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Organic Cotton Farmyard Faces Longwool Pair Natural Panel
Textile Express Originals 100% Organic Cotton Farmyard Faces cushion panel. Wendy Darker Art.
Design - Longwool Pair
Colour - Natural
Composition - 100% Organic Cotton
Cushion panel size- 46cm x 46cm (18"x18")
Washing Instructions - Cool Wash
N.B This sale is for cushion panel front only.
To make a finished cushion, you will require; one cushion panel, 1/2 a metre of backing fabric of your choice,one 16" zip, and one 18" cushion pad.
All panels are printed and designed in the UK andsold exclusively through our shop and internet site.
We are very excited to bring something truly original to the soft furnishing market. We hope you like it.
We have great expertise in making curtains and blinds and offer you a truly personal service. We will dedicate one of our staff to oversee your job. They will discuss fabric quantities, styles, type of finish and time scales with you.
There is no obligation to you until you accept our quote. All you have to do is phone (01691 670562) or email ([email protected]) asking for a free telephone consultation with one of our staff. Our experience is that a telephone chat achieves far more than form filling on the internet.
We aim to dispatch all orders within 24 hours.
Small parcels are sent via Royal Mail.
Large parcels are sent with one of our trusted couriers.
If you require guaranteed overnight delivery then please contact us on 01691 670562 or email [email protected]


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Rachel Papo June 2, 2008Posted by Geoffrey Hiller in Israel.
Tags: Israel, Rachel Papo
Officer Natali.Tsaelim Training Camp, Israel. 2005
Rachel Papo is an Israeli who was born in 1970 in Columbus, Ohio but was raised in Israel. She began photographing as a teenager and attended a renowned fine-arts high-school in Haifa, Israel. At age eighteen she served in the Israeli Air Force as a photographer. These two intensive years of service inspired her current photographic book project titled after her own number during service – Serial No. 3817131. Rachel earned a BFA in Fine Arts from Ohio State University in Columbus (1991-96), and an MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts in New York City (2002-05). She began photographing Israeli female soldiers in the summer of 2004 as part of her masters thesis project. She continues to photograph in both Israel and New York, pursuing fine art photography and accepting commissioned projects. Her photographs are included in several public and private collections. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
About the Photograph:
"The photographs in this project serve as a bridge between past and present—a combination of my own recollections and the experiences of the girls who I observed. Each image embodies traces of things that I recognize, illuminating fragments of my history, striking emotional cords that resonate within me. In some way, each is a self-portrait, depicting a young woman caught in transient moments of introspection and uncertainty, trying to make sense of a challenging daily routine. In striving to maintain her gentleness and femininity, the soldier seems to be questioning her own identity, embracing the fact that two years of her youth will be spent in a wistful compromise."
- 1. Edward van Herk - June 3, 2008
Hi Rachel,
I have seen your work in the past and remember it well. I think the story is strong because of your personal attachment involving your own past during militaty service.
Best, Edward

subset: commoncrawl


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Cross-border organized crime is big business, worth about $2.1 trillion per year, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), equivalent to 3.5 percent of world GDP in 2009. That's more than six times the world's development aid budget for that year, and equivalent to about 7 percent of global exports of merchandise.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, trafficking illegal drugs is the most lucrative form of illicit business, constituting about half of all proceeds from transnational organized crime. However, plenty of money is also being made from less high-profile enterprises, such as smuggling natural resources such as timber, oil, and gold and other precious metals.
To learn more about this, and other highly profitable criminal activities, read on.
—By CNBC's Katy Barnato with Bianca Schlotterbeck
Posted 12 Aug. 2013


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On 2nd January 1910 Emil Ziehl founded ZIEHL-ABEGG in Berlin Weißensee. This marked the beginning of the blue era, and from these early beginnings the company went from strength to strength. This story of success is founded on Emil Ziehl's pioneering inventions, such as his patented developments in the field of electric gyroscopes and the gyroscopic compass that formed the basis for the external rotor motor developed by Emil Ziehl at the turn of the century.
Emil Ziehl, founder of ZIEHL-ABEGG, born 22 May 1873, died 1 June 1939.
1886 – Still in the family's possession, the freehand drawing of the girl done by Emil Ziehl represents a momentous turning point in the life of this creative mind, and with it the origins of ZIEHL-ABEGG.
1897 – Emil Ziehl's design drawing of the first external rotor motor – still the foundation for modern drive technology.
1900 – Emil Ziehl obtained the principle patent for this electrically driven gyroscope held in gimbals in 1900. Ships, aircraft and moon rockets would not be able to navigate today without this gyroscope.
1909 – The ZIEHL-ABEGG factory in Berlin-Weißensee got its own spur from the works railway and was fitted out for the series manufacture of electric motors with the latest mechanical engineering systems and a rationalised production line.
1910 – The workshop flooded with light in Berlin was equipped with all the latest machinery and technical advances for the complete, end-to-end production of motors (100 m long and 20 m wide).
1918 – The company's own exhibition space showing products manufactured by ZIEHL-ABEGG in the factory building in Berlin-Weißensee.
1919 – Propeller dynamo on the Graf Zeppelin airship. A letter of appreciation still in the family's keeping from airship builder Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin, documenting the outstanding performance even then of the F.-T. high-voltage generators for the Graf Zeppelin airship.
1935 – After many years of success Emil Ziehl celebrated the company's 25-year anniversary with his employees, customers, suppliers and local representatives.
1941 – Graduate engineer Günther Ziehl took over the management of ZIEHL-ABEGG at the age of just 28. He devoted his life to maintaining and furthering the goals and values passed on and entrusted to him by his father.
1947 – Heinz Ziehl, the younger brother of Günther Ziehl, joined the company at the end of the Second World War and dedicated himself to the success of ZIEHL-ABEGG at Künzelsau. He saw great potential for the ventilation system industry in his father's drawing of the external rotor motor.
1949 – Emil Ziehl's invention – the external rotor – remains the basis for ongoing elevator motor developments
1955 – New start, production resumes and development of the external rotor motor begins in rented premises on the first floor of elevator company Stahl in the Schlossmühle in Künzelsau.
2006 – FE2owlet – Unique bionic profile takes the world by storm
2008 – Opening of the visionary InVent Technology Centre at the Künzelsau site with its globally unique test chamber for fans.
The wing housing the air performance and acoustic test chambers assumes overwhelming proportions: the 1,250 ton concrete structure is supported by springs to reduce vibrations and external noise during the sensitive noise measurements carried out on the fans.
Huge, oversized air ducts convey the vast air mass needed to test the fans in the test chamber through the building.
2011 - The Formula 1 Royal League meets the Royal League of industrial fans Cpro ZAmid technology (from left Dennis Ziehl, ZIEHL industrie elektronik GmbH, Peter Fenkl, Chief Executive ZIEHL-ABEGG SE, Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda, Norbert Schuster, ZIEHL-ABEGG SE Executive Board).
2012 – ZAwheel – Gearless electric in-wheel hub drive for commercial vehicles, with unbeatable efficiency (90%) and emissions (0%) stats, has been successfully developed for the electric urban bus market.
2013 – Ground-breaking ceremony for the new 16,700 m2 ZIEHL-ABEGG drive systems plant. The new production site will be located right next to the A6 Kupferzell exit.
2014 – Hannover Messe: Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the ZIEHL-ABEGG stand at the fair.
2014 – The new visionary production facility, next to the A6 European arterial route, at the Kupferzell exit, is complete. ZIEHL-ABEGG opens the new facility for the Drive Technology and Automotive business areas.
2015 - ZIEHL-ABEGG further reinforces the Blue idea and its connection to sustainability and responsibility for future generations. To emphasize this, the company names 2015 a Blue Year. Among other things, it will put more Blue technology on the market through the ZAvblue high-tech fan development, which is based on bionic findings.
2015 - ZAvblue high-tech fan - energy-saver and high-volume-performer. With its bionic blade design, it is unbeatable for high volume flows with a now-reduced size. ZIEHL-ABEGG presents the innovative fan at ISH 2015 which will give a spectacular show.
2015 - Also in the scope of the Blue Year, to reinforce the message of sustainability, ZIEHL-ABEGG has renowned performance artist Konstantin Dimopoulos design the trees in and around the company's headquarters in Künzelsau. They have been designed with an environmentally friendly blue color. This art installation is accompanied by the inauguration of the Blue Tower at the site of the company in Künzelsau.
2016 - ZIEHL-ABEGG is the main sponsor of the National Horticultural Show in Öhringen, Baden-Württemberg and presents Blue bionic high-tech fans in a ultra-modern building with blue active flowers in the outdoor area. The Blue presentation is the highlight among visitors of the horticultural show. The company emphasizes its regional commitment with the ZAwheel bus, and its revolutionary drive, which provides emission-free, clean, silent driving.
2016 - Ground-breaking ceremony to show the future of the new production plant at the Kupferzell site. At the moment, only the ECblue high-efficiency motors are produced in the new state-of-the-art factory, but its unique plastic production for bionic high-tech fans creates the need for a new production branch.
2017 - For ISH 2017, ZIEHL-ABEGG presents the revolutionary new ZAbluefin steel impeller to the market. The radial impeller, based on a bionic example, offers the benefit of unbeatable fan output with its delicate and extraordinary blade design.
2018 - Inauguration of the new hi-tech production site for high-efficiency fans ECblue motors and plastic fans are shown at the Kupferzell site with guests from political and economic sectors.
2018 - Opening of the new factory in Kupferzell, along with a dedicated high-tech plastic production branch, for high-efficiency bionic fan impellers. The entire board, supervisory board and all shareholders of ZIEHL-ABEGG personally sign the first plastic impellers that come off the production line to express their strong commitment to the pioneering project.
The blue era | History
This educated, highly gifted engineer and creative mind achieved worldwide recognition for his developments.


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Gift Card - $40
$ 40.00
Strader's Garden Centers gift cards may be redeemed at any of our six retail locations.
You may add a short note for your recipient in the Special Instructions box. We will place that in a cover letter with the gift card attached and mail it USPS.


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Microsoft took another step forward in their Windows Live software development effort yesterday, as they announced that the search portal Live.com was officially leaving beta status. In addition, the company revealed that Live Search would be replacing the older MSN Search portal on MSN.com and all of Microsoft's web-based search products, including the MSN Search option on the toolbar in Internet Explorer 7.
The Windows Live initiative started out in 2005 as a small grab-bag of web services and has quickly grown to become a major focus of development at the Redmond-based company. Astute Microsoft observers will have noticed that many products that were formerly marketed under the MSN brand name have been slowly absorbed into the Live collective, such as Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Spaces. The Live program has received a major boost from the vocal support of Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's new chief software architect and the heir apparent to Bill Gates.
Ozzie got his start early on in the history of the personal computer. He was involved with the creation of VisiCalc (the first spreadsheet application) and Lotus Symphony. He created the groupware application Notes for Lotus, a project that was innovative enough (if plagued by user interface nightmares) to convince IBM to purchase Lotus outright just to get their hands on that product. Later he started his own company, Groove, that produced a peer-to-peer collaboration platform. Groove was purchased by Microsoft in 2005 and the technology is scheduled for integration into Microsoft Office 2007.
So what does the Live.com search offer that the old MSN one did not? The beta, which we reviewed earlier, had a strange user interface that used non-standard scroll bars and suffered from poor performance. This interface appears to be gone in the release version of the Live search, in favor of a more traditional Google-like interface with a sparse opening screen and the results displayed ten at a time in a standard browser window. The web search does not immediately appear to be superior to Google, but some Ars readers who have been using the tool during its beta days report that the Image and Video searches, which still retain the custom user interface widgets, are more powerful and useful than their Google counterparts—for example, when the user clicks on a picture for more details, the page retains a scrolling list of all images on the left hand side of the browser.
Does the new emphasis on Live mean the end of the MSN brand? It seems a bit strange for a company to spend so much money promoting a brand name (think of the butterfly guy and logo) and then just turn around and drop it. The Live brand does have some cachet from its association with Microsoft's Xbox Live gaming service, but the connections to web services are still rather tenuous so far. And Microsoft is not abandoning the MSN name completely—their new YouTube competitor (Soapbox) will be launched under the MSN brand. Still, it appears as if thanks to Ray Ozzie, we should be seeing a lot more emphasis on Live products and services in the future.


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WASHINGTON DC - A former U.S. State Department official with TOP SECRET security clearance has admitted providing documents to China in exchange for bribes.

The official, a woman, began working as an Office Management Specialist for the Department of State in 1999. She served overseas at a number of posts, including embassies and consulates in Baghdad, Iraq, Khartoum, Sudan, and Beijing and Shanghai, China. As a condition of her employment, she maintained a TOP SECRET security clearance. She was also was required to report any contacts with persons suspected of affiliation with a foreign intelligence agency as well as any gifts she received from foreign sources over a certain amount.

Despite the requirement, the woman failed to report repeated contacts with two agents of China's ntelligence service, even though these agents provided tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and benefits to her and her family over five years. The gifts and benefits included cash wired to the woman's USAA account, Chinese New Year's gifts, international travel and vacations, tuition at a Chinese fashion school, a fully furnished apartment, a monthly stipend and numerous cash payments.

Candace Marie Claiborne, now 63, entered a guilty plea on Wednesday to a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States, by lying to law enforcement and background investigators, and hiding her extensive contacts with, and gifts from, agents of China, in exchange for providing them with internal documents from the U.S. State Department.

The plea took place before Judge Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"Candace Marie Claiborne traded her integrity and non-public information of the United States government in exchange for cash and other gifts from foreign agents she knew worked for the Chinese intelligence service," Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said Wednesday. "She withheld information and lied repeatedly about these contacts. Violations of the public's trust are an affront to our citizens and to all those who honor their oaths. With this guilty plea we are one step closer to imposing justice for these dishonorable criminal acts."

"Candace Claiborne broke the public trust when she accepted gifts and money from foreign officials, and then lied about it to State Department background investigators," U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia said Wednesday. "The United States will continue to seek to hold accountable those who abuse their positions of trust."

"Candace Claiborne was entrusted with Top Secret information when she purposefully misled federal investigators about her repeated interactions with foreign contacts which violated her oath of office as a State Department employee," Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBI's Washington Field Office said Wednesday. "The FBI will continue to investigate individuals who fail to report foreign contacts, which is a key indicator of potential insider threats posed by those in positions of public trust."

"Our close working relationship with the FBI and the Department of Justice resulted in the conviction of Candace Claiborne who violated the public trust and damaged our national security," Deputy Assistant Secretary Ricardo Colón, Domestic Operations, U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service said Wednesday. "Diplomatic Security will continue working with our law enforcement partners to vigorously defend the interests and security of the United States of America."

In exchange for gifts and benefits, as stated in the plea documents, Claiborne provided copies of internal documents from the State Department on topics ranging from U.S. economic strategies to visits by dignitaries between the two countries.

Claiborne noted in her journal that she could "Generate 20k in 1 year" working with one of the Chinese agents. That same agent at one point tasked her with providing internal U.S. Government analyses on a U.S.-Sino Strategic Economic Dialogue that had just concluded.

Claiborne, who confided to a co-conspirator that the Chinese agents were "spies," willfully misled State Department background investigators and FBI investigators about her contacts with those agents, the plea documents state. After the State Department and FBI investigators contacted her, Claiborne also instructed her co-conspirators to delete evidence connecting her to the Chinese agents. She was arrested on March 28, 2017, following a law enforcement investigation.

Judge Moss will sentence Claiborne on 9 July. A resident of Washington DC, she was ordered detained pending sentencing, but will self-surrender for detention on 5 June. The statutory maximum penalty for a person convicted of conspiracy to defraud the United States is five years in prison.

The FBI's Washington Field Office is leading the investigation into this matter. The case was prosecuted by Thomas A. Gillice and investigated by John L. Hill, both Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and Deputy Chief Julie A. Edelstein and Trial Attorney Evan N. Turgeon of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.


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Anne of Cleves, (born September 22, 1515—died July 16, 1557, London, England), fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England. Henry married Anne because he believed that he needed to form a political alliance with her brother, William, duke of Cleves, who was a leader of the Protestants of western Germany. He thought the alliance was necessary because in 1539 it appeared that the two major Roman Catholic powers, France and the Holy Roman Empire, were about to join together to attack Protestant England. That threat prompted Henry's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, to arrange the marriage to establish ties between England and the Lutheran enemies of the Holy Roman emperor, Charles V.
On January 1, 1540, Anne arrived in England to meet her fiancé for the first time. Five days later the wedding took place. Henry was keenly disappointed, Anne being less attractive than he had been led to expect, and he soon came to resent her lack of sophistication and her limited command of the English language.
When the alliance between the Catholic powers failed to materialize, the marriage became a political embarrassment and was annulled by an Anglican convocation (July 9, 1540). Anne acquiesced and was rewarded with a large income, on the condition that she remain in England. She lived at Richmond or Bletchingley, with occasional visits to court, until her death.


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Endoscopic Surgery
Endoscopy procedures and inpatient and outpatient surgeries are performed in Northeast Georgia Medical Center's new North Patient Tower. The tower's endoscopy unit contains six state-of-the-art suites fitted with the latest equipment and technology, such as high definition endoscopes, which offer physicians the clearest view for optimal diagnosis.
Northeast Georgia Medical Center's Endoscopy department is staffed by physicians expertly trained in endoscopic procedures.
We offer a variety of treatment options for digestive tract problems.
Digestive conditions we treat
- Ulcers
- Polyps
- Tumors
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Bleeding
Digestive treatment options
- Routine screening and diagnostic colonoscopy
- Routine screening and diagnostic sigmoidoscopy
- Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
- Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
We also offer services to assess and treat conditions in the lungs.
Lung conditions we treat
- Tumors
- Inflammation
- Infection
- Abnormalities
Lung treatment options
- Bronchoscopy
- Endoscopic bronchial ultrasound (EBUS)
Other services include:
Esophageal Manomety Testing: A test used to measure the function of the esophagus.
48 Hour BRAVO Testing: A small capsule, about the size of a gel cap, is temporarily attached to the wall of the esophagus during an upperendoscopy. The capsule measures pH levels in the esophagus and transmits readings by radio telecommunications to a receiver (about the size of a pager) worn on your belt or waistband.
24 Hour Esophageal Testing: Measures and records the pH in your esophagus to determine if you have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The test can also be done to determine the effectiveness of medications or surgical treatment for GERD.
BARRX Procedure: A treatment option for Barrett's Esophagus, a condition that can often result from chronic heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
Celiac Plexus Blocks: for severe chronic abdominal pain associated with Chronic Pancreatitis and cancer.


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So they're sort of like an evil version of ladyfinger cookies, no?
I've been amazed at the amount of creativity hitting the vegan blogs recently. Besides this recipe on Chloe's blog, the Wing-It Vegan declared the entire month of October Halloweegan and has served up one absolutely ridiculous recipe after another, including mummy dogs and mashed potato ghosts, and a coffin cake. I can only imagine that November--the Vegan Mo[nth of] Fo[od], sort inspired by National Novel Writing Month--will prove even more chock full of silly creativity.
This recipe worked really well, though I had a few challenges along the way. First, no matter how many times I do it, I always forget how to blanch almonds. Here is how: pour boiling water over the raw almonds so that they're covered; let stand 60 seconds, then drain. The skins should now be looser, and you can squeeze the almonds out of them. If you don't work fast enough, the almonds dry up again and you have to start over.
Another thing to note about this recipe is that the cookies expand quite a lot, and this is more important when your cookies have a real-life referent they're supposed to resemble, as they do here. The cookies that started bigger than a pinky ended up ENORMOUS. Not that witches can't have large hands, I guess...
So you bake the cookies when they look like the above picture, then when they're done and cooled, you actually take the almonds out, put jam in there, and put the almonds back. Time-consuming work. What made this most challenging was that the jam I had was really chunky. I tried to pipe it using a pastry bag/tip combo, but big cherry chunks kept clogging it up, and when they did come out, then there was too much jam in the "nail bed" (ew) to be able to replace the almond. SO here's what I did: I blended the jam with a little bit of water, which made it smoother and thinner; then it worked beautifully (but you have to be careful not to let it get too runny).
Fingernail Materials
I thought these cookies would be more about looks than flavor, but they actually taste really great, what with the high butter content and especially the almond extract I added. I think they taste a lot like the spritz cookies my family used to make for the holidays. They have a nice melt-in-your-mouth texture, too.
Oh, and I had company again.
Update, 10/29/11: I remade these and realized I'd forgotten to add almond extract to the recipe (highly recommended), and that you need nowhere near as many blanched almonds as 1 1/2 c. Recipe below has been updated.
Trick or treat I can haz cookies?
Happy Halloween!
Witches' Fingers Cookies
(adapted from Chef Chloe)
2 c flour
1 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer
1 c softened vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance non-hydrogenated Buttery Spread)
1 TB pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 c blanched whole almonds
1/2 c blanched whole almonds
1/4 c cherry (or other red) jam (thinned and blended with water, if necessary)
2 TB maple syrup (optional; to brush the almonds)
2. Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, and egg replacer. Cut in the softened margarine and then add extracts. Mix until a dough-like consistency has formed.
3. Scoop approximately 2-3 teaspoons of dough into your hand and shape it into a slender finger. Note that the cookies will spread so it is important to shape your cookies to the thickness of a pinkie finger. Use a toothpick to carve knuckle creases and place an almond into the fingertip to act as the nail.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, or until cookies are very slightly browned on the edges.
5. Once cookies are completely cooled, remove the almond nail and paint the nail bed and cuticle with jam; then replace the almond. Brush the almond with a drop of maple syrup to give it a creepier look. Makes about 45 cookies.


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So its been a while since my last post, but I'm back to fill you in with the good news, well sort off.
Theres a reason to be a little happy with the Metropolitans coming off this disatrous road trip.
First, the bad.
The Mets lost their first series after the All- Star venue to the archrival Braves. They didn't put much of a contest as they could only squeeze out one win. The Mets were destroyed and outplayed by the Braves in every way possible, their 11-0 shutout in the second game of the series, reflects this. The Mets hit rock bottom, they can't play any worse, can they?
Then the ugly...
As if losing to the their archnemisis isn't bad enough, losing the Nationals was just plain embarrassing.The Nationals, possiibly the worst team in MLB history, pulled out two wins from the un-Amazin's. The Nationals' pitching looked phenomenal against the powerless-Mets, who couldn't get a homerun to save their lives.
The Mets lost the first encounter against the Astros and after that loss, I guess they were just tired of losing.
The GOOD.
Finally, music to my eyes.
In the second game, the Mets practically won the game in the first inning, inking the scoreboard with 3 runs. There was more to come however. David Wright had his first homerun in what felt like ages for him and the Mets, and only his second since Carlos Beltran's departure to the disabled list. Jeff Francour, who has appeared somewhat consistent in the homerun department, packing three since his arrival to the Mets. Omir Santos also had a role in the fairy tale, racking up a deep shot.
Now for an encore, the Mets decided to give the Astros some confidence by giving them the early lead. THat was shortlived for the Astros however. That three run lead, diminished and faded away as the Mets came to scare them away by scoring eight runs. The Mets took their first series since the All-Star break and can finally go home on a high note.
Lets see if the Mets ride that momentum and prolong this win streak in hopes to lessen that gap in the Wild Card race.
The streaking Phillies are running away with the NL East divison crown, unless they choke .....
Even though the Mets have shown more offensive efficiency with their new assembled lineup, they might have trouble with strike-out machine Ubaldo Jimenez, on the mound tommorow night at Citi Field.
Mets vs. Colorado Rockies at 7 p.m.


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Media Store by Allen International
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Allen International, the creator of the award winning project Media store by Allen International points out, New integrated retail experience Reinvents the shopping experience though innovative design, leading edge digital technology and a touch of Virgin magic to create a retail environment like none other. Provides an unrivalled 'wow' factor, perfect in which to showcase Virgin Media's next-generation services & provide a fun & immersive sensory experience at every touch point through: Kinetic gesture controlled screens and interactive panels interactive mobile wall noticeable absence of traditional tills .
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End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Latest Design News homepage.


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Eye of the Needle
It is 1944 and weeks before D-Day. The Allies are disguising their invasion plans with a phoney armada of ships and planes. Their plan would be scuppered if an enemy agent found out… and then, Hitler's prize agent, "The Needle," does just that. Hunted by MI5, he leads a murderous trail across Britain to a waiting U-Boat. But he hasn't planned for a storm-battered island, and the remarkable young woman who lives there.
Ken's view
A lot of wartime secrets came out in the mid-Seventies. I read a number of nonfiction books about intelligence and espionage in World War Two. One was Bodyguard of Lies by Anthony Cave Brown, about how the Allies deceived the Germans into deploying their resources in the wrong places.
In particular, there was a fascinating, amusing and very elaborate deception for the D-Day Invasion. The Allies created an entire phoney army in East Anglia, including inflatable tanks, cardboard Spitfires and barracks with roofs but no walls. It was created only to be photographed from the air by German reconnaissance planes. The aim was to fool the Germans into thinking that the army was building up in the east, indicating that the invasion would come across the narrow part of the channel at Calais. And it worked!
The Germans left the beaches of Normandy weakly defended and allowed the Allied invasion forces to get a toehold. My idea was simple. If one German spy had seen the inflatable tanks, the cardboard Spitfires and the whole mock-up from the ground and got back to Germany with the information, then the Germans could have been prepared for the D-Day landings at Normandy and history might have taken a different course.
This was the best story idea I had ever had and I had also reached a breakthrough point in my development as a writer. I planned the book carefully and wrote a detailed outline. I researched the period thoroughly and I put a lot of the detail into the story. It gave the book a feel for the grain of every day life, something that my work had never had before. The richness of detail slows the writing down, but that was what my work needed. My early books were all too brisk and things happened too quickly. With Eye of the Needle, I got the pace right for the first time. The reader doesn't want you to be too brisk, especially in a tense, dramatic situation.
The spy, Die Nadel, has got the crucial information, he knows how important it is, and he has to get home. But he has got to travel the length of England to rendezvous with a U-boat in the North Sea. In the early days, I would have had him make that journey in a few pages and there wouldn't have been any suspense. By the time I wrote Eye of the Needle, I realised that the reader wants a tense situation to go on for a long time. The writer has to keep on thinking of new things that could go wrong.
Even before I finished it, I knew Eye of the Needle was much better than anything I had done before. My ex-wife remembers me sitting at the typewriter saying, "this is absolutely terrific." My agent, Al Zuckerman, also realised how good it was. After years of telling me my books weren't good enough to sell on the American market, he said, "this is going to be a huge international best seller and you are going to have tax problems." He was right.
It came out in 1978 and did well all over the world. The British publisher, who had commissioned it on the basis of a short outline, did not see the potential, and it was published in a low-key way in the UK. Twenty years later, Eye of the Needle is still selling in 25 or 30 languages and new editions are published constantly. It would take an accountant a week to work out the exact numbers, but it has sold about ten million copies.
Listen to Ken's view on Eye of the Needle
Read the first chapter
Listen to an excerpt
- "Really thrilling!" — New York Times Book Review
- "An absolutely terrific thriller, so pulse-pounding, so ingenious in its plotting, and so frightening realistic that you simply cannot stop reading. This World War Two espionage tale is right up there with the best of them – masterful on several levels… a blazing and unexpected climax!" — Publishers Weekl
Published as
Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett, Futura, London, 1978. Originally published as "Storm Island".
- The United States and Canadian edition is published by Penguin Random House
- The British and Commonwealth edition is published by PanMacMillan
- The Brazilian edition, O buraco da agulha, is published by Editora Arqueiro
- The Danish edition, Nålens øje, is published by Cicero
- The Dutch edition, Door het oog van de naald, is published by Boekerij
- The Finnish edition, Neulansilmä, is published by Werner Söderström
- The French edition, L'Arme à l'œil, is published by Le Livre de Poche
- The German edition, Die Nadel, is published by Bastei Lübbe
- The Hungarian edition, Tü a szénakazalban, is published by Gabo
- The Italian edition, La Cruna dell 'Ago, is published by Mondadori
- The Latvian edition, Adatas acs, is published by Zvaigzne
- The Norwegian edition, Nålen, is published by Cappelen Damm
- The Polish edition, Igła, is published by Wydawnictwo Albatros
- The Portuguese edition, O Estilete Assassino, is published by Bertrand Editora
- The Romanian edition, Prin urechile acului, is published by Rao
- The Russian edition, Игольное ушко, is published by AST
- The Spanish edition, El isla de las tormentas, is published by Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial
Also published in other languages, and available as an audiobook and as an ebook.
Eye of the Needle was filmed in 1981, starring Donald Sutherland as Faber and Kate Nelligan as Lucy.
See the Filmography pages for more information.


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About Grinnell
About Grinnell
Founded in 1846, Grinnell College is a private, coed, residential liberal arts and sciences college located in Grinnell, Iowa. We confer bachelor of arts degrees in 26 major fields and offer individualized curriculum planning and advising. Independent majors are possible.
Explore the history of Grinnell, with roots that date back to the birth of the state, recovery after a devastating cyclone, and more than 150 years of growth and change.
Learn why Grinnell, nicknamed "The Jewel of the Prairie," was named one of the top ten coolest small towns in America.
Global Grinnell
Discover the world at your door. From students to faculty, in class or on break, with study in Grinnell, off-campus, or abroad.
Visit Grinnell
Get maps and directions, find places to stay, and learn where to eat.
Meet our president, Dr. Raynard Kington, and the Board of Trustees, our guiding board.


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[First published October 10, 2005] I have on occasion linked to or critiqued articles arguing against the democratic peace (DP). They fall into four groups.
First, are those who argue from historical examples that allegedly disprove DP. Favorites are the Civil War, WWII against "democratically elected" Hitler, democratic Finland being allied with Germany in World War II, the various French-British crises, , and certain democratic American Indian tribes on which the U.S. made war. Also, there is the finger pointing at all the wars that the U.S. and U.K. fought. No amount of historical analysis that disproves these as exceptions persuades members of this group, who generally argue that DP supporters are defining them away.
Lets say that all the exceptions are true exceptions. There were 371 pairs of countries involved in wars against each other 1816-2005 About 22 exceptions have been put forward, which if excepted would mean that democracies fought that many wars out of 371, or 6 percent. Therefore, taking every claimed exception as true we can still say that democracies tend to be most peacefully disposed to each other. That is, if democracy were universalized, war in the world would still be sharply reduced.
The second group is those who, misunderstand what DP is, and thus use examples that are at different levels of analysis or conceptual design. For example, they argue: "Look at all the wars that Britain and the United States have fought. Indeed, Britain has fought more wars that any other nation." Yes, but this says nothing about what nations Britain fought against after it became a democracy with the Reform Act of 1884 (which extended the franchise to agricultural laborers). Although both the U.S. and Britain have fought many wars, none were against democracies.
A variant of this is to argue that the U.S. and Britain were the aggressors in many wars. True, the U.S. started the Spanish-American and Mexican-American wars, and now the Afghan and Iraq Wars. But the DP does not say that democracies will never launch wars. Only that it will not do so against other democracies.
The third group argue from balance of power or power superiority theories, a la Hans Morgenthau, and assert that DP is Wilsonian idealism, i.e., unrealistic, and wishful thinking. This is the most common argument appearing in the elite journals and by foreign policy commentators. In effect, it is arguing DP away in a nice way — by labeling it as head-in-the-clouds idealism in contrast to the feet-on-the ground realist. Yet, it is the other way around. It is DP that is grounded in historical data, and its claims have been well tested by scientific methods. Those promoting their "realism" cannot say this. And in those cases where power and its balancing have been tested against DP, the results were in favor of DP, not the other way around. Most often, however, the comparison is a matter of speculative realism versus empirically well tested DP. But either this is something that realists are unaware of, or will deny by lifting arguments from the two groups mentioned previously.
Finally, there is the group of those who question the methodology, with one of the favorites being "correlation does not mean causation," as though all of us using quantitative methods on DP never took Statistics 101. I find these people usually don't know what they are talking about (although sometimes wrapped in the usual quantitative jargon), or like the above quote, assume we're all naïve or empty headed. In some cases, however, they apply apparently sophisticated statistics to data on war and democracy, among other variables, and conclude: "Hey, see, how insignificant democracy is compared to other variables." When, however, these studies are looked at carefully, one usually finds that the methods have been misunderstood, misapplied, or the data were inappropriate to the method used (for an example of this, see "The CATO Institute Gets It All Wrong" here). Such is the kinds of war counting, empirical studies, I referred to in my blog, "Counting the Democratic Peace Away" (here).
In 1981, to the conclusion of my five volumes on Understanding Conflict and War (here), I wrote:
In total, some violence is inevitable; extreme violence and war are not. To eliminate war, to restrain violence, to nurture universal peace and justice, is to foster freedom.
That conclusion has not only held up well, it also now declarative American foreign policy.
Link of Day
" Democracy, Spontaneous Order and Peace" By Augustus diZerega
Abstract: The democratic peace hypothesis which states that democracies rarely or never go to war against one another and that democracies do not commit democide raises issues penetrating to the core of modern liberalism, classical and otherwise. If democracies are unique from other forms of government, as claims for their peacefulness towards citizens and one another suggest, then possibly the classical liberal and libertarian critique of democratic government needs re-examination. By separating liberal democracy from undemocratic states, the democratic peace hypothesis separates the classical liberal and libertarian critique of the state from a straight forward application to liberal democracy. The work of F. A. Hayek and Michael Polanyi holds the key to understanding the democratic peace, and thereby leads to rethinking the classical liberal and libertarian critique of politics. To jump ahead, democracies are spontaneous orders in Hayek's sense of the term. Consequently democracies are not states in the usual sense, and often do not act like them.
RJR: diZerega is one of the few to recognize that Hayek's spontaneous society provides an explanation of DP. Nonetheless, Hayekian libertarians, excepting diZeerega, will continue to treat DP as the muttering of diseased minds.
Links I Must Share
Unqualified, no judicial experience, just a political crony. Miers? No, John Marshall, whose name generally is preceded by the adjective great, some describing him as the greatest figure in the history of American law. . . . But let's ask ourselves realistically whether a fracas precipitated by an in-your-face nomination of a conservative with strong and well known commitments to hot-button issues would not simply have led to yet another ignominious defeat by the legions of Darth Vader. At no time in recent memory has the Republican Senate leadership evidenced any notable parliamentary, tactical, or PR skills. The Democrats have out-maneuvered them at every turn.
Maybe President Bush simply looked at the facts in the cold light of day and concluded that the nation's interests would be better served by appointing someone who is both confirmable and committed to sound general principles. Maybe he concluded that reliance on Senators like Arlen Specter and Bill Frist was as likely to be successful as buying a lottery ticket.
RJR: Too many conservatives are blind to this. For too long, they have wanted a fight with the Demos, and now they are upset by not getting it. Well, getting another strict constructionist on the Supreme Court is more important, and anyway, they would have lost the fight.
"Media Ignore Freedom's Victories"
It's troubling that so many refuse to recognize, let alone support, the struggle for freedom in Iraq. The groups behind the September 24 anti-war march on Washington, D.C. really do not care if an American withdrawal ushers in a terrorist victory. One of the co-sponsoring groups, International ANSWER, is actually led by members of the Workers World Party, a communist group that has backed Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and Kim Jong-Il. But don't look for the media to mention that fact.
RJR: They never do. The communist are free to organize as they will without mention of their involvement. True now, true during the anti-nuclear demonstrations, true during Vietnam. Can't seem a McCarthy, you know.
. . . . the Army has been bankrolling "HYPERLINK "http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=149999&TICK=RTN&STORY=/www/story/09-26-2005/0004131807&EDATE=Sep+26,+2005″Excalibur," a Raytheon effort to build a 155mm artillery shell that's guided by GPS. Think of it as the howitzer's answer to smart bombs.
RJR: Combine this with a drone providing the GPS coordinates of a tall man dressed all in white, and . . . .


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Copyright © Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
"A central office (or intergroup) is an A.A. service office that involves partnership among groups in a community—just as A.A. groups themselves are partnerships of individuals. A central office is established to carry out certain functions common to all the groups—functions which are best handled by a centralized office—and it is usually maintained, supervised, and supported by these groups in their general interest. It exists to aid the groups in their common purpose of carrying the A.A. message to the alcoholic who still suffers."
- Reprinted from the A.A. Guidelines on Central or Intergroup Offices with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc
If you are a current member of any A.A. meeting or group in the SCV, please attend our next Intergroup Meeting to see how you can help! Click here for more details about the Intergroup Meeting.
We are always in need of volunteers to help operate the SCV Central Office of AA.
If you are interested in helping out, please let us know by clicking here and filling out the volunteer form.
|29 Aug 2020;
Developing & Fostering Core Concepts of Emotional Sobriety: Implications for Each of the 12 Steps


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emerald cut engagment ring
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As far the downright coolest professions go, taking the streets as a ninja must be in the top few. Probably alongside footballer, Formula 1 driver, and Scarlett Johansson's personal trainer. Essentially being a ninja is considered an incredibly interesting past time. Hence it crops up in the gaming world time and time again.
While Ninja Blade may look similar in style to the tricky Ninja Gaiden series, there's little in the manner of similarities between the pair. While the latter concentrates on creating a superbly crafted battle system, the former aims for sheer excess.
The closest title currently on the market to Ninja Blade is undoubtedly the God of War titles, which Ninja Blade borrows from quite heavily indeed. Most notably with the constant utilisation of Quick Time Events.
Barely a minute goes by without some form of QTE breaking up the action. Whether it be taking down a multi-storey behemoth - and there are plenty of those to contend with - or simply running down the side of a skyscraper, wasting enemies as you head downwards, huge button shaped icons can appear on screen at any second.
As frustrating as their constant appearances can be, somehow they simply seem to fit in perfectly. As Ninja Blade is far from realistic, making well timed button presses as your ninja arcs through the air, hacking and slashing an enemy a thousand times bigger than himself is certainly an enjoyable experience.
Not all your enemies are hefty things mind. You'll still have ample use of the two face buttons controlling close and long range attacks as you contend with groups of enemies that try to halt your progress. It's certainly a long way from the depth offered in combat in the Ninja Gaiden games, but it's still easily considered a lot of fun.
What aren't quite as top notch are the Prince of Persia esque platforming sections. The main one you'll use is the basic wall run to avoid huge chasms. The only problem is that these are incredibly easy to miss thanks to a camera system which sits far too close to the ground, leaving you plummeting thousands of feet over and over again.
Equally, the visuals are, on average, sub par. While the cityscapes can look quite attractive, particularly during a fast paced QTE, the rest of the game suffers from some quite poor visuals. Worst of all has to be the fire effects which look like they are from a title released well over a decade ago.
What does act much to Ninja Blade's benefit is the sheer pace of the game. There's barely a second's respite due to the game's insistence that you rush on to the next area, usually involving yet another QTE and a batch of enemies to slaughter. If it's real pure action you're after, this one is for you.
Ninja Blade might not have all the facets of a top class title, and its reliance on QTE's might irritate some. But there's no denying that this is a fast-paced action packed romp that simply can't fail but excite.
It might not last long enough to be a real must buy, and the visuals are a step below what we'd expect. But this is certainly one to try.


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This is a great discussion. I've enjoyed reading thus far.
As someone who is actually building a castle at the moment, I've been looking around the MOCs forum and my Flickr contacts, trying to find inspiration. I can't speak for those with large collections, but for someone with limited resources like myself, the actual build is much more important than the techniques. Although, at first I only posted things in a futile attempt to impress everyone, but only succeeded in making a fool of myself with such builds as this:
So I learned to focus on quality and my own enjoyment of the build, (conceited, right? ) and slowly improved, but never really used any 'techniques'. Just proof that my (barely) decent quality builds can exist without fancy techniques.
And I rather agree with Mark. Our hobby is technically an art form unto itself, and as such most any contribution can be considered as a work of art. Most art is made by artists enjoying themselves anyway, so you can be artisticky and have fun at the same time.
My two cents.


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Nike Bryant system by the Nike sports shoes creative director Eric Avar led the design team in close cooperation with Kobe crystallization. At the beginning of the new shoes design, Bryant eager to have a pair of low-help and can adapt to fast play shoes. In addition, this pair of shoes need to be like a part of the feet, there is no negative feeling...


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Reasons 1-6
Ask any woman the one thing she wants more of, and energy will most likely top her list. While getting more sleep would seem to be the obvious solution (Americans average seven hours of sleep a night), daytime exhaustion has a host of other, often surprising, causes -- all of which are easily treated. "In many cases, low energy can be traced to a certain behavior and fixed in a few weeks," says Martin Lipsky, MD, a professor and chair of the department of family medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Evanston Northwestern Healthcare. (If fatigue persists without explanation, however, talk to your doctor. It could be a sign of a more serious illness.)
Want to get your energy back? Here are 14 reasons why there's less pep in your step, plus the easy fixes that will get you up and running. Your vitality makeover starts right now!
You Don't Exercise
At least 30 minutes of a sweat-inducing workout during the day may help you sleep deeply, says Thomas E. Scammell, MD, an assistant professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His research suggests the increase in body temperature during exercise activates sleep-producing cells in the brain.
Fit in half an hour of cardiovascular exercise four days a week, says Wil Maxton, a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist in Philadelphia. Even a daily 30-minute walk in the morning or after dinner can raise your body temperature enough to improve your energy level and help you fall asleep. To give your heart a good workout, walk briskly while still being able to maintain a conversation. Keep in mind, though, that exercise also raises your metabolism, which can heighten alertness and interfere with sleep, says Dr. Scammell. Work out early in the day when possible, and if you have to exercise in the evening, wait at least three hours before going to bed.
You're an Irregular Sleeper
If you're getting up at the crack of dawn during the workweek, then sleeping in on weekends, you're disrupting your body's natural sleep schedule (or circadian rhythm). The more your patterns vary from day to day, the more tired you'll become. Stay reasonably consistent in terms of when you go to bed and wake up to avoid throwing off your internal clock, says Dr. Scammell. Otherwise, you're at risk for sleep deprivation. Research shows that an irregular wake-up time impacts daytime sleepiness more than an erratic bedtime does.
You're Taking New Pills
If you're using a new medication and your energy level has lowered, talk to your doctor about switching drugs or dosages. Over-the-counter and prescription drugs like antihistamines, antidepressants, pain medications, and beta-blockers can tire you even if drowsiness isn't a listed side effect, says Dr. Lipsky.
Your Bedroom Isn't Dark
You'll sleep best when your room is very dark, says Samir Bangalore, MD, a medicine intern at Evanston Hospital in Illinois. Make sure blinds and curtains block intense light like streetlamps. (Low-intensity illumination such as a night-light is not likely to keep you awake.) In a recent study from Northwestern University, Dr. Bangalore found that people who were awakened in the middle of the night by bright light (such as a bathroom light) and kept awake for several hours had a shift in circadian rhythm, in essence giving them jet lag. The longer the exposure, the more the body's natural clock was disturbed.
You're Dehydrated
Dehydration causes your body to conserve energy by decreasing blood circulation. This deprives your muscles of oxygenated blood and causes you to become fatigued, Dr. Lipsky says. Even mild dehydration can make you feel lethargic. Symptoms include constipation; rough, dry skin; dry tongue, lips and mucous membranes; dark, strong-smelling urine; thirst; weakness; and fatigue. Be sure to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. Your urine should be pale yellow, says Dr. Lipsky. If it's not, keep drinking until the color changes. Replace lost fluids during a workout by having 4 to 6 ounces of water every 15 to 20 minutes, advises Kristine Clark, PhD, RD, director of sports nutrition at Pennsylvania State University. Weigh yourself before and after you exercise, and drink 16 ounces (two cups) for every pound lost, she says.
You Slouch
Poor posture creates fatigue by causing muscles, ligaments, and joints to work harder than they do when your body is aligned correctly, says Scott Bautch, of the American Chiropractic Association. Experts estimate that looking down at a 45-degree angle uses five times more energy than holding your head in an upright position. The added strain on muscles also decreases blood (and oxygen) flow to your brain by as much as 30 percent, making you feel tired. To check your posture, draw an imaginary line from the middle of your ear through the center of your shoulder and hip. Or have someone take a photo of you from the side -- bad posture is easy to spot. Correct your slouch by strengthening back muscles. Try two sets of 20 shoulder rolls forward and backward twice a week.
Reasons 7-14
You're Itchy
It's easy to ignore your itchy nose or nasal congestion. But left untreated, the annoying symptoms can cause fatigue, says Aimee Altschul, MD, a clinical allergist and immunologist in private practice at ENT and Allergy Associates and a clinical instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. "Congestion, runny nose, and other symptoms can prevent you from falling asleep or staying asleep." she says. Ease sniffles with remedies like the allergy drug Claritin, a once-a-day, nonsedating antihistamine that became available over-the-counter last December, or prescription-only daily-dose sprays such as Nasonex or Flonase. If conventional drugs don't work, visit an allergist who can help you detect what you're allergic to and how to treat it, says Dr. Altschul.
You've Got a Major Sweet Tooth
Simple sugars, found in soda, candy, cakes, and ice cream, may give you a quick boost of energy -- but not a lasting one. These foods trigger a large output of insulin, which lowers blood sugar and leaves you feeling sluggish, according to Maxton. Eat fiber-rich fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which keep blood sugar levels steady.
You're Under Pressure
Stress causes your body to release cortisol, the "fight or flight" hormone. When released, it increases the fat and sugar in your bloodstream that your brain and muscles use for a quick burst of energy. After the anxiety has passed, your body returns to its normal state. When you're under chronic stress, however, the hormone is released continuously, says Jim Lane, PhD, an associate research professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University. Long-term exposure to elevated cortisol level leads to fatigue and a weakened immune system, he says. To reduce the physical impact of stress, focus on your breathing when tension starts to rise. Make sure your belly expands and your breath is coming from the lower abdomen. Inhale and exhale slowly. Deep breathing increases the oxygen in your bloodstream, which slows your heart rate, lowers your blood pressure and relaxes your muscles, thereby countering the fight-or-flight response.
You Drink Coffee or Soda
Caffeine can magnify your body's response to stress. A study in Psychosomatic Medicine found that ingesting the caffeine equivalent of two to three 8-ounce cups of coffee significantly increases stress-hormone levels and blood pressure (just one cup may raise your blood pressure for the entire day). These effects might still be present at bedtime, preventing you from getting a sound sleep. Lane suggests drinking caffeinated beverages as early in the day as possible. "It can take 10 to 12 hours to eliminate it from your system, so have caffeine before noon," he says.
You Snore
Sleep apnea, a condition caused by soft tissues in your throat that obstruct your airway, can wake you several times during the night. You may be unable to stay in REM sleep, which slows body functions, relaxes muscles, and allows you to enter the lowest state of consciousness. Symptoms include snoring, morning headaches, memory problems, and irritability, according to Christin Engelhardt, executive director of the American Sleep Apnea Association. She suggests sleeping on your side or stomach. If this doesn't help, or if these positions are uncomfortable, talk to your doctor or a sleep specialist about conducting a sleep disorders test.
You're Iron Deficient
Nearly eight million adolescent girls and women of childbearing age in the United States suffer from iron deficiency. This can cause anemia, a condition that develops when normal stores of the mineral are depleted. Signs that you may be deficient include extreme fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, confusion or loss of concentration, dizziness or fainting, pale skin, rapid heartbeat, and feeling cold, sad, or depressed. If you might be anemic -- particularly if you're prone to heavy periods or are a vegetarian -- get a blood test. Dr. Lipsky does not recommend iron supplements for healthy adult women unless they're clinically deficient or pregnant.
You're Lonely
People who feel isolated may have a harder time getting a good night's sleep, according to a study in Psychological Science. Researchers found that individuals who described themselves as lonely woke more frequently during the night than those who felt socially fulfilled. Experts aren't sure why the connection exists; still, "social interaction is one of the best ways to improve your mood and your sense of well-being," says Robert Thayer, PhD, a professor of psychology at California State University at Long Beach. If you think loneliness may be the cause of your fatigue, Thayer recommends sharing your feelings with a friend, family member, or counselor. Even a quick phone call can help you feel more connected to the people you love.
You're Depressed
Energy loss and chronic fatigue are common symptoms of depression, a condition that may be characterized by poor sleep, hormonal changes, or tension, says Dr. Lipsky. Other signs include feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, or guilt, poor concentration, loss of appetite or overeating, an inability to sleep or to stop sleeping, and suicidal thoughts. If you've been experiencing symptoms and have been unable to sleep soundly for two weeks or more, visit your doctor. For more information, visit the National Institute of Mental Health Web site at nimh.nih.gov.


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Made Up: Fictional, Fictitious, Fictive, and Factitious
Choose wisely, or risk saying something you don't mean.
"Fiction," we all know, is something that is not true. So is "a lie." But they're not quite synonyms: Fiction is usually a benign lie, like making up a story to entertain others, rather than telling someone that no, I don't know anything about closing lanes on a bridge.
When coming up with adjectives for those made-up things, we have many to choose among: fictional, fictitious, or fictive, or even factitious. Choose wisely, or risk saying something you don't mean.
Fictitious is the broader term, and the first one to appear in English, in 1615, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Anything made up can be "fictitious," and the only connotations the word takes are that whatever attached to it is plain fake.
Fictional, which traces only to the early 19th century, is the adjective used most often in reference to literature, movies, and the theater. "Riverside, IA, is the home of the fictional Capt. James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise" lets you know the character is made up. In a movie review recounting art-imitates-life parallels, the phrase "the film's plot included a thinly veiled swipe at her ex-husband via its fictional director who has an affair with an actress" lets you know the character is fake, but not really made-up.
Fictive implies not just invented, but inventive with a certain creativity to make a point. An artist might create a composite villager, for example, whom reviewers might call "a fictive villager," a character to represent the village in a way the artist has manipulated, often just as Everyman. Yes, it is both fictitious and fictional, but the motive is different: The protagonist in a novel may be "fictive," but most of the other characters are probably just "fictional," created to support the protagonist and not to be standouts on their own. A New York Times article also noted that anthropologists describe extended networks of close-knit but unrelated people as "fictive kin."
The use of fictive, however, has grown exponentially in the past 40 years or so, possibly as writers adopted it as shorter and more "literary." But it is not always accurate. A "fictive rehearsal room" created for the movie Saving Mr. Banks was trying to capture and concentrate the conditions under which Disney movies were often created. But a local library holding a "fictive detective mystery night" is probably just trying to save a few letters.
Factitious, however, is not just fake, but created by human intervention, often through contrivance or other manipulation. ("Factitious air," for example, is any gas produced in a chemical experiment.) It adds a motive, often sinister, to the fabrication. Fittingly, it is the least used of the adjectives, and it should remain thus, for its air of accusation.
Garner's Modern American Usage has a handy guide to all these falsities:
These forms overlap to a great degree, but they have undergone some useful differentiation. Fictional = of, relating to, or having the characteristics of fiction … Fictitious = (1) false, counterfeit; or (2) imaginary. … Fictive = having the capacity of imaginative creation (fictive talent). Apart from this narrow sense, fictive is a needless variant of both fictional and fictitious.
You just can't make this stuff up.
Merrill Perlman is adjunct assistant professor at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and president of Merrill Perlman Consulting, offering consulting and freelance editing services and training in journalism, grammar and usage. Among her clients are The New York Times, ProPublica and the Poynter Institute. She writes the "Language Corner" column and blog for Columbia Journalism Review. Merrill retired in June 2008 after 25 years at The New York Times, most recently as director of copy desks with responsibility for managing 150 copy editors.Click here to read other articles by Merrill Perlman
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Crack open the ice rock to collect the hidden CHI!
Venture into the magical kingdom of Chima to help Voom Voom find the CHI in LEGO® Legends of Chima™ Speedorz™ Frozen Spikes! Place the vulture onto his new Speedor and pull the rip cord to accelerate away! Hit the ramp to knock over the ice tower, smash open the ice rock and release the hidden CHI. For multi-player fun, create defenses using the ice blocks and jump to protect the hidden CHI. This set includes a Voom Voom minifigure, 2 weapons, new Speedor with ice wings, rip cord, jump, ice tower, exploding rock, CHI orb, 6 CHI crystals and 5 game cards. Test your accuracy and jumping skills with this rip cord skill game for 1 or more players.
- Includes Voom Voom minifigure with 2 weapons
- Features new Speedor with ice wings, rip cord, jump, ice tower, exploding rock, CHI orb, 6 CHI crystals and 5 game cards
- Weapons include a Vulture CHI spear and a mace
- Pull the rip cord to make Voom Voom race off on his new Speedor!
- Topple the ice tower
- Crack open the ice rock to claim the hidden CHI orb
- Battle for the 6 CHI crystals
- Compete with your friends in an action-packed game of skill and accuracy
- Collect the entire LEGO® Legends of Chima™ Speedorz™ series to create combo games


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As a guest poster, some additional disclosure is required because my LinkedIn profile is incomplete. I'd like to add:
+ reviewer at Amazon
+ gas refiller at Zipcar
+ traffic data provider at Google Maps
+ plug-in tester at WordPress
+ opinion offerer at Jovoto
+ classifieds editor at Craigslist
+ A/B headline tester at the Huffingtonpost
+ music popularity statistics reporter at Apple
+ idea spreader at Kickstarter
I think most LinkedIn profiles have similar omissions. But that is only part of the problem, because I don't just do work for organizations, but also for friends and family.
So why it is so important to know who I "work" for or with?
Of people, value creation, costs and revenues
All organizations incur costs to make and communicate – to create, design, develop, produce and distribute products or provide services; to generate awareness, evaluation and trials to generate revenues. Of course many of the costs in doing this relate to things like media buying, IT infrastructure, raw materials, rents and the like, but depending on the business a very large percentage of the costs come directly from paying people (i.e., salaries for ALL the jobs to make the organization function).
So what happens if one of your competitors figures out a way to get some of their work done more cheaply? Fewer people, lower salaries – off shoring and outsourcing over the last 20 years has fundamentally changed developing and developed economies.
Or, what happens when your competitors are able to attract better talent?
Most labour conversations tend to focus on full time employment, but there is another important workforce – they are doing the types of tasks we don't disclose on our LinkedIn profiles. And they are not just working for organizations as we tend to think of them, but for the benefit of their peers.
Paid vs. earned vs. owned business activities
Recently Rishad Tobaccowala described among other trends for 2011, paid vs. earned vs. owned media. I'd like to steal this idea and expand it to paid vs. earned vs. owned business activities. Not as catchy, but I'll keep the explanation short.
I believe that some of today's most successful organizations are figuring out how to earn "business activities" that their competitors still pay for. It's more visible in part because it has become easier to help people help you. Amazon sells more because so many of us choose to write elegant reviews there and Lego benefits from a relentless flood of new product ideas from their community. Zipcar has us refilling gas tanks in the name of sharing and the Huffington Post generates more pageviews when they learn what we like by observing our choices. Groupon gets us to band together into temporary "big organizations", so we can get discounts previously only available to real big organizations.
The fundamental change in this collaborative model is that business can create value by "earning" our effort. If you're looking for inspiration for all the ways in which people can add value, I like the business model canvas or board of innovation (their templates were used to create the diagram above). More specifically, these visual business model tools can be used to quickly highlight the number of ways in which consumers can also be producers, or customers can also be suppliers.
Beyond roles, these visuals also help outline the different value exchanges: from money and fame to reputation and experiences. The diagram at the start of the post was my attempt to describe the various value exchanges happening around this guest post. It is far from complete, but I hope it shows how "customers" also show up as "suppliers" in exchange for a variety of non-financial currencies. Organizations have many new ways to redefine their relationships with the people formerly known as customers (apologies to Jay Rosen).
Why this type collaboration matters to marketers
MIT Center for Collective Intelligence does a great job breaking collaboration down into its DNA – the who, what, why, where and how of collaboration. In Mutopo's experience on projects like betacup and Life Edited, some of the hard questions have been:
+ why will people participate?
+ what are the right activites and outcomes to focus on?
+ what expertise is required?
+ what can organizations offer in return?
+ how do we quality control?
I don't know that this is altogether new for marketers (or for markets). We've always had to build teams and find talent, but the scale has changed. Some activities will involve large numbers of people accomplishing tasking in a few minutes or in a few weeks. It will mean much more time evaluating what new outcomes we want, who we want to work with, what they want, what they can do, what we can give them and evaluating how they are doing.
Finding talent may feel like human resources' responsibility, but this is a critical role for marketing. Not only because it can touch current or prospective customers, but because it is another way to create value for the organization beyond driving sales through a funnel. And these collaborations can build on exactly the relationships brands aspire to build anyway. Now they have the additional benefit of greatly expanding the reasons for conversation, as well as the types of conversations we can have. After all, it's quite engaging to discuss what we can accomplish together.


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