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Internships or Volunteering with Big Cat Rescue (Tampa)
This article is for people who are interested in careers in the zoological sciences, which include working in aquariums, zoological facilities, nature centers, animal exhibition and education, management, training, and any other applicable fields.
Interning or working at Big Cat Rescue of Tampa, Florida is a giant contradiction toward your interests and pursuits.
If you support zoos and any other fields with animals in captivity, and certainly if you seek to work in one, you should understand that Big Cat Rescue may be an animal 'sanctuary' but its founder staunchly holds the position that exotic animals should not be in captivity, period.
"At Big Cat Rescue we don't believe that any exotic cat should be bred for life in a cage. "
"Big cats don't belong in cages and we won't quit until the rest of the world understands that these animals are just too magnificent to be caged for our amusement or education."
---Carole Baskin
There you have it. While founder Carole Baskin may be referring to big cats in this quote, it certainly wouldn't make sense for her to support the caging of non-felines as well. Carole Baskin readily explains to her fans and critics that her ultimate goal is to shut down the 'big cat trade', ending the existence of big cats in captivity as well as her own rescue sanctuary. Don't be fooled, this certainly includes zoos. Of course, animal rights followers harbor more disdain for 'private pet owners' and 'road side zoos' over AZA-accredited zoos, and this is how they market their philosophy to the general public; but they want all zoos 'phased out' as well.
In fact, a few years ago BCR uploaded a video on their youtube channel supporting an anti-pet bill, which made some of their followers realize that they are indifferent towards the ban of 'exotic pets' that do not end at Bengal tigers, but extend to pet reptiles and rodents. Of course, this video was promptly removed later and the bill did not pass (but variations continue to pop up).
Big Cat Rescue has the philosophy (and this has also been stated by Baskin) that keeping a wild animal in a cage is cruelty. What do you picture when you think of animal cruelty? Someone beating a dog with a bat? Factory farming? Moving and abandoning a house full of cats without food and water? Carole Baskin and other animal rights followers put caring for animals in zoos into the same category. Cruelty denotes extreme harm. Animal cruelty is not acceptable in any form.
- Important Facts You Should Know About Big Cat Rescue of Tampa Florida
Is Big Cat Rescue a crusader for captive big cats, or may there be two sides to this story? Interesting information about BCR's founder Carole Baskin, and what may truly be at the heart of the sanctuary's politics.
But then why would Baskin own a facility that commits 'animal cruelty'?
Because the actual goals of sanctuaries like these are to gain control of the nation's captive wildlife for many reasons; hubris, financial gain, acclamation; probably a mix of the three.
"Please do not support those who breed these majestic animals for a life of cruel confinement. No animal, especially a tiger, belongs in a cage."
--Carole Baskin
Of course as you realize, zoos breed animals. Sometimes for conservation, and sometimes simply to produce animals the public enjoys viewing (this is often referred to as 'exploitation'). Whatever the case may be, the majority of exotic animals and certainly big cats thrive in zoos when the proper knowledge and care is possessed by their keepers.
Big cats in particular are guaranteed premature death in the 'wild' as once they age, their hunting ability will force them to go hungry. Carnivores like wild felines live a highly stressful existence to merely survive. They establish territories that they must fight for; there is no 'freedom' to meander about free of danger, seeking aesthetic beauty such as is implied by nature idealists.
Baskin, while claiming that her dream is to end the need for her sanctuary, is in the process of creating a 50-room dormitory for Big Cat Rescue's interns. It seems as though they do not have plans to shut themselves down anytime soon.
A Zoo of the Future, BCR-approved
- Bronx Zoo animals could be affected by budget cuts - May. 19, 2011
The famed Bronx Zoo could lose more than half its operating support from New York City, under the fiscal 2012 budget proposed earlier this month by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Big Cat Rescue can't close down zoos!
Big Cat Rescue's rhetoric might be subtle regarding their obvious discontentment with zoos, and they may not even overtly state they want them to close, but the spreading of hateful anti-captivity messages is harming these places. Top of the line zoos like the Bronx Zoo, which is known to be one of the best animal facilities in the world, has seen budget cuts and intermittent drops in attendance. I've gone there since I was a child, yet lately I have seen the disablement of their popular skyride that transported visitors to the other side of the park, and the 'World of Darkness', an awe-inspiring exhibit that was home to hundreds of bats and other nocturnal animals.
Attendance and financial problems at some zoos may be an issue for different reasons, but obviously, an accompanying drop in visitors due to a portion of people not attending and spreading myths about zoos because they've been mislead into thinking that zoos are cruel will not help at all. Activists are aware of this and attempt to indoctrinate the message that the whole idea of a zoo is an outdated and unethical occurrence.
Simply put, supporting Big Cat Rescue is aiding the effort to destroy your career and lifestyle pursuits. Carole Baskin would enjoy it if she and other sanctuary owners were the last individuals to own and work with these unique species.
If you want to work with animals other than kittens and domesticated bunny rabbits, this is an admirable goal that many people share. Don't let other people tell you otherwise. Organizations like Big Cat Rescue and countless others are harboring agendas to insure that this will not happen, or that it will be entirely in their control. Please consider this when looking toward an opportunity to care for wild felines and other exotic animals at Big Cat Rescue.
Excellent article Melissa. Carole Baskin is against zoos partly because she wanted desperately to be one and was turned down...twice....for accreditation by AZA. They objected to her 'public contact' stance and she refused to back down from her belief that public contact is essential to conservation. It is in her own newsletter from that time. I have a copy if you'd like one. After many 'incidents' with people being injured by cats she bred and had declawed to sleep with her bed and breakfast clients, she decided to convert them to "rescues" and let the public support them! It wasn't about conservation at all, it was about her making money off her cats....and it still is.
They are WILD ANIMALS. NOT HUMANS. You cannot combine resposible owner with exotic pet. Unless you are, ENTER ANIMAL OF CHOICE HERE, you cannot provide for said animal.
Interesting article. I agree that animals are supposed to live if possible in their own habitat. And with cats and dogs, we need to spend more attention to caring for them as pet owners. We see far too many who are put down. Unfortunately there are some animals being used for amusement. With dog fights with roosters or chickens, or other dogs.
Great article. Up, shared and cheers for this great article being selected for a Gold award for March! :-)
"Please do not support those who breed these majestic animals for a life of cruel confinement. No animal, especially a tiger, belongs in a cage."
--Carole Baskin
What a hypocrite. Carole obviously has no problem supporting businesses that keep rats, chickens and rabbits in small cages. Also, by her own logic, shouldn't her big cats also be counted as ones that are living a "life of cruel confinement"? Last I checked, Big Cat Rescue kept their animals in cages. If captivity is so horrible for them, she should be euthanizing them immediately.
It is a good thing you put some exposure out there telling the truth. More people get sucked in to lies and places like this sanctuary get control and also make a profit. If there were no zoos or preserves then many more species would go extinct. I may not talk about this on my website but other things humans do to kill off wildlife is mentioned. I will add more pages in the future. If you or anyone else wants to learn more on other subjects involving wildlife and the environment then go to my site Caveman's Nature Site http://wildcaveman.weebly.com/ and check out some of the pages. There are many photos and links to other sites with information.
For many species, survival is contingent on breeding in captivity. The organizations that condemn breeding do not wish the species to continue in existence. Thanks for pointing this out.
The most important thing that I think people don't think about is the fact that these animal rights organizations are often anti-conservation. It's very difficult to promote the continuing survival of a species that is not being bred in captivity but is being poached in the wild.
Well, SOMEBODY had to say it. I've been waiting for a good piece on this "piece of work" for some time. My family has visited the sanctuary and have no idea how bad it really is for people like me who enjoy exotic animal ownership. Very nicely done, and thank you SO much for saying what needed to be said about BCR. It's very easy to get confused about their ultimate goals for exotic ownership in the United States.
I don't comment much, but I often find myself commenting on your work. I really appreciate what you're doing here on Hubpages and your niche. It means a lot to me to see that someone is able to focus their writing in such a manner. I appreciate this a great deal and am inclined to share your information as much as I can.


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Cobaya, a code for Bayesian analysis in Cosmology¶
|Jesus Torrado and Antony Lewis
|Source code at GitHub
|Documentation at Readthedocs
|LGPL + mandatory bug reporting asap + mandatory arXiv'ing of publications using it (see LICENCE.txt for exceptions). The documentation is licensed under the GFDL.
|E-mail list:
|https://cosmocoffee.info/cobaya/ – sign up for important bugs and release announcements!
|For general support, CosmoCoffee; for bugs and issues, use the issue tracker.
pip install cobaya --upgrade --user (see the installation instructions; in general do not clone)
Cobaya (code for bayesian analysis, and Spanish for Guinea Pig) is a framework for sampling and statistical modelling: it allows you to explore an arbitrary prior or posterior using a range of Monte Carlo samplers (including the advanced MCMC sampler from CosmoMC, and the advanced nested sampler PolyChord). The results of the sampling can be analysed with GetDist. It supports MPI parallelization (and very soon HPC containerization with Docker/Shifter and Singularity).
Its authors are Jesus Torrado and Antony Lewis. Some ideas and pieces of code have been adapted from other codes (e.g CosmoMC by Antony Lewis and contributors, and Monte Python, by Julien Lesgourgues and Benjamin Audren).
Cobaya has been conceived from the beginning to be highly and effortlessly extensible: without touching cobaya's source code, you can define your own priors and likelihoods, create new parameters as functions of other parameters…
Though cobaya is a general purpose statistical framework, it includes interfaces to cosmological theory codes (CAMB and CLASS) and likelihoods of cosmological experiments (Planck, Bicep-Keck, SDSS… and more coming soon). Automatic installers are included for all those external modules. You can also use cobaya simply as a wrapper for cosmological models and likelihoods, and integrate it in your own sampler/pipeline.
The interfaces to most cosmological likelihoods are agnostic as to which theory code is used to compute the observables, which facilitates comparison between those codes. Those interfaces are also parameter-agnostic, so using your own modified versions of theory codes and likelihoods requires no additional editing of cobaya's source.
The overhead per posterior evaluation is
< 0.1 ms / dimension per posterior evaluation (mostly due to evaluating
scipy.stats logpdf's in the prior), which makes it suitable for most cosmological applications (CAMB and CLASS take seconds to run), but not necessarily for more general statistical applications, if the evaluation time per pdf involved is of that order or smaller.
How to cite us¶
As of this version, there is no scientific publication yet associated to this software, so simply mention its GitHub repository.
To appropriately cite the modules (samplers, theory codes, likelihoods) that you have used, simply run the script cobaya-bib with your input file(s) as argument(s), and you will get bibtex references and a short suggested text snippet for each module mentioned in your input file. You can find a usage example here.
Thanks to Julien Lesgourgues and Will Handley for support on interfacing CLASS and PolyChord respectively.
Thanks too to Guadalupe Cañas Herrera, Andreas Finke, Lukas Hergt, Vivian Miranda, Timothy Morton, Joe Zunz and many others for extensive and somewhat painful testing.

subset: commoncrawl


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Adopted by City Council Resolution No. 10-2739
|Application Type
|Review of Improvement Plans
|1% of Approved Engineer's Estimate
|Abandonment of Right-of-Way or Public Utility Easement
|$2500 Deposit¹
|Compliance Review/Inspection
|3% of Approved Engineer's Estimate
|Compliance of Acceptance
|$1500 Deposit¹
|Grading Plan Review
|$500 Deposit¹
|Record of Survey
|Base Map Maintenance Fee
|Site Inspection Fee
¹ Deposit fees will be charged on a time and materials basis for all work including City Engineer, City Attorney and Consultant time, which will be billed for actual cost plus 15%. Should deposit accounts fall below an amount to cover the anticipated costs to be incurred with the application process for a minimum of 30 business days, as determined by the City, then all work will stop until additional funds are deposited. Refunds of remaining funds, if available, will be provided following a final approval.


text: Travel Insurance FAQs Travel insurance frequently asked questions With medical costs rising it can be quiet expensive to suffer an injury abroad as a result holiday cover has never been more important. Any accident or illness while overseas can leave you with a serious financial burden unless you go prepared. That's why CompareTravelInsuranceIreland has drawn up a FAQ guide on the most important issues relating to travel insurance. Read on to ensure you have all the information which will help you, make up your mind before you hit the sea, sand or the slopes! Why is holiday insurance important? Did you know that suffering a hip fracture in the USA could cost you €25,000? While you may consider yourself to be in good health there are always unexpected accidents waiting to happen. It's much better to be safe than sorry. However, it's not just about medical expenses. Holiday insurance can also cover loss of luggage or other personal belongings such as passports and money, repatriation costs and cancelled or delayed flights. Also, damage that you may cause to third parties is also covered in many cases. With all these potential expenses, it's easy to see why a comprehensive travel insurance policy is highly recommended. What is volcanic ash, strike and airline insolvency insurance? Some policies will now cover strike and third party supplier insolvency as standard up to certain cover limits. Volcanic ash or travel disruption cover is usually offered as an optional extra which can be added to your policy. Always read the policy wording carefully if in doubt give the insurance company a quick call before booking online. There is no universal answer as to which providers cover the above, as each policy is different. You will need to read the Key Facts and policy wording. Some insurers may decline a claim, as natural disasters can be excluded from policies. Your claim may also be declined if your flight is cancelled, as some insurers believe it is the airline's responsibility to cover all costs. What is cruise Insurance? If you're planning on taking a cruise this year and are concerned about the high costs involved of this trip and would like to ensure that you are covered, some insures now offer cruise insurance as an add on, criteria will vary from insurer to insurer. This will generally cover you if you are unable to arrive on time at the port due to an insured reason. This optional cover should be highlighted on the insurance companies website, you will have to select the option and add it to your standard travel policy. We would suggest you read your policy documentation prior to travel. Review cruise insurance policies today for peace of mind. Purchasing travel insurance over the telephone or booking online? If you prefer to speak to someone about your holiday cover you can book over the telephone. Although booking holiday insurance through a call centre or over the phone may incur additional charges. You will need to check with the provider. If you do have any queries give them a quick call, once you have all your questions answered you can then proceed to book online. Review different types of travel insurance In order to help, we have provided a guide to help you choose the best policy, your choice will be single trip or annual multi-trip. A single trip policy will provide coverage for a specific holiday or a single trip. Simply select your holiday destination and then your holiday start date and end date. An annual multi-trip policy is valid for 12 months. The main advantage of an annual multi-trip policy is that you do not have to arrange cover for each journey that you take, especially if you and/or your family travel frequently throughout the year. It also generally works out better value than buying two or three single trip policies a year Pre-existing medical conditions and pregnancy A pre-existing medical condition usually means any medical condition for which medical advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received. It is always a good idea to speak to the insurer you are thinking of using to check whether they will include your condition as standard on the policy. If the company deems the pre-existing medical condition to be a risk you may have to contact a medical screening number to disclose your condition or medication. This criteria will vary from company to company some insurers, may require you to ask your GP for a letter to confirm that your fit to travel. If you're pregnant, certain exclusions may apply if you travel after a certain point during the period of your pregnancy. We would advise you to read the Key Facts of your policy summary, and the policy wording thoroughly, prior to purchasing the product to see at what point exclusions and conditions may be in place. If in doubt and for complete peace of mind, give the provider a quick call to clarify. What is the medical screening number? The medical screening phone number is a phone number you call if you wish to cover a pre-existing medical condition, the agent will ask you a series of questions to assess the severity of your condition. You may have to pay an additional fee to insure that specific illness depending on how serious your condition is. Day trips, excursions, and holidays with multiple destinations Many insurance policies will cover excursions, e.g. travelling to another country for a day or two as part of your holiday. However, check with the insurer as there may be duration and territory restrictions. If you wish to purchase a single trip policy for multiple destinations we suggest you select the furthest away geographical destination and then check with the insurer to see if they will cover the other destinations and also the duration spent in each country. The other option would be to consider purchasing a worldwide annual multi trip policy which will ensure that you are covered at all times and in all destinations, subject to your policy terms and conditions. Travel Insurance benefits Details of what you are covered for can be found in your policy wording and schedule. Levels of medical expenses, personal liability, missed departure, cancellation, lost or damaged baggage, strike and any other types of cover will be noted within your documents or validation certificate. Cover for cruises, winter sports, golf, wedding, volcanic ash and hazardous activities (if available) will vary from provider to provider. We would suggest you read your policy documentation or check with your provider prior to travel. How do I cancel my policy? Most travel insurance providers will offer a 14 day cooling off period. This criteria will vary depending on the insurer. Always read the terms and conditions noted in the Travel Policy. Change or amend a travel insurance policy? If you wish you make changes or amendments to your policy you will need to contact the travel insurance provider directly for alterations. If you wish to upgrade your geographical location or add additional levels of cover or individuals to your policy you will be charged an additional fee. Renewing a travel insurance policy Your cover will end on the date that you return to Ireland for single trip policies. This will be on your validation certificate. For an annual multi trip insurance policy your cover will expire a full year later so, for example, if you purchase on the 2nd of January 2012, your policy will expire at midnight on the 1st of January 2013, by which time you must be in Ireland. Before renewing always check the CompareTravelInsuranceIreland website to compare insures. You may be pleasantly surprised on how much you can save. Before renewing always check the CompareTravelInsuranceIreland website to compare insurers. Couple and family travel insurance and travelling independently Most insurer's will cover you to travel independently on a couple or family travel insurance policy, always check the terms and conditions. It is always best to contact your insurance provider to clarify this sort of information prior to traveling. Natural disaster and terrorism Details of cover can be found in your policy documentation regarding natural disasters and terrorism. There may be exclusions within your policy so it's important that you check this if you're concerned. Important – Insurers will not provide cover if you're traveling to a country where the Department of Foreign Affairs or the World Health Organisation have advised against travel. Travel insurance for individuals over 65 and 75 years old Most travel insurance companies will cover up to the age of 65 as standard. If you wish to take out cover and your over 65 years old the risk level on the policy will increase therefor the premium will increase. Both age and duration limits will apply. Criteria will vary depending on the provider, If in doubt give the insurer a quick call to clarify. Travel Insurance Save money by comparing different types of holiday cover. It is important to buy a comprehensive policy for you, your partner or your family. I have outlined the most popular travel policies below: Single Trip Travel Insurance Single Trip Travel Insurance covers you for a once off trip whether it's a romantic weekend away, city break or a family holiday to Spain. This policy will cover you for cancellation, medical expenses, lost luggage and much much more! Annual Multi Trip Travel Insurance If you're planning on taking a few trips this year, annual travel insurance should work out more competitively priced than buying a few single trip policies. Annual travel cover will allow you to take multiple trips. You can also decide to add optional covers depending on the insurer's criteria such as cover for Volcanic Ash, Strike, Golf, Wedding, Business, Cruise and Flight Disruption. Winter Sports, Snowboarding & Ski Travel Insurance When travelling on a Ski, Snowboarding or Winter Sports holiday it is essential to ensure that you are fully covered whilst on the slopes. Whether you're a seasoned skier, a novice or simply enjoying the scenery it's recommended to have sufficient Winter Sports cover in place before hitting the snow. Backpacker Travel Insurance Planning on going backpacking across the globe, working abroad or taking a long stay holiday? Be safe with a backpacker travel insurance policy. Most backpacker policies will cover you for light manual work while abroad but it is always recommended to check with the insurer's policy wording. Additional activities can also be included such as Bungee Jumping, Camel/Elephant Riding, Scuba Diving, Climbing Kilmanjaro or Trekking. A full list should be available from the insurer upon request. Family Travel Insurance When travelling abroad with your Family you can purchase a comprehensive travel insurance policy that can be tailored to meet your circumstances. Most insurer's will offer a special rate for family travel insurance whether it be a single trip or a yearly travel insurance policy. You can also select Worldwide or European travel insurance depending on the location of your trip. CompareTravelInsuranceIreland FAQs is provided for informational purposes only. We don't guarantee on the accuracy of this guide, as criteria may change from time to time when insurance companies or industry change their policy, wording or terms and conditions.


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Lampe Berger
Lampe Berger makes it possible to improve air quality and to fragrance it!
Lampe Berger, the leader in innovations for air care, cleanses the room air by destroying unwanted odors and providing long-lasting fragrance, due to its exclusive diffusion system. By eliminating unpleasant smelling molecules (tobacco, cooking, etc.), Lampe Berger cleanses the interior air in your home.
Rochette's is Farmville's exclusive authorized dealer for Lampe Berger lamps and fragrances. We have in stock over 150 lamp styles and over 50 fragrances.


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BAM extended Cyfarthfa Retail Park constructing nine new retail units - including a bespoke eco-learning store for B&Q, associated car parking and delivery facilities.
Sustainable Design
The B&Q eco-learning store was designed with sustainability in mind. It applied a unique, collaborative approach between the tenant B&Q, Landlord Hammerson as well as industry partners Tata Steel, Cardiff University and BAM. The store was built in line with B&Q's 11 point sustainability plan and had both construction and in-use sustainability targets covering recycled content, water efficiency, biodiversity and energy efficiency.
The processes, monitoring and approach to sustainability have been shared with the industry in the form of seminars and conferences publicising early results of a research project and also publications by Cardiff University.
The building was also designed to have low embodied carbon, and achieved 23% less than industry benchmarks for similar retail developments through the use of steel cladding rather than aluminium and insulation with recycled content and cement replacement in the structural concrete.
23% less embodied carbon compared to industry benchmarks
Tackling Climate Change
The bespoke B&Q retail unit was one of the first in the UK to install a roof mounted transpired solar collector (TSC), which uses solar energy to heat the ventilation air supply into the building. A Low Carbon Research Institute / Sustainable Building Envelope Demonstration research project, the TSC has reduced the heat load of the building by 34% and Cardiff University has facilitated a 12 month research programme comparing in-use and design stage energy efficiency.
The building has targeted a 51% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to building control minimum requirements. This was achieved through high air tightness of 2.47m3/hr/m2 and a 30% improvement in thermal insulation values, daylight optimisation, LED lighting and controls, de-stratification fans and the TSC.
Included a roof-mounted transpired solar collector
Resource Efficiency
The bespoke B&Q unit aimed for a high level of recycled content from the start. The project achieved 30% recycled content through the use of the WRAP measurement tool. For example, we used 100% recycled unbound aggregate in some of the substrates for road and building and some of the blockwork contained 70% recycled concrete.
30% recycled content
Sourcing Responsibly
100% of the timber used on the project was sourced from FSC or PEFC Chain of Custody certified sources. The B&Q eco-store had a requirement for Project FSC® Certification. 100% Chain of Custody was achieved on the project, although some PEFC timber was procured due to shortage of supply and programme constraints, the project achieved FSC® Partial Project Certification (TT-PRO-004958) in January 2015.
BAM also used local products and contractors throughout the project. 50% of the operatives lived within 20 miles and 62% of subcontractor spend was within 30 miles. Local manufacturers were used to source many products which also helped cut transport emissions. For example Rockwool insulation manufactured in Bridgend, Euroclad cladding from Cardiff, Steel cladding sheets fabricated in Port Talbot and high recycled content concrete manufactured in Tongwynlais.
100% Chain of Custody,
including our first FSC Partial Project Certification
Originally part of the Cyfarthfa Ironworks complex, the site sits within the Cyfarthfa Conservation Area. Significant archaeological finds were made during the enabling works including forges, coke ovens, kilns, coal stores and a marshalling yard. The archaeological excavations were digitally mapped and recorded and open days were held so the public could see the archaeological remains. The foundations of the new buildings were also redesigned to avoid damaging the remains.
Open days held to view the archaeological remains
Located in the Cyfarthfa Conservation Area, the B&Q store used a wood effect rain screen on the main elevations and an angled roof to reduce the visual impact from nearby Cyfarthfa Castle.
Throughout the project BAM engaged with the local community. Local university and school students visited the site and we organised three career events, which reached over 720 students.
Work placements and work experience positions helped give local people a stepping stone into construction. 82 weeks of employment were created for 19 previously unemployed operatives, two apprentices were employed on site, and we were able to provide a five-day work experience placement to one student. We also engaged with the local Job Centre, assisting the client with end user local employment opportunities.
Our engagement reached over 720 students
Health and Wellbeing
The project team raised funds for our national charity partners - Macmillan Cancer Support and Alzheimer's Society, including £110 through a Food Feast Day.
We also encouraged healthy eating in the workforce through 'Free Fruit Friday' and installing water coolers for operatives.
£110 raised through a Food Feast day
The bespoke B&Q facility includes a green roof covering 50% of the total area. Supplied and installed by a specialist contractor, drainage, filter and protective layers combined with a roof barrier provide the necessary growing medium for the chosen British seed mix. This consisted of 38 different species including Lady's Bedstraw, Self-Heal, Wild Marjoram, Cornflower and Sorrel. In total, the building is covered with 3,000m2 of green roof, more than the area covered by 10 tennis courts. The green roof not only supports biodiversity but also improves thermal insulation and reduce rainwater run-off.
Ecology surveys conducted early on in the project identified the presence of Japanese Knotweed in some locations. An invasive species, the plant can grow up to 10cm a day and outcompete native plants. We were able to use specialist root barriers to control and retain future Japanese knotweed growth.
A nearby nature and heritage trail was protected and tree buffers enhanced. This helped ensure the whole scheme was embedded in its local ecology, providing a long term habitat for fauna and flora. The heritage trail celebrates the site's industrial heritage and includes information boards and a viewing platform.
3000m2 green roof
Water Management
The eco-store aims to reduce water consumption as well as using rainwater. Low flow fittings throughout the store helps to reduce water needs while a 900 litre water recycling storage facility provides water for toilet and urinal flushing, as well as store irrigation in the garden centre.
Rainwater harvesting provides 50%
of the store's water requirements


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Fab-Ra-Ka-Dab-Ra Quilt Label, available in two different colors: Multi or Black
by Heather Dutton
This quilt label measures 4" tall by 5" wide, including a 1/2" seam allowance.
This is not a customized label. You will fill in the name or just leave it blank!
This label can be purchased in any quantity.


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Management Team
The Management Team is responsible for the effective day-to-day management of The LifeCycle Project and is composed of the project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Vincent Jaddoe, and the project manager, Sylvie van den Assum. The Management Team will be the primary contact for the European Commission and will manage the administrative, ethical, financial and legal matters of the project. The project is managed by the project coordinator and project manager in collaboration with the Erasmus MC LifeCycle team including Arjan Breederland, Dr. Liesbeth Duijts, Dr. Janine Felix and Dr. Florianne Vehmeijer.
Prof. Dr. Vincent Jaddoe, Coordinator
Prof Dr. Vincent Jaddoe is the coordinator of the LifeCycle Project. He is responsible for the overall scientific progress of the project, the quality of the results and the timely submission of all required documents and reports to the European Commission.
Jasmijn de Lijster, Project Manager
Jasmijn de Lijster assists the coordinator in all daily matters regarding the LifeCycle Project.


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It's perhaps the biggest thing since bromine – silver and copper minerals used to purify spa and hot tub water. It's been around for over 20 years, so it's not new in the world of spas and hot tubs, and copper and silver ions have been purifying water for eons, so it's not new to the world.
But maybe it's new to you – if you haven't tried mineral purification before, here's why you may want to start.
- Use less bromine – up to 50% less
- Less work required of your spa filter
- Improved water sparkle and clarity
There are several different manufacturers of spa mineral sanitizers, which all employ an erosive bits of silver and copper ions, packed in activated charcoal.
As the water moves through the 4-month mineral cartridge, ions are released which attack algae and bacteria. The result is that more than half of your sanitation needs are taken care of by natural minerals, leaving less for your bromine and spa filter to deal with.
And unlike bromine and chlorine, metals like copper and silver don't just kill once and then become useless, they continue to sanitize, attracting and killing contaminants, until the particle becomes large enough to be filtered out.
Nature2 Spa Stick – Drop the 4-month stick inside the center of your spa filter cartridge, and it goes to work immediately, with enough power to run your spa without bromine, when shocking weekly with MPS.
Spa Frog Floating System – This is a combination bromine floater and mineral cartridge. Both attach easily to the floating pod. The mineral cartridge lasts four months, and the bromine cartridge will last for up to 4 weeks.
Leisure Time Spa Stick – Eventually the patent expired, and along came some pretty good copy cats of Mineral spa water treatment. The Leisure Time is almost a copy of the very similar looking Filter Frog.
Sunpurity Mineral Purifier – Made by Nature2 to fit Sundance spas, the mineral purifier pack locks in place inside of the bromine chamber.
Each of these requires replacement every 4 months, and they average about $20 each . So, a year's supply is about $60 – a small amount to pay for such a huge improvement in water quality. And, if you reduce your bromine or chlorine level to 1-2 ppm, you can cut the amount you use in half, which could possibly pay for the cost of the mineral sticks.
If you have any questions on mineral spa treatment, give any one of our folks here a call!
Tags: spa mineral


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One might presume that planning a move across the country would be tiresome. Seeing to the infinite details, from the 5000 mile road trip to the mundane DMVs and new doctors, to the back burner excitement/anxiety combo of a new scene, has left me more wired than exhausted. Now that itself tiresome, at least psychologically.
The move is a bit sudden and I've had to cancel plans for New Years and my birthday. I won't be attending the super hype Smite World Championship, to which I've looked forward all year. I'll also be delaying my Smite community article until I can spare the proper attention and love I wish to shower on it (February). I'll miss all of you crazy e-sports fans, many of whom I was hoping to greet!
Along my route, however, I'll be stopping to see old friends and am looking forward to seeing a new friend's face for the first time. A friend is also helping me on my adventure. Being locked in a car for 8 days with someone tends to bring out one's best and worst. Experiencing that with a friend is an adventure in and of itself. I'm lucky to have the opportunity!
My brain won't shut off unless it's dulled with migraine. When I go to bed, I comb over general game plans until I pass out. This has lent itself to weird dreams, and most of them are pleasant. Nightmares seem to home right in on that sense of security and turn it inside out every once in a while.
Nightmares stalk the clouds
Open eyes cannot unsee
The shadows of dreams
Tonight was one of those nights, and I'm so glad for my dogs. Their concerned ignorance of it all reminds me to just chill and look forward to both the journey and the destination.


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Sometimes, the classics are classic for a reason. Nothing proves it more than the iconic polo shirt or the equally show-stopping rugby shirt. With a timeless athletic fit and instantly-recognizable button-down collar, AE men's polo shirts and rugby shirts are equal parts traditional and modern, rooted in history and updated with the most advanced, comfortable fabrics. American Eagle polo shirts for men are all about style and comfort. We don't want you to have one without the other – which is why we make our rugby and polo shirts with the best materials, designs and features out there. Layer them with some basic shirts, a new hoodie & sweatshirt, or wear them alone for a standout style and athletic vibes all day long.
Whether you're searching for solid polo shirts for a dressier take on this top or you want the classic stripes look, we've got you covered with some options. Bright tipping and vintage, varsity-inspired stripes make this classic style pop, and you'll find a wide range of colors to choose from. From basics and neutrals to bold seasonal hues, we have every color polo shirt you're looking for, for every event. Classic fit shirts have an essential tailored look for a classic and cool vibe, and standard fit shirts have a comfortable and casual style with a go-to everyday fit. Find the right fit for you and wear it your way.
We love the casual look of a well-worn polo shirt or rugby shirt with a great pair of men's jeans or chinos, which is why we make them in different kinds of fabric so you can have the look (and feel) you're looking for. For a more traditional look, skip the updates and go for the tried and true pique cotton polo for men. Jersey knit slub fabric creates a bold textured look, and stretch cotton moves with you for total comfort. Details like vented hems, embroidered chest logos, chest pockets and more elevate this classic style with some modern features so you look good and feel even better. Rugby shirts always feature the iconic striped design for a strong sport-inspired look, and since they use soft cotton blends, they feel as good as they look.
Polo shirts and rugby shirts are versatile and an easy staple of your wardrobe. They're the perfect piece for taking your day-to-night look up a few levels, and can be worn everywhere from the office to class to a night out with the guys. Pair your new shirt with your other men's shirts and tops to create a layered look your want, or wear it as a standalone top for an OG style we can't get enough of.


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Category Archives: David Christian
David Christian agrees to become Honorary President
The Big History UK group are proud to announce that Australian historian David Christian has agreed to be their Honorary President. "Big History" is the interdisciplinary study of the history of the universe, the Earth and mankind from the beginning … Continue reading →
David Christian's Talk at Think 2012
David Christian talks about how he developed the subject of Big History and why we need to know about it. … Continue reading →


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Hello, fellow newbies and newbets! I had this idea on how to make everyone of all skill levels feel welcome, at home, and safe here. The above subject was part of the idea. This is a place for what else? Creative Idea's! Everyone is unique and have different ways of thinking and brainstorming about many things. Get familiar with what this organization value/s and think of a creative idea on how to make it's values upheld, it's problems solved, or simply be creative within the scope of this organization's fields. Which are many. I took a good look into this organization and was so filled with joy when I realized how much they sacrifice for members and non-members. They are giving people doing some great things! Here is an example of something creative that could be useful. Do not mock ideas! Make new ones. Here it goes.
Creative Idea: that would be terrible hard to accomplish but, so worth the hilariousness it would create for identity thieves and evil black hats. Idea super short version create a faux weak spot which will draw in hackers toward, as human nature dictates that we (almost) always follow the path of least resistance. Anyways, fake weak spot leads the hacker to a virtual space that they can't get out of for a week. I thought using a simple Mine Craft field with locigal puzzles and just really hard puzzles with fake boxes saying you are one step closer to getting out of here. Would draw the hacker to continue. But, there really is no exscape. By the time the person realizes this finding out who they are should be able to be accomplished. Then you can choose what to do from there.


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Warning Light On The Dashboard ?
There can be incidents of warning lights on the dashboard being caused by something very minor. However it advisable to take action immediately if you find a light on your vehicle's dashboard, that does not go out after the engine is started. Some warning lights may now constitute an MOT failure too.
Bridge Service Station can offer a fast Diagnostic service on almost every make and model of car or van from only £25 + vat. We will then provide you with advice and/or a full quotation to repair the fault and if appropriate, reset the system.


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With news of Salman Khan launching Chunky Panday's beautiful daughter Ananya making the rounds today, we just can't wait to see the gorgeous girl making her big screen debut. Reports suggest that she has already started grooming herself, working out with a trainer and following a diet prescribed by a nutritionist and approved by none other than Salman. It's believed that once she graduates (yes, she's still in her teens!) Salman may offer her a role. With this talk of launching star kids, we started thinking about which other Bollywood kids we'd like to watch onscreen. Here's our list!
Jhanvi KapoorSrivedi and Boney Kapoor's elder daughter Jhanvi has become a style icon for the younger generation. We would definitely like to see her grace the big screen!
Aryan KhanGauri and Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan was always a cutie, don't you think so?
Suhana KhanAnd their daughter Suhana is growing up to be a gorgeous young lady!
Navya Naveli NandaAmitabh and Jaya Bachchan's granddaughter is truly a vision, isn't she?
Sara Ali KhanWell, we would love to see that pretty face in Bollywood, for sure.
Karan Deol
Papa Sunny Deol is mighty proud of his boy, and why not! Karan has already started shooting for his big debut, directed by his father himself.
Krishna Shroff
Jackie Shroff's daughter has swag and she knows it.


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Happy Valentine's Day! I'm back for my first recipe of 2018 and have been struck by Cupid- I'm in LOVE with Classic Sugar Cookies!
Heya howdy hi hello! Been a while, huh? I took December and January off of blogging and writing recipes and did a heck of a lot of reflecting and learning. It had originally been my (admittedly last-minute) intention to take some time off during December and "come back strong" in January with concrete goals and renewed energy. But as I thought about it…
I realized I was aiming to start the year with renewed mental strength, just as I had in years past with dieting and disordered eating behavior.
Fearing that I was going to fall into an addiction transfer trap and not wanting to set myself up for failure and disappointment, I decided not to push it. Deliberately and decidedly, I started this year off with no goals for this blog. John and I did set some personal goals like "set boundaries to protect my mental health" and "clean the litter box more frequently" but we worked hard to set objectives that were meaningful and achievable.
That said, one "unofficial" goal I have for writing this year is to feature less healthy and green recipes and incorporate more decadent and delightful noms. I still love vegetables and eating wholesome, balanced meals makes me feel great. But you know what fills me with nostalgia and joy?
I can take zero credit for the original recipe for these classic sugar cookies. My mom has been baking them every single Christmas for as long as I can remember. She has a printed recipe titled "Beth Stiver's Sugar Cookies" (I have no idea who Beth Stivers is but I feel like I owe her a tray of cookies for all of the wonderful memories of my youth) but could probably bake them blindfolded.
One week in January, John asked me "Can we have sugar cookies besides just at Christmas?" and I was perplexed. It had genuinely never occurred to me to bake these outside of the holiday season. They were a treat after all, right? But how silly!
Why should cookies be limited to one time of year??
So cookies again it was! I've experimented with a few variations of veganizing the classic sugar cookies of my childhood and finally landed on a version I'm satisfied with. You'd never know they're vegan- slightly crispy, soft in the center, and smothered in fluffy buttercream frosting.
I may not have concrete plans for writing in 2018, but I do have a lot of plans for eating cookies. Cheers to that.
Classic Sugar Cookie cutouts with a light and fluffy buttercream frosting! Perfect for your favorite holiday or, even better, any day of the year!
- 1½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup (2 sticks) room-temp non-dairy butter, I use Earth Balance
- 2 Tbs. aquafaba (liquid drained from a can of chickpeas)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cream of tartar
- ½ cup (1 stick) room-temp non-dairy butter
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- 2-4 Tbs. non-dairy milk
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream sugar and butter.
- Add aquafaba and extracts and beat to combine.
- Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl and slowly add into the wet until combined, scraping the sides.
- Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat oven to 375F. Remove the dough from the fridge and allow to soften for about 30-60 minutes on the counter.
- Divide dough in half, generously flour work surface and rolling pin, and roll 3/16 inches thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out shapes. *I like to freeze my cut out cookies for at least 15 minutes at this step to help them keep their shape in the oven but it is totally optional.
- Bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper for 7-8 minutes or until golden. Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, beat the ingredients together with a hand mixer adding milk a little at a time, until smooth and spreadable. I decorated these cookies with finely crushed freeze-dried strawberries but feel free to use sprinkles or whatever floats your boat!


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The NGC Universal ID is a four digit alphanumeric that groups coins based on a unique combination of date, mintmark, denomination and striking process (MS, PF, or SP). These IDs are a simple organization of all coins prior to variety attribution and grading.
Rusty Goe writes piquantly concerning the 1872-CC silver dollar: 'This was the year that the delivery of new coin dies to the Carson City Mint was delayed when snowfall blocked the mountain passes. Superintendent H.F. Rice might have stressed over some of the other denominations, but silver dollars had not been produced at his mint for five months anyway, and apparently there was little pressure to manufacture more of them. When silver dollar production finally resumed in late February or early March of 1872, a mere 2,150 pieces were minted. This would suffice until the final 1,000 silver dollars for the year were struck in July, bringing the annual total to 3,150, the highest mintage for the three year run from 1871 to 1873.' (Rusty Goe, The Mint on Carson Street.)
Later on, concerning the eventual disposition of the issue, Goe says, 'It is not known whether the 3,150 1872-CC silver dollars were released into circulation, claimed by bullion traders, banks, or merchants, held in the mint's vaults, exported to China, buried in the ground, hoarded or melted--or a combination of any and all of the above. Regardless what happened to them long ago, it appears that no more than 10% of the original mintage survived to the early years of the 21st century.'
Goe closes by saying that of the four CC-mint Seated dollars, the 1873-CC is the rarest, followed closely by the 1871-CC, then the 1872-CC edges out the 1870-CC for third place.
Description and Analysis courtesy of Heritage Auctions and may not be republished without written permission.
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The Best Ways to Flaunt Your Backless Sari Blouse
Looking at the importance of blouse, they are available in various designs and patterns, which make it very fashionable. The designers from all across the country bring so many enticing variations and artworks to glorify the image of a woman. This is one of the best ways to allure people by adapting the blouse to the cuts and curves. In… Continue reading "The Best Ways to Flaunt Your Backless Sari Blouse"


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San Francisco– June 06, 2016 TapClicks Inc., a marketing technology company that delivers a complete digital marketing operations platform including order processing, workflow management, reporting and analytics, announced today it had been selected as a finalist for Red Herring's Top 100 North America award, a prestigious list honoring the year's most promising private technology ventures from North America.
Red Herring has been selecting the most exciting and promising start-ups and "scale ups" since 1995. Finalists are still evaluated individually from a large pool of hundreds of candidates based across North America. Twenty major criteria underlie the scoring and process. They include, among others: the candidate company's addressable market size, its IP and patents, its financing, the proof of concept, trailing revenues and management's expertise. Each company goes through an individual interview after filling out a thorough submission, complemented by due diligence from the Red Herring panel. The list of finalists includes some of the best performing and prominent companies of that year.
"TapClicks has become an industry standard for Media and Agency analytics and reporting. Deep collaboration with our customers revealed massive inefficiencies in their operations technologies beyond analytics and reporting" said Babak Hedayati, CEO of Tapclicks. He added, "By extending our solutions to include order processing and workflow management, TapClicks has delivered a unified Marketing Operations Platform, MOP, through which customers are experiencing extraordinary results in client retention and revenue growth".
This unique assessment of potential is in addition to a review of the company's actual track record and standing, which allows Red Herring to see past the "buzz" and make the list a valuable instrument for discovering and advocating the greatest business opportunities in the industry.
2016 will be remembered as a special vintage. "The finalists' list confirms the excellent choices made by entrepreneurs and VCs and the start-ups' solid roots in corporate America, embracing their innovations. By all metrics, it emphasizes the United States' entrepreneurial excellence," said Alex Vieux, publisher and CEO of Red Herring.
Finalist selections for the 2016 edition of the Red Herring 100 North America award are based upon technological innovation, management strength, market size, investor record, customer acquisition and financial health. During the several months leading up to the announcement, hundreds of companies in the fields of security, Web 2.0, software, hardware, life sciences, cloud, mobile and others completed their submissions to qualify for the award.
Finalists are asked to present their winning strategies at the Red Herring North America Forum in Newport Beach, CA., June 6 to 8, 2016. The Top 100 winners will be announced during a special awards ceremony the evening of June 8.


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In light of the new television series, The Playboy Club (Premiering on NBC September 19th at 10/9c), we've decided to make a list of our favorite Playboy appearances. Playboy appears in a variety of forms, from the magazine to bunnies to the Mansion to cameos by Hugh M. Hefner, the man behind the bowtie.
Though Legally Blonde isn't one of our favorite movies, or really a movie that we've seen more than once, we couldn't ignore its influence. Even before The Girls Next Door series made the Playboy brand popular again, Reese Witherspoon sports this classic bunny costume to what-she-thinks-is-a-costume party, and she rocks it.
Woody, a pool cleaner, tells two aliens, Wiploc and Zeebo, to go in the gas station and get some grub. For some reason, Zeebo is carrying a toy gun with him as the aliens barge in on the gas station attendant reading a Playboy magazine. Thinking he's being robbed, the gas station attendant hands the aliens the entire cash drawer and candy. Wiploc notices the magazine laying on the counter and grabs it before they exit.
House Bunny's plot revolves around a Playboy bunny who is declared too old to live in the Mansion anymore and is evicted. As Anna Faris's character works to figure out who she is without the support and dreams of Hef and Playboy, she finds herself at a sorority house (a mini-Mansion!) in need of a house mother. Hilarity ensues.


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A former American Youth Soccer Organization coach in Lancaster was sentenced Friday to more than 130 years in state prison for molesting 15 children over a period of 17 years.
Renoir Vincent Valenti molested 14 boys, six of whom were soccer players he coached, and a young girl between 1995 and 2012, according to a news release the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The 54-year-old was found guilty on February 27 of a total of 20 counts: five felony counts of continuous child abuse, four felony counts of lewd act upon a child, and four felony counts of procuring and offering false or forged instrument,
He also was convicted of six misdemeanor counts of child molesting, and one count of disobeying a court order.
The investigation into Valenti began in July 2012 when the mother of a 10-year-old boy said her son had been molested by the defendant.
Prosecutors said Valenti molested 14 boys, six of whom were soccer players he coached, and a young girl between 1995 and 2012,
The victims ranged in age from 8 to 12 years old.
At Friday's sentencing hearing, Valenti was also ordered to pay a total of $450,000 in victim restitution to be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life.


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new record "Jah Fire" Trinity & Downpressor
Hot biscuits from the oven, fresh from the presses, "Jah Fire" voiced by the one and only Trinity AKA Junior Brammer, dub by Tokyo's own Downpressor!
Its a bass heavy outing in a Satta style, Trinity puts in a sing-jay performance on the A side, the B side is a smooth echotronic voyage.
Now available in Japan, soon in UK and US, worldwide when they get there.


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Adding files to My Documents
Magistrates receive various Judicial updates, corrections and guidance from the Sentencing Council or their Justices' Clerk most of which arrive in electronic format either Microsoft Office Word or Adobe PDF format. We want to add these into our Sentencing Guidelines App either as a general reference of useful resources or specifically in support of specific types of offence. You can add most types of document into the App including scanned documents or pictures, Microsoft Office Word and Excel or Adobe PDF documents.


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Here's a quick behind-the-scenes video that I took when on the set of Elevate's Altitude Jr. series video shoot this week. Many of you have asked me "Where does Elevate shoot it's videos?" My answer: "Right here at Fellowship Church". In this video, you can tell our sets are printed and contain a few added 3D elements. You can also see the teleprompter for "Switch", the puppet ("Bivvy", the human girl character, memorized her lines, the puppet on the other hand…well, he can be very demanding.) You can also see the number of cameras we use and the directors table, with our director for this Jr. series, Sam Johnson.
This shoot has been a lot of fun and we can't wait to share Altitude with you and the kids in your ministry! Check out our ElevateAtChurch Facebook page for more behind-the-scenes pictures and updates of this upcoming series!


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Some fast links this morning, before a guest column rebuttal of yesterday's guest column…
The Red Sox continued their mini-slide yesterday afternoon, falling to the Tampa Rays 4-0 at Fenway Park as the offense was again shut down. You know it was bad, but did you know this series was a historically bad one for the Boston bats?
The Patriots play their second preseason game tonight, traveling down to Tampa to take on the Bucs.
Pats Pregame Points: Preseason Two At Bucs – Chris Warner gets us ready on Patriots Daily with a few pregame points of interest.
Patriots hope to continue progress – Mike Reiss has some areas of interest for tonight.
Patriots regulars set to play – Ian Rapoport says that we should see at least some of the Patriots projected starters tonight.
New England looks for a plan – Dan Cagen has Bill Belichick still trying to figure out who his starters will be.
Putting the 'Patriot Way' in perspective – Tom E Curran seems to be responding to a ludicrious 98.5 promo that has Tony Massarotti and Mike Felger angrily screaming that the 'Patriot Way' is "condescending", "arrogant" and "insulting."
Bill Belichick's Football Match.com Profile – Jerry Thornton tries to figure out the characteristic of the kind of players Bill Belichick looks for.
You Only Practice Twice – What's the deal with Albert Haynesworth?
Westmoreland faces live pitching for first time since surgery – Tim Britton reports on the Red Sox prospect facing live pitching, with Theo Epstein stating that they hope to get him an at-bat by the end of the season.
Vaunted Boston lineup suddenly punchless – Eric Avidon has the look at the slumping Red Sox offense.


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Back to Back Heavy Duty Nonfiction Calls for Dose of Not-Reality
So, I just finished In the Garden of Beasts after finishing Area 51: An Uncensored History. One is a book about World War II, specifically the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany as seen through the eyes of an American ambassador in Berlin and his daughter. The other is about the rise of black ops, covert surveillance programs, nuclear testing in the Nevada desert that began in the years following WW II.
Oof. That's a heavy dose of historical reality. Historical reality check? More like Reality body slam. Bring on the science fiction and fantasy. I'm ready for a break. Next up: Blackout and All Clear by Connie Willis, the duology that won this the 2010 Nebula Award for science fiction novel. Then Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord; Redemption in Indigo is up for a Mythopoeic Society award.
No more reality for awhile, thank you.


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'It Was Carnage': What Happened When Prince George Met His Cousin Mia
They may be mini-royals, but Prince George and Mia Grace are no different to any other babies, as they proved when they first met
Zara Phillips' husband Mike Tindall has revealed what happened when his baby daughter, Mia Grace, met her cousin Prince George. And it wasn't pretty. In fact, the rugby player described the royal rendezvous as 'carnage'.
Mike shared the deets with the Mirror, saying, 'I don't think Mia will remember that day. She was two months old, but it was great. It was carnage.'
It would seem that Mia, who's now four months old, was a victim of George's messy weaning stage. 'George was eating at the time,' explained Mike. 'He'd got to that stage where more food goes on the table than in his mouth.'
Mike said Zara is 'loving' being a mum and admitted that his bond with his daughter is developing all the time
But according to Mike, Mia wasn't fazed. 'Mia was just chilling and sleeping, she sleeps a lot, she's quite relaxed,' said Mike.
Mike and Zara welcomed their daughter at the start of the year and both seem to have taken well to parenting. Mike said Zara is 'loving' being a mum and admitted that his bond with his daughter is developing all the time.
'Once you get to four months and they start smiling at you, when you get interaction your bonds grow more and more,' said Mike. 'Like this morning I was playing with her and she smiles if you do something funny and it makes you feel good about yourself.
'What's at the top of my decision making is what's going to be right so I can spend time with Mia.'
The new dad admitted that it's hard to find the time to compare dad notes with Prince William, saying, 'He's too busy, we don't see him very often, he's so busy but I'm sure when we have a proper catch-up we might do.' We would love to be a fly on the wall at that man chat!
When did you first introduce your baby to your extended family? Let us know in the comments box below.


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The summer before I started college, I started writing a silly little story, simply motivated by the need for more diversity in the books I loved to read. I've lived with this story for more than 4 years now. I wrote on trains, in the middle of the night, in class. I wrote when I was sad and I wanted to live in another world. The story changed while I did, but through it all, it was something I could rely on. Every time I read a new book, I felt empowered to work toward my goal. "I can do that," I would always think. And now, after the most difficult journey of my life, I did. I did it. I wrote a book.
Tag: book
My First NaNoWriMo!
The concept of National Novel Writing Month – or NaNoWriMo – has also terrified me. Every November, writers embark on the task of writing a 50,000 novel in the span of 30 days…like I said, terrifying. But over the years, as I watched others take on this incredible project, I realized the true goal of NaNoWriMo was never to finish writing a book in a month and then immediately submit it to get published. Because that is quite impossible. However, there are a lot of great skills writers work on during NaNoWriMo, one of the main practices being discipline. That's what I decided to focus on.
Some of you may not know this, but I have been working on a novel for a few years now. Between being a busy college student and not having any sort of deadline, it has been difficult to find the time and motivation to finish. However, after graduating and developing a more reliable schedule, I wanted to making writing a priority again; specifically, getting this novel done.
At the end of October, my friend Katie – professional journalist, nbd – asked if I would join her in doing NaNoWriMo this year. I was hesitant at first for a lot of reasons, but mainly I was worried about failing. I didn't know if this goal was something that I was ready for, mentally and practically. My worried thoughts included What if I miss a day and fall behind? and I'll be so disappointed in myself if I don't finish. So rather than completely dismissing the opportunity because of the fear of failure, I decided I'd make NaNoWriMo my own. I told myself that, if nothing else, I would use the month of November to focus on getting back into the habit of writing. This meant writing every single day, setting a timer or word count, and keeping myself on track to figuring out an ending for this story I'd been working on for so long. I knew I didn't need to "win", I just needed to try.
So for the month of November, I wrote a lot. I wrote stuff that was completely irrelevant to my story and I wrote horrible scenes and basically typed out any nonsense floating around in my mind, hoping that somewhere in the mess I would find some progress. Thankfully, I did.
I didn't track my daily word count to reach 50,000, as most NaNoWriMo participants do. I simply promised myself that I would write for at least one hour every day. While some days were more and some days were less, I finished up the month much closer to finishing than I had ever been before. I fixed a lot of errors I'd been frustrated about and I cleared up some questions and I was finally able to conceptualize an ending.
So even though my NaNoWriMo experience wasn't as traditional as most, I'm so happy I did it. Maybe one year I'll attempt the word count and start from scratch, but this experience was exactly what I needed as a final push toward the finish line. I have had the same New Year's resolution for almost two years now: to finish this book. And while I didn't finish within the month of November, there's still a few weeks left of 2016. And I gotta say, I'm feeling pretty good about it…


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Sometimes I just feel like America is doing it wrong. Don't get me wrong—I am proud to live here—and I'm happy for all of the freedoms that we have. I just feel like I've seen other countries that have some things more…figured out. Look at the things we do to our environment—the way we continue Read More
Category: Travel
The Best Galleries and Museums in the World
This post contains affiliate links. I've lived a privileged life, I'm the first to admit it. I have a great love of the arts and am very interested in world history. In my travels, I've tried to make stops to visit the world's collections of amazing objects and art, and over the next few days, Read More
I Would Have Loved Paris in the Springtime…but…
Having just finished my big Holland trip, I've been thinking more and more about Europe. And remembering my last visit to Paris. When one thinks of Paris, various words might pop into your head. There are quotes, songs, movies – "I Love Paris in the Springtime", "Midnight in Paris", "Paris Holiday". How about these words: Read More
Must See European Museums
I was going to write today about the amazing European museums and galleries I've been fortunate enough to visit, but I realized that (a) I've already written about my experiences at the Zuiderzeemuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum; and (b) the only other gallery I've been fortunate enough to visit for an extended period Read More
A Romantic Trip to Québec City
In November, 2015, Hubs and I took a trip to Québec City, Canada. We'd spent a weekend down there five years before—our first weekend away together. Our second trip, this November, was to celebrate five years together. Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Québec. The town has a distinctly European feel—more Read More
Canadian Galleries and Museums
Today I'm continuing my series on the finest galleries in the world, and bringing you with me to check out my favorite Canadian galleries and museums. Most of my Canadian experience is limited to the provinces of British Columbia (because my sister is there), Ontario and Québec (as you know, we've been summering in Québec). I can't recall Read More
Bucket List Archeological Travel
I'm continuing today with my list of amazing museums and galleries worldwide. Today though, I'm going to tell you about some sites that will help you to experience living history. When I was around 16, I had the opportunity to join my school mates on a trip to Europe. We visited three countries, starting in Read More
Dream Big, Win Big
When I was in college, I volunteered to take my three very rambunctious cousins to the water park for the day. It was well over an hour drive to get there, and I needed something to occupy the boys, all under twelve at the time, on the trip. Fortunately, we stopped at a gas station Read More
10 Reasons To Visit Orlando's Universal Studios WITHOUT YOUR KIDS
I'm fresh back from Mom 2.0 in Orlando, Florida and whilst there, I made sure to take advantage of every amenity possible. I peed alone. I slept without interruption. I ate, not just one, but several entire meals while still hot. AND, because I was on a roll, I went to Universal Studios ALONE. And whilst Read More
My Fantasy Vacation
I spend a lot of time thinking about travel. A lot more time thinking about it than I actually get to do it. We've been planning our next vacation. High on the priority list: within driving distance and inexpensive. We've been looking at major cities within about an eight our drive of our home. We're Read More


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Wild Life
Someones got a zoo loose.
Directed by:
Eric Darnell
Tom McGrath
Rating: 7/10
Running Time: 86 minutes
US Certificate: PG UK Certificate: U
Talking animals have long been a staple of the animation industry. Be it Baloo in The Jungle Book, Simba in The Lion King or my own personal favourites daft doggy duo Ren & Stimpy, we can all reel off the names of many a cartoon critter gifted in the art of conversation. Dreamworks will be hoping, then, that in years to come well all be looking back on Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo with as much fondness as we do Nemo the clownfish, Thumper the rabbit or Winnie the er Pooh.
This latest attempt from Dreamworks to loosen the mighty Pixars stranglehold on the CGI toon market kicks off in New Yorks Central Park Zoo. Frighteningly low fences allow the beasts to chat freely with another, and its from doing so that zebra Marty (voiced by Chris Rock) decides he wants to make a break for the wild. His three pals tag along, but when they finally make it to the lush jungles of Madagascar they find freedom might not be all its cracked up to be. For one thing, lion Alex (Ben Stiller) seems to be developing the nasty habit of trying to eat his mates. The cheek of it!
Madagascar makes for a pleasant enough hour-and-a-half, but its fair to assume it wont be joining the ranks of the all-time classics any time soon. The story takes a bit too long to get into its stride, and the animation though technically perfect is visually underwhelming given the opportunities provided by such exotic locations. Whats more, the writing teams efforts at lampooning movies of bygone years (Castaway, Planet of the Apes and American Beauty are among those referenced) have all been seen before: frankly, its a lazy comedy tactic which is swiftly growing a beard.
On the up side, the film has some good gags, a lovely soundtrack and an enthusiastic voice-over cast. In fact, one of the stand-out performances comes from Ali G creator Sascha Baron Cohen as Julien, the hilarious king of the islands local lemur population. Its the little touches like those lemurs, and a crack team of escapologist penguins, that make the movie just about worth seeing. Certainly its bright colours and lively characters should be enough to keep most younger kiddies amused. Itll take more than this to get Pixar shaking in their shoes though.
It's Got: A penguin with a bottle of sun tan lotion.
It Needs: To up security at that zoo its almost as if those animals can just stroll out whenever they like!
Alternatives:Finding Nemo, Shark Tale, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, The Wild Thornberrys Movie
Dreamworks quest to find a non-Shrek vehicle capable of matching Pixar continues but Madagascar makes for a nice distraction in the meantime.


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Language Skills
Which programming language should I learn?
I see this question all the time.
In 2011, I think the answer is becoming easier than it used to. And that doesn't mean there's any one language that's "winning", or that's the language to bet on for the future.
No, in fact, the industry seems to be going the other way: There is no such thing as a "best" language, and there isn't even any such thing as a single language that's the best one to learn for any particular career.
In 2011, the skill you need is the ability to learn languages, because in almost any software development job you'll be working with more than one.
If you're a server side developer then the obvious choices for years have been Java and C#. But Java has been stagnating while lightweight alternatives have been becoming more and more popular. Like the venn diagram on that previous link shows, a lot of projects are done using ad hoc technologies (where the developers want to try building the site in Rails or ColdFusion or PHP).
So in 2011 my answer to "which programming language should I learn" is "any two".
One to learn all the basic programming concepts you need to learn – loops, recursion, memory management, and so on – and then another to learn how languages typically differ.
Because once you've learned two, the rest are easy.


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It has been said that happiness is a state of mind and a relative term. Our views on happiness are determined by our mental frames which are reflections of our own cultural orientation as members of a particular community. For Christians, happiness is not only limited to material happiness. The Christian concept of happiness goes beyond the material world and the satisfaction of our sensual needs. In fact, the Church's teaching on the 7 deadly or cardinal sins includes gluttony. The word "gluttony" comes from the Latin word gula which is derived from gluttire which means "to gulp down or swallow". Gluttony is the inordinate, over-indulgence, and over-consumption of food, drink, or material things that provide much pleasure to the body.
The Church does not discourage people to enjoy consumer goods that provide pleasure and material happiness to people. But consumption must be done in moderation. As embodied beings, we are entitled to the enjoyment of God's creation and human goods and services. But we must avoid inordinate attachment, i.e., our life is not tied up with material goods, we don't crave for things that are unnecessary in life and detrimental to our spiritual life with God.
In Church teaching, happiness is, above, spiritual in nature. True happiness is the spiritual joy of being in the state of grace and of knowing that one is following God's will. The happiness of parents of seeing their children praying or doing their duties in school is a spiritual joy that lasts in their memories even after death. The consolation we experience when we pray to God is a spiritual joy that can propel us to be with the divine in the afterlife. In other words, spiritual happiness is lasting, while material happiness is fleeting.
Material happiness has limits. We may have achieved our personal goals. We may have acquired much wealth and fame, but the end of the day we still remain mortal and moving towards our own death. The great Steve Jobs may have reached the pinnacle of success in business and innovation for co-founding the tech giant Apple. But when he was stricken with cancer and was dying, he acknowledged what that lingers in people's memory are not achievements, pleasures, and material success in life, but the loving memories of the things we care about that make our loved ones and other people happy. In other words, he is referring to our spiritual joys which are indeed lasting!
Material happiness is like eating our favorite cuisine. After we have savored it and satisfied our craving, the sense of pleasure immediately vanishes. And it is only a matter of minutes that we crave again for another type to continue the pleasure of eating. Some Roman gluttons were said to intentional vomit the food they just ate in order to feel hungry again and to continue to feel the pleasure of tasting their sumptuous meal.
The fleeting moment of material satisfaction can also be illustrated in buying a new luxury car. After using it a couple of days or would probably after a week, the excitement and pleasure of driving our dream car would immediately subside. And the desire of acquiring a new car which is better than the previous model would probably surface in our dreams. We enter into an endless cycle of craving and pleasure to satisfy our insatiable material desires. This also the case of people who find happiness in sex, drugs, and other forms of material pleasure. Material happiness is indeed very temporary.
Contrast this material pleasure with spiritual joy and happiness of helping and loving our loved one and people who are in need. Our loving memories of the good we do to others do not just fade away in our consciousness but can linger even up to our last breath. That's why people capture memorable moments in selfies, groupies, posts, videos, digital photos and pictures to remind them of their treasured happy memories. This is not say that we should disregard our material desires and suppressed them altogether, but we have to be conscious of their limits and not be imprisoned by our inordinate attachment to material pleasures, thereby losing sight of our spiritual journey in life.
Seeing life from the point of view of death has been recommended by great saints and thinkers. St. Ignatius of Loyola, for instance, recommended a meditation on death to make us more humble and see the limitations of our being or what the great philosopher Martin Heidegger calls a human person as a "being-towards-death", and to feel our vulnerability on the face of death and remove the last vintages of pride within us.
Again, Steve Jobs is one of the most innovative and charismatic leaders in the American business world and has been idolized by millions of his fans worldwide for his technological innovation and vision and for co-founding Apple and its innovative products. And yet, he has acknowledged the limits of success and accumulation of wealth. In the face of death, everything fades except our loving memories of people. In our dying bed, we recall these memories and thank our God for giving us the spiritual grace of genuinely loving other people, especially our family and friends or whoever that touched our life deeply.
Praise God for reading this post. If you feel that this post can help others, press click share! I pray that God will always guide you in your daily activities. God bless!
Photo credit: Pexels.com free photos


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The Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration say that very low levels of radiation have turned up in a sample of milk from Washington state. But federal officials say consumers should not worry.
The FDA said such findings are to be expected in the coming days because of the nuclear crisis in Japan, and that the levels are expected to drop relatively quickly.
Results from a March 25 milk sample taken from Spokane, Wash., show levels of radioactive Iodine-131 that are still 5,000 times below levels of concern set by the FDA, including levels set for infants and children.
The EPA said it is increasing the level of nationwide monitoring of milk, precipitation and drinking water following the crisis at the Japanese nuclear power plant.
That's the bad news. The good news is that Obama promised radiation will never reach the US. And Obama would never lie.


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Deer Valley Resort offers the excitement of NASTAR ski racing at its race course on Bald Mountain near the Silver Lake Lodge. All races will be held daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Dual GS venue (weather permitting).
NASTAR is the largest recreational ski race program in the world. Developed by SKI Magazine in 1968, and now managed by the U.S. Ski Team, NASTAR is available at over 120 of the nation's premier resorts. This fun, competitive and easily accessible racing program allows racers of all ages and abilities a means to compare themselves with one another, regardless of when and where they race. This is accomplished by establishing the National Standard on each NASTAR course and through a racer handicap system. Each time you race NASTAR, you could win a Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze medal based on the handicap you earn. On Saturdays (schedule permitting), race against the daily time posted by Deer Valley's NASTAR pacesetter, three-time Olympian, Heidi Voelker.
To expedite the registration process, please complete the NASTAR Registration Form and the Race Hill Release Form and bring them with you to the Race Course start facility.
For more information, please contact the Race Course start facility at 435-940-7230. You can also pre-register and check your race results online at nastar.com.
Phone Number (435) 940-7230
Email Us
Explore more services around Deer Valley Ski Racing and NASTAR in our Trip Planning section.