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Disabling American Sovereignty
Coauthored with Geoffrey McClatchey.
The United States Senate will likely soon consider ratification the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which fell six votes short of the 67 needed last December. The CPRD's stated purpose is "to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity." While seemingly well-intentioned, the treaty would enable an enormous increase in the potential power of UN bureaucrats over the American people and undermine national sovereignty.
CRPD proponents argue that it merely reiterates existing U.S. disability law. President Obama said, "Existing U.S. law [is] consistent with and sufficient to implement the requirements of the Convention." While the CRPD was originally modeled to some extent on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), its provisions far surpass the ADA's.
For example, the convention's Article 27, which prohibits "discrimination on the basis of disability with regard to all matters concerning all forms of employment," is a giant leap from the ADA's employment standards stating, "no covered entity shall discriminate against a qualified individual on the basis of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment." [Emphases added]
In removing the principles of "covered entity," whereby some organizations are exempt, and of a "qualified" individual, the convention removes all common-sense safeguards against unintended consequences and overreach. Moreover, the article commits signatory states to secure this by legislation — meaning that the ADA would need to be amended.
The CRPD also requires the United States to set up a propaganda agency. Yes, you read that right. Article 8 states that signatories must take "immediate and effective measures…to raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities." It becomes the federal government's duty to "combat stereotypes… in all areas of life" by "initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns."
Worst of all will be the loss of U.S. sovereignty. Under CRPD Article 34, U.S. policy would be subject to the "Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities," a U.N.-appointed panel consisting of 12 "experts." The history of other UN bodies like the Human Rights Council — which includes countries with a long history of human rights abuses and hostility toward the United States — is not encouraging. And the Convention's vague language — such as defining disabilities as "an evolving concept" — suggests that the Committee will have ample opportunity to redefine terms to America's disadvantage.
Advocates of CRPD ratification argue that the powers afforded to the UN would likely never be used and are unenforceable. Instead, U.S. ratification would serve as an exhortation of U.S. ideals that would encourage other countries to act in accordance with our values. Secretary of State John Kerry labels the Americans with Disabilities Act the "gold standard" for protecting the rights of the disabled, emphasizing the CRPD's ability to "take that gold standard and extend it to countries that have never heard of disability rights."
This argument contradicts itself. If the U.S. were to ratify CRPD as a signal for others to do the same, its signal would be nullified if it were not to comply with its provisions. Moreover, this argument ignores the fact that, almost uniquely in the world, U.S. citizens can sue their government to ensure that it is complying with all the terms of a treaty it has ratified. The rest of the world can treat a UN convention as merely hortatory. The U.S. cannot.
And, as Senator David Vitter (R.-La.) argued when considering an article of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (about which a similar argument was made and which never ratified), "If it is not possible for an individual state to violate the provision, why is it in the treaty?" In other words, if the full powers given to the UN are not intended to be used, why grant the powers in the first place? The defense that CRPD is unlikely to be enforceable is no defense at all.
Finally, there is strong evidence that the ADA has harmed Americans with disabilities by making it more expensive for employers to hire them. As the Cato Institute found in 2000, a 10 percent reduction in employment among disabled people has occurred since the passage of the Act. If the ADA has harmed Americans, how much worse would the much more expansive CPRD be for them?
Ratification of CPRD would harm the American economy, national sovereignty, and the prospects of people with disabilities. The only people it would benefit would be national and international bureaucrats. The Senate should reject it.


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Comfeze Brings Uncomfezable Twist to Typical Diaper Ad
Wow. This is warped. That's apt, because it's a spoof spot for Scream TV, which wants us all to (tagline, tagline!) "Get scared more often." And we're definitely feeling the fear.
The spot for fictional brand Comfeze was put together by Zig, Toronto.
Does Depend make ads? Maybe Zig should look into that. There's a whole market of fear and absorbency waiting to blossom before our eyes.

subset: commoncrawl


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T E Shepherd Art & Illustration
Stroud Bookshop, Gloucestershire
Regular price
Tax included.
Stroud Bookshop, Gloucestershire
Prints are printed using the fine art giclée process on acid free, cotton rag archival paper. The inks used are UV resistant, so your print will look beautiful for an incredibly long time.
All prints come with a certificate of authenticity and signed.
Unmounted prints are wrapped and shipped in a sturdy cardboard tube. Mounted prints are backed and wrapped and available upon request.
Available in three sizes: small (A5 - 6x8", mounted to 10x8"), medium (A4 - 8x11", mounted to 11x14") or large (A3 - 11x16", mounted to 16x20"), each limited to a run of 75.


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Belk uses SAS to satisfy customers with the right sizes in the right stores
Fast, powerful SAS Analytics help department store associates work smarter and focus on customer needs
Belk wants its customers to find what they're looking for every time they shop. So when the leaders at the Southern department store chain decided to modernize the software system they use to keep the right selection of clothing styles and sizes in each store, they considered a variety of options. And when they saw the power of SAS® Analytics in action, they looked no further. Deployed in 2012, SAS Analytics has since helped the retailer grow natural margins with exclusive private brands by as much as 230 basis points over a four-year period.
"SAS is best-in-class," said Tim Carney, Director of Planning and Allocation at Belk. "The SAS system is fast and efficient. It's eye popping to see the tool in action. Belk has nearly 300 stores and, in a matter of seconds, SAS delivers exactly what we need. The performance of the applications has been top-notch since the first day." Carney will discuss Belk's use of the software at SAS Booth 3637 during NRF19 on Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
With Belk's omnichannel expansion, the company needed multichannel profiles to cover both e-commerce and in-store customers. SAS helps the Belk team anticipate how much merchandise will be sold when a product is out of stock so future orders and allocations can be adjusted based on demand rather than gross sales alone. Belk integrated SAS into its order entry, replenishment and allocation systems to better capture the size demand across its end-to-end buying process. "One of our initial goals was to improve profitability by size," Carney said. "When we started this journey, we recognized the need to improve profitability on the less popular sizes to drive Belk's overall natural margins. We can see the impact of SAS Analytics when we reduce the profitability variance between sizes. Belk has seen the profitability variance by size be reduced by anywhere between 20 to 50 percent year over year on some of our biggest-volume private brands."
Tom Nystrom, Senior Vice President and General Merchandising Manager for Men's and Kids at Belk, said SAS optimization analytics is a sophisticated planning and ordering system that maximizes the Belk team's efficiency. "Our team now works smarter and spends more time analyzing rather than inputting data, which ultimately improves our ability to satisfy customers."
"Rapid adoption AI, analytics and machine learning creates a great opportunity for traditional retailers to reinvent their core processes," said Dan Mitchell, Director of SAS Global Retail and CPG Practice. "The intelligent automation of how we build assortments, order and fulfill merchandise turns what used to be a manual burden into competitive advantage over online competitors. More accurate forecasts, merchandising decisions and adaptive fulfillment, mean retailers like Belk are more responsive to consumers and better able to innovate."
To learn more about how SAS supports omnichannel retailing, download The Real-Time Predictive Commerce Playbook for CMOs, a white paper developed by SAS and Brian Solis from Altimeter Research.
Follow SAS on Twitter at @SASsoftware and @SASRetail. Follow NRF 2019 news at #SASatNRF
About SAS
SAS is a global leader in data and AI. With SAS software and industry-specific solutions, organizations transform data into trusted decisions. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.
Editorial contacts:
- SAS Česká republika
Jelena Stanković
00 381 63 430 117
Belk uses SAS Analytics to help customers find what they're looking for every time they shop.


text: XI THE EARLIEST INSCRIPTIONS INCE 1883, when Dr. Edward Müller compiled and pub SINCE lished for the Ceylon Government the first complete account of the ancient inscriptions then known in the island, much progress in copying others has been made, especially by Mr. H. C. P. Bell, of the Ceylon Civil Service, the present Government Archaeologist, whose excellent and systematic work is of the greatest antiquarian value in preserving complete records of the constructive and epigraphical work of the ancient Sinhalese. There were numberless sites in the jungle where inscriptions have been cut that neither the lamented Dr. Paul Goldschmidt, who was the first to completely overcome the difficulties attending their decipherment,1 nor his successor, Dr. E. Müller, had heard of; and up to the present day many fresh inscriptions continue to be discovered, and doubtless others will be found for many years to come. This is especially the case with those inscribed on rocks lying on the slopes of the less known hills isolated in the depths of the wild jungle, and often at considerable distances from any villages. Even where such sites occur in the immediate neighbourhood of the jungle hamlets it is generally found that little is known of them by the inhabitants, who have no inducement to make a systematic search for ancient remains. It would be easy to mention many instances of the annoying manner in which comparatively long inscriptions elude observation even when in close proximity to others that are well known. On many rocks one may walk over an inscription without suspecting its presence, until some ray of sunlight illuminating one side of the shallow letters and 1 Translations of some inscriptions had been made by Professor Rhys Davids before that time. throwing the other into shadow makes the whole stand out in comparative clearness. This fact indicates one of the difficulties of correctly copying the more worn inscriptions. It is often necessary to have light from two different quarters in order to read them; the morning rays to catch one side of some letters, the afternoon rays to display others. It too often happens that the passing archaeologist finds it impossible to devote so much time to the decipherment. In my own experience an excellent illustration of this difficulty occurred. On two mornings I had examined an inscription (No. 83) cut on the flat top of a rock at a distance of four miles from my temporary station, and had obtained a satisfactory hand-copy of three lines of it; yet though it was evidently incomplete and I had had considerable practice in copying such letters I failed to see any continuation of it. On paying it a third visit one afternoon I found that the light, falling from a different direction, lit up the whole remaining line in such a manner that it could be copied with ease. A trained eye is also necessary in order to distinguish slight artificial cuts from the natural markings of weather-worn rocks. On one occasion I pointed out to a friend who had accompanied me a very early shallow inscription about five feet from the ground on a weathered vertical face of a large rock, and proceeded to copy it without difficulty; yet my friend assured me that he was unable to distinguish a single word of it. All appeared to him like the natural hollows in the face of the rock. Dr. E. Müller ascribed the earliest inscription known in Ceylon up to 1883 to either King Duṭṭha-Gāmiņi (161-137 B.C.), or to King Waṭṭa-Gāmiņi (88-76 B.C.); and stated, without giving reasons for his opinion, that the king's title, 'beloved of the Gods,' rather pointed to the latter monarch.1 The date of the first one known at the present day is certainly the third century B.C., and almost contemporary with those of the celebrated Indian emperor Aśōka. It is found at a low rocky hill called Naval Nīrāvi Malei, 1 Ancient Inscriptions in Ceylon, p. 25. 'The Hill of the Jambu Well,' about eight miles north-east of Vilankulam, in the Northern Province. The hill itself is quite inconspicuous and is hidden in the midst of wild thorny jungle frequented by bears, three of which, an adult and two cubs, escaped from an open cave at it on the occasion of my first visit to the place. The top of the hill is crowned by rocks LE and large boulders, a few of which are also on its slopes; the hollows under their sides formed shelters which were improved for the occupation of the monks who took up their residence in them. There are two other low hills to the south of it, called respectively Tēvāṇḍān Puliyankulam Malei, and Erupotāna-kanda, the three being nearly in a line about one and a half miles long. Erupotāna-kanda is a hill somewhat like Nīrāvi Malei, but bigher, with numerous large boulders on its slopes. The other hill is formed by an immense steep-sided rock, with a high vertical precipice to the east, and a gradual ascent on the north and south-west sides. There are large boulders on its top, which extends in a long north and south line. On the detached boulders which are scattered about all three hills numerous cave inscriptions are cut, which indicate that this little known part of the island was once the residence of a large community of Buddhist monks. When we seek to learn why such a site should have been selected for cutting what must have been at the time some of the earliest inscriptions in the island, it is found that the explanation seems to lie in the fact that this place was on the line of an early highroad leading from the capital, Anuradhapura, nearly due north-east to the port from which vessels sailed for the eastern coast of India. It is not surprising to find that some of the earliest monasteries were established on this well-known line of communications. The numerous cave shelters and the traditional associations of the Naval Nīrāvi site caused it to be chosen for perhaps the most important of them. At other rocky hills near the same line there are either early inscriptions or other Buddhist remains; while numerous fragments of an early type of pottery and the early coins found at Mulleittīvu, on the north-east coast, and described in another chapter, prove that this town also was a pre-Christian settlement. Of the inscription in question fortunately no less than three copies were cut, each over the entrance of a different rockshelter, or cave, that had been cleared out and prepared for the occupation of the ascetic monks to whose use it was made As is seen in other caves that have been used for this over. |


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Height: 20 feet
Spread: 15 feet
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Other Names: Purplebloom Maple
The ideal substitute for the coveted Japanese maples where they are not hardy, with similary fingered leaves, attractive tiered growth habit and shocking fall colors of yellow, orange, scarlet and red; does best in cool, moist conditions; use as an accent
Ornamental Features
Korean Maple is primarily valued in the landscape for its ornamental globe-shaped form. It features subtle clusters of creamy white flowers with purple bracts rising above the foliage in early spring before the leaves. It has attractive forest green deciduous foliage which emerges red in spring. The palmate leaves are highly ornamental and turn an outstanding scarlet in the fall. The rough gray bark and brick red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.
Landscape Attributes
Korean Maple is an open multi-stemmed deciduous tree with a more or less rounded form. Its average texture blends into the landscape, but can be balanced by one or two finer or coarser trees or shrubs for an effective composition.
This is a relatively low maintenance tree, and should only be pruned in summer after the leaves have fully developed, as it may 'bleed' sap if pruned in late winter or early spring. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Korean Maple is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Mass Planting
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Korean Maple will grow to be about 20 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 15 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 2 feet from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.
This tree does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This species is not originally from North America.


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If you are not extremely busy in today's society, you are the exception and not the rule. We are all in high gear; we overextend, overachieve, and overstress ourselves to the point of breaking. This can have lasting negative effects on our health! Here are a few ways to break the cycle:
It is so easy to be upset when things do not go our way. From the moment we spill our coffee, lock our keys in the car, and forget our lunch, a spiral of circumstances can set us off into a tailspin of negativity.
We can choose to stay in a state of discontent and let that dictate our day, or we can be grateful for the other things in our lives even if they are not present in front of us right now.
Did you ever notice that when something nice happens, we tend to smile for a moment and then move on? However, when something goes wrong, we feel the need to tell everyone and anyone that will listen. It is in those exact moments that we need to focus on what we are grateful for, and that is how we can instantly change our perspective and attitude.
Keeping the focus on gratitude offers your mind something to smile about, regardless of outside circumstances. Focusing on people, places, and even things that make you grateful, gives your mind a break from stress!
Everyone has a busy schedule; that is a fact. We all tend to create schedules that are overflowing and then complain that we do not have time for ourselves! Take a good hard look at your schedule and see what you can delete and what you can delegate. If you are going to have a healthy mind, you need to take care of it just as you would your body, and that means giving it some rest.
One tip for quieting your mind is to put it on your schedule. Put it in big red pen on your calendar, text yourself a reminder, and place it on your list of things to do this week. Take time for you.
Being in the moment has become a cliché; however, if you really take the time to focus on what it means, you can start to practice quietening your mind. Focus on what you are doing at the exact moment you are doing it. If you are washing a dish, focus on the water, the soap bubbles and the dish in your hand. When you take time to do this, you will be in the moment and not two days from now when something big is scheduled.
We'd love to hear from you, #share below some of your personal tips used to quiet your mind down.
Join our e-newsletter for special offers, tips, How To's, and promotions click here.


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When it comes to the Vitamin B12 Test in Raebareli, HealthcareOnTime delivers a seamless and client-centric experience. Our Vitamin B12 test is designed to provide crucial insights into your body's B12 level status, essential for addressing vitamin deficiencies effectively, priced at INR 854, and meticulously curated to ensure accurate results. Here's why our at-home lab test service stands out:
Our Vitamin B12 test provides a precise assessment of your body's Vitamin B12 levels, offering crucial insights into potential deficiencies. By analyzing serum B12 levels, this test delivers accurate information, enabling informed healthcare decisions for individuals concerned about their Vitamin B12 status
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(Cross-posted here)
According to the Jewish Federation of Orange County, The University of California at Irvine (UC Irvine) has suspended the Muslim Student Union (MSU) for one year and placed it on disciplinary probation for an additional year. The MSU is also required to collectively complete 50 hours of community service. As a result, it will not be allowed to conduct organized campus events until at least the fall of 2011.
According to a UCI campus document, suspension means that the recognition of the MSU organization has been revoked. No current executive officer listed on the Dean of Students registration application form will be allowed to act as an "authorized signer" for any other student organization at UC Irvine during the suspension. The effective dates pertaining to the suspension are from September 1, 2010 to August 31, 2011.
This action is the direct result of a campaign of hate,incitement and intimidation organized by the MSA against Zionists and Jewish students on campus. According to Roz Rothstein of Stand with Us:
The Muslim Student Union (MSU) and Muslim Student Association (MSA), allied with extremist groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), focus single-mindedly on one goal: demonizing Israel. This is not your normal student activism. MSU and MSA members are obsessively driven by their mission. They are determined, methodical, focused, well-funded and strictly organized. The leaders are usually devout and infuse religious and moral justifications into the movement, making hatred of Israel akin to a religious as well as social justice cause.
The MSU, MSA and SJP groups don't just plan actions for their own schools. SJP and the 600 MSU/MSA chapters across North America use the Internet to coordinate their anti-Israel strategies and to share their best practices. They exchange anti-Israel propaganda. They share fliers, props and slogans. They analyze what was effective and refine their tactics and execution for the upcoming year.
On February 8, 2010, Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren visited the Orange County, California campus to give a talk to UCI students and community members. During the 90-minute event, Oren was repeatedly interrupted by members of the Muslim Student Union, 11 of whom were arrested. One of those arrested was the president of the MSU at UCI. The investigation of this incident revealed the Muslim Student Union's organized plot to prevent Oren from delivering his presentation.
The MSU brought fringe speakers to the campus, including Malik Ali,a radical Islamic preacher whose primary goal is the overthrow of the American government and its replacement with an Islamic dictatorship. He declared during a campus speech just steps from the UC Irvine administration building, "Ya'll (Jews) are the new Nazi's." Ali also confirmed his public support for terrorist organizations Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.
The disciplinary action taken involving 11 students arrested was not disclosed because of laws meant to protect their privacy
Read more here
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ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 was developed in response to the need for a generic method for coding of text at very low bitrate as one of the multimedia components within an audiovisual presentation. ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 allows for example subtitles and Karaoke song texts to be coded and transported as separate text streams at bitrates that are sufficently low for use in mobile services over IP. Target applications are in particular found in areas with severe transmission bandwidth constraints, such as mobile services over IP. However, services over broadband IP, over broadcast channels and over optical media may also benefit from the low bandwidth of ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 text streams. ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 specifies a text stream as a concatenation of text access units. A text access unit contains text information of a specific format. For each text stream, the format of the text information within the text access units is signalled. Each text access unit within a text stream is intended to be displayed at a specific instance in time. Note that ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 signals the format of the text contained in text access units, but that it does not contain any text format specification.
Within ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006, a particular instance of text streams are 3GPP text streams. Each text access unit contained in a 3GPP text stream carries 3GPP Timed Text data, as specified in 3GPP TS 26.245. For 3GPP text streams, ISO/IEC 14496-17 2006 defines a generic framing structure suitable for transport of 3GPP text streams across a variety of networks, such as RTP for transport over IP, and MPEG-2 Systems for use in media such as broadcast and optical discs.
The flexible framing structure for text streams, consisting of so-called TTUs (Timed Text Units), allows for easy and convenient adaptation to the various transport layers. By using TTUs, multiple small text access units can be aggregated into one transport packet, but TTUs can also be used to fragment large text access units across multiple transport packets, while providing a reasonable level of error resilience in case of packet loss or non-recoverable packet errors. For each transport layer, the most suitable TTU structure can be chosen. If so desired, the text access units can be re-partitioned into TTUs for most effective adaptation to other transport systems.
Responsible Party
- edd4cd35-0236-4ea2-b043-387ddf147343


text:
Previous Lesson
Complete and Continue
SEO Strategies; beginner to advanced tactics *SkillsFuture Credit Eligible
Course welcome and introduction
Welcome to the course (1:37)
Exercise to start the course (1:56)
SEO Fundamentals
Introduction to SEO (1:16)
History of SEO (6:11)
SEO and new websites (1:58)
Top 5 SEO mistakes (3:09)
Domain authority and what used to be page rank (2:02)
Keyword research introduction
Keyword research introduction (1:29)
Keyword research walk-through (7:17)
Advanced keyword targeting (3:57)
Keyword exercise (1:26)
Targeting short-tail vs. long-tail searches (6:44)
On-page SEO
On-page SEO introduction (3:29)
Keyword density, and using keywords intelligently (2:13)
Anatomy of a good SEO page (7:17)
Cornerstone SEO pages (3:43)
Gray hat SEO, and when it is ok to do it, and when it is not (5:57)
Interlink your own pages for an SEO boost (2:59)
Advanced page interlinking (3:20)
Off page SEO
Off page SEO introduction (2:23)
Do follow vs. no follow links (3:12)
How to get links from press coverage and publicity (10:37)
Blogging and guest blogging for SEO (8:05)
Social media links? (1:12)
One of the oldest SEO link-building techniques that still works (3:30)
Forum posting for SEO (2:09)
Directory submission for SEO? Don't do this (0:42)
Blog commenting - don't do this just for SEO, but... (2:09)
Revive old posts plugin for SEO boost (3:13)
Smart and savvy SEO strategies
Smart non-Google SEO, and I don't mean Yahoo or Bing (6:53)
How to dominate all 10 Google search results (5:13)
Secret white hat strategy that will blow away competition (5:48)
Thumbnail and logo secret and case study (6:25)
How to write good titles and headlines that increase clickthrough (5:36)
SEO via established sites to rank in Google through them and not your website (2:55)
Example of how to use authoritative websites to rank in Google (7:31)
Search marketing with AdWords (3:11)
Powerful SEO strategy that almost no one talks about (4:35)
Growth hack for Quora and YouTube SEO and to get a lot of traffic (8:08)
How to cheaply get Facebook engagement to boost SEO (6:36)
How to post in Google Plus to boost SEO (5:51)
How to rank almost any page in Google search (7:03)
All algorithm domination (9:28)
New Lecture (2:14)
Google penalties - make sure to avoid these
The Panda penalty (1:46)
Penguin penalty (1:21)
More on link-building
What makes a good link: authority and relevance (6:41)
Before getting links, make sure you have something worthwhile to link to (4:28)
Link begging (2:45)
Viral or great content (3:03)
Link bait and controversy (2:52)
Events and SEO (6:11)
Looking at the links of your competitors (1:51)
Google alerts (1:22)
Drawing links from cornerstone content (3:43)
Links from your profile on Crunchbase (1:27)
Long-term, make your business an authoritative brand (2:12)
Links through relationships (1:39)
Paying for product reviews which come with a link (2:02)
Getting links by putting on events (3:21)
Social linking and re-sharing (1:36)
Post job openings (1:21)
Create discounts and post them on discount websites (2:05)
Sponsoring events (1:15)
How to write a press release (13:16)
SEO for your press release (4:46)
Great links from getting publicity (10:37)
How to make effective HARO pitches to get links from publicity (15:44)
How to rank your content in ALL of Google's top-10 results
Competition of your niche (4:07)
Competitor research (2:05)
Ranking your website in the top-10 of Google search results (4:50)
Ranking in the Google map of Google My Business (3:20)
Top 10 with Yelp (4:55)
Ranking YouTube in the top-10 of Google search results (4:46)
Top 10 through Amazon (4:05)
Top 10 through Facebook (3:39)
Top 10 through Twitter (2:27)
Top 10 through SlideShare (2:01)
Top 10 through Quora (2:53)
Top 10 through publicity (3:56)
Google News (1:59)
Top 10 parting words (1:45)
Precise On-Page SEO walk-through
First get the Yoast SEO plugin (1:32)
Site load speed plugin (1:15)
Page keyword density checker (1:09)
Google Analytics (0:55)
Google Keyword Planner (1:31)
Introduction to why keywords are important (3:06)
Short tail vs. long tail keywords (2:37)
How to balance short and long tail keywords to rank for all of them (6:06)
Keyword exercise to try (1:27)
How to get as much as possible from your keywords in meta tags (3:30)
Basic on page elements that are seen (4:04)
How long should each page be? (5:24)
Work to decrease bounce rate (4:40)
How to set the home page title/description of your WordPress site (2:45)
How to set the titles/description of regular blog posts (1:34)
Advanced keyword research
Disclaimer (0:50)
Example one of advanced keyword targeting (4:14)
Amazon book example (2:58)
Another advanced keyword strategy example (2:54)
Page per keyword strategy (2:06)
Cornerstone pages and advanced keywords (2:42)
Keyword tool setup (1:29)
Getting different keywords with the keyword tool (3:53)
Using ad groups for more keywords (2:20)
Limitation of keyword tools (1:55)
Exercise I did to walk and find keywords in the real world (4:16)
Thinking in keywords - exercise (3:32)
What to do long-term (3:10)
Advanced algorithm marketing
The magic of recommendation algorithms (3:16)
Which sites have recommendation algorithms (4:08)
Showing an example of recommendation algorithms at work (3:27)
Big websites (0:41)
Importance of engagement and reviews (3:10)
Be patience because some of these algorithms take time (0:49)
How to increase signals that help you get recommended (4:31)
Advertising to boost recommendations (2:42)
Recommending your own products to boost recommendations (1:54)
Recommending other big products to be recommended next to them (2:34)
More on influencing positive signals (10:22)
Additional! Napoleon Hill Course
The law of success
Link bait and controversy
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About this Artist
YOLANDA ADAMS has accomplished what few singers before her have ever achieved: The ability to attract fans from all walks of life without ever straying from the intricate roots that nurtured her Grammy-winning voice in the first place.
The cornerstone of her amazing career so far - 1999's platinum-plus, award winning Elektra Records debut, Mountain High…Valley Low (Yolanda once described it as her 'coming out album') established her as an undisputed Gospel siren - one of the key figures of the genre's bold renaissance. Yolanda's impressive musical range and undeniable charisma helped liberate Gospel music's more formal, traditional image. She's also displayed the kind of vocal immediacy and vulnerability possessed by few pop singers. Her show stopping October 2001 performance of the classic song "Imagine," on TNT's Come Together: A Night For John Lennon as well as her performances on Oprah, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The View and countless others, sealed her reputation as Gospel's most transcendent ambassador.
Honored with an incredible array of awards within the last 2 years alone, including 2000's Grammy award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album, five Stellar Awards, two Soul Train Lady Of Soul Awards, and five NAACP Image Awards, Yolanda followed up with last year's holiday gift to her fans, Christmas With Yolanda Adams, and 2001's acclaimed live album, The Experience. Now, after intense collaboration with some of the most revered producers working today, Yolanda steps back into the arena with her first collection of new material in three years - the incredible 12-song masterpiece - Believe.
"I always get asked the same question," says Yolanda, who takes an appreciative but modest attitude in regard to her ever-widening audience. "'Will you get tired of Gospel?' 'Is there a temptation to do something else?' My answer has always been the same. 'No way.' I'm a Gospel artist. There's no confusion about that. I like to sing songs that in the end touch everybody. There's a humanity to these songs that gets in your blood."
Believe runs deep with that humanity. Emboldened by another lineup of great producers - Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (who also produced her multi-format smash hit "Open My Heart" which spent most of 2000 at #1 on Billboard's Gospel and Contemporary Christian charts), Shep Crawford, Kevin Bond, Mike City, Warryn Campbell and Buster & Shavoni - Yolanda raises the musical bar on this one, strengthening her own formidable song writing skills to meet the challenges she places on herself. "I like to work with great people because it makes me work harder," she says.
Yolanda points out that working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis was a long awaited reunion. The superstar duo helms three songs on the new disc - "I'm Gonna Be Ready," "Never Give Up," and the album's in-your-face closer, "I'm Thankful." The angelic, inspiring "Never Give Up" shines as one of Yolanda's most tender ballads, singing heartfelt lines such as: Keep the dream alive don't ever let it die. "It was a joy to write. Getting together with Jimmy and Terry was like having a reunion with your big brothers," she says. "They have such great spirit and heart. I believe we'll be collaborating for the rest of my career. When we get together, it's so natural, it's like 'OK, I have this title - I have this verse - what do you have?'"
On Believe, Yolanda switches musical gears from song to song with an amazing ability to complement each producer's unique style. She talks about some of the diverse ingredients on Believe. "There's Mike City ("A Song Of Faith," "Unconditional") who is very good with taking risks - he's a young cat who you know is going to bring some real progressive ideas," she says. "And then you have someone like Shep Crawford ("I Gotta Believe," "Fo' Sho") who lets you get in there and really express yourself." The latter song features a duet with Gospel legend and recently signed Elektra artist Karen Clarke Sheard - of the Clarke Sisters. "I have been a fan of hers since I was 11 years old," says Yolanda. "I was so thrilled that she could contribute something to this record. It's so wonderful when you have the opportunity to actually show your appreciation to one of your influences."
Yolanda's incredible rise has been about honoring those influences, but also never being afraid to - as she puts it - "spread my wings." Her road to the top of the musical 'mountain' has been filled with the kind of conviction that now causes a new generation of singers to cite her as an influence. A former schoolteacher and avid church singer, the Houston Texas native - and the eldest of six siblings - diligently pursued a singing career.
She caught the eye of prolific composer/producer Thomas Whitfield, who helmed her first-ever record with the prophetic title, Just As I Am in 1987. It wasn't too long before the young singer was drawing comparisons to Aretha Franklin. Subsequent albums (on Gospel labels Verity and Tribute), including 1991's Through The Storm, netted Yolanda several Stellar Awards, and 1995's R&B flavored, award-winning More Than A Melody would establish her as a force to be reckoned with - Gospel or otherwise. The latter disc garnered Yolanda her first Soul Train Lady Of Soul Award, as well as her first Grammy nomination.
Yolanda also began to establish herself as one of the genre's most sought after live attractions. Her incredible performances would soon become legendary throughout the entire music industry. Her 1996 album Yolanda… Live In Washington furthered her reputation as a one-of-a-kind performer, and landed her yet another Stellar Award and another Grammy nomination. But it was the ground breaking Elektra debut, Mountain High…Valley Low that would change Yolanda's life forever.
A veritable testament to Yolanda's tremendous faith, it was also a nod to her incredible musical savvy. Enlisting producers such as Keith Thomas and the above-mentioned Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Yolanda saw the move to Elektra as a chance to expand her reach without "watering down" her message. Only her seventh album, it captured the amazing potential of Yolanda without sacrificing her commitment to God. Said one rave review: "Much of the album recalls Stevie Wonder or Bob Marley, where spirituality is at the center but it doesn't limit the musical expression."
The album spawned a host of sold out tours, such as her Sisters In The Spirit Tour (with Gospel superstars Shirley Caesar, Mary Mary and Angela Christie), from which her live CD, The Experience, was born. There was no doubt that Yolanda's inventive, unforgettable performances were attracting new and old fans alike.
Despite all the accolades Yolanda's crowning achievement was the birth of her baby girl, Taylor Ayana. Says Yolanda about that 'experience': "You really don't know what love is until you have a child. No matter how tired I am after a show or how distracted I might be after a long recording session - all I have to do is see her little smile and I know everything is right in the world."
With the completion of Believe, Yolanda is again excited by the prospects of sharing her new music with the world. "I've grown as a songwriter and a performer and I'm eager to spread those creative wings again," she says. Aware that the country may be hungering even more for a spiritual message these days, Yolanda's album title hints at what the new disc can offer in the way of spiritual redemption. "Music has always been a potent force. I'm proud that this album addresses the spectrum of life. It deals with struggles and relationships and sadness and joy. Our music - Gospel music - has always been a comfort to those who are looking for some kind of encouragement in their lives."


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Check out this great collection of period skull illusions and Halloween costumes. Some of those early century clowns will put the fear of God into you, I tell you whut.
In other fun Halloween history news, Archaeology magazine has collected all kinds of different Halloween-themed witches-and-vampires finds and articles here. You might have even seen me blog about one of two of them in the past.
I love this one about the urine and bellybutton lint in the witch bottle, and this article about evidence of spellcasting in Cornwall.
Lastly, enjoy the most adorable skeleton art from artist Olaf Breuning in the gardens of the Villa Medici in Rome.
Villa Medici belongs to the French government, and they have a program where artists apply to live there for a while and just make art. The Villa and its grounds make for a dramatic backdrop in all kinds of media.
I've never seen skeletons with so much joie de vivre.


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The world inside Mark Zandi's computer model feels pretty familiar. It's full of people who are worried about the economy. Their homes are being foreclosed on. They're paying more for gas. Something like 13 million of them can't find jobs.
Zandi is the chief economist at Moody's Analytics, and he built his model to predict what's going to happen in the real world. When he plugs what he thinks is going to happen in the real world, his model spits out a pretty grim result: Four years from now, the unemployment rate will be 6.6 percent. That's lower than today, but still much higher than the 5 percent rate that was typical before the recession.
I recently sat down with Zandi, and gave him a challenge: Fix the economy in the world inside your computer. Try to ensure that, four years from now, the unemployment rate inside the computer will get back down to 5 percent.
Zandi starts big: He fixes the U.S. government. Republicans and Democrats work together to agree on a long term plan to deal with the country's debt through a mix of tax increases and spending cuts.
The computer chews on this unlikely event for a few seconds, solving equations, calculating some 1700 variables. It tells us that, four years from now, the unemployment rate will be 6.1 percent.
"Still uncomfortably high," Zandi says.
Next up: Gas prices. Zandi brings down the price of a barrel of oil by about $20. The price of gas in the U.S. falls to $3 a gallon.
This, sadly, only reduces unemployment by a tenth of one percent. Zandi's not surprised.
"Gasoline prices are outsized in our thinking," he says. "But when it comes down to brass tacks. still a small proportion."
On to Europe.
Let's make sure the euro survives. Inside Zandi's computer, the European economy is going to grow. Not grow like crazy, but grow more than it's growing now. That means more U.S. exports to Europe. And it means that U.S. unemployment four years from now will be 5.9 percent.
Still too high. In fact, It is surprisingly hard to get back to a 5 percent unemployment rate in the world inside Zandi's computer.
But we keep trying. We boost home prices by 10 percent. We make banks lend out more money. We raise consumer confidence. We still can't get to 5 percent unemployment. It's time to get crazy.
We make people not just confident, but super confident. We cut the price of a barrel of oil in half. We give Europe a spectacular recovery. China keeps growing. Africa takes off.
We let the computer rip. In 2016, it tells us, the unemployment rate will be 5.2 percent. No matter what we do, we can't seem to get the unemployment rate down to 5 percent.
"What's happening is the economy is reaching its new limits," Zandi says.
This is something I hadn't really appreciated before. When you go through a really big, catastrophic recession, it's not always possible to fix things.
Millions of people lost their jobs in the recession. At the same time new high school and college grads started looking for jobs.
The economy just can't grow fast enough to absorb the backlog. Zandi says we'll have an extra million people looking for jobs, and unable to find them.
"We dug ourselves a huge hole," Zandi says, "Its gonna take a generation to get completely out of it."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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In our everyday life we are surrounded by a variety of people. Some of the people we deal with on a daily basis are a joy to be with, and their loving presence nurtures and encourages us. Others may have the opposite effect, draining us of our energy, making us feel tired and exhausted. Our well-being can be easily influenced by those around us, and if we can keep this in mind, we will have greater insights into the quality of our social interactions and their energetic effect on us.
Once we think more deeply about the people we interact with, it becomes easier for us to work toward filling our lives with people who help us cultivate healthy and positive relationships. Even though it might not always seem like we have much control over who we are with, we do. The power to step back from toxicity lies within us. All we have to do is take a few moments to reflect on how another person makes you feel. Assessing the people we spend the most time with allows us to see if they add something constructive to, or subtract from, our lives. Should a friend sap our strength, for example, we can simply set the intention to tell them how we feel or simply spend less time with them. We will find that the moment we are honest with ourselves about our own feelings, the more candid we can be with others about how they make us feel. While this may involve some drastic changes to our social life it can bring about a personal transformation that will truly empower us, since ! the decision to live our truth will infuse our lives with greater happiness.
When we surround ourselves with positive people, we clear away the negativity that exists around us and create more room to welcome nurturing energy. Doing this not only enriches our lives but also envelopes us in a supportive and healing space that fosters greater growth, understanding, and love of ourselves as well as those we care about.


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Titanfall – 57% Off, Farcry 4 – 50% Off, Assassin's Creed Unity – 50% Off, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified – 75% …AND MANY MORE!
Be sure not to miss the weekly G2A Gaming Sale, offering up to 80% off on selected games!
G2A is an online web store where you can find a wide range of popular games and many other products. Unlike many other companies,G2A does not sell games/products in boxes. All their game keys are electronically distributed via email only. They will provide you with a fully legitimate and official electronic key to activate a product of your choice. When you have the game key on your email you then submit it on a proper platform, i.e. Steam, Origin or Uplay, and download the files from there. Therefore, the whole buying process is fast, reliable and free of any shipping fees! The key is sent to your mailbox in just a few minutes after the payment is received.
Click on the below link to take advantage of many exclusive offers:
You can buy a huge selection of games at ridiculously low prices!
Here is just a sneak preview of this week's hottest deals:


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First of all I want to make it clear that we're not speaking about terrorist attacks here. This question is strictly dedicated to war operations, in a dictionary meaning.
Also this question is about all the history of military conflicts, not only World War II.
Surely everybody heard about suicide missions of kamikaze, Imperial Japanese Army Air Service suicide plane attacks against American warships during World War II. Around 4000 sacrificed aviators succeeded to destroy at least 47 ships and damage 300 of them. Similar conceptions in the Empire of Japan were Shinyo suicide boats, Kaiten submarines and Fukuryu suicide divers.
But this strategy wasn't used only by Japanese military forces. Also Luftwaffe used it in the closing stage of the war. From 17 April until 20 April 1945 (during the Battle of Berlin) 35 pilots of the Leonidas Squadron flew suicide sorties against bridges at the Oder river, which now is a borderline between Germany and Poland.
I'm also aware of the already asked question Is there a written history on the Sonderkommando Elbe? regarding the similarities of that Luftwaffe unit, used against American bombers, with the difference that the aviators were expected to bail out just before colliding.
The question is, are there any other examples of organizing intentional suicide attacks in a theater of war?


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(CNN) -- After more than a month on the run, a man accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and an Orlando police officer has been captured, officials said Tuesday night.
Markeith Loyd is suspected of shooting Sade Dixon on December 13 and police Lt. Debra Clayton outside a Walmart on January 9.
Loyd's alleged rampage touched off a multiagency manhunt. An investigation led authorities to an abandoned house in Orlando's Carver Shores area, where Loyd was arrested, Orlando police Chief John Mina said in a news conference.
Dressed in body armor and carrying two handguns, Loyd tried to flee out a back door and then the front. Mina says Loyd resisted arrest and was injured when police used force.
In video, Loyd's face appears to be swollen and bruised, and he said: "They beat me up! They beat me up!" as he walked past reporters. Mina said that an investigation into the force used against Loyd will be conducted, which is standard procedure.
'A sigh of relief'
Officers applauded as the top brass gathered in a hallway of police headquarters before the news conference.
Loyd was placed in Clayton's handcuffs during his arrest, Mina said.
"To put her handcuffs on the bad guy that she was trying to catch when she was killed ... it's meaningful," Mina said. "It's something that we wanted to do for the family and for the law enforcement community."
The arrest was bittersweet, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said, coming the day after Clayton's funeral.
Someone at the store had contacted Clayton and told her Loyd was in the area, police said at the time. Loyd allegedly shot Clayton when she tried to approach him.
Loyd was to be charged with two counts of murder later Tuesday in the deaths of Dixon and Clayton, Demings said.
He also faces charges of attempted murder and aggravated assault for injuries Dixon's family sustained in the alleged encounter.
More arrests to come
Three people have been arrested for allegedly helping Loyd evade capture, and more arrests are expected, Mina said.
Police arrested Lakensha Smith Loyd, one of Loyd's nieces, on January 11. Orange County deputies said in an arrest affidavit that she contacted people on behalf of her uncle after Dixon's death. She indicated she was in contact with him after the shooting, the affidavit said.
She allegedly went to a restaurant where her uncle worked to pick up $200 as Loyd tried to avoid arrest.
A day earlier, police arrested Zarghee Mayan, who deputies said failed to contacted authorities after Loyd told him he killed Dixon.
Jameis Slaughter, Loyd's ex-girlfriend, is accused of being an accessory after the fact. Authorities said she collected money for Loyd and lied to police about her communication with the suspect.
Slaughter said Loyd told her police would have to kill him because he wasn't going back to prison, according to an affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities said the car of Jamesia Slaughter, Jameis's twin sister, was seen near the Walmart 90 minutes after Clayton was killed.
Clayton was a master sergeant in the police department at the time of her killing; she was posthumously promoted to lieutenant.
CNN's John Couwels and Susannah Cullinane contributed to this report.
™ & © 2017 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Foundation: 25-Year Limited Warranty
Have a question about delivery? (888) 811‑5053This 25 year limited warranty is valid only for foundations purchased prior to March 1, 2014.
Tempur Production USA, LLC ("Tempur-Pedic") warrants that we will, at Tempur-Pedic's option, replace or repair purchaser's Tempur-Pedic® foundation if it is defective due to faulty workmanship or materials, subject to the limitations described in this warranty.
This warranty covers the following items during normal wear:
- Structural damage/broken components
- Squeaks, rattles or noises
- Sagging that is not associated with use of an improper bed frame.
A proper bed frame must provide sturdy support for both the mattress and foundation; including a center support and having at least 6 legs. For queen, king, and cal king slatted style bed frames, it is incumbent upon purchaser to ensure that the frame utilized offers ample structural support for that particular slatted style frame. Failure to have a proper bed frame may invalidate the warranty.
Please Note: Tempur-Pedic highly recommends a 3 bed beam support system (provided by Tempur-Pedic at an additional cost) or a support system of similar quality that is designed specifically to give slatted style bed frames additional structural support.
Some examples of proper bed frames are shown below:
This warranty does not cover:
- Structural damage from using an improper bed frame. See above description and illustrations for a proper bed frame.
- Physical abuse or damage to the structure and/or cover material, including but not limited to, burns, cuts, tears, or liquid damage.
- Replacement of another piece in the Tempur-Pedic sleep system, unless other piece is also defective.
Year 1 through 10 – Full Coverage
During the first ten (10) years of this warranty, Tempur-Pedic will not charge purchaser to repair or replace purchaser's foundation if it is deemed defective, but any transportation costs associated with repairs or replacements are purchaser's responsibility. In no event will the transportation costs exceed Tempur-Pedic's then-standard freight charges.
Year 11 through 25 – Prorated Coverage
During years 11 through 25 of this warranty Tempur-Pedic will, at its option, repair the foundation at a handling cost to purchaser, or replace the foundation at a prorated charge to purchaser plus transportation costs. If Tempur-Pedic replaces the foundation, the prorated replacement charge purchaser pays will depend on when the foundation is replaced.
If the foundation is replaced during the eleventh year of this warranty, the prorated replacement charge purchaser pays will be fifty (50) percent of the original purchase price.
If the mattress is replaced after the eleventh year but before the twenty-first year, the prorated replacement charge purchaser pays will increase by five (5) percent for each subsequent year of the prorated period (i.e., 55% of the original purchase price if replaced during year twelve; 60% of the original purchase price if replaced during year thirteen, etc.) If the mattress is replaced in year 21 or any point thereafter prior to expiration of the limited warranty, the prorated replacement charge purchaser pays will the same as if the mattress was replaced in year 20 of the limited warranty period.
Tempur-Pedic foundations are designed to work in conjunction with a Tempur-Pedic mattress. This warranty and other performance warranties are based on tests conducted on "sets" that consist of our mattresses and foundations. Tempur-Pedic foundations should be placed on a bed frame that is structurally capable of supporting the weight of the purchaser's Tempur-Pedic mattress, foundation, and user(s). IF PURCHASER USES INAPPROPRIATE BED FRAMES WITH THIS FOUNDATION, SUCH USE WILL VOID THIS WARRANTY AND ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Tempur-Pedic may require proof of the quality of bed frame if purchaser makes a claim under this warranty. Tempur-Pedic reserves the right to invalidate this warranty if the foundation is found to be in an unsanitary condition.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has created the Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattress Sets in Federal Register 16 CFR Part 1633. Foundations are specified for use with particular mattresses and therefore use outside of these specifications, should not be construed as 16 CFR Part 1633 compliant.
This warranty is valid only for the original purchaser from the original purchase date of the original product purchased. An original purchaser is one who purchases the product directly from Tempur-Pedic or an authorized retailer of Tempur-Pedic. If purchaser is not the original purchaser of this product, he/she takes it "as is" and "with all faults." If the purchase of this mattress was not directly from Tempur-Pedic, proof of purchase will be required to demonstrate that purchaser is the original purchaser and eligible to make a valid claim under this warranty.
In the event a warranty claim is filed and a warranty replacement is deemed necessary, purchaser will be required to surrender the original product to Tempur-Pedic at the time of replacement.
You may contact Tempur-Pedic's Customer Service Department by calling toll-free 1-800-821-6621 or by sending an email to email@example.com.
This warranty gives the purchaser specific legal rights, and the purchaser may also have other rights, which may vary from state to state.


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Found skipping over scorched red dirt and spinifex (coastal grass), or seeking shade in sweet-scented eucalyptus forest, the kangaroo is as unique as the ancient landscapes it symbolizes. An iconic wildlife emblem of Australia loved around the globe.
About the coin: Made of 99.99% pure gold (24K), the gold kangaroo series holds a legal tender value backed by the Australian Government and minted in six different denominations (in Australian dollars): 3,000, 100, 50, 25, 15, 5 (1 Kilo, 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/10 oz), respectively. Own it today from a PNG dealer with 60+ years of experience!
Any comparative pricing and population values were current at the time this listing was created. Pricing and pop values are subject to change. 100% RISK FREE SATISFACTION GUARANTEE. Take your time and check out your merchandise up close and personal and see for yourself that it is everything we say it is! Mint State Gold does not!
Love it or send it back! NO hassles, NO excuses, NO delays... PNG membership is an honor and privilege restricted to the world's most highly respected rare coin and precious metal dealers. About the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG). PNG's Code of Ethics and Standards for membership require that PNG only accept the most ethical professionals as members. Every PNG member MUST adhere to the strict Code of Ethics and Standards set forth by PNG. Admittance to PNG is voted upon by the PNG membership. PNG Collector's Bill of Rights (see below). A note from Barry Stuppler, PNG member since 1982, and the Founder and President of Mint State Gold, a division of Stuppler & Co. Serving on the PNG Board of Directors for the past three years, I have had the privilege of experiencing first-hand why PNG is the premier organization for Rare Coin and Precious Metal Professionals. Barry Stuppler PNG member #334. Currently sits on the PNG Board of Directors; elected to the Board in 2009. 1982 co-founder of The Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA) and current member of ICTA Board of Directors. ICTA serves as the national trade association for all dealers, collectors, and investors. The ANA is the world's largest numismatic organization, with over 30,000 members.Current President of the California Coin and Bullion Merchants Association (CCBMA). Founded Stuppler & Company, Inc. Com's parent company) in 1995. One of the nation's most well known and highly respected coin dealers. 50+ year veteran in the rare coin & precious metal community.
PNG Collector's Bill of Rights. To reaffirm PNG's commitment to collectors and the numismatic fraternity, the Professional Numismatists Guild has adopted a Collector's Bill of Rights. This ten-point pledge of consumer protection and education puts extra security into the hands of collectors, letting them know they can do business in the way it should be done --- in a professional manner and with dealers of the highest integrity, who will stand behind the merchandise they sell. The Professional Numismatists Guild is proud to present this pledge to the numismatic community. Not use high pressure sales tactics. Do our best to educate our clients or direct them to resources. Submit to PNG arbitration in any unresolved dispute and abide by the arbitrator's decision. CoinStats is the best investment tool for rare coin investors.Exclusively for clients of Mint State Gold (a div of Stuppler & Co). CoinStats is an investment tool that enables numismatic investors and collectors to maximize their return when selecting rare coins. Through in-depth statistical analysis of popular rare coin series, CoinStats identifies the best. We are proud to offer this unique and outstanding investment tool exclusively to our clients.
Why is CoinStats so helpful to rare coin investors? Since 1960, our President and Founder, Barry Stuppler, has been helping develop numismatic investment strategies for thousands of highly successful rare coin investors and collectors. About 15 years ago, based on speaking with a number of rare coin investors who were also active in the stock market, Barry realized that there were many similarities between identifying undervalued stocks and undervalued rare coins. He realized that the similarities between stocks and rare coins could be helpful in forming numismatic investment strategies if he could just harvest and properly formulate the needed information. That's when CoinStats was born. Barry started out with the "market capitalization" (market cap) of each coin in the five most popular series of rare U. For stocks: market cap = number of shares outstanding X price per share. For Rare Coins: market cap = population X price. Population is determined by the number of coins graded by NGC, plus the number of coins graded by PCGS; Price is based on the PCGS current list price. The first step in identifying undervalued coins is comparing the market cap of coins based on the formula above. CoinStats then goes on to compare the decrease in population of the next higher grade, to the increase in price of that grade.The largest percentage of decrease in population for the next higher grade, combined with the highest percentage increase in price, identifies the. As collectors and investors are priced out of the market for the next higher grade, their attention turns to these.
CoinStats has consistently helped investors outperform even the overall market in investment-quality coins for the past 15 years. CoinStats is provided FREE of charge to all current clients! Stuppler & Company (parent company of Mint State Gold) is pleased to provide all current clients with a free copy of our current issue of CoinStats. Our highly experienced numismatist advisors are available to answer any questions regarding CoinStats and look forward to assisting you with your coin investment portfolio. A PQ (Premium Quality) sticker is awarded to rare coins that pass a strict grading standard created by Barry Stuppler, a well-known and highly respected dealer with over 50 years of experience in the numismatic industry.
The founder of the PQ Approved sticker, Mr. Barry Stuppler, is a former President of the American Numismatic Association, the country's largest coin association, where he focused on consumer protection.
Barry is also one of the original supporters of the first major grading service, The Professional Coin and Grading Service (PCGS). Barry has a long history of helping collectors and investors to build several of the highest quality and most expensive collections of investment quality rare coins in the world! Based on Barry's experience and expertise he has developed a stringent set of grading standards for PCGS/NGC capsulated coins that when met, those exceptional coins are awarded the esteemed GOLD PQ STICKER. The stringent standards for being awarded a GOLD PQ STICKER are based on the strong desirability of these coins to both beginning and experienced collectors/investors in rare coins. Buyers have shown they want well-struck rare coins that have brilliant surfaces and no planchet problems or die defects.
This criteria is not considered by other services that offer stickers, and makes finding a coin with a GOLD PQ STICKER a true beauty to have. Only the highest quality coin, which historically has proven to offer the best appreciation and liquidity compared to similar non-PQ graded coins.
CAC (Certified Acceptance Corporation) is a prestigious certification awarded to coins that meet a set of grading standards set by John Albanese with regards to the coins originality. Albanese is the founder of CAC, a leading member of the numismatic community, and an authority on coin grading. For quality-conscious collectors, dealers, and investors, a green CAC sticker on an encapsulated coin has significant meaning and CAC coins often command a premium over their contemporary counterparts. Allow 3-5 days to clear. All orders in the continental U.We do our best to accommodate special requests, however, extra charges may apply. We haven't built our business on clients keeping coins they're unhappy with. If you are unsatisfied with your.
Or instructions for returning the item pre-paid. Bullion items are priced according to daily market rates. (a division of Stuppler & Company). 410 Woodland Hills, CA 91367. This item is in the category "Coins & Paper Money\Bullion\Gold\Coins".The seller is "verypq" and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States.


text: Made of 20 gauge steel, Salsbury key keepers are available as surface mounted units or recessed mounted units and feature a durable powder coated finish. A key keeper allows the U.S.P.S. or other individuals to access a key and deliver the mail and are useful when restricted access to a building or mailroom is required.


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Smooth Strokes
We have all seen it at our local club ride or on TV, athletes with a seemingly effortless pedal stroke, turning an incredible cadence, power flowing to the pedals without any wasted motion or energy. Smooth and efficient transfer of energy from body to bike results in quicker times in the bike leg and leaving more reserves for the run leg. Armstrong harnessed a quicker and more efficient pedal stroke to help in his domination of the last three Tours. Competitors could not overlook his obviously quicker and more efficient pedaling style. Yes, we have seen it, read it, and heard it but have we practiced what is seemingly a key to success in the cycling discipline?
Triathletes spend incredible amounts of time and energy into refining swim stroke technique and an energy saving running style. The pedaling stroke is often overlooked; after all we have all been riding bikes since childhood. This is akin to saying you won't drown and that's good enough. And since the bike leg is always proportionally longer in time than the other legs of a triathlon, it starts to make sense that efficiency on the bike may warrant some serious thought and effort in your training regime.
Where do you start on your quest for that energy efficient smoothness? First off has to be bike fit. All talk about pedaling dynamics doesn't matter if your bike fit doesn't allow you to use your muscles in an effective manner. Correct fit makes learning and utilizing good pedaling mechanics much easier and will keep you more efficient (and injury free) in the long run. Proper bicycle fit will allow you to use the most of the correct muscle mass to apply force to the pedals.
The next step is to develop an efficient application of force. What this involves is applying force to the pedals during then entire 360 degrees that make up the pedal stroke. You can utilize a simple drill to help teach your nervous system and ready your musculature to apply force all the way around. This one legged pedaling drill will make you aware of deficiencies in pedal stroke and will stress the muscles in your legs that are not being used to their potential. Set your bike up on an indoor trainer and place a chair on each side of your bicycle. After a warm up period, place one foot on a chair, make sure that your hips are still square, and pedal a short interval with one leg only. Concentrate on the top and bottom sections of the pedal stroke, the areas where it is the most difficult to apply force. You should attempt to slide your foot forward inside your shoe as you clear the top of the stroke and slide your foot back inside your shoe across the bottom. As your foot starts to come up again, just try to carry the momentum back to the top. You are not attempting to apply an upward force, you are just unloading the weight of your leg from the pedal so that the opposing leg does not have to waste any energy lifting that dead weight. A cue you can use here is to attempt to throw your knee over the handlebar. A visual indicator you can use during this drill is to look at the top run of your chain. If the chain droops momentarily, that is a point within your pedal stroke where you are not applying tension on the chain, which indicates you are not applying the correct force to the pedal. Start this drill at a slow cadence so you can concentrate fully on correct form. Gradually increase your cadence while maintaining this form and continue the interval only a long as this form holds true. You can start with 30-second intervals and work up to one minute per leg. Alternate legs and periodically use both feet concentrating on the form you were using with one leg. More than likely you will feel fatigued in strange muscles that you have been underutilizing, usually the hip flexors (in front of your hip joint) and anterior tibialis (in front of your shin). Remember to only perform this at a cadence and time interval that allows perfect form.
The next factor to consider in your quest for efficiency is cadence. Practicing and implementing a higher cadence during your cycling will give you a deadly double-edged sword: First, the higher your cadence, the less force you must apply at the pedals to generate the same power. Less force applied to the pedals means less stress applied to the musculature of your legs, leaving you more reserves for the run. You can, of course, apply the same force with a higher cadence to achieve a higher speed as well. Second, the higher speed at which your feet move through a pedal cycle results in a smaller time interval during which you have to apply this force. Basically you have less time to apply the force during each crank revolution since you are getting through the cycle faster. The effectiveness of this one-two punch can also be better understood if we think about some physics here. Power is defined as the product of force and velocity. A higher cadence diminishes the force and the length of time you apply this force per pedal stroke. The result is less power produced per pedal stroke. This is what saves your musculature. Just ask Professor Armstrong about that equation. You can use high cadence drills to teach your nervous system to operate in this more efficient manner. Use a low gear that keeps you well in your aerobic HR zones and do 5-10 minute intervals at a cadence between 107 and 130. Relax your upper body and feet, be smooth and supple with your legs. No bouncing in the saddle! Remember that you are specifically stressing foot speed here, not force, so the force you apply to the pedals should be very low. Recover for the same amount of time at a lower cadence of 90 to 100. Use various hand positions during these drills to make sure you can use a fast cadence no matter how your body is positioned on your machine. You can also stress using correct cadence while fatigued by doing these intervals at the end of a long ride. Recovery rides provide another opportunity to do these drills since the muscular stress is so low. The ultimate goal of this drill is that you engrain this fast cadence into your neuromuscular system and employ it in all your rides. The accompanying chart describes a sample workout for both the single leg pedaling drills covered earlier and these high cadence drills. This chart is only a sample of the many variations that you can add to these very effective drills.
The optimal part of your training year to focus on your pedaling skills and the described drills is during the early base building periods. During these periods intensity is low so it is much easier to focus on efficiency. Also, the skills and motor patterns that make up an efficient pedal stroke must be learned at lower force and aerobic intensity levels before you can carry them over at high force and aerobic intensity levels.
Once you have mastered the efficient application of force and adopted a quicker pedaling cadence you will be well on your way to harnessing more power, higher efficiency, and less leg fatigue on the bike leg. You will be able to sustain a higher average speed during the bike and feel less muscle fatigue when you leave T2. Your competitors may notice something different about your pedaling style as you scream past them on the bike leg in all your efficient glory or float past them on the run on your fresh and springy legs. You will definitely notice the improved results brought to you by your newly acquired skills.
Single Leg Pedaling Drills:
Set 1: 30 seconds right leg, 30 seconds left leg, 30 seconds both legs focusing on form at a comfortable cadence. Repeat 3 times
5 minutes easy recovery riding
Set 2: 45 second right leg, 45 seconds left leg, 30 seconds both legs focusing on form at comfortable cadence. Repeat 3 times.
5 minutes easy recovery riding
Set 3: 1 minute right leg, 1 minute left leg, 1 minute both legs focusing on form at comfortable cadence. Repeat 3 times.
A good goal is to try to get 6-9 minutes on each individual leg per workout. Remember to only use a cadence and interval length that allows you to hold perfect form. Gradually increase interval time and cadence and decrease the recovery period as your skill improves and your neuromuscular system adapts.
High Cadence Drills:
Set 1: 5 minutes at cadence of 107-115, hands on tops and brake hoods.
8 minutes easy recovery riding
Set 2: 5 minutes at cadence of 115-125, hands on brake hoods and drops or aero bars.
8 minutes easy recovery riding
Set 3: 5 minutes at cadence of 115-125, with 20-second bursts of 125-130, hands on brake hoods and aero bars.
Remember that your goal here is foot speed, not force. Relax that upper body and feet and no bouncing! Gradually increase the length of the interval and reduce the recovery interval as your body adapts.
Seiji Ishii is a CTS Cycling/Multisport Coach and USA Cycling Expert Level Coach. For more information on CTS and to order coaching, visit the web site at
Order training books in our bookstore at http://www.roadcycling.com/shopping/bookstore


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Viewpoint Level 1
Student's Book with Online Course A (Includes Online Workbook)
English Type
American English
Unavailable - out of print
1 Paperback, 2 Static online product
Product description
Viewpoint is an innovative course that's based on extensive research into the Cambridge English Corpus, taking students from a high intermediate to advanced level of proficiency (CEFR: B2 – C1).
Each Student's Book contains approximately 90 hours of material across 12 topic-based units. Viewpoint Student's Book, Level 1 is at the Higher Intermediate level (B2). This version of the Student's Book also contains an activation code that grants access to the Online Course and Online Workbook, Level 1 for 12 months. The Online Course contains online versions of all the lessons in the Student's Book with a wide variety of practice activities, communicative activities and language presentations. The Online Workbook provides additional practice activities.
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Empower Starter/A1
Workbook with AnswersEmpower Second Edition is a six-level general English course for adult and young adults. The course is available at six levels, from beginner to advanced (CEFR A1 to C1).
Author: Rachel GodfreyEnglish Type: British EnglishCEF Level: A1Publication date: January 2022
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Azure Site Recovery Available In Japan East and Japan West
Published date: August 21, 2014
Azure Site Recovery is now available in Japan East and Japan West with the same service-level agreement coverage available in other regions worldwide. Azure Site Recovery can help you protect important applications by coordinating the replication and recovery of private clouds across sites, whether you're protecting dozens or hundreds of virtual machines. You can protect your applications to your own second site, a hoster's site, or even use Azure as your disaster recovery site (preview) and avoid the expense and complexity of building and managing your own secondary location.For more information about services' regional availability, visit our Azure Regions page.


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How much debt will I have to take on to pay for Concorde Career College - Portland, and how easily will I pay it off? Keep scrolling down the page for answers.
At Concorde Career College - Portland, 70.0% of incoming students take out a loan to help defray freshman year costs, averaging $6,175 a piece. This amount includes both private and federally-funded student loans.
The average federal loan is $5,681, which is 103.3% of the first-year borrowing cap of $5,500* for the typical first-year dependent student.
Unlike the data shown for freshmen, average undergraduate student loan amounts do not include private loans. In addition to unreported parent loans, this can increase the average amount borrowed significantly.
61.0% of all undergraduate students (including freshmen) at Concorde Career College - Portland utilize federal student loans to help pay for their college education, averaging $5,943 per year. This amount is 4.6% higher than the $5,681 amount borrowed by freshmen. The fact that returning students borrow more than freshmen could indicate that the school front-loads financial aid packages, offering more aid to new students while expecting returning students to take on larger loans to continue their education.
Borrowing the average amount will result in loans of $11,886 after two years and $23,772 after four.
These numbers are based on borrowing the same amount each year and do not include any loans where the parent is the borrower, even though Parent PLUS loans are frequently included in financial aid packages.
Were you surprised by how much you are projected to owe by the time you graduate? Remember this is an average: some students will borrow more than this.
Is the debt worth it? Research return on investment.
Loan default rates can indicate how well Concorde Career College - Portland is helping students afford to attend college without undue reliance on loans, particularly unsubsidized loans. It can also indicate future earnings and career potential. Pay close attention to this statistic. You don't want to take out loans you can't pay back.
A total of 490 Concorde Career College - Portland students entered loan repayment in 2017. After three years, 12.2% of these students (60 out of 490) defaulted on their loans. The lower the default rate, the better!
The chart below compares this college to the average 3-year default rate calculated across all of the 4-year schools we have data for.
What does the default rate mean?
A student is considered to be in default on a student loan if they have not made a payment in more than 270 days. The official student loan default rate for a school is calculated by measuring how many students are in default three years after graduation. Note that the default rate only takes into account federal loans, not private.
When compared to the average three-year default rate of 9.3%, the default rate at Concorde Career College - Portland is poor. This could indicate that students attending Concorde Career College - Portland are relying heavily on student loans, including unsubsidized student loans.
Review financial aid offers carefully and be honest with yourself about whether you can truly afford this college. If you will need to utilize loans each year, be sure to calculate the total amount borrowed after four to five years, and an estimated monthly payment. If your loan includes an unsubsidized amount, can you afford to make the interest payments while you are attending college? If not, be sure to add that to the total.
Asking the tough questions now can help prevent you from starting your future with a large amount of debt that you cannot reasonably afford.
Declaring bankruptcy does not remove student loan debt owed to the Federal government. They can garnish part of your income if you do not pay back your loans.
What's the difference? Unsubsidized student loans accrue interest each month, even while you are in college. Unless you pay that interest each month, what you owe after graduation might surprise you.


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Redland Bay
Queensland, 4165
0403 240 236
Contactable 24/7
Mon - Fri: 7:00 - 16:00
Online enquiries 24/7
Queensland, 4165
Contactable 24/7
Online enquiries 24/7
At Blackburn Appliance Repairs we specialise in home appliance repairs. Our Balmoral refrigerator repair technicians can help with repairs to most major refrigerator brands.
If your fridge is noisy, experiencing temperature irregularities, frost build-up/freezing or leaking? Virtually every refrigerator problem can be fixed by our refrigerator Balmoral repair technicians.
There are a number of things that can go wrong with your home refrigerator including:
Red flags could be a symptom of a serious problem and remember, just because there's not something obviously wrong with your food (and fridge) doesn't mean that it's safe to eat and drink what you're trying to keep cool.
Virtually every refrigerator problem can be fixed by our refrigerator Balmoral repair technicians.
Blackburn Appliance Repairs is your local kitchen appliance repair and service specialist with over 20 years experience. Our refrigerator repairs Balmoral team services most major brands including:
We are experienced in providing repairs for Fisher & Paykel fridges and freezers (upright and chest).
Our refrigerator repair Redland Bay service operates from a fully stocked mobile van. In most instances we will be able to complete your repair the same day.
Purchased a new Refrigerator and need it installed? We offer competitive installation services! Find out more
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Woodley Lead Roof Flashing Repairs
With over 30 years lead roof flashing experience, our team of roofing contractors have worked extensively with lead on all types of roofing systems on homes and businesses across Woodley. As a Lead Roofing Contractor we pride ourselves in ensuring, all our lead work is carried out to Lead Sheet Association standards. By following these guidelines and using the correct tools and methods, lead sheet is proven to last over 150 years.
If you wish to discuss any lead work requirements with us please contact us on Woodley 0800 0569117
Our Roof Lead flashing services include:
- Flat and pitched roof coverings
- Linings to parapet and valley gutters
- Rain water goods including Hoppers / Downpipes / Brackets
- Soakers & flashings
- Made to measure chimney aprons & chimney backs
- Dormer & bay window roof coverings
- On site lead welding for builders / developers etc.
Does your Woodley property need roof lead repair or replacement?
For time to time lead can fail, especially in old houses lead fatique cracks can occur as the lead can get hot in sun and then cold it expands and contracts. This is quite normal but over time the constant expanding and contracting of the lead can cause cracks and leaks.
We often find leaks form on Bay windows that have been topped with Lead from the original build. The first sign of cracked leadwork on Bay windows or roofs is water dripping on the sill a brown stain on the ceiling or water running down the internal window.
What alternative is there to a lead on a Roof, bay window or door porch?
Increasingly these days with lead theft becoming more of a problem some people are moving away from lead, and certainly if you're talking about small roofs or lead bays, fibreglass roofing is a viable option.


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Elle: Rihanna's Waist Gets Whittled Via Photoshop
LatestRihanna looks spectacular on the July cover of Elle magazine. But is her waist really the same width as her head?
Even though her body is twisted away from the camera, the proportions are just… off. Exaggerated shoulders can make a waistline look slimmer, but it just seems like, on the right side of the image, her body has been streamlined from breast to hip.
Just for comparison, here's Rihanna's actual, unretouched — and amazingly gorgeous — figure:
Her waist is narrow, and defined, but nowhere near the wasp-like thorax on the Elle cover.
Just seems like they scooped out some flesh over there on the right. The arm looks odd, and the lines of the body and the arm are completely parallel, in a way that appears digitally altered.
In this still from a behind-the-scenes video at Elle.com, you can see what her waist and arm looked like before retouching:
Oh well, at least she looks fierce in these other images from the mag:
Rihanna: Elle's July Cover Girl [Elle.com]
Related: A Behind-The-Scenes Look At ELLE's July Cover Shoot; Celebrity Style: Rihanna; Rihanna Hairstyles Gallery [Elle.com]
See also: Previous Photoshop Of Horrors posts


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Gun Review: S&W 317 AirLite
Innovations in firearms — real innovations — almost seem to be a thing of the past, don't they?
I mean, imagine for a moment this is 1910. In the past five years, you would have witnessed the introduction of the Browning Auto-5, the first successful semiauto shotgun; the Remington Model 8, the first successful semiauto high-power rifle; and the Standard Model G, the first gas-operated autoloading rifle. What's more, the Colt Model 1911 pistol and Winchester Model 12 pump shotgun would be just around the corner.
What a great time to be a shooter. Every day, it seemed, one of the big companies came out with something truly new and extraordinary.
It's different today, of course. Today we work ourselves into a lather about this new cartridge, that new frame alloy, this new camo pattern or that new laser sight. Nothing wrong with that; these are improvements, and we're properly appreciative of them. But true innovations — that kind that make you go all squishy inside — are few indeed.
My last squishy moment came in Fall 1997 at the old Bristol Sporting Goods store in northern Indiana. My mother had just died, and I was looking for a little trifle to distract my father from his troubles. All of a sudden, there it was in front of me: a brand-new Smith & Wesson Model 317 AirLite .22 snubbie.
Feeling Squishy
I had heard Smith & Wesson had introduced some new super-lightweight revolver but hadn't actually seen one yet. I suppose I was expecting something like the old 15-ounce Colt Cobra, but when the guy behind the counter handed the AirLite to me, my first reaction was, "You gotta be kidding."
This couldn't possibly be a real gun — it was more like those super-loud Wasp capguns we had when I was a child; the ones that took plastic caps molded in a round, red little ringlet.
That little J-frame has now passed from my father back to me. In fact, it's sitting on my desk as I write this, and my reaction is the same as when I first laid eyes on it: You gotta be kidding. It's an early one with a serial number lower than 2,000, and it pretty much matches its description that appeared in the catalog section of the 1999 Gun Digest:
Smith & Wesson Model 317 AirLite, 317 LadySmith Revolvers.
Caliber: .22 LR, eight-shot.
Barrel: 1-7/8 inches.
Weight: 9.9 ounces.
Length: 6-3/16 inches overall.
Stock: Dymondwood Boot or Uncle Mike's Boot.
Sights: serrated ramp front, fixed notch rear.
Features: aluminum alloy, carbon and stainless steels, and titanium construction. Short spur hammer, smooth combat trigger. Clear Cote finish. Introduced 1997. Made in U.S. by Smith & Wesson.
Price: With Uncle Mike's Boot grip: $451.
Price: With Dymondwood Boot grip: $484.
Price: Model 317 LadySmith (Dymondwood only, comes with display case): $505.
I still have the receipt for my Model 317, and it says I paid $449 for it — nearly full retail. I never buy guns for anything near the manufacturer's suggested retail price, so I must have been very impressed with the AirLite. I still am, come to think of it.
Remarkable Combination
Gun Digest must have been asleep at the switch in 1996 and 1997. It didn't get around to mentioning the AirLite in print until the 1999 edition, and that was limited to a single sentence in the "Handguns Today" section by Hal Swiggett:
"[At the SHOT Show], the one that caught my eye was the Model 317 AirLite, an eight-shot .22 with 2-inch barrel, weighing only 9.9 ounces."
In my opinion, the AirLite rated much more of a hullabaloo than that; maybe something on the order of a 72-point banner headline screaming: "S&W INTRODUCES LIGHTEST DA REVOLVER EVER!"
That's pretty much what the AirLite was. Its most similar predecessor was the old aluminum-framed, nine-shot Hi-Standard Sentinel .22 snubby, which came in at around 16 ounces with a 2-inch barrel.
The Sentinel was a great gun (notwithstanding its tendency to shoot high at almost any distance), but compared to the AirLite, it was a bloated heavyweight.
The AirLite achieved its remarkable weight by a combination of carbon steel (barrel, hammer and trigger) and aluminum or titanium alloys (everything else), plus strategically placed milled-out areas (grip strap and trigger guard). In all, it adds up — or subtracts down — to a revolver that feels like it's made of molded Styrofoam.
Early as it is, my M317 didn't come from the first production run. According to Supica & Nahas in Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Krause Publications, naturally), the earliest Model 317s carried a serial number prefix of "ULT," which was followed quickly by the "LGT" prefix. The Model 317-1 designation was used for the still-later adjustable-sight versions and a very rare 2-inch snubby with a stainless-steel barrel manufactured in 2000. Only 120 of those were made, so it's the rarest of the AirLites. (If you find one, buy it. Better yet, tell me where I can buy it.)
Mixed Reviews
Current opinion of the M317 AirLite is mixed. It's one of those love-it-or-hate-it things. I love it, of course. Others find fault with its sleeved barrel; plastic-looking Clear Cote finish; short, sharp hammer spur, which makes single-action operation uncomfortable at best; and its stippled serial and model number on the crane recess and butt.
Still others say the Model 317 AirLite is a gun without a purpose.
"What good is an eight-shot, fixed-sight .22 snubby?" they ask.
That's a pretty good question, one for which I have no ready answer. The AirLite is a descendant of the original Model 34 Kit Gun, which in my opinion is probably the finest, most gracefully economical .22 revolver ever built. The original Kit Gun, as you will recall, had an adjustable rear sight, even in its 2-inch version — quite a desirable feature if you shoot a variety of .22 ammo and really like to dial 'em in there.
Smith & Wesson must have recognized that right off the bat, because in 1998, it introduced the Model 317 AirLite Kit Gun, an adjustable-sight version of the original AirLite with a 3-inch barrel. So where does that leave the plain old M317 AirLite?
The only possible answer is that it was intended as a supremely portable self-defense bellygun. This supposition is supported by the AirLite's combat grips and bobbed hammer spur. It even has a crosspin for a lanyard concealed in the outline of its grip frame, I suppose if you literally wanted to tie one on.
Regrettably, any discussion of the AirLite as a self-defense gun begins and ends with its .22 LR chambering. I'm a big believer in the .22 LR, but if I knew I'd need a defense gun in the next two minutes, I'd reach for a .38 Special or, at a minimum, a .32 ACP (and that's assuming a .45 Colt is out of reach). The AirLite must have been intended for a consumer who prefers revolvers, believes in the stopping power of eight .22 LRs, will be shooting only at combat distances or puts light weight above any other characteristic. That's a pretty skinny demographic.
If I were to carry the AirLite as a defense gun, I'd probably stoke it full of the Aguila 60-grain (that's right, 60-grain) .22 SSS Sniper Sub-Sonic .22 LR ammo rather than something like a CCI stinger. I don't really trust any of the hyper-velocity .22s to expand reliably out of a 2-inch barrel, but I'm pretty sure that Aguila's 60-grainer would burrow in pretty deep.
Or maybe S&W introduced the AirLite just to show the world only it could build a 9.9-ounce revolver. If that was the case, well all right then. It's a good enough reason for me, but the fact remains that I don't see many first-generation Model 317 Airlites, new or used, floating around out there. To me, that's one earmark of a sleeper-in-waiting.
How does the AirLite shoot? Who cares? It's a belly gun, so you're pretty sure to hit any belly you're aiming at, especially if that belly, like mine, resembles something that blew up in Lakehurst, N.J., in 1937. Oh, the humanity.
The Current Scene
The Model 317 AirLite still exists in the S&W lineup in the form of the original 2-inch, fixed-sight bellygun, and as an updated kit gun with a 3-inch barrel, adjustable rear sight and HI-VIZ front sight. Both versions have the now-familiar-but-nevertheless-ugly S&W safety lock just above the cylinder release. Suggested retail is $672 and $735, respectively (ouch). Street pricing runs from five to six big bills. (Ouch again.)
I'm the last person to suggest that you should run out and buy a brand-new AirLite for $500 or $600. But if you're offered a good deal on one, you might consider it. If nothing else, it's the finest cap gun ever made.
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