text:
The more Corrupt – the more Uncomfortable Trump makes the Useful Idiots
Have you asked yourself why Hollywood is so rabidly ANTI-TRUMP?
What you need to do is follow the money – and also examine these mind blowing facts.
Trump canceled TPA (a bad trade deal for America) and in doing so won the undying enmity of the Hollywood moguls. In the hidden clauses of TPA was hidden "protection" to make sure the protected privilege of the big HWD bosses was caste in cement.
You see, Hollywood is threatened by the Digital Revolution:
Take Joy Villa who bucked the "big Hollywood bosses" She has been able to take her song directly to the people. She bypassed their nasty privilege and has become a legend. On the other hand, celebrities sunk in the swamp of the system, those who slept their way to the top, or bribed their way are still content to go along to get along.
Oh how easily they are played!
Those who have a clean conscience like Trump make the crooked and the corrupt uncomfortable. It is no surprise that Hillary and many of her Marxist followers think something weird about Trump. They should look inwards.and examine their own moral compass and understanding of the American political constitutional system that is based on balance of power. 95% of those who oppose Trump accept "Might is Right"
and favor a coercive government. If you don't agree with them they slap you down.
You will also find they intend to bring America down.
They are clueless about CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED. They take from us without our permission.
This is America's third crisis and you need to choose sides. The first was when we opposed "might is right" in the old corrupt British system. We won that war of Independence.
The second crisis was when America fought and REPUBLICANS won the civil war and freed the slaves.
Then came the Digital Revolution and the International and high tech oligarchies, seeking once again to USE FORCE to destroy sovereign nations and liberty.
Make no mistake once again it is about Might is Right where the idle rich and the idle poor are stealing from the hardworking taxpayers of America. Hillary asks "what happened" – well Trump stood up to defend the forgotten men of America.
He stands for traditional values, faith, family and one nation under God. Trump enemies and the enemies of America are godless.
(2017) America is under assault from the global elites.They spread their political lies and seek a political coup, and you are being fooled if you get taken in. It is all about elite privilege and it comes straight out of the dirty swamp.
Examine these mind blowing facts.and then make your choice
A few of us knew that Trump was going to be the next President; and how did we know this? We read his books and studied his record and realized that when Trump decides something, that is the way it is going to be. America rejected Global, Sharia Law and American Marxism when we elected Trump. America also rejected the progressive mantra that "might is right" in favor of "rule of law" and "balance of power". We assumed the responsibility to learn our heritage. Not all have taken the time.
The opposition is now out of the closet. Some of the ugly opposition is innocuous, uninformed with mere ideological differences. This is fine, our system allows for differences. Unfortunately, there are still many on the LEFT like Mika and Joe Scarborough (MSM) who cannot believe that the majority in America actually want to keep our Constitution, our Civilized Culture and our Religious Liberty; sorry folks the popular vote false narrative is propaganda: doesn't hold water when you look at the real numbers of voter fraud Judicial Watch is bringing to light. Furthermore when you add in the numbers from third party candidates, it is abundantly clear that in November 2016, America was leaning right. Trump won the electoral college with a landslide, but most likely he also won the (legal) popular vote.
Pretending to be a Republican but working for the other side is traitor John McCain.
His wartime records are sealed but why did Nixon feel a need to pardon him – what crime is being hidden back there? Moral compass – it seems not.
Wherever McCain goes trouble ensues. He was in Ukraine before the trouble there, whenever he goes to Syria observe the conflict escalating. Now he has sunk the Repeal and Replace of ObamaCare. And did you know that he has a foundation in full blown support of George Soros, open borders and that he fully supports other progressive agenda. McCain may be dying, but while he does he can still cause a lot of damage to the Patriot cause and America. McCain sanctimoniously is busy burying traditional Judea-Christian Western values.
Clear evidence that "the Resistance" is being orchestrated by Obama and funded by SOROS – sick. This is not just an attack on Trump but also clearly a direct attack on our American form of government, our culture and our heritage. This swamp WILL be drained.
Wanted or not by the shady & the corrupt, Donald Trump is our President and he is going to serve out eight years, as the 45th President of America.
So why all the noisy upset?
One: Swamp-dwellers
There were/are a lot of people who now stand to lose an unfair advantage and unfair privilege.
- Sanctuary Cities
- Federal Money given to EPA used for political advantage or protecting the silly "smelt in California" while central California tasked with feeding the nation, turns into a dust bowl. Gallons of water dumped into the sea during a drought.
- Illegal immigrants and Refugees living off the public dole when some of our children are starving and our veterans are being neglected
- Those gaming the legislative process
- Teachers protected by seniority and not judged on their performance.
- Government workers insisting on high wages and demanding high benefits, but failing the public they serve.
- Those in high office like Clinton betraying her public trust, taking bribes (bribes laundered through the Clinton Foundation)
- Those in high office like Clinton choosing to set up her records on a public server (SO THAT HER EMAILS COULD NEVER BE SOUGHT BY JUDICIAL WATCH ON A FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST)
- Lots of little bureaucrats raking it in on the side.
- Main Stream Media owned by Global Interests and engaged in bias and slander, actively STIRRING THE POT. Advertisers support MSM because they have been persuaded they control our thinking. Trump, the GOP and the The election in Georgia showed Hollywood and MSM just how irrelevant they have become.
- There is a sick culture of moral decay and decline in Hollywood. They are also fighting the digital revolution. We can write a song, write a book and self-publish. Hollywood relies on a rigged system government to enforce "intellectual rights"
- Big Pharma making a killing from Government patents and regulations that protect their unfair monopoly – why can't we buy our drugs in Canada or Mexico? Why can't HMOs compete across state lines? Why all this government protection?
- Farmers getting subsidies long out of date. Monsanto (GMO) permitted to hide what they are doing to poison our food.
- Investors like George SOROS using arcane investing rules to profit from an economic decline. (Then they use their new found wealth and power to attack our leader and our constitution)
- People on welfare now having to learn a trade and begin to support self and family and the nation.
- Abortion clinics relying on public funding. I am in favor of women's choice but there is something wrong with a taxpayer being forced to fund abortions.
- "Bad Hombres" pushing drugs into America. The states where most drugs go are where we find the loudest protests (sad) .
- We begin to understand the opposition to Trump better when we realize just how much money the elites in the media and in Hollywood stand to lose when Trump exposes their corruption, and their part in it.
- We begin to understand the opposition to Trump much, much better when we realize just how much money is paid in bribes by corrupt corporations to corrupt politicians. These two is just the tip of the iceberg) (see www.opensecrets.org)
- And finally there are the neocons trying to stir up a war with Russia. Clear evidence that Trump is being demonized, but we suspect so is Putin. McCain and Lindsay Graham (both generously funded by Soros) were recently in the Ukraine and what were they doing there?
- Then there is the United Nations. with envious third world nations with their greedy hands outstretched and we can help them, but not by giving them a hand-out. There is no reason that America is rich and Africa is poor, except for our form of government, and our creative innovation. Obama had perfected the art of using the idle poor to give to the idle rich. Luckily Trump sees through this, and has ended this stealing from the taxpayers of America.
So many crooked, unhappy people in the world. No wonder they are terrified of Trump, Trump who is able to expose their nasty secrets with a single tweet!
Two: American Marxism
The unrest (by observation) is not spontaneous. We will never win in America if we allow other interests to subvert & divide us.
Definition of black propaganda – with lies and innuendo seeking to falsify perception, or to create a false reality to justify a criminal act.
We know that this uprising is orchestrated because the demonstrators follow the same style book in every city, not just in America, proving a global strategy.
The organized protesters shout obscenities, start fires, destroy property., these are tactics employed in times past by Stalin and Lenin. Sadly, Marxists have been subverting our educational institutions and our youth during the terms of the last four presidents, all who favored the NWO. It takes but a generation to steal a nation. This cries out for a full Congressional Investigation.
This Marxist influence has been blamed on Russia but that is contrary to the fact that Putin is now anti- communism and seems to genuinely believe that Communism doesn't work. Putin/Russia has nothing to gain by subverting America. On the other hand the oligarchies of the NWO who want to rule the world, have seen an opportunity in socialism. (Saul Allinsky)
It is an axiom of political warfare that it is not wise to assassinate popular opponents except as a last resort. Better to invalidate them in the public mind. A part of this war tactic is to pick a popular target and demonize him, blaming him for the violence. Is this not what we are seeing with Trump? They picked the wrong man, I don't think Trump is going to crumble.
"If you want to understand what is going on in America today, just think of the Branch Davidians. If the elites can sufficiently demonize Donald Trump and his supporters as racists or something equally repugnant, then violence against him personally or against his supporters – perhaps even violence against the system itself – will be viewed as justified." Need to Know News
Three: The Muslim Brotherhood
Our democratic process was designed to resolve BIG ideological differences. It has kept us away from civil war. It would have done so again were we not subverted and divided by evil within. There is growing circumstantial evidence of infiltration of the SOROS/Obama/Hillary and the Progressive movement by the Muslim Brotherhood – an orchestrated world movement to change our culture and bring the western world to its knees, under Sharia Law. This also cries out for Congressional investigation.
In part it is payback time for the wars in the middle East brought on by the neocons WHO ARE NOT AMERICA. We are complicit only in that we allowed it to happen.
Those who love Donald Trump see that . . .
- He has observed that America is in trouble, and he has decided that he is the one to make America Great Again.
- He has the unique ability to attract honorable and able men to his side. None can challenge the production records of Pence or Ben Carson or their spiritual integrity. That they love him speaks well for Donald Trump.
- He wants to see us safe. He wants to bring back order to America.
- He is transparent, and tells it like it is. This is likable.
- He understands finance; and this is something we badly need, it has become beyond vital to fix the failing economy before the next economic bubble pops (derivatives)
- His plan to lower taxes on the rich is coming under attack, yet what he proposes is fair and a gradient approach to handle income inequality
- What his enemies don't realize is that he only hits back when attacked, yet when he retaliates the counter-attack is brilliant and brutal. This president fights fire with fire.,
We all know that electing an outsider to be President is a big step. One thing to consider though, "Constitutional Republicanism" is so far superior to "Progressive Democracy" with its support of "coercive government" that there is really no choice. The Left fears that Trump would be a HItler, this is the pot calling the shiny kettle black. Hitler will never come to America while we keep our constitution.
Let me clarify; In a Republic, government rules only with consent of the governed. In a global or progressive administration "Might is Right" and autocratic rule, big brother, and bullying are all fully acceptable.
This "Might is Right" is the corrupt thinking the founders left behind when America first became a nation. And that folks is what was at stake in 2016.
We were fast losing "Consent of the Governed"
We could have lost America.
Quote for the Week.
Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.
George Washington
| About the Author
Lynn Verhoeff (Grandma Thunder) writes political satire. Her niche is "the Constitution in the Digital Age" where she examines the conflict of our times, Globalism vs Patiotism. You can read more at fb Grandma Thunder – an Independent Voice or Blog/Grandma Thunder or Free Books by Grandma


text:
"Some legislators may have personal differences. But all differences should be dealt with amicably within the party framework," Advani told media persons at Jamnagar when asked about the brewing discontent among BJP legislators of the state.
"The unrest within the party will not affect the development of the state," Advani said. This is Advani's second visit within a fortnight to the state where a faction of BJP has been demanding a change of leadership.
Can't work under Advani: Khurana
BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana -- who has been since suspended - had written a letter to Advani supporting the demands of some of the state MLAs who, led by veteran BJP leader Keshubhai Patel, have been demanding Modi's ouster.
However, during his visit on August 20 and 21, Advani had praised Modi's "honest" goverance and "capable" leadership.
Advani praises Modi government
Earlier, while addressing a gathering at the inauguration of an administrative complex of the Jamnagar Municipal Corporation, Advani stressed the need for political parties to stop bickering and concentrate on development of the nation.
"The idea of progressive nation should be the centre of politics. Parties should concentrate on development rather than on political conflicts," Advani said.
The BJP president continued his praise for Modi and the development of the state under him. Appreciating the developmental projects carried out by the state government, he said, "Even the Centre has been forced to implement some of the development projects implemented by Gujarat like disaster management, special economic zones and others."
Modi was present with Advani at the JMC programme and also at the function organised by Gujarat Maritime Board.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Emde **** apartment house in the Sauerland
Size65 m²
Floor No.
- Family/child friendly
- Internet/WiFi
- Kitchen
- Pets allowed
- Parking available
- Balcony/terrace
- Towels
Accommodation summary
Translated by Google Translate Show original version. Our **** apartment is fully equipped! www.haus-emde.info, visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com / HausEmde, giving you all the information. Versatile and exciting - so your vacation will be here in Siedlinghausen and around the middle of the Sauerland. Switch off, relax and unwind. Enjoy the charm of our idyllic villages - just a few kilometers from the main town Winterberg. You will find everything they need for a relaxing vacation active. We look forward to meeting you! Discover the Sauerland active and spend relaxing days in our sunny Negertal. While hiking on the Rothaarsteig, when cycling on the 37 routes of the Bike Arena Sauerland, the Bike Park Winterberg, in the bobsled, Nordic walking, golf, rock climbing, horse riding, paragliding, tennis and fishing. They come with children? - Then on to the Pure idyll and much more .... Fun amusement park ford, panoramic experience cap Winterberg, climbing forest, summer toboggan run, nature trail .... Visit (with height-adjustable lifting floor) our indoor pool - in the summer you can enjoy the heated pool their laps. In the guest house run HO and N scale - tracks every Sunday 11:00 to 12.30 clock by a highly detailed replica of the railway line from Siedlinghausen to Winterberg. www.modellbahn-siedlinghausen.de
House rulesMy **** apartment is a Non smoking apartment! separate entrance in the basement, complete with kitchen, comfortable living room with dining area, TV - SAT, also dutch. PAY-TV, video, radio, bathroom with bathtub, small. Hall and terrace with seating and sun loungers, BBQ, 1 sandbox for the little ones. The **** apartment is for 2 adults, 2 children and 1 baby. (1 double bedroom with 1 bed for baby, 1 bedroom with 2 bunk beds, top of the house there is a further double room, which be rented the apartment at an additional cost of € 20.00 . to a free parking space in front of the house.
|Weekly rate for 1 guest
|€ 337
|Monthly rate for 1 guest
|€ 1044
|Price for > 1 guests
|€ 6 per guest/night extra
|Maximum Nights
|3 weeks
|Check-in After
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out Before
|Cancellation Policy
The Wimdu Promise
We ensure the best quality of properties & services
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


text:
Difference between revisions of "Chad"
Revision as of 08:24, 12 December 2012
For more than 2000 years, the Chadian Basin has been inhabited by agricultural and sedentary peoples. The region became a crossroads of civilizations. The earliest of these were the legendary Sao, known from artifacts and oral histories. The Sao fell to the Kanem Empire, the first and longest-lasting of the empires that developed in Chad's Sahelian strip by the end of the 1st millennium AD. The power of Kanem and its successors was based on control of the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region.
French colonial expansion led to the creation of the Territoire Militaire des Pays et Protectorats du Tchad in 1900. By 1920, France had secured full control of the colony and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa. The French primarily viewed the colony as an unimportant source of untrained labour and raw cotton. The colonial administration in Chad was critically understaffed and had to rely on the dregs of the French civil service.
Fifteen thousand Chadian soldiers fought for Free France during WWII and after the war ended, France granted Chad the status of overseas territory and its inhabitants the right to elect representatives to both the French National Assembly, and to a Chadian assembly. Chad was granted independence on August 11, 1960 with the PPT's leader, François Tombalbaye, as its first president. Two years later, Tombalbaye banned opposition parties and established a one-party system. In 1965 Muslims began a civil war. Tombalbaye was overthrown and killed in 1975, but the insurgency continued. In 1979 the rebel factions conquered the capital, and all central authority in the country collapsed. The disintegration of Chad caused the collapse of France's position in the country, and a civil war in which the Libyans (unsuccessfully) became involved.
A semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually drafted a democratic constitution, and held flawed presidential elections in 1996 and 2001. In 1998, a rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which sporadically flares up despite several peace agreements between the government and the rebels. In 2005 new rebel groups emerged in western Sudan and have made probing attacks into eastern Chad. Power remains in the hands of an ethnic minority. In June 2005, President Idriss Deby held a referendum successfully removing constitutional term limits. In February 2008, an attempted coup rocked the capital.
Each year a tropical weather system known as the inter-tropical front crosses Chad from south to north, bringing a wet season that lasts from May to October in the south, and from June to September in the Sahel.
Broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south. Lowest point: Djourab Depression (160 m/525 ft). Highest point: Emi Koussi (3,415 m/11,204 ft).
The dominant physical structure is a wide basin bounded to the north, east and south by mountain ranges such as the Ennedi Plateau in the north-east. Lake Chad, after which the country is named, is the remains of an immense lake that occupied 330,000 km2 (205,000 mi2) of the Chadian Basin 7,000 years ago. Although in the 21st century it covers only 17,806 km2 (11,064 mi2), and its surface area is subject to heavy seasonal fluctuations, the lake is Africa's second largest wetland.
Get in
Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Republic of Central Africa, Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.
For all others, a visa is necessary. A single-entry visa costs US$100 for 1 month and multiple-entry visas cost US$150 (3 months) or US$200 (6 months). A letter of invitation is required.
By plane
Air France has daily flights from Paris to N'Djaména. Air Ethiopia also flies four times a week between N'Djamena and its hub in Addis Ababa, with one of those flights continuing to/from Bamako, Mali. Toumai Air Tchad also flies to a limited number of West and Central African destinations such as Cotonou, Bangui and Douala. The Libyan airlines Afriqiyah Airways also operates flights to N'Djamena that connect through Tripoli.
By train
There are no usable rail links.
By car
Roads are disrepair and are typically unpaved - there is only one paved road, which currently runs from Massakory in the north through N'Djamena on to Guelendeng, Bongor, Kelo and Moundou. It is the best road in the country but still has numerous potholes and runs through the centre of a number of small villages and drivers should exercise caution and moderate speeds even while on the main road.
There are several border crossings with Cameroon, most notably via Kousseri near N'Djamena and near the towns of Bongor and Lere. Be very careful, drive defensively, don't stop unless there is a very good reason. Do not drive at night, as coupeurs de route (road bandits) are common. They are a particular concern along the two roads leading out of Guelendeng, towards Ba-Illi (where ex-pats were attacked in two separate incidents in 2005, resulting in the death of one Catholic nun) and towards Bongor.
By bus
By boat
It is impossible to reach Chad by boat unless crossing illegally through Lake Chad.
Get around
The main languages of Chad are French and Arabic. Few Chadians other than the educated and well-traveled speak literary Arabic, however; a dialect of Arabic known as "Chadian Arabic" is much more widely spoken and is the closest thing the country has to a trade language. Chadian Arabic is significantly different from Literary Arabic, but similar to the dialects of Sudan and Egypt. Literary Arabic speakers can typically understand Chadian Arabic but the reverse is not true. There are over one hundred indigenous languages also spoken.
There are no restrictions on bringing foreign currencies into Chad. Although travel guides for Chad are hard to come by, some sources claim US dollars (in some places) and the CFA franc, and also the Euro are accepted.
Meat dishes are very popular in Chad, and foreign travelers speak highly of the meat (such as lamb). Food is usually eaten without utensils, and hand sanitizer may be a good precaution. Please note that Muslims find it offensive to eat with the left hand. If eating with or being served by Muslims in Chad, be sure to eat with your right hand only.
Years ago few hotels existed in Chad, but now N'Djamena hosts a myriad of affordable options.
Stay safe
Chad is consistently engulfed in political turmoil and attacks from rebels will probably not happen, but are certainly a reality. The situation has stagnated, but it remains a threat. Violence from the Darfur conflict is pouring into Eastern Chad from Sudan, a country which shares hostilities with Chad. Any activity outside of N'Djamena is done with difficulty at best. Northern Chad is barren, scorching desert and guides (good luck) and meticulous planning are required.
N'Djamena is RELATIVELY safe, although one should be wary of petty street crime and corrupt police/officials. Most border crossings are extremely difficult (Sudan and Libya not being a viable option) although the border crossings with Niger and Cameroon are relatively painless.
Stay healthy
Don't accept water from any stores unless you know the brand. Eat only your own food that you buy in grocery stores. Avoid restaurants whenever possible. Stay away from people that look sick, there are many diseases in Chad to beware of. Go to a doctor once a month if you can afford it.
There are 200 distinct ethnic groups. In the north and center: Arabs, Gorane (Toubou, Daza, Kreda), Zaghawa, Kanembou, Ouaddai, Baguirmi, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Hausa, Boulala, and Maba, most of whom are Muslim; in the south: Sara (Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye), Moundang, Moussei, Massa, most of whom are Christian or animist; about 1,000 French citizens live in Chad.
The Chadian-Libyan conflict is something to be avoided at all times; Chadians known to be living in Libya have been tortured & murdered on previous occasions.


text:
What is the 'Expense Ratio'
The expense ratio is a measure of what it costs an investment company to operate a mutual fund. An expense ratio is determined through an annual calculation, where a fund's operating expenses are divided by the average dollar value of its assets under management (AUM). Operating expenses are taken out of a fund's assets and lower the return to a fund's investors. It is also known as the management expense ratio (MER).
BREAKING DOWN 'Expense Ratio'Depending on the type of fund, operating expenses vary widely. The largest component of operating expenses is the fee paid to a fund's investment manager or advisor. Other costs include recordkeeping, custodial services, taxes, legal expenses, and accounting and auditing fees. Expenses that are charged by the fund as reflected in the fund's daily net asset value (NAV) and do not appear as a distinct charge to shareholders.
Components of an Expense Ratio
In addition to the management fees associated with a fund, some funds have a marketing cost referred to as a 12b-1 fee. This fee, if it exists, would also be included in operating expenses. A 12b-1 fee is charged by the fund to cover its distribution and marketing costs. A fund's 12b-1 fee can be as high as 1% annually, with 0.75% going to distribution and marketing expenses and 0.25% going to service fees.
A fund's trading activity, the buying and selling of portfolio securities, is not included in the calculation of the expense ratio. Costs associated with mutual funds but not included in operating expenses are loads, contingent deferred sales charges (CDSC) and redemption fees, which, if they apply, are paid directly by fund investors.
Index Funds vs. Actively Managed Funds
The expense ratio of an index fund and an actively managed fund often differ significantly. Index funds typically carry very low expense ratios. The managers of these funds are simply replicating a given index, so there is no need to have a full management team on staff to populate the fund. Actively managed funds do, however, need to employ teams of research analysts examining companies as potential investments. Those additional costs get passed on to shareholders in the form of higher expense ratios.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, an index fund that replicates the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, has one of the lowest expense ratios in the industry at 0.05% annually. At this level, investors are charged just $5 per year for every $10,000 invested. The Fidelity Contrafund is one of the largest actively managed funds in the marketplace with an expense ratio of 0.71%.


text:
Greater secrecy about public pensions would not benefit California taxpayers. The Legislature should reject any attempt to change state law in ways that would limit disclosure of pension details. Transparency is crucial to the public's understanding of a huge and growing pool of annual payouts funded by taxpayers.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System last week announced it would soon unveil a searchable online pension database, offering such details as retirees' names, pension amounts, years of service and other publicly available information. Two days later, amid criticism from retirees and employee groups, the pension system postponed the advent of the database. The delay gives those groups time to seek changes in the state's Public Records Act which would limit the data the system had to share with the public.
But the Legislature should rebuff a special-interest push to curtail public knowledge about the state's biggest pension plan. Californians have a direct interest in learning the specifics of pension payouts. Public pensions are a huge and growing cost to residents, threatening to pump ever more tax dollars away from actual public services and into payments to retirees.
The Public Employees' Retirement System has a long-term funding shortfall of at least $60 billion over the next 30 years for state and public school employees. And that figure does not include the unfunded costs for the more than 1,500 local governments and other public agencies which belong to the system.
The price of these benefits has been steadily increasing, as well. State pension costs, for example, were just $159 million in 1999, when the Legislature juiced retirement payouts. Last fiscal year, the state paid nearly $3.9 billion into the system. Local agencies have seen a similar escalation of retirement costs. And that expense is slated to climb further starting next year, because the retirement system has ordered a shift to accounting methods that more accurately reflect the real cost of public pensions.
Greater confidentiality about the details of pensions would only obscure the fiscal issues surrounding retirement payouts. Retirees and employee groups, for example, do not want the database to include names. But without any way to link names and pension sizes, the public has trouble knowing whether employees are artificially spiking retirement payouts or otherwise abusing the system. Concealing excesses — such as retirees who collect annual pensions larger than their working salaries — serves no possible public interest.
Public employees and retirees have also said that releasing the pension data would put them at risk for fraud, identity theft and other crime. But the database would not contain any records the retirement system does not already provide upon request. That data does not include sensitive information, such as birth dates or Social Security numbers. And disclosure is imperative anytime government is spending taxpayer dollars: Those paying the bill have a right to know where, and to whom, their money is going.
An online site would provide easier public access to what is and should remain public information about pensions. Instead, public employees want to backtrack on transparency — a goal that legislators should flatly reject.


text:
Healthy Self-Love and Not Giving Your Power Away
Synopsis: Common ways we give our power away and don't do healthy self-love in the process, The super important foundation concept and it's "win-win" way, Ways to retain our power and one way we all learn not to, Four power questions to start improving with, "Owning" your power, Plus a thought-provoking Love Success Question to end on.
One way to perform healthy self-love is to practice 'not giving your power away' which is something many people do without even knowing it. You might ask just what does 'giving your power away' mean, and how do we do that? Think of it this way. You give your power away when you let others upsets you, when you get defensive, become submissive and act against your own health and well-being, when you act from guilt or become intimidated. You give your power away when you care too much about what others think and not enough about what you yourself think. You're giving your power away when you do acts of needless and largely useless self-sacrifice, give-in to what others want you to do while postponing or negating your own real needs, and when you go along for acceptance or conformity's sake and act against your own best interests. Especially do you give your power away when you surrender what's healthy for you to do so that others are unnecessarily and more selfishly benefited. You significantly give your power away when you let others influence you to lose control and get angry, let others guilt-trip you, shame you, embarrass you, intimidate you and, of course, control you. In a more subtle way you give away your power whenever you have time to think things through and forget to think about how your acts concerning others are going to effect you, your health and your well-being, and effect those you care about. In fact you may give your power away when your actions, your thoughts and your feelings do not contain at least some healthy self-love.
Let's briefly look at the foundation concept for not giving your power away. Remember the 3000 year old admonition "Love others – as – you love yourself". Let me suggest that the little word "as" means love others and yourself at the same time, in the same way and to the same degree. You perhaps were religiously taught to 'love others and put yourself last'. Then perhaps you learned the secular, selfish message 'love yourself and let the rest fend for themselves in our 'survival of the fittest' world. From my mental-health practitioner's point of view "Love others as you love yourself" is a superior idea to both of those teachings. That's because loving others as you also act to love yourself means there doesn't have to be any losers. If I love you and not myself I can be the loser. If I love me and not to you, you can be the loser. It's better that we both be winners. Consequently the teaching "Love others as you love yourself" provides a 'win win' way. This is the extremely important background concept for learning healthy self-love and not giving your power away.
I retain my power when I don't let your words or actions trigger me into anger, defensiveness, surrender or automatically feeling bad about myself in any way. I retain my power when I choose my thoughts, feelings and actions pro-actively rather than reactively. I retain my power when I don't lose control and act in ways I am later sorry for, ashamed of and regretful about. I retain my power when I give myself permission to act the way I choose to act, to think and feel my own thoughts and emotions instead of in ways others would pressure me into acting, thinking or feeling. I retain my power when I let others have appropriate influence but not control me.
How do we do this? It takes a fair amount of work to learn how not to, rather automatically, give your power away. That's because we all started life without any power and were dependent on the power of others who were called parents, family and care-takers. Thus, we all learned, to one degree or another, to give in and go along with those who had more power than we did. Maybe later you learned to rebel but that also can be a kind of slavery to 'do the opposite' and, thus, not really do self-directed, self empowered living. As an adult you have more power than you may realize or be using. Mother Nature would have us be individually and independently powerful for healthy self care in our own lives. To actualize this power it helps to 'own' our power and not give it away.
To start learning more about how 'not to give your power away' you may want to began asking yourself these four questions in the many and various situations of your life:
1. Am I doing, or about to do something that includes sufficient, healthy self-love?
2. Am I acting by my own choice or am I reacting?
3. Am I paying attention to what's good for me in this situation as well as what's good for others?
4. Am I acting assertively (calmly putting forth my points) as opposed to aggressively (attack and harm) or submissively (give-in, surrender)?
Those who learn how 'not to give their power away' to others or to old, destructive training tend to live more powerfully, enjoyably, effectively and peacefully. They also live more self-directed, healthful lives, and likely are able to do more good for others.
Not giving your power away usually takes a fair amount of revamping your way of thinking about how people work. The biggest thought that has to be eliminated is the one that begins with the super common words "you made me …". If I keep my power and don't give it away you don't get to "make" me feel, think or do anything. I'm not meant to be anyone's puppet. I'm meant to be a self-directed individual whenever I choose to be so. You may 'influence me' but you don't 'make me' anything. I do that myself, possibly with your help. Whenever I think or say "you make me … (feel, think or act)" or "he, she, it or they made me … (feel, think or act in various ways)" I probably am giving my power away, at least a little bit. Once you really "own" this way of thinking you can begin to be so much more self dependent, and self-directed, and paradoxically you probably can be better to and for others. Then we can work together in co-equal cooperation, collaboration and other forms of democratic co-action.
Well, there's lots more to learn about not giving your power away but hopefully this is enough to get you started on the healthful, self loving actions of 'not giving your power away' and, therefore, taking good and better care of yourself as you also act to be good to others.
As always Grow and Go in Love
Dr. J. Richard Cookerly
♥ Love Success Question
Are you more likely to think "others may help but my feelings are in me, thus, I own them and, therefore, it's my job to channel them healthfully", or are you likely to think "others and circumstances make me feel what I feel and, therefore, I'm virtually powerless to influence my emotions and the acts that flow from them"?


text:
The opportunities are now in unconventional oil and gas, Africa's economic renaissance, emerging markets which have long since out-grown their legacy infrastructure, new financial models, and new approaches to performance in the utility sector.
Oxford, UK (PRWEB) February 16, 2014
The Global Water Summit - Water for Growth convenes at the Marriott Rive Gauche hotel in Paris, France, on 7th and 8th April 2014. Hosted by Global Water Intelligence* and the International Desalination Association** the conference is the major annual business meeting for international water leaders and top executives from water-using industries.
Key speakers include guest counter-insurgency expert Dr David Kilcullen, CEO, Caerus Associates. Kilcullen, an ex-soldier with first-hand experience of conflict, now runs a strategic design consultancy focussing on the overlapping problems of conflict, climate change, energy, health and governance. He will argue that access to water is one of the forces shaping the future of armed conflict and as a leading counter-insurgency expert will explain the threats to our communities.
David Korenfeld, key water industry speaker (to be confirmed), is Director of the Comisión Nacional del Agua (CONAGUA) in Mexico, where its fast growing economy is putting severe pressure on limited water resources. He will outline strategies and remedies that are relevant worldwide.
William Ambrose, Head of Global Risk with Norges Bank Investment Management, will explain why one of the world's largest investors wants corporations to pay more attention to water.
Gail Klintworth, Chief Sustainability officer with Unilever, will speak about making a business out of being good: can big corporations align environmental commitment with growing profitability?
Whilst environmental academics argue over the causes of climate change, municipalities and businesses are dealing with more water crises than ever before; stakeholders need rapid and innovative solutions; investors are looking for solid, long-term returns. However, growth in the water sector over the past five years has proved a slow and painful process. "Most businesses operating in the international water sector are still finding the market harder than it was before the crash," says Christopher Gasson, publisher of Global Water Intelligence magazine. "That's because competition has increased in their traditional markets, while the growth opportunities have moved to new areas."
The Summit is devoting a major part of its programme to water in industry, inviting participants from food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, energy and other water-using industries. Throughout the agenda they will be invited to share key initiatives that could lead to sustainability programmes adding value rather than draining the bottom line. In addition to the water stewardship challenge, the Summit introduces a new initiative, 'the Zero Impact Project', in which participants will play a key part in the project's development. Other topics will include industrial wastewater in China, water management in mining and wastewater and reuse in Latin America.
An international cast of speakers is being curated to cover a broad range of topics, including:
Veronique Hervouet, Senior VP Investments, Total Energy Ventures, France
Mike Ballard, Senior Director Utilities Strategy (EMEA), Oracle, UK
Fadila Ben Ousmane, Head of Wastewater, Office National de l'Electricite et de l'Eau Potable (l'ONEE), Morocco
Taqsem Khan, Managing Director, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (DWASA), Bangladesh
Nisha Singh, Mission Director, JNNURM, India
Nyomi Wai, Managing Director, WAI International Co Ltd, Myanmar
Omar Bravo, Deputy Manager, PDVSA, National oil company, Venezuela
Piers Clark, Commercial Director, Thames Water Utilities, UK
Virgilio Rivera, Group Director, Corporate Strategy and Development, Manilla Water, Phillipines
Walter Van Damme, CEO, Kardan Water, China
Jean-Michel Herrewyn, Executive Vice President, Veolia Global Enterprises, France
Professor Abdulmonem Ali Elhassadi, Chairman, General Desalination Company of Libya (GDCOL)
Felix Ockborn, Corporate Social Responsibility Program Development, H&M, Sweden
Louise Nicholls, Head of Responsible Sourcing, M&S Foods, UK
Richard Fox, Sustainability Director, Finlays, Kenya
Bea Buyle, Principal Scientist & Water Council Leader, Proctor & Gamble, Belgium
Stuart Lowthian, Global Technical Director, Bacardi, Switzerland
Khalil Attia, CEO, Office National de l'Assainissement (ONAS), Tunisia
Jean-Marc Jahn, CEO, Société des Eaux et de l'Assainissement d'Alger (SEAAL)
Other items on the 2-day programme are the Water Technology Idol competition for emerging technologies, the ever-popular 40 round-table sessions and individual networking meetings.
The Summit's aim, to connect the private and public sectors and include all businesses that depend on water, will provide some clarity for executives struggling with less budget, increased regulation and urgent development targets. "It is an exciting time, but also a confusing time," continued Mr Gasson. "The opportunities are now in unconventional oil and gas, Africa's economic renaissance, emerging markets which have long since out-grown their legacy infrastructure, new financial models, and new approaches to performance in the utility sector. The Global Water Summit in Paris is there to help you make sense of the future, and to ensure that you are part of it."
On the evening of Monday 7th Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia and Nobel Laureate, is the guest speaker at the Global Water Awards gala dinner ceremony. The Awards acknowledge the most important achievements in the international water industry for the previous year. See http://www.globalwaterawards.com for full details.
The Global Water Leaders' Group, a not-for-profit organisation, will be holding its Spring meeting at this event. It is concerned with the development and implementation of practical answers to the world's water issues and works with CEOs from across the industry. http://www.globalwaterleaders.org has full details.
A limited number of press passes and further information are available from:
Ruth Newcombe
Global Water Summit
Global Water Intelligence (GWI) researches and publishes business data and information about the water markets worldwide. Based in Oxford, UK it also has offices in Singapore and USA (Austin, Texas) and has researchers and office staff in many other countries. It publishes three subscription titles and a free weekly GWI Briefing email (http://www.globalwaterintel.com/accounts/mailinglist/) and around four individual reports per year on particular water sectors/geographic regions. It also organises two major financial conferences for the water industry each year: the American Water Summit in Autumn and the Global Water Summit in Europe in Spring (Paris 2014). GWI was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2011.
+44 1865 204208
**International Desalination Association (IDA)


text:
It can't be stressed enough that artist Marion Bolognesi is an absolute genius when it comes to using watercolors. This particular series entitled 'Eyes' will leave you completely silent. These simple, yet, detailed images stand out more than a completed face ever would and convey just as much emotion.
Marion Bolognesi must be commended for her use of colors; each photo features vibrant hues and intense emotion. 'Eyes' is more than just a dynamic series, it's art at its finest.
Expressive Watercolors
More Stats +/-
Interactive Escher Art
Beach Babe Paintings
Crumpled Celebrity Portraits
Intoxicated Oil Canvases
Sensuous Watercolor Art
Marion Bolognesi's 'Eyes' Art Series is Dripping With Emotion
- By: Zoe BadleyJul 23, 2010
References: marion-b & acidolatte.blogspot
References: marion-b & acidolatte.blogspot


text:
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh's garment boom has made Mohammad Fazlul Azim a wealthy man. Over three decades his empire has grown from a single factory to a string of plants that employ 26,000 workers and clock up an annual turnover of about $200 million.
Azim, who is also a member of parliament, has benefited from government policies to grow the industry into a global powerhouse. His elegant home here in Dhaka is a haven of luxury with an outdoor swimming pool, walled off from the chaos of the capital's streets.


text:
Paddling Photography a year Ago – December 2007
Not much paddling in December 2007. Every year I spent a week in December in San Fracisco attending Fall Meeting of American Geophysical Union. I was shooting some cityscapes with a new Canon EOS 40D camera. After returning back to Colorado I manage to take Sea Wind canoe to the Horsetooth Rservoir before it was frozen.


text:
Solutions for Capa set 6
2. [1pt]
In a hydroelectric power plant, gravitational potential energy is converted to electrical energy by letting the water fall from a great height and then using that energy to turn the electricity generating turbines. How much gravitational potential energy is released when 1291.0 kg of water descends 200 m to the generators?
1.1 Correct, computer gets: 2.53E+06 J
Gravitational potential energy is
Just plug in the numbers
3. [2pts]
Cars are tested for safety by performing a series of 'crash tests' where the car (with a crash test dummy behind the wheel) is driven into a cement wall and the entire collision is recorded by a high speed camera to see what happens to the car and the crash dummy during the collision with the wall. Most of the damage (to both the car and to the crash dummy) during a crash is due to the very large forces and associated accelerations occur as the car hits the wall. By performing a large number of such crash tests, automobile engineers can change the design of a car to improve its safety and minimize the damage to occupants during a crash. State whether the following are True or False regarding the physics during a crash.
(Select T-True, F-False, If the first is T and the rest F, enter
A) By making a car that begins to 'crumple' as the car hits the wall, the car tends not to bounce backwards after the collision and we see that the car has lost most of its kinetic energy by the end of the collision. Therefore, by conservation of energy, much of the kinetic energy must have gone into thermal energy (heat).
B) Some cars are designed to be rigid and bounce backwards very quickly and therefore change their momentum in a very short time when they hit the wall. Other cars are designed to crumple so that the collision takes more time to occur and often avoids bouncing backwards so that they experience a slower change in momentum when they hit the wall. However, the duration of the collision is unimportant, only the change in momentum matters in determining the acceleration.
C) By making the car as rigid as possible, we find that the car bounces backwards after hitting the wall. In bouncing off the wall there is twice the change in velocity of the driver, therefore a larger acceleration, and associated increased chance of injury.
D) A car that bounces off the wall has nearly the same kinetic energy after the collision as it had before the collision. Therefore, by conservation of energy, we expect that the driver could not have been subjected to any significant accelerations.
E) The rigid frame means the car bounces off the wall very well and has nearly the same kinetic energy after the collision as it had before the collision. Therefore, the 'collision energy' (defined on page 86 as the amount of kinetic energy that is
transformed at impact into potential and thermal energy) is mostly thermal energy.
F) By making a car that begins to 'crumple' as the car hits the wall, the collision is found to require more time and the car tends not to bounce backwards after the collision. Therefore, the car's change in momentum must be smaller than if it had bounced back.
Correct, computer gets: TFTFFT
Hint: Remember that what causes injury is force on the driver, and this just depends on the driver's acceleration during the crash.
A) True, kinetic energy is used to do the work of bending the metal beam, which then is turned into heat
B) False, acceleration is a= (delta p)/(delta t), so a shorter collision time means high acceleration
C) True, a large change in momentum results in a high acceleration
D) False, zero change in energy doesn't imply no accelerations
E) False, bouncing off the wall means that the kinetic energy is the same and because energy is conserved there is no energy to become heat
F) True, because it does not bounce the change in momentum is less.
4. [2pt]
In new hybrid gas-electric cars that are just beginning to be sold in the US, as the car gradually slows down, for example when coming to a stop at a red light, the wheels are connected to a generator so that the kinetic energy of the car is converted to electricity which is used to charge up a battery. Then when the car starts up again, the battery drives an electric motor that starts the car, and a small gasoline engine adds a boost to give it more acceleration and to make up for the loss of energy during the stopping to starting conversion. A typical efficiency for the conversion of energy from auto kinetic energy to electrical energy and then back to auto kinetic energy again is 65 percent (e. g. 35 percent of the energy is lost as heat). If the car is going 22 m/s before it starts slowing down, how fast would the car be moving after it had come back up to speed after the stop light? Assume that the gasoline engine was out of gas so it gave no help, and there was no charge in the battery before the car started slowing down.
Correct, computer gets: 1.77E+01 m/s
This is also an energy problem; however, some of the energy is wasted as heat, so just looking at the initial and final kinetic energy,
In both cases the energy is purely kinetic so
Now cancel out the mass from both sides of the equation and solve for vfinal,
5. [1pt]
State whether the following are True or False.
(Select T-True, F-False, If the first is T and the rest F, enter
A) By Bernoulli's equation, water in its streamline can be accelerating only if the water has a decrease in height.
B) You are visiting Marine Land and see a dolphin swimming in a tank. The dolphin being curious comes to look at you
through the glass. You are both at the same level. You are going to feel more pressure than the dolphin because the
water protects him.
C) Water rushing out of a fire hose can provide enough force to knock over a person hit by the flow. Therefore, the
kinetic energy per volume of water is converted to pressure as the water hits the person.
D) Bernoulli's equation is essentially a statement that, for each small volume of water flowing along a streamline,
energy is conserved.
E) Gravity is never an issue when planning water distribution in a building, no matter how tall the building is.
F) Water is in steady flow through a large pipe. Suddenly, the water comes to a place where the pipe is very narrow
and it speeds up to get through the tight spot at higher velocity. Because the water has accelerated, we can state that
the pressure in the narrow region is higher than in the large diameter region.
Correct, computer gets: FFTTFF
A) False, because the cross sectional area may increase or decrease causing a change in velocity
B) False, the water is more weight the dolphin must support than the air you must support
C) True, pressure is a force per area and that force does work to knock you over
D) True, yes Bernoulli's equation is base of conservation of energy density
E) False, water tower use gravity
F) False, the high the velocity the lower not high pressure
6. [1pt]
Imagine fluid flowing in a horizontal pipe. At one point on a streamline, the pressure is 9890 Pa and the velocity is 2 m/s. At an another point on the same streamline, the pressure is 5270 Pa. What is then the velocity of the fluid?
Correct, computer gets:
3.63868107973205 m/s
Hint: Remember that
the density of water is 1000kg/m^3
To solve this problem we use Bernoulli's equation
Because the pipe is horizontal we can drop the gravity term pgh. Now I will write down the equation for each point along the stream
Point 1
Point 2
Because this is along a streamline, the K's are equal
Now solve for v2
v2=3.63 m/s
7. [1pt]
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has a laboratory located on the Table Mesa in south Boulder. This lab is located high above most of Boulder. To provide reasonable water pressure for the lab, a water tank is located on a ridge 340 m west of the lab and 50 m higher than the lab. The tank has a 3 m2 cross sectional area and there is 49 m of water in it. The tube bringing the water from the tank to the lab is connected to the bottom of the tank. How much water pressure can be provided to the water distribution system in the lab by this tank if the water level of the tank is kept constant by constant monitoring?
Correct, computer gets: 970200 Pa
Hint: Remember that
the density of water is 1000kg/m^3
To solve this problem we use Bernoulli's equation
because the water is not moving we can drop the velocity term. I will write down this equation at the point
Top of the tank
where h is 50m+49m=99m
At NCAR
The K's are the same, set them equal and solve for Pwater
The question is unclear, but the answer is the pressure above atmospheric pressure (gauge pressure)
8. [1pt]
The Hoover dam in Nevada is nearly 250 m high. Water starts at the top of the dam, travels down a large pipe to the bottom of the dam. As it moves down the pipe, its pressure increases enormously. At the bottom of the dam, this pressure is converted to kinetic energy as the water blasts out of the pipe and hits turbine blades at high speed. The turbine blades then rotate to drive an electric generator. What is the speed of the water coming out at the bottom of the pipe according to Bernoulli's equation?
Correct, computer gets: 70 m/s
Hint: Remember that
the density of water is 1000kg/m^3
To solve this problem we use Bernoulli's equation
At the top of the dam
At the outlet
The K's are equal. Solve for v
9. [1pt]
You are opening a bungee jump business where people leap off of a tall bridge. Your typical customer has a mass of 80 kg. What spring constant bungee cord should you use so that the customer's fall stops after the bungee cord has stretched out a distance of 15 m on the first plunge down? The length of the unstretched cord is 210 m, and it is bright red. A bungee cord is just a long spring. Like a spring, the potential energy stored in it is 1/2 the spring constant times the square of the distance it is stretched.
In this problem you are dealing with the conversion of energy from gravitational potential energy into to spring energy. The change in GPE is the height the customer is lower than when they started, so that is the length of the bungee cord plus the amount it stretches. So GPE = mg(length+ x) where x is the amount of stretch. This must be equal to the energy that goes into the stretched cord, which is ½ kx^2.
So mg(length +x) = ½ k x^2. Plug in the numbers given for m, length, and x, and solve for k.
10. [1pt]
WE WILL THROW THIS PROBLEM OUT!!! (But look at how to solve it anyway!)
A car is heading up a steep road at a high speed, and it runs out of gas. The driver immediately takes it out of gear so they can coast as far up the road as possible. Assume that friction from the road and air resistance are not very important. Which of the following quantities would you need to know to figure out how far they will coast? Mark it T if it is a quantity that you have to know, and F if you could figure out the answer without this quantity. (Select T-True, F-False, If the first is T and the rest F, enter
A) the slope of the road
B) the velocity of the car just as it started to coast
C) the elevation of the car at the start of coasting
D) the mass of the car alone
E) the mass of the car and driver together
B is the only true answer. ½ mv2 = mgh by energy conservation, so v is the only thing you need to predict h.
See October 15 class notes
11. See Essay questions
12. [1pt]
Firefighters are battling a fire in a tall apartment building. The water pressure in the adjacent fire hydrant is about 555000 Pa above atmospheric pressure.
Some firefighters take their hose up the stairwell inside the building. What is the highest level at which they can expect water to flow out of their hose without additional pressure?
12) 56 [50.4,61.6] m
Use Bernoulli's equation to relate change in pressure energy to change in GPE. 550 KPa is converted to pgh, so P = pgh = 550KPa. Plug in and solve for h.
13. [1pt]
Firefighters on the ground begin to spray water upward from their hoses. The water enters the hose traveling slowly at 470000 Pa above atmospheric pressure. How fast will the water be traveling when it leaves the nozzle at atmospheric pressure?
13) 30.6594194335118 [27.5934774901606,33.725361376863] m/s
Here P energy is converted into kinetic energy. Change in P energy is 470 KPa = ½ Pv2. Plug in for P and solve for v
14. [1pt]
How high will the water in problem number 13 rise if the firefighters send it straight up?
14) 47 [42.3,51.7] m
As the water rises the kinetic energy is converted into GPE. So P → kinetic energy → pgh. So you can see that a change in P(470 KPa) = pgh, so h = P/pg = 470 KPa/pg
15. [1pt]
To boost the water pressure, the firefighters send it sequentially through pumps in two fire engines. Each pump boosts the pressure to get to a total of 1,500,000 Pa above atmospheric pressure. How high will this water rise in hoses carried up the stairs inside the building?
15) 153 [137.7,168.3] m
This is just like problem 12. P energy goes into GPE = pgh
So 1500 KPa = pgh


text:
We found new intel about the rumored revival of the Audi Ur-Quattro. A must read!
It would have been the perfect birthday bash: Audi celebrates its July 16, 2009, centenary with the rebirth of an icon – the original 1980 Coupe Quattro. But it wasn't to be. Although the concept car was almost complete, the board pulled the handbrake at the eleventh hour. What happened? All of a sudden, the brand chiefs decided that Audi should present itself in a less aggressive and more eco-friendly manner.
Thankfully, good ideas don't automatically go away when bigwigs order a shift of emphasis. That's why project Anniversario remains alive and kicking in a sealed-off studio. The exciting concept car is a modern interpretation of the revered Ur-quattro, which was built between 1980 and 1991. The Anniversario's design is inspired by the European-market Sport Quattro – a nastier, short-wheelbase Ur-quattro with a 306-hp, 2.1-liter turbocharged five-cylinder engine.
The all-new car is based on the S5 coupe. Chopping the wheelbase would have burst the budget, but Audi did craft new front and rear ends onto a largely unchanged passenger cell. The Anniversario also boasts a tall rear spoiler, wider C-pillars, a lowered ride height, and wild wheel-arch flares, as well as a lighter hood, trunk lid, and doors.
Related news: GermanCarBlog, P4MR, Audi Coupe quattro
Source: Automobile Magazine


text:
http://www.w3.org/Bugs/Public/show_bug.cgi?id=785 email@example.com changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- firstname.lastname@example.com |email@example.com ------- Comment #16 from firstname.lastname@example.com 2007-09-26 13:52 ------- (In reply to comment #15) > Is there any good reason, to *not* sending an accept header at all or to send > an empty accept header? Probably not. Now where is the patch that will cover all the media types which the validator accepts? I am changing the assignment to this bug, to make it very clear I am not working on it, and others should feel free to work on a patch.Received on Wednesday, 26 September 2007 13:52:53 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 15:17:30 UTC


text:
Discuss this workshop
Are you interested in travel photography — in capturing the flavor of a culture and its people? Are you desiring to travel to exotic ports and bring back photos showing the beauty and splendor of the location? Are you unsure how to go about getting these photos, all the while seeking the methods, tips and techniques that will catapult you to the next level in your photography skill set? Does the thought of walking up to a stranger in a foreign land, aspiring to take their picture, strike fear in you?
Then this workshop is just for you!
In a unique collaboration with the global study-abroad program Semester at Sea and led by Nikonians Academy instructor Michael A. Mariant, we are proud to bring the "Ultimate Travel Workshop" to you.
In 2009, Nikonians Academy instructor Michael Mariant offered his Travel Photography and Visual Thinking lectures in traveling seminars for Nikonians.
Michael now brings those lectures, along with highly acclaimed and related lectures in the travel genre back to Nikonians Academy, but this time while on a ship heading to 9 different ports of call!
May 27 - Depart: NASSAU, BAHAMAS
May 28 - Day at Sea: Classroom instruction
May 29 - SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO
May 30 - BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS
May 31 - ROSEAU, DOMINICA
June 1 - BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS
June 2 - ST. GEORGE'S, GRENADA
June 3 - PORT OF SPAIN, TRINIDAD
June 4 - Day at Sea: Critique & Classroom instruction
June 5 - KRALENDIJK, BONAIRE
June 6 - WILLEMSTAD, CURACAO
June 7 - ORANJESTAD, ARUBA
June 8 - Day at Sea: Critique & Classroom instruction
June 9 - Day at Sea: Classroom instruction and final show
June 10 - Return: FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Featuring four full days of classroom instruction, focusing on: travel photography, cultural sensitivity and people photography, street photography, and adapting a visual thinking approach to your photography — all taking place aboard the Semester at Sea's floating university, the M.V. Explorer, a former cruise ship converted into a floating college university campus. The classroom instruction is interspersed around day-long excursions in 9 different countries, where you get to apply and experience the various methods, techniques and approaches of travel photography.
While in country, we will practice and apply the methods taught in the classroom, including:
— all methods utilized by today's top travel photographers to capture the flavor, essence and character of the people and places you visit.
The workshop is limited to 25 participants only, to ensure an academic environment on-ship and provide one-on-one instruction and assistance between the workshop participants and your instructor. In country, all participants will begin their photography based on a pre-discussed "theme" or "topic" specific for that country, while your instructor will make himself available for assistance, coaching, technical support and advice.
The Nikonians Academy workshop fee for the "Ultimate Travel Workshop" is all inclusive: all 14 days of workshop instruction, classroom lectures, your cabin berth on the ship, and three meals a day on-ship are included in one low price, starting at $2099 per person.
There are four rooming options to choose from (price includes cabin berth, meals on ship and workshop instruction):
- Double occupancy, inside cabin: $2099/person
- Double occupancy, outside cabin (with large porthole/picture window): $2690/person
- Single occupancy, inside cabin: $2390/person
- Single occupancy, outside cabin (with large porthole/picture window): $ 3129/person
(Note: Inside cabin denotes a cabin without portholes located on the inside portion of a hallway; Outside cabin denotes a cabin with a porthole located on the outside portion of a hallway.)
BONUS: We are offering special 'family fares' for spouses and children opting to not partake in the workshop but travel as a passenger on the voyage:
- Spouse, inside cabin: $1675/person
- Spouse, outside cabin: $2265/person
- Children under 17 with two adults: $799
Cancellation Policy:
Prior to March 25, 2010: $300 of the workshop fee is non-refundable.
Prior to April 25, 2010: 50% of the workshop fee is non-refundable, with the exception of possible replacement of participant with similar passage.
Prior to May 19, 2010: 100% of the workshop fee is non-refundable, with exception of possible replacement of participant with similar passage.
If cancelled within 8 days of departure: 100% of the fee is non-refundable.
All participants (including spouses/children) MUST have a valid passport with an expiration date beyond December 2010.
The airport of arrival will be the Nassau Lyndon Pindling Airport (NAS) for embarkation on the ship and the airport of departure will be Fort Lauderdale, Florida (FLL).
Plan on arriving in Nassau on May 26, the day prior to embarkation. Recommended hotels in Nassau are the Atlantis Casino & Resort and the Hilton (the Hilton is very close to the port area). Plan for departure at Fort Lauderdale late in the evening on June 10 or, preferably, on June 11.
We will meet as a group on the morning of embarkation, May 27, in the Cruise Ship Terminal courtyard entrance, prior to boarding the ship.
For spouses and children, there are multiple day trips available in each port, ranging from cultural site visits to recreational options. These trips will be available for sign-up prior in the months prior to departure as well as on-ship after embarkation in Nassau.
The M.V. Explorer is a 590-foot-long, 25,000 ton, 7-deck vessel with full modern amenities. Originally a luxury travel ship, the vessel is now equipped as a floating university campus and one of the fastest, safest and most technologically advanced ships afloat with a top speed of 28 knots. The M.V. Explorer includes two dining rooms, a fitness center, a pool and sundeck, spa and salon, 8,000 volume library, computer lab and free Wi-Fi Internet. The ship is small and intimate when compared to the common mega-cruise ships of today, with a passenger capacity of only 800 and 200 crew members.
When digital was taking over the film world, Michael was hand-picked by the Institute for Shipboard Education to overhaul the Semester at Sea photography program and facilitate the transition to digital. Semester at Sea takes college students on a 100-day 'Voyage of Discovery' around the world as they embark on an itinerary to several countries, immersing themselves in the host country's culture for a week, all while calling a former cruise ship-turned-floating university their home. Michael implemented a myriad of change to accommodate digital photography in the global travel environment while introducing several lectures to assist the emerging photographer, including his highly-acclaimed Visual Thinking lecture, Cultural Immersion in Documentary/Travel Photography, and Self-Editing for the Digital Photographer. After four voyages in the past six years, Michael continues his work as a remote and on-site consultant and coordinator for the program's multi-media department, providing instruction and orientation for the staff photographers each voyage and cultivating current and always-evolving technologies into their travel photography program. Michael Mariant joined the Nikonians Academy faculty on September 2008.
Member prices are only applicable to Nikonians Silver, Gold and Platinum Members. Non-members can register as Nikonians members here. Nikonians Basic members can upgrade the membership level here. Membership payments help sustain the growth of the Nikonians community and its services such as the Nikonians Academy.


text:
David's Top 10 Films of 2015
Yes, I know that we are now twelve days into 2016 and there's nothing we want more than to pretend 2015 never happened; to leave it in our review mirror as we look to better ourselves (at least for a few weeks until we slip back in to our old habits). There is one thing we here at the Film Philosopher never want to forget though, and that's the films we watched the past year that excited us, piqued our interest, and made us feel something we weren't expecting. That's why this list is being made: to remind you of some of the great films you watched last year, and some great ones you may have missed. Let's get started :
10. "Amy"
This documentary was one of the more surprising films of the past year for me. When I started it, I assumed I would just be seeing more of the same story I already knew about the troubled singer, but what I got instead was a complex story, a sad story, that makes you not accept but at least understand why she was doing the things she was despite having so much to live for. It's a dramatic documentary that packs an emotional punch and hopefully can serve as a warning for others that may be having trouble with addiction and don't have anyone to help them.
9. "Trainwreck"
Out of all of the comedies that were released last year, this is definitely my favorite. Not a perfect movie by any means (the ending was a little ridiculous and went on way too long) but still a strong debut film from Amy Schumer. All too often we get movies that feel watered down and unrealistic, but Schumer puts everything out there and tells it how it is.
8. "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
Yet another film where I went into it thinking I already knew everything that would happen — boy befriends sick girl, girl dies, boy learns a lesson and matures — "Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl" takes this tired sub-genre and puts a fresh spin on things. Yes, some of the usual stuff is in this film, but the story didn't get bogged down by the predictability, instead used it to further the story and add to the narrative. This is one of those films from 2015 that not a lot of people saw but should definitely get their hands on.
7. "The Editor"
While Astron-6 is not a comedy group that's as well known as one like Broken Lizard, it won't be too much longer before they're a household name. An absurdist giallo-thriller that's full of murder, mystery, and horrible dubbing, 'The Editor' is an off-beat comedy/horror film that doesn't take itself too seriously, but does make for an enjoyable film. Rey Ciso is a film editor who lived through a terrible accident that ended up taking most of his fingers and leaving him with wooden ones. When the actors of the new film he's working on start getting killed off, he's the prime suspect and must work to clear his name. After you watch this movie, you're going to want to get your hands on everything else Astron-6 has done and your life will be better for it.
6. "Mad Max: Fury Road"
I don't feel like I have to say a lot about this movie since it's one everyone went out and saw this last Summer. One of the best action films ever made. Period. If you don't like this film, we can't be friends.
5. "Tangerine"
Shot completely on iPhones, 'Tangerine' was the most unique looking and written film of the past year. When a transgender sex worker realizes her boyfriend pimp is cheating on her on Christmas Eve, she will stop at nothing to put him in his place. Sean Baker's comedy came completely out of nowhere; taking a cast of characters normally vilified in films or pushed to the background and making them the stars. You will grow to love pretty much everyone in this movie and pray that it spawns a sequel (something I don't say casually). 'Tangerine' is currently streaming on Netflix and I encourage you to check it out.
4. "Ex Machina"
Yes this film has a pretty big twist, making it hard to talk about without spoiling at least one plot point. If you haven't seen this movie yet, shame on you. Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander all play their roles to perfection. Caleb (Gleeson) is a young programmer who gets chosen by his boss (Isaac) to participate in helping him create the most sophisticated A.I. to date. Things are not at all as they originally appear as the role of villain gets passed around a few times and you constantly change who you're rooting for. We need more smart sci-fi flicks like this one. So many social issues tackled in this film and all done in a stylized and truly entertaining way.
3. "Room"
A young woman is kidnapped and kept as a sex slave for seven years. Two years into her captivity, she gives birth to a child: Jack (Jacob Tremblay). By the time we join the story, Jack is already five years old and his mother (Brie Larson) is already working on a way to not let her son live his entire life never knowing what the outside world is like. Phenomenal acting in this film really sells the story as it's more about a mother and son's relationship with each other than anything else. I guarantee you will cry watching this movie and I know that makes you think, "Then why would I want to watch it" and the only thing I can say to that is because it's some of the most powerful work in cinema you will see in your lifetime. A heartbreaking (and heartwarming) story that shouldn't be missed.
2. "Bone Tomahawk"
What starts out as a slow western with some dry comedy to keep you entertained, turns into a character study you can't stop watching, and ultimately an ultra-violent action movie by the end of it. It's a crime this film didn't get more love this past year, but it's not too late to discover it for yourself. When a cannibalistic native tribe takes a few of the townspeople captive, it's up to four men to track them down and bring their loved ones back home. One of the most tense films you'll watch, S. Craig Zahler really makes sure the horror of his story sinks in before he lets you face your new fears. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely for those who want a bad ass western film to add to their collection
1. "Sicario"
God, I loved this film. From start to finish I was completely hooked and Benicio Del Toro turns in one of the better performances of his career. A war on the Mexican drug cartel is at the center of this fast-paced and thrilling movie and you won't be able to catch your breath until the final credits role. If you care about yourself at all you'll go watch this movie immediately.


text:
One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
Drop Dead Healthy
One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection
Having lifted his spirit in The Year of Living Biblically and sharpened his mind in The Know-It-All, A.J. Jacobs had one feat left in the self-improvement trinity: to become the healthiest man in the world. He doesn't just want to lose a couple of pounds, or finish a triathlon, or lower his cholesterol.
First, he had to tackle a complicated web of diet and exercise advice, most which is nonsensical, unproven, and contradictory. Second, he had to consult a team of medical advisers. And finally, he had to subject himself, over the course of two years, to a grueling regimen of exercises, a range of diets and nutritional plans, and a brutal array of techniques and practices to improve everything from his hearing to his sleep—all the while testing the patience of his wife.
This latest work bursts with hilarity and warmth, all the while testing our culture's assumptions and obsessions with what makes good health and allowing the listener to reflect on his or her own health, body, and eventual mortality.
- Simon & Schuster Audio |
- 9 disks |
- April 2012
Articles About This Book
Posted on Tips on Healthy Living
Posted by A.J. Jacobs
Three years ago, I was fat. Not fat all over. I was what they call "skinny fat"—a body that resembled a python after swallowing a goat. My goal? To test out every diet and exercise regimen on planet earth, and figure out which work best. In the...


text:
Mar 082007
Esther's school orchestra concert was last night. She had a big solo at the beginning of one piece – and when I say 'solo' I mean, she was the only person playing. Not, she was the only one playing her line. It went very well – she played it beautifully.
I did my best to audio record it – I won't know if that came out until Steve gets back from his current trip edited to add – no, it didn't; I messed it up – sorry, no audio recording. Here's a short camera clip from her solo (from Ashokan Farewell):


text:
A new trade event called the First Look Housewares Show will debut early next year at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Produced by Cappiello Management, the three-day event, scheduled for Jan. 8 to 10, will emphasize new products in a format designed to allow retailers to get through the floor in a day and a half. Booth sizes will be limited to a maximum of 400 square feet per exhibitor.
"The purpose of the First Look Housewares Show is to start the process of new product evaluation so that deals can be concluded at the larger shows later in the spring," said Rob Cappiello, formerly with the National Hardware Show and Reed Exhibitions. Cappiello is also the former publisher of Home Channel News.


text:
Upon startup of my computer, Live Wallpaper will as well. About 3/4 of the time, the wallpapers will load, but the time, date, and weather will not. I am using dual monitors. One screen has the Golden Gate bridge and the other Metropolis. Only the Golden Gate bridge with no time doing across it or weather gadget and the metropolis is just a gray city with no person, time, date, weather, or color theme. Restarting the application fixes the problem, but I'd rather not have to manually start the program up every time I boot my computer.
OS X 10.8.2 Early 2011 MacBook Pro


text:
If you're searching for innovative ways to earn a quick fortune, strap on some scuba gear and make for the nearest sunken ship.
Crisscrossing the seas laden with valuable cargo—on vessels ranging from 13th-century Chinese junks carrying porcelain and silk to gold-ferrying blockade runners of World War II—goes back at least 2,500 years, according to Nigel Pickford, author of The Atlas of Shipwrecks & Treasure: The History, Location, and Treasures of Ships Lost at Sea.
In Pictures: Incredible Shipwrecks Around The World
Over the centuries, millions of ships sank to the sea bottom, priceless treasures and chests of coins with them. But since the early 20th century, a slew of previously untouched shipwrecks have been discovered, uncovering veritable underwater time capsules and breathtaking views of ocean-floor wreckage.
"An amazing haul of artifacts had been recovered in an operation that was a triumph of early underwater archeology," wrote Pickford, of the Antikythera Ship, a Roman merchant ship found in 1900 by sponge divers off the coast of Antikythera, a tiny Greek Island. The vessel is thought to be a relic of the the 1st or 2nd century B.C.E. Among the finds was Statue of a Youth, a well preserved classical bronze sculpture that was underwater for nearly 2,000 years and the Antikythera mechanism, considered the world's oldest known analog computer.
"In addition to billions of dollars worth of valuable treasure that has been lost for centuries, each shipwreck is a miniature museum," said Greg Stemm, chief executive officer and co-founder of Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company specializing in deep-water shipwreck exploration and recovery.
In 2003, Odyssey discovered the SS Republic, a Civil War-era side-wheel steamship lost in a violent hurricane on October 25, 1865 while sailing from New York to New Orleans. Passengers and crew escaped but left behind a fortune in precious cargo which sank to the bottom of the Atlantic seabed. The company recovered more than 51,000 American gold and silver coins and about 14,000 other artifacts from the wreck site in the course of a meticulous archaeological excavation, Stemm said. Estimates made from historical data and comparable coin values placed the cargo's worth at $120 to 180 million.


text: By Joanna MarracelliOne of my favorite things about traveling in Colombia is the impression that time has come to a standstill. In our modern world filled with notifications, constant updates and the ability to message anyone anywhere in the world at any time of the day, instant gratification has never been so easy. We are connected more than ever and those connections indeed spread far and wide but yet they remain quite shallow. Whiling away the day chatting over a cup of coffee is nearly absent, something only reserved for special occasions like getting together with an old, dear friend. It's become something we add to our calendars rather than a way of life. These opportunities for deep connections are often eschewed due to a perceived 'lack of time'. Our schedules are constantly filled up with things to do and even a real phone call can seem like another thing to add to the list.


text:
"The country's top authority on computer and video games." – Wired
"Britain's best games journalist"
– Need To Know
"Someone who's forgotten more about computer and video games than most of us will ever know." – PC Gamer
"A man who knows his stuff."
– gamesetwatch.com
"Videogames journalism's answer to Al-Qaeda" – Eurogamer
"A veteran UK journalist whose work is lamentably not seen enough."
– The Escapist
"A proper videogame journalist."
– P2 magazine
"Games reviewing's own cross between Barry Norman and Vinnie Jones." – Amiga Format
"[Someone] whose mission is to make game designers want to slit their wrists rather than ever design a game ever again." – Jeff Minter, Llamasoft
"Despicable… universally hated by the games industry."
– Jeremy "Jez" San OBE, Argonaut
Stuart first entered the world of videogaming in 1977, when he won a Pong console in a competition he didn't enter, held in a town he'd never been to.
Stuart was Scotland's National Videogames Champion in 1987, the UK's National Videogames Champion in 1988, and a member of the UK's winning European Videogame Championship team in Paris in 1990. He subsequently retired from professional competition undefeated, to give everyone else a chance.
In addition to his journalistic career, Stuart was Development Manager at Sensible Software during 1994 and 1995, overseeing the development of the chart-topping games Cannon Fodder 2 (also designing most of its levels) and Sensible World Of Soccer. In addition he's created many original freeware games, of which he's most proud of The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle Pinball and the Headsoft-coded Manic Miner – The Lost Levels. He was also the main writer on 2012's Hell Yeah! – Wrath Of The Dead Rabbit by Arkedo for Sega.
Stuart owns over 45,000 video games.
Stuart lives inside a videogame (on a street immortalised in a classic 1984 Spectrum title). He drives the only car that's ever been used as an arcade videogame controller.


text:
The SeesawSeat by Dirk van Amstel Ploos is a transforming piece of children's furniture that can change from a bench to a teeter-totter and back again. A playful design, it appeals to a child's sense of imagination in a way that confirms it and helps to develop it. Children live in a world where anything is possible and this seat shows that is not such a foolish belief.
A minimalist design, the SeesawSeat by Dirk van Amstel Ploos is made out of round-edged wood planks that have been slotted together in such a way that it can easily shift from bench to teeter-totter in seconds. More than that, van Amstel Ploos prides himself on drawing people closer to the product by making the mechanics of it visible to the naked eye.
Transforming Teeter-Totters
More Stats +/-
Functional Gamer Furniture
Stool-Bench Hybrids
Purposefully Dented Seating
Snaking Modular Seating
Commemorative Circular Seating (UPDATE)
The SeesawSeat by Dirk van Amstel Ploos is Playful and Practical
- By: Meghan YoungMay 29, 2012
References: dvandirk.nl & psfk
References: dvandirk.nl & psfk


text:
Well not really test cases with code, but as I make sites I keep thinking up stuff I wish existed in css. Came across a post on ultra-norm saying you people needed more suggestions and visual examples from designers. So, I started working on this here http://thinsoldier.com/CSSwishlist/ As I think up stuff I'll add to this page. Right now its a bunch of examples of parts of sites I've actually built and describes how I'd do it differently if CSS had the capabilities. Most of the changes in syntax come from comments on the ultra-norm article. http://www.lawver.net/archive/2005/07/18/h16_help_the_css_working_group_with _backgrounds_and_borders.php -- :: thyme online ltd :: po box cb13650 nassau the bahamas :: website: http://www.thymeonline.com/ :: tel: 242 327-1864 fax: 242 377 1038Received on Saturday, 17 December 2005 10:56:55 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Monday, 2 May 2016 14:27:22 UTC


text:
TROY, N.Y. -- A week off did wonders for the Baltimore Skipjacks' power play. It clicked for the first two goals of the game and provided the springboard for a 4-1 victory over the Capital District Islanders last night.
Idle since Jan. 4, the Skipjacks built a 3-0 lead after two periods and coasted in for their 23rd American Hockey League victory of the season. The triumph extended their unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) and solidified their hold on second place in the Southern Division.
Thomas Sjogren and Mark Ferner each scored a power-play goal for Baltimore, which had come into the contest with a dismal 4-for-43 ratio in their recent man-advantage situations. But a week of practice sharpened up the specialty-team unit, as the Islanders found out quickly.


text:
The Humane Society Honors Canine Heroes
The human-animal bond runs deep, especially when it comes to people and our pets. While we're often saving lives by rescuing animals from abusive situations, shelters where they'd be condemned to death and other perilous situations, sometimes the tables are turned by heroic dogs and cats who'd do anything to help their guardians. The Humane Society of the United States recognizes some of the most notable with the Pets of Valor award, which commemorates shelter animals who've given back, and then some.
This year, that award went to Chilly, a bulldog mix from Virginia. Chilly's guardian Heidi Parker received some allergy shots one day and went to take a nap without realizing anything was wrong. While she was unconscious, her throat started to swell and her airways constricted. She was experiencing anaphylactic shock, a potentially fatal allergic reaction that requires immediate medical attention. She could have died in her sleep, but fortunately, she had company.
The normally calm and extremely polite Chilly pawed, whined and licked at Heidi until she woke up, pushing her guardian to seek medical help before it was too late. It can be difficult to rouse someone who's in shock, so Chilly deserves extra commendations; some humans wouldn't have been able to recognize a problem, let alone wake Heidi up in time.
Like many dogs and cats, Chilly was sensitive to her owner's health and took decisive action when she detected something wrong. Numerous pets do this without prompting, but of course medical alert animals (usually dogs) are actually trained to identify problems like low blood sugar or signs of a panic attack so they can help their handlers. Pets who intervene in medical emergencies demonstrate that the connection between animal and handler can run deep, and even an animal not specifically trained to help in a medical emergency will still try her best to get assistance.
When it came to the Pets of Valor Award, Chilly had some stiff competition: she was up against Lilly, a pit bull who dragged a bystander to the body of her fallen guardian; Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback who protected a 17-year-old shelter volunteer from a vicious attack; Rocky, a Golden Lab who successfully guided his owner through the wilderness to seek medical help after a cardiac event; and a cat, Taz, who woke her family up when their house was on fire. That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to heroic pets from the last year alone!
If that's not an argument for adopting a pet, I don't know what is. Like human members of the family, pets know when we're not feeling well, and while they can't bring us chicken soup and tea in bed, sometimes they can provide much more immediately life-saving services, especially for people who live alone or are frequently out on their own without anyone around.
All of these animals were shelter occupants, abandoned, unwanted and sometimes picked up as strays. If it hadn't been for the hard work and kindness of people committed to animal welfare and protection, they might have been destroyed or left to wander the streets, experiencing short, miserable lives. The people who rescued them and brought them into their lives were richly rewarded for their decision to adopt a friend, and the people who left them behind missed out on something quite special.
Image credit: Elizabeth Tersigni.


text:
Tim Conway and his wife, Sarah, had no history of violence.
But police say in Columbia County are now calling their deaths a murder-suicide perpetrated by the husband, staff writer Robert Gavin reports.
Conway, 58, and his wife, Sarah Witham-Conway, 50, were found shot to death early Wednesday in their home at 101 Rabbit Lane, a winding, rock-filled road off Route 9H, early Wedneday.
"Timothy Conway did leave a hand written note at the residence, as well as a voice message on a family member's phone asking to be forgiven," police said, adding it did not provide further details.
A co-worker of one of the two became concerned when the person did not show up for work. Outside the home Thursday morning, yellow police tape between two trees kept onlookers away from the ongoing investigation. Cars remained in the couple's driveway outside the light-colored home.
The Columbia County Sheriff's Department has issued a statement saying at this point in the investigation, police believe Conway killed his wife with a 12-gauge shotgun — then turned the gun on himself.
The couple have two children, a 16-year-old son and a 20-year-old daughter, neither of whom were in the home at the time, police said.
The statement said the couple died instantly. The shotgun was found at the scene. Autopsies were later performed at Albany County Medical Center Hospital.
Related links:
Hudson Register-Star: Authorities: Man killed wife, then self
WRGB: Kinderhook deaths ruled murder-suicide
WTEN: Kinderhook deaths were murder-suicide


text:
Often, games -- particularly digital games, with their use of video and audio -- are compared to film, probably because the videogame publishing industry strongly resembles the Hollywood studio system. But I don think this comparison is particularly constructive, in that it gives us little insight into what the game, as a form, is capable of. Film tells a static story; what exciting about the game is that it allows the audience to interact with a set of rules. This doesn't mean the game can't tell a story: in the role-playing genre, the players aren't merely watching a story but playing the roles of the characters within the story.
A better comparison than film is theater, which is where a lot of our game vocabulary ("the player," "stages," "set pieces," "scripting") comes from. A play defines the roles, events, and scenes of a story. An individual performance of those roles and scenes will always be different: different actors will perform the same role in different ways. Every performance and interpretation of a particular play is different -- sometimes in minute ways, sometimes in radical ways -- but we consider the play itself and the scene itself to be the same.


text:
PRC and Utilities
PNM Files Load-Following and Renewable Integration Cost Report
Detailed report with data showing electrical loads and the behavior of various generation resources in PNM's portfolio. In color for graphics: PNM_Load-Following & RE Integration Report
2013 Renewable Energy Procurement Plan Case
PNM Advice Notice Nos. 458 & 459: AdviceNotice-458-459
PRC Recommended Decision: Recommended Decision – 2013 PNM RE Procurement
PNM Initial Filing: PNM Renewable Energy Portfolio Procurement Plan – 2013
Initial Briefs are filed. Please find Copies Below:
REIA: REIA InitialBrief 111811Final
AG/NMIEC: ag-nmiec-11-18-11_brief
CCAE: CCAE Brief
NMIPP: 2011-11-18 NMIPP Brief in Chief
PRC Staff: 11-00265-UT Staff's Brief
PNM: PNM_Initial_Post_Hearing_Brief
Testimony from intervenors has been filed , please find copies below
REIA: SadewicREIADirectTestimony 11-00265-UT.1003Final
NMIPP: 11-00265-UT Direct Testimony of R. Thomas Beach
PRC Staff: 11-00265-UT Direct Testimony of R. Dwight Lamberson
Santa Fe County: 10-3-11 Direct Testimony of Craig O'Hare 11-0265-UT