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This was originally posted by Freddy in many other threads. Ive updated some of the information and am posting it here so the information isn't lost in random pages of many other threads. This is where this information will be updated, so if you see this list in another random thread the information will most likely be outdated.
Freddy and I both have access to this post in the thread so he can update things as well.
Based on my research over the weekend, here are the results.
Every PS2 Online Game hosted by GameSpy (besides the untested games listed at the bottom) has been tested on both GameSpy & OpenSpy.
updated 1/10/14
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (LAN supported)
- Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball Max'd (LAN supported)
- Hot Wheels Stunt Track Challenge (LAN supported)
- Midnight Club 2 (LAN supported)
- MotoGP 4 (LAN supported)
- MTX: Mototrax (LAN supported)
- Risk: Global Domination (FIXED)
- Robotech: Invasion (LAN supported)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (LAN supported)
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (LAN supported)
- Tony Hawk's Underground (LAN supported)
- Tony Hawk's Underground 2
- Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
- Area 51
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour
- Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (LAN supported)
- Cold Winter
- Conflict: Global Terror (LAN supported)
- Crash 'N' Burn
- Deer Hunter (FIXED)
- Fight Club (LAN supported)
- FlatOut
- FlatOut 2
- Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows
- Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball Max'd (LAN supported)
- The Hustle: Detroit Streets
- Juiced (LAN supported)
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
- MTX: Mototrax (LAN supported)
- NFL Blitz Pro (DNAS Error (-103) This software title is not in service.)
- NHL Hitz Pro (DNAS Error (-103) This software title is not in service.)
- Risk: Global Domination (FIXED)
- Rogue Trooper (LAN supported)
- Sniper Elite
- TOCA Race Driver 2 (LAN supported)
- TOCA Race Driver 3 (LAN supported)
- Urban Chaos: Riot Response (LAN supported)
- World Poker Tour
- World Series of Poker
- WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006
- X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
Full Spectrum Warrior: 10 Hammers (LAN supported)
Outlaw Tennis
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (OFFLINE Normally)
Star Wars: Battlefront (LAN supported) (WORKING Normally)
World Championship Poker (WORKING Normally)
WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW (WORKING Normally)
Full Spectrum Warrior
Full Spectrum Warrior: 10 Hammers (LAN supported)
Outlaw Tennis
Outlaw Volleyball Remixed (WORKING Normally)
IndyCar Series 2005 (PAL Only, LAN supported)
Pool Shark 2 (PAL Only)
Spy vs. Spy (PAL Only, LAN supported)
World Championship Snooker 2004 (PAL Only)
World Championship Snooker 2005 (PAL Only)
Using OpenSpy, GameSpy ID Account Creation does not work on ANY PS2 online game at all.
If OpenSpy adds a working GameSpy ID Login database/server, then the ENTIRE PS2 GameSpy library will work on OpenSpy!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Since GameSpy ID Account Creation does not work through OpenSpy, you MUST use BobzEnt.info DNS #2 (GameSpy) in order to create accounts for Battlefield 2: Modern Combat and to play these games ONLINE: All-Star Baseball 2005, Blitz: The League, MLB SlugFest: Loaded, NBA Ballers, NBA Ballers: Phenom, Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
- All PS2 online games that currently work on OpenSpy DO NOT require a GameSpy ID Account Creation in order to play online.
- There are just a few games which do not require GameSpy ID Account Creation for online play, but still won't connect to OpenSpy. These games are Area 51, Cold Winter, Godzilla: Save the Earth, Star Wars: Battlefront II, Trivial Pursuit Unhinged, Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior, World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
- While using OpenSpy, you can access the online mode and host games on Star Wars: Battlefront II, Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, but these hosted games DO NOT post to the OpenSpy Status Pages.
- While hosting an online game on Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior through OpenSpy, an error message is eventually received reading "The game could not be registered to the GameSpy Master Server."
- Accessing the online mode of X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse through OpenSpy, you are first directed to a "Region List" which is completely blank. You can press X to bypass this page to Host/Join a game. However, hosted games on OpenSpy do not post to the OpenSpy Status Page.
- It's unclear whether or not World Poker Tour is offline as a result of the recent server terminations, since 2K Sports' other GameSpy game, Top Spin, is still online. On World Poker Tour, an error message is received immediately after DNAS authentication reading "The Online Server cannot be accessed at this time. Please try again later."
- Midnight Club 2 works with OpenSpy and does not feature DNAS, making it "Online Forever" through means of OpenSpy and LAN tunneling, along with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
- For some reason, the Tony Hawk Series for PS2 is BACK ONLINE through GameSpy's normal servers. The normal online lobbies are now accessible. However, a special DNS server is still needed in order to receive the Message Of The Day.


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I've so enjoyed cooking up recipes from "LEON Family & Friends: Book 4" by Kay Plunkett-Hogge and John Vincent, and am thrilled to announce a Twitter GIVEAWAY!
Octopus Publishing will be sending books (USA only) to a few followers of co-author Kay Plunkett-Hogge.
How to get your name in the hat?
1. Follow @kplunketthogge on twitter
2. Tweet:
I want to win #WinLeon4 cookbook by @kplunketthogge!
3. Check back on MY twitter feed twitter.com/MyLastBite June 9th for the winners!
Meet Kay at her LEON book signing on June 9th at Chevalier's Books, 126 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
LEON4 is available on Amazon www.amazon.co.uk/Leon-Family-Friends-Book-4/dp/1840916095
NOTE: Kay is a personal friend of mine. I am NOT being compensated for this contest. Just fyi!
Void where prohibited!

subset: commoncrawl


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Who We Are
Betel Lutheran Church is a local Lutheran (ELCA) church in Dorado, PR.
About Us
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SXSW 2013 has announced their first wave of films, and the comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone will open this year's festival. That's a huge vote of confidence for the film (last year's opener was The Cabin in the Woods), which stars Steve Carell as a Vegas magician whose relationship with his partner (Steve Buscemi) becomes strained as the two start getting upstaged by a hipper illusionist (Jim Carrey). SXSW has also revealed that they'll host the premiere of Fede Alvarez' Evil Dead remake, and they'll also be showing off Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, which should be a perfect fit for the festival.
Hit the jump to check out the first wave of films announced for SXSW 2013 as well as highlights from the 2013 conference. The majority of the festival line-up will be announced on January 31st. The 2013 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 8 – 17th.
Via Movieline.
Downloaded (World Premiere)
Director: Alex Winter
Downloaded is a documentary that explores the rise and fall of Napster and the birth of the digital revolution. It's about the teens that helped start this revolution, and the artists and industries who continue to be impacted by it.
Here's the trailer:
DOWNLOADED from Trouper on Vimeo.
Drinking Buddies (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Joe Swanberg
Weekend trips, office parties, late night conversations, drinking on the job, marriage pressure, biological clocks, holding eye contact a second too long… you know what makes the line between "friends" and "more than friends" really blurry? Beer.
Cast: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston
Everyone's Going to Die (World Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Jones
A modern British story about coming home, getting by and the redemptive power of feeling you're not alone. A story where porn hotlines rub shoulders with sexy beavers on rollerskates; where the past is laid to rest, two lives are changed and nobody, finally, is going to die.
Cast: Nora Tschirner, Rob Knighton, Kellie Shirley, Madeline Duggan (United Kingdom)
Evil Dead (World Premiere)
Director: Fede Alvarez, Screenwriter: Fede Alvarez & Rodo Sayagues
Five friends, holed up in a remote cabin, discover a Book of the Dead that unwittingly summons up dormant demons, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left to fight for survival.
Cast: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
Good Ol' Freda (World Premiere)
Director: Ryan White
Good Ol' Freda tells the story of Freda Kelly, a shy Liverpudlian teenager asked to work for a young local band hoping to make it big: The Beatles. Their loyal secretary from beginning to end, Freda tells her tales for the first time in 50 years.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (World Premiere)
Director: Don Scardino, Story by Chad Kultgen & Tyler Mitchell and Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley. Screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
As superstar Vegas magicians and former best friends Burt and Anton grow to secretly loathe each other, their long-time act implodes, allowing an ambitious rival street performer the big break he's been waiting for. Cast: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, with Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini and Jim Carrey
Spring Breakers (U.S. Premiere)
Director/Screenwriter: Harmony Korine
Four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation find themselves bailed out by a drug and arms dealer who wants them to do some dirty work. Cast: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine
Announced Highlights from the 2013 Conference:
A Conversation with Matthew McConaughey – An in-depth discussion with the incredibly fascinating actor, whose career continues to evolve in exciting and unexpected ways, including his bold choices with recent projects like Magic Mike, Killer Joe, Bernie and Mud.
Humanizing Heroes: Storytelling Beyond Sports – The leading authorities behind some of today's most notable sports films, Connor Schell (ESPN Films), Ken Rodgers (NFL Films) and Ross Greenburg (Ross Greenburg Productions), discuss the evolution of storytelling in sports filmmaking, its influence on pop culture and its continued resonance across all cultures and backgrounds.
Bates Motel: Story to Screen with Carlton Cuse – In a Special Event combining the SXSW Film Festival and Conference in one, attendees will get an exclusive first look at the pilot of Bates Motel, the thrilling new series from A&E. Following the screening, Executive Producer Carlton Cuse (Lost) will sit down with A&E Marketing EVP Guy Slattery for an inside look and Q&A on the process for bringing this contemporary prequel to life.
Jeffrey Tambor's Acting Workshop – Jeffrey Tambor continues the tradition of his much loved acting and life workshop by returning to SXSW Film 2013. Part one-man show, part seminar, part question and answer and endlessly entertaining, Jeffrey's hilarious and empowering presentation inspires the viewer to discover the artist within.


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By Allan Wall
March 21, 2010
The crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ are foundational to the Christian faith. That's why the major branches of Christendom ( Roman Catholic, Protestant and the Eastern Churches ) memorialize – in various ways – the death, burial and resurrection of Christ each spring.
Mexico has a variety of traditional Easter customs, many of them deriving from Spain, with a diversity of traditions linked to particular regions and cities.
The Easter season begins on Miércoles de Ceniza (Ash Wednesday) and continues through Cuaresma (Lent), the 40-day period until Semana Santa (Holy Week).
In Mexico,
there are certain foods associated with Cuaresma, some of which
developed as a result of Catholic dietary rules. Since red meat was prohibited
on certain days, fish-based dishes became popular Lenten foods. Mexican
grocery stores do a brisk business selling fish during Cuaresma
Ironically, Catholics were forbidden to eat red meat on certain days as
a sacrifice, yet the rules promoted the development of fish-based dishes
just as elaborate, if not more so , than the
red-meat based dishes they replaced.
The nopal cactus is a popular Mexican Lenten food, so is the dessert known as capirotado.
Semana Santa (Holy Week) begins on Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) , the day of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. The Last Supper was held on Jueves Santo (Maundy Thursday). Viernes Santo (Good Friday) commemorates the day of Christ's crucifixion. Sábado de Gloria (Holy Saturday) memorializes the full day Christ was in the tomb. Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday) celebrates the Resurrection of Christ.
On Domingo de Ramos, vendors outside churches sell woven palm leaves, and inside the priest blesses them. On Jueves Santo, Viernes Santo, Sabado de Gloria, and Domingo de Resurrección, there is a special mass each day.
On Sabado de Gloria, statues of Mary are covered with black dresses, because she is considered to be in mourning.
Elementary schools, middle schools and most high schools in Mexico have a two-week vacation, the weeks preceding and following Easter Sunday. Most university students only have the week preceding Easter free. The students certainly enjoy their vacation, and many Mexican families travel.
There are many regional Holy Week customs in Mexico. For example, Tarahumara Indians, in the mountains of Chihuahua, paint themselves white during Holy Week.
In some cities there is a Procesión de Silencio, a silent procession, wherein the people march down the street by candlelight, in silence. This custom is from the Spanish city of Sevilla, famous for Semana Santa observances.
Another tradition still popular in southern Mexico is the "burning of Judas," practiced on Sábado de Gloria. This custom features effigies of Judas (with firecrackers inside!) being burnt. The Judas effigy is often in the form of a contemporary person, frequently an unpopular politician. It should be interesting to see who gets burnt in effigy this Sábado de Gloria.
Another custom is the Via Crucis, Way of the Cross, a procession in which an actor portraying Christ bears a cross down a street. In some locales this is part of a Passion Play, a dramatic representation of the crucifixion of Christ.
The most famous Passion Play in Mexico is in the Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa. It has been peformed annually since Iztapalapa survived a cholera outbreak in 1833.
The Iztapalapa Passion Play is a true community endeavour, organized and carried out annually by the locals. The drama includes 4,000 locals as actors, and reportedly draws 2 million spectators.
All the pageant's actors must have been born in Iztapalapa. Whoever portrays Christ is selected on the basis of both good moral character and physical strength. The actor wears an actual crown of thorns, is flogged, and bears a 200 pound cross through the streets, before being "crucified" (tied to the cross, not nailed).
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The Iztapalapa Passion Play is truly a sight to behold. When a reporter asked a local man about it, he replied. "We pray, we cry, as if all this is real. We know it is not. But yet …maybe we come because we are all sinners. Maybe somehow it helps us make fewer sins in our lives…Maybe, just maybe, people are better because of it."
In closing, I wish all my News with Views readers a Happy Easter. In the words of the traditional Mexican greeting:
¡Felices Pascuas de Resurrección!
� 2010 Allan Wall - All Rights Reserved
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E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for sale
Allan Wall recently returned to the U.S. after residing many years in Mexico.
Website: www.allanwall.net


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With technology what it is today there are many ways to book your vacation, regardless of where it is you want to go. The problem is there are so many ways to book hotel and car rentals online and to find cheap airline tickets that it can get pretty confusing for the person tasked with planning a trip.
Many of these discount sites that allow you to book hotel and airfare fail to tell you that they charge fees for using their services, which jacks up the total room or flight cost. To be sure, there are plenty that do not, but often buyers do not realize that there will be a fee until the end of the purchasing process.
When it comes to purchasing airline tickets online, the story is often the same, accept for the fact that airline ticket sites are a lot more open about their fees. There is no doubt that you can get a good deal from these sites, even the ones that charge you to use them, but it pays to shop around before making a final purchase.
If you book with Airlines Northwest you will have an entirely different experience than what you might have with some of those other online hotel and airline booking sites. Airlines Northwest can handle every aspect of your vacation for you, from the time you purchase your cheap airline tickets to the time you step foot on the airplane in your take-off city to the time you are having the bellhop deposit your bags in your hotel room.
You won't have to do anything but decide where you want to go and what you want to do when you get there. It really is as easy as that. Another reason that Airlines Northwest is not your typical travel booking site is because the site itself gives you all kinds of information about some of the most popular vacation destinations as well. Whether you want to travel to Malta, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, or the U.S., Airlines Northwest can get you set up. You can even book your cruise or Disney vacation through Airlines Northwest.
Planning a vacation is supposed to be fun, but when it comes time to plan there are so many more things to consider than you realize before you start, especially if you are planning a trip overseas. This can put a damper on the excitement of the trip itself, but all of this can be avoided if you simply book your vacation through Airlines Northwest.


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Just yesterday I was working the floor at the shop, the Christmas Cd's in full shuffle and (admittedly hormonal) twice I found myself with tears in my eyes. First when I'll Be Home for Christmas came on....gawd what a horribly depressing song that is. Now I know it was created to be uplifting and all but holy hell what a dagger when you are feeling all sorry for yourself.
Second was when Baby It's Cold Outside cycled in, this is Jeremy's favorite Christmas song. When he worked for us at The Wine Country and this song would come on he would crane his neck looking for me, do this adorable Sinatra-like snapping thing and sing it to me. When it came on yesterday I instinctively scanned the store looking for him. Totally crazy right, I knew he wasn't going to be there grinning and snapping his fingers but my momma thing kicked in...I looked. Half a second later I was on my way to the ladies room trying desperately to act like I was not about to lose my shit.
This morning it took only four words and I was once again in tears, "The baby is booked".....one more Christmas song played in my head, This Is My Grown Up Christmas Wish.
Best gift I have ever received....


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a fairy godmother
fairy godmother
1. In children's fairy tales, a woman with magical powers who appears in order to help others in their time of need. Cinderella's fairy godmother helped her get ready for the ball so she could meet Prince Charming.
2. Someone who helps others with their problems, usually providing financial assistance. Thank you so much for helping me with my car repair bill! You are my fairy godmother.
a fairy godmother
A fairy godmother is a person, especially a woman, who helps someone a lot. When I began in the business, the woman I regarded as my fairy godmother was Sybil Thorndike. Our country needs a fairy godmother to pay its debts.


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We love essential oils, not only as active ingredients in our skincare range but in their pure & most potent form for use in Aromatherapy. Essential plant oils have been used for medicinal purposes, cosmetic application and food preparation has been recognised for thousands of years.
Our retail selection of essential oils are great for your natural first aid kit and also for enhancing you home & work environments and general wellbeing.
Aromatherapy is a complementary natural therapy. It embraces the notion of life force, whole organic food, good air and healthy lifestyle. It is a universal and abundant therapy that revitalises the mind, body and spirit. Essential oils are graded according to their purity, quality and composition.
We choose the highest grade that can be sourced and obtained from organic fields all over the earth, according to its botanical species and natural chemical composition which ultimately determines its effectiveness in any application. Diluted or synthetically created essential oils do not have the benefits of pure essential oils.
Aromatherapy can be used in many ways:
- Vapourising – add 6-8 drops of essential oil to water in a vapouriser. Apply heat, breathe deeply and enjoy the benefits.
- Bathing – add 5 drops of essential oil to hot water and agitate the surface, then immerse and enjoy.
- Shower – cover the plughole in your shower with a face cloth, dispense 5 drops onto the shower basin and shower as normal, breathing in the steam to be energised.
- Spritz – add 2 drops of essential oil to a spray bottle of 100ml water. Shake and then mist your face and body with your eyes closed. Enjoy the sensation.
- Compress – add 3-6 drops of essential oil in 200ml of water. Soak a washcloth, then press it into the face.
- Massage / Moisturiser
- Body massage – we recommend 10 drops of essential oils per 20ml of massage oil. This will give you a 2.5% dilution, which is suitable for an all over body massage.
- Facial massage – Use 5 ml (that is a teaspoon) of massage oil and add 1 to 2 drops of essential oil.
*halve dose for children, and halve again for infants and when pregnant
Personalised Oil Blend
You can create a blend using the sheet on the following page according to the benefit you would like to enjoy. Or you can create an intuitive blend by closing your eyes and smelling each oil to feel which your body responds to. It is best to choose just 3 oils. Add a drop of each and smell, then keep adding to get the combination you like. Write down the recipe. Put a cap on and shake to blend.
To use: Pump a small amount into your palms and rub together to warm and spread the oil. Massage, using long soothing strokes, into freshly cleansed skin until absorbed.
Special Care with Essential Oils
For topical or aromatic use. Store out of direct sunlight in a cool place. Avoid contact with eyes and other sensitive areas. Observe appropriate dosage variations. Do a patch test if suspected allergies are present. Keep out of the reach of children – to be administered by adults. Phototoxic cross essential oils (citrus oils); are not to be used in the presence of UV light, natural sunlight or sun beds, or for at least 4 hours afterwards.
If pregnant, nursing, taking medication or if you have a medical condition, consult your health practitioner before use. People with high blood pressure or epilepsy should consult a health professional before using peppermint or rosemary.
Low blood pressure and depression should avoid Marjoram.
Seek advice from a health care professional for use with babies and children. During pregnancy, the following are not recommended for topical – Basil, Clary Sage, Marjoram Peppermint or Rosemary.


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All Hands Consulting is an emergency management consulting firm that is focused on comprehensive emergency management planning and related disaster, homeland security and business continuity programs, training, and exercise services. Our emergency management consultants, emergency planners, subject matter experts, exercise developers, and trainers are prepared to help you with your emergency preparedness, homeland security and business continuity requirements. Our "All Hands working together" approach to emergency planning services provides a unique yet proven emergency management consulting resource.
All Hands is an emergency management consulting firm that has successfully delivered emergency management consulting, business continuity planning, and other disaster and homeland security planning, training, and exercise services to over 200 clients and can respond to virtually any requirement.
Homeland Security
All Hands Consulting provides homeland security, disaster recovery, and emergency management, project management, technical assistance, planning, training and exercises to local, state, federal, and foreign government agencies, business and industry, and emergency response organizations. We have extensive experience in managing and executing programs under the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) cities to include conducting numerous Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) projects.
Emergency Management
All Hands will help your organization to develop and implement all aspects of its approach to Comprehensive Emergency Management programs including Emergency Management Program Review services, designing standard operating procedures (SOPs), developing response guides and operational manuals for each staff position, and creation of a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. We specialize in conducting Emergency Operation Center (EOC) review and EOC Design workshops as well as in developing EOC Organizations, EOC Manuals, and Staff Action Guides for each EOC Position.
Business Continuity Planning
Our typical approach to Business Continuity Planning and Plan Development is to work closely with the client organization's staff to develop a comprehensive plan based on a five-phase project plan as follows Business Impact Assessment (BIA).
During the past two years, Steve and others form his AHC team have assisted the Baltimore UASI and myself with the new Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) process. The THIRA process was very successful and our THIRA was recognized as exemplary by FEMA.
"During the past four months, on AHC team has assisted Miami Beach and me in the development of the City's emergency operations center (EOC) facility design and information management system to include on EOC operations plan and staff position desk books. Additionally, AHC provided EOC section training workshops and a tabletop exercise, and developed on emergency manager's duty book. All tasks were tackled with high energy and exceptional subject matter knowledge. The work products and results were stellar."
Our Clients
All Hands has successfully provided emergency management consulting, business continuity, and homeland security planning, training and exercise services to over 200 clients, including several federal agencies.


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Writer's Guidelines for U.S. Catholic
U.S. Catholic is happy to consider pitches and unsolicited submissions. Due to the high volume of submissions, it may take at least six to eight weeks for a manuscript to receive a response. To familiarize yourself with the kinds of articles we run in U.S. Catholic, please spend some time browsing our issue archive.
Please note that we plan our editorial calendar well in advance, so article ideas should be submitted at least six months before they would appear in the magazine. U.S. Catholic does not consider submissions that have simultaneously been sent to any other publication or that have appeared elsewhere in any form, either in print or online. This includes articles published on personal blogs or excerpts from books, published or unpublished.
We offer financial compensation for both commissioned and on spec content.
Types of articles published in U.S. Catholic:
FEATURE ARTICLES cover current trends and issues both in and out of the church, putting a faith perspective on topics of concern to everyday Catholics. Feature articles in U.S. Catholic cover a wide range of topics, such as family life, education, economics, science, immigration, social justice, the environment, and parish life. Features range in length from 2,500 to 3,500 words. Our feature stories aim to go beyond basic reporting by offering analysis and interpretation of the issues, including a wide range of sources who can offer different takes on the topic and represent all sides. All articles should have an explicit religious dimension, enabling readers to see the interaction between their faith and the issue at hand. With features it is best to submit a pitch letter rather than a completed article. A sample can be found here.
ESSAYS range from 800 to 1,600 words and present thoughtful reflections or opinions on concerns Catholics face in everyday life. We look for new or different takes on a familiar issue or topics that are not often presented from a faith perspective. A sample can be found here.
SOUNDING BOARDS are strongly worded opinion pieces on an issue of importance to Catholics in which the author argues one side of a many-sided subject and outlines a plan of action. The more strongly argued, the better. Articles are roughly 1,400 words. A sample can be found here.
In PRACTICING CATHOLIC, the author reflects on the meaning of a particular prayer practice; the column covers practices both traditional (i.e. praying the rosary) and unexpected (i.e. gardening or knitting). The article includes both a personal reflection on the author's own prayer life, as well as a dialogue with writers, theologians, and other experts on the importance of the practice and the universal value for other Catholics. The piece IS NOT primarily a description of the history or the practice, nor is it simply a personal anecdote of someone's own prayer life. Length is about 1,100 words, with a short sidebar on some aspect of the practice. This column appears four times a year. A sample can be found here.
IN PERSON are profiles of contemporary Catholics and how they are living their faith in today's world. Generally we do not feature priests or men and women religious, but lay Catholics who are working outside the church. An In Person profile is not a biography of the subject but rather a brief essay that illustrates, through personal details and events in the subject's life, the personality, importance, and faith of the subject. These profiles are approximately 800 words and include a pull-out box with a four to six "quick-take" questions. This department appears four times per year. A sample can be found here.
In a WISE GUIDE essay, the author introduces a spiritually significant, non-living individual from the Catholic tradition and gives a personal account of why his or her spirituality is meaningful today. The significant individual can be a saint from long ago, or a well-known historical figure. The author should provide readers with pertinent biographical information on the subject while explaining with personal anecdotes how the subject has been a guide for the author and can be a guide to all Catholics today. The author should have a personal connection with the subject and be able to highlight a unique aspect of his or her spirituality with which readers can also resonate. Length is 1,100 words plus at least 2 quotes from the subject. Wise Guide appears four times per year. A sample can be found here.
GLAD YOU ASKED is a brief monthly article that presents an informed and enlightened response to a basic question of Catholic doctrine, history, identity, and/or pastoral practice. Responding to the need of Catholics today for solid information about their church, GYA does not assume prior knowledge or preconceived notions on the part of readers but only the desire of people to understand more about the church and its tradition. The article begins with a straightforward question such as "Why does Lent have 40 days?" and offers a answer that, while not comprehensive, enlightens and intrigues readers. Length is 500 words. A sample can be found here.
REVIEWS summarize and critique a book (generally non-fiction), movie, or musical work. The content of the work does not have to be specifically religious. Reviews should provide a brief summary of content and critique. Length is 315 words.
Submission of original unpublished POETRY is welcome. Poems do not have to be religious and there are no restrictions on subject matter or form. We are looking for high quality, powerful poems that will evoke a strong response from readers. Email submissions to email@example.com
U.S. Catholic does not accept submissions to the following departments and columns: The Examined Life, Expert Witness, Testaments, Culture in Context, Margin Notes, At Home with Our Faith, or Eye of the Beholder.
We also encourage submissions for ONLINE PUBLICATION. We look for the following in online submissions:
- Timely: Our website aims to address current events, recent developments, and general trends that are on the minds of our readers. Submissions should offer a fresh and interesting take on a topic that is relevant to our audience, but should not simply offer a recap of recent events.
- Accessible: Authors should aim to reach a wide audience with their writing style, using a conversational tone rather than a scholarly or academic approach.
- Unpublished: U.S. Catholic will not consider submissions that have already appeared on other websites, blogs, or in print publications.
If you are interested in writing any of these articles, please email us your submission at the address below:


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Send a slice of Americana with this patriotic version of our signature flower cake arrangement. Crafted from fresh white daisy poms and red mini carnations, it's wrapped in a festive blue and white ribbon and comes complete with the "cherry on top". A truly original gift to show your pride in the U.S.A., or a sweet way to celebrate birthdays and get-togethers with family and friends. Includes candles and a bakery box where available.
Arrangement measures approximately 6.5"H x 8.5"L. Our florists hand-design each arrangement, so colors, varieties and container may vary due to local availability.
Order by 1:00 PM PST for same day delivery and by 12:00 PM PST for same day pick up.
* Fee charged in addition to the Standard Delivery Fee
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The unnamed projects in the Basilicata region in southern Italy will be fitted with six V117-3MW and nine V117-3.3MW turbines.
Both wind farms are owned by renewable energy developer Asia Ambiente Italia which has installed 170MW globally since 2003.
The turbines are due to be installed in the third quarter of 2014, to be up and running before the end of the year. Included in the deal is a ten-year service agreement.
This will be the first time that either the V117-3MW and V117-3.3MW are installed in the country.
Italy is expected to install around 400MW of new capacity in 2014, broadly in line with 2013, but well below the roughly 1GW of annual growth in 2010-2012.


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George Hirst: A legend of the Golden Age – Almanack
George Hirst, who died in May 1954, was one of the greatest all-rounders in history. His Wisden obituary showcased his jaw-dropping statistics.
George Hirst was one of the most illustrious cricketers who graced the Golden Age. On the 24 occasions on which he played for England, Hirst achieved only a few noteworthy performances, but such was his prowess with bat and ball for Yorkshire in a career spanning 40 years that Lord Hawke described him as the greatest county cricketer of all time.
Certainly this blunt, outspoken man of extreme buoyancy and cheerfulness brought such a tenacity to the game that no match in which he figured was won or lost till the last ball was bowled. Small wonder, therefore, that in Yorkshire he was an unchallenged hero, and throughout the length and breadth of England his popularity stood unrivalled.
Figures alone tell only part of the story of Hirst, but they show unmistakably his supreme prowess as an all-round cricketer in the fullest meaning of the phrase. Between his first county game for Yorkshire in 1889 and his last in 1929, Hirst scored 36,203 runs, average 34.05, and took 2,727 wickets, average 18.77; at his peak friends and opponents alike recognised him as the best mid-off in the country, with a pair of hands so sure that a considerable proportion of his 550 catches were made from scorching drives in a period when strong driving was an essential component in every batsman's game.
The measure of Hirst's ability is best reflected in that he accomplished the double feat of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets 14 times, a number surpassed only by his renowned contemporary, Wilfred Rhodes (16), and that he alone made 2,000 runs and took 200 wickets in a season, which he did in 1906. His figures were 2,385 runs and 208 wickets. Years afterwards, when asked if he thought his record might be broken, Hirst made an answer typifying his whole approach. With a twinkle in his eye, he replied: "I don't know, but whoever does it will be very tired." Yet, through the years, he himself showed little evidence of fatigue. Only a very fit man, such as he was, could have reached 1,000 runs in 19 seasons and taken 100 wickets in 15 different years.
The people of Kirkheaton and the surrounding areas almost lived for cricket and from an early age Hirst, born on September 7, 1871, showed that he would be a player of more than ordinary skill. He became associated with Huddersfield when 18 and before his 19th birthday his first ambition, that of playing for Yorkshire, was realised. Hirst was fond of recalling that in those days his equipment, which he carried to the ground in a canvas bag, was worth no more than ten shillings, that he wore a shilling cap, a sixpenny belt and brown boots. Success in county cricket came slowly, but after some seasons of quiet progress, he established himself in 1896 by scoring 1,122 runs and taking 104 wickets. Thenceforward he gathered strength as he went along.
Of his 60 first-class centuries, all but four were played for Yorkshire, his highest being 341 – still a county record against – Leicestershire in 1905. Leicestershire suffered particularly from his bowling as well as from his batting. Twice he did the hat-trick against them, once in a match in 1907 in which he took 15 wickets, his greatest success in one game. Five times Hirst bowled unchanged through a match, Rhodes being his partner on three occasions and Schofield Haigh on the other two, and twice he took three wickets in four balls.
The combination of Hirst and Rhodes was feared as much by batsmen as that of Peel and Briggs, Gregory and McDonald and, in later years, Grimmett and O'Reilly. In the 1902 Test match at Birmingham, Hirst and Rhodes bowled out Australia for 36 runs, their lowest total in any Test. Rhodes took seven wickets for 17, and Hirst three for 15. This was the most memorable joint feat of Hirst and Rhodes, but in the next match the Australians met Yorkshire, who put them out for 23 (Hirst five for 9 runs and F. S. Jackson five for 12). Another Yorkshire bowling triumph in which Hirst played a notable part occurred in 1908 when he and Schofield Haigh dismissed Northamptonshire for 27 and 15, Hirst taking twelve wickets for 19 runs and Haigh six for 19.
On his two tours to Australia, with A. E. Stoddart's team in 1897-98, and P. F. Warner's side in 1903-4, Hirst did not realise English hopes but he played a conspicuous role in a dramatic victory over Australia at The Oval in 1902. When Hirst, who scored 58 not out in the final innings, was joined by the last man, his lifelong friend and colleague, Rhodes, England required 15 to win. The story has been passed on that, as Rhodes met him on the way to the wicket, Hirst confidently murmured: "We'll get 'em in singles, Wilfred" – which they proceeded to do. Whether true or not, that is the type of remark Hirst would have made. One last instance of his versatility; in 1906 he scored two centuries and took eleven wickets in the match against Somerset at Bath.
Essentially a self-taught batsman, Hirst frequently gave of his best when the pitch afforded help to bowlers. His remarkable quickness of eye and feet enabled him to develop the hook and pull strokes so well that some bowlers complained that they found exceeding difficulty in bowling to him anything except a yorker which he did not treat as a long-hop. His liking for the hook was costly only in Australia. By contrast to his right-handed batting, Hirst was a natural left-arm bowler, a shade faster than medium. After a long bounding run, he delivered with a free, easy action and he often made the new ball swerve and dip into the batsman so late that many of his victims confessed themselves as suspecting that they had been thrown out from cover. Hirst, in fact, has been described as the father of all modern seam and swing bowling. Before he showed its possibilities, bowlers rubbed the new ball in the dirt to take off the polish.
Hirst, short and thick-set, found perpetual pleasure in every game he played and captains such as Sir Pelham Warner have testified that they could not have wished for a better man to be in their teams. Both as a player and as a personality, none could speak too highly of him. Sir Pelham has said that when things were going wrong on tour Hirst was first to come to the aid of everybody with his ready wit.
When Hirst was given a benefit by Yorkshire in 1904 he received a sum of £3,703, a remarkable figure in those days. Seventeen years later a testimonial for him produced £700. Virtually that came at the finish of his active career, for he became coach at Eton College in 1921, but he played occasionally for Yorkshire for another eight years. During his 18 years at Eton, Hirst endeared himself to hundreds of young cricketers who benefited from his kindly guidance, and nothing was more fitting than that M.C.C. should include him in the 26 professionals whom they honoured in 1949 with Honorary Life Membership.
Cricket was George Hirst's life and less than a year before his death he sat with Rhodes, now sightless, while England recovered from a seemingly hopeless position against Australia at the Leeds ground on which he himself so often stood in the breach.
Hirst, George Herbert, died on May 10, 1954, aged 82.


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My parents live in Iowa…well, they live in Iowa for a few more days, but after the new year they are packing up and moving east to be closer to my family and I. I am a very lucky daughter! Unfortunately, they are leaving an AMAZING network of friends. The group of 10+ women that my Mom has become incredibly close with call themselves the "Laughing Ladies"…and they really are! I've witnessed it myself! The Laughing Ladies are wonderful, loving, women and I couldn't wish for better friends for her to have. Hands down both my parents and their friends will go through withdrawals over the next few months 😉
As a parting gift, some of the Laughing Ladies bought my parents a beautiful beautiful painting that weeks before on a little shopping day trip my Mom had fallen in love with. They were sneaky! They bought the painting that same week as the shopping trip and even had the owner of the shop make stories up about the painting when my Mom went back a week later to show my Dad the painting and buy it for herself. When the Laughing Ladies gave my parents the painting, they made my Mom promise not to write them thank you notes. Well…my Mom can be sneaky too ladies 😉 Below is the beautiful painting and her non-thank you card cookies 🙂


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From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Hill
Parliament Hill (French: Colline du Parlement), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings — the parliament buildings — serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural elements of national symbolic importance. Parliament Hill attracts approximately 3 million visitors each year.
The capital of Canada is Ottawa, in the province of Ontario. There are offically ten provinces and three territories in Canada, which is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area.While politically and legally an independant nation, the titular head of state for Canada is still Queen Elizabeth.On the east end of Canada, you have Montreal as the bastion of activity. Montreal is famous for two things, VICE magazine and the Montreal Jazz Festival. One is the bible of hipster life (disposable, of course) and the other is a world-famous event that draws more than two million people every summer. Quebec is a French speaking province that has almost seceded from Canada on several occasions, by the way..When you think of Canada, you think of . . . snow, right?But not on the West Coast. In Vancouver, it rains. And you'll find more of the population speaking Mandarin than French (but also Punjabi, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, German, and much more).Like the other big cities in Canada, Vancouver is vividly multicultural and Vancouverites are very, very serious about their coffee.Your standard Vancouverite can be found attired head-to-toe in Lululemon gear, mainlining Cafe Artigiano Americanos (spot the irony for ten points).But here's a Vancouver secret only the coolest kids know: the best sandwiches in the city aren't found downtown. Actually, they're hidden in Edgemont Village at the foot of Grouse Mountain on the North Shore."It's actually worth coming to Canada for these sandwiches alone." -- Michelle Superle, VancouverText by Steve Smith.


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Cigar Friendly Life Insurance
John Q. Cigarsmoker, seeking life insurance, buys a $500,000 whole-life policy from insurance company A. Unfortunately, Company A is one of the many that includes the two-a-day Macanudo smoker with the two-pack-a-day Marlboro man, so John Q., 50 years old and in good health, is lumped into a general smoker category. He pays $15,000 a year for the life of his policy.
His twin brother, Bob, also seeking life insurance, shops around. He discovers one of a dwindling number of insurance companies that still recognizes the differences between cigar and cigarette smoking. He is placed in a nonsmoking preferred category, paying $11,500 a year for the same coverage as his brother. Over 20 years, Bob saves $70,000 in premiums.
"The industry is changing, and they're really cracking down on cigar smokers," says David Kleinhandler, president of Executive Benefits Group, Inc., a Manhattan-based insurance brokerage and financial planning firm for high-income clients. "There are only a few companies left that are willing to underwrite policies on a favorable basis for cigar smokers."
A number of reasons are given for the shift. There's the "me-too" factor of following industry trends, and for some insurers, says one Florida insurance agent who requested anonymity, "It's basically an opportunity to raise premiums."
Many insurers cite actuarial data about the harmful effects of smoking. Although some medical studies have shown slightly higher risks for cigar smokers over nonsmokers for certain cancers, most of the studies of smoking and cancer only address cigarette smokers. Of the studies that have included cigar smokers, most did not differentiate between a two-a-day cigar smoker and a 10-a-day smoker.
The distinction is an important one, particularly relating to lung cancer. According to American Cancer Society spokesman Michael Thun, M.D., "The risk [of lung cancer] is lower in cigar smokers than in those who always smoke cigarettes. It's directly related to the number of cigars and the duration of smoking."
The gap between cigarette and cigar smokers' overall risks is considerable. A table in the 1982 Surgeon General's report, The Health Consequences of Smoking, lists four major studies of smoking and overall cancer mortality ratios. Three of the studies--two American Cancer Society studies and a study of U.S. veterans--compared male cigarette smokers with male cigar smokers. With 1.00 being the risk level of a nonsmoker, cigar smokers had risk factors of 1.18, 1.34 and 1.32, compared to risk factors of 1.79, 2.12 and 1.97, respectively, for cigarette smokers.
Unfortunately, cigar smokers are finding themselves increasingly in the cigarette smoker category, a trend that began around 1990 and has been gaining momentum ever since. As an article in the September 21, 1992, issue of National Underwriter noted: "The industry is gravitating toward requiring that individuals not consume tobacco of any kind in order to qualify for preferred rates." Many insurers who formerly offered nonsmoker rates for cigar smokers--including State Farm Life Insurance, Primerica Life and, as recently as the end of 1994, Chubb Life America and John Hancock Mutual Life--have changed their policies and now consider all tobacco users in the same group.
The differences between smoker and nonsmoker life insurance rates are dramatic. In a telephone survey of the 25 largest and 10 smaller life insurers in the United States and Canada, insurers were asked to estimate annual premiums for a $500,000 whole- or term-life policy for a 50-year-old man. Of the companies that responded, whole-life premiums for standard smoker policies averaged $15,658, compared to $11,951 for preferred nonsmokers. First-year rates for 10-year term-life policies for smokers averaged 30 percent to 228 percent higher than comparable policies for nonsmokers.
But cigar aficionados needn't lose hope. An encouraging number of life insurers--including some of the nation's largest--still offer policies that give cigar smokers a break. "We do not consider cigar smokers to be smokers," says Joe Mondy, a spokesman for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. At his firm, cigar smokers are eligible for insurance at nonsmoker rates. Cigar aficionados are also eligible (with certain conditions) for nonsmoker rates with Prudential Insurance, Northwestern Mutual (although a spokesman says they are reviewing their policy), Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. of Canada, Principal Mutual Life, Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America and Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York (MONY).
A few insurers, including Metropolitan Life and Equitable Life, offer nonsmoker rates to cigar smokers, provided the client does not test positive for cotinine (metabolized nicotine) in a urinalysis test. A majority of companies now test for nicotine, particularly when large policies ($500,000 and up) are involved. The increasing use of these tests has contributed to the creation of an "all tobacco" category--cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco, snuff, even nicotine patches in some cases--in underwriting, because urinalysis cannot differentiate between sources of nicotine.
Industry watchers warn that restrictions and products offered by insurers will undergo rapid changes in the next few years. So the key for the cigar lover is to shop around, find an insurer that is right for your situation and lock in a favorable rate now, before the tobacco "ban" wagon picks up any more speed.
The following is a selected list of major life insurers who, at this writing, offer noncigarette-smoker rates for cigar smokers. The policies, restrictions and benefits vary widely, so consult your insurance agent for details.
Aetna Life Insurance Co
Hartford, Connecticut
American General Life and Accident Insurance Co.
Nashville, Tennessee
Equitable Life Assurance Society
New York, New York
Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America
New York, New York
Manufacturers Life Insurance Co. of Canada
Toronto, Canada
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Springfield, Massachusetts
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
New York, New York
Mutual Life Insurance Co. of New York
New York, New York
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Principal Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Des Moines, Iowa
Prudential Insurance Co. of America
Newark, New Jersey


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....or something like that.
Although I use Jjetty a lot, feel free to call me Jet, its easier, and everybody does it.
Although I'm new to the community as an active member, I am by no means new to the Trilogy, or the 3rd Party conversions done by some amazing artists. I've actually been playing this game for 20 years now and even to this day I still enjoy it...and miss the days when I could play it on a decent Mac and make my own Maps...
With that said I say again Hello from an old but dedicated fan. How has the Marathon Community been fairing these days?


text: [FB] Girl I'm friends with on Facebook. Watch and play with many hot amateur cam sluts live on WETVIBE.com – Tell all of your friends! VIDEO HAVING TROUBLE PLAYING? JOIN PLAY N WATCH UNLIMITED FREE HOT GIRLS LIVE BELOW! YOU NEED TO SEE THIS: Can your girl friends cum like this?! You can make even more hot gfs to shoot out SQUIRT HERE LIVE


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These cost differences are significant enough that over the course of a year a family with two kids could lose $500, or one week's pay, just to afford milk. The most expensive gallon of milk found by Gioia's investigation was $6, which is 165 percent more than the cheapest gallon at $2.25.
"Milk is not a luxury, it is a necessity," said Gioia. "Milk is essential to any healthy diet- especially for children, and it should be affordable for everyone. Right now we have a system that hurts farmers, small business, and ultimately parents and children by allowing the middle men to keep prices high."
The New York State Department of Agriculture (NYSDA) dropped price threshold statistics from its website this year, leaving consumers and storeowners with no information to identify price gouging. Gioia is advocating having these prices reposted, as well as increased enforcement against costly milk. He will also explore legislation requiring stores to post their phone number and website so New Yorkers can easily report gouging wherever milk is sold.


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Here's a map that's pertinent to the earlier post on high-speed rail. The America 2050 organization is some kind of non-profit/think tank that deals in planning for future growth in the US, and they've put together this map of what the US will look like in 2050, entitled "The Emerging Megaregions." Essentially, they foresee the swelling megalopolises in several different areas of the country merging with each other to form giant conurbations. They define them thus:
As metropolitan regions continued to expand throughout the second half of the 20th century their boundaries began to blur, creating a new scale of geography now known as the megaregion. Interlocking economic systems, shared natural resources and ecosystems, and common transportation systems link these population centers together...
Most of the nation's rapid population growth, and an even larger share of its economic expansion, is expected to occur in 10 or more emerging megaregions: large networks of metropolitan regions, each megaregion covering thousands of square miles and located in every part of the country.
The 11 megaregions as defined by America 2050 are:
1. Northeast. Also known as Bosnywash, after three of the main nodes along its spine, or the Northeast Corridor, this is the most fully developed megaregion. It already had 50,000,000 residents in 2000, and contributed a fifth of the national GDP.
2. Great Lakes. Less cohesive than the Northeast, perhaps, but absolutely sprawling in size, the Great Lakes megaregion encompasses the whole area from Milwaukee to Buffalo, and from St. Louis to Detroit (and possibly Toronto, though that's vague). It actually has a larger population than the Northeast - 53,000,000 in 2000, and expected to gain another 9,000,000 by 2025, though it will be doing so in the face of the continuing erosion of the region's mainstay manufacturing sector.
3. Piedmont Atlantic. Stretches from Birmingham, AL through Atlanta to North Carolina's Reseach Triangle. It's one of the boomingest regions in the country, and will grow by 38% - to 20,000,000 - by 2025.
4. Florida. Basically the whole state, less the panhandle. I wish I could report that Florida is expected to evolve into a dystopian hellscape, populated by McCarthian (as in Cormac) gangs of countryside-terrorizing cannibals, even as the seas rush up to sweep away whatever pathetic fragments of civiliztion might have been spared from total collapse. However, America 2050 seems to think Florida will in fact be a bustling, diverse, and growing region of more thn 20,000,000 souls, anchored by the international city of Miami. We'll see who's right...
5. Gulf Coast. The coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, from the Florida panhandle all the way to Brownsville, including New Orlans and Houston. Will have a population of 16,000,000 by 2025, constituting 4% of the nation's growth and economic output. (Frankly, though, I'm not sure if I quite buy this as a megaregion. It includes vast areas of sparsely populated land, in the bayous of Louisiana and the cattle country of south Texas. Plus, note that Houston is also counted as part of the Texas Triangle (q. v. #6 below), which seems like cheating.)
6. Texas Triangle. The eponymous geometrical figure is formed by Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and San Antonio, with Austin in there as well. A2050 says that "by 2050 about 35 million people, or 70 percent of the population of Texas, will live in the four metropolitan areas that comprise the Texas Triangle" - the consequent of 45%+ population growth. Pretty amazing. The San Antonio-Austin-DFW spine is already sort of congealing into a Bosnywash-type melded conurbation. Meanwhile, Houston has one of the world's busiest ports, directly connecting the region with international markets.
7. Front Range. The string of cities along I-25, from Cheyenne, WY to Albuquerque, NM, anchored by Denver. It's the smallest of the megaregions - it will have just under 7,000,000 people by 2025 - but is growing as quickly as anywhere in the country.
8. Arizona Sun Corridor. Phoenix and Tucson and points in between. It's growing at a phenomenal rate - 62% - and will have over 7,000,000 people in 2025. The ASC, Front Range, and Cascadia could have an interesting debate over Best Scenery.
9. Southern California. LA. Hollywood. The Valley. San Diego. Cities of hundreds of thousands of people you've never even heard of (Oxnard?!). Southern California: 28,000,000 people by 2025, asshole drivers every one.
10. Northern California. This includes the Bay Area, of course, as well as Sacramento, Tahoe/Reno, and much of the Central Valley of California. It'll be home to 17,000,000 by 2025. (I've also heard S. Calif and N. Calif referred to as the single megaregion of "San-San": San Diego to San Francisco, though it's really more like Tijuana to Santa Rosa.)
11. Cascadia. The Pacific Northwest Coast, from Vancouver, BC to Eugene, Oregon, including Seattle and Portland. Known for its musical heyday 15 years ago, its disastrously albinic population, and Bill Gates. A.k.a. "Ecopolis." Will have more than 10,000,000 caffeine-addled residents in 2025.
Whew. That was quite the tour. Now let me just say, in terms of sustainable development and urban growth, that the emergence of these megaregions needn't be a disaster - but that there's a better way and a worse way for growth to occur. You can well imagine these areas serving as the regional foci for a national high-speed rail system, as described in the post below. They would be well-suited for such a rail plan: imagine commuters shuttling from Portland to Seattle, or Raleigh to Atlanta, every day on 200-mph Supertrains. That would be great for quality of life, great for economic growth, and great for the environment. On the other hand, simply filling in the spaces between cities with mile after endless mile of sprawling, identityless suburbia will be terrible for quality of life (imagine the traffic and the pollution), and might well mean - literally - the collapse of the global environment. It's strange to say that these are the stakes of something as seemingly arcane as megaregional urban planning, but there you are. This is the world we live in.


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Five Steps to Financial Fitness
No matter what your financial goals are, or even if you do not have any financial goals at all, this chart can help stay financially savvy and help you make wise financial decisions. You may not be in the market for a home loan now, but what about buying a new car, engagement ring or getting new furniture? These are all factors that affect your credit worthiness, so the better prepared you are now, the easier it will be for you to finance those big purchases!
If you have any questions at all, you know who to ask! Contact a local loan officer with any questions! Happy Savings!


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Delivering a great employee experience is critical
to attract and retain top talent.
Taking a disciplined, insights-driven approach, companies can transform their HR or broader business
services to help increase talent engagement and productivity. Doing so makes good business sense.
Companies with a great employee experience outperformed the S&P by 122 percent.1
1Glassdoor Inc. survey, 2015
Talent expects hyper-personalization
In a world where almost anything can be customized, workers are demanding tailored talent practices and consumer grade worker experiences. Talent expects resources, development and advancement opportunities to be aligned with their professional and personal goals.
Money isn't the only currency, especially for younger workers
People increasingly want more than a paycheck; they want greater flexibility, autonomy and learning opportunities. Millennials, the largest workforce group, value engagement, quality of life and status. They will shop around for jobs that best align with their needs and lives.
The workforce will be liquid
Companies will work in ecosystems and not just within their own four walls. In addition to full-time employees, future workforces will increasingly consist of contingency or freelance workers. Sixty-seven percent of workers want to pursue self-employment or freelance opportunities in the future. Leadership also sees this coming: They anticipate that 44 percent of their workforce will include independent contractors or temporary positions by 2018.
Technology is an enabler
Technology is playing a larger role than ever before in employee satisfaction, especially with millennials. They expect to have collaboration tools and to use their own hardware in the workplace. Technology enables organizations to provide access to information and resources anywhere, anytime. Automation and AI, coupled with advanced analytics, can increasingly be used to predict and preempt issues, helping reduce frustration and increase workforce productivity.
Organizing your HR function to focus on these critical moments will allow you to drive real value, not just deliver a service to your workforce.
Develop advanced analytics capabilities to understand what the true "Moments that Matter" are.
Organize HR services around workforce needs.
Use human-led design to change from existing process/standards-based approaches.
Cultivate customer-focused mindset and behaviors.
Encouraging a laser focus on simplicity and agility can release savings that can be reinvested to deliver what your workforce wants and expects.
Simplify and standardize processes.
Remove local customization where not absolutely critical.
Automate and provide self-service to give employees access anytime, anywhere.
Balancing proactive technology, automation and artificial intelligence with delivery that comes from human contact builds a more efficient and nurturing organization
Use analytics-driven insights to determine how and where to interact and to provide personalization.
Form a technology ecosystem that can anticipate what employees want—and may need—to preempt issues
Deliver end-to-end services providing integrated access, delivery and escalation tools (e.g., mobile, workflow, integrated case management).
Understanding what makes your employees tick is not a one-time thing. It's important to continually track behaviors, mindsets and problems that face your workforce every day and evolve how you address these.
Use advanced analytics to both measure performance against "Moments that Matter" and monitor changes in what those moments are.
Focus on a few outcome-based measures for things that can actually be addressed.
Adjust based on insights.
Prepare to continually evolve and improve.


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The Kunsthalle in Bielefeld is a museum and exhibition centre for modern and contemporary art.
This important collection of 20th century art includes works by Picasso, Sonia and Robert Delaunay, Max Beckmann, Man Ray, and the Brücke and Blue Rider artists. In addition, the museum will soon host its fifth Picasso exhibition. Every year, on the last Saturday in April, the museum has an open night offering 'Bielefeld Art Encounters'. On Museums Night more than 40 museums, churches and galleries open their doors to the public and offer an artistic journey through the night highlighting fascinating aspects of the town's cultural scene.
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11 Comments on "Shared Topic: Do Your Alts Know Each Other?"
April 4, 2011 at 10:23 pm
I decided a while back that my current set of characters have not only met one another, they're family: http://twentysilver.blogspot.com/2010/05/meet-family.html. Two Human orphans, adopted by a Dwarven couple in Ironforge, and their adopted siblings.
I'm not a WoW roleplayer by any stretch of the imagination, but having a backstory and a link between my characters just… makes sense to me. While I can only play one at a time, they work as a team, particularly in terms of crafting for one another and trading materials back and forth. Coming from a large family myself, I can easily imagine their interactions one with another, even if they'll never actually meet in game.
April 4, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Mine are all friends, mostly because of auto suggest on mail but still they are friends.
April 5, 2011 at 12:05 am
Me and the alts, we gets tagether 2-3 times a month at the Team Ratshag Secret Headquarters in Booty Bay, drink some Uncle Bonechomper's, sing some songs, swap some stories. Occasionally we runs inta each other here or there. And, when things go bad, we go to each others funerals.
April 5, 2011 at 12:11 pm
See, I love roleplaying. I used to be a LARP player. Major dork points there! Though I never started getting into RP in WoW until recently. I found myself wanting to do it a LOT with my lowbie warlock and possibly any other alts that I may decide to level.
Maybe it's because I felt like the environment or the world wasn't doing enough to immerse me into it, so I was searching for more immersion within. That could be it.
I plan on creating a character in Rift and leveling a handful of toons on there to see what I enjoy and what I may take to max level. I have the urge to RP on there, too. Not too much, like where I'm speaking in acents and things like that. But enough to where I would think to myself "What would this character do?" or "Where would he/she want to go next?"
Little things like that.


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Win a family 4-pack of tickets…
Mister G Halloween Fiesta
Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton
Sunday, October 28th @ 11am
Halloween Fiesta with Mister G! Popular, international children's music artist & local hero Mister G will be hosting a one-of-a-kind Halloween costume party at the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton on Sun., Oct 28 at 11am, co-sponsored by Hilltown Families… and we're giving away family 4-pack of free tickets to two very lucky families!
Mister G Halloween Fiesta will double as a CD release concert for his Parents' Choice Gold Award-winning album, Chocolalala. The bilingual (Spanish/English) CD blends Latin rhythms, traditional instruments and uniquely catchy songwriting. Mister G will also perform songs from his 2011 Grammy-nominated CD BUGS, called "irresistible" by People Magazine. Details on how to enter to win are below. Deadline to enter: 10/24 by 11:59pm (EST).
After 20 years as a critically acclaimed singer/songwriter playing for grown-ups, Ben Gundersheimer (aka Mister G) began performing for children in 2009. A graduate of Amherst College and the M.Ed program at Smith College, Ben was dubbed "Mister G" by his former elementary school students.
The first CD release concert for his newest album, Chocolalala, was held at the National Zoo in Washington, DC to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month. A winner of a Parents' Choice Gold Award, Chocolalala is currently on the Grammy ballot for the Best Children's Album of 2012. Inspired by Mister G's concert tours throughout Latin America, the album spans a wide range of musical styles from bossa nova to ska, funk to folk, rap to pop. Chocolalala features captivating Latin rhythms and melodies, world-class musicians and the voices of Pioneer Valley bilingual families. In addition to writing and singing the songs, Mister G played acoustic and electric guitars, banjo, tres and percussion.
We're giving away two family 4-packs of tickets! Your chance to win a family 4-pack of tickets to the Mister G Halloween Fiesta at the Academy of Music Theater in Northmpton, MA on Sunday, Oct 28th at 11am is easy & simple! To enter to win simply:
- CONSIDER SHARING ON FACEBOOK by selecting the Facebook icon below
- TELL US HOW HILLTOWN FAMILIES KEEPS YOU CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY below (one entry per household) and be sure to tell us your
- FULL NAME (first/last) and where you
- LIVE (TOWN/STATE) must include your town to be eligible.
- ACCURATE EMAIL (we never share your email address).
- We'll randomly draw a winner and will share the results below.
IT'S THAT SIMPLE! — Deadline to enter: 10/24 by 11:59pm (EST).
Ticket Prices: Adults/$10; Children/$8. Tickets can be purchased at the Academy of Music Box Office, Tuesday- Friday 3-6PM or by calling: 413-584-9032 ext.105. Tickets can also be purchased online at academyofmusictheatre.com.


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U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Discharge rate is estimated at 210,000
gallons per day.
The oil will progress northward and
eastward and is estimated to make
landfall along the Mississippi and
Alabama coastline as early as Monday
morning. Other locations along the
Florida panhandle may be affected by
early next week.
Rough weather is forecast for the
weekend and may cause heavy oil
inundation to beach areas.
On-water response operations ceased
late-afternoon Thursday due to the
weather and are not anticipated to start
again until Monday, May 3.
The Response
The first wildlife rehabilitation center is
being established in Venice, LA, and a
second is planned near Mobile, AL.
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response
Saturday, May 1, 2010
More than 41 miles of booming has
been deployed, and more booming
is available. Dispersant has been
applied to more than 13 square miles
of oil slick, which has been somewhat
effective in controlling the spread of oil.
The Service is advising the Incident
Command on methods to mitigate the
damage from the oil on wildlife. It
also is conducting, coordinating, and
supervising search and capture for
oiled wildlife.
The Service is conducting aerial flights
to identify oiled wildlife and help
facilitate recovery and treatment.
The Threat to Wildlife
Service personnel are concerned that
many species of wildlife, some already
threatened or endangered, face grave
risk from the spill. Ground surveys this
past week at Breton National Wildlife
Refuge, a 5,000-acre wilderness area,
found more than 34,000 individual birds
including roughly:
2,000 pairs of brown pelicans;
5,000 pairs of Royal Terns;
5,000 pairs of Caspian Terns; and
5,000 pairs of feeding, loafing, and
nesting gulls and other shore birds.
Species that could be affected by the
approaching oil slick include:
The Loggerhead, Green, Hawksbill,
Kemp's Ridley Leatherback sea
Large wading birds (Roseate Spoonbill,
Ibis, Heron, Egret);
Beach-nesting terns and gulls (Caspian
Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern,
Least Tern, Laughing Gull, Black
Bayou Sauvage NWR
Breton NWR
Delta NWR
Grand Bay NWR
MS. Sandhill Crane NWR Bon Secour NWR
Gulf of Mexico
Beach-nesting shorebirds (American
Oystercatcher, Wilson's Plover, Snowy
Marsh birds (Mottled Duck, Clapper
Rail, Black Rail, Seaside Sparrow).
National Wildlife Refuges
Up to 20 National Wildlife Refuges
could potentially be affected by the
spill. Four are of immediate concern:
Breton Island National Wildlife
The second oldest wildlife refuge in
the country, established by President
Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. He visited
in 1915, the only refuge he ever visited.
Breton, which includes Breton Island
and all of the Chandeleur Islands in St.
Bernard and Plaquemine Parish, LA,
provides habitat for nesting wading
birds and seabirds, as well as wintering
shorebirds and waterfowl.; 23 species
of seabirds and shorebirds frequently
use the refuge, and 13 species nest on
the various islands. The most abundant
nesters are brown pelicans, laughing
gulls, and royal, Caspian, and Sandwich
Bon Secour
From the French meaning "safe
harbor," Bon Secour contains 7,000
acres of wildlife habitat for migratory
birds, nesting sea turtles and the
endangered Alabama beach mouse.
Refuge beaches serve as nesting sites
for loggerhead and Kemp's Ridley sea
turtles. More than 370 species of birds
have been identified on the refuge
during migratory seasons, including
ospreys and herons.
Grand Bay
Located in coastal Mississippi and
Alabama, Grand Bay National
Wildlife was established in 1992. The
10,200-acre refuge partially overlays
the Grand Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve. Species found at
the refuge include the gopher tortoise,
red-cockaded woodpecker and brown
Established in 1935 in the delta at
the mouth of the Mississippi River,
Delta NWR comprises 48,800 acres
of marshlands and open water. The
primary purpose of the refuge was
to provide sanctuary and habitat for
wintering waterfowl. Species on the
refuge include: American alligator,
Brown Pelican, Arctic peregrine falcon,
deer, swamp rabbits and piping plover.
The marshes and waterways of support
a diversity of fish species, including
speckled trout, redfish, flounder, catfish
and largemouth bass.
For media: Joint information Center
numbers are 985/902 5231 and
985/902 5240.
Reporters with questions about the
Service's wildlife response can call Tom
MacKenzie at 678/296 6400.
To report claims related to damages:
800/440 0858.
To volunteer: 866-448-5816.
To report oiled or injured wildlife:
866/557 1401
On the web
The USCG Joint Incident Command
Department of the Interior:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service:
A news site from four government
agencies and private companies BP
and Transocean:
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service


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Cat Hair Salon Birthday Party – Kitty Haircut Care – Fun Pet Care Cat Makeover – Play Kitty Makeover, Hair Salon, Dress Up Colors Games For Kids Girls
♥ If you enjoyed my video please Comment, Like, Favorite, Subscribe
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Cats and kittens are going to a birthday party and need a new stylist. Run your own Cat Hair Salon, style the cutest kittens and help your fluffy clients look the best!
Play the best kitten care and hair salon games for girls and boys. Help five soft and fluffy kitty cat friends prepare for a birthday celebration. Wash, cut, curl and color cats' hair and fur. Design the most beautiful outfits and add stylish accessories for the purrfect look. Light the candles on a delicious birthday cake, open the gifts and find more games and surprises for kids!
Cat Hair Salon Birthday Party animal care games for girls & boys:
· Run the best cat hair salon and take care of your furry clients!
· Meet the cats: best friends Missy, Amy, Kate, Coco and grumpy George!
· Start the makeover: shampoo, wash, comb and brush fur!
· Shave, cut, curl, dye and style kittens' fur and hair!
· Create crazy hairstyles and have fun with your new virtual pets!
· Do a super stylish manicure and latest fashion Siamese cat makeup!
· Apply eye cream, play kitten spa, style beard and make grumpy cat George happy!
· Dress up and accessorise your new virtual pets and best friends!
· Light the candles, taste the cake and wish Missy a happy birthday!
· Pop balloons, collect gifts and unlock new games for girls and boys!
· Watch videos for kids, get bonus coins and unlock new dress up items!