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Order The Best Brand Of Oral Steroids From Trusted Websites
Once used only by bodybuilders and gym-goers, steroids are nowadays quite commonly consumed even by those people who have nothing to do with gym or fitness centers, but who are looking forward to transforming their overall personality into a pleasant one. Quite often you must have seen people taking a daily dose of oral steroids as prescribed by the doctor.
Oral steroids are beneficial for different needs such as building up of the muscle layers, increase in strength level, controlling the level of certain hormones in the body, etc. Visiting the market or any nearby drug store will make you more aware as to the different types of steroid brands available in today's time.
Benefits of consuming oral steroids:-
Taking steroids on a regular basis or as prescribed by a doctor can result in offering several benefits to the people. It should be noted that without the prior consent of a professional medical practitioner do not start consuming steroids on your own. Steroids can have a different kind of reactions on different people.
Choose the brand of steroid depending on your individual need so that you can instantly benefit from it. Some of the basic advantages offered by oral steroids are as follows:-
- If you are suffering from immense pain then you can start taking some dose of steroids which acts as a good pain-killer.
- In the case of patients who are experiencing some kind of inflammation, they can switch to using steroids.
- The trusted formula for increasing the body strength and muscle growth.
- For certain injuries steroids can provide a permanent cure.
How to select the most reliable website?
For the purpose of ordering oral steroids from any online website, there is the need to first become completely sure whether the site is a trusted one or not. Nowadays, searching for a real steroids sites has become quite difficult due to so many options available on the internet. Let's take a look at some of the most effective ways through which you can easily come to select the most reliable online website for buying the best steroid brand:-
- Undertake proper research: –Once you get to know about different brands of steroids in the market make sure to undertake proper research to get relevant details about these brands.
- Verify the Site:– Check what all features are offered by the website to its clients and in what respect.
- Look for the reasonable price:– Compare each and every product thoroughly and select the brand whose products are available at a reasonable price.
These points are quite useful in considering various aspects in terms of online sites from where one can buy oral steroids conveniently.


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Modelling Encounters with FHIR
January 24, 2014 Leave a comment
One of the tasks I've been given here at Orion is to look at our internal data stores, and see how we could create a FHIR based service layer that would allow external (and internal) consumers to interact with that store.
I started with the Encounter service, and things went pretty well – but I realized that if this was to make sense to other BA's (Business Analysts) and Developers then I needed to draw the bigger picture – how the resources would relate to each other when representing an encounter – it's not quite as simple as it might seem!
The biggest change in thinking is going to be thinking in terms of multiple resources. If we want to retrieve the details of a single encounter, then we're not going to just call the service and get back a single object that represents the encounter and all the properties of that encounter – rather we're going to get back an 'object graph' – a number of resources related to that encounter contained within an atom bundle.
The client could request that the server return the referenced resources by using the _include parameter to specify the resources that it would like to be included in the returned bundle. (It could also get back just the Encounter and then make separate calls for all the referenced resources – but that's a bit klutzy, and there are other problems that we'll talk about in a minute).
I've used the New Zealand situation for this discussion to demonstrate the process I used: the actual relationship of entities will be different in different realms of course (HL7 uses the term 'realm' to refer to different countries).
So, from the diagram we can see that:
- The hospital organization is part of a DHB (District Health Board)
- A primary care centre is in the catchment area of a hospital (this needed an extension).
- The hospital location has a number of ward locations
- An encounter at a hospital refers to the hospital Organization as the service provider, and has relationships within a number of wards within that hospital. It also has relationships with the patient and one or more participants
- A primary care encounter has exactly the same sort of relationships – albeit with different resource instances. (Just for fun, I associated the Primary Care Clinician with the hospital encounter to show that the GP was also involved in the patients care while in hospital. This is not uncommon in New Zealand – or at least it was when I practiced medicine a few decades ago…)
So what does this look like on the wire?
Well the snippet below shows a hospital encounter, with the resources within a bundle and appropriate references between resources for the (It's not complete of course – in fact there's just enough in there to allow it to validate).
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <title>Encounter Resource with all related Resources as separate resources</title> <id>urn:uuid:500bee81-d973-4afe-b592-d39fe71e38</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated>   <author> <name>Harold House Surgeon</name> </author> <entry> <title>Encounter Resource</title> <id>cid:encounter1</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Encounter xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="additional"/>
An encounter at Ward 10 Middlemore hospital, for John Cardinal from 1st to 3rd January 2014. Dr Marcus Welby attending.
 </text> <status value="finished"/> <class value="inpatient"/> <subject> <reference value="cid:patient"/> <display value="John Cardinal"/> </subject> <participant> <individual> <reference value="cid:doctor"/> <display value="Dr Marcus Welby"/> </individual> </participant> <period> <start value="2014-01-01"/> <end value="2014-01-03"/> </period> <location> <location> <reference value="cid:ward"/> <display value="Ward 10"/> </location> <period> <start value="2014-01-01"/> <end value="2014-01-03"/> </period> </location> <serviceProvider> <reference value="cid:hospital"/> </serviceProvider> </Encounter> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>Patient details</title> <id>cid:patient</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Patient xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="additional"/>
John Cardinal
 </text> </Patient> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>Hospital</title> <id>cid:hospital</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Organization xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="additional"/>
Middlemore Hospital
 </text> </Organization> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>Location (ward)</title> <id>cid:ward</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Location xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="additional"/>
Ward 10
 </text> </Location> </content> </entry> <entry> <title>Practitioner</title> <id>cid:doctor</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Practitioner xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="additional"/>
Dr Marcus Welby
 </text> </Practitioner> </content> </entry> </feed>
The query that would retrieve this bundle looks something like this:
GET [root]/Encounter?subject={patientID}&_include=Encounter.subject&_include=Encounter.Location...
Now there's actually an issue with this representation, and it relates to our old friend the resource identity.
In this bundle all the resources are identified as 'cid:' references – meaning that they don't refer to 'real' resources back on the server. (Because our back end is not fully FHIR enabled (yet), we've constructed the resources 'on the fly' from the data in the Encounter when the query was processed).
But what should the recipient do with the bundle if it wanted to save it locally? It would need to create a new resource locally for each one in the bundle. What would happen if the client made 2 separate queries for encounters, and each encounter referred to the same patient? The client would have no way of knowing this, and so would create another resource for the same patient.
So the more correct way to deal with this is to 'contain' the unidentified resources within the Encounter like this:
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"> <title>Encounter Resource with all related Resources as contained resources</title> <id>urn:uuid:500bee81-d973-4afe-b592-d39fe71e38</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated>  <entry> <title>Encounter Resource</title> <id>cid:enc1</id> <updated>2013-05-28T22:12:21Z</updated> <content type="text/xml"> <Encounter xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir"> <text> <status value="generated"/>
An encounter at Ward 10 Middlemore hospital, for John Cardinal from 1st to 3rd January 2014. Dr Marcus Welby attending.
 </text> <contained> <Patient id="patient"> <name> <text value="John Cardinal"/> </name> </Patient> </contained> <contained> <Practitioner id="doctor"> <name> <text value="Dr Marcus Welby"/> </name> </Practitioner> </contained> <contained> <Location id="ward"> <name value="Ward 10"/> </Location> </contained> <contained> <Organization id="hospital"> <name value="Middlemore Hospital"/> </Organization> </contained> <status value="finished"/> <class value="inpatient"/> <subject> <reference value="#patient"/> <display value="John Cardinal"/> </subject> <participant> <individual> <reference value="#doctor"/> <display value="Dr Marcus Welby"/> </individual> </participant> <period> <start value="2014-01-01"/> <end value="2014-01-03"/> </period> <location> <location> <reference value="#ward"/> <display value="Ward 10"/> </location> <period> <start value="2014-01-01"/> <end value="2014-01-03"/> </period> </location> <serviceProvider> <reference value="#hospital"/> <display value="Middlemore Hospital"/> </serviceProvider> </Encounter> </content> </entry> </feed>
This makes it explicit to the recipient that the contained resources only have meaning within the context of the containing Encounter. (And note that the contained resources no longer have a <text> element – the spec discourages this).
As we progress with FHIR, we'll be able to start to expose 'real' resources (with proper identities). For example, once we have a Patient resource endpoint available, then we won't have to contain the Patient resource in the Encounter – it will be an 'identifiable' resource with a 'real' URL that points to it – and we can choose to include the resource in the bundle or not. This does mean that the representation will change over time with resources moving from being contained to being 'real' resources in their own right, but that's something that comes with being a FHIR client.
Of course this interface is actually more complex than the one it replaced, and it will take more work server-side to produce it that the previous custom version did. Where there was a single 'object' representing the encounter, we now have an object graph. But – and it is an important but – our interface can be used by any FHIR compliant system, which means that we can support – and promote – an international ecosystem of health information exchange.
Further, much of the complexity can be hidden behind libraries that are freely available (or we can write our own if we want to). It's clean and easy to understand. And, finally, we have a design than has been created by some of the smartest minds in healthcare IT – and it didn't cost us anything!
What's not to like?

subset: commoncrawl


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This policy relates to land owned or in the control of Sustrans and Railway Paths Limited.
The National Cycle Network is a series of safe, traffic-free lanes and quiet on-road routes that connect to every major city and which passes within a mile of 55 per cent of UK homes. It now stretches 14,000 miles across the length and breadth of the British Isles.
Sustrans developed the concept and coordinates the development of the National Cycle Network, however the vast majority of the National Cycle Network is on land not in the ownership or control of Sustrans. Railway Paths Limited owns an estate of historical railway land and structures.
People participating in Geocaching on Sustrans and Railway Paths land are requested to:-
- Comply with the Geocaching Association of Great Britain's current guidelines and code of practice
- Only place caches in locations which are considered safe to access and must not put people placing or seeking the cache in danger.
- Geocaches should be placed away from archaeologically and ecologically sensitive sites.
- Ensure the cache container is clearly marked, stating that the content is harmless and giving the placer's email address or other contact method. Only items that would be deemed safe and acceptable for an unaccompanied child to find should be placed in the cache.
- No cache may be placed in such a way as to risk damage or disturbance to a Scheduled Monument.
- No items of food or drink of any kind should be placed in the cache.
- Caches must not be buried, and holes must not be dug in order to place a cache.
- Please do not attach caches to walls, bridges or structures.
- Caches must not be hidden in animal holes or runs.
- Cache containers must not be placed inside a polythene bag. Grazing animals have been known to die after eating discarded polythene.
- Fences, walls and hedges should never be crossed (other than using a gate or stile) when placing or hunting for a cache.
- No caches should be of a commercial
- No caches should be of a commercial nature, either in location or content.
- Maintenance of the cache is the responsibility of the placer.
- When leaving the cache site after hiding a cache, there must be no visual sign of disturbance.
- Please do not bring geocaching into disrepute, never drive your car anywhere other than on public roads and always park legally.
- Always go properly equipped for the terrain and weather conditions, and follow normal practice for safety in the outdoors.
Please note:
Sustrans and Railway Paths Limited reserve the right to remove a Geocache placed on their land.
So far as the law allows Sustrans and Railway Paths Limited cannot accept any legal liability for any loss or injury suffered whilst you are engaged in Geocaching on their land.
Sustrans and Railway Paths Limited give no warranty that their land is in a safe condition or suitable for a Geocache site.
6th Jul 2016.
Do you have any feedback about this agreement? Click here to submit feedback to the committee.


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This week we continue on with BBC's Wartime Farm series for TV Thursday.
If you've missed the previous episodes:
BBC's Wartime Farm, Episode 1 (incl series description)
BBC's Wartime Farm, Episode 5
By 1943 England's farmland had been worked hard for several years, and the soil was getting tired. The team tries to revitalize the soil and keep pests away from the crop/harvest. Needing help with all the farm work, local children are employed. This episode includes a lot of fun extras like beekeeping, medicinal herbs, making a straw bale structure, sewing clothes from feed sacks, and even a "Wings for Victory" fund raising dance with American GI's.
Wondering what TV Thursday is all about, and how to best watch YouTube Videos on your computer or TV? Check out my post "TV Thursday & Tips".


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Last day to place orders: 13 December. We cannot guarantee delivery before Christmas for orders placed after this date. Use the code FESTIVE for 20% off, SITEWIDE!
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We've curated this unique and popular collection of fashion-themed gifts, specifically for the fashion lover! Does she love to wear scarves or pashminas? Does she love little, sparkly jewellery accessories? Then this is the perfect gift idea for her!
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What's included? A silver gift box, tissue paper, gift wrap, twine, and a gift tag with your personalised message written thereon. And there's no additional shipping cost - the price you see is what you pay!
Colourful, great quality, practical & will make for a great accessory to her outfit. The sizes of our scarves vary in size from approx. 160 to 180 cm in length and from 60 to 85 cm in width. Most of our scarves are 100% polyester and are machine washable. Click here to view our scarf collection in more detail.
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Silver, spiral blossom brooches. Fashionable, quality and a sparkly accessory to any outfit. Click here to view our brooches in more detail.


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Brought to you by TheJudge13 contributors Vortex Motio and Mattpt55
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n.
Milton- Paradise Lost
"Beware the ides of March."
Shakespeare- Julius Caesar, Act I, scene 2
Before embarking on today's narrative, as a matter of simple reportage AMuS has noted that Turn 1 at Sakhir will be renamed in honour of Michael Schumacher, with the family's blessing, in April prior to the Grand Prix.
And so our revels are indeed ended, and with the exception of Red Bull, by tonight this glorious pageant will all have faded, leaving us and the teams to grapple with the unknowable future. Red Bull, however, will spoil the extended metaphor by sticking around and filming, ostensibly for another 100 km of running, which will still not be nearly enough to get them up to the level of Mercedes or Ferrari.
Still, all in all it was a vast improvement for Vettel as he managed 77 laps today, and his early morning race stint saw him matching Rosberg's pace from last week. Despite the early gains, it was not a trouble free day for Vettel, as a front brake disc exploded spinning him off the track shortly before lunch. The team was able to get him back on track for the afternoon, turning a relatively slow fastest lap of 1:37.468 and lots of piecemeal running, including a well spotted by AMuS monkey seat below the exhaust, contra all the other teams.
And then it was into the penalty minutes as the organizers of Sakhir finally realized they had a wonderful opportunity to do a bit of their own testing and run the cars and drivers under the lights for the first time and get feedback prior to the Grand Prix. An extra hour was therefore tacked onto the session, which turned out to be a stroke of luck for Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes, who sat about the garage most of the morning as an "installation error" and subsequent oil leak saw him not hit the track until right before lunch.
As it was, he managed to shoehorn in not only 70 laps, but also snatch fast lap from Bottas, with a 1:33.278, faster than Rosberg last week. Sadly, we were denied a duel to the end with the Williams as just after turning a 1:33.987, Bottas' engine gave up the ghost. But not before 108 trouble free laps today, and so Bottas tops the individual lap totals today. The engine that gave up, too, was essentially on the same mileage as the one Mercedes changed yesterday, making it 936 laps straight without stopping on track.
So no tears in the Williams garage, especially because the car was brought to a stop on the pit straight, meaning the mechanics were able to recover the car directly, without having to take the ride of shame on the back of the flatbed.
McLaren, in contrast, had a ghastly day, with Jenson parking the car shortly after lunch on just 22 laps and not being seen again the remainder of the day. The team, too, were being tight lipped about the cause, but having generally been judged to have been in the neighbourhood of the top 3, this will have done their confidence no favours as they prepare to head off to Australia, looking as if they have slipped behind Williams and Ferrari for the season opener.
Similarly to Williams, Force India suffered a session ending engine failure due to high mileage, with roughly 40 minutes to go. This denied us the spectacle of Hulkenberg going after fast laps, but again, not too many tears, as he still pulled 74 laps and managed a respectable 1:35:577 early on in the day.
Ferrari suffered several small incidents today, but at the end of the session Alonso confirmed that there is pace in the F14T by lapping in a 1:34.280, but not yet as much as the Williams and Mercedes have shown. It will be anxious times in Maranello the next 2 weeks, but if last season is any guide, Alonso was able to make fairly good race progress regardless of quali, and it may be that Ferrari have been focusing their efforts there instead.
Team Sauber takes the cake for most overall laps, with a combined 177 trips round the circuit. Sutil ran 91 this morning to make up for yesterday's impromptu Barbie and Gutierrez knocked off 86 this afternoon to keep him on track for Melbourne. Sutil was the faster of the two with a 1:36.835, and Gutierriez not too far off with a 1:37.303.
Suprising Max Chilton in the Marussia actually split the 2 Saubers with a 1:36.835, and that strange noise you hear in the background is the squee of brand new teenage girl F1 fans, as the sport appears to have finally found its answer to Harry Stiles. In between signing appendages, Max found time to run 61 laps and though it looks at the moment that of all the Renault runners Caterham is most likely to finish, it is also clear that on pace right now Marussia have them dead to rights. And if that wasn't enough, for this brief moment, the Marussia was actually faster than the Red Bull, a fact Chilton will no doubt never let anyone forget for the rest of his life.
Kobayashi did turn in 106 laps with his Caterham, with a best of 1:38.391, but at the moment their best hope is attrition amongst the other teams and in particular that Ferrari's new trick seamless shifting is not robust enough to make it to the end of the race. Still, a clutch issue did finish their running slightly early, but not before demonstrating clearly the proposition that it is *possible* to run a Renault PU for in a mostly reliable way (without catching your car on fire in other words) even if they are not yet at full power.
Running also a reasonable number of laps was JEV in the Toro Rosso, and as they might have hoped, staying almost entirely off the radar in a drama free day. JEV totaled 74 laps and a fastest for Renault 1:35.701, showing big brother the way to go. Stem the bleeding early on rather than go for broke to keep yourself in with a chance will no doubt be the strategy employed by all the Renault powered teams for the first few races.
About Lotus, honestly, the less said the better. After breaking an exhaust clamp early on, the E22, despondent over its "unique" looks, set itself ablaze in an attempt to end it's suffering after just 22 laps. When questioned whether or not they would see the finish in Melbourne, Grosjean responded in the affirmative, while allowing it was very likely to be in street clothes and sipping a daiquiri, rather than behind the wheel of a racecar
It is hard to resist the temptation to say "I told you so" as the brave words by Genii or whoever might be in charge over at Lotus that took the decision to skip Jerez look remarkably foolish given the events of the last two weeks. What's more, given the fact that performance is part of the value of the team, the decision to not come up with the scratch for Jerez looks positively psychotic. Of course, that assumes that decisions are even being made; such is the state of the team that one wonders what kind of mad chaos must be ruling behind the scenes, especially with the late departure of Boullier.
Still, the urge to troll for quotes to describe the situation shall be resisted, and instead, as a kind of present, a small feature prepared by the Society for Torrid Speculation is to be presented in its stead, courtesy of Sky:
1. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:33.258, Supersoft tyres, Test Two – Day Three.
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:33.278, Supersoft compound, Test Two – Day Four.
3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:33.283, New Soft tyres, Test One – Day Four.
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:33.987, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day Four.
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:34.280, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day Four.
6. Kevin Magnussen, McLaren, 1:34.910, New supersoft tyres, Test One – Day Two.
7. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:34.957, New soft tyres, Test One – Day Four.
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:35.290, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day One.
9. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:35.426, Supersoft tyres, Test Two – Day Three.
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:35.577, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day Four.
11. Jean-Eric Vergne, Toro Rosso, 1:35.701, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day Four.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:35.743, Unknown tyre compound, Test Two – Day Two.
Now the fun begins in earnest, because, after all, there is a very limited amount we can really deduce from the tests. Aside from the Mercs being the only manufacturers to hit their mileage limits, and Williams and Merc running faster than everyone else in quali sim, there's not much else to say of a definitive nature. So as you have a look at this chart from Sky of fast laps, imagine Turn 1 with Lewis, Massa and Alonso (having made one of his quick starts) 3 wide, with plenty of "traction events" and the odd engine flambé. Of course, advantage Williams because Martini livery. Happy speculating!
Final Result:
|L Hamilton
|Mercedes AMG Petronas
|54 / 70
|V Bottas
|104 / 108
|F Alonso
|Scuderia Ferrari
|53 / 74
|N Hulkenberg
|Sahara Force India
|22 / 74
|J E Vergne
|Toro Rosso
|26 / 74
|A Sutil
|Sauber F1 Team
|38 / 91
|M Chilton
|57 / 61
|E Gutierrez
|Sauber F1 Team
|21 / 86
|S Vettel
|Infiniti Red Bull
|76 / 77
|J Button
|McLaren Mercedes
|5 / 22
|K Kobayashi
|Caterham F1 Team
|103 / 106
|R Grosjean
|17 / 32
Bahrain Day 4 Analysis – What Have We Learned?
Today we'll attempt to measure all four days of this final winter test.
OK team, let's do some laps!
First, the basics, laps per team for all four days of Bahrain 2:
|BAH2 Laps
|% vs Most
|Force India
|Toro Rosso
|Red Bull
It's interesting that the 3 teams to accumulate the most laps during this test are both customer teams (running Mercedes or Ferrari power units), and stalwart midfield performers of prior seasons.
Immediately following them are the factory teams of Mercedes and Ferrari. As was discussed in yesterday's analysis article, particularly in the comments, it is perhaps a reflection of larger, and busier job lists by the two factory teams.
The two teams with the fewest laps of the test are the more aggressive Renault powered teams. This table helps illustrate how the challenges and problems of the Renault power units have hurt their development cycles.
The last column, "median/day", is a variation of average laps per day. It removes the two days, the day with the highest lap count, and the day with the lowest lap count, and then averages the remaining two (middle count) days. This removes the skew of both the worst day, and an absurdly high lap count (best) day. I wanted to show a more true average test day for the team during this session. This column has highlighted Caterham's strengths in this test, which is that when they were running, they were doing high lap count days, (two 100+ lap days) with their Renault power unit.
Drivers ready?
F1 is a sport of man and machine, and a quick look at the numbers for the drivers' lap counts reveal only one significant inner-team disparity, which is over at McLaren. Mr. Button's two test days featured significant garage time for his car. Consequently he turned only 38% of the laps of his young team-mate (74 versus 197). Given the talents of Mr. Button, and the resources of McLaren, one could assume it won't have a significant detriment to his performances for the first race weekend.
Which cars are fast?
Since winter testing started, I've emphasized lap counts over fastest laps of the day, as a more accurate measurement of the team's success in these winter tests.
However, what is special about this week is that it's the last winter test. The engines are homologated, and reliability work makes way for more performance work.
The fastest times dropped, particularly as more teams did qualification simulations. What does the fastest times tell us about the first race in Australia? As always, very little. A mathematical comparison of the number of points earned on Saturday versus Sunday isn't required here.
The good news is that race simulations were performed, and lap times were captured by enterprising journalists from the monitors on-site. One way to obtain a rough idea of the race performance of these cars is average the lap times of a race simulation. Here are four examples:
|Laptime avg
|# of Lap Times
|Bahrain 1
|Soft, Soft, Med
|Bahrain 2
|Med, Soft (2 stints only)
|Bahrain 2
|Force India
|Med, Soft, Soft
|Bahrain 2
|Soft, Med, Med
These are very fuzzy numbers to which we should apply caveats… The primary caveat is that we don't know how the fuel was managed… did the team keep within the 100kg limit? In addition, we should note that whatever the performance level of the car was at the particular time when they ran their laps, the performance is very likely to change by Melbourne.
The "# of lap times" is because we've excluded laps where the car entered or exited the pits for a tire change or to sit out a red flag.
The race distances of McLaren, FI, and Ferrari are incomplete due to either laps not being captured by the journalists track-side, or me overlooking where the laptimes were hidden in their work.
In any case, the average lap time during long distance runs and race sims are a more relevant indicator of race performance than fastest lap of the day, or practice session.
Here are things that I think we can watch for over the first 3 or 4 races:
- Faster repairs
Teams will be thinking about faster ways to implement repairs track-side. I'm not talking about during a race, but any failure on a Friday or a Saturday. These new cars are much more complex, and simple failures require more hours of work to repair them. If we look at LeMans, we've seen Audi and others think hard about designing their cars to be repaired more quickly. F1 will go this way, also.
- Transmissions, reliability and gearing:
We saw some transmission failures during these tests. There is more torque, and more gears. They're very expensive for teams to update, as well. Besides reliability, Peter Windsor was noting some differences between gear ratios between teams. The ratios are chosen for the season, (with one update permitted), so it will be interesting to see how these different choices work from circuit to circuit.
- Performance!
The cars are primarily rear grip limited. So teams will be working on clever aerodynamics, suspension tuning, and software to develop better traction off corner apex all season long.
- A software based Formula?
Renault's challenges have helped to expose the new, more modern and relevant area of F1's technology which is the software inside the car. There is now a software race in Formula 1, developing the brake by wire systems, harvesting energy, maximizing the ICU tune and fuel burn rates, etc.
- The beauty of engineering and design
The big step up in complexity of the new power units, combined with the new rules, and overall poverty of many teams' budgets has presented high challenges. What is amazing is that these organizations, the teams and the power unit manufactures are stepping up and meeting incredible challenges. There is a beauty when groups of creative, intelligent people combine to do the near impossible. It's part of the beauty of F1.
- A driver's sport again?
These cars are rear limited in grip. The tires will still degrade. The fuel is limited. There are new controls in the cockpit. There were lots of black lines of rubber left at corner exits of Bahrain… Driver abilities have probably come back up in importance… This will become more visible during the races from the data that the teams have. Hopefully, the television broadcasters will help to make that apparent to their viewers as well.
Albert Park is less than two weeks away…


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In recent years Pitman High has developed a habit of close competition with Buhach Colony High so when the Thunder hosted the Pride on Wednesday head coach Adam Vasconcellos knew exactly what to expect.
As was the case last season during league and earlier this year at the Hilmar Irwin-Stevenson Lions Invitational, Wednesday's dual between the Central California Conference foes went down to the wire. With victory in the balance, an anxious Pitman sent its most trusted wrestler, junior Logan Wolfley, onto the mat, watched him pin his opponent, and then left Atwater in celebration with a 34-33 victory.
"Every year it's come down to the last match," Vasconcellos said. "Our kids have been working their butts off so for them to win a close dual, it was exciting for the team. It gives us something to look forward to when we get into the room."
Pitman's excitement took time to develop because in the early stages of the dual things looked bleak. With injuries at 106 and 195 pounds the Pride automatically gave the Thunder 12 forfeiture points before anyone stepped onto the mat. To compound the problem, the dual began with the heavier weight classes; a disadvantage for a Pitman team who's strength is in its lighter weights.
In no time at all Buhach led 30-3.
Rather than succumb to discouragement, Pitman's wrestlers decided to turn the tide. A close 3-1 win from sophomore Hayden Mattox and a major decision from freshman Lorenzo Lewis did just that, giving their teammates encouragement and closing the gap on the scoreboard.
"That's when we started to piece the wins together," Vasconcellos said.
A technical fall from Kyle Ohsbar, a major decision from Gilbert Valadez, a pin from Kuda Gwasira, and an overtime victory from Nick Roditis helped the Pride pull within five points with one match to go. That's when Wolfley stood up to the pressure and nabbed a six point pin and ensured his team a one point victory.
"It was the perfect guy for the match to fall," Vasconcellos said of Wolfley.
Pitman is currently competing in the American River Classic— one of five tournaments that will prepare the Pride for CCC competition.
"We're trying to get more matches and more experience under our belts," Vasconcellos said. "It'll be nice to get some wins before we get into the grind of January."


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Below is a travel essay I published in The Straits Times on May 22nd. This is the original, unabridged version.
Humans have evolved to suck on nipples, not fondle them. That is my sobering conclusion after a morning spent pulling vainly at the sausage-like extractions on Zynya, a nine-year-old, off-white cow at the Cedar Glen Farmstay, ninety minutes from Brisbane, Australia.
The day had begun with relative success. Ten of us from the two families on the ranch had strolled around its undulating grass-gravel grounds, feeding a succession of hungry animals. First a clutch of chickens including the unidentified miscreants who had woken us two hours prior. Then a herd of salivating sheep which rushes towards us, causing Amaia, my two-year-old niece, to take cover behind her father's calf. Aren't sheep supposed to be sheepish?
We meet the Muscovy ducks, a large, boisterous species native to Central and South America, whose elongated beaks fire away at the food in our white tupperwares. "They're like machine guns," warns Nigel Stephens, our host, whose guidance throughout is pitch perfect for urban ignoramuses like us with kids.
The feeding ends with two seven-month-old pigs, adolescents who, to our surprise, have a penchant for grunting, not oinking. Amaia, feeling some camaraderie after touching and feeding them, anoints them with unpronounceable names.
Finally, the milking. In the shed, Zynya's right hind leg is roped to a pole while a thin chain, glinting in the morning sun, is strapped around her hamstrings. She seems unbothered that humans have chained and started fondling her because she is distracted, having dunked her head in a broad receptacle where breakfast, a grain mix, awaits.
At Nigel's prodding, we take turns trying to milk Zynya. Yet we are all stricken, to different degrees, by a psychological block: am I okay with this level of mammalian intimacy? Prudishness overcome, I find myself sitting on a low wooden stool by Zynya's midriff.
I reach out both hands and wrap my fingers around two adjacent nipples, warming my palms. They are squishy, like water-filled balloons. I press my thumb and index finger together and gently pull downwards. A thin, creamy stream shoots into the metal bucket below. My measly contribution has barely registered. It must take hours to fill one pail.
"Press harder," Nigel repeats, vainly. I refrain, worried that 350kg Zynya might object to a stranger's roughness on her nipples, and somehow thump me.
As we prepare to leave the shed, it occurs to me how incredibly clean the entire animal feeding and milking experience has been. I somehow expected to be groping around uncomfortably in the mud. Just then, Zynya's behind fires off a volley of green-brown dung, soiling some of our shoes, ten feet away. Animals One; suaku Singaporeans Zero.
The Cedar Glen Farmstay (www.cedarglen.com.au), one of several near Brisbane, traces its roots to the late 1800s, when Edgar Stephens, Nigel's great-grandfather, decided that Brisbane city life—even then—was not for him.
Edgar started purchasing parcels of land in an area known as the "Lost World", on the outer edges of what is today the Lamington National Park, a sprawling, pristine sub-tropical rainforest. There he started a dairy farm and in 1901 built a homestead where his wife Mary Ellen and he raised ten children.
Over the course of the twentieth century, the ranch experienced growth then decline. Following Edgar's death in 1941, the property was progressively carved up among his descendants. Most chose to return to the city.
What's left today is a farm on 1,050 acres—slightly larger than Marina Bay—in a valley of rolling green hills, ringed almost entirely by low mountain ridges, on whose top rows of trees stand at attention.
Here a coterie of domesticated species, including a herd of purebred Arabian horses, coexist alongside innumerable wild ones, including kangaroos and many birds, such as rosellas, robins, whistlers and whipbirds. The only time Nigel, a forty-two-year-old agricultural major who has lived entirely in the country, is dumbfounded is when I ask him to identify all the birds. "Where do I start?"
Every dawn and dusk we stop and look above, as a flock of white cockatoos migrates from one end of the sprawling ranch to the other. They resemble little white torpedoes shooting across the sky, with demonic screams for some faraway Mordor.
The four kilometres from the Farmstay to the entry gate of the "Lost World section of the Lamington National Park" is a gradient from (relative) civilisation to wilderness, allowing visitors to easily bridge the divide between humans and other species. While Amaia converses with the pigs and rides on a pony, my mum, younger sister and I go hiking.
The forest's diversity bewilders us. There are hoop pines, eucalyptuses, she-oaks, and the occasional shock of yellow or pink lantanas. We spot enchanting green goblets bouncing waist-high in the wind—not poppy but wild cotton bolls, which will eventually burst, exposing their familiar white fluffs.
After an hour, and two river crossings, we realise the forest has thickened, the light has dimmed, and the moist path has narrowed. We know our time in the Lost World is up when we see a safety sign: "Are you carrying a topographic map and compass?"; "Do you understand that a search will not usually be started until you are 24 hours overdue?"
On the return hike, my sister slips while crossing the river, bruising one ankle, and losing her espadrilles, i.e. what a Singaporean wears to hike. Thankfully, home comforts await.
Three of the four cottages at the Cedar Glen Farmstay are part of the original 1900-01 homestead. The six of us (including Amaia) are in the 1940s "Dairy Cottage", a delightful green-roofed abode on stilts, whose two double bedrooms and two bunk rooms together accommodate eleven. It has been minimally renovated to achieve a fine balance between rustic, clean and modern.
The beds are inviting and the electrical sockets accessible. There's an abundance of hot water in the shower and drinking water in a dispenser. The oak floorboards creak gently when we walk; the ageing white gas oven and stove take some getting used to before performing gallantly; two flies seem hell bent on annoying us; while two red-headed, white-breasted birds (sparrows?) prance around our patio.
The homeliness is fostered by books, boardgames and quirky black-and-white photographs on the cream wooden walls, which show a bygone era of different social mores. "Milking at Cedar Glen before 1920" depicts rows of cows waiting patiently on a broad plain as ladies in ankle-length frocks and summer hats sit by them on stools identical to the one we had used. In the foreground is a boy under ten, posing in a white shirt and cowboy hat pulled back, sitting pretty on top of a stoic stallion, in seeming command of all earthly life.
Thankfully the farm stay is not, as I had feared, some zoological prison. The cottage itself, the solitude and the inspiring 360-degree views are sufficient for a few therapeutic days away from the grind.
In the evenings, my mum shuts herself off with a book; I stand in the patio, nursing my scotch, while the cool wind caresses my ears, listening to the odd Arabian horse harrumph; and my younger sister stands under a large tree ten metres from our cottage, her face illuminated by a screen, ecstatic at having found the point of peak mobile data coverage. At A$2 (S$2) per day for a prepaid card installed in ten minutes at the Brisbane airport, it's a wonder anybody still roams.
Getting to Cedar Glen from Brisbane is easy. A ninety-minute drive takes us out of this two-million-person city on broad lanes among patient drivers, and then onto a multi-lane motorway, and finally National Route 13, which narrows to a single lane slicing through dairy farms and glistening acres of wheat, passing towns with names like Beaudesert and Jimboomba. Along the way, road signs signal change: "Cattle crossing"; "Kangaroos next 3km"; and, most ominously, "Floodway" alongside markers up to 2m, higher than our car.
Having read poor reviews of Cedar Glen's catered food by Singaporeans on TripAdvisor—their only complaint—we first visit the Eagle Farm Markets in Brisbane. Like other farmer's markets that have proliferated in the West, it offers everything from heirloom vegetables and fresh meats to the latest local attempt at fusion.
We leave with a stuffed cooler bag, the highlights probably fresh parsley with an intoxicating, spicy bouquet; a whole 2.6kg Australian wagyu tenderloin for A$106, which lasts five meals; and a Moreton Bay Bug, a slipper lobster that looks like a cross between a crayfish and a regular lobster, and tastes like an ocean butter. Sublime.
Yet the gastronomic fears are overblown. The one meal from Cedar Glen, a picnic lunch by a creek, is sumptuous. After our swim, we dry off to find Nigel ready with three kinds of sandwiches—beef, egg curry and chicken—and a surprising corn quiche that is the first to go. We end with carrot cake, strawberry pie, and hot tea, whose preparation allows for a bit of outback theatre.
Nigel first boils black tea in about four litres of water in a black "billycan" over a wood fire. Tea steeped, he then grips the can's thin handle in his right hand, the weight causing his right shoulder to droop. He steadies himself, initiates some circular momentum, and then swings the can up in the air, full circle, with the form of a backstroke.
Not a single drop is lost, and all the tea has settled at the bottom. "That's known as 'swinging the billy'," he says.
For a day I have been biting my tongue, but I now finally muster the courage to channel my inner Singaporean.
"Can we eat any of the farm animals?"
"Yes, the beef in the sandwiches, the eggs, some milk we got this morning, that's all from the farm."
Earlier, Nigel had prevented us from drinking Zynya's fresh milk because of strict pasteurisation regulations. But it is permitted when cooked in the quiche.
"How about the Muscovy ducks?"
"No, we don't eat them."
And, just like that, my dreams of sautéing the biggest duck liver ever vapourise in the autumn sun.
The end of March, as it turns out, is a perfect time to visit Cedar Glen. The burning summer is long gone, yet the winter crowds have yet to arrive. The Farmstay is busy in June and July, when lows of above 10º C attract Australians escaping harsher climes elsewhere while also making for suitable school-holiday timing for tourists from China, Malaysia and Singapore.
It is a rather long trek from Singapore to visit Brisbane just for a few nights on the farm. But that's why proud Brisbanites love their city. Within two hours drive one can reach wine country inland, the untouched splendour of Noosa up north, or world-famous Surfer's Paradise and bohemian, chic Byron Bay to the south. A farm stay, then, should ideally be part of a week-long Queensland jaunt.
For Singaporeans, farm stays are all part of a renewed interest in agriculture and food supply. Over several decades of intense, urban-focussed growth, Singaporeans have grown somewhat divorced from the realities of food production. An old anecdote describes a Singaporean schoolchild, who when asked to draw a chicken, very quickly produces an image of meat in a styrofoam packet.
In recent years, however, there has been a stirring of animal, environmental and food consciousness in the country. Edible gardens, heritage grains, farm-to-table and terroir have evolved from pretentious clichés to genuine concerns.
Yet there is still some way to go. After we've all "milked" Zynya, Nigel takes over. His hands shake up and down, alternating with the smooth synchronicity of a maracas player. He fills half the bucket in under a minute.
"Is it strength, technique or rhythm?"
"All of the above," Nigel shrugs.
Nipple fondling may not be in our nature but apparently it can be nurtured.
Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Qantas operate daily non-stop flights between Singapore and Brisbane.
Car rentals at the Brisbane Airport range from under A$30 (S$30) per day for a compact car to A$100 per day for a seven-seater. (www.vroomvroomvroom.com.au)
Depending on the cottage, prices at the Cedar Glen Farmstay (www.cedarglen.com.au) range from A$240 to $330 per night for two adults and two children on a self-catering basis. Additional adults are A$55 and additional children A$30 per night. Different meal plans are available on request.
Other notable Queensland farm stays include Clandulla Cottages (www.clandullacottages.com.au), Lillydale (www.lillydale.com.au) and Tommerups Dairy (www.tommerupsfarmstay.com.au).
Below is the version published in our local papers (click for a bigger image). The team there is fine with me publishing the full version here on my blog.
More photos from the farm:


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Art of Love is what I hope is the first of many reviews for Exploitation Retrospect over at dantenet.com. Frankly, the review may be as choppy as the movie was, and I've never been more challenged to make heads or tails out of how I feel about a movie - first review flick I've ever watched 2.5 times to get a handle on... I hope you like it.
According to Walerian Borowczyk, Rome in 8 A.D. was a mix of extra-marital affairs, fantastic aquarium bathtubs, phallus-idol worship, and boring sex-ed classes. The basic story here has the poet Ovid teaching his classes on the "Art of Love" while pretty wife Claudia conducts an affair with student Cornelius behind the back of her husband, General Macarius. She's one big, ripe and frustrated raw nerve of sexual frustration who's illicit adventures make up the "thrust" of the plot here. However, this is some languid Euro-erotica and her liaisons are tempered with Ovid's rather boring narration. His classes may be referred to as "always full," but they seem to be a lot of talk and no action. In fact, while Art of Love has the structure of a soft-core sex romp it has the pace of a nap.
Sure, Ovid lectures male students while bored housewives go to the museum to fondle statues of horses (and hallucinate playing with real ones) and get felt up at their own weddings. We have a bunch of well-photographed but chiaroscuro-lit bed-hopping episodes, with a meddling Mother-in-Law, combative neighbors, and lecture hall bits tossed in for good measure. The vignettes get a little more martial when he switches to teaching a class to women and it eventually leads to what I'd suppose is his downfall. We're not invested in the actual story-line for it to matter.
You have to give credit to the director's noted perversity, as at one point Claudia hops into a weird construct of a cow so she can be mounted by a bull-masked man wearing a giant strap-on and all intercut with footage of actual cattle mating. It's the creative highlight of the movie and if you want to show the audience a housewife is desperate for some lovin', this ain't a bad way to do it. I haven't seen The Beast, but having heard that it's as wild and vivid as this sequence, it's going on my "must" list.
In the end, though, it took two watches and I'm still not sure what to make of Art of Love. Is it supposed to be some kind of ribald historical comedy, like The Decameron, or a watered-down sexstravaganza clearly inspired by Caligula? It has that strung-together quality like a bunch of gently-naughty vignettes, but then there's a servant girl fellating her idol to Pirapus like some extra in an Emanuelle flick. Sadly, this has all the posed "sophistication" and none of the innocent glee of good exploitation.
The whole point of this exercise seems to be Borowczyk fueling his old-man fantasies about the pear-shaped bottom of lead actress Marina Pierro. She's ripe, but not necessarily "all that." The smut highlight (or is that "lowlight"?) here is some spliced-in orgy footage featuring some very 70s hair, both upstairs and down, that evidently came from a Joe D'Amato Caligula knock-off, but on the whole even this isn't nearly as spicy as you'd think from the box copy. Not only is this rather staid for soft-core erotica, but as a narrative it feels like someone took a bunch of disastrous random footage and prayed they could save their financial investment with linking narration.
The biggest monkey-wrench here is the ending. The meditative, arty pacing makes Art of Love seem like it's adding up to something, but then Claudia wakes up from a roadside nap... in the Eighties. Casting everything that went before as a dream is a cheat that feels tacked-on. Considering the movie is barely coherent to begin with, switching things up with a cop-out ending doesn't help any. In fact, it's downright frustrating to spend over eighty minutes trying to make sense out of the nonsensical, non-linear story to have all that work feel wasted.
In the end, Art of Love is more for European Art-House super-fans only. You won't get much of a lesson on Ovid here, and exploitation fans hoping for "Emanuelle meets Caligula" are going to be sadly mislead. If anything, you'll use the downtime to try and remember all the other trashy Seventies and Eighties Euroflicks you've heard these voices in.


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Pectoral Fly
Model : BFT-3002
BFT-3002 is a commercial seated pectoral fly trainer. It is a special product for exercising the pectoral muscles and deltoid muscles. Classic Life Fitness shape design, the gantry is in the shape of an n, which highlights the elegance of Life Fitness and is most suitable for Asians.
Open and close your arms as you practice by pushing two bars that move independently. Weights impart resistance, allowing the proper load to be adjusted to each individual's needs.
♦ The device enables the separation of the pectoral muscles.
♦ The two arms move independently to increase coordination.
♦ The position of the arm pads allows users of all sizes to obtain a convenient practice position without adjustment.
♦ Enhance the stability of the shoulder joint and improve the muscle imbalance of the arm.


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The Marina Bay is the heart of the Singapore with bustling roads overlooking the peaceful waterfront which is replete with tourists at all hours. With reclamation of land beginning only in the 1970s, the transfiguration of the place is phenomenal. The classic and contemporary architectural works that silhouette the skyline is as remarkable as it can get.
If one is already awestruck seeing the giant skyscrapers and never ending infinity pools, there are a host of attractions that are yet to be embarked upon. One of the most spectacular sights in Marina Bay is the Gardens by the Bay which is a 101 hectare futuristic nature park with artificial structures (known as Super tree Groves) towering the sky. These lofty trees are illuminated at night and the colourful show starts at 8.00. The Art Science Museum and Esplanade, a popular theatre, offer elaborate cultural shows of Singapore.
Apart from these, there is the Merlion Park situated off the bay. The Merlion is an extraordinary mystical creature that is partly mermaid-partly lion throwing water into the Singapore River. The other attractions are Singapore's first 18-hole Golf course, the Grand Prix where every September the adrenaline-charged F1 races take place and the Singapore Flyer, one of the few observation wheels in the world.
Each evening, the Marina Bay lights up with a blindsiding and breathtaking laser show from the Marina Bay Resorts. The best thing about these jaw-dropping visuals is that it can be enjoyed absolutely free. The dazzling resort is also one of the best options to stay at while in Singapore with exhilarating banquet halls, the world's largest infinity pool, celebrity chef restaurants, extravagant nightlife and much more.
And all this is just an ordinary day at Marina Bay!


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National Strategy of Roma Integration to the Lithuanian Society
The strategy (action plan, adopted in 2015) for 2015-2020 aims at reducing discrimination and social exclusion of the Roma; promoting the Roma participation in social and public life, enhancing awareness of the Roma community and raising social tolerance towards the Roma minority.
The plan establishes 6 objectives. It shall promote (1) the integration of the Roma to the educational system. Actions encompass development of pre-school education, general education, non-formal learning and adult education.
The plan aims at (2) increasing the access to health care; (3) a better inclusion to the labor market; (4) enabling the Roma women by expanding opportunities for them to participate in the social life; (5) improvement of the living conditions of the Roma; (6) promoting the inter-cultural dialogue.
The Strategy foresees measures, public funding, terms of implementation and responsible implementing bodies to reach the 6 aforementioned objectives and targets of the Strategy for the Roma Integration into the Lithuanian Society. Evaluation criteria of the action plan were set up.
The 6th objective of the Strategy - the promotion of an inter-cultural dialogue - is set to expand the openness of the Roma culture and the increase of the tolerance of the society towards the Roma. In the pursuit of this objective, a number of measures are listed in the Strategy. During the period of 2015-2020, the Ministry of Culture is entitled to organize 19 events within the European Commission's DOSTA campaign aimed to disperse the stereotypes about the Roma. The Ministry of Education and Science is entitled to reniew the general education programs and include topics of the history of the Roma and their genocide during the World War II. Aimed to decrease the discrimination of the Roma a number of Roma who have been employed under the European Commission's ROMED program to provide the inter-cultural mediation services, is expected to rise to 32. No less than 6 campaigns for non-discrimination and promotion of successful integration of the Roma children and youth into education system are foreseen. The number of consultations on equal opportunities and non-discrimination is set to 49.
The overall expected results of the Strategy are the increased level of tolerance towards the Roma, a better integration of the Roma into the society, improvement of the Roma children, youth and adult education, an increased inclusiveness of the Roma women into social activities.
The budgetary allocation for the implementation of the Strategy for the period 2015-2020 is 2,190,360 EUR.


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This disc has not yet been reviewed. The following information has been provided by the distributor.
Toña and Paquita work as live-in housemaids at the Gonzales-Dubois, an aristocratic family in Panama. For a long time theyhave been mistreated and poorly paid. They're now fed up with the abuse and lack of respect they get from their employers. While the family plans to leave for a shopping weekend in Miami, Toña and Paquita have different plans for them. But no one imagined the big secret kept by the Gonzales-Dubois family… CHANCE deals with the hard issues of class differences in Latin America in a satirical, witty comedy.


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Which US city has the fastest Internet access? Wrong! - 0 views
shared by Natasha Taliferro on 20 Nov 13 - No Cached
Natasha Taliferro on 20 Nov 13Can you name the U.S. city with the fastest internet connection? Not many can. This article talks about how this particular city has the fastest internet.


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by Kay
(Crystal Lake IL)
I believe my toddler has some sensory sensitive areas - do I talk with my pediatrician first??? I am not sure he will see my concerns in the same light. I am thinking he will say he is 2 and some of these things are "normal" for 2 year olds - maybe they are?? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Comments for Where/Who to begin with?
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Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to The SPD Q & A.


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Australian researchers have developed a gene-silencing spray that can modify plants without actually changing their DNA. That means you could make a crop more resistant to viruses or drought, without having to genetically modify them.
The team hopes that the spray will be used to usher in new, environmentally friendly crop production in the future by enabling crops to weather droughts or grow in harsher conditions without solely relying on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
"We believe it offers a step change in environmentally sustainable crop protection," team member Neena Mitter from the University of Queensland told Michael Le Page at New Scientist.
Other researchers have developed similar sprays in the past, but the team says their spray was able to protect tobacco plants from a virus for 20 days with a single application, which is the longest result so far.
So how does it work? Well, the spray, known as BioClay, doesn't actively change the DNA of the plants that it touches. Instead, it manipulates a built-in defence system used by plant cells to fight off viral infection, which is capable of temporarily shutting down gene expression.
"When viruses invade cells, the cells cut up some of the viral RNAs to make short pieces of double-stranded RNAs, which they use to recognise and destroy any RNAs with matching sequences," Le Page reports.
This process is known as RNA interference (or simply RNAi), and when the RNAi recognises an RNA strand, it attaches to it and degrades it.
As you might remember from high school biology, DNA is translated into RNA, which then goes out into the cell and makes a protein. But if that RNA is broken down, no protein is made, and the DNA is essentially turned off - it can't trigger any change in the plant.
Scientists can hijack this process by using the RNA of the gene they want to silence in place of RNAi. When they do this, no virus is actually introduced, but this tricks the plant into thinking its own RNA is a virus, which triggers the defence system and turns off the gene's expression without actually editing the DNA sequence.
"Once BioClay is applied, the plant 'thinks' it is being attacked by a disease or pest insect, and responds by protecting itself from the targeted pest or disease," says Mitter in a press release.
"A single spray of BioClay protects the plant and then degrades, reducing the risk to the environment or human health."
In the past, sprays that have used the same approach have only lasted for a few days at a time, because the RNAs are quick to break down. And it's too expensive for farmers to have to re-apply a spray every couple of days.
To make the effect last longer, the team took RNA from a tobacco plant that would usually make the crop susceptible to a virus, and combined them with positively-charged clay nanoparticles.
These clay nanoparticles are made of stacked sheets of minerals that protect the negatively charged RNAs and gradually break down to release them to the cell, which prolongs the gene-silencing effect.
When sprayed over, say, a field, the clay will eventually break down, releasing the RNAs, which are absorbed by the plants and kick off the interference, effectively modifying the plant without actually modifying its DNA.
And although early sprays similar to this one cost upwards of US$100,000 per gram, it's possible to make them for as little as US$2 per gram, the team says.
While the hope is that the spray will offer a way to modify crops without changing them at their core, sprays like these do still pose problems.
For example, if we start to use them all of the time, plants might evolve a natural defence against them. There's also a problem with 'non-targets' - plants that don't need editing - also getting misted with the spray, with potentially adverse effects.
There's also likely to be a debate over what we consider GMOs to be in the future.
Does the spray change the plants enough to justify a GMO classification? Or will organic farmers be able to classify gene-silenced plants as "all natural"?
John Killmer, from the biotech startup Apse, who wasn't involved in the study, but is working on a similar type of spray, doesn't seem too worried about the potential set-backs.
"I have had organic growers call me up and tell me to hurry up with the technology," he told New Scientist.
We'll have to wait to see how everything pans out, but the development of the spray could offer a way for farmers to increase their crop yields by making plants hardier, without messing about with their DNA.
The research was published in Nature Plants.


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The Lakeside Drive Bridge Over Blackwater Creek Project remains on schedule with final completion set for spring 2023. Work outside of existing roadways consists of installation of storm drainage, construction of bridge substructure, erection of retaining walls and minor grading operations. This work will continue with no impacts to roadways or traffic for the next several months. As a reminder, local trails through the project site remain closed to the public, and citizens are asked to not enter the jobsite due to ongoing construction and safety concerns.
Once completed, the project will reconstruct a new section of Lakeside Drive in order to improve traffic flow through the existing intersection at Lakeside Drive, College Drive and Old Forest Road and as a requested precursor to the College Lake Dam Removal Project. These modifications will enhance safety and improve access to the University of Lynchburg via Hopwood Drive.
For more project information, click here.
For questions or comments related to the Lakeside Drive Bridge Over Blackwater Creek Project, please email English Construction.


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Your Child's Future Starts Here
A University of Virginia degree is an investment in the future. Consistently ranked among the best public universities in the nation, UVA offers a world-class education and student experience – set within a UNESCO World Heritage site.
As a student at the University, your child will have the close support and mentorship of the highest caliber faculty in their fields. They will be part of a unique student population that governs itself, gaining a lasting sense of responsibility and initiative. And when they graduate, your child will have access to a worldwide network of engaged UVA alumni, nearly a quarter-million strong.
By the Numbers
Public University in the Nation, 2024 U.S. News & World Report
Best Value Public College For Financial Aid, Princeton Review, 2023
Average Early Career Salary, PayScale.com
Leadership, Service and Mentorship
Access and Affordability
Ensuring an Excellent Education is Affordable
We were founded as a public university, open to all who have the talent and ability to move society forward. For that reason, we are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated need for every admitted student. In fact, UVA is one of only two public universities in the nation to offer both a need-blind admission process and a commitment to cover 100% of a student's demonstrated financial need—a commitment that goes back to the reasons we were founded. For more information on affordability and financial aid at UVA, go to Affording UVA.


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Fostering is a rewarding experience! You provide the love, care, and a cozy place for a pet to stay; we provide all the supplies and vet care.
Worried that you will get attached? You may. But when you see your foster pet find its loving forever home, you will realize it was all worth it!
We often need volunteers to transport pets to and from vet appointments and other events.
Ah, the unglamorous but very important part of running a rescue. Here are some of the things with which we need help:
- Taking fabulous photos of our pets
- Managing our pet database
- Creating forms
- Managing our website
- Fundraising
- Creating flyers for our pets
- Social media
- Marketing
- Leadership positions are available!
Special Events
Occasionally, we will hold fundraising or adoption events. We will need help planning, setting up, working, and tearing down these events.
Interested in Helping
Contact us at [email protected].


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text:
Sunday, March 25, 2012
In My Mailbox (29)
27 comments:
Good covers. Must post mine later today!ReplyDelete
Oh great books! I've always been curious about the Molly harper series, enjoy!ReplyDelete
OOoh nice! Allison Pang's books are pretty good! Interesting and I love Phin! Hope you enjoy your reads!ReplyDelete
Here's my IMM
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Nice haul.....love the covers...ReplyDelete
Check mine here
i have a brush of darkness but i have not started it yet. i hop eyou like it.ReplyDelete
My IMM
Ooooooh, I agree, they do look fun! Hope you enjoy your books this week! :)ReplyDelete
Lisa @ Lost in Literature
My IMM
Awww I love your mailbox photo :)ReplyDelete
Great mailbox! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy all of your books.ReplyDelete
Amber @ Fall Into Books
OMG! some of the cover are so great!ReplyDelete
hope you enjoy all kyour books!
Here's my IMM (http://booksaremywayofliving.blogspot.com/2012/03/imm-04.html)
Great set! How to Ravish a Rake sounds really cute/romantic. Hope it's fun.ReplyDelete
My IMM
I want to read A Rush Of Darkness! Great IMMReplyDelete
Haven't read a pure romance for ages, not a bad idea :-). Nice Girls Don't have Fangs sounds good. Thanks for stopping by My IMMReplyDelete
I've seen Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs around recently, and it looks fun. Hope you enjoy your books! Thanks for stopping by!ReplyDelete
Ooh, Nice Girls Don't have Fangs looks interesting!ReplyDelete
Nice mailbox! I've had my eye on Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs for awhile, so hope you enjoy! Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier! Happy reading!ReplyDelete
Great Haul!! Even though their all adult books and thats totally not my thing, but i hope you enjoy reading them!!!ReplyDelete
Ooh these are great covers! I haven't read any romance books but you have inspired me to try :D lol Happy reading!ReplyDelete
Giselle from booknerd.ca
In My Mailbox
- AnonymousMarch 25, 2012 at 10:15 PM
Oooo Great books! I want to read Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs! It looks cute! Happy reading!ReplyDelete
Oooh, this is getting me in the mood for some awesome urban fantasy romance. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs looks fab, reminds me of some Katie MacAlister books.ReplyDelete
Loved the covers!ReplyDelete
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs seems like a good book. Enjoy!
enjoy all your goodies!!! :)ReplyDelete
I'll probably spend the next few hours thinking about how an Affair could be Very Southern. A Southern Belle and a Cowboy? Two Cowboys? A Cowboy and a Cowgirl? A Very Southern Setting? Are there kinky things only Southern people do? OMG, the possibilities! >_<ReplyDelete
I hope you enjoy your books! : D
Fun books!! :-) I love the excitement of picking which to read first!! Thx for hoppin' by my Sunday!!ReplyDelete
Ooohh AWESOME books this week Jess! I hope you enjoy them all<3ReplyDelete
Ohhh, great books! I hope you enjoy them all!ReplyDelete
All these covers are very eye catching.ReplyDelete
My IMM http://midnight-orchid.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-my-mailbox-5.html
Nice girls don't have Fangs and A Brush Of Darkness both sound really amazing!! :D Great Haul!ReplyDelete


text:
The highlight of the discussion is this beautiful little website, aimed an undergrad/general reader, courtesy of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Culture | History | Environment.
I'll list below the other books or articles mentioned in the many valuable replies.
Read more...
(I'm aggregating quickly here and apologize for not crediting the contributors to this list, and for duplications---check out the h-net message archives for details):
Richard F. Hirsh, Technology and transformation in the American electric
utility industry (Cambridge, CUP, 1989)
Richard F. Hirsh, Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the
American Electric Utility System (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999
[paperback, 2002]).
Charles D. Jacobson, Ties that bind: economic and political dilemmas of
urban utility networks (2000) - for relations to other network industries.
Maury Klein, The Power Makers
Jill Jonnes, Empires of Light
Harold Platt, The Electric City
Paul Israel's bio of Edison
Forrest MacDonald's bio of Insull
Rudolph and Ridley, Power Struggle
James Goodman, Blackout
David Nye, When the Lights Went Out
David Nye, Consuming Power
David Nye, Electrifying America
Phillip Schewe, The Grid
Sharon Beder - Power Play: The Fight to Control the World's Electricity
Tobey, Ronald C. Technology as Freedom: The New Deal and the Electrical
Modernization of the American Home. Berkeley: University of California
Press, c1996
==On Niagara==
Edward Dean Adams, Niagara Power: History of the Niagara Falls Power
Company, 1886-1918, 2 vols (1927)
Steven Lubar, "Transmitting the Power of Niagara," IEEE Technology and
Society Magazine, March 1989, pp. 11-18.
==On Chicago and Insull==
William E. Keily, ed., Central-Station Electric Service: Its Commercial
Development and Economic Significance as Set Forth in the Public Addresses
(1897-1914) of Samuel Insull (1915)
William E. Keily, ed., Public Utilities in Modern Life: Selected Speeches
(1914-1923) by Samuel Insull (1924)
Forrest McDonald, Insull (1962)
John Hogan, A Spirit Capable: The Story of Commonwealth Edison (1986)
Samuel Insull, The Memoirs of Samuel Insull, ed. Larry Plachno (1992)
Harold Platt, Electric City: Energy and the Growth of the Chicago Area,
1880-1930 (1991)
Payson Jones, A Power History of the Consolidated Edison System, 1878-1900
M.L. Ramsey, Pyramids of Power: The Story of Roosevelt, Insull, and the
Utility Wars (1937)
==On Rural Electrification==
D. Clayton Brown, Electricity for Rural America: The Fight for the REA (1980)
David C. Coyle, Electric Power on the Farm: The Story of Electricity, Its
Usefulness on Farms, and the Movement to Electrify Rural America (1936)
==Additional Suggestions==
R. H. Parsons, The Early Days of the Power Station Industry (1939)
Leonard Hyman, America's Electrical Utilities: Past, Present and Future
Richard Hirsh, Technology and Transformation in the American Electrical
Utility Industry (1989) or anything by Hirsh
Richard Hirsh, Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring
in the American Electric Utility System (1999)
William Hausman, Mira Wilkins, Peter Hertner, eds., Global
Electrification: Multinational Enterprise and International Finance in the
History of Light and Power, 1878-2007 (2008) or anything by Hausman
And the syllabus that resulted from this h-net discussion:
Course Objectives: At the end of this course, the student should be
able to:
* List the main elements of the theory of large technological
systems as developed by Thomas Hughes and others
* Apply the theory of large technological systems to analyze
aspects the history of the electric grid
* Outline the main features of the technological development of the
electric grid
* Identify the significant personalities involved in the
development of the electric grid
* Outline the historical evolution of electric utility companies
* Outline the technological, social and political factors related
to rural electrification
* Define the term "utility consensus" and describe its impact on
the development of the electric grid
* Outline the impact of deregulation on the electric grid and its
Textbook and/or Resources
* Thomas Hughes, Networks of Power: Electrification of Western
Society 1880-1930, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1983
* Richard F. Hirsh, Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and
Restructuring the American Electric Utility System, MIT Press, 1999
* Readings Packet (on sale at OIT bookstore)
Week 1: Introduction to Large Technological Systems
Paul N. Edwards, "Infrastructure and Modernity: Force, Time, and Social
Organization in the History of Sociotechnical Systems," from Misa, Bray
and Feenburg, Modernity and Technology, MIT Press, 2003. (Readings Packet)
Thomas Hughes, Networks of Power, Chapter 1
David Nye, "Chapter 1 – Grid" in When the Lights Went Out: A History of
Blackouts in America, MIT Press, 2010 (Readings Packet)
Reference: National Academy of Engineering, Greatest Engineering
Achievements of the 20th Century, http://www.greatachievements.
Week 2: Inventing Electrification - Edison and His Competitors
Thomas Hughes, Networks of Power, Chapters 2-5
Reference: A CHE Primer on Energy – The Grid, Center For Culture
History Environment, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Week 3: Implementing Electrification – Berlin, Chicago, London, and
Thomas Hughes, Networks of Power, Chapters 6-10
Week 4: The Rise of the Grid – The Creation of Regional Networks
Thomas Hughes, Networks of Power, Chapters 11-15
Week 5: Experiencing Electricity – Society and the Electric Grid
David Nye, "Chapter 1 – Middletown Lights Up" and "Chapter 4 – What Was
Electricity" in Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New
Technology, MIT Press, 1991 (Readings Packet)
Raymond Arsenault, "The End of the Long Hot Summer: The Air Conditioner
and Southern Culture," in Searching for the Sunbelt: Historical
Perspectives on a Region
Week 6: Rural Electrification
David Nye, "Chapter 7 – Rural Lines" in Electrifying America: Social
Meanings of a New Technology, MIT Press, 1991 (Readings Packet)
Robert Caro, "Chapter 27 – The Sad Irons" and "Chapter 28 – I'll Get It
For You" in The Years of Lyndon Johnson: The Path to Power, Vintage
Books, 1990
Week 7: The "Utility Consensus" – Regulating the Grid
Richard F. Hirsh, Power Loss, Chapters 1-7
Reference: A CHE Primer on Energy – Regulation 101, Center For Culture
History Environment, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
Week 8: Conservation and Utility Operation
Richard F. Hirsh, Power Loss, Chapters 8-11
Week 9: The Rise of Deregulation
Richard F. Hirsh, Power Loss, Chapters 12-15
Week 10: The Legacy of Enron
David Nye, "Chapter 5 – Rolling Blackouts" in When the Lights Went Out:
A History of Blackouts in America, MIT Press, 2010 (Readings Packet)
Bradford Plumer, "Drunk with Power: The Energy Villain in Your
Neighborhood," The New Republic, October 2, 2009 (Readings Packet)
Film "Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room" (excepts shown in class)
Dr. Mark Clark
Professor of History
Oregon Institute of Technology
Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA


text:
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12Page 1 of 2


text:
Summertime fun for Creative Woodworking.
The last 2 summers have been mostly about 2 things:
- Building up Creative Woodworking.
- Which event are we going to this weekend?
Not this summer…
We are still all about building our little side business, but with more of a focus on our gallery affiliates. The craft fairs and artisan shows are very important and we'll continue with them, but more selectively. This is working out wonderfully, and is giving us time for other things. From needed maintenance around the house, projects like the walnut from pine (story to come) and just having fun.
1st stop? York, Maine.
Walking in the surf was awesome, truly.
We always visit Nubble Light when in York, don't you?The BEACH!
Walking in the park every chance we get and hanging by the pool…it's all been good.
We even installed a timber beam in our kitchen! Three years in the waiting, some things just take time.
Next on the list, more household improvements along with gearing up for the Fall & Holiday Craft Fairs. Looking forward to showing a few new pieces and getting the all important feedback.
Thanks for stopping by!


text:
М62-1731 was built in 1983 at the Voroshilovgrad Octoberrevolution Locomotive works. Currently it serves as an exhibit in Central Oktyabrskaya railway museum (located in Saint-Petersburg)
This model is a highly detailed copy of the prototype locomotive which uses textures based on photo-material. A highly detailed cabin model based on photos of M62 series is also included. Functionality and traction specifications are as close to the original.
Authors:3D model: Dmitry Koctyuchenko aka 'ZIMA'Photographers: Boris 'Proton2' Yatsenko, Dmitry 'jim_spb' UrbanyukSFX: Nikolay 'Barmaley' Lezhnev, Dmitry 'Zima' Kostyuchenko, Vitaly 'razor' Sigaev, Yaroslav 'Slavik_ЭП1м' ChomutovTraction specifications: Roman Shepelenko aka 'SHEP Rom'Algorithm for swinging the locomotive: Vladimir 'Tram_' ZaparaAlgorithm for calculating the brake force EP brakes: Roman Shepelenko aka 'SHEP Rom'Radio sounds: Alexander 'Combine' GoncharenkoTechnical consultation: Roman 'SHEP Rom' Shepelenko, Vitaliy 'razor' SigaevEnglish localization: Anton Taranishin aka 'Ant.taranish'Scripting and tuning: Aleksey Zverev aka 'Erendir'


text:
The objective is to:
Your project is to:
For an event keep in mind to observe such things as :
– setting (structure, building, or cite design)
– purpose of event (e.g. ethnic, cultural, "for profit or non-profit entertainment,")
– crowd control (if any); crowd composition and behavior inside and outside / before, during and after event, i.e. atmosphere of the crowd and place
– how money is made (and who) of the event
– how the event is received by you and others, etc.
For a project review, do some background research on the project and/or performers.
Take into account what aspects of the project are usually critiqued and thought important by other (professional) reviewers.
In addition : look at professional journals, newspapers, magazines or other reports of similar events or projects that you choose before you start. Use these as a possible framework for your own report. If you choose, you can interview individuals who either perform, participate in, or organize some aspect of the event for your report.
Introduction – put the event or project in some context (e.g. time / place, genre, trend)
Analysis – give your opinion or observations about some of the aspects given above, as well as other aspects you deem important – incorporate some of the concepts we cover in class on these issues.
Conclusion – you overall view or impressions
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