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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pete Carroll returned to college to revive his coaching career but the man who led Southern California to a pair of national titles thinks Seattle should shut its schools for a Seahawks Super Bowl victory party.
The city of Seattle has announced a victory parade through the streets on Wednesday that will culminate at CenturyLink Field, where boisterous fans have given deafening support to the Seahawks and are known as the "12th Man".
"Heck yeah, they should," Carroll said on Monday at the Super Bowl follow-up news conference about declaring a school holiday after Seattle's 43-8 trouncing of the Denver Broncos at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
"There's a big education happening on that Wednesday. They should all show up ... it's their championship.
"In my mind it goes to the kids. I know the adults will take it in in a big way but for the kids, that started a memory of what this is all about and being connected to your team."
After an unseasonably mild evening for the first outdoor Super Bowl staged at a cold weather site, snow kicked in on cue early Monday morning just hours after the game and before the Seahawks were to head home for a warm reception.
Seattle have been virtually unbeatable in front of their home fans over the last two seasons, losing just once while winning 17 times.
"There's no fan base that deserves this more. Nobody has worked harder at supporting their team with more passion and love and spirit than ours," said Carroll.
"Yeah, let's shut down the darn schools. Let's have a darn celebration - peacefully and rightfully and in great fashion - but with great music and fun and great enjoyment and creating the memory that everybody deserves."
Carroll, who was fired after one season with the New York Jets and after three seasons with the New England Patriots, hit his stride as head coach at USC. After nine successful years there, he was hired to coach the Seahawks by Seattle's homegrown billionaire Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft.
The exuberant coach brought his high-energy program with him to Seattle and motivated a collection of overlooked players to reach their potential together.
One of them, linebacker Malcolm Smith, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of USC by Seattle, won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player trophy and a new car.
"We kind of came together and said that we would commit ourselves to each other and the greater good of our team," Smith said on Monday. "It was Seahawks 24/7.
"We just decided that we were going to be committed to this, give 100 percent and see what happens. It turned out great for us," added the linebacker, who intercepted a Peyton Manning pass and dashed 69 yards for a touchdown and also recovered a fumble.
Carroll said the final score, one of the widest victory margins in a Super Bowl, came as the defense began forcing turnovers "like an avalanche" to bury the NFL record-setting offense of the Broncos.
Seattle intercepted two Manning passes and recovered two fumbles for four turnovers while not committing a single one.
"We deserved it and we earned it because this is exactly what we've been preparing for, and we expected it," Carroll said. "That may sound cocky. That may sound arrogant. But it's a mentality you can't get in one week.
"They have the understanding, and they came in here knowing that this could likely happen, knowing that it could be a game just like it was, and with that kind of result...It comes from a disciplined approach. That's how they've learned it."
Given control to run his program at USC and to see it succeed, Carroll said he decided to try and recreate it in the
Four years after embarking on the mission, Carroll and company hit paydirt in the Super Bowl but the youthful, 62-year-old coach vows not to stop now.
MVP Smith said the hunger is still there.
"We've seen the effort that it takes to get to this point, and, obviously, we'll try to replicate that and do it again," said Smith.
"We're looking forward to the next challenges and guys having a target on their back and people trying to come after us."
Seattle has been made a 9-2 favorite to win the Super Bowl next season by online gambling site bovada.lv.
"Hopefully we'll start stepping into the next one. We've done this before," said Carroll.
"The first meeting that we'll have will be tomorrow. That starts tomorrow. Our guys would be surprised if we didn't."
Editing by Mark Lamport-Stokes


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Public Policy Program
Programs of Study
The Public Policy Program offers three unique degree programs designed to give you the opportunity to analyze, create, and articulate innovative policies responsive to the most challenging issues facing this nation, while respecting and supporting your passion to serve responsibly.
A degree in public policy will prepare students to meet the challenges of the competitive and continually evolving areas of government, private and nonprofit policy analysis.
Why Public Policy at the University of Denver?
Faculty expertise—Faculty members in the Public Policy program are academics, policy experts, legal scholars, and former and current elected officials. Our instructors represent a wide range of policy expertise, including policy history, economics, health policy, regulatory policy lobbying, education policy, constitutional law and quantitative analysis.
Small class size—The intimate classroom setting allows students to fully utilize the knowledge of their faculty and peers to sharpen their academic learning experience. The personalized attention the Public Policy program faculty and staff members give students is unparalleled in escalating their potential for learning and career advancement.
Flexibility—All Public Policy classes are offered in the evenings or weekends, allowing you to gain real-life public policy experience during the day through full-time employment or policy internships. In addition, our flexible dual-degree program gives you the opportunity to enhance your future career by combining your Public Policy with several other relevant graduate degrees, including those from the Sturm College of Law, the Daniels College of Business, the Graduate School of Social Work and Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
Location—The DU campus is located just minutes from downtown Denver—a regional hub for major corporations, financial institutions, law firms, nonprofit organizations, think tanks and more government offices than any other U.S. city outside of Washington, D.C.

subset: commoncrawl


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By Derek Bonnett: It's been awhile. In fact, it's been since July of 2012 that I felt compelled to write a volume of Title Shots Here! Getcha' Free Title Shot! That's not to say there haven't been an undeserving "contender" or three over the last two years that hasn't conveniently popped into the rankings of an organizing body just prior to a title fight being announced. There certainly has, but a contender or three isn't a problem in a two-year period of time. Well, guess what boxing enthusiasts? In recent weeks, five have popped up on the radar and they are all set to come off in a relatively short period of time. So, once again, enthusiasts of professional fisticuff must ask: What did he do to deserve a title shot?
The WBC are huge offenders this time out with three of the five bouts in question. The WBO and the IBF check in with one apiece. The WBA is not without their own involvement here though as they have five interim title fights scheduled in the next three weeks. I will not be putting those under the microscope though as the interim belt only equates to number one contender status. Why that requires a belt is best left for a whole other article entirely.
Here we go!
In just a couple of weeks, on Friday, September 5, Samartlek Kokietgym will be vying for the WBC light flyweight title against recently crowned champion Naoya Inoue. The bout will be Inoue's first title defense of a reign I expect to be chockfull of success. For Inoue ranks among my hottest new stars in boxing as he dethroned Adrian Hernandez in just his sixth professional contest. Okay, a step down is understandable, but why the number thirteen ranked Kokietgym, who is unranked by the three other organizations?
Kokietgym, who has also fought under the name Chaiyonggym, has faced no one close to resembling a contender or world class opponent since 2012. In that bout, he was dropped three times before losing a unanimous decision to Randy Petalcorin. Kokietgym was 8-4 (3) after that contest. In the interest of finding a silver lining, I can point out that Kokietgym has gone 9-0 (2) since Petalcorin. However, now I can going to break out my magnifying glass and looked in the substance of that win-streak. Two of those opponents are listed as unknown with zero information regarding their professional credentials. As a follower of world boxing in the lighter divisions, I know this is not uncommon in various parts of the world. However, as someone with a brain, I also know that "unknown" couldn't possibly be someone resembling a contender because then the information would be "known". A third opponent, identified only as Sandeep was 0-1 at the time of his encounter with Kokietgym. The twenty year old fall guy is now 0-5 against mostly popular Thai names. The remaining six opponents have a combined record of 62-86-7. Kokietgym has fought thrice in 2014, but his two most recent outings were six round decisions over boxers with losing records.
How this translates to a title shot would be an interesting explanation to hear. As of August, Kokietgym was rated number thirteen, but back in May he could not be found in the WBC rankings at all. It appears those two six-rounders in June and July had a huge impact on Kokietgym's career as a contender. As I said earlier, I expect Inoue's title reign to be memorable, but this defense will do little to contribute to that.
A more recognizable champion in Leo Santa Cruz will be meeting and equally questionable challenger on Saturday, September 13. Santa Cruz, champion at super bantamweight, will be meeting the WBC number thirteen rated contender...at bantamweight. Sure Santa Cruz has recently defeated four fairly decent names in the 122-pound division, but this next fight will be underneath Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s highly anticipated rematch with Marcos Maidana. Surely a big stage such as this would warrant a bigger name than Manuel Roman. Especially since Santa Cruz' name is being mentioned in P4P discussions at a reasonable rate.
Roman, 17-2-3 (6), was once considered a promising flyweight prospect. However, this bout will be ten pounds north of that. Additionally, Roman has never fought a scheduled twelve round bout and in is 1-1 in ten round scheduled contests. The most recent ten round affair for Roman was a defeat and over two years ago by fight night. Roman two most recent conquests came in eight and six round bouts which he won by decision. He will enter a bout with Santa Cruz most recently tested by six rounds of action against a 15-10 fighter with a history of sandwiching two losses between wins since 2011.
Roman may not be a bad fighter, but he is a fringe bantamweight contender with two losses, three draws, and four split decision victories amid his seventeen wins. Way back (three weeks ago) in July, Roman was rated twenty-ninth by the WBC. At time between then and now, Roman has climbed all the way up to thirteen. Incidentally, he has not fought since May so those couple of months out of the ring really paid off for him! Add this all together and you get a man fighting for a world championship four pounds above his current division.
Next up, we have another young champion poised to make his first defense, but this time it will be against a former world champion, who has carried a good name at the world class level in the past. Mexico's Carlos Cuadras, 25, will put his WBC super flyweight title on the line against former WBC flyweight champion Sonny Boy Jaro on Wednesday, September 20.
Jaro, 1-9 outside his native Philippines, will be traveling to Mexico for his fifth world title bout. Previously, Jaro is 1-3 in world title fights with his lone victory being a huge 2012 Upset of the Year type KO of Pongsaklek Wonjongkam. Now, that win packs a good punch and could conceivably carry a fighter onto big things. However, following this victory, Jaro was dethroned and defeated twice more in his immediate next three fights. His most recent defeat came at the hands of a 14-14-3 fighter just last year. Jaro has rebounded in 2014 with three victories, but they came against a trio of fighters with losing records; their combined resume read 29-33-1 and two were dismissed in the first round.
The victories earned Jaro a place back into the top fifteen. From May until August, Jaro has been ranked as high as number eleven, but he currently holds the WBC's number twelve spot. No other organizations currently rank him at 115. Jaro, 32, currently has a dossier of 37-13-5 (27). While nowhere near the worst fighter profiled in Title Shots Here! Getcha' Free Title Shot!, his best days seem behind him and a legitimate contender he is no more.
On Saturday, September 24, Arthur Abraham will be defending his WBO super middleweight championship on home turf against Paul Smith. Smith is rated favorably by the WBO at number five and tenth by the WBA. At 35-3, Smith's resume is very handsome on paper. He even possesses some win over regional contenders along the way, but the question is why is he getting his title shot now? What has he done lately?
The two most salient names on Smith's recent resume are George Groves and James DeGale. Had he beaten either of them, his name would not have caught my attention. However, in 2010 he was KO'd by DeGale in nine. No substantial wins immediately followed. Then, in 2011, he was drilled in two rounds by Groves. Since then, Smith has compiled four wins with one of them being a rematch sixth round TKO victory over Tony Dodson last year. Smith previously won a decision in 2010. The other three are straight up trial-horse level fighters with combined numbers of 21-67-5. His two most recent efforts were scheduled for eight and six rounds. Now, the Dodson rematch did win him a vacant British super middleweight title, but does that really merit a top ten ranking having been KO'd by Groves so recently?
Smith's rating has been an interesting one in 2014 as he began the year at number four. His most recent outing was a six round points win over a 10-52-2 fighter. From March through April, he has risen to the number three position in the division. In May, when he posted a second round KO of a 7-3-2 fighter, for some reason he dropped to number six, but all was well because come June he was right back at number five where he remained through July. Coincidentally, DeGale was rated ahead of Smith at number two in June following his career best win over Brandon Gonzales in May. However, DeGale has since dropped to number four without any clear explanation. Hmmm?
Lastly, newly crowned, old man, champion, Sam Soliman will be traveling to my home state of Connecticut, USA for his first title defense of the IBF middleweight title he ripped away from Felix Sturm. On Saturday, October 4, Soliman will be taking on a recognizable name in Jermain Taylor, the former middleweight champion who has had spotty activity since a pair of last round KO losses to Carl Froch and Arthur Abraham. To what does Taylor owe his title shot?
An almost two year hiatus from the ring followed those back to back losses before Taylor resumed his career in the last month of 2011 with a win over Jesse Nicklow. In 2012, Taylor won a decision over the respectable Caleb Truax. Two more wins have followed, but none in 2014. Taylor's last win came in December 2013 when he stopped faded veteran J.C. Candelo. In each outing, Taylor failed to impress and looked every bit a faded, former world champion, after a layoff.
Fortunately, the end result of that was that Taylor at no time appeared in the IBF's top fifteen in 2014. That is, until this summer when a rumor began that he might be next in line for Soliman. So, for not fighting for six months, Taylor then became ranked at number fifteen, where he still sits. Bad rankings have been something boxing fans have come to accept from the organizing bodies, but bad and downright manipulated are two very different creatures.
I don't know why I get myself so riled up! Of these five farces, four are ones I will most likely sit down to watch. The Soliman-Taylor bout, I will most likely cover for SecondsOut. Maybe I am rationalizing my viewership, but it seems to me that there is a difference between watching a farce blindly and going into the whole mess knowingly. That is, after all, the whole intent of this column. It would take something pretty awful for me to pass on boxing, but I would never just accept any old match-up and play ball. Line these five challengers up for non-title bouts and I have no issues. The trouble is that these champions get title defense credit for these contests and, therefore, the sanctioning bodies get to collect their percentage. Boxing truly is a business first, foremost, and always in the eyes of the alphabet companies.
For further boxing discussion contact Derek DBO Bonnett on Facebook. Be sure to LIKE SecondsOut.com on Facebook.
August 19, 2014


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Inadvertantly left off some questions from the Woodson conference call, including an illuminating answer about the difference in the building from the Al Davis days to the Reggie McKenzie regime:
Q: Can you talk about the process with Denver, and what kind of role did they want you to fulfill?
Woodson: Just typical free agent stuff. You go in, you meet, you talk, and the meeting went really well with the coaches. I think we all pretty much hit it off. But there's always of course the business side of it that sometimes comes up short. So it didn't work out. This situation did. So here I am, an Oakland Raider again.
Q: Only in the building for an afternoon, but could you already tell the difference in the vibe from the last time you were in in 2005 with Mr. Davis running the organization?
Woodson: I think having Reggie in there, and having somebody that's really in that decision-making role other than Mr. Al Davis is definitely a different vibe. It seems like there's more of a control factor as far as what they want to do and what they want to implement as far as their team is concerned. I think it's a good vibe in there..
Q: When you left here you were Pro Bowl player four times, went to Green Bay, your career was good here, great in Green Bay. What were the causes for you taking your career to the next level?
Woodson: I think toward the end of Oakland, there was some injuries that kind of kept me off the field. Then I think that team-wise, we weren't a very good team. I think that people just look at you as an individual and say, `If the team's bad, you're bad.' I definitely didn't play bad football my last y ears. I actually played pretty good football. Going into Green Bay was just a fresh start and I was able to stay on the field and go out there and do my thing and I had opportunity. When I got over there, quarterbacks were testing me a lot more than they had at any time in my career, and it gave me ample amount of opportunity to get the ball, and I was able to get my hands on a lot of balls, make a lot of interceptions and people started to notice again what kind of player I was.


text: Though Jason Bateman's been in the acting business for nearly 30 years, that doesn't mean his career is without a few embarrassing mishaps along the way. Topping the list of his lesser moments was Teen Wolf Too — the rarely-praised sequel to Michael J. Fox's iconic original. Last night on Late Night, Bateman got the chance to have an "acting do-over" in a scene from the flick in which Bateman, now inflicted with teen-wolfdom, asks an administrator to change his schedule as his eyes glisten a fiery red. Sorry MTV, but we'd take both the vintage and present day editions of Bateman's wolf over your emo, Twilight-ey teen wolfs any day.


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Sparta is one of the greatest cities in the world. Whether on vacation or a current resident, you'll never get tired of all the things that are available in Sparta, Kentucky, and the surrounding areas!
*We are a resale marketplace, not the ticket seller. Prices are set by third-party sellers and may be above face value.*


text: The Miner's Theatre is associated with the City's first most important industry, mining. The first coal mine was sunk in Collinsville in 1857. The town grew with the industry and by 1886 a man could walk underground through connecting tunnels between the mines from one edge of the City limits to the other. Mining and Collinsville were almost synonymous terms.


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Microsoft launches new subscription music service
Microsoft has revamped its subscription music service with the launch of Xbox Music.
The tech giant today launched the streaming music service to the 66 million users of its popular game console, the Xbox 360. A wider launch on PCs, tablets and mobiles is due on October 26, when the new Windows 8 operating system will be released. The service comes pre-installed as the default music player on the operating system.
"Our aspirations for Xbox Music are big — to address the multiple ways that people are listening to music, then put those all in one easy-to-use and beautifully curated place," said Scott Porter, principal program manager for Xbox Music.
The service, which is powered by the Cloud, replaces the Zune Music Pass, which was all but killed off when Microsoft announced Xbox Music earlier this year at the E3 video game expo.
"It's the only operating system on a tablet that can do free streaming because of the rights we've secured," said Yusuf Mehdi, the vice-president of Microsoft's interactive entertainment business marketing and strategy.
The company confirmed that Xbox Music apps would be available on Windows Phone 8 and eventually on other platforms such as Android and Apple iOS.
This would put it not only in direct competition with music subscription services such as Spotify, Pandora and MOG but also those platforms' native music stores: Android's Google Play Store and Apple's iTunes Music Store.
Although this is widely seen as a step forward for the music industry, the appeal of subscription services is limited by the expense of most mobile data plans. Most cost more the more data you use, which can make streaming music on mobile data networks fairly expensive.
Xbox music will be available at three levels and prices. A free, advertising-supported version will allow users to stream music to their Windows 8 PCs and Windows RT tablets. An audio ad will interrupt playback every 15 minutes in the free version of the software. Streaming will be unlimited for the first six months, and a limit applied thereafter.
For $11.99 a month, users will get ad-free, unlimited offline playback of music on a PC, tablet, mobile and Xbox 360. It includes access to music videos on the Xbox 360.
A third "download to own" option, which tries to claim some of Apple's iTunes market share, allows users to buy tracks and albums via the Xbox Music Store.
"There are a lot of individual services that do a good job but today there isn't a service which can pull together the benefits of download-to-own, music subscription, or free streaming services," Mr Medhi said.
He added that Xbox Music might have the largest music catalogue of all the services, with 30 million songs. Apple said in a statement last month that its iTunes music store had more than 26 million songs.
Other features include a scan-and-match feature, similar to iTunes Match, which will allow users to add the music they own to the Xbox Music Cloud catalogue, including content bought through other music services such as iTunes.
A social music feature that lets users share their favourite music with friends is also in the works.
"Music is a deeply, emotionally connected topic for people everywhere. People's memories and special moments are always associated with music," Mr Mehdi said. "It's a powerful area because of that, and I'm excited that we're going to be able to bring that to life in our product."
Katie is a writer and producer on Essential Kids


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After Gunung Palung in Borneo, the next fieldwork site for our 'Xmalesia' project is Seram, one of the Spice Islands of eastern Indonesia. We picked Seram because of its seasonally dry climate, biogeographically strategic position, and relatively large area of remaining lowland forest. A large National Park, Manusela, occupies 189,000 ha in the east of the Island, and contains a variety of habitats, from coral reefs to the high montane grassland of Mount Binaiya (3,019 m), and I had long wanted to visit it.
The expedition was planned for October and November 2011, and I took a quick reconnaissance trip in September. I was greatly assisted by Fransina Latumahina, an entomologist from the local Patimura University, who took several days away from her master's studies in Yogyakarta to escort me to Ambon, the provincial capital. Fransina is writing up a dissertation on ant samples she collected in different habitats around Ambon: she had over 1,000 species to sort through, many of which will be new to science. While in Ambon, I was excited to locate the memorial to Georg Eberhard Rumphius in a high school courtyard; Rumphius was the first serious naturalist to work in Indonesia, producing the amazing plant book Herbarium Amboinense, covering over 1,200 species (just translated for the first time into English).
The reconnaissance went well, and I was warmly received by the Manusela Park staff, who seldom have researchers interested in the park, and even less frequently botanists; the parrots and cockatoos of Seram are its most popular natural attraction. I rented a car in Masohi to travel the well-paved but precipitous new road over the central mountains, and found what I hope will be a suitable lowland forest area on the north coast. The central mountains are primarily limestone and karst, and while often loaded with endemic species, this represents a different geology from that of the other expedition locations. However, the large northeastern plains of Seram occur over sandstone, and by trekking a couple days up the rivers into the foothills we should be able to find low rolling hills on sedimentary rock that will match our other expedition locations.
While taking the road on the way back through the mountains I was able to get cellphone reception, and was shocked to hear that my wife Kinari was seriously ill on a fundraising trip in Boston. I began perhaps the fastest trip ever made from Seram to Boston, arriving less than 48 hours later. Kinari pulled though, but I stayed in the US with her; we had to call off the full expedition planned for October, and have still not been able to reschedule the trip. Our project field botanists, Endro Setiawan and 'Acun' Hery Yanto, had been very excited about the trip, and have been disappointed at the ongoing delay. So I decided to capitalize on their eagerness and test the approach of 'parataxonomist-led' exploration that we have been discussing a lot recently. With the agreement of our main project collaborator, Dr. Teguh Triono, and with official permission already granted to our project, I sent them on a two-week plant collecting trip. They will hopefully visit two sites different from the one we plan to visit for the full expedition, and they are almost certain to come back with some very interesting finds. There has been very little serious plant collecting in Seram since expeditions by Dr Masahiro Kato and his team in from 1983-6 (see e.g. Kato, 1990), and on an Operation Raleigh expedition in 1987. The next few blog posts will document their trip, partly in their own words.
Endro sent this before leaving for the forest:
"We left from Jakarta on April 2 at 01:30 [on the night flight]. It seems like a dream: we will travel to a distant land where we never imagined we would be. That's what made us unable to sleep on the plane!
At 7:30 we arrived in Ambon ['Ambon Manise'], a town famous since Dutch colonial times. By the side of the road, we saw gandaria fruits for sale [Bouea macrophylla], which gave us great expectations that there also will be fruit of other Anacardiaceae species in the forest. Ambon is a small but busy city, and we even got stuck in morning rush-hour traffic. We arrived at the lodge and immediately fell asleep, because we had not slept all night.
We spent two days in Ambon, and saw some of the city while we were coordinating with KSDA [regional conservation office] to get the specimen collection permit. Ambon is not so different from West Kalimantan, with an active 'hanging-out coffee culture!' The only difference is that they call the coffee houses here rumah kopi rather than warung kopi; the most famous is a place called the Lela Coffee House.
Ambon was peaceful [it has not always been], and at night Sam Ratulangi Street becomes a place for culinary tourism. We tried grilled fish with a typical sauce called colo-colo: chopped chilies and tomato in lemon juice. It was extraordinary!
On Wednesday afternoon we crossed the strait to Seram on the express ferry, a trip of two hours with magnificent views of blue ocean and high mountains. From the port of Amahai we went directly to Masohi, the capital of Maluku Tengah regency. Masohi is an old town, inaugurated by the Soekarno, Indonesia's first President, and apparently the same age as Palangkaraya [in Central Kalimantan, once planned to be the capital of Indonesia]. But the conflicts made this a ghostly quiet city. Lots of roads and many large buildings, but deserted.
Over the Easter weekend while preparing to leave for the field, we amused ourselves fishing (both Endro and Acun are passionate fishermen), but fishing here is very different from Kalimantan. We have some learning to do!
After everything was ready [the hardest to find was old newspapers!], we left for the forest to collect plant specimens. In Masohi there are many fruits at this time: durian, gandaria, mangosteen, guava, mango, and langsat. We went with great anticipation that there would be much wild fruit in the forest. And we also hope to see the beautiful nuri Seram parrot, the kuskus [a marsupial], and swim with some morea [giant freshwater eels] in the river."
I haven't heard from the team since Monday. Hopefully all is well, and they have many amazing plants to tell about.


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Welcome to Look Solutions USA
Look Solutions is a German manufacturer of high quality fog and haze machines, accessories, and fluids. This website is designed for our North American customers and is operated by Look Solutions USA, our American office. Other customers please visit the website of our German headquarters to locate the distributor in your country. Our products are renowned for their small size, energy efficiency, high performance, and high reliability. We make the smallest fog machine in the world, the battery-powered Tiny FX. (Our inventors won a Technical Academy Award in 2008 for developing the unique process for generating theatrical fog that this machine utilizes.) Our fog and haze machines do not require any type of regular cleaning or maintenance like competitive products often do; they are designed so the vaporizer will not clog, provided nothing but the proper fluid passes through it. Most Broadway shows, movie productions, and theme parks rely on our products to provide consistent performance day after day. Find out for yourself what our customers are raving about – see if you qualify for our demo program. Our goal is to make all the fog and haze information you are seeking readily available on this website; however, if you need personal assistance please don't hesitate to contact us. You may also want to view our Introductory Guide To Fog And Haze. Interested in a demo? Click here for details. Download our Product Brochure.


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It has come to my attention that a users password has become compromised. Someone else has managed to log in to this persons account here on AF. Not sure how this was done, and not sure what can be done either. All log-in IPs are documented so I have sent these forward... however if we are talking about some sort of hacker, then I am certain such an individual can mask their IP in some way.
Regardless it is never a bad idea to change password, and please don't use the same password here as you do elsewhere on-line.


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Your browser currently is not set to accept Cookies. Please turn it on or check if you have another program set to block cookies.
NEW UPDATED WARRANTY - Each new Makita Lithium‐Ion Power Tool, Battery and Charger is warranted to be free of defects from workmanship and materials for the period of THREE YEARS from the date of original purchase. Should any trouble develop during the three‐year period for the Lithium‐Ion Power Tool, Battery and/or Charger, return the COMPLETE Power Tool, Battery and/or Charger, freight prepaid, to one of Makita's Factory or Authorized Service Centers


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Cassiopeia's Bubble
Image courtesy T.A. Rector, UAA/WIYN/NOAO/NSF
A new camera called the One Degree Imager, located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, is responsible for this enticingly crisp image of the Bubble Nebula. Released on December 4, this closeup highlights the sphere of gas blown out by the nebula's central star, which is 45 times larger than our own sun.
Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, the Bubble Nebula is ten light-years across. Intense radiation from the massive star causes the otherworldly glow that lights up what looks like a celestial soap bubble.
(Related: "Amazing Hubble Images.")
Published December 6, 2012
Midnight Light
Photograph by Frank Olsen, My Shot
Delicate green auroras light up the water at Buksnesfjord, Norway, in a picture taken just after midnight on December 4.
(See pictures of auroras sparked by a massive solar flare.)
Published December 6, 2012
Great Escape
Image courtesy SDO/NASA
Sheets of plasma—or superheated gas—break off from the surface of the sun in this image taken in extreme ultraviolet light. Before floating free, the plasma rose up and danced along pathways determined by magnetic fields. These unseen forces pushed and pulled the gas into contorted shapes.
(Learn about the sun.)
Published December 6, 2012
New Look
Image courtesy NASA
What looks like a jawbreaker is actually a gravity map of the moon. Red areas indicate places with higher gravity fields while blue areas indicate lower gravity fields.
(Learn about lunar exploration.)
Twin probes circling the moon—part of NASA's GRAIL mission—since 2011 have been recording changes in gravity as they fly over peaks and valleys on the lunar surface. As one probe flies over an area with a greater gravity field, the washing-machine-size instrument speeds up slightly, increasing the distance between it and its sister probe. These minute changes in position have enabled scientists to construct this very detailed view of local changes in the moon's gravity.
(How well do you know your moon myths? Take our quiz.)
Published December 6, 2012
Grainy Picture
Illustration courtesy L. Calçada, ESO/NAOJ/NRAO
In this artist's conception of fine-grained particles around a brown dwarf—or a failed star—bits of debris are on their way to becoming a rocky planet.
Current thinking on Earthlike, rocky planet formation says that random collisions between tiny debris occur in the disc of material surrounding newborn stars. But the recent discovery of such a disc surrounding a brown dwarf has some astronomers rethinking that hypothesis. If planets can form from the debris around these failed stars, then rocky planets may be much more common than previously thought.
(Related: "Coldest Star Found-No Hotter Than Fresh Coffee.")
Published December 6, 2012
Night Vision
Image courtesy Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, Suomi NPP/NASA
The Suomi NPP satellite captured this nighttime image of the aurora australis over the Antarctic coast south of South Africa. Despite the winter darkness and a waning crescent moon, the auroras produced enough light for sensors on board the new NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellite to capture the boundary between the ice shelf and what some scientists call the Southern, or Antarctic, Ocean (dark line across the bright center swirl).
Launched last year, Suomi NPP enables scientists to capture nighttime images of the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The new sensor is so sensitive, it can capture the lights from one ship at sea.
(Learn about Antarctica.)
Published December 6, 2012
Pearl Islands
Image courtesy Michael Taylor, Landsat/NASA
In NASA's Landsat 5 satellite image, the Mergui Archipelago shows off the vibrant greens of its rain forests and the brilliant blues of the surrounding tropical ocean. Located along the southern border of Myanmar (Burma), next to Thailand, the area is known for valuable pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) and a highly diverse concentration of plants and animals.
(See photos of Myanmar.)
Published December 6, 2012
Venusian Volcano
Illustration courtesy AOES Medialab/ESO
The Venusian atmosphere is made mostly of carbon dioxide, along with periodic spikes in sulfur. Recent research has found that volcanoes on the planet's surface, seen here in an artist's conception, are likely injecting that sulfur into the upper atmosphere. Direct confirmation is difficult, however, since Venus's thick atmosphere precludes a peek at its peaks.
Published December 6, 2012
Image courtesy SSI/ISA/ESA/NASA
Published December 6, 2012
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Space Pictures This Week: Lunar Gravity, Venusian Volcano
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helenoh necesitaba un nuevo diseño de otro y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 40 diseños de 8 diseñadores freelance.
I am to be wed!! Yippee...nothing can be easy though, loving the whole DIY wedding. Really want wedding to be a little bit beyond chocolate box norm....not off the wall but not too straight.
Have been procrastinating for weeks so over to the pro's!
The definitive VIP list of our lives, our amazing friends and families.
So...we are trying to make what I for many years have called a folded paper thingy or yolkamebob! I now know they are more widely referred to as origami fortune tellers or cootie catchers....google images...bet you've made one.
We have trialled our own version not exactly same layout as the "normal" one. Included on this are the essentials...approx design, content etc.(see attached file) but I'm experiencing paralysis of choice when it comes to typography and we definitely need to clean up the layout...
Inspiration for wedding...vintage twee..Alice in wonderland...retro shabby chic...haha I am only having one wedding :-)
I need to hand over art work to printer last Friday, thus short contest!
We are so excited...
UPDATE!! We're booked in for printing black on ivory so this is a bit restrictive on the design front...sorry! we might be swayed be something amazing
Will be printed on A3 paper squared off though I don't think that matters
My favorite font is Phaeton by Kevin Cornell & Randy Jones...something in this style would be cool but don't be limited by that at all just an idea
Lastly, Thanks a Million for your efforts,


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I'm reading Proposition 14, page 15, Chapter I, taken in Lang - Algebraic number theory. It states that if $A$ is an integrally closed domain with field of fractions $K$, $L$ be a finite galois extension of $K$, $B$ be the integral closure of $A$ in $L$, $\mathfrak P$ be maximal ideal of $B$ lying over a maximal ideal $\mathfrak p$ of $A$, then $\bar B=B/\mathfrak P$ is a normal extension of $\bar A=A/\mathfrak p$.
The proof shows, actually, only that each finite separable subextension of $\bar B/\bar A$ is normal. This implies that $\bar B$ is normal over $\bar A$? Why?


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With our wonderful assortment of Shari's Berries tea gift baskets, you'll have everything you need to indulge the tea lover in your life – no matter whether you're shopping for a soothing pick-me-up or celebratory edible fruit baskets. So put the kettle on and get ready for tea time with a distinctive twist. Everyone knows that the secret to a perfectly brewed cup of tea starts with the finest tealeaves. That's why we've teamed up with Tazo teas to create a delightful selection of indulgent tazo tea sampler gift baskets that are filled with best-selling tea blends, delicious teatime biscotti and a pair of sleek and sturdy ceramic tea mugs.
When tea o'clock beckons, we have plenty of great herbal tea baskets and caffeine-free gifts, completely relaxing and incredibly gift-worthy. Refreshing, soothing and filled with all the ingredients for a peaceful afternoon cup of tea. When you're looking for the perfect birthday present or graduation gift basket you'll find some amazing options here.
And the tea gift baskets don't stop there, because we've also whipped up a perfectly pampering spa gift basket that features some of our favorite healthful Tazo teas and herbal infusions too. Gourmet tea baskets don't get any more imaginative than that. Shari's Berries has the best retirement gift baskets that will bring a smile to any recipients face and help them enjoy themselves as they should.
Pair one of our many fabulous tea gifts for women with an uplifting sampling of chocolate. Or perhaps a hand-decorated cookie bouquetis just the thing to brighten her day.
If you're hosting a right royal tea party, for that birthday, anniversary or special celebration, you won't just find great teas here. What better party idea for a baby shower or a gift basket for women? We offer a host of delightfully teatime desserts and treats. From cute frosted cupcakes in flavors like chocolate, vanilla and old-fashioned red velvet to deluxe cookies in a tempting line-up of home-style and bakery favorites, as well as fresh baked treats like chocolate cakes and European-style tortes. In fact, you'll find everything you need to set a tea table fit for a queen, or your mom, sister or best friend.


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It's unclear if model Jessica Barton had any security for her super custom 1,165 hp Supra.
But it's not uncommon for many even super high-profile car enthusiasts to skimp on, say, a car alarm or security system in favor of some performance-related aftermarket product for their ride.
However, if you're spending thousands, if not tens of thousands on your vehicle, then paying a little more for peace of mind seems like a small price to pay.
Barton spent years putting together her ride and unfortunately thieves completely disassembled it for the parts.
The speedy swimsuit model had offered a $5,000 reward to anyone who helped her find the vehicle — but later sent out an Instagram post saying that it was too late and showing a pic of Supra parts piled up in a lot.
"That car has been evolving over 8 years and hundreds of thousands probably invested in it," Barton said in a comment on the Instagram post.
"I could never just build another one. It's imposible (sic) to do all this again. It's a devastating loss to me," she said.
Want to read more?
Check out even more on the story from Motoramic here.


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09/11/18 by Lyon Real Estate
The Lyon Cares Foundation announced today that Albie Aware is the recipient of a $5,000 grant. Their mission is to assist with life-saving diagnostic testing, patient advocacy, prevention education, and compassionate support to local individuals facing or fighting breast cancer.
Operated by Lyon Real Estate, the Lyon Cares Foundation offers time, talent, and treasure to local nonprofits that make their communities a better place. Funds are raised through escrow and payroll contributions by Lyon agents and staff in addition to Lyon's annual Golf Tournament.
"With this grant, Albie Aware can provide immediate support to anyone facing a breast cancer diagnosis. Specifically, these funds will be used to pay for screening and diagnostic tests, advocacy and medical co-pay assistance," said Cindy Love, Executive Director of Albie Aware. "Albie Aware is honored to have been selected and supported by the Lyon's Sierra Oaks Office and values this new community partnership."
"It gives us great pride to give this grant to Albie Aware," said Lyon Real Estate president Pat Shea. "They are doing very important work."
In 2018, each of Lyon's 14 offices, in addition to their headquarters office will be giving two $5,000 grants to organizations of their choice, totaling $150,000. Lyon's Sierra Oaks office chose Albie Aware to be the recipient of their grant.
About Lyon Cares Foundation
The Lyon Cares Foundation provides time, talent, and treasure to local nonprofits that make their communities a better place. Our partner in giving is the Sacramento Region Community Foundation. In 2017, Lyon Cares gave grants totaling $160,000 to 32 organizations in the Greater Sacramento Area and will be giving grants totaling $150,000 in 2018.
About Lyon Real Estate
Lyon Real Estate is the leading independent real estate brokerage company in Greater Sacramento. We are proud to be home grown, locally owned and internationally known. Lyon has served the area for over 70 years. In 2017, the company closed 7,333 transactions worth a total of $3 billion in sales volume. Lyon Real Estate has 950 agents in 17 offices located throughout the region. The company is a member of the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, the largest network of premier locally-branded firms, as well as LeadingRE's Luxury Portfolio International® program. In addition to its real estate services, Lyon Real Estate offers RELO Direct, a global relocation program. For more information about Lyon Real Estate, click to GoLyon.com and follow us on Facebook.com/LyonRealEstate.


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In Colorado, where two of the most horrific gun crimes in recent history have taken place, universities in two cities are allowing students to have guns on campus.
The University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are segregating on-campus students age 21 and over who have valid concealed-weapons carry permits into their own residential area, according to the Denver Post.
On Thursday officials said both campuses will have a residential area for legal-age students with permits. In all other dormitories, guns will be banned, the new policy states, the Post reported.
The policy announced Thursday is in response to a March Colorado Supreme Court ruling that said CU can't ban permit holders from bringing guns to campus.
The university also said graduate students who live in university housing off the main campus will be able to have guns in their apartments if they're kept in a safe.
Chancellor Phillip DiStefano said the policy is a reasonable way to adhere to the court's ruling and protect students, faculty and staff.
At least 96 percent of undergraduate students who live in dorms are under 21 and can't legally possess a concealed carry permit, the Post reported.
Guns will not be allowed at athletic and cultural events.
Two mass shootings have taken place in recent history in Colorado.
- At a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., on July 20, 2012, a gunman dressed in tactical clothing shot into an audience at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. The suspect is James Eagan Holmes, who was arrested minutes after the attack.
- In Jefferson County, Colo., on April 20, 1999, two Columbine High School students embarked on a shooting spree that left 12 students and a teacher dead, and 21 other students injured. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold committed suicide after the massacre.


text: We have launched Land Rover Hell www.LandRoverHell.com as a result of the consistent problems that we have experienced with our Land Rover Discovery since its purchase, almost 3 years ago. Besides all the problems with the car, what has compounded matters is the bad service and general uninterested and unhelpful attitude of Land Rover Spain, and Land Rover head office in the U.K.. Find the latest used and new Land Rover cars for sale on Gumtree. See the latest private and trade Land Rover DISCOVERY, DISCOVERY SPORT cars for sale and more.. Amazon Vehicles: 2004 Land Rover Discovery: Read expert reviews, research vehicles, leave comments, and ask questions!. The second generation Land Rover Discovery was produced during the 1999 – 2004 model years. Shown, a 2004 Discovery SE7. A Discovery II test mule on Rover's Gaydon track in late 1997.. A small fleet of 3 Range Rover were imported to Australia as press launch and demonstration vehicles, prior to the official launch in July 1972.. Cheers, Rod BETSY 1967 Series 2a. 109 4 cyl petrol, Fairey o/drive, Athol Hedges roof. Currently undergoing rebuild. Will have-- soft top, 4 wheel disc brakes, salisbury rear diff, military colour, 12 pin nato socket, dual pintle hitch.. The Rover 75 is an executive car that was produced by British car manufacturers Rover Group and later by MG Rover, under the Rover marque. The Rover 75 was available with front-wheel drive in either a saloon or estate body style and latterly, in long-wheelbase form and a rear-wheel drive, V8-engined specification.In 2001, an MG-branded version was launched by MG Rover, called the MG ZT.. VTK500020 - Premium Range Rover Sport Side Steps With Anti-Slip Top And Aluminium Sides With Pre-Cut Side Sills - Comes as a Pair of Steps. The Metro is a city car that was produced by British Leyland (BL) and, later, the Rover Group from 1980 to 1998. It was launched in 1980 as the Austin Mini Metro.It was intended to complement and eventually replace the Mini, and was developed under the codename LC8.The Metro was named by What Car? as Car of The Year in 1983 as an MG, and again as a Rover in 1991.. Searching for a new car? Read reviews and complaints about Land Rover concerning models available, features offered, customer service and more.. VPLDR0161 - Land Rover Expedition Roof Rack - Defender 90 - Genuine Land Rover Roofrack (Two Left in Stock). Motor Trend reviews the 2017 BMW i8 where consumers can find detailed information on specs, fuel economy, transmission and safety. Find local 2017 BMW i8 prices online.. A E Smith Ltd was a pioneer among the coachbuilders with a ultralong 91.4 centimeter wheelbase extension with the Range Rover. The 36 inch extra length gave space to use a converted door from the standard 2 door Range Rover and allowed to use the sliding glass without any alteration of the original window sliding channels.. 72 Reviews of Bob Moore Land Rover. Search 138 cars for sale. "Quick response and made every effort to help me find what I was looking for..


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The Whatchawant/
I'm gonna be honest with you guys -- I'm always honest with you guys, right? -- and tell you that the Whatchawant is actually a mistake version of another drink I wanted to make for y'all. Maybe not so much a mistake as misinformation; based on what I'd read of it in a magazine, I went about recreating this particular cocktail -- wrongly, as it turns out -- that's on the menu at a place in St. Louis called Sanctuaria Wild Tapas.
I can't vouch for how "wild" the tapas is (does it belly dance for you unsolicited, just 'cuz it feelin' feisty?), but the cocktail side of Sanctuaria's operation is phantasmagoric in concept and makes me regret leaving St. Louis before I got to set foot in the place. Get this:
Buy a $20 lifetime membership to the house's cocktail club and you'll get a) lots of nifty accoutrements perfect for cocktail fetishists, like a membership card and a composition book (for tasting notes, natch); b) $2 off every cocktail (most people, I tell them $10, but for you? $8!); c) various discounts for tasting events, retail merch, etc.; and d) first drink free!
First drink free... out of 150!! Once you slurp your way through that sesquicentennium of happiness, you get new perks like a) free liver transplant!; b) bigger merch, etc. discounts, but most importantly; c) third drink on the house for life!!! (All the better to break in new liver.)
Anyway, back to me and my stupidity. Because I have an impatient streak, I didn't verify the recipe with Sanctuaria beforehand. Afterhand, I discover that I'd used the wrong kind of bitters and omitted a key ingredient, pommeau (unfermented apple cider + apple brandy), which I doubt I'd be able to find up here in liquor-finicky Montreal even though it's Frenchy... [decides to check out SAQ's website before once again jumping to conclusions]... feck, they do have pommeau here. Damn this incurable impatience!
Anyway! I made a good drink and that's all that matters! I like the Whatchawant because it's got just four ingredients that any boozehound's home is likely to keep stocked, and because it's super-pleasant but not bland; perfect for coming home after work. Also, I checked around (before I published this post -- I'm learning!) and haven't found evidence of the Whatchawant existing elsewhere under another name. I believe the closest thing to it is the Louisville Cooler, which swaps out the bitters in place of powdered sugar.
I called it the Watchawant because I promise you it'll hit the spot time and again (that's what she said). Here's to easy drinking! (She probably also said that.)
The Watchawant
2 ounces Buffalo Trace bourbon
1 ounce fresh orange juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
2 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters
Combine all ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into (preferably chilled) cocktail glass.
Tasting Notes
I should start mentioning the chilling of cocktail glasses more often. It only helps, right? And you guys know how to do it, right? Just put ice, then water, in your cocktail glass and leave it there while you make the drink in the shaker.
Can you use Angostura bitters instead? Totes.


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After teasing us last week with a video of the new 2012 MV Agusta F4 RR, the Italian company has come out and released official details and photos of the 198hp superbike. Using a shorter-stroke Corsacorta motor, MV Agusta has been able to coax more top-end speed and power from the iconic F4 design. Expected to go on sale in Italy later this month, the F4 RR is carrying with it roughly a 20% premium over the base F4, and will cost €22,900 in that market.
Highlights of the new MV Agusta F4 RR:
- New short-stroke radial valve engine 198 hp at 13,400 rpm
- New increased bore diameter
- New primary drive
- New cylinder head
- New large-diameter titanium intake and exhaust valves
- New lightweight forged pistons in "aerospace RR alloy"
- New exhaust 4-2-1-4
- Close ratio gearbox
- Variable length intake runners
- Öhlins multi-adjustable 43 mm fork
- Öhlins TTX 36 rear shock
- Öhlins steering damper
- Forged aluminum wheels
It should be noted that MV Agusta is translating a 201cv figure in some instances as 201hp, which some sites have confused as being 201hp. In fact the new 2011 MV Agusta F4 RR makes 198hp. Photos and press release after the jump.


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Make peace with greetings
In the Jan. 5 edition of the Gazette, I counted seven Readers' Hotline calls regarding a previous caller's thoughts that "Happy Holidays" should be used instead of "Merry Christmas."
Frankly, I don't care which one a person uses, since judging someone solely on the basis of a term they use or don't use is akin to judging an entire steak based on one bite.
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Day's Best: Columbia University dumping whites-only rule on fellowship fund
Columbia University is asking a judge to free it from the constraints of a unique scholarship fund that, not kidding here, require that an applicant be A) from Iowa; and B) white.
The special fund has existed since 1920, when Lydia C. Chamberlain, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, left her $500,000 estate to create the trust to award fellowships to people born in Iowa "of the Caucasian race." Recipients, who could not study law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary surgery or theology, also were required to move back to Iowa for at least two years.
The New York Daily News reports that university officials and the fund's administrator, JPMorgan Chase Bank, have a asked a Manhattan judge to intervene.


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06 Jun 2016
(HONG KONG) Dragonair today announced that it will join hands with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts to launch a regional collaboration, offering Hyatt-specialty restaurant inspired inflight menus by star chefs to Dragonair's passengers. This is the first time Dragonair and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts have forged such an extensive collaboration across the regions.
With this collaboration, Dragonair's passengers will be able to enjoy the dining experience from six of Hyatt's regionally renowned restaurants, created by the brand's esteemed chefs in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. A total of four hotels are participating in this collaboration, offering distinct menus that reflect the chefs' unique experiences and styles, as well as the local flavours and favourite cuisines.
The series of new inflight menus will be launched progressively, from 1 June 2016 to mid-2017, onboard at different seasons from Hong Kong to specific regional destinations as well as from Beijing and Shanghai to Hong Kong.
The dishes have been created in cooperation with the following Hyatt flagship restaurants, which specialise in authentic Chinese or Western cuisine:
• Chef Alessandro Cozzolino - Grissini, Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
• Chef Kwai-kai Lo - The Chinese Restaurant, Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui
• Chef Benjamin Hoetter - VUE, Hyatt On The Bund, Shanghai
• Chef David Du - Xindalu, Hyatt On The Bund, Shanghai
• Chef Kent Jin - Made in China, Grand Hyatt Beijing
• Chef Diego Papurello - Da Giorgio, Grand Hyatt Beijing
"Dragonair's inflight dining offerings, especially its Chinese menus, have been highly regarded by passengers over the years. In order to provide more choices of delectable dishes for its customers, Dragonair has been exploring and working closely with various notable restaurants and hotels within Hong Kong and the region. We are now very pleased to set up the first-ever regional collaboration with Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, rolling out a series of new inflight dining menus, featuring both Chinese and Western cuisines, for our Dragonair passengers to savour on board the aircraft," said Dragonair Head of Catering Aaron Claxton.
Andreas Stalder, Senior Vice President, Food and Beverage Operations and Product Development, Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts said: "At the heart of the Hyatt brand is a passion for Food and Beverage excellence, a proposition that we live and breathe by in order to offer our guests unparalleled dining experiences that are truly unforgettable. Our collaboration with Dragonair combines the best of two worlds, Hyatt's pursuit of memorable dining and Dragonair's unrivaled flying experiences across popular destinations in Asia Pacific."
Launching this regional collaboration is the Italian cuisine from Grand Hyatt Hong Kong and authentic Chinese fare from Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, available from 1 June 2016 to 31 May 2017.
On flights from Hong Kong to Beijing and Shanghai, passengers travelling on Dragonair's First and Business Class will be immersed in authentic Italian cuisine – made with only the freshest ingredients sourced directly from Italy – created by Alessandro Cozzolino, chef de cuisine at Grissini. After honing his craft in some of Italy's most famous kitchens, the 26-year-old chef from Caserta, has been delighting Hong Kong diners' palates with one of their favourite Western cuisines. Grissini has specially created a menu for Dragonair passengers featuring dishes that will allow them to savour their favourite Italian flavours such as traditional eggplant parmigiana and fresh Pugliese burrata cheese. The homemade potato gnocchi featuring smoked buffalo Provola cheese and veal check is a popular dish loved by Grissini's diners. Served with buffalo Provola cheese freshly flown from Italy, the dish was created to honor Chef Alessandro's hometown, which is known for its beautiful buffalo milk.
On flights from Hong Kong to selected destinations, passengers will enjoy a selection of dishes created by Kwai-kai Lo, head chef of The Chinese Restaurant. For travellers who are always on the road, Chef Lo specially created the steamed prawn and glutinous rice with fried garlic dish which is meant to remind them of their favourite home cooked meals, The fried garlic and rice pairing is a classic home recipe of Hong Kong families. Dragonair passengers will also have the chance to try one of The Chinese Restaurant's signature desserts – baked egg custard tart with glutinous dumpling. This all-in-one creation features the best local flavours such as egg tarts, glutinous dumplings stuffed with custard and pineapple buns
The new menus will be available on rotation onboard the Dragonair flights, and dishes will be prepared with all the care and attention that each chef would use in their own kitchen. In addition, the brands have sourced select ingredients from around the world, especially those that support local businesses.
In view of the travellers' desire for new culinary adventures during their journey nowadays, Dragonair and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts have been working hard to set new standards for outstanding customer experiences. A great deal of effort by both companies has gone to the new inflight menu, which is set to enhance the overall inflight experience for Dragonair passengers.
About Dragonair
Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited (Dragonair), an affiliate member of oneworld, is a Hong Kong-based international airline, and a member of the Cathay Pacific Group. Established in 1985, the airline now operates a fleet of 42 passenger aircraft and serving 53 regional destinations, including 23 cities in Mainland China. Dragonair has been recognised for its product and service quality, and has been named the "Best Regional Airline" at the TTG Travel Awards for six consecutive years since 2010, and voted "World's Best Regional Airline" in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards™ in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2015. For more information, please visit www.dragonair.com.
About Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 12 premier brands and 652 properties in 53 countries, as of March 31, 2016. The Company's purpose to care for people so they can be their best informs its business decisions and growth strategy and is intended to create value for shareholders, build relationships with guests and attract the best colleagues in the industry. The Company's subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage, franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences and vacation ownership properties, including under the Park Hyatt®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Andaz®, Hyatt Centric™, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Zilara™ and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names and have locations on six continents. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.


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For those that missed it, here is my very brief part on the Dr. Phil show about "extreme parenting." It sounds so salacious!
This is longer than a usual Cool Mom bit: between two and three minutes, which, for me, is about as long a video as I can ever watch online. The mom I was backing up is Lenore of Free Range Kids.
Did I change the face of daytime TV? Nah, but it was fun to be on the show.
And I hope, someday, to fit in that yellow dress again.


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Jury selection began Monday in a civil trial stemming from design and construction flaws at Rivergate Lofts, a residential and commercial building in south Durango.
The trial is expected to last up to six weeks, including a week off during Memorial Day week. About 400 jury summons have been sent to residents. Jury selection is expected to last up to three days.
The lawsuit was filed Jan. 13, 2010, by Rivergate property owners who accused developers of numerous problems with the design and construction, from the foundation to the roof.
During the last two years, some disputes have been resolved out of court, but others will be decided by a jury. The lawsuit has become a complex web of plaintiffs versus defendants and counter suits.
As of Monday:
Rivergate Lofts Partners is suing Genex Construction LLC.
Bituminous Casualty Co., which is Genex Constructions insurance company, is counter-suing Rivergate Lofts Partners.
Also, Okland Construction Co. is suing two subcontractors: Durango Plastering & Drywall and Perry Olsen Drywall Inc.
The case is being overseen by District Judge David Dickinson.
Rivergate Lofts is accessible by Colorado Highway 3 and sits above the Animas River across from the Durango Mall. It was approved for development in 2003, and the first residential units were occupied in 2005.
Residents have complained that something doesnt seem right about the design and construction of the development. Sound travels freely through concrete walls, among other complaints.
Opening statements are expected to be made Wednesday at the earliest.


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Friday, February 26, 2010
The Scourge of Scurs
What? For those of you not in the know, scurs are little shards of horn that grow out when a goat hasn't been properly dis-budded. Huh? Dis-budding is the hideous, yet often necessary, procedure of taking a goat, two days fresh from the womb, placing her in a box with just her head poking out one end, and burning off her horn buds with a red hot iron. Not pretty. Regardless of whether or not dis-budding is humane, it is essential to have a hornless goat in an urban setting.
Lucy was most unfortunate to have not had her horn buds completely burned off. I'm not surprised. She's a feisty one when it comes to being poked and prodded. I'm sure she kicked up quite a fuss in that tiny torture chamber and, consequently, has bits of horn sprouting out both sides of her head, one side worse than the other. The problem with these horn bits is that they can curl back, growing into the goats head, or break off easily. In Lucy's case, the latter has temporarily resolved the former problem.
After lying in bed for 48 hours last week, struck down with a nasty case of food poisoning, I decided that a trip to the backyard for the animals' night time feeding would do me some good, what with a bit of fresh air and all. I entered the animal pen right at dusk, finding Lucy with a big bloody mess on her head. Upon closer inspection, I saw that she had ripped her horn off and that it was bleeding pretty good. I hate to admit that I panicked, but why should I lie? By now, you all know that's what I truly excel at. I had read that there are loads of blood vessels in the horns and that it is possible for a goat to bleed to death if the issue is not addressed immediately. As you can imagine, this was very bad news given my physical state. I rushed inside to get a towel to cut off the bleeding, doing a quick Internet search to see what the proper procedure would be in this situation. I found a lot of sites telling me "make sure your goat doesn't have horns because they can break off and cause problems." Yeah... thanks for that incredibly helpful tip.
I went back to the animal pen and attempted to subdue the bleeding by placing the towel over the broken horn. Well that went over about as well as a lead balloon. Mind you that I had ingested a mere six saltine crackers in the past two days and now found myself wrestling and being rolled by a 60 pound, really pissed off creature... in the dark. I "threw in the towel" so to speak and went for help. The Disgruntled Farmhand, to my utter relief, agreed to play vet on this evening, brought Lucy into the garage, trimmed off the hair around the horn, and applied a good deal of Betadine to the wound.
I was still worried that the bleeding didn't appear to be stopping, but lucky me, I've got an old high school classmate who is a vet. My friend Enita, a.k.a. Skeeter, runs the Tender Care Animal Hospital in Gretna, Nebraska and is kind enough to give me advice in these situations over Facebook (this social networking thing has proven to be way more useful than I had once thought), which is so amazingly helpful since we live 60 miles from the goats' vet. She told me to put some flour or baking soda on the wound to control the bleeding. So I went back outside and dumped a fistful of soda on Lucy's head. Now it is a bloody, cakey mess, but it worked and she is now on the mend. Within two days, she was back to her old tricks - head butting her buddy Ethel. Crazy goat!
5 comments:
Poor Lucy! And poor farmer!! I really did not know that a disbudded goat can still grow horns. It sounds like having an ingrown toenail. Ick.ReplyDelete
When I was a kid, we raised rabbits (as pets, not food). One bunny we adopted from a family who never handled her. That poor rabbit's toenails had grown all the way around until they pierced her feet. It was awful, but we steadily clipped her back and trained her to be held. I discovered in that experience that I did NOT want to be a veterinarian.
Skeeter saves Heidi's sanity - again! Thanks, friend! Good to have friends and family with all kinds of skills!ReplyDelete
Oh my goodness, I was panicking just reading that! Glad Lucy (and you) are OK :)ReplyDelete
Hi - I'm new to your blog. I found you by typing "bloody scurs in goats" into Google. LOL :-)ReplyDelete
Your post explains almost to a "t" what I experienced this morning when I went up to feed my goat boy, Reggie. I'm now getting ready to go out and clean up his head with diluted Betadine but was trying to figure out whether I needed to apply some kind of topical antibiotic cream on it or not. He has pulled one scur completely off and the other is bent and cracked. Both were not large, but apparently big enough to bother him. I'm afraid he'll need to have them burned off again to prevent them from growing back. sigh.
How's Lucy doing now? Any signs of regrowth?
So sorry to hear that farmgirl. I hope your goats are doing alright. Lucy has healed up well. She only broke hers in half. So once it scabbed over, she was fine. Can't even tell it happened now. How's the bleeding with the horn ripped off at the base? Those, I hear, are the most dangerous because they can bleed a lot. Unfortunately, once the horn has grown there is no re-burning. They have to be surgically removed. Fiasco Farms has great info on all this stuff. Personally, I'm just going to "deal" with the scurs and assume that they will break from time to time. Good luck!ReplyDelete


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#include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/kmem.h>kmem_cache_t *kmem_cache_create(char *name, size_t bufsize, size_t align, int (*constructor)(void *, void *, int), void (*destructor)(void *, void *), void (*reclaim)(void *), void *private, void *vmp, int cflags);
Solaris DDI specific (Solaris DDI)
The parameters for the kmem_cache_* functions are as follows:
Descriptive name of a kstat(9S) structure of class kmem_cache. Only alphanumeric characters can be used in name.
Size of the objects it manages.
Required object alignment.
Pointer to an object constructor function. Parameters are defined below.
Pointer to an object destructor function. Parameters are defined below.
Drivers should pass NULL.
Pass-through argument for constructor/destructor.
Drivers should pass NULL.
Drivers must pass 0.
Determines whether caller can sleep for memory. Possible flags are KM_SLEEP to allow sleeping until memory is available, or KM_NOSLEEP to return NULL immediately if memory is not available.
Pointer to the object allocated by kmem_cache_alloc().
The parameters for the callback constructor function are as follows:
Pointer to the object to be constructed.
The private parameter from the call to kmem_cache_create(); it is typically a pointer to the soft-state structure.
Determines whether caller can sleep for memory. Possible flags are KM_SLEEP to allow sleeping until memory is available, or KM_NOSLEEP to return NULL immediately if memory is not available.
The parameters for the callback destructor function are as follows:
Pointer to the object to be deconstructed.
The private parameter from the call to kmem_cache_create(); it is typically a pointer to the soft-state structure.
In many cases, the cost of initializing and destroying an object exceeds the cost of allocating and freeing memory for it. The functions described here address this condition.
Object caching is a technique for dealing with objects that are:
frequently allocated and freed, and
have setup and initialization costs.
The idea is to allow the allocator and its clients to cooperate to preserve the invariant portion of an object's initial state, or constructed state, between uses, so it does not have to be destroyed and re-created every time the object is used. For example, an object containing a mutex only needs to have mutex_init() applied once, the first time the object is allocated. The object can then be freed and reallocated many times without incurring the expense of mutex_destroy() and mutex_init() each time. An object's embedded locks, condition variables, reference counts, lists of other objects, and read-only data all generally qualify as constructed state. The essential requirement is that the client must free the object (using kmem_cache_free()) in its constructed state. The allocator cannot enforce this, so programming errors will lead to hard-to-find bugs.
A driver should call kmem_cache_create() at the time of _init(9E) or attach(9E), and call the corresponding kmem_cache_destroy() at the time of _fini(9E) or detach(9E).
kmem_cache_create() creates a cache of objects, each of size size bytes, aligned on an align boundary. Drivers not requiring a specific alignment can pass 0. name identifies the cache for statistics and debugging. constructor and destructor convert plain memory into objects and back again; constructor can fail if it needs to allocate memory but cannot. private is a parameter passed to the constructor and destructor callbacks to support parameterized caches (for example, a pointer to an instance of the driver's soft-state structure). To facilitate debugging, kmem_cache_create() creates a kstat(9S) structure of class kmem_cache and name name. It returns an opaque pointer to the object cache.
kmem_cache_alloc() gets an object from the cache. The object will be in its constructed state. kmflag is either KM_SLEEP or KM_NOSLEEP, indicating whether it is acceptable to wait for memory if none is currently available.
kmem_cache_free() returns an object to the cache. The object must be in its constructed state.
kmem_cache_destroy() destroys the cache and releases all associated resources. All allocated objects must have been previously freed.
Constructors can be invoked during any call to kmem_cache_alloc(), and will run in that context. Similarly, destructors can be invoked during any call to kmem_cache_free(), and can also be invoked during kmem_cache_destroy(). Therefore, the functions that a constructor or destructor invokes must be appropriate in that context.
kmem_cache_create() and kmem_cache_destroy() must not be called from interrupt context.
kmem_cache_alloc() can be called from interrupt context only if the KM_NOSLEEP flag is set. It can be called from user or kernel context with any valid flag.
kmem_cache_free() can be called from user, kernel, or interrupt context.
struct foo { kmutex_t foo_lock; kcondvar_t foo_cv; struct bar *foo_barlist; int foo_refcnt; };
Assume that a foo structure cannot be freed until there are no outstanding references to it (foo_refcnt == 0) and all of its pending bar events (whatever they are) have completed (foo_barlist == NULL). The life cycle of a dynamically allocated foo would be something like this:
foo = kmem_alloc(sizeof (struct foo), KM_SLEEP); mutex_init(&foo->foo_lock, ...); cv_init(&foo->foo_cv, ...); foo->foo_refcnt = 0; foo->foo_barlist = NULL; use foo; ASSERT(foo->foo_barlist == NULL); ASSERT(foo->foo_refcnt == 0); cv_destroy(&foo->foo_cv); mutex_destroy(&foo->foo_lock); kmem_free(foo);
Notice that between each use of a foo object we perform a sequence of operations that constitutes nothing more expensive overhead. All of this overhead (that is, everything other than use foo above) can be eliminated by object caching.
int foo_constructor(void *buf, void *arg, int size) { struct foo *foo = buf; mutex_init(&foo->foo_lock, ...); cv_init(&foo->foo_cv, ...); foo->foo_refcnt = 0; foo->foo_barlist = NULL; } void foo_destructor(void *buf, void *arg, int size) { struct foo *foo = buf; ASSERT(foo->foo_barlist == NULL); ASSERT(foo->foo_refcnt == 0); cv_destroy(&foo->foo_cv); mutex_destroy(&foo->foo_lock); } un = ddi_get_soft_state(foo_softc, instance); (void) snprintf(buf, KSTAT_STRLEN, "foo%d_cache", ddi_get_instance(dip)); foo_cache = kmem_cache_create(buf, sizeof (struct foo), 0, foo_constructor, foo_destructor, NULL, un, 0);
To allocate, use, and free a foo object:
foo = kmem_cache_alloc(foo_cache, KM_SLEEP); use foo; kmem_cache_free(foo_cache, foo);
This makes foo allocation fast, because the allocator will usually do nothing more than fetch an already-constructed foo from the cache. foo_constructor and foo_destructor will be invoked only to populate and drain the cache, respectively.
If successful, the constructor function must return a pointer to the allocated object. If KM_NOSLEEP is set and memory cannot be allocated without sleeping, the constructor must return NULL.
kmem_cache_create() returns a pointer to the allocated cache. If the name parameter contains non-alphanumeric characters, kmem_cache_create() returns NULL.
If successful, kmem_cache_alloc() returns a pointer to the allocated object. If KM_NOSLEEP is set and memory cannot be allocated without sleeping, kmem_cache_alloc() returns NULL.
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
|Interface Stability
condvar(9F), kmem_alloc(9F), mutex(9F), kstat(9S)
The Slab Allocator: An Object-Caching Kernel Memory Allocator, Bonwick, J.; USENIX Summer 1994 Technical Conference (1994).


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Photo is taken by Greg and Cindy Thredgold, contributors to Find-a-Grave.
A touching memorial from Samuel and Hannah's children, the poem at the bottom of the stone reads:
"They bravely crossed the ocean wide
And here they slumber side by side
This monumental marble stands.
Loves tribute from their childrens hands
When all the storms of life have passed
May we all meet in Heaven at last."
Several of those children were old enough to remember the journey, and no doubt felt the sacrifice that Samuel and Hannah made in setting out to an unknown land and destiny.
You can read a few details of their journey as Mormon Pioneers on my main site.


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For Founder Of National Tekkie Tax Day Having A Higher (Business) Purpose Keeps Her Driving Forward
The NGO space isn't easy. It's a constant uphill battle to connect scarce resources with the vulnerable. Annelise de Jager has persevered in this space because she's tapped into her personal purpose and values.
Vital Stats
- Player: Annelise de Jager
- Initiative: National Tekkie Tax Day
- Launched: 2013
- Visit: www.tekkietax.co.za
Use your purpose to drive you forward
Connect your purpose with what you do, and you'll find untapped reserves of perseverance and the discipline needed to achieve your goals.
Purpose before profit is not a new concept in business. In fact, it underlines the motivations behind some of the most successful entrepreneurs. It's also not reserved for social enterprises alone.
However, it is in the social entrepreneurship and charitable spaces that living one's purpose first found a foothold, mostly because without a strong purpose, the work would just be too hard, and many would give up.
Annelise de Jager, founder of National Tekkie Tax Day, unpacks how she's used living her purpose to drive her forward, even when she's faced almost insurmountable challenges and disappointments.
Make 'living a life that matters' intrinsic to everything you do.
"I was lucky in that I didn't ever need to sit down and say, 'I want my life to matter, so I need to do x, y, z'," says Annelise. "It was intrinsic for me. However, in the past five years I've become acutely aware of it, and I've seen how important the ability to look beyond oneself is when you're facing disappointment and challenges.
"It helps you look beyond the now, find a solution and keep pushing on, because there is a bigger goal at stake. The biggest revelation for me has been that anyone can figure this out and use it as a tool to achieve their dreams and purpose — you just need to trigger your intrinsic motivators.
Related: ReWare Did One Crucial Thing That Most Entrepreneurs Are Too Afraid To Do
"Figure out what's really important to you, and then align this with what you're doing, in both your business and personal journeys. Robin Bank's Mind Power and Shaping your Destiny courses are a great place to start."
Don't be afraid to ask what's next
Critical to Annelise's journey has been the realisation that when goals are met, we need to ask ourselves: What's next? "Too many people achieve their goals and then feel adrift. You should meet your goals. Your ultimate vision should change. That's growth, and it's critical if you want to keep moving forward.
"Our experiences inform our knowledge base and world views, and so as you live and run your business, that view should be changing, bringing with it new challenges and perceptions. Don't be scared of it; embrace it."
Annelise went to Potchefstroom University to study social work where she joined the university's musical revue group, the Alabama Student Company. "Alabama was given the opportunity to tour Taiwan, but I was about to graduate. Travel is high on my personal values list, so I started a second degree in communications to stay in university — and — in Alabama."
New experiences can be the source of great ideas and strength
Studying communications opened Annelise to a new discipline that she loved. "Marketing and communications are so filled with energy — an energy social work didn't possess. I loved both, and I wanted to find a way to meld them together. This would ultimately shape my business, The Marketing Team, after I'd been a social worker for a few years. Don't be afraid to adjust your plans based on new experiences; they can be the source of our greatest ideas and strengths."
Related: Reel Gardening Warns That Innovation Is Never Easy
No experience is ever wasted
"We spend too much time trying to plan exactly what we should be doing, where and when, instead of following our hearts and instincts," says Annelise. "No experience is ever wasted. Once I discovered my love for communications, I questioned whether I'd wasted four years studying social work. I hadn't.
"Both disciplines became the bedrock of how I would assist the charitable space in South Africa. Experiences open our eyes, our hearts, and our understanding. They give us empathy and patience. They allow us to view things from other perspectives. If you want to really make a difference in other peoples' lives, these traits are invaluable."
Be open to finding answers in unexpected places
"By 2004 I felt rudderless," says Annelise. "I'd been running my own business, handling communications and marketing for NGOs, developing campaigns and even assisting NGOs to run more as businesses than under-funded organisations, but it didn't feel like I was doing enough.
"Part of the problem was that you can only give people the tools to work with, you can't make them use them. Another problem was under-funding. Corporates spend billions each year on CSI projects but they don't like to fund salaries and basic operational expenses.
"It's frustrating because volunteers can't do what needs to be done — most households need two breadwinners, which limits the availability of volunteers to assist.
"I was looking for a way to add more value. Should I start my own NGO? Where could I make the biggest impact? I'd been offered an excellent coaching position, which would allow me to walk away from the problems this sector deals with daily. It was tempting, but it wasn't what I wanted.
"At that time I attended the Global Day of Prayer in Argentina on behalf of a client. It was at that conference that I had an almost supernatural experience. I left knowing exactly what my purpose was.
"How these realisations come to you is less important than the fact that you're open to them. Deep down I knew what I wanted and needed — I just needed the courage and fortitude to follow my path. My experience in Argentina gave that to me because I allowed it to."
Always find the strength to persevere.
Nothing worth doing is ever easy. In the NGO space, this is particularly true. "I developed the idea for National Tekkie Tax Day because NGOs constantly asked me to help them develop funding campaigns. I developed this fundraising model when I launched Casual Day and ran the project successfully for 18 years.
"But I also believe the NGO space can benefit from a more unified mindset to overcome donor confusion and fatigue. This is my new focus, but it's difficult to get organisations to shift their mindsets. National Tekkie Tax Day is a step in this direction.
"It encompasses 12 national NGOs and 1 000 regional organisations across five categories — but there's one product and one national marketing drive. Donors can choose a category to support.
Related: How Fintech Zoona Is Solving Customers' Real Problems
"I've needed to persevere to help NGOs see the benefits in working collaboratively, and corporates to see the benefits of supporting the operational costs of NGOs.
"I don't have a high profile job at a top company. People don't call you back in my world. And yet you need to keep pushing forward against incredible headwinds.
"I wake up each morning and repeat the mantra that my success helps everybody; my failure helps nobody. There won't always be easy wins, but with the right purpose you can persevere. You can make a difference."
Support National Tekkie Tax Day on 26 May 2017
12 national charities | 1 000 local charities | 5 sectors to support
Animals, Bring Hope, Children, Disability, Education
Available at Toys R Us, Clicks and Babies R Us or online at www.tekkietax.co.za
Watch List: 11 Teen Entrepreneurs Who Have Launched Successful Businesses
These teens are proving that you don't need a driver's licence – or the ability to vote – to create and execute a successful start-up.
In South Africa youth entrepreneurship is encouraged as the best way to build the economy. Teens are no longer relying on tertiary education to jumpstart their careers, as many high school students become budding entrepreneurs. From make-up to confectionary and tech-centred ventures, youth entrepreneurship is taking the business world by storm.
"It's easier than ever to become an entrepreneur, and technology has a lot to do with it. You're a tech-savvy millennial, and Internet and mobile technologies make it easier to connect and identify with people, based on shared values and ideals," says Michael Freestone, founder of the MJF Group. "All entrepreneurs wonder if their companies will succeed, but you don't really know until you try. So, do it while you're young and have little or nothing to lose."
And that's exactly what teenagers across the country are doing. While being a teenager is stressful enough, without worrying about marketing and your bottom line – these young entrepreneurs thrive on success, which must be their secret sauce to their winning business ideas.
10 Young Entrepreneurs Under 30 Share Their Start-Up Secrets
The future of entrepreneurship has never looked so bright…these young entrepreneurs share their wisdom around building a successful business.
Natural Talent Can Become Your Success
Thabo Khumalo – ToVch
"I learnt to design and sew while assisting my mother who was a seamstress, and that is when I realised that I had a talent to create," Thabo Khumalo explains. "But I never knew I was an entrepreneur." Thabo Khumalo started his company ToVch in 2010 and has since appeared in South African Fashion Week, Soweto Fashion Week and Mpumalanga Fashion Week.
Khumalo has a small but engaged audience, who he communicates directly with. "The brand has a dedicated audience, and the social media presence also allows me to continuously scan the fashion environment to keep up with external forces."
The Lesson
One of the most challenging aspects of launching his businesses was marketing the brand with limited funds. He used social media and word-of-mouth to market. "On social media, people share your brand with others simply because they want to," says Khumalo. "It's a powerful platform, and it does not cost anything." Khumalo built up his company using support from a strong online network, which became his marketing strategy.
Read more on How Fashion Start-Up ToVch Built A Brand Presence With Only A Little Budget.
Meet The Man Behind The Brand: Patrick O'Shea Of Hi Honey Infusions
Patrick O'Shea Of Hi Honey Infusions on what put the bee in his bonnet.
Vital Stats
- Website: www.hihoneyinfusions.com
- Email: email@example.com
- Facebook: Click here
- Orders: +27 23 614 2801
When Patrick O'Shea first started the Hi Honey range of honey infusion products from his Montagu home kitchen in 2015, nothing could have prepared him for the success that would follow.
Now just over a year later, Hi Honey Infusions has become a thriving, well-loved brand in the homes of many South Africans on their quest to live a healthy lifestyle.
We recently chatted to him about Hi Honey's humble beginnings and his vision for the future.
It all started with a love affair with honey…
Patrick has loved honey since he could remember and his earliest memory was of the little light blue honey containers called Champagne Honey.
"My dad was a musician/entertainer on the Holiday Inn circuit during the mid-70's in South Africa and we used to stay in the hotels he played at. I couldn't wait for breakfast time so I could claim a few of them," reminisces Patrick.
Related: How To Start A Farming Business
The concept of combining honey and organics was still relatively new around the time Patrick began experimenting with it: "In early 2015 I read an article about the amazing health benefits of combining honey with cinnamon. Besides sounding delicious it also piqued my interest and I began researching the availability here in South Africa for such a product. I didn't find any flavoured honey products and so began to create a range of honey infusions in my kitchen at home."
After developing the recipes and manufacturing process, Patrick approached local Montagu business, Roscherr's/Church Street. Managing Director Kallie Fourie and Production Head Martin Roscherr saw the brand potential and agreed to make the range.
The rest is history.
"They have been absolutely amazing since the first batch of Hi Honey Infusions were made last year," says Patrick. "In June last year I was only supplying a few shops in the Montagu area. By November the range became available in Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts stores nationwide through Roscherr's/Church Street."
Honey and a healthy lifestyle
Only honey produced by South African bee keepers is used, primarily from the Western Cape area, to manufacture Hi Honey products. The honey is infused with certified organics which are sourced from around the world, except the Rooibos and soon to be released Baobab honey, which come from South Africa.
Since ancient times, the health benefits of honey haves been recognised and celebrated:
"Honey has so many amazing properties and health benefits. It is a really good, healthy food choice and pure honey is known to help build your immunity against sickness," Patrick explains. "Honey contains simple sugars, which are not the same as white sugar or artificial sweeteners. Its exact combination of fructose and glucose actually helps the body regulate blood sugar levels. Some honeys have a low hypoglycaemic index, so they don't jolt your blood sugar."
Natural, raw honey combined with the health benefits of organics like cinnamon, Rooibos, ginger and others offer people the best of both. "It also makes the honey experience more interesting and yummy!" says Patrick.
Related: 46 Facts You Should Know About Entrepreneurship (Infographic)
Hi Honey and Montagu: A proud partnership
Patrick says that the Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts brand has been so supportive of this locally produced product from the start.
"Montagu CEO Hannes Jansen, Sales Director De Wet van Rooyen and Marketing Manager Liesl Carstens have and continue to give valuable advice and recommendations. Without their interest in the Hi Honey brand and products, I don't think the business would be where it is today in such a short space of time," explains Patrick.
"A small business that has great support from a big company forms the makings of something really special."
New products and plans for the future
The Montagu franchise company recently turned five years old and Patrick was honoured to have been asked to launch the new alcohol- and preservative-free Hi 5 energy booster honey sachets to all the franchisees at the celebratory event in August 2016.
Patrick is constantly thinking of potential new combinations for the brand: "I think Hi Honey Infusions are a fresh new way to enjoy honey and I like the way they taste and look. The new addition to the range is Baobab and I think people are really going to enjoy the creamy fruity flavour," he says.
Related: 6 Costly Mistakes People Make When Starting a Business
Serving suggestions?
Hi Honey can be enjoyed over oats, on toast or a pancake, or in these other useful ways:
- A teaspoon of Hi Honey chocolate, cinnamon or cayenne in coffee
- Hi Honey Rooibos or ginger in tea
- Hi Honey chocolate with almond milk for a lactose-free hot chocolate
- Hi Honey cayenne or turmeric in a curry
When he's not running a thriving business, Patrick enjoys writing music and performing, reading, travel, making aromatherapy products, spending time with his two children and family and, when time allows (of which there is so little these days), playing golf.
Hi Honey Infusions is a preferred supplier to Montagu Dried Fruit and Nuts stores nationwide.
Want to know more? Watch this video below: