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Plus Microsoft invests in Indian start-ups and Apple gets generous with their apps.
Birthing startups
Microsoft is investing in the future of the Indian tech environment. In an announcement last week, the Redmond based company announced that it has plans to incubate ten Indian start-ups. Microsoft will help with financing and resources while connecting the companies to interested venture capitalists.
Facebook banter
After Facebook's much publicised – and somewhat underwhelming – IPO, the New York Times is reporting that the company is working hard on its own smartphone.This is not the first time we've heard these rumours, however as the majority of Facebook's users are accessing the network via mobile devices, this seems very likely. Last week, Facebook also launched a dedicated camera app for Android and iOS.
Launch week
RIM unveiled the BlackBerry 9230 for the Indian market. The Rs 16,000 handset features 3G bands, a 3.2MP camera, BlackBerry 7OS and a 2.5-inch screen. This will tide you over just fine till BB10, no? If Android is your cup of tea, then Samsung has you covered. On the 31st of May, they will launch the Samsung Galaxy SIII in India. The 5-inch, flagship device runs Android 4.0. As for the price, mum's still the word.
Apple byte
Apple's App store needs no introduction. The raving success has seen more than 25 billion apps downloaded since its inception. Last week Apple started a new "Free App of the Week" section, featuring a usually paid app for gratis. With June just around the corner, we are nearing closer to WWDC and the unveiling of iOS 6 and the new iPhone. Analysts are convinced the new iPhone will feature a 4-inch display with a higher 1280×720 resolution.
Related tech news:
Apple TV in 2012
Review: Sony Tablet S
Samsung to launch Galaxy Ace Plus

subset: commoncrawl


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Under the honourable presence of His Excellency Dr.Khalifa Hamid Al Saadi, the Governor of Dakhilya, Dhofar Automotive the exclusive distributors of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in Oman inaugurated its new showroom in Nizwa. The showroom features the latest models from Chrysler, Ram, Jeep and Dodge. In addition, the new after-sales centre is now open as well. The after-sales section has a dedicated team for meet-and-greet service, special bay for express lane service, display area for spare parts & accessories and a team for quick-service diagnostics.
Speaking about the launch Chris Edwards, General Manager of Dhofar Automotive said "Our new showroom in Nizwa meets the Fiat Chrysler Group's International standards and is committed to delivering world-class service. Everything here is designed keeping the customer in mind and we are confident our highly trained customer care and support division will do their best to delight our customers. What's more, we have already been hearing great feedback from the visitors and we look forward to their continued support."
Dhofar Automotive also launched the all-new 2017 Dodge Neon. The new Dodge Neon is the perfect example of just how exciting a car can be. This vehicle is quite literally a REVOLUTION OF STANDARDS – in every sense of the word, offering performance and specifications that overshadow anything else currently available in the segment in the market.
The Neon's 1.6 litre 4 Cylinder engine is superb in terms of both acceleration and fuel efficiency. And thus offers best-in-class performance and driving experience. In addition, Neon also offers best-in-class cargo space with 520 L of storage space.
The Standard features are spacious seating for five with 6 Standard Driver and Passenger Airbags and Directional Fog lamps. The other features include selectable steering option - "City" Mode, Cruise Control, Audio and EVIC functions, 15-inch wheels with tire pressure monitoring system, AM/FM/AUX/USB LCD radio, Bluetooth, 6 speakers with 220-watt Amp, 4 CHANNEL ABS Electronic Break Distribution, Electronic Break Assist, Electronic stability control and Electronic Roll Mitigation.
The interior sets new standards with the use of high quality soft-feel materials with chrome highlights, and customers can choose from a wide range of premium fabric options and LED interior lighting.
The Neon combines high levels of comfort, exceptional roominess and a comprehensive range of standard features and safety equipment, delivering exceptional value for money.


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Michele Fernandez
I studied jewellery at Gray's School of Art, (Robert Gordon's University) in Aberdeen, and having completed my degree, decided to pursue my interest in jewellery making further by applying to do an MA at the Royal College of Art. Upon graduating from the RCA, I was awarded the O.S.A.R.C.A. (an RCA award) for best work in the applied arts. This spurred me on to apply to the Crafts Council for a grant to help fund the establishment of my workshop where I currently live, in London.
My jewellery explores the use of sterling silver, resin and plastics, and work is inspired primarily by the working properties of the materials. I aim to explore the different ways that they can be combined, and worked, in order to achieve a careful balance between form, pattern and colour.
Careful finishing of the various surfaces lends a refined, precious, quality to all the materials
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"See you at the beach," waves a Cape Town friend. A week later, in Durban, I hear the same farewell.
It's that time of year. South Africans have sand between their toes.
They share summer's beach culture with Australians. So, it's no surprise when rainbow nation tourism officials announce surging numbers of Aussies are taking African beach holidays.
Our dollar's strong – making this inexpensive destination even cheaper.
Exploring its rich cultural mix and scenic attractions are year-round activities. However, summer isn't prime time for eyeballing wild animals in famed game reserves such as Kruger National Park.
While animal-viewing remains reasonable, conditions are sometimes wet with washed out roads. In South African game reserves, winter is high season (though climatic conditions vary in other African countries).
But the beach is a different story. Summer crowds make a beeline for South Africa's superb beaches.
From Cape Town in the far south (where some beaches cluster on the Atlantic Ocean side and others face the Indian Ocean) to the east coast's Durban and beyond – with Port Elizabeth and East London in between – are dozens of memorable options.
Here's a tote bag of some of the best:
Clifton: South Africa's most glamorous beach is a 10-minute cab ride from downtown. Skimpy designer swimwear, high-fashion sunglasses, a well-toned body and loads of attitude are de rigueur at this see-and-be-seen chill-out zone for self-styled beautiful people where the beach is a series of coves.
Camps Bay: A white-sand strip a few more minutes' drive, similarly oozing affluence but not as crassly as at Clifton. Good restaurants thrive nearby. Regulars include surfers (as at Clifton) and families with kids. Be warned: the Atlantic can be chilly.
Sea Point: Between Clifton and the city, this isn't really a beach at all (though there's a swimming pool). It's more hang-out territory for seafront promenading. Sea Point has many restaurants (with particularly good seafood ) and bars along with vibrant nightlife.
Blouberg: Also an Atlantic beach, it's far less pretentious than Clifton. Splendid Table Mountain views attract professional photographers. Popular for swimming and surfing, its water is wonderfully cool on hot summer days.
Muizenberg: Faded grandeur lingers from 1960s trendiness. A long white-sand strip, with gaudily-painted "beach huts", still attracts big weekend crowds. On the Cape Peninsula's warmer-water False Bay side, Muizenberg has charming Indian Ocean neighbours: St James, Fish Hoek, Hout Bay (a fishing village renowned for swimming and kayaking) and Kalk Bay (with calm water and shallow tidal pools in a family-friendly setting).
Boulders: Alongside False Bay's Simonstown naval base – with quaint pubs, art galleries, souvenir shops and an English seaside ambience – is the Boulders, home of an African penguin colony which waddles ashore at dusk while watched from tourist boardwalks. By day, gigantic smooth-surfaced rocks create sheltered coves.
Strand: "Strand" is Afrikaans for beach. This 5km False Bay white-sand strip is reminiscent of Queensland's Surfers Paradise. A 40-minute drive from downtown, it's one of the safest near Africa's southern tip. Water sports include kayaking. Beginner surfers are numerous. The next beach, curved Gordons Bay, also pulls large crowds.
Hermanus: Whale-watching (of Southern rights) draws June-December crowds. An all-year lure: cage-diving among great white sharks. The less daring choose from several operators offering shark-spotting trips. One recent boatload watched a frenzied fish leap from the water with a seal in its jaws. Other Hermanus diversions: seal colonies, beach horse-riding. Several beaches entice swimmers; nearby Onrus is arguably the Cape Town area's number-one surfing destination.
Margate: South of Durban (127kms), this tranquil holiday choice has abundant accommodation in all price categories. Swimming, body-boarding, surfing, fishing and undemanding beach-lazing are lures in a hideaway less frenetic than Durban itself.
North Beach, South Beach: Durban is one of the few cities boasting downtown beaches. Cross hotel-studded O.R. Tambo Parade to reach the Golden Mile's band of sand – just beyond footpath vendors of Zulu handicrafts.
Suncoast Beach: Nearby Suncoast is decidedly trendier than its downtown rivals. Some call it Durban's best. Tropical Durban – with weather similar to southern Queensland's – promotes year-round swimming but beaches do get chilly in winter.
Umhlanga Rocks: Ten minutes' drive north is an up-and-coming district with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls and a beach liked by South Africans and tourists. Families congregate at calm areas. Surfers insist Umhlanga is unrivalled along KwaZulu-Natal province's coast.
La Lucia: Between Durban and Umhlanga Rocks is La Lucia with pristine beaches, safe Indian Ocean swimming and reasonable surfing. Upscale suburbia, it's a winner for diverse cheaper-than-Australia mall shopping. [Only electronics are more expensive.]
Humewood Beach: Among many Algoa Bay beaches in and near Port Elizabeth. it attracts locals, solo travellers, holidaying couples and families with children. It's safe for swimming and recommended for surfing (which aficionados describe as reasonable rather than outstanding).
Bluewater Bay: A suburb of car-manufacturing Port Elizabeth, this beach is handy for city workers who throng here before or after work. to the city. Both swimming and fishing are evident during my weekday visit – with many people sprawled on the sand (some with laptops). Surfing isn't a drawcard here.
Blue Horizon Bay: 45kms from Port Elizabeth, this Indian Ocean area is awash in worthwhile choices including Maitland Beach (with 5kms of coastal dunes), Hobie Beach (great for body-surfing), Paradise Beach (with hotels, shopping and uncrowded sands) and Pollock Beach (with sheltered, shallow rock pools trapping sea life at high tide; I've beachcombed happily here, hopping between rocks and peering into rock pools – a pleasant postscript to several hours' snorkelling). A good side-trip is Addo Elephant National Park, a pachyderm habitat with other beasts also roaming free.
Orient Beach (in suburban Quigney), Nahoon Beach (where surfing contests are regularly held) and Gonubie Beach (25kms north, with a boardwalk across indigenous vegetation) are this laid-back Eastern Cape city's best.
And then there's Coffee Bay, also on the Wild Coast.
Coffee Bay: It's an East London-area gem, arguably South Africa's supreme surfing spot and a flourishing tourist destination (particularly for backpackers). Some lodgings offer transfers for the 197kms from East London. There's surprisingly little at Coffee Bay where rolling green pastures slope towards the sea – except splendid beaches, glorious surf, numerous backpacker lodgings, upmarket BBs and good tourist hotels, along with several restaurants. "The surf here is absolutely spectacular," a backpacker from Adelaide tells me, emerging from the sea. "So are the sharks," jokes Xhosa-speaking tour guide William Ross. Top side-trip: tiny Mvezo village – birthplace of Nelson Mandela, father of South African democracy.
Getting there: South African Airways (1300 435 972; flysaa.com) flies between Australia and Johannesburg, where travellers connect with domestic flights. Various companies run tours including South Africa. Among these: Australia-based Inca Tours (1800 024 955; incatours.net), specialising in Africa and South America.
Staying there: South African cities have plentiful accommodation options, from opulent to budget. The country's biggest chain, Protea Hotels (+ 27 21 430 5300; proteahotels.com), has a selection at most destinations.
More: South African Tourism (1800 238 643, southafrica.net).
The writer was a guest of South African Airways, South African Tourism and Protea Hotels.
Article source: http://au.totaltravel.yahoo.com/news-opinions/news/a/-/12706943/australians-love-south-african-holidays/


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If you have a question about any of the projects below please feel free to reach out.
Ready to get started on your project? Send me an email: email@example.com or fill out my contact form.
Case Studies
Finding someone to build you a WordPress site is easy… they're everywhere. However, finding someone that understands how to turn your site visitors into leads is rare. Not only did Chris re-brand my entire site to look nice, he made it convert a lot better too.
Brent Dunn – PPCMode
Chris is one of the best designers/developers I've ever worked with. Prior to the start of my project, we agreed on a timeline of events, that kept the entire project on schedule. During the entire process he was very responsive which made implementing changes a breeze.
I highly recommend Chris, but don't keep him too busy, as we'll be using him again in the future!
Ryan Gray – iMobiTrax


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Wargame rules for space battles
with model spaceships!
Designed for tabletop battles, these rules feature a scenario generator to stop games just becoming mindless slogging matches, and an action-
The system has a simple means of representing spatial distance, so while the games are on a flat tabletop you can take into account the relative distance between spaceships depth-
Energy is produced by a spaceship's power plant and then expended on actions, with the order in which actions are done being governed by use of playing cards.
Spaceships can be formed into divisions and squadrons, or operate independently, which impacts command and control aspects during play. Other themes covered include crew drill levels, radiation and debris, using various types of scanners (heat signature, physical signature, visual scan, indirect), ion or geometric storms, planets, asteroids, close orbit, teleportation, detection buoys and early warning stations, minefields and defence satellites, drones, equipment degradation, bridge detaching, mother ships and planet killers, and sample spaceship designs.
Actions allowed include going on battle stations, making ready point defence, applying thrust, engaging drives, hyper jumps, energizing weapons, firing missile banks, cyber attacks, engaging shields, supercharging reactors, auto-
What is more, energy weapons such as lasers can fire in a concentrated manner, or using standard or wide dispersal, while critical hits can result in nasties such as reactor breaches or comms links failures!
All in all, plenty to get your teeth into, but wrapped into a straight forward system which isn't overburdening on our brain cells!
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Your kiddos or grandkids will enjoy having a room all to themselves in this rear bunkhouse travel trailer. This single slide out Prime Time RV Avenger ATI 29RBS features 3 bunk beds and a Cube sofa in the bunkhouse, plus a private front bedroom for the parents. When you are needing to relax inside be sure to watch your favorite shows on the 50" TV. The outdoor kitchen offers a second location to cook and serve meals to you family and friends, plus there is more to see!
With any Avenger ATI you will feel secure knowing the travel trailer is made with exclusive EVERLAST construction. The Dexter axles provide safety and peace-of-mind while traveling to your favorite locations. Once you are set up you will appreciate the exterior shower providing an extra place to clean off, the radius entrance door with a window, and the LED lit power awning while relaxing outside with family and friends. The mandatory Advantage package provides additional features that you will find useful such as a restaurant style kitchen faucet, LED interior lighting, and a large double door refrigerator. It's time to take your next journey in an Avenger ATI travel trailer by Prime Time RV!
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String Lights, G12 Raspberry LED Bulbs, 25 ft, Plug in, Red Green
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Each event can now be illuminated with a classy touch by the addition of our Red and Green LED raspberry string lights. On our 25 foot green wire, these sphere bulbs add classic emphasis, perfect for any event. Our bulbs have been designed to be durable, long-lasting with vibrant and illuminating glow. You can expand the reach of the strand; connect multiple strands end-to-end with the stackable cord. To find harmonious lighting to expand on the elegant and classic feel and texture of these bulbs, take a look at our White Christmas Lights and Wedding String Lights.
- Bulb Type: Raspberry LED bulbs
- Bulb Color: Red and Green
- Bulb Count: 50
- Bulb Spacing: 6 inches
- Power: 120 Volts
- Lighted Length: 24.5 feet
- Overall Length: 25 feet
- Lead Length: 6 inches
- Tail Length: 6 inches
- Wire Color: Green
- Plug Type: Stackable
- End-to-end Connectable: Yes, up to 45 strands
- Grade: Indoor / Outdoor
- Ideas: Holiday parties, Christmas decor and home lighting arrangements.


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Wireless Telecom Group has appointed Daniel Monopoli as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective June 30, 2017. Daniel joined Wireless Telecom Group in September 2015 as the General Manager of the Test & Measurement segment overseeing the Boonton Electronics and Noisecom businesses.
As CTO, Daniel will be responsible for product development, product management and marketing across the Wireless Telecom Group segments. He will lead and innovate the go-to-market strategy, R&D process and product roadmap while driving activities in line with a commitment to engineering quality, performance excellence and product innovation.
Since joining the Wireless Telecom Group as General Manager of Test & Measurement, Dan has been known to reinvigorate the product roadmap, initiate exciting product investments, improve sales channel, launch new products to attack new markets, and demonstrate his leadership capabilities.
Daniel Monopoli has more than 15 years of experience defining, developing, marketing, selling and supporting high-tech products in fast-paced, competitive markets. He held various positions of increasing responsibility at Teledyne LeCroy for 13 years before joining the Wireless Telecom Group in 2015. He holds an MBA from Columbia University, Masters in Electrical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Binghamton University.


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Birthplace: Springfield
Residence: Worcester
High school: Seton Home Study School
Colleges and degrees earned: Associate's degree, Quinsigamond Community College; BSBA in Accounting, Nichols College
Career highlights: Recently earning my CPA designation. I also enjoy working with a diverse group of AAF clients that enhance the quality of life in our communities.
Community involvement: I've been a volunteer disaster incident supervisor with the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts for several years. Also, I recently became treasurer on the board for ArtsWorcester, a nonprofit that helps local artists exhibit and promote their work.
Ultimate career goal: To help others be more successful through the work I do in accounting.
Non-relative you admire most: Suzanne Billings, the disaster director for Central Mass. Red Cross. She has taught me so much about understanding others and their unique situations.
Favorite book: The Bible
Hidden talents: I took lessons in ballroom dancing for close to 10 years. I also competed as an amateur for several years and taught ballroom dancing to couples preparing for their weddings.
"If I were to win $1 million in the lottery, I would … use it to help my family and friends."
Type your comment here:
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advantages of music in children's education
The great relevance of utilizing music in educating youngsters in schools and in your own home!
Irrespective of whether your little one will be the upcoming Beyonce or additional possible to sing her solos in the shower, she is bound to advantage from some type of music training. Investigate demonstrates that studying the do-re-mis can help youngsters excel in techniques beyond the essential ABCs.
Much more Than simply Music Study has uncovered that finding out music facilitates finding out other subjects and enhances techniques that small children inevitably use in other parts. "A music-rich working experience for little ones of singing, listening and moving is genuinely bringing a really really serious benefit to kids as they progress into a lot more formal mastering," says Mary Luehrisen, executive director of the Nationwide Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Basis, a not-for-profit association that promotes the benefits of making music.
Producing music consists of additional than the voice or fingers taking part in an instrument; a child learning about music must tap into multiple ability sets, frequently concurrently. As an example, men and women use their ears and eyes, at the same time as huge and small muscle groups, says Kenneth Guilmartin, cofounder of Music Collectively, an early childhood music development plan for infants by means of kindergarteners that involves dad and mom or caregivers in the lessons.
"Music studying supports all mastering. Not that Mozart makes you smarter, but it is a really integrating, stimulating pastime or exercise," Guilmartin says.
Language Improvement "When you appear at youngsters ages two to 9, one among the breakthroughs in that location is music's advantage for language improvement, that is so essential at that stage," says Luehrisen. Whilst kids come into the globe prepared to decode sounds and words, music education assists increase people pure talents. "Growing up inside a musically wealthy setting is often advantageous for children's language improvement," she says. But Luehrisen adds that individuals inborn capacities ought to be "reinforced, practiced, celebrated," which can be performed at home or inside a more formal music schooling setting.
According to the Children's Music Workshop, the impact of music training on language improvement is often observed within the brain. "Recent scientific studies have clearly indicated that musical instruction physically develops the component on the left side with the brain acknowledged to be involved with processing language, and may in fact wire the brain's circuits in precise techniques. Linking acquainted songs to new data can also aid imprint facts on youthful minds," the group claims.
This romantic relationship in between music and language advancement can be socially beneficial to young youngsters. "The advancement of language over time tends to enhance components on the brain that aid course of action music," says Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of little one psychiatry at Yale College of Medicine along with a practicing musician. "Language competence is at the root of social competence. Musical encounter strengthens the capacity to be verbally competent."
Greater IQ A examine by E. Glenn Schellenberg on the University of Toronto at Mississauga, as published inside a 2004 challenge of Psychological Science, uncovered a tiny enhance within the IQs of six-year-olds who were given weekly voice and piano lessons. Schellenberg offered 9 months of piano and voice lessons to a dozen six-year-olds, drama lessons (to see if exposure to arts generally versus just music had an result) to a second group of six-year-olds, and no lessons to a third group. The children's IQs had been tested in advance of entering the primary grade, then again ahead of getting into the 2nd grade.
Surprisingly, the youngsters who have been offered music lessons above the school 12 months tested on regular three IQ points higher than the other groups. The drama group did not possess the identical maximize in IQ, but did encounter greater social habits benefits not seen within the music-only group.
The Brain Performs More difficult Analysis signifies the brain of a musician, even a young one, operates differently than that of a nonmusician. "There's some superior neuroscience exploration that youngsters involved with music have larger growth of neural exercise than folks not in music instruction. When you're a musician and you are taking part in an instrument, you need to be making use of more of the brain," says Dr. Eric Rasmussen, chair in the Early Childhood Music Division with the Peabody Preparatory in the Johns Hopkins University, exactly where he teaches a specialized music curriculum for kids aged two months to nine many years.
The truth is, a review led by Ellen Winner, professor of psychology at Boston University, and Gottfried Schlaug, professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, discovered alterations from the brain pictures of little ones who underwent 15 months of weekly music instruction and practice. The college students inside the study who obtained music instruction had improved sound discrimination and fine motor duties, and brain imaging showed changes on the networks from the brain associated with those abilities, based on the Dana Foundation, a private philanthropic organization that supports brain study.
Spatial-Temporal Skills Study has also observed a causal website link concerning music and spatial intelligence, which suggests that knowing music can assist kids visualize different aspects that should really go with each other, like they'd do when solving a math dilemma.
"We have some pretty good information that music instruction does reliably boost spatial-temporal abilities in children in excess of time," explains Pruett, who assisted identified the Performing Arts Medication Association. These skills come into play in solving multistep troubles one would encounter in architecture, engineering, math, art, gaming, and especially doing work with computer systems.
Improved Check Scores A examine published in 2007 by Christopher Johnson, professor of music training and music therapy at the University of Kansas, exposed that college students in elementary colleges with superior music education plans scored about 22 % larger in English and twenty % increased in math scores on standardized tests, when compared to colleges with low-quality music applications, regardless of socioeconomic disparities among the schools or college districts. Johnson compares the concentration that music training necessitates towards the concentrate required to carry out effectively on a standardized test.
Apart from check score outcomes, Johnson's review highlights the optimistic results that a quality music training can have on the younger child's good results. Luehrisen explains this psychological phenomenon in two sentences: "Schools which have rigorous programs and high-quality music and arts teachers likely have high-quality teachers in other areas. In case you have an environment in which there are plenty of individuals performing innovative, intelligent, terrific issues, joyful matters, even people that are not carrying out which have a tendency to go up and do superior."
And it does not finish there: as well as much better efficiency results on concentration-based tasks, music coaching may help with primary memory recall. "Formal instruction in music can also be related with other cognitive strengths such as verbal recall proficiency," Pruett says. "People who've had formal musical teaching are usually pretty good at remembering verbal information stored in memory."
Getting Musical Music can improve your child' skills in studying together with other nonmusic tasks, but it's crucial that you have an understanding of that music doesn't make a single smarter. As Pruett explains, the many intrinsic benefits to music training contain staying disciplined, finding out a ability, being aspect of the music planet, managing efficiency, getting aspect of something you may be proud of, as well as struggling by using a under ideal teacher.
"It's vital to not oversell how good music could make you," Pruett says. "Music tends to make your child fascinating and happy, and intelligent will come later on. It enriches her or his appetite for factors that carry you pleasure and for that mates you meet." Although mother and father may perhaps hope that enrolling their kid in a music plan will make her a much better student, the main reasons to supply your little one with a musical education need to be to assist them become additional musical, to value all elements of music, and to respect the approach of discovering an instrument or finding out to sing, and that is important on its own merit.
"There is actually a huge benefit from getting musical that we really do not fully grasp, but it is person. Music is for music's sake," Rasmussen says. "The advantage of music schooling for me is about becoming musical. It offers you possess a far better knowing of yourself. The horizons are greater whenever you are involved in music," he adds. "Your knowing of art as well as globe, and just how you are able to feel and express by yourself, are enhanced."
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By Tom Frary
Earning TDN Rising Star status on her six-length winning debut in a 10-furlong maiden here Apr. 9, Tocco d'Amore overcame a seven-month absence to continue the trail and register a convincing first black-type success in the process. Confidently anchored in mid-division early by Pat Smullen, the bay moved to Lagostovegas in the centre of the track and after gaining the advantage passing the furlong marker found a late surge to put her seal on Ireland's last black-type race of 2017. "It's a very pleasing performance by her. She is a very valuable filly and I look forward to winning group races with her next year," trainer Dermot Weld stated. "She would always appreciate an ease in the ground and would not want it firm. She is a smart filly. She had a setback fairly soon after her previous run and was off all through the summer. We just waited and patience paid dividends."
As expected from a €2million purchase from Pat O'Kelly famed nursery at Kilcarn Stud, Tocco d'Amore has fancy connections with her dam, the G2 Blandford S. runner-up Spirit of Tara, now responsible for a total of six black-type performers headed by Godolphin's talented Echo of Light. Himself a €1.2million buy at the Goffs Orby auction that Kilcarn have helped shape in recent times, he captured five group races for the operation which included the G2 Prix Daniel Wildenstein. Now a sire alongside his smart Kingmambo half-brothers Akarem (GB) and Multazem, he is also a half to the G2 Ribblesdale S. runner-up Flame of Gibraltar (Ire) (Rock of Gibraltar {Ire}) and Irish History (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) who was third in the G1 Coronation S. The second dam Flame of Tara (Ire) (Artaius) was high-class in her own right, winning the latter Royal Ascot contest when it was still a group 2 and also the G2 Pretty Polly S. and finishing runner-up in the G1 Champion S. Her seven black-type performers feature her stellar full-sister Salsabil (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) whose five top-level victories included the G1 Irish Derby, G1 Epsom Oaks and G1 1000 Guineas and who later produced three pattern-race winners headed by the GII Knickerbocker H.-winning sire Sahm (Mr. Prospector). Flame of Tara's son Marju (Ire) achieved renown as a sire after taking the G1 St. James's Palace S. and finishing second in the G1 Epsom Derby, while her other notable representatives were the G3 Prix de Psyche scorer and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas runner-up Danse Royale (Ire) (Caerleon), the SW and MGSP sire Song of Tara (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and the G2 Ribblesdale S. third Nearctic Flame (Ire), another by Sadler's Wells who went on to throw three black-type performers. Also from the family of the GI Breeders' Cup Turf hero Northern Spur (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and G1 Grand Criterium-winning sire Second Empire (Ire) (Fairy King), Spirit of Tara also has an as-yet unraced 2-year-old colt by Declaration of War named Texas Ranger (Ire) and a yearling colt by Invincible Spirit (Ire). The latter was purchased for €120,000 at the recent Orby by Justin Casse.
FINALE S.-Listed, €45,000, NAA, 11-5, 3yo/up, 12fT, 2:45.70, sf.
1–TOCCO D'AMORE (IRE), 121, f, 3, Raven's Pass–Spirit of Tara (Ire) (GSP-Ire), by Sadler's Wells.
(€2,000,000 Ylg '15 GOFORB). O-Moyglare Stud Farm; B-Kilcarn Stud (IRE); T-Dermot Weld; J-Pat Smullen. €26,550. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $41,263. *1/2 to Akarem (GB) (Kingmambo), MSW-Eng GSP-Ire, $267,792, to Echo of Light (GB) (Dubai Millennium {GB}), MGSW-Eng Fr, G1SP-Ity, $459,479.
2–Lagostovegas (Ire), 126, m, 5, Footstepsinthesand (GB)–Reine de Coeur (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). O-John Donohue. €8,550.
3–Mustajeer (GB), 131, g, 4, Medicean (GB)–Qelaan, by Dynaformer. (50,000gns HRA '17 TATJUL). O-David Spratt. €4,050.
Margins: 3, NK, HF. Odds: 1.75, 2.50, 3.00. Click for the Racing Post result. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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The girls needed a good bath after lots of playing in dirt and snacking on some candy fun dip. It was their first time having that candy and they really seemed to like the treat. Olivia preferred to just eat the candy stick and ignore the dip part. Abigail enjoyed both parts of her candy.
While I gave the girls their bath, their dad made a sweet treat for everyone. He diced up some fresh strawberries and made a white chocolate hot cocoa. The girls enjoyed dunking strawberry pieces into their mini cups before eating them. I dropped a few in mine and it was super delicious!
Its definitely something I wouldn't mind having again soon! I wonder what other fruits would be good dipped in a white hot chocolate?


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HI! I made it to Omaha at about 4 and have been BUSY ever since~!!
I got my car rental
I got my nails painted
I got a little cardio workout in- 20 mins on ther bike and 15 mins on the tready
I talked to Brenda!! ~ she's fired UP!!!
I showered
I got to see Deb pose in her suit~ she's RIPPED!
I got to go to out to a cool spot for dinner with Lisa and Deb! They are the sweetest!! Here we are last year at Council Bluffs…
and NOW I am here seeing all of the SUPER STAR posts! WOW!!! you are all spectacular!!
Could you do me a BIG time favor? Pray for me…I am sick with a bad head cold…it started 2 nights ago with a horrid sore throat, moved to my sinues and now it's in my ears and lungs. I need to get back to 100% ASAP! THANKS!
Love ya!!


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Best Seller in Washington State Cougars Kids
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Help your youngster keep the cold air at bay while he pays homage to his favorite team with this remarkable Washington State Cougars Punter fleece hoodie and pants set from Colosseum!
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Teens across the country picked their favorites of 2013, and the votes are in! Starting with #10 is The Eye of Minds by James Dashner.
Someone in the VirtNet is attacking other gamers, leaving them brain-dead. Michael is the government's best chance to find the cyber-terrorist who calls himself Kaine and restore safety to the virtual world.
Read this if you enjoyed Ready Player One by Ernest Cline or Epic by Conor Kostick.


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If you're looking to get started with CrossFit, either long term or just as a way of exercising whilst you're chilling out on Koh Tao, you need to check out our On Ramp course.
Split in to 2 core classes (or 3 if needed) you will be taught the foundation movements which make up the CrossFit program. With small class sizes you will get hands on instruction from our coaches to make sure that you are confident with the movements, efficiently, working safely and taking in to consideration any injuries or mobility issues, helping you work at your own pace.
With each session lasting one hour we will take you through a warm up, key movements and skills and finishing with a WOD, or workout of the day, so you can put these moves in to practice.
Once you've finished the On Ramp course you can jump in to the main CrossFit WODs. If you want to spend additional time working on key movements you can practice these during open gym sessions, or opt for some additional personal training to develop your skills.
We understand that getting in to CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting can be a little bit daunting, but don't worry as we were all beginners once. When you are ready to get stuck in to the main WODs our coaches will help you scale the movements so that you can workout safely and effectively.
The On Ramp course is included in any monthly membership or can be booked as a separate course for 600B per class – Rates.
Whether you live on Koh Tao, or are here for holiday, travels or training, and want to get started in CrossFit we would love to see in you in our Foundation classes. For more information or to book your place drop us an email, Facebook message or just pop in to speak with us.


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Sunday, March 22, 2015
Happy Birthday, Mr. Rogers.
Friday was Fred Roger's birthday. He really exemplifies the kind of teacher and human being I want to be- calm, loving, full of spirit, open-hearted, open-minded.
I re-read my post from last week and winced a bit. It's honest but kind of angry. A week later, I can see that underneath that anger is pain and sadness. And, probably fear. I feel so strongly about my students and helping them and when it seems like they're not valued, I sometimes find myself so distraught I don't know what to do......
Fred Rogers was one of the fiercest advocates ever for children. He spoke gently and calmly and people listened to him. He was so genuine and warm that he just pulled you in.
This weekend I am filled with hope again. A couple of great things happened at work this week which I'll write about in more detail some other time. Basically, others came forward and said these kids do matter and they're amazing and we honor you for the work you're doing. I'm not embarrassed to say that it felt good- we all need support, encouragement, and validation.
So, the quote above resonates with me this week. Last week I felt so gloomy about teaching. But, I learned this week that if you keep your heart open and you look around for your friends and allies, they are there, and things will get better.
Take a few minutes and connect to this article about the life lessons Mr. Rogers taught us.
There are 2 amazing video clips in there that you just have to see.
One is him testifying to Congress to get more funding for his programing. He completely disarms the politicians with his warmth and sincerity. The judge on the panel says, "I'm supposed to be a pretty tough guy, but his is the first time I've had goosebumps in two days."
The other clip is Mr. Rogers accepting a life-time achievements award at the Emmy's. There he is accepting this award in Hollywood with all these fancy people and he continues to be exactly who he is..... and he is loved for it.
So, happy birthday, Fred Rogers.
"Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me".
Life lessons from Mr. Rogers
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It's hard to find a more despised group than inner-city fathers who sire children they cannot -- or will not -- support.
A decade ago, I was involved in interventions that sought to improve nonresident fathers' ties with their children. These were supported as part of an effort funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reduce infant mortality in Flint, Mich.
Although most of the work focused on young mothers and their children, we were frequently asked: "What are you doing for the fathers?" Many in the community were ambivalent about nonresident fathers. People were angry about the harm many of these men brought on others. Yet people also understood the economic beating these men were taking. Poorly educated, born a generation too late, they had limited job prospects when the bottom fell out of the auto economy. No one really knew how help them, or how to make them more successful partners and parents.
The trajectory of their relationships was especially saddening. As indicated by the bluntly named "Fragile Families" study, most unmarried fathers are closely involved, romantically or otherwise, during pregnancy and delivery. Then these relationships quickly fray. Within several years and often sooner, intimate bonds between parents are generally broken, casting dark shadows across their lives and those of their children.
Programs for nonresident fathers faced many challenges. These men say they love their kids, and are pained by their physical and emotional separation. Lacking the resources to contribute financially, not physically present to assume practical child-rearing tasks, many have no idea what they can really do. Depressingly few have seen effective and present fatherhood in their own lives. Many have difficult relationships with the mothers of their children. For understandable reasons, mothers' families don't always welcome a biological father's sporadic or potentially disruptive intervention.
The human realities of these relations were rarely given their due in the culture-war battles of the 1980s and 1990s. For a time after the controversial 1965 Moynihan report, poverty researchers became skittish about discussing obvious pathologies associated with out-of-wedlock childbearing and welfare dependence. Social conservatives rushed in to fill the void, wrongly blaming essential and meager welfare programs for pathologies that were actually caused by broader economic and social forces.
Edin and Timothy J. Nelson's just-released "Doing the Best I Can: Fatherhood in the Inner City," considers the stories of the men themselves. It's an essential book, based on interviews with 110 African American and white unmarried fathers who live in economically battered communities in the Philadelphia-Camden area. Reading these stories, I see the faces of wonderful young men I've worked with in public health and educational interventions. Yet these same faces and stories call to mind the fathers of these same youth — fathers whose failures and irresponsibility leave so many children neglected and adrift.
An enthusiastic blurb from journalist and commentator Bob Herbert praises the book for debunking "rampant stereotypes and misconceptions." Edin and Nelson indeed chronicle many fathers for whom the arrival of a child becomes a redemptive and stabilizing force in otherwise chaotic lives. "I don't know where I would be without my child," is a common thought.
Take Lacey Jones, whose past includes a murder conviction "overturned on a technicality." He now wakes every morning at 5 to make his 7 a.m. shift to support his fiancee, her daughter, and his 9-year-old child. There's Andre, a high-schooler who skillfully fashions his daughter's hair into twists, and many others.
These men love their kids, and they want to be involved fathers. Robert Lerman and Elaine Sorenson analyzed nationally representative data on men between the ages of 27 and 34 who've had children outside of marriage. Two-thirds were seeing at least one of these children at least weekly. Many of the others were married and living with a child who had been born within marriage.
Still, most of the men chronicled in this frank book fail most of their children. Liberals may be taken aback by the huge proportion of nonresident fathers laid low by involvement in crime, infidelity, heavy drinking or drug abuse. Most pregnancies are unplanned, accidental or "semi-planned" within haphazard and brief relationships:
Only rarely do such couples "fall in love," get engaged, or get married before conceiving a first child together, though they may do so later on.…. Precious few men are consciously courting a woman they believe will be a long-term partner around the time that pregnancy issues a one-way ticket to fatherhood. Indeed there is little evidence that many were even attempting to discriminate much among possible partners based on who they felt would be the most suitable mother to their child.
Couples love their child, and so make a go of things. Yet as Edin and Nelson put things, "having a baby is not a symbol of love and commitment; instead pregnancy and birth are often the relationship's impetus." A shared child becomes the glue holding together a precarious relationship. Most of the time, this just isn't enough.
For all sorts of reasons, relatives and peers on both sides are often unenthusiastic about the new relationship. Mothers — raising their game to meet the relentless responsibilities of infant care — begin expecting more, judging fathers against unsentimental standards many fail to meet. Fathers, unsure whether they are truly ready to "settle down," usually do not regard the mother of their child as the sort of "soulmate" they envision eventually marrying.
Edin and Nelson note the resulting "self-fulfilling prophesy."
If a man suddenly finds himself thrown together with a woman he barely knows and may not even like, if her rising expectations in the wake of the birth leaves her feeling it's impossible to please her, and if he believes she views him as expendable if a better catch comes along, she will be seen as a poor source of commitment. Such a man will likely fail to invest—shape up, overlook differences, and be content at home—to the degree required.
Men who have virtually no money harbor understandable fears that a partner will "trade up" to some younger guy with a good job and a flashy car. One man is devastated to overhear the mother of his child joking derisively with friends about his crummy minimum-wage job.
One beautiful and sad section concerns ways that impoverished nonresident fathers compete with a mother's boyfriend for the affections of their own child:
Just the other day, when Holloway had been lurking around in hopes of encountering Christine, he happened to witness the new man buying ice cream for his daughter. The rapport between the two was apparent. Holloway tears up when relating this memory. "I wanted to pull him to the side and say, "Look man, she's my daughter. You don't really gotta buy her ice cream. You know I do work sometimes. And this guy she's with, he got kids somewhere else. He lost his family. So he gotta take mine…. Well he has the power to do that because he has a good job. He's like a big shot."
This isn't the kind of book to provide concrete policy guidance, though some points are clear. Well-implemented measures such as parent training, contraceptive access and couples counseling could help these men and women. Higher alcohol taxes might delay or reduce many destructive behaviors. Such measures should certainly be pursued. These will surely leave many issues unaddressed. An improved Earned Income Tax Credit to support work among unattached men would be especially helpful.
"Doing the Best I Can" reinforces one's instincts as a cultural conservative and an economic progressive. Despite the best of initial intentions, haphazard relationships that produce children rarely serve adults or children very well. Pretty quickly, most nonresident fathers leave mothers to bear the lion's share of daily responsibilities and financial burdens associated with their new, shared child. Ironically, mens' desire for a more worthy fatherhood experience puts them:
…at risk of repeating the series of nondecisions that bring yet another child into the world with a new partner. But once a father gets another try at 'real' fatherhood, how much time, energy, energy, and finances will he have to devote to that new role? How much will be left over for the kids he already has?
That's no way to live. Yet it's not the life these men have chosen, either. Many work hard at very low wages in day labor, construction and other arduous jobs. Others are willing, but can't find the work. It's often a hard-won victory when men at the very bottom of the economic ladder can support themselves, let alone support a partner and child. When work disappears and millions of men find themselves economically superfluous, it's not surprising that they find themselves at sea in other life roles, too.
Harold Pollack is the Helen Ross professor at the School of Social Service Administration and co-director of the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago. He is a nonresident fellow of the Century Foundation.


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Who Is Betsy DeVos?
Betsy DeVos has been in the public service for decades and is widely known as a passionate education advocate. A resident of Michigan State, she has strongly advocated for education reforms and made significant contributions towards the cause.
She is one of the few wealthy citizens to use her wealth to fund education reforms. She fostered chartered schools to the benefit of more than half of public school students in Detroit Michigan.
The Betsy DeVos family runs a foundation (dbdvfoundation.org) that supports organizations and programs that focus on education, justice, community, arts and leadership. The group focuses on accelerating transformation, cultivating leadership, and leveraging aid in education, administration, justice, and community.
Betsy is widely known for her strong belief that parents should have a choice of which schools to send their children. Whether charter, traditional, public or private schools. As per her proposal which many educationists the federal government should have vouchers to facilitate families to meet the costs.
Betsy DeVos is an American businessperson and a strong Christian woman. She is a member of foundation for excellence in education.
Read more: http://nypost.com/2017/01/30/why-we-need-an-outsider-like-betsy-devos-as-education-secretary/
She is a political science and business administration degree holder from Calvin College. Currently, she is one of the wealthiest people in Michigan and has used her wealth to a good cause of helping the underprivileged in the community.
Politically, Betsy has been actively involved in causes she believed. Most of the contributions go towards addressing the needs of the less fortunate in the community. These range from contributions to candidates running for various offices as long as they have the same agenda that are passionate about her.
Her identity as a wealthy woman with a heart of giving has earned her a stellar reputation. These together with her massive efforts in transforming the education sector to foster equality for parents and their children have won her the nomination. Check her website at www.betsydevos.com.
It is the expectation of many that she will serve the public well. Also, she will be able to finish the great work started in Michigan and ensured that all students get equal treatment irrespective of financial background. One of her strongest advocates is availing funding for students non-public schools.


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FULL MP3: Terry Tha Rapman Ft. S.O.S, Phero & Barz – Baby Boy [Remix]
Terry Tha Rapman features the Dubai based hip-hop group called SOS music who are known for their hit song "Abu Dabbing" for a remix of his rap single "Baby Boy" feat Barz.
Pherowshuz also makes a surprise guest appearance on the record. The song is produced by Andre Vibez.
Download on sound cloud below and enjoy!


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Professionally Removing a Tattoo by Laser in Wisconsin
Having a permanent tattoo applied to your skin is usually an undertaking that is tied closely to one's identity and outlook on life. However, these perspectives can change over the passage of time, and you may find after many years that the tattoo you received does not represent you the way it used to. It


text: PLC has self-locking function. What is meant by self-locking? 5:41:00 AM The self-locking in PLC is the coil control contact to maintain the self energized state of the coil itself. The simplest self locking is to use the normally open contact X1 to control the coil Y1, and then turn back the normally open contact of the Y1 on the X1. Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterPlus on Google+


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What's Yahoo up to? If you haven't heard, they've stopped the practice of employees working remotely. I hope they are asking the right questions. I hope this is not a knee-jerk response to discovering some employees aren't pulling their load. Why? That's normal; in every organization some don't produce at the required standards. So, is the best response to dramatically alter the working conditions for those that are productive, that are making the biggest difference; I don't think so.
Have you designed your workplace to monitor (police) the loafers or to empower the achievers? What will you do this week to ensure that the individuals and teams who are producing high-quality work are given the tools, the structures, the support and the freedom to continually deliver their best?


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Pricing for our custom products is based upon three things: 1) the complexity of the design. In other words, how many pieces of stone are there in the medallion; 2) the types of materials used. There is a large range of cost between the different types of marbles, granites, and semi-precious stones. For example, blue colors have a premium cost; and, 3) the scale, or size, of the project.
Some examples of pricing for a 5-foot diameter medallion are as follows:
Signature Collection: $8,500-10,000
European Collection: $6,000-7,500
Continental Collection: $2,000-2,500


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This section is from the book "The Plain Why And Because", by John Timbs. Also available from Amazon: The plain why and because.
Because they may serve as the gates of the city; according to Reaumur, one of them is for ingress and the other for egress; and such is the order observed, that the uses of the respective doors are rarely if ever changed. The cells of the nest or vespiary, are solely constructed to lodge the young, and on an average a nest may contain about 16,000 cells, which are filled thrice in each year.
Years productive of the plum are said to be congenial likewise to the wasp. A local rhyme will have it,
When the plum hangs on the tree, Then the wasp you're sure to see.
Because it bears the fly about with it for a length of time, and drops it unconsumed.
" Because it is united to a living plant, so that when the insect attempts to rise from the nest, it falls to the ground, on account of the weight of the plant, which takes root on some part of the body, particularly on the breast-bone. It was long thought that these plants grew on insects deprived of life. M. Ricord has, however, determined otherwise, and has observed that the larvae in the cells also have this vegetating appendage, but then it is very small. - Journal de Pharmacie.
Continue to:


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The Montana Green Party is a progressive political organization, dedicated to grassroots democracy, social justice, decentralization, respect for diversity, and environmental and economic sustainability.
"Our overall goal is not merely to survive, but to share lives that are truly worth living. We believe the quality of our individual lives is enriched by the quality of all of our lives. We encourage everyone to see the dignity and intrinsic worth in all of life, and to take the time to understand and appreciate themselves, their community and the magnificent beauty of this world." -A.S.G.P. Platform
As the new century dawns, we look back with somber reflection at how we have been as a people and as a nation. Realizing our actions will be judged by future generations, we ask how with foresight and wisdom, we can renew the best of our past, calling forth a spirit of change and participation that speaks for a free and democratic society.
We submit a bold vision of our future, a PLATFORM on which we stand: An ethic of KEY VALUES leading to a POLITICS OF ACTION.
A hopeful, challenging plan for A PROSPERING, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY.
A call to CREATE and CONSERVE a rich, DIVERSE environment characterized by a sense of COMMUNITY.
What we are proposing is a vision of our common good that goes beyond special interests and the business of politics.
What we are proposing is an INDEPENDENT POLITICS, a democratic vision that empowers and reaches beyond background and political loyalty to bring together our combined strengths as a people.
We, the GREEN PARTY, see our political and economic progress, and our individual lives, within the context of an evolving, challenging world.
As in nature, where adaptation and diversity provide key strategies of survival, a successful political strategy is one that is diverse, adaptable to changing needs, and strong and resilient in its core values:
DEMOCRACY, practiced most effectively at the grassroots level and in local communities.
SOCIAL JUSTICE and EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, emphasizing personal and social responsibility, accountability, and non-violence.
ENVIRONMENTAL and ECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY, balancing the interests of market- and value-driven business, of the community and land, of living and future generations.
Looking to the future with hope and optimism, we believe we can truly change history – that together we can make a real difference in the quality of our lives and environment. Our common destiny brings us together across our nation and around the globe. It is for us to choose how we will be remembered. It is for us to choose the future we are creating today.
-ASGP Platform
In 2000, green supporters across the state petitioned to put Ralph Nader on the ballot to be on the Green Party ticket. There had been Green groups in Missoula and Bozeman, but they had not achieved ballot access. Nader received enough votes to keep the Green Party on the ballot through 2004.
In Dec 2001 and March 2002, representatives from across the state met in Bozeman to officially form the Montana Green Party and write Bylaws.
In 2002 Bob Kelleher ran for the US Senate. Greens also ran for the legislature in Billings, Butte and Bozeman, and for County Commissioner in Great Falls.
Greens have worked with other groups gathering signatures for ballot initiatives. They have also worked with peace groups protesting the war in Iraq and Afganistan, both before and after they started, and on environmental issues.
In 2004, the GPUS ran David Cobb for President of the United States and Pat LaMarche for Vice President. Bob Kelleher ran for Governor of Montana, with Colleen Little Thunder as Lt. Governor. There were also legistative candidates in Billings and Great Falls. We were unable to renew our ballot status, but Bob Kelleher did receive 8373 of the 10,500 votes that were needed.
Montana was able to send four delegates to the GPUS National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2004.
In 2007, after much work and waiting, the MGP was finally accredited as an official member of the GPUS. That gave Montana two delegates on the Green Party National Committee.
There were ballot access drives in 2005 and 2007.
We had a legislative candidate on the ballot in one district in 2010.
In 2016 Greens across the state gathered enough signatures for Jill Stein to be on the ballot as a candidate for President of the United States.
In 2018, thousands of Montana voters signed the petition and the party was qualified for the 2018-2020 election cycle. Shortly thereafter, the Democrats, led by one of their superdelegates, filed an action in court to try to block the party from being put on the ballot.


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How Hot Is Hot Yoga?
Hot Yoga is typically performed at a temperature of about 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Centigrade) although the temperature in a hot yoga class can vary from studio to studio.
Hot Yoga is also performed at a higher level of humidity. Again, this can vary from studio to studio but it is typically in the region of 40% humidity or more.
Related FAQs
- What Are The Benefits Of Hot Yoga?
- How Many Calories Do You Burn In Hot Yoga
- What Do I Need To Bring To A Hot Yoga Class ?
- Can I Eat Before A Hot Yoga Class?
- Can I Drink Before A Hot Yoga Class?
- What Are Other Names For Hot Yoga?


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GUIDE: Chicago
Serious Sushi Situation
1613 N. Damen Ave.
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
This contemporary Bucktown nook, as cavernous and alluring as a ride at Epcot, knows its way around a sushi roll. READ REVIEW
332 E. Illinois St.
Near North Side
Cuisine: Asian, Sushi
The movie theater may monopolize the majority of Illinois Street, but once you step into Niu Japanese Fusion Lounge, you forget the theater is even there. READ REVIEW
110 W. Illinois St.
River North
Cuisine: Asian, Japanese, Sushi
This River North restaurant celebrates a variety of Asian cuisines in new and inventive ways with an award-winning menu from Chef Jesse DeGuzman. READ REVIEW
230 W. Erie St.
River North
Cuisine: Japanese, Sushi
The sushi is a main contender—order it with black rice and you won't be disappointed by its al dente texture and nutty flavor, boosting rolls like the Hokkaido and classic spicy tuna into new territory. READ REVIEW


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I really do, and its time you all learned the truth. I cannot stand the meetings. They make me want to evolve invisibility skills so that I can sneakily sneak away while everyone laughs at one inane joke after another. I've got documentation to produce. I've got databases to update. I've got interviewees to prepare for. I've got email to respond to to. I've got new scripts to write. I've got old scripts to maintain. I've got a full regression to run. I've got web apps to produce, debug, test, and roll out. I've got code to review. All in all, I've got a lot to do, and 1.5 hours of my day is NOT earkarked for listening to people say "um" a lot.
Just had to get that off the ol' chest.


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Ableton Live is about making music; for composition, songwriting, and so on.
Ableton Suite is the XL version of Ableton Live.
AmpliTube®2 Live is a complete guitar amp modeling solution for Mac
It is the only digital DJ system that stays true to the art of DJing.
Enolsoft Winmail Viewer for Mac is a smart letter opener to open Winmail files for Mac OS users
Share and download files
multimedia player for various formats
Multimedia player based on xine.
MicroSoft Windows Media Player Mac
Professional media production system.
Cut various Video files
Disc burning Software
RealPlayer SP for Mac
Professional video editing solution
SVQ3 codec


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Grants which includes Medical Educational Goods and Services (MEGS)
Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK (Novartis) Limited may provide grant support on request to Healthcare Organisations and Patient Groups in the form of financial support (monetary grants), and to Healthcare Organisations in the form of medical educational goods and services (MEGS). An application to use our Alcon Academy is a MEGS because it is requesting the use of laboratory services for training purposes.
Requests for Financial Grants
Novartis can provide reasonable financial support for the general purpose of supporting healthcare initiatives like: improving medical infrastructure, independent educational activities, support for healthcare professional societies, health and medical policy research, and Patient Group activities. If you are interested in obtaining financial support from Novartis please complete the 'Healthcare Organisation Request for Financial Support' application form if you are a Healthcare Organisation or Professional Society, or the 'Patient Group Request for Financial Support' application form if you are a Patient Group – the application forms can be found below.
Educational grants will be considered which support the organisation of meetings where the content of the programme is wholly controlled by an independent organisation and Novartis has no input or influence over the content. If a grant is awarded, this support must be acknowledged on any documentation advertising the event.
A key principle of Novartis' grant policy is that Novartis does not support requests which benefit individuals, including requests for personal ongoing education and requests for travel grants to attend an educational meeting.
Requests for MEGS Support
Novartis has a number of medical educational goods and services (MEGS) which are available on request. For further information on MEGS please refer to Clause 19 of the ABPI Code of Practice.
Listed below are types of Novartis MEGS which we can provide to healthcare organisations to benefit patients and support the NHS. If you are interested in applying for a Novartis MEGS, please complete the 'Novartis MEGS Request Form' below indicating which of our MEGS you are interested in and to request a meeting with a Novartis medical associate to discuss further.
1. Nursing support for patient review services
2. Service audits to facilitate service and patient pathways redesign
3. Nursing support for patient database audit review
4. Support for research activities
5. Use of the Alcon Academy training facility* (Note Alcon Academy specific request form, see next section)
Not all of the above types of MEGS are available for all disease areas.
If you would like to submit a request for your own bespoke MEGS proposal, please indicate this on the 'Novartis MEGS Request Form' including both your contact details and attach a detailed description of your proposal with a request for a meeting with a Novartis medical associate to discuss your proposal further.
The Alcon Academy (a MEGS offering)
The mission of the Alcon Academy is to facilitate educational excellence, to enable learning at all levels and optimise patient outcomes and care in Ophthalmology. The Alcon Academy has a bespoke wet lab designed to enhance learning by simulating surgical procedures. The Alcon Academy also has a dry lab and lecture theatre.
NHS organisations wishing to apply to use the Alcon Academy facilities should complete the 'Alcon Academy Facility Request Form' below.
Healthcare Organisations, Professional Societies and sometimes Patient Support Groups may wish to approach Novartis for sponsorship e.g. asking Novartis to pay to sponsor a meeting for which Novartis will recieve tangible benefits e.g. stand space, a number of places to attend the conference, a mention in the meeting brochure etc.
Novartis is pleased to consider such requests and Healthcare Organisations and Professional Societies should approach either their sales, marketing or medical contact. Any request from Patient Support Groups should be directed to the Head Office Patient Advocacy Team. If an organisation does not currently have a contact within Novartis, please telephone our main switchboard (01276 692255) and you will be directed to someone appropriate.
For all forms of grant requests and sponsorships, provision is subject to: (i) available capacity; (ii) the request meeting the criteria for the available support; and (iii) provision being permitted within applicable laws, guidelines and codes (for example the ABPI Code of Practice).
Unfortunately, Novartis is unable to meet all of the requests it receives. We will prioritise those requests which are aligned to our therapy areas and focus on supporting both scientific and charitable organisations which directly support patients, improve healthcare and enable ongoing education.
Disclosure of Payments
All grant support to Patient Groups is published annually on the Novartis website.
All grant support to a healthcare organisation (either financial or as a MEGS and the use of the Alcon Academy) will be publicly disclosed on an annual basis on the ABPI disclosure platform in accordance with Clause 24 of the ABPI Code of Practice. In order to track spend for reporting purposes, Novartis can only pay healthcare organisations directly.
Grant and MEGS Application Process
Requests should be submitted a minimum of three months prior to the activity or event. Each request will be evaluated on its merits and the value it brings to patient care and benefit to the NHS.
Please read carefully the Novartis grant eligibility criteria guidelines and the information required before you complete your application form.
In order to apply for a Novartis grant, download the relevant application form (see below) and submit it to [email protected]. The forms are PDFs and use Adobe Acrobat software. You can download this free from Adobe.
Please note that it is important to fill out all the sections on the form with the information required as failure to do so could result in either a rejection or a request for additional information which will delay your application.
If you have any supporting documentation you consider relevant to the application you can attach this to your email. Please note that for legibility reasons we will only accept forms that have been completed electronically. Applications may also be typed and posted to UK GRANTS at Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd, Frimley Business Park, Camberley, Surrey GU16 7SR.
The personal information you submit in your application will be used by Novartis only for the purposes of processing the grant application, and any associated disclosure. Any and all uses will comply with all applicable laws.
All requests are monitored for reporting adverse events. You agree to be contacted should your completed application form contain information relevant to our adverse event reporting commitments.
All requests are reviewed by an independent Review Panel and results will be communicated after the Review Panel has met. Funding can only be paid to reputable organisations and checks on organisations to confirm this will be made.
Application Forms
Healthcare Organisation Request for Financial Support
Patient Group Request for Financial Support
Novartis MEGS Request Form
Alcon Academy Facility Request Form


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It's finally over, Bears fans.
No more watching a passionless, unmotivated football team every week. Your energy can now be used watching the Bulls and Blackhawks – teams that are among the best in their respective leagues.
Unlike the charade that will envelop college football this weekend, it is sheer wins and losses that will determine the NFL playoff field during the next four weeks.
There will be no 12-person committee sitting behind closed doors to determine who is worthy of championship contention. All division winners (even the NFC South) and two wild cards from each conference get in. Style points and who teams played will not matter.
On the heels of last week's hugely successful Polar Vortex edition of Against The Spread we bring you the even harsher Lake Effect version.
If you happen to be hunkered down in a western New York snow cave while reading this, don't fear. Not only do I bring you successful picks, but also the best FanDuel plays for Week 12.
Now that fantasy drafts have been completed (I think), I can get down to prognosticating the final win-loss records for all 32 NFL teams for 2014.
People continue to warn me against posting such predictions, since it only opens one up to ridicule come December.
All of this is true. But what is the fun of not making educated guesses and a writer putting his or her rear end on the line? Weather forecasters make a living off this daily.
It was another brutal and disappointing season for the Chicago Bears. For the second year in a row the team has choked when given the opportunity to make the playoffs by winning one of its last two games. Yet, only a day after the loss, the fact the Bears will not be in the playoffs is old news. What everyone wants to know now is whether or not free agent quarterback Jay Cutler will be a Bear next season.
With an all-important game on the horizon in Week 17, the Chicago Bears have decided to stick with struggling quarterback Jay Cutler under center. Head coach Marc Trestman made the decision early in the week to avoid any controversy. But there are surely some Bears fans who will want Josh McCown at quarterback after Cutler's last two weeks.
Eight hundred and fifty-nine points.
That is nearly 27 points per team from a record-setting Week 14. That number is specially amazing considering one game was played in a freak blizzard and four others were played on snow covered fields, and that doesn't even count the Arctic conditions in Denver and Chicago.
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Breaking news and expert analysis on legal and compliance issues
From Antitrust Law Daily, October 18, 2013
By Tobias J. Gillett, J.D., LL.M.
A producer of insurance industry estimating software failed to state Sherman Act conspiracy and monopolization claims based on the allegedly anticompetitive demand by insurers for the use of a competing software product marketed by a company ultimately owned by various insurance companies, the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York has ruled in a summary order (Vedder Software Group Ltd. v. Insurance Services Office, Inc., October 18, 2013, Per Curiam).
Vedder Software Group Ltd. alleged that the defendants' ownership and required use of software that competed with Vedder's Estimating Wizard insurance industry estimating software amounted to an antitrust violation. Xactware, Inc., wholly owned by Insurance Services Office, Inc., marketed the competing software, called Xactimate. Insurance Services Office was in turn wholly owned by Verisk Analytics, Inc., a publicly traded company owned in part by various insurance companies, including various Liberty Mutual entities.
Vedder asserted Sherman Act claims against Insurance Services Office, Xactware, and four Liberty Mutual corporate entities. The district court dismissed Vedder's claims for failure to state a claim, and Vedder appealed.
The appellate court affirmed the district court's decision. Vedder did not allege an express agreement among the defendant insurers, instead relying on their parallel conduct combined with the "plus factors" of (1) "the insurers' ownership interests in Verisk," and (2) "their alleged demands requiring the use of Xactimate."
The court found that the facts alleged by Vedder did not state a Sherman Act Section 1 claim. Although Vedder alleged that several insurance companies that accounted for the "vast majority of insurance business in the United States" controlled Verisk, the complaint only identified Liberty Mutual as a member of the conspiracy. Moreover, the insurers' control over Verisk was a legal conclusion that the court did not accept as true. The insurers' "common stake in Verisk [was] not conclusive of a conspiracy," according to the court.
Further, the insurers' alleged demand for the use of Xactimate did not show the existence of an agreement because it did not "tend to exclude the possibility" that the insurer acted independently. Demanding the use of Xactimate would assure that an insurer and its vendors used compatible software, ensuring consistency in estimates and ease in sharing data. Although Vedder contended that the insurers' demand "extended to work done for other insurers," the complaint failed to make that allegation, and instead only alleged that the demand was made to "obtain or retain the business of the defendant insurers."
Vedder also did not state a claim for monopolization under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, according to the court. Vedder's claim only concerned the defendants' alleged conspiracy, and the court had previously concluded that the complaint failed to adequately plead the existence of an agreement.
The case is No. 13-1267.
Attorneys: Daniel J. Centi (Feeney, Centi and Mackey) for Vedder Software Group Ltd. Joel M. Cohen (Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP) for Insurance Services Office, Inc. and Xactware, Inc. Kevin J. Fee (Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP) for Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc.
Companies: Vedder Software Group Ltd.; Insurance Services Office, Inc.; Xactware, Inc.; Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc.
MainStory: TopStory Antitrust ConnecticutNews NewYorkNews VermontNews
Introducing Wolters Kluwer Antitrust Law Daily a daily reporting service created by attorneys, for attorneys providing same-day coverage of breaking news, court decisions, legislation, and regulatory activity.


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The 7 Most Important Financial KPIs
The choices for financial indicators are not easy. Which financial criteria are good indicators to measure the success of the business?
Here are explained seven indicators that are of great importance to almost every company.
1. Turnover development
Every company wants to make money. The most tangible way to do this is by creating, maintaining and increasing sales. Keeping these Key Performance Indicators allows you to see when, how and why the turnover increases or decreases. You can also see which measures you need to take to stimulate an upward trend.
Also, favorable development of top-line growth can be useful for attracting investments. The top line (turnover) is at least as important as the bottom line (profit). Profitability can increase because costs decrease due to economies of scale. Turnover growth shows that your business is growing.
2. Net profit
The 'bottom line' is simple, the revenue minus the expenses. Profits are needed for growth and for rewarding shareholders who have provided (growth) capital. Nevertheless, it is important not to declare profit as the sacred criterion. A look at the indicators below is necessary to ensure that profitability is sustainable.
3. Net profit margin
The net profit margin is the net profit expressed as a percentage of the turnover. With the net profit margin, you get a grip on the relationship between the money flow that comes in and which part of this money flow you have to keep on board. This indicator helps you answer the question: 'How much profit do we generate on every dollar of turnover?
When profit margins are low, small changes in the trading environment can lead to drastic profit decline. Monitoring this indicator over a more extended period helps you determine whether lowering costs or increasing sales has the most favorable effect on your profit figures.
4. Gross profit margin
The gross profit margin is the percentage of turnover that can be expressed as the gross profit. In contrast to the net profit margin, only the costs of the goods/services sold are collected instead of all the costs of the turnover. The gross profit margin is, therefore, the difference between the purchase price and the selling price of a product/service.
If your gross profit margin is too low, this means that the costs for the production of your goods or the delivery of your services are too high. Investors see in a stable gross profit margin that the business model is sustainable and does not depend too much on external factors, such as material costs.
5. Operating profit margin
The operational method is an excellent way to measure the efficiency of your business. When you take out the operating costs, which part of the turnover will be left over? You can calculate this figure by dividing the operating income by the turnover.
You can compare this figure with competitors to see who delivers the most efficient goods or services. By increasing business profit margin, you can earn more profit on every dollar turnover.
6. Return on investment (ROI)
You have to spend money to make money, but this must, of course, be done thoughtfully. It is, therefore, necessary to measure to what extent the money you spend converts into income. With the ROI you can measure the return on investments.
By understanding where you can optimize the ROI you know in which parts or services of the company, you can invest the best. You can calculate the return on an investment of a project by dividing the proceeds of a project by the specific investments for a project.
7. Cash conversion cycle
How quickly are investments converted into profit? Many companies are unable to recoup additional investments, for example, because the customer's growth is disappointing or they do not have enough liquid assets to cover ongoing costs.
By monitoring the rate at which expenses in the business result in additional income through sales, you can optimize liquidity and ensure that there are sufficient cash reserves when you need them. The late payment of accounts is often accompanied by additional costs that weigh on profitability. The cash conversion cycle is measured in the number of days. A shorter cash conversion cycle means greater liquidity and therefore less need for expensive bank credits.
Are these indeed the 7 most important financial KPIs, or are there still indicators missing? Let us know via a comment below!
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By now your kids are probably over that back-to-school honeymoon phase, and getting them out of bed may be getting harder and harder as the school year trudges onward -- especially when all they have to look forward to at the breakfast table is the same old boring cold cereal breakfast. Luckily, you can sweeten up the morning with a surprise healthy breakfast of granola coated fruity yogurt popsicles. I can't promise you that homemade popsicles will make your kids jump out of bed perfectly happy and ready to go, but the lure of a special ice pop breakfast can sure make the day easier to face. Keep reading to learn how to make this easy and healthy breakfast treat.
Vegan Breakfast Pop Ingredients
- 1 cup of your child's favorite organic vegan yogurt.
- 1 cup of your child's favorite organic fruit washed and chopped. You can use one fruit or mix and match fruits, such as bananas and strawberries or peaches and blueberries. If you'd like to use a hard fruit like apples or pears, steam the chopped pieces lightly, until just soft, before blending.
- 1 tablespoon organic agave.
- 1 tablespoon ground organic flax seed.
- 1/2 tablespoon organic wheat germ.
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup of organic granola per ice pop (don't mix into the popsicles, save for serving).
Equipment Needed
All you really need to make these breakfast ice pops is a good set of popsicle molds and a blender. I used Tovolo Groovy molds because my son is 12 years-old, so he can eat bigger popsicles. If you have younger kids, I suggest using a smaller sized mold like the Tovolo Rocket Molds shown above. See some tips and tricks related to choosing popsicle molds and facts about making homemade popsicles.
+ Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds $8.49
+ Tovolo Rocket Ice Pop Molds $11.87
Photo by Shutterstock
Make Your Breakfast Pops
This recipe will end up making about 4 to 6 popsicles. The amount you officially get will vary, depending on the size of molds you use and the amount of fruit you use.
- Blend your yogurt and fruit together in the blender until mixed well.
- Mix in the agave, ground organic flax seed and organic wheat germ.
- Once everything is blended well, pour the mixture into your ice pop molds.
- Freeze overnight.
Serve Your Breakfast Pops
In the morning, take your popsicle or popsicles out of the freezer about 5 minutes before breakfast time. This allows your pops to become a bit soft, so when you dip the pop into the granola, it will stick. Keep in mind that huge chunks of granola won't stick to the popsicles, so place the granola on a clean cutting board and run it over a few times with a rolling pin which results in smaller pieces which easily stick to your pops. Give your child a small bowl of crumbled organic granola then let him dip his pop into the granola and munch away. Serve with extra fruit on the side if you'd like.
Organic Vegan Breakfast Popsicle Recipe
- 1 cup of organic vegan yogurt.
- 1 cup of organic fruit washed and chopped.
- 1 tablespoon organic agave.
- 1 tablespoon ground organic flax seed.
- 1/2 tablespoon organic wheat germ.
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup of organic granola per ice pop.
Blend your yogurt and fruit together in the blender. Mix in the agave, ground organic flax seed and organic wheat germ. Pour the mixture into your ice pop molds and freeze overnight. In the morning, take your ice pops out of the freezer and serve with small bowls of crumble granola for dipping.
All images unless otherwise noted ©Jennifer Chait


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Hey Bloggers!
Welcome back to:
Rants & Rambles is a weekly feature where I share my own personal thoughts and opinions about both bookish and blogging related topics. As stated, these are MY OWN opinions and while you can choose to disagree with it, I hope that you at least respect it.
This week on Rants & Rambles I want to discuss:
I recently finished One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid and my initial reaction, after I finished balling my eyes out of course, was "DAMN, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I READ A GOOD STANDALONE NOVEL!" But for real, everyone go read this book! It was so freakin' good and it changed my whole outlook on soulmates and the possibility of having multiple true loves.
Okay, I got a little sidetracked for a moment, but back to today's discussion…after I finished One True Loves, I started to think about the fact that I haven't been reading many standalone books lately. I've been binge-reading series after series and while I've been having so much fun doing so, I forgot for a moment what it was like to read a book where the story is wrapped up and I have to say goodbye to these characters indefinitely (because there is no way in hell I'm re-reading OTL, TOO MANY TEARS!).
The irony of it all is that when I was a teen, standalones were actually my go-to's because I never had the patience to keep up with series. But now, it seems IMPOSSIBLE to actually avoid series and I've really had no choice but to start reading series. I'm not going to lie, when I started getting back into books again, I was shocked at the fact that there were so many contemporary series out there. It just got me thinking: ARE STANDALONES BECOMING EXTINCT?
So the word "extinct" may be a little dramatic, but I honestly feel like standalones are not as popular as they once used to be. Series have taken the publishing industry by storm and have brought about some new and exciting innovated ideas that have drastically changed the way many people read. Here are just a few examples:
♥ FANDOMS: Why read a book alone when you can read it with a group and then fangirl about it? Series have allowed readers to come together and bond over favorite characters and create hype about upcoming releases. In turn, this helps a series to become more popular because people become curious to see what all the hype is about. Many non-readers have started to read just because they wanted to know what all the excitement was about over a particular series. Perfect example, FSOG. Many people have said that FSOG was the first series they've ever read, and despite the fact that that series is trash, it still got people to read. Fandoms are doing a damn good job at providing free marketing and publicity for a series.
♥ BOOK-TO-MOVIE ADAPTATIONS: If the first movie sucks, you can always try again with the second book! Another way series have gotten non-readers to read is by taking written words and helping them come to life on the big screen. If a movie or TV show is successful, there is a greater chance that a person will decide to read the books so they can compare the two. But we all know the books are better! At this point, I'm not even surprised when I see that the rights for a series has been opted for a movie or a TV show. All I can hope for is that the writers manage not to screw up the script and try to stick to the original text as much as possible.
♥ SECONDARY CHARACTERS HAVE LIVES TOO: For me, series have helped me realize that I have a slight obsession with secondary characters. There have even been times where I'm reading a standalone and I start thinking about the possibility of a sequel just so I can have more of a certain secondary character. Everyone has a story to tell and I want to read that story. Primary characters need to start sharing their spotlight too!
While I don't think that standalones will ever become "extinct", I think it will be a while until they become popular again. We are living in a world where everyone just wants MORE. More books, more characters, more storylines, a little more time to enjoy a particular world. Series will be trending for a while and I am, for the most part, happy that I finally jumped on the bandwagon. The only downside is my massive TBR!
That is all for this week's Rants & Rambles. I hope you enjoyed my random thoughts!
Do you prefer series or standalones?
Let me know in the comments!


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We have only been e-recording for three weeks and we have already seen improved productivity and efficiencies and nearly eliminated incoming and return mail.
PEORIA COUNTY, Ill. (PRWEB) August 19, 2015
Peoria County has implemented electronic recording (e-recording) of documents through Simplifile, the nation's largest e-recording service, giving customers a cost-effective, online recording option.
"We have been waiting to e-record for over five years. We were unable to e-record with the software we had, so when the time came to acquire a new software vendor, e-recording was our guiding focus," said Peoria County Chief Deputy Recorder Marsha Livers. "Our county has experienced budget constraints and is operating with a reduced workforce. E-recording was a logical means that would allow us to work smarter with less people."
Using Simplifile's secure, web-based service, customers ranging from title companies to banks, attorneys, and lien filers, have the ability to scan or upload and submit documents directly to the recorder's office and have them recorded, stamped, and returned electronically.
"We have only been e-recording for three weeks and we have already seen improved productivity and efficiencies and nearly eliminated incoming and return mail," Livers said.
Instead of having to send documents by mail or drive to the county, customers now benefit from a much faster, more convenient recording option online that saves them time and money.
"We are able to process e-recorded documents much quicker than those sent to us through the mail," she added. "Better yet, we are able to communicate with the submitters about any issues we have with the document, and as a result, get them corrected in minutes rather than weeks."
Customers also have the ability to track and view the status of their documents that have been submitted through Simplifile, making it easier and more cost effective to correct and resubmit any rejected documents.
According to Livers, her office records over 300 different types of documents—the majority of which can be e-recorded.
With the addition of Peoria County, there are now 21 counties in the Illinois that have adopted e-recording with Simplifile.
Nationwide, more than 1,270 counties also e-record with Simplifile.
High-speed Internet access, a PC, and a scanner are the minimum requirements for customers to begin e-recording with Simplifile.
For more information about e-recording in Peoria County, call 800-460-5657 or visit simplifile.com.
About Simplifile
Simplifile is a rapidly-growing, online service that connects lenders, settlement agents, and counties. Since 2000, Simplifile has grown the nation's largest e-recording network, which has transformed the title and real estate industry. From e-recording to document sharing, collaboration, and post closing, Simplifile offers an array of services in one place to help users securely record, share, and track documents, data, and fees with ease. To learn more, visit simplifile.com or call 800-460-5657.