text:
Stoves, Candleholders
Three key causes of burns in impoverished developing-world homes, are cooking-stoves, room-warming devices, and candles or other non-electrical forms of lighting.
We believed the intellectual genius of George Long and Colin Vale was ahead of their peers in stove design, but both these South African inventors have been waylaid by rogues trying to rob them of their intellectual capital or trying to promote inferior, less well-thought-out products solely for business interests.
The stoves, heaters and candle holders that will eventually succeed, will be those whose inventors and funders both have compassion for burned children and a quest to reduce injury.
Only by caring about the repercussions of dangerous products, will inventors focus their minds to best effect.
The Vale and Long story became intertwined with Parasafe and a company called Promethea. The allegation of illegal export of intellectual capital by the supposed funders of manufacture was due to be tested in the South African High Court on 23rd November 2010.
Children of Fire wishes those two inventors well, most particularly because Mr Vale has lung cancer and the added stress of never reaping the rightful rewards of his ingenuity, cannot but further endanger his health.
In late 2010 the marketer of the Jompy water heater came to see us but did not wish to meet the burns survivors, so we declined the meeting.
However another set of inventors came to visit with the Moja Stove.
It is likely to be marketed to the South African public around March 2011.
From what we have seen, we think that the stove covers many safety aspects of concern, and we hope that it will be warmly received by the general public. It can use paraffin / kerosene and probably other liquid fuels too.
It is pictured here:
Inventors forum / News
Vincent Watters believes the solutions to shack fires lies in rapid heat rise monitoring rather than smoke detection. The travelling physicist for many years worked in South Africa but after a stint in Nigeria, from August 2008 he started working in Nakuru, Kenya. He is pictured here with burns survivor Bongani Madlala on a mid-winter visit to explain his concept to Children of Fire.
Safety Candle Holders
One of the common causes of shack and house fires is from candles falling over.
Do not think that if you live in formal housing, that you are immune from this danger.
In South Africa, there are increasing numbers of power cuts thanks to City Power and / or power supply parastatal Eskom's lack of contingency planning and equipment maintenance.
Electricity, sewers and roads are not top of the vote-winning speeches so securing or retaining "first world" infrastructure is sporadic.
Candle usage is also increasing rather than decreasing.
Designed by: Zorina Lorraine Adendorff - for details email: email@example.com
There is a mechanism at the bottom of the swirl holding the candle. The base makes it "almost impossible" to knock
over and it has a hook to hang the candle up if necessary.
Daniel Zilesnick with the design in 2006.
In Zimbabwe the chances of reliable electricity supply in the cities is worse.
And in many other African and wider developing world countries, candles will remain a primary light source.
But people in formal housing are less prepared for the dangers of candles because they do not use them on a daily basis.
In the meantime, building and furnishing materials have changed, exacerbating the dangers.
Some people think that it is romantic to bathe by candlelight.
They then forget the candle or "nightlight" that they left on the side of the bath and when it burns down or falls, it starts to melt the polymer bath, starting a house fire.
Other times people use candles to decorate a meal table or a bedroom and when inebriated, they become careless or forgetful - so the candle gets knocked over or is left too close to flammable materials.
If you are financially able to buy a fire extinguisher - and to get it serviced regularly - do so!
Candles will still remain a high risk object wherever they are used.
Candle manufacturers do include some small safety notices on the packets that they are sold in, but it would be safe to bet that hardly anyone reads these messages.
And in squatter camps people buy candles singly so they don't have a chance to see the safety warning.
As with ideas for safer stoves, there are a lot of different concepts around; the simplest are often the best.
Ever-inventive Colin Vale of Stellenbosch, Western Cape devised the "candle sandal" as a lump of candle wax in which a candle could be inserted; Afrimug of Steelport, Gauteng, made a Perspex-shielded candle holder that is very good - but it is too expensive for the mass market and it uses "dining" candles which are shorter than the candles bought by most squatter camp residents.
People choose by price and familiarity so for now, Afrimug's holder will only be a product for the camping market - see http://www.afrimug.com.
Every year a school boy or a little old lady thinks they have the solution to candle safety and visits us with another design idea.
There are beaten-aluminium-sheet candle holders, and rocking-metal-cradle candle holders and so on.
Most of the inventors would be more realistic if they spent a week living in a shack first.
Old-fashioned metal candle holders with a candle support on a flat saucer-sized holder and with a metal handle to carry them by, are still in use (but not widely sold) and they are preferable to candles stuck on china saucers or wedged in the necks of old wine bottles, but they are still dangerous.
And some people use glass-shielded "hurricane lamps" for light, fuelled by liquid paraffin or kerosene.
The flame is shielded, but the horrific injury from burning liquid fuel accidentally poured over the groin of an infant in Botswana is an image I will never forget.
It flowed into every crevice of skin but took just one careless second to knock over. The devastation is with those children for ever.
The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of South Africa favours putting candles in sand, inside old jam jars and the idea has much merit, not least because the holders are free.
Children of Fire has long been looking at re-tooling the mould of an existing plastic safety candle holder to improve some small design defects.
Plastic is easy to form into different shapes, is light and it is cheap.
The holders use recycled plastic which is environmentally friendly and follows the wider ethos of Children of Fire.
The patent-protected concept from inventor Rolf Krusekopf was a good idea, as the candle floated in water and if it fell over, the water extinguished the flame.
It was not the first candle holder where candles float in water, as these have been used for decorative effect rather than safety considerations, for a century or more.
For some years though, we have linked with Mr Krusekopf and provided safety candle holders to squatter camp communities (the UMashesha section of the website shows volunteers testing the device).
Now we are looking at the costs and the technical issues of re-tooling the mould to optimise the design, with financial assistance from National Brands.
It is easy for candles to get knocked over in the confined space of a shack and usually flammable materials are nearby, so a fire starts.
People use curtains as room dividers; they line corrugated iron walls with posters, newspaper and other materials that burn easily.
Also young children knock candles over and do not understand the imminent danger when they do so.
Often irresponsible parents leave infants alone on a bed (or a thick sponge sheet) with a candle by their side for light while the parent maybe goes out to collect water from the tap - or more frequently - goes out drinking with their friends.
The infant is typically locked in the shack (for safety...) and then when the candle is knocked over, people cannot readily get inside to help them.
So we will lengthen the shaft of the candle holder to ensure that from the moment the candle starts burning, water would extinguish it (it was previously a little short).
We will widen the base for greater stability.
And will add the words in raised letters: ALWAYS USE WITH WATER and in Zulu: NJALO USEBENZA NGAMANZI.
Finally we will add flame retardant chemicals e.g. MB 254 from Performance Master Batch or ML1B416 from Pigments Masterbatch, to the polypropylene, even though they increase the unit cost by nearly a sixth, because there will always be someone who can't read or doesn't listen, who might use the holder without water or enough water.
Thanks to Wayne Thompson of Parker Manufacturing (011 474 1989) for producing computer images of the re-designed candle holder.
Bronwen Jones, January 2007
One of the common causes of shack and house fires is from candles falling over.
Do not think that if you live in formal housing, that you are immune from this danger.
In South Africa, there are increasing numbers of power cuts thanks to City Power and / or power supply parastatal Eskom's lack of contingency planning and equipment maintenance.
Electricity, sewers and roads are not top of the vote-winning speeches so securing or retaining "first world" infrastructure is sporadic.
Candle usage is also increasing rather than decreasing.


text:
ASUS has launched WAVI, the world's first wireless HDMI kit to feature innovative two-way wireless USB control designed to stream PC content to the big screen TV. WAVI (Wireless Audio Video Interaction) is offered as a pair of devices that bridges the gap between the home office and living room. Watch movies, play the latest PC games, enjoy social networking or even do online shopping, all on the big screen TV from the comfort of a couch.
The WAVI HDMI streaming kit consists of a transmitter and receiver for two-way input and streaming. Unlike other wireless HDMI kits, the WAVI allows users to control the PC content in the living room with a wireless keyboard and mouse, thanks to wireless USB support. The WAVI operates at the wireless 5GHz band and provides up to 25 meters of coverage. Additionally, under the Extend Mode, users can continue working on the PC screen while streaming multimedia content to the living room TV – maximizing the use of a single home PC while also providing home entertainment experiences.
PC fun made easy on the big screen TV
The WAVI is easy to set up, with only an HDMI connection needed on each unit. Plug the transmitter end to the PC and the receiver end to a TV with an HDMI connection for wireless entertainment. Anything that can be enjoyed on the PC can now be enjoyed on the living room TV — stream high quality Blu-ray movies, play PC games lag-free, listen to music, keep up with friends on social networks like Facebook or Twitter or do some online shopping, all from the comfort of the couch.
- Model Name: WAVI
- Wireless standard: AMIMON WHDI Technology
- Antenna: 4 x 5 MIMO
- Operation Channel: 5 GHz
- Power Supply Transmitter and Receiver: 12V, 2A 24W adapters
- Power consumption: 24W
- Resolution: 1080p, 1080i , 720p, 576p, 480p
- 3D Videos: 1080p@24Hz
- Dimensions: 241 x 171 x 290mm
- Adapter and Cables:
- AC adapter x2
- HDMI cable x2
- USB cable x1

subset: commoncrawl


text:
DES MOINES (AP) — With the farm belt's soil recharged by melted snow and spring rains, farmers are anxious to start working the fields and planting seed for the 2013 crop season.
Above-average snow cover and a chilly, wet spring have helped restore moisture to many states burdened by last year's drought, which has eased large portions of Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Portions of drought-stricken Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska have seen some rain, but many counties remain woefully dry.
"The issue is now that we've got some good moisture in the top part of the soil, how is that getting into the subsoil which is very important for corn because corn does go down deep and tap into a deep moisture source," said Mike Hayes, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska.
The center's national weekly drought monitor report was released Thursday. It said the weather has likely recharged the top two inches of soil, which has made "moisture available to support planting and early emergence," but will take substantial continued rain to improve conditions further.
In Iowa, the nation's leading corn producer, a warm first week of April allowed farmers to get equipment ready and start tilling and applying fertilizer. Corn planting should get under way within the next two weeks as fields warm and dry from recent rain.
"We've had just over three inches this last week now, so the drought's definitely improving. We should be getting some more moisture built back in now," said David Klindt, 39, who farms 430 acres near Davenport.
He acknowledged his crop can only be successful if there is normal rainfall through the growing season.
"We'll have to keep getting timely rains," he said. "Last year the subsoil was full when we started the year. This year now it's better than it was but it's not 100 percent replenished yet."
East-central Iowa counties improved one notch on the scale from moderate drought to the abnormally dry category and central Iowa improved from severe to moderate.
Last year's planting season got off to a great start: Spring arrived early and farmers planted corn ahead of schedule. By June, however, the drought began to increase in severity and only intensified through the summer. About 60 percent of U.S. farms were in areas experiencing drought by the middle of August.
The latest drought monitor released Thursday shows eastern Iowa, northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin were removed from the abnormally dry category, as soil moisture has been replenished to near normal levels by snowmelt and rain.
The monitor has five levels of drought from the lowest level of abnormally dry up to moderate, severe, extreme, and exceptional levels.
Rain in Missouri helped parts of the state reach moderate drought conditions. Further north, some ice remained in lower soil layers and snow still covered most of North Dakota and parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, so those states' drought conditions were not changed in Thursday's report.
Heavy rain finally fell on much of north-central Plains this week, with a significant number of states likely receiving their greatest 24-hour rain totals in a year, the drought monitor report said. Next week's readings will reflect the change.
Illinois and most of Indiana and Ohio are free of drought, the report said. Improvements also were noted in western South Dakota and eastern Montana.
Most of Kansas, which saw large snowstorms last month, was left out of the heavy rain and much of the state is still in extreme or exceptional drought.
A USDA report Friday expects the season average of corn to run $6.65 to $7.15 per bushel, so it likely could be a banner year for the crop. In the recent USDA spring planting survey, farmers indicated plans to plant 97 million acres in corn — the most since 1936, when 102 million acres were planted.
Hayes said a major concern is whether pasture and rangeland used for cattle grazing in areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska will come back. If conditions don't improve, this will be Texas' third year of drought.
"When you start stringing droughts together like that, the impact tends to multiply," Hayes said. "One of the things we don't fully understand is how quickly rangeland and pastureland recovers."


text:
Soybeans were the upside leader today with New crop finishing 5 ¼ cents higher at $12.94 ¼. December corn finished 1 ¾ cents lower at $5.66 ¾ and July wheat finishing 4 ½ cents lower at 6.76.
Soybean strength is still fueled by the concern of production cuts in South America. It will be interesting to see if the USDA reduces their production estimates on the March 9th Supply and Demand report and if so by how much. The Feb USDA soybean production estimate for Argentina was 48.0 MMTs and 72.0 MMTs for Brazil. This is an overall 4.5 MMT decrease from the Jan report. Some of the numbers we have been hearing have been calling for another 6-8 MMT decrease in production which may be enough to set the market up for disappointment on report day. From what we have been seeing rains have been timely and favorable for many of these areas to close out their growing season and such a significant drop in production seems unlikely. We will have to wait and see how they come in.
May corn is still holding resistance below the trendline which started back in November (see chart). December corn is having a very similar pattern keeping it resisted.
Chart: May Corn
Chart: December Corn
The Weekly Export Sales Report was out this morning. Here are the results:
Estimated Range Actual
Corn 650,000 – 850,000 MTs 716,000 MTs
Wheat 500,000 – 700,000 MTs 509,100 MTs
Soybeans 400,000 – 800,000 MTs 976,400 MTs
Source: Reuter's Poll
The Spring Federal crop insurance prices are set at $5.68 for corn and $12.55 for soybeans. Now that these prices are set we want to make sure we have adequate downside coverage between your crop insurance, cash sales, and futures/options positions. The month of March will be extremely important with the Supply and Demand report on the 9th, but more importantly the Planting Intentions report which is on the 30th.
November soybeans have gained quite a bit back on corn (relatively speaking). Even with this move we believe corn acres will still be in that high range near 94 million acres. We see soybeans gaining about a million acres bringing our estimate to 76 million. We expect the market to add back in up to 9 million acres in the US and 6 million acres in Canada that didn't get planted last year due to weather issues. Cotton and spring wheat prices are likely to get "outbid" on additional acres by corn and beans due to the price advantages in the market this year. The USDA is forecasting a 1.623 billion bushel carryout for corn and 209 million for soybeans. These estimates are AFTER increasing demand sharply from last year. We certainly think demand may increase, but it will be AFTER the prices drop. In our opinion we are trading at very good prices compared to where we could be next fall if we get a normal growing season. Corn getting back to $4.50 and beans under $10 isn't so hard to believe with the potential production of this year. Also, the ethanol report again showed an increase in stocks and a decrease in production which isn't a great trend outlook from a demand perspective. We also have to remember that this is all at the same time that the specs are loaded up with net long positions.
For a free trial of the AMMO software and the EHedger research, please click on the signup link below.
Best Regards,
Trading commodity futures and options involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge and financial resources. The market information contained in this message has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed as to its accuracy or completeness. Market information may not be consistent with current or future market positions of EHedger LLC, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees or agents.


text:
Lights, camera, action!: One Button Studio offers video production with ease
Lights, camera, action!: One Button Studio offers video production with ease
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A new type of software at Penn State is enabling students and faculty to create professional-quality videos by simply pressing a button. The system, known as One Button Studio, bundles all the attractions of a professional production studio -- green screen, lighting, audio and cutting-edge camera equipment -- into a single set up that can be used to produce instant quality video.
According to One Button Studio project manager Justin Miller, for less than the cost of a high-end video camera, Penn State is now able to provide students with a full studio package that works by simply plugging in a thumb drive and pressing a button. And that simple formula is stimulating interest. Thousands of University Park students already have used the studio to create videos for class projects and other interests during the 2012-13 academic year. Faculty and staff have also begun using One Button Studio (OBS) -- generating an array of video-based lectures, modules and mini presentations for work, teaching needs and professional development.
"Video is becoming an increasingly common medium for student assignments in all disciplines," said Miller. "While mobile devices allow for simple video creation, instructional activities such as student presentations are greatly enriched with the use of a physical studio. That's why Penn State decided to streamline this experience and develop a solution that reduces the workflow to its most basic elements ... record and publish."
"Our aim is to share the One Button Studio setup with the national higher education community as widely as possible. Based on discussions with other institutions, this concept is really what everyone has been dreaming of for their campus."
— Justin Miller, One Button Studio project manager,
Penn State Information Technology Services
With the demand for OBS technology increasing, Penn State has begun deploying the studio throughout its campuses. Originally available in two locations at Pattee Library in University Park, One Button has already been launched at three additional campus locations across the state. In addition, Penn State has begun partnering with several other universities, including Abilene Christian University and Auburn University, to offer the technology more broadly to interested higher education institutions.
"Our aim is to share the One Button Studio setup with the national higher education community as widely as possible," added Miller. "Based on discussions with other institutions, this concept is really what everyone has been dreaming of for their campus."
To help drive the expansion, Penn State Information Technology Services (ITS) recently built a fully operational studio at Abilene Christian University in Texas where they continue to work closely with Abilene on improvements and upgrades to the system. The studio was set up as a smaller version of Penn State's One Button system, complete with automated lights, audio and camera operation specifically designed for presentation practice.
According to Melissa Marshall, senior lecturer in communication arts and sciences, the innovative technology can be used anywhere because of the ease of use and high-quality results.
"The amount of time spent on operating equipment is less than 20 seconds," she explains. "This simplified workflow ensures that my students can focus on the true objective of their exercise."
In contrast to a traditional studio -- which requires users to setup and operate a camera, position lighting and microphones, record content, then compress and save the file -- workflow for OBS operation is condensed into two simple steps. Participants need only plug in the thumb drive to initiate the camera, microphone and pre-set lighting. The press of a single button starts the recording. When the video is complete, it's saved on the thumb drive in a small and easy-to-use format as the system resets for the next user.
"It's kind of a hidden gem," said Kim Harrison, a recent Penn State mechanical engineering graduate, who used the studio to record practice sessions before speaking events. "This is really powerful technology that greatly simplified my production time when doing projects."
Given the success of OBS in its first year, efforts are already taking place to upgrade the overall system. The new version of the software will enable a full range of high-definition video cameras to be used, while reducing costs, improving video quality and enhancing the overall user experience.
"We want to push the envelope and see where this technology can go in the next few years," said Miller, who hopes to eventually see a variety of institutions, including public libraries, developing and incorporating OBS into their spaces.
"Imagine if someone was taking a World Campus course or a MOOC (massive open online course) class and was assigned a video project," he stated, "he or she could just go to the local library to shoot it in an easy-to-use environment."
"What we've done is make video extremely accessible to students," added Chris Millet, interim director of Education Technology Services at Penn State. "Given this system was used by several thousand students in only its first semester of operation, I'm confident we created a solution to a significant instructional issue. It's truly transforming the learning happening in these classes."
One Button Studio is a project of the ITS Teaching and Learning with Technology unit at Penn State. To learn more about OBS, visit http://onebutton.psu.edu. For more IT stories at Penn State, go to http://current.it.psu.edu/.


text:
I2C Pressure Sensor
From Openmoko
The BMP085 (Datasheet) from Bosch Sensortec is a simple, easy to use, pressure sensing device. It speaks I2C and includes a temperature sensor. Because of it's tiny size of 5.0mm x 5.0mm x 1.2mm it fits nice into the Freerunner. I glued mine into the empty space between the AUX key and the bluetooth antenna.
The sensor needs just four wires: power (3.3V, GND) and I2C (SDA, SCL). The wiki page about I2C describes where to get them.
An experimental kernel driver is available from gitorious. It searchs for the chip at I2C address 0x77 and exports a sysfs interface where you can read the temperature and the pressure as well as adjust the internal oversampling.
--Cmair 19:10, 30 September 2009 (UTC)
For other chips and ideas on how to use them see Variometer and Wish_List_-_Hardware_-_Atmospheric.


text:
Hi, I'm Petra. It isn't my real name -- just a name I've kept since high school German.
I've been role playing on and off for several years. There was a recent attempt to getting a D&D group started in my area but after buying the required dice the leader decided: "No. We're not going to and now I've lost my books so NYAH." (I've still haven't forgiven him for that. )
So yeh, I'm here 'cause I was member of bay12's forum and saw teh link. I love Dwarf Fortress and I love Warhammer 40k and I luv Chaos Space Marines and all things evvviiilllll.


text:
Protenergy Natural Foods Corp. expects to add as many as 100 workers to its Eastern Shore operations by next spring, the state announced Tuesday.
The Canadian food processing company, which currently employs 53 in Cambridge, is ramping up faster than originally anticipated. When it opened the site a year ago as its U.S. headquarters, Protenergy told the state that it expected to have 100 employees by 2016.
As part of the expansion, the company purchased the 67-acre site it had been leasing. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development said it assisted with a $250,000 loan and a state-backed loan guarantee on bank financing of $3.6 million.
Protenergy told the state that demand for the soups, broths and sauces made in Cambridge prompted the expansion. It expects an additional, smaller increase in jobs at the site after the upcoming hiring spree, bringing total employment to 180 by 2017, the economic development agency said.


text:
Events in The Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala
Upcoming guidad tours, events, work shops, conserts, theater and more in the Botanical Garden, the Linnaeus Garden and Linnaeus' Hammarby.
Dissertations are listed in DiVA.
Teknik och naturvetenskapCalendar RSS Subscribe to calendar
Note that although the calendar currently is filtered, the calendar subscription will be unfiltered.
Please follow these instructions to subscribe to the calendar in Outlook on Windows:
- Copy the calendar link.
- Switch to the calendar view in Outlook.
- Right click My calendars (or Other calendars), select Add calendar, select From Internet.
- In the dialogue that pops up, paste the calendar link.
- Approve the subscription.
The calendar is now available in Outlook. Check the checkbox besides the new calendar to view it.
For Safari on Mac, read these instructions.
In other calendar applications, copy the link and then follow the appropriate procedure.
Victoria in blossom
An opportunity to see the flower of the giant water lily, Victoria amazonica, and the pithaya in blossom. They open out at dusk, but not every night. Updates (in Swedish) on Facebook.
Opening hours: Thursday–Saturday 6pm–9pm. Due to the Covid-19-pandemic you have to book your ticket in advance, through email@example.com.
CANCELLED: Country Fair at Hammarby
Family day at Linnaeus' Hammarby. You can buy sheepskins, cheese, bread, vegetables and honey at the small and genuine fair, where there will also be craft stands and second hand sellers. The children can try on 18th century clothes.
Linnaeus as a teacher – guided your in his botanic garden
Come along and join a guided tour in Carl Linnaeus' botanical garden, a living textbook of the medicine and botany of the 18th century. Guided tours in Swedish at 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm and in English at 11:30 am and 2:30 pm.
Apple Days
Did you know that over 200 varieties of apples are grown in Sweden? Get to know a good quarter of them at the apple exhibition at Linnaeus' Hammarby. Find out which apples you have in your garden. Buy an apple tree cultivated from national clone archive trees.


text:
Conservation and Environment in Costa Rica: Monthly Updates
Conservation in Costa Rica Monthly Update March-April 2014
With the onset of the rainy season in the north of the country the end of the wildfire season in the Barra Honda National Park comes as well, however, there were still fires in places like Las Delicias and the Flower Hill. The staff of Projects Abroad is part of the group fighting forest fires in the park. This year we had fewer fires within the park than in 2013, but fighting fires is very tiring and sometimes we had to spend all day in front of the flames so they didn´t spread further into the forest. We were able to do this thanks to the support of volunteers who do things like clean the fire lines and supporting environmental education in the community.
The effects of el Niño y la Niña have been negative: until a few years ago it was very unlikely that tropical forests would be seriously damaged by fires because it rained most of the season and the moisture in the soil and organic matter prevented the fire from spreading. At present, the more the summer continues, the more forest fires will have the potential to damage the ecosystem due to its present fragility.
Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) Nest Site Protection
We are still awaiting the birth of the macaw and we continue to check the nest in search of good news. Normally they are born in May but this has been delayed. The work will include the monitoring of the nest, checking that the Gallinazo Tree (Shizolobium parahyba) is in perfect condition, and then reviewing the nest. Then the group must wait to see if adults come to nest.
This is a project where we seek to preserve the macaw species because these macaws are the only mating couple around, which is why we want to protect the potential hatchling. In previous years, the hatchling has been stolen by people looking for a little money on the black market and we are looking to prevent this from happening again. Our goal is to make the scarlet macaw population in the north of the country grow and continue protecting the important and wonderful scarlet macaw.
Nursery garden
I have good news, our nursery has been expanded to protect the different species of native plants we have in the area and now it has its own germination bed. This bed is used to germinate seeds collected from the forest so that we may plant the saplings when they are big enough. Every rainy season we have worked to plant these trees in wooded parks or communities around the National Park, as the water enhances their chances of survival. This year we hope to plant more than 3000 trees in the Barra Honda National Park, plus we are going to plant trees in other National Parks such as Marino Leatherback, and Humedadal Corral de Piedra.
Bandera Azul
This initiative is one of our flagship projects, the Blue Flag for schools in communities around the National Park. The ecological blue flag is an award given to the schools that engage in activities that help the environment and this project was started six months ago. Every day we have been working to build biojardineras (organic gardens), storage facilities and an area for compost schools.
The blue Flag is an award that very few schools have, it is also an education for children and each school has a blue Flag committee. This committee will be given an induction on how to follow the Projects Abroad guidelines. The idea being that over the coming years the schools and communities will be able to operate the programme independently where people in the community take care of these projects year after year.
Global Climate Change
Global warming is an issue that is affecting the whole world, for that reason Barra Honda National Park is in search of the blue flag for those protected areas where work is undertaken to decrease the use of energy. To this end it has created a committee of people who will be working to achieve this goal.
To date we have redone some water piping and are currently saving 608 litres of water daily which equates to 7.3 cubic liters of water per month. Our main goal is to make the camp sustainable due to the climate changes we are experiencing right now.
The Blue Flag is an award or badge that is awarded annually, which rewards effort and volunteer work in the pursuit of conservation and development, consistent with the protection of natural resources, the implementation of actions to address climate change, the search for better sanitary conditions and the improvement of public health of the citizens of Costa Rica.
New trail
One of the hardest jobs we have had has been the creation of a new path in the park. This trail is circular and crosses the main caverns of Barra Honda National Park. We have worked on the floor of the trail and in a line of stones that define the its borders. This has been one of the most strenuous jobs we've had, but all are happy with the progress of our work, as this path will be very useful for our research projects.
Anthony Ruiz
Conservation Manager, Costa Rica


text:
In particular, the jury is looking at the transcribed testimony of a number of Guzman's former associates. We look at some key players from the trial
The El Chapo jury is re-examining testimony from three key narcos. Here's what they told the court
Jurors are still trying to decide the fate of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, 61, having now gone through five days of deliberations in Brooklyn.
As they examine ten separate counts against the man charged with trafficking on a monumental scale, multiple conspiracies to murder, and obtaining $14 billion in ill-gained assets, there's no shortage of material to sift through.
In particular, the jury is looking at the transcribed testimony of Guzman's former associates. Among these are three Colombians whose confessions were central to the trial: Juan Carlos Ramírez Abadía, alias "Chupeta" or Lollipop, as well as the Cifuentes-Villa brothers, Jorge Milton and Hildebrando Alexander, or "Alex."
Here's a look at what they told the court.
Chupeta was a leader of Colombia's notorious Norte del Valle Cartel, which grew from the ashes of the Cali Cartel, which was dismembered by U.S. and Colombian authorities in the mid-1990s. Having disfigured his own face with surgery to conceal his identity, he cut a ghoulish figure on the stand in Brooklyn, and his testimony was fittingly horrific.
"It's impossible to be the leader of a cartel in Colombia without violence," the narco who was captured in 2007 after a period on the run in Brazil said on the stand, according to Rolling Stone.
Chupeta admitted ordering over 150 murders, including some in the U.S. In one case, he said he ordered one of his own cartel members killed, as well as 12 of the man's protection unit, because the man was an apparent snitch.
"If your drugs are stolen and you don't do an act of violence against the people who stole from you, they're going to keep stealing from you and then they're going to kill you," he said.
Chupeta was a crucial early presence in El Chapo's orbit, he said, outlining how his gang moved cocaine from Colombia to Mexico. First, it came by plane — sometimes a dozen a night — and later via fishing trawlers. From Mexico El Chapo, working then as a middleman taking 40 per cent, put Chupeta's drugs across the U.S. border.
If your drugs are stolen and you don't do an act of violence against the people who stole from you, they're going to keep stealing from you and then they're going to kill you
A series of Chupeta's ledgers were presented in court as evidence; northbound drug boats with codenames like Juanita 8, 9 and 10 were marked, for example. He lost two huge shipments, he said, after interceptions by U.S. authorities in 2004.
"That's a tragedy for me as a drug trafficker. In my entire history as a drug trafficker, I'd never had two ships seized by the United States," he told the court.
Chupeta even talked of a sea captain who, because of a cocaine psychosis episode, died in the Pacific along with one of his loads bound for Guzman.
"He started to see ghosts everywhere, American Coast Guard everywhere, and he sank the ship with my 20,000 kilos of cocaine. I saw all that sea and I became very sad. I said, they're never going to find it," he said, according to the New York Post.
He went on to outline a dazzling array of alleged bribes and scams which helped his cartel avoid capture. These included payments to those at the very top of Colombian government and policing, he said.
Jorge Milton Cifuentes-Villa
"Everything I've breathed and eaten in my life has been drug trafficking," he said on the stand, outlining his role at the heart of Colombia's Cifuentes-Villa criminal clan, one of El Chapo's main partner groups.
Jorge Milton said he had started in the trade in 1988, as an underling with the Norte del Valle Cartel, the same group as Chupeta. He said he was involved in the logistical side of things — making sure drug smugglers stayed sober, for one.
His own brother Francisco, murdered in 2007, had once been a pilot for Colombia's kingpin Pablo Escobar.
Jorge Milton wasn't fussy where his drugs came from; he sourced cocaine from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the now disbanded leftwing rebels known as FARC. But he was also cozy with the rightwing narco-terrorists of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, or AUC, for whom he admitted trafficking weapons.
Eventually things went sour with the AUC, he said. Having lived for a period in Texas in the mid-1990s, and then doing another stint in Colombia, he fled to Mexico in 2002 and went to Guzman. He did so, he said, both to get protection from the AUC and to traffic drugs with El Chapo.
He said Guzman wasn't easy to deal with, though.
El Chapo was being given advice that authorities knew about certain seafaring cocaine loads, he said, but insisted on pressing ahead anyway. This pig-headedness resulted in two huge consignments being caught by the U.S. navy and Ecuadorian authorities.
And you felt bad about that because you promised Flaco's father on his deathbed that you would take care of Flaco?
As well as the sourcing and shipping of drugs for El Chapo, Jorge Milton admitted in court, under cross examination, to ordering three murders.
"I feel responsible, that's why I confessed it to the government. But I didn't give the order to have him killed," he said of the murder of a cartel associate called "El Flaco," according to the New York Daily News.
"And you felt bad about that because you promised Flaco's father on his deathbed that you would take care of Flaco?" El Chapo's lawyer Jeffrey Lichtman, trying to undermine the credibility of the witness, asked.
"Yes, sir," Cifuentes said.
"Don Flaco's murder still weighs heavily on you?" Lichtman replied.
"And every murder that I have committed — yes, sir," Cifuentes-Villa concluded.
'Alex' Cifuentes-Villa
The second of the Cifuentes-Villa crime clan of Medellin to take the stand, Alex was the man who gave us the first insights into El Chapo's Canadian operations.
Having turned on El Chapo for a reduced sentence, Jorge Milton's brother said he "had a friend who was Colombian-Canadian and he had clients there," and so first started running the Canadian angle for El Chapo from 2008.
He had gone to live with El Chapo in the mountains in Sinaloa in 2007, he said, as a "guarantee" for drug money that El Chapo was sending to Colombia. The Mexican drug lord at that point sourced his cocaine from the Cifuentes-Villa clan and the Norte del Valle Cartel, and Alex was being used as his collateral.
Alex would coordinate deliveries to Canadian and U.S. wholesalers, he said, and once the cash was obtained, he would then make sure it was sent back to Colombia and Ecuador.
He said the group used various methods to get cocaine north: 6,000-kilogram loads from Ecuador to Canada via the Pacific; overland routes from Mexico into the U.S.; cocaine sent from Phoenix and L.A. north by truck to Vancouver; and even loads sent by helicopter over the U.S.-Canada border.
Alex also outlined a chilling plot to kill Stephen Tello — a Canadian former real estate agent that El Chapo suspected was stealing from the Sinaloa Cartel.
Transcripts obtained by the National Post show Alex detailing another Canadian relationship — an agreement for cocaine, heroin and crystal meth deals with a man he called "Tony Suzuki." This is believed to be Antonio Pietrantonio of the Montreal mafia.
Alex also appeared to back up Jorge Milton's instincts that Guzman did not have the tact needed to run a highly clandestine operation.
"What happened to the next shipment of cocaine from Ecuador?" he was asked by a prosecutor at one point.
"The next shipment was actually the same amount, 6,000 kilos, and it failed," he said.
"When you say 'it failed,' what do you mean?" came the response.
"That it was seized by the American Coast Guard."
"Now, what, if anything, happened right before that boat with the second shipment of 6,000 kilograms was seized?" the prosector asked.
The next shipment was actually the same amount, 6,000 kilos, and it failed
"Well, my brother didn't really agree for the boaters to go out and load up the ship around those days because there was a lot of surveillance by the Coast Guard; and Joaquin, through his nephew, Frank, was reporting to him that that was a lie, that there was no surveillance. Joaquin said that he would respond for that trip and that they should just get it out any possible way."
Alex was then asked how Guzman reacted when the shipment was in fact taken.
"He was very quiet," he said.
As well as offering a peep into the huge drug ring's smuggling routes, Alex provided deep insight into how Guzman's mountain hideouts were manned, and the lengths the group went to to ensure their safety. There were three rings of armed security guards, he said, as well as teams of maids and girlfriends.
"They had electric generators which generated electricity, obviously. We had Sky, the satellite (TV station). We had plasma TVs, DVDs, washer, dryer, refrigerator; everything that was needed," he said.
Alex said the boss, El Chapo, moved around in a golden Chevy Suburban with tinted windows. Once, at his birthday in April 2008, El Chapo was given cars, motorbikes and a white armoured pickup truck. Pride of place, though, was a camouflage-colour Hummer with his initials, JGL.
El Chapo wore camouflage all the time, he said, and kept a camouflaged R-15 as well as a handgun with JGL on it.
"It was a medium size and it had a grenade launcher with 40-millimetre grenades. He carried a belt with his black, .38 super gun, with his initials in the handle. And with diamonds," he said.


text:
Would you like to see this template in WordPress?
Template InformationPLANETTA is a multi-purpose responsive HTML & CSS3 template which is suitable for any kind of business, studio, portfolio Or just a personal website. The template is using the latest CSS3 & jQuery techniques. It is also compatible with all modern mobile devices.
Drupal Version: http://themeforest.net/item/planetta-responsive-drupal-theme/2902882
One of the best template out there
by arkgrafik
great theme! works really well on all devices
by jeffer
Super Responsive – Scan to see it on action!
Resize your browser on your desktop to see the responsiveness in action or if you have your phone/tablet scan the QR code above.
Key Features – Some of its attributes
- Responsive layout
- Change to any main color in seconds
- SEO – friendly
- Filterable portfolio
- PSD Included
- One-page video showcase
- Lightbox for portfolio items preview
- Rich styling elements
- Detailed help documentation
- Google Fonts
- Valid XHTML
- Cross browser compatibility
- Social icons
- jQuery enhanced
Updates – Next update on Sep 2, 2012
v1.0 - Initial version (Aug 17, 2012)
Your rate is important
We put a lot of hard work in our products. We would appreciate if you'll rate it


text:
Easy peasy lentil curry
Nutrition and extra info
- Freezable
- Healthy
- Vegetarian
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal432
- fat10g
- saturates1g
- carbs76g
- sugars0g
- fibre6g
- protein14g
- salt1.38g
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
Sunflower oil
Sunflower oil is made from pressing sunflower seeds and extracting the oil. It's usually…
- 2 medium onions, cut into rough wedges
Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…
- 4 tbsp curry paste
- 850ml vegetable stock
- 750g stewpack frozen vegetables
- 100g red lentil
The lentil plant (Lens Culinaris) originates from Asia and North Africa and is one of our oldest…
- 200g basmati rice
- turmeric
Turmeric is a fragrant, bright golden-yellow root that is most commonly seen and used dried and…
- handful of raisins and roughly chopped parsley
- poppadums and mango chutney, to serve
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook over a high heat for about 8 minutes or until they are golden brown. Stir in the curry paste and cook for a minute. Slowly pour in a little of the stock so it sizzles, scraping any bits from the bottom of the pan. Gradually pour in the rest of the stock.
Stir the frozen vegetables, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the lentils and simmer for a further 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables and lentils are cooked.
While the curry is simmering, cook the rice according to the packet instructions, adding the turmeric to the cooking water. Drain well.
Season the curry with salt, toss in a handful of raisins and chopped parsley, then serve with the rice, poppadums and chutney.


text:
Read MoreWhen I think of Forever, I think of responsibility and I think of integrity because these are the only two values with which you can create something that is going to be timeless.
As the sun set over the Gateway of India, Forevermark and Sabyasachi Mukherjee unveiled the beautiful new Zanyah™ Collection in Mumbai. Take a look at the exclusive preview event held in the Taj Mahal Palace ballrooms.Read More
Learn More About Forevermark
Forevermark brings you the world's most carefully selected diamondsLearn More
Less than 1% of the world's natural diamonds can become ForevermarkLearn More
Responsibly Sourced
Learn how Forevermark diamonds are Responsibly SourcedLearn More
Store Locator
Find an Authorised Forevermark Jeweller near youLearn More
Contact Us
We're here to answer your questions and help you find the perfect diamond. E-mail or call us on 1.800.210.2121Learn More


text:
There is a fundamental problem with the way President Obama has governed.
Since taking office, he has systematically put forth policies the American people do not want. The net result is a crisis of confidence and legitimacy in the American political system and our institutions.
The president is now at record low levels of approval—close to 40 percent overall, and in the mid- to low 30s among swing voters.
The GOP now holds a six- to seven-point advantage in the generic vote for Congress—which, come November, almost certainly will give the Republicans control of the House and make control of the Senate a real possibility as well.
A majority of voters now believe that Obama has failed on the federal budget deficit, reducing government spending, changing business as usual in Washington, and the economy.
Put simply, we are looking at an unprecedented electoral blowout because the administration has made a systematic set of bad decisions that have had an adverse impact on public opinion.
Indeed, those closest to the president have made clear that he is pursuing policies that do not have the support of the American people.
A majority of voters now believe that Obama has failed on each of the 12 issues tested on the August 2010 Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, particularly the federal budget deficit, reducing government spending, changing business as usual in Washington, and the economy.
And in an extraordinary survey of 1,100 likely voters that has gotten little attention or publicity, the president's own pollster, Joel Benenson, has shown clearly and demonstratively that the administration's policies and general approach to governance not only have failed, but also have not addressed the American people's fundamental concerns.
The Benenson survey shows that the administration's approach is fundamentally at variance with the one voters desire. Voters favor tax cuts over government investment by a clear majority and are looking for candidates and parties that champion fiscal discipline, limited government, deficit reduction, a free market, pro-growth agenda, and comprehensive plans to create employment opportunities, enable entrepreneurship, and aid business creation.
Indeed, when asked which approach to strengthening the economy they prefer, 54 percent of the respondents in the Third Way/Benenson poll preferred cutting taxes for businesses to help jump-start private sector job creation and economic growth, while 32 percent said they prefer making new government investments.
Just 14 percent of respondents said the government is doing a good job handling problems such as inflation and unemployment, compared with 41 percent who say it's doing a poor job. Meanwhile, 43 percent of the respondents said the Democrats in Congress support a failed economic agenda, while 34 percent said the same of the Republicans.
Confidence in the president and congressional leadership's economic policies are the lowest they have been since the start of the Obama administration.
A majority of respondents in the Third Way/Benenson poll said the steps taken by the president and Congress on the economy over the past 18 months have hurt the national economy and made it weaker.
There is a widespread perception that the health-care legislation is going to increase rather than reduce costs and has put government in a position that does not emphasize deficit reduction and reining in spending.
• Peter Beinart: Grow a Pair, DemocratsSixty percent of all voters now favor repeal of the health-care bill, and more voters say they are likely to oppose a lawmaker who backed the president's health-care initiative than those who say they would support such a candidate.
The crisis in confidence has led to economic dislocation at an unparalleled, unprecedented rate. Since April, 1,155,000 unemployed people dropped out of the active labor force and were not counted as unemployed. Had they been counted, the unemployment rate would have been 10.2 percent in July, rather than 9.5 percent.
Consumer confidence is plummeting as a result. The latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumers found that consumer confidence dropped in July to its lowest level in nine months.
Voters are worried about the cost implications of the stimulus, as well as the effectiveness of Obama's job creation policies and the expansive deficit, a trend that is likely to be exacerbated with the national debt now exceeding $13 trillion.
For consumers, a "weak job market, heavy debt burdens and lacking political leadership are adding to consumer caution," Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan says in its July survey of consumers.
As a result, consumers are reluctant to spend, entrepreneurs are reluctant to invest, and employers are reluctant to hire to the degree necessary to spur economic growth.
This crisis in confidence is pushing voters to support Republicans and widening the enthusiasm gap between the two parties.
At this point, Democratic support has been so depleted that the only option voters have is to support a largely but not entirely discredited GOP.
But make no mistake: Neither party is perceived to have offered a comprehensive set of policy initiatives based on fiscal discipline, limited government, deficit reduction, and a free market, pro-growth agenda.
Voters are no more confident in the Republican leadership's agenda than the Democrats'—the GOP is seen as the "Party of No," failing to offer anything except across-the-board opposition to Obama's policies.
Indeed, the Third Way/Benenson survey found that one-third of the electorate believes the GOP has no economic agenda. Moreover, when voters were asked to identify which party "cares about taxpayers," "Is trying to create economic growth," and "is on your side," the Republicans trailed the Democrats in all three.
And in the August 2010 WSJ/NBC news poll, 43 percent of voters said they are concerned "that the Republicans have offered no specific plans or programs to deal with the issues facing the country so it is hard to know what they would do if they were to win the majority in Congress."
And indeed, it is because of this finding that the administration and the president are increasingly becoming partisan and political in their approach.
But the swing voters who hold the fate of the Democratic Party in their hands care about three things first and foremost: reigniting the economy, deficit reduction, and job creation.
Looking ahead to the November midterm elections, more than twice as many voters said they would prefer a candidate for Congress who will start from scratch with new ideas to shrink government, cut taxes, and grow the economy (64 percent) over one who will stick with Obama's economic policies (30 percent).
Winning the votes of swing voters will require a bold new focus from the president and the Democratic Party. They must put forth a set of focused initiatives aimed at reducing the debt, and cutting spending, with an emphasis on tax cuts, fiscal stimulus, and a series of initiatives to stimulate and encourage job creation.
They must abandon their failed policies and adopt a bold new commitment to fiscal discipline and targeted fiscal stimulus of the private sector and entrepreneurship. Finally, they must accept the fact that only private enterprise can create jobs—more stimulus money is not the answer.
If the Obama administration is unable to change the widespread perception that it's not interested in reducing spending, taxes, and regulatory burdens, the president's hopes of winning re-election, as well as the Democrats' prospects for success in this fall's midterm elections, will disappear.
Douglas Schoen is a political strategist and author of the upcoming book Mad as Hell: How the Tea Party Movement is Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System to be published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins on September 14.


text:
Jalapeño Kicker Sandwiches Could Be Coming to a McDonald's Near You
If there's a trend at McDonald's, it's towards introducing more spicy items to the menu. Hot on the heels of the new Mighty Wings comes news that a line-up of four new Jalapeño Kicker sandwiches has been tested at McDonald's locations in Maryland and Colorado, and rumors are swirling that come 2014, they could pop up at a McD's near you.
The four new spicy sandwiches include the Jalapeño Kicker Quarter Pounder and the Jalapeño Kicker Premium Chicken (available with a grilled or fried chicken filet), both of which feature a triple-hit of jalapeños: jalapeño pepper jack cheese, crunchy jalapeño crisps, and pickled jalapeño slices, along with cream cheese sauce, tomato and lettuce. Spicy new additions to the breakfast menu being touted as "better than an alarm clock" on Twitter by Colorado McDonald's include a jalapeño and white cheddar cheese McMuffin and a jalapeño white cheddar cheese biscuit.
Have any SE'ers been able to snag one of the new sandwiches? Let us know your thoughts about these new creations in the comments.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


text:
Duece Poppi - My White Friends [User Submitted]
The official music video for "My White Friends" by Slip-N-Slide Records recording artist Duece Poppi.
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
Knitting Needles
Knitting Needles - Wooden, Plastic, Metal & moreFrom Wooden, Metal & Plastic to Circular, Children's and Cable Knitting - Needles are available in abundance here at Abakhan. Using the correct needle size will ensure accurate sizing and stitch definition. Browse our wide range of knitting needles at Abakhan and find the perfect needles for you.
Pony Knitting Pins 30cm x 8.00mm£3.05 per pack.


text:
Actor Emily Bergl '97 — LIVE!
Emily Bergl '97 may be Hollywood's most famous Grinnellian actor of her generation. Perhaps best known as Annie O'Donnell in the television show Men in Trees, Beth Young in Desperate Housewives, and Tammy Bryant in the drama series Southland, she's also acted in movies and on stage and made guest appearances on many popular TV series.
Last fall she made a guest appearance on campus to perform her one-woman cabaret, Kidding on the Square, and talk to Grinnell students about being a liberal artist in Hollywood. Look for Summer 2011 issue of The Grinnell Magazine and its article on Bergl in your mailbox soon.
Meanwhile, here are a few of her thoughts on acting, life, and Grinnell to hold you over:
On image and integrity
Sometimes it's odd for me to spend so much time on how I look. I was very rebellious about that at the beginning, and it probably cost me some jobs. But as you get older, you realize that you have the integrity that you have and that putting on a nice dress doesn't compromise you.
On money
If I'm evaluating a project, I'm not looking first at how much it pays. But one must get by in the world, and it's so much easier if you can get paid for your work and you don't have wolves at the door. If you want to be an actor, have your eyes on the prize of making a living with your work, because you'll have more opportunities to thrive.
On Grinnell students
Students are more open than when I was here. People say "Oh, the Internet, no one talks to one another anymore." But you're all very gracious.
On leaving and returning
I had a very touching moment with Ellen [professor of theater Ellen Mease] when I graduated and left for New York. She said "Emily, I wish you well. I've always found New York to be a Dickensian, Juvenalian megalopolis." I had to look up Juvenalian. The other two I knew.
Coming back here has been like some teenage fantasy. I couldn't have imagined it any better. I think you're so wonderful. I wish all audiences were like this. I don't want to say goodbye.
You can catch Bergl performing Kidding on the Square at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco on July 24, and at the Algonquin Hotel in New York August 30 – September 10.


text:
Anywhere She Lays Her Head
Between possibly getting engaged, starring in movies that aren't as good as Ghost World, getting hot and steamy with Justin Timberlake, and acting as a modern-day Betty Grable visiting the troops in Kuwait, it'd seem that Scarlett Johansson's dance card is totally full.
But in news that pretty much has the entire world's panties in a bunch, Johansson's been busy putting the finishing touches on a solo album. No big deal, you say? Then smoke on your pipe and put this in: it's a solo album of ALL TOM WAITS SONGS.
To the casual observer, this in itself is pretty nuts. But to longtime Tom Waits fans, it's even more insane, like Jesus coming back and ordaining Waits as the official MC for the resurrection. To further spark those indie-nerd juices, Johansson hit the Louisiana studio with the Yeah Yeah Yeah's Nick Zinner on guitar and TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek on production.
The track listing's not been made available yet, but speculating about the hundreds of song choices available is half the fun ("Pasties and a G-String"? "Christmas Card From A Hooker in Minneapolis"? "Better Off Without A Wife"?).
Mark your calendars: the album, called Anywhere I Lay My Head, is due out on May 20 via Atco Records.
Tags: atco records, betty grable, scarlett johansson, tom waits


text:
Events Calendar
Primary tabs
For lectures to programs for children, come visit us at one of the library events and programs listed below. For more information, call 615-862-5750 or 1-800-342-3262.
The Tennessee Disability Coalition is conducting focus group discussions to gather perspectives on how people want to engage with their elected officials at the federal, state and local levels.
These groups will consist of 6-8-people and last from 60-90 minutes in various parts of the state. All discussions will be anonymous with no attribution of comments to specific individuals. The dates, times and locations are listed on the flyer.


text:
This is a one of a kind, hand carved fretless, short scale bass a friend of mine made for an art college project over 10 years ago. He gave it to me as a birthday gift a couple of years ago. He wasn't a luthier, just a creative genius. He happened to burn the prototype for heat one winter, so it's really the only one of its kind in the world.This is another one that was posted on the Guitarz Facebook page. Please feel free to post your own pictures there!
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!


text:
Hungary´s economic growth is expected to rebound in 2017, after a slowdown in 2016, but the high level of external debt remains a major weakness.
Political situation
Head of state: President Janos Ader (since May 2012)
Head of government: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (since May 2010)
Population: 9.8 million
Relationship with the EU remains troublesome
The ruling conservative coalition of the Fidesz and KDNP parties under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has repeatedly taken actions that led to confrontations with the EU commission and its EU peers (e.g. a controversial media law, some constitutional amendments curbing the independence of the judiciary, and a tough stance in the migrant policy, together with a lack of willingness to accept the mandatory quotas for refugees passed by the EU.
Together with some unorthodox economic policy decisions like additional taxes on banks, the government's repeated confrontations with the EU have led to some uncertainty among its European peers and international investors.
Economic situation
Slower growth expected in 2016, followed by a rebound in 2017
Hungary´s GDP growth is expected to slow down to 1.8% in 2016, mainly due to lower public investment (lower disbursement of EU funds). That said, economic growth is sustained by increasing private consumption (up 3.7%). Household consumption growth is driven by wage increases, lower taxes and lower unemployment (down to 6% in 2016). The rising employment rate is mainly due to hiring in the private sector and expanding public work schemes.
In 2016 export growth is expected to slow down, but still remains robust (up 5.2%). The current account is expected to remain in surplus in 2016 and 2017.
In 2017, growth is forecast to increase by 2.6% as private and public investments will pick up again, while private consumption remains solid. Risks stem from the eurozone rebound coming to an end and a cooling down of world trade, which would hurt Hungarian export growth.
In H1 of 2016 the central bank of Hungary decreased the benchmark interest rate twice, to 0.9% in July 2016, in order to counter decelerating inflation and to spur economic growth. After deflations in 2014 and 2015, (mainly due to regulated household energy prices) consumer prices are expected to grow again, by 0.9% in 2016 and 2.1% in 2017.
The government has proven committed to fiscal discipline so far. Containing the budget deficit within 3% of GDP is a top priority of the administration in order to avoid EU sanctions. However, since 2010 the government has been using unorthodox ways to balance the budget, most notably extraordinary taxes on banks and utilities. The budget deficit is forecast to remain below the 3% threshold in 2016 (2.6% of GDP) and 2017 (2.7% of GDP).
High debt level as a major weakness
Hungary's major weakness remains its high level of external debt of more than 100% of GDP in 2015. A large share of it is foreign currency denominated, which exacerbates the problem, as a weak forint hurts many Hungarian households and businesses whose loans are denominated in foreign currencies. Therefore, Hungary remains highly vulnerable to international investors sentiment and currency volatility.


text:
Custom 3" Button Pins
Create your own button pin here
or choose from our categorized designs to start personalizing:
Custom button pin specifications:
- Round shape in three size option: 1", 2.25", 3" in diameter.
- Personalized photo and artwork are top quality printed on premium white paper and then pressed on a professional button machine.
- Covered with scratch- and UV-resistant mylar coating to protect and preserve the design.
- Metal shell with safety pin metal back.
- Pin-back button has a metal pin for fastening to clothing, backpacks, jackets, hats, purses, bags, etc.
- No set up fees. No minimum order.
In Stock


text:
"The Odd Life of Timothy Green" is an odd film indeed.
It's certainly a family movie, as it's rife with wholesome values, life lessons, and morals. It's also a very (very) simplistic story, so it wont go over children's heads. But I wondered as I was watching it if children would be bored by it… or if this kind of "touching" movie was something they'd like. I wound up having trouble pegging what age range it would be good for.
For adults, this is a movie where you're not supposed to think, you're supposed to feel. The picture is less worried about telling you a story than it is about orchestrating an emotional response.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, that takes more than clichés and music and tropes like falling leaves and beams of sunlight.


text:
(Costa Mesa, CA) January, 2014 – Is it possible for a person to love two people at the same time? Is it possible to love one person forever, or is monogamy an outdated concept? Is love a spiritual bonding between two souls, or is it just a chemical reaction between compatible pheromones? These are important questions, especially in a generation where divorce remains to be above 50% and threatens to increase as time goes on. Zoe Kazan seemed to be a potentially ideal creative candidate to delve into these questions—and possible answers—with her latest work, Trudy and Max in Love, which is making its world premiere at South Coast Repertory; Kazan not only has an impressive background as a Broadway actress, she is also an accomplished screenwriter and playwright. With these accolades and talents, as well as being thirty years old, Kazan could shed some light regarding the problems her generation faces when it comes to love and relationships. But the final results are shockingly unsatisfactory. Zoe Kazan's amateurish, shallow script, the lackluster acting, and Lila Neugebauer's sterile, anemic direction makes this show the most disappointing production during SCR's 50th Anniversary.
It is a simple set up. Published authors Trudy (Aya Cash) and Max (Michael Weston) meet for the first time in a Brooklyn writer's room. She's happily married to a journalist who travels a lot; he has a girlfriend in Los Angeles that has "some problems." They both click as friends, but there's also a sexual attraction that builds. Seemingly romantic feelings start to build for both parties. Finally, they have an affair that changes both of their lives forever, especially for Aya since she starts questioning whether the idea of long-term love between two people (aka a monogamous relationship) is actually possible. Accompanying Max and Trudy on this road of self-discovery are "The Other Man" (Tate Ellington) and "The Other Woman" (Celeste Den), where the actors portray different characters throughout this story.
The key lynchpin to this play's failure as a dramatic narrative is its overall story structure. An earlier version of the play's title was Trudy and Max in Love or That Forever Feeling (an affair in twenty-four scenes). The entire two hour and fifteen work is broken apart into 22 scenes (I guess that explains the title change); according to the theatrical notes, this was done in the effort to create an episodic feeling of a memory play, where it "is evocative of how someone might remember the events that comprise the story of a relationship, recalling pieces of conversations or fragments of a shared moment." A very unique approach to this topic, but in the effort to break the narrative into so many scenes, the overall rhythm of the story becomes less episodic and more choppy, inconsistent, and unpleasantly jarring. Because of this erratic structure, the lead characters—on the page and on the stage—lose their romantic chemistry, resulting in the question as far as why these characters like each other in the first place. There are scenes between Trudy and her therapist, but her ranting, profane-laced monologues don't delve into her unhappiness; the dialogue just hovers out in the quiet space of the theatre. It is all emotion, no dramatic context. There is no depth to Trudy and Max, especially with regard to their dialogue, which demonstrates such lack of realistic substance that the script seems to be a rough draft rather than the final product. The characters are talking at each other, not communicating to each other, resulting in the overall story falling apart extremely fast. And it is stunning that a seasoned screenwriter, actress, and playwright like Kazan—who is exposed to good, realistic dialogue throughout her career—would create such embarrassingly wooden dialogue and cardboard characters, making it painful to watch.
What intensifies the whole unpleasant experience even more is Laura Jellinek's sparse, minimalist white stage, which was supposed to help with the stream-of-consciousness of the scene changes. Instead, it isolates the characters and the audience even more. And Lila Neugebauer's direction is puzzling where the pacing and timing of the action actually slows as the play progresses. The lack of stage and textual chemistry between the actors could have been guided by the director's expert hands. Instead, the blocking and interaction was so haphazard that it seemed like an early rehearsal was being performed, not an opening weekend show.
The primary victims to Kazan's incomplete script are the actors, and sadly, Cash's Trudy is the most tragic fatality. Her scenes with Weston are awkward and artificial; there is no progression of a relationship going on during their scenes together. Both characters chat and try to bond, but their line readings are extremely one note and flat; it felt like a first-time script reading than a performance. And Cash's efforts to shock by muttering profanity at certain times makes it seem as though Trudy (or Kazan) was watching too many episodes of Sex and the City; it doesn't fit with the character at all. Cash struggles to grasp the character's conflict and guilt, not because of lack of talent, but because the character is not fleshed out in the script. And when Trudy suffers an emotional meltdown regarding the consequences of their actions, Cash's performance is extremely forced and unrealistic.
Weston fares slightly better than Cash. A seasoned actor of film and television, such as his guest performances on Burn Notice, House, and especially Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Weston is dynamic in character roles and it's a pleasure to see him in a lead performance…if only he was in a different play. His comic timing works in his scenes with Tate Ellington, who, unfortunately, is forced to weakly play the male caricatures (rather than characters) in the script that range from a stereotypical slacker to a clueless therapist, as well as playing a man who appears to be a bad imitation of Quentin Tarantino. However, Weston's scenes with Cash are the crux of the entire play and even a talented actor like Weston can't find the missing pieces to this confusing jigsaw puzzle.
If there is one saving grace, it is Celeste Den's portrayals of the many characters she portrays. Den has proven that she has both the stage presence and comedic timing with her South Coast Repertory appearances in last season's Chinglish and the amazing Golden Anniversary season opener Death of a Salesman. It was a pleasure to see Den in a more visible role, or roles in the case of Trudy and Max. She shows maternal poignancy in a silent role of a mother discretely nursing her infant child while Max and Trudy converse. Her comedic talents steal the scenes hands-down when she portrays Rochelle, a sex-starved, predatory cougar who tries to seduce any male writer that enters the writer's room for the first time. And she also displays a combination of tenderness and vulnerability as Trudy's friend Christine, who helps pick up the pieces of her friend's destroyed life. These diverse portrayals really highlight Den's discipline as an artist, especially working with a flawed script, and hopefully, SCR will continue to cast her in larger roles as time goes on.
South Coast Repertory has five world premieres during this golden anniversary season. Carla Ching's brilliant Fast Company was an excellent example of how three-dimensional characters and sharp dialogue drive a story, not just using gimmicky structure experimentation. Although Trudy and Max in Love was a complete disappointment, hopefully Kazan's next theatrical endeavor will truly utilize her creative talents. The remaining upcoming three—Gregory S. Moss's Reunion (3/9-30, 2014), Samuel D. Hunter's Rest (3/28-4/27, 2014), and a TBA World Premiere (4/14-5/15, 2014)—will hopefully contain the same kind of dramatic magic as Fast Company possesses, ending SCR's Golden Anniversary with a bang and some style.
Peter A. Balaskas is a journalist, fiction writer, editor, and voice over artist.
Trudy and Max in Love opened January 5-26, 2014
South Coast Repertory: Segerstrom Stage
655 Town Center Drive,
Costa Mesa, CA 92628-2197
Photos by Debora Robinson


text: On Wednesday, January 23; Paperblog named Eli's Cheesecake as one of the Top 5 Places to Satisfy your Sweet Tooth in Chicago. Paperblog goes on to call Eli's Cheesecake a "little gem" and wouldn't blame readers/visitors for "for springing for extra on these delicious wonders". Other popular dessert shops in Chicago that were mentioned in the article included: Molly's Cupcakes, Sweet Mandy B's, Vanille Patisserie, and Margie's Candies. Thanks for the picking us as your Top 5 in Chicago, Paperblog! Click here to see and read the rest of the article!


text:
- Corporate Profile
- Corporate Profile
- News
- Case Studies
- Publications
- Reports
"Fujitsu platforms have allowed us to deploy high availability applications which allows the organization to provide improved automation and response to customer requests"
Keith Smith, Vice President, Technology & Innovation, Jamaica Public Service
For over 90 years, the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) has worked steadfastly to satisfy Jamaica's energy needs. Growing from a modest network serving fewer than 4,000 customers in the early years, it has significantly expanded its generation, transmission, and distribution capabilities. Today, with a customer-base of over 600,000 and a generation capacity that exceeds 620 megawatts, it is the sole distributor of electricity in Jamaica. The company employs 1,600 workers comprising highly skilled engineers, technicians and service professionals.
JPS was faced with an aging IT infrastructure that couldn't cope with the demands of the latest software. In order to upgrade its customer service and outage management applications, it needed to first upgrade the underlying hardware.
Following a comprehensive tender process, it asked Fujitsu to create an Infrastructure as a Service solution with servers and storage hosted in two separate locations on the island. The deployment and configuration took just ten weeks.
Read the full Jamaica Public Service case study (319 KB/A4, 2 pages)
Share this page


text:
Criminal defense lawyers have a constitutional obligation to inform immigrant criminal defendants who are not US citizens of the possibility that a guilty plea could result in deportation.
In a 7-to-2 decision announced on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court expanded the Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of competent legal counsel to include a defendant's right to receive accurate advice about the immigration consequences of a possible guilty plea.
"We now hold that counsel must inform her client whether his plea carries a risk of deportation," wrote Justice John Paul Stevens in the majority opinion.
In a dissent, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas said a lawyer's constitutional obligation relates to representing a client in a criminal matter and should not extend to collateral issues such as possible deportation and immigration law.
"There is no basis in text or in principle to extend the constitutionally required advice regarding guilty pleas beyond those matters germane to the criminal prosecution at hand," Justice Scalia wrote.
Case began with drug charges
The issue arose in the case of Jose Padilla, who had been charged with transporting a large amount of marijuana in his tractor-trailer in Kentucky. Padilla, a native of Honduras, has been a lawful permanent resident of the US for more than 40 years and served in the US armed forces during the Vietnam War.
After his arrest on the drug charge, his lawyer entered negotiations with prosecutors for a plea agreement. The lawyer advised Mr. Padilla that he didn't have to worry about his immigration status since he'd been in the US for so long.
The lawyer was wrong. Under US immigration law a drug conviction triggers mandatory deportation. At sentencing, Padilla was ordered deported.
Padilla appealed, seeking to throw out his guilty plea. He argued that his lawyer's failure to advise him of the deportation consequences of his guilty plea amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel.
Defendant appealed state court loss
The Supreme Court of Kentucky denied his appeal. The Kentucky high court said the Sixth Amendment required effective advice about the criminal charges against Padilla, not the potential immigration consequences of a plea agreement or conviction.
In reversing the Kentucky court, the majority justices said changes in US immigration law have dramatically raised the stakes of a noncitizen's criminal conviction. Deportation can sometimes be the most important part of the penalty faced by noncitizens who plead guilty.
"The importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important," Stevens wrote.
"There will… undoubtedly be situations in which the deportation consequences of a particular plea are unclear or uncertain," Stevens wrote. "The duty of the private practitioner in such cases is more limited. When the law is not succinct and straightforward…, a criminal defense attorney need do no more than advise a noncitizen client that pending criminal charges may carry a risk of adverse immigration consequences."
He added, "But when the deportation consequence is truly clear, as it was in this case, the duty to give correct advice is equally clear."
Under the Supreme Court's established test for competent counsel, a defendant must be able to make two showings. First, the defendant must prove that the lawyer acted in a way that was constitutionally deficient. Second, he must prove that the lack of advice or bad advice resulted in the defendant suffering a consequence more extreme than would have been the case if the proper advice had been given.
Part of the case sent back to Kentucky courts
The Supreme Court decided the first part of that test, ruling that the lawyer's lack of accurate advice about deportation was constitutionally deficient. But the majority justices remanded the case to the Kentucky courts to decide the second part of the test: whether Padilla would have fared better had he received better advice. (In a 2006 ruling, the Supreme Court took a tough line on deportees.)
Padilla has suggested that if he knew he faced certain deportation, he would have fought the charges at trial. But going to trial rather than accepting a plea bargain from the prosecutor could result in a harsher sentence. In either event, Padilla would face deportation.
Stevens noted that with the timely advice of counsel a third option may emerge for defendants in Padilla's shoes. "Informed consideration of possible deportation can only benefit both the state and noncitizen defendants during the plea-bargaining process," Stevens wrote. "By bringing deportation consequences into this process, the defense and the prosecution may well be able to reach agreements that better satisfy the interests of both parties."
Scalia: 'Constitution not an all-purpose tool'
In his dissent, Justice Scalia said the court should have left it to lawmakers to fashion an appropriate remedy. "The Constitution… is not an all-purpose tool for judicial construction of a perfect world; and when we ignore its text in order to make it that, we often find ourselves swinging a sledge where a tack hammer is needed," he wrote.
Scalia said the court, by constitutionalizing the issue, is removing it from the realm of potential legislative fixes. "The court's holding prevents legislation that could solve the problems addressed by today's opinions in a more precise and targeted fashion," he said.


text:
The Iowa caucus ended up being the closest race in the history of the Republican party. We found out around 1:30 a.m. that Mitt Romney had officially been declared the winner by 8 votes. The Des Moines Register stopped the presses – just like in the movies – to update the story and headlines.
Here's a sense of all of the changes our print product went through.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Amazon Web Services (AWS) together with Citrix offer a reliable, secure alternative to on-premise deployments of Citrix solutions and workloads that delivers application elasticity and essentially unlimited scale.
Get started quickly with the AWS Accelerator Program for Citrix.
Try Citrix Networking solutions on the AWS Marketplace and see how to simplify hybrid cloud adoption on AWS.
See how to securely deliver apps and data to a global workforce with Citrix Workspace on AWS.
Extend your network to the cloud with Citrix Networking on AWS.


text:
The Holidays are here, and the women who bring cheer to your life are all looking at you expectantly (at least figuratively) for a gift. You, however, do not have a gift prepared. OH DARN! What do you do, what do you do? Step one: stop running around like a loony and calm down. Step two: read this post on some sure-fire gifts and ideas for the geeky woman in your life!
- Caffeine Molecule Necklace: All women like jewelry, but the especially geeky ones love mixing science with artsy necklaces! This sterling silver necklace is made in the shape of the caffeine molecule and looks gorgeous as well as wicked cool on her.
- Fujifilm INSTAX Mini 7S Camera: The INSTAX is an instant film camera that has been designed keeping modern sensibilities and hipster mentalities in mind.
The camera looks retro cool, comes with a film pack for 100 shots and is available for a gorgeously decent price.
- Barnes & Noble NOOK Color: Sure, the NOOK Tablet has been released and is way better than its previous incarnation, but the original NOOK Color is an excellent device for doing a multitude of things such as reading, writing and browsing.
The sleek look and design perfectly complements the Reading Woman.
- The Dreamy Diana Lens: Instagram is all the rage these days as are the lomo cameras such as Holga and Diana. This resurgence of the old toy cameras has sparked off heated debates between traditional photography enthusiasts and lomography lovers. Nevertheless the Diana is here to stay and many women love the toy camera effect on photographs.
The Diana lens from Photojojo is made for those who love the effects, but would not want to lug another camera (film, no less) and take pictures. The convenience of the lens on an existing DSLR is unmatched!
- Sansa Clip +: The Sansa Clip+ is an excellent little music player with unmatched sound quality at an unbeatable price. It comes in 2,4, and 8GB variants and you can also insert an external microSD card to increase the storage content.
Coupled with variations in color, this is the best tiny MP3 player you can buy your girl this holiday season.
So which gift did you end up buying? Tell us in the comments!


text:
A judge revoked Lindsay Lohan's probation Monday and scheduled a Friday court date for the 24-year-old actress, court officials in Beverly Hills said Monday afternoon.
Judge Elden Fox issued -- but held until Friday morning -- a bench warrant for Lohan's arrest. At the hearing, Fox will decide whether Lohan violated her probation.
The judge's decision to revoke probation came after Lohan admitted last week that she failed a court-ordered drug test. The LA County Probation Department delivered its findings Monday to Fox.
In a series of Twitter messages late Friday, Lohan confirmed what had been previously reported by other media outlets.
"Regrettably, I did in fact fail my most recent drug test and if I am asked, I am prepared to appear before judge Fox next week as a result.
"Substance abuse is a disease, which unfortunately doesn't go away over night. I am working hard to overcome it and am taking positive steps forward every day. I am testing every single day and doing what I must do to prevent any mishaps in the future.
"This was certainly a setback for me but I am taking responsibility for my actions and I'm prepared to face the consequences. I am so thankful for the support of my fans, loved ones and immediate family, who understand that I am trying hard, but also that I am a work in progress, just as anyone else. I am keeping my faith, and I am hopeful....Thank you all!!!"
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
Lohan was released from rehab in August. The actress served 14 days of a 90-day jail sentence over the summer for violating the terms of her probation in a 2007 DUI case.
She was similarly released early from a 90-day rehab sentence after serving 23 days at UCLA Medical Center and must undergo twice weekly random drug tests.
Fox's decision Friday could affect plans to begin filming Lohan's next movie, "Inferno," a Linda Lovelace biopic. Producers have denied they're upset with Lohan.
Filming was set to begin Nov. 15.
"Did this throw us for a U-turn? Sure," director Matthew Wilder said of last week's development. "[But] This is not something to be pissed about. If someone fails a drug test but says I am trying hard and struggling, it's hard for me to be angry."
Not all news was bad for Lohan on Monday. A lawyer for the actress told TMZ that she'd reached a confidential settlement with E*Trade over a $100 million "milkaholic" lawsuit alleging the financial firm violated her rights by using a baby in a commercial that traded on her name.
"The family is pleased that the case has been settled," Dina Lohan told TMZ.


text:
The Moffat County Commissioners accepted a bid from I-C-E yesterday to put a new sign at Loudy Simpson Park. The sign will be a digital display, similar to the one at the Moffat County Fairgrounds. However the commissioners say this sign will be better, with more options and a better display. It will also cost less. The Continue reading
Tag Archives: new sign
Commissioners Approve Bid for Sign, Send Out Letters Stating Positions
Posted in News
Tagged BLM, Colorado water law, Dinosaur National Monument, display, energy corridor, Fairgrounds, Gateway South Transmission, Governor Hickenlooper, I-C-E, Interior Secretary, Loudy Simpson Park, Moffat County Commissioners, new sign, private property, Sally Jewell, Senate Bill 23, tunnel easement, veto, water rights


text:
Hardware Drawer Pull
French Paris Do It Youself
7 1/4" Long x 1 1/2" wide at its widest and 1 1/8" thick including the knob
Screw holes measure: 3" apart from outside of hole to outside (center of the hole to center of the hole measures: 2 7/8" approx apart)
IMPORTANT to please note screws (hardware) is not included with this item.
Helpful tip: I have found a #6 Pan Head Screw fits the hole opening nicely in this item and can be purchased at local hardware stores in the length you need for your application/project.
Coming to you unpainted so you can finish it yourself (or leave natural for the rustic primitive look). You will receive one individual back plate in its raw condition (dark brownish in color)
Can be used as is to create a wonderful do it yourself project or you can paint/distress and seal in a color of your choosing.
Natural cast iron may have rough uneven spots in the finish
IMPORTANT other note: if you do love the rustic natural look of this piece as is please make sure if you are going to use it outside or anywhere it may be exposed to moisture make sure you put a clear coat sealer (can be purchased in a spray or brush on / I love rustoleum) if you do not it will rust over time (even in short time if it gets wet) this includes bathrooms too. Trust me I know 1st hand. Two light coats are usually safe but I always put 3 coats on all my projects.
I accept most major credit cards and paypal.
I will ship all items purchased within 4-7 "business" days of confirmation of payment. I use USPS with a confirmation number. Please double check that your shipping address is correct to ensure timely delivery.
**IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ: If your purchase is returned to me as undeliverable due to an incorrect mailing address the refund will consist of product cost "only" (not the original shipping paid at the time of the purchase) that money was paid to the post office at the time of shipment from me to you .
If you request it to be reshipped an additional postage charge will have to be paid by you to reship
I am no longer able to ship to APO or FPO's U.S. address only that does not require custom forms or tariff numbers. I am so sorry for the inconvenience.
At this time I am prepared to ship within the US only to a verified US address.
I use recycled material in the packing process/shipping material.
Just contact me within: 3 days of delivery
Ship items back to me within: 7 days of delivery
Request a cancellation within: 4 hours of purchase
But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
1) Should an item be damaged in transit, please note that I may request the return of the item prior to refund but photos of the item showing the damage clearly as well as photos of the packaging material is a must so make sure you hang on to all packaging until the refund is resolved. This information is required by the postal service for review of claim.
2) Each listing description contains the size of the item, color, etc.
If you receive an item and request a return due to size/color this request must be made within 3 days of receipt.
Once authorization for return is accepted, product must be returned within 7 days . Item(s) must be returned in original condition and packaging. If an item is not returned in original condition, the buyer is responsible for any loss in value .
Return shipping will be the responsibility of you the buyer and the refund will consist of product cost only (not the original shipping paid as that was paid to the post office at the time of shipment).
3) **IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ: If your purchase is returned to me as undeliverable due to an incorrect mailing address the refund will consist of product cost "only" (not the original shipping paid at the time of the purchase) that money was paid to the post office at the time of shipment from me to you.
If you request it to be reshipped an additional postage charge will have to be paid by you to reship
PLEASE double check your shipping address to insure this does not happen to you.
4) Unless there is a defect or an issue at the fault of the company, the return shipping cost will be the responsibility of the customer.
It is very important to double check the SHIPPING address you provide in the order before checking out.
If your purchase is returned to me due to an undeliverable or wrong address I will not be able to refund the monies paid for shipping since that money is paid to the post office when it is shipped.
If you request it to be reshipped an additional postage charge will have to be paid by you to reship.
All my painted items are painted and hand distressed so no two items are exactly alike (close but due to painting and hand distressing not exactly alike)
Some monitors or viewing devices sometimes show slight color differences in the item itself as pictured.
All sizes are described in detail within the item details tab (description) of each listing.
No unfortunately I am only prepared to ship to a confirmed US Address. Address that does "Not" require customs paperwork or tariff numbers. I am so sorry for the inconvenience.
My items that are labeled shabby elegance, shabby, cottage chic are:
1) Painted a solid color over the raw cast iron
2) Hand distressed to reveal the natural cast iron color underneath (my cast iron pieces start out dark brown, patina green or a silvery metal which should be available to see in the individual listing pictures)
3) Hand distressing causes the distressed areas to be inconsistent which adds to the shabby look of each piece.
If you prefer hand painted solid colors with "no" distressing please check out some of my other listings or send me an email for a special request.
Apr 16, 2020
Delivered on time and just as expected
Dec 8, 2017
Dec 1, 2017
Jun 17, 2017
Beautiful quality paired with a responsive seller. She even refunded some of my shipping costs that I overpaid! Hopefully I'll think of another project so I can order again.


text:
Greensboro Library, NCHome Menu
Introduction to English
- Date: 03/23/2015 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
- Location: Glenwood Branch Library
1901 W. Florida Street
Greensboro, North Carolina 27403
- Cost
Learn the basics of English. This small class will help you learn the alphabet, spelling, and making sentences. For beginning learners. Registration required. Call 336-297-5000 for more information.Return to previous page >>