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Epic Warlock FeatsBy Eytan Bernstein
Warlocks are fonts of supernatural power and veritable batteries of dark magic. Most warlocks develop their powers along a theme that relates to their supernatural heritages. A warlock in a family of elder demonologists that made a pact with Pazuzu might exhibit a range of powers related to insects. Another descended from a shadow demon is more likely to have a series of powers related to shadows and darkness. A fey-descended warlock might develop elemental powers due to a yearning to embrace the wild.
Epic warlock feats represent the culmination of years spent developing these dark gifts. To gain one of these feats, a warlock must already know all the standard invocations of a given path, must be at least 21st level, and must have the appropriate skill ranks. If all of these conditions are met, the epic warlock can gain one of the feats below. A warlock loses access to an epic feat if he no longer has a prerequisite invocation or skill requirement.
Epic warlock feats include a number of powerful abilities that relate to a given theme. Individual abilities gained from the feat function in the same way as invocations. It takes a standard action to employ an ability unless otherwise indicated. The equivalent spell level of the spell-like abilities granted by epic warlock feats is equal to 1/2 the warlock's caster level. The DC is equal to 10 + equivalent spell level + the warlock's Charisma modifier. This applies only to the spell-like abilities granted by these feats. It does not retroactively increase the DC of previous acquired invocations nor does it affect the DCs of invocations acquired through the Epic Extra Invocation feat. Many abilities granted by these feats are spell-like abilities that can be dispelled. In essence, an epic warlock feat grants the equivalent of a bundle of separate invocations. Each ability must be activated individually and dispel effects target each ability separately.
Some abilities granted by these feats modify the activation of an existing non-epic invocation, without increasing its casting time. Other abilities grant bonuses that function in the same way as any feat that grants a bonus. These are not spell-like abilities and do not need to be activated. The bonuses granted by the feat are extraordinary or supernatural abilities that cannot be dispelled.
All abilities are spell-like, supernatural, or extraordinary. The supernatural and extraordinary abilities are labeled as such, except in the case of bonuses to caster level or skill bonuses that are not labeled because they function in the same way as a normal feat. All abilities that mention a spell by name in italics, or duplicate the effects of a spell, are spell-like abilities.
Before reaching epic levels, warlocks have no way of gaining dark invocations beyond those achieved by reaching 16th, 18th, and 20th level. An epic warlock can select the Epic Extra Invocation feat to gain an additional invocation of any grade including dark. This feat makes it possible for epic warlocks to gain the non-epic invocations required to qualify for epic warlock feats. This allows epic warlocks to progress in their magical abilities, just like other types of magic users.
The following is an update to the epic warlock entry on page 189 of Complete Arcane:
Epic Warlock
A being of fell magic, an epic warlock is a supernatural force incarnate, losing all but the smallest fragment of his humanity.
Hit Die: d6
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 2 + Int modifier
Invocations: The epic warlock's caster level is equal to his class level. He does not learn additional invocations.
Eldritch Blast: An epic warlock's eldritch blast damage increases by 1d6 at every even-numbered level higher than 20th (10d6 at 22nd, 11d6 at 24th, and so on).
Damage Reduction: The epic warlock's damage reduction increases by 1 point (to 6/cold iron) at 23rd level and by 1 additional point for every four levels thereafter (7/cold iron at 27th, 8/cold iron at 31st, and so on).
Bonus Feats: The epic warlock gains a bonus feat every three levels higher than 20th (23rd, 26th, 29th, and so on). Bonus feats must be chosen from the following list, and can be selected even if the warlock does not meet the prerequisites.
Epic Warlock Bonus Feats: Additional Magic Item Space, Augmented Alchemy, Craft Epic Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Epic Rod, Craft Epic Staff, Craft Epic Wondrous Item, Damage Reduction, Dark Transient*, Efficient Item Creation, Eldritch Sculptor*, Energy Resistance, Epic Eldritch Blast*, Epic Extra Invocation*, Epic Fiendish Resilience*, Epic Spell Penetration, Extended Lifespan, Extra Epic Invocation*, Fast Healing, Improved Combat Casting, Lord of All Essences*, Master of the Elements*, Morpheme Savant*, Paragon Visionary*, Scribe Epic Scroll, Shadowmaster*, Souleater Incarnate*, Spellcasting Harrier, Superior Initiative, Verminlord*.
*An epic warlock must meet this feat's prerequisites to select it as an epic bonus feat.
Epic Warlock Feats
The feats listed below are available only to characters of at least 21st level.
Dark Transient [Epic]
Your powers of mobility are so potent that you can travel between dimensions with a thought.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (the planes) 24 ranks, fell flight, flee the scene, path of shadow.
Benefit: Your flight speed (from the fell flight invocation) increases by 30 feet and its maneuverability increases to perfect. Using this ability is part of the casting of the fell flight invocation.
You have achieved mastery over the powers of transdimensional travel. You can transport great distances with a single thought (as greater teleport, self and personal equipment only). You can also transport other creatures, but if you do, there is a chance of error (as teleport).Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You can use plane shift with perfect accuracy (self and personal equipment only). You can also transport other creatures, but you then suffer the inaccuracies normally incurred when using this spell. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
Eldritch Sculptor [Epic]
You control and shape your eldritch blasts like a master sculptor.
Prerequisites: One invocation from the least, lesser, greater, and dark blast shape invocation categories, Spellcraft 24 ranks.
Benefit: You can use two eldritch blasts per round as a full attack action, rather than the normal limit of one. You can apply eldritch essences to both blasts. If you possess the Lord of All Essences feat, you can imbue each blast with two eldritch essences. Activating this ability is part of the action to use an eldritch blast.
The area and range of all your eldritch blasts is doubled. Activating this ability is part of the action to use an eldritch blast. If you imbue your eldritch blast with the eldritch spear blast shape, the range increases to 500 feet. If you are using the hideous blow invocation, you no longer suffer attacks of opportunity for invoking this power in melee and all attacks of opportunity you make can include hideous blow. If you imbue your eldritch blast with the eldritch chain blast shape, you may start the chain up to 120 feet away from you and the maximum distance between each target increases to 60 feet. The area of the eldritch doom blast shape increases to 40 feet from you. The range of your eldritch cone increases to 120 feet.
You gain +2 bonus on attack rolls to hit an opponent with your eldritch blast. This is an extraordinary ability.
Normal: A warlock can use only one eldritch blast per round. Using the hideous blow blast shape provokes attacks of opportunity and cannot be used as part of an attack of opportunity.
Epic Eldritch Blast [Epic]
Your eldritch blasts are unstoppably powerful.
Prerequisites: Eldritch blast 9d6.
Benefit: When you take this invocation, the damage dealt by your eldritch blast increases by 1d6.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Its effects stack.
Epic Extra Invocation [Epic]
You learn an additional invocation.
Prerequisites: Ability to use dark invocations, Spellcraft 24 ranks
Benefit: You can learn one additional invocation from the list available to you, including dark invocations.
Special: You can gain this feat multiple times. Each time, you gain an extra invocation of any grade (least, lesser, greater, or dark).
Epic Fiendish Resilience [Epic]
You can make your blood boil with the strength of the Nine Hells.
Prerequisites: Fiendish resilience that grants fast healing 5.
Benefit: When you use your fiendish resilience ability, you gain fast healing 25 for 5 minutes. Activating this ability is a free action. This is a supernatural ability.
Special: You can gain feat multiple times. Each time you take the feat, you gain an additional use of the fiendish resilience ability, and the fast healing granted by the feat increases by 5..
Lord of All Essences [Epic]
You have mastered the art of enhancing your eldritch blast with multiple essences.
Prerequisites: One least, lesser, greater, and dark eldritch essence invocation, Spellcraft 24 ranks.
Benefit: When you use the eldritch blast ability, you can apply two eldritch essence invocations simultaneously. You could choose to fire an eldritch blast with both the repelling blast and noxious blast eldritch essences. This also allows you to apply the same effect twice, though this is not beneficial in the case of all eldritch essences. The effects of each essence are resolved separately. If you imbue your eldritch blast with two different types of damage, half of the damage (rounded down) is dealt by each source. You must choose which essences you will use in conjunction with your eldritch blast before you start your action. If you possess the Eldritch Sculptor feat, you can apply two eldritch essence invocations to both your eldritch blasts in a single round. Activating this ability is part of the action to use an eldritch blast.
For example, if Morthos is fighting an outsider he has never encountered, he can choose to imbue his eldritch blast with both hellrime blast and brimstone blast. He rolls 10d6 damage, dealing half fire and half cold damage. If the outsider happened to be immune to cold, but not fire, it would still take damage from the half that dealt fire damage.
In addition, the DC of all eldritch essence invocations you use increases by 2. This is an extraordinary ability.
Normal: A warlock can apply only one eldritch essence to an eldritch blast.
Master of the Elements [Epic]
You have achieved mastery of the four elements -- air, earth, fire, and water.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 24 ranks, breath of the night, chilling tentacles, stony grasp, wall of perilous flame.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can summon a single creature from the summon monster I-IX list that is an elemental or has the air, earth, fire, or water subtype. The monster serves you for a number of rounds equal to your caster level. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You can use dominate monster on elementals and creatures with the air, earth, fire, or water subtype. This effect lasts for a number of days equal to your caster level. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You gain energy resistance 10 to acid, cold, electricity, fire, and sonic. If you have energy resistance from the warlock class, your resistance to those two elements increases by 10. This is an extraordinary ability.
Elementals and creatures with the earth, air, fire, or water subtype view you as one of their kind. These creatures react to you as if their attitude is two steps better than the situation otherwise warrants. This is an extraordinary ability.
Morpheme Savant [Epic]
Your words are charged with supernatural power.
Prerequisites: Baleful utterance, beguiling influence, warlock's call, word of changing.
Benefit: You can use power word blind, power word kill, or power word stun. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
When you use your warlock's call ability, you no longer suffer the chance of taking 1d10 points of damage from the recipient. In addition, you can imbue your sending with a suggestion (as demand). The casting time of warlock's call is 1 minute. Using this ability is part of the casting of the warlock's call invocation.
You can communicate as if under the effects of a constant tongues spell. This is a supernatural ability.
When you use your beguiling influence invocation, the bonus granted on your Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks is equal to double your Charisma bonus or +6, whichever is greater. Using this ability is part of the casting of the beguiling influence invocation. It is an extraordinary ability.
Normal: The warlock's call invocationhas a casting time of 10 minutes and does not allow suggestions to be imbued. The warlock's call invocation allows the recipient to deal 10 points of damage to you. The beguiling influence invocation grants you a bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate checks equal to your Charisma modifier.
Paragon Visionary [Epic]
Your powers of perception are beyond mortal ken.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 24 ranks, dark foresight, devil's sight, see the unseen, voidsense.
Benefit: You can see through illusions, magical darkness, shapechangers, and other effects (as true seeing). This is a supernatural ability.
You are automatically aware of all spells or magical effects you see. Simply by looking at a creature, you can determine if it is a divine or arcane caster, whether it has any spell-like abilities, and the highest spell or spell-like abilities it knows. This is a supernatural ability.
When you use the voidsense invocation, you gain blindsight 60 feet.
You receive a bonus on all Listen, Sense Motive, and Spot checks equal to double your Wisdom modifier or +6, whichever is greater. This is an extraordinary ability.
Normal: The voidsense invocation grants blindsense 30 feet.
Shadowmaster [Epic]
You have walked the path of shadows, and now you have mastered its secrets.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 24 ranks, beshadowed blast, dark discorporation, darkness, enervating shadow.
Benefit: You can create streaking masses of shadow around your form, providing you with a 50% miss chance against all attacks (as displacement). Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You can use material from the Plane of Shadows to create quasireal illusions, mimicking sorcerer and wizard conjuration spells of 8th level or lower (as shades). The illusions deal 80% damage to nonbelievers, and nondamaging effects are 80% likely to work against nonbelievers. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You are immune to all spells with the shadow subtype and to effects that involve the use of shadows (such as the breath weapon of a shadow dragon). This is an extraordinary ability.
Souleater Incarnate [Epic]
You have mastered the fusion of invocation and incarnum.
Prerequisites: Knowledge (the planes) 24 ranks, drain incarnum, incarnum blast, incarnum shroud, steal incarnum.
Benefit: By studying the unique qualities of the mysterious souleater, you have learned a variety of secret powers. When using this feat, you consume the soul of any creature that dies within 30 feet of you. For 10 minutes following the death, you gain +10 temporary hit points and a +1 bonus on attack rolls and saving throws. Bonuses from multiple deaths stack. At the end of the 10 minutes, the soul is permanently consumed. The creature that was consumed can be raised only via a miracle, true resurrection, or wish. If the creature was slain by your incarnum blast invocation, the bonus and duration of the hit points, attack, and save bonuses are doubled. You can choose not to consume the soul of a creature. This is a supernatural ability.
You radiate an aura that makes it difficult for anyone within 30 feet to manipulate incarnum. Any creature within 30 feet must succeed on a Concentration check (DC 10 + your caster level + your Charisma bonus) or be unable to shape a soulmeld, bind a soul meld or magic item to a chakra, or invest or reallocate essentia. You can choose to exempt allied creatures from the effects of this aura. This is a supernatural ability.
You are immune to the soulless aura and consume soul abilities of soul eaters. This is an extraordinary ability.
When you use the drain incarnum or steal incarnum invocations, the amount of incarnum damage or drain is doubled. Using this ability is part of the casting of the casting of thoseinvocations.
The DCs of all saving throws for your incarnum-related invocations increase by 2. Every point of essentia invested in this invocation increases the DC of your incarnum-related invocations by 1. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours. If the invocation is dispelled during this time, the essentia investment remains in place, taking effect once again when you activate the invocation. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
You can communicate telepathically with any creature within 100 feet that has a language. This is a supernatural ability.
You gain 3 points of essentia when you take this feat.
You have unparalleled insight into the ways of vermin.
Prerequisites: Spellcraft 24 ranks, spiderwalk, summon swarm, tenacious plague.
Benefit: You can summon ten swarms of centipedes (as creeping doom). You add your Charisma modifier to the poison save DC of the swarm. The attacks of any centipede swarms summoned are treated as magic weapons for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. They also bypass damage reduction based on your alignment. If you are a chaotic good warlock, your swarms bypass chaotic, good, and magic damage reduction. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
When you use the summon swarm and tenacious plague invocations, the summoned creatures bypass damage reduction in the way listed above. Using this ability is part of the casting of thoseinvocations.
You can also control the actions of vermin creatures. This functions as dominate monster, but it affects vermin only. This lasts for a number of days equal to your caster level. Activating this ability requires a standard action.
Vermin view you as one of their kind. A vermin will never attack you willingly, unless you provoke it or its kin. This is an extraordinary ability.
About the Author
Eytan Bernstein hails from exotic Long Island and spends his days writing and editing projects for numerous game companies. In addition to his work on Dragons of Faerûn, the Magic Item Compendium, and numerous other projects, Eytan serves as a partner and PR & Marketing Manager for Silven Publishing (www.silven.com). Eytan enjoys hunting for gems and minerals in rock quarries, studying religion and theology, composing music, and playing with his many pets. For more information about Eytan, check out www.eytanbernstein.com. If you have any questions or comments, send them to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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For these are latter days we know
The Great Depression now is spreading,
God's word declared it would be so
To the lovely land that's free from care
I'll leave this world of toil and trouble,
My home's in Heaven, I'm going there
No orphan children crying for bread,
No weeping widows, toil or struggle,
No shrouds, no coffins, and no death
This dark hour of midnight nearing
And tribulation time will come
The storms will hurl in midnight fear
And sweep lost millions to their doom
Dorothea Lange-on taking her most famous photograph, Migrant Mother-
I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean-to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it.
first recorded by the original Carter Family in 1936 during the Great Depression. Although A.P. Carter has frequently been credited as the author, some sources attribute the song to James David Vaughan.

subset: commoncrawl


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|February 18th, 2012
Also unlike its competitors you get what is advertised all of it capability specs are replicable under combat conditions .
|August 12th, 2012
Topic: About questions about the F-16
There is an F-35 Forum URL;
Lots of quality information from pilot mechanics, etc.
First the F-35 simply set as a replacement for the AV-8 Harrier. The Marines still need a plane that can operate on "day one" of the next world war. One after another the Navy and the USAF decided to replace the F/A-18 and the F-16. I would like to know why at a certain point the design of each variant was not frozen? Then each design could proceed on its own. Even the USN realized this with F/A-18C/D's conversion to the F/A-18E/F. These two planes wound up with a 35% commonality.
(The F-4 Phantom was a great multi-purpose fighter-bomber... by accident. It is a folly to design a fighter-bomber to be that great.)
This in part is why we have the kluge called the F-35 program.
What one factor in why so many countries still want the F-35 is because it is supposed to operate for 20 years without any repairs to the avionics!! Provide unheard of low reliability for 20 years!
This information 'was' available on the ACIG website, which is no longer in service.
In the situation, the F-22 should be used as top cover only. There enough Typhoons (SEE NOTE) and other allied fighters protect fighter bombers to handle what remains after the F-22 from altitude fires down and catches the enemy interceptors shortly after take-off! The disorganized remainder of interceptors then will be handled with the other top cover.
I paraphrased the statement!
This statement was made by the Typhoon test pilot -Craig Penrice, several years ago.


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White Bear Lake, Minnesota is a lovely suburb of St. Paul and is known for it's quaint shops and small-town feel. Unlike lots of other suburbs with their strip malls and freeway access, White Bear Lake is like a little town unto itself. I love White Bear Lake.
One of the shining stars of White Bear Lake is a shop known as The Farmer's Daughter. It's full of handmade goodness from local crafters and artisans. Last Friday The Farmer's Daughter hosted a Wine Showcase, featuring wine-related items in the shop. There were also special guests in attendance.
Meet John and Connie. They own Wine Obsession, a service that will help you make your own wine, right in White Bear Lake. You don't even have to grow your own grapes! They served samples of wines made with the wine-making kits they offer. Delicious! I really loved the chocolate raspberry port.
If you'd like more information on Wine Obsession and how to join the fun of making your own wine, contact The Farmer's Daughter.
Sandi was also in attendance. She makes the most delicious wine jellies.
I bought two jars myself. As you may know, jellies are not just for toast anymore. Sandi told me all about the different things you can do with her jellies, including using them for pancake syrup and mixing them into meatloaf. Who knew? You can find out more about these winey jellies here. You'll love them.
The Farmer's Daughter isn't just about wine, however. It's a shop full of rustic treasures, kitchy magnets, beautiful stitchery, and every other kind of artsy, crafty thing you can think of. Take a look...
What did I tell you? There's a little bit of everything. Wait, there's more!
Right now The Farmer's Daughter has the autumn theme in full swing.
The Farmer's Daughter is the perfect place to shop ~ you can get gifts for your girlies and goodies for your gala.
Yes, I know a farmer's daughter, and she's one of my favorite people. If you haven't visited this shop, it's about time you did. If you're a visitor in the Twin Cities area, come on up to White Bear Lake and make The Farmer's Daughter one of your stops. The farmer's daughter is a charm, and so is her store!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Farmer's Daughter
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Recent Posts
Monthly Archives: September 2013
Last Words – our final blog entry
We hope that the descriptions of the places we've visited have resonated with you. Perhaps they have reminded you of places which are special to you. Such places become important symbols of freedom for each of us. The evening after … Continue reading
Final days on Rafiki
Oh, our lovely boat Rafiki! We have been getting used to doing without possessions, but does Rafiki count as such? In fact, she is one of the most expensive possessions we've owned. But she has also been our home for … Continue reading
Scilly Cruise (July 2013) – Swimming with Seals
Our final few days in Scilly held a few treats in store. First, an early morning cruise in Rafiki around the Bishop Rock lighthouse. We kept well off it – the rocks looked ferocious! We saw more seals, basking on … Continue reading
Scilly Cruise (July 2013) – Tresco, Bryher and Round Island
With some deep breaths and fingers crossed we navigated the slightly tricky passage up the Tresco channel to New Grimsby. With Rafiki's draught, we had to get tide timings spot on. We spent some thoroughly enjoyable days exploring Tresco, including a … Continue reading
Scilly Cruise (July 2013) – St Mary's, St Agnes and The Gugh
Approaching St. Mary's, our first impressions were of a wild, rugged Atlantic island. Although very beautiful in the sunshine, it is not hard to imagine how inhospitable these islands must be for sailors in bad weather: There are tales of … Continue reading
Setting Sail Again (July 2013)
Back onto board again, back to the simple life! We quickly fell into our straight forward routine of 2 to 3 hours of school in the morning and then a walk or an explore in the afternoon, with modest sailing ambitions. Only … Continue reading
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BarnArts Race Around the Lake
The mission of BarnArts is to engage the local community as both viewers and participants in a year-round performing arts program which supports the existing and developing talents of local adults and children.
The vision of BarnArts is to foster and continuously support a community that views art as essential to social well-being, a community where a thriving arts culture and a thriving rural economy are mutually supportive, where the careers of artist, teacher and farmer are equally valued, and where time is set aside for the pursuit of creativity and shared learning.
The Race Around the Lake specifically supports BarnArts Youth Programming: sponsorship and scholarships for our Summer Youth Theater, sponsorship of the BarnArts Teen Touring Company, and free programs for kids, like the BarnArts Youth Chorale
Date & Time
May 20, 2018
More Info
See website for pricing.


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General Order 98.93.120 is a protocol created by the Office of Naval Intelligence. This protocol authorizes the ONI AI stationed at Zone 67 on planet Onyx to take control of all military forces on the planet under emergency circumstances, such as the Battle of Onyx.
It is unclear why such an order would be specifically made for Onyx, but it is possible that ONI feared that the alien ruins it discovered on the planet would attract the Covenant or cause some conflict, which they did. In 2552, Endless Summer issued this order to Camp Currahee to the south, taking command of the SPARTAN-IIIs there and ordering them to Zone 67's defense[1].


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The Project Management Professional Program
Guiding a team toward successful project completion can be extremely taxing but also incredibly gratifying for supervisors and managers. More than that, however, juggling multiple projects at once, managing multiple staff and dealing with the individual and collective personalities on the project can be incredibly overwhelming without a fundamental understanding of how to get the most out of your team and really get things done. Valuable programs like the Project Management Professional (PMP®) from the Project Management Institute (PMI) ensure students are best apt to guide their staff through this challenging process.
While the PMP® certification is incredibly valuable, pairing this credential with management and leadership development really ensures professional success in this area. For the manager running the project or the project manager aspiring to run a team, the Project Management Professional program will ensure students are ready to take on these challenges.
Program Objectives
At the conclusion of this program, students will be able to:
Note: In order to qualify for an externship, students must successfully complete the program, including all quizzes and final exams, and be available for a background check and/or a potential drug screen. This program can be completed in 6 months. However, students will have online access to this program for a 12-month period.
Education and Certifications
Students who complete this program are eligible to participate in an optional volunteer externship opportunity with a local company/agency/organization whose work aligns with this area of study in order to gain valuable hands-on experience. As students progress through their eLearning program, an Externship Coordinator will reach out to coordinate placement.
Note: Additional documentation including health records, immunizations, drug-screening, criminal background checks, etc. may be required by the externship facility.
Get live updates on offers and events by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook.
Get the latest information on new products, special offers, and events from our eLearning site!


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Clear2View offer professional & reliable window cleaning that is dedicated to customer satisfaction. We specialise in commercial window cleaning contracts, cleaning of atria, panelling, canopies & facia.
We are trained for the use of powered access equipment for difficult to access areas. We combine the use off water fed pole systems "Reach & Wash" for exterior cleaning, as well as conventional window cleaning with a conventional squeegee when appropriate. Our Thermo Pure System offers heated pure water for the removal of more stubborn residues. Click here for more information on the latest technological cleaning equipment which we use.
Clear2View are members of:
Ladders Free
British Window Cleaning Academy.
Clear 2 View hold full public liability insurance we take health & safety very seriously & provide all new commercial clients with detailed method statements & risk assessments reviewed on a regular basis.
Protection: We at Clear2view are part of the British Window Cleaning Academy identity scheme called 'Clear Choice' which not only helps to identify ourselves, but also shows that we are competent and professional.
For more details on the scheme and organisation click the following link.... Clear Choice.
If you would like a no obligation quotation or further assistance please do not hestitate to contact us on 01406 330783 or our company mobile 07885 982575... alternatively email us direct by clicking here.
Home | Commercial Window Cleaning | Domestic Window Cleaning | Equipment | Health & Safety | Contact us


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Thursday, September 13, 2012
If You're Not Overdoing It, You're Not Doing It Right
Words and photos by Greg
It's possible that you, oh gentle blog-reader, have noticed a distinct lack of mountain biking photos of late. This is, of course, the result of a certain convergence of tree/bike/shoulder. Trina has been riding, but alas, I have not been there to photograph her.
Now, three months after the injury, it is time to get back at it. Gently, of course, one might presume. The doctor has suggested I lift weights. But he might underestimate the power of having lived a life that revolves around spinning two wheels over dirt.
My shoulder isn't quite strong enough for much of the rougher kind of trail riding that I like. And my personality isn't up for the banality of lifting weights. So I came up with a brilliant idea. I'd traverse a nearby trail that is unpleasant enough that pretty much no one bothers with it. Why ease back into mountain riding by swooping through the curves of one of the easier local trails on a lovely evening.. when I could spend hour after hour in the dark on tortuous doubletrack?
I do not pretend to know the answer to that question. I just went ahead and bit off more than I could chew and my mouth was so full I couldn't say anything further about it.
I did compound the adventure somewhat by carefully planning for everything in about 15 minutes, which included all the time I spent packing. Sleeping bag, mini-stove, food… Strapped hastily onto the rack of an all-purpose steel hardtail.
The first long climb was easy, since I was riding in the truck with Trina. We had a nice evening hike in a canyon with the dogs. Then she and the dogs drove home and I rode off into the twilight.
I think the main attraction of this "trail" is that it eventually goes somewhere. It isn't stunningly scenic. The rough doubletrack trail isn't particularly fun. I've ridden it a couple times before and each time I was left with thoughts like, Well, that was very close to being pleasant.
But it does usually cater to a sense of solitude. And I had it all to myself as I rolled down the first pitch over sloping slickrock and through sand wallows, occasionally walking (for the sake of my shoulder…) down stair-step rocks. Darkness closed around me during the next hour while I was pushing my bike upward on a track too loose, rough and steep to ride, stumbling on boulders, slipping on ball bearing gravel and sand. Then I was rolling again, over a saddle and into a valley where stubby towers were silhouetted against the stars.
I crossed a dry wash where skunk musk drifted in the air, then found a fairly flat patch of cracked dirt where I called it a night. My little stove's blue flames heated a small dinner, and I sat in the near silence eating and reading in the dim red light of my headlamp. Then rolled out my bed next to a pinyon pine and slept under the stars, unconcerned because in the dark I hadn't seen the bear tracks.
I was up before the sun and strolled through a nearby grove of cottonwood trees to the dry wash where I saw the bear tracks. I don't normally expect bear tracks in dry desert-like canyons. But bears have their own rules, and our dry spring may have them exploring new areas in search of food. I wish them luck. But am also glad that one did not call upon me to provide needed food.
More bear tracks throughout the morning as I again spent most of an hour pushing my bike upward on the loose, bouldery trail. Also coyote and fox tracks. Squirrel tracks. Lizard tracks. Even human and moto-human tracks. But all I saw and heard were squirrels, lizards and birds.
A couple hours of ride-push-ride brought me to the high point. Then it was all downhill on a ridge that sloped gently toward the valley floor. Though the slope was gentle, the surface was rough, so I went slowly and carefully. Down, down, down.
At last the doubletrack ended, poised over a cliff above the paved highway that pointed toward home. I rode most of the final short section of singletrack. It was neither exotic, flowy, nor very enjoyable. Soon, nearly exhausted, I was spinning paved roads toward town. Toward a huge lunch. Toward a solid nap. Thinking, Well, that was very close to being pleasant.
Posted by Bikeabout at 5:00 PM 3 comments:
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Vibrant Days
Words by Greg
Photos by Greg and Trina
The tall, ripening grass. Chill in the morning air. Rain that saturates twisted rocks. A sky that burns with blue or fills with twisted knots of cloud.
These are a few of the late summer flavors we've savored while hiking or biking (yes!) and even paddling (oh yes!) recently in the nearby desert and mountains. We hope you're out experiencing something similar.
Posted by Bikeabout at 7:16 AM 1 comment:
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
High Summer Scamper: Out There Somewhere 2
Posted by Sweet Solitude at 7:04 PM 2 comments:
Labels: creek tromping, hiking, mushroom hunting, nature
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Walters v. McMahenPetition for certiorari denied on March 4, 2013
|Docket No.
|Op. Below
|4th Cir.
Disclosure: Goldstein & Russell, P.C., whose attorneys work for or contribute to this blog in various capacities, is among the counsel to the petitioners in this case, which is listed without regard to the likelihood that it will be granted.
Issue: Whether allegations that an employer engaged in a pattern of violations of federal immigration laws for the purpose of depressing employee wages can state a claim under Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq., as the Second, Sixth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits have held; or whether such allegations necessarily fail to state a claim because, as the Fourth Circuit held below, immigration violations cannot be the proximate cause of depressed wages.
SCOTUSblog Coverage
- Petition of the day (Mary Pat Dwyer)
|Proceedings and Orders
|Oct 17 2012
|Application (12A381) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from October 29, 2012 to November 28, 2012, submitted to The Chief Justice.
|Oct 18 2012
|Application (12A381) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until November 28, 2012.
|Nov 28 2012
|Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 2, 2013)
|Dec 7 2012
|Order extending time to file response to petition to and including February 1, 2013.
|Feb 1 2013
|Brief of respondent Todd McMahen, et al. in opposition filed.
|Feb 12 2013
|Reply of petitioners Bizzie Walters, et al. filed. (Distributed)
|Feb 13 2013
|DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 1, 2013.
|Mar 4 2013
|Petition DENIED.


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On Friday (15th February) asteroid 2012 DA14 will make the closest pass to the planet since scientists began monitoring asteroids more than 15 years ago. The asteroid, which is about the size of an Olympic swimming pool, will pass about 27,520 kilometres (17,100 miles) from Earth. The Moon is about 14 times further away than the asteroid at its closest approach. Earth orbiting satellites generally fly about 800 kilometres (497 miles) higher, so the asteroid will pass within the orbit of these satellites. There is a very real possibility that the asteroid could collide with a satellite, or any other piece of space junk [Read more]
Feb 102013


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Yeah, it's a bit late but the project page of Zill O'll now has some more up to date pictures showing some of the actual state of the game..
Yeah, it's a bit late but the project page of Zill O'll now has some more up to date pictures showing some of the actual state of the game..
Extended downtime is over folks. Blacklabel is back home.
we had all forms of interesting events going on that eventually led to the entire server being taken down and relocated elsewhere. Cant be arsed to go to details on what actually happened but whatever it was it's over now and we're running up and good.
Project updates will now move permanently to here instead of being allover the internet on various different sites and whatnots, and the only channels to get proepr information about our doings from now on will be at the following:
this site: blacklabel-translations.com
My twitter: twitter.com/teh_mugi
my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCklULqbnHzdNdbklGVZu0WQ
Finally got off my lazy ass and put the project page of Zill O'll Infinite plus back into it's place.
I'll add screenshots about the current build soon enough.
I took a little vacation and resulting from that, zill o'll and utawarerumono were halted progress-vise for 2 weeks or so, but now I'm back and will return on making things move again. Meanwhile Tom has been doing his thing as far as the script on zill o'll goes, and once i reach Binaryfail again (curse the stupid american timezones!) I'll put myself up-to-date on what happened on the code side.
As far as Utawarerumono goes, Basic is still working on the scripts and I'll check that up and get back to typesetting soon(ish). We're rather closing in on the point in the story where the playstation exclusive scenario of the game is being given the english treatment. Once that happens, I'll share some material out of it, being the first time it's being translated and all :) look forward to it!
So i took over teh social medias too, and finally got arsed to make myself a twitter accoutn, which i might or might not ever use. It's there anyway in-case someone who likes those things more than our boring blog we never update either more :P
here be the link: clickety click
Sooo, since we finally got back to working on Utawarerumono portable after Basic's mystical disappearance, here's some stats about how the project is actually going…. The project page has also been brought up to date.
– Graphics: 99,9% (only ending credits roll text graphic is undone.)
– Raws checked: [ 316 / 316 files – 100%]
– Translation: [ 159 / 316 files – ~51%]
– Script Check: [ 117 / 316 files – ~34%] [ 13705 / 35133 lines ] (re)translated
– Misc. hacking: 95% (only hacking part left is a new stringbuffer for dictionary entries.)
The total count of files that need to be edited came out to be 316 files and 35133 lines of text, from which half have been translated and a bit less typesetted. Basic's hard at work translating more and I will start typesetting the newly translated stuff shortly.
It happened, after over a year of complete incognito silcence dissappearance ninja-vanish, Basic just randomly reappeared couple nights ago. That in itself is good news for our baby-project Utawarerumono portable but that's not all, it appears that the "little" break our translator decided to take was good for him and he's having full tank of energy and enthusiasm, enough that he's spitting out scripts faster than I manage to keep up. Yeah bois, Uta is back on track after a year of silence! (project status updates once I get new scripts checked out et cetera, I do have Zill O'll infinite plus to manage too, and I'm working on mapping the remaining script raws for Basic to chew on.)
Yes yes, I know I know…..
We didnt actually drop the project… well we did but the issue regarding that was sorted out and Zill's still going on, quite spectacularly at that too.
the graphics hacking has been more or less finished from the normal parts (more on that below) and tom's almost done with a project that's been eating his time off from translating zill, so hopefully it will pick up the pace soon..
the hacking side has been a little slow as I've been stuck with unexpected real life complications that ate some weeks of my time. Those will end on the following weekend and I shouldbe able to return to proper work with binaryfail.
okay, so the graphics….
first of all, the translated graphics are indeed 100% done, and are one image implementation away from being 100% added into the game. They look gorgeous, the menus have all been fixed, the soul graphics imported from the ps2 (GIGANTIC quality increase!), the character portrait remastering is completed (another huge quality increase!!), the texts have all been redone and cleaned up (0% dithering), the item/skill/whatever icons are all done, and all in all everything sits in really nicely with the game.
now, the catch 32;
I started wondering what would happen if I threw the ps2 version's character 3d textures into the psp version, since the psp version is using 128×128 resolution textures at 64 colors for all the 3d models it has against the 512×512 256color textures the ps2 version does.
i did not expect much from this since it's rather obvious that the little psp simply cannot handle that kind of things at all as it's lacking a dedicated GPU unlike the monstrocity that is EmotionEngine in the ps2…. well, how wrong was I again. The results of my test are SPECTACULAR!
below image is the game running using doubled texture resulutions compared to the originals (256×256 against 128×128) at 256 colors instead of 64. and there are no performance issues whatsoever…. now THIS is what I call an asset update!
(pic taken at 2x window size on PPSSPP with no filtering/upscaling applied. this is fully tested on real hardware and it looks amazing!)
Thats right. Zill o'll translation project has been cancelled. Permanently.
After a week or so of fighting with loop points, I finally finished importing the PS1 version soundtrack to the game,
60 tracks have been replaced, and one track that did not have a matching pair on the original had to be left alone. Not all that bad I guess…
the retro mod will be an optional treat with the translation pack for those like myself and our translator, Tom who prefer the original music over the remade one.
Sans that, we're still hard at work with programming the gender variable function to the game's text engine (since you can play both a male and a female protagonist, a change has to be made to differentiate him/her in the scripts.) It's a little bothersome to have to deal with bonus features like this since japanese language doesn't differentiate the genders it all has to be coded from scratch.
Fortunate for us, Binaryfail dug out some unused script codes which we will harness for this purpose.
As far as other updates go, the text tool now supports colored text, and a pile of new cosmetic fixes was put in place. Amongs them, I parsed together a fi for the character creator's calendar page and with that, only things left to fix on the character creation are the menu selection hover thingies and some additional text centering (there is an issue with string lengths on few strings that also needs to be sorted out…. *facepalm*)
All in all, Tom has already demonstrated a piece of translation that fully translates some moments of one of the starting scenarios, and did some additional work on weaponsmith description texts.
….Small steps.. This game is quite the behemoth of workload…
Tom's video can be found Here. and demonstration of the game running using the PS1 soundtrack can be found Here.


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Religious nuns, priests and consecrated people are used to their annual eight to ten day retreat. Why not suggest to occasionally replace an individual retreat with a communal one for their community, their congregation, their apostolic team ? Consult : here.
Married couples may find it difficult to take time off for a six or seven day retreat or session. But they know perhaps other couples ready to live that spiritual time with them, during holidays, by a lake or on a mountain, with their children being accompanied by a team of young adults ? Consult : here
Sometimes a week-end, one day or even a small part of a day is enough to give to the Lord the opportunity to meet us. Consult : here.


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Today's Web has terabytes of information available to humans, but hidden from computers. It is a paradox that information is stuck inside HTML pages, formatted in esoteric ways that are difficult for machines to process. The so called Web 3.0, which is likely to be a pre-cursor of the real semantic web, is going to change this. What we mean by 'Web 3.0' is that major web sites are going to be transformed into web services – and will effectively expose their information to the world.
The transformation will happen in one of two ways. Some web sites will follow the example of Amazon, del.icio.us and Flickr and will offer their information via a REST API. Others will try to keep their information proprietary, but it will be opened via mashups created using services like Dapper,Teqlo and Yahoo! Pipes. The net effect will be that unstructured information will give way to structured information – paving the road to more intelligent computing. In this post we will look at how this important transformation is taking place already and how it is likely to evolve.
The Amazon E-Commerce API – open access to Amazon's catalog
We have written here before about Amazon's visionary WebOS strategy. The Seattle web giant is reinventing itself by exposing its own infrastructure via a set of elegant APIs. One of the first web services opened up by Amazon was the E-Commerce service. This service opens access to the majority of items in Amazon's product catalog. The API is quite rich, allowing manipulation of users, wish lists and shopping carts. However its essence is the ability to lookup Amazon's products.DOWNLOAD SOLUTION HERE


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|Inverted in gold.
The day after was equally brutal in temperatures and tempers. Crisp, blue skies camouflaged the biting cold which made the pulse race and breathing to come in short gasps. On a day like this, you may even concede a few feet of property to your neighbor if it means that you don't have to dig it out of the snow. Then, a glorious, fiery sky at sunset was generous compensation - if not for the shovel crowd, certainly for the lens enthusiast.


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As Steve Jobs liked to say, "Boom."
Total unit sales of Apple products surpassed unit sales of computers running Windows last quarter, according to Andreesen Horowitz analyst Benedict Evans. Using numbers from Apple, Gartner and Andreesen Horowitz, Evans said the two companies were close to parity on device sales when counting Windows Phone units, though Apple has surpassed devices that run traditional Windows.
It's a historic moment for Apple, which in the first quarter of 2009 didn't come close to competing with Microsoft's sales. But between the deflating PC market and an explosion in sales of the iPhone and iPad, Apple managed to hit the gas and pass Microsoft.
Device sales aren't the whole story for either company, of course. Microsoft has many more products that it works on, like the Xbox One and Bing, and Apple brings in billions of dollars through the App Store. When it comes to their financials, there's no contest: Apple reported $57.6 billion in revenue last quarter, more than two times Microsoft's quarterly revenue of $24.52 billion.
It's unclear whether the sea change is permanent, though. As the chart above shows, Apple's sales traditionally run high in the fourth quarter of a calendar year when people are looking to pick up new iOS devices for the holidays, but slip after that.
Still, it looks like Apple's growth, while modest, isn't going away just yet. It has a big lead over Microsoft in the mobile and tablet markets, areas where new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and company need to step up their game.


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The lubricant maker had reported a net profit of Rs 117.9 crore in July-September 2014 quarter.
Sales were down 2.2 per cent at Rs 784.3 crore, Castrol India said in a statement.
Commenting on the results, Omer Dormen, Managing Director, Castrol India said: "The financial results for the third quarter demonstrate a solid performance, building on operational momentum and continued premiumization of our portfolio, aided by a more favorable cost of goods environment."
Castrol India follows January to December year for financial reporting.
"The business continues to be driven by strong performance in personal mobility segment with Castrol Activ increasing its market share and strengthening its leadership position in the two-wheeler engine oil category," he said.
Commenting on the industrial part of the business, he said: "After sharp decline in the first two quarters due to sluggish manufacturing activity and increased competition, the industrial business is seeing some improvement as a result of new customer wins especially in the wind and steel segments."
On future outlook, Castrol said although the drop in crude oil price has translated into lower base oil cost, volatility in the cost of goods due to volatile Rupee exchange rate is likely to be experienced.
"In the longer run, we continue to remain optimistic about the Indian lubricant market and our business growth. The company is in a strong position to benefit from growth prospects on account of its strong brands, enduring relationships with key stakeholders and continued commitment of its staff," the statement said.
The first nine months of the year have been challenging environment for commercial vehicle oils and industrial lubricant oils, Castrol added.


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This week we have another guest blog, this time by the wonderful Jenna from Just Sew Jenna. If you haven't visited her blog, click the link here and have a look, it's great! Over to you Jenna...
Hello everyone!
Every year I like to make my daughter new pyjamas for Christmas Eve, if nothing else just so she has something unstained by porridge or my bad laundry skills, suitable to be photographed on Christmas morning! This year she is heavily into pink (I am thankful we got to six before she insisted that everything has to be pink!) so this pink jersey fabric with red fawns is just perfect for her.
As I did not want to have to buy a whole new jersey pyjamas pattern, I decided to alter a leggings pattern for the bottoms and use a t-shirt pattern which I already have (Oliver and S Field Trip T-shirt) for the top. The leggings pattern I started with is the Oliver and S Playtime Leggings but any leggings pattern will work (ED: We have the Titchy Threads Fancy Pants Leggings pattern here and Jennuine Design Dressage Leggings pattern here).
I wanted a roomy pyjama bottom with plenty of room for growth so the leggings needed more width. I started by tracing the correct size piece, then marking a line down the centre of the leg. I cut down this line and moved the two pieces of the pattern apart by 3cm and taped them down. I then joined up the waist and ankle lines. Whilst cutting the bottoms out I also added 5cm to the rise for a bit more seat room.
The final alteration I made to the pattern was to make some cuffs for the ankles. For these I measured across the bottom of the original pattern pieces (21cm), rounded it down and then halved it (to cut on the fold). I had already worked out that I wanted a roughly 4cm high cuff so would need double that height plus a seam allowance of 1cm at either side, therefore my cuff pattern piece was a square 10cm x 10cm. I used some ribbing that I had left over from last year's Christmas pyjamas for this (ED: We now stock cotton rib knits in a variety of colours, click here to see the full range!).
I followed the instructions for the construction of the leggings with the exception of the bottom hems. To attach the cuffs I first pressed the cuff pieces in half wrong sides together, then unfolded and sewed the side seams right sides together. I then marked the halfway point on both the cuffs and the bottom of the trouser legs and with the raw edges even on the cuffs and trouser legs pinned at this point and at the seams. Stretching the cuff slightly, I attached them to the bottom of the trousers.
For the top I followed all the instructions exactly as they are written with the exception of the addition of cuffs again. I find that the size 6 in this pattern has plenty of room in for my daughter without needing to add any extra.
We are both very pleased with the new Christmas pyjamas, the fabric was a delight to work with and is just perfect for this project. There is plenty of growth room too so I am sure they will get worn long past Christmas!
Thanks Jenna!
Jenna used our Fawn Silhouette on Rose Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric for her pyjamas. This is a new fabric by Girl Charlee and is available right now! You can use a Cotton Jersey, Cotton Lycra or BOLT by Girl Charlee Cotton Lycra for your pyjamas, a few of our favourite picks below -
Jenna used our Fawn Silhouette on Rose Cotton Jersey Blend Knit Fabric for her pyjamas. This is a new fabric by Girl Charlee and is available right now! You can use a Cotton Jersey, Cotton Lycra or BOLT by Girl Charlee Cotton Lycra for your pyjamas, a few of our favourite picks below -
For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's board on Pinterest.
For more ideas, patterns and tutorials, follow Girl Charlee's "Patterns & Projects to Try" board on Pinterest.
Don't forget to sign up for our email updates to keep up to date with all our New Fabrics, Sales, Giveaways and all our Knitty News! The sign up box is top left of the blog.
Happy Sewing!
~ Mark & The Girl Charlee Team


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Neva Aerospace is taking UAV and UAS technology to the next level, and our mission now is to develop heavy-duty workhorse drones. These will be the next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and systems (UASs). They will offer solutions for heavy lifting, equipment transport, for security and emergency repairs in remote and difficult locations, and for robotic maintenance and construction work.
At the core of Neva's unassailable market lead are:
- the ability to combine stable VTOL and linear flight capabilities,
- the power to carry loads ranging from freight to robotic arms weighing from 2 kg to 2 tonnes, and
- the safety of using electric ducted fans.
Neva technologies for flight stability, aircraft design, flight control and electric ducted fans are based on worldwide patents. This gives Neva Aerospace a clear market lead and presents a serious barrier-to-entry to any potential competitors.
Most recently, a Neva technology solution for docking and rapid recharging, known as Spacebridge©, has been patented. The concept is now under development, and it will provide a real infrastructure for recharging UAVs/UASs and so allow for longer and more remote operations.
Our commercial concepts are being designed to carry significant payloads – up to 2 tonnes. Neva drones will therefore be able to carry a wide range of tools such as heavy sensors packs, heavy cameras, robotic arms, drills, tooling, cable servo-motors for aerial cranes, physical protection systems, agro-spraying systems, etc.
These systems will be developed in partnership with our pioneer clients, industrial channel partners and integrators. This means they can incorporate specific automated and robotic functions for their applications, such as triggering specific emergency reactions to potentially catastrophic leakages and overheating, patrolling remote areas, or delivering essential goods over long distances.
Naturally, our UAVs/UASs will be designed for national and industry-specific certifications and authorisations.
We are developing a SAP HANA proprietary coding platform, known as GDIMIS© so that end users will be able seamlessly to integrate Neva low-emission UAVs into their existing operations and data-warehouse management (ERP/EAM).
Key features of Neva prototypes:
- Patented electric/hybrid VTOL concepts.
- Combination of stable VTOL (vertical take off and landing) and linear flight capabilities.
- Payloads up to 2 tonnes.
- On-board processors enabling specific activities and automated robotic work.
- Automated flight functions including take-off, landing, mission, way points, static flight, collision avoidance, auto-emergency landing (on-shore and off-shore), etc.
- Integration into civilian airspace/ standard avionics such as collision avoidance and traffic integration: e.g. TCAS/PCAS, GPWS, TAWs/OCAS as well as satellite communication.
- Docking and recharging in remote areas.
- Built-in SAP architecture for enterprise level integration (we are a SAP HANA partner).


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So, you're looking over your email campaign results, and once again, your open rate is low. So is your click-through rate. Even after you put so much time and energy in the content!
Before you throw in the towel, check out these 10 email marketing tips to help resuscitate your campaigns.
1. Time and Date for Email Delivery
This will not seem like an obvious issue at first, but before you hit "send" think about your type of business and your audience. Here are some business examples and things to consider:
- Restaurant: You want to remind people of your tasty cuisine when it's getting closer to mealtime. For example, if you serve lunch and want to share a promotion, try sending around 10am, when people start thinking about lunch plans. For dinner, send at about 4pm, when people are getting off work and deciding whether or not to make dinner.
- Bank: Let's say you have a great interest rate on CDs or a new credit card with great perks. Since this is more of a considered decision for the consumer, try sending over the weekend when people have a little more time to think things over.
- Landscaping company: Running a fall cleanup special? Try sending your campaign later in the weekday when people have gotten a good portion of work done and have a moment to check personal email.
- Retailer: Promotional emails are always good to send on either a Thursday or Friday afternoon as people start planning out their weekend.
There is one time and day we steer clear of here at TTP altogether: Monday morning. Scheduling an email to be delivered first thing on a Monday morning is kind of like a kiss of death: when people get to work, they already have several emails to get through. Your email may not get read at all.
2. Frequency of Emails
Another large issue that companies face is how often to send emails to their user base. First and foremost, too many emails quickly results in a lost customer. The biggest offenders in this category are retailers. Usually the best thing to do is to create multiple email options and allow users to pick which ones they want to subscribe to. The best practice is to send them a welcome email when they sign up and include a link to their email preferences.
If you do not have the ability to create individualized email campaigns, it's always good to put yourself in the customer's shoes – how many emails would be too much for you? A good rule of thumb for non-retail businesses is once or twice a week at most.
3. The Subject Line
Without a compelling subject line, users will have no desire to read the email. In order to capture a user's attention, the subject needs to be compelling and relate to the user. It's been proven that emails that are personalized to contain the user's first name have a much higher likelihood of being opened. Here's an example of how to make a subject line more eye-catching. We are using a Mexican restaurant as an example:
Original subject line: Happy Hour from 4-6 Today!
OK, so let's get more specific with something like: $3 Margaritas and Half Price Apps from 4-6 Today! At least now you've got the customer picturing themselves with a tasty beverage and a snack.
Take it one step further by asking a question and personalizing the message (which often makes the customer answer the question in their mind): Kate, is it time for a $3 Margarita yet? It will go nicely with our half-priced queso dip!
So which one of these subject lines would make you open the email?
4. The Design and Content
The best email design is one that is clean, simple, and gets the message across. Calls to action should be apparent and above the fold. Stick with your brand's voice, fonts (no more than two for email) and colors. Be sure to use your logo. And the first rule of email marketing: don't bury the lead! In this day and age, readers want quick messaging. And don't be afraid to have a little fun with it![bctt tweet="The first rule of email marketing: don't bury the lead!" username="turnupthesem"]
5. Mobile Compatibility
If you haven't realized that a majority of emails are consumed on mobile devices, here are some figures for you to consider.
- 80.8% of users report reading email on mobile devices.
- 75% of gmail users access their accounts on mobile devices.
- Users spend 9 minutes on email via a mobile device each day.
The easiest way to account for mobile interfaces is by building a responsive email (and be certain your website is responsive as well!). The email will then automatically resize based on the user's device.
6. User Permission
User permission is a major contributor to email success. If you don't have a user's permission, DO NOT add them to any email list. That is the first and foremost rule of email marketing. Unsolicited emails will kill your email marketing effectiveness.
7. Pay Attention to the Results
The main factors to look for in your email results (which you should give a few days to finally settle) are the open rate, the click-through rate and the unsubscribe rate. Pay attention to industry standard averages to make a good comparison. Just because your open rate is 20% doesn't mean you've failed – check the industry standard first. This is provided by most email marketing platforms (our favorites are MailChimp and Constant Contact). If your unsubscribe rate is above 5%, it's time to reevaluate your email marketing practices.
At this point you may have identified some areas of your own email marketing strategy that need a little bit more work. Using the tips above will definitely help you get moving in the right direction. If you feel like you'd rather just let a marketing firm handle it all for you, please contact us and we'll be happy to help you!


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Crucifix tattoo could sink new Miss Ireland's world title hopes
AN ankle tattoo could yet trip up the new Miss Ireland Rebecca Maguire on her rocky road to the title of Miss World.
The Miss Ireland contest has been mired in controversy since the original winner, Miss Mayo Maire Hughes, was stripped of the title for being too old at 26.
As the runner-up, Queen's University Belfast student Rebecca became the new Miss Ireland.
However, 20-year-old Rebecca sports a cross on a chain tattoo on her ankle. According to the rules of the Miss World pageant, ink is out.
Visible in earlier photos, it was apparently covered up with make-up for the contest in Dublin last weekend.
The winner of Miss Ireland goes on to compete at Miss World contest in Mongolia later this year.
Meanwhile, it has been claimed that up to 13 of the Miss Ireland contestants would be ineligible for the Miss World pageant.
The Irish Daily Mail claims that 10, including Rebecca, have tattoos, while three were below the minimum height of five feet seven inches.


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53 never looked better! I remember him from Grease where he played Sandy's Jock boyfriend; the fabulous prime time soap Falconcrest; his biker phase and his fairytale marriage to Shauna Sand the godess of lucite. I hope this marriage works out for him, if not take my last name.
Lorenzo Lamas -- Marriage Does the Body Good
via TMZ


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We have some exciting news to share with our readers this week… AudioAcrobat has been featured in a short news clip on MSNBC! A long-time AudioAcrobat member and enthusiast, Marquesa Pettway, whom you may remember from last summer's Video Testimonial Contest winners, was fortunate enough to be filmed sharing her love for AudioAcrobat, which we […]
[Video] Feature: Audio Web Recorder
It's been about (3) weeks since I've had the opportunity to create a new video for AudioAcrobat that wasn't a recap of a speaking engagement, but in today's post I'm overjoyed to share with you the second "feature" video of its kind!
Facebook Question: Teleconference / Webinar Features?
Which feature(s) are most important to you when using a Teleconference / Webinar service? That is the current Facebook Question on the AudioAcrobat Facebook Fan Page, and we want to know your answer!
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Editor's Note: This article was transcribed by Mark Hinson.
From General Lee's Army
Stork's Farm, June 12.- There is no change in the relative situations of the two armies, and save an occasional discharge of artillery and active sharpshooting on the part of the enemy, there is nothing doing.
Scouts report Grant to be tearing up the York river railroad.
Grant is very heavily fortified on our front and his lines in some places are within fifty yards of ours.1
- "From General Lee's Army, June 12." Richmond Examiner. June 13, 1864, p. 2 col. 5 ↩
What are your Top 10 Gettysburg Books? See what a panel of bloggers said recently.


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General News of Friday, 21 April 2017
Source: mynewsgh.com
Government is preparing to inject more resources into the operational activities of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) which it says it is on the verge to collapse.
"The National Health Insurance Scheme is sitting on a dangerous time bomb and needs much financial attention from government and donor partners" Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu revealed during the 2017 health performance summit in Kumasi.
At the stakeholders' summit, the sector minister stated "NHIS is in comatose and therefore requires finances to resuscitate it from such a condition".
Mr Agyeman-Manu stated that failure by government to pump enough resources into it activities could soon lead to total a collapse of the scheme in few months to come.
The minister also announced that despite challenges facing the ministry, government is committed to providing better healthcare delivery where there will be proper allocation of budget to the health sector.
"It is therefore anticipated that monthly releases from the Finance Ministry will be forthcoming to enable the scheme operate without challenges", he assured.
He also said government will address the challenge of human resources in the sector with continuity of giving incentives to staff who accept postings to the three northern regions and other rural communities to ensure healthcare delivery is brought to the doorsteps of every Ghanaians.
The seminar held under the theme: "Accountability in the Health Sector to Achieve the Health Related SDGs", the minister pointed out that Ghanaians are demanding health and financial accountabilities from health staff.
"Government, developing partners, customers, patients, stakeholders, civil society are all demanding accountability and we therefore have no justification to deny them accountability."


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Bonjour! I'm Erin.
Categories & Series
Monthly Archives: March 2016
March in Paris, pt. 2: Montmartre
The siren call of my old neighborhood became impossible to resist after only one day.
So I gave in, and we took the 80 bus from the 7eme to Place de Clichy. In terms of favorite bus routes, the 80 is my favorite. It snakes all the way up to Montmartre from the left bank, taking the swanky Avenue Montaigne, around the 8eme, past Saint-Lazare, and all the way up to my little village on the hill via Rue Caulaincourt. Between that route and the 95, which plops you more centrally in Saint-Germain, I could get anywhere I needed to go when I lived there. I like the buses more than the metro; the metro is generally more efficient, and, given Parisian traffic, undoubtedly faster, but you get to see the city from the bus. And there is nothing like taking the 80 south and crossing the Pont de l'Alma and seeing the Eiffel Tower from your seat. Like, pop! There she is!
So we went to Montmartre, and walked and walked and walked. Because that is what you do there. You climb the winding, steep streets, you make your way to the top of Sacré-Cœur to take in the view. We stopped in the church itself (something I admittedly hadn't done in years) and got to hear mass in about six different languages (the priest switched from Spanish, to French, to Italian, to Hebrew, to Arabic while we made our way around the periphery of the monument). We rewarded ourselves with lunch at Le Nazir, my favorite salad with a poached egg and copious lardons and baked wheels of goat cheese thankfully unchanged. I showed my mom my old apartment, giving my sweet little balcony a wistful wave from the street.
On our way to Ladurée near Madeline (we took the metro) my mom said to me, "I can see why you love it. It's a fabulous neighborhood." And it so is. And not just because you get an impressive thigh workout just from exploring, either. That little pocket of the lower part of la butte was my home, and will be again one day, too.
March 30, 2016 / art / photo / Travel / LEAVE A COMMENT / 2
March in Paris, pt. 1
Oh, this city. Every time I come I find new things to fall in love with, new angles to photograph, new perspectives and changes in light that thrill my heart to no end. There is something calming about returning, almost as if everything up to the moment just before the wheels of the plane touch down on French soil had been a little off balance, and with each trip back my equilibrium is restored. Walking the streets, getting acquainted with our new neighborhood (even as jetlagged as we were the first day) I felt a warming comfort, a homecoming as visceral as ever. The nervous, fluttering excitement that precedes a trip had been replaced long, long ago with a sense of rightness, of feeling whole again. My French came back to me fluidly, like riding a bike.
Three years ago, also in March, Jamal and I stumbled love-drunk into a restaurant on Avenue de la Motte-Picquet after just getting engaged minutes before, and ordered one of everything off the menu. A simple avocado, drenched in house-made vinaigrette, had stuck in our minds ever since, though we've never been able to replicate the exact tanginess of the dijon, or find avocados as creamy. I'm happy to report that, like everything else wonderful about Paris, that avocado is still has amazing as I remembered it. A dish so nice we ate it twice on this trip. (It helped that we stayed directly across the street.)
What else? I took significantly fewer photos this trip than I have previously, in an effort to be more present and soak it all in out from behind my viewfinder. I still took hundreds of photos, though, but this time I didn't worry about making sure I got every single shot. I took a lot more photos of people, too! More to share this week.
I missed you guys! Tell me, what's been going on?
March 28, 2016 / art / photo / Travel / LEAVE A COMMENT / 4
Bon Voyage!
I'm flying to Paris today! Just a few short months after my last trip, though it still feels long overdue. I'll be back in a week with lots of photos and extra weight, both in my suitcase and around my middle (#croissantsplease). Have a great week! Bon voyage!
March 15, 2016 / art / photo / Travel / LEAVE A COMMENT / 5
A Rooftop Apartment in Paris
A few Christmases ago, Jamal bought me a bottle of Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Toit perfume, which translates to "A Rooftop Garden." It was a spicy, strong scent, with notes of apple, pear, and magnolia. The description from Hermès: "This perfume describes a secret garden, nestled in the heart of the city in Paris. A hanging garden, perched on the roof of the house of Hermès, at 24 faubourg Saint-Honoré." I loved it. And I imagine this apartment smells exactly like it, despite the noticeable lack of greenery or plants, and the fact that it's located on the Île Saint-Louis (I've recently become obsessed with the tiny island), and not along the famous shopping street in the 1er arrondissement.
The lofted bedroom upstairs may not be tall enough to stand up in, but would make a perfect writing nook. I love the casement windows into the bedroom off the living room, as well as how much gorgeous natural light this place gets. The light! That liiiight. A rooftop apartment usually implies a dingy studette with no private bathroom, and this apartment blows that expectation out of the water. It's a sign of how desensitized I've become to Parisian real estate that I'm totally at ease with the fact that the living room is so small that you can't walk around the sofa without turning sideways. Yours for just $700k/€635k!
When my book becomes a bestseller (obvs), this place is at the top of my wishlist. For reference, here's all of the great apartments in Paris I've found so far.
March 11, 2016 / Travel / LEAVE A COMMENT / 3
A Very Special Anniversary
Three (three!) years ago today, something fantastic happened.
Jamal made an honest woman outta me three years ago in Paris, in the gardens of the Musée Rodin in a light, early March rain. And despite all of those perfect details, I still found a way to inject a little (unintentional) levity to the scene:
He got down on one knee and I totally lost my shit. I doubled over laughing, shocked and surprised, and afterwards said I had to sit down because I felt like I was going to throw up.
Romance! I am the queen of it!
It was a magical day that kicked off a magical trip to Paris, and perhaps even more magical was that our engagement spawned the creation of the moniker "Jamal." You see, when I announced our engagement on the blog, I was très jetlagged and had reached a stage of sleepiness that made me deliriously giddy. I realized as I was writing that my new fiancé's initials, JML, were just one vowel away from being JAMAL, and, well, I couldn't not call him that after discovering such magnificence, right? Bien sûr.
So really, two fantastic things happened three years ago, and both have made me fantastically happy. Sorry to get all sappy on you, kiddos, but needs must. Happy engagement-aversary, Jamal! Je t'aime!
March 8, 2016 / life / dog / wedding / LEAVE A COMMENT / 8
Downloadable Inspiration Poster
Remember this post from last week? Here's what I came up with, after a few iterations:
You can download a printable 8×10″ version of it here, in case you need a little encouragement.
Happy doing, kiddos.
March 3, 2016 / random / LEAVE A COMMENT / 1
Le Saint Régis
Today marks a very special occasion: it's my mom's birthday today! Joyeux Anniversaire, maman! I can't wait to celebrate you in Paris in just two short weeks! Macarons, and shopping, and museum-hopping, and ducking into charming cafés like this one.
A shameful admission: I've never actually been inside the Café Saint Régis before. Stalked it from the outside every visit for the past three years since I first stumbled upon this dark, vintage gem at the tip of the Île Saint-Louis? Oui, bien sûr. Crossed the threshold and asked for a table? Non. Not yet, anyway. I'm planning on rectifying this in just two weeks (two weeks!) when my feet hit Parisian soil. It seems cozy and inviting, and maybe just a little touristy, but I don't care. The waiters with their starched white shirts and black ties, the subway tile and orange-y filament bulbs, be still my heart! And if the reviews online are to be believed, be still my stomach, too.
March 1, 2016 / art / photo / Travel / LEAVE A COMMENT / 6


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The local economic situation appears not only to be taking its toll on Government, but on Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler's support in his St Michael North West constituency.
When Barbados TODAY visited the constituency Friday afternoon, many residents, who voted for Sinckler in the last election were undecided, some continued to have a soft spot for him, while others said they had no intention of giving him their vote again.
"I have no problem with him [Sinckler]. All I care about [is] my little pension I worked so hard for . . . . Once I get that, I don't care what they do . . . but Sinckler don't give me no trouble . . . I have no problem with him," said 84-year-old Nazilta Ferdinand of Straker's Tenantry, which is located a stone's throw away from Sinckler's constituency office at the corner of St Stephen's Hill and Black Rock Main Road.
However, in nearby Straker's Road, the MP's stewardship was given a failing grade by one outspoken young professional, who wanted to be identified only as "Marcus".
He pointed to an apparent "disconnect between the people in this constituency and their representative", adding, "I can't remember when last I saw him".
The resident also complained that despite being represented by the Minister of Finance, there was presently no natural gas supply in the area, though there were mains running at the top of this gap for more than ten years now.
However, he was not about to lay total blame for the island's economic woes his representative's shoulders. In fact, he suggested that Sinckler's hands were tied by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and his other Cabinet colleagues.
"I think the problem is more or less the Prime Minister himself not being more apparent and making a bigger appearance so that the country would know what is going on instead of this folly that we facing all the time not knowing, not knowing, not knowing . . . and it creating a lot of animosity and a lot of apprehension," he told Barbados TODAY.
Referring to comments by the former Irish Central Banker Dr Patrick Hanohan during his visit here this week, the well-informed constituent said it was critical for Government to have open communication with citizens, identify problems early and embark on coherent medium term goals.
"He [Hanohan] talking more like a prime minister than we prime minister," the Straker's Road resident said, while advising the Prime Minister to come clean on the true state of the economy instead of leaving it to Sinckler and others to do what he felt Stuart was elected to do.
"For this alone, I think Chris is going to have a problem in the future, even in trying to win back this constituency because of the people he has to sit in Cabinet with. I believe he got the best intentions, but at the same time look at the others around him," he added.
Barbados TODAY also came upon 73-year-old Judy Gibbs and her 90-year-old friend Eileen Bovell as they sat in Gibbs' verandah having a lively conversation.
At the mention of Sinckler's name, Gibbs immediately responded saying, "He's my man", her way of expressing her support for her parliamentary representative. However, her obvious personal liking for Sinckler does not translate into an automatic vote for him in the next election since the Straker's Road resident said she was currently "undecided" about where to put her 'X'.
While complaining about a rat and centipede infested, abandoned wooden house that is in a dilapidated state next to her home, and calling it a health hazard, Gibbs said she was waiting to see who would come to her rescue.
"I spend all my money in rat poison," she complained, while revealing that on one occasion she had even stepped on a rat while moving around in her home.
Bovell, who said she had voted for Sinckler in the past, was however adamant that she would not do so again.
It was the same with Andrew Haynes, even though he appeared to be equally unimpressed with the Opposition.
"Nothing ain't done down here," he said with respect to Sinckler's stewardship.
However, he argued that while change may be good, he was yet to be assured that Sinckler's replacement would be "somebody [who is] really in contact with de community and their wants and needs".
The uncommitted voter emphasized that "to find a caring body now to show concern" was turning out to be a challenge. Over in Deacons Farm, which has been a stronghold of the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP), there was no question who Tyrone Lewis would support when the election bell rings.
"We don't have no criticism of Sinckler because everybody down this side is in favour of him. You know, a fellow would mek a lil mistake, but everybody down here in favour of him. He is a good man," Lewis told Barbados TODAY, while relaxing and having a drink with a friend at the village snackette.
However, his drinking buddy, who did not want to be identified, expressed a completely different view.
The Deacons resident, who said he once voted for Sinckler, Friday described him in terms which simply could not be published, but were strong enough for us to understand that the Minister of Finance did not enjoy his backing.
Contrastingly, one resident of Fernihurst told Barbados TODAY he had nothing bad to say about Sinckler.
"If he were to run tomorrow, I would vote for him," said the constituent, who was sitting at home.
However, a woman who said she was a loyal supporter of Sinckler, complained of not seeing her representative.
"When he comes around here, he comes to special places cause I don't see him . . . plus I working," she said, even as two other women openly expressed their desire to see him go.
"He is not one of my favourites. He doesn't behave properly. He comes at Christmas and pick out special houses he goes to," one of them complained, while revealing that she had voted for him in the last election.
Her granddaughter, who never voted for him, was adamant she would never do so.
"He makes promises he doesn't keep. He tell yuh he gine do something and it never gets done," she said.
Elections are due here within a year.