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From MdsWiki
As I (email@example.com) was setting up an MDSplus server on OSX, I ran into differences between what I needed for OSX and the mostly well known recipes for LINUX. This document is primarily about the differences (mostly paths and different implementation of xinetd). This document includes extra information, with some redundant explanations where I thought some redundancy would reduce the confusion on first reading, assembled in one place, about OSX server peccadillos. All this took some rooting around to figure out.
Most other generic MDS information that is not specific to OSX (tree structure, setting up trees, subtrees, networked daemons for processing data, etc) is omitted. Maybe the next iteration.
UNIX script text is a different font (italics) than the narrative text, or in the yellow boxes. We post everything with the caveat that you use it at your own risk.
Get a compiled MDSplus server for OSX
OSX 10.5.8 and earlier
The following is predicated on using Darren Garnier's mdsplus-2.0.1-macosx-universal build, which you can get from him with a query <email@example.com>. There are several newer distributions from Darren, but they all posed problems with Traverser, due I surmise to Java libraries, Motif libraries, 64 bit compatibility. We think these problems disappear with OS10.6. I have tested this stuff on my machine using OS10.5.7, Intel MacBookPro, CoreDuo 32bit.
OSX 10.6.3 and earlier
I have tested mdsplus-2.2-4-universal-10.5 on SnowLeopard 10.6.3, and it seems to work OK. 64bit libraries are included, so that for example IDL calls in TCL and 64 bit mode dont choke.
OSX 10.6.7 and later
There is a new distro for OSX at, which seems to work for 10.6.7, 10.6.8, 10.7.4 so far. I installed the version named (Oct 14, 2012 MDSplus-4-0-14-osx.pkg). Thank you to whoever you are that is developing this. It can be found at
as of 2012Oct17, I found one error in the
where it looks for
but instead should look for
This error prevents the server from being contacted remotely. You will have to edit (as sudo) one argument in the plist to fix this.
You may have to 1) unload and reload launchctl (see below) 2) force the 64 bit Java to load first, using the Java Preferences application utility.
OSX 10.8.3 and later
The more recent distros of MDSPlus install seem to install everything you will need except the file /etc/mdsip.hosts
Last installation I tried is MDSplus-5-1-4-osx.pkg on OSX 10.8.5 which seems to work OK.
This MDS wiki webpage has a lot of useful information
It tells you where on the web to find the following which must be installed:
- OpenMotif
- XCode Command Line Tools
- FreeTDS
- Xquartz - OS-X 10.8
- Java Run Time (JRT) once from Oracle and once from Apple.
General information about MDSplus
Information about MDSplus is available at [1], although documentation is not always complete. A very useful TechX website with MDSplus server install information exists for generic (I think mostly LINUX, but this link seems to have vanished 2010jan5) servers at [2]
update 2013-01-11
bug in the latest mdsplus release for osx. This prevents one from connecting locally to the local server. Connection works ok from local server looking at other remote servers, but not for localhost.
Created Package Info Jan 10, 2013 MDSplus-5-0-2-osx.pkg
here is the error log message
Fri Jan 11 13:44:04 2013 (0) (pid 6725) Connection received from email@example.com [184.108.40.206] Unable to open hostfile one: /usr/local/mdsplus/local/mdsip.hosts
PROBLEM: mds is searching and failing to find the file - /usr/local/mdsplus/local/mdsip.hosts
FIX: I copied the mdsip.hosts filefrom - /usr/local/mdsplus/etc to this local subdirectory
Set up the server
Set up the DAEMON
add a log directory:
cd /usr/local/mdsplus mkdir logs
Set permissions - Owner, group and world are the 3 categories of user for which you set permissions. {read = 22 , write=21, execute=20} correspond to the three flavors of permissions. For example: owner=rwx (7), group=rx (5), world=rx (5) permissions should be set for the log directory
chmod 755 logs
You can add the following line to /usr/local/mdsplus/etc/mdsip.hosts
*@*.excessive_technology.com | nobody
where you replace exessive_technology.com with the domain that you want to serve. Or leave the following 3 lines untouched
/O=Grid/O=National Fusion Collaboratory/OU=MIT/CN=Thomas W. firstname.lastname@example.com | twf * | MAP_TO_LOCAL * | nobody
There is a daemon script (/usr/local/mdsplus/bin/mdsipd), that runs OK as is.
NOTE: the setup.sh script requires that it runs from the top mdsplus directory, so one should cd to that directory first.
Add data trees
Copy or put data tree files into (for example) /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files, making certain that the individual shot files have 755 (-rwxr-xr-x) permissions. For example, if you start with shot 00001 for the tree named this_expt, then the full file paths would read:
/usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files/this_expt_00001.tree /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files/this_expt_00001.datafile /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files/this_expt_00001.characteristics
The syntax for files inside the tree is tree_name_shotnumber.*. The file /usr/local/mdsplus/etc/envsyms tells the server which directory to look inside of for the data in the tree. The "tree_name" for this example data set will then be this_expt. You can have several trees corresponding to several experiments if you wish.
Define path to your trees
You can put the tree(s) anywhere you want, but you must tell MDSplus where to look for them. Edit this file
And for this example path, /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files, append the following line(s) to the end
this_expt_path /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files >;
Paths that are no longer needed or temporary can be commented out
#this_expt_path /usr/local/mdsplus/expt_data_files >;
Set up ownership and permissions for tree files
You may wish to declare a new group, for example mds_admin that has read and write permission, and everyone else with only read permissions. This can be done with chown commands. Lately, groups are declared in the System Preferences, by adding a 'user' that you can declare to be a group, then add members to it.
fix up your .bash_profile file.
I use these commands for bash:
echo "Adding MDSplus path and variables" source /usr/local/mdsplus/setup.sh
Configure network services (this would be XINETD in LINUX)
However in OSX, xinetd is launched by launchd, with a utility called launchctl, which has an XML plist with parameters. The manual pages for launchd.plist and launchctl have a lot of information (more than you want to know) about this. Files that control launchd are
The mdsip.hosts file is site specific. It lets you control who can connect and what account a remote connect uses to access the data. The /etc/mdsip.hosts location was used on linux based platforms for many years, and also on OSX. Note that this is an absolute path, NOT relative to $MDSPLUS_DIR/, i.e. you must copy from $MDSPLUS_DIR/etc/mdsip.hosts or /usr/local/mdsplus/etc/mdsip.hosts to /etc/mdsip.hosts.
The 2.2.4 install package will automatically write the file /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist . The functionality of the various launchd files depends on where you put them, as outlined below. Otherwise you will have to write this file yourself. Later builds of MDSPlus installs for OSX take care of this for you.
/Library/LaunchAgents Per-user agents provided by the administrator. ~/Library/LaunchAgents Per-user agents provided by the user. /Library/LaunchDaemons System-wide daemons provided by the administrator. /System/Library/LaunchAgents Per-user agents provided by Mac OS X. /System/Library/LaunchDaemons System-wide daemons provided by Mac OS X.
The MDSPlus download page has a lot of useful information that is more current ... http://www.mdsplus.org/index.php/Latest_Macintosh_Distributions
launchd requires a plist
information from launchd.plist(5) BSD File Formats Manual, for OS10.6
NAME launchd.plist -- System wide and per-user daemon/agent configuration files DESCRIPTION This document details the parameters that can be given to an XML property list that can be loaded into launchd with launchctl.
Keys can be used to describe the configuration details of your daemon or agent. Property lists are Apple's standard configuration file format. Please see plist(5) for more information. Please note: property list files are expected to have their name end in ".plist". Also please note that it is the expected convention for launchd property list files to be named <Label>.plist. Thus, if your job label is "com.apple.sshd", your plist file should be named "com.apple.sshd.plist".
The following file is a plist (/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist) that seems to work. The plist provides the arguments $1, $2, and could provide optional arguments $3, $4 that are inputs to the shell script
which invokes the binary
Thanks to Darren Garnier email@example.com for the xml plist. NOTE -- this is different from LINUX, where internet daemons and xinetd are controlled from the file /etc/xinetd.d/mdsip
######### XML PLIST BELOW ################### <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"> <plist version="1.0"> <dict> <key>Label</key> <string>org.mdsplus.mdsipd</string> <key>ProgramArguments</key> <array> <string>/usr/local/mdsplus/bin/mdsipd</string> <string>8000</string> <string>/var/log/mdsplus</string> </array> <key>Sockets</key> <dict> <key>Listeners</key> <dict> <key>Bonjour</key> <string>mdsipd</string> <key>SockServiceName</key> <string>8000</string> </dict> </dict> <key>inetdCompatibility</key> <dict> <key>Wait</key> <false/> </dict> </dict> </plist> ############################
Do not forget to delete the hashmarks above, since these are evidently valid comment symbols for xml.
This is for a "one server per connection", and seems to work with "Wait = false" not "true". This XML list advertises the server on Bonjour. Not that anyone has written Bonjour (ZeroConf, Avahi) browser for MDSplus servers...
Load and unload launchd, launchctl
You will need to run:
sudo launchctl load -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist
Or, to unload (and later reload after you change something)
sudo launchctl unload -w /Library/LaunchDaemons/org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist
The sudo command will request a sudo or root password.
File permissions and extended attributes
Apple file system sometimes uses "extended attributes". If you have downloaded the plist from the web, and/or written it with for instance BBEdit, there will be additional file attributes, signified by an appended "@" sign. Check using ls -l on your directory. If so, the launchctl command thinks that the ownership of the plist is ambiguous.
%%%% example %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
intrator$ ls -l org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist -rw-r--r--@ 1 intrator admin 660 Sep 26 09:17 org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist
use the xattr command to list the other "extended attributes".
intrator$ xattr -l org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist com.apple.FinderInfo: 0000 54 45 58 54 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 TEXT............ 0010 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
Remove the extended attributes with command xattr,
intrator$ xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo org.mdsplus.mdsipd.plist
and check with ls -l to see if the extended attributes have disappeared. %%%%%%
Network name of the local server
The name of your local machine is localhost 8000. The default port for MDSplus is 8000. You can test the server in IDL, or using ssh, or telnet.
Test the server
Through OS 10.5.x
Retrieve data sets: example in IDL, using the proper syntax (note the single quote locations).
IDL> mdsconnect, 'localhost' % Compiled module: MDSCONNECT. % Compiled module: MDSDISCONNECT. IDL> mdsopen, 'frxl', 6257 % Compiled module: MDSOPEN. % Compiled module: MDSVALUE. % Compiled module: MDSCHECKARG. % Compiled module: MDSISCLIENT. IDL> data = mdsvalue('dim_of(\THETA_ROGOWS)') IDL> time = mdsvalue('dim_of(\THETA_ROGOWS)')
caveat for SnowLeopard users 10.6.x and build 2.2.4
Note also that the mdsconnect, 'localhost' is not supposed to work, according the mavens, because the localhost does not actually establish an IP connection. It seems to work for builds 2.0 installed on Leopard 10.5.x, but on the other hand does not work for build 2.2.4 installed on SnowLeopard. The fix is to append a line in your .bash_profile file in the home directory, that defines the path to whichever tree you wish to look at. For example, for the tree mtf_data, I might use something like
export mtf_data_path="/AFRL_frchx_data_trees/MDS_FRCHX_data"
Then skip the mdsconnect command, and inside IDL, use directly the mdsopen command
latest build for OSX 10.8.3 tested and works OK
Created Package Info Jul 15, 2013 MDSplus-5-0-21-osx.pkg
jTraverser or better yet Traverser allows one to look at tree structure:
jTraverser seems to work on Garnier mdsplus-2.0.1-macosx-universal build example input for FRXL data (FRXL is one LANL experiment)
menu -- file input --- tree -------------- frxl (note, no need for quotes on the tree name) input --- shot -------------- 3903
I have not yet figured out how to get the server to serve jTraverser to a remote machine.
Traverser has problems with OSX
Traverser complains about missing dyld. For example the error messages I get are:
zenith:~ intrator$ traverser dyld: Library not loaded: /opt/local/lib/libMrm.4.dylib Referenced from: /usr/local/mdsplus/bin/traverser Reason: image not found Trace/BPT trap
Supposedly installation of Motif will allow traverser to work. I am sure it is simple, but have not yet figured out the right build and compile sequence. There are several newer distributions from Darren, but they all posed problems with Traverser (Java libraries, Motif libraries, 64 bit compatibility, problems which I think disappear with OS10.6). Might need 64 bit hardware (later Apple Intel laptops after CoreDuo, most Intel G5).
Use jScope to look at the data.
java memory
Sometimes large jScope displays consume lots of memory. I dont think this is just an OSX issue. One obscure improvement for the Java entails increasing the memory allocation to 512MB or more. The file is
Here is an example file
#!/bin/sh #! #! display MDSplus javascope # java=`which java` if ( uname -p | grep 64 > /dev/null ) then if (file -L $java } grep 64i-bit > /dev/null ) then lib=lib64 else lib=lib32 fi else lib=lib fi env \ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH:$MDSPLUS_DIR/${lib} \ SHLIB_PATH=$SHLIB_PATH:$MDSPLUS_DIR/${lib} \ DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=$DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH:$MDSPLUS_DIR/${lib} \ CLASSPATH=$HOME:$MDSPLUS_DIR/java/classes/jScope.jar:$MDSPLUS_DIR/java/classes \ $java -Xmx512M jScope $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7
Increase memory to 512MB by editing the last line in this file to read:
$java -Xmx512M jScope $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7
I dont know if even larger memory helps much. You may need to fiddle with the file permissions prior to editing.
editing the signals
To edit signals
- use the expand expression button
- right click to 'set up data source'
- look in the signals list
- highlight 'Select this item to add new expression' line
- write in what you wish in Y or X, or other fillable field in the form
- hit return, and the entry should show up in the signals list
- multiple signals
- shot sequence can be specified in jScope shot window, eg
- 2009082709:2009082712 should yield 4 shots, with sequenced colors
- [2009082709,2009082711] should yield 2 shots, with sequenced colors
- shot sequence can be specified in jScope shot window, eg
To delete a signal,
- highlight 'Select this item to add new expression' line
- use control-delete, not delete as per jScope documentation
IDL and TCL issues
TCL commands can be accessed via IDL. For example
idl> mdstcl, 'set tree test_tree/shot=4'
will open test_tree for viewing but not for edit, shot 4.
Some of the MDS plus builds are for 32 bit architecture, and IDL will launch by default into 64 bit mode, for DualCore and later Apple machines (ie these are 64bit cpu's). If you get error messages, then try launching idl in 32bit mode:
intrator$ idl -32
You can find out the architecture of MDSPlus with following command in the terminal:
file /usr/local/mdsplus/lib/libMdsLibIdl.so
If you have the universal build, you will see something like: /usr/local/mdsplus/lib/libMdsLibIdl.so: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures /usr/local/mdsplus/lib/libMdsLibIdl.so (for architecture i386): Mach-O bundle i386 /usr/local/mdsplus/lib/libMdsLibIdl.so (for architecture ppc): Mach-O bundle ppc
If problems arise open up Console application (inside utilities folder) and look at the mdsplus logs. There should be files:
/private/var/log/mdsplus/access /private/var/log/mdsplus/errors


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LAS VEGAS— The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) today announced an agreement to co-locate the International Builders' Show (IBS) and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas beginning in February 2014.
The two events will remain separate and distinct shows held simultaneously at the Las Vegas Convention Center through 2016, creating Design and Construction Week, one of the world's largest gatherings focused on new ideas, products and technologies to design, build and remodel homes.
"This new format allows exhibitors to reach a full range of design and construction professionals who buy, specify and influence the products that go into American homes," said NAHB Chairman Barry Rutenberg, a home builder from Gainesville, Fla. "For attendees, it means access to two expansive trade show floors and hundreds of additional suppliers to meet."
"Two shows, two associations and one place to see and connect with every aspect of residential construction and remodeling," said John Morgan, NKBA 2013 president and president of Morgan Pinnacle, a manufacturer's representative for cabinetry and technology brands. "We couldn't be more excited to deliver this special event for the industry."
The new mega-event will be held Feb. 4-6, 2014 in Las Vegas, with each show occupying a separate hall. Kitchen and bath brands that have participated in both shows can choose to exhibit in the KBIS or IBS hall. One pass will provide access to both exhibits. NKBA and NAHB will continue to produce separate educational programming and special events. Future show dates are Jan. 20-22, 2015, and Jan. 19-21, 2016, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Design and Construction Week 2014 is expected to draw more than 75,000 specifiers, builders, dealers and suppliers and 2,000 exhibiting brands, based on recent trends for both shows.
IBS is the largest annual light construction show in the world with 50,000 attendees expected at the 2013 show. Builders, remodelers, developers, architects and other industry professionals from more than 100 countries attend to see the latest products and services from nearly 1,000 exhibitors in more than 200 construction categories, attend dozens of cutting-edge education sessions, visit show homes featuring the latest trends and innovations and network with peers. Now in its 69th year, IBS is organized, produced and managed exclusively by NAHB.
Held annually for the last 49 years, KBIS is the largest event in North America focused on the kitchen and bath segment, attracting more than 700 exhibitors. The 2013 show, to be held in New Orleans, April 19-21, is expected to attract more than 20,000 buyers and specifiers from more than 50 countries, as well as 300 members of the media. Attendees include dealers, designers, architects, remodelers, wholesalers and custom builders. KBIS is owned by NKBA, sponsored by K+BB magazine and produced by Nielsen Expositions.
"Co-locating IBS and KBIS will enable kitchen and bath professionals to benefit through a greater understanding and familiarity with related products, such as windows, doors, flooring, and mechanical systems, all of which are critical to overall consumer satisfaction with project outcomes," Morgan said.
"Consumers are, indeed, the common ground between NAHB and NKBA," Rutenberg said. "Co-locating our shows and educational conferences brings together every segment of the industry to advance our collective professionalism and expertise in serving home owners."
In 2015, Design and Construction Week will expand further with the addition of SURFACES and StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas, Jan. 21-23 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. SURFACES is sponsored by the World Floor Covering Association and is the largest floor-covering industry event in North America for retailers, distributors, installers, designers and home builders. StonExpo/Marmomacc Americas is the only show in North America solely focused on the natural stone industry and is sponsored by the Marble Institute of America and the Natural Stone Council. Both events are produced by Hanley Wood. Shuttle buses will run between the convention centers to allow approximately 25,000 additional attendees to tour all three exhibits.
About the National Association of Home Builders
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is a Washington-based trade association representing more than 140,000 members involved in remodeling, home building, multifamily construction, property management, subcontracting, design, housing finance, building product manufacturing and other aspects of residential and light commercial construction. NAHB is affiliated with 800 state and local home builders associations around the country. NAHB's builder members will construct about 80 percent of the new housing units projected for this year. For more information, visit www.nahb.org.
About the National Kitchen & Bath Association and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show
The National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) is a nonprofit trade association that owns the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS). With nearly 60,000 members, the NKBA has educated and led the kitchen and bath industry since its founding in 1963. The mission of the NKBA is to enhance member success and excellence, promote professionalism and ethical business practices, and provide leadership and direction for the kitchen and bath industry worldwide. For more information, visit www.nkba.org or call 800-THE-NKBA (843-6522). For more information about KBIS, including exhibitor opportunities and attendee registration for 2013, visit www.kbis.com.
KBIS and NKBA are registered trademarks of the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tboy ft. Duncan Mighty – Monica
After a long year of some serious hard-work and strategic releases, Billionaire Minds Enterprise ace act-Tboy has chosen to end the year in style with this bar-raising fire tune called Monica and just like he promised, this one features the one and only Port-Harcourt first son Duncan Mighty.
On this upbeat and melody drenched high-life instrumental that is credited to a bad ass producer known as Fric P, TBoy goes first, trying to convince a certain Monica to freely give her love with promise ladened lyrics like "If I make you my wife, you no go regret".Duncan Mighty joins the party on the second verse, employing his signature bilingual approach and some popular high-life cuts that takes the jam to a befitting climax.
Crispily balanced by celebrity sound engineer Suka Sounds, this hit is quite friendly to the ears and suits more occasions than one. Monica will serve as both a club banger and a wedding anthem and we all know this is the working formula for a chart-ripping song.TBoy has already tapped super Director-Clarence Peters- to work on the visuals for Monica and it is expected to hit the airwaves in a few weeks. You can be the first to see it simply by linking up with TBoy on his interactive social media platforms - @TboyBME.
Lucky fans are also in for a mega treat as TBoy has cooked up a storm in terms of giveaways, just to show his appreciation for all the support and love throughout 2017.
Stream, buy or download Monica featuring Duncan Mighty from any digital music platform of your choice and be sure to share with friends.
Hot stories


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Entries with no category
Originally Posted by shadowstryke Yes you heard me I have plot coming along in garnet bay in chaos just off the pad if anyone wants to help me they can just message me and let me know your in game character so I can ad you to the list of people who can contribute when chaos gets back online
Originally Posted by shadowstryke Hello all. This guild is on chaos we have a wonderful leader Branon Escavar. Our guild is 33 strong now and still growing if anyone wants to join ask Branon Cracle Razonith or Skoola to join. We are currently inviting new members. If there is something you are curious about just ask Branon or Cracle. We hope that you come find any of us as we are one guild one family strong together.
Originally Posted by Cegaiel Ok, so upon Accepting (not completing) the quest called "Helian's Tomb: Eternal Rest", it displays a message, in main chat that you are now attuned to Helian's Tomb. But this is NOT true. Upon accepting the quest (you get a confirmation in main chat you are now attuned, but that is WRONG), if you go to Bristugo and go to the Dalimond Peninsula teleporter, it shows you are NOT attuned, even though the message in main chat suggested you were, previously. Upon completing ...
Originally Posted by Brusinger Hello, some of you may have seen my new ROP video Guides. if you liked the Guides and find them useful i am willing to make more video guides, such as, i plan on making AROP guides. if you would like to see a guide for other challenging quests or have ideas feel free to post them here.
Originally Posted by shadowstryke Sparkcal yawns and stands eager to start her old routine again. She had been asleep too long but still remembered her old friends. Spark was looking forward to seeing Alphiner again. The little black hatchling decided to go and hang out at new trismus.


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Commercial Heat Pump Services in Spartanburg
When your commercial property needs heat pump work, look no further than Reliable Heating And Air. We're the local heat pump experts with the skills, knowledge, and dedication it takes to meet all your commercial heat pump needs.
Contact us now at (864) 354-8448 to learn why clients all over Spartanburg and the surrounding area trust us to provide them with excellent commercial heat pump repair, maintenance, and installation.
Reliable Heating And Air's Commercial Heat Pump Repair Services
For reliable work that is built to last, you need the professionals. And when it comes to heat pump services, we're the professionals for the job. We're a dream team of highly skilled and trained heat pump technicians with the experience to handle just about anything related to commercial heat pumps. Whether it's heat pump replacement, maintenance, or something else, we put quality into everything we do, from the initial phone call to the post-work cleanup.
When you hire us, we promise to arrive on time with our top-notch tools and equipment. We'll complete our work in the agreed time frame, and check-in afterward to make sure you're satisfied. And of course, we don't leave without cleaning up after ourselves. Once we're through, you'll understand why we're known as one of the top local heat pump contracting companies.
Comprehensive Commercial Heat Pump Services
Our many years in the heat pump industry have taught us a lot. We've gained the skills, talent, and knowledge to handle just about any heat pump, and we're proud to offer a wide variety of service options for you to choose from. After all, what's more convenient than having all the excellent services your commercial property needs in one place?
Check out some of our most popular heat pump services:
- Maintenance
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Browse our website to see more of our hard work. Feel free to inquire about any services not listed here, or ask us about combining them.
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As a small business, we understand how important it is to save money whenever possible and be conscious of company spending. We believe that quality and value should go hand-in-hand, which is why we're dedicated to providing affordable commercial heat pump repair services.
When you use our services, you won't be hit with crazy fees or unnecessary surcharges—just fair, honest prices for professional work. Of course, rates can vary, which is why we encourage you to contact us for quotes and estimates on our services.
One thing is for sure—you won't find better work at more reasonable prices. Call now to inquire or to learn more.
Call Us for Reliable Heat Pump Installation in Spartanburg
Now that you know more about us and our great commercial heat pump work, it's time to take the next step. Call us now to speak to one of our staff representatives. From there, you'll receive more information, answers to your questions, and the opportunity to set up a consultation session.
It's time to give your commercial property the excellent work it needs. Call now!


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12/20/12 Let's Give Anima as Gift!
Animal Friends invites the public to give with their soul
- Animal Friends presents the first brand soap Anima and invite you to emphatic shopping
During pre-festive gifting we often forget that the point of festivities is empathy and spreading the message of peace and non-violence. Animals Friends invites the public to give to their loved ones this holiday by supporting the individuals and organizations that help the weak ones - those unable to help themselves because they have no power, those who depend on human empathy and those we often forget amidst glittering celebrations.
In order to contribute to a better and more positive world for all beings, Animal Friends has its own first brand soap before the days of gifting, and this thanks to a perennial collaboration with Sapunoteka, a Croatian craft that makes soap and cosmetics using natural plant ingredients.
The fragrant soap Anima, meaning the soul in Latin, made from olive oil, patchouli and lemongrass, is purely vegan and none of its ingredients have been tested on animals. Therefore it is an ideal gift for all the friends of animals, for all those who care about the people and the animals!
With its composition (olive oil, coconut oil, carrot juice, lemongrass and patchouli essential oils, cocoa) this handmade soap of domestic production offers a pleasant and fragrant experience, and during its production equal care was taken of ethical principles and quality.
For a minimal donation of only 15 kuna Anima soap can be ordered from our web catalog, at the Animal Friends office in Gajeva 47, Zagreb as well as Animals Friends info stalls that will be placed in Varsavska ulica by Trg Petra Preradovica in Zagreb on December 21, 22 and 24, 2012.
Soon you will be able to buy Anima soap from all Sapunoteka retail outlets, and Sapunoteka will gift 1 kuna from every sale as a donation to Animal Friends.
As well as the new Anima soap, Animal Friends also offer T-shirts, books, mugs and various other items that spread the message of empathy and support the work of the organization.
On the Croatian web page www.prijatelji-zivotinja.hr you can find the instructions for emphatic shopping, and information regarding all the ways you can save the animals by buying gifts.
By inviting everyone to gift Anima, with thanks for your support, Animal Friends wishes everyone peaceful and emphatic holidays.


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Prairie Coneflower
The prairie coneflower is a very beautiful member of the daisy family and is found nearly all across North America except Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Kentucky, Virginia and Northeastern United States and Canada and can be found in open prairies and along roadsides. Historically, it has been used as by Native Americans as a cold infusion to treat fever, as an emetic to induce vomiting, and even as an aid to wean nursing babies. The colors of the petals can vary from pure yellow to reddish-brown, or any variation of these colors. Historically, it has been used as by Native Americans as a cold infusion to treat fever, as an emetic to induce vomiting, and even as an aid to wean nursing babies. These were found growing in an open prairie in rural Cibola County in New Mexico, about an hour west of Albuquerque.
- Copyright
- ©2017
- Image Size
- 4912x7360 / 20.4MB
- www.leightonphotography.com
- Keywords
Angiosperms, Asteraceae, Asterales, Asterids, Cibola County, El Morro, El Morro National Monument, Eudicots, Mexican Hat, Mexican hat plant, National Monument, New Mexico, Plantae, Ratibida, Ratibida columnaris, Ratibida columnifera, Rudbeckia columnaris, Rudbeckia columnifera, beautiful, beauty, bloom, blooming, blooms, blossom, blossoms, botany, brown, bud, color, columnar prairie coneflower, cone flower, daisy, dicot, flora, flower, flowers, forb, fresh, green, herb, long headed coneflower, long-headed coneflower, native, natural, nature, orange, perennial, plant, plants, prairie coneflower, red, red-spike Mexican Hat, summer, thimbleflower, upright prairie coneflower, wild, wildflower, wildflowers, yellow
- Contained in galleries
- Asteraceae (Thistles, Asters and Daisies), Yellow Wildflowers


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Bringing America to Breaking Point
I heard someone say, "At least we don't have suicide bombers in America." Oh, yeah? I hate to break it to you but we sure do have suicide bombers in America. Ours are the ones using assault rifles to kill innocent people in movie theaters and places of worship. Ours are the ones shooting innocent people in shopping malls, in high schools and universities, in fast food restaurants, on military bases, and so many more places. Ours are the ones flying their small planes into IRS buildings or setting themselves on fire in front of a courthouse. Instead of strapping bombs to their bodies they use guns. Same effect, same outcome. There is no difference between the ones "over there" and the ones "over here".
Mass murder/suicides are carried out by people who have come to the end of their rope. Because they will not be heard and there is nothing else left for them, they decide to lash out at as many people as they can with horrific violence before taking themselves out with more horrific violence. Death by cops in a hail of bullets, death by their own hand, or death by bomb, they decide to make this crime their last living act.
These violent crimes do not happen accidentally. They are not mindless or spontaneous ideas carried out at the spur of the moment. Every incident is planned in advance. The plans are thoughtfully conceived, the dates and places chosen, the weapons and gear obtained all in advance. Specific reasons motivate each and every incident.
What is the usual reason behind suicide bombers? Their crimes are about injustice that has become unbearable, whether real or imagined or somewhere in between, and having no means to make that injustice stop. They feel they have to do something about it. In a mental process we can't understand, they come to decide to murder innocent people, perfect strangers, which of course makes no sense at all. What is achieved by killing people you don't even know who have never done anything to you and in all likeliness never would? What is the point?
Unfortunately, the bloviators of supposed public opinion end the story there, and we are all supposed to end the story there too. Judgment is swift and final. The perpetrators are condemned and branded as insane, as mindlessly violent, racist, extremist, driven by hate without reason, and are then written off as evil people beyond comprehension who deserve nothing from us but our deepest disdain. And then they are forgotten.
The problem is that isn't the end of the story, it is only halfway through the story. The other half, the half they refuse to acknowledge existence of, the half that we are not supposed to care to explore, is as legitimate as the first half. To pretend otherwise only makes things worse. Ignoring the other half of the story guarantees violent escalation and more and more killings. I fail to see much difference between the condemned and those who condemn them when, in the end, both will be directly responsible for the mass deaths of innocent people.
Yes, it is wrong for suicide bombers to kill people. No one can kill their way to happiness, peace or justice. That's just nonsense. Killing innocent people is evil. But there is another evil at play here, one that is perhaps responsible for creating mass murderers and suicide bombers in the first place. One that is responsible for keeping us in perpetual wars. One that has inflamed the whole of the Muslim world and caused America to be heaped with blame, shame and burning resentment. That evil must be realized and held equally responsible for the woes and harms it has always brought upon the world, and it always will. That evil is injustice, indifference to the suffering of others.
Acts of human violence have been with us for millennia. There is almost always a reason behind acts of violence whether those reasons are reasonable or not. Some people aren't very good at being fair minded so they harm others because of their basic selfish inability to see things from someone else's perspective. But if anyone wants to claim to be fair minded it is an absolute requirement to try in earnest to put ourselves in someone else's shoes long enough to be able to see their side of the story. If we fail to do that we are by default being unfair.
Justice is not possible when all involved are not considered. This is true in every situation where disagreement arises, and that includes the cases of American mass shooters and suicide bombers. It includes all criminal acts. If we cannot know the accused's side of the story then justice is not possible. It is impossible because we don't know the whole of the truth. How can there be justice when we don't have possession of the whole truth?
It is often the case that once we understand how others see things we can understand why they feel the way they do. It is not uncommon to realize that if we were in their position, we would feel the same way they do. This isn't always the case but it happens with sufficient regularity that to ignore it or to impugn the process and refuse to engage in it is indefensible. That is, if we care about being fair. At the very least we'll have heard the whole of the truth after which point we are in a much better position to judge things.
A serious complication is that some people are not interested in being fair. They really don't care about how others are affected by what they do. They want their way and will have it regardless of who it hurts. This is the evil we must learn to recognize and reject. That evil is the selfish indifference to other people's suffering, and there is no excuse for it. What legitimate excuse could there be?
When unfair people want their way it invariably causes problems. Why? Because it means that somebody is getting screwed so that somebody else can have something that is not theirs to have. The entire concept of controversial subjects boils down to somebody wanting to be unfair and get away with it. Whenever I hear of some new or old controversy rearing its ugly head I always ask myself one question, who is lying? Because somebody always is. That is what a controversy is. It is rarely about a disagreement between two legitimate sides, it is about one side being unfair against another and people taking sides over it. If fair minded people can see it for what it is the controversy can be put down before it has a chance to take hold. But if people are politically pressured or brainwashed to support the unfair side, the so-called controversy will be able to take root and when it does it will inevitably cause terrible upset because of the injustice it will perpetrate. Controversy is about condoning political injustice and little else.
Take a snapshot of American politics today, foreign and domestic, and you can't help but notice that this country is embroiled in endless controversies. America is at war with itself on numerous fronts and at war with country after country abroad. It never seems to end. To put it in a nutshell, there is a whole lot of political lying and injustice going on. And it's killing us. It's killing a whole lot of people.
We can keep on doing things this way because we think it's right in spite of everything falling apart around us, there's an oxymoron for you, or we can decide to break through the political barrier that makes us think that seeing the whole story is an act of evil. Clearly it is not. It is the only act of good available to every one of us. I say we break through the barrier and take a good hard look at what the other sides of the stories are, there are a lot of them to choose from. This post is about American suicide shooters. In order to break through the barrier we need only ask one question. "Why?"
Part 2: The Politicians
President Obama addressed the country after the Aurora movie theater shootings and the shootings just a few days later in the Oak Creek Sikh temple. While the media made hay framing the Sikh temple shootings as an act of racist hate, the president told America that it was time for some soul searching.
I couldn't agree more.
It is well past time to take a sober, naked look in the great American soul mirror. A top heavy number of millionaires in Congress an unelected billionaires buying their services seem to be long overdue for some well lit naked soul mirror time. Too many people living their lives in the first class luxury seats of making, persuading and buying American Policy have clearly never looked in a soul mirror, naked or otherwise. Quite a few seem instead to have walked straight through the looking glass to take up residence in a deviant fantasy world of their own creation, a world unaffected by the laws of nature governing the real and natural world the rest of us live in.
The worst ideologues, fanatics, felons and operatives would become predictably outraged at any suggestion that they too should step into the bright lights and strip down in front of the soul mirror. People like these are dangerous and despicable. They deny outright the existence of another side to any story they wish. No matter how indefensibly heinous and criminally compromised their wrong-minded rhetoric and behavior, they demand to be respected as perfected beings who are always right. Then too are the ones who always want more war, more state secrecy, less rights for Americans, and more heavily armed authorities pointing more guns at more people. These should definitely engage in more than a few seconds of self reflection, but they won't. None of the worst of these people care about anything but themselves, their profits, their status and their power.
If we really want to get some honest to God soul searching done, those are the people we need to start with. Why? Because it is down to these people how this country works. As you've probably noticed, such things are not up to you and me.
The trouble is none of these people want to be revealed under any bright lights. They want to be kept safely apart from the public they feed on and control for their own purposes. Who they are and what they do cannot withstand scrutiny, meaning they can't afford to let anyone hear anything but their own side of the story. Their worst enemy is the whole of the truth. Their doings cannot be defended, explained or excused in the real world on this side of the mirror. They know it too, perfectly well. They know they are responsible for the destruction of our economy, the endless years of senseless wars, the destruction of constitutional law, the destruction of our schools, the division of our people into for or against, haves and have nots and all of the injustice and damage that brings. They know full well that they are responsible for the utter demoralization of our people via the double standards and brutality they brought into being to replace the common sense, justice and legitimacy of our system. They know they are responsible for all of it and they're proud of what they've done. They know what they're doing is unjust, but they don't care that it's unjust. Which goes to prove that these people are not incompetent, they are evil.
Our perfectly good political process has been hijacked and taken over by highly driven scientists of control and deception. They are not invisible and they are not hiding. Their unwelcome presence from long ago has metastasized and grown so strong that like any cancer, it will take an incredible battle to remove them and stay alive in the process.
This system, their system, is catastrophic. It has failed us. We can expect to see more and more acts of violence and killing not because Americans have too many guns or because Americans are violent racist murderers, but because of our government's insane policies, insane dishonesty, and it's intransigent refusal to stop making our system into one that facilitates immoral acts of grotesque hypocrisy and injustice, criminal deal making, and brute force in support of the selfish quests of a powerful few. The lawmakers' "money first" corporate mentality sees the 1% as their clientele and bends over backwards for them, using our money and our lives to service them. There must be something in it for them, but I have no idea what is worth such a terrible price.
I ask you, what are the odds of any of these people doing any soul searching? The odds are zero for the simple reason that they have no souls. Those who have no souls cannot search them.
The dark idiots (D.I.) responsible for the critical meltdown of justice, human dignity and hope that is spiraling our people into a black hole of devastation, that is pushing people beyond their limits, that is slamming the doors of reason, logic and fairness into the faces of hundreds of millions of people, they understand perfectly well what they are doing. The intentions of certain powerful people have been laid out in plain words for decades, they weren't hidden. None of what we are going through now comes as a surprise to those who are forcing millions of people down on their knees into poverty and hopelessness. The D.I. understand full well that injustice makes people angry. They know that treating people like dirt, that ignoring their valid complaints, that shutting people out of any chance at justice and prosperity, that showing people such revolting disrespect, that not caring as our nation bleeds out in front of the whole world, will definitely cause some people to take up arms and start killing.
Dark idiots worship power over all else. Do they honestly believe that a system comprised of the utter desecration of human decency will not have terrible repercussions? No, they don't believe that. They know full well that their unmitigated selfishness and bounties of aggression and deceit amount to making war against the people of America. They are working with full intent and knowledge to strip Americans of all of their wealth and prosperity, health and freedom in order to strip us of all power and ability to fight them. They are only able to accomplish this by doing away with justice. That's where buying off senators and congressmen comes in. For the right price, those who are there to represent us are happy to destroy us instead.
This destructive and self serving vision of the wealthiest few and its servants perpetrates injustice above all else. Injustice is the only means to grabbing hold of all that is not theirs to have. There is no other way to get it. How else could they get so much money and so much power other than through crime? No other way exists. These people are the physical embodiment of evil. They are completely indifferent to the suffering of hundreds of millions of people. They want us all dead. That is not a crazy conspiracy theory. It is the clear and visible result of what these people do. Every move they make makes millions of people weaker. It steals away health and life and eradicates human potential. This is the way they want it and they want it to stay their way forever. We are the enemy and they are doing everything in their power to undermine and eradicate us.
So how just is that?
Part 3: No Mystery
Is it really a surprise to anyone that America is being pushed beyond its breaking point? Can anyone really claim not to understand that to strip people of all dignity, all hope, and all prosperity is taking too much from humanity? Is that really confusing to anyone?
Is it really unacceptable that people who are insulted, denied, denigrated, lied to and manipulated, ignored, undermined, used, abused and deprived of a voice are going to get angry? Is it really too hard to understand that cutting people out of all chance of living peaceful and prosperous lives will make people very unhappy? Is it really too much to understand that people are inevitably going to stand up and come kick your ass for doing so much damage to them and to their children?
There is nothing confusing about it at all. And that is why the Department of Homeland Security just bought 450 million rounds of hollow point ammunition. And we were forced to pay for it. A lot like being forced to dig your own grave right before they shoot you in the back of the head and push you into it. Who the hell are these evil beings and why are they turning paradise into one great big filthy dirty concentration camp for all humanity? Why won't they just fuck off and leave us alone?
I don't know who they are and I don't know why they can't get a life of their own instead of taking so many other people's lives from them, but there they are anyway. For decades they have poisoned our minds through their filthy dirty media, taking all that is sacred and beautiful and natural and life affirming and sloshing it with buckets of pig shit and blood, and celebrating every moment of it. As they glorify and sanctify death they have stolen the souls of children who will grow up to carry on what amounts to worshiping cruelty and death and doing evil all in the name of self gratification. They are teaching our people to destroy, to have no respect for anything but power and money, and to not give a damn about justice. They are recreating themselves, training people to hate and fear others as well as themselves.
America is dying for lack of love and compassion, lack of respect, lack of generosity and a life affirming spirit.
And you want to know why we have people going crazy and shooting people in movie theaters? Really? It's just not all that mysterious.


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Raising Climate Action Superheroes
With our Great Barrier Reef, forests and waterways ravaged by climate change and pollution, kids need hope for the future.
How can children save our planet? … Without terrifying them?
Kids need eco-education and scientific knowledge to inspire and empower themselves to take positive action and become eco-superheroes. One […]


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The World Heritage Centre, in an effort to develop a more systematic approach to cooperation with our natural heritage conservation partners, and in order to explore closer collaboration on specific conservation matters, has called for a dedicated working meeting.
The objective of the meeting is to build on the gains made from several years of cooperation between the WHC and international conservation partners by:
1. Finalizing a project proposal focusing on applying the Convention on Biological Diversity's Programme of Work on Protected Areas in selected WH sites.
2. Establishing a common vision of NGO-WHC cooperation for the conservation of WH sites.
3. Identifying further potential joint conservation partner - WHC initiatives.
Participants include a broad range of conservation NGOs, conservation finance representatives, the IUCN, and various World Heritage State Party experts, along with other key organizations.


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The first novel from Xavier Axelson is set against a backdrop of decadence, privilege and intrigue. Virago, the royal tailor, makes a discovery that will test the bonds of brotherhood, unravel the forbidden secrets of his heart and threaten the very fabric of his existence.
In a land where cruelty is disguised as allegiance, loyalty is masked by obligation and the laws of sumptuary govern the people, nothing is more dangerous than Velvet
Type: Historical Erotica, M/M
Publisher: Seventh
Window Publications, ebook, 200 pages
Get Your Copy:
I'd been staring at the vast body of water surrounding the ship when I was startled to find a woman, heavy with child standing by my side. She wore a red gown that gathered beneath her ample breasts. The gown fell freely, billowing against her in the brisk sea air. Her red hair hung in two braids threaded with crimson leather. Upon turning her head, small red jewels, woven throughout her hair, caught the light.
"The sea is dark as the grave, and as good at keeping secrets."
"Who are you?" I asked. Since I'd boarded the ship the day before, I'd conversed only with Seton and my brother, Sylvain. I'd yet to earn my sea legs and everything seemed strange.
"I am Adis, wife of Doremme, the man whose ship you stand upon." She came closer. "Secrets are only as powerful as those who carry them and the sea is a perfect place to bury what haunts you."
"You talk as though you know me, and as I am a stranger on this ship, I know this cannot be." I was about to bow and take my leave when she laughed.
"Fear is not your way, tailor. You were the royal tailor of the king whose land we left, were you not?"
Were the royal tailor… Her words struck at my heart. I felt this truth so keenly that I gripped the ship railings to steady myself.
"I fear only those who know more of me than I wish, and while I am indebted to your husband for granting us passage, I am in no mood for games."
Though her laughter died, a smile lingered on her lips. "I mean you no harm, but you seem to have caught the interest of my child."
I looked at her swollen belly. "Your child?"
"This is my third and final." Her hands caressed her stomach. "She will be a visionary, and in her birth, I will
know death. Not unlike your mother. She bore your brother, who I am told is also a visionary. And blind. How fortunate. Those who are physically afflicted see further than those who aren't. Nature seldom curses without blessing at the same time."
This time I laughed. "Perhaps you should ask my brother if he thinks himself fortunate. Or better, summon my father from the grave. Ask if he wished his wife lived and his son had sight!"
After this outburst, we grew silent, but the woman did not leave my side.
I closed my eyes and swallowing hard, felt the pull of the stiff fabric scrap tied around my throat. The raucous shrieks of hungry gulls overhead made me look up into the sky. I watched as the birds swooped and mercilessly chased each other. I envied their flight, but cringed beneath their cries. Behind my eyes, I saw white peacocks, heard their shrieks, and felt the crawl of disease. I shuddered, shook my head of further memory, and let my eyes fall upon the distant horizon. Would I never know peace? Or would memories chase me like the gulls chase one another, endlessly hungry and insistent?
When Adis eventually spoke, these questions and memories faded away.
"True, your father suffered, but his gifts as a tailor delivered him from the grief of losing his wife and gave him the strength to care for a blind son."
The truth in her words, stirred long buried pain. While Sylvain's blind, tumultuous, and bloody welcoming into the world killed our mother, it also strengthened my father's resolve to care for us at any cost.
I know not what would have become of us without King Killian's demand for my meager abilities as a tailor. We would have been lost, we owe our king a great debt and service.
My father told this to me one day when I found him bleary eyed and exhausted at his work. I could remember the way his hands trembled, the nerves in his fingers twitching involuntarily as he struggled with buttonholes on a vest meant for Killian's nephew.
When his voice vanished, a bitter sadness rose in me as the sea's waves crashed against the ship.
"Say no more to me. If you were not mistress of this vessel I would think unkindly of you!"
Before she could reply, music, soft and familiar reached us. I knew the player of the tune, knew it because my heart leapt at its playing as it did the first time I'd heard it.
"Someone has leant Seton a lyre. How beautifully he plays, and how lucky his hands are healing. He is a man of passion and strength. It is no wonder you found love with him, as he with you." Adis placed a hand on my wrist. "I am no witch or visionary. My daughter beckons from my womb. I am but a vessel as is this ship.
She is my most precious cargo, and anxious to know life. You must forgive me if I have angered you. Her voice comes from my lips, so I am often unaware of what I say."
The music rose, fell away only to start again, and as it did, I examined the woman, and seeing her kind face, put a tired hand over hers. "There is nothing to forgive. I am the one speaking from another place."
"Your voice comes from the shores we have left behind. It would be wise to find a new sound to carry with you."
Beyond her I saw my brother sitting cross-legged, his fox playing in his lap. He seemed peaceful. "I keep staring into the sea hoping it will take the past from me, but it seems I may never know peace."
"In time, you shall. Nothing is forever, except the sea." Adis cast her eyes from my face to the expanse of water surrounding us. "She is our eternal mother and will listen to you forever."
Behind Adis's rather mystical analogy, I had a sobering thought. "There is so much uncertainty in the world. I wonder if I have done right. Perhaps I could have done better."
"You left a land soon to be riddled with illness. This alone made it the wisest decision for you all."
Her knowing so much of my life discomforted me. "Must everything be told in portents and omens? What of reality? What of truth?"
"Ahh truth. It is a funny thing and varied as the sunlight on the waves. I am a merchant's wife and have seen much in this world. Men who love men, women who love women, even a man who loved a woman he believed to have been transformed into a goat by the tree witches in the north! The world is wide and there are many lands with many kinds of people. You will see soon enough."
"I have not heard talk of the tree witches since I played at my mother's feet. Surely they no longer exist!" I replied, incredulously.
"I cannot say. Who can say if they exist or ever really did?" Adis said.
I sighed resignedly. "I have lived a small life in the court of a small king, and I carry the wounds of that life as sure as I carry the clothes on my back."
"It is not for me to say what you carry with you, but I can give you a piece of advice not from my daughter, but from my own lips: Stop trying to escape what haunts you, instead think long and hard about it. Every detail, every nightmare, dream and transgression. Leave nothing out. Do this until you have expelled the poison, and when there is no more, you will find yourself exactly where you are supposed to be."
With these words, Adis left me. I stood alone, listening to the sea, the sound of Seton's music, the distant cries of the squabbling gulls, and my eyes focused on the unknown horizon.
What led me to find myself on the water, destination unknown? The life I knew was gone, broken, and mercurial as the swirling foam frothing in the ships crushing wake.
I would tell myself the story, if only to steal a glimpse at the unknown ending.
How would my tale end? Beginnings are for children; fairy stories begin with "Once upon a time."
Once upon a time there was a tailor. He knew string, scissor, and pin. He did not know his heart.
My breath caught.
Oh, my heart. Once upon a time, there was a heart and it was not free…
I was a tailor.
No, it cannot begin this way.
My heart knew dangerous things, but now it was free and in it's new freedom I allowed it to teach me the way my story should begin and knew by wild instinct, if I followed it, I would know the ending, a true, and dare I hope, happy ending.
With no one to listen but the dark sea and the wheeling, crying gulls, I closed my eyes and let my thoughts move with the undulating water, its gentle rocking seeming to urge the release of my torment.
The castle, dark and glorious, loomed up in my memory…


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Check J3DILLA demo at https://fffff.at/J3DILLA/
In times of sudden, harsh and never-ending changes to ToS – with which we do not always agree at all (since da man usually don't even ask) – it is always a good idea to host our own data.
J3DILLA is a shell script that makes super easy and painless to generate a list of your .stl files and create pages for display each of them – so you can share them on your own terms.
* Download ZIP package (3.16MB)
* git it
The expressions published in this site are all in the public domain. You may enjoy, use, modify, snipe about and republish all F.A.T. media and technologies as you see fit.


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Is there a right way to do this? Evidently Simon, over at "Thinking Deeply" (I am not making this up) believes that there is and that I and others are doing it the wrong way because that is the title of his recent rant article against several Calvinist bloggers and readers of such blogs. I don't know Simon nor do I know what has provoked this kind of attack. My friend, Gene Bridges, alerted me to it. But having read it, I find it very sad.
For example, Simon writes,
Just like those at Monergism.com, the people at Founders Ministries display, consciously or not, their desire to be the Reformers. Their perspective is skewed in such a way, that they act as if they are living in the time of the Reformers. They react to Arminianism and Molinism today as if it were the Catholic Church of Luther's and Calvin's day. This spills over into their exegesis, especially of Paul's letters – as N.T. Wright has pointed out.
I have been whipped with many a lash but never with one manufactured by NT Wright! Given his (new) perspective, I think I will just bear it gladly.
Simon goes on to express his disgust over the announced debate between the Caners, James White and me. He misrepresents how it came to be and quotes some comments left on this blog about the debate. Then he concludes with this body-of-Christ-unifying crescendo:
The Caner brothers are converts from Islam. They debate Muslims, generally. I don't know for sure, but they seem to be on fire for God. But you know what .. none of that matters as much as this: They're human beings created in the image of God. Furthermore, they're brothers in an even more important family than the one they belong to by human blood. They're brothers with us in the family that is united by Christ's blood.
And we slay them.
And we slay all Arminians, and all people who disagree with us theologically.
We slay them with our words on the "Founders" blog. We slay them on Dr. White's radio show. We slay them on the "Alpha & Omega" web site. We slay them on the Calvinist Gadfly web site.
And we do it all in the name of God, and for His glory.
Good job guys.
You make me sick.
Much more could be said, but I refrain. Evan May over at Triablogue has sufficiently addressed the more egregious problems with Simon's statements by pointing out the obvious irony of his words and tone.
No one is above criticism. Certainly not me or any of those who comment on this blog. Sometimes we may need to be corrected for what we say or how we say it. The discovery of error is never a a license to quit loving. To the degree that Simon is trying to say that, I agree with him. But that message–if it is indeed what he is trying to communicate–has been lost in the histrionics. I find that sad. Very sad.


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C | Present Discounted Value
C | Present Discounted Value
The prices of stocks and bonds depend on future events. The price of a bond depends on the future payments that the bond is expected to make, including both payments of interest and the repayment of the face value of the bond. The price of a stock depends on the expected future profits earned by the firm. The concept of a present discounted value (PDV), which is defined as the amount you should be willing to pay in the present for a stream of expected future payments, can be used to calculate appropriate prices for stocks and bonds. To place a PDV on a future payment, think about what amount of money you would need to have in the present to equal a certain amount in the future. This calculation will require an interest rate. For example, if the interest rate is 10 percent, then a payment of $110 a year from now will have a PDV of $100—that is, you could take $100 in the present and have $110 in the future. We will first show how to apply the idea of PDV to a stock, and then we will show how to apply it to a bond.
Applying Present Discounted Value to a Stock
Consider the case of Babble, Inc., a company that offers speaking lessons. For the sake of simplicity, say that the founder of Babble is 63 years old and plans to retire in two years, at which point the company will be disbanded. The company is selling 200 shares of stock, and profits are expected to be $15 million right away in the present, $20 million one year from now, and $25 million two years from now. All profits will be paid out as dividends to shareholders as they occur. Given this information, what will an investor pay for a share of stock in this company?
A financial investor, thinking about what future payments are worth in the present, will need to choose an interest rate. This interest rate will reflect the rate of return on other available financial investment opportunities, which is the opportunity cost of investing financial capital, and also a risk premium; that is, using a higher interest rate than the rates available elsewhere if this investment appears especially risky. In this example, say that the financial investor decides that the appropriate interest rate to value these future payments is 15 percent.
Table C1 shows how to calculate the PDV of the future profits. For each time period, when a benefit is going to be received, apply the following formula:
Payments from Firm | Present Value |
$15 million in present | $15 million |
$20 million in one year | $20 million/(1 + 0.15)1 = $17.4 million |
$25 million in two years | $25 million/(1 + 0.15)2 = $18.9 million |
Total | $51.3 million |
Next, add up all the present values for the different time periods to get a final answer. The present value calculations ask what the amount in the future is worth in the present, given the 15 percent interest rate. Notice that a different PDV calculation needs to be done separately for amounts received at different times. Then, divide the PDV of the total profits by the number of shares, 200 in this case: 51.3 million/200 = 0.2565 million. The price per share should be about $256,500 per share.
Of course, in the real world, expected profits are a best guess, not a hard piece of data. Deciding which interest rate to apply for discounting to the present can be tricky. One needs to take into account both potential capital gains from the future sale of the stock and dividends that might be paid. Differences of opinion on these issues are exactly why some financial investors want to buy a stock that other people want to sell: They are more optimistic about its future prospects. Conceptually, however, it all comes down to what you are willing to pay in the present for a stream of benefits to be received in the future.
Applying Present Discounted Value to a Bond
A similar calculation works in the case of bonds. If the interest rate falls after a bond is issued, so that the investor has locked in a higher rate, then that bond will sell for more than its face value. Conversely, if the interest rate rises after a bond is issued, then the investor is locked into a lower rate, and the bond will sell for less than its face value. The present value calculation sharpens this intuition.
Think about a simple, two-year bond. It was issued for $3,000 at an interest rate of 8 percent. Thus, after the first year, the bond pays interest of $240 (which is $3,000 × 8 percent). At the end of the second year, the bond pays $240 in interest, plus the $3,000 in principle. Calculate how much this bond is worth in the present if the discount rate is 8 percent. Then, recalculate if interest rates rise and the applicable discount rate is 11 percent. To carry out these calculations, look at the stream of payments being received from the bond in the future and figure out what they are worth in PDV terms. The calculations applying the present value formula are shown in Table C2.
Stream of Payments (for the 8% interest rate) | Present Value (for the 8% interest rate) | Stream of Payments (for the 11% interest rate) | Present Value (for the 11% interest rate) |
$240 payment after one year | $240/(1 + 0.08)1 = $222.20 | $240 payment after one year | $240/(1 + 0.11)1 = $216.20 |
$3,240 payment after the second year | $3,240/(1 + 0.08)2 = $2,777.80 | $3,240 payment after the second year | $3,240/(1 + 0.11)2 = $2,629.60 |
Total | $3,000 | Total | $2,845.80 |
The first calculation shows that the present value of a $3,000 bond, issued at 8 percent, is just $3,000. After all, that is how much money the borrower is receiving. The calculation confirms that the present value is the same for the lender. The bond is moving money around in time, from those willing to save in the present to those who want to borrow in the present, but the present value of what is received by the borrower is identical to the present value of what will be repaid to the lender.
The second calculation shows what happens if the interest rate rises from 8 percent to 11 percent. The actual dollar payments in the first column, as determined by the 8 percent interest rate, do not change. However, the present value of those payments, now discounted at a higher interest rate, is lower. Even though the future dollar payments that the bond is receiving have not changed, a person who tries to sell the bond will find that the investment's value has fallen.
Again, real-world calculations are often more complex, in part because not only will the interest rate prevailing in the market change, but the riskiness of whether the borrower will repay the loan will change as well. In any case, the price of a bond is always the present value of a stream of future expected payments.
Other Applications
PDV is a widely used analytical tool outside the world of finance. Every time a business thinks about making a physical capital investment, it must compare a set of present costs of making that investment to the PDV of future benefits. When government thinks about a proposal to, for example, add safety features to a highway, it must compare costs incurred in the present to benefits received in the future. Some academic disputes over environmental policies, like how much to reduce carbon dioxide emissions because of the risk that they will lead to a warming of global temperatures several decades in the future, turn on how one compares present costs of pollution control with long-run future benefits. Someone who wins the lottery and is scheduled to receive a string of payments over 30 years might be interested in knowing what the PDV is of those payments. Whenever a string of costs and benefits stretches from the present into different times in the future, PDV becomes an indispensable tool of analysis.


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The American Experience: Women Of Color And Fashion
LatestSo much of the African American experience is stashed in basements and attics. So writes fashion journalist Robin Givhan in her recent article about the Black Fashion Museum Collection's move to the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture.
For Givhan, the new home of this "treasure-trove of garments designed and worn by African Americans over the course of generations" at the Smithsonian Institution secures the preservation of a "hidden history…in danger of being washed away by the enormity of another Katrina or even a trifling family rift."
An Other Fashion seeks to find these hidden histories stashed in the basements and attics, in the backs of closets, and in lesser-known personal and institutional archives of and about women of color. These histories are not only kept hidden due to the informal and often inadequate practices of preservation by ordinary people; instead, it is the official cultural archives such as museums and libraries that have played a significant and profound role in keeping hidden the sartorial histories of racially minoritized women.
Recent fashion exhibitions in New York City have included "Night and Day" and "Fashion and Politics" (both at the Museum at FIT); "American Woman, Fashioning a National Identity" (Costume Institute); and "American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection" (Brooklyn Museum). While these exhibitions focus on the convergence of fashion, nationalism, and collective memory, their emphases on formal politics, designer fashion, and eveningwear implicitly privilege dominant styles of dress and womanhood and tacitly inscribe Americanness with bourgeois white femininity. If racial, gender, sexual, class, and language barriers have historically shaped and limited the achievements and life chances of non-White and working women, then traditional museum exhibitions that emphasize the styles of bourgeois white womanhood to the exclusion of Other women collude in the ongoing marginalization and erasure of the lives and material cultural histories of minoritized American women.
Dancers from San Francisco nightclub Forbidden City, backstage 1950
An Other Fashion is a critical intervention into traditional understandings of fashion history, histories of "American" womanhood, and official memory practices. The exhibition seeks to critically explore the creative, cultural and political ways in which racially minoritized women in the U.S. have employed practices of dress and beauty to claim Americanness. Through highlighting garments, accessories, photographs, videos and texts, An Other Fashion does more than rediscover a hidden past; this groundbreaking exhibition reimagines our understanding of and relationship to the past. In providing a glimpse of the sartorial ephemera of women of color's material cultural histories, this exhibition commemorates lives and experiences too often considered not important enough to save or to study.
Contributing to the Exhibition
We are looking for donations that will enhance the breadth and depth of this exhibition. Items we are interested include, but are not limited to:
- Handmade, store-bought, or altered garments and accessories. Please note that garments do not need to be in perfect condition. The life of the garment is important to us!
- Family or vintage photographs featuring women of color in fashionable looks
- Newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements targeting women of color. Original prints are useful.
- Other sartorial ephemera, such as accessories, packaging, cosmetics etc.
Please provide as much information as possible about the objects — for example, who made or designed them, who wore them, where they were used and how and why they were passed down to you. It is especially helpful if you send photographs of the pieces for consideration since we cannot accept all the objects offered to the collection.
The goal of this exhibition is to honor the life and memories of your treasures. Our fashion and textiles museum expert will make sure your items are well cared for and returned to you in as good or, when possible, better condition. The condition of your garment will determine the method of display — we will not display or store your objects in a manner that can cause further harm. You will be listed as a donor and items will be returned to you or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the donor's wishes.
If you have or know of material, visual, and textual objects that you believe we should consider, please contact us at [email protected]. (Include "An Other Fashion" in the subject line.)
Costs, in time and materials, for shipping and storing items are quite substantial. Our museum expert estimates that each object will require approximately $100 to appropriately store each object (shipping and display costs excluded). We would greatly appreciate your help toward meeting these expenses and hope that you will accompany your gift with some of the funds necessary to help us preserve it.
"Short Cut to Glamor" (about correcting the "chunky" Japanese American female body with a cute haircut) from the post-WWII Japanese American magazine, "Scene: The Pictorial Magazine" (April 1950).
This post originally appeared on the blog Threadbared. Republished with permission.
The author of this post can be contacted at [email protected]
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At Perfect Stainless, we strive to achieve and exceed our client's perception of reliability, quality, and customer service. We service complex and simple stainless steel projects efficiently and with the highest attention to detail at all times.
Perfect Stainless is a custom stainless steel fabricator specializing in commercial and residential applications. We work closely with Architects, Designers, Contractors, Railing systems makers and Home owners to produce high quality, unique products which enhance the lifestyle of our clients.


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2004-2024 Ford F150 1/2" Front Leveling Lift Kit
2004-2024 Ford F150 1/2" Front Leveling Lift Kit
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1/2" Front leveling lift kit for 04-24 Ford F150
- 2004-2024 Ford F150 4WD
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- Does Not Fit Raptor
- Will Raise the Front of your Ford F150 1/2"
- Made In The USA
- Maintains Stock Ride Quality
- CNC laser cut from High Grade Steel
- Texture Black Powdercoat Finish
- Lifetime Warranty
- Instructions included
This leveling lift kit will raise the front of your Ford F150 by a true 1/2". Can be installed in about 1 1/2-2 hours and does not require strut or coil disassembly like other kits. These leveling spacers are CNC laser cut from High Grade Steel and then powdercoated black to match you factory suspension. These spacers are the strongest on the market and come with a 100% satisfaction guarantee and a lifetime warranty. It will come to you complete with all the hardware and instructions. Please note: Lift spacer thickness and lift is not a 1 to 1 ratio due to the suspension geometry.
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Mohawk leads innovation in sustainable flooring with SmartStrand carpet made using DuPont Sorona renewably sourced polymer.
DuPont exclusively provides Mohawk with fiber made from Bio-PDO, the key ingredient that makes Sorona. Because Sorona is made from corn sugar, 37 percent of the carpeting fiber is a renewable resource, replacing ingredients normally derived from petroleum.
Additionally, the production of the Sorona polymer requires 30 percent less energy and emits 63 percent less Greenhouse gas than creating an equal amount of nylon.
Plus, every seven yards of SmartStrand saves one gallon of gasoline.
Mohawk SmartStrand carpet made with DuPont Sorona renewably source polymer is environmentally smart.
Beautiful colors, soft… Smart
SmartStrand carpeting is design-smart, too, available in a rainbow of fantastic colors and softness you have to touch to believe.
Mohawk's always been known for beautiful carpets in a wide variety of colors, styles, textures and construction. SmartStrand is no different. Visit your Mohawk Authorized Retailer to see all the amazing carpets made using SmartStrand fiber using DuPont Sorona renewably sources polymer.
While its beauty will catch your eye, the softness will seal the deal. Compared to other fibers, SmartStrand is just a little softer to the touch. If you add a Premier or Elite Mohawk cushion underneath, not only do you add years to your warranty, but you enhance the plushness and comfort of your carpeting.
The colors and softness help make SmartStrand carpet even smarter.
Durable, resists stains… Smart
SmartStrand carpet from Mohawk includes superior stain resistance engineered into the fiber. That stain resistance will never wear off or wash off. SmartStrand never needs to be retreated with stain protectors, even after a steam cleaning.
Most stains — even red wine — cleans up with a little warm water. Even the most stubborn stains require just a mild detergent or Mohawk FloorCare Essentials.
You can't believe just how easy Mohawk SmartStrand carpet is to clean.
So its lifetime stain resistance makes SmartStrand with DuPont Sorona renewably sourced polymer the smartest choice in carpeting available today!


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Pool Fence in Tennessee
Get Pool Fence estimates from professionals in Tennessee.
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By filling in one simple form you will receive competitive cost estimates from reliable, professional companies in Tennessee.
All you need to do is enter your specific pool fence requirements, including your budget and the amount of work needed, and we will automatically send out your details to pre-approved, reliable professionals in Tennessee. ESFS makes it easy to compare multiple estimates from a number of local companies, you will be surprised how much you can save!
Our service provides you with price quotes from approved local companies in Tennessee. Fill out the form and find out how much you can save!
Get Quotes from Pool Fence Pros!
Things to consider when paying to have a pool fence installed:
Review local laws and requirements for swimming pool fences. Fences should be at least four feet fall with no handholds or footholds, and have less than four inches of clearance on the bottom. They should also have a self-closing, self-locking gate. Consider whether you want removable fencing, as well as other features such as alarms. Make sure the contractor has installed the fence appropriately and have any issues resolved before paying.


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Avoid fraud by using encrypted websites in Safari on Mac
When you visit an encrypted website—for instance, to do online banking—Safari checks if the website's certificate is legitimate. If it's not, you get a warning message.
Encrypted websites mask the data you exchange with them, so that only you and they can see it. It's important to use encrypted websites to prevent anyone from "eavesdropping" on you.
Determine whether a website is encrypted
In the Safari app on your Mac, look for an encryption icon in the Smart Search field. An encryption icon indicates that the website uses the HTTPS protocol, has a digital identity certificate, and encrypts information. To view the website's certificate, click the icon.
A gray lock icon indicates a standard certificate.
Important: If a website doesn't have an encryption icon, the words "Not Secure" appear in the Smart Search field. Don't enter personal or financial information on a website that isn't encrypted. The website you're visiting might not be the website you want, and information you enter is vulnerable to theft. Instead, go back to the webpage where you logged in and check for a link to another version of the site that's encrypted—for example, "Use our secure site." If available, use it, even if you don't expect to view or provide private information.
Respond to a certificate warning
In the Safari app on your Mac, do any of the following:
Click Show Certificate, then review the certificate content.
If a certificate includes a message that the certificate isn't trusted, or was signed by an untrusted issuer, or the name and organization aren't the same as the website owner, click Cancel.
If you continue to the website, verify the address in the Safari toolbar to confirm it's correct. Some fraudulent websites masquerade as trusted websites by changing one or two letters of the website address. The certificate is stored on your computer. You can change the trust settings of the certificate later using Keychain Access.
Contact the website owner or administrator and ask why their site causes a certificate warning. Some sites may be only accessible within a particular organization, so they have a self-signed certificate (one not provided by a certificate authority). You have to decide whether to trust the site anyway or not visit it.
Respond to a fraudulent website warning
In the Safari app on your Mac, if a warning appears about a deceptive, malicious, or potentially harmful website, don't visit the site.
Safari can also warn you about dangerous websites that have been reported as deceptive, malicious, or harmful. When you encounter a warning, it's recommended that you do not visit the website.
Deceptive websites may attempt to trick you into installing dangerous software that can harm your computer, redirect your browsing, or steal your personal information (such as your user names and passwords). Many websites pretend to be legitimate businesses or government agencies, such as your bank, email service provider, or the IRS.


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Legislation to help farmers gets approval
May 14, 2007
By JOHN FLOWERS
MONTPELIER — The state's General Assembly last week overwhelmingly supported a bill that directs the Vermont Milk Commission to establish a minimum milk price that would relieve farmers from the costs of having their product hauled to processing facilities.
The bill, if signed into law, could result in savings of $7 million per year to Addison County farmers alone, according to Sen. Harold Giard, D-Bridport, the chief architect of bill S.78.
"This is such a monumental piece of legislation," Giard, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said on Tuesday. "This is $7 million that will stay in Addison County. This is jobs on Main Street."
Approximately 60 cents per hundredweight of milk is currently deducted from farmers' milk checks to cover the expense of hauling their product to processors. Farmers pay another $6 to $8 every time a hauling truck stops for a load of milk, according to Giard.
The hauling and stop charges have been tough for farmers to absorb, given surging energy prices and a stagnant price for milk. In 1980, the average price paid for milk was $13.06 per hundredweight, which, when adjusted for inflation, is equivalent to $30.95 in 2006 dollars. The average price for milk in 2006 was $12.88.
Bill S.78 calls for the Vermont Milk Commission to hold hearings and come up with a milk price that will free farmers from the stop and hauling charges, which Giard suspects will be "passed upstream," to the extent that "the cost of hauling milk is paid by the purchaser."
Giard believes that consumers will be willing to spend an extra 5 cents or more per gallon of milk, and slightly more for other dairy products, if they know that farmers are directly benefiting.
"I don't think the consumer is going to notice it," Giard said.
Local lawmakers are upbeat about S.78, though the legislation faces a few more hurdles before it will be able to deliver some relief to farmers.
First, the bill must be signed by Gov. James Douglas, which he intends to do, according to Denise Casey, interim spokeswoman for the Middlebury Republican.
If passed into law, the Vermont Milk Commission will listen to testimony on stop and hauling charges, reporting back to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees by Nov. 1. As the bill is written, the new milk price affecting stop and hauling charges would take effect "when, by rule, legislation or other agreement, New York and one other state in the Northeast Marketing Area… have accomplished the purpose of this act, or on Jan. 15, 2009, whichever comes first."
Any rule the milk commission establishes on stop and hauling charges could be appealed directly to the Vermont Supreme Court, according to Vermont Assistant Attorney General Michael Duane.
Harold Howrigan, a longtime Fairfield dairy farmer and member of the Vermont Milk Commission, knows he and his colleagues will have their work cut out for them.
"I think it's a very laudable idea," Howrigan said of taking stop and hauling charges off the backs of farmers. "But I think it's going to be a little more difficult to initiate than the proponents think."
Howrigan noted the tough negotiations that take place between dairy cooperatives and milk processors. Those negotiations, he said, often come down to "fractions of a cent," leaving little wiggle room for other items.
Howrigan said his farm has been able to manage its hauling expenses by delivering its own milk to the processors, though he realizes not all farms can afford to take that same action.
Giard believes S.78 has adequate safeguards to prevent dairy co-ops or processors from circumventing the stop and hauling charge plan.
"No additional charges shall be made, and no costs may be shifted from other benefits the farmer receives, to contravene the purpose of this act," the legislation reads.
Giard also believes that other states will join Vermont in removing stop and hauling charges from farmers. Giard said he has spoken with agricultural officials from New York, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, some of whom have expressed a willingness to follow in Vermont's footsteps.
"This is a piece of legislation I am convinced will go clear across the country," Giard said. "This is one more area of leadership and courage that is being shown by the state of Vermont."
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What exactly is a lockout? The Austin Tenants' Council provides an explanation on what a lockout means.
A LOCKOUT IS NOT AN EVICTION. There are many misconceptions about a lockout. Some think it is a way to evict a tenant, and others think that the tenant has to pay the delinquent rent to be able to reenter the dwelling. The Texas Property Code, §92.0081 – §92.009, describes under what conditions a landlord may change the locks on a rental unit and the tenant's remedies if the law is not followed.
A landlord may not change the locks because of a tenant's failure to pay the rent unless the lease includes written notice of the landlord's right to exercise a lockout.
The intention of the lockout law is to force a tenant who is delinquent in rent to have contact with the landlord to discuss the problem or to arrange payment. Landlords must follow a strict procedure when changing the door locks of a tenant, and the tenant must be given a new key whether or not any delinquent rent is paid. A landlord cannot legally, permanently lock a tenant out without going through the eviction process.
In short, the lockout law says:
- The lease must include written notice of the landlord's right to exercise a lockout.
- The tenant must be behind on rent.
- The landlord must give advance, written notice to the tenant.
- The tenant does not have to pay any money to regain entry into the rental unit.
- The landlord must give the tenant a key upon request.
- A lockout is not an eviction.
Exclusion of a Residential Tenant
For a landlord to legally change the door locks of a tenant, the tenant must be delinquent in paying all or part of the rent and the lease must include written notice of the landlord's right to exercise a lockout. A landlord must do the following when changing the door locks of a tenant:
First Notice. At least five calendar days before the date the locks are changed, the landlord must locally mail a written notice to the tenant. This notice may also be hand-delivered to the tenant or posted on the inside of the tenant's front door at least three days before the date the locks are changed. This written notice must state:
- The earliest date the locks will be changed;
- The amount of rent the tenant must pay to prevent lockout;
- The name and address of the person to whom, or the location of the on-site management office at which, the delinquent rent may be discussed or paid during the landlord's normal business hours; and
- In underlined or bold print, the tenant's right to receive a key to the new lock at any hour, regardless of whether the tenant pays the delinquent rent (for leases signed or renewed after January 1, 2008).
- The on-site location where the tenant may go 24 hours a day to obtain the new key, or a telephone number that is answered 24 hours a day that the tenant may call to have the key delivered within two hours after calling the number;
- The fact that the landlord must provide the tenant with a new key at any hour whether or not the tenant pays the rent owed; and
- The amount of rent and other charges the tenant owes.
- On, or the day before, a day when the landlord isn't available, or an on-site management office isn't open, for the tenant to pay the back rent and late fees. This means the tenant has to have an opportunity to pay the rent due before the locks are to be changed;
- When the tenant or any other legal occupant is in the dwelling;
- More than once during a rental payment period; or
- To prevent the tenant from entering a common area of the rental property.
As soon as the locks are changed, the tenant should request a new key from the landlord. If the tenant arrives at the dwelling "after hours" or if the landlord is not on-site, the tenant should contact the name in the notice that is posted on the door. The landlord must bring a new key within two hours of the tenant requesting it.
Once a landlord is called, the tenant should remain at the rental property at least two hours until the landlord arrives. The reason is that if the landlord responds to the tenant's phone call in a timely manner and the tenant is not there, the landlord just has to leave a notice on the front door of the dwelling stating the time the landlord arrived with the key and the street address to which the tenant may go to obtain the key during the landlord's normal office hours.
A landlord who has changed the door locks of a tenant must give the tenant a key regardless of whether or not the tenant pays the delinquent rent. Some landlords will try to convince the tenant that the tenant does not have the right to live in the rental unit anymore. They will tell the tenant that the door is being unlocked so that the tenant can remove his/her belongings. This is incorrect. The law clearly states that the landlord must give the tenant a new key. The tenant can actually continue living in the dwelling until a court orders an eviction. Any lease clause waiving any of a tenant's rights under the lockout law is void and not enforceable.
What if the Landlord Does Not Give the Tenant a Key?
If the landlord refuses to give the tenant a new key, the tenant can get assistance from the justice of the peace court by requesting an order called a writ of reentry. The tenant will need to specify both in writing and orally as to how the landlord violated the law. The court will typically charge the tenant a fee for the constable to deliver this order to the landlord. The tenant can ask the court to waive this fee by asking for a pauper's affidavit. The tenant will have to disclose some financial information so the judge can make a decision. If the judge approves the pauper's affidavit, the order will be delivered free of charge. This order will require the landlord to allow the tenant access to the rental unit.
As soon as the landlord is served with the writ of reentry, the landlord will need to immediately comply with the order or otherwise face the risk of being arrested and in contempt of court. The constable is allowed to use reasonable force in executing a writ of reentry.
Tenant Remedies
If a landlord doesn't follow the lawful procedure for changing a tenant's door locks — either by not giving advance notice or not giving the tenant a new key when requested — the tenant has several options. The tenant may:
- Recover possession of the premises or terminate the lease contract; and
- Recover from the landlord a civil penalty of one month's rent plus $1,000, actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees in an action to recover property damages, actual expenses, or civil penalties, less any delinquent rent or other sums for which the tenant is liable to the landlord.
The information in this brochure is a summary of the subject and other pertinent matters. It should not be considered conclusive or a substitute for legal advice. Unique facts can render broad statements inapplicable. Anyone needing legal assistance should contact an attorney.


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The Unavowable Community is an inquiry into the nature and possibility of community, asking whether there can be a community of individuals that is truly "communal." The problem, for Blanchot, is that the very terms of an ideal community make an "avowal" of membership in it a violation of the terms themselves.
This meditation ranges from the problematic effects of a defect in language to actual historical experiments in community. The latter involves the life and work of George Bataille whose concerns (e.g. "the negative community") occupy the foreground of Blanchot's discussion. Taking as his point of departure an essay by French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, Blanchot appears once again as one of the most attentive readers of what is truly challenging in French thought.
His deep interest in the fiction of Marguerite Duras extends this inquiry to include "The Community of Lovers," emerging from certain themes in Duras' recit, The Malady of Death. As Blanchot's first direct treatment of a subject that has long figured in or behind his work, this small but highly concentrated book stands as an important addition to his own contribution to literary, philosophical, social, and political thought, figuring as it does at the center of the emerging concern for a redefinition of politics and community. Readers of Blanchot know not to expect answers to the great questions that move his thought rather, to live with the questions at the new level to which they have been raised in his discourse.


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Pinball machines
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Bally-Midway-Williams records
Collection — Multiple Containers
Identifier: 117.9889
The Bally-Midway-Williams records are an assemblage of documentation from the Bally, Midway, and (predominantly) Williams pinball companies. Materials within this collection include parts lists, bills of material forms, corporate memos, notes, playfield drawings, parts diagrams, wiring diagrams, packaging testing documentation, change notice forms, copyright registration information, engineering logbooks, and more. The majority of this collection is on pinball games, though documentation on...