text:
Responsible production of biogas in India
Using rice straw and other biomass for the production of biogas raises technical and economic challenges, but also fundamental ethical and social questions. This project investigates how industrial interests and farmers' needs in India can be integrated in the design of a system for sustainable biogas production on the basis of rice straw.
In Punjab widespread - yet illegal - livelihood practices of burning rice straw biomass, an agricultural residue, lead to environmental pollution and health problems. The project initially aimed to develop a design and implementation plan for an innovative and responsible socio-technical system for utilising rice straw to produce biogas, and for delivering part of the produced energy to the farmers. It aimed to do so in collaboration with DSM-India and a range of other stakeholders.
To provide for biogas processes that balance technological challenges with industrial interests and farmers' needs in an ethically sound way, the values and interests of farmers, farmers' organisations, innovators, industrial partners, government bodies and other stakeholders have been studied and described. In addition, the researchers have identified possible avenues to align these values and interests, including:
- various forms of dialogue;
- innovative socio-economic arrangements and business models
- novel ways of presenting and mobilizing technological expertise
As the project unfolds, the problem definition has become broader: a perspective inspired by Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has brought to the light that it is not just about making gas from straw, but about complex entanglements of agricultural processes and livelihood, commercial interests that compete between biogas and bioethanol, policy incentives that compete alike, etc. In this complex, the technological challenges play only one part of many.
Societal relevance
The insights gained from the project will be relevant for stimulating a bio-based economy in the Netherlands and globally, but the most direct relevance will be for India and similarly emerging economies where a new balance needs to be found between sustainability in farming and food production on the one hand and sustainability in energy production and consumption on the other hand
The project will lead to an understanding of the feasibility of scalable technology for biogas production in India. More generally, it leads to an understanding of how a seemingly simple question – how to make gas from straw – travels and connects to elements as diverse as petrol imports, ethanol blending targets, farming practices holding traditional notions of biogas that are rehearsed time and again, academic research that connects along very specific lines to implementation practices on the field, etc. This new understanding is described more broadly than in mere technological and economic terms, and it includes possible instances of RRI-inspired interventions in energy and agricultural policies.
Collaboration with industrial partner
The researchers have provided an in-house workshop for the DSM-India staff in June 2016, on the topic "CSR and Innovation: contradicting or reinforcing each other?" This workshop was an unequivocal success, and it may serve as a 'best practice' for other responsible innovation projects. The workshop consisted of three integrated parts:
- University staff gave a tailor-made course to corporate staff, who thus got access to information that is otherwise difficult to acquire;
- University staff presented an introduction to RRI in terms of the current agenda and practices of the corporate staff;
- The workshop provided an intensive exchange of experiences and views between university and corporate partners, resulting in a better understanding of each other.
In addition to DSM-India as a corporate partner, the project has meanwhile developed strong ties with academics in India, with farmers' organisations, and with partners in policy making and governance.
The project is strongly interdisciplinary. It draws on vulnerability studies, responsible research and innovation studies, and ethics/ philosophy. Methods used include ethical analysis, ethnographic fieldwork, literature review, stakeholder dialogues, and policy analysis.
India, sustainable biogas, energy security, rice straw biomass, rice straw biomass, industry, farmers' needs, business models, scalable biogas production, scenario study, local livelihoodsOfficial project title:


text:
Police say a man admitted to smoking a bowl of marijuana before he struck and killed a pedestrian in Vancouver, Wash., in Dec. 2012.
While authorities originally lacked evidence to pursue charges against Scotty Rowles, 48, the situation has now changed following toxicology results and an additional exploration of the case.
Rowles pleaded not guilty after he was formally charged with one count of vehicular homicide on Tuesday, KPTV-TV reported.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Vu said that authorities needed to explore whether Rowles' actions played a large role in the victim's death before charges could be filed, according to The Columbian.
The crash unfolded on Dec. 17, 2012, when police found the 62-year-old victim, Donald Collins, laying on the road; he died not long after the accident. Rowles was reportedly emotional, telling police that Collins had walked from the median into his lane.
While it initially seemed as though the victim was at fault, the fact that Rowles was under the influence of marijuana at the time technically placed the blame on him. The level of THC in his blood at the time was 7.2 nanograms per milliliter; the legal limit in the state is 5 nanograms per milliliter.
Here's a KPTV-TV report from last year with more:
According to officers, Rowles admitted to smoking marijuana 60 to 90 minutes before the accident. While the toxicology results came back just weeks after the accident, his arraignment didn't unfold until this week.
It is unclear what role, if any, marijuana played in the accident, but the THC level in Rowles' blood is at the center of the case. The defendant's attorney Nick Wood said in court Tuesday that Collins had alcohol in his system, though it is unclear what role this might have played in the incident.
KOIN-TV reported that there has been an increase in THC showing up in drivers' blood over the past year. While it was found in 18 percent if drivers who were tested last year, positive tests are now up to 27 percent.
Marijuana was officially legalized in Washington just days before the tragic accident.
Featured image via Shutterstock.com
Other Must-Read Stories:
- What Ever Happened to the Teen Atheist Who Successfully Battled to Ban Her School's Prayer Mural?
- The 10 Absolute Worst Places in the World to Be a Christian
- Pizza Shop Owner's Incredibly Selfless Act Teaches a Major Lesson About Helping People in Need
- A God Thing': How Two Complete Strangers Left a $6,000 Tip That Profoundly Changed a Waitress' Life
- 'Science Guy' Bill Nye vs. Prominent Creationist: New Details About Their Upcoming Evolutionary Battle

subset: commoncrawl


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Liquitex – Acrylic Gel Medium – Gloss Super Heavy Gel – 1 gallon – Fluid Mediums perform much in the way that their name implies, they are fluid in nature and reduce viscosity of heavier paints and gels, tend to self-level and do not retain brushstrokes. Fluid Mediums modify acrylic paints in a variety of ways and contain acrylic resins to maintain or enhance adhesion and durability.
Liquitex Medium Acrylic Glazing Medium is used when maximum transparency is required to add luminosity and depth to your paintings. This fluid medium can be used to create brilliant glazes when mixing with transparent color. Glazing Medium dries quickly for rapid layering and tends to minimize or elminate brush strokes. Mix with Slow-Dri Blending Medium or Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder to extend the working time.


text:
At Whalen Trucking, Inc we will ensure your product will always be delivered
on schedule.
on time.
As a family owned company since 1973 Whalen Trucking, Inc has been dedicated to providing quality service to our customers near and far for over 35 years. With our main terminal located in Waverly, Illinois and our newly acquired terminal in Springfield, Illinois we currently own and operate over 80 tractors and 150 trailers including; grain, anhydrous ammonia, van, and reefers, all with the reliability and safety that has been acknowledged over the years. For your transportation needs or questions please contact us.


text:
WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center
Harrods Limited v. Harrods University of Applied n Allied Sciences
Case No. D2006-0803
1. The Parties
The Complainant is Harrods Limited of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by Burges Salmon LLP, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Respondent is Harrods University of Applied n Allied Sciences of Pakistan.
2. The Domain Name and Registrar
The disputed domain name <harrods-university.com> is registered with Wild West Domains, Inc.
3. Procedural History
The Complaint was filed with the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center (the "Center") on June 27, 2006. On June 29, 2006, the Center transmitted by email to Wild West Domains, Inc. a request for registrar verification in connection with the domain name at issue. On June 29, 2006, Wild West Domains, Inc. transmitted by email to the Center its verification response confirming that the Respondent is listed as the registrant and providing the contact details for the administrative, billing, and technical contact. The Center verified that the Complaint satisfied the formal requirements of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Policy"), the Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Rules"), and the WIPO Supplemental Rules for Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (the "Supplemental Rules").
In accordance with the Rules, paragraphs 2(a) and 4(a), the Center formally notified the Respondent of the Complaint, and the proceedings commenced on July 11, 2006. In accordance with the Rules, paragraph 5(a), the due date for Response was July 31, 2006. The Respondent did not submit any response. Accordingly, the Center notified the Respondent's default on August 2, 2006.
The Center appointed Christopher J. Pibus as the sole panelist in this matter on August 17, 2006. The Panel finds that it was properly constituted. The Panel has submitted the Statement of Acceptance and Declaration of Impartiality and Independence, as required by the Center to ensure compliance with the Rules, paragraph 7.
4. Factual Background
The Complainant and its predecessors have operated the Harrods Department Store in London, England since 1849, providing over one million products and 50 separate services in a unique building. The Complainant's store serves approximately 35,000 customers each day and has itself become a tourist attraction in England. International sales and promotions have occurred through export sales and international mail order business. The Complainant also operates satellite stores under the Harrods name in major international airports, such as Frankfurt, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Kuala Lumpur, Lisbon and Vienna. The Seibu Department Store in Hong Kong, SAR of China and various Mitsukoshi Stores across Japan also offer the Complainant's products. The Complainant has also expanded its associated businesses under the Harrods name to include Harrods Estates, Harrods Bank and Harrods Casino Online.
The Complainant owns many trademark registrations around the world for the mark HARRODS in connection with a variety of goods and services (the "HARRODS Trademark"), including the following:
HARRODS – UK Trademark Registration No. 1305592;
HARRODS – UK Trademark Registration No. 2245927;
HARRODS – Community Trademark Registration No. 62414;
HARRODS – Community Trademark Registration No. 61697;
HARRODS – U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1354693;
HARRODS – U.S. Trademark Registration No. 1812374.
The Complainant registered the domain name "harrods.com" on February 14, 1999.
The Complainant's HARRODS Trademark is alleged to have acquired substantial goodwill, to the point where it is recognized worldwide as an indicia of origin exclusively identified with the Complainant.
The Respondent registered the domain name <harrods-university.com> on April 3, 2006. At the date of the Complaint, the Respondent was operating a website under this name that provides links to other companies goods and services as a "click through site".
5. Parties' Contentions
A. Complainant
(a) Identical or Confusingly Similar
The Complainant contends that the domain name <harrods-university.com> is virtually identical to the Complainant's HARRODS Trademark, differing only by the addition of a hyphen and the descriptive word university. The addition of a hyphen and a descriptive word denoting a specific service or product does not serve to distinguish the domain name from the Complainant's mark in any meaningful way.
(b) Rights or Legitimate Interests
The Complainant contends that the Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the domain name <harrods-university.com>. The Complainant owns many trademark registrations for the mark HARRODS worldwide and the domain name "harrods.com". The Complainant's rights in its HARRODS Trademark predates the registration of the Respondent's domain name <harrods-university.com> by 150 years. The Complainant contends that the Respondent cannot demonstrate any right or interest in the domain name. The Complainant has never authorized, licensed or permitted the Respondent to use its HARRODS Trademark.
(c) Registered and Use in Bad Faith
The Complainant contends that the Respondent's domain name was registered and is being used in bad faith based on the following factors: (i) knowledge of the Complainant's long and continuous use of the HARRODS Trademark at the time of registration of the Respondent's domain name and that the Respondent had no right, title or interest, whatsoever, in the mark or domain name; and (ii) Respondent acquired the confusing domain name for the purpose of monetary gain by providing links to other companies' products and services through a "click through" scheme.
B. Respondent
The Respondent did not reply to the Complainant's contentions.
6. Discussion and Findings
According to paragraph 4(a) of the Policy, in order to succeed, the Complainant must establish each of the following elements:
(i) The Domain Name is identical or confusingly similar to the trademark or service mark in which the Complainant has rights;
(ii) The Respondent has no rights or legitimate interests in respect of the Domain Name; and
(iii) The Domain Name has been registered and is being used in bad faith.
A. Identical or Confusingly Similar
The first issue in this matter is whether the domain name <harrods-university.com> is confusingly similar to the Complainant's mark. There are two elements that must be satisfied: (a) the Complainant has rights in the particular mark; and (b) the domain name in question is identical or confusingly similar to that mark.
The first element is readily established and independently verified by reference to the applicable Trademarks Register. In this case, presentation of copies of trademark certificates for the various trademark registrations for the mark HARRODS, including U.K. Registration Nos. 1305592 and 2245927; Community Trademark Registration Nos. 62414 and 61697; and U.S. Trademark Registration Nos. 1354693 and 1812374, satisfies the threshold requirement of having rights in the mark HARRODS (Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine v. Zahid Khan (for Imperial College Management School Alumni Association – ICMSAA), WIPO Case No. 2000-1079).
The domain name <harrods-university.com> differs from the HARRODS Trademark merely by the addition of a hyphen and the word "university". The addition of the hyphen and a descriptive word denoting a specific service does not distinguish the domain name from the mark in any meaningful way. The distinctive element HARRODS has been used in its entirety, and has been positioned as the prominent first element of the domain name, thereby increasing the likelihood of confusion. (See Harrods Limited v. Vision Exact WIPO Case No. D2003-0723; United States Olympic Committee v. MIC WIPO Case No. D2000-0189; and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Richard MacLeod d/b/a , For Sale WIPO Case No. D2000-0662).
The Panel accepts the Complainant's contention that the HARRODS Trademark is famous and that the use of the full trademark in connection with other descriptive words conveys the impression to internet users that the website or domain name is connected, sponsored, endorsed or affiliated with the Complainant. The Panel concludes that the Respondent's domain name <harrods-university.com> suggests a false association with the Complainant, and infers that the Respondent chose the domain name because of the Complainant's well-established reputation in its HARRODS Trademark. (See Harrods Limited v. Surrinder Gill, WIPO Case No. D2003-0243; Microsoft Corporation v. J. Holiday Co., WIPO Case No. D2000-1493; ISL Marketing AG, and The Federation Internationale de Football Association v. J.Y. Chung, Worldcup2002.com, W Co., and Worldcup 2002 ¸WIPO Case No. D2000-0034; and The Price Company v. Price Club, also known as Tsung-Pei Chang, WIPO Case No. D2000-0664).
The Panel therefore finds that the Complainant has satisfied the first requirement of paragraph 4(a)(i) of the Policy.
B. Rights or Legitimate Interests
There is no evidence that the Respondent is using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods and/or services in accordance with paragraph 4(c)(i) of the Policy. The Panel finds that the domain name <harrods-university.com> does not resolve to an educational institution or business entity providing educational services. Instead, the Panel finds that the domain name in question provides links to other types of goods and services in what appears to be a "click through" site.
The Panel also accepts that the Complainant never authorized, licensed or permitted the Respondent to use its HARRODS Trademark, and that it cannot be said that the Respondent is using the domain name in connection with a bona fide offering of goods or services.
There is no evidence that the Respondent has any rights or legitimate interest in the domain name. (See Inter-IKEA Systems, B.V. v. Eveson Co. Ltd., WIPO Case No. D2000-0437 and Harrods Limited v. Steve Bohn, WIPO Case No. D2003-0736). The Panel is accordingly satisfied that Complainant has made a prima facie showing of Respondent's lack of rights or legitimate interest in the disputed domain name. This has not been rebutted by Respondent.
The Panel concludes that the Complainant has satisfied the second requirement under paragraph 4(b) of the Policy.
C. Registered and Used in Bad Faith
Prior panel decisions have consistently recognized that the HARRODS Trademark has achieved the status of a famous mark. Accordingly, it is extremely difficult for the Panel to believe that the Respondent was not aware or had no knowledge of the Complainant's famous HARRODS Trademark. In Harrods Limited v. Chris Brick, WIPO Case No. D2003-0876, the Panel found that "The mark HARRODS is world-famous and instantly evokes the Harrods department store at Knightsbridge, London." In Harrods Limited v. Vision Exact, WIPO Case No. D2003-0723, the Panel stated that, "It is important to remind that, as stated before, HARRODS may be considered as a well-known trademark. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that a "coincidence" has been given in the present case. On the contrary, it seems that the Respondent was clearly aware of the existence of the Complainant's trademarks and did not register the disputed domain name for other purposes than to include the Complainant's trademarks in said domain name." In this case, the Panel reaches the same conclusion, that the Complainant's HARRODS Trademark is famous and so well-known that is virtually impossible that the Respondent was not aware of the Complainant's marks. There can be no reason for the Respondent to have registered a confusingly similar name, other than to trade on the substantial goodwill of the Complainant's mark. (See Harrods Limited v. Walter Wieczorek, WIPO Case No. DTV2001-0024; Harrods Limited v. Walter Trautner, WIPO Case No. D2001-1164; Harrods Limited v. Surrinder Gill, WIPO Case No. D2003-0243; and Harrods Limited v. Steve Bohn, WIPO Case No. D2003-0736).
In trading on the Complainant's goodwill, Respondent has disrupted the business of the Complainant and diverted Internet traffic intended for the Complainant's website to the Respondent's website. It is significant to note that the Respondent's domain name does not resolve to an educational institution's website, but rather provides links to other companies' products and services for monetary gain, commonly called "click through" sites. The fact that the Respondent has not actually constructed a website which reflects in any way the descriptive element of the domain name – "university" – or which offers even a scintilla of justification for the use of the HARRODS Trademark, confirms that this is an abusive registration which was clearly made in bad faith. (See BP p.l.c. v. Kang-Sungkun Portraits Production WIPO Case No. D2001-1097).
Accordingly, the Panel is prepared to find that the Complainant has satisfied the third element, under paragraph 4(c) of the Policy.
7. Decision
For all the foregoing reasons, in accordance with paragraphs 4(i) of the Policy and 15 of the Rules, the Panel orders that the domain name <harrods-university.com> be transferred to the Complainant.
Christopher J. Pibus
Sole Panelist
Dated: August 31, 2006


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To expect anyone to routinely act to their own detriment without the ultimate prospect of legal coercion is misconceived.
— Jack of Kent (@DavidAllenGreen) December 3, 2012
Today, people who are sick or disabled become eligible for mandatory workfare placements.
Mark Hoban, Minister for Employment, says that forcing people to work for no pay is "a very good way to increase someone's confidence" and claimed that
"People on sickness benefits who do all they can to improve their chances of moving back into a job have nothing to worry about.
"They will get their benefits and we will do all we can to help. But in the small number of cases where people refuse to stick to their part of the bargain, it's only right there are consequences."
The consequences are an open-ended sanction – benefits-cut – for someone who, from the perspective of the Work Programme, has been declared fit for work but refuses to do a "work placement". The open-ended period during which a "fit for work" client must do without benefits will end when "the claimant meets the requirements" – agrees to go work for their benefits, but the open-ended sanction is followed by "a short fixed period of 1, 2 or 4 weeks".
So for the first week (or first four weeks) of the unpaid and indefinite work placement, the client will still have their benefits cut. After they've worked for a week or more for no money, they can get their benefits back – assuming they're still alive.
The idea that forcing someone who is ill into an unwanted work placement will improve their chances of finding a job when they are well enough to work, is flagrant nonsense. If someone is too ill to work, making them work unpaid against their will won't help them get better. All job seekers who have been unemployed for at least a year must now do at least one unpaid, compulsory period of work for a charity or a private company. And anyone ill or disabled, deemed "fit to work" by Atos, must also now do compulsory unpaid "work experience" or lose their benefits.
Already, thousands of people have died after being told they were "fit to work" and having their disability support cut: now if they don't do mandatory work placements, they can be sanctioned further. Labour MP Michael Meacher says:
"There are thousands of people being told wrongly that they are able to work. The Government have admitted that 11,000 people forced on to work-related activity after assessments have died before getting work.
"I am trying to gather all the cases I can, because this is a massive injustice. I am prepared to campaign for months or years until this is addressed properly."
Mandatory workfare, organised by private companies, was Iain Duncan Smith's joy and pride. Instead of people on the dole just "shirking", force them to work. None of that snooty stuff about expecting to get paid for their labour, or for looking round for a work placement that fits their needs for on-the-job experience: that might be more effective for the economy or for getting people back to work, but Tory ideology doesn't allow for unemployed people getting to make decisions like that. But this scheme's cost five hundred million pounds to reduce a person's chance of getting back to work:
The Work Programme has by the government's own figures reduced a person's chances of employment significantly: prior to workfare, a person in long-term unemployment had a 5% chance of getting work: if they've participated in the Work Programme, they invariably have less than that.
An analysis by the Guardian reveals that none of the 18 Work Programme contractors – 15 of which are private companies – managed to get 5.5% of unemployed people referred to the scheme a job for half a year in the 14 months until July 2012, despite the government having spent £435m on the scheme so far. Providers are paid for taking on a jobless person, finding them a job and then ensuring they keep it.
Ingeus, part of a multinational founded by the wife of the former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, is the biggest private contractor, winning seven franchises of the programme worth £727m over five years. In the north-east of England, Ingeus was referred almost 28,000 jobless people and got 920 into sustained employment, a success rate of 3.3% until July 2012. A4e, which is the second biggest contractor to the programme, with £438m of deals, found 490 jobs for 17,650 unemployed people in the south of England – a performance rate of 2.8%.
In the run-up to Christmas this year, Argos will be busy: but instead of hiring temporary staff, they're just recruiting free labour from the Work Programme. Shoezone are doing the same.
It's a big problem for any business: the biggest cost, the biggest slice into the company's profits, isn't even taxation: it's that people won't work for you without being paid. And if somehow you can get away without paying your employees, if other businesses do that too, soon the local economy is tanking because no one in the area has any spare money to spend on anything because none of them are actually getting paid. Minimum wage isn't just the law, it's a damn good idea: it stops businesses undercutting each other in a time of high unemployment.
No one who's been through the Work Programme has a good word to say about it.
Vlog of experience of Workfare/Mandatory work related activity with Working Links:
The DWP stopped responding to Freedom of Information requests earlier this year because the naming-and-shaming of companies getting free labour from the Work Programme was proving very publicly embarrassing for those companies and for even for charities – especially those who supposedly support the sick and disabled but will now be getting them as free labour.
This from the DWP Press Office publicly states what could have been hidden: Premier Inn makes use of workfare.
Mark Hoban celebrates 50,000th @premierinn room at new Gatwick hotel – @premierinn helping young people into work twitter.com/dwppressoffice…
— DWP Press Office (@dwppressoffice) November 29, 2012
Premier Inn isn't struggling. It's described as one of the "growth engines" in Whitbread (which also owns Costa Coffee): overcoming "a decline in the wider market with growth of 2.4 per cent in revenue per available room" and increasing the number of available rooms.
A news item in the Glasgow Herald's business section mentions this in August: out of 70 new jobs in Glasgow at its new £14 million hotel on West Nile Street, half will be "participants on their [Working Links] work programme to provide jobs for young people currently not in employment, education or training."
Not exactly "jobs" if they're on the work programme: work programme placements don't get paid.
Richard Hamer, director of external affairs at Capability Scotland:
"When disabled people get forced into jobs, they tend to be unsuccessful jobs," Hamer said. "It can be very difficult, not just because of physical difficulties, but also mental impairments – poor mental health for example – for people to adapt to the labour market. If we start simply forcing people into jobs then there's a high likelihood that the employer won't be the best solution for them."
Hamer says that the person best placed to decide what work a disabled person can take on is that disabled person. He also says that many people who have been placed in the WRAG group should not even be there, because of serious problems with the health assessments being run by the private contractor Atos.
"The Government's own figures about these assessments is showing that they are wholly failing. The Atos healthcare regime of assessments is simply not working."
Why would a company that can get free labour from the Work Programme bother to take on people whom they have to actually pay? That's the long-term problem for the Work Programme: it's plainly in use for providing casual labour for free to commercial companies that see it as a means of generating profit by cutting down their wage bill.
Why would a company that can get free labour from able-bodied, healthy unemployed people bother to take on people with a disability, people who are ill and not really able to work no matter what ATOS decided?
In June 2011, Philip Davies, Conservative MP, said that people with a disability should work for less than minimum wage:
"Given some of those people with a learning disability clearly, by definition, cannot be as productive in their work as somebody who has not got a disability of that nature, then it was inevitable given the employer was going to have to pay them both the same they were going to take on the person who was going to be more productive, less of a risk," he said.
He continued: "My view is that for some people, the national minimum wage may be more of a hindrance than a help.
"If those people who consider it is being a hindrance to them, and in my view that's some of the most vulnerable people in society, if they feel that for a short period of time, taking a lower rate of pay to help them get on their first rung of the jobs ladder, if they judge that that is a good thing, I don't see why we should be standing in their way."
At the time, a Conservative Party spokesman told the BBC:
"These comments do not reflect the views of the Conservative Party and do not reflect government policy".
They do now.
On this day last year: Scotland for Marriage


text:
Slate is offering a paid internship for a highly energetic, self-starting individual who has a nose for news, sharp and quick writing skills, and a passion for social media. This is a jack-of-all-trades position for a tech-savvy person comfortable doing everything from coming up with viral story ideas to contributing to our newsblog, The Slatest, to running social media feeds. Great editorial judgment and ability to write clean, fast, and clear copy are a must.
This is a six-month-long position starting ASAP reporting to Slate's innovations editor. Please email a very brief cover letter of 300 words or less and a one-page resume to firstname.lastname@example.com.
You must be able to work out of our NYC office. Deadline is Sunday, Oct. 7.


text:
Simplicity in its Innovative Presentation
3 ingredients we live with know of.
Implants may one day be the most important cores of our body network – then there is our I.D.
As the CEO of IBM-TES I would like to introduce our newest addition to Security System of your portfolio.
What is a Gem without it's true I.D.
Sherlock Holmes and Watson were possibly the most used people for this purpose on TV and in Books.
Implants will never give this presentation to anyone.
When banks have your I.D. in this fashionable method – it needs only a few gems and one set of fingerprints, yours. LaserEye is nothing without the Human I.D.
Worst scenario is my competitor who can only destroy it.
Banks have their own MasterKey Gem I.D.
The Network of Bank workers in one I.D. All for 1 and 1 for All. If you are an employee of the Banks – you can use this and enter your clientele's accounts for them in front or not in front. You will leave a mark that you were there in whoever's account. TimeStamp and Transaction Accounted for.
Should implants become la fureur de vivre, dabestathingever, please I won't interrupt anything only in certain territories such as Canada New England and all Empress Territories – British Empire may do as it pleases.
Empress Territories including Canada New England this will be the method. One has to remember that computer is here today and today is a future day date. The day is not over. The day just started with this concept.
NewDay I.D. Human-Connect will be part of SpockConnect.
SpockConnect is in the works. He will take the place of a human Spiderman. Slowly as we feed SpockConnect this system will be indispensable knowing his human side inside out.
If we recall in Star Trek our Famous Spock is half human and half Vulcan. SpockConnect is the Vulcan and his user is the Human. Can they live together. Spock had hard times living with himself. The human side sometimes was uncontrollable. SpockConnect will try to adapt to your temper and tantrums. Very finicky he shall be and become. Has Spock outsmarted the computer ? He replied 4 times. This is when he was supposed to be helping find Captain Kirk and he kept his calm while concentrating on his plans and strategies. We saw it on TV and it can happen to us too.
Watching StarTrek now is not so good. First IBM-TES comes out with all these iDevices and I.D. SpockConnect system and of course, one can purchase one department of its network at the time.
When the gems are put together in necklaces, wrist watch, wrist chains, rings and whatever bracelet or ring shapes you want and desire – or – don't stop at one in case you lose it. The LaserEye will in it as well which operates with your I.D. LaserEye does invert-revert contact Matches and permits transactions.
This above is a piece of cake for the CEO of IBM-TES.
She has a timepiece – she is gifted with sense of time.


text:
Introduction: Roaring 20's Headband
I am going to play a RPG game (using the Dread rules set) and some of us are dressing up. From what I saw women either wore hats or headbands; I decided to go with the later. This short instructable covers a few tips and tricks that I used to put mine together.
This is a REALLY simple project that only took a few minutes and I really like how it came out. The hardest part will be finding the centerpiece (or do-dat) that goes in the middle :).
Step 1: Gather Your Materials
What materials I used:
- Headband or Elastic Trim (I found a really nice Simplicity pre-made headband, but it was broken - I will show how I fixed it :) ).
- Feathers for flair
- Flower to go over the feathers
- Do-Dat for the center of the flower (I was able to find one that matched our 1920's meets Cthulhu - BONUS)
- E6000 Industrial Glue (found in craft and hobby shops)
- Gloves
- Small Pliers (not pictured here)
Step 2: Fix the Broken Headband
I really liked this design, but it was the only one and it was broken. I decided I could fix it. I simply:
- Took a couple of pairs of pliers and pried the clasp back open.
- looked at how the other side was put together
- Refolded the broken side like it should of been
- Added a dab of E6000 for good measure
- Put the fabric back in the clasp
- Pinched it back shut.
Done :).
Step 3: Prepare Your Do-Dat
The centerpiece I found for my headband was already on a necklace. Since I didn't want any extra chain I had to remove my friendly octopus from his chains.
Most jewelry have "Jump Rings" to connect one piece to another. These Jump Rings are simply small pieces of wire bent into a circle and not sealed in any way.
If you don't care about saving the jump ring you can simply cut it, but I wanted to save the chain and matching jump rings for a future project.
To properly open a Jump Ring you need two small pairs of pliers. Put one set on either side of the split and turn them away from each other. You should feel like you're twisting the ring - and not opening it like a Pac-man.
Opening a Jump Ring like a Pac-man will make it almost impossible to re-close that ring. Pac-man openings will distort the shape. Twisting them open and close will offer a better chance of a nice smooth re-closure.
Step 4: Finish Up the Headband
Now that I have all the pieces it's simply a matter of putting them together. Below is the steps I used to put it all together:
- I laid out some parchment paper to protect my surfaces - This glue is sticky stuff
- I put on gloves to protect my hands
- I asked my husband to turn on a fan - This glue is pretty smelly stuff and it's not good to breath in... Make sure your area has some ventilation
- I glued the center piece to the flower - pressing down hard for a couple of minutes to ensure good contact
- I changed my gloves because trying to deal with these small feathers while my fingers were sticky didn't sound like a fun thing to do.
- I glued the feather to the headband - pressing down hard for a couple of minutes to ensure good contact
- I glued the flower (with center piece) to the headband (with feather) - pressing down hard for a couple of minutes to ensure good contact
- Once I had all the pieces together I placed a heavy-ish object on top to help make sure everything bonded correctly.
Step 5: Wear Your Headband With Pride
It's Done and it looks the bees knees! :).


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If you're a mad keen Walking Dead fan, there's some good news: a new Walking Dead game has just landed on Google Play. The game isn't the hotly anticipated Walking Dead: Michonne from Telltale games, but instead an action RPG game called The Walking Dead: No Mans Land from Next Games Oy.
The game is Freemium based, so it's free to play but you'll be presented with various options to purchase, valued at between $4.49 – $159.99 per item. The game follows series favourite Daryl Dixon as he fights through a land filled with walkers, it's a tactical based game with Daryl showing you how to kill and survive in this scary, zombie filled world.
The main story points from the game include:
• FIGHT through hordes of walkers in tactical turn-based combat
• TRAIN your survivor group and upgrade their weapons
• CHOOSE who lives or dies and keep your people safe
• HUNT walkers in Terminus, Prison and other familiar locations from AMC's The Walking Dead
• JOIN other players in deadly weekly challenges for exclusive rewards
The game is available now in Google Play for devices running Android 4.1 and up, but at 198MB it's a fairly sizeable download so if you're worried about your data cap, wait till you're near a Wi-Fi access point to grab it.


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When it comes to late-career transformations, few would have expected Trent Reznor to reinvent his sound anytime soon. For the past 30 years, the Nine Inch Nails mastermind has carved out a jagged niche in alternative rock, and his last few albums haven't budged much from it. (If anything, Reznor's most intriguing recent work has been in his scores for films like The Social Network and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.) And with NIN, it seemed like Reznor was content to headline festivals and arenas rather than pioneer new, subversive noise. Yet with the release of NIN's latest EP, Bad Witch, Reznor again pushes himself to the precipice of experimental music with six harrowing songs that dabble in the dark audio arts.
On the EP's closing track, "Over and Out," Reznor crafts a lush and unexpected tangle of instruments that seem to wriggle with anticipation. Tremolo saxophone echoes in the background like a whale song, and little thwacks of programmed percussion evoke a ping-pong ball dribbling off the table. The least likely of all these textures is the marimba that tiptoes around the song's perimeter. It isn't until the 2:50 mark that Reznor's vocals arrive to relay that "time is running out," his robust harmonies overtaking the song like gale force winds, while he simultaneously whispers cryptic reflections just under the mix: "Feel like I've been here before/Over and over again/Am I remembering you correctly/Over and over again?" As his voice recedes, a snarl of synthesizers and woodwinds escalate and dissolve into oceanic ambience. In the wake of "Over and Out," a reinvigorated Reznor emerges.


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Richard Ashcroft: Astoria, London
Ian Watson, Yahoo! Music, September 2002
HE'S A CURIOUS beast, the Sensitive Lad. From a distance he's indistinguishable from your regular lad, all bravado and cheap lager, still dressed in the white shirt he wears in the office. But give him a soul-searching anthem and he's bellowing for the skies, hand on his heart, beer can aloft, tiny tear in his eye. He came into being when Weller swallowed the first bitter pill of rejection, and found his place in the high street with Oasis. But in this era of poncy Strokes and bloody nu-metal, he's lost, looking for direction.
Total word count of piece: 696


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Welcome to the Music guide. This guide highlights library resources that may be helpful to you as you conduct research and work on assignments.
Popular databases are listed below. Find additional databases under the Databases: Articles & More tab.
Off-campus access for library resources for Kent State Students at Stark is provided through a service called the KSU Proxy. More information about the KSU Proxy can be found here: https://www.library.kent.edu/help/connect-from-off-campus
August 25 - December 18
Monday - Thursday: 7:45am to 8:00pm
Friday: 7:45am to 5:00pm
Saturday and Sunday: CLOSED
Nov. 23 at 5pm (Thanksgiving)
Nov. 24 & 25 (Thanksgiving)


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Behold, the majesty that is the Blue Rhinoceros! We photographed this example in its natural habitat of Birmingham, Michigan, but the mighty Blue is also known to congregate in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Newport Beach, California, or wherever there are sufficiently snooty feeding options.
At 5438 pounds, our Estoril Blue Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR weighs about as much as a full-grown White Rhinoceros, with which it shares its unlikely agility and propensity to charge. This powerful beast, says its maker, can lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in an impressive, and slightly comical, 8 minutes and 14 seconds, quite quick by the standard of pachyderms with horns.
We have come to grips with the idea that car buyers are attracted to a breed of two-and-a-half-ton performance brutes. With the Porsche Cayenne Turbos and M-, AMG-, and SRT-branded bulls roaming the automotive savannah, it was only a matter of time before Land Rover birthed its own version.
To do so, Land Rover has turned up the boost on its familiar supercharged 5.0-liter V-8. At 550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque, the SVR's engine pumps out 40 more horsepower and 41 more pound-feet of torque than the version in the standard Range Rover Sport Supercharged. And it's only 26 pounds heavier than the last Sport Supercharged we tested. So, each of the SVR's horses has three-quarters of a pound less rhino to move than the non-SVR. That helped the SVR hit 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and the quarter-mile in 12.8 seconds, knocking 0.3 second off each of the standard Supercharged model's times. The last BMW X5 M we tested posted a 3.8-second run. Maybe a few tenths doesn't matter much. But it is worth noting that a Dodge Viper we tested in 2005 got to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. These are strange and wondrous times.
Thing is, the standard Range Rover Sport Supercharged is already a ridiculously quick brick at 4.6 seconds to 60 mph. And that model has "Sport" right in the name. What use is there for the SVR? Judging by our track tests, not much. The SVR wears the same 275/45R-21 Michelin Latitude Sport all-season tires that are optional on the Sport Supercharged. And so the SVR could better its less expensive brother by only 0.01 g on the skidpad (0.87 to 0.86). Using the same braking system as the regular Supercharged model, our SVR actually took longer to stop from 70 mph (179 feet versus 167).
But if the SVR isn't a great deal quicker or grippier than the Sport Supercharged, it does feel a little more tensed and eager. It uses the same excellent eight-speed automatic transmission, the same suspension setup, the same four-wheel-drive system, and the same electrically assisted steering system as the lesser Sport model, but Land Rover has modified them for more immediacy and responsiveness.
For example, Land Rover has tuned the Sport Supercharged's suspension system—four-corner air springs, adaptive magnetorheological dampers, and hydraulic anti-roll bars—for better body control and less roll. Further, the company swapped out the rear subframe bushings for stiffer pieces. The result is impressive: The SVR feels competent and spry, if not exactly lithe or overtly playful. There's a small penalty to ride quality compared with the standard Sport Supercharged. Sharp, high-frequency bumps are now felt instead of just heard, but the overall package still feels comfy enough not to call too much attention to itself.
We presume that increased attention is part of what buyers are looking for if they're shopping for an SVR. We're not sure all the other Range Rover and Range Rover Sport drivers in Birmingham pegged the SVR as something special. Certainly our version's $1800 worth of intense blueness probably piqued some interest. But the rest of the get-up—a deeper, hungrier-looking front fascia; a new rear-bumper cover for the quad exhausts; the blacked-out trim and front grille; and the curious black fender vents that appear to have auxiliary fender vents attached to them—is pretty subtle and tasteful. Well, except maybe for those fender vents. Alas, we digress.
The interior gets less fettling. It comes with 14-way leather seats with large side bolsters and somewhat incongruent strips of reflective material on the seatbacks and bottoms. Similar to the seats in our long-term 2014 Jaguar F-type, the SVR's chairs have integrated, nonadjustable headrests, the lower part of which will poke tall drivers in the upper back. The seats are otherwise supremely comfortable. There's a near-matching set in the rear outboard positions with a flat bench portion between them for the unlucky fifth occupant.
The SVR comes standard with aluminum interior trim, but our test vehicle arrived with $2300 of carbon fiber instead. In fact, our example came with $12,195 worth of optional extras (upgraded sound system, adaptive cruise control, etc.) that brought the total to a stunning $124,540. But rhinos don't come cheap.
That $12K in optional niceties is on top of the $31,400 that the SVR tacks on to the Sport Supercharged price. Is the SVR worth that much over the Sport Supercharged? Of course not. But we're deep in the land of diminishing returns, and the Sport Supercharged is already more performance SUV than even seemed possible a decade ago.
But let's say you appreciate the safari pedigree of a Land Rover but also want to cut a lap of an evil, old German racetrack—or maybe you want to stand out from the herd at your local Rover-heavy watering hole. You will want just such a beast.


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SANTA ANA – A first-grade teacher was arrested Wednesday night after police say he grabbed a 12-year-old girl who was shopping at a Walmart.
The incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m. inside the Walmart at 3600 W. McFadden Ave., said Santa Ana police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez.
According to the police report, Christopher Micah Brazelton, 36, of Irvine, was seen grabbing the girl's buttocks. According to witnesses, Brazelton was walking in the school supplies aisle and walked passed the girl and her aunt, who were walking in the same aisle in the opposite direction, Gonzalez said.
"When they passed each other, witnesses saw him lean over and grab the buttocks of the 12-year-old girl," Gonzalez said.
The Santa Ana girl was not injured, but was frightened as a result of the episode, Gonzalez said.
Witnesses confronted Brazelton. He ran, but witnesses chased him and were able to detain him until Walmart security was alerted.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Brazelton is a first-grade teacher with the Garden Grove Unified School District. Gonzalez said detectives are concerned there may be additional victims.
Brazelton is being held at the Santa Ana City Jail on suspicion of child molestation.
Family crimes unit detectives are continuing to investigate the case before it is presented to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Santa Ana Police Department at 714-245-8665.
Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or email@example.com
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Our five year-old pit/lab mix Wheelz had a very rough start in life to a bum that intended to sell him as bait. He was born on the streets with only 3 legs and left to fight for himself for food. Thankfully, a wonderful rescue found him and took him in and once he was ready for a new home we were there to sign the papers. He has come a long way since than, he gets around so much better than he did and is such a loving, wonderful dog. It's funny how excited he gets when we come home, even if we only stepped outside for a minute the moment you come back in you are greeted with a howl of excitement and kisses. He is also amazing with Baby Digger, the two are quite a pair and have so much fun together. She loves to use him as a pillow or chair and he'll happily sit there and enjoy it even if shes bouncing up and down all over him.
It makes us so happy to see our little girl and him have so much fun together and how patient he is with her. We all love him and love to show him by giving him special treats each day and our lucky dog just got the best dog treats from Cesar, Cesar Cookie Crunchies.
Ceasar Cookie Crunchies come in two flavors, Rotisserie Chicken Flavor and Filet Mignon Flavor – flavors dogs are sure to love! Being that our dog has 3 legs, we have to be very careful to not let him get overweight so we have to really moderate treats. Ceasar Cookie Crunchies are only 10 calories each which means we are able to give him a few treats a day to show him how much we love him.
They come in three bite-size shapes paw prints, hearts and a bone. I love that they are small in size because we can really make our pup feel spoiled. Plus, it makes them great for working with your dog on training as rewards.
Ceasar Cookie Crunchies come highly recommended by Wheelz!
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Cesar and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.


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Genco Shipping & Trading Limited announced that it will hold a conference call to discuss the company's results for the second quarter of 2018 on Thursday 9 August 2018 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The conference call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and include a slide presentation. The company will issue financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2018 on Wednesday 8 August 2018 after the close of market trading.
- What: second quarter 2018 conference call.
- When: Thursday 9 August 2018 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
- Where: there are two ways to access the call:
- Dial-in: 334-323-0522.
- Dian-in: 877-260-1479.
- Passcode: 4282601.
Please dial in at least 10 min. prior to 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to ensure a prompt start to the call.
For live webcast and slide presentation: http://www.gencoshipping.com. If you are unable to participate at this time, a replay of the call will be available for two weeks at 888-203-1112 or 719-457-0820. Enter the code 4282601 to access the audio replay. The webcast will also be archived on the Company's website: http://www.gencoshipping.com.
Read the article online at: https://www.drybulkmagazine.com/dry-bulk/01082018/genco-reveals-date-for-2q18-financial-results/


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Sunday, May 8, 2011
The Post-Referral Vortex
Well, I'm beginning to understand.
My mind is mush right now. Complete mush.
There are a million thoughts running through my head at any given moment, but it feels near impossible to string them together in any coherent way.
I have a child on the other side of the world. A walking, talking, eating, sleeping, playing, crying child. And I can't go to her.
How is it that every day, regular life can go on?
I think if life did just stop for a few days, I'd feel better. But right now regular life is May and May to a mom with school-aged kids is the equivalent of December, maybe even more busy. End of year parties, open house, musicals, art fair, last field trips, preschool water day, elementary school field day, parent appreciation dinner, teacher end of year gifts, and swim team season is overlapping with soccer season for three crazy weeks! All combined with the usual wash, errands, cleaning up messes, and feeding people.
But at the forefront of all else that goes on, is this precious child we know only through pictures but feel certain is our daughter just the same. We are so thankful and overjoyed with the referral, to know who she is, to be able to gaze at her face in pictures any time we want! But with all that happiness comes the questions.
When can we bring her home? We have no idea, literally no idea. Could be a few months, could be several months. Halloween? Christmas? Next spring? No idea. And that's hard.
Is it wrong to get this attached, refer to her as daughter/sister when she is not legally ours yet, and with adoptions anything can change right up until the whole thing is finalized?
What do we call her? Is there a way to meld her Ethiopian name into something more pronounceable in America? Are we even pronouncing her Ethiopian name correctly? Our other 3 children all have names that begin with the same letter, shouldn't we give her a name that begins with that letter, too? The baby name books have been dug out from the way back of the bookshelf, dusted off, and combed through. Lists have been made, debates had, children consulted. We may have a verdict. But, what if she hates what we've decided? She'll likely be 3 when we bring her home and 3 year olds have been known to be opinionated! But at the same time, if you'd allowed me input into my name at age 3, it's quite likely I wouldn't be happy with that name now as a 30-something year old person!
Where should she sleep? From the photos it appears she's in a crib right now in Ethiopia at the care center, but she'll be even older when she comes home, shouldn't we just go straight to a bed? And if so, then toddler bed or regular twin bed?
When is the right time to get the bed and prepare her space? After court when we know it's official that she's ours? But, what if we get a quick embassy date and only have a few weeks between court and bringing her home, I'll likely be busy recovering from one trip to Ethiopia and preparing for another and won't have time for bed shopping or room decorating!
What is the necklace she's wearing in many of the pictures, sometimes tucked inside her dress with just a bit of its black cord showing around her neck? Was it just a freebie from other adoptive parents bringing gifts to all the kids at the care center or is it something more personal to her? With my other children I had by birth, I know every bit of their history, pretty much every item they've ever had, I know the story, where they got it, how long they've had it, how much they love it, etc. This little girl has a past, two and a half years of life (and counting) that I was no part of. There's so much I want to know about her and will probably never know. How old was she when she began walking? What was her first word? Was she a fussy baby or easy-going? Did she spit out her first taste of solid food or eagerly swallow it and reach for more? And so many more questions.
Also, there are adoption issues we now feel totally unprepared to handle. For example, along with sharing the news of our referral and showing people her pictures have come the questions about her past and the uncomfortable conversations because we don't want to share information that is very personal and painful to our daughter, a story of great loss. But what is okay to say? We thought we had this all figured out, decided even, before we got our referral, but now with her real story it feels different.
To illustrate what all that crazy swirling around in your head can do to a person:
My husband and I traveled out of town for a few days last week to attend some optional adoption training offered by our agency (my husband's parents came into town to keep our kids). In our defense we attempted to pack light so we wouldn't have to check bags on the plane, which is a challenge for us over-packers, but upon our late-night arrival to our hotel we realized he'd forgotten his razor and I'd forgotten my toothbrush, so the next morning he shaved with the razor I use on my legs and I used his toothbrush! Too much information? Perhaps, but it gets better. We went by a store before heading back to our hotel after the first day of training and got a few things we needed, but I forgot to buy a toothbrush!!
Now that I'm back to using my own toothbrush again, I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging (although after this rambling, long-winded post many of you may wish I'd just be quiet until we're heading to Ethiopia!). If anything maybe I can work through these thoughts as I write them, and I can attempt to record them for our sweet girl in Ethiopia to see someday when she is older because we really do believe one day she will be home with us!
Thank you for bearing with me, for being a sounding board, for your encouragement and prayers!
5 comments:
I get the mush - I've been terribly inconsistent at blogging since getting deeper into our adoption process, making some really key decisions, etc. I partly want to write about it all, I partly don't know what to say or how widely to say it, and I mostly feel like I'm in a whirlwind and can't settle long enough to type something out...ReplyDelete
So happy to hear referrals going out!! Congrats. We are back in the chase for a little girl as well:) We just brought our son home in November!!! Im not sure what the pics of the necklace on your daughter look like, but our son has a black cord/string like necklace on him and we were told that it meant he was baptized in the region he was born. Which is a great nice personal touch for their story!! Just wanted to let you know that in case it is the same thing...which i have seen on several children. Hope your next part of the wait is a speedy one!!ReplyDelete
I of course can only begin to imagine going through all the places your mind has just got to be taking you...A whirlwind like you said I am only too sure. I am soo glad you finally have got to put her face in your imaginings now, and will pray the process goes as quickly as it possibly can so that you will have her home soon. HUGS to you!ReplyDelete
I love this post of yours! I have been following your blog (along with mnay others on the "top" of Gladney's FBI list),for months and waiting to see your referral announcement. I am so excited for your family and so touched by the raw honesty of these words. My family is in the paperchase stage with Gladney, knowing it may be years before we have our son, but reading this post somehow calms my heart rather than making me feel anxious. Thank you!ReplyDelete
Hello! My name is Tricia and I have peeked at your blog on and off the past few months, b/c y'all are at the top of the FBI list. Oh I love hearing that you have received your referral for a beautiful little toddler girl! We are on the Gladney waitlist 6 months this week...for a toddler girl too. All your questions are ones i have had and still have. Your name comments esp resonated with me. I will look forward to keeping up with the rest of your journey. My blog is sadly neglected due to a lot of things going on in our family these past couple of months, but I hope to get back to it soon. Oh so happy with you!!ReplyDelete


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About the Homestay
- Welcomes
- Males
- Females
- Couples
- Families
- Students
A family house located in a safe neighborhood near Tokyo.
Easy access to main areas in Tokyo with subways / trains.
My wife and I both speak English since we had stayed in the US for few years. We have 3 kids and 3 cats looking forward to seeing you :)
Hope we could help to make your stay in Japan a bit more exciting and comfortable!!
5min walk to 24/7 supermarket, convenience store(Seven Eleven), restaurants, DVD rental shop.
3 Cats
House Facilities
- Garden
- Laundry
- Internet Access
- Non Smoking
- Air Conditioning
Bedrooms available for booking
About the Area
Our house is located in safe and quiet area where it takes 10 minutes walk to Araijuku station where you can access anywhere in Tokyo within 20-60 minutes(Oji 20min., Tokyo 39min, Shinjuku 43min.).
Local Area Facilities
- Park
- Shopping Centre
- Bus Stop
- Train station
- Hospital
Hosts can offer a complimentary light breakfast at their discretion. All other meals, including a full breakfast, might incur an additional cost, if offered. Meals and any additional payment should be arranged directly with your host.
Included in the stay
- Complimentary Light Breakfast
- Use of Kitchen
House Rules
Smoking is not allowed.
・Provide rooms under teikishakuya contract.
・Keep noise to a minimum after midnight please.
・Feel free to use the kitchen but please clean up after.
・Breakfast includes: Toast, Spreads, Coffee, Tea, Juice etc or Cereals and Milk.
・If there are any serious stains you will need to pay for it to be cleaned.
Please enjoy your stay and make your self at home.
Smoking is not allowed.
4 Reviews
August 2020
The host cancelled the booking 36 days before the arrival date.
August 2020
The host cancelled the booking 57 days before the arrival date.
July 2020
The host cancelled the booking 54 days before the arrival date.
April 2019
Incredible experience! Taka and Kinuka san went above and beyond and made me feel like a family member and never a guest from the first day I showed up. The kids were chatting with me in Japanese which was a great opportunity to practice and improve my speaking skills, so I encourage you to give it a go if you're okay with kids and cats. Keep in mind the house is a bit far from Tokyo which was the only disadvantage, yet a good value for money and I'm definitely coming back again.
November 2016
"The 3 month stay at the Asada family was great. The father of the
family works everyday and the mother has a part time job so she can help
you around. Since they stayed both in America, they speak great English
(which is not common in Japan) and they are pretty open minded. This
means they KNOW foreigners and dont mind you to commit a blunder in
japanese manners :) I felt like part of a family. Of course there are
always downsides you should be aware of:
- kind of far away from tokio center (~70min (walk + train) and ~600Yen
per train)
- limited internet 10 GB per month (not a problem, if you are a short
time tourist)
- minimalistic room: small table (not a problem, if you are a short time
But the good parts are worth it ;) :
+ real japanese family experience
+ two lovely little girls
+ five cats! If you're homesick just grab them for a cuddle :)
+ really nice family. You can take part in some regular events like
barbecue, fireworks, shopping etc
+ near to the laketown shopping district. I have never seen such a big
shopping center.
+ quiet area (if you move to Tokio you will hear trains and some
motorbike gangs at night)
+ no housework! Laundry, dishes and cleaning will be done for you. Its
like living at home with your mom again!
+ supermarket, drug-, and convenience store nearby
+ you can get dinner (sometimes even lunch) for a small fee. Really good
to get to know japanese cuisine!
Over all I can say I enjoyed this stay the most. I splitted my 6 month
tokio experience over 3 stays and this was the best. Here you can relax
and let your guard down. If you want to make a extremly sightseeing week
in Tokio, just sleep at home, it might not the best, due to long way to
tokio. But if you want take your time and experience japanese family
life, this is it!"
October 2016
I stayed with this family for around 3 weeks and we had a wonderful time together.
When I needed help they were always there for me. Thank you for all your support! <3
If you wanna go to Japan I can really recommend this family!!!
I miss all of you!
March 2016
I stayed with this family for two weeks and can really recommend them. Always nice and caring. The house was really clean. You can easily get to the next station within 10 minutes and there are also supermarkets and drugstore nearby.
All in all I felt like a real part of the family and already miss them ^^
How do I book?
Contact the host to check their availability and ask them any questions you have about staying with them. Once the host confirms they're available for your dates, you can complete your booking.
When do I pay?
Once a host confirms they're available, you can go ahead and pay the 15% booking fee (maximum of 250 $£€ for longer term bookings) using a choice of payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Maestro, Laser, JCB & PayPal (not available in certain countries). You then pay your host on arrival or as stated by your host on their profile and agreed by you on booking. Please be cautious if a host requests advance payment if its not included on their profile. Our hosts have been advised that if they wish to request advance payment they must make this explicit in their profile. We do not recommend the use of Money gram or Western Union.
When can I share my contact details?
Host and Guest email address, phone number and home address will be exchanged in a confirmation email sent to both immediately after a booking is completed. It's against our policy for Guests and Hosts to exchange direct contact details via our messaging system.


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Founded in 1992 by 5 founding partners who knew each other from the university term, BBS is one of the most important Information Technologies system integrators in our country today. BBS operating in all areas of hardware, software and services, which are 3 important areas that determine the IT sector; provides solutions to meet the needs of its customers with its strong staff. The main study topics are as follows;
- Server & Storage & Virtualization Solutions
- Network Infrastructure Solutions
- Hardware and Software Products Procurement
- Information Security Solutions
- ISO 27001 BGYS Consultancy
- Maintenance and Support Agreements
- Security Operation Center Monitoring Service
- Network Operation Center Monitoring Service
- Outsourcing Agreements
- CRM Solutions with MS Dynamics 365
- Document Management, Business Process Management and Portal Solutions with MS SharePoint
- MS Power Platform Solutions
- .NET Application Development Solutions
- Document Management Solutions with IBM Filenet
- Identity and Access Management Solutions with IBM Security.
- Document Capture and Scanning Solutions with IBM Digital Automation
- Robotic Process Automation Solutions with IBM RPA
- Identity and Access Management Solutions with IBM Security
- Privileged Identity Management Solutions with IBM Security
Bilgi Birikim Sistemleri has the world's leading brands in its solution and product portfolio. Creating the technical infrastructure, which is a prerequisite for realizing the solutions offered by these brands, has been one of the most important issues of BBS. For this purpose, all kinds of training and seminar activities have been followed and a company that serves its customers with high-level certification staff.
BBS is aware that the work carried out should provide customer satisfaction at the highest level and knows very well that the way of this is through quality service. For this purpose, it has a fairly competent quality management system. TSI Service Qualification Certificate, ISO9001 Quality Management System Certificate, ISO 20000—1 Information Technology Services Management and ISO27001 Information Security Management System documents are the building blocks that make up this powerful quality management system. BBS is even more powerful in the field of information security by adding TSI-Type A Infiltration Test Company Certificate to its certificates in 2019 has been reformed. BBS is also a member of the Quality Association and the first IT company to participate in the National Quality Movement conducted by the Quality Association.
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All the Best
A score of UVA athletes competing in spring sports received votes from various organizations for All-American status. Some were named honorable mention, some first team.
Baseball: Kevin Arico, Danny Hultzen, Phil Gosselin
Track and field: Steve Finley, Robby Andrews, Lance Roller
Rowing: Desiree Burns, Jennifer Cromwell, Katrin Reinert, Helen Tompkins, Sidney Thorsten
Men's tennis: Sanam Singh (singles), Drew Courtney (doubles), Michael Shabaz (singles and doubles)
Women's lacrosse: Brittany Kalkstein, Kaitlin Duff, Liz Downs
Women's golf: Brittany Altomare, Calle Nielson
Men's golf: Ben Kohles
Fastest Crawl
Fran Crippen, who was twice named ACC Swimmer of the Year and a multiple All-American while at UVA, became the reigning USA Swimming national champion in June by winning the 10K Open Water race in Long Beach, Calif. With the win, Crippen (Col '06) earned a spot on Team USA at the Open Water World Championships in Quebec.
Celebrating a Century
Dr. John Risher, (Col '32, Med '36, '49) the University's oldest surviving gridiron alumnus, observed his 100th birthday on May 11. Risher, a Lynchburg ear, nose and throat physician for more than 40 years, played on the Cavalier team that took the field for the debut of Scott Stadium in 1931.
Dr. Risher became a fixture in the UVA press box when he began keeping statistics for the football team in the early 1960s; he continues the practice today.
Pro picks
Pro teams found plenty of pickings among UVA's squads. Nine Cavalier baseball players, a school record, were selected during the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in June.
Jarrett Parker was picked in the second round by the Cleveland Indians. Others selected on the draft's second day were Phil Gosselin (Atlanta), Robert Morey (Florida Marlins), Kevin Arico, (Cincinnati), Dan Grovatt (Pittsburgh) and Tyler Cannon (Cleveland). Tyler Wilson (Cincinnati), Kenny Swab (Atlanta) and Neal Davis (Philadelphia) were picked on the draft's third day.
In other sports, cornerback Chris Cook became the highest drafted defensive back in UVA history when the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 34th overall pick in the second round of the NFL draft.
And in men's lacrosse, three Cavaliers—Ken Clausen (Denver Outlaws), Brian Carroll (Chesapeake Bayhawks) and Ryan Nizolek (Boston Cannons)—were picked in the Major League Lacrosse draft.


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Essex County Litigation Attorney
Are you sick of playing games with your insurance company? Are you tired of feeling helpless in the court system? Every person deserves the chance to take a stand and aggressively defend their rights. At the Newark law offices of Kevin Crawford Orr, we help clients throughout the state of New Jersey get the fair and tough legal representation they want. Don't wait to protect your rights. Contact a lawyer today.
Quality and Responsive Legal Services


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Learn about the Handout Master view in PowerPoint 2019 for Windows. This is the view that lets you modify the Handout Master in PowerPoint.
Author: Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: PowerPoint 2019 for Windows
OS: Windows 10 and higher
Handouts are documents you can print from within PowerPoint that include slide representations from your presentation. PowerPoint lets you include as many as 9 slides on each Handout page. Of course, with 9 slides on a page, your slides will look more like thumbnails. You can also choose to print just one slide on every handout page, so then your Handout pages will look like individual slides printed on a page.
Most Handouts are created to be printed, and the look and feel of these printed Handouts is determined by the Handout Master. To access and make edits to the Handout Master, you need to get to the Handout Master view in PowerPoint 2019 for Windows. Changes you make in this view influence the look and layout of printed Handouts. You can change or edit the background, the header, and the footer of printed Handouts.
To access Handout Master view, you can choose either of these options:
Either option gets you to the Handout Master view, that you can see in Figure 2 below. Note that the Handout you see in Figure 2 contains 6 slides. Your Handout may contain more or less slides. We will explore this aspect later in this tutorial.
Figure 2: Handout Master view in PowerPoint 2019
You can format and reposition the Handout's Header and Footer placeholders, as also the placeholders used for the Date (and Time), and Slide Numbers. You can also add objects, such as a picture (useful to add a logo to all your printed handouts) or a background.
The Handout Master tab of the Ribbon (highlighted in green within Figure 2 above) provides several layout options for the number of slides that you want to print on each handout page. Locate the Page Setup group in this tab, and then choose the option called Slides Per Page. This opens a drop-down gallery that you can see in Figure 3, below.
Figure 3: Slides Per Page drop-down gallery
Here are some guidelines about the number of slides you add on each Handout page:
To go back to Normal view from Handout Master view, choose any of these options:
See Also:
Views: Handout Master View in PowerPoint (Index Page)Handout Master View in PowerPoint 365 for Windows
You May Also Like: Snagit 13: Conversation with Chris Larson | Compositions PowerPoint Templates
Have your ever used keyboard shortcuts and sequences in PowerPoint? Or are you a complete keyboard aficionado? Do you want to learn about some new shortcuts? Or do you want to know if your favorite keyboard shortcuts are documented?
Go and get a copy of our PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts and Sequences ebook.
This is the original page. An AMP (Accelerated Mobile Page) version of this page is also available for those on mobile platforms, at Handout Master View in PowerPoint 2019 for Windows.
Microsoft and the Office logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.


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Find of the Week
I've never been very good at taking baths. I love the idea of sliding into bubbles and spending the next thirty minutes in a state of warm, distraction-free bliss, but in practice, I get bored and antsy, and end up spending the entire time willing myself to relax, but not actually enjoying myself. When I spoke to my bath-loving friends about this (which is to say: all of my friends), I asked them for their tips, but nothing they recommended—watching shows on an iPad, taking a bath right before bed—worked for me.
During a particularly stressful week, I started to crave an outlet to relax, and set my sights on finally perfecting the art of taking a bath. In my research, I came across this bathtub caddy which looked so promising I picked it up on my way home from work. I know this sounds ridiculous, but I have this caddy to thank for teaching me how to enjoy baths. The notched spot for the base of a stemmed glass inspired me to add wine to the mix, the ventilated pad for soap nudged me into adding a candle or flowers, and the backboard is the perfect spot to place a magazine. Getting into the bath, I realized that the reason I wasn't enjoying them was because I had skimped on the setup. As it turns out, creating a nice environment is just as important as figuring out the perfect water temperature and finding the time to do it. Even if none of this is groundbreaking information to you, you'll still benefit from the adjustable wings, built to fit most baths, and sleek, water-resistant teak. And if it is new information, read my tips for taking the perfect bath, below.
Shop the Item Here: Teak Bathtub Caddy, available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Price: $40
Now that I'm a reformed bather, here are some things I find helpful:
1. Set the scene. My bathtub isn't anything glamorous (as you can see from the photos), but adding something purely for the sake of aesthetics—flowers or a candle—made the experience feel a little bit closer to something I'd find at a spa.
2. Plan an activity. The first thing I do when I get into the bath now is a ten-minute meditation on the app Headspace, which helps me get into the zone, then I'll read a favorite magazine like New York or Bon Appetit.
3. Invest in a good aromatic bath oil or bubble bath. This probably goes without saying for most people, but I love this L'Occitane Bubble Bath (which Emily featured in a previous Find of the Week) or the This Works bath oil, which is expensive—full-disclosure, I received mine as a gift—but lasts forever (you only need a few drops for the entire room to smell amazing).
4. Drink something refreshing. One of my biggest bath complaints was that I would get hot, uncomfortable, and dehydrated so that I'd get out of it feeling like a zombie. Now, I set myself up with a glass of cold water and a refreshing drink like chilled prosecco or a cold beer (anything but red wine).


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How Can a Person Move on a Frictionless Surface?
Without friction, the best way to move would be with rocket propulsion. If there are solid objects on this frictionless surface, it would also be possible to move by pushing off of them.
Rocket propulsion and pushing off of objects are both possible because of the physical principles described by Newton's Third Law of Motion: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For example, using a fire extinguisher for rocket propulsion would send the foam from the extinguisher flying in one direction and the user would be pushed in the opposite direction. On a completely frictionless surface, something as simple as a person blowing air from his mouth would allow for movement. By pushing the air one way, a person or an object is sent in the opposite direction.
The same sort of thing would happen when pushing against an object in the environment. An example of this can be seen in the real world; ice is a very low-friction surface, so if a stationary ice skater pushes another stationary ice skater, they both move in opposite directions.
Walking does not work on a frictionless surface because taking a step requires gripping the ground through friction. The foot usually stays in place while the rest of the body moves forward. On a frictionless surface, a person trying to walk would essentially be doing the moonwalk in place.


text: ========================================= Genode Labs Newsletter - June / July 2014 ========================================= Content 1. Celebrating Genode's 6th Anniversary 2. Date and location for Hack'n'Hike 2014 3. Preview of Genode version 14.08 1. Celebrating Genode's 6th Anniversary --------------------------------------- The 6th anniversary of the Genode OS Framework is approaching, which gives us many reasons to celebrate. To just name a few, in the past year, we have conquered VirtualBox to run on Genode, embraced NetBSD Rump kernels, and went full steam ahead with the development of our custom base-hw kernel. Business-wise, we are happy to be recognised as a trusted partner by our existing longtime customers. At the same time, we are excited that our company has gained much visibility outside of Europe. For example, the wide anticipation of our work on ARM TrustZone has taken us by surprise. Let us celebrate the 6th anniversary of Genode together! To follow up with the tradition of the past years, we invite you to join our barbecue and campfire at the river Elbe: Google Maps: http://goo.gl/maps/C0luj 28th of August, 6 pm near Moritzburger Str. 1 in Dresden Whether you like to enjoy grilled vegetarian or non-vegetarian food, clink glasses with the Genode team, or catch up with local microkernel enthusiasts, you are welcome! If you are going to attend, we would greatly appreciate a short note from you to ease our preparations: firstname.lastname@example.com 2. Date and location for Hack'n'Hike 2014 ----------------------------------------- The planning for this year's Hack'n'Hike is shaping up nicely. This event is all about enjoying ourselves, being creative, letting ideas flow, and visiting beautiful nature sites. We settled for a location right at the heart of the Saxon Switzerland, namely Königstein. This place is popular among hikers and climbers alike, and features one of largest hilltop fortresses of Europe. It is just 40 km from Dresden and very well connected via public transportation. We have made a reservation for staying at the following place: Natur- und FamilienOase Königstein Halbestadt 13 01824 Königstein Website: http://www.familienoase-koenigstein.de Location at Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/WsosS Date: 19th to 22th of September Please note that we moved the date by one day. There is still room for additional attendees besides the Genode team. If you are interested to join in, please do not hesitate to get in touch: firstname.lastname@example.com 3. Preview of Genode version 14.08 ---------------------------------- Despite the summer vacation time, the work on the upcoming version 14.08 of the Genode OS Framework is in full swing. If everything goes as planned, the new version scheduled for end of August will come with plenty of additional features such as a largely redesigned GUI architecture that is geared towards general-purpose computing, the port of the Intel wireless stack, networking support for VirtualBox, and vastly improved performance of the base-hw kernel. Some of those developments are already available at the master branch of Genode. So you can take a peek before the official release: https://github.com/genodelabs/genode About the newsletter -------------------- If you have friends or colleagues who might be interested in our projects, we would appreciate you to forward this email. If you received this newsletter as a forwarded email, you may subscribe to the newsletter here: http://genode-labs.com/newsletter In the case of receiving this newsletter unintended, you can cancel your subscription at any time by replying to this email with the subject set to "unsubscribe". Best regards -- Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske Genode Labs http://www.genode-labs.com · http://genode.org Genode Labs GmbH · Amtsgericht Dresden · HRB 28424 · Sitz Dresden Geschäftsführer: Dr.-Ing. Norman Feske, Christian Helmuth


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Ready go.
Connected by MOTOBLUR™ on T-Mobile
I had that happen once when I tilted the bottles a bit too far. Wash the tubes in soap and water and let them air dry and I would wet a paper towel and clean the pump.
THAT HAPPENED TO ME! It freaked me out. lol But yea, I just cleaned it and let it dry.
could your "bubbles" be wearing out? i've heard those sometimes need replacing, though i've never had to yet myself...
Yes, what they said. :) And, to speed up the drying, swing the tube over your head fast. It gets the droplets out.
Been there. Looks like you've already got the advice. I ended up replacing my tubes. It grossed me out cause it happened a few times. Don't know what pump you have, but I had a pump in style & got mine from an amazon affiliate.
Also, just leave the tubes attached but nothing else & let the pump run for about 10 minutes... it will dry them out.


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Donna Robertson, the John and Jeanne Rowe Chair in Architecture and former Dean of the College of Architecture, was among five honored with 2016 Women in Architecture Awards by Architectural Record.
The Women in Architecture Awards recognize five American architects who are design leaders and have contributed to women's increasingly visible role in the profession.
The winners will be honored at a symposium and reception at CUNY Graduate Center in New York on November 2. The theme of this year's symposium will be women and architectural education.
In honoring Donna Robertson, AR noted:
"A long time educator, architect Donna Robertson has served as dean at both the Tulane School of Architecture and the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. She has held numerous positions of leadership in the field of architecture education over the past three decades, and is committed to the political and social benefits of design excellence."


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Fragrance of the dust, the dust of a lifetime: In Chinese,"dust" represents the "past". Every moment we experience also instantly beco- mes a part of our history, leaving behind traces of memory including memories of smells that belong to the past.
I have been living abroad for quite some time, far away from my hometown and father and mother, which fills me with a deep attac- hment for Hunan the place of my birth. Looking at those familiar and unfamiliar people and street scenes in Hunan, I always experie- nce for an instant the fragility of memory. After every visit and departure of mine, I cannot help recalling the scenes and smells left behind, but details always allude me, dissolving into the vast grey mater of one's many memories.
I would like to rouse some kind of feelings in the heart of the audience with my works, as we all try hard to recall long-forgotten faces, often to no avail, with a remaining feeling of helplessness. My solution is to willingly spend a great amount of time carefully putting down the faint traces of my memory on paper with my pencil. Of course, I use photos to aid my work; most of these photos were taken by me. These images define the scenes that I have experienced. I don't depict memories purposely; rather, I attempt to express the feelings brought about by my recollections, in the way I know best.
In my oil paintings, I choose to use the canvases' original surface as the main subject of my composition, reversing the traditional process. The unpainted areas are my subject matter, and the background shadows remain like a photo negative, using thin layers of white paint I can highlight the areas of the canvas deliberately left empty. In this way, like the painting technique of leaving blan- kness in the traditional Chinese painting, with almost no paint in the darkest sections, I am can reveal the subtle passage of time, emotion and traces of life.


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Lemon Sugar Cookies
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- Cookies:
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/ 2 teaspoon salt
- Icing:
- 2-3 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/ 2 tablespoons – 1/2 cup water
- Food coloring
In a medium bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and light. Beat in eggs, lemon peel, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl. In another bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into butter mixture until blended. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment. Roll dough out on a floured surface, a portion at a time, to about 3/8 -inch thick. Cut out cookies and place about an inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake cookies until edges are golden, 10 to 14 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. To make icing for spreading: In a bowl, stir 3 cups confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and ¼ cup water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spread icing onto cool cookies with a metal spatula. Let stand until icing is firm, about 1½ hours.
Makes about 1 cup. To make icing for piping: In a bowl, stir 2 cups confectioners' sugar, ½ tsp vanilla, and 1½ Tbsp water until smooth. Tint with food coloring as desired. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a ¹/8 inch tip or a zip-lock bag. Decorate as desired. Let cookies stand until icing is firm, about 5 minutes. Makes about ¾ cup.
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If you're interested in working with artificial intelligence (A.I.) and machine-learning platforms, chances are good you've heard of OpenAI, the non-profit "artificial intelligence research company" funded by tech luminaries such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and venture capitalist (and Gawker bestie) Peter Thiel.
OpenAI has a unique mission: develop open-source A.I. software that's friendly to humanity (as opposed to SkyNet). Earlier this year, the organization launched OpenAI Gym, a toolkit for building reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms, which tech pros in the space may find useful as they build out their own A.I. projects.
Now comes the next OpenAI initiative: a breakdown of "concrete problems in A.I. safety." OpenAI researchers, in conjunction with colleagues from Google Brain, have issued a paper that delineates how machine-learning systems can potentially go haywire.
"Many of the problems are not new, but the paper explores them in the context of cutting-edge systems," explains a brief intro on OpenAI's Website. "We hope they'll inspire more people to work on A.I. safety research, whether at OpenAI or elsewhere."
According to OpenAI and Google, the biggest challenges facing A.I. include:
- Safe Exploration: Can an A.I. platform—whether software, or a robot—explore its environment without destroying itself by accident?
- Robustness to Distributional Shift: Can A.I. effectively adjust its behavior, or at least shut down in a non-destructive way, when exposed to new and unexpected types of data?
- Avoiding Negative Side Effects: A.I. platforms will need to accomplish tasks without inadvertently harming their surroundings. For example, you can't have a self-driving vehicle that successfully navigates from points A to B while plowing down every pedestrian in its path.
- Avoiding 'Reward Hacking': If an A.I. platform earns a "reward" for accomplishing a certain task, how can tech pros ensure that the A.I. won't start "gaming" its environment in order to earn more rewards?
- Scalable Oversight: A.I. platforms will still need to successfully complete goals with minimal feedback.
If you're interested in artificial intelligence and machine learning, considering the above problems could help you build better platforms. Unless, of course, you're trying to build SkyNet.


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How to make chocolates!
On Friday, Charles and I made chocolates to sell at the election on Saturday. Since the church was to be used as a voting venue, our friends decided to have a sausage sizzle/ chocolate sale/ cake stall to raise money for charity. Charles and I ended up in charge of making the chocolates! We made chocolate ginger, strawberry flavoured hearts, freckles, peppermint swirl, orange swirl, and rocky road.
Moulding chocolate - white, milk, and dark.
Crystallised ginger.
Hundreds and thousands (sprinkles)
Food colouring - green and orange
Food flavouring - strawberry, peppermint and orange
Chocolate moulds - hearts, or whatever you like!
Aluminium foil
Muffin or cupcake baking pans
Baking trays
Tupperware shallow box
1. Ginger Chocolates
First, get your crystallised ginger and chop it up into little bits.Melt your chocolate and put all the ginger bits into the chocolate! Make sure they're all coated.
Use tongs or chopsticks to get out the ginger pieces and place them on a piece of foil to set!
2. Strawberry flavoured dark chocolate hearts
First get a bowl of dark chocolate and nuke it til it's nice and runny.
You'll need some strawberry flavouring stuff, this is what we used. Put a tiny bit into the chocolate and mix. You really only need a little, this stuff is potent.
Get your moulds ready...
Pour in the chocolate! Leave to set in the fridge.
3. Giant freckles!
I forgot to take progress pictures but here's what you do. Melt some milk chocolate. Put the chocolate into some muffin trays. About a teaspoon of chocolate each is right. Wait a minute til it starts to cool, then put a whole lot of sprinkles on top!
Leave to set. When it's cool, you can shake off the remaining sprinkles and put them aside for later.
4 and 5. Peppermint/ Orange swirl!
First melt around 500g of dark chocolate. Mix in a small amount of peppermint/orange oil. Line a baking tray with foil and pour it all in.
Then melt a smaller amount of white chocolate and colour it green/orange. Put big splodges of colour onto the dark flavoured chocolate. Like so.Then using a skewer, mix around the coloured chocolate to make swirls. I like to drag the skewer across the whole tray in zigzag motions. Charles likes swirling in a circle. Be creative!
Leave to set! When it's set, peel off the foil and break it up into bite-sized pieces with your hands.
6. Rocky Road
First melt 500g of milk chocolate. Add a bag of mini marshmallows and half a bag of chopped peanuts! Mix it up and pour it into a tray. I didn't take pictures of our progress with this one but it's the easiest!
After all that we were tired and needed a drink. Charles has a cute apron.We bagged all of the chocolates and tied them with a ribbon. And labelled them with a price.
Two whole baskets full!