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Thailand's Booming Food Export Business is Something to Behold
Food Processing's News And Trends Editor takes on food safety and new food products at Thaifex 2009.
Neither a worldwide H1N1 virus pandemic nor political unrest in Asia could keep me from exploring the exotic, exquisite, mysterious paradise of Thailand. My opportunity came when attending Thaifex--World of Food Asia, organized by the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Dept. of Export Promotion and Koelnmesse Pte. Ltd., and held at the Impact Arena in Bangkok May 13-15.
In addition to being a popular tourism destination, Thailand's vibrant export-led economy reflects its status as a pre-eminent trader to the world and logistics hub of Southeast Asia. Scrumptious tropical fruits and vegetables, seafood (particularly shrimp), frozen and processed chicken, sugar cane, tea, coffee and rice are Thailand's major exports, and the Thais want to expafnd their markets.f
Despite the worldwide economic crisis, there were 2,100 exhibitors at Thaifex, one of the few trade shows with increased attendance -- 21,101 trade visitors and some 100,000 international buyers and visitors from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S., a 40 percent increase compared to 2008.
"Due to increasing world demand, there is room for considerable business growth for Thai food exports," said Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Commerce Siripol Yodmuangcharoen. "We aim to generate $22 million in exports this year."
"More Asian manufacturers are producing more quality organic and Halal products," said Michael Dreyer, managing director of Koelnmesse, which also sponsors the Anuga Fair in Cologne, Germany. "Halal-certified products could be the boom for the region, as there are 1.5 to1.8 billion Muslims in Asia." The population in the region is gaining in income and they have the ability to eat and live according to religious standards.
Show security was tight, and attendees had to pass through airport-type detectors. Food safety is the No 1 priority in Thailand, as evidenced by the vast numbers of quality certifications prominently displayed in booths – ISO 9001-2000, HACCP, GMP.
Food Safety was also the primary emphasis during a plant tour at I.T. Foods Industries Co. Ltd., a seafood and prepared foods manufacturer; our tour of the Halal kitchen of Thai Airways International, a member of the Star Alliance, which feeds passengers of most major airlines; and even during a walkabout at Thai Organic Farm. In fact, the number of masks, gloves, booties and lab coats I wore could have clothed a plant shift, and my hands were in washing mode at every step.
We shared the wonderful flavorful dips called nam prik, sampled the flavorful, spicy sauces and stews, pork wrapped in banana leaf, salads with every fresh herb known to man, perfectly prepared seafood, fresh fruit with intensely sweet flavors and fragrant curries to die for, all family style. In Thailand, soup is served before each meal, both to curb appetite and for its healthful properties. Thais also eat five or six small meals a day, rather than three large meals. Although I ate every minute I was there, I lost three pounds.
Thailand is known as the "Rice Bowl of the World," and of all the rice grown there, Thai Hom Mali Rice, naturally fragrant with a distinctive taste, is the most prestigious. Thailand also produces organic Thai Hom Mali (jasmine rice), long and slender, with its aromatic flavor and flowery scent released during the cooking process.
During the show, we found some unique products including black colored duck Century Egg (also known as 1,000 year old eggs) from Kasmmchai Farm Group; Juthathip brand Tuna Fish Sauce consisting of vitamin C, B2, iron and potassium; and Conz Corn Stick, square spherical sticks with corn in the middle, which contain no trans fat, no MSG and no sodium by San SeSan Global in three flavors: Roasted Corn, Chocolate and Cheese.
One of the most interesting concepts at the show was from C.P. Group, a supermarket chain. Most supermarkets deliver, but this one is setting up kiosks in office buildings and commuter train stations. Consumers can touch the screen and choose from a huge selection of groceries, including fresh meats, vegetables, fruits and prepared meals, which will be delivered to their home by CP Fresh Mart in time for dinner. As the store gets to know their taste, the kiosk also gives them suggestions and recipes.
I.P. Trading Ltd. showed its shelf-stable (packaged in Tetra Pak containers) Ivy Drinking Yogurt products in Mixed Fruit, Lychee, Hi-Calcium, Strawberry, Orange, Blueberry, Natural and Raspberry flavors and Ivy Chrysanthmum & Lo Han Guo flavored juice drinks. N.B. Value Link Co.'s Jus Cool & Rite brand includes an unusual but tasty beverage: Roasted Coconut Juice with Pulp.
Tipco F&B Co. Ltd. featured Juice Latte 100%, containing 98 percent of real fruit juice blended with 2 percent of soy milk in pomegranate and orange. Its Super Star beverages contain collagen, fiber, folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin C for beauty, body and brain in pomegranate and acerola-cherry varieties. And Cool Fit is mixed fruit and vegetable juices containing L-carnitine to boost fat burning plus vitamins A, C and E. I was rather partial to the Beetroot Mix.
Food and Drug for Health Co. Ltd. offers five varieties of Brighty health drinks – ginseng (high ginsenosides), mangosteen (high xanthones), pomegranate (high antocyanins), goji (high zeaxanthin) and malva nut (high fiber).
White Crane Health Products Co. Ltd. grows organic wheatgrass for juices and smoothies. Besides chlorophyll and a myriad of vitamins, minerals and enzymes, wheatgrass juice is said to have 30 times the vitamin B1 as a glass of milk, seven times the vitamin C in an orange, five times the iron and carotene in spinach and 11 times the calcium of a glass of milk.
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Business Directory
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There is an annual subscription charge of £25.00 (including VAT). Businesses based in Surrey Heath receive 50% discount on the annual subscription and pay only £12.50 for the year!
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Please note: the inclusion of any company name in this directory should not be seen as an endorsement of that company's products and/or services, nor it is a select list of companies that the Council uses.
What are the benefits?
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|Organisation name
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|Tomlinscote Sports Centre
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subset: commoncrawl


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Intel® Extreme Masters Oakland, November 18-19, 2017 Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
IEM Oakland
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Modern 'Wellness' Tactics Straight Out of 1880s
With health-care costs relentlessly rising, employers are trying new tactics to promote wellness in the workforce, but it's not a new idea. Ian Salisbury reports on Markets Hub.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... more and more corporations to keep interest in their employees health ... and or justifying of course in terms of their own bottom line ... seems to be a growing trend ... oh no it's not my friend that is an old old friend a very old ... Ian Salisbury and good story on MarketWatch ... history buffs I thought I think ... I did harkens back to the days of the company can own ... any of our very inching historical anecdote about this ... yet it was when I saw net was surprised that it was a bit like seeing that ... you know the intakes that take place on ... mad men in ... office is now about how retrograde whereby seen this before right ... now remember this is ... a town built by a robber Baron George Pullman ... um I guess you don't that is the real root Laurie Linda exactly ... in eighteen eighty ... aam where he decided you know his his success in its financial interests in as workers ... health entitle him to kind of ... notion that living habits ... ALM so he built this tiny encourages workers to live event was called home and ... aam it still exists and said Chicago though obviously is not can call buying ... political known and were told by phone mail or built on me he was in full pelt Shah to be the same color barriers to do is go mostly home employees yet beautifully landscaped to have a church had a library school ... aam but there were no saloons and then no gambling to ... hand in order to live there you have the answer was you know ... pretty invasive questionnaire that surprisingly look alot like some of the questioners that ... employers are less than we are today had prayer and how and that the selection about this employee employers today ... more more each day there please help ... I how does this all tie it rang well as interesting as they justify by saying well ... you know everyone has a stake in being healthy and we need to our armed health insurance premiums ... aam but of course George Bowman told him self well ... you know I'm I need a healthy workforce my ... my corporate profits will increase if if ... you know my workers ... you know ... live up to this we you know what were the standards of healthy living than you know today it's ... you know they encourage you to run marathons and ... and not to smoke identities Marathon don't go to missile and and um camp yet ... and I didn't end very well ... that that really and really I know it doesn't end well ... people seem to move out of the town basically as soon as they could there were newspaper accounts of the town it that I'm complaining of his paternal Zen actually ... played a role in in one of the major strikes in the eighteen nineties ... and when that he cut wages and refuse to cut the red ... ALM that people were paying ... um you know that when it was this part there was certainly was in the only ... time he wasn't the only difference between the unions in the rail and the railroad company would happen to be the spark that sentiment ... it illustrates a point that is going to be hitting the US is ... how much do we want our employers dipping into our private lives read NAIA illustrates the point that even things that seem like they're merely perks you know the nominees when push comes to shove can can can return them to their to their advantage when you know and and use them and in what turned out to be a self serving lack the Arctic in Southlake and stories look for that one on MarketWatch thank you very much welcome


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When Your Pay What You Want Experiment Is Too Successful In Ways You Didn't Expect
from the challenges... dept
This one isn't completely a "what went wrong" story -- it's more of a "what went too right and we weren't prepared for it" story. The folks at Good Old Games, who we've written about a few times before, recently put up a pay what you want bundle for Larian Studios' Divinity anthology of games. The setup is very clearly influenced by Humble Bundle. You can pay what you want, and if you beat certain levels you can get more things. There's also a leaderboard, and hitting certain checkpoints opens up new content for everyone.
Sven Vincke, of Larian Studios, recently wrote a really interesting post about how the "pay what you want" results were quite different than they expected. Despite having the examples of Humble Bundle and others for what happens when you do this kind of thing, Vincke still expected that people would pay very little for the game -- but that they'd get wider distribution. And they planned accordingly -- with the various "unlockings" based on the number of supporters, rather than the amount raised. But things didn't work out that way.
Yes, that seems like a reason to celebrate, but it also meant that the key plan -- to get the games more widely known and distributed -- wasn't working as intended, and the plan to unlock certain content at key supporter levels was looking unattainable. However, adjusting midstream might make people think that the whole thing was a flop -- when that wasn't the case at all. Clearly they were getting more support dollarwise than they expected, but the number of supporters was much lower. So they finally decided that the best way to handle this was just to be incredibly transparent about it, and explain why they were changing the levels to unlock stuff:
When the PWYW was conceived, we thought that we'd have a lot of sales at the absolute minimum, which basically is 1 cent, and this assumption was actually never challenged. The idea of the PWYW campaign was to on the one hand celebrate 10 years of Divinity and offer Divinity virtually for free (1 cent really is low), thus increasing the installed base of Divinity fans, but on the other hand also to put the Developer's Cut in the spotlight.
The Developer's Cut (and Beyond Divinity) were made part of the campaign as a kind of bonus and to not completely ruin ourselves, we introduced the rule that to access the Developer's Cut, you needed to be in the top 10% of customers. Whether or not that was a sound strategy is a different matter and open for debate, but that was the idea.
What happened however is that for some reason, people started looking at this like some sort of Kickstarter (this was the very first time something like this was done on GOG), and in the very first hours of the campaign, we saw the average pricing go to heights we never expected. Somebody even paid a 1000US$ for one of the games!!!
Because in reality, it is doing well – it's just doing the opposite thing of what we expected. From a revenue point of view, we're seeing the best results we've ever seen on GOG in such a short time span for our games. But that wasn't the initial ideaOne of the things that I think is important to remember about all of these different business model experiments is that they are experiments. We still don't know what fully works, and lots of stuff goes wrong. Sometimes it's a complete failure, and sometimes (as in this case) it's just different than expected, so pieces of it don't work the way they planned. But, the main reason many of these programs work in any way is that there are fans who really like to support the content creator, and when the content creator opens up and explains the situation honestly, that only increases the loyalty and the connection. That's what likely happened here as well. While this one really is a success story, it's still great to see an examination of "what went wrong" in the midst of success -- and it would be awesome to see more of this kind of analysis.
So in the end we realized that there wasn't a way of fixing this without admitting that we just predicted everything wrongly. And if we'd want to still offer those videos (and tech demo of LMK) as a reward for people keeping on participating in the PWYW campaign, then we'd have to lower the different tiers.
Which more or less is what we're doing this evening. We're going to lower the tiers to numbers that we think fit the current trend more or less, except for the last one, which we're putting high on purpose. Well actually, I'm putting it high, because all the others in the team wanted to put it lower. But I decided to be stubborn


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Listed Price
Residence 131 is a third floor 3 bed, 2 bath +1powder apartment, consisting of 2,064 sq.ft
Monthly Maintenance: $625.28
Property Tax Exempt for first 5 years
Pricing from $525,000- $605,000 for this 3 | 2.5 layout, offering spacious floor plans from 2,064 sq.ft- 2,114 sq.ft +-. This design highlights the over-sized, double width terraces boasting views of the vast privacy within Punta Candelero's magnificent waterfront landscape.
The re-envisioned Solarea Beach Resort and Yacht Club introduces the Sol Lifestyle exclusively at Palmas Del Mar. A unique blend intimate luxury off of Punta Candelero with lofty new age Mediterranean villas which manifest the true tropic nature only Palmas can provide.
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Puerto Rico Sotheby's International Realty370 Harbour Drive


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SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Yemen is facing a fuel crisis because of repeated attacks on an oil pipeline feeding a major refinery in Aden, a state-owned operator declared.
The 272-mile Marib oil pipeline, which feeds the country's Aden refinery, has been attacked repeatedly by saboteurs this month. It carries about 110,000 barrels of oil per day from oil fields in Marib and Shabwa provinces in central Yemen.
State-owned SAFER E&P said there may be shortages of oil in Yemen because of downstream consequences of pipeline attacks, the independent Yemen Post reports. It blamed local tribesman in central Yemen for the attacks, saying they were using the attacks as a bargaining tool with the government.
Separatist ambitions and a lingering al-Qaida presence in Yemen have complicated political transition in the country.
Energy company Yemen LNG said militants targeted a 38-inch natural gas pipeline in late October.
The Yemeni government in June said attacks on oil and natural gas infrastructure cost the country as much as $15 million per day in lost revenue.


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Latest update : 2011-03-28
Albania: the bumpy road to stability (part 1)
In this programme, we'll tell you why a violent political crisis is threatening to derail Albania's EU ambitions. We'll find out why the country has adopted a new generation of biometric passports. And we'll take a walk through the streets of Berat, a picturesque town which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Senior Producer: Loick Berrou
Presenter: Christophe Robeet
Producer: Magali Faure
Reporter: James André
Cameraman: Stéphane Bodenne


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When Hurricane Katrina reached New Orleans on August 25, 2005, it crushed the levees and flooded more than 80 percent of the city. The damage reached well beyond the Big Easy, however, leaving in its wake $81 billion in property damages to the Gulf Coast.
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, there is still a massive amount of rebuilding and recovery to be done. Take a look at some striking images from the devasted area, then and now.
Posted August 25, 2010


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Welcome to the website of Inga Likšaitė
This is the webpage of the artist Inga Liksaite, from Kaunas, Lithuania.
You'll find here the pictures of Inga's works, the list of the past and current exhibitions and awards, and also the artist's contact information.
Some time ago I began combining digital technologies with time-honored textilemaking techniques. Soon I found out that combination of coldness and precision of the former with softness and relative inaccuracy of the latter delivers interesting and technically productive results. For a few years now, my works originate at this intersection of sophisticated and refined contemporary technologies on the one hand and a very simple and straightforward technique of sewing machine stitching on the other.
It is not the same picture one sees when one is standing in a close proximity to the actual work when textile's tactility and surface quality dominates the eye and when one is standing at a distance when the image itself can be contemplated.
Inga Liksaite


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Volant CAI
Reviewed By Nick T (Charlotte, NC) Reviewed for a 2002 Chevy Corvette —12/18/2015 8:55 PM
Fast shipping, good packaging, product was easy to install with all of the required hardware and diagram. No complaint
There are no customer reviews for this product
Reviewed By terence p (TRACY, CA) Reviewed for a 2002 Chevy Corvette —8/19/2015 12:04 PM
I like the K and N intake system, but the only reason I purchased it was because my after market SLP Blackwing intake is not allowed/approved for California. Too bad I found this out after I had already moved to Cali. Overall the K and N is a good product!!


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Dell XPS 15 Bags
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Quick Guide: the correct size of our protective and checkpoint-friendly Cache laptop sleeve for the Dell XPS 15" is the Size 15C Cache.
All of our bags that fit the Dell XPS 15 are listed here. Some of the bags listed here have built-in protection for devices such as the XPS 15, while others require our Cache laptop sleeve. Note that the right size of Cache for the Dell XPS 15 is the "15C (Pre-2017 15" Macbook Pro)". If you already have a protective sleeve for your XPS 15 that works for you, you can likely use that in any of these bags; just note that it won't clip in like the Cache would.
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A serious backpack that can fit two (or more) laptops.
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ByAlan Zibel
Republicans on Capitol Hill are demanding that a U.S. consumer-finance regulator produce a comprehensive list of actions that could be vulnerable to a legal challenge in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling on recess appointments last month.
The request on Tuesday by Sen. Mike Crapo (R., Idaho) and Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) comes after the Supreme Court in June invalidated President Barack Obama's appointment of three federal labor panel members during a Senate break.
Though the court ruling did not mention the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Republicans say the regulator could be vulnerable to a lawsuit similar to the case that resulted in the Supreme Court ruling. That's because the agency's director, Richard Cordray, was initially installed without congressional approval on the same day as the labor nominees.
Mr. Cordray served as a recess appointee from January 2012 until July 2013, when he was confirmed by the Senate.
"The Supreme Court confirmed what we already knew—the President acted beyond his legal authority with this recess appointment," Mr. Crapo said in a statement. "Now, we need to know how the invalid CFPB recess appointment could affect past Bureau actions and regulations."
Messrs. Crapo and Hensarling, the top Republicans on congressional committees focusing on banking issues, said they want to understand how potential litigation could impact the CFPB.[wsj-responsive-more-in tag="CFPB" category="" ]
Actions taken by the regulator "during the time of your unconstitutional recess appointment may be invalid," they wrote in a letter to Mr. Cordray. "It is incumbent upon us to get a complete and proper accounting of the CFPB's exposure to legal challenges."
During the period in which Mr. Cordray was a recess appointee, the CFPB reached settlements with several banks over their credit-card practices and published key mortgage-lending rules, among other actions.
However, banking lawyers have said many financial firms are unlikely to challenge the CFPB's actions in the 18-month period in which Mr. Cordray served as a recess appointee. Big banks regularly interact with the bureau on numerous issues and are not inclined to question its authority, they say.
Weeks after Mr. Cordray was confirmed by the Senate last summer, he issued a notice ratifying actions he took while a recess appointee. CFPB officials say that notice resolved any legal questions over the bureau's actions. But Republicans also question whether the regulator's move to ratify past actions was valid.
A CFPB spokesman declined to comment.


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August volume for CME Group compared to the same period last year was down by 40%. That's not a statistic that sits well with an industry that has grown, almost non-stop, for a few decades. And it certainly shines a harsh light on underlying doubts and troubles within the futures and trading arena.
That said, futures and options volumes already were off. From January through June this year, compared to last, global volume was down about 10%, judging from statistics kept by the Futures Industry Association. But some funny things have happened during these post-June periods: MF Global and PFGBest, two futures brokers that not only went bankrupt, but took supposedly protected customer seg funds with them. MF Global declared bankrupcy on Oct. 31, 2011, while PFG's 20-year fraud was exposed on July 9, 2012 (see "In PFG fraud, everyone loses — except the lawyers"). These events, in addition to low interest rates and a traditionally lighter summer trading season, added up to this huge volume drop.
The biggest volume losers were stock index futures, off about 58% from the previous period last year. Interest rates were down about 41%. Not surprisingly, especially because of parched Midwest crops, agricultural contract volume was up slightly.
A couple of months ago I said the industry needed to take a gut check on bad behavior and practices that might be archaic in this revved up, electronic-trading global world. Slowly but surely some changes are being made, but perhaps not enough. Traders seem to be voting with their business and either standing aside or trying other products. This isn't to say other markets are safe. It's apparent the futures regulators have fallen down on the job, but no regulator is immune to the plight of scandal and poor oversight. Bernie Madoff practically gave the Securities and Exchange Commission a map of his misdeeds before action was taken; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency showed a shocking lack of oversight during the money laundering scandal of HSBC and others, as well as missing the Libor fixing scandal by Barclays in London. And let's not forget the Federal Reserve and the banking crisis from 2008 onward. So regulators in the United States and yes, globally, have nothing over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, National Futures Association or exchange regulators. In fact, investors and traders today might as well adopt a "buyers (and sellers) beware" attitude when entering the market anywhere. Until the regulators, brokers and exchanges realize something has to be done to regain investor trust, a 40% drop in volume might seem like a good day in the markets.
Which brings me to the U.S. presidential election (see "Energy's countdown to the election"). Although the outcome of the election in November may not have a great impact on energy market prices, it certainly will have an impact on policy going forward — in all markets. I'm an editor, but I also have money in various funds, including a 401(k). I empathized with a friend the other day who noted that her investment funds took a huge hit during the financial crisis, and yet it still seems nothing has changed and no one has been held accountable. In fact, Republicans want to rescind most of the Dodd-Frank legislation, which makes me wonder where they've been the last five years. Further, "starving the beast" is their policy on funding regulatory agencies. I'm certainly not advocating an open checkbook, but there has to be a thoughtful and practical regulatory structure rather than a scorched earth policy. As an investor, I'm furious that no bankers who helped push the financial system to the brink are in jail. As a market observor, I'm astounded Jon Corzine of MF Global still roams freely one year after his firm's epic downfall. And the fines on bankers' bad behavior are almost laughable and clearly seen as just the cost of doing business.
The White House resident does makes a difference. If the financial markets are to survive and once again thrive, thoughtful regulations need to be adopted and enforced to strengthen the system and, more importantly, earn back public trust.


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How To Buy
Come visit our store for a luxurious shopping experience. In-shop Gemologists and your own Jewellery Consultants make selecting your next piece of unique wearable art an indulgent experience. We accept a variety of payment methods including Visa, MasterCard, UnionPay and American Express.
Send your order through ENQUIRY or email us at email@example.com. Your own Jewellery Consultants will contact you immediately to provide professional advice and follow up the order. We offer free delivery to over 40 destinations worldwide. We accept a variety of payment methods including PayPal, Alipay and Bank Transfer.
To add convenience and flexibility to your shopping experience, you can order online and collect at our store. For more information, please contact us at email@example.com.
Bella Brimstone Pendant
Butterfly motifs in signature baroque style are at the centre of the adaptable pieces of Princess Papillon collection that can be used to accessorize in myriad ways.
Chain purchase separately


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Gamescom is upon us, which means one thing: lots and lots of exciting new trailers and game announcements. Normally we post all these badboys individually, but this time around we figured it'd be nice to give you quick access to all of them in one place. Below you'll find a collection of each day's trailers compiled on the page that corresponds to the day they were released (day 1 = page one, day 2 = page two, etc). This post will be updated throughout the show as new trailers surface, so be sure to check back periodically to see what's new. Enjoy!
Tom Clancy's The Division
Holy asymmetrical gameplay, Batman! We were pretty stoked about The Division back when we got our first look at it at E3, but this takes things to a whole new level. Apparently you'll be able to log in and play with your friends in real time from multiple platforms (console, PC, or tablet), and depending on which one you're using, your experience will be vastly different.
Watch Dogs 'DedSec' trailer
Ubisoft has been releasing all kinds of new footage for Watch Dogs lately, but thus far most of them have focused on the game's overarching premise and futuristic setting – we're still largely in the dark insofar as what the story will be like. This trailer introduces us to a mysterious hacker organization called DedSec, and suggests that Aiden isn't aligned with them. Be sure to check back for more trailers in the next few days.
Battlefield 4 'Parcel Storm Multiplayer' trailer
EA and Dice left us speechless once again with this new gameplay trailer for Battlefield 4. The last few videos they've released for the game have been gripping first-person gameplay sequences taken from the single-player campaign, but this one finally gives us a closer look at the game's lush, lifelike multiplayer on a hectic island map called Parcel Storm. Keep scrolling to see the other Battlefield 4 footage EA unveiled at the show.
Titanfall Gameplay Demo
We got our first look at Titanfall back in June during E3, but up until now you just had to take our word on what the gameplay was like. With this fresh new gameplay trailer, you can finally see for yourself how frenzied, frenetic, and downright fun it looks. Developed by Microsoft and Respawn Entertinment, the game is like a glorious hybrid between Call of Duty and Hawken, but with it's own style and breakneck pace.
Lords of the Fallen debut trailer
The first debut we've seen thus far during Gamescom comes to us from CI Studios, and it's definitely got our attention. In this trailer for their upcoming game Lords of the Fallen, we're introduced to badass protagonist Harkyn as he proclaims his opposition to the Fallen God. Not enthused by this act of defiance, the Fallen God sicks one of his minions on Harkyn, who handles it like a total boss. No word on a release date, but stay tuned for more footage in the next couple days.
Batman: Arkham Origins 'Nowhere to Run' trailer
This video shouldn't be called "Nowhere to Run," it should be called "How many people can Bruce Wayne punch in the face before the credits roll?" The footage is essentially just a montage of mayhem speckled with brief cameos from each of the game's eight villains, but that doesn't mean it's not entertaining. Origins is set to hit stores on October 25th, so be sure to check back for more videos in the weeks to come.
Battlefield 4 official premium video
Want early access to all the new expansion packs, maps, weapons, and upgrades in Battlefield 4? Spring for a premium account and you'll get just that. The game drops just a couple months from now at the end of October, and if you get yourself a premium subscription, you can get access to five expansion packs – from launch until the end of the season – for just $50 bucks. Check the video for more details.
Top image courtesy of Gamescom/Flickr


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If you ever any doubts about Samsung and Apple's leadership in smartphone sales so far this year, let them end now. According to a new report of out Counterpoint Technology Market Research, the two companies are still leading the pack when it comes to mobile phone sales, with Samsung making three of the top five best selling phones on the list.
Counterpoint says the iPhone 5s took the top selling spot for smartphones through the month of May, but the Samsung Galaxy S5 came in second, the Galaxy S 4 third and the Galaxy Note 3 fourth. The iPhone 5c rounds out the top five, with the iPhone 4s following along with the Xiaomi MI, Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, Xiaomi Hongmi Redrice and finally Samsung Galaxy Grand 2. The list, which spans some 35 countries, shows Samsung with a total of five out of the top ten smartphones – an impressive show of dominance to say the least.
The rest of a top 20 list would be more diverse, with Sony, LG and Motorola all snagging a spot, but the top ten is controlled by just three companies. At this rate it's starting to look like the only phones that can disrupt the iPhone 5s, Galaxy S5, Note 3 and Xiaomi MI will be the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6, Note 4 and MI2. It's not hard to see why the iPhone still gets special treatment, Hugo Barra left Google for Xiaomi and Google wants to be best friends with Samsung.


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Pink Floyd & EMI in legal tussle
Pink Floyd, the band behind Dark Side of the Moon, one of the best-selling albums in music history, have filed a lawsuit against EMI, claiming the private equity-backed firm has miscalculated royalty payments.
The unprecedented legal claim is a glimpse at the fraught relationship between EMI, under the ownership of Guy Hands's Terra Firma, and some of the label's leading acts. The new owner's arrival in 2007 was blamed for the departure of acts such as Radiohead and Paul McCartney.
Terra Firma acquired stock market-listed EMI for just over £4bn, saddling it with £2.5bn of debt in the process. Hands, who became chairman, quickly moved to cut costs.
Industry insiders suggest the legal action is likely to have flared up amid routine three-yearly negotiations over royalty payments.
Pink Floyd, who signed with EMI in 1967, have been one of EMI's most lucrative signings. In the last 25 years their back catalogue has only been outsold by that of the Beatles.
EMI and Pink Floyd declined to comment.
The Guitars
Gilmour's main stage guitar is a USA 57 Vintage Reissue Strat fitted with EMG-SA pickups. He has also installed the EMG-EXG expander & SPC midrange presence controls. Apart from the electrics, the only other custom feature is a shortened tremolo arm so that he can keep it in his picking hand more comfortably while playing. Other guitars used live are an Esquire Telecaster in dropped D tuning for Run Like Hell, two Jensen lap steel guitars one tuned to E B E G B E for One Of These Days & the other tuned to D G D G B E for The Great Gig In The Sky. He also uses two Gibson J-200 Celebrity acoustics one tuned in standard & the other in D A D G A D for Poles Apart & a Gibson Chet Atkins Electro Classical. Both the Jensen Lap Steels & the acoustic guitars are fitted with EMG-H pickups. (These are basically a single coil pickup in a humbucker cap).
Pink Floyd were a psychedelic/progressive rock band formed in Cambridge, England in 1965. They are one of rock's most successful and influential acts, having sold over 300 million albums worldwide. The band's classic lineup was Roger Waters (vocals, bass), David Gilmour (vocals, guitar), Rick Wright (organ, keyboards, vocals) and Nick Mason (drums). Gilmour was brought into the band in 1968 to replace the band's founder, singer, guitarist and songwriter Syd Barrett, who had become increasingly erratic and departed from the band a few months after Gilmour's addition. more
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Insourcing: Bringing Discipleship Back to the Local Church - eBook
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|Format: DRM Protected ePub
Vendor: Zondervan
Publication Date: 2013
Series: Leadership Network Innovation
Publisher's Description▼▲
Too many of todays pastors and leaders mistakenly think that thriving programs, lively worship services, and relevant preaching are adequate for developing people into the spiritual dynamos God desires. In many churches, the primary objective of the churchpersonally discipling individuals into mature followers of Jesushas been outsourced to large-scale programs. But are people truly being disciple and taught how to follow Jesus? Are they growing in spiritual depth and missional determination?
Twenty-five years ago, the leadership team of Perimeter, Randy Popes rapidly growing church realized that nothing but personal discipleship could account for the uniqueness of individuals and the call of God on each persons life. Perimeter calls their approach life-on-life missional discipleship, and this book tells the story of how they learned to bring discipleship back from the margins of church life to the mainstream.
Many pastors and leaders are slowly awakening to the reality that current models of ministry just arent working the way they had hoped they would. Randys journey as a pastor will encourage you and invite you to consider the effectiveness and fruitfulness of your own churchs discipleship efforts.
Author Bio▼▲
Randy Pope is the founding and current Pastor of Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Perimeter has helped plant twenty-eight churches in the greater Atlanta area and is a founding partner of Unite, a group of over 120 churches from different denominations working together to bring Kingdom transformation to the city of Atlanta. Randy has recently established Life-on-Life Ministries, an organization committed to establishing life-on-life missional discipleship in churches worldwide. Randy is the author of four books, and a graduate of the University of Alabama and Reformed Theological Seminary.
Kitti Murray and her husband, Bill, are part of an urban church plant network in Downtown Atlantas Old Fourth Ward neighborhood, where they also live. Kitti is a mother of four grown sons, three daughters-in-law, and two beautiful grandkids. When not writing, planning events for Apartment Life, or watching her grandbabies, Kitti can be found biking to her favorite coffee shop.


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Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop: Techniques and Projects for Weaving with Wire (Paperback)Karen Karon (author)
- We can order this
Discover the ultimate technique-based guide for one of the top trends in jewelry making-chain maille. In Chain Maille Jewelry Workshop, you'll find more than two dozen techniques for making today's most popular chain maille weaves-from simple chains to beaded wonders to intricate Dragonscale.
Jewelry artist and author Karen Karon pairs in-depth, step-by-step instructions with color illustrations that show exactly where to place the next jump ring. You'll also get a thorough but flexible approach to techniques that prove weaving can be done in a multitude of ways and demonstrations on "speed weaving," which is ideal for large projects. Designs progressively increase in complexity, so every jewelry maker-beginner or pro-will find inspiration and projects that suite their skill level.
What's more to love? Every chapter provides a unique jewelry project and a plethora of design advice, visual inspiration, shortcuts, tips, and tricks, as well as guidance for attaching clasps and findings. It's no wonder thatChain Maille Jewelry Workshop is the ideal resource for innovation and originality in chain maille jewelry making.
Publisher: Interweave Press Inc
Number of pages: 144
Weight: 626 g
Dimensions: 262 x 216 x 12 mm


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Instructional Schedules and Formats
International Efforts
William Woods University maintains formal collaborative relationships with institutions of higher education located in countries other than the United States. Additionally, the University maintains collaborative agreements with United States businesses and business associations dedicated to enhancing international trade and commerce through the preparation of foreign citizens in American colleges and universities. These linkages reflect the University's commitment to providing international opportunities for its students.
Supporting this commitment, foreign Graduate & Adult Studies students studying at William Woods University through the programs of Graduate & Adult Studies may be admitted as independent international students or under the specific auspices if a formal collaborative agreement with a foreign institution or an international trade association. Students admitted under the latter agreements follow schedules and patterns unique to their respective agreements.


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20201 Surnames | 132152 Records | 2717 Reunions
Dead Fred asks:Are you a Desperate Genealogist?
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Date: 1851-1900
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Comments: Will Looft (Nee: Wymore) | | 1851-1900 | Comments: On back is written * Will Looft Married Maggie Wymore Friend of Nellie R Byron // Photograper A.W.Warrington //Purchased this photo at the Tontitown Flea Market & Antiques, Tontitown,Akansas 1-27-2004 Click below to see all photos purchased in this lot //contact email@example.com
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Since its doors opened in 1884, the sprawling property and brick buildings on the shores of Lake Chauncy served thousands of adults and adolescents struggling with mental illness. The doors closed 126 years later. In what has been called a first-of-its-kind deal, the town has reached an agreement with the state to acquire 95 acres of the hospital property without restrictions.
WESTBORO — Since its doors opened in 1884, the sprawling property and brick buildings on the shores of Lake Chauncy served thousands of adults and adolescents struggling with mental illness. The doors closed 126 years later.
Since 2010, the nearly 300-acre state hospital property on Lyman Street, straddling the Westboro-Northboro town line, has been empty. The buildings have been boarded up, the patients moved. Visions of what could be prompted town officials to take action to avoid what could have been a nightmare scenario — a consultant hired by the state said the "highest and best use" of the property was hundreds of single-family homes that would swell the school population and squeeze town services.
In what has been called a first-of-its-kind deal, the town has reached an agreement with the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance to acquire 95 acres of the hospital property without restrictions, a $2.2 million purchase that will be financed by the state over 10 years with zero percent interest loan.
Town meeting needs to authorize the land acquisition; a Proposition 2� override will not be required to purchase the land. Legislation also needs to be approved to allow the state to sell the land.
The town will pay back the state as it sells parcels of the land, with 50 percent of the net proceeds going back to the state, and that percentage can be reduced to 30 percent through various incentive programs. Developers and businesses have already expressed in owning some of the property, including a film studio and a medical device company.
What makes this deal so unique, explained Town Manager James Malloy, is the low upfront cost with state financing, combined with the "profit sharing" model.
"This provides an opportunity for communities to get involved with a purchase like this without putting undue strain on the budget," Mr. Malloy said in an email.
"This is one of the most important things we have done as a community in many, many years," Selectman George Barrette said. "It is one of the last enormous pieces of land in town, but to have the control over how it is developed is really the most important part."
Scott Jordan, state undersecretary of Administration and Finance, said the agreement allows the state to work with the town as a silent partner.
Mr. Jordan said that residents often have the impression that when the state tries to redevelop its former hospital and other campuses for their "highest and best uses, that the town's needs are not taken into account."
While the state has been successful — albeit slow — in redeveloping some of its larger properties, "We think that we can return property to the tax rolls and to productive use much more quickly when we reverse roles with the town, when we have the town be the developer and owner, and work to the town's benefit, and the commonwealth, instead, becomes a silent partner."
The key, said town officials, is that the property can be acquired without restrictions. Generally, when the state transfers land it is to be used for a municipal purpose, Mr. Malloy said. Under this agreement, the town will be in the role of landowner in the redevelopment process.
"The town really has a first-in-the-state opportunity," said Ian Johnson, chairman of the Board of Selectmen. "This is really a novel approach and a unique way to offer us the ability to take over this land in an unrestricted fashion to control our own destiny as to how that property is developed."
When the hospital closed, the state formed the Westboro State Hospital Re-Use Commission, and its consultant issued a report a year later that said the "highest and best use" of the property was 500 housing units. Residents balked at that report, and asked town officials to pursue acquiring the property to control the redevelopment.
Had the housing project come to fruition, the town would be faced with building a new school. In addition, if the property was sold to a developer, the town would have to replace 15 acres the state has leased the town for soccer fields, all at an estimated cost of $4.4 million — twice the cost of the purchase price for the property.
The property has more than 1 million square feet of commercial development space, and the potential of an additional $1.3 million tax revenue, according to presentation given by Mr. Malloy earlier this summer. There are 20 buildings of various sizes on the property. The Main Administration Building and the Talbot Building do have some historic value, though the Talbot Building is in poor condition.
Mr. Malloy said the buildings will remain, and as they sell off the property, the developer can then determine what to do with structures.
Allen Hall, a boy's detention facility, is currently used on the property. Mr. Malloy said the town has asked the state to move Allen Hall to a new location, and while the state understands the town's request, it has only been able to commit adding the request to its capital plan.
Since the selectmen gave preliminary approval to the deal, Mr. Barrette said the town has received a "flurry of phone calls" from business and organizations interested in the hospital property. There has been talk of a fine arts center, a potential movie studio proposed by Anton Nel, who attended the June public meeting about the property, and a medical device company.
Mr. Malloy said the companies that have been in contact with him would be willing to discuss partial or complete property purchases. Mr. Malloy added that a the town may have to go through a public bidding process for the property sales, depending how the special legislation is written.
In the meantime, the town will be conducting a full 21 E, or environmental report, on the property, in response to some concerns expressed at the last public meeting about knowing what contaminants might be on the property.
"This is another example of how the region continued to lead in the economic recovery," said Paul F. Matthews, executive director of the 495/MetroWest Partnership. "This site offers potential for a really innovative partnership between Westboro and a developer."
Mr. Matthews also noted that in a time when many communities are struggling financially, the town is willing to put the resources on the table and make the property — and protecting the town — a priority.
"The site holds some tremendous potential,"Mr. Matthews said. "The town of Westboro now has an opportunity to steer where the development goes, rather than be a passive bystander."
"There needs to be some thinking outside the box," Mr. Matthews said. "It is a wonderful site that has some unique characteristics that make it challenging. It is not going to be a cookie cutter office park."
The town will hold two public information sessions prior to the fall town meeting — Tuesday, Aug. 27 and Tuesday, Sept. 17, both at 6 p.m. in the Westboro High School Auditorium.
Contact Donna Boynton at email@example.com or follow her on Twitter @DonnaBoyntonTG


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Dallas County Clerk
Frequently Asked Questions - Civil
George L. Allen, Sr. Courts Building - 600 Commerce Street, Suite 101, Dallas, TX 75202
Click on the link below for all inquiries with regard to filing fees:
Q. What is the jurisdiction of the County Courts?
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Rod Dishman, Ph.D., led discussion on the subcommittee report on
mental health. The methodology the subcommittee utilized included meta-analytic
or otherwise systematic reviews of studies of mental health published since
1995. The questions researched included:
Does physical activity protect against the onset of disorders
or symptoms?
Does physical activity reduce symptoms?
Do the effects of physical activity on symptoms differ
according to age, gender, race/ethnicity or medical condition?
Do the effects of physical activity vary according to features
of physical activity including type, intensity, or timing?
The topics the group reviewed included depression, anxiety,
distress/wellbeing, cognitive function and dementia, sleep, self-esteem, chronic
Overall the scientific evidence from prospective cohort studies
and randomized controlled trials supports the overall conclusion that regular
participation in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity is associated with fewer
symptoms and incident cases of major depression, fewer symptoms of anxiety and
distress, reduced onset of cognitive decline and onset of dementia and enhanced
feelings of well-being, cognitive function, sleep quality, feelings of energy
and self-esteem. The outcomes are generally positive for men and women of
differing ages, nationalities and health status; however, there are few direct
comparisons according to ethnic groups. The evidence from both observational and
randomized controlled studies suggests a dose-gradient for depression symptoms
that occurs within current public health recommendations for
moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. There is insufficient evidence to
determine whether an increase in fitness is necessary for mental health
benefits. Positive relations seen for depression and self-esteem may be a
surrogate index of intervention adherence.
Future research needs include more prospective cohort studies
and tightly controlled RCTs, especially for anxiety and sleep disorders. Also,
more studies that manipulate standardized features of physical activity and its
setting are needed. Accelerated synergy between human brain imaging studies and
neuroscience studies using animal models of human disease to elucidate
biological mechanism and more modeling of social-cognitive mediators of mental
health outcomes and studies of gene-environment interaction are needed.
<< Subcommittee Report:
Table of Contents
Subcommittee Report: Special Populations >>
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IAQ in health care settings
Engineers should use evidence-based design when engineering air systems in hospitals and health care facilities to ensure top-notch indoor air quality (IAQ).
Learning objectives
- Understand data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to better design hospital air systems.
- Know which codes and standards pertain to indoor air quality in hospitals.
Underlying disease, organ transplants, chemotherapy, or other factors can lead to weakened immune systems, which increase the effects of disease-causing organisms in a hospital environment. For 1 in 20 inpatients, a visit to the hospital for can cause their illness to progress and, in some cases, become terminal. Hospitals by their nature contain a higher concentration of disease-causing germs and viruses than other environments.
In the past decade, the health care industry has made tremendous strides in reducing this negative trend. However, a level of threat still exists to patients, staff, and visitors. Hospital designers, builders, operators, and employees must work together to put an end to this threat. This article attempts to shed light on the role of the HVAC engineer in preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).
Hospital-acquired infections
HAIs are significant contributors to the high cost of health care. According to a 2007 report, in 2002 there were more than 1.7 million HAIs in the U.S., costing between $28.4 billion and $33.8 billion and resulting in an estimated 98,987 deaths. Recently, the U.S. government has taken measures to provide additional stimulus to reduce the incidence of HAIs. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2011 provides funding for public health initiatives to further improve outcomes and reduce the incidence of HAIs by doing the following:
- Improve infrastructure for preventing HAIs, mainly through reporting and data analysis
- Develop new initiatives for preventing HAIs
- Improve the National Health care Safety Network (NHSN) and electronic reporting of lab records to reduce data entry and improve record-keeping
- Partner with state governments to increase the number of staff dedicated to HAI prevention.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) seeks to provide evidence-based guidance for infection control and prevention. On the CDC website, the 15 most common diseases and organisms involved in HAIs are listed. The site also provides guidance for patients and health care professionals on how to prevent these diseases. A brief summary is shown in Table 1. Only two of the 15 disease-causing organisms described on the CDC website are airborne.
Table 1: Common diseases and organisms in hospital environments
More important, however, is the fact that the sources of HAI outbreaks are often not known. In a recent study in the American Journal of Infection Control, researchers studied a database of more than 1500 documented HAI outbreaks in order to shed light on the sources. Their findings revealed that in a significant portion of outbreaks the source of the infection could not be determined.
ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170
In 2008, ASHRAE, the American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) adopted a common standard for the ventilation of health care facilities. In 2010, the Facilities Guidelines Institute (FGI) adopted ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170: Ventilation of Health Care Facilities as part of its Guidelines for Construction of Healthcare Facilities. The FGI Guidelines are increasingly being adopted around the world as the standard to which health care facilities must be designed. Standard 170 is written in enforceable code language. The standard is a consensus document and is continuously updated with interpretations and new findings. It is scheduled to be re-issued in 2014 as part of the revised FGI Guidelines.
The main topics covered in the standard are systems, equipment, space ventilation, planning, construction, and system startup. Systems addressed are emergency power, ventilating, heating, and cooling. Equipment requirements include air handling unit design, cooling tower placement, humidifiers, and air distribution devices. Planning, construction, and startup requirements apply to the HVAC systems serving surgery and critical care spaces.
All the provisions of the standard must be followed; however, the main features that affect HVAC system design are: minimum filter efficiencies, selection and location of supply air outlets, minimum outdoor air and total air ventilation rates, air pressure relationships, and temperature/humidity requirements for various types of spaces and ease of maintenance/cleaning. While applying the standard it is critical that HVAC system designers understand the classification of the spaces they are designing for. This requires dialogue with the architects, infection control personnel, and the building's users to understand how the spaces will be used.
Bacteria and viruses can survive on droplets or particles 5 microns or smaller and can remain airborne indefinitely; therefore, air filtration is a primary means of reducing the concentrations of airborne bacteria in hospitals. Studies have shown that 99.9% of airborne bacteria in hospitals are removed by having 90% to 95% efficient (MERV 14) filters in the air handling units. In air handling systems serving inpatient care areas, two filters are required, with the first filter upstream of fans and coils and the second filter downstream of the cooling coils and supply fan.
Standard 170 requires HEPA (MERV 17) filters for protective environment rooms designed for patients with high susceptibility to infections. The standard does not address the use of ultraviolet radiation lights inside of air handling units as a means for killing pathogens; however, some studies have shown that these devices can be effective in preventing microbial growth.
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