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Mark Driscoll's sermons are mostly too racy to post on GodTube, the evangelical Christian "family friendly" video-posting Web site. With titles like "Biblical Oral Sex" and "Pleasuring Your Spouse," his clips do not stand a chance against the site's content filters. No matter: YouTube is where Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, would rather be. Unsuspecting sinners who type in popular keywords may suddenly find themselves face to face with a husky-voiced preacher in a black skateboarder's jacket and skull T-shirt. An "Under 17 Requires Adult Permission" warning flashes before the video cuts to evening services at Mars Hill, where an anonymous audience member has just text-messaged a question to the screen onstage: "Pastor Mark, is masturbation a valid form of birth control?"
Driscoll doesn't miss a beat: "I had one guy quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says, 'Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.' " The audience bursts out laughing. Next Pastor Mark is warning them about lust and exalting the confines of marriage, one hand jammed in his jeans pocket while the other waves his Bible. Even the skeptical viewer must admit that whatever Driscoll's opinion of certain recreational activities, he has the coolest style and foulest mouth of any preacher you've ever seen.
Mark Driscoll is American evangelicalism's bête noire. In little more than a decade, his ministry has grown from a living-room Bible study to a megachurch that draws about 7,600 visitors to seven campuses around Seattle each Sunday, and his books, blogs and podcasts have made him one of the most admired — and reviled — figures among evangelicals nationwide. Conservatives call Driscoll "the cussing pastor" and wish that he'd trade in his fashionably distressed jeans and taste for indie rock for a suit and tie and placid choral arrangements. Liberals wince at his hellfire theology and insistence that women submit to their husbands. But what is new about Driscoll is that he has resurrected a particular strain of fire and brimstone, one that most Americans assume died out with the Puritans: Calvinism, a theology that makes Pat Robertson seem warm and fuzzy.
At a time when the once-vaunted unity of the religious right has eroded and the mainstream media is proclaiming an "evangelical crackup," Driscoll represents a movement to revamp the style and substance of evangelicalism. With his taste for vintage baseball caps and omnipresence on Facebook and iTunes, Driscoll, who is 38, is on the cutting edge of American pop culture. Yet his message seems radically unfashionable, even un-American: you are not captain of your soul or master of your fate but a depraved worm whose hard work and good deeds will get you nowhere, because God marked you for heaven or condemned you to hell before the beginning of time. Yet a significant number of young people in Seattle — and nationwide — say this is exactly what they want to hear. Calvinism has somehow become cool, and just as startling, this generally bookish creed has fused with a macho ethos. At Mars Hill, members say their favorite movie isn't "Amazing Grace" or "The Chronicles of Narnia" — it's "Fight Club."
Mars Hill Church is the furthest thing from a Puritan meetinghouse. This is Seattle, and Mars Hill epitomizes the city that spawned it. Headquartered in a converted marine supply store, the church is a boxy gray building near the diesel-infused din of the Ballard Bridge. In the lobby one Sunday not long ago, college kids in jeans — some sporting nose rings or kitchen-sink dye jobs — lounged on ottomans and thumbed text messages to their friends. The front desk, black and slick, looked as if it ought to offer lattes rather than Bibles and membership pamphlets. Buzz-cut and tattooed security guards mumbled into their headpieces and directed the crowd toward the auditorium, where the worship band was warming up for an hour of hymns with Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."
On that Sunday, Driscoll preached for an hour and 10 minutes — nearly three times longer than most pastors. As hip as he looks, his message brooks no compromise with Seattle's permissive culture. New members can keep their taste in music, their retro T-shirts and their intimidating facial hair, but they had better abandon their feminism, premarital sex and any "modern" interpretations of the Bible. Driscoll is adamantly not the "weepy worship dude" he associates with liberal and mainstream evangelical churches, "singing prom songs to a Jesus who is presented as a wuss who took a beating and spent a lot of time putting product in his long hair."
The oldest of five, son of a union drywaller, Driscoll was raised Roman Catholic in a rough neighborhood on the outskirts of Seattle. In high school, he met a pretty blond pastor's daughter named — providentially — Grace. She gave him his first Bible. He read voraciously and was born again at 19. "God talked to me," Driscoll says. "He told me to marry Grace, preach the Bible, to plant churches and train men." He married Grace (with whom he now has five children) and, at 25, founded Mars Hill.
God called Driscoll to preach to men — particularly young men — to save them from an American Protestantism that has emasculated Christ and driven men from church pews with praise music that sounds more like boy-band ballads crooned to Jesus than "Onward Christian Soldiers." What bothers Driscoll — and the growing number of evangelical pastors who agree with him — is not the trope of Jesus-as-lover. After all, St. Paul tells us that the Church is the bride of Christ. What really grates is the portrayal of Jesus as a wimp, or worse. Paintings depict a gentle man embracing children and cuddling lambs. Hymns celebrate his patience and tenderness. The mainstream church, Driscoll has written, has transformed Jesus into "a Richard Simmons, hippie, queer Christ," a "neutered and limp-wristed popular Sky Fairy of pop culture that . . . would never talk about sin or send anyone to hell."
This reaction to the "feminization" of the church is not new. "The Lord save us," declared the evangelist Billy Sunday in 1916, "from off-handed, flabby-cheeked . . . effeminate, ossified, three-carat Christianity." In 1990 a group of pastors founded the Promise Keepers ministry dedicated to "igniting and uniting men" who were failing their families and abandoning the church. In recent years, mainstream megachurches — the mammoth pacesetters of American evangelicalism that package Christianity for mass consumption — have been criticized for replacing hard-edged Gospel with feminized pablum. According to Ed Stetzer, the director of LifeWay Research, a Southern Baptist religious polling organization, Mars Hill is "a reaction to the atheological, consumer-driven nature of the modern evangelical machine."
The "modern evangelical machine" is a product of the 1970s and '80s, when a new generation of business-savvy pastors developed strategies to reach unbelievers turned off by traditional worship and evangelization. Their approach was "seeker sensitive": upon learning that many people didn't go in for stained glass and steeples, these pastors made their churches look like shopping malls. Complex theology intimidated the curious, and talk of damnation alienated potential converts — so they played down doctrine in favor of upbeat, practical teachings on the Christian life.
These megachurches, like Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston and Bill Hybels's Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, have come to symbolize American evangelicalism. By any quantitative measure they are wildly successful, and their values and methods have diffused into the evangelical bloodstream. Yet some megachurches have begun to admit what critics maintained all along: numbers are not everything. In the fall of 2007, leaders of Willow Creek sent shockwaves through the evangelical world when they announced the results of a study in which churchgoers reported feeling stagnant in their faith and frustrated with slick, program-driven pastors. "As an evangelical, I would say this tells us something," Stetzer says. "The center is not holding."
Mars Hill has not entirely dispensed with megachurch marketing tactics. Its success in one of the most liberal and least-churched cities in America depends on being sensitive to the body-pierced and latte-drinking seekers of Seattle. Ultimately, however, Driscoll's theology means that his congregants' salvation is not in his hands. It's not in their own hands, either — this is the heart of Calvinism.
Human beings are totally corrupted by original sin and predestined for heaven or hell, no matter their earthly conduct. We all deserve eternal damnation, but God, in his inscrutable mercy, has granted the grace of salvation to an elect few. While John Calvin's 16th-century doctrines have deep roots in Christian tradition, they strike many modern evangelicals as nonsensical and even un-Christian. If predestination is true, they argue, then there is no point in missions to the unsaved or in leading a godly life. And some babies who die in infancy — if God placed them among the reprobate — go straight to hell with the rest of the damned, to "glorify his name by their own destruction," as Calvin wrote. Since the early 19th century, most evangelicals have preferred a theology that stresses the believer's free decision to accept God's grace. To be born again is a choice God wants you to make; if you so choose, Jesus will be your personal friend.
Yet Driscoll is not an isolated eccentric. Over the past two decades, preachers in places as far-flung as Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., in denominations ranging from Baptist to Pentecostal, are pushing "this new, aggressive, mission-minded Calvinism that really believes Calvinism is a transcript of the Gospel," according to Roger Olson, a professor of theology at Baylor University. They have harnessed the Internet to recruit new believers, especially young people. Any curious seeker can find his way into a world of sermon podcasts and treatises by the Protestant Reformers and English Puritans, whose abstruse writings, though far from best-selling, are enjoying something of a renaissance. New converts stay in touch via blogs and Facebook groups with names like "John Calvin Is My Homeboy" and "Calvinism: The Group That Chooses You."
New Calvinists are still relatively few in number, but that doesn't bother them: being a persecuted minority proves you are among the elect. They are not "the next big thing" but a protest movement, defying an evangelical mainstream that, they believe, has gone soft on sin and has watered down the Gospel into a glorified self-help program. In part, Calvinism appeals because — like Mars Hill's music and Driscoll's frank sermons — the message is raw and disconcerting: seeker insensitive.
Most people who attend Mars Hill do not see themselves as theological radicals. Mark Driscoll is just "Pastor Mark," not the New Calvinist warrior demonized on evangelical and liberal blogs. Yet while some initially come for mundane reasons — their friends attend; they like the music — the Calvinist theology is often the glue that keeps them in their seats. They call the preaching "authentic" and "true to life." Traditional evangelical theology falls apart in the face of real tragedy, says the 20-year-old Brett Harris, who runs an evangelical teen blog with his twin brother, Alex. Reducing God to a projection of our own wishes trivializes divine sovereignty and fails to explain how both good and evil have a place in the divine plan. "There are plenty of comfortable people who can say, 'God's on my side,' " Harris says. "But they couldn't turn around and say, 'God gave me cancer.' "
Though they believe that God has already mapped out their lives, Calvinists have always been activists. Ye shall know the elect by their fruits, not by their passive acceptance of fate. When it comes to wrestling with life's challenges, however, they reject the "positive thinking" ethos that Norman Vincent Peale made famous in the 1950s. That philosophy still dominates the Christian self-help market in books like "Your Best Life Now" by Joel Osteen, which promises readers that everything from a Hawaiian vacation house to a beauty-pageant crown is within their grasp if only they "develop a can-do attitude." Marianne Esterly, a women's counselor at Mars Hill, says she tries to help women resist the desperation that can come with forgetting that man's chief end is to glorify God, not to obsess over earthly problems. "They worship the trauma, or the anorexia, and that's not what they're designed to worship," she says. "Christian self-help doesn't work. We can't do anything. It's all the work of Christ."
Calvinism is a theology predicated on paradox: God has predestined every human being's actions, yet we are still to blame for our sins; we are totally depraved, yet held to the impossible standard of divine law. These teachings do not jibe with Enlightenment ideas about human capacity, yet they have appealed to a wide range of modern intellectuals, especially those who stressed the dangers of human hubris in the wake of World War I.
Driscoll found his way into this tradition largely on his own. He recently earned a master's degree through an independent-study program he arranged at a seminary in Portland, Ore. Years ago, paperback reprints of old Puritan treatises in the corner of a local bookstore piqued his interest in Reformation theology. He came to admire Martin Luther, the vulgar, beer-swilling theological rebel who sparked the Reformation. "I found him to be something of a mentor," Driscoll says. "I didn't have all the baggage he did. But you can see him with a quill in one hand and a drink in the other. He married a brewer and renegade nun. His story is kind of indie rock."
Driscoll disdains the prohibitions of traditional evangelical Christianity. Taboos on alcohol, smoking, swearing and violent movies have done much to shape American Protestant culture — a culture that he has called the domain of "chicks and some chickified dudes with limp wrists." Moreover, the Bible tells him that to seek salvation by self-righteous clean living is to behave like a Pharisee. Unlike fundamentalists who isolate themselves, creating "a separate culture where you live in a Christian cul-de-sac," as one spiky-haired member named Andrew Pack puts it, Mars Hillians pride themselves on friendships with non-Christians. They tend to be cultural activists who play in rock bands and care about the arts, living out a long Reformed tradition that asserts Christ's mandate over every corner of creation.
Like many New Calvinists, Driscoll advocates traditional gender roles, called "complementarianism" in theological parlance. Men and women are "equal spiritually, and it's a difference of functionality, not intrinsic worth," says Danielle Blazer, a 34-year-old Mars Hill member. Women may work outside the home, but they must submit to their husbands, and they are forbidden from taking on preaching roles in the church.
"It's only since women have been in church leadership that this backlash has come," says the Seattle pastor Katie Ladd, a liberal Methodist who holds that declaring Jesus a "masculine dude" subverts the transformative message of the Gospel. But New Calvinists argue that traditional gender roles are true to the Bible, especially the letters of Paul. Moreover, embedded in the notion of Adam as the "federal head" of the human race is the idea of man as head of the home.
Nowhere is the connection between Driscoll's hypermasculinity and his Calvinist theology clearer than in his refusal to tolerate opposition at Mars Hill. The Reformed tradition's resistance to compromise and emphasis on the purity of the worshipping community has always contained the seeds of authoritarianism: John Calvin had heretics burned at the stake and made a man who casually criticized him at a dinner party march through the streets of Geneva, kneeling at every intersection to beg forgiveness. Mars Hill is not 16th-century Geneva, but Driscoll has little patience for dissent. In 2007, two elders protested a plan to reorganize the church that, according to critics, consolidated power in the hands of Driscoll and his closest aides. Driscoll told the congregation that he asked advice on how to handle stubborn subordinates from a "mixed martial artist and Ultimate Fighter, good guy" who attends Mars Hill. "His answer was brilliant," Driscoll reported. "He said, 'I break their nose.' " When one of the renegade elders refused to repent, the church leadership ordered members to shun him. One member complained on an online message board and instantly found his membership privileges suspended. "They are sinning through questioning," Driscoll preached. John Calvin couldn't have said it better himself.
Most members, however, didn't join Mars Hill in order to ask questions. Damon Conklin, who is 41 and runs a tattoo parlor, says he joined Mars Hill because Driscoll made his life make sense — and didn't ask him to pretend to be someone he wasn't. "I decided to stop smoking crack and drinking every day," Conklin says. "I had to find some kind of God in order to do that." He hated the churches he visited: "I would show up looking as mean as possible, with my Afro blown out, wearing a wife-beater, and then I'd say, 'Why don't they like me?' Then I went to Mars Hill, and I believed Mark."
Driscoll's theology "changed how I view women," Conklin says. He quit going to strip clubs and now refuses to tattoo others with his old specialty, pinup girls (though he still wears two on one arm, souvenirs from earlier, godless days). Mars Hill counts four of the city's top tattoo artists among its members (and many of their clientele — that afternoon, Conklin was expecting a fellow church member who wanted a portrait of Christ enthroned across his back). While other churches left people like Conklin feeling alienated, Mars Hill has made them its missionaries. "Some people say, 'You're pretty cool and you're a Christian, so I guess I can't hate all of them anymore,' " he says. "I understand where they're coming from."
Mars Hill — with its conservative social teachings embedded in guitar solos and drum riffs, its megachurch presence in the heart of bohemian skepticism — thrives on paradox. Critics on the left and right alike predict that this delicate balance of opposites cannot last. Some are skeptical of a church so bent on staying perpetually "hip": members have only recently begun to marry and have children, but surely those children will grow up, grow too cool for their cool church and rebel. Others say that Driscoll's ego and taste for controversy will be Mars Hill's Achilles' heel. Lately he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language, and he insists that he has delegated much authority, but the heart of his message has not changed. Driscoll is still the one who gazes down upon Mars Hill's seven congregations most Sundays, his sermons broadcast from the main campus to jumbo-size projection screens around the city. At one suburban campus that I visited, a huge yellow cross dominated center stage — until the projection screen unfurled and Driscoll's face blocked the cross from view. Driscoll's New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.


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Success of Mamiya DL28 Spawns Bigger Brother
I will often publish media releases related to photography on this blog in order to help keep you informed. These media releases are created by the respective companies. I edit the releases for space as needed.
The successful introduction of the Mamiya DL28, in addition to requests from professional photographers throughout the U.S., has prompted Mamiya America to announce the next level in high-end digital camera systems – the Mamiya DL33.
"In the world of medium format digital photography, many photographers have to choose between price and performance," states Jeff Karp, Mamiya Product Marketing Manager. "The new Mamiya DL33 Digital Camera System offers the best of both worlds by providing medium format performance at a price that serious photographers can afford."
The Mamiya DL33 Digital Camera System offers professional features and benefits that are not found in other camera systems. For example, even though the DL33's resolution is an impressive 33 megapixels, its large sensor allows a pixel size of 7.2 microns. At 36 x 48mm, the DL33's sensor is twice the size of full frame DSLR cameras. Larger pixels also produce images with unmatched richness and color accuracy, smooth, subtle transitions from tone to tone and striking highlight and shadow detail. In addition, the larger format produces images with a more three-dimensional look. The 3.5-inch touch screen, the largest in the industry, offers a bright, high-contrast display ideal for outdoor or indoor work.
The DL33 combines the professionally proven Mamiya 645AFD III camera system with the innovative 33 megapixel Aptus-II 7 Digital Back from Leaf. Together they work as an integral unit with an intuitive ease that virtually any photographer will appreciate. The 645AFD III body has a new coreless motor for faster, more accurate autofocusing and an enhanced interface system that provides total communication between the camera, lens and digital back.
With 16-bit capture, 12-stop dynamic range and an ISO range of 50-800, the Mamiya DL33 is a full-featured professional digital solution. The 33 MP back produces a huge 67Mb RAW file that can be converted into jpegs, 8-bit or 16-bit tiff files (a 16-bit tiff file is 190 Mb). Files of this quality deliver the information needed for striking enlargements of virtually any size. And for those times when you can't get close enough to your subject, you'll have the confidence to crop a small portion of the image without a noticeable loss in quality.
In addition to using the included Leaf Capture 11.2 software, you can also open Leaf RAW files with commonly used programs including Adobe Photoshop CS3/4 (with the latest version of ACR software), Lightroom 2 and Apple Aperture 2.
"Many digital photographers are realizing that they need the increased performance that only medium format can offer," says Karp. "That's why Mamiya is continuing to receive requests for higher resolution digital systems. With the new Mamiya DL33, we can satisfy their demands today."
During the months of April and May, customers who purchase a Mamiya DL33 will receive a FREE AF 55mm f2.8 or AF 150mm f3.5 lens directly from Mamiya (an $1100 value).
The Mamiya DL33 will be available April 2009. MAP price is $19,999.

subset: commoncrawl


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CHINA has blocked the word "Egypt'' from the country's wildly popular Twitter-like service, while coverage of the political turmoil has been tightly restricted in state media.
China's ruling Communist Party is sensitive to any potential source of social unrest.
A search for "Egypt'' on the Sina microblogging service brings up a message saying, "According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown.''
The service has more than 50 million users.
News on the Egypt protests has been limited to a few paragraphs and photos buried inside major news websites, but China Central Television had a report on its midday broadcast.
China's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the events in Egypt.
Originally published asChina blocks 'Egypt' on Twitter-like site


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Monday, May 08, 2006
Carson Fox
Okay!! Pictures from Carson Fox's recent show at 1708 Gallery!
Sorry, I've been slow to put these up, but was waiting to get some images of her excellent prints. Really wanted to include the meticulous Bully - a print of a wild boar - but am told 1708 is having some problem with my e-mail.
The floating piece above is maybe my favorite from the show. It isn't really hair - although it looks like hair even close - and the curlicue-ness of it makes it pubic and gross. It seems like body hair. It is a repulsive gazebo, a pretty something you want to get near or in but then gives you the creepy gross shivers to be surrounded by.
Up-close, more like a Japanese horror movie. Something is dead.
This one is similar, but hangs against the wall. The floating round piece is more evocative of the body, and offers a space for a body to inhabit.
Carson has lost both of her parents, her mom to illness (not sure about the dad), and I think a lot of the work in this show - especially that pictured here - is a form of contemporary mourning art. She also showed work reminiscent of road-side memorial wreaths, each subtly inscribed with something like bully, liar, or beauty. I saw some of these at her show at the Philadelphia Art Alliance last month, while they were setting up the room for a wedding reception. Yikes! They are deceptively pretty, I wonder which one was hanging over the groom's shoulder?
PS - look at this hairdome.
Posted by Martin at 12:25 AM
Labels: 1708 Gallery, artists, richmond
2 comments:
- Anonymous said...
This was a beautiful show! My favorite piece from the show is "I know about your broken heart."
- Anonymous said...
I loved this show. Her work is beautiful and heartbreaking and sometimes a little mean. Interesting stuff. I wish it had been up longer.
This is a very good blog that I always enjoy reading.
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Design Competition Platforms
A Design Competition Platform Refers to The System, Service, Company or Process That Manages a Design Competition. This Article Discusses The Different Platforms and Methods Available For Organizing Competitions
In the past, all design competitions were organized using the traditional posting process directly by the organizer itself; i.e. the organizer would initially plan the competition, write a call for submissions, post this call around the town or send it to interested parties, and provide a physical address to collect entries.Today, thanks to the advancement of digital technologies, there are many new ways to organize and manage design competitions. Competitions can be organized and managed by newly developed software that not only makes the process easy, but could also automate certain aspects of the process and tasks to create further efficiency. Furthermore, there are now many design competition organization companies, to automate the process.Firstly, the Design Competition Platforms (DCP). Design Competition Platforms are usually closed systems developed in-house by contest organization companies. They help and ease the process of organizing a design contest (not a competition in a professional sense). DCP's are designed to maximize the number of entries to a competition, and are most suitable for contests where the aim is to gather many ideas. They are rather useless for competitions where the aim is to create publicity or prestige. Creatives Challenge is an example of a DCP that is specialized for collecting ideas.Meanwhile, there are also Advanced Design Competition Platforms. An Advanced Design Competition Platform is usually a highly customizable interactive information technologies software or process that ease the management of a design competition through automation of tasks such as participant registration, certificate or yearbook creation etc. I.e. Unlike the DCP's which are used by contest organization companies, these platforms allow the organization of highly specialized design competitions that could be used for a plethora of business models. The Design League platform is an example of an advanced design competition platform which could be fully customized and tailor-fit to the goals of organizers. An important aspect of the Advance Design Platforms is the embedded automation processes. Automation process in design competition mainly refers to the generation of deliverables without intervention of a dedicated staff. For example the Design League platform has built-in functionality to create the competition yearbook, certificates, customized winners' logos, QR embedding, press-releases etc, in addition to standard functions such as profile creation, design submission, edit or nomination. Thirdly, there are professional organizers, usually PR Companies, or existing award programs, which offer to manage design competitions on behalf of others. While PR Companies are good for creating buzz, they usually fail to deliver an efficient platform for entry collection. On the other hand, utilization of existing awards (such as sponsoring a new category in a design award platform) could be a good strategic decision for companies whose aim is to derive prestige from the event. For example, companies could sponsor or organize custom competitions at A' Design Awards, or use their platform to run new government - country level award programs.Fourth, there are design magazines or publications which can help organizers to achieve their goals. Design magazines can benefit from the existing reader base and thus could provide a large number of participations and publicity options. The drawback is usually regarding entry collection and judging. For example, an interested organizer could ask the DesignAmid magazine to organize a competition on their behalf. In this case, DesignAmid would post an announcement, collect entries via an entry-platform, and publish results in their pages.Entry-Platforms are content management systems, that allow users to submit entries to a design competition. A good entry-platform also helps to track the process. For this reason, there are some very specific and specialized platforms designed to collect entries in a very easy way such as the DesignLeague and also the entry platforms seen at DCPs. Yet, there is also the possibility to use existing CMS (Content Management Systems) or even email to collect the entries.Bespoke Solutions refer to specialized web software that is designed to collect competition entries in a very specific manner. They are usually incorporated for annual competitions or contests. Some of such solutions can be observed in companies who offer product customization. Bespoke Solutions are usually expensive, yet an alternative to bespoke solutions could be the usage and customization of already existing advanced competition organization platforms.If you wish to organize a design competition free of charge, you can use the following free solutions: Email, Blogs, or Forums. Email is simple: Send an email to participants, and ask them to submit entries by replying. Blogs: Announce the competition in a design related blog and require participants to submit entries to a given address. Forums: Post your brief to the forum and ask people to submit by replying. These methods are indeed great for little communities to run competitions without any costs, however their potential is likewise limited.Finally, the Traditional Solutions are still a very popular way to organize design competitions; communications are made on a written publications or magazines, and entries are sent to a physical address. Of course, now, it is usually a requirement to also have a website where further information could be found or application forms could be downloaded.If the aim of the competition organizer is to gain prestige, bespoke solutions are suggested. If the aim is to spend a little money to get many ideas, then DCP's can be used for organization. If the organizer is seeking for publicity, it is best to either sponsor a category in an existing design competition, or organize an award through a design magazine which already reaches a large audience. If the organizers are seeking to create a social activity, free solutions works the best.However, if an organizer wishes to reach several goals, such as both prestige improvements, branding, publicity, and collection of ideas, in this case, the right course of action to take is to organize an annual competition that is hosted at its own domain, has a unique interface, and based on an advanced design competition platform with processes for submission, evaluation and result communication optimized for the initial goals, to make sure that the process is fully and professionally managed, and also to ensure that submitted entries are of high quality.Exerpt:In the past, all design competitions were organized using the traditional posting process directly by the organizer itself; i.e. the organizer would initially plan the competition, write a call for submissions, post this call around the town or send it to interested parties, and provide a physical address to collect entries.Today, thanks to the advancement of digital technologies, there are many new ways to organize and manage design competitions. Competitions can be organized and managed by new..
Design Competition Platforms Images:
End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to Big Architects homepage.


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Hi all,
I have just started to explore the wonders of PostgreSql. and my coding environment is VB.NET
I am experiencing problem in connection to the database. I need to parameterize the connection string based on the server where the pgsql is installed.
like constring = "Server=<machine_name_as_parm>;
other parameter values can work well.
But if change the server parameter to a different computer name, then it throw an error.
"Unable to read data from transport connection:"
Even the hardcoaded ip address also failed.
my sample con string looks like this..
strString = String.Format("Host={0};Port={1};User Id={2};Password={3};Database={4};", "220.127.116.11", "5432", "pguser", "pgpwd", "sampledb")
(If i change the host parameter to 'localhost' it works well. But if, for some reason, the server machine changed / database shifted to other machine/pgsql then i'll pass the machine name through login screen.)
Can anybody help in this regard?
anticipating helpful responses...


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Can a Second Marriage Last?
- 2006 26 Jan
He who desires to see the living God
face-to-face should not seek him
in the empty, firmament of his mind,
but in human love.
~ Fyodor Dostoevsky
When a remarriage is permanent, you can't just "give up" on it.
Walking through central Philadelphia a few years ago, we encountered homeless people living in cardboard boxes: big- screen-TV boxes, refrigerator boxes, all sorts of large boxes. As the icy winter winds sliced through downtown, people slept on the sidewalks, surrounded only by their flimsy cardboard shacks.
Chances are if you're reading this, you've got a much better bed to sleep in tonight and a much finer roof over your head. But what if your home was a large cardboard box? And more to the point, what if you knew for certain this very same cardboard box was the only home you would ever have as long as you lived?
With no hope of moving to an urban loft or a trendy condo, how would you react? Human nature suggests one thing: You'd do everything in your power to make that cardboard box as cozy, comfortable, warm, dry, and safe as you possibly could.
You would do everything imaginable. You'd get carpet scraps or an old rug to line the floor. You'd find some fabric and insulate the walls. To make it yours, you would decorate with paint, chalk, or any available medium. One way or another, you'd make that box into a place called "home.'
You'd give it your very best since after all, you'd be stuck in that box for the rest of your life. You'd upgrade, redecorate, and refurbish it every chance you got—you'd want it to be as good as it could possibly be.
That's what you do when you're "stuck" with something forever.
Now, Think Beyond the Box!
This book begins where you're already living — and explores how to move forward from that point. Whether this is your second marriage or your fifth, we are here to help you make your current marriage your "last" one — the one that lasts. As this happens, new patterns that honor God will be established, patterns that point effectively to His redemption and His grace.
If you or your spouse were divorced before entering your current marriage, we are here to help you succeed and "go the distance" in your relationship — to help you and your current spouse grow together in mature, lasting, and committed love.
[If you have not remarried, prayerfully consider the challenges you'll be facing in a remarriage environment. There are a lot of compelling reasons to remain single as you raise your children. Though difficult, being a single parent may be God's best plan for you and your family.]
When you regard your remarriage as permanent and irreversible, several important changes begin to take root in your relationship. Each of these helps to build a strong positive value into your life, replacing negative experiences and ideas that may have carried over from your past patterns.
You're More Likely to Work Through the Tough Times
When you regard a remarriage as temporary, as something that might or might not succeed, you're creating an "escape clause" that can take the place of hard work. In the back of your mind, you're allowing for the possibility that, if this person isn't right for you, the next one might be.
That kind of thinking dooms a remarriage right from the start. It leads to shallow relationships, only partially pursued, that never achieve their highest potential or their deepest value. At some level, whether you know it or not, you are holding back from the kind of deep commitment that defines a lasting and fruitful partnership. Part of you continues thinking about another "new start" if needed.
In contrast, when you regard a remarriage as permanent, you begin to realize if you want to be happy, if you want to be involved in a successful relationship, you'd better get to work: This is the only marriage you'll ever have! And that attitude, all by itself, has the power to work wonders in your union.
How It Helps Your Relationship to Consider It Permanent and Irreversible
Regarding your remarriage as permanent...
1. Makes you more likely to work through the tough times and solve problems.
2. Helps you create a sense of success in your relationship and identity.
3. Establishes a powerful example for your children and family.
A Powerful Behavioral Tool
When we work with remarried couples in a secular setting, we often start with this concept instead of the spiritual topics. This is not an effort to hide our religious orientation — we're very open about our beliefs. Instead, we begin with this point because, apart from God and a life of faith, this is the strongest behavioral tool we know of to build and strengthen a remarriage.
Judy and Carl are living proof. Married before either one of them professed any religious inclinations, both had been married previously. Both, as they discovered while getting acquainted, felt like they were failures as a consequence of being divorced. Both were single parents, raising younger children with very little help from the ex-spouse.
"I wasn't willing to go through that again," Carl explains, speaking of the end of his marriage. "I was either going to stay single or else remarry for life — as far as I was concerned, there was no other option."
Judy felt the same way. "A lot of my friends advised me to stay single. And I really understood what they meant. The last thing on earth I wanted was to have another marriage start off well, seem to be promising, then crash and burn. I was afraid to remarry because I was afraid to watch another marriage fail.
"Carl and I talked about that for a long time. Neither one of us was afraid of being single, but both of us hated the thought of another divorce. The only reason we didn't just move in together was that the older children were getting toward their teen years and we didn't want to set that kind of example for them."
With the aid of a family therapist, Carl and Judy talked openly and deeply about their expectations for a remarriage. They both decided up front that if they chose to remarry, it would be for a lifetime — regardless of consequences. That decision became a powerful force in the emerging remarriage, setting them up for success and satisfaction in their relationship. Without attaching any kind of religious commitment to the event, the couple pledged themselves to each other for life as their children watched and listened.
"We were serious anyway," Carl explains. "But once we had made those vows in front of the children, who were old enough to understand what they were hearing, there was no way we were ever going to end our remarriage!"
Carl and Judy approached their relationship as the last one they would ever experience. They invested in it as their "home" for life — making it as good as it could possibly be.
Did that make Carl and Judy's relationship trouble-free? Far from it. Just two years into the remarriage, both were frustrated, worn out, and tired of trying to make the relationship "click."
"No matter what we tried, we just weren't relating very well' Judy says about that difficult point. "I felt like Carl wasn't attached enough to my children, like he didn't really care deeply about them.
"He felt I wasn't doing my share of keeping house and making our family schedule work for everyone. He felt he was carrying the load all by himself. We started to fight over small things — not really yelling at each other — but complaining, criticizing, and arguing all the time?'
Carl is nodding his head as his wife speaks.
"Frankly, I thought I'd made another mistake," he admits. "Even though I'd been really careful before committing to marriage, perhaps I hadn't been careful enough. I was tired of trying all the time. I felt nothing was working."
What kept the couple together?
"Just one thing," Judy explains with a wry smile. "We had both decided this relationship was permanent. Whether it worked well or not, it was going to endure and last forever. Basically, we had agreed beforehand that, one way or another, we were both stuck with each other."
"If we hadn't done that, I probably would have walked," Carl confesses. "Not to blame anyone other than myself, but things just weren't working out." He goes on to tell the story of how he and Judy later converted to Christianity through the influence of some close friends and that, these days, God is really helping their remarriage thrive and succeed.
"But," Judy insists, "with or without God, and whether our remarriage was going well or going badly, we'd still be together either way. We looked each other in the eyes, spoke the words out loud in front of our children and our friends, and made a decision that this marriage — for better or for worse — was for always."
A Place for Relationship Investment
When a husband and wife insist their remarriage is permanent and irreversible, they have taken an important step toward longevity and fruitfulness. Knowing that each partner is committed, come what may, helps each person feel safer and more secure.
For those who have experienced the dissolution of a prior marriage, it is vitally important to reconnect with the "'til death do us part" dimension of the commitment. When both members of a remarriage understand there is no escape clause—no way out, no option other than staying together — a powerful and positive signal is received in the subconscious mind of each partner. This signal is a strong agent of behavioral change.
When your remarried spouse becomes your "partner for life" in every sense of the phrase, your marriage becomes a place where energy is invested to make the relationship the best it can possibly be. It can exhibit just as much strength, endurance, and longevity as the best of "original" marriages — just as much passion, security, and richness in the minds and hearts of both partners.
Taken from Happily Remarried by David and Lisa Frisbie, Copyright 2005 by David and Lisa Frisbie; Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene OR; Used by Permission.
Since 1982, David and Lisa Frisbie have been co-executive directors of the Center for Marriage and Family Studies in Del Mar, California. Their biblically based ministry of encouragement and training for couples and families has taken them throughout North America and to more than 20 other nations.


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City of ShelbyHome Menu
Signs & Traffic
The Parking and Traffic Division's goal is to insure the safe, convenient, and efficient movement and parking of traffic. The division installs and maintains traffic control devices, street name signs, and pavement markings in accordance with standard traffic safety practices and policies. The division also properly maintains city parking lots and public vehicular areas, and responds to citizen inquiries and concerns as needed while improving community appearance.


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We seek to enhance the performance of the health system and improve the overall health and well-being of the people we serve and their communities.
We work with health care professionals and other key partners to expand access to quality health care so people get the care they need at an affordable price.
We support the physician/patient relationship and empower people with the information, guidance and tools they need to make personal health choices and decisions.
We believe:
乐博彩票安全吗We must be an enterprise that represents the highest level of personal and institutional integrity. With integrity, people and institutions will want to work with us, and our core purpose will not be compromised.
We value integrity:
We will honor commitments. We will never compromise ethics. We will be known for living to the highest forms and standards of ethical behavior. We will make honest commitments and consistently honor those commitments.
We behave:
乐博彩票安全吗We will speak the truth. We will deliver on our promises. We will have the courage to acknowledge mistakes and do whatever is needed to address them.
We believe:
In order to achieve the full potential of our enterprise in its purpose to help people live healthier lives, we must fully understand and align with their needs and realities.
We value compassion:
乐博彩票安全吗We will walk in the shoes of people we serve and those with whom we work. We celebrate our role in serving people and society in an area so vitally human as their health. We must be truly compassionate and genuinely understand, feel and identify with their needs.
We behave:
乐博彩票安全吗We will actively listen to fully understand and genuinely empathize with people's realities. We will then respond in service and advocacy for each individual, each group or community, and for society as a whole.
We believe:
In order to achieve the full potential of our enterprise in our efforts to help people by making health care work for everyone, we understand and believe that we can never achieve that goal alone. We must positively engage the efforts and interests of everyone who is touched by and can contribute to that effort.
We value relationships:
We will build trust through collaboration in order to take action and find solutions. We understand that relationships are critical to help people work together, even when their interests are not fully aligned or fulfilled. We realize relationships bind people and organizations through trust. Trust is earned and preserved through truthfulness, integrity, active engagement and collaboration with our colleagues and clients.
We behave:
We will approach all people with respect, humility, confidence and energy. We will confront issues, not people. When we have differences, we will confront them in a direct way, not passively, to resolve the issues that drive those differences. We will actively engage with people and institutions to share information, ideas and resources in order to help others achieve their goals. We will encourage the variety of thoughts and perspectives that reflect the diversity of our markets, customers and workforce.
We believe:
Our fundamental role is to make health care work for everyone. The health care environment must be engaged in constant change, yet embody a positive dynamic – it must change progressively. In turn, we must be thoughtful advocates of such change. We must value and be proficient at adapting to change as we pursue a course of continuous, positive and practical innovation as a core competency within our enterprise.
We value innovation:
We will learn from experiences of the past and use those insights to invent a better future to make the health care environment work and serve everyone more fairly, productively and consistently.
We behave:
乐博彩票安全吗We will continue to respectfully challenge the status quo. We will encourage and invest in new ideas. We will be curious and not afraid to fail in honest efforts to focus on practical and purposeful innovation that builds value and benefits the entire health care system – so it truly works for everyone.
We believe:
The challenges of health care are great. Yet they are matched only by the opportunities. Our mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone can only be met by a demonstrated commitment to and achievement of performance excellence in everything we do.
We value performance:
We are committed to deliver and demonstrate excellence in everything we do.
We behave:
We will be accountable and responsible for consistently delivering high quality and superior results that make a difference. We will challenge ourselves to strive for even better outcomes in all key performance areas.


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There is the "intellectual Bradley," at home in a lab coat and lighting bunsen burners, expounding on the physics of reaction times for goaltenders.
There is "shot and a beer Bradley," who can regale crowds with stories of his hockey prowess and travels around the league.
There is "dramatic Bradley," who can thrill throngs of Caps fans with the timely goal on a breakaway.
There is "joyful Bradley," who can share big moments with Caps Nation as goalies flutter in despair in their crease.
There is "punishing Bradley," who is always game to get down and dirty with a hated rival.
There is "relentless Bradley," who despite having taken a few blows himself, will be only to happy to return the favor.
There is "greasy Bradley" who goes into all the dark and nasty spaces to get the job done.
There is "heart throb Bradley," who can cause a whole segment of Caps Nation -- the one colored scarlet -- to swoon.


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Montero Upholstered TV Bed Frame with 32" LED Smart TV
Product Code: MON7161135
- Upholstered TV bed frame including 32" HD ready Smart TV
- Electronic whisper-quiet TV lift mechanism with remote control (included)
- Classic buttoned design headboard finished in beautiful plush fabric
- Sprung slatted base – to provide enhanced support and comfort for your mattress
- 1 year guarantee (bed frame and TV) – extend the guarantee of your bed frame (excluding the TV) to 5 years when you purchase this bed frame together with a new mattress from Bensons for Beds. View our range of mattresses here
- 32" HD ready Smart TV
- Sleek slim bezel design
- HD ready - 1366 x 768 resolution
- Freeview HD - over 60 Freeview channels
- USB pause and record (USB drive not supplied)
- DTS TruSurround Sound
- 2 HDMI/1 USB/TV aerial connections for full connectivity
- 2 year guarantee (bed frame and TV) – extend the guarantee of your bed frame (excluding the TV) to 5 years when you purchase this bed frame together with a new mattress from Bensons for Beds. View our range of mattresses here
Catch up on all those box sets and movies from the comfy confines of your duvet with the luxurious Montero upholstered TV bed frame. Push a button on the included remote control and the whisper-quiet lift mechanism will automatically lift the 32" HD ready Smart TV into view
The cushioned headboard with it's classic buttoned design and finished in a beautiful plush grey fabric is perfect for watching TV or even lounging with a book whilst listening to one of the Freeview radio channels. One of the siderails contains a neat underbed space for your media devices or even a games console (plus you can choose which side to access it from when assemble the bed, to suit your bedroom layout). The sprung slatted base not only provides extra support and comfort but also ensures the longevity of your mattress
The 32" HD ready Smart TV is feature-packed to ensure you're never be bored in bed - Freeview HD is built-in which includes 12 HD channels, over 60 regular TV channels and 25 radio station channels. You can also record and pause live TV using a USB drive (not supplied). It includes DTS TruSurround sound for clear sound quality, a sleep timer function so your TV won't stay on all night, plus a wide range of connections to ensure all your devices can be attached - everything you'll want from your bedroom TV
The 32" smart LED TV with built-in Wi-Fi and integrated smart apps opens you up a world of online entertainment – Freeview Play for TV on demand from BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, Demand 5 and UKTV Play* all in one place; plus Netflix and YouTube all built-in* – so can watch one more episode of that boxset before bedtime.
Combining beautiful design and superb comfort with a feature-packed LED TV, the Montero upholstered TV bed frame will ensure you can relax and unwind before a great night's sleep
Order a mattress with this bed frame and receive our Free 5 year guarantee. View our range of mattresses
Want to complete the look? Why not check out our bedside tables, chest of drawers or wardrobes for a stylish new bedroom interior. You can shop our full bedroom furniture range here.
* please note, on rare occasions, the TV may be substituted for a similar make and model TV of the same value; you would be fully advised should this occur
* some smart apps or services may require subscription (not included). Freeview Play requires minimum broadband speed and aerial signal strength
* please note, a smart TV is a device that can run 3rd party apps. The 3rd party content providers may remove or discontinue apps in the smart TV or stop supporting them at any time; thus, we cannot guarantee the continual availability of smart TV apps. Availability of apps is not included within the terms of the guarantee.
Assembled Dimensions
Bed frame sizes are always described using the size of the mattress the bed frame takes; so the dimensions you'll see in the descriptions above are actually the width or length of standard UK mattress sizes. For example, a double 135cm bed frame takes a standard UK double sized mattress (135cm wide) but the frame itself can be wider. Here are the external dimensions of this bed frame:
- Headend Height - 124cm
- Length of Bed Frame - 228cm
- Siderail Height - 34cm
- Width of Bed Frame - 150cm
- Footend Height - 87cm
Mattress Size Guide
Helping you choose the correct size mattress for your new bed frame:
|Bed Size
|Feet & Inches
|Small Single
|2'6" x 6'3"
|29.5" x 75"
|75 x 190cm
|3' x 6'3"
|36" x 75"
|90 x 190cm
|Small Double
|4' x 6'3"
|48" x 75"
|120 x 190cm
|4'6" x 6'3"
|54" x 75"
|135 x 190cm
|5' x 6'6"
|60" x 78"
|150 x 200cm
|Super King
|6' x 6'6"
|71" x 78"
|180 x 200cm
- Metric and imperial sizes are not exact equivalents
- There can be a tolerance of +/-2cm (+/-0.8ins) with all quoted measurements
Need more information on bed sizes? Unsure if your new bed will fit in your bedroom? Check out our complete Bed and Mattress Size Guide
FREE DELIVERY ON ORDERS OVER £100 - all beds, mattresses and furniture items are also delivered, not just to your front door, but to any room of your choice. Don't worry, we'll take every care carrying your new bed through your home (but we also recommend that you move valuables such as vases and wall hangings out of the delivery path). You can check out our home measuring guide here for advise on how to measure your home prior to your delivery.
Please be aware that our Standard delivery times are on Monday to Friday between 7am and 6pm depending on your location within the UK. You will receive a call from our Customer Services team to arrange your perferred time slot.
For divan beds, we can also professionally assemble your bed for you. For £20, We will unpack and fully assemble your new divan bed plus assemble and fit your new headboard (if purchased and delivered with your bed). We'll also clear away all unwanted packaging and recycle it to ensure you're ready for a good night's sleep:
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your delivery you can call us FREE on 0333 222 6800 or email us on email@example.com.
Please note the following:
- Whereas every effort has been made to allow this bed frame to work with the maximum number of TVs available, it is not possible to accommodate every TV given the nature of the TV lift mechanism. Should you choose to change the TV to a model of your own, it is your responsibility to ensure the suitability of the TV for this bed frame. Bensons for Beds will not be held responsible for any damage caused to the TV, cables or bed frame due to incompatibility of equipment used
- It is also your responsibility to ensure all wiring is correctly placed as per the assembly instructions
- Please always ensure the TV is switched off prior to lowering it into the bed
- Due to the precise and compact mechanism and housing, SCART leads are not compatible with the TV and the bed frame
For complete assembly instructions, click here
We recommend that two people assemble this bed frame
If you have any difficulty, please contact our customer services department on 0333 222 6800
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Credit Calculator
Finance options are available on basket order total of £300 and over Credit is available subject to status to UK residents aged 18 or over. Bensons For Beds Retail Ltd is an appointed representative of Product Partnerships Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Product Partnerships Limited's FCA registration number is 626349 and its address is Salts Piazza Offices, Salts Mill, Victoria Road, Saltaire, BD18 3LA. Bensons For Beds Retail Ltd acts as a credit broker not a lender. We can introduce you to a limited number of lenders who may be able to offer you finance facilities for your purchase. We will only introduce you to these lenders. You may be able to obtain finance for your purchase from other lenders and you are encouraged to seek alternative quotations. If you would like to know how we handle complaints, please ask for a copy of our complaints handling process. You can also find information about referring a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) at financial-ombudsman.org.uk Bensons For Beds Retail Ltd
Purchase Price: £600
Representative APR 0%
Annual interest rate 0% fixed
Total Amount payable: £600
Interest Free Finance (10 Months)
Duration of the loan: 10 months
10 Monthly Payments of £60
Interest Free Finance (6 Months)
Duration of the loan: 6 months
6 Monthly Payments of £100
Legend Upholstered TV Media Bed Frame with 40" LED Smart TV


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I am sometimes asked non-legal questions like, "What various considerations should I be cognizant of when deciding whether to buy a car new or used?" When that happens, I respond by making a podcast which, these days, also includes a video component for those who like to watch.
I also have a new book I just finished writing. Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird: Design, Development, Production and Competition will be published early next year. Until then, we are cutting down trees, making paper, mixing ink and so on. These books are complicated!
This also partially explains why I was interviewing Richard Petty a few weeks ago, and why I took it so personally when that guy made the silly comments about the winged cars.
I mean, it's one thing to be wrong. But to be wrong on one of the things I've been working on for the last few years?
So, to bide your time until the book comes out, you can listen to, or watch, episode #37 of Lehto's Law. Wherein I discuss the pros and cons of buying new versus buying used.
The old fashioned audio podcast:
And the newfangled video podcast:
Stay tuned. I will post updates on the progress of Dodge Daytona and Plymouth Superbird (and other books). And, as always, I will listen for questions which need to be answered.
Follow me on Twitter: @stevelehto
Hear my podcast on iTunes: Lehto's Law
Steve Lehto is a writer and attorney and has been practicing law for 23 years, almost exclusively in consumer protection and Michigan lemon law. He wrote The Lemon Law Bible and Chrysler's Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit's Coolest Creation.
This website may supply general information about the law but it is for informational purposes only. This does not create an attorney-client relationship and is not meant to constitute legal advice, so the good news is we're not billing you by the hour for reading this. The bad news is that you shouldn't act upon any of the information without consulting a qualified professional attorney who will, probably, bill you by the hour.


text: Create your own motifs The DesignWorks software menu bar offers numerous tools to aid in editing motifs and creating individual effects. The clear display makes simple operation possible. A sequence manager indicates the order of the holes to be punched in the stencil. In just a few steps, your idea can turn into a beautifully sparkling motif.


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Of the 139 advisors that switched from federal to state registration in Massachusetts under the Dodd-Frank Act, only three had been examined by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the years before the law took effect, and the state has found custody infractions among the switching advisors it has examined.
So says a new report released by Massachusetts securities regulator William Galvin. The Massachusetts Securities Division so far has examined half of the Massachusetts-based advisors that switched.
The state says investment advisors' custody of clients' funds or securities has been a "common deficiency."
To this end, Galvin released a policy statement Thursday to make clear that the investment advisors who register with the Division in the wake of the Dodd-Frank Act must follow the "stricter" state rules on reporting when they have custody of client funds.
"In many instances, advisors unknowingly possessed custody of clients' trust assets due to the advisor or a related person's position as a trustee of the trust," according to the report. "Many of the advisors deemed by the Division to have custody failed to disclose that in their regulatory filing, nor have they had a surprise independent audit as required by state rules."
"With the recent Madoff scandal we have all seen the risks that can occur when an adviser abuses custody authority," said Galvin, in a statement.
The policy statement sets out the Division's custody requirements and specifically states that the Division does not follow the SEC exemption from custody for appointments of supervised persons of an advisor as executors, conservators or trustees that arise as a result of family or personal relationship with the decedent, beneficiary or grantor.
Advisors directly deducting advisory fees from client accounts are deemed to have custody unless they comply with certain additional requirements, the policy statement says.
The policy statement says that state-registered investment advisors "must comply with the custody rules as spelled out in the federal Investment Advisers Act of 1940, specifically Rule 206(4)-2 which requires, among other things, an annual surprise audit of advisors by an independent public accountant."
While this will mean additional costs to registered investment advisors, the "cost is outweighed by the additional protections these measures afford to investors," the Division said.
Check out SEC: Don't Use 'Protected' or 'Guaranteed' in Fund Names on ThinkAdvisor.


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Home >> Course Descriptions >> A.R. Sanchez, Jr. School of Business
Information Systems Analysis
Three semester hours.
The objective of this course is to introduce students to the processes, principles, guidelines, tools and techniques for systems analysis. Students will learn how to determine organizational needs, to understand and document business and information processes, and to find and organize the information that must be collected and stored by the organization. The course presents various modeling techniques used for this purpose, in particular, methods for modeling the way the organization operates, its business processes, the data used in business processes, and the information systems processing operations. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to analyze and document the business functions and information processes activities of the firm using the appropriate tools necessary to effectively communicate systemic needs to all stakeholders. Prerequisite: MIS 2350 and MIS 3310 or concurrent enrollment in MIS 3310.
Home - General Information - Student Services -
Academic Undergraduate Regulations -
Undergraduate Degrees - Academic Graduate Regulations -
Graduate Degrees - Course Descriptions - Faculty -
Appendix A - Appendix B - Appendix C - Appendix D


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My ISP has been acting up for several days now. It finally went down completely last night, unfortunately i was several hours into some tourneys but not yet in the money. All moneys and effort down the drain. So i gave them a call this morning and they have an automated message saying they're doing some maintenance and will be back up asap.
It would've been great if they could've emailed me before hand, but w/e, maybe it was unexpected. I was able to get back on around 11am. All seemed well, so i signed up for 3 $10 KOs and a $10+r+r at noon... u guessed it, 1.5hrs later internet goes down again... jloi;kpoihpoifhg;agga'kag;gasiwoiwiwl;''g... I'm writing this from work and i assume my internet is still down. At any rate i will not play again until its been up for at least 24hrs.
I'm playing in FTOPS event #24 this weekend so i'm trying to prepare for that because honestly i'm not in top form. But i'm working on my game, reviewing hhs and watching pxf videos. I recently listened to the 2+2 podcast that featured Jared Tendler, a stoxpoker mental coach and i was very excited about some of things he spoke about because it was what i had been getting at for along time... mental strenght training & mental toughness. I will post more on this in the future.


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In March you'll be able to wear key items that the pop and r'n'b superstar has handpicked.
The Weeknd – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – is only 26 years old but already one of the world's most celebrated artists and performers. To date, the Toronto native has released three major-label albums, won two Grammy Awards, been nominated for an Academy Award – and is on Spotify's list of most-ever streamed artists.
The artist has a lot going on this autumn: running record and clothing label XO and – of course – releasing his hotly-anticipated fourth album Starboy.
On top of all this it has finally been announced that he will be the face of H&M's upcoming menswear collection Spring Icons Selected by The Weeknd, scheduled to arrive in stores worldwide on 2 March.
All details on the collection will stay undisclosed for a bit longer, and the only thing H&M can reveal at this point is that the line will feature key items for spring that The Weeknd has handpicked.


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Snapheal for the Mac was released on the Mac App Store earlier this morning. Brought to you by MacPhun, makers of the excellent iOS photo editing app FX Photo Studio (TMA Review), Snapheal lets you perform object removals and other complex touch ups without any prior knowledge of photoshop. It's a matter of choosing areas you want to remove/touch up, hitting a button, and Snapheal's algorithm does the rest. Here's what it do:
- Remove unwanted objects from the image
- Make skin imperfections vanish
- Erase unwanted text (watermarks, etc)
- Dramatically enhance photos with clone & stamp tool
- Lighten dark areas
- Sharpen images
- Add blur
- Import pictures from Aperture and iPhoto
- Adjust saturation, gamma, light levels, shadows and much more
Judging from the demo video, Snapheal does work "magic" and it truly makes removing objects from photos a painless process. Best of all, you won't have to spend a whole lot for this promising photo app. Normally at $19.99, Snapheal is now on sale for only $9.99. Check out the videos and full app description after the break.
 MacPhun, Snapheal – $9.99


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WELLESLEY — Babson College is on the defensive over its selection of former lieutenant governor Kerry Healey as its next president, after students, faculty, staff, and some alumni raised objections to her qualifications and the process that led to the pick.
The chairman of Babson's board of trustees held two meetings Friday — one with students, the other with faculty and staff — and delivered a five-page rebuttal to questions over the choice. Healey said that she has met with hundreds of Babson community members, including students, faculty, staff, and trustees, to answer questions and gain their trust.
"I haven't been able to touch everyone yet," she said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "There are still outstanding questions I need to answer. I plan to answer every question and sit down with every constituency."
Healey, 52, was named Babson's next president late last month, a position that would make her the first woman to lead the college. The former Republican officeholder is to succeed Leonard Schlesinger, who announced in December that he would step down from the private, business-oriented school, which has some 2,000 undergraduates and 1,300 graduate students. Healey is to assume the duties July 1.
A search committee had considered more than 170 candidates for the opening.
But on campus and online, some students and faculty have complained that the process was hasty and incomplete, and they question whether Healey has the experience in higher education and entrepreneurial issues to lead Babson.
Babson student Soham Khaitan, 18, said he is skeptical of the selection because of Healey's political background. "I don't know if she knows Babson," he said in an interview.
Jackson Courey, a student from San Diego, also expressed concern, citing Healey's lack of business experience.
"The difference is between a businessman and a politician," he said, adding that "moving to more of a political mind-set, in a place that is already so political, is dangerous."
Babson student Chelsea Haraty, 20, of Palmer said she does not want to offend Healey, but she is concerned that the school chose a former politician as its leader. Haraty said students have expressed discontent with her stance on issues while in office, such as her opposition to gay marriage.
"It will be interesting to see how things change with someone who is a woman and a public figure," said Haraty. "I'm open to change, but I think there is going to be some controversy."
In a question-and-answer document, members of the Faculty Senate wrote that "college morale — faculty, staff, students, alums — is deeply affected, with the high potential for long-term damage. How can we address this?"
Separately, a petition on Change.org calling on the Babson board of trustees to "take action in regard to the community's opinions" has generated more than 150 signatures.
"During the selection process, we anticipated that the administration would seek out an appropriate candidate to embody Babson's inherent values of 'integrity, honesty, respect, trust, fairness, and ownership,' " the petition says. "While we value and respect the administration's efforts in the presidential search, the results make us question whether these values were the sole focus of the process. We question whether our input as a community was heard."
Danté Love, a Babson alumnus who graduated in 2008, criticized the administration for rushing the selection process. Babson should reopen the search and take community suggestions seriously, he said.
The college's trustees "made a highly questionable decision, and they are unwilling to reconsider alternatives," said Love, who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Michael Chmura, a spokesman for the college, said in an e-mailed statement that the chairman of Babson's board of trustees, Joseph L. Winn, met with faculty and staff last week to discuss the transition and fielded questions from students in a separate meeting that lasted for about two hours.
"We expect the conversation will continue and evolve among faculty, staff, students, and alumni, all who care deeply about Babson," Chmura said. "We are confident the community will move forward to make this a successful transition."
In a written response to questions about the selection, trustees said they are committed to helping the college community understand how the process was conducted, and why "we believe Dr. Healey is the right president for Babson at this pivotal time."
The statement went on to say "it is clear that there are members of our community who want to know more about how this decision was reached, and/or don't agree with the choice we made.
"There also are large numbers of faculty, students, staff, and alumni who have reached out to express their support and their commitment to work with the president-elect to move Babson forward."
Chmura said that providing formal responses to questions raised by the Faculty Senate is a common practice at Babson.
Healey served as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007 and was a member of the Republican National Committee. A Harvard graduate, she holds a doctorate from Trinity College in Dublin.
Universities and colleges often select former political figures to lead their institutions, such as former US representative Martin Meehan, who is chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Healey said she is no longer involved in partisan politics. She resigned from the Republican National Committee and has stopped advocating for candidates. She said she is unsure whether she would run for public office again. "I can't even think more than six years ahead," Healey said.
She said Tuesday that she has been an entrepreneurial leader in the political and nonprofit sectors. "Babson embraces all kinds of entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship and people who are entrepreneurs in their approach to government, as well as those who work in the private sector," she said.
After the announcement, Healey told the Globe that she hopes to transform Babson into a global institution.
Dean Dennis Hanno, a popular figure on Babson's campus, said he is confident that Healey will bring a new energy and network to the college.
"Len Schlesinger has had much of an impact," he said. "And I think people are or were generally concerned about losing that moment, and I'm not."
Matt Muller, 22, Babson's student body president, said he is pleased with the board's choice, and how the administration has responded to student concerns.
"On a personal level I'm pretty excited that Dr. Healey is on board," he said. "Len is a very difficult person to follow up, in terms of his decisions and strategies for the school.'' Muller said Healey will do well: "Having had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Healey at length, she gets what Babson is about."
Katherine Landergan can be reached at klandergan@ globe.com.


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by Lynn Hoffman
In the course of my long love affair with wine, I've met only one real wine snob. Let's call him Walter Wealthy. The second or third sentence in any conversation with him was sure to include his mention that he only drank Bordeaux first or second growths with an occasional Grand Cru Burgundy thrown in for chuckles. It didn't matter much if the conversation started with the weather, the Phillies or the mutagenic possibilities of the Hostess Twinkie. Walter was sure to remind you of what he drank and — more emphatically — what he didn't.
But Walter was a rarity. All the other wine-lovers I know have an affection for homely wines that is in proportion to their awe of the most beautiful ones. If you ask most winos for stories of wines they've loved, there will be as many tales of gallon bottles on sunny college afternoons as there are stories of Brunello at the Piazza Del Campo in Siena. Wine lovers may define their place in the world of wine as much by what they hate as by what they love, but those lists tend to be idiosyncratic.
My love affair with beer is shorter, a mere 25 years or so. In the course of it, I have met dozens of beer snobs. These are, by and large, nice people. They simply want you to know early in any discussion of beer that there's a level of the beer world where you just won't find them. The drink called beer that's at the bottom of the scale is an object of contempt. Industrial beer, "Millbudcoor" as it's sometimes called, is the subject of a kind of contempt that that's almost moral in its ferocity.
So, to borrow a trope from standup comics, what's up with that? How is it that the aristocratic wine world is so tolerant and the ostensibly easy-going world of beer has a caste system?
Part of the answer lies in the beer itself. Bad beer is a kind of fraud; it's made from sub-standard ingredients, and its only ambition is to get some alcohol into your system. Another part lies in the resentment of anybody who's been suckered once. If you used to fall for the commercials (and fell over at the keg parties), it's a little embarrassing to find out that there's something real (actually good beer) where you were only getting the bogus.
But maybe the impulse at the center of beer snobbery is just the wish to be a part of something (anything) authentic. You may not be able to grow much of anything, and you may never know the farmer who raises the veal that turns into your schnitzel. The best of locally, organically-grown food and fiber may be out of your reach. But you can — for very little money and for not much effort — taste some of the best beer in the world and then shake the hand of the person who made it.
Wanna be a beer snob? Do you have what it takes? If you live in Northwest Philly, it's pretty easy to get started. You can begin at Earth Bread + Brewery, 7136 Germantown Ave. in Mt. Airy. It's a brewpub, which means it's a small brewery that sells all of its beer at its own bar. You'll find five or six beers brewed in-house and another half-dozen from local breweries. The selection is constantly changing, and there's a good pizza and salad menu and a family-friendly atmosphere. None of the beers tastes like anything you had in college. You'll find riffs on English Bitters, Belgian Strong Ale, Dark Mild and others. All the beer is exquisitely fresh so you don't have to worry about 'born-on' dates.
Lynn Hoffman, a Mt. Airy resident, is the author of "A Short Course in Beer," available at Smashwords.com, and the blog "Radiationdays.com."


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Copyright by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG
May not copy without written consent
Did your ancestor suddenly acquire land and you can not find how or when he obtained it? Perhaps the land was acquired under special circumstances, such as an act of the General Assembly as shown in the cases of William Dunning and Elizabeth Nall. This information comes from Chapter CCCCXXVI, An Act for the benefit of William Dunning and Elizabeth Nall, approved February 9, 1819, and was accesssed on Google Books.
"Whereas it is represented to the present general assembly of the commonwealth of Kentucky, that William Dunning, of Caldwell county, has, in consequence of affliction for a considerable time past, been deprived of his right hand, and is consequently unable to labor for the support of his wife and a number of little children. Therefore,
"Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, That the register of the land-office be, and he is hereby authorised and required to issue to said William a land warrant for 200 acres of land, without the state price being paid, which sd. Dunning may have entered and surveyed on any waste and unappropriated land in this commonwealth - the plat and certificate of survey for which shall be received by the register, without fee, and the grant shall be issued as in other cases; which land shall only be cultivated and kept for the use of sd. Dunning and his children, during his life, and shall at his death descend to sd. children: Provided, sd. warrant be entered and surveyed on land in Caldwell county, and shall not interfere with any prior claim, nor be entered on any land lately purchased of the Indians, west and south of the Tennessee river.
"Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the register of the land office be, and he is hereby authorised and required to issue a land warrant to Elizabeth Nall, of Hopkins county, without the state price being paid, for 100 acres, which shall be entered on the land she lives on in sd. county, to include the improvements on same; which, when surveyed and returned to the register, he shall issue a grant therefor as in other cases; Provided, sd. survey shall not interfere with any prior claim or claims."


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A couple of fun things going on in my life right now. Wednesday I will be sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court as a Licensed Legal Intern. I am pretty pumped about that. That same day I am picking up a vehicle to drive to the J. Reuben Clark National Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. We will be there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Sunday morning we will leave to drive back here to Oklahoma City and be ready for classes on Monday. Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels! Now I just have to figure out how I am going to work out Valentines Day, without me here until late at night.
School continues along and I think this definitely has to be my most boring semester. Administration, Agency, Corporation, and Constitutional Law are all very dry. Some of the professors don't help the situation a whole lot either. Administration Law holds some interest for me, probably because I am most familiar with it of all the classes. But hands down, my favorite class of law school is Debtor and Creditor Law, aka Consumer Bankruptcy. While the material is interesting, the professor just makes it come alive. He is there to help us become lawyers and it is manifest. Other professors pontificate, alienate, and other motives which make it less than the best learning atmosphere. Professor Vaughn comes speaking to us of personal experience and walks us through the adventure of consumer law. Oh that all professors were just as good. After one of the classes, I told him how much I appreciated his style. He remarked that he initially thought about how smart he could look, and how he was going to make us all grovel at his knowledge. He then realized that benefits nobody and the best approach is to make the material come alive and to make it interesting. Boy am I glad he does. We have some good laughs too. Our Con Law professor enjoys himself too, but he does all the talking and it turns into a long class period.
Some exciting news on the home. We had some friends who replaced some appliances. We jumped at the opportunity to replace our dishwasher with a much newer version. It is now in place and the old one is listed on Craig's List, ready to go out to the highest bidder.
We have a squirrel living in the attic in which he marks his territory and we live with the intoxicating smell of a dehydrated squirrel. I loaned a book in exchange for a squirrel trap, so here is for hoping (s)he falls for peanut butter crackers. I cannot wait to get rid of him. I patched the hole he made several weeks ago. I am surprised he lived this long. Unfortunately, we have a roof leak which probably replentished him with moisture. At least he didn't die between our new ceilings and the old lathe and plaster ones. Come summer time we would be enduring something far worse than the once a week or so urine smell. I would have to rip up some of those old ceilings to find him, and in cramped spaces, I can see me vomiting over the rotting corpse of a squirrel while we are both covered in insulation, dust, and plaster.
A couple of thoughts from the Old Testament reading before I stop tonight. I hear from time to time that the only sacrifices to the Lord were blood sacrifices. Those individuals need to read the Old Testament a little closer. There are flour, bread, fruits, and all sorts of other things that were part of the law of sacrifices. "Then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest; and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord…the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the Lord for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine…two wave loaves" and more! Leviticus 23:10, 13, 17.
The thing that has fascinated me about Leviticus has always been Chapter 25. The implications of this chapter in the modern world have always made me think. What if we did this now? It relates particularly to the Sabbath. Today we celebrate and honor the Sabbath Day. Why don't we celebrate the Sabbath Year? Why don't we hold Jubilee? It would completely revolutionize our economic system and all the ways we look at our society. I mean, if we keep the Sabbath Day now, it would revolutionize our country.
"Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land. And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee, and for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall the increase thereof be meat." Leviticus 25:4-8.
What if we took the entire 7th year off and dedicated it unto the Lord? Serve missions? Focus only on our families? Travel a little? The possibilities are endless. Does that mean the whole country would have to take the same year off? I don't know what the ancient practice was, nor do I know if we could all take it off at the same time. A GDP of 0 for a year? Geez could we complain? Sunday is a day off, and the 7th entire year. Much better deal than any of us get now. Go to school for a year, is that upholding the Sabbath?
Ah, and then the Jubile! "And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you: and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Leviticus 25:10.
So the thought comes, how in the world shall I ever make it through that year? How in the world can I afford to do what is being asked for me. To save up, prepare, and to endure that 7th year. Well, the Lord has an answer for us. "Then I will command my blessings upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years." Leviticus 25:21. How is that for a blessing. Not only will we have enough for that one year, but we will have enough for 3 years. Talk about a great return. Some of that would have to go to restarting that new year, but wow, there will still be plenty left over.
Anyhow, I won't go on anymore, but there is an economic system in Leviticus 25! What if we were to live it today? How fundamentally different would we be. Forgiving everyone's debts every 7 years would be beautiful. No more house payment. No usury. It even talks about the suburbs in Leviticus 25:34!
There are many great things in the Old Testament. Unfortunately we are all too smart and intelligent to consider giving another chance to the Spirit of the old ways. We are more knowledgeable today, things are different. So far, I doubt that, especially when I see our pride in knowing things are certainly different for us now when we seem to keep falling to the same old sins.


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In Andrew Cuomo's New York, taxes are falling or disappearing entirely, burdensome regulations are in retreat, and government incentives are luring out-of-state firms and fueling homegrown startups.
Many companies, however, know another New York-one where high taxes and other costs combine with a tangle of regulations to create one of the nation's most inhospitable business environments.
Both New Yorks exist. But unless your firm is one of relatively few favored businesses, it's hard to see the state Mr. Cuomo describes.
The governor's new Tax-Free NY is a perfect example of his "some are more equal than others" approach to economic development. It will create "tax-free communities" at SUNY campuses, some private universities, 20 "strategically located" state-owned properties and some properties adjoining the state schools.
This program, his office says, "will entice companies to invest in Upstate New York by offering new businesses the opportunity to operate completely tax-free-including no income tax for employees, no sales, property or business tax-for a decade, while also partnering with the world-class public and private higher education institutions."
These incentives are designed with certain types of businesses in mind: out-of-state firms willing to relocate, startups and "companies with a relationship to the academic mission of the university." Left unsaid is that most existing N.Y. businesses would not be eligible.
High taxes and excessive regulation are an enormous impediment to economic growth in New York. Those were the biggest factors cited recently by the American Legislative Exchange Council and Chief Executive magazine when, separately, they called New York the second-worst state in the nation in economic outlook and business climate.
So if the remedy is to cut taxes and strip away unnecessary rules, why not do it for all businesses?
The answer, one must conclude, is that Mr. Cuomo and many Albany lawmakers think they know best. New York would be better served if they had more faith in the idea of a state friendly to all businesses-where success was determined by the ability to compete, not tax breaks or other government incentives.
5/31/13 (c) 2013 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Stylish, and gets the basics right
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'most robust BlackBerry smartphone'
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Ultratough and packed with plenty of features
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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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Thanks puddin!OK so, 24 hour lockdown - must be setting up for an endurance HOH! That pretty much takes Dick out of the running I would think, he's complaining about his ribs hurting. Kail won the last physical HOH.I have a question, obviously the HOH will over run the live show tomorrow, so can we see the rest of the competition on the feeds or no?
mama, what is ***** haha, that's what came up when you told me where the thing came from! < - i love how the code for that icon is dick LOL
so we DO get to see it?!that would be amazing =DI hope it's a really long endurance challenge if it is one, and I hope Jen wins, she could do it...I even would love it if Kail to win. It's funny how fast my opinions changed.
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