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The Hon Julie Bishop MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House, Canberra
30th November, 2016
Dear Minister,
The Hon Julie Bishop MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Parliament House, Canberra
30th November, 2016
Dear Minister,
Re: Australia's response to ongoing attacks on health facilities and health workers in conflict zones
As health professionals we are deeply troubled by the ongoing attacks on medical facilities in conflict zones. Internationally there has been little attempt to either prevent these attacks or to instigate independent investigations after they occur. The pattern of health facilities and workers becoming deliberate targets in war zones is totally unacceptable, and must be addressed.
Recently the Secretary General of United Nations presented his recommendations to the UN Security Council on the operationalisation of UNSC Resolution 2286, adopted on May 3rd 2016, which relates to the protection of medical care in armed conflict. These recommendations present practical measure that could have significant positive humanitarian outcomes if adopted.
We see the Resolution 2286 and the related recommendations as a positive development in the international community's attempts to turn this appalling trend around.
In particular we are interested to know what the government's response will be to the following recommendations:
- Recommendation 2. Reinforcing national legislative frameworks,
- Recommendation 8. Reporting on the implementation of Security Council resolution 2286 (2016)
- Recommendation 9. Adopting, reviewing, revising and implementing operational precautionary measures
- Recommendation 11. Ensuring full, prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigations into serious violations of international law relating to the protection of medical care in armed conflict
- Recommendation 12. Ensuring that individuals suspected of perpetrating serious violations of international law relating to the protection of medical care in armed conflict are prosecuted.
We ask that Australia actively endorses these resolutions, and that your government will implement all of them.
Could you advise what measures, policies or other directives currently ensure that the Australian Defence Forces meet best practice in terms of humanitarian protection?
Could you please also advise what specific measures are taken to protect health facilities, patients and staff in the conflicts where ADF is active?
Yours sincerely,
Dr Margaret Beavis MBBS, FRACGP,MPH
National President
Cc Hon Marise Payne, Minister for Defence


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I'm currently engaged in a building project, trying to cobble together a new home for myself on the altered landscape of my life. Almost every day, someone -- a friend, family member, or delivery driver, asks some version of the same question. "Are you finished?"
This isn't a post about my suite, so I'll spare you the details, but the short answer to the question is no. I paid for the basics and am completing the rest myself, which I knew would be a long process. I did expect the rough-in to be finished less than 6 months after the estimated completion date, and I didn't expect the electrician's work to fail multiple inspections, requiring a series of long waits for him to return. But I digress.
Finished. The word has been echoing in my head. No, my suite isn't finished, but many other things are, or at least appear to be.
The married-to-Dan phase of my life is finished. Obviously, it ended the day he died, but I was surprised at the extent to which the moving process reawakened the grief. I left the last home I will have ever shared with him; a house that was full of memories which swirled around me and kept me hanging on to the ethereal threads of the relationship. There's a stark finality to moving. This is new. The old is gone.
The reawakened grief of widowhood in turn reawakened grief for lost dreams. As years of illness followed one after the other, I gradually released the idea of returning to mission work full time, but I still clung to the hope of someday accompanying Dan on his yearly trips back to Peru. Will I ever minister overseas again? Will I minister outside my own home at all? Is that phase of my life finished?
After decades of illness and living a mostly home-bound life, it's easy to wonder what my purpose is. It's easy to feel worthless. The voices of the culture and in my own head whisper that I, myself, am simply finished.
It's a lie. I remind myself of that. I'm still alive, so I'm not finished. God may call me home in 30 years or 30 minutes, but in this present moment, there's a purpose to my life. My mind knows that. My heart tries to believe.
As I ponder these thoughts while I work on my suite, it occurs to me that "finish" has multiple meanings. I put a finish on the floor. I use finishing nails to apply trim.
When used in this way, the word does mean that one phase of a project has been completed. It's completed, though, so that the item can fulfill its intended purpose. It's a completion that marks a beginning.
Among the tangled jumble of thoughts that the word "finish" prompts, three simple truths float to the surface.
1. Earthly experiences will eventually end. Joyful things end, but painful things also run their course. Sometimes they run their course here on earth, and sometimes our relief will arrive in the age to come. God says in Revelation 21 that in the day when God's home will be among his people, death, sorrow, crying, and pain will all disappear forever.
2. Some things have no end. God has no end and our relationship with him surpasses time. Among the things that the Bible tells us last forever are God's presence with us (Hebrews 13:5), his plans and purposes (Psalm 33:11), and his love (Psalm 136:1). 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that faith, hope, and love will endure when other things, which seem important now, fade away.
3. Painful experiences, which are often related to unwelcome endings, can make us feel finished, used up, and discarded. Maybe, though, they are part of the process of putting a "finish" on us which can beautify us and make us more useful for service. An ending can help equip us for a new beginning.
God, please give us your peace as we navigate painful endings and accept human limitations. Help us to remember the difference between things that are temporal and things that are eternal and to focus our time and energy on the things that will endure. Use us in whatever way you choose, and apply whatever "finish" you need to apply to better equip us for the tasks you've prepared for us. Help us to be strong, so that one day, we can say, as Paul did in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

subset: commoncrawl


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Reuters reports on the liberation of Tikrit:
"They waved their knives in the air, to cheers from the crowd, and chanted: 'We will slaughter him. We will take revenge for Colonel Imad. We will slaughter him.'
The policemen laid the Egyptian's head over the curb. Then one of the police pushed the other out of the way and he swung his whole body down, landing the knife into the Egyptian's neck.
The cop lifted the knife and thrust the blade in the Egyptian's neck a second time. Blood gushed out, staining the boots of the cheering onlookers.
The killer started to saw through the neck, but it was slow-going. He lifted the blade again and slammed it into the Egyptian's neck another four times. Then he sawed back and forth."


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Wishing all readers and clients a very Happy and healthy and prosperous 2011. Let's hope that it is a memorable year and that it brings everything that you all wish for.
This time of year is usually a time for some introspection. A time of thinking about the past year and what we may have learnt from it and a time to think about what we would like to invite into our lives. There is a lot of talk about manifesting with the Book "The Secret" but I would suggest that you keep things simple. I wish for an abundance of all things positive in my life. An abundance of joy, health, vitality, fun, love, gratitude, friendship, prosperity. I wish the same for all of you.The more prescriptive you are the more doors you shut. Keep it simple!
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Your Comment:
Comment Guidelines: No HTML is allowed. Off-topic or inappropriate comments will be edited or deleted. Thanks.
Colour Energy Works
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Douglas Bay Horse Tramway
A testimony to Victorian engineering and endurance, the Douglas Horse Trams have been in existence on the Isle of Man since 1876 and celebrated their 140th anniversary on 7 August 2016.
The trams were first introduced to take advantage of the booming tourist trade in Victorian times and to this day still carry tourists, and locals, along the promenades in the summer.
The three-foot gauge Douglas Bay Horse Tramway is being operated by Isle of Man Railways throughout 2016 using 12 original tramcars including a double decker tram.
A number of Royal visitors have been carried on the horse drawn tramway including the Queen, late Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.
The horses that pull the trams are known as "trammers" and have an average working life of 15 years. Upon retirement the trammers spend the rest of their lives at the Home of Rest for Old Horses in Douglas.
Visitors can start their journey at either end of the Douglas Promenades. After you have boarded the tram simply sit back, relax and enjoy the two mile journey and the stunning views out to sea.
Also why not visit our horses in their stables and browse the shop. Stable tours run daily - please enquire at Derby Castle Station.


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masterpieces - Understanding the Advantages Based On Recycled Wood
Reclaimed lumber has been offered as you of the way that was primary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the identity of the abode. Environmentalists stimulate entrepreneurs and homebuilders to produce whenever feasible, usage of recycled products. Besides, it gives immense importance and an exceptional attraction to your house. You also bear substantial savings in comparison to using abandoned items in place of fresh types.
Community Member


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Kim Kardashian oops I meant, Mrs. West leaks pictures from their wedding via her Instagram. Kim's wearing a beautiful Givenchy dress designed by Riccardo Tisci, and West in a traditional tailored black tuxedo. Kanye, 36, and Kim 33 wed Saturday May 24th, 2014 in Florence, Italy at the Forte Di Belvedere.
Celebrities, Fashion, Life, Weddings


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Fireworks Extravaganza - Stanford Stadium
San Jose Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy
July 4th week - Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 7:30 pm
The Quakes take on LA Galaxy and AYSO's own, Landon Donovan
This event has been very popular with our AYSO families for the past two years we have sponsored it.
The Extravaganza has sold out every year and will sell out early again
Book Now!!
Half Time Show and Fireworks
These special tickets are only available at Will Call.
Sections 224 and 225 are reserved for Palo Alto AYSO and friends.
Shopping Cart
Please pay with a credit card or PayPal, using the PayPal buttons below.
Tickets purchased before May 1 will be mailed to your home address.
Afterwards, tickets will be at Will Call at the Stanford Stadium at Gate 1.
Contact Mark Raney at +1 408 556 7777, email@example.com
Use multiple buttons to add tickets to your cart, then checkout.
There is no difference between the tickets for PSV and Palo Alto AYSO,
but we track which organization you belong to, for the Earthquakes.
AYSO or PSV Player - $16
AYSO or PSV Non-Player Child - $18
AYSO or PSV Adult - $20


text: The Afternoon Wrap: Friday By Observer Staff • 11/17/06 3:43pm What are Cooper Union students doing about the impending destruction of the Hewitt Building? They're staging school-wide walkouts (and tossing around cruel words like disenfranchisement). Apparently, these young artists really don't want to move out to studios in Long Island City, where they'll work until Cooper Union gets a newer and greener $120 million building. [Villager]The Opening Paragraph of the Day, presented in its glorious entirety: Park Slope's pampered tykes might soon have one more reason to love life in Brooklyn. FAO Schwarz — toy store and child magnet since 1862 — said this week it might open a satellite shop in the Slope. [Brooklyn Papers]Down in the Financial District, $90 million will help pay for a luxury condo conversion. So, the old Chase Manhattan Bank HQ will turn into "20 Pine," with $90 million-worth of ebony-stained hardwood floors, high-end wooden cabinetry, Hudson River views, a pool, a spa, a yoga studio and, best of all, a golf simulation room. [Multi-Housing News]Brownstoner reports that Joshua Guttman (who has the world's "universal contempt") is going to tear down a Dumbo foundry built by Brooklyn Bridge man E.W. Bliss. Or will 205 Water Street (aka 188 Plymouth) be saved by local preservationists? Tune in tomorrow. [Brownstoner]– Max Abelson


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If there's a print publication that knows how to survive, it's National Geographic. The magazine has been around for 120 years and now has its own television network. Besides, have you ever met someone who doesn't like reading it?
Now you can purchase and own every issue of National Geographic on a 160GB hard drive. The drive comes loaded with every article, advertisement, and photograph that the magazine published between 1888 and 2008. It also comes with "Geobrowse" software which lets you quickly sort and browse through to specific articles or images.
The content on this 160GB drive only takes up 60GB, so you have an entire 100GB partition for your own files, too. It's available online at shop.nationalgeographic.com.
via DownloadSquad


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Winter Break
The Oak Bluffs School will be closed for the Winter Break, February 23 - February 27. School will reopen on Monday, March 2, 2015. Happy vacation and safe travels.
Spelling Bee Results
The Oak Bluffs School Spelling Bee was held Tuesday, February 17.
The competitors and runners up from grades 4-8 were:
4th Grade: Class Champion: Rachel Arruda, Runner-Up: Daniel DaSilva
Class Champion: Nora Riemer, Runner-Up: Nick BenDavid
Class Champion:Hannah Murphy, Runner-Up: Sofia Alexander
5th Grade: Class Champion: Kamel Timmons, Runner-Up: Nia Hughes,
Class Champion: Devonne Saunders, Runner-Up: Anna Graham
6th Grade: Class Champion: Zack Smith, Runner-Up: Becket Wadleigh,
Class Champion: Jacob Gurney, Runner-Up:Leah Hairston,
Class Champion: James Dyke, Runner-Up:Hope Bettencourt
7th Grade : Class Champion: Tripp Hopkins, Runner-Up: Lauren Pagliccia,
Class Champion: Chesca Potter, Runner-Up: Tyla Packish
8th Grade: Class Champion: Jade Correll, Runner-Up:Lollie Bezahler,
Class Champion: Gus Nye-Hoy, Runner-Up: Sophie Combra
As the bee progressed, 6th grader Zack Smith and 4th grader Nora Riemer were the finalists. In the end Nora spelled "phonics" to make it to her championship word, "ipso facto." The Oak Bluffs School congratulates Nora and looks forward to supporting her at the Island-Wide Spelling Bee on Friday March 13 (9:30 am) at the MVRHS PAC!
Letter from the School Nurse
MV Public Schools Immunization Policy
Games Night & Basket Raffles
OBS PTO Family Games Night Basket Raffle 2015 - Each year, the PTO sponsors GAMES NIGHT here at the Oak Bluffs School. Games Night is a fun filled activity for the whole family and this year it will be held on Friday, March 13th. A part of Games Night is the Basket Raffle. Each class is assigned a themed gift basket which are raffled off. Families are asked by the Room Parent to bring in either an item for the basket or a donation so that items can be purchased for the basket. Below is a list, by classroom, for the theme Basket and the Room Parents who will be collecting contributions for the baskets. All items are due when we return from break, Monday, March 2nd. Any questions please contact your room parent of your child's teacher.
Grade K - Davey
Chocolate Lovers Basket
Room Parent: Nell Coogan
Grade K - Gaffey
It's a Dogs World Basket
Room Parents: Lynn Blake/Noelle Warburton
Grade K - Rose
SNACKS Basket
Grade1 - Bernat
Art Supplies Basket
Room Parents: Alicia Christianson / Melissa Nicholson
Grade 1 - Rodenbaugh
Garden Basket
Room Parent: Heather Kochin
Grade 1 - Ganser
Car Wash Basket
Room Parent: Lisa BenDavid
Grade 2 - Berube
Very Vineyard Basket
Room Parent: Misty Araujo
Grade 2 - Glynn
Bakers Delight Basket
Room Parent: Erin Pacheco
Grade 2 - Robinson
Beach Basket
Room Parent: Marisa Estrella
Grade 3 - Bausman
Family Games Basket
Room Parent: Jackie Giordano
Grade 3 - Hammett
Sports Basket
Room Parent: Sarah MacPherson
Grade 3 - Pecararo
Boys Rule Basket
Room Parent: Celia Gillis
Grade 4 - Brown
Girls Rule Basket
Room Parent: Maureen Best
Grade 4 - McMahon
Boston Strong Basket
Room Parent: Joellen BenDavid
Grade 4 - Thomas
Road to Reading Basket
Room Parent: Kim Averill
Grades 5 & 6 - Smith, Holenko, Baptiste, Brush & Flaherty
Sitting around the fire Basket
Room Parents: Terie Geary, Elexis Wildanger, Sandy Burt & Laura Hairston
Grades 7 & 8 - Morris,Hopson, Heyman
The Luck of the Irish (Lottery) Basket
Room Parents: Teri Arias, Becki Fontaine
Spelling Bee
Finalists in grades 4 through 8 will be competing against one another on Tuesday morning at 8:30 am in the school cafeteria to determine who will represent Oak Bluffs school in the all island spelling bee.
Food Pantry Success!!
The second grade collected and delivered 1,414 items to the Island Food Pantry today. Thank you for your generous support!
Stargazing with Mark Alan Lovewell
Stargazing with Mark Alan Lovewell
Sponsored by Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
Fri, Feb 20, 2015 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, Edgartown
Audience: All (suitable for children 0 - 18 years)
Members & Nonmembers:
Want to know more about the night sky? Join us while we stargaze and learn basic astronomy. Beginners will view the stars and planets and discover winter constellations. Warm up inside the Nature Center with hot cocoa and tea! This program will only run on a clear, cloudless night, please call the day of the program.
(508) 627-4850
School Closed Monday 2/16/15
January 2020


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A few weeks ago, the developer for a new app called PlantEaters shot me an email and asked if I would check out their app. So, I downloaded it and gave it a try, and I really liked it! Basically, it helps you search for vegetarian or vegan meals on a map based platform. This way, you can find meals that other people have enjoyed without necessarily having to go to a vegetarian restaurant. This is great for me, because most of the restaurants in Little Rock are not catering to vegans.
I think they are working on a full website launch, but they have a blog where you can get updated on the app. Thought you guys might want to check it out.
**These opinions are my own. I'm not being compensated by PlantEaters.
Work was good today! It was one of those days where I felt creatively and mentally fulfilled. I'm really enjoying the little project I'm working on. It doesn't have a huge budget, but we're finding ways to make it fun and bright with accents of color. Do what you can!
I also feel more clear headed and calm at work. I know that getting proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise are really helping. Handling big problems seems easier, and work in general has been a lot better since I started taking care of myself.
Breakfast: strawberries, choc protein powder, chia seeds, coconut milk
Lunch: vanilla protein powder, spinach, carrots, hemp seeds, mixed with water
Early Afternoon Snack almonds
Pre-Run Snack: salsa and green cabbage (dip it like chips, so good!)
Post-Run Recovery: vanilla protein powder and water
When we got home from work, we watched a little news and laced up our sneakers. I thought it would be too cold, and we would have to go to the gym. Happily, though, it was about 40 degrees (F), so we decided to brave it and run outside.
I didn't really have a set plan when I set out. I knew I wanted to do at least 3 miles, and it would be great if I could get in 5. The first two miles were hard, as they always are. My legs really don't start to unfold until mile 3. It seems after that, it's much easier. So, as I came around the loop that passes our house, I kept going towards mile 3. I crossed paths with Josh and gave him a hand slap as we passed each other. My hands begun to get cold as I topped a hill, and I reached in my pockets for the gloves I had removed at mile 2. One glove... no other glove. Now, good running gloves were hard to find, and these set us back about 40 bucks, so I was not about to abandon the glove! I turned right around and retraced my steps. I started to think of where I could have dropped it, and it could have been anywhere on my last 2 1/2 miles. Luckily, I found it right in front of our house. Instead of going in, I put the gloves on and ran another 2 miles. It was great!
For dinner, I warmed up some eggplant curry in an acorn squash half, and it was delicious. I think the flavors had time to hang out and become friends in the fridge, because this was way better the next day. I highly recommend the lime squeeze and a smidge of salt. Yum.
I wanted something sweet for dessert, so I had a grapefruit half. Omg. I love grapefruit.
Josh wanted something sweet too, but he hates grapefruit. He kept saying he wanted pudding, but that's not really something we keep stocked in the house. I remembered that on the Arbonne detox, some people would mix protein powder and coconut milk to make pudding. I suggested this to Josh, and at first he turned his nose up at the idea. After a second, though, he said, "Sure! Let's try it." He likes my smoothies (and steals them from me), so I figured this would work. We mixed up about a half cup of coconut milk with 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder and mixed it until it was all smooth. It was great!
Now I know I have a quick and easy dessert! Josh had eaten almost all of it when I shouted, "WAIT! Let me get a picture!"
I leave you with another Bodhi picture.


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How and Why to Execute Rare Disease Patient Journey Market Research
As pharmaceutical manufacturers push to ensure their thinking and actions align with patient needs, patient journey research can make an invaluable contribution to strategy. While there are challenges to conducting this type of research among people with rare diseases, their often-circuitous path to diagnosis and day-to-day struggles make understanding their journeys critical to developing meaningful brand strategy.
Download the whitepaper >>
By exploring the patient journey, which we define as the full patient experience from symptom onset to diagnosis and management, manufacturers can:
• Understand barriers to diagnosis, including misdiagnoses
• Determine which types of physicians may be appropriate targets for disease education
• Explore specific patient needs for education and support programs
• Evaluate barriers to treatment / adherence and explore potential solutions
So, how do you conduct patient journey market research that maximizes useful insights? In this whitepaper, we discuss some best practices.
Download the whitepaper here >>
About Fulcrum Research Group:
Fulcrum Research Group specializes in rare disease and healthcare-related market research with a focus on creativity, teamwork, and partnership. We opened our doors in 2010 in Waltham, MA.
To learn more, please contact:
Rebecca Gould, Executive Vice President
(781) 209-5327 x1012


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Last Updated on
Just in case you are an affiliate and don't get Rakuten's (formerly Linkshare) newsletters, here is some news that just came out from them this week.
Dear Publisher,
Happy New Year and Thank You for being a valued partner of Rakuten Affiliate Network!
We have some important news. We will be closing the Lead Advantage Network and moving these offers into the Rakuten Affiliate Network. This will streamline publishers' ability to join campaigns & manage advertiser reporting. The new unified Rakuten Affiliate Network interface will also enable you to:
- Manage all advertiser relationships directly
- View all Advertiser performance with full transparency
- Utilize platform tools for your entire Advertiser portfolio
- And more…
The date for closing the Lead Advantage network is March 31, 2015. We will work with you every step of the process to ensure you a re ready for this update.
Please review the below FAQs to help you prepare for this update.
- Will I receive all commissions due for March 2015 activity? Yes, all commissions will be reviewed and processed for payment in April, as they normally would.
- What if I have valid leads delivered AFTER 3/31/2015. Will I be commissioned for those leads? If you have leads that fall within an advertiser's return days (cookie window) & are reported in April, all commissions will be reviewed and processed for payment in May, as they normally would.
- How will I find and join Advertiser offers that I am currently approved in? If you are currently approved in a Lead Advantage Advertiser's offer, your account will be automatically migrated with the offer to the Rakuten Affiliate Network and maintain an Approved status.
- What will happen with my Lead Advantage activity data? Will I be able to access it in the Affiliate Network reporting section? This information will not be transitioned to the Affiliate Network dashboard. We encourage you to download and save any important reporting data for your historic record.
If you have any additional questions about this update, please contact email@example.com .
Tim Mueller,
Director, Network Development
All I can say about that is "GOOD!". The whole separation within the same affiliate network interface was just weird and clunky. 🙂


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Philips Color Kinetics
Added: Dec 2012
A versatile exterior LED, the Color Kinetics ArchiPoint has a high intensity output that is even visible in daylight and is ideally suited for direct-view applications within both entertainment and architectural installations.
It can display large-scale video, graphics, and intricately designed effects and the fitting has an efficient high intensity output.
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Worthington High School exterior photo as seen from Clary Street.
The Communications Arts Department offers a variety of experiences in English Literature, Composition, Speech, and Theater with the goal that all students will learn to be great communicators.
Students are required to have eight classes in Communication Arts in order to graduate from Worthington High School. Six of these classes are required with an additional two as electives. Students have the opportunity to take honors classes from 10th-12th grades and AP Language and AP Literature to qualify for college credit. We offer a great diversity of electives like Mythology, Theater, Popular Novels, Creative Writing, Debate, Hispanic Literature, Asian Literature, Film Studies, Humanities, and Modern Media.


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Queen Ermengarde and the Abbey of St Edward, Balmerino
Hammond, Matthew
International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds, Session: Cîteaux–Commentarii Cistercienses, July 9 (2007)
On the feast day of St Lucy the Virgin – 13 December 1229 – Dom Alan the Abbott and a group of Cistercian monks left Melrose Abbey, and headed for Balmerino in Northern Fife, in the Scottish east midlands. According to the chronicle of the founding house, the new abbey 'was made by King Alexander [II] and his mother'. Melrose, a daughter house of Rievaulx, was by then, nearly a century old, and by Scottish standards, was a large and prosperous monastery. King Alexander likely had a special affection for Melrose; he was buried there after his death on distant Kerrera in 1249. Balmerino was the first daughter-house of Melrose – and the first royal Cistercian foundation – in some sixty-five years. Indeed it was the first new royal foundation of any order since the Tironensian Arbroath in 1178.
Click here to read this paper from the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds


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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: Behaviour of the "natural" sort: consensus reached?
Re: Behaviour of the "natural" sort: consensus reached?
From: Al Le <al.le_at_gmx.de>
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:03:57 +0200
On 22.04.2009 14:46, Mike Holden wrote:
> We specifically reported on how Windows treats 00file.txt and 000file.txt,
But that would be in line with the agreement that "000file" and "00file"
I'm not stating anything about the consensus, I just want to say that
Page was last modified "Jan 10 2012" The Rockbox Crew


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Cycling is huge in Encinitas and we love it.
We don't like being called names, but we have all been called something while on the road, so we keep riding out of our passion for the sport. Encinitas gained its national and international reputation in the mid-80s and is still tentatively hanging on to that reputation.
Thousands ride through town each week and if anything goes wrong there are seven shops to give professional service. Hundreds of professional and top amateurs train here in the winter and most of the residents of Encinitas welcome them warmly.
In the early '90s Lance Armstrong lived in an apartment at the top of Encinitas Boulevard; Marianne Berglund (World road champion from Sweden) lived up Chesterfield in Cardiff, Greg LeMond stayed at the Rancho Santa Fe Inn; John Howard (gold medal winner at the Pan Am games) lived in Encinitas and Axel Merkx (whose father was the greatest cyclist ever) showed up every winter to train with Swami's Cycling Club.
Encinitas' own Swami's Cycling Club was the nation's best amateur team in the '90s. Their riders won 10 national championships and represented the United States and Canada in the Olympics, World Championships and top international races.
The first rider to break through was Ryan Dahl from Leucadia whose father owns Wax Research. Ryan represented the U.S. at the Cyclocross World Championships in Belgium in 1990. Swami's latest alumnus to ride for the U.S. was Chris Horner at the London Olympics this year. He joined Swami's as a happy-go-lucky 19-year-old from La Mesa in 1991. Even though he now rides the biggest races in Europe for Radio Shack, he still will give you a wave and smile. You will probably see him on the road this winter riding the back roads of North County.
I don't want to leave out the triathletes, who have as great, if not greater, impact on riders in Encinitas. Scott Tinley in Olivenhain, Mark Allen and Julie Moss in Cardiff; Paula Newby Frasier and Greg Welch in Encinitas are all Ironman Hawaii winners and trained here full time. They attracted pros and amateurs alike to swim our oceans, ride the world-class roads of North County, and run the trails of Rancho Santa Fe. They've come from Australia, Japan, Europe, Africa, and all over North America. Their intense training, positive outlook, and camaraderie have inspired us all.
But, I'm sure you've noticed, not all cyclist are elite athletes. A great majority are weekend warriors that love to be outside putting in a hard effort and rewarding themselves with a cup of coffee. Fifteen years ago I knew everyone on the Coast Highway, but now I'm hard pressed to recognize anyone. Cycling has become a mainstream sport with hundreds of thousands of San Diegans participating.
Encinitas should renew its effort to enhance our local, national and international cycling reputation.
My hope is "the powers that be" will think of the cyclist first when upgrading our streets. They will think of the cyclist first when developing new transportation corridors. They will think of the cyclist first when we want Encinitas to be more intimate, quiet and unique. I know that will attract more cars, bring people who want to escape the chaos (Los Angeles), but over time they too will come to understand what we already know. Cycling is huge in Encinitas.
Mark Lathrop is a Leucadia resident.


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Oh, hi winter. It's officially freezing in NYC. It's only going to get worse. The best part of winter is hot chocolate (with marshmallows, obviously!), boots, and sweaters. I don't know about you, but my office is FREEZING. Constantly FREEZING. The real battle is dressing warm and cute. Sweaters are the perfect answer.I love sweater weather. I like my sweaters over-sized and boy-ish.
I purchased this sweater last year from H&M. They didn't have my size. I loved the sweater so much that I ended up buying it a few sizes too big. I love how it fits. I could live in this thing. This sweater can be styled so many ways - over an LBD, with boyfriend jeans, or with a cute skirt. Endless possibilities.
Hope you all had a wonderful New Year! One of my resolutions is to reuse and reinvent items in my closet. I spend far too much money on clothing. I'm really eager to use old pieces from my closet and turn them into fresh, bold outfits. I'll definitely be sharing details on the blog.
I can't wait to see what 2015 has in store for me and this blog! Thank you so much for reading!
Sweater: H&M, Similar Here
Leggings: J. Crew
Boots: ShoeMint
Hat: Forever 21
Lipstick: Courtisane by Sephora
Photos by Jessi


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An overbooked groom-to-be, a very busy future bride and the wish for a worry-free wedding in the south of France… The A to Z organisation option is perfect for those who want to stay calm during all the wedding preparation and make the most of their big day. At a first meeting, we will sketch together your perfect scenario : you wishes, your desires, your impulses… Everything is possible so do not mind or hesitate on anything !
Peculiar or romantic venues, famous caterers or talented craftsmen, any kind of musicians, haute-couture scenographies, zany or classical wedding announcements, photographers, artists from all backgrounds, we will be at your side in every step of your wedding planning.
Our added value : an extended network of providers in the south of France, carefully selected along the years, in order to obtain the unique wedding that will fit you best. Please note nonetheless, we are always looking for the new gem, the new talented providers, so should you have any good addresses that are important to you, feel free to give us your recommendations. We will be delighted to work with them !
Earnest advise, top-notch technicality, perfect logistics, we put a point to create the most beautiful event for you.
On D-Day, you will just have to take seats and enjoy : a team of professional coordinators will ensure this day goes perfectly. Weddings do no longer limit themselves up to one day only. We are also willing to organise your pre-party and/or your wedding brunch if you want to. Willing to settle some activities for your guests ? We may give you any advice you wish for. And if you want to propose an accommodation and/or a transportation service to your guests, we will be able to settle a private concierge service.
The wedding day is coming soon. You have already planned a great part of it and you just miss a dose of tranquillity to finish your masterpiece.
Take the D-Day coordination option and let us take the lead on that day, thanks to an efficient coordination of the providers you would have carefully selected before.
3 months before the Big Day, we will settle a meeting in order to take knowledge of your project and refine together all the last details, while allowing you to benefit from our expertise, our advice and our creative ideas. Together, we will establish a detailed planning of the wedding day, that we will communicate to all the providers.
On D-Day, our team of coordinators will be there to watch every little detail, from arranging the decoration, to welcoming the providers, passing by dealing with any unforeseen event… You will not have anything to do except enjoy your wedding in the south of France !
Taking the D-Day coordination option will allow you to appreciate every second of this beautiful moment !
With this option, we give you the opportunity to release yourself from dealing with all the big steps of your wedding organisation, by giving us the lead on all the fundamental points.
Respecting your wishes and your budget, we will organize those big steps by finding you a venue in the south of France, a caterer, your musical animations, and we will settle the scenography of your wedding reception.
By this way, you will build with our help the basis of your event, and you will be able to deal with all the other details yourself.
On D-Day, our team of coordinators will be there to watch every detail and make sure the wedding is running smoothly.
Your reception venue is the most important thing of your wedding. It settles the atmosphere and marks the print of your image. It is also the most risky step of your wedding organisation.
Finding a venue in the south of France is still very difficult and even if the Internet is a great tool, full of many addresses, il will unfortunately not propose you all of them.
Our strength is to make you win a lot of time in your research by proposing you a fine selection of venues that will well fit your expectations.
As permanent hunters of peculiar venues in the south of France, we will also try to propose to you confidential locations in order to make your wedding unique.
To conclude, we will settle your visits by creating an efficient roadbook, which is a noticeable time savior in such an adventure.
With this option, you let us take the responsibility of some providers you are missing. This is the perfect option if you have already organised a great part of your wedding in the south of France. It is also a great solution if you are not confident about some points and prefer them to be handled by us in order to have the best service.
Caterers, Photographers, Video Makers, Floral Designers, Graphic Designers, Performers, our providers' network is well enough stretched out so that we are able to propose to you the ones that will have the best services for you.


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Bio & Research:
Zhi Xiangyang graduated from School of Automation, Southeast University with a bachelor degree in 2015. He is now a master student at Shanghaitech University since September, 2015. His research interests include Robotics, Artificial Intelligence(AI) and Machine Learning.
Hand-eye Calibration
Hand-eye calibration is a well-known calibration problem. The problem assumes that a camera (eye) is rigidly mounted to the gripper (hand) of a robot arm and aims to find out the transformation between them. In this project, I proposed a novel algorithm which combine hand-eye calibration into 3D reconstruction. Experiments indicated this algorithm is very accurate.
Laser-Camera Calibration Toolbox
A offline toolbox, implented with MATLAB, is used to calibrate a 2D or 3D laser scanner and an optical camera.


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"I studied with Iris Ratowsky for 4 years, initially completing the three year certificate program with Berkeley Institute of Homeopathy and then a one year round table supervision program for graduates. Iris strikes a fine balance between rigorous and detailed academic study and exploring/developing the more elusive qualities of being a healer.
By the time I graduated I had a solid foundation of materia medica knowledge, an advanced understanding of homeopathic theory and philosophy, a carefully honed set of analytical tools for analyzing a case, and a clear path for helping my clients. I appreciated the most, Iris' dedication to our wholeness as people, students and practitioners.
Everything she did was focused on building us up, be it with knowledge, confidence, or good food. Iris wants every one of her students to be successful and sustainable on all levels. Health is not just for your clients, it's for you too.
Studying with Iris and BIH was an enriching experience. I highly recommend it. Oh, and I passed the dreaded CHC exam on first writing."
"I have so much appreciation for the intelligence, depth of understanding, and decades of experience that Iris brings to her teaching. She cares deeply about homeopathy, and radiates such warmth and integrity. I recommend her school wholeheartedly."
—Ro Loughran
psychotherapist and graduate
"Some are good homeopaths, some are good teachers… Iris is both! She can
easily relate to the beginner's mind as well as the advanced student's. Her
thinking is critical and organized. I thank her everyday in my practice, for
the case analysis skills she taught us.
"She has a unique, animated and humorous way of teaching remedies, her classes
are always a lot of fun! Her lively demonstrations make the information hard
to forget.
"In her classes, she brings in the intellect, intuition, hard work and
relaxation all together. I am most appreciative of her emphasis on the
homeopath's self awareness and healing."
"Iris brings many years of experience and teaching practice into her classroom. She easily tailors learning to the different interests, melatonin håndkøb and perspectives of different students.
Class participation and discussion are encouraged, in addition to traditional lectures. You learn tools to work with clients, and case management techniques.
I got a solid foundation that covered many practical remedies and topics required for a successful practice. What makes this school unique is the emphasis on developing yourself as a practitioner. This is the place to go to develop your love of homeopathy!"
Berkeley Institute of Homeopathy.


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HSBC risks losing U.K. corporate clients if it decides to move its headquarters out of London, a survey of its British customers found.
Bloomberg News reports that more than 50% of customers who said they use HSBC as their primary bank would reconsider their relationship with the lender if it relocated to Hong Kong or another country outside the U.K., according to a survey by research firm East & Partners.
Only 2% of 248 of HSBC's top corporate customers said the move would help them, compared with 60% who said it would benefit HSBC itself, the firm said.
"The potential leakage of U.K. corporates from the bank in the event of a Hong Kong relocation should be extremely concerning to HSBC, and of course, equally encouraging to the bank's competition', said Paul Dowling, principal analyst at East & Partners Europe. 'Customer reaction could produce the biggest seismic shift in market share seen since the onset of the financial crisis'.
To access the complete Bloomberg News article hit the link below:
HSBC Seen Losing U.K. Corporate Clients If Bank Leaves London
JPMorgan Vice Chairman Jimmy Lee Dies Unexpectedly at Age 62
Have something to tell us about this article?


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SocialFlight Expands Worldwide
SocialFlight is expanding worldwide.
What are pilots saying about the latest aircraft accessories? Our flight accessory and electronics reviews shed light on some of the latest electronics for pilots.
SocialFlight is expanding worldwide.
Just a year and a half after first flight of the prototype SAM aircraft, President Thierry Zibi has put the company up for sale.
Maule's 2nd Annual Homecoming Fly-In is just six weeks away.
Christopher Burgermeister of Yorkville, Illinois, has been named the winner of the Lightspeed Aviation Treasure Hunt at AirVenture 2014.
Pilots the world over seeking an EASA Light Aircraft Pilot License (LAPL), Private Pilot License (PPL) or Night Rating certification now can study for their knowledge tests using an iPad training app available from King Schools.
Beechcraft Corporation, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced it has delivered two Beechcraft T-6C+ military trainers ordered earlier this year to the Mexican Navy Secretaría de Marina (SEMAR).
Cirrus Aircraft announced the expansion of its international sales network into India.
Douglas Clements announced that he is stepping down as President in 2015.
Pilots Paul Bonhomme and Nigel Lamb of Great Britain and Matthias Dolderer of Germany took in an iconic English landmark on Thursday during a recon flight preparation for the fifth stop of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) is announcing a change in its online flight planning member benefit.
Bearhawk Aircraft announced today the maiden flight of the first kit-built Bearhawk LSA aircraft.
The perfectly executed instrument approach – it's one of the most satisfying feelings in aviation.
With its new 6.0 release, ForeFlight continues to make a great product even better.
Though glass cockpit technology has brought the general aviation piloting experience closer to what's available on airliners, VFR pilots haven't been taking advantage of glass in huge numbers.
Four years ago, Adventure Pilot launched the first in their iFly series of handheld moving-map GPS devices.
Who would've dreamed even 10 years ago that you could wear a full-featured WAAS GPS navigator on your wrist?
For more than a year now, we've been seeing portable devices that receive ADS-B weather, and in some cases traffic, but none provide the ADS-B out functionality required by the FAA for operation in controlled airspace beginning in the year 2020.
The DeLorme inReach SE isn't designed to be used in an airplane, but it can provide text messaging and tracking.


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The entrepreneurship curriculum teaches students how to recognize and develop opportunities in business and not-for-profit organizations. It prepares students to operate in rapidly growing businesses, to participate in family-owned businesses, to establish their own business, or to plan, lead and contribute to new business development initiatives within larger organizations.
Entrepreneurship is multidisciplinary and creative in nature. You will learn about many different areas of business, in particular marketing, strategy, finance and management.
The entrepreneurship program demands much from its students, including a professional orientation and a sense of self-sufficiency.
Your freshman and sophomore years will be largely confined to starting the OSU baccalaureate core and the Business Core (see Requirements.) These courses are required of all business students. The majority of entrepreneurship option courses are completed during the junior and senior years. By the conclusion of the entrepreneurship option, you will have broad exposure to all major areas in business.
Learning entrepreneurship inside the classroom is complemented with a wide variety of extra-curricular resources to help students turn their ideas into reality. InnovationX, the OSU Center of Excellence for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, is OSU's hub for student entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers. InnovationX supports students who have ideas, who have already started a business or who are simply passionate and drawn to innovation. We provide the resources, education and community that can help students capture, share and test ideas and turn them into reality. Students can participate in workshops, networking events, business plan competitions, a student incubator, and more and get the mentoring and coaching they need to move ideas forward. Learn more.


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Istanbul Twilight by Siba Sahabi
This stunning felt candle stick is made by the internationally acclaimed artisan Siba Sahabi. Her beautiful accessories that create a bridge between the orient and Occident are crafted from overlaid strips of paper or layers of felt. The intricate shapes of her pieces are reminiscent of the fluted surfaces on ceramics created by a potters wheel. Siba's outstanding accessory pieces include vases, jugs, pots and tea sets.
Visit sibasahabi.com
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Community Spotlight: A Lack of Free Trials?
In this week's Community Spotlight, we focus on the thread, "Why are newer games backing away from giving trials?" by Razeekster.
Razeekster says:
None of the new games that that have come out the past couple years give them. For example, to play Guild Wars 2 or the Secret World your only option to be able to try it out is to wait for one of their very rare free weekends. I just don't understand why these newer games wouldn't want players to try them out for 10-14 days like other P2P games do (or to level 20 like WoW does and like RIFT used to do before it went free to play). I mean, they'd probably be getting more customers that way because people may go, "Oh, hey, this is pretty fun! I'm going to buy it/pay for it now!"
So, why is it that there seem to be fewer free trials these days? Find out what the community had to say below!
WereLlama (awesome name) brings up pattern filtering as a possible reason:
This has been discussed on Gamasutra.
I believe the summary is that due to there being so much competition, demos or trials have become an opportunity for would be players to pattern filter the game away. They are much less likely to try the final version.
Oh its isometric, Next.
Oh its first person, Next.
Oh its tab targeting, Next.
Oh it has cartoon graphics, Next.
Oh they have a in-game shop, Next.
Then women have clothes on, Next.
If the Dev's wait until the game is done with a viable emotional investment model, they can get the players to stick it out.
You get 30 seconds of the player's attention, tops!
Quizzical offers an interesting take:
You don't want everyone who will ever play your game to get in on launch day. Rather, it's much better to maintain a fairly stable playerbase, for a number of reasons.
Different players will time when they start a game differently, for reasons of their own. Some want to play on launch day, others want to wait for a free trial before potentially buying a game, and still others will wait until a game goes "free to play". Each of those events, as well as releasing expansions and certain very major patches, can bring in a flood of new or returning players that causes the playerbase to spike upward.
Thus, if there are a number of events that you know will cause the playerbase to spike upward, and you can time then to whenever you want, you try to time them to happen when the playerbase would otherwise have been sagging. That will keep the playerbase steadier than if you caused a spike in population when it was already going up. And in particular, you don't want to time two of the events too close to each other.
So first you release a game without a free trial. Then you offer a free trial later, once the playerbase is declining and you feel the need to do something about it. And which are the games that you're noticed don't have a free trial? Precisely the newer ones--that is, the ones that haven't gotten to the point where it makes sense to offer a free trial just yet.
dumpcat blames the gold sellers:
It's because of gold sellers. Same old story...a few bad apples ruin it for the good ones.
The reality is that developers and publishers will offer free trials when it is most advantageous for them to do so. It's just that simple. These are typically timed around new patches or maybe dips in population or any number of situations. In any case, as more and more MMOs go the F2P route, the need for a free trial is becoming obsolete. I can't really tell you why Guild Wars 2, as a B2P title, doesn't offer them more frequently, but I wouldn't say that because GW2 isn't doing these often that other B2P titles down the line won't. It's frankly too early to say. The sample size is just too small at the moment.
What's your take? Share it with us in the comments below!


text: Artifact Details Title Project Stretch - mathematical planning Catalog Number 102632650 Type Document Date Aug. 15, 1956 Sarahan, B.L. 1 p. Description Arrangements for the first IBM - 'C meeting Sept. 5th-7th in Poughkeepsie. Poor quality text Category Memoranda Subject IBM Project Stretch Credit Gift of Harwood G. Kolsky Lot Number X3021.2005 102632650.pdf


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We realize that finding what you're looking for can be a daunting task, especially on a site with as much information as ours. That's why we've provided this useful site map to help you find what you're looking for faster.
Bachman Printing Co.733 Marquette Ave., Suite #109 • Minneapolis, MN 55402 • Contacts: • Legal: Steve West • Business Printing: Omar YamoorPhone: (612) 339-9518 • Fax: (612) 337-8053E-mail: email@example.com


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Privacy and Security
Recent changes in the laws affecting privacy and confidentiality of personal information are impacting nearly all businesses. Our team offers a multidisciplinary group of attorneys with expertise in assisting clients in understanding and complying with the increasing number of privacy and security laws and regulations being passed by state and federal government.
Our privacy and security attorneys bring a depth and breadth of knowledge from a broad range of practice areas including:
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From these perspectives, Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP is ready to advise clients on compliance with a myriad of legislation such as:
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While the incredible power of the Internet and other technology have led to a growing concern over the protection of personal information, heightened interest in homeland security requires the sharing of certain private information. Similarly, while the provisions of the HITECH Act attempt to move all medical records into electronic format, the Act simultaneously vastly extends the reach and scope of the HIPAA privacy and security regulations.
Thus, what to disclose and what not to disclose can be confusing. Our attorneys help clients break through the red tape and navigate the complexities of overlapping, and sometimes inconsistent, regulation.
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Fly fishing for trout is always a little different on Memorial Day weekend. The most popular creeks and rivers are as crowded as Styrofoam cups of worms wiggling elbow-to-elbow. Lakes are no better, perhaps worse, with high-powered boats piloted by merrymakers carving huge wakes through the water's surface.
Not for me. .
I head for the hills, far up the mountain near the headwaters. The creek turns into a mere trickle up high, but the adventurous fly fisher can come up on the occasionally hefty trout hiding next to a little rock.
Though I try to escape, I keep coming back to the reason we even have such a holiday. It is, after all, more than just an excuse to burn burgers on the grill and toss cans into the trash.
Memorial Day is set aside to mourn those who died while fighting in our armed services.
And the weekend always sends me back to the summer of 1967. It had been a hot day on the beach, and we had all turned red as lobsters.
The cool air inside The Raven soothed the burn, as did the sweaty mugs of cold beer.
There were four of us, Johnny and his girlfriend and me with mine.
He had just left Parris Island triumphantly as the No. 1 recruit in his company while I was just a few days away from taking that bus trip to Marine boot camp.
Johnny had been on the high school wrestling team with me. I was the littlest competitor, the kid who always went on the mat first with every nerve jangling like chimes. Johnny was one of the biggest, often wrestling in the heavyweight class against larger guys.
He had a lot of heart, and that made up for any physical disadvantage.
Johnny also played football.
He was good enough to win a scholarship to the University of Tennessee in the days when college free rides were rare.
He went on the graduate, joined the Marines and eventually became an officer.
I wonder what he would have turned out like. You see, that night in The Raven was the last time I talked with Johnny.
He went to Vietnam and came home with a flag draped over his coffin.
Today, he's a name etched in the slab of black marble that makes up the Vietnam Memorial.
When I saw the Moving Wall, the smaller version of the memorial in Washington, D.C., I had trouble finding Johnny's name and at one point thought perhaps it had all been one huge, horrible mistake that night in Norfolk, Va., when Dad told me the news.
I had just come in from work at the shipyard, all dirty and sweaty. Dad was watching the TV news.
"Your buddy got killed in Vietnam," he said.
I could not think of a single thing to say.
Johnny's death was like a drill instructor's punch to the gut.
I felt empty.
About two years ago, the British military began driving the hearses carrying slain soldiers through the town of Wooten Bassett en route from the airport to the military morgue.
The first time this happened, an elderly man stopped what he was doing, stood silently alone and saluted as the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin drove by.
a shopkeeper noticed. The next time a military hearse passed through, the elderly man was not alone.
Without saying a word or having any meeting to discuss the matter, the townspeople simply began to line the streets. Silence fell .
I thought that gesture good enough to steal … sort of.
This Memorial Day, while certainly fishing that red and gold dry fly, I'll again take a silent moment to remember Johnny scaring me with boot camp horror stories that hot night in the cool tavern.
And salute as that memory passes.
Semper fi.


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- Autofocus
- Batteries
- Capturing the image
- Camera settings
- Care and maintenance
- Custom functions
- Depth-of-field
- Digital camera features
- Digital image file
- Digital image size and preview
- Exposure settings
- Firmware
- Flash
- Flash basics
- Speedlite compatibility
- Speedlite range
- Speedlite zoom
- Flash on camera
- Red-eye
- Dark backgrounds with flash
- Fill in flash
- Flash exposure lock and compensation
- Wireless flash
- Macroflash photography
- Bounce flash
- Flash synchronisation
- Stroboscopic flash
- Studio-style flash lighting with Speedlites
- Integrated Speedlite Transmitter
- Remote Release
- Focus points
- Image download
- Image compression
- Image information
- Image verification
- Internet
- Introduction to digital photography
- Lenses
- Construction
- Focal length
- All about apertures
- Lens speed
- Focusing and depth of field
- Black or white lenses
- Coloured rings
- Lens mount
- EF-S and field of view
- L-series lenses
- Fluorite, aspherical and UD lenses
- Prime and zoom lenses
- Image stabilisation
- Tilt and shift lenses
- Extenders
- Extension tubes
- Macro lenses
- Close-up lenses
- Filters
- DO elements
- Fisheye lenses
- SubWavelength structure Coating
- Media cards
- Panoramic images
- Printers
- Remote photography
- Scanning & copying
- Storage and archiving
- The digital darkroom
- White balance
Digital image file: CompactFlash and SD Flash Cards
The binary system might be simple, but it needs a lot of space to store all the digits that define the tones and hues of a digital image. EOS digital cameras store this data on a CompactFlash card Type I or Type II, or a Microdrive (some models also use a SecureDigital card). With the Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E2, data can also be stored directly to external media, such as hard drives. The term flash has nothing to do with lighting − it refers to the method of holding the data.
CompactFlash (CF) and SecureDigital (SD) cards are available with different storage capacities. Low capacity cards are being phased out as the increasing pixel counts on cameras demand the larger capacity cards. A 1 GB (gigabyte) CompactFlash card is now considered normal, and larger capacity cards are readily available.
The capacity of a card has no bearing on its physical size. CompactFlash cards come in two types. The only difference between them is that Type II cards are slightly thicker than Type I cards. Only Type I cards will fit a Type I slot, but either card type can be used in a Type II slot.
Type II slots also accept MicroDrives. Unlike the solid state CF and SD cards, Microdrives are miniature hard disks similar to those used in computers. They have rotating platters that store the data. With their moving parts, Microdrives are more susceptible to damage if dropped. They were popular initially because their 1GB storage capacity was greater than that of early CF cards. They are less popular now that CF cards offer capacities greater than 1GB.
Shooting resolution
As digital cameras improve, the size of the image files increases. This means there is a need for larger and larger storage cards. A basic (RAW) file from the EOS-1Ds Mark II, for example, has a size of about 14.6MB. This means that you can only record about 25 of these images on a 512MB CompactFlash card. But do you need to record all this data every time you take a picture?
Much depends on what you want to do with the picture. If you only intend to make small prints, you can probably get away with a file half this size. And if you only want images to put on an internet website, a very small file will be more than adequate.
That is why most cameras give you the choice of shooting at different resolutions (see table). At these reduced resolutions, the camera records one value from a cluster of adjacent pixels, rather than a value from each individual pixel. This gives less data, reducing the size of the file, but also reducing the amount of detail in the image.
If in doubt, always shoot at the maximum resolution of the camera. You can reduce the resolution later, but you cannot increase the resolution of an image once it has been captured. (Actually, there is a technique, called 'interpolation' which tries to improve the resolution of a digital image. It does this by looking at two adjacent pixels and making an intelligent guess about the colour and tone of an extra pixel that it inserts between them. The results can be effective, but are never as good as shooting with the extra pixels in the first place.)
Shooting resolutions for EOS digital cameras
|EOS-1D Mark II N
|Pixel recorded
|Suggested print size
|L (large)
|3504 x 2336
|A3 or larger
|M1 (medium 1)
|3104 x 2072
|A4 or larger
|M2 (medium 2)
|2544 x 1696
|A5 to A4
|S (small)
|1728 x 1152
|A5 or smaller
|3504 x 2336
|A3 or larger
|EOS-1Ds Mark II
|Pixel recorded
|Suggested print size
|L (large)
|4992 x 3328
|A2 or larger
|M1 (medium 1)
|3600 x 2400
|M2 (medium 2)
|3072 x 2048
|S (small)
|2496 x 1664
|Smaller than A4
|4992 x 3328
|A2 or larger


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Valentine Medical Centre, 2 Smethurst Street, Blackley, Manchester, M9 8PPTel: 0161 241 5480
We have recently increased the number of pre-bookable GP appointments. It should now be easier to book face-to-face and telephone appointments to see a GP up to a month in advance.
If you cannot attend your appointment please inform us in advance so we can allocate the appointment to somebody else.
If you telephone the surgery out of office hours your call will be directed to the Out of Hours Primary Care Centre (run by Go To Doc), alternatively you may contact them directly on 0161 336 3252.
Are you aged between 15 and 25?
Would you like to be screened for Chlamydia?
1 in 10 young people have Chlamydia.
Chlamydia is a sexually transmitted infection which has no symptoms but can cause damage if left untreated.
We offer a free and confidential urine test for Chlamydia and Gonorrhoea for young people under 25.
Make an appointment with a nurse or health care assistant for your free test.
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Starting with a refreshing cocktail of White Port, we will guide you through the delicious world of port. We have selected three different ports, including a Tawny and a Vintage port, and have matched them with artisan cheeses to complete the experience.
Cheese at Leadenhall is open Monday-Friday, 9am-8pm / Closed Weekends & Bank Holidays.
Tasting Slots are available Monday-Friday between 3pm-6pm.
Pre-booking your Tasting Slot is ESSENTIAL. Please email email@example.com or Ph: 020 7929 1697, at your earliest convenience.
Please bring Tasting Voucher with you on the day and allow 1-2 hours to enjoy the tasting fully.
Tasting Vouchers are valid for 12months from their purchase date. Lost or out-of-date Tasting Vouchers will not be valid.


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Meanwhile, CrimethInc, a national gathering of up to 200 anarchists, spent a recent week in the East End without Pittsburgh noticing.
And even they chose not to spend much time talking about G-20, participants said.
Asked whether the July 20-26 gathering in a rented, unfinished building in the 5000 block of Penn Avenue had resulted in anything untoward, Pittsburgh Police had no comment by press time.
Eric Morton of Uptown was attending his first CrimethInc convergence, the annual event named for the "thoughtcrime" of doubting the state's wisdom in George Orwell's 1984. "It was definitely a chance for people in Pittsburgh to meet with folks across the country who have either done organizing of resistance to similar events [to G-20] or who are planning to be present at the resistance to G-20," said Morton.
"But CrimethInc is not organizing any G-20 protests," said Mike Ludwig, the informal group's media liaison, from Athens, Ohio. Media were not allowed into the convergence building. "What people are working on in there are solutions to the world's problems that cannot be decided from the top down. What's happening in that space is skill-sharing and workshops and discussions to build a better world than is provided by global capitalism."
Workshop topics included everything from polyamory to community organizing in small towns and getting free software onto your computer --"just useful skills, DIY stuff," Ludwig explains. "There's a lot of emphasis on doing things yourself instead of supporting a large corporation."
The group also offered free food, lodging and child care. There was also an acupuncturist and herbalist on site to provide first aid for cuts and headaches.
A booklet for participants explained that organizers had hoped to buy a building "to create permanent infrastructure that could empower radical activities in Pittsburgh," but had put that plan on hold.
Police cruised by repeatedly, participants said. Because of G-20, the booklet said, "... we expect increased state harassment ..." But participants were also discouraged from breaking the law.
"The most important thing for us to be doing," the booklet concluded, "is not secretively carrying out military strikes against the State, but generalizing what ideas, skills, and momentum we can. To that end, we desperately need public participatory activities offering points of entry for new people and opportunities for existing groups to connect."
"In recent times," said Eric Morton, "you can see it's getting to the point where people can go to jail for having ideas that are dangerous to the existing order." CrimethInc, he said, was about formulating new ideas for "a world where we are living for ourselves and trying to realize our desires as a community."


text: Film was a bit low on attendance, but Stargate is a good film so that is OK. Lost a few and then gained some for drinks afterwards. But the best news is that is that we had our first official customer of the library. And whilst I was there I booked out the Klingon Dictionary which we then spent a good portion of time giggling at some of the phrases they'd included as examples at the back.


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Pool Water: What are You REALLY Swimming In?
If you own your own pool, chances are you have probably already opened it for the summer and know the basics of pool maintenance regarding cleaning and filtration. But when it comes to truly keeping up pool water hygiene, it helps to know a little bit more to ensure the water you swim in isn't doing your body and pool equipment more harm than good. Pools should always be tested regularly, as it is often the case that many people have no idea the kinds of bacteria and contaminants present in their pool water. For example, field studies looking at the different kinds of bacteria found in pool water discovered that upwards of 70% of public pools tested positive for human fecal matter. Of course, your own pool is going to have significantly lower levels of contaminants than pools that attract hundreds of swimmers per day, but it is no less important to keep an eye on what actually goes on in your pool water, and to know what to do to both prevent and correct potentially harmful levels of contaminants.
According to a brochure released by Siemens Water Technologies, the two most important factors in maintaining healthy pool water are chlorine and pH levels. Both are fairly easy to maintain and control, but there are several misconceptions surrounding the exact function and importance of each, and these misunderstandings could be inviting unwanted elements into your pool water. That is why this week's topic is focused on the ins and outs of understanding chlorine and pH balance, just in time for the start of pool season.
Chlorine is absolutely crucial to ensuring the quality and cleanliness of your pool water, as it works to kill bacteria and microbes from people, animals, dead wildlife, and debris from around your yard. You would think chlorine would be the most straight-forward element of pool water maintenance, but many people caring for their own pools do not use it properly, and this can give rise to a whole host of problems regarding the quality of your pool water. Here are the top four mistakes people make with chlorine, and what to do instead:
- Using liquid bleach. While bleach may be a convenient alternative and prove pretty effective in terms of bug- and bacteria-killing, it just doesn't do the job as well as chlorine. Bleach will filter out faster than chlorine, and can cause more irritation to eyes and skin, as well. Your best bet is to stick to chlorine tablets, which are easy, affordable, just as effective in cleaning, and work much longer than bleach.
- Adding chlorine during the day. Exposure to sunlight tends to dissipate chlorine, making it overall less effective. It is generally recommended to add chlorine at night, so that it has time to circulate throughout the entire pool before the sun rises. It is acceptable, too, to add chlorine to your pool early in the morning, before the sun is at its full intensity.
- Not letting the chlorine circulate long enough. Good circulation is key to making sure your pool is as clean as possible. Think of it this way – when making chocolate milk, you can't just squeeze in some chocolate syrup and expect it to mix on its own. If you don't stir the chocolate well enough yourself, you end up with chocolate stuck on the sides and bottom of the glass in clumps. The same thing happens with chlorine. The better the circulation, the more evenly and thoroughly the chlorine will be distributed throughout the pool. You should count on running your pump for approximately one hour for every 10 degrees of temperature (on average, that is 8 to 9 hours a day in the summer).
- Using too much chlorine. While we all want to make sure our pool water is as clean as can be, it really does not require much to do the trick. A little bit of chlorine goes a long, long way and it is much more important for the chlorine to be well-circulated than it is for there to be an abundance of it. The amount of chlorine you should be using differs depending on the size, shape, and depth of your pool. For a quick and easy reference guide, click here.
Keep in mind, as well, that it is definitely important to add fresh chlorine to your pool every day. It only takes days of neglect for your pool water to begin to take on a murky, green consistency, especially if you live in area where heavy rains in the summertime are prevalent.
pH Levels
Similar to how too much or too little chlorine can make you sick, so can too high or too low a pH level. We all learned about acids and bases in high school science class, and this is just one example where that knowledge proves useful in everyday life. A pH level of 0 is highly acidic, while a pH level of 14 indicates extreme alkalinity. A pH level of 7 is a neutral state, but most pool experts recommend a pH level somewhere between 7.0 and 7.6. Pool water that falls outside of this acceptable pH level range can cause damage to both you and your pool, and it is recommended you check pH levels at least once, even twice, per day.
If pool water is too acidic…
- Swimmers' eyes and noses start to burn and their skin feels dry and itchy. High acidity will also cause swimwear to fade faster.
- Especially in Marbelite, plaster, or tiled pools, acidic pool water will begin to dissolve the surface, forming tiny groves ideal for algae and bacteria growth. High acidity will also cause metals – pool equipment, pipe fittings, pipe connections, ladders, etc. – to corrode. In addition to causing direct damage to these fixtures, metal corrosion will release sulphates onto the walls and floor of the pool, causing black and brown stains.
- High acidity over-activates chlorine, causing it to dissolve and become lost to the atmosphere very quickly.
If pool water is too alkaline…
- High alkalinity also causes irritation to swimmers' eyes and skin.
- The sides of the pool will begin to blacken at the water line due to calcification. The calcium carbonate will also plate out on the sand in the swimming pool filter, essentially turning to cement which causes the filter to lose its ability to function properly.
- Pool water becomes visibly cloudy and murky.
- A higher pH level minimizes the effectiveness of chlorine. Unlike in highly acidic water where the chlorine over-activates and dissolves, in high-alkaline water the chlorine is rendered virtually useless. Only about 20% of the chlorine in your pool is used when the water is at a pH level of 8.0, which means the vast majority of the chlorine (and the money you spend on it) goes completely to waste.
Keep in mind that the pH level of pool water will generally rise on its own, as it is nature's tendency to balance standing water at a pH of 8.5. High alkalinity of pool water is easy to correct by (carefully!) adding small amounts of acid to the pool, the most commonly used acids being liquid hydrochloric acid (muriatic acid) and dry acid (sodium bisulphate).
To add acid to the pool…
- Make sure the pump is running and that there are no swimmers in the pool.
- Fill a bucket about 3/4 full of water from the pool.
- Add a small amount of acid to the water. ALWAYS add acid to water, never the other way around!
- Pour mixture slowly around the deep end of the pool.
- Let pump circulate the acid throughout the pool for at least 4 hours.
- Check pH levels again, aiming for a pH level of 7.2.
How do you keep your pool water clean and safe to swim in? Tell us about your maintenance routine in the comments section!
Happy swimming!


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Big game fishing lure swag with 7 lure pockets. Sea blue, black trim with yellow embroidery. This lure bag made from quality material for heavy duty use. Comfortable handle fo ease of transportation. Extra large pockets for rigging and lure storage. Self draining with over sized pockets and clear PVC window.
This bag measures 38cm by 22cm rolled up and 38cm by 125cm long and has seven enclosed pockets 38cm x 18cm with Velcro and weave mesh on the back.
The back of the bag is constructed from material to allow the bag to breath. With vents at the back so your lures will dry out ensuring you get long life and reduce smell from your rigged trolling lures after use.
It's the best way to store your game fishing lures.
So at the end of the day, simply hose or soak the whole bag with lures inside in a bucket of freshwater to rinse off the saltwater and then hang it up to dry.


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The minefield of personal finance
Applying for credit whether it be a loan or credit card can be a daunting process especially with so many banks all boasting about different interest rates, special conditions and unique benefits.
This article is designed to help you navigate the minefield of personal finance and give you a better understanding of the how the credit system works. We have added a few useful resources for you as well.
Before you apply for a credit – When borrowing money it is important to decide how you want to use it and what sort of borrower you are.
What are you going to use the money for?
- Emergencies.
- A one-time purchase.
- Consolidating credit.
Are you a student with no credit rating or an established professional with a regular income? One thing is certain, there is sure to be at least one deal that suits your needs best.
Every money lender has their own special criteria to decide who their ideal customer is but all of them rely heavily on data provided by three credit reference agencies. These commercial companies compile data about individuals from a range of sources to help money lenders decide whether to authorise a loan, credit card, or any type of credit agreement.
Because of government legislation it is now affordable and easy to check your own credit rating for yourself. Even if you think your rating is first-class it is still a good idea to check it at least once every year for fraud or identity theft.
Three Credit Reference Agencies
Credit Expert – You can contact the customer support centre, PO Box 8000, Nottingham, NG80 7WF – 0844 481 8000
Equifax – You can contact credit file advice centre, PO Box 1140, Bradford, BD1 5US – 0844 335 0550
Callcredit – You can contact the customer support team, PO Box 491, Leeds, LS3 1WZ – 0870 060 1414
Is the information on file wrong or do you have a complaint about a lender?
From time to time incorrect information can be added to your credit file which can have a negative effect on your credit file. The credit agency can write to the offending lender on your behalf. If things are not resolved quickly or satisfactorily then pressure from the following companies below can help!
Financial Ombudsman
Financial Ombudsman – The financial ombudsman is the official independent expert in settling complaints between consumers and businesses that provide financial services. You can call them on 0800 023 4567. This is a free phone number if you are using a "fixed line" phone – but charges may apply if you call from a mobile phone.
The Information Commissioner's Office
ICO – The information's commission could help you if information on file is incorrect and the credit agencies cannot resolve this with the lender. You can call the ICO helpline on 0303 123 1113 or 01625 545745. They are open between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.
5 Tips To Improve Your Credit Score
There are a number of things you can do to improve your credit score which are based on the information stored about you by the credit reference agencies.
- Get on the electoral register. This helps money lenders verify your identity.
- Build your credit score. Use credit but never miss a payment. If your history is bad this probably means you will only be offered high interest rates in the future. Be careful with money management, consider every purchase – do you really need it?
- Keep up with any existing repayments. Bank charges, county court judgements and rent arrears all act negatively against you.
- Don't make several applications for credit you are unlikely to get. Lots of credit searches in a small amount of time makes a creditor think you are desperate for cash and a high risk liability.
- Keep your debt to income ratio low. If your debt payments exceed 35% of your monthly income you will be unlikely to get any sort of loan and you will need to work on paying it off before applying for more credit.
Once you have a credit card, "respect it"; learn to manage your money! Above all else, keep up with the repayments. If you have any problems, contact your lending company because they might be able to help.
Useful Resources:
Citizens Advice Self Help – Find your nearest CAB centre (nearest centre)
National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
Debt Support Trust – A not-for profit debt advice charity – 0800 085 0226
Payplan – 0800 260 2816
Community Legal Advice How to Claim – Legal aid – 0845 345 4345 (or text 'legalaid' and name to 80010 to get a call back)
Debt Advice Foundation – Registered national debt advice charity – 0800 043 4050


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Though if forced, I'd take a Ferrari Enzo, what I really want for Christmas is a Bugatti Veyron:
If anyone has an extra that they wouldn't mind letting me have, I'd be eternally grateful, and I'd even wash yours for you whenever you wanted, even if it looks like this:
Bathing Ape, apparently famous in the Japanese streetware scene, found it fit to cover their Bugatti in a not so camouflaged Pepto Pink, complete with Bathing Ape print camo. This wasn't their first attempt at destroying what remains of the subtlety of a supercar though, as shown by their camo'ed Rolls Royce Phantom:
Ten bucks says Paul Dalton wouldn't touch either of these with a sponge on a ten-foot stick.
[Via: Ed Spivak's Daily Ramble]


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If we compare the expense of an inspection to the cost of buying a home, it really isn't that expensive after all! But too often, we still skip this step.
"You would never purchase a used car without hiring a knowledgeable mechanic to inspect it first. So why wouldn't you do the same thing before making one of the most important investments of our life?" asks Jean-Claude Fillion, an architect who specializes in pre-purchase inspections.
"It's important to know where you stand before buying a home," he continues.
Before you sign on the dotted line, here are five good reasons to get a home inspection before you buy a house.[……]


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Faithful Friday
I never realized how much and how often in a marriage you are ask not only for give-and-take
and sometimes to submit.
and sometimes to submit.
Now growing up no one would've called me a submissive person.
I bucked the rules at every chance I got.
At every stop along the way I had questions
I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
I wasn't going to go down without a fight.
I was always what you would call
a spitfire,
a troublemaker,
a spitfire,
a troublemaker,
one that was gonna blaze their own path in the world
no one was gonna hold me down
funny how things change as you grow older and wiser
how the right person in your life can change everything
and is even more amazing how God works in your life
even when you're fighting him as hard as you're fighting the rest of the world
in 2001 I graduated high school
|That's me on the right at the 2001 National FFA Convention
tomorrow marks 12 years since I walked across the football field
and was able to turn the first of four tassels
it was a bittersweet day for me
I remember without a doubt it I focus was on my plan for my life
I wasn't worried what anyone else had planned for me
I knew where I wanted to go
I knew what my goals were
(I was so determined to get away my aunt got me a complete set of luggage for a graduation present)
I knew what my goals were
(I was so determined to get away my aunt got me a complete set of luggage for a graduation present)
what I didn't know was what God's plan was for me
about 10 months later in my second semester of college
about 10 months later in my second semester of college
I met this guy in my calculus class
he was living down the hall for me,
that guy turned out to be my future husband
that guy turned out to be my future husband
I didn't know it then but on that day 11 years ago my life was changed.
God was working in my life in a way that I never could imagine
God was using me to do things that I didn't even know about
Upon starting to date William things are to change shortly
my focus was no longer so much I'm partying and hanging out with my friends
I worked building a relationship with him
it quickly became evident (to both he and I) that we were in this for long hall haul
3 years & 3 months after we started dating we were married
|This is still my favorite picture from our wedding
That presented a major change in my plans...
I had always thought that I would teach agriculture education in Georgia...
now I married a South Carolina boy (which I said on a number of occasions I would never do)
and had to find a job...
still determined to teach ag I took a job over an hour from our home
and commuted there for a year...
I wasn't listening to God's plan....heck I wasn't even asking God to show me his plan
however looking back I can see them laid out perfectly.
We decided sometime during that year that I shouldn't return,
I'm not sure if it was after a principal change less than one semester in,
or if it was the tragic death of one of my students,
or the fact that no 22 year old should teach high school (my opinion)
I was on the job hunt again...this time I choose to teach middle school science
kinda funny since I had turned down a position (closer to home) to doing the same thing a year before.
Still not listening or even looking for God's plan I moved ahead.
|The reason I started listening
It would take another year for me to begin searching for God's plan for my life
and another year to really be willing to sit back and listen.
Waiting is not something I do well, so there are still times when I jump the gun.
Even now 6 years after I began searching for God's plan and 5 years after I started to listen
I have to remind myself daily that I should submit to God's will for my life
His plans are far greater than anything I have planned.
As I write this I am reminded to pray asking God to lead me and my family where he wants us.
There is a window that is thought to be opening soon...
as a family we have to pray about what God wants us to do with that window...
climb out of it or close it.
The only way we can be truly satisfied with our life is to listen to God's plan and follow it.
|Our family on Mother's Day 2013
So until next time...


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October 23, 2015 A family heirloom passed from mother to son is something special. A small Teddy bear that once belonged to Ashley Trepp was given to her son Freddy who is now 5 years old was lost somewhere when the family was traveling Nashville back home to Minnesota, passing through Indiana. Heartbroken Ashley tried retracing the families steps and even called a pizza delivery company but she was out of luck. As a last resort she contacted the White County Sheriff's Department.
As reported by ABC News Ashley stated she contacted the Sheriff's Department and poured her heart out to the dispatcher. "We realized it was really gone and we were not ready to say goodbye and we were trying to figure out how to find it," "It was a total last resort," she said. "I thought for sure they would tell me that 'You really shouldn't be calling for this sort of thing' but I was really thrilled when they told me they'd look for it and even more thrilled when they found it."
The Deputy who received the call to make an area check understood how important it was to actually check and hopefully find the item and did just that. Deputy Matthew White was very lucky to have traversed the roadway and find the bear on the road.
WLFI reported that White stated : "The bear was really important to them," said Dep. White. "It was the mother's bear that she passed down to her son." Because of traffic and wind, Dep. White believed that finding the bear would be a long shot. However, it turned out to be a lot easier than he expected. "I put the car in park. Probably took one or two steps out of the vehicle and I saw the bear just lying on the side of the road," White explained.
Sheriff Patrick Shafer said, "[White] took it serious, he went out and he put forth the time and the effort. And as a result we have a happy mother and son up in Minnesota." Shafer adds the bear will be in the mail first thing Thursday morning, and Freddy's mom is thrilled. "A lot of the calls we get, we don't know what to expect," said Dep. White. "This one, when you get a chance to make a huge positive impact on somebody, this kid will probably never forget this story."


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Joined in Covenant
"Being joined in covenant with God means being similarly joined with all God's people. And. for some, there's there's the problem. We get on well with God, but living in harmony with others is more difficult. There is an answer: covenant love."
Taken from the back page of 'Joined in Covenent' - click here to download the PDF.
Once downloaded:


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Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) Chief Executive Officer Aubrey McClendon agreed to sell $88 million of his personal oil and gas interests to investment vehicles created by Wachovia Corp. three weeks after his company used the bank in a similar $600 million deal, a court filing shows.
The same Wachovia bankers worked on both August 2008 transactions, known as volumetric production payments, according to documents filed last year by Chesapeake in a Manhattan federal court. The deals came after a separate January 2008 Wachovia transaction that yielded McClendon $44 million, the documents show.
Chesapeake's board is scrutinizing McClendon's efforts to finance his personal holdings after media reports on his borrowings led Chesapeake to strip him of his chairman's title and end a special program that allowed him to invest in company wells. The board said last week it's examining McClendon's arrangements with any company that did business with Chesapeake.
"It's in the interest of the other parties to give him a break on his transaction if they get a break on larger transactions with the company," said John Coffee, a law professor at Columbia University, who's written on corporate governance. "There's a concern," especially if the transactions weren't disclosed to shareholders, he said.
Since 1993, McClendon has had the right to invest alongside Chesapeake in every well that it drills, buying as much as a 2.5 percent working interest. He said on April 26 that he had loans of $846 million outstanding on his personal holdings as of Dec. 31.
"The VPP sales were separate, arms-length transactions that were independently negotiated on market-sensitive terms," Chesapeake said in a statement. Ron Hutcheson, a spokesman for McClendon, declined to comment.
Finance Drilling
Volumetric production payments allow the owner of wells to get cash up front in exchange for future production of oil and gas, delivered according to a schedule over a period of years. Chesapeake has been a frequent user of VPP's to finance its well-drilling program, completing 10 transactions since 2007 to raise $6.4 billion.
Buyers of VPP's are usually special-purpose vehicles set up by Wall Street investment banks, according to the complaint in a 2010 lawsuit filed against Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Chesapeake in federal court in New York. The banks typically syndicate loans linked with the VPP's to other banks or hedge funds, according to the complaint.
The plaintiff in the case, Mary McCall, said she was a holder of a minority interest in some Chesapeake wells. She argued Chesapeake's and McClendon's VPP transactions were selling gas that rightly belonged to her.
Support Motion
Chesapeake and McClendon filed the documents detailing the VPP transactions to support their request to have the case dismissed. A judge granted that motion last year, and McCall is appealing.
The documents show that Wachovia helped set up at least three VPP transactions in 2008 — two for McClendon's personal holdings, and one for Chesapeake.
On Jan. 31, 2008, a partnership owned by McClendon, called Chesapeake Investments LP, agreed to sell rights to future gas production from some of McClendon's interests to a new entity known as TW Investors LLC for $44 million, the court papers show. The new entity shared an address with Wachovia's headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina (NII), according to the documents.
Two Wachovia bankers, Robert Christensen and William Eustis, were the only people listed as officers of TW in the documents. Wachovia also set up commodity swap transactions to facilitate the deal, the documents show.
Provided Swaps
Then on Aug. 1, Wachovia helped set up the $600 million VPP transaction with Chesapeake, known as Sooner Gas Trust, the filings show.
This time, a unit of Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) that handles asset-backed securities was named as the entity's "owner trustee." Sooner's officers were listed as three Wachovia bankers, including Christensen and Eustis, as well as a group from Capital One Financial Corp.'s energy-finance unit. Wachovia also provided swaps as part of the transaction.
On Aug. 21, McClendon's personal company sold another VPP through Wachovia, for $88 million, the court documents show. The new entity was called Blue Devil Trust, and Wells Fargo was again the "owner trustee." Wachovia's Christensen and Eustis were designated as Blue Devil's officers, and again the bank provided commodity swaps.
Wachovia was sold to Wells Fargo in 2009. Mary Eshet, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, declined to comment or to make the bankers available for interviews. Neither Christensen nor Eustis returned phone calls seeking comment.
Personal Interests
Chesapeake has disclosed some details of its own VPP's in securities filings. It said in a filing last month that it doesn't "review or approve financings of Mr. McClendon's personal assets." It added that disclosures about revenue from his personal well interests "include revenue attributable to volumetric production payments owed to third parties under transactions that Mr. McClendon has entered into from time to time."
Reuters reported on April 18 that McClendon arranged to borrow as much as $1.1 billion against his personal well holdings. His largest personal lender was EIG Global Energy Partners, which has also financed Chesapeake, the report said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that McClendon has personally borrowed from Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Bank of America Corp., all of which have been awarded investment banking business from Chesapeake.
The court documents in New York show that McClendon used the same deal team — Chesapeake executives, bankers, and lawyers — for both his personal transactions and the company's.
Legal Counsel
That includes outside legal counsel from C. Ray Lees, of Oklahoma City-based Commercial Law Group PC, and financial advice from Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF) Doug Jacobson, identified as an executive vice president at Chesapeake Energy, signed the Sooner Gas transaction on behalf of his company, and is also listed as an officer of McClendon's personal company in both of those VPP transactions.
Lees and Jacobson didn't return phone calls seeking comment on the transactions. A Jefferies spokesman, Richard Khaleel, declined to comment.


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About Us
My name is Lara and while I'm definitely not a gourmet cook, I do love preparing tasty, healthy meals for my family. Finding new recipes to try and sharing the ones we've already fallen in love with is a passion I've had since college and the reason why I've started this blog! With five kids, I'm usually in a hurry, so you'll find most of these recipes kid friendly and simple to make.
Hello there. I'm Jen and I love cooking and experimenting with recipes. I can thank my mother for my love of cooking and creating. I often need to be creative to get my three boys to eat well. (It is not unusual to see me sneaking veggies into their meals) While I am not a professional cook at all, I admit that I have clocked many, many hours watching the Food Network. (That's got to count for some sort of cooking certificate or something right?) I am a big fan of this blog and have used it many times. I currently live in Paris (although I met Lara and her family while in DC before we moved here) and I'm looking forward to sharing some tried and true recipes with you...perhaps some with a little French twist.
Read more...