of Gold Medal Trout Waters.
The Gold Medal reach is 102 miles long from the confluence with the Lake Fork
of the Arkansas River, near Leadville, downstream to Parkdale at the U.S. 50
bridge crossing above the Royal Gorge.
In the last 20 years, the upper Arkansas River has undergone a habitat transformation.
Fish populations in the area were impacted by heavy metal pollution from mining
in the Leadville area. Because of the pollution, trout could not live in the
area, and they did not live beyond three years old further downstream. Today,
trout are living up to 10 years old due to habitat restoration, improved water
quality and creative fishery management.
With the addition of the Arkansas River, total Gold Medal stream miles in Colorado
increases by 50 percent to 322 total miles. It will also be the longest reach
of Gold Medal water in the state.
OU 11 before and after


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You, Me, Her: Season 2, Episode 6 "What the F Is Wrong With You Trakarskys?" (B+)
If season one of this show was about a whimsical relationship that redefined a marriage, season two is about the harsh reality check that all three members of the thruple are getting. Dave articulated it best when he made clear to Jack that if he didn't come to Emma's rescue knowing her parents were coming to town after Carmen sent him to tell him with Em mama knowledge, things were going to be seriously irreparable. It's not as if Emma and Izzy are having a wild affair with him out of the house, and in fact they're back to mundane relationship things like an attempted cleanse to curb Izzy's excessive pot habit and her subsequent rebellion that included an interaction with Ava, who was still trying desperately not to be as awful as her mother. Emma did mention to Izzy that her parents were coming to town, but she didn't seem to react and something tells me that she wouldn't impress the hyper-conservative parental units we're about to meet. Though Emma isn't blameless in this situation, I think Jack has evolved from a place of being somewhat on the right side of this to a far less sympathetic stage, since he was actively preparing for a date with a woman who wasn't his wife or his girlfriend, and he seems to have chosen her over both of them in the episode's final scene. I do hope we'll at least see the once-happy couple back tougher for as little as a conversation soon, but I'm not too optimistic at this particular moment.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
What I'm Watching: You, Me, Her
Posted by Movies with Abe at 3/28/2017
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Sunday, November 3, 2013
Deepavali Feast- of Light, Colors, and Taste
Nothing like a homemade meal on Deepavali (Diwali), followed with what could pass in the Guiness Book of Word Records as The Most Sinful Desert- Gulab Jamun! But Deepavali without sweets is like a fox without tail (just made that up)!
Drumstick and carrot sambar, garlic tomato tasam, beets, potato and spinach curry, okra curry, curd, spice and pickle! Did I mention RICE? We have leftovers. Good news for a Sunday.
One day late for posting, but took the family to the Denver Botanical Gardens for a treat for the eyes, plus two Diwali events here in town.
Happy Deepavali
Posted by Adelina at Sunday, November 03, 2013 0 comments


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¿Tiene su hijo problemas para prestar atención? ¿Él o ella habla sin parar o no puede quedarse quieto/a? ¿Le es difícil a su hijo controlar su comportamiento? Para algunos niños, estos pueden ser síntomas de trastorno de déficit de atención e hiperactividad o TDAH. Visit the National Institute of Mental Health: ADHD (Spanish)
LD OnLine
LD OnLine.org seeks to help children and adults reach their full potential by providing accurate and up-to-date information and advice about learning disabilities and ADHD. This is an American based site, however they have many helpful resources on learning disabilities and ADHD. They also have resources in Spanish. Visit the LD Online website now.
CHADD – The National Resource on ADHD
CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) is the United States' leading non-profit organization serving individuals with ADHD and their families. CHADD was founded in 1987 and produces the bi-monthly Attention magazine for members. The National Resource Center on ADHD (NRC) is the CDC-funded national clearinghouse for evidence-based information about ADHD. Visit the CHADD website … Continue reading CHADD – The National Resource on ADHD
This website was developed by Patricia Quinn, M.D. and Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D. Both are internationally recognized authorities on ADHD and the authors of many books for children, teens, and adults. Initially ADDvance.com was focused only on the needs of women and girls with ADHD, and their new site has been developed to address the varied … Continue reading ADDvance
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is a non-profit professional association in the United States whose mandate is facilitating psychiatric care for children and adolescents by providing information for families and professionals. Visit the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry site now.
CADDAC – Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada
The Centre for ADHD/ADD Advocacy, Canada (CADDAC) is a national, not-for-profit organization providing leadership in education and advocacy for ADHD organizations and individuals with ADHD across Canada. CADDAC organizes, builds and presents up-to-date scientifically based, educational programs; actively advocates to government and institutional decision makers for changes that will benefit those with ADHD, their families … Continue reading CADDAC – Centre for ADHD Awareness, Canada
CADDRA – Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance
Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance (CADDRA). This website is primarily for physicians, but there is content for parents and children under the "public info" type. This well organized website provides up to date information for physicians, educators, parents and individuals with ADHD. Information appropriate for different audiences is easy to find and is provided in different … Continue reading CADDRA – Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance
This Canadian website provides entertaining and credible information on ADHD with a focus on adults with ADHD. TotallyADD provides practical information with a healthy dose of humour. For teachers, the information provided on this site can be very useful in understanding the lifelong challenges faced by their students with ADHD - and the hope for … Continue reading TotallyADD
Teach ADHD
This excellent Canadian website has many relevant resources for teachers. The TeachADHD project began at the Brain and Behaviour Research program at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and has evolved through the hospital's Community Health Systems Resource Group's "Teach for Success" initiative. Visit the Teach ADHD website now.
Attention Magazine
Attention Magazine is published by Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). CHADD provides an excellent magazine exclusively related to attention difficulties. You must be a member of CHADD to gain access to the digital version of the magazine. Read more about Attention Magazine here.


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FOXBORO � The Patriots' biggest � make that only � offseason move in free agency from an offensive perspective was signing receiver Brandon LaFell to a three-year deal worth $9 million, which included a $3 million signing bonus.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound LaFell didn't make a good impression early in training camp as he dropped a number of passes. That's something he was known for in his first four NFL seasons, all with the Carolina Panthers who let him walk this past offseason despite being desperately thin at receiver.
"I haven't been consistent," LaFell acknowledged Tuesday "I started off slow the first couple of days of camp and had a few drops, but I picked it up from there. So as of now I think I'm getting better, but it's still early in camp, and I have to learn how to be consistent and put good days together back to back."
LaFell made a nifty, one-handed catch Sunday and hauled in a 50-yard strike in the end zone from Tom Brady while being smothered by safety Nate Ebner and cornerback Malcolm Butler on Tuesday. So we'll see what direction he heads in going forward.
In the meantime, LaFell hasn't let his inconsistent hands affect the other parts of his game.
"Blocking, getting in and out of my cuts to the top of my routes, getting off the line with my releases � I've been good with those things," he said. "I just haven't been finishing plays, and I need to learn to continue to finish plays."
Working the legs
Chandler Jones played a team-high 98.1 percent of the defensive snaps last year during the regular season. He also tied for seventh in the league with 11.5 sacks, which is the calling card of the third-year defensive end.
But all that playing time took a toll on Jones. He wore down as the season went on, and it was reflected in his production, which amounted to one sack over the final seven games (playoffs included).
So the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder focused on improving his lower body during the offseason.
"I feel like without your legs you really can't do anything," Jones said Wednesday. "Once you have stronger legs, you'll become more durable toward the end of the season and become a better player overall. And the process is still going on. It's not the offseason, but I'm still working on that lower-body strength."
In addition, the always aggressive Jones has amped up the intensity in camp this summer.
"I feel like it starts in practice," he said. "My biggest thing I'm trying to emphasize this year is just going even harder in practice. Try to win more one-on-ones, try to go harder against my teammates, and try to get to the quarterback more often. I feel like if you do it in practice, it'll come a lot more often in games. So that's my biggest focus."
Looking up at Pro Bowlers
There was some talk in the offseason outside the Patriots' organization that second-year cornerback Logan Ryan had the tools to play safety, where an opening was created with the release of Steve Gregory.
The team appears to be giving the idea some consideration, as well. The 5-11, 195-pound Ryan was plugged in at safety during the walkthrough portion of practice Wednesday.
"Anything they throw at me defensive back-wise I'm comfortable with," he said. "There have been wrinkles here and there, but nothing too significant."
Ryan � like the rest of the franchise and its followers � was excited when he heard the Patriots had signed Pro Bowl cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner in March. Besides their tone-setting play early in camp, the two veterans have made a positive impact by setting an example and sharing their experience with young defensive backs like Ryan, Duron Harmon and Tavon Wilson.
But Revis and Browner have gotten as well as given.
"I think it's a give-and-take relationship," Ryan said. "You always have to respect players of their caliber, but it's not what they've done, it's what they do here in front of us, in front of myself, each and every day. They're great leaders, they're great players. They're also learning from us guys who have been in the system a little bit, as well."
Extra Points
Tight end Michael Hoomanawanui was absent for a second straight practice. Center Bryan Stork, receiver Josh Boyce and linebacker Chris White also sat out. � Right guard Dan Connolly worked extensively at center, a position he has been plugged into at times during camp. � Sebastian Vollmer got reps at both tackle spots. � One day after publicly stating he was ready to absorb contact and take part in team drills, defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and his surgically repaired knee got their wish. � The Patriots are scheduled to practice today from 9:45 a.m. to noon. The forecast calls for another terrific day with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s.
Contact Rich Garven at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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2525 E Broadway, Ste 105
Tucson, AZ 85716
Paul Valenzuela NMLS 923845
With over 6 years mortgage experience, along with many transactions closed, it's a pleasure to continue helping families to the dreams of home ownership. With a customer service back ground, I believe this aspect is highly important to make the best possible experience for the client. As a Tucson native, home owner and patience to explain all loan programs from VA, Conventional, USDA, FHA to down payment assistance, is the reason I love what I do for families! Make sure you have all your options available before you decide on the lender you are going to hire.
Translate Site
Apply Online NowLooking for a home loan? Start Here
Frequently Asked QuestionsMore
General Information & Reminders When Applying for a Home Loan…read more
Sunstreet Mortgage was professional and fast. We closed on our home in less than four weeks. We were very pleased with the service and particularly the thoroughness of the brokers involved in securing our mortgage.
The Mortgage News
Refinances Seen Falling to 38 Percent Market Share in 2014
Homeowners who refinanced through Freddie Mac in 2013 continued to display fiscal restraint, choosing fixed rate mortgages, keeping essentially the same mortgage balance, and in many cases opting for shorter-term loans to build equity more rapidly. In doing so homebuyers who refinanced during the year will save approximately $21 billion on net over the first 12 months of their new loans.
Commercial/Multifamily Lending Came on Strong in Q4; MBA Expects Healthy 2014
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) called the fourth quarter of 2013 a particularly strong one for commercial and multifamily mortgage originations, with a total volume of around $280 billion in closed loans, the highest volume since 2007. Preliminary figures indicate that the volume for the entire year was up 15 percent from 2012 and increased 34 percent between the third and final quarter of 2013.
Sellers Worry about Buyer Credit Availability in Redfin Survey
Now that prices have recovered to within striking distance of where many folks purchased their homes, potential sellers have found something new to worry about. Can their potential buyer get a mortgage?


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Monday, November 1, 2010
BFF & It's A Hoot!
I have a couple of hybrid cards to share with you today.
I used Polka Dot Pixels' lovely BFF kit to make this card. I fell in love with this cute image the minute I saw it! I knew that it would be the focal point of my card right away. You can find it in here with other fun elements.
The paper in this kit is so pretty and versatile. The cute image came pre-colored, and that made this a super easy card! The sentiment is from the Very Vintage Christmas Stamp Set by Waltzingmouse Stamps.
I used Michelle Underwood's fabulous It's a hoot kit for my second card. Again, I love the bold and graphic paper designs that Michelle is so good at creating. They are all irresistible!
I also used some elements from the kit. I don't seem to be able to resist banners, either. I just had to put it on the card! =) The adorable owl is from the It's a hoot Add-ons. The sentiment is from this Hero Arts set.
That's all I have for now. Hope your week/month is off to a wonderful start! =)
Thanks for stopping by!
for the "BFF" card:
cardstock: Neenah Classic Solar White
digital kit: BFF by Polka Dot Pixels at Two Peas In A Bucket
sentiment stamp: Waltzingmouse Stamps
ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
decorative scissors: Fiskars
dies: Spellbinders
die-cutting machine: Cuttlebug
for the "It's A Hoot!" card:
cardstock: Papertrey Ink, Neenah Classic Solar White
digital kit: It's A Hoot!, It's A Hoot Add Ons by Michelle Underwood at Two Peas In S Bucket
sentiment stamp: Hero Arts
ink: VersaFine Onyx Black
decorative scissor: Fiskars
twine: May Arts
die: Spellbinders
die-cutting machine: Cuttlebug
27 comments:
- donna mikasa said...
Hi Alice! Love, love your hybrid cards! The BFFs are too cute, and I love the banner on the second card! Hope you have a great week!
- November 1, 2010 at 12:59 AM
- Michelle said...
Needless to say LOVE the card with the huge bunch of roses!! So cute, love the lilac with cream, great, unusual colour combo:-)
- November 1, 2010 at 1:08 AM
- cashemere said...
Hi Alice!!! I just L O V E
the cards! So sweet!
Kisses from Brazil
- November 1, 2010 at 4:07 AM
- Deirdre said...
Fab.... stunning creations. Love them.
- November 1, 2010 at 4:19 AM
- Silli said...
aww, wonderful cards Alice, love the funny images from the first card... So pretty...
- November 1, 2010 at 5:12 AM
- BabyBokChoy said...
I NEED that BFF, I am in love, this illustration reminds me of pipi longstocking, it's fantabulous! The owl is totally precious too, but I'm in love with the BFF that much more!!!
- November 1, 2010 at 5:52 AM
- AGohl said...
Adorable cards!
- November 1, 2010 at 6:06 AM
- ~amy~ said...
BOTH of your cards are adorable but I especially LOVE the owlie one...CUTE!!!
- November 1, 2010 at 6:20 AM
- Laura (scrapnextras) said...
These are both amazing! Awesome job with the kits!
- November 1, 2010 at 7:22 AM
- Tiffany said...
Wow Alice, LOVE these cards, love the fun whimsy look of the characters on your first card!
- November 1, 2010 at 8:45 AM
- Monique said...
Oh Alice these are so sweet!!
- November 1, 2010 at 9:18 AM
- Jane said...
- November 1, 2010 at 9:19 AM
- alexandra s.m. said...
Love your hybrid cards, the coloring and attention to details!
TFS Alice!!
- November 1, 2010 at 10:22 AM
- CinnamonSally said...
Love your cute cards Alice and thank you for the link to the fabulous paper kit, I just had to buy it, its so yummy!!
- November 1, 2010 at 11:02 AM
- Shirley N said...
I look forward to visiting you every day Alice! I love all your cards, they always say WOW and bring me a smile. Love your cards today, your layouts and your images are beautiful!
- November 1, 2010 at 11:26 AM
- Holly said...
It's easy to come back to your blog every day Alice because everything you make is so fun to see and so inspiring. I love your two cards today. Such great dimension on the 2nd one, and the first one has a wonderful use of papers!
- November 1, 2010 at 12:09 PM
- Dotty Jo said...
Totally magical - yet again! Love your cards so much! Jo x
- November 1, 2010 at 12:14 PM
- Kathy Martin said...
You are remarkable Alice! Love these cards! :)
- November 1, 2010 at 1:35 PM
- Chelsea said...
Always adorable cards to see when visiting your blog Alice. Wonderful layout and colors.
- November 1, 2010 at 5:37 PM
- Stamping Cafe said...
Aw... love your digi cards as always, Alice! You just ROCK at every style, you are too talented! Hugs!!
- November 1, 2010 at 5:54 PM
- Emily Leiphart said...
Two amazing hybrid cards, Alice! WOW, I really love that adorable image on the first one and the colours are to die for. I love anything with owls and your second card with the banner is totally cute!
- November 1, 2010 at 7:03 PM
- Nancy said...
Wow! These are 2 extraordinary cards, each one is so perfectly crafted! Thanks for sharing those great Digikits, I really need to use them more often.
blessings to you, Alice! Thanks for all the wonderful comments and for your frequent visits to my blog, I appreciate you!
- November 1, 2010 at 7:48 PM
- Beate said...
Cuteness overload! Both cards look amazing!
Hugs and smiles
- November 2, 2010 at 3:19 AM
- Monika Reeck said...
cute Images and soo great coloring for the first one Alice and the second one lovely DP and cute owl too...great card both
- November 2, 2010 at 2:36 PM
- Joy said...
Super sweet image with the girls holding the bunch of roses, love the design and who could go past sweet owls, at least I know I cannot.
- November 3, 2010 at 4:44 AM
- Suzanne C said...
Fun image with the BFF's and the flowers. Fun owl card too! Love the layering!
- November 3, 2010 at 5:43 PM
- Sasya said...
oh wow, both are beautiful!! i llllove the second one because of cute owl!!! :)
- November 5, 2010 at 1:05 AM
Blog Archive
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- TGF Hoppin' into the Holidays Blog Hop
- Little Nurse
- Autumn Memory & Reindeer Badge
- Ice Skating Marci
- Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #25
- Santa with snacks
- Happy Thanksgiving!
- Gingerbread Love
- New Hat
- Snow Gear Snowbaby
- Ice Skating Marci & Fancy Marci
- Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #24
- Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #134
- Friday before Black Friday Sale!
- Sledding Time & Fred Frolic
- Friday before Black Friday Sale!
- Peek-a-Boo Snowbaby
- Squiggley Challenge #75 & Autumn Memory
- Super Bad, Pippin & Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
- Luka with Truck
- Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #23
- Spring is Back
- Penelope's Party Wagon
- Wee and Reindeer
- Honey Lesa & Autumn Memory
- Catch-a-flake Snowbaby
- Kitschen Sinque & Deck The Halls
- Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #22
- Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #133
- Jane's Doodles Winter Release!
- 1st Birthday Girl
- Piper
- Autumn Memory & Squigglefly Challenge #73
- BFF & It's A Hoot!
- ▼ November (34)


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Want to get more insights into our reference projects?
Here you can download our content packages containing several PDFs.
MV Svenja transports the North Deck for Burj Al Arab Hotel
SAL's largest lifts ever:
How to stack a beach platform in eight pieces totalling 3500 tons
MV Svenja at the KLU project
How many people were involved in this project?
How to install 1000 tons in 40 m waterdepth with no visibility?


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SADDLE RIVER, N.J. -- Three Saddle River Valley Lions Club members were recognized for distinguished service at the club's recent installation dinner.
David C. Verducci, Richie Spincola, and Gene Leporiere received the recognition.
Lions District Governor Jack Romano presented an International President's Certificate of Appreciation to Verducci, and referenced Verducci's "tireless work in starting Leo Clubs in the Saddle River Valley region."
A retired superintendent of schools and member of the Upper Saddle River Board of Education, Verducci expressed that he was "truly surprised, but honored and delighted" at being recognized for his efforts in establishing Leo Clubs at Northern Highlands Regional High School, U.S.R.'s Cavallini Middle School, Mahwah High School, and most recently, Allendale's Brookside School.
Leporiere received the President's Outstanding Service Awards. His successes in chairing the club's annual raffle and his efforts in the area of member recruitment were cited as the basis of the award.
Leporiere, a Lion for more than a decade, served as president of the club during the 2012-2013 year in addition to his committee work.
Spincola also earned the President's Outstanding Service Award for his many years of volunteering at the annual Lions carnival, even prior to his 2014 formal induction as a full-fledged member. T
The Saddle River Valley Lions Club is a regional club supporting the communities of Mahwah, Ramsey, Upper Saddle River, and Allendale. For more information about membership in or any of the many other activities and sponsored by the Saddle River Valley Lions Club, visit the club's website, www.SRVLions.org.
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I'm Lee Allport. Wife to Tim, mother to Jason who is 13 years old and Spencer who is 10. We live in the middle of Central Florida and enjoy all the fun the local theme parks provide. My heart lives in Hollywood but my life lives here. I cheat on life numerous times a year though so it works out.
A long long time ago in the far far away I was voted Top 50 Power Mom by Nielsen Ratings which was a huge honor! If you are wondering what it means, no one really knows, but it's the company that runs the television ratings so I'm assuming it meant my site was, in the words of Steve Rogers "Swell". We were also voted a Cision Top 50 Product Review Blog which I know was also impressive. Snaps for Lee, Erika and Jackie.
All that being said I love Entertainment and so we began leaning that way.
I've worked with celebrities such as:
Elton John
Hugh Jackman
Anthony Mackie
Jason Segel
John Barrowman
Paul Feig
Raphael Sbarge
Spent time on the sets of shows like:
Community with Joel McHale and Chevy Chase
Criminal Minds with Joe Mantegna and Shemar Moore
Last Man Standing with Megan Pryce and Patrick Warburton
Red Carpet Interviews:
People Choice Awards
Disney's Princess Sophia Debut
I have a much attention starved blog over at Huffington Post where I concentrate mostly on Entertainment. Heavily on the Marvel Universe and those that play the roles of superheroes. But admittedly it goes neglected for too long. I guess I'm just waiting for the perfect thing to write about. I ask everyone to check it out and Fan me while you are there.
I have worked with some of the biggest brands in the industry:
Walt Disney World
Universal Studios Resorts
Best Buy
Warner Bros.
Royal Caribbean
The Magic Castle Hollywood (my home away from home)
As of August 2014 MySentimentExactLee has partnered with Alfred Angelo Bridal to show you real women bringing their wedding gowns to life in the Real Women/Real Brides campaign. This is a campaign that is close to my heart.
MySentimentExactLee is a PR Friendly site available for press trips and paid campaigns. If you would like to work with us please email [email protected] and visit our contact page for more information.


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Masters Athletics WA in Joondalup
Sunday, 8 March 2020
Neil Hawkins Park, Joondalup, WA
Masters Athletics WA's Joondalup event at Neil Hawkins Park on Sunday, 8 March 2020 has 10km & 5km distances.
This event is part of a series of road running / walking and cross country events on Sundays all year round. They are free for members but visitors are welcome for a small fee. The results (including visitors) are then posted on the website, normally within 24 hours.
Club membership is open to men & women 30 years and older. As well as free entry to these events, members can participate in the track and field competition, weekly training groups, social events and more.
Masters Athletics WA
- Next in series (15 March 2020)
- Previous in series (1 March 2020)


text: My work tends to be asymmetrical, minimal, colorful, and abstract. I strive for a balanced impression; it should be straightforward with a bit of mystery, and atmospheric with subtle yet critical details. Sometimes my art is about something specific, a character perhaps, but often it is inspired by nature and colors. I do illustrations by hand in pencil, and paintings with acrylics. While quality is very important to me, I also focus a lot on creating positive meanings in my art.


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Meiji MA802 2x Auxiliary Lens – For EMZ-8TR, EMZ-8TRD, EMZ-8TRU, EMZ-8UDProduct code: MA802
Meiji Auxiliary lenses can be added to EM Series microscope bodies simply by screwing them into the threads below the objectives. They can either increase or decrease total magnification, but they are frequently used to increase the working distance of the microscope.
Auxiliary lenses with magnifications less than 1x increase the distance at which the microscope will focus on a specimen, and lenses with magnifications greater than 1x will decrease the distance. However, this is particularly useful for users who need to work with their hands under a microscope.
|Auxiliary Lens 2x, Working Distance 36.6mm (Thread M50, Pitch 0.75)
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Deals In Jackson Hole has the best deals in Jackson Wyoming
Jackson Hole is a renowned recreation hub, but it can also be a place of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Medicine Wheel Wellness promotes holistic healing in the local recreational community, helping active Wyoming residents maintain balance in all aspects of life. If you're ready to begin the path to wellness, you can obtain affordable treatment through Medicine Wheel Wellness and DealsJH.
Hiking, skiing, and whitewater rafting are all popular fitness activities in Jackson Hole, but unfortunately, they carry significant risk of injury. Thankfully, you can get your body back in working order in no time — and without breaking the bank. DealsJH offers numerous deals for sports medicine, chiropractic care, and physical therapy sessions at Medicine Wheel Wellness.
If sports-related injuries are causing you pain but you're not willing to pay the high deductible for a medical visit, Medicine Wheel Wellness can help you achieve much-needed relief, while also preventing worse injuries down the road. Injury prevention is also offered through private and group personal training. Your needs and goals are carefully assessed by the industry's best trainers to determine which regimen can garner you the quickest gains with the lowest risk of injury.
When the stressors of everyday life make you tense and anxious, you can benefit from a relaxed yoga or Pilates class. Both are touted for the increased strength and flexibility they promote, but more importantly, they put you in a calmer and more relaxed state of mind.
Emotional wellbeing can also be enhanced through massage & bodywork. Medicine Wheel Wellness offers a variety of treatments that relax both mind and body, including hot stone massage and NeuroMovement. Snag a deal from DealsJH and head to Medicine Wheel Wellness for a massage today — you deserve it!


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Vox populi:
Turnout: 1,949,725
Yes: 1,201,607
No: 734,300
62.1% vs 37.9%
Today, Ireland turned a corner by becoming the first country in the world to approve gay marriage by popular vote. A corner a lot of people have been struggling with for decades. A fear that many were afraid of voicing, afraid of a Catholic Church still instilling that famous Irish guilt in many.
Religion has always been a tough subject in Ireland as it continuously interfered in issues it had no clue about at all. Contraception was illegal until 1980, and it was illegal for single people to buy a condom until 1992. There was a constitutional ban on divorce until 1995 (and can still take +5 years to be finalised), and homosexuality was a criminal offense until the 1990s. While the Catholic Church itself harbours and moves around paedophile priests without punishing them, and nuns chastised pregnant girls and women in its Magdalen Laundries, it continued punishing its flock for having 'impure thoughts'.
When the Labour party put forward the idea about a same-sex marriage equality referendum in 2013, nobody imagined it would turn into what it became yesterday: an emotional campaign for Ireland as a nation. It was about civil and human rights.
Irish people were crossing the country to vote in their constituency, and people living in Canada, the US, Thailand, Scotland, Australia and New Zealand flew home just to vote. Money was donated to those who couldn't afford flights, accommodation offered and family and friends gathered around for that important vote that could finally mean inclusion and equality for the entire Irish community.
One of my favourite orators in Irish politics, as well as a real Joycean, David Norris has finally been lauded on a national level. He was credited with having "managed, almost single-handedly, to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde", a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign.
Equality is finally a given to all people living in Ireland. Finally young voters have been listened to. I could not be happier for friends and acquaintances who were desperate for a 'Yes' vote. While I tried working out what the gay community went through from my own straight views, I realised it was about one thing only. Love. Inclusion. Diversity. Equality.
After an eight-year recession struggle, and as the world watched today's extraordinary news unfold, Ireland has finally come of age.
©Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me, 2011-2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Willeke Van Eeckhoutte and Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis & Me with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.


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Kutzky Park
Great for
- Internet Access
- Medical Facilities
- Neighborly Spirit
- Parking
- Pest Free
Not great for
- No ratings yet
Who lives here?
- No ratings yet
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Kutzky Park
Robin Gwaltney PRO
rating details2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Clean & Green
- Pest Free
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Resale or Rental Value
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
"So close to downtown, yet this neighborhood has such a small town feel"
This is a great neighborhood in Rochester, very popular with Mayo Clinic employees as well as with anyone who likes to be able to walk to everything. This is the neighborhood that my husband and I lived in for 17 years while serving as the volunteer Resident Directors at the Rochester Better Chance House. This is where our kids grew up.... Loved getting to know our neighbors, participating in neighborhood association events, being in the heart of the city yet feeling like we lived in a small town.
- Great location
- Charming homes
- Strong Neighborhood Association
- Single family homes converted to rentals


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Finally put the wheels on our first attempt at a protective shelter for our egg laying free ranging chickens.
The wooden frame was made out of the old lats we had replaced in the roof, old metal guttering also from the roof now tops and fully waterproofs the coop top as well as acting as a rest for the shelter. Three roofing sheets for the price of one after I complained about the length of time I was kept waiting for the Assistant to locate them at the a DIY store here and the wheels from a scrapped ride on mower that was left at the house when we brought it. So all in all apart from the time some Idiot spent working out how to put it altogether not a bad result!
We have put logs in side it for perches and so far the chickens have happily gone under it and used them when the wind and rain has arrived. We will probably throw some hay in it when the really cold weather arrives but we may may then have a problem with the rabbit moving in there!!
Only time will tell if it will prove effect or just fall to pieces!!!


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Move to the Left (Original Mix) by Hide&Seek Music
Tune Details...
Title: Move to the Left (Original Mix)
Artist: Hide&Seek Music
Genres: House & Bass
Duration: 00:04:00
Release Date: Sunday 8th March 2015 (1,738 days ago)
Details: 320Kbps, Joint Stereo, 44.100Khz
BigTunes Achievements
"Number One" Tunes Twice.
Top Ten Tune 3 times.
Top 40 Tune 8 times.


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Media Coverage
Our Team | Our Philosophy | Our Social Obligations | Supporting a Cause |
History of Our Concept
Though in the commercial world WINNING IS EVERYTHING … but in the 'real world' you may lose the battle but still win the war! The selflessness of this crusade may make us lose the battle against daily life of the ordinary to win the war of the extraordinary.
Come join the cause and 'capture your passion'.
We are committed to the cause!
Conde Nast Traveller published this:


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'Welcome to the most intensive, productive and daring four weeks you may ever have encountered,' says coach Magda lena Ba k-Ma ier, introducing the Psychologies Achieve Your Goals online course. I quake inwardly. Am I really up for this?
Ordinarily, I am the first to volunteer for the latest personal development adventures but, over the past few months, have been dogged by health challenges and my energy levels are more damp squib than sparkling skyrocket. I also can't decide what goals to focus on for the 30 days. Presently, I'm planning a major home renovation, there's a photography project I'm desperate to start, and I want to speak better Italian before my holiday. No wonder I never finish anything.


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Foreign Policy: Azerbaijan plays key role in S.Caucasus and Middle East
In his article, Mr Gut says: "In spite of vast and intense international concerns, including the substantial migration crisis emanating from Syria and terminating in Europe, Russia engaging in the Middle East with troops and air power, the U.S.`s flagrant absence from world affairs coupled with its abject show of weakness, it is still impossible not to notice international scrutiny of the Republic of Azerbaijan and anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric, particularly by Europe and the United States."
"Last month, the European Parliament approved a resolution that calls for targeted sanctions against certain officials of Azerbaijan, who, according to its authors, "do not respect human rights." In other words, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that violates the legal norms of European democracy, as it was based on conjecture and offered no evidence."
"Naturally, official Baku is indignant — and understandably annoyed. The US and Europe seem to be inexplicably struggling to discredit and put pressure on Azerbaijan, which is situated in an important geopolitical and strategic location, the nexus of Europe and Asia and sandwiched in between Russia and Iran.
Post-Soviet Azerbaijan has repeatedly proven that it plays a key and critical role in the South Caucasus and the Middle East. Azerbaijan is the key transit route for the transfer of men and materiale to and from Afghanistan and Azerbaijan troops stand shoulder to shoulder with Allied troops in Afghanistan, as they did in Iraq and Bosnia. Azerbaijan also is a key partner in anti-terrorism intelligence gathering operations with the West."
"Azerbaijan also serves as the linchpin for energy diversity and security for Europe and Western markets, as Azerbaijan is not only the major energy hub in the region, but a major producer of oil and natural gas that presents Europe with a non-Russian, non-OPEC and non-Iranian energy alternative. Azerbaijani pipelines, like the BTC (the largest oil pipeline in the world next to America`s Alaskan pipeline) pumps oil from the Caspian Sea through Georgia and to the Mediterranean Sea, terminating in the Turkish port city of Cheyhan. In addition and, perhaps, more importantly, Azerbaijan and its Western partners have already begun construction on the network of pipelines that will comprise the Southern Gas Corridor, which will transport Azerbaijan`s vast gas reserves directly to Europe."
The pragmatic approach of Azerbaijan, as a whole, includes religious tolerance, multiculturalism of Azerbaijani society, and constructive relations with its neighbors in a region where diplomacy is much more complex than in many other parts of the world. All of these factors played a role in the successful formation of this emerging democracy."
He touches upon deteriorating situation in Armenia. "Reports show the situation in Armenia is very tense due to Serzh Sargsyan`s leadership and what can only be described as his criminal-oligarchic pyramid that runs the country. Government policies and corruption systematically destroy small and medium sized businesses and cause public discontent and real hardship for the average Armenian. Unemployment in Armenia is rising and its economy is in systemic crisis, having to be bailed out periodically by Moscow. Yet, Armenian authorities hide the real figures on the catastrophic state of the economy. Armenia, due to a discontented population, is seeing a net decrease in population. Acute social discontent will put an end to the regime of Serzh Sargsyan. The question is only when it will happen." He also highlights relations between Israel and Azerbaijan. "We see a strong case in point in the strong bilateral relations that exist between the State of Israel and Azerbaijan. Israel has repeatedly expressed its appreciation for Azerbaijan`s warm and unique attitude of Azerbaijani President Aliyev, as well as the rest of the leadership of Azerbaijan towards the Jewish community." "Commerce and trade flourish, with Israel becoming a major importer of Azerbaijani oil and Israel`s technology industry aiding Baku with such projects as its telecommunications infrastructure and agriculture." "However, the relationships between Israel and Azerbaijan, and Muslim Azerbaijanis and Azerbaijani Jews, cannot be explained away by simple mutual self-interest and business enterprises. Common values and a shared history permeate this modern relationship. Both countries are enriched by the human connections between them and a determination to live in diverse and religiously tolerant societies."
Today, Azerbaijan is a genuine strategic partner of the US, Europe and the State of Israel and a strong independent nation. Azerbaijan is a mere 24 years old and, as such, is an emerging democracy, emphasis on the word emerging-just as the US was at 24 years old. The US and Europe must recognize the great strides Azerbaijan has made since throwing off the chains of the Soviet Union. From the ongoing establishment of civil structures that are the basis of any healthy and sustainable democracy to the overwhelmingly Western leaning energy and other business projects launched by Azerbaijan, that nation continues to evolve and build in the right direction," Mr Gut says.
You can read the original article HERE


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To strive is to achieve
We at Capella High endeavour to offer a future orientated curriculum which engages and challenges students, and supports continued learning. Our supportive school environment develops and promotes positive relationships between all members of our school community.
Capella is located approximately 50 kms north of Emerald in the Central Highlands Region which is an area of intensive agricultural production. The Region produces quality beef and grains and is located in the heart of the Bowen Basin coal mining region.
The school services the towns of Capella and Tieri (36 kms east of Capella). Students from Tieri travel to the school each day by bus.
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We very much encourage you to use the site to be in touch with other as we explore "Into the Diagram" related events.
Of course, we hope much will be happening offline—with your colleagues/friends wherever you are.
These are also possible apps/sites we can use—both for direct engagement and for documenting explorations offline.
Online/offline and in-between, we hope you will get "into the diagram".
Of course, we hope you'll use this site a bit … to post ideas etc, or you can write short posts here linking to something interesting you've done or found elsewhere, and of course we can discuss things via this blog. The site also has a number of links, etc in the right hand menu. One of these is for Diigo. If you use Diigo you can tag something (just about anything on the web) <gram2011> (without the pointy brackets), and it should appear on this site as well.
The main other "app" is the tag. Everything you do should be tagged <gram2011> (without the pointy brackets), according to wherever you're doing things.
On Twitter this would be #gram2011.There is also a Twitter ID, <gramitude> that you can follow and engage with. And I've created a Twitter list, <gram2011>, on which I'll put people if they are on Twitter. You also search for "diagram" on Twitter.
Then there are apps such as Broadcastr (audio) and sites such as Soundcloud for story telling if you want to create audio diagrams or document diagrammatic explorations (dérives etc). You can of course use YouTube or Vimeo (it's easy to embed either of these in posts). Or you could use this new Australian site/app 15 second place, for 15 second video grabs.
Some people have been contemplating using the augmented reality app Aurasma. There is also a Zotero group for those of with affection for the bibliographic.
I'm of course happy to add more information on other apps/sites, if people would like me to. Just email me.


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Amateur Challenge Tournament
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Just a friendly reminder that the ACT will be held both days this weekend, rain or shine. Temps are currently looking high-70's to low-80's, with moderate (40% or less) chances of rain on either day. Plan appropriately. Some suggestions for those who may not have played in inclement weather before…
Here's a quick rundown of things you may want to bring no matter what the weather is, for those people who haven't played many events before…
There are plenty of things to keep in mind when playing any tournament, especially your first one, so post a comment if you have questions or want to add to the lists above for others to keep in mind as well.
See everyone this weekend!
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|This entry was posted by Tournament Director on June 2, 2010 at 1:34 pm, and is filed under General. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
I won't disagree that there are a lot of rules, but the general ideas are fairly simple to follow and most are best experienced out on the course to understand fully. Knowing exactly where to mark your lie when you are near an OB line comes from experience – or knowing that you can move your lie when you're near an OB line in the first place, I suppose. Tournaments certainly do play by the rules, but the ACT is a very relaxed atmosphere and we encourage the higher-level players to be understanding & courteous in helping newer players to understand when they are breaking the rules while players are playing mixed-divisions during Round 1; and by and large many first-time tournament players report extremely positive things about how many rules they broke while they were playing, but how cool the people in their group were about helping them to understand all the rules they never knew existed.
Look for a rules-related post tomorrow and I'll try to outline some highlights of things that newer tournament players should definitely keep an eye out for while playing. The biggies honestly are all in the realm of courtesy and any other situations that directly affect others in your group, while you'll find much more casual attitudes about things like foot faults or "splashing" the chains. Thanks for the feedback!
about 9 years ago - No comments
Big thanks to all our players who came out this weekend to play despite the threatening weather forecasts. Saturday's forecast storms became nothing beyond hot humidity, which itself was an adventure for the players, and Sunday's forecast storms became an Emergency Broadcast Signal "tornado system coming through East Hartford, CT" which required us to suspend More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
It's showtime! Saturday's event is mere hours from beginning. As a reminder/notification, the website will be updated tonight but the twitter feed will be live all day with updates, pics, etc, so if you don't follow us you can go add @actdg at http://twitter.com/actdg or and follow the feed in the sidebar here on the website to More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
Quick note – Marco Polo's will be on site on both mornings of this weekend to take food orders for those who wish to buy lunch. Orders will be taken before Round 1 and delivered to the course before the round is complete, ensuring you don't have to worry about a brown-bag lunch in your More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
It has been asked many times over, "what layout(s) are we playing this year?" As Wickham continues to expand and develop, we now have multiple options on some holes for what layout we are going to play. And today we have the answer… The ACT will be playing alt layouts round 2, both days… all More >
about 9 years ago - 2 comments
Apologies again to everyone who endured the registration hiccups when things opened yesterday at noon. Combining signups for both days, rough estimates show that over 50 people were signed up within the first 5 minutes, 70 in 15 and 90 in less than half an hour. Way to go everyone!! Our own website here saw More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
http://discgolfunited.com/disc-golf-tournaments/ Go sign up! The server issues should have been resolved, so if you've been trying unsuccessfully to get yourself signed up now is the time to head on over and get your name on the list. Do it! 🙂
about 9 years ago - No comments
Registration is now open!! Remember, if you are NOT currently signed up for one day's event and your desired day is full you can sign up for the waiting list. Players who ARE signed up for one day may NOT currently sign up for the Waiting Lists on the alternate day so that everyone has More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
Registration for ACT VI opens tomorrow! Who's excited? Remember that if you want to save yourself some time when reg opens, you can go create your free account on Disc Golf United. Noon tomorrow, Eastern Standard Time – be ready! Also wanted to provide some additional information regarding the waiting lists… each day will have More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
Sorry this wasn't online sooner for you all… most of the information has been posted on this site in some way, shape, or form but now it's all in one place for you to see. Click here to view the ACT VI flyer Remember, registration opens one week from today! If you're chomping at the More >
about 9 years ago - No comments
Sorry for the confusion since the last update, but a number of things have transpired since the last post and now which have forced us to make the difficult decision of pushing the event registration back by a week. Registration will now open on… Monday, May 17th, at NOON (12pm) EST We feel this should More >


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Last June CIO's contributing editor Sue Bushell gave prominent CIOs the opportunity to voice their opinions on the their relationships with vendors. The criticisms came hard and fast. This year we thought we'd turn the tables, but in a kinder, gentler fashion, and find out which CIOs vendors admire.
IT vendor Rick Milinski has never sold a thing to Southcorp CIO Wayne Saunders, but he certainly admires the man.
Milinski, InterWorld Corporation's vice president, Asia Pacific, sees Saunders as a "real CIO" - one of those "guys and ladies who are not purely focused on technology for the sake of technology, but technology as it applies to the business". Like other "real" CIOs, he says, what distinguishes Saunders from the wannabes is that the business in turn expects solutions from him and not from technology.
"Wayne is hard to get to get in to see, but he's been around a while; he knows what's what, he's been through several ERP implementations, he knows which way is up and it's a pleasure dealing with him," Milinski says. "I've never sold him anything but that doesn't matter. I think Wayne is a good guy: he knows what he's doing."
A year ago, when we asked CIOs to tell us what they thought of the vendors who try to sell them things every day, many of you were scathing (see "Promises, Promises", CIO June 2000). While the first words uttered by almost every salesman crossing the threshold of the CIO's office seem to be about partnership and total solutions, the CIOs we spoke to then told us they'd learned to suspect that at least some vendors' fingers are permanently glued, crossed behind their backs.
Sure, you told us, vendors and integrators have become so practised at a spiel that's all about sharing risk, co-developing and working hand-in-glove with the client until all the wrinkles are ironed out, that you'd swear they could spout it in their sleep. It's conceivable many even believe every word they say. But while some make a fair stab at keeping that promise, and some CIOs are largely happy with the partnerships they've got, your comments to us then made clear that long, hard experience has taught many CIOs to take their words with a mountain of salt.
"I've sounded off to a couple of our vendors face to face in very strong terms," Saunders told us last June "Overall I find the whole vendor community really seems to struggle to understand who its customer is and to listen to its customer. That's almost right across the board - I've found it incredibly frustrating and disappointing."
If CIOs are so suspicious of their vendors, what do the vendors in turn think about them? This year we decided to look at the other side of the story, by asking the vendors what they thought of you. Who did they see as the toughest CIO, we asked them, who was the most entrepreneurial, the most innovative, the hardest working?
It probably won't surprise you that many vendors refused to take part in CIO's mini survey at all. It certainly didn't surprise us. Comments like "If I name seven CIOs I think are outstanding, I'll offend every other CIO I deal with on a regular basis" were commonly heard. Cowardly? In the words of Sir Francis Urquart in the television series the House of Cards: "You might think so. I couldn't possibly comment".
But some vendors with a broader philosophy, bigger hearts or greater generosity of spirit were more than happy to name those they admired most. We salute their courage. So here, in no particular order, is the list of CIOs nominated by Australia's bravest vendors as being on top of their "got to admire list", starting with Saunders.
Wayne Saunders, CIO, Southcorp.
Nominated by Rick Milinski, InterWorld Corporation's vice president, Asia Pacific.
Nominated by mbrane CEO John Armenakas.
After spending 16 years in the service industry, Saunders told CIO magazine last year he had been underwhelmed by the service offered, and in many cases the arrogance displayed, by some vendors. Point out any weakness in their service delivery, he says, and it's as if a blind comes down. "They wait for you to stop talking, then the lights come on again. They just simply don't listen to the customer. You have one meeting with them where you might beat them up, and they'll come back two weeks later as if you'd never even had the meeting. It just staggers me," he said.
Vendors clearly don't reciprocate the reservations. Not only was Saunders named by Milinski as a leading light, he also won these plaudits from mbrane's Armenakas. "Probably one of the reasons why people would admire Saunders is that the challenge he's got is he's not sitting in one vertical. I know Southcorp has been selling off some of its properties and divesting, but traditionally it's run a number of diverse businesses," says Armenakas. "Saunders is admired for his ability to be able to apply technology from a business perspective across different verticals - from logistics to manufacturing, packaging, all of those sorts of things. Versatility, that's the word."
John Loebenstein, chief general manager for IT, St George Bank.
Nominated by Michael Burnie, managing director, Network Appliance.
Burnie has been negotiating with John Loebenstein since Burnie's days with previous employer EMC. He says that, in his experience, good CIOs will know about a vendor long before they ever let him in the door. Like the best of them, he says, Loebenstein checks out his vendors and, when they talk about business or value propositions, he tends to be "pretty switched on and have a perfect understanding of what's what".
In Burnie's books, good CIOs are very impatient if you're going to waste their time - a good thing because, obviously, they have an important job to do, and a CIO today is as important as any head, any CFO or CEO. "Corporations today without technology really can't function. So it's important that the person, I believe, is versatile. Loebenstein is that. But a good CIO is also someone obviously who can delegate, hire good people." Loebenstein also fits that bill perfectly, he says.
Glen Mescher, CIO, National Australia Bank.
Nominated by Michael Burnie, managing director, Network Appliance.
Nominated by mbrane CEO John Armenakas.
Like Loebenstein, Mescher runs a large IT organisation, which for his company is important, especially for the banking and finance sectors. "It's clear from the time that I've spent with both of these guys that they know the market, they know what they need and they know how they're going to get it; and I think that's important," Burnie says. "I think that they both leave a lot of detail up to the people they hire, so at the end of the day you don't have to go to these two guys to get sign-off because they trust and delegate to the people below them. I think that's important.
"I guess you have generally two types of CIOs out there. You've got the ones that run the big IT departments for the big enterprise accounts, and then you've got the smaller ones that don't make recommendations, they make decisions and they sign off. That sort of person is more technically oriented, more in tune with the technical side of the business; whereas, say, a John Loebenstein and Glen Mescher would be more focused on the actual business itself - what do I need for my business to move forward?"
Armenakas describes Mescher as "tough and very, very demanding". "People have this conception that a bank is a bank; however, the National Australia Bank has probably got one of the most diverse business unit structures of any bank that I've seen. So [Mescher] has a very challenging time ahead of him - but he's the right guy to do that," Armenakas says. "He's got a fine structure in place in that he doesn't profess to be the be-all and end-all. And he's certainly not the kind of guy who has technology leading the business. He has a structure, in fact, where he's got account managers in place who fundamentally bridge the gap between what the business wants, and translates the business needs into IT lingo, and vice versa."
Mescher also has plenty of "hybrids" in place, Armenakas says, people who can bridge the gap between IT and business while fully understanding both. "That's why he's got such a good reputation and why he's very well respected," he says.
Cathy Bibby, CIO, National Foods.
Nominated by Crystal Decisions (formerly Seagate Software) southern district sales executive Stuart Le Gros.
National Foods is Australia's largest publicly listed dairy company. The company operates in the milk and dairy foods industries and has leading brands and market shares in both sectors. It is Australia's only national-market milk company. Since joining NFL in December 1998 as CIO, Bibby has focused on the standardising and centralising IT services and on up-skilling the IT department. She is also working on identifying key suppliers and building relationships with them, trying to align activity to business issues/strategy/direction, trying to educate the business on what is happening in technology and business, and thinking out of left field.
National Foods is one of Crystal Decisions' premier corporate customers, so the company's southern district sales executive Stuart Le Gros speaks from authority when he says Bibby leads an IS team that is progressive and ambitious in its plans to develop National Foods systems. The team is embracing solutions to meet the challenges of their competitive industry. Bibby is extremely hard-working and innovative, Le Gros says. "She is competing in a male-dominated industry and at the highest level. She is protected by her management team, but you can see her when she feels you have a valid reason."
Wai Tang, chief operations officer and CIO, Just Jeans.
Howard McDonald, managing director, Just Jeans Group.
Nominated by Rick Milinski, InterWorld Corporation's vice president, Asia Pacific.
Like Saunders, both Wai Tang and McDonald are totally focused on business objectives, Milinksi says. Their mantra is "don't talk to me about technology, talk to me about a business solution". While Milinski, as an IT vendor, found both were originally hard to get to see, he says, once he could prove he had value to add, that began to change. He says both are doing extremely innovative work at the cutting edge.
As an example, Milinski cites the Web site of Just Jeans' newly acquired sleepwear business, Peter Alexander, which the company is using as a vehicle to drive sales in its youth-focused jeans products. The Web site is an integral part of Just Jeans' strategy to get 3 per cent of its total revenue from online sales.
"A technology investment is a strange thing for a fashion house to do, so they make their decisions carefully," Milinksi says. "Not only is their e-commerce project right out there, it's extremely innovative. When you see a lot of traditional retailers saying no, no, no' to e-commerce, Just Jeans grabbed the bull by the horns and put up a very good site, and it is getting some good results.
Valda Berzins, CIO, Australia Post.
Nominated by mbrane CEO John Armenakas.
Nominated by Rick Milinski, InterWorld Corporation's vice president, Asia Pacific.
The reason why Australia Post would get a mention is [because] their biggest challenge is really moving from this public service mentality to now having to be competitive against, and taking on, the likes of FedEx and DHL in various aspects off their business," Armenakas says.
"While their competitors have been using technology to their advantage for many, many years, Australia Post hasn't. So part of the reason why they get a lot of kudos now is how quickly they've taken a real commercial and business approach to what they're doing, and effectively applied it," he says.
Milinski also has high praise for Berzins. "[Berzins] is like [Saunders], and in the same category," he says. "She is in a large corporation, with lots and lots of people and a big IT budget, and is in a position where she can't have a hands-on evaluation of every single piece of technology and sales guy who walks through her door. "She has a good team of people that she's assembled that feed her information, and she gets involved when and as she needs to, but she's totally business focused. Her line tends to be don't talk to me about anything unless you can tell me how it is going to help me do my business better'."
Milinski says any CIO able to pull off a successful implementation of an e-commerce platform is someone to be admired. To do so in a large organisation with lots of complicated interfaces and systems and legacy systems is even more impressive. "The thing I like most about Australia Post is that it had a vision for what it wanted to do and the vision was itself innovative: to provide an e-commerce platform to all of Australia with all of Australia able to utilise it for fulfilment," he says.
David Boyles, head of technology e-commerce and payments, ANZ Bank.
Nominated by Michael Burnie, managing director, Network Appliance.
Nominated by Steven Lloyd-Jones, general manager and director, MRO Software Australia.
Nominated by mbrane CEO John Armenakas.
When we asked CIOs for their thoughts on vendors last year, ANZ Banking Group CIO David Boyles told us overall his company's relationships with its vendors were "dramatically better" than a couple of years ago, partly because ANZ had taken steps to greatly improve its own communications with its suppliers.
Maybe that stance is why vendors like him so much. Boyles certainly has the admiration of Michael Burnie for much the same reasons as for Loebenstein and Mescher. "David's focus has definitely been the e-commerce part of the business, and I think you'll find that in John Loebestein's workload, as well as Glen Mescher's, a lot of their focus is the e-commerce part of the business," Burnie says. "You have to understand your business and the technology world to be able to provide e-commerce strategy for your organisation. Certainly ANZ.com, NAB.com and stgeorge.com are sites that are being widely used in the marketplace by people who do personal banking, and they are doing very, very well."
Boyles also won plaudits from Steven Lloyd-Jones, general manager and director of MRO Software Australia, who described him as an impressive individual. "He's a [quiet] kind of guy. He's in what seems to me an extraordinarily difficult position and it's a very difficult job. He's got a huge number of stakeholders in the bank, all with their own initiatives, and he's got a pretty tough audience too, because many of the systems and the infrastructure that he runs and the strategies that he has to put in place serve the public and business community. There's a lot of tough critics out there and I think he handles that very well."
Lloyd-Jones says ANZ's ebiz.com marketplace was an initiative that grew up outside Boyle's immediate area. Instead of being turf-oriented, Boyles, who has a big say in the e-commerce and payments area, was actually supportive and tried to lend his weight to the whole thing. Armenakas is another admirer of Boyles, and describes him as an extreme pragmatist.
"There's not much beating around the bush about Boyles," Armenakas says. "Everything with him has got to be very, very well quantified. Everything that he does has some key performance indicators - everything is measurable. And in the world of IT, when sales people are trying to sell stuff, without being able to build a strong business case they ain't likely to get far with David."
Paul Morris, CIO, Ford.
Nominated by Mark Camilleri, former Onyx Software Australia managing director.
Camilleri first dealt with Morris when he was CIO of Inchcape Motors and describes him as "probably the most outstanding CIO that I have experienced in my time in the industry".
For one thing, Morris treats vendors with respect - something Camilleri says is often missing from the industry, although he admits, with some vendors acting like cowboys, that can be a big ask. "What I like about Paul is that he has clear definition of where he wants to go while at the same time opening his mind to creativity," Camilleri says. "Just look at the industry he is in - which is quite conservative - and the way that he's taken Inchcape into the e-commerce arena. Where other corporations and CIOs talk about it, he has really done it, particularly when it comes to CRM-proper implementations rather than just putting in a call centre. "He has really put in a truly enterprise customer relationship management system. The other thing that Paul has is outstanding management skills with his own people, where there is a realisation of what it takes to make these projects successful in terms of, first, the commitment and, second, the training. Most CIOs around the country just pay lip service to training and tend to not allow enough budget."
Firm, fair and incredibly creative in the task at hand, is the way Camilleri sums up Morris. "He knows what it takes to make projects successful," he says.
From Camilleri that is high praise indeed because, when we asked him if there were other outstanding CIOs around the place, he said: "No, I don't want to put my name to anybody else because I really think most of them are mediocre."
John Dunne, CIO, Australian Guarantee Corp.
Nominated by mbrane CEO John Armenakas.
In our article last year, Dunne told us some vendor company managing directors were better at getting out and meeting clients than others. "We've spent a lot of money with people like Oracle and Hewlett-Packard, and they haven't made the connection at the very highest level within our parent company, which is Westpac, while others like IBM are putting those connections in place. "The managing director of Westpac gains advantage from talking to IBM CEO Lou Gerstner because he then gets a global view of what's happening with technology." Dunne said that, in his experience, it was only the potential for [a vendor's] business that moved your company up the hierarchy. That made it especially hard for smaller organisations to develop partnerships with their vendors. It was maddening enough when vendors treat their big spending customers poorly, he said - even with the massive buying power, and hence serious muscle, those big spenders can bring to bear. It was just plain frustrating for smaller corporations that didn't have the buying power to carry so much influence.
As one vendor CEO more than happy to spend time with Dunne, Armenakas is full of praise. Dunne has been around for a long time, he says, knows his stuff and copes admirably with the great deal of pressure he is under to quantify everything he does.
Jeff Seed, GM IT, Sugar Australia.
Nominated by Rob Pearsall, director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
My nomination for hardest working CIO would be Jeff Seed," Pearsall says. "Jeff has recently managed the successful completion of the third milestone (of four) in a Trans Tasman ERP implementation, juggling the demands of new technology, processes, systems and staff." A relative newcomer, Sugar Australia has been implementing a project called Operation Crystalise for the last 18 months, designed to lead to a complete change of IT infrastructure across Sugar Australia and its New Zealand sister company. As general manager for IT for Sugar Australia, Seed also has overview of the IT responsibilities in New Zealand. "The major component of Operation Crystalise has been implementation of the JD Edwards ERP system, and that's required a complete redevelopment of their IT infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand," Pearsall says. "They used to rely on CSR's infrastructure - being part of that organisation - and they've moved away from that in the last 12 or so months so they've had to build that infrastructure themselves while putting together a fairly new organisation. So everyone is fairly new to the business processes and putting in place this fairly significant ERP implementation in parallel [is notable].
"Jeff runs a fairly lean IT shop that he has had to build up over the course of this project," Pearsall says. "He's [carried] the project from the business case, the selection; we're actually now well into the implementation and he's taken on more or less the project leadership role from the Sugar Australia perspective while still doing his general IT work [as] general manager IT. It's a complex solution."
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.


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This is a mini version of our renowned standard-sized Cylinder Case Set, with just 7 cm in height. The perfect brush set for travelling and even home use because of its daily essential brushes which consists of:
- Powder Brush
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Armando Caruso was founded in 1950s by Dr. Armando Caruso himself. More than 60 years Armado has been producing his first products were silk foulards and scarves with floral, geometric and paisley designs. During those years, nobody used to put logos on scarves but in the early sixties, Armando Caruso has been among the first companies to put logos on his products to mark production and make it recognisable for final customers.
Today, Armando Caruso has also expanded his business into cosmetic bags, beauty cases, makeup brushes and many other beauty care accessories to fulfil women's daily necessities with very high quality and affordable pricings.


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The dark side of the VOC mentalityArakan History, Articles, Home Sunday, October 30, 2011
The dark side of the VOC mentality
The kingdom of Arakan on the border of Bangladesh and Burma was the VOC's largest supplier of slaves. The need for workers for the spice plantations on the Banda island transformed the slave trade from a supply-driven into a demand-driven market.
|Map of Arakan circa 1595 byPieter van den Keere. Source: Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, Itinerario, voyage ofte schipvaert, van Ian Huygen van Linschoten naer de Oost ofte Portugaels Indien, inhoudende een corte beschrijvinghe der selver landen ende zeecusten... (Amsterdam 1595-96)
Powerful state
Using primarily Dutch source material, historian Stephan van Galen has examined the rise and fall of the Mrauk U kingdom in Arakan. From the fifteenth century, it grew from an agrarian realm into a powerful state controlling an area from the coastal strips of Dhaka (Bangladesh) to Rangoon (Burma). However, it only flourished for a short period. At the end of the seventeenth century, the empire collapsed as quickly as it had risen.
No-man's-landFor a long time, Arakan remained unexplored territory for historians. 'This was because of its location,' says van Galen. 'It lay on the border of the academic research areas of South-East Asia and South Asia: an academic no-man's-land. What is more important is that Arakan never developed into a national state, the starting point of most historical research. In the 1990s, scientific interest in the Gulf of Bengal increased, including interest in the role of Arakan in the history of the region.
The Letsekan gate, in Mrauk U, Burma
Trading postBetween 1608 and 1682, the VOC had an important trading post in Arakan. The source material provided by these trading contacts is invaluable for the history of the kingdom. Van Galen: 'The diaries which have not previously been consulted, journals and intensive letter exchanges between Batavia, the Netherlands and Mrauk U are very valuable because there are almost no contemporary Burmese sources available. Using VOC archives, and to a lesser extent, Persian and Portuguese sources, I have been able to write the history of Arakan.'
Explosive growthVan Galen was particularly interested in the rapid rise and fall of the kingdom. He attributes the rapid expansion which Arakan underwent to the relationship with neighbouring Bengal. 'From the fifteenth century, the Bengali economy experienced enormous growth. The kings of Arakan formed alliances with Portuguese adventurers and traders, which gained them a large part of the riches of Bengal. And now it appears that the sixteenth and seventeenth century kings of Mrauk U controlled a much greater area of Bengal than had been assumed.
Arakan women praying to Buddha in the central chamber of the Dukhanthein temple in Mrauk U.
Tax revenuesVan Galen has reached this conclusion based on sources which record tax revenues. Large parts of Bengal, which were thought to have been under the rule of Indonesian Moguls, paid taxes to the Arakan court. These tax revenues were considerably greater than the income from trade, and contributed to the success of Arakan. The Arakan kings used this revenue to build numerous Buddhist temples. The ruins of the city of Mrauk U, an almost undiscovered city in the jungle of Burma, are evidence of the power and wealth of the kingdom.
Prime periodBut this prime period was short-lived. While Arakan spread in the sixteenth century to East Bengal, the Indonesian Mogul empire advanced towards West Bengal. This confrontation led to a war which was to last for ninety years. The Buddhist kings of Araken suffered defeat. The loss of Bengal brought to an end the flourishing of the empire, which declined further in the course of the seventeenth century.
Slaves'The war did have one remarkable by-product,' says Van Galen. 'Large numbers of prisoners of war were captured, who were later to be traded as slaves. The main destination for these slaves was the VOC. In his determination to gain control of the valuable spice plantations on the Banda islands, Governor General Jan-Pieterszoon Coen had massacred an estimated 15,000 people. As a result of this massive slaughter, the Netherlands probably had the world's only source of nutmeg and mace, but there were no more workers left to tend the plantations. Slaves from Arakan offered the solution.
Slave market in Pipli: Lusu Arakanese slave traders selling slaves to the VOC. Source: Wouter Schouten, Oost-Indische Voyagie.
Indiscriminate and randomVan Galen states that the supply of slaves to Indonesia up to 1624 had been indiscriminate and random. This situation changed when, from 1623, Arakan, with its structural supply, became the major supplier of slaves to the VOC. Together with the kings of Arakan, the VOC became the biggest trader in slaves of the seventeenth century. The VOC's great need for slaves transformed the character of the Arakan slave market from a supply-driven into a demand-driven market.
RiceThe significance of Arakan for the VOC was apparent, not only from the slave trade, but also from the trade in rice. 'Rice from the most fertile fields in Bengal and Arakan was an important source of food for the hungry population in Batavia,' says Van Galen. 'It probably saved Batavia from a famine. It is clear that both empires profited from the intensive trading contacts. It is not inconceivable that the Arakan kings may have been able to postpone the decline of their empire ar a result of their trade with the VOC.'
PhD defence: Thursday 13 March, 16.15 hrsStephan van Galen: Arakan and Bengal. The rise and decline of the Mrauk U kingdom (Burma) from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century ADFaculty: Arts
Supervisor: Prof. Dr D.H.A. Kolff
(11 March 2008/Marl Pluijmen)
...Posted By... Arakan Research Centre ...Date... Sunday, October 30, 2011. ...Post Title... Arakan History, Articles, Home . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0


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The Community scheme organises and runs year-round coaching opportunities. These sessions offer quality coaching on a weekly basis at various local venues. Many of these run on a pay and play basis and are often organised in conjunction with the local authority Sports development teams
Times and prices of these sessions vary. For further information ring us on the Community Office telephone number, 01252 339384 to see where your nearest centre is.
Courses run in conjunction with:
North East Hampshire School Sport Partnership
Rushmoor Borough Council
Hart District Council
First Wessex
The FA
Hampshire Constabulary
Rushmoor Schools Plus


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Cool Kids
This was a personal project of mine that won first place for a competition Adobe and the US government put on in an effort to find more creative solutions to displaying government data. It's an interactive data visualization that takes a live dataset from the White House visitor logs, aggregates the data and figures out who is visited the most and for what reasons. The names enter a physics environment with an integrated soundscape.


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Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers
Media representation is a hot-button issue right now - with good reason. As discussions about identity become more popular and accessible, fans and critics alike are better equipped to discuss the messages within today's films and TV shows. While film and TV have predominantly depicted the political "norm" -- white, heterosexual characters -- for decades, there seems to be a change in the wind. Moonlight just took home the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first film to do so with an all-black cast and the first winner depicting gay themes, and primetime TV shows feature well-written gay characters and racially diverse casts. Both gay and nonwhite media representation has come a long way since the days of the Hays Code, a set of filmmaking regulations in place from 1930 to 1968 that prevented films from depicting "miscegenation" and "sex perversion."
Gay representation, or the on-screen depiction of any non-heterosexual characters, has seen a strange and stilted evolution since the late 60s. Despite the Code being long-defunct, gay characters on screen are few and far between, and those that do exist are usually either villains, woeful martyrs, and/or, you know -- dead. Happy gay characters are relegated to the indie world of low-budget film productions and webseries, rarely accessible to those not actively seeking them out. Therefore, when mainstream, widely-released films and TV shows do depict gay characters, gay fans are rightfully thrilled. Not only does the inclusion of gay identity in mainstream film mean that gay fans are able to see themselves reflected in some of their favorite characters, it means that viewers questioning their sexualities will be able to feel more comfortable with themselves. The stakes for gay representation are high, even today.
That's why, when fans are promised gay representation in big franchise films, and said films don't make good, it can feel like a punch to the gut. Gay fans who were looking to put their money towards films with positive representation may feel cheated or betrayed. Unfortunately, current box office opponents Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers are two such offenders. The former film caused a media firestorm when director Bill Condon revealed that Gaston's lackey LeFou would have an "explicitly gay moment" in the film, and Trini from Power Rangers has been repeatedly touted as the first (cinematic) LGBT superhero. It turns out, though, that neither film exactly busts through the homophobic glass ceiling -- more steps up to it, gives it a polite tap, and then swan-dives back into piles and piles of money.
Make no mistake, both films are currently dominating the box office. Disney has rolled out yet another hit with Beauty and the Beast, which has already recouped its $160 million budget seven times over since its March 17 debut, while Power Rangers is set to gross similarly impressive (if more modest) figures after just one week on screen. The gay content in both films, however, is paltry -- LeFou shares a three-second dance with another man at the tail end of Beauty and the Beast, and Trini makes no comment when asked whether or not she's interested in women. Yes, really, that's it for both films -- unless, of course, you pick apart all of the characters' other same-sex interactions with tweezers. Then, maybe you get some weird, unexplained teen angst between Trini and her family and a few ha-ha-being-attracted-to-your-straight-best-friend-is-hilarious interactions between LeFou and Gaston.
While it would have been awesome to see Trini actually come out, LeFou is a head-scratching choice for Disney's "first openly gay character." The character is an ingratiating toady by nature - the main villain's twerpish right-hand man who wants to see the film's beloved protagonists separated and miserable. In a utopian world where gay characters have run the gamut of roles, a gay villain wouldn't necessarily mean anything, but LeFou piggybacks onto a history of twee, bumbling-yet-sinister caricatures (from Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon to Zuse in Tron: Legacy) that have existed for decades. LeFou's actor, Josh Gad, is hardly a stranger to Disney's bizarre maybe-gay-but-not-really controversies, as he also lent his voice talents to mega-hit Frozen, in which gay fans eagerly sought representation (whether via protagonist Elsa or an androgynous tertiary family). Gay fans were also excited for a possible lesbian couple in Disney's summer hit Finding Dory -- another blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that the film's execs did not care to confirm or deny.
It would be easy to say that Condon's interview about LeFou was swept away in a media storm of clickbait journalistic practices -- and Condon has said as much himself -- but it's hard to feel sorry for giant Disney's treatment by the big bad media when countless gay fans have no doubt put their coin in this non-representational coffer. Condon's remarks may have been blown out of proportion, but they were pretty excessive to begin with. The director promised fans a LeFou who "on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston," and gets a "pay-off" at the end of the film with an "exclusively gay moment." Based on these statements, it was not unreasonable for gay fans to expect the "Be Our Guest" treatment in theatres -- instead, they were only offered representational crumbs.
It would be one thing if Condon and co. had pulled back on their self-congratulating after gay fans expressed disappointment, but backpedaling occurred suspiciously close to announcements that Russia was considering banning the film and one Alabama drive-in would refuse to screen it. Power Rangers is under similar fire from Russia for its sliver of gayness, but that film's non-representation has been less overblown by the cast and crew itself so much as it was fueled by excited word-of-mouth. That said, director Dean Israelite and Lionsgate haven't exactly refuted claims that Trini is the so-called first LGBT superhero, with Israelite even stating in interviews that her moment of barely-there acknowledgment is "pivotal."
Not all gay representation has to be centered around the character's gayness, but attraction to people of the same gender is inherently what lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals have been persecuted for in the history of our society. That persecution has thus necessarily instigated a loud, unapologetic reclamation of same-sex love by gay communities, celebrated for decades in pride parades, kiss-ins, and the like. Since homophobic rhetoric makes gay love a political issue instead of a human rights issue, the gay community is (at times unwittingly) tied up in those politics; thus, the importance of issues like media representation.
It would be easy (and lazy) to argue that characters in major films exist in a vacuum devoid of any sociopolitical influence, and that they don't influence audiences in turn, but that's just not the world we live in. It is possible to have an actually gay character in a movie -- i.e., one who speaks explicitly about being gay or is in a noticeable romantic relationship with someone of the same gender -- without tokenizing them. Chiron in Moonlight, for example, lives a life hugely influenced by closeted same-sex attraction and homophobic bullying, but he is also a young person navigating parental abandonment, black adolescence, and the confines of masculinity. Making characters gay does not have to inherently restrict them, if you are a talented writer.
Whether intentionally or not, both Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers prove that big studios and franchise films still care more about financial viability than actual gay representation. It's disappointing to see, especially from Power Rangers, which actually follows through on its promise of a black autistic character. The takeaway here should not be that real gay people need to be less invested in seeing positive representations of gayness on screen, but rather that today's biggest media powers should stop taking advantage of gay fans. In 2017, it can be easy for some to confuse "marriage equality" with "total social equality everywhere always" for gay people. In fact, homophobic hate crimes still occur regularly around the world, various officeholders remain hell-bent on dismantling marriage equality, and workplace discrimination remains a pressing issue for all LGBT people.
Gay fans hoping to put their money towards films that will make them feel more at home deserve thoughtful writing, not lip service. It's one thing to have subtextual gay representation in your movie, and another entirely to claim that that representation is actually textual, or even groundbreaking. We hope that, next time, Disney and Lionsgate will quit baiting, and instead invest their time in producing thoughtful characters. If they wanted to help finance independent films that are doing all of that work already, we wouldn't exactly be mad, either.