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Emmanuel M. von Arx | KF 16+17 | Mexico
Kiva is all about stories. What draws us all in and inspires us to lend are the stories of courageous micro-entrepreneurs that speak of hard-ship and success, challenges and dreams, love and dedication. Single mothers who request a loan to provide for their children; fathers who are able to finance their kids' education with a business that was started originally with a Kiva loan; and youths who are the first to study in their family, thanks to the generosity of Kiva lenders (such as in the loans of Kiva´s Field Partner Strathmore University in Kenya whose students write their own Kiva profiles).
- But Kiva is not just about borrowers and their stories. It is also about the people behind the scene on the ground – the staff of the close to 150 field partners of Kiva – who screen loan applicants, grant, administrate, and look after Kiva loans, and make sure that Kiva borrowers are treated respectfully and fairly. Their stories are almost never told. Yet, the local staff of Kiva´s Field Partners are those people who make the magic happen – they are the ones who make Kiva possible. If Kiva Fellows are called the "eyes and ears in the field", I propose local MFI staff be called "the heart of Kiva," making sure that the fresh blood continues to flow and keeps the body alive and healthy. Local loan officers are the ones who decide whether to accept or reject a loan applicant; they are the ones who interview them to turn their stories into a borrower's Kiva profile; and they are the ones who provide advice and support to Kiva entrepreneurs throughout their loan period. MFI staff has insights into the conditions on the ground, the local mentalities, and the practical aspects of microfinance that can rival (and – I have no doubt – normally exceed) those of Kiva staff and Fellows. Yet, their perspective is seldom heard and they are almost never offered the opportunity to tell their stories in their own voice.
Just how much local field partner staff have to tell and share with the world I learned during the brief three week period during which I had the pleasure to be the Kiva Fellow for Vision Fund Mexico (also known as FRAC or Fundación Realidad) in Mexico City. FRAC's official Partner Page on Kiva provides all imaginable numbers and the statistical background. Here is the gist: FRAC has a risk partner rating of 3.5 stars out of 5; it has managed Kiva loans for over 9,000 entrepreneurs to whom almost 3 million dollars have been transferred since 2009; its delinquency rate is a low 3.38%; and 86.13% of its loans go to female micro-entrepreneurs.
Yet, what these statistics don't mention is the dedication and love that FRAC's young and idealistic staff brings to their work day after day. FRAC, has over 200 employees – they encompass 200 breathtaking stories and lives from all over Mexico, coming together in FRAC's vision of wanting to provide financial and non-financial services to those families who do not have access to formal banking services in order to improve their quality of life.
During my work at FRAC's Mexico City Headquarter, the organization´s staff turned out to be an endless source of inspiration for me. There was not one person I talked to whose story and motives wouldn't be worth sharing. Within a few brief hours I felt not just surrounded by close friends, but soul-mates – I discovered that everybody around me was at least as passionate and enthusiastic about FRAC's and Kiva's work and the impact of micro-finance as I am.
As soon as I told FRAC's staff about the Kiva Fellows Blog, I was bombarded with requests of staff members to publish their thoughts and their experiences in their own words. Many have a particular pet project they feel most passionate about; others have made an experience at work they are keen to share. Thus grew the idea of creating a little guest blog within the Kiva Fellow Blog. I offered to all staff to publish their thoughts and words on the Fellows' blog as a way to make readers aware that Kiva doesn't just connect lenders with borrowers, but that it connects lenders with local staff with borrowers with friends with staff with borrowers with lenders with… stop! Let's just say: Kiva connects people through lending!
Rosa Gonzalez is the first staff member of FRAC who agreed to share her experience. She was hired by FRAC as their English-Spanish translator a few days after I joined the organization as a Kiva Fellow. Rosa translates both borrower profiles and journals for FRAC borrowers before they are being published or sent to lenders. But let me introduce Rosa in her own words – you will immediately see that they are pure poetry:
"Almost 25 years ago my journey in this life began… I remember my father taking me to English classes when I was young. I remember me doing every possible thing not to go. I did not know that the path was probably already traced.
"I decided to study Communication because that seemed like the only Bachelor that would not keep me in the same spot for too long, but also because I was seeking a way to express myself. What I did not know back then was that my mind would remain restless forever. Eventually, I realized languages were like a gate. I could not travel in time (sometimes not even to other places), but through languages I can absorb at least a hint of other cultures.
"I am a romantic person. Though I know that nothing can be perfect, I love feeling I am doing something to keep this world in balance. That is why I am pleased to work at an organization that makes the difference.
"What do you do for a living? – asked a kindergarten classmate I bumped into last week-end. I gave it a thought: languages and words are my passion, but the feeling they bring, that is exactly what matters the most. I also love small pieces of this world leaving an imprint on me, feelings, moments, people that leave me astonished. I AM DEDICATED TO DIG INTO LIFE WITH ALL MY SENSES."
So much for Rosa Gonzalez's gorgeous introduction of herself. A few days after joining Vision Fund Mexico as their translator and receiving a basic training on Kiva processes and the internal politics of FRAC, Rosa was given the opportunity to venture out into the field. She met with local staff – loan officers, Kiva story investigators (who are known at FRAC as "historiadores"), and branch directors – and clients in two outposts of FRAC. Upon her return from the field, Rosa wrote the following guest blog in which she shares her feelings and thoughts in the course of her visit of San Felipe del Progreso, a city near Toluca, two hours north-west of Mexico City. Her passion and the depth of her feelings speak of each of her words:
"Within beauty:
"I have been in several cities in the world, I remember how amazed I was the very first time I left my country, I remember the last time I longed to come back to my Mexico.
"I also remember traveling to touristic cities in here, but last week I took a different trip to a place that I had never heard of: San Felipe del Progreso in the State of Mexico, or "San Fe" as its people say.
"I had no other expectation but to have a nice time, to have another great experience, and I did. As I usually say, experiences are what make our vision go wider, which is what makes us truly wise and more human.
"If you get the picture, I am only getting started. What made an incredible impact on me were the people, people in distant communities who usually only come to town for special reasons. Houses in communities are not big, you can easily see the lack of economic resources, but people living in them just give themselves fully to any visitor.
"I know there is a lot I need to learn from other people, I DO want to keep on learning. Though we will never live in a perfect world, some of us will continue trying to keep the balance. This time, I am the one who wants to thank Kiva and Vision Fund (FRAC) for giving me the opportunity of getting to know the deepest beauty in our world."
This series of guest blogs of FRAC staff members is to be continued – there are at least 199 more stories to share and voices to be heard. While waiting for the next segment, feel free to check out FRAC's borrower stories and make a loan to FRAC´s amazing micro-entrepreneurs.
Emmanuel M. von Arx is a Kiva Fellow working with VisionFund Mexico (FRAC) in Mexico City. FRAC provides innovative financial and non-financial services to families and groups that do not have access to formal banking services in rural and semi-urban regions and communities in 12 Mexican States. To learn more, please visit FRAC's partner page on Kiva or join the Friends of Fundacion Realidad. This fellowship is Emmanuel's chance to live out to the fullest his unhealthy obsession with tamales.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Microfluidic Valve
Submitted by Richard Smith on September 18, 2007 - 09:20
This image shows an idealized microfluidic valve with a lower (blue) fluid flow channel separated by a silicone rubber membrane from an upper (red) valve channel. When the upper valve channel is pressurized the membrane deflects into the lower channel and blocks the fluid flow.
The image was rendered in POV-Ray and created in Caedium using our Professional add-on.
Use freely in accordance with its license.


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Here are some of the websites, and blogs that I have come across the week ending Sept 18, 2011
Familyhistoryfun http://familyhistoryfun.webs.com A list of online resources for Wentworth County, Ontario Canada.
My genealogy pages http://www.fayewest.ca A new site by Faye West where she is tracing some of her lines that include Doyle, Hamilton, Dunn and Jordan from Ireland, and some Loyalist and Patriots families such as the Striker, Graves, and Clapp families.
What's happening on fayewest.ca http://www.fayewest.ca Faye has posted a new blog to further explain her research on the blog mentioed above.
Métis Nation History http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Metis/index.html The surnames of LAURIER, OTTER, STRANGE, DUMONT, MACDONALD, BIG BEAR, MIDDLETON are covered in this website.
New Finland District, Saskatchewan, Canada http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/Finnish Finnish history, phone book, cemetery, church, local history and family biographies are on this website.
WW1 CANADIAN WAR GRAVES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM http://www.canadianukgravesww1.co.uk A website that is profiling the soldiers and photographing graves of all the 3885 WW1 Canadians who served in Canadian regiments in Britain.
Généalogie MOMY Genealogy http://www.momy-genealogie.info The site also includes the genealogy of our BOILEAU, LAFONTAINE, MÉTHOT and MARCOUX ancestors.
Quebec Family History Services http://expertgenealogy.com/?x=fvickerson A bilingual (French/English) service to find ancestors in the province of Quebec. $
Our Family History: Bretz-Halliday-George-Neilson http://www.bretz.ca/GenWeb Bretz, Halliday, George and Neilson surnames in Canada.
DAI - Recent Uploads, Memorial University, Newfoundland and Labrador http://collections.mun.ca/cdm4/whatsnew.php They put on uploads nearly every day, and there are daily and community newspapers online at http://www.library.mun.ca/qeii/cns/newspapers.php.


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DC MOTOR 2 click carries the TB6593FNG driver IC for direct-current motors. With two pairs of screw terminals (power supply and outputs), the click board can drive motors with voltages from 2.5V to 13V (output current of up to 1.2A with peaks up to 3.2A).
Your host microcontroller's PWM signal drives the motor while the IN1 and IN2 pins provide binary direction signals that set the direction of the motor (clockwise or counter clockwise), or apply stop or short-brake functions. Stop mode cuts off the power supply so the motor continues spinning until it runs out of momentum. Short break brings it to an abrupt stop.
This board can be used on systems providing either 3.3V or 5V power. This is selected by the position of a solder jumper (in 3.3V position by default).
Note: The picture shows the board with through-hole headers. The board now comes populated with male pin headers already soldered for your convenience. The board's user manual has yet to be updated to remove the soldering instructions.
You also can connect Click boards to many other popular platforms via these adapters:
In addition, it is royalty-free to add mikroBUS to your own designs. Visit the mikroBUS Category to see the full line of Click boards.


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Adventure Time #5
Don't miss the beginning of the new arc of this totally rhombus series! The totally sick gang of Finn, Jake, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, and the Ice King are back in this new arc of the incredibly popular all-ages series! With the first issue going to a 3rd printing, you won't want to miss this ultra-awesome issue that kicks off a brand-new storyline! Featuring a back-up story by Paul Pope, and incentive covers by James Kochalka and Gabe of Penny Arcade!
Cover Illustrators


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Is your diet helping or hurting your hair?
What you eat affects your physical state in every sense, and your hair is no exception. According to Ladies' Home Journal, you need a mixture of protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to promote good scalp and hair health.
Here are six foods to help you get shiny, healthy hair:
Poultry & Beef
Since proteins are the building blocks of your hair, getting enough high-quality protein is essential to avoid weak, brittle hair. Chicken and turkey are excellent healthy options and if you don't have high cholesterol, eating red meat twice a week can promote optimal hair health with B vitamins, iron and zinc.
Whole Grains
Another great source of zinc, iron and B vitamins are complex carbohydrates that feed you energy over a longer period of time… and your scalp does need energy! Whole wheat bread, fortified whole grain cereals and brown, short grain rice are great options.
Fatty fish like salmon are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B-12 and iron, making it one of the best foods for beauty benefits! According to the American Dietetic Association, these vitamins and minerals are essential to support scalp health. Not a fan of fish? You could try one or two tablespoons of ground flaxseed!
Dark Green Vegetables
We all know that vegetables are good for us. And they're good for our hair too! Greens like broccoli, spinach and Swiss chard not only provide you with vitamins A and C, iron and calcium, but they produce sebum, an oily substance secreted by your hair follicles – basically, the body's natural hair conditioner! Adventurous? Try seaweed or a kelp supplement for your dose of iodine, iron, calcium, magnesium, niacin, zinc, sodium and potassium.
Forget that old rhyme about beans and focus on the health benefits! Legumes like kidney beans and lentils provide protein, iron, zinc and biotin to promote hair growth.
For a great source of zinc (a deficiency of which can lead to shedding) try cashews, pecans, almonds and walnuts. The latter also includes alpha-linolenic, an omega-3 fatty acid, that can help to condition your hair! And did you know that brazil nuts are one of the best sources of selenium, an important mineral for the health of your scalp? Include some of these in yoghurt or cottage cheese at breakfast or lunch!
The key to good hair health is the same as overall body health – balance. If you consume too much of a vitamin or mineral, you may create problems with hair growth, so make sure you have a balanced diet of lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, omega-3 fatty acids and low-fat dairy to keep your hair looking its best.
And beware of crash diets with super low-calorie counts and a stressful lifestyle. If you lose a lot of weight quickly or have continued high stress, you may affect the hair cycle and increase shedding. Diets and stress are bad enough without hair loss!
Many salon brands are also aware of the benefits of these foods and include natural ingredients to heal hair from the outside in. Ask your stylists which products include the right natural ingredients for your type of hair in addition to a balanced diet to give it that extra boost.
So now you know what it takes to keep your hair naturally gorgeous. Now only if we didn't continuously blow dry, curl and flat iron it. Hmm… I guess that's what treatments are for!


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Board of Regents approves authorization for issuance of revenue bonds
Approval allows for development of Frear Hall and other student housing projectsUniversity of Hawaiʻi
AVP External Affairs and University Relations
Mia Noguchi, (808)956-9095
PR Director
KAHULUI, Hawaiʻi — At its meeting at Maui Community College, the University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents (BOR) approved a supplemental resolution authorizing the issuance of revenue bonds for university projects in an amount not to exceed $100 million. The revenue bonds are the main funding mechanism for the $71-million Frear Hall project with $46 million of the total cost from the bonds and $25 million from general obligation bonds from the State.
The remainder of the $100 million will be for renovation and repair of housing at Mānoa and UH Hilo, and the expansion of food service facilities supporting housing units for students and faculty.
Frear Hall is the first new student residence facility to be built on the Mānoa campus since 1978. A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for November 2006 with construction scheduled for completion by the contractor, American Campus Communities, in time for student occupation in Fall 2008.
In other action, the BOR approved the Maui Community College Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). The action updates the LRDP to align its physical plant development with the institution's current strategic and programmatic direction and student population growth.
Originally developed in 1990, the Maui CC LRDP has allowed for construction and renovation of facilities adding 200,000 sq. ft. of space to address the critical need for general education classrooms, laboratories, and office space. It has also provided for growth in specific program areas such as culinary, agriculture, high technology, distance education and continuing education and training.
The LRDP update pursues changing the zoning of the college campus to a "Special Project District" that allows the college to construct facilities of a height up to four stories. In addition, the update will enhance efforts to expand student housing on campus and integrate student residence halls within the college campus space to better support student activities.
The Board also approved an amendment to increase UH Mānoa's Campus Center Operations Fee as proposed by the Campus Center Board (CCB) that would result in reasonable increments of up to $26 per semester over the next five years to provide funding for renovation and expansion of Campus Center. The amended fee would be renamed the Campus Center Operations and Recreation Fee.
CCB is a chartered student organization which governs the student union. It is comprised of 17 members, including 14 students and three non-students represented by faculty, staff and alumni. Twenty of its members and leaders of the Associated Students of the University of Hawaiʻi (ASUH) appeared before the Regents to testify in strong favor of the fee increase.
The Campus Center facility currently serves as the home to a variety of student life programs on the UH Mānoa campus, including leadership education, new student orientation programs, registered clubs and leisure recreation programs.
Funds generated by the proposed fee increase will allow students to benefit from renovation and refurbishment of meeting rooms and restrooms, public access and service areas, and modernization of lighting fixtures and flooring. In addition, proposed new construction would create an additional 64,000 sq. ft. for more informal gathering spaces, meeting rooms, offices and recreational facilities to foster healthier lifestyles and physical fitness.
BOR approvals were also given to establish a PharmD Program for the College of Pharmacy at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, and to transfer Building 36, a former Navy barracks at Kalaeloa Airport, back to the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE). The action will allow for eventual transfer to the State of Hawaiʻi for use as a homeless shelter by the USDOE and the U.S. Navy.


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A dozen state senators urged New York's education commissioner on Thursday to delay the further rollout of the new Common Core learning standards, citing frustration and complaints by parents, teachers and administrators. They also threatened to force changes by law if there's no relief.
At the Senate Education Committee hearing, Commissioner John King Jr. said some complaints are conflating the curriculum itself adopted by 45 states with other issues including testing, teacher evaluations and data collection security.
"The rollout was bad and children are being hurt," said Sen. Ken LaValle, describing the upshot of the complaints. The Suffolk County Republican said he attended a local meeting about the education changes attended by 800 people that got "quite raucous" and that there have been similar turnouts across the state.
Angry Parents Meets With NY Education Commissioner on Common Core
King responded to the requests for delays by saying the need for the academic improvement the standards offer is still "urgent." He acknowledged "uneven" implementation by the state's 700 school districts and 4,500 schools in the "massive undertaking." He promised more adjustments in state guidance, and noted they have already made some and are seeking federal waivers of assessment requirements for students with disabilities and for whom English is a second language.
There's little disagreement among stakeholders over the curriculum's main components of more writing, more challenging reading, and math that has real world applications, King said. It's meant to prepare them better for college and careers. "Good things are happening in classrooms in terms of Common Core instruction," he said.
Most of the standardized tests given statewide are required by federal law, King said. He added that there are no standardized state tests given to students from kindergarten through second grade, though some districts may do it. Delaying teacher evaluations would be a mistake, and changing that statutory requirement would be up to the Legislature and governor, he said.
Sen. Carl Marcellino, another Long Island Republican, said the Education Department needs to give teachers time to catch up and learn the new requirements and curriculum before having to teach it. Changing questions on the required state regents exams to follow the new curriculum is "a disaster waiting to happen," one with implications for students' grades and college admissions, he said.
The first time students will be required to pass the Common Core regents exams will be in 2017, or seven years after the state adopted the curriculum, King said. Last year, a majority of the students entering New York's community colleges had to take remedial courses, showing the need for the changes, he said.
Other senators recited complaints about parents now unable to help their children with homework, worries about the security of student data held by a private contractor and to leave alone high-performing schools that graduate nearly all of their students who mostly go on to graduate from four-year colleges.
King said districts that are succeeding can keep doing that and simply incorporate some of the new material. He supports increasing funding for teachers' professional development, which is also up to the Legislature and governor, he said.


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Product Code : A338-HO-5
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Let's décor our home with this entirely handmade fish frame wall hanging and increase the beautification of your house. It will make you different to your guest when you will décor your room with this.
Product Features:
Product Name
Name Plate
Door Hanging
Color Disclaimer:
Actual colors may vary. This is due to the fact that every computer monitor has a different capability to display colors and that everyone sees these colors differently. We try to edit our photos to show the samples as life-like as possible, but please understand the actual color may vary slightly from your monitor. We cannot guarantee that the color you see accurately portrays the true color of the product.
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This week we went in the kitchen with owner John Horne and chef Tim Swafford, of Anna Maria Oyster Bar, for mussels Provencal. We stopped by the Anna Maria Oyster Bar's landside "halfway" location, at 6906 14th St. The restaurant features oysters and bites, salads, pasta, local fish and more.
Click here for more "In the Kitchen" recipes.
Learn how to make Mussels Provencal and watch an instructional video below:
Mussels Provencal
1 ounce oil blend
1 pound mussels
4 ounces diced tomatoes
1/4 ounce fresh basil
1 ounce fresh garlic
2 ounces herb butter
2 ounces white wine
For plating:
2 slices garlic bread
1 ounce green onions
1 ounce shredded Parmesan
1 lemon wedge
To cook:
1) Add all ingredients in a skillet.
2) Place skillet in the UnoX oven.
3) Cook at 450 degrees for 5 minutes.
4) Grill the garlic bread for 1 minute on a flat top.
To plate:
Pour skillet contents into a salad bowl; make sure all mussels are open. Top with green onions, Parmesan cheese and place garlic bread on sides of bowl. Garnish with a lemon wedge and cocktail fork.


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UPDATE: The time for this hangout has been changed to 18:00UTC/1300EST/10:00PST.
Mark your calendars, add Linaro OnAir to your Google+ Circles and plan on joining the discussion in our Bi-Monthly Hangouts where topics are suggestions and the conversations are limited only by the host(s) and guest(s). However, most of these conversations will be tied to Linaro, Arm, Open Source and other topics suggested by our developers, members, and community, so tell us what you want to discuss.
Our first 2013 Hangout on Air is scheduled for Monday, 7 January at
13:00 UTC 18:00 UTC and the topic of discussion will be 'openness, why it is not optional' with Linaro CTO, David Rusling and Tim Wesselman of HP's HyperScale Business Unit.
We are still ironing out the details and lining up the guests for the other hangouts in 2013, but as soon as we lock in the topics of discussion and the guests we will announce those here on the Linaro Blog, across our social media and create a Google+ event as well.
More about the 'Openness, Why it is Not Optional' Hangout can be found on our Linaro OnAir Event Page.
To stay up to date with upcoming Linaro Hangouts on Air be sure to add Linaro OnAir to your circles. You can also find out more about what is happening in and around Linaro by following us on Twitter, circling us on Google+ and liking us Facebook.
Do you have a topic suggestion for our Hangouts On Air? Is there a guest you would like to attend and contribute to the discussion; then let us know.


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Want to beat your competitors out of the starting gate? Winning the race is a matter of choosing the right promotional giveaway, and ArtPromos.com's promotional logo stopwatches will get your advertising campaign off to a running start. The stopwatches in our diverse collection come from some of the most trusted manufacturers and brands in the business, keeping accurate time down to one one/hundredth of a second.
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Each style can be imprinted with your logo or message using our modern digital imprinting process that guarantees sharp, clean lines and images and bold accurate colors. Imprinted promotional stopwatches are ideal for use in schools and colleges and by athletic coaches and physical education teachers.


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Laser Show - Dustin Pedroia Statement on David Ortiz0 comments Posted by mKD at 7:30 PM
Laser Show
David's fine. He's one of our teammates. It could have been me who hit into a double play. It happens to everybody. He's had 60 at-bats. A couple of years ago I had 60 at-bats and I was hitting .170 and everybody was ready to kill me, too. What happened? Laser show.
Here's the Laser Show Interview on NESN
Dustin Pedroia Laser Show
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New trail spurs interest in ex-Atlanta rail route
ATLANTA -- Since a new urban trail opened last month in an old rail corridor in Atlanta, it has drawn a steady stream of joggers, dog-walkers and cyclists to take in spectacular views of the skyline and neighborhoods once seen only by train. Hundreds of trees have been planted along the paved 14-foot-wide path, while artists have added works such as windmills made of bicycle parts and colorful murals on concrete overpasses.
The path, known as the Eastside Trail, is part of a $2.8 billion plan to transform a 22-mile railroad corridor that encircles Atlanta into a network of trails, parks, affordable homes and ultimately streetcar lines. The Atlanta BeltLine is an example of rails-to-trails projects going on around the country, including in New York and Chicago, that aim to make better use of old rail corridors by creating better-connected and more livable urban areas, providing alternatives to car travel and spurring economic development.
"I think it's transformational," Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said. "The new section is already overused in terms of the people. ... Now folks are demanding more and more."
Advocates say the BeltLine has great promise for a city that was founded as a railroad crossroads before the Civil War and later became a poster child for suburban sprawl and highway gridlock.
"The perception of Atlanta as 100 percent dependent on the car has really started to change," said Ed McMahon, senior residence fellow at the Urban Land Institute in Washington. He cited recent efforts to create bike paths and the planned BeltLine, which he said would be the "first bicycle beltway."
Atlanta's focus on light rail alongside the planned trails is also unique, he added.
More than 1,600 abandoned or unused rail corridors nationwide have been converted to trails, which totaled more than 19,000 miles in 2012.
One of the best-known examples is the High Line on Manhattan's West Side, where a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure has been transformed into an above-ground park drawing 2 million visitors a year. McMahon said it cost $150 million to build and has generated $2 billion in adjacent new construction. Chicago is undertaking The Bloomingdale Trail, a 3-mile-long elevated linear park and trail on a former rail line.
Such projects are "sparking real estate sales and energizing future development," McMahon said.
They're also changing the way people get around. In Minneapolis, he said, an abandoned rail yard was turned into a "bicycle freeway" with separate 10-foot-wide paths for travel to and from downtown.
It seems only fitting that Atlantans are reclaiming their rail corridors: The city was settled in 1837 as a railroad crossroads called Terminus. Rail lines were destroyed by Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's forces during the Civil War, but were quickly rebuilt after the war.
Atlanta BeltLine Inc., a nonprofit that is an offshoot of the city's economic development authority, works with a myriad of groups and agencies. Its roughly $20-million-plus budget includes new tax revenue above 2005 levels from a BeltLine corridor tax district -- expected to generate $1.7 billion over 25 years -- and government funds and private donations.
In addition to the 2.25-mile-long Eastside Trail, the group has opened three other parks, a skate park and two trails; helped create 120 affordable homes; secured land for future streetcar lines; and invested more than $1.3 million in public art.
However, the vision of light rail seems farther off after area voters this year rejected a transportation referendum that included $600 million for transit projects such as the BeltLine.
The ABI has gotten some public-relations black eyes, too. The board overseeing the project voted in August to oust its president and CEO after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that he charged taxpayers for a wedding gift, a dry cleaning bill, a parking ticket and other items. Critics also voiced concern about spending for elaborate staff retreats, stays at pricey hotels and meals at expensive restaurants for project employees.
ABI Chairman John Somerhalder said limited dollars were at issue, but that a higher principle was involved. He said the board has put in place policies "to make sure we're very good stewards going forward."
Somerhalder said there has been $775 million in private redevelopment completed or underway within a half-mile of the trail since 2005. And, he said, the positive response to projects like the Eastside Trail will help build on the $41 million in private fundraising, much of it from Atlanta's major philanthropic groups.
In recent weeks, the trail has been a beehive of activity.
"I like it. It definitely cleans it up," said John Timlin, 29, a worker at New York Butcher Shoppe, whose back door abuts an increasingly crowded trail. Sales have gone up about 20 percent since the trail opened.
Camila Brioli, 21, a Brazil native who is studying piano performance at Georgia State University, jogged on the trail recently and stopped at the various public art works, including a temporary piece by artist Misao Cates where passersby wrote messages on white ribbons and attached them to bamboo poles. She left one in Portuguese about Brazil's soccer team, one of more than 1,000 left by people.
"I love it because I am a pianist," she said, adding that she was talking to her mom on Skype moments earlier and used it to show her some of the works.
The new trail, which links century-old Piedmont Park to the well-known Inman Park and Old Fourth Ward neighborhoods, also evokes the past. From one bridge, a visitor can look down on a large shopping plaza and lot that was once occupied by Ponce de Leon Park, home of the minor-league Atlanta Crackers until the Braves came to town. A magnolia tree that was prominently just right of center field still stands.
The trail also passes a 2-million-square-foot red-brick building that was a Sears, Roebuck & Co. regional warehouse and store for decades before it became city offices for a time.
The city last year sold the building to Jamestown Properties, owner of Chelsea Market in New York, for $27 million. Plans call for turning it into restaurants, apartments and offices.
Fred Yalouris, director of design for the Beltline project, said the Eastside Connector has turned out well, drawing on the area's new apartments and condos as well as an influx of 20- and 30-somethings. But planners still must figure out how to better connect neighborhoods that were long separated by railroad tracks.
"There are communities in some parts of the BeltLine within 200 feet and hardly no (one knows) each other," he said.
Two Urban Licks, a popular Atlanta restaurant, used to have a 6-foot-tall privacy fence to shield its back patio, garden and bocce courts from the kudzu-covered railroads tracks.
As the trail was built, the fence came down -- and now the eatery may set up a host stand out back. General manager Shireen Herrington called the BeltLine "a great use of something that's just there, been sitting there."
But Herrington said police need to adequately patrol the trail given past crime problems. She also favors adding lighting and call boxes.
Officers patrol the segment by bike, and officials say future plans include lighting.
Farther down the trail, a battered old wooden railroad bridge still stands alongside a new span over Ralph McGill Boulevard. There on a recent day, Sabine Markham helped her 6-year-old daughter Savannah learn how to roller blade.
"It's our first time trying it," the Germany native said of the trail. "It's pretty. It's nice they're doing something that lets people do something outdoors."


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Will December never end!!!!!!!!! ha.
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text:
Galerie Du Pont-Des-Pierres in France
Download site
The designations employed and the presentation of material on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Reported Area
0.09 km²
Data Provider
European Environment Agency (EEA)
Management Effectiveness Evaluations
No information available
Original Name Galerie Du Pont-Des-Pierres
English Designation Regional Nature Reserve
IUCN Management Category IV
Status Designated
Type of Designation National
Status Year 2009
Governance Type Federal or national ministry or agency
Management Authority Ministry in charge of the environment, but also Conseils Régionaux, which will not be listed here since there are 25 of them (every region except Corsica). However see Association des Régions de France, 282 boulevard St Germain, 75007 PARIS, France.
Management Plan Not Reported
International Criteria Not Applicable


text:
Christmas v. Berkeley College
Complainant, a student, filed a verified
complaint with the Division alleging that
Respondent, an educational institution,
subjected her to unlawful public accommodation
discrimination based on several disabilities,
in violation of the Law Against Discrimination.
Complainant had right shoulder arthroscopic
surgery for rotator cuff and lateral tears,
and requested several accommodations of
Respondent. Specifically, she asked to
use a recorder during legal research and
writing classes, and subsequently asked
to make up an examination the day after
the test was scheduled, both of which
were denied. Complainant was unable to
successfully complete the course and alleged
that it was due to disability discrimination.
matter was transferred to the Office of
Administrative Law ("OAL") prior
to the issuance of a finding of probable
cause. Following an administrative hearing,
the administrative law judge (ALJ) issued
an initial decision dismissing the complaint.
The ALJ found that Complainant had established
a prima facie case of disability discrimination,
but concluded that Respondent provided
legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons
for denying Complainant's requested
accommodations. First, allowing Complainant
the use of a tape recorder to record classes
was ineffective and unreasonable owing
to the hands-on nature of the course work
as well as the advantage Complainant would
enjoy over other students who had already
performed some of the work missed by Complainant
due to absences. Second, Respondent's
refusal to allow Complainant to take a
make-up mid-term exam was based on Complainant's
lack of preparedness and not because of
her disability.
Director adopted the ALJ's dismissal
of the complaint, with some modifications.
The Director concurred with the ALJ's
finding that Complainant had established
a prima facie case of disability discrimination,
in that she was afflicted with spinal
disc disease, right shoulder impairments,
irritable bowel syndrome and depressive
and anxiety disorders. The Director also
concurred with the finding that Respondent
did not fail to reasonably accommodate
Complainant's disabilities. The
Director concluded that Respondent was
able to establish a legitimate reasons
for denying Complainant's request
to use a tape recorder for the lecture
period of the classes, as the majority
of the class work required research and
writing in the law library. It was undisputed
that this accommodation would have been
of little or no value. The Director also
found that Respondent did not fail to
engage in the interactive process, as
Complainant had not advised Respondent
of her arm/shoulder condition until after
the mid-term exam was given. Indeed, she
did not undergo surgery until after the
date of the exam. Further, there was credible
evidence that Complainant initially asked
to postpone her exam date because she
was unprepared to take the test. Accordingly,
the Director upheld the dismissal of the
v. Cliffside Park Board of Education
J.P. (Complainant), a high school math
teacher, filed a complaint with the Division
on Civil Rights alleging that his employer
unlawfully discriminated against him based
on disability in violation of the New
Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD),
when it refused to reinstate him after
he recovered from a period of disability.
The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) issued
an initial decision concluding that the
employer failed to meet its obligations
under the LAD to provide reasonable accommodations
for J.P.'s disabilities.
The ALJ ordered Respondent to reinstate
Complainant as a math teacher, and awarded
him $155,698 in backpay, reimbursement
for health insurance premiums and counsel
fees in an amount to be determined. The
ALJ also assessed a $10,000 statutory
After reviewing the hearing record and
the exceptions and replies of the parties,
the Division Director adopted the ALJ's
conclusion that the employer violated
the disability discrimination provisions
of the LAD. The Director concluded that
the employer did not reasonably arrive
at its conclusion that Complainant's disability
precluded performance of his job, and
that the employer failed to meet its obligations
to engage in an interactive process with
Complainant to determine whether reasonable
accommodations could be provided to enable
him to return to work.
The Director adopted the ALJ's reinstatement
order, statutory penalty and backpay award.
The Director also awarded Complainant
$1,000 in emotional distress damages,
and after receiving supplemental submissions
from Complainant, awarded $83,037.50 in
counsel fees and $16,821.84 in costs.
In addition, based on expert testimony
presented by Complainant, the Director
awarded an additional $27,947 to compensate
Complainant for the negative tax consequences
of receiving his backpay in a lump sum,
also known as tax leveling.
Guy v. Southern New Jersey Technical School
Complainant filed a verified complaint
with the Division alleging that Respondent
refused to accommodate her disability
in violation of the LAD. Specifically,
Complainant had dyslexia and attention
deficit disorder. She alleged that Respondent's
denial of a reasonable accommodation prevented
her from attending classes in its licensed
practical nursing program, and she was
forced to withdraw from the school. Respondent
maintained that it accommodated Complainant
by providing her extra time to take tests.
Respondent filed an answer denying any
violation of the LAD. After issuance of
a finding of probable cause and amending
the verified complaint to include the
Director as a complainant, the matter
was transferred to the Office of Administrative
Law as a contested matter.
Respondent nor a representative appeared
at a scheduled pre-hearing conference
and two scheduled hearings. Respondent
received appropriate notice in all instances,
but refused to provide any explanation
to the ALJ for its failure to appear.
The Deputy Attorney General served a notice
of motion to strike defenses together
with supporting documents on Respondent.
On March 17, 2008, the ALJ also served
Respondent the DAG's motion to strike
and advised Respondent that it would be
considered unopposed if there were no
reply. Respondent failed to file any opposition
to the motion, and on April 7, 2008, the
ALJ ordered that Respondent's defenses
stricken and suppressed. The ALJ concluded
that Respondent unlawfully discriminated
against Complainant based upon her disabilities,
in violation of the LAD. Specifically,
Respondent failed to engage fully in the
interactive process. In addition, the
ALJ determined that Respondent did not
satisfy its burden of demonstrating that
allowing Complainant to tape classes would
have caused it an undue burden. The ALJ
awarded Complainant a refund of her tuition
in the amount of $2,460.20 plus interest.
Additionally, the ALJ awarded Complainant
damages for emotional distress in the
amount of $5,000.00.
Director found that the ALJ properly entered
an initial decision on the merits based
on Complainant's ex parte proofs
because Respondent failed to appear at
several scheduled proceedings, or provide
any explanation for its non-appearance,
despite being given appropriate notice.
N.J.A.C. 1:1-14.6 (j), N.J.A.C. 1:1-14.4
(d). The Director noted that Respondent
filed no exceptions to the ALJ's
initial decision, and made no other objections
to the ALJ's rulings.
The Director also awarded Complainant
$2,646.59 as a refund of her tuition plus
interest. In addition, the Director found
the ALJ's award of $5,000.00 for
emotional distress insufficient and increased
the amount to $15, 000.00. The Director
agreed that the maximum penalty of $10,000.00
for a first violation of the LAD was appropriate
and he therefore assessed that amount
as a penalty. Finally, the Director found
that the request for attorneys'
fees in the amount of $8,627.50 was proper.
v. Hartford Life Private Placement and
Pat Fox
Dkt. No. CRT 6322-06
DCR Dkt. No. EP11WB-47626-E
Complainant filed a verified complaint
with the Division on Civil Rights alleging
that his employer discriminated against
him based on his age and his German ancestry,
and that the employer refused to provide
reasonable accommodations for his carpal
tunnel syndrome. After an administrative
hearing, Administrative Law Judge Solomon
Metzger (ALJ) dismissed the complaint,
concluding that the employer had provided
reasonable accommodations for Complainant's
disability, and that Complainant failed
to demonstrate that he was differentially
treated or harassed based on his age or
After considering exceptions and replies
submitted by the parties and evaluating
the evidence in the record, the Director
adopted the ALJ's dismissal of the
complaint. The Director concluded that
the employer's efforts to provide
reasonable accommodations for Complainant's
carpal tunnel syndrome were sufficient
to meet its obligations under the LAD.
The Director also concluded that Complainant
failed to present evidence that he was
treated less favorably than younger co-workers,
and that Complainant failed to demonstrate
that he was harassed because of his age
or his ancestry.


text:
California voters are considering a ballot measure that would make their state the first jurisdiction in the nation – and the world – to fully legalize marijuana.
This is not a "first" that voters should support.
Proposition 19 would legalize marijuana for recreational use for people ages 21 and older. It would also allow local governments to tax and regulate commercial production and distribution – not just retail sale, as in the Netherlands.
Proponents argue that treating pot like alcohol and tobacco will increase revenues for the cash-strapped state and decrease violence and the profits of the Mexican drug cartels. All along, supporters of legalization have maintained that pot is harmless.
Whether Californians are buying this sales pitch is unclear. A September Field poll finds that 49 percent of likely voters say they're inclined to support Proposition 19 and legalization, while 42 percent are inclined to oppose it. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Oct. 5 shows the opposite: 53 percent of voters are against it.
Evidence, reason, and values should dissuade people from the legalization pipe dream. Here's a look at why the arguments of the well-funded "pro" side don't hold up:
Not much impact on drug cartels. Legalizing marijuana in California "would not appreciably influence the Mexican drug trafficking organizations and the related violence," according to Beau Kilmer, lead author of a report released this month by the RAND Corporation.
This nonprofit research organization has published independent studies this year that look at the potential effects of legalizing pot in California.
RAND found that marijuana exports to the United States do not account for 60 percent of drug cartel revenues from exports, as is often reported. Rather, the cartels get only 15 to 26 percent of their money from pot trafficked to the US.
If California, which accounts for one-seventh of pot use nationwide, goes legal, total drug export revenues for the cartels will drop by "perhaps 2 to 4 percent." The big money – and the big violence – is in harder drugs.
RAND did acknowledge an exception. If high-potency California marijuana is smuggled to other states at low prices, it could seriously eat into the cartels' take – cutting out roughly 20 percent of total export drug money.
Still, many factors could deter smuggling (and state legalization itself), including the federal government. Any use or sale of marijuana is a criminal offense under federal law. Washington might step in to stop smuggling, or challenge the ballot measure's legality if it passes, or withhold federal highway dollars for noncompliance with the federal law.
Don't count on tax revenues. Pot supporters say California could reap $1.4 billion from marijuana taxes, citing an estimate by the Board of Equalization, which administers the state sales tax.
But the board assumes a $50-an-ounce tax – a rate mentioned nowhere in the proposition and one that could be easily undercut by a black market. That's what happened in the 1990s in Canada with a mere $3 tax on cigarettes. The tax had to be repealed.
Tax evasion could be widespread, and because taxing is left up to local jurisdictions, even the potential amounts will vary. If one jurisdiction opts for a low tax rate, and the marijuana industry moves to that place, then other jurisdictions won't collect much.
RAND again steps in as a leveler when talking about savings from the criminal justice system: $1 billion saved? More like $300 million, and that doesn't account for the social costs associated with increased pot use and dependence. RAND predicts legalization will push marijuana prices down by as much as 80 percent, spurring greater use, especially among younger people.
The White House drug czar reported Thursday that overall marijuana use increased sharply – by 9 percent – from 2008 to '09. Over the same time period, kids started using pot at a younger age. The average age for first use dropped from 17.8 years to 17. Increasing societal acceptance of marijuana is one reason behind these trends.
Pot is harmful. More than 30 percent of people who are 18 and older and who used marijuana in the past year are either dependent on the drug or abuse it, according to a 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Pot is associated with cognitive impairment (affecting the ability to think, reason, and process information), poor motor skills, and respiratory and mental illness.
Critics of Prop. 19 are alarmed that its wording will affect traffic safety. The measure prohibits smoking pot while operating a vehicle, but "there is nothing to prevent drivers from smoking just prior to getting behind the wheel," writes Pete Dunbar, former deputy police chief in Oakland.
If the ballot measure is defeated, supporters will likely regroup for another day, and try to fix flaws in the measure.
But no amount of redrafting can counter the moral argument against legalization: Real joy and satisfaction are not found in a drug. You don't advance social good by making it easier for people to get high.


text:
Two early second-half goals on Saturday looked set to be enough for the Whites to pick up a valuable three points at home to Hull, only for the FA Cup finalists to hit back with two of their own in the closing 15 minutes.
Ashkan Dejagah and Fernando Amorebieta both struck to put Fulham in charge before Nikica Jelavic pulled a goal back after capitalising on a Sascha Reither backpass, with Shane Long heading home an 87th-minute equaliser.
A share of the spoils saw Felix Magath's side remain in the league's bottom three with just two games left to secure another season of top-flight football.
A trip to Stoke next Saturday is followed by a home game against London rivals Crystal Palace on the final day of the campaign, with Hangeland targeting maximum points
"I think we need to win the last two," he said.
"That is clear for everyone to see
Is that impossible? No, it is far from impossible
Of course we can do it.
"It is all about doing the business next week and then the week after and hoping that will be enough
It is a massive game next week and we have to win that."
Long grabbed Hull's late leveller and believes the draw means the Tigers no longer need to look over their shoulders as the relegation fight hots up.
"I think it was a massive point for us," he said.
"It keeps them six points behind us with two games left, but with a worse goal difference, so we can look at Fulham as finishing behind us at least.
"It was a big point for us, it was a big thing not letting them get three points - 36 on the table with Fulham on 33 behind us would have been a bit more scary.
"I thought we were fully deserving of at least a point, but after they went 2-0 you get to thinking it isn't going to be our day
We can go to Aston Villa, not switching off, but quietly confident that we are fairly safe."
Hull boss Steve Bruce spent big in January to bring in both Long and Jelavic, with their partnership again proving fruitful at Craven Cottage.
But Long hopes the understanding can develop over time as both strikers look to repay the faith shown in them by Bruce.
"The gaffer went out on a limb and spent a bit of money getting me and Jelavic in and hopefully I can reward him with goals on the pitch," added the Republic of Ireland international.
"I'm really enjoying it
Jelavic is a handful and puts himself up front which surprised me a bit before I came in.
"I think we compliment each other well, but we are still learning off each other and hopefully we can add to our goal tally before the end of the season and then have a full pre-season together."
Source : PA
Source: PA


text:
Hi all,
Currently I have partitions like the following:(Left to Right)
'/' = 120gb
/home = 100gb
/media/data = 200gb
Am using only the disk space available in /home. Currently am unable to use the disk space of '/' or /media/data . I want to merge all three partitions into the '/'. But I have my 80gb of data in /home. How do I merge all the partitions into '/' without losing my data and not crashing my system?


text:
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:ooh:My short-term memory strikes again, Rosie! I found myself in that thread, forgot about this one and commented in that one - it was about a comment there I replied - I didn't get lost, I got transported!
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text:
You may not have heard of the tonka bean, but you've probably smelled it. This "bean" — actually the seed from the Dipteryx odorata tree — contains signature notes of caramel, almond and vanilla, making the tonka bean a popular ingredient used in luxury fragrances such as Roberto Cavalli Eau de Parfum, Karleidoscope by Karl Lagerfield and Shine by Heidi Klum.
Tonka beans are found mainly in Venezuela and Brazil; Venezuela also produces high quality copaiba balsam, a resin used to support rich base notes of fragrance. To meet the demand for these products while supporting local livelihoods, Conservation International and Givaudan — the world's leading fragrance and flavor company — have recently extended their partnership for a further three years to support a conservation agreement project in Venezuela's portion of the Guiana Shield.
The Caura basin in Venezuela's Bolivar State is one of the world's most pristine river basins. It is rich in terrestrial fauna, containing more than 32 percent of the species reported for the country, such as the long-haired spider monkey (Ateles belzebuth), South American tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the Arrau River turtle (Podocnemis expansa).
The Caura forest is also home to indigenous and creole communities. For them, tonka bean collection has been a traditional income-generating activity for generations. In 2007, CI and Givaudan began an initiative with 64 families in the community of Aripao in Caura Forest Reserve — an area threatened by illegal mining, timber extraction and uncontrolled hunting, fishing and agricultural expansion. This project focuses on work with communities and Phynatura, a local NGO, to protect natural habitat while improving the supply of non-timber forest products such as tonka beans and copaiba oil.
A conservation agreement established with the Aripao community has helped improve forest management through activities such as the creation of a community patrolling system. In 2011, community rangers recorded 567 key species such as the yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) — nearly five times the number recorded the year before!
In a conservation agreement, resource users commit to conservation actions that protect priority ecosystems in exchange for benefits that address local development needs and priorities. These agreements are between local resource users and conservation investors — which may be governments, companies, NGOs or other interested parties — and the benefits are determined through discussions with the community. In the conservation agreement with the Aripao community, the 64 families have committed to control hunting and illegal logging in exchange for patrolling wages, equipment and training and better access to markets for tonka beans and copaiba oil. According to Milagros Pérez, a leader in Aripao, "The agreements are established to protect an area for the future of our children."
The community members have also seen tangible benefits. Pérez continues: "The project has helped the community a lot. Since the project was established it has become an economic alternative for the community. Many families have benefited from the project. Some of them receive wages through the patrolling program, others sell food to the rangers during the patrolling campaigns, and others can sell tonka."
In 2011, Venezuelan export firm Cerbatana also signed the conservation agreement with Aripao, demonstrating their commitment to support the initiative through closer interaction with the community and by setting favorable prices for the non-timber forest products. Furthermore, with support from the agreement, the Aripao community has built a storage facility that will maintain a stable supply of tonka to sell in the years when the harvest is not high. This fund has also been used to provide micro-loans to community members involved in the initiative.
Over the next three years, the partnership aims to ensure sustainability by focusing on three pillars: conservation of the protected area, community empowerment and sustainable use of natural products.
Underpinning the collaboration is the aim of conserving the lower Caura Basin and improving the collection and commercialization of tonka beans and copaiba balsam. Under the new agreement between CI and Givaudan, the initial project area of 88,000 hectares (more than 217,000 acres) will expand to 148,000 hectares (almost 366,000 acres), and the partners will engage at least two additional indigenous communities and provide income opportunities for at least 40 additional families.
Juliette Crepin is the private sector engagement manager for CI's Conservation Stewards Program.


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All manufacturer spring counts are always based on a king size mattress (measuring 5ft x 6ft 6in /150cm x 200cm). The amount of springs will alter on a pro-rata basis dependent on your choice of mattress size.
Please note that any additional accessories, pillows, headboards or mattresses shown may be for illustrative purposes and may not be included in the purchase price unless otherwise stated, but may be available separately.
If your item is in stock you can have this delivered on a FREE next working day delivery if ordered before 4pm or alternatively choose another day that suits you if that is not convenient*
Our Standard delivery service available at no extra charge for all large items is a 2 man room of choice service with the items unpacked if required and all packaging removed.
Our delivery partner will contact you the evening prior to your chosen day of delivery with a 2 hour time slot and a further call is made on the delivery on the day itself.
For single mattresses (2'6 or 3'), Vacuum packed or rolled mattresses and smaller items such as pillows we also offer a next day service but this is a one man delivery to the door only.
Orders placed after 4pm will be available for delivery within 2 working days.
Deliveries are made Monday to Friday as standard, a Saturday delivery is available on either the one man or two man service for an additional £30.00
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I know a restaurant is good when I only see natives eating there. I landed the most authentic Mexican restaurant ever and in TN! Again, I'm new to the Tri-Cities area from FL. I was raised in Miami, born in Texas, so I've had my fair share of Mexican restaurants. But this restaurant, "La Perla" has been hands-down the most authentic, delicious, and affordable I've ever seen. I do have to warn you it isn't fancy but it's worth a visit and luckily for you, the menu is in English, if anything just point to your selection and order! If I was in charge of the marketing aspect, I would have a WordPress site to start and add a bunch of pictures, have specials on Facebook and Twitter, and include lots of videos.
Here are a few pictures:
Here is the address:
2508 South Roan Street
Johnson City, TN 37601


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Spring is the season for pineapple. Pineapple has been on the market recently. I think about eating pineapple every day. I run to the fruit store every day. Then I think the pineapple nail design should be pretty good, so it will feel like spring. In fact, pineapple nail art design is very popular, pineapple pattern is easier to draw than you think. You can find any manicure shop to create this look.
Today, we have collected 52 Pretty pineapple nail art design pictures. If you like pineapple, you will certainly like these pineapple nail art designs. These nail art designs are suitable for any season, because beautiful women need to eat fruit every day.
Source: @monikaetus


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Ledbetter v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2009 WL 1067018 (D.Colo. April 21, 2009)
A couple of electricians were severely burned when the electrical system they were working on in an Aurora, Colorado Wal-Mart shorted out. They sued Wal-Mart over their injuries. One of the plaintiffs' wives brought a claim for loss of consortium.
During discovery, Wal-Mart sent subpoenas to Facebook, MySpace and Meetup.com seeking information about the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs filed a motion for protective order which would have prevented the social networking sites from providing the requested information. The plaintiffs claimed that the information should be protected by the physician-patient privilege or, as for the loss of consortium claim, the spousal privilege. The court denied the motion and allowed the subpoenas.
The court held that an earlier protective order entered in the case (to which the parties had agreed) protected the confidentiality of the information. And the plaintiffs had put the purported confidential facts, i.e., the extent of the injuries and the nature of the consortium, at issue by bringing the suit. Moreover, the information sought by the subpoenas was reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence and was relevant to the issues in the case.
It's worth noting that the court might have had other reasons to deny the motion for protective order that it did not mention. A privilege of confidentiality is usually destroyed when it is disclosed to a third party. How could information on Facebook or MySpace still be secret? Unless Wal-Mart was only seeking private messages sent either between the spouses or one of the plaintiffs and a doctor, it would seem that most everything these sites would have would not be confidential in the first place.


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Saturday Farmers Market
Every Saturday – Year-round!
Saturday Farmers Market around the Historic Railroad Turntable and Public Plaza in Historic Folsom every Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., year-round!
Over 40+ farmers/vendors represented.
Certified farmers' locally grown seasonal fruits and vegetables. Freshly made baked goods, fresh eggs and dairy items, live music and so much more!
PUBLIC PARKING: Please park in the parking structure located at 905 Leidesdorff Street at the corner of Reading Street and Leidesdorff Street.
Click HERE to See Event Website


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User Experience Design
We have User Experience Design courses in:
Austin's tech space is constantly crowded — not just during SXSW. Create a digital product that stands out. In our UX design classes in Austin, you'll learn to prioritize usability and harness essential methodologies that lead to seamless experiences. Learn from local experts in our full- or part-time UX courses.
Full-Time Immersive Courses
Challenge yourself and change your career with a 10- to 13-week immersive learning experience.
Part-Time Courses
Enhance your professional potential. Learn in-demand skills in evening, weekend, or 1-week accelerated courses.
Meet Our Expert: Katharine Hargreaves, User Experience Design Instructor, GA San Francisco
Why should someone learn essential user experience design skills at GA?
GA instructor Katharine Hargreaves says, "GA is one of the few modern educational institutions offering relevant vocational programming in an active learning environment. GA practices what it preaches, which means that students benefit from material validated by experts in the field — first in the curriculum, then in the classroom. I also believe that project-based learning engages students more effectively. The UX toolkit is so robust and flexible that it can be used in many different contexts, and that's hard to teach from a book."
Learn In-Demand Skills in Our User Experience Design Courses and Bootcamps in Austin
Affinity Mapping
Rachel Wendte, a UX Design Immersive instructor at General Assembly Chicago, says, "Every great design begins with great research. By using techniques like user interviews, contextual inquiry, and competitive analysis, user experience (UX) designers have the opportunity to learn about user pain points, motivations, and preferences in a very personal way. An affinity map, also known as an affinity diagram, gives designers a complete picture of their early research process. It is a physical, tactile, and editable design artifact that's invaluable for showcasing trends, themes, and areas of opportunity for discovery and improvement.
"At General Assembly, we encourage learning by doing. In our part- and full-time UX design courses, we introduce affinity mapping as a way to organize and synthesize initial research from user interviews. Students then use affinity mapping techniques to find patterns and key observations to guide the rest of their process. As the course continues and research gets deeper, affinity maps become even more important as a way to keep track of data. By establishing the practice early on, students have a solid foundation in this skill and can move confidently forward."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Affinity Mapping" by Rachel Wendte.
Card Sorting
Similar to affinity mapping, card sorting is a research method that helps you understand users' expectations and how they categorize your content. Once participants organize a set of topics on cards into categories, you're able to better build a more effective and intuitive digital experience.
Customer Journey Mapping
Jared Rogers, User Experience Design Immersive instructor at GA Austin, says, "Customer journey mapping (also known as customer experience mapping) is the strategic process of capturing and communicating complex customer interactions. User experience (UX) designers seek to illustrate the customer's processes, needs, and perceptions across their interactions with our services, products and organizations. By focusing on a customer's experiences throughout their journey with a product or service, rather than jumping ahead to the end solution, designers can deliver positive experiences and form a deeper understanding of their customers.
"At General Assembly, students in our full-time User Experience Design Immersive course learn customer journey mapping as a way to validate their user research and apply a broader understanding of previously defined personas, another tool in the UX toolkit. In their class projects, both with real-world and fictional clients, students use the user data they collect to validate their team's assumptions about a user's journey and add new findings from their research. Students break the journey up into steps, indicating the touch points and emotions that users experience during those steps."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Customer Journey Mapping" by Jared Rogers.
Information Architecture
Katharine Hargreaves, a UX Design Immersive instructor at General Assembly Los Angeles, says, "Information architecture (IA) is exactly what it sounds like: how information is structured, from the foundation to the footnotes. Because information architecture lays the foundation for the look and feel of a product, it's imperative that companies speak with their users to understand their preferences, terminology, and mental models. In the digital world, information can be structured (and stored) in many different ways, like spreadsheets, sitemaps, content schedules, and databases. Designers often use information architecture to illuminate what content or information is mission-critical, where it lives in the system, and how it's connected.
"Information architecture is a tool that all great UX designers practice, which is why it's a core skill students learn at General Assembly. While visual design can be subjective to different tastes and perspectives, it's difficult to argue with an information schema that supports user paths through the system. As an instructor for GA's full-time UX Design Immersive course in Los Angeles, my goal is to empower designers to develop systems that are accessible, inclusive, and supportive of users. Clear information architecture is the first step in that direction."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Information Architecture" by Katharine Hargreaves.
Prototyping Tools
Jared Rogers, User Experience Design Immersive instructor at General Assembly Austin, says, "There are several digital prototyping tools available for today's UX designers, each with different capabilities and outputs. With new options being released and older mainstays evolving on a regular basis, however, it can be overwhelming to choose the right one."
"Across General Assembly's global campuses, we use a variety of prototyping tools in our UX courses, some chosen by instructors and some by students. Product Management students also leverage these tools when they learn to bring their wireframes and storyboards to life."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Prototyping Tools for UX Design" by Jared Rogers.
Responsive Design
Phil Bolles, User Experience Design instructor at GA Washington, D.C., says, "Responsive web design — the design of layouts and hierarchies that preserve visual emphasis and change as a screen changes size — has reshaped the modern web. We now think of the web as a spectrum, a range of screen widths corresponding to a wide range of devices. A website shouldn't care whether the user is viewing it on a phone, laptop, or flat-screen TV via a Playstation 4. Instead, a website should respond to its viewer's screen width, preserve content structure even as the layout changes, and maintain readability at any size — all of which leads to a positive user experience.
"In GA's full-time User Experience Design Immersive and part-time User Experience Design course, instructors frequently challenge students to think about how their digital products will look at different screen sizes and give them tips on maintaining visual priority. Recognizing that they can't guarantee which device their audience uses, students learn to think of the web as fluid. When it comes to bringing responsive designs to life, you can learn the fundamentals in our part-time Front-End Web Development course or online HTML, CSS & Web Design course, or launch a career building seamless, responsive websites in GA's full-time Web Development Immersive or Web Development Immersive Remote program."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Responsive Design" by Phil Bolles.
Service Design
Susan Wolfe, a UX Design Immersive instructor at GA San Francisco and Sydney, says, "Service design is a practice that contributes to delivering a great user experience. In fact, the quality of the service is frequently what makes or breaks a person's experience with an organization. Whether service design is being used to improve existing services or create new ones, it takes into account the needs of both the customer and the service provider. Service design is a big deal because we engage with services much more than we engage with specific products.
"User experience design students at General Assembly learn to think holistically. UX is not merely user interface (UI) design; it's about the before, during, and after use. UX design involves applying user-centered design techniques like research and low-fidelity prototyping to ensure that you're solving the right problem before polishing the solution. When you learn about UX design at GA, whether it's through our full-time Immersive program, part-time course on campus or online, or a short-form workshop or bootcamp, you learn to think about the overarching ecosystem you are designing for. Students train to recognize that people's experiences are formed over time, based on interactions across individual and broad touchpoints. They also learn how our roadmaps allow us to focus in on figuring out how to get there from here."
Susan Wolfe, User Experience Design Immersive instructor at GA San Francisco and Sydney, says, "Usability is about matching products, systems, and services to users' needs and requirements. When we, as members of a project team, focus on usability (and we should always focus on usability), we're concerned with supporting people in accomplishing their tasks. This shouldn't be confused with 'functionality,' however, as the mere presence of good features and functions has little bearing on whether people are able to use them.
"Usability is at the core of everything UX design students learn at General Assembly, be it in our career-changing User Experience Design Immersive program, part-time on-campus or online courses, or design-focused short-form workshops and events. It's baked into students' work in researching users' needs and goals, learning synthesis techniques to develop insights, and translating those insights into hypotheses and requirements."
User & Usability Testing
Shebani Saxena, a UX Design Immersive instructor at General Assembly says, "Usability testing is an integral part of user experience (UX) design that allows us to get feedback directly from users, thereby making a product that's not only functional and user-friendly, but also provides value. It's often done at the beginning of a design project, with an intention to check the design structure's efficiency, the organization of content, and whether the design direction is in line with the users' 'mental model,' motivations, and satisfaction. When incorporated towards the end of the design process, usability testing helps validate and evaluate whether the product's design goals are met.
"At GA, usability testing is covered extensively in our User Experience Design Immersive (UXDI) program, and on a basic level in our part-time User Experience Design course, on campus and online. Students learn the detailed methodology and relevant tools, and have ample opportunity to practice it in class as well as in projects. In class, students learn usability testing methods through practical exercises; in UXDI, for example, they do this by roleplaying as the moderator (test conductor), the participant (user), and the note-taker. Then they practice testing as part of virtually all their projects, including with real-world clients. By the end of the course, students are able to immediately apply their usability testing skills to new projects."
Read "A Beginner's Guide to Usability Testing" by Shebani Saxena.
Break into Austin's user experience design industry.
Grow a more fulfilling career with our part-time or 1-week intensive course. Or, embark on a new path in our full-time Immersive.
"UXDI showed me how to better understand the interactions between users, business goals, and technology restraints. We brainstormed, affinity mapped, interviewed, tested, and learned every day while having a lot of fun."
Jay Telles, User Experience Design Immersive Graduate, GA Denver


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This video was emailed to me from a reader named Jimmy. Normally Rollin' would give a $10 gift...
Your local men's magazine, RollinSD educates you on what matters. Featuring: beautiful women & celebrities; sex, culture, humor & style; Chargers, Gulls, Aztecs, Toreros.
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Copyright © 2015 RollinSD.


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|"Well, I think we should put it back in order for them, don't you?"
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality.
|"Are you a wizard or not?"
The title of this article is conjectural. Although it is based on canonical information, the actual name is a conjecture and may be supplanted at any time by additional information released from canonical sources. If this occurs, please move this page to the appropriate title.
- "I stole the diadem. I sought to make myself cleverer, more important than my mother. I ran away with it. My mother, they say, never admitted that the diadem was gone, but pretended that she had it still. She concealed her loss, my dreadful betrayal, even from the other founders of Hogwarts."
- —Helena Ravenclaw[src]
The theft of Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem took place in the Founders' time (in around the early 1000s). Helena Ravenclaw, the daughter of the Ravenclaw House's Founder Rowena Ravenclaw, was jealous of her mother's wisdom and fame. She wanted to be cleverer and more famous than her mother, so she stole her mother's Diadem and escaped. Rowena, who was badly ill, ordered the Baron, a bad-tempered man who loved Helena, to find her daughter. However, when the Baron found Helena in a forest at Albania, she refused to go back with him. The Baron killed her in rage. After seeing what he had done, remorseful of his action, he stabbed himself to death.
Background informationRowena Ravenclaw's Diadem (also known as the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw) was the only known relic once belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of Ravenclaw House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Etched upon its surface was Ravenclaw's famous quote: "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure." It was said to enhance the wisdom of its wearer, which is Ravenclaw House's most treasured attribute. It has a blue sapphire shaped like an oval.
As Rowena Ravenclaw was a very intelligent woman, it is most likely she enchanted the diadem herself, putting a charm on the object to increase the wearer's intelligence.
The theft and attempted retrieval
- Helena Ravenclaw: "He tracked me to the forest where I was hiding. When I refused to return with him, he became violent. The baron was always a hot-tempered man. Furious at my refusal, jealous of my freedom, he stabbed me."
- Harry Potter: "The Baron? You mean —?"
- Helena Ravenclaw: "The Bloody Baron, yes. When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse. He took the weapon that had claimed my life, and used it to kill himself. All these centuries later, he wears his chains as an act of penitence… as he should."
- — Helena Ravenclaw tells Harry Potter the story of her and the Baron's death.[src]
Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena's daughter, greatly envied the attention her mother received. She stole her mother's diadem, in hope of using its power to make herself wiser, and fled Hogwarts. Her mother fell fatally ill and in spite of Helena's betrayal, wanted to see her daughter one last time. Rowena sent the Bloody Baron, a man who once loved Helena, to find her.When he caught up with her in a forest in Albania (the same forest Lord Voldemort would use as a hiding place during his exile), she hid the diadem in a hollow tree. Upon her refusal to return with him, the Baron stabbed her in his anger and jealousy (because Helena was free now); horrified by what he had just done, the Baron then stabbed himself as well.
They both transformed into their House Ghost after death. During a thousand years afterwards, loads of students asked "the Grey Lady" Helena Ravenclaw about where the diadem was because they wanted to get good marks in exams.
Tom Riddle's Plot
- "I know who he is! I know what he's done! He defiled it - with Dark magic!"
- —The ghost of Helena Ravenclaw to Harry Potter[src]
Centuries later, Tom Marvolo Riddle managed to charm the story out of Helena's spirit, then known as the Grey Lady, ghost of the Ravenclaw house. Upon learning of the diadem's location, Riddle travelled to the Albanian forest shortly after he left school and acquired the diadem. He transformed it into his fifth Horcrux by killing an Albanian peasant, and later chose to return it to the very place it had originated from: Hogwarts.
Riddle was arrogant enough to believe that he alone had penetrated Hogwarts' most mysterious secrets, and thus he believed that only he had discovered the Room of Requirement, where he intended to hide the diadem. The Room's manifestation was none other than the "Room of Hidden Things" inside which Harry Potter would hide the Half-Blood Prince's copy of Advanced Potion-Making many decades later. Riddle chose to hide the diadem in this room the night he returned to the castle to request a position to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Unlike the other Horcruxes, Riddle did not put up heavy magical protections for the diadem, due to his lack of time to do so, along with his arrogance.
Search for the diademIn 1998, while the Battle of Hogwarts raged on, Harry thought about possible locations of the Ravenclaw-related Horcrux. All anyone seemed to associate an object of Ravenclaw to was the Lost Diadem, but no one had seen the diadem in living memory. At this thought, Harry decided to ask a ghost, as they have been around much longer than anyone else. Harry found Nearly Headless Nick, and asked him where he might find the Ravenclaw house ghost. Somewhat miffed that Harry did not want his help, Nick indicates The Grey Lady, and Harry eventually chased her down and asked if she knew anything about the diadem. After gaining her trust, she revealed that, during her life, she was Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, Helena, and she stole the diadem from her mother to make herself cleverer. She revealed that she hid the diadem in a hollow tree in a forest in Albania, and she also ashamedly admitted to having told one other student about it, many years before. Harry privately thought that the Grey Lady is only one of the many who had been hoodwinked by Tom Riddle's charms. Harry put together that Voldemort found the diadem in Albania, and brought it back to Hogwarts to hide it the night he asked Dumbledore for the Defence Against the Dark Arts job. Harry then remembered that Voldemort operated alone and may have been arrogant enough to think that he alone discovered Hogwarts secret of the Room of Requirement. Harry knew immediately that Voldemort had hidden the Lost Diadem there.
Returning to the Room of Requirement, Harry found Ron and Hermione there. They informed him that Ron had opened the Chamber of Secrets by mimicking the Parseltongue language Harry had made to open the Locket Horcrux, and Hermione had recovered several Basilisk fangs, using one of them to destroy Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, one of the Horcruxes and recovering the others to destroy any future Horcruxes that they found. Reunited, the trio then entered the Room of Requirement, which Harry had re-opened as the junk storage warehouse where Voldemort had placed the diadem. However, Draco Malfoy , Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe appeared and tried to stop the trio.
Destruction of the diademDraco wanted to take Harry and the diadem to Voldemort, but Crabbe and Goyle wanted to kill Harry. Crabbe even casted a dangerous Dark Magic known as Fiendfyre. It destroyed the diadem and evantually killed Crabbe himself as well. Harry took out the diadem and saved Draco and Goyle. However, the diadem was ultimatly destroyed by the fire.
- "A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, seemed to be leaking from the diadem. Suddenly Harry felt the thing vibrate violently, then break apart in his hands, and as it did so, he thought he heard the faintest, most distant scream of pain, echoing not from the grounds or the castle, but from the thing that had just fragmented in his fingers."
- —Description.[src]
Behind the scenes
- In the second film adaption of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in which the Grey Lady tells Harry where to find the Ravenclaw Diadem, Helena's back-story of stealing the diadem from her mother, her history with the Bloody Baron, Rowena sending the Baron after her, and the Baron eventually killing Helena and then committing suicide, is never explained. Harry seems to already know that the Grey Lady's real name is Helena Ravenclaw, implying that her history is already well-known to Hogwarts students, while in the book, it is implied that no-one, or at least very few, students are aware of this fact. Rather than merely regretful and saddened by the Diadem's conversion into a Horcrux, Helena appears greatly offended and angered by this fact, which is evident when she shouts to Harry, "I know who he is! I know what he's done! He defiled it with Dark Magic!"
- In the book, after talking to Helena, Harry encounters Hagrid and Fang, who had been sent crashing in through a nearby window by Grawp. They then set to look for Hermione and Ron, who they find having just returned from the Chamber of Secrets, which they tell Harry about Ron's idea when asked where they've been. Harry does not see Hagrid after talking to Helena in the film, and Ron and Hermione's whereabouts are not of concern, as they told him of Ron's idea before heading to the Chamber.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Mentioned only)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Mentioned only)
Notes and references
- ↑ The Baron killed Helena after her seven years at Hogwarts, and given the earliest she could have started at the school is 993 (the year the school was founded), then the theft ought to have taken place by no earlier than 1000.