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Take a look at the best memory cards for the Sony A9.
The A9 has 2 memory card slots. First one supports UHS-II, while the second one supports UHS-I. What this means is, if you want the maximum speed possible, you'll want to buy a UHS-II card for that first slot.
Also, don't buy just any random cheap card. You risk losing all of your shots, and waiting too long for the buffer to clear. Imagine shooting a wedding, concert, or just traveling, and not being able to take pictures because of your memory card…
In this guide, we've selected the 3 best cards. Either one will be great for the Sony A9.
Speed Class of SD Cards
|Our opinion
|Class 4
|Too slow for most modern cameras. Skip it.
|Class 6
|A little bit better but unless you take 3 pictures a year, skip it.
|Class 10
|Good enough for most cameras with 20+ megapixels and Full HD video.
|Good enough for most cameras with 20+ megapixels and Full HD video
|Perfect for fast burst cameras, Full HD at 60fps and 4K video. This is what you want for Sony A9
As mentioned above, the Sony A9 has 2 memory card slots. The first one is UHS-II compatible and can take advantage of the extra speeds offered. Compared to UHS-I, you will get faster minimum writing and reading speeds in-camera, and also faster file transferring directly to your computer.
If you send hundreds or thousands of photos/videos to your computer on a weekly basis, UHS-II is definitely your best friend. The A9 has a large megapixel count and therefore big JPEG and RAW files. You'll appreciate every second saved.
Go with a 32GB or 64GB sized card, and buy a couple of these if you need lots of storage. It's better than buying one huge card because you risk losing all of your shots if that 1 card fails.
These are the best 3 SDHC/SDXC memory cards you can get:
- Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II U3
- SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I U3
Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3
The Lexar Professional 300MB/s UHS-II U3 is a UHS-II card, so you can expect the fastest writing and reading speeds with the Sony A9. It's the perfect match for any UHS-II compatible camera that records 4K or has a fast continuous shooting speed. The buffer clearing time will be much much quicker which means you can take more shots. You will also send videos and photographs much quicker to your computer.
Don't have a memory card reader that supports such speeds? Luckily you get a free Lexar UHS-II reader that'll greatly reduce the waiting time. You also get a free downloadable Imaging Rescue software. It comes in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB sizes.
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II U3
The SanDisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s UHS-II U3 is another UHS-II card that is worth every dollar. SanDisk has been in the memory card game for a longer time, and has more reputation.
However, both cards will get you the same writing and reading speeds. 4K videos, burst shooting at full resolution, it's an easy task for these two cards. Close your eyes and pick randomly; or, choose the cheaper one (sometimes SanDisk goes for ~$10 less than Lexar).
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
SanDisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-I U3
The SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro 32GB U3 is our favorite card for UHS-I slot. The A9 has one, and you won't see any benefit from using a UHS-II card there. If you want to save some money, then this is the best card. You could also use it in the UHS-II slot and still take pictures normally, but the buffer time won't be as quick.
The speed makes it perfect for whatever you're doing; fast bursts with large megapixel cameras, 4K video, let alone Full HD at 60fps. It comes in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and 256GB sizes.
You can buy it at Amazon or see more reviews here.
Comparison of the 3 Memory Cards
|Lexar Professional 300MB/s U3
|Writing files: ~240MB/s. Reading files: ~270MB/s
|Sandisk Extreme Pro 300MB/s U3
|Writing files: ~230MBs. Reading files: ~260MB/s
|Sandisk Extreme Pro 95MB/s U3
|Writing files: ~90MBs. Reading files: ~95MB/s
What Brands are the Best?
Your photographs and videos are stored on a memory card, so you should definitely not try to save any money here by buying from unknown, cheap brands. While you save a few bucks, you probably won't even get the advertised speeds, and are at a bigger risk of losing your shots.
We see too many beginners choosing the cheap route here, but until you transfer your shots to a computer/online, this is where they're stored at. You want the memory card to be the most reliable piece of your equipment!
Stick to Sandisk, Lexar, Transcend, Kingston, Sony and Toshiba. There may be a few other good brands out there, but the ones we mentioned are already more than enough and offer great prices.


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Rep. Casavant survives challenge
State Rep. Alan Casavant withstood a primary challenge to win the Democratic nomination in state House District 137.
Casavant, who is also the mayor of Biddeford, was challenged by state Sen. Nancy Sullivan, a retired teacher from Biddeford who could not run for Senate because of term limits. Casavant got 485 votes (61 percent) to 316 for Sullivan.
Sara Gideon wins three-way race
Sara Gideon was the winner Tuesday in a three-way Democratic primary in House District 106.
All three candidates are from Freeport. Gideon, a former advertising executive, won with 584 votes (53 percent). Melanie Sachs, a licensed clinical social worker, got 470 votes (43 percent) and Patrick Norton, a retired legislative policy analyst, got 46 votes (4 percent). Gideon is a member of the Freeport Town Council. District 106 includes Freeport and Pownal.
Four-way contest goes to Frenette
Roxanne Frenette won a four-way race in Tuesday's Democratic primary in House District 132 in Old Orchard Beach.
Frenette, who works for the Maine Turnpike Authority and has served three terms on the Old Orchard Beach Town Council, took 232 votes (41 percent). Second was Cris Johnson, a retiree, with 130 votes (23 percent), followed by Pierre Bouthiller, a firefighter, with 124 votes (22 percent) and Gregoy Kidd, an environmental trainer, with 75 votes (13 percent).
Chenette wins overwhelmingly
Justin Chenette defeated Sonya Lundh-Gay Tuesday in the House District 134 Democratic primary.
Chenette got 543 votes (78 percent) to 154 for Lundh-Gay, who runs Sunrise Acres, a family farm in Saco. House District 134 includes Saco.
Rep. Beaudoin defeats ex-mayor
State Rep. Paulette Beaudoin defeated former Biddeford Mayor Joanne Twomey on Tuesday in the House District 135 Democratic primary.
Beaudoin got 449 votes (58 percent) to 325 for Twomey.
District 135 covers part of Biddeford. Beaudoin will face Republican Perry Aberle in the general election in November.
Rep. Rochelo breezes to victory
State Rep. Megan Rochelo was an easy winner in Tuesday's Democratic primary in House District 136, which covers a portion of Biddeford.
Bobby Mills, a Biddeford city councilor, challenged Rochelo, the incumbent in the district. Rochelo got 324 votes (77 percent) to 99 votes for Mills.
In two of four towns, Meyer leads
Final results for the House District 138 Republican primary were not available late Tuesday night, but Judee Meyer had built a large lead in two of the four towns that make up the district.
In Shapleigh, Meyer led Richard Racicot 35-22, and in Alfred, Meyer led 145-36. Limerick and Newfield are also in the district, but had not reported results by late Tuesday night.
Archambault up against Bragoon
Final results for the House District 144 Republican primary election were not available late Tuesday night. Daniel Archambault and Aaron Bragdon are the candidates. The district covers Sanford and Lebanon.
— From staff reports
Nation & World
Putin out-prepared Trump in key meeting, Rex Tillerson told House panel
Cops & Courts
Buxton man arrested after setting car and woods on fire
Cops & Courts
Pair suspected of robbing Limerick store at gunpoint arrested in Montana
Nation & World
Tornados kill 3 as severe weather tears through Missouri
Schools and Education
Cumberland and North Yarmouth will vote on $38.4 million school budget

subset: commoncrawl


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Seattle Christmas Ship Festival
Event Details
The Argosy Cruises Christmas Ship Festival has been a Pacific Northwest tradition since 1949. This year from November 23 - December 23 Argosy sails to over 60 communities along the Puget Sound bringing music, lights and fun to every destination. The beautifully lighted Christmas Ship features a choir. Some lucky guests can sail on the Christmas Ship. Others can enjoy the celebration from one of the Follow Boats or from shore.
The Lead Boat features the choir, holiday pictures as you board and activities for the kids that include a reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas.The Follow Boat features holiday pictures, kids craft bags and a broadcast of the choral experience. Each cruise is 2-3 hours long. Lots of locals choose to wait for the Christmas Ship to arrive at their community from the shore. Join the fun as families wait for a close up view of the Christmas Ship and the Follow Boat. As the ships sail in everyone can hear the music and see the festive lights. This local celebration is unique to each Puget Sound community.
Sailings include many communities along the Puget Sound: Bainbridge Island, Ballard, Laurelhurst, Kirkland, Carkeek Park, Shilshole Bay, Waverly Bay, Dash Point Park, Brown's Point and many more. From Seattle to Tacoma to Kirkland to Poulsbo...the ships wind their way through the sound bringing lights and music to Seattle communities.
On December 14 the Parade of Boats takes place. It starts at the Lake Union PIer. The first performance is from the center of Lake Union and the second is from the Fremont Cut. This is the time that all the local boats "dress up" for the holidays and sail throughout Lake Union. The Christmas Ship will feature Dickens Carolers as it sails along the Fremont Cut.
Check out the Argosy Cruise website for more information on this festive holiday tradition. Celebrate Seattle, our seafarers heritage and the holidays with Argosy this year.


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Google Advertising Fundamentals exam covers basic aspects of online advertising with Adwords and is based on the following topics from GCP Help:
- Introduction to Adwords
- Account management
- Campaign and ad group management
- Keyword targeting
- Language and location targeting
- Ad formats
- Budgets and bidding
- Measurement and optimization
- Performance, profitability and growth
- Managing multiple accounts
Multiple choice exam contains approximately 90 questions. You will be given 120 minutes to answer them. Current passing score is 85%.
Start from Adwords Certification Help Center
Obviously, the first step you should take in your preparation for the exam is to go through AdWords Certification Program Learning Center material. Adwords Certification Help Center will give you enough information to pass the exam and get the qualification, however you probably won't pass Google test just by studying.
Practice the concepts
To learn Adwords you'll have to run some campaigns and test out all the concepts you're learning. You will definitely need to have some experience behind the wheel of an Adwords account. Speaking about the basic Adwords Fundamentals exam, few month of experience of running Adwords campaigns on regular basis is probably enough. Such practical experience will be much valuable to you come exam time than just plain memorization of the study material.
You should probably read about some historical AdWords advertising elements such as Google Website Optimizer and Wonder Wheel. They are not supported anymore yet they still can appear in the exam.
Take notes
It's very important to take notes while studying. Try to structure the information in a logical way that will allow for quick and easy reference. Remember to highlight what's important and review best practices for ads. You can also print out your Adwords Fundamentals notes since Google exam application blocks out your entire screen area.
Watch Adwords Fundamentals training videos
You should definitely watch the training videos, because there are certain parts which are not covered in the syllabus. Pause the video from time to time and test the concepts you're learning.
Review sample test questions
Teachmegood provides the exam simulation environment as well as some factual and applied questions which cover all of the topics on the exam. You can practice questions and retake our quizzes as long as you need until you feel fully prepared and ready for the actual Google Adwords Exam.
Let's summarize:
- Go through GCP Help and take some notes while studying.
- Watch the training videos.
- Make yourself familiar with Adwords interface (spend time on the areas you see least in the account) and run some campaigns.
- Do some sample tests that simulate the exam environment.
- Take your exam in a quiet, comfortable location.
We wish you best of luck in your exam!


text: This is a busy weekend with several annual events, information posted before on my blog. In between, there is a great choice of homes to tour this weekend. We have properties for tour as well as featured homes in the Desert Area this week as well. Enjoy your weekend, whatever you decide to do! Click here


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Some amazing women came to help out at Pueblo House this morning, a couple even offering to volunteered to help run more programs. Thank you Judy, Joni, Cathie and Pat for bringing the craft ideas. Judy is going to help Sabrina on Saturdays. Joni has offered to do face painting during Cinco this year (May 6th @ El Centro Skate Park). Thank you Stan, for teaching a few (young and old) how to play chess. Alexia picked up very fast for only learning a couple hours before hand. I played her and she got me in check pretty quick. Stan also brought his signature🍿 popcorn.
Every Saturday from 10-2pm we'll be hosting open house and creative time with youth or families. Please join us.


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Today Gerald had some odd jobs that needed to be done so he asked one of our employees, Collin, to hop in the Gator for a ride around the farm so he could show him what work he had in mind when our dog Rocco decided he wanted a ride too. We lost our long-time farm dog, Shep, a couple of years ago and replaced him with a cute little black mixed-breed puppy. Rocco is not even close to being the cow dog that Shep was, but he is loving and bright so it seems he's found a permanent home on our farm.
Today he hopped in the back of the Gator and hitch-hiked a ride with Gerald and Coliln. Gerald stopped driving for a moment and took Collin to demonstrate how he wanted a particular job done and when he walked back to the driver's side there was Rocco in the driver's seat! After much coaxing and threatening he still would not give up the front seat but they did get him to move to the passenger side, so Collin was, unhappily, relegated to the back!
Rocco loves a good ride and has been known to be found in the seat of a salesman's pickup truck when he hops in to leave the farm. Since he's not a very valuable farm dog, we wouldn't be too upset if some kind person decided to take him along home with him, but it hasn't happened yet. A few days ago Gerald jumped in his truck and pulled it to the end of the driveway. He looked right for coming traffic and then left and then jumped! There was a little black dog in the passenger seat looking at him with expectant eyes, sitting up straight in the seat, tail thumping slowly, ears perked and ready for a ride. How could he say, "No"?
You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!' –Dave Barry


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Updated: April 28, 2018
Eugene T. Mahoney State Park is a fun day-trip from Omaha or Lincoln, but there's so much to do, I recommend planning at least staying overnight if not longer. Especially if you have kids. Especially if you have to factor in naps.
Lodging Options at Mahoney State Park
The park offers camping/RV parking, a hotel and cabins. We have yet to camp with the kids, but there are are nice campgrounds near the main lake (the paddle boat lake, as I'll call it for simplicity's sake). Most of the lodge rooms have balconies.
For cabins, your options include two-, four- and six-bedroom cabins. We opted to stay at a two-bedroom cabin this spring – I highly recommend it. They have AC, appliances and dishware, bathtubs, grills, and for those who like going to a state park but not going outside, they have satellite TV. Ours had an included deck with not-too-sturdy netting (if your child often channels The Hulk, best keep a close eye on her while out there). For dining, our cabin had two picnic tables and a dining room table.
There are now even nicer cabins available. All cabins, new or older, can be reserved up to a year in advance, and many are already filled up for next summer.
If you're ready to go camping or to reserve a cabin, click here to check availability.
Family-Friendly Activities At Mahoney
Basically, everything at the Mahoney State Park is family-friendly; what will be the most fun depends on the age of your children. Mine are happy running across a bridge or collecting rocks. Your older kids might require a little more to thrill them.
Playgrounds: There are several, including a huge indoor play area (it has an admission fee but it's awesome). The biggest one is near the swimming pool – it has a separate jungle gym for smaller kids.
Gardens: My kids love walking around the gardens, especially the greenhouse
Pony rides: Ages 3-9. Cost is $7 per kid. Pony rides are weather permitting and run daily through Aug. 13, and then they're only on Saturdays and Sundays.
Pool – Two water slides, wave pool and an area for small children. Very popular summer spot. It costs $10 per adult, $8 per child (ages 3-12), and FREE for children 2 and younger.
S'mores eating
Ball Field
Bird watching
Paddleboats – Paddleboat rentals are down by the Owen Marina. They are $8 per boat for a half-hour rental.
Fishing – Several fishing clinics are planned during the summer.
Explore the marina – For me, includes exploring the ice cream shop there. This is also where all the arts & craft stuff are.
Hiking: If you're lucky, you see a nearby passing train.
Putt-putt golf – Mini golf is $3.50 per person. There's also a driving range, and it's $3 for a bucket of balls.
Soccer/Rugby Field
Lookout tower: It's a tall one with a great view, and climbing it is a useful tool for tiring out little ones.
Kountze Memorial Theater – Melodramas are often performed here. Usually there are two show options and tickets are $7 per adult and $5 per child (ages 12 and younger. The family package, which is two adult tickets and two child tickets, is $20.
Stargazing: Climb the lookout tower for a spectacular view. There are a few clinics this summer sponsored by the Omaha Astronomical Society & Prairie Astronomy Club, who will bring telescopes. Check here for dates.
Horseback riding – You must be 6 or older to ride a horse. Read more about trail rides at Mahoney here. The cost is $18 per person.
Horseshoe pits
Mountain/trail bicycling
Nature programs – The park offers about several free programs, including ones focusing on horses, native reptiles, insects, prairie and hummingbird workshops, archery, nature hikes and fishing clinics.
For hours and fees on activities, visit this link. Park's phone number is 402-944-2523.
New Ropes Course Opened in 2018
The Go Ape! Treetop Adventure opened April 28, 2018. This course includes Treetop Adventure and Treetop Junior, so it's an outing suitable for kids and adults. There is a height requirement of a minimum 4 feet 7 inches, and there is a maximum weight limit of 285 pounds. The course includes zip lines, obstacles and a ropes course, and expect it to last two to three hours.
Cost is $49 for ages 16 and older and $39 for children 15 and younger. There must be a supervising adult age 19 or older to accompany children. Reservations are suggested.
Nearby Excursions
Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum: Planes and space exploration stuff. The new Children's Learning Center opened in August 2016, and I wrote all about it here.
Lee G. Simmons Conservation Park & Wildlife Safari: Drive-through safari featuring native species. Read What to Expect if you Visit the Wildlife Safari with Kid
Ashland: Nearest town, and it has two ice cream shops, pizza option and winery (for mommy)
Louisville State Recreation Area: There are plans to upgrade the park, including adding a water obstacle course! Read this post for details.
Schramm Park State Recreation Area: Trails for hiking and an aquarium with cheap admission. There are plans to upgrade the park! Read this post for details.
Platte River State Park: Great hiking trails, including one to a waterfall. Here are 7 Reasons To Visit Platte River State Park. There are plans to upgrade the park! Read this post for details.
Stay in the know
Subscribe to the FREE twice a month(ish) e-newsletter sharing what's new in Omaha, giveaways, family travel ideas, and more! Subscribe here.


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When you buy with The Thiel-Morris Team you will be provided with a full buyers guide to help you understand and prepare you for the process of buying a home. You will receive e-mail notifications for when new listing has come on the market in your price range, search criteria, and more. We will guide you through the negotiations, inspections and legal paperwork process to make sure the closing of your home is a smooth transaction.
Preparing yourself for home buying process:
Pre-approval letter – Getting pre-approved is fast, easy and free. A written pre-approval includes a completed credit application and a certificate guaranteeing you a mortgage to a specified amount.
Consider the type of loan:
Compare fixed-rate with adjustable rate mortgages. Look down the road. Where will you be in 15 years, 30 years? What obligations might you have? Take those things into consideration as you choose a loan.
Fixed vs. Adjustable Rate
Fixed-rate mortgage loans have the same interest rate for the entire repayment term. Because of this, the size of your monthly payment will stay the same, month after month, and year after year. It will never change. This is true even for long-term financing options, such as the 30-year fixed-rate loan. It has the same interest rate, and the same monthly payment, for the entire term.
Adjustable-rate mortgage loans (ARMs) have an interest rate that will change or "adjust" from time to time. Typically, the rate on an ARM will change every year after an initial period of remaining fixed. It is therefore referred to as a "hybrid" product. A hybrid ARM loan is one that starts off with a fixed or unchanging interest rate, before switching over to an adjustable rate. For instance, the 5/1 ARM loan carries a fixed rate of interest for the first five years, after which it begins to adjust every one year, or annually. That's what the 5 and the 1 signify in the name.
Pros and cons: adjustable versus fixed-rate mortgages
As you might imagine, both of these types of mortgages have certain pros and cons associated with them. Use the link above for a side-by-side comparison of these pros and cons. Here they are in a nutshell: The ARM loan starts off with a lower rate than the fixed type of loan, but it has the uncertainty of adjustments later on. With an adjustable mortgage product, the rate and monthly payments can rise over time. The primary benefit of a fixed loan is that the rate and monthly payments never change. But you will pay for that stability through higher interest charges, when compared to the initial rate of an ARM.
Click on the link for more information:


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With all the cooking done this week, and shopping, there's absolutely no space in my freezer and still I'm not bringing lunch with me to work (this morning I even forgot the smoothie, blaming that on last night) as I managed to book not one but three lunch dates this week.
Today was with the Miss that took over my old job, we have a standing monthly lunch date to gossip about the old and new company.
This time we hit my favourite soup place, Misoteket, I think you will be able to find more than one blog post about it here on the blog.
The set-up is that you pick white or red miso base and then add in what veggies and meats that you want, super tasty.
I've brought more than one person in that claim they don't like miso soup and they still love this place…just as a FYI.
Now the countdown has begun for the train north this afternoon, can't wait. So as you might notice I'm moderately motivate for my work tasks today (combined with a tad bit of hangover…), still it's only one and a half hour left until it's time to leave the office so aiming for super efficiency during that time.
Peace out ma peeps.


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Iraq: "City at War" Part Two
30 November 2015 7 Comments
"My name is Karai, and I am here to restore order to The Foot."
Written by: Marty Isenberg
Original Air Date: March 20, 2004
Recap Narrator: Michelangelo
Characters and Concepts Introduced: N/A
Gargoyles episodes I could make comparisons to: "Avalon", "Turf"
The Beats:
- The turtles survive the collapse of the Foot Headquarters thanks to a fortuitously placed beam, which they use to prevent the roof from falling on them while they escape. Also not dead: the robot that had been causing so much trouble last episode, which is still raring to kill everyone on sight.
- Meanwhile, at the Purple Dragons' fighting ring, Dragonface is giving a speech to his men about how they're going to own this city under his leadership. He's interrupted by Hun, just now returning after a long absence, who tells them that with the Shredder gone, it's up to the Dragons, under his leadership, to carry on his legacy.
- As Karai flies to New York, she is approached by one of her retainers with some interesting information: footage of one teenage mutant ninja turtle.
- The battle with the robot (and eventually, robots) continues on the streets, causing innocent people to get caught in the crossfire. A bus is shot down by the robot, and Leo rescues the one passenger who isn't able to escape on their own.
- Michelangelo makes his way to April's apartment, where April and Casey are in the process of moving her in. Mikey explains that he is being followed by Foot Ninja and asks for the keys to April's van, but April only hears "followed by Foot Ninja", which historically has not worked out well for her. She demands he leave, to which Mikey agrees to, as long as he gets use of the van. Casey joins him.
- An NYPD SWAT Team arrives at the scene to try and restore order, but they're quickly taken down by the also arriving Purple Dragons, who take the police's weapons and proceed to attack the Foot Ninja and Mob Robots from the rooftops.
- Casey and Michelangelo arrive in April's VW Bus and take the turtles to safety. Similarly, Boss and Baxter, who had been overseeing the battle from their own van, attempt to make a stealthy escape, but an errant rocket causes their vehicle to careen out of control and roll over.
- The turtles have retreated to a makeshift hideout inside an empty water tower. The break in the physical fighting just allows the verbal fighting to resume, as Leonardo and Raphael continue arguing about whether they should try to do something or just call it a day. They're interrupted when Karai and her retainers blow up the floor from underneath the water tower in order to get their attention. She introduces herself and asks for a moment of their time so they may discuss things, but Raphael is having none of it and attacks.
- Karai and her retainers make short work of the turtles and Casey. As Karai herself holds Leonardo at sword-point, she repeats her demands for a discussion, one that can occur with or without the turtles' leader.
Continuity and Mythology Notes:
- This episode is based on "City at War", a thirteen-part story which ran from issues 50 – 62 of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic. It specifically covers the events of issues #52 – 56
- Hun was last seen in "Secret Origins" Part Three. Dragonface and the other Purple Dragons were last seen in "Fallen Angel".
- April drives a Volkswagen Bus, a detail taken from issue #4 of the original comic book.
- The turtles' water tower hideout is based on the turtles' lair from the original "City at War" arc. There, however, it served as their permanent and only home during their latest stay in New York.
While the TMNT cartoon's version of "City at War" by no means represents the series at its best, it does still have a number of solid elements to it. As mentioned in my last post, this will be the post where I talk about some of those.
One of the things about the original "City at War" arc is that the actual part with the actual city being at actual war is actually its weakest arc. A sprawling affair involving several factions within the now-fractured New York Foot, it often has us follow brand new, largely unnamed characters whose full context is uncertain and whose lives we know nothing about, and who are therefore impossible to care about. Similarly, the world-building in general is lax enough that it's hard to care for the fate of the city. Who lives there, that we know? The turtles do, because they needed to move back there in order for the arc to happen, but most of the comic's existing cast lives elsewhere, and has no stake in the city's survival, or in the success or failure of any of its characters other than the turtles. When Karai loses her daughter, the moment lacks any sort of punch; we had previously known her only as an extra, and we learn nothing about her afterwards. Her death is a moment akin to the deathbed origin stories in the Metal Gear games–a Hail Mary attempt to make us care before the end.
The cartoon, in contrast, deals with a largely established elements. New York has been the setting for the great majority of the series, and it is where most of its characters live. Although it's not really capitalized upon, this detail gives the adaptation of "City at War" a sense of greater stakes than the original: failure to act doesn't just affect random New Yorkers but also means worsened circumstances for characters like Angel, the Professor, Tyler, Casey and April. Similarly, the combatants in the war aren't a bunch of hastily-introduced randoms, but characters we've already gotten to know to at least some extent. If one happened to like the mob, then one has reason to care that this is the last appearance before their demise (more on this later).
Then there's the emotional conflict…
In the original TMNT comic book, the turtles' enmity with the Foot stemmed from their commitment to honor their Master's wishes—in this case, Splinter's blood feud with the Foot Clan. The turtles personally had no emotional stake in the Shredder's death—they didn't know thing one about him until that very day—and still went out to kill him, because Splinter is their master and father, and the only person in their lives aside from each other, so what other choice did they have? Because of that action, the brothers bought themselves a lifetime membership in the Foot's shit list, which forced them to fight for their lives far more often than they ever wanted to. "City at War", then, is the arc where they consider whether they've had enough, and whether loyalty to their master is worth a lifetime of watching their backs. In the end, they decide that the answer to the latter is "no", and reach an agreement with the Japan Branch of the Foot: in exchange for the turtles' assistance killing the last of the New York Foot still rebelling against their superiors—the Foot Elite, consisting entirely of Oroku Saki loyalists (*1)— the now-stable Foot Clan, under Karai's leadership, will cease hostilities against them.
There's a lot of potential to this idea. Despite the importance of TMNT #1 to what came afterward, the story itself is not one the creators had much enthusiasm in exploring, so was ripe for exploration and elaboration. Of particular potential was the fact that, well, Splinter is kind of terrible in it.
Because he is.
While subsequent incarnations of the turtles more or less uniformly portrayed Splinter as the turtles' concerned father, this is something that is not in evidence in his original appearance, where from the moment they mutate, he begins training them without disclosing why, and places them in a position where not complying with his whims is more or less impossible. Their relationship is, in short, more or less exactly the same as the Shredder and Karai's in this incarnation, except that the Shredder didn't have a specific target and presumably doesn't want Karai to die, whereas Splinter sends the turtles to kill Saki without even the slightest bit of usable intel other than "this guy used to be a badass thirteen years ago." "City at War", then, is the perfect place to question Splinter's motives, and whether or not he was ever worth their past or present loyalty. In another universe, we'd have seen the turtles question everything they ever knew, and alter their relationship with their father forever.
Unfortunately, by the time the arc came along, Splinter's terribleness had been mostly smoothed over with sandpaper—which makes sense, as his original persona, while fine for a one-shot story that's more focused on style than anything else, is less fine when dealing with an actual character—and revisiting his original persona wasn't really in the cards. It leaves us with a story that is far less than it could have been, and becomes even less so when the turtles make their deal and…nothing happens. Splinter, it turns out, has absolutely nothing to say about the turtles' alliance with the Foot, meaning that the central crisis of the story wasn't a multifaceted dilemma with no perfect answers, but a problem with one simple, perfect solution that requires no additional discussion.
While woefully mishandled, the moral dilemma in the cartoon "City at War" is far more interesting, and with a more compelling resolution. It's the one time the cartoon flirts with relevance, and at times seems even prescient.
So Leonardo "kills" the Shredder in "Return to New York" as a response to Saki's attack in "The Shredder Strikes Back", which is itself a response to the event of "The Shredder Strikes", where among other things, the turtles openly (and against Splinter's express wishes) declared themselves enemies of the Foot Clan. Whatever the reasons for doing so—revenge, safety, or both—they believed they were doing the right thing, and that they were making things better. Except it turns out that there are consequences for killing the person who ruled over the New York criminal world with an iron fist, and the turtles had no plan on how to deal with those—no exit strategy, if you will. And so, after everything goes to hell, they have a decision to make:
- Become involved in the gang war indefinitely, even though the chances of them doing anything substantive to help is minimal.
- Realize that their involvement hinders as much as it helps, and abandon the city to its fate, even when they were in large part responsible for it.
- Train the Iraqi army in the hope that they may be able to take over "peacekeeping" and allow them to leave.
As "City at War" will tell you over and over again, Leo favors approach a), while Raph and Splinter favor approach b), although each for different reasons. The arc's ending goes on to suggest that Leo is in the right, with Raph (with Splinter in tow) eventually deciding to rescue Leo after initially abandoning him.
However, what is never actually stated is that the approach the turtles take isn't, in fact, a)—it's actually c): help the Foot Clan reorganize and then bail, which is a very United States thing to do. It's not immediately apparent because of the way it's framed, but it's important to note that the battle in "City at War" Part Three, unlike its comic book counterpart, is not conclusive. It's decisive in that it turns the tide of the conflict, but in the end, the Purple Dragons and the Mob are still very much in play. We don't get to see it, but we're left to assume that there's a period of further fighting after these episodes, where the Purple Dragons are brought back under Foot control (sans Dragonface, who is never seen again after next episode, for reasons that are not hard to imagine), the mob is disposed of (we never see them again, either) and Stockman recaptured, events which in no way involve the turtles.
Making things more interesting still is the fact that, as it turns out Karai was acting in bad faith all along—i.e.: the deal she made was not a deal she could enforce, no matter how much she may have wanted to—and that the turtles did not personally get to enjoy any benefits from helping the Foot regain its footing (sorry) in New York. The turtles' victory in Part Three is, then, an incomplete one at best—arguably good for the city, but that's it. The larger battle between the turtles and the Foot continues, and won't really be resolved for the duration of the series.
And I like that. I like that a story as big as this—both in the sense that it's the culmination of things that have been set up since the series began and in the sense that it features a situation that dwarfs the turtles and their ability to effect change—resists simple endings. It's one of the key things that made the first five seasons of the show feel like one big story, and gave the series a sense of realism that it often lacked in other areas. And while I understand why some may feel the changes fundamentally undermine the original story—undoubtedly true, if the purpose of the original story was to eliminate the Shredder and the Foot Clan as the story's main source of conflict—I feel the changes turned out for the better. While 4Kids would eventually go on to over-rely on the Shredder, that won't be for a while yet, and before it got to that point, it also used the Shredder to tell some of the series' best stories. "City at War"—this particular version, which is not the comic book version—made that possible.
Now, if only it were actually good…
(*1) One relevant detail here is that the Shredder, at the time of his death, was essentially a rogue operative, with enough power to be able to ignore the Japanese Foot's directives. Loyalty to Saki, then, was not necessarily loyalty to the Foot, and this is where the Elite Foot are coming from.
Random Thoughts:
- I've mentioned in other occasions the way TMNT excels when its action scenes are up close and personal but falters when it comes to depicting more impersonal larger-scale skirmishes, and this episode presents a good example of that. The turtles and the Foot's battle against Baxter's robots, while a rather faithful adaptation of events from the comic books, lacks almost all of its punch (not that the original had much of that, but still). The turtles' fight with Karai, on the other hand, is easily the best part in the entire arc, as we see characters interact and fight in ways consistent with their personalities.
- The turtles' temporary water tower lair infuriates me, because it makes no fucking sense to include it other than to have the nod to the comic books, where it's the turtles' only lair and therefore actually has a reason to be there. There's no fucking reason for the turtles not to retreat to their actual lair, except that the story requires Karai to actually find the turtles, but can't have her actually find their lair.
- One of the few characters who manages to get some development in this arc is Hun, whose loyalties, it turns out, are interesting. It turns out he's loyal to the Shredder, but not to the Foot Clan, which makes him the cartoon's version of of the comic book's Foot Elite. Take away the Shredder, and he'll always turn to the Purple Dragons, and what we see here will serve as a preview of his arc for season four.


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Last year, Banner Health officials investigated the operations, culture and quality of care at nearly 100 skilled-nursing facilities in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area.
The due diligence was done to limit the facilities recommended to patients leaving its hospitals who needed short-term skilled-nursing care, which outside the hospital can be in a nursing home or in stand-alone facilities. Of the more than 90 applications Banner received for inclusion in the select group, the system chose only 34 SNFs.


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|Orlando S., Orsini R., Raffaetà A., Roncato A., Silvestri C. Spatio-temporal aggregations in trajectory data warehouses. In: Data Warehousing and Knowledge Discovery . 9th International Conference on Data Warehousing and Knowledge Discovery, DaWaK '07 (Regensburg, Germany, 3-7 September 2007). Proceedings, pp. 66 - 77. Il Yeal Song, Johann Eder and Tho Manh Nguyen (eds.). (Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 4654). Springer, 2007.
|In this paper we investigate some issues related to the design of a simple Data Warehouse (DW), storing several aggregate measures about trajectories of moving objects. First we discuss the loading phase of our DW which has to deal with overwhelming streams of trajectory observations, possibly produced at different rates, and arriving in an unpredictable and unbounded way. Then, we focus on the measure presence, the most complex measure stored in our DW. Such a measure returns the number of trajectories that lie in a spatial region during a given temporal interval. We devise a novel way to compute an approximate, but very accurate, presence aggregate function, which algebraically combines a bounded amount of measures stored in the base cells of the data cube.
|Data Warehouses
Trajectory Data
Moving Objects
H.2.8 Database Applications
|1) Download Document PDF
Open access Restricted Private
|Per ulteriori informazioni, contattare: Librarian


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Carl Mertens: Liaison, set of three bowlsCM5662
Product Details
Carl Mertens: Lighter (shipped without fluid)
Carl Mertens, Germany.
Katja Holtermann designed the Liaison Bowls for Carl Mertens, Germany, 2004. A unique bowl with a dimple in one side, so that you can link bowls together in several different patterns. You can use them for snacks, drinks, centerpiece or anything you like!
Ever since the company's founding in 1919, the people at CARL MERTENS have seen themselves as champions of good taste. Their goal is to turn the finest of raw materials into tableware and utensils which satisfy not only the most demanding functional requirements but appeal to the emotions as well. Especially close to their hearts is taking supposedly mundane actions such as eating and drinking and elevating these activities to a pleasure-filled dining experience.
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Seven members from Garstang Running Club made the trip to Burnley's Towneley Park as the Mid-Lancashire Cross Country League reconvened after Christmas last Saturday.
After a reasonably long dry spell, the course was not as muddy as usual although the going was heavy still.
There was a good field of 157 runners in the ladies' race of about 6K.
First in for Garstang was Danielle Burrows, who finished an excellent 38th.
She was followed by the improving Claire Godfrey in 69th position with Sheena Cottam next up in 111th, thus reversing the order from the race at Leigh by beating Mary Hewitt who was 131st.
Those results were enough for the ladies' senior team to finish 21st.
The senior men's race, which was about 10K long, attracted an entry of 235 runners.
While the men did not have a team the Garstang runners acquitted themselves well.
First in for Garstang was Simon Gora in 82nd place, who has shown a consistent improvement as the season has progressed.
Next up was Geoff Lyons in 190th place with Paul Smith in 220nd.
There is now a break of five weeks before the next race at Ryelands Park in Lancaster on Saturday, February 17.


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Steve Howey is an american film star who currently stars in the Showtime show, 'Shameless'. He's made many appearances on a multitude of shows from Sons of Anarchy to Reba. He's also appeared in numerous films including twice playing Kate Hudson's love interest. He's currently in production with several new movies set to come out in 2014.
Recently the star took to Twitter to make a joke about President Obama. "People shouldn't be so scared about this virus from Africa. He only has two more years of his presidency." Some found the joke offensive and lashed out at Howey on Twitter. The tweet was eventually deleted but not before it was picked up by multiple media sources. What do you think? Was the tweet really offensive or just a tongue in cheek comment that have liberals overreacting to? Chime in using the comment section below.
Howey is from San Antonio, Texas and is a known Conservative Republican. He is married to fellow celebrity actress Sarah Shahi. Shahi would certainly be a great addition to our Republican Babes if she turns out to share her husbands political views. We'll be watching for any news of her political affiliation as well as Howey's Twitter feed for any more political related posts. You can find follow him on Twitter yourself @reelstevehowey. Aside from political jokes, he's very active on Twitter and makes a lot of hilarious posts. Show support for Republican actors by tweeting him some words of support. And don't forget to catch his latest shows and upcoming movies! The more support we all show, the easier it will be for celebrities like him to come out about the Republican political beliefs without the fear of being blacklisted from future movie roles.


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Verizon Wireless Names Three Premier Ad Agencies For Nationwide Continuity Of Local Market Advertising
BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless today announced that three premier advertising and brand agencies Hill Holliday, Global Hue and Zenith have been selected to provide account service and creative support to advertising efforts in Verizon Wireless' local markets nationwide.
Beginning today:
- Hill Holliday will be responsible for the strategy and creative support for all local advertising. The account will be handled by Hill Holliday's Erwin-Penland unit in Greenville, S.C., which previously handled retail marketing duties for Verizon Wireless in the southern United States; and Hill Holliday New York, which had similar responsibilities for Verizon Wireless in the northeastern United States.
- Detroit-based Global Hue, in an extension of its role as multicultural agency for national advertising, will be the lead multicultural agency for the company's local markets.
- Zenith New York, currently responsible for national advertising media planning and buying, will add to its duties the coordination and support of local efforts in markets throughout the country.
The three agencies now exclusively supporting Verizon Wireless' regional efforts will be called upon to ensure the company's brand strategy and messaging is consistent in all local newspaper, radio, outdoor and business advertising. Previously, eight agencies managed Verizon Wireless' local advertising effort.
"In the eyes of the consumer, Verizon Wireless has always been known for its network reliability and its quality communications products and services," said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. "With this line-up of agency talent, we will enhance our national branding and advertising efforts with an even stronger coordinated effort on the local level."
Verizon Wireless' new agency line-up builds upon parent company Verizon Communications' recent creation of a team of the nation's leading brand and advertising agencies to handle account services and creative support for Verizon Communications, Verizon Business and Verizon Wireless. Information on that announcement can be found at: http://www.verizonwireless.com/news/article/2007/05/pr2007-05-18.html.
For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
About Verizon WirelessVerizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 62.1 million customers. The largest U.S. wireless company and largest wireless data provider, based on revenues, Verizon Wireless is headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 67,000 employees nationwide. The company is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.####


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Love in a Nutshell
This is an okay book co-written by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly. Kate Appleton needs a job. Her husband has left her, she's been fired from her job as a magazine editor, and the only place she wants to go is to her parent's summer house, The Nutshell, in Keene's Harbor, Michigan. Kate's plan is to turn The Nutshell into a bed-and-breakfast. Problem is, she needs cash, and the only job she can land is less than savory. Matt Culhane wants Kate to spy on his brewery employees. Someone has been sabotaging his company, and Kate is just new enough in town to be able to insert herself into Culhane's business and snoop around for him.


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- Francis Bacon said, "Reading maketh a full man; conference, a ready man; and writing an exact man."
South SEED-LPDH College (SSLC) believes in the full devlopment of the students to ensure their success in their career after graduation. Students do not just listen to lectures, answer quizzes and practice exercises and be ready for the board exams. First and foremost, SSLC believes that students need to be aware not only about the present but of the past as well to understand better the present situations.
"While students could get a lot of information through reading and lsitening to lectures, I believe, they should be actively involved in their learning through exchange of ideas, sharing their opinions and lsitening to the opinions of others, and analyzing their opinions and the other peole's opinions in written form." Thus, is the explanation of Mr. Joseph Cipriano, instructor of the classes in Sociology and Anthropology and The Works and Life of Rizal why he usually conducts such activities in his classes
On October 21, 2017, students in Socio Anthro went on a journey in the past by discussing what various anthropologists did in relation to humankind's origin and social relationships.
On the other hand, students of the "Life and Works of Rizal" relived the genius acts of Rizal, his sacrifices for the Filipinos and related it to the social and political situations of the Philippines today and the present family concerns.


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Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2
1 pack of joyloop cauliflower rice
8 oz of ground chicken or pork (optional)
1/8 cup of chicken stock (optional - if you remove the chicken stock, just add an extra teaspoon each of soy sauce and sesame oil)
2 tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos
1 teaspoon of garlic, chopped
1/2 cup of frozen peas/carrots
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil
1/4 cup of green onions
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Cook and stir chicken or pork in hot oil until lightly browned on all sides and cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Saute garlic in hot oil until just softened and add cauliflower; cook and stir until cauliflower is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of chicken stock halfway through.
3. Crack in egg and stir until cooked through. Last add in cooked chicken or pork, soy sauce, and, frozen peas carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes till everything is warmed through.
4. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.


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In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had Nick at Nite playing in the background. They started talking about classic TV shows when someone asked, "What was the precise moment you knew it was downhill for your favorite show?" One said it was when Vicki came on board "The Love Boat." Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on "The Flintstones." Sean Connolly offered, "That's easy: It was when Fonzie jumped the shark." As Hein later recounted, there was silence in the room: "No explanation necessary, the phrase said it all."
Thus was born an expression that would quickly make its way into the pop culture mainstream, defined by Hein as "a moment. A defining moment when you know from now on … it's all downhill … it will never be the same." If I had been in the room, however, I would have broken that silence of self-assuredness, for I wrote that now infamous episode of "Happy Days."
And more than three decades later, I still don't believe that the series "jumped the shark" when Fonzie jumped the shark.
Little did the show's writers and producers know as we gathered in a conference room at Paramount Studios that spring day in 1977 that we would be creating a little piece of history. "Happy Days" was finishing the 1976-77 season as the most popular series on television, an accomplishment we were all proud of. That year had begun with a highly rated three-part story in which Fonzie ( Henry Winkler) rekindled the flame of a former love, Pinky Tuscadero. Because of this success, ABC and Paramount wanted us to open the next season, our fifth, with another three-part story.
After discussing different scenarios, we decided to take the "Happy Days" gang to Hollywood, with Fonzie invited for a screen test. One of the plot lines would be Fonzie clashing with "The California Kid," a cocky local beach boy. Since Henry water skied in real life, it was suggested the characters race and then, as a tiebreaker, have to jump a shark in a netted area in the ocean.
Now, whose idea was it for Fonzie to jump the shark? Amazingly, I can't remember — which is frustrating, as I can usually watch a "Happy Days" episode from any season, hear a joke and recall who wrote it. My friend Brian Levant, then a talented new member of the writing staff, believes that Garry Marshall, the show's co-creator and executive producer, and Bob Brunner, the show runner at the time, made the suggestion. But what I definitely remember is that no one protested vehemently; not one of us said, "Fonzie, jump a shark? Are you out of your mind?"
After the stories for the three opening episodes were blocked out, it was time to see who would write them. Often the writer who came up with the story would write the teleplay, while other times the script assignments were given out by the show runner. Bob gave me the final part to write.
There were no objections from the cast, the studio or the network concerning "Hollywood 3," as it came to be titled. It aired Sept. 20, 1977, and was a huge hit, ranking No. 3 for the week with a 50-plus share (unheard of today) and an audience of more than 30 million viewers.
And that was that until Hein and his roommates appeared a decade later. Not long after their initial bull session, Hein launched http://www.jumptheshark.com, listing about 200 television shows and inviting visitors to suggest the moment they knew a show was on the decline. Incredibly, the three words took off like wildfire and over the years the phrase has been used in television shows, video games and countless newspapers, magazines and blogs — applied to practically anything: sports, music, celebrities, politics. It even found its way into the Oxford English Dictionary as British journalists pondered whether Tony Blair had jumped the shark. I saw a post on examiner.com a few weeks ago suggesting President Obama was about to do the same thing by appearing on "The View."
Which brings us to the question: Was the "Hollywood 3" episode of "Happy Days" deserving of its fate?
No, it wasn't. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not "Happy Days'" time. Consider: It was the 91st episode and the fifth season. If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?
That's why, when I first heard the phrase and found out what it meant, I was incredulous. Then my incredulity turned into amazement. I started thinking about the thousands of television shows that had been on the air since the medium began. And out of all of those, the "Happy Days" episode in which Fonzie jumps over a shark is the one to be singled out? This made no sense.
Interestingly enough, nowhere in any discussions or articles on the subject of jump the shark did I ever find my name associated with it. So, really, the only people who knew I wrote the episode were those on the show and my friends and family. But I knew. I have to admit, there was a time I was embarrassed. I was Hester Prynne reincarnated, walking around with a scarlet "S" on the front of my shirt, facing accusing glances and stifled snickering. But this feeling passed quickly, and I likened the popularity to a new fad, where someone jumps on the proverbial bandwagon and soon everyone is doing it, for no rhyme or reason, like the riding the mechanical bull craze. It was ludicrous. All I could do was laugh.
Fortunately, my career didn't jump the shark after "jump the shark." When "Happy Days" ended, I went directly to the ABC Paramount hit show "Webster" and, after that, wrote and produced, among others, "It's Your Move," "He's the Mayor, "The New Leave It to Beaver" and "Family Matters." In 1987, Brian Levant and I created the action comedy "My Secret Identity," which won an International Emmy.
Now that so much time has passed, it's clear that "jump the shark" is no mere fad. It has become a part of the American lexicon. I often hear or read the phrase and run into people who know it. Some of them aren't even aware of the origin. It is unfathomable to me that the shark still has its bite.
But so does our show. The day after I started writing this article, my sister Jan was meeting our friend Vicki at a movie screening. Jan mentioned I had written the episode of "Happy Days" where Fonzie jumped the shark and was working on a piece about it for the Los Angeles Times. A young man in his 20s at the reception table overheard and looked at her in disbelief. "Your brother wrote the jump the shark episode?" he said. "Awesome!"


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Parents in the XXI century (EN)
She was born when I was 54 years old. Never a child has been more welcome. She is not a child any more. She is an "adolescente". I should not know what she does with her friends, girls and boys. But I do. Not by what she tells me, but by what I see, by what I feel.
We will share more than two weeks of togetherness in the insects-infested Dobri Dol house.
We promised each other during the 200 Kms car ride from Sofia, that we would try to make this very last togetherness during summer, a success.
We did. My girl is in a turmoil. I know that she will choose the right way. But sometimes, she is lost.
A twenty-first century parent is there, to help. If helping is permitted.
Please, dear daughter, let me help.
I know that I can be of some help to You...


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The Iowa Board of Medicine has named one of its staff members as the interim head of the organization following the unexplained departure of its former executive director.
Kent Nebel, director of legal affairs of the Iowa Board of Medicine, was named interim executive director of the state medical board during a brief meeting with no public discussion Thursday morning.
Board members voters voted unanimously — with two members absent — to instate Nebel.
Nebel, who has been the board's legal adviser for nearly 20 years, will serve as interim while the board conducts a nationwide search for a permanent executive director.
The board's previous executive director, Mark Bowden, retired at the end of last July — the same day he was reinstated to the position by board members — following a back and forth scenario that has not been explained by officials.
Bowden, a longtime former editor of The Gazette, was placed on administrative leave for undisclosed reasons for about a month before the board gathered to discuss his status in predominantly closed sessions on July 26. The next morning, the board unanimously voted to reinstate him to his former position but indicated later that afternoon a desire to reconsider the action.
Bowden submitted his retirement letter to the board that day.
"I want to thank you for your confidence in my ability to continue administering the agency where I have served honorably for the past 10 years," Bowden wrote. "Unfortunately, over the past eight months I have been hindered in my work by what I perceive are substantial deficiencies in service and a lack of adequate support from the Department of Public Health and the Department of Administrative Services.
"The grossly unfair way in which I was treated by the personnel staff of these departments and state counsel during the past months broke the trust and confidence I need to effectively lead and administer the agency. Consequently, I am retiring from state service."
As the Board of Medicine's executive director, Bowden was paid more than $114,000 during fiscal year 2017, state records show.
The Iowa Board of Medicine, an executive branch agency within the Iowa Department of Public Health, has the authority to regulate the practice of medicine and surgery, acupuncture and genetic counseling, with duties that include licensing physicians and taking disciplinary action to fine or suspend licensed practitioners if they are found to have provided substandard care or violated ethics.
Gazette Des Moines bureau reporter Rod Boshart contributed to this article.
l Comments: (319) 368-8536; firstname.lastname@example.com


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Northumberland County Council has been shortlisted in two categories in this year's Dynamites Awards – partially thanks to the efforts of a Pegswood teenager.
The awards, which are sponsored by BT, shine a spotlight on successful North East organisations and recognise the talent the region has to offer in the IT and technology sectors.
George Willcox, 16, is among the finalists in the Rising Star category for his contributions to the digital tech sector through his education and volunteering roles.
As part of the county council's digital inclusion and skills work, the information services department facilitates a series of volunteer-led code clubs at primary and middle schools across the county.
An Ashington High School sixth form student, George gives up some of his spare time to run one of the clubs alongside his mother, Sam Willcox.
Together, they deliver basic coding skills to pupils aged between nine and 11 at Pegswood Primary School, which due to their hard work has become one of the most successful code clubs in Northumberland.
George is the only student among the shortlisted people across all of the award categories.
In addition, the council's #VerifyLocal team, from the information services department, has been shortlisted in the Collaborator of the Year category for its work with Government Digital Services (GDS) and 24 other local councils across the UK on two pilot projects – concessionary travel and residential parking permits.
The initiatives, the first of their kind in the UK, have seen GDS and the local authorities work together to share best practice and make decisions on what the solutions will look like, creating common service patterns for the benefit of all residents.
The Northumberland authority provides a wide range of services across the county to approximately 316,000 residents and more than 11,000 businesses, with many of these located in remote rural areas.
Delivering such a wide range of services over a large area can prove challenging, especially for those services that require verification of an individual's identity, which can cause a barrier to residents who live in remote areas.
The verify projects will reduce the requirement for face-to-face contact in order to access services, allowing the council to make efficiency savings and focus its resources more effectively.
Coun Nick Oliver, cabinet member for corporate services at the county council, said: "In George, we have a shining example of a young person who is actively helping to bridge the digital skills gap that is a feature across the UK, as well as here in Northumberland.
"His work is helping other young people in Northumberland to improve their skills, which will be invaluable to their futures
"The verify local projects will enable us to increase the number of services that the council can make available online – meaning that they are more accessible to all residents, regardless of where they live, while also providing efficiency savings, which are of benefit to everyone."
The awards ceremony is taking place this evening at Newcastle Civic Centre.


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Staff Profile
Associate Professor Geoffrey Simate
|BEng, MSc(Eng), PhD, MSAIMM, MSAIChE, MAmerChemSoc
|Organisational Unit
|School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering
- Carbon Nanotechnology: The production and applications of carbon nanotubes
- Water treatment:The use of carbon nanotubes and biomass for the treatment of wastewater
- Bio/hydro-metallurgy: The use of bacteria in mineral beneficiation, and bioremediation
D r. Geoffrey S. Simate has a PhD degree & an MSc (Eng) degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa), and a BEng honours degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (UK). Geoffrey's research interests are in the areas of water treatment, (bio) hydrometallurgy, and nanotechnology. He has published over 40 research papers, one edited book, and five book chapters, which have so far been cited more than 400 times. His current h-index and i10-index are 12 and 13, respectively. He is a C3 NRF-rated scientist, which shows that he is an established researcher who has produced a body of quality work, the core of which has coherence and attests to ongoing engagement with the field, and has demonstrated the ability to conceptualise problems and apply research methods to investigating them. Geoffrey is a reviewer of several international journals, and has examined several postgraduate dissertations and thesis from various universities. He has more than 9 years of hydrometallurgical industrial experience where he held various senior engineering positions including that of senior assistant metallurgical engineer, metallurgist, process controller/engineer, and plant manager. He has served as a regional representative in Africa for the Global Network of Nanotechnology and its applications to Road Materials and Pavements (GNN-RMP), and as a Chairperson for 'Carbon nanotube synthesis & road application' technical group (TG#10) of the Global Network of Nanotechnology and its applications to Road Materials and Pavements from 2012 to 2014. He is currently teaching Chemical Engineering Design to final year students and Mass Transfer Operations to third year students. He is also involved in the teaching of MSc (Eng) degrees and short courses to postgraduate students. He is a member of SAIMM and SAIChE.
Nanotechnology, biotechnology, water treatment, bio/hydro-metallurgy


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You know that use of QR Codes is growing everyday across the globe. And also across most industries, particularly marketing. So you have decided to use QR Codes in your latest print media campaigns. But you're not sure which is the right QR Code generator? A quick Google search will give you many options—how do you choose the best QR Code generator? This guide will help you.
We have divided this guide into two sections:
- Features of a good QR Code Generator
- A detailed comparison chart of top QR Code generators
Note that no QR Code generator is perfect in an absolute way. You need to figure out what your requirements are and which QR Code generator suits your needs.
A. Must-have features in a QR Code Generator software
A good tool is one that makes your work easy. It either saves you time or money. It's not just about getting the job done. It's also about how quick you can get it done. Or how cost-effective it is. Follow this thumb rule:
Keeping this in mind, a good QR Code Generator should be able to:
1. Generate Dynamic QR Codes
The QR Code you create fall under one of the two categories—Static and Dynamic. Dynamic QR Codes allow you to edit the web page address anytime you want without the need to reprint the QR Code. One day you can lead your customers to your Facebook Page and the next day to a YouTube video.
As a serious marketer, you need this flexibility in your campaigns. You don't want to be stuck with a QR Code on a product that leads to page you don't want.
Most free QR Code generators online allow you to create basic Static QR Codes only. These QR Codes are basic and have almost no functionality.
2. Track scanning activity
If you are not analyzing your marketing campaigns then you are not optimizing. If you are not optimizing, you are losing money in lost sales opportunities.
Does your generator tell you exactly how many people scanned your QR Code? From which city, country, device, handset model, operating system, or browser?
In fact, does it tell you the exact GPS location of the QR Code scan? Yes. It's possible.
I'll tell you why this data is important.
Say you learn that majority users are scanning the QR Code from a specific city. This is where your target audience is. You can increase your marketing budget for this region to gain more conversion. Do you know how valuable this information is? A lot.
Another important analytics feature that you should check is—integrations. If you are a marketer, you probably have other campaigns running and you collate data in an Analytics tool—say Google Analytics, Kissmetrics, etc. The last thing you need is another analytics dashboard for QR Code campaigns. Check if your QR Code Generator allows you to integrate with other analytics platforms.
3. Captures contact information of target audience
As mentioned above, most advanced QR Code generators can track scanning activity. But only a few can tell exactly who scanned the QR Code i.e. name, email address, and phone number of the user scanning the QR Code.
This feature is called Lead Generation. If you are looking to capture leads information for re-marketing, you should check if the generator has this option.
Also check if the leads information can be integrated with your CRM—say via Zapier webhooks.
4. Design QR Codes to attract more scans
Have you ever scanned the barcode on a Coke can that you just bought? No. Why would you?
Then why should anybody scan a plain black-and-white QR Code on your promotions?
You need to make your QR Code stand out. It should scream to your audience that this is a point-of-engagement.
You can do this by making your QR Codes colorful and personalized to your brand. This can be possible if your generator has advanced QR Code designing capabilities.
If you will need to regularly design QR Codes, does your generator allow you to save designs as templates?
Here are examples of branded QR Codes with logo that were created using Scanova QR Code Generator:
5. Create the type of QR Code you need
There are categories of QR Codes depending on what information you want to share. Or what action you want your target audience to take.
For example:
a. Webpage QR Code leads you to a website
b. PDF QR Code shows a PDF document
c. Google Maps QR Code redirects you to
d. App Store QR Code redirects you to the right app download page depending on the operating system of the scanning device
Check if the QR Code generator allows you to create the QR Code you need. Basic apps will let you create about 5-6 basic content categories. Whereas advanced QR Code generators can help you create upto 25 QR Code categories.
In addition, if you're sharing sensitive data (say via PDF QR Code), do you have the option to secure it? Can you password-protect your QR Code?
6. Export vector formats of the QR Code image
QR Code makes most sense when added to print media. Raster formats such as PNG or JPG work fine if used on webpages. But to print a high-resolution QR Code image, you will need the QR Code image in vector format—SVG, EPS, PS, or PDF. These are the formats your designer—working on Adobe Indesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, or Sketch 3—will ask for.
So make sure your generator exports vector images of QR Codes. And not only of black-and-white QR Codes but designer ones as well.
7. Add error correction to QR Codes
Error correction is useful if you are adding a logo to your QR Code or if it is vulnerable to wear and tear. Error correction ensures that your QR Code remains scannable even if it is a little damaged.
(Tip for Scanova Users: Scanova uses complex image processing and algorithms to generate scannable QR Codes only)
8. Keep QR Codes and landing pages ad-free
Many QR Code Generators will allow you to create QR Codes for free.
What they will not tell you is that they will add mobile ads to your landing pages. This affects user experience of your audience and can significantly decrease conversion rate.
Choose a QR Code Generator that keeps landing pages completely ad-free. Note that sometimes free QR Code readers also include advertisements. If this happens, this is out of the control of the QR Code generation tool.
9. Organize QR Codes in Campaigns
Organizing QR Codes in campaigns is useful if you run multiple campaigns and create many QR Codes. Or if you manage QR Codes for multiple campaigns.
QR Code Campaign Management allows you to organize and manage QR codes in a systematic way.
For example: Deactivate an entire campaign in one go instead of deactivating 20 QR Codes one by one. See analytics at campaign-level instead of QR Code-level.
10. Has flexible payment options
The biggest advantage of a web-app over licensed software is flexibility. You can subscribe to the software only when you need it.
But many generators will not give you this flexibility and ask you to subscribe for a at least a year.
Check what flexible payment options does the generator have—monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, and annually. Does it offer bulk period discounts?
11. Not put a limit on number of scans
Do you know if your campaign is going to be successful or not? Often, QR Code generators will put a limit on the number of scans you get in your subscription plan.
How do you choose a plan if you are not sure how many scans you will get? What happens if you exceed the limit? Does the QR Code stop?
The design of subscription plans should be based on number of QR Codes and not on number of scans. So, one must opt for a QR Code generator with unlimited scans.
B. Best QR Code Generator—Comparison Chart
We conducted exhaustive research and created a detailed comparison chart. Here is a helpful comparison of the top QR Code Generators available on the web. This will help you select the best one for your business:
Create your first QR Code
Hope this makes it easy for you to choose the best QR Code generator software for your needs. If you're looking for a next step, see how to use a QR Code Generator.


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The BAGHEAD debate is gaining a new, brutal dimension in Berlin where Muslim girls with headscarves punched blonde fellow students without headscarves, pushed them to the ground and kicked them. One Muslim baghead tried to set fire to the hair of another blond student.
Rita Herrmanns of the Berlin school authority says that fundamentalist tendencies have been taking over in Berlin schools as well in recent years. Increasingly, more girls wear headscarves, more Muslim parents forbid their daughters from participating in class trips, swimming and sex-ed classes.
Principal Volker Steffens who sees the consequences on the front lines says that Islamist tendencies and direct racist attacks by girls are striking.
The victims are blond Polish girls since they're Catholic and yet very liberal, and therefore embody everything that the headscarf-girls reject. Steffens says the reason for the conflict is often envy. The girls are banned from many things in their own strict religious upbringing at home, but in school they see other girls who are allowed more. They get jealous and want to beat up the children from more liberal families.
Volker Steffens sets limits to the violence and aggression and says that incidents are discussed with the students and dealt with, going from reprimands to being excluded from school events or from school. Rita Herrmanns says that this is good, since the one thing that shouldn't happen is to look the other way. This violence should be made public. ISLAM IN EUROPE
RELATED STORIES: Islamization of the West


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In two articles appearing in The London Review of Books in December 2013 and April 2014 ("Whose Sarin" and "The Red Line and the Rat Line"), the Pulitzer prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh reported that the Obama administration falsely blamed the government of Syria's Bashar Al-Assad for the Sarin gas attack in Ghouta, which Obama was trying to use as an excuse to invade Syria. Hersh pointed to a report from British intelligence saying that the Sarin that was used in the Ghouta attack was not identical to that in Al-Assad's stockpiles.
Subsequently, in an interview with Alternet.org (20 April 2016), Hersh was asked about the then-US secretary of state's role in the Benghazi US consulate's operation to collect weapons from Libyan stockpiles and send them through Turkey into Syria for a set-up Sarin gas attack to be blamed on Al-Assad in order to "justify" the US invading Syria, as the US had invaded Libya to eliminate Muammar Gaddafi. Hersh said: "That ambassador who was killed, he was known as a guy, from what I understand… as somebody, who would not get in the way of the CIA. As I wrote, on the day of the mission he was meeting with the CIA base chief and the shipping company. He was certainly involved, aware and witting of everything that was going on. And there's no way somebody in that sensitive of a position is not talking to the boss, by some channel."
Now why is it that there was no reaction, here, to those serious claims made by Hersh, famed for the earth shattering journalistic coups he has made since the US' war in Vietnam? He directly implicates Hillary Clinton, at the time she served as US secretary of state, in the transfer of toxic gas and other weapons from Libya to Syria via Turkey from the period between 2012 and 2013. He adds that a number of Arab parties funded the operation that was carried out under the supervision of the CIA. The operation was to funnel internationally banned chemical weapons into the hands of terrorist groups that the US administration called the "moderate" Syrian opposition, so that they could stage a chemical weapons attack against civilians that the US and its media machine would blame on the Syrian regime and use as a pretext for a military intervention to overthrow Al-Assad, thereby satisfying the aims of the Arab funders as well as the ambitions of both Turkey and Israel.
This, according to Hersh, was how Al-Nusra Front was equipped with Sarin gas from Libya and used it to carry out the criminal attack against Ghouta in August 2013. This certainly seems worth bearing in mind in the aftermath of the recent atrocity perpetrated against Khan Sheikhoun, killing dozens of innocent civilians. The Western media rhetoric is the same as it was three years ago and this time it was accompanied by a US missile attack against Syria.
Why, at least, has no one here stated a clear position with respect to the civil society organisations that sought to have Clinton account for the allegations that appeared over a year ago and other attempts to inform the US public about the true nature of their government's policies? Odder yet are those lamentations we sometimes hear, in the Arab region, over Clinton's defeat in the presidential elections, regardless of her obvious support for the Muslim Brotherhood and the pressure she exerted to restore them to power against the will of the Egyptian people.
Hersh is not the only reporter who has been covering this. Writing beneath the headline, "Top US and Saudi Officials responsible for Chemical Weapons in Syria," on 7 October 2013, another investigative journalist, Christoph Lehmann, reported, on the basis of very different sources than those Hersh used, that "Evidence leads directly to the White House, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, CIA Director John Brennan, Saudi Intelligence Chief Prince Bandar, and Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry." And, as if that weren't enough, even the definitive analysis of the evidence that was performed by two leading US analysts, the Lloyd-Postal report, concluded that, "The US government's interpretation of the technical intelligence it gathered prior to and after the 21 August attack cannot possibly be correct."
Obama has clearly been lying.
Bearing the foregoing in mind, there still remains the question as to Trump's actual aims and the messages he intended to deliver by launching missile strikes. Until hours before this, the Russians had been more committed to perpetuating Al-Assad's Alawy regime than to fighting Islamic State (IS) terrorism. And until hours before the strike, the US administration was committed to the elimination of IS regardless of whether or not Al-Assad and his regime remained in power. Then the "red line" was crossed and a chemical attack occurred against militia locations in Khan Sheikhoun. This was followed by the US' unilateral missile attack against the Syrian air base, all of which has given rise to innumerable questions.
Analysts have registered a number of important observations concerning the US attack:
Firstly, this was not a declaration of war. It was a limited operation targeting a specific military base and it was intended as a punitive action against the Syrian regime and a reminder to it that it had better stick to the rules of the game.
Secondly, the US missile attack received implicit Russian approval. How else can one explain that the S-300 and S-400 missile battery systems in Syria were not put to use to intercept the incoming US missiles?
Thirdly, the timing was brilliant. It took place just as Trump was having his first dinner with his guest the Chinese president, driving home the point that Trump means what he says. It sent a clear message to Iran and North Korea who are plying with fire with their provocative ballistic missile tests. It boosted Trump's popularity at home, which had begun to sink due to mistakes by his senior staff members.
Moscow condemned the US missile attack against Syria as an attack against a sovereign stage. But it is interesting to note that this attack also occurred only days ahead of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's visit to Moscow.
One thing for sure, we are looking at a watershed. It is still enigmatic, but the results will become apparent fairly soon. These will take the form of new shifts in regional and international alliances now that the cards have been reshuffled and Trump's Washington has plunged into the Syrian arena in direct confrontation against the Russians and Iranians on the ground.


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Compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is not only required by law, but it is also essential for the proper management and profitability of healthcare providers. The HIPAA Privacy Rule, the HIPAA Security Rule and HIPAA risk assessment requirements were developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights. HIPAA is comprised of three parts: security, privacy and EDI (code sets, transactions and identifiers). All areas must be in compliance to ensure the privacy of patient health information.
HIPAA Risk Analysis
We identify potential threats and vulnerabilities in order to provide an understanding of the risks to protected health information (PHI). We also review and assess both technical and non-technical privacy and security measures. The results become the basis for a dynamic and ongoing risk management process, which will lay the foundation for compliance with HIPAA requirements.
Coding & Documentation Audit
Following the audit guidelines established by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), we perform a comprehensive review of the accuracy of coding, billing and reimbursement practices. This process helps to ensure compliance, which ultimately enhances the quality of data submitted to third-party payers. We also assist the organization in taking any appropriate corrective actions.
Meaningful Use
We help our clients comply with the requirements necessary to achieve Meaningful Use, from the planning to attestation stages, with minimal disruption to patients, staff and office workflow. Our MU consulting services not only help clients to utilize certified EHRs to maintain complete health records for patients, but also to meet MU goals and qualify for the maximum reimbursement amounts.
Additional Services
Because HIPAA compliance is an ongoing, dynamic process, additional areas of operations also affect your risk management. As part of our commitment to our clients, we also provide the following services:
- Policy Reviews
- Educational Material Reviews
- Coding Education & Training
- Recommendations
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which was enacted and signed into law in 2009, also addresses security and privacy concerns that arise when health information is transmitted electronically. Several provisions in the HITECH Act relate to and strengthen the enforcement of HIPAA. We are also able to provide the services listed above in relation to HITECH compliance.


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Jordan Nobbs came back to haunt her former club as Arsenal eased to comfortable double over Sunderland Ladies, winning 4-0 at Eppleton CW.
It was Carlton Fairweather side's seventh defeat of the season and leaves them six points above the drop zone.
Sunderland started brightly yesterday but Brooke Chaplen could not get to Beth Mead's first-minute cross.
But the Lady Black Cats' hopes of stifling a side which had stuck 12 goals past them already in 2016 came apart in the 10th minute.
Danielle Carter got the better of Tori Williams in the area before Sunderland defender Abby Holmes brought her down, referee John Matthews awarding a penalty.
England midfielder Fara Williams saw her spot-kick beaten out by Rachael Laws but Victoria Losada followed up to bury the rebound high into the net.
Player of the match Nobbs, who gave a virtuoso display, doubled the lead in the 24th minute, combining superbly with Danielle van de Donk before beating Laws with a delicious finish off the outside of her right foot.
Youngster Madelaine Hill had two chances for Sunderland, but from the first could not get any venom in her shot to trouble Sari van Veenendaal, while her second effort flashed inches wide of the keeper's left stick.
The game though was over as a contest early in the second half when Carter finished emphatically into Laws' top left corner from Dominique Janssen's cross.
And it was 4-0 when Mr Matthews adjudged that Danielle Brown had tripped van de Donk and Williams buried the 53rd-minute penalty
Hill had a further sight of goal but this time van Veenendaal pulled off a super diving save to her right.
Nobbs almost brought the curtain down on her great display with a last-minute volley, but it just cleared the bar.
The 23-year-old, from Bishop Middleham in Co Durham, was watched by proud family members in the main stand, including dad Keith, the Hartlepool United defensive legend.
Sunderland Ladies: Laws, Brown,Bannon, Sharp, T Williams, Holmes; Staniforth (McDougall 86), Furness (Potts 58), Hill, Chaplen, Mead.
Unused subs: Olsen, Beer, Ramshaw, Kelly
Arsenal: van Veenendaal; Scott (Corredera 68), Stoney, Rose, Janssen; Nobbs, F Williams (Mitchell 61), Losada, Natalia, van de Donk (McCabe 73), Carter
Unused subs: Rogers, Dean, Wubbon-Moy, Oshoala
Goals: Losada 10; Nobbs 24, Carter 48, Williams pen 53. Booked: Natalia 41
Referee: John Matthews. Attendance: 608


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Pizza Hut India opens its first open-format kitchen store in Pune ~ Residents of Pune can now enjoy their all-time favourite Pan Pizzas and watch
Month: January 2017
In search of a lip-smacking Pav Bhaji
Whether it is served at street side or in high end swanky restaurants PAV BHAJI has been a favourite dish for all. If you are
Spicy Bread Crumbs: A tasty treat for foodies.
The small eatouts near Symbiosis College Deep Bungalow Chowk offer some filling and tasty snack dishes . The place is never deserted and is always
Pune Food Fest to organize Misal Mahotsav
Pune Food Fest has organized Misal Mahotsav that will be held on 6, 7 and 8 January 2017 at Satav hall, Sahakarnagar from 8am to 9pm. The festival


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Netflix Canada to a cable cutter - yes please
As I mentioned earlier, I don't have cable anymore. As someone who LOVES television, this was an adjustment in how to spend my spare time. While I don't miss it, I'm thrilled to see more options to catch great content without a cable subscription.
Thank you, Netflix Canada. Sure, it's has only one season of Hoarders (not… that… I.. watch… it…) and some sub-par programming choices (no, Netflix, I am not interested in anything from Jeff Dunham). But it also has the first three seasons of Mad Men, all seasons of The Kids in the Hall, Faulty Towers, documentaries galore and tons of A-list movies.
This is why I'm perplexed to read some statuses updates on Facebook and Twitter where people are thinking of quitting. Is it that these people have a cable subscription and are used to a wider selection of programming choice? Or is this service actually more expensive for Canadians than Netflix's $8/month subscription fee?
A recent Credit Suisse study outlined in Forbes suggests a Canadian Netflix subscriber watching a standard definition video would see his or her broadband usage go up by roughly 1GB an hour. "Based on Rogers Communications' data pricing structure," the study says, "this would have resulted in a $12 per month increase in broadband for our test home."
I haven't heard from others whether they've experienced this type of sticker shock by watching video with Netflix. The main complaint I see revolves around content selection.
For me, however, the no commercials (yet?), fast streaming (due in large part to my good internet connection) and number of titles (including those I wouldn't pay iTunes to watch – see mention of Hoarders) makes it worthwhile.
Maybe that's the point… Perhaps Netflix is only really good to someone like me who has been away from cable television for over a year. Even if I were with Rogers Internet and needed to purchase a higher broadband subscription, $20/month is still worth it. It's still cheaper than what I was paying for cable with, to be honest, some really horrible programming choices.
What about you? If you subscribe to Netflix, do you like it? If you don't, what's holding you back?


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Royce Ranch Foundation Quarter Horses
Hollywoods Lena Too
Hollywoods Lena Too AQHA#
(Registered with NFQHA at 96% and FQHA at 100% Foundation bred )
Sire: Hollywood At Dawn
Dam: Wheelin Thumb O'Lena
5 Panel N/N
Colour Test Results - E/e a/a N/Cr D/N
Hollywoods Lena Too, 2000 grulla stallion. Finished reiner, shown by Darren
Stancik. He is athletic, great mover. Stands just under 15hh He has also been worked on cows and buffalo calves and
has awesome cow-sence and work ethic. He is a special boy with his sire being Hollywood At Dawn, a proven NCHA
& IBHA performance money earner sired by Hollywood Bill an AQHA Superior Cutting horse by
the legend Hollywood Gold. With some legendary King P-234 blood up close... On his dam's side he also has tons to offer,
being sired by Wheeling Peppy NCHA money earner by Peppy San Badger and rounding out the bottom spot is the great Doc O'Lena. He
has the perfect mix of "old time" foundation blood crossed on top performance & cutting horse greats."Cisco" is a very unique guy when it comes to his color. He has a unique shade to him - "
smokey" / "chocolate" grulla. From the pictures he does not look grulla, he has been tested for Dun Zygosity and is
positive. He will pass his dun factor to his offspring at a minimal 50% of the time. He has both red and black factors in
him (E/e) black being the dominate. Most of the time when he is bred to a "red" based mare he passes on that wonderful
cream gene! His offspring consist of grullo, dun, buckskin, palomino, smokey black, cremello, & perlino with only
a couple bay/ brown foals. If you are looking for a unique stallion to breed your mare to that has the credentials to
back himself up, look no further. His foals are athletic, correct and easy to train. Pictures of them below. His foals
are being used and doing well in everything from working cattle and reining... even barrels! - a ture testament to the
versatility of the Foundation Bred Quarter Horse. Watch for his foals in future reining events as well.. Also see
a picture of his sire Hollywood At Dawn, shown below.
Breeding Info
He will not be standing to outside mares for the 2018 breeding
Breeding Fee: $700.00
Booking Fee: $250.00 ( non-refundable, included
in breeding fee price )
LFG: Yes
Pasture Breeding: No
Hand Cover: Yes
Shipped Semen: Please contact us for more info
Hollywoods Lena Too
Hollywood At Dawn
Hollywood Bill
Hollywood Gold
Gold Rush
Triangle Lady 17
Miss Jo Kenney
Joe Barrett
James Kenney Mare
Queen Dawn
King P-234
Queen H
Dan 1
Nail Quarter Mare
Wheelin Thumb OLena
Wheeling Peppy
Peppy San Badger
Mr San Peppy
Sugar Badger
Wheeling Princess
Rey Jay
Wheeling Lassie
Lena Too
Doc O'Lena
Doc Bar
Poco Lena
Fancy Too
Lowrys Dutchman
Queen Bobbie
Pedigree generated by PedigreeQuery.com
Hollywoods Lena Too's Sire - Hollywood At Dawn
Royce Ranch Foundation Quarter Horses
Hines Creek AB
Tel / Fax : (780) 494-2683
or: (780) 494-3026
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Arsenal have got a lot to be grateful to Huddersfield for. I found this great footage of the 1930 FA Cup semi-finals and final on YouTube. Arsenal won their first ever trophy after beating tomorrow's opponents Huddersfield 1-0 the final with a rare goal by the classy Alex James, the Dennis Bergkamp of the 1930s.
Arsenal's manager on the day was Herbert Chapman. Chapman won the title twice with Huddersfield in successive seasons (1923-24 and 1924-25) and the FA Cup in 1923 before moving on to Arsenal at the end of the 1924-25 season and repeating those feats (winning the FA Cup with Arsenal in 1930 and the League Championship in 1930-31 and 1931-32).
Chapman was acknowledged as one of the grandfathers of modern football, introducing many of the features of the game that we are so familar with today such as white footballs, numbered shirts, floodlights and modern training regimes including the use of physiothrapists and masseurs. He also insisted on picking the team himself without interference from the board (a pracitce almost unheard of at the time) and encouraged the players to discuss tactics at weekly team meetings, another new innovation.
Chapman's Arsenal legacy was equally impressive. As well as introducing the famous white sleeves before the match against Liverpool on 4 March 1933, he was also instrumental in the development of Highbury into a modern football stadium (complete with the new 'Clock End') and in changing the name of Gillespie Road tube station to Arsenal. He was also a big fan of the continental game and was an early pioneer for bringing foreign players to the English game. Beginning to sound like someone we know?
Chapman would undoubtedly have won more honours if it had not been for his untimely death from pneumonia on 6 January 1934. Arsene Wenger said this week that:
"We can call him a 'super pioneer' because he really turned this Club into one that was ready for the modern era. He was ahead of his time and he was certainly the most influential manager."So let's hear it for Huddersfield. And I hope we give them a good tanking tomorrow!