text:
The hardest part about being sick was that I quite literally could not survive without taking pseudoephedrine for the painful and debilitating congestion I was experiencing. The result, of course, as a breastfeeding mother with a 6 month old, was that my milk supply tanked hardcore. I panicked at first. A lot. Like I always do when I get sick and my supply tanks. But usually I have milk in the freezer as a backup and life goes on and I zip through my backup and then build it back up. But this time, I had no backup supply because I just haven't been able to pump as much, despite pumping three times during the day and once at night. And have I mentioned?
I hate pumping. I hate it more than I hate baby corn, and that's a lot.
I'm so over pumping I can't even begin to tell you how over it I am. It chains you down in 15-20 minute increments throughout the day. And when you're sick, it's like the last thing that you want to be doing.
So I embraced my reality. I went to the store and I bought formula. It's a supplementing formula, actually, because I'm still nursing and still pumping and hopefully, at some point, my supply will boom again. But if it doesn't, I'm not crying about it. I'm over it. My baby has options, and that's what's important.
And then, on Sunday,
While breastfeeding an overly tired and cranky Tirzah in the Target Starbucks while Asher watched shows on my phone, a man with his wife and son packed up to leave. He came over to me and said, "Thank you for taking care of your child. So many don't." I was sort of stunned and couldn't figure out what he meant. It took a few seconds for me to realize he was referring to me nursing the baby.
So I think I'm okay.


text:
When Microsoft released its first tablet, the Surface RT, back in October, details on how it sold were hard to come by, but there was no evidence it was a smash. On Saturday, the company released the Surface with Windows 8 Pro — the Surface that runs conventional Windows applications and otherwise behaves like, well, a PC — and the $999 128GB model instantly sold out.
Now, selling out, of course, is not the same thing as selling well: we don't know how many Surface Pro units have made their way to store shelves yet. In the case of Best Buy and Staples, at least, there are reports that there haven't been many Surface Pros to buy, period, so selling out doesn't mean much.
But Matthew Miller of ZDNet writes that around 75 people were ahead of him in a line at his local Microsoft Store to buy Surface Pros, which counts as a throng in my book. (I don't remember the last time I heard of 75 people lining up to buy a gadget that wasn't an Apple product or a game console.) And the 128GB Surface Pro is also sold out on Microsoft's site as I write this.
One thing I'm curious about: as a full-fledged PC, Surface Pro competes far more directly with the core product lines of Microsoft partners such as HP, Lenovo and Acer than the more limited Surface RT does. Surface Pro is already the highest-profile single Windows 8 computer; if it also becomes a best seller, other PC companies will presumably feel it in the pocketbook as it chips away at sales of other PCs. That will tick them off. And that could end up disrupting the PC industry in ways that Surface has not done to date.
The only way we'll know for sure how Surface is selling is if Microsoft tells us how it's selling. Even if the company is pleased with sales, it may not be inclined to do that: for one thing, Apple's million-unit weekends have set the bar of blockbusterhood so high that a product can do really well and still look like a dud compared with the latest iPad or iPhone.
Absent tangible numbers, I'm going to be looking for Surface Pros in the wild — on airplanes, at conferences and other places where people engage in the sort of on-the-fly productivity that it's designed to enable. If the Surface Pro is a hot product, it's going to be out there in meaningful numbers.
Any predictions on its fate, especially compared with Surface RT?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
There's a lot of hype about "big data" and a general trend to try to apply Hadoop to almost every problem. However, sometimes it turns out that you can get much better results by writing an old-fashioned, but optimised, single-node version of your algorithm.
The specific case I'm writing about is generating recommendations (what items user may like) basing on a data set of 300 million preference values (user-item pairs, what users currently like). Whether you call it "big data" or not is disputable, however it's big enough for the classic single-node algorithms (e.g. Taste recommenders) to stop taking a reasonable amount of time and memory to complete.
It may seem that the obvious choice then is to go clustered: Mahout contains a Hadoop implementation of a co-occurence based recommendation algorithm. During our test runs, it took about 7 hours on a 10-node small-instance EMR cluster.
Then I read about GraphChi and what you can do with a single laptop! While GraphChi isn't exactly useable by people other than its authors, it got us inspired to try the same approach with our recommendation problem.
Hence we tried implementing a single-node version of the co-occurence based recommendation algorithm, which stores as much data as possible in-memory and uses persistent maps from MapDB as a fall-back in case memory runs out. Mostly thanks to the dominantly in-memory computations, our optimised version takes about 4 hours to complete on a large EC2 instance.
Thanks to the simple setup, and full control of the code base it's also now in fact easier to add various enhancements, like dithering, combining with other recommendation sources or incorporating content-based features.
And this approach scales as well: either by adding more RAM, a faster disk (which is used in case there's not enough memory), e.g. an SSD, or finally by partitioning the data set and running in parallel. However at some point adding more data points stops to be relevant from a recommendation quality point of view.
To sum up: if you have a large data set, not necessarily "big" as in trillions, but too big for classic approaches to digest, consider writing a custom, optimised, in-memory version. It may end up being simpler and faster.
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text:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
John 14:12
The all-intelligent, creative Presence is the source of all that I am. I believe in the ability and the willingness of this great Source to sustain its own creation. The Kingdom and the Power and the Glory of God expresses through me. I recognize myself to be a center through which the intelligence and power of the universe find expression. Infinite Mind, operating through me, now brings to me the manifestation of harmony, order and the highest good. The consciousness of peace and plenty is established within me. All that is necessary to my happiness and well-being now comes into my experience.
Turning my mind into the Divine, I seek to draw into my own soul the essence of everything that is good, true and beautiful. I seek to draw into my own mind the realization of the Divine Presence and the Power of Good until my whole being responds.
There can be neither limitation nor lack for nothing has happened to the One Perfect Activity. It is in full operation for me. I am now free from any sense of bondage. All power is given unto me from On High. Knowing this, I am strong with the strength of the all-vitalizing power of the universe.
I am sustained and healed by a divine stream of Spirit-Energy, which flows through me as radiant health and vitality. Every fiber of my being responds to this spiritual flow. I stand revealed as the perfect child of the Perfect Father. Strength and courage are my divine birthright and I am now expressing my true self. All that the Father hath is mine. I draw from the spiritual treasure house all that I need.
Taken from "Richer Living" by Ernest Holmes and Raymond Charles Barker


text:
One of the burning questions in the property market is whether the new 'online' models are a passing fancy, or a fundamental disruptor to an industry which has seen little major change in the last 10 years. Marcus Whewell, CEO of The Guild of Professional Estate Agents, discusses what impact they will have on the estate agency industry.
Whisper it quietly, but my provocation is that this is only a sideshow; the future battle for the hearts and minds of estate agency will be over the customer experience, not technology or cost. The former is only a means to an end, and the latter is what marketers resort to when they have no significant points of differentiation.
Agents are paid to sell houses / let properties, not to market them; in truth, many people now believe that the major portals can deliver the latter just fine on their own.
There is, in general, a broad lack of understanding of what agents really do. Add to this a fragmented market which often publishes inconsistent and confusing data, plus a shortage of residential stock, and it is no surprise that vendors and landlords expect more for less. But employing a so-called professional (however technically advanced) to fail to sell your property is not a sustainable or compelling proposition.
So the real revolution may not be 'online' (almost every so-called agent is already in this space), but great marketing and consistent delivery of high levels of service. Because real differentiators are hard to find, agents have almost halved their (percentage) commission rates in the last decade, yet the biggest opportunity of all may be right in front of us.
Great service is not just convenient opening hours and polite and timely communications (although there is also work to do here); true professionals provide local, timely and appropriate advice throughout the transactions process to help secure a better result than would have been achieved otherwise. This can't be aggregated and distilled, but needs local expertise and commitment. However, harness this to useful and clever technology (such as 24/7 online booking of appointments), and we may have a change of gear.
Some agencies seem to have taken this to heart, and are attempting to transform themselves by adopting a large retailer approach. Unfortunately, supermarkets have never proven to be good estate agents.
The smart money will focus on customer engagement, positive relationships, and consistent achievement; the other end of the service scale (minimum fees, irregular contact, and constant disappointment) will become the graveyard for the resistant, stubborn, sickly and obsolescent.
'He will profit most who serves best'.


text:
Earlier today, I learned that Ole Miss will be holding their Homecoming festivities this weekend as the Rebels take on Auburn.
Wait, what? We're Ole Miss's Homecoming game?! Just continue to kick us while we're down.
But seriously, Ole Miss played their four non-conference games to start the season, therefore they had no choice to put Homecoming against an SEC opponent later in the season. Whereas normally they would play some creampuff in late October in hopes that the easy opponent would mean an easy win for the alumni in town. Oh, well that's not what they're getting this time!!! Right?! … right?
Later, I was tipped off by an Auburn University Marching Band member that I should let it be known that due to Homecoming festivities, Ole Miss would not be allowing the Auburn University Marching Band to play at half time. The band member told me that I should specifically talk to Michael Thompson, Ole Miss's Senior Associate AD, so I did.
I sent Michael a simple email asking if this was true, and if he could explain the reasoning. Here was his prompt response:
That is true. We have great respect for visiting teams' bands, especially the Auburn University Marching Band, and strive to create opportunities for visiting bands to play. In fact, in our first 4 home games we have had two full bands play at halftime. In addition, we understand these performers invest a lot of time and energy in practicing and performing. Unfortunately, late last week was the first time our athletics department became aware that Auburn expected to perform on the field, and it was simply too late. Saturday is a very special game for us, as it is our annual Homecoming game.
As I'm sure you are aware, the Homecoming game includes several presentations and field events to honor our homecoming court and alumni. Because of this, we simply do not have time in the script to accommodate an on-field performance. We have communicated this with the Auburn band director and he is aware.
While I appreciate Michael's very understanding, very positive, and very prompt response, I don't completely agree with the reasoning.
I understand that Homecoming makes halftime very busy, but from seeing at least the last twelve Auburn Homecoming halftime shows, I know that there is plenty of time to allow a 9-10 minute performance from the opponent's band. The Auburn Band usually plays a short show, then goes into the Homecoming formation, while the Homecoming Court and winner is announced. This isn't high school where you have two to three girls per grade. There are at most probably five or six girls total.
Not to mention that they already know who the winner actually is. It was announced almost a month ago. SPOILER ALERT: it's Courtney Pearson, who also happens to be the first African-American Homecoming Queen at Ole Miss. Maybe they're going to make a big deal about that, and that's fine and understandable, but would the whole thing really take up more than ten minutes? I mean ten minutes in football game dead space is a long time.
I understand, I guess, but I don't like it. It just feels a lot like the times Tennessee and Alabama tried to stop Auburn from doing Tiger Walk. Now, 380 band members and staff will travel all the way to Oxford to basically just sit in the stands and play. That seems like a lot of hard work for nothing if you ask me.
Oh, and to the ones that are saying that most opponents' bands don't perform at halftime of Homecoming games, you're right. That's because most Homecoming opponents are creampuffs that don't send a band. I have never, ever seen a full band sit in the stands at halftime. Ever.
UPDATE – Given the amounts of conflicting information in the comments section, I decided to ask Dr. Corey Spurlin, Director of the Auburn University Marching Band, if he could shed some light on the situation from the Auburn side. His response:
Thanks for your support of our band. To clarify, Ole Miss was notified on May 7th that we would bring the full band and that we wished to perform at halftime. They have acknowledged receipt of that information. The communication breakdown that Michael refers to in his response was between Ole Miss staff members and not between Auburn and Ole Miss. They have also acknowledged and sincerely apologized for their communication breakdown. They have since offered us an opportunity to perform at 9:30 a.m. in the morning, but it will be difficult for us to make it into the stadium after Tiger Walk to meet that performance time and we feel that the stadium will be, for the most part, empty at the time in the morning. For those reasons, we have decided not to accept the offer to perform at 9:30 a.m. Even though we are disappointed that we will not be able to perform on the field and represent our university in that capacity, we are looking forward to traveling with the full band to support our team from the stands.
Dr. Corey Spurlin
Director, Auburn University Marching Band
So this was not an oversight by Auburn. Auburn planned and notified Ole Miss far in advance. Again, I have never seen a full band sit in the stands at halftime for any reason, but Ole Miss is doing it to Auburn on part of their own miscommunication. Asking if the Auburn Band would like to perform at 9:30 is almost a slap in the face. Oh well, hopefully Auburn has many reasons to play throughout the game due to the offense, you know, scoring some points.


text:
Reports and Statistics Index Page
Contained in this report:
The 2016 Indiana Natality Report includes information on live births to Indiana residents that occurred during calendar year 2016. Information is presented at the state, county, and city level (for the 35 Indiana cities with populations over 25,000 in the 2010 census). This report includes data by age, race, and marital status of the parents; characteristics of the newborn, e.g., birth order and age of mother; and outcome indicators, e.g., tobacco use during pregnancy, gestation length, and birthweight.
The ISDH, through provisions in Indiana Code 16-37-1, administers "...a system of vital statistics for Indiana." The ISDH Vital Records Division compiles data from original birth certificates filed with the ISDH and from transcripts of original certificates for Indiana residents giving birth in other states. The Data Analysis Team in the Epidemiology Resource Center compiles these data and produces standard statistical reports.
Figure and table specifications:
Medicaid Reporting: In 2012, the Indiana Natality Report began including the number of births to mothers on Medicaid. Alcohol use is no longer reported on the new birth certificate, which went into effect in 2007. The data were provided in Tables 22, 23, and 32. The Medicaid data are provided in those tables now. A map of the percent of Medicaid births by county of residence that are significantly different from the State percentage can be found in Figure 34.
The 2016 Indiana Natality Report also includes information on the number of reported pregnancies by county of residence and age of mother. Reported pregnancies include resident live births, fetal deaths, and terminated pregnancies (performed in Indiana). Rates per 1,000 females in selected age groups are also provided.
In this report, the number and percent/rate of births and pregnancies at the county and city subgroup level are suppressed when there are fewer than 5, including 0, events. This is done to protect the confidentiality of individuals. Rates or percents based on less than 20 in the numerator are considered unstable, and should be interpreted with caution. These rates or percents are marked with a "U".
Indiana began using the 2003 US Standard Certificate of Live Birth (the 2003 "revised" certificate) on January 1, 2007. Although much of the information collected from the mother remained the same, some questions were rephrased or the information was gathered in a different manner. This resulted in significant changes in some variables. The major variables affected were month prenatal care began, smoking during pregnancy, place of birth, and alcohol use during pregnancy. Mother's alcohol use is no longer collected. The 2007–2016 data on prenatal care, tobacco use, place of delivery, primary cesarean delivery, and vaginal birth after previous cesarean delivery are not considered comparable to data prior to 2007 due to the significant changes in wording on the certificates. These changes are detailed below:
Prenatal Care: The month prenatal care began has been changed from a box asking for the month of pregnancy in which prenatal care began to questions asking for the date of last normal menses and the date of the first prenatal visit. The month prenatal care began is then calculated from these two variables. If the day of the month was unknown, the day of the month was imputed using a program that the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has developed. The NCHS has observed a decrease in the percent of mothers receiving care in the first month for all states who have adopted the revised certificate and considers it to be the result of better reporting.
Tobacco Use: Prior to 2007, the birth certificate included the question "Did mother smoke during pregnancy?" Depending on the response, the facility would check one of the following boxes: Yes, No, or Unknown. Starting in 2007, more detailed information was collected -- the average number of cigarettes (or packs of cigarettes) that were smoked during the three months prior to becoming pregnant, the first three months of pregnancy, the second three months of pregnancy, and the last trimester of pregnancy. If the mother smoked at any time during her pregnancy, she was considered to be a smoker for this report.
Primary cesarean and vaginal birth after previous cesarean (VBAC): Prior to 2007, the birth certificate included check boxes for the method of delivery, which included VBAC. The certificate now contains check boxes for vaginal/spontaneous, vaginal/forceps, vaginal/vacuum, and cesarean delivery. Under cesarean, the question is asked "Was a trial of labor attempted?" with check boxes for Yes and No. To determine if the method of delivery was a primary cesarean, repeat cesarean, or VBAC, a new risk factor was checked: "Mother had a previous cesarean delivery." If the box was checked, the number of previous cesareans was reviewed.
Weight Gain: Prior to 2007, weight gain during pregnancy was asked directly. Starting in 2007, two new questions were asked instead --the mother's pre-pregnancy weight and the mother's weight at delivery. Weight gain was then calculated based on those two responses.
Place of birth: The place of birth information has been expanded and classified into slightly different categories. In particular, home births are now sub-divided into intended and unintended home births.
Race of mother and father: Indiana now uses the 1997 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for collecting data on race and ethnicity. Starting with the 2007 birth certificate, mother and father can check more than one box for race. All racial and ethnicity information is now sent to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) which imputes a single ("bridged") race to the mother and father based on the combination of races, Hispanic origin, sex, and age. This "bridged" race is what is used in this report.
Ethnicity of mother and father: Indiana now uses the 1997 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) standards for collecting data on race and ethnicity. Starting with the 2007 birth certificate, mother and father can check more than one box for ethnicity. All racial and ethnicity information is now sent to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) which imputes a single ("bridged") ethnicity to the mother and father based on the combination of races, Hispanic origin, sex, and age. This "bridged" ethnicity is what is used in this report. Because Hispanic can be of any race, you should not make direct comparisons across race and ethnicity.
The relationship between the two OMB standards and the terms used to report race and ethnicity in this report are as follows:
Race | |||||
Ethnicity | |||||
Most tables in this report will print on one page (8.5" x 11") if margins are set to 0.25" in all dimensions and the tables are viewed at the smallest font size.
The data file for this report was closed on August 15, 2017.


text:
By staff
Title: German Literature, 1922-1945
Predominant Dates:1932 -- 1942
Primary Creator: NSDAP, National Socialist German Workers' Party (1933 -- 1945)
Other Creators: Anti-Nazi journalists and authors (1920 -- 1945), Josef Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda in National Socialist Government of Germany (1933 -- 1945), Nazi Propaganda Office, Nazi theorists and ideologues (1922 -- 1945), Theory of German National Socialism (1922 -- 1945)
Extent: 0.0
Arrangement: Arrangement of documents assigned by processor
Subjects: Nationalism and the Theory of State, National Socialist German Workers' Party, National Socialist Ideology, National Socialist Propaganda, Nazi antisemitic propaganda
Languages: German
National Socialism as ideology in theoretical terms exhibits the characteristic features of an extreme nationalism. Hitler's Mein Kampf laid a foundation for the further political development of the German nationalism. Over the course of 1920s and early 1930s this ideology embraced racial geopolitical components. Overall, the theoretical premise of the German National Socialism combined the paradigm of Italian fascism with the geostratigical revisionism of post-Versailles European realities. Antisemitism and eventual emphasis on the sanation of German nation from the "foreign, hostile and parasitic Jewish element" had become one of the corner-stones of German domestic and foreign politics.
RG-39.01, Adolf Eichmann trial protocols
Police of Israel
6 issues
Language, German
The books include Eichmann's interviews taken at his trial
RG-39.02, Der Fuehrer
Hitler's Rise to Power
By Konrad Heiden
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1944
English biography of Hitler, written by a German journalist who had attended the first Nazi meetings in the early 1920s. He was a Social Democrat and thus had to leave the country
RG-39.03, Eidgenossenschaft und Reich
Ein Schweizer ueber das Verhaeltnis der Eidgenossenschaft zum Reich
Swiss Confederation and the Reich
A Swiss-published book featuring the relations between the Swiss Confederation and Germany
By Alfred Zander
Verlag Grenze und Ausland, Berlin, 1942
Publishing house border and foreign countries, Berlin, 1942
A Swiss National Socialist writes about the relations between Germany and Switzerland. The book was banned by the Allies after the war.

 The Swiss and the New Germany

 Blooming in the Reich. Historical retrospective

 A Germanic myth: confederation

 Stronghold of international forces (Jewry, Freemasons, Marxism, liquidation)

 Germanic peoples on the Rhine

RG-39.04, Soldaten
Preussisches Fuehrertum von Waterloo bis Ypern
Prussian leadership from Waterloo to Ypres
By Herbert Blank
Berlin, 1932
A book featuring the Prussian successes on the battlefields in the 19th century
RG-39.05, Das Ehrenbuch der SA
The storm troopers' book of honor
Dedicated to the unknown SA man
By Karl W.H. Koch, 1934

 Preface

 Early days

 Development until the Coburg Elections. In 1929, Coburg was the first German city in which the Nazi Party won the absolute majority of the popular votes during municipal elections

 1923

 From the windbreaker to the brown shirt

 The path to the SA

 The struggle for the dominance in the streets

 Propaganda

 A storm goes to the countryside

 The red Berlin

 Business terror

 About the life of the SA

 Captivity

 The last time of ban

 The decision is feasible

 Through the Brandenburg gate

 The SA's last way to victory

 Germany is free

 The concluding remarks

This propaganda book includes photographs and portraits of the early SA members such as Viktor Lutze, Adolf Huehnlein, Adolf Beckerle and others
RG-39.06, Die Musik im dritten Reich (The Music in the Third Reich)
The music of the Third Reich
Cultural policy speeches and essays
By Peter Raabe
Gustav Boffe publishing house, Regensburg, 1935

 Preface

 Music in the Third Reich

 About the new building of German musical culture

 Wagner's "Meistersinger" (Mastersingers) and our time

 Nationalism, Internationalism, and music

 Culture and community

Peter Raabe was the head of the German Department for Music under the National-Socialist regime. He was no anti-Semite. He tried to distance himself from Nazis
RG-39.07, Karl der Grosse
Ludwig der Fromme
Zwei Lebensbeschreibungen von Einhard und Thegan
Louis the Pious
Two biographies by Einhard and Thegan
Philipp Reclam Jun. publishing house, Leipzig
RG-39.08, Dalmatinischer Fruehling
Bericht einer romantischen Fahrt
The Dalmatian Spring
Chronicle of a romantic passage
By Wolfgang Frank
Hans Koehler publishing house, Hamburg, 1936
RG-39.09, Hirtennovelle
A Herder novella
By Ernst Wiechert (a popular writer at the time)
Albert Langen/Georg Mueller publishing house, Munich, 1935
RG-39.10, Deutschland und die Welt
Atlas fuer Beruf und Haus
Germany and the World
Geographical atlas
Gruene Post Verlag, Berlin, 1934
RG-39.11, Stirb und Werde
Aus Briefen und Kriegstagebuchblaettern des Leutnants Bernhard von der Marwitz
Die and Grow
Entries from the letters and the diary of the Second Lieutenant, Bernhard von der Marwitz
Wilh, Gottl and Korn publishing house, Breslau, 1931
RG-39.12, Das wahre Deutschland
Auslandsblaetter der Deutschen Freiheitspartei
The True Germany
A narrative about the German Freedom Party
November, December, 1940, Berlin – London
This is an anti-Nazi publication

 Roosevelt

 The Third Byzantium

 The German worker and the Nazi war

 National Socialist cultural mirror

 Germany's financial miracle

 Pseudoscience in the Third Reich

 Philosophy and ideology

 The way to German liberty

 Eternal broadcast crimes

 Russia and the Reich

 The gift of forced labor

 Fooled citizens

 Bad nerves in the Third Reich?

 Streicher, the poetry

RG-39.13, Maedel – eure Welt!
Das Jahrbuch der Deutschen Maedel
Girls, this is your world!
Yearbook for the German girls
Published by Hilde Munske
Central publishing house of the NSDAP, Munich, 1943

 Girls at work

 About German women

 About the workday and job

 Through German land

 Europe and the world

 Narrations

 The joy of artistic pursuit

RG-39.14, Die Geaechteten
The Outlaws
By Ernst von Salomon
Rowohlt publishing house, Berlin, 1933
A novel
RG-39.15, Der Baum von Clery
The Tree of Clery
By Joachim von der Goltz
A novel
Albert Langen/Georg Mueller, Munich, 1934
RG-39.16, Dokumente aus dem Dritten Reich
Documents from the Third Reich
Published by Dr. Adolf Dresler, written by Fritz Maier-Hartmann
Central publishing house of the NSDAP, Munich, 1939
The book has Nazi seals all over it.
A chronicle that shows the events for each year since the Nazis came to power in 1933. The first chapter is "Germany before the Nazis," followed by "The first year under National Socialist governance, January 30, 1933 – January 30, 1934" and so on.
The last chapter is "The German Empire at the Fuehrer's 50th birthday"
RG-39.17, Kleine Rassenkunde des Deutschen Volkes
Little Ethnogeny of the German people
By Hans F.K. Guenther
J.F. Lehmanns publishing house, Munich, 1934
A propagandist publication. It contains illustrations (mainly headshots to show racial characteristics)
RG-39.18, Juden stellen sich vor
Jews Introduce Themselves
Stürmer publishing house
It contains 24 pictures (portraits of Jews, for instance the cadger, the chapman, etc.) from the Stürmer cartoonists.
An antisemitic publication
RG-39.19, Das Wesensgefuege des Nationalsozialismus
The Characterization of National Socialism
By Alfred Rosenberg
Eher publishing house, Munich, 1932
A Nazi ideological publication

 The preconditions

 Racial philosophy and the organization of the state

 Foreign policy and economic ethics

 Ideology, religion, politics

 Rebirth of a civilized behavior

 Symbols of life

 Supplement (a program)

RG-39.20, Rassenkunde des juedischen Volkes
Ethnology of the Jewish people
By Hans F.K. Guenther
J.F. Lehmanns publishing house, Munich, 1931
A racial publication

 Introduction

 The population of Palestine before the immigration of the Hebrews

 The Hebrews at the time of their immigration to Canaan

 The merge of the Hebrews and the Canaanites

 Merge of peoples and races through resettlement of the Hebrews

 The Hebrews' ideas of the beauty

 Jews from the time of their diversion until the 19th century

 Jews at the modern time

 The Jewish question

 Maps

RG-39.21, Der Parteitag der Freiheit vom 10. bis 16. September 1935
Offizieller Bericht ueber den Verlauf des Reichsparteitages mit saemtlichen Kongressreden
The Party rallies of freedom between September 10 and 16, 1935
Official report about the course of the party rallies, including the narratives of the speeches
Central publishing house of the NSDAP, Munich, 1936
A Nazi ideology publication
RG-39.22, Luther Bibliothek des Paulus-Museums der Stadt Worms
Luther library of the Paulus museum of the city of Worms
Darmstadt, 1922

 Preface to the first edition

 Preface to the second edition

 Introduction

 The First chapter

 Autographs

 Manuscripts

 Rare prints and curiosities before and until the beginning of the Reformation

 The Second chapter

 Luther autotypes 1516-1545

 The Third chapter

 Luther's writings, published after his death

 Collected edition of all of Luther's works

 The Fourth chapter

 Contemporaries of Luther. Protagonists, and enemies of the Reformation

RG-39.23, Dokumente der Deutschen Politik
Documents of German politics (5 volumes)
By Dr. Axel Friedrichs and Dr. Hans Bolz
Junker und Duennhaupt publishing house, Berlin, 1935 – 1938
National Socialist ideology
Volume 1:
Die Nationalsozialisitische Revolution 1933
The National Socialist Revolution 1933

 The seizure of power by the National Socialists

 Fight for freedom

 The fight for the German worker

 The rebuilding of nation, economy, culture and law

Volume 2:
Der Aufbau des deutschen Fuehrerstaates
Das Jahr 1934
The building of a German Fuehrer nation
The year of 1934

 The building of a German Fuehrer nation

 German peace policy

 The realignment of nation, people, economy, culture, and law

Volume 3:
Deutschlands Weg zur Freiheit, 1935
Germany's way to freedom, 1935

 National Socialist politics

 Germany's struggle for peace and fairness

 The realignment of nation, people, economy, culture, and law

Volume 4:
Deutschlands Aufstieg zur Grossmacht
Germany's path to a major power

 The National Socialist state and the National Socialist movement

 The struggle for peace and German honor

 The realignment of nation, people, economy, culture, and law

Volume 5:
Von der Grossmacht zur Weltmacht, 1937
From the major power to a world power, 1937

 The National Socialist state and the National Socialist movement

 Germany's foreign policy

 The realignment of nation, people, economy, culture, and law

RG-39.24, Das ist Polen
This is Poland
By F.W. von Derken
Albert Langen/Georg Mueller publishing house, Munich, 1932

 The unknown land

 The miracle on the Vistula (The Polish-Russian War of 1920)

 Fait accompli (the annexation of Wilno and the conflict with Lithuania)

 Korfanty conducts the war (The Struggle for Upper Silesia 1921)

 The Marshall goes to the front (Pilsudski's coup d'état in May 1926)

 The country of the elite (The affair Zagurski, Pilsudski's finance minister on trial. Middle Ages in Brest - Litovsk)

 East Polish Inferno (The fight against Belarusians)

 Informers and spies in Upper Silesia (agent Pielawski and his methods)

 The big knock against the German school

 The Ulitz case

 All hell is let loose

 Mass migration in modern times (How 800,000 Germans were resettled within ten years)

 The neighbor who doesn't like it

RG-39.25, Judentum und Sozialdemokratie
Jewry and Social Democracy
By Karl Paumgartten
Heimatverlag Leopold Stocker, Graz, ca 1920
Antisemitic publication

 Preconditions

 Jewish character

 What is a Jew?

 Who is a Jew?

 How does the Jew do it?

 Proletarians and bourgeois

 Cosmopolitanism and Internationalism

 Leveling down

 Wage policy

 Shifting

 Dictatorship of the proletariat

 Walter Rathenau

 What is now?

RG-39.26, Der Steinbruch
The quarry
By Joachim von der Goltz
A novel
Albert Langen/Georg Mueller, Munich, 1938
RG-39.27, Der Stuermer, Self-Description
RG-39.28, Translation of RG-39.27 Der Stürmer, Self-Description
RG-39.29, Geschichte der Juedischen Muenzen
The History of Jewish coins
By M.A. Levy
Nies'sche Buchdruckerei publishing house, Leipzig, 1862
A history of Jewish coins including illustrations and charts
RG-39.30, Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf
A 1937 edition
Note on the first flyleaf reads, "Given to me by a German women [sic] whose home we made our C.P.
23 May 1945, Drewer Nord near Recklinghausen
Nationalism and the Theory of State
National Socialist German Workers' Party
National Socialist Ideology
National Socialist Propaganda
Nazi antisemitic propaganda
Repository: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust
Access Restrictions:
No restrictions. Credits to the Museum are required.
Digital copies available upon request
Use Restrictions: Copyrighted materials
Der Baum von Clery, the Tree of Clery.
A novel by Joachim von der Goltz, the book was published by Albert Langen/Georg Mueller in Munich in 1934.


text:
COLUMBIA, Md., March 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Global performance improvement solutions provider GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) announced that it has scheduled its release of financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018 for Monday, March 18, 2019. In conjunction with the release, GP Strategies has scheduled an investor conference call and webcast that day at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Prepared remarks regarding the company's financial and operational results will be followed by a question and answer period with GP Strategies' executive management team.
The conference call may be accessed via webcast at:
https://services.choruscall.com/links/gpx190315.html or by calling +1 (833) 535-2204 within the US, or +1 (412) 902-6747 internationally, and requesting the "GP Strategies Conference." The presentation slides broadcast via the webcast will also be available on the Investors section of GP Strategies' website the morning of the call. Participants must be logged in via telephone to submit a question to management during the call. Participants may optionally pre-register for the webcast at http://dpregister.com/10129324.
The webcast will be archived on the Investors section of GP Strategies' website and will remain available for 90 days. Alternatively, a telephonic replay of the conference call will be available for one week and may be accessed by dialing +1 (877) 344-7529 in the US, or +1 (412) 317-0088 internationally, and requesting conference number 10129324.
About GP Strategies
GP Strategies Corporation (NYSE: GPX) is a global performance improvement solutions provider of training, digital learning solutions, management consulting and engineering services. GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of organizations by delivering innovative and superior training, consulting and business improvement services, customized to meet the specific needs of its clients. Clients include Fortune 500 companies, manufacturing, process and energy industries, and other commercial and government customers.
© 2019 GP Strategies Corporation. All rights reserved. GP Strategies and the GP Strategies logo design are trademarks of GP Strategies Corporation.
SOURCE GP Strategies Corporation


text:
1367: Installing
Installing |
Title text: But still, my scheme for creating and saving user config files and data locally to preserve them across reinstalls might be useful for--wait, that's cookies. |
This comic refers to the kind of "inventions" which seem new from the point of view of a smartphone user but have already been around for a long time on desktop or laptop/notebook computers.
Cueball has a clever idea to skip the installing of applications on mobile phones: he would host the applications online instead and provide links to the servers. The apps wouldn't stay on the phone all the time; instead, the phone would download each app again every time the user wanted to run it.
The page usually isn't saved long-term on the user's computer; instead, the browser downloads it again when needed. HTML5 does however offer the option of caching web application files locally so it can remain operational when there is no network connection.
In the title text, Cueball's idea for local application storage already exists in the HTTP protocol as cookies. The more flexible web storage was originally part of the HTML5 specification, but it's now in a separate specification.
Native phone applications and web applications are not completely interchangeable. Web applications may not allow access to more advanced or platform-specific resources. Projects like Apache Cordova make these resources available to web applications by creating a native application wrapper for the web application.
- [Cueball and Megan are standing next to each other.]
- Cueball: Installing things has gotten so fast and painless.
- Cueball: Why not skip it entirely, and make a phone that has every app "installed" already and just downloads and runs them on the fly?
- [Caption below the panel:]
- I felt pretty clever until I realized I'd invented webpages.
explainxkcd has it pretty easy with this one since the comic explains a lot of itself. Maybe explain what a smartphone is and how apps work? 18.104.22.168 05:28, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
For some reason, this reminded me of the old Snaptu app. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snaptu) 184.108.40.206 07:02, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
Maybe it should be mentioned that sometimes you DON'T want to auto-install every application and give it access to all your phone resources. Because, you know, malware. -- Hkmaly (talk) 09:47, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
I wonder why he chose cookies
over localStorage
... seems like localStorage
does a better job of storing configs. greptalk12:06, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
was invented beforelocalStorage
. --184.108.40.206 22:19, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
Firefox OS can technically do this, and technically does this. greptalk12:07, 12 May 2014 (UTC)
Web pages and native apps still has a few essential differences that prevent us to interchange them practically, at least for now. The latter can be compiled and optimized into binaries that executes performantly on the specific device/platform. Current web standards don't make pages/sites/apps this way, the web browser needs to load the text codes then interpret and run them on the fly, which is much slower. 220.127.116.11 08:33, 16 May 2014 (UTC)
- Native apps on PCs? Sure. But on phones? Apps on phones rarely contains any native code and in fact often ARE written in web-compatible languages. I mean in java or javascript. Also, in many situations, combination of extremely optimized Java virtual machine and poorly optimized native code results in interpreted code running FASTER that compiled one. Not speaking about fact that not many applications NEEDS to run so fast - they spend most time waiting for disk, net, user input or screen refresh anyway. -- Hkmaly (talk) 10:22, 16 May 2014 (UTC)
- On windows/Mac most programs are distributed as binaries - already compiled to support a wide variety of platforms, very rarely do they contain control-paths for specific hardware implementations. Java on the other hand: It gets compiled at runtime and can get hardware specific optimisations (and if the JRE detects critical sections it will dedicate more time and resources on optimizing that part making it even faster). Javascript also can get compiled, depending on the webpage this can also be done on the server-side as to make it harder to manipulate the js. 10:20, 31 July 2019 (UTC)
The phrase "[...] a phone that has every app "installed" [...]" from Cueball's dialogue seems to conflict with the explanation. I understood it as the phone would have all the apps installed, but with only the "header" data. In the Android context, I suppose that would be the AndroidManifest.xml. In the Windows context, I suppose that would be the registry entries. 220.127.116.11 00:30, 11 November 2015 (UTC)
progressive web apps[edit]
seem similar to this


text: What Gifts Work for What Mom for Mother's Day It is a challenge, finding mom the perfect gift for Mother's Day. Moms are a key component in making a home, life and what feels like the world run without falling flat. Remind your mom how special she is with a gift she'll want to receive on Mother's Day. As much as we would love to give you a step-by-step guide on how to make Mother's Day perfect for your mom, we can't, but we can give you some inspiration for good Mother's Day gifts. Every mom is different, so the gift you choose to get her for Mother's Day needs to make sense to who she is. With that in mind, we picked some top Mother's Day gift ideas for some of the biggest mom groups out there. The Book Club Mom You have one, are one or know one. It's the Book Club Mom. She may or may not be a part of an organized book club, but if she is not, she should be. When she is not working, taking care of kids or cleaning something, she is reading a book. She may even listen to an audiobook while she takes on her day-to-day tasks. The obsession for reading is REAL. The Book Club Mom may be one of the easier mom groups to buy for. Get her that new book she has been dying to read. For the more modern Book Club Mom, get her a book tablet. These 7 Best Tablets for Reading Digital Books are a great place to start. A book tablet helps her keep all her reads in one place. If you are trying to stick to a theme or keep it simple because you have lunch and a movie day planned out for mom too, consider getting the Book Club Mom a personalized bookmark, a themed blanket or her favorite book-themed clutch . All these gift ideas are sure-fire hits for the mom who just wants to get her read on. The Young Mom Being a first-time mom is scary. There is a lot of pressure, uncertainty and fatigue that comes along with raising a child. What you do and say contributes largely to who your child will become. With that in mind, the young mom should be prioritized on Mother's Day. This is a special milestone for new moms. It's their first Mother's Day. Any gift will be just a little more special for a new mom because it is all new. For most mothers, it is about sentiment, but this is especially relevant for new mothers. Gifts that will remind her of why she does what she does are ideal. Keepsake boxes, her child's birthstone in a piece of jewelry, a frame with her baby's hand, finger or footprint and any other meaningful keepsake gift will help make her first Mother's Day one she will never forget. The Mom Who is a Little EXTRA If your mother is a little "EXTRA" and that makes you hesitant when buying her a Mother's Day gift, just know, you are not alone. The older you are, the more Mother's Day gifts she has received. It makes the whole process a lot harder because it feels like all the "good" gift ideas have been used. With all that in mind, there are some reasonable options for gifts to give that "extra" mom in your life that she'll like. One gift that is always a safe bet involves giving mom time to herself. Treat mom to a new hairdo, a nail day or pay for her to have a girl's brunch out with her besties. She may have more candles than she needs, and she may be over her head in sentimental mom trinkets. The mom who is a little "extra" still deserves to be treated extra special on Mother's Day. If handing her money or gift cards is a little too impersonal for you, consider a subscription box, so mom can live her most "extra" life. Wine of the month and monthly makeup subscription boxes are best sellers. Mom can be her most boujee self when sipping on her Pinot Grigio while watching Real Housewives of Orange County from the comfort of her bed. If it seems like too much, it's not for the "Mom Who is a Little EXTRA. " The Sentimental Mom You can't help but be grateful for The Sentimental Mom. Sure, they can be extremely pushy, very touchy and they don't understand the concept of T.M.I., but The Sentimental Mom loves beyond measure, and her happiness is found in her child's success. The Sentimental Mom appreciates all the "World's Best Mom" merchandise, handmade treasures and cheesy cards. She proudly keeps a collection of candles, because they came from her kids! It is not hard to make the Sentimental Mom cry, because any sort of warm gesture causes her heart to melt into a puddle of emotion. If your mom is super special to you and you just want to do something to show her that she is appreciated, our team of Mother's Day experts at Wild Strawberry & More in Okemos, MI, would be happy to create a beautiful and personal gift that fits your mom this Mother's Day. We have worked with every kind of mom and understand the struggle of buying Mother's Day gifts. Just know that waiting until the last minute will limit your options, as flowers are a Mother's Day favorite. Many people even consider them among the best Mother's Day gifts, as they are loved across all mom groups. If you are looking to get your mom's Mother's Day flowers personalized, talk with us ahead of time, so we can ensure that it is everything you want. If life has been busy and you just haven't had the time to buy mom a gift yet, we do offer same-day flower delivery for Mother's Day. This ensures you have the opportunity to surprise mom no matter where she is or how far you may be away from each other. For those last-minute orders, our Designer's Choice Mother's Day arrangements guarantee mom will still get something beautiful for Mother's Day, but your options to personalize it will be more limited than of the gift orders placed ahead of time. Regardless of what you choose to do for your mom this Mother's Day, just be sure that she is celebrated. She deserves the world! Moms are the unsung heroes of the world. Just think, without moms, you wouldn't be here. Your significant other wouldn't be here. None of us would be here. She doesn't just give life once; she gives life every day, through her actions and her words. She adds life to the everyday. For all the moms out there, we thank you and want to wish you the happiest of Mother's Days! Back to Blogs


text:
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text:
I couple of days ago I went to see "District 9". I've been waiting for the movie and finally it hit the Cyprus cinemas. I've seen the trailer and heard a lot of people spreading good word of a mouth about the film, but wanted to see it for myself.
It turned out to be an excellent movie. First of all, it didn't follow those typical Hollywood storylines. It actually had an orignal story, which it told in a rather original way of pseudo-documentary. Not that we didn't have pseudo-documentaries in the movies before, but I don't remember the genre used for an alien story.
Secondly, it was nice to see action taking place somewhere else. Not New York, not London, not Paris. Not even US or Europe. Not even Mexico. Africa. And not the bushmen Africa, but a rather large city of Johannesburg.
Thidly, there was plenty of good acting. Most of the actors are not the mainstream well-known faces. But the talent is there. Interesting, how unknown actors together with an original story make this film so much more realistic and believable.
Fourthly, there is a whole lot of special effects and CGI. With Peter Jackson being one of the producers, you wouldn't expect anything else. But all those effects were integrated in the film in a very natural way. After all, the film was about people and aliens, and not about special effects.
Overall, I enjoyed the film quite a bit. It was engaging, original, entertaining, and gave me something to think about. And I don't ask for anything else from a movie. 5 stars.


text:
Updated at 7:24 p.m. ET
When President Trump learned two years ago that a special counsel had been appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, he was distraught.
Trump "slumped back in his chair and said, 'Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my presidency. I'm f***ed,' " according to the report by special counsel Robert Mueller that was released Thursday in redacted form.
The president's prediction, written down by an aide and contained in the 448 pages of the Mueller report, has not come to pass. But Mueller's 22-month investigation did turn up numerous instances of the president trying to prevent investigators from carrying out their mandate — and it suggests that he might have been successful were it not for his own aides ignoring his directives.
Those dissenting figures included former White House counsel Don McGahn, deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
READ: The redacted Mueller report
As a result, the Mueller report's conclusion on whether the president obstructed justice was decidedly noncommittal.
"If we had confidence after a thorough investigation of the facts that the president clearly did not commit obstruction of justice, we would so state," the report reads. "Based on the facts and the applicable legal standards however we are unable to reach that judgment. The evidence we obtained about the president's actions and intent presents difficult issues that prevent us from conclusively determining that no criminal conduct occurred."
Mueller's doorstop report thumped to Earth on Thursday after much anticipation.
The report was divided into two volumes. Volume I looked at Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and its interactions with the Trump campaign. Volume II focused on the president's actions toward investigations carried out by the FBI and by the special counsel.
Mueller concluded that investigators could not establish that the Trump campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the "sweeping and systematic" Russian interference effort.
And referring to possible charges that the president obstructed justice, Mueller writes that "while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."
Barr's reasoning
The report was released only after Attorney General William Barr held a news conference to talk about it.
He told reporters that "no collusion" had been found between the Trump campaign and Russia — repeating the phrase that the president himself has used many times.
Barr also said that the president "was frustrated and angered by a sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks."
Barr said he was satisfied Trump had acted based on "noncorrupt motives" and decided not to prosecute the president for obstruction.
Trump responded following the press conference with a post on Twitter that included an image of himself in a "Game of Thrones" motif with the legend: "Game over."
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2019
Trump also mentioned the report at a White House ceremony Thursday morning for veterans taking part in an bike ride sponsored by the Wounded Warrior Project.
"They're having a good day, I'm having a good day, too. It's called no collusion, no obstruction," Trump said to applause and cheers.
"This should never happen to another president again, this hoax. It should never happen to another president again," he said.
Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, told reporters following the report's release that Thursday was "really the best day since he got elected" and that "we're accepting apologies today, too, for anybody who feels the grace in offering them."
Democrats angered
Leading Democrats in Congress had a very different take on the report.
At news conference in New York, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said, "Even in its incomplete form, however, the Mueller report outlines disturbing evidence that President Trump engaged in obstruction of justice and other misconduct."
Nadler called for Mueller to speak for himself about his work, in public, to Congress, in a hearing by May 23.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged that Barr "deliberately distorted significant portions" of the report.
"Special Counsel Mueller's report paints a disturbing picture of a president who has been weaving a web of deceit, lies and improper behavior and acting as if the law doesn't apply to him," they said in a joint statement. "But if you hadn't read the report and listened only to Mr. Barr, you wouldn't have known any of that because Mr. Barr has been so misleading. "
Earlier, leading Democrats on Capitol Hill objected to Barr's giving the White House a preview of the Mueller report and to his convening a press conference before the report was public.
It is clear Congress and the American people must hear from Special Counsel Robert Mueller in person to better understand his findings. We are now requesting Mueller to appear before @HouseJudiciary as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/Mmo6PA4KPt
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) April 18, 2019
Pelosi and Schumer said before the press conference that Barr's "regrettably partisan handling of the Mueller report ... [has] resulted in a crisis of confidence in his independence and impartiality."
Pelosi and Schumer added that "the only way to begin restoring public trust in the handling" of the Mueller investigation is for Mueller himself to testify publicly before the House and Senate "as soon as possible."
Barr said at his press conference that he would let key congressional leaders and staff review a version of the Mueller report with fewer redactions than the one that was released to the public, leaving in place those said to protect grand jury information.
The report says the president's efforts to influence the investigation were mostly stopped by those around him declining to carry out his orders.
On June 17, 2017, the president called then-White House counsel Don McGahn and directed him to tell the Justice Department that Mueller had a conflict of interest and must be removed. The report says McGahn did not act on the order and decided "he would resign rather than trigger what he regarded as a potential Saturday Night Massacre" — a reference to the purge of Justice Department officials during the Watergate scandal.
Several other such instances include Trump instructing his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to deliver a message to Sessions to limit Mueller's probe.
And in early summer 2017, the president called Sessions at home and asked him to reverse his recusal from the investigation.
What the campaign knew
The report also describes contacts between members of the Trump campaign and the Russian government as the presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton was taking place in 2016:
Several individuals associated with the campaign were contacted in 2016 about various efforts to obtain the missing Clinton emails and other stolen material in support of the Trump campaign. Some of these contacts were met with skepticism and nothing came of them; others were pursued to some degree. The investigation did not find evidence that the Trump campaign recovered any such Clinton emails, or that these contacts were part of a coordinated effort between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Trump specifically told investigators that he had no recollection of learning at the time that his son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign chairman Paul Manafort planned to meet with the Russian delegation they hosted at Trump Tower in June 2016.
No one has faced criminal charges in connection with that meeting, although Manafort was sentenced to prison following other conspiracy and fraud charges.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
How to Acquire Good Manners?
So a strong person is not someone who wrestles with people and overpowers them, He is someone ?who controls himself in times of anger.? He takes hold of himself and restrains himself during instances when he becomes angry.
We mentioned previously that good manners can either be present in someone naturally or they can be instilled into him (i.e. through learning). And we stated that inherent good manners are better than acquired good manners. We mentioned a proof for this which was the Messenger of Allah's (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) statement to Al-Ashaj bin 'Abdil-Qais (radyAllahu 'anhu): « Rather, Allah has molded (i.e. created) you upon these two (noble characteristics). » [Reported by Abu Dawood (no. 5335), and At-Tirmizi(no. 2011)]
It is also because good manners that are innate do not disappear from a human being whereas good manners that are acquired may vanish from a person in many instances since it requires constant practice and effort as well as exercise and hard work. It also requires that one be reminded of it whenever there occurs something that affects a human being. This is why when a man once came to the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and said to him: «O Messenger of Allah, advise me", he (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: "Do not get angry." The man then repeated his request several times, upon which the Prophet continued to reply: "Do not get angry.» [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 6116) and At-Tirmidhee (no. 2020)]
The Prophet (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) also said: «The strong person is not the one who wrestles and overpowers his opponents. Rather the strong person is the one who controls himself in times of anger.» [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 6114) and Muslim (no. 107)]
So a strong person is not someone who wrestles with people and overpowers them, He is someone "who controls himself in times of anger." He takes hold of himself and restrains himself during instances when he becomes angry.
A person controlling himself in times of anger is considered a characteristic of good manners. So if you become angry, do not let your anger penetrate, rather seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Devil. And if you are standing, then sit down. If you are sitting, then lie down. And if your anger increases, then perform ablution (wudoo) until it goes away.
A person may acquire and earn good manners by way of training (himself), working hard at it and through constant practice. So he may obtain good manners through one of the following methods:
First: By contemplating on the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger: One should look up the texts that show the virtue of the particular noble characteristic that he wishes to characterize himself with. This is since when a believer sees some texts that praise a characteristic or action, he implements them.
Purification (of the soul) cannot be achieved except by way of the messengers as stated by Ibn Al-Qayyim when he said: "Purifying the souls is harder and more difficult than curing the bodies. So whoever purifies his soul through exercise, hard work and being in isolation – all of which the messengers did not come with – he is like a sick person that tries to cure himself based on his own opinion. Where is his opinion with respect to the expertise of a doctor?! The messengers are the doctors of the hearts – there is no way to purify and rectify the hearts except through their way, at their hands and by totally submitting and complying with them. And we ask Allah for His assistance!" [Madaarij-us-Saalikeen (2/300)]
The Prophet (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) indicated this when he said: «The example of a good companion and an evil companion is like that of a seller of musk and a blacksmith. The seller of musk either sells you (perfume), gives you free samples or you get a pleasing smell from him. As for the example of an evil companion – such as a blacksmith – he either burns your clothes or you get a nasty smell from him.» [Reported by Al-Bukhaaree (no. 2101 & 5534) and Muslim (no. 146)]
An-Nawawee said: "This shows the virtue of accompanying righteous and good people – those who possess chivalry, good manners, piety, knowledge, and good behavior. It also shows the prohibition of accompanying evil people, innovators, and those who backbite people or who are very wicked and so on, i.e. other types of condemnable characteristics." [See Sharh Saheeh Muslim: (16/394)]
Second: He should accompany those who are known for having good manners whilst staying far away from those who possess bad manners and poor actions. This is such that he turns this companionship of his into an educational institute that assists him in (his goal of) obtaining good manners. The Prophet (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said: «A man is upon the religion of his close friend, so let each of you look into whom he takes as a close friend.» [ Reported by At-Tirmidhee (no. 2378) who said it was hasan saheeh, Abu Dawood (no. 4833), Ahmad in al-Musnad (2/303, 334) and deemed hasan (sound) by Al-Albaanee in Saheeh-ul-Jaami' as-Sagheer (no. 3545) and Silsilat-ul-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah (no. 927).]
«المرء على دين خليله فلينظر أحدكم من يخالل» رواه أحمد وحسنه الألباني
Third: He should reflect on the consequences that come as a result of having bad manners. This is since a person with bad manners is despised. A person with bad manners is forsaken. A person with bad manners is always talked about in a bad way. So when one comes to realize that bad manners will lead him to all of this, he will then keep away from it.
Fourth: He should always envision an image of the Prophet's (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) manners and how he (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) would humble himself before the creation, being kind to them, forgiving to them and patient with their harm. So if a person visualizes the Prophet's character and the fact that he was the best of mankind and the greatest of those who worshiped Allah, he will then perceive a low image of himself and at this point the influence that arrogance has over him will be shattered and this will cause him to have good manners.
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text:
What should you be seeking when you request a person to make an air conditioning repair in St. Louis, MO to suit your needs?
- Notoriety
- Dependability
- Experience
- Equipment
An air conditioner is an expensive item and a very crucial thing during a hot St. Louis summer season, therefore, you want to be careful about whom you allow to fix it. Most people don't have a clue with regards to the things it takes to make an air conditioning (A/C) repair in St. Louis, MO, so they wouldn't have a clue if what the A/C service tech says is right or not. Reliability and reputation are the only tools you're likely to have for knowing whether your A/C repair technician in St. Louis knows what he or she is talking about. Suggestions from acquaintances, coworkers, family members or people born and raised in St. Louis are also respectable indications regarding the dependability and integrity of your St. Louis A/C repair company.
Ask the air conditioning repair company for references and inquire as to how many years they've been in operation. Any reliable repair provider should without difficulty have the ability to provide you with a listing of satisfied St. Louis, MO customers. Doing an A/C repair involves special equipment, such as air conditioning pressure gauges and Freon or supplementary cooling gas supplies. Older air conditioner models utilize a special type of Freon and may be ruined if serviced incorrectly. Newer air conditioner systems use different types of gas in order to operate well and still meet EPA requirements. Be certain that your St. Louis air conditioning repair technician is using the correct tools and possesses the proper licenses to handle Freon and the other gases.
Experience may mean the difference between an air conditioning repair technician determining when the A/C system needs to be removed and a new one needs to be installed or if a good old fashioned cleaning may be sufficient. Components of the cooling system might be complicated to get at in a number of the older St. Louis houses, so your technician may not be very agreeable to making an air conditioning repair just by cleansing the unit. They might think it is a lot easier to put in a new A/C unit and also pocket the extra money from doing the installation, as opposed to taking the additional time necessary to extend the life of the older unit. Not all St. Louis models can be saved by performing a cooling system repair, and sooner or later all air conditioner units will require replacement. However, getting a skilled St. Louis air conditioning repair technician with a reputation for integrity and dependability to work on your air conditioning unit will offer you the greatest outcome.
And do not fail to remember to switch the air filter inside the A/C unit frequently. A lot of times a simple swap of the filter can mean a big difference in the way your air conditioner works. Most central air conditioning units contain an air filter positioned inside the air handler which is where the furnace is found. Inspect the air filter by taking it out and looking at the exterior to determine how much dust and debris has accumulated. If it looks grimy, filled with dust, or cluttered, it is definitely time to change. During extreme running times you should check or change your air filter month-to-month. That's a suggestion you are able to execute yourself to prevent a call to your St. Louis, MO air conditioning repair technician.


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Common weeds of the northern United States and Canada |
My interest in the biology of weeds began when I joined the staff of Agriculture Canada, at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa, in 1947. Since then, I have studied weeds there, as a junior technician, as a summer student, as a biologist, as a research scientist, and, from 1978 to 1987, while Director of The Biosystematics Research Institute. Since my formal retirement in 1987, from what is now called Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, I have continued to work as an (unpaid) honorary research associate. During my career, I have published scientific papers, bulletins, manuals, and books, and have established several web-sites. Much of my work has been on the biology of weeds. In 1972, Paul B. Cavers and I initiated The Biology of Canadian Weeds series in The Canadian Journal of Plant Science. I edited this series for that journal until 1987. Now after nearly three-quarters of a century of studying weeds, I am putting together some of my thoughts about the biology of these interesting plants. Weeds are the most prominent plants of the settled areas of the northern United States and Canada. They grow all around us, and affect us in many different ways. They are the plants that humans, for a number of quite different reasons, consider undesirable. Weeds can cause economic losses, damage to native vegetation, injuries, a dermatitis, hay fever, or be unsightly or be poisonous. The most successful weedy colonizers are the introduced plants that have had a long history of association with human activities elsewhere. These weeds were already well adapted for survival in the many disturbed habitats that became available with the destruction of much of our native vegetation by settlers from other Continents, starting with the arrival of Europeans about 500 years ago. Weeds are now the unwelcome inhabitants of our lawns, gardens, pastures, cultivated fields, roadsides and many other types of disturbed habitats. Some introduced plants have become so invasive that they have virtually eliminated all of the native vegetation in some habitats. Possibly because of the recent global warming, some weeds have recently extended their ranges, from warmer areas further south, northward into and within the northern United States and Canada; some now appearing for the first time in northern Canada and Alaska. Our most successful weeds are introduced plants, from similar hardiness zones, that were already adapted for survival in the many disturbed habitats created by humans. Primitive people gathered plants from the wild for food and for other purposes and deposited the residue in nearby campsite rubbish piles. Plants that volunteered in these piles became camp followers and, over the course of many years, selection by humans resulted in the formation of our cultivated plants and of our weeds. In some cases both cultivated and weedy types arose in the same species (for example: wild and cultivate carrots, Daucus carrota L.; wild and cultivated parsnips, Pastinaca sativa L.; and wild marijuana and cannabis cultigens, Cannabis sativa L.). The popular impression is that weeds are ubiquitous. However, many weeds have distribution patterns as clearly marked as those of our native plants. These patterns indicate a close response to climate and other environmental condition. Smooth hawk's-beard (Crepis capillaris (L.) Wallr.) is abundant only in the maritime west, whereas wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.), bird rape (Brassica rapa L.), and corn spurry (Spergula arvensis L.) are common not only in that area but also in our eastern maritime region. Bull thistle (Cirsium vulgare (Savi) Ten.), St. John's-wort (Hypericum perforatum L.), and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) are agricultural weeds in the eastern and western parts of the northern United States and Canada, but are rare or nonexistent in the prairie regions. Narrow-leaved hawk's-beard (Crepis tectorum L.), tall hedge mustard (Sisymbrium loeselii L.), and Russian knapweed (Acroptilon repens (L.) DC.) are common only in our dry prairies. Scentless chamomile (Matricaria perforata Mérat.) is comprised of two populations that are widely separated geographically. It has two chromosome races, a tetraploid one that is an aggressive colonizer on our dry prairies, and a less weedy diploid population that occurs in our eastern maritime region. Although the two chromosome races appear to have quite different physiological requirements, no morphological differences between them have been detected. An understanding of the life durations, growth habits, methods of seed dispersal, special seed germination properties, the potential for vegetative spread or dispersal, the breeding systems, and any floral characteristics that will attract pollen vectors to flowers, is useful in trying to determine how and why introduced plants are able to quickly invade and become established, in constantly changing disturbed habitats, far from their original homes. Hayfield weeds are usually perennial, whereas pasture weeds are biennial, perennial, or very rarely annual. Row crop and grainfield weeds are nearly all annual, but if they are perennial they usually flower in the first year from seed or survive cultivation by the means of vigorous underground rootstocks. The habit of growth of plants with similar life durations also varies with different specialized habitats. Grainfield annuals and hayfield perennials are usually tall and erect. Row crop annuals and pasture perennials can be prostrate or erect. Many normally erect perennial colonizers of pastures, assume a low compact form of growth when grazed by livestock. Some perennials are not grazed because of spines or dense hairs, or because of an unpleasant odor or taste. Germination requirements vary in different weeds. Discontinuous germination may be advantageous in row crops, because of the repeated cultivations normally used in this habitat, whereas a precise germination time is essential for annual weeds to become established in a grainfield. The dormant seed of wild oats (Avena fatua L.), a common weed of cereals in our prairies, can survive fall and spring cultivations as dormant seed, and then germinate the following year about the same time as the cereal crop. Many annual, biennial, and short-lived perennial weeds are self-compatible (autogamous), have small flower targets, and are rarely visited by pollinating insects. They can build up new colonies, great distances from existing populations, by the chance dispersal of one or a few propagules. Nevertheless, although self-incompatible, some annual, biennial and short-lived perennial weeds are widespread. These weeds are usually dispersed as impurities in crop seeds or as cultivated plants. Wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.), a self-incompatible annual is an example of the former strategy. Large amounts of wild mustard seed are frequently introduced into cultivated fields as impurities in the crop seed. Long-lived perennial weeds are usually allogamous or apomictic. Allogamous species are self-incompatible, only producing viable seed when pollen is transferred from a flower on one plant of a species to the stigma of a flower of another plant of the same species. These long-lived perennial out-crossers usually have large flower targets (individual flowers or flower-clusters) whose outer parts reflect ultraviolet or blue wavelengths and whose central parts absorb those wavelengths. Insects can see markings at wavelengths that are invisible to humans. These markings are apparently of importance in the close-range orientation of insects to their food sources and to the sex organs of the plants. The flowers invariably also have odors or rewards that further attract insects. Most self-incompatible weeds are rhizomatous or stoloniferous, ensuring that they can become established and spread after the introduction of only a few fragments of their rhizomes or stolons, even when suitable pollinators or genotypes of the same species are absent. A few long-lived perennial out-crossers become established and spread almost exclusively by means of fragments of rhizomes or stolons. Creeping yellow cress (Rorripa sylvestris (L.) Besser), rarely produces viable seed in nature, spreading almost exclusively by fragments of its rhizomes. Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea L.), a garden escape, with creeping stems that root at the nodes, frequently becomes established in lawns, and is very difficult to eradicate. It rarely, if ever, produces seed in nature. Some other long-lived perennial weeds are apomictic (able to produce viable seeds without their ovaries being fertilized). Our dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Weber), a long-lived perennial, is an example of a very successful apomictic weed. Although it is a triploid, its asexual means of seed production, its long distance dispersal of seeds attached to a parachute-like pappus, and its long tap root that reaches to a considerable depth in the soil, makes our dandelion a very effective colonizer. Presented below, are short descriptions and pertinent information on the economic and other impacts caused by most of the common weeds of the northern United States and Canada. Also included, are their life durations, breeding systems, means of seed production and/or vegetative spread, methods of seed dispersal and/or vegetative establishment, growth habits, distributions, habitats, and any special properties. Each of these accounts is accompanied by one, and sometimes many, colored photographs. All of the weeds discussed above are included. For the convenience of readers, the colored photographs are keyed to the English and French names that have been standardized by the weed organizations of the United States and Canada. These common names are often more stable than are the scientific names. The most generally accepted scientific names and any recent synonyms are also included. Most of the photos are part of my personal collection. The photos of herbarium plants are of specimens in the Agriculture Canada herbarium in Ottawa (DAO). My photos of herbarium specimens of seedlings of a number of grass species grown and collected by Faith Fyles (1875-1961) are followed by her initials (FF). I have photographed, and included on this website, many of the colored drawings of weeds by Norman Criddle (1875-1933) that appeared in the 1951 publication Farm Weeds, Illustrated in colour (Canada Department of Agriculture, Ottawa). Norman Criddle's initials (NC) accompany each photograph. The initials (F&M) appear after the many illustrations taken from Clarence Frankton & Gerald A. Mulligan, 1970, Weeds of Canada, Agriculture Canada Publication 948, Ottawa, Ontario, 217 pages.
There is also a page that covers Common plants of the northern United States and Canada reported to have caused poisonings, a dermatitis or hay fever in humans ("Poisonous plants" link at top left).
Further information on the weeds of the northern United States and Canada, including their control, is available on the websites weedscience.ca and wssa.net. |


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Marmoleum Walton Cirrus - Grey Iron - 3368
Marmoleum is USDA certified 100% biobased. This natural linoleum floor covering is made from 97% natural raw materials, 70% of which are rapidly renewable, along with a 43% recycled content. The key raw materials used in its production include linseed oil, which comes from the flax plant seeds, wood flour as production waste from controlled forestry plantations and jute, a crop whose fibers provide the material for the membrane onto which the linoleum is calendared.
Marmoleum's inherent anti-static properties repel dust and dirt, making it easy to clean, reducing exposure to allergens, and contributing to better indoor air quality. Marmoleum also features inherent antimicrobial properties that halt the breeding of harmful micro-organisms, including MRSA and C-difficile.
Country of Manufacture: Ireland
Marmoleum Walton Cirrus is an ecologically produced to the following approximate dimensions:- Thickness/Gauge --- 1/10" (2.5 mm)
- Backing --- Jute
- Width --- 79" (2 meters)
- Length --- 105' (32 meters)
- Roll Size --- 77 square yards (64 square meters)
- Sold by the sq yard. 79" X 16.4"= 1 sq yard
- If you know the length you need in inches divide that by 16.4 and round up for sq yardage.
Due to the way it's made, don't be surprised if your Marmoleum Sheet has a yellowish tint on it when it's delivered. This is oxidized linseed oil, which can color the surface in the final stage of manufacturing. The tint will disappear (usually within 24 hours) as soon as your floor is exposed to the light. Also, because linoleum is a natural product, there may be slight color and structural differences between production batches, samples and the delivered goods.
Technical Data
View: Technical Data Sheet for Marmoleum Sheet
Safety Information
View: Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for Marmoleum Sheet
In order to get a perfect floor it is important to prepare and to pay attention to a proper installation of the floor covering. Forbo offers an assortment of high quality installation products and tools, which helps you obtaining the desired result. >View: Marmoleum Sheet Installation Guidelines
Care and Maintenance
Marmoleum floors are easy to clean and maintain thanks to their durable Topshield2 finish. Marmoleum with Topshield2 is the only resilient flooring with an occupancy-ready finish. This means that at the time of installation, cleaning with a neutral pH cleaning solution is all that is necessary. The Topshield2 finish also provides exceptional performance against soiling, staining, scratching, and scuffing. Topshield2 has been designed to create a Marmoleum that meets the demands of everyday use and is even more resistant to dirt pick-up, less prone to wear and has improved resistance to scratches and stains, and thus creating a floor that demonstrates a lasting performance over time.
We recommend waiting a minimum of five days following the installation before conducting initial cleaning or other wet cleaning procedures in order to allow the adhesive to dry and cure properly. The initial cleaning is done for new installations exposed to normal construction soil and traffic.
Additional maintenance may be performed if necessary.
Forbo offers a full line of cleaning products including a Neutral pH Cleaner, Spray Buff, Mop on Restorer, Heavy Duty Cleaner, Matte Floor Finish (for commercial use), Gloss Floor Finish (for commercial use), Adhesive Remover, & a Residential Floor Finish. View: Marmoleum Care and Maintenance Guide


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*After an extended hiatus (we blame the whole getting lost in the desert thing) Transmongolia is back to offer even more coverage of the 2011 Mongol Rally.
The Mongol Rally isn't a race, at least not in the official and common sense. There are no prizes for first place except bragging rights. More than anything, it's about who makes it to the finish line and who doesn't. It's about arriving at the finish line and scanning a large wall-sized poster that lists who has retired [RET] and who has completed the journey in their original automobile, no matter the condition.
After crossing through the fabled Mongolia Steppe, our team finally reached the end of their 10,000 mile long journey. Emotions ran high; we experienced excitement at the thought of being stationary for a long period of time and trepidation over knowing that everyone would be heading separate ways in just a matter of days. We had made it to Ulaanbaatar, victors of the Mongol Rally.
Transmongolia – Part Five: The Finish Line
For more information about the Mongol Rally, including how to sign up for the 2012 rally or tips for entrants outside the EU, visit the Adventurist's website – or view the Adventurists' 2011 trailer here!
Transportation was made possible by the scholars and gentlemen at the Adventurists. No editorial content or opinions were guaranteed nor was anyone's safety or hygiene.


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Traditional claws securing a diamond in to a ring perform a necessary function, but that function is often detrimental to the form. Here, I took the concept of the claw but intensified the depth and profile. I exploded its basic form to open and expose the diamond in a ring that transforms the ordinary claw setting.
Platinum and gold are angled and riveted to hold the diamond - the ring pictured features a 1.35ct diamond.
This design can be crafted to your requirements, which takes approximately 3 - 6 weeks. To request a quote or to place an order for this piece please select the 'enquire' button. In stock items can be sent to you within 1-3 business days. Shipping times will vary depending on your location.
Where possible please provide the following information to help us fulfill your requests:
For more information please see our Frequently Asked Questions and Shipping sections.
To make an enquiry about this ring simply select the 'ENQUIRE' button.
Design © Inspired Jewellery Limited 2017
"I was really impressed with the work ethic and commitment to ensuring that the finished product was exactly what I had envisioned. This is only enhanced by the fact that this was handled entirely by email!" - Stephen Baxter
Inspired is the international arm of The Village Goldsmith based in Wellington, New Zealand. All Inspired pieces are designed and crafted by our team at The Village Goldsmith. Read what The Village Goldsmith customers are saying on Google Reviews.


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Addicted to Real Estate – Why I Can't Stop and Why You Should Start
he All-Money-Down Technique
So how does the all-money-down technique work by purchasing a home with cash? First of all, let me repeat that I really didn't have any cash, but I had a significant amount of equity from Terry's home and several homes that I owned put together to give me a substantial cash down payment. Banks and mortgage companies alike will accept money from a home-equity line of credit as cash to purchase a home. At least they did in 1997 under the financial guidelines of the day. What you must remember about mortgages and lending is that the guidelines change constantly, so this technique I used in 1997 may or may not be able to be used in the future. Whether it is or isn't able to be used again doesn't really matter to me as I believe that there will always be a way to buy real estate with limited money down sooner or later. There will always be a technique to acquire real estate but exactly how that will be done in the future I'm not completely sure.
I began purchasing homes in the Mayfair section of Philadelphia with the prices in the $30,000 to $40,000 per home price range. I would purchase a home with three bedrooms and one bathroom on the second floor with a kitchen, dining room, and living room on the first floor and a basement. What we call a row home in Philadelphia would consist of a porch out front and a backyard the width of the home. Most row homes in Philadelphia are less than twenty-two feet wide. For those of you who are not from Philadelphia and can't picture what a Philadelphia row home looks like, I suggest you watch the movie Rocky. Twenty-two homes on each side of every block will really test your ability to be a neighbor. Things that will usually cause an argument with your Philadelphia neighbors often stem from parking, noise your children make, where you leave your trash cans, parties, and the appearance of your home.
In 1998 my girlfriend and I moved in together and to the suburbs of Philadelphia called Warminster. After living on a street in Tacony, much like Rocky did, I really looked forward to having space between my home and my next-door neighbor. I told Terry not to even think about talking with the people who lived next door to us. I told her if one of them comes over with a fruitcake I am going to take it and punt it like a football right into their backyard. I believe I was suffering from Philadelphia row home syndrome. My new neighbors in Warminster turned out to be wonderful people, but it took me eighteen months before I was willing to learn that.
So you just bought your row home for $35,000 in Mayfair, and after $2000 in closing costs and $5000 in repair costs, you find yourself a good tenant who wants to rent the home. After renting the home with a positive cash flow of $200 a month, you now have an outstanding debt of $42,000 on your home equity line of credit that will have to be paid off. When purchasing the home, I did not get a mortgage as I just purchased a home for cash as it is said in the business. All monies I spent on this house were spent from the home-equity line of credit.
The move now is to pay off your home-equity line of credit so you can go do it again. We now go to a bank with your fixed-up property and tell the mortgage department that you want to do a cash-out refinancing of your real estate investment. It helps to explain that the neighborhood you purchase your property in should have a wider range of pricing as the neighborhood of Mayfair did in the mid-90s. The pricing of homes in Mayfair is quite unusual as you would see a $3000 difference in home values from one block to the next. This was important when doing a cash-out refinancing because it's pretty easy for the bank to see that I just bought my property for $35,000 regardless of the fact that I did many repairs. I could justify the fact that I've spent more money on my home to fix it up, and by putting a tenant in, it was now a profitable piece of real estate from an investment standpoint.
If I was lucky like I was many times over doing this system of purchasing homes in Mayfair and the appraiser would use homes a block or two away and come back with an appraisal of $45,000. Back then there were programs allowing an investor to purchase a home for 10 percent down or left in as equity doing a 90 percent cash out refinance giving me back roughly $40,500. Utilizing this technique allowed me to get back most of the money I put down on the property. I basically paid just $1,500 down for this new home. Why did the mortgage companies and the appraisers keep giving me the numbers I wanted? I assume because they wanted the business. I would only tell the bank I need this to come in at $45,000 or I am just keeping it financed as is. They always seemed to give me what I wanted within reason.
This whole process took three to four months during which time I may have saved a few thousand dollars. Between the money I saved from my job and my investments and cash out refinancing, I had replenished most or all of my funds from my home-equity line of credit that was now almost back to zero to begin the process again. And that is exactly what I intended to do. I used this system to purchase four to six homes a year utilizing the same money to purchase home after home after home over and over again. In reality, the technique is a no-money down or little money down technique. At the time maybe I had $60,000 in available funds to use to buy homes off of my HELOC, so I would buy a home and then replenish the money. It was a terrific technique that was legal, and I could see my dream of being a real estate investor full-time coming to an eventual reality even though I wasn't there yet.
During the years from 1995 to 2002, the real estate market in Philadelphia made gradual increases of maybe 6 percent as each year went on. I began to track my net worth that was 100 percent equity, meaning I had no other forms of investments to look at when calculating my net worth. Generally speaking, the first five years of my real estate career did not go well because of the bad decisions I made purchasing buildings and the decline in the market. Furthermore, my lack of knowledge and experience in repairs made it a rough. The second five years of my real estate career that I just finished explaining didn't make much money either. I supported myself primarily through my career as a salesman, but I could definitely see the writing on the wall that down the road real estate was going to be my full-time gig.
Realty Professionals of America
I own an office building that has a real estate company as a tenant called Realty Professionals of America. The company has a terrific plan where a new agent receives 75 percent of the commission and the broker gets only 25 percent. If you don't know it, this is a pretty good deal, especially for a new real estate agent. The company also offers a 5 percent sponsorship fee to the agent who sponsors them on every deal they do. If you bring an individual who is a realtor in to the company that you have sponsored, the broker will pay you a 5 percent sponsorship out of the broker's end so that the new realtor you sponsored can still earn 75 percent commissions. In addition to the above, Realty Professionals of America offers to increase the realtor's commission by 5 percent after achieving cumulative commission benchmarks, up to a maximum of 90 percent. Once a commission benchmark is reached, an agent's commission rate is only decreased if commissions in the following year do not reach a lower baseline amount. I currently keep 85 percent of all my deals' commissions; plus I receive sponsorship checks of 5 percent from the commissions that the agents I sponsored earn. If you'd like to learn more about being sponsored into Realty Professionals of America's wonderful plan, please call me directly at 267-988-2000.
Getting My Real Estate License
One of the things that I did in the summer of 2005 after leaving my full-time job was to make plans to get my real estate license. Getting my real estate license was something I always wanted to do but never seemed to have the time to do it. I'm sure you've heard that excuse a thousand times. People always say that they're going to do something soon as they find the time to do it, but they never seem to find the time, do they? I try not to let myself make excuses for anything. So I've made up my mind before I ever left my full-time job that one of the first things I would do was to get my real estate license. I enrolled in a school called the American Real Estate Institute for a two-week full-time program to obtain my license to sell real estate in the state of Pennsylvania. Two terrific guys with a world of experience taught the class, and I enjoyed the time I spent there. Immediately after completing the course at the American Real Estate Institute, I booked the next available day offered by the state to take the state exam. My teachers' advice to take the exam immediately after the class turned out to be an excellent suggestion. I passed the exam with flying colors and have used my license many times since to buy real estate and reduce the expenses. If you are going to be a full-time real estate investor or a commercial real estate investor, then you almost have to get a license. While I know a few people who don't believe this, I'm convinced it's the only way.
I worked on one deal at $3 million where the commission to the buyer's real estate agent was $75,000. By the time my broker took a share, I walked with $63,000 commission on that deal alone. With the average cost per year of being a realtor running about $1200 per year, this one deal alone would've paid for my real estate license for fifty-three years. Not to mention all the other fringe benefits like having access to the multiple listing service offered too many realtors in this country. While there are other ways to get access to the multiple listing services or another program similar to it, a real estate license is a great way to go.
Some of the negatives I hear over and over again about having your real estate license is the fact that you have to disclose that you are realtor when buying a home if you're representing yourself. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see this as a negative at all. If you're skilled in the art of negotiation, it's just another hurdle that you have to deal with. I suppose you could end up in a lawsuit where a court of law could assume because you are realtor you should know all these things. I don't spend my life worrying about the million ways I can be sued any more than I worry about getting hit by a car every time I cross the street.
The Addict
From his first investment property over 20 years ago to his relentless search for the next great deal every day, Falcone is a non-stop real estate investment machine!
Get Addicted