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In many ways, the Boston Marathon bombing incident served as a wakeup call. Those in the law enforcement community and members of the public who may have harbored somewhat of an "It's never going to happen here" sentiment were faced with the hard reality of the 21st century terrorism threat. While most agree that there is no feasible way of totally securing public safety in a free and open society, there is now more than ever a desire to provide law enforcement agencies with the latest and most effective safety procedures and equipment. At the top of the list of "must haves" is the tactical armored vehicle, like the BearCat, made by Pittsfield, Mass.-based Lenco Industries, Inc.
More than a dozen BearCats were deployed by multiple state, local and regional agencies at the Boston Marathon scene, including one that took part in the final dramatic scene in which the BearCat climbed a 24-inch retaining wall and then used the vehicle's hydraulic battering ram to remove the tarp covering the boat in which the suspect had been hiding.
During the bombing incident the armored vehicles served multiple purposes, from overwatch and cover during the door-to-door search, to transporting large numbers of officers. The vehicles' features and interoperability made them especially useful in the densely populated multi-agency scene manned by different groups and equipment. At numerous debriefings and discussions after the incident, the desirability of having tactical armored vehicles available was stressed time and again, and their features were called absolutely essential to today's law enforcement.
Tactical Armored Vehicles Provide Hard Cover, Fast & Efficient Officer Transportation
Used over the last decade for SWAT operations, including executing search warrants on high risk individuals, drug raids, barricaded gunmen callouts and hostage rescue, the BearCat provides a much greater level of protection than tactical shields and offers a very large area of hard cover. These features are a big part of the reason they were used so successfully at the Boston Marathon incident.
For example, the Massachusetts State Police was called in after the initial shooting in Watertown, arriving at 3 a.m. Trooper John Suyemoto explained that the State Police used one of its three BearCats as its base of operations during the daylong area search around the vehicle abandoned by the fleeing suspect. The BearCat also served as the delivery platform to investigate a series of civilian call-ins about people matching the suspect's description.
"We spent the day responding to more than 10 different calls around Watertown and Cambridge," Trooper Suyemoto said. "We cleared out large office buildings and even responded to a report of another suicide bomber. The truck was helpful for handling these types of situations, where we had incomplete or incorrect information that must be investigated before it can be discounted. The BearCat allowed us to observe situations in general safety inside the truck."
The BearCat was also used as part of the 27-person Nashua, N.H., Police Department's Special Reaction Team, which was called in to assist with a door-to-door search in the Watertown Mall area. Linking up with the 50-person North Eastern Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (NEMLEC) SWAT team, Nashua PD Sergeant Joseph Fay's team provided backup, along with units from other nearby county agencies. The area was broken up into quadrants and zones and each team was assigned certain areas to clear.
Sergeant Fay explained that the BearCat was invaluable during the incident, providing better hard cover than shields in the event they had to engage with a suspect. It was also excellent for transporting large numbers of SWAT officers. "Some were inside and many others were loaded on the outside rails, which let us quickly transport large numbers to any location and deploy quickly."
The daylong search for suspects over an entire city block area was an unusual call because it involved such a large geographical area, and Fay noted how the availability of the BearCat allowed a key change in tactics: "During the mission we pushed the BearCat down the center to provide overwatch and cover while officers went door to door."
He explained that in a mobile operation, you are constantly moving and must provide cover for the exposed team members. There is no other way to do that without a vehicle, because the operation constantly changes location. In a more traditional operation, snipers and marksmen provide that kind of cover, but in this situation the event was moving, so officers lost the ability to deploy a sniper in a single area.
"Looking back on the situation, I feel that the presence of the BearCat was the only way to address this rolling situation. It is the only piece of equipment that can provide such a large area of hard cover," said Fay. He notes that the vehicle did what it was supposed to, with turrets providing overwatch for shooting ports. In addition, the hydraulic ramming arm shielded the team, allowing officers to work the mechanical ram from behind cover to avoid injury.
According to State Trooper Suyemoto, the BearCat's battering ram played a crucial role in the successful end to the operation. He explains that in the late afternoon, shortly after authorities allowed people to move around the area, a homeowner discovered that his boat had been compromised. He called 9-1-1 and the police deployed to that residence.
"We were at the command post on Arsenal Street and drove over, getting down in the area of the truck's maneuverable G3 platform," Suyemoto said. "Then, upon confirmation by a helicopter with thermal imaging that the subject was inside the boat, we mounted the 15-foot hydraulic ram arm on the front of the truck; thankfully, mounting the arm is a relatively quick and easy operation. We drove the truck up to the boat, which was difficult because we had to mount a 24-inch high stone wall. Luckily, the BearCat was up to the task. It took a couple of attempts, but we reached the top of the wall and drove up the lawn. We got the truck positioned properly, and proceeded to remove the tarp covering the boat by moving the arm back and forth down the length of the boat to punch holes in the shrink wrap. We could then remove it and see inside. I can tell you that it felt very good to be in a safe position within that armored car. There is very little someone armed with a regular rifle or handgun could do to us with the cover provided by the BearCat."
Mission-Critical Interior & Exterior Features & Options Promote Interoperability, Crew Safety & Comfort
Tactical armored vehicles are typically built on a heavy-duty commercial truck chassis, fitted with NIJ IV rifle-resistant armor and a four-wheel drive system. They carry up to 12 people. Armor may vary among vehicles, but the BearCat is always built with Mil-Spec steel armor plate certified to defeat multi-hit attacks from 7.62 AP/.50 cal BMG rounds. Ceilings and floors provide enhanced blast and fragmentation protection and ballistic glass windows also offer multi-hit defeat.
The vehicles come in 2- and 4-door variants; IED blast seats are also available. They feature a 360 degree rotating zero gravity roof hatch and an optional armored cupola for added ballistic protection. Dual rear-mounted air conditioning and heat ensures crew comfort, and a custom center console and computer equipment designed to fleet and central command specifications guarantees interoperability. Kevlar ballistic skip round shields protect downed personnel during officer rescue missions and can also be used as stretchers.
Scores of other options can be used to tailor the vehicle to particular needs, including a front and rear strobe, siren/PA system, back-up camera, on-board contained air, and long range acoustic device (LRAD) for crowd control.
"The LRAD and the thermal camera with pan and zoom capability mounted over the driver's head were absolutely invaluable features," Suyemoto said. We spent the day going on calls and the LRAD and camera system made an extremely safe platform in which to work, especially considering the evolving, fluid situation."
Mission-specific equipment is available for SWAT, medical evacuation, bomb technicians, anti-riot, and dignitary and VIP transportation. The newest options, designed especially for barricaded gunmen callouts, include the hydraulic RAM bar that extends 17 feet and elevates 12 feet. As mentioned, the hydraulic ramming arm was definitely an instrumental piece of equipment at the Boston Marathon incident. Another newer option, the Lenco gas injector unit (GIU) can be mounted at the end of the arm; chemical munitions can be deployed through a perforated spike controlled by a switch on the vehicle's center console at a safe distance from the suspect.
Civilian & Officer Protection a Key Benefit
Armored vehicles are an equipment extension for ballistic shields used for entries into homes and for officer protection. "We want the least amount of damage possible to people," said an officer from the Boston Police Department's mobile operations patrol (MOP), who asked not to be identified. "Tactical armored vehicles like the BearCat are made to withstand small arms fire and small explosives to get wounded officers or civilians out of an area safely."
The officer explained that the BPD deployed two armored vehicles during the incident. Armored vehicles like the BearCat protect access and egress of officers who go in as part of rescue parties, or allow officers to safely enter a scene; delivering the team safely to and from a location is one of their key missions. In Boston, the BearCat is typically used for securing an area, or where there are unknowns. The armored vehicle provides cover and concealment from armed felons and is most often used for warrant services.
Aside from the high visibility Boston Marathon bombing and its aftermath, armored vehicles have already won an important part in many law enforcement agency arsenals. Take the case of Pittsfield, Mass., where the armored vehicle has quickly become a part of the tactics used in all city pre-planned or other high risk drug operations, barricaded subject calls, and in support of protective details.
According to Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Wynn, the city frequently puts the armored vehicles in close proximity to the venue as a mobile bunker. This means that instead of using evacuate and flee tactics, they can evacuate and lock down, and then move out under cover. They may park the vehicle and put a tent over it to conceal it and then use it if necessary.
"The BearCat is as quiet as a truck, and we use it almost any time we go on a raid. We would rather have it and not need it than have to call back for it," said Wynn. "We can drive into a hot zone and we can conduct an officer rescue and it adds a whole new dimension when the team can approach a target."
The team's capabilities have been greatly increased by the ability to ram a door and introduce gas without gunfire. "Also, you can't underestimate the "Wow" factor—recently we simply had to drive up to a suspect's front lawn and announce that he was surrounded. He took one look at the vehicle and surrendered. Minimizing the risk to the team by not having to execute cannot be overstated."
Team Training a Must for Use of Tactical Armored Vehicles
Many of the officers present at the Boston Marathon scene focused on the importance of team training on the use and limitations of armored vehicles prior to putting the vehicles in service. In addition, they emphasized that training should incorporate EMS and EODs (explosive ordnance divisions) so that all parties can work together. "Everyone has to be able to work as a team," said the BPD officer. "Each component is a building block and each officer must know what these vehicles can and cannot do and how they can and cannot be used."
For example, BPD incorporated training on tactical armored vehicles during Urban Shield Boston, a continuous 24-hour exercise, during which first responders were deployed to and rotated through various training scenarios. This is the largest exercise ever conducted in Boston, involving more than 600 emergency responders from 50 agencies.
In the opinion of the BPD officer, other than a full armored vehicle like a tank (which most law enforcement officials do not think would be accepted in most U.S. cities), a tactical armored vehicle like the BearCat will provide law enforcement with the greatest help to get in and solve a problem. "In my view, it is better safe than sorry. We need a vehicle like this for aiding and assisting officers. They are not tanks and are not going to block explosions or solve all the problems, but they are a huge help for aiding and assisting officers on the scene."
Tactical Armored Vehicles Provide Peace of Mind
Armored rescue vehicles provide a huge measure of peace of mind for officers who arrive on a scene and may not know exactly what they are getting into. They can aid and assist getting officers in and out, getting wounded parties in and out, or providing cover. They certainly proved their worth in one of the nation's most serious terrorist incidents in recent memory, and are considered an essential piece of equipment to own by most law enforcement agencies around the U.S.
Suyemoto sums up it up this way: "The BearCat did everything we asked it to do, including driving up and over a wall, and it performed very well. We pretty much used every piece of gear we got with it except for the gas injector. It provided a high level of safety to our guys and without it our next step would have been removing the shrink wrap on the boat by hand. Having an armored car made that potentially dangerous situation much safer. We don't often get equipment that does what we want it to do, so when we do, we are happy to sing its praises."
LENNY LIGHT is the Vice President and General Manager at Lenco Armored Vehicles, a company his grandfather founded in 1981. Contact him at [email protected].


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The below is a short background of the US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA), taken from their website. For more information about the UStiA, please visit their website at www.ustia.org.
Founded in 2004, the US Travel Insurance Association represents the nation's largest travel insurance organizations. Their mission is to foster ethical and professional standards of industry conduct, cultivate effective state and federal government relations, inform and assist members, and educate consumers.
The goal of UStiA is to:
While UStiA neither promotes nor endorses any particular travel insurance or travel assistance service, UStiA strongly recommends that American travelers consider an appropriate travel protection plan that meets their specific needs.

subset: commoncrawl


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TopsFace Lily Grey Colored Contact Lenses
Different people may have different effects due to different eye colors.?
1. Embedded coloring process - preventing pigment from adhering to cornea
The pigment doesn't contact cornea directly/ rest assured use.
2. UV protection function - protecting the health of people
Isolating effectively the ultraviolet light that causes cataract and other eye diseases/ giving your eyes more protection.
3. Smooth edge design - comfortable feeling
Smooth edge is designed for real people. Natural and comfortable/ and no foreign body sensation.
4. Non-ionic raw material - against stains
Protein and other stains are not easy to attach/ keeping your eyes moist all day.
5. Yearly use - effectively preserve moisture for one year
Water content: 40%
Thickness: 0.08mm
Texture: Polymacon
Base curve: 8.5mm
Diameter: 14.2mm
Period of use: 12 months
Packaging: 1 Pair(2 lenses) + 1 case


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WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a growing backlash over extremely long waits at airport security, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson asked fliers "to be patient" as the government takes steps to get them onto planes more quickly.
Travelers across the country have endured lengthy security lines, some snaking up and down escalators, or through food courts, and into terminal lobbies. At some airports, lines during peak hours have topped 90 minutes. Airlines have reported holding planes at gates to wait for passengers to clear security.
Johnson said Friday that the government is working to ease the lines, although travelers should expect to wait as they travel this summer. Whatever steps TSA takes, Johnson said, it won't neglect its duty to stop terrorists.
"Our job is to keep the American people safe," Johnson told reporters at a news conference. "We're not going to compromise aviation security in the face of this."
The Transportation Security Administration has fewer screeners and has tightened security procedures. Airlines and the TSA have been warning customers to arrive at the airport two hours in advance, but with summer travel season approaching even that might not be enough.
Airlines are expecting a record number of fliers this summer, meaning more passengers and bags to screen. Johnson said TSA is working with airlines to enforce limits on carry-on bags and their size. Passengers often over-pack carry-ons to avoid paying the $25 checked bag fee most airlines charge. Two U.S. senators this week suggested that airlines should drop those fees. But that doesn't appear to be a solution either.
The TSA still scans checked luggage. And even that might not ease checkpoint problems. On Thursday, a video surfaced of giant lines at Chicago's Midway airport. Southwest Airlines — which is the only U.S. airline that doesn't charge for checked bags — is the predominant airline at Midway.
In the past three years, the TSA and Congress cut the number of front-line screeners by 4,622 — or about 10 percent — on expectations that an expedited screening program called PreCheck would speed up the lines. However, not enough people enrolled for TSA to realize the anticipated efficiencies.
Congress this week agreed to shift $34 million in TSA funding forward, allowing the agency to pay overtime to its existing staff and hire an extra 768 screeners by June 15 to bring it up to the congressionally mandated ceiling of 42,525.
But that might barely make a dent on the lines. Even as it boosts hiring, the agency loses about 100 screeners a week through attrition. And J. David Cox, the president of the union representing the TSA officers, this week sent a letter to congressional leaders suggesting that 6,000 additional screeners are needed.
After the press conference, Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican who sits on the House Transportation Committee, suggest that TSA should tailor screeners' schedules to fit the volume of passenger traffic in lines, rather than conforming to shift schedules.
Airlines and airports have hired extra workers to handle non-security tasks at checkpoints — such as returning empty bins to the beginning of the line — as part of an effort to free up as many TSA employees to handle passenger screening.
The help can't come quickly enough for travelers.
Friday morning, American Airlines held at least five flights at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport because of passengers stuck at security lines, according to airline spokesman Ross Feinstein.
On the 7:20 a.m. flight to Las Vegas, 52 of the 160 passengers were not onboard 10 minutes before departure. American held the plane an extra 13 minutes. That allowed 23 passengers to hop onboard, but 29 still missed the jet and arrived on later flights.
At another American hub, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, security lines peaked at one hour and 45 minutes on Thursday.
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian told The Associated Press Thursday that "the longer lines get the more passengers are going to miss flights and there's not much you can do about that."
The biggest help to ease lines is to have more fliers enroll in the PreCheck program .
PreCheck gives previously vetted passengers special screening. Shoes, belts and light jackets stay on. Laptops and liquids stay in bags. And these fliers go through standard metal detectors rather than the explosive-detecting full-body scanners most pass through.
PreCheck security lanes can screen 300 passengers an hour, twice that of standard lanes.
The TSA's goal was to have 25 million fliers enrolled in the program. But as of March 1, only 9.3 million people were PreCheck members. Getting once-a-year fliers to join has been a challenge.
Johnson Friday said that 10,000 people applied for PreCheck Thursday, up from 8,500 a day in April and 7,500 in March. Still, at that pace, it will take more than four years to reach 25 million members.


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Is there anything built into SharePoint 2010 that will handle this? If not, can anyone suggest where to start to implement something that will allow me to rewrite URLs so they are more SEO and user friendly?
For example I have the following URL:
And I would like to rewrite it to be something like this:


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Regardless of your preferred pipe material, Roxtec has the sealing solution. Our pipe seals are A-0 and A-60 approved for all metal and most plastic pipes. Use them to ensure watertight deck and bulkhead penetrations, to avoid the risk of water spreading from any leaking pipes and to be able to reopen the transits whenever you need.
Why use Roxtec?
- Watertight
- Firestop
- Vibration damping
- Certified solution
Superior simplicity
- Easy and safe installation of pipes
- Can be used for fresh, chilled and waste water


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What is Osteochondritis Dissecans?
Osteochondritis dissecans is a joint condition in which a piece of cartilage, along with a thin layer of bone separates because of inadequate blood supply. The separated fragments are sometimes called "joint miceâ€Â. These fragments may be localized or may detach and fall into the joint space, causing pain and joint instability.
Osteochondritis dissecans can occur in any of the joints including your elbows, ankles, shoulders, and hips.
Osteochondritis dissecans is more common among boys and young men between 10 and 20 years who actively take part in sports. Athletes participating in sports such as gymnastics and baseball may develop osteochondritis dissecans.
What are the Causes of Osteochondritis Dissecans?
The exact cause for osteochondritis dissecans remains unknown and certain factors such as trauma, fractures, sprains or injury to the joint are considered as risk factors.
Osteochondritis dissecans may be caused by restricted blood supply to the end of the affected bone that usually occurs in conjunction with repetitive trauma. Following the injury or trauma, the bones in the area may be deprived of blood flow, leading to necrosis and finally, the bone fragment may break off. This may initiate the healing process, however, by this time, articular cartilage will be compressed, flattened, and a subchondral cyst will develop. All these changes, in addition to increased joint pressure, cause failure of healing of the joint.
Symptoms of Osteochondritis Dissecans
Osteochondritis dissecans usually leads to elbow joint pain, swelling, stiffness and decreased range of motion. Pain usually increases after activity.
Diagnosis of Osteochondritis Dissecans
Your doctor will probably order an X-ray of both the right and left elbow to view any abnormality in the joint space and to compare them. You may also have a CT or MRI scan, which is useful in determining the location of loose fragments within the joint.
Treatment Options for Osteochondritis Dissecans
Your physician may recommend various treatments depending on the diagnostic scans, age, severity, stability of the cartilage and other factors. Goals of treatment are to relieve the symptoms and stop or impede the progression of degeneration of the joint.
Non-surgical Treatment Options for Osteochondritis Dissecans
Conservative treatment approaches such as the wait-and-watch approach, pain medications and immobilization for 1-2 weeks are recommended if the condition is diagnosed at an early stage and if the severity is mild. However, surgery is required if the condition is diagnosed at an advanced stage or the condition is severe.
Surgery to Treat Osteochondritis Dissecans
Surgical correction of osteochondritis dissecans can be done using the open technique or arthroscopic technique. Some of the surgical procedures include:
- Drilling: In this method, multiple small holes are drilled into the bone to allow the growth of new blood vessels and the flow of blood in the defective area. This initiates the healing response and formation of new cartilage cells inside the lesion.
- Open reduction internal fixation: Open surgery is performed in cases where the defective area is difficult to reach with an arthroscope. Hence, an open incision may be required. In this procedure, an incision is made in front of the joint to allow your surgeon to view the joint, and the loose bodies are removed. Internal fixation involves fixing the fragments using internal fixators such as metal screws, pins or wires.
- Bone grafting: Grafting helps to fill the gap after removal of dead or necrotic bone. In this procedure, a bone graft is placed in the damaged site. This procedure may be performed to repair the damaged area or replace the missing bone. Autograft (harvested from your own body) or allograft (taken from a bone bank) may be required to help in the growth of new bone.
- Osteochondral grafting: The procedure involves transfer of healthy cartilage plugs from a non-weight-bearing area of the joint and transferring them to the damaged areas of the joint in a mosaic pattern. It allows the newly implanted bone and cartilage to grow in the defective area. Grafts may be taken from your own body (autograft), or a donor or bone bank (allograft).
- Autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI): In this procedure, healthy cartilage cells are harvested from a non-weight-bearing joint and cultured in a laboratory. The cultured cartilage tissue patch will be implanted into the defective area to promote the growth of new cartilage.


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This confident guy doesn't care that his name sounds funny. He knows exactly who he is! A rare Carrie Fell moose composition, the beautiful bright colors with ample negative (white) space create a bold yet whimsical addition to the chicest of homes!
Available exclusively at Galerie Züger - Vail.
Click here to inquire.
the carrie fell difference
the frame
Poplar hardwood is milled to our exacting standard 1-3/8" width with an eased edge to maintain a smoother painting surface. The bars are custom fabricated for each piece and assembled to create the perfect frame for the canvas.
the canvas
Carrie uses only top-of-the-line, archival-quality, 15 oz canvas - triple-primed with acid-free titanium gesso to reach a finished weight of 20 oz. More stable and durable than lighter-weight canvases, it supports heavier paint and larger applications with ease and offers an outstanding substrate for almost any medium. Once the poplar frame has been created the premium quality canvas is hand-stretched to ensure a tight wrap and superior smoothness for Carrie's creations.
the authenticity assurance
Utilizing the newest technology all Carrie Fell originals and editions have a digital certificate of authenticity through Verisart, which is encrypted and stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. The blockchain is a public record, however only accessible to the entity that has the digital key to the certificate. Each blockchain record is tamper-proof which ensures your certificate timestamps are securely and permanently recorded. The combination of security, transparency and anonymity provided by the blockchain enables the certification and verification without the risk of corruption, loss, or expiration - thus protecting your records of
creation and ownership. This is bar-none the greatest degree of assurance that every Carrie Fell piece is certified and authenticated, guaranteeing provenance.
all works are the original intellectual property and copyright of carrie fell and may be remastered or reused at the artist's sole discretion. any unauthorized use of these images or descriptions without the artist's written consent is strictly prohibited.


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Introducing The Point at Emerald City by ELAD. A celebrated landmark condominium in the prime Fairview Mall community in North York. Anticipate exceptional living spaces and amenities set within an elegantly envisioned ambience.
- Easy access to the DVP and 401 Highways.
- Short walk to the Don Mills Subway Station.
- Close to North York General Hospital.
- Walking distance to Fairview Public Library.
- Many nearby restaurants. Over 15 restaurants located in CF Fairview Mall.
- An abundance of brand stores at CF Fairview mall.
- Cineplex Cinemas Fairview Mall is close-by.
Emerald City's The Point will be an eye catching destination in North York. This is a condo development by Elad Canada close to Sheppard Ave and Don Mills Road, Toronto. It is a short walk to the Don Mills subway station and you will be exploring the city in no time. You can take a walk to the Fairview Public Library to find your perfect book or to the brand new aquatic centre next to the Parkway Forest Community Centre to swim.
Project Name: | The Point |
Builders: | ELAD Canada |
Project Status: | Pre-Construction |
Address: | Don Mills Rd & George Henry Blvd (Emerald City Community) Toronto, ON |
Number Of Buildings: | 1 |
City: | North York |
Main Intersection: | Sheppard Ave East & Don Mills Rd |
Area: | Toronto |
Municipality: | Toronto C15 |
Neighborhood: | Henry Farm |
Architect: | WZMH Architects |
Interior Designers: | Tanner Hill and Associates |
Development Type: | High Rise Condo |
Development Style: | Condo |
Building Size: | 24 |
Nearby Parks: | Parkway Forest Park |
Public Transport: | 5 minutes walk to Don Mills Subway Station |
ELAD Canada
Since its inception in 1997, Elad Canada has pursued an aggressive growth strategy in central Canada acquiring income producing properties from various asset classifications as well as development sites, resulting in a portfolio of approximately 5.9 million square feet of commercial space and approximately 17,000 apartment and seniors' units by 2008. <br/>In recent years, the company has shifted its focus from income producing properties to development sites, specializing in mid- and high-rise condominium development and master planned communities. Best known for its visionary approach at the award winning Emerald City master planned community in Toronto, the Cité Nature condominium development next to the Olympic Village pyramids and the redevelopment of the historic Nordelec building in Montreal, Elad Canada leads the way with innovative development projects.


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Encoding follows the original text of the musical example. Errors were not corrected. Ligatures were transcripted as exact as possible.
Encoding follows the MEI-Guidlines on encoding of neumes. There is no distinction between punctum and inclinatum.
The original was segmented into several files according to suggestive elements, such as logical breaks, rubricated divisiones maximae, line breaks etc.
Sampled for the online edition of D-B Ms. lat. fol. 258 for the project B11 of SFB 933
Fourth alternative Euouae melody for the phrygian mode.


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1. How to Reach WordPress Store Owners?
So you want to reach the world of WordPress owners of stores. You can reach owners on WordPress fairly quickly by typing the words WordPress Store on the search engine within WordPress itself. You then get a drop-down list of all the stores available on WordPress.
Once you get the drop down list, you can then find your particular niche of stores that you want to target and attract and begin to build a system to become very attractive to these particular entrepreneurs.
2. Attract Store Owners
Becoming attractive to online shop owners on WordPress will require research. To connect with only those people that own stores will mean being able to provide store-owners with something they will need.
Knowing what the most important objective is to them will go a long way towards keeping you within their circle and attracting more like-minded clients. Posting news articles and the latest updates on pertinent topics for store-owners such as articles like Generate Online Sales Faster will go a long way.
3. The Main Objective
No matter what age, location or demographic they belong to, most owners have one thing in mind and that is to generate sales. Getting their products moving out the virtual door is the main goal. This is, after all, what will generate cash and keep business running with the passage of time.
Knowing that this is the objective of store owners will help you zero-in on what you can provide them.
Having a product or service that will get products of WordPress store owners moving out the virtual door is what will get you more clients.
4. Get The Word Out
To reach WordPress owners of stores, you can connect to your niche's online influencers and begin to get the word out to store owners about a product, feature, app or service you plan to offer. It is not unlike reaching actual customers. The difference is that your customers or potential clients happens to be entrepreneurs on WordPress.
It helps to think of it as having a regular marketing strategy for normal customers except that the particular audience you have in mind happens to be people that own a WordPress store.
Building a relationship with these professional store owners can be done using the outreach possible by influencers. Subscribe to blogs, follow them on social media accounts and be specific about your target store-owner. You can also comment on blog posts, respond to updates on Facebook and even tweet back on Twitter.
The point is that you need to get into their circle of influence and within their radar to get noticed and build credibility as a service or product provider.
5. Blogging Helps
To attract the store-owning clientele on WordPress, it helps to have a blog. Posts like Top Ten Tips for WordPress Store Owners will be sure to catch their attention. You can even include tweets and posts you have done on other sites to gain credibility even further.
6. Build A Relationship
Most WordPress store owners are in it for the long run. For the most part, each store owner would have carefully put together a social media integrated strategy to advertise and promote their site and products. They will usually have more than a few traffic-generating techniques that they are putting into action.
As a way to attract entrepreneurss, you will need to put something similar into play. Plan a strategy of integrated marketing and traffic generation. The difference is that your particular traffic happens to be those people that own a store on WordPress.
Building a long term relationship will mean consistently keeping in touch, providing services and seller-products they are interested in and new methods of attracting customers that they will want to jump on. Being ahead of the game really is the key. Remember, their sole purpose of existence is to get products moving out of their store.
If you can prove that you can consistently help them generate sales with what you provide, you can be sure to build a long-term relationship with each store owner you connect with.
7. Welcome Feedback
In every area of virtual existence, improvement comes from being open to feedback and tweaking your services to suit the needs of your clients. This includes store owners on WordPress. Find out what they like and what they don't.
What needs improvement? Welcoming feedback and adjusting accordingly will make you very popular among this niche. When clients see that your door is open to criticism and that you are more than willing to adjust in order to give your niche what they want, you can be assured of more store-owners wanting a relationship with you.
Proudly WWW.PONIREVO.COM
Source by Jennifer Cosculluela


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(A) The first recorded case of an airline passenger turning seriously violent during a flight, a phenomenon now widely known as "air rage", happened in 1947 on a flight from Havana to Miami. A drunken man assaulted another passenger and bit a flight attendant. However, the man escaped punishment because it was not then clear under whose legal control a crime committed on plane was the country where the plane was registered or the country where the crime was committed. In 1963, at the Tokyo convention, it was decided that the laws of the country where the plane is registered take precedence.
(B) The frequency of air rage has expanded out of proportion to the growth of air travel. Until recently few statistics were gathered about air rage, but those that have been indicate that passengers are increasingly likely to cause trouble or engage in violent acts. For example, in 1998 there were 266 air rage incidents out of approximately four million passengers, a 400% increase from 1995. In the same period American Airlines showed a 200% rise. Air travel is predicted to rise by 5% internationally by 2010 leading to increased airport congestion. This, coupled with the flying public's increased aggression, means that air rage may become a major issue in coming years.
(C) Aside from discomfort and disruption, air rage poses some very real dangers to flying. The most extreme of these is when out of control passengers enter the cockpit. This has actually happened on a number of occasions, the worst of which have resulted in the death and injury of pilots or the intruder taking control of the plane, almost resulting in crashes. In addition, berserk passengers sometimes attempt to open the emergency doors while in flight, putting the whole aircraft in danger. These are extreme examples and cases of air rage more commonly result in physical assaults on fellow passengers and crew such as throwing objects, punching, stabbing or scalding with hot coffee.
(D) The causes of air rage are not known for certain, but it is generally thought that factors include: passenger behavior and personality, the physical environment and changes in society. A recent study has identified the issues that start the incidents to be as follows.
Alcohol |
25% |
Seating |
16% |
Smoking |
10% |
Carry on luggage |
9% |
Flight attendants |
8% |
Food |
5% |
(E) One of the major causes seems to be the passenger's behavior or their personality. Fear of flying and the feeling of powerlessness associated with flying can lead to irritable or aggressive passengers. Also, alcohol consumed on a plane pressurized to 8000ft affects the drinker more quickly and the effects are stronger. Many people do not take account of this and drinking may increase any negative reaction to the flying environment they have, which, combined with the lowering of their inhibitions, may cause air rage. Smoking withdrawal, which some liken in severity to opiate withdrawal, is another major cause of air rage incidents. Passengers caught smoking in the toilets occasionally assault flight attendants and have been known to start fires. When conflicts occur in these conditions, they can escalate into major incidents if the passenger has a violent personality or a fear of flying and because of the enclosed nature of a plane offers no option of retreat as would be natural in a "fight or flight" reaction.
(F) Some people feel that the physical environment of a plane can lead to air rage. Seats on most airlines have become smaller in recent years as airlines try to increase profits. This leads to uncomfortable and irritated passengers. Also, space for carry on luggage is often very small. Because up to 8% of checked in luggage is lost, misdirected or stolen, passengers have been trying to fit larger carry on items into these small storage areas and this can lead to disputes that can escalate into air rage. Airlines could also be to blame by raising passengers' expectations too high with their marketing and advertising. Many air rage incidents start when disappointed passengers demand to be reseated. Finally, there is some evidence to show that low oxygen levels can raise aggression level and make people feel more desperate. Airlines have lowered oxygen levels to save money. Now the level of oxygen in the air that the pilots breathe is ten times higher than in cabin class.
(G) Another reason that has been suggested is that society is getting ruder and less patient. The increased congestion at airports, longer queues and increased delays have only added to this. In addition, some air rage incidents have been linked to the demanding nature of high achieving business people, who do not like people telling them what to do and resent the power that the cabin staff have over them. For them, a flight attendant is a waiter or waitress who should do what the passenger wants.
(H) The strongest calls for action to control air rage have come from pilots and aircrew. The International Transport Workers' Federation argues that there are too many loopholes that let people escape punishment and that the penalties are too light. They want to notify all passengers of the penalties for air rage before taking off, rather than after the passenger begins to cause serious problems, when it may be too late. The Civil Aviation Organisation has been organizing international cooperation and penalties have increased in recent years. The most severe punishment so far has been a 51 month jail sentence, a fine to pay for the jet fuel used and 200 hours community service for a man who attempted to enter the cockpit and to open the emergency door of a domestic US flight.
(I) Various other measures are being used to control air rage. Air crew are getting training on how to calm passengers and how to predict where incidents might result in air rage and take action to prevent this. Other measures include, strengthening doors to stop people entering the cockpit, training crew in the use of plastic restraints to tie down unruly passengers and having pilots divert their planes if passengers cause problems. Banning passengers who are guilty of air rage from flying has also been tried to a lesser extent.
Questions 1–6
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text? Write:
TRUE - if the statement agrees with the information in the text.
FALSE - if the statement does not agree with the information in the text.
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this in the text.
1. In the first case of air rage, one of the reasons the man was not punished was because the plane was not registered. ………….
2. The statistics on air rage were collected by private monitoring groups. ………….
3. The second most common catalyst for incidents is problems with seating. ………
4. The environment in a plane makes disagreements more likely to become serious problems. ………….
5. Airlines have been encouraging passengers to bring more items onboard as carry-on luggage. ………….
6. There have been no attempts to ban passengers with a history of air rage. ………


text:
airwalk wrote:When the LEO's choose to bother with an animal complaint at all...they typically cause far more problems than they solve. If they realize what they are looking at, they screw up the evidence and/or make moves that freezes the investigation completely.
While I may agree with you personally, the local code provides for the acquisition of a dog license and offers an opportunity for a multiple dog license if they have enough dogs to save money that way. If they don't want an inspection, then simply license each dog individually and that goes away. If you wish to participate in a multiple dog license program, you are obligated to permit an inspection to ensure that you have and use the ability to provide (at least) minimum care standards.
While you may consider them retarded, I can quite assure you the local media and animal lovers are the first to point fingers at local ACO's and complain that more should be done. of course they have no desire to pay for that more..but it should be done.
And of course the second you start aggressively showing up at their door, checking their property and potentially seizing their dogs without so much as reasonable suspicion, all of a sudden proactivity isn't such a good idea. It never is when you're the one whose rights are being violated.
Personally, I don't care how good a person a government employee is or whether or not they work hard and are good at their job. Government is force and is never to be trusted.


text:
Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegean region, in the River Menderes valley, which has a temperate climate for most of the year.
The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.
Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid-20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Hierapolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a World Heritage Site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.


text:
Microsoft Makes San Antonio "A Force"
Local officials and Microsoft executives celebrated the official opening of the company's $550 million, 477,000 square foot facility in San Antonio.
September 22, 2008
Few announcements have done more to boost data center development in a single area than Microsoft's decision to build a mammoth new data center in San Antonio. This morning city officials and Microsoft executives celebrated the official opening of the $550 million, 477,000 square foot facility, which will help power Microsoft's Online and Live Services.
"This Microsoft facility insures that San Antonio will be a force in the growth of the internet business," said Mario Hernandez, president of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. "We continue to see the growth of new data centers and expect to attract hardware and software companies that support the industry."
The Microsoft project has established the Westover Hills area as a significant data center hub, which also hosts current or future projects for Stream Realty, Christus Health Systems, Valero Energy, Frost Bank and Power Loft.
"This next-generation facility reaffirms San Antonio's future in technology and our overall economic development," said San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger.
"The data center not only provides additional capacity for our Online and Live Services customers, it also showcases building and operations innovations that reflect the industry's leading environmental practices," said Debra Chrapaty, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Global Foundation Services. "One of the unique features of the San Antonio area is their great recycled water systems. As part of our commitment to the environment, we're using approximately 8 million gallons of water (per month) from this system for our data center cooling needs."
"Microsoft's decision to strengthen its presence in San Antonio has already greatly benefited our local economy by creating hundreds of construction jobs for this facility," said U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez. "Our city's partnership with the industry leader on this venture has clearly proven that San Antonio can play a significant role in Microsoft's bright future."
The data center also reinforces Microsoft's commitment to the San Antonio community. Microsoft recently awarded to Alamo Area Community Information System (AACIS) a grant worth more than $450,600 in cash and software. AACIS is a community non-profit committed to providing computer data, computer information and computer literacy classes in English and Spanish.
About the Author(s)
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text:
COLORFUL RELEASES THE WORLD'S FIRST GTX 1050 & GTX 1050 Ti GRAPHICS CARDS
Incredible performance, incredible efficiency for an incredible gaming experience
October 18th, 2016 Taipei, Taiwan – Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, proudly debuts the world's first GTX 1050 & GTX 1050 Ti graphics card series. This time, Colorful first brings us three series of GTX 1050 & GTX 1050 Ti graphics cards: Colorful iGameGTX1050Ti U-4G, Colorful iGameGTX1050Ti S-4G and Colorful iGameGTX1050 U-2G.
The GTX 1050 & GTX 1050 Ti series is based on the 16nm FinFET Pascal structure armed 640&768 CUDA cores. Complementing it will be 2GB&4GB of GDDR5 video memory running at an effective clock rate of 7Ghz on a 128-bit bus.
The Colorful iGameGTX1050Ti U-4G still keeps the feature of iGame one-key overclocking and will reach at 1379MHz (Boost: 1493MHz). The new designed BALZE DUO thermal module is based on the idea of Circle-Power Theorem, which is the golden ratio and will provide the GPU with a more powerful radiating efficiency and a lower operating temperature. Together with the 3+1 phase I.P.P(iGame Pure Power) digital power supply and S.P.T(Silver Plating Technology), Colorful iGameGTX1050Ti U-4G will go to a higher frequency under a suitable temperature.
Colorful iGameGTX1050Ti S-4G will run at a frequency of 1366MHz (Boost: 1480MHz).
Colorful iGameGTX1050 U-2G will run at a frequency of 1442MHz (Boost: 1556MHz).
The GTX 1050 & 1050 Ti series can be bought on 25th October.


text:
Tutorial: [AVATAR] Become a real Na'Vi using GIMP!
Open up any portrait photo. If you want to use my template please download the image /w the woman above!
Now duplicate the background layer and work on the copy from now on.
First step is to do some face "correctures" – we'll need bigger eyes and of course a deformed nose thats more connected with the eyes themselves (these are the typical characteristics of that blue race which is named Na'Vi).
Use the IWARP-filter (Filter / Distort / IWarp).
Select "Move" and change the values to 30 (Radius) and a strength of 0.3. These values are used for an image that is 1000×1000px big. If you have a bigger picture increase the radius.Now start at the top of the nose in the middle: drag the parts of the top nose a little to the left. Work from top to bottom of the nose. Do the same for the right part and be aware not to move to much of the nose into the eyes.
DON'T click OK yet.
Maybe your eyes are a bit too much distorted, which looks not really nice I think :)
Next use the "Remove" option in the dialogue (which should still be shown). Drag the mouse slowly over the left eye towards the nose. Be sure not to move to much to the nose – otherwise it will remove your distorted nose we just made! Do the same with the right eye
DONT click OK yet, we still continue ;)
By now the eyes should be looking normal again, we're now going to make them a bit bigger, Select "Grow" and a radius of 70. Then move the mouse into the center of the pupilles (left and right eye) and click 3 to 4 times, each time the eye should become a little bigger.
Now click OK! If your new nose is not looking fine repeat the steps 2-4.
In the middle of the nose the skin is now looking much too deformed and does not look natural.
Use the Clone tool, set the opacity to 50% in the tool adjustments, which will bring you more smoothness. Hold CTRL and set a cloning point at the bottom of the nose (the brighter skin there). From there we're going to clone: now click the skin above to replace the unnatural looking skin.
Now choose a starting point to clone inside the forehead and rebalance the skin tone to become a real smooth transition between nose and forehead.
Now we're getting the cool blue skin in ;) Finding the right blue tone is a pain because the blue skin in the movie is allways a little different because of the different lights.
I exported my color values from the Colors / Color balance dialogue – you can download the file (right click and "Save as…") and import it using the dialogue (at the top, click the import-button) and just use it easily ;)
Of course the whole picture now is colorized. But we're working on a copy, so thats good, because we can now use a layer mask to bring the original hair color and else back in.
As a preparation for the layer mask we're goint to use the Quick Mask, where you can paint on a temporary layer using black and white to get a really detailed and nice selection.
Click the "QuickMask"-Button in the bottom left part of the image window. A red overlay is now shown. You can now paint "Black" and "White" and of source with gray tones on this layer. Black color (this is the red overlay in the beginning) represents full transparency in the selection and white represents fully selected parts after finishing the QuickMask.
Now choose the paint tool and use a big smooth brush that has a radius of more or less of the size of her arm or hand. Using white color, paint all the skin pretty fast – you dont need to be too careful here.
Next choose a smaller brush and carefully paint the eyes with black to make it transparent after we finish the masking.
Tip: Use the X key on your keyboard to swiftly switch between the selected foreground and background color.
Now paint more carefully along the skin (inside the skin use white, outside black) to refine the selection.
- Finally take care of the part with the blurred hair on her left shoulder. Therefore set the opacity of the paint tool to app. 30% and paint over the skin that is covered with hair. This will give you a semi-transparency. Do this for the hair on the head too where the skin is shown.
Also do this for the lips – the Na'Vi have darkred and bluish lips ;)
Take a lot time on this step to create a very nice selection – it is important to get a authentic feeling.
Now it's going to be interesting ;) Click the QuickMask-button again – you'll get a nice selection of it.
Right click the layer in the layers dialogue and choose "Add Layer Mask". Choose "Selection" in the popup dialogue and click OK. Now the below layer should shine through and only the skin will be blue.
Looks pretty good so far, but the blue skin does not perfectly fit yet. You can refine this now by clicking on the mask beside the layer in the layers dialogue and there use the paint tool again to paint with white (will be shown) or black (will be transparent).
We're getting to the eyes now. The race on Pandora (the planet where the Na'Vi live) have big yellow/orange eyes.
Choose the Elliptical-Selection tool and drag a selection around the iris. click Edit / Copy visible and Edit / Insert as new layer. Move the part around the eye again. The iris should be on a seperate layer now.
Use the Transform-tool now and scale the iris to 125%. Use the Eraser tool to cut overlapping parts of the iris so that it fits inside the eye.
Then use Colors / Colorize to get a yellow into it:
Now do the same for the right eye. If you're very exact you can remove the yellowish tone of the little white glare inside the eye by making a selection around it and use Colors / Desaturate.
Next we need some cool tattoos. They allways have zig-zag-like paintings on their whole body.
Create a new layer and use the free select tool now to make that kind of painting. Hold SHIFT to add more selections at once.
After you made the selection fill it with Black: Select Black as new Foreground-Color – then do Edit / Fill with Foreground color.
First do the face part – just look at the image below to see how it should look:
Make the same for the arms.
Activate the lock-transparency button above the opacity ruler in the layers dialogue.
- Filter / Redner / Clouds / Solid Noise: 0 / 15 (details) / 5.0 / 5.0
That brings some irregularity into the tattoos.
Decativate the lock-transparency. The paintings are a bit too hard on the edges if you look close to it.
We smoothe them now using:
- Filter / Blur / Gaussian Blur: 10px.
- Colors / Curves: Move the curves together as shown below. -
Take the eraser-tool and delete overlapping paintings.
Now add a layer mask, activate it by clicking it and use Filter / Render / Plastic Soise again (values below).
then set the layers mode to overlay. You can experiment with other layer modes that darken the image if you want so.
Now duplicate the layer with the tattoos / paintings again to make the effect a bit stronger if you want (this is optional).
Finally we need some sparkle in her face.
- create a new layer: then take the Brush tool again and use the "Sparks"-brush, use a small brush scale (0.2 or so). Click often to paint single many dots under her eye, on her nose and on the forehead. If you dont like some of the sparkle you can remove it using the eraser tool.
Set the layers mode to "Dodge".
Duplicate the sparke layer and do a Filter / Blur / Gaussian:8px.
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial ;)
Here is my first version – i na'vi'ized Paris Hilton – hahaha – looks imo a bit too plastic tho.
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Great tutorial, I am very impress. I am facing a short problem in step no 20 I can't remove overlapping paintings. but the result is not bad. can you help me about it ? I am waiting for your help.
I like this tutorial very much.
But im stuck in one place ....in the 7th step
Please help me.
Thanks for helpers.
Hey there, thanks for the tutorial. I got only one thing and that is the step 7. When i use - import your color balance the pic is different. I dont know how to have an "avatar" color. This would help me a lot. Thanks in advance. Cheers.
Excellent - I will try this :) thank you.
i like to transforme this blue avatar
Thank you! You really helped!
The tutorial went great for me!
Thanxs again!
you can download the file under the links on top of the tutorial. just right click the file and save it. you can use andy file extension. i.e. "blue.txt". the open the color balance and import it. should work like a charm! If you have more problems just write again ;)
Hi! I admire yor work gretly but I am stuck on colour balance. When I tried using the examples on intro... But I can't use decimals on colour balance, so what do I do?
Can you please reply to me and tell me the colour selctions etc?
That would really help!~
Hi, i just wanna ask how u do the nose? i tried ur tutorial but it seems doesnt work on me :(
Awesome man....... COOOOOL
Hi, Thanx for a wonder full Job.
Since I am newb with Gimp, i'd like some more detailed steps.
These can help us "new born" Navis to learn faster.Gimp is a wonderfull tool and I love it.
Please help me and others to be GOOD.Thanks to every one who has contributed with great tutorials.
I have tried many and it's fun to be able to create some thing and learn at the same time.A spesial Thanx to the DEV's of this wonderfull tool!
Keep it up.
I think the final product came out very nicely.Good job.I was just wondering..when your on the gimp users homepage..where do you go from there inorder to edit pictures the way you have just shown us? Do you need to download the user inorder to continue? I am not very good with computers and it would be very helpful to know. Thank you for taking your time to create a tutorial for everyone to follow easily. -#1 AVATAR Fan
Hi! Im stuck on part 14!How do we do to skale the iris to 125%? I'm french and not really good at english :p Merci
Ears are done the same as eyes and nose. here is a pic of barack o bama :)
Great tutorial, I managed to do it too thanks to you!
You missed the spot under the right armpit, it is not blue.
Great tutorial, I'll bookmark it and try it out this weekend. I hadn't heard of the IWarp plugin before, but it looks promising.
If your final product of the Paris Hilton looks plastic, maybe it's because she looked plastic to begin with?
rofl!!! thanks for mentioning, maybe i was thinking on something else while writing the tutorial
updated now!
Nice tutorial :) I believe step 21 should really read "forehead" tho
fantastic!, ahead!
Im stuck on part 11 i do every thing but when i click add layer mask then selection it keeps the blue skin but makes the background checkerd with a bunch of red a gray squares
@Bazzare, today 01:11 AM
("Im stuck on the iwarp part. The eyes keep getting dragged down with the nose and the middle part of the nose is not as flat.")-->Try to max zoom in on the nose so your movements can be more accurate.
-->Try to decrease the amount the effect does and maybe even the radius.
-->Just start at the top of the nose(bone) in middle and drag carefully left, back to middle drag carefully right. Do this all the way down, but it takes time. And since there isn't a ctrl+Z while applying the effect, do small steps apply, and apply again.Hope this works.
Cheers, let me know if you need further help
Im stuck on the iwarp part. The eyes keep getting dragged down with the nose and the middle part of the nose is not as flat.
Just play around with it yourself
I didnt used that file anyways, much more fun to do it yourself
could someone write out the settings for the color balance import step? i imported the file, but it looks nothing like the example. :\
im stuck on step 13!! i cant find that tool.. i have the new virson of gimp
thanks. haha. i think paris looks better as a na'vi
very nice tutorial
I am still have to get used to gimp but this way i will get there =^.^=
here is my result ; ) (just a quicky)
link: http://nl.tinypic.com/r/5nrg1s/6Thanks m8
color balance dows not allow decimals. why dont you try to import my exported values (download the file file above step 1 of the tutorial)
This tutorial looks really awesome, however I couldn't get past the blue skin because for some reason, my color balance won't let me do decimals? Does anyone know how to fix this? I've tried many ways, but it just won't let me get between 0 and -1. :/ Help please.
This tutorial is featured on 70 creative Gimp tutorials
This tutorial is featured on 70 creative Gimp tutorials
nevermind, this tutorial rocks, though I didn't complete it
I am stuck on "Add Layer Mask", when I add and choose selection it leaves just just my skin and I don't know where to find my other things, like hair and background, please help me devvv:)
Great tutorial! Video format here:
Go avatar!
Hey Devvv Have you added the ears yet?
If you have then put the page site in the comments
Hey Pwethior! Cool thing! Thanks for posting it on deviantart :)
About the ears, I will add instructions on that - thanks for mentioning. Maybe on weekend or so when I get more time :)
Hey Devv! The picture has gotten 34 views in 1day and 21hours
I think that with this tutorial we have the better result in the network! Can anyone record a video of it, please?
Really nice MC-Photography!! and really cool and fun tutorial devv
Devv I added your pic to my deviantart gallery here's a link: http://guitarguy3.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-Gimp-Tutorial-165194180 drop all comments there and I'll even drop some questions on the tutorial there.
WTF??? Why does it keep adding spaces to the comments?
Devv I added your pic to my deviantart gallery here's a link: http://guitarguy3.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-Gimp-Tutorial-165194180 drop all comments there and I'll even drop some questions on the tutorial there.
Devv I added your pic to my deviantart gallery here's a link:http://guitarguy3.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-Gimp-Tutorial-165194180 drop all comments there and I'll even drop some questions on the tutorial there.
Devv why didn't you include the ears in the tutorial? I know your picture has hair covering the ears but you could've at least added the info on how to do the ears.
Then why didn't you include the ears in the tutorial devv? I know your picture has hair covering the ears but you could've at least added the info on how to do the ears.
you need to deform the ears in the same way as the nose using the IWarp filter!
What about the ears? You forgot the part on the ears devv
I love the tutorial, and the end result looks very nice, but I don't know what you mean by the "Sparks" brush. Is it something I need to download, or am I just being clueless?
try 15 for the move-option, should work fine!
"Use the IWARP-filter (Filter / Distort / IWarp).
Select "Move" and change the values to 30 (Radius) and a strength of 0.3. These values are used for an image that is 1000x1000px big. If you have a bigger picture increase the radius." what about the radius for a 640x480px picture?
after you click the quickmask-icon (bottom left of the image window) again the quickMask sould turn into a selection. this selection should then be used when adding the layer mask. does this help?
Stuck at step 11, "Add Layer Mask"
I selected quick mask but nothing seems to happen after I right click Add layer mask and then selection
Thanks, devvv. Apparently I was making it much harder than it needed to be! I'll have to give this another try real soon.
Congratulations for the procedure.
One thing I have done following a video tutorial, with very similar steps.
Here's my outcome http://blog.bixbi.it/stile-navi-con-gimp
Very nice guide, every step was clear and the end result looks awesome
it's awesome tutorial
nhoriginal: you only need to save the file - the extension is not important, use .txt i.e.
then go to colors / color balance. at the top right click the small triangle and use "import" and choose the file. then the colors are loaded into the filter dialogue. see my attachment
I'm running into trouble with the first part of the tutorial - the part about importing the palette. I've discovered that I need to create a file with a .gpl extension in order to import it into the palette. And I've been able to import another palette I found on the web, so the import part isn't a problem.
But what do I do with the text that appears for the navi_blau link? I've tried copying and pasting it into a new ASCII file as is, and saving it with a .gpl extension. I also tried removing the top and bottom commented sections, but no matter what I do GIMP tells me it's not a valid palette file.
Can someone help a clueless user? Thanks. And I'm using GIMP 2.6.8.
Cool tutorial devv!! and the final result is really good and convincing
i lost you at step 16. my tattos dont look black as they do in yours.. :-S. they remain as selections...


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On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 03:43:57PM +0200, Matthias Klose wrote: > For wheezy I'm planning to change the linking behaviour for DSOs (turning > on --as-needed and --no-copy-dt-needed-entries. The rationale is > summarized in http://wiki.debian.org/ToolChain/DSOLinking. I would like > to know about issues with these changes on some of the Debian ports, and > if we need to disable one of these changes on some port. While I understand the rationale for --no-copy-dt-needed-entries for preventing encapsulation violations via indirect linking, I don't agree with the use of --as-needed *at all*. If a library has been explicitly linked in, it shouldn't be removed. This is an issue for fixing in individual packages, not in the toolchain. I can understand on using it on a per-package basis, but not in the actual toolchain defaults. The compiler and linker *should not be second-guessing the user*. This can break perfectly legitimate code making use of ELF constructors and other features which won't be picked out just by looking at symbol usage. Thanks, Roger -- .''`. Roger Leigh : :' : Debian GNU/Linux http://people.debian.org/~rleigh/ `. `' Printing on GNU/Linux? http://gutenprint.sourceforge.net/ `- GPG Public Key: 0x25BFB848 Please GPG sign your mail.
Description: Digital signature


text:
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To locate a nearby AAA office, please use your mobile phone or other device to search for the AAA office closest to your location.
AAA paper maps, AAA TourBooks, and AAA Travel products, services and accessories are available for purchase in AAA Club offices for FIA or GMA member clubs.
Travel Information & Services
Contact your home club to inquire about access to AAA online travel tools, including TripTik® Travel Planner which includes digital maps, personalized itineraries and all the content of AAA's TourBooks®, as well as car and hotel reservations.
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In order to receive AAA discounts, international club members must also present a valid home club membership card.
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- Camping Cards International
- Passport information and guidelines
- Benefits for International Automobile Club Members Traveling to the United States
- Benefits for AAA Members Traveling Overseas
If you need additional information, please contact AAA International Relations
AAA (the American Automobile Association, Inc.) is a federation of affiliated automobile clubs. Each AAA club is an independent, not-for-profit organization, chartered and incorporated in its own state and controlled by its own Board of Directors. In order to be affiliated with AAA, each club agrees to provide certain standard services to its own members, as well as members of other AAA clubs. The individual club owns the territory in which it resides, and membership is based on residence. Exact dues and services will vary slightly between clubs.


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Dr. Grant Stevens is the founder and Medical Director of Marina Plastic Surgery and The Institute; A Medical Spa in Marina Del Rey, California, as well as Medical Director of Orange Twist Brands, offering multi-location non-invasive and minimally invasive aesthetic treatments. He is also the Chairman of the USC-Marina Aesthetic Surgery Fellowship and the Director of the USC Division of Aesthetic Surgery. He has been elected by his peers into the "The Guide to Top Doctors" and Castle Connolly's "Top Doctor Guide" recognizing him as one of the best plastic surgeons in America, and is one of the select few to be featured in "Plastic Surgery: The World's Top Surgeons & Clinics." Dr. Stevens is an active member at Marina Del Rey Hospital, where he is the past Chairman of the Department of Surgery, the Chairman of the Liposuction Committee, and the Medical Director of The Breast Center. He is also on staff at St. John's Medical Center, the Marina Outpatient Surgery Center and USC.
Dr. Stevens graduated with honors from Washington University Medical School in St. Louis where he was awarded the Senior Prize in Surgery. He completed his general surgery training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, then returned to Washington University-Barnes Hospital where he completed a Fellowship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with Dr. Paul Weeks, Dr. Leroy Young, Dr. Tom Mustoe, Dr. Jeffrey Marsh, and Dr. R. Christie Wray. He is a board-certified Diplomate of the American Board of Plastic Surgery, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the International College of Surgeons. He was appointed by the governor of California to the Medical Board of California Medical Quality Review Board. Dr. Stevens is an ASAPS Traveling Professor and has been an invited visiting professor at numerous U.S. and international universities.
Dr. Stevens is on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is Chairman of the Media Relations Committee and the Exhibits Committee. He is an active member of the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ISAPS) and he is on the Board of Directors and one of the International Traveling Professors.
Dr. Stevens has authored more than 60 articles and chapters on aesthetic plastic surgery. He recently completed a chapter on mastopexy and mastopexy augmentation in Grabb and Smith. He has also lectured at numerous International, National and Regional meetings. Dr. Stevens is a member of many medical societies, including the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the International College of Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the American Society for Laser Medicine & Surgery.
Dr. Stevens is the past Chairman of the California Medical Association Advisory Panel on Plastic Surgery. He received the California State Assembly and the California State Senate Certificate of Recognition. He has also received the Special Congressional Certificate of Recognition and the Distinguished Service Citation from the Medical Board of California.
He has been interviewed for articles that have appeared in USA Today, People, The Wall Street Journal, Beauty, Forbes, Glamour, Vogue, Allure, Cosmetic Surgery Times, Business Week, Men's Fitness, LA Times Magazine, Longevity, Cooking Light, Discovery, and numerous newspapers. He has appeared on over 125 television programs including CNN, Discovery, 60 Minutes, MSNBC, The Learning Channel, Sonia Live, Leeza, Nightline, CBS News, 24 Hours, Extra, Hard Copy, American Journal, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Lifetime – New Attitudes, PBS Nightly Business Report and many other TV and radio interviews.
Find Dr. Stevens on Google +


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It was made by Momika21 on Ravelry and here's a link to her project page. Monica gave me permission to share the blanket with all of you as I thought it was such a clever idea. Wouldn't this be a great baby gift paired with a dog themed book? Goodness knows there are enough out there to choose from! Obviously, the puppy dog pattern is mine, but here's a link to the free dog bone pattern, in case any of you would like it: Doggone Washcloth. Thank you Monika for sharing such a sweet project!
Have a happy and safe New Year!


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Fluorite Calcite Mini Planter
Tal and Bert geode planters can be used to hold air plants, succulents, candles or anything else. We use a hollow breakage in the design to create a geode from raw natural stones that we have self mined. Each geode shape and size will slightly vary from planter to planter. We edge the geode area in liquid gold to create a stunning look. There is a drainage hole at bottom of the planter. Size: Outside - 3.2" (w) x 1.6" (h). Inside - 2.6" (w) x 1.25" (h).


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Warning Visions
7 aThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, bhe was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
"O Lord God, please forgive!
cHow can Jacob stand?
He is so small!"
3 dThe Lord relented concerning this:
"It shall not be," said the Lord.
4 aThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling efor a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
"O Lord God, please cease!
cHow can Jacob stand?
He is so small!"
6 dThe Lord relented concerning this:
"This also shall not be," said the Lord God.
7 aThis is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with fa plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, g"Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,
"Behold, I am setting fa plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
gI will never again pass by them;
9 hthe high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against ithe house of Jeroboam with the sword."
Amos Accused
10 Then Amaziah jthe priest of Bethel sent to kJeroboam king of Israel, saying, "Amos has lconspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
"'Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and mIsrael must go into exile
away from his land.'"
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, n"O seer, go, flee away oto the land of Judah, and peat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but qnever again prophesy at Bethel, for rit is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom."
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, s"I was1 no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but tI was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 uBut the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.' 16 vNow therefore hear the word of the Lord.
"You say, n'Do not prophesy against Israel,
17 yTherefore thus says the Lord:
"'Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land zshall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and mIsrael shall surely go into exile away from its land.'"
The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning
8 aThis is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, b"Amos, what do you see?" And I said, c"A basket of summer fruit." Then the Lord said to me,
d"The end1 has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them.
3 eThe songs of the temple2 fshall become wailings3 in that day,"
declares the Lord God.
g"So many dead bodies!"
"They are thrown everywhere!"
4 Hear this, iyou who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, "When will jthe new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And kthe Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make lthe ephah small and the shekel4 great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for msilver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?"
7 The Lord has sworn by nthe pride of Jacob:
"Surely oI will never forget any of their deeds.
8 pShall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
qand all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about rand sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?"
9 "And on that day," declares the Lord God,
s"I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 tI will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation;
uI will bring sackcloth on every waist
uand baldness on every head;
vI will make it like the mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord God,
"when wI will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
xbut of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 xThey shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
ybut they shall not find it.
13 z"In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
shall afaint for thirst.
14 Those who swear by bthe Guilt of Samaria,
and say, 'As your god lives, O Dan,'
and, 'As cthe Way of dBeersheba lives,'
they shall fall, and never rise again."
The Destruction of Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing beside1 the altar, and he said:
e"Strike the capitals until ethe thresholds fshake,
gand shatter them on the heads of all the people;2
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
hnot one of them shall flee away;
not one of them shall escape.
2 i"If they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
iif they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves on jthe top of Carmel,
from there I will search them out and take them;
kand if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4 lAnd if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
mand I will fix my eyes upon them
for evil and not for good."
5 The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and nit melts,
and all who dwell in it mourn,
oand all of it rises like the Nile,
oand sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
6 pwho builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth;
qwho calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
rthe Lord is his name.
7 "Are you not like sthe Cushites to me,
O people of Israel?" declares the Lord.
t"Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and uthe Philistines from vCaphtor and the Syrians from wKir?
8 Behold, xthe eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
yexcept that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,"
declares the Lord.
9 "For behold, I will command,
zand shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, a'Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.'
The Restoration of Israel
11 "In that day bI will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 cthat they may possess the remnant of Edom
and dall the nations who are called by my name,"3
declares the Lord who does this.
13 "Behold, the days are coming," declares the Lord,
e"when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
fthe mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 gI will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and hthey shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
ithey shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 jI will plant them on their land,
kand they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land lthat I have given them,"
says the Lord your God.
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Edom Will Be Humbled
Thus says the Lord God aconcerning Edom:
bWe have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
"Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!"
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.1
3 cThe pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,2
in your lofty dwelling,
dwho say in your heart,
"Who will bring me down to the ground?"
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
5 If ethieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If egrape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 fHow Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
8 iWill I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of jMount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, kO Teman,
so that every man from jMount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
Edom's Violence Against Jacob
10 lBecause of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
mand you shall be cut off forever.
11 nOn the day that you stood aloof,
oon the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
pand cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 qBut do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
rdo not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
in the day of distress.
13 tDo not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
tdo not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
udo not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
14 vDo not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.
The Day of the Lord Is Near
15 For wthe day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
xAs you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 yFor as you have drunk on zmy holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 aBut in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
band the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 cThe house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau dstubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
eand there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
The Kingdom of the Lord
19 Those of fthe Negeb bshall possess gMount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess hthe land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of iSamaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as jZarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 kSaviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule gMount Esau,
and lthe kingdom shall be the Lord's.
Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord
1 Now the word of the Lord came to aJonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 "Arise, go to bNineveh, that cgreat city, and call out against it, dfor their evil1 has come up before me." 3 But Jonah erose to flee to fTarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to gJoppa and found a ship going to fTarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to fTarshish, haway from the presence of the Lord.
4 But ithe Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened jto break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and keach cried out to his god. And lthey hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, kcall out to your god! mPerhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea
7 And they said to one another, "Come, let us ncast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" 9 And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear othe Lord, the God of heaven, pwho made the sea and the dry land." 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that hhe was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, qfor I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard2 to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and rlay not on us innocent blood, sfor you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you." 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, tand the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, uand they offered a sacrifice to the Lord vand made vows.
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
17 3 And the Lord appointed4 a great fish to swallow up Jonah. wAnd Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.


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NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's Corp. is hoping a leadership shake-up for its U.S. business can help it warm up sales and fight off intensifying competition.
The world's biggest hamburger chain said Thursday that Jan Fields, president of McDonald's USA, will be replaced by Jeff Stratton, its global chief restaurant officer, effective Dec. 1. The announcement comes less than a week after the fast-food giant reported its first monthly sales drop in nearly a decade.
A McDonald's spokeswoman said CEO Don Thompson and Fields are long-time friends and that they discussed the need for a change at the top. A number of business factors played a role in the decision, but recent sales figures were not among them, said Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem, a McDonald's spokeswoman.
"When you look at the size and scope of McDonald's, there are numerous factors go into a decision like this," she said. "It's difficult to isolate factors."
After years of outperforming its rivals, McDonald's has struggled recently amid intensifying competition at home and a persistently weak economy abroad. In October, the company reported its first monthly sales decline since March 2003. In a recent conference call with analysts, Thompson said the company would return its focus on its Dollar Menu after efforts to shift customers to a slightly more expensive "Extra Value Menu" fell flat.
That emphasis on value is in contrast to rivals such as Wendy's and Burger King, which have been introducing more premium offerings. Taco Bell, known for its affordable Mexican-style fare, also introduced its higher-end Cantina Bell bowls earlier this year. The moves are widely seen as a reaction to the growing popularity of chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread Co., which offer better quality food for slightly higher prices.
The U.S. accounts for about a third of McDonald's total revenue, while Europe accounts for about 40 percent; the region encompassing Asia, the Middle East and Africa account for 22 percent. Thompson, who took over as CEO this summer, has also served as president of McDonald's USA.
Fields, 57, was named president of McDonald's USA in 2010 and started with the company as a crew member more than 35 years ago. McDonald's says Fields was behind major menu innovations, including the expansion of the specialty drinks menu that includes fruit-flavored "chillers" and gourmet coffees. She also revamped the Happy Meal last year to include apple slices and fewer French fries. And Fields spearheaded McDonald's decision in September to start posting calorie information on its menu boards, ahead of a new regulation that will require restaurant chains to do so.
As global chief restaurant officer, Stratton oversees operations, training and innovation. He also started as a crew member more than 40 years ago in Detroit, and previously served as chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA. Sa Shekhem said the transition to president of McDonald's USA, which is a promotion, should be seamless.
"A change in management doesn't signal a change in strategy," she said.
McDonald's has more than 34,000 locations around the world, with about 14,000 in the U.S.
McDonald's shares slipped 57 cents to close at $84.05 Thursday, after dropping earlier in the session to a low of $83.61, its lowest level since August 2011. The stock traded as high as $102.22 in January, and is down 16 percent since the start of the year.


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East Stroudsburg, PA
Experience the beauty of Pocono Mountains golf with affordable rates and excellent playing conditions. Country Club of the Poconos Golf Course is 18-Holes of Championship Golf at its finest, completely open to the public. Great location, perfect weather, satisfying long days and a golf experience that rewards golfers of all skill levels.
Country Club of the Poconos Golf Course, owned by Middle Smithfield Township in Marshalls Creek, Pennsylvania, is definitely one of the best places in golf to enjoy nature at its finest. But it also offers you some great golfing adventures that demand your attention: wetlands to carry; hills to climb; elevated greens and strategically placed sand traps, to name a few. Set against the Allegheny Plateau and the Pocono Mountain foothills, Country Club of the Poconos' picturesque scenery and impeccable conditioning provide a unique golf experience.
Open to the public, Country Club of the Poconos welcomes all golfers to enjoy the experience you would normally find only at a private members only course.
We are committed to providing the best possible golf experience in Northeast Pennsylvania. Call the course today with any questions that our website might not provide.
Click the following links for customer reviews on Yelp and Golf Now!


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Love them or hate them. Take them or leave them. The truth still stands—using coupons can save you a lot of money…if you know how to use them correctly.
Let's face it: No one wants to spend hours clipping coupons just to save a couple of bucks. But if it's done right, couponing shouldn't take more than an hour a week of your time–and it could save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year. At least that's what couponing looks like for Andrea Deckard, author of SavingsLifestyle.com. She saved $6,500 in her first year of couponing—and she's willing to share her secrets.
What's the Best Way to Start?
Deckard points out that printable coupon sites, like CouponNetwork, are particularly convenient for grocery coupons, along with newspapers. "I encourage people to subscribe to the newspaper," she says, "because if you purchase one in-store, you may not receive the same coupons, and a weekly subscription tends to be cheaper than subscribing to just the Sunday edition." For online shopping, she likes Savings.com, which constantly updates coupon offers for hundreds of retailers.
Andrea also advises looking at your spending over the past three months. Set a small goal to reduce your expenses by 10 to 20% in three months, and aim to spend no more than one hour searching for coupons each week. "In the beginning, it could take a little longer to scope out where the good deals are for your favorite stores," she says, "but setting a goal for one hour, once you figure that out, is realistic."
After three months, challenge yourself to spend 10% less, and continue to set small challenges for yourself in this way until you reach your desired savings. According to Deckard, focused efforts could realistically save 50 to 75% on your grocery bill. "Whatever you do, don't compare yourself to others," she adds. "Your family's situation is unique, and your goals will likely be different. Make only small changes that you can stick with for the long haul."
5 Fool-Proof Tips for Successful Couponing
Before acting on the below five steps, start with Andrea's rule for beginners: If a store doesn't have a minimum of five sale items that you need, don't bother going. You'll waste both time and gas money if you're driving around to different stores for just one or two items.
Get Organized
Whether you clip and sort coupons in a binder or file them all by store into separate folders, experiment with different methods that will help you save time both when searching at home ("Hey, I already have a coupon for mustard!") and when you're in the store.
Focus on One Store to Start
If you purchase most of your cleaning supplies at Target, for example, begin your coupon search there. You'll be less overwhelmed this way, and you'll gain confidence as you start to see how much you're saving on the things that your family needs. When you feel you've conquered one store, you can branch out to other places that you frequent.
Clip Based on Need
Figure out what exactly you'll be shopping for and base your coupon search on those items only. So if you're heading to Shop Rite for three dinners that you plan to make, focus your coupon search for items on your "to buy" list, and ignore everything else.
Stockpile to Save Even More
Once you've gotten the hang of general couponing for a purpose, you can start stockpiling purchases for your favorite non-perishable items, like rice, pasta and coffee. To do this, keep a running list of the items that are in constant rotation in your house, and update the inventory each week so you'll always know what's running low. This way, when you come across that 15% coupon savings on pasta sauce, you'll know if you need to use it or not. Not only will you be stocked up on things that you'll actually use, but you'll also have gotten it all for a great price.
Learn the Drugstore Rules
Shopping at stores like CVS, Walgreens and Rite Aid can take more time to master, since they each have their own reward system. So read all the fine print on their coupons, and when you do find a store that you believe offers the best rewards, do the majority of your shopping there to get the most savings. (And check out this comparison of online drugstores for even more saving advice.)
The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Coupons | LearnVest
Cheryl Lock has been writing and editing for six years now, and has covered topics including travel, politics, health, food, literature, and more. It was at her last gig as assistant editor at Parents magazine working on money stories that she realized her passion for helping parents navigate family life while still saving some cash.Cheryl has a savings account specifically for home goods, because it's really important for her to love her home environment. She's never sorry when she spends money on something that makes her place feel more inviting! Follow Cheryl Lock on Twitter: @cmlock42.
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