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Islam is a very simple religion to understand and practice; it is the religion of nature, or fitrah; or sound constitution that every human was set on. It is the religion that all the Prophets and Messengers of God had preached and taught to people of different nations. Their message was one, "Worship none but God". The Qur'an teaches that all the Prophets and Messengers were Muslims and transmitted this Divine Message, which calls people to submit and commit themselves to their Creator, Sustainer, and Lord. This God is called by Muslims and Arab Christians Allah, and by the Jews and Christians Elohim or Jehovah. He is the same God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (Peace be upon all of them and all the other Prophets). They were all sent by God to teach people how to get to know about Him and to improve their relationship with Him and to show them how to live according to His will. They set the example for all human beings and they were perfect models and guides to be followed and obeyed.
Islam is the natural state accepted by human instinct. It is described as a straight path with no deviation. By nature, humans recognize -and do not like- deviation even if they fall in it. Humans are not evil by nature; they are good, but because of the miss-guidance of Satan they do evil deeds.
The message of Islam is the message of the Qur'an, the Holy Book revealed to Muhammad (S) on the 7th century. The central story of this message is to answer three fundamental and universal questions that all humans ask themselves and others instinctively during their life:
1-Where do we come from? This question tries to find out the origin and what we are really? Are we only physical bodies – matter – or is there something more important than that? Are we souls and bodies? Who is our maker? Were we created or did we evolve from something else? What is life and what is death?
2- Why are we here? Is there a purpose for this life? Why do we have to come out of death and become alive then grow then die again? Why do we have to face problems, sorrows, calamities, ups and downs and feel pain, joy, comfort? If we were created then where is Our Creator and how is He helping us? What is our relationship with God? Why do we have to worship God? Why some have and some don't? Why are there evil things in the world? Is God Just and Merciful?
3- Where are we heading to after this life?Is there another life after death? Is the life of Hereafter better or worse than this one? Why do we have to die? Will there be peace and justice there? Are we responsible for our actions in this world? Are the good ones and the bad ones alike in the Hereafter? What should we do to earn happiness both in this life and Hereafter?
There is an absolute truth that Islam teaches. It is embedded in the following statement:
" إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَ إِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ"
"To Allah we belong and to Him we return!"
This statement answers in a concise manner the above universal questions. It is revealing the consciousness and awareness of the Maker (swt). In the Qur'an we read,
" And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to the patient ones who, when afflicted with calamity, say "Truly! To Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return." They are those on whom are blessed and those who receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones." (2:155-57)
In almost every culture, the concept of righteousness and piety is very often described as the straight way, path, or road. Allah (swt) says,
(فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ)(الروم:30)
"So set your face truly to the religion being upright. The nature in which Allah has made mankind: There is no change in the work wrought by Allah: that is the true religion, but most among mankind do not know" (30:30)
Those, in pre-Islamic times, who did not follow the "majority", which fell in deviation and distortion of the divine teachings – before the time of the prophet-hood of Muhammad (S) – were called "Hanifs" meaning those who are pure and genuine in their belief. They were those who did not like to change God's will by their will. Abraham (P.b.u.h) was one of those "Hanifs". Allah (swt) called Abraham (P.b.u.h) and Muhammad (P.b.u.h.) "hanif" in many places in the Qur'an. Allah always tells to Muhammad (P.b.u.h) and to us to stick to the religion of Abraham (P.b.u.h). For instance we read in one ayah (or verse),
(قُلْ إِنَّنِي هَدَانِي رَبِّي إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ دِينًا قِيَمًا مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ) (الأنعام:161)
"Say (O Muhammad): verily, my Lord has guided me to a way that is straight, a religion of right, the path followed by Abraham the true in faith, and he certainly did not join gods with Allah" (6:161)
Every practicing Muslim repeats at least seventeen times a day this du'aa, or supplication, when praying,
(اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ) (الفاتحة:6)
" Show us –O Allah- the straight path" (1:6)
In fact, the central story of Islam is to stick to the straight path that Allah drew for people and not to deviate as Satan, the enemy of God, promised to do when he said to Allah,
(قَالَ فَبِمَا أَغْوَيْتَنِي لَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ ثُمَّ لَآتِيَنَّهُمْ مِنْ بَيْنِ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِمْ وَعَنْ أَيْمَانِهِمْ وَعَنْ شَمَائِلِهِمْ وَلَا تَجِدُ أَكْثَرَهُمْ شَاكِرِينَ) (الأعراف:17-16)
"Because you have thrown me out, I will lie in and wait for them on your straight path, then I will assault them from before them and behind them, from their right and their left. You will not find in most of them gratitude for your mercies" (7:16-7)
Once a man came to the Messenger of Allah (S) and said, "O Messenger of Allah, tell me something about Islam, which I can ask of no one but you". He (S) said:
"يا رَسول الله، قُلْ لي في الإِسْلامِ قَولاً لا أَسْأَلُ عنهُ أَحَداً غَيْرَكَ. قال: "قُلْ: آمَنْتُ بِاللهِ، ثُمّ اسْتَقِمْ". رواه مسلم
"Say: I believe in Allah and thereafter be upright" Muslim*


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|Made from Cherry and available in these finishes (from left to right):Natural Cherry, Russet Cherry, Autumn Cherry, Walnut stain on Cherry, Mahogany stain on Cherry, and Ebony stained Cherry. Please visit the showroom to see the stain samples.
Upholstered seats available in Muslin, Black or Beige fabric, or Customer's Own Material. Also available with scooped wooden seat (at additional cost). Wood seat is about an inch lower.
Greenguard certified finish.
Made in Vermont, USA

subset: commoncrawl


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It is fair to say that Danny McGuire is one of the very best players to have graced Super League. The competition's record try scorer with 259 at the time of writing, he has also played his part in Leeds Rhinos' rise to being the most successful club in the Super League era having featured in all eight of the West Yorkshire team's Grand Final triumphs. Indeed, he has won the Harry Sunderland Trophy twice in that time, including in Leeds' 2017 triumph.
That, however, was his final game playing for the team whose academy he graduated from and made over 400 appearances for. July 2017 saw him sign a deal with Hull Kingston Rovers – then still in the second tier – to start in 2018 so, after the Grand Final, he crossed from West to East Yorkshire. Already, he has faced his former team twice and, when he generously gave up time to meet Get 'em Onside, he admitted that it was rather peculiar initially.
"The first time was strange," McGuire said, adding that "I was there that long and the club sort of becomes your extended family." Having joined the club at the age of 12, that's perhaps not surprising. Obviously going back to Leeds to face his old teammates at Elland Road in the season's second match was odd for the 35 year old – and his family, all of whom are Leeds fans – but, when it came to last month's reverse fixture at Craven Park, he explained that it didn't seem as odd. "It was fine really. I'd already done it before and knew what to expect. Once I'd cross the white line, all I want to do is go out there and win and play well for my team mates. They're the ones I work with all the time and put the hard graft in with."
Speaking of that recent 18-20 reverse to the Rhinos at Craven Park, McGuire explained his belief that the team were unfortunate in defeat. "It was a bit of a disappointing result. We were unlucky to be fair, we were in the contest all game. We had a sin-bin, let in a couple of soft tries and have loads of chances to score but Leeds just scrambled well." That scrambling defence is something that the East Leeds junior was a part of before his move and he admitted that "their defence is really good. The work ethic and the desperation to not let teams beat you is a hard trait to get into a team but Leeds have it. My time at Leeds we had that in bundles and the lads there now are carrying that on which is good for the club – but not for us when we played them!"
Now with Hull KR, McGuire spoke about how the move East came about last season. "I had a bit of an inkling that it might be a good thing to do something different – for me and the club – and then, when I spoke to Gary, they weren't sure about offering me a contract. By the first meeting I knew that it was right to try something new." Understandably difficult for him to leave the club after so long, McGuire thanked Gary Hetherington for his support, and said that "I've had a brilliant relationship with him and the club all the way through [my career] and once I told Gary that was my decision he was fine by it, he understood my situation and it happened pretty quickly after that, really." Soon after, he spoke to Jamie Peacock and within a week I'd signed for Rovers. "It was tough at the time as I always thought I'd only play at Leeds, I was pretty blinkered," he admitted, continuing that "I didn't really look into opportunities to play elsewhere because I was happy but, sitting here now, I'm really happy and pleased that I made the decision. I'm enjoying what I'm doing in a different environment and a different challenge – it's been good so far."
That relationship with Jamie Peacock is one which was pivotal in McGuire making the move, as the former Leeds half-back explained, but also confirmed that meeting with the Robins' boss helped him make the decision. "I sat with JP and I met Tim Sheens in Hull. At the point there wasn't a guarantee that they would be back into Super League but they said that the contract was there regardless. I spoke to Tim and pretty much decided that that was the right thing to do. His experience, his standing and his achievements in the game… I was looking forward to working with someone like that and to learn from them. If I ever go into coaching, to play under and learn from somebody like that is a big thing. It seemed a good fit and I knew quite a lot of the boys there; Scrutes [Nick Scruton], Clarky [Chris Clarkson], Shaun Lunt and Robbie [Mulhern, all from their time with McGuire in Leeds] so I knew a fair few there. The fact that the latter has recently signed a new long-term deal suggests that Hull KR are a team on the up, McGuire agreeing; "they've got some ambition, it just needs a bit of time to regroup and get a bit more Super League experience. That won't happen overnight but there's people working there that are ambitious and that want to be successful."
Plenty of Rhinos fans were questioning at the end of the 2017 campaign whether there was any way McGuire could stay on at the club he had served since his 2001 debut. Last season, of course, culminated with a remarkable 24-6 victory over Castleford Tigers in the Super League Grand Final and McGuire, as well as scoring two drop goals, crossed for two tries and won the Harry Sunderland trophy. Speaking of whether there was any wish from his side to stay on, the player himself said "once I'd made that decision [to move to Hull KR], no matter how things went, I was going at the end of the season. Ideally, for me, you want to be playing and winning at Old Trafford in your last game for a club. If you could write a fairytale ending, that would be it. At the time, I was determined just to enjoy my last few months with the Rhinos and give it my all really. I never thought about staying, I'm a pretty honest guy and once I'd made my decision I was always going to follow through with it." Speaking about his time at the club, it is plain to see that there are parts of it that McGuire misses but he admitted that "there was never any thought of changing my mind. I had a great time at Leeds, twenty-odd years at the club but I knew deep down that I needed to do something different to challenge myself. I know I have a lot left in me and that I can keep playing." His final game was, of course, made all the sweeter due to the fact it was a victory over 2017's great entertainers, Castleford, a team who had been enjoying a great run against the Rhinos. "They had the upper hand on us!" he admitted, adding that "it was nice to beat them after they had beaten us that many times but they had a great year. Honestly, I did feel a bit disappointed for them after the game but we got the win!"
Contrasting his approach to playing with Leeds and now with KR, McGuire suggested there wasn't an awful lot different. "I still do everything that I used to do at Leeds. I'm quite professional in my approach to things and you hope that that will rub off on some of the other players so, no, I haven't really changed anything," he articulated. "We've been in some great contests this year and I think we've only really had one game where we haven't been in the contest for large parts of it [St Helens], but even then the scoreline blew out at the end," he added. "We could have quite easily beat Leeds twice, should have beaten Catalans away… those results have gone against us." Despite their lowly position in the table, McGuire is of the belief that there is still hope for the club to reach the top eight come the split after 23 matches. "We've got a good squad together there, a lot of lads who work hard for each other. It's possibly just a lack of Super League experience that's missing, that know-how of how to close games down when you're in front and to not panic. I think we are gradually getting better and put in a good performance against Leeds. Although we are sat second bottom, there is still a lot of confidence in the camp and I think the lads know that we are all giving it everything – that's all you can ask for," he explained, confident that it won't be long before results start to come for the East Hull team.Embed from Getty Images
When Get 'em Onside met McGuire, it was days after the premiere of the As Good As It Gets documentary, the general focus of which was the club's sterling achievements of completing the treble of Challenge Cup, League Leaders' Shield and Grand Final. A remarkable feat unquestionably but, interestingly, McGuire revealed that he doesn't feel that it was his best season in rugby league. "If you'd asked me before last year I'd have said yes, you can't beat that. But, for what happened last year [winning the Grand Final], for me personally, that was my best year, because of what happened in 2016," he said, adding that "being my first year as captain, getting injured and the team doing poor… we didn't play well when we had chances, it wasn't great. To come back from that and then doing what we did last year, I take a lot of pride in that." As the team struggled following the departures of Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai at the end of the 2015, there were plenty of critics of McGuire's, as he revealed. "A few people were saying 'he's done, he's not going to play again'… to be able to come back and play pretty much all year and to go on to win the Grand Final was a big achievement." Speaking of that final which saw Leeds topple the team who had previously beat them in their last eight encounters and their build up to the final, McGuire said "we felt like we would always get confidence towards the back end of the year. We ran Cas close at their place [38-24, 8/9/17] and got some real confidence out of that game and we found our feet. When you get to a final you have an opportunity and, with our experience of big games, we believed we would come through the other side."
The Rhinos documentary showcases the work ethic and teamwork synonymous with Leeds teams over the last decade or so and, having moved East, McGuire hopes to be able to have a positive impact and bring that effort to Hull KR. "You have to get competitive and determined people into a group to get the work ethic, it can take a bit of time to do but it's getting there," he said. A lot of that 'Golden Generation' came through the Rhinos youth system to become some of the best players in the country and, speaking of the youngsters at KR who he feels can make a real impact, he agreed with Get 'em Onside's suggestion that former Leeds youngster Robbie Mulhern – "he's been top class all year" – and half-back Chris Atkin are looking promising. "Robbie's been class all year. It's good that he's signed the new deal [until the end of 2021], he was probably getting interest from elsewhere so it's good that he's signed," he revealed. "I think that Chris, from having very little experience at all and playing for Swinton a couple of years ago, has done really, really well," he suggested, further adding that "Matty Marsh is another one. He's been on dual-reg at York and he is really talented. He just needs a bit of time. There are a fair few good young players; George Lawler could be a really good player, Will Oakes, Will Dagger, Joe Cator, Brad Clavering… there's loads of players at KR who are young and could potentially play for us for a number of years."
Coming to the club with huge experience, McGuire has found himself as an informal mentor to the young halves at the club who, understandably, would be keen to learn from the former Great Britain and England international. "My focus is on myself and playing well week in, week out but I feel like I do help the younger players. I always find that I get on well with other half-backs, while they are competing for the same position. I've worked with Matty and Chris and we're always talking about things. Hopefully they feel that training alongside me and working with me is good for them – they keep me on my toes so that's good as well," he articulated, joking that "I can't be giving all my tricks away – not yet!"
Nearing the end of an illustrious career as a player, the way McGuire spoke about current boss Tim Sheens and how he has aspects to learn from suggests that he may have an eye on coaching in the future. "I'm still a bit unsure but I did a bit of stuff at Leeds with the commercial team and I enjoy the corporate side of things but I think I feel that I'd be a good coach. I've worked with some great coaches like Tony [Smith], Brian McLennan and Brian McDermott, Powelly [Daryl Powell] at the start of his career and Tim now. There's some of the game's best coaches there," he said, further adding that "if you can bring all the good points and get rid of the not-so-good points and put that together with your own stamp it could work."
What is plain from meeting the former Rhinos number six is that McGuire is a man who, while knowing he has had a remarkable career and is one of the best British players to play the game, is a rugby league fan and is willing to talk about his views on the game. Get 'em Onside was lucky enough to meet him and it was a privilege to spend some time meeting and talking to 'Magsy'.Embed from Getty Images


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Check out the recording from our career panel on April 24th!
Join us for our first inaugural science policy career panel on April 24th! The panel will be from 3:30-5pm in MEB 3110. A networking reception will follow from 5-6pm in the first floor lobby. The panelists are
Robbie Barbero, Ph.D. – Former Assistant Director for Biological Innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Obama administration. Current Chief Business Officer at Ceres Nanosciences, Inc. AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Ph.D. in Biological Engineering from MIT.
Joel Baumgart, Ph.D. – Program Manager of Research Development in the Office of VP for Research at UVa. Fulbright, AAAS, and Mirzayan fellow alumni. Ph.D. in Neuroscience from UVa.
Chris Sasiela, Ph.D. – Regulatory Specialist at National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from University of Maryland.
Garrick Louis, Ph.D. – Associate Professor in Systems and Information Engineering at UVa. AAAS Policy Fellow alumni at the Environmental Protection Agency. Jefferson Fellow at the State Department. Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon.
Directions to the Medical Education Building can be found here. ***Please note: you must have a health system ID in order to enter the building. We will have someone available to let you in the main door, on Jeanette Lancaster Way, before the event, but we will not be able to let you in after 3:30.
If you plan to attend the career panel or networking reception, please register here!


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MWC 15 Special
more than three years of development, Modeo today announced the Beta launch of a
live, commercial quality mobile TV service in New York City. The Modeo beta
service includes live video content from leading network programmers such as Fox
News, Discovery Channel and others, as well as streaming audio content from
Music Choice, to Modeo Mobile TV Smartphones. Initial distribution of the Modeo
Mobile TV Smartphones to beta service participants began in the last week of
2006 and will continue throughout the first quarter of 2007.
In addition, Modeo plans to deliver live broadcast signals from the Las Vegas
Convention Center during the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
Visitors to CES in Las Vegas will have an opportunity to preview Modeo's service
and Smartphone functionality in demonstrations with Microsoft Corporation and
HTC, the developer and
manufacturer of Modeo's first Windows Mobile-based Smartphone but also IBM will showcase the new Modeo
Mobile TV Smartphone. Modeo will also deliver live broadcast signals and
demonstrations during the Mobile DTV Alliance press and analyst event.
Modeo will stage its New York City beta activities in phases throughout the
first quarter of 2007. Activities include the initiation of a formal beta test
group that is scheduled to commence in late January. To further showcase the DVB-H
mobile TV opportunity, Modeo is offering service to a select group of wireless
carriers, reporters, industry analysts, financial analysts and content
providers. Modeo anticipates several hundred users will participate during the
course of the Modeo beta service.
Modeo is working with several key partners as part of this milestone event
for the emerging mobile TV sector. Centercode Inc. is managing Modeo's formal
beta test group activities. GCR Custom Research LLC (formerly Gartner Custom
Research) is providing consumer use and service analysis. M:Metrics is providing
Modeo the capability to capture actual user log data through the sophisticated
measurement methodology of M:Meter. Building on Modeo's previous trialing
activities, participants in Modeo's New York beta service will provide valuable
feedback on a variety of parameters, including programming content, coverage
quality, ease of use of the Modeo Mobile TV Smartphone device and overall use
case scenarios. Modeo expects to use this feedback to evaluate network
distribution options with wireless carriers.
"Modeo is pleased to have this opportunity to showcase our progress
toward delivering on the promise of mobile TV," commented Michael Ramke,
Modeo's recently appointed president and former vice president of marketing
and business development. "By moving beyond technical trial efforts and into
true commercial grade network service, we continue to position Modeo as an
integral player in the dynamic mobile TV space. Participants in our New York
beta service will have a front row seat in the evolution of mobile TV."
Modeo is a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) pioneer: In 2003 Modeo
secured, through an affiliate, unencumbered spectrum rights through a Federal
Communications Commission auction and began conducting technical and consumer
trials of its mobile TV service in Pittsburgh in 2004.
"The Modeo DVB-H Smartphone is a pioneering advancement in the world of
mobile communications and entertainment," said Todd Achilles, vice president
of sales and marketing for HTC America. "HTC is extremely pleased to be
working with Modeo on this significant milestone in the evolution of
wireless entertainment."
Cheers ~ Arne
Article Source
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Chapter Guide to the Dissertation
I'm hoping some of you will read some of the dissertation. I realize that's asking a lot. It's a huge, academic document. You're busy. It has many parts. You might be interested in some (but which?). So, I prepared a short chapter guide to show where the goodies are and a slideshow (it's bigger in the guide) to entice you to read, baby, read!


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Often times this is one of the hardest principles.
There are things in my life that I look at and say "This is way too hard to follow through with" or "why can't this just be a little easier?" As human beings we often tell ourselves we can't do certain things or that we are not good enough. Sometimes we think that tasks take too much time and we would rather just have it right now! Sometimes it is extremely hard to follow through, because many goals take time, consistency and a whole lot of patience.
God wants us to work hard so that we can learn and grow.
What if I was given a degree today without having to spend the time and money? I think I would be kind of happy for a minute, but I don't think I would appreciate it as much. Better yet, if my husband were handed all of the knowledge he needed and a degree in medicine today (again that would be awesome for a minute), would this really teach him anything? God wants us to experience the principle of hard work. He wants us to experience challenges and he wants to teach us patience. That is why being handed everything is not the way he works.
I am slowly learning how important work is and that we can do anything with God's help. God has given us gifts, talents and abilities that are far greater than we could ever imagine. It may take time, dedication, and sincere prayer to find and develop these gifts. It is the process that refines us and not necessarily the end goal.
God will help us through the process and refine us
When looking at a task or desire, Sometimes we feel like we don't have much to offer, but a loving Heavenly Father knows that this is not the case. I think that it is very appropriate to ask God for help with any inadequacies we may feel. When it comes to inadequacies, I have often found that when I compare myself with others, the hope of accomplishment plummets and goals become overwhelming. Look to a loving Heavenly Father rather than the false reality of someone else's perfect life.
Anything is possible with God in our lives.
The only person that God will compare us with is our own selves. He knows us individually, he knows our hearts, and there is no need to compare yourself to one single person on this planet. It is extremely appropriate to ask God any and every minute of the day to help you in every aspect of your life. Some may think that God is too great to listen to such a small person. God loves us more than we will ever comprehend (at least while we are on this earth) and he will listen and help us in every thought and every need if we just ask.
Since this has turned into a rambling of more than I thought I would get into, here is what I am basically saying....
Work hard and enjoy the now.
Do not waste another moment comparing
spend the time researching, contemplating and pondering decisions
make prayerful decisions,
work hard and work in steps.
Remember that God loves us and wants us to succeed.


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HOME AUV Page
In October 2009, the Association of Ukrainians in Noble Park and the Ukrainian Community School took an active part in the festivities associated with Noble Park's 100th anniversary celebrations. After a street march down the main street of Noble Park performances by the AUV choir 'Homin', Noble Park women's trio 'Borysfen', Melbourne dance group "Verchovyna" and the Ukrainian Community School students were thoroughly enjoyed by the public.
A great day was had by one and all as you will see from the slide show below...
Photos Picasa >


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Nervous that you may pick the wrong outsourcing vendor?
Of course, you ought to be (because you'd hear more horror stories than fairy tales)!
We'll be your wise counsel. A real human will assist you in finding the right vendor, no matter how long it takes and you don't need to pay us a penny!
I just wanted to thank everyone for all the work they've done for our company to date. We at Ward-Allen Publications have been making connections and setting the ground work for future release of the SIMS Guide mobile App. Your dedication to our vision has been the most inspirational experience that I have ever seen in my years of doing business. I am ready to share our success with everyone involved and will never forget the support you have shown our company.
(You'll be contacted by an advisor from ContractIQ. He'll help you decide if TBL Development Firm is right for your project.)
© 2018 ContractIQ Terms of Service Privacy Policy


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Startup Weekend company CloudMine is on a roll, and are offering services that help other Startup Weekend teams. We had the chance to ask the CloudMine team a few questions about the magic of good team chemistry and how they've dealt with the inevitable twists and turns in the road to entrepreneurship.
Startup Weekend: Did you know either of your co-founders before Startup Weekend? If so, what led you to attend Startup Weekend? If not, what was it about the trio that worked well together and allowed you to trust each other.
Brendan, Marc, and Ilya (team CloudMine): Nope! I met Marc at the first Startup weekend in Philadelphia. I pitched the original idea for CloudMine (which we no longer are doing, see below) which was selected as a team, but there were not many mobile developers there, so I joined another team. Marc had already committed to another team, but really liked the idea and so we agreed to talk after the weekend was over. The original CloudMine idea resonated with something that Marc was working on on the side, so he was interested in talking more. We spoke about the idea and him coming on board sporadically over the next couple of months. I met Ilya at a Philly Startup Leaders networking event with similar results: the original CloudMine idea resonated with something that he had been thinking of working on, so he joined the conversation. Marc and Ilya got along very well very quickly. I think for all parties involved, it was clear how sharp the other parties were, how passionate they were about the space, and how well we interacted with each other. All of us could easily imagine working with one another.
SW: What was the biggest pivot CloudMine has seen? Was this an expected change or were you resistant to it/did it catch you off guard? How did you execute the pivot?
CloudMine: When CloudMine started we were essentially working on what is now iCloud, but for non-Apple platforms. We believe that there was no reason for Apple devices to be the only ones with elegant syncing and data curation options. At the time, even Apple did not have wireless syncing, which seemed like a no-brainer with the current state of technology. As we began to develop our solution to this problem we would occasionally run into mobile developers in the tech community in Philadelphia and they would get REALLY excited about using our platform to store stuff for their mobile apps. This happened 10-12 times before we realized that those were the ONLY people who had gotten that excited about our idea, so we pushed the pause button on development and took two weeks to stalk every mobile developer we could find, especially ones not already connected to our network. We talked to 45 mobile developers over those two weeks. Every single one of them was excited about the possibility of a platform that would replace the need to write web services and build infrastructure for their apps. The market had spoken. We scrapped the B2C layer we were working on and begin preparing the new version of our platform: we had become a B2D company (D = developer).
SW: We constantly hear about how hard entrepreneurship is–and it certainly is!–but what have you most enjoyed about your journey together and with CloudMine? When have you had the most fun?
CloudMine: None of us would argue against your point that entrepreneurship is hard. The fun part for us is working on a project we are passionate about. We work crazy hours and tackle hard problems but none of it FEELS hard or long when we are working on it. We say things like "where have the last six weeks gone?," but never are bothered by 12+ hour days. Time flies when you are having fun, as they say! We are really passionate about building a tool for other developers. Mobile back-end infrastructure and web services are typically written in a very similar way every time, take time, and cost money. There are also people who don't know Ruby, Python, or PHP who can't deploy an app by themselves. We enable knowledgeable developers to release apps faster and cheaper and newbie developers potentially the chance to deploy apps AT ALL. This is pretty cool. Some of our most fun has come from helping developers with their apps and see the cool things that people build on us at hackathons and startup weekends.
About CloudMine
Stop writing backends for your mobile apps. CloudMine is a platform that eliminates the need for mobile app developers to build custom backend solutions for their mobile apps. Development of server-side components is expensive, repetitive, and distracts from perfecting your app. Let us handle it so you can focus on making your app awesome.


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Schedule of Events
Feast on the Street brings people together around a half-mile long dining table in downtown Phoenix, transforming First Street into a pedestrian promenade in celebration of food and art in the desert. This free public event is a community project initiated by the ASU Art Museum, Roosevelt Row CDC and the artists Clare Patey and Matthew Moore.
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM - Pre-Feast Bike Fest
Ride in style before Feast on the Street! Bikes, rollerblades, skateboards and walking shoes are welcome to enjoy the early morning First Street closure to car traffic between Moreland & Taylor. Participants will receive a Market Buck towards any purchase at the Phoenix Public Market.
2:15 PM – Event Opening Salad Toss
Join us in the Feast's opening event, the community salad toss. Guests gather round a recipe of fresh, local ingredients tossed parachute style in a massive tarp bringing the community together to make a tasty dish. After tossing, head over to the public market for the recipe and salad tastings from Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel's Chef Brian Archibald.
2:30 PM – Food Stories
The Arizona Storytellers Project will present a series of true, first-person stories at a special storytelling table where the public will be invited to sit and hear from a funny, charming and otherwise wildly engaging community teller. Five storytellers will share 5- to 8-minute stories on the topic of gathering around the dinner table. Stories will start every half hour beginning at 2:30.
Engaging food stories are told 2:30, 3:00, 3:30, 4:00 and 4:30 at the Southwest corner of First Street and Roosevelt.
3:00 PM - Beer Garden Stage
Tobie Milford
3:00 PM – Compost Demonstration
Learn how to do your own composting through demonstrations by ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability using compostable material from the Feast. The demonstration area will have information from the Worm Whisperer, Blue Hound Kitchen & Cocktails, Bokashi Evolution and Keep Phoenix Beautiful. There will also be information about upcoming Downtown Phoenix Spring Cleaning Week, April 22nd to 27th. ASU's Zero Waste Ambassadors and members of the Greater Phoenix Zombie Community will be roving the event to help Feast guests determine if their waste is compostable, recyclable or trash.
Compost demonstrations are held at 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 on the East side of First Street South of Garfield.
3:00 PM – Food Stories (See Description Above)
3:15 PM – Mobile Garden Parade
Community gardens, farms, school groups and those who simply have a love for growing food put their garden on wheels and join in the Mobile Gardens Parade to take place along the entire ½ mile span of the Feast. A mobile garden is any sort of garden that is movable and can be transported easily. Examples include gardens in wheelbarrows, bike baskets, hats, trucks/trailers, buckets, backpacks, grocery bags, and wagons. The community is challenged to be creative and think outside of the planter!
3:30 PM – Food Stories (See Description Above)
3:30 PM - Beer Garden Stage
Bears of Manitou
4:00 PM – Compost Demonstrations (See Description Above)
4:00 PM – Beer Garden Stage
Bad Cactus Brass Band
4:00 PM – Food Stories (See Description Above)
4:30 PM – Food Stories (See Description Above)
4:30 PM – Ghazaal Beledi Belly Dancers – Main Stage Entertainment (Beer Garden)
Expand the theme of nurturing one's body, not just through food, but through physical activity, that also happens to be a lot of fun.
5:00 PM – Compost Demonstration (See Description Above)
5:00 PM - Beer Garden Stage
Mr. Muud & Mr Gold
5:30 PM - Beer Garden Stage
Renegade Stringband
6:00 PM - Formal Seating
Imagine a wave-like toast that memorializes the nearly 2,000 people seated around the table together captured by a south to north traveling boom truck from 6:05 – 6:10 PM. Where will you sit?
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Beer Garden Stage
The Haymarket Squares
7:00 PM – 7:45 PM – Beer Garden Stage
Chica Dust
7:33 PM - Sunset Toast
This time marks the official sunset of April 13, 2013 to be acknowledged by a formal toast reconnecting urban dwellers with the critical importance of the sun's changing position and schedule to agricultural life.
8:00 PM – 8:45 PM – Beer Garden Stage
Dry River Yacht Club
2:00 PM – 9:00 PM - Dine With Us
With the celebration of desert foods, the Feast highlights local restaurants and food trucks. More than 20 of the Valley's best will be serving up the communities favorite eats. Four Peaks Brewing and Lumberyard Ale will feature handcrafted Arizona beers in the family-friendly CityScape Beer Garden area.
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Seed Stories
Feast on the Street brings together a number of elements, partners and projects that are building our awareness and appreciation of the richness and diversity of seeds, genetic diversity of plants and the deep indigenous agricultural history of the arid lands of Arizona through fun and interactive elements. One of those elements includes the interactive, multi-media library of the Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station where audio interviews of guests will be conducted. Be sure to bring your seed stories!
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Native Crafts
What do palm frond weaving, living crowns, natural dyes, paper making, and bean/seed art all have in common? They'll all be available to try at the Feast! First Street will be filled with several "craft and creation" areas where crafting "tools" come solely from plants and edibles in the desert. Some projects can be taken with you, others will become part of community art pieces. Opportunities to take the your new found skills home will be available by downloading how-to instructions from the QR Codes posted at the event.
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Native Flavors - Mesquite Bean Flour
Gain a new respect and love for some very special Arizona beans. With the help of Valley Permaculture Alliance, learn about the benefits of native mesquite trees and their beans by tasting, feeling and grinding your own flour. This sweet, naturally gluten free "flour" is fantastic for baking, cooking and for beverages, like tea and coffee. The milling and harvest cycle will be demonstrated along with tasting demos. Click here for recipies using mesquite bean flour.
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM - Solar Ovens
See the wide range of ways you can cook with the sun from an insulated box cooker, campaign sign oven, a window shade oven, and a parabolic cooker that will amaze you. Participants can build their own campaign sign oven for $15 or a cardboard funnel cooker for free.
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Food Memories
Phoenix based artist Melinda Bergman will be interacting with guests to illustrate food themed conversations taking place in the moment. She will be using materials taken from the event itself to visually tell food stories. A gallery of these illustrations will be uploaded online in real time, as they are created. Previous work of hers has been influenced by the nature of storytelling, using this idea to ask questions about contemporary life.
2:00 PM – 6:00 PM – Informational Booths
Learn more about your community, sustainability and food in the desert from the following organizations.
Gardenfly is bringing all local gardeners together to share the knowledge and make gardening easier. Founder, Corey Abramowitz, will be at the booth with a Master Gardener to answer questions, sign people up for the free Gardenfly service, hold a raffel and show a video.
Spring Cleaning Week, presented by Downtown Phoenix Recycles:
Downtown Phoenix Recycles will collecting recyclable items for the "I recycle Phoenix Street Sale" event on April 27th, to benefit the beautification of Downtown Phoenix. Learn about what items they will collect, like harder to recycle items such as electronics, and participate anytime between April 22 through the 27th.
CO-OPhx will be providing information about our community events.The Spring Swap PHX is a clothing swap, clothing drive and community shopping occasion on April 21st. Also presenting the all new Conscious Cooking event, a raw food event of cooking, learning and eating.
Chow Locally:
Chow Locally works with dozens of local, sustainable producers to offer a pay-as-you-go subscription to a weekly box of fresh, local vegetables. Learn about how to get your own "Chow Share," and how local food hubs help to grow our economy.
Hat Cloud:
A cloud of white hats floats above and across the half-mile length of the Feast on the Street. Gifted to festivalgoers, these hats are meant to celebrate our coming together around a sharing of food and to evoke notions of service to ourselves and others, of nostalgia, and of play. There are three simple hat designs: watch for the orange Meet-Me Hats and join us at the times and locations noted on the sides; engage in a little Hat Chat play, in both English and Spanish, and make certain to get your picture taken; or pick up a refashioned hat with a brim from the Shade-Wish Project. You'll get some needed shade and a fortune for the day, for our cities, or for our lives in the desert. Keep your hat as a souvenir or return it to be re-fashioned into another work of art.
Vynnie the Gardener:
Find Vynnie The Gardener at the Gardenfly booth. There will be a demonstration every half hour on "better living through gardening" and how everyone can grow their own vegetables. Learn about the importance of creating more community around food, be it around the dinner table, in the lunchroom, or even across the Internet. But most specifically, learn where our food comes from - the garden.


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Frequency and modal analysis
Often it is beneficial or even necessary, to identify the eigenfrequencies and modes of a structure. By using Abaqus, K&I has been able to verify the structural design on several projects, where rotating machinery is supported on a concrete foundation. When combining manufacture specific equipment with foundation designs and soil properties, unique physical conditions occur, that requires structural verification on a project specific basis.
Modeling the foundation geometry, stiffness of the machinery and including the site-specific soil conditions it has been possible for out engineers to verify if the system eigenfrequencies are well outside of the operating frequencies of the rotating equipment. Velocities at critical points in the model was extracted and compared with the manufacture specific limits accordingly.
Brigg – See project
Snetterton – See project


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Hidden in the Southeast Ohio hills, idealists young and old try to realize a fantasy many dream of, pushing back against our ever-increasing reliance on technology.
She said "OH, I wouldn't charge you anything to stay in that house," and I can understand why. But, it was free. We got to stay here and save up money to pay for the yurt. A yurt originally came from Mongolia. Basically, it's a pretty simple lattice wall that is collapsible, which is why it's so mobile. There's a tension wire around the top that secures to the door frame in the front. All of the rafters secure to the tension wire with a dome at the top which was traditionally the fire hole. It'll be more permanent eventually but it still leaves a really small footprint. I wanted something warm and wood and inviting.
Ross and Kurt have done an amazing job figuring out this spring.- we'll have running water pretty soon. It's an exciting thing.
There are sometimes six of us that live in the house. There's Ross and Kurt and I that stay there all the time and Lara and Ludwig who sometimes stay in town and sometimes stay in the country.
I'm really excited to be a parent. It's a lot of work but it's what I was expecting. We're both very excited to teach her things that we are just not learning later on in life- about plants and animals and living on land and raising your own food. Stuff that we really wish we would have grown up with. Yeah, we're really looking forward to that. She's about the cutest thing I've ever seen too, which is good because even when she cries it's like "What can I do to help this little being and how can I comfort her and just help her grow?"
We definitely try to incorporate growing our own food and animals as best as we can, in addition to gathering things that are naturally found. We'd like to put in some serious vegetable gardens as well.
I know that here are people of like mind that are doing this- I guess people that are willing to leave less of a footprint in their relationship with nature, and their relationship to the land that they live on. People that are willing to give up a few luxuries to co-habitat a little less aggressively, I would say.
MORE thrive CONTENT


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Jewelry Supply!
Two of the most precious metals are used in the jewelry business – silver and gold. These metals are highly sought after, which may turn purchasing jewelry into quite the investment. Knowing what type of jewelry to gift your loved one will make the investment well worth it. Jewelry Supply is dedicated to showing you a selection of jewelry that is well worth the investment and perfect for the one you love.
Check out latest information found on the blog posted below!


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To help you customize a book that fits your life, you can add additional Tessera pages. You can capture the experience of adopting a child from a foreign country, or the details of your Destination Wedding. Find the specialized Tessera Memory Book Insert pack that completes your book. Some people buy several inserts, others don't buy any. It's all about making it yours. On average, Tessera sells two inserts pack with each Memory Book.
I am having difficulty putting my book back together after I added my inserts. Are there instructions?
They say a pictures is worth a thousand words so we decided to show you the steps. Click here for step by steps with pictures!
You need to push the two ends of the screw post together to create the friction to unscrew them – otherwise you'll end up turning the entire post and not unscrewing them. If you have one of those rubber kitchen gadgets used to open jars, that usually does the trick for more stubborn screw posts.
First, make a wholesale account on our Wholesale Registration Page. After your account is approved, you can order any number of books on our Wholesale Ordering Page.


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Silent Date – Without words
It does not always have to be in spoken words if you want to get to know each other. The silent date is silent. One resorts to other means of communication.
Speechless does not mean wordless
At the Silent Date sit the two Flirtpartner opposite – similar to the Speed Date. Their conversation takes place by slip of paper and pen, supported by facial expressions and sign language. What sounds boring at first glance, in reality proves a high fun factor. Non-verbal communication overcomes some shyness. Anyone who has difficulty expressing their feelings, who does not dare ask intimate questions, clearly benefits from the Silent Date. So already good foundation stones are laid for a later meeting.
The difficulties with Speechless Date
Silent dating is not for people who are at loggerheads with spelling and grammar. A lack of written expression is counterproductive and discourages the opposite. Likewise, the typeface can have a decisive influence on sympathy or rejection. Even if time is of the essence, you should seek a readable font. However, not necessarily written only.
Creative people rely on small drawings or share in short comics. Here the smile of the other is almost guaranteed. And anyone who does not feel like writing in the course of the meeting simply communicates with facial expressions and gestures.
discussion topics
Just as with other dates, classic things are also queried here. You can do written small-talk, for example, to inquire about the job or the hobbies of others. Too deep conversation content is not suitable and at Silent Date also not practicable. One may also like to incorporate humor and compliments. However, the latter should not be applied too thick. It is important to avoid clumsy comments. They now unnecessarily destroy the sizzling tension that arises fast on the Silent Date.


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We believe in striving to achieve positive, long lasting results
HRDC is governed by a 15 member Board of Directors with a tripartite structure representing customers and the community, public officials, and local government and private sector. One-third of the members are elected public officials currently holding office, or their designated representatives. One-third of the members are low-income individuals or representatives of the low-income sector in the community. The remaining one-third represent business, industry, labor, education, and other major groups of interest in the community. Members are solicited from the respective sectors and are asked to submit a letter of application. Board members review applications and appoint members to fill vacancies.
Board of Director Job Description
David Kack – Board Chair
Public Sector Representative
Western Transportation Institute- MSU
Winner: Prospera's 2015 Economic Leadership Award
To view award presentation, click HERE
Gene Townsend – Vice Chair
Public Sector Representative
City of Three Forks
Mitch Bradley
Community Representative
Heeb's Grocery
Ron Brey
Community Representative
Greater Gallatin Homeless Action Coalition
Chris Budeski
Private Sector Representative
Madison Engineering
Scott Malloy
Community Representative
Montana Healthcare Foundation
Al Maurillo
Public Sector Representative
Park County
Kris Moos
Private Sector Representative
Moos Financial Services
Pierre Martineau
Public Sector Representative
Gallatin County Commissioner
Community Representative
Head Start
Peter Schmidt
Private Sector Representative
Big Sky Western Bank
LeRoy Wilson
Public Sector Representative
Vice President of Senior Services- Bozeman Deaconess Hospital
Billie Warford
Private Sector Representative
MSU Early Childhood Project
Linda Young
Private Sector Representative
MSU Political Science Department
Robert McMahan
Customer/Community Representative
Community Action Agency Director- Retired
See our event calendar for upcoming meeting dates.
HRDC District IX, Inc. Articles of Incorporation
HRDC Board Meeting Minutes 2015:
HRDC Board Meeting Minutes 2014:
The following are minutes from Advisory Board Meetings:
RSVP Advisory Board:
RSVP Advisory Board Minutes March 2014
Streamline/ Galavan Advisory Board:
Streamline-Galavan Minutes October 2014
Streamline-Galavan Minutes March 2014
Streamline-Galavan Minutes February 2014


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You know, it shouldn't have taken me 25 years to get to a reasonable level of inventory. A proper mix. A self-sustaining momentum.
Knock wood.
Sure, I probably lost about 10 years of that time making mistakes, but mistakes are pretty much unavoidable, I think.
Starting off under-capitalized. Hell, try Not- capitalized. Then getting insufficient loans, enough to make the store viable but not to really thrive. Spending year after year on trying to build inventory. (And pay back loans...)
Having inventory positions become moot, as people lose interest.
Getting there always seemed in the future.
Now, finally, I have a diverse mix of product that simply requires keeping up a good inventory. Not constantly building, or starting over.
At least for now.
NOTE: Normally, this would be one of what I call a JOURNAL entry; things I say to myself to motivate myself, or things I don't think I can say to the world.
It's a little over-confident.
But, my usual Bulletin fodder came wet today, and I have family visiting so having had time to peruse the intertubes, so here it is....
Coming 1/29/20
2 days ago


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Semi-Powered Infiltration armor
|Semi-Powered Infiltration armor
|Production overview
Testing site(s):
The Semi-Powered Infiltration armor (SPI armor) is a UNSC combat armor system designed with an emphasis on stealth through the use of special photoreactive panels.[2] The armor was developed by the Watershed Division, with Ruk Ariaustin as design lead.[1]
Described as "part legionnaire mail, part tactical body armor, and part chameleon", the SPI armor features photoreactive panels that mimic the surrounding textures, effectively being the UNSC equivalent to the Covenant's active camouflage systems.[3] The SPI armor features a full body armor with an enclosed helmet and heads-up display. The undersuit is equipped with a cushioning layer of liquid nanocrystal that provides more ballistic protection than three centimeters of Kevlar diamond weave, without the bulk.[4] The hardened armor plates, though advanced compared to standard UNSC infantry armor, can take only a few glancing blows before failing.[2]
Though more advanced than the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers' body armor, the SPI armor is less powerful than the Mjolnir armor originally issued to the Spartan-IIs.[5] Its main benefit is that it is drastically cheaper to produce than Mjolnir.[6] Although the SPI suit provides modest enhancements to the wearer's strength and mobility,[1] this amplification is not as drastic as that afforded by the Mjolnir.[7] Consequently, the SPI armor can be worn by any individual and does not require special neurological, skeletal or muscular augmentation; for example, the unaugmented instructors for the Spartan-IIIs often wore SPI armor.[8][9] The SPI armor is not as bulky or as heavy as the Mjolnir armor,[10] although the plating material is also less durable: Kelly-087 dented a Spartan-III's chest plate with her fist when first encountering the Spartan-IIIs.[11]
The SPI armor generally lacks an energy shielding system, making the user far more vulnerable to enemy fire. However, the Spartan-III Headhunters wore experimental armor that was equipped with energy shields due to their elite nature and value. However, power must be drawn from the energy shields to recharge the suit's active camouflage module.[12]
Although early versions of the SPI system were tested by Orbital Drop Shock Troopers,[9] the armor was most prominently issued to the Spartan-III supersoldiers.[2] With over 2,000 units of SPI armor manufactured during the Human-Covenant War,[1] the SPI armor had been mostly phased out of use by Spartan-IIIs by 2558 in favor of Mjolnir. However, SPI continues to fill a usage niche in covert roles, particularly within ONI; the Spartan-IIIs in Veta Lopis' Ferret team often used SPI instead of Mjolnir due to the former's superior stealth capabilities.[13][14] The SPI armor has also been issued to non-Spartan personnel, such as Veta Lopis, whose suit was custom-built to fit her small frame.[15] SPARTAN-G059, deployed as an ONI assassin, used SPI as late as 2558.[16] As well, the photoreactive plating technology has seen limited but successful use in several special operations ODST units.[17]
Mark I[edit]
The Mark I was the first, experimental iteration of the SPI system used by the Spartan-IIIs of Alpha Company. The featured photoreactive panels gave the Spartans of Alpha Company a rough equivalent to active camouflage. The camouflage patterns, however, shifted irregularly and imperfectly, which made the photoreactive panels inferior compared to the Covenant's active camouflage technologies.[18]
Mark II[edit]
The Mark II was an improvement of the SPI Mark I, first used by the drill instructors of Beta Company, and then by the Spartans of Beta and Gamma Companies.[19] The armor sports new photoreactive coating to boost its camouflaging properties. Although the new photoreactive coating can mimic a wide range of electromagnetic radiation, it is still sensitive to overload, making the wearer vulnerable for several seconds after a flashbang or plasma hit while the panels reset.[20]
The armor was proposed by Kurt Ambrose in 2537 for Alpha Company, but the request was denied because the armor was over budget.[21] After Alpha Company's Pyrrhic victory in Operation: PROMETHEUS, the Mark II was approved for mass production. After the augmentation of Gamma Company, small adjustments were installed into the Mark II SPI armor,[22] including experimental refits to the ballistic gel layers, upgraded software suites, and other functions, slated to be introduced to the systems prior to Gamma Company's deployment in 2552.[22] One improvement is that the armor is now hermetically sealed and contains an internal oxygen supply.[23]
Armor components[edit]
- Mirage-class helmet[24]
- The default headgear of the SPI armor, the Mirage-class helmet features a large, bulbous faceplate somewhat similar to that of the Mjolnir EVA variant. The visor is normally gold-mirrored in color[25] and can be depolarized.[11] The helmet supports a heads-up display with features similar to that of the MJOLNIR system, including TACMAP, TEAMBIO, and TEAMCOM interfaces; a motion tracker;[26] as well as team status lights.[27][28] The visor suite features an automatic magnification and image enhancement system controlled by the wearer's eye movements. For example, if the wearer squints while looking at a particular spot the system will automatically zoom in.[29] Both the image enhancement and the visor's internal polarization can also be controlled manually.[30][31] The helmet possesses tactical lights[32] and a defogging vent to remove internal moisture.[33]
- Techsuit
- The bodysuit of the SPI system is composed of a layered mesh of ballistic liquid nanocrystal that is significantly more effective than traditional body armor materials such as Kevlar while being less bulky.[4][28][34] The techsuit's leggings[35] and sleeves can be removed independently.[36]
- Photoreactive panels
- The outer shell of the SPI armor comprises a series of lightweight laminate plates with a photoreactive coating.[1] The photoreactive panels act as active camouflage when active,[37] effectively blending the wearer with their environment.[2] The coating also renders the wearer nearly invisible to infrared and passive light-gathering systems.[38] Since the photoreactive plates take time to recover after explosions such as a flashbang grenade and plasma hits, the wearer is visible until the plates recover.[20] With the exception of the Headhunters' suits, the SPI armor does not feature energy field-based active camouflage systems like those of the Covenant.[12] When inert, the plating is matte gray[24][35] or green, though some SPI suits have been known to use different colors such as red.[39][40]
- Rift-class gauntlets
- The SPI suit is equipped with shock-resistant and force-amplifying gauntlets.[1]
- Tactile bracers
- The bracer armor pieces around the boots grant slight improvements to speed and dexterity with negligible shielding reduction.[1]
- Environmental controls
- The suit possesses rudimentary environmental regulation system to maintain a comfortable temperature for the wearer.[41] However, the system is not designed for extended use and it will become increasingly uncomfortable to wear if used continuously over long periods of time.[42] As of 2552, the Mark II SPI armor is also fully sealed and contains an internal oxygen supply.[23] The armor also has an efficient cooling system and is significantly difficult to detect even with thermal scanners.[19]
- Biofoam injection ports
- Like MJOLNIR, the SPI armor has dedicated ports allowing the quick injection of biofoam or other battlefield pharmaceuticals.[43]
- Data socket
- The SPI armor's gauntlet features a data port to which small electronic devices such as data pads can be connected.[44][45]
- Power cell
- The armor is powered by a low-profile, shielded BA-55901/PLMD battery cell.[24]
In addition to the standard model, several variants of the SPI armor exist.[note 1]
This variant has a Stalker-like suit, with a helmet that is similar to design to Operator. It was utilized by Roland-B210. It was equipped with Motion trackers, energy shielding, VISR technology and a prototype active camouflage.
This variant has a helmet design that is similar to Pilot. A Spartan-III wearing this variant was stuck in Onyx between 2552 and 2553.
This variant has a helmet design that is similar to Grenadier. Mark-G313 wore this suit during Operation: JOVIAN WHISTLE.[note 2]
Production note[edit]
|Browse more images in this article's gallery page.
The SPI armor is referred to as "PR" twice in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx.[46][47] No context or explanation is provided for this alternate designation, although it is possible that the suit was known as "PR" (possibly an acronym for "PhotoReactive") in an earlier revision of the novel's manuscript and that the presence of the two mentions in the final book is an editing oversight.
Two Headhunters, Roland-B210 and Jonah-B283, wearing SPI armor. The former is wearing an unknown variant.
An energy shielded SPI suit's HUD. Note the HUD's resemblance to that of the MJOLNIR Mark V.
Jonah-B283 wearing his SPI armor.
Olivia-G291 in SPI armor with her helmet removed.
SPARTAN-G059 clad in SPI armor.
Veta Lopis equipped with SPI armor.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (First appearance)
- Halo: Evolutions
- Halo: Reach (Mentioned only)
- Halo: Glasslands
- Halo: Last Light
- Halo Mythos
- Halo: Tales from Slipspace
- Halo: Retribution
- Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual
- ^ Similar to the somewhat differing depictions of Mjolnir armor, the exact design details of the "default" SPI armor vary between different sources of Halo canon, sometimes within a single source. Since it is difficult to determine which of these examples constitute officially-defined variants of the suit rather than artistic license, only the versions that overtly deviate from the standard pattern are listed below, while the gallery section provides examples of less pronounced variety between SPI suits.
- ^ In the cover of Halo: Last Light, Mark (who is seen in the background of the image) is depicted as wearing a standard set of SPI armor.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Halo Mythos, pages 76-77
- ^ a b c d Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 14
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 16
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 171
- ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 207
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 46
- ^ Halo: Last Light, page 33 (Google Play edition)
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pages 89, 94
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 164
- ^ Halo: Glasslands, page 40
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pages 168-169
- ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Headhunters", page 212
- ^ Halo: Retribution, Chapter 18
- ^ Twitter: Troy Denning status update #912699859924393984
- ^ Twitter: Troy Denning status update #879779858393440256
- ^ Halo: Tales from Slipspace, Knight Takes Bishop
- ^ Halo Waypoint - Cannon Fodder: Fifty Caliber
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 85
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 89
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 113
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 80
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 99
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 251
- ^ a b c Halo Mythos, page 77
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 115
- ^ Halo: Last Light, page 146 (Google Play edition)
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, pages 17, 22
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 114
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 19
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 268
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 345
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 273
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 316
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 360
- ^ a b Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 141
- ^ Halo: Last Light, page 125 (Google Play edition)
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 165
- ^ Halo: Last Light, page 95 (Google Play edition)
- ^ Headhunters motion comic
- ^ Halo Mythos, page 135
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 22
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 254
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 362
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 310
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 356
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 87 ("...the flaws in their Mark-I PR suits...")
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 141 ("...and pulled on the PR leggings.")


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Location Aware
Location Services. Collect real-time location statistics on all mobile users in and around your property, revealing number of visitors, dwell time, foot traffic patterns, and much more.
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Definition of the adjective 180
What does 180 mean as an attribute of a noun?
- being ten more than one hundred seventy
- examples: The sum of all the angles in a triangle equals 180 degrees. | I am almost 180 centimeters tall. | A bowl of rice is about 180 grams. | He has turned 180 degrees around. | He changed his attitude by 180 degrees. | God cannot make a triangle with more than 180 degrees. | My older brother is really tall. He's about 180 centimeters. | A bowl of rice weighs about 180 grams. | The sum of the angles of a triangle on a spherical plane is more than 180 degrees. | If I got a boyfriend, I'd want one who's at least 180 centimeters tall.
- synonyms of 180: clxxx / one hundred eighty
- similar: cardinal
Definition of the noun 180
What does 180 mean as a name of something?
- The act of spinning 180 degrees in the air.
- A complete change of direction or opinion.
"180" is a darts video game released for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit and MSX.
- also known as 180!, World Darts!, One Hundred And Eighty, World Darts
- mode: Single-player video game, Multiplayer video game
- developers: David Whittaker, Binary Design
- genres: Sports game, Action game
- publisher: Mastertronic
- released in (29 years ago)
- "180" is a 33-minute 2011 anti-abortion documentary film produced by Ray Comfort, founder of Living Waters Publications. The film is distributed by Living Waters on DVD and has been posted publicly on the film's official website and YouTube. The film is notable for comparing abortions to the Holocaust.
- also known as 180 Movie, 180: Changing the Heart of a Nation, Hitler's Religion
- country: United States of America
- language: English Language
- producers: Eddie Roman & Mark Spence
- executive producers: Ray Comfort & Emeal Zwayne
- written by Ray Comfort
- based on a story by Ray Comfort
- cinematography by Chad Williams, Emeal Zwayne, Ray Comfort, Dale Jackson, Stuart Scott & Brad Snow
- edited by Mark Spence & Eddie Roman
- genre: Documentary film
- released on
- official website: www.180movie.com
- "180" is a 2011 Indian romantic drama film, directed by ad filmmaker Jayendra.
- also known as Nootrenbadhu
- country: India
- languages: Tamil Language, Telugu language
- director: Jayendra Panchapakesan
- starring:
- cinematography by Balasubramaniem
- edited by Kishore Te
- music by Sharreth
- genres: Romance Film, Drama
- released on
- award:
- Vijay Award for Best Music Director nomination for Sharreth
- Vijay Award for Best Actress nomination for Nithya Menen
- 180 a.k.a. Wonderbug is a segment of the first and second season of the American television series The Krofft Supershow, from 1976 to 1978. It was shot in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. The show was rerun as part of ABC's Sunday morning series.
- begun on and completed on (37 years ago)
- 22 episodes
- country: United States of America
- created by Ken Spears & Joe Ruby
- regular cast:
- Frank Welker
- John Bailey as C.C. McNamara in
- David Levy
- genre: Children's television series
- "180" a.k.a. "180°" is a film, directed by Cihan Inan.
- "180": Benjamin "Coach" Wade blazes onto the screen as rock-god Gavin Larson. Gavin's band, The Zebras, is on top and living every rock and roll fantasy. That is until Gavin's band mates perish in a fiery plane crash. Tormented by the memory of his band and the fading of his once bright star, Gavin begins a downward spiral of denial, delusion, and self-medication. His only chance at redemption rests in the people he has screwed and the bridges he has burned. Gavin's plan? To form a new band and rule the world.
- director: Nathan Pope
- executive producer: Paul Doke
- starring:
- genres: Comedy, Drama
- released in (4 years ago)
"180" a.k.a. "The Quest" is a book by Jerry Ahern.
- also known as "Survivalist #3: The Quest", The Survivalist # 3 - The Quest
- genres: Fiction, Speculative fiction
- subject: Literature
- copyright: 1981
- "180" is the first studio album by London indie rock group Palma Violets. It was released on 25 February 2013 and follows their debut single "Best of Friends" the previous year, which was selected as 'Best Track Of 2012' by NME magazine.
- genres: Indie rock, Garage rock
- released on
- "180" a.k.a. "180°": 180 Degree is a 2004 album by MC Mong. This album is MC Mong's first solo album. This album features female vocalist Lyn.
- also known as 180 Degree
- genres: K-pop, Pop-rap, Hip hop music
- released on (10 years ago)
- "180" a.k.a. "180 grados" is a musical album of Gerardo.
- "180" is a composition.
- music and lyrics by Ash Grunwald
- "180" a.k.a. "180°" is a musical album of Ninetynine.
- released in (15 years ago)
- "180" is a musical single of Bobby Brackins.
- "180" is a musical album of Sharreth, soundtrack.
- also known as 180 Soundtrack
- genre: Soundtrack
- "180" a.k.a. "180°" is a musical album of Guerra.
- released on (6 years ago)
Who is 180?
180 a.k.a. Naoki Maeda is a Japanese composer best known for composing and arranging the music for Konami music video games, including the Dance Dance Revolution and Bemani series.
- read more about Naoki Maeda
- 180 a.k.a. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DR Congo, DRC, Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, DROC, or RDC, is a country located in Central Africa. It borders the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan to the north, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania to the East, Zambia and Angola to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world. With a population of over 75 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country, the fourth most populous nation in Africa and the nineteenth most populous country in the world.
- also known as Zaire, Congo Kinshasa, Congo-Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, DR Congo, DROC, RDC
- founded on (54 years ago)
- part of Africa
- 180 a.k.a. White Oaks Mall is a shopping centre in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the southwest corner of Wellington Road and Bradley Avenue, just north of Highway 401.
- also known as White Oaks Mall, London
- part of London, Canada
- official website: www.whiteoaksmall.ca
- 180 là một số tự nhiên ngay sau 179 và ngay trước 181.
- 180 a.k.a. Night Gallery - Season 2 is a tv season.
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CRC Information
The Cincinnati Revolver Club offers indoor Bullseye Shooting all year round, a modern building designed for pistol and revolver shooters, a target transportation system, electronically controlled turning targets for times and rapid fire competition, and comfortable club room for adding up your score with your shooting companions, with refreshments available in their kitchen.
The current activities that the CRC hosts for members and guests are:
Here are several pictures of our meeting hall, overall range, and a photo from one of the acoustic booths. Click on the images for a larger view.
Cincinnati Revolver Club
4951 Winton Ridge Lane
Cincinnati, Ohio 45232
Phone: 513.681.2829
(Leave a message, the voicemail is checked often)
Click Here for a Location Map & Driving Directions


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Copyright © 2016 All rights Reserved | by Servicejoy


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By Amanda Cleary Eastep
I am scrolling through friends.
Faces fly by, thumbnail scenes people chose to represent themselves in the space of 160 x 160 pixels.
Over the past few years, I didn't engage much with this ever-evolving social utility personally, despite the fact that I manage the Facebook business page for a college.
I found little value in my personal Facebook profile.
I had grown tired of the stream of memes and kitten videos and people ranting about politics. So, I decided to delete myself.
This decision from the social networking gal with three blogs, a Twitter for my freelance writing business, a LinkedIn account, a Google+ page, a Pinterest page, and a Livefyre account for all the discussions I engage in on other blogs.
So, why hate on Facebook?
"Well, Facebook, I admit now it wasn't you, it was me. Not cute kitten video #3,759, but me. I was putting effort and care into all my other social networks, but not into you."
The reason I found little value in my personal Facebook profile was because I wasn't adding value.
That's my number one rule with my other social media networks. Now it was time to add value on my Facebook profile.
Although there are important differences between a personal Facebook profile and a Facebook page for your business, there are practices you can employ that contribute to the quality of both your personal profiles and your business pages.
ADD VALUE. This may be one of the most overused terms in social media for business, yet it's still valid and also applies to personal social media sites.
So, what does "adding value" mean? "Sharing useful information that benefits my followers."
Sure, useful is good. Information, good. Useful and good information delivered to the audience that needs it. Great.
There's more. Or should be. When I contemplated deleting my Facebook profile, I first asked what I could do better instead. If this tool gave me the power to touch people's lives, to appear suddenly in their day, couldn't I be using that power for good? Not just good-useful, but THE Good?
What I contribute/share/Like/tweet/+/pin/post, whether for personal reasons or for business, should answer the question: What difference is this–am I–making?
This goal may seem a bit idealistic, but I Like ideal.
When I'm pinning a homeopathic recipe for eczema cream on Pinterest, it's because I have a child who has suffered for 17 years and found only temporary relief offered by dozens of specialists, prescriptions and diets. I'm sharing something that I have found from personal experience works and may help someone else.
Similarly, if I tweet a link to an article about improving a small business About page, it's because I've read the article and most likely applied the advice to my own freelance business About page. (Here's a confession: I am not a prolific tweeter. That's because I will only retweet or favorite a tweet if I have first read the linked article or it originates from someone I follow closely and respect.)
Will everyone find value, or better yet, Benefit to the Good of All Humankind [insert flowing cape], in everything I share via social media? Nope.
But good–valuable–social media isn't about Everyone. It isn't about Facebook. It's about Me.
Yes, that's right. And, yes, whether I'm using social media for personal or business purposes or both, it should benefit my audience.
But Good social media has to start with me. With my making the decision that I am also going to make a difference to those Faces whose lives far exceed the parameters of a thumbnail.
Online relationship. Are you keeping it real?


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My Olympus Pen came over the weekend & I LOVE IT! I'm a sucker for filters and the Pen has 12. They are so much fun to play with & so me!!
Manuel has been wanting an older model Mustang for sometime now. So.. on Sunday he bought a '68 Mustang! If you want a lot of attention buy a classic car because anyone & everyone came out of the woodwork to check it out. Our neighbor even called his friends over to look at it. I'm sure Manuel enjoyed all the attention!
My Amazon.co.jp order came in, too. Their delivery time is amazing; it came in less than a week! I ordered a few Rinka books that I didn't have. I really just wanted to test out their service so I figured why not. I highly recommend using them if you want to order anything from Japan that they carry. They also packaged the books really well.
Speaking of Rinka.. She has a special collection called No.22 coming out in May to celebrate her 22nd anniversary since her debut in the fashion world. Of course I'm using Amazon.co.jp to pre-order the book! I want the tote bag & mug, too.
Tags: mustang, olympus pen, purchase, rinka, want
♥ Jennifer berrybloomxo Valerie JENN~ Christa Nancy Liz Michelle Manasi
15 Comments
NEW LAYOUT~~ This may officially be the beginning of my blog getting back up & running after almost 2yrs! Crazy how time flies..
Right now I don't have anything going on.. finally! Kaylie's cheer ended last weekend so I've got my weekends back which means no more excuses not to blog, right?
So what have I been up to lately, hmmmm.. Shopping mostly (both online & off) which I really shouldn't be but you know how that goes. 😆 Here are a few snaps of some of my recent purchases:
Tags: circle lenses, forever21, purchase, urban outfitters, want
♥ Huimei Jenny JENN~ Genevieve Leanne jayjayne Cindy
12 Comments
// Index


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SCD Lettuce Wrap Turkey Tacos
I had a craving for Mexican food yesterday as we walked by a neighborhood restaurant. I love Mexican food, but there was nothing healthy at that place. Not… Read More »
Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini Spaghetti
My husband loves Italian food. Especially pasta with meatballs. That goes great on the taste-buds and not so great on the tummy. So I created a version of that dish… Read More »
Mini Pizzas with Heirloom Tomatoes and Eggplant
I went to the farmer's market yesterday and got overly excited with all the vegetables. I loaded my fridge with heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, and chives. As I wondered… Read More »
Heirloom Tomato Salad
This yummy salad is a summer favorite. With all the colors and flavors it just makes me wish these tomatoes were available year round. Tip: get a variety of… Read More »
Heirlooms at the farmer's market
I have been waiting for heirloom tomatoes for weeks… but someone finally had them at the farmer's market this morning. If you haven't tried heirloom tomatoes before, they… Read More »
Tomato Sauce
Having tomato sauce at home really comes in handy. You can always make extra and freeze it for when you need it. Here is an easy recipe. Cut… Read More »
Delicious Eggplant Appetizer
Preheat oven to 425. Line two baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly baste parchment paper with grape seed oil. Slice eggplant into ¼" to 1/8" slices. Place eggplant… Read More »
Turbot with Heirloom Tomatoes and Grilled Haloumi Cheese
The saltiness of the cheese complements the tomatoes and the basil. If you like fish, turbot is a very mild fish that goes really well with the other… Read More »


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Mini-devotions written by Francie Taylor, challenging readers to examine their lives and improve their relationships while developing a closer walk with the Lord. Francie covers the "issues of life" affecting Christian women at various stages, providing encouragement to "keep the heart."
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Did You Hear That?
People who are hearing-impaired did not choose their lot in life. People who having hearing but won't heed have chosen to pretend that they are deaf. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22)
The intention to heed (to regard and observe) makes hearing worthwhile. A hearing ear is useless when it's attached to the body of one who won't heed. I often wonder what motivates a Pastor to continue writing and preaching sermons to so many ears that hear but won't do. My best guess is that these men of God love Him so much that they'll just keep preaching, even if only 10 out of 100 will actually follow the directions of Scripture.
Let's be a hearing minority: hearing and doing.
"The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise." (Prov. 15:31)
2 comments:
From Jill Harris Turner: My Dad used to preach that we are shovel Baptists. We listen to preaching and God dumps something in our laps that we need to work on, we say, "That is exactly what so-and-so needs to hear", and we grab our shovel and heave it from our laps into theirs. NOT what God intended. We should take everything God touches our hearts with, and ask God to show us what He means for us to learn from it. Amen, Mrs. Francie! God is doing something special through you!ReplyDelete
Even if no one heeds the call we must all still speak the truth. It is so sad though, to hear people complain about their troubles and you tell them what God has to say about it and they just say, "I know, but...." They want to do it their way. Some people love to have the drama stirred up and they know if they handle it according to his word, that the problem would be over. I'd rather heed God's word than stir the pot of drama.ReplyDelete
Smiling Christmas Cards
Tribe of Taylor--June 2018 recycled pic There's a growing stack of Christmas photo cards that have been arriving daily in the mail....
Do you suffer from "too much month at the end of the money?" Being broke is often a result of habits that are kept like house p...
"Ah yeah ah...we have a woman down on the ground here at Pensacola Beach. Not sure what happened, but she fell and then she got up and ...
We pray. We wait. We repeat. We pray. We wait. We repeat... What's on your waiting list of prayers? I call this my ...


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I myself love stevia but it has been problematic for our family as our oldest child is allergic to it. We learned it is in the same family as ragweed, chamomile, and sunflower… All items that give her reactions.
In a perfect world, there wouldn't exist such an absurd notion as a "sweet tooth." Primal diehards, usually so commendable in their clean eating and healthy living, wouldn't find their resolve crumbling in the face of a cafe counter overflowing with baked goods. A hearty meat and vegetable dinner or big ass salad lunch would fulfill all dietary and sensory requirements, rather than needing to be rounded off by something called dessert. Beyond the detriments of sugar and fructose and the toxins of artificial sweeteners stevia and an increasingly popular trademarked product called Truvia. How do they compare?
I'm going to go ahead and assume that you're a chronic label reader. Anything pre-packaged or processed in the supermarket has you scanning the ingredients list on the back as if your life depended on it. Certainly your livelihood does depend on it, so keep up the good work.
But even the most capable Primal ingredient-scourer can get more than a little confused by the many sweetener labels on today's shelves. Sucrose, fructose, agave, aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, sugar alcohols, neotame…and of course stevia. Which of these would be considered a "safe" sweetener, by loose Primal standards at least?
Well, run-of-the mill sugar is off the cards for most health-savvy shoppers. In recent decades, sugar has overtaken fat as Public Enemy Number 1 in the dietary department, and it's not without good cause. You know the drill – consuming more sugary sodas and sweetened foods has been unequivocally linked to diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and plenty more besides. There's also the issue of sugar addiction to consider – the sweet tooth struggle is real, folks.
Then there's the artificial sweeteners – the aspartames (NutraSweet) and sucraloses (Splenda) of the world. This lot have long been a go-to for diabetics and sadly-misinformed health fanatics, however their popularity has largely mirrored that of conventional sugars in recent years, with an average sales decline of between 3 and 4% per annum. Getting into the reasons why this decline is occurring is beyond the scope of this post – suffice to say that there's a lot we don't know about them, and artificial is almost always not to be trusted in my books.
The recent sweetener hiatus is certainly a good thing, but it still raises the question – is there a lesser evil when those cookie daydreams come a-knockin?
Enter the natural sweeteners. Honey has been around for eons, and will continue to be a favorite sweetener of mine – provided it's in moderation and raw. But honey still possesses caloric hard hitting (a concern for some), and you don't necessarily want every sweet thing you eat to taste like the stuff. Which leaves the two major contenders: agave and stevia.
Agave is perhaps worthy of it's own post, so I won't explore it's ins and outs this time round. What we're interested in today is stevia, and by popular association Truvia: are they the same thing? Which is healthier? Let's find out.
In South America at least, stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is nothing new. The locals have used the leaves of this small perennial herb for centuries as a "bio sweetener" and employed it in a variety of medicinal applications. Stevia contains several compounds that contribute to it's legendary sweetness, including stevioside (300 times sweeter tasting than sucrose) and rebaudioside (up to 450 times sweeter than sucrose). Added to those quite frankly impressive sweet stats is the added bonus that stevia extracts don't contain any calories, opening the door to nervous calorie-counters nationwide.
The popularity of stevia-based products has skyrocketed in recent years, with the worldwide market jumping from $336 million in 2014 to $578 million this year. It's worth noting that this in the face of an across-the-board decline in sales of sugar and artificial sweeteners from 2011 to 2016.
Stevia extract products come in a variety of forms, however you're most likely to get your hands on either a powdered or liquid formulation. While you might not always find them on your supermarket shelves, there's plenty of 100% stevia leaf extract products available if you know where to look. Obviously, to ensure you're getting the real deal, just take a look at the ingredients – there shouldn't be anything other than "stevia leaf extract". You'll also know that this is the good stuff when you see the serving size – somewhere in the vicinity of one 80th of a teaspoon – like I said, potent stuff!
In the U.S., the FDA has yet to give the green light on crude stevia extracts or straight powdered stevia leaf, which unfortunately only leaves the refined extracts. That being said, much of the goodness from the plant still manages to make it's way into the extracts available on our shelves. 100% pure stevia leaf extract products appear to be safe and side-effect free, with meta-analyses confirming that the commonly extracted compounds stevioside and rebaudioside are metabolized efficiently and with no known adverse effects.
What's more, stevia has been linked to several positive health effects, such as blood sugar reduction and regulation, tooth decay prevention, and immune support. I also like that it's more of a "whole food" sweetener alternative – the inclusion of amino acids and certain vitamins presumably ensures the body is more capable of metabolizing it than certain other sweeteners, sugar included.
The only downsides are a slightly bitter aftertaste with high doses, and the need to fork out a bit more coin for higher quality stevia extracts.
In just 5 years since it's 2008 release, Truvia has become the second most popular sugar substitute in the U.S. Developed by Coco-Cola and Cargill, Truvia now controls the lion's share of U.S. stevia brand sales, with $140 million of a total $336 million in 2014.
But popularity aside, Truvia isn't as simple as a straight stevia extract. In descending order, Truvia contains:
The first thing you'll note is that erythritol is the biggest ingredient in Truvia…not stevia. In fact, erythritol comprises around 85% of the product, which doesn't leave much room for our hero, stevia. It's not the end of the world – erythritol promotes antioxidant activity, is vasoprotective, and seems to promote good oral health. You're also still getting the low calorie aspect and actually pretty decent blood sugar control from the erythritol.
There is, however, those natural flavors to contend with. They could be anything. Plus there's no stevioside, the natural stevia compound that provides many of the health benefits I mentioned earlier. And finally there's the fact that erythritol is made from GMO corn – not necessarily a deal breaker given the quantities involved, but not ideal either.
As an aside, Truvia Nectar is now sweeping supermarket shelves; a sweetener alternative designed to taste and pour like honey. Truvia Nectar ingredients are honey, sugar, water, stevia leaf extract, and citric acid – implying that once again the actual stevia content is minimal. But considering most customers don't read the ingredients label, it'll probably sell like hotcakes. Heck, it'll probably be smothering hotcakes in no time at all.
I'm always going to choose the simpler, more whole-food alternative when it comes to these kinds of things, and the average stevia extract you'll find on the market still contains a decent amount of the original good stuff while sweetening the heck out of whatever you put it on or in.
As for Truvia, there's just too many unknowns. More ingredients means higher risk of toxicity or complications, and when you don't actually know what all the ingredients entail my alarm bells start ringing. It's certainly not the worst sweetener alternative out there – not by a long shot – but it's not the best, either.
As for stevia, seek out organic products guaranteeing 100% stevia leaf extract. It's also worth remembering just how potent these sweeteners are: 450 times more potent, to be exact. Use it cautiously, and preferably consume it infrequently, and you'll be just fine.
Thanks for reading, everyone. Have you ever used stevia extract, or partaken in the odd bout of Truvia? What's your thoughts on the matter? Be sure to leave a comment below.
If you'd like to add an avatar to all of your comments click here!
I myself love stevia but it has been problematic for our family as our oldest child is allergic to it. We learned it is in the same family as ragweed, chamomile, and sunflower… All items that give her reactions.
Can someone please give me the brand of Stevia that is 100% leaf extract in the individual packets? I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what brand to buy. Thank you all.
If you have a Sprouts market near you, they have their own brand of "generic" stevia. The only ingredients are stevia rebaudiana, vegetable glycerin, and deinonized water. It is far better than brands like Sweet Leaf or the Whole Foods brand (which has alcohol in it). Sprouts keeps their bottled organic stevia extract in the supplements section. My wife and I use it to sweeten black coffee primarily, but it can be used in cooking too. Use sparingly as it is very sweet.


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By Reverend Wayne Palmer
Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
"Refrigerate Overnight"
December 17, 2014
Read James 5:7-9.
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. …Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. James 5:7a, 8
My favorite Christmas cookies growing up were made of molasses and sugar. We called them "animal cookies" because we shaped them with animal-shaped cookie cutters. The worst part of making animal cookies is that once you mixed up the dough, it had to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Talk about a test of patience!
As a child, impatience seemed to go hand in hand with Christmas. It seemed like that great, wonderful, magical day would never, ever come.
There is a far greater day coming, however. It's that ultimate Christmas when Jesus Christ will return to this world with all His angels. He will raise all the dead and judge between those who believed during their earthly lives, and those who did not. For us who believe, Jesus will remove every source of evil, pain, and suffering as He renews His creation and makes it perfect. Then we will enjoy perfect health, perfect relationships, and a perfect life forever.
How can we wait for that wonderful day? In today's reading James tells us to establish our hearts. He means for us to strengthen our hearts with the certainty of His coming just as He promised. When our hearts are established the problems of this life simply don't loom as large because we can clearly see our God is bigger and stronger than anything we face.
How do you establish your heart? Gather for worship with your church family. There you will be reminded of Christ's promises. There your Baptism will be renewed as you confess your sins and as the Holy Spirit reassures you through the pastor that those sins are forgiven. There you will receive the very body and blood that Jesus sacrificed for us on the cross. And there the Spirit of God will establish your faith and keep you until that final day. Then you will know a peace and confidence as all your problems shrink back to their true size, easily managed by our God and Savior.
THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You have promised to return to this world to make all things right and perfect forever. Establish my heart in Your promise so that none of the problems I face will shake my trust and confidence in You. Amen.
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text:
Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know? – Images of the Scientist in Film
Professor Sir Christopher Frayling Rector of the Royal College of Art
Wednesday 23 November 2005, 5.30 PM
Lecture Theatre 1 The Cruciform Building Gower Street London WC1E 6BT
Followed by refreshments at the Wilkins North Cloisters (The Cruciform Building is situated opposite the UCL Main Entrance on Gower Street)
Admission is free but by prior registration only. For your name to be added to the attendee list you are advised to register as soon as possible.
Please contact: Ms Carol Bowen The Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at UCL 210 Euston Road London NW1 2BE Email: [email protected] Tel: +44 (0)20 7679 8163