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Danish Cardboard Tech becomes Dancatech. We have evolved and become wiser. Our retrospect has become wider, which has led us to the name change.
We still believe in the same core values which started Danish Cardboard Tech, that we should take care of our beloved plantet and use it resources wisely. However, during development we have discovered many more sustainable materials, which in the end led to the name change.
Please welcome, Dancatech ApS.


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James Cameron has revealed the planned release dates for his quintet of Avatar sequels, with dates between 2020 and 2025. Ever since the first Avatar set an all-time box office record of $2.7 billion (one that doesn't look likely to be beaten anytime soon) in 2009, sequels in some form have been at the forefront of James Cameron's mind. He created an entire world that - thanks to the wonders of motion capture and 3D technology - audiences were clearly hungry for and he has some big ideas for.
Over the years, the number of sequels has grown to be a whopping four, all of which are set to shoot back-to-back. Just as the plans for numbers have changed, so too have its release dates. Avatar 2 was originally set for 2014, then 2018, but departed that date a couple of months ago (and was replaced by Aquaman). With the extensive shoot set to start later in 2017, Cameron's now confirmed some more achievable dates.
On Avatar's official Facebook, the director revealed the release dates for all four sequels. The info was also sent out by Fox Distribution this morning (on this and the next X-Men movies): Avatar 2 on December 18, 2020, Avatar 3 on December 17, 2021, Avatar 4 on December 20, 2024 and finally Avatar 5 on December 19, 2025.
Little is known about the content of the sequels, and plans revealed in the wake of the original's 2009 release - such as an underwater-focused Part 2 - could have changed. Cameron has said since said that it will deal with the family of Jake Sully, a human who transferred his consciousness into a Na'vi avatar at the end of the first film, which the gap between releases would reaffirm. The dates themselves also suggests that the four movies will form two duologies, with 2 and 3 coming in concurrent years before a gap in 2022 and 2023 ahead of parts 4 and 5.
This is a very interesting move in terms of the wider blockbuster culture. December has been marked out as Star Wars month ever since The Force Awakens - the film that's come the closest to toppling Avatar as the biggest film ever - hit in 2015, a fact that has been viewed by some as part of Cameron's struggle to set a date. Indeed, the space fantasy's release dates go up to December 2019 with Colin Trevorrow's sequel-trilogy-ender Episode IX, with Avatar 2's 2020 date seeing it jumping straight in after. It's unclear what Lucasfilm's plans are post-IX, but rumors suggested that the studio are looking to starve the market of Star Wars ahead of a fourth trilogy, and this move may force that hand.
For the Avatar series, 2020 is a manageable target (compared to the very ambitious early plans), making it look less likely that the dates will be moved again. However, due to the long pre-production process, it does mean there'll have been eleven years between films. That's a longer absence than Star Wars between the prequels and sequels, which reframes what was originally meant to be a film riding the hype wave as a legacy production and does raise the question of whether the enthusiasm for Avatar, which has vastly subsided since the initial hype, will still be around to make the enterprise worth it.
Of course, it's never smart to doubt James Cameron; Titanic was predicted to be a box office bomb and critics were equally as skeptical of Avatar. If he thinks he can make four sequels a success, he has a good chance. Only three-and-a-half years until we find out.
Next: How Avatar is Adjusting to the Modern Blockbuster Landscape
Sources: Avatar, Fox
- Avatar 2 (2021) release date: Dec 17, 2021

subset: commoncrawl


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To boost the demand of homes and real estate, the Modi government has announced that the first home buyers will get an additional deduction of Rs 50,000 on interest they pay for home loans up to Rs 35 lakh (for homes that are not priced more than Rs 50 lakh in any case). At present, a home buyer can claim a deduction of up to Rs 1.5 lakh on the interest they pay on loans they have taken for houses they live in.
The home buyers can also claim a tax deduction up to Rs 1,00,000 on the portion of the EMIs they pay towards principal repayment under Section 80C. It means that if you pay an EMI up to Rs 2.5 lakh in a year (Rs 1 lakh as principal and Rs 1.5 lakh as interest), you can claim tax deduction on in the IT return you file. Now, the limit has been increased to Rs 3 lakh.
The government has also allowed 100% deduction on profit for builders and real estate developers who are targeting affordable housing segment. Besides this, any Central or state government project as well as projects with public private partnership will be exempted from Service Tax for developing cheaper homes of up to 30 sq mt area in the four metro cities and up to 60 sq mt area in Tier II and Tier III cities.
While presenting the Union Budget 2016-17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said,


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St. John Inn
The St. John Inn is a charming boutique hotel centrally located in the heart of Cruz Bay. Our guests are a delightful mixture of families, backpackers, seniors and honeymooners. We are walking distance from shops, restaurants, charter boats, the ferry docks, and the National Park Headquarters. There are also beautiful trails and beaches within walking distance. However, for those of you who wish to stay in and soak up the tropical sun, you can do so pool side at the Inn.


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The Dow Jones Industrial Average posted another surprising upward move today ending the day over 12,000 points – up another 4.2% (or 490 points.) When you look at what's going on in the world right now, such a bold Dow move can seem hard to fathom. But when you get to the bottom of it all it makes perfect sense.
The world market is under extreme pressure. Much of the Middle East is in full fledged turmoil. Turkey is joining an Arab led coalition to sanction Syria. Iran is seeking nuclear weapons and is hell-bent on destroying Israel. In response to Iran's ambition, the U.S. and some of her allies imposed additional sanctions on Iran for its behavior. China and Russia, those who are profiting most from the Iranian nuclear effort, voiced their angry dissent and shortly after England's Embassy was stormed in Tehran. Riots are on-going in Pakistan in protest of NATO airstrikes and aggressive covert operations. And then there's Europe, which makes the news today because the U.S. just joined several other central banks to bail out the European financial mess.
What a mistake!
Why must American taxpayers now pay for an absurd Greek lifestyle? Why must Americans bailout the incompetent foreign governments that include Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and France, to name a few. Heck, we're having enough problems bailing out our own incompetent governance.
Let's be fair, the U.S. has $15 trillion in national debt at the present time, the economy is in recession, and one-tenth of all workers are unemployed – this not to mention that the U.S. is staring massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare in the face.
Is this really the time, or the best use of American money that we don't have, (remember, we must borrow money from China in order to lend some to Europe) to bailout another continent? Is it me, or doesn't this sound stupid?
Yet the stock market ran boldly higher today. Why?
Wall Street loves money, and with today's Federal Reserve announcement, there will be more money printed, more debt to sell, and more cash for banks – and don't forget, the Wall Street establishment are banks – they make money with money. Today's market move is based on the false pretense that current central banking moves will cure the ailment. But it won't. It can't. Today's action was like taking a pain killer for a broken back. The only things it did was make it easier for banks to make more money – and harder for you to.
Unless of course you own a strong portfolio, one constructed with superior 15-51 construction. Here is how a strong portfolio stacks up to an average one for the past twelve months.
That's the kind of performance you need to stay ahead of inflation. Superior 15-51 construction makes it easier to make money, build wealth, and manage your portfolio.
Don't buy into the hype. Today's move was under false pretense.


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Give Us a Call: (608) 782-7300
Home > Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics > Newsroom > Slaman Family Memorial Scholarship
Published on February 19, 2016
The Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics Foundation's Slaman Family Memorial Scholarship is now available for applications. The scholarship was established in 1991 by Sam and Karen Slaman in honor of two women. It is in memory of Elizabeth Slaman, mother of Sam, and Antoinette "Toni" Nichols, mother of Karen. Both were patients at the former Boscobel Area Health Care and residents at the former BAHC Nursing Home. The creation of a scholarship in their honor symbolizes the family's concern and sensitivity for rural health care as well as their appreciation for those who provide immediate patient care in the hospital and nursing home facilities located in Boscobel. Therefore, this scholarship was established for employees of Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics and their spouses or legal dependents.
The main focus of the scholarship is to encourage individuals to pursue post-secondary education in Nursing. Applications are available in the Administration Office at Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics. The Application Procedure offers a detailed description of the qualifications for the scholarship and process to apply. Applications are due March 15.
Schedule an Appointment
Pay My Bill
Contact Medical Records
Make a Donation
Attend a Class or Event
Shop Online
Browse the Health Library
Talk to a Nurse
Every day, Gundersen Health System staff deliver great medicine plus a little something extra—we call it Love + Medicine.


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The Durnbaugh Family Takes On The 30 Day Suburban Smackdown
We love reading the stories of our 30-Day Suburban Smackdown participants. They are inspiring and keep us motivated as they remind us of our own experiences during our original 6 …Read More
Suburban Smackdown: The Final Days and a Nothing New Halloween
These 6 months of our first Suburban Smackdown Challenge have, surprisingly, flown by. Our families have endured without issue and are coming out on the other side with a new …Read More
Meet The Mueller's: Suburban Smackdown Featured Family
Hi! I'm Sarah. Meet Kevin, my husband and my three boys, Kieran (7), Rhys (11), and Finley (10). We live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio very near THE Ohio …Read More
Featured Family – The Herzel's Suburban Smackdown Experience
Woo-hoo! Our first Suburban Smackdown Featured Family experience! Up until today, you have only heard from the Hitch and Taylor families as to how we are incorporating the Suburban Smackdown …Read More
Suburban Smackdown-Thriving on Day 83
Here we are on Day 83 of our Suburban Smackdown and I have to confess, somewhat reluctantly for fear of a jinx, that the enormous hurdles that we had anticipated …Read More
Smackdown Weekend 1: Camping With My Scouts
In theory, I enjoy camping quite a lot. I love having adventures in nature with my family and the peace and quiet which accompanies it. But admittedly, my thoughts leading …Read More


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The Director of Alumni Engagement has launched an internal mentorship initiative that will help connect successful alumni with undergraduates looking for direction and professional and fraternal advice. The following is a transcribed and edited interview where the Director of Alumni Engagement and VP of Marketing discuss the program and the logistics of it.
VP of Marketing: If you could just give me a jist of the mentorship program, then I will get into my questions.
Director of Alumni Engagement: Sure, so Basically the concept of what the mentorship program is pulling alumni that kind of don't know how to get back into ODPhi and helping out as well as giving the undergraduates some professional perspective of what they are trying to achieve by getting their degrees in certain fields and by connecting them with alumni in those fields to give them a better strategy or better game plan to get a head start in the workforce. A perfect example: If I hadn't met Fred Davis, I wouldn't understand some of the business sides of marketing and have gotten my foot in the door into other companies because of the connection that me and Fred built through the brotherhood. So the whole point of this is to give these younger brothers the opportunity to build these networking systems within their field with brothers who have already gone through those basic steps and have succeeded in the entry levels into the higher positions so they can get a jump start into those companies they are looking for.
VPM: What value do you see in having a program of this type within the brotherhood?
DAE: The value I see in it is that doing something like this, that through developing this program and as someone who might relocate to another area because of work, this program could help in strengthening the Local Alumni Associations through brothers becoming mentors, could help build that network again and allow those alumni to help those alumni associations in their areas. By establishing something like this, we are giving the next generation a foothold into things, and will allow those brothers that are now alumni, to give back to the younger generations. This will start a snowball effect, brothers will no longer think that they can only be involved by being part of their regional board or national board but now that they can give back in a different manner which leads into our values, our concept of graduating brothers.
VPM: How do you believe this new program aligns with the goals of our fraternity?
DAE: Obviously, our goals are to graduate our brothers and serve our community. We always look at the outside community but why not look the community within? Why not help each other out too so we can strive to be better and be a greater organization? Having a mentor will assist them and help them focus a little bit more. If you want to go for that masters, you need to have good GPA which instills more studying and helping them get those grades that we need for brothers to graduate.
VPM: So mentoring within would have a positive impact outwardly as an alumni brother?
DAE: By having this mentorship program, alumni who felt like they wouldn't be able to give back until they were stable in their careers, because they would be giving back on their time to one undergraduate brother who wants to go through the same thing as them. Sometimes I feel like this program, if it proceeds as I imagine it, I think it would have more of an impact than someone who is on national board or is a director because you are going to have an impact on one individual life by giving them that foothold.
VPM: That leads in to my last question, where do you envision this program to be five years from now?
DAE: I see it as a great way for us to not only getting alumni who haven't been involved as much back into Omega Delta Phi, and to have those brothers who go through the program to want to give back to the younger ones so eventually its so common that we do stuff like this. Instead of us graduating and struggling for ten years, by us doing something like this, we will be bypassing us entry level jobs and allowing us to establish ourselves as individuals and professionals.
The mentorship program is being coordinated by Director of Alumni Engagement Michael Martinez, from the Beta Beta chapter at California State University, Dominguez Hills. For more information contact him at email@example.com.


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Why the time is right for AI marketing in retail
By Heath Barlow, Australasia Market Lead, Emarsys
Heath Barlow, Australasia Market Lead, Emarsys
Right now, we are at a major tipping point when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) as more and more organizations and industries experiment with how to use the technology for business gains. Until recently, AI was viewed as promising technology but one that only technology companies could invest in and benefit from. Now however, AI has been dubbed a revolutionary engine – a technology that is here to stay and is increasingly essential in any modern environment – from marketing to finance.
Recent research, commissioned by Emarsys with Forrester Consulting, sought to shed some light on the adoption of AI for marketing purposes within retail and e-commerce. Specifically, it investigated the gaps between the readiness of AIM solutions to execute on real-time B2C marketing campaigns, and the readiness of marketing technology users and business decision makers to adopt AIM technology. Here are the most important takeaways:
1) AIM Drives Revenue
In the study, the number one objective that businesses want to achieve with AI is to drive revenue growth, followed by better serving existing customers and meet rising customer expectations.
AIM has been recognized as a method for driving revenue thanks to its ability to engage with existing customers in more meaningful ways than ever before. In fact, SailThru has estimated that if a company can increase its retention rate by as little as 5 percent, profits can increase to anywhere between 25 - 95 percent. While the greatest amount of revenue comes from engaging present customers, AI also allows marketers to more accurately target prospects and bring in new business.
The revenue-driving power of AI has not gone unnoticed. With over three quarters of the organizations polled stating that they plan to bulk up their budgets for AI technologies by five percent or more in the next year. The good news is that the industry is moving beyond buzzwords and hype to a tangible AI solution.
To Be Successful Today and Well into the Future, Marketers Must Leverage Their Greatest Asset— Data
2) AI Provides Best-in-breed Targeting
Targeting the right audience is an elemental foundation of marketing. However, this has become more challenging over time due to the sheer volume of data available to marketers which has made accurate segmentation increasingly more challenging. With an AI-powered segmentation engine, marketers can go beyond collecting data through automated segmentation and communication, to create more effective, highly personalized interactions. This, in turn, improvesresponse rates, reduces costs, and generates higher marketing ROI.
The study found that one of the top five ways that companies want to use AI is for better targeting of appropriate prospects and better communication to existing customers.
3) AI Improves Decision Making
The study also confirmed that companies have been struggling to understand the customer data they collect, and that only by using AI can they derive insights from that data in real time and then through automation and event triggers, take the appropriate action to engage with the customer.
Traditionally, generating insights and taking the right marketing action existed separately from one another, and since the process of mining the data and applying actionable insights has mostly been a manual one, it has simply taken too long for many companies to take action on their data analysis.
However, the study shows that 52 percent of firms say that they are able to manage real-time customer interactions with the brand, and they are doing it with AI and its built-in ability to consume real-time data at scale from a broad range of sources.
4) AI will Revolutionize Marketing
We are at a tipping point where most, if not all, e-commerce and retailers are aware of AI's potential to improve so many areas. Looking forward, the study shows that three out of five (60 percent) retail and e-commerce firms expect to implement AI marketing technologies within the next 12 months. For those companies who are already on the AI path, the report shows some promising projections.
Overall, 79 percent of companies believe that AI technology will shift the role of marketing toward more strategic work, such as audience segmentation, product innovation, and incentives. They also believe that AI will make marketing teams more efficient (86 percent) and more effective (86 percent) in their customer interactions, specifically enabling marketers to focus on value-generating strategies as AI automates certain tasks (82 percent).
The most striking finding of all? Most marketing firms agree or strongly agree that AI will reinvent the retail industry (88 percent) and dramatically change what their companies do (81 percent).
To be successful today and well into the future, marketers must leverage their greatest asset—data. However, analyzing that data and reacting to it in real time doesn't scale. AIM will quickly become the best way to leverage this data, in real time, to achieve business growth. At the same time, it no longer matters if you believe in AI. The gauntlet now is about the speed at which companies that have lagged in their acceptance of AI are able to catch up with those already in the process of implementing it into their marketing strategies.


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Block printing specialists - online craft supplies, workshops & textile holidays
Kerala Tour Package
Kerala Tour Package
Our Colouricious textile tour will take you to southern India and Kerala to see some of the most amazing aspects of Southern Indian textile design and production.
Kerala is a state in the south-west region of India on the Malabar coast. It was created on 1 November 1956. Spread over 38,863 km2. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and north east, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. Kerala is the thirteenth largest state by population and is divided into 14 districts. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language of the state.
In South India, textiles are considered to be one of the highest form of art and spiritual expression. The knowledge and skills required to create these textiles have been passed down through generations. You will also have the chance to know more about South Indian friendly and ever smiling people, their traditions and way of life and explore the scenic beauty of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
This Kerala tour package is an amazing opportunity and experience for anyone and everyone who loves textile art, design and production. You will learn so much and have the time of your life!
You will love our Colouricious textile tour to Southern India to see weaving up close! Everyone who loves textile art will love this!
Have a look at our other textile tours, perfect for everyone who is in love with arts and crafts!


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I was pregnant during my birthday (something that didn't prevent me from letting this happen) and while my partner in birthday-celebrating-crime, Stefanie, received many bottles of Prosecco, my delicate state led people to give me chocolate by the pound, as if to say, "we'd like to give you wine because you look like you need it, but since you can't have it here is the next best thing." Except for my talented gardening buddy Jacob. He took one look at me and knew how crazy our spring would be and decided to give me a coupon good for One Free Garden Setup. This gift came with 1. soil conditioning and prep, 2. plants or seeds, 3. irrigation system, and 4. sweaty Jake labor. That last one was perhaps the most important of all, because after Elias was born I was a mess of arthritis and had to helplessly stand by while weeds took over my garden. It was so incredibly thoughtful.
As spring rolled around Jake and I texted back and forth, making plans and deciding what to grow. He lives near a really great nursery and picked up three types of tomatoes, a bell pepper plant, and a little pot of basil to get us started. In addition to that, I had a ton of sunflower seeds saved from last year's crop, plus six different types of pumpkin seeds, marigold seeds from his garden, pea seeds from last year, and several new types of poppy to try. There were more things I was itching to grow but I didn't want to overreach. I could always add more later.
The day Jake came over I was especially sick so I sat on the sidelines watching the baby while he and Anthony got work. Isobel helped, mostly by helpfully pointing out weeds for them to pull and making fairy houses. Jake lives near the Delta so he marveled at our perfect sandy soil. That's why farming is such big business here – our soil isn't especially nutritious, but the texture and condition is easy to work and perfect to amend.
He was really geeking out over our soil. He's such a soil nerd.
It's not summer to me without cherry tomatoes so he brought me his favorite variety: Sweet 100. He also brought me a Shady Lady which produces regular tomatoes, and the mighty Beefsteak, which he's admitted he's not had the best of luck with. I'm not sure that I'll be able to do better, but I'm game to give it a try.
I really wanted to start growing my own peppers so Jacob brought me a Yolo Pepper that should do well here. There's an actual county in California called Yolo County, and apparently they are famous for having a pepper variety named in their honor. Every time I go to water it I want to shout YOLO! because I am a mature individual.
While Elias napped in the shade, Isobel and I sprinkled hundreds more poppy seeds over our little poppy garden. I want it to fill out and burst at the seams with blooms. We keep trying to plant a pink variety but haven't been able to get them to sprout so far. We planted a rainbow variety and another rust colored one. They might not sprout until next spring so I urged her to be patient.
Isobel got into the pumpkin seeds when I wasn't looking and planted about two dozen at the edge of our garden. Pumpkins are large plants that need a wide berth and tons of water, so I'm ruthlessly only keeping one. We're in a drought and I don't need a pumpkin patch in my garden. The fun part is I have no idea which variety she planted, so finding out will be a fun surprise. Our sunflowers are decently tall already but I haven't seen our marigolds pop up at all. I might just break down and buy some plants to keep the pests away.
Jake very patiently showed Isobel how to gently trim the lower leaves off the tomato plants and shroud them with dirt up to the collars. She hung on every word.
I'm using an old tomato cage to train my pea plants, but I'm worried the excessive heat forecast for this year will kill them off. The basil has been holding up well and I think that's because Jake wisely suggested planting it in the shade. Everything's doing really well, and recently he came back and installed a drip irrigation system so we can save water and keep the garden going at the same time. It's ridiculously exciting for both of us. He's self-taught and it took him awhile to get the system figured out, and it works perfectly. It's modular and can be adapted to any additions we make.
This was truly one of the most thoughtful birthday gifts I ever received, and we had a great time doing it together. I'll post more photos of the garden once things start to get interesting.


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In the wake of finding out that my sweetheart had stage 3a colon cancer it was brought to our attention that if you were active military during the Gulf War chances are you may have been exposed to Depleted Uranium. Information is to be shared amiright, amiright! A collection of current information below related to DU and what you should do to find out if you have been exposed and what you should do next
The U.S. military uses tank armor and some bullets made with depleted uranium (DU) to penetrate enemy armored vehicles, and began using DU on a large scale during the Gulf War.
The process of manufacturing enriched uranium from natural uranium used in nuclear reactors or weapons leaves "depleted" uranium. DU has 40 percent less radioactivity, but the same chemical toxicity as natural uranium.
If you think you were exposed to depleted uranium during your service, talk to your local VA Environmental Health Coordinator. Ask to be screened for depleted uranium exposure, and ask about the Depleted Uranium Follow-up Program. READ MORE
What is Depleted Uranium (DU)
According to the Department of Veterans affairs Federal Benefits for Veterans, dependents, and Survivors 2014 edition on pg. 38 reads:
Gulf war Veterans with Chronic Disabilities: Some Veterans may receive disability compensation for chronic disabilities resulting from undiagnosed illnesses and/or medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illnesses defined by a cluster of signs or symptoms. A disability is considered chronic if it has existed for at least six months.
The undiagnosed illness must have appeared either during active service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Gulf War period August 2, to July 31, 1991, or to a degree of at least 10 percent at any time since then through December 31, 2016. This theater of operations includes Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the neutral zone between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea, and the airspace above these locations.
Examples of symptoms of an undiagnosed illness and medically unexplained chronic multi-symptom illness defined by a cluster of signs and symptoms include:
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Functional gastrointestinal disorders
- Fatigue
- Signs or symptoms involving the skin, headache, muscle pain, joint pain, neurologicalsigns or symptoms, neuropsychological signs or symptoms, signs or sysytems involving the respiratory system (upper or lower), sleepdisturbances, gastrointestinal signs or symptoms, cardiovascular signs or symptoms, abnormal weight loss, and menstrual disorders.
Medical Testing for Depleted Uranium Contamination:
Potential testing includes:
- chemical analysis of uranium in urine, feces, blood and hair;
- tests of damage to kidneys, including analysis for protein, glucose and non-protein nitrogen in urine;
- radioactivity counting; or
- more invasive tests such as surgical biopsy of lung or bone marrow.
Experience with Gulf War veterans indicates that a 24 hour urine collection analysis shows the most promise of detecting depleted uranium contamination seven or eight years after exposure. However, since this test only measures the amount of depleted uranium which has been circulating in the blood or kidneys within one or two weeks prior to the testing time, rather than testing the true body burden, it cannot be directly used to reconstruct the veteran's dose received during the Gulf War. However, this seems to be the best diagnostic tool at this time, eight years after the exposure.
Feces tests for uranium are used for rapid detection of intake in an emergency situation, and in order to be useful for dose reconstruction, must be undertaken within hours or days of the exposure. Blood and fecal analysis are not advised except immediately after a known large intake of uranium.
Whole body counting for uranium, using the sodium iodide or hyper pure germanium detectors, is designed to detect the isotope uranium 235, the isotope of uranium partially removed from depleted uranium. For lung counting, again it is the uranium 235 which is detected, and the minimum detection limit is about 7.4 Bq or 200 pCi. Since normally humans take in only 5 Bq per year, this is not a very sensitive measure. Seven or eight years after the Gulf War exposure, this method of detection is most likely useless for veterans.
Routine blood counts shortly after exposure, or during a chelating process for decontamination of the body are useful. This is not a search for uranium in blood, but rather a complete blood count with differential. This is done to discover potentially abnormal blood counts, since the stem cells which produce the circulating lymphocytes and erythrocytes are in the bone marrow, near to where uranium is normally stored in the body. The monocyte stem cells in bone marrow are known to be among the most radiosensitive cells. Their depletion can lead to both iron deficient anemia, since they recycle heme from discarded red blood cells, and to depressed cellular immune system, since monocytes activate the lymphocyte immune system after they detect foreign bodies.
Hair tests need to be done very carefully since they tend to reflect the hair products used: shampoos, conditioners, hair coloring or permanent waves. Pubic hair would likely be the best material for analysis. I am not aware of good standards against which to test the Uranium content of hair, or how the analysis would differentiate between the various uranium isotopes.
Testing of lymph nodes or bone on autopsy would be helpful. However, invasive biopsies on live patients carry no benefit for the patient and are usually not recommended because of ethical considerations about experimentation on humans. If a veteran is recommended for bronchoscopy for medical reasons, it would be advisable to also take tissue samples for analysis for depleted uranium.
When chelation processes have been initiated the rate of excretion of uranium in urine will be increased and there is a risk of damage to kidney tubules. Therefore careful urine analysis for protein, glucose and non-protein nitrogen in important. Some researchers have also reported specifically finding B-2-microglobulinuria and aminoaciduria in urine due to uranium damage. READ MORE
Relating Depleted Uranium Contamination
with Observed Health Effects in Veterans:
There are two ways of documenting the radiological health effects of a veteran's exposure to depleted uranium. The first, and the one usually attempted in a compensation argument, would be to reconstruct the original dose and then appeal to regulatory limits or dose-response estimates available in the scientific literature. This methodology is not recommended for the Gulf War veterans, because the uranium excretion rate seven or eight years after exposure cannot be used to estimate the original lung and body burden of depleted uranium. Moreover, no dose-response estimates for the chronic health effects of such exposure are available from the literature, as will be seen later in this paper. Recognized dose-response estimates for radioactive materials are unique to fatal cancers (and even these are disputed). It is not clear whether regulatory limits for exposure to ionizing radiation apply in a war situation, or, if they do, whether the veteran should be considered to have been "general public" or a "nuclear worker". Beyond this, the question of whether international or US standards should be used for a multinational situation needs to be addressed.
The second methodology would require ranking veterans on an ordinal scale for their original exposure, based on their current excretion rate of depleted uranium. This involves the reasonable assumption that the original contamination, although not precisely measurable, was proportional to the current excretion rate. The analysis of a 24 hour urine sample, for example, could be rated on a specific research scale as having "high", "medium" or "low" quantities of the contaminate. By collecting detailed health and exposure data on each veteran, one can use biostatistical methods to determine firstly, whether any medical problems show an increase with the ordinal scale increase in exposure, determined through urine analysis; and secondly, whether there is a correlation between the descriptive accounts of potential depleted uranium exposure and the assigned ordinal scale determined on the basis of the urine analysis.
Using Non-Parametric Statistics one could determine the statistical significance of various medical problems being depleted uranium exposure related. This would undoubtedly eliminate some medical problems from consideration and highlight others. It could point to future research questions. It could also provide a fair method of dealing with the current suffering of the veterans using the best scientific methodology available at this time. Risk estimates based on radiation related cancer death are obviously unable to provide a reasonable response to current veteran medical problems. READ MORE
What has the Defense Department done to protect future generations of service members from accidental exposure to depleted uranium?
The Department of Defense is fully aware of its responsibility for the safe use of depleted uranium. Since the Gulf War, the DoD has dramatically stepped up its emphasis on increasing soldier and leader awareness of the hazards associated with the battlefield use of depleted uranium. The U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command published Training Support Packages for respective training schools in September 1997. The Deputy Secretary of Defense has ordered the Service Chiefs to ensure that DU awareness training is incorporated into the general military training program. Implementation of the various training programs is underway. The Office of the Special Assistant will continue to monitor the status of the Services' depleted uranium training efforts. READ MORE
If you have any more questions or concern
shoot send us an email below.


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Weight loss, increased energy throughout your day, better cardiovascular health, new friends, improved personal record time (PR) and better fitting jeans are just some of the many benefits of joining an organized training group. Training alone can be difficult, so we recommend joining a group to get you started in training and sharing of tips, methods, goals and other motivational information that will help you focus on accomplishing your goal.
Training Groups
First Timer Friendly
Based on existing research from previous half marathons, more than 35 percent of the expected participants, ranging in age from 11 to 83, will be completing a half marathon for their first time at the Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay. Local training programs have helped hundreds of participants achieve this goal and range from full walking to walk/run to run/walk to full run.
The Galloway method of training is offered by several training groups that adapt to your level of experience, allowing for programs such as one minute of walking followed by one minute of running and alternating that technique for the distance of the event. This incredibly popular method is tested and proven for those that need a kick-start into the endurance world.
Fit2Run Training Groups (Tampa & Sarasota)
Training programs are available for all levels at several Fit2Run locations throughout the state. Enjoy the benefits of training with experienced coaches, meet new runners and walkers, and share the experience of accomplishing a lifelong dream of completing the Sarasota Half Marathon & Relay.
Training Tips
- August 14, 2017
Tips for Running in the RainAs runners, we have to be ready for almost every kind of weather situation. Even though we keep our fingers […]
- August 3, 2017
Yoga for RunnersWhether you are a competitive or recreational runner, tight and weak hamstrings can affect everyone and cause pain and injury […]
- July 28, 2017
Less is MoreWhen it comes to building muscle and weightlifting, there is an all too familiar notion that the heavier the weights […]


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Rita rocks the UN
Iranian-born Israeli singer performs in Hebrew, English, and Persian at first-of-its-kind 'Tunes for Peace' concert
Iranian-born Israeli diva Rita performed before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and other international dignitaries Tuesday at the UN General Assembly Hall in a first-of-its-kind event organized by the Israeli Mission to the UN.
Rita and her nine-piece band performed in Hebrew, English and Persian before a full house that included President of the UN General Assembly Vuk Jeremic, ambassadors, diplomats, and leaders of the US Jewish and Iranian communities.
The concert featured songs based on Jewish scripture, Iranian poetry and Rita's own compositions. Many of them appear on her latest album, "My Joys."
"My mother taught me the love for music while she was cooking in the kitchen," said the Tehran-born singer. "Two years ago I was urged to record the Persian songs that were the soundtrack of my life."
"During the whole recording process, I couldn't stop smiling because I came to realize I was celebrating my life. I was celebrating being both Iranian and Israeli that found expression in music. Tonight, I invite you to celebrate it with me," she said.
"The music of this room isn't always harmonious — our mission tonight is to change that," said Israel's envoy to the UN Ron Prosor. "Our goal is to weave a tapestry of music as rich and diverse as the UN itself."
Prosor joked that it was a lifetime dream of his to one day be a warm-up act for Rita at a major New York venue. The ambassador disclosed his own love for music, saying he used to be part of a chorus and claiming that people sometimes mistake him for opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. "These days, however, I spend much more time composing speeches for the Security Council than music," he joked. "Tonight I encourage you to get on your feet and sing along."
Rita Jahan-Foruz was born in Tehran, Iran, 50 years ago. In 1970, at the age of eight, she migrated with her family to Israel, where she grew up listening to her mother sing melodies in her native Farsi.
Fifteen years later, Rita burst onto the Israeli music scene as a one-named wonder — Israel's Madonna, or Cher, if you will — and has gone on to become one of the country's top recording artists and most recognized celebrities.
She was chosen to sing the national anthem in 1998 at the country's main jubilee celebration, answering a personal plea from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Ten years later, as Israel marked its 60th anniversary, she was chosen as Israel's top female singer ever.
Still, she stayed close to her Iranian roots. Some 250,000 Israelis are of Iranian descent. Rita is perhaps the most famous of all.
In Iran, fans are exposed to her music mostly through foreign-based Farsi-language satellite TV. During a recent tour of eight music dealers in Tehran, an AP correspondent found two selling a Rita single, "Gole Sangam," a remake of a famous Iranian song about yearning for a missing loved one.
Meir Javedanfar, an Iranian-born analyst who teaches at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya in Israel, said Rita's popularity is hard to gauge, but it's possible that her Israeli identity has helped lure listeners fed up with the hard-line Iranian government. "Whatever popularity she might have could be related to artistic capabilities. It could also be related to the backlash we see in Iran against the government," he said.
AP contributed to this report


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Black walnut trees drop hundreds of large nuts that, unlike the English walnut, are incredibly difficult to crack without a specialised tool. Black walnut trees might be messy, but if you're entrepreneurial you can sell them to make a tidy profit. Black walnuts have a musky flavour that differs from their English cousin; these nuts are popular among chefs and in ice cream. There are tools you can purchase for easy harvesting, but the most common way to gather black walnuts is to pick them by hand.
Wait until your walnut tree begins to drop black walnuts. Walnuts typically ripen in the mid-fall, between August and early October.
Check around your neighbourhood for other black walnut trees. Many homeowners will be glad to have help removing the walnuts from the tree. You will make a larger profit with more walnuts. Ask before the walnuts drop from the tree so you don't miss out; you can exchange phone numbers so your neighbours can call you when they're ready to clean up the yard.
Gather nuts that have fallen and fill the paper sack. If you want, place the sack on a scale and weigh it so that you have some idea of how many pounds of walnuts you have.
Continue to gather walnuts from your black walnut tree and any others.
Research nut companies that may be interested in buying your crop. Hammons nut company buys black walnuts from individuals, according to the WCFCourier.com. Other nut companies may purchase black walnuts. Ask a representative at the company how to arrange to see the nut crop.
Contact local farm markets, organic markets and health food stores if you're unable to find a nut buyer. Also contact fine dining restaurants and speciality food companies in your area. Let them know you have black walnuts for sale.
Most recent
- Store the walnuts in a clean, dry area while you are trying to sell them. Do not leave them outside where squirrels could eat them.


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Friday, August 23, 2013
Improvise, overcome, adapt...
Pretty clever setup on one of the Team FN guns for getting the bipod down in a hurry.
True devotees of Max Wins will make sure that their string is the same color. (Actually, I suppose that any highly-visible color will do the trick.)
5 comments:
Been doing that for years. Harder to see Because (not) Racegun.
- 8:40 PM, August 23, 2013
- Tam said...
Back in '94 or '95, I had an old NHM-91 RPK clone with the bipod legs that wouldn't stay retracted. I used a velcro strip with a couple layers of shiny-side-down Reynold's Wrap for a half fast heat shield.
It was pretty Bubba... :D
- 8:45 PM, August 23, 2013
- Old NFO said...
Heh... Good point, and good link...
- 8:46 PM, August 23, 2013
- Tango said...
I like that idea!
- 10:08 PM, August 23, 2013
- Mike said...
Katie Harris was making a device like this last year out of knotted paracord. Great tool.
- 12:34 PM, August 28, 2013
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text: Are you seeking information for professional help for speech therapy problems in Newfoundland and Labrador? Want to find speech therapy centers in Newfoundland and Labrador? Health-local provides you with the list of speech therapists in Newfoundland and Labrador. You can search speech therapy clinics and speech therapy centers near you through your postal code, city name or clinic name. Health-local has the most comprehensive list of experienced, registered and qualified Speech therapists and speech therapy clinics in Newfoundland and Labrador that you can access in the comfort of your home. Search for speech therapist and speech therapy clinics to cure your speech therapy related issues.


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Living in Singapore, Bangkok is just a 2.5 hour flight away and has been my favourite destination since young. What comes to mind when people mention Bangkok are – Food paradise, shopping haven, IG-worthy cafes.
I've been to Bangkok so many times but have not explored their amazing temples. There's at least more than 400 Temples and the more well-known ones are Wat Arun, Wat Pho, and Wat Pra Khew. It's almost impossible to finish all at one go so I shortlisted 2 given my limited time there.
My first stop was Wat Pho. It's in the City area and easily accessible via a taxi/grab.
Before heading to Wat Pho, we had lunch nearby at this place named Spring Siam Bistro. I would not recommend this place as it has very tough Phad Thai and small serving of Tom Yum soup. Plus point was that it had pretty wallpapers and soothing music.
We avoided the scorching hot sun during noon time but we still sweated buckets during the late afternoon. We paid an entrance fee of 100baht for Wat Pho. It really looked awesome and you have to see its beauty yourself.
Of course, we need to have a glimpse of its famed reclining Buddha that's covered in gold leaf.
Thereafter, we followed the direction stated on Google map to locate the way to take the ferry across the Chao Phraya River to reach Wat Arun. There's an hour ride ferry tour whereby the tourists may be mistaken to take it and are required to pay 1,500baht. But the normal 5mins ferry ride across cost only 4baht. ✌🏻
The architecture of Wat Arun is sheer beauty. The design of it looks different from the rest of the other temples with its decorated spires.
We took around 3 hours in total and we were exhausted. We then headed to Floral Cafe for some cooling Iced Tea.
So all these were done in one day! Continuing my Thailand journey to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai next week, so stay tuned. Follow me on Instagram @salsera_love 😄


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FROM THE PASTOR…..MY DEAR PARISH FAMILY, since this is the first bulletin of the New Year, I was trying to come up with some inspirational words to tell you as a new journey begins. As I was thinking what to write, I came across words SPOKEN BY OUR HOLY FATHER POPE FRANCIS. I feel it reflects his call to celebrate the Jubilee Year of Mercy. It was given on September 15, 2013 during his Angelus address. Read carefully: "Jesus is all mercy, Jesus is all love: he is God made man. Each of us, each one of us, is that little lost lamb, the coin that was mislaid; each one of us is that son who has squandered his freedom on false idols, illusions of happiness, and has lost everything. But God does not forget us; the Father never abandons us. He is a patient father, always waiting for us! He respects our freedom, but he remains faithful forever. And when we come back to him, he welcomes us like children into his house, for he never ceases, not for one instant, to wait for us with love. And his heart rejoices over every child who returns. He is celebrating because he is joy. God has this joy, when one of us sinners goes to him and asks for forgiveness." WHAT WONDERFUL CONSOLING WORDS THEY ARE! To know and believe that our God rejoices in us when we return to Him. I do not think I could come up with any better words to begin the New Year with and I hope we all take to heart what our Holy Father says. May God continue to bless us and may we always trust in His mercy and love, now and throughout the New Year.
I want to THANK all those who made our liturgical celebrations so beautiful and run so smoothly. My thanks are extended to Joe Malafarina and the choir and cantors. Also my thanks are given to Mary Weidenhof and her choir. To all the altar servers, lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, ushers I give my gratitude for allowing the services to be celebrated with dignity and honor. To those who decorated the church, I am profoundly grateful, for through your ministry many came to a deeper love and appreciation of our Father through the beautiful display of the Christmas scene. And finally I say thanks to our office staff who worked behind the scenes through severe hectic and busy weeks. Please know, if I forgot anyone I did not do it on purpose. So many worked so hard and as pastor I am grateful for your generosity and kindness. Again, may God bless us all with even more dedicated parishioners who are willing to make our parish a parish who loves God and neighbor.
I extend a HUGE THANKS to all those who purchased the NEW NATIVITY SET for our church. It looks absolutely beautiful and I am sure all those who came into our church were as impressed as I was. I felt it did add a prayerful atmosphere for meditation as it shows God's great love for us in coming into the world for our salvation. Thanks everyone and may God bless you for your generosity to OLV.
Just another reminder – IT IS NOT A SIN if one misses Mass due to the weather. I am positive that God would want us to be safe at home instead of taking a chance in the ice and snow, possibly injuring yourself or others. Please use common sense in deciding whether to drive or not on bad road conditions.
Please do not allow the SPIRIT OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON to be thrown out like the old Christmas tree. We waited so long for the day to come, so many preparations were finished, so much planning occurred that to go back to "normal" (whatever that means) would be a shame. God's love and mercy is to be celebrated every day of our lives until we can praise God in heaven for all eternity. May the Christmas love we celebrated a few days ago ring always in our hearts.
HUMOR FOR THE WEEK - After the Christmas pageant, a 6-year-old boy was asked if he remembered the gifts that the Magi brought to Jesus. He thought for a minute then said "gold, frankincense, and humor". HOW TRUE THOSE WORDS ARE – FOR OUT THE MOUTHS OF BABES…..
Announcements > From the Pastor >


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IdOMUSIC kicked the year off with a packed house Thursday night, at Apache Café. Every first Thursday of the month we bring artists, producers, bloggers, engineers, and music lovers together in order to learn, netwerk, promote, and perform.
After the holidays it is time to push the gas and proceed with your plan. If any part of this wild adventure involves connecting the dots around positive vibes then let the IdOMUSIC Netwerk welcome you in! Powered by the legendary Patchwerk Recording Studios werk is not an option but simply a way of life. The daily mission is to create real opportunity, real exposure for artist and musicians worldwide! We operate under the modus operandi of PROMOTE, LEARN ,NETWORK, AND PEFORM.
August is a month for planning and executing the blueprint for the Fall. We are entering the last quarter of the year and as we start to take tally of our wins and losses there is an important question to answer: "What is next for me?"
It's been a long time and we shouldn't have left you, without a strong networking event to connect to! Okay pardon my attempt to rhyme but it's an exciting time in the city of Atlanta. The team at Patchwerk Recording Studios is gearing up to bring back The IdOMUSIC Network and Showcase event next month back in the house where it all started, Apache Cafe! Really excited for all the fresh talent perhaps you never heard of or never got a chance to meet personally. Believe it or not IdOMUSIC turns 10 years old in September and what a time to set up the platform for the music community to shine.
The reason the city of Atlanta continues to thrive in the realm of music involves the extensive networking happening daily. Patchwerk Recording Studios knows a thing or two about the process. If you actually have a plan with realistic goals, you can make quite a path for yourself. This was part of the idea for creating the IdOMUSIC® Weekend which was recently completed in Flint, Michigan last month June 24th-June 26th.
Join Patchwerk Recording Studios Sunday, October 19th at The Music Room for our new monthly event called IdOMusic® Social Sessions.
We create the platform for today's music makers and music enthusiast to socialize and build new relationships. Up and coming artist here is your opportunity to grow your fan base as well as receive an education from seasoned veterans. Everyone who REGISTERS has the option to be added to our IdOMusic® Talent Directory and contacted for a spotlight interview during our Social Session. We have a few surprises for those in attendance so get there early. *hint hint*
Giveaway Opportunities:
Event Date: Sunday, October 19th 2014
Event Time: 6:00p
Purchase tickets ------>http://bit.ly/1neEiHn
Location: 327 Edgewood Ave, Atlanta, GA 30312
Interested in bringing an IdOMusic® event to your city? Contact us!


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Any commercial Llama food....Usually sold in sacks and used for winter feeding. In winter, if I am training intensively, I feed entirely by hand, eking out the ration
Horse herbal sticks............ In UK, and almost certainly USA, these can be found in any horsey shop. They are about 2" long and as fat as your thumb. And hard! I cut into fours with secateurs. These are, infact, my main training tool. All my llamas and alpaca kill for 'em.
Mints...........Go easy because these are sugar. In UK you can buy Polos or Extra Strong. In USA I think they are "Life Savers". I cut these up into pieces with secateurs. Imperials are too big and hard!
Banana.......Three of my herd love fresh banana, particularly the skin. I cut banana coins.
Dried banana.........Any supermarket or health store sells these. Already cut into hard coins too. But quite pricey!
Sultanas & Raisins.......It took awhile for my herd to learn to like these, but now they're hooked.
Alfafa...I've found a pet shop that does alfafa stix for rabbits. Expensive, but all mine will kill for these.
Pony Nuts............Any horsey person in UK knows these .Little grey sticks about an inch long. If I'm finely shaping behaviour and rewarding frequently, I just give one.
Rabbit treats.... Many of the treats (often highly coloured) sold in pet stores for rabbits, have proved delicious for my gang.
Crushed peas....These are dried and light green. Small and handy.
Crushed corn......As above, except that they're yellow!
Chinchilla Stix ...... These are like miniature pony nuts, grey and about half an inch long. Delicious!
Locust beans .......Any UK pet store sells them. I dont know about the States. It's funny looking stuff. Tastes very sweet.
Grain .....pure wheat grains. My lot love it.
Sugar Cubes.......Yes, I give these as a very, very special reward for "Jackpot" achievement. They are very bad for the figure and probably the teeth too.
Carrots ............. I cut them into "coins" or sticks.
Apple .......Particularly sweet apples, cut into slices.
Someone has done!... I have not tried these myself, but a llama-owner tells me her llamas enjoy most of the above and also: fresh coconut, mango, melon skin (that's honeydew melon), raw fresh peas, raw sweet corn, Frosties and Sugar Puffs, which are breakfast cereals here in UK. Any more?!
Before you read this list and try any yourselves, bear in mind that llamas need to be TAUGHT to like this stuff. Mints, apples, bananas and raisins are not part of their natural diet in S America. When first offered almost anything from the list below, all my camelids showed disinterest, even suspicion. "Go on, Try it" I would say. It took awhile. My eight camelids are a mixed bunch, but all of them now enjoy all the things below. With the possible exceptions of carrot and apple, I can use them all for rewards.
DONT FORGET ! If you're an owner in UK, we're seeing an obesity problem with our camelids. So if you're giving treats, why not break them into weeny, mean portions ! ! !
And finally... training using operant conditioning methods is NOT about chucking food at llamas. If you are needing to give treats once a behaviour has been taught, then either that training is insecure or else you are probably bribing. In training, the treat follows the behaviour. In bribery, the treat precedes it.


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Dear Praying Friends,
Greetings in His matchless Name!
Well, hello there! I am back again to "bug" you. Hope you don't mind.
CHURCH NEWS: We are still on the road teaching and preaching wherever and whenever the Lord opens the doors. My pastor (Louis Guarneri) shares his pulpit with me when I am in town sometimes. We just had a "big day" with 107 in attendance in our hotel conference room two weeks ago at Straightway Baptist (Ya gotta luv that name!). Eight of our good friends attended that morning service and I preached.
Last Wed. night we met with township officials and they unanimously approved a variance for the property we want to purchase for church use. Now the lengthy and costly process begins. The building we want is completely gutted inside. It has a rental property on site also which will help with mortgage payments. Please pray with us that things will move more quickly now towards getting our own building. We are really happy at Straightway and our pastor knows the Bible and we are excited to go to every service. It is a very multi-cultural church and we enjoy fellowship with all the folks. We are electing our first deacons this coming Sunday.
NEW LEASE CAR: The lease ran out on our second Honda Odyssey, and we wanted to get another one, but Honda couldn't meet our current ability to afford monthly payments. So, we went to Reedman's and leased a Dodge Journey. It has some nice features, but isn't as big as an Odyssey so we will not be able to transport Shirley's scooter. It just barely holds her walker. One nice feature is Bluetooth so I don't have to hand hold my phone to make calls. I just say something like "Call Shirley" and it does so and I can hear over the car's radio speakers. Another is keyless start. Related to that is when the car is locked, I simply touch the door handle and it unlocks, then I press a button to start it without ever taking the "key" out of my pocket.
My son, Dan told me three years ago to lease again. He said by then you will be pushing 80 years old and won't be able to drive anyway. Fooled him. Still driving and leased for another 3 years! J
PERSONAL: Shirley's wallet was stolen in a Wal-Mart parking lot by a "good Samaritan" who helped her get her walker in the car. He also helped himself to her wallet which was inside the pocket on the walker! What a hassle! Credit cards, ID, et. al. – GONE! Two purchases were made within minutes of the theft. We reported it stolen within the hour and we were not responsible for them.
Shirley's health has not been good lately. One night after church a man ran a stop sign right in front of us and I had to jam on the brakes. She sits in the back and lurched forward jamming her knees and hands on the back of my front seat. This caused her Polymyalgia to flare up and she has been in pain for the last week +. She also had some kind of a "bug" which made her sick. Please pray for her.
My health is remarkably good for a 79 year old, I think. I still go fishing, do yard work, preach, study, read and have started a new teaching position at Harbor Baptist Church in Hainesport, NJ – about 35 minutes from our home. This is a brand new school called East Gate Baptist College. I am teaching Manuscript Evidence in support of the blessed King James Bible. I am only teaching one class on Tuesday evenings at 6:30PM. I had over 20 students the first night!!! Amazing! I do lots of reading and preparation for this class along with making Powerpoint slides for every session, make up quizzes, grade papers, etc. I enjoy it!
We had the opportunity to see my deceased son's (Dean) son (Mickey) and his little 4 year old son (Izayah) – our great grandson. We have not been able to see them for the last two years. We had a great day of fellowship with them and many in our family came to our home. We prepared food for them and enjoyed the day. We have not seen Dean's other son in over 4 years. His mother forbids it.
Our granddaughter Stehanie Lefevers (Jerry and Crystal's daughter) got married on July 20th to a fine Christian young man (Andrew Sims). We were able to see Paul and Sarah and their three children who were all in the wedding, along with Crystal's other son, Jason – all living in Pensacola, Florida. The twins looked so cute in their tux and white dress (Jack and Julia). Amelia is still sweet and is growing up quickly.
Our grandson Westley Roy (Steve and Dawn's son) entered college at Kutztown University to study Marine Biology. Their other son Justin, with a Master's Degree and his wife Stephanie, accepted a teaching position in Boynton Beach, Florida. Their daughter Allie (Alexandra) had knee surgery and is still wearing a brace and is a senior in High School.
Our granddaughter Taylor (Dan & Amy's daughter) likewise started college this year and wants to go into Graphic Arts. Their son Dylan is growing up so fast. He goes soul winning with me on Saturday mornings some times and is my helpful partner.
Well, that's about it for this volume. Thanks for listening to my ramblings. "Brethren, pray for us…"
Sincerely in the Savior,
Pastor (e) Paul C. Fedena


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Last month, my siblings and I were together for several days. Although there were serious moments, mostly during our discussions of our mother's health, we laughed a lot as we usually do when we're together. We laughed at each other's stories and at old family jokes and sayings (as my brother said, sometimes the old jokes are the best).
It got me to thinking that one of the ties that binds people together is laughter. I won't quote research on how laughter is good for us physically, mentally, and emotionally—you can find that out in a quick online search. But it's not just what it does for us as individuals, it's what it does for us as a group.
I've noticed over the years how laughter can mitigate stressful situations, both at home and at work. I admit to using it as a technique myself to lighten the mood of a meeting—I could almost say that the co-workers who laugh together, work well together. And with our family and friends, laughter—whether at a well-told joke, a funny story, or a situation—unites us in moments of fun and relaxation.
Think about it—once you've laughed with a person, doesn't that increase your sense of connection to that person? Your desire to spend time with them? Your willingness to meet halfway to resolve an issue? When I think of my friends and co-workers, both past and present, I see how many of those good relationships had the factor of laughter. Just thinking about a card my co-worker Mandy gave me when we were in the midst of a tough project has made me laugh!Conversely, I hate seeing people use laughter as a weapon against others. It is so hurtful to take something that should be a uniting force and turn it into something that shames or embarrasses another person. Sure, that sometimes happens unwittingly—when we're caught off guard or are being smart-asses without realizing the truth of a situation—but laughter should not be intentionally cruel.
I leave you with a story from a couple of months ago. My friend Catherine and I were discussing a restaurant meal from the previous night, at which one of our group had ordered veal. Said I, as I got up to clear the table, "I usually steer clear of veal."
Honestly, the words were out of my mouth before I thought!


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AIMA - The Alternative Investment Management Association
What a long strange trip it's been…on ALIS
Michael Weinberg
We have titled this paper with an ode to a compilation album by a band that was founded in Palo Alto and developed a counter-culture. Though the title espouses a new state of mind, it is investment, not consumption driven, as this is 2017 and not 1965.
There is a book written by John Markoff entitled What the Dormouse Said, and those with a penchant for '60s music may recall this is a line from a Jefferson Airplane song based on Lewis Carroll's classic book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. For those not familiar with Markoff's book, a primary point is that today's personal computer is largely a derivative of Stanford and its/the counter-culture. It was this counter-culture that revolutionized society in ways that no one then could dream of ex-ante, and are only obvious now, ex-post. In line with these themes, in our website, www.mov37.com, we include allusions to Carroll's book through the titles of our "ALIS Through the Looking Glass" and "ALIS Down the Rabbit Hole" sections.
"ALIS" is an acronym we have created for "Autonomous Learning Investment Strategies", which we believe are an emerging "third wave" of investment managers, the first and second being fundamental discretionary and quantitative investing, respectively. ALIS are smaller managers taking of advantage of recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning, combined with an explosion in data availability and inexpensive cloud computing, to generate alpha at a fraction of the cost of traditional managers. (For a fuller explanation of ALIS managers, we recommend reading the canonical paper on them by Jeffrey Tarrant, entitled "The Intelligent Investor in an Era of Autonomous Learning", available on our website.)
Just as the Grateful Dead developed a counter-culture, ALIS managers are also. Whereas the first wave of investing was comprised of MBAs, the third wave is comprised of PhDs. Though some ALIS managers are based in New York and London, as the MBAs and Wall Street or The City are, many are based in Palo Alto and San Francisco, homes of the original counter-culture and Silicon Valley. The counter-culture of the '60s often sprouted from the world's leading universities, which is where ALIS managers also are germinating.
Reverting to the title of this essay, we have spent the last couple of years traversing the globe, far beyond New York and London, including Israel, Asia, Canada, Silicon Valley, university towns, The South (in the US) and suburbs in our quest to locate the world's best ALIS managers, and it has been a long, strange trip. We have found 200 managers that portend to be ALIS managers. For context, this compares to one of the world's preeminent hedge fund databases that has only identified a fraction of that.
In George Orwell's Animal Farm he states that all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. Similarly, our take on ALIS managers is that they all are equal but some are more equal than others. In the land of ALIS there is a wide spread between the best and the worst, and most managers are far from average.
We shall now share with the reader some of our adventures researching ALIS managers around the world, organized into sections on the genres of ALIS managers we would and would not invest in. To do this, instead of obscuring and altering certain details so that it's not overtly apparent which managers we are referring to, we will simply speak very generally, just as Barton Biggs did in his book about first wave investing, Hedgehogging.Read full article →


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It speaks to the damage caused when we as voters do not take the right to vote seriously! "When one of us hurts, we all hurt!"
The most vivid manifestations of our worst selves are paranoia, conspiracy theories, and fear of others. Unfortunately, this has been a part of our history for generations. This fear of the unknown has caused children to be taken from their families and men and women to be gunned down like animals in the streets. We must reach out with love and hope, not fear. Yes, we are better than what we are showing ourselves to be right now. But saying that is not enough and posting it on social media is not enough. We must vote, protest, call, and write letters. We must speak up and be actively involved in our communities. Most importantly, we must reach out to our elected officials and hold them accountable for their vote and their actions.
"Those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it. "
Join Action Together New Jersey and be the change you want to see.


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"Let's go – while we're young!"
Maddie didn't get it. She didn't get it in the AM when it was 11f (-11c) with a 25mph wind, and she didn't get it in the PM when it was 24f (-4c) with a 20mph wind (with gusts up to 41). Then again, Maddie hasn't seen Caddyshack. Maddie was more interesting in the smells that 20+ mph wind was bringing into her yard.
This is part of Linda G. Hill's One-Liner Wednesday series. See the other posts for this prompt here.


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10 Powerful Real Estate Marketing Insights from the #NurtureCon Conference
Real estate conferences are critical for learning marketing insight to accelerate your business. But, if you're going to travel away... Read more ›October 6, 2017
Real estate conferences are critical for learning marketing insight to accelerate your business. But, if you're going to travel away... Read more ›October 6, 2017
Mike Kelly – Marketing Technology Director, Texas One of the great things about working at WEST, is that I am... Read more ›December 1, 2017
Mike Kelly – Marketing Technology Director, Texas Being a technology trainer, people are always surprised when I tell them that... Read more ›November 7, 2017
I think by now it's safe to say that using the spoken word to find and disseminate information is the next generation... Read more ›May 24, 2017
Guest post by Rob LeRoy, co-founder and marketing director for The Real Estate Video Guys, a marketing agency specializing in... Read more ›September 6, 2016
In the FUTURE I think it's safe to say that the use of technology is shaping our future whether we... Read more ›July 12, 2016
…And when you find out what it is, you'll be blown away! OK, maybe not… BUT, by the end of... Read more ›April 12, 2016
OK, so we've all heard about "smart devices", right? Of course. Every real estate tech website known to man has... Read more ›February 16, 2016
Facebook just switched on a pretty cool feature that allows those who already have the Facebook plugin "like box" on their site to integrate a Facebook Messenger tab. Essentially, clients can now visit your website — more likely than not though their smartphone — and find a box on the page that allows them to chat or send messages to you through Facebook Messenger.December 11, 2015
I got to preview Revaluate in NYC last January and was impressed by the amount (and type) of data presented, but also by HOW it was presented in not only the user interface… but also the cheeky manner as seen in the image to the right where it's recommended to pack an arsenal and "invest in a German Shepard".November 11, 2015
In the "news that probably won't be" section, LinkedIn is trying to become (more) relevant (again) in the real estate industry by providing a real estate agent matching service. Interesting idea. Not sure I'm sold on it though. I was recently shown a pretty awesome tool if you ever want to blast a voicemail out to all your contacts. Slybroadcast lets you record, schedule and broadcast voicemail ...November 19, 2015
This is our first edition of WFG's Tech Bytes curated by Jeff Bernheisel – WFG's National Director of Technology Marketing.... Read more ›November 5, 2015


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On UHY's latest Cause & Affect radio show on Atlanta Business Radio, David Barton, Managing Director at UHY Advisors, covered the topic of protecting company data. Vice President of IST Management Services Daniel Blechinger joined me to address how to navigate IT security frameworks and reporting to best protect your company's information.
Dan and I work together in providing his company with IT security and assurance reporting, and I brought him on the show so he could share his experience with going through the compliance reporting process and how it has impacted his company.
Dan and I see many misconceptions and misunderstandings pertaining to IT security happening at multiple levels within organizations. A lot of confusion exists about what IT controls and reports are needed and what's not. Virtually every company has to respond to inquiries about IT security whether it's for compliance, existing customers, or new customers. In many cases you won't even be considered a potential business partner if you don't have certain credentials or the right compliance report available. It varies greatly for each company, but it's critical you understand what you need.
SOC, ISO, PCI, FISMA, and NIST are just a few examples of available compliance reports. The alphabet soup of security and compliance frameworks can be overwhelming. These reports are intended to ensure that a company has the right controls in place, and that they are operating effectively. They provide independent assurance that security and operational controls are working as they were designed. Like it or not, audits are a necessary part of business operations. As an audit firm with a lot of experience with compliance reporting, we can help our clients decipher the alphabet soup.
Here are four key takeaways from the radio show I'd like to highlight:
1. Understand All the Reports. We try to educate our clients so that when someone asks for an ISO, for example, and you don't have one, you're informed enough to tell a potential business partner what you do have (e.g. a SOC report) and how it may satisfy what they are requesting.
I had a client in New York who asked me to create a SOC report for him. He was asking simply because one of his customers asked him. He didn't know if he actually needed the report or not – he was reacting to a request he received. I advised him to ask his customer why he needed the report before I created it. It turned out that a new report wasn't necessary.
Knowledge is power. Read RFIs (Requests for Information) and RFPs (Requests for Proposal). Ask an independent, third party if you don't know which reports are the ones you need. Requirements can change every year, so you need to stay on top of what's current.
2. Be Honest with Yourself. Acknowledge there are areas that need improvement. Certain controls may not currently be in place, but identify which those are and take action. Dan shared, "You need to shine the light on where you're not doing so well, be willing to admit it, and then put some elbow grease behind putting things in place to make sure you're doing it the right way." Champion those things in your organization that need improvement and be a change maker.
3. Have a Plan. Dan noted, "You learn more from failing than you do from being successful. However, you're not ingratiated for failing." Put together a plan, communicate what it is that you want to happen, execute that plan and then communicate to your team what you accomplished. There may be hiccups along the way, but with a plan, you can easily get back on track.
4. Find Someone You Can Trust. Like finding a good mechanic, you need someone that is not trying to gouge you or take advantage of you. Be honest with yourself about the areas in which you are not as skilled as others, and ask for help from those in your organization or from an outside vendor.
Stay tuned for more business insights from our radio program, and listen to all our episodes here.
Please Join Us! 13th Annual Dan McCarty Memorial
Texas Hold'em
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Petruzzello's, 6950 Rochester Road Troy, MI 48085
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Authorities in Ontario have reported that two accidents on Highway 17 near Marathon left a 35-year-old man dead and three others injured on Feb. 20. Officers with the Ontario Provincial Police responded to the accident scene north of Lake Superior at approximately 7 p.m. Police did not immediately say if the accidents had been caused by road conditions or driver error.
According to a police report, the first car accident took place when a vehicle lost control at a bend. The vehicle, which had been proceeding westbound, came to a rest against the guardrail with part of its bodywork in the roadway. A second driver then pulled over to offer assistance. A third vehicle, then arrived at the scene and struck the vehicle that was partially in the roadway.
The three occupants of the first vehicle that crashed all suffered injuries in the subsequent collision, and they were transported to an area hospital by responding emergency services personnel. Two of the occupants suffered only minor injuries, but a 35-year-old Orilla man was later pronounced dead. The driver of the vehicle that stopped to offer assistance was also taken to hospital and is said to have suffered a severe head injury.
While collisions such as this one, may be caused by poor visibility or mechanical failure, an inattentive or reckless driver is often responsible for car accidents. Automobile accident injuries can be life changing, but accident victims may sometimes pursue civil remedies. A personal injury lawyer may file a lawsuit on their behalf, seeking to hold negligent drivers financially responsible for the injury, loss or damage they have caused. This litigation could pursue damages for an accident victim's lost income, property damage and expenses.
Source: CBC News, "Highway accident kills Orillia man, injures 3," Feb. 22, 2015


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Asian currencies pushed higher on Monday, as the dollar remained under pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve last week signalled fewer interest rate hikes this year than some investors had expected.
Asian currencies pushed higher on Monday, as the dollar remained under pressure after the U.S. Federal Reserve last week signalled fewer interest rate hikes this year than some investors had expected. The Taiwan dollar, hit its highest level in about 22 months at 30.465 per US dollar, buoyed by foreign fund inflows. The Thai baht rose to around 34.66 at one point, its strongest level since early October. Dollar-selling by foreign names and funds, as well as local exporters, helped give a boost to the baht.
The South Korean won also touched a five-month high of 1,121.1 per U.S. Dollar. Dollar bulls were disappointed last week after the Fed raised interest rates as expected and stuck to its outlook for three rate hikes in 2017, instead of the four some had grown to expect. "It's still dollar weakness. I think that's the persistent theme," said Andy Ji, Asian currency strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Asian currencies are generally supported by dollar weakness and positive risk sentiment after last week's Fed meeting, as well as growing expectations that monetary policies around the world could become more synchronised, including possible policy tightening by central banks in Asia, Ji said.
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The dollar's pullback after last week's Fed meeting partly reflects market positioning, market participants said. The market is continuing to offload long positions in the U.S. dollar, said a trader for a Malaysian bank in Kuala Lumpur. Currency markets showed limited initial reaction to the Group of 20 meeting over the weekend which retained the familiar form of words on currency intervention but dropped a pledge to avoid trade protectionism.
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Coșul este gol!
Through his collaborations with today's most talented and acclaimed practitioners of Lovecraftian fiction, editor S. T. Joshi has made the Black Wings of Cthulhu series essential for every library of horror and the macabre. Volume four offers up seventeen new masterpieces, each exploring the roots of fear employed so famously by the master himself, H. P. Lovecraft.
Between these covers there lies a who's who of the supernatural, including Fred Chappell, Jason V Brock, Gary Fry, Richard Gavin, Cody Goodfellow, Lois H. Gresh, Caitlín R. Kiernan, Charles Lovecraft, Will Murray, John Pelan and Stephen Mark Rainey, W. H. Pugmire, Ann K. Schwader, Darrell Schweitzer, Simon Strantzas, Melanie Tem, Jonathan Thomas, Donald Tyson, and Stephen Woodworth.


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The launch of the Isis mobile wallet system, which was scheduled this summer, was postponed. According to Jaymee Johnson, the company's head of the marketing department, the launch has been moved to September 21. Johnson also revealed that the delay was not due to a single factor, but by their decision to put the final touches on enhancing user experience. In Johnson's own words during an interview with FierceMobileContent, "It's really more of a commitment from an end-to-end customer experience to make sure all elements of that process are working well."
Johnson was referring to the whole process of consumers purchasing a phone that features Near Field Communication to the consumer acquiring the app, and finally, using the app on the phone to make payments in a store.
Essentially, Isis enables consumers to use a phone that supports Near Field Communication to purchase items, and use coupons or loyalty cards. The mobile payment system is backed up by three large carriers in the United States: Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility, and T-Mobile USA. Apart from these, it is getting great support as well from credit card companies, and merchants. The three companies first made mention of the service in 2010. Among its partners are American Express, Barclaycard, Capital One, Ingenico, ViVOtech, Equinox Payments, and Ingenico. Meanwhile, other handset manufacturers have announced that they are releasing devices that may use the Isis mobile payment system. These include Samsung, Research in Motion, Motorola Mobility, HTC, LG, and Sony.
Isis guarantees its consumers of security that is allegedly even better than regular wallets. In the instance of phone loss, consumers can request carriers to access their mobile wallet remotely and remove its contents. Furthermore, one's wallet secured by a PIN, and the consumer's personal information may not be accessed from the mobile wallet itself.
Meanwhile, the recently-launched iPhone 5 was revealed to be without a Near Field Communication capability. Said phone was expected to have been a great assistance in encouraging more people to use mobile payments. All hope, however, is not lost, as Isis is said to be developing a sleeve that will introduce an NFC chip to the device.


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Yes. If you have more than one liability waiver in your account, you can filter participants according to which waiver they have signed.
Log in to your Smartwaiver account to access your Waiver Console:
1. In the Search box, enter a last name, birthday or specific tag that you have assigned to a waiver. This will show you results for ALL waivers in your Waiver Console.
- Last Name: Stark
- First Name: ,Arya (note: place a comma before the first name)
- Birthday: April 15, 1997 (note: type the full date to see results)
2. Click on the Filters link.
3. Select the waiver to which you would like to apply the filter by clicking on the drop-down arrow.
Only signed smart waivers for that specific filter will appear.


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At various times throughout the history of the USA, the following men made the following statement (paraphrased) regarding U.S. citizens:
"The ignorant public must not be allowed to truly participate in Government.".
~ James Madison, one of our Founders
~ Walter Lippman, a so-called "Liberal" and known as the Dean of American Journalism
~ Edward Bernays, the author of Propaganda: Molding the Public Mind (1928) and generally recognized as the Founder of the Public Relations industry
Carroll Quigley, a well respected Professor at Georgetown U. and Bill Clinton's mentor, wrote this in 1966:
"The tragedy is that we no longer have a representative government in this country; the hope is that the little people will come to accept that... because there is nothing they can do about it."
From Tragedy and Hope (1966) by Quigley
Professor Quigley considered himself one of the Oligarchs, thus he referred to the rest of us as the "little people". He had been given unfettered access to the papers of various Institutions and members of the "ruling class" for the purpose of writing his book. In addition to the above, he claimed that the Council on Foreign Relations (the CFR) was a front for the J.P. Morgan [Chase] Company. In other words, a mega bank was highly influential in the determination of U.S. Foreign Policy. Keep in mind that Quigley was not some conspiracy theory nutcake; he was a very well respected historian. Toward the end of his life, he came to believe that this particular book of his was being suppressed in the United States; however, he never claimed that was any kind of conspiracy. One thing was clear: various Oligarchs were not happy with Tragedy and Hope. It was too revealing.
Alberto Gonzales, the former Bush Attorney General of the U.S., not long ago testified before a Congressional Hearing that "The Constitution does not grant us the Right of Habeas Corpus; therefore, the Gov't doesn't necessarily have to observe it." [The U.S. Constitution DOES NOT GRANT us any Rights whatsoever; instead, it protects the Natural Rights we acquire at birth. Governments cannot grant Rights, only privileges. Natural Rights are held by people completely independent of any government. That is a very well established principle dating at least as far back as the Magna Carta.]
Not long after the Gulf Oil Disaster of fairly recent history, the International Head of BP Oil (can't remember his name) stated in a news interview: "I can understand how the small people [the Gulf residents] would feel that way." That was in response to a newsperson stating that the people along the Gulf coast felt that BP was not doing enough regarding the spill. I clearly recall the guy making that statement on TV; I was truly astounded. His condescension was palpable.
Those are but a very few snippets of evidence (or at the very least, powerful suggestions) that this country is subject to the rule of Oligarchs. I believe the same applies to most other countries in the world as well. I suspect that many people don't believe it's true because they keep drinking the Propaganda Kool Aid. Part of that Kool Aid is the misinformation that the whole business is just another "conspiracy theory". I again emphasize: it's not a conspiracy. It's in plain sight for the most part. It's more along the lines of super-rich people having similar interests and objectives (power & money), working sometimes independently of each other and sometimes cooperatively to reach mutual goals. Simply because they don't go out of their way to reveal their methods does not mean that the whole thing is some sort of conspiracy. The phrase "conspiracy theory" is used by Oligarchs and their dupes to squash serious discussion of controversial subjects. More often than not, it works well.
Happy Trails
Saturday, July 26, 2014
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I finished the last of my gold/yellow for RSC for June. Here is a picture of the last 4 although I have made 7 others, totaling 11 golds.
For the year so far: 8 purple, 8 teal, 12, red, 13 rainbow, multicolor, 12, green and 11 total.
SUM 64 blocs, Plus 2 half square 3 inch blocks for each color.
My goal is to finish the last fence row on this panel today!:
The decision will be to do the panel with only the wording, or the one with the most to do? Hmmmm.


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Monday - Closed
Tuesday - 9 AM - 7 PM
Wednesday - 10 AM - 7 PM
Thursday - 9 AM - 7 PM
Friday - 9 AM - 7 PM
Saturday - 9 AM - 4 PM
Sunday - Closed
Always a pleasure whenever I am in the salon. Friendly and professional, never a bad vibe in this wonderfully clean and inviting environment.
Jess is an excellent color specialist and a cool person to chat with while getting my hair colored. My hair has never looked better!
I always feel special the moment I walk into Evolution. I'm greeted with a drink, then Tanja works her magic and colors my hair beautifully.
Very friendly - Katie is great. I love how she styles my hair and is very enjoyable to visit with.


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Kennedy Library purchased more than 28,000 eBooks from various publishers this year. This content covers a range of disciplines including psychology, history, media and cultural studies, religion and philosophy, theatre and performance, business, finance and economics. All content features perpetual access, multiple simultaneous users and permissive or no digital rights management. This means that downloading, printing and inter-library lending of eBook chapters are largely unrestricted.
"Data tells us that eBook usage is rapidly growing at Cal Poly," said Tim Strawn, director of information resources. "While usage is strongest in engineering and physical and life sciences, we are seeing a steady uptick in eBook usage in other disciplines, such as psychology, political science, history and business."
Content was purchased from Springer, John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier, Palgrave, ProjectMUSE, Taylor & Francis and Business Expert Press.
"Just as we provision a rich array of eJournal content, we are dedicated to enhancing access to eBook content," Strawn said. "Digital rights management (DRM) free content purchases allow us to expand access without restrictive terms for our users."


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On Monday, even with the tube on mute, it was clear from the parading split-screen images of ambulances, running police officers and shaky cellphone videos that something bad was going on. Sound up, I listened as cable news television's flawless faces breathlessly recounted what little they knew and a lot more of what they didn't know about the shooting rampage at Virginia Tech.
Coverage followed the typical pattern of these awful events. Interviews with witnesses and people who heard from witnesses were broadcast, video and still photos recycled, experts in security, mass killings, weapons, psychology and whatever else might be related filled air between information repetition.
Then came statements and news conferences. President Bush was astutely up at the podium early on with expressions of sorrow and words of comfort to families, many of whom had yet to be told their loved ones had become victims. College and law enforcement officials stoically attempted to answer questions from a strident gathering of news reporters, even though they hadn't had much time to lock down what exactly had befallen the campus.
Through the day, the terrible numbers about the dead fluctuated as officials revised their figures. Double digits posted on graphics and trailers crept up, 22 becoming 27, then 29, then 33, and finally back down to 32, to exclude the gunman who shot himself from the "victims" column.
I kept the audio low because I had work to do. But my ears perked up when I heard that the "shooter" -- an unpleasantly facile slang for criminals who use guns -- was Asian.
That jolted me. Why? Because in the catalog of the human species, the breakdown, though widely encompassing, included me.
Irrational? Yes. Self-centered? For sure. And even though I now know that the gunman's background is very different from mine, I don't feel insulated. Because we had one thin thread of commonality, I am still a bit ashamed and a bit afraid.
Up until the Asian revelation, I'd felt detached from the event. Horrible as that sounds, it was as though I was immune to the anguish the killer had inflicted. Maybe it's because in the news biz required reading includes volumes about human suffering, most notably in Iraq.
The miserable conditions there seem relentless and, if callous comparisons are made, the murder of 32 people on U.S. soil in one unusual day shrinks next to the scores of citizens and soldiers who die in a typical day of gunfire and bombing in that country.
It has taken more than four years to chip away at the majority of Americans' imperviousness to the horror of a pointless, disastrous war. Yet the demand to stop the madness goes unheard or disregarded, and if it is cruel to draw together the senseless killing in Blacksburg and Baghdad, then words of comfort in one place while war goes on in the other are equally cruel.