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Super Bowl Sunday is sure to bring the usual barrage of clever soda, beer, and car ads featuring everyone from Vegas showgirls selling Coca-Cola to pop celebrity Psy charming us to buy pistachios Gangnam-style.
But at a whopping $3.7 million per 30-second spot, perhaps it's time for advertisers to question whether ads, including the over-the-top Super Bowl spots, have become too entertaining, says Thales S. Teixeira, an assistant professor in the Marketing unit at Harvard Business School.
In upcoming research, Why, When and How Much to Entertain Consumers in Advertisements? A Web-based Facial Tracking Study, Teixeira and colleagues question whether advertisers are striking the right balance between entertaining and promoting their brands. Could companies entertain less and get consumers to buy more?
Teixeira's research offers insight to modern-day Don Drapers, perhaps showing advertisers ways to spend ad dollars more shrewdly.
"They need to use entertainment judiciously," he says. "It's very expensive. They have to ask: Why do we need to entertain so much?"
During an interview in his office, Teixeira, who has analyzed why ads go viral, reviews a quick history of the use of entertainment in advertising. In 1963, British advertising pioneer David Ogilvy, in his book Confessions of an Advertising Man, argued that ads should be all business, selling products by informing consumers rather than entertaining them. A few Ogilvy classic lines that reflected the information-only mantra included: "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in the new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock," and the straightforward "man in the Hathaway shirt."
By 1985, Ogilvy changed his tune, agreeing that a little fun is fine, Teixeira says. (Proof of that attitude is clear in Ogilvy's award-winning Sprite Shower campaign, which features men, women, and children splashing under Sprite-logo showers on a Brazilian beach.)
Teixeira does not argue that entertainment—fun content, creative stories, upbeat music—isn't used effectively in ads. But many companies don't use entertainment to their best advantage. To find out what works, Teixeira went directly to consumers, partnering with the MIT Media Lab and Waltham, MA-based Affectiva, which has developed the first online facial tracking system for testing advertising.
The research team worked with 275 randomly selected people, showing them a sample of 82 ads for 30 brands in their homes or workplaces.
The research relied on webcams that track visible changes on a person's face as they watch an ad, responding to funny, or amusing content. The software detects the slightest deviations of facial movement in the eyes, cheeks, and mouth, tracking whether a person smiles, grins, or breaks out in laughter. Continuously measuring smile responses and facial cues allowed the team to determine a person's interest in viewing the ad and their intent to purchase the brand.
The ad watchers were monitored remotely, a setup intended to be unobtrusive and provide a more natural out-of-lab environment, Teixeira says. Also, participants were allowed to skip through commercials they didn't want to watch. They viewed ads in three product categories: confectionary (Skittles, Snickers, M&Ms, and others), beverage (including Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew), and alcohol (Budweiser, Dos Equis, Captain Morgan, etc.). The team built a model relating the amount of entertainment a participant experienced with both their viewing interest and their intent to purchase a brand.
Entertaining Only So Far
Results determined that the level of entertainment increases a viewer's interest in watching an ad. After a certain amount, however, that persuasiveness starts to decrease and advertisers lose the link to the brand and the power to influence buying. In other words, too much entertainment can actually reduce viewers' desire to buy.
These observations can help companies strategize. Ideally, an advertiser that seeks acquiring customers should entertain initially to capture attention, but also introduce the brand early on, and follow up with a moderate amount of entertainment, Teixeira says.
"If you want to persuade consumers as do Pepsi, Skittles, and Coke, it's about getting people to associate your brand with fun," he says. "But you have to show the brand and then entertain. That's when the conditioning occurs. The other way around—entertain then brand—doesn't work as well."
Three Pepsi MAX ads from Super Bowl 2011 viewed in Teixeira's study show that Pepsi does not always maximize its entertainment/purchase intent balance, he says.
Pepsi MAX's Torpedo Cooler ad (also known as "Catch"), for example, featuring a beer can-shooting ice chest, scored low (13th percentile) on both entertaining and purchase intent, according to Teixeira's facial tracking study. Pepsi Max's First Date, an ad portraying gender differences of a couple on their first date, fared a bit better. Viewers found it extremely entertaining—as she judges him as possible marriage material, he is thinking of the bedroom rather than the altar—and 81 percent viewed it until the end . Yet it fell short for purchasing intent in the low 22nd percentile score. "First Date has too much entertainment," Teixeira says. "People view but are not very persuaded by this ad."
The most successful Pepsi MAX effort, Love Hurts, features a woman trying to get her husband to eat better by snatching a burger from his mouth and kicking him under the dinner table when he orders fries. Sitting on a park bench, the couple agree that drinking Pepsi MAX is OK—until a pretty jogger waves at the husband. The wife throws her can at her hubby, missing him and hitting the jogger instead. The viewers found the ad moderately entertaining yet it generated a high purchasing intent in the 77th percentile, "striking a balance between entertaining viewers to grab their attention and maximizing the brand's persuasiveness," Teixeira says.
Importantly, he adds, all three ads had exactly the same amount of information content on Pepsi MAX.
Advertisers should pay attention to that balance, taking into account not only how soon into the ad that the brand is presented, but also how the branding aligns with the entertainment. Many advertisers choose to show the brand name at the end, when it's too late. Others entertain too much, failing to connect the entertainment parts effectively to the brand.
If the balance is off, Teixeira says, entertainment competes with brand awareness and reduces purchase intent. But when entertainment follows the brand introduction a cooperating effect is created, which increases both interest in the brand and intent to buy. The idea is aligned with Pavlov's theory of classical conditioning, he says. If you show somebody a stimulus (the brand) and then you show qualities (fun) right after, people better associate those two things.
Finally, advertisers should consider the stage of the consumer purchasing cycle they aim to impact: do they want to create awareness, interest, or spark a purchase? If the goal is to simply create a buzz, then entertain as much as possible—as many advertisers will do during the Super Bowl. If the intent is to convert consumer interest to purchases it might be time to reduce the volume on talking babies and dancing monkeys and up the attention on brand.
Teixeira is now talking with companies that are trying to connect television ad campaigns with online viral advertising. "What companies tell me is that they want to relate this research to viral advertising—to get people's attention and then to get them sharing. They want to understand how to use these media collectively, such as by spending money on the Super Bowl to get attention and then saving money by using viral ads to get engagement," he says.
In whatever medium, the trick remains the same: strike a balance that holds consumer attention optimally in both media. "If you entertain too much on TV, you're wasting an expensive opportunity to sell."


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EX-150203-3 - Gunderson 2420 Gondola : ATSF : 168998
EX-150203-2 - Gunderson 2420 Gondola : ATSF : 168976
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text:
Homines libenter quod volunt credunt
Apr 17th, 2011 by wintercow20
Using private industry to run a city. Look at the devastation it wrought.
Posted in Voluntary Society
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The Problem with Economics
Health Care as a Right - Universal Health Care
That's Just a Silly Model, What About the REAL World?
Do You Hope that "Your Guy" Wins?
Economics Doesn't Apply to That
But What About the Poor?
Forcing the Poor
A Cool Trillion
Clunk - The New Year's Ball Has Dropped
How to Handle Chain Mail
Bye Bye Freedom Fry
Raise Your Hand if You Are Morally Corrupt
Unscrupulous Middlemen and Feckless Citizens
Everywhere is Local
Violence, Penury and Modern Society
Who's the Denier?
Oranges are Not Oranges, They are Ideas
What Does Your Bumper Sticker Say?
The Right to Escape Oppression
Weekend at the Museum
Eat Your Heart Out Andrew Carnegie
Why Money Matters
Why Getting the Facts Right is Important
Fundamentals of the State


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Please see discussion on the talk page.
His Eminence the Most Reverend Archbishop Arseny (Chagovtsov) of Winnipeg came to the United States as a monk in the early twentieth century and was instrumental in the founding of St Tikhon's Monastery in South Canaan, Pennsylvania. He was administrator of the Canadian parishes under Abp. Platon before returning to Russia until after the Russian Civil War. He was elected Bishop of Winnipeg by the administration of Metr. Platon. Retiring to St. Tikhon's Monastery, he established the Pastoral School at St. Tikhon's.
Andrew Lvovich Chagovstov was born on March 10, 1866, into the family of a village church reader in the Kharkov Eparchy. As a young boy he tended his father's sheep, but his intelligence and love for school did not go unnoticed. When his father died, leaving him as the eldest of five children, he was sent to a school for clergy children for eleven years. From there he was admitted to the Kharkov Theological Seminary from which he graduated with distinction in 1887. The same year he was ordained a deacon and then priest.
His years in the seminary and thereafter are only vaguely known. He apparently married while in the seminary and was assigned as a priest to a village church in Kharkov. There is a question as to whether he had a son, but soon his wife died, probably about 1890, of an unknown cause. At some point later he was tonsured a monk with the name Arseny, in honor of St. Arsenius of Konevits. But, his journey from his wife's death to his tonsure was a time of great anguish as he related in his elevation speech as Bishop of Winnipeg. In 1900, he was appointed Igumen (Abbot) of Kuriansk Monastery. Two years later he joined Bp. Tikhon in America as he was a natural preacher with fluency in many Russian dialects, and thus, well suited to the American missionary scene. He was active among those returning from the Unia and served many communities after his arrival, including Troy, New York, and Mayfield and Simpson, Pennsylvania.
While he was active among the people, a dream of his came true when with the blessing of the then Abp. Tikhon, Hieromonk Arseny founded the St. Tikhon's Monastery and orphanage in the rural countryside near Carbondale and Mayfield, Pennsylvania at South Canaan. The Wagner farm was purchased for $2580 during the summer of 1905. On the day of its dedication, July 31, 1905, a crowd on foot formed a pilgrimage walk of the ten miles through the mountains from Mayfield to the site of the new monastery. On the following May 30, 1906, at the dedication of the chapel at the partially finished monastery building with Abp. Tikhon present, Bp. Raphael spoke of the hard work by Fr. Igumen Arseny for the realization of the monastery. When Fr. Arseny was named the superior of the monastery, the crowd answered loudly, "He is worthy." The anniversary of this dedication has become an annual Memorial Day pilgrimage to the monastery.
Then, in 1908, Fr. Arseny was appointed by then Abp. Platon to the position of dean and administrator of the Canadian parishes. With his knowledge of the many dialects of the Carpatho-Russian/Galician area and his ability to preach in them, the Canadian faithful (who mainly hailed from those areas) almost immediately fell in love with him. With these rare missionary talents, he had great success with receiving back Uniats as well as welcoming many Galicians and Bukovinians who were arriving in numbers to Canada. His preaching produced for him the affectionate title "The Canadian Chrysostom." After only two years, however, he returned to Russia in 1910.
Little is known for certain of why he returned to Russia or his activities while there. Some reports are that it was to train missionary-priests and that he headed a monastery in the Crimea. After the October Revolution, he served with the White Army to comfort the soldiers. In 1920, he was able to get to Yugoslavia and entered a monastery. Some of his old Canadian flock learned that he was still alive and petitioned Metr. Platon to return him to Canada as a bishop.
Thus, the holy synod under Platon elected him Bishop of Winnipeg and requested his consecration, which took place on June 6, 1926, in Yugoslavia. So, with joy in his heart, Bp. Arseny traveled to New York to meet with the metropolitan, visit his beloved St Tikhon's Monastery, and then continue on to his new cathedral. It was, however, a different place from that which he left 16 years before. The seeds of violence from the Red Revolution, Ukrainian nationalism, and the Living Church made his task of serving his faithful difficult, even to the point of being injured by gun fire. In 1936, he was assigned briefly to Detroit and Cleveland before retiring to St Tikhon's Monastery where he was elevated to archbishop for his tireless work.
Yet, in retirement he did not cease his service. In 1937, he applied to the holy synod of the Metropolia for blessing to establish a Pastoral School at the monastery in South Canaan. With the blessing of the synod, the approval of the Sixth All-American Sobor, and great effort on his part, Abp. Arseny opened on October 24, 1938, the first classes of the St Tikhon's Pastoral School, later to become St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary.
He continued actively visiting the local parishes and traveling for special occasions. Then at the age of 79, illness overcame him and Abp. Arseny died on October 4, 1945, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His funeral and interment at St. Tikhon's Monastery took place on October 9, 1945, attended by many hierarchs, priests, and faithful.
Glorification inquiry[]
During its October 2004 holy synod meeting, bishops of the OCA established a glorification commission to inquire into the possibility for adding Abp. Arseny to the calendar of saints.[1] Abp. Arseny already enjoys veneration in the OCA's Archdiocese of Canada.
- Orthodox America 1794-1976 Development of the Orthodox Church in America, C. J. Tarasar, Gen. Ed. 1975, The Orthodox Church in America, Syosett, New York
This page uses content from OrthodoxWiki. The original article was at Arseny_(Chagovtsov)_of_Winnipeg. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with the Christianity Knowledge Base, the text of OrthodoxWiki is available under the CC-BY-SA. |


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Dictatorships don't always die when the dictator leaves office, former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed has said in a New York Times Op-Ed.
"The wave of revolutions that toppled autocrats in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen last year was certainly cause for hope. But the people of those countries should be aware that, long after the revolutions, powerful networks of regime loyalists can remain behind and can attempt to strangle their nascent democracies.
"I learned this lesson quickly. My country, the Maldives, voted out President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, its iron-fisted ruler, back in 2008, in historic elections that swept away three decades of his authoritarian rule. And yet the dictatorship bequeathed to the infant democracy a looted treasury, a ballooning budget deficit and a rotten judiciary.
"I was elected that year, and with the help of the International Monetary Fund, my government worked to cut the deficit, while also building a modern tax base. For the first time in its history, the Maldives — a group of islands in the Indian Ocean — had a democratically elected president, parliament and local councils.
"But it also had a judiciary handpicked by the former president, which was now hiding behind a democratic constitution. These powerful judges provided protection for the former president, his family members and political allies, many of whom are accused of corruption, embezzlement and human rights crimes.
"At the same time, new laws guaranteeing freedom of speech were abused by a new force in Maldivian politics: Islamic extremists. The former president's cabinet members threw anti-Semitic and anti-Christian slurs at my government, branding as apostates anyone who tried to defend the country's liberal Islamic traditions and claiming that democracy granted them and their allies license to call for violent jihad and indulge in hate speech.
"In response to these issues, my government asked the United Nations to help us investigate judicial abuses and ordered the arrest of Abdulla Mohamed, the chief judge of the criminal court, on charges of protecting the former president and corrupting the judicial system. However, in a dramatic turn of events on Tuesday, the former president's supporters protested in the streets, and police officers and army personnel loyal to the old government mutinied and forced me, at gunpoint, to resign. To avoid bloodshed, I did so. I believe this to be a coup d'état and suspect that my vice president, who has since been sworn into office, helped to plan it.
"Choosing to stand up to the judge was a controversial decision, but I feel I had no choice but to do what I did — to have taken no action, and passively watched the country's democracy strangled, would have been the greatest injustice of all.
"The problems we are facing in the Maldives are a warning for other Muslim nations undergoing democratic reform. At times, dealing with the corrupt system of patronage the former regime left behind can feel like wrestling with a Hydra: when you remove one head, two more grow back. With patience and determination, the beast can be slain. But let the Maldives be a lesson for aspiring democrats everywhere: the dictator can be removed in a day, but it can take years to stamp out the lingering remnants of his dictatorship."


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Doing business in China comes with major strings attached. This week it became evident that a few provocative words can cause those strings to tighten.
A single tweet by Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey in support of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong unleashed massive retaliation from China that put the team and the entire NBA on notice. China's state TV cut off preseason games and ominously announced it would "immediately investigate all co-operation and exchanges involving the NBA." Tencent, a major Chinese social media company with a reported $1.5 billion streaming deal with the NBA, said it will no longer stream Rockets games, even though the team is immensely popular in China.
China's message to foreign companies and their employees is clear: Watch what you say on matters sensitive to our country if you want to do business here. This hardball response to Morey and the NBA fits a pattern of threats and reprisals against foreign organizations wading (even unintentionally) into the country's sensitive internal politics.
Facing boycott threats this summer, Western fashion brands apologized for T-shirts that suggested that Taiwan and Hong Kong were independent countries rather than territories that are part of China. It isn't just top executives who have paid a price for speech that offends China's sensibilities. Last year, a Marriott employee earning $14 an hour used a company account to like a post on Twitter from a Tibetan separatist group. A Chinese tourism organization demanded an apology and urged Marriott to "seriously deal with the people responsible." The employee was fired. When China threatens a foreign business, compliance typically prevails over resistance.
China's efforts to impose speech controls on international companies and their workers have largely succeeded. Morey deleted his tweet. The NBA put out a statement saying the tweet doesn't represent NBA or the Rockets, which led to an uproar in the U.S. and another statement from the NBA.
The league's initial response provoked a torrent of criticism in the United States; in a rare show of unity, leading Democrats and Republicans rebuked the NBA for caving to China and failing to stand up for Morey's free speech rights.
American companies have grudgingly accepted all kinds of Chinese rules for years. They may bristle about how they are forced to transfer technology in exchange for access to China's market and about Chinese cyber spies who threaten their intellectual property. But the potential rewards — all those consumers, a middle class that's expected to reach 550 million by 2022 — are just too great to spurn. And that means playing by China's rules.
One notable recent exception: South Park, the sardonic, boundary busting Comedy Central cartoon. Last week's episode, "Band in China," appeared to offend authorities so much that all traces of the show — episodes, clips, discussion groups and social media posts — vanished from major platforms in China.
South Park's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, seized on the moment to issue a fake apology mocking China's President Xi Jinping and the NBA:
"Like the NBA, we welcome the Chinese censors into our homes and into our hearts. We too love money more than freedom and democracy. Xi doesn't look just like Winnie the Pooh at all. Tune into our 300th episode Wednesday at 10! Long live the Great Communist Party of China! May this autumn's sorghum harvest be bountiful! We good now China?"
Watch the full episode - https://t.co/oktKSJdI9i@THR article - https://t.co/nXrtmnwCJB pic.twitter.com/Xj5a1yE2eL
— South Park (@SouthPark) October 7, 2019
In fairness to the NBA, South Park thrives on political agitation. The basketball league has painstakingly built a thriving connection with hundreds of millions of Chinese fans.
The NBA has notably supported players and coaches who express their political views on subjects ranging from police violence to guns and President Trump. But Daryl Morey's seven-word tweet "Fight For Freedom Stand With Hong Kong" puts the league's progressive image to its sternest test. On Tuesday, the well-regarded NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sought to clarify the league's position, saying it would "protect its employees' freedom of speech," while at the same time apologizing to the league's fans in China.
The apology failed to defuse the league's crisis. China's state-run television network said it was "strongly dissatisfied" with Silver's remarks. And it bluntly declared that any speech challenging China's "social stability" doesn't fall within the realm of freedom of speech.
The Chinese message is loud and clear: Your free speech ends at the water's edge.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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March 31 Reading – I Samuel 18-20
Chapter 18
1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
2 And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father's house.
3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
5 And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.
6 And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of musick.
7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
8 And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
13 Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people.
14 And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him.
15 Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him.
16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
17 And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD'S battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the hand of the Philistines be upon him.
18 And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
19 But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the Meholathite to wife.
20 And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
21 And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.
22 And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law.
23 And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
24 And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake David.
25 And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
26 And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired.
27 Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife.
28 And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal Saul's daughter loved him.
29 And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's enemy continually.
30 Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass, after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
Chapter 19
1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
2 But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:
3 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where thou art, and I will commune with my father of thee; and what I see, that I will tell thee.
4 And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good:
5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
6 And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, As the LORD liveth, he shall not be slain.
7 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan shewed him all those things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence, as in times past.
8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.
11 Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning: and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life to night, to morrow thou shalt be slain.
12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.
13 And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
14 And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
15 And Saul sent the messengers again to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may slay him.
16 And when the messengers were come in, behold, there was an image in the bed, with a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster.
17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19 And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21 And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22 Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
Chapter 20
1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life?
2 And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.
3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.
5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.
7 If he say thus, It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him.
8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?
9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee?
10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?
11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field.
12 And Jonathan said unto David, O LORD God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about to morrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee;
13 The LORD do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the LORD be with thee, as he hath been with my father.
14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the LORD, that I die not:
15 But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house for ever: no, not when the LORD hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David's enemies.
17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to David, To morrow is the new moon: and thou shalt be missed, because thy seat will be empty.
19 And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezel.
20 And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark.
21 And, behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them; then come thou: for there is peace to thee, and no hurt; as the LORD liveth.
22 But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee; go thy way: for the LORD hath sent thee away.
23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
24 So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat.
25 And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon a seat by the wall: and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty.
26 Nevertheless Saul spake not any thing that day: for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean; surely he is not clean.
27 And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty: and Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meat, neither yesterday, nor to day?
28 And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem:
29 And he said, Let me go, I pray thee; for our family hath a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there: and now, if I have found favour in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table.
30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness?
31 For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
32 And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? what hath he done?
33 And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him: whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David.
34 So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month: for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame.
35 And it came to pass in the morning, that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him.
36 And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.
37 And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee?
38 And Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master.
39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city.
41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.
King James Version (KJV): Public Domain


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Community Equipment & Supplies
Home ›...
About us ›
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Community and Southern Rural Health ›
Community Equipment & Supplies
Community Equipment & Supplies
- Provision of short term loan equipment (less than 6 months) to patients in the community, post-discharge, on referral from primary services following assessment and prior to inpatient services.
- Long term supplies and consumables predominantly stomal and continence products.
- Long term feeding, tracheostomy / laryngectomy consumables and products,
- Home based oxygen support services and consumables.
- Maintenance and servicing of equipment,
Key personnel
Paula Lovegrove
51 Gallagher Drive
People using the service are provided with instructions and contact details.
Authorised Waikato DHB health professionals can access short and long term loan equipment for patients discharged from Waikato DHB facilities or those required to use the equipment in the community.
Patients/public cannot request this equipment themselves.


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Why do students have summer vacation? One common answer is that it's a holdover from when America was more rural and needed children to help out on the farm, but even just a small amount of introspection suggests that answer is wrong. Even if you know very little about the practical side of farming, think for just a moment about what are probably the most time-sensitive and busiest periods for a farmer: spring planting and fall harvest. Not summer!
I'm not claiming to have made any great discovery here that summer vacation didn't start as result of following some typical pattern of agricultural production. Mess around on the web a bit, and you'll find more accurate historical descriptions of how summer vacation got started (for example, here's one from a 2008 issue of TIME magazine and here's one from the Washington Post last spring). My discussion here draws heavily on a 2002 book by Kenneth M. Gold, a professor of education at the City University of New York, called School's In: The History of Summer Vacation in American Public Schools.
Gold points out that back in the early 19th century, US schools followed two main patterns. Rural schools typically had two terms: a winter term and a summer one, with spring and fall available for children to help with planting and harvesting. The school terms in rural schools were relatively short: 2-3 months each. In contrast, in urban areas early in the first half of the 19th century, it was fairly common for school districts to have 240 days or more of school per year, often in the form of four quarters spread over the year, each separated by a week of official vacation. However, whatever the length of the school term, actual school attendance was often not compulsory.
In the second half of the 19th century, school reformers who wanted to standardize the school year found themselves wanting to length the rural school year and to shorten the urban school year, ultimately ending up by the early 20th century with the modern school year of about 180 days. Indeed, Gold cites an 1892 report by the U.S. Commissioner of Education William Torrey Harris which sharply criticized "the steady reduction that our schools have suffered" as urban schools had reduced their school days down toward 200 per year over the preceding decades.
With these changes, why did summer vacation arise as a standard pattern during the second half of the 19th century, when it had not been common in either rural or urban areas before that? At various points, Gold notes a number of contributing factors.
1) Summer sessions of schools in the first half of the 19th century were often viewed as inferior by educators at that time. It's not clear that the summer sessions were inferior: for example, attendance didn't seem to drop off much. But the summer sessions were more often taught by young women, rather than by male schoolteachers.
2) School reformers often argued that students needed substantial vacation for their health. Horace Mann wrote that overtaxing students would lead to "a most pernicious influence on character and habits ... not infrequently is health itself destroyed by overstimulating the mind." This concern over health seemed to have two parts. One was that schoolhouses were unhealthy in the summer: education reformers of the time reminded teachers to keep windows open, to sprinkle floors with water, and to build schools with an eye to good air ventilation. Mann wrote that "the small size, ill arrangement, and foul air, of our schoolhouses, present serious obstacles to the health and growth of the bodies and minds of our children." The other concern over health was that overstudy would lead to ill-health, both mental and physical. An article in the Pennsylvania School Journal expressed concern that children "were growing up puny, lank, pallid, emaciated, round-shouldered, thin-breasted all because they were kept at study too long. Indeed, there was an entire medical literature of the time that "mental strain early in life" led to lifelong "impairment of medical and physical vigour."
Of course, these arguments were mainly deployed in urban areas as reasons for shortening the school year. In rural areas where the goal was to lengthen the school year, an opposite argument was deployed, that the brain was like a muscle that would develop with additional use.
3) Potential uses of a summer vacation for teachers and for students began to be discussed. For students, there were arguments over whether the brain was a muscle that should be exercised or relaxed during the summer. But there was also a widespread sense at the time, almost a social mythology, that summer should be a time for intense interaction with nature and outdoor play. For teachers, there was a sense that they also needed summer: as one writer put it, "Teachers need a summer vacation more than bad boys need a whipping." There was a sense in both urban and rural areas that something like a 180-day school, with a summer vacation, would be the sort of job that would be attractive to talented individuals and well-paid enough to make teaching a full-time career. For teachers as well, there was a conflict as to whether they should spend summers working on lesson plans or relaxing, but the slow professionalization of teaching meant that more teachers were using the summer at least partially for work.
4) More broadly, Gold argues that the idea of a standard summer vacation as widely practiced by the start of the 20th century grew out of a tension in the ways that people thought about annual patterns itself in the late 19th century. On one side, time was viewed as an annual cycle, not just for agricultural purposes, but as a series of community practices and celebrations linked to the seasons. On the other side, time was starting to be industrial, in a way that seasons mattered much less and the smooth coordination of production effort mattered more. A standard school year with a summer vacation both coordinated society along the lines of time, while offering a respect for seasonality as well.


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With the Official Test Day for the Belgian classic taking place on Wednesday June 24th, the entry list for the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa is nearing its finalisation. Big names from endurance racing will join the Blancpain Endurance Series regulars at the end of July, to take part in what will certainly be a historic edition.
With an unprecedented 28 cars entered in the Pro Cup, it is clear that the battle for the win in the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa will be fiercer than ever, especially since some important endurance specialists will take on the Blancpain Endurance Series stalwarts. Phoenix Racing has acquired the services of triple Le Mans 24 hours-winner André Lotterer, joining his long-time team-mate (and former Spa winner) Marcel Fässler and successful endurance driver Mike Rockenfeller in the #6 Phoenix Audi. The German team's other car will see Spa newcomers Christian Mamerow and Nicki Thiim joining former Blancpain Endurance Series-champion Christopher Mies.
Markus Winkelhock has switched to Belgian Audi Club Team WRT for the Total 24 Hours of Spa. With him joining Laurens Vanthoor and René Rast at the wheel of one of the four new Audi R8 LMS, the 2014 winning combination being reunited for the first time since last year's nail-biting finish to the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Last year's runners-up, BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS, is back with two BMW Z4 GT3. Judging by their strong performance in the Blancpain Endurance Series 1000 at Circuit Paul Ricard last weekend, the Belgian squad means business and is very determined to claim a first win in their home race.
Another Belgian has entered the Pro Cup searching for success: Nico Verdonck will join Adam Christodoulou and an as yet unnamed third driver at the wheel of the #29 Black Falcon Mercedes SLS AMG GT3. The Mercedes trio should certainly be considered as one of the outsiders for a podium finish.
In the 25-car strong Pro-Am Cup Australian team Lago Racing brings its Lamborghini Gallardo to Spa, with V8 Supercar-star Craig Lowndes (who took his 100th win last weekend) among the drivers.
British squad Motion Performance joins the field as well, entering an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, while AF Corse will bring a Ferrari 458 for the recently announced quatuor of Bruni, Pier Guidi, Lathouras and Lemeret, strong contenders for the class win.
The Pro-Am Cup also harbours the BMW Racing against Cancer-project of Pascal Witmeur, with which the Belgian wants to raise awareness for the illness, in the company of three drivers that together have won twelve editions of the Total 24 Hours of Spa: Eric van de Poele, Jean-Michel Martin and Marc Duez.
Lemeret is not the only Belgian driver aiming for class success in Spa, as Frederic Bouvy is aiming to do the same in Am Cup. Bouvy, celebrating his 21st participation, won the Spa classic twice during the Touring Car era and now will be part of the crew in the #30 Classic & Modern Racing BMW.
With a total of 66 cars on the entry list, the 2015 Total 24 Hours of Spa should see plenty of action in all three classes, providing entertaining race action all through the race. If you thought last year's winning gap of seven seconds was unique and unrepeatable, you might have to reconsider come Sunday July 26th…
Entry List
Pro Cup
Pro Am & Am Cup
Practical information - Total 24 Hours of Spa
When: 21-26 July 2015
Tickets: from 15 €
General Entrance : 30 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
General Entrance + paddock : 60 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
VIP packages : from 180 €
Children aged 12 or under, accompanied by an adult, enter for free
Sales on : www.ticketmaster.be
Test Day: Wednesday June 24th
Race Week
Tuesday July 21st
Bronze test 15:00 – 18:00
Wednesday July 22nd
Parade Spa 16:00
Autograph session 17:00-18 :00
Thursday July 23rd
Free Practice 12:00-13:30
Pre-Qualifying 18:10-19:10
Qualifying 20:30-21:45
Night Qualifying 22:15-23:45
Friday July 24th
Super Pole 15:30-15:55
Saturday July 25th
Warm Up 09:05-09:25
Starting procedure & Grid walk 15:45-16:30
Start of the Total 24 hours of Spa 16:30
Information & reservation : www.24hoursofspa.com / www.blancpain-gt-series.com
Facebook : Total 24 hours of Spa / Twitter : @24hoursofspa / @blancpaingt
Blancpain GT Series APP available on :
Blancpain- Innovation is our Tradition
Founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain, the watch brand bearing his name is the oldest in the world. Blancpain is currently engaged to the renewal of mechanical watchmaking and to passing on exceptional expertise from one generation to the next through constant investment in human resources, production facilities and research. This approach is its strength and the expression of our long-term vision, even though it goes against the tide of a certain tendency to seek immediate profit.
From the creation of components through to watch design, Blancpain is distinguished by its ability to develop exceptional movements. Over the past ten years, the Manufacture has indeed developed no less than 35 new calibres.
Through its various models, Blancpain preserves its heritage of precision and elegance, while also displaying an innovative and occasionally provocative spirit.
Its range encompasses the sportive L-evolution line, the legendary Fifty Fathoms diver's watch, as well as the classic Villeret collection, the high complication from Le Brassus collection and the Women models.
Pirelli – Official Tyre Supplier
Pirelli is a tyre manufacturer and world leader in the automotive industry. It has an exclusive relationship with over 50 racing series worldwide, including Formula One.
Pirelli has a long and illustrious history in endurance racing, and has also claimed a huge variety of class wins in GT racing all over the world. The design of the new Pirelli GT tyres meets the needs of GT racing while maintaining the performance characteristics that endurance drivers have appreciated in the past.The slick tyres used for GT racing are branded Zero: just like the slicks that have become a central feature of Formula One. The name P Zero is used in the highest categories of motorsport such as GT racing.
Total - Official Sponsor of the Total 24 Hours of Spa
Energy is vital to economic development and improved standards of living.
Wherever it is available, energy is helping to drive progress, but sustainability requires changes in the way that it is used and managed.
This is the environment in which we conduct our business.
With operations in more than 130 countries, Total is a top-tier international oil company and a world-class natural gas operator, refiner, petrochemical producer, and fuel and lubricant retailer.
Our nearly 99,000 employees leverage their globally acknowledged expertise so that together they can discover, produce, refine and distribute oil and gas to provide products and services for customers worldwide.
We are also broadening our offering by developing energies that can partner oil and gas — today, solar energy and tomorrow, biomass.
As a responsible corporate citizen, we focus on ensuring that our operations consistently deliver
economic, social and environmental benefits.
SRO Motorsports Group - The architect of modern GT Racing
SRO Motorsports Group was founded by Stephane Ratel and has specialised in the promotion, support and organisation of many national and international motorsport series since 1995.
In 2015, SRO promotes several championships and series, such as the Blancpain GT Series (with the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series, including the iconic Total 24 hours of Spa), the Avon Tyres British GT Championship and the newly-created GT Sports Club and Ultracar Sports Club. SRO Motorsports Group has various franchise agreements, including the GT4 European Series.
SRO Motorsports Group runs also the SRO Race Centre by MMC, a high-level technical centre at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France.
SRO has offices in London, Paris and Liège.


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Worlds Inc. v. Bungie, Inc.
903 F.3d 1237 (Fed Cir. 2018)
Back in September 2018, the Federal Circuit reversed the PTAB decision to invalidate U.S. Patent Nos. 7,945,856, 8,082,501, and 8,145,988 because the board had not adequately considered all real parties in interest during the inter partes reviews. All three patents relate to method and systems for displaying computer-generated avatars in a virtual world. Worlds Inc. owns all three patents. Bungie petitioned the PTAB to institute the IPRs and invalidate the three patents.
This case arises out of another case, Worlds Inc. v. Activision Publishing. In 2012, Worlds asserted a number of patents against Activision claiming games like Call of Duty infringed. At the time, Bungie was not a party to the litigation, but then in 2014, Worlds notified Activision of its intent to add Bungie, claiming the game Destiny also infringed. Bungie filed the petitions for the three IPRs six months after Activision received the notice. It is important to note that between 2012 and 2014 Activision had not filed any IPRs, which means its one-year deadline to file had lapsed. When Bungie filed its petition for IPR proceedings, it did not name Activision as a real party of interest. Worlds argued that Bungie should have named Activision as a real party in interest because of a Developer-Publisher agreement between the two video game companies. The PTAB rejected Worlds' argument and went on to invalidate the patents. Worlds appealed to the Federal Circuit.
An IPR petition "may be considered only if . . . the petition identifies all real parties in interest." 35 U.S.C. section 312(a)(2). Identifying real parties in interest becomes important in an IPR proceeding because it can affect whether the petition is subject to a time bar; therefore it is important who has the burden to prove who is a real party in interest. The Federal Circuit clarified that the burden to demonstrate the petition is not time-barred belongs to the petitioner. However, the PTAB may properly take the petition's assertions regarding real parties in interest at face value until the patent owner can demonstrate some evidence that there may be an unnamed real party in interest. If the patent owner does present evidence of an omission of a real party, then the burden of persuasion requires the petitioner to prove it has satisfied its section 312(a)(2) requirements.
During the IPR proceedings, Worlds did present to the PTAB the Developer-Publisher agreement as evidence that Activision is a real party. In the agreement is a provision that requires legal reviews of a 'Product' to be cleared by Activision. Worlds argued that the IPRs constituted a legal review of a product, therefore, Activision would be able to dictate the direction of the proceedings, making it a real party in interest. The PTAB rejected these arguments and instead relied upon Bungie's assertion that it was solely responsible for the IPRs. In reviewing the PTAB's decision, the Federal Circuit seemed disturbed by the board's reliance on Bungie's assertions and more particularly the board's refusal to place the burden back on Bungie after the agreement came to light. The Federal Circuit vacated the PTAB's decision and remanded for reconsideration of the issue of whether Activision was a real party in interest, which would result in the petition being time barred.
This case is still ongoing and we will provide updates when available.


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A total of 335 foreign nationals were on Tuesday in Abuja granted citizenship by the Federal Government after statutory clearance and due diligence by the relevant security agencies.
The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, who presented the certificates of citizenship to the foreigners, charged them to be good ambassadors of Nigeria.
Iara Oshiomhole, wife of former Governor of Edo state, Adams Oshiomhole, who is from Cape Verde, was one of the recipients.
Dambazau in his remarks said that the 335 applications were approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in January, out of the over 500 foreigners that applied.
He explained that 245 of the foreigners approved were granted Citizenship by Naturalisation while 90 were by Registration, mainly foreign women married to Nigerians.
"Let me say that application for the Citizenship of Nigeria which can be by Naturalisation or Registration is provided for in Chapter 3, Sections 26 and 27 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,'' the minister explained.
The minister said that the approval was part of government's effort on the "Ease of doing business in Nigeria" and boosting Nigeria's image in line with international best practice.
He tasked the "new Nigerian citizens" to be of good conduct, respect the rights and customs of their communities and contribute to the development of Nigeria.
Damabazau said the last time such ceremony was conducted was in December, 2013 and pledged to ensure its sustenance on an annual basis for proper scrutiny.
Dr Lamabert Shumbusho, from Rwanda, who responded on behalf of the recipients, thanked the Federal Government and pledged their loyalty and commitment to the development of Nigeria.
Other recipients include nationals from Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, China and some African countries, most of whom are business moguls who have been operating in Nigeria for years.
The Ministry of Interior and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) are charged with the responsibility of processing applications for Naturalisation from foreign nationals who have stayed/lived in Nigeria for a minimum of 15 years and those by Registration who are mainly married to Nigerians.


text: Engineered to provide rugged durability and outstanding performance, Trojan's Signature Line is perfectly suited for use in renewable energy systems where lowest life-cycle cost is the key consideration. An all-around power house, the Signature Line features Trojan's historically-proven engineering with T2 Technology™, an advanced battery technology for maximum sustained performance, longer life and increased total energy. Trojan's Grid Technology is a lead antimony alloy grid mixture formulated for use with Trojan's Alpha Plus® Paste with T2 Technology. The overall grid configuration is optimized to enhance current flow through the grid network providing exceptional battery performance, reducing downtime and lowering overall maintenance costs. Trojan's Maxguard T2 separator features a multi-rib geometry which keeps acid channels open longer enhancing electrochemical processing while reducing the risk of stratification. Trojan's Maxguard T2 advanced separator sustains performance providing exceptionally longer battery life and significantly lowering your operating costs. Alpha Plus® Paste with T2 Technology is a proprietary, high-density paste formulation precisely engineered to deliver outstanding battery performance. Together Alpha Plus Paste with T2 Technology increases both sustained capacity and total overall ampere-hours resulting in more operating power for your application. It's a key reason why Trojan batteries consistently outperform the competition.


text: If you are new to therapy, please be sure to fill out the following forms, and bring them to your first session. This will help ease you into therapy, and allow as much time as possible to be spent focusing on you. Client Contact Information Sheet Client Intake Authorization for Release of Information


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News Release from Governor's Office! Belle Grove Plantation Made the Video!
December 12, 2012
Governor and Mrs. McDonnell Launch Year of the Historic Home Website
RICHMOND—Governor McDonnell and Mrs. McDonnell are pleased to announce the launch of the Year of the Historic Home website. In September, Governor and Mrs. McDonnell signed a proclamation recognizing 2013 as the Year of the Historic Home and the new website, www.historicalhomes.virginia.gov, features information on the participating houses around Virginia and tools for citizens to interact with Virginia's rich cultural history.
The Governor and First Lady are pleased to initiate this new effort to recognize the importance of the many historic homes around the Commonwealth as they commemorate the bicentennial of the Executive Mansion. Virginia has more than 100 historic homes that span from pre-Colonial times through the Modern era, all of which provide an abundance of cultural, historical, and architectural information and promote an understanding of, as well as an interest in, Virginia's story. Most of these homes are open to the public as museums and historic sites, and have drawn visitors from around the country and even from around the world. Included on the new website is a video PSA graciously donated by PixelDust studios in Washington DC, featuring First Lady Maureen McDonnell and the voice of Salvatore Vecchio, a voice actor of many National Geographic series.
In addition to the interactive features on the new website, the Virginia Time Travelers Program has also been revived for this initiative and students and families are encouraged to participate. In order to achieve the status of Master Traveler, students must download a passport from the website, visit eight participating homes in Virginia, and mail the completed passport to the Executive Mansion. All Master Travelers will be recognized on the website, receive a certificate signed by the Governor, and be entered to win additional prizes.
Both the website and the Time Travelers Program are part of the initiative supported by the Secretary of Natural Resources, the Department of Historic Resources, the Virginia Association of Museums, and the historic homes in Virginia. By highlighting the educational value of these homes and promoting tourism to the sites, the Governor and the First Lady intend to ensure their vitality and enhance their value as Virginia cultural assets.
Managers of historic homes that should be included in this celebration or are currently listed and would like information updated should contact Audrey Trussell at email@example.com.
Check out the Year of the Virginia Historic Home Video!
Belle Grove Plantation ~ Birthplace of James Madison
Made the Video!
Don't forget to "Like" Us on Facebook!


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"Rock of Love" Stripper Cries Foul!
Sometimes true love isn't skin deep. On Sunday's finale of "Rock of Love," has-been Poison rocker Bret Michaels chose between stripperlicious Heather and pink-haired pixie, Jes. And even though Heather had Bret's name tattooed across the back of her neck -- Bret pointed his pinkie to select Jes.
Not surprisingly, Heather was pretty pissed, posting on MySpace that she was misrepresented in the final episode, boohooing that editing made her look way more insensitive on their final date than she really was.
She was upset that she didn't rock the aging rocker. Heather wrote, "I am so heartbroken and appalled that I look so insensitive in the finale."
When Bret asked if he could have both girls, Heather says she "absolutely, 100 percent did not say I would share him. We both said no." Once again, Heather blames editors. "I am soooo appalled by that -- as if the stipper [sic] thing wasn't enough, (which I quit doing months ago) -- or pretty much never showing one bad thing about Jess, I got ran through [sic] the coals and heartbroken once again." Appalling!


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Welcome to Buffet in Atlantic City! Here you can find the best buffets of the gambling capital of the East coast and rate them yourself!
List of Atlantic City Buffets
Golden Nugget
Resort AC
Trump Taj Mahal
Atlantic City is the gambling capital of the East Coast. Although it is smaller than Las Vegas, it is a great place to have a terrific weekend of gambling, going out, and enjoying great food. Most Atlantic City casinos offer buffets, which are often of high quality and low price. Most Atlantic City buffets are located around the famous boardwalk, like the Harrahs buffet, Hilton buffet, Caesar's, Showboat buffet and the buffets in the three Trump casinos. Pay attention to buffet day pass promotions, buffet coupons and seafood buffets.
Atlantic City is the smaller and cooler (weather wise) variant of Las Vegas. It is smaller than Las Vegas, but new casinos are being built at we speaking So enjoy your stay in Atlantic City and it's delicious buffets. If you are running bad at the craps or blackjack tables, there is always a nice buffet waiting for you!


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Keri Russell is abs-olutely fabulous.
The Americans star credits her "nerdy workout" – complete with personalized soundtrack! — for helping her stay slim and impressively toned.
Russell, 37, tells Women's Health in its May cover story that she has "this really nerdy workout I do in my walk-through closet in our brownstone. I do a workout video and use my own music — whatever is inspiring to me at that time, like Alabama Shakes, the Cure, or Mumford and Sons."
Plus, she says residing in Brooklyn offers a bonus workout — walking!
"That's one of the great things about living in Brooklyn and in New York. You get to eat a big rich fatty meal but then you can walk home," says Russell, who admits she didn't start eating vegetables until about 30.
"I didn't grow up with a mom who enforced that at all."
The former Felicity star, who is mom to daughter Willa Lou and son River, 5, with husband Shane Deary, plays a Russian spy-next-door on the hit FX show that airs Wednesdays at 10, and when she's training for her role as Elizabeth Jennings she isn't afraid to break out of her indie workout groove.
"We did do a little fight training type stuff a few weeks before. I did get a bloody lip, which I am sort of proud about, in the boxing training. You should see the other guy though," she jokes.
The funny, self-deprecating star admits it's not easy juggling a career and motherhood, but carves out girlfriend time every few weeks and is honest about the difficulties of her competing demands.
"It's tough," Russell admits. "I try to quell my guilt by saying I'm a better mom if I'm interested in my own life. I'm not resentful. I can be really engaged when I am there. I like the yin and yang of both worlds, and I think it would be hard for me to give up either one."
But she's satisfied with her life for now, except for one thing — her rear-end.
"I'm not a complainer about age. I think my girlfriends all look so much better now than they did 15 years ago. But the thing I notice most is my butt. I used to have a really good, plump butt. Ugh — now my butt's gone. I do wish I had my 25-year-old butt!"


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A woman holds a Greek flag during a protest outside of the Greek Parliament building in Athens, November 6, 2012. (Photo: Angelos Tzortzinis / The New York Times)
Greg Palast: Why Are the Greek People Agreeing to Their Own Destruction?
In his career as an investigative journalist, economist, and bestselling author -Vultures' Picnic, Billionaires and Ballot Bandits, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy - Greg Palast has not been afraid to tackle some of the most powerful names in politics and finance. From uncovering Katherine Harris' purge of African-American voters from Florida's voter rolls in the year 2000 to revealing the truth behind the "assistance" provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to ailing economies, Palast has not held back in revealing the corruption and criminal actions of the wealthy and powerful. In a recent interview on Dialogos Radio, Palast turned his attention to Greece and to the austerity policies that have been imposed on the country by the IMF, the European Union, and the European Central Bank.
"To me, Greece is a crime scene," said Palast. "Greece is dying, and austerity is one of the things that killed it." He rebuked the recent proclamations made by Greek and EU officials deeming Greece an economic "success story," describing them as "nonsense."
"Austerity has destroyed Greece and the euro has destroyed Greece," said Palast. "Austerity in the middle of a recession is a death sentence."
One of the hallmarks of austerity programs is privatization. Palast, who has investigated the impact of privatization programs in Latin America, drew parallels between those countries' experiences and the demands now being imposed on Greece.
"You see the kind of brutal practices which were first tested on Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil brought to Greece with more severe consequences," said Palast. "You get ripped off. You still need water, you still need electricity. You privatize these things, you're still going to have to buy water and electricity, but now you'll pay a fortune to German and American and Canadian companies."
In his critique of privatization programs, Palast referenced Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who had been the World Bank's chief economist prior to being fired for expressing dissent against its policies. "[Stiglitz] called privatization 'briberization' because ... when we talk about privatization, we talk about a couple of guys who are close to the government in Greece, who are close to the German government, and they pick up the properties for next to nothing."
One of the biggest controversies in Greece over the past year has involved the Skouries gold mine. Originally transferred to private hands by the Greek state in 2004 for the paltry sum of 11 million euros, the mine has since come into the possession of the Canadian company Eldorado Gold, which has commenced mining activities. This has resulted in a vociferous grassroots movement, protesting the mine on both economic and environmental grounds. According to Palast, companies like Eldorado Gold prey on vulnerable countries.
"What they do is, they wait for the moment where a nation is really weak and on its back, and has to give away its gold. Tanzania sold its gold mines for nothing under IMF pressure to Barrick Gold. They've made billions and billions and billions."
"Let's not kid ourselves," added Palast. "Nobody gets a gold mine without making a payoff to the powers that be. That's just how it is ... they're not privatizing, they're stealing your gold."
For Palast, the solution for Greece is to leave the Euro.
"You don't want to be in the euro, take my word for it," said Palast. "To stay in the euro zone is like saying we want to stay in the leper colony. The euro is a monstrous creation. The euro is not about having a happy trade zone. It's about imposing the elimination of the progressive state. The euro is the Fourth Reich ... and you have to give it up."
Palast drew upon the paradigm of several Latin American countries as examples that Greece could follow.
"The Argentines ... disconnected from the dollar; they told the creditors to go to hell and they are a booming economy," said Palast, adding that determined leadership is needed in Greece in order to accomplish this.
"The difference between Greece and Argentina is that the Greek people are gutless. Greek people are cowards by nature, whereas the Argentines are tough. I'm trying to push people to not give up. There's no one standing up against the euro. You had one independent party [Syriza] which completely caved in ... you do need that third voice." Such third parties, according to Palast, were able to attain electoral success in Latin America by saying no to the IMF and to policies imposing austerity and privatization. As a result, he argued, those countries' economies are now booming.
Palast was sharply critical of Germany for its role in the Greek crisis. "I keep saying that the Germans want to change the name of the euro to the Panzer. They're accomplishing through economic manipulation what they tried to do with tanks during World War II. You're going to become a German colony unless you get out of their currency."
Palast also had harsh words for Greece's political establishment. Describing Greece's two major parties, New Democracy and PASOK, as "indistinguishable," he stated: "Morally, the leadership of both main parties is equally responsible for lying to the people and causing massive harm to the public, and I think that they should be held accountable."
Palast cited the actions of Goldman Sachs and other banks in helping successive Greek governments hide the country's deficit."It was a fraud, and they charged almost a half a billion dollar fee to the Greek government to help it hide its deficits. Why would you hide your deficits? For a single reason: to stay within the euro."
Palast's harshest criticism was addressed towards Theodoros Pangalos, a prominent former government minister with PASOK. Palast recently interviewed Pangalos at the Eurasia Media Forum in Kazakhstan.
"I couldn't resist the temptation to interview him," said Palast. "He weighs about 300 pounds, he has a stomach that's about three feet ahead of him ... If someone's overweight, that's usually a personal issue, but in his case, it isn't, because you have people in Greece that are literally starving ... and he's saying that if you complain about austerity measures, you're a communist or an anarchist. You're not a communist or an anarchist: you're just someone that's trying to feed your kids."
"Pangalos has a phrase, 'We ate it all together'," added Palast. "No we didn't. He's fat, and other people are starving."
Palast urged the people of Greece to respond to the crisis by protesting the ongoing austerity measures. "Why are the Greek people agreeing to their own destruction? It's crazy! This is when you have to act. You cannot give up now ... I've seen successful movements formed around the world by people who thought their situation was hopeless."
Palast stated his desire to provide his support to Greece, while expressing his interest to hear from ordinary Greeks, in advance of his upcoming visit to the country in September.
"I would like people to contact me and give me their stories, their ideas, their information, and when I come to Greece, I want to meet you and speak with you. I would like to really speak with people about what the people of Greece think are the best solutions. Let's work this out together, and I will bring the best minds in the field of economics to your side, to discuss how movements are formed."


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Aronia Berry Plants
Aronia Berry Plants Buyer's Guide
Also called black chokeberries
The aronia berry plant (Aronia melanocarpa) is native to eastern North America, even though Europe also has a successfully naturalized species of the plant. Creamy white ornate flowers decorate the aronia berry bush in spring, followed by ink-black berries in the fall. Fall foliage is known to change from smooth green to a vibrant-red color, making the aronia berry bush a seasonal beauty. Plants tend to be cold hardy and resist pests and disease, making them easy-care additions to the backyard garden once established. Aronia berries are a rich source of antioxidants and vitamin C. They can be eaten fresh when ripe, where the flavor is sweet, although the astringent pucker explains the origin of the colloquial name, chokeberry. The fruit is more commonly used in juices, wines, and jellies.
Not to be confused with "chokecherries", which is a different plant.
To ensure your growing success and satisfaction, there are a few things to consider when you buy an aronia berry plant.
Zone Compatibility
Your climate plays an important role in whether an aronia berry plant will produce fruit or even survive. Before ordering a plant, make sure its recommended hardiness zone range includes your area.
Proper Pollination
Even though our aronia berry plants are self-pollinating, we still recommend planting another variety in your yard for optimum fruit production.


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Milease UK Ltd T/A Milease of Office 14 Lancashire Enterprise Business Park, Centurion Way, Leyland, England, PR26 6TY
are committed to protecting and respecting any personal information you share with us.
This statement explains what types of information we collect from you, how it is used by us, how we share it with others, how you can manage the information we hold and how you can contact us.
The contents of this statement may change from time to time so please check this page occasionally to ensure you are still happy to share your information with us. Where possible, we will also contact you directly to notify you of these changes.
We collect information about you when you engage with us either through our call centre, our website, other digital platforms or our partners. Some of this information does not identify you personally, but provides us with information about how you use our services and engage with us (we use this information to improve our services and make them more useful to you). The information we collect includes some or all of the following:
We will only process information that is necessary for the purpose for which it has been collected. The legal basis of processing will vary depending the type of service you have requested and we have listed some examples of our processing activities below;
Our "legitimate interests" as referred to in this document include our legitimate business purposes and commercial interests in operating our business in a customer-focused, efficient and sustainable manner, in accordance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
We will never make automated decisions when processing your data nor will we use profiling techniques.
We do not sell your information to third parties, but we do work closely with third party suppliers who fulfil business activities for us. In these situations we will only share the information that is necessary for the third party to perform the processing activity it was provided for, such as;
Some of these third parties may also be considered a data controller in respect of holding your personal data. In these cases, we will provide you with the privacy statements of those parties.
We will not hold your personal information for any longer than is necessary. If you are a customer or otherwise have a relationship with us we will hold personal information about you for a longer period than if we have obtained your details in connection with a prospective relationship. In any event, the retention period will be the statutory retention period unless there is a further legal or regulatory requirement to do so.
Under the data protection act you have certain rights in relation to the data we hold about you. Under GDPR these rights are extended and listed below;
Please note that these rights may be limited by data protection legislation, and we may be entitled to refuse requests where exceptions apply.
If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of how we handle your personal information, please write to us at the above address. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you may write to the Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:
Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
You can also contact the Information Commissioner's Office using their online form: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/


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MAXXIS Assegai 27.5 x 2.50 WT 120 TPI Foldable 3C MaxxTerra EXO+/TR Tyre
Ask Us
Options | 27.5 x 2.50 inches 120TPI Folding DD WT Black Stock available (At supplier) |
Description |
3C MaxxGrip uses the softest rubber compounds to offer the ultimate in grip and slow rebound properties for unparalleled traction in downhill applications DoubleDown (DD) is the next step in the evolution of the dual-ply tyre casing for enduro racing. Two 120 TPI casing layers reinforced with a butyl insert provide the enduro racer with the support and protection of a downhill tyre, but in a lighter package Tubeless tires provide the rider with many benefits: the ability to run lower air pressures, which improves traction; lower rolling resistance when compared to a tube-type tire; and less chance of flatting since there is no tube. Liquid sealants should only be used in the following types of tires: Tubeless Road, Tubular, and Tubeless Ready. The use of liquid sealants in any other Maxxis tire will void the warranty Wide Trail (WT) construction optimizes the tyre's tread layout and profile on today's modern, wider rims. Traditional tyres are designed around older, narrower rims and can create an overly square tyre profile, leading to less than optimal performance. WT tires are optimized for a 35mm inner rim width but are proven to work over a range from 30-35mm inner rim widths, depending on the rider?s preference |
As with any product, specification is subject to change without prior notification. You are advised to confirm current specification before buying.


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One of the most critical decisions you make when building WordPress sites is to choose a theme. Fortunately, there are thousands of excellent themes that you can choose from. Today, we'd like to talk about using minimalistic starter themes, when they're a good option and why.
All-included, speciality and minimalistic starter themes
Theme development in WordPress evolved in several directions, appealing to different audiences and needs.
The most popular themes today are the "multi-purpose" themes, which actually include everything in them. Avada, Enfold and Divi are great examples. They include different design "skins", their own page builders and a ton of functionality that you can enable and disable from the admin dashboard.
Some sites require special functionality, that's hard to achieve with a multi-purpose theme. Real estate and directory webistes are good examples. For these, there are dozens of specialized themes, which include what you'll need to build the sites. These themes offer a tailor-made solution for very specific applications.
And, many developers prefer to build it themselves and choose the various components they'll use to develop the site. For them, a minimalistic starter theme works best, because it offers the bare essentials without overloading the site with bloat.
While there's room for each of these approaches, I'm going to talk about the minimalistic themes, when they are most useful and how to get the best out of them.
What should a minimalistic starter theme not have?
It's actually easier to define a minimalistic starter theme by what it should avoid.
I think that the most important thing in a minimalistic theme is avoiding vendor lock-in. When you create your site with an all-inclusive theme, you get everything that you need. However, it may turn out to be like signing a strict contract. You get everything you need from the theme but there's no going back. Ever. If you love everything about the theme, it's great. But when you run into problems, you have to accept them, because it's virtually impossible to switch the theme.
A really minimalistic starter theme will offer you what you need (from a theme), but would still allow you to switch theme, in case you ever need that. Of course, switching the theme will require some work, but it's not going to be like building the entire site from scratch.
Switching a theme on a production site is never "for sport". Nobody just switches themes because they're bored. You may need to switch the theme if it reaches its end-of-life, or proves to have problems that you didn't realize when you chose it. It's rare, but when you're developing dozens of sites for clients, I'm sure you've run into this situation.
What should a minimalistic starter theme include?
So, there's no lock-in, but what does the theme absolutely need to provide? Well, the answer for this actually evolves. Today there's a certain set of requirements and I'm sure that next year there will be others.
Minimalistic themes that we use today all offer:
- Page layout options (width, paddings, content boxing, etc.)
- Customizable header, footer and sidebars
- Customizable menu(s)
- Typographics controls
In terms of functionality, this is really the bare minimum. Of course, the theme needs to be fast, written with secure code, include the SEO meta-data and compatible with popular plugins.
Since we're talking about minimalistic themes and no vendor lock-in, there shouldn't be site-building features in theme, such as integrated page-builders, contact forms and other stuff that you can get from plugins.
Minimalistic starter themes that you should know about
There are a lot more excellent minimalistic themes then I'm going to cover here. I'll write about themes that clients recommended to us and that we've used ourselves. This way, I can write from our experience in building sites and avoid the marketing hype.
Expanding the features of GeneratePress, OceanWP and Astra
How do you make a theme that's lean and efficient, but still offer rich functionality? The answer is "add-ons". Dedicated add-ons allow you to install the features that you need for different projects.
Let's see what premium extensions each theme offers and how they are useful in building complete sites.
Generate Press premium add-ons
GeneratePress Extensions | Main Features |
Typography and Colors Extension | Complete control over fonts for every part of your site: the body, header, navigation, and others. Define and change colors for (almost) all elements |
WooCommerce Extension | Control the display of different elements: cart in the menu, breadcrumbs, sidebar, product images, related products and more. Distraction-free mode for the checkout page. Change the look-and feel of your buttons, texts, product title, and other elements. |
Disable Elements and Copyright Extension | You can select whether to display the header, primary navigation, post image, title and footer – per page. You can choose from seven different page layouts. Customize the theme's copyright notice. |
Sections, Backgrounds and Spacing Extension | Split the page into several sections and assign a different content and design to each of them: feature, headlines, parallax effect, image, simple content. Add backgrounds to virtually any part of your site: header, body, navigation, sidebar, widgets, and others. |
Menus+, Secondary Navigation and Page Header Extensions | Customize your menu on mobile or desktop. Easily display a secondary menu and choose where it displays: floating, below header and more. Per-page header images. |
Blog Extension | Choose which Blog elements to display: full content or excerpt, date, author, category, and others. Customize the "Read more" label. Customize the blog images. Display most recent posts larger than the older ones. |
Hooks Extension | Add your own code to the site, without editing any theme files. Select the site's section where the code is loaded. |
Bonus feature: GeneratePress Premium add-ons allow you to import and export their settings. This allows you to save time on your other projects that require the same settings.
OceanWP Core Extensions
So far, we can count a total of 15 OceanWP Core Extensions (7 are free and 8 are premium). But if you read the latest blog post of Nicolas, it looks like more are coming!
Let's see below how to make the most of the extensions.
OceanWP Extension | Main Features |
Product Sharing and Social Sharing | With this extension you can add social sharing buttons to your single product page or your post. |
Modal Window | Easy setup, reduces load times and simplify the overall design. You can use it for a form, lead generation, alerts and other important notifications. |
Posts Slider | You can create a slider to display your latest posts, this will generate a shortcode that you can use anywhere on your site. |
Custom Sidebar | Simply drag-and-drop your widgets in it. You can exactly decide on which page you want it. |
Demo Import | There are a few ready-to-use demo available for each industry: Travel, Store, Yoga, Architect and so on. |
Ocean Extra | This is like a dashboard manager or a theme panel. You can choose to disable or enable any sections in the Customizer to make it load faster. |
Portfolio | There are several effective ways for you to present your work and you can filter by author, categories and any other tags. |
WooPopup | The pop-up is shown when you click on "add to cart". You have full control over the radius, plus you can change the links, the texts and customize the messages. |
Sticky Header & Footer | Attach the footer to the bottom of your screen and add any texts, menus or colors to it. |
Elementor Widgets | OceanWP and Elementor team have worked together to add some new widgets to Elementor. |
Footer Callout | It's a powerful way to add important information about your company or buttons just before the traditional footer. |
Ocean Hooks | Add your own code, content and shortcodes throughout the site, a child theme is not even needed. |
Astra Premium add-ons
Astra focuses on simplicity. In minimum options, users get desired output through well-categorized settings in the customizer. Astra Pro is all in one plugin that extends the theme and adds more features.
Astra Extensions | Main Features |
Transparent Header | Create transparent headers and make your website stand out. |
Typography | Get more control over the fonts and readability of your website with this module |
Sticky Header | Let your header be easily accessible even when users scroll down. |
Page Headers | Design attractive Page Title area with breadcrumb, meta fields and other cool options. |
Advanced Footers | Get more footer widget areas and creative designs with Advanced Footer module. |
White Label | Keep information in the WordPress backend simple under your brand. |
Setting up the site with a starter theme
With all three themes that I introduced above, the setup process is very similar:
- Install the theme
- Go to the site's front-end and click on Customize
- Use the Customizer to set-up the site's appearance
Adding functionality to the site with Toolset
When you base your design on a minimalistic starter theme, that's exactly what you're getting – just the minimal functionality to display content.
Toolset can be your one-stop solution for adding functionality to the site. Because Toolset is a suite of plugins, they run on any theme. This means, that you can still switch themes, without rebuilding the entire site.
Here are some things that you can add with Toolset, without writing any code:
Integration with Toolset and the benefits for building sites with custom types
Astra, GeneratePress and OceanWP are all custom types ready themes. That means you can customize their options for each template you design. This includes templates for your custom post types and archive pages.
This video shows the integration between Toolset and Astra theme:
For example, you can decide to display the sidebar on your regular pages, but not for your custom types: Tour or any others created with Toolset.
Minimalistic themes promise to allow building lean and high performance sites, which are tailored to the need of each project separately.
We covered three themes that fit this description very well. They all provide a great starting point and offer add-ons that make customization easy. Each of these themes has a great free version on WordPress.org and offers paid addons.
When you need to build more advanced custom functionality, you can do that using your own PHP or with Toolset plugins and without programming.
We hope that you find this tutorial useful. Tell us about your experience by leaving your comments.


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Our amazing Fibre Arts tool for 2024.
A lovely hand turned handle made from "Buttercup" Fusion, which is a combination of Australian burled wood with colored resins.
This is our EXTRA LONG VERSION.
The back end and the collet are made of gold and the hooks are out of painted GOLD.
Each set includes 8 different sized hooks…
3.0mm, 3.5mm, 4.0mm, 4.5mm, 5.0mm. 5.5mm, 6.0mm. and 7.0mm
The hooks are interchangeable by loosening the collet, inserting the hook and tightening to use. To disassemble, loosen the collet, pull out the hook and then select the hook size, slide back into the collet, tighten and use.
The total length of the handle and attached hook is 6.50". Handle is just about 5.0" in length and just under 3/4" in diameter.
FREE lettermail shipping within Canada. Additional charges if combined with products that do not offer free shipping.
If you wish a faster delivery, please contact us and we will send an invoice that contains trackable shipping.
Custom pieces are available!!!!


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Eyes and Headaches Are Often Linked
Headaches can have a number of causes you wouldn't expect, like an uncorrected vision problem.
If you live with frequent headaches, it would be well worth your time to schedule an eye exam, if only to rule out a vision problem as the cause. Not all headaches are tied to vision and not all vision problems cause headaches, but there is a significant amount of overlap between the two.
Headaches and Digital Eye Strain
We enjoy many benefits from modern technology, but it can also cause us problems. One of those can happen after hours of staring at bright screens every day (whether for fun or work), and that's digital eye strain. Symptoms of digital eye strain include blurred vision, tired and aching eyes, difficulty focusing, and even frequent headaches.
Screens aren't the only way to get eye strain. An untreated vision problem like farsightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism, or age-related farsightedness (presbyopia) can put a lot of stress on the eye, forcing it to try to compensate for the problem. In the case of astigmatism, the cornea is abnormally shaped, bending light in ways it shouldn't and forcing a lot of squinting. The excessive squinting alone can contribute to headaches.
With hyperopia and presbyopia, the eye's lens makes nearby objects look blurred by focusing images slightly behind the retina instead of directly against it. Trying to read small print with either of these eye problems can become a literal headache, and the older we get, the less flexible the lenses of our eyes become, making it an increasing issue even for people who never needed glasses before.
Even Kids Can Get Headaches From Eye Problems
A child with an undiagnosed vision problem is just as vulnerable to frequent headaches as an adult. That's just one reason why every child should receive a comprehensive eye exam from an actual eye doctor before starting school (as opposed to a vision screening from the school nurse). Kids are even less likely to make the connection between their headaches and an eye problem than adults, and it could drastically impact their education and development.
The Right Prescription Makes a Difference
Changes in vision tend to happen so gradually that we don't notice for months or even years that our old glasses aren't doing the trick anymore. Most of the time, vision-related headaches could be due to something as simple as an outdated contact lens or glasses prescription.
Sight-Threatening Conditions and Headaches
A link between eyes and headaches might not always be as simple as an outdated prescription. Headaches are also a symptom of glaucoma, an eye disease in which pressure building up against the optic nerve causes permanent vision loss. Cataracts can also cause headaches. The best way to stop sight-threatening conditions in their tracks is by catching them early through regular eye exams.
An Eye Exam Could Save You a Headache!
Finding time for a regular eye exam is worth it no matter how busy our schedules become, especially if you've been suffering from frequent headaches and have no idea what is causing them. We can either identify the cause of your headaches or cross eye problems off the list of potential causes when you come in for your next appointment.