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- Reverso - Jaeger LeCoultre Watch Reverso Squadra Lady Duetto (JLC-070)
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Jaeger LeCoultre Watch Reverso Squadra Lady Duetto. Combining elegance and femininity with the reliability of a prestigious timepiece, this model is clothed in 18 carat pink gold set with 73 diamonds. The front dial is distinguished by a date display and an exquisite day night disc adorned with sun and moon symbols. On the back, its other face provides a striking contrast and is devoted exclusively to indicating the hours and minutes.
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A quickview of health information
Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ANACAD)
26 September 2018
The Australian National Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ANACAD) was established in December 2014 as the principal expert advisory body to the Australian Government on issues relating to alcohol and drugs.
02 June 2015
Initiatives to minimise the harmful effects of alcohol consumption in Australian society.
National Drug Strategy
18 August 2010
Australia's National Drug Strategy 2004-2009 provides a national framework to improve health, social and economic outcomes by preventing the uptake of harmful drug use and reducing the harmful effects of drugs in Australian society.
10 Aug 2010All Program/Initiatives
14 Nov 2012
Alcohol resources - National Binge Drinking Strategy (Drinking Nightmare)
13 Sep 2011
Use of tobacco, alcohol, and over-the-counter and illicit substances among Indigenous students participating in the Australian Secondary Students Alcohol and Drug Survey 2008
09 Aug 2010
29 Aug 2009
Comorbidity treatment service model evaluationAll Publications

subset: commoncrawl


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It isn't often that you get to drive a 1,000-hp car, let alone one with over 1,100 hp. So when I was offered two cars of just over this power level in one day, I thought all my Christmases had arrived at once. You can imagine my dilemma as 9ff boss Jan Fatthauer offered me the keys to the first production 9ff GT9-R, rated at 1,120 hp, along with a 997 Turbo, whose similar engine was tuned to 1,150 hp. The million-dollar question was which key to snatch first.
In the end, I plumbed for the GT9-R, as I was curious to find out how far the GT9 had evolved from the metallic blue prototype I drove at the Ascari Race Resort in Spain in April 2008. My adventure with that car will be etched into my memory forever as it accelerated even harder than the mighty Bugatti Veyron, a car that had left me reeling with the pace that belied its 4,200-pound heft.
The other enduring impression I had of my first drive in the GT9 was that of a recalcitrant beast. After I had squeezed between the side protection crossbars of its full rollcage and its low roofline, I found that the driver's seat was locked in position for the lanky Fatthauer. Even with seat padding installed, I was not in my optimum driving position. This was not the greatest introduction to driving a 1,000-hp car.
The GT9's straight-line performance however was beyond stupendous. Relatively light at 2,900 pounds, and endowed with what is best described as an intergalactic warp engine, the GT9 turned the familiar flat-out kink on the back straight at Ascari into a real corner that required firm, confident braking on the approach. Its sheer speed compressed this straight, where I can normally settle in and relax for a few seconds in a GT3 RS or Ferrari Scuderia, into a brief pause for breath.
Just a week after I drove it in Spain, the GT9 ran to 254 mph at the Papenburg high-speed test track in Germany, on a mere 987 hp. Fatthauer explained that continuous development for the production GT9-R now enabled him to extract a sensational 1,120 hp from this engine, with no ill effect on reliability. In bald terms, that is around 14 percent more power. How fast did you say you wanted to go?
While you can calculate the development cost of such a car in man-hour terms, it is always hard to quantify the wealth of experience contributed by its designers and the skilled engineers and craftsmen who put the car together.
The exact antithesis of the dreamers and wannabes that populate the specialist car industry, Jan Fatthauer was Deputy Head of Development at Brabus for many years. He then held the same post at Ruf for two years before heading back to his native Northern Germany to set up 9ff in 2001. These prior experiences made him well aware of the design, development and manufacturing costs of specialist vehicles, and how to control them. So when I asked him the pointed question of how many GT9s he needed to sell to cover his development costs, I was not surprise when he replied, without hesitation, "Two." I then asked him how many he had sold so far. "Six," he said, breaking into a smile. "I originally planned to build up to 20 GT9 and 5 GT9-R models. However, in the meantime, I have found a niche market for a GT9 Clubsport track day model, and I will make as many of these as demand dictates." At $565,000 (395,000), the GT9 Clubsport is the least expensive model, with the GT9 and GT9-R costing $701,000 and $987,000 (490,000 / 690,000) respectively.
Including the black-and-gold GT9-R I was about to drive, there were four GT9s present in the workshop during my visit. Two more GT9-Rs were in various states of build as was the first GT9 Clubsport, a version for track day enthusiasts rather than the stratospheric top-speed runs that made the original GT9 a household word with V-max junkies.
The most visually distinctive and best looking of the GT9 trio in my books, the Clubsport has much larger wheel arches to cover 11x18 and 13.5x19 BBS centerlock wheels, shod with 295/30ZR18 and 345/30ZR19 Michelin Cup tires. This wide arch look gives the Clubsport a more purposeful appearance, reminiscent of the 911 2.8 RSR.
Resplendent in the famous light blue and orange Gulf colors, this first production Clubsport is destined to share garage space with the similarly painted 9ff GT3 Biturbo that its owner took delivery of last year.
By now, Fatthauer had wheeled the black GT9-R outside, and I had the chance to examine the car in detail. Where the blue prototype lacked a rear panel at the time I drove it, the production car looked really up and together, with a flawless finish to its panels and paintwork.
The first time you open one of the carbon-fiber doors, you think it is going to come off in your hand it is so light. The integrated rollcage of the production GT9 does not use the stout crossbars anymore, so getting in and out of its nicely trimmed interior is a much more normal experience. I asked about side crash protection, and Fatthauer explained that because the GT9 prototype used the center section of a GT3, it had to have those massive crossbars just like a Carrera Cup car. This was because once the rear of the bodyshell had been removed, the remaining floorpan was too weak to resist a substantial side impact.
"On our production cars, we use the GT3 front up to the A-pillars, and build up the rest of the car using a steel tubular frame, with the body panels in carbon composite," he explains. A very "strong but light carbon-Kevlar tube in the doors provides side impact protection, and when the door is closed, this forms a rigid structure joining the A- and B-pillar elements of the built-in rollcage."
For more stability and progressive handling at speed, the wheelbase is extended 30cm over that of the GT3. The 2,923-pound GT9 is also significantly lower than the GT3, and has a flat bottom with a rear diffuser. In fact, as so many Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis now have lightweight carbon-fiber race seats, the only real giveaway to this car's serious intent is the racecar MoTeC LCD instrument display and the bespoke lightweight steering wheel with green and red buttons to control the sequential up and down shifting of the heavily strengthened GT3 six-speed manual gearbox. To work the correct way in this mid-engine configuration, the gearbox has to be inverted and placed behind the engine.
In between the engine and gearbox is the unique compound organic clutch unit. Using two organic clutch plates bolted to a steel center, it solves the age-old dilemma of combining the strength of a sintered racing clutch with the lightness and progression of an organic one. A Drexler limited-slip differential is fitted to optimize traction. Like many 9ff cars, the manual shifter is equipped with the Cartronic SQS-G (Sequential Shifting System). But instead of using a sequential shift lever on the floor like on the 911-based cars, 9ff came up with an in-house electro-hydraulic actuation system for the mid-engined GT9.
In fact, you can have one of three different types of gearbox on the GT9-R: six-speed manual, six-speed sequential and five-speed Tiptronic. We can't imagine though, that any serious driver would opt for the old Tiptronic slush box, which is only available in combination with the least powerful 750-hp engine option. The Stage 2 engine tune is 987 hp as per the GT9 prototype, with a new pinnacle of 1,120 hp as the ultimate Stage 3. The extra 133 hp takes the GT9-R to 260 mph, with 0-186 mph covered in just 14.9 seconds. Despite the potential traction issues of rear-wheel-drive only, the claimed 0-62 and 0-124 mph times are 2.9 and 7.4 seconds respectively.
Fatthauer explained that the engine is easily upgradeable from Stage 2 to 3, so that an owner can get used to the 987 hp before coming back for more. This does not apply to Stage 1 however, as this is a 9ff modified version of the factory GT1-block-based 997 Turbo 3.6-liter Variocam Plus engine rather than the highly modified 4.0-liter used in the GT9 Stage 2 and 3 motors.
For this, the 3.6-liter Porsche GT1-based flat-six is taken out to 4.0 liters with a bespoke steel crank, titanium connecting rods, larger-diameter barrels and forged pistons. Cylinder head gas flow work and bespoke camshafts with solid lifters optimize the top-end for life at high revs.
"Our high-revving biturbo engines require as much under-piston cooling as possible," says Fatthauer, "so we use the GT3 variant of the GT1 block, which has a dual oil-spray system for cooling the underside of the pistons. The lower-revving 997 Turbo 3.6 variant of this block only has a single oil sprayer per cylinder."
The intake and exhaust systems are also bespoke for this engine, with the Garrett-based turbochargers modified in-house to suit. The ultra-efficient 130mm (OE: 70mm) thick intercoolers have double the cooling capacity of the factory Turbo ones, and their unique housing design further improves air throughput for even greater efficiency.
Built for high revs, this motor produces its 1,120 hp from 6400 to 7600 rpm, and has another 200 rpm of headroom before the electronic rev limiter in the specially mapped ECU calls a halt to the proceedings.
The 840 lb-ft of torque is simply stupendous for any road legal motor, let alone a mere 4.0-liter six-cylinder. Equally impressive is the fact that peak torque is sustained on a plateau from 5300 to 7500 rpm, delivering mind-numbing performance in a car weighing less than 3,000 pounds.
The front suspension is by MacPherson struts with coilovers, while the rear uses a five-link design with race-style pushrod actuated coilovers. This bespoke suspension, which uses H&R springs and JRZ dampers with external fluid reservoirs, has an adjustable antiroll bar at each end. All the suspension arms and top mounts have Uniball joints.
The 9ff forged alloys are 8.5- and 11.5x19-inch with 235/35ZR19 and 325/30ZR19 rubber. For top-speed runs, these are Continental SportContact Vmax tires, with Michelin Cup tires the road and track day alternative. The massive Brembo brakes use 380/350mm cross-drilled discs clamped by six-pot monoblock calipers.
It is very unusual for a turbocharged motor to rev this high and this freely, but with even bigger turbos than the original GT9 in this 1,120-hp Stage 3 version, I could feel the difference immediately the first time I opened the taps fully.
While it is easy to say that the acceleration is awesome, in the midst of all the furious noise and g-force, you realize that the power is also delivered very smoothly and progressively. Apart from making the car more user-friendly, this characteristic mitigates the stress on the drivetrain and chassis despite the huge horsepower and torque numbers involved. Where the Bugatti Veyron impresses you with its sheer speed and overall competence, it can feel aloof and remote at times, as if the breathtaking abilities of its engineering are shielding you from the pure physics.
The GT9-R is never going to be as refined as a Veyron. It is far more visceral and involving on several levels, and places you right in the middle of the proceedings. So while the Bugatti can be driven at normal speeds by a normal driver, only requiring an experienced hand at high speeds, the GT9-R requires a competent driver from the word go.
For instance, with no DSG gearbox, you still have to operate the clutch when you press the shift buttons on the steering wheel. With racecar features like a single-mass flywheel, it sounds and feels mechanical, raw and old-school. This is a serious driver's car, and never pretends to be otherwise. The small band of hard-core enthusiasts who knock on 9ff's door know this, and crave the experience.
If you want the same power wrapped in a more subtle and accessible package, look no further than the black 997 Turbo. The owner of this car wanted a stealth fighter that no one would suspect was anything other than a stock Turbo with a larger front spoiler lip and side skirts.
At a glance you would be hard-pressed to even see that it wears GT3-style wheels, as their black finish makes it hard to pick this out until you get right up close. Even the interior is bog standard, lacking even the optional factory sport seats.
Opening the engine cover however, reveals the crown jewel, as the 1,150-hp GT9-R motor stares you in the face. Yes, you read that right. 1,150 hp, 30 more than the normal GT9-R Stage 3 output!
The Turbo's owner had asked to see what 9ff could get out of it as a one-off, and with a few further tweaks to the pistons, cams and combustion chambers along with a slight increase in compression ratio this is the result. The tighter packaging in the Turbo shell means that air-to-air intercoolers have to be used. As these are less efficient than the water-air intercoolers in the GT9-R, a higher boost pressure of 1.9 bar is required to achieve this power level, compared to 1.7 bar in the GT9-R installation.
Gearbox reliability becomes an issue when the engine tune exceeds a certain point, and the question is then whether to base your mods on a 996 or 997 Turbo box.
While many motorsport gearbox specialists produce alternative gear ratios for all six forward gears of the 996 box, the same is not true for the 997 gearbox. So far, only one or two companies make alternative 997 gears, and these are limited to taller Fifth and Sixth ratios.
However, the downside of the 996 gearbox is the fact that it only has double synchros for First and Second gears, and single synchros for the four higher ratios. The 997 gearbox has triple synchros on its first two gears and double synchros for four through six, making the shifting lighter and smoother. Since the Turbo's owner intended to use the car as daily transport, he opted for the compromise of a superior gear change over perfect ratios. Even so, this is still the fastest 997 Turbo I have ever driven by a country mile.
To handle what is effectively more than double its original output, this '08 997 Turbo has a height-adjustable Bilstein PSS16 suspension. It also features a front lift system that can raise the nose 50mm at the touch of a button to clear ramps.
A Drexler limited-slip differential makes the most of the Turbo's all-wheel-drive traction, and behind the 8.5- and 12.5x19-inch GT3 RS alloys, shod with Continental Vmax rubber rated to 236 mph, the factory PCCB brakes are up to the task of stopping this manned missile.
With four-wheel drive and the chassis upgrades, the Turbo can deliver all of its power all of the time, underlining just how much of an aid to performance all-wheel drive is. The car simply squats down and launches itself off the line with no histrionics. And thanks to the slippery diff, the car rockets off into the distance arrow-straight as you punch through gear after gear.
So there you have it, two 9ff cars from opposite ends of the user spectrum, their common link being the same bombastic 4.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six. For me, experiencing the full might of their combined 2,270 hp in the space of a few hours really made it a day to remember.
9ff GT9-r
Longitudinal mid-engine, rear-wheel drive
4.0-liter flat six, dohc, 24-valve. Custom Garrett turbochargers, custom intercoolers, software
Six-speed sequential manual
Custom coilovers with H&R springs, JRZ dampers
Brembo six-piston monoblock calipers, 380/350mm rotors (f/r)
Wheels and Tires
9ff forged alloys, 8.5x19 (f), 11.5x19 (r)
Continental ContiSportContact Vmax, 235/35 (f), 325/30 (r)
Peak Power: 1,120 hp @ 6400 rpm
Peak Torque: 840 lb-ft @ 5300 rpm
0-62 mph: 2.9 sec.
Top Speed: 260 mph
9ff Turbo
Longitudinal rear engine, all-wheel drive
4.0-liter flat six, dohc, 24-valve. Custom block and heads, custom turbochargers, custom intercoolers, software
Six-speed manual, Drexler limited-slip differential
Bilstein PSS16 coilovers
OEM PCCB assemblies
Wheels and Tires
OEM GT3 RS alloys, 8.5x19 (f), 12.5x19 (r) Continental ContiSportContact Vmax
Peak Power: 1,150 hp


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good at displacing water though!
wd-40 brand DOES have a penetrant out now. but it is not wd-40. I have not used it... i use pb blaster and kroil mostly..
I've done a cylinder head. The system works if done carefully.
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MEI Pharma Announces Closing of $27.5 Million Private Placement
Dec 19, 2012
San Diego – MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP), an oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer, announced today that it has completed its previously announced private placement of common stock and warrants in a financing led by new investors Vivo Ventures and New Leaf Venture Partners. Gross proceeds from the private placement were $27.5 million, before deducting fees and expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds primarily to advance the clinical development of its lead drug candidate, Pracinostat, an oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor.
"The completion of this financing caps a pivotal year for our company and comes on the heels of exciting data presented last week at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting," said Daniel P. Gold, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of MEI Pharma. "These data from a pilot Phase II trial of Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine in patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) showed that eight of the nine patients treated at the MD Anderson Cancer Center achieved a clinical response (CR, CRi, & PR). Combined with the results from an additional, previously unreported patient treated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who achieved a complete response, the trial showed an overall response rate of 90% (nine out of 10).
"Now, with the proceeds from this financing," continued Dr. Gold, "we look forward to further evaluating the combination of Pracinostat and azacitidine in a larger, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II trial in this high-risk MDS population. We are working diligently to initiate this trial and expect to begin enrolling patients by the second quarter of 2013."
The Company also announced that it has effected a 1-for-6 reverse stock split of its common stock, decreasing the number of shares issued and outstanding from approximately 27.2 million immediately prior to the reverse stock split to approximately 13.7 million after giving effect to the reverse stock split and the closing of the private placement.
The reverse split is another in a series of strategic actions the Company has undertaken to position itself for future growth and is intended to attract a broader range of institutional investors.
The Company's common stock will begin trading on a reverse stock split-adjusted basis when the market opens today, December 19, 2012. As a result of the reverse stock split, every six shares of issued and outstanding common stock were automatically converted into one issued and outstanding share of common stock. The new CUSIP number for the common stock following the reverse stock split is 55279B 202.
About MEI Pharma
MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP) is a San Diego-based oncology company focused on the clinical development of novel therapies for cancer. The Company's lead drug candidate is Pracinostat, a potential best-in-class, oral histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, which has been tested in multiple Phase I and pilot Phase II clinical trials, including advanced hematologic malignancies such as myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia and myelofibrosis. The Company expects to initiate a randomized Phase II trial of Pracinostat in combination with azacitidine in patients with MDS by the second quarter of 2013. In addition, MEI Pharma is developing two drug candidates derived from its isoflavone-based technology platform, ME-143 and ME-344. For more information, go to www.meipharma.com.
Under U.S. law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated in clinical trials and approved by the FDA as being safe and effective for the intended use. Statements included in this press release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be aware that our actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and delays in the development and/or FDA approval, or the failure to obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties or differences in interpretation in clinical trial results; our inability to maintain or enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon, collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate our business; our inability to operate our business without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in industry practice; and one-time events. We do not intend to update any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.


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Marble Kitchen Countertops for Modern Kitchen Design
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Marble Kitchen Countertops for Modern Kitchen Design
cultured marble kitchen countertops durability
Kitchen Design
May 20, 2017
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Creating a comfortable place to cook food need you to make the place beautiful by placing correct countertops and one of them are marble kitchen
countertops design
. Among available countertops, marble is the one you can choose for your countertops. If you need some paint, make sure that the paint is easy to clean and will not easily become damaged at the time you are cleaning the countertops. Selecting wrong countertops can make you cannot enjoy your job to cook foods for your family. Purchasing foods will be an option to make if you cannot enjoy cooking in your kitchen for your family One of the available countertops that can help you to change the appearance of your kitchen is marble kitchen countertops. This type of countertops is actually quite expensive to purchase, but luxury appearance that can change your kitchen appearance be more beautiful that can be given by these countertops can make you to choose or at least consider these countertops. Even a small house can look elegant by using these countertops. Cooking can be the best jobs to do in your house if you use these countertops.
These countertops
are purchase able if you can afford to purchase these countertops. Some weak points of these marble kitchen countertops setmight need you to spend some time to consider. Some of the available weaknesses that you need to consider before purchasing are: they can be scratch, etch, stain easily beside of marble does patina. The things that you must avoid if you choose these countertops are: avoid spilling any not suitable chemical substances that can make them to etch, using any things that can make them to scratch, and using any things that can stain them. Failing to avoid these things can make these countertops become unable to help you to make your
kitchen beautiful
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Telepresence is the next generation of video conferencing
Ten years ago, Cisco recognized shifts in global work practices that required new approach to video communication. We realized that technology needed to evolve to allow people to communicate and collaborate in a more social, more virtual, more mobile and more visual way.
Five years ago, we introduced telepresence to bring people together virtually, with an experience so real and lifelike that you felt like you were in the same room as someone even when they were thousands of miles away. Hundreds of millions of "in-person" meetings have taken place, changing how people work, allowing them to do more with less time and to do it across the globe. What started out as a technology that would alter the way we meet has evolved into something much more. It is transforming the very way that organizations do business. Forever changing how a stroke patient in a small town receives an opinion from a specialist in a big city, how a student in the United States learns a new language from a teacher in Spain and how a petroleum rig operator in the North Sea seeks subject matter expertise from an engineer in Houston
This is just the beginning. As the creator and market leader of telepresence, Cisco is positioned to lead the next evolution.Learn More
Download the Free Video Collaboration Guide


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Our Commitment is Our WordWe pride ourselves on our integrity - we conduct ourselves in accordance with the highest standards of ethical business practices and we adhere to our code of ethics.
- We act with the highest integrity in the best interest of our clients, placing their interests above our own.
- We disclose to our clients all sources of compensation and any potential conflicts of interest should they arise, for recommendations being made and for the services performed.
- We make every effort to provide objective, impartial and complete information to our clients regarding their financial needs and realistic advice about their various options, describing the negative risks as well as the positive aspects of any recommendation.
- We continually seek to maintain and improve our knowledge, skills and competence, providing advice to our clients only on matters within our areas of expertise.
- We are free to make unbiased recommendations to our clients and we are under no obligation to sell proprietary products.
People and Relationships
- We work through our Advisors to bring value to our clients and our shareholders.
- We know our clients and develop innovative products and services to respond to their evolving needs and desires.
- We challenge and develop our Advisors and employees to achieve their individual and our corporate potential by creating a dynamic workplace.
- We treat all individuals with fairness, dignity and respect.
- We develop strategic alliances with like-minded companies to enhance our core competencies, serve our clients more effectively and thereby build our business.
- We are performance based, measuring and monitoring our achievements and adjusting where necessary.
- We use advanced technology to innovate, improve effectiveness and deliver value to our Advisors, our clients and our shareholders.


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As a web developer, there are often times when you want to get across a layout or display transitions and interactions interactively to a client in order to speed up the design process and encourage rapid feedback and iteration cycles. I have tried a number of wire-framing tools ranging from straight up PSDs to Balsamiq to Expression Blend SketchFlow, each of which definitely has their pros and cons in relation to ease of use, speed to develop, ability to incorporate feedback etc.
A little while ago I came across a wire-framing tool which is a plug-in for Office PowerPoint at http://www.powermockup.com/. These guys have put together a tool which works seamlessly with PowerPoint and enables users to very quickly and easily create wireframes which can then easily be distributed. Thanks to the inbuilt functions of PowerPoint, clients or users can then amend the files with their own comments, or move things around themselves and return.
I figured one of the easier ways to test this would be to do a wireframe version of the site the tool came from . For those interested, this is the PowerPoint file I created.
I was amazed that with no training, and no reading or education, I was able to start getting effective very quickly. The whole site was done in less than an hour! See what I mean about rapid iterations for feedback cycles? I need to play a little more with some of the inbuilt animations of PowerPoint to see how easily integrated easing animations can be brought into things but I am very hopeful.
Overall I was very impressed with the tool; I shall definitely be using and recommending it with other clients and developers (those on the Microsoft stack at least).


text: Keynote Speakers Page ContentGeneral Session Simon Sinek Optimist and Author, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action Described as "a visionary thinker with a rare intellect," Sinek teaches leaders and organizations how to inspire people. With a bold goal to help build a world in which the vast majority of people go home every day feeling fulfilled by their work, Sinek is leading a movement to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. A trained ethnographer and author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, Sinek has held a life-long curiosity for why people and organizations do the things they do. Fascinated by the leaders and companies that make the greatest impact in the world, those with the capacity to inspire, he has discovered some remarkable patterns of how they think, act and communicate. He has devoted his life to sharing his thinking in order to help other leaders and organizations inspire action. Conference Finale Howie Mandel Comedian and Author, Here's the Deal: Don't Touch Me While Howie Mandel has remained a constant force in show business for over 30 years, he has been thrust back in the spotlight as the host of what has become a national phenomenon "Deal or No Deal." The show has become an instant hit and is consistently one of the most watched programs each week. He has recently added "Howie Do It," to his list of television accomplishments. A Canadian comedian, listed on Comedy Central's list of the top 100 comedians of all time, Howie has had roles in comedy and dramatic TV and movies. His versatile career has encompassed virtually all aspects of the entertainment spectrum, including television, film and stage. From his work on the Emmy-Award winning "St. Elsewhere," to the international (and also Emmy nominated) "Bobby's World," Howie Mandel has become a mainstay of the American comedy scene.


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I was thinking about WoW the other day while I was playing Diablo 3. The thing I love most about Diablo 3 is that you can switch your abilities up anytime you want. So I started thinking about how you might be able to implement that in a way that might fit WoW.
What I came up with was taking all the spells that the WoW classes have and boiling them down to what all the specs share. Like making Crusader Strike available to all specs for example (which Blizz has already done). Then making glyphs work along the lines of the rune system in Diablo 3, where major glyphs change the spells dramatically (Crusader Strike turning into Hammer of the Righteous) and minor glyphs making smaller changes to the spells (increased or decreased cost/cooldown/range of use/area of effect).
Right now I'm thinking that your specialization would change the glyphs available to you, if we would even need specializations but the many hybrid classes leave me thinking that specializations are necessary in the game today.
I thought it was an interesting idea, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Do you think it could work? What do you think would need to change to make it work? Would it make the game better? Worse?
It's an interesting idea, but I'm not sure it would be a good fit for WoW. I think an MMO would have to be built from the ground up to work this way.
If you look at D3, it has very simplistic rotations compared to WoW. A builder and a finisher is the main part. That allows D3 to have many options for the builder, and many options for the finisher. In
contrast, the standard WoW rotation has about 5 buttons. You would need different options for each of those five buttons.
Plus, WoW players really like having all their abilities available to them. I think they would react badly to seriously limiting the cooldowns and special abilities available. As an example, would you be happy if Blizzard said you can either have Cleanse, or you can have Blessing of Freedom? I think most paladins wouldn't, because they're used to having both.
That's not to say that this style can't work. The Secret World and Guild Wars both limit the number of abilities you can have, forcing you to pick X abilities from a larger pool of abilities. But rotations in those two games are notably simpler than rotations in WoW. For example, TSW is basically Builder + Finisher 1 + Finisher 2, where the builder builds 2 different resources, one for each finisher.


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In his article, author Paul Howe asserts that:
I don't believe that service members would go back into the communities that raised them and conduct raids on good Americans in violation of the constitution.
With all due respect, I think that Mr. Howe needs to reconsider how America's military is enthusiastically recruiting from amongst its immigrant population. This, in addition to pursuing new "diversity" guidelines, only ups the chances that soldiers who feel almost zero sense of community or shared identity with White Christian America—still this nation's majority population along with being its most Conservative and heavily armed—will be available to confiscate publicly held weapons.
Taken in combination with the DHS purchase of some two billion rounds of ammunition including hollow-point styles, this is indicative of some serious preparation by America's government for a war against its own citizens. With an adult population of some 239 million people in this nation, this represents an easy ten rounds per each individual of fighting age, regardless of gender.
Remember, these forces would have to come from a military base that is surrounded and supported by American communities.
Again, Howe is being unduly optimistic. You can bet the farm that weapon confiscation squads would not be sent "back into the communities that raised them". The military knows well enough to send troops from an entirely different region to do this sort of dirty work specifically in order to avoid such confused loyalties. What compunction would a heavily armed regiment of Hispanic immigrants or Detroit thug-recruits feel about disarming a small town of rural, Middle American Whites? Face the question squarely.
Civilians would simply cease to support the bases and they would fold in a short time.
As it stands, most urban supermarkets usually have less than 48 hours worth of inventory in-house and estimates are that a majority of American homes have less than two weeks of food stockpiled. It may well turn out that military bases are far better furnished, not to mention how they have a supply chain that is much less vulnerable to interruption. Simply blockading a community's access roads and halting all inbound deliveries of food or other consumables could drastically alter the situation. Turning off the water supply would have a similar effect.
The Federal government is not large enough or talented enough to seize guns.
Finally some realism seeps in around the edges. It still warrants recalling just how much effort America's government is making to muzzle the Internet. With emails blocked and cell towers jammed, just how quickly would word of confiscations spread? It casts some reasonable doubt on how this author supposes that, "After the first few raids, the word would get out and Americans would start to fight back." Equally doubtful is the extent to which local law enforcement would be employed to confiscate weapons. Too many community ties makes their participation a dubious proposition. A sole mitigating factor is the extent to which metropolitan—and, to a lesser degree, suburban or rural—police forces have become heavily "militarized" in recent years.
Beginning with SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) teams in the late 1960s, more recently there has been an unprecedented increase in the overall firepower and presence of military grade weapons or armor fielded by police departments all across America. One single watershed event which drove this trend was the 1997 North Hollywood Shootout. I refer you to a very well written article—Escalation: Police Weapon Evolution as a function of Demographics—that documents an inexorable upward migration of American police departments from the once-standard S&W .38 Special to more powerful .45 caliber weapons and eventually a shift from revolvers to over to semi-automatics such as the now-ubiquitous Glock 9mm. Readers are also requested to pay close attention to the demographic aspect in the linked article as this will dominate the next several paragraphs.
Americans are better armed and trained today than at any time in our nation's history. Think about what would happen if just our nation's veterans stood up. People have been buying more guns and ammunition in the past five years than any time in my life. The guns and ammunition are out there along with the talent to use them.
This is more to the point but for it to matter, America would already have had to effectively spiral into a full-blown civil war. Such an outcome must be avoided at all costs as it places at risk our national security and sovereignty in general. In such a full-blown domestic conflict so-called "hit and run" insurgent actions could prove very effective against less agile military units. However, recent advances in drone surveillance technology pose a serious counterbalancing measure to this otherwise long-accepted wisdom. Again, the willingness of military personnel plays a pivotal role in such a scenario.
For a much more concise and well-thought-out analysis of what a major civil war would entail, please read "When The Music Stops – How America's Cities May Explode In Violence" by Matt Bracken. His article is a "must-read" and Bracken's, "A Sample Sniper Ambush Scenario" that involves skirmishing pickup trucks is a far more likely and useful projection than anything offered up by Paul Howe.
In every law enforcement, government and military agency or branch, there are a small number of Kool-Aid drinkers who would blindly follow orders.
To be sure, there is a definite component of government apparatchiks who are all too willing to just "follow orders". Herein lies one of the worst and most hidden dangers of Big Government. The past few decades have seen a dramatic growth in federal hiring, with DHS and TSA being some prime examples. A huge percentage of "job creation" in response to the recent economic downturn has been through federal hiring. Few, if any, are willing to admit that this merely adds more tax consumers to the rolls even as actual tax producers continue to shrink in number. With this surge of people who are dependent upon Washington DC for their paychecks there comes an increased number of those aforementioned Kool-Aid drinkers.
Be that as it may, of far greater danger are the Liberal Kool-Aid drinking voters who have not only reelected 0bama but are now poised to assist in passing legislation that might lead to an overturning of the Second Amendment. Just how ready are these nanny-state addicts to do such a thing? Here is one of the starkest measures of how bad things really are when it comes to what Liberals will stoop to in order to imperil the rights of gun owners. Just last Friday, Liberal tripe volcano, The Huffington Post, ran this screecher headline:
Why is this of such notice? Here's why. In order for them to compile this supposedly shocking statistic, these bleeding-heart wankers finally had to include killings that they otherwise absolutely refuse to provide coverage of on any other occasion. Rest assured that the article makes only passing mention of "drive-bys" but never, never, NEVER will they admit the fact that a huge majority of these gun-related killings are committed by minorities.
Liberal media has adamantly refused to publicize the epidemic of violence by minorities against other minorities but especially the unstated race war committed by minorities against Whites. Little to no coverage is provided regarding the following Black on White hate crimes. In equal measure, under Eric "my people" Holder, the Department of Justice has resolutely refused to prosecute even the most blatant "hate crimes" by Blacks against Whites. Here are some examples regarding this "white-out" of media coverage regarding Black hate crimes:
Knockout King: Committed almost entirely against Whites, this "game" typically plays out with a pack of young Black thugs selecting a victim at random, often elderly or frail, and then goading one of their members into a totally unprovoked assault. The attack usually involves a single, roundhouse blow directed full-force at the left temporal lobe—as most attackers are right-handed. Attacks from behind in such cases are not uncommon either.
The injuries sustained often involve immediate loss of consciousness, fracturing of the eye socket or skull, brain damage including aphasia (i.e., loss of speech or literacy) and even permanently impaired vision or a lost eye. There is also collateral injury that results from an uncontrolled collapse onto hard surfaces such as a sidewalk or restaurant floor.
Please take note of the way that the linked article about "knockout king" makes absolutely no mention of race despite how this type of criminal assault is perpetrated almost exclusively by Blacks. For a much more honest article dealing with this phenomenon please read, "The Knockout Game: Racial Violence and the Conspicuous Silence of the Media".
How many readers have ever heard of the "Beat Whitey Night" which took place at the 2010 Iowa State Fair? Again, a total media white-out.
It's also likely that very few people reading this have ever heard of "Polar Bear Hunting". Again, a total media white-out.
Similar to "Beat Whitey Night", there has also been an uptick in so-called "Flash Mobs"—more appropriately called "mahogany mobs"—of rampaging inner city Black youths that assault Whites and, just as frequently, engage in organized looting. Yet another media white-out.
This is the proverbial fly-in-the-ointment, the trout in the milk pail—hard to ignore and demanding of an explanation—which America's overwhelmingly Liberal-controlled media steadfastly refuses to account for. As an example: Black males between the ages of 16 and 40 probably represent less than two percent of the American population. Yet, despite having already incarcerated nearly one million of such individuals, this age group of Black males is responsible for some 53% of all violent crime—assaults, rapes and murders—in the entire United States.
I encourage you to go to the FBI website and review tables 43, 49, 55, 61 & 67. The numbers speak for themselves.
The point of this being—not just the issue of hate crimes being committed by Blacks—but the fact that the Liberal media refuses to demonstrate any journalistic integrity in reporting on the simple fact that "diversity" and "multiculturalism" not only do not work but, nonetheless, are being imposed upon a majority White America that is just as often the victim of violence at the hands of this "protected species".
Recall that the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting was given front page and prime time coverage for what seemed like weeks. Now, consider this, each weekend in Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham and other minority-run cities, just as often there are an equal, if not greater, number of killings which go entirely unreported.
Why is this? Again, it is because if the Liberal media honestly and accurately reported the crime statistics of Black and minority criminals, there wouldn't be any time to make Whites look as bad as these news outlets try so hard to do. Look at how desperately the media attempted to paint George Zimmerman as a Caucasian until irrefutable proof was provided that he was of Hispanic ancestry. Then the New York Times bent over backwards to invent the term "White-Hispanic" in order to keep fanning every last flame of potential race riots over the justifiable homicide of his youthful assailant, Trayvon Martin. Please recall how the media portrayed this nearly adult thug as an angelic thirteen year-old while it insisted upon showing George Zimmerman in his jail jumpsuit.
Few people are aware of how NBC television news edited Zimmerman's cell phone conversation with a police dispatcher. The altered version of his 911 call made it sound as if Zimmerman said, "this guy looks like he's up to no good, he looks black." This made it seem as if Zimmerman had some sort of prejudice rather than simply responding to the dispatcher's interrogation. In reality, the exchange went as follows:
Zimmerman: Hey we've had some break-ins in my neighborhood, and there's a real suspicious guy, uh, it's Retreat View Circle, um, the best address I can give you is 111 Retreat View Circle. This guy looks like he's up to no good, or he's on drugs or something. It's raining and he's just walking around, looking about.
Dispatcher: OK, and this guy is he white, black, or hispanic?
Zimmerman: He looks black.
NBC even went to the effort of intentionally using electronic audio "smoothing" to remove any noticeable "glitches" due to shifts in wind direction or speed and changes in microphone distance. For this actionable offense, Zimmerman is rightfully suing NBC.
Most media outlets also refuse to mention the race of a perpetrator, even if the individual remains at large. A glaring exception to this general rule is if the uncaught perpetrator happens to be White. Then his skin color is trumpeted high and low. Otherwise, this typical silence is a willful endangerment of the public but it goes on without a peep of protest from law enforcement or citizen's groups.
Mass media is not the only responsible party when it comes to this sort of malicious distortion of racially based crime statistics. When compiling crime victim profiles, the FBI segregates Whites and Hispanics into separate categories. However, when identifying perpetrators by race, the FBI combines White and Hispanics into a single category. The only identifiable reason for such malfeasance is to make Whites look as though they are responsible for much more crime than they really are. Incidentally, please don't hold your breath waiting for a big media exposé of this intentional misreporting of criminal statistics.
The point of making all these racial and statistical distinctions centers upon exactly what social elements ordinary, law-abiding Americans would be left vulnerable to if they were disarmed. As if the already charged issue of gun ownership was not Politically Incorrect, imagine just how unsuitable any discussion of racial crime statistics is.
Once more, why is that?
Here we veer back towards the theme of Paul Howe's original article but not entirely. Both political parties are waging an undeclared war against Conservative White Christian Middle Class America. This one population segment represents the greatest threat to continuance of our currently dysfunctional bipartisan system. It is this core of relatively well-educated voters who are rapidly shedding their allegiance to any traditional party lines and, just as often, actively pursuing the formation of alternate political parties.
As the distracting power of panem et circenses wanes and people migrate away from vacuous network entertainment like American Idol over to the Internet for accurate reporting of facts, the government is in an almost panic state about maintaining the political status quo. For several years now, it has been quite apparent that only by fomenting (relatively) horizontal class warfare can our politicians—and the financial elite that puppet them about—forestall the one thing that they fear above all else; vertical class warfare.
To do this, new policies have been put in place that see inner city housing projects demolished in favor of what is called Scattered Site Housing. This involves taking urban criminal elements and settling them into once crime-free suburban neighborhoods via Section Eight vouchers. The results are devastating. There is an immediate decline in property values, the quality of education plummets as schools are turned into minimum-security detention centers for ineducable juvenile delinquents and property crimes such as theft and vandalism skyrocket.
If there aren't any other minority thugs around to do the job of destroying the harmony and cultural cohesion of what were once relatively racially homogenous suburbs, the government now imports illiterate Muslim Somali goat herders for that task. Our politicians crow about "vibrant diversity" as they inflict the absolute worst of Third World human dregs upon once stable communities. Soaring crime and rape statistics mean nothing in comparison to attaining their much-vaunted goal of multiculturalism.
In the end I believe that guns are the glue that hold our country together. Guns keep the government in check and the individual American safe and free. Remove guns and the government will no longer be controlled by the people. The government will control the people.
Again, it is a binary equation. Either the government serves the people—which is as it should be—or the people serve their government in what, all too often, descends into unbridled tyranny.
Despite the cogency of Paul Howe's article, he misses the critical point of why the effort at disarming America is taking place. Of even more importance is the question cui bono? Who benefits? As with all illegal activities that are not crimes of passion, follow the money. And there certainly is lots of money to be made by politicians and Big Government in providing ever-expanding nanny state services to a public that can no longer defend itself nor access the truth.
This is the real goal, an infantilizing of America so that it can be ruled just like any other despotic Third World hellhole and without any challenge to authority. Only a well-armed public can turn back the tide of feral thugs that are being let loose in our midst and only a well-informed electorate can finally vote out our parasitic incumbent political hierarchy that throws us to these criminal wolves. We must make every effort to take back our government through the electoral process. With equal dedication we must ensure that the criminal class encounters deadly force whenever they engage in predatory behavior.
There remains a final and very disturbing possibility that America's White Middle Class may have to voluntarily accelerate a complete breakdown of the federal government in order to rid itself of its vampire elite. However, that is the subject for another lengthy article.


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text: I have been running a cluster (~10 nodes) of ISPC3 servers on top of Debian Squeeze for a couple of years now and I must say... It rocks. As we say here in Finnish it's "Steady as a train toilet." Meaning it's so simple it never breaks down. Thank you all for your hard work on this project. Every now and then I read about the problems people have with Cent OS, OpenSUSE and Ubuntu and I wonder... why do they choose all those problems for them selves? Forget GUI, forget .rpm, forget ubuntu (unless you use LTS.) You are just asking trouble if you use those "newfangled contraptions." IMHO = ISPconfig3 + Debian Squeeze and you sleep much better.


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a very popular topic that seems to keep coming up is how much does this or that cost. how do i find a good contractor. why does this or that cost so damn much. can i do part of the job myself to cut down on the contractor's price.
let me give you 3 short stories.
1. i got a call from a new customer who just bought a small old house and wanted basically a complete gut rehab. i priced it out after meeting with them and my subs about 6-7 times. they told me that they were going to have other contractors over to bid the job as well which i encouraged. when all was said and done, my estimate was about $130k and the other 3 contractors were $65k, $115k, and just over $140k. i spoke with them several times regarding all the bids and told them the importance of checking all of our references. when all was done, they opted with the $65k contractor. i also gave them my itemized estimate, minus the prices, to give to the other contractors so that we were all bidding on exactly the same things including brand names. about 2 months after starting with the cheap guy i got a call. they paid him either $35k or $40 up front, he gutted the house and a week later stopped showing up. they never heard from him again. i redid my estimate, basically removing the demo and offered to help them get the house finished. they once again tried to piece out the work to the cheapest bidder and last i heard (about 4-5 years ago) they were still not in the house after more than a year.
2. a customer got me on a referral and asked me to price out a bunch of different jobs on a beautiful $2,000,000 house in a very nice town just outside of boston. he just purchased the house and we were doing most of the major work prior to him moving in. he asked me to price out the painting through my painter. he got 3 bids, one for $10k, one for $16k and one for $17k. after a few discussions and against my better judgement he went with the $10k guy. needless to say, within 2-3 months of him moving into the house he ended up paying my painter over $5k to redo all the problems from the original painter. plus they had to live there during all the work. to this day he's probably my best customer and i've gone to his house to just help him hang a picture. he calls me for everything now and always follows my recommendations.
3. A customer found me somehow last august and asked me to price out redoing his kitchen and open the wall between the kitchen and dining room and also remodel two bathrooms. they had just purchased the house and he wanted to move in asap. i bid the job and never heard from him again until about a month ago. i got a call and met him at the house. they still had not moved in. the kitchen had about 5 cabinets hung on the wall and the DR/kitchen wall was down. the cabinets were not installed properly, not level, not plumb and had multiple holes drilled in them. one even had a split face frame. both bathrooms were partially redone and he had fired everyone working on the job. all independent people as he was trying to be the GC himself. he asked me to just install the kitchen cabinets only and he was going to take care of the rest himself. we did the kitchen and he was thrilled with our work. two days ago he signed a contract to have me finish all the other work in the house minus the painting and i promised to have all my work done by may 1st. i bid on the painting as did 2 others, our price was $8.5k, another was $9.2 k and the third was $4.5k. all i can say is "Here we go again"
i hope you can all see what this boils down to and i'm speaking to all the non-contractors out there. i'm talking to the people that hire us. a house is something you live in for 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 years or more. if you want something done right you have to pay for it. not over pay for it and not under pay for it but pay for it none the less. why would someone pay $3,000 for a job to be done then pay $2,000 for it to be redone correctly when they could have had it done right the first time for $4,000.
I'm sure that all the other contractors on here have similar stories and i'd love to hear them as i'm sure ALL of our customers would love to hear them also. it's as true now as it was 100 years ago. "Your get what you pay for!!!!"


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Stephanie Oppenheim is the co-founder of the independent consumer organization, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio (www.toyportfolio.com), along with her mother, noted child development expert Joanne Oppenheim. Together the Oppenheims have been reviewing children's media since 1989. Their organization also started the Read It! Play It! Literacy Initiative – a series of books that encourage parents to both read and play with their children as a way of fostering a love of reading and developing language skills. The original title, Read It! Play it!, focuses on books every 3-8 should know and activities that relate to the 50 books reviewed and recommended. Read It! Play It! for Babies and Toddlers is now also available in Spanish. Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) uses the Read It! Play It! series in their literacy programs.
Stephanie is also a Contributor to NBC's TODAY Show and has appeared on Oprah, CNN, MSNBC, CBS Nightly News and Fox News. Prior to starting the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, she practiced corporate law in NYC. (Can you guess which job is more fun?) She also holds a Masters in Psychology from NYU with a specialization in parenting. She lives with her husband and two sons in NYC.
Join Stephanie's facebook page to get alerts on new toys, books, music and other notable products for kids.
How we work at the toyportfolio.com. We've been reviewing children's media since 1989. So we've been doing this for a while! During the course of the year, we both receive products to review that we have requested…and products that come unsolicited to us. The products are screened based on their quality, age-appropriateness and value to the intended audience. Most products don't make it passed this point. You may be surprised to know that many toys don't do what they say they'll do, the quality isn't what it should be or the toy has limited play value. The same is true with books, music and dvds. If a product passes this initial threshold, it is then sent to one of testing families (we have dozens of families all over the USA that test for us). We ask those families to observe their kids playing with the product for two weeks. At the end of that period they are asked to fill out a questionnaire — one of the most telling questions we ask is whether they would buy the product for a friend. We want to know if they agree with the age label…what did they (and their kids) like or dislike about the product. In all cases the family that tests the toy is allowed to keep the toy or donate it if they don't like it. We never take toys away from our testers. We also give lots of toys, books, dvds and cds away to charities here in New York City.
We are never paid to look at a product. In fact we started the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio with the mission to provide objective reviews (good and bad) about the products we receive. The concept of accepting entry fees seems to us to run counter to that mission. We also do not take ads directly from manufacturers. In this new on-line age, we have considered running google ads. We may start doing that soon–but there is no direct advertising available to the companies we review. At the request of our readers, we have added a click through to Amazon. As a member of their affiliates program we do get referral fees.
Awards. You can't buy an award from us. Our awards are respected by consumers, manufacturers, and the media–because they know it's the real deal. We see thousands of products throughout the year…and very few actually make their way to our award lists. If a company wins an award, they are not required to buy anything from us. If they decide to promote their award by using our trademarks, we do require that they purchase the seals from us or a license. When we first started, we had no awards — but everyone asked that we not only review, but rate. So we started giving awards and within weeks we were having products arrive in stores that had our "seal" on them–even on products that we had not reviewed. As a result we are pretty strict about the use of our award seals and how they may be used.
In the end, it is our name on the line. We take it seriously.
We started with the mission that we would take the hassle out of finding quality products for your kids. We would write about the good, bad and ugly in toyland…and we still do.


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Alicia Keys, original name Alicia Augello Cook, (born January 25, 1981, New York, New York, U.S.), American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress, who achieved enormous success in the early 2000s with her blend of R&B and soul music.
See how nine celebrities are using their star power to benefit humankind.
Keys began performing at age four and playing piano at age seven, concentrating on classical music and jazz. At age 14 she began composing, and two years later she graduated as valedictorian from the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan. Keys's compositions showed modern influences but were rooted in the sounds of earlier soul artists, including Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. After attracting the attention of record mogul Clive Davis, she signed to his Arista Records in 1998, and, when Davis formed J Records in 2000, she was one of the first artists to sign with the new label. In 2001 Keys released Songs in A Minor, a hugely successful debut album that featured a number one hit with "Fallin'" and that went on to sell more than 10 million copies worldwide. She won five Grammy Awards in 2002, including those for song of the year and best new artist.
The following year Keys released a second album, The Diary of Alicia Keys. She also recorded a duet with Usher called "My Boo," which for six weeks was the number one song on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In 2005 Keys cemented her status as one of pop music's leading artists by winning four Grammy Awards: best album, song, female vocal performance, and performance by a duo or group with vocals. That same year she recorded and released Unplugged, an album from the MTV special on which she performed stripped-down versions of past hits, new songs, and covers of songs popularized by Aretha Franklin and by the Rolling Stones.
In 2007 Keys released the soul-infused As I Am, which featured the Grammy-winning single "No One." The following year she teamed with Jack White of the White Stripes on "Another Way to Die," the lead single on the soundtrack to the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. As I Am continued to post strong sales throughout 2008, and the single "Superwoman" earned Keys a Grammy for best female rhythm and blues vocal performance in 2009. Later that year she collaborated with Jay-Z on the chart-topping single "Empire State of Mind," and in December she released her fourth studio album, The Element of Freedom. The Grammy-winning Girl on Fire (2012) featured a roster of guest producers and vocalists that included Nicki Minaj, Dr. Dre, and Keys's husband, Swizz Beatz. The socially conscious Here (2016) was less popular, however.
In addition to her music-related activities, Keys acted in several films, including Smokin' Aces (2006), The Nanny Diaries (2007), and The Secret Life of Bees (2008). She directed one of five segments that made up the cable TV movie Five (2011), about women living with breast cancer. Keys was also a coach (2016–18) on the television singing competition show The Voice. In 2019 she hosted the Grammy Awards ceremony.


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Fonts in Xamarin.Forms
This article describes how Xamarin.Forms lets you specify font attributes (including weight and size) on controls that display text. Font information can be specified in code or specified in XAML. It is also possible to use a custom font.
Setting Font in Code
Use the three font-related properties of any controls that display text:
- FontFamily – the
stringfont name.
- FontSize – the font size as a
- FontAttributes – a string specifying style information like Italic and Bold (using the
FontAttributesenumeration in C#).
This code shows how to create a label and specify the font size and weight to display:
var about = new Label {
FontSize = Device.GetNamedSize (NamedSize.Medium, typeof(Label)),
FontAttributes = FontAttributes.Bold,
Text = "Medium Bold Font"
Font Size
FontSize property can be set to a double value, for instance:
label.FontSize = 24;
You can also use the
NamedSize enumeration which has four built-in options; Xamarin.Forms chooses the best size for each platform.
- Micro
- Small
- Medium
- Large
NamedSize enumeration can be used wherever a
FontSize can be specified using the
Device.GetNamedSize method to convert the value to a
label.FontSize = Device.GetNamedSize(NamedSize.Small, typeof(Label));
Font Attributes
Font styles such as bold and italic can be set on the
FontAttributes property. The following values are currently supported:
- None
- Bold
- Italic
FontAttribute enumeration can be used as follows (you can specify a single attribute or
OR them together):
label.FontAttributes = FontAttributes.Bold | FontAttributes.Italic;
Setting Font Info Per Platform
Alternatively, the
Device.RuntimePlatform property can be used to set different
font names on each platform, as demonstrated in this code:
label.FontFamily = Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.iOS ? "Lobster-Regular" :
Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.Android ? "Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster-Regular" : "Assets/Fonts/Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster",
label.FontSize = Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.iOS ? 24 :
Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.Android ? Device.GetNamedSize(NamedSize.Medium, label) : Device.GetNamedSize(NamedSize.Large, label);
A good source of font information for iOS is iosfonts.com.
Setting the Font in XAML
Xamarin.Forms controls that display text all have a
Font property that can be set in XAML. The simplest way to set the font in XAML is to use the named size enumeration values, as shown in this example:
<Label Text="Login" FontSize="Large"/>
<Label Text="Instructions" FontSize="Small"/>
There is a built-in converter for the
Font property that allows all font settings to be expressed as a string value in XAML. The following examples show how you can specify font attributes and sizes in XAML:
<Label Text="Italics are supported" FontAttributes="Italic" />
<Label Text="Biggest NamedSize" FontSize="Large" />
<Label Text="Use size 72" FontSize="72" />
To specify multiple
Font settings, combine the required settings into a single
Font attribute string. The font attribute string should be formatted as
"[font-face],[attributes],[size]". The order of the parameters is important, all parameters are optional, and multiple
attributes can be specified, for example:
<Label Text="Small bold text" Font="Bold, Micro" />
<Label Text="Medium custom font" Font="MarkerFelt-Thin, 42" />
<Label Text="Really big bold and italic text" Font="Bold, Italic, 72" />
Device.RuntimePlatform can also be used in XAML to render a different font on each platform. The example below uses a custom font face on iOS (MarkerFelt-Thin) and specifies only size/attributes on the other platforms:
<Label Text="Hello Forms with XAML">
<OnPlatform x:TypeArguments="x:String">
<On Platform="iOS" Value="MarkerFelt-Thin" />
<On Platform="Android" Value="Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster-Regular" />
<On Platform="UWP" Value="Assets/Fonts/Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster" />
When specifying a custom font face, it is always a good idea to use
OnPlatform, as it is difficult to find a font that is available on all platforms.
Using a Custom Font
Using a font other than the built-in typefaces requires some platform-specific coding. This screenshot shows the custom font Lobster from Google's open-source fonts rendered using Xamarin.Forms.
The steps required for each platform are outlined below. When including custom font files with an application, be sure to verify that the font's license allows for distribution.
It is possible to display a custom font by first ensuring that it is loaded,
then referring to it by name using the Xamarin.Forms
Font methods.
Follow the instructions in this blog post:
- Add the font file with Build Action: BundleResource, and
- Update the Info.plist file (Fonts provided by application, or
UIAppFonts, key), then
- Refer to it by name wherever you define a font in Xamarin.Forms!
new Label
Text = "Hello, Forms!",
FontFamily = Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.iOS ? "Lobster-Regular" : null // set only for iOS
Xamarin.Forms for Android can reference a custom font that has been added to the project by following a specific naming standard. First add the font file to the Assets folder in the application project and set Build Action: AndroidAsset. Then use the full path and Font Name separated by a hash (#) as the font name in Xamarin.Forms, as the code snippet below demonstrates:
new Label
Text = "Hello, Forms!",
FontFamily = Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.Android ? "Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster-Regular" : null // set only for Android
Xamarin.Forms for Windows platforms can reference a custom font that has been added to the project by following a specific naming standard. First add the font file to the /Assets/Fonts/ folder in the application project and set the Build Action:Content. Then use the full path and font filename, followed by a hash (#) and the Font Name, as the code snippet below demonstrates:
new Label
Text = "Hello, Forms!",
FontFamily = Device.RuntimePlatform == Device.UWP ? "Assets/Fonts/Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster" : null // set only for UWP apps
Note that the font file name and font name may be different. To discover the font name on Windows, right-click the .ttf file and select Preview. The font name can then be determined from the preview window.
The common code for the application is now complete. Platform-specific phone dialer code will now be implemented as a DependencyService.
You can also use
Device.RuntimePlatform in XAML to render a custom font:
<Label Text="Hello Forms with XAML">
<OnPlatform x:TypeArguments="x:String">
<On Platform="iOS" Value="Lobster-Regular" />
<On Platform="Android" Value="Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster-Regular" />
<On Platform="UWP" Value="Assets/Fonts/Lobster-Regular.ttf#Lobster" />
Xamarin.Forms provides simple default settings to let you size text easily for all supported platforms. It also lets you specify font face and size – even differently for each platform – when more fine-grained control is required.
Font information can also be specified in XAML using correctly formatted font attributes.
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Kristina Kern of Stella's PopKern, a popcorn catering business and food truck in Washington, D.C. recommends using a mix of kernels — varying in texture, size, density and sweetness — for this recipe. Look for colored kernels (red, black, white) as well as mushroom and snowflake kernels. The variable mix accounts for the wider-than-usual range of yield.
Feel free to add flavorings you like, such as freshly ground black pepper, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, smoked paprika or finely chopped fresh herbs.
Makes 10 to 16 cups (5 to 8 servings)
MAKE AHEAD: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. For re-crisping, see NOTE below.
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (may substitute store-bought ghee)
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup canola oil, white coconut oil, olive oil, peanut oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 cup mixed popcorn kernels (see headnote)
Fine sea salt, for sprinkling
Melt the butter, without stirring, in a small saucepan over low heat. Skim off and discard any white solids on the surface. Slowly pour the yellow melted butter into a heatproof bowl, stopping once you reach any remaining white solids that have sunk to the bottom.
Wipe out the saucepan thoroughly, then pour the melted butter through a fine-mesh strainer back into the saucepan, discarding any solids.
Stir half of the garlic into the butter, then place over medium-low heat; cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer, discarding the solids. Cover loosely to keep warm.
Combine the remaining garlic and the oil in your popcorn popper or in a deep pot placed over high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the popcorn kernels; begin stirring or shaking the pot right away to make sure each kernel is coated and to keep the garlic from burning. Cover, and cook until the popping sounds slow down, with long pauses in between.
Immediately transfer the popcorn to a large serving bowl. Drizzle the garlicky ghee over the top, then immediately sprinkle with salt to taste.
NOTE: To re-crisp this popcorn, spread it on a baking sheet in a single layer and place in the oven. Preheat to 350 degrees; once the temperature is reached, turn off the oven. Let the popcorn remain in the oven for 5 to 8 minutes (but no longer), depending on the desired level of crispness.
NUTRITION Per serving (based on 8): 270 calories, 1 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 22 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugar
(Recipe courtesy Kristina Kern, Stella's PopKern, Washington, D.C., www.stellaspopkern.com)


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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) � Gov. Rick Perry has picked a former member of the Texas Public Safety Commission as secretary of state, the chief elections officer in Texas.
San Antonio attorney John Steen replaces Hope Andrade, who announced last week she was stepping down after four years on the job.
Steen will also serve as Perry's liaison on border and Mexican affairs, and become chief protocol officer on international issues.
He has contributed around $56,000 to Perry's gubernatorial campaigns. Steen also has given to Attorney General Greg Abbott, Comptroller Susan Combs and Texas House Speaker Joe Straus.
Steen is past chairman of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and once served on the Texas Commission on Economy and Efficiency in State Government.
Perry on Tuesday hailed Steen's "strong business background and dedication to public service.


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Jo's "Bold Contrasts" Room
Like this entry? Favorite it below!
- Name:
- Jo
- Location:
- Atlanta, GA
- Division:
- Warm
- Inspiration for my palette:
- The combination was inspired by a painting my aunt did that hangs in that room. I love trying bold combinations of color, and I've always loved the juxtaposition of teal and orange, and finally got the courage to use it in my 1930s bungalow!
- Colors used in my room:
- The dominant colors are a light burnt orange and greyish teal.
- Tips for using color successfully:
- If going with bold colors on your walls, don't try to match all the accessories in the space to the exact color of your wall. Using more neutral tones in the rest of the space, or bring in subtle shades of the wall color into the decor.
- Palette:
- Bold Contrasts


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Download PowerISO
Click the following link to download a free copy of PowerISO and try it before you purchase.
Download PowerISO v7.3 (32-bit)
Download PowerISO v7.3 (64-bit)
Supported operating systems:
Supported languages:
New Features in v7.3:
Other downloads:
Free unregistered versions will allow you to evaluate the software for free to determine if it suits your needs. Click "Download" to download and install the software.
The unregistered version will display a dialog prompts you to register, and you can not create or edit image files greater than 300MB with the unregistered version. To remove these limitations, please register.
Copyright 2004-2018 Power Software Ltd. All rights reserved.


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1 large onion, diced
1 1/4 lb lean ground beef
1 cup water
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
mashed potatoes* or egg noodles for serving
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and water to form a paste. Set a side. In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and saute about 5 minutes or until softened. Add the ground beef and saute, breaking up any large chunks with your spatula, until almost cooked through. Drain excess fat if necessary. Stir in the flour/water mixture. This will thicken the juices to form a sauce. When the meat is cooked through and the sauce has thickened, add salt and pepper to taste and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. I like it with mashed potatoes best.
*This is not the recipe to get creative with your mashed potatoes. A little milk, maybe some butter, mash with a potato masher, that's it.


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A proposal to ban gay conversion therapy in New Jersey has put Gov. Chris Christie, a possible 2016 GOP contender, in the spotlight at a time when many in the US, and in the Republican Party, appear to be reevaluating their stance on gays and gay marriage.
Governor Christie "does not believe in conversion therapy" for homosexuals, a spokeswoman said Thursday, but has not yet decided whether he will support a bill outlawing the practice that is currently under consideration by state lawmakers.
On Wednesday Christie sparked headlines for declining to take a stand on the controversial practice, which attempts to reduce homosexual tendencies in people and put them on a path to heterosexuality.
The debate may erode support for the perennially popular governor as he gears up for a gubernatorial race later this year – and considers running on the GOP ticket in 2016. It also presses Christie, who opposes gay marriage but believes voters should ultimately decide whether same-sex couples should be allowed to wed, to take a more decisive stand on that issue.
As a Republican leader of a liberal state, the governor has long walked a tightrope on gay marriage, says Brigid Harrison, a political scientist at Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J.
"This is in my view a really complex issue for the governor," says Professor Harrison. "On the one hand you have his need to placate socially conservative Republicans nationally for whom this is a litmus test issue," while at the same time, "not cause a rise in the state."
As a result, she says, "He really has kind of played both sides, not advocating an anti-gay position but not being the champion on gay rights that many people in New Jersey think their leader should be."
"In response to that, Democrats, including Senate president and likely [gubernatorial] opponent [State Senator Barbara] Buono, have tried to capitalize on this issue … by painting him into a corner and making him clarify his position to voters," she adds.
The hullabaloo began earlier this week when the New Jersey State Senate, led by Buono, a Democrat, passed a bill banning gay conversion therapy.
When asked whether he supports such a ban, the typically straight-talking governor waffled.
"I'm of two minds just on this stuff in general. No. 1, I think there should be lots of deference given to parents on raising their children," Christie said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. "I don't – this is a general philosophy, not to his bill – generally, philosophically, on bills that restrict parents' ability to make decisions on how to care for their children, I'm generally a skeptic of those bills. Now there can always be exceptions to those rules, and this bill may be one of them."
From there, the issue ballooned. Media reports on the governor's comments mushroomed, the Democratic Governors Association began a fundraising campaign to stop the "right-wing reactionary," and sensing an opportunity, Buono called Christie's unwillingness to reject the practice "disgusting."
"The governor said he doesn't know much about gay conversion therapy. I don't know how much more you need to know," she said on a conference call, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "I couldn't believe the stunning level of ignorance that that statement showed," she said, adding, "It's an outrageous practice that has no place in New Jersey."
The governor's office issued a statement Thursday clarifying that Christie does not believe in gay conversion therapy. "There is no mistaking his point of view on this when you look at his own prior statements where he makes clear that people's sexual orientation is determined at birth."
By then, says Harrison, the damage was already done.
"All of the kind of things that accentuate Governor Christie's position as socially conservative hurt him with that segment of voters … voters for whom this is a salient issue," she says.
The gay conversion controversy comes as the national climate on gay rights is undergoing a leftward shift. Earlier this week former Secretary of State and possible 2016 Democratic contender Hillary Clinton publicly voiced her support of same-sex marriage in a YouTube video. Last week Sen. Rob Portman (R) of Ohio also embraced gay marriage after revealing his son's homosexuality.
The Supreme Court is preparing to take up the issue next week when it hears arguments on the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, as public support for gay marriage appears to rise. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll finds 58 percent of Americans support gay marriage, up from 32 percent a decade ago.
As such, it was only a matter of time before the issue landed on the doorstep of the outspoken New Jersey governor.
To date, says Harrison, "he has waffled on his position so that he can simultaneously placate his national and his New Jersey constituency."
Though he opposes gay marriage, Christie favors civil unions and has said he would like to see a gay marriage referendum on the ballot in November to allow New Jersey voters to decide "what's right for the state."
In an appearance on CNN's Piers Morgan in 2011, he said he did not think homosexuality was a sin and believed some people are born gay.
New Jersey Democrats including Buono have used the gay conversion controversy to pressure Christie to clarify his position on gay marriage. It's one of a number of issues on which the governor has had to make a tough choice, says Harrison.
"This year has put enormous pressure on the governor," she says, citing difficult decisions he's confronted on Medicare, funding for Planned Parenthood, accepting federal funding for state infrastructure projects, and now the gay rights controversy. "He recognizes, and the party elite recognize, that he has to make his deal with the devil."
Nonetheless, challenging as this situation may be, the governor has mastered the delicate dance of mollifying allies and constituents on both sides of the aisle.
"He's not one that often succumbs to external pressure for him to define himself politically," says Harrison. "He's very good at changing the story, criticizing others to deflect criticism from himself. I anticipate that's what we'll see."


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Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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The Serendipity 43 was designed by Doug Peterson to compete in the 1980 Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC). These yachts were built by New Orleans Marine of a new epoxy composite. The design was strengthened by airex filled horizontal and vertical ribs in addition to seven 360 degree bulkheads. This design is noted for its light weight, strength, flexibility and double digit speed. *** Much of the content in this blog is from people who have experience with these amazing boats.


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Framed Tiles
Set off our decorative ceramic tile in its own stylish Cherrywood frame – the perfect way to complete a decorative gift or keepsake. Rounded edges and quality construction make this Framed Tile the ultimate wall accent.
100 hottest Offensive Framed Tiles
10keveryday.com is a
groovynet production
© Copyright Stacy Beatty, 1998 - 2008


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Message Board
Josh Farkas Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Farkas has written!
Author Farkas's Book Reviews
Nothing Left to Lose
Sunny Elms is a refuge for those in need of permanent psychiatric counseling. Joe (a bright, if not socially gifted young man) had his first day. He signed the standard admission papers, took the usual tour, and woke up to see the end of the world. Or maybe he didn't. You see, Joe can't seem to figure out if his visions are predictions of the future, or the result of mental illness. But he is part of Sunny Elms now. The choice is no longer his to m...


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This "Tan Canyon" leather foot and shaft is our own creation, out of our own tannery. It is hand waxed and buffed 3 times to give it this unique character. The round toe with traditional stitching is just like Dad wears. The sole is long-wearing PVC, and is almost indestructible. For additional comfort, there is a full length padded insole.


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I've been a huge Muppets fan straight since childhood, so needless to say, I've been more than a little excited in these past couple of weeks leading up to the release of The Muppets tonight. I've been doing some excellent prep work, too:
- I watched the ever-wonderful The Muppet Movie, and the new-to-me yet totally amazing TV special The Muppets at Walt Disney World;
- I listened to awesome Muppet albums, like the recently released cover album, The Green Album and the great collection of classics, The Muppet Show: Music, Mayhem & More! The 25th Anniversary Collection;
- I watched Kermit in interview with Jian Ghomeshi, Kermit in interview with George Stroumboulopoulos, and various Muppets make appearances on Saturday Night Live while Jason Segel hosted (the highlight of which was Really?!? with Seth & Kermit, which I can only find on the NBC site and can't be viewed in Canada – BOO!);
- I bought both "Gettin' Miss Piggy With It" and "Warm & Fozzie" from OPI's The Muppets collection.
And now today, while preparing to do a rather generic "made me smile" post about the Muppets, I came across something that seriously made me smile. In conjunction with the official Muppets site, Disney has created a website for an online video project called The Never-Ending Mahna Mahna Phenomahna. It invites viewers to record their own version of them saying/singing/shouting "Mahna Mahna", which it then adds to a never-ending loop of people singing "Mahna Mahna" with the original muppets spliced in between. The loop currently includes lots of average folks, and some fun celebrity drop-ins, too, including Jason Segel, Sarah Silverman, Bret McKenzie, Ken Jeong, and more. Oh, and me, it includes me.
I can't embed it, unfortunately, but click here to see me make a fool of myself singing "Mahna Mahna". AND, if you want to waste 3 minutes doing something fun, click on the button below my video that says "Join This One" and join my Mahna Mahna chain!
Want something to tell me in the comments other than how dorky my video is? Tell me about your love for the Muppets, your favourite Muppet, or your favourite Muppets song!


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Gosha Konyshev Skater Profile
Sponsors: DC, Quiksilver, Absurd Skateboards
Hometown: Moscow Russia, Stance: Goofy, Age: 27, Status: Pro
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Getting Girls Out of Work and Into School (2006)
Policy Brief
Author/Publisher: UNESCO Bangkok
Language: English
Download: PDF
The Asia-Pacific region is also home to the largest numbers of working children. This brief summarizes the causes and consequences of girls child labour on their educational opportunities and describes some of the instruments and strategies in place to reduce girls labour. It also provides insights into current good practice, assisting policy-makers and practitioners to better understand and address the issues for getting girls out of work and into school.


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Identification Cards (NOVACard)
Student photo identification cards, NOVACard IDs, are provided to credit-seeking students through the Student Life fee. The cards are distributed through campus NOVACard Offices. Students should wait 24 hours after first registering for classes before going to a campus NOVACard Office to obtain an ID card. ID cards may be required for library material use, admissions to special student activities, and so forth. There is a fee to replace lost cards. Contact a campus NOVACard Office for more information.