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Bangkok (Thailand) – February 14, 2020 (travelindex.com) – Bangkok welcomes a new standard in Indian fine dining, the kind of which has never been seen before in the Kingdom, with the opening of JHOL Indian Restaurant. World-class Chef Hari Nayak will be bringing his passion for Southern coastal Indian cuisine to delight the palettes of discerning diners seeking something new and unforgettable.
Udupi, a city on the southwest coast of India, is where Chef Hari Nayak's culinary adventure began, from there he ventured to the USA to further explore his gastronomic adventure as part of his never-ending quest to develop as many new and innovative recipe ideas and cooking techniques as possible.
These experiences led Chef Nayak to author a number of acclaimed cookbooks that introduced the world to his unique take on Indian cooking style where he opened the door to the food of his homeland to many who initially found Indian cooking intimidating.
This one-of-a-kind dining experience delivers a brasserie-style offering in a chic and contemporary setting resplendent with cultural design aesthetics that reflect the Indian heritage of the menu and the overall concept of the restaurant.
Drawing upon Chef Nayak's coastal roots, JHOL celebrates the joys of fresh succulent seafood, with mouthwatering dishes such as Chili Garlic Crab with Egg Appam, Green Peppercorn Fish with Pickled Lime Dip and Prawns cooked in Tender Coconut all taking pride and place at the heart of the menu.
But everyone's taste is catered for at JHOL with a selection of meat, poultry, and vegetarian options on offer including Ghee Roast Chicken Dosa, Pork Belly Vindaloo and Roasted Pumpkin and Pineapple Curry. This truly is a menu that will transport restaurant guests from their tables to the coast of India on a culinary journey to remember
But unlike the dishes many come to expect when they think of Indian food, JHOL brings a more modern and healthier interpretation of Indian fare that utilizes only the very best and freshest seasonal ingredients.
Chef Hari Nayak said "I'm excited to be bringing the coastal dishes I grew up with to a new audience in Bangkok. I'm passionate about the dishes from this region and I have reinterpreted many classics, making them more approachable while staying true to their origins. There are many similarities with Indian and Thai cuisine so it makes sense to introduce a new dining experience such as JHOL to diners in Bangkok. I am sure that once our guests experience our menu they will be coming back for more, and they will surely be bringing their friends with them."
Beyond the food there is also an exotic array of beverages on offer to cleanse the palette, from delightfully crafted cocktails to an exclusive selection of wines, spirits and more.
While there has always been Indian restaurants in Bangkok there has never been anything like JHOL, making this a dining experience that will become a favourite among diners seeking something new.
JHOL can be found at Sukhumvit 18, Bangkok and open daily from 6-10 pm. To reserve your seat or find out more, call +66 2004 7174


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2012 Yiwu Consumer Goods Fair
Started in 2006,Yiwu Consumer Goods Fair(Yiwu Sourcing Fair): Consumer Goods is held from April 21 to April 23 annually. It has been held three times successfully and gradually become famous national consumer goods fair. 2007 Yiwu Sourcing Fair was awarded one of the China Most Influential Brand Industry Exhibitions.
2009 Yiwu Consumer Goods Fair has attracted about 800 enterprises from 18 provinces and regions such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Fujian, Anhui, Hebei, Jiangxi, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Many brand enterprises are also present at the fair like Langsha, Shuangtong Drinking Straw, Yiner Cleaning Products and Zhongao Carpet. Compared to the 2008 fair, the 2009 Yiwu Consumer Goods Fair has higher level in terms of exhibiting enterprises grade, and it has more specific division of exhibition districts and a newly added area for automotive products. Of all the exhibitors, about 20 have city-level famous trademarks or above, with 6 honored China well-known trademarks, 12 having provincial famous trademarks. The 2009 fair has 8886 foreign businessmen from 120 countries like India, Korea, US, Yemen and Pakistan. There are 10 purchasing groups, around 150 merchants, coming to visit the fair and buy commodities, and they come from countries and regions like Japan, Korea, Peru and Taiwan.
A Glance of Yiwu Consumer Goods Fair

subset: commoncrawl


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Halloween fairy wings? Made, thanks to all you lovely commenters out there. Although, when I showed them to Anna, she started laughing. I'm happy to see this particular teenage girl regaining her sense of humor, even if it does tend to be at my expense.
No matter, Rachel likes them. And, fortunately, Larry is the one stuck with the job of affixing said wings to the girls' backs. He's not a happy camper right now. I just caught him muttering something about staples.
David is working frantically to put the finishing touches on the IPhone costume he is creating for Brian. It comes complete with Halloween-themed apps. David is going as Steve Jobs, which would have been the easiest costume ever if Target or Kohl's had seen fit to stock black mock turtlenecks this fall. As it is, I've been running all over town in search of this particular piece of wardrobe holy grail.
And now? It is time to roll up our sleeves and start sampling Snickers. Yes, we can...


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Join Lou Russell, CEO/Queen of RMA, for an
upcoming webinar, "The Mental Game of Project Management."
Russell is a consultant, speaker and author who grows
companies by growing their people. She is the author of 7 books
including IT Leadership Alchemy, Leadership Training ,10 Steps to Successful Project Management and Managing
Projects. Through speaking, training and writing, she inspires
leadership, project management and team growth. Her upbeat style will give
you the passion and tools to improve. Laughing, participating, and
challenged, you will learn.
Register for the
webinar here: http://bit.ly/1TnwGx8
Webinar Summary:
Tiger Woods will be remembered as an exceptional
golfer. His legacy may also be that he made a big mistake and never
returned back to his greatness – time will tell. Why do you think he
still remains so far from his earlier abilities? His clubs? His
coach? His health issues? Everyone Russell asks says "it's all in his head."
As a very rookie golfer, Russell is fascinated and appalled by the way her mind
gets in the way of my game. She is aware that her mind also gets in the
way of her success in life and business, including projects. She actually
speaks more negatively to herself through her self-talk than anyone else has
ever spoken to her. So do you.
In business and organizations all over the world, we jointly
agree to certain truths (that are actually lies) including:
You must always be in control of a project to
It is possible to predict the future accurately
if you're talented
Projects are impossible to do on time and on
budget with appropriate quality because of all the jerks involved
The politics of the organization have no place
in a project
People should do what they say they are going to
She can personally torture people enough to get
a project done
We bet you can pick a couple of these that you believe, in
fact, that you make choices based on. Now that you read them, you may be
starting to notice that these 'truths' are preventing you from being agile,
resilient and collaborative. These are the truths that we pretend to not
see. To drive outcomes requires new truth. In this Reflections with the
Masters Series, Russell wants us to all have a conversation:
How are our current truths, self-talk and values
moving us away from the outcomes we strive to achieve?
What are the strategies for noticing my own
disconnects before they trigger fear and stress as auto responses?
What are the strategies for reframing and
distracting our brain to drive success?
How does all of this change the way projects are
done and increase their success?
Russell is excited about the opportunity to create community
virtually to drive hope, energy and joy in all aspects of your life. Together,
we'll create new truth. She's hoping Tiger will create new truth, too.
Save your seat for
the webinar: http://bit.ly/1TnwGx8


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Legal statements
The Queensland Government manages personal information in line with the Information Privacy Act 2009.
We collect and manage your personal information as described on this page, unless stated otherwise. 'Personal information' may include your name, address, phone number, email address, age, gender, your employer, and your position title.
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Suspension and Shock Absorber Repairs
Suspension is a crucially important aspect of every motor vehicle. It is the mechanism that ensures all four wheels spend the greatest possible time in contact with the road surface. Suspension allows your car to corner precisely, absorb the impact shocks from potholes and bumps, and brake efficiently. The suspension system is made of several interconnected parts including springs, shock absorbers, bushes, tie rod ends and ball joints. When these parts wear out or are subject to damage, you place your safety and that of the community at risk. In this article, we will discuss some warning signs you need to have your suspension checked, and outline the basic maintenance that goes into such a service.
Indicators of Problems With Your Suspension
The following may be indicators that you should take your vehicle to a professional:
- The car leans forward when braking
- There are problems cornering, causing you to drive slower than normal
- Tyres wearing out quickly or in unusual patterns
- Unusual noises from the corners of your car
- Water or fluid present on or around your shock absorbers
The Difference Between Suspension and Shock Absorbers
In most cars, suspension is performed by a spring. When you go over a gap in the road, the spring extends, allowing the wheel to stay in contact with the ground over the uneven surface. The shock absorbers then come into play to stop the spring from oscillating with recoil indefinitely, which would be immensely uncomfortable. The shock absorbers in most modern vehicles are hydraulic dampeners.
What to Expect From an Expert Suspension Service
When you visit your local mechanic or suspension professional for a service, there are a few things that you should receive and notice. The first thing to be wary of is a mechanic who fails to ask questions or listen to your experiences. Listening to customers is the best research a mechanic can do to understand what problems may be occurring with a specific vehicle. When you check your car in for a service, it is therefore important to have an open and honest discussion with your technician. It doesn't matter if you have no knowledge or experience of how cars work, you will know how your car usually feels. Do your best to explain what feels off and it will give the mechanic an idea of what to investigate. For example, you might think it's a problem with your steering system when it may actually be your wheel alignment , but if you don't discuss the feeling you are getting, the mechanic may not check your wheel alignment.
When you book in for a suspension service, the mechanic will check all of the components of your system for wear, faults and damage. Any decent mechanic will also take your car for a test drive to make sure the feeling you described is fixed.
Contact Tyrepower for a Suspension Service
Tyrepower are trusted Australia wide for attention to detail when it comes to suspension servicing and will always chat with you to understand any problems you are experiencing. Click here to find your nearest store. Alternatively, call (03) 5979 3844 to speak to a customer service representative today.


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Oracle XML Developer Kit (XDK) is a set of components, tools and utilities in Java, C, and C++ bundled with Oracle Database 12c that eases the task of building and deploying XML-enabled applications with a commercial redistribution license.
Unlike many shareware and trial XML components, Oracle XDK provides high performance XML support that has been proven in demanding enterprise production environments. Oracle XDK has also been integrated in numerous Oracle product including Oracle SOA, Oracle JDeveloper/ADF, Oracle XML DB and Oracle BI Publisher.


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"Warming Up with Rounds" 15 February, 2013
Warming Up with Rounds
by Catherine DeLanoy
Choral rounds have been used for recreational singing for hundreds of years and are effective tools for your students to understand harmony, expand their vocal ranges, and experience a choral sound that is easily accessible to them. Music educators can satisfy state and national music standards with a carefully crafted choral curriculum, bringing choir back into the daily classroom schedule. By using rounds as warm-ups, you can teach vocal technique, music theory, application, appreciation, and history, as well as increase your singers' understanding of scales, intervals, modes, dynamics, and terminology. Each round in this collection has instructions on the musical focus and implementation of the song. Additional comments from experienced author and music educator Catherine DeLanoy give insight into the historical background or practical tips for a successful performance. Several rounds were intentionally included for adolescent boys with a limited range. Warming Up with Rounds includes both familiar and rare rounds that are easy and challenging, as well as serious and fun. Music teachers and their students will enjoy discovering the secrets that choral rounds offer and ultimately feel a great sense of accomplishment when they make beautiful, harmonious music together.
For more valuable choral resources, visit our website or contact us!


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Picture this: You are sitting at your desk at 3pm and you realize you haven't gotten up from your chair all day. You look around and see that you've been snacking instead of eating a lunch. You have read the same sentence 4 times and still can't figure out what it means. Your back hurts, your eyes feel dry, and you feel kind of blah. You, my friend, are a victim of the sedentary lifestyle in America. How can we combat this lack of energy and inattentiveness in our workplace? By adopting healthy workplace initiatives, you will reap the benefits of a more engaged workforce and a healthier environment.
What's the problem?
- The average worker sits 5 hours at a desk every day
- Add in couch time, sitting to eat meals, commute, and sleeping, and it could mean that the average adult is only active for 3 hours in a 24-hour period
- Prolonged sitting is directly related to higher risk of heart disease, weight gain, and diabetes
- Poor posture can lead to chronic health issues such as arthritis and bursitis
- Staring at computer screens for long amounts of time lead to higher instances of headaches and migraines
What's the solution?
- Healthy snack options in vending machines—SnackNation and Nature Box have healthy snack delivery services for offices of all kinds and sizes.
- Fitness challenges—Encourage different office-wide challenges to promote a more active lifestyle.
- Incentives for most consecutive gym check-ins
- Step contests using fitness trackers such as FitBit, Pebble, and AppleWatch
- Bike or Walk to Work Days
- Standing desks—Companies such as Varidesk make standing desks or sit/stand desks that lower and raise so that you vary your position during the day
- Reduces back pain
- Burns more calories during the day
- Increases energy
- Some insurance companies will cover all or portion of the cost if they deem it "medically necessary."
- Practice gratitude—keep a daily log of things to be thankful for that day
- Shown to ease depression, curb appetite, and enhance sleep
- Spirit of gratefulness leads to more sustainable happiness because it's not based on immediate gratification, it's more of a state of mind
- Get moving during the day—if your office doesn't have sit/stand desks, schedule time to move each day
- Stretch time/desk yoga
- Computer programs to remind you to move such as "Move" for iOS and "Big Stretch Reminder" for Windows
- Extra happiness in the office—
- Add a plant
- Aromatherapy
- Host a cooking class to encourage healthy meal plans
- Pet-friendly office days
By showing your employees that you care about their physical and mental health you are showing that you care about them as people and not just employees. This results in higher motivated staff who are healthier. The Harvard Business Review even says that "employers who invested in health and wellness initiatives saw $6 in healthcare savings for every $1 invested." You cannot always measure ROI on personnel investment but it looks like for workplace wellness, you can! Now get moving and get your office moving!


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On Egypt's Mediterranean coast, August should be prime tourist season. But the seaside restaurants in Alexandria are almost empty. Worries over security are keeping a lot of foreign tourists away. But there's a much bigger worry looming: that hotter weather and a disappearing shoreline could make Egypt's prospects even worse.
Scientists generally agree that human-made climate change – the effect of greenhouse gas emissions from things like cars and factories – is making the sea level higher and its waters warmer.
Rising sea levels are affecting the Nile River delta, the triangle where the Nile spreads out and drains into the sea. It's where Egypt grows most of its crops. According to the World Bank, Egypt — with its already high poverty rates and rapidly growing population — is one of the countries that will be most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Hazem Adel is already seeing some of those changes firsthand. He sells hats and woven handbags at a stall in front of a wall of concrete barriers on the Alexandria waterfront.
"The water used to flood and cover the people and their cars," says Adel. "That's why the government put up the barriers – to stop the high water so it won't flood the street."
All along the waterfront, the government has erected barriers to counter increasingly fierce winter storms. There's no beach on this part of the shore. The sand washed away years ago.
Many scientists predict a sea level rise here of more than two feet by the end of the century. Some historic buildings are already crumbling, as salt water seeps into the bricks. Entire neighborhoods could be submerged.
For thousands of years, Alexandria's fortunes have risen and fallen with the sea.
Near the concrete boardwalk, guides lead Arab tourists through a fortress built partly on the ruins of one of the wonders of the ancient world – the lighthouse of Alexandria.
For almost 2,000 years, the stone lighthouse was the tallest building in the world. It used mirrors to reflect the sun, and fires at night, to warn sailors away from the rocks. After a series of earthquakes between the tenth and 14th centuries, it tumbled into the water. Over the centuries, the sea swallowed what had been a thriving port and even the outline of the harbor itself.
Fishermen stand on what are believed to be some of the remains of the base of the lighthouse, casting lines into the water from long poles.
Saleh Hilmi, who has been fishing here for 25 years, says the fish now are smaller than before – he throws the ones he catches to stray cats. Because the sea water is warmer, he says, the bigger fish have retreated to cooler, deeper water.
It's a big worry for climate change experts like Mohammad al-Raey from the University of Alexandria, who has been researching the potential effects of warmer temperatures and rising sea levels for decades.
"The sea level rise would affect all coasts and all beaches," he says, looking out over the brilliant blue waters of the Mediterranean along Egypt's north coast. "The models show the Middle East would increase in temperature and decrease in precipitation."
Most models predict a possible average mean temperature rise of more than three degrees Fahrenheit over parts of Egypt over the next four decades.
Raey says the effects of hotter weather, including reduced rainfall, would cut agricultural productivity by 15 to 20 percent – a huge blow to a country already struggling to feed its people.
More than half of Egypt's crops are grown along the Nile delta.
All along the delta, the river banks are eroding. With rising sea levels, sea water is seeping into Nile water used for irrigation.
"The crops die," says Youssef Ghazali, who has been farming for 50 years. "If you water them with salty water, they die immediately. If I had proper water, I could grow rice, clover cotton. I could grow anything."
Ghazali's arms are crisscrossed with red gashes from cutting thistles. He shows me a patch of bare earth where, two years ago, he was growing rice. Now he says it's too salty to grow anything at all.
Other farmers say they have had to abandon traditional crops like sugarcane because of the salinity of the water.
Ghazali says people here are already struggling with river water polluted by runoff from factories — and now they've been told that human activity is changing the very weather.
"We've heard for a long time that we shouldn't burn wood and straw," he says. "They say because of the smoke from that and smoke from the cars, it affects the temperature."
Other Egyptians aren't so sure.
Further up the Nile delta, near a fishing village called al-Ma'adiya where the Nile meets the Mediterranean, fisherman say winter storms have been so fierce the past two years, some people here believe God is punishing them.
"Last winter was the worst," says Bedair Mohammad. "The sea swallowed up some of the land and got closer and closer to the village. We're seeing things we never saw before, in a way that could make us believe this is anger from God on the village and its people."
Mohammad says every year the winds get stronger, the waves get higher and more land disappears. They have to go further and further out to sea to find the same fish they used to catch close to shore.
He points to where the pale blue water of the Mediterranean starts to turn brown a few hundred feet closer to shore. It was bare ground just a few years ago – now it's covered in water. In his grandfather's time, it took more than half an hour to walk from the village to the shore. Now it takes less than 10 minutes.
Ten years ago, these were such rich fishing grounds people referred to this stretch of the coast as "Kuwait" — because its villages were so prosperous. Now the fish near the shore are smaller and scarcer. Fishermen need motorboats to get out to deeper water instead of the rowboats they used to use.
Mohammad says last year, the winds were so strong, the third story of his house was knocked down. Boats were tossed up from the water into the road.
"In the winter, the sea attacks us," he says. "We are afraid the village will sink into the sea."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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I couldn't imagine going through summer without posting the ultimate light and healthy dish – summer rolls. To be honest, I have no idea why they are called "summer" rolls. I think it's because they are lighter than their wonton cousins, but I could be wrong.
Unlike classic eggrolls, which are usually fried and heavy, summer rolls are made with rice paper rounds and don't require any cooking. If you've never worked with rice paper before. don't be intimidated, it's really super easy.
The great thing about summer rolls is that they can be filled with anything – fruit, veggies, or your protein of choice. Fish and tofu work wonderfully in these rice paper roll-ups, but grilled chicken and veggies are my faves. I once watched Giada de Laurentiis make a fruity version on the Food Network. She filled the rounds with pad Thai noodles, strawberries, mango and almonds and prepared a honey-mint dipping sauce to go on the side. She served them after a yoga lesson as the perfect post-workout treat.
For me, making a dish like this doesn't really require a recipe. I look into my fridge and put together whatever scraps I can find. In this case, I had leftover marinated chicken breasts, so I threw them on my grill pan for a quick sear. I found some nappa cabbage, shredded carrots, scallions and edamame, and put them all together for a fabulous combo. Feel free to do the same (grab whatever you can find in your fridge) or follow my recipe below.
Oh, and the dipping sauce? Let me just say this — it's awesome.
Rice Paper Rolls
6 rice paper wrappers
2 pieces grilled chicken, sliced
1/4 head nappa cabbage, thinly sliced
1 carrot, shredded
1 cup edamame
2 scallions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise
Prepare all your fillings on a tray, so they are ready to go once your rice paper has softened. Fill a shallow bowl with warm water and slide the rice paper wrappers inside for 10-15 seconds, until soft and pliable. Remove gently from the water and place on a cutting board. Place filling in the center of the wrapper, and roll the bottom portion of the rice paper around the filling. Fold the sides over, and continue rolling to form rolls. Cut summer rolls in half and serve with dipping sauce
Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp honey
Zest of 1/2 lime
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sriracha
salt, to taste
Add all ingredients to a bowl and whisk to combine. Serve with summer rolls.
1 year ago: roasted beet salsa
2 years ago: gefilte fish patties in tomato sauce


text: This shortcode allows you to add icons, standard or animated. You can choose from a collection of more than 470 different icons. The you can change the color of standard icons and change the animation style by choosing between 5 different styles.. Additionally, you can put animated icons on colored backgrounds because they have the extra one-color style. Have fun with that.


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Multipurpose, Full Screen Shopify Theme
Fashion Planet is a minimal, classy and modern Responsive Shopify theme Perfect for stores of any kind, such as fashion, clothing, watches, jewels, digital gadgets, furniture etc., Mainly designed to sell rich & luxurious products. Theme is written with smooth and modern HTML5 + CSS3. It looks and works great on mobile devices, tablets and computers.
The design is slick and minimal that directs attention straight to your products. The store framework is extremely versatile and easy to customize.
- Clean, professional design
- Valid HTML
- 100% Responsive
- Drop-down menu comes with simple and full width design
- Widgetized footer
- Manageable stylish slider section on homepage
- Unique blog / News page design
- Custom jQuery for Product Slider
- Newsletter signup form with mailchimp support
- SEO optimized
- Adjustable color settings and background images for all aspects of the theme
- Support to customer accounts and logins
- Looks good on Mobile, tablet and PC
- Custom styled checkout
- Custom styled member section
- Full width page layout
- Working Contact form
- Social count in product detail
- Compatible with all major modern browsers
- Well documented for easy setup and customization


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"The magic didn't happen to him. The magic happened to me." Amazingly, these were the words of abuse victim after letting go of years of resentment toward his father. So what happened? One day, fed up with pain he'd been carrying around for so long, he paid a visit to his dad. The "magic" occurred while they were looking at Ben's Continue Reading
Dove Controversy: Real Beauty Gone Viral
Some like it. Others hate it. Dove's latest ad campaign video about a wearable beauty patch has struck a nerve and gone viral. (Spoiler alert!) The women highlighted in the experiment feel their beauty and self-worth increase, while thinking drugs are helping them get there. As it turns out, the patches are only placebos. The video concludes: Continue Reading
3 Ways to Increase Your Focus During Meditation
On a recent flight to Jackson, Wyo., it wasn't only the plane that soared to new heights -- so did a conversation with my seat-mate. I had an inclination of something that might occur when she took out a book on Buddhist wisdom. So it came as no surprise that after laughing about some shared travel experiences, the topic shifted. "Do you Continue Reading
Can Good Stress Improve Your Health?
It turns out that having a challenging career can actually be quite good for you. Counter to what we often hear, a landmark study recently found that certain types of stress are linked to living longer lives. This research, summarized in a book called The Longevity Project, shows that qualities like ambition, perseverance, and motivation are Continue Reading
Is There a Way Out of Negative Cycles of Thought?
"PIES. COOKIES. WHOOPIE PIES," announced the sandwich board along a winding Maine road. We were easily persuaded. We pulled over to the roadside stand to find fresh-baked blueberry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie and those whoopie pies, as well as maple cookies and fresh jam. Standing to attention with her ears back and tail wagging, a Continue Reading
De-stress From Distress Through a Little Soul Searching
I'd never felt so unfairly accused. My boss told me of a complaint she'd received about my attitude, management style and performance which I felt was grossly unjust. But instead of coming to my defence, in my dumbstruck silence she said: "I think you should take tomorrow off and think about what has happened. Maybe that will help you Continue Reading
Can love avert a mental breakdown? Depends on the love!
An acquaintance who writes for for PsychologyToday.com generously posted an article I wrote on on her blog here. Thanks Madora! Equilibrium. Sound unrealistic given the avalanche that is your to-do list? You're not alone. Check out the faces of drivers around you or people walking down the street, and it's not hard to see others sporting a Continue Reading
Women transform medicine in 40 years since Title 9
Forty years ago a revolution began in sports. Title 9, "designed to ensure gender equality in education", changed the demographics on athletic fields. But it has also changed the field of medicine. After 1972, more women started to enroll in PhD programs, thanks in large part to Title 9 legislation that made sex-discrimination illegal at Continue Reading
Tour de Happiness
I'm lightheartedly gliding along a beach-side path on a gold rental bike with silver arched handlebars. Suddenly I hear someone screaming "Aaaaahhhrrrr!" It sounds like an angry pirate is heading toward me. I quickly realize I've crossed over into the wrong lane by mistake as I made space for a friend riding next to me. A guy dressed for some Continue Reading


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These were two points that I took away from the Microsoft Dynamics Convergence conference last week in Atlanta, GA.
By way of history, Microsoft introduced its Dynamics CRM product in 2003, its first Dynamics product written from scratch, though it did not experience significant market uptake until several years later. Until the past year or so, Dynamics CRM was largely a salesforce automation system, with a bit of case management on the service side. As such, it was not well positioned against the CRM offerings of SAP and Oracle, which offered complete solutions. Though Salesforce.com also started as a sales automation system, over the past few years it has also built out its capabilities for marketing and customer service.
I saw the deficiencies of Dynamics CRM up close in 2010, when my consulting firm, Strativa, facilitated a CRM selection for a midsize high tech manufacturer. The company had actually implemented Dynamics CRM but decided to abandon it for lack of customer service functionality. In another CRM selection deal, in 2012, we didn't even short list Dynamics CRM because of its lack of support for marketing and customer service.
Filling out the Footprint
But now, as the result of three strategic acquisitions, the picture is completely different:- Marketing Pilot: Acquired in 2012, Marketing Pilot is the basis for the newly announced Microsoft Dynamics Marketing. Product capabilities include campaign management, content management, approval workflow, media planning, email marketing management, and integration with sales force automation. The product also supports multichannel marketing, with social media management (e.g. automated posting to Facebook and Twitter) and digital advertising (e.g. integration with Google Adwords). With the latest version of Dynamics CRM, the product is completely integrated, with a consistent user-interface.
- NetBreeze: This acquisition by Microsoft in 2013 allows organizations to monitor social media conversations of interest to the organization's brands. It also provides "sentiment analysis" on social media conversations. In other words, are people speaking positively or negatively about the brand?
Microsoft executives claim that Netbreeze is the only provider that does such sentiment analysis in native languages (five, at present). This, they say, is in contrast to competing offerings, which have to translate tweets (for example) into English, and perform the sentiment analysis on the translation. Anyone who has attempted to use Google Translate or Bing's translation engine to communicate in a foreign language knows the dangers of relying on machine translation. Netbreeze now forms the heart of the newly announced Microsoft Social Listening.
- Parature: This most-recent acquisition, in 2014, brought a complete customer service solution into the Dynamics CRM product set, addressing a deficiency I wrote about last year. Parature, built exclusively in the cloud, supports customer self-service, knowledge management, issue management, and service workflow. The product is built with multi-channel in mind, with support for call center, web self-service, text chat, and social media channels.
Parature is the basis for Microsoft's newly announced Unified Service Desk. In a subsequent interview with Microsoft's Bill Patterson, who has now been named Senior Director over the Parature operation, he indicated that Parature really doesn't need much help to build out more functionality or even to integrate it with Dynamics CRM. The focus, he said, will be more on execution, raising its profile in the market, scaling its business operations globally, and training partners to sell and support it. Interestingly, Microsoft currently has no plans to migrate Parature from Amazon Web Services to its own Azure cloud. The product will interoperate with the rest of Dynamics CRM, no matter if the customer is running on premises or with Microsoft or partner hosting.
Competing on Value
Although Dynamics CRM can now position itself well in terms of capabilities, there is also an economic angle to its market strategy. Microsoft is simplifying licensing for Dynamics CRM and releasing much of the new capabilities at no additional charge. Specifically, for Microsoft-hosted deployments, which comprise the majority of new deals for Dynamics CRM:- CRM Online Professional, priced at $65 per user per month for customers with 10 or more Professional users, will give users access to Social Listening at no additional charge. For on-premises customers (the minority of new sales), there will be a $20 per user per month charge.
- CRM Online Enterprise, priced at $200 per user per month, essentially delivers the whole enchilada: the core sales functionality, plus Dynamics Marketing, Social Listening, plus the new Unified Service Desk.
It will take one or two actual CRM deals to see how the new pricing and licensing works in practice, but as it stands it appears to be quite competitive. Buyers may find the pricing attractive against a similar bundle from Salesforce.com, where costs can rise quickly as Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and Service Cloud are priced separately. Throw in a few AppExchange solutions and the total price can be quite steep. Of course, large customers can and do negotiate significant discounts. Still, Microsoft's offer of a complete CRM solution at a reasonable price should work to limit the premium pricing ambitions of Salesforce as well as Oracle and SAP. And, that's good for buyers.
A more complete run down on the CRM pricing and licensing can be found in a Microsoft blog post by Paco Contreras.
Moving Up-Market
The expanded CRM footprint will certainly help Microsoft compete for CRM deals in larger enterprises. However, Dynamics CRM was already moving up-market even before these most recent announcements.Rexel's approach was not to disturb these transactional systems but to pull information from them into Dynamics CRM and make it available for real time display on desktops and mobile devices and to use it for sales force automation. The company also leverages Microsoft Lync and Yammer to create communities of interest around this customer information.
As good a case study as this is, Rexel may not be finished implementing Microsoft Dynamics. With Microsoft building out its CRM footprint, Berard plans to look at Dynamics Marketing to see whether it would provide a way to better manage technical specifications and other content. Finally, some of the ERP systems in Rexel operating units are "sub-standard" and candidates for replacement. Microsoft Dynamics AX may be a good fit for these divisions, which may lead to an even broader commitment to Microsoft throughout Rexel.
For a system that was only born 10 years ago, Microsoft has made great progress in building out a complete CRM offering. It positions well against SAP CRM as a smaller-footprint alternative. Against Oracle, Dynamics CRM has a simpler story to tell. There's no doubt that Oracle has deep CRM capabilities, but they come in a variety of acquired products, such as Siebel, Rightnow, and Eloqua, as well as Oracle-developed products, such as Oracle Fusion CRM.
Against all competitors, including the market leader, Salesforce.com, Microsoft is signaling that it is willing to challenge their premium pricing.
With Microsoft now offering a complete CRM solution and demonstrating that it can scale up-market, there are few situations now where Dynamics CRM does not deserve consideration.
Related Posts
Microsoft Dynamics Move Up-Market: What's Missing?Four Needs Pushing Microsoft Dynamics into Large Enterprises
Computer Economics: Microsoft Dynamics Stepping onto Enterprise Turf
Update on Microsoft Dynamics Products and Plans


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Similar species: Malva neglecta is most similar to M. parviflora and M. rotundifolia, but both of those species have petals that are only slightly longer than the sepals (if at all), and the mericarps are bumpy and wrinkled on their outsides. Also very similar is M. verticllata, but it differs by having shorter petals (less than twice the length of the sepals), the fruiting stalk is under 1 cm long, and the calyx is greatly enlarged in fruit as compared to when in flower.
Flowering: May to October
Habitat and ecology: Native to Eurasia and North Africa, now abundant as a weed in gardens and waste places throughout temperate North America.
Occurence in the Chicago region: non-native
Etymology: Malva means Mallow. Neglecta means overlooked.
Author: The Field Museum
Indiana Coefficient of Conservatism: C = null, non-native
Wetland Indicator Status: N/A


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Md. Labor Department overpays unemployment claims, auditors find
The Maryland Labor Department's Division of Unemployment Insurance overpaid millions in benefits to people who were actually working and shelled out unemployment benefits to people who were dead or in prison. The division also certified job stimulus tax credits for employers hiring the unemployed for some workers who weren't actually receiving unemployment benefits.
Those were among the findings of a report released yesterday by the Office of Legislative Audits. Interim Labor Secretary Scott Jensen said the department agreed with the auditors' findings, and has made a series of changes to correct the problems. (The letter he signed in response to the report misspells his name "Jenson.")
The report covered the two and half years from June 2008 to January 2011.
Last year, the division paid out $1.6 billion in unemployment benefits to 243,000 claimants, the money coming from state and federal unemployment insurance taxes paid by employers. Apparently overpayments are not uncommon as the department last year recorded cumulative receivables of $150 million it was trying to collect from the formerly unemployed, and it actually recovered $25 million in 2011 in overpayments.
Database checks not comprehensive enough
Auditors said some of the overpayments occurred because the database matches that the department utilized were not comprehensive enough.
"While [the Division of Unemployment Insurance] matched claimants with the national database of newly hired employees, available wage information for all employees was excluded from the matches," acting Legislative Auditor Thomas Barnickel told the chairmen of the Joint Audit Committee in a letter. "The use of national wage information would provide more comprehensive match results."
The division also failed to match its claims payments with Social Security death records, with state incarceration records and with lists of state employees. "For example, for the period from January to June 2011, one claimant received $5,800 in benefits while also receiving wages from one State agency totaling approximately $9,700," the report said.
The response from Secretary Jensen described in detail all the steps the department had taken to conform to the auditors' recommendations.
On a positive note, Jensen pointed out that the auditors had no repeat findings from its regular audit three years before. Findings of the same problems in audit after audit have troubled legislators, and some have introduced bills to withhold funding from agencies with repeat findings.
"While we are pleased that the division had no repeat findings," Jensen said, "the department understands that we still have work to do."
The department has notified the comptroller to try to collect the tax credits employers received for workers who weren't eligible.
–Len Lazarick
MarylandReporter.com is a daily news website produced by journalists committed to making state government as open, transparent, accountable and responsive as possible – in deed, not just in promise. We believe the people who pay for this government are entitled to have their money spent in an efficient and effective way, and that they are entitled to keep as much of their hard-earned dollars as they possibly can.


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Noir is committed to protecting the privacy and security of your personal information.
This privacy notice describes how we collect and use the personal information you provide to us, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We are required to collect, store, and use your personal information, this may include:
We may be required to process additional information for candidates who would be employed by Noir on a temporary basis with any of our clients, this could include:
Candidates who would be self-employed as a contractor will need to provide some additional information which could include:
For candidates who are applying for roles within certain financial services businesses, we may also be required to collect, store, and use some additional personal information, which could include:
We typically collect this personal information directly from you or through our website or job advertisements. We may sometimes be required to collect additional information from third parties or other publicly available sources. Noir will take reasonable steps to inform you it has collected your personal information from a third party.
We need certain personal information primarily to allow us to perform our contract with you and to enable us to comply with legal obligations. In some cases, we may use your personal information to pursue legitimate interests of our own or those of third parties, provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. The situations in which we will process your personal information are listed below.
If you are engaged as an employee or contractor through Noir we may also need additional information for the following reasons:
Some of the above grounds for processing will overlap and there may be several grounds which justify our use of your personal information.
If you fail to provide certain information when requested, we may not be able to represent you as a recruitment agency, or we may be prevented from complying with our legal obligations (such as to ensure the health and safety of our workers).
We may use your particularly sensitive personal information in the following ways:
We do not need your consent if we use special categories of your personal information in accordance with our written policy to carry out our legal obligations or exercise specific rights in the field of employment law. In limited circumstances, we may approach you for your written consent to allow us to process certain particularly sensitive data. If we do so, we will provide you with full details of the information that we would like and the reason we need it, so that you can carefully consider whether you wish to consent. You should be aware that it is not a condition of your contract with us that you agree to any request for consent from us.
We will only collect information about criminal convictions if it is appropriate given the nature of the role and where we are legally able to do so. Where appropriate, we will collect information about criminal convictions as part of the recruitment process or we may be notified of such information directly by you. We will use information about criminal convictions and offences usually where such processing is necessary to carry out our obligations and provided we do so in line with our contractual obligations to our clients and candidates.
You will not be subject to decisions that will have a significant impact on you based solely on automated decision-making, unless we have a lawful basis for doing so and we have notified you.
We may have to share your data with third parties, including prospective employers, third party service providers and other entities in the group. We require third parties to respect the security of your data and to treat it in accordance with the law.
We may transfer your personal information outside the EU. If we do, you can expect a similar degree of protection in respect of your personal information.
Why might you share my personal information with third parties?
We may share your personal information with third parties where required by law, where it is necessary to administer the working relationship with you or where we have another legitimate interest in doing so.
Which third-party service providers process my personal information?
"Third parties" includes third-party service providers (including contractors and designated agents) and other entities within our group. The following activities are carried out by third party service providers: CV formatting, payroll, pension administration, benefits provision and administration, IT services.
How secure is my information with third-party service providers and other entities in our group?
All our third-party service providers and other entities in the group are required to take appropriate security measures to protect your personal information in line with our policies. We do not allow our third-party service providers to use your personal data for their own purposes. We only permit them to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our instructions.
What About other third parties?
We may share your personal information with other third parties, for example in the context of the possible sale or restructuring of the business. We may also need to share your personal information with a regulator or to otherwise comply with the law.
Transferring Information Outside The EU
We may transfer the personal information we collect about you outside of the EU, in order to perform our contract with you. To ensure that your personal information does receive an adequate level of protection we have put in place the appropriate measures to ensure that your personal information is treated by those third parties in a way that is consistent with and which respects the EU and UK laws on data protection.
We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal information on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality.
We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected data security breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a suspected breach where we are legally required to do so.
How Long Will You Use My Information For?
We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements. In some circumstances we may anonymise your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case we may use such information without further notice to you.
Your duty to inform us of changes
It is important that the personal information we hold about you is accurate and current. Please keep us informed if your personal information changes during your working relationship with us.
Your rights in connection with personal information
Under certain circumstances, by law you have the right to:
If you want to review, verify, correct or request erasure of your personal information, object to the processing of your personal data, or request that we transfer a copy of your personal information to another party, please contact Noir in writing.
No fee usually required
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal information (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request for access is clearly unfounded or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with the request in such circumstances.
What we may need from you
We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access the information (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is another appropriate security measure to ensure that personal information is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it.
In the limited circumstances where you may have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information for a specific purpose, you have the right to withdraw your consent for that specific processing at any time. To withdraw your consent, please contact the HR department at Noir. Once we have received notification that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose or purposes you originally agreed to, unless we have another legitimate basis for doing so in law.
We reserve the right to update this privacy notice at any time, and we will provide you with a new privacy notice when we make any substantial updates. We may also notify you in other ways from time to time about the processing of your personal information.


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The number of high school seniors applying for U.S. federal college aid plunged in the weeks following the sudden closure of school buildings this spring — a time when students were cut off from school counselors, and families hit with financial setbacks were reconsidering plans for higher education.
In the first weeks of the pandemic, the number of new applications fell by nearly half compared to last year's levels, fueled by a precipitous decline among students at low-income schools, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal data. The numbers have risen as states and schools have launched campaigns urging students to apply for aid, but they remain down overall from last year.
It's raising alarms among education officials who say thousands of students may be opting to delay or forgo college, with potentially dire consequences for their job prospects and future earnings.
"The consequences are that kids are going directly into the workforce. They're closing the door on post-high school learning," said David Nieslanik, principal of Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon, where he saw only more affluent students file for aid once instruction moved online.
The FAFSA, short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is required for students to be eligible for federal Pell grants and student loans. It's also often a requirement for state aid. Students who complete the form are far more likely to enroll in college, studies have found, and those who receive aid are more likely to stay in college.
In the four weeks starting March 13, the number of completed applications was down 45% compared to the same period the year before, according to the AP analysis. It was sharpest at Title I schools, a federal designation for public schools that have larger shares of low-income students, which saw a 52% decrease, compared to a 39% slide at other public schools.
Overall, applications were down by 70,000 as of June 19, representing a 3.7% drop for the entire application cycle.
Even before the pandemic, some states had been expecting to see decreases as demographic shifts result in fewer high school seniors, and plenty of individual schools saw filings hold steady or increase. However, as the coronavirus started to spread, every state saw numbers slide compared to last year's levels, even states that had more high school seniors this year.
Schools say the pandemic contributed to the slide in several ways. Separated from their schools, students lost touch with counselors who typically guide them through the complex financial aid process. Families without reliable internet access struggled to complete the online form. And amid economic turmoil, some students took jobs and put college plans on hold.
The pandemic's timing worsened its impact on low-income students, experts say: While more affluent students typically submit the FAFSA earlier in the application cycle, low-income students are more likely to wait until March or April, the time when schools were shutting down.
Gregory Cole, principal of the Mojave High School in North Las Vegas, Nevada, said it came at "the very worst time."
Many parents lost jobs as the region's gaming industry shut down, and some students took jobs in groceries or fast food chains. Compounding the problem, many students come from families that had never filed the form, which requires a range of tax and Social Security records.
"We're the lifeline for a lot of our kids," Cole said. "Without us there to help them through the process, I think it's inevitable that some of them are going to fall through the cracks."
Once schools closed, counselors could no longer pull students into their offices to talk, or invite families to school to navigate the FAFSA. Instead, schools were left sending emails that often went unanswered, or they relied on unwieldy video chats to help families with paperwork.
There's hope that the decrease is partly tied to students who plan to attend community colleges and are waiting to file until closer to those schools' deadlines, which are often later, said Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Still, he worries that the drop-off may be more than a "temporary blip."
"During recessions, traditionally more people go back to school to retool. But this just feels very different because of the pandemic, the illness, the job loss, and then the quarantines that might reappear this year," he said. "All of this says to me, there are a lot of things to be worried about."
Education officials are encouraging students to apply over the summer, even if only to see how much financial aid they could receive. North Carolina recently launched a "FAFSA Frenzy" campaign, while Kentucky is hosting "FAFSA Fridays" urging students to apply.
Although deadlines for some state scholarships have passed, students can still apply for federal aid for the 2020-21 school year through June 2021.
In Louisiana, one of several states where students are required to file the FAFSA in order to graduate from high school, state officials waived that rule because of the pandemic. But state education officials are still calling and texting students in districts with lower completion rates.
As of June 19, applications among the state's low-income students were down by nearly 9%.
"We are not going to stop," said Sujuan Boutté, executive director of the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance. "We've got to be that rock that says, 'I do understand that there's a lot of uncertainty, but this is a ticket to your future and you don't want to put that on hold.'"
Officials in Kentucky say they're working hard but aren't optimistic they'll catch up with last year's numbers. Even if they do, they worry that many students who filed will ultimately not enroll in college.
"We may reach the same percentage, but I'm not optimistic that all of those students will be going to college," said Aaron Thompson, president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. "If I'm wrong about this, I will be shouting hallelujah."
___ Binkley reported from Boston. Fenn reported from New York.


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One father was murdered, and another convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.
Nate Beckett has spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him from his Colorado home town. His mother begs him to come to Carlisle now that his father has been released from prison, but it isn't until he's sidelined by an injury that he's forced to return and face his past. But that means facing Brenna too.
Fourteen years ago, Nate was in love with the preacher's daughter. When Pastor Strickland discovered Brenna had defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between Strickland and Nate's drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the church burned down, people assumed it was Nate getting even for his father's conviction. He let the rumors fly and left Carlisle without looking back.
Now, Brenna is stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and she's dealing with a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he's using lies and his family's money to sway the judge. She's barely hanging on, and she's turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.
As they deal with the present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire that's threatening their town—their past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she'll have to learn to trust him again first.
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Single mother Brenna Strickland struggles with alcohol as her ex-husband works to take everything she holds dear. Injured firefighter Nate Beckett returns home to recover—and reacquaint himself with his father, the man accused of murdering Brenna's father. Family, reputations, secrets, jealousy, faith, romance, and truth all tie into the obstacles that Brenna and Nate must overcome, making for quite an emotional story.
Terri Blackstock's Smoke Screen proves to be a quick, intriguing read. Getting to know Brenna and Nate is a pleasure (even as their circumstances—and choices, too, at times—frustrated me), making me want only the best for them. I just had to keep reading to find out where their story would go, and thankfully, its progression is quite satisfying.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.
Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of Intervention, Vicious Cycle, and Downfall, as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series.
I woke up in a blinding bright room, my clothes off and something clamped to my face. I tried to reach it, but I couldn't bend my right arm, and my hand stung. An IV was taped to my other hand, but I moved carefully and touched the thing over my face.
An oxygen mask. I tried to sit up. "What happened?"
T-bird came to my bedside, a sheen of smoky sweat still soiling his face. "Nate, lie back, man."
"The fire," I said. "Need to get back. My men."
"They're still there. Making progress. But you're not going anywhere near a fire for a month or so."
I took the mask off and coughed a little, but managed to catch my breath. "A month?"
"Yep. Second degree burns on 20 percent of your body. Some of the burns are deep."
It came back to me, the event that had gotten me here.
"The family. Were they injured?"
"Not a scratch or burn. Turns out it was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. He says you're a hero."
"You know I had no choice. They were in the path—"
"Take the praise where you can get it, man. We don't get that much."
I looked at my right side. My right arm was bandaged, and so was my side and down my right leg to the point where my boots had stopped the flames. Second degree wasn't so bad, I told myself. Third degree would have been brutal. I'd be able to leave the hospital soon. I'd heal.
"I won't need a month," I said.
"Yes, you will. They can't let you go back. Doctor's orders. You're grounded until he releases you."
I managed to sit up, but it was a bad idea. The burns pulling on my skin reminded me why I shouldn't. "I can't be grounded during fire season. Are you crazy? I need to be there. You don't have enough men as it is."
"Sorry, Nate. It is what it is. Why don't you go home to Carlisle for a while? Take it easy."
Go home? Pop had just been pardoned, and he and my mom were trying to navigate the reunion. Though she would love to have me home, I didn't know if I was up to it. My father could be challenging, and fourteen years of prison hadn't done him any favors.
Taken from Smoke Screen by Terri Blackstock. Copyright © 2019 by Terri Blackstock. Used by permission of http://www.thomasnelson.com/.


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Add Another Mark To The Win Column
Through our legal counsel Outside Legal Counsel, PLC, Michigan Open Carry, Inc. has agreed to a very one-sided settlement of our Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the City of Harbor Beach.
Presumably realizing that the future prospects of the litigation against them were very bleak, the City of Harbor Beach has effectively agreed to give us everything we've asked for. You can read a copy of the Settlement Agreement HERE. A summary of the terms are as follows:
- Harbor Beach agrees to provide copies of all public records requested.
- The records will be unredacted.
- The records will be produced without cost to MOC.
- Harbor Beach will provide a signed statement certifying all records have been produced. (if for some reason we find out they didn't produce something, we can use this to go after them later)
- Harbor Beach will pay the sum of $7,000.00 to MOC to cover legal expenses. (this will result in MOC's retainer being reimbursed, meaning our total net cost will be $0)
- MOC will drop the suit, except for that the Court will retain jurisdiction over the Settlement Agreement. (this means that if Harbor Beach reneges on something, we don't have to start all over from the beginning)
As you can plainly see, this settlement is completely one-sided. There is no other way to describe this than a complete caving on the part of Harbor Beach, and a big win for MOC. While this settlement is not a victory in court, it gives us everything we wanted while saving all parties further legal expenses.
Since agreeing to the settlement, we have received a stack of documents from Harbor Beach totalling 177 pages. A 25MB pdf of the documents can be downloaded HERE. Have fun!
Part of our requests went as follows: "Any and all documentation obtained by or provided by the Harbor Beach City Council or one of its members, or the City Director, relating to how the City's policy on firearms carried by employees may affect the City's insurance rates."
What did they provide in response to this? NOTHING! That's right, nothing! They never mentioned insurance before making their decision and provided ZERO documents to support their claim that they had to enact this ban or face an increase in insurance rates. In short, they LIED! They lied to the citizens they were elected to represent to cover their anti-gun bias. In fact, they didn't even figure out whether or not their ban was even legal until a month AFTER they enacted it.
The documents also make it very clear just how much Harbor Beach City Director Ron Wruble views the City's transparency obligations as "a waste of time and money". It should be noted that, had the City responded lawfully to our request in the beginning, they would have saved 99% of the time and money they ended up spending on their losing endeavor.
We would like to thank Philip Ellison of Outside Legal Counsel PLC for his expert representation and tremendous knowledge of Michigan's FOIA. His knowledge and passion for this area of law proved to be very valuable and it was our sincere pleasure to work with him.
If you would like to help us fight future battles, please consider donating to our legal fund. There is always work to be done, and we are already looking to the future.
So, What Happened?
Back in September of 2016, the City of Harbor Beach passed a resolution to ban their employees from openly carrying firearms while in the course of their duties. This ban came after Casey Armitage, a crossing guard for the City, was told that the City's employment policy prohibited her from carrying a concealed pistol, after she had been doing so for nearly a year for her own protection and the protection of the children she oversees. When she pointed out that the policy only prohibited concealed carry, the City, in knee-jerk fashion, immediately moved to ban open carry too.
When later asked to justify this overtly anti-gun move, the City cited unspecified concerns that their insurance would increase if they didn't enact this policy. How their insurance had not increased up until this point, sans a policy, was not explained.
When asked by Mrs. Armitage for documentation explaining how and why the City's insurance would increase, she was very rudely told by City Director Ron Wruble that she could FOIA the documents but then he "would have to charge her a lot of money". We saw this for the clear attempt to bully and hide that it was, and this is where MOC stepped in.
The Request
On October 3rd, 2016 we filed a FOIA request with the City asking for communications between the City Council members and director, as well as any documentation used to support their concern of increased insurance rates.
On October 7th, 2016, Mr. Wruble responded in what later came to be known as the "Wruble Response". This response was wildly unlawful and contained fee demands far exceeding what is allowed by law.
Over the next week, the City was given three more attempts to comply with the law, three more than the law requires us to give them, and each time they failed, even after bringing in the City Attorney John Ferris for two of them. By this time, the City had already spent more time attempting to charge ridiculous fees than it would have taken them to just lawfully comply with our request.
On October 17th, 2016, we submitted a 3 ½ page formal appeal to the City of the fees they were attempting to charge, describing in detail many of the problems with what they were attempting to do complete with statutory citations and quotes. The City is required by law to respond to this appeal within 10 business days. They never even tried.
Having met all of our legal obligations, and then some by a very wide margin, we felt that the only way we were going to get Harbor Beach to comply with the law was going to be through litigation. This is when we reached out to Philip Ellison of Outside Legal Counsel PLC for help.
The Lawsuit
In December of 2016, through Outside Legal Counsel PLC, we filed a complaint against Harbor Beach in the Huron County Circuit Court alleging numerous violations of Michigan's Freedom of Information Act.
You can read all of the briefs filed back and forth HERE.
The case progressed over the next year until finally it was heard in September 2017 before Judge Gerald M. Prill, who happens to be the only circuit court judge in Huron County, and a former partner for the firm that represents Harbor Beach. Go figure.
Judge Prill ruled in favor of Harbor Beach and dismissed the case. In his ruling, he found that since we did not pay the illegal deposit Harbor Beach was demanding, we lacked standing to challenge Harbor Beach's illegal fee demands. If this sounds ridiculous to you, that's because it is. Not only is this nowhere in the law, it was based on a ridiculous and outdated CoA ruling that resulted in the FOIA being changed, which means it's no longer applicable. A case in which our attorney took part in, making him very familiar with it.
Our attorney immediately motioned for reconsideration, meaning he asked the judge to take another look at the case, and explained the serious issues with the ruling. In a very rare occurrence, Judge Prill granted our motion to reconsider. It must be expressed how truly rare this is. Judges are not perfect, but it is very rare for one to admit they may have made a mistake.
The House Folds
Presumably seeing their impending demise on the horizon, Harbor Beach's counsel reached out to ours to discuss a settlement. We made it very clear that we were very confident in our position and we were prepared to take the case up the appeals chain, which we very much were - neither us nor Mr. Ellison are strangers to the appeals process.
The City eventually relented and agreed to give us … well everything. From our perspective, this was a smart move as it prevented them from having to pay significantly more in attorney's fees, for both us and them, down the road.
We now have a signed agreement from the City, which you can find linked above, as well as a 177 page stack of documents, which you can also find linked above.
The Lesson
Let this be a lesson to public entities that do not take their obligations to serve the citizens they were elected by properly. There are people and organizations who are willing to stand up to government bullies and we are proud to be one of them!
There is never a shortage of work for us to do and we are always looking for ways that we can help. If you would like to help us, please consider making a donation to our legal fund. Every donation, no matter how big or small, really does help us fight back.


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Common comments from reviewing PECL proposals
While reviewing PECL proposals there are some common issues which can be observed. This page collects some of those to provide extended information and saving reviewers from explaining those multiple times. This is different from other sections on this wiki a it focusses on review perspective.
Note to documentation team: When adding this information to the manual please keep a reference on this page!
php_$extname.h should be minimal
When reviewing extensions one can often see a long php_$extname.h file, which is bad. The php_$extname.h header should only contain a limited set of declarations. It should not include library or system headers. At most, it should contain declarations for the extension's module functions (like PHP_MINIT_FUNCTION), a module entry pointer and a version definition.
If needed it may contain some public C-level APIs for other extensions. If there's a larger set of exported functionality these should get an extra header though. When providing such APIs the php_$extname.h still shall not include other headers.
The reason for this is that for a static build of the extension as part of the main PHP build the PHP configure script will create main/internal_functions.c and main/internal_functions_cli.c which will include the php_$extname.h headers of all activated extensions for creating the extension startup structure. Including too many declarations there not only increases compile times but also increases the possibility of conflicts between declarations as different extensions might use the same sourcelevel symbols for different purpose.
A good starting point for a php_$extname.h is this:
/* +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | PHP Version 5 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Copyright (c) 1997-2012 The PHP Group | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | This source file is subject to version 3.01 of the PHP license, | | that is bundled with this package in the file LICENSE, and is | | available through the world-wide-web at the following url: | | http://www.php.net/license/3_01.txt | | If you did not receive a copy of the PHP license and are unable to | | obtain it through the world-wide-web, please send a note to | | firstname.lastname@example.com so we can mail you a copy immediately. | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Author: Ted User <firstname.lastname@example.com> | +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ */ #ifndef PHP_EXTNAME_H #define PHP_EXTNAME_H extern zend_module_entry extname_module_entry; #define phpext_extname_ptr &extname_module_entry #endif
Don't use C99 for portability reasons
C99 is more than 10 years old. Still compiler vendors (most notably Microsoft Visual C) have only limited support of C99 features. Using C99 in an extension code can therefore limit the portability. C99 features include
- inline functions
- intermingled declarations and code: variable declaration is no longer restricted to file scope or the start of a compound statement (block), similar to C++
- several new data types, including long long int, optional extended integer types, an explicit boolean data type, and a complex type to represent complex numbers
- variable-length arrays
- support for one-line comments beginning with .//., as in BCPL or C++
- new library functions, such as snprintf
- new header files, such as stdbool.h, complex.h, tgmath.h, and inttypes.h
- type-generic math functions
- improved support for IEEE floating point
- designated initializers
- compound literals
- support for variadic macros (macros with a variable number of arguments)
- restrict qualification allows more aggressive code optimization
- universal character names, which allows user variables to contain other characters than the standard character set
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C99#Design)
A common mistake is the second item. Note that the macro TSRMLS_FETCH() includes a variable declaration. This macro should be the last item in the variable declaration. Code like this is invalid, according to this rule:
static long myext_do_something() { long a, b; a = myext_get_a(); TSRMLS_FETCH(); b = myext_get_b(TSRMLS_C); long sum = a+b; return sum; }
This function might be written like this:
static long myext_do_something() { long a, b; long sum; TSRMLS_FETCH(); a = myext_get_a(); b = myext_get_b(TSRMLS_C); sum = a+b; return sum; }
Don't use zend_error
zend_error() should only be used inside the engine. Inside PHP extensions only PHP's error functions shoudl be used. Typically php_error_docref() is the best choice. php_error_docref() will extend the error message by extra information, like the current function name and properly escape output where needed. zend_error() is used by the Zend Engine due to PHP's modular architecture where the Zend Engine and TSRM should be compilable without other parts of PHP. The engine therefore can not use PHP level APIs. This limitation does not exist in extensions.
If zend_parse_parameters() fails do a simple return
The zend_parse_parameters() function is used to access the function parameters from the executors stack. It will automatically provide an error message to the user. By doing a plain return; the code also will keep the predefined value for the functions return_value, which is NULL. Returning NULL to the user is the default behaviour documented in the manual:
Note: If the parameters given to a function are not what it expects, such as passing an array where a string is expected, the return value of the function is undefined. In this case it will likely return NULL but this is just a convention, and cannot be relied upon.
(Source: http://php.net/functions.internal)
Even though this is a convention this rule should be followed unless there are good reasons.
Those are wrong:
if (zend_parse_parameters(ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC, "s", &arg, &arg_len) == FAILURE) { RETURN_FALSE; } if (zend_parse_parameters(ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC, "s", &arg, &arg_len) == FAILURE) { php_error_docref(NULL, TSRMLS_CC, E_WARNING, "Error while parsing parameters"): return; }
This form is suggested:
if (zend_parse_parameters(ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC, "s", &arg, &arg_len) == FAILURE) { return; }
See also README.PARAMETER_PARSING_API in the PHP source tree for your version of PHP.
RINIT/RSHUTDOWN should be as small as possible
RINIT/RSHUTDOWN are being called on every request handled by PHP, independently from whether the functionality is needed or not. Often it is a good alternative to delay initialisation of external libraries etc. which is commonly done in RINIT till the script access this for the first time or doing it globally in MINIT. RSHUTDOWN functionality can often be bound to resource/object destructors.
Empty RINIT/RSHUTDOWN functions should be removed
If RINIT/RSHUTDOWN functions aren't needed they should be removed and the entries of the module entry structure should be set to NULL. Besides having less code = less chance of bugs this brings a tiny performance improvement as it saves 2 indirect function calls per request, which PHP would happen to execute on every request. A module structure might look like this:
zend_module_entry myext_module_entry = { STANDARD_MODULE_HEADER, "myext", myext_functions, PHP_MINIT(myext), PHP_MSHUTDOWN(myext), NULL, NULL, PHP_MINFO(myext), PHP_MYEXT_VERSION, STANDARD_MODULE_PROPERTIES };
If not needed one might also remove the function table, MINIT and MSHUTDOWN if those aren't needed, but as they are only accessed during the initial PHP startup, not for every request, this is less relevant.
Also see the previous item.
PECL site conformity
A few conformity checks are done on the tarball upload, the PECL site will check for
. presence of LICENSE or COPYING in the package.xml, add it to the root dir with the line like this
<file name="LICENSE" role="doc" />
. for version string compliance in package.xml and the extension source code. The following should be defined in one of the extension header files
#define PHP_EXTNAME_VERSION "1.2.3"
This macros has to be used within your extname_module_entry to indicate the extension version. The version string in both package.xml and the defined macros have to match. The work of adding that macros could be already done when using ext_skel on PHP versions as of 5.4.21 or 5.5.5.


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Every week, the Bureau of Development Services publishes lists of Early Assistance applications, Land Use Reviews and Building Permits processed in the previous week. We publish the highlights.
Design Advice has been requested by GBD Architects for changes to Phase 2 of Oregon Square:
Changes are being proposed to LU 16-195933. Block 103 (SE) within Phase 2 is being proposed to change from a multi-story residential building to a mixed-use speculative commercial office building. The building along with the approved design of block 102 (NE) along with the approved buildings in Phase 1 will surround a publicly accessed pedestrian-only plaza. Two levels of below grade parking are proposed beneath 103 with the opportunity to connect 90 (SW) and 91 (NW). Changes to blocks 90 and 91 will add one level of below grade parking.
A Pre-Application Conference has been scheduled to discuss a project at 5727 SE 136th Ave:
Construct a new 2-story church with parking lot at this location. Intent is to use the portion of the site zoned CN2 as the parking lot, and the R2a as the structure.
A project at 5421 NE 14th Pl has been submitted for Type III Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment:
Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment with Zone Map Amendment. The site would be rezoned from R1(Medium Density Multi-dwelling Residential) to CS (Storefront Commercial). The CS zone allows both commercial and residential uses. There is a two-story apartment building with 9 units on the site. The proposal is to redevelop the site with a 4-story mixed use building (Harvey Rice Heritage Center) with 20 residential units, 4,300 square feet of office on the second floor and 2,820 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Ten on-site parking spaces are proposed with access from NE 14th Place. The parking area is partially underneath the second story of the building.
A project at 6103 SE Cora St has been submitted for building permit review:
New 3-story 15-unit apartment complex, with attached trash enclosure, and associated site work
The Overton 15 apartments have been submitted for building permit review:
New 7-story mixed use building with 68 apartments with ground level offices
A revised building permit for a project at 5965 SE Milwaukie Ave (previously 6003 SE Milwaukie) has been submitted for building permit review by Urban Development Group:
New 4-story 54 unit apartment complex, trash enclosure within structure and associated site work
A project at 3926 SE 11th Ave has been submitted for building permit review by SG Architecture:
New 1-story fellowship center 7,415 sq ft; basement – storage, mechanical equip, trash enclosure; main floor multi-purpose area, commercial kitchen, restrooms, storage, entry; exterior stairs/driveway on north elevation, new ADA ramp and stairs on west elevation, new parking lot on east elevation ***mechanical permit 17-174944mt ***
Building permits were issued to City Craft Development for projects at 7025 N Mohawk Ave and 7045 N Mohawk Ave (previously 7023 N Mohawk Ave and 7031 N Mohawk Ave):
New 2 story apartment building with 7 dwelling units with attached trash enclosure and sprinkler riser room, detached barbeque area, and associated sitework (same as 17-101237-CO)
New 2 story apartment building with 7 dwelling units with attached trash enclosure and sprinkler riser room, detached barbeque area, and associated sitework (same as 17-101236-CO)
A building permit was issued to Carleton Hart Architecture for the Beatrice Morrow Apartments (Grant Warehouse Redevelopment) at 3340 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd:
New 5 story, multi-family building with 80 units and ground floor retail (future). Site work includes new parking, circulation paths and landscaping.
A building permit was issued to SERA Architects for a project at 5005 NE Sandy Blvd (previously 5035 NE Sandy Blvd):
Construct new 2 story building core and shell, no occupancy, to include on ground floor covered parking, bike storage, trash enclosure, and associated site work.***mechanical permit 17-110802mt****
A building permit was issued for a project at 3334 SE Belmont St:
New 3 story mixed use building; group B occupancy shell tenant space on half of first floor and apartments on remaining first, second, third floors.


text: Neurobiologist Dave Schubert, a Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies who built his career discovering drug treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, warns of potentially harmful health effects of the herbicides that are sprayed on genetically modified (GM) foods. In this conversation with Paul J. Mills of UC San Diego, Dr. Schubert details his concerns about glyphosate, a suspected carcinogen contained in the popular weedkiller Roundup that is sprayed on GM corn and GM soy, as well as on non-GM plants including wheat. He also dispels what he describes as six myths about the value of genetically modified foods, including that they increase yield and are less damaging to the environment than organic products. (#32042)


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This image has format transparent PNG with resolution 2075x2187.
You can download this image in best resolution from this page and use it for design and web design.
Under construction PNG with transparent background you can download for free, just click on download button.
Under Construction, a sign noting construction is taking place
Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations, and comes from Latin constructio (from com- "together" and struere "to pile up") and Old French construction. To construct is the verb: the act of building, and the noun is construction: how something is built, the nature of its structure.
In its most widely used context, construction covers the processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure and industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design, and continues until the asset is built and ready for use; construction also covers repairs and maintenance work, any works to expand, extend and improve the asset, and its eventual demolition, dismantling or decommissioning.
As an industry, construction accounts for more than 10% of global GDP (6-9% in developed countries) and employs around 7% of the global workforce - over 273m people. The output of the global construction industry was worth an estimated $10.8 trillion in 2017.
In this page you can download free PNG images: Under construction PNG images label free download


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From the Archives: Sculpture by the Sea 2012 Bondi Beach (all photography done by me and Hughie on Nikon D60 50mm f1.4 lens)
This was my first time attending Sculpture by the Sea in my life and it took me by surprise on just how amazing it really was. In Sydney we have a beautiful beach, and its called Bondi Beach. To see it looking even more beautiful with these fun and lighthearted sculptures made my Aussie heart swell with pride.
Lots of Aussies I know complain we don't have enough to do in Sydney but I think this sort of event proves them wrong. Us Aussies are full of imagination and we shouldn't take events like this for granted. Whoever decided to turn our open seas into a free art gallery incorporating cliffs and the sand is genius.


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Top Diet Tricks To Try Out
Motivated people will try to do anything to try to lose excess weight. Those who wish to become healthy by shedding those extra pounds will surely appreciate all the diet tricks in the book that they can follow. Here are some of the top diet tricks that is worth adding into one's regimen.
Schedule meals and snacks to develop a routine.
Following an eating schedule day in and day out can help you maintain a steady weight. It will help get your body to adjust to a routine to avoid feeling bouts of hunger. That is why it is important not only to set scheduled meals but also snacks. A common mistake that people make is by eating three meals with long wait periods in between. There is a higher possibility of the body getting hungry and crave for those fattening carbs. Setting an eating schedule of meals and snacks can help avoid having those cravings throughout the day.
Do not get addicted to junk food.
Junk food can be irresistible. It can also add in more weight into your body the more you eat them. But what may be a bit disconcerting to know regarding junk foods is that they can be very addicting. In fact, a recent study showed that mice fed with junk food developed two actions related to addiction. One is that junk food can trick the brain into thinking that the body needs more and more food, creating an addiction as a result of increasing amount of food to stay satisfied. In addition, the junk food consumption also caused a change in mice behavior. Mice that continued eating junk food still went on eating even after a light was turned on that indicate that they will receive a jolt of electric shock. This is a telltale sign of someone addicted to a particular substance.
Consider a change of environment.
One way to develop a mindset intent on losing excess weight is to consider a change of environment. It is not necessarily changing addresses but simply trying to change your surroundings to develop a better weight loss regimen. Certain changes in the surroundings can have a significant impact on your weight loss program. Eating from a smaller plate, for example, can motivate people to eat less and stay healthy.
Eat more natural and fresh foods.
In this world we live in today, processed foods have become popular. They can also be fattening and can compromise your healthy diet regimen. One way to prevent this is by going natural, avoiding processed foods and consider eating more natural and fresh foods.
Diet Fitness – GuideTo.Com


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