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A number of readers have asked me about materials I use to teach our children how to read, particularly Jolly Phonics, so I figured it's time for a series of posts.
First, let me say I'm not the best person to ask for reviews of the latest reading programmes. I usually research available resources on the market as thoroughly as possible, decide on something and if works well for us, we stick to it.
I study my chosen resource a few times (nerd, yes!) and create or look for supplemental activities to enrich our experience, following the individual learning styles and personal preferences of our children.
At home, we adopt a three prong approach to reading and writing: 1) Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar; 2) Reading aloud; and 3) Readers. In this post, I share about Jolly Phonics and why I feel it's an excellent programme. (I am not affiliated in any way to Jolly Phonics or its distributors.)
What is Jolly Phonics?
Jolly Phonics is an extremely comprehensive one year programme, used in Australian and UK schools with outstanding results. It provides a thorough foundation for reading and writing by using a synthetic phonics method of teaching letter sounds in a fun and multi-sensory way. I love its child-centred approach. There are stories, songs and hand actions for each letter sound, hands-on activities and games to play.
In Jolly Phonics, children learn how to use letter sounds to read and write words. They learn five basic skills:
1) Learning letter sounds – 7 groups of 6 sounds = 42 alphabet sounds, including digraphs.
2) Learning letter formation – how to form and write letters.
3) Blending letter sounds – how to blend the sounds together to read and write new words.
4) Identifying sounds in words – "segmenting", which improves spelling.
5) Spelling tricky words – words with irregular spellings which must be learned separately.
The Phonics Handbook is the best starting place. It provides detailed lesson guides to teach the five skills and all the 42 letter sounds. There are over 100 photocopiable sheets, as well as activities and games for reading and spelling. Suitable words are given for dictation and blending activities.
But why phonics?
Unlike programmes which require children to learn words by sight (memorising tons of flashcards or learning the alphabet names that make up words – so boring, in my view), Jolly Phonics teaches children the 42 letter sounds of the alphabet and encourages them to blend the sounds together to read regular words. There are some irregular ("tricky") words to be learned separately, but they aren't many.
In fact, just after learning the first group of letter sounds (s, a, t, i, p, n), children are immediately encouraged to blend regular words that use these sounds, such as "sat". At this stage, they learn the letter by its sound. For instance, for "sat", they learn "ss-aa-tt" and not the letter names, "ess-ai-tee". As the next letter sounds are taught, more words can be read.
Learning this "reading code" makes it possible for children to work out unknown words, simply by blending letter sounds. Good readers do this when they encounter a word they haven't seen before. This is so much easier and more efficient than memorising hundreds of words. The latter approach is much slower as there are only so many words the brain can remember at a given time. Research has shown that the reading and spelling ages of children who have used Jolly Phonics (for one year) are typically 12 months ahead of their actual age.
What to buy and where?
I bought The Phonics Handbook, Finger Phonics Books 1-7, Jolly Phonics Word Book (useful lists of words, ideal for dictation and blending practice), Jolly Phonics Cards (flashcards), Jolly Songs (book and music CD), Jolly Phonics DVD, Jolly Phonics Workbooks 1-7 and two sets of Jolly Phonics Readers. There are other products in the Jolly Phonics range, but I feel these are sufficient for our needs. We don't want to spend too much time on phonics as there are so many other things to do in a day!
These materials were bought locally from ExtraZeal Sdn Bhd. If I remember correctly, they cost a total of about RM800 (2010 prices). You could also try sourcing for them online (new or second hand) (eg. Amazon) and compare prices to see which is cheaper, but note additional shipping costs.
Here's the address for ExtraZeal: 88A, Jalan SS24/2, Taman Megah. Tel: 03-7880 0118. Email: email@example.com. It's facing the LDP, behind Secret Recipe, on the same row as a car workshop. The shop is located on the first floor, so the signage isn't obvious. Enter through the glass door and press the buzzer on the inner landing. Cynthia and Ros at ExtraZeal are very helpful and always ready to provide practical information.
ExtraZeal also sells My Jolly Phonics, a kit containing selected resources for home use. In my opinion, this is helpful for parental reinforcement at home provided the child is already learning Jolly Phonics at preschool. However, if you're planning to homeschool, I would recommend purchasing The Phonics Handbook as a primary resource as the home kit isn't as technical or informative as the detailed teaching lessons in The Phonics Handbook. Use the Handbook with other individual materials (such as the Cards, Songs, Workbooks).
ExtraZeal runs workshops on how to teach Jolly Phonics once a year. (There is one coming up on 28 June 2014. Call ExtraZeal for more details.) I attended a workshop in 2010. I feel it isn't absolutely necessary to attend one if you study The Phonics Handbook thoroughly, but a workshop is very helpful you want advanced help with the material and teaching suggestions for classroom application. I benefited from the workshop's additional teaching ideas and extra hands-on activities to supplement my teaching. At the time, I was already pregnant with Lamb, our second child. My husband and I knew we would be using Jolly Phonics to homeschool more than one child, so we agreed that attending the workshop was a investment.
Is Jolly Phonics worth it?
I have no regrets investing in Jolly Phonics for four reasons. First, it is so enjoyable. Our kids have such fun, learning to read and write. I have fun too, teaching them. It is so pleasurable to see their excitement at being able to figure out words on their own.
Second, we now have four children who will be using Jolly Phonics so the cost is spread out. We also save on kindergarten expenses.
Third, Jolly Phonics is easy to use. Before, I didn't know a thing about phonics. I learned in the old school system. But I found The Phonics Handbook so easy to understand. It is very systematic and has plenty of teaching ideas to help novices like me. Photostating, laminating and preparing the relevant resources was a bit labour intensive, but only at the beginning. The effort was well worth it.
Finally, Jolly Phonics has outstanding success worldwide in teaching children to read and write independently at a young age. This is also our experience, at home.
My eldest child started with Jolly Phonics in her fourth year, which is the year I am told Jolly Phonics is taught in schools. However, my younger children started at age three and two respectively. I hadn't planned to start so early with the littler ones as I always feel that very young children should just spend a lot of time playing, be read to and have lots of cuddles! But they saw their older sister enjoying her Jolly lessons and wanted in on the action too. I adapted the lessons and activities to their age, doing just a few minutes each day according to their pace. "Less is more" – we don't force learning at home and most times, the children usually want to do more than I anticipate. Jolly Phonics is fun, if adults don't stress about it!
I suppose I could have just spent a lot of time reading to my children, showing them flashcards and hoping that they would just "get it", learning how to read. But I felt I needed a programme to guide our learning at home. I was also attracted to the multi-sensory, creative and systematic aspect of Jolly Phonics.
Looking back, I am so happy we chose Jolly Phonics. Using the programme, I was really amazed how many words my children could spell at four years old. These were words they hadn't seen beforehand. They hadn't memorised them. They were blending letter sounds together to read those words. Soon, they were reading sentences. Together with reading aloud on a daily basis and going through some Readers, I believe Jolly Phonics (and its follow-up, Jolly Grammar) has played a significant role in helping my children to read and write, and enjoy whole books, independently, by the time they were five to five-and-a-half.
Books like these.
A whole world has opened up to them at an early age, and I'm so glad they can occupy themselves with books in their free time.
I believe if parents follow the gentle support and guidance that is recommended by Jolly Phonics (no Tiger Moms please!), children won't feel they are being forced to learn anything and they will in fact learn much more. Piglet, my three year old asks for his "lessons" every day. We spend very little time on phonics, maybe just 10-15 minutes. Often, he wants more. He can now blend sounds together to read some regular words and can also recognise letter sounds in things that he sees. At a café last week, my latte arrived and he said, " 'Kuh" for "cup", Mama!"
This picture almost shames me. A three year old who reads enough at home shouldn't bring books to the park! But just this one time, Piglet couldn't be persuaded not to bring his Finger Phonics board book along.
The important thing is not how early our children learn, but that they enjoy the process and build a life-long love of learning. I think Jolly Phonics, together with reading aloud and following several Readers, has helped us achieve both goals.
You might also be interested in stories and tips on reading and writing: Reading: Getting it; Learning the alphabet and honing glueing skills; Fun ways to learn writing the alphabet; Another love letter; The Almighty gets a love note; Reading ROCKS!; Reading mania.
Did this post help you? If you have any questions, please ask them in the Comments section (below the title of this post). I'll do my best to respond, and if it's a question that begs a long answer you might get another blog post! If you use Jolly Phonics, do share your experience so others can benefit as well. Thank you so much!
UPDATE: Since March 2017, I have started running a workshop called Phonics@Home. It is a four-hour workshop that equips parents with basic knowledge and practical skills of how to teach their children using Jolly Phonics. It is a small-group workshop, limited to six participants, so that everyone gets to ask questions, engage in role-playing sessions with personal feedback from me, and participate in hands-on games and activities related to phonics learning. Participants leave with a take-home Parent Kit containing the Jolly Songs CD and useful activity tools to reinforce learning at home.
In our private Facebook group exclusively for post-workshop participants, everyone is invited to share stories about how Jolly Phonics is working for them, or ask a question that might benefit the others. I also share updates of how we continue using Jolly Phonics in our own home and fresh learning ideas that emerge as we do so.
Please contact me if you're interested to participate. Thank you!


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- Description
Charge quickly and flexibly at a CEE industrial socket with maximum safety and a charging power of up to 3,7 kW.
You can easily connect the NRGkick mobile charging station to a 16 A CEE industrial socket and charge your electric car. Whether at home, on the road or at a friend's place. The appropriate charging power can be set manually via the selector button before each charging process, so you can, for example, fully recharge your e.g. Nissan Leaf in less than two hours.
Check out our charging times overview and discover how quickly you can fully charge your electric car with different charging capacities.
We have done the tests and this is how to charge using NRGkick:
- First, connect the NRGkick to the appropriate CEE industrial or domestic socket
- If the mobile charging station flashes, this indicates the device is powering up
- The blue LED then indicates the last charging power (the green LED indicates the status)
- Now you can adjust the amperage easily to suit your connection by pressing the individual selector button (6 A, 10 A, 13 A or 16 A)
- When you connect the NRGkick to your electric car all the LEDs light up briefly. Once this happens, the charging power on the NRGkick can no longer be adjusted manually
- After a few seconds charging will start (the exact time varies depending on the electric car)
- Stop charging your electric car and then unlock the plug-in connection
- After that, you can easily remove the NRGkick
If you connect the mobile charging station to your electric car first (warning: not recommended by the manufacturer), charging with the NRGkick works like this:
- As soon as you connect the NRGkick to a CEE industrial or domestic socket, the mobile charging station indicates the device is powering up
- Then you have about 10 seconds to adjust the charging current to suit the line fuse in question
- After 4 seconds all LEDs illuminate briefly indicating that NRGkick has recognized the electric car and that you can no longer adjust the charging current
- After a few seconds charging will start (the exact time varies depending on the electric car)
How can I readjust the charging power manually without disconnecting the electric car and the NRGkick from the CEE industrial socket?
- Within 2 minutes of starting the charging process, you can manually adjust the charging power on the NRGkick as follows:
- Keep the selector button depressed for 4 seconds: The charging process is interrupted and the device restarts
- Then you have 25 seconds to adjust the charging power until the charging process starts automatically
How is NRGkick with Bluetooth and energy meter an improvement on the NRGkick light version?
The NRGkick can communicate via Bluetooth with any smart phone. With the right app you can adjust the charging power in 1 A increments (including during charging), as well as view the charge data and status. In the app you will see an overview of the total charged energy as well as individual overviews of the last three charges.
Learn more about the app here in the NRGkick video.
Where can I get the app and when will it be available?
The NRGkick app is currently only available for Android phones in the Google Play Store and iOS.
Other features include a user-friendly, theft-proof and built-in DC fault current sensor.
1. The NRGkick is extremely user-friendly: the mobile charging station displays not only the choice of current, but also the appropriate charging power. This means you know exactly how many kilowatts are being used to charge your electric vehicle.
2. The NRGkick is theft-proof with the right locket: just use any small locket to lock your NRGkick as shown in the last image.
3. The NRGkick has a DC fault current sensor: this integrated sensor meets the legal requirements for the recognition of DC fault currents > = 6 mA and ensures safety during charging.
NRGkick: built by a quality manufacturer in Austria
The NRGkick was developed by DiniTech GmbH in Austria and is also produced there. As a seal of quality, DiniTech GmbH uses only a Menneckes quality charging cable. DiniTech GmbH develops and manufactures innovative products in the fields of electronics and electrical engineering with its customers firmly in mind. It places tremendous emphasis on delivering great quality and performance.
- Specifications
Colour Grey (charging station) & Black (Charging cable) Product dimensions (wxhxd) 90 x 84 x 215 mm Weight ca. 4 kg Installation variations Free-standing housing Rated current 16 A Charging power 3,7 kW Voltage 230 V Communication in acc. with IEC 61851-1, Mode 2 Plug type Type 1 (in acc. with ICE 62196-2) Protection components (RCCB) RCCB , type B characteristic, integrated in charging station Standards & directives Directives: 2004/108/EG, 2006/95/EG, 1999/5/EC R&TTE, 2011/65/EU | European standards: EN 61851-1, EN 61851-22, EN 62196-1, EN 62196-2, EN 61439-1, E DIN EN 61439-7, EN 61000-6-1, EN 61000-6-3, EN 50581:2012 (RoHS-RL) RFID: EN 301 489-1, EN 301 489-3, EN Degree of protection IP66 protected against heavy rainfall, suitable for outdoor use Storage & operating temperature #br#(no direct sunlight), #br#permitted relative humidity -25°C to 50°C/ -30°C to 85°C, 5% to 95%, non-condensing Access protection No DC fault current detection electronic, I Δ n d.c. ≥ 6 mA Delivery includes Charging station, instruction manual, cable suspension Energy meter No
- Suitable vehicles
Chevrolet Volt Citroën Berlingo Electric, Citroën C-Zero, Citroën E-Berlingo Multispace, Citroën E-Méhari Fisker Karma Ford Focus Electric Kia Soul EV Mitsubishi MiEV, Mitsubishi Plug-in Hybrid Outlander Nissan Leaf, Nissan e-NV200 EVALIA, Nissan e-NV200 Opel Ampera Peugeot iOn, Peugeot Partner Electric, Partner Tepee Electric Renault Fluence Z.E., Renault Kangoo Z.E. Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid
- Downloads
- Reviews
Review "NRGkick mobile charging station 16 A light (3,7 kW, incl. 5 m cable type 1, CEE connection, Bluetooth, power meter, mobile)"
- Payment
As a private or commercial customer you have the following options to pay in our shop:
- Credit card (VISA, MasterCard)
- PayPal
- Invoice
For our commercial customers we also offer leasing:
You can find all the information and conditions for leasing here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cost and revenue function, calculate the intervals where the profit is increasing?C(x) = 0.32x^2 - 0.00004x^3
R(x) = 0.848x^2 - 0.0002x^3
Im lost!!
Follow Math Help Forum on Facebook and Google+
the profit function is the difference between cost and revenue, so
simplify terms in brackets...
now can you use the methods you have been taught to find the values of x where P(x) is increasing?
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Brett Anderson puts his bare feet up on a Columbia Records conference table and rakes back his lank fringe. Suede's gaunt frontman wonders why no one back in balmy London troubled to mention that he'd be arriving in New York on the heels of an early spring snowstorm. In the corner of the room, a pair of sodden moccasins pays mute testament to his climatic misjudgment.
As befits its neo-glam reputation, this month's English Band of the Century travels with only carry-on luggage. Suede's glamour, though, is of a distinctly seedy stripe. Anderson's leather bomber jacket is peeling quite badly, and his black needle cords have seen better days, while bass player Mat Osman's pin-stripe jacket, desert boots and suede appliqué shirt are equally unlikely to spawn a collection of designer rip-offs.
With its triptych of instantly classic singles – "The Drowners," "Metal Mickey" and "Animal Nitrate" – Suede announced a changing of the guard in British music, powerfully confirming it with a debut album, Suede, of formidable grace and authority. Anderson's sterling writing partnership with guitarist Bernard Butler lends much-needed gravitas to the singer's arch vocal style, a pained cockney whine that recalls London pop lineage from the Small Faces and David Bowie through the Sex Pistols. If Suede has done anything to deserve the mark-down tag of glam, it has been introducing the post-acid-house generation to pelvic posturings.
The trajectory that dumped these threadbare dandies in New York has been a sharp one. Brett Anderson grew up in Haywards Heath, a glorified stoplight between London and Brighton, and after the standard-issue alienated adolescence he lit out for the bright lights of the capital with fellow Smiths buff Osman. They placed a small ad seeking a guitarist for their "eminently important band" and reeled in Butler, at 22 three years their junior, who was later joined by drummer Simon Gilbert.
The nascent Suede slogged around lowly London stages until its penchant for preening drama got the band members laughed out of town. They slunk off to spend the last half of 1991 in squalor, a siege mentality shrouding intense bouts of writing and rehearsal. "We started out with the idea that we wanted to be in a great band, but it was a while before the musicianship caught up," Anderson now admits. "We began listening to classic songs like 'A Day in the Life,' more for their sense of elegance than anything specific in the chord structures."
When Suede emerged, the turnaround was alarming: Melody Maker anointed it Best New Band of 1992 before one new song had been committed to vinyl. So strong was the avalanche of media that the band's publicist garnered an industry award for "campaign of the year." For once, though, the press hype has a toehold in reality.
"We'd have been birched on the streets of Bermondsey if people didn't think we'd got it after that," says Anderson. "But it was the new year, and people were getting bored. London was overrun by these shoegazing bands, and there was a feeling of 'I've had enough of this. . . .' "
And sure enough, the nation was soon gripped in the throes of Suedemania. The band's turn-on-a-dime dynamics not only counterpoint Anderson's falsetto flights, they put a jut in his strut that provokes followers to hysterical displays of worship at live shows. So violent are these reactions that Suede has actually had to tone down its stagecraft of late.
"This group appeals to people who are isolated in some way," says Osman of Suede's dramatic rise. "Geographically or socially or sexually or fashion-wise."
"Or biologically," says Anderson with a laugh. "I think there's a section of music lovers in Britain who are in certain dead-end situations who flock to certain sentiments in music. And I think for that to happen, the artist has to have felt them themselves. That's probably where a lot of the Smiths comparisons came from. I think there's a parallel to be drawn."
One early Suede convert was in fact Morrissey himself, who sent the group perfumed regards before covering its stately, decadent anthem "My Insatiable One" (from the B side of Suede's first EP, The Drowners) on his world tour. Like Manchester's Nabob of Sob, Anderson has been the subject of intense sexual speculation. An oft-quoted – and much-regretted – remark about being a bisexual man without homosexual experience only furthered an impression given by lyrics slathered with NC-17 imagery, where a third person of transient gender nibbles freely at the whole carnal buffet; now he leers, "She's a luvverly little numbah!" (from "Moving") and now "we kiss in his room to a popular tune" ("The Drowners"). Before you can say, "It's Pat!" this switch-hitter is imploring, "Have you ever tried it that way?" ("Pantomime Horse").
"I think I've got scope as a writer, so not everything I write is completely autobiographical," explains Anderson thoughtfully. "I feel vague when it comes to where I stand sexually; I don't know what to say – I'm willing to be persuaded, whatever."
In a climate clogged with infantile techno-novelty records and TV-marketed oldies, Suede has rushed through the British charts like a hormone shot – even if no one knows which type of hormones. As one of the most subversive stars ever to taste Top Ten action, Anderson's seamy subconscious terrain bears greater resemblance to the world of, say, the Sixties playwright-provocateur Joe Orton than it does to the lazy lexicon of contemporary rock, with its calcified sentiments of indolence, infatuation or "rebellion."
"My mind has always been much more encased in reality than that," says Anderson. "And the reality that everyone knows involves a certain amount of sexual failure. Not everyone's stomping ground is Venice Beach – I can't think of anything more boring than Baywatch set to guitars, which is how a lot of music treats the idea of sex.
"Most music is lazy; it speaks in pop-speak, prodding your memory about things you've heard before," Anderson adds. "I've never wanted to write like that. I wanted to do something with a bit of tension, look at things through different perspectives. It's the Oscar Wilde thing of lying in the gutter and looking at the stars. Life has always been cinema to me, even when I've been sitting in the dole office. That's the only way to do it sometimes."
The following afternoon sees Suede visiting the influential alternative radio station WDRE in an office block in suburban Long Island. The band is, it seems, coming to terms with the New York weather. Six-and-a-half-foot Osman has scored some inexpensive socks at J. Chuckles, while Anderson has economically stuffed a plastic bag inside his shoes.
Suede might find America's cultural climate a little harder to accommodate. Several U.S. record companies tend, bizarrely, to set their clocks by British hype (Suede's reputed $500,000 Sony pact is unexceptional), as does a significant cohort of media Anglophiles. When the bicoastal greeting parties are over, however, things can get a little sticky. The freeways of the Midwest are littered with the bones of pale, snaggletoothed hopefuls who came to grief on America's punishing concert circuit.
As Osman takes the Columbia promo man's rental Ford Taurus for an unscheduled spin around the DRE parking lot, he muses. "We're completely aware that we're a bunch of insects over here compared with even Screaming Trees or Soul Asylum," he says, "a horrific thought, but one we recognize."
This story is from the May 27th, 1993 issue of Rolling Stone.


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Comparing Animal Farm to 1984, how is the message about society similar?
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Orwell wrote both Animal Farm and 1984 as satires on society, with a focus on corruption of power and the adoption of collectivism. When there is a single overriding power in charge of everything, there is no outlet for individuals to seek their own goals and ideals; suppression of the individual creates an environment that promotes collective thinking, and thus societal stagnation. One example in 1984 is the Two Minutes of Hate, where all citizens are compelled to feel irrational, emotional hatred of a "common enemy." Because the citizens cannot create their own opinions, they have no reason to question Big Brother.
In Animal Farm, a similar focus is placed on propaganda techniques. The sheep, who are incapable of independent thought, are entirely informed by emotional arguments without deeper meaning.
...Napoleon was better at canvassing support for himself in between times. He was especially successful with the sheep... It was noticed that they were especially liable to break into 'Four legs good, two legs bad' at crucial moments in Snowball's speeches.
(Orwell, Animal Farm, msxnet.org)
This removal of individualism is key in the construction of an almost-religious dictator figure. Instead of a government based on the good of the people and the defense of equality and liberty, both governments are based entirely in control of the citizens and exploitation of their abilities.
the pigs control the animals in animal farm. everything is done as the former wish. they are like dictating the other animals what to do and what not to. similarly in 1984, big brother is always watching all and the thought police can read your thoughts thus the name. they will control your thoughts and emotions and make sure you don't rise as a rebellion. both show politics in its true essence.


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SC Johnson & Son said it will lay off 40 Twin Cities employees as it folds its Minneapolis-based Caldrea Co. into its Racine, Wis.-based Home Cleaning business.
SC Johnson announced last week that it would eliminate between 300 and 400 jobs at its Racine operation as part of a broader restructuring effort.
In addition to Caldrea-branded household products, the Caldrea Co. manufactures the Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day line of home cleaning supplies.
"These decisions are never easy, but integration with the SC Johnson Home Cleaning business is vital to the brands' growth," Caldrea's general manager Maggie Carey said.
Monica Nassif founded Caldrea in Minneapolis in 1999, offering high-end aromatherapy, cleaning and gift products that scored legions of fans including Hollywood's elite. In 2000, she launched Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, a more affordable brand with an emphasis on earth-friendly ingredients that made Oprah Winfrey's list of favorite green products.
In 2008, SC Johnson, the Racine-based company behind Windex, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles and Glade acquired Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, but the two brands continued to operate out of Minneapolis.


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|Fergus(s)on Y-DNA Project
This project is open to anyone world wide who has a Fergus(s)on ancestor and a suitable yDNA donor. The term Fergus(s)on refers to the surnames Fergus, Ferguson and Fergusson, variants of those names and any of the recognized sept names. A suitable yDNA donor is a male descended in the direct paternal line from their Fergus(s)on ancestor
Participants are required to provide information on their earliest known Fergus(s)on ancestors for inclusion in the participant listing and to allow their results to be included in the results pages. These two requirements serve the project's main purpose as a genealogical tool. They also act as a recruitment tool since internet search engines will index the information allowing people searching for an included lineage to find our site.
The principal file accessed by the menu above is the listings for the project participants. The listings include the earliest known ancestor of each participant and links to additional detail. If you are trying to discover if you share a common ancestor with somebody in the project use of the search engine is your best bet (tip: leave out the word Ferguson or you will get a hit for every page).
Project participants are subgrouped by haplogroup and clade or cluster. A project participant should first look in the participant listings to see which subgroup they are in. Once a participant knows their subgroup they can then look for their results presented in one of two formats: (1) separate pages with analysis for each haplogroup or (2) a link to the FTDNA data tables showing all haplogroups on one page.
Sharing of data is a project requirement! Participants are required to provide information on their Fergus(s)on ancestry which is then posted on this site along with test results and analysis.
Click here to join and if needed order a DNA collection kit.
Contribute to our General Fund which is used to purchase kits for non-genealogically oriented FERGUS(S)ON whose lineage is of interest to the group as a whole because they can document a lineage back to the UK in a time frame preceding civil records. To this end genealogies of families of interest are presented and worked forwards in time with the goal of finding living males willing to participate in the project as sponsored benchmarks; see Ancestral Fergus(s)on Families.
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Copyright © 2006 Fergus(s)on Y-DNA Project


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jQuery Marquee Plugin with CSS3 Support
Also the plugin is now hosted on jsDelivr.com(CDN).
Recently I been working on a project where a static text message needs to be animated similar to non-standard HTML marquee tag.
Googling gives me quite few jQuery plugins but they got so many options and complex html layout/structure was needed for the plugin to work. I decided to make a simple jQuery plugin which can scroll the text either left, right, up or down.
Continue Reading →


text:
microsoftplanet - Bing
Descriptionexcerpt from site's content
results Related searches for microsoft planet www.worldwidetelescope.org/Home.aspx From web to desktop to full dome planetarium WorldWide Telescope WWT enables you to explore the universe bringing together imagery from the best ground and space www.wallpaperup.com/6/Technology Linux Microsoft Planet test statements qu...
This is an automatically generated AboutUs page for microsoftplanet.com. Click the "Edit" button at the top of the page to make changes. Please read our Getting Started page if you need any help.


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Jordin Sparks didn't need an over-the-top sequined gown to shine at the Sparkle premiere in NYC Tuesday.
Instead, the film's star, 22, donned a minimalist, alice + olivia by Stacey Bendet peplum frock (with matching patent leather stilettos) which showed off her incredible 50-pound weight loss.
At the Teen Choice Awards last month, Sparks opened up to Us Weekly about the key to her jaw-dropping body makeover, which she first debuted last spring.
"There is no secret," the Season Five American Idol champ shared. "It's just better eating and working out! It's definitely a daily thing."
One of her favorite ways to stay active? High-energy dance classes like Zumba.
"My mom's best friend is a Zumba instructor and I loved it," she gushed. "I started with walking then went to jogging and then Zumba." In addition to her cardio-heavy classes, "I started [working with a trainer] and we did 30 minutes of circuit training," Sparks says. "So I didn't feel like I needed to be in the gym for two hours."
Sparks' lifestyle changes have paid off big time — this summer, the pop star landed the August cover of Shape, where she flaunted her slimdown in a barely-there bikini.
"I could only dream of having a cover and looking like that," she told Us. "I thought, 'I did it!' I had to walk back to my dressing room and . . . pull myself together because I was overwhelmed. I cried. I shed a little tear."
Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!
Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now!


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SKIN DEEP is on Tour!!
Here are the stops for the week.
03-Jun Danielle Kulawiak My Mercurial Musings
04-Jun Amanda Jones Mamas Reading Break
05-Jun Krystal Willingham Krystal's Enchanting Reads Review
06-Jun Melissa Pearl Guyan Yalicious
07-Jun Kandi Steger – Review & Kami Bryant – Kami Bryant
Please make a note of the stops and be sure to hop on over and read the reviews 🙂
Week 5 Stops will be posted next week.


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What would happen to your team's performance?
Who we work with
What they said
Rod is clearly passionate about helping people to improve performance by providing leadership program,leadership training and leadership consulting, not just in their professional but in their personal lives as well. He is self-aware, challenges with respect and has a track record of delivering sustainable behavioural change.
Rod was critical in implementing a culture of operational excellence into my department. He is an accountable and resilient leader who is capable of building strong relationships from executive to operator level. His ability to understand the challenges facing a team, take responsibility to 'do something about it' and build the capability of people were instrumental in creating a far more effective organisation.
Safety is the number one priority in the nuclear industry. Accidents in other parts of the world have a significant impact on the whole industry. Rod's approach encourages leaders to get out of the office and go and see how their people are performing. This supported the safety culture that we were creating by getting the leadership into the plant to support and develop their people.
Rod made a big difference to the culture and performance of our Operations. His system created a greater sense of clarity and alignment to the department vision. The changes he implemented are still in place over a year after he left the organisation.
Rod partnered with us to build our sustainable operational excellence culture. He builds trust quickly and helped to improve the performance of our team.
Rod joined us following his career in the Royal Marines. His enthusiasm and his passion for improving performance were immediately clear. He worked with a number of teams including the Board of Directors, driving clarity and alignment into the organisation. He is an authentic leader who is not afraid to demonstrate humility and ask for help – he made a valuable contribution to our organisation by delivering a sustainable high performance culture.
Rod supported us to build a culture of Operational Excellence. Despite having not worked in a lab he quickly built relationships with the team, worked hard to understand the challenges facing them and delivered a model, which significantly improved alignment and communication across our three labs.
Our Leadership Philosophy
Leadership Defined
The word Leadership is like the word Religion. It means so many different things to people that it has become meaningless.
How can you invest in Leadership Development company without a clear definition of what it is?
Our Leadership Philosophy is based on nine principles.
It is our definition designed to help clarify what good leaders look like – the Leaders we develop.
Download our free guide which explains the leadership principles and the practical steps you can take to implement them
A Leader's purpose is to make the world a better place by serving other people.
Leaders 'lead by example' because they know that the lowest standards of behaviour they exhibit are the highest standards that they can expect from their people.
Leaders are clear on their values and core beliefs – they know who they are and who they are not.
Their values drive their behaviour.
Leaders know their strengths and weaknesses and develop both through self-reflection and feedback. They know that they're not the 'finished article' accepting themselves as a 'work in progress'.
They have a drive to constantly improve and although they are never satisfied with the status quo – take time to celebrate achievements.
Leaders are transparent, consistent and accountable – they say what they're going to do and they do it. They know that this builds trust which enables influence.
They create consequences for action and inaction – both positive and negative.
Leaders create clarity and focus telling people what they want them to achieve and giving them the space to work out how to achieve it.
This gives them the ability to turn a vision into reality.
Leaders make people feel safe by giving them confidence that they have their best interests at heart.
They're able to do this because they know their people. They spend time talking to them – not just about work – but about the important things in life.
Leaders create safe environments for people to learn – allowing them the space to fail and learn where required. They pass on successes but hold accountability for failures.
They treat people with respect developing them through a combination of challenge and support.
Leaders create standards – they make it clear what a good performance looks like. They use standards to train and develop their people.
All our Consultants are ICF accredited coaches with significant leadership experience
If you'd like to get in touch – please use the form below


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Reviewed By Paul K (Frederick, MD) Reviewed for a 2013 Ford Explorer —6/22/2014 2:24 PM
tried other hammocks and they didn't fit right (to small)... this one fits well and my dog (80 lb. Boxer) now actually relaxes and lays down when riding when before he would never get comfortable enough to lay down and rest/sleep during trips. Good fit and good service! A purchase well worth it... btw, for other full size truck owners, I got the XL hammock.


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Publish on Monday, May 23, 2011 - 16:40
Shawn Michelle Smith offers us a multifaceted view of vernacular photography through her artistic reinterpretations and thought provoking writings. Currently teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she shares with us how she looks at and plays with both personal and public images that reflect America's complex culture of yesterday and today.
Publish on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - 16:38
Geoffrey Batchen shares his passion of photography through words: he reflects on and writes about photographs. A leading figure in the field of photographic studies, Batchen has written numerous books, including Each Wild Idea and Forget Me Not, as well as curated many exhibits. Currently a professor at Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand, and graciously took time to answer a few questions about his interactions and thoughts concerning vernacular photography.


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When it comes to gun control, Japan differs greatly from the United States. To begin, handguns are banned in the East Asian nation and heavy restrictions are placed on other weapons. And while firearms are few and far between in Japanese culture, so is gun violence. With 130 million residents, there were only seven gun murders in 2011. In contrast, in the U.S., thousands of killings are conducted using firearms each year.
Considering the disparity in the number of gun-related deaths, some might question whether Japan's restrictive policies are helping keep these rates low. However, such a discussion is a contentious one that involves intense cultural and legal analysis. July 2012 report by The Atlantic describes the policy differences surrounding and governing weapons:
Even the most basic framework of Japan's approach to gun ownership is almost the polar opposite of America's. U.S. gun law begins with the second amendment's affirmation of the "right of the people to keep and bear arms" and narrows it down from there. Japanese law, however, starts with the 1958 act stating that "No person shall possess a firearm or firearms or a sword or swords," later adding a few exceptions. In other words, American law is designed to enshrine access to guns, while Japan starts with the premise of forbidding it. The history of that is complicated, but it's worth noting that U.S. gun law has its roots in resistance to British gun restrictions, whereas some academic literature links the Japanese law to the national campaign to forcibly disarm the samurai, which may partially explain why the 1958 mentions firearms and swords side-by-side.
But it's not as though guns don't exist in Japan; in fact, hundreds of thousands of weapons are registered and in use. Though its gun ownership rates are tiny compared to the United States, Japan has more than 120,000 registered gun owners and more than 400,000 firearms.
So, what's the secret to the low gun violence rate? Some Japanese argue that the cultural view on firearms, mixed with the tough laws, is what helps keep violent gun death rates low.
"We have a very different way of looking at guns in Japan than people in the United States," said Tsutomu Uchida, who runs the KanagawaOhi Shooting Range, an Olympic-style training center for rifle enthusiasts. "In the U.S., people believe they have a right to own a gun. In Japan, we don't have that right. So our point of departure is completely different."
Treating gun ownership as a privilege and not a right leads to some important policy differences (let's also keep in mind that Japan even registers Samurai swords, as reported recently by CNN). To say that the East Asian nation is strict on firearms is an understatement, as the process to obtain a weapon is intense.
First, anyone who wants to get a gun must demonstrate a valid reason why they should be allowed to do so. Under longstanding Japanese policy, there is no good reason why any civilian should have a handgun, so — aside from a few dozen accomplished competitive shooters — they are completely banned. This, of course, runs in contradiction to the U.S. Constitution, which affords Americans the right to bear arms.
In Japan, gun violence doesn't come regularly — and when it does, the Associated Press claims that it is attributable to criminals. Virtually all handgun-related crime comes at the hands of gangsters, who obtain them on the black market. But such crime is extremely rare and when it does occur, police crack down hard on whatever gang is involved, so even gangsters see it as a last-ditch option.
There is an exception in firearm policy, though. Rifle ownership is allowed for the general public, but it is still tightly controlled. Applicants first must go to their local police station and declare their intent. After a lecture and a written test comes range training, then a background check. Police likely will even talk to the applicant's neighbors to see if he or she is known to have a temper, financial troubles or an unstable household. And on the mental health front, doctor must sign a form saying the applicant has not been institutionalized and is not epileptic, depressed, schizophrenic, alcoholic or addicted to drugs.
And the restrictions don't end there. Gun owners must tell the police where in the home the gun will be stored. It must be kept under lock and key, must be kept separate from ammunition, and preferably chained down. It's legal to transport a gun in the trunk of a car to get to one of the country's few shooting ranges, but if the driver steps away from the vehicle and gets caught, that's a violation.
In a recent CNN report, one man who went through the process said that it took a total of 40 days for him to take the classes, file the necessary paperwork, get medical clearance and obtain his gun. Despite the elongated process, the individual said that he supports the process.
"This is a tool that can end someone's life," he said. "There should be a strict screening process."
Watch the report, below, which sheds further light on the process and the legalities surrounding it:
While these regulations may seem like a dream-come-true for gun control advocates, people like Uchida claim that Japan's gun laws are frustrating, overly complicated and can seem capricious — all elements that would be viewed as problematic and unconstitutional to conservative Americans who do not currently live under such regulatory structures.
"It would be great if we had an organization like the National Rifle Association to stand up for us," he said, though he acknowledged that there is no significant movement in Japan to ease gun restrictions.
Despite his view on the NRA and gun rights, Uchida noted that cultural differences would make applying American laws to Japan quite problematic. Furthermore, he said that the Japan's system wouldn't work in the U.S., citing the tendency for Japanese to defer to authority and place a very high premium on an ordered, low-crime society.
"We have our way of doing things, and Americans have theirs," said Yasuharu Watabe, 67, who has owned a gun for 40 years. "But there need to be regulations. Put a gun in the wrong hands, and it's a weapon."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Cowen 'had no plan for economy'
Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen had no Plan A, let alone a Plan B, to prevent the economy from collapsing around him, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has claimed.
The former Fianna Fail leader, who revealed he had no backup to deal with the meltdown because he did not believe the dangers involved, made wrong decisions, said Mr Gilmore, the foreign affairs minister.
"I don't think he had a Plan A and I think that's why we ended up in the mess we're in," he said.
"The previous government, the Fianna Fail-led government, I think walked our country into a very serious economic crisis. I think in particular the decision to provide a blanket guarantee to all of the banks was the wrong decision."
In his first in-depth interview since stepping down as Taoiseach and as a TD in February 2011, Mr Cowen stood by the controversial decision to guarantee all the assets and liabilities of the banks in September 2008.
It was this 440 billion-euro guarantee that left Irish taxpayers forced to bail out the banks to the tune of 64 billion euro.
Mr Gilmore said: "We ended up, as you know, effectively in receivership, in a situation where the country and our public finances were put in the hands of the IMF and the European Union.
"And the present Government, which was elected shortly after that, has had to spend the last two-and-half years working our way out of that."
The state is now looking forward to exiting the crippling bailout programme set out by its trio of debt masters: the Troika.
"It's fragile but we are now beginning to see a recovery in our economy," he said.
Mr Cowen told TG4's Comhra programme, to be broadcast next week, he did not necessarily want to be Taoiseach. It was only after his closest colleagues in Fianna Fail urged him to take the job that he agreed to it.
Press Association


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2S Charge/Balance Adapter (Ultra Plug™ to 5mm Bullet Connector) by ProTek RC
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This product was added to our catalog on January 31, 2013.
This is a ProTek R/C 2S Charge/Balance Adapter with a genuine female Ultra Plug™ and is intended for use with 2S LiPo batteries that have 5mm output sockets. This adapter cable will allow you to balance charge your 5mm socket equipped batteries easily, eliminating the need to build your own cable.
ProTek R/C is an AMain Sports & Hobbies brand.


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EBI Personnel Directory Coradetti, Sam
Sam Coradetti
Systems Biology Analyses of Plant Cell Wall Deconstruction by the Model Filamentous Fungus, Neurospora Crassa
This project is working to define how a filamentous fungus remodels both its internal and extracellular metabolism to efficiently deconstruct plant cell wall material. Neurospora crassa, a filamentous fungus found on burnt grasses, sugarcane stalks and sugarcane bagasse in nature, has been used in the laboratory as a model organism for 80 years; its genome has been sequenced, and many biochemical, molecular, genetic and cell biological tools are available for this organism. The team has characterized the transcriptional response when N. crassa grows on plant cell wall material and are characterizing regulatory processes associated with sensing plant cell wall material and induction of enzyme gene expression and secretion. It is developing high-throughput methodology and cell biological approaches to enable defining mechanistic aspects and function of proteins encoded by genes, that when mutated, decrease or increase hydrolytic enzyme production.


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A few years ago, Hudson Marquez was with his wife in Montenegro, a part of Serbia on the Adriatic Coast. They were in a small cafe with friends. It was dark and smoky, almost like a bunker.
His friend introduced Marquez, one of the creators of the Cadillac Ranch, to the owner in Serbian language. Marquez didn't understand anything, but did hear an accented form of "Cadillac Ranch."
"It was like the entire restaurant stopped," Marquez said. "And you could hear each table say, 'Cadillac Ranch! Cadillac Ranch!' For the rest of the night, they couldn't stop buying us drinks. They were all huge fans of Cadillac Ranch. I thought, '10 Cadillacs in the ground have charmed the Serbs.'"
Cadillac Ranch turned 40 on June 21, the first day of summer, four days after Amarillo millionaire Stanley Marsh 3, who green-lighted the project, died. From its curious beginnings in 1974, Cadillac Ranch has become a highway icon, a symbol of the open road.
Bruce Springsteen, with Cadillac Ranch featured inside his album "The River," had a song by the same name. Cadillac Ranch was featured in the hit movie "Cars." It's big for vacationers from Germany, and has been the quirky off-beat stop three miles west of Amarillo for right at 1 million travelers of I-40 and Highway 66.
Initially, though, Marsh thought the project "irrelevant and silly," as he wrote in a letter. But it was too tempting to turn away the idea proposed by Chip Lord, Doug Michaels and Marquez. They were collectively known as Ant Farm, two architects and an artist ready to do the unconventional for a millionaire who liked that sort of thing.
"Ant Farm was founded as an alternative architectural practice, kind of an experiment in an attempt to subvert normal corporate ways of doing architecture," said Lord, a professor emeritus at University of California-Santa Cruz.
Lord and Michaels had graduated a few years previous with architecture degrees from Tulane and Yale. Marquez was an art student at Tulane. They were looking for projects.
Memories get a little fuzzy four decades later on how they connected with Marsh. Marquez said in 1972, while all up in San Francisco, they were given a list of eccentric millionaires who might fund one of their projects. Marsh's name was on it.
Lord said Ant Farm was working on a kitschy art project near Houston when Marsh's name came up and contact was made. At any rate, Ant Farm and Marsh connected. But 10 Cadillacs nose first in the ground?
"Chip and I were living in the mountains north of San Francisco, and there was a book meant for kids left in a bar near where we lived," said Marquez, a Los Angeles artist. "It was called 'The Look of Cars,' and there was something on the rise and fall of the tail fin.
"I didn't have a lot to do, so I just sorta drew it up. I've always loved the Cadillacs."
'This is it'
As Lord saw it, the final sketch was like one of those diagrams of the evolution of man in science textbook, except this was the evolution of the tail fin.
It took a bit of arm-twisting of Marsh before he agreed. The three would be paid around $2,000 and worked on a budget of $3,000. They arrived in early June 1974 and began hunting for the right Cadillacs, most of them at junkyards.
A 1962 car was the most reliable, and in that, they drove around on the lookout for specific models. The 1949 was a must. A trip to Pampa netted a 1958 model. The search secured four others from the 1950s plus three others all the way to 1964.
Then came the tricky part. Angling them just right and putting them in the ground on Marsh land just west of Amarillo along then Highway 66. It was the three from Ant Farm, a man with a backhoe, and a British artist who happened to be at Marsh's Toad Hall on another project.
"He was like the fifth Beatle," Lord quipped.
It took five days to get the 10 Cadillacs angled into the ground. Marsh would show up during the day with fried chicken and a cooler of beer.
"The ground was so hard, but that meant the hole was really precise," Lord said. "The backhoe operator would take the front shovel, carefully lift up the rear bumper high enough and it would slide right in as we guided it. Not much engineering."
The last one went in on June 21, 1974, and in some ways, the finished project was eerie to Marquez.
"I went out there the next morning at dawn, looked at it, and thought, 'This is pretty close to 100 percent what I thought it would look like,'" he said. "And that's kind of scary because as an artist, you never get there, you never get there. This is one of the few things I've done and said, 'That's it.'"
For a few years, Cadillac Ranch was just an oddity. But in time, it has gained a place in pop art and pop culture literally over the world. If just an average of 70 people a day stopped at the Cadillac Ranch — a reasonable number — just more than 1 million have seen the curiosity.
In 1997, it was unearthed and moved two miles west off the I-40 east access road. Michaels died in 2003, and Marsh, too, has died, but the Cadillac Ranch will live on even if Lord jokes, "One day, it may be Chassis Ranch.".
"This was done one year after the Arab Oil embargo and the start of the environmental movement," Lord said. "It wasn't specifically a tombstone to the big American car, but it could be read that way, but it was done in the spirit of loving these cars."
For Marquez, there is no message, just like there's no road signs to publicize its location, no admission charge, no gift store to sell T-shirts. It's just there surrounded by emptiness, and therein is much of its beauty.
"The spirit of Cadillac Ranch," Marquez said, "is 'Welcome, look at this, isn't this fun?'"
Jon Mark Beilue is an AGN Media columnist. He can be reached at email@example.com or 806-345-3318. His blog and "Out of the Beilue" video blog appear on amarillo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jonmarkbeilue.


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Soweto, South Africa, is best known as the location for emblematic struggles during apartheid, and more recently as the shooting location and partial inspiration for the sci-fi film District 9. Now, a new photography book by lifetime Johannesburg photographer Jodi Bieber shows a more varied and nuanced view of the township as a hub of music, culture and business.
Spurred by the dearth of contemporary imagery of Soweto life and Sowetan people, Bieber set out to depict the settlement as it lives today. She found thriving communities, cultural innovation and a lot of ordinary, everyday life. The book, Soweto, released in July, challenges preconceived notions of the famous South African township.
"I knew that references to Soweto in the minds of the outsiders would be of Hector Pieterson, who was killed in June 1976, or the famous Vilakazi Street, or Baragwanath Hospital, or poverty & HIV/AIDS, or even dusty crime-ridden streets," writes Bieber in the book's introductory essay.
For three months, Bieber crisscrossed the 150 square kilometers of Soweto, clocking more than 4,000 miles. "The project was built on instinct … and these photographs are what I gathered along the way. The book is by no means the A-Z of Soweto." Nonetheless, Bieber visited most of Soweto's 32 localities, the painted houses of Jabavu, public pools in Moletsane, haberdasheries in Zola and Chiawelo's fish 'n' chip shop.
Soweto is a documentary work of personal inquiry, not of journalism. "Soweto is made up of very different individuals with different values and beliefs," writes Bieber in her essay. Home to 1.3 million people and lying southwest of Johannesburg, Soweto (the name derives from SOuth WEst TOwnship) cannot be summarized by one project nor one photographer. It is best experienced. "I see the work as a whole and not journalistically," writes Bieber by e-mail.
Bieber had photographed in Soweto shortly after Nelson Mandela's ANC party claimed victory in the 1994 elections — and her latest project recalibrated her understanding of the township.
"I knew some things had certainly changed on my visit to the up-market Maponya Mall," she writes, "This could be a scene from the up-market shopping centers in the wealthy northern suburbs of Johannesburg or the U.S.A., except the majority of people at Maponya Mall are black."
In contrast to the nouveau riche consumerism at Maponya Mall, Bieber also photographed the Nomzamo Park Informal Settlement in Orlando East (Image 10). On the horizon, are the mural-covered towers of the now decommissioned Orlando Power Station, a plant that under apartheid provided energy for the suburbs but not for Soweto.
During apartheid, Sowetans countered their sometimes brutal marginalization with the grassroots cultivation of art, music, dance and politics of social justice. "The importance of Soweto in the collective consciousness is hard to overstate," writes Jacana Media, Soweto's publisher, "It registers as a place born of resistance, perhaps even embodying the South African struggle for freedom."
Bieber's images deliver surprise and lively contradiction. They give the impression Sowetans are shaped, but not burdened by, the township's history. Bieber photographed alternative-rock band Ree-Buurth, ate with counterculture vegetarians and hung out at the Soul Seekers Biking Club (Image 11).
"The people I chose to photograph all had something special that drew me to them," writes Bieber, "It was not something academic or something that one could research. It was a spontaneous feeling I had because of the person's character or the individualism they projected."
Bieber was an unexpected visitor in most cases and in many ways her presence — even before publication of her photographs — was breaking down barriers. White South Africans are a rarity along the streets and sidewalks of Soweto.
"Throughout my time in Soweto, nearly every single person I met asked me which country I was from. No one could believe I was South African," rues Bieber, "People told me only tourists come to Soweto. That made me a bit sad."
All images © Jodi Bieber and Institute, from the book Soweto by Jodi Bieber/Institute published by Jacana Media in partnership with the Goethe Institute (ISBN 978-1-7709-806-0)Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.


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Women referees, from left, back judge Krystle Apellariz, field judge Sebrina Brunson, head linesman Yvonda Lewis and line judge Tangela Mitchell pose for a portrait prior to the start of an NCAA college football game between Lane College and Miles College in Fairfield, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
by John Zenor
AP Sports Writer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The officials sprinted around the field keeping order, throwing flags and even telling the Miles College band to hush once.
It was a typical college football game Thursday night except that four of the seven people wearing the black-and-white stripes were women.
The Southern Intercollege Athletic Conference billed the Miles-Lane game as the first majority-female officiating crew for an NCAA game.
The event — Miles won 38-26 — was significant enough that the NFL's director of officiating David Coleman, director of recruiting Ron Baynes and regional scout Bob Shoulders attended the game. They wanted to see head linesman Yvonda Lewis, line judge Tangela Mitchell, field judge Sebrina Brunson and back judge Krystle Apellaniz in action, as well as the men.
"They paid their dues," said Harold Mitchell, director of officiating for the SIAC and SWAC. "They've done what's necessary to get in this position. They've earned it. And I'm hoping it will show the world that females can officiate just as well as men, and I'm hoping that more females will take the step to try to become football officials
Line judge Tangela Mitchell calls a play dead during an NCAA college football game between Lane College and Miles College in Fairfield, Ala., Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. The Southern Intercollege Athletic Conference is billing this game as the first majority-female officiating crew in an NCAA game. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
Hair tucked neatly into their caps and looking petite among the players, they mostly drew little attention once the game started — a plus for officials.
Apellaniz, a first-year SIAC official, had an especially busy sequence at one point. She had to run toward the sideline in the second half to stop the Miles band from playing when visiting Lane had the ball.
"I've never had to do that before," the Ovieda, Fla., resident said. "He warned them on the mic but they didn't hear him because they were so loud and beautiful."
A couple of minutes later, she had to help separate players after a personal foul call against Lane and didn't hesitate flagging Miles for pass interference on the next play.
The NFL began a Women Officiating Now (W.O.N.) program this year as part of the Football Officiating Academy launched in 2010. The program is designed to help recruit and train female officials.
Coleman said he had never seen more than one woman work a college game but did see two in a high school game.


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Of Courts and Constitutions
Edited by: Kieran Bradley, Noel Travers, Anthony Whelan
The essays which appear in this liber amicorum are published to honor the Hon. Mr. Justice Nial Fennelly - of the Irish Supreme Court and former Advocate General of the European Court of Justice - on the occasion of his 72nd birthday. The theme of the book is the relationship between EU law and national law, and the role of the courts in defining that relationship. The book consists of four main parts: the role of the European Court of Justice, the role of national courts, horizontal issues of common concern to the two categories of court, and courts and how they deal with economic questions. All of the contributors are either experts in EU law, past and present members of the European bench and bar, or past and present members of the Irish judiciary, many of whom have worked with or for Judge Fennelly during his long and distinguished career on the bench.
Publication Date: 5/1/2014
Format: Cloth


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But yes, for a while at least, that happens to me too, with the translation leaping out at me automatically. And then my mind tricks me into wondering why anyone would find it so difficult to translate the passage that I now understand so easily; so much so, that at times I feel the need to revise the encoded version to try and make it harder.]]>
Wikipedia article here.
Also gets a guernsey in the 'Worthless word for the day-an obscure words refactory' website here.
And...there are typoglycemia generators/scramblers available on the net.
I didn't look very far, but I haven't found the word in any dictionaries yet.
I've edited post #62 to now include the solution to the tangle that I posted there.]]>
The one posted by phronister is unreadable.
A lot of examples at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typoglycemia]]>


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January 14, 2012
FAIRFAX, Va. – Just two days after knocking off Southern Conference foe Davidson College, the wrestling Keydets of VMI split a pair of dual matches at the Patriot Duals, hosted by George Mason University Saturday afternoon.
In their first match, the Keydets (3-6) fell to Cleveland State 22-15, despite a furious comeback in the upper weight classes. But the loss was short lived as VMI rebounded in the next match, taking down host George Mason 21-17, winning six of the 10 bouts.
Senior 174-pounder Matthew Brock went 2-0 during the Patriot Duals, pinning his first opponent in the second round, followed by a 4-0 decision in the second. Sophomore heavyweight Andrew Embree also went 2-0, winning both his matches 8-1. Likewise, John Dommert went 2-0 at 184 pounds, running his winning streak to three.
In the opener, VMi did not pick up any team points until the 141 pound match as Zeb Stewart picked up an 8-6 decision. The Keydets dropped the next three weights, but went on to win three of the four final bouts. Brock kicked off back-to-back wins with his second round pin of Aric Thurn in 4:35. John Dommert got VMI's next win at 184 pounds, shutting out Robert Blankenship 3-0 and cutting the Vikings' lead to just 12-18.
After dropping 197 pounds, Embree won his first match of the day 8-1 over Garry Yarborogh to seal the Keydets 18 points.
In the second match of the afternoon, VMI cut an early deficit in half as Ryan Goodsell edged Zachary Isenhour 4-2, getting VMI to within three, down 3-6. David Yost knotted the action at 9-9, after the Keydets fell at 141 pounds. Yost notched his second win by fall this season, putting Shohei Takagi on his back in 5:54.
The Keydets logged three straight win at 165, 174 and 184 pounds, starting with freshman Carry Joseph ending a five-match losing skid. The rookie picked up a 5-3 decision over Ty Knepp to put VMI within striking distance, down just 12-13.
Brock notched his 17th decision of the season at 174 pounds, blanking Steve Swayze 4-0 to give VMI its first lead of the afternoon. Brock, who has won his last seven matches, has collected 11 shutouts this season and has not allowed a point in his last three matches.
Dommert locked up his second win of the afternoon with an 8-1 decision to nearly put the match out of the Patriots' reach 18-13. Mason kept things close after a major decision at 197, pulling back to within one of the Keydet lead.
Embree logged the deciding win with a narrow 3-1 margin over Hunter Manspile, giving VMI its second win of the week.
VMI will head to Millersville University next week as the Keydets take on the Marauders on Jan. 26. Action is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Cleveland State (4-9) – 22
Bout-by-Bout Winner def. Loser Type Score – Running Score: (VMI-CSU)
125 Ben Willeford (CSU) wins by forfeit (0-6)
133 Nick Flannery (CSU) def. Ryan Goodsell (VMI) Dec. 8-6 (0-9)
141 Zeb Stewart (VMI) def. Palivoda (CSU) Dec. 8-6 (3-9)
149 Mike Mencini (CSU) def. David Yost (VMI) Dec. 10-8 (3-12)
157 Brandon Sommers (CSU) def. Mike Burnett (VMI) Dec. 6-5 (3-15)
165 Corey Carlo (CSU) def. Carry Joseph (VMI) Dec. 9-3 (3-18)
174 Matthew Brock (VMI) def. Aric Thurn (CSU) Fall 4:35 (9-18)
184 John Dommert (VMI) def. Robert Blankenship (CSU) Dec. 3-0 (12-18)
197 Nick Anthony (CSU) def. Urayoan Garcia (VMI) Major Dec. 12-3 (12-22)
285 Andrew Embree (VMI) def. Garry Yarborogh (CSU) Dec. 8-1 (15-22)
George Mason (5-6) 17
Bout-by-Bout Winner def. Loser Type Score – Running Score: (VMI-GMU)
125 Vince Rodriguez (GMU) wins by forfeit (0-6)
133 Ryan Goodsell (VMI) def. Zachary Isenhour (GMU) Dec. 4-2 (3-6)
141 Denny Herndon (GMU) def. Zeb Stewart (VMI) Dec. 3-1 (3-9)
149 David Yost (VMI) def. Shohei Takagi (GMU) Fall 5:54 (9-9)
157 Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) def. Ted Gottwald (VMI) Major Dec. 14-5 (9-13)
165 Carry Joseph (VMI) def. Ty Knepp (GMU) Dec. 5-3 (12-13)
174 Matthew Brock (VMI) def. Steve Swayze (GMU) Dec. 4-0 (15-13)
184 John Dommert (VMI) def. Ryan Hembury (GMU) Dec. 8-1 (18-13)
197 Mendbagana Tovuujav (GMU) def. Urayoan Garcia (VMI) Major Dec. 18-7 (18-17)
285 Andrew Embree (VMI) def. Hunter Manspile (GMU) Dec. 3-1 (21-17)


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Shimmer Sheetz!
Hello there fellow crafters! I have an extremely exciting product to share with you today! We at Paper Wishes are in love with Shimmer Sheetz! What is a Shimmer Sheetz you say? Well let me tell you! Shimmer Sheetz by Elizabeth Crafts come in iridescent shades of blue, purple and green on a 5"x12" Mylar sheet. Shimmer Sheetz are completely versatile and can be used for stamping, heat embossing and die-cutting machines. You'll have tons of fun creating and discovering these wonderful gems plus they are perfect for mixed media projects, scrapbook pages, card making, home décor and so more much! I love the dimension and texture they add to a project!
I can't wait for you to see some of the amazing things you can do with this fun new product!!! Just look at this beautiful technique using HOTP Flower Corner embossing folder. Susan created this lovely look by embossing the Shimmer Sheetz, sanding them, and then cutting out the individual flowers to create a layered effect. For finishing touches she placed Silver Jewel Dazzles™ in the center of the flowers and added Silver Jewel Border Dazzles™ to the edges.
You can find instructions here
You can also use Shimmer Sheetz to back Dazzles™! This scrapbook layout was created with HOTP Chalkboard Double Sided Scrapbook Paper Pack, and by layering HOTP Enchanted Moments Scrapbooking Dazzles™ onto Fire Opal Shimmer Sheetz. This highlights the Dazzles™ and gives them a magnificent iridescent quality. Gorgeous!
You can find instructions here
This next card by LeNae is seriously a show stopper!!! It's absolutely Stunning and would a card anyone would truly appreciate receiving. The flowers from HOTP Fresh Cut Stamp Set were stamped onto Gemstone Shimmer Sheetz sampler set. Next the flowers were then cut out, and the edges where curled by slightly heating them with a heat gun. They were layered on top of Shimmer Sheetz that had been embossed with HOTP Woven Lattice Embossing Folder. If I received this card it would definitely be out on display for everyone to see!
You can find instructions here
Are you ready for a Shimmering Sheetz color explosion? Shimmer Sheetz absolutely look unbelievably delightful on this next card! Gail used Shimmer Sheetz Iris Sampler Set, Dee's Distinctively Hummingbird Cutting Die, and HOTP Grapefruit Double Sided Paper Pack to create this vibrant card. This card really sparkles and shines!
You can find instructions here
Try exploring all the amazing techniques you can do with Shimmer Sheetz today!
For information on techniques like these and much more you can check out our webisode on Shimmer Sheetz located in our weekly webisode gallery!
Happy Crafting!


text: Sail away people! We're going to the Sevenseas Coffee in Sunter, North Jakarta. For the love of sea and coffee, the owner has decided to open this coffeeshop back in 2016. Because, wherever you go, coffee is always the most important meal of the day. That's basically the story behind Sevenseas Coffee. It also (obviously)


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skip to content skip to account links skip to store category links skip to store information links skip to store policy links
American Power Pull
4 Ton Power Jack Top Piece
Model #: 14252
You Pay$3.99
This item is shipped directly from the manufacturer.
Check Local Availability
American Power Pull 4 Ton Power Jack Top Piece is an adjustable top piece that can be moved to any position on the upright steel beam. It can be used for clamping, stretching and winching.
- Length: 9 in.
- Width: 4in.
- Depth: .75 in.
- Weight: 1.5 lbs.
- Capacity: 400 lb. working load limit
- Color/finish: Red paint
- Fits: American Power Pull Model #14100, 4 Ton Power Jack
- Material: Cast Steel


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BPMW/Capsule Sandy Relief
Fundraiser Overview
Capsule is an international fashion trade event held seasonally in cities across the globe – but New York is our home. It saddened us to see how many people in our local community were affected by Hurricane Sandy. We believe in the mission of Waves for Water to aid the victims of Sandy and it is our honor to help this organization rebuild the greatest city in the world in any way we can.
Thank you for your support!
All Donations go directly to:
Hurricane Sandy Relief Initiative
Waves for Water has coordinated a full-fledged Hurricane Relief Initiative in response to Super Storm Sandy that has absolutely decimated the North Eastern seaboard. Though we normally focus on clean… More
Fundraising complete...
You can still donate to one of our projects or make a donation to the general fund.
Statistics & Progress
Destination Northeastern Seaboard - United States
Funds Raised$1,587 of $3,000


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As tax time approaches, I have been receiving a blizzard of emails about IRS Form 1099-A from readers trying to figure out what to do on their tax returns. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) that may help. But first, I can't emphasize this enough: I am not a tax expert!!!! This is not tax advice. It's just information that I have picked up from my wanderings in this field of law. In order to determine whether you have a real COD tax problem, you must seek competent advice from a good tax accountant. Why? Because if you get it wrong, you need to have cover.
I received a Form 1099-A. What is and what should I do?: If you have received a Form 1099-A in the mail, chances are it's because you lost a piece of real estate to a foreclosure in 2010. As you have probably learned by now, the cancellation of debt MAY be a taxable event. The Form 1099-A DOES NOT mean you have cancellation of debt ("COD") tax. All it means is that the lender that foreclosed on the property has taken property back in partial satisfaction of the debt that was owed. It also DOES NOT mean that the debt has been canceled. Again, all it means is that the part of the debt has been satisfied with the foreclosure of real property.
If I received a Form 1099-A does that mean that my debt is cancelled? NO! It's just a routine tax form.
If I received a Form 1099-A, does that mean that I will receive a Form 1099-C at some time in the future? Probably not. The Form 1099-C is an acknowledgement by the lender that the debt has actually been cancelled. Banks are not likely to tell you that, because they want to preserve their ability to come after you later.
If I received a Form 1099-A, should I report the cancellation of debt on my 2010 tax return? Maybe. This is probably the trickiest issue. The tax accountants I have talked to about this issue (Spoiler Alert: There aren't many who understand it) have told me that they advise the taxpayer to prepare and submit a Form 982 with a possible "estimate" if there is a potential COD problem lurking in the weeds. In fact, it appears that if there has been any COD at all, then Form 982 is apparently required to be filed with the tax return, but I have no opinion on that and honestly don't have a clue as to possible consequences for failure to file the Form 982 if there is no COD tax owed.
What if I got a 1099-C? The issuance of a Form 1099-C means that the debt has been cancelled. If you live in California, this may be triggered by the fact that your loan was a "non-recourse loan," i.e., protected from the risk of deficiency by one or more of the Big 3 California anti-deficiency statutes, CCP §580b, CCP§580d or CCP§580e. It may have been becaue you filed bankruptcy, and your debt was discharged in that proceeding. (COD which occurs in bankruptcy is not taxable.)
So what do you do? Well, IRS Regulations (specifically, 26 C.F.R. 1.6050p-1) require you to report the cancellation of debt, whether or not it is ultimately taxable. You do this by means of the IRS Form 982.
And will you owe tax? Well, here are the categories in which you will categorically NOT owe COD tax:
1. If the debt was discharged in bankruptcy.
2. If the cancelled debt was incurred to purchase, construct or substantially improve your principal residence. This is the result of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007.
3. If you were "balance sheet insolvent" at the time of the cancelation of the debt. Balance sheet insolvent is very simple: If the value of your obligations is greater then the value of your assets (including IRAs) you are "balance sheet insolvent." The trick here is to create a paper trail so that when the IRS comes a-knocking on an audit a couple of years from now, you will be able to demonstrate that insolvency.
The real issue seems to be: Has the debt been cancelled? Form 1099-A doesn't answer that particular question, and unless the debt was specifically non-recourse, the lender is not likely to send you a 1099-C.


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Crime of the Week
Published 7:00 pm, Friday, September 25, 2009
Plainview/Hale County Crime Stoppers Committee will pay up to $750 to anyone with information leading to the arrest and indictment of those responsible for the following crime:
•Either Saturday, Sept. 5, or Sunday, Sept. 6, someone entered Western Finance, 628 N. Broadway, by breaking a window. Taken were a JVC camcorder, JVC digital camera and pink Dell computer. This case is being investigated by detective Ram Sanchez. He can be reached at 296-1193 or callers can contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 293-8477.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to $350 to anyone with information on the following crimes that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible:
•Either Saturday, Sept. 5, or Sunday, Sept. 6, someone entered Ray Lee Equipment Co., 910 N. Date, by breaking a window. Taken was a John Deere air compressor.
•Either Thursday, Sept. 10, or Friday. Sept. 11, someone entered a residence at 310 Ash and took a 50-inch Samsung plasma TV along with a Philips DVD player.
•Jackie Banda, 18, Hispanic female, 5-foot-8, 145 lbs., brown hair, brown eyes: wanted for burglary of a building.
•Brent Austin Cross, 42, white male, 5-foot-8, 190 lbs., blonde hair, blue eyes: wanted for aggravated sexual assault elderly/disabled.
•Jose Ruben Perez, 18, Hispanic male, 5-foot-10, 170 lbs., black hair, brown eyes: wanted for indecency with a child/sexual contact.
Anyone having information on these or any other crimes occurring in Plainview or Hale County can contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 293-8477 (293-TIPS). All calls will be confidential.
You can now leave a tip directly from your cell phone by texting "PLVCS" plus your message to 274637, or on the Internet by logging onto http://plainviewhalecounty.CrimeStoppersweb.com/login.aspx.
: Crime Stoppers will pay up to $250 for information that leads to the arrest of the following persons. Warrants have been issued for their arrest. Callers can contact the Hale County Sheriff's Office Warrants Division at 296-2724 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline.


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Information and information warfare primer
This is really just a short brain dump of the basics to get started thinking about information warfare in a non-US way. Yes, that means Russian, Chinese, South African, Australian,... »
This is really just a short brain dump of the basics to get started thinking about information warfare in a non-US way. Yes, that means Russian, Chinese, South African, Australian,... »
"Issues are risks that have already occurred" is the standard view of the difference between what is popularly called "risk" and "issue". But, that's a superficial difference that does... »
"... and of course we have set transitive trust between different sources of identity" said he with a glee. That's when I knew for certain I was not speaking with someone... »
Often I see the terms "framework", "strategy" and "process map" used for a variety of documents that typically aren't neither or are a mix of all three. Here's a quick... »
Sony Pictures information security team, small as it is, is in the crosshairs of all and sundry after the recent breach of significant proportions. As is typical for information security,... »
"Companies have to get security right every time – an attacker only has to get it right once." This is probably one of the biggest lies that information security tells on... »
Risk related books are a dime a dozen nowadays. Many are rehashing the stuff that was new and hot a couple of decades ago, fewer are keeping up with the... »
Dunning-Kruger effect is an illusion of competence bias, presenting itself in two ways: one, the severely incompetent do not recognise their own incompetence, nor do they recognise competence in others,... »
In Part 1 we looked at the deterrence quality of security controls. It's one of the three attributes of security controls that are often ignored; sometimes consciously but more... »
Fear of reprisal is one of the most potent stimulants for action. It is also one that information security generally ignores. To that end the need to "improve security by... »
The Wassenaar Arrangement is frequently mentioned in information security (and vulnerability research in particular) since inclusion of computer code as dual-use good. The Agreement does not clearly specify what is... »
The initial empirical study of the observer effect (Hawthorne effect), which said that people change their behaviour to the better when observed, has seen equal measures of criticism and support... »
In the grand gesture of protecting public wellfare Microsoft exposed just how fragile the internet really is when a large organisation decides to use lawfare. All that's needed is a... »
Most businesses, most boards, don't spend a lot of time thinking about uncertainty. In fact, they are terrified of doing so. The quote is from a good article in... »
I'm catching up on my reading and one of the books I'm often going to for quick references is Charles Yoe's "Principles of Risk Analysis". There is... »
TL;DR: eBay's security was breached in late February, early March. Customer personal information was stolen. The breach was discovered two months later. The details of the breach are scarce,... »
The title may be a bit misleading, because each of these three examples of soft power have a mix of both three. I'll highlight some of each, but there'... »
Recently Edward Lucas tweeted a series on the changes in Russian military doctrine, which signified a change away from physical combat and towards information domination in the form not seen... »
The International Cyber Policy Centre of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's (ASPI-ICPC) released its inaugural "Cyber Maturity in the Asia-Pacific Region 2014" report. Like all such endeavours it has... »
This article on unintended consequences of China's President's Xi Jinping's drive to purge the China's Communist Party of corruption is likely to go unnoticed by most. Which is a shame,... »
Keir Giles' wrote a good paper that you really should read on the Russian view of the information warfare/operations (cyber warfare) legality. This is a fairly neglected aspect of... »
If you are told that you are WEIRD don't take it as an offence. It likely means that you belong to about 12% of the global population that is Western,... »
Spurred by Justine Aitel's talk at SOURCE Boston where she supposedly (not being there is a bit hard to confirm that) said that IT risk and/or security industry... »
We reviewed the Chinese intelligence community structure, the way they collect data and, as a result of the first two, also tackled the monolith myth of China in order to... »
Diversity that is China China is always seen by the West as a big, monolithic country. That nothing could be further from the truth does not shake that popular wisdom,... »


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U.S. Presentation from
Berlin GNSS Symposium 2009
December 1, 2009
The following presentation was delivered by the U.S. Government representative at the International Symposium on Global Navigation Satellite Systems, Space-Based and Ground-Based Augmentation Systems and Applications 2009, organized in Berlin, Germany, by the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development, the International EUPOS Steering Committee, the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs and the International Committee on GNSS.
Status of GPS: Constellation Modernization and U.S. Diplomatic Activities
Ray Clore, U.S. Department of State
This briefing provides a status report on the GPS modernization program, U.S. augmentations to GPS, and U.S. international cooperation efforts in this area.
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We are all wondering intensely about the World Cup. Who will win it, whether the magic disappearing referee free kick spray will function correctly, what the scores will be. Things like that.
If only there was some way to predict the outcomes to all these things? Get this: there is. Well, about the scores at least. No one knows quite how that spray is going to work out.
We've made friends with the EA Sports organisation and have mutually agreed to simulate all 64 games of the World Cup on an Xbox 360 machine. This is definitely a good idea. We will pit the computer against itself to accurately simulate the game's real result to one decimal place. Hopefully.
You can watch the outcome of our first simulation above. It's the first game of the tournament: Brazil v Croatia. How did it go? Click play above to find out. Will it match real life? Continue to participate in real life to find out.
Commentary is provided by Thom Gibbs and JJ Bull, who will take in the day's biggest game from now until the end of the tournament. They will defer to the b-team of in-game Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend for our simulations of the inferior matches.
Come back to babb.telegraph.co.uk every day for simulations for the day's games. They will be excellent.
Watch Thom explain the Group of Death in his Sport Explained weekly series


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NRHA's product knowledge training
programs for employees are designed
to give store associates the information they need to be productive right from the
start. We offer training programs in core hardware and building materials categories
and it's free to all NRHA members.
April 24, 2013
Existing-home sales eased in March from inventory constraints, which continued to pressure home prices, according to the National Association of Realtors®.
Total existing-home sales declined 0.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million in March from a downwardly revised 4.95 million in February, but remain 10.3 percent higher than the 4.46 million-unit pace in March 2012.
Sales have been above year-ago levels for 21 consecutive months, while prices show 13 consecutive months of year-over-year price increases.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there is more demand than supply in the current market.
"Buyer traffic is 25 percent above a year ago when we were already seeing notable gains in shopping activity," he said. "In the same timeframe housing inventories have trended much lower, which is continuing to pressure home prices. The good news is home construction is rising and low mortgage rates are continuing to keep affordability conditions at historically favorable levels. The bad news is that underwriting standards remain excessively tight, while renters are getting squeezed by higher rents."
The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $184,300 in March, which is 11.8 percent higher than March 2012. The March increase is the strongest since November 2005 when it rose 12.9 percent from a year earlier.
Total housing inventory at the end of March increased 1.6 percent to 1.93 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.6 months in February. Listed inventory remains 16.8 percent below a year ago when there was a 6.2-month supply.
In Category: Headlines
Related: Existing-home Sales, National Association Of Realtors
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The AAFP is offering new resources to help prepare family physicians for the transition to the clinical modification of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, or ICD-10-CM, which becomes official on Oct. 1, 2013.
That deadline may sound like it's on the distant horizon, but Cynthia Hughes, C.P.C., an AAFP coding specialist, says physicians shouldn't procrastinate in their planning. "This is going to be a huge change," said Hughes. "Practices need to begin now to prepare and budget for the costs associated with this change."
The new resources on the Academy's Web site are intended to help members with the changeover and also to coach FPs on how to correctly use the ICD-10 codes.
The ICD-10 contains nearly five times the number of codes as the current ICD-9 code set, or about 69,000 diagnosis codes versus 14,000 codes. In addition, the ICD-10 codes contain three to seven digits, compared to the three- to five-digit codes currently used.
The Academy's new ICD-10 resources, which will be updated as new information becomes available, are designed to help family physicians
- understand the depth of the change,
- begin to prepare their practices,
- learn how to establish an ICD-10 transition plan, and
- locate additional training materials and resources.
As part of that training effort, the Academy has signed an agreement with the American Health Information Management Association, or AHIMA, to serve as a collaborating organization to the second annual AHIMA ICD-10 Summit, April 12-13, in Washington, D.C.
AAFP members are eligible for a discount on conference registration. Use coupon code MX4376 when registering for the event.
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The NBA will have a new winner of the regular-season scoring title for the first time in four years.
Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant, the three-time defending scoring champion, said he is sitting out Wednesday night's regular-season finale against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Durant posted Wednesday morning on Instagram that he would not play. Even if he did, the scoring title would have been long shot. Durant needed 70 points to overtake New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. His career high is 52.


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Cardinal's Under Investigation
The biggest news of the week came out yesterday when it was announced that the FBI is investigating the St. Louis Cardinals for allegedly hacking into the Houston Astros' computer system. The system holds all of the organizations secrets, ideas, and vital information to operations of the organization. The New York Times reported that the Astros' computer system dubbed Ground Control, has been accessed from a home owned by a St. Louis Cardinal employee. Jeff Luhnow, a former Cardinal Executive, built the system for the organization. According to a report, subpoenas have been issued for all of the organizations electronic records.
The St. Louis Cardinals released a statement saying they were fully aware of the allegations and are fully cooperating with the FBI. It also stated that they are unaware of who is involved at this point and to what extent. It is unknown whether or not the system was accessed multiple times or not. Until the facts come out of what truly transpired, the St. Louis Cardinals will have to go into damage control mode because right now their reputation just went down the toilet. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred issued a statement that he is also aware of the allegations but is unable to offer anything else at this time because he does not have enough information at this time. The healthcare team behind the Amen Clinic say this is one story that will soon have legs once the initial findings are released.


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19th Century Pine Hans Christian Andersen Desk
More questions? Get in touch
A Hans Christian Andersen Desk in pine on turned legs offering five drawers from Denmark, circa 1850. Features original pulls, drawer locks, and working key. Note: Desk has been prepared for either a wax finsh or for painting. Knee hole cubby between drawers is 19" wide.
WIDTH: 47½ in | HEIGHT: 31 in | DEPTH: 22½ in
Shipping Estimate: $350 | White glove
Domestic shipping within the 48 continental states is quoted on each item via FedEx or White Glove delivery.
International shipping can be arranged upon request.
Delivery times will vary depending on the locations of origin and delivery, packing requirements, and the method of shipping used.
Once your order is processed, you will be notified of shipping status and given an estimated time of delivery.
We accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover through our secure portal. We also accept payment via check, money order, or wire transfer. All payment options are available at checkout.
CONDITION: Excellent. Price includes either a wax finish or painted finish.


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Beaumont/Port Arthur
The winners of the 2012 CCA STAR fishing tournament have been announced, and Southeast Texas anglers dominated the scoreboard and prizes.
Last weekend's teal opener was every bit as good as it was projected to be, and with the South Zone dove opener set for Friday, Sept. 21, this is shaping up to be one heck of a weekend to be outdoors with a shotgun.
Bobby and Alice Vaughan, who live just outside the Beaumont city limits, hunted a crawfish pond near China on Saturday's teal opener and had quick limits for the entire family.
It's never too early to get into the deer-hunting mode in Texas. The bow-hunting season opens Sept. 29, and the regular gun season in 239 counties opens Nov. 3. And don't forget about the kids. The Special Youth Season is open Oct. 27-28. One thing is certain – now is the time to start getting your deer hunting gear in order.
Here in Southeast Texas, hunting and fishing rule. We have some of the best deer and duck hunting that can be found in the state, even the nation. And fishing is excellent just about any time of year. If you don't like fishing inland lakes like Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend for bass, crappie and catfish, head to the coast where you can catch trout, reds and flounder. Meanwhile, all of our hunting and fishing activity not only keeps us entertained, but also puts big-time bucks into the local economy.
Dove hunting seasons opens Sept. 1, and about two weeks later, we'll be shooting teal. Shortly after that, the archery season on deer opens in October. But to participate in any of those very popular shooting activities, you'll need to have the 2012-13 hunting license, which is available where sporting goods are sold as of Aug. 15.
While we harbor no disrespect for the Wall Street Journal who called us "that scrappy little paper from Southeast Texas," we prefer to think of ourselves as simple seekers of the truth. We're of the opinion that headlines and sound bites never tell the whole story. Our readers demand all the facts, facets and flavors of every story or event. And, they expect to be informed, educated and stirred to action.
For this week's New York Times crossword puzzle, pick up a copy of this week's The Examiner on newsstands now.