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» If your costume contest is five hours long, you're doing it wrong
Article by
announced their schedule for their 2016 Masquerade Cosplay Contest
on their web site
. It's scheduled to start at 6pm and the award announcements will begin around 10:30pm. That means the entire event (not including seating) will last approximately five hours for just 55 entries.
Here's the program as posted:
FanimeCon Said:
5:30 p.m. - Doors open on Sunday May 29th at the San Jose Civic Auditorium
6:00 p.m. - Opening announcements and introductions
6:15 p.m. - Karaoke winner's star performance
6:20 p.m. - First half: entries 1-25
7:30 p.m. - Intermission: 15 minute break to get up, stretch your legs and get ready for the second half
7:45 p.m. - Second half: entries 26-55
9:00 p.m. - Exposition performances
9:30 p.m. - Extravaganza's game show
~10:30 p.m. - AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT
Why is the event so long? Let's take a look...
They've given themselves 30 minutes for seating. That's fine.
There's 15 minutes for opening announcements and introductions. That seems rather excessive. Five minutes should be more than enough time to welcome everyone, introduce the emcee, introduce a handful of judges, go over some rules, and get started. What's happening for the other 10 minutes? Is it extra padding in case seating takes longer or people aren't actually ready on time?
The karaoke winner gets 5 minutes to perform. That's a reasonable amount of time to sing a song, but why is this even here? Get the show started and have the karaoke winner perform later while judges are making their decisions.
The first 25 entries are scheduled for 70 minutes. That's 2.8 minutes per entry. Some of these will be "walk on" entries, meaning that they walk on the stage, strike a few poses, and walk off. These are easily under a minute each (although
the rules
state a limit of 90 seconds), leaving more time for skit entries. Skit entries are allowed up to 2.5 minutes each. Even if all 25 entries were skits and all of them ran the full 2.5 minutes, that would only occupy 62.5 minutes. Factoring in the emcee's introductions, it's mathematically possible this could run over 70 minutes, but
After a 15 minute intermission (because the show is
so long
), the second half has 75 minutes for 30 entries. That's an average of 2.5 minutes per entry. Worst case scenario, they're all skits that run the maximum time, this could run over when you factor in the emcee's introductions.
Of course, there are two very obvious choices that could be made to reduce the running time of the skits: cut down the number of skits and/or reduce the maximum time for each entry. Using the same worst-scenario time estimate, a reduction of skit entries to just 2 minutes each would save up to nearly half an hour. What story can you tell in 2.5 minutes that you can't tell in 2? Keep the performance times short to keep things moving. Nothing drags down the excitement of a costume contest like a poor skit that seems like it never ends.
Why do walk-ons get 90 seconds? Some costume contests even restrict skits to
60 seconds
, so cutting back the walk-ons should be a no-brainer. They walk on, strike some poses, walk off. If someone's using up the full minute-and-a-half, they've never heard the saying "Always leave them wanting more."
After the entries have finished, there is 30 minutes of exposition performances planned. Yes, these can be amazing to watch because they're often professionals with incredible performances. 30 minutes seems rather excessive though. Still, that's 30 minutes that can be used by judges to make award decisions.
Following the exposition performances, there's "Extravaganza's game show" planned for an hour. This appears to be the biggest cause for the length of the contest. I don't know what this game show entails, but I have to wonder why it's here. It should be scheduled after the awards or at another time or in another location.
The event ends with the presentation of awards. The judges have an excessive 90 minutes to decide on 12 performance awards, 4 craftsmanship awards (which should have already been decided during pre-judging), and a judge's award from each judge. If these judges are keeping score and halfway decent notes during the competition, the decision making process should not last more than 30 minutes for these dozen performance awards.
Five hours is unbearably long for this event. Here's a proposed improved schedule (with the number of skits reduced to a nice round 50, walk-ons limited to 60 seconds, and skits limited to 2 minutes):
Patrick Said:
5:30 pm - Doors open for seating
6:00 pm - Opening announcements and introductions
6:05 pm - First half: entries 1-25
6:55 pm - Intermission: 15 minute break to get up, stretch your legs and get ready for the second half
7:10 pm - Second half: entries 26-50
8:00 pm - Exposition performances
8:30 pm - Karaoke winner's star performance
8:35 pm - Award Announcements
9:00 pm - END
By simply moving the game show, cutting out 5 skits, slightly reducing stage time, and cutting back on opening announcements, two hours have been trimmed! If we cut the skits back to a maximum of 1.5 minutes, we could probably do without the intermission and save another 40 minutes!
The point is that five hours is not necessary for a costume contest with this many entries. The contest was already excessively long
last year
thanks to countless technical delays. (
FanimeCon 2015
's masquerade was over 2 hours long just counting the competing entries and awards.
, the emcee, admitted that he had stalled so much that he ran out of material!)
This 2016 schedule is quite worrisome. With the convention in less than a week, it's too late to make changes, but FanimeCon's Masquerade organizers should take a serious look at the costume contests of other large conventions to get some ideas to streamline the event for 2017. Five hours is crazy!
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Disarmament Talks Begin on Shaky Ground
Assad Pledges to Join Chemical Treaty Ban, but Warns U.S. to Stop War Stance, as Kerry Urges Haste and Puts Onus on Russia
GENEVA—The U.S. and Russia began efforts to dismantle Syria's chemical arms network, building on an uncertain pledge by President Bashar al-Assad to join the international treaty banning the use and production of such weapons.
But Moscow's ability to control Mr. Assad as the disarmament process moves forward emerged as a major issue Thursday, after the Syrian leader said he would hold up plans to surrender his chemical weapons unless the Obama administration stopped threatening to use military force if Damascus didn't comply.
"The U.S. needs to stop its policy of threats against Syria," Mr. Assad told Russian state television.
It wasn't clear if the Syrian leader was putting forward conditions for a deal or trying to project defiance to a domestic audience. Since Monday, the Syrian regime has sought to portray the Russian initiative as a tactical victory for Damascus and Moscow.
In another potential wrinkle to talks, Syria's ambassador to the United Nations reiterated a longstanding call for Israel to declare its presumed nuclear-weapons arsenal and to put it under international supervision.
The developments rattled the opening of meetings between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Geneva and provoked a stern warning from Mr. Kerry.
"This is not a game, and I said that to my friend Sergei when we talked about it initially," Mr. Kerry said at a news event with his Russian counterpart in Geneva. "It has to be timely and implemented in a timely fashion. And finally, there ought to be consequences if it doesn't take place."
The Pentagon, backing up Mr. Kerry's strategy, said on Thursday that two U.S. warships deployed in the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea would stay beyond their scheduled deployments to keep pressure on Syria while talks over its chemical weapons continue.
The USS Barry, one of four destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, originally was scheduled to return home around Labor Day, but will be kept in place. The USS Nimitz, an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea that was to leave the Middle East for the Pacific region, also will remain.
While the Nimitz has been formally extended for two weeks, a Pentagon official said both ships would remain in the area for the foreseeable future.
Syria, taking a first step, sent a letter to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announcing Damascus's decision to join the Chemical Weapon Convention—the 1997 treaty banning the production and use of chemical weapons.
Under the Russian plan, according to U.S. and Russian officials, Syria will now need to declare the location and extent of Damascus's stockpile to The Hague-based body charged with dismantling chemical-weapons programs. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons inspectors would then probe the weapons sites and agree with Syria on a schedule to destroy the arms.
Messrs. Kerry and Lavrov pledged to work closely on implementing this plan, but divisions between the U.S. and Russia emerged.
The U.S. is backing a push by France for a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for the use of force against Syria if Mr. Assad backs away from its disarmament commitments. Mr. Lavrov said in Geneva that the threat of military strikes should now be off the table.
"We proceed from the fact that the solution on this problem will make unnecessary any strike on the Syrian Arab Republic," Mr. Lavrov said.
Mr. Kerry, meanwhile, voiced concerns that Syria would try to use the Russian initiative to stall for time while continuing its military offensive against rebels. The American diplomat dismissed Mr. Assad's claims that procedurally he has 30 days to declare his weapons arsenal.
"We believe there is nothing standard about this process at this moment because of the way the regime has behaved," Mr. Kerry said. American officials say Moscow's ability to control Mr. Assad is a major question for the U.S. delegation. The 48-year-old Syrian leader, since taking power in 2000, has proved to be much more erratic than his late father, President Hafez al-Assad, U.S. and Arab officials said. The younger Assad tightened ties with Iran and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah, and has taken reckless steps to fortify Syria's military, the officials said.
In addition to chemical weapons, U.S. and U.N. officials believe Mr. Assad was close to producing weapons-grade plutonium for nuclear weapons in 2007, before Israeli jets destroyed a Syrian reactor on the Euphrates River. U.S. intelligence officials also believe Mr. Assad transferred Scud-missile technologies to Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.
Mr. Kerry made it clear to Mr. Lavrov that Russia's reputation was now on the line over its ability to rein in Mr. Assad.
"Expectations are high. They are high for the United States, perhaps even more so for Russia to deliver on the promise of this moment," Mr. Kerry said.
Both diplomats arrived in Geneva accompanied by large teams of American and Russian experts on arms control and disarmament procedures.
Mr. Kerry presented to Mr. Lavrov Washington's assessment of the size and location of Mr. Assad's chemical-weapons stockpile, said U.S. officials traveling with the diplomat.
This assessment included Syria's store of "precursor" chemicals mixed to create weapons, the arms themselves, and munitions and delivery systems. The Obama administration estimates that Syria has more than 1,000 tons of mustard gas and sarin and VX nerve agents.
Messrs. Kerry and Lavrov won't discuss the creation of the U.N. Security Council resolution, but instead will seek to put in place a clear timeline to disband Syria's chemicals arms and the benchmarks that will be used to judge success. The two sides will also discuss how to install inspection teams and provide them with the security needed to operate within a country consumed by civil war.
U.S. officials said negotiators want Russian work in Syria to be verified by an international team because Washington doesn't fully trust Moscow's intentions and doubts it has enough information about the secretive Syrian program to do the job credibly.
"The Russians have a lot of blind spots on the Syrian chemical-weapons program. They may not understand the full scope of what they are dealing with," a senior U.S. official said.
Mr. Kerry also met Thursday with the U.N.'s special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. Mr. Brahimi has been working with Washington and Moscow to try to hold an international conference in Geneva aimed at putting in place a political transition in Syria. The conference is envisaged to bring together representatives of the Syrian opposition and Mr. Assad's government. But months of planning for the conference have failed to gain the approval of either warring side.
"We hope that once [the Americans] have done what they have to do with the Russians on the chemical issue, we will start talking again about Geneva," Mr. Brahimi said after meeting Mr. Kerry.
—Gregory L. White in Moscow, Julian E. Barnes in Washington, Sam Dagher in Damascus and Joe Lauria at the United Nations contributed to this article.
Write to Jay Solomon at email@example.com and Gregory L. White at email@example.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad turned 48 years old on Sept. 11. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said he's 47.
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Blaming Sequestration, CIA Closes Historical Document Declassification Office
from the nice-going,-everyone-involved-[finger-pointed-at-Congress] dept
The forced cuts of the sequester are hitting everywhere, apparently even at agencies with black budgets. With the budgets not open for public inspection, whatever's cut by those agencies will take on the appearance of being "discretionary." The latest cut by the CIA certainly looks to be a cut of convenience, rather than one of necessity.
The budget ax has fallen on a CIA office that focused on declassifying historical materials, a move scholars say will mean fewer public disclosures about long-buried intelligence secrets and scandals.While most of the documents are mainly of historical interest, the fact is that there's a lot in the CIA's past that should be opened up to the public. It's not as if the agency has run a tight, clean program for the past several decades. Even if its past misdeeds (and that term really understates some of its actions) have little bearing on its current work, they still provide some insight into the mindset of the agency.
The Historical Collections Division, which has declassified documents on top Soviet spies, a secret CIA airline in the Vietnam War, the Cuban missile crisis and other major operations, has been disbanded. The office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests will take over the work.
Dumping this onto the FOIA department just adds more work to a part of the agency that already uses every excuse it can to avoid complying with requests.
"This move is a true loss to the public," said Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who frequently litigates against the CIA. He said the CIA office that handles Freedom of Information Act requests "is the most obstructionist and unfriendly of those I have dealt with during the last two decades."The agency's spokesman says this move will "create efficiencies," which is both untrue and a buzzword-ish mistreatment of English. All it does is push a likely unwanted task (does the CIA really care whether or not the public's interest is served?) to a part of the agency that wants it even less. With this move, the CIA's history is allowed to slink back into the shadows while its present continues to be kept out of the sunlight by an antagonist FOIA department.
The off-the-record budget keeps anyone from stating definitively whether this cut was mandatory or simply convenient, but considering its lack of direct benefit to the agency (and its agenda), it's not a surprise to see it swiftly placed on the chopping block.
Filed Under: cia, foia, historical documents, sequestration


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I love Noble format since I first saw it on TappedOut. But I am from Spain, and I just know one person who knows about it besides me. That's why I would like to translate the main site into Spanish to try to make this format more popular in my country, or at least in the store where I usually play.
I need the approval and collaboration of the site's admin to begin my project.
Thanks for reading. :3


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Science Friday® is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Science Friday® and SciFri® are registered service marks of Science Friday, Inc. Site design by Pentagram; engineering by Mediapolis.
|Why does the flu affect different people differently? Why do some people infected with the influenza virus have symptoms resembling an ordinary cold, while other people infected with the same virus may get very sick or even die? Writing in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology, a group of researchers say they now have a better understanding of some of the factors involved in the severity of influenza infections. In an infected person, they say, the virus can temporarily paralyze the immune system, making that person more vulnerable to other infections. We'll talk with one of the researchers about what they found.


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The star-studded Britannia Awards saw Alan Cumming host the annual event and bestow honors on Daniel Day-Lewis, Daniel Craig, Quentin Tarantino, Will Wright and Trey Parker & Matt Stone.
BAFTA LA/ gettyimages The Britannia Awards are BAFTA Los Angeles' highest accolade, a celebration of achievements honoring individuals and companies that have dedicated their careers to advancing the entertainment arts.
The ceremony was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel with a stellar list of presenters and guests including Harrison Ford, Steven Spielberg, Olivia Munn, Lucy Davis, Bérénice Marlohe, Stephen Merchant and Jane Seymour.
For full pictures from the red-carpet and show, please visit our gallery.
This year's recipients
Daniel Day-Lewis
Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film.
Daniel Craig
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Quentin Tarantino
John Schlesinger Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone
Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy.
Will Wright
Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment.
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For the first time ever, the BAFTA Los Angeles Britannia Awards were broadcast in primetime on BBC AMERICA, airing on November 11, 2012 as a two-hour special, preceded by the Britannia Awards Red Carpet Special.


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hey this new forum is great. No glitches in the switch that I can see - smooth transition. Thanks a lot Pappy.
Will Rico have to start from scratch again?
ricochet wrote:I did start from scratch with 0 posts, but a little while later I looked and it said something like 1849...
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Sleep Disturbances, Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes: Interacting Epidemics
Date: 12/10/2012; 49 minutes
Eve Van Cauter, Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, directs the the Sleep, Metabolism and Health Center. She explores how sleep loss and poor sleep quality are risk factors for obesity and diabetes. (#24581)
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Dolce And Gabbana Ceramic Doll Bag CollectionCategories:Other Brands
There is something about the Barbie Doll and the Box with handle. When Dolce & Gabbana introduced these accessories on the runway, it was very inspiring.
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That Vogue decided to design a Doll for every famous designer brand. It was beautiful – the designer dolls were wearing the same clothes and carrying the exact same bags like the one on the runway. All the classic and iconic stuff were included, Vogue names it 'the Paris Panoplies Designer Doll Collection'.
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You just never know who you will run into when sitting and waiting for your daughter to finish dance class. Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of conversing with the creator of the website that brings us today's product review and giveaway.
Courtney is the mom to two beautiful girls and created a website, Bright October, that specializes in eco-friendly, naturally made, and creative toys. Several years ago when her first daughter was born, she became disenchanted with the commercialized, character-driven toy world and instead sought for toys that stimulated creative play, imagination, and fun. She also wanted safe and natural toys that taught kids to appreciate the planet. Her website, Bright October, (so named because the "day they brought their daughter home was the brightest day in October" - sweet) is the culmination of her search for the perfect child's toy.
Bright October has a wonderful website neatly arranged in categories such as age, type of toy, brand of toy, and price range to make your shopping easier. Their shipping costs are low, only $3.99 for standard or free if your purchase totals over $75. They have a wonderful 90 day return policy if you are not satisfied with your product. Sign up for their newsletter and your next purchase will receive a very generous 10% off discount.
Just look at some of the adorable toys the kids and I got to preview from her site.
This is an adorable toy for our little baby to be. It's a pram decoration from Haba. It will no doubt be tons of fun for the baby to look at and touch and my other two can't seem to take their hands off it as I keep finding it in their rooms. The figures are made of beech wood and they are connected by a sturdy elastic cord. So cute!
This my friends, in the last three days, has become my 5 year old's favorite doll. She has literally taken it everywhere we have gone including a bike ride. It's the Blabla Coral Doll.
This doll is hand-made, 100% cotton and so soft. The pictures don't do her justice as she is about 22 inches long. I'm pretty sure every little girl needs one of these! Check out all the fabulous Blabla Doll styles here.
This is a really neat toy that I had never seen before for my little guy. It's an Automoblox T9 Pickup. The body of the pick-up is constructed of solid maple and as you can see in the bottom picture, every piece of this this truck comes apart. My son, C., has had tons of fun pulling this thing apart and putting it back together. There are more styles of cars and trucks in the Automoblox line and your little one can mix and match pieces making their own creations. This is number one on my list right now to purchase for my nephew for Christmas! Shhh! Don't tell him.
- Visit her site Bright October and select a favorite toy.
- Leave a comment in our comments section telling us about that favorite toy and who you would purchase it for this Christmas!
The giveaway will end Wednesday, November 11th at 12 p.m. and the winner will be announced later that evening.
Thanks Courtney!


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DALLAS - Mavericks guard Delonte West has been suspended for conduct detrimental to the team.
Team spokeswoman Sarah Melton said Tuesday that coach Rick Carlisle didn't indicate how long the suspension would be. She declined to provide further details.
The Mavericks play their next preseason game at home Wednesday night against Phoenix.
West has battled a bipolar disorder during his career. He was suspended for the first 10 games of the 2010-11 season after pleading guilty to weapons charges in Maryland. Authorities say he was carrying three loaded guns and a knife when he was stopped for speeding on a three-wheel motorcycle in 2009.
West was a valuable player off the Dallas bench last season and is expected to fill a similar role in 2012-13.


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Club Couture's Perfect Christmas Gift: A Free Louis Vuitton Replica Koala Wallet And Bag CharmCategories:Louis Vuitton
As you may all know by now, every month, Club Couture is offering a free gift to every member but this month, they went above and beyond because they are giving a free Louis Vuitton replica wallet and a bag charm.
Last month, they gave away a free Louis Vuitton Speedy in Damier Azur canvas, so the Koala wallet and the bag charm gift was especially thought so you can match them and enjoy the beauty of replica handbags at its best.
If your shopping gift list is not finished yet and you're still wondering which designer purses to buy for your loved ones, all you need to do is visit Club Couture's site. You can choose from their vast selection of Gucci purses, Marc Jacobs handbags or any other designer purses you like and with their huge discounts, you can save big time.
To add the free Luis Vuitton Koala wallet and the bag charm to you shopping list all you need to do is to join Club Couture and use the coupon code you'll receive in the confirmation email. That simple!
Tags: Vuitton wallet Luis Koala


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If Rayquaza is your Active Pokémon and is damaged but not Knocked Out by an opponent's attack, you may search your discard pile for an Energy card and attach it to Rayquaza .
Discard all Energy attached to Rayquaza . Ignore this effect if you have no cards in your hand.
Put this card onto your Active Rayquaza . Rayquaza LV. X can use any attack, Poké-Power, or Poké-Body from its previous Level.
The Pokémon Company International is not responsible for the content of any linked website that is not operated by The Pokémon Company International. Please note that these websites' privacy policies and security practices may differ from The Pokémon Company International's standards.
Pokemon.com administrators have been notified and will review the screen name for compliance with the Terms of Use.
Your request could not be completed. Please try again. If the problem persists, please contact Customer Support.


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The Level 4 Certificate in Sports Massage (ITEC) course is designed for qualified sports therapists who are keen to expand their client base to include actively engaged people, ranging from team club players to individual athletes.
Following your completion of the Level 3 Sports Massage (ITEC) course, you can build upon your existing knowledge to achieve a comprehensive understanding of injury management. You will study to understand advanced techniques, tools and skills to be able to assess and treat common patterns of dysfunction and suitable pre-diagnosed injuries.
Whilst enrolled upon the course you will study three distinct units:
- Conducting subjective and objective assessment
- Treatment modalities to support soft tissue repair
- Provide sports massage techniques to prevent and manage injury
Unit components include:
- Management of injuries
- Soft tissue mobilisation
- Postural analysis
- Range of movement tests
- Active, passive and resistive stretches
- Stretching and rehabilitative exercises
- Advanced massage techniques
- Frictions
- Soft tissue release
- Trigger points
More information
- This course runs over 12 Wednesdays, on Saturday in Semester 1 and Sunday in Semester 2
The full course fee is £950.
More information about the assessment and entry requirements can be found on the website: http://www.stmarys.ac.uk/short-courses/sports-massage-course-itec-level-4.htm.Alternatively, contact us at email@example.com or call 020 8240 4321 during office hours.


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Full Item Description
This sword is unique, made only for the Merchant Prince of (insert city) and his loyal band of mercenaries. The Cruaunte is a hand and a half sword, capable of being used with one or two hands, and from horseback or on foot. Thus, the merchant can save both time and money equipping his men with a universally usefull weapon.
The sword is single edged, for greater strength, and less maintainence time. The sword comes to a blunt point, and is only marginally useful for making thrusting attacks. Its strength comes from the fact that the blade is serrated, or notched in the fashion of a steak knife, or chainsaw blade. While it only incurs moderately more damage (+1 dmg) it leaves nasty wounds that are slower to heal as the flesh is more thoroughly savaged, and it is quite intimidating.
The swords are of a uniform average quality, with the officers of the unit recieving blades of higher quality. The Prince himself wields a Cruaunte with gold quillions inset with small garnets and bound with kid leather.


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BIG Coalition Namibia
The proposal for a Basic Income Grant in Namibia was made in 2002 by the Namibian Tax Consortium (NAMTAX), a government appointed commission. The consortium made the proposal for a Basic Income Grant in light of the high poverty levels and the unequal distribution of income (income inequality) in Namibia. The debate about a Basic Income Grant in Namibia is based on the following proposal made in 2005:
A monthly cash grant of not less than N$100 (~13 US$) should be paid to every Namibian as a right.
Every Namibian would receive such a grant until pension age from where onwards he/she is eligible to the existing universal State Old Age Pension of N$500. The money of people not in need or not in poverty would be recuperated through adjustments in the tax system.
Basic Income Grant Coalition founding document, April 2005
Spearheaded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia (ELCRN), this proposal was taken up by the Namibian civil society and has evolved into the BIG Coalition, which was formed in April 2005. The Basic Income Grant campaign, which aims at achieving the introduction of a Basic Income Grant in Namibia, has to date been the biggest civil society project united in fighting poverty. The Coalition consists of the Council of Churches (CCN), the National Union of Namibian Workers (NUNW), the umbrella body of the NGOs (NANGOF), the umbrella body of the AIDS organisations (NANASO), the National Youth Service (NYC), the Church Alliance for Orphans (CAFO), the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) and the Labour Resource and Research Institute (LaRRI).From 2008 to 2009, the BIG Coalition has implemented the first ever pilot project of a BIG in the village of Otjivero in Namibia.
On this website you will find the background, history, research work and documentation of the pilot and the discussion about it:
Pilot Project
Publications and other material
Media Reports
If you would like to get in touch with the Secretariat of the Coalition, which is hosted by Desk for Social Development (ELCRN) or if you are looking for information on the current campaign work, please contact the ELCRN head-office (
© 2014, Claudia & Dirk Haarmann – BIG Coalition


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Since a few weeks Valve has really driven me mad with all rumors spreading around their announcement to be done at E3, their "surprise".
First rumors were about Portal 2, then Half-Life 2: Episode 3 and I jumped on for that one. Finally it was supposed to be a new version of the Valve Engine to come with Half-Life 3... Finally Portal 2 it is! (at least for now. Maybe more will come ...).
Valve indeed made the surprise during Sony conference today has you can see it below:
I still wonder how they end to chose this instead of Half-Life 2: Episode 3 which offered maybe a far more easier road regarding the storyline ... I also hope that it won't be a Playstation 3 exclusive as I would then go through serious trouble ...


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A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web. The word "browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user interfaces that let you browse (navigate through and read) text files online.
Technically, a Web browser is a client program that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to make requests of Web servers throughout the Internet on behalf of the browser user. Most browsers support e-mail and the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) but a Web browser is not required for those Internet protocols and more specialized client programs are more popular.
The first Web browser, called WorldWideWeb, was created in 1990. That browser's name was changed to Nexus to avoid confusion with the developing information space known as the World Wide Web. The first Web browser with a graphical user interface was Mosaic, which appeared in 1993. Many of the user interface features in Mosaic went into Netscape Navigator. Microsoft followed with its Internet Explorer (IE).
As of September 2006, Internet Explorer is the most commonly used browser, having won the so-called browser wars between IE and Netscape. Other browsers include:
- Firefox, which was developed from Mozilla (the open source version of Netscape).
- Flock, an open source browser based on Firefox and optimized for Web 2.0 features such as blogging and social bookmarking .
- Safari, a browser for Apple computers (at this writing, the third most popular browser).
- Lynx, a text-only browser for UNIX shell and VMS users.
- Opera, a fast and stable browser that's compatible with most relatively operating systems.


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|Ultimo prezzo
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We will update this as soon as possible. If you like to help, you can contact us.
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|21. Aug 2019 | Akolkar B
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|Bank of America Applies for A Patent of Multi-Signature Cryptocurrency Wallet
|Spain's Banking Giant Santander Group to Expand Ripple-powered Remittance Service in Latin America
|19. Aug 2019 | Akolkar B
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|Korean Tech Giant Samsung Adds Bitcoin Core Support to Its Blockchain Keystore
|British Banking Giant Barclays Cut Ties With Crypto Exchange Coinbase


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Download Notepad++ 6.3.3
Release Date: 2013-05-05
Notepad++ Installer : Take this one if you have no idea which one you should take.
- Notepad++ zip package : Don't want to use installer? Check this one (zip format).
- Notepad++ 7z package : Don't want to use installer? 7z format.
- Notepad++ minimalist package : No theme, no plugin, no updater, quick download and play directly. 7z format.
- SHA-1 digests for binary packages : Check it if you're paranoid.
- Notepad++ source code : The source code of current version.
You can find sha1 digests for binaries package on Sourceforge as well.
Notepad++ v6.3.3 new features:
- Add remembering folding between sessions feature.
- Optimize startup (loading last session) performance.
- Add multi-select feature in Document List Panel and
Close/Keep the selected files commands.
- Add new spell checker plugin (DSpellCheck).


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Is there a more observed, written about or argued over company than Apple? I doubt it. Given Apple's level of success though why is the company increasingly associated with angst? Why is Apple coming in for criticism everyday now?
Aside from the fact that a lot of investors are sitting on tidy gains from long term Apple investments, the answer lies in how information and popularity work on the World Wide Web. It's not as straightforward as you think.
Apple is driven by public sentiment. So are all brands you might argue. True - so if you are the most successful brand, you are more driven by it.
The challenge for executives is that sentiment is increasingly blurred with true information. And Apple has been king of this cloudy territory for a long time.
Let me explain.
Until recently, Apple had good control of "the information layer" around mobile computing.
Two studies that I did in the early days of the iPhone illustrate the extent and importance of this.
In one, just as the Android ecosystem was gearing up for the release of the first Android phone, Apple was far and away more popular. In the three months around the first Android phone launch, online references to the iPhone were 12 times higher than its competitor, even though there was no Apple launch of any kind.
That lead has narrowed since, naturally. A second study, after Android began its charge, showed the gap had narrowed to 3:1 but that is strong by any standard.
And there was another large piece of evidence at the time. When the iPhone was young, global mobile leader Nokia could do absolutely nothing to prevent its advance at the expense of the Nokia brand. Apple didn't just sell iPhones, it annihilated Nokia's brand power, and in fact exposed Nokia as a company without a competitive brand strategy.
Apple forced Nokia into launching its app store, Ovi, at very short notice and Ovi was an unmitigated disaster when set alongside iTunes.
This information layer advantage has been coupled to strong positive sentiment around Apple. That's what's changing.
From then to now. There are five points that explain Apple's successes and problems that are entirely down to how the Web functions.
1. Apple was first to the information layer. Companies used to do a lot of marketing to create awareness. However, the information layer - that critical body of opinion that makes or breaks a product has always been important too. A CNET or a ZD Net are essential pieces of the corporate marketing mix but they represented what became known as pull marketing - real, informed opinion and not just hype. Their endorsement would pull customers to a company that got good reviews or mentions. Now every company wants to do PULL.
Today companies compete to get their people onto the platform at conferences, to create websites, to cultivate influencers. Apple, however, was one of the first to anticipate sentiment and pull marketing with its evangelist programs. From a very early stage it was able to blur the pull vs push boundary, particularly with is David and Goliath stand against IBM and Microsoft.
2. American ignorance of global mobile markets. Think back to 2008. The USA was a backwater for mobile. Ironically, that meant Nokia had no support in the US market, precisely where the global information layer for computing resides. Going back to 2007/8, American commentators had very little grasp of the global mobile market. For example, they had very little idea of scale or that big data was already integral to mobile, or the pace of teen adoption of messaging.
In fact European companies like Nokia and Vodafone dominated the field. But that turned out to be an advantage for Apple. When Apple refocused mobile around computing, American commentators were jut coming on board. And what they really, really knew was computing. They were a ready-made pull strategy for Apple.
3. The rise of write what they read. Over the lifespan of the iPhone the information layer has changed. No longer does it have the appearance of objectivity in the way a CNET tried to create for the WINTEL era. A new information dynamic is taking hold. Increasingly writers will write what they see people read about. Every writer needs an audience and it is useless to write on topics that have low appeal. That is a big booster for a company like Apple. Or it was. But now Apple is a magnet for writers with a wider variety of opinions, negative as well as positive.
4. The news worm worm began to turn. However, that system began to turn on Apple about six months back. I have covered it here and here. We are seeing the transformation of Apple's legacy evangelism into a free-for-all of praise and criticism, often at a very high pitched tone.
5. Can Tim Cook manage this? The big question is how a manager like Cook regains control of mood. Criticisms of Apple's performance are preposterous but they are in good supply. Do you just see this as the price of success, as Bill Gates did, or do you reignite evangelism in a new way? I think the latter and that Apple needs evangelism for a more open era.
That does not mean apologies,which Cook offered over MAPs. That apology had no positive impact on Apple sentiment. What it does mean is reaching back out to the Apple ecosystem, listening to it and showing some flexibility in direction as a result of feedback.
Apple's reputation is public property. It is parlayed among peers. And those peers look to Cook to be a good version of them.
In The Elastic Enterprise, Nick Vitalari and I suggested this was key to Jobs success in the final part of his career. He became less omnipotent and more open to other opinions. We called this sapient leadership - being first among equals. Being the peer that smart people look to. Cook needs to think on that.


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Belinda Louise Williams and James W. Speight Jr. wed in Middlesex
Belinda Louise Williams and James W. Speight Jr., both of Deep Run, were united in marriage at 4 p.m. June 29, 2013, at Middlesex Free Will Baptist Children�s Home in Middlesex. The Rev. Linda Grinder was the officiating minister.
Escorted and given in marriage by her son, Lynwood Jones, the bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Earl Williams of Deep Run.
She is the granddaughter of Plato and Annie Kinsey of Deep Run.
She owns her own cleaning service.
The groom is the son of Barbara Davis of Sims. He is the grandson of Ethel Ruth Thorne, also of Sims.
He is a truck driver with FedEx.
Following a wedding trip to Gatlinburg, Tenn., the couple resides in Deep Run.
Beth Kirby of Kinston served as matron of honor.
The bride�s daughter-in-law, Maria Jones of Newport, was maid of honor.
Ellie Jones was the flower girl.
Robert Kirby of Kinston was best man.
Usher was Mark Speight. Alex Jones was the ring bearer.
Wedding music was provided by Linda Grinder, and flowers were done by Linda Stroud and Irene Smith.
The wedding was directed by Page Marshburn.


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One of my biggest gripes about the administration is the fact that they have a terrible, hubristic habit of taking premature victory laps. They aren't alone — the Democratic congress and the Republicans do the same thing. I suppose they worry about not being allowed to take credit at the later date if things don't work out so they want to insure they get a celebration for their hard work.
One of the earliest examples was the stimulus which has, it turns out, been very successful on its own terms, but falls short of the unfortunate high bar the administration set for it when it extolled it as the (first of many) "greatest" pieces of legislation passed in the last half century. Kevin Drum writes:
According to CBO reports, the stimulus has created 3.5 million jobs and kept unemployment about 1 to 2 percent lower than it otherwise would have been, and apparently it's accomplished this efficiently and with minimal waste. It's a testament to what happens when you take good policy seriously.
And the fact that the country considers it a horrible, budget busting failure that did absolutely nothing is a testament to what happens when you fail to take good politics seriously. As Kevin notes, if they had set their projections lower, they would be sitting on a policy success that exceeded expectations. Instead, the self congratulations and the back patting nearly insured that it would fall short. And even more sadly it insured that it would be much harder to come back for more (not that it ever would have been easy.)
And Joseph Stiglitz (along with many other economists) think we desperately need one:
Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz called for another round of federal stimulus dollars to spur the economy. He spoke Sept. 30 to the Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW) at its Fall Workshop.
"We will see in the next two years the real cost of there not being a second round of stimulus," he said. "We will see the economy slow down at a very high economic cost."
I never thought there would be much chance of getting a second bite of the apple because it was clear to me that the GOP would take a nihilistic approach and do everything it could to make things worse. And it was also fairly clear they would make the deficit boogeyman the "cause" of the problems rather than the result. And they succeeded.


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ST. PAUL -- Minnesota political leaders have spent months preparing state budget plans, and eight days before the Legislature must adjourn for the year they announced they have reached agreement on some tax and spend guidelines.
Included in the budget framework is that the state would not raise sales taxes on consumer goods, such as clothing, but probably would add taxes businesses pay on sales to other businesses. They plan to raise income taxes on the top 2 percent of Minnesota earners and put a surcharge on taxes paid by the richest of the rich.
Cigarette taxes would go up under the plan, and negotiators could raise taxes on alcoholic drinks, too.
"It is a budget that is going to work for Minnesota and put Minnesotans to work," Gov. Mark Dayton said Sunday when he announced the agreement with Democratic legislative leaders on their $38 billion, two-year budget plan that aims to raise taxes $2 billion.
Dayton, Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, and House Speaker Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis, briefed reporters on the budget deal Sunday afternoon. The Legislature must adjourn by May 20, and the trio of leaders said House-Senate conference committees will negotiate details, such as how much the various taxes would increase.
"On the tax side, the tax committee is going to work out all the details," Bakk said.
Budget conference committees generally are made up of five representatives and five senators, mostly Democrats since they hold control of the House and Senate.
Bakk said the budget outline will make sure two Minnesota priorities are met: more money for education and property tax relief.
When Democrat Dayton released his budget plan in January, he called for higher sales taxes at the consumer and business levels. The idea produced protests from many segments, so he dropped them from a revised plan and pledged to oppose Senate efforts to revive the concept.
Dayton said there is nothing in the tax plan, other than a cigarette tax hike, "that will affect middle income taxpayers."
However, after reporters pressed him, he admitted that "any tax on business, economists will say, could filter down."
Eventually, he added about the middle class paying more: "I can't say they won't."
Some of the guidelines Dayton, Bakk and Thissen said they are passing to conference committees include:
-- - Education at all levels would receive $725 million more than under the current two-year budget.
-- The sales tax would not rise on consumer goods, including clothing, but businesses could pay sales tax on goods sold to other businesses.
-- Income taxes would go up on people in the top 2 percent of Minnesota earners, couples with $250,000 or more annual taxable income and individuals making $150,000 or more.
-- An income tax surcharge would be added for Minnesota's richest of the rich, with proceeds going to help repay money the state has borrowed from school districts. The level of the surcharge would not be decided until the current budget ends June 30.
-- Cigarette taxes would rise and taxes on alcoholic drinks also could go up.
-- Some business tax breaks would disappear.
-- All-day kindergarten would be funded across the state.
-- The state would spend $400 million in property tax relief, such as by increasing aid sent to local governments.
Thissen said legislative pay could be raised under the budget, but the leaders did not make that decision. There also was no decision on whether to raise the gasoline tax, as the Senate voted last week.
Also awaiting a decision is how to back up lagging Vikings stadium construction funding.
The three leaders said the tax conference committee will decide the stadium issue, but Dayton said that "we have a couple ideas."
Taxes on electronic pulltabs are far short of expectations, and there has been a demand from legislators and others to find a more reliable source of funds.
"We are going to get a stable source that is more than sufficient," Dayton promised, without giving a hint about how that might look.
An $800 million public works funding bill, to be financed by the state selling bonds, was included in the budget framework.
House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, said Republicans are not interested in that large of a bonding bill. Many Republicans have said they support renovation work on the Capitol building, but little else this year.
Daudt and Senate Minority Leader David Hann, R-Eden Prairie, said that when all Democratic-Farmer-Labor taxes are added up they could approach $3 billion in the next two-year budget cycle.
If Democrats vote together, Republicans do not have the votes to stop any spending or tax bill other than bonding.


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The topic of this document is Gross Domestic Product by industry, as compiled and published by the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) of Statistics Canada.
This document is organized in seven chapters. Chapter 1 defines GDP by industry, describes its various uses, and discusses how monthly GDP by industry connects with the other components of the Canadian SNA. The most frequently used terms in this document such as industry, output, intermediate inputs and domestic production are also defined here. Chapter 2 deals with the derivation of the output based estimates, first describing the calculation of annual value added within the framework of the Input-Output tables, followed by the calculation of the monthly estimates. Industry and commodity classification schemes are the topic of Chapter 3. The subject of Chapter 4 is deflation. The choice of deflators, the role of the base year and the method of rebasing are addressed here. Chapter 5 deals with such technical issues as benchmarking, trading day and seasonal adjustment. Chapter 6 is devoted to the presentation of the monthly GDP by industry estimates, such as the format, release dates and modes of dissemination. The frequency and the reasons for revisions are also given in this chapter. Finally, in appreciation of what has been done in the past, Chapter 7 reviews the historical development of monthly GDP by industry from 1926 to the present.Custodian: Statistics Canada


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Triton Invitational in the Books After Full Day of Action on Saturday
Related Links
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The annual Triton Invitational concluded Saturday at Triton Track & Field Stadium on the campus of UC San Diego with over 1000 competitors in action, including numerous Olympians and Olympic hopefuls from around the world.
Ashton Eaton, the reigning Olympic and world decathlon champion and decathlon world-record-holder, ran the 400-meter hurdles for the second time and went 50.01 to win the event over fellow Olympians Chen Chieh (50.75) of Chinese Taipei and Isa Phillips (50.88) of Jamaica. He had turned in an identical debut mark of 50.01 to place fourth at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut exactly one week prior.
Highlights for the Tritons included an NCAA provisional mark for the first time this season in the women's 4x400 relay, with Sabrina Pimentel, Marisa Padilla, Lauren Lopez and Lauren Irish combining to go 3:48.50 and get under the 3:49.00 standard. The foursome placed fourth.
Sophomore Kristin Sato was an individual event winner in the triple jump, stretching out her existing NCAA provisional to a season-best 39'3".
True freshman Markus Woods ran 53.88 for the first provisional qualifying mark of his college career in the 400-meter hurdles. The time to beat was 54.00, with Woods previously at 54.18 this season as a Triton. He crossed second in the second of four heats, just behind Central Arizona College's Wellington Zaza (53.77).
Former Triton national champion Sonali Merrill, like Eaton a 2012 Olympian for her native Sri Lanka, won the women's 400 hurdles by over two full seconds as the only competitor under one minute, at 59.76.
Current Tritons Corinne Hinkle (4:39.56), Paige Hughes (4:44.31) and Anneke Kakebeen (4:53.75) all posted personal bests in the 1500, with senior Ximena Cruz Ocampo running a season-best 5:02.08. Hughes and Kakebeen won the second and third of four sections, respectively.
Sophomore Tareq Alwafai went a personal-record 4:01.31 in the men's 1500, with Ella Verhees (2:15.88) and Raélene deArmas (2:18.15) producing their fastest-ever times in the 800. Verhees was first in the third of six sections. Senior Kellen Levy was third overall in the 1500 (3:55.52).
Alia Bales (18:11.81) put forth nearly a 44-second improvement on her best in the 5000 at the end of the day, finishing eighth.
Keith Rose was fourth in the 200 (21.73) and seventh in the 100 (10.84). The junior also anchored the 4x100 relay to a season-best 41.92 after Emmanuel Elijah, Derek Van de Streek and David Guinasso. Van de Streek was fourth in the 400 (49.48).
Former UCSD national champion Nick Howe wound up fourth in the javelin with a distance of 246'5".
UCSD hosts its fifth and final meet of the 2014 season in the coming week, with Triton Track & Field Stadium the site of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Championships for the first time since 2010. The conference meet takes place Thursday through Saturday, May 1-3.


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Integrating sustainability at BCIT
Our commitment to sustainability encompasses everything from advancing the state of practice through education and research, to improving the efficiency of campus operations, to engaging the community across the institute.
Implementing the Living Lab
Back in 2006 we started using the term Living Laboratories of Sustainability as a way of describing how we could transform our campus into a dynamic example of techniques for reducing environmental impact and increasing social equity. Find out more.
Inspiring change from the ground up
The BCIT Green Team is a volunteer group of employees keen on inspiring change from the ground up. Following the team's successful Heat Savers initiative, they're in the midst of a new Commute Smart campaign. Learn more about the Green Team.
Funding green initiatives
BCIT's Revolving Fund for Sustainability provides no-interest loans for internal projects that save energy, conserve water, reduce waste, and/or lower operating costs. Find out more.
Empowering cyclists
We've just launched a website geared to the needs of cycle commuters. The site is chock-full of useful information, from routes to campus, to the location of showers and lockers. Check it out.


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Will County Webmaster
Event date: 3/16/2017 9:30 AM Export event
View Web Agenda
Downloads: Public Agenda | Full Agenda
Link to original article
Anastasia Tuskey
Communications Director
Ph: 815-740-8376
Tammy Reiher
Public Information Officer
Ph: 815-774-7485
Will County celebrates 24th garden in the We WILL Grow School and Community Garden Program
Another garden in the We WILL Grow School and Community Garden Program was dedicated on Saturday, July 27, at All Nations Church of God in Christ, 503 S. Water St. The garden is one of 24 community gardens in the Will County program.
Officials celebrate ribbon cutting at Will County Health Department in Monee
Will County Executive Larry Walsh joined Will County Board Speaker Denise Winfrey, Board Member Laurie Summers and Community Health Center CEO Mary Maragos at a ribbon cutting at the Will County Health Department location in Monee.
Solarize Chicagoland surpasses second goal, lowering solar pricing
The Solarize Chicagoland group buy program is gaining momentum as it surpassed its second goal when the 22nd homeowner signed on to go solar.
Workforce Center of Will County to host weekly job fair Aug. 29
The Workforce Center of Will County will host its weekly job fair from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. Thursday, Aug. 29.


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Because DUE's reset connects NRSTB pin, pressing reset will reset the chip including the Backup region (RTC, RTT and Supply Controller), that means RTC's time will be set 2007.1.1 and etc. But in SAM3x, there is another NRST Pin, if reset connect this pin, it will not reset the Backup region (RTC, RTTand Supply Controller), thus, I suggest arduino due make some changes to avoid the RTC's reset.
Your right about the reset, but I doubt that will ever be changed. If you can wait 6 months my board allows both types of reset :)
What if i turn off taiji-uino by powering off and turn on again? Will doing this cause rtc reset?


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By Barbara Liston
ORLANDO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - More than a million homeowners living in older houses along the coastlines and riverbanks of the United States are being jolted by federal flood insurance rate hikes under a law passed in the wake of devastating storms.
Carol Giovannoni, 51, of St. Pete Beach, a barrier island community off Florida's west coast, is one of the people dreading Oct. 1, when the law takes effect. Giovannoni said the annual flood insurance premium on her standard 1950s concrete-block, ranch-style home on the waterfront will jump from $1,700 to $15,000 over the next few years. She said her home has never flooded in 59 years.
Were Giovannoni to sell her home, or let her policy lapse, the new rate would apply immediately, she said, but exactly how rates will be calculated under the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of July 2012 is unclear to many.
Congress passed the law, as it turned out just months before Superstorm Sandy struck the northeastern coast in late October, in an effort to balance a $24 billion deficit in the National Flood Insurance Program, which had growing losses from Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005 and earlier disasters.
"Once these rates go into effect, the value of our house is probably cut in half. We will have a tough time selling," said Giovannoni, who is a realtor, noting that flood insurance is required by mortgage lenders.
The rate hike is designed to make property owners pay for the true risk of living in high flood hazard areas, including coastal areas of Florida, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Louisiana, and inland states prone to river flooding.
Members of Congress from high-risk flood states want to delay the higher rates coming into effect so they can gather more information on the impact on property owners, but with next Tuesday's deadline, time is running out.
The act requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to phase out insurance subsidies enjoyed for decades by owners of homes that were built in high-risk flood zones before the creation of the original federal flood insurance rate maps and building standards, which in most communities occurred in the 1970s and 1980s.
Florida is home to more than a quarter of the 1.1 million subsidized properties in the United States, and low-lying coastal Pinellas County west of Tampa - which includes St. Pete Beach - is ground zero. More than one third of the county's 142,000 properties with flood insurance have subsidized rates, according to the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.
The act comes on top of a nationwide re-mapping of flood zones which in some coastal areas has moved some properties into newly widened hazard zones, exposing them to rate increases.
More than 80 percent of the 5.6 million properties nationwide covered by the $1.12 trillion program already comply with existing standards and would not see any change in their policies, at least for the time being, FEMA director Craig Fugate told a hearing of the U.S. Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Sept. 18.
Fugate said the rates of those homeowners in compliance could go up too if new maps reveal higher flood risks.
Hit hardest by the rate hike are people who bought a home with subsidized insurance after the law's passage on July 6, 2012. Those new buyers must pay full-risk rates starting Oct. 1, according to a timeline on FEMA's website.
Owners of subsidized policies on businesses and properties that have suffered severe or repetitive loss will face 25 percent rate increases annually on policy renewals after Oct. 1, until rates reflect true flood risk.
Owners of secondary and vacation homes already experienced the first 25 per cent rate hikes in subsidized policies that renewed after Jan. 1, 2013.
All other subsidized policyholders in high-risk flood zones can expect rates to rise about 16 to 17 per cent next year. After that future rate hikes are unknown, but Biggert-Waters raised the annual cap from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.
Critics of subsidized federal flood insurance say the benefits disproportionately favor high-risk and wealthy properties.
"Taxpayers deserve to have those who choose to live in harm's way pick up their share of the tab," Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, told the Senate committee last week.
He said the biggest impact of the act would be on second homes and businesses.
Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, compared the impact of Biggert-Waters to the adoption of stronger building codes in Florida after Hurricane Andrew hit in 1992. "That increased the cost of building homes in Florida but it made them safer and more resilient to storms," he said.
But Fugate told the Senate committee that the act needed amending. He said businesses and affluent homeowners could afford the new risk, but added the law unfairly hit middle class homeowners who had not been flooded repeatedly.
One Pinellas County couple who bought a home near the bay last month discovered that flood insurance on the modest $205,000 farmhouse will shoot up from $1,900 to almost $8,000.
"It was a shock, we were in the middle of closing when we found out," said Cristy Assidy, a 39-year-old nurse. She said the 1925 farmhouse, which sits 5 feet above sea level, had never been flooded as far as she knows.
She and her husband, mailman Fred Assidy, went ahead with the purchase. "We took a gamble. Everyone is working class around here, so we're hoping for a reprieve."
Melinda Pletcher, a realtor and city commissioner in St. Pete Beach, said she felt blindsided when a beach home she helped sell after the passage of the Biggert-Waters Act was hit with a $23,000 flood insurance premium.
"I really feel honestly horrible about this," said Pletcher. (Additional reporting by David Adams; Editing by Grant McCool)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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Nathan McCusker braced himself on the board as Brian Lannon starts paddling.
Windsurfing could be a little scary to a newcomer, but these Scituate boys aren't worried. If they mess up, Nathan, 10, explains, "You just fall in. It's pretty fun."
The boys were part of a group of 95 local youth to take advantage of The CORSE (Community of Resources for Special Education) Foundation's seventh annual Maritime Adventures water sports camp.
AccesSport America is teaching skills in adaptive windsurfing, Hawaiian outrigger canoeing, and stand-up paddling, and the town recreation's sailing staff partnered with CORSE to offer sailing lessons.
This year so many people wanted to participate that CORSE added a second week, foundation president Tracy Johnston said.
The program includes specialized equipment and careful instruction so it's open to children of all abilities, even if they are non-ambulatory, non-verbal and do not know how to swim, she said. This year's group is split evenly between children with and without special needs, she said.
"There are some kids that have never been on the water or are afraid of the water, and by the end of the week, many of them are completely independent on the apparatus," Johnston said.
The main instructor, Ross Lilley, executive director of AccesSport America, is really patient and helpful with the camp participants, she said. Johnston also has about 25 high school-aged volunteers.
Lilley said he enjoys working with the kids.
"The best part is the relationships for us," he said. "It's all about engagement and when we see people year after year and day after day, we get to build these relationships."
Emily Sommers, a Scituate teen who has volunteered at the camp for two years, also enjoys getting to know the kids and getting them on the water.
"I like watching the kids get on the water and do things they don't normally do," she said.
Lilley said he's impressed with how much of skills the students retain each year.
Johnston said about 30 percent of the participants signed up for two weeks of the camp, while the rest did one week. That new option allowed for repeated exposure to give the kids a better chance to build on and remember their skills, she said.
In a lot of cases, Johnston said, this camp is the participants' only time to try these sports on the water all year.
"It's something so unique for CORSE, but it's not unique because we're in Scituate," she said of the program. "People are paddle-boarding all the time on the river, but some kids, if we didn't bring this group that has the experience and adaptive equipment, they wouldn't be able to do what everyone was doing."
Standing on the deck of the Maritime Center as she watched the kids practicing their new skills on the water, Johnston and Judy Geagan recalled when Geagan's grandson, Hunter, first started with the program five years ago.
Hunter, who has autism, was initially nervous floating out over the water, Geagan said, but any signs of fear were gone this week. Hunter was paddling out and around the docked boats and along the shore, taking advantage of every second on the paddleboard.
"It was awesome," Hunter, a 16-year-old from Whitman, said when he finally came to shore.
Brian, 12, and Nathan had similar reactions after splashing to solid ground.
"It was fun," Brian said. "It goes fast, but you don't have to worry because you can go into the water and sometimes that's fun."
He said they had a few days to learn how to windsurf, but felt it was easy to pick up. From there, it was smooth sailing.
"My favorite part is being with my friend on a board," Nathan said.
Follow editor Kristi Funderburk on Twitter @kfunder


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One of the many strengths of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra is its astute programming. This year's line-up of composers ranges from the contemporary (Thomas Ades, Ross Harris) to Joseph Jongen, whose Symphonie Concertante is given a work-out by flamboyant organist Cameron Carpenter in July.
Ronan Tighe, the APO manager of artistic planning, plays a central role in deciding on the concert line-up. It was another orchestra that, 24 years ago, on the other side of the world, focused his musical commitments. The 14-year-old clarinetist was bowled over by the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland, playing Stravinsky's Rite of Spring. "I didn't know that such music existed," says Tighe, in a soft Irish burr. "Whatever they're doing, I want to do that."
He ended up in London, managing clients for the prestigious agency, IMG Artists, from pianist Dmitri Alexeev to conductor John Nelson. Duties included "spending one Sunday afternoon in Birmingham finding Indian takeaways for Itzhak Perlman because he'd heard the city had the best around".
The move to New Zealand in 2010 was a culture shock, he admits. "London felt like the centre of the cultural universe; Auckland seemed so small."
Yet advantages soon became apparent. "We don't have to deal with the weight of history as Europe does. The APO is hugely dynamic and flexible with a real 'give-it-a-shot' attitude. That doesn't happen in Europe where everything goes much more slowly. Here we just get on with things. Someone has an idea and a week later, the wheels are in motion."
Tighe works closely with music director Eckehard Stier, who opens rethe New Zealand Herald Premiere Series on Thursday, conducting Turnage, Mozart and Strauss. "I'm looking forward to hearing Thus Spake Zarathustra," says Tighe. "Eckehard will have a lot to say here because he really gets under the skin with Strauss' music. He's got that fire in his belly that translates well in this area."
Tighe anticipates memorable Mozart from Norwegian pianist Gunilla Sussmann and assures me that Scherzoid, a 2005 score from English composer Mark-Anthony Turnage, is "a driven, high-energy work with a distinct bluesy feel - a great opening for the season".
He is justly proud that Australian colleagues, working in that country's main orchestras, envy the breadth of the APO's offerings, and perhaps, he muses, this has something to do with Auckland.
"Some orchestras in Europe can't do anything outside of the core repertoire because people wouldn't come to the concerts. In Auckland, there is a relatively open-minded audience, which reflects the way we're so embedded in the local community with our various projects."
He has survived a few potential nightmares, one being last year's unexpected cancellation by soprano Deborah Voigt. Catastrophe was averted by Christine Brewer, who was "such a dream to deal with; a down-to-earth Southerner who was so happy just to be here and make music with us".
Of the many visiting conductors, he cites Spaniard Eduardo Portal and the American John Nelson, who, before stunning us with Berlioz, gave us Jack Body's Hector's Ghost not once, but twice.
"By and large, the modern conductor is a charming person," Tighe points out. "The days of the tyrant are long gone. You won't get work if you're horrible to an orchestra because the players won't have you back."
As for the ideal programme, it is "getting the proportions right, so it all makes sense in some way.
"There can be a thematic thread or it might be that the flavours blend well. Prokofiev's Classical Symphony would fit nicely with a Mozart concerto, followed by something richer and lusher in the second half." He smiles. "I make it sound a little like being a chef."
What: Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra
Where and when: Auckland Town Hall, Thursday at 8pm


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Friday, May 16, 2008
my "Number One"
On a typical evening as we try to talk...me asking what he has on the agenda for the weekend and he telling me some story that happened at work, Grace is interrupting to tell me (in a very dramatic way) every detail from her field trip, Lucy's screaming for who-knows-what since she's so darn frustrated that she can't tell us, Claire's crying in the corner because she got her feelings hurt about something or other, Max is pounding on the piano, and Elle's begging for a friend to stay for dinner.
Oh, and there are the friends causing commotion too...playing tag which involves running around the house either slamming the doors or leaving them wide open (great for the air conditioning bill), needing supervision while swimming, and yelling to be heard by each other over the roar of the waterfall, fighting over who gets which princess dress-up...you get the idea. Oh, and I can't forget about that incessant ringing of that darn phone. (We don't usually get our phone, but the ringing alone causes a little bit of head-ringing.)
I love being a mother with all my heart, commotion and all. Oh how I love to kiss off those kids' cheeks and snuggle up to read bedtime stories together. But as much as I adore those kids, Dave is my Number One. My sweetheart. My lover. My best friend. And when I'm a shriveled up little old lady (as little as you can shrink to when you start out at six feet tall), I want to remember this: he was my first priority. He's the one who lights up my heart with something as little as giving me a wink across the dinner table commotion. He's the one I'd rather be with than anyone else in the world. I love you babe.
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i loved this post, just like you i have some children of my own,i know exactly what you mean when you exlpain the screaming children and the phone ringng ( we just got an answering machine and after the kids go to bed, we sit down and listen to the messages, if it's an important call we make it first thing the next day!!) God gave us pretty amazing little "gifts" to look after, right? but when they freely hand out kisses, hugs and the words, "love you mommy", it makes it all worth it. but thank you for the reminders that our husbands were here first!! some how through the madness i seem to forget that fact. the kids will grow up and leave but the husband is forever!ReplyDelete
Ditto to all that.ReplyDelete
Right now the kids kind of rule, but soon they will all be gone, and "he " will still be here. Adam and I play six rounds of boggle in bed each night before we turn out the lights. When we were first married, skip bo.
It's been eight years of this. And As I leave for Brazil in a few minutes, guess what I have packed in my bag...? Travel Boggle!!
A superb reminder to us all.ReplyDelete
Great post. Totally agree!ReplyDelete
I love, love reading your posts, so touching and inspiring at the same time!!ReplyDelete
Thank you for dropping off the CD, we have loved looking at all the photos. I love the way you capture moments!! Thanks so much for getting them back to us so quikly, now we can post our adoption profile on line, yea!!! I see the light at the end of the tunnel!! Thanks so much for all your help. You are so talented! I am always amazed with all that you do! You are wonderful!
How grateful I am for the love you have for each other. It's so important and fulfilling.ReplyDelete
Love it. Love it. Love it. This is exactly why my heart races when I think of our Caribbean Cruise departure in 3 days from now. I get Brett ALL TO MYSELF!!! Great post.ReplyDelete
I loved this post! I so know how you feel! Only with boys its more like thinks being broken, kids running away, and sometimes it feels like friends are over but I can't send them home because they are all mine! It is funny how kids can make your life crazy and sometimes feel so far apart from your husband, but then at the same time they are the super glue holding you together! Hope to keep in touch! Take care, KelsiReplyDelete
it's ginger hoffman, if you want to know more about my daughter who had the brain surgery please email me at email@example.com. we have a carepage set up for her but i don't want to give out that info over the blog spot. all i need is an email address and i can send you the carepage address ad you can be kept up to date and read howit all happened. I'd love to give it to you.
This post is beautiful. A good reminder of the beauty of eternal companionship. Thank you for writing.ReplyDelete


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Angmar War
This article describes a concept which is mentioned in J.R.R. Tolkien's works, but was never given a definite name.
|Previous war: War of the Last Alliance
|Next war: War of the Ring
|Angmar War
|Beginning: T.A. 1409
|End: T.A. 1974 (fighting finally ended in T.A. 1977)
|Place: Arnor, Angmar, The Shire, Rivendell, Northwest Wilderland
|Outcome: destruction of the kingdoms of Arnor and Angmar, decline of the Dúnedain of the North, the Eótheód take the upper Vales of the Anduin as their own from the remnants of Angmar.
|Major battles: Arnorian Civil War, First Invasion of Angmar, Fall of Cardolan, Fall of Amon Sûl, Weather Hills skirmishes, Second Siege of Imladris, Fall of Fornost, Battle of Fornost, Eótheód Incursion.
|Arnor, Lindon, Rivendell, Gondor, Shire, Khazad-dûm, the Eótheód.
|Angmar, Gundabad, Misty Mountains, Rhudaur, Ettenmoors.
|* King Argeleb I
|The Witch-king of Angmar, Hill-men lords, orc chieftains.
The Angmar War was a centuries-long struggle between the Northern Dúnedain kingdom and the forces of Angmar, led by the Witch-king.
PreludeWitch King of Angmar. During the reign of Malvegil (c. T.A. 1300), this new power arose beyond the Ettenmoors. This land became populated with the Orcs and Men of Darkness, and began attacking Rhudaur and Cardolan. Eventually this Witch-king was identified as in fact the chief of Ringwraiths. Years later, Argeleb I of Arthedain, reasserted control over Cardolan, and fortified a line along the Weather Hills. Despite this action, Argeleb fell in battle with Angmar and its ally, Rhudaur. His son Arveleg I, however, counterattacked in conjunction with Cardolan and drove the enemy back. He held this frontier in force for quite some years successfully.
By T.A. 1409, the Witch-king of Angmar had realised that Cardolan was Arthedain's strongest ally and as long as it stood, so would Arthedain. A direct assault on Cardolan would probably result in disaster as Arthedain would have probably issued from the Weather Hills and struck Angmar's army in the rear or flank.
Therefore, Angmar was forced to launch an all out assault against the remnants of Arnor, using several forces, one to besiege Rivendell to prevent it from sending aid to Arnor, and through blocking Rivendell, also blocking reinforcements from Lórien. An army to tie up Arthedain along the Weather Hills and Amon Sul, and a final army to destroy Cardolan.
Angmar's attack was highly successful. Rivendell was successfully besieged, and Arthedain was hard pressed along the length of the hills.
In 1409 the Witch-King led a great host across the river Hoarwell against land of Cardolan, after being beaten back out of the lands of the Dúnedain many years before.
When the forces of Angmar reached Weathertop, the main defensive outpost in the Weather Hills and northern Cardolan, they besieged it, until they broke through. The attackers subsequently burned and razed the fortress to the ground. King Arveleg I was killed, and some of the Dúnedain retreated and escaped to Fornost with the Palantír of Amon Sûl that was stationed there.
With it gone the Witch-King was able to take and ravage Cardolan, as well as consolidate his new conquests in Rhudaur, which his Hill Men allies and subjects had taken, as well as launch attacks against the whole of Arthedain. With Arthedain's forces pinned down or routing towards Fornost, Angmar's last army moved into Cardolan, which was a wide and open land, with little to no natural barriers.
It is probable that the Prince of Cardolan gathered what men he could quickly, rather than mustering his entire army, so Angmar's advance could be stopped and Cardolan's agricultural needs would not be laid waste. The Prince attacked, failed and was killed in the process. However, he did enough damage to Angmar so that it lacked the strength to capture Tyrn Gorthad, Cardolan's capital in the Barrow Downs.
However despite permanently ending the threat that was Cardolan, Angmar was unable to ride its momentum, and was driven away from the city of Fornost and the North Downs by the forces of the new King Araphor and Lord Círdan of Lindon.
Overall, the Campaign was a huge success for Angmar. No longer was Arnor an unbreakable wall of defenses. Although the Second Siege of Imladris was broken and Arthedain routed Angmar with the help of Lindon, Angmar had destroyed Amon Sül, Arthedain's chief defence in the Weather Hills, and Cardolan was on the verge of destruction and highly vulnerable.
The Plague
Another threat appeared to the northern successor kingdoms, a major plague from the east, in the vicinity of the Sea of Rhûn, northeast of Mordor. This plague, which affected Rhovanion and barely western Gondor, spread northwards to Cardolan.
In Cardolan, it struck severely, wiping out the last of Dúnedain at the Barrow-downs. The Witch-king, exploiting the tragedy, sent evil spirits, the Barrow-wights, to infest the area. The Hobbits of the Shire were damaged by it, but not heavily. The plague lost its strength, however, at this point, so that most of Arthedain was unaffected.
Since Rhudaur had fallen under Angmar's control, this left Arthedain without any allies that could aid them to a great extent. In T.A. 1973 Arnor sent a message to King Eärnil II of Gondor that they were in great straits, and that Angmar was preparing it final assault. The King sent his son Prince Eärnur, with a fleet of ships to Lindon to aid Arnor but would not arrive in time.
In T.A. 1974 Angmar amassed its forces and launched a final assault on Arthedain. The Witch-king attacked during the harsh winter weather and took Arthedain's capital Fornost. The remnants of it's forces fled west over the river Lune to the realm of Lindon and Arvedui was lost in the Icebay of Forochel and then he died when his ship sank in a storm.
The Witch-king took the throne in the king's palace, until a year later in T.A. 1975 when Eärnur arrived in much joy and wonder among Elves and Men. There were so many ships that the fleet filled Forlond, Harlond, and the Grey Havens; and from them came a large host of Gondor and Rhovanion. Círdan summoned Elves and the remnants of the Dúnedain of the North and marched north across the Lune, to challenge the Witch-king in Fornost.
The Allies passed of over the southern Hills of Evendim when they were met by the forces of Angmar in the plains between Nenuial and Fornost. A great battle began, and when Angmar forces began to retreat back to Fornost when out of the north came the main body of the Allies' horsemen (which had passed around the hills) and scattered in a rout. The Witch-king fled north to the lands of Angmar nut was overtaken by the cavalry of Gondor led by Prince Eärnur and a force from Rivendell led by Glorfindel. No Man or Orc of that realm remained west of the Misty Mountains. Angmar was obliterated but the Witch-King fled east over the Misty Mountains.
Arnor was destroyed as a kingdom, though the Dúnedain of Arnor continued through the Chieftains.
Fornost was not resettled after the war. It became a deserted place, feared by the men of Bree, who called it Deadman's Dike. Not until a thousand years later after the War of the Ring under King Elessar was it refounded.