text:
The "cheap" in cheap hosting can be costly!Posted on: November 20, 2014, by : chowyn
I have been playing around with pre-loaded scripts for various applications from my web hosting services for the last 3 years. One of the applications I use a lot is which is powering this blog is in fact WordPress. I also installed the e-learning platform, Moodle for me to put some of the courses I created or obtained from open source sites.
In fact, I was attracted to having my website and applications hosted by the promotion of Mochahosting which gave me 3 years of hosting for US$88.20 (RM299.88). The speed, performance and support provided by Mochahosting however leave much to be desired. Since I was paying something like US$2.45 (RM8.33) per month (and the price was guaranteed for the lifetime of my account), and I was just using it for playing around with the various applications that it has bundled, I was not too bothered by Mochahosting's shortcomings. I have just renewed the subscription to Mochahosting for another 3 years, setting me back by US$88.20.
There are however many hosting service providers out there which are supposedly better in performance, speed and support. Many do give a very good deal that is similar to Mochahosting. I was attracted to one of these providers, Godaddy about 1 year ago. I was given a free domain name registration (for 1 year) with the hosting cost of US$72.06 (RM237.78). Imagine my shock when the next bill came a few weeks back, to carry on for another year, my hosting cost would be RM359.88 and add to it a domain name registration at full price of US$15.29 (RM51.99), the whole package would cost me US$121.14 (RM411.87)! This is 173.32% of my initial package! This makes the cranky Mochahosting look decidedly low cost in comparison, if I can tolerate living with its quirky service level. To make things worst, WordPress was the only active application I ran using the expensive Godaddy web hosting service.
My aim all along is to have my blog, "As I was Learning" easily found and always available to my followers. That rules out Mochahosting and I am not willing to be "suckered" by Godaddy's comparatively high cost for my simple WordPress powered blog. I began searching and reading about alternatives and I found one, sort of.
It turns out that WordPress, via WordPress.com (as opposed to WordPress.org) provides a blog hosting service. It will, if you want to use your own domain name registered elsewhere (i.e. not via WordPress.com) allow you the option to map this domain to its free hosting for US$13.00 (RM44.20) a year. However, since I have not invested too much resources in promoting my blog's domain name, this could be a bit expensive too as I would need to spend at least another US$15.29 (RM51.99) to renew registration of this domain name with Godaddy, making a yearly cost of around US$28.29 (RM96.19).
When I looked further into the various deals provided by WordPress.com, one was very attractive indeed. For US$18.00 (RM61.20) per year, I would be given a year of domain name registration plus the free hosting of WordPress.com. This is the very deal that this blog is sitting on. It did mean I had to abandon the initial domain name of my blog and use a new domain name, theplantcloner.com .
Those people who, like me have got used to having our own WordPress powered blog hosted ourselves would need to adjust a little bit when we switch over to the free hosting of WordPress.com. You will lose the use of all those wonderful WordPress plugin that make the platform a very customizable blog platform. You also no longer be able to use Google Analytics to do the deep probe into the performance of your blog. But WordPress.com's in-built statistical analytical tool does give a broad analytics of your visitors, but it is far too crude for my liking. Limited customization is possible depending on which free theme that you have chosen. Then again there are paid themes that grant you more customization and features but these come with price tags that can range from US$18 – $150 (RM61.20 – RM510) making it probably worth your while hosting the WordPress blog elsewhere. But if you are like me, have a modest features demand, the US$18.00 (RM61.20) cost per year for having one's own domain plus hosting is hard to beat.
Transitioning from an externally hosted WordPress blog to one that is hosted by WordPress.com is very simple. It is just a matter of backing up your content from the old site and reloading the content into WordPress.com hosting.
So the next time you are tempted by a "cheap" promotion on web hosting or domain name registration, you should look into the fine print to see how much the service provider will charge you from the time your contract is up (usually one year later). "Cheap" could turn out to be "expensive"! Remember, there is no free lunch in this world!
You must log in to post a comment.


text:
Professional Dentist in Midtown
Caring Environment
Compassionate Staff
State of the Art Dentistry
2 West 45th Street, Suite 1008, New York, New York 10036
(212) 944-2836
Doctors Kushner and Rifkin have over forty years of combined experience in general dentistry. Their expertise spans from advanced courses in cosmetics and implants to basic dentistry. Together they have hundreds of hours of continuing education. Equally important, they know how to talk to people.
Dental Website Design | All Rights Reserved
Manhattan Dentist | Midtown Manhattan Dentists | Family Dentist Manhattan | NYC Dentist | New York City Dentist | Cosmetic Dentist NYC | General Dentist NYC | 10036 Dentist

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I Just Have To Pray
I remember the days of raising my kids, pointing them to Jesus. Telling Bible stories, singing Jesus songs, going to church, practicing Awanas' verses. Every little puzzle piece, trying to build a foundation of faith.
Now, as adults, they stand alone before God. Decisions they make and the consequences those hold, are theirs alone. I can encourage them from the sidelines of their lives, I can say, "I love you and I am for you," but I cannot give them directions or interrupt their issues.
Let me be honest here: I hate that. I never lost my motherly intuition to protect my kids.
So, how do I continue ministering to my adult children when I have retired from the cruise director of their lives?
The only answer available also answers the question: what is the most powerful action I can take in my children's lives?
That's it. That's all.
I need to pray, pray, pray.
Simple instruction, yet oh, so difficult. Just one simple action: prayer. But simple does not mean the same thing as easy. Limiting myself to prayer is difficult. I must humbly remove myself from the driver's seat and give ALL directing to the Director. I pray and trust. He moves.
I have always prayed for my kids, but as they have grown and moved on to lives of their own, my prayers have changed.
Here are five prayers I consistently pray for my adult children. (I pray these specifically for my believing adult children. Next week I will list prayers for adult kids who are unbelieving or not walking with the Lord.)
1. Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving multiplies the power behind every following petition. Every. Single. Time. I sit down to pray for my adult kids, thanksgiving gets the ball rolling.
Adult children have the annoying habit of doing their own thing. They pursue interests that worry us and make choices that confound us. Thanking God for every goofy or wonderful thing they are doing, places my trust in the Lord's work despite what I currently observe.
While I might not be able to express gratefulness for specific actions, I am still commanded to give thanks. So, in light of - or in spite of - what is occurring, I pray thanksgiving.
I can ALWAYS thank the Lord for this human I birthed decades before, and for what He has planned. (WARNING: despite what I may think, I have no idea of the Divine's plans for my kids, and very likely they differ from my rosy dreams.)
2. Excellent companions and advisors
As our adult children live their lives, companions powerfully influence them. I ask the Lord to provide, and if necessary impose, godly people in my child's life.
When my kids take new jobs or move to different cities, I ask the Lord to provide Christian friends who speak truth.
I ask the Lord to surround my kids with godly work companions, roommates, bosses, and neighbors who will call them to love Jesus more.
And then romance: I am always praying for their hearts and the Lord to build godly relationships. If married, for their family to be Kingdom builders. If unmarried, that the Lord would direct their hearts to His best.
3. Love what God loves and hate what God hates
Sometimes I hear old TV series my kids are watching on Netflix and I cringe. Some I know, because I watched years ago, and now realize the sinful images they imprinted on my mind. Some I just know by reputation. What would have been a sleazy NC-17 movie when I was growing up, now receives rave reviews and enjoys avid fans. (Yes, I am talking about Game of Thrones among others.)
My adult kids don't want to hear my lectures on why they shouldn't watch these shows- they know exactly what I think. Instead of nagging I ask the Lord to give them a burning love for what He loves, and a solid hate for what He hates.
This applies beyond TV and media, of course. But I do think the current young adult generation is assaulted with sex and violence to a degree beyond anything I experienced at that age. Pornography is constantly available and easily accessible. I ask the Lord to give them the same visceral reaction that He has. To see it as vile and not as pleasurable. To experience the grief in their own hearts that it causes in His.
4. My kids would be planted in thriving churches that build their faith.
A spirit-led, Bible-preaching church will nurture my kids' walk with Jesus. I pray they find fellowships where they will be filled, as well as fill others.
I've observed my own friends' love for Jesus grow lukewarm as they quit pursuing Christian friends. I ask the Lord to help my kids embrace gathering with Christian community and that they would be enriched by those relationships.
5. God would have His way in my kids' lives and they would follow His plan
Beware. This is a scary prayer.
I ask the Lord to call each of my kids to build His Kingdom in some way, but I realize this can mean earthly sorrow. As a Mom, this tough prayer requires faith that the Father loves my kids more than me. And if through the filter of that love and in His will He calls them to tough places, I can trust His way for their life.
God's way for Daniel was an evening with lions. His way for Hosea was marriage to a harlot. For Sarah in the Old Testament, and Elizabeth in the New Testament, His way was barrenness for most of their lives. Jeremiah was called by God to prophesy to people who would hate and persecute him.
But I desire for Jesus to have His way more than ANYTHING in my kids. To His glory. For His Kingdom. Even if it doesn't look like how I dreamed their lives would turn out. This is a prayer for God's WAY, not mine.
Keep Praying
These five petitions aren't one time prayers. I cry out over and over- planting good seed in my kids' futures, season after season.
Have you been praying for your adult kids? Great. Awesome job.
Now, go do it again. And again. I am going to go get busy too. We must never stop.
Get Some Praying Help
Instead of worrying over my adult kids, I learned, slowly and painfully, to PRAY instead.
How about you? Do you need some help moving from worry to prayer? YOU are who I wrote Unceasing: A Parent's Guide To Conquer Worry And Pray With Power for. The book is available on Amazon in both ebook and print formats.
Pick up a copy today and let me know what you think! My desire is to empower parents to pray and to help this generation of kids to be COVERED in prayer.
Our kids need our prayer - no matter how old they are.
Let's be Prayer Warrior Mamas!


text: The top picture is from some cupcakes I made a few weeks ago. I planned to make a rose for each cupcake, but I just got exhausted from all the work. The bottom picture is a rough draft of a fucshia peony I'm making for one of my best friends.


text:
Born: THAI
Age: 24
Size: 8
Bust: C
Height: 165cm
Hair: Black
Eyes: Hazel
Skin: Slightly Tan
Availability This Week - Schedule for all ladies
Jennifer is our new girl, she is our gorgeous curvy bombshell with slightly tan skin. Don't let her sweet innocent smile fool you, she's ready to please and she'll have you begging for more. Only at Red Lantern, Come in and meet this bae, xxx.
Monday: 10am - 2am
Tuesday: 10am - 2am
Wednesday: 10am - 2am
Thursday: 10am - 2am
Friday: 10am - 3am
Saturday: 10am - 3am
Sunday: 10am - 2am
ATM/EFPOS - Private efpos receipt
10 parking spaces, plenty street parking space for big vehicles
Private lounge rooms, comfortable A/C rooms


text:
|Tufts Collegiate magazine
Visiting a college is a great way to learn more about them, but online research can be a great way to discover the hot button issues on a campus. Recently I learned about one campus's "disgusting dorm" and what the students planned to do about it from their school paper. I also read about another college's plan to take away the "free laundry" benefit and the students' protests in favor of keeping it. Try to pick up a copy of the campus paper while on a tour, but most are available online. Here are a few popular college newspapers:
The Bucknellian (Bucknell University)
The Exponent (Purdue University)
Washington Square News (NYU)
The Harvard Crimson (Harvard)
The Lantern (Ohio State University)
The Daily Tar Heel (UNC Chapel Hill)


text:
the party of your lifetime
If the ceremony is where you share your love story and make a promise to keep writing it together for the rest of your lives, the reception is your first opportunity to celebrate the next chapter.
Receptions at CW Ranch focus on fun. You want to throw the best party of your lives, and we're here to make it as easy as possible to design, plan, and host it for you.
cocktail hour
The CW Ranch barn offers the best of both indoor and outdoor worlds. Just steps from the ceremony venue, the barn offers a enormous covered porch that's perfect to host happy hour after you say "I do." We'll provide up to 10 tall tables, and guests can get a drink right there at the outdoor bar. If you go out for more photos after the ceremony, your guests will continue to enjoy themselves while you catch your breath and share a moment with your spouse.
Reception Dinner
After you're ready to move in for dinner, you'll find plenty of space in the barn for everything you want to have at the reception. Seating for up to 250 in the 5,000 sq. ft. room allows for everyone to sit for dinner, and leaves room for you to set up dessert, a guest book, and other decorative touches you want to showcase for your guests. Let's not forget the band or DJ, who will leave room enough for the boots and heels to get down in style.
The Party
The barn offers plenty of room to dance the night away in front of a band or DJ. When the dancing starts, those with clumsy feet or who want to catch up with old friends can sit around the fire pit and talk the night away. Kids of all ages love playing our giant Jenga game and corn hole under the outdoor string lighting.
Just add décor
We know you'll need more than just an empty barn to have the party of a lifetime. To make it easy to create what you have in mind , CW Ranch takes care all the parts we know you're going to need. Tables, chairs, linens, set-up, and breakdown. We have authentic ranch furniture for a traditional feel when it comes to the cake and guest book tables, and even matching antique Mr. and Mrs. Chairs for you to sit at during dinner.
A room with a view
While it's certainly a barn when you look at it from the outside, you'll feel like you're in a great hall when you're inside. Massive 38' ceilings tower in the main hall, with beautiful metal and crystal chandeliers lining the length of the room. At one end is a window the size of Texas, connecting you to the serene outdoor space (and offering a lovely rain contingency if needed).


text:
while I was shooting at Sonshine music festival in July, I met the beautiful soul that is Hailey Kneprath [@dreaming_outloud] // within the first day of working on the same photo team, we became fast friends and by the end of the festival, we crowned each other as soul sisters.
She is simply stellar in every way.
So stellar that she invited me to join a group of herself and 4 other creative females to a day of style, fun, and shooting at Como Zoo & Conservatory ini Minneapolis.
*& her rad boyfriend Bryce joined us, [who i became friends with at Sonshine also] but everyone was cool with it cause he's equally as rad! [& then we had someone to get shots of our whole girl squad. essential.]
here's more of a peek at our day:


text:
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a much better movie than most of us expected. To cynics, the announcement of the movie seemed like a confirmation that Disney was out for a cash grab—looking to create more Star Wars movies every year than even the most hardcore fans could want. And those hardcore fans were holding their breath, too, as this movie was designed to explore the retrieval of the Death Star plans, which is a vital part of Star Wars mythology.
Throw in the allegedly-extensive reshoots, and it looked like Rogue One was going to be a hot mess. When the movie debuted, though, all of our fears were put aside: Disney gave us gritty and compelling new characters to flesh out this universe, and they made the tale of retrieving the Death Star plans more epic than we could have hoped for.
There was just so much to see in the movie for longtime fans. This included cameos from beloved droids, amazing costume design that brought the '70s aesthetic to life, and the most terrifying version of Darth Vader yet. However, there were also some amazing Easter eggs that are very easy to miss and utterly change how you view the film.
Here are 15 Things You Completely Missed in Rogue One!
15 Blue Milk
One of the interesting things about Star Wars: A New Hope is the relaxed pace of the movie's first half. We get a chance to learn about Luke as a young farmboy before he begins his hero's journey. That means seeing his drink of choice: blue milk provided by Aunt Beru. As it turns out, he and Jyn Erso have similar taste!
When we see the flashback of Jyn as a young girl living with her mother and father, we get a brief glimpse of their humble home. In a "blink and you miss it" moment, you can clearly see some blue milk in the kitchen! As hardcore fans will surely note, this is not likely to be the exact same as Luke's milk, though, which supposedly comes from the banthas on Tattooine. Like Luke, Jyn grows up to be an awesome hero for the Rebel Alliance...and one who knows that blue milk is an important part of your daily breakfast!
14 Guardians of the Whills
An awesome Easter egg for longtime Star Wars fans centers around two fan-favorite heroes: Chirrut Imwe and Baza Malbus. Before they were rebels, they were panhandlers, and before that, they were "Guardians of the Whills," and their job was to guard the Kyber crystals. This, however, was just the beginning.
The Whills go back to the earliest drafts of Star Wars. George Lucas wanted Star Wars to be a chronicle recorded by a magical and immortal being known as a Whill; later, he turned the idea of such mystical beings into the idea of The Force and Jedi.
The Whills kept popping up, though: the "Journal of the Whills" is mentioned in the novelization of A New Hope, and the Revenge of the Sith novelization has Qui-Gonn learning blue Force ghost secrets from Whill teachings. Some have even speculated that The Last Jedi will show Rey or others encountering the mysterious Journal and its teachings!
13 Darth Vader loves Mustafar?
A weirdly consistent part of Star Wars is that most of its planets have only one theme. Tattooine is the "desert planet," Hoth is the "ice planet," and so on. Before Rogue One, our only real "lava planet" was Mustafar, the planet where Darth Vader turned into a crispy critter after losing his fight to Obi-Wan. When we glimpse another lava planet in Rogue One, many fans wondered if this was Mustafar.
The short answer is that yes, this was the same planet. Why the heck would Vader hang his helmet at the same planet where he almost died? Well, the Emperor wanted him to live there, and the Empire built a special castle (more on that soon) over a Sith cave. Like the cave on Dagobah, this place was full of evil energy, and living there let Darth Vader focus his Dark Side energy on his evil plans of galactic domination.
12 Saw Gerrera's Clone Wars Connection
While fans were happy to see new characters on the big screen, one character seemed rather mystifying. Forest Whitaker's Saw Gererra shows us a character that is more of a terrorist than he is a romantic rebel. However, we get very little of him before he is killed by the Empire - his long fight against them finally over. Why, though, was his story so short? Possibly because it started well before the movie.
Before he ever showed up on the big screen, Saw Gererra was a character on the Clone Wars cartoon. He fought for his home planet of Onderon during the Clone Wars, and he received training on how to fight from characters like Obi-Wan and Anakin. When his sister was killed in the fight, though, it began a spiral of Saw becoming more and more extreme, which is why we see him broken (literally and figuratively) in Rogue One.
11 Skywalkers In Bacta Tanks
Even though part of Rogue One's charm was the introduction of brand new characters like Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor, fans were happy to see familiar faces, too. This included bite-sized cameos from R2-D2 and C-3PO to meatier appearances from characters like Mon Mothma. However, no cameo made fans as excited as Darth Vader, who shows up midway through the film and again near the very end.
When we first see him, though, it's not the Vader that we expect. Instead, we see him outside his armor and floating in some kind of liquid. Was this Darth Vader's bathtime adventure? Actually, Vader is floating in bacta, the same substance that heals the injured Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back.
It's a quiet Easter egg that actually reveals a lot about Darth Vader, showing that in-between all those times that he's an unstoppable warrior, he's just a frail and sad man trying to heal his broken body.
10 The Incorrect Death Star Plans
Obviously, the main plot MacGuffin in Rogue One is the secret Death Star plans. We saw the schematics for the battle station in A New Hope, and in a very brief scene in Rogue One, we can catch a glimpse of those schematics again. This is where eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed a very special treat.
When we see the plans in Rogue One, they are presented in the same vector graphics format as the original plans. That alone would have been a fun Easter egg: that 21st-century movie made with cutting edge technology painstakingly recreated a 1977 computer schematic.
However, the attention to detail went even further: if you look closely, this recreated schematic keeps the visual error from the first movie. This error placed the Death Star's firing area in the equator of the space station instead of the northern section. Welcome to Star Wars, where even silly errors are worth celebrating in the spirit of nostalgia!
9 Ghost Cameo
In the Star Wars Rebels TV show, the primary vehicle is The Ghost. It's a lot like the Millennium Falcon in the sense that it's a souped-up hunk of junk that carries our heroes all across the galaxy. Until this point, the only way for you to see the Ghost was to watch Rebels or visit your friendly neighborhood toy store. If you look closely, though, you can see the vessel in Rogue One!
Part of the climactic final act of Rogue One involved the Rebel Alliance carrying out their first large-scale attack against the Empire. This gives the movie's creators a chance to take out all of their toys and play with many classic Star Wars ships, including X-Wings, Y-Wings, and Star Destroyers.
In this fight, you can also see the Ghost proudly flying alongside the rest of the rebels. It's a really cool cameo that serves as a reminder of how closely these different Star Wars tales are linked.
8 The Darksaber
Sometimes, you get a "two for one" Easter egg. And that's the case with a simple throwaway line we get when Jyn and Cassian are trying to find the secret name of the Death Star plans. They see several names, and one of them is "Black Saber." What could this possibly mean?
There are two different possibilities, both centering on the same name. "Black saber" sounds very similar to "Darksaber," which was the name of an old Kevin J. Anderson Star Wars novel involving a Hutt recreating the Death Star super laser. "Darksaber" also refers to a weapon seen in Clone Wars and Rebels. This weapon was a black blade Jedi lightsaber stolen by Mandalorians and passed down as a kind of relic to descendants of House Vizsla.
It's possible the name similarities are a complete coincidence, but it's fun to think that the Empire has special plans for things like backup Death Stars and special Mandalorian weaponry.
7 The Concept Art Castle
The most striking part of Darth Vader's lava home is definitely his castle. It manages to evoke all of the qualities of its inhabitant: it is dark, brooding, and mysterious. Interestingly, it's also not original! The rough design for this castle was created a long, long time ago, in a 1970s far, far away.
Much of the design of the original trilogy was based on amazing concept art by Ralph McQuarrie. He also designed many cool things that never made it into the movies (stormtroopers with lightsabers and shields, anyone?), including a Darth Vader castle on a lava planet that he made for Empire Strikes Back. Obviously, this wasn't used in that movie, but the idea and design of Vader's castle has been used in various Star Wars comics and games over the years. Rogue One finally gave us the official look at a a castle fans had been waiting decades to see on the big screen!
6 Prequel Blasters
When you think about it, there's a whole lot of change in a short amount of time between prequels and the original trilogy. On paper, less than two decades go by, but in that time, the Empire switches from clone troops to human ones, and they completely redesign their armor and weaponry. Thanks to Rogue One, though, we see that these changes don't happen right away.
On the planet Scarif, we see a couple of Stormtroopers talking about the DC-15 blaster. This is the kind of blaster that the Clone Troopers used during the Clone Wars. In this scene, the troopers are discussing a rumor that these blasters will soon be phased out. This simple scene is meant to bridge the Original Trilogy and Prequel Trilogy and explain why the Stormtroopers are rocking different weaponry by the time they are shooting at Luke, Han, and Leia in A New Hope.
5 KOTOR Connection
It's safe to say that Knights of the Old Republic is the most beloved Star Wars video game of all time. It presented a new tale of Jedi and Sith set thousands of years before the original trilogy. When Disney wiped out the old continuity established by things like the Star Wars books and games, many fans were sad at the thought of losing Knights of the Old Republic from the official canon.
That was when Rogue One's creators decided to give us "a new hope" of their own. They did this by featuring one of the main ship designs from the original KOTOR game. Unlike the Ghost, this ship is not just a quick and obscure cameo: it is the "Hammerhead Corvette" that singlehandedly takes out a Star Destroyer!
With this KOTOR ship design made official once more, fans have crossed their fingers hoping for a Darth Revan appearance, even in flashback or Holocron format.
4 The Hera connection
The spiritual sequel to the Clone Wars cartoon is Star Wars Rebels. This follows a ragtag band of resistance fighters who eventually link up with the Rebel Alliance while barely surviving encounters with characters like Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn. As the series edged closer to the beginning of A New Hope, many fans began to question just how many of our heroes would make it out alive, considering that we never saw them in the Original Trilogy.
Thanks to a fun Rogue One Easter egg, though, we already know that Hera manages to survive. On Yavin IV, you can hear an intercom in the background requesting the presence of "General Syndulla." This is Hera's last name, and it represents ironclad proof that she survives Rebels and continues in a leadership capacity with the Rebel Alliance. For fans of Rebels and fans of the character, this opens up some exciting possibilities about her future appearances.
3 Grisly Job Opening for Luke
Fans have had decades to nitpick the first Star Wars movie. And one of the things that many people can't let go of is how quickly Luke gets to fly an X-Wing in the most important mission of all time. Why do they trust this new guy so much? Is it just because Biggs recommends him?
In Rogue One, we get our answer to that question in the most direct way. The battle above Scarif features several familiar faces from the Death Star trench run (more on them soon), and they are flying under their familiar handles such as "Red Leader." We also see the familiar handle "Red Five," which was Luke Skywalker's handle. Obviously, Luke isn't with the Rebels at this point.
As for this poor pilot, we see him get killed in action during the fighting. Thus, the answer to how Luke got to be Red Five: the team had lost that pilot pretty recently and had no one to take his place until Luke showed up!
2 An Old Hope
Rogue One was pretty controversial in its different methods of bringing the past to life. For instance, the late Peter Cushing is effectively resurrected as Grand Moff Tarkin through the magic of CGI. Similar CGI magic brings a 1977 Carrie Fisher back in one of the final scenes of the movie. Because of these CGI tricks, it's easy to imagine that similar methods were used to resurrect Luke's old X-Wing pilot buddies.
As it turns out, they were brought back to life in a much simpler way. Rogue One director Gareth Edwards managed to get access to Disney's impressive archive of Star Wars footage. This included several bits of footage shot for A New Hope but never used, giving him access to new takes and even dialogue that happened to come from the very same actors. Because of this, these scenes represent the most organic homage to the original films.
1 Kyber Crystal Mythology
A recurring element in Rogue One is the Kyber crystal. We see that it has a kind of spiritual significance with relation to the Force: Jyn Erso wears a Kyber Crystal necklace, and the Guardians of the Whills helped protect the Kyber Crystals in Jedha city before the Empire started stripmining the Crystals to help power the Death Star laser.
As it turns out, this is only part of the Kyber Crystal story. The story goes back to the earliest Star Wars script drafts, in which "Kiber" Crystals could boost Force powers. In the Splinter of the Mind's Eye novel (which was written as the basis for a low-budget Star Wars sequel if the first movie flopped), a "Kaiburr" Crystal is an object Darth Vader seeks to make himself practically invincible.
Over the years, "Kyber" crystals became known primarily as the sources that power Jedi lightsabers. According to director Gareth Edwards, that is what makes Jedha City so important— its large amount of Kyber Crystals made it important to the Jedi, but then the Empire wiped out the Jedi and started taking the crystals for their own purposes.
Got a Rogue One Easter egg we overlooked? Be sure to head over to our comments!


text:
Bashar al-Assad's regime has brutalised large segments of the Syrian population to survive the Syrian revolution and the government's strategy to survive has created dire consequences for its neighbours. The regime is the antithesis of the Arab Spring, yet its capacity to survive and navigate multiple threats since protests spread across Syria has defied expectations.
Syria's neighbour Iraq has demonstrated the dire consequences of creating conditions for ethno-nationalist and sectarian conflict by empowering extremist groups on the fringes of politics. The Assad government has used sectarian fault-lines to entrench its violent institutions which were despised by the Syrian people before and after the 2011 revolution. Nevertheless the Syrian government gained support by placing itself as the check against extreme fundamentalists and terrorist organisations (despite the fact it has historically supported many extremist cells).
There should remains no illusions as to the consequences of the Syrian government's current actions which have facilitated sectarian and jihadist narratives and circumvented blood-feuds to maintain a firm grip on power. Assad's strategy has strong parallels to the conduct of Saddam Hussein in response to the Sha'aban Intifada (March - April 1991) in the immediate aftermath of the First Gulf War. The nationalist uprising, arguably a prototype of the current Arab revolutions, was much shorter and swiftly crushed by military loyalists(Shiite and Sunni) leaving an estimated 100,000 dead.
The 1991 uprising against Saddam combined with the devastation brought about by the First Gulf War, the legacy of the Iran-Iraq war, and the imposition of sanctions which starved hundred of thousands of Iraqis to death changed Iraq. Saddam's political power was deteriorating as illustrated by the rise of terrorist organisations in northern Iraq, the national revolt and the emergence of new socio-political forces (secular and religious). These new political voices were increasingly unable to identify with the ideology of Saddam's Ba'athist Party. However Saddam manipulated religious fundamentalism, tribalist politics and sectarian narratives to maintain power and began to use Ba'athist ideology to create an illusion of collective action and stability. As Charles Tripp argues 'Saddam and his dictatorship were the manifestation of a potent narrative...one in which exclusivity, communal mistrust, patronage and the...use of violence were the main elements woven into a system of dependence and conformity' (Tripp, A History of Iraq, 186-187). This blueprint for maintaining power throughout Saddam's tenure was pushed to its extreme in the twilight years of his reign as the Ba'athist's decentralised the Iraqi state, but maintained a strong grip on the monopoly of violence and the country's wealth.
The Syrian government has replicated this blueprint as it struggles for survival. The use of violence to suppress revolt in response to demands for reform and liberalisation which threatened the wealthy elite and military loyalists as well as their entrenched interests in Assad's regime ensured the revolution would be a painful procedure, if not a failure. Assad's original mistake as Hugh Roberts writes lay in his reaction to the protests:
"The brutal repression with which the regime responded to demonstrations in Deraa in the far south of the country backfired; it ensured that the revolt would spread across Syria, initially in the form of increasingly angry demonstrations but soon as an armed insurrection. This was to prove disastrous."
The Syrian revolution began as spontaneous protest catalysed by class divisions, years of failed reforms, the hatred of the Mukhābarāt (secret police), dire unemployment, a burgeoning under-25 population with limited prospects, food insecurity and years of sanctions. However pro-government protests demonstrated that the Assad regime maintained considerable support from many people and communities as Syria became divided over how to proceed in shaping Syria's future.
Despite this division, Syria was conditioned for revolutionary upheaval for many years and the tipping point proved to be the Arab Spring. Revolutions, however, rarely end with those who initiated them ending up in power particularly if the regime reacts violently to crush activism and moderate dissent. Without a clear strategy and unity, the Syrian revolution was doomed to fail and as with many revolutions across history monsters have emerged from the ashes with different agendas and many of these agendas have been a far-cry to what the majority of the Syrian people envisaged for their nation.
The Arab revolutions, with the exception of Tunisia, have largely followed this trend. Far from bringing stability and democracy to Libya, Muammar Gaddafi's vicious lynching has brought renewed civil war between loyalists, Islamists and the new government (de-facto controlled by militia groups) and created a grave refugee crisis as thousands flee and drown in the Mediterranean. Saddam Hussein's deposition, capture, trial and execution brought nationalist and ethno-nationalist politics, insurgency and civil war to the streets of Baghdad. In Egypt under Sisi, the country has descended into authoritarian military rule, where human rights organisations, activists and journalists alike are imprisoned, repressed and tortured while armed groups, human traffickers and terrorists run amok in the Sinai.
The Assad family's addiction to power has all but destroyed Syria. Government authority over its territories has diminished and the regime resembles a shadow state. Contextually, however, there remain some important differences between Saddam and Assad. Saddam's wars of aggression in Kuwait (1990) and Iran (1980-1988) made him numerous enemies at a regional and international level while decades of U.S policy, the most recent being the occupation and the Surge, are factors which are impossible to ignore in catalysing Iraq's slide into turmoil.
Damascus's response to the revolution is forcing Syria along a similar path as it combines radical policies with systematic repression to drive a wedge between the opposition and the public seeking political change. Assad and Saddam are no different in demonstrating a capacity to survive at any price, even when the ultimate price is paid by destroying their own state, dividing its communities and creating the conditions for extremism to emerge. The Syrian people have become caught between the various warring factions and are growing weary and angry with rebel and government forces while feeling betrayed by outside powers.
The release of jihadists in 2012 by Assad provided the catalyst for the expansion of jihadist groups' power in Syria and encouraged foreign groups such as AQI (now Islamic State) in Iraq to hone its combat ability on the battlefields of Syria and realise unnerving strategic ambitions. Explicitly fundamentalist and jihadist militant groups and movements began to dominate the opposition and extremists such as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Islamic State) and Abu Mohammed al-Julani (JAN) poisoned international perceptions of the opposition while Assad's brutality radicalised segments of the opposition. The surge in foreign fighters from across North Africa and Europe and the influx of weapons increased the potency of this mixture already unleashed by Assad. As with the relationship between Jordanian Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi and Iraqis, normal Syrians were largely repulsed by the horrific violence, naivety, and cultural and national insensitivity displayed by foreign fighters. However the brutality of Assad has pushed many of them into the arms of ISIS and extremist groups as either fighters, indifferent onlookers or a reluctant 'protectorates'. The reality is that while the rebels groups are supported by powers such as the Gulf States, the people in under rebel control largely suffer, starve and struggle.
The splintering of the Syrian insurgency between Kurdish nationalists, moderate Islamists, al-Qaeda affiliates, Islamic State militants and an array of extremist foreign fighters was a coup for Assad. As with the Iraqi insurgency (2003 - 2011) against the U.S occupation, the opposition were unified in its hatred of the regime, however the ideas to replace the government ranged from the genocidal caliphate of Islamic State to a call to separatism from Kurdish radicals in the YPG and PUK or the call for an inclusive democratic government amongst moderates. Over 1,500 different rebel factions are operating in Syria and competing for financial and military support. Such a broad range of actors has driven the conflict's complexity while greatly limiting the likelihood of a unified rebel front.
Assad retains support among significant sections of the Syrian population including Alawites, non-Islamist Sunnis, Christians and Druze, who oppose the ascension of an Islamist regime. These fears were exacerbated as early as 2012 when fundamentalists, neo-Salafists and neo-Wahabbists began to slowly dominate the opposition politically and militarily. The resurgence of Al-Qa'ida and ISIS have worsened these fears as the threat of ethnic cleansing and genocide looms over these communities. However the regime's calculations to weaken, split and militarise the nationalist movement has not been without considerable risk.
While the regime has used the threat of sectarian cleansing as political and military leverage amongst minorities to help enable its survival, it remains a short-term check against internal threats and the necessity for political change and compromise. As one diplomat stated in March, "We understand that Putin is not tied inextricably to Assad," while another argued "The Russians know he's a destabalising force. If there's going to be a peaceful transition, he ain't staying." It is unlikely that the Russian military will allow a similar fiasco to that of the Soviet-Afghan war (1979-1989) to repeat itself in Syria as exemplified by its scale-down of personnel in March 2015. Equally not all Alawites, Christians and Druze support the regime as demonstrated by the release of a document by the Alawite sect.
The document "implies a dissociation from Iran and the regime there, but also...to disconnenct the Alawite community from the Assad family" and that there is only so much time that the Alawites and other minorities will be held hostage to the narrative which perpetuates the slaughter of minorities by Syrian Sunnis and extremists such as Islamic State. While the authenticity of the document has come into question, it remains important. The statement was issued in April 2016, a time when the regime was operating from a position of strength following Russian and Iranian coordinated intervention in autumn 2015 following the fall of Idlib in March 2015. The statement came from a position of relative strength and this should exclude the conduct of the regime before the release of this document; the regime has frequently used coercion, threat of execution, torture, intimidation, and short-term threats to recruit unwilling members of the populace to strength its drive to crush the revolt including members of the Alawite community.
Many within Syria have been desperate to remain neutral throughout the violence despite the ruthlessness of the regime. However vicious control of the cities, it ruthless transition from counterinsurgency to scorched earth has alienated and turned communities against Assad. These strategies, it must be noted, are not new. Like his son, Hafez al-Assad understood the importance of using minorities in real-politik while relying on a small group of trusted military units to carry out his will. However adopting his father's strategies has not been without cost as it has caused mass defections, desertion and exacerbated the regime's ability to support its combat power.
Pro-Assad militias (shabiha) have become the most significant source of armed reinforcement for the Syrian Army. The shabiha have largely been responsible for the worst excesses against the moderate protesters, activists and forces within the Syrian opposition as well as Sunni communities (for example Houla and Al-Qubeir). Their absorption of the militia/mafia gangs into Assad's forces has only led to an escalation in violence. The majority of ordinary Syrians caught between divided rebels and the regime support the notion of a unified nation and are swift to denounce sectarian narratives of the regime, extremist rebel groups and the international media outlets. However outside intervention in Syria by NATO, Russia and regional powers such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran, much like Western policy in Iraq, has accelerated Syria's death toll and exacerbated the sectarian and fundamentalist narratives. The Kremlin is unwilling to relinquish its long-standing strategic alliance with the regime nor will Iran and Hizbullah tolerate an unstable fundamentalist Sunni government to rule a future Syrian state. The Russian-Iranian coalition's support for Assad, while repugnant from a humanitarian and moral perspective, is grounded in geo-political interests and designed to counteract Western attempts to force regime change in Syria.
While Western governments have rightfully trumpeted Assad's cruelty and his military's grotesque violation of human rights, their connivance in the destruction of Syria cannot be ignored. Beneath the rhetoric, Western policymakers have played with fire and engaged in a dirty war to remove Assad. Western officials, like Middle Eastern actors, have shown little concern in using extremists to achieve short-term military success. The moment they decided to support a fractured opposition of which many moderates collaborated or fought alongside extremists with explicitly sectarian or separatist agendas, the West gambled that jihadists and Kurdish groups would support the military drive to oust Assad and be removed from the political picture once the regime had fallen. This support was maintained despite reports emerging from Syria that opposition forces were committing war crimes and horrific acts of violence against regime soldiers and civilians as early as 2012. For regional allies such as Turkey and the Gulf States, they viewed these violent jihadist groups as useful (but containable) proxies in the war against Assad, Iranian influence and (in the case of Turkey) Kurdish aspirations for independence.
The consequences of shaping Syria's war into a sectarian war have been staggering. Jahbat al-Nusra and Al-Qa'ida hijacked and began to slowly dominate the military campaign. ISIS attempted to subvert Jahbat al-Nusra to its hyper-aggressive strategy sparking an intra-jihadist civil war and a deadly intra-rebel conflict in northern Syria and Iraq. The terrorist narrative concocted by the Assad regime in the opening stages of the Syrian revolution was now a reality as black bannered ISIS, a hybrid of Al-Qaeda's violent ideology, surged across the Syrian landscape. For the West, ISIS's establishment of a caliphate was a humiliating blow. The United States' stuttering and contradictory Syrian policy and the wave of attacks across Europe since 2014 have convinced European leaders such as Francois Hollande and Angela Merkel to seek closer cooperation and more assertive action with the Kremlin in tackling ISIS and solving the Syrian Civil War, rather than removing Assad. This closer alignment with European security interests is allowing Assad, supported by Putin, to 'execute his war on revolutions both on a practical level and as a battle of ideas.'
The support for the Syrian opposition by outside powers 'in such circumstances, is the belief that liberal values are on "the right side of history". This has proven to be an expression of blind faith.' In the context of the Syrian War, this blind faith has been on display and policy has been contradictory, at worst hypocritical. The failure of regime change through organic protest and bottom-up activism in 2011 has been replaced by the determination of Washington to cripple Assad's Syria as it did to Saddam's Iraq following the First Gulf War. Such actions against the Syrian regime were calculated to weaken the influence of Iran, Hizbullah and Syria and alleviate allies' fears of an emerging 'Shiite Crescent' ranging from Israel and Jordan to the Gulf States and Turkey. In practice this strategy has been catastrophic and ignited a series of wars which resemble the Thirty Year's War (1618 - 1648) where 'a set of interlocking political-religious struggles at local and regional levels...provoked and enabled external interference, which in turn exacerbated and prolonged conflict.'
While the Iranian-Saudi rivalry is far more complex than the sectarian schism between Shiite and Sunni and has long prevailed since the Iranian Revolution (1979), it has not prevented both countries utilising these narratives for political ends, international adventurism and undermining each other in proxy wars in Yemen, Syria and Iraq. This regional conflict is inextricably connected to wider international community.
The internal-external security dilemma created by the vacuum in Syria has become increasingly dangerous to international security as multiple actors have driven the Syrian War to deeper levels of savagery and destruction. The Assad regime, indisputably, is one of those actors. However the splintered Syrian insurgents backed by the Western powers, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and Turkey have contributed to the bloodbath. The results of the Syrian War have been catastrophic for the region, created an increasingly volatile geo-political situation and created an array of security nightmares at a regional and international level including an arms race, proxy warfare, a new haven for transnational and regional terrorism, and the potential for direct confrontation between NATO and the Russian coalition. Commentators such as Patrick Cockburn and John Bew have argued that the Syrian War is the precursor to a serious international conflict as the Middle Eastern wars have ushered in the return of great power politics.
The escalation of the Syrian War into a regional war is impacting Europe. The Syrian refugee crisis, alongside Libya and Iraq, is slowly eating away the continent's security and stability and allowed demagogues, populism, fascism, nationalism and xenophobic rhetoric to enter mainstream political discourse across Europe. The series of terrorists attacks by ISIS against European and U.S civilians have had enormous political repercussions across Europe and the stability of the EU (as exemplified by the recent departure of the United Kingdom in recent days).
The belief that the deposition of Assad by force will bring stability to Syria is deeply flawed as is the belief that Assad remaining in power will benefit the Syrian people. Neither the rebels or Assad represent the majority, their people have prided themselves on being a secular, diverse nation. The militias, the jihadists, the soldiers kill for the sake of killing because the violence has become senseless, a way of life for some. Syria has become everyone's battlefield. Syria is not the scene of one war, but many complex wars. Caught in the cross-fire are the innocent who are indiscriminately slaughtered by barrel bombs, mown down by attack helicopters and fighter jets, cut down by militia and jihadist fighters, starved by siege and displacement and live each day in fear, tragedy and uncertainty. These conflicts largely remain unresolved, are worsening, and more people will die amidst the carnage.
Rebels and loyalists fight a violent war of attrition and entire districts of some of Syria's greatest cities have been levelled while the death toll closes on half a million. The Syrian War is one of the most terrible conflicts of our generation, one which many have become desensitised to in the face of massacre, mass-killings, displacement and starvation. This desensitisation to the immense suffering of the average civilian walks hand in hand with the war's mutation which, with each passing year, carries greater significance for a region which is rapidly Balkanising.
Thousands of videos and images across the Internet have systematically convey the numbing horrors of Syria's conflict and carry considerable emotional power absent censorship. 'They are shocking and distressing. Even if we don't watch them, their very existence is upsetting. This is crucial. We watch human beings begging for their lives and we feel complicit.' Cheap and easy-to-use video cameras, digitalisation and social media bring Syria's theatre of war to our computers and phones. However as Francesca Borri damningly conveys in Syrian Dust "Five years on, our readers barely remember where Damascus is, and the world instinctively describes what's happening in Syria as "that mayhem," because nobody understands anything about Syria—only blood, blood, blood. And that's why the Syrians cannot stand us now."
We see the suffering of Syrian men, women and children, we are fed information about the suffering of Syrian men, women and children, yet we do not contextualise, humanise or delve deeply enough into this suffering which has produced such remarkable emotions exacerbated by the war such as despair, love, anger, bitterness, terror, determination, and hope. What the international community see is crimson, a Syria awash with blood and tears, information absent context, families, friends, lovers and individuals labeled as 'foreign fighter', 'refugee' or 'migrant' absent deep, personal, and frequently interconnected stories of struggle and survival. We do not see the authenticity of war, the humanity and inhumanity created by war and all the emotions it produces, emotions that all of us can relate to as well as their consequences and potential.
Without exploring important questions, without systematically understanding the complex layers of this war, without important scrutiny over policy, and without hearing the voices of ordinary Syrians, without understanding grass-roots and top-level political and geo-political factors driving this war, the civil war's cycle of violence will continue as the outside world squabbles and feuds over the Syrian people's future. Whether or not the Syrian War ends tomorrow or drags on for years, a fate suffered by its neighbour Lebanon, we have failed the Syrian people and their nation's tragedy is our shame.
Matthew Williams


text:
Harley-Davidson HDI, -1.03% said Tuesday it brought in $1 billion in revenue during the second quarter with a profit of $144.3 million or 47 cents a share. Analysts had forecast a per-share profit of 44 cents a share. Last year the motorcycle maker reported sales of $862.3 million and a profit of $115 million, or 38 cents a share.
Harley Q2 profit rises, revenue hit $1 billion
Quote References
-2.20 -1.03%


text:
Shopping: Selected full-text books and articles
Carried Away: The Invention of Modern Shopping Columbia University Press, 2001
Lead Us into Temptation: The Triumph of American Materialism Columbia University Press, 1999
Global E-Commerce and Online Marketing: Watching the Evolution Quorum Books, 2002
Librarian's tip: Chap. 11 "Shopping on the Net: From the Real World to a Mirror World"
Retailing Triumphs and Blunders: Victims of Competition in the New Age of Marketing Management Quorum Books, 1995
Librarian's tip: Chap. 11 "In-Home Shopping: Retailing without Walls"
The Rise of Consumer Society in Britain, 1880-1980 Longman, 1994
Librarian's tip: Chap. 3 "Shopping"
Lifestyle Shopping: The Subject of Consumption Routledge, 1992
Through the Wardrobe: Women's Relationships with Their Clothes Berg, 2001
Librarian's tip: Part 1 "Consuming Images: Shopping around for Identities"
Second-Hand Cultures Berg, 2003
Librarian's tip: Chap. Four "Spaces of Shopping Practice"
Looking for a topic idea? Use Questia's Topic Generator


text:
Select a service or type in your postal code to find your closet location
If you're looking for a headlight restoration in Okotoks, you've come to the right place. At your local Mr. Lube, you'll find automotive specialists who understand that a little maintenance goes a long way — and that the customer experience is just as important as prompt, dependable auto care. As a result, you can visit at any time with no appointment, let us know about your headlight restoration needs and relax with complimentary coffee and newspapers as we get the required work done.Restore your headlights to as-new condition
Milky or hazy headlights are unlikely to be fixed with new bulbs alone — the problem is usually due to lenses that have been damaged by etches and scratches, and yellowed by the sun. Fortunately, your local Mr. Lube in Okotoks provides prompt, guaranteed headlight restorations that improve light output between 50% and 100%. It's a two-stage process that includes removal of cloudiness from the lens and application of a UV-formulated sealant that protects against discolouration for three years. But why is it so important to restore compromised headlights?
And that's not all: with Mr. Lube, you can rest easy knowing that your vehicle's warranty will remain intact with our warranty-approved service*. We stick to manufacturer-recommended product specifications and service intervals, which ensures we do the right thing at the right time. We also use the latest technology, including the exclusive Electronic Owner's Manual (EOM), which contains up-to-date information about every make and model on the road today — and enables us to access your personalized service interval requirements, keep your vehicle in peak condition and eliminate any unexpected surprises. It's another reason why we're the convenient, affordable alternative to your dealer when it comes to headlight restorations in Okotoks. See for yourself how we make car care utterly effortless: get same-day service at your local store today.


text:
The next event here at Offcote Grange will be Poetry in the Garden ,
enjoy a lovely afternoon sitting in our beautiful gardens enjoying the poetry of Matt Bryden. The event kicks off at 2.30 pm on Saturday the 24th June 2017. Come along and enjoy an afternoon of culture with refreshments served mid way. A chance to meet old friends and new with the same interests. We have plenty of safe off road car parking. Tickets £7.50 per person.


text:
Mass Effect is an action role-playing game developed by BioWare for the Xbox 360 and then ported to Microsoft Windows by Demiurge Studios. The Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in November 2007 published by Microsoft Game Studios. The Windows version was released on May 28, 2008, published by Electronic Arts. The game takes place in the year 2183, with the player, assuming the role of an elite human soldier named Commander Shepard, setting out to explore the Galaxy on a starship, the SSV Normandy. In addition to a sequel, and plans for a third to add to the trilogy, BioWare plans to release episodic content online to fill in the story between each game, though these episodes are not essential for understanding the main plot line The first downloadable content package, Bring Down the Sky, was released on March 10, 2008 (with a PC version released on July 29, 2008) The second downloadable content package, Pinnacle Station, was released on August 25, 2009 for the PC and Xbox 360.
A sequel, Mass Effect 2, was released on January 26, 2010, and takes place two years after the events that transpired in the first game. Mass Effect 2 also directly uses players' completed save data from the first game to influence events and story lines within the second game, basing certain events and narrative threads on decisions and actions that the player made in the first game.
The game begins aboard the experimental SSV Normandy, commanded by Captain Anderson and his executive officer, Commander Shepard. The Normandy is sent to the human colony world of Eden Prime to recover an unearthed Prothean beacon. To assist in recovering the beacon, the Citadel Council, the galaxy's primary governing body, has sent one of their top agents, a turian "Spectre", named Nihlus. A small team consisting of Nihlus, Shepard, biotic Kaidan Alenko, and the quickly-killed Corporal Jenkins, who is replaced by Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, discover that the Eden Prime colony is under attack by alien synthetic life-forms known as the geth, led by a rogue turian Spectre named Saren Arterius, who kills Nihlus. After the battle ends, Shepard locates the beacon and receives a vision. While initially struggling to understand the vision, it turns out to be images of biological creatures being slaughtered by machines.
Although most of the game's screen shots and concept art show the same "default" male Commander Shepard, it is possible for the player to fully customize his or her character's appearance, sex, abilities and even military background. The game includes six character classes. Each class contains several "talents"; as each talent is leveled, the character either gains stats (extra health, stamina, etc), unlocks new abilities (for example leveling the Shotgun talent unlocks the "Carnage" ability, which allows the character to fire a concentrated explosive blast from the shotgun), or unlocks other talents. Each class also possesses a unique talent with the same name as its respective class; the characters may also have talents tied to their background. Characters who have reached level 20 will unlock a "Rogue VI" side-mission on Luna (Earth's moon) in the Sol System, upon the completion of which the player is allowed to choose a new specialist class, which in turn unlocks a new talent bar. The specialist class the character is offered depends on the base class.
Minimum System Requirements:
OS - Windows XP/Vista
Processor – Single Core: 2.4 GHz or faster / Multiple Cores: 2.0 GHz or faster
Memory – XP: 1.0 GB RAM / Vista: 2.0 GB RAM
Hard Drive – 12 GB
Video Card – 256 MB GeForce 6800 GT or greater ATI Radeon X1300 XT or greater
Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible
DirectX - Version 9.0c
Input - Keyboard, Mouse
Mediafire Password: rapidlinksbyannu
RAR Password:
Repacked by: R.G. Механики
Type: Lossless
Language(s): English, Russian
Version: 1.02
DLCs: Bring Down the Sky, Pinnacle Station
Size: 4.77 GB (2xDVD5)
DOWNLOAD(size-4.77 GB)


text:
We are pleased to announce the availability of V1.0b of the Spectrum Analyser software developed by Steve Andrew specifically for the RSP line of products. This is a very much upgraded version of the original alpha release and includes many new features as well as removing the limitations imposed on the previous version. New features include multiple traces, a versatile marker system with maths, peak find and display functions, Zero or non-Zero IF options and an upgraded tracking generator system.
Currently supported devices are:
RSP2 & RSP2pro
RSPduo (single tuner mode)
The latest documentation can be found in the User Manual here: https://www.sdrplay.com/docs/RSP-Spectr ... ser-V1.pdf
Please use this forum thread to post any issues: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=4894 Read the issues already raised and only post if the issue you have found hasn't been raised. This will help Steve in his development.
Further development information can be found on the forum.
Click here to download the Spectrum Analyser Software (v1.0b Beta release): https://www.sdrplay.com/software/SAndre ... r_1.0b.exe
Major New Spectrum Analyser Software release (beta)
We will publish news items here and other useful information
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Major New Spectrum Analyser Software release (beta)
Reason: No reason
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1


text:
Watch Ass Finger Blowjob porn videos for free, here on www.janne-ahonen.eu Discover Cute blonde sucking, prostate fingering and anal fucking K views. 86%.
4 people find in your city who like Blowjob. Look
Watch Finger His Ass Blowjob porn videos for free, here on www.janne-ahonen.eu Discover Hot MILF fingers man's butt to end up with a huge messy facial 15K views.
Hi, i am Elizabeth Age: 24. I truly enjoy making the most of each unique encounter - our time together is tailored to maximize our experience.Im a small BBW that knows how to pleasemy name is rita: let me tell you a little bit about myself.
Description:In this writing, I want to give you some specific ideas and various techniques on how to make your man cum harder than usual during a blowjob. When I suck a man off, my goal is not just to make him cum but to have his body lock up and shake as though he is experiencing a seizure. I want him to point and lock his toes in a fist while he is growling like a bear or screaming like someone in pain. I want his eyes to roll back in his head while he can't catch his breath. Finally, I don't just want his dick to just release its sperm; I want to feel his whole body discharge it as though it started in his toes and rocketed up at full force until every drop launches itself out his dick hole like you dropped a Mentos in a coke bottle.


text:
International journey might be very tough — travel document requirements can change every day, so don't assume you could have all your paperwork in order. We adhere to all our obligations assumed in the Council of Europe and UN, including the precept of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and noninterference within the inside affairs of states, together with the UN Declaration of 1970 on ideas of international regulation.
Browse through the guides below to discover which airlines are finest to fly to your chosen country, what are the most effective native websites, what are the perfect airports to fly into, and how much final minute flight deals & flight discounts it is best to expect when booking your journey.
Debt to the IMF should be thought-about unlawful since its concession breached the IMF's own statutes, and its situations breached the Greek Structure, international customary legislation, and treaties to which Greece is a party. Nothing good got here of the makes an attempt by the so-called worldwide group, particularly our Western companions, to keep Iran in isolation, as Iran only accelerated the implementation of its nuclear programme. When you tend to journey abroad incessantly, then Cleartrip has a fast reserving answer for you within the form of ?Expressway?. As you stroll along the Freedom Trail, stop for a live performance at Boston Common— the oldest park within the U.S.
At Flight Centre we provide a great range of low cost worldwide flights to a variety of world-large locations. Together with this, we list charges too, probably crucial factor while reserving online. The international group let its vigilance down and lacked the will and unity to forestall that war and save the lives of tens of millions and millions of people. We look forward to seeing everybody on our flights and want to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas.
Our low-cost scholar flights give you the capability to journey to a vacation spot and stay there for up to a yr (good for those of you learning abroad) whereas retail sites do not will let you e book airfare that spans such a long period of time.


text:
Dr. Thomas Freier
Dr. Freier is responsible for research and development at BC3 Technologies. He has previously worked at the Center of Excellence for Biomaterials in Rostock/Germany as group leader for polymer chemistry as well as tissue engineering. Subsequently, at the University of Toronto, he focused his research on the repair of injured peripheral nerves. He was Director of R&D at Matregen, a Toronto-based start-up focused on drug delivery devices. In 2006, he co-founded Medovent; a medical device company focused on applications in urology and surgery, and has acted as CEO until 2016. From 2010 to 2013, he was also CEO of Medoderm, an affiliate of Medovent with a focus on medical devices for wound treatment. In 2017, he joined Dr. Montenegro in the management of Swiss medtech start-up Monarch Bioimplants. Dr. Freier has participated in research resulting in over 20 peer-reviewed papers published in scientific journals and has contributed to five books. He holds several international patents related to biomaterials for biomedical devices. Dr. Freier earned his PhD in chemistry at the Department of Chemistry and the Institute for Organic Catalysis Research at the University of Rostock.


text: When the good people at Genneve reached out to me about becoming a guest on the brand podcast, I was intrigued. The company focuses on providing tools for women in mid life. And, I'm all for more resources to face daily hurdles. As a personal stylist for women, my job is an attention getter, for sure. And, it's pretty common for folks to have questions about my work and more likely, to pick my brain about their style challenges.Read More


text:
TRADING Standards officers in Middlesbrough have sent out an alert about another scam email received by consumers in the town.
The message seems to bring excellent news with details of a large cash prize and brand new Toyota car in a random lottery.
Closer examination reveals a number of anomalies that have much in common with previous scams and this is simply yet another variation on an old theme. The sender has even tried to play on current 'green' concerns by stating that the car is the environmentally friendly Prius model.
Trading Standards manager John Wells said: "Like many similar schemes there are a number of tell-tale signs to spot this scam.
"The English is often poor, using strange expressions such as 'Great British Pounds', international companies like Toyota do not use hotmail accounts and great emphasis is made about keeping your winnings confidential.
"You are asked to reveal personal details and you will probably be asked for an advance fee at some time in the future to enable your prize to be released.
"In addition to implying some link with a respectable company such as Toyota in this case there is a further attempt to appear more credible by choosing the green model - although the engine details of the prize car don't appear to match this claim, so even this is incorrect.
"We are working with international enforcement colleagues in the Office of Fair trading to stamp out these schemes but the best advice is to send the message straight to the trash bin.
"We have leaflets explaining about all sorts of scams available in our advice centre at 51 Corporation Road.
"Or you can contact Consumerdirect on 08454 040506."


text:
Share on ThriftyFunThis page contains the following solutions. Have something to add? Please share your solution!
When I taught Pre-k, this craft was definitely a classroom favorite! It is very simple to make and is fun for kids because they get to make a little mess. These icicles are the perfect craft for winter days at home, when it is too cold to go outside. You can also use this in the classroom when learning about winter weather, the letter I, and the structure of icicles.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 3 sets of icicles
I did not see in the instructions how you get it off the paper????
It is a cute design but not complete in the instructions on how to make.
These stay ON the paper. kids canuse circle shapes to create snowmen and glue underneath.
In step #4, I put that you need to shake the excess glitter off of the page. And the person who commented after you is correct in that these icicles are not ones you remove from the page. After you shake off the extra and allow to dry, the craft is complete.
Creating a scene beneath the icicles is a good idea! When I did this craft in my pre-k room, the kids wanted their icicles to be so long that there was not room left. Ha-ha And I will definitely be trying the wax paper icicles in the future! Thanks for sharing that.


text:
When looking for automotive repair data, you can find that there are numerous different sources you need to use. Acclaim Car and Truck Repair is your go to buy in Scottsdale, Arizona for automotive diagnostics companies. For GM home vehicles made earlier than 1995, the diagnostic connector is positioned beneath the sprint panel by the driver facet. However, StartDiagnosticSession has a DiagnosticMode parameter that determines the diagnostic session kind. So in case you are in search of the most effective auto restore service in San Diego , call Robert's Auto Service today.
I'm a DIYer and own several car diagnostic tools, and have realized that these car scan instruments will rarely offer you a a-ha!" spot-on prognosis. We be sure that there isn't a communication break down when relaying your car diagnostic data to the mechanics which are really completing the auto service. An vital characteristic of this bundle is direct access to Bosch Diagnostic Systems Training and Technical hotline. Take your car to somebody with the right training in diagnostic equipment to rapidly and appropriately diagnos and repair your car. Thanks for sharing about the free diagnostic check at your native auto elements store.
Then if they wish to sell diagnostic time, ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE A LAB SCOPE or different diagnostic gear apart from their scan software. No. This instrument takes the LEAST effort to make use of when compared to other tools, but they wish to charge individuals $100 to run a diagnostic check. Each automotive manufacturer requires a dedicated, proprietary scan device to entry all the computers put in on a modern vehicle.
When we conduct automotive diagnostic or automobile restore service in your car, you recognize that you're getting a long time of expertise and careful trained hands on your car each time. They will most probably confide that in at the moment's EMS period, the diagnostic OBD2 scanner is their most respected diagnostic device they can not image being with out in in the present day's quick competition. Parts stores capabilities are limited to solely reading the stored trouble codes, however they do not perform the diagnostic procedures to find out what is precisely required to repair your automobile. In some international locations the place extreme weather conditions prevail, it's worthwhile having a diagnostic technician test over your automobile regularly. The roadside cell van brings you the testing tools, restore tools, and the technician in one unit.
Collision repair shops not must waste time running car forwards and backwards to a dealership to reset lights or hire a devoted automotive technician to determine electrical faults. To deliver on this sort of service excellence we make the most of the most recent tools for ensuring wonderful diagnostics and repairs. Somerset Mobile Diagnostics can diagnose, program, reset or initialize any computer managed system on almost each make and mannequin of recent cars. When brake pad replacement is required, your automobile's laptop will register a diagnostic code so your mechanic can advocate this service at the proper time. Mobile auto restore providers provide state-of-the-art diagnostic potential on your final convenience.


text:
Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 188.8.131.52
Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Do you think there's a difference in SEO value between these two links? (All else equal of course).
Options 1
Keyword
Options 2
Keyword
In the latter, does the SEO value pass to the link in the onClick command?


text:
The Mitre 10 Cup is back and I, for one, am excited.
In my opinion, our provincial game provides the best entertainment.
While there is a wealth of talent on display in Super Rugby, it is so ultra commercialised that, to me, it has lost that feeling of tribal rivalry which you get at a grassroots level. Club rugby still has the tribalism, but the game play itself is of a lower standard.
The Mitre 10 Cup and Farah Palmer Cup are the perfect middle ground between your passionate, grassroots club rugby and the more professional versions of the game such as Super Rugby.
The Bay of Plenty Steamers kick off their campaign against Taranaki at Rotorua International Stadium tomorrow night. It is the first of four crossover games the Steamers play against Premiership sides in the opening five rounds.
They haven't beaten Taranaki since 2006, but I wouldn't rule out the men in blue and gold just yet.
Last year's Championship campaign was one of Bay of Plenty's more successful seasons in recent times, culminating in one of the most thrilling finals I have witnessed.
Up against Wellington, in Wellington, the Steamers went in as underdogs. They were right in the game at halftime, trailing 20-14.
Both sides produced some scintillating attack in the second half, which ended all tied up at 40-all. Unfortunately, for Steamers fans, the away side ran out of gas in extra time and ended up losing 59-45. But, they showed what they can do against quality opposition and I doubt there are any teams in the competition that can afford to take the Steamers lightly this year.
Another highlight of provincial rugby is the opportunity to see some of the players you've watched turn out for their clubs throughout winter make the step up to the next level.
For Rotorua fans there are several names that will be familiar.
Rotoiti captain Baden Wardlaw, consistently a dominant force in the Baywide Premier rugby competition, is in the squad. He looks bigger and stronger every time I see him and has spent time in camp with the Chiefs this season. I believe he is more than ready to play his part for the Steamers.
I'm also excited to see Whakarewarewa's Matthew Garland in the squad. Blessed with pure speed and elusiveness, Garland is nothing short of electric and if he gets his chance in the outside backs will certainly be one to watch.
When covering rugby for the paper, the easiest shots for our photographers to get are of players making a break away - because they're in open space. We often get back to the office, after covering a Whakarewarewa game, to find half our photos are of Garland, he spends that much time sprinting clear of opposition defenders.
Rotorua 19-year-old Kaleb Trask, who plays club rugby for Tauranga Sports, is in the squad as well and appears to be a player destined for great things. The New Zealand Under-20 star is one of three first fives in the Steamers squad, so will have to battle for game time. However, in the pre-season game against Auckland last week he did plenty to suggest he has what it takes. If nothing else, spending a season being mentored by veteran first five Mike Delany will do him wonders in the long-run.
Tomorrow's game against Taranaki at Rotorua International Stadium kicks off at 7.30pm and tickets are available at ticketmaster.co.nz. It will be the main event in a day-long celebration of Baywide rugby as the Toi Ohomai Secondary School finals are being played at the same venue from 10.30am.


text:
Former teenage television star Emily Corrie has been jailed for 12 months for drink-driving on the way to her own hen party.
Corrie, who was almost five times over the drink-drive limit when she careered onto the hard shoulder, played Sooz in the Channel 4 series As If, and had roles in Casualty, Doctors and NY-Lon before leaving acting to join the Royal Navy. She was also the inspiration for the McFly song 5 Colours in Her Hair.
Prosecutor Daniel Sawyer told Portsmouth Crown Court that the first witness on the scene was a trained first aider and having seen the defendant, got out to see if she was ok. The witness said, "I could smell alcohol, she couldn't keep her head up as she tried to put the car in gear."
After officers had arrived on the scene Corrie asked, "will I be out in time for my hen do?" before falling asleep in the back of the patrol car.


text:
Thank you for contacting me about food safety standards and the Agriculture Bill.
I am told that the Government is currently reflecting on concerns about the Bill raised during Committee Stage, as well as those raised by colleagues and interested parties. I look forward to the Bill coming back to the House, at which point I will have the opportunity to vote on any amendments brought forward there. However, I would like to comment on the issues you raise.
It is absolutely vital that people across the UK have confidence in the food they eat. I therefore welcome the Government's very clear commitment that any future trade agreements must uphold the UK's high levels of food safety, animal welfare standards, and environmental protection. Ministers have made clear these standards will not be watered down in pursuit of any trade deal once the UK leaves the EU.
Public consultations will be run ahead of any negotiations for new trade agreements, while any final agreement will be scrutinised and ratified by Parliament. These measures will ensure that both Parliament and the public can have their say on the content of any potential new trade agreements, including in the area of food standards. I am aware consultations have already taken place in the US, New Zealand and Australia, as well as with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
I am pleased that a future trade policy which works for the whole of the UK will be developed by working closely with the Devolved Administrations. The Government has committed to establishing a new Ministerial Forum on International Trade to provide a formal mechanism for Devolved Government Ministers to discuss and provide input to future trade negotiations.
I am encouraged by the Government's commitment to uphold our high food standards, ensuring we will all continue to have confidence in the food we eat.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
Craig Whittaker MP
April 2019


text:
V21 Win Mainframe Award for V21 ARTSPACE!
On Tuesday 24th April 2018 V21 won a Mainframe Award for 'Project most Proud Of' for V21 ARTSPACE, judged and Presented by John Newbigin OBE, Chair of Creative England.
V21 Productions were amongst other start-ups and established businesses shortlisted to be in with a chance of winning.
Claire Cutts, Co-Founder and Creative Director at V21 said: "What an accolade!!! To win an award in recognition of work that you feel so passionately about is an incredible feeling and to be selected and presented by the Chair of Creative England, John Newbigin, is the cherry on the cake. Thrilled! Mainframe and Quad hosted a really dynamic awards event, and we are very proud to be part of Derby's Digital and Creative Community."
John Newbigin OBE, Chair of Creative England commented, "The Mainframe awards have revealed that Derby's wealth of hi-end engineering skills is more than matched by the talent of its creative digital companies, developing brilliant new services and products of social, cultural and commercial value."


text:
Carolyn Lee Jones, the vocalist, burst on to the jazz scene in 2008 !
Jones offers sophisticated vocal entertainment with her FRESH VINTAGE BAND & SATIN DOLLS BAND jazz ensembles at a variety of public venues and private affairs as a duo, trio, quartet, quintet, small group, and big band. She embraces her audience and the music with heart, style and panache!
From classic jazz to vintage pop or cabaret style themed shows, Carolyn Lee Jones makes the standards sound new and the new sound standard. Whether singing those famous pop and jazz standards, beautiful and sultry ballads, or contemporary popular tunes with her own jazz twist, it's all her own style and sound. Influenced by such greats as Julie London, Anita O-Day, and Shirley Horn to Diana Krall,Nancy Wilson and Laura Nyro, her rich, silky vocals and extensive repertoire have endeared her to both fans and critics. She has successfully released three singles and three albums on the independent Catn'round Sound Label. The new album released 9/16/2019!
Her extensive eclectic vocal repertoire includes; beautiful ballads, renditions of the traditional and familiar jazz standards from the Great American Songbook, vintage pop songs into the jazz context, new material, as well as other popular music. A vocal stylist with a gift for telling the story, Carolyn has also created and performed a series of themed Cabaret jazz shows and was honored as Sammons Center For The Arts Cabaret Artist of the Year 2017.
That Old Black Magic
Nearness Of You
Old Devil Moon
Midnight At The Oasis
When I Found You
Are you a media professional? We'd love to send you a copy of one of Carolyn's full length albums for review. Please contact us.
Please visit my YouTube Channel for more.
"Jones attacks each song with the vigor of a wildcatter yet maintains a dusky undercurrent that drips with sensuality." – Jazz Times
"The kickoff track to vocalist Carolyn Lee Jones' Bon Appetit! sets the palate for an intimate set of straight-ahead jazz…hip selection…swinging side dish…superb accompaniment." – Jazziz
"She can wrap us around her finger with the simplest lyric and melody line or fascinate us with her mixture of styles. Simply stated, she just HAS it and here it is for everyone's enjoyment." – Amazon
"…Carolyn Lee Jones has the sensual voicing of Billie Holiday and the melodic sensibilities of Shirley Bassey." – Yahoo
"Carolyn Lee Jones is elegance personified. We were privileged to have her perform in our inaugural Sammons Cabaret Season and she delivered an exciting and memorable performance. Her voice is warm, silky and polished and her style is captivating and irresistible." – Joanna St Angelo, Executive Director – Sammons Center For the Arts, Dallas Texas
Stage Plot
Booking Info


text:
OUR MISSION. The most important things are that you follow our safety rules AND have fun!
SAFETY FIRST. You are working with sharp objects and tools. Please handle with care and heed all our safety precautions. Wear protective eyewear at all times and gloves when required. Wear closed toe shoes and cotton clothing. Wash your hands when necessary to remove grout or materials that might have gotten on them.
TIMING. You can DROP IN any time and take a mosaic class during business hours. However, we advise that you call first to let us know you are coming and how many people are in your group. This is for your convenience as well as ours. It enables us to be ready for you; AND if we have a full house, we can advise you to come at a better time.
WE ARE IN NEW JERSEY. You must sign a WAIVER and initial that you read the CLASS POLICIES to take a class.
SECURITY. Pre-registration is required for scheduled classes. A non-refundable 50% deposit is required to secure your registration. If something happens and you cannot make the class you signed up for, you can apply your deposit towards another date within the calendar year.
FOR YOU. Your registration for a class is for YOU to make a project. We do not allow two people to work on one project. (We do make exceptions to this rule for larger projects and for parents with small children).
IMPORTANT. We do not refund classes. If for some very strange reason you are not satisfied with a class, let us know and we will try to help resolve the issue.
COOL STUFF. All of our class fees include professional instruction and basic materials (glass, adhesives, fuels, tools, equipment, and fibers). If you want to customize your work with extra items such as glass nuggets, shells, beads, and art glass they are extra but are relatively inexpensive. You can add all sorts of cool things to your projects; they will just cost you a little more.
GUIDANCE. Parents/guardians are expected to supervise their young children.
GET MESSY. Please wear appropriate clothing. You are making artwork. It can get a little messy.
HELP OUT. You are expected to help clean up after class unless we indicate otherwise.
YOUR WORK OF ART BELONGS WITH YOU. Pick up your artwork 2 days after class (or when we tell you it will be ready) or you can pay for us to ship your work to you. After one week, we charge a $1.00 per day storage fee for unclaimed work (unless arrangements are made).
CELEBRATE YOUR ORIGINALITY!Your finished projects will be imperfectly beautiful and unique
PHOTOS - We are proud of you!!! If you let us take your photo, we are allowed to use that image on our website and in our email blasts.
GRATITUDE. Class fees do NOT include gratuity to our skilled artisans. If you find that we have gone the extra miles, providing a happy and joyous environment, gratuity is always greatly appreciated but never expected. Most people generally thank us with 10-15%. Private parties of six or more will automatically incur a 15% gratuity on their final bill.


text:
A better tomorrow.
I've seen firsthand how our community needs a government that will work to tackle the tough challenges we face in making county services accessible to all residents.
I'm running for the Board of Commissioners to improve our transportation, public safety, and to provide economic opportunity to all the diverse communities of Gwinnett. With your support we can build a better tomorrow for all who call this incredible county home.


text:
The Blockchain, Patient-Centricity and Clinical Research, What YOU Need To Know: Ep.152/
Blockchain is an emerging technology that has the potential to disrupt many industries including clinical research. Systems like these can create a platform in which patients can easily be reached and pre-qualified, but issues about consent and being able to opt out of the system are must be addressed. Nevertheless, block chain technology be able to lower health costs and provide a way to monetize healthy behaviors.


text:
Painting & Decorating
Our 24 hour painting and decorating service is available 364 days a year. We specialize in indoor and outdoor painting - from emulsion to masonry, oil and water based painting.
- Gloss
- Emulsion
- Acrylic
- Eggshell
- Oil & Water based
Our services are specifically designed and applied with your specific requirements in mind. Whether its for excessive use of stairways, floors, rooms, walkways, commercial, industrial or domestic purposes we have a strong professional team of decorators for all projects.
Our regular painting and decorating services include;
- Walls internal & external
- Floors stairway specialists
- new plaster treatments
- Ceilings
- Doors
We are fair on price, honest in advice and very competitive. We are driven by the quality that our customers expect from us, call 079884 79884 today or email your enquiry to firstname.lastname@example.com
For a gallery of our painting and decorating work click here