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Assumptions are being made about the crucial role that caste polarisation could play in the upcoming 2017 UP Assembly elections. During the elections, we may see a 'game' of caste mobilisation in the background of slogans of development, good governance and an efficient law & order system, and also through the medium of caste representation.
This condition has led political parties and analysts alike to turn their attention towards the 'Thakur' votes in the forthcoming UP elections.
The meaning of Thakur votes
The Thakurs account for almost eight per cent of the total population of UP. Though they are not a large caste numerically, politically, they held an important position till the 90s.
Former UP CM Veer Bahadur Singh, former PM Vishwanath Pratap Singh and current Home Minister Rajnath Singh are a few of the main Thakur leaders significantly involved in UP politics, besides many other second and third tier Thakur leaders.
The main reason behind the strong political position of the Thakurs is the fact that they have enjoyed socio-economic dominance for a long time. They have been the rural elites – possessing muscle power – and are considered to be the opinion makers. During the elections, they have been one of the leading and influential castes involved in booth management, owing to their muscle power and social dominance.
The Thakur caste made its mark on society because of its leaders, who enjoyed influential positions by being members of influential political parties. Post the 90s, the Thakurs lost their significance when numerically larger castes like Yadavs, Kurmis, and Chamars became more influential in the electoral politics due to their wealth, power and voice.
The Congress party – in which many Savarna leaders held prominent positions – gradually weakened with the passage of time. BJP is yet another such party where Savarna leaders are still significant and hold important positions.
Thakur faces like Rajnath Singh, Yogi Adityanath, and Sangeet Som are currently an active part of BJP politics in UP. Amar Singh, a Thakur face of the Samajvadi Party, has also made a comeback; while Raja Bhaiya, already features as an influential Thakur face for SP.
Who will get the benefit of Thakur votes
There may be a division of Thakur votes between the SP and BJP in the forthcoming UP elections. The shift of a section of Thakur votes in favour of SP would depend on the number of meetings and campaigns organised by Amar Singh and Raja Bhaiya in UP.
Though Amar Singh's health may not permit him to actively participate in the campaigns, his involvement would no doubt benefit the party. If BJP project Rajnath Singh as its chief ministerial candidate for UP in the forthcoming elections, then a large section of the Thakurs could move towards the BJP.
If he is not projected as the CM, however, then the Thakurs may vote for any party where a Thakur candidate is in a winning position. Caste will be given preference over party while voting. It seems that Rajnath Singh and Sangeet Som will become active in Western UP, while in Eastern UP, BJP may get the benefit of Thakur votes due to Yogi Adityanath's solidarity with Rajnath Singh.
The comeback of Amar Singh
If Amar Singh and Raja Bhaiya organise aggressive and active campaigns in favour of SP in Western UP, then it may attract Thakur votes from various regions of Central UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal.
Amar Singh is known to be a centre of attraction for the media, so, in this case he would attract the Thakurs not only from the above mentioned regions but also from other regions of UP.
Congress and Thakur concord
Bundelkhand has many Thakur leaders under the Congress umbrella which would help the party to get their share of Thakur votes in the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. Being a socially dominant caste group in Bundelkhand, the Thakurs are believed to be able to influence the elections in their own way. A section of the Thakurs will also incline towards the Congress in Central UP, especially in regions like Raebareli, Amethi, Lucknow.
Thakur influence still prevalent
The influence of Thakurs in the politics of UP is still residual. Socially, their dominance has decreased but still prevails in some regions of the state. With influence in areas of agriculture, service and contractorship, they give birth to attraction as well as repulsion in the polarisation of the votes at the grassroots level.
Due to their influence, often the votes of other castes incline towards the political parties of their affiliation. On the contrary, another possibility could be that the castes that feel let down by the Thakur domination, would not cast votes in their favour.
It remains to be seen what role the Thakur votes would play in the upcoming 2017 UP elections, and what strategy will be adopted by the BJP to lure the Thakur votes.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.
Updated Date: Jun 15, 2016 18:57:47 IST


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IBM is finally leaping into the cloud. The company that once held the market on Windows-based personal computers has purchased UStream, and will be offering live video, cloud-based streaming services.
When UStream started up in 2007, it found a home with a variety of users wanting to experiment in the realm of live video streaming. From college kids playing video games to news crews on the hunt for the next big story (spoiler alert: I did that in 2007), UStream users were the first to really push the boundaries with the live streaming capabilities. The site didn't gain the same traction as TinyChat, Twitch, or LiveStream did with the core younger audience — but UStream has hosted a number of well-known streams including politics, to NASA, and even the Discovery Channel.
Of course, it seems a bit late in the game for IBM to be getting into the video streaming service, but it seems the old dog still has a few new tricks up his sleeve. There is a market that needs to be addressed in the live streaming world, and that is business to business and business to consumer model. UStream's CEO Brad Hunstable explains in a video just how important video is in our day to day lives and how we can use video to reach new clients and talk to our co-workers across the world.
This isn't a surprise to anyone with a connection to the internet, but when you are dealing with a demographic that consists of a generation that probably doesn't work in any technology based field, this sounds shiny and new, and that's Hunstable's selling point as to why you should be excited about UStream, IBM and the cloud.
IBM seems to have a more direct plan behind this acquisition. The company has seen a steady decline in revenue over the last 15 quarters, and is looking at new opportunities to expand its growth. The majority of IBM's revenue comes from its Global Technology Services, and it's finally turning its attention to cloud-based technology, security, mobile, and social services.
According to IBM, there's about $105 billion to be made in the cloud-based video. If they can get the jump on that, it'll be a great niche for Big Blue to move in on.
IBM will be folding in a few other companies they picked up over the years — cloud-video service Clearleap, high-speed file-transfer software Aspera, and limitless storage data company Cleversafe. The new division will be head up by Clearleap's former CEO Braxton Jarrat.
With the UStream deal done and in the books, it seems like IBM is ready to move forward in this new direction. Exactly what the scope remains to be seen, but forward is always a good direction to go in.

subset: commoncrawl


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FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – Another dominant performance was capped with a straight sets victory as the Marian University women's volleyball team swept Concordia University Chicago (25-12, 25-18, 25-16) in Northern Athletics Conference action inside Sadoff Gymnasium, this evening, Oct. 5.
Prior to the match, a few players offered Head Coach Kerri Huebel a token of appreciation in honor of her upcoming Hall of Fame induction, taking place tomorrow evening. That seemed to set the tone as the Sabres put forth tremendous effort en route to a dominating result. Anna Smit led all with 11 kills on 17 attempts, including six kills in the first set alone. Katie Reimer added 28 assists, while eighth Sabres recorded multiple digs.
Marian improved to 13-9 overall, 5-2 in the NAC with the win, while Concordia Chicago dropped to 4-12 (2-5 NAC).
The Sabres cruised to a big lead in the first set as Smit converted all six of her attacks. As a team, Marian hit an incredible .526 from the floor, converting 11 kills on 19 attempts with just one error. The Cougars, on the other hand, finished with a .000 attack percentage. However, at one point CUC cut the deficit to 9-6, but then the Sabres responded with a 16-6 run to close it out.
The second set was just as dominant for the Sabres, while being equally inefficient for the Cougars. Even with a five-point run when facing set point, the Cougars still managed to hit -.029 for the set, committing 10 errors to only nine kills. A Casey Lamberty block put an exclamation point on a 25-18 second set win.
In the third set, Concordia Chicago came to life with the help of Kristin Allen, who recorded the majority of her six kills in the final set. CUC jumped out to a 6-2 lead before a seven-point run gave Marian a 9-6 advantage, one in which they would not relinquish.
The Sabres will be back in action on this Homecoming weekend tomorrow, hosting Dominican in an 11 a.m. NAC tilt.


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A church that is small enough to be family-focused and intergenerational, yet large enough to have relevant ministries for all age groups and both genders.
To make disciples who are drawn into a relationship with Christ, are enfolded
into the fellowship of a local congregation, and are active in ministering to others.
To be an intergenerational church community radically committed to our neighbors; to one-another; to intentional discipleship; and to our community.


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How hot is WeChat in China? When I arrived in Beijing recently, two of the first three people I connected with asked not for my phone number, but instead for my WeChat ID.
Launched in January 2011, WeChat has quickly risen to become one of the world's most popular mobile messaging and social networking platforms. In early July, Martin Lau, president of Tencent, the company behind WeChat, revealed that the app has over 400 million registered users and nearly 200 million monthly active users. What's next for China's homegrown blockbuster, whose rivals include Silicon Valley's WhatsApp, Japan's Line, and Korea's KakaoTalk? Its future hinges on the answer to two questions:
1) Monetization – can Tencent turns WeChat's popularity into profits? AND
2) International growth – can WeChat translate its domestic dominance into global success?
What is WeChat?
WeChat (微信 or weixin in Chinese) began as an instant messenger for mobile devices and has developed into a multi-function mobile communications and social networking platform, or what PandoDaily's Hamish McKenzie refers to as "a social network and uber-communications platform." My contextChina colleague Lilac Peterson recently offered a close look at all of its different features. Here's a quick review: Users have a profile with a picture, can post "moments" to their timeline through a feature similar to that offered by Instagram, can connect with their friends through short voice messages (walkie talkie style), video chat (Skype style), or IMs (WhatsApp style). They can search for new friends through various mechanisms, from the random "shake," which connects you with other users shaking their phone to make new friends, to the integration of your phone contacts with the WeChat platform.
WeChat's popularity is not due solely to its design, but also to the reputation of its designer, Tencent, which is China's most valuable Internet firm by market capitalization. Tencent is most famous for creating QQ, an Internet instant messaging platform with nearly 800 million registered users. WeChat's initial growth was fueled largely by QQ users. Indeed, for the first few months of its existence, a QQ account was the only method by which users could register for a WeChat account. More recently, however, Tencent executives have, in an effort to diversify and internationalize WeChat's user base, opened up new routes of registration, including Facebook, a Weibo account, or a phone number.
Despite the favorable conditions for growth created by Tencent, WeChat has faced its fair share of challenges, including two behemoths in the Chinese Internet realm: 1) China's powerful state-owned telecom operators, who were upset that their SMS fees were being eroded by WeChat's free Internet messaging system; and 2) the wildly popular Sina Weibo, a Chinese social networking platform with over 500 million registered users. How has WeChat fared?
More by contextChina
• Now world's largest smartphone market, can China produce a top global brand?
• China and Cybersecurity: The Other Side of the Story
• China's E-Commerce Market Grows in Size, Importance and Dynamism
• The Significance of Amazon Appstore's launch in China
• China's Reaction to NSA Surveillance Gives Microsoft Reason to Worry
So far, so good. WeChat was able to stave off telecom efforts to lobby regulators to allow them to charge Tencent for its service (Tencent and a few telecoms have now announced new WeChat subscription packages). As for Sina Weibo, Chinese tech site Huxiu recently published the results of a report which indicated that the once vaunted microblogging site's number of users has fallen to a level not seen since the mid-2011 (incensed by Huxiu's report, Sina subsequently banned the publication from using Weibo for a week).
What's next for WeChat? Two new challenges are arguably more daunting than state-owned telecoms and Sina's Weibo: how to turn the free WeChat's popularity into a source of profit, and how to succeed outside China in the highly competitive space of mobile messaging apps.
Tencent currently faces a challenge familiar to many companies in the Internet realm (we're looking at you, Facebook): if you're not charging for your service, how do you make money? WeChat is free to download, free to use, and free of ads. So how does Tencent plan to turn its popularity into profits? The answer to this question is beginning to come into focus: "freemium" games and an online payment service.
Earlier this month, Tencent unveiled the first of its WeChat games, which are free, but also include special features that users can pay to obtain. They are also reportedly developing an online payment service that will be released with upcoming versions of the app. Both of these moves will generate revenue, though whether they can translate WeChat's fame into fortune remains to be seen.
International expansion
As Tencent turns to plans to monetize WeChat, it also continues to engage in a heated competition for global supremacy in the mobile messaging app realm. The company has hired world famous soccer star Lionel Messi as its WeChat spokesman and recently announced that its prized app now has more than 70 million international users. The battle for international dominance in mobile messaging, however, remains very much contested, with WhatsApp from the U.S. and Line from Japan continuing to grow and prosper.
The rap on Chinese Internet companies has long been that their services are so localized that they can't compete abroad. Baidu, the operator of China's most popular search engine, famously tried to take its game to Japan, only to flop. Can WeChat reverse this trend and beat out WhatsApp and Line?
With 70 million international users, it's on its way. Moreover, its appeal cuts across nationalities and socioeconomic classes. Remember those two friends who asked for my WeChat ID when I landed in Beijing? One is an Ivy-league educated American working for a world famous NGO. The other is a middle-school educated Chinese citizen I met back in 2009 while he was selling vegetable kebabs outside my old apartment.
Both of them, though, were in China. Can WeChat replicate this success on our side of the Pacific? That depends – will you use it?
WeChat is available for download in the U.S. on Android and iOS.
Editor's Note: contextChina is a Seattle-based media company following the growing impact of China on the Pacific Northwest across business, technology and policy. You can follow contextChina on Twitter @contextchina.


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Rated 5/5 Stars
Shadow call
This makes a shadow of your making .
You will need the following items for this spell:
- 3 Black candle
- 1 black stone crystal
- 1 white rose
- 1 black rose
Casting Instructions for 'Shadow call'
First put the three black candles in a circle now put the black crystal in the middle and the two roses on both side of each other .
Now look deep with in your mind in the darkest place that you can see . (call out every you want like a bird shadow) now call to it like it was lost with out life , as it grows you get stronger now let it out of your mind and hopefuly its in front of you.
Manon has been a member of the site for 11 years, since Jul 06, 2008
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Our Mission
Technology is changing the way people live and conduct business around the world. CSB Technology Partners is committed to helping our customers use technology to improve their organization and increase their effectiveness with customized solutions that fit their needs.
We provide solid network engineering with trained and experienced local engineers. We use our experience, industry best practices, and our customer's knowledge of their business and environment to create a tailored solution for each customer. We provide personal service by working with each customer at their level of knowledge. We want our customers to understand the technology we are providing so they can better use and support the systems they buy. We know good business is built on relationships, not venture capital. That is why we provide the right solution at the right price.
Ownership Team
As in every great organization, there is a core group of people that make magic happen. The core of CSB Technology Partners include; Timothy A. Maier and Jason E. Moyer.
Please take a moment and read our bios to learn more about us.
Celebrating 10 Years in Business
In 2015, CSB Technology Partners celebrated 10 year in business. Below is a copy of the article from Central Penn Business Journal on this milestone.


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Tie-dye glitter spandex tunic with foil lycra trim. Lined ruched bodice. Attached adjustable strap, arm ties and shortall. Tie-dye may vary. Hairbands included.
Shown: 19 Spice, 44 Teal, 51 Black, 57 Purple
All Clearance sales are final, not returnable or exchangeable, and are not eligible for any additional discounts unless specifically stated in promotion.
Access online ordering and the latest info on products and promotions.


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I created a news satire site in 2002 (ScrappleFace.com) that — thanks to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Glenn Reynolds, James Taranto and others — created a career for me as an author, writer and host of engaging, political, historical and humor shows for PJTV and my own YouTube channel.
PJTV went dark in May 2016. It's a rare blessing to write and co-host more than 2,500 episodes of a single show for nearly eight years with great men like Bill Whittle and Stephen Green. We took a leap of faith, and started self-producing our three-man show (dubbed 'Right Angle') the week after our last PJTV shoot. Subscriptions are growing at twice the previous rate, and members at BillWhittle.com are delighted with the new format and extra, members-only, content.
During my time with PJTV, I also created, wrote and hosted a 20-part series on the Constitution called 'Freedom's Charter with Scott Ott,' created 152 episodes of a satirical newscast called 'PJ News Break with Scott Ott,' and more than 50 episodes of 'Scott Ott Thought.'
Over the years, I've written and published four books of political satire, three of which are available at Amazon. I've run for local office four times and was elected county commissioner in Pennsylvania in 2011, and also served on Republican State Committee. My family now lives in McKinney, Texas, thriving on the beauty, the gracious people and the vibrant growing communities.
Last year, just for fun, I created a weekly, live-streaming talkshow, and then a podcast. I did these primarily to learn how to do it. The learning and the audience have brought me great joy.
Going forward, in addition to working with Bill and Steve at BillWhittle.com and writing for PJMedia, I'm seeking my next great adventure. Here are two collections of recent work on Trifecta — one quickie and one extended play.
Please share with anyone you think might benefit from my gifts. Prospective partners and employers can reach me @Scott_Ott on Twitter, or by email email@example.com


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Lanyards are now commonly used for various reasons. They are used as a marketing tool. They're also used in universities, trade fairs, sporting events, and even during concerts.
But, not all lanyards are the same. You have to choose the right lanyard that is fit for your goals, needs, and style.
Here are the questions that you should answer in choosing the right lanyard:
1.Where will you use it?
In choosing the right lanyard, you should first consider its purpose. What are you going to using it for?
If you'll be using the lanyard as a marketing tool, it will be a great idea to use high-quality materials. Remember that the lanyard will represent your company so you have to choose top of the line materials and come up with a professional-looking design.
If you plan to give away the ID strings to your employees to hold their badge, you should make sure that the laces are professional-looking. You should also choose colors that represent your company. It is also important to print your company logo on the badge.
If you plan to give away the lanyard during a concert, you have to pick a type of lanyard that is fun and represents the personality of the band or the artist. If it's a pop star's concert, you can choose pink or bright-colored variants. If it's a rock concert, you can go for dark-colored ones.
If you are going to use these accessories for a trade fair or conference, it is best to go for those that are professional-looking. It is also best to pick high quality materials as most of the attendees are respected professionals and entrepreneurs.
Also, people who attend sporting events are usually physically active. So, if you are giving it away during a soccer game or any other sporting event, you have to go for durable materials that can withstand moisture and heat.
2. Who will use it?
If you are giving it away to students, you have to choose an inexpensive but durable lanyard. Students love to move around so you have to pick something that will last for the whole school year.
If you are giving it away to employees or business partners, it is best to choose a high-quality and professional-looking lanyard. You can either go for woven polyester or satin. It is also best to use a secure attachment especially for lanyards used to hold company badges.
If you are using the lanyard as a promotional giveaway, you have to ensure that it suits your target market. For example, if you are selling real estate properties, it is important to keep your lanyard design classic and professional. But, if you are selling fashion accessories, you may want to incorporate a fun and trendy design. You could even go for beaded ID strings.
3. What is your budget?
This is a very important question because as mentioned earlier, not all ID strings are the same. In fact, their prices could vary depending on the materials used.
If you have money to burn, you can for expensive ID strings like the ones made of woven polyester or satin. You could also customize the design and add in different colors. But, if you are on a budget, it is best to keep your lanyard design simple. It is also best to stick with cheaper materials like plastic attachments, nylon, and cotton. It is also best to order the lanyards in bulk. This way, you'll get discounts and special prices.
Remember that different lanyards cater to different uses. So, it is best to pick the one that fits your purpose, the taste of your recipients, and your budget.


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Right now you're paying an average of $3.83 a gallon if you're in the Sacramento area. That's about a nickel less than this time last month.
Cynthia Harris with AAA says the auto club's latest survey finds prices throughout Northern California are holding relatively steady…down just a few pennies from June.
"We're starting to see the continuation of a downward trend in the month of July which normally we start to see high peaks in gas price volatility because of a higher demand. Now we still have a higher demand than we did in spring or in winter. But nonetheless, it is stabilized."
Harris says the reason prices are expected to hold steady is that oil refinery production is operating at normal levels.
She points out that could change at any moment if some sort of accident or natural disaster interrupts the flow of oil.


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Contact Mundo Antiguo Spanish school
Here you will find all the contact information for Mundo Antiguo Spanish school in Cusco. Please contact us with all the questions you might have or to request a quote. And come by if you are already in Cusco. Or write us an email to see which programs we have for you. Mundo Antiguo is a small Spanish school in the center of Cusco. Because we are small we can offer you personal attention and flexibility in your program with us. And we can make a customized program for you. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any question you might have! We would be very glad to help you organizing your stay in Peru. We will write you back on the same day or the next business day.
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Telephone: +51 (0)84 225974.
Emergency calls: (+51) 946683111 (calls, messages and WhatsApp)
Address : Calle Triunfo 374, int. 6 Cusco – Perú. Located at only 100 meters from the Plaza de Armas, Cusco's main square. You´ll see the sign on the street which leads you inside to our Spanish school.
Open: visit us or call us during our office hours from Monday to Friday between 9 am and 1 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm, and Saturdays between 10 am and 2 pm local time. Class hours are from 9am to 7pm. Check local time in Peru.E-mail us!
Contact form
Fill-in our contact form below to receive more information about our Spanish courses and accommodation options in Cusco, tours and volunteer work and internship placements. We will write you back within 1 working day.


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Nasturtium Capers
A friend of mine that works at Monticello tipped me off to this fun tasty thing that Thomas Jefferson liked to do with his nasturtiums. It combines two of my favorite things: canning and edible flowers. I may not make these, but I should, since my nasturtiums are growing from heirloom seeds from Thomas Jefferson's collection. Check it out at the Splendid Table!


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To begin with, ask yourself honestly if you're truly ready to start dating again. If you feel the answer is yes, you'll want to decide ahead of time what you're looking for overall. Do you want to just have some fun or do you want a long term relationship? It's important that you know this well ahead of time. Then, the next thing you need to do is share your story with the person you're going out with. Don't lie about your divorce and don't avoid talking about your past. But you also don't want to hog the conversation with all the bad things that have happened to you.
|Show me love!
Work on your confidence level. If you're dating for fun, make sure your date understands this. Don't allow yourself to become too attached to another person too quickly. Instead, just be yourself. If the date goes south, don't let it be the end of the world. Simply move ahead and try again. Lots of divorced people take rejection badly, particularly if their marriage ended because they were cheated on. You must learn not to take things too personally. Let your date see that you're a confident person.
Be picky when you're choosing a date. This is quite important because your dating partner needs to fit in with your personal life goals. If you want to begin a new relationship, you should be sure that you're going out with someone that fits well with what you want in a partner. Avoid starting a serious relationship with anyone that you're not completely interested in or someone that simply doesn't fit in with the goals you have for your future. Don't make the same mistakes you made with your ex. You need to be more particular this time around.
Choose your next dating partner carefully. It's usually a bad idea to try to seriously date someone that you were involved with while your divorce was going on. You might be certain that this is the perfect partner for you, but if they were drawn to you because you were initially unavailable, you may find yourself in an unpleasant situation in the future with this person as they may cheat on you. Just take your time when you're seriously looking for someone that you can rebuild your life with.
There is life and romance after divorce. You just need to be serious about getting out there and finding it.
Ps. after a BREAK UP or
DIVORCE…or in the middle of a separation.
So…let me help you…The Magic Second Chance Letter!


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Privacy Policy
Which data do we collect?
When you sign up for a course or class at Swing in Rhythm, we ask for the following information:
• Name
• Telephone number
• E-mail address
Why do we need your data?
The personal data we collect is for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is for the registration of courses, so teachers can have a list of names of students, and we can use the emails to send recaps of the classes. We also occasionally send out emails to all the students regarding special workshops or events.
Secondly, we keep a record of the history of courses that our students have taken for our administration. We have been keeping this information since Spring 2016.
Share with others
All of the Swing in Rhythm teachers have access to this information, but we do not share it with anybody else.
Look into, adjust or delete your data
Update August, 2018
Update from August, 2018
The registrations for the lessons are managed by LindyPlus for us. Read more about their privacy policy here: https://lindy.plus/privacy


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Kenyan police fired teargas on Tuesday at supporters of President Uhuru Kenyatta who were protesting outside the Supreme Court against the invalidation of his Aug. 8 re-election, Reuters witnesses said.
The Supreme Court nullified the presidential election on Sept. 1 and ordered the electoral body to hold a repeat vote within 60 days. The court, which issued a majority judgment, said there were irregularities in tallying results of the poll.
David Maraga, the chief justice and president of the Supreme Court, said threats against judicial staff had risen since the ruling.
"Since the Supreme Court delivered judgment … these threats have become more aggressive," Maraga told a news conference at the Supreme Court, as hundreds of protesters wearing the bright red of Kenyatta's Jubilee party gathered outside.
He cited the demonstrations outside the court as an example of the rising threats, and threatening messages sent on social media to individual judges and their staff.
"Senior political leaders have also threatened the judiciary, promising 'to cut it down to size' and 'teach us a lesson'," Maraga said, adding that judges would not be intimidated by anyone and were ready to pay the "ultimate price" to protect the constitution and rule of law.
Maraga accused the inspector general of police of "repeatedly ignoring calls to act, exposing judicial officers, property and litigants to danger".
George Kinoti, the national police spokesman, said they were waiting for details of the chief justice's criticism before responding.
The protesters waved placards and shouted slogans against the judiciary and Maraga himself.
"I have attended this protest to air my grievances after the Supreme Court annulled my candidate's victory," one of the protesters told Reuters.
There was a commotion after the teargas was fired, before the protesters regrouped and continued with their protest outside the court building. They were eventually dispersed by further rounds of teargas.
The Supreme Court, which gave a summary of its findings when it invalidated Kenyatta's election victory, said it would read its detailed ruling on Wednesday at 0700 GMT.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who lost by 1.4 million votes to Kenyatta in the annulled poll, has said he will not take part in a repeat vote scheduled for Oct. 17, unless some staff at the electoral commission are fired, among other demands.
The heads of Western diplomatic missions in Kenya, including those of the European Union, the United States and Britain, urged Kenyan leaders to avoid comments that could incite hatred and violence.
"Now is the time to focus on preparing for the new poll, which, in line with the Court's order and the Constitution, must be run by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and be held by the end of October," they said in a joint statement.


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It is no longer necessary to "Unlock" the MED17 ecu's found in most 2010-Present VW and Audi vehicles on the bench.
We can now flash all ecu's through the OBD port. Ecu removal is no longer required.
Customers who purchase Maestro, or the end user flash package can do this as well.


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When Lane Nemeth, who founded Discovery Toys in 1978 and sold the company to Avon two decades later, decided to start a pet products company a few years ago, one of the first things she did was to look for regulations about how to manufacture pet toys safely.
She could not find any.
"It was totally shocking," said Ms. Nemeth, whose company, Petlane, sells items like doggie tiaras and squirrel-shaped chew toys. "I was stunned because I had come from such a highly regulated industry to one that has no regulations."
After the pet food contamination this year, which is believed to have caused the deaths of at least 300 dogs and cats, and a spate of children's toy recalls, which highlighted the problem of lead in products from China, pet owners have been stepping forward to ask: How safe are pet toys?
"We get e-mails literally every day from people across the country saying, 'Hey, we note your product is made in China — is it still safe for my dog or cat?' " said Gerry Brostek, chief executive of Penn-Plax Plastics, which manufactures toys under brands like Rruff Stuff and Purr-Pet. A year ago, he said, pet owners rarely inquired about safety.
Although the concerns are different when it comes to pets — if a golden retriever loses a few I.Q. points, will anyone notice? — the inquiries have continued to pour in during the Christmas season, when people are most likely to buy pet toys. According to the American Pet Products Association, 56 percent of dog owners and 42 percent of cat owners buy their pets toys or other treats for Christmas, in an industry with $40 billion in annual sales.Continue reading the main story
So far, there does not seem to be any cause for serious concern. Some companies, like PetSmart, do test their products for lead, and some individual dog lovers have taken matters into their own hands (call them the helicopter parents of the pet set), but nobody has stepped forward to report egregious problems.
"Is there a risk to pet owners and their children who come into contact with these toys that these dogs have been slobbering on?" asked James R. Hood, who runs a Web site, ConsumerAffairs.com, that recently sent dog toys purchased from Wal-Mart to a lab that found trace levels of lead and other toxins. (Wal-Mart responded in a statement that the levels the lab found were "barely traceable" and that its own testing found the toys safe.)
"A lot more lead will come off something when it's wet and it has been partially digested in a pet's mouth," Mr. Hood said. "There should be standards to protect humans first, and we need to find out what level is safe in this application. Somebody needs to look into this issue."
Such initiative is unlikely to come from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, whose lack of resources was an issue during the recent toy recalls. In its 34-year history, the commission has never recalled a pet toy because it was deemed hazardous.
"We do not have jurisdiction over pet toys or pet products," said Scott Wolfson, a commission spokesman. "Our jurisdiction would only come into play if we found that a pet toy or pet product was causing physical harm to the owner."
Lead is dangerous to animals as well as people. According to the Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health, many species are susceptible to lead poisoning, but it is most common among birds and dogs, who, like children, face higher risks in older homes with lead paint. Symptoms of lead poisoning in dogs include "hysterical barking," vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and blindness.
And many pet owners do worry about their animal's mental faculties. One product sold by Petlane is described this way: "The Hide-A-Squirrel will not only keep dogs occupied and eliminate boredom, but it also develops a dog's intelligence and puzzle-solving skills."
Nancy Rogers, who has had three dogs that died in the last four years — one from kidney problems, one from liver failure, and one from cancer — said she thinks twice about what she gives her dogs today. Ms. Rogers, 57, a registered nurse from Orland Park, Ill., said she recently checked and found all of her dog toys had "Made in China" labels.
After going to a Petco and searching in vain for toys made elsewhere, Ms. Rogers purchased 24 toys from Petco and PetSmart and had them tested for lead at a lab at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. All were found to fall below the federally regulated children's toy lead-content limit of 600 parts per million. (The American Academy of Pediatrics wants the limit reduced to 40 parts per million.)
"I'm concerned that we don't have any standards, but the levels were well below the lead point limit for children, and I thought that was good," said Ms. Rogers, who paid $192 for the tests.
The lab found the most lead in a PetSmart-brand tennis ball, which had 336 parts per million of lead. Jennifer Ericsson, a PetSmart spokeswoman, said that even before safety concerns were raised, the company happened to be in the process of switching tennis ball manufacturers and had been vigilant after the children's toy recalls.
"There's no cause for concern," Ms. Ericsson said. "We proactively test representative samplings of all our products and have even heightened our testing with all the news reports."
Toys often carry warnings that they should not be left with unsupervised pets and should be discarded at first sign of damage.
Dogs tend to "eat first and think later," said Bernadine Cruz, a veterinarian from Laguna Hills, Calif. "I always tell new pet parents that if you thought it was difficult to childproof your house, it's even more difficult to pet-proof your house because it's more likely your dog will chew on electrical cords and toxic plants."
Parents have nothing on pet owners when it comes to fretting: the term "pet food recall" was searched on the Internet more than twice as frequently as "toy recall" during those respective commotions, according to Hitwise, which tracks Web use.
The lack of lead-paint restrictions for pet toys was the subject of television news reports and discussions on pet blogs like Pet Connection, Itchmo and Dogster. Web sites for home lead-testing kits started recommending their products for pet toys.
"When the pet food issue hit, you started getting a little bit of noise, but once the toy recalls kicked in, it really ramped up," said Mr. Brostek of Penn-Plax Plastics.
Robert L. Vetere, president of the Pet Products Manufacturing Association, said that manufacturers were "ramping up on quality control" and reviewing their lists of factories, many of them also makers of children's toys.
The pet industry is unlikely to seek mandatory federal guidelines. "You never invite yourself to be handcuffed and regulated," Mr. Vetere said.
But Ms. Nemeth, the children's industry veteran who now owns Petlane, said she would welcome such oversight. "If lead paint is dangerous for children," she said, "it's more dangerous for animals because they're absolutely going to put it in their mouth."Continue reading the main story


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Riveting reading
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
This is a high paced book that grabs your attention and then grips you from the first page to the very end.
Spike allows readers to join him on board a working Crab boat, giving an insight into what only a few experience.
It tells of the danger, loneliness and sometimes sheer waste of money, time and lives in what is the most dangerous working environment known to earth.
A worthwhile read for anyone who wants to escape the drudgery of their everyday lives.
Pages: 280
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Spike Walker
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Hardcover
I bought this book over the weekend and literally could NOT put it down. (And this is a long book!) What a great read!!!!
Where do I start? Maybe where "Five Families" starts, expertly tracing the Mob's history from 19th-Century Sicily to modern-day America.
All the major players are covered in colorful detail. From to Lucky Luciano to John Gotti, this book brings them back to life and takes the reader on an engrossing and great ride!
Pages: 784
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Selwyn Raab
One theory behind European ascendancy.
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
Outstanding thesis: The West isn't fundamentally different from any other civilization in history -- not braver, not better. Like everyone else, we kicked but to get what we wanted. We just did it better than everyone else, at least we have over the recent millennium. He poses an explanation of why we were able to do that. He attributes it to a combination of nine characteristics of Western culture that usually were not found together in other cultures, and certainly not as consistently as in the West: freedom, civic militarism, decisive battle (as opposed to ritualistic battle), technology, capitalism, discipline, civil control over military operations, free speech and dissent, and constitutional government.
A most interesting read (albeit a bent towards Eurocentrism probably makes it easier to accept).
Pages: 544
Publisher: Anchor
Victor Hanson
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
Star girl is such a good book!! It shows how mean teenage girls can be and how the world of teenagers is so materialized! I loved it!! It was quite an eye-opener for me... I realized that to be cool, you need to be yourself!! I think that if stargirl was a realy girl, she would be ever sooo awesome!! But it would be like in the book, nobody would really accept her. It's very well written and I would reccomend it to anybody!!!
Pages: 208
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Jerry Spinelli
Another excellent book
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
I'm a data base developer inching towards deploying data to web pages. I make no pretence of design skills and all of Robin's books have been of enormous help to me. This book would be worth the price for the images alone, but the brief discussions of technique are also valuable. She uses example of pages prepared using several tools, including PhotoShop, DreamnWeaver, GoLive and ImageReady. None of the examples are particularly dependent of which software is used. The good stuff just pours out of her...The copy I have of this book has a very different cover (the ISBN number is the same)... a large multi-hued letter W. Perhaps it's a second edition, or a last minute design change. The copyright is 2002; the authors are the same. Get it!
Pages: 288
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Robin Williams
John Tollett
Dave Rohr
He's Ba-ack!
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
After the rather strange last book in the Badge of Honor series (the time warp) it is great that this one is vintage Griffin. Mr. G., however, has developed a sort of annoying new thing. He does an awful lot of (a) and (b). That is, something like, "we'll attack Pyongyang because (a) it's the enemy capital and (b) it just feels right". A little of the (a) and (b) treatment, you will see, goes an awfully long way.
And one other bothersome thing - other than too many Ernies - is that he forgot Patricia Pickering's name and refers to her as Patricia Fleming. All that aside, it was a very readable W.E.B. Griffin novel and it seems to leave room for a sequel.
Pages: 640
Publisher: Jove
W. E. B. Griffin
May we someday understand what our Veterns did for us.
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
I've had people tell me that this book reads like a History book. Maybe so , but it's a history book the average citizen can understand.Eric writes about a Division (the 25th) that unless you are a vet,very few people know of. This division didn't receive the aclaim that others did , but should have. They fought bravely in an area north west of Sigon known as War Zone C which included the dreaded Iron Trangle,Hobo Woods, and along the Cambodian border. This Division suffered some of the highest casualties of the war.(5000+) The vets Eric interviewed were real grunts. They told their story as it was when they were there. They didn't try to make themselves look like hero's, they talked about the fear, the loneleness,the good times, and the times they cried when they lost a buddie. If you want to read a good book that covers the Vietnam War from begining to end (10 yrs)this is it.
Pages: 328
Publisher: Penguin Books
Eric M. Bergerud
A Must Read for FMSers!
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Paperback
This book is very well written and easy to understand, which is important for Fibromyalgics suffering from Fibrofog. Dr. St. Amand has had great success for many years treating his patients using the protocol that he developed. The protocol is clearly outlined in the book, and if followed strictly, promises to reverse most of the symptoms over time. Having read the book and started the protocol almost a year ago, I highly recommend it anyone suffering from Fibromyalgia who wants to get better and enjoy more of life.
Pages: 416
Publisher: Warner Books
Claudia Craig Marek
I loved this one!
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Hardcover
I just wanted to say that I have read everyone of Michael's books and am thrilled with this one. I didn't like Prey, and I thought Timeline was a little iffy, but this one not only kept me on the edge of my seat, but it also opened up my generally liberal minded brain to the idea that natural disasters are not all being caused by SUV's. I'm not referring to someone intentionally causing a flood, rather I am referring to the idea that ice ages have come and gone before in the history of the earth long before we started burning fossil fuels. It never dawned on me that some of the impending doom environmental issues were natural and not necessarily being furthered by current administration decisions I don't agree with. I'm not about to stop supporting environmental efforts, but this book does make a strong arguement that I had never before considered.
Pages: 603
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Michael Crichton
Not just for Romance readers!
Rating: 5/5
Binding: Hardcover
An excellent read! Nora Roberts shows that she can write quite competently outside of her usual romance genre. As per usual Robert's style, her characters are well written and multi-dimensional. She does well with sustaining the mystery and intensity surrounding the murder investigation. Even the sex scenes were crisped up to appeal to both men and women without resorting to what my husband calls "a dose of sap and silk". But it is her accurate and lush description of the Alaskan scenery that makes this former tourist want to go back and stay awhile. Give it a chance even if a standard Nora Roberts romance novel isn't your thing. You'll be suprised but not disappointed.
Pages: 562
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
Nora Roberts


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The Reference Desk will close at 5 PM on Tuesday, February 23, 2016. If you need research assistance, please email firstname.lastname@example.com. A Reference Librarian will respond on Wednesday morning.
Monthly Archives: February 2016
SCOTUS blog: Supreme Court vacancy on Scalia's Death
SCOTUS blog has a special section to news relating to Justice Antonin Scalia's death this past Saturday, and President Obama's possible Supreme Court nominees. Read the blog posts here.
Bluebook Revision Wars
From the Washington Post, Feb. 9, 2016:
"War is brewing over the most boring piece of intellectual property imaginable: the "Bluebook," the 580-page quasi-authoritative source of proper legal citation formats published by the Harvard Law Review, described by Adam Liptak of the New York Times a few months ago as "a comically elaborate thicket of random and counterintuitive rules about how to cite judicial decisions, law review articles and the like [that] is both grotesque and indispensable.
Students at NYU Law School have prepared a new, streamlined, open-access citation system and gotten it ready for publication…"


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I had a wonderful time helping Molly with the design of her wedding cake and dessert table. The colorful cake was inspired by traditional mexican crafts including paper flowers, Talavera tiles and "papel picado". All unique hand made decorations were created in sugar paste.
See link bellow with some great pictures of Molly and Gustavo special day!


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Silver Fused and Crocheted necklace
Silver Fused and Crocheted necklace
This necklace is a fun variation of our Free Crochet Bracelet Class. We started off by fusing some 14 gauge Fine Silver wire into a square shape and then crocheted some 26 gauge sterling silver wire for the inside. This necklace has a lot of texture, dimension and beauty. Mix and match your metals to get an even bolder look!
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Start with 14 gauge Fine Silver. It is possible to make it thicker, but we would not recommend going any thinner than 14 gauge, because the frame might not be strong enough to hold the shape.
- Bend the wire into a square shape. Then check out our Introduction to Fine Silver Fusing class, and fuse the shape together.
- Next take chain nose pliers and make sure the shape is just right. Angle the corners and straighten up the frame to ensure that it is crisp and angular (this is important because the corners will round out as the metal is texturized and hammered out).
- Next use a chasing hammer to hammer out the silver. This will flatten out and texturize the shape. It will also work-harden the metal, since after fusing, metal gets very soft and malleable.
- Set the fine silver frame aside. Then take 26 gauge wire and check out our FREE: Crochet Bracelet class.
- Leave a portion of wire (approximately 12 inches) at the start. This will be useful when attaching the finished crocheted section to the frame. Crochet a square shape that is smaller than the fused frame. This way the crocheted section will stretch into place.
- Leave a 12-15 inch section of wire at the end of the crocheted square. Make sure to finish off at the diagonal corner from the starting point. This way the two excess wires are evenly spaced in opposite corners of the frame.
- Take one wire and loop it through both the frame and the crochet piece. Continue to loop "stitch" the wire until two sides of the frame are complete. Double loop it at the end and pinch it close to the frame, then cut the wire. Pick up the other wire to loop "stitch" the other two sides. After cutting and looping the last of the wire around the frame, take two jump rings and attach the chain to finish the piece.
Soldering Starter Kit - $89.99 - Even though we used fusing to complete our square frame, the Soldering Kit includes much of what you will need to fuse; pretty much everything is necessary except the soldering paste.
26g Sterling Silver Round, Dead Soft Wire -1/2 oz (~38.5 ft) - $23.58 - Sterling Silver is great to crochet with since it is nice and maleable, but other metals, like silver fill and copper will work as well.
This item does not have any reviews yet.


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Oracle set to release critical patch update
Oracle is scheduled to release its quarterly critical patch update today, with some 88 fixes across all its product lines.
The most critical issues are in Fusion Middleware, followed by Oracle Database and Sun products. This patch is larger than the last one in January, which had 78 fixes. There are six fixes withing Oracle Database Server, including three that could remotely exploited without authentication. Components affected include Application Express and Oracle Spatial. There are 11 fixes for Fusion Middleware, nine of which could be remotely exploited without authentication. Components affected include BI Publisher, Identity Manager and Oracle JDeveloper. There are 15 fixes for Sun products, including five which could be remotely exploited without authentication. Components affected include Solaris, Sparc M-series servers, and GlassFish.
- 6 for Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control
- 4 for Oracle E-Business Suite
- 5 for Oracle Supply Chain products
- 15 for PeopleSoft
- 2 for Oracle Industry Applications
- 17 for Oracle financial services software
- 1 for Primavera
- 6 for MySQL
But does it matter? Do you bother to implement patches as soon as they come out, or are there other steps involved before you do that? Let us know in the comments.


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Miss California's Outstanding Teen Kicks off Preliminaries
Teen contestants awarded scholarships
Miss California's Outstanding Teen competition began Wednesday, with Miss Anaheim's Outstanding Teen Cameron Doan taking the Preliminary Talent Award. Cameron performed an energetic baton routine to "The Greatest Showman" and receives a $500 scholarship courtesy of the Preliminary Pageant Association.
Wrapping up the evening's competition, Miss Yorba Linda's Outstanding Teen Ava Siniscalchi received top honors in the Evening Wear/On Stage Question portion, receiving a $300 scholarship sponsored by the Preliminary Pageant Association.
This evening in Miss California competition, the Alpha Group will compete in On Stage Question, the Beta Group will compete in Swimsuit & Evening Wear categories, and the Gamma Group will compete in the Talent competition. In the final night of Miss California's Outstanding Teen preliminary competition, the Omega Group will compete in both Talent and Physical Fitness, while the Tau Group will compete in the Evening Wear/On Stage Question portion.
Along with their respective scholarship, each of our preliminary award winners received trophies commemorating their achievement. The Miss California Organization thanks our sponsor California Trophy for their generous contribution to our program.
Join us at MissCalifornia.org beginning at 7 PM PDT for tonight's preliminaries streamed free courtesy of our partners CBS 47, Nexstar Entertainment, and Live Light Technologies.
All Photos Courtesy of Doug Hikawa


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Just Skip Precession
Precession is an effect angular momentum has on a rotating object. It's pretty neat stuff because its consequences seem so strange. It's why tops appear to wobble and boomerangs come back.
A lot of people bring up precession when discussing seasons. This is because the earth is rotating, so it too experiences precession. However, this is not the cause for seasons but a consequence of the cause--tilt. Because the earth is tilted, the length of the day changes as the earth goes around the sun. The length of the day changes the amount of light the earth gets; the amount of light the earth gets affects temperature, an effect we call seasons.
The connection between light absorption and temperature is really important but doesn't get much emphasis. To understand global warming, you first have to grasp this concept. Yet for some reason, precession, an obscure fact related to angular momentum, gets thrown in while explaining seasons. Sure, it's a consequence of tilt, which is the cause for seasons, but it just confuses someone who is trying to grasp the concept that the earth is sideways.
Then, on top of it, people try to use tops as a metaphor to explain precession. Tops precess at about 1 Hz, unlike Earth, which precesses at 8.11012998 × 10^-11 Hz. So then people get confused because you just told them the earth is sideways and then tossed in counter-intuitive facts about angular momentum with a confusing metaphor to explain them. Just skip precession. You can cover it when you discuss momentum. If you're not discussing angular momentum, it's not important.


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After eating lots of lobsters in Maine, we boarded the high speed CAT FERRY, to Nova Scotia. The boat holds 750 people and 250 vehicles and it moves...45-50 mph!!! It was a foggy day so wee didn't see anything but the huge 'roostertails' behind the vessel. They showed movies, and had a small casino, a resturant and a bar on board.The morning of our crossing,I was a little nervous as I noticed that my passport had expired in April! As we sailed accross the Atlantic, I figured even if we got turned around at the border, at least Nancy got her ferry boat ride...But it all came to pass, as customs and immigration said nothing about it and we had a great time up there!
Nova Scotia is kind of like Maine without all the outlet malls and traffic. Very nice. We went whale watching on a small Zodiac boat, nine of us dressed in survival life suits, zipping around the Bay of Fundy for 3 hours looking for whales! Kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack! Saw one small Minke whale for 2 seconds, so I was told.
Lots of camping out and eating seafood, it was cool...finished up with two days in Halifax which was a hip city only a short bus and ferry ride from the campground for $1.75. "The Buskers Festival" was going on when we arrived which was kind of like a street circus. No Blues guy's, lots of fire eaters and jugglers.
After a week of being tourists, we ferried back to Bar Harbour, ate more losters and then Nancy flew home. It was a great Summer that we will never forget!
I drove West for 3 days to Lebenon, OH doing about 300 miles a day, to visit friends before flying home for a few weeks. That Saurday, my Florida buddies, Liz Pennock & Dr.Blues were doing a gig nearbye so we surprised them and had a fun evening at the club. What a small world we live in.
Nice to be home in St.Pete with Nancy. She started school last week and her kids begin classes tomorrow. Her first time teaching Autistic children grade k-1 and 2.
It's hot as blazes down here in Florida, but I'll be back on the road in a few weeks. The Fall tour is booked up pretty good and I'm looking forward to touring West to Kansas and Oklahoma, South to Texas, Louisianna and Alabama and then North to Tennessee & NC and finally up to THE FUR PEACE RANCH.
The first week of October, I will stop in at THE NATIONAL STORYTELLING FESTIVAL, in Jonesboro TN, before playing THE DOWN HOME, in Johnson City. I love that event and look forward to seeing some old friends and hearing some new stories!
Well, that sums up whats up with me....Hope everones doing good...and that I'll see ya on the road...
Bye For Now,


text: July 16, 2018 Tips to Write The Best Term Paper When you finally become a college student, one of the tasks you cannot escape is term paper writing. And this is one daunting task that new and old students dread. According to termpapereasy, your term paper assignment is an opportunity for you to impress your professor and earn good grades….


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ESPN Stephen A. Smith went on First Take this morning to discuss the Thursday matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals. And while both teams are struggling, Stephen A. calls this game a must-win for the Cardinals. Learn his take in the video below as he had this to say:
Week 5 Preview: San Francisco 49ers v. Arizona Cardinals


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What the Church needs: Community
My Experience at Hope for Wholeness's Annual Conference
By Mark Buzard, Lisbon OH
If you have ever gone on any kind of Christian retreat or stayed at a Christian camp, I believe that is a bit what community looks like, though more than that. When I think about church community, I envision Christians being more involved with each other, really caring about each other, taking care of each other, and being around each other outside of the church walls.F
I go to church Sunday morning and Sunday evening. I usually speak to a few people and carry on some conversation, usually with the same people. (We do tend to have our cliques.) I don't go to church on Wednesday evenings for reasons I won't share here, so most of the 52 weeks of the year, I only see my fellow church attendees on Sundays. There is no deep conversation, no sharing, no personal time.
I have a problem with that. We need fellowship, not just a few brief conversations in passing while at church for worship services. As a single guy, I may feel that void more than married people, and have less chances of filling that void; though I am sure married people may feel the same way.
The last two summers, I was able to experience a time of real community. Hope for Wholeness is a ministry/network for men and women dealing with unwanted same-sex attractions. I am one of those with same-sex attractions, that Hope for Wholeness ministers to.
They have a 4-day conference in June, and I was fortunate enough to go the last two years. What an amazing time.
Imagine you have a secret you want no one to know about. You hide it for years, afraid people will find out and condemn and ostracize you. Now imagine being at a conference center surrounded by people who have the same secret or struggle, or are family members of someone who has the same secret. It is amazing and freeing!
I found the times of worship helpful and very encouraging. The speakers, and the workshops were worth going for, and it was profitable to my soul and Christian walk to be a part of. I don't want to minimize those blessings and what they did for me. Those things are not the most memorable parts of the conference for me though.
If you have never had a major struggle such as mine, then you cannot imagine sitting down at a table with 8-9 guys who have the same struggle. You can't imagine what it is like to be able to freely discuss your struggles and your story, to hear their struggles and story, and have no fear of being condemned, judged, or ostracized. To look around at the tables full of people just like you: messed up people, broken people, imperfect people, people with no masks.
Every afternoon before supper, there were different groups you could go to. The group I participated in was for men only and met on the large porch of one of the conference buildings. There were usually at least 30 or so guys sitting in a circle. There was a leader that facilitated the group. Men openly shared their struggles, their past. Some had lived the gay lifestyle, some were married and cheated on their spouse with another man. One man had started the transgender process and then became a Christian,
There were times we'd gather around and pray for a man after he brokenly confessed how discouraged and how he was hurting. Hugs were freely given and words of encouragement were shared. This was community like I had never experienced! This was sharing, caring, and loving on a level I had never had among Christian brothers.
I've stood by while people joked about gay people. I've heard the hateful comments, even from Christians. I had a friend lean up to me in church after a speaker mentioned the issue and tell me that "they should just hang all those homos."
I've sat in the pew for years needing love and encouragement, deathly afraid people would find out my secret. I was lonely, scared, hurting, confused, and working overtime to appear "normal" to everyone. I'd hear people's prayer requests and knew I could never stand up and request prayer for THAT.
But at this conference, there was none of that! Masks were left off campus. New friends were made, friends who could relate to what I deal with, friends who weren't afraid they'd catch something. I had no fears of praying about my struggles and someone hearing.didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back to wearing a mask, having superficial conversations with Christian brothers and sisters who I only see at church on Sundays. I want more! I need more! I got a taste of true community that I never had at any church or campground. People had time for each other, people were honest and open and caring with no need for masks.
Mine has pretty much been ripped off out of weariness of wearing it, and thanks to Hope for Wholeness.
Thanks to Facebook, I can continue to engage with this community of the men and womenmet there, and by way of Hope for Wholeness's Facebook groups, I can share, ask for prayer, and pray for them.
This is a "life changing event," as they say it is. I hope you will join me in June at Jesus Above All, this year's HFW Conference theme. I can't wait! And consider joining us on Facebook. I'm thankful for Hope for Wholeness, the conference, and the groups. I'm thankful it provides me with encouragement and community.


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After having disappeared mysteriously for a month (I got caught up with work amongst other things), the girl is back in the kitchen. This time, she is back experimenting with sumac and lamb chops. Some of you may be wondering "what the heck is sumac?". So before I digress into the finer details of the recipe, let me give you a brief description of what sumac is, its origins, and more importantly, why you should have it in your spice cabinet!
Sumac is one of the most ancient spices that one should readily have at their disposal
The sumac bush, native to the Middle East, produces deep red berries, which are dried and ground into coarse powder. While it's less common, the berries may also be sold whole. Ground sumac is a versatile spice with a tangy lemony flavor, although more balanced and less tart than lemon juice. A small sprinkle also adds a beautiful pop of color to any dish.
Sumac is a widely used, essential spice in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cooking. It's used in everything from dry rubs, marinades, and dressing. But its best use is sprinkled over food before serving.
It's great over vegetables, grilled lamb, chicken and fish. Ground sumac also makes a nice, flavorful topping on dips like hummus.
Thanks to the recommendation from my Iranian friend (who I highly respect when it comes to the culinary scene), I've decided to experiment with sumac and grilled lamb chops tonight. Given how busy I am, in order to save time, I opted to create a quick and simple lemon pea mash as a side. The two complement each other harmoniously, both in flavours and in colours.
INGREDIENTS: (serves one)
- 2 lamb cutlets
- 2 teaspoons of sumac
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 knob of butter
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- Sea salt
- Place cutlets in a non-reactive bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and generously sprinkle sumac, garlic powder, and salt all over.
- Cook the peas in a saucepan of boiling water (~1.5 cups) and boil for roughly 10 minutes until soft. Stir in the knob of butter, the lemon juice, and a dash of sea salt.
3. With a potato masher or fork, lightly crush the pea mixture until it resembles a mash.
4. Meanwhile, coat a cast iron pan with olive oil and turn the hob to a high heat. Pan-fry the lamb chops 2-3 minutes on both sides depending on how well done you like your lamb. Cover with foil and set aside for 5 minutes to rest.
5. Layer the pea mash on a plate and stack the lamb chops neatly on top. Serve immediately.


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|Top Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
|Top people associated with San Francisco
|Caspar Weinberger
|In office
January 21, 1981 – November 23, 1987
|Ronald Reagan
|Preceded by
|Harold Brown
|Succeeded by
|Frank Carlucci
|In office
February 12, 1973 – August 8, 1975
|Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford
|Preceded by
|Elliot Lee Richardson
|Succeeded by
|Forrest David Mathews
|In office
June 12, 1972 – February 1, 1973
|Richard Nixon
|Preceded by
|George P. Shultz
|Succeeded by
|Roy Ash
|August 18, 1917
San Francisco, California, USA
|March 28, 2006 (aged 88)
Bangor, Maine, USA
|Political party
|Jane Weinberger
|Alma mater
|Harvard College (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
|Military service
|United States Army
|41st Infantry Division
|World War II
Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006), was an American politician, vice president and general counsel of Bechtel Corporation, and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. He is also known for his role in the Strategic Defense Initiative and the Iran-Contra Affair.
Weinberger was born in San Francisco, the younger of two sons of Herman Weinberger, a Colorado-born lawyer. His stepmother,[citation needed] the former Cerise Carpenter Hampson, was an accomplished violinist whose parents were immigrants from England.[1] Weinberger was named "Caspar" for a friend of his mother's; his father began calling him "Cap", a nickname that stuck into adulthood.
Weinberger was a first stepcousin of the nationally-broadcast radio personality Don McNeill of Don McNeill's Breakfast Club; their mothers were sisters.[citation needed] Weinberger was a sickly child and required close nurturing from his mother; in time, he overcame his poor health and shyness.
Weinberger's paternal grandparents had left Judaism because of a dispute at a Czech synagogue. His stepmother[citation needed] was of Christian heritage. He was reared in a home with no denominational ties, though with a general Christian orientation. In time he became an active Episcopalian and often expressed his faith in God.[2] When he enrolled at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Mrs. Weinberger rented an apartment nearby for the first semester that Weinberger and his older brother, Peter, attended Harvard. She then returned to her husband in San Francisco. Weinberger received his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in 1938 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1941, both from Harvard. He edited the Harvard student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, and recalls in his memoirs entitled In the Arena: A Memoir of the 20th Century two specific interviews of which he was most pleased: one with the highly decorated soldier Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and another with Alabama-born actress Tallulah Bankhead.
He entered the United States Army as a private in 1941, was commissioned as a second lieutenant at the United States Army Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia, and served with the 41st Infantry Division in the Pacific. At the end of the war he was a captain on General Douglas MacArthur's intelligence staff. Early in life, he developed an interest in politics and history, and, during the war years, a special admiration for Winston Churchill, whom he would later cite as an important influence in his life. From 1945-1947, Weinberger worked as a law clerk for a federal judge before joining a San Francisco law firm.
Weinberger entered the race for California assmeblyman in the San Francisco Bay area in 1952 at the persuasion of his wife, Jane Weinberger,[3] who also served as his campaign manager.[4] He won election to the California State Assembly in 1952 and reelection in 1954 and 1956. As the Chairman of the Assembly Government Organization Committee, Weinberger was responsible for the creation of the California Department of Water Resources and was instrumental in the creation of the California State Water Project. Although unsuccessful in his 1958 campaign for California Attorney General, Weinberger continued to be active in politics and was chosen by Nixon in 1962 to become chairman of the California Republican Party.
Governor Ronald Reagan named him chairman of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy in 1967 and appointed him State director of finance early in 1968. Weinberger moved to Washington in January 1970 to become chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. He subsequently served under President Richard Nixon as deputy director (1970–1972) and director (1972–1973) of the Office of Management and Budget and Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1973–1975). While serving the Office of Management and Budget, Weinberger earned the nickname "Cap the Knife" for his cost-cutting ability. For the next five years, Weinberger was vice president and general counsel of the Bechtel Corporation in California.
Although not widely experienced in defense matters, Weinberger had a reputation in Washington as an able administrator; his powers as a cost cutter earned him the sobriquet "Cap the Knife." He shared President Reagan's conviction that the Soviet Union posed a serious threat to the United States, and that the defense establishment needed to be modernized and strengthened. Belying his nickname, at the Pentagon Weinberger became a vigorous advocate of Reagan's plan to increase the Department of Defense budget. Readiness, sustainability, and modernization became the watchwords of the defense program. In his early years at the Pentagon, Cap Weinberger was known as "Cap the Ladle" for advocating large increases in defense spending.
As Secretary of Defense, Weinberger oversaw a massive rebuilding of US military strength. Major defense programs he championed included the B-1B bomber and the "600-ship Navy". His efforts created economic and military-industrial pressures that were associated with the beginning of Perestroika and the beginning of the end of both the Cold War and the Soviet Union.[citation needed]However this thesis was not confirmed by the extensive study on the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union by two prominent economists from the World Bank- William Easterly and Stanley Fischer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "… the study concludes that the increased Soviet defense spending provoked by Mr. Reagan's policies was not the straw that broke the back of the Evil Empire. The Afghan war and the Soviet response to Mr. Reagan's Star Wars program caused only a relatively small rise in defense costs. And the defense effort throughout the period from 1960 to 1987 contributed only marginally to economic decline." [5]
While these events were clearly substantial and world-changing, they came at the cost of helping to triple the national debt. Weinberger pushed for dramatic increases in the United States' nuclear weapons arsenal and was a strong advocate of the controversial Strategic Defense Initiative, an initiative which proposed a space and ground-based missile defense shield.[citation needed]
In response to the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, President Reagan assembled his national security team and planned to target the Sheik Abdullah barracks in Baalbek, Lebanon, which housed Iranian Revolutionary Guards believed to be training Hezbollah fighters. However Weinberger said there would be no change in the US's Lebanon policy and aborted the mission, reportedly because of his concerns that it would harm US relations with other Arab nations.
Though he claims to have been opposed to the sale on principle, Weinberger participated in the transfer of United States TOW anti-tank missiles to Iran during the Iran–Contra affair. By 1987, the disclosure of the Iran-Contra Affair and increasing difficulties with Defense budgets weighed on Weinberger. Weinberger resigned on November 23, 1987, citing his wife's declining health. He specifically denied that he was opposed to the INF Treaty, scheduled to be signed in Washington in December 1987. In fact, he took credit for proposing the substance of the treaty early in his term at the Pentagon.
Following his resignation as Secretary of Defense, legal proceedings against Weinberger were brought by Independent Counsel Lawrence E. Walsh. A federal grand jury indicted Weinberger on two counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice on June 16, 1992 [1]. Weinberger received a Presidential pardon from George H. W. Bush on December 24, 1992.[6]
Weinberger had been Secretary of Defense for six years and ten months, longer than any man except for Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. After Weinberger left the Pentagon, he joined Forbes, Inc., in 1989 as publisher of Forbes magazine. He was named chairman in 1993. Over the next decade, he wrote frequently on defense and national security issues. In 1990, he wrote Fighting for Peace, an account of his Pentagon years. In 1996, Weinberger co-authored a book entitled The Next War, which raised questions about the adequacy of US military capabilities following the end of the Cold War.
In 1942 Weinberger married Rebecca Jane Dalton, who was born on March 29, 1918 in Milford, Maine.[4] A World War II Army nurse, and later author and publisher, she, according to "[c]oaxed her husband ... into politics and was a loyal Washington wife during three Republican administrations before she began to write and publish children's books".[3] Jane Weinberger, a uterine cancer survivor, died on July 12, 2009, aged 91, at Bar Harbor, Maine, following a stroke.[3] The couple had a daughter, Arlin, and a son, Caspar.
While residing on Mount Desert Island, Maine, Weinberger was treated for and died from complications of pneumonia at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine, aged 88. He was survived by his wife, the former Rebecca Jane Dalton, their two sons and several grandchildren.
He was buried in Section 30, Grave 835-1 at Arlington National Cemetery on April 4, 2006.
Shortly after his death President George W. Bush in a public statement said:
Then United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated:
|Political offices
|Preceded by
George P. Schultz
|United States Office of Management and Budget
Deputy Director 1970–1972
Director 1972–1973
|Succeeded by
Roy Ash
|Preceded by
Elliot Richardson
|United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
February 12, 1973 - August 8, 1975
|Succeeded by
F. David Mathews
|Preceded by
Harold Brown
|United States Secretary of Defense
Served under: Ronald Reagan
|Succeeded by
Frank C. Carlucci


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Best in class design in rigid household plastic packaging
Changing how we make, use, reuse & recycle plastics
Plastic Packaging Flow Data Report
A high level market study into non-mechanical recycling technologies
Helping you recycle pots, tubs and trays
Progress report in the first year of the Pact.
The impact of light-weighting plastic bottles
Uses for plastic other than packaging
Pack design tools and guidance
General guidance on plastic packaging
Guidance to help you recycle more mixed plastics
Design tips for recycling
Compositional analysis of plastics
Clarifying the difference between different types of plastic packaging
Increase the recyclability through plastic bottle design
Increase the recyclability of post consumer film
Using recycled polymers in new products
Good packaging uses only as much of the right kind of material as necessary to deliver what is required, without damaging the product,...
Re-thinking the way a product is produced, used and delivered can significantly improve its environmental impact and reduce costs across...
All types of carrier bag, whether made from plastic, paper or jute, will have some impact on the environment during the manufacturing...
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) today (9th November 2010)...
Zero Waste Scotland has published the first detailed national-level study into the composition of municipal waste in Scotland.
WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is pleased to announce that WES Greenstar will add 20,000 tonnes per year of re-processing...
The following table illustrates the most common types of plastics used, their applications and the symbol which is often used to...
Materials Market: Plastic £ per PRN / one tonne of plastic
Materials Market: Glass PRN prices
Materials Market: £ per PRN / one tonne of paper
'Closing the loop' on plastics is a key contributing factor to meeting recycling targets, and WRAP has been progressing a number of...


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Behind the numbers: Will there be a global economic slowdown in the next 12 months?
By Ahmed Mohamoud
With a rumbling trade war, Brexit worries and challenges in both the US and China, what is the outlook?
In 2018, we witnessed two global sell-offs, emerging market currencies weakening against the dollar, tightening monetary policies and trade war headwinds start to impact the global economy. So, what can we look forward to in 2019?
To begin to answer that question it would be best to recap the events of the key economic regions last year and look at the expected outlook for each, before circling back and attempting to answer the headline question.
In late 2018, the European Central Bank announced at its monetary policy meeting that it would end its €2.5trn (£2.26trn) quantitative easing programme. During the run-up to the meeting, the bloc had seen sluggish GDP growth in the previous quarter, inflation excluding oil prices remain low and the political saga that is Brexit rumble on.
While headline inflation has been broadly in line with the ECB's target of 2 per cent since 2017, it has largely been artificially driven by the oil price. If we were to strip out its volatile components, the core annual inflation rate would have hovered around the 1 per cent mark since 2016.
Weak growth in Europe
Italy, whose economy contracted in the third quarter of 2018, published an ambitious budget plan to increase public spending in order to kick-start an economy which has undergone a long period of stagnation.
Unsurprisingly this did not go down too well with the EU, which would have liked to have seen reduced spending plans – Italy's debt-to-GDP ratio is more than twice the 60 per cent limit. While Germany's growth reversal can be argued to be an anomaly due to tighter car manufacturing laws, Italy has lost its momentum of early 2018, and future GDP growth is expected to slow down and remain at 0.9 per cent over the next two years, as domestic and external demand weakens.
Uncertainty in the UK
GDP growth is expected to be sluggish for the UK in 2019. Brexit talks dominated headlines last year and one certainty is that they will continue to do so.
The meaningful vote, which had been scheduled for 11 December, was postponed, creating uproar in the House of Commons. Business investment growth is set to remain weak in the future as political uncertainty spills over into the new year.
Jitters in the US
Over in the US, tightening monetary policy due to the Federal Reserve's continual rate hikes has inadvertently helped reduce the yield curve spread (the difference between 10–year and two-year US treasury bonds) as the longer-dated bonds have struggled to keep up with the rising short-term rates. US markets have been on an incredible bull run since 2009 but the two global sell-offs and the reduced spread have created a jittery market.
The spreads of some of the other relationships turned negative recently. For every recession since the mid-1970s, a yield curve inversion has preceded it.
With the Democrats now controlling the House, they have the ability to veto acts that could help economic growth, and as the election campaign gains momentum next year this could prove to be tempting. The Congressional Budget Office forecast strong growth for 2018 as the corporate and personal income tax cuts were applied by the government, buoying spending. The CBO expects growth to slow to 2.4 per cent in 2019, citing growth in business investment and government purchases as falling.
Encouraging signs in Brazil
In Brazil, much of its outlook is heavily dependent on the president being able to deliver on his political manifesto. Jair Bolsonaro's promise to cut taxes and privatise state-owned companies has sounded like music to investors' ears and, if reforms can be implemented, growth is expected to pick up over the next two years.
Turkey, meanwhile, is dealing with rampant inflation. The Turkish lira alongside the Argentine peso, has been one of the worst performing EM currencies. External borrowing has picked up heavily over the last eight years, with debt currently standing at $457bn (£361bn), and the possibility of a strengthening US dollar does not help ease the country's burden. The nation is expected to suffer a contraction, albeit a short one, in 2019.
China was in tariff disputes with the US for a good portion of 2018. Whether a full-blown trade war or a de-escalation happens seems impossible to accurately predict. For now, an uneasy truce is being upheld by the two nations. China is currently at a rebalancing phase, whereby policymakers must ensure that a move away from its reliance on manufacturing and external investment to a focus on domestic growth is handled with minimal disruption.
Beijing officials are aiming to maintain growth while creating a sense of stability. Even through the political turbulence, growth is expected to continue in 2019, albeit at a slower rate.
The global economy is certainly navigating choppy waters. The OECD believes GDP growth is strong but has peaked, citing that in many countries unemployment is well below pre-crisis levels. Meanwhile, labour shortages are biting and inflation remains tepid.
The global economy is expecting a soft landing in 2019 with global GDP growth estimated at 3.5 per cent. However, much of this will be down to how well key policymakers are able to steer their respective economies through the noise.
Ahmed Mohamoud is research assistant at FE


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What Top Employers say about themselves
Merck in Belgium is the subsidiary of the German group Merck KGaA, a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 160 employees work in Belgium to help patients, customers, partners and our communities to live a better life, delivering biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, high-quality over-the-counter brands, brighter pigments to cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production. In 2018 Merck celebrates a 350-year track record of curiosity, the force that drives the company to bring innovative solutions and stimulate progress. BEL/NPR/0118/0001-Approved 01/2018
Number of employees:
Number of active countries: 66
The research
Our comprehensive independent research revealed that Merck provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees.
We help your organisation adapt to the rapidly changing HR environmentHow we certify


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Not so long ago there was only computer science. Everywhere you go the word was computer science to describe any program related to computers. Then the emergence of new technologies in data communication and networking has divided the field once known to many as computer science into several specialized areas. The new areas have developed and claimed its own place in the field of science and technology. The demand was so high in all of these newly developed areas in terms of technology and skilled individuals. In business, engineering ,arts, music , medicine, defense or in any imaginable area of knowledge, specialized computing skills have been in great needs. The reasons being the very survival of such areas greatly depends on how it reacts to the implementation of computing technology. The notions of globalization, real time factor, speed and efficiency have put a pressure for all to embrace this modern-day survival tool (a.k.a computers). A new culture has started to repaint the old and obsolete corporate goals and objectives. A new generation with jeans and snickers has been filling up the stairs to the new corporate head office. The change is inevitable and with these changes the institutions of higher learning have to change. Many have gone out to industries to get an outlook of these changes; and consequently the whole academic program related to computers have gone through the pace. Generally the principles of focus are two-fold : one is to prepare them as knowledge seekers and two, is to prepare them for the job market. In a broader sense, the first principle describes an idealistic target of an academic institution. A place where people go to learn something about life. Maybe they come to read history or law, doing computer science or engineering. They learn how to solve problems, lay out arguments and put them together with logic and reasons, they learn how to think, produce ideas and put them across for some meaningful discussions. After 3 to 4 years with grueling tasks and expounding pressures in the form of assignments ,exams or projects; they will walk out of the convocation hall as a new person with his/her own thoughts and ideas about the world. The world of engineering, business , management or computer science. In short, they learn the basics and the program should be catered to strengthen the basics.
The rhetoric on why do we study computer science has time and time again demands answers with wider perspective. All these years CS students have been taught to solve computing problems, speed up some application processes or facilitate a difficult task where humans might be able to handle. Is computer science the science about computers or the computation for scientific reasoning ? Those are two contrasting ideas that need detailed arguments and justification. The main reason for this intriguing question is to explore the possibility that computer science can be manipulated to serve a bigger and meaningful purpose. It is time to transform the finite nature of computers into the infinity of the natural world not the other way around.


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First I am sorry that I have not been blogging over the last couple of months. We moved our computer downstairs and I am not able to get to it as easily with David. We have recently bought a laptop so I should be able to keep up a bit more with my blogging.
So here is an update. David turned one in July and we had a wonderful time for his birthday. I will post pictures a little later. David has also become more confident in walking, he first started to walk when he was 10 months old but fell and scared himself, this continued to happen until he was 13 months old. Once David got over his fear of walking he started to walk very carefully but he was still nervous about walking anywhere other then at home. For the last couple of weeks he has become more confident in his walking and walks in public places. Chris and I are very proud of him!! David now has 10 teeth and three more coming soon. He eats everything that we offer him it is nice not having a picky eater.
We took David camping for the first time and he seemed to enjoy himself, we are looking forward to camping with him next summer.
Bacon and Egg Biscuit Casserole
7 hours ago


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Mike Kerr: Riffmastery with Royal Blood
"Who doesn't love riffs?" ponders Mike Kerr of the British buzz band Royal Blood. It seems everybody is digging Kerr's riffs these days, and he seems to be everywhere cool, from Coachella to the Howard Stern Show. Royal Blood has been around only since 2013 and consists of just Kerr and drum pounder Ben Thatcher, but their aggressive sound is gargantuan. The duo's stripped-down format, Kerr's Jack White-like vocals, and his propensity for rough rock riffage draw frequent comparisons to the White Stripes and Black Keys. While those comparisons are valid, the big difference is that Kerr conjures his brash overdriven tones on four strings instead of six. Royal Blood's eponymous debut is simply stronger than hell, in an AC/DC Back in Black kind of way. The riffs just keep on coming, and the tunes are tough and tight.
Who are your favorite riffmasters overall, and what bass riff in particular had the most influence on your playing and songwriting?
Jimmy Page is undoubtedly my favorite riffmaster, and Andy Ghosh from Turbowolf is another. When it comes to influential bass riffs, I'd have to name three: Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust," Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," and Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." I think people will find it difficult to argue with me.
Distortion and octave effects are keys to your sound. Do you track through effects in the studio, or do you play raw and tweak tones later?
I track with the effects because I like to keep it all in the moment and record the sounds as I'd play them live. Minimal tweaking goes on
—"Carpe di-amps!"
Why do you choose to play with a pick most of the time?
I take good care of my fingers and hands in general. I regularly moisturize. Using picks is a precautionary measure. I use .73mm nylon ones—they just feel right.
Have you always been a riffmonger, or did you develop into one when you found yourself playing in a two-piece band?
I grew up playing piano, and then had an ill-fated short stint playing a few shows on a keytar before I sort of fell into playing bass. From then on, it was experimentation. I found a way to achieve the sound I wanted to achieve through trial and error.
What generally comes first during your creative process, the riff or the lyrics and melody?
The riff generally comes first. Something will either pop into my head, or I��ll find a riff while I'm playing around during sound-check or on the tour bus. The melody and lyrics follow. However, I don't follow any formula or prescription. I do what comes naturally for each song, and what's creatively satisfying.
Royal Blood, Royal Blood [2014, Warner Bros.]
Bass Gretsch Electro-matic G2220 Junior Jet Bass II
Rig 2 Fender Super-Sonic 22 Combos, Fender Super Bassman head & Bassman 810 Neo 8x10 enclosure
Effects Boss LS-2 Line Selector, Boss PS-6 Harmonist, Z.Vex Vextron Series Mastotron, Electro-Harmonix POG2 Polyphonic Octave Generator, Strymon Flint Tremolo & Reverb


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Valentine's Gifts to Vadodara
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