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Speakers 2016
Speakers that went beyond
We had the honor to invite a selection of exciting speakers that went beyond in every possible sense of the word….
Mary McCarthy – Art Consultant and Urban Art Specialist
Mary McCarthy is a leading Urban Contemporary Art specialist, spending the last twenty years following Street Art and forging contacts with artists, buyers, writers and followers within this counter culture movement.
Mary McCarthy previously worked with Getty, Christies Images, Bloomsbury and Dreweatts Auctions.
She set up MM Contemporary Arts Ltd in 2013 and has brokered some of the most high profile (and discreet) Urban Contemporary Art sales working both with private clients and auction houses. Most recently she has partnered with Paris based Digard Auctions to develop their biannual global sale of Urban Contemporary Art, achieving record sales in this sector of the market.
Dr. Laura Penn – Author, TV-Host & Public Speaking Coach
Laura Penn, PhD has had enough of watching good people deliver bad presentations. She lives to disrupt what she considers to be the broken and dysfunctional status quo for public speaking.Deeply alarmed by how her conservation biologist peers (she was a scientist before becoming a public speaking expert) were ineffectively delivering their messages, Laura decided to do something about it.
Six years ago, she founded ThePublicSpeakingSchool.com to provide state-of-the-art training in public speaking for clients in the not-for-profit, academic and private sectors. Today, Laura uses her eclectic background as a scientist and as a performing artist to transform the way that we speak in public.
Shaun Attwood – Author, Wall Street Millionaire & Ex-Drug Supplier
Shaun Attwood is a former stock-market millionaire and Ecstasy supplier turned public speaker, author and activist, who is banned from America for life. His story was featured worldwide on National Geographic Channel as an episode of Locked Up/Banged Up Abroad called Raving Arizona.Shaun's writing – smuggled out of the jail with the highest death rate in America run by Sheriff Joe Arpaio – attracted international media attention to the human rights violations: murders by guards and gang members, dead rats in the food, cockroach infestations…
While incarcerated, Shaun was forced to reappraise his life. He read over 1,000 books in just under six years. By studying original texts in psychology and philosophy, he sought to better understand himself and his past behavior. He credits books as being the lifeblood of his rehabilitation. Shaun now tells his story to schools to put young people off drugs and crime. He campaigns against injustice via his books and blog, Jon's Jail Journal. He has appeared on the BBC, Sky News and TV worldwide to talk about issues affecting prisoners' rights.
Mischa Janiec – Entrepreneur and Pro Natural Bodybuilder
Mischa Janiec is an Entrepreneur, Social Media Influencer, Personal Coach and Pro Natural Bodybuilder from Switzerland. He became the Swiss Natural Bodybuilding Federation Teen Class Champion in 2011 and won the Overall Title at the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation Muscle Mayhem 2016.
Apart from being a Pro Athlete, Mischa has become a famous European Social Media Influencer. He has thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram and millions of views on his youtube channel. He is also the Co-founder of Profuel, a vegan supplement company, Chief Marketing Officer of a clothing company named ProBroWear and helps people get in shape with his Online Training Course "Lean Bulk System". He also likes to travel around the world and giving his Internet Community insights of beautiful places like South America or Thailand.
Marcelo Bertorelli – Student Activist in the Venezuela Uprising
Marcelo Bertorelli was born and raised in the streets of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. In 2015, Caracas was ranked as the most dangerous city in the world. Marcelo was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome at a very young age, but trough his interest in communication and determination alongside with his family's support he is now able to live an unassisted life.
In 2014, at the age of 17, he actively participated in the Venezuelan student uprising against the government and military police. During the uprising, Marcelo was able to come in contact with a variety of young people, who all had their own reasons for revolting and breaking the law. Despite his young age, Marcelo sought to understand the conception behind such an uprising and he is now determined to share his thoughts and experiences with young people from around the world. In 2015, Marcelo was selected to attend the United World College (UWC) Adriatic in Trieste, Italy, where he will complete the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Gustav Borgefalk – Co-Founder of Sqore
Gustav is the Cofounder and Head of Business Development of Sqore, a company that organizes large scale, global innovation, and recruitment competitions to identify talented people and match them with employers and scholarships. Gustav grew Sqore to thirty-five employees, with four million dollars in venture capital funding and 400,000 members worldwide. He advises global, corporate, university, and government clients on competition program design and has fostered relationships with clients such as The Economist and Google. Prior to founding Sqore, Gustav cofounded Filehill Media AB, Scandinavia's largest marketplace for digital products, and various other startups such as EasyPR and Logotypia. Earlier, he also worked for the public relations agency Hill & Knowlton and with private equity firm Aronsson Group.
Gustav attended a graduate studies program in exponential technologies and future studies at Singularity University in Mountain View and received an MSc in Business Administration and Management from Stockholm School of Economics.
Phil Anthony M – Award Winning Consultant & Performance Coach
Phil Anthony is an award winning consultant and performance coach. His path has seen him go from collecting litter in London's Hyde Park to engineering London's 2012 Olympic Stadium, volunteering in rural Nigeria and consulting in Saudi Arabia.
He left the security of corporate life after being recognized as 'Young Consultant of The Year' and one of the 'Top 10 Consultants of The Decade'. This was the Launchpad for Phil's journey of self-discovery that saw him assume the role of director at one of Thailand's leading health and fitness retreats.
Today, Phil consults businesses, entrepreneurs, CEOs, Olympians and anyone seeking to upgrade their performance and unleash their potential.
Hila Azadzoy – Cofounder of Kiron Open Higher Education
Hila Azadzoy is part of Kiron Open Higher Education founding team, which is an innovative social start up, with the mission to remove the barriers for refugees to higher education through a unique blended learning approach. As the Head of Academics Hila is responsible for the continous development of Kiron's academic program, strategic partnerships and fundraising activities.
Having a family history of migration from Afghanistan, Hila has developed a strong sense for the inequalities in access to education and the challenges of addressing these within education systems. Hila holds a M.Sc. in Politics, Economics and Philosophy from the University of Hamburg. Previously, Hila has launched her career at Human Rights Watch and has a profound experience as a professional translator, working extensively with refugees.
Fabian Westerheide – CEO of Asgard Venture Capital
Fabian is CEO of Asgard, a family- owned Venture Capital firm based in Berlin. His passion lies in Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things. He has worked with, started and invested in over 30 companies such as DeliveryHero, Team Europe, Point Nine Capital, Soundbrenner or Wunsch-Brautkleid.de in the European digital ecosystem.
Fabian holds a Master degree in Strategic and International Management from the University of St. Gallen and a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from the University of Münster. He is a member of various Alumni associations such as the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Entrepreneurs Organization, SIM, BDSU, HSG and move.
Suzi & Eric LeVine – US Ambassador & Entrepreneur
Suzi LeVine took up her position as the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein in June 2014. She and the Embassy team collaborated closely with their Swiss counterparts to drive outstanding economic results, increase a long-term focus on global security, and raise awareness and appreciation for the countries' respective policies, values, and cultures. Twice during her career, she was a stay-at-home mom, during which time she co-founded two non-profit organizations.
Meanwhile her husband Eric LeVine has had a distinguished career as a leader at Microsoft, as founder/CEO of CellarTracker.com and, more recently, as a stay-at-home dad. He grew up in Boston and then, after graduating from Harvard University with an A.B. in History, pursued a technology career that took him from Lotus to Microsoft. In addition to his professional and family pursuits, Eric has focused his heart and time on social justice and social services.
Kilian Wagner – CEO of VIU
Kilian Wagner, rethinks retail by holistically engaging with customers across online and offline worlds and bringing fashion to the optical industry. CEO of VIU, a Swiss eyewear startup shaking up the optical industry with a premium eyewear concept that breaks with norms through vertical integration and omnichannel retail. Seamlessly combining online and offline channels VIU is building holistic customer experiences, while offering premium and sustainable products at revolutionary prices. Founded in Switzerland in 2013 VIU is active in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, operating 17 own flagshipstores, proprietary online channels and more than 20 partnerstores.
Prior to VIU, Kilian worked 5 years as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company, leading projects in different industries (Telecoms, Banking, Media, Consumer Goods) with focus on growth strategy and market entry. He holds a M.A. in Business Administration from the University of St.Gallen (HSG).
Federico Augugliaro – Award winning PhD from ETH Zurich
Federico received his PhD from ETH Zurich in 2015. During his research he investigated algorithms that allow flying machines to cooperatively assembly rope bridges, and worked on the Flight Assembled Architecture installation, a 6-meter tall tower built by quadrocopters out of 1500 foam modules. He also developed tools to coordinate the motion of multiple vehicles, allowing for example the generation of choreographies featuring multiple flying machines.
Federico received the Willi Studer Award 2012 for the best master degree in Robotics, Systems and Control and the Hans-Eggenberger-Prize 2012 for his Master Thesis. He was among the finalists of the Georges Giralt PhD award 2016.
Pete Blackshaw – Global Head of Digital & Social Media at Nestlé
Pete Blackshaw is the Global Head of Digital and Social Media at Nestlé, S.A. based in Switzerland. In addition to helping shape digital strategy for Nescafe, Kit Kat, Purina, and hundreds of other Nestle brands, Pete oversees Nestle's industry-recognized Digital Acceleration Team (DAT) as well as the Silicon Valley Innovation Outpost (SVIO).
He is author of a book by Doubleday entitled "Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3000: Running a Business in Today's Consumer-Driven World," and periodically authors columns in Advertising Age centered around the book's themes. Pete founded PlanetFeedback.com, one of the web's first consumer-feedback portals, and co-founded the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). He recently served as Chairman of the Board of the National Council of Better Business Bureaus and in that capacity sat on the National Advertising Review Council. He's a 2015 Mediapost "Online All Star" Winner, a 2014 inductee of the World of Mouth Marketing Hall of Fame, and a 2010 Grand Prize winner of the "Great Minds" award from the Advertising Research Foundation. Pete is a graduate of Harvard Business School and the University of California, Santa Cruz.


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Description:Memorial site to master whistle and flute maker Glenn Schultz, who died June 8th 2005.
Created by a beginning tinwhistler especially for beginning tinwhistlers, with links and guides to many whistling resources.
Quiet whistles in brass and aluminum, handmade by Mack Hoover. Includes image gallery, shop tour and announcements.
Tin whistle tutorial. Lessons and tips for performers of all levels of ability. [Tutorials use Flash]
These inexpensive (around US$10) whistles have plastic fipples and brass or nickel tubes, and are available in one-piece and two-piece versions. Clare makes only soprano D whistles.
Makers of copper and steel tinwhistles and Renaissance flutes
Hand-made low whistles and tin whistles from Japan.
Hand-made whistles with Delrin fipples and brass bodies, by Erle Bartlett, maker of the Syn whistle. Available in D and C.
Dedicated to sharing the pleasures of the pennywhistle or tin whistle. Download and listen to a selection of mainly traditional Celtic music played on the whistle.
Simple explanation of fingering the blues scale on a tin whistle. Actual familiarity with the musical genre is left up to the reader.
This site includes a large collection of Scottish tunes, an essay on whistling in Scottish music, and information on taking tin whistle classes in Scotland.
Vocal Lab helps you train to sing on key. It listens while you sing and displays the pitch of your voice on a graph, in real time. All you have to do is watch the graph while you sing and try to stay near the lines. With a little practice you can...
Winamp TV is a plugin for Winamp that lets you control your TV tuner card from within the multimedia player. TV and FM radio channels are saved a s small files which can be enqueued in a playlist, added to the music library or just played one by...
Streamripper was started sometime back in early 2000. Streamripper started as a way to separate tracks via Shoutcasts title-streaming feature. This has now been expanded into a much more generic feature, where part of the program only tries to...

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm trying to create my own scraper that reads from the scheduled_recordings table and then tries to map each record to an entry from thetvdb.com or themoviedb.org
I've got a few questions that I'm hoping some people can weigh in on with advice or past experience.
1. Both thetvdb and themoviedb say you shouldn't call their services too frequently. What's the best strategy for caching the data and then periodically updating it? Is it just a matter of downloading the data and remembering the date that you downloaded it, and then the next time the data is requested you compare the downloaded date vs the current date, and if a certain amount of time has elapsed then re-download it?
thetvdb also has a url that you can call, pass in a timestamp, and it will give you back a list of items that have changed since the last time you called the url, but I'm wondering if this actually causes more downloading activity than the strategy discussed above. also i didn't see a similar option for themoviedb and if possible i'd like the code/strategy to be consistent between the two.
2. Specifically for thetvdb, what's the best strategy for matching the series. for tvdb you actually have to make multiple calls to their service, once to search for the series, and then potentially multiple times to download each series that is returned in the search results. is it best to just download all the series first and then scan them all for the best matching episode. or do you always try to narrow it down to a specific series first and only download that specific series rather than the full list returned in the search results. if the 2nd option is taken, is there a reliable way to match the series... many times the series name doesn't match up exactly with the title recorded by npvr/guide data. there's a zap2it id that can be more reliable but it's not always populated in tvdb. there's a first aired date but I'm not sure how reliable that is... etc.
Thanks for your help.
Questions about Scraping from thetvdb and themoviedb
A place for developers to advertise their TheTVDB.com enabled app and get help from other developers with the API.
Post Reply
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Post Reply
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Ocasio-Cortez refuses to endorse Bernie Sanders 2020 run
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic socialist congressional candidate who has spent weeks campaigning with fellow socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, on Thursday refused to endorse his prospective candidacy in the 2020 presidential race.
Ocasio-Cortez, 29, worked as an organizer for Sanders' failed presidential campaign in 2016 before winning in a surprise upset over longtime establishment Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., in the state's 14th Congressional District primary in May.
"She'll see what the field looks like," Corbin Trent, Ocasio-Cortez's communications director, said in an interview with Politico. "She's focused on 2018, [Bernie's] focused on 2018. We're all focused on 2018."
For his part, the 77-year-old Sanders did not endorse Ocasio-Cortez's run against Crowley. And in August, former President Barack Obama, in turn, initially declined to endorse Ocasio-Cortez even after her stunning primary win, underscoring the challenges facing progressives campaigning to the left of the Democratic Party establishment in hopes of taking their views mainstream. (Obama endorsed her earlier this month.)
Despite the back-and-forth snubs, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have nonetheless teamed up in the past several months to tout socialist and far-left candidates throughout the country during the midterm season, to varying degrees of success.
"She'll see what the field looks like."
For example, socialist-backed candidates have prevailed in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Washington. But Abdul El-Sayed, an avowed populist who was vying to be Michigan's first Muslim governor, finished nearly 20 percentage points behind establishment Democrat Gretchen Whitmer in the state's August primary, despite the backing of both high-profile socialists.
Also in August, Fayrouz Saad, who was angling to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress, finished in a distant fourth place in Michigan's 11th Congressional District primary, despite support on the stump from Ocasio-Cortez.
Similarly, in Missouri, Rep. Lacy Clay soundly defeated far-left progressive Cori Bush. And in Hawaii in August, a fiscally conservative Democrat, Ed Case, took down 29-year-old Kaniela Ing, a democratic socialist who had Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement.
For Sanders, who has kept the door open on running again for the White House in 2020, the defeats were a continuation of his recent losing streak. Over the past two years, several candidates he has backed in several important races -- including in gubernatorial primaries in Virginia and Ohio, and in several House races in Iowa and New Jersey -- have come up short.
Some former Sanders staffers, meanwhile, have said in interviews they hope to find another torchbearer in 2020 for the Vermont senator's beliefs.
"All the former staff I've talked to agree Bernie should focus on making sure the nominee is someone who continues what he started," Keegan Goudiss, Sanders' former digital advertising director, told Politico. "It's a sure thing that he will be able to influence 2020 from the outside. But if he decides to run, I doubt many former staffers will return unless directly asked to. Either way, he misses capturing energy if he doesn't decide soon."
The magazine quoted several other former Sanders staffers with a similar perspective on Sanders' future, although some did say they would support him running again for the presidency.
One of those people, Sanders spokesman Jeff Weavers, who also ran his 2016 campaign, wrote a book published earlier this year titled "How Bernie Won."
"Bernie Sanders is an extremely energetic and vigorous person, and has more energy, I would say, than people half his age," Weavers said in an interview, dismissing criticisms that Sanders would be too old to compete in 2020.
His book concludes: "Run, Bernie, Run!"


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New York – November 30th 2017 – Last month Universum attended HR Tech to unveil Access Social, the first Social Media analytics and listening tool of its kind, developed specifically for the Employer Branding industry. Universum has long since recognized the weight Social Media carries in building employer brands in today's digital landscape. Currently Access Social platform is only available in Canada, Finland, France, the United States, Sweden and Switzerland but in 2018 Access Social will expand seven more markets including; Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, the UK and Turkey.
"We want to support our clients to become more successful in communicating their employer brands on social media. We know there is a lot of work and dollars that go into building and maintaining an engaging social presence, and the better the employers can be when it comes to resonating with their target audience, the better their ROI will be" said Universum's Senior Account Director of Americas, Kortney Kutsop.
Kutsop continued "In this ranking we've looked at the Most Attractive Employer in the US and identified the ones with both a Facebook careers and a LinkedIn presence. The employers' social presence and content has been vetted through Access Social's Engagement Scoring process. At the same time, we have weighted and aggregated the performance on both platforms, creating a singular social score that is the basis for the ranking. For employers who strive for results when it comes to their social media presence, Access Social will help them measure, plan and and perfect their content and media spend".
Universum has analyzed data from Access Social to derive a list per country of top performing employer brands on Facebook and LinkedIn. By utilizing and pulling social media metrics from both platforms, Universum will release these national social rankings on a quarterly basis, starting with Q3 2017 data from the US.
The Top 5 Talked About Attributes
The Best Performing Attributes in Terms of Engagement
Top Ten Performing Employer Brands on Social Media
ExxonMobil takes the top position due to their high engagement on Facebook combined with a stable effort on LinkedIn. Their Facebook page, puts a lot of emphasis on attributes like Diversity, Opportunities for International Travel/relocation and Innovation. As a strong mover within the Oil and Gas industry, their engagement is on a different level than many others. Their content is very focused on the target persona they are trying to reach, giving different target groups a message they can relate to. They make a personal connection with their audience.
With a high score on LinkedIn, the US Army is this quarter's second place holder. Where other company's' content is usually overlooked on this platform, the US army has a broad appeal and its unique content stands out compared to other employers in the top ten.
Sitting in third place, P&G (Procter & Gamble) has the best Facebook score of all companies we have compared. However, they lack engagement on LinkedIn, which drives them down from the very top. Their content is focused a lot on their many openings and internships, whilst content focusing on their own employees is also popular. Based on what we can see, P&G works a lot with sponsored content, where some posts have hundreds of likes, followed by a fairly weak organic performance.
In fourth place, Mayo Clinic, has a stronger performance on Facebook than LinkedIn their game. The content posted focuses a lot on their own people and Inspiring Purpose.
Medtronic also focus on communicating messages linked to the Inspiring Purpose of working in healthcare. In addition, they use a lot of their own employees in their posts, by using them as ambassadors for their brand.
Describing the first ranking, Universum's Managing Director of Americas, Jonna Sjövall said "I'm excited to see a versatile list made up of global giants like ExxonMobil and P&G, together with local competitors such as Mayo Clinic. These top performers are using Facebook and LinkedIn posts to boost their attractiveness as employers by engaging their target talent with relevant conversations. The list also shows that it doesn't matter if you are in a highly regulated industry such as oil and gas, finance or health care – you can still engage with human stories".
About Universum:
Universum is the global leader in employer branding, during our 25+ years we have established ourselves in 60 markets throughout the globe and our diverse workforce is physically present in 20 countries. Our services include actionable research, strategic advisory, data-driven communication and social media solutions for talent branding, sourcing and analytics. A trusted partner to over 1,700 clients, including many Fortune 500 companies, as well as global media partners that publish our annual rankings and trend reports. We work with over 2000 universities, alumni groups, and professional organizations to gather insights from students and professionals in order to advise employers on how to attract and retain talent that fits their culture and purpose. On an annual basis Universum surveys over 1,500,000 students and professionals worldwide. Find out more at www.universumglobal.com.


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Jet Set
by Jason Oliver Nixon
Sky Writing
by Sarah Elbert
In this issue:
In This Fight Together
Also: Delta employees and their supports have long been committed to raising funds and awareness in the battle against breast cancer.
Courtesy of Downtown Pittsburgh Partnership
Delicious seafood and shellfish is flown in twice a day to ensure its freshness at this upscale dining establishment.
What is your rating?
The Original Fish Market
1001 Liberty Ave.
Hours: M-Th. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., F 11 a.m.-midnight, Sa. 4 p.m.-midnight, Su. 4-11 p.m.
Open Table: Reserve A Table
Price: $$ = Entrees $11-$30
Payment Options: Visa, Mastercard, American Express
Type: Japanese, Seafood, Steak
"Pittsburgh entered the core of my heart when I was a boy and cannot be torn out." —Andrew Carnegie
FEATURED // Mattress Factory
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FEATURED // The Original Fish Market
FEATURED // Moda Pittsburgh
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© 2019 Key Enterprises LLC. All rights reserved


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Advanced Windows Phone 8 development
Play Advanced Windows Phone 8 development
Windows Phone 8 is the next big thing, and the press is already raving about new devices. With new capabilities, new sensors and improved performance, Windows Phone users have devices which are the best on the market. In this code-packed session, we will talk about advanced features such as asynchronous programming, web connections, mapping and location, background operations (multitasking) and other exciting topics.
Download this episode
- Low Quality MP4 (432.4 MB)
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- High Quality WMV (1.4 GB)
More episodes in this series
From Continuous Integration to Continuous Delivery with Visual Studio Team Foundation…
Related episodes
Mobile apps built with Xamarin, using a serverless Azure Functions back-end
Channel 9 Live interview with Laurent Bugnion
An In-Depth Study of the MVVM Light Databinding System
Laurent Bugnion at Techorama 2016
Holoflight: Visualizing Flight Data in 3D
Holoflight: Visualizing Flight Data in 3D
Windows 10 - The Universal Application: One App To Rule Them All?
Putting the Microsoft Design Language to work
Office 365 ProPlus: Click-to-run deployment and management
Coding and designing for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, best practices and reusing code
The Discussion
Why can
T I play this video on my surface with the Silverlight? Now have to first download it and then play it in native player?


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We are a family run business based in Worcestershire who specialise in the design and fit of bespoke kitchens, bedrooms & handmade furniture. All our kitchens are beautifully hand crafted and we specialise in the production of beautiful pine and oak kitchens, whether it be solid oak kitchens or oak faced kitchens we will design the perfect bespoke kitchen for you.
So why not have a unique one off design for your new kitchen at a surprisingly affordable price.
Because all of our kitchens and bedrooms are made to measure everything fits as it should, unlike mass produced alternatives.
We have no sales people so the person that comes to your home to design your kitchen is the same one who will make & fit it!


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High School Sports
Goddard qualifies 11 for state
Up until its dual with Derby in the middle of January, Goddard was widely considered as the top wrestling team in Class 6A.
But since that 27-25 loss to Derby, in which they trailed by as many as 20 points, the Lions haven't quite received the same kind of attention.
While it didn't win the eight-team Northwest regional Saturday afternoon — a regional that included six ranked teams — Goddard took second with 193 points and the Lions head into next week's state tournament at Intrust Bank Arena with a little steam, in hopes of winning a third consecutive state title.
Garden City won the regional with 207 points; Dodge City took third with 166 points, while Northwest finished fourth with 143.5 points.
Of Goddard's 14 wrestlers, 11 made it to either the final or consolation matches, which means a berth in the state tournament.
"You know, qualifying 11-that's not bad," Goddard coach Brett Means said. "I feel like we could have competed a little better with Garden City, but I think it will be a battle at state between them, us, Derby and Heights."
"I think by finishing second, it gives us a little more motivation."
Heading into the finals, Garden City led Goddard 179 1/2 to 177, but only once during the championship duals did either team square off against one another and that was at 103 with the Lions' Kaleb Bonilla and the Buffaloes' Anthony Calderon.
After a scoreless first period, Bonilla led 3-1 after the second period, thanks to a quick takedown and a reversal at the end of the two mintues.
Calderon cut Bonilla's lead to 5-4 with a takedown late in the third period but Bonilla answered late with a reversal for a 6-4 victory.
"The fact that my match was against the team that was close to us in team scores made it more important," Bonilla said. "It feels good to win and I know I can be a state champ next week."
At 140, Goddard's Trey Houlden defeated Hunter Edwards from Dodge City 7-5. Houlden recorded three takedowns and an escape.
"I thought my defense was really good today," Houlden said. "When he got me by my legs, I scrambled and got out."
* Kyle Caylor, Sean Gaither, Tevin Kendall and Trey Page all won championships for Northwest. At 152, Gaither defeated Jacob Eggers from Dodge City 6-4, while Kendall took down Dakota Spencer from Goddard 6-4. Caylor defeated Josh Hicks from Goddard 6-5, while Page won the 285 class by topping Dodge City's Jesse Trent 5-1.
We got our eight kids qualified and we are happy with that," Northwest coach Eric Prichard said. "We would have liked to have had more, but we have enough to give us a chance next week."
* Other regional champions include Dalton Miller (112) and Cody Beasley (119) from Campus, Chase Locke (130) from Maize, and D.J. Collins (160) from South, who pinned Garden City's Eddy Gomez at 160 pounds.
Team Results
1. Garden City 207 2. Goddard 193 3. Dodge City 166 4. Northwest 143.5 5. Maize 143 6. South 111.5 7. Campus 76.5 8. North 32.
Individual Results
103—1. Bonilla, GD, def Calderon, GC, 6-4; 3. Dollman, NW, pinned Barbezbain, MZ, :44. 112— 1. Miller, C, def Martinez, GD, 16-1; 3. Garcia, DC, def Escarcega, GC, 6-3. 119— 1. Beasley, C, def Witten, MZ, 11-5; 3. Hurtado, GC, def Lemon, GD, 6-5. 125— 1. Anguiano, GC pinned Webber, WS 5:36; 3. Nuno, MZ def Stone WNW 6-5. 130— 1. Locke, MZ, def Vasquez, DC 4-3; 3. Greenlee, GC, def Belle, GD, 11-1. 135— 1. Medina, GC, def Cox, MZ, injury default; 3. Terrell, WNW, def Webb, WS, 9-3. 140— 1. Houlden, GD, def Edwards, DC, 7-5; 3. Ortiz, GC, def Cassity, MZ, 6-3. 145— 1. Dozier, GC, def Blundell, DC, 16-1; 3. Elliott, GD, pinned Garcia, MZ, 3:32. 152— 1. Gaither, NW, def. Eggers, DC, 6-4; 3. Heiman, GC, def Rodd, C, 11-1. 160— 1. Collins, WS, pinned Gomez, GC, 4:38; 3. Ybarra, DC, def Le, GD 5-2. 171— 1. Kendall, NW, def Spencer, GD, 6-4; 3. Jones, WS, def Shockley, GC, 3-2. 189— 1. Banner, DC, def Beard, GD, 7-2; 3. Brandon, WS, def Olson, MZ, 10-2. 215— 1. Caylor, NW, def Hicks, GD, 6-5;3. Ediger, DC, pinned Nelson, WN, 1:22. 285— 1. Page, NW, def Trent, DC, 5-1; 3. Woodruff, GD, pinned Schmidt, WN 1:52.


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As I thought about the lessons I had learnt along the way, I started to thing over all of the things I had learnt and began to list them in my head.
|Courtesy of sodahead.com
- There is no such thing as a brilliant first draft. They're renowned for being bad! Just give yourself a pat on the back for getting it all down and sticking with it then take a deep breath and prepare to edit.
- Whether it be in writing or in life, you will make mistakes. To err is human, after all. Mistakes are important and necessary as they help us to grow and to become a better person. Don't beat yourself up if you go wrong just think on where it did and how you can remedy it- you will be better for it in the end.
- Learn to scrap an idea. You've come up with an idea- fantastic! But sometimes you have to recognise when you need to let them go. The trick is to take the time to brainstorm ideas or write them all down and them route for the gems you can really run with.
- Write, write, write! It may be a given, but when you start off it's new and exciting and you can't ever imagine not loving the time you have with your laptop. Yet, reality does get in the way and we can push it back or procrastinate when it comes to writing bits that don't particularly excite us. (see more on procrastination here)
- Always carry a notepad with you. Ideas are a bit like dodge balls- they can hit you at any moment! No, seriously, I got an idea over a bus ticket the other morning!


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Royals summon shortstop Ramon Torres to majors as part of roster shuffle
For weeks, the Royals survived with just one reserve infielder on their 25-man roster. As the club prepared for two interleague series during an upcoming West Coast road trip, manager Ned Yost was ready for more depth.
The Royals on Wednesday recalled infielder Ramon Torres from Class AAA Omaha and optioned outfielder Billy Burns back to the minors. Torres, 24, possesses the ability to play shortstop and second base. The move, however, will not mean any reduction in playing time for shortstop Alcides Escobar, Yost said.
"It's really simple," Yost said, explaining the roster moves during a pregame interview. "Infield depth."
In another roster move, the club reinstated reliever Scott Alexander from the disabled list and optioned right-hander Kevin McCarthy to Omaha.
Torres, a native of the Dominican Republic, made his major-league debut on Wednesday by starting at second base. Whit Merrifield moved to left field, while Alex Gordon was out of the lineup in anticipation of facing Houston left-hander Dallas Keuchel. Moments before the game, Keuchel was scratched because of an illness.
Torres, who was originally signed by the Royals as an amateur free agent, was batting .327 with five homers in 53 games at Omaha. He possesses defensive versatility in the middle of the field. But Yost stated multiple times Wednesday that the arrival of Torres would not result in any additional days off for Escobar, who entered Wednesday batting .177 with a .201 on-base percentage while starting all 57 games in 2017.
"When is the last time Esky needed a day off — 240 days ago?" Yost asked.
When a reporter followed by asking if he saw any value in an occasional day off for a struggling offensive player, Yost remained consistent.
"I see no value in it — none." Yost said. "There's more to this game than just the offense. There's more value to a player's position in that lineup than swinging the bat. Do I want him swinging the bat better? Yes. Do I think he can swing the bat better? Yes. Do I think he will swing the bat better? Yes. But I'll take the defense right now."
Yost pointed to a sensational defensive play by Escobar that saved a run in the top of the ninth inning on Tuesday. Minutes later, the Royals recorded a 9-7 victory over Houston after a walk-off homer by Mike Moustakas.
Yost, however, sees value in an extra infielder. More specifically, he said the arrival of Torres would allow him to use Moustakas or Cheslor Cuthbert at the designated hitter spot without forgoing a backup infielder.
"When I've got Cuthbert at third and Moose DH'ing, if any of my infielders get hurt, I don't have a reserve," Yost said. "I don't have a guy that can play second; I don't have a guy that can play short. I don't really have a backup infielder."
"In National League games, if I want to pinch hit Cuthbert and Moose is playing, I have a backup infielder."
Yost said the Royals opted for Torres over Raul Mondesi because the club prefers that Mondesi continue playing every day at Omaha.
For Torres, the promotion comes amid the best offensive season of his career. After a breakout performance in the Dominican winter league, he posted a .794 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage) in his first 211 at-bats. The number is nearly 100 points higher than his career average (.695) in the minor leagues.
"This is the first year that he started really hot, and he attributes that to winter ball," said Luis Perez, the Royals' assistant major-league strength coach, who translated for Torres. "It was really good for him."
On Tuesday evening, Torres said, he received word from Omaha manager Brian Poldberg that he was being called up to the big leagues for the first time. He immediately phoned his mother, who began crying over the phone.
"He's been dreaming about this moment since he was a kid," Perez said. "And he's very thankful to God for giving him the opportunity."
The Royals, meanwhile, shifted out a tired arm for a fresh one in exchanging McCarthy for Alexander, who was rehabbing in Omaha. McCarthy had pitched in three of four games, including 2 1/3 scoreless innings Tuesday night. Alexander came back a day earlier than planned, but he was available to pitch on Wednesday.
Alexander, 27, was becoming a reliable member of the Royals' bullpen before tweaking his hamstring during a cardio workout on May 8 during a series at Tampa Bay. He posted a 1.26 ERA in 14 1/3 innings across 10 appearances. He also recorded eight strikeouts against four walks.
Rustin Dodd: 816-234-4937, @rustindodd. Download True Blue, The Star's free Royals app.


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ED SHEERAN and LIAM GALLAGHER were beaten by STORMZY in a huge music shake-up at last night's Brits — just two years after the grime MC labelled the ceremony "embarrassing" and "so white".
The rapper from Croydon, South London — whose real name is Michael Omari — won British Album of the Year, the top award of the night, which is supported by my Bizarre column.
He also won tonight's most competitive prize, best British male, where he fought off tough competition from Ed, Liam, RAG 'N' BONE MAN and newcomer LOYLE CARNER.
Ed went home with only the Global Success award, which is based solely on music sales around the world.
In the UK, Ed has sold 2.8million copies of his album Divide, while Stormzy's Gang Signs & Prayer has shifted 298,000.
Stormzy's win over more commercially successful acts marks a dramatic shake-up of the music industry.
Two years ago he branded the awards "embarrassing" on the song One Take Freestyle as he backed the Brits So White movement on Twitter.
He then attended a meeting with Brits bosses, who listened to his criticism and overhauled the 1,000-strong voting panel to make it younger and more diverse.
The BBC said at the time: "If anyone can claim to be the driving force behind the Brits changing its voting system to reflect a more diverse range of nominees it's Stormzy."
Earlier night a Brits source told me: "Stormzy campaigned for the voting system to be changed and now he has benefited by winning the top two prizes. It's a huge achievement for him."
Talking in 2016, Brits boss Ged Doherty said: "I remember earlier this year when Stormzy tweeted about being shocked by some of the Brits nominations.
"That was really a wake-up call for me."
The JEREMY CORBYN supporter was a popular choice among guests at the O2 Arena in South London earlier night after his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer became the first grime collection to reach No1 in the UK in March last year.
But in November Stormzy was struck by controversy after it was revealed he had used homophobic language on Twitter before finding fame.
In the tweets, posted over three years, he referred to a gay EastEnders character as a "f***ing f**" and called someone else "a lil f****t" among other slurs.
He later apologised, saying: "I said some foul and offensive things whilst tweeting years ago at a time when I was young and proudly ignorant. I take responsibility for my mistakes."
Meanwhile, New Rules singer DUA LIPA established herself as the new star of British pop, winning British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act.
Kiwi singer LORDE was named best international female but skipped the ceremony, despite being asked to perform.
A Brits source said: "We were criticised for a lack of female performers but Lorde was asked to sing and turned it down.
"It's a real shame given she ended up winning."
The home-grown best group were DAMON ALBARN's band GORILLAZ, while FOO FIGHTERS, who did perform at the ceremony, took the international gong.
That will weigh down their luggage when they head back to the States.
Bizarre verdict
ED SHEERAN and SAM SMITH are far and away Britain's biggest male pop exports.
They are supremely talented musicians who write their own songs – many of which will be remembered as modern classics.
But last night they were virtually ignored by the Brits, which is meant to celebrate the best in mainstream music.
Unfathomably, Sam didn't receive a single nomination, despite being booked to perform.
And Ed could only manage the consolation prize of Global Success, which is based solely on international sales.
The problem is that the vast majority of the 1,000-strong panel who make these decisions are quite simply music snobs.
How can LOYLE CARNER – who has never had a top ten album – be nominated over Sam or NOEL GALLAGHER or ROBBIE WILLIAMS or HARRY STYLES?
As for Stormzy, voters entirely ignored the fact he was recently found to have posted deplorable homophobic language on social media, including the F-word.
Grime has gone mainstream and it is the music of youth, so I'm not for a second saying it doesn't need to be recognised.
But Brits voters should not forget that commercial success stories such as Ed and Sam doesn't equal bad or uncool.
Read on for more of Dan Wootton's Bizarre column
All eyes on Dua leaper
DUA LIPA ensured all eyes were on her – both on and off the red carpet.
She turned up in a flamboyant baby pink tulle dress, then stripped off to perform New Rules in this high-cut leotard and matching jacket.
And just to make extra sure that everyone saw her she leaped high into the air.
Picking up the first of two awards, Dua said: "Here's to more women on these stages, more women winning awards and more women taking over the world."
She's making a good go of it on all three fronts.
Brit bit
I REVEALED the SPICE GIRLS are back but they won't be at next year's Brits.
Baby Spice EMMA BUNTON said: "I'm not sure about that. It was 21 years ago and it was magical. It brings back nervous memories, opening the Brits."
Clear 'ead Ed's not wed
ED SHEERAN sparked rumours he had got married in secret when he wore a silver band on his wedding finger this week.
But earlier tonight he told me he is definitely not hitched and that it's actually an engagement ring.
Ed, who proposed to childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn at the end of last year, said it was his other half's idea to get the bling.
In an exclusive interview, superstar Ed told me: "I've never understood why men don't wear engagement rings when women do.
"Cherry actually made me get this. I haven't told anyone that."
Ed played new song Supermarket Flowers at the ceremony.
It has become the fifth single from his record-breaking third album Divide.
And bucking his usual one-man band style, he included a piano player, bassist and choir for the ballad.
The heart-wrenching song is about his late grandmother, who was ill while he was writing the album. But Ed was determined to fight back his emotions on the night.
And while he only went home with one gong, the Global Success award, he did not drown his sorrows at the end of the night.
It was a very different story in 2015, when he was carried out of a glitzy after-party after winning two awards.
Earlier night Ed said he was heading straight home.
He explained: "Usually at the Brits I walk into the party and think, 'I wish I'd just gone home and had a curry'.
"So tonight that's what I am doing."
His head will be thanking him this morning.
Brit bit
GUESTS tucked into a beetroot and goat's cheese parfait with rhubarb caviar, then duck breast and celeriac dauphinoise and a lemongrass white chocolate mousse. Veggies got a spiced chick pea and mushroom roll.
Little Mix reunited
LITTLE MIX reunited for the night for their first red carpet event together since September, presenting STORMZY with British Male Solo Artist.
But Arsenal fan and host JACK WHITEHALL was less happy to see PERRIE EDWARDS bring boyfriend and ex-Gunner ALEX OXLADE CHAMBERLAIN.
Rapper BIG SHAQ also lifted the lid on why he posed with CHERYL on Instagram earlier this month.
Insisting it was a chance meeting and not confirmation of a collaboration, he said: "We were just in a mutual place, ended up meeting up. I'm a big fan of hers, she showed love back, that's about it."
But he is up for working with her, adding: "Let's see what happens. If I see her, I'm going to go over and say hi, definitely."
And earlier tonight commuters in London got a rush-hour shock.
Celebs including ELLIE GOULDING and MYLEENE KLASS ditched chauffeur-driven cars for public transport to get to the awards.
Ellie blended in by keeping her dress hidden under a long coat while on the Tube, below, before walking the red carpet.
Barlow and Gallagher in tributes to victims
By Bonnie McLaren
LIAM Gallagher and Gary Barlow paid tribute to the Manchester terror attack victims at last night's awards.
Take That's Gary, 47, read a speech dedicated to the 22 people killed by a suicide bomber at an Ariana Grande gig.Gary said May's attack saw lives "changed irrevocably" but that the response to it "epitomised the human spirit".
He then asked Liam, 45, on stage where he performed Live Forever.
The singer appeared to wipe away a tear as he finished.
The former Oasis star was drafted in after American Ariana, 24, cancelled her own performance.
Doctors ordered her not to fly after she was taken ill.
Blowing a 300k budget
KENDRICK LAMAR blew £300,000 on his performance – smashing up a Lamborghini on stage.
The US hip-hop artist had good reason to celebrate after winning Best International Male.
CAMILA CABELLO and footballer HARRY KANE presented the award, though Camila admitted she had no idea who the Spurs hotshot was.
Other A-list presenters included Stranger Things actress MILLIE BOBBY BROWN, KYLIE MINOGUE, ELLIE GOULDING, model ADWOA ABOAH and last year's hosts DERMOT O'LEARY and EMMA WILLIS.
Presenting one award is certainly much easier than doing the whole lot.
Watch Honey G take on the Brits red carpet
SHE may not have won any awards (yet) but HONEY G was the realest chick at the Brits, serving as my eyes and ears on the red carpet.
Watch what happened when she met PALOMA FAITH, PIXIE LOTT, CLEAN BANDIT and others in my exclusive video on the address below.
And I'll be on the red carpet with all the stars, including DUA LIPA and ED SHEERAN, on Lorraine, tomorrow morning from 8.30.
Watch it here; facebook.com/danwootton


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By Gloria Ogunlade
To strangers onlooking this year's Youth and Government (YAG) State Conference, it would seem to be very clear that YG delegates are young men and women with a purpose. One thing, though, may be unclear or difficult for an onlooker to determine: the dress code.
Youth and Government's guidelines for business professional dress code include no denim, no midriffs or shoulders showing, proper footwear, and skirts that are no more than 3 inches above the knee for ladies. A majority of delegates at this year's conference fit that category of business professional attire. However, with the definition of "uniform" being that everyone looks alike, with some students bending the protocol, it can be hard to really say what is right, wrong, fair and unfair when it comes to clothing.
When there are variations in student attire, it usually stems from variations in instruction. If all students are told the YG protocol but not all follow it, there is only one thing left to be questioned: advisor leniency.
"If I see a student out of dress code, I stop them and give them a fix so they can go up to their room and change. I try to do so as respectfully as I can," director Jenna Struble said.
YAG teaches delegates not only how to speak in a political world, but also how to carry oneself in a professional setting. But like any good student, delegates must be taught first in order to follow rules.
"Students not abiding by the dress code says to me that there is some lack of supervision," advisor Diane Williams said. "I think it starts with the advisors not adhering to the dress code that we've been provided. But it also kind of lowers the expectations and standards that have been sent to us by the YAG organization."
Most adults have had real world experiences with following guidelines, whether or not it applies to dress regulations.
"It is good that students dress professionally because they are in a business place studying legislature," State Capitol employee Marilena said. "But in life, it is definitely possible to break rules or at least go around them."
Although some students slightly tweak appropriate clothing, is not always the intention of the student to appear unprofessional and many can relate to the feeling of just needing some a break sometimes.
"Sometimes when House and Senate get going for two or three hours or you're running around, you just want to take your jacket off, but you can do it in the restroom or do it outside to always be respectful of the floor," delegate Taylor Enslin said.
Many advisors agreed that students should still be able to convey their personality and sense of style while not breaking or bending any rules. Expression has never been an issue when it comes to YAG conferences.
"From seeing great floral blazers, to great ties, to great accessories I think there are still great ways to be expressive but within dress code," Struble said. "Skirt length does not determine a person's character but we dress to reflect real courtrooms and real House and Senate."


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Namaste Foundation supports nonprofit projects for a more beautiful world.
After NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden came forward with revelations of mass surveillance in 2013, journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill decided to found a new media organization dedicated to the kind of reporting those disclosures required: fearless, adversarial journalism. They called it The Intercept.
Today, The Intercept is an award-winning news organization that covers national security, politics, civil liberties, the environment, international affairs, technology, criminal justice, the media, and more. The Intercept gives its journalists the editorial freedom and legal support they need to pursue investigations that expose corruption and injustice wherever they find it and hold the powerful accountable. [Gift Year: 2017]


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This love card would be great for a wedding or anniversary card.
I used MME patterned paper throughout the card along with some tulle and ribbon left over from a friends wedding. The love stamp is from Autumn Leaves and the flowers are from Petaloo and Making Memories-old stuff from my stash.
Thanks for looking.


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Talk about counter-programming.
As Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle grapples with fallout over his role in education debates, Democrat Stacey Abrams is charting a different course.
The party's nominee for governor announced a 7 p.m. town hall Wednesday at her campaign's headquarters to focus on her fight against "public school privatization." Her tag-line of choice: "Georgia's Public Education Governor."
She seems likely to seize on two events over the last week that have jolted the GOP race for governor, a July 24 runoff that pits Cagle against Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
The first is a secret recording of Cagle admitting he supported "bad public policy" in the form of private school tax credits to thwart a rival.
The second is a GOP state senator's comments that Cagle insisted on boosting funding for charter schools to get support from an outside group.
Abrams, in a statement Wednesday, said she emphasizes the same point in meetings across Georgia: "I will not hand our public schools to private interests."
"We must ensure that no matter what zip code a child lives in or how much their family makes, every child can access an education so they have the freedom and opportunity to thrive."
More recent stories on the Georgia governor's race:
EXCLUSIVE: Cagle backed charter bill to nab support from outside group
Secret recording shows Cagle backed 'bad' bill to hurt gov race rival
The Jolt: 'We deserved better,' hometown paper says of Casey Cagle recording
As Abrams focuses on Georgia economy, her allies level attacks at GOP
New Cagle ad snipes at Kemp: 'Get that big truck outta here.'
Read the highlights of Cagle's response to secret recording
Cagle tries to limit damage after secret audio recording
Read transcript of secret recording of Cagle backing 'bad public policy'
A battle between Cagle, Kemp allies leads to 'sexual predators' claim
Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers.
Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed. Thank you for supporting real journalism.


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To promote peace and reconciliation at the community level, the United Nations has backed a series of theatre events in various districts of the southern province of Kandahar.
In front of an audience of 150 school children, a group of performers from the Kandahar Film and Theatre Institute conducted dramatic presentations last week in the district of Maiwand, some 50 kilometers from Kandahar City, all focused on the needs and benefits of peace.
The Maiwand performance was one in a multipart series, with the group already having performed the week before for a televised broadcast on International Women's Day. The group is scheduled to conduct several more performances through the end of March, including in the Arghandab and Shah Wali Kot districts of Kandahar.
In another UN-backed event last week, civil society and media representatives came together in Bamyan province to raise awareness about peace, good governance and women's rights.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is mandated by the Security Council to support Afghan peace and reconciliation efforts.


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It is said that a bilingual person is as useful as two non-bilingual people. This is the premise under which a group of City Council members are asking the Department of Education (DOE) to expand foreign language instruction in public schools, also known as dual-language education.
"Teaching languages other than English is not just an asset in a career. It also promotes curiosity about the world and improves student performance," said Council member Mark Levine, one of the main supporters of a bill introduced on Thursday, Oct. 22, in the City Council.
The new legislation, also introduced by Council member Jumaane Williams [and others], would order the DOE to collect information and issue a report to City Hall detailing the current landscape and availability of foreign language-learning programs in the city.
There are currently 182 dual-language programs in New York City, including 40 new ones inaugurated in the fall by Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and which are taught in 154 schools. Still, some of these programs are attended by a mere 20 students, and they currently reach only 3 percent of elementary school children.
Nearly 90 percent of the programs focus on Spanish. The rest includes one program for every eight languages available, such as Mandarin (Chinese), French, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Arabic, Korean, Russian and Polish.
Martha Segovia, the mother of an 8-year-old student in Brooklyn, said that she wanted her son to have the chance to learn another language besides Spanish, which they speak at home, and English, which he learns in school. "That would make him a more competent person when the time comes to find a job. He would speak three languages. That would be my dream," she said.
"New York is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S. Our schools should offer dual-language education. This legislation we are introducing will help us make sure that students throughout the city will receive as much instruction as they deserve," said Williams.
Yuridia Peña, spokeswoman for the DOE, said about the bill: "As a former English language learner and a bilingual New Yorker, the chancellor understands and is a strong advocate of the importance of an education that values and celebrates the learning of world languages. We share the commitment of the New York City Council and other elected officials to expand our students access to world languages in elementary grades."
Francesco Fratto, president of the New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers, pointed out the benefits of learning languages at an early age. "We make sure students reach a level of knowledge of the cultures that our country needs to relate to for business, social services and national security."
Different types of foreign language instruction
- Bilingual education: Classes are taught to students whose native language is not English.
- Dual-language education: Students who are proficient in English have the chance to learn any of the eight languages taught in schools where the program is available.


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Freaking News
Funny France Pictures
Lance Armstrong, Tour De France. Lance Armstrong, again touring France at age 47.
Member reactions:
Excellent work in the spirit of the contest.
Entertaining and awesome Lance lampoon. Congrats on the Silver, Splats.
Great work here again Splatshot..it works perfectly
Well played Splat great idea and execution Grats
Congrats SplatShot on your win, really is Cute/Good.
Thank you very much Reggie, Hobbit, Fugit, and Cos. I tried a lot of different accessories on this guy. But sometimes... less is more. I am Happy you like it. (:
Funny emmanuel macron President of France
Member reactions:
two trophies 🏆 in one sitting whoop whoop. Well played 👍🏼
PShave It feels nice Thanks..
Again, Fabulous Image Pree. Congrats On the 2fer.
Got this down to a science Pree. Congrats on 1st n 2nd out of 88, u come out swinging.
Funny The light of France
Member reactions:
Oh yes, he did indeed see himself a bright light.
Funny Russian fans in France (Welcome to World Cup 2018 in Russia)
Whitehall fears Russian football hooligans had Kremlin links Source picture
Member reactions:
UEFA EURO 2016 results: Russian ultras were good, Russian national team two losses and one draw and back home to be ready for Mundial 2018 in Russia.
Funny France and Germany Wedding
Funny Kellie Pickler with Nasa Robot in France
NASA will send a robot to investigate suspected life on Europa and Kellie Pickler is going to guide him...
Member reactions:
For the long trip to the Jovian moon, I'm sure Kellie and Robo-guy will find strength and comfort in the knowledge that we're all rooting for them back home in the forty-eight states.
Very clean work. The shadows are done very realistically
Funny Prince Charles in the Tour de France
Member reactions:
Hilarity factor: HIGH. I'm in love with this chop. Congrats on the bronze, noruss.
Funny Fighter Jets Over France Painting
Member reactions:
Awesome... the franc street is lightened by super sonic flights with colorful smoke over the sky good one
Funny Tour de France Crash in an Andrew Wyeth Painting
Tour de France2012
Member reactions:
Funny Old France Couple the Sarkozy's
Sarkozy: Now,I got taller than her.
Member reactions:
Nice caricature, very well expressed the love between them, Holding hands
Both of them looks very Great Couple all the best
ww , just checked in & looking at all these chops , i must say , this is Damn Good .....
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Congrats on the Gold Black ... ....
Thanks Rajeshstar,Balodiya,ericnorthend,Chili,Ricky,PCRDDS,PSMandrake and Geriatric...many thanks to all of you..
Congrats on the gold Black ... , awesome work.
Golden congrats, Black. Excellent work.
Funny France
In this contest you must create images themed to the recent riots in France. Create political campaign posters, tourism advertisements, or products / services based on the occuring in France.
Funny Britain, France, Germany, Spain vs US
Create posters promoting something linked to Britain, France, Germany or Spain and how they might compare in a more positive way to US culture... or create poster images that show how some aspect of the United States might be better than the countries listed above.
For more funny photoshop pix visit
Freaking News front page


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You are here
Sydney siege gunman prone to grandiose claims: inquest
[SYDNEY] The Iranian-born gunman behind last year's deadly siege in an Australian café was secretive and prone to grandiose claims but was even shunned by a motorcycle gang which found him "weird", an inquest heard Monday.
The 17-hour standoff in Sydney's central business district in December, which ended with the deaths of two hostages along with gunman Man Haron Monis, shocked the country and sparked fears about national security.
At the reopening of the inquest, which began in January and is being held amid high security, New South Wales state coroner Michael Barnes said he would look deeply into the background of the former religious scholar and self-styled cleric.
He said the "despicable actions of Mr Monis", who took more than a dozen people hostage at the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, required special investigation because they raised questions of national significance.
"Was Monis a so-called lone wolf prosecuting an ISIS-inspired terrorist act, or was he a deranged individual pursuing some personal private grievance in a public manner?" he asked, referring to the Islamic State group.
The detailed inquest would examine whether Monis could have been deported, detained or stopped and whether the siege could have been ended without the loss of lives, Barnes added.
Cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson died when heavily-armed police stormed the building and shot Monis dead.
Mr Johnson was shot dead by Monis at point-blank range while mother-of-three Ms Dawson was hit by a ricocheting bullet as police moved in.
The incident sparked an outpouring of grief in Sydney with a huge makeshift memorial of flowers near the scene. The cafe reopened in March with simple gold plaques remembering the pair.
The inquest was told that Mr Monis was born into modest circumstances in Iran, but was well-educated and after his marriage had lived in relative luxury in the capital Tehran.
While his level of education could have led to a government job - and he boasted of high-level contacts - there was no evidence he had taken this path, said counsel assisting the coroner Jeremy Gormly.
"As we'll see, Mr Monis was prone to grandiose claims, but it seems that there may have been some kernel of truth in his background," Mr Gormly said.
The reasons why Mr Monis quit Iran, arriving in Australia in 1996, are unknown. Making his case for asylum, he claimed that a book of his poetry had made him a target for persecution in Iran, and that he had spied for that country's secret police.
"He was secretive in many respects... yet he kept records dating back many years," Gormly said, adding that Mr Monis had lodged tax returns, reported changes of address and name and even filled out a form for police on staging a protest.
Mr Monis struggled to find a place in Australia, working as a carpet salesman and security guard, before setting himself up as a clairvoyant offering spiritual healing.
By 2014 his constant reinventions - including his attempt to join a motorcycle gang whose members found him "strange and weird" - had failed to pay off and his mental health was deteriorating.
"His attempt to develop a personal religious following...had failed. Indeed the Islamic community in Australia did not accept him," Mr Gormly said.
"He had few friends and no standing with any group or institution. His attempts to join other groups, even the bikies who tolerated him for a short period, failed." Mr Gormly said that whether or not Mr Monis expected to survive the events of December 15 and 16 was not known, adding: "Reality for him, may not have hit home until many hours into the siege." The inquest is being conducted across numerous sessions throughout the year with an outcome not expected until 2016.


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Resources for BrassChix
Of Interest to Brass Players
- International Horn Society
- International Trumpet Guild
- International Trombone Association
- International Tuba & Euphonium Association
- Hornmatters.com, a site with articles on the French horn, brass related topics,and the field of classical music
Resources for Healthy Brass Playing
- Performing Arts Medical Clinic, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute
- Brian McCullough, Trombonist, Alexander Technique
- Starkey Hearing aid/protection
- Buzz pipes for embouchure rehabilitation
- Ergobrass instruments support system
- Paxman horn stick and hand strap
- Janet Horvath "Playing Less Hurt: An Injury Prevention Guide for Musicians"
- Lucinda Lewis "Broken Embouchures"
- Marshall Chasin "Hearing Loss in Musicians: Prevention and Management"
- Malva Freymuth "Mental Practice and Imagery for Musicians: A Practical Guide for Optimizing Practice Time, Enhancing Performance, and Preventing Injury"
- Susan Bruckne "The Whole Musician: A Multisensory Guide to Practice, Performance, and Pedagogy"
You will find a BrassChix participant or presenter in one or more of these organizations!
- International Women's Brass Conference
- Women in Music Minnesota
- The Minnesota Orchestra
- The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
- Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra
- Metro Brass
- Compass Rose Brass
- Brava Brass!
- Blue Waters Brass Band
- Twin Cities Horn Club
- Twin Cities Trumpet Ensemble
- Minneapolis Trombone Choir
- Grand Symphonic Winds
- Encore Wind Ensemble
- St. Paul Police Band
- Brio Brass
- Minnesota State Band
- Shoreview Northern Lights Variety Band
- Lex-Ham Community Band
- She Rock She Rock


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The moon that night was pretty, and pleasant, but not aligned with the monuments. At least not without the assistance of digital manipulation.
But the monuments themselves were quite beautiful.
The next night, watching the moon rise from the roof of my building was quite stunning.
I look forward to more opportunities to shoot the moon from different vantage points.


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Property Location
33 Warwick StreetWalkervilleSA5081
- Bus: Route 204Route 208Route 208BRoute 208N
- Car: Free 2-hour street parkingFree 2-hour on-site visitor parkingSecure on-site parking (additional cost)
Property Features
Available at The Watson
Blending 5-star hospitality with state-of-the-art facilities, The Watson is a multi-purpose complex unlike anything Adelaide has seen before.
Situated just minutes from the CBD in the prestigious suburb of Walkerville, The Watson has been inspired by indigenous artist Tommy Watson and features his art throughout the building.
Offering a wide range of the most stunning, fully furnished serviced offices Adelaide has to offer for 1-15 people, as well as competitive and comprehensive virtual office packages, The Watson gives clients access to meeting room hire, professional telephone answering and personalised secretarial services.
Clients are able to make use of the full array of luxury amenities within the complex, including the on-site Art Series Hotel, prestigious residential apartments, retail hub, cafe, gym, and a lap pool and sundeck designed by Olympic Gold Medallist, Michael Klim.
Surrounded by Walkerville's green boulevards and parks, The Watson has ample on-site parking and is easily accessed by public transport. Sitting opposite a major shopping centre, The Watson is just a short stroll from North Adelaide's Melbourne Street with its bustling cafes, boutique shops and restaurants.


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Whether you close your pool early or stretch it out to those few warm days that are inevitable in October, there are some key things to remember when winterizing your pool.
The main reason we "winterize" our pools is simple: it's to prevent damage. Water expands when it freezes and can wreak havoc on the pool's filter system, all its plumbing lines, and the pool itself. A secondary but also important objective is to keep the pool as clean as possible until the next swimming season begins.
For the purposes of this blog post, I'm going to talk about in-ground, salt water pools and not the above-ground variety. That's a whole other kettle of fish.
First, going back to the matter of timing, the experts recommend that you close your pool as late as possible. The ideal water temperature is about 10C or 50F. The danger in closing too early is that you risk an algae bloom. I know people in the national capital region who close in November and sometimes December, but you might not want to stretch it out that long.
If you've hired a company to close your pool in the past, you might be surprised to know that it can be a DIY job and that it's not that difficult. But it does require careful attention to a few basic steps. This isn't a step-by-step set of instructions because every pool will have different mechanical requirements, but here's a primer:
1) Vacuum your Pool
- Make sure your pool is as clean and free of debris as possible, so that the liner won't stain and opening will be easier next spring.
- If there are any marks or stains around the water line or on the stairs, you should consider removing those now rather than waiting until next spring.
2) Balance the Water
- Get your pool water tested one last time and adjust the ph level so that it's a bit higher than during the swimming season.
3) Lower Water Level below the Water Ducts
- Drain the pool to 6 inches below the water returns/jets, using the pool pump.
4) Remove the Lights & Ladder
- If your pool has lights (normally along the walls), take them and the wiring out and place the lights on the pool deck/pool surround over the winter (just remember they're there when the snow flies so that they don't get trampled on!)
5) Drain Water Lines
- Close the valves first, than use a shop vac (dry/wet vacuum) to blow out the lines.
- Plug them with winterizing plugs and seal the ends with Teflon tape.
- Flood the lines with pool-grade (only) anti-freeze.
6) Protect Skimmer
- Remove the skimmer basket and place a skimmer guard or skimmer insulation in it to prevent ice damage/breakage.
7) Clean and remove Salt Chlorinator
- This is an expensive piece of equipment so don't forget to clean it properly and store it in a manner that it won't freeze.
8) Protect your Heater
- Shut off the valve on the reservoir and keep the heat on until the lines are empty.
- Should you cover your heater over the winter? Different pool experts have different opinions on the matter and it may depend on your particular heating unit. Seek advice if you're unsure.
9) Winterizing or Closing Kit
- Pour the contents of the closing concentrates in the pool per directions.
10) Put on Winter Cover
- Safety covers are becoming more and more popular, even though they are more expensive at the outset, because they outlive tarp covers, eliminate the use of water-bags (weights) and you don't have to top-up the water in the spring.
And a final tip: Never use regular anti-freeze in your pool!


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"You Shall Have NO Other Gods Before Me"
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ who together with the Holy Spirit are three in One. Please pray with me…
I appreciate it when people come to me and ask that I speak on this or that. It helps me in many ways. As you know, this year I decided that, instead of following the set Scriptures that are given by Synod for us to base our worship around, I would do sermon series covering different topics. Much of this idea came from someone who wanted me to preach on the Ten Commandments. So, today we will do just that.
It's easy to disregard the commandments as just so many rules, but they are much more then that. They are the foundational laws of this great country and for our faith. They deserve to be given special attention by God's people of which we are so blessed to be able to count ourselves a part.
I'd like to introduce our first commandment with a story about a little boy and his boat. This little boy was very proud of this boat because he had made it with his own hands. He would take it to the park every day and sail his little boat on the pond. He liked to watch the boat catch the wind in its homemade sail and coast around in the breeze and because he loved this boat so much he would be careful not to let it go out too far into the water where he couldn't get it back.
But one day, as fate would have it, the boat sailed beyond where he could reach. He tried and tried to reach it but he only got himself soaked in trying. The boat had gone too far for the boy to rescue it.
He went home heartsick because he was sure he'd never see his precious boat again. But a few weeks later, as he was walking through town, he saw his boat in the window at the secondhand shop. He was so excited! He went into the store and said to the storeowner, "You've found my boat! It's mine and I'd like to have it back." But the storeowner said, "Well, maybe it was yours once, but now it's my boat and if you want it, you'll have to pay me $20 for it."
"TWENTY DOLLARS!" the boy cried. It seemed like an enormous amount of money. He had no idea how he would ever come up with so much cash. He started to hang his head and walk out the store, but the storeowner said, "If you'd like to earn a little money, I could use some help around here." And so it was agreed. Every week the boy would come and sweep floors and tidy up the shelves and the storeowner would pay him a few dollars.
Finally the day came when he brought his pocket full of waded up bills to the store and bought his boat back. He was thrilled. As he walked out of the store, holding his prized boat like a long-lost friend, he said, "You're mine twice now! You were mine the first time because I made you; and now you're mine again because I bought you."
In Exodus 20:2 we see that before God gave us his commandments he said, "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves." He reminded his people that not only did He create them but that He redeemed them as well. He gave them life. He gave them freedom. Of course, we know that God later paid the ultimate price to buy back His most prized possession – His people.
That's the relationship that God had with Israel and it is the relationship he has with us. We are His because He created us and we are also His because He redeemed us. And that is the basis for the commands that God gave Israel. God led His people out of Egypt and He leads us still by giving us words to live by.
Today we start by speaking of the first and greatest commandment, "You shall have no other God's before me." These words are very clear. They demanded that God's people worship, love and serve only the one, true God. With this first commandment God makes his demand unmistakable, that His people are to have an exclusive and personal relationship with Him. Of course, Even though it says, "You should have no other God's before me" it doesn't mean you can worship all the God's you want as long as you put God first. He is saying, "worship only me. I am to be your ONLY God." Not money, not fame, not drugs or alcohol, or anything else we might put our hope in, only the one true God.
God sees our relationship much like we see a marriage relationship. It's not enough to stand at the altar and say, "You'll always be my favorite girlfriend!" The words are "Forsaking all others."
It's probably all but impossible for us to imagine how that must have sounded to the people of Israel because we're used to thinking in terms of there being only one God. All three major religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism are committed to what is called "monotheism" or the belief in only one God.
I took an on-line course a couple years back from Yale University entitled, "Introduction to the Old Testament." What intrigued the Professor doing this lecture series most was that despite all their neighbors having many Gods, Israel had only one. The only example of its kind at the time.
Christianity and Islam were thousands of years in the future and the Jewish faith is in its infancy here in the book of Exodus. There was no such thing as "monotheism" because no one worshipped only one god. All of Israel's neighbors worshipped a variety of gods. People of that time believed that certain gods ruled certain areas or some part of nature. There were national Gods like the Philistines Dagon or the Ammonites Molech but they didn't worship just their national gods. They also had fertility gods, sun gods, sea gods, all kinds of gods.
And they all had to be kept happy. And while everyone had their favorite god, they would never think to worship that god alone. Often if a god from another nation was seen to have a particular power, that god would be added to the collection of neighboring nations.
The Philistines tried to do this with the God of the Israelites in 1 Samuel after they captured the ark of the covenant from Israel. After they had captured it they took it to Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When they arose and went to the temple the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They put him back only to find the same the next morning. This time, however, his arms and head had broken off. Eventually the Philistines thought better of it and returned the ark to Israel. I think this story from 1 Samuel illustrates the first commandment beautifully, "worship no god but ME!"
We might not know many people who have shrines in their homes today, but we live in a nation that prides itself on its tolerance of many opinions and many gods.
We may be more sophisticated about it, but the world still makes it easy to understand a culture that picks and chooses different gods or different attributes of religion to live by.
I found a statement by M. Cherif Bassiouni, a law professor at DePaul University. He said at an interfaith conference in Chicago in Jan. of 2000, "All religions lead to God using different paths. Different religions and cultures are equal in the eyes of God and should be seen as equal in the eyes of man,"
Now whether you agree or disagree, millions of Americans – regardless of their own religious beliefs – would agree whole heartedly. After all, it sounds like a well thought out statement and inside we want to agree with it. We don't want to be associated with hateful, arrogant, self-righteous people who say that their way is the only way.
But we have a problem and that problem is the first commandment, "You shall have no other Gods before me." That's saying that the Lord we worship is the only true God or, to put it a bit more negatively, "All religions do NOT lead to God using different paths." There is only one God. His name is not Allah or Zeus or Hermes or any other name we could think of, and this God demands our exclusive worship and that grates against everything the world has taught us.
The world tells us, "But everyone is equal." And yes, in the eyes of the law, everyone is equal. But not everyone is right when it comes to who God is.
The American ideal of religion has become, "You can have it all and you can believe it all." Many people have taken a little bit of this god and a little bit of that god and formed some kind of franken-god. They don't have a God who IS, but a god they invented from pieces of other gods. One that's more comfortable and tolerant.
The first commandment doesn't allow for this kind of "spirituality." But, if you say that publically, you're thought of as arrogant or even phobic. They say, "Who are you to say that YOUR way is the ONLY way?" and we think, "Well, I don't want to be arrogant – Christians are suppose to be humble, not arrogant."
Jesus told us, "I am THE way, THE truth, THE life. NO ONE comes to the Father except by me." This isn't something Christians just made up. It's from a God who reveals himself by telling us, "You shall have no other Gods besides me."
But too often people hear that and say, "well, I only believe in one God and since I only believe in one God I must be OK." Even if the god they believe in is some sort of franken-god whom they've created out of bits and pieces of other gods. They've looked at different religions and taken a pinch of this and a sprinkle of that. "My god has the head of Buddha, the heart of Jesus and the hands of Ghandi…"
People might say, Well, I can't believe in a god who would send people to hell" or "I can't believe in a God who thinks homosexuality is wrong" or "I don't believe in this kind of god or that kind of god." And it makes me wonder if they are talking about God or their invisible friend.
Arrogance is not saying, "I believe that God is who He says He is" or in believing that He is the only true God. Arrogance is saying, "God is whoever I say he is." Arrogance is not in saying, "I believe Jesus when He said He was the ONLY way to God." Arrogance is saying, "I don't like the ideas of Jesus as the only way, so I've decided that 'all roads lead to God." It's in saying, "I've decided that as long as people are sincere in what they believe, they'll go to heaven." That's saying, "I know more about God then Jesus ever did."
The idea that "no matter what we believe, as long as we are sincere, we'll be OK," may sound really good. But think about any other context. Let's say I have a bottle of arsenic in my medicine cabinet and you come over and you've got this terrible headache and you say, "Hey, do you have any aspirin?" So I open my medicine cabinet and say, "Darn it! I'm out of aspirin. But, hey, I have these arsenic pills and they LOOK like aspirin! As long as you SAY it's aspirin, and you really BELIEVE its aspirin, it'll be fine. After all, what's important is the faith, right?"
What's important is not the faith. What's important is the object of that faith. The arsenic is going to affect you like arsenic does regardless of what you think those little aspirin looking pills are. The God who created the universe by the power of His Word is the one who has the right to tell US who HE is.
All roads DO NOT lead to heaven. All religions DO NOT teach the same things. We don't all worship the same God's even if it might be in the title of their church. And all gods are not the one true God of the scriptures.
Much of the problem with our nation is that Christians who claim to believe in the God of the Scriptures don't know the Scriptures well enough to know who God really is. They don't have an accurate view of God. All too often, Christians have constructed their own franken-gods from bible stories, a little Oprah, and things they heard from their mothers or some preacher. We can't worship the God of the Bible if we don't KNOW the God of the Bible.
In the book of Acts chapter 17, Paul sees the altars to the many gods of Athens and he also sees an altar, "to an unknown god." He challenges them that the God they do not know is in fact the one true God. He says this in verses 29 and 30, "We should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone – an image made by human design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent."
Why is God so insistent that we discipline ourselves in such a way? It's because he knows the benefits that we will receive because of the faith we share. If He is not the only God then we're free to develop our own doctrine. We can believe what we want and create a God more suited to serving us then the other way around.
But this isn't going to keep us on the narrow path to heaven. God doesn't want most of you, He wants all of you, all the time. It's an investment that will challenge you and it goes opposite of what the world has been teaching you, but it will certainly be worth it in the end.
How many gods do you worship? Where do you put all of your trust? Can you honestly say that the only true God is your God? Don't leave here today content with the worldly gods you have put your trust and faith in. Come to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The only Way, the only Truth and the only Life.
Because there is only one God – the one revealed in His holy Word, and we are commanded to serve Him only. Get rid of the other gods that control you and come to the one true God who waits patiently for you.
He is the only one who saves and He is the only one who would love us enough to sacrifice His Son despite our ignorance of Him. He waits for your repentance and His promises still stand. May the Triune God you worship on Sunday, be the only God you count on during the week. Amen.


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In the kitchen: Indian semiya
Ok you know when you have someone over for dinner, and you know what you're making for the main plate but no idea what to serve up for dessert? Hmmm, Ok maybe it doesn't happen to you, but I end up making a awesome dinner and spending all my time on that, so by the end I'm tired and just want to make some simple dessert. Indian semiya is just what your looking for! Sweet and warm and perfect! Really? I promise!
For 2-3 people gather:
-1/2 cup of semiya (vermicelli, the short yellow ones)
-1 1/2 cup of milk (you might need to add more to get the consistency you want. some like it extra milky, some like mostly the vermicelli. so you can add more or less of what you like)
-few crushed cardamon pods
-few almonds and raisins
-3 tbsp sugar (or to taste)
What to do:
-in a pan, warm your milk on medium heat and add in the semiya, sugar, and cardamon (you can add more or less semiya depending on how you like. no rules here people). continue to stir the entire time so the milk doesn't boil over or stick to the bottom. the semiya should only take about 20 mins to cook all the way. garnish with some almonds and raisins! you're all done girl.


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Suarez gains admirer after provoking winning response from Reds
LUIS SUAREZ must have hoped he had ended another traumatic week on a high with the winner against Queens Park Rangers. Then matters took a turn for the worse.
For the second time in 48 hours, he and his club found an unlikely ally in their fight against football's authorities. QPR manager Neil Warnock is as popular at Anfield as a Manchester United season ticket (Warnock still blames Liverpool for his demise at Sheffield United four years ago) so his eulogising of Suarez as a "potentially £70m player" and defence of his right to show the middle finger at abusive fans triggers complex emotions.
Given his murky history with disciplinary boards, for many on the Kop, having Warnock endorse their opinion causes serious unease.
Perhaps Warnock sees some of his own divisive personality in the Uruguayan, or maybe as a prolific assembler of players who provoke as much bitterness as they do applause from rival supporters, the QPR manager was underlining his tendency to use his clubs as a care home for the greatly detested.
After suffering defeat because of the South American's 47th-minute header, Warnock said he would love to manage Suarez.
There are plenty in the QPR side who, like Suarez, spend their weekends trying to prove that their football skills should be noted more than their misdemeanours. The difference is that rather than being a serial offender, Suarez gives the impression trouble keeps pursuing and catching him.
He is a definer of games, a player who creates enduring memories out of humdrum fixtures, just as he did here. Watching him twist, turn and cause the kind of havoc that should have secured him a hat-trick, he performed like a personality to be cherished rather than ostracised.
Paradoxically, as the misconduct charges pile up, Suarez cuts the figure of a bemused passer-by, confused as to why each appearance in front of rival fans prompts a baying mob to start chucking rotten vegetables at him, until he becomes the one under attack for throwing a few back.
Every provocative incident in which he has been involved, both positive and negative, is rooted in the kind of passion supporters see as compulsory from those in their own shirt but despise seeing in others.
Raising a finger to opposing supporters taunting you because you have lost is childish; Suarez handled the ball in the World Cup to enable his side to reach the semi-finals; and even when he inexcusably bit an opponent playing for Ajax, it was in retaliation to being stamped upon rather than because he could not wait for the post-match toasties.
Of course, we have to see how the charge of racist language in the Manchester United match will unfold.
"The stick he gets, it is about time the FA and Premier League did something about it," said Warnock.
"He has got everything and gives 100pc every game. He never lets the defender settle. Whatever they paid for him it was worth every penny.
"His finishing wasn't so good, but he still won the match. If he scored every chance, he would be worth £70m wouldn't he?
"He was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch."
Conclusions on whether Suarez is misunderstood or crafty are determined by club loyalty.
What is not subjective, as everyone inside Anfield confirmed on Saturday, is his class as a footballer. As the taunts continued from the away end -- the QPR fans' (and Joey Barton's) sledging about the striker's physical appearance was creepy rather than scandalous -- Suarez simply continued to launch another Liverpool attack.
But for 37-year-old QPR goalkeeper Radek Cerny, Liverpool would have been out of sight at half-time. Suarez and Maxi Rodriguez were marvellous in their build-ups, but their conversion rate is weaker than that of the euro. By the 90th minute, Liverpool were anxiously smashing clearances upfield for Suarez to chase, having carelessly failed to extend their advantage.
Kenny Dalglish was typically non-committal when asked if his side's wastefulness would prompt a striker signing next month. Liverpool's lack of a natural finisher means an adventurous style of football under Dalglish is not being consistently rewarded.
"Performance wise, we don't have any problem whatsoever," said Dalglish. "Goals? Yeah, we'd love more, and we'll get more."
At the moment, everything at Anfield is focused on Suarez. If the FA decides to impose an unwanted rest on him, Dalglish will desperately need another striker to shape the narrative. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
Irish Independent


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Infrared Thermal Imaging
What is Infrared Thermal Imaging?
All objects emit infrared radiation (IR) and an infrared thermal imaging camera allows us to detect that radiation. An IR camera has many uses from measuring thermal anomalies on electrical panels, medical breast evaluations, industrial manufacturing equipment, military tactical operations and building diagnostics.
MSE Environmental Infrared Thermal Imaging Inspection Process - Inspection & Assessment, IR Camera Data Measurements, Meter Validation Readings, Correction Actions & Recommendations:
• Water & Moisture Damage Assessments
• Insulation Inspections
• Roof Inspections
• Electrical Inspections
• Energy Audits


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100 years ago today Ernest Shackleton was on the Endurance, beset in ice, slowly drifting to the north (opposite of where he wanted to go). Little did he know what an adventure lay ahead of him!
We had the privilege of sitting down with legendary polar expedition guide, Keith Heger, since he is in our office everyday!
Here are some of his thoughts on his 44-day Full South Pole expedition on the Messner route.
For over 20 years PolarExplorers has been training aspiring polar adventurers how to thrive in the unforgiving polar environment. With two popular trainings (one in Norway and one in the USA) why add a third in Iceland?
PolarExplorers guide John Barkhausen just returned from PE's ski traverse of Europe's largest glacier. We caught up with him to find out what was special about the expedition.
Prince Harry, who was on a South Pole expedition in 2013, was called "the Dynamo!" of his team. Hearing this inspired us to ask the question "what does it take to be a dynamo on a polar expedition?" PolarExplorers guides Annie Aggens and Keith Heger give their opinions:
Though we do our best to stay out of danger's way injuries and illnesses can be a part of any expedition. That's why we carry a comprehensive first aid kit, and have guides who are well-trained in back country first aid. Curious about what ailments affect polar adventurers? Here's a quick look at five of the most common expedition injuries & illnesses, and how you can prevent them.


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These Apple-designed cases are made from specially tanned and finished European leather for a luxurious feel and are precision crafted by the same designers who create iPhone. The case fits snugly and your iPhone 6s Plus or iPhone 6 Plus still feels incredibly slim, even with the case on. The soft microfiber lining on the inside helps protect your iPhone. And on the outside, you see color that's more than surface deep, thanks to a dye that's infused into the leather.
A case worthy of iPhone 5siPhone 5s has a stunning exterior. So any case that dares to conceal it should be equally appealing. The Apple-designed leather cases more than meet the requirement. Made from premium leather, they look and feel luxurious. And because they're precision crafted for iPhone 5s, your phone still feels incredibly slim even with the case on.
Precision made, beautifully craftedThe leather is deliberately shaped to cover the volume buttons, the on/off switch and the chamfered edge of iPhone 5s. Inside, a soft microfiber lining protects the exterior of your iPhone. Outside, you see color that's more than surface deep thanks to a dye that's infused into the leather.
- Product Description
- Apple (PRODUCT) RED - back cover for mobile phone
- Product Type
- Back cover for mobile phone
- Material
- Leather
- Colour
- Red
- Designed For
- iPhone 6 Plus, 6s Plus
Detailed Specification
- Material
- Leather
- Lining Material
- Microfibre
- Colour
- Red
Carrying Case
- Type
- Protective cover
- Recommended Use
- For mobile phone
- Cover Type
- Back cover
Compatibility Information
- Designed For
- Apple iPhone 6 Plus, 6s Plus