text:
Landmark at Tanasbourne Apartments For Rent in Hillsboro, Oregon is the new style of Tanasbourne. Beautiful one-, two-, and three-bedroom interior upgrades are now available to suit your lifestyle. We are located in a private wooded setting, yet close to Highway 26, which offers you easy access to downtown Portland or head west to the coast. Walking trails will lead you to the streets of Tanasbourne, where you can find great shopping and dining. We are close to great schools with your choice between Beaverton and Hillsboro school district. * For today's active lifestyles we have a refreshing shimmering pool, invigorating spa, state-of-the-art fitness studio and racquetball court. Landmark offers the best of refined luxury, convenience and natural beauty. Best if all, Landmark pet-friendly apartments for rent in Hillsboro welcomes your four-legged friend who will love relaxing by your side and enjoying the comfort of your new home. Our exceptional service, location and style will impres
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In times of transition, we all need a place to stay, a place to call home. Why hassle with buying, moving, setting up and then having to move, store, sell or discard furniture when you are done with it, when you can rent furniture from CORT? Cost-effective, convenient and hassle-free, furniture rental is the smart, flexible alternative for times of transition.
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text:
Beauty Behind The Theory Bundle
Artist: The Weeknd
Transcribed by: The Theorist
Length: 32 pages
Instrument: Piano Bundle
Level: Advanced
$39.99 USDAdd to cart
Why we think you'll like it
Five years and what amounts to five studio albums worth of releases into The Weeknd's career, and on "Beauty Behind The Madness" he finally unleashes the fully unhinged hedonist pop star character that he's so carefully cultivated. 65 minutes after listening through the release, you may have accidentally overdosed after being exposed to the contact high from the album's druggy lyrical content. Or, if still able to feel your face, you're definitely still likely to be completely bowled over by the work done by not just The Weeknd as a vocalist, but a top tier crew of producers, arrangers, songwriters and engineers on the release. In reaching out and grabbing every pop sound that's been successful in the past half-century of mainstream pop, rolling it tightly in a blunt and setting them ablaze with Abel Tesfaye's sonorous vocals, this release gets much higher than most anything else released in 2015.
There are 7 individual downloads included in this bundle:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sharing files and printers on a local Microsoft windows network can be hell. Specially when there are firewalls involved blocking the required local communication. Here's a few bits and pieces how to get file and printer sharing going again on an Internet connected Windows XP machine. In this case with McAfee Security Center, Firewall and Virus Scanner.
From start it was clear McAfee firewall configuration got in between, but in a nasty way with the stench of bad programming. Disabling the firewall resumed file & printer sharing but left the machine unprotected while connected to the Internet. With Microsoft's reputation of distributing Windows versions with seriously flawed network security it's NOT GOOD to have no firewall active. When file & printer sharing doesn't work even with firewall disabled most likely the service for "file and printer" in network adapter properties is not running, set properly of tampered with. It's best to work on that first before looking further.
Check if File and Printer sharing for Microsoft Networks is selected.
Printers and files are not shared
The sharing problem manifested itself in several ways. First was the inability to browse the local network. The Windows network Group couldn't be browsed resulting in a notification there were insufficient rights to do so.
When a 3rd computer joined the windows workgroup, the local network could be browsed however the XP machine that should share it's files and printers didn't show in the local network.
Secondly when trying to access the XP machine for file and printer sharing directly, all attempts failed. The local machine name didn,'t resolve using Start- Run - \\machine-name or Start - Run - \\Ip-Address.
That's a clear indication the response required to these network requests is blocked or goes sour in some way.
Thirdly, XP machines that had the same McAfee version running but were not directly connected to the internet didn't have all the of the above problems. Sharing of files and printers worked out of the box even with McAfee installed. It seems McAfee Security Center does make a difference for XP machines that have direct access to the Internet - McAfee firewall is running in a different and more secured mode.
Great! But what's wrong with just showing that in the McAfee security center?
That's a very nasty programming job and only add's to confusion of trying to configure an already seriously flawed OS like Windows. On top of that, most XP machines are directly connected to the Internet through a router / modem so many have to deal with file and printer sharing problems. For those who are indirectly connect to the internet through a Internet server or a simple XP machine sharing it's internet connection on a local network, McAfee Firewall doesn't block file / printer sharing.
Firewall settings to enable file and printer sharing for local Windows Networks
Anyhow, the file & printer sharing blockade on the local network got resolved by changing 3 McAfee Firewall settings.
- Trusted network - Set the local network IP range to "Trusted" iso "Public".
This made all machines on the local network non-supicious, but this not enough to get
file and printer sharing going again.
- Enable File sharing service - Netbios Traffic on TCP/IP ports 137 - 139.
This setting made the XP machine with the file and printer shared visible again in the local
network workgroup. But still not enough to enable file and printer sharing.
- Enable directory service - Microsoft Directory Service on TCP/IP port 445
Finally this setting allowed a local network machine to browse the shared files and to connect to
local shared printers.
Most strange was to discover an active Windows Firewall with McAfee Firewall also active. At least it reported this way in the advanced tab of the local network adapter properties. In the above case the Windows Firewall was set to off manually.
McAfee version information
Below the McAfee version used.


text:
Max George has said that he will get Simon Cowell drunk on New Year's Eve.
The Wanted singer is flying out to Barbados today to play at the Sandy Lane concert with Rihanna in front of celebrity guests.
George told The Mirror: "We're gonna get him absolutely ragged.
"We'll send our ladies over to chat him up while we slip something into his drink."
George added that his girlfriend, Coronation Street star Michelle Keegan, will be in on the joke.
The 23-year-old added: "Michelle is a good actress, she'll know what to do. I've briefed her."
> The Wanted: 'We've worked really hard to make it'
> The Wanted interview: 'We were worried our album would flop'
Watch The Wanted's video of 'Glad You Came' below:


text:
A zero-inflated ordered probit model, with an application to modelling tobacco consumption
No abstract is available for this item.
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Volume (Year): 141 (2007)
Issue (Month): 2 (December)
Pages: 1073-1099
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Chaloupka, Frank, 1991.
"Rational Addictive Behavior and Cigarette Smoking,"
Journal of Political Economy,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(4), pages 722-742, August.
- Frank J. Chaloupka, 1990. "Rational Addictive Behavior and Cigarette Smoking," NBER Working Papers 3268, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Mark N. Harris & Xueyan Zhao, 2004.
"Modelling Tobacco Consumption with a Zero-Inflated Ordered Probit Model,"
Monash Econometrics and Business Statistics Working Papers
14/04, Monash University, Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics.
- Xueyan Zhao & Mark Harris, 2004. "Modelling Tobacco Consumption with a Zero-Inflated Ordered Probit Model," Econometric Society 2004 Australasian Meetings 363, Econometric Society.
- Xueyan Zhao & Mark N. Harris, 2004. "Demand for Marijuana, Alcohol and Tobacco: Participation, Levels of Consumption and Cross-equation Correlations," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 80(251), pages 394-410, December.
- Heckman, James, 2013. "Sample selection bias as a specification error," Applied Econometrics, Publishing House "SINERGIA PRESS", vol. 31(3), pages 129-137.
- Heckman, James J, 1979. "Sample Selection Bias as a Specification Error," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 47(1), pages 153-161, January.
- Becker, Gary S & Murphy, Kevin M, 1988. "A Theory of Rational Addiction," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(4), pages 675-700, August.
- Gary S. Becker & Kevin M. Murphy, 1986. "A Theory of Rational Addiction," University of Chicago - George G. Stigler Center for Study of Economy and State 41, Chicago - Center for Study of Economy and State.
- Vuong, Quang H, 1989. "Likelihood Ratio Tests for Model Selection and Non-nested Hypotheses," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(2), pages 307-333, March.
- Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Publishing House "SINERGIA PRESS", vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
- Hausman, Jerry A, 1978. "Specification Tests in Econometrics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(6), pages 1251-1271, November.
- J. A. Hausman, 1976. "Specification Tests in Econometrics," Working papers 185, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
- William H. Greene, 1994. "Accounting for Excess Zeros and Sample Selection in Poisson and Negative Binomial Regression Models," Working Papers 94-10, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
- Winfried Pohlmeier & Volker Ulrich, 1995. "An Econometric Model of the Two-Part Decisionmaking Process in the Demand for Health Care," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 30(2), pages 339-361.
- Cragg, John G, 1971. "Some Statistical Models for Limited Dependent Variables with Application to the Demand for Durable Goods," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 39(5), pages 829-844, September.
- Mullahy, John, 1997. "Heterogeneity, Excess Zeros, and the Structure of Count Data Models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 12(3), pages 337-350, May-June.
- Mullahy, John, 1986. "Specification and testing of some modified count data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 341-365, December.
- Andrew Chesher & Richard J. Smith, 1997. "Likelihood Ratio Specification Tests," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 65(3), pages 627-646, May.
- Stigler, George J & Becker, Gary S, 1977. "De Gustibus Non Est Disputandum," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 76-90, March.
- Murray Smith, 2003. "On dependency in double-hurdle models," Statistical Papers, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 581-595, October. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Apr 29, 2008
|Filing date
|Nov 29, 2005
|Priority date
|Dec 19, 2003
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Gary R. Streeter
|Original Assignee
|Scientific Games International, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (41), Referenced by (13), Classifications (29), Legal Events (9)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/014,159, filed on Dec. 16, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,222, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/531,179, entitled "Embedded Optical Signatures," filed on Dec. 19, 2003, the entirety of which are all hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to systems and methods of document validation and authentication. More particularly, the present invention relates to the use of embedded optical signatures in documents primarily for the purposes of authentication, validation, and copy verification.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several methods known to embed security measures into a document to help prove that the document is authentic. The most basic methods are to impose or emboss a visible seal on the document. It is also known to use a watermark or a ribbon in the substrate of the document, or use color shifting ink, all of which are readily visible to a person viewing the document. There are other methods to maintain document authenticity which are not readily visible to a viewer, such as microprinting, or the use of heat (or light) sensitive ink.
One particularly important area for document authentication concerns lottery tickets. In most instances, mere possession of a winning lottery ticket entitles the holder to the winnings. Thus, authentication of the presented lottery ticket is critically important. For example, lottery on-line tickets which are common in many countries and states are, by necessity, printed and presented to the purchaser in real-time with transactional data printed on the lottery ticket via a thermal or impact printer. To enhance security, lotteries typically use preprinted ticket stock with serial numbering on the back of the printing substrate as well as fluorescent and other inks on the ticket substrate to help prove authenticity and integrity. The preprinted serial numbering provides much of the security in determining the authenticity of a winning ticket because the distribution of the preprinted serial number ticket stock is maintained by an entity separate from the one controlling the printing of transactional data. When a winning ticket is presented for redemption, an audit trail can be established between the ticket stock serial number and the transactional data. However, this added paper stock security has the disadvantage of high cost, as well as the logistics of tracking the ticket stock. Also, the labor intensive nature of correlating the ticket stock to an on-line lottery ticket printed at a given retailer at a given time typically prohibits the method's use for all but high-tier winning tickets. Moreover, existing commercial barcodes and serial numbers only cover a portion of the ticket and are relatively easy to remove and replace.
Another problem is that it is essential for an on-line lottery ticket to be proven both to exhibit authenticity (i.e., proof that it was created by the lottery system at the appropriate time) and integrity (i.e., that the ticket has not been modified by the player—it is in its original unmodified condition). Preprinted ticket stock and associated commercial barcodes simply prove that a ticket was printed at a given retailer during a given time period. Also, mere proof of authenticity does not address the problem of an insider with knowledge of the winning ticket's number after a drawing simply acquiring ticket stock from the retailer and printing a fraudulent winning ticket indicia. The concept of authenticity is also important to the lottery customer as the customer is also protected from the lottery authority falsely denying that the ticket is authentic.
Document authentication and integrity are particularly difficult with lottery "scratch-off" tickets. The scratch-off ticket has an array of playing indicia covered with a removable covering, typically a layer of latex, and the player removes the scratch-off layer to determine if the ticket contains winning indicia. The system to validate the winning scratch-off ticket must determine if the scratch-off media has been substantially removed prior to awarding a prize. This step is necessary to ensure that the scratch-off ticket cannot be prescreened by the ticket retailers with only non-winning tickets sold to the general public; i.e., a ticket with a substantial amount of its scratch-off layer removed cannot be sold as a virgin (un-played) ticket. Traditionally, this validation of removal of scratch-off layer was accomplished by requiring the retailer to enter coded information that was previously hidden under the scratch-off layer. However, this process was labor intensive and time consuming for the retailer. Often, the player does not remove the portion of the scratch-off layer covering the coded information as the revealing of the coded information is not of any value to the player. Furthermore, sometimes the area over the coded information is marked to prevent the player from scratching off the layer and attempting to alter the code.
One method that attempted to allow authentication, integrity, and validation of scratch-off lottery tickets is through hiding a two-dimensional barcode under the ticket's scratch-off medium that can easily be scanned with the proper equipment. However, the equipment required to scan the two dimensional bar code can be expensive. Moreover, the hiding of a two-dimensional barcode under the ticket's scratch-off medium results in the same labor intensive problem for the retailer as players tend to not scratch-off the area of the latex covering the two-dimensional barcode because it is of no interest. A further method of authentication, integrity, and validation of scratch-off lottery tickets is to electrically scan the ticket for the presence of electrical signatures in the scratch-off printing ink as well as the ticket's substrate. However, this methodology also requires expensive equipment.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method for document validation embedded on the substrate of the document that is visible to equipment viewing the document and does not require a large surface area of view in order to provide the information requisite to validate or authenticate the document. Such method would be particularly well suited for use under the scratch-off layer in the validation of scratch-off lottery tickets as well as authenticating on-line tickets. It is to such a method of document security and authentication that the present invention is primarily directed.
Briefly described, the present invention is a method of embedding an optical signature in a document as either an identifying signature or as steganography data. The optical signature is an optical pattern that is generated from and represents a known mathematical value embodied as printed geometric relationships on the documents, and the same mathematical value can be generated from examination of the embedded optical pattern on a document. Other data, such as cryptographic keys, may be required to generate the same mathematical value after examining the embedded pattern. The document can thus be validated, authenticated, or the determination of a valid copy of an original document with the embedded optical signature made through comparison of the known mathematical value and the mathematical value generated from the optical pattern on the document. The optical pattern can also be generated from other identification codes on the document, such as universal product codes (UPC) or other bar codes, as could be present on lottery tickets. Moreover, the optical pattern can, in itself, carry extensive data which is not necessarily related to or cannot be created from other sources of data already on the ticket. An exemplary optical pattern includes a series of marks or stars that represent mathematical values when aligned with a predetermined X-Y coordinate grid.
In one aspect, the invention is a method of embedding an optical signature on a substrate through the steps of obtaining a value, then generating a detectable optical pattern comprised of a plurality of discrete marks encoding a value based upon on a grid having at least two axes being aligned in a predetermined manner with the plurality of discrete marks, and then embedding the optical pattern on a substrate. The invention can also include the step of authenticating or verifying a document through the alignment of a grid over the marks embedded on the substrate of a document.
The invention therefore provides an industrial advantage in that it is a method for document validation embedded on the substrate of the document that is visible to equipment, and does not necessarily have to be visible to a person, which can be used to verify the authenticity of a printed document, such as a lottery ticket. The present method does not require a large surface area of view in order to provide the information requisite to validate or authenticate the document, which is particularly useful as a validating pattern under the scratch-off layer of scratch-off lottery tickets. In addition to scratch-off Lottery tickets, the present invention can be used to ensure the authenticity of other documents, as well as placed in a document to prove or authenticate it as a copy of an original document.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after review of the hereinafter set forth Brief Description of the Drawings, Detailed Description of the Invention, and the Claims.
The present invention provides a method of embedding an optical signature into a document requiring authentication or verification, such as the scratch-off lottery ticket 10 in
As can be seen in
In another embodiment where lottery tickets are vended through remote sales, and thus "on-line," a reduced-labor alternative method of validation is to maintain a virtual ticket serial number in the vending terminal's memory (not shown) that is issuing the on-line lottery ticket. The virtual ticket serial number can be based upon a pseudorandom starting value that was passed encrypted to the Lottery entity at the start of the day. Whenever an on-line lottery ticket is issued, the virtual ticket serial number would increment either by a unit or pseudo randomly via a Linear Congruential Generator (LCG). These generators use a method similar to folding schemes in chaotic maps. For reference, the general formula is:
l k=(al k−1 +c)mod m
The values a, c and m are pre-selected constants: a is known as the multiplier, c is the increment, and m is the modulus. The resulting virtual ticket number would then be used to generate an optical signature pattern that would be printed real-time in the background of the on-line lottery ticket. To the player or retailer this optical signature would appear to be gray shading, but when a winning ticket was presented for optical scanning of its barcode, an optical scanner can detect the optical signature in addition to the barcode and be able to automatically correlate the two at the time of redemption.
Another use of the present invention is copyright protection or proof of copying of images. Through embedding an optical signature in the background of an image, any illegal copies would contain the optical signature as well as the image. A sufficiently large number of pseudorandom optical patterns are possible in the same document, and moreover, and the optical signature can be embedded in images in a manner not detectable by a human observer. Therefore, it would be very difficult to remove the optical signatures from the optically signed original document.
As shown in
As shown in the embodiment of
The background stars 22 can be automatically created by a star field generator that pseudo-randomly places the stars on an image under specified geometric constraints and multiple star fields (with the same geometric constraints) can be tiled next to each other providing coverage for large image areas. Through varying the angles between the stars 22 and the associated distances, millions of different optical patterns are possible.
In one embodiment, the background stars 22 are any pixel or shape with a surrounding high contrast halo approximately four pixels deep. This high contrast ratio between a star and its associated halo can be achieved through varying methodologies, e.g., color, intensity, least significant bit (for digital images), and the like. For example, in printed documents, a star can be a 240 dpi inkjet drop or a 120 dpi thermal printer dot with a background halo free of drops/dots.
In one embodiment of the validation, one of the image's primary color channels (i.e., red, blue, or green) searches for any repeating star pattern. The selected color channel is then digitally filtered by eliminating all objects in the scanned image that are larger than the expected stars. In this embodiment, the triangular star patterns are digitally normalized from the orientation of the document to the a priori database.
Once the stars have been detected and oriented correctly, the relative distance and angles between the stars are measured and calculated. These measurements are the optical signature with their trigonometric and/or geometric values applied to an a priori database for validation. The spacing of the actual stars 18 should be such that any significant removal of the scratch-off covering 12 will reveal an adequate amount of stars 18 for validation to be possible.
The present invention can also be implemented in a monochromatic manner. In monochrome, the pixels are represented as either a "0" or an "1." A monochrome method presents special problems in that a single star overlapping two sensor pixels could be interpreted as two or more individual stars clustered together. To compound this problem, the moir� nature of the scans can cause different portions of the same ticket to exhibit different star morphing effects. Consequently, due to the "hit or miss" nature and the distribution of the star codes across a document, it is difficult to isolate and locate an individual star using a monochromatic scanner. It is known to use a "gray scale" to remove a background halo from a scanned pixel by utilizing the differences in intensity of gray scale, i.e. the darker pixel is assumed to be a dot and lighter pixels are not.
For use in a monochromatic setting, the present invention can utilize a "pseudo gray scale" in monochromatic scans of a document containing a star-field optical pattern to both isolate and locate printed stars. Here, a "star" can be a printed dot or number of dots. Given that each dot or pixel is printed as a circle, the expected shape to be scanned in a monochromatic bitmap is also a circle. However, for various reasons the printed circle typically bleeds beyond its normal one pixel radius on its substrate, for example a thermal printer wherein the heat from the print head causes the printed dot to occupy a larger area than the imager head. To compound the problem, the alignment of the printed circles to the scanner's sense pixels is rarely ideal, also resulting in different shaped scanned pixels. For example,
As shown in
When the grid 100 illustrated in
Thus, the star in the center illustration would receive an overall gray weighting value of "101" with the individual pixels carrying weights of "17, 16, 8, and 4". When the grid 100 is shifted to the right, as shown in
Accordingly, this embodiment uses the overall pseudo grayscale weighting values to differentiate individual stars from background noise. The pseudo grayscale weighting of an individual scanned pixel receives its own grayscale value based on the weighting factor grid. The higher the value assigned to a given scanned pixel, the darker the pseudo grayscale. Through such pixel weighting, an excellent representation of the location of each star can be achieved.
The same grid 100 that is used to define a star also eliminates what is not a star. If every location of the grid illustrated in
For example,
To measure the geometrical relationship between stars, one must find the center of the star independent of printing faults and scanner pixel misalignments, and by utilizing the aforementioned pseudo grayscale for pixels the center of the star would be represented as the darkest pixel(s), i.e., any pixel in a grid that does not have the darkest pseudo grayscale value can be safely eliminated. Thus, a grid of stars 110 in raw data form can be scanned as shown in
In another embodiment, the present invention method of using an embedded star-field can use the concept of different shaped blocks to build a data matrix (a "galaxy") that occupies only the available background areas (such as white space) of a document, such as an on-line lottery ticket. It should be noted that this embodiment can be used with the pseudo gray scale methodology described above to align the stars properly. In this embodiment, the "shaped" stars can completely fill a fixed area using predefined pieces. In particular with on-line lottery tickets, the present method can use whatever shaped background area (white space) is available to squeeze as much data as practical on the ticket.
An exemplary printed on-line lottery ticket 120 is shown in
A predefined set of pieces or blocks, such as those shown in
In particular regard to the detection of orientation of the blocks, or shaped-stars, the method first establishes a reference point by searching the scanned "universe" of one or more star-fields for "guide stars." Once a set of three guide stars is identified, the information in the associated guide cluster is decoded to determine the orientation and configuration of the "galaxy," or the particular star-field of data. There are preferably redundant guide stars and galaxies, and consequently, the "universe" of all star-fields can continue to be scanned for other (redundant) guide stars and galaxies until the data is successfully decoded or all guide stars in the universe are exhausted. It should also be noted that guide stars are not exclusive to the block methodology as one can use guide stars in the other embodiments to determine star orientation or to pass other key information to the scanner.
Regarding the scale of data, the "star" is the most fundamental unit that can be utilized to encode data in a binary sense, i.e. 0 or 1. A star can be represented as a single high-contrast pixel in the universe. However, one problem with single pixels representing stars, is that printers (especially ink jet and thermal) will routinely dropout single pixels, which can void an entire block of data in the present system. A better alternative is to a priori classify a star to be a predefined grouping of pixels such that a dropout of any one pixel will not impact the ability to decode the data. Additionally, a grouping of pixels defining a star can help allow the system and method to discriminate against background noise. In one embodiment, an arrangement of five printed pixels in a plus sign (+) configuration provides a highly reliable star grouping with minimal use of space. With plus sign groupings, the dropout of any three pixels will still allow the accurate determination of the intended center of the star.
In one embodiment, the guide stars are always imaged in sets of three; identifying three corners of a guide cluster 150, such as shown in
In one embodiment, in addition to describing the configuration of the galaxy's orbit, there are also Hamming code error correction stars included in the guide cluster 150 to compensate for any noise or dropouts in the scanned image. Hamming codes for error correction are well known in the art and require the use of a small number of stars. A Hamming code is an error-detecting/error-correcting system, used in data transmission, which can: (a) detect all single- and double-bit errors and (b) correct all single-bit errors. Here, the inclusion of certain stars will be added to other stars for at least simple parity, and alternately, combination to a Hamming code word, as is known in the art.
A star-field galaxy contains a complete set of data. There is always one galaxy per guide cluster, with the associated galaxy orbiting its guide cluster 162, as shown in the "star galaxy" 160 of
Multiple galaxies 172 are clustered together on a single scanned image to comprise an universe as shown in the optical pattern of the on-line printed lottery ticket 170 in
Another embodiment of the optical signature utilizes an X-Y coordinate system to position the discrete marks (stars, dots, etc.) such that they make a reproducible mathematical value.
When using the X-Y coordinate grid, the stars do not need to occupy significant space on the ticket. For example, as shown in the embodiment of
Of course there are an infinite number of possibilities of algorithms to select the 3 digit number. For example, there might be 5 different numbers generated using this scheme and only the median value is the correct one (or only the highest or the lowest or the average. Or the thousands place digit may come from the largest of 3 numbers while the units place digit comes from the smallest number. Any group of 4 stars is an acceptable group for evaluation as long as 3 of the stars fall on the same straight line with a maximum spacing of 20 between the end points and a line drawn between the center star and 4th star is 10 units or less in length and is perpendicular to the first line.
Moreover, any number of confusion stars 190 may be added as long as they do not fall on the axes 180,182, as shown in
It is not a good idea to add too many confusion stars because, in general, the total number of lines that can be drawn between all stars=Σx=1 N(N−x) where N=the number of stars. With 4 stars, there are a maximum of 6 lines but with 9 stars as shown in
It should be noted that while the disclosed embodiments of the optical signature can be encoded from a random mathematical value, other identification codes embedded on the substrate, such as UPC codes on Lottery tickets, can be used to generate the optical signature or used in validation of the document. Thus, the optical pattern can then be encoded from a mathematical value based upon only or partially on the identification code. Furthermore, the optical pattern can be readily visible to a viewer thereof, or can be invisible to a viewer, such as printed in ink only viewable to a certain wavelength of light, such as ultraviolet light.
It can thus be seen that the present invention provides, in one aspect, a method of embedding an optical signature on a substrate 20 by obtaining a value, then generating a detectable optical pattern comprised of a plurality of discrete marks (such as stars 184,186,188 in
While the foregoing disclosure shows illustrative embodiments of the invention, it should be noted that various changes and modifications could be made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended Claims. Furthermore, although elements of the invention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated.
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|Optical error-detecting, error-correcting and other coding and processing, particularly for bar codes, and applications therefor such as counterfeit detection
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|Behm; William F.
|Game ticket confusion patterns
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|Dittler Brothers Incorporated
|Cards having variable benday patterns
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|Dittler Brothers Incorporated
|Lottery system
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|Marking medium area with encoded identifier for producing action through network
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|Two-dimensional dot code and reader thereof
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|Eugene Heggerty
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|Spectra Systems Corporation
|Optically-based methods and apparatus for performing sorting coding and authentication using a gain medium that provides a narrowband emission
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|Compact matrix code and one-touch device and method for code reading
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|Walker Digital, Llc
|Lottery game card and method for conducting a lottery game
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|Orientation-indicating machine readable coded data
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|Digimarc Corporation
|Authentication of identification documents
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|Apparatus and methods relating to image coding
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|Image processing method and apparatus
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|Feb 12, 2004
|Katsuki Nakajima
|Method of and device for reading optical data code
|Oct 16, 2002
|Apr 22, 2004
|Hersch Roger D.
|Authentication of documents and articles by moire patterns
|Aug 3, 2001
|Jul 1, 2004
|Jean-Marie Gatto
|Email ticket content
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|Citing Patent
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|Scientific Games International, Inc.
|Optical signature to enable image correction
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|Sicpa Holding Sa
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|Ontario Lottery And Gaming Corporation
|Barcoded lottery ticket, system and method for producing and validating the same
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|Authentiform, LLC
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|Optical signature to enable image correction
|U.S. Classification
|235/494, 235/375, 235/454
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Apr 11, 2006
Owner name: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., NEW YORK
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:017448/0558
Effective date: 20060331
Owner name: JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,NEW YORK
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:017448/0558
Effective date: 20060331
|Jul 24, 2007
Owner name: SCIENTIFIC GAMES ROYALTY CORPORATION, DELAWARE
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:STREETER, GARY R.;REEL/FRAME:019602/0385
Effective date: 20051116
|Aug 2, 2007
Owner name: SCIENTIFIC GAMES INTERNATIONAL, INC., DELAWARE
Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:SCIENTIFIC GAMES ROYALTY CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:019638/0661
Effective date: 20061231
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Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:SCIENTIFIC GAMES ROYALTY CORPORATION;REEL/FRAME:019638/0661
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|Jul 23, 2008
Owner name: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:SCIENTIFIC GAMES INTERNATIONAL, INC.;SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION;AUTOTOTE ENTERPRISES, INC.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:021281/0001
Effective date: 20080609
|Sep 30, 2011
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Nov 21, 2013
Owner name: SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORPORATION, NEW YORK
Free format text: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT;REEL/FRAME:031694/0043
Effective date: 20131018
Owner name: SCIENTIFIC GAMES INTERNATIONAL, INC., NEW YORK
Free format text: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT;REEL/FRAME:031694/0043
Effective date: 20131018
|Dec 18, 2013
Owner name: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT, TEXAS
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:SCIENTIFIC GAMES INTERNATIONAL, INC.;WMS GAMING INC.;REEL/FRAME:031847/0110
Effective date: 20131018
|Dec 4, 2014
Owner name: DEUTSCHE BANK TRUST COMPANY AMERICAS, AS COLLATERA
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNORS:BALLY GAMING, INC;SCIENTIFIC GAMES INTERNATIONAL, INC;WMS GAMING INC.;REEL/FRAME:034530/0318
Effective date: 20141121
|Sep 24, 2015
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8


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Cowslip Flower Essence Primula veris is a sweet little flower of the traditional cheerful primrose yellow. The flower essence action addresses how we often take what is true for us as a general or universal truth. Actually we can each have … Continue reading
Category Archives: Demons
In Access Consciousness, a "demon" is an energetic pattern that keeps us from being aware and conscious in a particular way. They come into our energy fields whenever we choose consciously or unconsciously to be unconscious about something. (How do … Continue reading
What fun! Jo Dunning's 7th Energy Center workshop, the Crown Chakra, was amazing! Now I'm using the principles of neuroplasticity to reprogram my brain around the divine energies coming in through my cleared, restored, and initiated crown. Hdigabtt? Check out … Continue reading


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Southpaw Dance Company (UK)
Southpaw Dance Company, under the artistic directon of choreographer Robby Graham, create work within hip hop dance theatre that has been called, "... witty, hard-edged, sure in focus, and sizzling in energy" (Clement Crisp, Financial Times) Drawing on the relatively unexplored and often misunderstood vocabulary of b-boying (breaking), Robby and company members have developed a style that crosses the boundaries of what is defined as contemporary technique and hip hop movement. Elements of breaking, contemporary, and contact work combine to form what has been described as "release breaking." ... "fluid movement with an uncanny, gravity-defying poise that is as elegant as ballet" (Eve Stebbing, The Telegraph).
With strong thematic elements throughout the work that has explored growing up in the wake of a terrorist attack, "couture" drug use, and more recently the prevalent global culture of protest and riot, Southpaw Dance Company create relevant, thought-provoking, and affective dance theatre.
Southpaw is about creating strong work with integrity; about challenging the conventional notions of hip hop theatre work as demonstrative and trick based; about deconstructing barriers of movement to innovate and create a distinctive new style; about representing, connecting, and ultimately expressing the passion for what we believe dance performance can be.


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- 32 years old
- Date of birth: May 21, 1980
- Date of passing: Jul 6, 2012
|Let the memory of Catrina be with us forever
"I feel a warmth around me
like your presence is so near,
And I close my eyes to visualize
your face when you were here,
I endure the times we spent together
and they are locked inside my heart,
For as long as I have those memories
we will never be apart,
Even though we cannot speak no more
my voice is always there,
Because every night before I sleep
I have you in my prayer."
"Tina i know your gone but i have to say i love you and i will always be they're for Shelby and liam you may be gone but never fogotten :("
"Love and miss you so much chic your always in my heart and always will be how a wish a could see you one more time love Jacquie Charlene James Shawn <3 xxxxx"
"missing you is easy.. i do it everyday..it's just the pain of losing you.. that never goes away:(..
love you my angel.. forever in my heart.. shine bright mum .. <3<3"
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Nestlé and R&R in talks for joint ice cream venture
Posted: 5 October 2015 | | No comments yet
Nestlé would contribute its ice cream businesses in Europe, Egypt, the Philippines, Brazil and Argentina to the new joint venture. R&R Group would join the new joint venture in its entirety…
Nestlé and R&R are in advanced discussions to set up a new joint venture covering ice cream based mainly in Europe and Africa.
R&R, owned by funds controlled by PAI Partners, is a leading European ice cream company based in the UK. It's brands include the iconic Fab ice lolly as well as the fast growing Skinny Cow ice cream and frozen yoghurt brand.
The proposed joint venture will capitalise on the complementary strengths and innovation expertise of the two companies. It will combine Nestlé's strong and successful brands and experience in 'out-of-home' distribution with R&R's competitive manufacturing model and significant presence in retail.
Nestlé CEO Paul Bulcke, "We are pleased to be in talks with R&R and its owner PAI Partners. We have a long-standing relationship with R&R. Combining the capabilities of our two companies in this way would offer an exciting opportunity for future growth in a dynamic category."
R&R CEO, Ibrahim Najafi commented, "We are pleased to be in talks with Nestlé and building on our 14 year history working together. We are excited about combining the respective talents of R&R and Nestlé's people to drive further growth in this category. The vision of the proposed joint venture is to grow a unique consumer and customer focused ice cream business serving all channels, delivering innovative, high quality ice cream through investment in people, process and products. The ambition of the proposed joint venture will be to sell more ice cream through meeting and exceeding customer and consumer needs."
Proposed ice cream venture would have a presence in developed and emerging markets
Nestlé would contribute its ice cream businesses in Europe, Egypt, the Philippines, Brazil and Argentina to the new joint venture. It would also transfer its European frozen food businesses, excluding pizza. R&R Group would join the new joint venture in its entirety. This combination will give the proposed joint venture a presence in both developed and emerging markets across the northern and southern hemispheres in complementary channels.
Following the conclusion of the talks, the employee consultations and subject to approval from regulatory authorities, the new arrangements would be implemented in the course of 2016. Each partner would own an equal share of the new joint venture which would operate in more than 20 countries and employ more than 10,000 people. It is proposed that the board of the new joint venture would be composed of senior executives from both partners, in equal proportion, and be chaired by Luis Cantarell, Nestlé Executive Vice President Europe, Middle East and North Africa. Ibrahim Najafi would be CEO.
Nestlé and R&R have worked together for the past 14 years, initially in the UK and Ireland and, more recently, in Australia and South Africa where R&R licences Nestlé brands.


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Today I am happy to share with you a Valentines collaboration with Ada and her daughter Vivian of Elegance and Mommyhood. For this particular collaboration Ada and I choose casual clothing for our Valentines looks and we will be sharing a little about what our Valentine times day means for each of us.
I went casual with my girls for this particular photo shoot because we participated in a "Soup-er Bowl and Chilli" party at our church prior to these photos and so dressing up was out of the ball park. I love that my girls are getting older and that means holidays are getting to be an event to look forward too. Every Valentines my husband gives me a bouquet of roses and some chocolates with a card, along with a date night. My girls will probably receive little roses as well. This holiday is pretty low key and we enjoy the sweets and romance associated with the holiday. What will you do for Valentines? See how Ada and Vivian celebrate Valentines.


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@calgarybride2015 @Wafflesmom @snswedding2016 thanks so much ladies!! I'm really happy that we have this video to look back on. It made it that much more special for us.
Pjay Planning Thread - December 15, 2015 Beach Palace
Posted 30 June 2015 - 08:25 PM
Posted 30 June 2015 - 09:01 PM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Posted 01 July 2015 - 05:47 AM
So I haven't gotten the engagement photos back yet, but we did get a surprise video from the shoot! Chester's good friend from highschool joined as the Videographer and said he was filming a profile video of our photographer. Turns out he was filming us!
Watch "Perian & Chester Save the Date" on YouTube - https://youtu.be/WIqLeNfkaKU
Oh I love it!!! Another one that made me cry!! You just look so adorable together and the skirt is FAB!! I remember you talking about ordering it. Can't wait to see the actual pictures! The puppies are adorable too!!And what a wonderful gift! Your hubby to be has some nice friends!!
I said "yes" again to the love of my life at Grand Coral Beach Club, Playa del Carmen, Mexico on our 4th anniversary - October 20, 2015
Posted 01 July 2015 - 05:52 AM
@yycbride2016 Thanks girl! Really happy about it.
@acw271011 Aww thank you! My fiance got misty eyed over it.. it was really sweet. I'm happy with how the skirt turned out It was totally worth it because I feel like it gave it such a romantic feel
- acw271011 likes this
Posted 01 July 2015 - 07:12 AM
aww that's such a cute video! Your pictures will definitely be amazing from what I could see. I love the outfits, now I need a tulle skirt! haha
- snswedding2016 and pjay like this
Posted 01 July 2015 - 08:23 AM
How amazing that you got a video of the photo shoot too! Agree with the others, it looks like your photos are going to be beautiful (not that anyone was expecting otherwise).
Love all the outfits and that your adorable dogs got to join in the fun!
Posted 01 July 2015 - 09:25 AM
So I haven't gotten the engagement photos back yet, but we did get a surprise video from the shoot! Chester's good friend from highschool joined as the Videographer and said he was filming a profile video of our photographer. Turns out he was filming us!
Watch "Perian & Chester Save the Date" on YouTube - https://youtu.be/WIqLeNfkaKU
Your video is beautiful , but I'm mostly interested in the corgis! Your two are super cute!! We have plans to get a corgi next year once we're married. They're such cute sweet dogs.
Excellence Riviera Cancun - 12.12.15 - My Planning Thread
Posted 02 July 2015 - 05:19 AM
@TinkerSofi thanks! Do it! I feel like it's a necessary item in any wardrobe now haha
@krystalball thanks so much
@TNT2015 haha! No worries, I totally get it..i'm the crazy corgi lady One wasn't enough. Definitely recommend the breed to anyone
- TinkerSofi likes this
Posted 02 July 2015 - 11:17 AM
awww how awesome!!! I love the video!
My planning thread: http://www.bestdesti...unset-princess/
My review thread: http://www.bestdesti...incess-wedding/
Posted 06 July 2015 - 04:50 AM
Engagement Photos
We got some of our photos back last night! We have to wait for all of the files to be mailed to us, but here are some that the photographer posted on his Facebook page. I'm so extremely excited about these photos.. If any Toronto/GTA area brides need a good engagement photographer, Check out John Van Tran Photography (JVT Photography).. He's amazing and put in so much time to make sure that we would love our photos. He also really understood my vision after telling him that I wanted a very whimsical/soft lighting feel.
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- Wafflesmom, snswedding2016, deecol and 5 others like this
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I read on Mitch Joel's blog about the concept of 3 words in a year that Chris Brogan started and Mitch and others have made into a tradition. I tried this out last year and decided to go with a single word instead of three – "Transformation". I must say that this helped me a lot by being my compass in everything that i did and I grew more than I had ever did. You can find my post at the start of the year and my self-appraisal at the end of the year.
So, it is time to pick the focus word for 2015.
And the word is "Habits". I would like to create new habits and replace some old habits with new one's – one's that work. It is now scientifically proven that "Will Power" is like any other muscle and that we need to exercise it as we need to exercise any other muscle and that it is a limited resource that we can run out of if used a lot.
This is probably the reason why it is difficult for us to do the right thing all the time. Each time we think about something and make a decision, we are using some amount of our will power.
The research has also indicated that it is exactly what habits are capable of short circuiting – if we are in the habit of exercising, we don't expend any energy on the decision to exercise; if we are in the habit of being respectful and considerate of others, we don't expend any energy on doing so; if we are in the habit of reading or writing, we don't expend any energy on doing so and it becomes easier for us to do what we want to do without much difficulty and conserve the energy or will power to tackle more difficult and far reaching decisions that we need to make, decisions that we are not required to make routinely.
Charles Duhigg in his book – "The Power of Habit" talks about how to build a new habit or replace an existing one. He breaks down every habit into three key components:
- Identify the Cue
- Do the Routine
- Enjoy the Reward
Most of us concentrate on the routine, when it is critical to concentrate on all three aspects in order to be able to build new habits or replace old one's.
When I say that i want to build habits, I would like to do them in the following dimensions of my life:
Physical Dimension:
Exercising and drinking enough water is key for a healthy body. So, I want to build both of these into habits.
Intellectual Dimension:
Being open to new thoughts and ideas is critical for us to remain intellectually stimulated. I want to build a habit that allows me to continue to read/listen/meet with interesting people who can open my minds to new possibilities.
Emotional Dimension:
Listening well and being empathetic is critical in any relationship – personal or professional. It is also key to be fully immerse yourself in one thing at a time so that you can bring your whole self into that situation. These are the habits i want to build – being fully present, listening well and being empathetic.
Financial Dimension:
I want to build habits around investing and financial management, ie, taking care of all the financial incomes and expenses time and completing the investments that are planned.
Spiritual Dimension:
I want to build a habit of meditating, self-reflection and reading spiritual texts and practicing some of what they teach us. Being helpful, supporting the needy, etc.
Some might think that these are just too many goals that i have set for myself and that it would be really difficult for one to achieve all of these. This is where the single word comes into being. I am not focusing on every goal all the time but focusing on the one word, every single moment in the context of the moment.
So, 2015 is going to be the year of "Habits" for me. What about you? What goals are you setting for yourself?


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Iron Fist is a DLC to Men of War : Assault Squad 2 and contains a set of new features and additional single player content.Read full description
Iron Fist is a DLC to Men of War : Assault Squad 2 and contains a set of new features and additional single player content, such as:
Replays of your multiplayer matches and the ability to save, load and share them with others on Steam Workshop
3rd person direct control feature
5 new singleplayer skirmishes in which you fight as a veteran tank crew via the new 3rd person controls
Free updates including:
DirectX 10 support
Multiplayer spectator slots
Unit veterancy
Auto ammo resupply
Men of War never really get boring, right? All these DLC's, and still no boredom. Got this DLC recently in a sale, haven't played much, but I can tell that it was worth it so far. I checked the skirmish missions which it adds (which is one mission for every faction), and they were a lot of fun. Being in third-person during the missions and with all those tanks, going through everything with them, it's a different approach with this DLC but completely fine with me and I guess with most of the player that tried this DLC. The rest of the stuff it offers are various here and there, not really the highlights though. Iron Fist talks through it's title about how good it is. If you need extra content & focused more on tanks, get this DLC. Good price, and good content.
Simply rate this game out of 5 stars and submit
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Volunteer FAQs
QUESTIONS? Contact email@example.com or call 920-202-3013
- All volunteers have the option to purchase a parking pass (allowing them to park at the Town Hall) along with a T-shirt for $15 while registering online OR to purchase a weekend parking pass at volunteer registration for $20 (T-shirt not included).
- Volunteer Registration is located at the Oshkosh Town Hall (230 County Road Y, Oshkosh, WI 54901).
- All volunteers over 18 must present a photo ID to check-in.
- You will receive your event wristband at Volunteer Registration.
- If you have any money due, you need to pay at Volunteer Registration before receiving your wristband. Life Promotions accepts cash, check or credit card (MasterCard, Visa, or Discover).
- There is temporary parking in front of Town Hall for during check-in. If you purchased a parking pass when registering, you will be able to park in the lot North of the Town Hall building. You will get your parking pass and T-shirt token when you check-in.
- Campers: If you are camping at Lifest you will need to purchase a campsite. Please visit our website or call the Life Promotions office at 800-955-LIFE.
- Arrive Wednesday: Volunteers can set up camping between Noon and 8:00 pm. If you are in Graceland or Mission Field Electric, please note that generators will not be on until 8:00 am on Thursday. You may enter the Main Gate directly from County Y.
- Arrive Thursday or Later: Please go to Volunteer Registration first to get your wristband. Then you will be able to enter the grounds at Gate 4 and proceed to your campsite.
Please plan on arriving to check in DURING THESE HOURS ONLY. If you arrive when Volunteer Registration is closed, you will not be able to enter the festival until the next day. If you expect to arrive outside these hours, please make arrangements in advance. Arrive at least one hour before your first volunteer shift begins. Registering and parking will take some time (especially on Thursday).
Wednesday 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Thurs – Fri 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 1:00 pm
- One Day Volunteers can sign up starting June 1st.
- If you are filling out a paper application, you must mail it by June 30th.
- If you are using the online application at http://lifest.com/experience/volunteer/, it will be available until midnight on July 2, 2017. Please use this application if at all possible. You will be able to schedule yourself and receive immediate email confirmation.
If you haven't applied by July 3rd, check our website to see if there are any openings left. If so, you will need to register at Lifest. Please proceed to Town Hall and follow the signs for Walk-In Registration. Late registrants are not guaranteed a volunteer position so please come prepared to purchase a Lifest ticket if needed. A background check will be done at the festival so it could take over an hour to complete the process. It is best to apply before the deadlines so that registration goes quickly and efficiently.
- Full Time Volunteers work 13 – 15 hours and receive a free Full Event Ticket.
- Part Time Volunteers work 9 – 12 hours and receive a Full Event Ticket for $30.
- One Day Volunteers work approximately 5 hours and receive a ticket for the day they work. We will wait to enter hours for all paper applications until June 1st when we begin accepting One Day applicants.
- Part Time and Full Time Volunteers are required to work at least one shift during an evening headliner if shifts are available.
- Volunteers who work an extra shift (approximately over 15 hours) will receive a $5 voucher for each additional shift. Vouchers can be used for discounts on Lifest apparel or food at the Lifest Food Shack. See voucher for more information.
- Some teams fill up quickly. For best selection sign up early!
- Please let us know at any point if you are unable to fulfill your volunteer commitment at Lifest. If you do not show up for your scheduled volunteer shifts, you will not be able to volunteer at next year's festival and may be required to pay for your ticket.
- All volunteers 18 and over will receive a background check. The information from this check will not be used for any purpose other than assessing your suitability for volunteering.
- We do not accept walk-in volunteers who have lived out of state in the last seven years. If you have lived out of state, please fill out an application in advance.
- Individuals will not be allowed to volunteer if they are listed on the National Sex Offender Registry.
- The background check process can take up to two weeks. You will be notified if you are not able to volunteer. If you don't hear from us, you can assume there is no concern.
- All volunteers over 18 must present a photo ID to check-in.
- All volunteers under 18 must have a signed PARENTAL CONSENT FORM before they can work.
- If you have children at Lifest who are not scheduled to volunteer with you, please arrange for their supervision while you serve. They are not allowed to accompany you during your volunteer shift.
- Volunteers age 13-15 (and anyone signing up for Jr. Security) should volunteer with an adult willing to work with them for all their scheduled shifts. Maximum of 6 youth per adult.
- Jobs available for youth fill up quickly, so sign up early to ensure positions are still available.
Special Notes:
$ – You may be handling money on this team. You must be at least 16 to handle money. Accountability and accuracy are required and cash register experience is desired. If you don't feel comfortable at a cash register or making change, please let the area leader know when you check in for your shift.
* – You may be working outside for some or all of your shift. Please come prepared for the weather (rain poncho, bug spray, footwear, sun screen, hat, etc).
|Team Name
|Min Age & Notes
|16 *
|Assisting with a variety of fun activities at Activities Central
|Art Space
|Set-up, organize and clean the Art Space Area
|Artist Merchandise
|16 $
|Handle sales and keep merchandise presentable
|Camping Field
|14 *
|Paint camping lines and set up sites before the event. Direct campers on check-in day.
|14 $ *
|Food preparation, service, cooking, delivery and sales. The concessions stand could be indoors or outdoors. You will be standing – please wear comfortable shoes. When handling food, you will need to wear a hat – you may want to bring your own.
|Festival Tear-Down
|14 *
|You must be a Full Time Volunteer to choose this team. You must be able to work Sunday from 1:00pm to 8:00pm and Monday 8:00am to 8:00pm (we may end sooner depending on weather and team size). You MUST be able to lift 50 lbs and work outside. We will provide Sunday supper and Monday lunch. When you arrive at Volunteer Registration, you will be required to pay a $50 deposit. This can be in the form of check or credit card. Becuase you are receiving your wristband before you work, this deposit is held only to ensure that you show up for Festival Tear-Down. Your deposit will be returned to you after work is complete. Close-toed shoes are required. Note: There are some Sunday only shifts, labelled "Sunday Tear-Down."
|Festival Set-Up
|16 *
|You must be a Full Time Volunteer to choose this team. You must be able to work Tuesday and Wednesday before the event, from 8:00am to 5;00pm. You MUST be able to life 50 lbs and work outside. Lunch wis available for $4 each on Tuesday and Wednesday. You can pack a lunch or purchase these meals at Catering. meal breaks are short so you won't have time to leave to eat. Close-toed shoes are required.
|Grounds Crew
|13 *
|Keep the grounds beautiful by picking up garbage around the fairgrounds, as well as changing garbage bags in designated areas.
|KidZone Team
|Supervise crafts and inflatables and have fun with the kids! This position requires some set-up and clean-up.
|Lifest Store
|18 $
|Handle sales and will keep merchandise presentable. You must be a Full Time Volunteer and choose all your shifts on this team if possible.
|Medical Team
|Physicians, nurses, CNAs, MAs, Paramedics, EMTs and First Responders needed. Proof of medical certification is required before you volunteer. the schedule you choose is tentative; the Director of the area will confirm or change as necessary.
|14 $ *
|Direct vehicles through the parking area and collect parking money.
|18 *
|This area is for watchful, assertive volunteers who are willing to keep order. Security is for mature individuals with a Christ-like attitude who will treat all situations and all people with respect and proper protocol. You will secure all areas of the festival. If you are willing to work overnight, please consider choosing Overnight Security. If you are 16 or 17, you must sign up to work the same shifts as an adult you know.
|Ticket Tent
|14 $ *
|All festival attendees enter this tent to purchase tickets, pick-up orders and receive their wristbands. The volunteer here sells tickets, assists in putting on wristbands, and delivers orders.
|Stage Crew
|18 *
|You will be lifting and moving heavy band and stage equipment. You must be able to lift over 75 lbs. No skirts, dresses, or sandals while working. You may want to bring your own gloves. You will be working at various stages. Close-toed shoes are required.


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text:
My outfit details:
I'm wearing // Coat: H&M (old, but similar here) | Faux fur cardigan | Leather Skinny Belt: American Eagle Outfitters | Stripe T-shirt: Nowistyle | Jeans: Liz Claiborne | Boots: LavoraZione Artigiana | Crystal Necklace: Vintage (similar here) | Sunglasses: Forever 21 | Nails: Heavenly by Kokie Cosmetics | Hat: Forever 21 | Leopard Bag: Comeco
Photos by: iBakefilm
Hello everyone! Hope you had a very Merry Christmas! I'm so glad it's getting warmer. So, I can can wear lighter jackets. I mean walking around in a down coat was comfy and all but it was nice to wear something a little less heavy.
Any who; I'm loving flared jeans lately and they are perfect for traveling. I think they are actually really comfy from day to night. I paired mine with my favorite pointed toe red boots. I feel like I will be needing a cardigan over my t-shirt for a while until the temps are above 30… Lol I'm freezing over here.
By the way; Saks Fifth Avenue's The Designer Sale is happening now. Receive up to 60% off incredible designer selections for women, men, and kids through Dec. 30. Happy shopping! 🙂
[hr style="solid|dash|dot"]
Thank you for stopping by! Happy Monday!
♥ xo, Lily


text:
Product or Service
Pueraria (Kudzu Root) P. E. 40% Isoflavnis
Profile:Manufacturer - Producer|Ref:PSL109759YH | Country: China | Currency: usd | Export: No
What is Pueraria/Kudzu Powder Extracts?
The root of Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi or Pueraria thunbergiana, a perennial deciduous vine, of the family Leguminosae. The kudzu is a fast-growing, woody, somewhat hairy vine that may grow to a length of 18 m in one season. It has large leaves, long racemes with late-blooming reddish purple flowers, and flat, hairy seed pods. The plant is native to China, where it was long grown for its edible, starchy roots and for a fibre made from its stems. The kudzu was transplanted to North America with the intention of using it to anchor steep banks of soil and thereby prevent erosion. The plant has become a rampant weed in parts of the southeastern United States, however, since it readily spreads over trees and shrubs as well as exposed soil. Other uses of the kudzu vine are as a useful fodder crop for livestock, as well as an attractive ornamental. Northern winters tend to kill the plant's stems but allow the roots to survive. The root has been used by the Chinese as an herb. In China, the plant is distributed everywhere in the south and north of China, picked and dug in spring and autumn, sliced, dried in the sun and used when raw or after it is baked.
What are Health Benefits?
1. Used for exterior syndromes caused by exopathogens;
2. Used for measles without adequate eruption;
3. Used for thirst due to febrile disease and diabetes due to yin deficiency;
4. Used for diarrhea or dysentery due to pathogenic heat and diarrhea due to deficiency of the spleen.
Contact the company


text:
News and Events
January 26, 2016
Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award
February 1, 2015
A Manual for Marco is released.
November 15, 2014
Rani in Search of a Rainbow is released
November 16, 2014
NetIP Book Reading, Toybrary
October 29, 2014
Literacy Night at Chisholm Trail Middle School
September 26, 2014
Interview with Voice of America (Urdu audio)
May 28, 2014
Book Reading, England Elementary
April 16, 2014
Book Reading: The Corner School at TASB
March 8, 2014
Barnes & Noble Book Reading
March 2014
Blog Tour: My Friend Suhana
September 28, 2012
Saffron Dreams wins the Patras Bukhari Award for English Language
February 26, 2010
St. Stephens Literary Festival
November 2009
Saffron Dreams featured in 100 Bloggers, 100 Books, 100 Reviews, 1 Day
Until September 15, 2009
Buy a Book: Support a Cause
May 14, 2009
Interview on "Idea Lounge" With Host Khotan Shahbazi-Harmon
Live | Archive
May 12, 2009
Book reading and signing at Spicewood Springs Library
April 05, 2009
Book Club Meeting with NETIP
La Madeleine, 3418 N. Lamar, Austin, TX | Map
April 16, 2009
That Revision Thing: Tips for Editing Your Manuscript at Writers League of Texas
March 28, 2009
Book Reading and Signing at Bookwoman
March 03-28, 2009
Blog Tour
March 26, 2009
Book Reading and Signing at Barnes & Noble Booksellers Arboretum
February 3, 2009:
Amazon Book Launch for Saffron Dreams
- Interview with KVUE TV
- Award notice: My Friend Suhana Wins the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award
- Mention: Contemporary Pakistani American Women Writers: Writing their own stories, finding their own voices, U.S. Studies Online
- Mention: Wired for Empathy: How and Why Stories Cultivate Emotions. Firesteel
- Mention: 4 Female American Immigrant Fiction Authors: Coming to America, Itcher Magazine
- MangoBaaz names Shaila Abdullah as one of Pakistan's Super Women
- Voice of America interviews Shaila Abdullah (Audio: Urdu)
- Shaila Abdullah named by Global Diversity Practice as one of Women Power 100 of Pakistan
- Saffron Dreams wins the Patras Bukhari Award for English Language
- Saffron Dreams wins the Golden Quill Award
- Saffron Dreams declared a finalist in Reader Views Literary Award. Results expected March 12, 2010
- Saffron Dreams places second in Written Art Award 2010 in the General Fiction category
- Several bloggers laud Saffron Dreams and rate it as a must read book of 2009
- Austin author attempts to convey essence of Islam, post 9/11, article in Austin-American Stasteman
- Local Muslim author of 9/11 narrative says America has grown since 2001, Blog posting inAustin-American Stasteman
- Interview with Susan Ortlieb of Suko's Notebook
- Review: Changed forever. Dawn Newspaper
- Saffron Dreams, a finalist in the 2009 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- Interview with Dawn Newspaper
Sehba Sarwar interviews Shaila Abdullah
- Interview with Divine Caroline
- The Plot: Interview with Character Arissa
- Home Sweet Home Writing Challenge
- The Book Connection Guest post about the impact of 9/11 on the lives of the ordinary Muslims
- Guest Blogger at The Book Stacks
- Amulet for Caged Dove selected inInternational Museum of Women (I.M.O.W.) exhibit called Exhibiting You
- Huffington Post: Muslim-American Novelist Examines Social Rift in the Aftermath of 9/11
- Interview with Inside Scoop (audio): Juanita Watson of Inside Scoop interviews Abdullah
- Interview with Reader Views: Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views interviews Abdullah
- Shaila Abdullah profiled in Facts on File'sEncyclopedia of Asian-American Literature
- Profile in Nirali Magazine: If These Walls Could Talk: Shaila Abdullah's debut book opens a window on life as a Pakistani woman.


text:
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text:
Most Helpful Girl
They look better than mine..00|00|0
Thanks for the MHO! :)
They look better than mine..
Thanks for the MHO! :)
at least you dont have spongebob teeth bro
Is one visibly wider than the other?
I guess what I'm really trying to ask is if my front two teeth are the same width as one another
Have an opinion?
The only opinion from girls was selected the Most Helpful Opinion, but you can still contribute by sharing an opinion!
You need better lawn (facial hair) maintenance.
Mario Bros lawn maintenance. Will trim your wife's hedges amongst other things? Lol
@akadatank44 LMAO! Thats a good one hahah I thought we were into the plumbing business but I guess we can expand since we have an intern @Mario21 I don't know, we need to discuss on the next board of the erectors meeting.
Yes we shall discuss the next time we are erected.
@Mario21 lmaoooo yes we got a couple of ladies who'd like to get some blow work done. You will get paid in big bucks. But to get the big bucks you'll have to pay a one time administration fee of $100, so that we can process your documents. Bring your friends! This is not a pyramid scheme.
@akadatank44 so now?
Lol we better save the princess again
@akadatank44 look you stupid fucking cunted bitches if you're not gonna answer my question then go suck each other's vaginas somewhere else
Wtf lmfao u need to brush


text:
Complaints about the steep climb from the car park to the entrance of Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital has led to a trial taxi service.
It will pick up patients from designated stops in the car park and bring them up to the main entrance.
Some patients and visitors have highlighted the difficulties presented by a steep path which leads up to the main hospital building.
Now the hospital is hoping to implement this pilot service shortly but is appealing for volunteer drivers to staff it.
Volunteer drivers are also needed to help with other tasks for the hospital.
Director of nursing and patient experience Catherine Morgan is hoping the new transport service will make a difference.
She said: "Patients and visitors with mobility problems have highlighted the difficulties they face in getting to the hospital building from the car park.
"We have listened to these concerns and will be trialing a small transport service around the hospital car park to make life easier for some of our most vulnerable patients."
A number of designated patient stops will be set-up throughout the car park which drivers will call at regularly throughout the day.
Voluntary services manager Paul Holley-Smith is now appealing for volunteers to act as drivers for this service and other tasks for the hospital.
Mr Holley-Smith said: "Volunteers play an important role in the life of this hospital and we would not be able to provide some services without their support.
"Our army of volunteers have proved on countless occasions that they do not have more time but more heart.
"We are now putting out the call again for more volunteers to step forward to help with a number of tasks around the trust, including this new pilot service."
All volunteer drivers must have a clean and full licence. Background tests are also undertaken.
For more information contact Paul Holley-Smith on 01553 613613 x 4687 or firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
March 16, 2012, 1:45 PM EDTLaw360, New York (March 16, 2012, 1:45 PM EDT) -- You're planning a capital raise for a NASDAQ-listed issuer. In preparing for the offering, you review NASDAQ Rule 5635(d), which sets forth the circumstances under which shareholder approval is required. The rule seems straightforward enough — as long as the issuer is selling securities in a transaction that does not involve the issuance or potential issuance of common stock representing 20 percent or more of the outstanding common stock or 20 percent or more of the voting stock outstanding prior to the offering, no shareholder approval...
Negotiating The NASDAQ Rules For Securities Offerings
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text:
VIDEO: Passengers flee burning bus over 'bomb' fears
TERRIFIED passengers ran from a burning bus moments before it exploded amid fears "a bomb had gone off".
Commuters panicked when smoke billowed around their feet and heard a hissing noise followed by a deafening bang during the rush hour commute home on Friday.
Horrified onlookers pulled out their smartphones to film the flames erupting form the number two bus, travelling from Wilford, Notts., to Nottingham city centre.
Luckily a hero bus driver managed to evacuate all passengers before the massive explosion at 5.36pm.
Firefighters rushed to Farnborough Road in Clifton, Nottingham, at around 6pm on and two firecrews battled the blaze.
A Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman confirmed no-one had been injured in the freak incident.
"Everyone was running around going pretty mad and then it literally set on fire and blew up right on front of everyone"Jamie Tarbert
It comes as Brits are on high alert after the government upped the terror threat level to severe - the fourth of five tiers.
Nationals have been told to keep an eye out for unusual activity both at home and abroad.
Passenger Rhean Smith, 19, said: "We started hearing the clutch make some awful noises but the bus driver said everything was OK.
"But when we got to Clifton, I said to the man next to me, we need to get off this bus now.
"I am just in shock. When we got off, there was a hissing noise then a big bang.
"We thought a bomb had gone off. If I hadn't said we need to get off now, we could have been inside."
Jamie Tarbert, a security guard from a nearby supermarket, said: "If anybody had been caught on it or stuck on the bus it would have been very serious.
"Everyone was running around going pretty mad and then it literally set on fire and blew up right on front of everyone.
"Apparently the bus driver got all of them off in time luckily enough."
Mother-of-two Lisa Whitehead lives opposite the bus stop and said her whole house shook after the explosion.
The 30-year-old, who works at Capital One, said: "I'd just got out of the shower when I heard a knock at the door.
"The person asked me if my car was parked near the bus stop and told me to move it because there was smoke coming out of a bus.
"It belonged to my neighbour, who has a six-month-old baby. I looked after her child while she moved the car.
"A second after my neighbour came back, we heard a massive explosion - it shook the entire house. It was terrifying.
"We had to get out of the house because there was so much smoke. We could feel the heat when we opened the front door. There was thick black smoke everywhere.
"I was in complete shock. It was awful. I have asthma, I couldn't breathe so I was just running for my life to get away from it all."
Nottingham City Transport is launching a full investigation to find out what caused the fire.
A spokeswoman for Nottingham City Transport said: "The driver acted quickly and got everybody off as soon as he realised there was any danger.
"We are really proud of what he did. His primary concern is to make sure his passengers are safe, which is what he did.
"The bus will go back to the depot for a full investigation into what caused the fire.
"Thank goodness it is such a rare occurrence and everyone got off the bus safely.
"We are sorry for any inconvenience caused."


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January 09, 2012
Santorum Seems To Dig the SOPA Act, Internet Regulation
He's not up on all the details (which is forgivable, I think), but seems to support the basic thrust of it.
Even more interesting is this thing that Tina Korbe linked -- Louis C.K. cutting out the middleman and selling a comedy show tape to his fans directly.
In twelve days, Louis C.K. earned more than $1 million from people downloading the special far more than the $170,000 it cost to produce the video. Louis C.K. gave his thoughts in a post on his site:I would have been paid [less than $200,000] by a large company to simply perform the show and let them sell it to you, but they would have charged you about $20 for the video This way, you only paid $5, you can use the video any way you want.
Is this the way things are going? More and more creative types are doing this, blowing off the media companies and selling directly. Could be a nice change for everyone (except media companies).
This would support, sort of, Breitbart's prediction that the media is "done" within 5 years, all of it. I think that timeframe is far too short, but with self-publishing and self-podcasting. Adam Carolla started his podcast after he was laid off, then, when offered another job, decided no, he'd just stick to the podcast, as he was making plenty of money and had total control.
And self-releasing records, like Aimee Mann and others are doing. (I meant to mention this, but forgot, thanks to the Liberal Ace of Spades Reader, Really!.)
Even D&D dorks are finding it more profitable to self-publish than to get a contract from a game company. (Light content advisory as that's "D&D with Pornstars," which is sometimes kind of dirty, but I think that post is fairly clean.)
Apart from the truly expensive forms of entertainment -- TV shows, movies, and now videogames -- not sure large corporations will have a major place at the table in 10 years.
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The EOA Summer dinner is a member only event that provides a unique opportunity to network with other employee owned businesses in the impressive surroundings of the Members' Dining Room at the Palace of Westminster.
Each year about 150 members gather to network and listen to a speaker from the world of politics.
At the event in June 2017, Baroness Bowles of Berkhamsted gave a speech about the employee ownership sector and the launch of The Ownership Effect Inquiry.
Our CEO Deb Oxley spoke about the manifesto for better business. You can download both their speeches below:
Previous speakers have included:
Our 2017 dinner was kindly sponsored by Mott MacDonald, the UK's largest employee-owned global engineering, management and development consultancy. The company guides its clients through many of the planet's most intricate challenges and has lead roles in high profile infrastructure and development projects around the world.
Pre-dinner were sponsored for the fifth year by MyCSP, the leading employee owned civil service pensions administrator.
This year the guest gift was sponsored by Postlethwaite, an employee-owned firm of UK solicitors focusing on employee ownership.


text:
Testing Poison Pill Tolerance In Del.
On Aug. 12, 2010, Vice Chancellor Leo E. Strine, in Yucaipa American Alliance Fund II LP v. Riggio, C.A. No. 5465-VCS (Del. Ch. Aug. 12, 2010), upheld the use of a poison pill with a 20 percent threshold to delay a possible takeover of Barnes & Noble Inc. by funds controlled by Ronald Burkle, even though the founder...
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