text:
Lowell, Conine part of Marlins' home opener
MIAMI -- The thrill of Opening Day is only matched by the excitement centered around a home opener.
Since the Marlins opened on the road on April 1 at Washington, Monday marked the start of their home schedule.
MIAMI -- The thrill of Opening Day is only matched by the excitement centered around a home opener.
Since the Marlins opened on the road on April 1 at Washington, Monday marked the start of their home schedule.
For a young team like the Marlins, who had nine players experience Opening Day for the first time, it once again was an honor to take part in pregame festivities.
"Having our fans out there is obviously a huge deal for our guys," rookie manager Mike Redmond said. "They're excited to go out there and get their names announced. Even though we've played a couple of games, your home opener is special.
"That's big for them to get their names announced and walk out on that line. It's big for them."
Coming home was a welcome relief for the youthful club, which took its lumps during a 1-5 road trip.
Marlins Park is entering its second season, and the stately retractable-roof building was dressed for the occasion. An Opening Night logo was behind home plate.
The Marlins are celebrating their 20th anniversary, and 10th since winning the 2003 World Series.
Before the first pitch against the Braves, there was a video tribute to the past. Highlighted in the clip were no-hitters by Al Leiter, Kevin Brown and A.J. Burnett, along with Livan Hernandez striking out 15 in the 1997 National League Championship Series, Edgar Renteria's walk-off World Series single in '97 and Josh Beckett closing out the Yankees in the 2003 World Series.
The national anthem on Monday was sung by Colleen Brennan, a former Miss Boca Raton, who sang the anthem 20 years ago at the team's first game.
To the fans' delight, Jeff Conine, wearing the old teal Marlins vest top, went to left field. He threw a relay to Mike Lowell, wearing a black Marlins jersey. Lowell turned and threw to Miami's catcher Rob Brantly.
A change the Marlins are making at the park from last year is which bullpen they are using. They now are in right field after being in left a year ago.
The reason was to put the bullpen in clear view of the Marlins' dugout, which is on the third-base side. The visiting 'pen also is directly in front of the opposing dugout.
After a hectic offseason in which the Marlins traded away a number of their high-priced and high-profile players, the organization is striving to win back its fan base.
"Obviously, to win, that's the only way to get them to stop talking about that stuff [the past]," closer Steve Cishek said. "Really, we're just going out there and taking it one game at a time and playing the game the way we can to get a win on the board. Hopefully they're going to pull for us. We need it.
"From a fan's perspective, I can understand. At the same time, we're going out there trying to win ballgames. We try not to think of what is going on that's outside our control. We're going out there trying to perform for our city."
Even though the Marlins have gotten off to a slow start, All-Star right fielder Giancarlo Stanton said it is too early to draw any long-range conclusions.
"We've only had six games and 20-25 at-bats," Stanton said. "People are making assumptions of how the season is going to go."
As for reaction to what happened last year, Stanton added: "That's over with. We've had all of Spring Training and some games under our belts. That's in the past."
Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. He writes a blog, called The Fish Pond. Follow him on Twitter @JoeFrisaro.


text:
Fire Policy
Open Flame
- No open flames are permitted in the residence halls or within housing property outside of designated areas without official University Housing Services (UHS) approval. This includes, but is not limited to candles, incense, smoking and the burning of any materials or other flame-emitted articles.
- Prior written approval must be obtained from the Residential Life Coordinator if this policy is incongruent with religious, cultural or spiritual beliefs.
Portable Heaters
- The use of portable heaters in the residence halls is not permitted, with the exception of areas that do not have permanent heating units.
- Halogen lamps/lighting are not permitted.
- The placement of any material in or around the provided lighting is prohibited.
- The removal of lights, alteration of the fixtures and the replacement of institutional light bulbs with colored light bulbs are also against UHS policy.
- All unit doors are to be kept closed at all times due to the integrity of the rated corridors.
- At no time are the doors to be propped open or left ajar.
Air Conditioners/Fans
- Privately owned air conditioners are not permitted. Window fans are discouraged and should never be used unless a resident is present.
Extension Cords/Surge Protectors
- Surge suppressor-equipped, UL approved power cords are highly recommended for computer systems and other valuable electrical equipment. Such cords have their own circuit breaker. Do not rely on the integrity of the electrical system of the building to protect your computer equipment.
- Surge protectors also allow more flexibility for extensions. Extension cords or stringing surge protectors together in a series are prohibited.
- Multiple outlet plugs that insert into an outlet are not permitted.
Appliances/Electrical Equipment
UHS facilities have limits on their electrical systems. Overloading the circuits can result in tripped circuit breakers and present a fire hazard. The following guidelines apply to the use of electrical apparatus:
- Items with exposed heating elements are prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, space heaters, sun lamps, immersion heaters and hot plates.
- Microwaves are allowed, but the wattage must not exceed 900 watts.
- Cooking is limited to the general kitchen or kitchenette area and is not permitted in the bedroom.
- Refrigerators for private bedrooms are permitted, provided they do not exceed 4.4 total cubic feet.
- In the Apartments, cooking appliances such as crock-pots, toasters, toaster ovens, rice steamers, electric grills and electric frying pans are permitted. These appliances must not overload the system. These appliances must be directly attached to grounded outlets.
- International appliances should use electrical converters.
- Irons must be used with ironing boards only and should never be left unattended.
- Appliances such as stereos, radios, desk lamps, computers, TV's, VCR's, DVD players, sealed component coffee makers, hair dryers and other electrical hair implements, answering machines and electric blankets are permitted.
- Stereo equipment and speakers are expected to be of a size and power that are appropriate for high-density community living.
- Any damage caused by personal electrical equipment or misuse of the electrical system is the financial responsibility of the resident, including damage of any kind (fire, water, etc.) to the facility and/or other residents' personal belongings.
Violations of these guidelines may result in immediate license revocation. For additional information, see Fire Safety.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
1. Gather your materials. Before starting gather some pictures of totem poles, explain that totem poles were used for all different reasons, to tell legends, record history and sometimes just for art. You will need many colors of construction paper, scrap paper is great, although you will need one large piece for the wings. A piece of plain white paper, paper towel roll, glue, scissors, a marker, a paper punch, and some colorful markers. You may also want some tape to keep things in place while glue dries.
2. Start by coloring the white paper, older children can do patterns , younger ones can just go for it. Other than playing with the final product, this was the only step my little man helped me with.
3.While they color, cut out eyes, long strips for faces, noses- the sky is the limit. We cut out 3 pairs of eyes, some eyebrows a few noses and mouths.
4.Cut out some wings set aside
5. Cut small feathers from the scrap paper. Set aside.
6. When they are done coloring, wrap the white paper around the paper towel roll. Trim if needed. Set aside.
7. Start gluing on the totem animals faces, although we didn't decide exactly what animals we were making, as we glued them on we decided on a raven, a frog and a seagull. Not sure there are many seagulls on real totem poles but that's OK.
8. Glue the feathers on the wings.
9. Glue the wings on the pole and let dry.


text:
This is the second in a multi-part series of blogs comparing and contrasting the Microsoft and Cisco approaches to providing enterprise collaboration in the post-PC world. The first blog from Cisco SVP and GM, Rowan Trollope, discussed the differences between a purpose-built architecture and a desktop-centric approach that needs third party extensions to make a working enterprise-class system. Today's discussion will focus on how the two companies are approaching the trend towards "Bring your own device" (BYOD) to work.
There's no question that in the Post-PC era, the "Bring Your Own Device" (BYOD) movement has had a dramatic impact in the workplace. Not so long ago IT spent considerable time and money provisioning and servicing identical black laptops for thousands of employees. Now it is becoming more common to see people walking through the door with a MacBook, a Galaxy S3 or an iPad to work, and nobody looks twice. You don't need a crystal ball to see where this trend is going.
Recent estimates show that over 200 million personally owned smart devices are expected to be found in the workplace by 2016 and that the iPad can already be found in 94% of the Fortune 500. While those numbers are compelling, statistics pertaining to shifts in operating systems (OS) tells an even more dramatic story. Back in 2000 my black issued PC was part of the 97% of computers that ran Windows. Today, if we look more broadly at devices overall (not just computers but phones and tablets), reports I've seen estimate that Windows' share of devices has dropped to 20% — and is actually less than 5% if you consider just smartphone share alone.
Given these changes, I'd assume Microsoft would have started focusing long ago on investing in Lync for other operating systems, like iOS. After all, mobile collaboration is an essential part of the work landscape, and most mobile devices don't run Windows. Yet the Microsoft strategy still seems to focus primarily on the PC and Windows platforms.
Do these statements and actions reconcile in your minds with an open-handed commitment to BYOD?
It seems as if Microsoft is competing for mobile OS and device share against other leading device manufacturers, pushing their own agenda for Windows in what is becoming an increasingly hard-fought market.
And, given Microsoft's "First and Best on Windows" approach to collaboration, you also have to wonder if Lync clients on Apple and Google devices will have a consistent, compatible user experience alongside the equivalent Windows versions. It sounds like Microsoft would prefer you to Bring Your Own WindowsDevice (BYOWD) to work. As referenced in Carl Wiese's blog yesterday, 72% of respondents in a recent survey said Microsoft's "Windows first" strategy will have at least some negative impact on their business. To state the obvious, Cisco doesn't compete with the mobile device or OS providers, which allows our development teams to work closely together without tension or rivalry. We have developed a variety of products specifically for iOS and Android, Cisco was showcased at the Apple's iPad2 launch event last year, and had over three million downloads from Apple, Google, and Blackberry® App Stores. We remain strongly committed to an "any device, anytime, anywhere" strategy that embraces a multi-client BYOD not BYOWD environment.
Our commitment also extends to developing applications for the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 RT devices, if and when they get market adoption.
You make the call … BYOD or BYOWD? Your choice.
This blog is second in a multi-part series of blogs that compare and contrast the Microsoft and Cisco approaches to providing enterprise collaboration in the post-PC world. We encourage you to follow the series and share your comments. We also invite you to visit a microsite that has a wealth of information, including a white paper where this topic is discussed in detail.
You must be a registered user to add a comment. If you've already registered, sign in. Otherwise, register and sign in.


text:
It is as difficult to give a succinct description of Robert Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz's Kafka as it is to give a succinct description of Mr. Franz Kafka himself. Kafka begins with a quote from one of his diary entries, "The image of a wide pork butcher's knife, swiftly and with mechanical regularity chopping into me, shaving off razor-thin slices which fly about due to the speed of the work." The accompanying picture is in the style of a black and white graphic novel and is as evocative of visceral emotion as his disturbing fantasy of his own death.
The authors of Kafka are concerned that the complexity of their subject is often boiled down into a single adjective: Kafkaesque. The authors claim this word has come to be embraced by the *gasp* uneducated masses as anything with a sense of "doom and gloom," and is evidence that Kafka has been "over –interpreted and pigeon-holed" by critics and regular folk alike.
In spite of the somewhat elitist reclaiming of the Kafkaesque adjective, the book overall is not inaccessible; it merely takes Kafka as seriously as he took himself, though is capable of some ironic humor. The joy of reading Kafka is in its complexity and unwillingness to be pinned down. It is part biography, part summation of major works, part graphic novel, and much more. I haven't read nearly enough of Kafka's writing to feel like an authority on his works, but I was nevertheless fascinated and inspired. The authors don't glorify Kafka to a saint like status (he would have hated that) but instead show the troubled genius that can emerge from a troubled man in troubled times.
To reserve the book: https://cucatalog.org/polaris/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=6.1033.0.0.7&type=Keyword&term=kafka%20crumb,%20r.&by=KW&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=*&query=&page=0
Or to see what we have available by Mr. Kafka: https://cucatalog.org/polaris/search/searchresults.aspx?ctx=6.1033.0.0.7&type=Keyword&term=kafka,%20franz&by=AU&sort=RELEVANCE&limit=TOM=*&query=&page=0


text: Readers in Illinois and thereabouts can find me on the air on Tuesday morning, Jan. 5, at 11 am Central time on Illinois Public Radio's Focus 580 with David Inges (AM). The topic is my book Exporting American Dreams: Thurgood Marshall's African Journey. I'm told that the signal reaches Chicago and Indianapolis as well as two-thirds of Illinois and half of Indiana. This is a live call-in show, so give me a call on the air!


text:
Telmo Dias necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 292 diseños de 56 diseñadores freelance.
XYLE - Breeding Innovation
I'm a 34 year old enterpeneur. I started programming computers by the age of 10 when I first got my Timex 2068, waking up in the middle of the night with solutions to programming problems I faced and without any teacher or Internet, always dreaming I could one day really do some fantastic things with the computer. I'm still chasing this dream and probably always will be. This logo is for my own company which is now my life's project. The company has just began a new phase after moving it's office to the center of Lisbon in one of the busiest avenues in this city, Avenida da Liberdade (Liberty Avenue).
The name for the company is related to the fact that I sometimes prefer to work alone, but also to the fact that people sometimes need to move away from their confort in order to chase the big dream and be where the action is. I love technology and dream about creating products that can make people who use them happier in their lives. My main characteristic is that I don't like to always be doing the same thing, so I study many different technologies because I'm constantly falling in love with them and the new possibilities they bring, while tracking the objective of creating applications and games, whether for the Internet or for desktop or mobile devices,which will make people happy by using them, and sometimes ideally gather a lot of people interacting with them like a great utility, a social network interacting application or a game.
People who are searching for over the edge technology, who demand clever creative hi-tech solutions for their challenges and who like to follow their gut feeling when making important decisions. That's why I believe the logo and the new company image should reflect an immediat feeling of hi-tech, bold and creative team, the kind of "they know what they're doing" feeling. At the same time they should think we are the kind of company that pushes barriers beyond, and take risks, but always confident of success.
REQUIREMENTS 3.0 (you can still access REQUIREMENTS 2.0 and 1.0 below in the files section)
Hello All.
As mentioned before I heard a few friends of mine who are designers or have a close relationship whith that area, and who know me and my company, and to whom I showed the contest and the submited designs. After these talks I decided that we should take this challenge one step further and raise the stakes here.
The thing is that what I want to get here needs to be something out of the box, something awesome, creative and new in concept and in the end result. The designs achieved up until now are fantastic, but I think and hope that we can push them further. For that reason I also decided to raise the prize.
This update is intendend to bring some fresh air to the contest and substitutes the previous versions in terms of what is expected to achieve, although the older versions will remain available as a download under the files section.
The rule is now "Amaze me!"
Things I have learned from designs published until now:
1 - The logo should be somehow iconic and unique so people will remember it and identify the company just for the logo when they see it
2 - I really like things that are 3D or that resemble 3D
3 - I'm positive even more that I want strong colors, the kind you can find inside the color_map.png file under files section
4 - I think I prefer rounded/smooth fonts to the others, but there are times when rounded fonts don't make the desired effect
5 - I really liked the appeal to dynamic / energized forms
6 - I'm positive I want a smaller version of the logo. If big version doesn't suit low res, a special version should be created for that specific purpose. I.E. facebook / twitter / linkein 48x48 and 20x20
7 - I also need to have a black & white version the kind that even when faxed is recognizable
Expected files: (decided to ignore the bitmap version)
- 1 .ai vector CMYK file containing
- a logo and the matching background in two versions, white background and black background
- the logo use rules manual
- Further branding elements such as business cards, envelopes and printing paper are a plus.
For concept moto you can use something like:
- advanced technology / future technology
- research and development
- computer programming
- rich internet applications
- social media / social interactivity
- technology that makes life easier, connects people, etc.
- core, engine, soul, the technology behind a product, the thing that makes it move and do what it does
For tagline you can use any of the following:
"Breeding Innovation" (as in creating innovation for the Future)
"Ubiquitous Technology" (technology present/accessed everywhere)
"Creating Digital Passion"
Regarding ROCKETS: if you feel you would like to go with the rocket concept, please try something more simplified or a minimalist approach as to that.
The example I give you is the logo of one of my fellows' website: http://www.startracking.org
Regarding colors, I prefer stronger colors, the type used in the Adobe product logos. I also like the smoothness in their logos acomplished by the gradients.
Attached files:
xyle.rtf - General company description and keywords
xyle_logo.png - the current in use logo (the one I want replaced)
xyle_all.jpg - a previous attempt a friend did, which didn't work.
Please do not copy other logos either from this or any other site, or use any stock images or clip art in the logo because this is for registration to update the already owned trademark XYLE.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


text:
OAKLAND — A 38-year-old motorcyclist was killed after running into the back of a big rig Thursday evening on northbound Interstate-880, authorities said.
The name of the motorcyclist was not released late Thursday.
Witnesses told officers from the California Highway Patrol that the motorcyclist was speeding on his 2006 Harley-Davidson and lost control, colliding with the rear of the big rig south of the Broadway exit about 5:37 p.m.
The motorcyclist, who is from Oakland, was thrown from the bike and was lodged between the rig's rear tires and the frame of the trailer. The rider was dragged with the rig several yards before the 49-year-old big rig driver could stop. The truck driver cooperated with the CHP and was not arrested.
The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured.
The CHP continues to investigate the fatality and anyone with information should call 800-835-5247 or 510-450-3821.
Contact Kristin J. Bender at email@example.com. Follow her at Twitter.com/kjbender.


text:
****All Greater Orlando Area flyers must state "Greater Orlando Area".
1) Date
2) Time (including am/pm)
3) Address, including City and State
4) Location or Facility
5) Disclaimer: ("NA is not affiliated with this facility")
6) Directions / Map (optional)
7) Contact person
8) What the fundraising is being held for
9) One of the following Hearing Impaired numbers:
(a) The Relay number for the Deaf, 1-800-955-8771, or,
(b) 711.
10) Greater Orlando Area's Local Helpline: 407-425-5157,
11) Greater Orlando Area's Toll-Free Helpline: 866-579-8333,
12) Greater Orlando Area Web Page URL (Uniform Resource Locator): www.orlandona.org,
13) Does not advertise or make mention of any raffles or cash drawings.
14) If a flyer displays one of the NA logos, a registered trademark symbol, (a small circled letter "R"), should appear to the right of the logo, as per WSO bulletin Internal Use of NA Intellectual Property.


text:
Eradicating poverty in all its forms remains one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. While the number of people living in extreme poverty dropped by more than half between 1990 and 2015 – from 1.9 billion to 836 million – too many are still struggling for the most basic human needs.
Globally, more than 800 million people are still living on less than US$1.25 a day, many lacking access to adequate food, clean drinking water and sanitation. Rapid economic growth in countries like China and India has lifted millions out of poverty, but progress has been uneven. Women are more likely to live in poverty than men due to unequal access to paid work, education and property.
Progress has also been limited in other regions, such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, which account for 80 percent of those living in extreme poverty. New threats brought on by climate change, conflict and food insecurity, mean even more work is needed to bring people out of poverty.
The SDGs are a bold commitment to finish what we started, and end poverty in all forms and dimensions by 2030. This involves targeting the most vulnerable, increasing access to basic resources and services, and supporting communities affected by conflict and climate-related disasters.
Goals in action
Community radio makes waves
UNDP works with the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to support community radio stations that provide educational programming as well as vital information on health and sanitation. MORE >
Water in Myanmar's Dry Zone
In the Dry Zone, chronic poverty is directly correlated with the effects of drought and climate change. UNDP supports efforts to secure water resources and reduce food insecurity in the most vulnerable townships.. MORE >
Supporting Mali's women to adapt to climate change
Climate change has led to more drought and shorter rainy seasons in Mali. The government has partnered with UNDP to strengthen agricultural communities and empower women to mitigate the social and economic impacts of climate change. MORE >


text:
Sam Rayburn is picked as the go-to lake
The cold weather of late has not exactly set the stage for fishing of any kind, but the pursuit of big bass on East Texas lakes is always on the top burner about this time of year. I was talking to bass fishing pro Lonnie Stanley a few days ago and he said that Sam Rayburn is in great shape thanks to recent rains.
"Once the water settles out, the fishing for numbers of bass will be great," said Stanley. "The high water now will set the stage for excellent trophy bass fishing this spring. Also, the rivers are up, and that means the white bass run on the Angelina above Rayburn and the Sabine River above Toledo Bend should be very good. The crappie bite on the upper end of Rayburn should turn on along the Angelina River channel as soon as the water clears up. All in all, I'd say the rains we've had over the past week or so will set the stage for some of the best fishing we've seen in years on both Rayburn and Toledo Bend."
Just how good is the bass fishing on Sam Rayburn? Put it this way, it's ranked as the best in Texas, according to studies conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Actually, it's a tie between Rayburn and Walter E. Long. These two lakes are the best overall bass fishing lakes based on a combination of small, keeper and quality bass caught during electrofishing samples in 2012.
TPWD ranked Lake Raven as No. 3, followed by Sweetwater (No. 4), Bastrop (No. 5), Ray Hubbard (No. 6), Toledo Bend (No. 7), Lone Star (No. 8), Houston County (No. 9) and Amistad (No. 10).
In reservoirs scattered throughout Texas, generators drone and bright lights beam from strange-looking boats built to transmit electrical current into the water to catch fish. Crews from TPWD's Inland Fisheries district offices use these electrofishing boats to collect information on fish populations, including Texas' most popular fish — largemouth bass.
Bass anglers are always searching for hot lakes, and for bass populations that are primed for great fishing opportunities. With this in mind, TPWD's Spencer Dumont used electrofishing information collected from over 4,800 adult bass (8 inches and longer) in 78 hours of electrofishing effort at 935 different shoreline sites from 62 reservoirs in the fall of 2012 to rank the top 10 bass populations in terms of small bass, keeper bass and quality bass.
"Anglers should not expect to catch bass in the same numbers as the electrofishing boats," advises Dumont. "Electrofishing gives an indication of how abundant bass of different sizes are in a reservoir. Also, electrofishing does not generally collect very large fish. There may well be larger fish in a reservoir than show up in electrofishing surveys. Falcon would be a good example. We know that lake has lots of big bass, but it's very hard to collect them with electrofishing."
Dumont pointed out that Lake Fork did not show up on any of the lists.
The following is what Dumont's electrofishing studies documented.
Top 10 Lakes for Small Bass
"Small bass were defined as those from 8 to 13 inches long," said Dumont. "Sprawling Sam Rayburn Reservoir was ranked No. 1 for small bass at 161 bass collected per hour of electrofishing effort."
Rounding out the Top 10 were:
• Sweetwater (143/hour)
• Proctor (120/hour)
• Toledo Bend (90/hour)
• Walter E. Long (86/hour)
• Eagle Mountain (84.6/hour)
• Ray Hubbard (81.5/hour)
• Leon (77/hour)
• Lake o' the Pines and Lake Raven (75/hour)
Top 10 Lakes for Keeper Bass
Keeper bass were defined as those from 14 to 17 inches long. Lake Raven took the top spot for keeper bass with a whopping 75 bass collected per hour of electrofishing. The rest of the top 10 were:
• Bastrop (64/hour)
• Walter E. Long (62/hour)
• Sam Rayburn (35.5/hour)
• Amistad (29.5/hour)
• Sweetwater (26/hour)
• Amon Carter (25/hour)
• Coleman, Gibbons Creek and Toledo Bend (21/hour).
The average number of keeper bass caught per reservoir in 2012 was 13 bass per hour of electrofishing.
Top 10 Lakes for Quality Bass
Quality bass were defined as those 18 inches or longer. Walter E. Long had the most quality bass with an impressive 18 bass collected per hour. The remainder of the top ten were:
• Bastrop and Raven (10/hour)
• Jacksonville, Houston County, Ray Hubbard, Sam Rayburn and Sweetwater (7/hour)
• Mackenzie, Murvaul, Proctor and Stamford (6/hour)
"Lake Dunlap is a good example of a fishery that might surprise anglers with the quality of its bass fishing," said Dumont. " Toyota ShareLunker No. 539, a 13.34-pounder, was caught from the lake Dec. 30."
The lake was impounded in 1928 and covers 410 acres of the Guadalupe River near New Braunfels. Little more than a wide spot on the river, it's a popular destination for recreational boating and fishing. Boat access is limited to one two-lane boat ramp, and bank fishing is limited to the bridge easement.
"The Inland Fisheries Division of TPWD has been managing the reservoir for many decades," said Dumont. "Since the early 2000s, electrofishing surveys have been conducted every other year to monitor black bass populations and prey assemblages. Largemouth bass are the predominant black bass species in the reservoir, but smallmouth, spotted and Guadalupe bass are present.
"Since 2001, largemouth bass catch rates have averaged 92 fish per hour of electrofishing, and bass exceeding 20 inches have been collected in almost all of the surveys. On the angling side, Lake Dunlap's largemouth bass have been in the limelight over the past few years as fishing reports and pictures of double-digit bass have flooded the Internet angling forums. A tournament held in spring 2012 showcased the potential of Lake Dunlap's bass fishery when a five-fish limit topped the scales at 35-plus pounds. Lake Dunlap has become a destination for club-level tournaments."
Dumont says that the combination of a healthy, robust largemouth bass population and high prevalence of Florida largemouth bass genetics coupled with abundant forage and diverse habitat has been the recipe for success in creating a quality bass fishery in Dunlap's relatively small water body.
Robert Sloan can be reached by e-mail at sloan288 [at] aol [dot] com.


text:
Dear Ms. Vicki,
I'm at a troublesome part in my life. Yes, I got married at an early age -- well, really I was forced into it.
My best friend and I were dating, and we ended up having our first child. Then he enlisted and was told due to current laws in that state we either A) had to get married or B) adopt his own child for her to be covered.
At that time, we were still rocky and I never wanted to get married. I was eventually guilted into it. Now all I feel is regret.
A year ago, I reconnected with an old friend. Needless to say, I ended up developing feelings for him. I just don't know what to do in my current situation. I've gone through hell and back for this other guy. He has broken my heart and lied to me, yet I still love him.
My husband has no clue. I care for my spouse, but I don't feel for him what I do for this other guy! I don't know what to do. My husband and I are actually better when we're not around each other. He's been deployed twice and during deployments everything's fine, but when he's home we fight ALL the time!
I don't want to be like my parents and end up unhappy for the rest of my life but then I'm scared that if I leave, things will fall through with the other guy and no man will want someone who has two kids already. PLEASE HELP!!!
Sincerely, Anonymous
Dear Anonymous,
So you were forced to get married when you were younger. You already have two children. You get along better with your husband when he is deployed. You are not in love with your husband you are in love with someone else who has already taken you to hell and back. ... Whew!
And you wonder if you will be better off with the other guy? I don't think so. From the details you gave me in your letter, you know the grass isn't greener on the other side.
I understand you don't want to be like your parents and be unhappy for the rest of your life, but it sounds like you are jumping from the frying pan into the fire. On a global level, you are like millions of people who regret some decisions they have made and wish they could go back and change them. Me too.
Only we can't change the past. We have to learn from our mistakes because "life happens."
Now I will be the first one to admit that I have been in the pits before, but I'm also the type of person who will ponder my ways so I won't make the same mistake again.
You sound like the type of person who beats themselves up when they make mistakes. You have to know if you do this, you will continue to dig yourself deeper into the pit. As you get deeper, it affects your judgment and reasoning. You will become impulsive and make more decisions that are not good for you. It will affect your self-esteem and self-worth and soon you will wonder if you even deserve a good loving relationship.
You do deserve a good loving relationship. But it sounds like you need to work on "you" first. Don't jump into another relationship now.
Lastly, something tells me that you may have other hurts or fears that you did not mention in your letter. I would really recommend counseling either way. Counseling will provide support for you and also help you examine your situation more clearly and strategize how to change it. I wish you the best.
Sincerely, Ms. Vicki


text:
So you're an organization whose mission is to blur the lines between faith and science, and you have huge wads of cash to do this. What's the best strategy?
Well, if you're smart, you find a bunch of journalists who are not averse to being bribed to write articles consonant with your mission, give them a lot of money to attend "seminars" on reconciling faith and science (you also give a nice emolument to the speakers), enlist a spiffy British university to house these journalists, on whom you bestow the fancy title of "fellows," cover all their expenses (including housing) to go to the UK for a couple of months, and even give them a "book allowance." What could be more congenial to an overworked journalist than a chance to play British scholar, punting along the lovely Cam or enjoying a nice pint in a quant pub, all the while chewing over the wisdom of luminaries like John Polkinghorne and John Haught, and pondering the mysteries of a fine-tuned universe and the inevitable evolution of humans?
And the best part is this: forever after, those journalists are in your camp. Not only can you use their names in your advertising, but you've conditioned them, in Pavlovian fashion, to think that great rewards come to those who favor the accommodation of science and faith. They'll do your job for you!
The John Templeton Foundation may be misguided, but it's not stupid. The Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowships in Science and Religion pay senior and mid-career journalists $15,000 (plus all the perks above) to come to Cambridge University for two months, listen to other people talk about science and religion, study a religion/science topic of their own devising, and then write a nifty paper that they can publish, so getting even more money. What a perk! Imagine sitting in a medieval library, pondering the Great Questions. And you get to be called a fellow! And write a term paper! Isn't that better than cranking out hack pieces for people who'd rather be watching American Idol? Sure, you have to apply, and write an application essay stating how you intend to relate science and religion, but, hey, it's only 1500 words, and once you're in, you're golden. You may even get to be on the advisory board, and have a chance to come back to the trough.
As I said, The Templeton Foundation is smart—or rather wily. They realize that few people, especially underpaid journalists and overworked academics, are immune to the temptation of dosh, and once those people get hooked on the promise of money and prestige, they forever have a stall in the Templeton stable. And, in the hopes of future Templeton funding, perhaps they'll continue to write pieces congenial to the Foundation's mission.
The Temple Foundation is wily, but they're not exactly honest. Look at this:
After decades during which leading voices from science and religion viewed each other with suspicion and little sense of how the two areas might relate, recent years have brought an active pursuit of understanding how science may deepen theological awareness, for example, or how religious traditions might illuminate the scientific realm. Fellowship organizers note that rigorous journalistic examination of the region where science and theology overlap – as well as understanding the reasoning of many who assert the two disciplines are without common ground – can effectively promote a deeper understanding of the emerging dialogue.
Now if you're interested in seeing how science and religion "illuminate" one another, what's the first thing you think of? How about this: is there any empirical truth in the claims of faith? After all, if you're trying to "reconcile" two areas of thought, and look at their interactions, surely you'd be interested if there's any empirical truth in them. After all, why "reconcile" two areas if one of them might be only baseless superstition? Is the evidence for God as strong as it is for evolution? Does the "fine-tuning" of physical constants prove Jesus? Was the evolution of humans inevitable, thereby showing that we were part of God's plan?
It's not that there's nothing to say about this. After all, one of the speakers in the Fellows' symposia is Simon Conway Morris, who has written a popular-science book claiming that biology proves that the evolution of human-like creatures was inevitable. It's just that the Templeton Foundation doesn't want to promote, or have its Fellows write about, the other side, the Dark Side that feels that no reconciliation is possible between science and faith. John Horgan, who was once a Journalism Fellow, talks about his experience:
My ambivalence about the foundation came to a head during my fellowship in Cambridge last summer. The British biologist Richard Dawkins, whose participation in the meeting helped convince me and other fellows of its legitimacy, was the only speaker who denounced religious beliefs as incompatible with science, irrational, and harmful. The other speakers — three agnostics, one Jew, a deist, and 12 Christians (a Muslim philosopher canceled at the last minute) — offered a perspective clearly skewed in favor of religion and Christianity.
Some of the Christian speakers' views struck me as inconsistent, to say the least. None of them supported intelligent design, the notion that life is in certain respects irreducibly complex and hence must have a divine origin, and several of them denounced it. Simon Conway Morris, a biologist at Cambridge and an adviser to the Templeton Foundation, ridiculed intelligent design as nonsense that no respectable biologist could accept. That stance echoes the view of the foundation, which over the last year has taken pains to distance itself from the American intelligent-design movement.
And yet Morris, a Catholic, revealed in response to questions that he believes Christ was a supernatural figure who performed miracles and was resurrected after his death. Other Templeton speakers also rejected intelligent design while espousing beliefs at least as lacking in scientific substance.
The Templeton prize-winners John Polkinghorne and John Barrow argued that the laws of physics seem fine-tuned to allow for the existence of human beings, which is the physics version of intelligent design. The physicist F. Russell Stannard, a member of the Templeton Foundation Board of Trustees, contended that prayers can heal the sick — not through the placebo effect, which is an established fact, but through the intercession of God. In fact the foundation has supported studies of the effectiveness of so-called intercessory prayer, which have been inconclusive.
One Templeton official made what I felt were inappropriate remarks about the foundation's expectations of us fellows. She told us that the meeting cost more than $1-million, and in return the foundation wanted us to publish articles touching on science and religion. But when I told her one evening at dinner that — given all the problems caused by religion throughout human history — I didn't want science and religion to be reconciled, and that I hoped humanity would eventually outgrow religion, she replied that she didn't think someone with those opinions should have accepted a fellowship. So much for an open exchange of views.
So, the Foundation doesn't really want the hard light of science cast upon faith. It wants its journalists (and nearly everyone it funds) to show how faith and science are compatible. Those who feel otherwise, like Victor Stenger, Richard Dawkins, Anthony Grayling, Steven Weinberg, well, those people don't have a say. (In fact, the Foundation's history of intellectual dishonesty has made many of them unwilling to be part of its endeavors.) If a miscreant sneaks in by accident, as did John Horgan, he's told that he doesn't belong. The Foundation may pay lip service to dissenters, as in this statement (my emphasis),
Fellowship organizers note that rigorous journalistic examination of the region where science and theology overlap – as well as understanding the reasoning of many who assert the two disciplines are without common ground – can effectively promote a deeper understanding of the emerging dialogue.
but you won't see Templeton giving Journalism Fellowships to people who have a track record of such views. Instead, the Fellows spend their time pondering, "Now how on earth could those poor people think that science and faith are incompatible?"
These journalism fellowships are nothing more than a bribe—a bribe to get journalists to favor a certain point of view. The Foundation's success at recruiting reputable candidates proves one thing: it doesn't cost much to buy a journalist's integrity. Fifteen thousand bucks, a "book allowance," and a fancy title will do it.
Could this explain why those journalists who trumpet every other achievement on their websites keep quiet when they get a Templeton Fellowship?


text:
CreditRepairSoftware necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 40 diseños de 6 diseñadores freelance.
Cool Website for new non-profit
This non-profit is dedicated to promoting legal, moral and ethical credit repair companies and Denouncing illegal, unethical credit repair companies.
this outline is for Design ONLY - coding for functionality is being completed already-
The "motto" of the organization is "Helping consumers navigate the credit puzzle" would like to see that incorporated in the design.
NARCRA (National Association of Responsible Credit Repair Advisors) is a non-profit association for members of the credit repair industry. This site will have similar functionality to BBB.org – we don't like the look/feel of the BBB site BUT the functionality of search and history of membership etc is important.. This site primary users will be consumers that want to find :
1. More information about credit repair
2. Search for a credit repair company to help them
3. Check out the reputation of an exisiting credit repair company
4. File a complaint against a credit repair company
Additionally, professionals from the industry will want to come to this site for information about:
Compliance updates
How to register to be a member
Promoting a local educational event
Index Page :
The index page must have a clean web 2.0 look and feel. There are 3 main things that visitors to the site will be coming there to do:
a. Check out an existing CRO
b. Find a CRO to do business with
c. File a complaint
Important things that must be easily navigable from the index page are:
a. Search for CRO's (Credit Repair Organizations)
b. Credit Repair Education ie:Truth about credit repair, Truth about protecting your identity theft etc.
c. RSS Feed – Social media promotion (twitter- facebook- bookmarking)
d. link to "For Businesses" so CRO's can find information on becoming a member
Page 2 - Register Complaint Page-
This page will be used for consumers to register a complaint about a CRO – must have space to display what the complaint procedures are ie: step 1, step 2 etc.. The complaint resolution process is as follows:
1. Consumer registers complaint with complete contact information and supporting documentation
2. Complaint is assigned to NARCRA Complaint Team – NCT evaluates if the claim appears frivolous- any report that is submitted without verifiable information about the individual reporting it will automatically be deemed frivolous and closed without further actions- if complaint is valid NCT will proceed to next step
3. NCT assigns agent to review and contact complaining party
4. Based on consumers Desired outcome NCT will contact CRO to assist in resolution
5. If CRO resolves issue with the consumer the issue will be deemed closed- if CRO does not work to resolve with consumer the complaint will remain on CRO public record
Consumer complaint form must have the following fields for the consumer to complete: (will be coded separately)
Name of company complaint is against
Reason for complaint
Supporting Documents
Page 3 Member Search Page
This is where consumers will have the opportunity to search for members through a variety of search options. Additionally if they want to "Check out a specific Company's records" they can enter specific details on the company and a manual search will be done for the consumer – when a manual search is requested a success page will display to the consumer mentioning that – " a manual search will be completed for you and the results will be returned within 24 hours"
Search by state
Member name
Length of time in business
Company name
Zip code
Page 4 - Member Profile Page
All member company's will have a profile page. On the profile page various specifics about the company will be displayed including:
Show whether company is;
active member-
suspended member –
not eligible for membership –
Charter Member –
Not a Member
Founding Member
State Chapter Leader
( Should have standardized look and feel for the different options for membership status)
Company Logo
- Phone
- Website Link
- #- of employees
- Does business in States (can have multiple states listed)
-Bonded? (Options can be No-Not required- Yes)
-Registered with State
- Office Pictures
- Principal Representative Name and contact data
- Links to social media – Facebook- twitter etc
- Links to upcoming events being hosted by member
A Contact us form should be on this page as well so that consumers can fill out a form to have someone from that company contact them.
Sub Page - Board Members Pages (same as member page with some notation that they are a "Board Member"
Needs to have some intro text describing what the board does, responsibilities etc… then:
Single Page with all board members profiles
Should contain photos, and brief bio, company logo and contact data and Social Media Data
Board member pages – profile pages for bio of each board member-
Should contain ample room for bio info
Logo (s)
Full Contact Data
Full Bio
Page 5 - State Chapter Page
State chapters will be formed for each state the state chapter page will showcase the state chapter leader and the members of that state chapter.
State Picture
List of all members for that state
Showcase the state chapter president
Also need a clean place for someone to apply to Become a member
This page should display the various member requirements in a bullet point list and have an application for membership.
Membership application should include the following fields
Company Name – address-city-state-zip-phone-fax-email-website
# of employees – average # of new clients per month –
Pricing model –(dropdown values: Upfront one payment, Monthly no setup fee, monthly with setup fee, pay per deletion w/o setup fee, pay per deletion with setup fee, membership model)
Get creative - - the above description and details can be deviated from!!
I look forward to picking the winner!!!


text:
Bill Pay
Bill Pay is a convenient and easy way to pay bills. Paying bills online is similar to writing checks except faster, easier, and it gives you more control. You can pay virtually anyone, anytime, anywhere in the United States with just the click of a button. This feature will eliminate hours of writing checks and addressing and stamping envelopes. Bill Pay is also a great way to keep track of bills paid and bills to be paid.
With Bill Pay, you can:
To ensure a high level of security, our online service utilizes state-of-the-art encryption technology, firewalls, and enhanced login security.
Call a bank representative for more information!


text:
LG Prada 3.0 Video clips
More Videos
The LG Prada 3.0 is the third device to come out of the collaboration between LG and Prada, and it aims to bring Android with a designer zest to the masses. The Prada 3.0 features a 4.3-inch very bright, 800 nit WVGA display. Under the hood, there's a 1GHz dual-core chip, dual-channel RAM memory, while on the back the handset features an 8-megapixel camera. All of this comes in a very thin, 0.33-inch thick body. Software-wise the phone runs on a modified version of Android Gingerbread with simplistic icons aiming to convey the feel of the Prada brand.


text:
Reserve Bank assistant governor Guy Debelle watches over the financial markets for the central bank, and he made an interesting point when he spoke to the University of Adelaide Business School on Tuesday: if the central bank wished to wade into the currency markets to push the Australian dollar lower, it could do so in a big way.
When the Reserve buys the $A to defend it against selling, as it occasionally has in the past, there is a limit to its power. It needs to sell assets denominated in other currencies to free up funds for $A buying and its foreign currency reserves are finite. They currently sit at about $36 billion, 90 per cent of which is split evenly between US dollars and euros.
If the object is to drive it down, however, the Reserve has the equivalent of a bottomless cup: it controls the banknote printing presses, and can run them as hard as it pleases to underpin a sell $A-buy foreign currency strategy.
But it would be an adventurous leap from there to an assumption that the central bank is edging closer to an on-market attempt to drag down the value of the stubbornly strong $A. The Swiss have done it, but it's not a very useful precedent.
The Swiss franc is a go-to currency in times of uncertainty, and in 2011 as Europe's sovereign debt crisis swirled foreign money poured into it, pushing its exchange rate sharply higher. Switzerland's economy was being undermined, and in September of that year the Swiss National Bank announced that it was prepared to buy foreign currency in "unlimited quantities" to cap the exchange rate at €1.20.
Could Australia's central bank do the same? Yes. Will it? Unless there is a sea change in the Australian economy and the value of the Australian dollar, no.
The Swiss operation has been massive. Its foreign currency reserves rose by 62 billion francs to 314 billion francs in 2011, and by another 113 billion francs to to 427 billion francs last year. Its foreign reserves have also risen from below 10 per cent of Switzerland's annual gross domestic product ahead of the financial crisis to about 75 per cent of GDP. As Debelle remarked this week, a Reserve Bank intervention that had similar economic weight in this economy would top $1 trillion.
As Debelle also observed, the Swiss central bank was facing more extreme conditions in 2011 than the ones the Reserve faces today (or for that matter, faced in 2011).
First, the Swiss franc was more dangerously overvalued in 2011 than the Australia dollar is, or has been in recent years. The $A would need to be trading at $US1.30 or more to be in the same territory. It is about $US1.02 now after falling from just under $US1.06 in mid-January, and at that level is "somewhat on the high side", to use Debelle's words, and "somewhat higher than one might have expected" given a 17 per cent decline in Australia's terms of trade since the middle of 2011, to use the words Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens chose when he briefed the House of Representatives Economic Committee last week.
Second, Switzerland's economic growth had stalled in 2011, and the money that was pouring in from overseas was threatening economic disaster. The high $A is hurting parts of this economy, but the economy is still growing.
Third, Switzerland was battling price deflation, and still is. Its consumer price index has been in negative territory for almost a year and a half. There is no immediate risk that intervention will unleash inflation, as there would be here.
Finally, the Swiss National Bank only intervened after cutting its key short-term interest rate to zero. Its orthodox arsenal was exhausted: that is not the case here.
The Reserve has cut its cash rate six times by a total of 1.75 percentage points in the past 16 months and with the cash rate at 3 per cent still has room to move. It meets next Tuesday, and Stevens said last week that the exchange rate was one of the influences on the economy that it took into account.
Debelle said this week that quantitative easing in the United States and elsewhere was creating exchange rate pressures. QE stimulus was "understandable and defensible" in countries where interest rates had gone as low as they could, he said, but some of the QE cash was being reinvested offshore, pulling the home economy's exchange rate down and stimulating activity there, but pushing up on the exchange rates of countries such as Australia that are getting the investment inflow.
Lowering rates in the recipient countries was a response, Debelle said. It raised risks of excess credit expansion and accelerating inflation, but the Reserve had so far been able to counter the effects of a higher $A with lower interest rates and still had scope to cut further, for reasons that could include "counterbalancing" an elevated $A.
I would say that's a pretty fair summary of where the Reserve is at. It thinks the $A is higher than it should be, but it doesn't think it is at crisis levels. Quantitative easing and record low interest rates in key developed markets overseas have worked to hold its value up, but the first lever that is pulled in response to that is interest rates, and it is not yet fully extended. The Reserve could mount a Swiss National Bank-style intervention if it wished, and it could be a big one. As things stand, however, it doesn't need to.
[email protected]南京夜网.au
This story Administrator ready to work first appeared on Nanjing Night Net.


text:
We use cookie and similar technologies in our web sites. For more information see our privacy policy page.
More than 36,000 lawyers stay sharp through membership in the CBA.
The CBA is putting access to justice on the candidates' radar in the 2019 federal election.
Join over 25,000 of your esteemed colleagues who participate in CBA Sections, Forums and Committees.
CBA Membership gives you access to complimentary accredited professional development programs from across Canada. Membership pay for itself.
The CBA supports professional excellence among the legal community through our many engaging and expert publications.
CBA. More than a membership
Check out these stories make legal aid an election issue.
No current programs listed for this section. For a full program listing visit our Professional Development Website.


text:
Be a part of a unique online community that connects post production professionals and film academics worldwide.
You'll have access to personalize your news feed, access to Live Post Talks and much more. Contribute to the community by posting interesting post production content.
May 9, 2019, 3:57 am
Pixar has released RenderMan 22.5, the latest version of its production renderer, adding support for editing displacement and volumes in the IPR, and providing SIMD hardware acceleration for OSL operations.
October 16, 2019, 1:03 pm
Music is thought of after the event a bit too much in video production, which is always a mistake. You might concentrate on the visuals but in the vast majority of cases the people watching them will be watching and listening at the same time and nothing, but nothing, spoils great content more than bad music. There's no point blowing all your budget on camera and lens hire and then tacking on some cheesy EDM right at the end in post unless you really want to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
October 16, 2019, 1:02 pm
The Art of the Cut podcast brings the fantastic conversations that Steve Hullfish has with world renowned editors into your car, living room, editing suite and beyond. In each episode, Steve talks with editors ranging from emerging stars to Oscar and Emmy winners. Hear from the top editors of today about their careers, editing workflows and about their work on some of the biggest films and TV shows of the year.
October 16, 2019, 1:02 pm
Even since the release of Netflix's Stranger Things 3, I've been lucky enough to cover the VFX work a couple of times and see some SIGGRAPH and other presentations about the show.
October 16, 2019, 1:02 pm
When you're creating a new project, knowing when to use Premiere and when to use After Effects can make or break your project. They are both extremely powerful programs, that can sometimes perform the same functions, but most of the time, one of them is better at something than the other.
October 15, 2019, 7:32 pm
Tim Squyres, ACE, has been nominated for multiple Oscars and ACE Eddies and BAFTAs for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Gosford Park and Life of Pi. His filmography also includes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk; Unbroken; Lust, Caution; Hulk; Sense and Sensibility; Eat, Drink, Man, Woman; and many more including TV work on the pilots of Nurse Jackie, Now and Again and Medium.
October 15, 2019, 7:32 pm
NAB Show New York opens tomorrow and runs through Thursday at Javits Center in Manhattan, giving East Coasters their best chance this year to get hands-on with a wide variety of tools and technology that was originally debuted at NAB and IBC earlier in the year.
October 15, 2019, 4:08 pm
TORONTO — New York City-based creative studio Nice Shoes (www.niceshoes.com) has grown its Toronto team with the recent addition of colorist Yulia Bulashenko. She brings over seven years of experience as a freelance colorist, working on projects for clients such as Nike, Volkswagen, MTV, Toyota, Diesel, Uniqlo, Uber, Adidas and Zara, among numerous others.
October 15, 2019, 4:08 pm
LOS ANGELES — The family-friendly Netflix series Raising Dion takes a fresh look at the superhero genre, telling the tale of Dion, a young boy with extraordinary gifts, and his widowed mother. Based on the comic book written by Dennis Liu, who also serves as executive producer, the series finds Dion learning to harness emerging powers, which Method Studios...
October 15, 2019, 4:08 pm
When shooting video or creating animations and motion graphics, motion blur is one of the fundamental elements that creates realism in an image.
October 15, 2019, 1:11 pm
Provideo Coalition Podcast episode 2 is live! This week Scott Simmons and Gary Adcock talk through CineGear Atlanta, the Deluxe Entertainment bankruptcy, the MacOS 10.15 update and more.
Lawrence Jordan joins Gordon to discuss editing, 2-pop, and his new venture Master the workflow.
Tom Ohanian is legendary; he helped create Avid and make it the industry standard in post-production and now, he has released ...
Gordon sits down with Michelle Miller to discuss the makeup of PEN15
Choose what Post News gets sent directly to your E-Mail, daily or weekly.
Get your post news on your favourite Apple device, when you want it where you want it.
Get your post news on your favourite Android device with the AOTG Android App.


text:
The following quotes all have something in common:
"It is not the function of our government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error"
– United States Supreme Court decision in American Communications Association v. Douds
"To stand in silence when they should be protesting makes cowards out of men."
– Abraham Lincoln
"Those who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
– Ben Franklin
"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
– Thomas Jefferson
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
-Thomas Jefferson
"It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."
– Robert F . Kennedy
"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."
– Samuel Adams
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country."
– Teddy Roosevelt
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
– Teddy Roosevelt
"The citizen who sees his society's democratic clothes being worn out and does not cry it out, is not a patriot, but a traitor."
– Mark Twain
"Liberty has never come from government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is a history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of limitations of government power, not the increase of it."
– Woodrow Wilson
"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent"
– Thomas Jefferson
"This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
– Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural
"In this point of the case the question is distinctly presented whether the people of the United States are to govern through representatives chosen by their unbiased suffrages or whether the money and power of a great corporation are to be secretly exerted to influence their judgment and control their decisions."
– Andrew Jackson
"I am more than ever convinced of the dangers to which the free and unbiased exercise of political opinion — the only sure foundation and safeguard of republican government — would be exposed by any further increase of the already overgrown influence of corporate authorities."
– Martin Van Buren, Eighth President of the United States
"As we view the achievements of aggregated capital, we discover the existence of trusts, combinations, and monopolies, while the citizen is struggling far in the rear or is trampled to death beneath an iron heel. Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters."
– Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States
"I again recommend a law prohibiting all corporations from contributing to the campaign expenses of any party.… Let individuals contribute as they desire; but let us prohibit in effective fashion all corporations from making contributions for any political purpose, directly or indirectly." Teddy Roosevelt added, "The fortunes amassed through corporate organization are now so large, and vest such power in those that wield them, as to make it a matter of necessity to give to the sovereign — that is, to the Government, which represents the people as a whole — some effective power of supervision over their corporate use. In order to insure a healthy social and industrial life, every big corporation should be held responsible by, and be accountable to, some sovereign strong enough to control its conduct."
– Theodore Roosevelt
"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted."
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
"It was natural and perhaps human that the privileged princes of these new economic dynasties, thirsting for power, reached out for control over government itself. They created a new despotism and wrapped it in the robes of legal sanction. …And as a result the average man once more confronts the problem that faced the Minute Man….
– Franklin Roosevelt
"A small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor — other people's lives. For too many of us life was no longer free; liberty no longer real; men could no longer follow the pursuit of happiness."
– Franklin Roosevelt
"These economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power. In vain they seek to hide behind the flag and the Constitution. In their blindness they forget what the flag and the Constitution stand for."
– Franklin Roosevelt
"Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day."
– Theodore Roosevelt
"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
-Thomas Jefferson, American Declaration of Independence
What do the quotes all have in common?
The great Americans who said them would be considered terrorists today.
Specifically, according to Department of Defense training manuals, protest is considered "low-level terrorism". And see this, this and this.
An FBI memo also labels peace protesters as "terrorists".
Indeed, police have been terrorizing children, little old ladies and other "dangerous" people who attempted to protest peacefully.
And a 2003 FBI memo describes protesters' use of videotaping as an "intimidation" technique, even though – as the ACLU points out – "Most mainstream demonstrators often use videotape during protests to document law enforcement activity and, more importantly, deter police from acting outside the law." The FBI appears to be objecting to the use of cameras to document unlawful behavior by law enforcement itself.
The Internet has been labeled as a breeding ground for terrorists, with anyone who questions the government's versions of history being especially equated with terrorists.
Government agencies such as FEMA are allegedly teaching that the Founding Fathers should be considered terrorists.
The government is also using anti-terrorism laws to keep people from learning what pollutants are in their own community. See this, this, this and this.
Claims of "national security" are also used to keep basic financial information – such as who got bailout money – secret. That might not bode for particularly warm and friendly treatment for someone persistently demanding the release of such information.
The state of Missouri tried to label as terrorists current Congressman Ron Paul and his supporters, former Congressman Bob Barr, libertarians in general, anyone who holds gold, and a host of other people.
And according to a law school professor, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act:
Anyone who … speaks out against the government's policies could be declared an "unlawful enemy combatant" and imprisoned indefinitely. That includes American citizens.
The Founding Fathers, Supreme Court justices and presidents quoted above would vigorously protest.
Note: Government apologists are also eager to label anyone "taking a cynical stance toward politics, mistrusting authority, endorsing democratic practices, … and displaying an inquisitive, imaginative outlook" as worthy of a Stalinist trip to the insane asylum. I guess the famous Americans quoted above were not only terrorists, but they were also crazy.


text:
Every 3rd Wednesday of each month the Healing Prayer Team at MC4 comes together to pray for anyone who would like deeper prayer for healing issues of the mind, heart and body. We pray for physical healing, emotional healing and deliverance. If you would like to be prayed for, you can show up between 7:00-8:30pm (upstairs in the main building) and put your name on the signup sheet. The prayer teams will pray for 10-20 minutes for each person. Contact Pastor Ben Dixon at email@example.com for more information.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: June 20Limitless - Middle School
Later Event: June 21Men's Small Group


text:
NEW YORK - Wading into the incendiary subject of birth control for young teenagers, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on Monday called on the nation's pediatricians to counsel all of their adolescent patients about emergency contraception and make advance prescriptions for it available to girls under 17.
Because current federal policy bans over-the-counter sales of the pills to girls under 17, having a prescription on hand could help younger teens obtain emergency contraception more quickly than if they have to contact a physician only after they need it.
Calling the AAP decision "significant," Susan Wood, former assistant commissioner for women's health at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said, "it's not often you see physician organisations saying that their patients are better off without the physician involvement."
The announcement was controversial with some religious groups.
"Since when should the physicians take over the responsibility of what parents should be doing?," said Michael O'Dea, founder and executive director of Christus Medicus Foundation.
The non-profit foundation provides consulting services to health plans which wish to avoid payments to physicians and hospitals for providing abortions, sterilization, contraception and other services it considers inconsistent with biblical teachings.
"Parents are the primary educators of children, not physicians or the government," O'Dea said. "This is a violation of parents rights to be the primary educator of their children."
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which represents the country's Catholic church leadership, called the recommendation "tragic."
"It is a very sad day when physicians think that "good medicine" is to attack an adolescent girl's healthy fertility with potent drugs just to prevent a possible pregnancy," said Theresa Notare, assistant director for the Conference's Natural Family Planning Program.
"This recommendation becomes tragic when we consider that the recommendation is built upon overriding a parent's rights over their own children," she said.
Whether pediatricians heed the recommendation remains to be seen.
"Some pediatricians are already doing this," said Dr. Melissa Kottke, director of The Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health at Emory University and medical director for the teen services programme at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta where it is common practice to provide Plan B, "a morning after pill", in an advanced fashion.
"Pediatricians who primarily take care of adolescents may already be comfortable with it but what this recommendation does is provide encouragement and support for pediatricians who take care of the full spectrum of pediatrics."
Dr. Cora Breuner, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital who led the AAP panel that produced the recommendations said pediatricians in general have preferred not to talk about emergency contraception, let alone offer advance prescriptions.
"We tend not to like bringing up stuff that's controversial," she said.
Emergency contraception for adolescents has been one of the most politically fraught areas in healthcare for almost a decade.
In 2005 the US Food and Drug Administration declined to approve any over-the-counter sales of Plan B, overruling its panel of outside experts as well as its own scientists. Last December the FDA reversed that stance and moved to approve over-the-counter sales with no age limits. But Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled it, ordering that for girls under 17 the pills remain available only by prescription.
The FDA subsequently denied a Citizen's Petition that would have allowed over-the-counter access to emergency contraception for women of all ages.
As a result, teenagers "face a significant barrier if they suddenly need emergency contraception at midnight on a Saturday," said Susan Wood, former assistant commissioner for women's health at the FDA. She resigned from the agency in 2005 over its Plan B decision and is now director of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The Center for Reproductive Rights, a global legal advocacy organisation devoted to reproductive rights, has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Sebelius' decision and welcomed the AAP recommendation.
"We are very pleased to see this recommendation because it represents progress towards our ultimate goal which is that women of all ages should have unrestricted access to emergency contraception, said Janet Crepps, senior counsel in the US legal programme at the Center.
Women's advocates also hailed the recommendation, saying it offers a workaround current health policy which places unnecessary hurdles in the way of young teenagers obtaining emergency contraception.
"This shames the department of Health and Human Services and its nakedly political attempt to override science and medicine,"said Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organisation for Women, a non-profit advocacy organisation. "HHS's policy means doctors have to use this workaround, and good for them, but they shouldn't have to do it," she said.
A spokeswoman for HHS, Erin Shields Britt, declined on behalf of the department to comment.
The most common form of emergency contraception is a high dose of a regular birth-control pill such as Plan B and Plan B One-Step from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd or Next Choice from Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc . They generally sell for $10 to $80 and, although they can work as long as 120 hours after unprotected sex, are most effective in the first 24 hours.
All work by preventing ovulation, not by stopping the implantation of a fertilized egg. "These are not abortifacients," said Seattle Children's Breuner. Abortifacients are drugs or devices used to cause abortion.
Greater use of emergency contraception
A 2006-08 survey found that 14 per cent of sexually experienced girls had used emergency contraception, up from 8 per cent in a 2002 survey. The most common reason was condom failure, but 13 per cent of the girls said it was because of rape.
A 2010 analysis of seven randomized studies of emergency contraception found that having a morning-after prescription in hand did not increase teens' sexual activity or decrease use of standard contraceptives but did increase use of the pill and shorten the time before a teenager used it after sex.
"It's just common sense that requiring a prescription is a barrier," said Bill Alpert, chief programme officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "If an august and respected medical group like AAP is suggesting providing emergency contraception to minors is OK, that is a big deal."
That is especially so when teens face other obstacles to getting emergency contraception. For instance, in a 2012 study that had 17-year-olds telephone pharmacies asking about morning-after pills, only 57 per cent of them correctly told the caller that she could get the drugs without a prescription.
Another barrier is that some physicians refuse to provide the prescriptions to teenagers, while others do so only in cases of rape, AAP's research shows, suggesting that the refusal "may be related to the physician's beliefs about whether it is OK for teenagers to have sex."
But pediatricians,said AAP in its policy statement, "have a duty to inform their patients about relevant, legally available treatment options," even those "to which they object."
One factor in the AAP's recommendation, which is being published in the journal "Pediatrics," is that although teen pregnancies in the United States have declined since 1991, the rate is higher than in most other developed countries.
The per cent of 15- to 18-year-olds who report ever having intercourse - just over 40 per cent, according to the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - is, however, lower than in many developed countries. In other words, fewer of America's teens are having sex but more are getting pregnant.
"We think this is a big deal," Breuner said of the new recommendation. "The mothership of pediatricians has come out in favour of encouraging routine counseling and advance emergency-contraception prescriptions as one part of a public health strategy to reduce teen pregnancy."


text:
Zack Stanton cleared the bases in the third inning with a grand slam to put the Georgia Southwestern baseball team ahead 6-2 and the Hurricanes went on to a 7-5 win over Brewton-Parker on Tuesday evening at the friendly confines of Hurricane Stadium - where GSW is 9-1 this season.
Stanton has homered in back-to-back games with six RBIs.
Kevin Carroll was a perfect 3-for-3 on Tuesday leading GSW at the plate with a home run, walk, run scored and three RBIs.
It was Brewton-Parker taking the early lead in the game when Robby Kuzdale belted a two-run home run to right field in the first inning to put BPC ahead 2-0.
The Hurricanes tied things up in the second when Carroll delivered a two-out, two-run home run (see picture below) to left field, driving in Paschel Poston, who reached on a single an at bat earlier.
GSW went up 7-2 after a five-run inning in the third, highlighted by Stanton's grand slam. Carroll added an insurance run with another two-out RBI when he drove in Trent Dooley with a single through the left side of the infield.
The visiting Barons scored two runs in the sixth after a pair of walks and a double from Brandon Stevens. BPC loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but could only push across their final run of the game on a fielder's choice.
Hurricane starter Travis Barrett (2-0) settled in after the two-run first to throw 5.2 innings, allowing four hits and four runs. BPC could only muster an unearned run during Corey Hawes' 2.1 innings of relief. Chris Carroll came on to throw a scoreless ninth to secure his third save of the spring.
Daniel Eaton (2-2) pitched the first two innings and allowed three runs off two hits to take the loss for Brewton-Parker (19-7). BPC threw six pitchers in the contest.
The Hurricanes (11-6) travel to Albany State on Thursday for a 5 p.m. game.
HEADLINE PICTURE (top right): Zack Stanton
ARTICLE PICTURE (above): Kevin Carroll
PHOTOS BY: Chris Fenn


text:
(From left) Shown in their new warehouse digs are Richard Bowman-Sales Manager, Todd Peterson-Operations Manager, Janis Lunde-CFO, and Brad Lunde-President of TransAudio Group.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 2011: High-end pro audio distributor TransAudio Group recently moved to a new, more expansive office space, virtually a stone's throw from its old facilities. The new TransAudio Group headquarters is located at 7340 Smoke Ranch Road, Suite A in fabulous Las Vegas. The move more than doubles TransAudio Group's floor space, adding nearly 3,000 square feet devoted mostly to warehousing with the addition of several new offices and demo rooms.
Within the new space TransAudio Group will house the highly-coveted offerings from A Designs, ATC, BOCK Audio, Chameleon Labs, Crane Song, Daking, Dave Hill Designs, Drawmer, GML, Lehmann Audio, Pauly Superscreen, SABRA-SOM, Sonodyne, SoundField and TUBE-TECH.
TransAudio Group's move reflects the company's strong growth. "We've found ways to grow our brands despite a tough market," said TransAudio Group president and pro audio veteran Brad Lunde. "I believe
product innovation is key to sales. Our focus on representing only engineering driven manufacturers who deliver technically outstanding products has really paid off. Couple that philosophy to our "personal" brand of service, expertise and customer supports makes the future look highly positive."
ABOUT TRANSAUDIO GROUP TransAudio Group, founded by industry veteran Brad Lunde, has quickly become the premier U.S. importer/distributor and/or U.S. sales and marketing representative for high-end audio. Success hinges on TransAudio providing dealers and end users with a higher standard of product expertise and support far beyond the norm. www.transaudiogroup.com


text:
Cranleigh Optometrist / Flexible Hours / Great Salaries / Clinical Optometrist Required
- Recruiter
- Vivid Optical
- Location
- Cranleigh, Surrey
- Salary
- Up to £60,000 and then bonus
- Posted
- 06 Jun 2019
- Closes
- 06 Jul 2019
- Ref
- Job Role
- Optometrist
- Sector
- Multiple Practice
- Contract Type
- Permanent
This company is renowned to be the Best Healthcare Multiple within the industry that has the most to offer for an budding and ambitious Optometrist being the only main one that has 25 minute testing times with no variation and are the biggest optical company that is operated as a UK business.
All of their employees mention how their practices are a great place to work and there's genuine career progression opportunities such as an Clinical Governence Officer, Management, Regional Management, Mobile Roles and even opportunities to work alongside Johnson and Johnson!
As a leading multiple company they are developing themselves to becoming a more clinically inclined company and endeavours to be the sole practitioner of servicing the best eye care and is renowned for their good balance between the retail and clinical aspects of the business.
This practice is looking for someone with a driven mindset as the rest of their passionate team members for either a part time or full time position within their professional practice and they are the most favourable of multiples to work for as they pay very competitively and would be able to offer up to £60,000 dependent on the candidate.
The vacancy is with a practice located Cranleigh - a large village and civil parish, self-proclaimed the largest in England, almost 8 miles southeast of Guildford in Surrey
By joining this company you can expect the following:
- 25 minute testing times
- Very good balance between clinical & commercial
- Excellent career development opportunities (take on a pre-reg, become an optom manager, become a CSC (clinical support colleague) or regional management
- Previously voted Number 1 company to work for in the UK, by their own employees, in the Times Top 100 Big Companies to Work For
- Bonus of up to 8% of your annual salary - £4,800
- All practices have qualified support staff and managers (DO's and optical assistants)
- Up to 18% contributory pension (if you put in 6% of your salary, this company will contribute 12%) - £10,800
- Annual figure on £60K with bonus and pension - you could make well over £65 - 70K!
If you are interested the please contact our senior recruitment consultant, Andrew Rowe on 0203 371 0682 OR firstname.lastname@example.com - he will answer any questions and provide all details needed.
- GOC registered or ability to be
- Clean faultless GOC record
- Full Time commitment
- Team and self motivated
* If you cannot offer the above requirements, please do not apply for the position


text:
This website uses cookies to deliver some of our products and services as well as for analytics and to provide you a more personalized experience. Visit our Cookie Notice to learn more.
By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. We've also updated our Privacy Notice. Visit our Privacy Policy to see what's new.
Not a Member? Join OSA
April 19, 2010
Alfred Josef Thelen, an OSA Fellow Emeritus known for his contributions to the field of optical thin films, died on April 19, 2010, in Frankfurt, Germany. He was 81.
Thelen's accomplishments included work in such areas as antireflection coatings, reflection and minus filters, edge filters, beam splitters, broad- and narrow-bandpass filters and polarizers.
Thelen received his early education in his home town of Frankfurt, Germany. He studied physics at the Technical School for Higher Education in Darmstadt, one of the great German universities, where he was a teaching assistant in experimental and theoretical physics and in applied mathematics (1949-1955). His dissertation was on the subject of conducting antireflection coatings on glass.
In 1955, Thelen went to Santa Rosa, California, to work for the Optical Coating Laboratories Incorporated (OCLI). He returned to Germany in 1956 just long enough to obtain a Ph.D. from the University of Karlsruhe (1959). His thesis was on the lubrication of cylindrical bearings with oil– antifreeze mixtures. He then returned to the OCLI in Santa Rosa, becoming vice president for Research and Development in 1961. Then, in 1969 Alfred Thelen joined Balzers AG in the Principality of Liechtenstein, where, in 1976, he was named director and chief of the Thin Films Group, and where he remained for eight years before returning to the Optical Coating Laboratories in Santa Rosa as senior vice president and director of technology.
Eventually Thelen started to miss his European heritage. He returned to Germany in 1985 to work as research director at Leybold–Heräus. In 1990, he became a professor at the University of Kaiserslautern. In the same year he started an optical thin-film interference-coating consulting business in Frankfurt, Germany. In the mid-1990s, Thelen became the European representative for the OptiLayer thin film design software.
Thelen was the author of Design of Optical Interference Coatings (McGraw-Hill, 1988) and numerous other publications, including book chapters, papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. He also held at least 19 US patents.
An OSA member for 48 years, Thelen served on the Optical Interface Coatings (OIC) advisory committee. He was elected as a Fellow in 1962.
Thelen died on the first anniversary of his wife's death, a day that also coincided with her birthday. He is survived by two children and five grandchildren.


text: Absinthe is a strong alcoholic beverage made from herbal extracts. It gains its name, distinctive bitter taste and reputation from the main herb 'wormwood' (Artemisia absintheium). Absinthe has changed through history from being a drink for the poor, a protection against Malaria and fever by soldiers, an aperitif for the rich and a inspirational drug for the creative. Apparently Pythagoras advised women to drink a absinthe-like extract during childbirth, and Hypocrates prescribed it for rheumatism, menstrual pains and anaemia. The list of influential artists who were partial is impressive: Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Woody Allen, Rimbaud, Much and Strindberg to name but a few. Actually outlawed for a long time, it has steadily grown in popularity in recent years. Kylie Minogue recently made an attractive Green Fairy in the recent film 'Moulin Rouge'.


text:
Greg Beyer and Arcomusical
Hailed a "fine percussionist" in The New York Times and second prize winner of the 2002 Geneva International Music Competition, Gregory Beyer has given solo performances and masterclasses throughout the world. A contemporary music specialist with significant experience in contemporary, orchestral, jazz and world music, Beyer melds the multiple disciplines of 21st Century percussion into a singular artistic voice.
Of primary importance to him is his project, ARCOMUSICAL – an endeavor that involves ethno- musicological research about, and the composition and commission of new works for, the berimbau - am Afro-Brazilian musical bow instrument. Festival appearances include multiple iterations of PASIC and SEAMUS, CrossDrumming (Warsaw), RICMA (Buenos Aires), Beijing Modern Music, The Stone (NYC), and multiple performances in São Paulo and Bahia, Brazil.
His berimbau sextet, "Bau House," has premiered five new works in as many years and has performed at PASIC 2009. His own compositions, Bahian Counterpoint (2002) and Vou-me embora (2006) have garnered multiple performances, prizes and positive reviews.
Beyer is a founding member of the flute/percussion duo, DUE EAST, a group that has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Brazil and China. The duo is dedicated to the advancement of virtuosic contemporary music for flute and percussion, and it won first prize in the 2008 National Flute Association Chamber Music Competition. DUE EAST's first recording, Simultaneous Worlds, is available on Albany Records. Their second release, drawn only once, is available on New Amsterdam Records.
Beyer is a member of the Chicago-based new music ensemble, Dal Niente. Additional chamber music activities include performances and/or recordings with Third Coast Percussion, Sō Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, Present Music, CUBE, ICE, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Speculum Musicae, NewBand, Sequitur, and the S.E.M. Ensemble.
An Associate Professor of Percussion at Northern Illinois University, Greg Beyer directs the Percussion Ensemble (performed at PASIC in 2009), New Music Ensemble, and Latin Jazz Ensemble. He endorses Bosphorus cymbals, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, Pearl/ Adams percussion instruments, and Evans Drumheads.
Beyer is currently serving as President of the Illinois Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.


text:
Student or Learner
First of all, thank you for having read my post. I'm sorry for my mistakes! I'm very young but I'm trying to learn english and I'm going to do the PET exam on June. I'm quite good at reading, writing and listening but I'm bad at speaking, because I don't know how to find quickly the words I'd want to say. What can I do to improve my english, more over in the speaking part?
Thank you very much!
Remember - if you don't use correct capitalisation, punctuation and spacing, anything you write will be incorrect.
When speaking, we often use empty words and phrases to give us time. If you're asked a question, you could use something like Well at the beginning to give your self a second.
Also, your writing suggests that you should be able to do PET without any difficulties. Learn a few tactics to gain a bit of time naturally, and you'll sail through.


text:
Sign In
Order History
All Products
Our Artists
Artist's Accomplishments
Collectors Corner
Contact Us
Customer Service
Featured Products
How to Shop
Shipping Info
Your Privacy
Your Privacy
Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. At The Courtyard Gallery, we remain committed to protecting your online privacy. We will only use the information you provide to process orders and to provide a more personalized shopping experience. SSL (Secure Socket Layer) technology encrypts all confidential information transmitted between your computer and our server.
We do not regularly send email to our current customer list but may, on occasion, send out an update notice or new product introduction. If we should decide to produce a regular e-zine or newsletter in the future, it will be by subscription only.
The Way We Use Information:
We use the information you provide about yourself when placing an order only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
We use the information you provide about someone else when placing an order only to ship the product and to confirm delivery. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.
We use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.
We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and to share with advertisers. For example, we may tell an advertiser that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, or that Y number of men and Z number of women filled out our registration form, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.
Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.
Our Commitment To Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information
You can access all your personally identifiable information that we collect online and maintain by clicking on Account at the top of any page and entering your user name and password. We use this procedure to better safeguard your information. To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.
How To Contact Us
Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at 1-785-227-3007 or send us an email at
Your Privacy
About Us
Contact Us
Shipping & Returns
Privacy Policy
All Products
Ecommerce Shopping Cart Software by


text:
A tale of two city halls
New York Democrats have been known to co-opt the Charles Dickens concept of "A Tale of Two Cities."
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio currently uses it for his mayoral campaign. In a similar vein, past mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer evoked the "other New York." Ex-Gov. Mario M. Cuomo went national in 1984 with "two cities" as the theme of his famous Democratic National Convention speech.
But there is also a lesser-known, nonpartisan story to be told -- a tale of two City Halls. One is all about public theater, usually driven by whoever is mayor, featuring spirited sound bites and spin.
Then there is the City Hall of important but unsexy public functions -- a City Hall populated by the likes of James F. Hanley, 64, the commissioner who heads the city's Office of Labor Relations.
The commissioner could play a crucial role next year, since departing Mayor Michael Bloomberg will leave his successor a term's worth of unsettled labor contracts.
In a city where every mayor or would-be mayor tries to come off as indispensable, it is notable that Hanley has been labor commissioner in the past four administrations, since Ed Koch -- and served in subordinate roles in the two before that.
Unlike, say, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, whose job constantly puts him front and center, Hanley works on a thousand discreet personnel-related dealings behind the scenes.
"He's the one person who understands how to deal with more than 65 municipal union contracts," New York University Professor Mitchell Moss said.
Vincent Montalbano, a private consultant and former official of District Council 37, said, "Hanley has always been a good negotiator, and by that I mean, as Victor Gotbaum used to say, 'It's not called collective bargaining for nothing.' "
"He's not soft. He's a strong negotiator and advocate for the management side. I may not like that [as a union representative], but he's honest, and that's important in discussing things."
Bloomberg, who's legally barred from running again, hasn't reached contract pacts with unions for several years. So most municipal employees work under the automatically extended terms of expired pacts.
After 41 years on the scene, and with crucial negotiations due, will Hanley stay on for the next mayor, even if he falls back into his civil-service title? He said casually in a brief phone conversation between meetings Thursday: "I don't figure these things out until I get there."
Mayoral candidates generally do not comment in advance on who their commissioners would be -- even if Council Speaker Christine Quinn has said any mayor "would be lucky" to have Kelly as top cop. But Bloomberg's would-be successors appear well aware of the problems that await.
Comptroller John Liu, a mayoral candidate, blasted Bloomberg last month, saying, "This mayor is leaving the taxpayers deep in the red with personnel costs that should have been addressed a long time ago. We now have a situation with hundreds of thousands of city employees working without current contracts.
"That should have never been allowed to happen."
We're revamping our Comments section. Learn more and share your input.