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The 3rd Ming emperor with reign title of Yongle ("Perpetual Happiness") was the 4th son of the 1st Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.
Born as Zhu Di on 2 May 1360, he was Prince of Yan and commander of China's northern frontier army around today's Beijing, when his father died in 1398.
When his father passed away, Zhu Di was the oldest surviving son of the Ming dynasty founder and he harbored a strong opinion that he be the natural successor to carry the Mantle of Heaven.
But Zhu Yuanzhang had instead chosen as his successor his grandson Zhu Yuwen, 2nd son of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son. The choice followed the rule of primogeniture, by which the eldest son (who had already passed away) or the first grandson of the eldest son should succeed the emperor.
Zhu Yuwen with reign title of Jianwen soon embarked upon the elimination of his uncles, but was no match for Zhu Di. After four years of bitter civil war Zhu Di conquered Nanjing, the Jianwen Emperor disappeared and Zhu Di installed himself as the 2nd emperor of China's Ming Dynasty in 1402 with reign title of Yongle.
Zhu Yunwen's reign was formally reinstated in 1599 and Zhu Di's reign accordingly got its proper designation as the 3rd Ming emperor with reign title of Yongle.
The Yongle Emperor was a strong leader and a natural ruler. He reinstated a solid government system and appointed able ministers. His 22 years of rule till his death in August 1424, 64 years old, was both expansionist and prosperous.
Militarily, he eliminated the last pockets of Mongolian resistance in the south, led five major campaigns against the Mongols in the north and with diplomatic skill suppressed the Jürchen, Koreans and Japanese. His envoys reached Java, Central Asia and even the Middle East.
He dispatched the great eunuch admiral Zheng He on seven famous maritime expeditions reaching as far as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the East African coast, visiting a total of 30 nations between 1405 and 1433. He justified the huge expense by claiming that the fleet was to find and kill the escaped Jianwen emperor.
On 12 August 1424, the Yongle Emperor died while on a military campaign against the Tartars in the Gobi desert.
From his years as commander of the northern army territories the Yongle emperor knew all too well the danger of another invasion by the Mongols. He therefore in the early 15th century made the monumental decision of moving the imperial capital from Nanjing to Beijing.
Construction of the new capital was decided in 1406 and got under way in 1407. It was completed 13 years later in 1420 with the official inauguration held in February 1421.
As to exact location, Zhu Di decided to use the original site of the earlier Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), which was a couple of kilometers north of the previous capital sites in Beijing.
At its height, more than 200,000 workers were deployed in the construction. The West Palace and outer city walls were completed in May 1417 at which time Yongle moved his court to the new capital. His main palace is extremely well known even today as "The Forbidden City" -or Gu Gong in Chinese.
The outer walls were finally reinforced with large brick in the late 1420's -after the Yongle Emperor's death. The walls stood for over 500 years until they were removed in the 1950's to make room for traffic and a subway. Today very little remains of these walls. Best preserved are Qianmen tower at the southern end of Tiananmen Square and the SE Corner Tower. The latter now lines Beijing's 3rd Ring Road and caresses the start of the famous Tonghui Canal.
The Yongle emperor's mausoleum occupies the largest area of all Ming tombs in the Tianshou mountains north of Beijing.
It is equipped with a double entry gate and most of the typical buildings used in Ming and Qing tombs.
More importantly for us today, the constructions are all in a well preserved state -particularly the huge, main ceremonial hall with its precious Nanmu wood columns.
Having moved his capital north from Nanjing to Beijing, the Yongle Emperor consistently also changed the location of the Ming imperial mausoleum to Beijing from Nanjing, where his own father, the first Ming emperor, was interred
More pressing things were on his mind, but when Empress Xu died in 1407, the Yongle Emperor directed his attention to finding a perfect geomantic location for the future imperial mausoleums. Mount Tianshou in Changping county some 50 km northwest of Beijing proved an excellent choice, with the clean water of Wenyu River in front of a flat, fertile plateau surrounded and protected by mountains on all sides.
Construction of the underground tomb for Empress Xu started in 1407 and was completed four years later. It is named Changling (长岭 or "Tomb of Longevity").
Zhu Di, with reign title of Yongle, was also buried in Changling when he passed away in 1424. The tomb has not been re-opened or excavated since he was entombed and has presumably not been robbed.
The common Sacred Way for all Ming tombs at Mt. Tianshou naturally leads directly to Zhu Di's own tomb since he founded the entire mausoleum area.
The layout above ground follows his father's mausoleum (Xiaoling) in Nanjing. South to north, the structures along the main axis are the front gate, Ling'en Gate, Ling'en Hall, the gate to the burial area, Lingxing gate, the five ceremonial vessels, the "Square City" with the memorial tower (Minglou) on top, and finally the earth mound ("Precious Mound").
The underground chambers were completed by 1411 but the above-ground structures were only finalized in 1418, seven years later.
Not only the Emperor and the Empress were buried in Changling. In line with custom in those days, sixteen (some say 30) consorts were required to commit suicide. After an honorary feast, they were made to stand on a wooden bed with ropes around their necks after which the bed was pulled away. They were all interred in the tomb.
Only three of the mausoleums around Mt.Tianshou have an extra front gate to the tomb site, Yongling, Dingling and Changling. This front gate has three openings and is covered by a single eaved roof with yellow glazed tiles (see photo). The center gate -for the exclusive use of the Emperor and the Empress- is taller than its sisters on each side.
Just inside the tomb walls and east of the front gate is a unique stele pavilion, a square structure with a double eaved gable roof covered with yellow glazed tiles. Inside the pavilion is a stele erected on a base shaped like a Chinese stone dragon -and not the traditional tortoise.
There is no solid evidence of exactly when this stele was erected. Some sources claim that it was erected without inscriptions by the Ming in 1542 -more than 100 years after the death of the Yongle Emperor. There is, at least, written evidence dating back to the 1650's - during the subsequent Qing dynasty - that the stele and its pavilion existed then and that the stele carried no inscriptions at that time.
The current imperial edicts engraved in both Chinese and Manchu on three sides were added by the later Qing emperors reigning as Shun Zhi (1659), Qian Long (1786) and Jia Qing (1804).
This stele and its pavilion has no counterpart in any other Ming tomb in Shisanling. This fact and the uncertainty of when it was erected, lead to the speculation that it was a practical construction added by the subsequent Qing dynasty and mainly served the purpose of a vehicle carrying records of tomb repairs etc.
This is the main entrance of the ceremonial area of the mausoleum. It is also nicknamed the "blessing and grace" gate carrying the meaning of showing veneration to the deceased and in return receiving thanksgiving and blessing from Heaven to the mere mortals.
The gate was built in 1427 and has two horse mounting steles in front. The doors and pillars are kept in bright vermilion lacquer and the other woodwork is painted in the traditional green and blue colors with some gold colored accentuation. A plague bearing its name is suspended inside the gate.
The gate is five rooms wide (about 31.44 meters) and two rooms deep (about 14.37 meters) and is surrounded by a white marble balustrade with three flights of stone. It is covered with a single-eaved gable roof covered by yellow glazed tiles.
Two steles facing each other stand a few meters in front of the gate, east and west, respectively.
Inside the gate and on both sides of the central Sacred Way are the eastern and western sacrificial burners. These are small ovens decorated with green and yellow glazed tiles. They were used to burn silk and symbolic paper money - a custom that has survived almost unaltered at most Asian graveyards all the way till today.
These traditional silk burning ovens -Shenbo ovens- have been fully restored and stand glistening in the sun fully covered in yellow ceramic tiles. They are larger than those in other Ming mausoleums in Shisanling.
The single-eaved structure stands on a base with Buddha carvings.
Ling'en Hall is by far the most magnificent and impressive above-ground construction of all the Ming tombs. Also called the "Offerings Hall" memorial tablets with the names of the tomb occupants were kept here in the Ming dynasty. Sacrificial ceremonies were held inside the hall on the anniversaries of the deceased.
This large structure covers an area of 4,400 square meters. The main halls sits on a triple level balustrade of beautiful, white marble. Three flights of stone lead up to the plateau of the hall itself.
The lower Danbi stone has two horses between the mountain ranges. Horses were not commonly used in the later Ming Danbi stones.
The centre stairway is wider than the side ones and has in the middle of each level a Danbi stone block with engraved dragons and mountain tops.
The hall is a dazzling nine rooms wide and three rooms deep. One has to go to The Forbidden City to find larger Ming halls. The building is covered by a double-eaved hip and gable roof with yellow glazed tiles.
The inside of the hall is exquisite and unique. The entire structure rests on 60 large columns of precious nanmu wood, each one made out of a single tree trunk and 12.6 meters high. The four innermost columns are up to 1.12 meters in diameter! The columns are left in their natural state and not covered with the traditional vermilion colored lacquer.
Also the beams and other interior woodwork are made of nanmu wood. This is in fact the largest extant Chinese historic building made with nanmu wood. The ceiling is gorgeously decorated with squares kept in rich green and golden colors.
In the center of the huge hall is an over-sized statue of Zhu Di -the Yongle Emperor- sitting on his imperial throne.
In the later Ming dynasty and subsequent Qing dynasty this gate mostly became a triple gate on a raised platform, but in the early Ming dynasty when Changling was constructed this gate was a mere large and massive triple-opening entrance.
Having a depth of more than one "room" it is deeper compared to most other similar gates.
The building is covered by a single-eaved roof with yellow glazed tiles. A band of yellow and green colored tiles just below the roof construction adorn the building.
Also known as the "Double Pillar Gate" this particular structure symbolizes the importance of the tomb occupant. It has a hipped roof carried by a intricate composition of a number of interlocking wooden pieces. It is erected across the central spirited Sacred Way of the mausoleum.
The idea of this structure stems all the way from the Western Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 25). Its purpose is to solicit blessing from the Lingxing Star for a good harvest.
But Lingxingmen served another higher purpose. It was believed that evil spirits were only able to travel in straight lines. By placing Lingxingmen across the all-important centre spirit axis of the mausoleum the evil spirits would be blocked and prevented from reaching the tomb mound and burial chamber.
Each column is topped by a mythical Qilin. These beasts had many attributes, two of which were to punish the wicked and add protection. Their presence thus augments the effectiveness of the gate.
A little further north on the central Sacred Way is the stone altar with five sacrificial vessels made of stone.
The five pieces include an incense burner, a pair of flower vases and a pair of candlesticks. They were placed at this location as a token of sacrifice to the deceased.
The stone base is often richly decorated although in Changling the engravings are rather simple and nothing out of the ordinary, but good craftsmanship of the early Ming dynasty.
The last structure in front of the tomb mound is the so-called "Square City". It is a large, tall stone covered platform on top of which sits a tower called Minglou -or "Memorial Tower".
The tower has an opening from all four sides although now the eastern and western accesses have been walled up. In the center of the building is a memorial stone tablet inscribed with "Tomb of Emperor Cheng Zu of the Great Ming". The characters are huge, each one some 33 centimeters square.
The characters read "Cheng Zu Wen Di Zhi Ling Mu". "Chengzu" is Zhu Di's temple name; his posthumous title was "Emperor Wen". Thus the inscription reads "Chengzu, Emperor Wen's tomb".
A hipped and gabled double-eaved roof with yellow glazed tiles cover the tower. Under the highest eave at the southern side is a plague inscribed with the name of the tomb -"Changling".
Emperor Zhu Di and Empress Xu are actually entombed some 10-15 meters below the large, almost circular earth mound at the northern end of the mausoleum.
Presumably, the underground tomb chamber remains intact despite the heavy pile of earth that has been weighing down upon it for almost 600 years. If it had collapsed then this would have been clearly visible and given away the exact location of the underground chamber.
The mound is encircled by a wall, which has a stone covered perimeter walkway with buttresses. The wall protects the burial chamber but also keeps the large amount of soil in place. Eastern and western flights of stairs lead from the ground level up to the memorial tower. These walkways are connected to the perimeter walkway of the mound.
Empress Xu, formally Empress Renxiaowen, and with birth name of Xu Yihua, was the daughter of Lady Xie and Xu Da, duke of the state of Wei and one of the cofounders of the Ming Dynasty.
At the age of 14 in 1376 she was bestowed the title of Princess of Yan as her husband at that time was Prince of Yan. Two years later she gave birth to Zhu Gaozhi, the later Hongxi Emperor.
She became empress, when her husband usurped the throne in December of 1402, but she passed away already five years later in July of 1407. Upon her death the Emperor bestowed her title of "Empress Humane and Filial".
When her son ascended the throne in 1424 as the Hongxi Emperor he bestowed her additional titles of "Compassionate and Virtuous", "Sincere and Bright", "Sedate and Devoted" and "Match for Heaven and Equal to the Sages".
All the way from childhood she had been a quiet girl, who was fond of reading. Her nickname in the family was the "Girl Student". Thus, being both learned and educated Xu Yihua took active part in court politics.
As Empress she once summoned the wives of all the senior court administrators to her premises and gifted them with clothing and money. She next instructed them to prevail upon their husbands to always bear the well being of the people in mind in all their doings and not to be arrogant towards their subjects or their families.
She authored and published several books, one of which was "Household Instructions" covering 20 chapters. Her books were distributed all over the empire.
In January 1413 her coffin was moved from Nanjing to Beijing under escort of Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxun. She was interred the following month upon the completion of Changling.
When Empress Xu died, the Yongle emperor chose as his second bride her younger sister, Xu Miaojin. She would however have nothing of it, shaved her head and became a Buddhist monk. Zhu Di never remarried.
In line with customs at the time, the deceased emperor's concubines were either killed or made to commit suicide and buried with him. Some were outright buried alive near the mausoleum. The purpose was to follow the emperor into the netherworld and service him there in all perpetuity.
In the case of the Yongle emperor, 16 persons were buried alive in the eastern and western "wells" on either side of the Chang Ling. There is no trace today of these burial sites.


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East Pennine Orienteering Club - How to become a member.
To become a member of EPOC you need to also become a member of British Orienteering (the national governing body). To do this go to the website http://www.britishorienteering.org.uk/page/join_online and follow the instructions to join both British Orienteering and EPOC.
Select EPOC from the club drop down box. YHOA will then appear in the Association box. Choose the membership grade you require then click on submit.
Follow the instructions to enter details of each person wishing to join.
Non-members can take part in 3 events before they should join British Orienteering and the local club.
The benefits of joining British Orienteering include many member discount with different organisations and public liability insurance for members
For 2023, the annual fees are as follows:-
If you join after the 1st November then you get 2 free months membership i.e. your membership will run from 1st November till 31st December the following year.
Children who are no longer juniors should join as a separate senior rather than as a family member. The cost is exactly the same.
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Retired Marine Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz was subject to extra TSA screening because he was wearing 'too much metal.' (Courtesy Patricia Martin)
Wearing the uniform of the Few and Proud doesn't rate preferential treatment from the Transportation Security Administration or California capitol security officers, retired Marine Cpl. Nathan Kemnitz recently learned.
Kemnitz, severely injured in 2004 in a roadside bomb attack in Fallujah, Iraq, has limited use of his right arm and cannot lift it above his head. So when security guards at the state capitol in Sacramento, Calif., asked him to remove his dress blue blouse "because he was wearing too much metal," and TSA wanted him to raise his arms above his head for the full-body scanner at Sacramento International Airport, he could not comply.
"My right arm doesn't work," Kemnitz said.
At the state capitol, the Marine's refusal to remove his uniform top grew into what was described by friend Patricia Martin as a heated exchange with security officers.
And at the airport, supervisors looked on as a TSA security screener looked under Kemnitz's medals, ran his hands under the Marine's waistband and swabbed his shoes for explosives, she said.
"What does a uniform and heroism represent if our own citizens — in this case employees of the TSA and security personnel — have no regard for them?" Martin later wrote in a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. "I feel so strongly that you need to know just how shamefully even a Purple Heart recipient/disabled veteran can be treated by some TSA and security employees."
Kemnitz said after the incidents that he was not as annoyed with TSA as he was with a security screener at the California state capitol, whom he described as rude and unapologetic.
Kemnitz was visiting the building to be honored as his legislative district's veteran of the year.
"At some places I'm treated like royalty and at some like a terrorist. There's got to be something in the middle," he said.
In the media firestorm that followed publication of the story online on militarytimes.com, a spokesman for the California State Senate Sergeant-at-Arms office, which oversees security for the building, said the incident was under investigation, to include reviewing the security video and interviewing screeners.
Mark Hedlund, communications director for the state's Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, said roughly 1 million people visit the capitol each year, and all, including employees, are screened. But, he added, "there's never any call for disrespect."
"We're looking at the situation to make sure all the procedures were followed," Hedlund said.
TSA deputy director John Halinski, a retired Marine colonel, said his agency also was reviewing the matter, taking it "very seriously."
"Twenty-five percent of our work force are veterans. Forty percent of our air marshals are veterans. We take this very, very seriously," Halinski said.
By Patricia Kime see more at Military Times
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To be considered for international study admission in Germany, you must meet the general requirements. This includes the German and/or English Language Requirement depending on the type of school (public, private or international schools) you choose. RFIE will check your records and confirm that you meet all those requirements.
Eligibility requirements to be met in order to be to study in Germany are
- German/English Language knowledge
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RFIE will check those requirements and in addition we support you to select the right school for your needs and budget. We will discuss e.g. following topics with you.
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In order to participate in a RFIE Study Abroad Program, there are certain eligibility requirements you must meet. RFIE will check your records to confirm that you / your child meets these overall requirements.
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Our Netto practically across the street from us has closed with very little warning (about a week). This is bad news; it means the only grocery store on the island is the Biomarkt next to the Netto. Not that the Biomarkt itself is inherently bad, but the selection is not terribly good and everything there is expensive. One of the things we won't be able to just stop in and pick up at Netto anymore is frozen bake-it-yourself garlic bread.
But then I found this recipe — and maybe that's a silver lining. This is fast, easy, cheap, and most importantly, tasty.
1 baguette
5 T (62g) butter, softened
2 t olive oil
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 t oregano
salt and pepper to taste
a little shredded cheese (we like fluffy parmesan)
Cut the baguette in half the long way, splitting it open. Cut the halves into serving-sized pieces. In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Spread the mixture evenly on the bread slices. On a medium baking sheet, arrange the slices evenly and broil a few minutes, until slightly brown. Check frequently so they do not burn. Remove from broiler. Top with cheese and return to broiler another minute or two, until cheese is slightly brown and melted. Serve at once.


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We created this video, on behalf of all the fantastic social workers we have the privilege to work with on a daily basis. Thank you for everything that you do.
Author:Andrew Illingworth
Merry Christmas from the #SORMFamily
#WSWD2021 What Social Work Means to us!
Glast-SORM-bury! Our very own virtual festival during lockdown.
We created an online virtual festival to showcase some of the amazing talent we have going on in and around the studio. This was a festival to raise money for one of our very bands to go on tour in Europe. If you would like to help get The Ec-Tix to Norway please check out …
Continue reading Glast-SORM-bury! Our very own virtual festival during lockdown.
The Ec-Tix Live and better than ever!
Every Friday we get one of our amazingly talented people to sing us one of their favourite songs. We share and celebrate it with all to sing everybody into the weekend!
Cup of Tea with Chris and Leigh! Check out this week's news and sport!
Playlist coming very very soon
SORM's Got Talent! Check out our amazingly talented people!!
SORM's Got Talent 2. We're Back!
SORM's Got Talent 2 has been made for and by the staff, as well as the people that they support, at School of Rock and Media LTD. The purpose of this video is to bring a little bit of fun, focus, joy, laughter and happiness to those that we support, their families, friends, support workers …
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Sing Along with SORM this Christmas.
To bring a bit of festive joy in December, we are going to create a video of all the people we support, our friends and families and the wider community, singing along to One More Sleep by Leona Lewis. We want as many people to join in as possible. THIS INCLUDES YOU!! Want you to …
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I live with a kind of odd dichotomy. I'm a Christian; I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God. I am, to use a word seldom invoked, orthodox. Not in the sense of Greek, Russian or Ethiopian Orthodox, with no disrespect to any of those venerable faith traditions. But in the sense that I follow, the best I can, the path laid out for me by Jesus the Christ, by the fathers and mothers of the faith, by the word of God and by his Spirit, that I believe dwells in me.
And yet, an odd thing happens when I enter the ER doors. I become appropriately rational and scientific, but sometimes I quite abruptly forget the things I hold most dear. I easily forget to show the love I'm commanded to show. I easily forget the debt of grace I owe, and judge others too sternly. And I forget, or even choose not, to pray.
Odd, that a believer in divine incarnation and power would simply skip over a thing that might be life changing, isn't it? Does it mean that I'm so modern I don't truly believe? Does it mean that I doubt the veracity of my faith and its author? Or does it mean that I am, somehow, just a simple coward, afraid to show his stripes to post-modern 'scientific' patients and doctors. I don't really want the answer to that. But if I have to pick one, I'll take coward; because I do believe. I don't doubt God's ability, and I certainly recognize my weakness.
If I ever take the step, maybe the thing I should do is offer prayer to anyone and everyone. I'll tell you, many would take it. Many, in shattered bodies, or living like slaves in miserable conditions, would be happy for any glimmer of hope, any sign of affection whether human or divine. They aren't as in love with studies and rationality as the well-fed, safe and prosperous.
I'll tell you about a time it worked. 51-year-old inferior MI. Sudden ventricular fibrillation (for the non-medical, a dangerous heart rhythm incompatable with life). Defibrillated (shocked) about 15 times over 45 minutes. CPR intermittantly for the entire time. Pacemaker applied, with limited success. Thrombolytic drugs given (clot busters), along with almost every advanced life-support chemical we had. His wife and family watching, because I don't mind that. She cried, and kissed him. She was worried he would end up with brain damage, and no longer be himself. His adult children cried, and kissed him.
In their eyes, I saw love, and hope and grief. I said to the room, nurses, respiratory techs and all…'we have to pray about this one.' And they did. I know that in all those hearts, prayers went up.
We were almost finished. Ready to stop and call it a day, to talk to the weeping loved ones (including the elderly mother). But with the ultrasound, I saw a little bit of heart beat. A little bit of motion in this man blue from the shoulders up, breathing through the tube I placed in his trachea.
He was transferred to a regional cardiac care facility after almost an hour of our efforts. We prayed. I believed. I hoped. I wanted to cry, for wanting it to work.
Next morning, he was sitting up, eating ice chips and talking with his family about how sore his chest was.
What do you say? What can I say? Miraculous, that's all.
Christian apologist and physician John Patrick (www.johnpatrick.ca) says 'Be careful praying for your patients. You might start to like them, and you never know where that might lead.'
He's right. I hope I can learn to do it more. The results may surprise me, like they did that day not so long ago.
PS If you pray, please pray for M, who lost her job as a physician and is struggling.


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Preview Courtesy of Coco Dujour
International Luxury
A lady who enjoys seeing the world. A flavor for languages to go along with this mixed Caribbean beauty. This model stands at 5'10" and is making friends around the world.
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This is part of the Daily Random Colour Challenge
Friday 18th December 2015, the colour is:Entropic Decay #2F1623ANYRC page
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Sunday 20th December 2015, the colour is:Book pressed rose #D4A1A5ANYRC page
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April 11-13, 2008
New Orleans, LA
My second FQF. Perfect weather. Crowded, but lots of great music...
|Let the Festival Begin!
|Second Line Kickoff Parade
|Pete Fountain, with the French Quarter Festival Allstars
|The Marc Stone Band
|Uncle Lionel heads to his gig.
|Mem Shannon
|Jackson Square
|Ellis Marsalis
|Johnny Sansone
|Marva Wright and the BMW's
|The Hot 8 Brass Band
|Shamarr Allen
|Rockin' The Cradle of Jazz, A New Orleans Musical History featuring Holley Bendtsen, John & Lillian Boutte and Charmaine Neville
|Paul Sanchez and The Rolling Road Show - Shamarr Allen and Paul
|Sunpie Barnes
|Pavillion Stage
Back to Swag's Fest Photos
Photos copyright © 2008 by Swag


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A teacher's assistant is on trial for allegedly shooting and killing her high school sweetheart in the home they shared.
Police in Griffin, Georgia say Mary Katherine Higdon, 24, shot Steven Freeman, 23, in the chest at the house on Sunnybrook Drive in 2018.
In court Thursday, Freeman's friends took the stand and said the two had a toxic relationship.
Investigators said Higdon, who most recently worked as a preschool teacher's assistant at St. George's Episcopal School in Griffin, told officers the gun went off accidentally. She said she was in the back room of their home and as she handed the gun to Freeman, it went off.
But police told WSB-TV the evidence says otherwise.
Freeman's best friend, Thomas Skinner, took the stand first and described his friend to the jury.
"Steven was a warm, loving guy, a country boy, hard worker," Skinner said.
Skinner told the jury his friend's relationship with Higdon started off fine but quickly turned toxic.
"At first, I really liked her, I did. Things in that relationship I could see started getting more toxic, fighting and arguing, verbally fighting," Skinner said.
When Freeman tried to leave, his best friend told the jury Higdon would drag him back into the relationship.
"Mary Katherine texted Steven something along the lines of wanting to kill herself and if Steven didn't move back in, she would kill herself," Skinner said.
After Skinner's testimony, prosecutors called another one of Freeman's friends to the stand. Alijah Varela, who also worked with Freeman, told the jury Higdon would brag about how she knew how to use a gun and would also call and text Freeman nonstop while he was at work.
"He would just have his phone sitting down, and you could just see it off the hook, upwards of 20 calls within the time it took us to get the truck loaded. Steven always drove, and it would just be sitting there ringing off the hook," Varela said.
Varela said Freeman had a big heart.
"I wasn't brought up to say, 'I love you,' every single time you get off the phone, but every time Steven left or was going somewhere, he would always tell you, 'I love you,'" Varela said.
The defense says Freeman drank, did drugs and controlled Higdon, but Freeman's friends told the jury it was the other way around.
His co-worker told the jury how Freeman would describe her to him.
"She was always angry. Satan," Skinner said.
Court resumes Friday and will last until 5 p.m.
The prosecution will hear from more witnesses, and then the defense will begin its case.
About the Author


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Terms and Conditions
email@example.com. 021 025 15576, 0800456788
These Terms and Conditions govern the use of goRides website. You can access these Terms and Conditions at any time at the bottom of any page on the website. By accessing or using any part of the site, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to all of the Terms and Conditions of this agreement, then you may not access the website or use any services. These Terms and Conditions apply to all users of the site. You must show acceptance of these terms and conditions by ticking a box before you can complete a purchase from goRide.
goRide reserves the right to update, change or replace any part of these Terms and Conditions by posting updates and/or changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check this page periodically for changes. Your continued use of, or access to the website following the posting of any changes constitutes acceptance of those changes.
By agreeing to these Terms and Conditions you affirm that you are at least 18 years of age and have legal capacity to contract in New Zealand. If you are using a credit card to process a transaction, you affirm that the credit card is issued in your name and that you shall pay to the issuer all charges incurred while using online transactions.
goRide is a WordPress website that uses WooCommerce as its online e-commerce platform, allowing goRide to sell products directly to you.
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If Blizzard was a player, it would be a Faker, Ninja, or Nadeshot – the kind of player that very few can compete with.
With the release of games targeted towards competitive gameplay, like StarCraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Overwatch, Blizzard has set itself up as a leader in esports.
Many see esports as the future of gaming and it's easy to see why. Esports viewership is expected to reach over 500m by 2021, with 250m of those viewers expected to be frequent fans, offering a huge pool of video game fans for publishers to target. A closely followed esports league fuels longevity, keeps player bases high, and guarantees recurring revenue long after release.
You only have to look to professional sports leagues for an idea of esport's potential. And Blizzard hopes to mimic these leagues through competitions like the Overwatch League.
Speaking on Overwatch League, MLG CEO Pete Vlastelica said:
"The combination of production talent, the technical crew, and the on camera personalities are really gelling as a unit, and are really focused on a level of production quality and storytelling that's new to the guys from the world of esports."
But how much is Blizzard worth, and how much does it make from esports?
Blizzard net worth: Estimating the brand's value
Calculating the exact value of Blizzard is difficult, given that the company is part of the Activision Blizzard company, which also incorporates titles under the Activision brand, such as Call of Duty, as well as mobile games under the King brand, such as Candy Crush.
At the time of writing, the Activision Blizzard market cap currently stands at $63.5bn.
According to Activision Blizzard's latest investors report (2017), the company generated revenue of $7.2bn throughout the year. That was up 8% on 2016.
The breakdown between its three major publishing brands was as follows:
Activision – $2.63bn
Blizzard – $2.12bn
King – $2bn
The Blizzard brand accounts for approximately 29% of revenue in the Activision Blizzard group. This would value the Blizzard net worth at approximately $18.4bn.
Of course, this is just an estimate. There are various different ways of calculating the net worth of a private company (or in this case, a specific part of a public company), all of which will provide different results. However, this gives some indication of Blizzard's value in the Activision Blizzard portfolio.
How much does Blizzard make from esports?
Again, it's impossible to calculate exactly how much Blizzard currently makes from competitive gaming. While unconfirmed, it is highly likely that the profits are small. Esports is a future investment in an area that is currently showing great potential.
The company is pinning its hopes on competitions like the Overwatch League, which reportedly made $250m through the sale of franchising spots ahead of its first season, at a cost of $20m each. That buy-in price has reportedly risen to anywhere between $30m-$60m ahead of the second season.
Whether or not the inaugural Overwatch League season was profitable is unconfirmed. However, league commissioner Nate Nanzer has said that progress is being made. He told VentureBeat:
"Our goal was always to have a very narrow investment period and work to get teams to profitability as quickly as possible. We're making great progress on that front."
It's worth noting that Activision Blizzard makes just 30% of its revenue from game sales. The remaining 70% mostly comes from recurring revenue channels, such as in-game items and currencies. In that regard, it's easy to see why Activision Blizzard is investing in ensuring longevity, rather than churning out new game after new game.


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1. I don't need to check in any luggage. I only have a …
A. carry around bag
B. carry in bag
C. carry on bag
2. I won't be returning until tomorrow. All flights have been … due to the bad weather.
A. grounded
B. floored
C. earthed
3. I need to book a later flight because my flight has been ….
A. cancelled
B. fallen out
C. deleted
4. Please can you arrange for a taxi to … from the airport?
A. pick me up
B. take me
C. deliver me
5. I'm going to use the app to … so I don't have to do it when I get to the airport.
A. check in
B. check out
C. check on
6. Is breakfast …?
A. inclusive?
B. within
C. included
7. Does the hotel have …?
A. Free connection
B. free wifi
C. no cost wifi
8. You can leave … if you want to but I don't think the service was very good.
A. drinking money
B. overpayment
C. a tip
9. Don't forget to save your … You will need them when you submit your travel expenses.
A. recipes
B. menus
C. receipts
10. Do I need to … at Clapham Junction?
A. Change the train
B. change trains
C. exchange trains
11. Thank you very much for offering to … to the airport.
A. give me a carry
B. give me a drive
C. give me a lift
12. I hope there isn't much traffic this morning. It's important that I get to the office … for the meeting
A. in time
B. on time
C. at the time
13. I'm … at the moment. I'll call you when I get to the office.
A. at the train
B. on the train
C. in the train
14. Why are the trains here never …?
A. in time
B. on time
C. overtime
15. I don't know what time I will be coming back. I need to buy … ticket.
A. an open coming back
B. an open return
C. an empty return
16. I need to pay with my card. I don't have any … with me.
A. cash
B. small money
C. pound
17. What time is your …?
A. return flight
B. back flight
C. reverse flight
18. I'd like to … my ticket to business class.
A. uplift
B. upset
C. upgrade
19. What time do I have to pay the bill and …. Tomorrow?
A. check out
B. check off
C. check over
I'll be happy to check your answers if you post them in the comments or send me a private message through the contact form.
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Mini Tone Master® Amplifier
Model #: 0234808000
Mini Tone Master® Amplifier
Added to your cart.View Cart Continue Shopping
The Perfect Practice Companion
This miniaturized version of the Tone-Master boasts glorious tone for its size, along with authentic looks to match. This portable mini amp features classic details reminiscent of the original Tone-Master, from metal amp corners to vintage-style brown grille cloth and white knobs.
- One-watt single-channel amplifier
- Genuine vintage styling
- Dual 2" speakers
- Dedicated tone, volume and gain controls
- 1/4" headphone jack and 9V adapter jack


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Reflections on imagine how creativity works by jonah lehrer
This past April, I had the pleasure of attending Switchpoint in Saxapahaw, North Carolina. The conference brought together people from all walks of life. American beat poets, global health workers, an African midwife and a Kenyan tech advocate all came together in one space for one day to see what would happen. It was pretty awesome.
One of the speakers of the day was Jonathan Opp. He spoke of branding and his experience at Red Hat and the Road Tour he helped develop. I got the chance to talk with him during the conference and how I was starting to try to draw more often. He mentioned a good book that he had recently read called, "Imagine: How Creativity Works" by Jonah Lehrer and highly recommend I read it. I tend to listen when smart good folks tell me to do something, and most of the time they are right.
I read "Imagine" this past weekend. The book is filled with anecdotes from various creative folks. The book has been coined as creating multiple "Aha" moments. It's like he is saying everything you already know, but forgot when thinking about the creativity. He speaks on the different techniques successful companies such as Pixar, 3M and Google use to foster their creative process. He mentions how the common term called "brainstorming" actually stifles us and keeps us from improving our projects with criticism and feedback. Towards the end he wrote:
"Here is the dis-quieting truth. Our creative problems keep getting more difficult… It's time to create the kind of culture, that won't hold us back."
Now how did that apply to me?
Many years ago, I started out as a design student. I took basic typography classes, where we had to trace over hundreds of different styles of type each night. I'd then go to a drawing class where pre-fabricated still life were lined up perfectly for us to replicate. It was so completely boring.
I decided to take a printmaking class as one of my art electives. It was a perfect blend of science, art and physical activity. What a thrill from the mundane "design" world where it seemed perfection was key! I dove head first into printmaking and gave up design. And then, the computer lab started drawing my attention. This was the age of Napster, AIM and ease in connecting with friends all over the globe. I remember skipping my photography class so that I could spend more time in the computer lab. It was funny. I remember the design students constantly coming to me for help in figuring out how create a proper Quark layout (Yes, I said Quark.) At the time, there wasn't a "web design" program. HTML/CSS were just starting to become something that folks were realizing anyone could do. You didn't have to have a computer science degree in order to do it.
So, my curiosity stayed with computers. I hacked around on my Compaq Presario 2286 at home and the pretty Macs at school. It was great and it was fun. Both sides of my brain were being used simultaneously with printmaking and computers. My days and nights were filled with problem solving and my brain was happy.
I continued on with my printmaking, as well as computers. I even worked as a professional printmaker while living in Los Angeles. It was an amazing experience and I even got to help pull a print from one of my all time favorite artists, Ann Hamilton. I printed an edition for Richard Serra and even contributed my own work to an inside edition that the shop did. The halls echoed of Allen Ginsberg and I heard stories of Robert Rauschenberg coming to town. I was in art school geek heaven.
And then, the magic faded. I was living in a friend's living room, barely able to pay my bills and have enough food to eat. The printmaking dream just wasn't working out. So, art and I broke up. I stopped drawing and creating. I was disappointed. The break up was a bitter one.
That was almost 10 years ago. After the break up, I delved head first into the world of web programming. I've been fortunate to work with some of the smartest and most creative people I have ever met. I've seen and learned a lot in the past 10 years, but something has always felt off balance: Something that has been at my core ever since I was a kid drawing comic books on the weekend, pure creativity.
And so, after reading "Imagine" and having many of those "Aha" moments, I am going to try to mend this part of me. Because creativity is key to each us. We all have it. Whether it's the music you've been so close to making, the book you've started writing, but never finished, or a drawing you were too pissed off to jot down. Creativity is important. It's vital to share, collaborate, adapt and create with those around you. Stop the inhibitions and the worry about making a mistake and just make.
So art? Let's reconcile. I'll start by placing a new link on my site called "Sketchbook" and let's just see where we go from there.


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Facebook (META -0.71%) may be the premier social media network on the internet, but it's also much more. It's a major advertising platform and news delivery gateway, just to name a few things. Certainly, Mark Zuckerberg didn't envision Facebook the way it's turned out when he was sitting in his Harvard dorm room, but its evolution into something woven into the fabric of our everyday lives is an achievement nonetheless.
We've asked three of The Motley Fool's top contributors to share companies that remind them of Facebook. These stocks may not be an essential part of our existence, yet, but read on to see how Criteo (CRTO 0.04%), Momo (MOMO 1.39%), and Splunk (SPLK -0.14%) all have characteristics reminiscent of the social-media platform.
A better mouse trap
Daniel Miller (Criteo): Finding the next Facebook is nearly an impossible task because Facebook does so many things incredibly well. The company's brilliance often makes other genius companies in Silicon Valley second-rate. But Criteo reminds me of Facebook in the sense that its business revolves around connecting the right user to the right advertisement better than anybody else does. It's made a solid business out of doing just that:
Criteo offers what it calls performance marketing: It combines technology, data, science, and insight into a transparent cost-per-click model on a global scale for advertisers.
For example, you're on a device looking at merchandise to purchase online but don't pull the trigger, have you noticed an advertisement for that product showing up on an article you read later? This is what Criteo does. And with Criteo better connecting the dots between publishers and advertisers, everybody wins. Further, Criteo's recent acquisition of Hooklogic enables the company to tap into a new large pocket of advertisers and brand manufacturers, and it also brings in more talent to help enhance its current products as well as build future services.
In the world of advertising, knowledge is power. And in a world where we're more interconnected and growing our digital footprints, connecting consumers to relevant advertisements at a higher conversion rate using big data is an intriguing business model. While Criteo is a long way away from being the next Facebook, it's tough to find another young company creating such a strong business model from advertising.
This Chinese internet company has cracked the profit code
Brian Feroldi (Momo): China is unlike every other country on Earth. Because the government guards what's available on the internet, it can be hard for foreign tech giants to gain a foothold. That's a big reason local Internet giants such as Baidu, Alibaba, and YY have managed to build up such a stranglehold in the region.
One Chinese Internet company that I have my eye on is Momo. This company built up a big user base through the rollout of location-based online data. However, the company recently made a decision to go after the live video-streaming market. That strategy change has turned Momo into a true powerhouse.
Last quarter, Momo's overall revenue grew by 421% to $265 million on the back of surging revenue from its live streaming service. What's more, the number of monthly active users grew 18% year over year to 85 million, while those who are paying to access the service grew to 4.1 million. These massive growth numbers caused Momo's bottom line to soar 633%, and they show that consumers are rapidly flocking to its platform, just as they have been doing with Facebook for years. Meanwhile, the number of internet users in China is estimated to be well above 700 million and growing, so Momo still has plenty of room left for expansion.
Looking ahead, Momo believes that its hyper-growth rates are poised to continue. Next quarter, management is guiding for top-line growth of at least 186%. Given the massive opportunity ahead for Momo, I think the company's top and bottom lines could continue to rise rapidly for quite some time. That makes this a great stock for growth investors to keep their eyes on.
Analyze this!
Rich Duprey (Splunk): Turning the massive amounts of data that corporations produce into something usable that they can act on remains the focus of businesses such as Splunk. This company helps businesses capture, store, analyze, and curate the information they generate. We don't hear the term "big data" quite as much as we used to, but the operational intelligence specialist continues to profit from its existence.
In its fiscal 2018 first-quarter earnings report, Splunk said revenue rose 30% and GAAP and adjusted losses both narrowed for the period, as almost 500 new enterprise customers were added to its roster during the quarter.
Like a certain social-media network in its early days, Splunk is taking an existing platform and transforming it into a next-level opportunity. It wasn't first to market in data analytics, and today it's nowhere near the largest -- it's going up against giants such as IBM and Oracle, among others -- but offering its customers a complete end-to-end solution that earns high marks for the flexibility and reliability it brings to instantly searching, monitoring. and analyzing machine data.
And the more data companies produce and bring to Splunk, the more it gets paid, with trailing revenue finally cresting the $1 billion mark. The amount of data the world produces isn't going to shrink and in fact will grow exponentially. That suggests Splunk's market opportunity and leadership in the space will grow just as much, or more so, right along with it.


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If working from home has gone from a temporary to a permanent solution for you, it's essential to have an ergonomic setup. This will not only increase your comfort but is also important for your physical and mental wellbeing.
You need the optimum conditions to work and even though you're in the safety of your own home, it's important to create a healthy environment.
A poorly set up workstation could cause problems with posture, eye strain, and fatigue.
Here are five ways to increase your comfort working from home.
Ensure you get enough light
Plenty of light is essential to make your home a happy place, but it is also necessary for work.
Natural light, for example, allows you to concentrate and be more productive.
Try to get as much natural light as possible and if not use LEDs with a natural light effect.
Without proper lighting, you end up experiencing fatigue or even headaches and you're less likely to get as much done. This will make working from home more stressful and frustrating.
Be conscious of eye strain
Working in the correct amount of light is important for eye health. You also need to ensure your monitor or other equipment is set up at the correct height and distance.
If you feel like you're constantly straining your eyes regardless, it might be time to have them tested. Your optician will let you know if you need to reglaze glasses or get a new pair altogether.
Invest in ergonomic equipment
Now that you're working from home on a long-term basis it's worth investing in some ergonomic equipment.
For a proper ergonomic workstation setup, you need a chair that fully supports your back and helps you maintain good posture.
Your desk and technological equipment also need to be positioned correctly, and you could look into getting a more ergonomic keyboard and mouse, for example.
Try to be mindful of the position you sit in while working and avoid slouching.
Take short scheduled breaks
It's said that microbreaks ease your body and mind and can do wonders for your concentration.
Take short and regular breaks, and factor them into your daily schedule.
You could plan for breaks hourly, or in between small tasks. This way you'll be able to maintain high levels of productivity.
After even a short break, you'll return to work feeling refreshed and energised.
A touch of greenery
There are many benefits of plants in the workplace. They are said to provide a calming atmosphere while at the same time increasing productivity.
Plants also work great as a self-care reminder in the home. They create a healthy environment and being surrounded by greenery helps you relax.
Set up a couple of low-maintenance houseplants in your home office and turn it into a happier place to work in.
Final thoughts
There's no use trying to work from home in an environment you're not comfortable in. You need to create the right space in order to be productive and for your overall well-being. Start with the tips above to create a more ergonomic and comfortable space to work in from home.


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Dust, Rust And Chrome At Rhinebeck Car Show
Last weekend, enthusiasts from across the Northeast gathered to trade parts and stories at the Rhinebeck Car Show. Reporter Meg Heckman sent this audio postcard.
Hot rods, muscle cars and automotive echoes of the gilded age are the public face of the Rhinebeck Car Show, but look past the tidy rows of glittering bumpers and you'll see something else: acres and acres of dust, rust and chrome. It's the annual swap, where buyers and sellers come from across the East Coast to haggle over the stuff that old cars are made of.
"Some early '50s steering wheels, I've got a steering wheel off a '37 Ford..."
This is George Thomas of St. Johnsville, New York. He spent last weekend presiding over a long row of card tables covered in, well, just about anything a car lover could need.
Other vendors, like Skip Albright, of Glenmont, N.Y., have a narrower focus.
"We tend to sell antique garagiana, stuff from old petroleum stations, gas stations, repair stations. There's some battery chargers and some antique test equipment. There's a heating gun down there that they would use to heat up parts with. It's kind of like a hairdryer, only it's industrial."
And if you need headlights, Donald Axelrod of Lynn, Mass. is your man.
"Come to me. I've got 'em. From my finding them now, it's mostly the old timers that are dying off. I'm buying them at estate sales from their heirs. It's re-circulating within the hobby."
That recirculation used to happen at junkyards, but with fewer yards -- and fewer old cards -- quality parts are harder to find. Just ask Howard Foulds of Wayne, N.J. He makes a living restoring antique car radios.
"All the large junk yards are folding under. The land is worth more now for development than it is for a 40 acre junk yard to hold old cars from 1940, '50s and so on. Parts like this are becoming fewer and far between. It's really the only outlet other than eBay to get rid of this stuff or to buy it. People come from all over the world to these swap meets.
What was unique about these radios before lets say 1975, they were built for the car. The radio was molded to the dash. Contour, decorative, the knobs matched your wiper knobs. They went generic in 1978. ALl they did was change the knob color. It was one size fits all, so the demand isn't there for the late model stuff. Early model, unique to the car. Some of the radios, you can name your price. A 54 cor-- I've had several of those -- it's a $2,000 radio in a heartbeat, and that's not working."
By Sunday afternoon, the swap's tents and tables were a little less crowded with inventory, but George Thomas was still doing steady business.
"Bumpers and tires, we also have some '36 and '37 Ford grills, and some '32 Ford gas tanks, a radiator, some '48 Plymouth bumpers front and back. That's pretty much the gold. And Hot Wheels. We have a lot of Hot Wheels."


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Scott Adams (creator of "Adventureland," the first commercial home computer game) just posted this on his Facebook page:
Hey Scott, Something you may not be aware of is the seminal role you played in the genesis of Max Headroom. There was a TRS80 at my place of work. When folks went home a few of us would stay for a few hours and try to figure out what to do with parrots and how to avoid The Count. Your work led directly to Max – I wrote it by the way. So thank you. – George Stone
I, like many others, loved Max Headroom from his earliest days as an advertisement character and then later in the popular TV series. I had never heard that I had anything to do with your creation of Max! I am deeply honored to play even a small roll in this! Would you mind greatly if I were allowed to make this fact known? – Scott Adams
Good to hear from you. I hereby aknowledge your role in Max's Genesis and grant you full irrevocable rights to say exactly what you like.
Until I saw your work the idea of AI was a theory. Joseph Weizenbaum's book, Computer Power and Human Reason was a beginning but it was The Count that showed me that I could get involved in an unfolding narrative and affect its outcome. It was this thought, along with a couple of others – the ever expanding TV landscape, the growth of news as entertainment and the social divide that continues to grow unabated that led to the world of 20 Minutes Into the Future, the first film and precursor of the series you saw in the US and Max's involvement with The Coca Cola Corporation. – George


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A group of aluminosilicate minerals commonly found in metamorphic rocks that contain varying amounts of Ca, Fe, Mg, and Mn. Garnet is used as a semiprecious stone and an abrasive.
You are here
A computer application used to store, view, and analyze geographical information, especially maps.
A two-dimensional representation of the Earth's surface on which is recorded geologic information, such as the distribution, nature, and age relationships of rock units and the occurrence of structural features, mineral deposits, and fossil localities.
The study of the classification, description, nature, origin, and development of landforms and their relationships to underlying structures, and of the history of geologic changes as recorded by these surface features.
A foliated rock, usually formed by regional metamorphism, in which bands or layers of granular minerals alternate with bands or layers in which minerals having flaky or elongate prismatic habits predominate.
A common, light-colored, coarse-grained plutonic igneous rock consisting of variable amounts of quartz, feldspar, and accessory minerals.
Soft hail or snow pellets.
An unconsolidated, natural accumulation of rock fragments resulting from erosion and consisting predominantly of particles larger than sand but smaller than cobbles greater than 0.19 inches and smaller than 3 inches (ASTM 2487-85, 1985).
A typically light to dark grey, poorly-sorted sandstone in which coarser fragments of rocks and minerals are cemented together by fine-grained material, much of which consists of clay minerals.
Water below the surface of the Earth. Also spelled: ground water, ground-water.


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Welcome to the Planet Natural Garden Forum! Whether you're new to gardening or have been at it for some time, here you can search existing messages for answers to your questions or post a new message for others to reply to. If this is your first visit, please read over our forum instructions carefully before posting. Enjoy!
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Starting a School Composting Project
Hello, I represent a group of college students interested in starting a school composting project. Our Dining Commons currently produce 45 – 90 gallons of food waste per day and we are looking to reuse this material and turn it into dirt for our community garden. However, we have some challenges. First, our school is located in Indiana and subject to cold winters; will the composting process continue to work under these conditions? Building a tarp for rain protection shouldn't be an issue but we really don't know how big of a space we will need. Should we use bins? And, if so, how many? How labor intensive will the operation be? How much dirt will this produce? If someone could assist with these questions, we would greatly appreciate it!
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|Current Price
|Miami , FL , US
|Hull Material
|63 ft
|17.25 ft
|Engine Manufacturer
|Engine Model
|Engine Count
|Engine Year
|Fuel Capacity
|898 gallon
The 62 Azimut has three outstanding features: the large seating capacity in the salon and dinette, a large master stateroom, both with outstanding natural light.
Equipped with bow thruster, twin MTU 2000 series engines with 1500 Hours, ZF 320 transmissions, and 21kw Kohler Generator with approximately 2500 hours.
Her striking rounded lines illustrate her perfect harmony and practical function. Unrivaled attention to detail and extremely well designed living solutions provides the utmost in yachting tradition, safety and relaxation.
New exterior cushions being added this week. 11/2023
Manufacturer Provided Description
Vessel Walkthrough
Starting the walk-through, we will begin in the cockpit. There we find built-in seating with crews quarters underneath, boarding gate on the port and starboard sides, teak table, stairs leading to the flybridge and a double glass sliding door, allowing us access to the salon. The salon has a large U-shaped sofa on the port side. Starboard we have a sofa against the side bulkhead with the TV and entertainment center forward of it.
Going up two steps we enter the dinette area, to starboard, we have a large crescent dinette with a table that converts from a dining table to two cocktail tables. To port is a U-shaped galley with double sinks and an upright refrigerator.
Midship forward, we have the lower helm with a comfortable helm-chair, full instrumentation and chart table to starboard.
Going down the starboard companionway to the lower deck, we first encounter the guest/day-head to port. On the starboard side, we have the washer-dryer and entrance to the Guest Stateroom, with two side-by-side bunks.
Going forward, we enter the VIP stateroom, which is as large as some masters. It has an island berth with overhead hatch and two portholes. The VIP head is attached to the stateroom with a private entrance.
Walking back aft, down the companionway we come to the master stateroom. It is a very large stateroom, with six large oval portholes that admit outstanding natural light into the cabin. The island berth is against the port hull side just below three of the oval portholes; to starboard is a dressing table with drawer storage and a large walk-in closet.
Walking back out to the cockpit we go up the stairs to the flybridge. The flybridge has a large seating group with Sun pad, a wet bar and Grill to port, the large center table has locker storage underneath for life jackets. The upper helm is located forward, with full instrumentation on the port side.
The attractive U-shaped galley has double sinks, microwave, four burner stove, upright refrigerator hidden behind a wood door, Teak and Holly floor, multiple storage cabinets and a slotted silverware drawer. Natural light is admitted into the galley through a large window in back of the stove.
The dinette is Crescent-shaped, with a large seating capacity. The table is very unusual and has the capability of being a full dining table – or it can be converted to two cocktail tables. The nice feature about this is that it can become an entertaining area, and a good place to hang out when underway. It is right behind the lower helm and you are able to talk to the driver when underway.
The entrance to the salon is through two large stainless steel sliding glass doors. To port is a large U-shaped leather seating group with a table. To starboard, is a leather sofa with TV and Bose home theater systems and satellite TV system. The floors are carpeted, there are two large windows on the port and starboard side and a clear view through the dinette area all the way to the lower helm windshield. Overhead and indirect lighting is also included in the salon, dinette and galley. The salon has a very open feeling to it with outstanding seating capability for entertaining.
Guest Stateroom
The Guest State room has two side-by-side berths. One has been temporarily converted with child restraints, for the owner's youngest child. The floor is carpeted, there is one porthole, a hanging locker and flat screen TV-Satellite receiver.
Guest Head
The guest head has an attractive dark blue countertop with a white sink, wood floor, overhead lighting, circular shower, storage cabinet and toilet.
VIP Stateroom
The VIP stateroom has an attached head, large island berth, two opening portholes, overhead opening hatch, phone, Sony AM/FM/CD player, carpeted floor, reading lights, overhead lighting, curtains, flat screen TV-Satellite receiver with DVD player and a large closet with well-organized shelving and hanging capabilities. Visually, this stateroom is very pretty and very well appointed - it rivals many Master staterooms on similar vessels.
VIP Head
The VIP head has a dark blue countertop with white sink, wood floor, port light with curtain, overhead lighting, round stall shower and Vacuflush toilet. The wood trim and dark countertop give this head a European flair that is very attractive.
Master Stateroom
The full-beam Master stateroom in this 62 is outstanding! It is very roomy and has a lot of natural light entering through six large oval-shaped portholes. To starboard is a large makeup area with drawer banks of different sizes, and a large hanging locker with organized shelves for storage. The Master Island bed headboard is beneath three of the oval portholes, giving it a beautiful look. Other features in the master include: carpeted floors, multiple lockers for storage, drawers, overhead lighting, reading lights, indirect lighting, tasteful woodwork, flat screen TV-Satellite receiver, Sony AM/FM/CD, and private entrance to head.
Master Head
The master head has a solid surface white countertop with white sink, wood floors, wood storage cabinet, large shower with teak wood floor grate, seat and shelves, Vacuflush head and overhead lighting with exhaust fan. This head is very well done and makes a statement that it is part of the master stateroom.
Engine Room
The engine room is well laid-out with air conditioner compressors, Sea Water Strainer, Double Racor filters for each engine, engine control boxes, twin MTU 2000 series engines (1500 Hours) with ZF 320 transmissions, Kohler Generator (2520 hours), side power thruster control box, lighting, engine room blowers and spare propellers.
Includes: Teak decking, teak cockpit table, built-in bench seating, storage lockers, stairs to flybridge, port and starboard snubbing winches, overhead lighting, swim platform, and port and starboard boarding gates.
The flybridge has many amenities: stairs from the lower cockpit, wet bar with a sink, grill, refrigerator, storage, large seating area with sun pad, center table with life jacket storage cabinet, upper helm, and radar arch with bimini top.
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.
«When things weren't working out with my previous Yacht Broker, a friend of mine suggested that I contact Yacht Access to sell my Sea Ray. I contacted Dan Paolillo at Yacht Access and there was absolutely no pressure. After our initial conversation Dan followed up with a list of comparable vessels recently sold and a list of similar vessels currently available with asking prices. After looking over the information we decided on an asking price and within 90 days Dan had my yacht under contract. Two weeks later it was sold. Since then we've kept in close touch and will hopefully be closing on my next vessel soon. After no success selling my 48' Sea Ray Sedan Bridge with my previous broker, calling Yacht Access was the best decision I ever made. I would encourage anyone looking to buy or sell to contact these professionals.»
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Chattel Mortgage
A transfer of some legal or equitable right in PERSONAL PROPERTY as security for the payment of money or performance of some other act. Chattel mortgages have generally been superseded by other types of SECURED TRANSACTIONS under the UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE (UCC), a body of law adopted by the states that governs commercial transactions.
The rights of the lender who gives a chattel mortgage are valid only against others who know or should know of the lender's security interest in the property. Since the borrower possesses the property, others cannot realize that a chattel mortgage exists without notice. Each state, therefore, has developed a system for recording instruments showing the existence of chattel mortgages for particular items of property; these records are usually located in the county clerk's office.
If a recording system is in existence a buyer is presumed to know about a mortgage. Once, therefore, the mortgage is properly recorded, the buyer obtains the debt in addition to the property.
Additional topics
Law Library - American Law and Legal InformationFree Legal Encyclopedia: Robert Lee Carter - Further Readings to Child Molestation


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In this era of endless austerity, would you sign a petition calling for the Prime Minister to create a special government job that is bound to be given to a multimillionaire currently sitting in the House of Lords? Nah, me neither. But you cannot fault Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho for not trying (it on).
A few weeks ago Lane-Fox appeared on the BBC and lectured several Dimblebys about the evils of nepotism that fester whenever a quasi-public body is run by people who look after their own… usually at the expense of talented ordinary people who lack connections and so never get a look-in or leg-up. I joke, of course. Nobody would be so rude at use the Richard Dimbleby Lecture to lecture Jonathan and David Dimbleby about the evidence that our society sometimes suffers from nepotism. At least, nobody who might get invited to speak would be that rude.
Instead, the chancer formally known as Martha Lane-Fox lectured an exclusive audience about how prejudice is preventing people like her from becoming really successful in the technology sector. Obviously, she did not mean people exactly like her. She is reputedly worth half a billion dollars, thanks to being extraordinarily successful at making a website and then selling it off. Cast your minds back to a time before dotcom silliness, when fools struggled to believe a human being might book a holiday on something called the internet. Then some chancers came along, like Lane-Fox, and said the fools were fools, and insisted they could make squillions by proving the internet is the future. And so they did, thanks to dotcom silliness, which was a massively idiotic stock market bubble that burst very soon after Lane-Fox pocketed her cash.
If I try to be a bit more specific, I must admit I do not know what Martha Lane-Fox actually did. But then, nobody seems to know. When people argue she is an internet guru, the argument is always summed up by the phrase: lastminute.com!!! The truth of this 14-character proposition is seemingly so obvious that nobody ever dares to enquire further. But we do know she had something to do with lastminute.com, and she got a lot of money as a result, and nobody can argue with that.
Of course, they could argue a bit. They could argue that exploiting the dotcom bubble earned her several thousand times more than a nurse makes in a year, and that there is something morally dubious about that. Or they could argue that she made a fortune from disrupting traditional travel agents, causing them to go out of business, and meaning lots of low-paid people lost their jobs. But nobody said that at the Dimbleby Lecture. When you get invited to the Dimbleby Lecture, you must be the right sort of greedy self-absorbed stinking rich business executive, and never the wrong sort. If you cannot tell the difference, just ask a Dimbleby to give an impartial opinion. After all, the BBC is always impartial about matters like that.
So, according to Lane-Fox, what kind of people need more chances to succeed at British techno-wizardry? People like Martha Lane-Fox, obviously. By which she means white people who were educated at private school and Oxbridge. I joke, again. I mean women. And some miscellaneous others. Lane-Fox was a lot more vague about the others, but she was very definite about the women. Of course, she knew she was on to a surefire winner with that theme. Half the population are women. Add two Dimblebys and the maths indicated she would have a strict majority backing her plans, so surely no Prime Minister could possibly refuse her demand to create… (drum roll)… DOT EVERYONE!!!
DOT EVERYONE!!! Yeah! That is what we need. DOT EVERYONE!!! The purpose of DOT EVERYONE is so obvious, you should be able to work it out from the name.
(Do not blame me for the capital letters. Despite all the netiquette guides, Lane-Fox insists on writing the name like that.)
And what would DOT EVERYONE do? Well, sadly there was nobody in the audience who can be relied upon to ask tough questions. In other words, Paxman was not there. The Dimblebys already knew what DOT EVERYONE would do, so had no need to ask.
Judging by her lecture, Lane-Fox would prefer not to explain what DOT EVERYONE would specifically do. But she did say it would do lots of good in a British-y internet-y opportunity kind of way. And who should be in charge of DOT EVERYONE? Well, Lane-Fox was not explicit about that either, but I think we all worked out who she had in mind.
What Lane-Fox did say is that DOT EVERYONE would be a great British invention in the mould of two other great British inventions: the NHS, and the BBC. That presumably makes Lane-Fox a cross between Aneurin Bevan and Lord Reith, though in a more webby, womanly kind of way.
Some of you may have noticed that neither the BBC nor the NHS is an invention, as such. At least, they are not much like the inventions which techy people come up with, and then patent. People patent inventions because the inventions are brilliant and lots of people will want to copy them in order to make lots of money. Britain gifted the idea of the NHS and the BBC to the whole world. Sadly, the rest of the world declined to copy them. That is because the NHS and BBC suffer a particularly British trait that plagues most of our best ideas: they cost an absolute fortune and make bugger all money. Would DOT EVERYONE cost a fortune and make bugger all money? Only Lane-Fox knows the answer to that, and she did not share it with us. But as I said, there was nobody in the audience who wanted to ask such an awkward question. So instead, they all nodded and agreed that the new Prime Minister should create DOT EVERYONE, even though none of them knew what it would do or how much it would cost. Hoorah!
Lane-Fox's success seemed assured. Within weeks, the new Prime Minister would hear a public outcry, as people rushed to the internet to demand DOT EVERYONE, a venture whose very name is demonstrably in the interest of everybody everywhere. How could Lane-Fox fail? She was backed by the massive propaganda machine that is the BBC, which pumped out the news that we cannot thrive without DOT EVERYONE. Then, Lane-Fox could also rely on her incomparable internet skills, harnessing millions of internet enthusiasts in a viral campaign of unprecedented proportions.
However, at time of writing, a month after Lane-Fox's lecture, her petition on Change.org has been signed by only 10,084 people. That is barely half the number who work for the BBC. Did the Dimblebys forget to send round the memo?
Who knew that a really vague plan to give a posh millionaire a fancy government job with no clear remit might fail to capture the hearts and minds of ordinary people? Who could have guessed that, in the midst of the tightest general election campaign ever, most people might have more important things to think about? And who would have said that if you want a snazzy internet logo, then you should avoid images that look like Pac-Man ate too many blueberries and started throwing them up?
Not Lane-Fox, obviously. This is why she would be the perfect leader for a visionary new public body like DOT EVERYONE. Only she has the single-minded blinkered outlook that would stop her being distracted by such inconvenient truths as the country does not have money to waste on a millionaire's pet project, and that nobody knows what the hell she is proposing.
The BBC was set up by great visionaries in the 1920s. The NHS was set up by great visionaries in the 1940s. Extrapolating from that, DOT EVERYONE would have been a great vision for the 1960s. But sadly, we are living in the 21st century, and in this age of hyper-connected super-knowledge broadband-highways, DOT EVERYONE sounds like a load of old cobblers.
Maybe some of the blame lies with Lane-Fox. How should I put this? Lane-Fox obviously has no fucking idea how to use a perfectly straightforward website. When she started the Change.org petition, she entered her location as London, California which is both wrong and a bad way to appeal for a job in Britain. She has since corrected that mistake, but she cannot undo the way she fucked up trying to post an update to the petition, not once, but three times in a row. (See here, here and here.) To the untrained eye, Lane-Fox seems as adept at using the web as an orangutan in boxing gloves.
Is 10,000 signatures a lot of people? Please, let us not be silly. Lane-Fox is desperately spinning that they 'smashed' the 10,000 barrier – even though it took a month to reach that number. But she had already given the game away when they passed the 5,000 mark within 36 hours of the petition's launch. Overflowing with optimism, Lane-Fox proclaimed:
We need 100x that number
Forgive my cynicism, but I think the number 'needed' to justify wasting the time of the Prime Minister is about to be sharply revised down. And I can always turn to an impartial body for guidance on what is, and what is not, a popular petition. Just a short while ago, the BBC mocked a petition to reinstate Jeremy Clarkson as a host of Top Gear. This is what some 'impartial' BBC journalist wrote about petitions:
An online petition in support of suspended Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson attracted more than 300,000 signatures as of Wednesday lunchtime – but how does that compare with other campaigns?
Some of the biggest petitions at the moment on Change.org are asking to:
- Pardon all men who, like Alan Turing, were convicted under UK anti-gay laws: nearly 600,000 signatures.
- Continue broadcasting BBC Three on conventional television: 275,000
- End UK VAT on sanitary products: about 200,000.
And what about some of the most popular petitions of all time on the site? More than 2.2m people signed a petition to prosecute George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Treyvon Martin, a black teenager shot by a neighbourhood watch volunteer in the US in 2012. And a #BringBackOurGirls petition – related to the disappearance and abduction of schoolgirls in northern Nigeria – attracted more than 1m supporters.
Many of these petitions have been live for some time, whereas the one backing Clarkson has seen tremendous growth in a short time. The story is in the news and numbers are climbing fast – adding tens of thousands just during the writing of this post. So there's no telling how much support the presenter might get online, but he has some way to go to becoming an all-time cause célèbre.
So there you have it, from the BBC. 10,000 signatures is fuck all. Clarkson could get 10,000 signatures in the time it takes a dogsbody BBC journalist to write about how few people have signed his petition. 10,000 signatures is clearly not enough to justify the establishment of a new publicly-funded body like the NHS or the BBC.
Of course, that particular BBC journalist might have regretted dismissing the trifling 300,000 signatures obtained by the Clarkson petition at that point in time. It took just a few more days for the Clarkson petition to breach the million mark. (I would have offered a link to a BBC article reporting that particular news… but I could not find one).
A million people could not persuade the BBC to renew the contract of a very successful TV presenter who is popular all around the world. So why the fuck should the Prime Minister give Martha Lane-Fox a job on the basis of a measly 10,000 signatures?
For anyone not good with numbers, here is a bar chart that shows Lane-Fox's petition to scale, alongside what the BBC considers to be genuinely popular petitions.
By now, some of you may have identified a brilliant way that Lane-Fox could achieve her goals, without wasting the time of the PM or demanding lots of taxpayer's money. She could reach into her own pocket and pay for DOT EVERYONE that way. But I think I discovered the reason why she is not planning to do that. It is because she already has a crappy charity that is supposed to do the same thing as DOT EVERYONE. (And yes, you are correct, the front page of that website is dominated by a big picture of Lane-Fox giving her lecture at the BBC.)
Why do I say this charity is crappy? Because the stated aim is:
to empower everyone in the UK to reach their digital potential.
And at the time of writing, the ranking of her charity on Alexa, an independent measure of the popularity of websites, is:
Global Rank: 1,637,294
Lane-Fox's charity website site has jumped up the rankings by over 600,000 places recently, presumably as a result of the extra traffic generated by the Dimbleby Lecture. But without all that extra publicity, Lane-Fox's charity website would have a global ranking below my own business website. Does that mean I am an internet guru? Or just that Lane-Fox and her backers are full of shit?
The truth about DOT EVERYONE is that a privileged person wants a privileged job where they get to pick and choose which other people will benefit from privilege. When I use the words 'pick and choose', I mean people like me will never be picked. People like you might be chosen… but only if you know Lane-Fox personally, or if you fit her arbitrary ideas about who is most deserving.
Working class, raised in a council house, not privately educated, not Oxbridge educated, the child of two immigrants… but I just need to look in the mirror to know I would never get any help from the Baroness. Whatever success I may have with my webby business affairs, we can be sure that Lane-Fox thinks I already had more advantages in life than she ever did. However, we are dissimilar in more ways than she can see. Whilst she demands a high-profile government job to boost her pension pot (and her fading public image), I would never expect payment just because I saw an opportunity to help others.
Sadly for Lane-Fox and the Dimblebys, their comically overhyped petition will get no more publicity, not even from the BBC. Their failure is evident, or it would be, if anybody was paying any attention to it. The British public do not need reminding about how some people become rich and successful. From their actions, Lane-Fox and the Dimblebys make it clear that success in Britain is too rarely determined by merit. It is not even connected to popularity. They succeed because of personal connections, and the doors that open as a result. DOT EVERYONE? They should have called it DOT ELITE.