text: DSquared2 is the fashion label of identical Canadian twins, Dean and Dan Caten. The first flagship store was established in Milan in 2007, and since then the demand for the store has caused it to expand its stores worldwide. The brothers are known for their innovative apparel designs, fragrances and footwear and for staging elaborate fashion shows. A runway show in 2005 ended with Christina Aguilera stripping male models of their clothes. In September 2007, the DSquared2 fashion show in Milan featured Rihanna entering the stage in an American muscle car, followed by a runway walk. In January 2010, the DSquared2 Autumn/Winter 2010 menswear show in Milan featured Bill Kaulitz descending from the ceiling in a caged elevator à la Rocky Horror Picture Show, followed by a runway walk. Their designs have been worn by Tokio Hotel's lead singer Bill Kaulitz, Justin Timberlake, Ricky Martin, Nicolas Cage, and Lenny Kravitz. In 2000–01, Madonna commissioned them to design over 150 pieces for her Drowned World Tour 2001 and "Don't Tell Me" music video. DSquared2's design was also featured in Britney Spears 2009 world tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears and Tokio Hotel's Welcome to Humanoid City tour. They have been featured on America's Next Top Model , appeared in the music video for Fergie's "Clumsy" and The Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling", were commissioned for 150 by Madonna for her Drowned World Tour 2001, and were selected to design the new official uniforms for football team Juventus. Evidently, the celebrity world loves this brand, and due to the originality, elegance and liveliness of their designs, we can see why.


text:
Report: Fairfield County schools among most 'in-demand'
Relator.com recently looked at which school districts are in highest demand by homeowners across the county and one Fairfield County school district is on the list. Here's a look at how it stacks up with other districts—including two others in Connecticut—also on the list.
By Mark Saunders
on August 16, 2016 11:31 AM
Photo: Ned Gerard, Hearst Connecticut Media

subset: commoncrawl


text:
AOA/SOMOS Faculty Development Lecture Series
SOMOS is proud to partner with the American Orthopaedic Association-Council of Residency Directors to bring a new faculty development tool to AOA-CORD affiliates. Faculty development is critical to continued improvement in surgical education and optimal skill development among front-line orthopaedic surgery educators. The demands of devising a usable faculty development curriculum at a local level is a difficult undertaking with the administrative burdens of a Program Director and inconsistent support.
To support a robust, on-demand, and current resource for education skill development of orthopaedic faculty, SOMOS and AOA-CORD are pleased to provide this collection of faculty development lectures. These presentations were created and reviewed by educators from CORD and SOMOS specifically for the purpose of download and use within an academic program.
Because these lectures are accessible only by CORD Affiliates, log in at the CORD website is required. The slides are available in PowerPoint or PDF format. The AOA and SOMOS are committed to providing current, relevant content. Comments and feedback, and requests to provide content, should be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].
Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Company
Arthrex, Inc. - Grantor
Flexion Therapeutics
Zimmer Biomet - Grantor
Bioventus LLC
Legally Mine
MiMedx Group, Inc.
Isto Biologics
JRF Ortho
NuLife Med
Premier Shockwave
Spartan Medical


text:
Book a QuickStart Consultation to start developing your Savings Plan
Once you have registered, our team of school procurement experts will support all your buying needs – checking prices and guiding on how to best procure goods and services compliantly.
If you register with the pilot service, the Schools' Buying Hub South West team will help develop your school or trust's unique Savings Plan – which is designed to provide an overview of all current contracts and to identify opportunities for savings.
The Savings Plan will be developed based on:
The Hub team will identify your high priority areas for procurement through the QuickStart Consultation, and will set out your procurement schedule based on the population of your Contracts Register. The team will then carry out an expenditure analysis on the information that you provide, together with financial benchmarking – compared with schools in similar circumstances. This will provide you with a financial health check and recommendations for implementing improvements.
The DfE's Schools Commercial Team has assessed a broad range of categories of products and services that schools and multi-academy trusts regularly buy. By registering with Schools' Buying Hub South West, you will receive Buying Guides on all key purchasing areas, together with expert procurement advice on where to get best value deals.
Join today and book your QuickStart Consultation
Click here to find
out more
The Schools' Buying Hub
South West will
carry out an analysis of
your expenditure, and then help
you to develop a unique
Savings Plan
How can we help?
Let us help you get to the information you need quickly. Find out more.
Our friendly team of advisors are just at the end of the line. Call today.
If it's easier to put it into words, please send us a quick email and we'll get back to you. Drop us a note.
To find a school business professional network in the South West, click on the link above.
Connect with us today and join the conversation.
Up to 30% savings can be made by changing suppliers!
Top Tips from The Hub


text:
How to Treat a Really Bad Rope Burn
Rope burn is caused when rope runs across your skin quickly, resulting in redness, blisters and in some cases bleeding. You can get rope burn from any activity involving the use of rope, such as rock climbing, roping horses, boating or rope climbing. Treating a bad rope burn requires attentive care in order to prevent infection and pain and to ensure healing comes quickly 1.
Rinse the burned area with cool water and gently remove any pieces of rope fibers or dirt from the burn with your fingertips or some tweezers.
Examine the area for signs that you need immediate medical attention. If the wound is bleeding excessively, burned skin is purple or blacken, is deep enough for you to see underlying bones or you need to see a doctor. Also seek medical attention if you are in extreme pain. Rope burns are painful, but if pain inhibits your ability to move or continue with daily activity the burn needs medical care.
Wash the area with some mild soap and cool water. Be gentle with the delicate healing skin and do not rub or pat dry. Allow the skin to air for five minutes.
Pat a layer of antibiotic burn gel over the entire burn and skin around the burn. Antibiotic gel made specifically for burns contains ingredients designed to cool burns and help relieve pain associated with them.
Wrap or cover the burn with sterile gauze and use cloth gauze tape to hold in place. Make sure tape does not touch the burned area or immediate outlying skin, as you don't want to risk further irritating the afflicted area.
Take an over-the-counter pain medication for up to five days following the injury as needed. Read and follow the directions that accompany medication for dosage and frequency. Talk to your pharmacist for recommendations on pain medication.
Repeat steps three through five daily until burned skin heals over.
To prevent infection always re-dress the burned area with new and sterile bandages and never re-use bandages.
If you begin to experience extreme pain or notice signs of infection such as a white discharge from the burn or more serious signs like a fever and vomiting, head to a medical care professional immediately.
Discontinue the use of pain medication after five days. If the burn is so painful that it requires pain medication after this time see a doctor, as the injury could be a more serious than it looks or be infected.
- Tweezers
- Mild soap
- Antibiotic burn gel
- Sterile gauze
- Cloth gauze tape
- Over-the-counter pain medication
- Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images


text:
One year after Harvey: Heroes abound, help still needed
We're a year removed from the devastation Hurricane Harvey inflicted on the people, businesses and communities in Houston and along the Texas Gulf Coast. We've witnessed heroes, healing, recovery and rebuilding, but some wounds are more silent and endure.
Every person living in an area impacted by Hurricane Harvey experienced trauma. For children in foster care, this trauma is acute. These children experienced traumatic events that served as a precipitant for removal from their homes, and many already lacked stability and lost their family support systems. And under those circumstances they lived through arguably the worst natural disaster in Texas history.
In addition, in the months after Harvey's landfall, behavioral health providers saw increases in stress, substance abuse and relapse.
In Harris County specifically, reports of serious psychological distress in 2016 were more than double the reported rates in 2010 and more than quadruple the reported rates nationally. These rates are even higher for persons who experienced serious property damage.
Today, Coastal Bend, Houston and Beaumont area survivors must deal with ongoing stressors – psychological distress, substance abuse, financial strain, physical health issues – that are often corollaries child abuse or neglect.
At the very least, Hurricane Harvey has created an environment where the risk for child abuse and neglect has increased. And, it has placed strains on an already stretched child welfare system.
That's why the work of the Rebuild Texas Fund and The Texas Center for Child and Family Studies' Healing from Harvey grant program is so critical. Healing from Harvey is a grant program – deployed in two phases this spring, summer and fall and totaling more than $2.3 million – aimed at mitigating trauma among foster care children and at-risk families, building capacity in the foster care system and working to prevent future abuse.
In April, The Center awarded grants to 12 community child and family organizations and agencies to support 15 recovery and relief projects. The grantees are working to address the compounding trauma on children and families who survived Hurricane Harvey, while also looking at ways to address the slow growth or loss of foster care capacity as a direct result of the hurricane.
Just over three months after the phase one grants were awarded, The Center noted early success stories and progress in its first round of funding, including tens of thousands of potential foster families reached, nearly 1,000 children provided trauma healing services, and almost 100 families ready to begin fostering.
Some of the progress isn't as easy to quantify but is no less important to the long-term recovery for children in foster care who endured Harvey and for the community organizations and families who care for them.
For children in Texas' foster care system, providing normalcy and a nurturing environment are crucial to their social, emotional and physical well-being, and it is often life's simple activities that can strike a chord with these youth.
Take "Josh," a resident at The Jim H. Green Kidz Harbor, an emergency shelter and long-term residential facility in Brazoria County. When Josh came to Kidz Harbor he was very excited to find out Kidz Harbor was located on a bayou and had a fishing pier. He was eager to try his hand at fishing and was so proud when he caught that first fish.
When Hurricane Harvey hit, the pier was destroyed and the residential facility nearby sustained significant damage, as well. But thanks to Healing from Harvey funds they were about to rebuild the pier, conduct additional repairs to the residential facilities, clear the outdoors from dangerous debris and allow children to return to the simple pleasure of fishing and normalcy of daily activities.
With the anniversary of Harvey, let's celebrate the recovery, honor the heroes but not lose sight of those who are still most in need of support long after the flood waters subsided.


text:
E&S Trade Centre, great deals on used cars in Dudley, Birmingham
If you are looking for great savings on quality used cars and vans in the Dudley area, then you have reached the right place. E&S Trade Centre are a specialist used car and van dealer based in West Midlands. We are proud to offer you a first class customer service and very competitive pricing, so please browse our stock list. At E&S Trade Centre, we stock a range of used cars and vans to suit all budgets and lifestyles so we are sure to have the right car or van for you.
If you are looking for a second hand car or van in the Black Country area then don't delay, call us today. In order to offer cars and vans to suit everyone we make sure that we update our stocklist regularly. It is therefore always worth giving us a call, even if you don't see what you are looking for on our website.
We offer advice on vehicles and vehicle maintenance and our friendly staff will go the extra mile to guarantee that you receive the advice and support you need.
We have over 30 Years experience in the Motor Trade & we are a family run business. All our vehicles are hand picked from Main franchised Dealers based around the country. All our vehicles are Hpi checked & Fully valeted.
Please visit us & view the cars in our showroom, we offer Finance and usual Dealer facilities. We are always at hand to offer Friendly professional advice.
Here at E&S Trade centre we specialise in car sourcing for your requirements, please let us know if there is a vehicle you are after.


text:
Kalady Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit M.Phil./Ph.D. programs 2017-2018
Sanskrit University Kalady invites applications for the M.Phil /Ph.D programs 2017-2018. Interested to apply for these courses? Then check out this article to know the eligibility requirements, application and selection process, fees, etc.
About the institute Kalady Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University is one of the reputed institutions in Kerala, India. This research oriented public university of God's own country was established in the year 1993 and was named after philosopher Adi Sankaracharya. This Kalady University is having a top place among many other reputed universities of Kerala. Now the latest news regarding Kalady University is that it has started inviting applications for the M.Phil and Ph.D courses 2017. The details of fees for M.Phil and Ph.D course in Sanskrit University Kalady is mentioned in the website(www.ssus.ac.in). If you are interested to apply for both the courses, then you need to submit separate applications.
How to reach the universityKalady Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit is located at Ernakulam District, Thalayattumpilli, Kalady, Kerala 683574, India. From Kalady, you can walk via Kalady- Malayattoor Rd and University Entrance main Rd OR via Enchacka Kavala-Manickamangalam Rd. It will take only 5-10 minutes to cover that 700 m. But if you are traveling from Kochi, you need to use car via Chithrappuzha- Ponjassery Rd OR via Aluva-Munnar Rd/Aluva-Perumbavoor Rd to reach the university. It will take about 1 hr 30 minutes to cover that 45 km.
M.Phil courses 2017-2018 at Kalady Sanskrit UniversityThe M.Phil programs for the year 2017-2018 will be offered at the respective Departments of the Sanskrit University situated at the University Head Quarters in Kalady. But in the case of Urdu language, the classes will be conducted at Regional Centre located at Koyilandy . Usually the normal duration of this M.Phil courses are one year, which comprises mainly of two semesters.
Number of seats
EligibilityCandidates with not less than 55% marks in Master's degree in the concerned subject or any other related subjects that is specified by the respective departments / B+ grade or any other equivalent degrees recognized by this university are eligible to apply for this program. SC/ST candidates require only 50% marks/ B grade in their respective Master's degree exam for applying for the M.Phil courses of Kalady Sanskrit University.
Selection processCandidates who wish to get admission for M.Phil courses in Kalady Sanskrit University need to attend an entrance examination that will be held in the scheduled date mentioned below. The examination for M.Phil in Urdu will be conducted at Regional Center Koyilandy while for others it is conducted at University headquarters Kalady. Those selected from this written test will need to attend an interview and only thereafter the final rank list will be prepared.
Mode of entrance testThe entrance test for M.Phil courses will be of 100 marks. Among this, 80 marks will be for written test and the remaining 20 marks will be given for their performance in interview/group discussion. Candidates having 50% marks and above only will be given admission. SC/ST candidates require only 45% marks for getting admission.
List of documents to be produced at the time of admission
How to applyCandidates are requested to submit application for M.Phil programs 2017-2018 via online through the University website www.ssus.ac.in & www.ssusonline.org. Last date for submitting online application is 9 November 2017 5:00 PM.
Ph.D courses 2017-2018 at Kalady Sanskrit UniversityHere is a chance for the candidates to join the Ph.D courses 2017-2018 conducted by the Kalady Sanskrit University. The details are mentioned below.
Number of seats
Where to send Ph.D applications except for UrduThe applications must be send to the following address
Department of ...
Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit,
Ernakulam –683 574
Where to send applications for Ph.D in UrduIf you are interested to apply for Ph.D in Urdu, then you must send the application to
Department of Urdu
Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit,
Regional Centre,
Naduvathoor P.O.
Kozhikode -673 620
EligibilityCandidates with 55% and above marks in PG degree or related subjects with B+ grade are eligible for Ph.D admission but for SC/ST candidates, B grade (50% and above) is only needed.
Selection processCandidates need to attend the entrance examination and interview in order to get admission for Ph.D. Those having UGC –JRF/RGNF and those who are working as regular teachers in Colleges or Universities with a minimum 5 year service and those with at least two published research articles in approved journals are exempted from this examination.
Mode of entrance examinationThe Ph.D entrance examination will be of 100 marks. Candidates who score 50% marks or above in the entrance examination will be qualified. SC/ST candidates require only 45% marks.
Selection processThe eligible candidates will be selected by the Research Committees. So depending on the number of availability of seats, the candidates from the ranked list will be invited for an interview.
Documents to be submitted at the time of admission
How to send the Ph.D application formA printed copy of the completely filled application form along with supporting documents should be sent to the concerned Department Heads on or before 10.11.2017. Don't forget to super scribe the name of the program and department on the cover containing printed copy of the application. The following documents should be submitted along with application.
Important dates


text:
SBS' "KPOP Star 6" alumna Kriesha Chu will be making her solo debut on 24 May.
The Fil-Am artist is set to make her solo debut on May 24, according to the singer's agency Urban Works Entertainment.
"Kriesha Chu will put an end mark on her two years of training and release her first album on 24 May. Please send your warm support to the singer who embarks on a new career in Korea," said an agency official.
Who's excited to see her debut?
© 1 (Source) | Shared by ©HOTSPICYKIMCHI
Please copy complete credits. Refrain from hotlinking images and do provide proper linkbacks to the site. A little token of appreciation can do wonders, you know. Peace, love, and GV. – ©HOTSPICYKIMCHI ♔


text:
4 Palings Lane, Sydney NSW
Joining Uccello, The Royal George, Lorraine's Patisserie and a host of others in the Ivy complex, Bar Topa is settling right in as the booziest new kid on the block. Lauren Murdoch, previously the Head Chef at Felix, has made her triumphant return to Merivale for the project. Working with Executive Chef, Jordan Toft, Lauren has collated a menu that screams tapas on a Barcelona rooftop, but translated into a hole-in-the-wall in Sydney's CBD.
The menu is short and sweet, however, don't expect it to stick around for too long. Lauren will be keeping guests on their toes with a rotating menu of goodies. Think gourmet tins of anchovies and sardines, bite-sized tastes of cheese, spinach croquettes and pipis. Things get a little larger when steak sandwiches and country sausage morcilla come into the picture, however, the essence of the menu is to stay small and casual. It's the kind of pintxos nosh that you can pick on at the bar while you're waiting for a pal, or devour throughout the night with a bottomless glass of wine.
In true Spanish style, Bar Topa is kitted out with sangria on tap. As for the rest of the drinks menu, again, think drool-worthy tipples on a bite-sized scale. Drinks are served in half-pours to entice drinkers to sip and sample a few different cocktails, wines and beers over the course of their stay. Think mini martinis (vodka, Madeira, lemon zest), petite La Perlas (Tequila, Pear Liqueur and Manzanilla) and tiny Ti-Gronis (Beefeater, Campari, sweet vermouth). The vino is courtesy of Jean Charles Mahe, Head Sommelier of Ivy. The list contains 12 wine and sherry varieties, so with 100ml glasses in play, you can work your way through with ease.
If there's ever a time to take an early mark from work, it's now – Bar Topa holds just 40 guests, so you would be wise to make a head start and get in there fast.


text:
I met this family last weekend for a beautiful morning outdoor session in Gilbert, AZ. They were referred to me from a past loyal client of mine Leslie S. She is a sweetheart. Her and Erica the boys Mom in the photos work together. Erica works in the HR department right near Leslie. I love when my clients refer me more than anything because it makes me feel they are truly happy with what they are paying for. I love that they are so happy they can't wait to show off their photos to all their family and friends. Please show them off people as much as you can because you will be rewarded back with a discount off your next session and you are helping grow my business.
I hope you enjoy seeing these adorable little faces and beautiful family as much as I did. They were super laid back and easy to take photos of. I had a nice time working with them watching the family hang out. At one point they were letting their toddler Mr. Diego (I had to say that cause every kid loves his name) feed the ducks. The is so cute you just want to squeeze his cute little cheeks.
Look at those big innocent eyes, oh man their children so are beautiful
Look at cute Little Mr. D is !
I couldn't decide between the color and black and white to post. So I chose both!
I love this photo, that little baby M. is unbelievably adorable. I was so happy to finally get a glance of his smile cause it was beautiful.
Now is this a beautiful family or what?
Tiny feet, they only last a short time in our lives
How adorable is this face and that lip. My 3 yr old is sitting on my lap and say, " oh man, that baby's sad"
I love this one!
this is another favorite, hehe


text:
All of my suspicions were proved right by his actions.
I hate it when my gut feelings are proven right ! I wish for once that I was wrong about a " gut feeling ", or " instinct ".
But once again I was right, because He left October 3 rd after only 3 months living with me. Only three months, and " poof " always was over ! Was three months really enough time to suddenly decide it was over ? To give " Us " only three months after we had been apart for five years, I don't feel was fair, or right at all !
How can you realistically think that after only three months everything would be perfect, and we'd never disagree about anything !? That's simply not logical at all !
There's no common sense at all in thinking that way, and definitely no sense of adult maturity.
Does he really think that EVERYTHING will ALWAYS work out perfectly for him ?
That's simply not how life works !
Life is complicated. Life is messy. Life has obstacles, and road blocks that you'll have to find a way to overcome. Those obstacles, and road blocks, will come up in your path constantly, but you can't let them make you give up on life, or on the one that you claimed to love.
If he truly thinks that he'll find a " perfect life " with another woman he's sadly mistaken, and completely delusional. There is no " perfect life " with anyone, just as there is no such thing as a " perfect woman ".
No one is perfect ! … no woman and no man !
He fools himself into thinking that he's perfect, and everyone should be exactly like him. But that's completely unrealistic, delusional, and extremely immature.
With that sort of thinking he continually sets himself up for disappointment.
Then whenever that disappointment, and pain happens to him he's the first to complain, and whine that he can never find real happiness ! HAHAHAHA !
He'll never find his " idea " of real happiness, and love with anyone because his concept of it does not exist in the REAL WORLD !
So I suppose I've answer my own questions that have been plaguing me since he left with no warning on October 3rd.
What did I do wrong ? What could I have done any different so that he would not have left ? What's wrong with Me that made him leave after only 3 months ?
The clear answer to ALL 3 of those questions is NOTHING !
I can see that now, and for my own sanity's sake I know that I must remind myself of this every day as my heart slowly heals from the heart ache, and betrayal.


text:
Ratings update: Inpex, Indonesia
The Abadi LNG project, which is being developed amidst growing resource nationalism in Indonesia ahead of the presidential election, may be exposed to further delays due to persistent regulatory and legal uncertainty.
Key developments
- If developed, the $15bn Abadi LNG project, owned by Inpex (65%) and Shell (35%), is set to be one of the largest LNG projects in the country. Production, expected at 9.5 million tonnes of LNG per year, is due to start in 2027. The project is already years behind schedule due to government opposition to Inpex's initial plans to build the project offshore. Inpex has now moved to an onshore development in line with the government's request.
- Resource nationalism in Indonesia has been growing over recent years. The government of President Joko Widodo ('Jokowi') has repatriated some of Indonesia's key resource assets, including Freeport's Grasberg mine, Chevron's Rokan oil field and the Mahakam gas block, the country's largest producing LNG asset, formerly owned in part by Inpex itself. Operators in the country have also had longstanding complaints over the country's legal and regulatory framework.
- Presidential elections in April could see a further turn for the worse. Jokowi – the reform-minded moderate, who has taken a tough stance to stave off hard-line rivals – is currently in the lead. He is running against Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and self-proclaimed nationalist, who has strong ties to Indonesia's establishment.
- The Abadi LNG project has already faced strong pressures to deliver greater local benefits. Despite its potential economic contribution, the project has faced significant delays due to the government's demand that it be moved onshore, on the grounds that this would bring greater benefits to the underdeveloped Maluku province and increase central government revenues. Inpex has changed its development plans despite higher costs, but the project will continue to be exposed to a number of political and regulatory risks.
- Pressures may mount in the run-up to the election as both presidential candidates have made aggressive statements against the resource industry. The outcome of the vote will have a significant impact on Indonesia's resource sector. President Jokowi – despite boasting about his nationalist moves on the campaign trail – came into power on a reformist platform and has signalled that he might be open to implementing more pragmatic pro-business policies. Subianto's rhetoric, on the other hand, indicates that he would be willing to take more assertive nationalist measures. His victory could further deteriorate the country's business environment.
- Inpex-Shell, like other international investors in Indonesia, may face pressure to cede a stake to state-owned Pertamina. The JV is particularly exposed because its contract is due to expire only one year after Abadi's expected start of production, meaning that any further delays would strengthen the government's bargaining power in contract renegotiations. Furthermore, Inpex may be expected to supply some of its gas to the domestic market in light of rising energy demand in the country. It will also have to navigate potential predatory behaviour on the part of the regional officials in Maluku province, who have allegedly demanded a stake in the project's revenue stream.
- Operators in Indonesia such as Inpex will face persistent regulatory instability regardless of the election outcome. The country's long-overdue oil and gas reforms are likely to be pushed back as government officials focus on the upcoming election. Various parliamentary revisions, including the establishment of a new oil and gas business entity and regulator, were proposed in December 2018, but have not yet progressed. Uncertainty around the country's oil and gas legislation will make it difficult for international companies to plan for the future and make informed decisions about the commercial viability of their projects.
This article uses Critical Resource's LicenseSecure™ model to assess the likely level of political and stakeholder risk. Our updates provide a rapid overview of new or updated ratings in our database, with a focus on projects in the news. Please note that these ratings updates are provisional, based in part on open source analysis and are not from client projects. Full LicenseSecure analyses are in-depth, involve extensive intelligence gathering and are confidential.


text:
Let's make one thing perfectly clear. Jerry Falwell is not a Southern Baptist. He is an unaffiliated, independent Baptist from the South. That distinction is often lost in national perceptions of the denomination known as the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
This month the Southern Baptist Convention will be meeting in Dallas, Texas. And if its last few conventions are any indication, at Dallas the distinction between the SBC as a denomination and Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority may be further obscured within the SBC itself.
With 14 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. As the name indicates, the vast majority of its members are in the South. In fact, the SBC is a sort of de facto established church in much of the South. That means it generally reflects the "broad center" mainstream of white Southern opinion.
As that Southern mainstream has moved away from the plantation system and Jim Crow segregation, and toward economic and cultural accommodation with the rest of the country, the SBC has moved with it. The SBC would never join the National Council of Churches, but within its regional context, it has been very much a mainline church.
Part of the role of a mainline church is to serve as an umbrella organization sheltering, and containing, dissident tendencies on the Left and Right. Like the Democratic Party, the SBC has served that function in the South. The denomination always had its fervent, ultra-conservative fundamentalists and its less numerous, but equally fervent, social activists. But the center always held, strengthened as it was by the traditional Baptist commitment to congregational autonomy and individual freedom in interpreting scripture.


text:
Whoa, wait a second. It is the middle of July already? Doesn't that mean that in a little over 5 or 6 weeks, school starts back up again?
Oh snap. It's true.
School is going to start up before you know it. I have a question to ask you now.
Are you ready?
Is your child ready?
Did you make sure to jump on board our after school program train? No? Then keep reading.
Actually, keep reading even if you did.
Best ASP ever
This isn't the typical, boring after school care that most schools offer. The kids stay engaged. They get quiet time for homework, or they can burn energy in karate or fitness classes. We teach them respect, discipline, and confidence.
The program includes all of these basics.
- Daily pick-up from school
- Daily karate or fitness classes
- Quiet time for reading, homework, or studying
- Half day pick-up (scheduled or due to weather events)
- In service days (you can drop off at 07:30 AM)
- 0 late pick-up fees
Registration, believe it or not, is still open for our After School Program. If you register by Thursday 26 Jul 2018, you will receive the following ridiculous bonuses.
- $0 registration fee
- $25 discount per month per child
- Free DFK birthday party ($199 value)
- 2 karate uniforms ($70 value)
- Embroidered bag ($45 value)
- Foam weapons package ($25 value)
All in all, this is a $339 value, but you need to act now and don't delay it because spots are going fast and we don't have that many to start with. This is a first come, first served offer. Just as a reminder, we are serving most West Chester Area School District schools & Collegium Charter School (see our original announcement for the full list). If you wait too long, our vans may be full or we may not be able to pick up at your school.
And to our early bird families – don't worry, you will also receive these great benefits!
More schools
But wait, there's more.
By now, you should be aware that we are opening up in Thorndale this summer, and this means that our After School Program will pick up at Coatesville schools, along with Beaver Creek Elementary & St. Joseph's.
Take action
To get on this deal, you need to
- call or email us,
- fill out the registration form, and
- pay a deposit covering the last 2 weeks of school in June 2019.


text:
- "Can I Still Get My Ex Boyfriend Back If I Was HIS Rebound?"
- "How Do I Get A Response From My Ex Girlfriend Who Seems Distant?" (Secret Phone Trick)
- "How Do I Connect With My Ex Who Is Dating Someone New?"
- The Secret Key To Succeeding At Getting Your Ex Back
- 5 Stages Of Getting Back Together (Make Your Ex Miss You Like Crazy)
- Exactly What To Say To Your Ex To Get Back Together (Verbatim)
- What it REALLY Means When Your Ex Starts Dating Someone New Right Away
- What Your Ex Is Thinking After A Breakup And How To Get Past Their Emotional Wall
- Why Trying To Convince Him To Get Back Together NEVER Works (And What To Do Instead)
- If You Want A Response From Your Ex, DON'T Send This Type Of Message
All posts tagged "what is he thinking during no contact"
What Your Ex Is Thinking During No Contact (And What It Means)
Here's what your ex is thinking during no contact. Learn which stage of getting back together you might be in and whether no contact will make things worse.
- Posted
What Does It Mean When Your Ex Won't Respond After No Contact?
Has your ex ghosted you? What does it mean when your ex won't respond after no contact is over? Find out what to do if your ex won't respond or talk to you.
- Posted
"Is My Ex Thinking About Me During No Contact?"
A reader asks, "is my ex thinking about me during no contact?" If you're broken up and wondering whether your ex is thinking about you, here are answers.
- Posted


text:
Field Services
It is often easy to gather information from open sources or through word of mouth regarding a specific company that you are interested to work with, or with a specific intention in mind. However, reality can be very much different from what you perceived. Most companies did not realise that websites from the internet tends to let you read what they wanted to show you, but it may not necessary be the truth.
Equitasasia offer you one of the debt recovery services – field services. By conducting specific field services, whereby a trained specialist will conduct a visit to the given premises, selective information can be gathered. It will enable you to have a clearer understanding on the company you are interested in by knowing for example, whether are they still operating there, what is the staff strength, are the business activities intensive during the field visit, are there a lot of equipment and stocks etc that can be observed.
This will enable companies to fill in the missing pieces and come to a better business decision making process. In terms of debt recovery, conducting the necessary field services will enable us to determine whether the debtors have the capability and ability to pay, and how we can maximise the chances of recovery.


text:
Our Radiologists are members of the Colombian Association of Radiology and are accredited by the programme for the promotion and improvement of the quality of Radiology (PPMCR). We have service outside the country to promote the time change and the cubrimientoto 24 / 7. We have a group of Radiologists outside the country to promote the change of schedule, 24/7 coverage.
The customer support staff receives training to make the system work smoothly.
Our experts have designed solutions of digitisation of more advanced medical imaging of the country.
We have cutting-edge display stations, with sophisticated as MIP/MinIP, reformatos multiplanares visualization tools and curved, 3D and 4 d for a reading without limitation meets the international recommendations for Teleradiology of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and the European society of Radiology (ESR).
Our solution is based on a solid and secure technology infrastructure based on international standards such as DICOM, HL-7 and SSL, which provides secure transmission of images from the client to our central servers. Our solution is compliant HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act), one of the highest standards of protection of privileged information of patients.
Our solution offers the installation of the necessary equipment for the transmission of the images at a fraction of the cost of our competitors.
Utilizamos cookies para mejorar nuestros servicios. Si continúa navegando consideramos que acepta su uso. Puede cambiar la configuración u obtener más información. Leer más


text:
He's an unlikely namesake for a café in the Yocha Dehe Grand Lobby of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
Café Walter, which opened last week, is named for a feral cat that was beloved by many on campus including those at the Mondavi Center. Walter, also known as Magic Walter on his very own Instagram page (formerly operated by a staff member at the Mondavi Center), first showed up on campus about three years ago.
Described as a free spirit, he lived in the arboretum and became a well-known theater cat, visiting staff members in their offices where he would get snacks. Mondavi employees even pooled resources to take him to the vet for checkups.
Walter died in September after a concerned groundskeeper found him ailing in the arboretum and took him to the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
"Having Café Walter has a lot of meaning for all of us, and I think a lot of people will recognize his picture from seeing him in the arboretum," said Herb Garman, director of operations for the Mondavi Center, who added that Walter would visit his office and ask to go back outside. "I'd follow him to the front door and open it, and he'd go out. He was pretty bright."
The new café offers espresso and other coffee drinks, as well as baked goods. Blended drinks will come next, and later this month hot and cold food options will be available.
Food and drinks are offered through a partnership with Sacramento-based Capitol Garage, which also manages the concessions at nighttime shows. The café will have a limited coffee menu during shows, in addition to the usual snacks and full bar already on offer.
"It started a number of years ago when we wanted to open our lobby and make it more accessible — to build community," Garman said. "It seemed like the natural extension was a coffee shop. We want to provide the Gateway neighborhood a place to sit down and have a cup of coffee."
In addition to its performance calendar, Jackson Hall, with a capacity for about 1,800 people, is home to classes five days per week during the quarter. As a result, the Mondavi Center has steady foot traffic of 600 to 700 people at times.
Café Walter is open from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.


text:
Your cart is currently empty.
Your wishlist has been temporarily saved. Please Log in to save it permanently.
This dainty silver cactus charm necklace will add desert vibes to your festival look!
Join our Mailing List
Copyright © 2020 Urban Outlet Inc. •
Shopify Theme
by Underground Media •
Ecommerce Software by Shopify
Search our store


text:
Master Bathroom Design – Contemporary Meets Rustic in a Log Home
"Nothing is set in stone with interior finishes in our log homes," said Joe Dymond of Jim Barna Log Homes. When Joe makes this statement he means it. Although most people associate log homes with a rustic interior design – many owners today have a broader decorating vision for their new home. Such was the case when Joe called me about combining contemporary glass blocks with traditional rustic elements in the master bathroom of a home he was building in Quakertown, Pennsylvania for Ken and Laurie Rittle. In the article below see how contemporary can meet rustic when you combine a flexible builder with progressive and creative homeowners.


text:
John brings an important historical perspective which should inform the debate over Iraq War resisters. As the Conservatives repeat ad nauseum "but they volunteered" and "Vietnam was different," they would do well to study what John Hagan can teach us.
This piece will run in Saturday's Globe and Mail. Please follow the link and click yes for "recommend this article?" at the bottom of the story. It can help increase visibility.
Let's provide a haven for those who chose not to fight in Iraq
John Hagan
May 30, 2008
The Liberals' Bob Rae recently joined the NDP's Olivia Chow and others in urging Parliament to pass a motion allowing American Iraq war resisters, such as Corey Glass, to stay in Canada. Last week, Mr. Glass was refused refugee status and became the first Iraq war resister to be scheduled for deportation.
Mr. Rae and Ms. Chow's plea for action recalled Pierre Trudeau and David Lewis's leadership at crucial moments of the Vietnam War. Then, as now, it took several years to build support and acceptance for American military deserters, as well as draft resisters. Beginning in the mid-1960s, war resisters who came to Canada before being drafted ("dodgers") readily received landed immigrant status. But until 1969, military resisters ("deserters") were treated differently – because they left the armed forces and faced charges of desertion.
Allan MacEachen, as minister of immigration, initially directed immigration officers to refuse U.S. military resisters entry as landed immigrants. He reasoned that when such resisters left their units, they broke moral and legal contractual obligations to serve in their nation's armed forces.
Political and religious leaders ultimately persuaded Mr. MacEachen that distinctions between military and draft resisters were irrelevant for Canadian purposes. References to "dodgers" and "deserters" had no legal meaning in Canada. The Immigration Act made no reference of any kind to military service as grounds for prohibiting entry to Canada.
Canadians at the time questioned the Vietnam War, and Mr. Glass echoed those sentiments when he said last week "what I saw in Iraq convinced me that the war is illegal and immoral. I could not in good conscience continue to take part in it."
Ms. Chow and Mr. Rae recalled Canada's history of refuge and sanctuary when they spoke during a gathering in January at a United Church in Toronto. United Church, Mennonite, Jewish, Quaker, Unitarian and other religious groups support today's Iraq war resisters – just as they did the Vietnam War resisters 40 years ago. The gathering heard from such resisters as Kimberly Rivera, who brushed back tears as she expressed gratitude for her sanctuary with her young children in Canada. She explained that she joined the American military because she was jobless and needed health care for her children. It is tendentious to call her service a free or voluntary choice. Recruiters coaxed and lied to Ms. Rivera about a war she eventually concluded was immoral. U.S. government "stop-loss" orders have added and extended nearly 100,000 tours of service in Iraq, and this back-door draft is only one among many ways in which service in Iraq can be involuntary.
Late last year, Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis put forward a motion in Parliament's standing committee on citizenship and immigration to allow resisters of wars not sanctioned by the UN to stay in Canada. Opposition party MPs joined ranks to pass the motion, which should soon be brought to a vote in Parliament.
Minus such legislation, Iraq war resisters will be unable to legalize their status in Canada and will remain mired in the same bureaucratic process as Mr. Glass.
It's a never-ending story, as the Vietnam War migration to Canada shows. Even though president Jimmy Carter unconditionally pardoned American Vietnam draft resisters when he came to office, his pardon for military resisters required them to return to their units within six months to apply for a less-than-honourable discharge. Most Vietnam resisters in Canada refused the offer and remain here to this day. Stories of abuse in U.S. military prisons were rampant, and any who returned risked imprisonment. When retired Winnipeg mechanic Randall Caudill paid a short visit to his daughter in the U.S. in 1997, nearly 30 years after leaving the Marines and coming to Canada, he was arrested and held for trial. Following months of diplomatic inquiries by the Canadian government, he finally received a bad-conduct discharge and was allowed to return to his wife in Canada.
In an era of harsh interrogation, extraordinary rendition, and detention without trial, few American Vietnam or Iraq war resisters want to return to the United States. They just want to get on with their lives in Canada. Parliament can remedy the situation of Iraq war resisters by voting in favour of the motion recommending that a new generation of U.S. war resisters be allowed to apply for permanent residence so that they can stay in Canada.
I often wonder how things might have turned out differently in the spring of 1969. The government could have forced American Vietnam War resisters to leave the country; the RCMP could have forcibly delivered Vietnam-era resisters into the hands of American authorities.
Imagine today a YouTube video of the RCMP handing over Ms. Rivera and her young children to the U.S. authorities. Or worse, imagine this being done in secret. Yet this threat of deportation confronts Ms. Rivera and her fellow American Iraq war resisters. They could be turned over by Canadian authorities to the U.S. military for interrogation and punishment.
Ms. Chow and Mr. Rae, like Mr. Lewis and Mr. Trudeau before them, offer a leadership that rejects this fate while supporting the sovereign right of Canada to provide refuge and sanctuary to individuals who, like the UN and Canada, chose not to approve or join in the pre-emptive U.S. war in Iraq.


text:
20 Aug2009
Thank you for doing an "internal investigation" and finding no reason to correct any single critical point that I raised in this previous post. In fact, you have confirmed to me verbally and in a written email that my narration of the events was factually correct. In the same manner that staff from Apple's own call center likewise did after they spoke to staff of Power Mac.
For those of you following this issue. I wrote a post about a service experience at Power Mac last week. At the time of writing the post, I had spoken with one member of Power Mac's staff (and had requested that I speak to her supervisor but was never patched through to him/her) and two members of Apple's "Singapore" call center. Shortly after I published the post, after a few readers had apparently passed the post to Power Mac management, a call from Power Mac's Technical Services Director was received at my home. I was out and by the time I had returned it was after office hours, thus I did not return the call. After checking my email, I received this:
"Dear (MM),
It has come to my attention about the incident you narrated on marketmanila.com. I tried reaching you through your landline (xxxxxx) this afternoon, but unfortunately, according to the person on the other line, you were not available.
Kindly give me some time to get into the bottom of this issue and let me get back to you after. Rest assured that what had happened was not a normal practice.
Please do accept my sincerest apology for all the inconveniences you experienced with our service. I will be communicating with you soonest and I would be more than glad to meet you in person.
Thank you,
(TSD – Technical Services Director)"
Within two hours of TSD's email, I responded by email:
Thank you for your email. I have far more detail with respect to the incident and would be happy to discuss it with you if it would help. I am headed to Cebu on Monday but will be available by phone. Please email me if you need further information.
To which TSD answered a couple of hours later, still on Friday:
"Hi Sir,
I will surely get in touch with you this coming Tuesday as I'm on leave Monday. I would be very much interested on the details you might like to feed me.
Have a safe journey then. Thank you.
On Tuesday morning, from Cebu, I dialed the telephone number of Power Mac several times and got busy signals. So I sent this email to the TSD:
I have tried to reach you this morning on 725-1411 but it has been constantly busy (as it was several times during the repair issue last week as well).
Please call me at 032 xxx xxxx or 032 xxx xxxx when it is convenient for you.
Many thanks.
TSD then called me in Cebu soon after I sent that email. He mentioned that they had done an "internal investigation" and would like to see if what they had discovered matched with my narration of the events and the critical issues raised. I offered to give him a summary of the service encounter and started from the beginning. We cordially agreed immediately that if the answer was that I was not eligible for a new battery based on Apple circulars, they should have stated that right at the start or at the latest, after the battery had been forwarded to the Central Services Office. The issue, was clearly not the battery, nor alleged Apple's delayed response. It was the excuses, lies, and 16 days of sitting on the issue that characterized my particular service encounter.
July 27 : I dropped off the battery at Makati Power Mac. It was subsequently forwarded to their San Juan central service center.
July 30 : I called San Juan, and spoke to "Fabulous" who confirmed the battery was received the day before and who confirmed that the issue of replacement would be escalated to Singapore by email. She indicated that the normal timeframe for a response would be 2-3 days.
Aug 03 : I called San Juan again, and the call was answered by Ms. Fabulous, who assured me that "the case had already been escalated to Singapore," but they had not yet received a reply. (The first fib, apparently).
Aug 12 : I called San Juan again, and the call was answered by Ms. Fabulous again, and after some checking, she informed me that Apple Singapore "had just sent their reply the day before and the battery replacement was denied." (The second fib, apparently) I said okay. But asked for documentary proof of the escalation and the answer. I was placed on hold for some 20+ minutes while discussions ensued. At some point, Ms. Fabulous responded that her supervisor said it "was against company policy to release such communications." (Another fib, because at that point there were NO communications with Singapore yet.) And more minutes on hold ensued. At this point, and ONLY at this point, was the matter escalated through a chat system to Apple Singapore who responded with a denial.
After the final word that there was a denial, and that they would fax documentary proof, I ended the call and decided to call the Apple Singapore Service call center directly. To make a long story short (more than an hour on the phone with Apple call center), their customer service representative expressed "extreme frustration" with Power Mac's answers. And they confirmed to me that no escalation to Apple Singapore had occurred between July 27 and Aug 12, until just when I called Power Mac on Aug 12 in the morning. In other words, the issue had been pending without action with Power Mac for a total of 16 days. Essentially, the TSD did not refute any of the key issues raised, but did apologize profusely for the inconvenience. We did go further to discuss constructive ways to improve service, such as immediate notification to customers for issues that clearly had a standard answer from Apple. A discussion about queueing of repairs and triaging basic and serious repairs occurred.
A few hours after we spoke on the phone, I received this email from the TSD:
"Dear Sir,
Thank you for your time speaking with me over the phone.
It was indeed unfortunate that all these had happened to you. There was a breakdown in communications and internal escalation process with you and with Apple. While your expanded battery was considered an outright rejection as per Apple internal technical bulletin, it was not an excuse for us not to exert extra effort to confirm Apple's decision on the matter. You were right in saying that such was a simple case of battery and that escalation or notification should have been done right away.
From this experience, I have instructed my Customer Service Head to implement preventive measures like collating all Apple product defects that fall under outright rejection (if beyond the the warranty) that must be properly explained with affected customers at the INITIAL transaction, enforce separate repair lead time for main units from accessories/consumables, and feedback system to clients. The CS staff (Ms Fabulous) with whom you spoke with several times is no longer allowed to handle incoming calls and is relegated to less critical admin functions effective immediately.
Complaints and commendations are part of after-sales service & we in the management are grateful to those who may raise their factual issues with us, the way you have done it. I just would like to believe that by bringing such to our attention, the customers are actually giving us a chance to rectify things and improve our service delivery.
I dont know at this point how much we could make it up to you, but the best thing to do is to move forward and deliver excellent service our customers want or demand from us – with or without complaints.
Again, kindly accept our sincere apology. And if there would be time you will be needing after-sales service for your various Apple products, I hope you wont be hesitant to come again to our Service Center.
Many thanks to you.
I am glad that the TSD looked into the matter. I am glad that we were able to speak at length to discuss the issue. I trust from his responses and email that something positive has been done to improve service for customers with the same or similar problems who go to Power Mac Service Centers in future. I hope that customer service staff refrain from fabricating answers in future to avoid a similar situation. And as always, I firmly believe in a well-crafted and factually based complaint. A few new readers have come onto this previous post on Power Mac obviously due to the topic at hand, not because they visit marketmanila.com regularly for 95+% food programming, but because they are concerned about the ramifications of publicly posted service complaints such as these. I suggest that they read a little more of this blog, and get a better feel for it, understand the concept of credibility, before you assume I only write these things with negative intentions in mind. If the service at Power Mac Center during my encounter with them was reasonable, honest and timely to begin with, there wouldn't be bad experiences and posts like this. The more consumers hold service providers to reasonable levels of service, the better for everyone concerned.
"rant" from the word "warrant" which means: something that serves to give reliable or formal assurance of something; guarantee, pledge, or security; or guarantee the quantity, quality, and other representations of (an article, product, etc.), as to a purchaser. (from http://www.dictionary.com)
Have a great day!
Aug 20, 2009 | 9:34 am
just a thought MM- what if unknown people like me bugged them with similar problem(s), would I be given the same treatment?
Aug 20, 2009 | 9:48 am
Hello MM, i am glad that my text to one of the owners regarding your incident has a "positive" outcome… Good day!!
Aug 20, 2009 | 9:54 am
thank you MM, what you did was not merely complain about bad service. you were able to empower consumers in your own little way and by doing so you single handedly helped power mac improve their services. at this point, i would say that it would be best for apple users to visit power mac as i am sure that they are now very diligent in providing utmost customer service.
Aug 20, 2009 | 9:55 am
Here goes another complaint :)
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:16 am
Fair enough but pale. They erred, investigated, apologized, and took some action. However, the corrective action was somewhat short as it did not address the core issue at hand and the crux of the matter – lying to a customer. "Enforcing… feedback system to the client" does not cut wood. You did get feedbacks but they were lies because you have no means of knowing – from their perspective at least – until you escalated the issue all the way to the top. What Apple must do is implement a tracking system for all service requests so that their customers could track the progress in real time, either on-line or by calling the regional customer service center's 1800 number. Oh that Macbook Air which I plan on buying this fall? Back to the drawing board.
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:20 am
I completely agree with "a well-crafted and factually based complaint," Marketman.
I have written or made polite and clear complaints to Tiffany & Co., the Ritz Carlton, Louis Vuitton, Gap/Banana Republic, and Nine West. All have made efforts to accommodate the flawed initial customer services with the exception of Louis Vuitton (who simply restated their policy of customers having to pay and wait up to 6 wks. for repairs, wear-or-tear or defect) and Nine West (who never responded to repeated customer service e-mails about damaged full-price goods).
Needless to say, I will not be shopping at Louis Vuitton or Nine West ever again–and I am happy to tell everyone why.
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:27 am
By the way, Mr MM, I did not moderate your comment in my blog about the comment I made in your blog. In fact you can read it here
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:44 am
That sure caused you a lot of time & effort MM but that is the right thing to do.
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:58 am
Well that was resolved in a civilized manner.
Aug 20, 2009 | 11:22 am
My Macbook battery broke, and when I dropped it off in PowerMac, they informed me that it was under the battery recall, and that it was eligible for replacement. So i turn over my battery to them. Then they call me and say that the request was denied, because apparently, the recall lasts only for 2 years. So I'm stuck with a battery that broke for reasons other than my own acts, but i can't even get it replaced. I told them that it was unfair, and they just said "Well, call Singapore" And i cant reach the Singapore call center everytime i call. A new battery is expensive and i refuse to pay that much when my own battery was internally defective. It's been a while and i still don't know what to do. I think I'll call them back. I'm glad your issue was sorted out.
Aug 20, 2009 | 11:25 am
shan, give it up. you're this close to getting a fishpan award! (LOL)
Aug 20, 2009 | 11:39 am
Hi Mr. MM,
Thank you for further encouraging me to voice out complaints (in a factual, civilized manner, of course). The problem with most of us Filipinos when on the receiving end, is that we do grumble and mumble but don't do anything about it! I admit, I was like that, too, when I was younger. But not anymore! Somebody cut the line? I tell him/her to qeue properly. The cashier is leisurely chatting with his/her co-worker while I'm waiting for my change? I tell him/her to not keep me, the customer waiting. Ok, ok, so not exactly in the major league, as yours, but still! Hehe!
More power to you! I love reading your posts, whatever they may be about. :)
Aug 20, 2009 | 11:52 am
SHAN and his 4F'S:
2. FECKLESS(weak,ineffective, worthless or irresponsible).
3. FIEND (a person of great wickedness or maliciousness).
4. FRIVOLOUS(having no sound basis as in fact or law)
Aug 20, 2009 | 12:43 pm
information is power, very informative post and truly inspiring.more power MM! you rule!
Aug 20, 2009 | 12:48 pm
Shan is xxxxx! (though mild, I edited it as I don't want to start a food fight. :) Doesn't he know how the live feed works? Of course marketmanila.com will show up for every visitor who comes to his site when they come from MM's site.
Aug 20, 2009 | 1:17 pm
Thanks for sharing the resolution of the Power Mac problem. In that post, I also posted a comment about the inept service I got from HSBC as it was taking 10 months for them to replace my son's supplementary card. It took hours of relentless long distance calls to HSBC giving each call center associate a factual rundown of events and like you, it had a happy resolution. This morning I picked up my son's replacement supplementary card as well as my renewal platinum card. Your posts on inefficiencies of customer service sure give us readers the courage to demand better service. Thanks MM.
Aug 20, 2009 | 1:27 pm
Hello Shan,
Not everyone is meant to be an A-List blogger. No amount of time and megapixels can guarantee success and a following or a fan-base. Keep on blogging and mind your manners, I might visit your blog if i have a few precious seconds to spare… Blogging is all about great content, not discontent.
Aug 20, 2009 | 1:29 pm
..but discontent also makes great content…
Aug 20, 2009 | 1:32 pm
let me borrow ted's comment.. we have another advertiser on the loose here.. posted a link on his site so we might glimpse on it?? well, i just did to satisfy my curiosity..and rest assured i won't be coming back.. lol
Aug 20, 2009 | 1:37 pm
MM, I believe your fishpan award is actually coveted by some chowderheads! Maybe instead of the positive fishpan "award" you should give these folks a virtual fishpan whack in the head. But I have to say, they seem to be unappreciated for the halfwitted humor they provide once in a while =)
Aug 20, 2009 | 2:44 pm
kawawa naman si shan. sa kanya pinakamaraming comment sa sariling blog. nag-advertise pa dito. take note, may ads ang blog nya. need traffic much? shan, hilarious ka. here's your fishpan.
Aug 20, 2009 | 3:12 pm
I'm glad the complaint was resolved. Fully agree with you that lies, poor service, and faulty products should be exposed, so that we customers get what we deserve. It's as simple as that, not powertripping, as some people allege. Ewan ba, napakasimpleng bagay, I can't understand why some people inflict other motives.
I'm also a bit confused about responses to blogs. It's my choice to read their articles, it's their choice to write what they want. I can disagree or point out errors if called for, but otherwise I can simply choose not to read if I don't like them. Tapos!
What's it about August ba na pagkaaaadaming matigas at masakit na ulo, ha! O sya, back to you, MM.
Aug 20, 2009 | 3:24 pm
glad the TSD had some sense and hopefully future services rendered will not be that bad.
and MM…you know you're really "up there" in the blogosphere when you have you're own regular troll (too bad not the gift gate cute variety teehee)
Aug 20, 2009 | 4:24 pm
Lee,if "rant" does not work then go to "war"
Aug 20, 2009 | 5:48 pm
great! all's well that ends well :-)one tenet of knock-your-socks-off service companies: "do it right the first time. do it VERY, VERY right in case you fail the first time" :-)
Aug 20, 2009 | 10:44 pm
Hi MM,
its good to hear that this issue went to a resolution. the best resolution i should say is the response of the TSD to you:
"From this experience, I have instructed my Customer Service Head to implement preventive measures like collating all Apple product defects that fall under outright rejection (if beyond the the warranty) that must be properly explained with affected customers at the INITIAL transaction, enforce separate repair lead time for main units from accessories/consumables, and feedback system to clients."
i think, as a previous tech support agent for dell laptops, this means that the TSD forwarded guidelines to tech agents concerning the request for replacement. meaning, if the customer gets in touch with the support team [like calling the call center] they would be able to give outright decision on the request [depending on the warranty policy]. thanks to the incident you have raised.
it's this kind of instances that the internal process of customer service is being changed. future services should then be better this time
Aug 20, 2009 | 11:14 pm
I work in technical support department for Dell computers, we are allowed to put customers on hold but not that long.. I understand with MM's frustration, from the long wait he incountered and also with the false information he was left to believe.
Its so unfair for customers left hanging with nothing though they are still covered with warranty… This is the most common way of an agent to make the conversation shorter by making stories that's true enought be believe…. really bad experience. I hope everything is okay now sir
Aug 21, 2009 | 1:32 am
I am glad that the issue has been resolved.
This area is a buyer's market. Sellers who do not pay attention to buyers risk being passed over in favor of suppliers who do.
I think it is still different for those markets where there is a near-monopoly. For example, when typhoon Millenium struck several years ago my dsl service was down for three weeks. I think that the company should have automatically suspended collection of fees, but it did not. I think it was explained to me that I had to provide documentation, a formal request, etc etc for which I had neither time or energy. Companies earn lots of money over situations like that.
Aug 21, 2009 | 4:32 am
All those calls and correspondence and they never gave you a free battery. That company sucks big time.
Aug 21, 2009 | 2:54 pm
and with that MM you just climbed another notch in the credibility scale :D
Aug 21, 2009 | 5:57 pm
i missed checking this site these past few days due to bad internet connection, and too bad I wasn't there when the commenter "shan" first showed up.. I went to his blog anyway…
It was pathetic… He can't even take pictures of food properly. Blurred pa, cameraphone ba ginamit dun? haha, sarcasm aside, he's just enjoying the free publicity, he may get a lot of traffic from this site but since his blog is crap and he's getting desperate, mga one time visitor lang makukuha nya. I would never go back to that blog again…
Aug 21, 2009 | 10:30 pm
MM, glad that's all settled. I hope someday Filipinos will work faster and be more efficient than they do now in most service related jobs. I live in Korea and they work like time is precious(PALI PALI or "work fast" in korean). It's more of a habit here I guess. Most older Koreans recall that the Phils was a rich country in the 1950s and that time because of the war Korea was in a very difficult time, the president even sent Korean nurses to Germany just to keep the economy going(refer to a letter written by a Korean for the Filipinos)but what happened? The rich Philippines stopped growing on that decade?! And most Filipinos have to work abroad just for a more decent living?! Or maybe it's what we've learned for 300 years with the spaniards that has been passed on for generations…
I was home last year and since I've been living here for 5 years now I start noticing the differences and now understand what or how we Filipinos think but I didn't know that way back…
MM, I respect you and your ideas always make sense. I've been reading your blog just lately(I've even bought a turbo cooker because of what I've read!^ ^) I'd say that your writing style really reflects you and as a person in the blog you do shine no wonder you're popular.^ ^
I saw the comments so I couldn't resist telling "HIM" my opinion. I just hope that bloggers would respect each writer's individuality – tastes, preferences, even temper and so on- and that they are free to write and we as readers are free to read or comment, of course how a comment is taken is another thing. I think comments are good anyway it can make ideas better but somehow taking it personally is unnecessary.
Aug 22, 2009 | 12:38 am
this seems to be the same across all service centers…
my cousin is currently having issues with the Sony Ericsson service center in Shaw blvd. His issue is running for three weeks already. He came there to have the housing of his phone changed. the technician took his phone and said that they will be waiting for the part as it will be coming from abroad. They returned a couple of times but still the same answer. yesterday, he came back for his phone deciding to bring it to another servie center. the current technician said na " sorry po, wala po dito yung phone nyo…nsa technician po.." which we think is highly irregular. technicians are not supposed to bring out customer's items other than sending it to another office.
Aug 24, 2009 | 11:46 am
Unfortunately Power Mac center has a history of unsatisfied customes, they even have a separate thread in Philmug.org
Aug 24, 2009 | 5:14 pm
I wonder how would Power Mac reacted if the one complaining was not the owner of the of the more popular and well visited blogs in the Philippines?
Aug 25, 2009 | 11:13 pm
I'm glad to hear that this was resolved. The apology was a little watered down. And, sayang, sounds like "Fabulous" still has a job. As a manager, lying to my customers was grounds for immediate termination.
Normally I try to maintain very high ethical standards. Of course, I'm human and sometimes slip … so then I try to rectify what I've done.
I don't see how accepting the replacement batteries would have been wrong. They were offered as an apology for the lie (fib is SUCH a weak word). And, if they were offered before they knew that you had a serious readership, then they treated you as an average customer.
Perhaps there is an angle here that I'm missing.
Aug 26, 2009 | 8:46 am
I absolutely appreciate that your blog isn't a mouthpiece for some organization pushing the New and Improved Kiwi Cinnamon Mango Extreme Jelly Yogurt Juice Cocktail (or some other piece of garbage industrial food).
It just didn't occur to me that your rule applied to tech stuff, too. Good for you!
Aug 27, 2009 | 4:59 pm
Hi, i frequently go have my macbook fixed at the san juan powermac center and i have to just say that i have had numerous incidents with my computer that they managed to fix just fine. I'm not sure who you spoke to at the power mac center in san juan, but whenever i want to have anything replaced in or out of warranty, they suggest that I call the apple hotline directly. They already type out the requisition form for you so when they get an ok from singapore they order the part. At best it will take 40 minutes to talk to the product representative (i find having supporting details, like if there are known cases of a certain flaw online speeds the process). Afterwards all I do is drop off my computer and pick it up as good as new the following week.
I guess my advice is, if you really want something done properly, it doesn't hurt to do it yourself. I think it is unfair that the comments so far have been mostly one sided.
Aug 30, 2009 | 5:53 pm
and as for unknown, i am pretty much as unknown as they get. I made my first call to the apple hotline when i was 16. :)
Aug 30, 2009 | 6:01 pm
I believe you are entitled to a replacement battery because the battery did not die in a usual manner. The expanding / exploding battery issue has been well documented and although your particular battery serial number might not be part of the recall, special treatment is given to customers who experience it. It is not a light matter to Apple, and other major computer / electronics companies, to have batteries that could cause injury to their customers. Please do accept the replacement battery, even if you can afford to buy a new one. The more cases they receive, the more likely they will officially recall batteries from the same batch. At least accept the replacement for the sake of others who might have batteries from the same batch.
Sep 1, 2009 | 3:26 pm
By the way, if your machine is a Powerbook, here's some info in case you haven't seen them:
Just so you know, I had a 15″ Macbook Pro bought in the US. I had some problems with the battery… not even as bad as yours, and LMK Commercial was able to have it replaced. Also, they have much better prices there.
Oh, I don't work there or have any ties with them. I just love the way they handle support and service even if the machine is not purchased through them.
Sep 1, 2009 | 3:37 pm
@Hannah, do you also have good luck with Cebu Pacific airlines?
Sep 1, 2009 | 5:56 pm
I think it is a symptom of poor service in the Philippines. I just got back from vacation in PI and found out that there is no internet connection (dial-up through Globe Tel.). I called customer service and spoke to about 4 different technical reps who gave me varying solutions, the last one being to replace the modem of our computer which I gladly did but problem not solved. In the meantime, we get about 2-3 calls each day from Globe rep offering DSL connections. Because of frustration of our "dial-up†went to SM Megamall counter of Globe (per advice of tech rep offering DSL) but found out two things. One, that dial-up was long been cut by Globe and two, there is no DSL connection available. I complained and rant at the counter why they have not advised customers about the cutting of dial-up service and why their tech reps keep on giving advises to customers when dial-up is no longer available. And why their DSL reps keep on calling offering DSL when there are no available connections in Mandaluyong? The reply to both basically is "Hindi siguro nila alam Sir.†Technical reps and DSL reps does not know what's going on in their company, pathetic to say the least. So now you know, can you tell your management to inform customers and inform your reps about the dial-up and DSL issues? To which the counter guy responded "Sir kayo na lang po and sumulat sa management naming, kasi alam naman nila and problema ehâ€. After I came home from Megamall and also before I left Manila, their tech reps are still giving sorry-ass answers to the dial-up misery, they still don't have any idea that Globe dial-up is gone. The DSL rep called to which I gave a sarcastic answer. Sorry for hijacking your blog MM.
Sep 12, 2009 | 6:09 pm
I dropped Globe 20 months ago when they consistently lied to me about when service would resume. Finally, I yelled at one girl on the phone and demanded that she tell me the truth. She was the only one who told me that they didn't know.
Do yourself a favor. Dump Globe.
Sep 16, 2009 | 11:22 pm
I somewhat have the same problem as what you had. I sent my MacBook Pro with a distorted speaker to San Juan for repairs. I waited for 2 weeks and counting for the part! I know I can order and get a whole laptop in just 3-5 days. Why does it take them 2 weeks to order a single part from China/Singapore(I believe these are the places they where they manufacture their products).
Sep 29, 2009 | 2:22 pm
That is good news. I'm glad that management got involved and sorted things out. I used to deal with PMC when it was still a small outfit and their service used to be very good and personal. Now it seems that the management needs to readjust in handling a larger company. If I was the owner I would personally make sure that people like Ms. Fabulous fired and replaced by people with more integrity and honesty.
Oct 7, 2009 | 7:26 am
Hi MM. Next time, why don't you try getting your Mac products and having them serviced at Mobile 1. They're an accredited reseller and the after sales service is more personal. They are probably not as big as Power Mac, so they try harder. You can get in touch with Malu del Rosario 0920 9120154 if interested. They have outlets in Rockwell, Ayala Center, Cebu, etc.
Oct 22, 2009 | 1:51 pm
Hi. I was just browsing the net for reviews and stuff about mac products when I came across this blog entry, and it sure did get my attention. I will be converting my entire recording studio from PC to Mac in a few days (due to tech concerns). I already bought two Nehalem MacPro's and am planning to buy a Macbook Pro in a local authorized reseller next. I'm just hoping the local reseller that I chose is reliable. Anyway, I wanna thank you for this eye-opening blog. It surely made me cautious and vigilant about dealing with local resellers. It made me have second thoughts about the authenticity of their "you are my best friend" treatment when I bought my MacPro's. I can't help but wonder what if something goes wrong in the near future and that I have to deal with them about it. I sure hope that they will be as competent in fixing problems as they were as competent when closing a sale. At any rate, I will be more vigilant, thanks to you. More power!
Feb 17, 2010 | 7:47 pm
Hi, I just want to share my own recent experience a similar "lying" experience as well though this time is buying a macbook for my daughter …. I was a walk in client at Power Mac Center in SM Annex looking for a laptop. I was offered the best school deals and the sales assistant handed me a flyer about it. The requirement is to present the flyer together with a xerox copy of a valid school ID and the promo also includes a 6-month 0% deferred payment. At that time however, the new ID of my daughter has not yet been released by the school. I was told me that the registration card is acceptable. When I informed them that I have the registration card, only to find out that the requirement has been changed and the registration card is no longer acceptable. I asked when the promo will end and the reply was August 20, 2010 so I told them we would then wait for the ID to be able avail of the promo. At this point he gave me a logbook/reservation list where I wrote down my name and contact number. Yesterday (August 8, Sunday), my daughter and I brought the original school ID (which was received last Friday only, August 6) and a xerox copy with the flyer, only to find out that the terms and conditions on the price and payment term again have been changed. My daughter and I was very upset. I asked the people in the store why I was not properly informed about these changes considering that I have submitted/written down my contact number in the reservation list. Their alibis were: there are 2 persons with same name in SM Annex and that I could have talked to the new one, blah, blah, blah; and the most "disappointing lie" was that my name was not in the reservation list. "WAS LYING REALLY NECESSARY?" for such a shortcoming and inefficiency. I asked and looked for the store manager but was told that he/she was on a rest day. Mac is a prestigious company and should train their people well to be able maintain its prestige. Hope this info help both the consumer and the seller.
Aug 9, 2010 | 9:36 am
Hi MM! "Lucky" for you your issue was resolved at a much quicker pace. My Macbook's been with them for more than a month now and we'd even have to remind them to give us an update, which they sometimes give, but more often don't. Their initial diagnosis was a broken hard drive, which had to be replaced. How could that even happen when we took out the hard drive? It appears they do not even bother reading the job orders before giving out lies to their customers. It was written on the request that my macbook had no hard drive. This is infuriating!
Anyway, welcome back! :)
Aug 9, 2010 | 1:09 pm


text:
Catavento | Who we are?
Clarissa Lins
Founding partner at Catavento Consultoria, since August 2013. Clarissa's expertise lies in strategy and corporate sustainability, leading consultancy projects in large companies, focusing on trend analysis, strategic vision development and articulation with opinion makers. Member of Petrobras Board of Directors (May 2018), chair of the HSE Committee, member of the Audit Committee (May 2019) and former member of the Strategy Committee (May 2018 – May 2019). Member of Suzano's Sustainability Committee (August 2019). Executive committee member of the Brazilian Institute for Oil, Gas and Biofuels – IBP (April 2016). Member of the Global Future Council on Advanced Energy Technologies at the World Economic Forum (2018). Senior Fellow at CEBRI and responsible for the Energy Center (July 2017). Former member of the Sustainability Committee of Vale's Board of Directors (May 2017 – May 2019). Internationally, she was a member and chairwoman of Shell plc's External Review Committee from October/2012 to June/2015. She is also member of SustainAbility's International Council since 2010. She is the co-author of the book "Sustainability and Value Generation: a Transition to the XXI century" (2011) and of several papers and publications related to sustainability. She was the executive director at the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS) from April/2004 to July/2013, where she created and led the Corporate Sustainability activities. She worked in the public sector for several years, at the Ministry of Finance during the elaboration of the Real Plan (1993-94), BNDES (National Development Bank) as special advisor to the CEO (1995-99) and at Petrobras, as special advisor to the CEO and executive manager of Corporate Strategy (1999-2002).She has an academic background in Economics (master's degree from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro).
Bruna Mascotte
Partner at Catavento Consultoria, since May/2015. Bruna's area of activity focuses on mapping global macro trends and translating them into risks and opportunities for businesses strategy, with an emphasis on energy transition, climate change, O&G, mobility and consumer behavior. In this context, she has worked in projects for Shell, QGEP, Constellation, Abegás, CEBRI, UK Embassy and Coca-Cola Brasil. Also, she develops trend analysis, benchmark assessments and strategic recommendations for corporate sustainability, governance, management and transparency. In this field, she was part of projects for Nestlé, Michelin, Instituto Coca-Cola Brasil, and Sicredi. She co-authored "Energy Policy Recommendations: The Energy Sector in 2022" (Aug 2018), "Energy transition and climate-related challenges" (Apr 2018), "The future of energy and the role of planning" (Mar 2018), "Economic relations between Germany and Brazil: The Geopolitics of Energy" (Sep 2018). Intern at Catavento from September/2014 to April/2015. She worked as an intern at the Coordination and Financial Analysis Division in Eletrobrás Furnas, from August to December 2013. Candidate for a Masters Degree in Macroeconomics and Finance at PUC-Rio – Department of Economics (Class of 2019). Bruna holds a degree in Business Administration from Ibmec-RJ (2015), and studied for 6 months at the Université Pierre-Mendès France (Université de Grenoble II), in Grenoble, France
Guilherme Ferreira
Partner at Catavento Consultoria, since January/2018, former intern from July/2016 to December/2017. Guilherme's area of activity focuses on mapping global and sector macro trends, with emphasis on O&G industry challenges, climate change, urban mobility and energy transition. In this context, he has worked in projects for QGOG Constellation, Ipiranga, CEBRI Energia, QGEP, Instituto Coca-Cola. He co-authored "The future of energy and the role of planning" (Mar 2018), "Perspectives for electric vehicles penetration" (June 2018), "Electric mobility: perspectives and challenges" (June 2018), "Energy Policy Recommendations: The Energy Sector in 2022" (August 2018), "Technology and Digitalization in the Energy Sector" (August 2018) and "The New Governance of Energy and Infrastructure Regulatory Agencies" (April 2018). Guilherme participated as a scientific initiation researcher in the project "Performance Evaluation in Humanitarian Operations" in the HANDs laboratory of PUC- Rio, from June/2014 to June/2015. From June/2015 to May/2016, he studied with a scholarship from the Brazil Mobility Program (BSMP) at Mercer University, in Atlanta, United States. Industrial Engineering student at PUC-Rio (expected graduation in June/2018).
Rafael Patrocínio
Partner at Catavento Consultoria, since January/2018, former intern from June/2017 to December/2017. Rafael's area of activity focuses on trend analysis and sector perspectives, with emphasis on energy transition, national energy policies, Brazil's infrastructure challenges, and climate change. In this context, he has worked in projects for Ouro Preto Óleo e Gás, Shell, Ipiranga and CEBRI Infrastructure. He co-authored the policy paper "Infrastructure in 2022: a policy agenda" (August 2018). Previously, he worked as an intern at the infrastructure equipments division in Promon Engenharia, from January/2016 to February/2017. He also worked as an intern at the heavy equipments maintenance division in BSM Engenharia from March/2014 to December/2015. Candidate for a Master's degree in Corporate Finance at COPPEAD (August/2017 to October/2019). Rafael holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from PUC-Rio (2017).


text:
Who we are
Clusternanotech LTD is a financial operational holding of a mixed nature, it is a company that carries out the investments and control of subsidiaries (majority interest in CNT LAB srl, CNT AGRO srl, Salus Cutis LTD and a minority stake in PIN CORP LTD), providing them with the funding and coordination. In this case, the active holding company consists essentially in financial or strategic investments in other companies, quoted or not, which belong to very different sectors.
In addition to this activity, Clusternanotech invests its resources in shares or units with strategic control purposes and coordination of subsidiaries.
Our history
The idea of Clusternanotech was born in Russia in 2008 as a project developed between Russian and Italian executives during a meeting for the signing of the International Trade Exchange Protocol between the Moscow Region and the City of Salsomaggiore Terme. The project involves the commercial development of expertise on chemical syntheses. When it was still Russian-owned, the main inventor Prof. Y.Y. Sidorin, then B. Cantarelli received the trustee mandate for a market research on new technologies in the Italian territory. Quickly it became clear, that it is essential to open a legal entity in Europe to deal better with customs issues, transport, registrations, etc. Hence the opening of an office in London on November 12, 2011 under the name Clusternanotech Ltd.
The company is made up of Russians and Italians who pay or transfer assets for a total of € 2,140,500. In 2012 all activities of Nanoscience Property LTD were transferred (owned by the same shareholders) and it was renamed Clusternanotech Ltd. with a capital of 3 million €.
The legal development and subsequent asset is verified by
Company House (London).


text:
What's it like to experience an IBD flare?
This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The InflammatoryBowelDisease.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.
Join the conversation! Log in or create an account.
Thank you for writing this. It is spot on.
Always dancing,
Elizabeth (team member)
Thank you for your share. I felt like you shared from my soul. So many years and so many doctors, nurses, hospitals, surgeries and most of all disgusting tests taken. I was diagnosed in 1994 but was "sick" sixteen years before that. So many of those years doctors telling me there was nothing wrong and it's all in my head. I have had 5 surgeries, the last one was in 2012. While reading I felt every emotion that you shared. I was a mom to 3 young children when I flared so bad that they did surgery not even knowing that I had Crohn's. The shame and powerlessness was and sometimes is what gets me. Now I'm a Grammy too. I'm trying to make the holidays perfect and telling my active disease this can wait until next year. My resolution will be to take care of myself and keep fighting the good fight. Hugs to all you suffering out there.
I was diagnosed three years ago.. It's still undetermined but all my symptoms point to ulcerative colitis.. There are new symptoms now but I am overseas and cannot contact my doctor. As you said the medical staff mostly is so bad.. I had to change my doctors four times and I'm not sure if I should settle with the current one. I am 22 years old studying medicine away from home in Egypt, in a really poor city where there aren't any hospitals and specialists really and the ER is a joke. Last year I had my first flare and I felt like I was dying. I'm the type of person that doesn't share anything so even my roommates didn't know, until one night I collapsed after knocking on my roommates door… I have a really bad relationship with my father, am not really close to my mother, and still I don't have any good friends, so I was all alone.. As if medicine isn't hard enough with being sick that semester I failed and I am currently taking the whole year again. The blame, the bad things my family had to say was enough for me to cut them off this year, I feel like I have no one but my books and passion for medicine to survive. All I want to be is a good doctor in the future, better than all the doctors we ever had to deal with, and I will always remember what it's like to be on the other side because I will always be there, my disease is going nowhere and that's something I have to learn to accept. I have to admit I am scared of the next time I get a relapse because I don't know how bad it's going to be.. And of course being alone and having responsibilities makes it even worse.
I wish you all the best in life, and I pray for god to heal your soul and grant you many good days as much as you had bad ones.
All my love and respect <3
The moment I started reading the part about being tethered to an IV pole I started to cry. Ive been here so so many times I'm 37 and have had Crohn's since I was about 5. 32 years of starring into a mirror and feeling shame and like I've let everyone in my life down. This is such an incredibly raw look at what IBD can feel like on any given day. Thank you for sharing it was beautiful!


text:
The Middle School had their Christmas Party on Monday afternoon and all the children looked wonderful in their party-going outfits. They played a variety of games, as well as doing plenty of dancing and even attempting some reeling! Much fun was had by all, with bucketfuls of Christmas spirit thrown in too.
Mrs J Scott Aiton
Jules Birdsall, 12/12/2017


text:
Add these stunning twinkle twinkle star shaped cupcake toppers into delicious fairy cakes and cupcakes - an easy and effective way of creating beautiful cakes. The gorgeous toppers will be loved by all the mummy to bee's family and friends, totally irresistible.
Each topper says 'Twinkle Twinkle' in adorable scripted writing that matches the rest of our 'Twinkle Twinkle' range, pop them in for classy cupcakes! Pair these cupcake toppers with our confetti and balloons for the perfect party accessories.
Brand: Ginger Ray
Type: Cake Toppers
Availability: Buy online
Each pack contains 12 cupcake toppers measuring 12cm (H) and 4cm (W
Shipping policy
Exchange, Returns, and Refunds Policy
Please choose carefully before you buy.
For faulty products, KF Party Couture offer a 14 DAY REPLACEMENT WARRANTY, from the date you receive your product. They do not offer a satisfaction guarantee on any of their products, however due to their high level of customer service, they will always endeavour to keep customers happy and satisfied.
If your product is faulty, it will be replaced with an identical product. If they cannot replace the product, they will offer you the option of choosing another product of the same value, or provide you with a refund for the total value of the faulty product.
Please note: Standard postage fees apply to all return orders. Where the return relates to a faulty item, the replacement product will be sent out to you, at no charge, within 5 working days from the date we receive the faulty product.
When returning your product, please make sure you provide the following details:
- Your full name
- Your order number
- Reason why you are returning the product
- Your instructions informing us how you would like the issue resolved.
Please include the original order confirmation or invoice you received with your product. Also, if you haven't previously provided a contact phone number, please include this with your return. This will ensure the issue is resolved quickly, should anyone need to contact you.


text:
Do players get punished even if you received no feedback?
I'm asking because there's been a few games lately I thought "surely this guy is getting banned or something" then I report him and nothing happens. Maybe I should lift my expectations whether someone is getting banned so that I don't get disappointed. I you want an example of what happened: So I was playing ranked adc, with Jinx, and my support played Zyra. We were playing against an Ezreal and Karma. Now this Zyra was playing extremely passive and we had no lane pressure. I was juking and evading Ezreal and Karma during the whole laning fase whilst keeping up with farm while being under pressure because the Zyra did nothing. Now our top lane had a bad game and was feeding their Fiora and our mid and bot were going even and I was starting to feel we need to get more aggressive and start getting kills to keep up with this Fiora. (Typing this now I'm thinking I probably should've told the Zyra to be more aggressive). I kept quiet the whole game (still pinging missing and all those stuff, but typed no words). Around the 15 minute mark the Zyra started to flame our top laner and he flamed back and it was going back and forth the whole time. That's when it happened. Around the 20 minute mark the Zyra said to the top laner something like: "stop feeding or else I'm going afk". This is deliberate. But then came the my first words to the chat and I said: "You've been afk the whole game" and the Zyra went afk. I admit I could've, no, should've communicated more with the Zyra early, but the guy's name had the word support in it and he had lvl5 experience on Zyra, I expected him to at least play an average silver Zyra support but I got nothing. Based on his personality if I told him what to do he might have not taken it well. But the fact remains he deliberately went afk, even threatening with it in the chat, and nothing happened to him. Afterwards a surrender vote came up, luckily someone else also said no: I was not about to let him queue another game directly after going afk. Later he came back on. I was fighting bot side and he died top side, not sure if it was intentional, but went afk again directly after dying. Anyways is this kind of behavior not punishable? Or is the report system flawed? It obviously is flamed, what I mean is, is it flawed to a degree that it needs fixing or a rework.
- Quote
- Login to comment
- Quote
- Edit
- Delete Deleted
- Are you sure
- Yes
- No
- Undelete
- View in Mod Tool