text:
Reasons shall find their way to joy!
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands- The game.
Okay, let's put it straight. This latest 2010 installment of the Prince of Persia franchise boils down to this one word for the gamers: Nostalgia.
If you have played the first three games of the PoP trilogy, you'll know what I am talking about. With the 2008 PoP game just after the trilogy, we had lost many wonderful characteristics of the prince, who himself was traded off for a thief of the deserts. Gamers all over the world were sick of the flirting jerk and wanted the old prince back.
Oh Boy...You are SANE.
1411 was less, you thought. What about 411?
HTC Desire: A Beautiful Deal
Nikon Coolpix P7000: This one is for you.
Why Peepli [Live] was not just another Bollywood Movie
People who were looking forward to watch it have already done so, and people who are not interested in such genres of movies have forgotten its existence all together. What this post aims at is somewhat different.
Peepli Live is not a normal masala movie of Bollywood. It ain't an art film either. There are some movies which can not be stereotyped into any categorization. It's one of those.
Honour Killings: What a Shame!
'Bhojpur, Bihar: A 16-year-old girl, Imrana, is set on fire inside her house in a case of what the police call 'moral vigilantism'. The victim screams for help for about 20 minutes before neighbors arrive, only to find her still smoldering. She is admitted to a local hospital, where she later succumbs to her burns.'
'The Times of India Report: More than 1,000 young people in India have been done to death every year owing to 'Honour Killings' linked to marriages and love affairs that do not get acceptance from the society.'
My tryst with slavery
"Every independent country is independent in one way however, every independent country is a slave in more than one way."
Its 64th Indian Independence Day tomorrow, I am sitting in front of my desktop in the office and sulking. I am trying to concentrate and my inbox is getting filled with patriotic forwards. Neither can I ignore the vibration of my mobile nor can I get my bugging boss out of my mind. It is true that tomorrow is an important day but how many of us really think of independence as a gift? Being born as a free Indian with a plenty of fundamental rights in a platter and the fundamental duties on the backburner, we take our independence for granted. We were born in free India, introduced to Maruti 800 and humara bajaj at the age of 3-4, given a treat in Mc Donalds at an age of 15, encouraged to blog our views and vote our favourite politician at the age of 18- why would not we take our independence for granted just like we take the oxygen we inhale, the water we drink for granted?
Freedom from Regionalism.
( I wonder what Einstein must have to say about regional patriotism: the worst putrefaction a pure feeling can ever suffer from.)
Hello my Indian friends. Within an hour, our country, India will have completed its 63 year of being Independent. This must have been a long journey (given, I joined only 21 years ago.) We, the children of free India, are often accused of having taken the independence for granted.
We have been accused of having the privilege of being born in a free India.
Shantaram:A review
So this one day when I was wandering around in hostel,I found the book with one of my friends.Already fed with too much of hue and cry about this classic called "Shantaram" from the VA faculty at my CAT prep insti,involuntarily I went through the epilogue of the book and this is what I read.
Donate Blood this Red-Lettered August Day.
Time comes to full circle, with an N.G.O. named GO INDIA FOUNDATION taking the initiative to set nationwide blood donation camps, on the very red letter day of India: 15th August.
The target: 63,000 units of safe blood from all over the country, to meet the ever increasing blood needs in case of medical emergencies and other medical cases.
An 'Epic' Indian Browser
Epic, based on Mozilla platform, comes bundled with a bunch of India centric features and is available for a free download here. After testing it for continuous 4 hours on 8 tabs together and without any crash, We are impressed.
The Looks and Features:
It is light, spacious and neat. By default, comes with a peacock background which may not be too soothing to eyes but you can always choose the background according to your whim from a range of 1500 creative themes related to India at the launch itself.
The leather Rampage
3D Gaming, Without Any Special Hardware!
There is a 3D-capable monitor manufacturer called iZ3D and their drivers are available for free download here. The console of the driver has an option to turn on anaglyph, which converts all your games to 3D. The driver renders two separate frames, from two slightly different perspectives just like Nvidia offers with '3D Vision Discover', but those drivers limit you to an Nvidia graphics card, and moreover, the latest drivers are not supported on laptops. iZ3D surprisingly runs on any system, and supports both Nvidia and ATI 3D cards.
A Trip to Paradise: My Village.
I'll tell you why. My village, Nandan Bigha can be any other village of rural India. It has no unique personality of its own. Or, if you allow me the liberty to say this, it enjoys the personality of every typical small village of the rural India.
And hence, I wanted to display a rural side of India. Much beautiful than the urban one, to say the least.
This is gonna be a photoblog, thanks to my Sony H Series DSI camera, and I will try to show you my village through my eyes. (Or my camera's. :D)
Prince of Persia: Loved it.
Nvidia's Android Tablet--A better iPad?
Clash of the Titans 3D: A Greek Fail?
3D movies have become the buzzword now. Of course, after the huge success of Avatar, all over the world.
But can high tech 3D effects hide a lame story treatment? All of us know the answer, I guess.
Yesterday saw me watching the movie 'The Clash of the Titans 3D' in PVR Select City mall, Delhi. And I came out disappointed.
Partly because most of the frames in the movie were out of focus (the reason might be faulty 3D specs provided, or more probably, the visual clutter in every single action frame to such a degree that you end up not being able to decide which portion of the screen you should be watching, and which one should be left unattended…)
I understand that this movie is a remake of the 1981 flick with the same name. But I fail to understand why it continues to make the same mistake that the last one did. A misnomer titling of an otherwise good story.
Clash of the titans. Hmmm. As far as I know, Titans were the elder greek Gods. And the battle of the Titans is actually used to refer to the battle between the Titans and the Olympians (The newer Gods, led by Zeus). Zeus won, and overpowered the Titans, hence establishing a paradigm shift in the greek theology.
That's what the facts say. Now, this movie is all about the fight of Persius (who likes to call himself a man, but actually is a demi-God) and the Olympian God of the Underworld, Hades ( the brother of Zeus). There are no titans in distant sight, leave alone a 'clash' of them. Then why the title? :P
Coming to the treatment of the story, well, Sabotage with the scriptures is the first thing that comes to my mind. The characters of ancient greek mythology have been heavily played with.Ancient story intentionally meandered to suit the cinematic twists and turns.
Here are some examples:
Zeus's statue at Olympia: Zeus as seen in Clash of the Titans '10
I mean, seriously, what's with all this metal 12 pack abs?? Zeus's character looks the funniest in the entire movie. Not only appearances, even facts have been tampered with. The father of one character in the actual story is shown as the husband of the same in the movie. The witches forecast excitingly in the movie about the death of the protagonist, while in the end he being given a girl all reincarnated just to make out with, and no effort whatsoever made to show how or why he was able to change his destiny…
We being Indians, should not complain at all, given the bottomline of the Indian cinema: Anything can happen, dude; Its a movie afterall.
But Hollywood going the Bollywood way? That sucked. Indeed.
The visual effects are good at some places. The fight sequences with the scorpions are captivating. And Io (Gemma Arterton) has a divine beauty. ( On an entirely different note, Gemma is gonna play the role of Princess Tamina, the Love interest of Prince Dastan in the upcoming movie, Prince of Persia… Can't wait to see that flick :D )
Coming back to TCOTT, the worst part was the end, when Zeus, laughing sheepishly, reincarnates Io and gifts her to Persius, saying, "You are a God, afterall!" And Perseus can do nothing but grin in return.
That made the entire movie look like a spoof to me. Wait, even the spoof of 300 (Meet the spartans) was wayyyyy wayyyyy better than this boring clash of the self proclaimed titans.
I regret my bucks spent in the theatre. 3/10. Disappointingly Ungodly movie. Watch it only if you have nothing better to do this summer.
Or save your money for Kites. The english one. Barbara looks better in that. :)
Some FOSS To Increase Your Accessibility
For those who love FOSS(Free and Open Source Software), I am bringing some reasons to rejoice. I have shortlisted a bunch of my favorite freewares which, according to me, will increase your accessibility on a computer.
Those already rejoicing can carry on their good work; and those who like the gates and windows in their houses/offices; you have few reasons to rejoice.
Suggestions and demands for software, other than those listed are most welcome.
- K-Lite Codec Pack (Plays all kindda media using Media player classic, after you program it.)
- VLC Player
- Winamp
- Media Coder
- Super/Any/Total (All in one video, audio converter)
- ImgBurn
- Daemon Tools Lite
- Isobuster Free
- FastStone Capture v5.3 (last free version)
- IrfanView
- Google Chrome (Oh yes!)
- Firefox
- Free Download Manager
- Download Accelerator Plus
- Filezilla
- uTorrent
- CCleaner
- Defraggler
- Glary Utilities Lite/XDN Tweaker
- Revo Uninstaller (Basically unnecessary)
- Treesize Free(a free disk space manager for Windows)
- Avira Antivir Personal
- Comodo Firewall Free
- Spybot Search & Destroy
- 7Zip
- WinRar Free
- Foxit Reader(Pdf viewer)
- Adobe Reader(always keep around)
- OpenOffice
- IOBit Gamebooster(fixes lagging of high end games by closing all unnecessary apps to focus all PC resources on the game)
And now, the shocker
Five free software from Microsoft :
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Bing Maps
- Windows Live package(Other than Writer and messenger, even includes a family safety!
Have kids? Then you are good to go)
- Process Explorer
- Paint.NET(excellent graphic tool, not technically a MS product but mentored by it.)
The graceful nine yards
According to natyashastra, the midriff is left bare while wearing a saree because the naval area is supposed to be source of life, creativity and positive energy. Hence follows the silhouette.
Every Indian has seen women in their family gracefully attiring themselves in Saree. The world of wefts, folds, patterns, texture and wearing styles which is 108 to be precise is a splendid thing to know. The modern 'urban' style of draping the garment was first adopted and popularised by Rabindranath Tagore's sister-in-law. Saree has given a niche' identity to Indian fashion industry from the times immemorial. While traditionally Indian saree is worn on all formal and special occasions,the wearer finds a unique glory in wrapping up in it.
Their are innumerable types of it popularized according to various regions where they are made-
Northern styles
Western styles
Paithani – Maharashtra , Bandhani – Gujarat and Rajasthan .The bandhani print is now famous world wide , Kota doria Rajasthan, Lugade – Maharashtra ,Patola – Gujarat
Central stylesChanderi – Madhya Pradesh,Maheshwari – Madhya Pradesh, Kosa silk – Chattisgarh
Eastern Style
Tussar Silk – Bhagalpur area in Bihar is a hub of fine soft silk higly acclaimed all over ,Tangail cotton – Bangladesh,Jamdani – Bangladesh,Dhakai Benarasi –Bangladesh,Rajshahi Silk – Bangladesh,Mooga silk – Assam,Tant famous Bengali cotton – Shantipur. The village Shantipur is also a cradle of learning due to Shantiniketan-vishwabharti university in West Bengal,Dhaniakhali cotton – West Bengal,Murshidabad silk – West Bengal
Baluchari silk – West Bengal,Sambalpuri silk – Orissa ,Kotki (from Cuttack) – Orissa
Ikkat (from Orissa)
Southern styles
Kanchipuram (locally called Kanjivaram) – Tamil Nadu ,Coimbatore – Tamil Nadu,Chinnalapatti – Tamil Nadu,Chettinad – Tamil Nadu,Madurai – Tamil Nadu ,Arani – Tamil Nadu,Pochampally – Andhra Pradesh ,Venkatagiri – Andhra Pradesh,Gadwal – Andhra Pradesh,Guntur – Andhra Pradesh,Narayanpet – Andhra Pradesh,Mangalagiri – Andhra Pradesh,Balarampuram – KeralaMysore Silk – Karnataka,Ilkal saree – Karnataka .
Here's the bottom line: whether you are an everyday wearer or a special-occasion wearer, or even someone who sees the sari as a work of tactile art, It is special for all!
It is something that India has given as an input to the world in terms of fashion. Where else will you find so much emotions,drama, flow, gracefulness and sophistication all entwined into one piece of garment simultaneously?
A Contrast that haunts.
No Words.
Pic 1: A child with an empty container in one of the 'kachhra-khanas' of Uttar Pradesh.
Pic 2: 'Behen' Mayawati being honored with a garland worth 5 crores of 1000 denomination Indian currency notes.
Distressed aesthetics
Coming back again to the denim outfitters, Jeans that was a casual clothing for daily wear is made to look extra ordinary and exaggerated by tattering it.
So the next time you see a torn pair of jeans don't start looking for sewing needle and thread to stitch it back. Instead, include one in your summer wardrobe . Go shopping! :)
To My Writer Friends
Windows Live Writer 2009, yes, this application had everything to seek my attention the last week, when I
accidentally ended up to the writer's zone of Windows Live. Don't read this if you are on a platform other than windows, it will waste your time. Windows users like me, generally don't care to use applications provided by Microsoft. Reason-- Money, honey; I am quite a fan of FOSS. We easily get similar identical software over the net for free. I just don't get Microsoft's policy of pirated license. Okay, enough bragging. Lets get to the point.
In case you are unfamiliar with Writer
of which the chances are quite high, allow me to do a little introduction. As the name suggests, it is a writing tool for windows users and unlike other Microsoft products, it's free. Writing tool? No, I don't mean Word! Writer provides you a platform to writer over your blogs/websites, offline--Windows Live, Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal, TypePad, and many more. The 2008 edition had minimal functionalities but the 2009 release is cool, in every sense of word. You write from your desktop offline and publish to your blog on one push of button; of course after connecting to the internet. Not just that, you can add photos/albums, hyperlink, table, maps, and video(s) on just one push. And it has more. You can set/add categories, time and date, add tags, save draft and what not! Yes, no need to go to your dashboard. All you have to do is, to set up your blog in writer by entering your username, password, blog url and you are done. It downloads the theme of your blog in no time and you start blogging straight from your desktop. So, it simplifies blogging.
Full Feature List
- New border treatments (including Instant Photo)
- Crop and tilt photos
- Insert multiple photos
- Toolbar alignment commands enabled for images
- Insert and upload Windows Live photo albums
- Insert and publish video to YouTube
- Additional spell checking languages: Arabic, Basque, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, English (Australia), Estonian, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish, and Ukrainian
- Server-side tagging (for supported blogs)
- Type-down filtering in the Open dialog
- Twitter, Digg and Flickr Plug-ins
- Improved blog account setup
- Lightbox and Windows Live Spaces inline preview support
- Improved category control: adding categories, type-down filtering
- Tabbed view switching
- AutoLink glossary
- Smart quotes/typographic characters
- Word count
- Support for bidirectional languages (like Hebrew and Arabic)
- Tabs for view switching
- Beautiful look and feel
The Good.
Let me tell you what I like most about this tool. I have been using Wordpress since long
forget that I am writing on blogger now and I always wanted to customize my font style at my blog, but wordpress allows you limited customizations. Again, Money, Honey. But guess what, Writer provides you all the fonts that you have installed on your computer to use on your blog and infinite number of customizations. Unlike the boring dash boards of blogs, where you are bound to write in a visual box, Writer downloads the layout of your blog and you actually write on your blog page, plus you can always see the instant preview of your post which is integrated in an inline tab; again the one push thing comes into action and, and, and, for those who like html editing while writing, there is a 'source' tab also integrated inline and shows your html in twinkling of eyes. It also gives you an option to publish your post as a draft to your blog and do online editing.
The killer feature of this tool is that, you can add as many blogs as you want, write on them at the same time by instant switching from one to another.
The Interface.
Like every Microsoft product, it's quite user friendly. In one window, you have every tab to comfort you, and also, it allows you to opt for multiple windows for different blogs. It's very light. There is a side bar, which is basically useless, because the utilities on the sidebar are also present on the task pane. You can always remove the side bar. The feel is awesome. The light blue menu bar is nice and you can always change it's color according to your mood. You can add plug-ins from windows gallery to suit your needs but that might ruin the light experience.
The Bad.
The major drawback of Writer is that you can not add pages to your blog using writer, it only gives you an option to create new posts. Repetitive menus in the interface irritate. I mean, the menu options on the menu bar under different menus are the same ones on the task pane and the side bar. As you publish your post, it doesn't appear publicly until you update it on your blog; this happens with Wordpress. Though works flawless with Live space. On other blogs, I am yet to figure. Another thing that is bothering me is the preview with blogger, it's showing a comment and Shivi's name as the author of this post. Though preview works fine with all other blogs.
The Conclusion.
I will give a Seven out of Ten to this product. Try it and tell me what do you think of it. You can download it here
for free. For my Linux and Mac friends, I will find something like this for you and review it, not accidently though.
Anyway, talking so much about windows and Microsoft reminds me of Office. Did you guys try MS Office Beta 2010? Found anything new? Okay, I am not a MS fan
girlboy. :)
Patch Up!
11 minutes-Paulo Coelho
- How is it possible for the beauty that was there only minutes before to vanquish so quickly?
- Sometimes you get no second chance and that it's best to accept the gifts the world offers you.
- If I must be faithful, I have first of all, to be faithful to myself.
The 'in' thing
- Fashion is as integrated and blended into the cup of social circumstances that any trivial fact also, gains a sporadic momentum to influence creators, appreciators, and shoppers at once.
- Young Fashion today is governed by functionality adding touch to the luxury par excellence value.
- Present season can witness some noticeable changes. With global economy tumbling down, the clothing styles have also sashayed to bare minimalism and simple straight lines. The preppy youth fashion moves away from the ubiquitous romanticism of last few seasons.
- Silhouettes are simple , straight cut, hemlines have decreased more, minis have become the next 'it' thing. The layering and buoyancy have been replaced with neat-tailored structured clothing. More innovative yet creative direction deepens its interest for round yet tapered shapes for comfort, using high performance fabrics.
- The color trends have also been averted to evergreen pastels, muted shades and neutrals and deliberate negligence of bold outlandish shades.
- It's the reviving time, announcing the ethno- street transversalities, extra sueded softness or black-electric shine. Movement is the key concept, full of nostalgic and visionary élans.
- Classics are given a fresh spin with natural sophistication that flaunts sobriety and simplicity, with the re-vitalizing boost to the basics.
- The revival of old decades like 80's, 70's is clearly evident in power dressing suits, archaic inspiration, diligently combined with chaotic flow.
- The 3-d effect is all over the paradox with, precision as the key 'mantra'
- The melodramatically exaggerated looks have been cut down to a personalized version with a space of one's own. In a way this paves way for greater scope of creative innovation.
A chauvinist government for a chauvinist state by chauvinist people
Sultry Days
iPad: The Digital Stone
The 5th Dimension is a Tech Void
And now, adding the Fifth Dimension to Arbit Speculations...
Presenting before you, the fifth contributor to our blog. Mohi Narayan.
This girl of words is a very active twitterati and facebooker. Is literally expressive on her wordpress blog http://charmcaester.wordpress.com/ and has a sharp eye to notice and document the finer details of life. The arbit speculations team hopes that she will be able to add some new colors of enthusiasm to our lazy old blog. :D
So, Mohi... Welcome to the clan of the arbit speculators. Rules, you know. People, you will get to know. All you have to do is to add the fifth dimension. And that takes nothing more than your words and thoughts arranged arbitrarily.
Over to you.
Alok K.
Feb 27, 2010
Karthik calling Karthik: An unofficial review.
Ummm. Well, I didn't watch movies on their release dates. But now I do, thanks to this girl.
So, Karthik calling Karthik was the movie that we went to see today in cannaught place of Delhi. I normally don't have much expectation from Deepika Padukone's acting skills, ( Who notices that anyways :P), but I admire Farhan a lot. He belongs o that genre of movie watchers who get irritated everytime some Sunny Deol uproots a handpump or some Shahrukh Khan commits suicide for a less interested Paro.
And yeah. KCK did not disappoint me. Its one of those movie which will be liked more by the boys than the girls. There were times when I was on the edge of my seat, amused by the perfect thrill of the plot, while she was literally yawning away the frames whispering into my ears that it had started to get boring.
Read the reviews in the newspapers, and you'll find that she holds the majority when she found it boring.
Any person who has been a loner in his life would be definitely connecting with Farhan's character in the movie. I, for one, can. I know how it feels like when you are all alone and the world is out to fuck with you.
Developing schizophrenia in that lonely condition is perfectly plausible and so is having multiple personality disorder. As a matter of fact, I had noticed it many times that when I was in the lonely phase of my life, I had got so much time at my hands that I used to look at every issue from different perspectives, many times arguing with myself about the nuances of the problems and their solutions. Now, MPD is just an exaggerated version of this multi-perspective analysing ability of a loner.
Technically, the movie is 100% correct, which is very rare in Bollywood, and hence, should be cherished. Deepika is dumb on the acting front as always, but man, she has looked so gorgeous in the movie that I literally could not keep my eyes off her throughout the show, though I had an equally cute girl, sitting right beside me. :)The music was awesome and so was the picturization and script.
Though repetitiveness might be the groan-word for many disappointed viewers, I actually feel that it actually added to the psychic character of the movie. It felt that I was watching a regularly occuring dream.
8/10 to movie all in all. The climax, definitely could have been better.
On an entirely different note, I appreciated the fact that we take it for granted that our own brain will never betray us. But I wonder what it would do if gets a little awry, towards myself.
What would I do if I got hellbent to destroy myself?
Sending abuses and insulting mails to my dear ones in the online world would be the first thing to be done by my comp savvy chunk of brain gone bad. Then I will delete my gmail and facebook accounts, post some pornography (with friends tagged in them) on my blog, change the PIN of my atm card to an arbit number, burn away all my academic certificates, delete all the pics and design projects from my laptop...
Or better, I can try corporal mortification. :P
Boy. I can bring havoc in Alok's life! Sounds cheesy but I wonder why we take it for granted that we will always be on our own side.
But we better be. Wassay?
Alok K.
Talking bout the Idiots...
Last week I got to watch the movie '3 Idiots' in Satyam. Had skyhigh hopes. After all, 5 point someone is very dear to me. I had read FPS just after clearing iit, and it indeed amused me a lot.
Now the question was whether a movie which was openly declared as being "loosely based on FPS", was gonna strike the same chords or not.
Well, for me, It did.
Aamir, a ghost director he is, took FPS to a new level, from being a fun tale of some talented youth with deranged priorities to the story of chasing one's dreams and living life on one's own terms.
He actually taught us what engineering is all about after using the vaccuum cleaner and car batteries for delivering a baby.
All these frames when rest of the audience was busy cheering Aamir for doing that out of the box stuff, I couldn't resist thinking tht okay, this is what engineering is actually. You gotta solve real life problems with machines as tools.
We at IITs, I mean most of us, are busy either watching movies, sitcoms or 'peacing around', or craming up notes right before the exam to get good grades so that we end up with a job with a better package.
But I doubt how many of us have actually thought of making a new machine. A machine that does something new. Anything new. I think hard to locate the time when we architecture guys looked up to a building seriously, examined its functionality and tried to think about some ideas that can enhance the same.
In the movie, Madhavan says.. "aur main agar engineer ban bhi gaya na abba, to main bahut kharaab engineer banoonga".
Some people would say that the morale is impractical.
"Kisi cheez mein interest hona achhchi baat hai, par jab ghar k baahar aate daal ka bhaav maloom chalega to saari interest dhari ki dhari reh jaaaegi."
Well, they are wrong in identifying the holistic span of the message. We have a range of interests. Somethings we like, and somethings we don't. How about choosing something as a career that can strike a balance between our career needs, our parents' expectations ans well as our personal interests.
" Paise thode kam honge, Gaadi thodi chhoti hogi... aur kya"
But the satisfaction would supercede everything. And thats what matters. Right Idiots?
And then, Straight from the office...
Ummm... Delhi... mast jagah hai, if you have got some friend with you. Alone, it might get boring just ogling nice models (Cars, I meant :P) No, seriously, I actually saw more BMW's than mercedes models in my stretch of the city.
And it feels great.
Even otherwise, life is fun. Delhi food tastes good. The chill is a killer; but I ain't complaining coz' I love winters. Office's good. People are nice. (I seem to have sported some kind of positive specs these days; everything looks just fine.)
Have embarked upon a long journey. Let's see how far can I get.
Alok K.
19th Jan 2010.
A blogpost straight from my cell...
Towards nothing!
About Growth n all :straight lift from TOI
India achieved record annual GDP growth, averaging 8.45%, in the five years, 2004-05 to 2008-09. But was this inclusive, and did it benefit the poor masses?
We have no data on poverty beyond 2004-05. But the CSO has current data on the economic growth of the states. Historically, the chronically poor states were Orissa plus the BIMARU quartet (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh), of which three have been sub-divided. Have these eight poor states participated in India's boom?
Yes, absolutely. Indeed, five of India's eight ultra-poor states have become miracle economies, defined internationally as those with over 7% growth. The best news comes from Bihar, historically the biggest failure. From 2004-05 to2008-09, Bihar averaged 11.03% growth annually. It was virtually India's fastest growing state, on par with Gujarat (11.05%). That represents a sensational turnaround. Nitish Kumar deserves an award for the most inclusive revolution of the decade.
Other poor states have done very well too. Uttrakhand (9.31%), Orissa (8.74%), Jharkhand (8.45%) and Chhattisgarh (7.35%), have all grown faster than the standard miracle benchmark of 7%.
Orissa's performance is remarkable, since 10 years ago it had the worst fiscal indicators among all states. Naveen Patnaik has been a major force in accelerating growth and stabilizing state finances. His image as a clean politician has been tarnished recently by reports of widespread corruption. Land acquisition problems and Maoist violence have highlighted continuing tribal travails, and the murder of Christians is a blot on his secular record. Yet, he deserves kudos for making Orissa stage a huge turnaround.
The elephant in the room has always been Uttar Pradesh, a huge, poor state of almost 200 million people. The excellent news is that UP's growth rate has risen impressively to 6.29% annually. This falls short of the miracle benchmark of 7%, but not by much. UP has benefitted from overall buoyancy in the Indian economy. In NOIDA, it has created a major services production and export hub, and an auto hub, too. Sugar factories have expanded fast. Growth seems to have accelerated a bit after Mayawati came to power, but it is too early to credit her with a paradigm shift. Something similar can be said of Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh. Rajasthan, which grew fast earlier, has slipped down a bit, to 6.25%. The most disappointing performance comes from Madhya Pradesh (4.89 %). So, not all poor states have joined India's growth bonanza.
But the overall picture is very heartening. Of the eight historically poor states, four -Bihar, Uttrakhand, Orissa and Jharkhand - have grown as fast as or faster than the all-India average of 8.49%.
We must qualify this story. Fast growth in poor states does not automatically mean that growth has reached all poor people. Major beneficiaries include a creamy layer of politically well-connected people, exemplified by the Koda scandal in Jharkhand. The spread of Maoism suggests widespread tribal distress.
However, agricultural growth in 2004-09 averaged 4.4% per year, the highest in any five-year period, benefiting the rural masses. The minimum wage was raised in most states, and doubled by Mayawati to Rs 100/day in UP. Rural employment and infrastructure schemes, plus the telecom revolution, added to rural dynamism.
After two decades when incumbent governments were regularly voted out at elections, several incumbents have recently been re-elected. This suggests mass-based satisfaction in place of the earlier dissatisfaction.
Rainfed states experience enormous swings in growth depending on the monsoon, and can swing to negative rates in a bad year. So, averaging growth rates over five years is sometimes not enough to establish a trend. In Bihar, GDP actually declined by 5.15% in 2003-04. So, if we average its data over the last six years rather than five years, its growth rate drops to 8.33%. This is still a stellar performance, but no longer on par with Gujarat's.
At the other end of the spectrum, Rajasthan had a spectacular 28.67% growth in 2003-04. So, if we average data over six years instead of five, Rajasthan's growth rate gets revised massively to 9.99%, an excellent performance.
The poor states remain far behind the rest of India. Maoism, terrorism and corruption are growing. Yet, the economic gap between some poor and rich states is shrinking dramatically. Let us celebrate the emergence of Bihar and other poor states as miracle economies. This is surely one of the biggest achievements of the decade.


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The bulk of the electricity we use across the globe is produced by steam turning turbines connected to electrical generators. According to the Steam-electric power station in Wikipedia: Almost all coal, nuclear, geothermal, solar thermal electric power plants, waste incineration plants as well as many natural gas power plants are steam-electric. Natural gas is frequently […]
I'm in meetings with our global consultants this week, many whom I feature regularly on this blog. I was sitting next to Scott Pettigrew whom you may recall from earlier boiler optimization-related posts. Scott shared a story with me where he worked with a chemical manufacturer on a multi-fuel boiler project. He said it was […]
Having an accurate measurement of the level inside a boiler, high-pressure feedwater heater, or steam separator is important for the safety, reliability, and efficiency of this process equipment. If the actual level does not reflect the value being transmitted back to the control system, opportunities for unplanned shutdowns, equipment damage, and flooded steam traps increase. […]
Emerson's Steffen Terreblanche highlights ways to improve your plant's energy efficiency by continuously monitoring your steam traps. As the world becomes a "smaller" place and process manufacturers are forced to compete in a global market place, we see more and more industries shifting offshore looking for lower cost ways to manufacture process or refine their […]
Flexibility to meet changing customer demand benefits many manufacturers. This is especially true in the power industry as Emerson's Douglas Morris explains. With the growth of renewable power, generators are working to improve the flexibility of their thermal power units to help smooth the variability of power supply from wind and solar. Producers must be […]
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Privacy Notice
Acorn Trust Privacy Notice - How we use pupil information
Under data protection law, individuals have a right to be informed about how the school uses any personal data that we hold about them. We comply with this right by providing 'privacy notices' (sometimes called 'fair processing notices') to individuals where we are processing their personal data.
This privacy notice explains how we collect, store and use personal data about pupils.
We, the Acorn Trust, are the 'data controller' for the purposes of data protection law.
Our data protection officer are:
firstname.lastname@example.com – Bedford Hall Methodist, Mighty Oaks and Acorn Trust
email@example.com – Westleigh Methodist and Westleigh Startwell Centre
The personal data we hold:
Personal data that we may collect, use, store and share (when appropriate) about pupils includes, but is not restricted to:
- Contact details, contact preferences, date of birth, identification documents
- Results of internal assessments and externally set tests
- Pupil and curricular records
- Characteristics, such as ethnic background, nationality, language, county of birth, eligibility for free school meals, or special educational needs
- Exclusion information
- Details of any medical conditions, including physical, mental health and special educational needs and disabilities
- Attendance information
- Safeguarding information
- Details of any support received, including care packages, plans and support providers
- Photographs
- CCTV images captured in school
We may also hold data about pupils that we have received from other organisations, including other schools, local authorities and the Department for Education.
Why we use this data:
We use this data to:
- Support pupil learning
- Monitor and report on pupil progress
- Provide appropriate pastoral care
- Protect pupil welfare
- Assess the quality of our services
- Administer admissions waiting lists
- Carry out research
- Comply with the law regarding data sharing
Our legal basis for using this data:
We only collect and use pupils' personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we process it where:
- We need to comply with a legal obligation
- We need it to perform an official task in the public interest
Less commonly, we may also process pupils' personal data in situations where:
- We have obtained consent to use it in a certain way
- We need to protect the individual's vital interests (or someone else's interests)
Where we have obtained consent to use pupils' personal data, this consent can be withdrawn at any time. We will make this clear when we ask for consent, and explain how consent can be withdrawn.
Some of the reasons listed above for collecting and using pupils' personal data overlap, and there may be several grounds which justify our use of this data.
Collecting this information:
While the majority of information we collect about pupils is mandatory, there is some information that can be provided voluntarily.
In order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, we will inform you whether you are required to provide certain pupil information to us or if you have a choice in this.
How we store this data :
We keep personal information about pupils while they are attending our school. We may also keep it beyond their attendance at our school if this is necessary in order to comply with our legal obligations. Our Retention Schedule Policy sets out how long we keep information about pupils.
A copy of our retention schedule can be obtained on request.
Data sharing:
We do not share information about pupils with any third party without consent unless the law and our policies allow us to do so.
Where it is legally required, or necessary (and it complies with data protection law) we may share personal information about pupils with:
- Our local authority – to meet our legal obligations to share certain information with it, such as safeguarding concerns and exclusions
- The Department for Education – to meet our legal obligation as the data underpins school funding and educational attainment policy and monitoring. We are required to share information about our pupils with the (DfE) under regulation 5 of The Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
- The pupil's family and representatives
- Educators and examining bodies – to meet our legal obligations
- Ofsted– to meet our legal obligations
- Suppliers and service providers – to enable them to provide the service we have contracted them for
- Central and local government
- Survey and research organisations (with consent)
- Health authorities (with consent)
- Health and social welfare organisations (with consent)
- Professional education advisers and consultants
- Police forces, courts, tribunals
- Professional bodies
- Our lunch ordering system (with consent)
- Our payment system (with consent)
- Evolve - Trip planning software (with consent)
- Cpoms – our safeguarding tool
- Bromcom MIS – to enable the school to record all pupil data and assessment data legally required for census
- Tapestry - our eyfs assessment tool (with consent)
- Inventry – our signing in and signing out system
- Our school counsellor (with consent)
- Educational Psychology Service (with consent)
- Tess Team (with consent)
- Music Services
- Curriculum related applications (with consent) – Spag.com, purple mash, Espresso, phonics play, Target tracker, book blog, Timetable rockstars, RWI spelling
- Social Media and the Acorn Trust website(with consent only)
- Marketing Literature (with consent only)
National Pupil Database:
The NPD is owned and managed by the Department for Education and contains information about pupils in schools in England. It provides invaluable evidence on educational performance to inform independent research, as well as studies commissioned by the Department. It is held in electronic format for statistical purposes. This information is securely collected from a range of sources including schools, local authorities and awarding bodies.
We are required by law, to provide information about our pupils to the DfE as part of statutory data collections such as the school census and early years' census. Some of this information is then stored in the NPD. The law that allows this is the Education (Information About Individual Pupils) (England) Regulations 2013.
To find out more about the NPD, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-user-guide-and-supporting-information.
The department may share information about our pupils from the NPD with third parties who promote the education or well-being of children in England by:
- conducting research or analysis
- producing statistics
- providing information, advice or guidance
The Department has robust processes in place to ensure the confidentiality of our data is maintained and there are stringent controls in place regarding access and use of the data. Decisions on whether DfE releases data to third parties are subject to a strict approval process and based on a detailed assessment of:
- who is requesting the data
- the purpose for which it is required
- the level and sensitivity of data requested: and
- the arrangements in place to store and handle the data
To be granted access to pupil information, organisations must comply with strict terms and conditions covering the confidentiality and handling of the data, security arrangements and retention and use of the data.
For more information about the department's data sharing process, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-how-we-collect-and-share-research-data
For information about which organisations the department has provided pupil information, (and for which project), please visit the following website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-pupil-database-requests-received
To contact DfE: https://www.gov.uk/contact-dfe
Transferring data internationally:
Where we transfer personal data to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, we will do so in accordance with data protection law.
Parents and pupils' rights regarding personal data:
Individuals have a right to make a 'subject access request' to gain access to personal information that the school holds about them.
Parents/carers can make a request with respect to their child's data where the child is not considered mature enough to understand their rights over their own data (usually under the age of 13), or where the child has provided consent.
Parents also have the right to make a subject access request with respect to any personal data the school holds about them.
If you make a subject access request, and if we do hold information about you or your child, we will:
- Give you a description of it
- Tell you why we are holding and processing it, and how long we will keep it for
- Explain where we got it from, if not from you or your child
- Tell you who it has been, or will be, shared with
- Let you know whether any automated decision-making is being applied to the data, and any consequences of this
- Give you a copy of the information in an intelligible form
Individuals also have the right for their personal information to be transmitted electronically to another organisation in certain circumstances.
If you would like to make a request please contact our Trust Business Manager.
Parents/carers also have a legal right to access to their child's educational record. To request access, please contact the Trust Business Manager.
Other rights
Under data protection law, individuals have certain rights regarding how their personal data is used and kept safe, including the right to:
- Object to the use of personal data if it would cause, or is causing, damage or distress
- Prevent it being used to send direct marketing
- Object to decisions being taken by automated means (by a computer or machine, rather than by a person)
- In certain circumstances, have inaccurate personal data corrected, deleted or destroyed, or restrict processing
- Claim compensation for damages caused by a breach of the data protection regulations
To exercise any of these rights, please contact our data protection officer.
We take any complaints about our collection and use of personal information very seriously.
If you think that our collection or use of personal information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate, or have any other concern about our data processing, please raise this with us in the first instance.
To make a complaint, please contact our data protection officer.
Alternatively, you can make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office:
- Report a concern online at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
- Call 0303 123 1113
- Or write to: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
Contact us:
If you have any questions, concerns or would like more information about anything mentioned in this privacy notice, please contact our Trust Business Manager:
- Mrs Joanne Buckley – email@example.com


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This past weekend we traveled down to Pelabuhan Ratu on the south coast of Java. Another group of friends made the plans and booked a villa to celebrate a few birthdays, and they very kindly let us tag along. We went into it knowing that the trip takes a long time, the roads are crap, the beach is beautiful but basically unswimmable, and the places to stay are of questionable quality. After writing that out, I'm sort of wondering why we went… but it had to be done for the sake of adventure!
Knowing that the traffic can be bad, especially on a weekend, we decided to leave early after lunch on Friday. The rest of the group was planning to leave Bogor at 7 or 8 at night, which was just too late for us with the kids. So we piled into the car with our friend and set out. I drove. Now, to put this trip into perspective, here is a google map showing our route:
Okay, 110 km, just under 3 hours. Sounds pretty reasonable, considering we are driving through a volcano range in Indonesia… Actually, just writing that makes me wonder again why we did it.
The drive started slow as we headed up the first mountainside. There was a lot of traffic, and, as it turned out, several of the roads were under construction, slowing down even more what was already our snail's pace. But, I pulled a couple of *ahem* questionable passing lane moves (basically I just drove into oncoming traffic until I couldn't any more, that's a thing here), and it only took us an hour or two to get through the slowdown.
By then, we had reached the "bad" part of the road. I would describe this section of road as 30% road and 70% potholes. And very curvy. Luckily, LittleB only barfed once. I think that's a pretty good average for this road, from what I've heard. Apparently there was a former school principal who used to go up every weekend and his kid would be sick in the car every time. That sounds like a good family bonding activity to me! We averaged about 25 km/h.
Six and half hours later, we rolled into the hotel.
We stayed at a charming villa nestled into the side of mountain, overlooking the coast. It was built of teak and boasted of luxury on its website. The truth? It was kind of a crazy haunted mansion / grade 5 matchstick building project / Frankensteinian monstrosity dangling precariously off the edge of a cliff. Yes, it was made out of teak, but it looked as though someone took parts of other buildings and glued them haphazardly together, holding it all up with random pieces of wood and twine. Also, the driveway was at about a 75 degree incline, which our automatic Avanza was not happy about.
Anyway, we were the first ones to arrive, so we had our pick of rooms. Originally, we were supposed to be in the Panorama room, which I assumed was the nicest because it cost more. It turned out to be a strange little room at the bottom of the house (without a panoramic view, despite its name), and it only had three single beds in it. There is nothing comfortable about squeezing two above-average-sized adults and two children into three single beds (let's be honest here, they were actually cots), plus to reach the room you had to travel down an unlit, slippery, misshapen walkway. Um, no. So we took the room upstairs that had a king bed in it. At least we mostly fit into that one.
Other than the wasp nest in the bathroom, the rest of the accommodations were ok. Oh wait, there was also a pool. I use this term loosely. It was kind of a little rectangle of water surrounded by a bunch of old wood and tarps. It's possible someone swam in it once… but no one ever found them again, so it's impossible to know for sure.
By the way, the rest of our party arrived at 2 am.
We spent the day on Saturday at the beach. It was beautiful. Big waves, dark, ferrous sand, rugged coastline. But the undertow was vicious. I didn't even bother putting on my swimsuit, because I didn't want to float away. The only people in the water were professional surfers. And B.
I stayed on the beach with the kids, building sandcastles and digging up crab holes. Once in a while, a giant wave would sweep onto shore and wash everything away. Like our friend's flip flops. Like the kids. Like J's swimming suit. Seriously, it got ripped right off of her, or rather, she got pulled right out of it. I had to choose: J's bottoms or J herself? It was a tough choice (we paid 20 bucks for those shorts, they were Roxy brand!). In the end, I went with the kid. She spent the rest of the morning in her underpants. At least she thought it was hilarious.
Here is videographic evidence of such a wave:
Eventually the waves got big enough that even B had to give up, so we headed to a resort down the beach for lunch. We spent the afternoon enjoying beers and pasta on the beach, watching the local kids play some rousing games of football and "dunk your friends in the ocean" (I'm assuming that's what it was called).
That night, we just stayed in and got drunk. It was a birthday party, after all. I don't have any photos, so you will just have to believe me.
Sunday morning came early, as usual, with a bright-eyed J up and at 'em at 5 am on the dot. We Cayas tend to have a GTFO attitude on the last day of a vacation, ready to just throw everything in the car at 5:30 and head out. I hate suffering under the looming trip home. But we waited it out to spend a few more precious hours on the beach. And drink some caffeine.
Mid morning, we headed out back on the road, thinking it couldn't possibly be worse than the trip up. WE WERE SO WRONG. First of all, it took us nearly two hours just to get away from the coast. It would appear that every person on the island of Java was at the beach that day. And there was only one lane of the road open because of construction.
It took another six hours to make it through the mountains and back into Bogor. At one point, we literally sat still in traffic for about an hour. It was a long ride… But we made it home in time for a dinner of fruit loops and peanut butter. We live a charmed life.
Moral of the story: Don't go to Pelabuhan ratu.
Bonus feature. We found this video on the camera that LittleB took of himself. He appears to be narrating our lunch at the resort on Saturday. It's amazing, so we figured we should share it with the internet. Enjoy!


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Mobile Crushers in Qatar
The Crusher Is A Heavy Machinery Bound To Break Stone Into Small Fragments Called Aggregates. A Crusher Can Use Three Kinds Of Crushing Modes. Thus, We Can Discern Three Major Crusher Types: Cone Crusher, Jaw Crusher And Impactor.
Arabian Supply Center Wll
Qatar directory (online) have more than 1 companies details for your reference. Please visit here


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Save the date! It's Star Wars time again. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will open on December 16th, just in time for the holiday movie season. The movie is set some time after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and shortly before Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope and centers on a group of Rebel spies tasked with stealing the plans for the Galactic Empire's new weapon, the Death Star.
Will Darth Vader return in Rogue One? Yes! He's back. Will James Earl Jones be the voice of Darth Vader once again? Yes!. He will. Will Rogue One be the #1 blockbuster of the holiday season? Stay tuned.
In the coming weeks we will feature more facts and trivia about Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.


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Skip to content
Skip to footer site map
Why Choose SLC?
Programs & Courses
Our Campuses & Services
How to Apply
Pay For College
Work at SLC
This course provides an overview of a variety of business careers as well provides opportunities for students to engage with business professionals. It serves as a bridge for translating acquired knowledge to practical employment skills in the workplace. It provides insight into workplace expectations and future employment trends. Activities and sessions are designed to enhance student attributes and employability skills. In addition students will have the opportunity to meet with faculty advisors and discuss professional related goals. Learning consists predominantly of workshops and experiential learning opportunities.


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Hours: Breakfast & Lunch. Mon.-Fri: 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Price: $
Full-service bakery with plenty of takeout goods, from artisan breads and mini pies to coffee and muffins. Serving sandwiches now too.
Lots of baked goods for breakfast. Artisan breads, mini pies, sandwiches, and coffee to-go.
Price: $
Showing 1-1 of 1


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I am very new to the world of server-based virtualization (I've been running VM's on my desktops for years).
The organization I work for has recently purchased a Dell server that will be used run 4-6 virtual servers using Hyper-V (Windows Server 2012 Datacenter).
The machine has 15k SAS drives in a RAID 10 array, 64gb RAM and two socketed processors, each with 6 cores.
My previous company used to virtualize everything using VMWare vSphere (which this organization can't afford). I remember a co-worker showing me realtime stats about usage and performance of each VM in relation to the host.
I can't seem to find any equivalent reporting for Hyper-V. Am I missing it? I would love better reporting than performance monitor. Ideally, I'd like real-time reporting and alerts.
Additional Info
I've read How to monitor CPU usage and performance on a Hyper-V server with several VM's, but it doesn't provide an option other than performance monitor.


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Visit Richard S. Todd at Fan Expo 2015!
Our President, Richard S. Todd, will be appearing at Fan Expo 2015 in Toronto between September 4th and 6th, so come out and say hello!
Richard will be selling and signing copies of his novels Raincloud and The Orphans of the Creek at the HWA booth (# 5221) at the following times:
- Friday, September 4th, 2 – 4 PM
- Saturday, September 5th, 4 – 6 PM
If you're interested in attending any the HWA panels, he'll be moderating three of them!
- "So You Want to Write Horror?" – Friday at 11:15 AM in Room 703
- "What Scares You?" – Friday at 12:45 PM in Room 705
- "What's the Next Big Thing in Horror Fiction?" – Sunday at 11:45 AM in Room 705
Buy some books, pose for a pic, and learn how you can be a writer at Fan Expo 2015 in Toronto. It's going to be a lot of fun, and we hope to see you there!
Richard S. Todd is President at The Editor's Desk, providing professional content management and business copywriting services, as well as comprehensive manuscript editing and proofreading.
|Follow @authorrstodd


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Final Four Open Thread
: Written by DCrockett17 : 03-31-2007 : 6 Comments
Have at it.
: Written by DCrockett17 : 03-31-2007 : 6 Comments
Have at it.
: Written by Mike Kurylo : 03-28-2007 : 43 Comments
Again quick notes. * I'd like to write a program so that when I hit a key combination (CTRL-ALT-F1, for example) it spits out the sentence: "I?ve said it before and I?ll say it again, the Knicks need to work on their last second plays." This is the lineup Isiah had in for the final shot: Marbury, Jeffries, Rose, Frye, Curry. And Isiah subbed in Jeffries specifically for that play. Why put in a defensive specialist with a career PPG of 6.1 for the last play when you have the ball? In fact, why have two of them (Rose)? Again …continue reading
: Written by Mike Kurylo : 03-27-2007 : 21 Comments
Quick notes: * When Curry had that "and 1" with 2:00 left he actually got emotional and let you a loud yell. While I like seeing an emotion out of Curry that isn't that sulking/whiney look when he doesn't get a foul call or any penetrator makes him look bad (was that Dooling or Nelson that made a layup running into his chest?), I'm not too happy with the timing of it. At the time I looked at my roommate and said something to the effect of: "You know what I hate about these Knicks? Everytime they make a shot …continue reading
: Written by DCrockett17 : 03-25-2007 : 23 Comments
My apologies for not getting an NCAA thread up earlier. Even though I have been mostly in and out of this weekend's games I have seen any number of players that might look good in orange and blue. As the tournament draws to a close it leads to the inevitable questions about who will stay and who will declare. Oden and Durant are the most obvious. But consider players that might be mid-to-late lottery picks or lower based on workouts yet would add tremendous depth to this draft, like Joachim Noah and Al Horford at Florida, Brandon Wright and Tyler …continue reading
: Written by Mike Kurylo : 03-22-2007 : 56 Comments
Just 3 links & the team stats.
: Written by Mike Kurylo : 03-21-2007 : 36 Comments
Coming home from work yesterday, I thought I had my night planned. I had some painting I needed to do, which I would finish by 7:30. At that point I would kick back a few beers, order some dinner, and give my full attention to the Knicks-Mavericks game. Of course my best laid plans were thwarted by two foes. The first being my wife who had the "we need to get out of the house look on her face." Her request was understandable. The weekend storm had brought a handful of weary traveling friends and family to our house. For …continue reading
: Written by Mike Kurylo : 03-18-2007 : 56 Comments
Here I was all ready to sit and scout the Knicks. I had a good time slot on my PVR (PC used as a TIVO) and set the game up to tape. I had a good idea of a study I wanted to do concerning Eddy Curry (which I'll save for another day). And I actually had some free time, something that's rarer than all of the above. Unfortunately for me, Eddy Curry failed to co-operate with the deal. Easy Eddy decided to put in a half day's work, which I can only assume he did in order to catch …continue reading


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Bob is the author of 10 books on alcoholic beverages and food. As a professional speaker, entertainer, and educator, he has conducted seminars worldwide; presentations to businesses, Fortune 500 corporations, trade shows, and conventions. He taught the Executive Staff at The White House "How-To Pair Wine with Food," "Proper Wine Service," and "Sensory Evaluation Skills." Bob also has television and radio experience as a host, writer, and guest. He has worked as a consulting enologist and viticulturist. Bob is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Bob Lipinski writes, consults, and conducts training seminars on Wine, Spirits, and Food. He can be reached through this site at the "Contact Us" Tab.
The below books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other on-line bookstores.


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Thursday, May 27, 2010
The Shack : Finger Lickin' GoodPosted by Kat at 11:51 PM
Recently I have been craving Boiling Crab, but can never find the right time to go nor would I care to wait in line for the yummy food. Kat, My Evil Twin, and I changed our meeting time and place. We decided to go further away for some good food. I did some research and found that The Shack just opened up in Rowland Heights. They have a special promotion until June 15th that when you buy 2 lbs of seafood you get the 1 lb free! When I saw that deal, I was hooked and definitely wanted to try them out. They are tucked away in the back where Nogales and Colima meets. It's a small cozy place and there wasn't any wait. I sort of don't want to tell people because I don't want to wait! >_<# lol
For starters, I ordered the Chicken Wings to try out. They were a little different from what I expected. I wished that they had more flavor and pizazz. They were small wings served with celery and carrot sticks.
You can order any combo of seafood. The choices were Crawfish, Shrimp, Snow Crab, King Crab, Clams, and Mussels. We chose to get 1 lb of the Crawfish with the Medium Shack Special Sauce and 2 lbs of Shrimp with the Mild Shack Special Sauce. With our order you get a Corn and Potatoes. I added Sausages and more Corn.
So why the "Finger Lickin' Good" title? I actually really liked the sauce. At first I asked for extra garlic but the server said that the sauce comes as is. It definitely is reminiscent to the flavors of Boiling Crab, but slightly different. After having been to so many Cajun/Asian places, they all taste similar yet different. One place might have a higher dosage of celery flavor or another one is spicier. Here, I found the sauce had just the right balance of savory and sweet. It definitely has a slightly sweeter after taste than most places. Kat actually thought that the mild sauce was spicier than the medium flavor. I definitely liked the mild flavor more because the true flavors of the ingredients really pop and take over the show. While the medium sauce was thicker and heavier, but this could also be because it was with the crawfish. It had an earthier flavor and taste than the shrimp. My fave is still the shrimp with the mild sauce. I like to get more bang for the buck. You don't get as much meat from the crawfish like you would from the shrimp. I just love sucking all the sauce from the shrimp before I peel the shell off and then dip the newly naked shrimp back into the delicious pool of sauce. O=9 Talk about food porn! lol
Be sure to check them out while the deal is on. I wish we got some crab legs because we would be able to maximize the deal! Before they end their Grand Opening special, I will have to come back again to get my fill. I just wish they were closer so I could go more often and enjoy the deal. ^_^
The Shack
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Labels: Asian, Cajun, Deal, Rowland Heights, Seafood


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Types of Rooms Found in Assisted Living
Overview of resident rooms in assisted living and room layouts
More Information
Resident Rooms in Assisted Living
Assisted Living Facilities are sometimes called Residential Care Homes, and each differ in living room designs. They range from 100+ beds, 16+ beds to smaller care homes with less than 6 beds. Most are non-medical facilities that provide private or shared rooms, private or shared bathrooms, one, and two-bedroom apartments, couples apartments, condominiums, studios, and cottages. They typically serve persons 55 years of age and older.
Assisted Living Rooms and Apartments
Our assisted living room resource provides thorough information on the types of rooms that are available for residents. It gives you a gallery of photographs of existing community rooms from all over the country, data from a CDC study on residential care facilities, room design plans, and virtual tours. It's difficult to get a full grasp of what's offered, so we added useful information that will help you gain a broad but complete picture of living spaces of various sizes in various parts of the country. We've added several mediums to choose when researching assisted living room layouts. Enjoy the tour from your computer.
Some great resources:
Virtual Tour of Assisted Living Apartment Living Room
Room Layouts of Studios, One and Two-bedroom Apartments
How to know which Assisted Living Room Layout is Best
- What type of home are you moving from?
- Which room layout will make you feel at home?
- How much can you afford?
- How much privacy do you prefer?
- Will you family and friends who visit often?
- How close is the facility to family and friends?
- What state is your health?
- Do you live with chronic conditions that will affect your physical and mental capabilities down the road?
- Do you still like to cook occasionally?
- Do you have a pet?
In a survey of residential care facilities conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2010, the following types of living quarters were found at most assisted living communities: A studio or one-bedroom apartment was the most popular (41%), while rooms for one person was the next most popular (30%), rooms for two persons (25%) and 2 or 3 bedroom apartments came in the lowest on popularity scale at (5%). See the breakdown:
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Gallery of Living Spaces in Featured Communities
For your pleasure, we've added a photo gallery of assisted living facilities listed in our directory. We understand that images illustrate more than words. Take a few moments and look over the photos to decide which rooms call out and say, "home."
Saving Money with a Shared Room
Residents have a choice of assisted living room sizes, layouts, and roommates. There are ample public spaces and activity rooms for residents so most people do not require a large private room. Renting an assisted living studio instead of a one-bedroom apartment reduces monthly fees by 15% - 20%. If a person is on a tight budget, sharing a room or an assisted living apartment can save 10% - 20% over a single unit.
Sharing a Room in Assisted Living
As shown below, most residents prefer assisted living apartments (41%) or alone in a one-bedroom room (32%) as compared to those sharing a room in assisted living. Shared rooms are for 2 or more persons (27%). Consider these questions:
- Do you need to cut costs?
- Do you prefer not being alone?
- Do you enjoy having constant companionship to increase mental and emotional stimulation?
- Do you prefer frequent conversation?
- Do you feel safer having someone around?
- Do you have a pet?
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Resident Responses)
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Resident Responses)
Assisted living facilities are state regulated or have local standards and enforce a maximum number of occupants per residential accommodation not to exceed four persons per accommodation. A door must separate the bedroom from other spaces and include a clothes closet(s).
Accommodations can offer a bathroom per bedroom, or a bathroom shared by the residents of more than one bedroom, not to exceed four residents per bathroom. Some people value the companyand feel too isolated in a unit or room by themselves and welcome a roommate. From the CDC study, you can see that 25% of assisted living residents share a room.
Rooms for Couples
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Resident Responses)
It's common for a married couple or a "significant other" to move into an assisted living community together. Whether each person needs help with daily living activities or just an occasional hand with housekeeping, couples choose an apartment setting. There are several plans to accommodate an older couple's needs. As with all apartment or shared rooms, you will also have access to all common areas throughout the community.
While it is common for couples to share rooms, it is also common to have a roommate. The CDC study found that only 23% of residents who share an apartment, a room, studio or another type of living space have a spouse or in a partnership.
Do Rooms have Kitchens?
One good reason for moving to an assisted living facility is having someone else do the cooking. Healthy aging is a goal shared by nutritionist and chefs at the facility. Seniors, more than any other group, want a well-balanced diet. Good nutrition is the first line of defense for older adults who seek to maintain independence and protect them from illness and disease.Yet, time to time, a resident will want to cook at home, either in their room or apartment.
Kitchens may also be included, with a refrigerator, sink, and a cooking element or cooktop, but amenities like these are uncommon in rooms.The facilities reported on the CDC survey that 50% have refrigerators, 30% have ovens, 30% have hot plates or cooktops, and 40% have microwaves in rooms and apartments. Small refrigerators are usually permitted in each room.
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Resident Safety in Rooms
Choosing a facility for a safe living room and residence isn't enough. Residents need to know that the care facility takes complete safety measures to ensure that a person will not trip or fall, wherever they are in the assisted living community. Falling and breaking a hip is bad news and life-threatening for older adults and the elderly, no matter where they call home.
It's important for the people who provide housing for seniors to install fall prevention equipment and take other safety precautions when evaluating assisted living safety. Read more about resident safety in assisted living.
Safety attributes in Assisted living rooms and residences
Doorways, hallways, and rooms accommodate wheelchairs and walkers.
- The floor plan is easy to follow.
- Elevators are available.
- Handrails installed in hallways, rooms, bathrooms, and other rooms within the facility.
- Flooring made of non-skid materials.
- Rooms have good natural lighting.
- Rooms are free of odor and comfortable temperatures.
- Rooms have emergency call systems installed.
- The staff is available to help when needed.
One important device needed in the common areas like dining rooms, hallways, and activity rooms are handrails and ample lighting. The CDC survey also asked residents if their facility provides handrails. In the graph below only 49% of the senior housing community installed handrails in hallways.
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Fire Safety
Ninety-seven percent of assisted living facilities built after 1996 have sprinklers in resident rooms and in common areas. But what about the senior housing projects built before 1996? Have the facilities equipped with smoke detectors and fire sprinklers? Because when there's a fire, nothing protects residents, their assets and the facility like fire protection products and systems. Installing fire protection solutions puts people at ease knowing their living space is a safe environment.
96% of the surveyed residents say their rooms and apartments have fire detectors.
94% of the common areas have smoke detectors.
55% of the resident rooms and apartments have sprinkler systems.
56% of common areas have installed sprinkler systems.
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
Other Safety Devices for Residents and Rooms
The facility is responsible for protecting the privacy of residents while guaranteeing safety and providing services. Door locks serve as security for all residents living there.
The entry door to each resident's private room or apartment has a lock which is operable from the inside with a key but 23% of the rooms do not have locks from inside the room. A resident's service plan may allow for a non-locking entry door if the resident's safety would otherwise be jeopardized.
60% or the residents surveyed in the CDC study say their rooms have locks on the inside of the door.
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
It's the Long Term Care Facilities mission to ensure the safety and independence of older adults. In order to accomplish their mission, assisted living communities install emergency medical alert systems in rooms of the residents. The medical alert systems provides first-in-class innovations to help residents have access to help 24/7.
Source: 2010 CDC National Survey of Residential Care Facilities Survey (Facility Responses)
In the same survey conducted by CDC (2010), 60% of the resident's room or apartment have an emergency medical alert system installed.
High-quality senior housing offer state of the art amenities, privacy, comfort, and luxuriously designed rooms and apartments for seniors. The variety of settings can range from convenient high-rise apartments near metropolitan centers to campus communities with all the charms of a small town.
Assisted living residences provide more services than independent living communities. They offer a less-expensive, residential approach to delivering many of the same services available in skilled nursing homes, either by employing health-care staff or contracting with home health agencies and other outside professionals.
After seven years of helping her aging parents, Carol Marak has become a dedicated senior care writer. Since 2007, she has been doing the research to find answers to common concerns: housing, aging and health, staying safe and independent, and planning long-term.
- What is Assisted Living?
- Who Lives in Assisted Living?
- Services Provided
- Staff and Administration
- Quiz: What type of care is right for me?
- Talking to a Parent
- Assisted Living Costs
- Ways to Pay for Assisted Living
- Putting Together a Financial Plan
- If You Can't Afford Assisted Living
- Planning Your Social Security to Better Pay for Retirement
- Prescription Drug Assistance
- Choosing an Assisted Living Facility
- Moving Out of the Family Home
- Moving Into an Assisted Living Community
- Resident Activities
- Resident Health
- Medication Management and Adherence Education
- Safety
- How Tech Advanced are Facilities?


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About me
My name is Andrea. I'm 22 years old and I live in central Alabama. I went vegetarian in May of 2003, and have been vegan since May of 2004. I like to theme my food, and I especially love to cook/bake during the holidays! I love all holidays, but my absolute favorite holiday is Halloween. So expect a major overload of Halloween-related posts during the months of September and October! 😀


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Welcome to www.ToyRally.com !!!
to benefit TOYS FOR TOTS"
On Saturday, December 14, 2019, the "South Florida Exotic Car 'TOY RALLY', to benefit Toys for Tots" (aka "Toy Rally") celebrated its 14th anniversary, as it 'took to the streets' for charity, as one of the largest processions of exotic cars and one of the most anticipated exotic car events in the country!!!
Hundreds of exotic cars were driven from the fantastic BB&T Center, home of the Florida Panthers, up to the amazing Goodyear Airship Base, home of the Goodyear Blimp!!
An amazing sight - a caravan of exotic cars stretching miles long, driven by their owners to benefit underprivileged children!! Incredible to see, but even more incredible is the positive impact and difference the Toy Rally makes for the children as a charity event!!
The 2019 Toy Rally smashed all previous records - with over $100 million in exotic cars and record attendance............ but, the most important records were the insanely huge mountain of toys (WOW!!!...... over 4,000 toys!!), which required 2 moving trucks for the USMC to collect them all, combined with a record $100,000+ in cash......all donated to Toys for Tots!! This equates to a LOT of smiles on the faces of kids, and the positive impact it has on their holidays!!
From all of the organizers, sponsors, and especially the kids, we appreciate your participation and support of the Toy Rally!!!
**Advanced registration is required to participate, and space is limited, so please register early!!!**
To register, please click HERE, or on the 'register' tab above
The 'Toy Rally' Mission:
The South Florida Exotic Car Toy Rally is a 100% charity based event, that brings together fellow exotic car enthusiasts for one of the largest gatherings and parades of the world's most exotic cars - all with the purpose of raising toys and cash for Toys For Tots.
Toys For Tots is administered by the United States Marine Corps (USMC), with the initiative of collecting new, unwrapped toy donations, then distributing those toys directly to underprivileged children to put a smile on their faces and brighten their holidays.
** The Toy Rally is proud to be officially recognized, and authorized by the USMC to operate and collect on behalf of Toys for Tots, and to have received the prestigious USMC "Commander's Award" for the difference the Toy Rally makes to the Toys for Tots program. **
How big is the Toy Rally??
Wow, what a parade!! Just to give you an idea of the size of the Toy Rally....this is only about 15-20 cars out of HUNDREDS of cars that stretch over 5 miles long!!
Check out the 2010 Toy Rally video:


text: Cantousent 1,288 Posted November 29, 2012 I was thinking all morning about this, and I had an idea. It's not really original, as some form of it has been floating around in these threads the whole time. The argument is between worship=power and power independent of worship. Obsidz could simply include both ideas, but the plan to accommodate all parties isn't always ideal. It's more important that the game is good than the devs accommodate my ideas. So I reject a simple approach that gives everyone what he wants because it might mean we ultimately don't get the one thing we want: a great game. ...But the argument itself might be beneficial. Many folks, such as Morgulon and somna above, seem to entertain a variety of ideas their own preference notwithstanding. Why not make the world truly vibrant and realistic by putting in competing evidence? It gives an organic source of debate grown straight out of the setting. Even better, don't give it parity. By that, I mean, make the evidence clear and compelling that worship equates to power. Fine. That's a great basis from which to push back at the idea. Then, give some evidence, subtle and difficult to find but equally compelling, that worship need not always equate to power. It's like Newtonian physics and quantum physics. Newtonian physics work well in human time and scale, but there was evidence of something beyond that. By making Worship=power the standard, you're setting up something familiar, giving the number crunchers a reliable way to calculate most of the power, and providing an assumptive framework that functions just fine for the bulk of in-game society. By giving real evidence, albeit difficult to find, to the contrary, you're providing some mystery, giving reason for investigation and debate, and making a whole spread of viable quests. Anyhow, just a thought. I'm already getting into wall of text territory, so I'll leave it at that. 2 Quote Fionavar's Holliday Wishes to all members of our online community: Happy Holidays Join the revelry at the Obsidian Plays channel:Obsidian Plays Remembering tarna, Phosphor, Metadigital, and Visceris. Drink mead heartily in the halls of Valhalla, my friends! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Feeling good about how you look is important to your self-esteem and your self-confidence. If you are self-conscious about your teeth, try to hide your smile, or are plain unhappy with it, you may be interested in some form of adult orthodontic treatments.
There are now options, even for adults, to have their teeth straightened. Dentists are available who specialize in adult orthodontics and, thereby, make the dreams of many people come true. Specifically for adults, there are braces and other orthodontic products which will help align the teeth and bring them into position, faster and with less pain and less time than the type of braces used on children and teens.
As a matter of fact, if you are an adult who is in good physical health, and good oral health, you are probably a good candidate for receiving help through adult orthodontics. You may have put off requesting the help that you should have gotten when you were growing up, believing like most people do that orthodontics are only for kids. The truth is, adults are great orthodontic patients, and have just as much chance at correcting dental problems in this way, as children and teens do.
If you have a problem with teeth alignment, crooked teeth, or an overbite, you may be able to get the correction you need by seeing a cosmetic dentist, or an orthodontist. You can make an appointment for an evaluation, and be shown what types of procedures may help you. Being nervous is normal. One thing you don't need to be nervous about, though, is being seen with braces. Some of the new braces for adults are invisible and will not be obvious, even when you smile.
Other options for adult orthodontics include taking care of the cosmetic end of your teeth with porcelain veneers or dental crowns. Your cosmetic dentist or orthodontist can help you choose the best possible option. He or she can help you achieve your goals for a beautiful smile, nicer looking teeth, and will give you the options you need to change your teeth into something you show with pride.


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Here are some of the other points made by the panelists: The NeGP (National e-Governance Plan) is the cornerstone of the initiatives NeGP is complemented by SWAN (State Wide Area Network) which provides the backbone connectivity across a state The CSCs (Common Service Centres) are the service delivery points for e-Governance Three key challenges: Power, […]
Search Results for "CSI Panel on Affordable Computing "
CSI Panel on Affordable Computing – Part 5
December 3rd, 2010 · 2 Comments
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CSI Panel on Affordable Computing – Part 4
December 2nd, 2010 · 2 Comments
3. Government needs to involve app developers and content providers via a Challenge portal. This was another idea from the Gov 2.0 Summit – that of a Challenge.gov-like portal. "Every government department has some key challenges. They should put them out on a common Challenge.gov.in portal. This will help capture the imagination of Indians. For […]
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CSI Panel on Affordable Computing – Part 3
December 1st, 2010 · No Comments
2. By embracing Open Data and Open Government, we can transform governance in India. I had written about this earlier in the context of the Gov 2.0 Summit Learnings: "What is really needed in India is to make all government data (except that which involves the privacy of an individual or national security) open and […]
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CSI Panel on Affordable Computing – Part 2
November 30th, 2010 · No Comments
Affordable computing has long been an interest area of mine. I have written on the topic extensively over the past 7-8 years. I first experimented with a thin client-thick server in NetCore. Later, those learnings morphed into Novatium, an independent company set up with Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala from IIT-Madras and Ray Stata in Chennai. Novatium […]
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CSI Panel on Affordable Computing – Part 1
November 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Computer Society of India's 45th Annual Convention in Mumbai held last week had a panel on Affordable Computing. I was amongst the nine panelists. The focus of the panel was on seeing how government and industry can work together to forge a new path forward for affordable computing in India. This was the panel […]
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Check Point acquires Liquid Machines for enterprise rights management
Check Point said Liquid Machines' ERM capabilities could bolster its data loss prevention (DLP) offering.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is acquiring enterprise rights management (ERM) vendor Liquid Machines.
Waltham, Mass.-based Liquid Machines has been a longtime vendor in the maturing ERM market. The company specializes in document encryption and content security. Check Point Software sells a variety of unified threat management (UTM) appliances that include network firewall and VPN capabilities. In addition to secure gateways, the company sells endpoint security software which includes antivirus, antispyware and full disk encryption. The company also sells policy management software.
Executives at Check Point and Liquid Machines have obtained the required government and regulatory approvals and the deal is expected to close immediately. According to the Burton Group, in addition to Liquid Machines, the ERM market consists mainly of Adobe Systems Inc., RSA, the security division of EMC Corp. and GigaTrust. Companies have been moving slowly to adopt the technology because it has a direct effect on end users.
Check Point said the technology would help bolster its full disk encryption, VPN and data loss prevention (DLP) products. The company plans to integrate the technology into a future product suite for secure document sharing.
"We've found Liquid Machines to provide the best technology for end-to-end data security and we are looking forward to having it as part of Check Point's security architecture," Gil Shwed, chairman, founder and chief executive officer of Check Point Software Technologies said in a statement.
Check Point has been acquiring companies to build out its portfolio. The company acquired Nokia's security appliance business in 2008. It began selling an appliance for midmarket businesses in 2007. The company also sells an enterprise-grade unified threat management (UTM) appliance called Edge, which runs on hardware from third-party partners like IBM and Crossbeam.
Check Point acquired Zone Labs in 2003 in a $205 million deal that incorporated Zone Labs' endpoint security products such as their Zone Labs Integrity, Zone Alarm Pro products.
~ Robert Westervelt


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It's convenient to run programs like Dolphin or Thunar without having to have keyboard, mouse and monitor connected.
A guide
Accessing graphic programs through ssh (guide)
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China Square Flea market has seemed to be our regular event or meet up among ourselves. In this event, we get to know more collector friends. For those friends and patrons who is reading my blog, thank you for coming to our booth. We will be back soon with different collection for sale. If you have gotten my blog address from our booth, please send me a message or email so that we can get in touch in the near future. My email is email@example.com
Matchboxon kívüliek: Majorette - Ford Fiesta RS WRC
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