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Every city, state, country, that we visit we make sure to see the zoo. We grabbed our umbrella, hailed a cab and headed to the Dublin Zoo. Once we arrived, the rain had stopped and we were so thankful. I took so many pictures of the zoo, so I'll throw in only a few.
Of course half way through the zoo, it started to rain again! Jon reached for his umbrella and realized it must have fallen out in the cab, so we had no umbrella. We ran to the zoo's restaurant for shelter and decided to grab some lunch. We waited for the rain to subside and walked back into town.
We lucked out! The sun came out and the clouds went away, it was a beautiful day. After leaving the zoo, we headed to the Kilmainham Gaol, (Jail). This jail was incredible!
The entrance.
They were held and eventually executed in the jail. We saw Robert Emmett's (one of the rebels), cell.
I had actually heard of him from my dad, but I was able to learn much more about him. We were able to see some of the cells, which were awfully small, and actually enter some of the cells in the east wing of the jail. There are 96 cells in the east wing.
Also, because of the Great Potato Famine an enormous amount of people were committing crime purposely in effort to be thrown into prison, just so they could eat a decent meal. So needless to say prisons were over crowded and sometimes there were 5 people sharing one teeny tiny room.
This was taken in July 1921 at the Irish Peace Conference
After spending about a half hour taking pictures and enjoying the view we met up with our great friend Oisin. He took us back to his parents' house, where his mom had prepared a fantastic dinner. I ate the entire plate! They were such great people and we had a fabulous time with them and getting to know them. His mom was such a wonderful host she kept giving us food and drinks. At one point I had a glass of red wine, a cup of coffee, a cup of "Irish" coffee, and a glass of Jameson in front of me........ 4 cups! Several bottles of wine later and 4 glasses of random liquids we headed out to a club called Tamangos. Let's just say we didn't stay for long because poor Jonny's body told him it was time to call it a night!! ;)
What a great way to spend my birthday! We saw, the Dublin Zoo, Kilmainham Jail, took a train to the coast, saw the Ocean, ate and drank like Kings, and slept like babies! Saturday was an incredible day!
Stay tuned, there's more to come tomorrow of our Ireland adventure!


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Everyone was shocked, and the atmosphere seemed to be extremely silent.
They were very clearly aware that this battle would stir the entire Martial Emperor Domain very soon, and it would even affect the outside world.
A barehanded expert at the initial-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm had actually defeated a Mysterious Immortal Realm expert that utilized a Darkspirit Grade Immortal Artifact!
Who could have imagined this would happen?
Chen Xi seemed to be rather calm when facing this. Or perhaps, he didn't have the time to think about all of this at all. After he defeated Yin Hun, he stretched out and grabbed towards the Crimsonray Immortal Swords that fell towards all directions.
This was an entire set of Darkspirit Grade Immortal Artifacts, and since those Yin Clan disciples had offended him, then it just happened that they could be compensation for me.
However, at the instant he made a move, a shapeless fluctuation suddenly enveloped over, and it was like an extremely icy cold stream of coldness that emanated a powerful and sharp aura as it actually easily blasted apart the might of his grab.
Chen Xi's pupils constricted as he hurriedly pushed out with his hands, and he slashed repeatedly with his hands as if they were sharp swords. Only then was he able to slash apart this fluctuation of energy to the point of dispersing into nothingness.
But it was precisely this brief delay that allowed those sixteen Crimsonray Immortal Swords to swiftly transform into numerous rays of flaming light and flash towards the extreme distance.
This caused Chen Xi's face to sink while his eyes flickered with arcs of lightning, and then he glanced coldly towards the distance.
He was clearly aware that even if he'd made a casual move, it wasn't something an ordinary expert could go against, let alone disperse the might of his grab so easily.
The person that made a move just now was surely an expert, and it was an expert that Yin Hun couldn't compare to at all.
This unexpected event drew the attention of all the other experts present here as well. For a time, all of them shot their gazes towards the direction where the Crimsonray Immortal Swords vanished towards.
"Fellow Daoist, since you've won, then why encroach on something that belongs to my Yin Clan?" At practically the exact same moment, a graceful and slender figure floated over from the extreme distance. She had light blue long hair that hung around her slender waist, brows that formed crescents and seemed like willow leaves, a fine nose, cherry lips, an exquisite and peerlessly beautiful appearance, and a blood red mole between her brows.
She wore black sheer clothes that fluttered with the wind, and she was cold like an ice lotus that grew on a cliff. She revealed a pure, solitary, and cold aura, and her voice was chilly just like her.
"Yin Miaomiao!"
"It was actually her! No wonder!"
"That genius of the Yin Clan? Hasn't she always been tempering herself in the higher Martial Emperor Domain for the sake of charging into the top three rankings? Why has she been disturbed by such a small matter?"
"Shh! Speak softly! Could it be that you don't know the Crimsonray Immortal Sword is the Immortal Artifact she relied on to make a name for herself?"
When they saw the icy cold and beautiful figure that floated over, all the experts present were shocked and started whispering in discussion, and their expressions more or less surged with a wisp of reverence and fear.
Because that was an expert at the 4th ranking on the Continental Ascension Ranking and stood at the peak beneath the Golden Immortal Realm. Early on when she was still at the initial-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, she was already capable of defeating experts at the perfection-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm!
Presently, she possessed a cultivation at the advanced-stage of the Mysterious Immortal Realm, and her strength was so formidable that no one was able to estimate it.
Because besides Jiang Zhuliu, Gu Yueming, and Liang Ren who were ranked in the top three of the Continental Ascensio Rankings, there wasn't any other Mysterious Immortal Realm expert in the entire Southbridge Continent that was worthy of being her opponent!
"Yin Miaomiao…" Chen Xi heard these discussions as well, and his eyes narrowed slightly. He similarly hadn't expected that he would encounter an existence that was ranked so high up the Continental Ascensio Rankings the first time he came to the Martial Emperor Domain to train.
But all of this was unable to calm the gloominess in his heart. He was constantly annoyed by these members of the Yin Clan and was provoked repeatedly, yet now that he'd finally defeated all these bastards and intended to claim some spoils from the battle, he was obstructed instead. There was probably no one that would be satisfied under such circumstances.
"I've heard of the matter between you and Feng'er. Feng'er was too mischievous. I apologize on her behalf and won't pursue this matter again in the future. I hope you can forgive her." Yin Miaomiao came over trippingly and swept her starry eyes at Chen Xi while revealing a proud and calm expression.
Everyone nodded in their hearts when they heard this. Yin Miaomiao is an existence ranked at the 4th on the Continental Ascensio Rankings, and she's an heir or the ancient Yin Clan that's renowned for the Dao of Talismans. With her identity and background, it really is extremely rare for her to personally apologize to a young man at the initial-stage of the Heavenly Immortal Realm.
Unexpectedly, Chen Xi said straightforwardly, "So in this way, if I don't accept your apology, then your Yin Clan won't stop pursuing this matter?"
His voice was calm yet revealed a questioning tone.
This caused the hearts of everyone to jerk, and they said in their hearts, He actually dared to speak like that to Yin Miaomiao. This young man is really too arrogant. Could it be that he thinks he doesn't have to fear Yin Miaomiao since he defeated Yin Hun?
"Then what do you want?" Yin Miaomiao glanced indifferently at Chen Xi while her expression remained unchanged, and her extreme calmness carried a proud tone of superiority.
"It isn't what I want, but what your Yin Clan wants." Chen Xi didn't make any concession and said, "The matter was stirred up by your Yin Clan, yet now you intend to wipe the slate clean with a single apology? Aren't you thinking too highly of yourself?"
Everyone was astounded and almost didn't dare believe their ears. Is he criticizing Yin Miaomiao?
"I originally came with good intentions and intended to resolve everything. After all, if this matter continued, then it wouldn't be good for any party. If you don't accept, then take it as I never came." As she spoke, Yin Miaomiao shook her head and seemed as if she couldn't be bothered to waste her breath on Chen Xi, and she intended to leave.
"Stop right there!" Chen Xi's expression was calm and carried a wisp of indifference. "Before the battle, the clansmen of your Yin Clan provoked me repeatedly, yet you didn't make an appearance to stop it. Now that your clansmen have lost, and your immortal artifact was about to be lost, you interfered instead? Isn't this going too far?"
The meaning behind his words was that — If I Chen Xi were to lose, then you probably wouldn't make an appearance at all, right?
This made perfect sense, and no one could find fault with it, so they weren't able to find an excuse to refute it. However, besides strength, was reason worth anything in this world?
Unless he possessed a strength and background that was on par with Yin Miaomiao. But this was obviously impossible, so these words were bound to be weak and laughable.
"Hey, Brother, know when to stop. Otherwise, you'll offend someone you shouldn't offend. Then no matter how great your natural talent is, you'll be unable to escape death. Countless geniuses perish every single day in this world." Someone couldn't refrain from advising Chen Xi as he intended to make Chen Xi wake up and clearly understand the current situation.
"Exactly. Could it be that you intend to challenge Yin Miaomiao?" The others spoke in succession.
"Hehe! The Eldest Young Miss kindly and magnanimously intends to stop pursuing the matter, yet this bastard that doesn't know what's good for him is actually trying to take a yard when given an inch. If this was the outside world, he would have died countless times over!"
All the Yin Clansmen sneered endlessly, and their faces were filled with disdain.
Chen Xi was completely indifferent to all of these words, and he just stared at Yin Miaomiao with a calm expression.
Everyone felt that his strength and background was inferior to Yin Miaomiao, and his ranking on the Continental Ascensio Rankings was similarly inferior to Yin Miaomiao, so they felt that he should accept her apology and even be grateful towards Yin Miaomiao's magnanimity of letting him off.
But all of these people forgot that this was the Martial Emperor Domain! A place to train!
If one had to train here while considering their opponent's background and strength, then the Martial Emperor Domain would have completely lost its meaning because one could temper one's self anywhere in the entire world, so what was the point of coming to the Martial Emperor Domain then?
This was absolutely not the intention of the primeval Martial Emperor, otherwise, why would the Martial Emperor Domain be restricted by so many rules to restrain others from causing trouble? Why would everyone here have no need to worry about death while training here?
After all was said and done, the Martial Emperor Domain was prepared for true experts, and when an expert disregarded the existence of the rules and only considered another's background and strength, then that expert would lose all qualifications to become an peerless expert.
Unfortunately, perhaps everyone during the primeval times understood this simple principle, yet it was bound to pale before current reality. It was even to the extent that it was childish because no one would care about this sort of logic for the sake of surviving in the Immortal Dimension.
Was Chen Xi childish? This question was childish since the beginning.
He similarly didn't believe that everyone could embrace and accept something just like him. That thing or perhaps it could be called principle was just like how the Third Netherworld Emperor's lifelong pursuit was to allow the three dimensions to return into the cycle of reincarnation. He desired to make the sinners perish miserably and allow the good to be rewarded, and he wanted everything to return beneath orderly rules.
The reason Chen Xi didn't believe that everyone embraced these things like him was because the current situation in the Immortal Dimension was cruel and realistic. Sometimes, even he had no choice but to be unreasonable.
This was reality. When it couldn't be changed, one could only accept and use it.
But when Chen Xi started speaking about principles, then at the very least, he wasn't afraid of the other party.
He was inferior to Yin Miaomiao in terms of strength, yet he wasn't afraid of fighting her because this was the Martial Emperor Domain. Since he'd come for the sake of tempering himself, then so what if he lost? He wouldn't die, so he could just make a comeback later, and it was sufficient so long as his strength could grow.
On the other hand, in terms of background, this seemed to be slightly laughable to Chen Xi. Even though he wasn't sure exactly how formidable Oracle Mountain's status was in the three dimensions, it was undoubtedly something the tiny Yin Clan was utterly unable to compare to.
It was even to the extent that if one considered it carefully, the ancestor of the Yin Clan, the Dark Emperor Yuan Xun, was merely a Dao Attendant by the side of Chen Xi's Master, the Master of Oracle Mountain Fu Xi. The Dark Emperor Yuan Xun didn't even have the qualifications to become a disciple!
So he was confident and fearless!
"Going too far?" Yin Miaomiao really didn't leave just like that, and she seemed as if she'd heard an amusing joke, causing a wisp of a ridiculing smile to appear on the corners of her mouth.
She glanced indifferently at Chen Xi and said, "As a member of the Yin Clan, I naturally have to protect the interests of my Yin Clan. Do you think it's necessary for me to consider your feelings? I already regret being too benevolent to you earlier. So please don't be childish. You're inferior to my in all aspects, so you're bound to have no choice but to yield, and you'll die if you don't."
Chen Xi went silent for a long time before he raised his head, and he stared directly at Yin Miaomiao before he lightly spat out three words. "I challenge you!"
Every single word he spoke was resolute and decisive.Previous Chapter Next Chapter

subset: commoncrawl


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In the weeks before baby Brynn was due I asked Erin if there was something specific that I could make or get. She had seen a couple of doll carriers on Pinterest that looked to be something Sage might use with her "baby" as she transitioned into being a big sister. No assignment could be more energizing to this Gus!
I walked to a nearby thrift store and found a golf skirt made of interesting fabric/color (half-price) and a bed sheet to match.
I was going for something like this.
Since the skirt had a fancy waistband, I decided to use it. It curved the wrong way though, so I had to take quite a bit of it apart before attaching it to the bottom on the doll "ergo." I was guessing at size; Sage isn't as big as the little model in my "pattern."
I just used shoelaces and buckle pieces I had on hand, trying to make putting on / taking off quick and easy for Erin and John.
On a lunch hour I delivered the project to give Sage time to get to know the carrier. She likes things her grandmas make for her, but we put no value on how she might take to it. Her parents encouraged her to try it, John demonstrating the real Ergo with stuffed monkey Marvin. She wasn't ready. Thankfully, we were all content with that.
This picture arrived on my phone today. "First baby wearing. Her idea."
My heart melted into a puddle at my feet.


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ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen's patch for his 10-day mission to the International Space Station in 2015. His iriss mission has two patches, one to highlight the mission overall and one for the educational programme.
A competition in Andreas' home country of Denmark attracted 500 entrants, with two designs chosen by an expert jury to represent iriss and Andreas.
The winner for this mission logo, Poul Rasmussen, was inspired by the Greek goddess Iris, who is often depicted with wings. The wings in the design also represent a Viking ship as used to explore the world and seek unknown horizons.
The iriss name is written in two colours to highlight that Andreas is leaving Earth for the International Space Station, or ISS. Stars and planets appear above the name in stylised orbits.


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Twice-Baked Rutabagas
Mix it up for dinner by substituting your go-to spuds dish with these rutabagas combined with bacon, cheese and cream. Even the skeptics won't be able to resist! —Lisa Bynum, Brandon, Mississippi
Total TimePrep: 30 min. Bake: 20 min.
Makes8 servings
- 4 small rutabagas, peeled and cut into 1-in. cubes
- 3 tablespoons water
- 8 cooked bacon strips, chopped
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup butter, cubed
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 green onions, sliced, divided
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine rutabagas and water. Microwave, covered, on high 16-20 minutes or until tender, stirring halfway. Mash rutabagas; add bacon, cream, butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir in 1 cup cheese and 1/4 cup green onions.
- Spoon mixture into 8 greased 6-ounce ramekins or custard cups. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Bake until bubbly and cheese is melted, 18-22 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining green onions.
Nutrition Facts1 serving: 361 calories, 30g fat (17g saturated fat), 89mg cholesterol, 592mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 2g fiber), 13g protein.
Every product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.


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Like with any piece of tech, your server is an investment that depreciates over time. On average, server performance erodes by 14% annually. By the fifth year, a server has only 40% of the performance quality it had when it was new. Lower performance and higher failure rates increase unplanned downtime by 20% annually, negatively impacting your business. So when is the best time for a server upgrade?
Your provider no longer supports your server
The average warranty term is about 3-5 years. After that time, a manufacturer is no longer responsible for providing server support. Servers older than 5 years old are at higher risk of failure.


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House Grey is a Gielinorian House of human nobles. It originated as a landless cadet branch of House von Holzern-Grau, founded when the bastard son of a von Holzern-grau lord migrated to Asgarnia. The family first gained minor prominence when Sillis Grey established the Grey Knight Order, and fought in various conflicts throughout Asgarnia. Sillis would eventually marry Theresa of Asgar, having with her two sons, Varis and Artimus Grey.
Sillis would eventually die in battle in a skirmish in the wilderness, and the Grey Knight Order disbanded after the devastating defeat. Varis and Artimus were left with a modest inheirtance in wealth, and the name of the fledgling House Grey. The brothers led mostly seperate lives, with Varis entering the mineral trade and Artimus going into military work. Their fortunes would change forever when Varis was elected King of Burthorpe and established the Grey Dynasty in earnest.
House Grey would go on to produce numerous Kings, Princes, and the Three Emperors of Argrevia. Although originally centered in Asgarnia, the Greys have become a well established family in Kandarin as well. Originally under the authority of a single patriarch, at the fall of the Argrevian Empire, the house split into the Asgarnian and Kandar branches. Today, the Kandar branch remains the sovereign house of Camelot. The main Asgarnian branch abdicated it's throne under the boy-king Andreas, and it was taken over by the Misthalinite branch under Lord Fourth Jakob. Lord Jakob reconsolidated the houses into one and his son James restored House Grey to the throne of Asgarnia.
House Grey in Asgarnia
Varis was the first Grey King to rule in Asgarnia, and is refered to as Lord First, a tradition carried on by each patriarch of the House. Elected by the people of Burthorpe, Asgarnia's territories would each recognise him as sole King in Asgarnia as the old regimes began to fail. As all of Asgarnia united under him, he was declared the rightful King of Asgarnia, and with the Accord of 169 became the first king since the Radalline Dynasty to be recognised as king by both the White Knight and Kinshra Orders.
Although this original kingdom would eventually fall, Varis returned to Asgarnia after many years and established a second Kingdom known as Anglia. This second Kingdom would far outlive Varis, going on to have six Grey Kings of Anglia in total. The Kings of Anglia were invested as "Kings in Asgarnia", maintaining a claim to rule all of Asgarnia by inheiritance through Varis and the Accord of 169. It would finally be the Sixth King of Anglia, and Varis' namesake, Varian Grey, who finally reunited Asgarnia under the grey claim.
House Grey reached it's zenith with the establishment of the Argrevian Empire. Edward Aren-Grey ruled Anglia as it's Third King, and due to his bloodline was first cousins with King Varian Grey of Camelot and Queen Aralyn Aren of Yanille. Godric Grey, being Lord Second patriarch of the House, joined Edward, Varian, and Aralyn in designing a union of the dynastic realms. A new "Aren-Grey Vista", or, Argrevia. Ardounge and Piscatoris would later request membership in the empire, pushing the empire to its maximum extent; across all of Kandarin and northern Asgarnia. Ardougne would eventually lead a revolt against the empire and it would officially dissolve soon after. This left the Kandar Branch of the house independant for the first time under Sennis Grey.
Lord Grey of Asgarnia:
- Lord First Varis ((Deceased))
- Lord Second Godric ((Missing, Relinquished Title))
- Lord Third Varian ((Deceased))
-Lord Fourth Jakob
House Grey in Kandarin
Lord Grey of Kandarin:
- Lord First Varian ((Deceased))
- Lord Second Reynard ((Deceased))
- Lord Third Sennis
House Grey in the Sky
Julian Grey, a young prodigy in combat and adventuring and son of Godric Grey, was always considered a rambunctious young man who would settle for nothing less than the sky. When he turned eighteen, he was taken aboard the pirate vessel of Captain Sebastian and taught the ways of the sea - and due to Julian's strong headedness and hero-complex, he wouldn't stop trying until he became his own captain. Eventually armed with a full ship and a crew, including his former Captain Sebastian, the pirate ship S.S. Vivid took to the seas.
As he grew older, Julian was criticized for being too optimistic. Many of his crew mates abandoned his ship simply because of the danger being a member proved - Julian had no sense of "too much". When this proved to inevitably hurt his escapades and Julian ended up losing his "territory" in chartered waters, he decided he needed a trump card. Julian began recruiting a crew of gnomes, dwarves, and even a few dorgeshuun who follow in the way of Zanik, and took on his biggest project yet. Stringing together old boats from a Grey shipyard and adding binds of complex engineering, Julian became the owner of a marvelous 'skyboat', taking him and his crew to new heights.
Using the skyboat to his advantage in the pirating world, Sky Pirate Julian had dubbed himself the official "Sky King", ruling over his domain with an iron fist.
Descendents of Salvar (Family Tree)
Notable Members
- Varis
- Edward
- Varian
- Sennis
- Isla
- Caelestis
- Godric
History of the Holzern-Grau
The House of Holzern-Grau is a military family with a history largely buried deep into the past of the public record. They back to around the year 200 of the fourth age, when the tribal chieftain of the nomadic clan decided to settle his people, founding the village of Holzern. Steptimius took the name of Holzern-Grau The village remained independent for nearly 800 years until, like all the settlements around it, it paid homage to Avarrocka and became a part of the Kingdom of Misthalin.
Faithfully serving the kingdom, when the call to war came against Lord Lowerniel Drakan, the Von Holzern-Grau were one of the first to answer the call. For the next few hundred years, the battle with the Zamorakian hordes raged on, and the family gained notoriety for their leadership capabilities, as well as combat prowess. The Von Holzern-Grau's became notable for producing some of the most powerful battle-mages of the age, with the head of the family often being adressed an Archmage out of tradition.
After hundreds of years of warfare, Drakan's forces had finally been banished across the salve river. The Von Holzern-Grau served for many years with distinction, and their traditions of magical practice grew strong and well established. Although the village of Holzern prospered, the House saw little more opportunity as the years crept along. Eventually, a charasmatic new leader, Raddallin, offered to lead a host into the west to establish a new kingdom. Salvar von Holzern-Grau, an elder third son with no inheiritance, was one of the earliest to pledge alliance to him. Salvar was cunning and charismatic, and with the Grey Knight Order as his host, traveled west to fight the Asgarnian Unification Wars.
Salvar fought alongside Raddallin's army throughout the first wars in Asgarnia's unification. As a third son, he was never raised to rule, and instead spent much of his time among soldiers and armies. Now an elder tactician, Salvar went on to become a storied hero of the Grey family. However, with experience came age, and struck down by age, Salvar would never live to see Asgarnia fully united.
His son, Sailas von Holzern-Grau, took over command of his father's Knights, and continued to fight alongside Raddallin. By the final unification of Asgarnia, Sailas would have earned much of his own experience first hand. Though not the master tactitian his father war, he solidified his families presence in Asgarnia. Sailas would be the last descendant of Salvar to be born in Misthalin. He would have three bastard sons born to him in Asgarnia, Sillis, Salvis, and Varin. Of the three, however, Sillis would be the only one to anglicize his name from von Holzern-Grau', to the simple, asgarnian, Grey.
Who are the Von Holzern-Grau?
The House of Holzern-Grau came from a tribe of misthalinites who claim heiritage from 'The Shepard' or 'The Wandering Man', a folklore figure. This account originates from the end of the Third Age, and is nearly impossible to authenticate. 'Septimius', the founder of the 'Holzern' name, is the first historical reference historians have been able to confirm. His tomb reads 'Seventh son of Grau's Seventh heir'.
"It is said that long ago that our ancestors sat at the center of the earth, in the world's mightiest city. A great destruction came and struck the earths center, razing the city and casting our people to wander as nomads for many generations. Finally, a son of the Great City who called himself The Grau found our tribe, and revealed that he was our kin. His powers of magic were mighty, and he instructed us in the use of this power, bestowing upon us the strength of magic. The Grau bore a son with the daughter of the Chieftian, and proclaimed that his blood would guide his people forever more."
Status and Influence
The family first rose to prominence with Sillis Grey and his Grey Knights. He and his knights largely resided in Asgarnia, and they were known to fight in several disputes of the age. Although Sillis attained only minor fame, he did meet some of the people whom would later become his closest allies and friends.
The rise of Varis Grey (Mysteriously following the death of Charles Wyatt which mysteriously followed the death of Sillis Grey.) in burthorpe was swift and immediate. Within two days of his arrival at burthorpe, he was appointed a Senior Advisor. Within four days, he was King. This rapid rise to power startled many, and others saw him a fresh target. Varis proved himself quite capable against various challengers, and quite capable as a leader. He achieved international fame when Asgarnia was reunited under his crown. Famously, he was known to boast that he had never conquored a city, yet had gained an empire through diplomacy starting only with Burthorpe. His court became an international center of diplomacy and at the peak of his Kingdom, Varis' word held sway across nearly all of the civilized world.
- The Greys consider themselves descended from Salvar due to him being the first holzern to travel to Asgarnia. His choice to stay is what resulted in Sailis being the first holzern actually born in Asgarnia to an asgarnian mother.
- Nobody has ever survived an assassination officially ordered by House Grey. The House as successfully assassinated multiple nobles and high-level officals.


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Did you ever go there?
Express your EcoOpinion about this place and become a GreenWatcher, the trend setter of Sustainability.
The EcoOpinion is based on the algorithm of The GreenWatcher which is used to express the value of ecosustainability that you see with a score from 0 to 5.
- 02 July 2015Lee.Edwardeen_2024Bologna
L' Alce Nero è certificato certificazione "Spreco Zero" di Last Minute Market, spin-off dell'Università di Bologna grazie alle politiche messe in atto per la tutela dell'ambiente ed il risparmio energetico2.5
Is this your company?
Whit just a few clicks you can... EcoAssess it and certify your level of Eco sustainability!


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Wileyfox, a British mobile phone manufacturer, quickly gaining recognition across Europe, will soon be entering the competitive GCC smartphone scene with their online-exclusive, highly customizable, and competitively priced smartphones.
Challenging global smartphone leaders, Wileyfox devices are carefully crafted using the industry's best specifications, together with the latest in hardware manufacturing techniques and components. The smartphones come with a unique operating system, based on Android, giving users the freedom to personalize everything on the handset, from soft and hard keys, interface appearance, and boot animations, to gesture controls, and third party app customization. The sleek Wileyfox smartphones will also feature enhanced security and privacy settings, advanced camera specifications.
"The GCC has a large early adopter population and is always interested in the latest in technology, making it an ideal environment for the Wileyfox brand. Since our establishment in the UK earlier this year, we have been recognized across key markets in Europe for our high quality and value for money," said Nitin Sood, Managing Director, Wileyfox MEA. "We look forward to very soon extending our offerings to GCC smartphone enthusiasts, giving them the unique opportunity to access and experiment with the latest in smartphone technology at very affordable prices."


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Only recently did I get with the program and start reading David Lebovitz's blog — I've tried to make up for lost time by making his butterscotch pudding several times in the last few weeks. I assumed this book would basically be a printed "best of" the blog (which would further help me catch up on what I've been missing), but actually the essays are original to the book, though many of the topics were probably mentioned.. like, most of the list of 15 unlikeable things about Paris shows up in expanded form in the book.
Following a similar approach as his blog, there's a lot about food (including many recipes) and insider scoops on places to go in Paris, rounded out by observations about French culture from an outsider's perspective. Lebovitz has a charming sense of humor and pokes fun at himself almost as much as the Parisians who often confound him with their difficult customer service. There are many good tips for those who hope to visit someday, both about specific locations to visit and general suggestions for being a good tourist. I also learned that I've probably cut cheese rudely in the past. (At least now I know.)
I didn't try any of the recipes in the book just yet, but the chocolate mole sounds really good right now.


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This week I am attending the already valuable creative3 forum run by QUT Creative Enterprise Australia here in sunny Brisbane, AU. Two super keynote addresses this morning, one from Adam Elliot of Harvey Krumpet and Mary & Max fame (both fab films), and the other from Russel Howcroft, boss man at ad agency George Patterson Y&R. (You might know Russel as the capitalist-pig-dog-guy on the ABC's The Gruen Transfer. Personally, I can relate …)
From a creative industries investment perspective Russel asked a killer question:
"If you can't afford to market your product, should you even create it?"
A couple of hundred creative entrepreneurs instantly became rather uncomfortable, but it is such a pivotal question and one that we all must be able answer before we invest time or money in our next project.
On a lighter note, Russel questioned whether creativity works in a commercial environment? A pair of creatives from George Patterson Y&R in Melbourne had already put the question to the test. The following vid provides the wicked sick answer.


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|Pasupuleti Neelima and K.Bhargavi
|Related article at Pubmed, Scholar Google
Visit for more related articles at International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering
In mobile ad-hoc networks the geographic routing protocol has high priority. This routing protocol maintains the nodes nearest to destination. It requires information about final destination of a packet and neighbor node positions. For maintaining the node updates a unique strategy is used known as Adaptive Position Update (APU).It uses two principles: nodes 1) whose moments are harder to predict & 2) closer to forwarding paths are updated frequently.
|wireless communication, algorithm/protocol design and analysis, routing protocols.
|The term MANET (Mobile Ad-hoc Network) refers to a Multihop packet based wireless network composed of a set of mobile nodes that can communicate and move at the same time, without using any kind of fixed wired infrastructure. MANET is actually self-organizing and adaptive networks that can be formed and deformed on-the-fly without the need of any centralized administration. Otherwise, a stand for "MOBILE AD HOC NETWORK" A MANET is a type of ad hoc network that can change locations and configure itself on the fly. Because MANETS are mobile, they use wireless connections to connect to various networks.
|A pure on-demand route acquisition system, nodes that do not lie on active paths neither maintain any routing information nor participate in any periodic routing table exchanges. The routing tables of the nodes within the neighbourhood are organized to optimize response time to local movements and provide quick response time for requests for establishment of new routes. when a source node wants to find a route to another one, the source node initiates a route discovery it broadcasts a route request (RREQ) to the entire network till either the destination is reached or another node is found with a fresh enough route to the destination and each node appends own identifier when forwarding RREQ. After destination node received the first RREQ it sends RREP is on a route obtained by reversing the route appended to receive RREQ. The DSR protocol is composed of the two mechanisms of route discovery and route maintenance. Geographic random forwarding is based on the assumption that sensor nodes have a means to determine their location and that the positions of the final destination and of the transmitting node are explicitly included in each message. In this scheme, a node which hears a message is able (based on its position toward the final destination) to assesses its own priority in acting as a relay for that message. All nodes who received a message may volunteer to act as relays and do so according to their own priority. This mechanism tries to choose the best positioned nodes as relays.
|In addition, since the selection of the relays is done a posterior, no topological knowledge or routing tables are needed at each node, but the position information is enough. Geographic routing is used here to enable nodes to be put to sleep and waken up without coordination and to integrate routing, MAC, and topology management into a single layer. Mac scheme based on these concepts and on collision avoidance and report on its energy and latency performance. The proposed scheme performs significantly better for sufficient node density. Overhead is high in this scheme. Wireless sensor networks (WSNS) are being designed to solve a gamut of interesting real-world problems. Limitations on available energy and bandwidth, message loss, high rates of node failure, and communication restrictions pose challenging requirements for these systems. Beyond these inherent limitations, both the possibility of node mobility and energy conserving protocols that power down nodes introduce additional complexity to routing protocols that depend on up to date routing or neighbourhood tables. utilizing characteristics of high node density and location awareness, we introduce IGF, a location-aware routing protocol that is robust and works without knowledge of the existence of neighbouring nodes (state-free).implicit geographic forwarding (IGF), as it makes non-deterministic routing decisions, implicitly allowing opportune receiving nodes to determine a packet's next-hop at transmission time.
|Specifically, IGF works without prior knowledge of any other node in the network, using an integrated network/Mac solution to identify the best forwarding candidate at the instant a packet is sent. Aside from providing robust message delivery, increasing system stability, and reducing control overhead, we utilize the energy remaining at a node during the candidate election process to ensure nodes do not shoulder vastly unequal portions of the workload and die out sporadically. The maintenance of routing or neighbourhood tables is costly. Geographic forwarding in wireless sensor networks (WSN) has long suffered from the problem of by passing "dead ends". In this paper, we approach the problem of dealing with dead ends in a novel way that allows us to guarantee the delivery of packets to the sink without requiring the overhead and the inaccuracies incurred by "planar" methods. We use tested measurements to show that these idealized assumptions are grossly violated by real radios, and that these violations cause persistent failures in geographic routing, even on static topologies. Having identified this problem, we then fix it by proposing the cross- link detection protocol (CLDP), which enables provably correct geographic routing on arbitrary connectivity graphs.
|The Existing System focus on Geographic routing. In this routing, forwarding decision at each node and the maintenance of one-hop neighbour's location has been often neglected. Some geographic routing schemes, simply assume that a forwarding node knows the location of its neighbour's; others use periodical beacon broadcasting to exchange neighbour's locations. in the periodic beaconing scheme, each node broadcasts a beacon with a fixed beacon interval. The problems in existing system are:
|• Increase in Position updating.
|• Increases Node Energy Consumption.
|• Packet collisions.
|• Decrease in routing performance.
|• Increases End -to- End delays.
|• First we create the network environment for adaptive position update for Geographic routing system. The network creation module will be as follows:
|• In this network environment we are going to perform our technique of Adaptive position update (APU).
|• In the router node, we design as the network nodes perform the operations of Beaconing information, mobility prediction rule and On-demand Learning Rule.
|• The Source node perform the operation of triggering router node by sending the data using Socket technique by giving the IP address from one node to another node.
|• The destination node performs the operation of receiving data and acknowledging the details.
|• Secondly Beaconing information is gathered, after triggering the router node, the node initialization process is carried out. Then, the beacon packets are transmitted to all the nodes in the network.
|• We check the nodes distance between previous position and current position.
|• The node distance greater than acceptable threshold update their position to its neighbour's through beacon packets.
|• The Node Prediction rule is triggered when there is change in the location of the node.
|• The change in the location of the node is cannot be predicated because it moves in the random direction.
|• So the beacon packet is send when the deviation is greater than the threshold condition and it is known as Acceptable Error Range (AER).
|• It act node to send the beacon packets to the neighbouring nodes.
|• As the name suggests On Demand Learning Rule (ODL), a node broadcasts beacons on-demand, i.e., in response to data forwarding activities that occur in the vicinity of that node.
|• According to this rule, whenever a node overhears a data transmission from a new neighbour, it broadcasts a beacon as a response.
|• By a new neighbour, we imply a neighbour who is not contained in the neighbour list of this node.
|• In reality, a node waits for a small random time interval before responding with the beacon to prevent collisions with other beacons.
|• Recall that, we have assumed that the location updates are piggybacked on the data packets and that all nodes operate in the promiscuous mode, which allows them to overhear all data packets transmitted in their vicinity.
|• In addition, since the data packet contains the location of the final destination, any node that overhears a data packet also checks its current location and determines if the destination is within its transmission range.
|• If so, the destination node is added to the list of neighbouring nodes, if it is not already present. Note that, this particular check incurs zero cost, i.e., no beacons need to be transmitted.
|• Through Graph Analysis, we analyse our and we evaluate the impact of varying the mobility dynamics and traffic load on the performance of APU and also compare it with periodic beaconing and two recently proposed updating schemes: distance-based and speed-based beaconing (SB).
|• The simulation results show that APU can adapt to mobility and traffic load well.
|• For each dynamic case, APU generates less or similar amount of beacon overhead as other beaconing schemes but achieve better performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end delay and energy consumption.
|• The Proposed Scheme eliminates the drawbacks of periodic beaconing by adapting to the system variations.
|• The simulation results show that APU can adapt to mobility and traffic load well.
|• Achieve better performance in terms of packet delivery ratio, average end-to-end delay and energy consumption.
|• The main reason for all these improvements in APU is that beacons generated in APU are more concentrated along the routing paths, while the beacons in all other schemes are more scattered in the whole network.
|• In APU, the nodes located in the hotspots, which are responsible for forwarding most of the data traffic in the network have an up-to-date view of their local topology, thus resulting in improved performance.
|Step 1: Detect node location
|Step 2: If a node location changes, mobility prediction is applied.
|Step 3: If node moves randomly then it can't be predicted
|Step 4: If deviation greater than threshold (called acceptable error range, AER) ->packet send
|Step 5: Neighbouring nodes get packets from node
|Step 6: If data overhears by new node then broadcast beacon as response
|Step 7: Identifying new node which isn't contains in the neighbours list
|Step 8: Before responding with beacon to prevent collisions with other beacons
|Step 9: if (new node isn't in neighbours list) ->Add new node to neighbour list
|The The Simulations have been shown through the network simulator (NS2), and by using the TCL tool and Network Animator Window (NAM).
|In this project, the need to adapt the beacon update is identified and the corresponding policy is employed in geographic routing protocols to the node mobility dynamics and the traffic load. The Adaptive Position Update (APU) strategy is proposed to address these problems. The APU scheme employs two mutually exclusive rules. The MP rule uses mobility prediction to estimate the accuracy of the location estimate and adapts the beacon update interval accordingly, instead of using periodic beaconing. The ODL rule allows nodes along the data forwarding path to maintain an accurate view of the local topology by exchanging beacons in response to data packets that are overheard from new neighbours. Performance of APU is evaluated using extensive NS-2 simulations for varying node speeds and traffic load. Results indicate that the APU strategy generates less or similar amount of beacon overhead as other beaconing schemes but achieve better packet delivery ratio, less overhead and energy consumption.
Figures at a glance
|Pasupuleti Neelima is an M.Tech student in Department of Computer Science and Engineering in INTELL
Engineering College Anantapur affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University - Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh,
India. Area of interest is Sensor Networks, Mobile Ad Hoc Networks and Network Security.
|K.Bhargavi completed her M.Tech in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and currently working as
an Assistant professor in INTELL Engineering College Anantapur affiliated to Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University - Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, India. Her Area of Interest is Networking, Internet Programming, and
Network Security.


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Growing up in a southern family, life was all about Sunday lunches with the family.
Everyone knows how southerners love eating big meals filled with meat…and a lot of it. My childhood revolved around me eating big meals, both in my house and my grandparent's house.
A major rule in my house was that no one can't get off the table until they finish their plate, something a lot of you can relate to I'm sure.
Because I was raised like that, I formed the habit of always finishing my plate, no matter how big the meal was, which is not a good habit to have.
In my family, chubby kids were perceived as healthy kids, so when I put on a few pounds, no one thought anything bad of it.
Quite the contrary, they were seeing it as a sign that I was eating healthy.
During my teen and young adult years, I kept on getting more and more weight. I tried so many diets to lose the excess weight I had, but nothing seemed to be working for me.
The weird thing was that many of my friends were dieting and losing a lot of weight, but when I was doing the same things, I managed to lose only a few pounds.
But I just put it in the back of my mind and ignored that doubt. I honestly thought I was just finding excuses for my inability to lose weight.
As the years went on, I got married and had kids, which took their toll on my body. At the age of 43, I was not only getting close to being obese, but I was also struggling with constant fatigue, shortness of breath, hair loss. I thought to myself "There has to be something that causes this. This couldn't be normal".
I decided to go have a check at the doctor's office to see if there was something stopping me from losing weight.
After hundreds of tests, my doubts were confirmed.
The doctor diagnosed me with hypothyroidism. It's a condition where the thyroid gland doesn't secrete enough hormones, causing symptoms such as weight gain and fatigue.
He further explained that it's a major factor in many heart conditions, high cholesterol, and depression, which explained a lot.
I made a comment on how clear it was why all the weight piled up, but then the doctor said that although my hypothyroidism can influence my weight, it wasn't the cause of me being overweight. In fact, he said that some of my symptoms might not even be caused by the hypothyroidism, but my weight.
The two had many similar symptoms, so getting the right diagnosis of what's causing what problems can be tricky for doctors.
I got out of the doctor's office full of new diagnosis and problems, and no clear cure for any of them.
The only thing the doctor said I could do is to manage my condition through a healthy lifestyle, something I wasn't really good at (obviously).
When I got home, I immediately went to the bedroom and asked to be left alone for a while. I needed time to cry my pain away and rethink my life.
My husband Dave later came in and told me that my kids were asking what's wrong, and is their mommy going to be okay.
Look at what I did. Not only did I ruin my body, but I even made my innocent children worried. That was the moment I made a decision to change my life.
I apologized to Dave and promised myself that I will become better than what I was then, for myself, for him, and most importantly, for my children.
They deserved to have a mother that could commit 100% to their lives and make them better, not make them stressed and worried.
So, immediately jumped to the Internet and looked for a diet that could help me. A healthy diet that I could handle with my busy mom life.
I came across a diet that looked ideal for my needs and what I was looking for.
It was called The Fat Decimator, a diet that combines dieting tips and workout plans to enable the person to lead a healthy lifestyle and lose weight in a healthy way.
On the first look, it seemed really interesting, so I continued reading about it.
Who's the person behind The Fat Decimator Diet?
The person who made this diet is named Kyle Cooper, a former marine and now a certified trainer.
I was really touched with the story of how he came up with this diet.
His job in the marine was actually training soldiers, and due to being overweight, one of his team members accidentally got killed.
When he was recovering from this trauma, Kyle met a person named Sam Park, a Korean guy that was a member of the UN forces.
Sam explained to him that due to metabolic acidosis, a condition that causes acidic buildup in the body, people over the age of 30 struggle with losing weight.
Sam gave Kyle a list of herbs that help prevent this and melt fat, and they both decided to share what it with everyone.
What is The Fat Decimator?
The Fat Decimator is a digital program comprising of 4 sections: diet, workout plan, supplements, and motivation & mindset.
By reading reviews, I found out that it focused on getting the balance between your body's nutrients: vitamins, fats, and carbs.
There were so many testimonials and success stories of people that were weighing even more than me when they started and now they all looked healthy and happy.
Just like I wanted to be one day.
What's included in the program
At a price of only $57, it was a true bargain to buy the program.
Personally, I like digital diets and programs more than hard copy books, because I can put digital content in my gadget and take it everywhere.
So, I ordered it, and this is what I got:
By focusing on the important nutrients, Kyle gives advice on which foods are good for the body, and which ones are not. In the videos, Kyle explains why you should eat 5-6 meals a day, what to include in the meals and how everything you eat impacts your body.
Snacks and different smoothie recommendations are also included, which helped me feel full throughout the dieting.
Workout plan
In the workout plan, I got to choose whether I wanted to go to the gym or do a home workout routine.
Of course, I chose to do them at home because I have young children I can't leave, and honestly, I was feeling subconscious about going to the gym with my weight.
The third part was a very interesting one that reviewed the famous supplements that are sold around us.
It had a bunch of useful information I could use because not all of the supplements in the diet were selling near me, so I knew what I could use as a substitute.
Honestly, this is what got me through the diet.
You can't do a major change in your life without the proper motivation and getting yourself in the right state of mind.
With these motivational guidelines, you will be able to follow the rules with easy and maximize your results.
4 bonuses
I got lucky to get a discount for purchasing the bonuses, which included the following:
The Fastest Weight Loss Week Action Plan – a plan with tips and tricks on how to speed up the process and maximize results
100 Great Tasting Green Smoothie Fat-Loss Recipes – a tasty set of smoothie recipes to help you deal with cravings and complement your diet.
I wasn't a fan of smoothies prior to this, but now they are a regular, tasty habit in my life.
Powerful Sex Food and Stimulants – I think don't need to explain this one.
The 3-Minute Belly Shrinker Video Series – These videos show a few short exercises you can do anytime and anywhere.
I was struggling to do them at first, but by the end of the second week, I got very used to them and even started enjoying!
My experience with The Fat Decimator
My journey was full of new experiences and unknown factors. I didn't know what to expect, and honestly, I didn't even believe I could do it.
But luckily, my husband was there to support me every step of the way, and I had my children for additional motivation, so once I got into it, I never looked back.
Week 1 – The first week was all about changes. I had to forget every food in my fridge and everything I was used to cooking and replace it with ingredients needed to cook the healthy recipes from the program.
Since I'm a stay at home mom, it wasn't difficult to cook the meals at all, and honestly, they were pretty tasty if you're asking me.
I thought I'd feel hungry often, but thanks to the smoothies and snacks, I managed to control my hunger and experience less cravings through the day.
I also had to shift my schedule and include a daily workout routine.
Doing the exercises was a bit of a struggle the first week, so if I'm being totally honest, I managed to do them only 2 times. After all, I was overweight which made me get tired faster than others and my muscles got inflamed to the point I couldn't move the next day.
So, I decided to take it slow in the start and do as much as my body allowed me.
At the end of week 1, I weighed in and had lost a surprising 4 pounds!
This was result of eliminating the unnecessary junks of my body, which motivated me to continue with the program.
I immediately felt the benefits of eliminating all that junk food: I had more energy throughout the day and didn't feel as bloated as before.
Week 2 – As the days went on, I introduced new things from the program in my life.
I used the detox plans, did more of the workout routines and bought a few supplements I could use.
In week 2, I noticed I could do the exercises easier than before and not feel as tired while doing them. And thanks to the detox, my metabolism started functioning properly which meant more timed and regular bathroom visits.
Week 2 ended with me losing 3 pounds, which was a result of more frequent exercises and a cleaner body.
Week 3– throughout week 3, I continued experiencing the benefits with an even greater impact on my life.
I now began to enjoy the workouts and didn't even get tired when I was doing them.
At week 3, I started experiencing with the bonuses and used a few tips and tricks from them to increase my results. In this final week, I lost 3 pounds again.
After week 3 – After losing the first 10 pounds, the benefits just kept on increasing as time went on.
What once was a diet plan now was becoming a lifestyle for me.
Because the meals were so healthy and tasty, I started cooking them for my whole family, so we can all enjoy tasty and healthy meals.
I constantly repeated the routines, so it wasn't even a scheduled thing, it just became a habit, a lifestyle. And, not only did I do the workout routines, but I also started going hiking or walking with the kids.
The benefits of The Fat Decimator Diet
Here is the big news. I've lost a shocking 47 pounds in just 4 months! If someone had told me that I would do it a year ago, I would honestly laugh in their face and call them crazy.
But I really did it. And I didn't even pay a lot of money for expensive programs or personal trainers, all I did was follow this simple digital program I bought for less than a mall trip.
Everyone that saw me dropped their jaw. No one couldn't believe how much weight I've lost.
The benefits I'm experiencing losing the weight are countless.
My overall health state has improved in the past few months, so I don't feel so scared about my health and well-being anymore.
I have more energy for sports activities with my children, so I'm able to go for walks in the park or hiking in the mountains.
Previously, I was feeling ashamed to even go out of the house, let alone hike.
Even if I did try to do it, I got tired so easily and started hyperventilating after only a few minutes. But now, I regularly visit the mountains and canyons with Dave and the kids during the weekends.
And besides the weight-loss, I've experienced other physical benefits as well.
My skin is looking better than ever, which makes me look younger and prettier. This additionally brought back my confidence and increased my libido, so Dave and I spend a little more time in the bedroom than before.
I feel better overall, that's all I can say.
The only downside I could say is that it's not suitable for people younger than 30, since it was designed to address weightloss problems for people above 30 so it might not work as good for younger people.
If you're in your twenties, I'd suggest you try out some other diet.
Conclusion: Very Satisfied With The Fat Decimator System
This diet was all about loss and gain. A lot of loss and a lot of gains.
What I lost was weight, but what I gained was a life change.
My healthy habits are now my family's healthy habits and now we get to enjoy our time together and live to the fullest.
I couldn't be more grateful to Kyle and this diet for allowing me to do that.
With a little effort, you too can do it. You just need to be determined and dedicated, and your success is guaranteed.
Don't forget to check and see if the discount is still available here <<.
Well, thanks for reading this review about The Fat Decimator by Wes Virgin.
I hope it answered any questions you may have but if you do have any questions please do feel free to leave me a comment below…
POST-REVIEW UPDATE: The doctor was right, again. After getting the regular 6-month check-up, many of the symptoms disappeared, which proved that they were really caused by my weight, not the hypothyroidism.
My blood results were better, my breathing had improved, and my BMI indicators were far better than a few months back.
The good news keeps coming, so I'll keep you updated on everything!


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say hello to the tag concepts team in Medicine Hat.
This Is Rachel
Rachel is a bundle of positive energy and talent.
Rachel is wise beyond her years. With an innate curiosity for humans, she knows more at (insert age guess here) than many understand in their 80's. She brings that wisdom to our clients and helps showcase them in a unique and creative manner. Rachel is our Communication Officer and works on strategy and execution as well as podcast development.
You'll enjoy getting to know this curious gal and she'll enjoy keeping you on your toes. Can't get more authentic than Rachel!
This Is April
Reading. Writing. And Photography. Some of the top things that April loves, along with plaid shirts and ripped jeans.
April connected with tag when she was a 2nd year Vis Comm student. She wrote the best damn cover letter Dee has ever read and we thank that cover letter for April working for tag today! You just never know what your future holds!
April is one of our Communication Specialists that focuses on creating content for a variety of marketing clients.
This Is Kim
Cool composure, chill lifestyle, kick-ass ideas. Kim is one cool collective designer that believes in simplicity.
Having the freedom to work from anywhere gives Kim the ability always to find inspiration. Kim is one of our Graphic Designers on the team who helps with creating the various brands we work on for clients throughout Canada.
Drinking cold teas, enjoying the occasional carrot cake slice and spontaneous trips to the mountains isn't bad for inspiration either. 100% authentic.
This Is Kristine
ANALYTICAL & STRATEGIC. Associate Partner.
Embrace new opportunities and kick ass.
Kristine has no problem with taking a challenge head-on and making it look easy. She started her own business after her daughter was born and jumped right in learning everything she could to grow her small business from one that started as selling locally to expanding to selling globally. Kristine is an Associate Partner at tag and is head of all things digital! She enjoys the challenge of the ever-changing world that the online world brings. She helps our marketing team stay ahead of the curve and she helps train our clients on various social media platforms.
This Is Deanna
BE KIND & 100% AUTHENTIC. Owner.
When the team was asked to describe me (oh hey, it's Dee here), this is what they said:
Deanna loves what she does and the people that work with her.
She is a connector who seeks out opportunities to create collaborations for both tag and her clients. A team-builder along the lines of Red Auerbach, she seeks bright people with great ideas and puts them in the same room.
The result is always bigger ideas, a successful team and happy clients. She is also partial to wearing toques, flip-flops and worn denim. Just saying.
Just like that little tag on your t-shirt, our tag team has our list of ingredients (or services). We define the smallest details important in the development of your project. To capture the details we approach every client project in the same manner:
- Start with a conversation about marketing!
- Move on to a client consult to learn more client needs.
- Prepare a detailed proposal outlining the direction for the project, the timelines for completion, and costs.
- Client reviews and signs off!
- We create Big Magic!
We like to keep our marketing strategies clean, simple and 100% AUTHENTIC.
Able to merge our ideas into one fabulous conceptDeerview Meats
Created something that is so me.Shine Esthetics Studio
Les Postnikoff | Minset MentorLes Postnikoff | Mindset Mentor


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What you'll learn in this Photoshop Elements Tutorial:
This tutorial provides you with a foundation for working with Adobe Photoshop Elements selections. It is the fifth lesson in the Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 Digital Classroom book.
Photoshop Elements Tutorial: Making selections in Photoshop Elements
Selections define the editable pixels in a photograph. They allow you, for example, to darken one area in a photo without affecting the rest. Selections can be made with either a selection tool or a selection command. A selection outline surrounds the selection, and can be hidden. You can edit the pixels inside a selection border, but you can't access pixels outside the selection outline until you deselect the selection.
Selections define the editable areas in a photo.
The importance of selections
Photoshop Elements provides selection tools for different kinds of selections. For example, the Rectangular Marquee tool selects square and rectangular areas, the Magic Wand tool can select an area of similar colors with one click, and freeform selections can be made with one of the Lasso tools. Further, you can smooth the edges of a selection with feathering and anti-aliasing.
About the selection tools
Selection tools can be found in the Toolbox, which is located, by default, on the left side of the workspace.
Photoshop Elements provides you with different selection tools for different selection needs.
The Rectangular Marquee tool draws square or rectangular selections.
The Elliptical Marquee tool draws round or elliptical selections.
The Lasso tool draws freehand selections.
The Polygonal Lasso tool draws multiple straight-edged segments of a selection.
The Magnetic Lasso tool draws a selection that automatically snaps to contrast edges you drag over in the photo.
The Magic Wand tool selects pixels of similar color with one click.
The Quick Selection tool automatically makes a selection based on color and texture when you click or click-drag an area.
The Selection Brush tool automatically selects or deselects the area you paint, depending on whether you're in Selection or Mask mode.
The Smart Brush tool applies color and tonal adjustments and effects to a selection. The tool automatically creates an adjustment layer for non-destructive editing.
In this exercise, you'll use one of these tools, the Selection Brush tool, to work with selections.
Using the Selection Brush tool
You can make selections in two ways using the Selection Brush tool: in Selection mode, by painting over the area you want to select, or in Mask mode, by painting out areas you don't want to select using a transparent overlay.
You can also start with a rough selection made with another selection tool, and then fine-tune your selection with the Selection Brush tool. Also, you can add to or subtract from the selection by choosing from the Selection brush tool options.
Choose from Selection Brush tool options to fine-tune your selection. A. Add to selection. B. Subtract from selection. C. Brush drop-down menu. D. Brush size. E. Mode. F. Hardness.
1 Select the Selection Brush tool () from the toolbox. If necessary, click and hold on the Quick Selection tool () in the toolbox and select the Selection Brush from the list of nested tools that appears.
Next, you'll set Selection Brush tool options in the Options bar at the top of the workspace.
2 By default, the tool is set to Add To Selection. (To subtract from the selection, you would click Subtract From Selection in the Options bar.)
3 Choose the Hard Round 13 pixels brush from the Default Brushes drop-down menu.
4 Increase the brush size to 20 pixels by dragging the Size slider to the right, by clicking on the word Size and dragging to the right, or by typing 20 in the size field.
5 From the Mode drop-down menu, choose Selection to add a selection to the image.
6 Set the brush tip's hardness to a value of 100 percent for a crisp edge on your selection.
7 Click and drag in your photo to select the boy in the image. Don't worry if you select too much, you will edit your selection in the next steps.
8 From the Mode drop-down menu, choose Mask to switch to Mask mode. The red overlay shows areas that are masked, or not currently selected. You can use mask mode to remove areas from your selection.
9 Paint out any areas that you've selected in error by dragging with your cursor (brush) outside of the edge of the boy. You are now removing selected areas from the selection. Zoom in if necessary for finer control.
10 Choose Selection from the Mode menu to return to the Selection mode.
Subtract from a selection while in Mask mode.
Add to or subtract from a selection
You can add to or subtract from an existing selection to adjust selection borders.
1 Choose any Selection tool, and hold down Shift (a plus sign appears next to the pointer) to add to the selection, or hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) (a minus sign appears next to the pointer) to subtract from a selection. Then select the area to add or subtract and make another selection.
2 In the Options bar, click Add To Selection or Subtract From Selection and make another selection.
Add to or subtract from a selection using settings in the Options bar.
Smoothing selection edges with anti-aliasing and feathering
Anti-aliasing and feathering are terms that refer to smoothing the hard edges of a selection. Anti-aliasing smooths the jagged edges of a selection by softening the transition between edges and background pixels. Because only the edge pixels change, no detail is lost.
1 Select the Lasso (), Polygonal Lasso (), Magnetic Lasso (), Rectangular Marquee (), Elliptical Marquee (), or Magic Wand tool ().
2 In the Options bar, notice that Anti-alias is selected by default. It is best to keep this on for most selections.


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Campbell, John P. NASHVILLE BUSINESS DIRECTORY. Containing The Names, Business, and Residence of All Heads of Families, Business Firms, Etc., Etc., for The City of Nashville and Suburbs. Vol. III ñ 1857. Nashville: Smith, Camp & Co. 1857. 350(of 356) pp. Many advertisements, does not include last three double sided pages of ads, end of book. 8″ H x 5 3/8″ W x 1 1/8″ D. CONDITION: Publisher's original stamped cloth in good condition with areas of dampstaining, back cover. Original book contains 356 pages, this contains 350 pages. Missing pages are last three double sided pages of ads, end of book. Spine titles faded. Areas of toning, foxing spots, surface of sheets. Personal inscription, front end paper.


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A new tool for forecasting flares may soon be available to scientists, one that promises to be twice as accurate as current models. The new technique analyzes sound waves generated by magnetized fluids swirling inside the sun.
Forecasting a solar flare is a bit like predicting the path of a tornado: It's a lot easier once it makes an appearance.
Yet early warning is crucial. Solar flares can trigger disruptions and errors in GPS signals and other equipment receiving radio waves that bounce off or travel through the ionosphere — the layer of charged particles surrounding Earth's atmosphere that gets kicked up by solar activity.
That's a concern for activities requiring precision navigation, such as landing planes. Solar flares can even affect power grids on Earth.
"You get this faster, twisting motion that then slows down to almost nothing and then the flare. It tells us how big the flare is going to be and that it's coming — maybe a day or two in advance," said Alysha Reinard, a solar physicist with NOAA in Boulder, Colo.
Reinard and colleagues used archived solar seismic data collected by ground stations to look for correlations between motions in the magnetic fields and subsequent flares. Analysis showed a pattern, and using it, the team accurately predicted up to half the flares that occurred between 2001 and 2007, the years the seismic data was available.
"That's quite a bit higher that people had done before. The forecasting group is pretty excited about this," Reinard said. "Hopefully we can get to a stage where it's operational soon."
Thomas Bogdan, who heads NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, says forecasting flares is probably his team's most difficult challenge because the highly energized, magnetized photons released during a solar flare move at the speed of light, making the 193-million-mile journey to Earth in just eight minutes.
"When it's here, it's here. There's no way to get any more advanced knowledge," Bogdan told Discovery News.
Current forecasting models rely heavily on comparing observations of the sun's active regions with historical data. Forecasters then issue probabilities, similar to hurricane warnings, that a flare of a certain magnitude will occur within 72, 48 and 24 hours.
"What we currently do now is the best that's out there, but it's pretty archaic," Bogdan said.
Reinard's research will be published in this month's Astrophysical Journal Letters.
© 2012 Discovery Channel


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1726, Royal France, Louis XV. Beautiful Silver ½ Ecu (44 Sols) Coin. XF-AU!
Mint Year: 1726 Mint Place: Paris (A) References: KM-484.1. Denomination: ½ Ecu (44 Sols) Condition: Weight-adjusting marks in obverse, a few scratches and faint hairlines, otherwise a nice XF-AU! Weight: 14.66gm Diameter: 33mm Material: Silver
Obverse: Draped bust of Louis XV left, privy mark below. Legend: LUD . XV . D . G . FR . . ET . NA . REX . (privy mark) Reverse: Crown above oval with three fleur de lis inside, flanked by olive branches. Mint letter (E for Tours) below. Legend: SIT NOMEN DOMINI (A) BENEDICTUM (privy mark: *) 1726
For your consideration a nice early dollar sized silver coin, struck at the Paris mint during 1726 under Louis XV of France.
Louis XV (Versailles, 15 February 1710 – Versailles, 10 May 1774) ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the Régent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans, his great-uncle, thereafter taking formal personal control of government.
Unexpectedly surviving the death of most of the royal family, he enjoyed a favourable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earned the epithet "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved"). However, in time, his lack of morals, general inability to effectively reform France and the Monarchy, and the perceived failings of his foreign policy lost him the affection of his people, and he ended his life amongst the most unpopular kings of France.
While historians have traditionally treated Louis XV harshly, more recent research has suggested that he was in fact very intelligent and dedicated to the task of ruling the largest state in Europe, bar Russia. His nagging indecision, fueled by his awareness of the complexity of problems ahead, as well as his profound timidity, hidden behind the mask of an imperious king, may account for the poor results achieved during his reign. In many ways, Louis XV prefigures the "bourgeois rulers" of the romantic 19th century. While dutifully playing the role of the mighty king carved out by his predecessor and great-grandfather, Louis XIV, Louis XV in fact cherished nothing more than his private life far away from the pomp and ceremony of Court. Having lost his mother while still little more than an infant, he longed for a reassuring and motherly presence, which he tried to find in the intimate company of women, something for which he was much criticized both during and after his life.
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The Legotown Space series from the 1980s is among my favorite all-time series from Lego. However, I do like the updated Lego City Space series that is now available. Watch the advertisement above to see Lego Space's updated look.
Lego City Space 2011 Advertisement
Jason W Ellis Lego 1 Minute
Published by Jason W Ellis
I am an Assistant Professor of English at the New York City College of Technology, CUNY whose teaching includes composition and technical communication, and research focuses on science fiction, neuroscience, and digital technology. Also, I coordinate the City Tech Science Fiction Collection, which holds more than 600 linear feet of magazines, anthologies, novels, and research publications. View all posts by Jason W Ellis


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See on Scoop.it – The Great Transition
Research released this month shows that the incomes of the well-off have largely climbed back from the toll of the most recent recession while those of the poor have yet to start recovering.
Willy De Backer's insight:
Crisis? Whose crisis?
See on blogs.wsj.com


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I often read that Democrats need to do more than just be against Trump. They need to indicate what they support. So, it is great to see Elizabeth Warren coming forward with serious detailed legislative proposals. These will probably never be supported by a Republican House, a Republican Senate, or by Donald Trump. Still, it does put a plausible path forward for consideration which I think is worthy of consideration. Case in point is her plan for housing.
Senator Elizabeth Warren's Bold New $500B Plan for Housing
(Nonprofit Quarterly) Earlier this month, at NPQ, we covered the fiftieth anniversary of a 1968 housing bill that led to the construction of over a million new units of affordable housing in three years before it was scuttled by the Nixon administration. These days, housing production, hobbled by an underfunded system of tax credits, falls far short of those levels. Earlier this year, Benjamin Schneider in City Lab cited a report by an advocacy group called Up for Growth, which calculates that US housing production fell 7.3 million units short of demand from 2000 to 2015, which has led to increasing shortfalls in housing affordability in many US communities.
Now, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) seeks to close that gap. While not as ambitious as the US 1968 housing law, Warren's bill, with a price of $500 billion over 10 years, would, if passed, easily be the largest federal housing initiative in decades.
"Housing is the biggest expense for most working families—and costs for everyone, everywhere are skyrocketing," notes Warren.
Warren's bill is called the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act. The bill, explains Nik DeCosta-Klipa of the Boston Globe, involves two main components: 1) federal funds for housing construction and assistance, 2) incentives for localities to loosen zoning rules. Warren's bill would fund its goals by raising estate taxes by a like amount.
Specific elements include (see article linked above for further discussion).
"Housing is a Right," Tony Webster


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How to Achieve Maximum Success with Companies
Tips To Follow Whenever You Are Hiring The Medicare Insurance.
For the people that are over the age of sixty-five in today's life, they can get the Medicare insurance in place. In most cases, the Medicare insurance is at times funded by the working population payroll taxes. It is also important to note that the point of Medicare insurance was started some time back and is still in practice. It is vital to note some of the people that can have this program in place anytime you need to apply for it.
The Medicare insurance program needs one to have a given age in place. For the case of this out of insurance, it was put in place for the people that are aged and should get the program. It is vital to have the age of sixty-five whenever you are willing to get these services in place. The only group of the young stars to get these form of insurance is the ones with the chronic diseases as well as those that are disabled. For the case of the people that have the partners, they can get these services of the Medicare insurance in place too.
For the case of the people at the age of sixty-five, they should be aware of these services of the insurance that are offered to them at no cost. For the same group of people they can get the services of the social services that are important too. The same citizens are also eligible for the Medicare part A in any case they are disabled, and also they are the recipients of the social security for at least two years. For the reason of enrolling for these services, it is vital to note that you should have the right procedures in place.
Make sure you are able to know about the right steps that you are to follow at the time of getting the Medicare insurance. With these steps in place, it is vital to note that the whole process will be made easy throughout. For the reason that the Medicare is known to cover some of the important areas, it is vital to note that having it in place is a vital point to have in place. All the issues related to the ailments are well catered for by the aspect of the Medicare insurance.
For the group of people that qualify to get these programs, it is vital to ensure you can get all the benefits that are related to the program. At the time you are enrolling for these services, there are some of the requirements that you should have in place. For instance, there are some certificates that one needs to have in place for the reason of having the whole process being a success. One should understand that the Medicare is a form of insurance that one gets on meeting some specification.
Lessons Learned from Years with Insurance


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I have not been able to determine the identity of these correspondents; the surname appears to be "Gates" or "Yates." The state from which the letter was written is also not given but the content suggests it was mailed from the midwest as the author refers to sending letters "back East" and the author also speaks of families being driven from Missouri through their state. This leads me to believe it was Fairfield, Wayne County, Illinois.
Fairfield [Illinois]
August the 2d 1861
Dear Sister,
I now sit down to answer your kind and welcome letter which we received about a month ago. We are all well at present, hoping these few lines will find you enjoying the same blessing. You doubtless will think strange of my not writing before but to tell you the truth, I have not had money enough for the last two months to buy a postage stamp until yesterday. Rosette went to town and sold some butter and got a dime's worth of stamps. The times here as regards money matters is the worst I ever knew. In fact, it [is] almost impossible to get money for anything.
But for all the hard times in money matters, we can get anything we want to eat or wear reasonably low as regards provisions as you will see by the following prices: flour is worth one dollar & fifty cents per hundred barrel. Corn is worth a bit, that is 72 & ½ cents per bushel, Potatoes 20 cents & wheat is 40 cents per bushel. Pork six dollars per hundred that is. Clear molasses from 40 to 60 cents per gallon. But will be cheaper soon as people are beginning to make sorghum molasses. We have enough cane to make four barrels, I think. We shall commence making ours this week. I have ten acres of corn planted. Had four acres of wheat, have ¾ acre potatoes, one and a half acre of sugar cane and a good garden of vegetables. We will kill four hogs & one beef so that with the exception of flour, we will raise about what we will want to live on this year. We milk four cows this summer and raised four calves. We have 17 turkeys, 13 geese, and I don't know how many hens. Eggs are 3 cts. per dozen in store pay. I think my corn will yield from 40 & 50 bushels per acre. Crops of all kinds come in good this season. Fruit is plenty and cheap for this country.
Now I will tell you how many letters I have written East this summer — one to you, one to Diantha, one to father, one to Lorin, one to Abel. In all, five letters before this, and I have received one from you and one from Lorin. I received one from Lorin last winter bringing the sad intelligence of the death of our Cousin Elias and bringing Lorin's Ambrotype. Tell Abel that I got a letter from Missouri concerning his land tax. I enclosed the letter and sent it to him. Have not heard from him since. Now I love to write letters to my parents, brothers, & sisters. It gives me great pleasure. But recollect love also to read as often as I can the lines that are penned by those hands I have grasped with great affection in days that are gone never to return.
While I look with regret at the agitated state of our country and the awful consequence of the war that is now raging and almost brought to our doors, I must say that my heart is pained within me. Several young men with whom I have been acquainted have been home to their friends a lifeless form and buried with military honors. Families are driven by hundreds from Missouri and traveling through this state in order to escape the vengeance of those that are in rebellion to our government — some selling their property at ruinous rates, others leaving it unsold and at the mercy of their enemies, others seeing their burned before their eyes. I have to think when I hear stories of their trials that mine is a easy fate compared to theirs but it is all bad enough for us all.
I must draw to a close for want of room. Tell Lorin to write and have father write and tell Diantha to write and all write and let me hear from you often. — D. L. Gates


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Please complete this form in order to make a self referral for antenatal care at Milton Keynes University Hospital. In order to help us understand your individual needs, please answer the questions as fully as possible. This will ensure that you are booked for the most appropriate care.
Booking early in pregnancy has benefits for you and your baby. Prompt access to maternity care enables the timely offer of antenatal screening tests. Screening tests are offered during pregnancy to find any health problems that could affect you or your baby. For more information on the screening tests that are available for you and your baby click here.
If you would like advice on weight management during your pregnancy, MoreLife offer a free service for those who live in Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire or Milton Keynes. For more information and to refer yourself to the service, visit the MoreLife website.


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Ahmadreza Djalali was arrested in April 2016 on still-unknown charges.
Courtesy of VUB
By Martin EnserinkFeb. 3, 2017 , 3:30 PM
A researcher studying disaster medicine at two European institutes has been sentenced to death in Iran, apparently for security-related offenses. Iranian-born Ahmadreza Djalali, a scientist at the Research Center in Emergency and Disaster Medicine (CRIMEDIN) at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Novara, Italy, and the Free University Brussels (VUB), was arrested more than 9 months ago on still-unknown charges and has been imprisoned in Iran since then, most of the time in solitary confinement and without access to a laywer.
VUB announced the sentence in a statement on its website today. Colleagues, convinced of Djalali's innocence, say they are trying everything they can to prevent his execution. A petition set up by Hakan Altintas, a supporter in Turkey, asks the Iranian government to let Djalali come home; friends and colleagues are also raising awareness about his case on a Facebook page.
"Ahmadreza is passionate about science," says Ives Hubloue, the head of VUB's Research Group on Emergency and Disaster Medicine. "He's not interested in politics. We don't believe he would do anything at all" to undermine the Iranian government.
The petition says that Djalali, who has a wife and two children aged 14 and 5, has serious health issues after losing 18 kilograms during a hunger strike that he began on 26 December 2016.
Djalali, 45, was arrested last April by the security forces of Iran's Ministry of Information while en route from Tehran to the city of Karaj and was taken to Evin Prison in northwest Tehran, according to the petition. Worried that international publicity might make his situation worse, Djalali's family initially told his colleagues that he was in a coma after a car accident, Hubloue says. VUB and CRIMEDIN didn't learn that he had been imprisoned until October 2016, and even then, the family asked that his case not be publicized. That changed after the death sentence, which Hubloue says came on Wednesday.
Djalali studied medicine at the University of Tabriz in Iran and obtained a Ph.D. in disaster medicine, the study of health care management during large-scale emergencies, at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. He also earned a master's degree from a program in disaster medicine jointly organized by CRIMEDIN and VUB. Now, he's a professor in the same program and a scientist. His research focuses on how hospitals can best prepare for events with large numbers of casualties, including natural disasters and terrorist attacks, Hubloue says.
Just what he has been accused of is unclear. "Ahmadreza has informed his family in Iran that he was forced to sign a confession, but the content is unknown," says the petition. "His family has been informed that the investigation relates to an issue of 'national security.' They have no evidence against him, but they are continuing to keep him."
Hubloue says the charges are apparently related to Djalali's international contacts. The joint masters program draws students and professors from countries around the world, he says, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. "That could have something to do with it." But any contacts with colleagues from countries that Iran might see as adversarial would have been solely about the science of saving lives, he says. "We don't believe he did anything wrong," Hubloue says. "Let him go. Let him do his work. We need him."
VUB's statement today echoed that sentiment. "A scientist performing important humanitarian work, gets sentenced without public trial and is looking at the death penalty," Caroline Pauwels, the university's rector, said. "This is an outrageous violation of universal human rights, against which we should react decisively."
Source: Science Mag


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The road to true value is data-driven
How many organizations can truly call themselves data-driven?
In my experience working with businesses across industries to enable better data practices, I've noticed a contrast between perceived and actual confidence in the use of data. Externally, many companies are quick to share stories of success with specific data and machine learning initiatives. But internally — and particularly as you ascend to the c-suite — the cracks in that confidence become clear.
Consider the finding from a 2019 survey of c-level executives that nearly 70 percent of enterprise leaders do not believe their organization is data-driven.
Roadblocks to meaningful data engagement
That finding suggests a flaw in many enterprises' data posture. By prioritizing optics — the need to be perceived as data-empowered — over strategic and intentional application, many organizations are laying a shaky foundation for a value-adding data strategy.
In my experience, there are two key roadblocks that stand in the way of an effective strategy:
- Siloes and tribal knowledge: Realizing the value of data across an enterprise demands a cross-functional approach. Often, however, I observe a factionalized approach, with Department A deploying a different set of data definitions and documentation than Department B, which tracks different metrics than Department C, and so forth. This lack of unification creates confusion, breeds mistrust, and leaves data difficult or impossible to analyze across departmental siloes.
- Rigid and inflexible systems: Gleaning insights from data is an iterative process requiring both a "fail fast" and a "show-me" mentality. Unfortunately, this need for agility often collides with engrained enterprise systems that are change-resistant. Without enterprise processes that support discovery and experimentation, an effective strategy quickly falls out of reach.
3 elements of an "insights first" approach
The ultimate goal of defining and implementing a data strategy is to turn information into insight, and insight into business change. But when enterprises face the roadblocks I mentioned above, insights become unattainable and change becomes out of the question.
My work with businesses involves surmounting these roadblocks with an "insights first" approach — one that keeps the focus on vision and values. Here are the three components of this approach I'd recommend every business follow to turn data into actionable insight:
- Start with alignment: A successful enterprise data strategy requires cross-functional alignment on the value of data - in a tangible way. Laying the foundation for cross-functional alignment starts at the c-suite, with top-down communication that identifies which metrics and data align to the firm's vision and values. This alignment guides the pace and path for data initiatives, from governance to the data platform and from traditional reporting through advanced analytics, including machine learning and AI.
- Take a rapid insights approach: Gleaning true value from data demands organizational introspection. Enterprises need to ask the questions that identify the challenges and opportunities where data can enable better decisions.
This is the beginning of a process we call "rapid insights," wherein businesses use laser-focused value-oriented questions as the launchpad for a period of insights iteration. During this period, they continuously ingest, model, visualize, review and refine data in weeks-long sprints until they've achieved stakeholder agreement on their vision and values.
- Don't overlook your talent: Without the proper organizational roles and the associated training and change management efforts, even a well-conceived data strategy will become infeasible. To facilitate lasting organizational change, a data strategy has to permeate the culture — something 72 percent of companies haven't achieved yet.
Gleaning insight from data demands more than an investment in tools. It requires investing in cross-functional alignment, rapid iteration and change management. These ingredients, when combined, create and sustain momentum to turn insights into action.
An iterative, "show-me" approach demonstrates the potential value of data first-hand and motivates individuals and teams to address data quality and availability challenges to reach that potential.