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Highlights from Day 1 of USATT 2017
Representatives from across the wine industry met in New York City on May 16 for the second annual United States Trade Tasting Show
The second annual United States Trade Tasting (USATT) conference kicked off on May 16 with more than 2,000 attendees and 138 exhibitors from more than 20 countries. As Steven Raye, pointed out in the opening keynote, this year's event is designed to give emerging wine and spirits brands a smarter way to enter the U.S. market by connecting them with importers and distributors and sharing best practices from across the industry.
Brandy Rand, Vice President of IWSR (USA), led off the morning session with a review of some of the key trends in the marketplace today. Two of the hottest trends are "Premiumization" and "Category Blur" (the creation of new hybrid drinks as well as consumers who consume alcoholic beverages across categories). U.S. spirits are now an "affordable luxury" and IWSR is seeing tremendous growth in the premium and ultra-premium categories.
In order to stand out in the U.S. marketplace, Rand noted, some brands are adopting alternative packaging (such as wine in cans and boxes) and adopting marketing messaging that emphasizes their "artisanal" and "craft" origins. Among consumers, one new trend is a changing flavor profile that emphasizes "spicy/smoky/savory" rather than just "sweet," which had been the previous trend. There has also been what IWSR refers to as the "Hispanic phenomenon," which means greater popularity for categories like tequila, mezcal, and imported Mexican beers.
Some of these trends visitors were able to see directly on the USATT 2017 showroom floor, which opened at 11:00. For example, Vodquila is a new hybrid vodka and tequila drink created for tequila drinkers who want a smoother sipping experience. For many visitors, the highlight of the Grand Tasting in the first floor main hall was the ability to sample wines and spirits from all over the world, including products from up-and-coming wine regions like Lebanon, South Africa and China.
In the morning session, Chris Mehringer, President of Park Street, talked about the basics of building a long-term, sustainable business model for the U.S. market. As he pointed out, it's important to have a realistic plan and sufficient resources before meeting up with distributors. Any go-to-market strategy needs to be market-driven, coherent, balanced and flexible. As part of this strategy, brands need to keep in mind how they can differentiate themselves in the marketplace and how they can create economies of scale.
Josh Wand, Founder of BevForce, explained how importers and distributors can build a strong sales force for the U.S. market. As Wand explained, it's all about hiring the best team possible. Start off by hiring for passion and expertise and then establish challenging goals for this sales staff. He also outlined two of the keys to employee retention: offering fair market value compensation and building a healthy, positive sales culture. Attracting and retaining talent, he noted, is the key to the long-term success of your business.
In the afternoon session, Donna Hartman, attorney at OlenderFeldman LLP, covered the key points of wine distribution agreements, walking participants through the differences between drafting distribution agreements for franchise and non-franchise states. She also noted some of the important legal points to keep in mind as brands expand in the U.S. marketplace and build relationships with distributors.
Jonathan Newman, Chairman and CEO of Newman Wine, talked about the Top 10 ways for brands to get noticed and picked up by national chains and retailers. Getting positive press in the major industry publications still matters, as does holding regular tastings to build customer awareness. He also mentioned the important things that brands can do to make their products stand out on the shelves of retailers, such as creating the right types of labels and using the right kinds of point-of-sale (POS) materials that help retailers sell their wine.
Stephen Fahy, Sales Director and Senior Buyer at the Wine Library, talked about ways for wine and liquor stores to turn into "lean, mean selling machines." He boiled it down to a few key points. One important point is data, which he said now "drives the engine." You absolutely have to have the data to know who are your best customers, in terms of how often they buy, how much they buy, and how willing they are experiment with new categories. Another key is being bold and standing out — you need to be fearless about being passionate, enthusiastic and even flamboyant. You need to be an "activist" — if you stay quiet, you will be forgotten.
Finally, the day wrapped up with a Master Class on Chinese wines led by Chateau Rongzi. Participants were given a brief history of Chinese wines and an overview of how the wines are made at Chateau Rongzi before sampling a number of different wines — the first public tasting of these wines in the United States market.
Outside of the conference sessions, there was a palpable buzz on the floor throughout the day, and there's more planned for Day 2 of the event. Things kick off at 9:00 with a special Office Hours session moderated by Steven Raye, featuring a number of prominent importers and distributors.
There are also two afternoon Master Classes planned, featuring the wines of Tejo (Portugal) and Beaujolais (France). In addition, participants will hear from Thomas Barfoed, Managing Director of JF Hillebrand USA; Adam Lambert, Seller of Beer & Spirits; and Richard Halstead, COO of Wine Intelligence.
And, of course, the Grand Tasting hall will be open again on the first floor, giving everyone a chance to meet and mingle with importers and distributors as well as experiment with wines and spirits from across the world.
USA Trade Tasting 2018 Exhibitor Registrations Now Open.Become an Exhibitor Now.


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Students show drastic improvement at Challenge to Excellence Charter School in Parker.
Parker charter school makes the grade for Math and Reading. Another Parker school shows why Douglas County Colorado is serious about education. The charter school Challenge to Excellence located on Pine Drive off Jordan Road in Parker Colorado showed amazing improvement in reading and math. Receiving the "School of Distinction" certificate from the Colorado state board of education is no small achievement. Only nine schools in the state received this award. Challenge to Excellence Charter School showed dramatic improvement in CSAP (Colorado...Read the Rest

subset: commoncrawl


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NBC Universal has jumped into the marketing-frenzy of greenwashing surrounding Earth Day with a network-wide green week. Since Weather.com lives under the NBCU banner, they are too — sponsored by Hummer.
It's hard not to laugh at the Weather Channel's brash use of Hummer in its "Green is Universal" banner. Likewise, it's amusing Hummer, a company with absolutely no green-cred, is trying to get in on the phony-baloney eco-action. We're assuming after this week is over, NBC Universal will return to powering its transmitters and servers with baby seal squeezins and Hummer will go back to crushing small woodland critters. [Weather.com]


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Mailing Address:
PO Box 62102
Edmonton, Alberta
Contact Information:
t: 780 455-4278
f: 780 447-4034
email us
(approx): 53 lbs
Energy: Low
Children: Good with
(likely older) children who can understand her needs
Good with calm, well-balanced
Cats: Great
Me: Hello Everyone! My name is Connie
and I'm new to this whole domestic, enjoy life kind of idea, where
people actually love me, instead of shooing me away! I'm looking
for a retirement home that understand it's sometimes hard for me to
learn because I'm older (I'm 12!) but I really do try my best to
make you happy and with some patience and understanding, I just
know in my heart I could be the best companion you'll ever have. My
foster mom says that I communicate (a lot!) through whines and
whimpers and do well without using a crate, which is good because I
have arthritis. I take medicine to help me manage my pain and
discomfort, and even need a little supervision and guidance when
I'm in an active mood because I sometimes don't remember how old I
am and what my limitations are. I'm also very smart! One of my
favorite games is to play 'find the treats hidden in the house' and
love to follow up with rolling and digging in the snow. With a
little time and love, I just know I can learn the ropes and become
your best friend. I think I'm worthy of a new chance at life, do
you believe in me?
Notes: Connie
can be selective in which dogs she wants to be friends with. She
would likely do best in a home where she is the only dog but she is
currently being fostered with another dog. Connie is
currently being fostered with two cats and gets along well with
them. Connie is almost
completely deaf and cannot hear verbal cues so her foster home is
working on training her with light flashes from a flashlight to!
Connie is great with the foster home's resident cat and they
snuggle together for afternoon naps. Connie loves to go on walks
but her walks must be limited to 20 minutes max as she tires
easily. Connie is very loving and gentle. She enjoys her tummy rubs
and being with her "people". Connie does not use a crate as she has
shown no behaviors that might require to be crated. Connie acts a
lot younger than she really is, so supervision and management to
help her stay healthy and uninjured is a must.
Notes: This golden girl has captured the
hearts of everyone in hart. Her birthdate is predicted to be 2005,
and it is apparent that the years have been hard on her.
Connie came to hart as a transfer from a shelter after being an
unclaimed stray. Because of her severe osteoarthritis she was not a
good fit in kennel environment. X-rays confirmed that Connie has
advanced arthritis in both elbows and knees, both sides, front and
back. The silver lining here is that her hips and back are in good
shape. In addition to her arthritis, Connie has age-related fatty
deposits on her abdomen, tartar build up on her teeth and her upper
left canine is a grey-ish color (likely the root is dead). Connie's
vet has been working diligently to find the right balance of
medicine and activity to ease her discomfort. What is working best
for Connie right now to ease her joint pain is cartrophen,
prednisone, gabapentin, aventi, talwin and glucosamine paired with
short walks. During Connie's time with hart she also started to
experience a rise in her liver enzymes. The reason for this is not
known, but her vet team is also working to keep this in check.
Connie loves to go for short walks and adores being outside. Connie
is up to date with DACPP, Bordatella, Rabies and is microchipped.
Connie will not be spayed as surgery is considered too risky for
her. At this point, Connie is considered medically cleared and her
adoptive family will need to realize that she will never 'recover',
instead it will be a continuous, ongoing balance of medication and
activity to maintain her comfort and quality of life.
Mailing Address:
PO Box 62102
Edmonton, Alberta
Contact Information:
t: 780 455-4278
f: 780 447-4034
email us


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"The Only Numbers Your Need..."
Mobile Phone Sex Number 2
2 Girl Phone Sex - 09085 380 150
Now onto the charges. This can get a little more complicated. There are standard rates for calling our Mobile phone sex number from a landline but when it comes to the mobile network charges, they can vary. What we suggest is that you check out the terms and conditions and the costs of calling 0908 and 0909 numbers from your network operator website. Alternatively, you can make the call from a landline and save yourself a little more (or just spend some more time on the call!!!).
09085 380 140


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Help activists, scholars and policy makers learn about our work. Tell the TNI story. Help make our social media shine.
We are seeking a dedicated intern for two or three days a week for a minimum of three months. We are looking for an intern who is interested in working in the field of digital communications and has a political and activist spirit.
Our great friend and colleague Thura Myint Lwin passed away on Sunday 10 February. Thura was the co-author of TNI's recent Drug Policy Briefing 'Methamphetamine use in Myanmar, Thailand and Southern China: assessing practices, reducing harms'. Although he was not able to participate in the report launch, he saw the final copy and was proud of it. We dedicate this report to him.
Over the past decade, methamphetamine use has grown more popular in Myanmar, Thailand and Southern China. Based on in-depth interviews conducted with individuals who use methamphetamine, this briefing sheds light on the importance of promoting an environment that reinforces, rather than undermines, the ability of people who use methamphetamine to regulate their drug use, preserve their health and adopt safer practices.
Los movimientos sociales necesitan lidiar no solo con la construcción partidos políticos exitosos y alcanzar el poder, sino también con el uso de ese poder de manera estratégica para implementar los cambios necesarios. ¿Cual es el rol de los funcionarios gubernamentales en este proceso, y cómo se enfrentan al desafío de mantenerse fieles a su ideología política al mismo tiempo que aseguran el funcionamiento de una burocracia justa y profesional?
This essay connects cocaine, the financial system and global economies through the experience of the war on drugs and peace process in Colombia.
The dark side of capitalism is that disruption, change and scarcity all provide avenues of profit for those willing to speculate on its consequences.
How beneficial is the new policy of encouraging investment in Myanmar's Mon state?
တ႐ုတ္-ျမန္မာ စီးပြားေရးစႀကၤန္ (China Myanmar Economic Corridor, CMEC) တည္ေဆာက္ေရး နားလည္မႈ စာခၽြန္လႊာကို ၂၀၁၈၊ စက္တင္ဘာလမွာ ျမန္မာအစိုးရႏွင့္ တ႐ုတ္အစိုးရတို႔ လက္မွတ္ေရးထိုးခဲ့သည္။ CMEC သည္ တ႐ုတ္အင္ပါယာႏွင့္ အေနာက္တိုင္း ေစ်းကြက္မ်ားကို တခ်ိန္က ခ်ိတ္ဆက္ ေပးခဲ ့သည့္ ေရွးေဟာင္းပိုးလမ္း မႀကီးကိုႏွစ္ဆယ့္တစ္ရာစုအသြင္ ျပန္လည္ ပုံေဖာ္မည့္ တ႐ုတ္ပိုးလမ္းမသစ္ စီမံကိန္း (Belt and Road Initiative, BRI) ၏ အစိတ္အပိုင္းတစ္ခု ျဖစ္သည္။
ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေရး၊ ဒီမိုကေရစီႏွင့္ ဖြံ႔ၿဖိဳးတိုးတက္ေရးအတြက္ မရွိမျဖစ္လိုအပ္သည့္ ေျမယာဆိုင္ရာ ရပိုင္ခြင့္ လူ႔အခြင့္အေရး
What are the implications of the rise of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) for agrarian and environmental transformations, worldwide and in the BRICS countries in particular? This is the main issue with which the BRICS Initiative for Critical Agrarian Studies (BICAS) has been concerned since 2013, when it was launched in Beijing by a collective of largely BRICS-based research institutions1.
The international bank transfer system, SWIFT, is a form of contemporary digital colonialism and surveillance capitalism as it is run by US firms and provides data to US government agencies. Drives by governments and philanthropists to increase use of digital money will only strengthen it further.
Rome's municipality has accumulated enormous debt, creating an emergency used to close any sort of public space, both physical and discussion. The narrative regarding the debt has been used to attack what we call the city of solidarity – groups, associations, and occupied places that are working to build community as opposed to accumulating profit.
Join the movement to end corporate privilege, sign the petition!
Despite causing the worst financial crisis in decades, the financial sector emerged even stronger. TNI's eighth flagship State of Power report examines through essays and infographics the varied dimensions and dynamics of financial power, and how popular movements might regain control over money and finance.
Giant corporations have taken control of our food. In the last two years, these companies have begun the process of merging and re-arranging themselves into just four colossal corporations. The larger these companies grow, the less we can control them. And the less control we have, the harder it is for us to build the kind of food system that more and more of us want: one that recognizes the value of people, respects the planet, and provides decent, dignified work. How did this happen, and what can we do about it?
You can download the comic book here.
See the reference list here.
ေရႊ႕ေျပာင္းေတာင္ယာစိုက္ပ်ိဳးေရးသည္ စိုက္ကြက္တစ္ခုကို ေနာက္တစ္ႀကိမ္ျပန္လည္မစိုက္ပ်ိဳးမီ သစ္ေတာ သစ္ပင္မ်ား ျပန္လည္ေပါက္ေရာက္ရွင္သန္ႏိုင္မည့္ ကာလအပိုင္းအျခားတစ္ခုအထိ အနားေပးသည့္စနစ္မ်ိဳးျဖင့္ ရာသီအလိုက္သီးႏွံမ်ားကို ေရာေႏွာစိုက္ပ်ိဳးသည့္ သီးႏွံ-သစ္ေတာေရာေႏွာစိုက္ပ်ိဳးမႈ ပံုစံတစ္မ်ိဳးျဖစ္သည္။
Fundraiser for the Transnational Institute.
For around 13 years, on the Dutch Trade and Investment Board (a body that is not familiar to most of the Dutch public) top civil servants and company lobbyists have been discussing how the government can support the country's international trade. Minutes reveal how lobbyists and ministers collaborated in reforming fiscal and development policies in favour of private interests. It's an example of the power of 'quiet politics' of company lobbyists in the Netherlands, calling into question the country's image as an exemplar of liberal, consensual corporatism.
Now that Bolsonaro has been sworn into office, we would like to invite you to join our discussion on what this means for social movements in Latin America and beyond. How does Brazil's turn to the far right effect the rest of the world? What does it mean for people fighting for social justice, and what kind of solidarity is needed?


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Vacation Rentals on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro
Go ahead and PAMPER yourself while visiting Rio de Janeiro in our DIRECT OCEANFRONT apartment right on Avenida Atlantica in Copacabana.
3150 Ave. Atlantica Entrance
This exquisite condo is located in Edificio Praia "Beach Building", a classic Avenida Atlantica art deco building with an elegant façade and a beautiful entry garden & lobby. Edificio Praia has been home to a former governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro as well as several French Consuls to the city.
Elegant Dining Room
The apartment has been featured in a number of architectural magazines over the years and in 2006 has been completely renovated with central air-conditioning in the bedroom wing, as well as all the modern appurtenances of luxury accommodations. The building staff is extremely professional and friendly and, of course, there is a 24 hour doorman in the lobby.
Living Room
The floor plan consists of approximately 2000 square feet of exquisitely decorated living areas, including approximately 80 linear feet of direct ocean front views from the living room, dining room, and two of the three bedrooms. The apartment has a foyer, a formal living room, a formal dining room, a sitting room, three bedrooms plus maid's quarters, 2 full bathrooms plus maid's bathroom, and 2 separate service entrances in addition to the main entrance. The flooring is mostly rose onyx and Brazilian mahogany. Much of the furnishings are crafted of solid Brazilian imbuia wood. All beds have quality pillow top mattresses and comfortable pillows. The two main bathrooms feature bidets and recently remodeled showers with constant flow gas hot water heater. There are custom-made draperies and newly installed custom lighting systems throughout. The kitchen is fully equipped, including new stainless steel appliances, dishware & everything you need to prepare a meal, or have a private chef prepare one for you. This is a condo where you can entertain in style.
View from Bedroom
Additional amenities include free-of-charge washer & dryer, free high speed internet access via WIFI router, and digital television service including CNN International, BBC World and several movie channels, in English.
Ipanema Sunset
Edificio Praia is located close to Posto 5, directly on Avenida Atlantica between Rua Xavaier da Silveira and Rua Bolivar. This is the most desirable part of Copacabana just a short walk from Ipanema, Arpoador and the best dining and nightlife in Rio. Every weekend an "art walk" of various vendors sets up on the median in front of our building and offers a wonderful selection of art from canvass to sculpture.
Current weather
Rio De Janeiro
- Broken clouds
- Temperature: 75.2 °F
- Wind: Northeast, 13 km/h
- Pressure: 1005 hPa
- Rel. Humidity: 74 %
- Visibility: 10 km
Sun, 10/01/2017 - 09:30


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Birmingham manager Chris Hughton feels he has landed a promotion specialist after snapping up Steven Caldwell on a free from Wigan.
The 30-year-old Scottish defender, who has previously helped both Sunderland and Burnley reach the top flight, has signed a two-year contract at St Andrew's.
"Ultimately it will be about what Steven can show on the football pitch," Hughton told City's official website.
"He's an experienced player who has been involved in two teams which have gained promotion from this division. He's a leader type who will be a big influence for those around him, both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
"Everybody I've spoken to about him has spoken very highly of him both as a player and about his character.
"In what will be a challenging season, he is a welcome addition and the right type of player for us."
Copyright (c) PA Sport 2009, All Rights Reserved.


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This is the card we recently made at my first class for this year. I love this little set "Love Defined". It has so many possibilities. I also love the lattice embossing folder which I used for the background along with the Top Note Die. You can also see I used the Pinking Hearts punch along the bottom of the card to add a little bit of fancy. All these items are in our new Summer Mini catalogue which runs through to the end of March.
Happy Stamping


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LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Adele won two Ivor Novello awards for songwriting on Thursday, adding to a lengthening list of musical accolades, but she lost out in the best album and song categories.
The 24-year-old chart queen picked up two coveted Ivor Novello prizes for the most performed song of 2011 ("Rolling in the Deep") and songwriter of the year.
She was also nominated for best song musically and lyrically (Rolling in the Deep) but was beaten by Ed Sheeran's "The A Team", and in the album category Adele's record-breaking "21" was shortlisted but lost out to PJ Harvey's "Let England Shake".
In a year dominated by female artists, it was little surprise to see rising U.S. star Lana Del Rey win the best contemporary song award for "Video Games", co-written by Briton Justin Parker.
The best television soundtrack was Martin Phipps' composition for "The Shadow Line", and Alex Heffes won the best film score with "The First Grader".
Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet fame picked up a prize for outstanding song collection, Siouxsie Sioux won the Ivor "inspiration" award and Dire Straits frontman and songwriter Mark Knopfler received a lifetime achievement honor.
Former boy band Take That won a prize for their outstanding contribution to British music.
Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato


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If you missed out on all or just part of the Apple news this week and really don't have the time to watch the full length Apple 2011 keynote, good news. You can now watch a condensed video that lasts just 120 seconds. That's just two minutes of your time to catch up on all the news.
If you watch this two minute video and decide to take the time to watch the full version you can find all the details on how to do that here. Of course, once you have watched any of these videos, you will still have many questions about iOS 5 and we have all the details you will need right here!


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President Barack Obama's State of the Union address focused on the wrong issues, House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday.
In the Tuesday night speech, Obama laid out his policy agenda for the year. This included calling for authorization of force against the Islamic State group, bolstering cybersecurity standards, highlighting "middle-class economics" initiatives and closing tax loopholes.
Read More'Loud and clear': GOP responds to State of the Union
Boehner took issue with Obama's economic proposals.
"These just aren't the wrong policies, they're the wrong priorities," Boehner said, adding "the veto threats and Fantasyland proposals from the White House will not distract the people's house from the people's priorities."
Read More State of the Union: 'Shadow of crisis has passed'
There has been some discussion among pundits following the State of the Union that Obama could find common ground with Congress on corporate tax reform, but Boehner was less optimistic.
"We'd love to do tax reforms, but you heard the president last night call for raising taxes again," the Ohio Republican said. "Now if he wants to raise taxes, that's going to make it very difficult for us to come to some agreement on how we're going to reform our broken tax code."
Earlier Wednesday, Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on radical Islam and Iran. This comes only a few hours after Obama threatened to veto any legislation that would mention new sanctions on Iran.
Boehner tweet.
Boehner said he did not consult with the White House on whether to invite Netanyahu, who has differences with Obama.
Read MoreWatch Obama's 'mic drop' moment during the SOTU
"I don't believe I am poking anyone in the eye," he said. "There is a serious threat that exists in the world, and the president last night kind of papered over it."
Boehner said he anticipates hearings on Iran sanctions legislation, but the timing is not yet determined.


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For those who missed out, the following picture of the race against the backdrop of Berkeley Homes' Woodberry Park development (which we're proud to be working on!) should give you a good idea of its scale.
We're happy to have had so much fun while contributing to a fantastic cause, and would definitely recommend supporting the work that the Berkeley Foundation do in our local community in any way you can - whether financially, or through volunteering.
Very much looking forward to next year!
|Picture courtesy of Richard Beltrán (@RichardBeltran7)
We're supporting this year's Berkeley Foundation dragon boat race on Thursday, 11th June at the West Reservoir Centre in Hackney.
The Berkeley Foundation's first charity dragon boat race was held in in 2012, and each year since the event has attracted upwards of 400 racers, a large crowd and a huge number of donations - totalling £47,000 last year alone. 10 of the David Phillips team will be manning one boat in this year's event, with others taking part in celebrations, cheering on all of the racers on the water over the course of the day from the banks.
The day-long event is designed to raise money to help young people, their families and their communities in and around London, and normally includes not only the much anticipated race, but performances, an auction, and last year a Chinese lion dancing show and a barbecue as well!
The primary focus of the Berkeley Foundation and the event is to help those in need to find housing, jobs and support to give them a greater quality of life; a noble cause that we're excited to support as we work together to give back to our community.
Today, dragon boat racing is the fastest growing water sport in England, a surprising jump for an activity with origins in Chinese traditions almost 20 centuries old. While dragon boats have been raced since at around 500BCE, in England the races resemble more traditional western boat racing with teams consisting of either 10 or 18 rowers, a helm and a drummer.
You can expect to see up to 32 different crews involved in this year's race, each eager to beat the competition and complete the 200m race in the fastest time. Last year's event was brilliant fun and raised a huge amount of money for a great cause, and we're expecting to see a lot of support on the banks of the reservoir this Thursday - and for those less interested in the racing, you're sure to find something to enjoy with a magician, a live band and a barbecue for all to enjoy!
This year's goal is to raise £45,000 for charity, and if the trend from past races continues we can expect to see this beaten in no time. For more information and to find out more about the work performed by the Berkeley Foundation, visit their website.


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To uncage the nation from the usual celebrations, Singapore's Unofficial Official favourite local beer will present a fresh take on how National Day is celebrated, by throwing its own epic National Day party, replete with surprising and remarkably unusual party elements. Truly a party for the people, it puts the power in the hands of the people by getting Singaporeans to vote for what they want to see at their party – the wackier the better. Party elements include aerial drones, chilli crab fountains, trishaw massage chairs and more!
|Voting chilli crab fountain!
The power is now in your hands and you may cast your vote through your social media platforms by putting an 'X' against your favourite party highlight and posting an image of your ballot with the following hashtags – #TigerBeerMediasChoice and #UnofficialOfficial. Voting begins on 22nd June and closes on 19th July. You can vote online at tigerbeer.com.sg or at mobile polling stations at Knightsbridge on 4th July or One Raffles Place on 9th July if you are above the age of 18. Tickets to the party cannot be purchased and only those involved in the voting process may stand a chance to win tickets.
To round off the celebrations, Tiger Beer's iconic blue and silver packaging will also receive a patriotic SG50 makeover, with the release of limited-edition red and white livery on all its cans, pints and bottles.


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WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — The government reportedly knew that millions of Americans would lose their employee health insurance due to Obamacare.
CBS News reports that the federal government originally estimated that millions of workers would be dropped from their health plans that employers provide because the policies did not meet the minimum standards of the Affordable Care Act.
An increasing number of small businesses are now beginning to feel the pinch are starting to cancel insurance coverage for their employees.
Increased rates and ongoing technical difficulties have also played a part in the decision by multiple business owners to discontinue offering insurance for those who work at their companies, CBS News is reporting.
One such business owner, Betsy Atkinson of Virginia Beach, said that it was a perfect storm of present plans being canceled under the terms of Obamacare and an inability to afford the plans that pass muster under the ACA.
"They're going to have to go find their own insurance. I'm sorry," she told CBS News.
The HealthCare.gov website will still be a work in progress beyond the end of the month, Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said recently, appearing to soften a promise that the site will be working by then for the vast majority of users.
"The 30th of November is not a magic go, no go date. It is a work of constant improvement. We have some very specific things we know we need to complete by the 30th and that punch list is getting knocked out every week," Sebelius told The Associated Press.
Federal health officials also revealed that just 26,794 people enrolled for health insurance through the federal website during the first, flawed month of operations, and a total of 106,000 nationwide — a small fraction of what they had projected.
Days later, the House voted to weaken a core component of "Obamacare" and permit the sale of individual health coverage that falls short of requirements in the law. More than three dozen Democrats broke ranks and supported the legislation, a total that underscored the growing importance of the issue in the weeks since millions of cancellation notices went out to consumers covered by plans deemed inadequate under government rules.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)


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"Let's have a merry journey, and shout about how light is good and dark is not. What we should do is not future ourselves so much. We should now ourselves. "NOW thyself" is more important than "Know thyself." Reason is what tells us to ignore the present and live in the future. So all we do is make plans. We think that somewhere there are going to be green pastures. It's crazy. Heaven is nothing but a grand, monumental instance of future. Listen, now is good. Now is wonderful." ~ Mel Brooks
Monday, January 16, 2012
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Fleetwood boss Uwe Rosler praised his opposite number Tony Mowbray for steadying the ship at Blackburn Rovers
Rovers are one of the favourites to clinch an automatic return to the Championship this season.
After a slow start Mowbray has now steered Blackburn up to third and they head to Highbury just two points behind second-placed Shrewsbury Town.
Rosler's men are 11th in the League One table and he says he is looking forward to the game and pitting his wits against the former West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough and Celtic boss.
He said: "I really look forward to the game because those are the sort of games you like to measure yourself against.
"Tony Mowbray is a very good and experienced manager.
"You could see they had a slow start but with his experience and his knowledge the ship is now sailing nicely in a direction that they want to be.
"To measure us against his team is a great challenge and I really look forward to it."
Town drew 2-2 at Ewood Park in the reverse fixture back in October.
And Rosler is expecting a slightly different challenge to be posed by Rovers this time around with Mowbray possibly set to hand new Huddersfield loan star, midfielder Jack Payne, a debut.
Rosler said: "Both clubs are where, before the season started, they were more or less expected to be.
"One is in mid-table fighting for each point and to come through different challenges.
"The other club are at the top of the league fighting for direct promotion, with the biggest budget.
"It is exactly where everyone predicted the two clubs to be.
"Obviously over Christmas Blackburn have been in good form, they have changed their style a little bit.
"They are signing Jack Payne and others and you know where they will go.
"I think Wigan and Blackburn are the strongest candidates for direct promotion."
Mowbray said in his pre-match press conference that Rovers would need to acclimatise to the conditions for the short trip to Highbury.
Rosler said: "I think if he means the wind he has a valid point because at our place it is very windy!
"That is not always in our favour, especially when you be a home team and you have more of a duty to have the initiative.
"I think it is a valid point if he speaks about the wind - if he speaks about the temperatures then I don't think there is a massive difference!"


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Former Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to be in Beverly Hills on Monday for a $15,000-per-couple luncheon fundraiser for Mitt Romney.
The invite does not disclose the location of the event. Romney himself will not be there, but he was in Beverly Hills on Sept. 22 for an event at the Beverly Hilton that drew $6 million and some 1,500 donors, including such entertainment figures as Jerry Bruckheimer, Gary Sinise and Terry Semel.


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Wrist wounds are extremely regular as we utilize our hands constantly, yet some of them may be an indication of another more serious issue. Wrist wounds can happen subsequently of irritation, a broken bone, contaminations, strange developments and sores and tumors. Not each harm is that genuine, but rather you have to figure out how to focus on the signs and know when to visit a specialist.
A swollen wrist might be created by joint inflammation, bursitis, tendinitis and additionally sprains, strains and bone breaks. The reason can likewise be a benevolent or threatening development, which is the reason we suggest going to a specialist if the damage doesn't mend. Here are the fundamental driver of wrist wounds:
Tenosynovitis is the aggravation of the liquid filled sheath (synovium) that encompasses a ligament. The aggravation is typically brought on by a microtrauma or push, and generally influences individuals with physical employments. The abductor muscle and the short extensor in the thumb are generally influenced by the irritation which can thicken the tendon and harm the sheath (synovium).
2.De Quervain disorder
This strange infection causes soreness and swelling in the wrist other than additionally bringing on growths and knobs. The influenced part of the wrist is the extensor tendon of the thumb which is in charge of moving the thumbs up and outwards. The disorder will thicken your tendon up to twice its size and make any wrist development to a great degree agonizing.
3.Nodular tenosynovitis
This issue is brought on by tumors in the hand. They typically happen in the thumb, file and medium finger, yet can likewise be found in the wrist, hip, lower legs, knees, spine and shoulders. These tumors are ordinarily easy, as just 21% of the patients have detailed agony.
Extended ganglions in the wrists are knots identified with degeneration of a synovial pimple or some other connective tissue or stringy structure beside the joint, for the most part a tendon or ligament. This might be associated with a past injury, with 50-70% of the irregularities on the wrists being gangliomas. They ordinarily grow up to 2.5 cm. in size.
Lipomas are kind tumors in the wrist that may likewise show up on the palm. They can be exceptionally crippling and may render you not able to expand your fingers. Lipomas are constantly joined by torment and an expanded affectability. The treatment for wrist wounds relies on upon the seriousness and the reason for the issue. In the event that the damage is irritating and agonizing, it can be treated with painkillers. Be that as it may, on the off chance that it causes more concerning issues, it might require a surgery. This is the reason it's imperative to perceive the issue on time and counsel with a specialist for the proper treatment.


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Each year, pediatricians who work with Reach Out and Read of Greater New York, help prepare more than a quarter of a million children in New York's neediest communities for school by prescribing free books and helping parents and caretakers make reading a part of their family's daily routine.
Learn More >
Reading is #1 on the American Academy of Pediatrics list of activities that promote school readiness.
Parents, find resources, support and advice on reading to your kids. LEARN MORE>
Studies show that families respond to their pediatricians:
Children exposed to Reach Out and Read at checkups are read to more often by their families, have stronger language skills, and start school better prepared to learn.
Your support is a vital part of the Reach Out and Read program.
Read to children, donate books or become a member of our board. Explore opportunities to get involved, or find a Program Site in your area.
Stay connected. Sign up for our list and get regular updates on the work we are doing in your community. LEARN MORE>
Learn how to help support our mission to bring reading and support to parents and children. LEARN MORE>
- ~ Michelle Morgan, Senior Health Educator/Reach Out and Read Program Coordinator, The Floating Hospital
"I see the lives of our young people change through reading."
- ~
Our impact: over 250,00 children served annually
- ~ Dr. Sandra Braganza, Pediatrician at Montefiore Medical Group Comprehensive Health Care Center
"Giving books to my patients is one of the most satisfying parts of my job."
- ~
Our impact: 390,000 books distributed to kids in need in the past year
- ~ Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times
"It's a simple intervention but has far-reaching effects."
- ~
Our impact: 198 program locations, and counting
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The world of streaming music is exploding. Since the early days (well if you consider 2001 early) of Rhapsody and Pandora, which are still major players, the types and choices of streaming music services have expanded into a mind boggling array. I've already reviewed Pandora, MOG, and Spotify in earlier blogs, so I thought it would be fun to dive in again and look at some of the new choices. This blog covers RDIO, which hands down wins the award for "coolest, slickest, happiest feeling user interface"! In some upcoming blogs I'll cover Tunein Radio, Rhapsody, iHeart Radio, last.fm, Aupeo, Stitcher, and Slacker. There are a few others out there, but they are not supported by our favorite way to play back streaming music, the incredible Sonos system, so we'll just hold on them. In a couple of months, I'll give you a comparison chart to help you out in making a decision in which one or ones to go with.
For those of you who are new to streaming music, it is the best way on the planet to discover new music from your favorite artists, and find new ones. It requires a device to get the music into your audio system. Sonos is by far and away our current favorite choice for this. The great news is, you can get started for as little as $349! You just sign up with one of these services, control it with your computer or smart phone or iPad, and within minutes you will have millions of songs at your fingertips.
Most streaming services have moved to a monthly no contract fee system. Most also now offer the ability to put some of their music on to your mobile device so you can listen when you do not have a connection to the internet, which is just great for travel.
So, let's move on to RDIO. Last night I got an email from a friend of mine asking if I had heard the new Dr. John album. I thought, hmm, I have a couple of his albums, and I am in the middle of playing around with RDIO, so I'll go check it out. Lo and behold, I found Dr. John has 65 albums, three of which have come out in 2012 already! I had every single album right in front of me with full cover art and album info with just one click.
RDIO s user interface is their big advantage. They have a Pandora like feature of playing artist radio, or if the artist has lots of content, you can just shuffle all of their songs. With RDIO there are a ton of songs to choose from, currently at 15 million and counting!
The RDIO service is paid and has three levels; $5/month for streaming to your computer; $10/month if you want to use it with your Sonos and one mobile device; or they have two family plans that give you 2 or 3 multiple streams and 2 or 3 mobile devices for $18 and $23 per month.
Like many of the new streaming services, there is a Facebook connection so you can let your friends know what you are listening to or see their favorite music.
I am just having a ton of fun playing around with RDIO. They have four pretty neat ways to find new music called, Heavy Rotation, Recent Activity, Top Charts, and New Releases. The Heavy Rotation is really slick as it will get better the more you use RDIO. This looks at what you have listened to and who you follow on the social side of RDIO and makes album suggestions based on this! How slick is that! Recent activity shows what your friends are doing, while Top Charts and New Releases are pretty self-explanatory.
As with most services, you find music and bring it over into your collection, but it's got another great feature called history. This pulls up everything recent you have explored so you can go back and find that great song you may have forgotten to drag over.
Finally, just like iTunes, you can create your own playlists. iTunes could actually take a que or two from RDIO on the user interface side. It is subtle, but I've not seen anything as fun to use as RDIO.
When it comes to exploring and reading, RDIO has copied the features of Spotify and taken it up a notch. This is probably the easiest (and most fun) way to find music. Every artist has an overview which is very well written. From there you can see all of their albums or songs AND you can sort them by most popular, name, or release date. You can read a more in-depth biography or go to my favorite, related artists. This is where they have outdone everyone. Like Spotify you can click to go directly to related artists, but there is a whole separate page where you see all of the related artists categorized by similar, inspired by, or inspired. There is a brief overview here of number of albums and songs, and with one click you are on that artist's page.
I've just had a blast playing around with RDIO. So, how does it sound? RDIO, from everything I can read has a variable bit rate, which reaches as high as 328kbs, but can go as low as 128kbs. I did a couple of comparisons to Spotify and felt like RDIO was slightly compressing the audio to make the relative volume levels more equal, although this was pretty subtle. There does appear to be some variability in songs on each service. On some, the difference was almost undetectable, however on others, it was pretty easy to hear and Spotify was the winner. A comparison to songs I have ripped from the actual CD's shows they both pale in comparison as you would expect.
In summary, RDIO has the best interface I have seen for exploring and finding new music. If you are a purist, like me, it's a fun way to find CD's you want to buy. If you want something to provide background music, it sounds perfectly fine for this, and has tons of music to choose from. Is it perfect? Well if it offered uncompressed music (which no one does yet) yes it would be. Also for some listeners, the way Pandora is set up may still be better. In a future blog, I'll cover what I feel are the pros and cons of each.


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Dear Supporter,
Courts across the country have ruled voter suppression laws – from imposing voter ID restrictions to slashing early voting hours – are discriminatory and illegal. But the fight isn't over: Politicians are challenging these rulings and doubling down on every tactic they can think of to block voters from the ballot box.
With a history-making election fast approaching, it's more important than ever that we make sure voters can freely and easily cast their ballots. As a resident of a Southern state, I can tell you how important it is to fight back against these policies at both the Federal and state level; these policies to spread throughout the country and it's time to take a stand and work to overturn these bad policies and laws and replace them with fair ones.
Stand with the countless Americans who oppose discriminatory voting restrictions: Add your name to call on politicians to stop voter suppression!
In solidarity,
Andrea Miller
Executive Director
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This past week, there was another in a continuing series of articles by a major publication that selectively uses certain facts (such as our 2014 pension plan return), ignores other facts (such as our asset allocation disclosures in our 10k) and adds speculation to the mix to find a negative interpretation for its conclusion. In this case, the article takes the fact that the SHC pension plan returned 1.5% in 2014 and speculates that it must be because of some sort of misplaced bet, such as exposure to oil or other commodity prices. This is false.
In fact, a review of our pension allocation over the past several years makes it clear that the primary source of our performance is that we have taken a much more conservative approach than many other pension plans. Two-thirds of our pension plan is invested in fixed income securities, with an average life of less than five years. We have chosen this allocation because we believe that our primary responsibility is to meet the plan's obligations and not to gamble with our pensioners' money.
Certainly, given the performance of equities over the past several years, any portfolio with a disproportionate exposure to equities or to longer term bonds, including many pension plans, would have had higher returns than our plan. That's ok with us. Because we have been making such significant contributions to our plan annually, we want to minimize the risk of having to do it again, should equity markets falter or long term interest rates rise.
As we continue to contribute to our plan, bringing it to being fully funded over time, expect us to continue with this conservative posture. We will leave the comparative performance game to others.
Robert Schriesheim is EVP, Chief Financial Officer for Sears Holdings.


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Still, G.M. appears to have enough money in the pension fund to pay its more than 400,000 retirees their benefits for many years — even with the markets swooning around it. That is largely because of the conservative way G.M. has managed the fund recently, and it explains why G.M. has not joined the long list of companies pressing Congress for pension relief.
Karas said that that the injunction was justified. "Because Mr. Papermaster has been inculcated with some of IBM's most sensitive and closely guarded technical and strategic secrets, it is no great leap for the Court to find that Plaintiff has met its burden of showing a likelihood of irreparable harm," Karas wrote.
There's no dispute that Papermaster signed a noncompete agreement in 2006 that would forbid him from working at any company deemed a competitor of IBM's for a year following his departure from Big Blue. Papermaster's lawyers are attempting to argue that since the only overlapping product between Apple and IBM--servers--is one that wouldn't be part of his official duties at Apple, and since he won't be running Apple's P.A. Semi chip design team, the noncompete shouldn't apply.
This first one shows him in action on a motion to instruct to the PPA, particularly good: Go to http://georgemiller.house.gov/georgefloorspeeches.html and click on #13-dated 05/03/2006.
The next one is a special floor speech he gave against IBM and the inequities of the Cash Balance Pension Plan, just for us: Go to http://georgemiller.house.gov/georgefloorspeeches.html and click on #14-dated 04/06/2006.
Others are #3, #19, #34 and #40. He knows what is happening with our retirement nest eggs. He is in our corner. YOU watch the videos. YOU judge.
Medicare currently pays the private plans — now called the Medicare Advantage program — 13 percent more on average than the same services would cost in the traditional fee-for-service program. Some of the added payments are used to provide extra benefits for enrollees, like reduced cost-sharing or reduced premiums for such extra benefits as vision and dental care. ...
As these plans have proliferated, Medicare's costs to cover the subsidies have risen — with the taxpayers and the beneficiaries in traditional Medicare picking up the tab. The many competing plans have also increased Medicare's bureaucratic burden and costs. And there is no sign that these plans provide better quality of care. Congress started this year to reduce the unjustified subsidies. But a lot more needs to be done. President-elect Barack Obama called during the campaign for eliminating the excessive subsidies and paying private plans only what it would cost to treat the same patients under traditional Medicare.
"But dependency on government has never been bad for the rich. The pretense of the laissez-faire people is that only the poor are dependent on government, while the rich take care of themselves. This argument manages to ignore all of modern history, which shows a consistent record of laissez-faire for the poor, but enormous government intervention for the rich." From Economic Justice: The American Class System, from the book Declarations of Independence by Howard Zinn.
One answer to these questions is that nobody likes a party pooper. While the housing bubble was still inflating, lenders were making lots of money issuing mortgages to anyone who walked in the door; investment banks were making even more money repackaging those mortgages into shiny new securities; and money managers who booked big paper profits by buying those securities with borrowed funds looked like geniuses, and were paid accordingly. Who wanted to hear from dismal economists warning that the whole thing was, in effect, a giant Ponzi scheme? ...
In fact, both the crisis of 1997-98 and the bursting of the dot-com bubble probably had the perverse effect of making both investors and public officials more, not less, complacent. Because neither crisis quite lived up to our worst fears, because neither brought about another Great Depression, investors came to believe that Mr. Greenspan had the magical power to solve all problems — and so, one suspects, did Mr. Greenspan himself, who opposed all proposals for prudential regulation of the financial system.
I have been a band 8 for about 12 years now. I get consistent PBC "2+" appraisals. I feel I have great and wide technical skills in I/T (I'm probably lacking in the butt kissing, brown-nosing, office politics, and "play the game" skills though! LOL) but I never can get close to my band midpoint in pay or even a chance at a promotion even though IBM says that "skills pay".
I'm not falling for the IBM method of "pimping" their employees. If my manager and IBM still does not know the skills I possess they never will! I will only fill out a skills profile or send a resume to a prospective employer: all on my own without IBM taking any credit for it. I know what they do with these skills profiles and resumes: when IBM is trying to woo and sign a deal with a prospective customer they show them all the high prized skills like I have to the prospective customer to "sell them" on IBM services.
But you know what? If the customer falls for this and signs they don't necessarily get folks with the skills advertised to them. For instance, they might show my skills and resume and then give the new customer a band 6 with less skills. That way the IBM Project exec or DPE can maximize their bonus by deploying cheaper resource rates hoping the work gets done instead of a band 8 like myself that would more than get the job done. IBM might even bill the customer for a band 8 while using a band 6 resource. Improper selling of resources IBM! In this scenario IBM is the pimp or john and I ain't no piece of meat to be owned and sold by IBM! -not_an_IBM_prostitute-
Vault's IBM Business Consulting Services message board is a popular hangout for IBM BCS employees, including many employees acquired from PwC. Some sample posts follow:
I've been trying to understand why I'm feeling this way. Maybe it's leaving a big company with its security (such as it is) for a small company? Maybe it's been that I've been weekdays away from home for this project since July. Or maybe it's the feeling that I'm running away from IBM and this transition project and not sticking it out like my colleagues in the project. Well, it's really all of the above and it's really giving me a hard time thinking about it. I wonder if there's anyone else out there who's been in my position and has come through all right after leaving IBM.
You haven't failed or abandoned your buddies: you've made a life-enhancing decision in your own best interests. I found solace in Is 55:12 every time I felt as you've described above in your note. "You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace..." Nothing better than that in this life. as we say in Texas, "Buena suerta."
I came to IBM from a smaller company that got bought out by IBM a few years ago. Despite some bright spots, I have to say that I've had a sense of malaise and depression here. I can tell from talking to the employees in their 40s and 50s who talk about the good old days of IBM that something's amiss in today's IBM, or at least IBM and I aren't suited for each other.
I've always admired the insight that you, civilliberty, ABC, and Dose of Reality (and unnamed others) bring to this message board. Thanks a lot guys for your advice and humor.
Through all the troubles I've experienced this year, I have finally found something that allows me to be able to deal with it (after I have experienced NUMEROUS serious health problems all year that have threatened my life). I have been reading the book "The Purpose Driven Life." This has greatly helped me to re-confirm what life should be about, what it is about, and who it is about. TRUST me when I say this really helps put things into perspective, even things beyond IBM (believe it there are things beyond IBM), and has lessened my stress and anxiety. I can now trust that what should be will be, and that I can be happy outside of my current job.
Hopefully this helps, I think we all need help from this crumbling leadership. IBM definitely is not like it was in the good old days! Great luck to you, and everyone else!!!
You have forded the river of opportunity and the reached new shores of equality, freedom of though and freedom of being valued like a human being, not a disposable tool. You have triumphed where many are too scared or too beaten down psychologically, paralyzed to take that one chance to succeed. You are now among an elite. The survivors of one of the most organizationally psychotic companies in the world.
One word of warning, however. You have now probably arrived into an organizationally optimistic organization. Like battered male or female spouses who have left their diseased relationships and suddenly freed slaves, you need to stop and take stock of your new freedom and positive mental environment. Many ex-IBMers fail to change because they can't re-learn the new, more positive and individually rewarding situation that most in the world work in. Like Pavlovian dogs, they can't take the pain, insults and punishment out of their minds.
Take time to decompress and heal mentally. Don't leap at the first opportunity. Don't act like a political mad dog like you were bred to be in IBM, and don't bite the gentle hands that feed you.
You are out of the new 21st century forced slave labor nightmare called IBM. Don't take that nightmare as a chip on your shoulder for the rest of your working life. Take the time to heal yourself and move forward.
Leaving IBM is like withdrawal from a nasty addictive drug that saps your individuality. Move forward slowly and you'll find your past nightmares to be a most invaluable lesson of how things should never be from a corporate, ethical and moral perspective.
The brass ring is now in your hand. It's now your turn to offer it to help other colleagues out of the corporate nightmare called IBM and to move ahead to achieve whatever you define is success! ///
I take it that you are fairly young and early in your career. That you feel as you describe is actually to your credit. You appear to have a loyalty to your transition group that speaks volumes about your work ethic and your work attitudes. IBM may be a huge company but a lot of your job satisfaction comes from your own work group -- which will be whatever size is needed regardless of the size of the larger organization.
But this loyalty and positive association cannot and should not translate into loyalty to the larger IBM, UNLESS that loyalty is deserved. IBM does not deserve this consideration from you -- certainly they don't extend it to you. Until IBM figures out a way to relate to employees better -- and I mean this in for its worldwide work force -- working for IBM is no better and no worse than what your particular work situation is now. (This is also true currently for most other employers, large and small.) Since things do change, that's not really much to count on, so godspeed you on your way.
I tried to separate out the project from the larger IBM, compare and contrast the pros and cons of each, and tried to arrive at a rational decision as to whether to resign or to stay on. I really did try to adapt to the larger IBM organization's work style, but with the siloed structure and what seemed to me a lack of interesting global projects, I felt I was in a straightjacket being in my particular competency. I'm not that young (between 30-40), but this was really my first experience working in a global outsourcing company like IBM and I really missed the esprit de corps and international feel of the smaller company that I worked in before joining IBM.
I'd say my decision was because of the above, plus being away from home often, plus the separation package, plus the opportunities at the new employer. I thought and thought in order to satisfy myself that my decision wasn't a frivolous one based on emotion.
I take your point that my predicament is a common one and something I'll likely see at other employers. Maybe I could have tried harder at IBM, or talk to more people to try and improve my situation. I'm not sure what more I could have done. Even now, I am second-guessing my decision and feeling a knot in my stomach.
By the way, could you tell me what you meant when you wrote "Since things do change,that's not really much to count on"?
My larger point was as that you shouldn't think about this too much and get yourself upset ... some of the answers you got were a bit too emotional and rather too literate (especially the ABC quote ... even though he is a phenomenal writer) ... just move forward and head back to where I suspect you will be "happier."
This site is designed to allow IBM Employees to communicate and share methods of protecting their rights through the establishment of an IBM Employees Labor Union. Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act states it is a violation for Employers to spy on union gatherings, or pretend to spy. For the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act, notice is given that this site and all of its content, messages, communications, or other content is considered to be a union gathering.


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Autumn Afternoon by taraanderson featuring a zipper bag
The one thing I think I look the most forward to this month, is getting to pull out all of my big cozy sweaters, unwrapping my wool coat collection and sorting through my ever growing stash of knitted scarves! I love cold mornings and chilly evenings just because it gives me a chance to put on my fuzzy boots and a big over sized sweater. Yes, Fall is in the air! You can check out Jessica's perfect Fall her afternoon ensemble here!
I have plans to spend the remainder of the day finishing an Autumn themed mini - I'll be posting those photos tomorrow and preparing a little giveaway to wrap up our Sweet November week. I'm thinking Saturday would be a lovely day for a giveaway!


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Welcome to the second of two podcastical experiences we have birthed through our mouth wombs this week! We had a crossover with Two-Headed Nerd this week to discuss X-Men: First Class ...which was a rambunctious display of verbal tomfoolery in which everyone got really animated and loud. It's kind of like hanging out with the four of us at any given time. What you see below this text is our official seventh episode of Movieha, in which we talk a lot about Matt Damon and nuclear war. Those things may or may not be related, you'll have to listen. Oh, and I may suggest that Michael Bay is a proponent of blackface. Needless to say, this is perhaps our finest hour. Listen up and then let's reunite on the other side.
First up, BOX OFFICE HAIKUS!
Box Office Haikus
Here are last week's results along with my patented formula that reveals my predictive accuracy:
Box Office June 3-5
1.) X-Men: First Class - $55 million (Accuracy of prediction - 86.5%)
2.) The Hangover Part II - $31 million (Accuracy of prediction - 77.5%)
3.) Kung Fu Panda - $21 million (Accuracy of prediction - 93%)
4.) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $18 million (Accuracy of prediction - 100%)
5.) Bridesmaids - $12 million (Accuracy of prediction - 92%)
Overall accuracy of prediction - 90%
I squeaked out an A
like I clenched before a fart.
Still smells great to me.
Now, on to this week's predictions!
Box Office Predictions for June 10-12
1.) Super 8 - $35 million
If you hate this film
I feel quite sorry for you.
You are dead inside.
2.) X-Men: First Class - $25 million
This deserves better
We can't let the best X-film
make the least money.
3.) The Hangover Part 2 - $15 million
Looks like this hit big
but people aren't coming back.
We'll still get one more...
4.) Kung Fu Panda 2 - $15 million
It's hanging in there.
Where are the other kid movies?
Panda's all alone...
5.) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $9 million
I won't miss this one...
Get out of my top 5...NOW!
And don't you come back.
On Your Radar: Ninja Kids Trailer
We have two versions of this Takashi Miike insanity: subtitled and non-subtitled. Either way, you'll get a sense of the madness that, for once, doesn't feature Miike doing unspeakable things on screen. At least I hope not...those kids seem sweet.
I may prefer the odd subtitles here: "He fell down." That's good writing...
Netflix Roulette: 11 Minutes Ago
I won't lie to you, while I'm interested in the concept (which sounds like a high-concept, big-budget Katherine Heigl movie), it looks...um...well...the production value is...um...well, let's just say that the trailer even brags that it was all shot in one day. I don't know if that's bragging or if that's an explanation for how it sounds and looks...we may be in trouble in this week's game of Netflix Roulette.
That's it for this week. Thanks again for all your support! Please sign up for our RSS feed HERE, download our podcasts and rave about us in the comments section of iTunes HERE, follow us on Twitter HERE, and become a fan of us on Facebook HERE! And as always, email any comments and concerns to {encode="firstname.lastname@example.com" title="firstname.lastname@example.com"}. And remember, if you don't voice a vote for Insta-sequel, Matt wins. And that's just not fair.


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Please login in order to report media.
Cos there's more to life than fashion (sometimes) and we're all about bigging up amazing talent, ASOS has created ASOS Supports Talent and teamed up with eight amazing, ambitious creatives to help turn their dreams into IRL projects.
Photographer, director and one third of electro-pop group Camp Claude, Diane Sagnier (http://asos.do/3X1SF3) is looking to realise her lifelong dream of directing the music video of her band's upcoming EP, looking back to the American roots that feed her artistic imagination.
Taking a road-trip across some of America's most iconic landscapes and finally heading to Roswell for a pop-culture-soaked tribute to the mid-century UFO conspiracy theories, Sagnier's work will represent the achievement of her childhood fascinations and professional goals.
Check out all eight of the creatives in the ASOS Supports Talent initiative right here...http://asos.do/kbjZ3W
Directed by Leonn Ward
Produced by Samona Olanipeku


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Which text editor do you use? Once in a while this question pops up on the R-help mailing list. Up until recently I used the KDE text editor Kate under Linux. Recently, I came across a new text editor for R, RStudio. Although the term text editor does not do it justice, it is more of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
RStudio is an open-source R IDE which started at the beginning of this year (2011). It divides the available area up into several panels, see also the screenshot above. One panel for source code (supporting tabs), one for the R console, one for the currently active objects/history, and finally one panel for a file browser/plot window/package install window/R help window (tabbed). The source editor supports text highlighting and allows the user to select R code and run it with a keyboard shortcut.
I really like RStudio for the integration it offers. You get one coherent view of your code, result in the R console and any plots your working on. Furthermore, it is a Java program (no worries, it works very fast ) and runs on all of the major operating systems. This makes it a very good install for Windows and Linux users who are stuck without a decent out-of-the-box environment for R. Finally, the developers are really active and open to suggestions. It is very impressive to me that they already have such an impressive product although it has been released only at the beginning of this year.
There are also points that I think can be improved. Sometimes I want to interrupt long running commands, this sometimes causes RStudio to crash. Furthermore, I would like the ability to have more than one source file in view. RStudio has support for tabs in the source editor, but splitting the screen in the style of Kate would be awesome.
In my opinion, RStudio is one of the best solutions out there to work with R. Definitely better than for example Tinn-R or Notepad++ on Windows. Give RStudio a look and I think you'll like it. RStudio is available on:
R-bloggers.com offers daily e-mail updates about R news and tutorials on topics such as: Data science, Big Data, R jobs, visualization (ggplot2, Boxplots, maps, animation), programming (RStudio, Sweave, LaTeX, SQL, Eclipse, git, hadoop, Web Scraping) statistics (regression, PCA, time series, trading) and more...


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Every purchase supports National Museums Liverpool
This necklace has a round pendant of real Forget Me Not flowers encased in resin and surrounded in sterling silver. The necklace comes complete with a sterling silver chain.
Dimensions: Chain 40cm, Pendant W1.5 x D0.5cm
Fabric: Sterling Silver
Brand: Shrieking Violet
Handcrafted in the UK
+ Add to Basket
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National Museums Liverpool
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A secret shipwreck found off Italy's southern coast has set alarm bells ringing.
Far from containing hidden treasure, the cargo on board the vessel is thought to consist of toxic, possibly nuclear material. And the suspicion is that it may have been sunk by the local Mafia, paid by authorities to take waste off their hands.
A former mobster indicated where the wreck would be found off Cetraro, on the Calabrian coast.
Regional environmental official Silvio Greco said the aim now is to establish what is inside the ship and whether it is toxic. He evoked the possible existence of other vessels, as indicated by ex Mafia members.
Questions are being asked about whether local deaths over recent years could be linked to the potentially dangerous load left underwater.
While investigators still have much work to do before the nuclear and Mafia claims can be confirmed, the fact the wreck was never declared has only strengthened suspicions.


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An Emmy Award winning creative director has put out a new video in which he is calling on people to vote Barack Obama out of office this year. The title of the video is "Get Out" and it has a catchy sing along tune that everyone will get stuck in their heads as they go about singing, "BHO's gotta go don't you know!"
Ryan's website, SoOutLoud.com is providing bumper stickers and t-shirts expressing his dissatisfaction with Barack Obama. He also provide other articles on the site as well.
Ryan is also boldly anti-abortion and is known as such by not only his bold anti-abortion billboard and web campaigns, but also the incredible story of his amazing story of adoption. Ryan is a heavily sought after national public speaker and also a popular blogger for LifeNews.com.
As for SoOutLoud.com, well the website claims:
SoOutloud.com emerged from his desire to just say it! Too often, the ever oxymoronic state of political correctness, prevents people from saying what they're thinking–even when they have the truth to back it all up. As someone who is as black as Obama, he (unlike the President) values racial reconciliation and harmony, very limited government, free speech, free markets, and human rights for the most defenseless among us (the unborn). Ryan doesn't rely upon political solutions for most social ailments; that gives too much credit and power to politicians. People need to be engaged on all levels…in their families, their communities, their churches and civic organizations, their schools, and their government.
Enjoy the new video and share it with your friends.Facebook, Google Plus, & Twitter. You can also get Freedom Outpost delivered to your Amazon Kindle device here.


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Beautiful maxi skirt in our signature wanderlust hand screen print and the cutest little ruffles. This skirt teams perfectly with your wanderlust halter for a fun match-y set, or with a camisole or tee for a more classic look. It has hand crochet lace edging and is a flattering, fun and versatile piece.
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We offer an alteration service if you require, please click here for details


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Jennie E. Burke
May 2, 1852
May 20, 1935
She was the daughter of Sanford Goodwin and Penelope Small, and married to Moses Burke.
Contributed on 11/26/07 by h431
Email This Contributor
Record #: 1059
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Arkansas, we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 11/26/07 • Approved: 11/26/07 • Last Updated: 10/7/14 • R1059-G1058-S3


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The ClubLink App is a powerful communication tool. The Native Platform allows for
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Unit 1, Clearway Court, 139-141 Croydon Rd, Caterham, Surrey CR3 6PF - t: +44 (0)1883 344244 - f: +44 (0)1883 341777 - e: email@example.com


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Fortune Oil Customer Care Number, Avsar Vanaspati Phone No. | Adani Wilmar Complaints, Email id, Helpline | Adani Wilmar Ltd Dealers Head Office Contact Address
Adani Wilmar Limited is a joint company established by Adani Group and Wilmar International Limited, Singapore. Adani Wilmar have refininary to Extract oil from seed crushing.
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Written by
May 25, 2004 // 6:10 p.m.
Tags: #blackmesa #half #half-life #hl2 #life
Companies: #mod
Want to comment? Log in.
We're at it again - October is rolling to a close, and so it's time for us to take another trip through the forums and pick out this month's Mod of the Month contestants. The winner this month will walk away with a PC Power and Cooling 750W PSU.
Valve has revealed that The Orange Box will contain not just three games , but also a secret track by Johnathon Coulton.
Team Fortress 2, the sequel to the best team multiplayer game ever, has been massively restyled and redone by Valve and will be packaged in with the rest of The Orange Box. But will it be worthy of one third of our attention? We find out by going hands on with the beta!
The wait is now reduced to just a few weeks and the Orange Box is now, officially, changed to a more gold-like colour. How will you be buying your version?
In a bold move, Gabe Newell says it may be up to gamers whether Half-Life continues in the episodic mould or returns to a normal release format after the current trilogy finishes.
Is your PC too noisy? Tried everything from low noise fans to silent PSUs and quiet hard drives and it's still not good enough? How about a foam kit to cover the inside of your case as well!
The Sennheiser forums giveaway has drawn to a close and we've selected two of the best posts from the forums to win a pair of swanky Sennheiser headphones.
The Spotswood Drum case mod finally goes on sale, boasting better cooling, elimination of hot-spots and a custom finished wooden exterior.
The Zalman GT1000 may look gorgeous, feel gorgeous and have more doors than that hallway of infinite doors in The Matrix (you know the one), but how will it fare in our rigorous testing? Find out within.
A brand new PSP mod hits eBay, boasting a gorgeous exterior and a stunning carry case. Even better, a portion of the profits go to charity, so get bidding!
The man who gave us Cold Fusion is back again with another awesome mod. This one is inspired by sci-fi, and it's a mash-up of aluminium and acylic, with some funky design features throw in. Enjoy!
This is the Official Half-Life 2 demo PC, as commissioned by Valve Software to sit in their demo room at HQ in Seattle
PilouX, a respected forum member, takes you on a journey through the creation of his DarkCrystal project.
© Copyright bit-tech


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Two kayakers managed to escape unscathed after a great white shark took a bite out of one of their boats Wednesday evening off the coast of Plymouth, officials said.
The incident was reported to the Plymouth harbormaster at about 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to Assistant Harbor Master Stefan Gustafson. Harbormaster officials responded to Manomet Point, about 100 yards off the coast, he said.
"The shark had bit through one of their kayaks," Gustafson said. "Both kayakers were knocked into the water, and one of the kayaks was sinking."
Harbormaster officials rescued the two female kayakers, who were in their mid-20s — one from Plymouth and the other from Barnstable, Gustafson said.
Earlier Wednesday, officials had received a call about a reported shark sighting in the area.
"We got a report earlier in the day that a woman saw a shark eat a seal," he said.
After the sighting was reported, authorities searched for the shark and were unable to find it, Gustafson said. Following the attack, harbormasters deployed a boat to search for the shark, and State Police sent a helicopter to assist.
"First thing in the morning, we'll be having a boat in the area, searching for any sightings," Gustafson said. "We advise that people stay out of the water on Plymouth beaches such as Whitehorse Beach and Plymouth Beach."
He said the shark was between 12- and 14-feet long, according to officials from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
Kristi Selmi, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the sighting was confirmed based on tooth fragments and bite radius on the kayak.
"Shark sightings have become a more common occurrence during the summer months due to an increasing population of grey seals in the area," Selmi said.
Below are images of the kayakers and the bite mark on one of their boats:
This is Kristin...minutes before the great white #shark attacked, taking a bite out of her kayak. #wcvb @ 11. pic.twitter.com/dfqH0IpK9D— Julie Loncich (@JulieLoncichTV) September 4, 2014
Will the 2 women attacked by a great white off #plymouth tonight ever go kayaking again? They answer on #wcvb at 11 pic.twitter.com/wNIAYYpvBB— Chris Roach (@ChrisARoach) September 4, 2014
Look at the radius of the bite in the kayak. THAT and a fragment of the shark's tooth confirmed it was a Great White. pic.twitter.com/oX4nq1wkiC— David Wade (@davidwade) September 4, 2014
Best friends Ida & Kristin were attacked by a great white #shark...& lived to tell about it. What a story. #wcvb @ 11 pic.twitter.com/n9H0FBrCPd— Julie Loncich (@JulieLoncichTV) September 4, 2014
Talk about lucky! 2 women survive a great white #shark attack...& are gracious enough to tell #wcvb their story. @ 11 pic.twitter.com/9H1eDA0108— Julie Loncich (@JulieLoncichTV) September 4, 2014
Correction: An earlier version of this story cited the wrong date for the incident. It happened Wednesday.


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Looks like the steady stream of legal news that we saw yesterday is continuing on into Saturday. According to a report out from Florian Mueller of FOSS Patents, Apple has filed for a preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus in a U.S. court, alleging that the Android 4.0-powered handset infringes on four patents. Three of the four patents were recently granted to Apple while the fourth is the same patent that the Cupertino firm used in the ITC's decision against HTC back in December. Mueller says that the three new patents relate to unified search and the method of using Siri to search the web, the slide-to-unlock feature, and an autocomplete feature that brings speed improvements while using a touchscreen to input text. The first and third patents on that list are the same ones included in the case between Apple and Samsung that we covered yesterday, so it seems that this attempt at getting an injunction against the Galaxy Nexus is related to that suit.
Mueller believes that Apple has targeted several Samsung-made devices in its latest case but that the Galaxy Nexus is mentioned specifically in this preliminary injunction filing because it's so new. It'll be interesting to see how the court decides to rule on Apple's request as it's going after a device that's running a stock version of Android, while previously we've seen manufacturer-customized versions of Google's OS in the iDevice company's crosshairs. As for when we can expect to hear more on the matter, Mueller expects that the court will issue a decision in the coming months. We'll keep an eye out for more information and pass along anything we find. Stay tuned.
Via MobileBurn, FOSS Patents


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Water temp – 82
Recommended suit – 3mm
Weather – Easterly wind 10/15 knots of wind
Visibility – 80/90ft
Captain Joji
Chief Engineer – Vince
Dive Master – Richie
Chef – Eddie
Steward – Mojee
Deck hand – Charlie
Cruise Director – Rhys
Guest - David, Alex, Keith, Dayne, Jim, Mike, Will, Ori, Elisa, Mauro,
Sunday – Namara bay, Dravuni east, Dravuni wall, Alacraty, N/D @ Alacraty
Monday - Papageno wreck, M & M, M & M, Day dreamers I, Day dreamers II, ND
Tuesday – Fantastic, Sarafui, Human nature, Village visit
Wednesday – Mandy, Stopover, Liberyth, Bombshell, Bombshell,
Thursday – Dravuni passage, 7 sisters, MJ, Denali wall, Denali reef
Friday – Rainbow reef, Murray's reef
Saturday – Suva port
Saturday – 3rd September 2016
On behalf of the Fiji aggressor crew, we welcome our entire guest with a big BULA vinaka to David, Alex, Keith, Dayne, Jim, Mike, Will, Ori, Elisa, Mauro,
They all arrived little after 1100 in the afternoon at the same time the crew assisted each guest to their designated cabin, while they settle with their cabin our chef Eddie prepared a lunch to our new family for the week, while we started our official crew introduction and safety briefing. At 1430hrs we departed jetty for Namara Island where we commence our check out dive
Sunday – 4th September 2016 – Day 1
Check out dive at Namara Island we ring the bell at 0700am for dive briefing and its time to check the dive equipment and buoyancy to make sure that everyone is properly weighted. What a great way to start the day in a nice calm waters and somehow the breakfast tasted even better. 2nd dive at Dravuni east passage lots of small swim thru that surrounded by a colorful soft coral and sea fan as we continued to swim along the wall grey reef, oceanic silver tip, bumphead wress, leopard shark and other reef fish were a permanent resident of this passage. 3rd dive at Dravuni wall from here we could see grey reef sharks, tunas, moray eels, jacks, sea turtle and all the tropical fish. Next on the agenda for our 4th dive is Alacrity. The surrounding reef delighted us with a friendly turtle incredible visibility and a slight current that seems to bring out large schools of fish at the split, and even on a scorpion fish resting on a nearby rock. We cruised during dinner over to Kavala bay for the night for sheltered.
Monday – 5th September 2016 – Day 2
The condition are just right for the wreck dive and our entire guest were all gear up and ready jump in. Weather is great was, we saw oriental and diagonal sweetlips, the soft coral, black coral growth here is going to be one o the main attraction here in 2 years time with and lots of critters. After this dive we headed to M&M we did two dives at this site got to see little of everything black coral, soft coral, sea fans and many nudibranch also they saw grey reef sharks, white tip sharks, barracudas, unicorn, green eyed trigger fish. 4th dive at Day dreamers lots of black coral and yellow soft coral at 40feet above our guest spend most of their time there with all the beautiful colors and reef fish and most of our diver really like this dive site.
Tuesday 6th - September 2016 – Day 3
Another great day of diving today 10/15knots of easterly wind we did 3 dives today The first two dives at Fantastic I/II before we shoot across to Sarafui reef for our third dive. Lots of fish life massive green moray eel, giant anemone, sea fans, plenty of amazing opportunities. After this dive we started the main engine and headed to Drue village for a village visit which our guest so exited about it while they at the village the village people showed them the traditional ways of drinking kava and later entertained our guest with a Fijian dancing (meke) and meal tonight Fijian food cooked in the underneath oven…delicious. Roast pork, roast chicken, Palusami with coconut cream milk, marinated fish…yummy..
Wednesday 7th – September 2016 – Day 4
We move down to Mandy pinnacle for our first dive, one great thing about this site it's a resident for lion fish, spotted drums, plenty of snappers and the reef is extremely healthy at 15feet there were red anemone everywhere.
2nd dive at stopover reef our divers saw banner fish, barracudas, jacks and of cause grey reef sharks were also amongst the beauty of this site. After this dive we heaved anchor and headed to Bombshell for our 3rd/4th dive, what a spectacular dive at bombshell it was an amazing site especially when we have a bunch of happy divers this trip. Mushroom is always the best choice for afternoon dive when all the big fish usually moved close to the reef to feed
Grey reef shark, white tip, anemone, anthias and lots of damselfish down on the bottom they saw lots of garden eels, decorator dart fish and juvenile sweetlips
Thursday – 8th September 2016 – Day 5
Dravuni passage, 7 sisters, MJ, Denali wall, Denali reef
Dravuni east passage is our top choice this morning and we briefed our guest about this wall but the shallow part of the reef which sandy bottom that mix with rubble which most likely to be the favorite resting place for leopard and guitar shark. Our guest saw grey reef, white tip and guitar sharks and abundant of fish life. After this dive we headed to 7 sisters, a group of seven pinnacles, school of parrotfish, angelfish, bicolor parrot fish, porcupine fish, grey reef shark, red spotted groupers and much more. MJ reef and Denali wall were exactly same reef structure with tremendous of fish life rock mover wrasse, lyretail hogfish, redfin hogfish, longnose hawkfish, roundhead, bowers, and steephead parrot fish were all over the place
Friday – 9th September – 2016 – Day 6
Another great day at Rainbow reef 5/10knots of wind with sunshine and flat sea's very relaxing dive, our guest were greeted by oceanic silver tip and grey reef shark another great thing about this dive there were lots of fish live and very healthy coral our divers saw white tip, grey reef and hammer head shark and of cause the eagle ray, parrot fish, unicorn fish, fusilier fish were in numbers
2nd dives at Murray reef, one of our top bet skiff drop and drift towards the big boat start the dive on the wall and end the dive on a reef call coral haven…we saw basslets, flatworms, nudibranchs, regal angel fish, spotted porcupine – fish, longnose file fish and of cause the long fin banner fish, unicorn fish, grey reef, white tip, leather back turtle, box fish and lots of parrot fish. As we headed back to Suva the crew started rinses all their dive gears and dried them before we arrives port
1530– the FIJI AGGRESSOR arrived in port
1830 – Cocktail onboard
Saturday 10th September 2016 – Lami jetty
0630hrs – continental breakfast were prepared for our guest prior to disembarking the vessel
The watermen of the Fiji Aggressor bids farewell to the guest and hope that they have a safe journey back home to their loved ones and hoped we would meet again someday.


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Response Time
The Response Time indicates the TIME between the moment a CUSTOMER makes an ORDER and the moment when that order is actually acknowledged as a WORK ITEM that will be handled by the service organization or team.
It is usually measured in Hours with the letters "RT".
It can be also called "REACTION TIME".


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Tutorial: How to colour correct your photographs
Do you like our tutorials and reviews? Here is what you can do to support us: Check out the websites of our sponsors, place your next orders at Wayland Games by clicking here or on the banner on the right. Thank you very much, we appreciate any help to keep us going.


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Traditionally, the name Guerlinade has become well known as the house accord or "red thread" that ties many Guerlain creations together - a series of notes (vanilla, jasmine, iris and rose) that are used in numerous Guerlain perfumes that serve as the house's own uniquely recognisable fingerprint. Jean Paul's interpretation however, does not follow the same olfactory trajectory. Rather, it is a celebration of flowers that uses a handful of the original components, as well as an abundance of others.
First of all, Guerlinade has a striking opening of bergamot (reportedly Calabrian) over rich florals. The florals are rather dense, and thus the bergamot is lost a little - really only furnishing the perfume with a crispness upon its initial application. Next, one of the featuring notes - and indeed one introduced for the first time by Jean Paul - is lilac. Bushels and bushels of the stuff! Anyone who has ever lifted the tiny star-shaped florets to their nose will instantly appreciate their use here... their perfume is assertive and almost spicy. There is also a feeling of 'rubberiness' that I glean from flowers such as lilac and hyacinth, and that aspect is also at hand in Guerlinade. Here, the lilacs are endearing and sympathetic, suggesting a slightly damp, sun-speckled morning in the springtime.
Perhaps following the traditional Guerlinade formula more closely, I detect an ample use of jasmine and rose, though the latter is possibly used less liberally than one might expect. (The rose facet is blended well, but used more as a supportive strut to underpin the more spirituous florals). There is a dry iris accord that works well, running parallel to a creamy tonka / vanilla base. The vanilla (supposedly sourced from the East-African island of Mayotte), lingers on the skin, carrying the delicious lilac through well into the drydown.
The beautiful Baccarat flacon created by Robert Granai for this 1998 edition was based on the design of a bronze Nepalese vase used in wedding ceremonies. Granai recognised the draped glass contours as being exquisitely feminine.
Guerlinade is an attractive floral oriental that is both sensual and captivating. Whilst it is not the exact same perfume as has been traditionally used to distinguish a Guerlain creation from that of another house, it is very Guerlain in its approach and appeal; an often-overlooked gem. Guerlinade has since been re-released in 2002 for a short time, and again in the Les Parisiennes lineup in 2005 (also now discontinued).
Get it while you can.