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Coffeehouse Post
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View Thread: Microsoft still in denial
19 minutes ago, wastingtimewithforums wrote
I have no problems with the Metro UI on phones too (where it belongs, frankly), just my theory why it isn't selling as much. Actually, I wish it well. If WP7 would have been a runaway success, maybe MS wouldn't do PR stunts like Win8.
XBox is Metro-ish too, so you'll have to explain that. WP always has had an uphill battle, especially when you had phone salesmen trying to convince you you didn't want it (I personally ran into that at a Sprint store).
Microsoft is also developing WinRT (as an API) for a pretty good reason. WPF turned out too big and slow. I personally expect WinRT and WPF to merge later on down the line, and WinRT to come to the desktop.
Don't be so negative about everything.


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For the benefit of my Filipino market I also speak 2 other languages aside from Tagalog:
Pangasinan, of which I am fluent in. I grew up in the province speaking the language. The vocabulary of this language is very rich. There could be several words to describe a certain action for example, depending on how an action is done.
Bikol, the version spoken in Naga City. I picked up this language while living in the beautiful city of Naga for almost 3 years. I was there as part of my assignment as a Sales Manager at Procter and Gamble Philippines. I am competent at speaking it but I can use more practice to improve my vocabulary. Thus, if you are a Bicolano, maybe we can chat in your language? We can talk about the delicious toasted siopao from Naga Garden Restaurant that I so miss, among other things. I don't think it is available here in Toronto. Masiramon baya!

subset: commoncrawl


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Situated in the Far Western part of Nepal, a landlocked country in South Asia, Achham district has wonderful formation of Himalayan ranges, beautiful landscape, enthralling heritages, religious and spiritual amenities. Far western Nepal is a favorite destination for those willing to get nestled in the laps of the wonders of nature and yet to be entertained with modern amenities. The presence of picturesque natural settings, cultural diversity, and intact ancient human civilization are the center of attraction. Apart from the natural bewitching character of the region, the hospitable persona of the locals is highly adorable. Despite such beauties, inaccessibility of basic services has been a major hindrance in the development of this region. Lack of fundamental health services, education, electricity, communication and road network are the main obstacles in the far western development region which has been a habitat of people of different religion, castes and culture.
Nepal is in the grip of electricity crisis. It is hard to believe that the country with hydropower generation potential of over 83,000 MW witnesses power cut for 16 hours during the month of January, February and March. At present mere 0.75 percent (i.e. 619 MW) of its total generation capacity is exploited. The world is changing rapidly from the old age to modern age where things which were not even thought earlier have become vital necessities of our life. Now we cannot imagine life without electricity. Everything depends on it actually. We find ourselves completely paralyzed whenever there is no power supply. Nowadays electricity provides all comforts of life and the life would be completely different in the absence of it. There would be no exaggeration in saying, "where there is light, there is life".
Achham district with a population of over 2.5 Lakhs (2011), has been no exception to the above. People are living their life in darkness and struggling in every aspects of their daily life without electricity. Due to no electricity this region had lagged behind in basic infrastructures such as health, education, communication, transportation, lightning etc. Justifying the saying, "where there is will, there is way", Ghampower Pvt. Ltd. has emerged as rescuer to the above difficulties of the people of this region. It has lighten the life of people of Achham by bringing them out of darkness and live life with modern amenities. As we say, "Single smile can change the world". Likewise, Ghampower has also sprayed happiness in the people of Achham district. Ghampower has installed a Nano grid in far west rural area of Nepal and distributed the solar energy with 600 watt solar power to 26 houses in the village to power the lights, mobile charger and TV in the village. Solar Nano Grid is a low cost innovative technology in which individual houses within a densely settled cluster of 25-30 houses. It is Pay As You Go Model. Monthly tariffs we raise helps for operation and maintenance cost and pay off the system cost. Local people can also invest in a Nano grid system and can participate in lightning other rural parts of the Nepal with no electricity access.
Nano grids are the centralized DC System typically set up to power the clusters of communities for lights, mobile chargers and television. A typical community consists of 25-30 households and each pays a monthly charge. Access to energy at household and community level at affordable prices and mission is to improve the daily lives of children and adults by providing clean and healthy lighting. Nano grid also help entrepreneurs to scale up their business and side by side serve the local community to expand the economy.
Providing light to the village was amazing and we feel that this project will encourage us to do something meaningful, expanding this services to other remote areas that will help to make lives better. People in Mangalsen, Achham, need not worry about dark days anymore. The electricity helps village businesses to run smoothly without any obstacles, tighten social security and most importantly the children have got access to better and continuous education.
A local of 68 years had said, "Bijuli dekhne sapna pura bhayo, Ghampower lai dhannyabad". Others said, electricity has opened up a whole new world for us. Earlier we had to use kerosene lamp or burnt firewood for light, smoke of which affected the children health and the eyesight. The escalating price of kerosene made it out of reach forcing us to live in darkness. Now we watch television, charge mobile phones and use bulbs for lightening. This has made me and rest of the village happy that our children have a secure future and access to the world of opportunities.


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A forum at webmaster world mentions that of late Google SERPs have started to cache time and date of the webpage when you last visited.
This new feature however has not affected all as tedster informs :
"No times for me, just dates. I'm currently seeing results from these IPs 126.96.36.199, 188.8.131.52, 188.8.131.52, 18.104.22.168 ." Thread at webmaster world.


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ELLE Beauty School Masterclass: The Morning After with Dior
Party? What party?
This content has been created in collaboration with Dior.
Sometimes there is nothing to do but a bit of camouflaging and overloading on the glow. It will be as if the night before never even happened. Scratch that, it'll be that you want to look this fresh and pretty whether you've been partying recently or not. We think it's perfect for a day do, or Sundays in gereneral. Or work. Ok, everything.
The secret is in the Rosy Glow blush tone. Just pink enough to be perky, but soft enough to be natural, plus a multi-tasking concealer that hydrates dehydrated skin whilst perfecting it. See below for your full Morning after kit, and press play to see exactly how to use it.
What You Need:
Diorshow Fix It Concealer
Dior Addict Lip Maximiser
Diorshow Rosy Glow in Petal
Dior Addict Lipstick in Delight
Diorshow Fusion Mono eyeshadow in Blazing
Diorshow Mascara


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This resource is no longer available
Why You Should Think of the F5 ADC as a "Platform," Not a "Product"
This white paper explains that application delivery controllers (ADCs) must be thought of as a platform, not a product, because their capabilities are not static—they evolve to support the particular applications that they deliver. The resource also introduces TMOS®, a platform that supports an extensible ecosystem of application-focused modules and is available in a virtual form factor across all hypervisors. Read now to learn more about this innovative approach to application delivery and to gain a better understanding of how these platforms function.


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This resource is no longer available
IBM Storwize Family Solutions for Small to Midsized Organizations
Managing the rapid growth of data is mandatory for any organization to stay responsive to changing business environments, but as the growth continues to outpace IT budgets, storage pros are searching high and low to increase efficiency while reducing cost and complexity.
Dive into this brief white paper that acknowledges the reasons why SMBs need to be cautious when adopting new storage technology – ensuring that it has a direct cost-saving component, reduces TCO or delivers rapid ROI. Read on to discover a solution built to conquer these challenges.


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2 Seattle firefighters arrested in attack on homeless man
Updated 6:38 pm, Sunday, March 16, 2014
Police say an off-duty Seattle firefighter was stabbed on Saturday evening in Pioneer Square after the firefighter and two others attacked a homeless man.
According to police, two off-duty Seattle firefighters and a woman were walking through Pioneer Square after the Sounders game when they came across a homeless man sleeping near the Seattle Fallen Firefighters Memorial near the intersection of Occidental Avenue and Main Street. The memorial in Pioneer Square is a tribute to the Seattle firefighters who have died in the line of duty.
Police say the woman became angry about what she saw, yelled at the man for sleeping on the memorial, and started kicking the homeless man.
Steve Banfield was walking his dog nearby when he saw things escalate.
"While I was on the phone with 911, the second man of the original three got into a fight with another homeless man, taking the homeless man's walking stick from him and beating him with it," Banfield said.
Police said the homeless man tried to defend himself during the attack and stabbed one of the firefighters.
Officers later arrested the two off-duty firefighters and woman for investigation of assault. One of the firefighters was taken to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for a stab wound.
As of 9:30 on Saturday night, the firefighter was in stable condition at Harborview Medical Center.
The stabbed firefighter from Station 5 has been with the department for 15 years. He is now on disability as a result of the stabbing incident.
The Seattle Fire Department said Sunday that the second firefighter has been with the department for 17 years. He works at Station 32 in West Seattle, and has been on disability since January.
Police said the woman and off-duty firefighters were under the influence of alcohol during the incident.
"I don't think it was just the individual, I think it's the thing that's happening down here," another witness, Alvin Taliaferro said. "All homeless are put in a category, and people have a tendency to disrespect the homeless."


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What is APEDA?
What are the scheduled products monitored by APEDA?
Who are merchant exporters?
Who are manufacturer exporters?
What is the procedure for registration with APEDA?
Those entrepreneurs who are based in the far flung areas from the APEDA Headquarters, how can they contact APEDA?
What are the financial assistance schemes of APEDA?
The details of export potential in terms of statistics of an APEDA product and in a particular country can be accessed from where?
Which are the Top ten APEDA products Export from India?
Which are the Top ten Import destinations for APEDA Products from India?
How to know about the other competitors of a product in the International market?
What are the facilities offered at APEDA website for its member exporters to publicize themselves?
What facility APEDA provide to its member exporters for publicizing their products in the international market?
The details related to export policy may be accessed from where?
Which are the main organizations related to AGRO Export?
Who are the Major Exporting countries of APEDA products in the World?
Which are the major agricultural commodities traded in the world?
Who are the major importing countries of APEDA products in the World?
What are our major Agri Export products from India?
Which are the APEDA products that have gained good growth in the last decade?
How is the region wise India Export Scenario of Agri products?


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Glamox is the leading supplier of lighting solutions to the world's marine and offshore markets.
Modern products and solutions
As a local partner with a strong global network and a range of popular lighting brands, Glamox can fulfill all maritime lighting requirements, including interior lighting, floodlights and searchlights, explosion-proof luminaires and navigation lights. We are setting the standard for marine and offshore lighting with our innovative and energy efficient solutions for extreme applications.
Quality with tradition since 1920.
For 90 years our family business has been developing durable and resistant products for a reliable supply of electricity and light on the high seas.
Founded in 1920 and specialized in ship electricity, we have extended our product line consistently to other maritime areas. Our products range from ship lights, floodlights and searchlights across container power sockets to equipment for electrical installations. All products are geared to the special requirements of shipping, the navy and hazardous areas.
ZÖLLNER - Safety for today and tomorrow-World wide.
The company Zöllner, which was founded in 1946, is a traditional manufacturer of acoustic signal systems for the shipping sector. This medium-size enterprise is the world market leader in this segment. The product range of signal horns for vessels of all lengths has been extended to luxurious and modern models for super yachts. In addition to the production of acoustic signal systems – for the most part Makrofones® operated by compressed air – a new important business segment was introduced in the 1990s: the development, production and distribution of automatic warning systems for track work sites.
Our products include sinewave inverters, sinewave inverters/chargers, battery chargers, DC/DC converters, transfer switches, battery monitors and more. Victron Energy has a strong, unrivalled reputation for technical innovation, reliability, and build quality. Our products are widely considered to be the professional choice for independent electric power.
PEHA by Honeywell stands for a convincing, high-quality full assortment which can offer professionals and ordinary users everything: attractive switch programs for every requirement, a versatile, forward-looking building system technology, innovative radio solutions and custom-designed developments. All PEHA by Honeywell products are the result of a convincing interplay of a technical perfection, high-quality and easy-care materials, an emphatically straight design and timelessly attractive colours. PEHA by Honeywell suits you as a professional partner aside if it is all about facing the demanding and versatile tasks at the electrical installation.
Tranberg AS has since 1901 designed, manufactured and supplied high quality electromechanical products for use on ships and offshore installations. Experienced engineering skills and flexible production capabilities are vital in order to adapt to rapidly changing demands. The company is also continuously updated to changes in national and international safety and environment regulations and the Quality Management System has been ISO 9001-certified since 1995.
Schniewindt was founded in 1829 in Westphalia and is a performance-based, independent family business.
Since the invention of the "Schniewindt grid" in 1902 we have manufactured electric high-voltage resistors and are thus one of the leading suppliers of electrical equipment for energy distribution.
Through the use of advanced process technologies we continuously develop our products according to the needs of our customers. With our global partnerships, we are among the leading manufacturers of high performance electrical resistors and of equipment and systems for electrical heating equipment for industrial and commercial purposes.
NEWMAR has been a leading manufacturer of electronic power products and accessories for over 40 years.
We develop and manufacture fire prevention components that meet the highest legal and technical standards for over a century. Our products are used in public buildings, industry, energy supply, aircraft, oil platforms, power plants, high speed trains and football stadiums, securing the safety of visitors, passengers, workers and fans. You'll find our products everywhere, all over the world, on land, on water and in the air.
We develop products that meet the highest legal and technical standards. With our brands FLAMMADUR® and GEAQUELLO® we influence state-of-the-art technology in sealing, insulation and impregnation. We offer semi-manufactured systems as well as system solutions developed and manufactured in-house at competitive prices. We also supply tailor-made systems to meet specific requirements.
Quality that you can count on: for more than 50 years, Bals Elektrotechnik GmbH & Co. KG has been the partner for secure connections. Our products prove themselves tens of thousands of times over every day, around the world and in a wide variety of applications. For Bals "Made in Germany" stands for a quality standard that guarantees the user security. Since the time the company was founded in 1957 to today, we have manufactured our products exclusively in Germany.
As an independent, medium-sized, family-owned company, we produce standardised industrial plugs and sockets acc. to IEC 309 1-2 as well as plug and socket systems and distributors for the global market. The export rate in excess of 50 percent shows: Bals products are highly valued around the world. We are at home in more than 80 countries with our products.
Copyright © 2014 | Springer-EMS Pte Ltd. All Rights Reserved.


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Note-taking for Learning of Culture with Lisa Stulberg
We have read some dense canonical European White Guys. None of them have been as difficult and off-putting as Freud. I would have rather read Civilization And Its Discotheques.
Freud begins with the observation that for most of human history, our happiness has been tied to our ability to control nature: to keep away predators and stinging instincts, to keep ourselves fed and sheltered, to alleviate pain and disease. At the time Freud was writing, nature was well under control. You would think, then, that we would be really happy. But as Louis CK puts it: "Everything is amazing and nobody is happy."


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John Terry New England Skipper
Chelsea skipper John Terry has been appointed as England's new captain. Terry takes over the armband from David Beckham who stepped down at the end of the World Cup.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, also tipped for the job, has been appointed vice-captain.
Terry, 25 and capped 29 times, has helped Chelsea win two consecutive Premier League titles and established himself with England as a first-choice central defender.
Terry said: 'It is the ultimate honour to be the captain of your country and I am very proud to be given this great opportunity. It is an incredible challenge and one I am looking forward to very much.'
New vice-captain Steven Gerrard said: 'I would like to congratulate John on being appointed England captain. I'm sure he'll do a great job.'
England coach Steve McClaren said: 'Choosing a captain is one of the most important decisions a coach has to make.
'I'm certain I've got the right man in John Terry. I'm convinced he will prove to be one of the best captains England has ever had.'
Terry's first game as captain is a friendly against European champions Greece in Manchester next Wednesday.
Although we at Vital Liverpool feel that Gerrard would have been the better option, John Terry is still a very good choice and we wish him well in his new role.


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Skip to comments.An American Intelligence Test: Palin Vs. Kerry
Posted on 02/26/2013 4:02:35 PM PST by The Looking Spoon
H/t to @seanhannity for giving me the idea on his radio show today. Based on how this is set up you should simply know the answer without even thinking about it.
Pass it on at Facebook....
Here's a version for Twitter...
After thinking about what Kerry said, I have to agree. Not only do we, Americans, have the right to be stupid, a large portion of the population is. Just watch Judge Judy. She has made an exceptional living dealing with and exposing stupid Americans on t.v.
So, Kerry, IMHO, is right on. And, just look at what the White House comes up with on a daily basis. The whole place thrives on stupidity.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


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Of the world's roughly 7 billion people, 40% use social media daily. So, what are those folks doing on the major social platforms?
The following infographic by Saxum shows the daily activity on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Vine, Google+, and Tumblr, measured against each platform's total user base.
On Facebook, some 23% of users check newsfeed more than five times a day. And 2.7 billion people give Facebook posts a Like.
Twitter's active users contribute 400 million tweets a day. Also, 2.1 billion search queries are performed.
By comparison, 10 million endorsements are generated in LinkedIn daily. And the network is booming, with about 172,800 new users registered daily on LinkedIn.
Want to know more? Check out the following infographic:


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Quoting avvylee
Quoting askthenepal
Thanks For your queries and reply regarding Nepal. I don't think there are any such security reason for not travelling Nepal nowadays. Obviously there are nominal risk in adventure activities but that you will do with the guidance of professionals, and that risk you will have in any country. So, what are you waiting for book your ticket and pack you bag. Happy Journey !!
ill be going to nepal alone (hopefully) that is why my parents are too concern but i heard nepali people are good and nice, even the culture and place. I just have to look for a budgetable accommodation and fun activities. Thanks a lot.
Ya, that is the matter of concern, surely you will find place of your budget. Also several activities to do. You will also find several agency to help or you can travel on your own. Just "ask the nepal". Have Fun...


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f-215,216, 2nd floor, Neelkanth Plaza, alpha com. area,Alpha-1, Greater Noida
City :
Delhi/NCR/Greater Noida
Pin Code :
Website :
State :
Uttar Pradesh
Level of Company :
Sector :
Total Turnover :
No of Employees :
Level of Office :
Contact Details
Contact Person :
Mukesh Kumar
Mobile No :
Phone No :
Company Description
Company Overview: KPS Clinical Services is a Contract Research Organization(CRO) providing variety of services for clinical trials and pharmaceutical regulatory affairs in India. KPS Clinical Services (KPSCS) is a pioneer in the concept to develop a way to ease suffering, to enhance the quality of life and to overcome the hurdles in clinical research. It is aimed at providing world-class clinical research services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device companies, academic and government organizations.


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Credit Advice
Have a question? Have advice to share? The combined knowledge and experience of everyone in the Credit Karma community can help you. Enter your question or help others below to get started!
QuestionPosted in Credit Scores
Question By
0 People Helped
one open account (small)
But I have 4 things that are killing my score
Bankruptcy (4yrs ago)
State Tax Lien from 2007 that was paid and released but still reporting.
One collection that I'm disputing as paid 2 years ago and they reported it again in 10/2015
And a charge off for around 29000. That the company is requesting be removed from my report.
So if I get the Tax Lien, collection and charge off removed could my scores improve enough to be at least 620? If not what else might help me get it there within next 2 mo? I already know about secured loans and credit cards but those take a year to really make a difference
All Responses
4658 People Helped
You may not be able to get a credit jump in two months, but it doesn't hurt to try getting all negative reports dealt with as quickly as possible so that your score can increase as they drop off and as you build a better credit portfolio. The bankruptcy will be reporting for ten years total so you have 6 more years to wait on that. And that is a very big negative to have on your report, but it cannot be removed. The tax lein will still be reported for a total of 7 years, and that is another item that has to fall off at its appointed time since it, also, cannot be removed. There aren't going to be any quick fixes in your situation. You'll have to work on doing things that help build your credit (please re-read the articles on this site for good information) and keep the good things going if you want to have a more enjoyable life.
Reply to this Question
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The Credit Advice pages of the Site may contain messages submitted by users over whom Credit Karma has no control. Credit Karma cannot guarantee the accuracy, integrity or quality of any such messages. Some users may post messages that are misleading, untrue or offensive. You must bear all risk associated with your use of the Credit Advice pages and should not rely on messages in making (or refraining from making) any specific financial or other decisions.


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Knowledge of staff nurses regarding triage system
International Journal of Development Research
Knowledge of staff nurses regarding triage system
Introduction: Triage is the process of rapidly screening sick patients when they first arrive in the hospital and of placing them in one of the groups like those with emergency signs (who require immediate treatment), those with priority signs (who should be given priority while waiting in the queue, so that they can be assessed and treated without delay) and those with non-urgent signs (who have neither emergency nor priority signs).
Methodology: In this experimental study, 50staff nurses were selected as the samples for the study by using non- probability convenience sampling. The data was collected by using structured knowledge questionnaire on triage. Reliability of the structured knowledge questionnaire on triage was determined by using inter rater reliability test and it was0.86. Data analysis were performed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. SPSS-17 software was used and P values less than 0.05 were considered significant.
Result: In the pre test, majority of the staff had inadequate knowledge regarding triage system (100%) and in the post test, majority of the staff had moderate knowledge regarding triage system (60%).Over all 60%of the samples had adequate knowledge in the post test.
Discussion: The result shows that there was improvement in knowledge regarding triage system after implementation of structured teaching programme on triage which was calculated at 0.05 level of significance. So, it is concluded that the structured teaching programme on triage was effective to improve the knowledge of staff nurses.


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I try to set some goals for my photography each year. It may be to make images of a certain type of subject such as still life objects or macro images. It may be to try out some new techniques such as fill-in flash or "dragging the shutter" to create a sense of motion in a photo. It could be to visit new locations to discover what possibilities it would hold for new and interesting subjects.
This year my goal was to visit new nature areas and local parks. It all started with seeing a newspaper article about two Grand Rapids, Michigan, area women who decided to share their love of wildflowers, walking, and local parks. Barb Beck and Judy Bergma created a Facebook page called Michigan Wildflowers. They published a small booklet showing a variety of spring wildflowers and which parks we were likely to find them in. The booklet and the Facebook page were the venue for a "Spring Wildflower Scavenger Hunt." They encouraged readers to post photos of their findings on their Facebook page and tell us what park they were found it. In many cases readers called on Barb and Judy to help identify a wildflower they had photographed and posted.
In my estimation their venture was wildly successful. While on the prowl for wildflowers, I saw many families walking through the parks, booklets in hand, trying to find and identify the 30 spring flowers in the scavenger hunt booklet. Kids were excited to go on a treasure hunt, and parents were thrilled to see their kids interested in the outdoors. As a photographer, there was another huge benefit. I was able to get daily feedback on what flowers were blooming in a particular park on a given day or week. Many times I changed my weekend plans to visit a particular park based on what other flower hunters reported on the Facebook page.
There is a lot that can be said about how social networking can bring us together as fellow humans. In this example, social media was the impetus towards getting hundreds of people to venture out into nature–perhaps the antithesis of being behind a computer.
Following are some photos from various new parks I had not visited before this year–and a couple places I visit regularly. There are some from Spring, Summer and Fall. Enjoy!


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Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) was developed for children suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, primarily from the experience of sexual abuse.

The consequences of being exposed to a traumatic event, including PTSD, are more commonly studied among adults; however, traumatic exposure and symptoms of PTSD can also occur in children, showing the need for therapy for children with PTSD.

Studies have found that a large number of children are exposed to traumatic events before the age of 16. Although the types of traumatic events children are exposed to and the effect they have on a child's well-being vary, one traumatic event that has a high likelihood of leading to mental health problems among children is the experience of sexual abuse.

When children are experiencing PTSD symptoms, what kind of treatment is best? There are a number of effective treatments for PTSD in adults. However, these treatments may not be as helpful for children. Children may have a lower awareness of emotions, or not have as good of an idea as adults about how to effectively express certain emotions. Children may also have a poorer understanding of their symptoms or why they are experiencing the symptoms they have. Finally, some of the concepts in common treatments for PTSD in adults may be too difficult for children to grasp. Given this, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) was developed.

An Overview of TF-CBT

TF-CBT is considered a cognitive-behavioral treatment. That is, it largely addresses PTSD symptoms by targeting maladaptive and unhealthy thoughts and behaviors that a victim of sexual abuse might experience. For example, TF-CBT may help children modify inaccurate beliefs that lead to unhealthy behaviors, such as beliefs that they are to blame for the abuse. It also identifies unhealthy patterns of behaviors (for example, acting out or isolating) or fear responses to certain stimuli and attempts to modify these by identifying healthier ways of responding to certain stimuli or in particular situations.

TF-CBT is also unique in that it incorporates an intervention for parents or caregivers who were not involved in the abuse. Children and parents each participate in therapy, first separately and then in joint sessions. Parents learn stress management techniques, healthy parenting techniques, and how to better communicate with their child. TF-CBT recognizes that the support of the parent or caregiver is very important to the recovery of the child. It also recognizes that parents may experience considerable distress as a result of their child's sexual abuse, and this distress needs to be addressed so it doesn't interfere with parenting.

How Does TF-CBT Address PTSD Symptoms?

TF-CBT is considered a short-term treatment. It generally lasts about 12 to 18 sessions and each session may last 60 to 90 minutes. TF-CBT addresses PTSD symptoms by taking children and parents/caregivers through the following components:

Psychoeducation and parenting skills. Therapists provide children and parents with information on sexual abuse and the types of symptoms that may come up in response to this kind of traumatic event. Parents are taught ways to effectively manage behavioral problems, as well as how to better communicate with their child.

Relaxation. Children are taught ways to manage their anxiety through relaxation.

Emotional expression and regulation. The therapist assists the child and parents in how to manage emotions related to the abuse in a healthy and effective way. For example, children are taught how to identify and express their emotions, as well as engage in self-soothing exercises when experiencing intense emotions.

Coping with thoughts. Children are assisted in identifying maladaptive thoughts about the sexual abuse (for example, self-blame) and how to work through these thoughts.

Creation of a trauma narrative. Children are taken through exposure exercises, such as talking about the event or writing about the event. Children may also create a symbolic representation of the event through drawing or play.

In vivo exposure. The therapist gradually exposes the child to trauma reminders so that the child learns how to effective manage their fear response, as well as reduce avoidance behaviors.

Joint parent-child sessions. The parent and child work together to improve communication and learn how to discuss the abuse in a healthy and therapeutic manner.

Staying safe and maintaining recovery. The therapist provides the child and parents with information on how to be safe in future situations, so as to avoid future abuse. Information on how to maintain and continue with the recovery process is also discussed.

Is TF-CBT Effective?

Overall, studies have found that TF-CBT is effective in reducing symptoms of PTSD, as well as other problems (for example, depression, behavioral problems, shame) among children exposed to sexual abuse. In addition, TF-CBT appears to be more effective than other types of treatment approaches that may be used with children with a history of sexual abuse, such as supportive therapy or play therapy. In addition, gains made in TF-CBT have been found to be maintained up to two years following the end of therapy.

TF-CBT also appears to help parents and caregivers who were not involved in the child's abuse. Parents report lower levels of depression, distress about the abuse, and symptoms of PTSD. It has also been found that TF-CBT increases parents' ability to support their child.

Finding A Therapist Who Provides TF-CBT

If you are interested in learning more about TF-CBT, you can visit the website of the Medical University of South Carolina National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center. Information on TF-CBT is also provided on the website of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

To find a therapist who provides TF-CBT, you would first want to find a therapist who specializes and has experience in the treatment of children with trauma. You may be able to find such a therapist through websites that are designed to connect you with treatment providers in your area. In addition to providing resources for families who have a child that is dealing with the consequences of sexual abuse, the Sidran Institute also provides information on therapists who may specialize in the treatment of children who are victims of sexual abuse.

Sources:

Cohen, J. A., Berliner, L. & March, J. S. (2000). Treatment of children and adolescents. In E. B. Foa, T. M. Keane, & M. J. Friedman (Eds.), Effective treatment for PTSD (pp. 106-138). New York: Guilford Press.

Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., Berliner, L., & Deblinger, E. (2000). Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy: An empirical update. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15, 1203-1223.

Cohen, J.A., Mannarino, A.P., & Deblinger, E. (2006). Treating Trauma and Traumatic Grief in Children and Adolescents. New York: The Guilford Press.

Cohen, J. A., Mannarino, A. P., & Knudsen, K. (2005) Treating sexually abused children: One year follow-up of a randomized controlled trial. Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, 135-146.

Copeland, W.E., Keeler, G., Angold, A., & Costello, E.J. (2007). Traumatic events and posttraumatic stress in childhood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64, 577-584.

Deblinger, E., Behl, L., & Glickman, A. (2006). Treating children who have experienced sexual abuse. In P. Kendall (Ed.), Child and adolescent therapy, 3rd ed. New York: The Guilford Press.


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Detroit Tour
Saturday May 9, 2015
From the Tour: Detroit Tour
8:15am Detroit, Michigan
We are spending the next 2 days working in our home town!
There are a ton of incredibly talented craftsmen in Michigan but I really wanted to feature someone in Detroit. I've lived my entire life in this area and I'm proud to see the rebirth happening now.
Saturday May 9, 2015
From the Tour: Detroit Tour
10:45am Detroit, Michigan
I am working with a furniture maker named Alan Kaniarz. He's an amazing furniture maker who likes to use some high tech machines!


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Written by: Michael Den Boer on February 11th, 2014
Theatrical Release Date: USA, October 31st, 1974
Director: Brian De Palma
Writer: Brian De Palma
Cast: William Finley, Jessica Harper, Paul Williams, Gerrit Graham
BluRay released: February 24th, 2014
Approximate running times: 92 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: 15 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo English, DTS-HD Stereo English
Subtitles: English SDH
BluRay Release: Arrow Video
Region Coding: Region B
Retail Price: £24.99
Synopsis: Winslow Leach (William Finley) is an eccentric composer whose cantata about Faust is the music that Swan (Paul Williams) a music producer wants to use to opens the Paradise theater. Swan manages to steal Winslow's Faust and get him thrown in jail. Winslow breaks out of prison to get his revenge on Swan and after a security guard shots him while he is fleeing he is presumed dead. Winslow now disfigured is very much alive and well and he finds a phantom costume which he wears as he haunts the corridors of the Paradise. Winslow is hell bent on sabotage the opening of the Paradise and when Swan learns of this he makes him an offer he can't refuse if Winslow finishes his Faust cantata. Will Swan live up to his promise to let the woman Winslow loves Phoenix (Jessica Harper) sing lead in his cantata or will Swan betray Winslow again?
No American filmmaker has been as influential as Brian De Palma over the last thirty five years and remained like De Palma relatively unknown outside of cinema files. Brian De Palma through out his career has pushed the boundaries of censorship in Hollywood system while most of his contemporaries have been content to play things safe and keep working. Most director's find a genre in which there are most comfortable and they spend their career their. Brian De Palma like a chameleon has worked in just about every genre with his most successful films being in the thriller genre.
In 1973 he would begin work on Phantom of the Paradise his one and only attempt at making a musical. The music for Phantom of the Paradise was composed by Paul Williams who's most famous compositions at that time had been for the Carpenters. His work on Phantom of the Paradise is nothing short of brilliant as his score runs the gamut from 1950 and 60's nostalgia to full blown mini epic's like 'Life at Last'.
Phantom of the Paradise was one of the first films to explore 1950 and 60's nostalgia before it became in vogue with Happy Days and films like Grease. It is also a precursor to the more recognized Rocky Horror Picture Show which would not be possible if Phantom of the Paradise hadn't already laid the ground work for these types of films a few years before.
The cast for Phantom of the Paradise may not be filled with 'A' list actor's, still the leads chosen for this film though probably unknown at the time were inspired choices. Paul Williams as Swan is the most interesting casting choice as he plays a man who wields an unbelievable amount of power despite his lack of height. At first look he might not look that imposing that is until you spend a few moments with him as Swan and he devilishly sells the part with the utmost conviction. William Finely is regular in virtually all of Brian De Palma's film up to this point and his performance as Winslow Leach / The Phantom is his crowning achievement and his finest collaboration with De Palma. Jessica Harper would make her film debut in Phantom of the Paradise as Phoenix as singer who seeks fame and becomes the object of Winslow Leaches desires along the way. Most cult movie fans will most likely recognize her from Dario Argento's Suspiria. Harpers performance is unpolished in Phantom of the Paradise which is most likely due to her inexperience and somehow her performance works perfectly with in the confines of this film. Gerrit Graham steals every scene he is in as the new singing sensation 'Beef'. The 'Beef' character laid the foundation to flamboyant characters like Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Brian De Palma direction is solid in Phantom of the Paradise as he uses many of the same techniques that he would later become famous for in films like Carrie and Dressed to Kill. De Palma also wrote the films screenplay which is full of dark humor and witty satire about the record/entertainment industry. Editor Paul Hirsch who has collaborated with De Palma many times through the years creates a nice flow to the films pacing through his perfectly time edits. One scene that really stands out and mostly because it is another Hitchcock reference from De Palma who this time does a tongue and cheek take on the famous shower scene from Psycho only this time a toilet plunger is used as the main weapon. Overall the Phantom of the Paradise is one of the most entertaining musicals ever made and it only gets better with each new viewing, highly recommend.
The BluRay:
Over the years Phantom of the Paradise is the title that I have bought the second most home video incarnations of. With the only other title that I am more obsessed with being, A Clockwork Orange, but then that is a story for another time. Needless to say Phantom of Paradise is a desert island film for me and until Arrow Video announced they were releasing this title on Blu-Ray, the best release up to that point had been a French Blu-Ray release from Opening Distribution. Flash forward four years with the arrival of Arrow Video's release and how it stacks up with that aforementioned release from Opening Distribution. Arrow's new release looks to have come from the same HD source albeit a brand encode of said source.
Phantom of the Paradise comes on a 50 GB dual layer BluRay. The film is presented in a 1080 progressive widescreen. Colors never looked more vibrant then they do here, black and contrast levels look extremely good, details are razor sharp and grain structure always looks natural. Also there are no issues with DNR or compression. Overall this is an exceptional transfer that fans who have yet to see this film in HD will be blown away with.
This release comes with three audio options, a DTS-HD 4.0 Stereo mix in English, a DTS-HD Stereo mix in English and the third audio option is the films isolated score. Both audio mixes are free of any background noise or distortion. Dialog always comes through with crystal clear clarity and everything sounds balanced. The more ambient aspects of the soundtrack are well represented and range wise everything sounds appropriately robust when it needs too. And nowhere is this more evident than during the musical numbers performed in the film. It is safe to say that this is most dynamic that this film's audio has ever sounded on home video to date. The third audio option, the film's isolated score is fantastic extras since not only does it allow you to listen to the film's musical numbers which were composed by Paul Williams, it also allows one to fully enjoy all of composer George Aliceson Tipton's (Badlands) contributions which make up the rest of the score. Also included with this release are removable English SDH subtitles.
Extras for this release include two U.S trailers, a very brief segment with William Finley who is holding a Phantom doll, an interview with Rosanna Norton (9minutes 38 seconds – 1080 Progressive 1.33:1 aspect ratio) who discusses working as a costume designer on Phantom of the Paradise and a documentary titled 'Paradise Regained' (50 minutes 13 seconds – 1080 Progressive Widescreen) which includes comments from Brian De Palma, William Finley, Jessica Harper, Paul Williams, Gerrit Graham, Archie Hahn, Paul Hirsch and Edward R. Pressman. This documentary is excellent as everyone has something memorable to say about the film and some of the troubles it ran into like having to the death records logo optically printed over anything that had originally said Swan Song since Led Zeppelin sued the film for using their company's name. There is a lot of ground cover in a mere fifty minutes and De Palma as usual is always a joy to hear talking about the filmmaking process. These extras had previously appeared on Opening Distributions DVD and Blu-Ray release of Phantom of the Paradise.
Extras new to this release include radio spots, a image gallery, a featurette titled 'The Swan Song Fiasco' (11 minutes 25 seconds – 1080 Progressive Widescreen) which presents a before and after look at how footage in the film had to be altered, a segment titled 'Lost and found : Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor' (13 minutes 39 seconds – 1080 Progressive Widescreen, without sound and music from the film plays over footage), a lengthy interview Guillermo del Toro and actor / composer Paul Williams(72 minutes 22 seconds – 1080 Progressive Widescreen). Topics discussed include how Guillermo del Toro first met Paul Williams and have remained friends ever since, acting and music influences, his performance as Swan, overcoming addiction, composing the musical numbers that appear in the film, Brian De Palma and the cast, production design, visuals and so much more. Rounding out the extras are reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork and a collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by festival programmer Michael Blyth and an exploration of the film's troubled marketing history by Ari Kahan, curator of SwanArchives.org, illustrated with original stills and promotional material. Overall Phantom of the Paradise gets an exceptional release from Arrow Video that firmly puts itself a forerunner for the home video release of the year, highly recommended.
Note: This title is also being released in a limited steel book edition.


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Various Stages in Our Life Towards Socialization
It is not all about how to mingle with the culture or society. Socialization is something that is not as easy to understand as it sounds. People often take this as a discussion topic since it is more like an operating system in a human brain and psychologists used to refer it as an action from unconscious drives that are preloaded in one's mind by birth. Recently I watched a talk show that featured this topic on my Dish TV which gave me a thought of doing some in-depth research on socialization. In this article we will see about the various parts of socialization as brief as possible. Do you believe that biology plays a significant role in human development?
Though the unconscious theory of psychology is both controversial and debatable because there is really no concrete proof that it exists, the personality and the basic drives in a human brain can be combined and divided into three separate parts such as the ID, ego, and superego. The ID is an individual's basic force in the unconscious mind, and it demands attention from people. A popular example for this is a young child demanding for attention and worldly objects o play with. However, this is usually neutralized and that is when the word "No" gets added up in an individual's dictionary.
Hence to avoid getting angry, a child starts thinking consciously and with rational abilities. It is actually illogical and impractical for a child to get everything he or she wants and looking for something, even after a "No." That is when the Ego stage starts. The last part is known as Superego and this happens when an individual uses cultural norms in making decisions. This happens during the conscious stage as well, and an example is studying hard to get good grades and get accepted into the college in which they want to join. The ID and the superego will always have a battle with each other, but with a socially adjusted individual, the ego helps balance these two out. The superego is an important stage because if an individual don't have it then they will develop an attitude that center around themselves and would not be willing to make sacrifices in life.
Another important stage in socialization is the "Maturity" which can be divided into four stages namely senorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stage. The first stage refers to the period when an individual experiences things solely using the basic senses such as smelling, tasting and listening. This is the stage when a child starts talking and uses signals such as the classic "good bye" wave. In this stage a child still lacks abstract development. For example children in this stage will love receiving few coins in cents than a single hundred dollar note. The third stage is reached when individuals starts experiencing more logical connection to their surroundings. An example is when an individual can understand that a day can have more than one feature. If it is Sunday they not only go to church but also they know that they don't have school. The last stage makes an individual to obtain the ability to think very abstractly. They have a deeper understanding of things going around and they can solve some concrete math or logic problems.
As young children, we don't rely on our guilt feelings, we will actually love to do things that makes us happy. What feels good is usually associated with what is right, and this is known as the pre-conventional stage. In the next stage or conventional stage, which usually happens in the teen years, individuals usually will become less selfish and try to adjust to society's needs. In the final or post-conventional stage people look up and think beyond their society's norms and ethics to make their decisions. An example of this is while debating on the law, an average person will not question it, but some people may think that just because something is not against the law, it is right. It is a known fact that most individuals will not make it to this stage.
To conclude with, various research reports state that men are more by the rules. If they hear that someone broke into a hospital and stole medicine, then they will view it as unlawful. However, a woman may look into it deeper and consider why an individual would break into a hospital and steal medicine. She would be more sympathetic to those that steal for a meaningful purpose such as Robin Hood even though it was to save his sickly life when he didn't have the capital to pay for it. To make it simple, socialization varies from person to person based on their ideas and how they actually fit into the society.
Mark D - About Author:
Being a freelance writer and active blogger, I never forget to express my thoughts and ideas to rest of the world. Recently I concluded that sitting before my Dish TV is not 'the' best way to spend free times. Rather I can go out and meet people to actually understand the theory of socialization.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Colorado left wing Alex Tanguay expects to play Saturday after missing the Avalanche's last two playoff games with a knee injury.
Tanguay had two goals and two assists in Colorado's first four playoff games against Dallas, but the All-Star sat out the series-clinching victory and Thursday night's loss to San Jose in the second-round opener.
He participated in a full practice Friday, and he expects no problems getting ready for Game 2.
"I felt great out there for a whole practice," Tanguay said. "It really hurts not being with the guys. It comes to a point where you don't have any more nails to bite, and you're just anxious to get out there. The odds are pretty good."
Tanguay was the NHL's ninth-leading scorer with 79 points despite missing 13 games. He was the Avalanche's second-leading scorer behind captain Joe Sakic, who had 87.
Tanguay is a five-year veteran and a member of the Avalanche's Stanley Cup-winning team in 2001.
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Tipp's Tom O'Donoghue in cancer campaign
Tom O'Donoghue is a leading member of a new patients organisation, campaigning to improve how Ireland's health services deal with a rare form of cancer.
Tipperary born Tom was first diagnosed with the illness in 2007 and is managing to cope with the condition in the six years since then.
He says - "The condition I have is called carcinoid cancer. It involves tumours in the Neuroendocrine or hormone-producing system. It is a difficult disease to diagnose: between two thousand and three thousand Irish people have it and people like me make up between 2 and 3 per cent of Ireland's cancer population."
Last year Tom and fellow carcinoid patients in Ireland set up their own patients advocacy group, (NET Patient Network), to provide better support for those affected by the disease and to campaign for better treatment paths in Ireland.
Says Tom: - "We had a great event a year ago in Dublin during which patients and their families and friends got to meet and interact with the Irish doctors who are working to combat the disease. We have arranged to have our second annual meeting at the Springhill Hotel in Kilkenny, starting at 9.30am on Saturday, November 9 and all are welcome to attend what is a free of charge event."
Tom describes carcinoid cancer as a chronic disease. "You rarely get the all clear from this condition but if you are lucky, through surgery, drugs treatment and other procedures, it is possible to keep the disease and its symptoms under control and to lead an almost-normal life." he says. In some situations, carcinoid cancer patients receive sanction from the HSE to travel abroad, to international centres of excellence in places like Sweden for procedures, currently not available in Ireland. But services in the country have improved significantly in recent years. In June 2013, gastroenterologist Professor Dermot O'Toole was appointed National Lead, fronting the efforts to develop structures to conteract the illness. He now runs a weekly clinic at St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin for carcinoid patients.


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Cesare Prandelli insists Italy "will certainly have a great Euro 2012" and is "not worried" after a shock 1-0 defeat to the USA. [12]
"It was undeserved, but with this spirit we will certainly have a great Euro 2012," said the Coach.
"I liked the way they tried to overcome every difficulty. Obviously playing once every three months is tricky.
"We were more incisive after the break and raised the tempo, so yes it was an improvement.
"We did some interesting things, but the problem was we had the wrong timing when going on vertical lines, which is why there were so many offsides."
It was an experimental line-up, as Sebastian Giovinco partnered Alessandro Matri and Fabio Borini received his senior Italy debut.
"Giovinco attacked in the one-on-one. Borini has grit, personality and is an interesting player."
Prandelli was asked whether he was worried just 100 days from the start of the European Championships.
"Worried? Absolutely not."
See the latest Serie A predictions and betting tips with Eurotips.co.uk [13]


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I bought a lovely tall Olive tree from Morrisons early in the summer, I then moved the pot into the dining room which is north-facing in autumn, it receives plenty of light, no sun and is on the cool side all day, the CH is on in an evening to around 17C, I keep watering it but not too much. Is it too hot, too cold, not watered enough, should I move it to an cooler room or is it natural (autumnal phase) to lose it leaves now? Haven't feed since summer. Winters here are cold, frosty and damp so wouldn't survive outdoors. I have seen them in italian restuarants and always have a good head of hair! leaves I mean........... When will the leaves re-grew, if at all- still looks healthy though. Stands 7-8ft in the pot. Flowed in summer so was very happy. Will have lost all leaves in 3 weeks is my guess....
When you do come to take the cuttings- 4-5in high and remove the larger leaves- just pop in a jam jar of tap water on the windowsill until they have several white roots - ( a few weeks that's all) then pot up individually. Seem to take better this way than in compost!
I took the same offer and mine seem to disappear during the late summer- slugs maybe...
My mum grew one from seed in her conservatory some 15 years ago, it is planted out in the garden at that time and is only 6 foot high now and is still twiggy, and has never been pruned or even trimmed.
Don't think we have the sun to make it grew 20 foot plus!
So you should be fine!
Thanks too true - Yes could be a problem- I use all my windowsills, as my plastic zipped greenhouse will be too cold!
I have a bank just the same, couldn't get a fork it in, so hard- that was summer of 2011,, so used a spade to chip away at it and then added a scak of sharp sand and had a bucket of home-made compost which made it easier to dig. Then planted up with Red hot pokers and Cristophiii Allims - both which flowered for the first time this year- 2012-lovely. Also planted a couple of Kniphofias in 2010 on the level rather wet clay and they are growing huge and had flowers for the first time 2012. they were only young plants about 6in when I planted them- now 2-3 ft across. They don't need any care, have survived the frost & ice of 2010 which was down to -17 in York sometimes.
This autumn I have added some ornamental grasses so hoping they will flourish. In the more shady area I have added hostas, ferns and primroses. The soil is now very good and as on a slope does drain well even though clay. Would swear by adding a sack of sharp sand- £2 ish from B& Q in the building section (not builders sand has to be Sharp sand) I can't believe the difference in the soil! On the same sloping bank where I didn't add sand the soil is currently claggy and wet after all the rain and frost.
PS. Hemoracalis (Day lillies) grow really well if they can have some summer sun on my North facing, clay soil.
Hope this helps...
I collected some rather sorry looking seedheads from my Echinacea plant - black, wet and frosted from December. I took discodavves advice and sowed them on Sunday, 2 days later 3 had germinated now 4 days on have around 60 poking through. I did put them in a basic heated propogator. When should I remove them form the propagator?
Did the same with seeds from the Eucomis- early December (pinapple flower)-have around 30 growing- 3 inch shoots. Had zero success with trying to propagate them from leaf sections.Also spotted some Teasel seeds had sprouted within the cone (still on plant) so have potted them on indoors- so fingers crossed they will thrive too.
Are there any other seeds woth trying now indoor and outdoor?
Best time to plant tulips is December, so they will flower great this year is you can plant them now! Only a week into January so go for it!
Thanks discodave the photo of the echinacea has been a god send- sure I sowed some chaff last year and threw away the seeds!
In February they are to repeat Carol Klein's "Life in a Cottage Garden" runs for 6 weeks, well worth watching again or if you missed it the first time round, and the book of the same name is very good-adorable! it is like a journal/ diary for the year.
Life in a Cottage Garden with Carol Klein. Filmed at her home in north Devon, the six-part series followed Carol for a year of gardening; encountering the rewards and challenges, and decay and renewal that each season brings to Glebe Cottage.I think it is based on a year in her garden in 2009 or 2010.
Also a new series- Monty's French gardens is coming soon
I wish they re-ran the older Gardeners World- those from the time of when I didn't watch as thought gardening was a necessity rather than the pleasure it is now....must be my age...........got hooked in 2009 when I bought this house!


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Gurdeep "Ponty" Chadha, liquor baron, real-estate developer, sugar mill owner and Coca-Cola bottler, could tell with accuracy the outcome of elections in Uttar Pradesh. He was the first to sense the rise of Mayawati in the state. So Chadha built bridges with her before anyone else — a relationship that may have helped him gain control of liquor distribution in the state years later. A few days before Diwali, he had told a friend that the Samajwadi Party would lose at least 15 seats to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party if general elections were held right away. The liquor vends he and his associates ran in the state gave him valuable insights into the popular mood. His people were instructed to observe and report what they saw and heard. Chadha would tell friends this was his "Gallup poll".
But his intelligence network failed last Saturday when he went down in a hail of bullets allegedly fired by his younger brother, Hardeep, who was also killed in the gunfire. A week after the ghastly shootout in a south-Delhi farmhouse, there is still no clarity on the chain of events that day. The presence of musclemen, personal security officers and hangers-on has muddied the picture.
What is certain is that the dispute between the brothers was not just over one farmhouse — it was over dividing the around Rs 10,000-crore business that their father, Kulwant Chadha, had started and Ponty had assiduously built over the years. (Ponty did nothing without his father's advice, except when he decided to celebrate his wedding in style, which included booking a south-Delhi five-star hotel. Kulwant didn't approve that he had borrowed money from friends for the bash.) Friends of the Chadha family say Hardeep wanted to opt out of the family business. Sources say a Rs 1,600-crore settlement was being worked out for Hardeep. But the two brothers died before it could be closed and signed.
At the moment, it seems that a division of assets is not the family's priority. The Chadha family put out one advertisement to announce the two deaths. The Bhog ceremony, held at the historic Rakab Ganj Sahib Gurdwara in Delhi, not far from Parliament House, had the entire family in attendance. If there are undercurrents of tension in the family, these weren't visible at the ceremony. Ponty's younger brother, Rajinder, aka Raju, is expected to be chairman of the group. He was Ponty's trusted lieutenant and used to look after the day-to-day affairs of the liquor business. The business will be driven by Ponty's son, Manpreet, or Monty.
Thirty-something Monty is a school dropout but suave, polished and courteous to a fault. In contrast to his father who would go to office only late in the afternoon, preferring to work in the morning from his 10-acre farmhouse in Chattarpur, Monty reaches office at 9 o'clock in the morning. Monty has engaged international consultants for his key projects. He took the help of an international consultant when he decided to change the name from Chadha group to Wave group. The consultant also gave the group a new logo. When he wanted to sell his ambitious 152-acre Wave City Centre in Noida, he hired Dubai-based Modelcraft, a creative solutions company, to come up with an interactive model of the project that he could show to prospective buyers. He forked out over half a million dollars for the model, it is learnt.
Monty is not a control freak. When Gurdeep Khandhari, Coca-Cola's bottler in Amritsar, needed financial help to run the unit, Ponty picked up a majority stake in it. Monty, who is married to Khandhari's daughter, had the option of becoming the managing director, but he refused and asked his father-in-law to continue running the business. Sources in the soft drinks industry say: "They were keen that the business be run by professionals and took the help of Coca-Cola to identify somebody to look after the plant."
* * *
It is difficult to picture Monty running the family's liquor business. No consultants, no sophistication, fear holds the key in this business. "In a system where the person at the liquor vend has to send cash to a centralised location day after day, any breakdown can lead to havoc. So you have to instill fear that no one will default or break the rules," says a businessman who was close to Ponty.
Ironically, country liquor was the family's first business in the 1960s when Kulwant, Ponty's father and Monty's grandfather, got the licence to run a shop in Moradabad. The turning point came in 1997, during the Akali Dal regime in Punjab, when Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon (now food and supplies minister) was excise and taxation minister, and Ponty got the licence to run the liquor trade in the state. It was a win-win situation for both: the government wanted to replace the existing syndicate and Ponty wanted to expand. Yet, he was not beholden to just the Akalis; Ponty's good run continued when the Congress came to power in the state. People close to him say that he offered to double the Punjab excise department's revenues from liquor every year in return for distribution rights in the state. His monopoly ended only in 2006 when a new excise policy was introduced.
The big break came in 2008 when the BSP government gave Ponty the exclusive rights to distribute country liquor as well as India-made foreign liquor in almost the whole of Uttar Pradesh. The 54 distilleries in the state vied with each other to stay in his good books. He also came to control 40 per cent of the 17,000-odd liquor outlets in the state.
Still, Monty wants to give the group a new direction by reducing its dependence on liquor. "Today, liquor constitutes 70 per cent of our group's topline, I want to reduce it to 30-35 per cent in the next five to six years," he had told Business Standard a few weeks before his father's death.
Actually, the liquor contracts in Uttar Pradesh come to an end in March 2013. Since Ponty was close to Mayawati, there has been speculation that the Samajwadi Party government in the state, led by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, may end the group's monopoly in distribution. Lucknow Sharab Association spokesperson Anil Agarwal says that the state government could revert to the earlier practice of a lottery, wherein there were 20-25 wholesalers in the state. He says that will "bring in more competition".
The group has certainly faced some turbulence in Uttar Pradesh. Ponty had bought five sugar mills of the Uttar Pradesh Sugar Corporation in 2007. The Comptroller & Auditor General has said that these were sold at throwaway prices and caused a loss of Rs 1,200 crore to the state. Chief Minister Yadav has referred the matter to the Lokayukta for a probe.
That apart, Ponty had built bridges with the Samajwadi Party. He attended Yadav's swearing-in ceremony held in Lucknow earlier this year, and met Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav in Delhi to wish him on Diwali. Insiders say that tension was brewing between Ponty and another well-known Noida industrialist who is known to be close to the Samajwadi Party and who didn't approve of Ponty reaching out to the senior Yadav directly. But his annoyance meant nothing to Ponty.
It is worth noting that True Value Food, a Wave company, has been contracted by the Uttar Pradesh government to supply food supplements to over 28 million children and pregnant women under the Integrated Child Development Scheme for three years. The contract is worth over Rs 9,000 crore. (At the moment, the scheme is in limbo in the absence of clear directives and a rival challenging the award of the contract in the Allahabad High Court.) Ram Gopal Yadav, the chief minister's uncle, was at the Bhog ceremony at Rakab Ganj Sahib Gurdwara on Thursday. "There are 35,000 families that Ponty looked after," he was reported as saying. "His death is a loss for society."
Ponty had suffered reverses in Uttarakhand too. His group was allotted over a dozen hydro-power projects, out of the 56 up for grabs, in the state with capacity ranging from 5 Mw to 25 Mw in 2010 when Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank of the Bharatiya Janata Party was chief minister. Ponty had planned to invest over Rs 1,000 crore in these projects. Controversy erupted when the media reported allegations that the government had favoured companies owned by Ponty in awarding the projects. As the matter reached the courts, the government abruptly cancelled all 56 projects within months of allotting them. Ponty had challenged the decision in the Supreme Court.
Notably, in his last moments, Ponty was accompanied by Sukhdev Singh Namdhari, chairman of the Uttarakhand Minorities Commission. It was Namdhari's bodyguard who is said to have brought down Hardeep. Namdhari, of course, has been removed from his job by the Uttarakhand government. He was arrested on Friday.
* * *
It's not that Monty wants no part of any regulated business. He may not be enthused by liquor, but he is upbeat on sugar — a highly politicised industry where the government controls the input (sugarcane) price and also the output price (through its monthly sugar release order). Monty says the sugar business will only grow in the days to come and does not rule out acquisitions. His plan is to eventually list the sugar business on the stock market. That would be the first group business to list and open itself to public scrutiny. "We want to be amongst the top five sugar companies in the country" says Monty. That might be too ambitious, but he has finalised a blueprint to double capacity to 50,000 tonnes (of sugarcane) crushed per day.
But Monty is aware that he needs new businesses which will reduce his reliance on liquor or sugar, in case something goes awry. That is why he is aggressively pushing two key new business areas — real estate and retail. Monty says that the group already has a land back of over 3,200 acres, mostly in north India, and is scouting for private equity funds or other investors to bankroll real estate developments. He hopes this business will generate sales of over Rs 15,000 crore in the next five to six years.
He is also getting into the hotel business and talks are on with Jumeirah of Dubai and Swissotel for a partnership. He also wants to leverage his connection with hundreds of thousands of sugarcane farmers to support a retail chain for fresh vegetables called Wave Fresh. "The farmers with whom we have a long relationship plant sugarcane in only half of the 150,000 hectares of land they cultivate. We are telling them to grow vegetables which we will buy from them and supply to our vegetable retail chain", elaborates Monty.
It's nothing short of a DNA change for the group — a tough call for its new leader. But Monty will not have his father to advice him. He is left to his own devices.
(Virendra Singh Rawat in Lucknow, Komal Amit Gera in Chandigarh and Shishir Prashant in Dehradun contributed to this article)


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Chippy To Chip
Arsenal have announced that Liam Brady will retire from his role as Head of Youth Development in May 2014. The announcement has been made now so that a successor can be recruited in plenty of time. Brady has held the role since Arsene Wenger's appointment in 1996, but has notified the club of his desire to step down in 18 months time.
Brady was himself a product of the club's Youth Academy in the 1970s and went on to be considered one of the finest players to ever play for the club. In 1980 he moved from Arsenal to Juventus and also represented Sampdoria, Inter Milan, Ascoli and West Ham United, before managing Celtic and Brighton and Hove Albion. In his role at Arsenal, Brady has overseen the development of the likes of Ashley Cole, Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs.
Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: "Liam has a deep understanding of what it takes to discover and develop a talented youngster into someone who can perform at the highest level. He has made a massive contribution to Arsenal Football Club. It will be difficult to find a worthy successor but we will be looking for someone who can build on what Liam and his team have created."
In related news, Arsenal's U-19s have drawn Internazionale Milano in the first knockout round of the Next Gen series. Whilst Arsenal Ladies are also expected to announce their new manager later today.


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loss can be viewed as a liability or as an inspiration to recover and
gain twice as much. Sol Palha
A very common mistake that is made by novice market players
is that they confuse the term
stock market
stock market investing.
Then you have investors who confuse the term long term
investing with the concept of buy and hold, there is nothing
one should buy and hold forever, if you do so the concept
should be called buy and fold.
The Investor looks for a trend and buys early in the trend;
he/she then rides the trend until it ends. One should learn
the basics of trend analysis as it will help one determine
when a new trend is about to start.
Now let's go back to the topic of Trading vs. investing.
Stock market traders look for short term rapid gains, they
prefer to extract the maximum profit they can from a stock,
option, future etc. At least that's the concept behind
trading, unfortunately most traders end up losing more than
they win, and even when they do win, they usually end up
making less than the long term investor.
A few traders do extremely well, these chaps fall into the
2% category of overall players. Their gains are huge, but
for the rest of the players loss is all the can hope to look
forward to. The investor, on the other hand, looks for a new
trend and usually tries to get in right at the beginning of
the trend. If he/she is more aggressive they try to get in
when that particular market is putting in a bottom and has
been trending sideways for sometime, indicating that the
worst is behind.
Another error that is often made is to confuse long term
investing with the rather falsely promoted policy of buy and
hold. Long term investing is getting in early and selling
when the trend is over. A classic example was the Internet
mania of the 1990's. The time to buy was in 1995 and 1996
and the time to sell was late 1999 and early 2000, when many
of the Internet stocks started violating their main up trend
lines. Those that bought the buy and hold lie, found them
selves even poorer than when they took initial positions in
these stocks.
We at the tactical investor offer services that will cater
to both the stock market trader and the stock market
investor, and we even offer a service for the ultra
conservative via our
Global Pulse
For the stock market investor and trader, the
MARKET UPDATE is the ideal service, it
covers long term trades, and for the more aggressive short
term trades and option trades.
A very
important concept one should learn when one seeks to enter the Stock
Market, whether he/she is a trader or an investor is to learn the
art of being a
contrarian. In short a
contrarian investor does something that is totally the
opposite of what the crowd is doing. Once more, we at the
Tactical Investor have always been known for taking extreme
contrarian views, sometimes even contrarians have a hard time
digesting some of our views. On that note we believe right now, we
are in a multi year commodities bull market that is in its infancy
and for those who are fortunate enough to invest in the right
companies, the rewards are going to be enormous. This is your second
chance to make millions potentially if you missed the internet boat.
This bull market will dwarf the hyper bull market of the internet
era. The sector that will see the largest gains will be the Oil,
Uranium, Palladium,
Gold and Silver sector
. This is not going to be an easy bull to play, those that buy
buy and hold nonsense will watch all their gains vaporize
during the massive pullbacks this bull will experience every now
and then.
Another concept that is often forgotten and separates the stock
market winner from the stock market losers is
portfolio management
Portfolio management is essential it is one of the most important
and most neglected areas when it comes to investing. Many a trader
or investor who could have otherwise been successful ends up losing
year after year. All the topics mentioned above are covered in much
greater detail; all you have to do is click on the highlighted
Stock market trading knowledge bank
Technical Analysis
Some of Past Stock market calls that were predicted by the Ultimate
stock market timing system
Past Market calls


text:
CEBIT: AMD launches three new Athlon chips
Advanced Micro Devices has announced three new microprocessors designed to boost performance in mobile, desktop, workstation, and...
This Article Covers
The great debate - to PC or not to PC
IT leaders have greater choice in end-user devices than ever before. The age of PC-only users is over and we have entered the multiple device era. In this guide, you can find best practice, analysis of the latest trends, and expert advice on formulating enterprise strategy in laptops, desktop PCs and mobile devices.
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The new chips include AMD's Athlon XP 2100+ for desktop PCs, Mobile Athlon 4 1600+ for notebooks, and Athlon MP 2000+ for servers and workstations.
The desktop XP 2100+ reaches speeds of 1.73GHz, the Mobile Athlon 4 1600+ achieves 1.4GHz and the MP 2000+, which can power systems alone or in pairs, climbs to 1.67GHz speeds.
Hardware manufacturers are keeping pace with AMD by releasing systems based on these new chips almost simultaneously. Compaq, Fujitsu-Siemens and NEC desktop PCs are available now with the XP 2100+ chip.
This vendor support, while not unusual for AMD, shows some early acceptance for the new processors.
"It's showing that they continue to come out with new products," said Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research. The announcements with original equipment manufacturers show "that they are using the chip, they're not just throwing the part out there," he added.
AMD's new chips will compete with rival Intel's Pentium 4 desktop processor and Pentium III-M and Celeron processors.
The nomenclature that AMD now uses for its chips, an initiative it began last autumn, is designed to give customers a more accurate sense of performance than simply stating the megahertz, said John Rowe, product marketing engineer with AMD's mobile group. The numbers, such as 2100, represent relative performance, instead of the internal clock speed of the chip.
"It's a good way to communicate to the customer what performance they can expect out of the processor they're buying," Rowe said, adding that after a little scepticism in the beginning, the branding seems to be catching on with OEMs and customers.
Enjoy the benefits of CW+ membership, learn more and join.


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Will KDMC polls reunite cousins Uddhav and Raj Thackeray?
With 52 seats, the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has fallen short of making majority in the Kalyan- Dombivli Municipal Corporation by 9, the exact number of seats won by Raj Thackeray's MNS
In the run-up to the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) elections, all eyes were on the Shiv Sena and BJP, with the parties lodged in a bitter and very public rivalry.
Uddhav and Raj in a file pic from 2005, a year before Raj launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena
However, it is the MNS that finds itself the centre of attention now, with neither the Sena nor the BJP winning the magic 61 seats needed for majority. With BJP-Sena relations at an all-time low, and with MNS now holding the kingmaker's power, will the KDMC polls spell reconciliation between the estranged Thackeray cousins?
Also Read: Will Raj and Uddhav ever come together? Their maternal uncle thinks so
Shiv Sena members and workers celebrate their victory in the KDMC polls, in which the party won 52 seats. The Sena will now look at combining its forces with independents and other parties to attain majority. Pics/Sameer Markande
The Sena came closest to majority, with 52 seats in the bag. The BJP came second, trailing behind by 10 seats. On the other hand, the MNS took a steep fall from its existing 27 seats in the house to just 9. But these 9 seats are enough to push Sena to the finish line.
Yuva Sena leader Samadhan Sarvankar, who is also the son of Sena MLA (Mahim) Sada Sarvankar, tweeted this picture along with the caption: 'Every Marathi person will like to see this. In Mumbai, Thane and all over Maharashtra, the saffron flag will fly high
So will Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray choose to patch up with friend-turned-foe BJP, or reconnect blood ties with MNS chief Raj Thackeray? The official Sena stance is that it will wait and watch, but if social media is any evidence, party members hope Uddhav will side with his cousin.
AIMIM supporters celebrate after the KDMC poll results are declared
Twitter is already abuzz with Sena leaders and workers posting a picture of Sena supremo Bal Thackeray with his son Uddhav and nephew Raj in happier times, before Raj split from them and formed his own party.
Yuva Sena leader Samadhan Sarvankar, who is also the son of Sena MLA (Mahim) Sada Sarvankar, had tweeted the picture along with the caption: 'Every Marathi person will like to see this. In Mumbai, Thane and all over Maharashtra, the saffron flag will high'.
When contacted by mid-day, Samadhan said, "This is my personal view. As Maharashtrians, we want our own parties, not people who rule from Delhi." The MNS is open to discussion with the Sena, said party spokesperson and former MLA Nitin Sardesai.
"Shiv Sena hasn't approached us, but our doors are open for discussion if they want to talk about an alliance," he told mid-day. A senior Sena leader also said the party was considering joining forces with the MNS.
Read Story: Maharashtra polls: Are the Thackeray cousins moving towards unity?
"We are trying all methods to get enough support to place our mayor in KDMC. We won't mind forging an alliance with MNS," he said, adding that the party was also in talks with three independent winners.
However, on record, the Sena maintains that it will wait and watch. "We cannot say anything now. It is a wait-and-watch situation for us. Anything about an alliance will be decided by our party chief," said Captain Abhijit Adsul, former MLA and Sena's vibhag pramukh who handled the KDMC campaign.
BJP confident
Meanwhile, the BJP, despite falling short by 19 seats, is confident that it will form majority in KDMC. This election was a litmus test for both the BJP and the Sena, as they decided to contest on their own. While it failed to attain majority, the BJP has beefed up its strength in the house considerably from the existing 9 seats to 42.
Maharashtra BJP secretary Sanjay Upadhyay said, "We met the chief minister and he was beaming with happiness that we have fared so well. We will wait and watch the situation, and we will have our mayor in KDMC." Party members claimed to have the support of 6 independent winners, taking its total up to 48.
Niranjan Shetty, BJP Mumbai's chief spokesperson, who had also campaigned for the polls, claimed that people had doubted whether BJP would be able to place its own chief minister after the Assembly polls, but it had proved its point then. "Today we have our chief minister. The way we came to power in the state, we will come to power in KDMC too" he said.
No crackers for Sena?
With no clear majority for the Sena in the KDMC polls, celebrations have been subdued. In the afternoon, it was predicted that Sena would get 60 seats, and party chief Uddhav was also supposed to go down to Dombivli.
But when the number came down to 52, Uddhav — just about to leave Matoshree — decided to stay put instead, said sources. According to insiders, even the celebratory firecrackers were put back in their boxes.
AIMIM contested the KDMC for the first time with 7 candidates. One of them won, along with three independent candidates supported by the party. However, those three will remain independent corporators.
Poll results
Shiv Sena: 52
Congress: 4
Independent: 9
Total number of seats: 122


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Lets get the first thing out of the way... Diagon Alley is AMAZING!!!! I was impressed beyond my expectations just entering the land, all the while knowing I wouldn't be able to experience Gringotts until the following morning.
The feeling (especially for die-hard Potter fans who have seen the movies multiple times or have read the books) is actually quite overwhelming and very emotional from what I witnessed. Watching the reactions to the Hogwarts robed fans is an experience all by itself.
Lets start from the beginning. Hard Rock Hotel - Upon arrival, I specifically asked for a room on a floor that had a laundry room, per my wife's request. They informed me that the 4th and 6th floor had just been renovated and offered us a room on either one, even though they did not have a laundry room, to which we agreed.
I guess I never noticed the peach colored paint and overall drab look of the hallways until we got off the elevator on the 6th floor. All new paint, new carpeting, and newly themed rooms. They almost looked like the photos I have seen of the Cabana Bay. Sort of a retro look and the smell of fresh paint and carpeting that was cleaned daily.
The newly done rooms have a wide work desk with multiple USB ports, all new artwork, brand new paint, and decor. I was impressed at the difference between the old look and the new.
I apologize for not taking pictures of the room decor, I though my wife had taken pictures with her professional camera, but she had forgotten to do so as well.
Next Morning - Early Entry to Diagon Alley. If you are staying on-site, you should be prepared to be at the park at least one hour before early entry (6AM some days and 7 on others). The gates actually open a half hour ealry to get everyone queued up into the new area.
As I mentioned in the Diagon Alley thread on the main page of TPI, they do not check for room keys with the initial wave of people, so as far as I am concerned, anyone can enter early with a park ticket.
Upon your arrival in front of the Expo (MIB and Fear Factor) you will be funneled into a single file queue that takes you directly into Diagon Alley through the main entrance. I also want to mention we were able to enter the Diagon Alley at any time without having to use to use the return ticket kiosks.
HP and the Escape From Gringotts - I promised to give an unbiased opinion of the new land and both of the new rides, so here it goes.... I loved the Grongotts ride, but it is all 3D screens and some physical props, just like Spidey and Tranformers. A couple of the screens seemed blurry, which took away from the ride a bit. The scene where Valdemort blows the fire was the same on both rides. A bit out of focus, which seemed to bother me a bit.
The screens are a lot closer than the other rides, so the depth percetion seemed a bit off and you can plainly see where the screen opens for the 45 degree tilt that takes you directly through it.
Hogwarts Express - A very relaxing ride that keeps you looking out the "windows" and at the action in the train car hallway. My only gripe is Hermoine's voice was not done by Emma Watson, but a sound alike who they could have done a better job in their selection.
In all honesty, the best part of Diagon Alley is the land itself and exploring all of the detail. If I had to compare Gringotts to Forbidden Journey, I would give FJ the better score out of the two. The physical props of FJ is what makes the ride completely different.
I can now see why people are saying that OUR is relying on screen based rides a bit too much lately.
I still think FJ is a 9.5 star ride and Gringotts would score a bit lower at 8.5 to 9 out of 10. The queues of both rides are amazing, but Gringotts is much more tame with regards to the actual ride.
I understand that Universal took the advice of most people and wanted to create something that was much less intense than FJ for the new ride.
Don't get me wrong, the Gringotts queue and ride are both top notch, but I have to give FJ the edge simply because I like the intensity.
IOA - Well, the park has not not gone through the rapid transformation that USF has gone through in the last few years, and it is clear that Diagon Alley is the new darling of the resort. Hogsmeade doesn't see the early morning crowds like DA does. FJ was basically a walk on for early entry (on our second day) but it does get extremely crowded about 3-4 hours after the crowds are done exploring DA.
The JP "gate" (arch with the JP logo and torches) has been removed on the side that leads from the main entrance after the dead zone near the BMX stadium, presumably to be moved to the new entry that will be near the new King Kong attraction so it seems like it is part of the new expansion.
The Universal Studios park is without a doubt, the new darling of the resort. What I dubbed "The Harry Potter effect" is in full swing at the sister park due to Diagon Alley.
Every ride, with the exception of Despicable Me is virtually a walk on until 11 to noon at Universal, which is the same thing that happened at IOA as of our last visit. IOA is a ghost town except for the early entry guests and people riding the HW Express a couple hours after Universal opens to everyone. Basically, the reverse of last year since Hogsmeade was the must see land at IOA.
Ollivanders (Universal) - The addition of three rooms takes the wait time down to 10-15 minutes even at peak times compared to the single room at IOA. It is basically the same show, but in a larger room. A much easier attraction to visit in DA.
Interactive Wands - This is a tough one. If you have multiple children that are young, you would be better off purchasing one wand and letting them take turns (since they have to go one at a time anyways) than buying one wand for each child at close to $50 a pop with tax.
My youngest daughter wanted to do all of this where as my oldest (16) had no interest other than texting her BF the entire time.
I am convinced these wands contain no batteries, but simply a reflector on the tip of the wand that the IR sensors emit to track the movement. The interactive wands are completely different than the ones based on the HP characters. They all have a unique design that is not based on any of the other HP wands.
In short, the real star of Diagon Alley is the land itself, and not the Gringotts ride, IMO. The Hogwarts Express is pure genius as it is a quick ride ride from one park to the other. Both train stations are amazingly detailed and look completely different. The ride has a unique presentation in each direction, so you should take the time to ride them both.
CityWalk - It seems like a whole new experience due to all of the new additions, unfortunately, we did not get to visit a couple of the new restaurants due to wait times and the time of day we tried to get in, so we relied on our old favorites (Margaritaville and Pat O'Brien's) as they were virtually no wait.
If you are going to visit Diagon Alley on your arrival day, wait until after sunset to get your first glimpse and plan on getting there as early as possible the following day.
Now that I have seen the new land, and rode both of the new attractions, I can finally vote on both of them objectively. Gringotts is a must ride and I think a lot of poeple who found FJ a bit to rough would vote it higher in the TPI polls. My whole family agreed that Grongotts was a bit tame by comparison, but still a great ride that puts UOR at the top of the theme park world.
Lastly, my wife, Lisa, was one of those people who was very angry to see Jaws go away for the new expansion. So, I asked her after entering DA "If the trade-off for DA was good move"... she completely agreed.Tweet
They say the peach colored paint and overall drab is very soothing... Hahahaha...
50 Points to Gryffindor....
Our seats on Gringotts were second row and back row on the two different rides. I'm not sure if the seating position would make a huge difference with regards to the 3D though. The effect is very convincing, just like the other rides, but the screens are much closer, and the ride seems a lot more closed in with regards to ceiling height etc...
Although sitting front row on Spidey and Transformers is the best, in my opinion, the other rows really don't take away from the 3D.
I have no idea why they didn't use Diamond Black screens for the parabolic dishes on Forbidden Journey or Gringotts. They enhance the black levels dramatically and actually brighten the video. I saw one of the screens at a CEDIA show a couple of years ago.
They used a standard DLP projector on a brightly lit expo center and the picture was amazingly bright and vivid compared to a standard high gain white screen.
I would love to have a chat with Universal Creative about this someday.....
This discussion has been archived and is no longer accepting responses.
World Top 10 Parks
Theme Park Hotel Ratings


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The Sheldon Vexler Theatre ends its season with an utterly delightful staging of "The Fantasticks." The musical — in which two fathers (Michael Duggan and Adam Fellers) fake a feud and arrange a "first class" fake kidnapping in an attempt to try to spark romance between their children (Rachel Dvorak and Lincoln Korver) — is sweet, a little salty and completely delectable.
"The Fantasticks" plays through June 8 at the Sheldon Vexler Theatre. Call 210-302-6835 for reservations; visit the Vex Web site for more information.


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|Memo to His Excellency, President Kgalema Motlanthe regarding Traditional leaders' concerns from the UDM President (20 October 2008)
The abovementioned matter has reference.
In the last two months or so, I have been visiting various traditional leadership institutions across the country, on their invitation.
High on the agenda of their concerns has been the government's neglect of Headmen's remunerations. They site Mr Moseneke Commission's tardiness; indeed they accuse him of only increasing the salaries of Chiefs, and Councillors year by year, without reviewing theirs. They further argue that Headmen play more important roles than the current councillors, who do not avail themselves to the communities when needed.
The other burning issue is the Property Rates tax legislation, which is due to be implemented in their areas of jurisdiction. They are questioning the rational of taxing their resident's properties, which have no financial value as far as the commercial banks are concerned.
Their argument is based on the fact that there has not been any consensus amongst South Africans, on what kind of land tenure system should be used the country, which would seek to address the current communal land system.
The traditional leaders further raised their objections on the Demarcation Board's style of operation. The Board's lack of consulting with the traditional leaders has been condemned.
Their concerns were submitted to your office as early as 1 September 2008, but without even receipt of acknowledgement let alone addressing their concerns.
b. Mpumalanga
Over and above the mentioned concerns, they also added the following:
In my regular constituency work all across the country I have observed these exact same problems in all the rural areas that I visit. The Government's urban bias exacerbates the woes of the rural poor. It also fuels the urbanisation that is placing huge strain on the infrastructure and housing capacity of the metropolitan centres and swelling the numbers of those who are forced to live in shacks and slums from the neglected rural areas.
Finally, it would be appreciated if the concerns mentioned above can be attended to by your government as soon as possible.
Kind Regards,
Bantu Holomisa, MP