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A properly maintained irrigation system is vital for a healthy lawn. Clogged and broken sprinkler heads not only leave parts of your lawn high and dry, but can also drive up the cost of your water bill! So be sure to regularly walk around your yard to check up on your sprinklers and make the following fixes when necessary.
- notepad
- pen or pencil
- screwdriver
- stationary shrub sprinkler heads
- wrench
Adjusting the sprinklers
Carry a notepad to jot down the locations and conditions of sprinkler heads. This will help you remember which spots to follow up on.
- Start your checkup by scanning the lawn. Look for any patches that seem to be abnormally green or barren, and make a note of them.
- Test each of your zones, and observe your sprinklers to determine which ones need to be adjusted. Some sprinklers might be stuck in position or clogged.
- Look for any sprinklers that failed to deploy and ensure that grass isn't obstructing their spray path. Lightly wiggle the sprinkler heads and try running the sprinklers again.
- Armed with a trusty screwdriver, adjust and direct sprinklers to evenly water the grass. The spray of water should not be hitting sidewalks or fences.
- Purchase stationary shrub sprinkler heads for densely planted areas. These are on risers, so they can irrigate without obstruction from surrounding plants.
Cleaning and flushing your irrigation system
When performing your annual cleaning to remove dirt and debris from water pipes and sprinkler heads, make sure to bring your toolbox along for the task.
- Turn off the water for the first zone. Using a wrench, remove the sprinkler heads and nozzles.
- Turn the water back on. Let it run until the water runs clear from each of your openings.
- After you turn off the water, carefully take apart the sprinkler heads with a screwdriver.
- Rinse the components, reassemble and reattach the heads to their openings.
- Run the sprinklers a final time to ensure that everything is in working order. Adjust the sprinklers as desired.
- Repeat these steps with your other zones.
Taking care of your irrigation system is easier than it sounds, and doing so will prevent damage to your system in the future. A little maintenance can really go a long way.


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Job & Family Services
The Miami County Department of Job and Family Services proudly offers the following services such as: temporary cash assistance, supplemental nutritional assistance program, and Medicaid, subsidized child care, adult protection services, disability assistance and prevention, retention, and contingency services. The Child Support Division establishes paternity, enforces support orders, and collects and disburses child support in order to ensure children receive the financial and medical support they deserve.
We are consistently working to improve the lives of those we serve, by providing opportunities through coordinated services for the residents of Miami County.
Mission Statement
Our mission is to extend supportive services and resources which will provide for the essential needs of our customers. In partnership with public and private entities, we will initiate efforts to enhance the employment potential of all County residents and promote self-sufficiency for each individual. We will utilize a teamwork approach in achieving our goals, and in so doing will treat each other and those we serve with dignity and respect.
Effective April 1, 2019, Miami County Job & Family Services will transition to an automated phone system. When calling the main number, 937-440-3471, listen carefully to select from the following options: If you know your party's extension, you will be prompted to dial the extension. Press:
1- Adult Protective Services
2- Medicaid Transportation Rides
3- Cash, Medical or Food Assistance or Fraud
4- Child Support Enforcement
5- Ohio Means Jobs Miami County, child care, PRC, work assignment and employment and training opportunities
8- All other inquiries

subset: commoncrawl


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Maternity fashion
Every woman always looks gorgeous, but pregnant woman looks mysterious as well. Of course pregnancy is not the best time to show off the grace and elegance of your figure, but it's not the reason to refuse to be stylish and trendy. Before we start looking at the best maternity fashion trends of this season we should mention that all the clothes must be sewn from the fabrics that are breathable, soft, absorbent and don't irritate your skin. As a rule they are natural materials such as cotton, linen, natural silk and wool. However you shouldn't fret elastin or viscose, they are soft and breathable, moreover they're stretchy.
So let's choose a trendy wardrobe for a pregnant lady. First of all you will need a pair of special maternity jeans. They are just the vital thing as they will help you to create an endless number of images in the casual style and they will give you snug and comfort during this interesting but quite long period of your life. Next important and practical thing in the wardrobe should be a sweater, but not just a sweater, think of long and loose models as they will cover your growing belly and you will feel warm and cozy.
It's really hard to imagine maternity fashion without dresses. They are still the most popular options, and it's not surprising, as dresses are comfortable and feminine. Dresses can be either A-line, which have flattering effect due to the straight lines, or light and flowing, bodycon or tunic. Designers propose beautiful dresses in ethnic and marine styles, although African prints will give you more enigma and mystery. Tunics and blouses are in trend as usual. However this season they are just in white and don't have any decorative elements. Simple style and light airy fabrics will make you look like Greek Goddess and feel like a million dollars. As for colours trendy maternity clothes closely follow the fashion trends of the season. So pay attention to saturated blue and its shades azure and cobalt, as well as orange, light – yellow, mint and almond shades. As for prints, which are the hit this season, you should choose clothes with floral patterns or original geometry ones. Classic polka dots and stripes are as fashionable as used to be.
As everybody knows the period of pregnancy lasts for 9 months, so you will definitely need a coat or a jacket. In this case designers play on your side and offer a huge variety of clothes to choose from: soft oversize coats, parka jackets (which you can easily use for creating your image in military or sporty styles), capes, ponchos are just what moms to be need. Pay attention to a very unusual sling jacket, which considers all and every peculiarities of your growing tummy, as it features a long A panel zipped in over your bump. Later you can use this A panel zipped the other way to carry your child.
So as you can see pregnancy is not the reason to abandon your own style in clothing. Fashion allows moms – to – be to wear in any style from romantic to boho-chic. Just use your pregnancy as a great opportunity to make different experiments with styles.


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How have scientists created a sieve for salt water?
Scientists at the University of Manchester, UK, have developed a way to create a sieve using graphene, an incredibly light and strong material, which has holes in it which are less than one nanometre across. These holes will let water through but not salt, meaning sea water could be used for drinking.
What happened to American student Otto Warmbier while he was in North Korea?
What constitutes an offence of corporate manslaughter? Who can be prosecuted for it and what are the punishments?


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Men's soccer takes on University of Northwestern Ohio
September 5, 2018
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The Baker Wildcats finished the Labor Day Classic with a matchup on Monday against the University of Northwestern Ohio at Liston Stadium. The Wildcats would fight their way to a 2-0 victory over UNOH ending the weekend with a 2-0 record. This moves the team to solid 5-0 start to the 2018-2019 season.


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Here are a few samples of the kids work for this week.
MaryEllen finished vocabulary list 12. We have the kids do the vocabulary in order, and not by book. They take an average of 10 words a week. They study the words and do word finds and crosswords and then when they are ready, they take the quiz. I use this sheet for the quiz. It says, 'Matching Game,' but I keep it out of their packet and give it to them when they are ready to test.
Here is Donnie's.
They both have been doing real well with their vocabulary. They go at their own pace. Usually, they will do a list every 2 weeks unless it is a short one like Lesson 8, which they both did in a week.
MaryEllen finished Summer of the Lost Limb last week, so she wrote a short summary. She is now reading Alice In Wonderland.
Here is MaryEllen's current read, Alice In Wonderland. She also reads the Bible (currently Leviticus). She reads for an hour and a half with the other half for vocabulary study. This is her assigned reading. I have the books I want her to read in a basket, and she chooses which book she will read, so there is no particular order.
Donnie reads a story from Tiger and Tom along with his Bible (Exodus currently) and he just finished Winter's Folly. He, too, has a basket of books.
Donnie just finished this book on Tuesday. Now he can pick another book from his basket.
Donnie is doing copywork right now to work on his neatness, spacing and bringing tails under the line. He has come a long way and I am proud of his accomplishments. I was having him do Intermediate Language Lessons, but I decided to stop and concentrate on copywork. He will do similar sheets each week until August. Then I will determine if he could begin The Writing Course.
This week, he is copying Psalms 1, a short poem and the first stanza of the hymn, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Each week I will make up something similar, gradually making them longer. (I am making these available to my newsletter subscribers in the download area. If you aren't a subscriber, you can be by joining using the form at the top of this web page. )
I forgot to take a picture of MaryEllen's writing assignments from The Writing Course. 🙁 She watches a video every 2-3 lessons and then writes.
They both have continued to do well in their math. MaryEllen is doing great in Saxon76 and Donnie in Saxon 65.
That is pretty much it for their academics.
MaryEllen is beginning her typing which we planned for her to do 3x a week.
Make it a great week,


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As you get in your Maryland rental car and turn the key, you have an almost unlimited number of routes open to you. Whether you want to soak in some urban ambiance in Annapolis and Baltimore or explore sleepy coastal towns on the East Shore, Maryland has something for every traveler. There's also no shortage of history in this state, from Civil War battlegrounds to spots that were once on the Underground Railroad.
If you're a history buff, you're in luck in Maryland. The state's scenic byways include several trails that allow you to follow significant events of the Civil War in your Maryland rental car. The routes follow battle history, of course, as well as the path of John Wilkes Booth as he attempted to evade capture after assassinating President Abraham Lincoln. Along the byways, you'll see bugle signs that lead to exhibits about life for Civil War soldiers and civilians in Maryland. Other byway trails concentrate on the Underground Railroad, religious freedom in the state and more. Your road trip can double as a history lesson with these abundant and beautiful routes.
Historic Route One runs right through Maryland and through Baltimore, putting you in exactly the right place to experience some of the best attractions the city has to offer. Make sure to stop by Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner." Enjoy a trip to the Inner Harbor, where there are dining and entertainment options galore, or to Camden Yard, where you can take in an Orioles game. Route One will also take you near Baltimore museums: the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. Maryland's Eastern Shore is a place you will love exploring it your Maryland rental car.
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FC: Class of 2011 Franklin School Memories
1: A Message from Principal Salvatore Cusmano.... In observance of the recent Memorial Day holiday, you, our sixth graders, penned remembrances of America's military heroes, including this one: " A day to remember the brave heroes that lost their lives in war. Let us forever honor their courage and patriotism. At a ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, President Abraham Lincoln also honored American soldiers, both the fallen and the living of the Battle of Gettysburg. President Lincoln affirmed that we should honor soldiers in words, but he also emphasized that we must honor them through our actions. At that time, President Lincoln was specifically referring to the "unfinished work" of preserving the United States as one undivided nation. "...that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." In a very real sense, we today must also resolve to uphold the blessings of our democracy. Although you are presently only sixth graders moving up to seventh grade, you , along with every other American, have a civic duty to strive for excellence in every pursuit. For now that means that you must dedicate yourself to becoming as proficient as possible in all academic areas and to live peaceably with everyone. Today, you are dependent on us adults to support and nurture you, but in the not too distant future you will be supporting us. For better or worse, depending on the decisions that you make, you will one day be the driving force of our economy and the leaders of our government. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of our great country rests upon your shoulders. To paraphrase President Lincoln, it is altogether fitting and proper that we now celebrate the culmination of your education here at Franklin School and your moving up to Saddle Brook Middle School. Four our school staff it has been a joyous labor of love to be pa part of molding you into all that you can be, and we pray for your continued growth and development. Whatever you may endeavor, in school, in relationships and , one day , at work, pursue excellence. Dedicate yourself to the great task remaining before you , completion of your unfinished education, and increase your devotion to that cause. In so doing, you will nobly protect and advance our political and economic freedom and you will indeed forever honor the courage and patriotism of all who have ever served the United States. Remember, we adults are all depending on you!
2: Kindergarten
3: First Grade
4: Second Grade
6: Third Grade
7: Fourth Grade
9: Fifth Grade
10: Fifth Grade Wax Museum
12: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1. Desiree Ahumada 2. Kiara Amante 3. Joseph Astengo 4. Raymond Menoscal 5. Jaelene Palao 6. Shelby Wise 7. Chris Greff 8. Bryanna Green 9. Shane Murray 10. Alexis Stewart 11. Dawid Gil 12. Johanna Acero
13: 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 13. Karl Mercado 14. Devin Blandino 15. Raquel Galluzzo 16. Jenna Santacroce 17. Isabel Alvarez 18. Rachel Lopez 19. Brandon Ciolino 20. Anthony Szmyhol 21. Nicole DeLucia 22. Janet Brenya 23. Angela Brooks 24. Merrie Bonner
14: 6th Grade
16: Friends
17: Sixth Grade
18: "Whenever you remember...
19: ...i'll be there"


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When websites are correctly developed and designed, all users have equal access to functionality and information. When you remove barriers that prevent interaction or access by people with disabilities you are opening a world of interaction.
Creating an accessible website for your business is an investment, we can work with you at all stages from creation to launch, or reviewing and adjustments. By building an inclusive website the benefits spread much wider than you might think. Focusing on an accessible website would not only be a solution for one person, the benefits you are offering will be to a much broader group of people.
Under the Equality Act 2010 in the UK, or Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in Northern Ireland, it is a legal requirement that your website is fully accessible to all customers. Having an accessible website has many beneficial effects, it can increase your reach, profitability and be totally inclusive.


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Said By SmartHouseRetailers are claiming that Microsoft has had to handle a failure rate of over 30% with their Xbox 360 console. More than 100 consumers have written to SmartHouse complaining of either poor service from Microsoft or total failure of their gaming console. One consumer was even given back a refurbished unit in exchange for their original Xbox console
Several months ago SmartHouse raised the issue of potential problems with the Xbox 360 after several readers wrote to us complaining of persistent failures. Even one of our testing Xbox 360 systems that we use to review software failed and had to be returned to Microsoft for repair. Other consumers have complained of sending off their Xbox for repair only to get a different re furbished unit back.


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Several gay activist groups, including Refuse to Lie, HRC and Marriage Equality USA, have launched campaigns calling for repeal of DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government -- and the IRS -- from recognizing married gay couples.
From Refuse to Lie:
IRS Tells Married Couples to File as Single
The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) not only denies legally married gay couples the benefits of marriage, but we are also told to disavow our spouses and file our taxes as "single."
"Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this return and accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, they are true and complete."
-IRS Form 1040
Each year the federal government demands that thousands of gay married couples lie.
Across the country, legally married gay couples are taking a stand. We are refusing to lie about the fact that we are married.
Taking this principled stand is not without risk and each person doing so needs to carefully consider those risks before deciding if it is a stand you are willing to take.
From HRC:
HRC launching public awareness campaign to shine light on need for marriage equality and repeal of Discriminatory DOMA Law
WASHINGTON – With the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) still on the books and marriage equality a reality in only six states and the District of Columbia, millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans will once again file tax returns as second-class citizens. The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization, is educating Americans about the unfair tax burden faced by the LGBT community due to the few states where their relationships are recognized and the federal prohibition on recognition because of DOMA. Discriminatory tax laws will cost LGBT families significantly more in taxes, and will deny them access to a whole range of federal benefits.
"Tax day is hard enough but discriminatory laws exacerbate the burden on LGBT Americans," said HRC President Joe Solmonese. "Even for couples who are legally married, DOMA denies them equal rights and dignity that all families deserve."
To raise awareness of the inequities same-sex couples face on tax day, HRC today released an issue brief on Federal Taxation, illustrating how same-sex couples are denied equal treatment under the tax law, are forced to spend more time and money filing their taxes, and face inconsistent interpretation and enforcement of IRS guidance and practice related to adoption. The document is available at: http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/IssueBrief_FederalTaxation.pdf.
HRC will be releasing a fact of the day on unfair taxation and encouraging supporters to use Facebook and Twitter to spread the message using the hashtag #gaytax. Particularly supporters should tweet to House Speaker John Boehner (@speakerboehner) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (@ericcantor) their personal stories of tax inequality. Boehner and Cantor continue to defend the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in court at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds. Learn more at www.hrcbackstory.org.
The campaign will culminate on Tuesday, April 17 when HRC places a full-page ad in Politico, calling for a repeal of DOMA and marriage equality nationwide.
The Human Rights Campaign is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. By inspiring and engaging all Americans, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBT citizens and realize a nation that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.
From Marriage Equality USA:
San Francisco • 16 April 2012 ― As millions of Americans file their income taxes, the local chapters of Marriage Equality USA will participate in the annual National Tax Day Protest at local post offices around the country on April 17, holding signs like "Twenty-Five Years Together, Still Filing Single" "No Taxation with Discrimination" and "Tax Us the Same, Treat Us the Same" to call attention to the tax inequities facing same-sex couples as a result of the state and federal laws that refuse to recognize or extend civil marriage protections to same-sex couples. These actions highlight the ongoing moral and financial costs of denying marriage equality to same-sex couples—as well as the consequences paid by all Americans as a result of these discriminatory state and federal laws.
"We will stand up every year for equal taxation without discrimination, until we have full federal equality for all Americans," said Billy Bradford, who will be leading the protest in Oakland, California.
Same-sex couples are forced to lie on their federal tax returns, explains Marriage Equality USA's Thom Watson: "It's that crazy time of year again when the IRS requires you to affirm under penalty of law that you have been completely truthful on your taxforms, while simultaneously the Defense of Marriage Act actually mandates that some US couples lie on their tax forms. The federal government requires us to check off the 'Single' box on our 1040s, and to file as single, even when we're not. Our government forces us to lie, and charges us more for the privilege."
Ellen Pontac, who will be leading the protest in Davis, California with her wife Shelly Bailes, explains another basic reason why tax time is even more cumbersome same-sex couples: "Same-sex Registered Domestic Partners and same-sex married couples in California are required to fill out a total of four income tax forms when different sex married couples need to fill out only two – making tax time doubly cruel for same-sex couples."
"Because of the additional requirements and complexity, most same-sex couples are forced by the government to spend more money and time to do their taxes than similarly situated opposite-sex couples," added Thom Watson.
"We are encouraged by the recent successful legal challenges the so called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in federal courts. But until America fulfills its promise of equal justice under the law, tax day will continue to be an annual day of reckoning for how our couples and families face institutionalized discrimination – and are often forced to pay more than their fellow citizens to the same government that denies us equal rights," concluded Stuart Gaffney, Marriage Equality USA Media Director.
For more detailed information about the unequal tax situation created by marriage inequality, please visit www.marriageequality.org/no-taxation-w-o


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The Toyota Land Cruiser 40 series was made from 1960 to 1984. The line included the Landcruiser HJ47 as well as the Landcruiser FJ45 models. The majority of the 40 series Land Cruisers were two door SUVs with larger dimensions than the Jeep CJ.
What is the difference between the Toyota Landcruiser model numbers?The FJ40 series was made with the F petrol engines. The HJ46 and HJ47 models where constructed with a long wheelbase and a diesel engine. Other diesel models include the BJ40, BJ41, and BJ42 which have short wheelbases, and the BJ43, BJ44, and BJ46 with middle length wheelbases.
The Landcruiser HJ47 was launched in 1980, with the H2 diesel engine, used from 1980 - 1984. The engine had a 4.0 litre capacity, 105 hp. It was available in a two door hardtop, three door hardtop, four door station wagon, and a two door ute model.
The Landcruiser FJ45 was launched in 1963. It had a longer wheelbase of 2950mm. Some models (the FJ45-B) included a pickup and cab chassis. It was produced as a four door model until 1967. The F petrol engine was used until 1975, and it had a 3.8 litre capacity with 105/125 hp. The 2F petrol engine was used from 1975 until 1984 with 4.2 litre capacity, 135 hp. It was available in a two door hardtop, three door hardtop, four door station wagon, and a two door ute model.
Whatever the particular model that lights your fire, if you're a devoted Toyota Landcruiser enthusiast, check out eBay's great range of parts. Although Toyota have since introduced the FJ Cruiser as a modern replacement, sometimes retro really is best. Keep your vintage Land Cruiser roaring to life, on and off the road, with eBay's great range of replacement Land Cruiser parts. Browse our massive selection today and find an amazing vehicle for you.


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Terron Schaefer, Saks Fifth Avenue executive vice president and creative director, above, visited the store's Worth Avenue branch Wednesday as part of a whirlwind tour of three south Florida Saks stores.
I met briefly with Schaefer, who comes across like a better-groomed version of that Dos XX's guy, "The Most Interesting Man in the World," prior to a Saks in-store fashion event in honor of The Society of the Four Arts, which featured a runway show of current-season cocktail and evening clothes for men and women.
Schaefer may be a familiar face to those who caught the first season of NBC's "Fashion Star" reality competition series. He's one of three "buyers" on the panel that selects the designer awarded loads of cash and whose winning collection is carried by Saks, Macy's and H & M.
Schaefer reported that the second season of "Fashion Star" had just wrapped and the series will be broadcast weekly beginning next March.
The TV gig is a sideline of his job, though he said the show does a lot to get the Saks Fifth Avenue brand out to a new mass audience, one more prone to shop online than in brick-and-mortar stores. He noted that Saks.com is now the retailer's "second-largest store" in terms of sales volumes. The flagship Fifth Avenue store is No. 1, of course.
As Saks' creative director, Schaefer oversees all catalogs, images, packaging and campaigns for the luxury retailer, which has 45 stores across the U.S., and in Mexico, Dubai, Kazakhstan and Bahrain. The Buenos Aires-born Schaefer been with Saks for eight years, joining the store after a stint with Warner Bros. in Hollywood.
The "Yeti," Saks' furry Siberian mascot for the holiday season was developed by Schaefer.
He was impressed with the Palm Beach store's promotion of the "friendly" creature, especially with the "snowfall created by Yeti every evening along the branch's street facade.
And he loves the addition of a toy department, a first for the Worth Avenue branch…which features Yeti prominently, of course.
Schaefer liked the clean new look of Saks Palm Beach, the availability "chic" Celine handbags and the expanded offerings in the contemporary designer category.
He doesn't visit Palm Beach often, but the Worth Avenue branch, celebrating its 86th year serving island customers in 2012, is one of his favorites in the retail chain.
Schaefer headed back to New York, after a short stop in Mexico, and will be back at work developing the fall 2013 campaign for the store. He is responsible for the current @Saks campaign and for that kinda annoying, but probably effective "Want It" slogan used by Saks a few years back.
As for the next holiday season promotional push, Schaefer hesitated but said, "Yeti will probably return in some way."


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This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 1-800-Flowers. All opinions are 100% mine.
Ooooooook. Enough is ENOUGH with the rain. The Weather Dude said that we have had almost SIX (yes, 6) inches of rain for the month of June. :cwy: Add to that all the crying I've been doing because I am renovating and have to hang my laundry on the clothes line… and we'd got a veritable flood going on here, people. I am SO SICK of the RAIN! Gah! We had nothing in May (everything was bone-dry) and are absolutely saturated for June. *sigh*
So Upstate New York and the rest of the Northeast has been mighty gloomy this summer so far. Cold, clammy, humid, and overcast. My poor, poor flower gardens. If they're not drowning in weeds because I can't weed them, then they're drowning in water and bereft of sunshine.
I spotted some bouquets of flowers at my local grocery store– even they were a sorry sight. The azaleas were brown and wilted. The roses looked OK, but they were rather bland without sprays of color. We gals NEED our flowers! So why pay through the nose for wilted flowers at a supermarket, when you can shop online for gorgeous bouquets and have them delivered!!! 😀 Now that's fine living. 😀 I cannot wait until my kitchen renovation is done– I'm going to place tons of flowers and plants near my new 4-foot by 5-foot window.
And if you're looking for spectacular, fresh flowers— you have got to check out www.1800flowers.com.
My husband has ordered from them before and they do have speedy and friendly flower delivery. The prices are good, and the bouquets are INCREDIBLE. Really, go see their pictures of their bouquets. You can practically smell the Gardenia Bonsai tree, WOW. I want one of those for my kitchen window. And they have these super-bright pink azaleas that are NOT wilted! The bouquets are really affordable, as low as $20! But www.1800flowers.com has more than bouquets and bonsais. They have topiaries, fruit baskets, patio trees, hydrangeas, orchids, dish gardens, and loads more.
Do yourself a favor– come in out of the incessant rain and just GO to the website. It is instant sunshine. Imagine having a windowsill full of them!


text: Report from four seminars on challenges and opportunities for peacebuilding in Sudan, held in March and April 2012 in Uppsala and Stockholm, Sweden. Each of the seminars focused on a special theme, namely: Environment, climate and the Sudanese conflict; The border between the North and the South – current status and challenges from a peacebuilding perspective; The role of civil society in peacebuilding in Sudan today; The Nordic countries as peacebuilders in Sudan? Speakers at the seminars were Sudanese experts and representatives of civil society and academia, as well as Nordic experts with rich experience from Sudan. High level policy-makers, practitioners and experts were in the panel in the discussion at the concluding seminar, held in the First Chamber Hall of the Swedish Parliament. The seminars were jointly organised by the Life & Peace Institute and the Nordic Africa Institute. The seminar series and the publication of this report were financially supported by the Folke Bernadotte Academy.


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2013 Jersey Shore Guide: Cape May County beaches (via Cranford Chronicle)
Everything you need to know about beaches in Cape May County during the summer of 2013, from beach fees to parking facilities to lifeguard schedules: AVALON Status: Beaches will be open daily from Memorial Day weekend to Sept. 2. Fees: $6, daily; $12, weekly; $26. Season, $21f purchased before May…
Water Sport Adventures and Cape May Whale and Dolphin Watching at the Jersey Shore in Cape May
Come to Cape May and enjoy a Water Sport Excursion including Parasailing, Jet Boats or Jet Ski Rentals.
Cape May Resort.com Your Cape May Travel Resource for Local Cape May Events, Tours,Water Sports, including East Coast Parasailing, Jet Boat Adventures and Jet Ski Rentals and Excursions.
Click above to Save 10% on Line
Cape May Resort offers the best packages in local watersport Events, Planning a Visit to Cape May, we've put together the most popular local events in Cape May to enjoy during your Vacation.


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Octenisept Antiseptic for Wound Disinfection
Octenisept from Schülke & Mayr is a modern, broad-spectrum and painless wound antiseptic for use on skin and mucous membrane. The means of application for disinfecting wounds are diverse, as Octenisept can be sprayed from a spray pump, poured, or even applied with a swabbing technique. Wound irrigations can also be carried out with an Octenisept solution. This wound treatment and cleaning agent is ready to use and a dilution of 50% is recommended when being used for full-body washing of MRSA patients.
Product Details for Octenisept
- Octenisept antiseptic for wound disinfection
- Good tolerability with skin and mucous membrane
- Fast-acting wound disinfection (starts working within just 1 minute)
- Pharmaceutically active antiseptic ingredients: Octenidinhydrochloride (octenidine), phenoxyethanol
- Free of phenol and iodine
- Applicable for use with children, infants and newborns without limitations
- No systemic side effects
- Improved wound healing via antiseptic ingredients
- Colourless
- Available with and without spray pump
- Dosage form: solution
- Manufacturer: Schülke & Mayr
Areas of Application for Octenisept
- Wound cleaning
- Treatment of chronic, traumatic, acute and surgical wounds
- Prior to treatment and operations in the anogenital and urogenital regions
- Prior to operations in the oral region
- Pre-operative skin antiseptic in areas close to the mucous membrane (before incisions, for example)
- Full-body antimicrobial washing to protect against MRSA
Spectrum of Efficacy for Octenisept:
- Bacteria (including MRSA, E.coli, pseudomonas aeruginosa, chlamydia and mycoplasma)
- Fungi (e.g. candida albicans) and yeasts
- Protozoa (trichomonads)
- Viruses (including Herpes simplex, HBV, HCV and HIV)
Octenisept from Schülke & Mayr is available in various sizes for spray or swab application. This mucous membrane antiseptic for painless wound disinfection, wound irrigation and wound treatment can be purchase for a great low price from Praxisdienst! In our online shop, you will also find a large selection of other skin antiseptics and disinfectants.
Yes, it is no problem to use Octenisept for wound cleaning or irrigation on infants and newborns.
You can use a 50% Octenisept solution for an antimicrobial full-body wash. Please note the activation time of 2 minutes.
Based on the physiological and anatomical characteristics of oral mucous membrane, Octenisept is best applied with a swabbing technique. The mucous membrane is generously applied with a swab soaked with the wound disinfectant. The activation time in the oral cavity using the swabbing technique is 2 minutes.
No, the manufacturer notes that Octenisept is not suited for nasal irrigation!
The preparation can also be applied in a frozen state and does not lose its germ-reducing efficacy. Use in a frozen state is conceivable for phlegmons or erysipelas, for example.
The antiseptic ingredients in Octenisept are octenidine (octenidine-dihydrochloride) and phenoxyethanol.
Depending on the type of germ and area of application, the manufacturer recommends an activation time allowance between 30 seconds and two minutes.
Octenisept from Schülke & Mayr is available from Praxisdienst in sizes of 50 ml, 500 ml and 1 L. The 50 ml spray bottle is equipped with a spray nozzle.
In order to prevent possible tissue damage, the preparation must not be injected into the tissue.
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text: r33cruiser 0 Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) Well, on the 16th of Jan the GF and I are headed to Iririki, Port Vila, Vanuatu. We will be staying in our own bungalo on the water. Looking forward to the water activities, swim up bar and relaxing. Have any of you ever been to this area? I have been told that the locals have a drink made from a plant root that makes your body numb . Edited January 7, 2012 by r33cruiser Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Peachtree Mechanical believes in comprehensive pre-construction planning. Utilizing our own in-house expertise, we bring together the entire construction team to discuss effective strategies for communication, site layout/conditions, value engineering, constructability, cost/schedule studies, and procurement of long lead time items, as well as plans for safety, productivity, quality control and testing.
Peachtree Mechanical has the ability to provide a wide variety of building construction services. With over 30 years of construction history and experience, you can count on PMI for any building project: federal, civil, commercial, industrial, public works or any other construction projects..
Peachtree Mechanical was built on the foundation of Mechanical Construction services. We have a complete work force made up of pipe fitters, plumbers, electricians, mill wrights, and iron workers. This allows us to be competitive and to better control overall project productivity..


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After suffering less than desirable finishes at the last three rounds, Grant Baylor got back on the winning track by claiming his third victory of the season at the Rattlesnake National Enduro, rounds six of the Kenda AMA National Enduro Series in Cross Fork, Pennsylvania. Baylor started strong and built up a substantial lead after winning the first two tests of the day, and then added another test win in the fifth test, giving him a comfortable lead heading into the sixth and final test, which was won by his brother, Steward. At the end of the day, Grant took the win by 42 seconds over Rockstar Energy Racing Husqvarna Factory Racing's Josh Strang, while Steward rounded out the podium another 10 second back.
Series point leader Russell Bobbitt, who came into the Rattlesnake Enduro riding the momentum of a two-race win streak, suffered two significant crashes during the day, which dropped him to sixth in the final Pro results and seventh overall. His result, combined with the win by Grant Baylor and a third place finish by Steward Baylor, tightened up the point standings, with Bobbitt now holding just a nine-point lead over Grant, with Steward another three points back.
"I'm really happy because I got a lot of valuable points today," said Grant. "I think I'm tied with my brother and we closed in on Russ quite a bit because I think he had a bad day. It really started with that first test, I was able to put a pretty good gap on the field in that one and I carried that momentum into the next test. After that, I was able to cruise a bit and play it kind of safe in the rocks."
Strang had his best finish of the season with a second place finish, courtesy of runner-up finishes in tests two and three.
"I happy with the finish, but it's frustrating because I've struggled most of the year and then it was so easy today," said Strang. "I need to find out why I rode so good today so I can ride this way every weekend. We've just had a few issues in some of the past couple of races and today we eliminated those issues, plus the track today was fun. It was fresh trail and that made it enjoyable. Now if we can just carry this momentum into the last three races."
Steward Baylor, who switched to a two-stroke for the remainder of the series and was making his first ride on his SRT-backed 2017 KTM 250 XC, rounded out the Pro-class podium, coming from sixth after the fifth test to third after the final test. Steward got off to a slow start to the race; finishing seventh in the opening test, and it wasn't until the final test that he finally caught fire.
"I do better in the longer tests because it takes me a bit to get warmed up and all of these tests were short except for the last one and it was nine miles long," said Steward. "This is one of my favorite tracks and it's usually moist but today it was dry and I just took a while to get comfortable because it wasn't a physically demanding race and I tend to excel in physically demanding conditions."
While Steward finished third in the Pro division, Rekluse Expert AA rider Thorn Devlin surprised everyone by finishing third in the overall standings on a Thorne Cycles KTM, finishing the race two seconds faster than Steward. Devlin signed up late and rode the event from the 89th row, so he was off the radar for most of the day. The KTM rider comes from Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, which has a lot of rocky terrain, so his rock-riding experience paid big dividends at the Rattlesnake event, which is also known for its rocks.
"I'm really happy with my ride, I rode well and only fell once so that was the key," said Devlin. "These rocks are a lot like what I ride at home, so I was pretty comfortable out there, even though I was fighting the lappers coming from a back row."
Fifth overall and fourth in the Pro division was AirGroup Racing's Ryder Lafferty, who said he rode his own race and didn't pay attention to the competition.
"Everything just flowed for me today," said Lafferty. "This is a local race for me, so obviously that helped a lot, but I had extra motivation this weekend."
Sixth overall was Lafferty's AirGroup teammate Nick Fahringer, who won the fourth test of the day and was in the running for a podium position before sucking dust into his engine after the fourth test.
Series point leader Russell Bobbitt crashed hard two different times in the final test, and was a big groggy when he came in off the loop. The FMF/KTM rider lost a lot of ground because of the crashes and finished the race in a disappointing seventh overall.
Eighth went to Jesse Groemm. The Solid Performance Racing KTM rider won the third test, but it was not enough to overcome a 14th place finish in the first test.
SRT KTM's Cory Buttrick had an uneventful day en route to ninth overall, while Coastal Racing's Craig DeLong rounded out the top 10 on a Husqvarna.
Chris Bach made a rare appearance in the Enduro series at the Rattlesnake National and kicked the day off by finishing second in the opening test, but things went downhill from there for the JCR Honda rider, who eventually finished the event in 11th.
RPM Racing's Drew Higgins finished 12th ahead of former Pro motocross and factory rider Broc Hepler, who rode a Gas Gas to 13th.
As mentioned earlier, Thorn Devlin won the Rekluse Expert-AA division, finishing almost five-and-a-half minutes ahead of Razze KTM rider Dylan MacRitchie. Husqvarna rider Ethan Ficklin rounded out the podium in third. Meanwhile, Expert-AA points lead Jake Froman (Husqvarna) finished sixth in class.
In the Women's A/B class, former Women's champ Shawn Davidson (KTM) on her Bell Helmets/EE/ Kenda KTM, topping KTM riders Jaime Wells and Kiersten McDonal for the center step of the podium
The Kenda AMA National Enduro Series heads next to Ohio for round seven of the series in Zanesville on August 28th. For more information on the series check out www.nationalenduro.com.
Grant Baylor (Yam)
Josh Strang (Hus)
Thorne Devlin (KTM) (Expert-AA class rider)
Steward Baylor (KTM)
Ryder Lafferty (Hus)
Nick Fahringer (Hus)
Russell Bobbitt (KTM)
Jesse Groemm (KTM)
Cory Buttrick (KTM)
Craig DeLong (Hus)


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Jet-Lube SEAL-GUARD ECF 1 GAL YELLOW PA
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JET-LUBE SEAL-GUARD ECF has been specifically formulated to meet the performance requirements of proprietary, metal-to-metal seal and high-interference connection designs. ''Super'' chrome and high-alloy steels, low solids content to accommodate premium connection design requirements, and ideal for use on high-chrome and premium connections.
- Balance of synthetic and vegetable oils
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- Film that gives consistent frictional performance
- Friction factor equivalent to API MODIFIED
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CLASSIFICATION: ''Yellow'' rating for Norway
CLASSIFICATION: ''E'' for the United Kingdom & the Netherlands
The advanced base grease is a carefully selected balance of synthetic and vegetable oils with our Extreme base grease thickener technology coupled with innovative solid lubricants. The result is superior lubrication under high loads with galling resistance equivalent to heavy metal-based compounds in a totally metalfree formulation. The cutting edge technology provides a high affinity to metal surfaces with relatively low added-solids content.
For use on premium and high-chrome tubing and casing connections.
Not recommended for oxygen service.Service Rating
-20°F to 500°F
-29°C to 260°C


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Home » Vice President » Sarah Palin the TV News Anchor ... and me
Sarah Palin the TV News Anchor ... and me
By Kevin Leu • 5:14:00 PM • McCain News Anchor Reporter Sarah Heath Sarah Palin Silicon Valley Bachelor Television Vice President • Comments : 3
The difference between her and other politicians is that everyone else speaks to the masses, while Gov. Palin made it seem like she was speaking directly to you. She was having a conversation with each and every one of you, full of witty rhetoric and Democratic jabs. Which as a former News Anchor makes perfect sense, since we're taught to look into that camera and speak as if we were talking straight to our best friend. Since I had no friends, I always pretended I was speaking to Caspar the Friendly Ghost. I think it worked out well for me. I went on to become unemployed and living at home with the folks at 28. The best year of my life.
Gov. Palin on the other hand? Mayor? Governor? Possible VP? Whatever. I guess I should run for office too. Palin as the Hockey Mom can really relate to the public. I can bring my extensive knowledge of living at home as an adult, taking out the trash, and being home by midnight. I think the American public will find it endearing.
Take a look at her Anchor reel and then compare it to mine. I think McCain picked the wrong VP if you ask me......
Vice President Leu has a nice ring to it. Well, not really. But I too can be a Maverick and buck the establishment. I once didn't pick up a call from my mom at midnight when she wanted to know why I wasn't home yet. It felt good. And I even bit my lip during the spatula spanking so she wouldn't see me cry. Take that Palin!
Kevin L.
The Silicon Valley VP Candidate
(I wish you could run straight for VP, with no President)
About Author
My PR/Marketing firm, Empathy PR: EmpathyPR.com
3 comments :
- AnonymousSeptember 4, 2008 at 8:32 PM
This is the first time that I can't agree with you more. You will be a better anchor.....or.....VP than Sarah Palin. I am pretty sure that your mother will feel proud to have such outstanding son to stay with her.ReplyDelete
This comment has been removed by the author.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousSeptember 12, 2008 at 7:26 AM
Very funny but you got the title wrong, it should have said, ""Sarah Palin the TV News Anchor ... OR me." That, my friend, is why McCain knocked on her door, not yours, I mean your moms!ReplyDelete
Don't worry though, if it works out for her, you can start positioning for 2012.
See ya in ATL .....


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I started P3 after a decade of work in multiple specialties. I have worked in orthopedics, trauma, family medicine, pain medicine, sports medicine, and preventive cardiology. Over the years of growing
and learning with my patients, I have discovered that my passion is my role as my patient's teammate and advocate in this journey of balancing our health, families, work and social connections.
It is easy to slide into the comfort of our routines... which for many lead down a very difficult path to redirect. "Comfort" often is a temporary fix and leads to overeating, over drinking and under exercising. And temporary
escapes result in depression, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, metabolic disorder and ultimately disconnection from happiness. Our medical system does not facilitate a space to listen and learn how I can help each
of my client-patients in their journey to optimize their wellness. Many practitioners find that the pace that is required to "keep the lights on" leads to burn out and frustration for both practitioner
and the client because both parties are not getting their needs met. Many practitioners, like myself, who want to maintain the connection to their clients are going to a direct care model. This frees time to be available to clients who
are invested in their health and allows us the time together to review labs, plans, goals and adjust plans/goals together without long wait times for clients or a sense of being rushed. It also makes room for two way communication
with my clients via text, email, and our patient portal to review medical records, charts, labs and medical lists. I cap my membership client count at 200 so I can stay true to each client-patient's needs and expectations of myself in the
relationship.I believe that we should not strive for average, but excellence. I want my clients to put themselves first and to optimize their health so they can pursue excellence the rest of their lives.
My job is to help you be your best version of you... whatever that goal may be. For some, the goal is to lose 100 lbs or 5 lbs, and for others it is to run their fastest marathon in their 5th decade or run their first 5k.
My job is to help each client stay true to their commitment to themselves and their families to be their best today and tomorrow.


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Summer 2009 set in motion a research project to develop a new, ethical business model, one that would help both people and planet. The result is Blue Patch (launched in 2014), a directory full of exceptionally fine and sustainable businesses from top to toe of the British Isles. Blue Patch is all about making it easy […]
All posts tagged with independent business
Blue Patch + Shopping = Renewable Energy
in Blue Patch Business Tags business ethics circular economy Climate change DIF.com Disruptive Innovation Festival Ellen MacArthur Foundation Green economy independent business Made in britain New economics Renewable Energy social enterprise Sustainable economy


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Editorial: A Diverse CSU for a Diverse Concordia
In sharp contrast to last year's Concordia Student Union election, which saw most positions go uncontested, three full teams, in addition to independent candidates, are vying for the paid spots on this year's union.
Two years ago the slate system was abolished in favour of candidates running on their own platforms. Executive candidates are still able to run in teams, like they have this year, but must be voted in individually. With at least three candidates running for each position, it's unlikely that an entire team will be elected.
Instead, we will probably see a mixed executive—but that might not be a bad thing.
Concordia's strength lies in its diversity. Our student union is one of the best tools we have to make use of this strength.
And even with an entire executive team being voted in last year, we still saw many points of disagreement between VPs.
Two of the candidates in this election—Community Matters presidential candidate Benjamin Prunty and Experience CSU VP Finance candidate Scott Carr, who both sat on the executive this past year as VP Sustainability and VP Finance respectively, butted heads over the management of funds for the Mezz Café space.
Construction delays and infighting have slowed progress on this year's projects. Reggie's is still closed and there are no solid plans for the Mezz café space. The next executive will need to learn quickly how to work together to continue these projects. A year is a short time frame, and concrete steps must be taken early on to ensure these undertakings are seen through.
But the best decisions will not be made in an echo chamber. With each presidential candidate and their team running on different strengths, working on what brings us together will likely be the most successful if we pull from different teams.
This year's union had lots of big plans, but many of them got gummed up in the process. We need a union to continue working on these projects—especially those concerning student space—that will serve to bring all corners of the university to the table.
We're set to have representatives from all four faculties on council for the first time in nearly two years. To keep this union moving forward, we need an executive that can reach all kinds of Concordia students.
We can't agree on a single team that does that for all of us. So instead, we urge you to vote based on the candidate and not solely the team.
There's another question that seeks to divide the student body that we can take a hard stance on—voting "no" in the per-faculty fee-levy referendum question.
Fee-levy groups provide services to all students, and breaking up their funding along faculty lines will create more impediments to having these groups be as accountable and accessible as possible. It will turn a decision made by the entire union—where everyone gets an equal say—into five separate decisions.
We don't need another way to draw lines in the sand.
Budgeting for the long term becomes impossible when large percentages of funding are up for a vote. A "yes" to this question opens the door to future per-faculty opt-outs.
The CSU is a place where we should feel united. To do so, we need all present at the table—and stop trying to splinter our collective strength.
CORRECTION: This editorial originally stated that funds for the Hive café had yet to be acquired. Money has, however, been secured for the project. The Link regrets the error.
By commenting on this page you agree to the terms of our Comments Policy.


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Keeping You Updated With Our
Latest News
Continuing Education Courses Scheduled for January 2011November 4, 2010
Design Data will conduct Continuing Education courses from January 24-28, 2011 at its headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Those attending Continuing Education courses must have worked on the system at least eight months and have a good understanding of how SDS/2 functions. These courses will be taught in v7.2; therefore, an understanding of v7.2 operations is necessary.
If you are interested in attending any or all of these courses, email firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com.


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Talk Nation Radio for September 3, 2009 Dahr Jamail: Obama Channels Bush on Promoting Afghan War
Part one of a series:
Dahr Jamail's Will to Resist War Tour of Connecticut. September 19th, 20th, and 21st, Dahr Jamail will speak to students, veterans, and the general public at six locations in Connecticut. Despite promises of a more peaceful and diplomatic U.S. strategy, President Obama is moving ahead with strategies that will depend on the use of force. Bogged down in Iraq, the Military keeps escalating the war in Afghanistan. That despite an obvious lack of available personnel.
Produced by Dori Smith, Storrs, CT
Download at Pacifica's Audioport here or at Radio4all.net and Archive.org
Part two Dahr Jamail, Sept 10, 2009
Dahr Jamail on the Will to Resist within the US Military
Will to Resist War book tour Connecticut 2009!
On September 19th, 20th, and 21st, Dahr Jamail will speak to students, veterans, and the general public at six locations in Connecticut. He will be in Willimantic at the Wrench in the Works collective and Eastern Connecticut State University, in Storrs, at the University of Connecticut's Dodd Center, in Hartford at the Hope Out Loud festival, in New Britain at Central Connecticut State University, and in Middletown, at Wesleyan University where he will share the stage with singer/songwriter David Rovics.
Connecticut is Obama country, and support for the President continues, yet, peace activists here hope to also make it Dahr Jamail country.
They are concerned about civilian lives, money for war that could be used for social programs at home, but they are also heavily supported by US veterans groups with similar goals. Right now the US is sending even decorated war heroes to prison, detention at the dreaded Echo Platoon facility and others like it, for refusing to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.
Thousands of wounded soldiers are being deployed, and the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers are in tatters. Still they are being asked to serve a policy that is running in the background of the Obama White House like the rogue computer in the film War Games.
US and British commanders argue that US security interests are at stake, they point to the presence of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, as their argument for continuing the US Military policies enacted by former President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. But veteran journalist Dahr Jamail explains that the real reasons for the war continue to be oil pipeline routes and U.S. corporate interests. Meanwhile, the lives of tens of thousands of US soldiers are at stake. As more and more of them refuse to deploy the Bush military policies of using threats and blackmail against them to force them to return to war are also continuing under President Obama.
Dahr Jamail: 'When we hear President Obama standing up there talking about using those superlatives that you just talked about, war on terror, and "the just war, and the preservation of western civilization depends on it, this kind of thing, he is really channeling George Bush. Because he is actually engaged in using the propaganda to conceal the fact that we have the same US agenda now as we did last year and the year before that and the six years before that and the twenty years before that. We are looking at the US empire project, and we are looking at the continuation of the same national security strategy, the same Quadrennial Defense Report, the same secretary of defense, and just all of the same high ranking echelons in the Pentagon that we had under Bush we have the same under Obama, and of course the same corporate interests at work today as we did last year and the year before that and a lot of the decades before that.
'So we look at a situation in Afghanistan where we have four major US Military bases located specifically along a proposed pipeline route, the same proposed pipeline route that brought the Taliban over to this country under the Bush administration for meetings, the same proposed pipeline route that the Clinton administration had engaged in talks with the Taliban about. And those obviously didn't work so we have to use war as politics and that's exactly what it is, so as a last resort of politics the US decides to invade and occupy the country to defend it's so called national security interests which are the shipping lanes, in this case the shipping pipeline lanes, for natural resources and control of those. And that's what this is all about'.
Find out more about Dahr Jamail's Connecticut Tour here
Contact the Center on Conscience and War, and the GI Rights Hotline
Contact us at email@example.com and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.
Dahr Jamail's 2008 book, Beyond the Green Zone, Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq. Haymarket, An award-winning, unembedded journalist tells the hidden story of American soldiers turning against military occupation.
"Dahr Jamail's human portrait of the men and women who turned away from the project of empire should serve as a beacon…The truth they tell demands that we find the courage to make our nation accountable for the crimes committed in our name."
- From the Foreword by Chris Hedges
Dahr Jamail, author of Beyond the Green Zone, brings us inside the movement of military resistance to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2006, a majority in the United States have opposed the continued occupation of Iraq, and increasing skepticism surrounds the escalation in Afghanistan. But how do the soldiers who carry out the American occupations see their missions?
"Dahr Jamail's Beyond the Green Zone is the response to the embedded, propagandistic corporate media empire that played a crucial role in making the invasion and occupation of Iraq possible and helps ensure its continuation. While the powerful media conglomerates embedded on the ground with the invading and occupying forces — and ideologically with the men running the war — Jamail embedded in the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah and Sadr City with the suffering people of Iraq and uncovered the horrors of this war of 'liberation.' With trademark bravery and a quiet and humble commitment to telling the stories of those forced to live on the other end of the barrel of the U.S. foreign policy machine gun, Jamail ensured that the history of the Iraq occupation would not be written exclusively by self-proclaimed victors and the powerful. Simply put, Dahr Jamail is the conscience of American war reporting, the quintessential un-embedded reporter."
—Jeremy Scahill, New York Times best-selling author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army (More about this book including where to purchase it here


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We're liquidating 100's of NEW and USED vertical pianos, grand pianos, high-tech player pianos, digital pianos and keyboards that will be sold at the year's lowest prices!
Every piano at Strait is on sale! We've slashed prices on new pianos and must get rid of all rental returns, repos, close-outs and loaners. This includes over 30 pianos and keyboards that were recently on loan to Texas State University and the Austin School of Music! They are all like new and carry full warranties. Plus additional pianos from Yamaha, Steinway, Baldwin, Cable-Nelson, Pearl River, Kawai, Chickering and many more. Take advantage of our 12 month no interest financing and up to 60 month low interest financing!


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Volume discounts
discounts for adding items to your order
The Couples Fun Teaze N Pleaz Set from the sex experts at Rocks Off helps turn his body into a vibrating sex toy! The set includes a multi-speed vibrating bullet that can fit into either a Flinger Tingles vibe or inside a vibrating cock ring. The possibilities are limitless!
The Couples Fun Teaze N Pleaz Set features a RO-80mm seven speed bullet with push-button control. Use the bullet vibrator with the included Finger Tingles or in the vibrating cock ring. The Finger Tingles is a slim silicone vibe you slide your finger into. It turns your own digits into a vibrating source of pleasure. The premium cock ring silicone smooth, pliable and slips comfortably around the base of his penis. As with other cock rings, blood flow is controlled, producing greater sexual stamina and more explosive orgasms. When used during intercourse, the silicone cock ring delivers satisfying vibrations to both of you.
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This piece is amazing! LOVE IT. I never played the original game as a kid but when this came to the Super Nintendo I was hooked like an addict. Truly one of the greatest titles of all time.
This Is sooooo awesommeeI LOVE this seriesnice mood set with the colours and expressionsI really love it
Post a Comment


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Hello Lilac Road readers!
I just want to drop a post to ask a favor from all of you.
As those of you who read my writings know, I have been on a long and tumultuous journey from being a person who was severely depressed, suicidal and insecure to someone who is being restored and healed into a preacher of hope. It was this reason that The Lilac Road was born. I wanted to give the same encouragement and love that was given in abundance to me in the hopes that it will give a young girl a light on her journey. Most of all, it was born to give those who are depressed and suicidal a way out.
I am overwhelmed and grateful for all the responses I have received from this blog. There have been people who have told me that it gave them a light on their path, that it inspired them and that it gave them much needed hope. It touches and means the whole world to me. I am incredibly proud of this blog and where it is going, and it is all thanks to the people who support it.
The next natural step for The Lilac Road is to reach more people and give someone who is feeling discouraged or struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts much needed hope. I want to share my story and the journey I have been on with young people everywhere, especially young women, that they may be encouraged in theirs and believe that there is a way out, that there is someone who cares. We have such a need for that in our country where broken people are struggling silently and alone with their own demons. I have such a passion and love to bring people into restoration, which brings me to my request.
I now want to start speaking for the Lilac Road at youth groups and small groups. It has been something I have been thinking about for a long time and a dream of mine to bring The Lilac Road from behind a computer screen to face to face with young people.
If any one of you are leaders or are part of a church and you are interested in having me speak at your youth or small group, please don't hesitate to contact me through my email firstname.lastname@example.com or message me through Facebook. I would happily come in and talk about my testimony (you can read it here) and the journey I have been on with my depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety anywhere and for any amount of time. If you know of anyone who would be interested, please pass on the word too! It would be much appreciated by me. Any questions are of course, welcome!
Thanks for reading and once again, thank you for making my dreams come true and supporting The Lilac Road like you do. I cherish it so much and I hope we will continue to journey together for many more years to come.


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Approximately, 75% of all adults in the U.S. will experience hemorrhoids at some point in their lives. Internal hemorrhoids, which lie inside the rectum, usually have no symptoms and most people are not aware of them because they're not generally painful. However, they may cause painless rectal bleeding if symptoms do appear.
You may not notice that you have internal hemorrhoids unless you notice streaks of blood on in the stool or blood on toilet paper. Straining when passing a stool may cause bleeding. Straining can also push an internal hemorrhoid so that it protrudes through the anus; this is called a protruding or prolapsed hemorrhoid.
By contrast, external hemorrhoids lie under the skin around the anus. They can become very itchy and may bleed. Sometimes, the blood may accumulate and form a thrombus (clot), which can be painful and the area may swell and become inflamed. External hemorrhoids are more likely to be painful.
Spectrum Health's Gastroenterology and Gastrointestinal Surgery programs are ranked nationally as one of the top 50 programs by U.S. News & World Report.
Our team of board-certified gastroenterologists specializes in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the digestive tract, liver and pancreas. Our advanced technologies and treatment options include minimally invasive outpatient endoscopic procedures as an alternative to complex invasive surgeries.


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Meet Dr. Tihesha Wilson, a specialist in Minimally Invasive Oncologic Breast Surgery at the Valley Hospital.
Dr. Tihesha's extensive travels to India, China and Japan to study complimentary medicine and endoscopic breast surgery techniques have shaped her commitment to an integrated, holistic approach in the treatment of patients diagnosed with breast cancer.
In addition to offering minimally invasive diagnostic techniques, a focus on breast conservation surgery, skin- and nipple-sparing mastectomies, Dr. Tihesha also provides evaluation and management of benign breast disease, as well as counselling and genetic testing for high risk breast cancer patients.
#GetUncorked with Dr. Tihesha and watch as she reveals things about breast cancer recovery that is rarely talked about that can change your life forever.
Fun Facts About Dr. Tihesha:
Craziest job you ever had: The crazies job that I have ever had was a coat check girl at a Sheraton Hotel. You truly get to see all types of people coming through for hotel events.
Your Sign: I am an aquarian!
What Inspires You: I am inspired by love stories! When I see people who were performing acts of love towards nature, animals, other people and even towards themselves, I get truly inspired and often moved to tears! Yes, I am a sap!
What most people would be surprised to learn about you: Most people would be surprised to learn that I take dancing classes! I personally have found that connecting with my body is grounding and very powerful for me! And, let's face it.. Dancing is a lot of fun.
Who would you love to interview: I would have loved to interview Maya Angelou! The more I learn of her work the more fascinated I am by how connected she was to femininity. it is rare to find women who truly celebrate the feminine. I would love to know how she developed her insights in a time and place that was so against expression of the feminine.
Learn more about Dr. Tihesha at the Blumenthal Cancer Center and be sure to tune in to learn more about cancer treatment.


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Searching for a "Troubled Teen School" in North Dakota? You'll Find Here the Best Schools for Troubled Teens
Troubled teens require an alternative form of school that welcomes misbehaving teens
We List a Number of Special Schools Equipped to Handle Troubled Teens in North Dakota
Normal schools and boarding schools are unsuitable with troubled teens. Such schools are not equipped to manage behavioral and emotional outbursts of troubled teens. They do not have psychological counselors or therapists on campus to handle the true need. Troubled teenager behaviors cause disruption in the classroom and in school life, a situation which can not be tolerated in typical schools.
Therapeutic Environment That Helps Troubled Teens
Troubled teen residential schools are also known as therapeutic boarding schools or emotional growth schools. These schools are equipped to treat the psychological and social needs of teens with troubles. Therapeutic boarding schools use professional therapists to provide individual and group counseling. They help teens to get through to the reason behind the issue. As opposed to masking them, ignoring them, or expressing them in inappropriate ways, teens discover how to identify their emotions and express them constructively.
Therapeutic boarding schools afford a refuge for troubled teens to learn and grow. They include consistent supervision from trained staff to keep teens safe. At the same time, every aspect of the schedule in a troubled teen boarding school is designed for growth.
Improved Education at Boarding Schools for Troubled Teens
Education holds a key place in troubled teen boarding schools, the same as with traditional private boarding schools, although their approach differs. Therapeutic boarding schools know that troubled teens frequently struggle with school and frequently have missed time, damaged their GPA, or missed key credits for graduation. Most therapeutic boarding schools use individual education plans and work-at-your-own pace curricula with a lot of one on one instruction and tutoring. With this assistance, troubled teens earn forgiveness for low grades, they get up to date or get ahead on graduation requirements, and so they find motivation to perform well academically again.
Troubled Teen School Offer Restoration and Healing for Teens and Families
Teenagers at troubled teen boarding schools take part in numerous therapeutic activities intended to teach life skills and restore emotional issues. The very best therapeutic boarding schools help parents as well as their teens, working toward healing of the entire family. These troubled teen boarding schools prepare teens to go back home to healthy family life and move forward to constructive futures.
More about Troubled Teen Schools in North Dakota:
North Dakota (ND) is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th most extensive, but the 3rd least populous and the 4th least densely populated of the 50 United States. North Dakota was created from the northern portion of the Dakota Territory and admitted to the Union simultaneously with South Dakota.The state capital is Bismarck and the largest city is Fargo. The primary public universities are located in Grand Forks and Fargo. The ten largest cities are: Fargo, 109,779; Bismarck, 64,751; Grand Forks, 53,456; Minot , 43,746; West Fargo, 27,478; Dickinson, 19,697; Mandan, 18,978; Williston, 18,532; Jamestown, 15,323; Wahpeton, 7,800.
Excerpt about Schools for Troubled Teen Schools in North Dakota used with permission from Wikipedia.


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Hadoram Shirihai
Global field birder and ornithologist
Jonathan Meyrav
Hadoram grew up in Israel and started birding "under the wings" of Yossi Leshem in the Jerusalem youth birders club. When he was only 18 years old, and with the encouragement of his mentor Israeli birder Ehud Dovrat, Hadoram moved south to Eilat. In the early 80's Hadoram founded the Eilat International Birdwatching Center and served as its first director.
During his years in Eilat, Hadoram found no less than 50 new bird species to Israel, 10 of which were also new to the Western Palearctic region, these included rarities such as Streaked Shearwater, Yellow-breasted Bunting (found when he was just 17 years old), Wilson's Storm-Petrel, Crested Honey Buzzard, Pectoral Sandpiper, Pintail Snipe, Sabine's Gull, Oriental Skylark, Hume's Short-toed Lark, Basra Reed Warbler, Hume's Leaf Warbler and many more.
Hadoram quickly established himself as the leading authority for birding in Israel and for many years led thousands of visiting birders in Eilat and beyond.
In the mid 90's Hadoram released the "Birds of Israel" (Academic Press, London, 1996), a groundbreaking book about the Avifauna of Israel. The book won many prizes including the prestigious "Best Book of the Year" Award (British Birds) and is considered a "must have" for any serious WP birder or ornithologist.
Hadoram's extensive time in the field led to the publication of the Macmillan Guide (1996), a field guide that focuses on complex identification issues in birds of Europe and the Middle East, and the Sylvia Warblers monograph (Princeton University Press, 2001), which was based on 15 years of research. Sylvia Warblers was considered as the best bird monograph ever published and received best "Book-of-the-year awards" by both British Birds and Birdwatch.
In the early 2000's Hadoram spread his wings and set out to the world. He was embraced by several leading publishers, scientific organizations and individuals that supported him to embark on several extraordinary projects. From scouring the Southern Seas to wading in dangerous tropical jungles Hadoram found and documented many of the world's rarest birds.
Over the years Hadoram discovered several species and subspecies that were new to science. One of his most incredible discoveries in Israel started as early as 1985 when Hadoram noted that the Strix owl found in the deserts of Southern Israel was something different, possibly an overlooked species. This story concluded 30 years later in 2015, with the Desert Tawny Owl finally being recognized to be a new species to science and horned as Strix hadorami in recognition of Hadoram's role in the discovery.
Hadoram discovered, rediscovered and was the first to document no less than six "lost" Gadfly Petrels worldwide. One of the most important and inspiring cases was the rediscovery of the Beck's Petrel in the Bismarcks - Papua New Guinea, a species that was considered extinct.
Throughout his travels Hadoram visited nearly all the Tropical Pacific Islands and the Sub Antarctic Islands (the latter during his 12 seasons in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean). He is also the only ornithologist in the world that has seen (and documented most in the wild) all the living recognized taxa of the world's Tubenoses - Albatrosses, Petrels, Shearwaters and Storm petrels!
Hadoram's extensive fieldwork led to the preparation of several book projects, including the following important wildlife guides:
"The Complete Guide for Antarctic Wildlife" (A & C Black/Bloomsbury, London; 2007)
The "Marine Mammals Guide" (A & C Black/Bloomsbury, London; 2006), covering the world's Whales, Dolphins and Seals, that has become the must have "bible" for marine biologists worldwide. During the latter project Hadoram took on free diving practices and learned to hold his breath for extended periods underwater, enabling him to dive with more than 40 of the marine mammals of the world, including most of the great whales.
2 more exciting projects that will soon be released are the long-awaited, the Handbook of Western Palearctic Birds (Bloomsbury, London), by Shirihai & Svensson (to be published in 2016), and the still long in the making, the Albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters of the world: a handbook to their taxonomy, identification, ecology and conservation (Bloomsbury, London), by Shirihai & Bretagnolle (to be published 2020).
In recent years Hadoram is involved in a truly monumental project: establishing the first scientific photographic collection of the bird of the world. He has already photographed more than 1/2 of the world's birds - 5,500 species, and the project continues. Preparations for the first release of the latter global project are already underway, the forthcoming Illustrated Checklist to the Birds of the Neotropics (Bloomsbury, London), by H. Jornvall, G. Kirwan & H. Shirihai.
We at the Israel Ornithological Center are happy that in recent years Hadoram is spending more and more time in Israel and is getting involved with many of our activities. Hadoram is helping with important field work involving sensitive species in Israel and is helping us promote our international events, Bird Festivals and the Champions of the Flyway in Eilat, which will forever remain in his heart.


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It's funny, my initial reaction to those photos is, "labor has very little competitive advantage." If you are basically trading your body for dollars (or RMB), you are doing it wrong.
I meant on an individual level. Women in 1920s America sewing shoes weren't earning very much. Women in today's China sewing shoes aren't earning very much.
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Join us within the historic site of St Andrews ruin above the stunning beach of Church Ope Cove for a surreal and magical performing sculpture event. Witness magnetic forces propel and manipulate strange and absurd creatures in a spell binding puppet show like no other.
"Tim Spooner is unclassifiable. Meticulous in the assembly and construction of his objects, disconcerting in the implementation of his performances, he belongs to those artists freed from any preconceived ideas and expectations. He appears to only follow the logical flow of the material as it transforms, he offers us a unique, strange and powerful universe."
- Renaud Herbin, Director TJP, Strasbourg
Guidance: The route to St Andrew's ruin is not accessible for people with limited mobility. The walk includes a steep and sometimes slippery slope, please wear suitable foot wear for walking, and bring a blanket or chair to sit on.
The performance lasts approximately 20 mins.


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Ginger & Fatty Liver Disease
The famous spice and traditional medicine ginger may have some potential as a treatment for alcohol-induced as well as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease 23. Although too few well-designed studies on human subjects have been conducted to make any firm recommendations, ginger is safe for most people and may help support a healthy liver. Ask your doctor whether supplemental ginger is safe for you.
Ginger is the underground rhizome, or root, of the plant Zingiber officinale. Volatile oils and pungent phenol compounds like gingerols and shogaols give it its sweet, spicy flavor and renowned medicinal qualities. Ginger has been used for centuries to soothe gastrointestinal upset, for cold and flu relief, motion sickness, morning sickness and immune support. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes that promising studies have been conducted on ginger's anti-inflammatory properties 1. Fresh or powdered ginger can be used in cooking or in tea. Its oils are extracted in tinctures or oils for aromatherapy and dietary supplementation. Ginger supplements are also available in capsule form.
Fatty Liver Disease
There are two types of fatty liver disease: alcohol-induced and nonalcoholic 23. Alcohol-induced fatty liver occurs when excessive consumption of alcohol causes fat to accumulate in the cells of the liver. This serious condition is characterized by a swollen liver and tenderness on the right side of the lower back. Its symptoms include fever, jaundice, spider veins and increased white blood cell count. Occasionally, however, fat builds up in the liver for other, sometimes unknown, reasons. Nonalcoholic fatty liver is often asymptomatic and harmless, but if the excess fat causes inflammation it can lead to problems with liver function 2. See a medical doctor to diagnose the condition of your liver.
Ginger for Fatty Liver
An article published in the January 2011 issue of "World Journal of Gastroenterology" argues that ginger has great potential as a treatment for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, and emphasizes the need for research on the subject 23. This hypothesis is based on ginger's antioxidant and triglyceride-lowering effects. Since oxidative stress is thought to be a primary cause of NAFLD, antioxidants like those in ginger may be able to prevent or reverse the disease. However, few well-designed clinical trials have been conducted to date. A 2008 study in the journal "Fitoterapia" reports that dietary ginger had significant antioxidant activity in rats with alcohol-damaged livers 4. However, there is no solid evidence that ginger affects alcoholic fatty liver disease in humans.
Ginger Dosage
The typical dose of ginger supplement for an adult is between 75 and 2,000 mg in divided doses each day. Make sure to read all supplement manufacturers' instructions carefully. Look for supplements containing 4 percent volatile oil or 5 percent pungent compounds. You may also take ginger as a tea. Shred 2 tbsp. of the root, steep in hot water and drink. For a more immune-stimulating tea, mix ½ tsp. each of ginger, pepper, cloves and honey and stir it into hot water. Grate fresh ginger and add it to salad dressings, stir-fry or baked goods. Keep daily ginger intake below 4 g to avoid gastrointestinal problems.
Using ginger could cause side effects such as heartburn, diarrhea and mouth irritation, says the University of Maryland Medical Center 1. As well, you could experience health complications if you have gall stones or a bleeding disorder. Ginger may also interact with medications you take, such as blood thinners, diabetes medications and high blood pressure medications.
The famous spice and traditional medicine ginger may have some potential as a treatment for alcohol-induced as well as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. This hypothesis is based on ginger's antioxidant and triglyceride-lowering effects. However, there is no solid evidence that ginger affects alcoholic fatty liver disease in humans.
- University of Maryland Medical Center; Ginger; Steven D. Ehrlich; 2008
- American Liver Foundation: Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- "World Journal of Gastroenterology"; Potential Efficacy of Ginger as a Natural Supplement for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Amirhossein Sahebkar; January 2011
- "Fitoterapia"; Ethanol Toxicity: Rehabilitation of Hepatic Antioxidant Defense System With Dietary Ginger; K. Mallikarjuna et al; 2008
- Vassiliy Vassilenko/iStock/Getty Images


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Inquiry on implementation aspects of Horizon 2020
On 7 June 2018 the European Commission published its proposal for Horizon Europe, the 9th Research and Innovation Framework Programme.
In the coming months a lot of consultations and lobbying will take place in all EU Member States and Associated Countries to shape Horizon Europe to its final form. The decision on the future long-term EU budget will then fall to the Council, acting by unanimity, with the consent of the European Parliament.
All Belgian Legal and Financial National Contact Points designed this questionnaire to collect your experiences with Horizon 2020 project application and administration. More precisely, we are looking for your feedback on Project submission – evaluation, Grant agreement preparation, Non-financial reporting, Financial rules and reporting, Audits. We are keen to receive your suggestions for reducing the administrative burden, for changing specific rules to simplify calculations or reporting, for sharing new ideas, etc.
The findings from the questionnaire will be passed towards the Belgian Commission FCC-ICC, the Belgian Permanent Representation to the EU and other relevant working groups to defend Belgian interests in further negotiations for Horizon Europe.
Please submit the answers until 15 July. This should only take 13 minutes. GO !
Thank you in advance for your participation!


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The Lord of the Rings Movie Series and Adoptions♦ Oct 20, 2012
My fanlisting wish has come true! I was lucky enough to be allowed to adopt the fanlisting for The Lord of the Rings movie series from Elizabeth. Words cannot describe how incredibly happy and excited I am about this. I've never wanted another fanlisting as much as I wanted this one and now I am the proud owner of it. So without further ado I present:
If you're not already a member, head over and join. I'm also welcoming new affiliates too.
To top off this amazing week of adoptions I have just been approved to adopt the fanlisting for my favourite game—The Lord of the Rings Online.
Filed under Lord of the Rings Series, The.


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Project Description
Enovaway, a member of the N. I. Theocharakis group of companies, set out in 2012 to create Koolfly, a youth fashion e-commerce site with a unique content-oriented twist.
By integrating content presentation and e-commerce functions into a single platform, Koolfly successfully tried to make effective use of its in-house produced, rich, high-quality editorial content, in order to boost the awareness of the products it sells. Thus, crossing the borders between commerce and content, a unique internet shopping experience was created.
Technical Highlights
The shop was based on the Magento Enterprise platform, arguably the most powerful and complete e-Commerce platform available. A wide selection of marketing tools and techniques were integrated into the site, thus augmenting the user's shopping experience and supporting the commercial aspect of the site.
The site's demanding content presentation requirements, led us to a series of UI modifications that allowed the successful merge of product and content pages using a single, uniform design throughout all sections, and irrespective of the type of information presented.


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Two weeks ago now we had a wine tasting that was all about Spanish wines. I had been looking forward to this tasting for weeks and when it finally came, it did not disappoint.
Above the Norm Wine Tasting Series
Posts Tagged 'Tinto Fino'
Sunday, April 3rd, 2011
Tinto Fino From Ribera del Duero
Tags: 2006, Emilio Moro, Red Wine, Ribera del Duero, Spain, Tinto FinoPosted in Wine Education, Wine Events | No Comments »


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While giving my website a facelift I deciced that the Tangles (Live page) project needed some attention. The page was previously the main game, followed by a mess of buttons and then instructions. I rearranged the content to give a proper introduction and made an in-canvas transition screen between levels. The end result looks much nicer and now it's almost a completely self contained game. With some more work it could be made into a standalone app for the App Store. This project also benefitted from a higher resolution canvas than the actual element size, leading to better graphics.
Tag Archives: canvas
Meta: Variable width style
As part of the updates to my website I dediced to add some variable width CSS styles. This allows the width of the main container to change in a fluid manner as the user changes the window size. This meant making two major changes.
First the menu had to change in size and content to respond to the changing window size. This now supports window widths down to 610 px. I may add support for window sizes down to 320 px, although to be honest most of the content on this website is not designed to be viewed on such a small device and supporting such antiquated devices seems counterproductive.
The second major change was changing the size of the canvas elements dynamically. This proved to be a bit tricky, since I wanted to keep the dimensions of the canvas the same, while changing the size on screen. It turns out the way to do this is to allow the canvas containter to change, and set the width of the canvas in terms of %. This has the added advantage of allowing the developer to use a higher resolution for the canvas, leading to superior graphics (at the expense of some more CPU time and RAM.)
Update: Image fader
One of the problems with the original Image fader (Live page) project was that it only faded images in one direction. I made an update to allow the image fader to handle all four directions, and used it to create a wallapper for my webite.
Sample output
Update: Wolfram rules
While updating my website, another project that needed a little attention was the Wolfram rules (Live page) project. Apart from looking a little poor in its presentation, it was an experiment in DOM manipulation where a huhe HTML table was used to display the resulting algorithm. While it was nice to see that the DOM and CSS worked as they should, this project was better suited to the canvas, so I moved over to the canvas and added some colour to improve the presentation.
Before and after
Update: Conway's game of life
As part of my website's facelift I decided to update the Conway's game of life (Live page) project. The content was rearranged to make more sense to the first time user, a the controls organised in a way that made them larger and easier to navigate. I also changed the links to different shapes to be gallery objects (similar to what I had for the Mandelbrot project.) This is also the first page to get the "You might also like…" feature at the bottom, which will soon appear on most other pages when I get time to add them.
Before and after
Update: Trigger game
In recent weeks I've been working a lot on the Trigger game (Live page.) These update have included an overhaul of the style, addition of new pages, rewriting of the "Spy mode", adding new particles, tweaking the graphics, and many more changes behind the scenes. The code was significantly refactored to make it easier to extend and understand, as now this has becomes a collaborative project. The game has been tested on a few schools and shown to be a good success with children (and adults) and it seems to have a bright future. I also added sounds, music, and a simple music player.
Update: Painter
Recently I wanted to make some pixel art for a mobile version of my website (which is very different to anything I've done before, and more confusing than I thought it would be.) To do that I decided to use the Painter tool (Live page) I'd written a few years ago. Unfortunately the tool no longer worked, for reasons that I'm still trying to debug. (Possible to cross-domain restrictions when using the full path, but more likely due to the limits of the GET request.) The old method used PHP to generate the image, and the HTML DOM to manage the editing, using an HTTP request when the image needed to be generated. It's not hard to see why this is inefficient, so once the canvas became available I decided to transition from PHP to JavaScript and the canvas.
Given my previous experience with the canvas it didn't take long to code up a new version of the painter, and the biggest challenge was extending the scope of the line paintbrush to create lines at any angles, not just vertical or horizontal. The updated look is more sleek and professional, the performance is better, and there are fewer failure modes. I've kept the legacy version for interest, but I have no plans on using that again. I am also considering adding two new featuers in the future: allowing the user to save their image to an online database, and allowing the user to upload an image so they can edit existing images pixel by pixel.
Work in progress: Google Maps war
This project was made partly to combine the Hexagonal civ game with Google Maps, and partly to push the Google maps API to its limits. It turns out that Google Maps is not suited to this heavy use.
This project is intended to be a Risk style conquest game based on a map of Europe. The maps would be split into hexagons with rules for how the different unit (land, air, sea) could move from place to place. The map is split into equal areas of latitude and longitude with values chosen to best suit the arrangement of cities. Ideally the economic value of each hexagon would be taken into account, although this would require quite a bit of research. The connections between the hexagons is already defined, so in principle this could lead to a rather simple game by randomising the economic and defensive values of each hexagon (or giving them all equal value.)
- Challenge: The hexagons should be arranged in equal latitude and longitude, which isn't necesarily equal area on the page.
- Solution: The hexagons are not equal in area, so I had to draw them from the centre of each hexagon and find their vertices using polar coordinates around the centre of the hexagon. This was the first time I had drawn the hexagons this way and it turned out easier to make the drawing functions if I did it like this, given that I had already solved the coordinate problem in the hexagonal civ project. (Resolved)
- Challenge: The game requires quite a bit of data entry.
- Solution: Finding the economic values of each hexagon is very difficult and time consuming, so this has been put off indefinitely. The connections for the land, sea and air units have already been determined. (To be revisited)
- Challenge: Drawing the hexagons requires drawing many polygons.
- Solution: Using geometrical experience from the Skyline project, I found a reasonable way to label the hexagons with hatching in a colourblind friendly way. However the sheer number of polygons means that the performance is quite poor. It might be prefereable to draw the large map without Google Maps, and only underlay Google Maps when the user requests it. (Resolved, to be revisited)
Work in progress: Skyline
One of the features I want on my webpage is the silhouette of a skyline to use as background image. This project is aimed at allowing the user to draw a complex skyline, with the possibilty for animation.
The user can create individual "buildings" with many layers, and then arrange the buildings into a skyline to generate an image. If possible, the user can animate the image (for example adding lights at night, allowing the sky to change to match the time of day.)
The design would take place on the canvas, with a suite of tools to allow the user to correctly determine the size of buildings, add arches, spires etc. A second layer would allow the user to add windows, and a third layer would allow them to add other features. These would then be saved to file and a script would read the file to render the images on screen. The images would be rendered on a canvas that sits behind the main content of the page. This project is largely a problem of geometry.
- Challenge: Initially I wanted to set the canvas as the background of the page.
- Solution: There are methds of taking the content of a canvas and using it to draw images that can be used with the DOM. I tried to use Javascript to change the source of the background image to match the canvas, but this lead to "flickering" effects, even when to canvases were used. As a result this was not a viable option. (Abandoned)
- Challenge: The user needs a simple and intuitive interface.
- Solution: This project allows the user to draw wire frames for the buildings. They can draw straight lines, circle arcs, and quadratic curves. The interface is not perfect, but it is easy enough to quickly make buildings. A grid is also provided so the user can keep track of sizes. (Resolved)
- Challenge: This projects needs to be able to calculate interections and unions of polygons.
- Solution: One of the hardest problems to solve is the interserction and union of two shapes, so that the user can make complex shapes. This is a non-trivial problems of geometry and finding solutions online was not east. I honest cannot remember if I completely solved this problem or not. (Resolved, to be revisited)
- Challenge: This project would ideally respond to the client's time.
- Solution: Animation and time dependence has not been implemented yet, but eventually the colour of the sky and weather would chance, lights would turn on and off, and vehicles would move. This should be relatively simple to implement, once I find the time. (To do)