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Age Discrimination In the Workplace, ADEA, Apprenticeship Programs, Charge, Lawsuits, Retaliation
Victims of age discrimination in the workplace are typically able to bring suit in federal court, state court or a state administrative agency in charge of enforcing civil rights laws. To pursue a federal court claim of age discrimination, an employee must first file or cross-file a charge with the EEOC.
ADEA PROTECTIONS: Age Discrimination under federal law is governed by The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). This law protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The ADEA applies to both employees as well as job applicants. Under the ADEA, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of his/her age with respect to any term, condition or privilege of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, layoff, compensation, benefits, job assignments and training.
ADEA EMPLOYERS/PROGRAMS COVERED: The ADEA applies to employers with 20 or more employees, including state and local governments, employment agencies, labor organizations as well as the federal government. It also applies to the following:
- Apprenticeship Programs: The ADEA prohibits apprenticeship programs, including joint labor-management apprenticeship programs to discriminate on the basis of an individual's age unless certain specific exemptions apply;
- Job Notices and Advertisements: It is unlawful under the ADEA to include age preferences, limitation, or specifications in job notices or advertisements. Such are only permitted in the rare situations where age is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) reasonably related to the normal operation of the business.
- Benefits: The Older Worker Benefit Protection Act of 1990 (OWBPA) amended the ADEA to specifically prohibit employers from denying benefits to older workers. Congress recognized that the cost of providing certain benefits to older workers is greater than the cost of providing those same benefits to younger workers, and that those greater costs could create a disincentive to hire older workers. Therefore, in limited circumstances, an employer may be permitted to reduce benefits based on age, as long as the cost of providing reduced benefits to older workers is the same as the cost of providing benefits to younger workers.

subset: commoncrawl


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to research from the University of Michigan and nearly three centuries ofmedicinal use, we can now utilize ginger root to not only kill ovarian cancer
cells, but also prostate cancer cells with zero toxicity.
Truly among the great medicines of the world, ginger has
long been used to treat inflammation and nausea, but the results presented in a
session at the American Association for Cancer Research show that in every
single instance where ginger powder was used to treat cancer cells, they all
died as a result of being exposed to the compound. In medical lingo this is
called apoptosis (cancer cell suicide.) When ginger is present, the cells even
attack one another, called autophagy
While ginger has been deemed a great natural remedy for
those who are undergoing chemotherapy, it can also be used in larger quantities
to treat cancer of its own accord.
Another study showing ginger's ability to fight ovarian
cancer concludes with:
"Ginger inhibits growth and modulates secretion of
angiogenic factors in ovarian cancer cells. The use of dietary agents such as
ginger may have potential in the treatment and prevention of ovarian cancer."
Ginger has also been proven to treatprostate cancer. The
British Journal of Nutrition published the results of an American study
recently in which ginger extract (zingiber officinale) killed human prostate
cancer cells while healthy prostate cells were left alone. Whole ginger extract
was revealed to shrink prostate tumor size by a whopping 56%
Further adding to the benefits of ginger, the spice has no
toxicity when consumed even in high doses, and does not cause people to endure
the very uncomfortable side effects of chemo and radiation treatments. The
American Cancer Society admits that more
than 15% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, and more than 20,000
American women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer this year. Many of these
cases can be helped with ginger root.
While Big Pharma would have these men and women endure very
invasive treatments, some simple ginger root powder can cause their cancer
cells to commit a certain death.
Source: World Truth Tv


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Alpha-Lipoic Acid - A water and lipid soluble antioxidant; supports glucose metabolism and nerve health. Alpha Lipoic Acid is a multifunctional, versatile nutrient that plays a key role in the antioxidant network and the metabolic process.
Alpha lipoic acid is an exceptionally versatile nutrient. Being both water and fat soluble, it is able to function in almost any part of the body. It is a potent antioxidant which enhances the activity of vitamins C and E. It is a multifunctional compound providing protection from free radicals and supporting various metabolic processes. It has been associated with supporting nerve health, cardiovascular function, and glucose metabolism.*
Uses For Alpha Lipoic Acid
Nerve Health: At this time, as many as fifteen clinical trials have examined the role of alpha lipoic acid in maintaining healthy nerve function. The results of these trials have typically demonstrated that alpha lipoic acid administration provides neuroprotection. In part, this may be due to alpha lipoic acids ability to modulate nitric oxide metabolite activity and to promote healthy microcirculation.*
Glucose Metabolism: Alpha lipoic acid supports healthy glucose uptake and helps to maintain healthy glucose utilization. It also plays a role in moderating the formation of advanced glycation end products.*
Cardiovascular Support: In addition to supporting healthy glucose metabolism, the antioxidant properties of alpha lipoic acid also promote healthy vascular and blood vessel function.*
Pure Encapsulations alpha lipoic acid is synthetically produced and has a minimum purity of 99%. Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate) is derived from corn dextrose fermentation. Hypo-allergenic plant fiber is derived from pine cellulose.
Pure Encapsulations recommends 100-1200 mg per day, in divided doses, with meals.
Are There Any Potential Side Effects Or Precautions?
If pregnant or lactating, consult your physician before taking this product. Alpha lipoic acid may cause gastrointestinal discomfort in some individuals and should always be taken with meals. In rare cases, alpha lipoic acid may also cause skin rash in sensitive individuals.
Are There Any Potential Drug Interactions?
At this time, there are no known adverse reactions when taken in conjunction with medications.
Shop All Products
To Order, Call (888) 821-8808


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EU/UK customers please purchase through anost.net
LP version features alternate color artwork and is pressed on 150gram vinyl with a free download coupon. CD version comes in a 4 panel mini-LP style gatefold package.
Mountains is Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp, two sonic explorers whose long history, shared philosophies, and love of sculpting sound, has resulted in some of the most densely layered and blissful music crafted in recent memory. The duo is known for obscuring the boundaries between acoustic instrumentation and electronics. Their debut Thrill Jockey release Choral was universally critically acclaimed, sold through three LP pressings, and ended up being one of the label's best selling releases of 2009, a remarkable achievement.
Air Museum blurs the lines between acoustic and electronic music even more without sacrificing melody or the delicacy of their sound. It is an album of firsts. It was the first album that the acoustic instruments were not processed via a computer. Instead, the processing of the instrumentation (acoustic and electric guitar, cello, accordion, piano, bass etc.) was done using a variety of pedals, modular synths, and other analog techniques. While acoustic instruments were used extensively, the album manifests itself sonically as their most "electronic" record yet. Air Museum is also their first record that was made in a studio. Working in the studio expanded their possibilities, giving more room for experimentation. While much of the album was recorded in real time with minor editing, the band took the opportunity to utilize the studio as an instrument of sorts, investing a great amount of time in customizing their approach to post-production. Air Museum was recorded at Telescope Recording, in Brooklyn, New York, between December 2010 and January 2011, with the exception of "Blue Lanterns On East Oxford" which was recorded in Philadelphia in the spring of 2010 and "Live At The Triple Door", an edit of a live performance that took place in Seattle at the 2009 Decibel Festival.
Since returning from European and American tours for Choral, Mountains has been concentrating on the assembly of new systems to create and perform without the use of a computer. Air Museum is the first result of these efforts. It is less reliant on long linear crescendos, focusing more on rhythmic interplay and dynamic changes. Like their previous work it retains the energy and the expansiveness born of improvisation.
Mountains is also taking a new approach to their live performance, utilizing many of the techniques they developed while working on Air Museum. For their new live set, Mountains has created a patch that will enable their electronics to sync up at various times, so while the musicians react to one another musically, given the right parameters, the machines can react to one another as well.
Through their multi-textural and subtly shifting approach, Mountains has garnered much praise from audiences and critics alike. "Holtkamp and Anderegg deliver a kind of 21st century folk music - one that's immersed in the aesthetics of modern technology yet retains a very natural, very approachable sound. Absolutely gorgeous music" (Boomkat).
Mountains will briefly tour the East Coast and Midwest prior to the release of their album. They will tour Europe upon release with additional US dates starting in June.


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A match made in heaven, this sectional marries a cool, contemporary look and a decadently soft, plush microfiber feel. This irresistibly comfortable union is love at first touch at the end of a long day, or anytime you're ready to get serious about relaxing. Say I do to big-time comfort and style flanked by neatly finessed track arms in a clean, straightforward design. A medley of pillows in cream, black and gray blends effortlessly with any setting.
Height | 40in | |
Width | 131in | |
Depth | 131in | |
Details | Includes 3 pieces: left-arm facing sofa, wedge and right-arm facing sofa, "Left-arm" and "right-arm" describe the position of the arm when you face the piece, Corner-blocked frame, Reversible cushions, High-resiliency foam cushions wrapped in thick poly fiber, Polyester upholstery, Exposed legs with faux wood finish, Platform foundation system resists sagging 3x better than spring system after 20,000 testing cycles by providing more even support, Smooth platform foundation maintains tight, wrinkle-free look without dips or sags that can occur over time with sinuous spring foundations | |
Material | Fabric, Wood Products and Other | |
Lifestyle | Contemporary | |
Dimensions | 131''W x 131''D x 40''H |


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RETAbet Bilbao Basket comes off an up-and-down season. Things did not go well for Bilbao in the 7DAYS EuroCup, where it lost three of its first four games and ended up being eliminated via tiebreaker despite its 3-5 record. RETAbet got off to an extremely good start in the Spanish League regular season and won its four opening games. The team missed the Spanish Copa del Rey by one win and did not make it to the Spanish League playoffs after finishing 10th overall with a 14-18 record. RETAbet returns to the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup with a wild card in what will be its seventh season in the competition in 10 years. That is enough to consider RETAbet as a classic EuroCup club.
Bilbao Basket has a strong EuroCup record to live up to. RETAbet enters the season with an impressive 58-29 record in the competition; it has reached the semifinals three times and went all the way to the title game in 2013 before losing to Lokomotiv Kuban Krasnodar. Founded in 2000, Bilbao has marched along a road of success that started in the Spanish third division. The club moved up almost a division per year under Coach Txus Vidorreta and future All-EuroLeague center Tiago Splitter. In 2004, Bilbao aced the second-division playoffs to qualify for the top Spanish League and started to make noise soon after. By 2008, Bilbao had already made it to the Spanish League playoffs, the Spanish King's Cup semifinals and the Spanish SuperCup title game. Bilbao had a strong 2008-09 EuroCup season, its first in the competition; in which it it advanced to the semifinals before Khimki stopped its run. Bilbao returned to the semifinals the following season – in which Marko Banic was chosen as the 2009-10 EuroCup MVP, but lost at the hands of ALBA Berlin. Bilbao reached the Spanish League finals in 2011, qualified for the 2011-12 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the Men in Black fought all the way to the playoffs before losing to mighty CSKA Moscow in a clash for a spot at the Final Four. Bilbao returned to the EuroCup to reach the 2013 championship game with Fotis Katsikaris earning EuroCup Coach of the Year honors. Bilbao stepped out in the Last 32 in the 2013-14 EuroCup season and just a year later, the club was fourth in the Spanish League regular season with a 20-14 record, but lost to Valencia Basket in a quarterfinals series that went down to the final seconds. Last season, Bilbao managed to reel off seven consecutive road wins in qualifying to the Last 32 and forcing a do-or-die game against Bandirma. Its only road loss in the entire EuroCup season prevented Bilbao from making it to the eighthfinals. Bilbao also missed the Spanish League playoffs due to a midcourt, buzzer-beating bank shot that gave CAI Zaragoza an important win at Bilbao Arena. Last year, RETAbet did not go past the EuroCup regular season, but now will be more motivated than ever to bounce back and live up to its tradition in the competition.


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This "Pillow" sculpture was made by Stephen Antonakos in 1963, and I spotted it recently in his show at Lori Bookstein Fine Art in Chelsea in New York. It helps demonstrate how much the standard art-historical narratives cut out of the real story of art. Where do Antonakos's pillows fit in the scheme of things, as we've all learned it? They don't even fit into the standard story of their maker's art, since he's known for works in neon. On the other hand, what's even more weird is how few works don't fit our standard narratives: People complain that art has to be about more than "mere" novelty, but novelty of any kind is surprisingly hard to achieve. Hence my interest in these unsettling pillows, more likely to cause insomnia in a poor art historian than to cure it.
By Blake Gopnik


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easyID Fuse 3 Amp
easyID illuminated ATC® blade fuses use Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology to show that a fuse has blown, making them easy to spot in fuse panels tucked up under dark dashboards.
- Replaces non illuminating ATO® or ATC® fuses
- Fast acting
- Two per retail package
Interrupt Capacity: 1000A @ 32V DC
Blade Material: tin-plated
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (dehp) which is known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to P65Warnings.ca.gov.
- Amperage: 3a
- Fuse Type: ATO/ATC
- Type: Fuses
- Box Dimensions: 1"H x 1"W x 3"L WT: 0.1 lbs
Brochure (pdf)


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On Sunday, the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks will square off at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey under the open sky. It's the first time in football history the Super Bowl has been played in an open stadium in a cold-weather city.
The decision has drawn plenty of detractors, and fans are glued to forecasts in advance of the big game. But why is MetLife Stadium open anyway? And why do so few cold-weather cities spring for a stadium with a roof?
The reason, it turns out, has only a little to do with football. While weather matters, stadium designs are chosen based on potential uses outside the sport. [In Photos: The Coldest Places on Earth]
Stadium statistics
First, the numbers. There are 31 official NFL stadiums. We divided them into north and south based on the traditional boundary between the regions — the Mason-Dixon line. Western stadiums were a bit harder to categorize by this criteria, so Live Science used the latitude of the Mason-Dixon line as a marker.
This had some odd effects, such as lumping the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., and the 49ers' Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., in with Deep South stadiums like New Orleans' Superdome. Nevertheless, the western stadiums that didn't fit nicely into preconceived notions of North and South were all open stadiums, so their categorization didn't change the final picture. (Yes, arguably too much thought went into this. Football is serious business.)
Using these criteria, there are 11 open football stadiums in the North and 12 in the South. The real difference appears when looking at closed and retractable-roof stadiums. There is only one closed stadium north of the Mason-Dixon line: Detroit's Ford Field. The South also boasts only one retractable-roof stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. [In Photos: NFL Stadiums That Have Hosted the Super Bowl]
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In the South, there are three domed stadiums (the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, and the Edward Jones Done in St. Louis). There are also three southern retractable-roof stadiums (Houston's Reliant Stadium, Arizona's University of Phoenix Stadium, and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, which is home to the Dallas Cowboys).
Technical challenge
To find out why teams and cities choose an open stadium versus a retractable-roof or closed dome, we turned to Walter P. Moore, the Houston-based engineering firm that engineered the moveable roofs of University of Phoenix Stadium, AT&T Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium and Reliant Stadium.
The choice, said Mark Waggoner, a principal at the firm, boils down to a few issues: cost, uses other than football, and, yes, weather.
Putting a roof over a stadium is both an engineering and financial challenge. Building an unsupported structure that spans some 600 to 800 feet (180 to 245 meters) is more like building a bridge than a ceiling, Waggoner told Live Science.
"It's either a lot of steel or a lot of cables," he said.
Domes are challenging, because they require a lot of temporary support during construction, Waggoner said. A retractable roof is another leap.
"It's a challenge just to build a basic roof over the stadium, so when we put a hole in it and start moving a piece of it, it becomes that much more complicated," Waggoner said.
Retractable roofs use different methods based on the slope of the building, but generally panels roll along rails or geared tracks, powered by electric motors, he said. The popularity of these buildings has taken off since the late 1990s, however, he said — and the four retractable-roof football stadiums have all opened in the last 12 years. [10 Technologies That Will Transform Your Life]
All this roof technology comes with a price tag. A retractable roof adds between $100 million and $150 million to a project over an open stadium, Waggoner said, and between $25 million and $40 million over the cost of a closed, fixed-roof stadium.
Choosing a roof
So why swallow the extra bill? Basically, an enclosed stadium gets more use.
"The football games have probably the least to do with that decision," Waggoner said. If a municipality wants the stadium for use in concerts, rodeos or other year-round events, a closed building is the way to go. Purists who see football as an outdoor game may be mollified by the open-stadium option of a retractable roof.
MetLife Stadium was originally envisioned as a retractable-roof stadium, but the owners of the New York Giants and New York Jets, who share the facility, balked at the cost, according to a report about the stadium. With two teams playing on the field, the stadium gets more football-related use than many NFL facilities, noted Lee Slade, a senior principal at Walter P. Moore.
As for why more southern climes spring for enclosed facilities, the difference may be weather. As much as fans are grumbling about needing to bundle up for this year's Super Bowl, it's easier to pile on the down coats in winter weather than to stay cool in high heat, humidity and sunshine.
"Certainly in the South, the heat plays a factor in the patron comfort during games," Waggoner said.
Labor costs in New Jersey would likely drive the price of building a roofed stadium beyond even what it would be in the South, Waggoner said. And designing for snow requires more steel (which means more cash), as the weight of a snowfall can double the load a stadium roof needs to support.
In the future, retractable, multi-use stadiums will probably become more and more popular, Waggoner said. But engineers may experiment with moving walls and other designs, especially because artificial turf has removed the need for direct sunlight on the playing field.
"I think we'll see more roofs that aren't just traditional … but rather are kinetic and moving in ways that affect fan comfort, but aren't necessarily just trying to get sunlight directly on the field," he said. "I think we're see more lightweight systems, inflatable fabrics and things that like that may cover spaces cost-effectively."
Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.


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- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (200 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) light vegetable oil
- Scant 1 cup (250 g) dark liquid honey
- 2 tbsp. rum or brandy
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) warm strong black coffee
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. powdered cloves
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 cups (300g) flour, plus extra to dust the drived fruit and nuts 1/2 (50 g) coarsely chopped walnuts or slivered almonds
- 1//3 (40g) golden raisins
- Beat the eggs with the sugar till pale and creamy.
- Then beat in the oil, honey, brandy, and coffee.
- Mix the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and orange zest with the flour.
- Add gradually to the egg and honey mixture, beating vigorously to a smooth batter.
- Dust the golden raisins and the walnuts or almonds with flour to prevent them from dropping to the bottom of the cake, and stir them into the batter.
- Line a 9 inch pan with greaseproof paper or with foil, brushed with oil and dusted with flour, and pour in the batter.
- OR divide between two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans. Bake the large cake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 1/4 hours, or longer, until firm and brown on top, and the smaller ones for 1 hour.


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Newborn skin care: Baby eczema and dry skin
Dry skin is a universal complaint. And people who live in dry climates or have a family history of dry skin have even more reason to complain.
The facts about eczema
Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema is often associated with dry skin; in fact, it's the most common itchy skin condition in children. It usually begins when the child is an infant, but may begin during the toddler or early school-age years. Eczema – red, scaly patches of skin that are very itchy – appears most commonly in children with a family history of eczema or other allergic reactions, including asthma and hay fever. Babies most commonly get eczema on the face, legs and arms. In toddlers or older children, it commonly shows up in the folds of the knees and elbows. The itching may be quite severe and often disturbs the sleep of affected children. Itching also serves to continue the cycle, as scratching can lead to more itchy red areas of skin, and may also result in secondary infection with bacteria or viruses.
Treating dry skin and baby eczema
The most important treatment (and preventative measure) for dry skin and eczema is keeping the skin well moisturised. Bathe your child every day in lukewarm water for no longer than 10 minutes, and follow this by applying a thick moisturiser to the moist skin.
Good moisturisers include greasy ointments like petroleum jelly and thick creams. The most effective creams come in tubs; if you can pour it from a bottle, it is not going to be as effective. Bathing for long periods of time can dry the skin and make things worse. Children with eczema are also often treated with topical steroid ointments, which can be prescribed by a paediatrician or dermatologist. These ointments help to decrease the inflammation and itch, and work very well when used in conjunction with moisturisers.
Using the right product
Choosing the right product for your baby is very important. The new Pampers Premium Pant comes with a wetness indicator that helps find out when your baby requires a diaper change. Its high absorption power keeps your baby dry throughout the night and the lotion with aloe vera helps moisturise your baby's skin. The Pampers Premium Pants is super soft and helps prevent rashes and dry skin.
Other helpful strategies
For dry skin and eczema include using a humidifier in the child's bedroom, avoiding wool and synthetic fibres in clothing, and using fragrance-free detergents and soaps. Although currently there is no cure for eczema, new medications are always being researched for safety and effectiveness. What's more, approximately 60 per cent of babies outgrow eczema by their third birthday, and 85 to 90 per cent by the time they are teenagers.
Related conditions
Several related dry skin conditions can appear in patients with eczema.
Ichthyosis vulgaris is a type of scaling in the shape of polygons, usually found on the lower legs. Think of what happens when a mud pond dries up and cracks.
Keratosis pilaris is a common condition characterised by rough skin bumps (similar to sandpaper) over the upper outer arms, the thighs, and, in infants, the cheeks. Both of these conditions tend to worsen in the winter and improve somewhat in the summer.
Pityriasis alba consists of white spots on the skin of the cheeks and is usually most prominent toward the end of summer because the affected areas tan less than the surrounding skin. White spots also may result when mild eczema in those areas heals, resulting in a temporary loss of pigment.
Treatment for all of these conditions consists primarily of moisturising effectively. Check with your child's health provider for the best solution for your child. All of these conditions may improve as a child gets older, but at times they persist into adulthood.


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Hello. I have been working in photoshop few years now, now Im learning new adobe SWs. But if you want to create something there is two aspects. Idea and Realization. For both you need to know something. Realization is in my case knowledge of photoshop. But I dont know how to get ideas. Like okay I get few when I was just looking around me but Im not sure about them. I dont have any trouble to re-work something. Like cover for magazine. When I was doing it last time it was like 99% authentic.
My friend told me about burger house near where we live. So I tried to create some kind of corp. identity for them like menu, name tag for staff and so on(just for fun).
On the left there is thier menu and on the right there is my work. (sorry for slovak language)
Doesnt matter what Im doing I still feels its crap. So tell me if its good or not, what is wrong and how to get more confident about my ideas/work. I tried to apply for a job as designer but get denied....


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I like music
About Me
I like music, especially making music. I listen to a lot of different stuff, but I like soul, jazz and fusion music most. I like to develop and experiment with tools to make music performance and improvisation on the spot more exciting. It is fun when unexpected musical things happen during a performance!
In recent years I developed the MIDI real-time Harmonizer, a tool for generating harmonized chords when playing a solo line. Inspired by the work of saxophonist Michael Brecker, I started to develop this tool to run on Mac and PC. Brecker played the Electronic Wind Instrument and used the Oberheim Xpander synth to generate random chords from an EWI solo line. Now you can accomplish the same thing with the MIDI real-time Harmonizer driving your own favourite (plugin) synths.


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Ever since the Occupy Wall Street movement began last fall, we have been hearing the incessant mantra of: Don't blame the rich for wealth inequality. In fact, Herman Cain's futile bid for the Presidency was based (in part) on that very theme. Last January, James Q. Wilson (who passed away on Friday) wrote an opinion piece for The Washington Post entitled, "Angry about inequality? Don't blame the rich". Paul Buchheit of the Common Dreams blog rebutted Wilson's essay with this posting: "So say the rich: 'Don't blame us for having all the money!' ". How often have you read and heard arguments from apologists for the Wall Street banksters, upbraiding those who dared speak ill of those sanctified "job creators" within the top one percent of America's economic strata?
Finally, a group of scientists has intervened by conducting some research about the ethics of those at the top of America's socioeconomic food chain. Stéphane Côté, PhD, Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, worked with a team of four psychologists from the University of California at Berkeley to conduct seven studies on this subject. Their paper, "Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior" was published in the February 27 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Here is the abstract:
Seven studies using experimental and naturalistic methods reveal that upper-class individuals behave more unethically than lower-class individuals. In studies 1 and 2, upper-class individuals were more likely to break the law while driving, relative to lower-class individuals. In follow-up laboratory studies, upper-class individuals were more likely to exhibit unethical decision-making tendencies (study 3), take valued goods from others (study 4), lie in a negotiation (study 5), cheat to increase their chances of winning a prize (study 6), and endorse unethical behavior at work (study 7) than were lower-class individuals. Mediator and moderator data demonstrated that upper-class individuals' unethical tendencies are accounted for, in part, by their more favorable attitudes toward greed.
The impact and the timing of this article, with respect to the current debate over income inequality, have resulted in quite a bit of interesting commentary. I enjoyed the perspective of Peter Dorman at the Econospeak blog:
The tone of the first wave of commentary, as far as I can tell, is that we knew it all along – rich people are nasty. I would like to put in a word, however, for the other direction of causality, that dishonesty and putting one's own interests ahead of others are conducive to wealth.
* * *
The reason I bring this up is because there is a constant background murmur in our society that says that greater wealth has to be a reward for more talent, more effort or more contribution to society.
Most of the commentary written about the PNAS article has been relatively non-partisan. Two-day access for reading the article on-line will cost you ten bucks. For those of us who can't afford that (as well as for those who can afford it – but are too greedy to pay for anything) I have assembled a number of excerpts from articles written by those who actually read the entire scientific paper. The following passages will provide you with some interesting details about the research conducted by this group.
Christopher Shea of The Wall Street Journal gave us a brief peek at some of the specific findings of the studies conducted by this team.
It went so far as to show that higher-class people will literally take candy from the mouths of children.
An excerpt quoted by Shea illustrated how the group expanded on an observation made by French sociologist Émile Durkheim:
"From the top to the bottom of the ladder, greed is aroused," Durkheim famously wrote. Although greed may indeed be a motivation all people have felt at points in their lives, we argue that greed motives are not equally prevalent across all social strata.
Brandon Keim of Wired offered us more research data from the article, while focusing on the observations of team member Paul Piff, a Berkeley psychologist:
"This work is important because it suggests that people often act unethically not because they are desperate and in the dumps, but because they feel entitled and want to get ahead," said evolutionary psychologist and consumer researcher Vladas Griskevicius of the University of Minnesota, who was not involved in the work. "I am especially impressed that the findings are consistent across seven different studies with varied methodologies. This work is not just good science, but it is shows deeper insight into the reasons why people lie, cheat, and steal."
According to Piff, unethical behavior in the study was driven both by greed, which makes people less empathic, and the nature of wealth in a highly stratified society. It insulates people from the consequences of their actions, reduces their need for social connections and fuels feelings of entitlement, all of which become self-reinforcing cultural norms.
"When pursuit of self-interest is allowed to run unchecked, it can lead to socially pernicious outcomes," said Piff, who noted that the findings are not politically partisan. "The same rules apply to liberals and conservatives. We always control for political persuasion," he said.
For Thomas B. Edsall of The New York Times, the research performed by this group helped explain the rationale behind a bit of Republican campaign strategy:
Republicans recognize the political usefulness of objectification, capitalizing on "compassion fatigue," or the exhaustion of empathy, among large swathes of the electorate who are already stressed by the economic collapse of 2008, high levels of unemployment, an epidemic of foreclosures, stagnant wages and a hyper-competitive business arena.
Compassion fatigue was fully evident in Rick Santelli's 2009 rant on CNBC denouncing a federal plan to prop up "losers' mortgages" at taxpayer expense, a rant that helped spark the formation of the Tea Party. Republican debates provided further evidence of compassion fatigue when audiences cheered the record-setting use of the death penalty in Texas and applauded the prospect of a gravely ill pauper who, unable to pay medical fees, was allowed to die.
Jonathan Gitlin of Ars Technica reported on some of the juicy details from a few experiments. When reading about my favorite experiment, keep in mind that the term "SES" refers to socioeconomic status.
Study number four involved participants rating themselves on the SES scale to heighten their perception of status; they were then answered a number of questions relating to unethical behavior. At the end of the experiment, they were presented with a jar of individually wrapped candy and told that, although it was for children in a nearby lab, they could take some if they wanted. At this point you might be able to guess what the results were. High SES participants took more candy.
Gitlin concluded his review of the paper with this thought:
The researchers argue that "the pursuit of self-interest is a more fundamental motive among society's elite, and the increased want associated with greater wealth and status can promote wrongdoing." However, they point out that their findings aren't absolute, and that philanthropic efforts such as those of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet buck the observed trend, as does research which has shown a relationship between poverty and violent crime.
Meanwhile, the debate over economic inequality continues to rage on through the 2012 election cycle. It will be interesting to observe whether this scientific report is exploited to bolster the argument that most of the one-percenters suffer from a character flaw, which not only got them where they are today – but which is shared by their kleptocratic comrades, who have facilitated a system of legalized predation.


text:
New Device Allows You to Hear Dogs Talk; No Disney Movie Required
I have a question. Can you understand what dogs are saying?
You can't huh? That's absolutely crazy you say? I see, I see.
Well until very recently I would have agreed entirely. However, that was until a project called "No More Woof" exceeded its funding goal on indiegogo and got me thinking that perhaps we have all been too quick to jump to such a seemingly obvious conclusion.
"No More Woof" is an EEG reader and speaker system that your dog wears around their neck and on their head. From there it is able to read their neuro signals and brain waves in order to form and relay a basic idea of just what is going through their mind. Now while that does mean you won't be having a conversation with your dog regarding the modern societal relevance of "Catcher in the Rye," the device will be able to tell you if your pooch is tired, hungry, curious, and some other basic thoughts.
Believe it or not the technology fueling this idea is actually very much legitimate. However it has never been put together in such a fashion, for such a purpose, and on the consumer level. You're perfectly justified then for maintaining a skeptical outlook regarding the prospects of this device's functionality. However, there is enough in place to hint that this device may just be feasible, though on an admittedly simple level.
With 48 days left during its funding period, "No More Woof" is already $5,000 over its asking goal. If you want to get in on it early, the basic model is still available for an $85 contribution.


text:
King St Tattoo
Newtown's best street and custom tattoo studio
King Street Tattoo is a custom and walk in shop located in Newtown in Sydney's inner west an area known for it arts and entertainment.
We are open 7 days 11am till midnight and have both male and female artists.
Our philosophy is to give everyone who comes through our doors a good quality tattoo and a great experience getting it. We have an amazing team of committed tattooers working in a diverse range of styles to satisfy first timers to old hands from script and butterfly tattoos to full Japanese sleeves and body suits we have male and female tattoo artists to work with you.
We are adept at doing custom work and have years of experience and a huge library of reference to draw from when creating your tattoo, feel free to book a consult with any of our tattooers if you want advice or assistance in designing your next piece.
The studio is open and spacious with an ever growing array of interesting artwork, with a friendly and fun atmosphere and is located with Industrial Strength Body Piercing at 192 King St Newtown we are on the 422, 426, 428 Bus lines and a short stroll from Newtown Train Station.
We also accept expressions of interest from Sydney based tattoo artists with clientele looking for a clean, progressive space to work from.
King St Tattoo - 192 King St Newtown
Tattoo Operator License 010291
Phone: (02) 9517-4190
email us firstname.lastname@example.com
Our opening hours are:
Sunday to Thursday - 11am to 7pm
Friday - 11am to 10pm
Saturday - 11am to 10pm


text:
It's Sunday morning. Pam, a 31-year-old mother, is getting ready to go to a party with her four-year-old daughter, Cara.
Mother: We gotta hurry. Grandma said that we should be there early so she can take pictures of us.
Cara: Okay.
Cara stays on the floor playing.
Mother: Let's get you ready.
Cara: Why?
Mother: I told you. We're going to Grandma's. She's having a birthday party.
Cara: Is it my birthday?
Mother: No, it's Grandma's. Listen it's time to stop playing. It's time to get ready.
Cara doesn't look up.
Mother: It's time to get dressed. Here are your clothes. I'll give you a few minutes and then we'll get you dressed.
Mother goes out of the room. Five minutes later, she returns.
Mother: (shouting) C'mon now. Get up. Don't you hear me? (She collects herself and takes a deep breath.) Fine, I'll help you. (She tries to pull Cara up, but Cara jerks back.) Here's the outfit I bought you....Put up your arms...Stand up!
Cara sinks back to the floor.
Cara: No, Mommy. I don't like that shirt I want ....
Mother: What do you mean? You know I bought it special for today.
Cara: I want this shirt.
She gets up and pulls a shirt up from the corner of the room.
Mother: I want you to look pretty and special. That shirt is for every day. This shirt is for a special day. Like today.
Cara: I won't wear it.
Mother: Oh yes you will. You're going to look clean and pretty today! I'm going to do your hair in ponies, just like you like. And everyone will say: what a pretty girl.
Cara: I want this shirt!
Mother: Sweetie, that shirt is dirty. I just forgot to put it in the laundry. Everybody will think your mama doesn't take care of you.
The mother pulls Cara on to the bed and tries to put the shirt over Cara's head. Cara pushes her arms down and screams. "No, no."
She starts sobbing and lies on the bed.
Mother: (sitting down and putting her hand on Cara's hand) You're going to surprise me. You're going to put on the new blue shirt all by yourself and you'll do it by the time I count to ten.
She counts to ten. Cara doesn't put on her shirt. She just cries harder.
Mother: I buy you beautiful clothes and I want you to wear them.
Cara: No. No. No. No. I won't.
Mother: You're not being fair.
Cara: No. My shirt! I want my shirt.
Mother: You don't mind spoiling my whole day, do you? You're ruining this party for me, Cara. It's bad enough that Uncle Joe is going to be there. And now this? Maybe you just won't go. Maybe I'll call a babysitter for you.
Cara: (starts to scream) I want to go to Grandma's!
Mother: (sternly) You'll go to Grandma's as soon as you wear what I tell you. Now get into these clothes. Now! You hear me? Or that's the last time I buy you pretty new clothes!


text:
September 3, 2014
Dallas, TX and Houston, TX, September 3, 2014 – Turnbridge Capital Partners ("Turnbridge") announced today that it has closed its first institutional fund, Turnbridge Capital Partners I, L.P. ("Fund I"), reaching its hard-cap with commitments of $400 million. Turnbridge will utilize the new capital to continue its proven strategy of investing alongside experienced and capable management teams leading companies that provide services and manufactured products in the growing and dynamic upstream, midstream and downstream energy sectors.
Founded in 2008, Turnbridge Capital Partners is led by a team of six partners who have decades of experience in the energy industry. J. Kent Sweezey, co-founder of Turnbridge, said, "We are gratified to become partners in our investing activities with a strong, new group of institutional investors who understand our sectors of focus, our strategy and recognize our success to date in creating value for our investors. Professional relationships among the Turnbridge partners are long-standing, which enhances the strength of the partnership. Moreover, the firm is founded on core principles of integrity and transparency, and we believe that these principles mirror the expectations of our new institutional partners and the priorities of our management team partners."
Todd M. Tomlin, co-founder of Turnbridge, said, "Turnbridge draws upon the extensive operating experience and domain knowledge of its partners across virtually all of the services, equipment and infrastructure sectors of the energy industry. We believe our collective industry experience, and our ability to collaborate with our management partners in value-creation strategies, will continue to differentiate Turnbridge as a partner for management teams across a wide range of energy industry sectors."
Mitchell Cox, also a Turnbridge partner, added, "We are pleased that many of the energy-knowledgeable individual and family office investors in our existing portfolio companies have made commitments to Fund I, thereby assuring the continuity of relationships that have been valuable to our firm and our investing activity."
In addition to Messrs. Sweezey, Tomlin and Cox, Turnbridge partners include Mr. David J. Graham, Mr. Robert B. Horton and Mr. John U. Clarke. Turnbridge's current portfolio includes five platform investments: Aereon, a global manufacturer of gas and vapor handling combustion and recovery equipment; Allied- Horizontal Wireline Services, the leading independent provider of open-hole and cased-hole wireline logging and completion services across North America; Pipe Pros, a leading domestic provider of casing and tubing installation services; Pro-Stim, a specialized stimulation services provider uniquely positioned within the conventional reservoir segment; and ROC Service Company, a leading provider of wellsite and surface facilities installation, maintenance, inspection and repair across the onshore U.S. marketplace.
Eaton Partners LLC served as placement agent for the Fund, while Jones Day served as lead counsel for the Fund.
Media Inquiries
For more information, please contact any of the following Turnbridge partners:
Kent Sweezey
214.624.5010 (phone)
Todd M. Tomlin
214.624.5010 (phone)
Mitchell Cox
713.357.9790 (phone)
About Turnbridge Capital Partners
Turnbridge is a private equity firm that invests in middle-market businesses that are directly or indirectly dependent on energy and energy-related infrastructure spending. These businesses are typically energy services and equipment providers supporting upstream, midstream and downstream energy companies. Turnbridge seeks to invest alongside superior management teams, often as their company's first institutional equity partner, to assist in the pursuit of shared strategic growth and value-creation objectives. Typically, investments involve companies generating $25 million to $250 million of revenue. With offices in Dallas and Houston, TX, Turnbridge benefits from the knowledge and relationships of its partners built through their decades of experience in the industry and longstanding presence in the southwest region of the U.S. Additional information about Turnbridge can be found at www.turnbridgecapital.com.


text:
Хаг "помиловао" титића без покрића, расплака нас човече!
Па ка'е:
Наше је мишљење да је ово фора и финта да би одбили жалбу Караџића и осудили га на доживотну робију!
Ово је уједно и КРУНСКИ ДОКАЗ да је титовац и комуњара Слободан Милошевић био ИЗДАЈНИК у односу на Србе преко Дрине и васколиког Србства, под условом да се титовци уопште могу и рачунати у Србе!
Цитат из тог документа:
Јавите ако има ко не разуме Бејзик Инглиш а жели превод.
Па ка'е:
Цитат:The Exoneration of Milosevic: the ICTY's Surprise Ruling
by Andy Wilcoxson August 1, 2016
The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague has determined that the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was not responsible for war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.
In a stunning ruling, the trial chamber that convicted former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic of war crimes and sentenced him to 40 years in prison, unanimously concluded that Slobodan Milosevic was not part of a "joint criminal enterprise" to victimize Muslims and Croats during the Bosnian war.
The March 24th Karadzic judgment states that "the Chamber is not satisfied that there was sufficient evidence presented in this case to find that Slobodan Milosevic agreed with the common plan" to permanently remove Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian Serb claimed territory.[1]
The Karadzic trial chamber found that "the relationship between Milosevic and the Accused had deteriorated beginning in 1992; by 1994, they no longer agreed on a course of action to be taken. Furthermore, beginning as early as March 1992, there was apparent discord between the Accused and Milosevic in meetings with international representatives, during which Milosevic and other Serbian leaders openly criticised Bosnian Serb leaders of committing 'crimes against humanity' and 'ethnic cleansing' and the war for their own purposes."[2]
The judges noted that Slobodan Milosevic and Radovan Karadzic both favored the preservation of Yugoslavia and that Milosevic was initially supportive, but that their views diverged over time. The judgment states that "from 1990 and into mid-1991, the political objective of the Accused and the Bosnian Serb leadership was to preserve Yugoslavia and to prevent the separation or independence of BiH, which would result in a separation of Bosnian Serbs from Serbia; the Chamber notes that Slobodan Milosevic endorsed this objective and spoke against the independence of BiH."[3]
The Chamber found that "the declaration of sovereignty by the SRBiH Assembly in the absence of the Bosnian Serb delegates on 15 October 1991, escalated the situation,"[4]but that Milosevic was not on board with the establishment of Republika Srpska in response. The judgment says that "Slobodan Milosevic was attempting to take a more cautious approach"[5]
The judgment states that in intercepted communications with Radovan Karadzic, "Milosevic questioned whether it was wise to use 'an illegitimate act in response to another illegitimate act' and questioned the legality of forming a Bosnian Serb Assembly."[6] The judges also found that "Slobodan Milosevic expressed his reservations about how a Bosnian Serb Assembly could exclude the Muslims who were 'for Yugoslavia'."[7]
The judgment notes that in meetings with Serb and Bosnian Serb officials "Slobodan Milosevic stated that '[a]ll members of other nations and ethnicities must be protected' and that '[t]he national interest of the Serbs is not discrimination'."[8] Also that "Milosevic further declared that crime needed to be fought decisively."[9]
The trial chamber notes that "In private meetings, Milosevic was extremely angry at the Bosnian Serb leadership for rejecting the Vance-Owen Plan and he cursed the Accused."[10] They also found that "Milosevic tried to reason with the Bosnian Serbs saying that he understood their concerns, but that it was most important to end the war."[11]
The judgment states that "Milosevic also questioned whether the world would accept that the Bosnian Serbs who represented only one third of the population of BiH would get more than 50% of the territory and he encouraged a political agreement."[12]
At a meeting of the Supreme Defense Council the judgment says that "Milosevic told the Bosnian Serb leadership that they were not entitled to have more than half the territory in BiH, stating that: 'there is no way that more than that could belong to us! Because, we represent one third of the population. […] We are not entitled to in excess of half of the territory – you must not snatch away something that belongs to someone else! […] How can you imagine two thirds of the population being crammed into 30% of the territory, while 50% is too little for you?! Is it humane, is it fair?!'"[13]
In other meetings with Serb and Bosnian Serb officials, the judgment notes that Milosevic "declared that the war must end and that the Bosnian Serbs' biggest mistake was to want a complete defeat of the Bosnian Muslims."[14] Because of the rift between Milosevic and the Bosnian-Serbs, the judges note that "the FRY reduced its support for the RS and encouraged the Bosnian Serbs to accept peace proposals."[15]
The Tribunal's determination that Slobodan Milosevic was not part of a joint criminal enterprise, and that on the contrary he "condemned ethnic cleansing"[16] is of tremendous significance because he got blamed for all of the bloodshed in Bosnia, and harsh economic sanctions were imposed on Serbia as a result. Wrongfully accusing Milosevic ranks right up there with invading Iraq only to find that there weren't any weapons of mass destruction after all.
Slobodan Milosevic was vilified by the entire western press corps and virtually every politician in every NATO country. They called him "the Butcher of the Balkans." They compared him to Hitler and accused him of genocide. They demonized him and made him out to be a bloodthirsty monster, and they used that false image to justify not only economic sanctions against Serbia, but also the 1999 NATO bombing of Serbia and the Kosovo war.
Slobodan Milosevic had to spend the last five years of his life in prison defending himself and Serbia from bogus war crimes allegations over a war that they now admit he was trying to stop. The most serious charges that Milosevic faced, including the charge of genocide, were all in relation to Bosnia. Now, ten years after his death, they admit that he wasn't guilty after all – oops.
The ICTY did nothing to publicize the fact that they had cleared Milosevic of involvement in the joint criminal enterprise. They quietly buried that finding 1,303 pages into the 2,590 page Karadzic verdict knowing full well that most people would probably never bother to read it.
The presiding judge in the Radovan Karadzic trial, O-Gon Kwon of South Korea, was also one of the judges in the Slobodan Milosevic trial. Milosevic's exoneration by the Karadzic trial chamber may be an indication of how the Milosevic chamber would have eventually ruled, at least on the Bosnia charges, if Milosevic had lived to see the conclusion of his own trial.
It's worth recalling that Slobodan Milosevic died under a very suspicious set of circumstances. He died of a heart attack just two weeks after the Tribunal denied his request to undergo heart surgery in Russia.[17] He was found dead in his cell less than 72 hours after his attorney delivered a letter to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in which he said that he feared he was being poisoned.[18]
The Tribunal's official report on the inquiry into his death confirmed that, "Rifampicin had been found in a blood sample taken from Mr. Milosevic on 12 January 2006." And that "Mr. Milosevic was not told of the results until 3 March 2006 because of the difficult legal position in which Dr. Falke (the Tribunal's chief medical officer) found himself by virtue of the Dutch legal provisions concerning medical confidentiality."[19]
The presence of Rifamicin (a non-prescribed drug) in Milosevic's blood would have counteracted the high blood pressure medication he was taking and increased his risk of the heart attack that ultimately did kill him. The Tribunal's admission that they knew about the Rifampicin for months, but didn't tell Milosevic the results of his own blood test until just days before his death because of "Dutch legal provisions concerning medical confidentiality" is an incredibly lame and disingenuous excuse. There is no provision of Dutch law that prohibits a doctor from telling the patient the results of his own blood test — that would be idiotic. On the contrary, concealing such information from the patient could be seen as malpractice.
This all gives rise to well-founded suspicion that powerful geopolitical interests would rather Milosevic die before the end of his trial than see him acquitted and have their vicious lies exposed. U.S. State Department cables leaked to Wikileaks confirm that The Tribunal did discuss Milosevic's medical condition and his medical records with U.S. Embassy personnel in The Hague without his consent.[20] They clearly didn't care about medical confidentiality laws when they were blabbing about his medical records to the American embassy.
It's an unsatisfying outcome that Milosevic has been quietly vindicated for the most serious crimes that he was accused of some ten years after his death. At a minimum financial compensation should now be paid to his widow and his children, and reparations should be paid to Serbia by the western governments who sought to punish Serbia in order to hold Milosevic "accountable" for crimes that their own Tribunal now admits he wasn't responsible for, and was in fact trying to stop.
Наше је мишљење да је ово фора и финта да би одбили жалбу Караџића и осудили га на доживотну робију!
Ово је уједно и КРУНСКИ ДОКАЗ да је титовац и комуњара Слободан Милошевић био ИЗДАЈНИК у односу на Србе преко Дрине и васколиког Србства, под условом да се титовци уопште могу и рачунати у Србе!
Цитат из тог документа:
Цитат:In other meetings with Serb and Bosnian Serb officials, the judgment notes that Milosevic "declared that the war must end and that the Bosnian Serbs' biggest mistake was to want a complete defeat of the Bosnian Muslims."[14]
Because of the rift between Milosevic and the Bosnian-Serbs, the judges note that "the FRY reduced its support for the RS and encouraged the Bosnian Serbs to accept peace proposals."[15]
Јавите ако има ко не разуме Бејзик Инглиш а жели превод.
ПРОСВЕТАР, раб Божји и раденик на трудном воздвиженију Часног Крста и срушеног Стлпа Рашко-Сербскјаго.


text:
Showing all 13 results
This is the most accurate search method.
For example you could filter by "driving plates", "Los Angeles, CA", and then some more specific criteria like "downtown" and "industrial" .
Use the red "x" to remove filters.
This method will return less specific results but can be a good jumping off point.
We are always working to improve the ease at which you can find things so expect our search to improve over time.
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Send us an email if you're not. It's possible we just shot it yesterday. firstname.lastname@example.com
We also shoot custom plates. Contact us for more information if this option may suit your production's needs.


text: lished in the Journal of the Asiatic Society for April 1836; where it will be seen that in one year the Museum put on a different aspect from what it presented when I took charge. The damp was got rid of; most of the cases were altered and repaired; the decayed specimens were restored as far as possible; an Osteological catalogue was made; that of the Birds began; nine complete skeletons were articulated; twelve specimens of Mammalia, and 133 birds were mounted, and more than 500 specimens of Vertebrata; 150 Molusca, some Crustacea, and several hundred insects were added to the Museum; and the Committee was so well satisfied with my exertions as to resolve-" That the Committee are highly pleased with the arrangements adopted by Dr. Pearson in the Museum, and with the progress it has made under his supervision; and they have no hesitation in recommending to the Society a continuation of the same system which has proved so beneficial and effective during the experimental year."* My copy of the Journal for the first months of 1837 was lost in a boat on the Ganges, and I have but a draft copy of my report for that year. But from this I learn that in the second year, the arrangements of the last year were followed out by improving the appearance of the apartments by matting the rooms; while by free ventilation the damp, from which so much inconvenience was formerly experienced, altogether disappeared. The remainder of the cabinets, save one, were glazed, and made ready for specimens; and subscriptions were set on foot for adding to them. There were mounted in the Museum, twenty-eight specimens of Mammalia, two hundred and thirty birds-ten of large size; and sixteen reptiles; and eight skeletons were prepared and articulated. Besides these there were presented twentyeight osteological specimens. Most of the reptiles, the fishes, and invertebrated animals are not enumerated in my draft of the report; but I believe they amounted to several hundred specimens. Thus in two years there were prepared by myself and under my superintendence, 17 Articulated Skeletons, 363 Mounted Birds, 40 Mounted Mammalia, and a large collection was made, principally by myself and my own servants, of other vertebrated and invertebrated animals. The skeletons of all the large Mammalia we have were thus procured. Those of the Orang-Outang, Monkey, Weasel, Cat, Rat, Musk-deer, Cow, Horse, Ass, Hog, Rhinoceros, Parrot, Adjutant, Tortoises, &c., were procured * Journal of the Asiatic Society, April 1836, page 253. entirely by my exertions. When the Orang-Outang* died its owner directed the skin to be tanned, and the carcase thrown away. As I had long had my eye upon it, I soon found out what had been done, hastened to the owner, and by recovering the greater part of the bones (all save a few of the feet, I think) had the pleasure of setting up in the Museum one of the most valuable skeletons in the world. The carcase of the Rhinoceros was sent to Dr. Grant by Mr. J. H. Barlow, who shot him ; Dr. Grant gave it to me, and I presented it, with his consent, to the Society in Mr. Barlow's name. In fact I procured all these specimens by my own exertions (for there was not one in the Museum when I became Curator) as well as the skeleton of the Elephant, which was about being articulated when I gave up the office. Besides these things I maintained at my own expense an extensive correspondence with various individuals to induce them to send specimens to the Museum; and represented to the members of the Government, with an urgency which I fear was sometimes thought scarcely becoming, the importance of expeditions undertaken into countries but little known, being accompanied by persons qualified to make zoological collections. For instance, I represented to Sir C. Metcalfe, that the attention of the Assam Tea expedition should be directed as much as possible to this object, and I believe it was in consequence of this recommendation, that any zoological collections were made in that expedition. I did the same when Dr. Richardson's expedition into the Shan country was contemplated; and I have reason to believe he would have been accompanied by an officer expressly for this purpose, had he not set out sooner than was expected. In short, I can safely say, I lost no opportunity of acquiring specimens for the Museum, and of advancing zoological knowledge. All this was not done in a corner; but is well known to the President, to some of the VicePresidents, and to the Members of the Committee of Papers of the day. And it was done too at a time when an up-hill battle had to be fought. No Government allowance was then given to the Society; and a great number of the members of most influence were opposed to spending their money on a Museum of Natural History. Indeed so begrudgingly were the necessary expenses bestowed, that I had both years to advance money, every month, for contingent expenses, at my own risk, while I paid the salary of young Nicholas, M. Bouchez's nephew, out of my own pocket, and thus brought him up as another valuable Assistant in Though here called an Orang-Outang, for want of a name which an English reader can well understand, I believe the specimen to be the female of the Simia Satyrus, the Gigantic Ape shot by Capt. Cornefoot in Sumatra, which was described in the Researches, and whose jaw bone is in the Museum. the Museum. I beg not to be misunderstood as assuming any merit for these things; it was my duty to do them, and it is to shew I did not neglect my duty, that I venture to mention them. With regard to catalogues, it was no use to prepare one of the Invertebrata till a collection could be made worthy of a catalogue being prepared; nor of the Vertebrata, which could not be displayed. But of the former the shells were all fixed upon ebony boards, and labelled with their names and locality-a measure which obviated the necessity for a catalogue, and rendered the making one an easy matter; while of the latter, I both labelled and made a catalogue of the osteological specimens, collecting, at no little pains, all the information that could be procured about them, and the names of the donors, from the Researches and Records of the Society. The Mammalia and Birds were all labelled in a similar manner, and a catalogue prepared of a portion of the former, and more than 200 of the latter. These catalogues I shall be happy to send to the Society; the two first immediately, if so required, though I had rather delay doing so till I can copy out and finish the third. I have now given a fair exposition of my conduct, and furnished any person who may be inclined to comment upon it with ample materials. I hope I have done it in a proper spirit, and avoided any needless asperity of remark: it has been my aim to do so, to defend myself, to offend none; but if I have unfortunately been too harsh, I am sorry for it, and hope some allowance will be made for the feelings of a man who knows that so far from deserving censure for having neglected his duty as Curator of the Museum, he is fully entitled to the thanks the Society accorded him when his services were fresh before them; and that but for his exertions there would not at this moment have been a Museum of Natural History at all. I have only further to remark, that placed in a public situation as a servant of the Society, I had reason to expect my proceedings would be narrowly watched; and I have no objection to the criticism which by accepting the situation I courted. But I have a right to demand that the criticism should be fair; and that I should not be censured for the blunders or neglect, (if such there were) of others. I pretend to no profound knowledge of Natural History-a science in which, (as I have pursued it as an amusement, and a relaxation from the more serious, and to me more important, study of my profession) I am probably inferior to Dr. Jameson and many others in the country; but I yield not to him, nor to any one else, in the faithful performance of any duty I venture to undertake. In conclusion, I do not apologise to yourselves, Gentlemen, for trespassing so long upon your pages, for it is in the very nature of a defence to take up more room than an attack; and having published the attack, I am sure you will do me the justice to publish my defence; and the same sense of justice will prevent you from prescribing its limits; while I should be wanting in respect to the Society, if I failed to do my utmost to demonstrate that one, whose services they so long thanked, and paid for, did not unworthily receive their favours. I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, Your most obedient humble servant, J. T. PEARSON. Darjeeling, 24th June, 1839. ART. XI.-Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. (Wednesday Evening, the 1st May, 1839.) At a Meeting of the Asiatic Society held in the Grand Jury Room :- Read the Proceedings of the last Meeting. Dr. MARTIN was proposed by Dr. O'SHAUGHNESSY, seconded by the President. Calcutta. Professor AGASSIZ was proposed as an Honorary Member by the President, seconded by the BISHOP of Calcutta. The Nomination was referred to the Committee of Papers. Read a letter from the Secretary of the Royal Asiatic Society, acknowledging the receipt of presentation copies of Oriental publications, forwarded by the Society. Read a letter from Professor LASSEN to the address of Mr. JAMES PRINSEP, proposing that the Society should establish an agency in Bonn for the sale of Sanscrit publications, and bearing warm testimony to the great importance of Mr. J. PRINSEP's recent discoveries; requesting also information on the subject of specimens of birds which may be procurable here. Resolved-That the thanks of the Society be presented to Professor LASSEN for his liberal proposal in respect to the agency for the sale of Oriental publications, which appears calculated to be very beneficial to the Society, and that the Officiating Secretary be requested to communicate with him on the subject, stating that the Society has entirely left with him the selection of an agent in Bonn for the sale of Oriental publications. The Officiating Secretary then read several applications for the situation of Curator, vacated by the departure of Mr. JAMESON, but as the candidates' qualifications had not been considered by the Committee of Papers to reach the standard required by the Society, It was proposed by Dr. O'SHAUGHNESSY, seconded by Captain FORBES-That Dr. MCLELLAND be requested to accept the office of Curator, on the usual allowances. Dr. M'CLELLAND returned thanks to the Society, and expressed his readiness to forward the views of the Society in any manner that he was able; but he regretted that in consequence of his official duties he would not be able to devote more than two hours in the morning to the duties of the Museum. He further stated, that if he accepted the situation on the usual allowances he should beg to condition, that as long as he was Curator no subscriptions be received from members for the preservation of the various collections in the Museum-the whole amount of the salary should be devoted to that object. The President said that though the offer was very liberal, yet the Society he thought ought to meet from its own funds all such expenses as might be recommended by Dr. M'CLELLAND, without sacrifice to his personal allowance. Dr. M'CLELLAND consented that the appointment should stand on this footing. Read a letter from Dr. G. VANDENBURGH, of Bonn, touching a box of shells sent by the Society. The names having been detached from the shells, he solicited the Society to transmit another supply, correctly labelled and packed. Resolved-That the letter be referred to the Committee of Papers. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London, for 1837, 5th Part, Vol. 2-Part 2, of 1838 and Vol. 2, Part 3, for 1839-by the Society. History, Antiquities, Topography, and Statistics of Eastern India, by Mr. MARTIN, London 1838, royal 8vo. 3 vols.-by the Government of India. Pickering's Remarks on the Indian Languages of North America-by the American Philosophical Society. Ditto Eulogy on Dr. BowDITCH, Cambridge, 1838,-By ditto. Translation of the Arabian Nights, by Moonshee SHUMSUDDEEN AHMUD, in Hindee, Vol. I,-2 copies. Mathematical Principles of Mechanical Philosophy, by the Rev. J. H. PRATTby the author. The following received from the Booksellers: Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia on Probabilities. History of British Birds by W. YARRELL, Nos. 1 to 9. Museum. Various skins and specimens were presented in the name of Mr. JAMES MIDDLETON. Antiquities. The Officiating Secretary exhibited to the Meeting drawings of Col. STACY'S Coins cut on type-metal by HURREEMOHON, a Native Artist, employed in the Calcutta Mint. Read a letter from Mr. T. H. SALE, of Sylhet, forwarding a facsimile of an inscription taken by him at Gohattee. A similar donation was received from Lieut. MCGREGOR, obtained from the ruins of a fort he was taking down. The character in which the inscription was written was clearly legible, but no meaning could be gathered from the sentences. Captain JAMES Low forwarded a paper on the Laws of Siam. Referred to the Committee of Papers. In pursuance of the resolution of the last Meeting, Mr. SUTHERLAND stated that the Commentary compiled by PREMCHUND NYARUTRA was more compendious than the works from which it was taken, but seemed to him calculated to answer all the purposes required. It was a continuation of that printed in the first volume of the work in question, |


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more useful options | |
PerlMonks |
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on Jun 14, 2000 at 20:33 UTC ( [id://18131]=user: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
<japhy> wow. ann arbor MUGGY? I've never heard of such a thing ;) Monks I met at yapc::NA::2001: chipmunk - cogent - erudil - japhy - turnstep mrmick - nate - dominus - da - rrwo - andreychek You can view a few pictures of (most of) us. While I was reading a tutorial the other day, the conversation in the chatbox reminded me why I like this place so much. The excerpt (reprinted with kind permission from chipmunk, Stamp_Guy, and OeufMayo) is a great example of how knowledgeable and helpful monks can be: <Stamp_Guy> Could someone give me a regex that strips off a path name and the extension on a file? <OeufMayo> Oh, you mean File::Basename? <chipmunk> Stamp_Guy: s/(.*)/use File::Basename; @parts = fileparse($1); $1/e ;) <Oeufmayo> chipmunk++ <Stamp_Guy> Does that come preinstalled with Perl? <chipmunk> Stamp_Guy: yes indeedy! <OeufMayo> yes it does! Now that's what I like to see-- a monk asks a question, the response to which could have led him in the wrong direction. The correct answer (don't roll your own, use CPAN!) was immediately given, and by more than one monk! My personal nodelet was getting out of hand, so I put all my favorite nodes here:


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Legendary visual effects artist John Dykstra is soon to receive a formal acknowledgement of his contribution to the VFX industry. On February 12, 2014, the Visual Effects Society Board of Directors will present him with the prestigious VES Lifetime Achievement Award.
A hero to many budding visual effects artists, Dykstra has received numerous awards for his work over his 40-plus year career. Dykstra's visual effects artistry and technical supervision can be seen in many of America's most celebrated films, including "Star Wars," "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and "Spiderman."
From the Visual Effects Society press release:
"The VES will honor Dykstra for his vision and dedication to the craft of visual effects and storytelling while leading the forefront of groundbreaking visual effects and technology. He was hugely successful in cultivating talent as one of the creators of Industrial Light and Magic and in assembling key "Star Wars" crewmembers, which developed benchmark motion control and blue screen technologies under his guidance – which he continued at Apogee after leaving ILM. The broad impact of his work can be seen in his vast contributions to feature films, commercials, theme park entertainment and video games."
"John is an amazing creative force – talented, generous and visionary," said Jeffrey A. Okun, VES Board Chair. "He has the extraordinary ability to create or combine seemingly disparate technologies to brilliantly enhance the art of storytelling and this talent has brought us some of the most memorable tales of all time. His leadership and pioneering work has truly raised the bar and helped redefine entertainment and our industry on a global level."
Dykstra, upon hearing of the award, expressed pleasure and gratitude. "I am greatly honored to join the prestigious company of artists and visionaries who have received this award from the VES," he said. " "I love my job, and it is particularly gratifying to be recognized by my peers for contributing to the artistry and invention that is visual effects."
The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding body of work that has significantly contributed to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry. Previous winners of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award have included James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Ray Harryhausen, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis and Frank Marshall & Kathleen Kennedy.


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Finesse Miracle Cami - Womens Clip-on Mock Camisole - Set of 3 Black Beige Peach
Finesse Miracle Cami's or Secret Cami slips or Mock Cami's as these are popularly known as are a great product idea especially for hot weathers like India where you don't want to wear another layer of inners because you have a plunging neckline or your top might be slightly transparent at the neckline. Finesse Miacle Cami are easy and comfortable way to give you cleavage coverage whenever you need it. Attaches easily to bra straps. One size fits all. 95% Cotton 5% Lycra. Interchangeable with different outfits. Machine Washable. Set of 3 – Black, Peach & Beige. Made in India
Material and Wash Care
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Once shipped we shall share the tracking details with you within 3 days of your order confirmation.


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"Fabulous looking theme and good support from developer. Takes a little effort to get it structured the way you want it but I love the way it looks."
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They know the defense of third party claims like no other attorney in New York city.
Golden Lion should be awarded the legal professions' equivalent of the Medal of Honor.
I can't get sucked into that celebrity thing, because I think it's just crass.
Most informative tour that I've ever taken
I booked my trip package from andaman great holidays for five people 14 to 19 March 2018, and I am fully satisfied with the information shared by them and they took good care of our requirements in terms of hotels and sightseeing.
Well organized tour
The trip was very well organised and executed. The drivers were very professional and punctual throughout the trip. We were able to manage throughout the trip without knowing hindi/local language as hotel staff/drivers/tour operators were able to communicate in English.
We had a wonderful time in Cuba
My overall experience was good as it was the first entire family trip of mine.. Hotels cab n driver n Also the agent priya from holiday triangle helped in making it an unforgettable.. Few glitch happened like miscommunication in the kochi hotel regarding booking.
What a wonderful experience!
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I am looking for my E-ticket
Our trip was 14 march to 19 march I got many quotes but i decided to go with Holiday planners. I visited port blair havelock island neil island. It was an awesome memorable trip. Team holiday planner u were rocking guys.


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Actress Debbie Reynolds, the star of the 1952 classic movie "Singin' in the Rain" has died one day after the death of her daughter, actress-writer Carrie Fisher. Reynolds was 84.
Her son, Todd Fisher, said Reynolds died Wednesday.
"She's now with Carrie and we're all heartbroken," Fisher said from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where his mother was taken by ambulance earlier Wednesday.
He said the stress of his sister's death on Tuesday "was too much" for Reynolds. Carrie Fisher, who was 60, had been hospitalized since Friday.
"She said, 'I want to be with Carrie,'" her son said. "And then she was gone."
He said, "the only good thing about this is that my mom wanted to be with my sister."
Reynolds enjoyed the very heights of show business success and endured the depths of personal tragedy and betrayal. She lost one husband to Elizabeth Taylor and two other husbands plundered her for millions. Fisher, who found lasting fame as Princess Leia in "Star Wars" and struggled for much of her life with drug addiction and mental health problems, died after falling ill on a plane and being hospitalized.
Reynolds was a superstar early in life. After two minor roles at Warner Bros. and three supporting roles at MGM, studio boss Louis B. Mayer cast her in "Singin' in the Rain," despite Kelly's objections. She was 19 with little dance experience, and she would be appearing with two of the screen's greatest dancers, Donald O'Connor and Kelly, who also co-directed.
"Gene Kelly was hard on me, but I think he had to be," Reynolds, who more than held her own in the movie, said in a 1999 Associated Press interview. "I had to learn everything in three to six months. Donald O'Connor had been dancing since he was three months old, Gene Kelly since he was 2 years old. ... I think Gene knew I had to be challenged."
"The Unsinkable Molly Brown" was based on the life of a Colorado woman who rose from poverty to riches and triumphed over tragedy, including the sinking of the Titanic
The 1964 Meredith Willson musical, with Molly's defiant song "I Ain't Down Yet," brought Reynolds her only Academy Award nomination. She also received a Tony nomination in 1973 when she starred on Broadway in the revival of "Irene," in which her daughter also appeared.
RELATED: Fans create impromptu Hollywood star for Carrie Fisher
After her transition from starlet to star, Reynolds became immensely popular with teenage girls and even more so when in 1955 she married Eddie Fisher, the pop singer whose fans were equally devoted.
The couple made a movie together, "Bundle of Joy," which seemed to mirror the 1956 birth of Carrie. The Fishers also had a son, Todd, named for Eddie's close friend and Taylor's husband, showman Mike Todd.
During this period, Reynolds had a No. 1 hit on the pop charts in 1957 with "Tammy," the Oscar-nominated song from her film "Tammy and the Bachelor." But the Cinderella story ended after Mike Todd died in a 1958 airplane crash. Fisher consoled the widow and soon announced he was leaving his wife and two children to marry Taylor.
The celebrity world seemed to lose its mind. Taylor was assailed as a husband stealer, Fisher as a deserter of his family. Reynolds won sympathy as the innocent victim, a role emphasized when she appeared before news cameras with diaper pins on her blouse. A cover headline in Photoplay magazine in late 1958 blared: "Smiling through her tears, Debbie says: I'm still very much in love with Eddie."
Fisher's singing career never recovered, but Taylor, who left him for Richard Burton in 1962, remained a top star. And Reynolds' film career flourished. She starred with Glenn Ford in "The Gazebo," Tony Curtis in "The Rat Race," Fred Astaire in "The Pleasure of His Company," Andy Griffith in "The Second Time Around," with the all-star cast in "How the West Was Won" and Ricardo Montalban in "The Singing Nun."
She also provided the voice of Charlotte the spider in the 1973 animated "Charlotte's Web."
But over the years, her marital woes continued.
In 1960 Reynolds married shoe magnate Harry Karl. The marriage ended in disaster when she discovered that Karl, a compulsive gambler, had devastated her assets and left her deeply in debt. She divorced him in 1973 and toured tirelessly with her song and dance show to pay off creditors.
Reynolds' third marriage, to Virginia businessman Richard Hamlett in 1984, proved equally disastrous. In 1992, against friends' advice, she paid $10 million to buy and convert the faded Paddlewheel Hotel in Las Vegas into the Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino. She performed nightly and conducted tours of her movie memorabilia, which she had collected since MGM auctioned its artifacts in 1970.
Reynolds, who ended up filing for bankruptcy in 1997 and selling the property at auction the next year, accused Hamlett of making off with her money. She once again went on the road.
"All of my husbands have robbed me blind," she asserted in 1999. "The only one who didn't take money was Eddie Fisher. He just didn't pay for the children."
In her later years, Reynolds continued performing her show, traveling 40 weeks a year. She also appeared regularly on television, appearing as John Goodman's mother on "Roseanne" and a mom on "Will & Grace." Her books included the memoirs "Unsinkable" and "Make 'Em Laugh."
In 1996 she won critical acclaim in the title role of Albert Brooks' movie "Mother," in which Brooks played a struggling writer who moves back home and works on his strained relationship with Reynolds' character. A few years earlier, she had wanted to play the mother in the film adaptation of Fisher's bittersweet autobiographical novel "Postcards From the Edge," which featured mother-daughter actresses. Director Mike Nichols cast Shirley MacLaine instead.
Reynolds and Fisher were featured together in the HBO documentary "Bright Lights," scheduled for release in 2017.
Mary Frances Reynolds spent the first eight years of her life in Depression-era poverty in El Paso, Texas, where she was born on April 1, 1932. Her father, a carpenter for the Southern Pacific Railroad, was transferred to southern California and the family settled in Burbank, near Warner Bros. studio.
The girl flourished, winning 48 Girl Scout merit badges, excelling in sports and playing French horn and bass viola in the Burbank Youth Symphony. Girlfriends persuaded her to enter the beauty contest for Miss Burbank, and she won over the judges by lip-syncing to a Betty Hutton record.
She did team up with Taylor - long since divorced from Fisher - and two other veterans, Joan Collins and MacLaine, for the 2001 TV movie "These Old Broads." The script, co-written by Reynolds' daughter, was about aging, feuding actresses who get together for a reunion show. Reynolds would look back wryly on the Taylor affair, acknowledging that no man could have resisted her and that she actually voted for Taylor when she was up for best actress in 1960. The former romantic rivals had reconciled years before Taylor died in 2011; Reynolds recalled they had both been passengers on the Queen Elizabeth.
"I sent a note to her and she sent a note to me in passing, and then we had dinner together," she told The Huffington Post a few months after Taylor's death. "She was married to Richard Burton by then. I had been remarried at that point. And we just said, 'Let's call it a day.' And we got smashed. And we had a great evening, and stayed friends since then."
IN MEMORIAM: Celebrities and notable figures who have recently passed away


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Hy Cite has a pretty good idea of what's cooking. Doing business under the name Royal Prestige, the Madison, Wis., company markets kitchen equipment, flatware and more. But 10 years ago, it decided it needed to kick its paper-based manual credit check system up a notch.
Back then, a single order generated up to five pieces of paper, including the credit application and supporting documentation. At the time, Hy Cite was processing 1,800 orders per week at the time. Each set of documents got stapled together in a packet that was routed to five or six different departments, including order entry, verification and fulfillment.
"Orders were impossible to find because they were shuffling from department to department," recalls Arin Brost, Hy Cite's senior vice president of operations.
That changed when Hy Cite implemented document imaging and workflow software for its business process management initiative: The company now processes 5,000 orders a week. "We are much more agile," says Brost, who declined to disclose what the company paid for the software. The original contract covered about 50 seats; the company now has 150 and hopes to add 50 in 2008.
With an assist from BPM, Hy Cite has boosted its net earnings per full-time employee fourfold. Sales have also gone up by a factor of four, to more than $125 million for 2006. And orders processed per week have jumped 2.5 times from before deployment to 2006.
It hasn't been easy, and not just because of cultural changes needed to leave manual processes behind. Hy Cite's BPM vendor, Global 360 as it is now known, has been tossed from owner to owner. In April 2006, Boston private equity firm TA Associates led a $200 million buyout of the company from Dallas-based eiStream, the owner from 2000 through 2006.
"We always believed in the product," Brost says. "It was really open in its architecture, and we could do a lot of development around it."
It also helped that many of the vendor's original staffers transferred to each new iteration, giving Brost fairly consistent customer care.
While Hy Cite uses Global 360's document imaging and workflow tools, the vendor also offers G360 Enterprise BPM Suite, which spans from process control and execution to modeling and infrastructure components. The average selling price is $125,000.
Ben Cody, Global 360's vice president of product management, splits his company's engagements into two broad categories: pilot and transformational. By "pilot," Cody means a first step into the BPM waters, an implementation for automating a back-office function like accounts payable or claims processing.
For a transformational project, Cody points to a federal agency, which he declines to identify, that is automating its system for providing grants to education. Cody says the process allows applicants to put their grant proposals up on the Web and have them reviewed in real time for missing information, helping the agency process proposals faster.
Another customer, Screen Actors Guild-Producers Pension & Health Plans, is using G360 Enterprise BPM to manage and streamline its claims processing. The Burbank, Calif., organization, an intermediary between SAG and the television and movie producers that employ its members, processes 60,000 medical claims a month and has $2.7 billion in pension funds under management.
SAG members get their benefits if they earn more than $20,000 in a given year, which means that the pension and health plan unit must track every dollar of their earnings from every gig. It also needs to account for all payments from TV and movie producers, which fund the system.
Seven years ago, the organization decided to purchase Global 360 software and integrate it with a legacy system written in the DEC Basic and Cobol programming languages and containing claims and pension records.
Chief information officer Nader Karimi says that while all claims once needed to be reviewed by humans, the Global 360 rules engine now adjudicates 60% of the claims. "Everything on Global 360 is Java-based with a Web front end, so it integrates very well with our architecture," he adds.
Whatever the changes in the business process management market, Global 360 plans to keep on turning. As Cody puts it: "We will be a consolidator instead of a consolidatee."


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Breaking News (1.7.11): Mass. Supreme Court Upholds Ibanez Ruling, Thousands of Foreclosures Affected
Update (2/25/10)—Mass. High Court May Take Ibanez Case
Breaking News (10/14/09)–Land Court Reaffirms Ruling Invalidating Thousands of Foreclosures. Click here for the updated post.
In late March of this year in the case of U.S. Bank v. Ibanez, Massachusetts Land Court Judge Keith C. Long issued one of the most controversial rulings in recent years which has called into question hundreds if not thousands of foreclosure titles across Massachusetts. The Ibanez decision is what happens when you mix equal parts of a deteriorating real estate market with Wall Street's insatiable demand for mortgage back securities with sloppy lending practices and outdated state foreclosure statutes.
The Facts
In the Ibanez case, the Land Court invalidated two foreclosure sales because the lenders failed to show proof they held titles to the properties through valid assignments. In modern securitized mortgage lending practices, the ownership of a mortgage loan may be divided and freely transferred numerous times on the lenders' books, but the documentation (i.e., the assignments) actually on file at the Registry of Deeds often lags far behind. The Land Court ruled that foreclosures were invalid when the lender failed to bring the ownership documentation (the assignments) up-to-date until after the foreclosure sale had already taken place. This was true even if the lender possessed an assignment with an effective date (i.e., backdated) before the first foreclosure notice.
The net effect of the Ibanez decision is to call into serious question the validity of any foreclosure where the lender did not physically hold the proper paperwork at the time it conducted its auction. This has already caused significant uncertainty in the ownership of many properties that have already been foreclosed and are awaiting foreclosure.
In deciding the case, Judge Long took a very pro-consumer approach to the foreclosure law, persuaded that the apparent title defect would chill a foreclosure sale and harm debtors:
None of this is the fault of the [debtor], yet the [debtor] suffers due to fewer (or no) bids in competition with the foreclosing institution. Only the foreclosing party is advantaged by the clouded title at the time of auction. It can bid a lower price, hold the property in inventory, and put together the proper documents any time it chooses. And who can say that problems won't be encountered during this process?
Also of significance was that Judge Long rejected a customary Massachusetts conveyancing standard which provides that recording out of order assignment documents does not create a title defect. I think Judge Long got it wrong as he elevated form over substance and didn't give enough credence to the legal principle that the note follows the mortgage, but hey, I'm just a lowly attorney.
What now?
The Ibanez ruling is not final as the lenders have filed a motion to reconsider with the Land Court. And now the heavy hitters have gotten involved. The Real Estate Bar Association of Massachusetts has taken the unusual step of filing a friend of the court brief, urging the Land Court to reconsider its decision.
On the consumer side, the National Consumer Law Center and well known consumer class action attorney Gary Klein have joined the fray and filed a brief. Attorney Klein has also filed a class action in federal court to challenge completed foreclosures and future foreclosures on the same facts as the two foreclosures voided in Ibanez.
As of now, Judge Long of the Land Court has not made a final decision which should come in a matter of weeks. I will update you when the ruling comes down. Either way, in my opinion, given the widespread impact of this case, it is destined for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. It's hard to say how the SJC will come down on this.
What can you if you are affected by the Ibanez ruling?
Well, if you are a homeowner facing foreclosure, consider Ibanez an early Christmas present. You now have a powerful tool to argue for the invalidation of the foreclosure sale. (I won't comment on the fact that you still owe the lender money).
If you are contemplating purchasing a property out of foreclosure or are selling a previously foreclosed property, pray that there's an existing title insurance policy on the property, and ask the title company to insure over the issue. Some are willing to do this. Others are not. The other option (albeit expensive) is to hire an attorney to file a Land Court "quiet title" action to validate the proper assignment of the mortgage loan, assuming you can track the documents down and they were not backdated. In Ibanez, the lender couldn't produce the assignment until 14 months after the auction. The last option, and unfortunately probably the safest bet, is to sit, wait and see how the Land Court and appellate courts will rule ultimately. Not the answer you probably want to hear, but it's reality.
Please contact Richard D. Vetstein, Esq. for more information.
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Bioinformatics Education for STudents (BEST) exposes teachers to modern molecular biology concepts by incorporating computational biology and bioinformatics into their high school curriculum. BEST also prepares teachers to introduce their students to emerging and exciting biomedical careers.
An annual professional development summer workshop trains high school teachers using the "teach-back" technique. This training equips single-subject teachers with the tools to address and teach multidisciplinary concepts in bioinformatics. This technique fortifies the teacher with all the necessary multidisciplinary content knowledge and also develops feedback and evaluation strategies as the lessons progress.
The 2020 BEST workshop will be held virtually on July 27- 29. We invite secondary science, math and technology teachers to attend.
Specifics on the 2020 workshop can be found here.
Registration is now closed.
The Workshop
As bioinformatics is an ever-evolving topic, a static textbook cannot be used for this course. All activities/lab practicums are conducted using interactive standard nationally-used web-based activities. Teachers will need to bring an updated working laptop or similar device where they can use word processing, PowerPoint, access the Internet and download materials. A tablet or cell phone will not fulfill this purpose.
All participant teachers should be able to use all or parts of the curriculum in their upper level high school biology classes—we visit classes to collect feedback from students during the year. We extend in-classroom support to teachers.
Each teacher in training is provided with the entire contents of the PSC-developed bioinformatics curriculum which includes daily lesson plans with standards, PowerPoint lecture and web links to all interactive activities. Sample midterm and final exams/ideas are also provided.
All materials are provided free of charge to workshop participants.
Curriculum Topics
Topics we focus on in the high school bioinformatics curriculum include:
- Introduction to bioinformatics
- Review of molecular biology – techniques and applications
- Molecular basis of genetic diseases
- Connecting chemistry, physics and math to understand biology
- Understanding modern biology as interdisciplinary
- NCBI website content and scope of BLAST program
- Understanding algorithms
- Using evolutionary relationships to construct phylogenetic trees
- Effects of protein folding and misfolding
- Deriving biological significance from gene sequences using gene annotation