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Seib & Wessel: Can U.S. Expand Trade With Europe?
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman tells WSJ's Jerry Seib about the U.S.'s prospects for expanding trade agreements with Asia and Europe, two continents enjoying disparate economic fortunes.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
the ... Jerry side with a Wall Street Journal joined today by Michael Froman newly minted United States Trade representative Mike thanks for joining us to get back to it's it's it's very much ... you get busy agenda that the US is trying to do when your watch ... big free trade agreements with both Europe and Asia ... oh what star with a shouldn't your kid is your sense of the state of progress and how close we can ... get to the finish line of those this year ... well we're we're very much ... indeed for the TPP ... partnership ... aam partners were in the eighteen from around the negotiations does in a time in Asia as we speak ... and our goal is to try and get it done this year ... today Japan joins ... the negotiations over we point them to ... get them into negotiations as quickly as possible and ... ensure that we can get it on track down ... the intrusion and makes the potential final product obviously more meaningful also makes the process of getting their ... more complicated um what's the trade off for their ... well though the it'll be challenging anti BP itself is this challenge it's a complex negotiation ... twelve countries now twenty nine chapters ... but as you say having to pay and be part of this platform ... makes it the most significant form for ... racial integration in the ancient as you talk a lot of getting it done this year ... how realistic is that ... it's ambitious but it can be done ... you're not so far down the track um what's that what you sense of the state of play in the free trade agreement with your ... we've only just started ... the process we had our first round of discussions here in Washington ... a week before last and that was an opportunity to ... exchange ideas exchange views on how to approach ... all various ... issues and ... now he Steve will go back and for the work and will be come the fall ... to really think ... you know you and you might look to the situation cheaply with your given ... of economic stress the contents been through ... um and you might say this is a hard time to do a free trade agreement because that kind of economic stress tends to produce protectionist sentiment ... of is that what's happening in Europe it is back and slow down this process ... actually it's more the opposite and that given all the challenges that ... Europe is having returned to a path toward sustainable growth ... is a lot of political will Europe ... it sees this trade agreement as one mechanism is part of an overall ... pro growth strategy so ... is concentrated attention there and wait as this is before ...


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ICT, Innovation and Knowledge - 4th Meeting on the UN's Millennium Development Goals and ICT- 30/10/2009
The 4th Meeting on the UNs Millennium Development Goals and ICT was held on 3-4 November 2009, at the Centro de Congressos at FIL Lisbon Industrial Trade Fair in the Parque das Nações. The meeting was dedicated to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Innovation and Knowledge. This meeting is part of the initiatives involving public bodies, enterprises and civil society to prepare contributions for the Iberia - Latin America Heads of State and Government Summit (site in Portuguese). It was jointly organised by The Knowledge Society Agency (UMIC) and AHCIET Hispanic-American Association of Research Centers & Telecom Enterprises, a private not-for-profit organisation set up by more than 50 telecommunications operators and enterprises.
Some 100 specialists from 17 Iberian and Latin American countries discussed cooperation in Future of the Internet knowledge and innovation fields.
The meetings objective is to analyse policies stimulating ICT innovation and knowledge, involving the public and private sectors: public administrations, international organisations, universities, scientific institutions, enterprises and non-governmental organisations active in the ICT area.
The following topics were discussed:
- The current situation and ICT, Innovation and Knowledge development trends;
- The collaborative and interactive Web the changing society
- ICT vs energy efficiency and sustainability Smart Grids;
- Developing enterprises in the ICT field Encouraging a digital Iberian Latin American ecosystem;
- eScience and eInnovation.
The Meeting participants (text in Portuguese) (see group photograph ) approved through a proclamation the Lisbon Declaration (text in Portuguese) (Declaracion de Lisboa (text in Spanish)), which was sent as a contribution to the Iberia - Latin America Heads of State and Government Summit (site in Portuguese).
Programme (text in Portuguese)
Programme (text in Spanish)
Working Documents and Internet Links (Text in Portuguese)
Biographical notes (Text in Portuguese and Spanish)

subset: commoncrawl


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AP PHOTOS: Brazil protesters take to streets again
Tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators again took to streets in several Brazilian cities Saturday, hours after President Dilma Rousseff broke a long silence to promise reforms.
The day's protests were smaller than those early in the week, but appeared to be growing.
Police estimated about 60,000 demonstrators gathered in a central square in the city of Belo Horizonte, largely to denounce legislation that would limit the power of federal prosecutors to investigate crimes in a country where many are fed up with the high rate of robberies and killings. Many fear the law also would hinder attempts to jail corrupt politicians and other powerful figures.
Rousseff promised late Friday to be tougher on corruption and vowed to work toward improving urban transportation, education and other services.
Many said protests should continue until the government really acts.
"It was good Dilma spoke, but this movement has moved too far, there was not much she could really say," said Victoria Villela, a 21-year-old university student at a protest in Sao Paulo. "All my friends were talking on Facebook about how she said nothing that satisfied them. I think the protests are going to continue for a long time and the crowds will still be huge."
Here's a gallery of images from the past week of protests.
Follow staff photojournalists Victor R. Caivano (@vcaivano), Fernando Llano (@JFernandoLlano) and Felipe Dana (@felipedana) on Twitter.
Follow AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter: http://apne.ws/15Oo6jo


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- Home
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The revisions let you track differences between multiple versions of a post.
Revision of Images from Mon, 2009-02-23 04:36
As i was looking at Jame's Guide Writing Guide i noticed a lot of questions about images and why they weren't working and such. To me, it seemed that Jame was doing his best to answer all the questions but it looked very frustrating to keep answering the same question over and over again So, I have decided to write a focused guide on images only, to help those you are having trouble (just like I did, as a matter a fact) .
So you've decided to write a guide that will be awesome ...at least it would have been if you get those GOD-BEEPIN IMAGES TO JUST UPLOAD ON THE BEEPIN BEEPIN WEBSITE. Well first things first, you need a picture, once you have that go down to the bottom of the screen and click File attachments then click browse and find your picture. After you have done this you have to copy the html code that is under your picture. Once this is done you click the icon for adding pictures on your text formatting toolbar or you type in [ img] your.link.goes.here [/ img] (without the spaces). and click preview. But then something happens. This shows up instead of your picture:
In order to fix this you need to go back to your picture file and rename it without any special characters or spaces. So it looks more like this:
[img]http://wow-pro.com/files/ImageGuide.JPG[/ img] (without the space).
Then once that is done you have to Submit your guide (still as work in progress) first then go back to your draft and hit Preview and your picture should be up.
That is really all there is to it !
Back to Jame's Guide Writing Guide!
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It was a little wierd for me
Submitted by Lycander on Wed, 2009-04-08 10:45.
The "File Attachment" link didn't appear when I was editing, but suddenly showed up when I went ot preview it. Once I uploaded a file, the option was always there.
Geez, I had no idea it was
Submitted by Jame on Mon, 2009-02-23 21:11.
Geez, I had no idea it was that complicated for people to upload images here
Ah well, thank you for this guide, I'll add a link to it in my guide writing guide.
Another frequent mistake I
Submitted by Jiyambi on Mon, 2009-02-23 05:15.
Another frequent mistake I see is that your image will NOT SHOW UP if you just click "preview" when you first upload it. The image doesn't actually upload until you click "Save" the first time. So if your image doesn't show up at first, that could very well be the reason.


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Gear Guide
Company: stellar information systems ltd
Product Name: Stellar Phoenix iPod Recovery
Website: stellar information systems ltd
List Price: 39
Stellar Phoenix iPod Recovery
By stellarinfo
Contributing Editor
Published: Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Category: Apps - PC / Mac,
Stellar Phoenix iPod recovery software recovers music files, photos, videos and podcast from iPod. Software works on Mac OS 10.3.9 and also supports Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5x). It provides three types of recovery, Standard Scan Recovery, Advanced Scan Recovery and Raw File Scan Recovery. RAW FILE SCAN RECOVERY recovers SEVERELY CORRUPTED files through signature search. Stellar Phoenix can create image of damaged iPod. One can create an exact copy of iPod to hard drive to recover music from that copy to safe location. File filter mechanism of Stellar Phoenix conveniently filter out all other file types through a special ;Find and Filter feature available on the software. Whenever repair and recovery of corrupted files is done in iPod the software generate and save Log- Reports which allow you to see the preview of the recovered images. Software repair and recover file types such as MIDI, AIFF, M4A, OGG, RPS, M4P, AU, AVI, MOV, ASF, WMV, MP4, WMA, MP3, MPG, MPEG, GIF, WAV and all other image and video formats Download free trial version to scan your drive for lost data. Demo version scans and repairs corrupted and deleted music files from your iPod. Once you see the recoverable music and video files; buy the software online and complete your data recovery. We provide 24hrs Technical Support, Free Trial of the software and 30 Days Money Back.
iPod recovery, iPod data recovery, iPod music recovery, iPod mp3 recovery, iPod iTunes recovery iPod Classic recovery, iPod Mini recovery, iPod Shuffle recovery, iPod Nano recovery, iPod Touch recovery
Editors' Note: iLounge only reviews products in "final" form, but many companies now change their offerings - sometimes several times - after our reviews have been published. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.


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Support PDF,DOC,DOCX,TXT,XLS,WPD,HTM,HTML fils up to 5MB
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ProfileLaw Student Intern The intern will work closely with the Senior Advisor and Executive Director, both attorneys, and will be integrally involved in the process of preparing legal content for the website, as well as researching and preparing materials regarding cutting-edge workplace issues, for blogs, action alerts, and other web-based communications. Experience in employment law is preferred. Should be strongly interested in protecting the rights of workers. Must have excellent legal writing and research skills.
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Hiring Coordinator
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By: Dr Lynda Kelly, Category: At The Museum, Date: 30 Apr 2009
Kindergarten students talk about what they learned from their Museum visit
No matter what their age visitors learn an enormous amount from their museum visits. When we worked with Kindergarten students (aged 4-5 years) from a Western Sydney public school who had recently visited the Musuem we asked them what they learned:
I found out that baby dinosaurs come from eggs.
I learnt dinosaurs have plates on the backbone so they don't get hurt.
The lobster has sharp claws!
The big T Rex's footprint was much bigger than mine.
I liked the echidna because the echidna's spikes hurt my hand.


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Promote our shirts on your own site and make money! $2 Per shirt!
Think you have a good shirt idea? Send it in, you could win $$$
Members only exclusive content and contests. Sign up now, it's free!
Tags: im so gay im almost straight, im so gay im almost straight shirt, im so gay im almost straight tee, gay shirts, gay, lesbian tee, lgbt shirt, rainbows, gay jokes


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Michigan still in need of big WRs this season
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — With Devin Gardner at quarterback, a healthy Fitz Toussaint named the starter at tailback and returning All-America tackle Taylor Lewan anchoring the line, the Michigan football team has most of the pieces necessary for its transition back to a pro-style offense for the post-Denard Robinson era.
Still missing is a big, athletic receiver to complement Jeremy Gallon and stretch the field vertically.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke thought the Wolverines found a prime candidate for that role in Amara Darboh, until the 6-foot-2, 212-pound sophomore from Des Moines, Iowa, injured a foot in a scrimmage and the program announced earlier this week he'd have season-ending surgery.
With one week remaining before the opener against Central Michigan Hoke said he isn't sure there is another single player on the roster ready to fill the void left by Darboh, who claimed the No. 2 spot with strong spring and fall camp play. The third-year coach says he's comfortable with "the three Js" - redshirt freshman Jehu Chesson, senior Jeremy Jackson and senior Joe Reynolds - rotating at the position. The seniors have 28 combined career receptions.
"Those three guys are guys that really - with Amara being out for the year - they're going to have to carry a little more of the load," Hoke said. "All three of them understand the positions pretty doggone well, and can do a lot of things.
"Their hearts are with Amara. But they also know we've all got to pull our weight and if somebody goes down, somebody's got to stand up."
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who started at Michigan in 1998 and 1999, knows something about big targets in winged helmets. His leading receivers at Michigan were future NFL wide receivers Tai Streets (6-foot-3) and David Terrell (6-2).
Brady stopped in Ann Arbor Thursday before the Patriots' preseason game against the Lions in nearby Detroit. In a fist-pounding motivational speech to this year's Wolverines, replayed on the university's athletic website, the two-time Super Bowl MVP hit on a couple points particularly germane to the new wideout-by-committee approach.
"I didn't have an easy experience. I didn't come in as a top-rated recruit. I didn't come in with the opportunity to play right away. I had to earn it," said Brady, who played behind Scott Dreisbach and Brian Griese before starting his last two seasons while splitting time with Drew Henson.
Of course, the receiver position is not bare for Gardner, who at one time was a 6-foot-4 receiver himself while Robinson was leading Michigan's spread-option attack. Gallon led the team with 49 catches for 829 yards and four touchdowns last season.
With Gardner starting the final five games at quarterback, the duo hooked up 31 times for 511 of Gardner's 1,219 passing yards. Good friends off the field, they are so comfortable together that Gardner posted a video on his Twitter account showing himself throwing timing patterns to Gallon with his eyes closed.
The fifth-year senior is far from the big body the coaching staff was looking for, but offensive coordinator Al Borges told reporters earlier in the week Gallon "plays taller than he is."
"He can win jump balls and he's about 5-8. He'll say he's taller, but he's lying," Borges said, noting Gallon's strengths include playing against bump-and-run coverage, running crisp routes and possessing big-play ability. "When somebody's bearing down on him, he'll catch the ball in traffic. He's just reliable."
Drew Dileo caught 20 passes in 2012, bringing experience back to the slot receiver position, and Borges says 6-foot-5 sophomore tight end Devin Funchess "is going to be a huge factor in our passing game." Five of Funchess' 15 receptions as a freshman resulted in touchdowns.
NOTES: After choosing Fitz Toussaint his starting running back earlier in the week, Hoke held the senior out of Thursday's scrimmage so he could get a better look at backups Thomas Rawls, Derrick Green, De'Veon Smith, Drake Johnson and Justice Hayes. Hoke said he and his staff hope to "get some answers on some rotations or (starting) spots" based on their review of film from that scrimmage. . Hoke announced freshman Shane Morris was officially the team's No. 2 quarterback. Asked if, in an ideal world, he'd like to get the first-year player some immediate game experience against Central Michigan, Hoke said, "We want to win the first game, so whatever that takes. . I don't think we live in an ideal world." . Sophomores Jack Miller and Graham Glasgow will take their competition for the starting center position into the final week of fall camp. . Likewise, Hoke was not willing to name a starter at left guard. Glasgow, redshirt freshman Ben Braden and junior Chris Bryant are vying for that spot. . Sophomore Dennis Norfleet, whose 827 kickoff return yards last season was the second-best in school history, has emerged as the leading candidate to return punts.


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Style # 209707
With striking floral print and contrast trim and paneling, this bebe bodysuit is a sexy way to give your style a spring pop. Try it with a pencil skirt and a pair of studded heels.
- 98% cotton, 2% spandex
- Top to waist: 12" (31 cm)
- Front rise: 7" (18 cm)
- Back rise: 10" (25 cm)
- Leg opening: 23" (58 cm)
- Polyester charmeuse lining
- Metal zipper
- Dry clean
- Imported
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Luxury Vines Cami Bodysuit is rated out of 5 by 2.
Rated 5 out of 5 by NikkiB from Best Bodysuit EVER!! I Love, Love, Love this Cami Bodysuit!! I've been looking for one for awhile. I was really happy that I could buy it in a XXS, I'm petite and it was a perfect fit. It goes with everything, I can wear it to work under a blazer and meet up with friends after work. Best accessory added to my wardrobe, thanks BeBe!!!!
Date published: 2013-05-17
Rated 5 out of 5 by babstampa from favorite bebe body suite This body suite is amazing and very figure flattering!
Date published: 2013-05-13


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Sunday Dinner
6 comments:
- ErinJune 13, 2011
Next time you make this meal will you please invite me and my family? Thanks :)ReplyDelete
Ahhh... new appliances??? I'm envious!! Love the cheese... as I finish up my glass of wine the cheese and crackers would be a perfect complement. Nicely done! I'm looking forward to the other recipes too!ReplyDelete
I'm loving your blog and your delicious-sounding recipes! I found you through Pinterest and am planning to try the Lemon Pudding soon. Check me out at www.inbetweenlaundry.blogspot.comReplyDelete
I am so pleased you are enjoying my blog:) Thank you for letting me know. I hope you enjoy the pudding. Best!
- AnonymousDecember 08, 2014
What wine would you have with this?ReplyDeleteReplies
I'm certainly not a sommelier, but for a white wine, I would suggest a Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. A blended red wine or Cabernet would pair as well.Delete
Thanks for visiting my blog! I love hearing from family, friends, and bloggers, so please leave a comment. Happy cooking!


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Happy Memorial Day
Monday, May 28, 2018
Thank you to all the members who proudly served our country.
May we never forget freedom isn't free...with deepest gratitude to those who paid the ultimate price. Home of the free because of the brave.
Happy Veterans Day
Retirement Party
Pension Presentation
Thomas M. Collins Scholarship
CISCO Scholarship
Wheel of Meat Fundraiser
Breakfast and Photos with Santa
Apprentice Committee
Trade Jurisdiction
Job Opportunity Seattle
Brother Kelly Pecha
Brother Michael Webber
Goebig Family Fundraiser
Introducing Telemedicine
Job Opportunity Braidwood Outage
Labor Rally
Free Southside Labor Concert
Continuing Educational Classes
Annual Open House
Local 1 On Strike!
Local 281 Hockey Team Advances
Happy Labor Day
Southeast Side Labor Parade
Vote Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Sprinks Links Golf Outing
Bruce Rauner is Not Good for Unions
Brother John Wojtanowski
Unsprinklered Prospect Heights Condominiums Destroyed
Annual All Faiths Memorial Service
Softball Tournament
Happy Independence Day
Tribute to Labor Race Day
Brother Stan Zaborowski
Softball Team
Don Ott, Sr.
Brother Tom Keating
DeWalt Tools Product Demo and Raffle
Important News
Job Opportunities
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Retirement Party for Pat McGreal
Brother Don Janus
Lake County Endorsed Candidates
CISCO Scholarship Winner
Election Results
Job Opportunity in Miami, Florida
Oppose Illinois Senate Bill 2480
Job Opportunity
Upcoming Proposed Bill
Upcoming Proposed Bills
Rally Notice
Brother Jeffrey O'Connor
April Union Meeting
Apprentice Contest
Chicago Women in Trades
Brother Tony Tadin
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St. Patrick's Day Parades
Friends of Labor
Alsip Residents Scholarship Information
SIS Fund Contribution
Local 281 Hockey Team
Strike Pay Tax Information
Welcome New Apprentices
Will and Grundy Counties Undergraduate Scholarship Program
To see previous articles please click here .
Click for Archive


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Let's make 2018 the year of reclaiming the individuality of bridal style. Consider yourself a modern, cool girl bride? You may want to stick with a classic gown for the day of, but if you want to step out in something a bit more unique for your shower, read on to see our favorites!
Style Me Pretty Contributor - Goli Parvinian is a bridal enthusiast and masters student living in Melbourne, Australia. Over the past few years, she has worked for bridal brands in her hometown of Chicago, New Zealand and New York City. You can typically find her in a cafe, face-timing her nieces or out on a long run.


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Wind and Fire Event Update
About Rates
Rates: Choosing the Right Plan for You
You have the right to know exactly what's going on with your utility and rates, especially when rates are changing. We are keeping rate increases as reasonable as possible, and we're not asking you to do anything we're not willing to do ourselves. At SCE, we're implementing company-wide efficiency programs over the next two years to reduce our operational and maintenance expenses.
Help Available to Households
We're doing everything we can to get the word out about programs to help households that are having trouble paying electric bills. Discounted rates are available to income-qualified households, and free energy-efficiency upgrades may be available, too. And, you may qualify for one-time assistance through our Energy Assistance Fund.
If you just need more time to pay your bill, we can make a special payment arrangement with you.
Discounted rates for income-qualified households >
Payment arrangements >
Energy Assistance Fund >
We work together with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to set rates every three years in a process that's open to the public. Our entire budget is available online to anyone who wants to see it.
Our Budget
FAQ About Rates >
Our Tariff Books & Approved Tariff Changes >


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Mon, 11 June 2012 at 3:30 pm
Gerard Butler: Amber Heard Exits 'Motor City'
Gerard Butler drops his car off at the valet before heading inside the SLS Hotel on Sunday (June 10) in Beverly Hills, Calif.
The 42-year-old actor has a handful of movies in the works, including Motor City.
The Albert Hughes-directed drama centers around a recently released felon who seeks revenge against those who framed him and put him in jail.
Amber Heard and Gary Oldman were reportedly set to co-star with Gerard in the flick, but Variety reports both actors are no longer attached to the project.
Just Jared on Facebook
Photos: AKM-GSI Posted to: Gerard Butler
Sponsored Links by ZergNet


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Events Calendar
Fishladder: A Student Journal of Art and Writing and Student Scholars Day Exhibition
Date and TimeWednesday, April 3, 2013
- Haas Center for Performing Arts » 1121 - GVSU Art Gallery
An exhibition of selections from the award winning fishladder: Student Journal of Art and Writing celebrating the scholarship and creativity of Grand Valley State University students. fishladder is a student-run journal that publishes student fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, drama, photography, and art. Students from all disciplines in the university are encouraged to submit work in all styles, genres, and forms. fishladder student staff carefully considers submissions, and final decisions are made by the editors. The yearly print edition is unveiled every April, with copies available in Lake Ontario Hall and across the Allendale campus. The online edition is updated annually and archived continually.
This exhibit is located at the Red Wall Gallery in Lake Ontario Hall on Grand Valley State University's Allendale Campus and will be on display from Monday, April 1 to Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Free and open to the public.
For more information about fishladder: A Student Journal of Art and Writing contact the Department of Writing at 616-331-3411or visit http://www.gvsu.edu/writing/
To learn more about Student Scholars Day contact the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship at 616-331-8100 or visit http://www.gvsu.edu/ssd/ .
Art Gallery, 616-331-2563
This event also occurred on 4/1/2013, 4/2/2013, 4/4/2013, 4/5/2013, 4/8/2013, 4/9/2013, 4/10/2013, 4/11/2013, 4/12/2013, 4/15/2013 and 6 others


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Despite a year filled with turmoil in Washington, the limited-service restaurant industry showed moderate growth and promise in 2013, thanks in part to creative new ideas and products, plus another good gain from fast-casual units.
With issues such as sequestration, a payroll tax increase, the government shutdown, and the Affordable Care Act hanging over the industry, it's perhaps not surprising that gains have only been nominal, despite employment increases and an improving economy.
"The good news is that there's still growth," says Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the National Restaurant Association's (NRA) Research and Knowledge Group. But it's also "the most modest growth in the past four years."
Through three quarters, traffic was up 1 percent at quick-service restaurants and 6 percent at fast casuals, according to NPD Group, a research and consulting firm.
The 2 percent payroll tax hike hit consumer spending early. "When that went up at the beginning of the year, we saw restaurant traffic slow down, and [operators] had to go back to discounting," says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant industry analyst at NPD.
In addition, the 16-day government shutdown in October represented a $24 billion hit to the economy and "took a toll on consumer confidence," Riehle says.
The economy has been the No. 1 issue in recent years among operators polled by the NRA in its annual Industry Forecast, and it affected much of the industry in 2013. Here, we take a look at the top nine stories from the year and what they suggest for the future of quick service.
Value menus get a makeover
This year may go down in the annals of history as the year single-price value menus bit the dust. For a range of reasons, from rising costs to changing consumer tastes, the nearly quarter-century-old concept of value menus—a series of items all priced around $1—is giving way to multi-level pricing and a wider variety of food.
"It was inevitable that stratification was going to happen," says Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of foodservice strategies at WD Partners, a Dublin, Ohio–based design and consulting company. "It was like trying to keep gasoline at $1."
Wendy's, which introduced the single-price value menu in 1989, launched its Right Size, Right Price menu systemwide in January with items from 99 cents to $1.99.
"We looked at six items priced at 99 cents, because that is still a critical price point, and others under $2, because that is still a good value," says spokesman Denny Lynch.
In the fall, McDonald's Dollar Menu transformed into the Dollar Menu & More, merging the brand's $1 items with others up to $2 and the 20-piece nuggets for $5. Some other restaurant companies also began offering multi-priced value menus.
"This is an evolutionary process," Lombardi says. "Five to seven years from now, there will be no dollar menu. It will just be the value menu."
Brands turn to the IPO
After two years without a limited-service restaurant company launching an initial public offering, two brands made the plunge in 2013.
Fast-casual mainstay Noodles & Co., based in Broomfield, Colorado, raised $96.4 million with its initial public offering (IPO) in early July, while Chicago-based sandwich-maker Potbelly brought in $108 million with its October IPO.
Noodles sold 5.37 million shares at $18 each, and started trading at nearly twice that price. The Potbelly IPO was for 7.5 million shares at $14 apiece, well above the original price range of $9–$11, and shares opened trading at $28.66.
"There are not a lot of growth names in the consumer cyclical stocks," says R.J. Hottovy, a restaurant industry analyst with investment firm Morningstar. "As a result, the market is willing to overpay for concepts that are viable and have growth potential."
A few other companies are reportedly looking at going public, including Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. and Focus Brands Inc., parent of Cinnabon and Moe's Southwest Grill.
Starbucks continues its evolution
Starbucks wasted little time this year integrating acquisitions made in 2011 and 2012. In short order, the company expanded the availability of Evolution Fresh juices, introduced La Boulange artisan baked goods, and opened its first two Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar locations.
"Whatever we bring into the store, we want it to be enhancing to the customer experience and complementary to our leadership position in coffee," chief executive Howard Schultz told investors in the fall.
Evolution Fresh also launched standalone Evolution Fresh stores and opened a new factory this year. Meanwhile, La Boulange products are now in more than half of Starbucks' 7,000 U.S. company stores, and a La Boulange lunch concept is being tested.
"Starbucks has been pretty smart," says Melissa Abbott, senior director of culinary insights at The Hartman Group, a Bellevue, Washington–based research and consulting firm. "They are capitalizing on categories customers want but may not easily have access to."
"Better pizza" explodes
Fast-casual pizza is not new, but the number of upstart limited-service chains built around artisan, quickly baked pizza is soaring.
Since brands like MOD Pizza, Your Pie, and Uncle Maddio's pioneered the space in the late 2000s, nearly a dozen fast-casual pizza efforts have popped up around the country, including Project Pie, Blaze Pizza, and The Pizza Studio. This year, the nation's fifth-largest pizza company, Sbarro, opened its own fast-casual pizza iteration, Pizza Cucinova, in Columbus, Ohio.
More brands are on the way.
"We're seeing the same grand proliferation being set up that we saw with the better-burger concept," Lombardi says. "This is part of the customization consumers demand."
Some efforts have big money behind them, including Los Angeles–based PizzaRev, backed financially by Buffalo Wild Wings. Others feature experienced operators, such as Denver's Live Basil, created by Smashburger founders Tom Ryan and Rick Schaden.
The five times weekly e-newsletter that keeps you up-to-date on the latest industry news and additions to this website.


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2012 Tour Stop #18 - Praise the LardSeptember 22, 2012
Praise the Lard
Murphysboro, IL
For three years now, Christine and I have made the trip from Southern Missouri to the promised land of Murphysboro, Illinois. This was the 25th year for the Murphysboro Cookoff, now affectionately known as the Praise the Lard Barbecue Festival and Cook-off held right down the street from the world famous 17th Street Bar & Grill.
This year, there were 62 teams competing in the KCBS contest with a dozen or so also cooking in the MBN competition. Most of the teams also cooked fish and wings for side contests on Thursday evening. Thursday was also the night for the annual fish fry at the 17th St. Warehouse, which was, needless to say, a fun experience for all. Friday night was Championship BBQ night and folks lined up early for the great eats. This year it looked like a ride at Disneyworld as people lined the sidewalk, out into the street and down the block. It was great to have a captive audience for my demonstration and while the folks didn't want to eat very much, I did get some to snack on some Smithfield® pork and Castle Wood Reserve® meat and cheese appetizers.
One great thing about Murphysboro is the team goodie bags they distribute which overflow a bushel basket including candies, apples, shirts, aprons, stationary, charcoal and Budweiser® beer! Another great thing about the Praise the Lard contest are the awesome trophies. They have hand blown glass apples on wooden stands for all the category winners and a chain saw pig with apple for the Grand Champion! In years past, the event has given away $17,000 combined in the KCBS and MBN contests, but with this being the 25th anniversary, they upped the prize money to $25,000!
Saturday was contest day and judges were roaming the street early and between turn-ins. Since the contest has both the KCBS and MBN contest at the same time, turn-in times are staggered a bit different than normally. There was also more public on the street than in years past, which just confirms the popularity of BBQ in today's society.
At the end of the day, A Pigs Worst Nightmare won the chicken category, Gilly's BBQ won ribs, Party Q won pork and Iowa's Smokey D's BBQ won brisket. Last year's Grand Champion, Gilly's BBQ, won Reserve Grand this year which allowed St Louis Black Iron BBQ to snag their very first Grand Champion win. Way to go!


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Success Stories:
"Having added the SafeBuy logo and accreditation onto our website we immediately saw an increase in the conversion of visitors browsing our site to placing orders. This can only be attributed to the confidence factor associated with ordering from an accredited web retailer."
Simon Young , Senior Partner www.dvd-and-media.com
"I just wanted to extend my thanks. I used to be sceptical about the value of accreditation but with sales up by 45% I'm converted!"
Jim Wilson, Managing Director www.borngifted.co.uk
5 reasons to become a SafeBuy member:
- Get the two leading industry logos for your website
- Increased sales through consumer confidence in the SafeBuy Code of Practice
- Real-time consumer feedback to enhance your image
- Avoid litigation – no charge mediation on consumer disputes
- Free subscription to eCommerce Monthly – the world's foremost source of money-making ideas for web merchants
Richard Jones is the CEO of SafeBuy - he founded the company in 2003. Richard was appointed as 'UK Leading Expert' by the British Standards Institute, working on the International Standards Organisation's development of ISO 10008 – the world standard for ecommerce websites - now released by ISO.


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I've been a bit annoyed with"Revenge"lately; to take a holiday break, come back for three weeks, and then take a two-week hiatus? This just seemed rude to be taking advantage of those of us who plan our weeks around Wednesdays at 10 p.m. However, once the episode opened and I watched as different cast members received a red box, I knew it could mean only one thing: The engagement party is approaching! Since the first 10 minutes of the series teased this party, we've all been left wondering, and it seems as though some of our questions are closer to being answered!
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, though. The engagement party is still a week away, but the engagement dinner episode brought us plenty of drama.
Obviously, the question on all of our minds is: Who took the box?! Is there a chance a new character exists in this charade who we don't yet know about? How did anyone even find out about the box? While Amanda seems like the most likely suspect, I wonder if it could be Nolan, who seems to be fed up with Emily's meddling. Whoever it is, discovering Emily's identity, the existence of the box and its location is pretty impressive.
Tonight's episode showed us a glimmer of Emily's heart when she took back the DVD that would have revealed David Clarke as Charlotte's father. Aside from this moment, however, it was hard to believe that there was any feeling inside her. Her lack of compassion for Jack and Amanda, as well as her complete disregard for Nolan's warnings make it seem as if she is also manipulating the Jack situation. Yes, Amanda out of the picture works out for Emily's ultimate revenge plot, but it also leaves Jack able to continue to pine.
Tonight's Superlatives:
The only downside to marrying Daniel Grayson would be having to say this line: "Your mother requested white for the engagement photos"
Most unbelievable relationship: Conrad Grayson and his father look to be about 10 years apart.
Surprising height difference: I noticed multiple times this episode that Nolan is almost a full head taller than Jack. Has this always been the case?
Worst greeting: "Hey Mrs. G" C'mon Declan, no one calls her that, least of all someone trying desperately to get her approval.
Random Connection: Emily and Daniel are both equally related to Charlotte.
Question that has been on everyone's mind: "What's your game, young lady?" Conrad to Ashley
Best Backhanded Compliment: "Know who you remind me of, Emily? Victoria! Don't you see it?" Grandpa Grayson, illustrating what is actually all too true.
Until next week, when hopefully all of our questions will be answered (though this seems unlikely). Is Daniel really going to be dead? Did Emily kill him? How will Amanda manage to wiggle her way back to the center of the drama? And who took the box??


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For years under Al Davis, the Raiders had a reputation for drafting players who ran very fast even if their on-field results were less impressive.
Davis has passed away, leaving a new group in charge of making personnel decisions and they're using different criteria. That was evident at Georgia's pro day on Thursday when General Manager Reggie McKenzie weighed in on linebacker Jarvis Jones' workout. Jones ran a 4.9-second 40-yard dash, which was slower than expected and which led observers like Mike Mayock of the NFL Network to suggest Jones could slip down draft boards. McKenzie had a slightly different take.
"You can never dispel what you see on tape," McKenzie said, via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
There's a strange dance that goes on during the run-up to the draft where those who make a living studying the draft bang the drum for judging players based on how they perform on the field right up until the point a player has a disappointing workout. You obviously want to have fast players on your team, but you want productive ones more and Jones was very productive at Georgia while playing in a conference that every pundit has deemed the finest in all the land. It seems strange that one 40-yard dash would be given more weight than that.


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Message Board
Patricia Hermes Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Hermes has written!
Author Hermes's Book Reviews
My Girl
In this book basically a girl, about 11 years old, had to deal with the death of her best friend Thomas J. She also has to deal with her dad having a girlfirend, who she probably thought was replacing here mother who died. She also had to deal with her crush of an older man who also had a girlfriend....
You Shouldn't Have To Say Goodbye
This is the story of a young girl named Sarah who finds it hard to come to terms with the fact that her mother is dying. She experiences a flush of emotions ranging from anger to fear. Through all the heartache, this experience turns Sarah into a more matured young lady capable of appreciating the deeper things of life....


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Re: Mast Cell Tumors : Lessons Learned
Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 5:56 pm
Wait... Did the vet aspirate the lump or do anything at all to figure out what is it before saying you shouldn't worry about it? If not, I would go to a different vet. For suspicious lumps I always go to an oncologist, the least they can do is aspirate the lump with a needle and check it out under microscope. I would have that checked out by a vet ASAP. Good luck, I hope it's nothing serious.kimboley wrote:The vet has seen these, she said "I wouldn't worry unless it gets bigger"


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Consensus Report
Increasing Capacity for Stewardship of Oceans and Coasts: A Priority for the 21st Century (2008)Ocean Studies Board
Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review; while the reports represent views of the committee, they also are endorsed by the Academy. Learn more on our expert consensus reports.
Marine environments support the livelihoods, economies, and quality of life for communities around the world, but growth of coastal populations and increasing demands on marine resources are putting the future of ocean and coastal resources at risk through impacts, such as overfishing, wetland drainage, climate change, and pollution of coastal waters. Given these demands, it is vital to build capacity--the people, the institutions, and the technology and tools--needed to manage ocean resources. Unfortunately, many capacity building efforts focus on specific projects rather than on capacity building as goal unto itself, resulting in activities that are not funded or sustained past the typically short project lifetime. This report finds that the most successful capacity building efforts meet the needs of a specific locale or region based on periodic assessments and include plans to maintain and expand capacity after the project ends. The report recommends ways that governments and organizations can help strengthen marine protection and management capacity, including conducting periodic program assessments, making plans to sustain funding, and developing leadership and political will.
Key Messages
- All nations share a responsibility to develop the capacity and institutions for more sustainable management of the oceans and coasts that connect nations and continents around the globe.
- Developing nations face a steeper challenge to develop more sustainable ecosystem-based management practices that can be met in part through capacity-building.
- Ending the fragmentation of current programs that seek to grow capacity for ocean and coastal management and to improve stewardship will require a new, broadly adopted framework for capacity-building programs that emphasizes cooperation, sustainability, and knowledge transfer within and among communities.
- The condition and sustainability of the vital resources and services of oceans and coasts that are valued by societies around the world depend on increasing the global capacity for good stewardship.


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Eagles fall to Prairie Heights
LAGRANGE — Churubusco's boys basketball team dropped a 65-55 contest to Prairie Heights Friday night.The Eagles had a 31-24 advantage at halftime, but Prairie Heights outscored 'Busco 41-24 to steal the win from the Eagles.Churubusco was led in scoring by Brent Simmons with 22 points, followed by T.J. Campbell with 15. Campbell hit 5-of-9 3-pointers for the Eagles in his 15 points.Simmons was Churubusco's leading rebounder with nine, followed by Corey Sarrazin with five and Garrett Simmons with three.To read the rest of this story, see the December 21-22 issue of The Post and Mail. Don't have a subscription? Call (260) 244-5153 or subscribe to our e-edition. For breaking news, sports updates and additional coverage, bookmark the homepage and find us on facebook and twitter.


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Amazing holiday-themed version of Charmed. Featuring gravity-twisting, tile-clearing, Charm-matching action across 25 unique levels! Stunning music, sounds and visuals will keep you captivated. Enjoy bragging rights by outscoring your friends on the global high score boards via OpenFeint!
Charmed Xmas is the Christmas themed version of Charmed!
ThePortableGamer.com: "Charmed is simple, fun, and addictive." "I can thoroughly recommend it"
MobileGameFAQs.com: "Delightful" "Charmed is an extremely well polished game and you would think that this is a big budget development."
TouchArcade user: "Charmed is exponentially better than Bejeweled."
TouchArcade user: "The ability to change the gravity by rotating the screen.. WOW. That alone makes this a Bejeweled Killer IMO."
Dreamshark's iTunes Review:
"Best match three game EVER!"
"The only drawback to this game is the hours you will fritter away once you buy it. The gravity rotation feature adds a level of strategy that takes the game concept to a whole new level. Totally worth the price."
• Swap Christmas Charms to make matches of 3 or more.
• Make matches over all the Gold Tiles on each level to level up.
• Brick Walls prevent Charms from falling down.
• Each game board has a UNIQUE LAYOUT of brick walls and Gold Tiles.
• The brick walls create empty spaces as your matches are removed.
• Rotate your iPhone or iPod Touch and GRAVITY TAKES HOLD in the new direction!
• Collect Snowflake Charms to earn Freeze Time.
• Activate Freeze Time to move Charms around WITHOUT needing to make matches!
• This lets you line up HUGE matches of up to 9 Charms in a row!
• Gravity-twisting gameplay
• 25 unique game boards, but infinite levels
• Up to 12 seconds of Freeze Time
• OpenFeint global high scores/leaderboards


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Pulikali: Pulikali is one of the important factors in the Onam Festival. The Pulikali is playing in Thrissur. Their many teams to play the Pulikali. Pulikali 2018 Live Video is available here on August 26. In Thrissur, Pulikali is a competition. The Character of Puli is prepare in men with a large stomach. Pulikali Pulikali video and images added below. Please check these … [Read more...]
You are here: Home / Archives for pulikali and onam about


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To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
According to this (if I'm not mistaken), they are not selling.
That is one of the reasons I've been urging people to put their money where their mouth is and buy AMD when they need a new PC or laptop.
The other of course is that frankly the "bang for the buck" on AMD chips is just nuts and probably less than 5% of those actually buying PCs have tasks that would benefit from the IPC advantage Intel has. you can get AMD quad kits on Tiger starting at $150, and you can buy Thuban X6 chips for $105. heck I even love gaming and my X6 just blows through the latest games while giving me plenty of cores for other tasks, truly a great chip.
So next time you are buying a PC or laptop take a serious look at AMD, I'm old enough to remember what it was like when Intel stood alone and it was NOT fun, it was stagnation and high prices. I put my money where my mouth is and my entire family is on AMD,we're talking 5 desktops, 1 laptop and 1 netbook, and I can say all of them do every task we can come up with with plenty of cycles left over and plenty of cash saved over going Intel.


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CVC Highlight: 8 tips to make life easier for owners of diabetic cats
1. The quicker diabetes is controlled, the more likely remission will occur.
In a study evaluating remission in diabetic cats initially treated with insulin, 55 diabetic cats were included whose owners followed a highly intensive monitoring and blood glucose regulation protocol using insulin glargine and a low carbohydrate diet.1 Remission was achieved in 35 cats (64%). Cats that had received glucocorticoid treatment within six months prior to a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus, that required a lower maximum insulin dose, or that were intensively managed using glargine within six months of diagnosis were more likely to achieve remission, while cats with a peripheral neuropathy present at diagnosis (such as difficulty climbing stairs or a plantigrade stance) were less likely to do so.2. Diet is important, and canned food is preferred.
3. Make giving insulin part of a pleasant experience for the cat—and the owner.
Insulin syringes, as compared with other types, are recommended because of the small needle size, but a needle prick can still be an unpleasant sensation. A good practice is to make the injections part of a good experience. For diabetic pets that are meal-fed and enjoy their food, inject them as they are eating and when they are close to finishing the meal. For others, owners can give the injections while doing a pleasurable activity. My cat Madison loved getting brushed every day. When he became diabetic, I started brushing him twice daily, and I gave him the injection midway through each brushing.
For any patient that needs a small amount of insulin, 0.3- or 0.5-ml insulin syringes should be used for accurate dosing. These are referred to as low-dose syringes. The scale on the syringe is easier to read for small doses.
The site of insulin injection is important. An appropriate location must be chosen, as absorption of insulin from various sites in the body differs. In dogs and cats, the dorsal neck, or the scruff, has commonly been used as an injection site, but this location may not be ideal because of low blood flow and increased fibrosis caused by repeated injections. A better option may be to administer the insulin along the lateral abdomen and thorax. The chosen area should be rotated daily to prevent fibrosis at an injection site.6


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I enjoy a good campfire program. You can easily tell when a camp staff has rehearsed the skits and songs, and when they themselves are having a good time. That good time spreads to the campers and makes for a great evening. When you get the campers laughing you know you have done your job well.
Today's video for YouTube Tuesday features a camp staff that must have spent a lot of time practicing because the skit they performed was done flawlessly. The timing was perfect. The audience had a fantastic time watching them. You really do not want me to explain this video. You just need to sit back, watch and enjoy it. Then grab a few people and start practicing it yourselves for this summer camp programs. (1349)
100 Days Of Scouting: Day 36.


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This sumptuous collection has a sophisticated, modern style that is accentuated by repeating motifs and elegant neutral colors. The clean geometric patterns in a beautiful variety of subdued colors add to the rich textural appearance of the collection.
Karastan offers hundreds of styles in carpets and rugs — distinct colors, styles, textures, etc. and every Authorized Karastan Retailer carries slightly different selections of flooring choices. In order to help assure what you see online matches with what you will see in the store, we need to know which store you would prefer to visit. You can always change to another store later.
Forgot your password? Click here
In order for Karastan.com to show exactly the same products online as you can find in your local store. Just click one of the four choices below or choose skip this step and get to the online product galleries. If you change your mind, you can always choose another Store later!
If you choose to skip, Karastan.com will make a best guess as to which store closest to you carries the most flooring options. At any time, you can choose another store nearby as the best option for your flooring needs. Go to "My Karastan" and click "change" to change your Karastan store.
Forgot your password? Please enter your email address below.
Email this product to yourself, a family member or a friend.
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You are here: Root > By location > North America > USA > Boston
The author and main administrator of this web site. Also an electronics and software engineer using Common Lisp to design high performance systems.
Personal web site/blog: http://www.fractalconcept.com
I'm currently mostly working on high performance computing systems for my new company: HPC platform.
CL-PDF | CL-Typesetting | mod_lisp | How to submit content to the Common Lisp Directory | The Common Lisp Directory Help | The Common Lisp Document Repository
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Child Support FAQs
Child Support Questions
Q: Which computer programs to determine child support calculations under the California uniform child support guideline are certified by the Judicial Council pursuant to California Family Code section 3830 and Rule 5.275 of the California Rules of Court?
A: The following programs have been certified by the Judicial Council:
- CalSupport and CalSupport PRO, http://www.nolotech.com/
- DissoMaster, http://www.cflr.com/products/dissomaster.php
- Xspouse, http://www.xspouse.com/; and
- California Guideline Child Support Calculator (DCSS), https://www.cse.ca.gov/ChildSupport/cse/guidelineCalculator
- Family Law Software, http://www.FamilyLawSoftware.com/ca
- FamilySoft SupportCalc by Legal+Plus, http://www.legalplus.com
The fourth calculator on this list was created by the California Department of Child Support Services (DCSS). There are two versions of this calculator. One version is integrated into DCSS' case management system for use by local child support agency staff and child support commissioners in calculating support for cases open in the local child support agency. The other version is the public version, is on the internet and is freely accessible to all. For detailed instruction on how to use this guideline calculator, see DCSS' California Guideline Child Support Calculator User Guide. DCSS developed this calculator as a condition of receiving federal funding for the child support program. California Rule of Court 5.275(j) requires that in all title IV-D child support cases (when the local child support agency provides services), DCSS' calculator be used by the parties and attorneys to present support calculations to the court, as well as by the court to prepare support calculations. While DCSS' calculator must be used in all title IV-D cases, parties and attorneys are free to use it in any other proceeding involving child support. The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement requires that courts use the internal guideline calculator, starting November 30, 2008.
A: Only one program, the California Guideline Child Support Calculator (DCSS) can be used in Title IV-D proceedings. As a condition of federal funding of the child support program in California, the State of California through DCSS was required to develop a statewide automated case management system. Federal specifications for this system included the development of a child support calculator that was integrated as a part of the DCSS case management system. A findingwas issued under 45 C.F.R. sections 307.10(b) and 307.11 that requires California courts to only use and accept calculations prepared on DCSS's California Guideline Child Support Calculator. Beginning on December 1, 2008, courts in Title IV-D proceedings must use the Internal Guideline Calculator, while the public and attorneys may continue to use the public version, which is located on the DCSS Web site. As of January 1, 2009, California Rules of Court rule 5.275(j) provides as follows:
(j) Acceptability in the courts
(1) In all actions for child or family support brought by or otherwise involving the local child support agency under title IV-D of the Social Security Act, the Department of Child Support Services' California Guideline Child Support Calculator software program must be used by:
(A) Parties and attorneys to present support calculations to the court; and
(B) The court to prepare support calculations.
(2) In all non-title IV-D proceedings, the court may use and must permit parties or attorneys to use any software certified by the Judicial Council under this rule.
A: Family Code section 4055 provides that the Judicial Council, commencing March 1, 2013 and annually thereafter shall determine the amount of the net disposable adjustment to the Low Income Adjustment (LIA) based on the change in the annual California Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Labor Statics (CDIR). The CDIR has now published the CCPI average for calendar year 2016. The percentage of annual average change from calendar year 2016 to 2017 is 2.9% or $48. The new LIA amount is $1,692.00 and that is the amount that should be applied to adjust the threshold for the Low Income Adjustment.
Low Income Amount Threshold Table
|Tax Year
|LIA Threshold Amount
|January 2013
|March 1, 2013


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Al Fresco: Outdoor Kids' Parties
Kids, especially when you get them together, have a lot of energy so an outdoor party can be a good release for their natural energy + cake energy. Here are ten kids' parties that made the most of being outdoors and which probably involved some "no-rain" dancing the night before:
• Trains Party
• Boxes & Balloons Party
• Archery Party
• Garden Party
• A Picnic Party
• Cowgirl Party
• Woodland Fairy & Gnome Adventure
• Farm Party
• Bunnies Party
• Bubble Splash Bath
Welcome to Apartment Therapy's Best of 2012 roundup! From December 19 through January 1 we are rounding up our favorite (and your favorite) posts from the past year.
(Images: See linked posts for full image credits)


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About This Premium Format™ Figure
Launching Sideshow's all-new line of DC Comics Collectibles is The Joker Premium Format Figure, presenting the maniacal archenemy of Batman in stunning detail. Each piece is individually painted and finished to exacting standards, each with its own unique quality and detail that is the trademark of a handcrafted Sideshow Collectibles product. Captured in approximately 1:4 scale, with an intricate real fabric costume that features a fully lined topcoat with pose-able tails, The Joker Premium Format Figure is an outstanding addition to any display, the perfect beginning to Sideshow's DC collection.
- License
- DC Comics
- Type
- Premium Format™ Figure
- Manufacturer
- Sideshow Collectibles
- Kat Sapene (Paint)
- Martin Canale (Sculpt)
- Tim Hansen(Costume Fabrication)
- Joe Allard (Design)
- Jesse Lincoln (Development)
- Adam Smith (Development)
- The Sideshow Collectibles Design and Development Team
Additional Details & Dimensions
- Product Size
- 24" H (609.6mm) x 8" W (203.2mm) x 8" L (203.2mm)*
- Box Size
- 9.00" H (228.6mm) x 17.00" W (431.8mm) x 19.00" L (482.6mm)*
- Product Weight
- 10.00 lbs (4.54 kg)*
- Est. Shipping Weight
- 12.00 lbs (5.44 kg)*
- Dimensional Weight
- 13.0000 lbs*
- Int'l Dim. Weight
- 21.0000 lbs*
* Size and weight are approximate values.
Learn more
- 300129
- 747720219373
© 2011 Warner Bros.
Did You Know?
Some items are available only from Sideshow.com.
Shop with Confidence
Award-winning customer support with a 30-day guarantee.
What Collectors Are SayingLeave Feedback
Why so seriously awesome!!!!
Some of the best tailoring and mixed media ever produced by sideshow! The head sculpt and paint job are insane!! If there is such a thing as a grail this is as close to it as you will find!!
— Geo
Joker's Wild — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
An incredible representation of the Clown Prince of Crime. If you don't have one, get one. It's simple the best.
— Josh S.
Deerfield Beach, FL
bad boy is in the house!
The ultimate bad boy against Batman is a lovely add to my collection
— Neil
Every detail.....I love these mixed media figures..I cant wait for the rest of the DC line to come out!!! :)
— Jason Gray
York, PA
This is Absolutely Spot on.
Just received this piece.Absolutely awestruck.The detail in this is what you could only hope for in a Joker Figure.Keep up the Fantastic Work Sideshow.
— A viewer
Sideshow has spared no exspence in bringing out a premium format Joker figure. Even the stand is awesome with all the scary clown faces. The figure itself is very well done. I like how they use the magnets for attaching the hands and head. The clothes are very detailed right down to his shoes.
— Dave Hart
Amazing! — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
I made a mistake not preordering this day 1 but my waitlist converted and am I glad it did. This is one amazing PF. No detail is over looked. The tailoring is phenominal, paint, sculpt are as well. Get this or the regular while you can. Bring on Bats!
— Brian
Kettering, Ohio
OutstandinG — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
1st DC Premium Format from SS & what to say great job .....this is must have for all Joker/Batman fan ...its magnificent Statue
Your Favorite Psychopath — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
Outstanding figure, great way to start the DC PF line. Hopefully all of Bats other villains will come out this good. Great job Sideshow.
— Jack Burton
I'm loving my Joker. — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
Thank you Sideshow Collectibles for giving me this Joker. This is the best Joker statue version I've ever had. I can't wait till Batman exclusive premium format is released. Buy this joker if you can, b/c this Joker is not a joke.
— Ben
Bronx, NY
IF YOU GOT TO GO, GO WITH A SMILE!!!! — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
Hat's off to SSC, this is the best DC statue of all time. Detail over the top, the look, size color, and base are done to the point of no detail missed. I am a Big Joker fan and this is the best statue in my whole collection!!
— Juan Julian Purdy II
Wow — Reviewing the Exclusive Edition
So I am a Marvel guy but always had a soft spot for certain characters of DC such as the Joker. I got lucky and got this one. I acutally did not place his head the way the pix shows. I placed it looking at you and it gives the piece a more alarming look to it. Get this NOW.
— Chris
Vegas baby Vegas


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This is AbanteCart® in the Light Slate Gray Skin. >> Click Here << to view this color on a live demo web store. You will be able to appreciate the color better by being able to click around the web store and view the color on various pages with regard to how the tags and color relate to your tastes.
The Demo web store will open in a new window/tab. When finished, simply close the window/tab to return here and try a different color.
- Availability: 1000000


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Veronica's One-of-a-Kind Mandala Bookshelf
Name: Veronica
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
My apartment is quite small and I am lawyer so I have to read a lot. I really enjoy it,and didn't want to have the typical 50 inch tv on my living room wall...
I needed a library but it had to be different, so I made one inspired by a mandala. I think the carpenter did a great job, exactly what I designed!
Thanks, Veronica!
• Interested in sharing your home with Apartment Therapy? Contact the editors through our House Tour Submission Form.


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PC Mag Responds To Legacy Recording Industry's 'Complaint' Letter
from the hello,-we're-the-press dept
Apparently, in their haste to send a complaint to the wrong publisher, these geniuses of the recording industry also failed to leave an address for a reply letter, so PC Mag's Lance Ulanoff responded with a public response letter, which basically tells all of those organizations to learn what it means to be the press reporting on a topic, as opposed to an advocate pushing a particular viewpoint:
The story isn't encouraging or discouraging anything. That's not our role. PCMag's job is to cover all aspects of technology, which includes the products, services and activities that some groups and individuals might deem objectionable. We covered these Limewire alternatives because we knew they would be of interest to our readers. We understand that some might use them to illegally download content. We cannot encourage that action, but also cannot stop it. Reporting on the existence of these services does neither.More importantly, Ulanoff points out the same thing we did in questioning what the hell these industry groups thought they would accomplish in suggesting the press not cover a story:
We have, obviously, written about many online and offline services, including some that these groups might consider legitimate or "legal." However, the fact is that some users store and manage illegally gained content in music applications like iTunes. We would not stop covering these utilities simply because some users place illegal or even inappropriate content in them.
It worries me that the music industry took this action, because it reeks of desperation. The RIAA and other music industry organizations have spent the better part of the decade fighting the digital transition, with only a shrinking business to show for it. In recent years, though, the fist of anger has turned into at least one open hand as the music industry embraces the once shunned digital music industry. Unfortunately, that warm embrace, and the change that comes with it, are not happening fast enough. Clearly the music industry is still losing money to music piracy and even the recalibrated profit margins brought on by legal music sharing services.Not a particularly surprising response, but kudos to PC Mag for sticking to its principles, and not feeling bullied by these industry folks.
It's time for these music execs to pull their collective heads out of the sand and fully acknowledge and accept all the ways their industry has changed. They also have to understand that nothing will stop technology's inexorable march forward. Things will continue to change. Music downloads and sharing will never go away. These execs have to find a way to use all that technology allows and make a business that rivals the good old days of vinyl, cassette tape and even CDs.
We will continue to cover it all--as we must.


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Animal Species:Common Sydney Octopus
This is the largest octopus commonly seen in Sydney.
Standard Common Name
Common Sydney Octopus
Alternative Name/s
Gloomy Octopus
The undersides of the arms of the Common Sydney Octopus are rust red in colour, tapering to a tip, which may be the first thing you spot emerging from under a rock ledge.
Size range
80 cm
The Common Sydney Octopus is found in New South Wales.
The Common Sydney Octopus is found on intertidal rocky shores and in the ocean.
Feeding and Diet
At night the Common Sydney Octopus hunts using its sharp beak to feed on crabs and molluscs, such as snails and bivalves. It can change the colour of its skin (normally mottled brown) and shape to imitate seaweed.
Other behaviours and adaptations
The Common Sydney Octopus is territorial and sits in its lair during the day surrounded by rocks and rubble that it has collected to defend its home.
The octopuses' fleshy mantle can be used for jet propulsion by sucking in water and squirting it out through the siphon above. Most of the time though, they use their eight suckered arms to creep about over rock surfaces in search of food.
Octopuses are protected and cannot be taken from ocean rock platforms or Sydney Harbour.
- Species:
- tetricus
- Genus:
- Octopus
- Phylum:
- Mollusca
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
Last Updated:
Tags octopuses, cephalopoda, cephalopods, mollusca, molluscs, invertebrates, identification, wildlife of sydney,


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Yankee Ferry
Pier 25, Hudson River, foot of North Moore St.
Tues., Aug. 23 at 8 p.m., doors open 7 p.m.,
piano music at 7:30 p.m.
$20. 212-253-4236, or www.LiliaThePlay.com.
Doug Miner
Libby Skala performing Lilia!
Theatrical tribute to a special grandmother
Libby Skala writes a part for grandmother Lilia Skala
By Jerry Tallmer
Thumb sucking, says the exacting, Austrian-backboned Lilia Skala to her 4-year-old granddaughter in New Jersey, is a very bad habit. It makes the teeth grow crooked
Remember, I gave up smoking cigarettes. You can stop sucking your thumb.
Grandmother, says 6-year-old Libby Skala, who now no longer sucks her thumb, this is for you. Its a lion the little girl has made in clay class. I tried to make his head go straight, but it kept falling over.
No, thats what gives him movement and life, you see? says the grandmother. The talents God gives us, we must improve. That statement is of tremendous help to me when I struggle as an actress
I love my lion. Lets put him on this table where everyone can admire him.
Libby darling, says Lilia Skala to the granddaughter who is now 13, your nose is much too large for your face.
Fortunately, the proportions in a womans face change as she grows older
. I myself look very different now than I did at 18 or 25 or even 35. Its natural
But right now, Darling, your nose is disproportionately large.
It isnt. Its a quite nice nose in perfectly good proportion on the charming features of Elizabeth Anne (Libby) Skalia who is no longer a 13-year-old and whose grandmother took her final curtain at age 98 one week before Christmas 1994.
That extraordinary personage lives on in Lilia!, a two-women-performed-by-one-woman show that Libby Skala has been doing to sustained applause in this and other cities for a half-dozen years now, and will do again for just one performance aboard the Yankee Ferry at Pier 25 in Tribeca on Tuesday night, August 23. The historic Yankee Ferry that once, years before Libbys grandmothers time, conveyed voyagers to the new world from Ellis Island to Manhattan.
You may remember Libbys grandmother. Lilia Skala, with her full-bodied Viennese accent, stood out in supporting roles in movies like Ship of Fools, Charly, Eleanor and Franklin, Roseland, Flashdance, House of Games, was an Oscar nominee for her performance as the Mother Superior opposite Oscar-winner Sidney Poitier in the 1963 Lilies of the Field, appeared on countless television shows and serials from 1952 to 1985, and as Grand Duchess Sophie kept company on Broadway with Ethel Merman in Call Me Madam not too many years after toiling in a Queens zipper factory as a non-English-speaking refugee from Austria, the mother of two small boys, one of whom is Libby Skalas father.
My earliest memory of my grandmother, Libby Skala says over a salad one recent blazing afternoon, was when I was 2 or 3 and she was crawling around on the floor with a bottle, play-acting, she the baby and I the mother. Because she was always The Actress.
Then when I would come home from nursery school this was in Englewood, New Jersey, where wed moved from Queens I would watch her in Search for Tomorrow on television. She played the grandmother to a young boy named Eric.
As it happens, Eric was the first name, also, of Lilia Skalas husband, Libbys grandfather. Eric Pollack, who was Jewish. But when Hitler came in, my grandmothers aunt adopted him so as to give him the Christian name of Skala. Its a Czech name, which, from what I understand, means a rocky cliff.
Lilia Skala, born in Vienna in 1896, had come out of the University of Dresden as Austrias first-ever female architect, had become bored designing orphanages and other institutional structures Not very romantic and therefore turned to where she really wanted to be, rising to pre-Hitler stardom in the theater company of the famed Max Reinhardt.
On Kristallnacht, November 9, 1938, the night on which all the Jewish men are rounded up in the streets of Vienna and thrown into jail just because they are Jewish, Lilia Skalas husband Eric is one of those men. And I go to that prison, she says or Libby says, in the show, in her grandmothers inflections and I bribe the prison guard with a gold cigarette box to let Eric go, and he does.
In 1939, at the last possible moment, Eric Skala gets out of Vienna, out of Europe, and eventually to the United States, leaving wife and two young sons behind. Six months later, Lilia and the two boys get out and rejoin her husband, their father, in Queens, New York, USA.
In 1952 Eric Skala a sweet man who wouldnt read Grimms fairy tales to me because they were too bloody will go off with another woman and move to Florida.
The Lilia of 1939 speaks no English. I was not educated to be a refugee. She goes to work, at 45, for the Waldes Zipper factory of Queens, first attempting to sell their zippers in Manhattans garment district, but the language barrier knocks that out. Shes put behind a machine in the factory itself, going through endless repetitive motions a la Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times.
She works as a bus boy, a waitress, a seller of mutual funds, and lo and behold, before two years are out, through one miracle or another, she is, language and all, making her debut in the American theater, on Broadway, in a play called Letters to Lucerne.
A pretty formidable lady, your grandmother.
She was, she was, says granddaughter Libby. I remember her coming to our home with makeup and wigs and costume jewelry she didnt want any more. My sister Emily and I would dress up in it.
When she was nominated for an Academy Award for Lilies of the Field, she was actually at that moment working behind the Lost & Found counter at the New York City Center. She didnt know what the Academy was. Wasnt in the loop. Didnt know the meaning of it. For the Lilies job she got SAG (Screen Actors Guild) minimum a two-week shoot at $500 a week.
Libbys family eventually moved from New Jersey to Connecticut.
I was very shy. I didnt have any friends, except one friend who was also shy, and who for that reason was going on Saturday mornings into the city to the Neighborhood Playhouse. My grandmother called the Neighborhood Playhouse and got me in.
I was there for a year in Fran Anthonys classes. When I told my grandmother I wanted to go back for a second year, she said here Libby reverts to Lilia Skalas inimitable Viennese English Iss zere really anyzing to be learned zzat you haffent learned already? Acting cant be taught! You eizzer haff it or you dont haff it.
So I didnt go back. She said: I will work with you. She spoke to her agent at William Morris, but they werent interested in newcomers. I would have done Cheerio commercials, I would have done anything, but another agent felt that Cheerios commercials were below me. I had the chance to do puppets, but my grandmother was against that.
In the end, Libby went off to college at Oberlin, in Ohio, earning a BA in English with an emphasis on theater.
On my return to New York, my grandmother was already in her 90s, and not getting parts. How many roles are there for 90-year-old Austrian actresses? So she was pouring all her energy into me, even down to details like what headshots I should have.
It didnt sit well. It was overbearing. I started to wonder: Am I doing all this for myself, or am I doing it for her? I couldnt tell. So says Libby Skala with a disarming smile I moved as far away as I could. To Seattle, Washington.
I went there thinking Im ready to let go of acting but in the first week I met people from college, playwrights, directors, actors, and immediately fell back into it.
Lilia Skalas granddaughter Libby was in Seattle when Lilia Skala died, December 18, 1994. During the night, in her sleep [at Bayshore, Long Island], after a party in which she was belle of the ball. The last thing she ever said to me was: Write a part for me.
This is that part. It sprouted in a workshop conducted in Seattle by itinerant acting teacher Gary Austin, who somewhere along the way had said to Libby: Although youre presenting your grandmother to the world, I think shes really presenting you to the world.
The Yankee Ferry is nowadays owned and operated by furniture designers Richard and Victoria MacKenzie-Childs.
Victoria came and saw me doing this show at the Arclight Theatre on West 71st Street last May, and invited me to do it on their boat. I think its thrilling to do my grandmothers story aboard a boat that once ferried immigrants from Ellis Island to New York City.
Libby, are you doing it for you or for her?
Silence. Reflection. For both. Pause. I think.
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Quick History: Silhouettes
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, silhouettes became popular as cheap, quick ways of capturing likenesses. Often created by amateurs, especially women, they are now known as sentimental keepsakes of the Victorian variety, sweet mementos of anonymous everyday people from the past memorialized in ink, paint, or cut paper, and even painted onto porcelain. Let's take a look at this traditional art form and also at its name, whose etymology is an interesting riddle.
The tracing of silhouettes can be linked to historical precedents like Classical black-figure vases (image 2), the ancient Chinese art of paper cutting, and even the legendary origins of picture-making, itself. Pliny the Elder, writing around the 1st century AD, told the story of a 5th century Corinthian girl, Dibutade, who traced her lover's shadow, cast by candlelight, because he was leaving on a journey and she wanted to keep his image with her. In the 18th century, when silhouettes came into fashion, Dibutade was often invoked and even depicted in art (image 3).
The Dibutade story is interesting not only because it describes the same candlelight method favored in the 19th century (image 4), but also because the artist is a woman, an amateur, who wants a souvenir of her beloved. These were often the circumstances under which silhouettes were created. It even became something of a parlor game for women in the 19th century. Because of its simplicity, and because the shadow could be traced against a wall, it did not require training or even much skill, and it fit into the expected amateur artistic pursuits of the Jane Austen-era woman (image 5). Even the earliest known silhouettes, of William and Mary, were painted by a woman in the late 17th century.
There were also professional silhouette-painters and -cutters; these were usually men, who advertised the speed and accuracy of their work. In the mid-19th century, several artists patented various machines and devices intended to help with the accuracy or duplication of silhouettes.
The market for professional portraits was often travelers or immigrants, people who wanted to send mementos of themselves home to family members, or who wanted to bring such souvenirs with them on their travels. Of course, in that era, when transportation was difficult, and journeys somewhat uncommon, silhouettes served as valuable keepsakes for family or friends separated by any significant distance.
The most famous silhouettist was the Frenchman Auguste Edouart, who made full-length portraits out of cut black paper (image). He moved to England in 1815 and then spent years in America around the 1830s, popularizing the art form there. He recorded thousands of images of his contemporaries, famous and anonymous.
The allure of professionally-created silhouettes was not only the appealing Neo-Classical aesthetic or even the accuracy of the resemblance. It was, primarily, cheap and quick — certainly much cheaper and quicker than a regular portrait. Tellingly, while sitters wore their finest clothes for traditional portraits, for silhouettes they typically wore their everyday dress.
In fact, the term silhouette is most likely related to either the cheapness or the quickness of the medium. The word is named for Étienne de Silhouette, a French economist whose friendship with Madame de Pompadour got him the lofty position of Controller-General of France in 1759. Faced with a dwindling, mismanaged treasury during the Seven Years' War, de Silhouette attempted to apply some of the economic policies and practices he had observed during a year's sojourn in England. But attacking the privileges and pocketbooks of the aristocracy was not a way to gain popularity in the Ancien Régime and he was dismissed from office amid a torrent of criticism only 8 months after accepting the post.
Up to this point, silhouettes were known as "shades" or "profiles" in Great Britain, and as "l'art de l'ombre" ("shadow art") in France. But very quickly, by the 1770s in France and Germany and by the 1790s in England, the name silhouette became applied to the art form. By the 19th century, the terms were used interchangeably. The term silhouette was further popularized by Edouart in Britain and America,.
So why did this somewhat obscure French economist give his name to the art form? One common explanation is that it was initially a derogatory reference to the brevity of de Silhouette's tenure, because of how quickly one can complete a silhouette. Another explanation is that he was an avid amateur, very proud of his own skills at making l'art de l'ombre, and that his collection at his château was well-known. While possible, of course, it seems questionable that this fleetingly public figure would have become so intimately associated with a common art form.
To me, the most plausible explanation is that de Silhouette's name had become synonymous with "cheap" in general in France. Habits à la Silhouette were men's waistcoats that had no pockets — cheap not only because it cost less to make garments without pockets (less fabric, less labor), but because not having pockets suggested that you didn't have money to put in them, a snide allusion to de Silhouette's failed policies. Like the habits à la Silhouette, silhouette portraits were sleeker, cheaper, and more quickly made than traditional portraits, and somehow, the name stuck.
Today, you can collect antique silhouettes, commission or make silhouettes of your own loved ones, or take your silhouettes on teacups (image 12), tote bags (image 13), or découpaged coasters (image14).
Part of the reason for its popularity today must be related to the rich, beautiful and disturbing work of the artist Kara Walker, whose silhouetted scenes address the historical legacy of violence, mistreatment and revenge between blacks and whites. Using the silhouette, a black-and-white medium popular during the era of American slavery, Walker brilliantly subverts the sweetness of the form, updating it into something too urgent and incisive to be anything but modern.
Sources: A few years ago, Emma Rutherford published a beautiful and well-illustrated book called Silhouette: The Art of the Shadow. If you are interested in a more in-depth history, you can buy it here. Online, the richest information can be found in Penley Knipe's research paper, Shades and Shadow-Pictures: The Materials and Techniques of American Portrait Silhouettes, which you can read at cool.conservation-us.org.
Images: 1 & 11 Lauren Liess via From the Right Bank; 2 Metropolitan Museum of Art; 3 Joseph-Benoît Suvée's The Invention of Drawing, c. 1791, via the Getty Museum; 4 Marie Antoinette's Cercle Privé blog; 5 Janeausten.co.uk; 6 & 7 Brooklyn Museum; 8 Papercutters.info; 9 Design Labyrinth; 10 Vogue via Habitually Chic; 12 Peak of Chic; 13 Mothology; 14 John Derian via Lonny; 15 Mad Men via Tom & Lorenzo.
(Re-edited from a post originally published 08/26/10 - AH)


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Ever since Gabriella "Gabby" Bazan first took art classes in high school, she has known she wished to pursue a career in art. Prior to her anticipated plans to transfer to the University of Houston this fall to earn her bachelor's degree and educational certification, she decided to begin her college experience with the Lone Star College System. "Starting off at a community college, yes, saves you money, but it really helps you establish a feeling of freedom and independence," she said.
She began taking classes at Lone Star College-Tomball in fall 2012. She soon ran into Gary Cooper, her former theater teacher at Klein Forest High School who now works as the manager for the LSC-Tomball Performing Arts Center (PAC). Gary encouraged Gabby to apply for a job in the PAC as a part-time box office and house manager. "I can't tell you how much I've learned in that job," Gabby said. "I now know how to do lighting, sound, a lot of the fly system. Plus, I discovered the theater program here, which is awesome."
Gabby become very involved in technical theater and was recognized as 'Superior' at the Texas Community College Speech and Theatre Association State Play Festival for her creation of a stained glass window on the set of "The Runner Stumbles."
Gabby decided to return to LSC-Tomball for her last semester because, she said, "I like the incredible community here." Hoping to teach middle school or high school art and influence students in the way that she was influenced, Gabby will focus on acrylic paint or water color painting. Her advice for those entering college draws right from her own experience. "If you are planning on starting here and then transferring, plan ahead and make sure your classes will transfer to the school you will transfer to," she said. "Plan ahead," she reiterated. "Also, get involved outside of class. It made the difference for me."


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History Of Irish Language
The Beginning
The basic form of Irish language dates back to the 4th century. It wasn't exactly the same language as it's used today, but it was the first form of the language. In the 17th century, William Bedell translated the Bible into Irish. Until the 19th century, Irish was the most commonly spoken language on the island of Ireland.
For a long period of time, Irish was actually prohibited in Ireland's schools. The government viewed the language as "too backwards", and English was being taught instead. To make matters worse, most of the native speakers were actually swept away by the great famine. Part of this is because a lot of them lived in poorer areas of the country, where the plague hit the hardest.
Even parenting was geared towards teaching English, favouring it as the language of choice. The parents wanted their kids to have the highest chances to succeed in that time's society, which means that the Irish language was being pushed to the side even more.
There was a lot of stigma surrounding the use of Irish language, even after the country declared its independence. However, that wasn't the mentality of all, and the Irish Protestants were partly responsible for defending the language in the 18th century, and the nation started to see some changes in order to preserve the language, as it was deemed worthy of cherishing.
Indeed, people can hardly deny the roots of their culture, and even after English became the official language, Irish still influenced many poets and songwriters. Most notably, poets like Yeats, Oscar Wilde, and many others would not be what they were if it wasn't for the influence of Irish language.
In 1922, the independent Irish state was born. Those were the times when the Irish language actually got some promotion by the government, as it set a goal that the majority of its residents would favour the Irish language as the language of their choice within a couple of decades. The changes were reflected in many laws, and one of them forced primary schools to teach Irish. As a matter of fact, if one wanted to be employed in the civil service, the fluid knowledge of Irish was one of the necessary requirements.
However, not all went well, and because people got used to English being the primary language, the events slowly led to a cultural backlash of sorts. Even after finishing school, those generations refused to use Irish later on in their lives.
Some of the government's visions proved overly enthusiastic, and certain companies today have effectively stopped using the Irish language in their products. A notable example being Eircom, the Irish telecommunication company, removing Irish from their telephone directories. Then again, the Post still heavily employs it, which can be seen from the street addresses and postmarks.
A dramatical change happened in 2003 when the government really tried to equalize Irish and English as equivalent languages. From that point on, every publication released by a governmental body needed to be done in both of these languages, with additional efforts being made to promote the usage of both languages as equals.
One notable exception, of course, were the traffic signs. As it turned out, there is often not enough space on them to feature both of the languages, so only English can be found on these. That was partially due to the fact that having English-only signs was more friendly to tourists from abroad, and that the motorists could better see the signs from a large distance.
Objectively speaking, the overly-enthusiastic approach to promoting the language in the twenties did more harm than good, and the effect was the exact opposite from what the government expected. Because people felt forced to speak Irish, the majority of them actually decided to do the exact opposite, and each passing decade was marked by a steady decline of the Irish language.
Today, even in the most culturally-marked areas, people tend to not speak Irish any more. In order to preserve the language as a cultural heritage, the government made a really drastic attempt to save it, declaring that only the Irish speaking residents would be granted the permission to build homes in the areas deemed to be Irish-speaking. However, due to the fact that the vast majority of Irish people tend to speak English as their primary language, such an attempt to resurrect the language could very well be in vain once more.
Irish is still being taught in schools, and most politicians don't want to remove that because of the fear of being marked as unpatriotic. Recently, there were additional attempts made by the government, all of them aiming to at least preserve the language, if complete resurrection proved to be unsuccessful.
Examples of this would be the Irish language television, the Irish newspaper, and the Irish radio, among others. However, not a single such attempt had any lasting results.
So what does the time have in store for the Irish language in the Republic of Ireland? Modern statistics show that only about 25% of households have any kind of fluency in Irish. But the popular surveys indicate the actual percentage may be even lower, ranging from 1% in the Galway suburbs and all the way to 8% in the areas west of Donegal. To say the least, those statistics are more than a bit concerning for the future of the language.
Some analysts have proclaimed that the Irish language could see a total decline in as little as one generation. Cultural heritage like books, plays, and poetry will still hold the language alive, but probably only the people who tend to be multi-lingual will be able to speak it fluently. To state the obvious, this could spell dire news for the Irish cultural identity and the future generations.
To see the language go through a complete decline would really make a drastic impact on the entire nation. Irish language was such an important component of the nation's history that things just won't be the same without it if matters take a turn for the worse. Can the government come up with a plan that will heighten the chances of its survival? And will the people be willing to preserve it? All of this will undoubtedly influence the manner in which future is going to play out.


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foo on patrol wrote:One word of advice to you blokes, get out of bed earlier and do your rides and I'm talking about no later than 6am day light saving time. The only thing you are going to achieve is heat stress and take ages to recover from it.
If you won't do that, then only do an hour ride because the damage to your body and mind is not worth it.
As long as you keep your fluids and electrolytes up you can generally do ok on a hot day. Twinkle tends to forget the importance of the sodium, potassium and magnesium with his home made sports drink.
This is why I like the Nunn tablets. Good to help recover from hot rides and build up the reserve's


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