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Faux wood vertical blinds are designed to give the look of real wood blinds. Simulated wood grain is visible on the front and back of each louver and these blinds are available in six of the most popular stained colors. They can be fitted to a wide range of different window sizes and come with options like a bottom chain to stop excessive vane movement, left, right or center split stacking and extension brackets to clear obstructions. A 3 ½ inch valance to cover the aluminum headrail is also optional. All the mounting hardware you need for these vertical blinds is included in your purchase
Faux wood vertical blinds from BlindsOnline.com are a great choice for anyone who wants the look of real wood. You can match your wood blinds to faux wood vertical blinds or just use them alone. Whether you need blinds for your home or office windows, these are the perfect treatment for your windows and you'll love the smooth, clean look they provide. Don't waste time or money shopping for vertical blinds at over priced home improvement stores. Buying your blinds from BlindsOnline.com is easy, convenient and best of all, saves you money. High-quality vertical blinds don't have to cost you a fortune.
Faux wood vertical blinds have all of the style of real wood vertical blinds, but additional qualities that help add value to your window treatment investment. In more extreme climates that experience high humidity and heat in summer and cold winters, faux wood blinds stand up better to the elements. Faux wood vertical blinds make a great match for kitchens, bathrooms, and garages that experience temperature and humidity fluctuations. Basswood blinds tend to warp in these conditions, but faux wood vertical blinds can take the heat (and humidity)!
It is important to understand the difference between "cheap vertical blinds" and what we are offering at BlindsOnline.com. Our faux wood vertical blinds are affordably priced, but by no means "cheap." Our relationship with our manufacturing plants in the United States allows us to undercut the competition on price, but we never compromise on the build quality of our faux wood vertical blinds. Choose where to buy blinds online carefully, compromising on where your faux wood vertical blinds are manufactured, or opting for an unknown supplier could cost you more in headaches and time lost. Our reputation as the premier place to buy vertical blinds online is based on our competitive prices, top-tier customer service, and our fast turn-around time.
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John Ford on 3/18/2015 1:16:03 PM
"These blinds are the best.I can't say enough good things about them. I will be using them in the dinning room and our three bedroom. The color we chose is perfect and the measurements came out just right. They were easy to install and very easy to clean. They make the shole room look very neat."
sharon barnhill on 4/3/2014 8:02:31 AM
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- Next day delivery
- Full Manufacturer Warranty
- £7 million
of physical stock
Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm
The HP Smart Array P420 Controller is a low profile, 6 Gb/s, PCIe 3.0, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) RAID controller that provides enterprise class, storage performance and data protection for select HP ProLiant Gen8 rack and tower servers. It features eight internal SAS ports and delivers increased server uptime by providing advanced storage functionality, including online RAID level migration (between any RAID levels) with flash back write cache, global online spare, and pre-failure warning. Data Compatibility among all models of Smart Array controllers allows simple and easy migration at any time when needs for higher performance, capacity, and availability increase. Even new generations of Smart Array controllers can understand the data format of previous generations of Smart Array controllers.
|Device Type
|Storage controller (RAID) - plug-in card - low profile
|Host Bus
|PCIe 3.0 x8
|Storage Controller
|SATA 6Gb/s / SAS 6Gb/s
|Data Transfer Rate
|6 Gbit/s
|Buffer Size
|Supported Devices
|Disk array (RAID)
|Channel Qty
|RAID Level
|Expansion / Connectivity
|2 x SATA 6Gb/s / SAS 6Gb/s (internal)
|Compatible Slots
|1 x PCI Express 3.0 x8 - low-profile
|Compliant Standards
|Software / System Requirements
|OS Required
|Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x86 Edition, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 x64 Edition, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 x64 Edition, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 x64 Edition
|Dimensions & Weight
|5.72 cm
|24.13 cm
|19.05 cm
|Compatibility Information
|Designed For
|HPE ProLiant DL160 Gen8, DL160 Gen8 Entry, DL160 Gen8 Performance, DL320e Gen8, DL320e Gen8 Base, DL320e Gen8 Entry, DL320e Gen8 Performance, DL380e Gen8, DL380p Gen8, DL380p Gen8 Base, DL380p Gen8 Entry, DL380p Gen8 High Performance, DL380p Gen8 Special, DL385p Gen8, DL385p Gen8 Dedicated Workload, DL385p Gen8 Entry, DL385p Gen8 Maximized Consolidation, DL385p Gen8 Storage, DL560 Gen8, DL560 Gen8 Base, DL560 Gen8 Entry, DL560 Gen8 Performance, ML310e Gen8, ML310e Gen8 Base, ML310e Gen8 Entry, ML310e Gen8 Performance, ML310e Gen8 v2, ML310e Gen8 v2 Base, ML310e Gen8 v2 Enty, ML310e Gen8 v2 Performance, ML350e Gen8, ML350e Gen8 Base, ML350e Gen8 Entry, ML350e Gen8 Performance, ML350e Gen8 v2, ML350p Gen8, SL210t Gen8 1U Node, SL250s Gen8 2U Left Half Width Tray, SL250s Gen8 2U PCIe Gen3 Left Tray, SL250s Gen8 2U Right Half Width Tray, SL250s Gen8 Base 2U Left Half Width Tray, SL250s Gen8 Base 2U Right Half Width Tray, SL270s Gen8 1U Left Half Width Tray, SL270s Gen8 1U Right Half Width Tray, SL270s Gen8 Base 4U Left Half Width Tray, SL270s Gen8 Base 4U Right Half Width Tray, SL270s Gen8 SE 4U Left Tray, SL270s Gen8 SE 4U Right Tray
At Evaris we conduct regular price checks to maintain an up to date view on our pricing in relation to our online competitors. We aim to ensure our products are always priced as keenly as possible across our entire catalogue.
Since it's impossible to keep tabs on everyone, we offer a. If you find a better price elsewhere, we'll do our very best to match it.
We're not as big as some of our competitors so we have to try harder to win your business and this means offering better prices and better service levels. We're also fortunate to have smaller overheads than some of our larger competitors and this, coupled with our buying power allows us to secure volume related discounts from our established global network of suppliers. These savings are ultimately reflected in the prices of our products.
We check our prices daily against a wide range of competitors to try to bring you the best deal. However, if you've spotted a better price offered by one of our competitors, please let us know and we'll do our very best to match it.Price Match Challenge
The IT sector is littered with companies who don't hold stock. Their websites advertise products that are sourced from third party suppliers. Pricing and availability data on such sites is typically retrieved from files or feeds which are often not refreshed regularly enough. The result? Cancelled orders, long lead times and disgruntled customers.
Evaris is a major stockholder with full transparency into our stockholding and pricing. Our website is refreshed on a 15-minute cycle 24/7 so the pricing and availability you see online is both accurate and reliable.
We recommend you double check a cheaper price elsewhere is accurate and based on physical stock that can be shipped immediately before placing your order.
We show true stock counts on our website, not woolly messages like 'in stock' or 'available to order'. Stock levels are updated every 15 minutes 24/7 so you can see exactly how many units we have sat in our warehouse available for immediate despatch.
And speaking of shipping, did you know we offer same day deliveries? You can choose this or other timed services during checkout on our website or contact our sales team for a quote. Handy when you need the goods in a hurry!
Most web stores fail to specify the stock condition of the products they advertise for sale. It seems reasonable to assume that all products are brand new, unused units supplied in the sealed, original manufacturer packaging and protected by the full warranty but this isn't always the case.
A heavily discounted price can be a sign that the product in question may be a used or refurbished unit. Open/damaged box and 'ex demo' units are also rife in the marketplace and warranty cover on such goods will be variable so it's wise to check what you're getting before committing to any purchase.
Evaris displays the product condition on all our product pages. As well as detailing what the condition means, we specify the level of warranty condition allowing you to make an informed buying decision.
Ensure you compare like for like when shopping around for prices online.
All brand new products come with a full manufacturer warranty, right? Not always; it depends where the products were sourced from. You may have heard of the grey market or parallel imports? Manufacturers often stipulate the geographical regions in which their products are designated for sale. Unscrupulous suppliers seek to source goods from outside of these regions at cheaper costs which they pass on via cheaper prices. The downside is that the manufacturer might not honour the warranty in the event of a support call. Grey kit does not qualify for warranty support and if it fails, you could be significantly out of pocket.
All products offered for sale at Evaris are sourced from legitimate channels and are covered by warranty. For added peace of mind, we can supply serial numbers up front which can be validated on the manufacturer's website to ensure warranty cover is in place prior to purchase.
Ask any potential supplier if they can supply serial numbers ahead of purchase. Any legitimate stockholder who has sourced the goods from the proper channels should be able and happy to do so.
Look beyond the price and establish whether the company behind the product is a bona fide organisation that you can return to should you encounter issues down the line. This is particularly important if you've never heard of them before. It's relatively easy to set up a web shop nowadays which makes it difficult to differentiate between a one-man band operating out of a home office and a well-established, reputable bricks and mortar business. Sales T&Cs, returns policy and aftercare service are probably important areas for you to consider.
Evaris is an ISO 9001 certified company committed to supplying products and services that consistently meet our customers' requirements and expectations. We are a Feefo Commended Merchant thanks to our consistently high customer service scores gathered independently from genuine purchase verified customers. We build long standing relationships with organisations of all types and sizes; take a look at our case studies for examples of projects we've worked on in both the private and public sector.

subset: commoncrawl


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This year K is going to summer school. This will be the first year normally we do it at home. She is excited because she will get a jump on 3rd grade (and she cried on the last day of school because she did not want it to be summer….something is wrong with that kid.) E will still go to daycare most of the time. I still have to pay to keep his spot for the school year and he loves playing with his friends. I do not send him all the time. This week he only ended up going two days because of family activities and make up dance lessons. The baby is home all summer. He is changing child care providers so we saw this as a good way to work on his development with some one on one time and to save some cash! I still need to have some activities for the kids to do so they are just not in front of the TV or trying to get on my iPad. K summer school only goes until the end of June so I still have all of July and August to work with them.
We have some busy bags that I need to get out so we all remember they are there. I am going to make them Summer Binders with work book pages and make an award to put at the back and a coupon to get an ice cream at the Dollar General. We also have rehears for a production of South Pacific that the big kids are in. It is an hour drive and it is a professional theater so it will be a good learning experience for them. They are not in the show much so there will be some down time and the Summer Binders will be a big help with that I think.
Like I said in my post yesterday we do the library and Barnes and Noble reading programs. (We got the Barnes and Noble one for K yesterday and she had completed it). I look for other activities for us to do as well. I have pined some things on Pinterest that I am going to look at too.
I read this blog post by SAREN EYRE LOOSLI called Do-It-Yourself Summer Camp. It had some good ideas and some were like things I have done in the past. I love keeping journals. One summer we had a food journal, a field trip journal, and a nature journal. This was when K was in preschool so she drew all of her journals.
I will post updates as I get things done. I plan on starting this Sunday or Monday. Sunday starts the 42 day stretch that my husband is gone so I will need all the structure I can get.


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Missing payments to your debts will affect your credit rating and could make it harder to get other credit in future.
Your credit file should show accurate information about credit you've taken out and how you've managed repayments.
Your credit file is made up of information shared by lenders, and other public information. This helps companies carry out ID checks to make sure you are who you say you are, and it also helps them decide how risky it is to lend you money, based on whether you've paid back debts on time in the past.
If a creditor decides that the information on your credit file means you may be a higher risk, they could refuse you credit, offer you a smaller amount of credit, or charge you a higher interest rate.
Credit reference agencies hold the information that creditors refer to when considering a credit application from you.
A number of credit reference agencies offer a free one-month trial where you can access your credit score. Further information can be found on the government website.
Your name, date of birth, aliases, current and past addresses will all be recorded on your credit file.
It also stores information provided by lenders about loans, cards, bank accounts and other credit agreements you've taken out. This information includes:
As well as credit agreements, some utility companies now add information to your credit file about your payments to them.
Your credit file also includes other public information such as:
Information about missed payments, defaults or court judgments will stay on your credit file for six years. These details will be removed from your credit file after six years, even if the debt itself is still outstanding.
For example, if you missed a payment to a debt in 2010, the record of the missed payment would be removed from your credit file in 2016, even if you're paying it off.
All details of a debt will be removed from your credit file six years after any of the following:
If a debt has defaulted, it'll be removed entirely from your credit file after six years even if you're still paying it off.
There are some exceptions to this, where a debt can appear on your credit file from more than six years, but these are not common. For example bankruptcy can stay on your credit file for up to 15 years if you're found to have acted dishonestly or negligently.
Free, online debt advice available now
Your credit history is based on you not your property. This means no one else will be affected by your credit history just because they live in the same house as you.
But if you've taken out any credit agreement in joint names with someone else your credit file will show a link or 'association' to them. This means your poor credit history may affect them and vice versa. This could apply to joint loans or bank accounts, or cases where someone else has acted a guarantor for you.
If you have any joint accounts included in your credit file but you no longer have any connection to the person involved, you can ask for your credit files to be 'disassociated'. This removes the link between your credit file and theirs. You can only do this if the joint account has been paid off in full and you don't live with the other person.
To apply for disassociation, you need to contact the credit reference agencies directly.
Creditors make lending decisions based on the information they find on your credit file, and each will have their own criteria to decide whether to lend money to you, how much, and at what rate of interest.
This means there's no such thing as a 'blacklist' saying you should or should not get credit – it's up to each lender to make their own choice.
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Foundation for Credit Counselling Wade House, Merrion Centre, Leeds, LS2 8NG trading as StepChange Debt Charity and StepChange Debt Charity Scotland. A registered charity no.1016630 and SC046263. It is a limited company registered in England and Wales (company no:2757055). Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
We link to external websites where they contain relevant information for our visitors. We're not responsible for the content of these websites, or any infringement on your data rights under data protection regulations by any external website provider.
*This is the average rating of our service based on the StepChange reviews on Feefo by DMP and DRO clients three months into their solution.
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Deconstructing Buffett
Alice Schroeder has two interesting takes on Berkshire Hathaway's acquisition of Burlington Northern. In her BusinessWeek cover story on Warren Buffett, she explains the hidden upside:
Buffett always likes a sweetener, and Burlington gives him one in the form of information. He learns about wallboard demand from USG and consumer-credit trends from American Express, but Rose has called the railroad a kaleidoscope of the economy. Rail traffic patterns are a window on commodity, wholesale, consumer, and international trade flows. Buffett is adding this kaleidoscope to what his other CEOs tell him about the "reset of the consumer" to a lower level of spending. They feed him data from Berkshire's portfolio of companies—sales of building materials, jewelry, furniture, real estate, credit, fractional jets, vacuum cleaners, fabricated steel, newspaper ad lineage, and other products and services. He may now command as much information about the state of the U.S. economy as anyone, including the Federal Reserve—and probably gets his faster.
This makes sense — and it might also provide a hint as to whom Buffett will choose to succeed him as chief investment officer. He'll want a data hound, someone who can leverage the huge amounts of information that the Berkshire conglomerate provides.
On her blog, Schroeder then adds that she's disappointed in the way that Buffett is going to hide BNSF's earnings in his annual reports:
Berkshire has been growing less transparent year by year. Now it is going to combine BNI with its utlity segment for financial reporting next year. Buffett made the argument for combining them (regulated, high capex etc.), but the result is less transparency. BNI is in the transportation business. If being a regulated and capital intensive business is what creates an operating segment for financial reporting, the insurance businesses would also be combined with Mid-American.
Schroeder gives good accounting reasons why BNSF should not be lumped in with the utilities, adding, wearing her CPA hat, that "this is not the spirit of the rules" and that "this is pretty annoying".
Meanwhile, in his annual letter to shareholders, Buffett does a pretty weak job of responding to Jeff Matthews's criticism of his decision to pay for BNSF in large part using BRK's own stock. Or, to put it another way, he actually spends a lot of time and space laying out Matthews's criticism in his trademark ultra-lucid manner. And then he tries to answer his own criticisms thusly:
In the end, Charlie and I decided that the disadvantage of paying 30% of the price through stock was offset by the opportunity the acquisition gave us to deploy $22 billion of cash in a business we understood and liked for the long term. It has the additional virtue of being run by Matt Rose, whom we trust and admire. We also like the prospect of investing additional billions over the years at reasonable rates of return. But the final decision was a close one. If we had needed to use more stock to make the acquisition, it would in fact have made no sense. We would have then been giving up more than we were getting.
This can essentially be boiled down to two words: "trust me". Which is maybe sensible, given that trusting in Buffett is exactly what he's been asking his shareholders to do for decades. But the letter does make it seem that it's a lot easier to argue against the BNSF acquisition than it is to argue for it.
For me, however, the weirdest part of the letter is where he talks about Clayton Homes, the manufacturer of modular and mobile homes which famously was giving away a free can of pork and beans with every house bought. Clayton doesn't live in the category of "Manufacturing, Service and Retailing Operations", where you might suspect it would be found; instead, it's part of "Finance and Financial Products", since the real business here isn't selling homes so much as it's selling the financing to buy them.
As Buffett explains:
Currently buyers of conventional site-built homes who qualify for these guarantees can obtain a 30-year loan at about 5 1⁄4%. In addition, these are mortgages that have recently been purchased in massive amounts by the Federal Reserve, an action that also helped to keep rates at bargain-basement levels.
In contrast, very few factory-built homes qualify for agency-insured mortgages. Therefore, a meritorious buyer of a factory-built home must pay about 9% on his loan.
Wow, sounds like a great business! Rather than see its financing profits competed away in a commoditized mortgage market, Clayton essentially has a monopoly on providing financing on its homes, and can lend out money at rates much higher than prevailing mortgage rates.
But weirdly, Buffett seems to be unhappy about this:
Berkshire can't borrow at a rate approaching that available to government agencies. This handicap will limit sales, hurting both Clayton and a multitude of worthy families who long for a low-cost home.
Really, Warren? I'd like to see some numbers on this, because I always thought that the great thing about being Berkshire Hathaway, even without a triple-A credit rating, was that you could borrow at a rate approaching that available to government agencies. What's the spread on Berkshire debt over agency debt? When Berkshire recently borrowed $8 billion, it paid between 2bp and 43bp over Libor on the floating-rate bonds, and between 63bp and 93bp over Treasuries on the fixed-rate bonds. In comparison, agency debt recently narrowed all the way to 66bp over Treasuries, albeit at longer maturities.
In any case, I'd say that the funding advantage that agencies have over Berkshire will be no more than about 50bp, while the financing rates that Clayton's buyers are paying to Berkshire are, by Buffett's estimation, about 375bp more than those offered by Frannie. And remember here that Buffett is adamant that Clayton's buyers are good credit risks, and that "Clayton's delinquencies and defaults remain reasonable and will not cause us significant problems".
If you take his words at face value, then, Buffett is saying that Clayton's buyers are no less creditworthy than buyers of site-built homes. So something over 300bp of the spread that Clayton is charging over other mortgage providers should be pure gravy for Clayton and Berkshire. I'm sure that Buffett would love Clayton to be able to sell more homes than it's doing right now, but if you remember that Clayton is basically in the business of finance more than it is in the business of manufacturing, I can't quite see what Buffett is complaining about. Sure, he could sell more mobile homes if you could get conventional mortgages on them. But then he'd lose all of his financing profits, and I'm sure he wouldn't want that.


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One of the most frustrating things for a publisher is receiving complaints from users about ads. Following are some steps you can take to fix misbehaving ads.
Get a full report
As soon as possible, get as much information from the user as you can. Screenshots are invaluable. Also ask for the browser, the operating system or device, the URL, the ad slot, the time of day, and which country the user lives in. Sometimes you can't get all this information, but every little bit helps.
Assess the seriousness
90% of an iceberg is below the surface. The same may be true with your ad problems. If 3 users take the time to contact you about a problem, there may be hundreds who didn't bother. Consider providing a forum area where users can provide feedback and discuss site issues without complaining in the general comment areas. Take into account how many users are affected and whether this is a temporary problem that is likely to be fixed by the ad network automatically.
Duplicate the problem
This is critically important. If you can't duplicate the problem, it's very hard to know you've fixed it. If you're debugging a direct deal, great! You should be able to force the ad to show.
Unfortunately, duplicating the problem is not always possible. Especially with ad networks, problems can be devilishly hard to duplicate, mostly because of re-targeting. Put simply, many of the ads you see are based on the websites you visit. So the ads you see will not the same as the ads seen by your readers. Ads may also be targeted to a particular country or device. So an iPhone user in London may get different ads than a Windows user in Los Angeles. Because of this, along with dozens of other algorithmic factors, it's very difficult to ensure that a particular ad will show. We'll cover advanced diagnostic techniques such as geo-proxies and device-spoofing in a future blog post. It's very valuable to duplicate the problem whenever possible so you can be sure it's fixed.
Block the ad
Once you've isolated the ad, you can determine which network it comes from. This can be an advanced move that requires knowledge of web development.
Some networks, including Google AdSense, allow publishers to manage their own block lists. Self-service blocking is a fantastic feature, especially if you have a sensitive audience.
Other networks are able to block advertisements through customer service channels. This process can sometimes be slow and may be completely unavailable outside of business hours. If you don't know how to get in touch with customer service or your account representative, get that information now instead of waiting until you have a problem! To speed the process, send them as much information as possible, including steps to duplicate the problem, a test page, screenshots, etc.
Turning off ads
Some problems are very hard to track down. If you can't isolate the problem, you can start turning off ads. It's best to form a plan first and take notes along the way so can reverse the process and turn everything back on once this problem is solved. The key is determining when the problem is solved. If you have a problem that happens 100% of the time, turning off ads will isolate the problem very quickly. If you have a problem that occurs once a day, turning off ads will not be very effective. Remember that ad server changes rarely take effect immediately. You may need to wait anywhere from 5-15 minutes to several hours depending on the ad server before changes take effect. Remember that customer support will not be able to debug the problem if their ads are disabled.
The Nuclear Option: Turn off everything
If everything else fails, you can turn off all ads. Think about this in economic terms. How bad is the problem? How much are you hurting user experience? Is it a $100 problem? Is it a $1,000 problem? How much revenue are you willing to forfeit for a solution? Is it time to bring in a web developer?


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There are four short stories in the book, the first one illustrates why Henry is so horrid. Henry has a little brother known as Perfect Peter. Peter says "please" and "thank you", helps make dinner, and loves vegetables. One day, Henry wonders what would happen if he were perfect. His experiment in perfection drives his perfect brother into horrid behavior. Perfectly horrid!
In the third story, Henry and his frenemy, Moody Margaret, fight over who gets to be Captain Hook, make Perfect Peter walk the plank 14 times, create a huge mess making glop and dare each other to taste it before giving some to the unsuspecting Peter.
There are dozens of books in this series. The illustrator, Tony Ross's drawings remind me a bit of Quentin Blake's drawing for the Roald Dahl books. The Sonoma County Library has three copies and many of the sequels. The AR is 3.3.


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Police: Man charged with two misdemeanors after aggressively trying to get back into State College bar
A 21-year-old man has been charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct after an incident outside the Lion's Den early Sunday morning, State College police said.
Darien Mykel Speaks was asked to leave the bar around 1 a.m. but ran past police, aggressively trying to get back in through both the front door and the back door, police said. He was taken to Centre County Correction Facility after being unable to post $5,000 bail.
He was arraigned on the two misdemeanor charges by Magisterial District Judge Thomas Jordan and his preliminary hearing is set for Wednesday, according to court documents.
He is not listed as a Penn State student in the directory.


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Looks like Datel finally updated their online store to include the PS2 Memory Plus 64MB. I'll be looking to get hold of one of these and put it through it's paces. Most importantly we'll see how this compares to the Memor32….
Memory Plus, now available to buy
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Tehachapi High senior Brooke Neufeld demonstrates an Arbitrary Quadrature Encoder that she designed for use on rotary or linear applications to FIRST regional robotics competition judge Warren Hioki from the College of Southern Nevada as THS senior Nick Horn looks on. (Contributed)
› View Larger Image Two of three high school robotics teams sponsored in part by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center saw their competition season the first weekend in April, as they failed to advance to the finals at the FIRST Robotics Competition regional meet in Las Vegas.
Although the Cyber Penguins team 585 from Tehachapi High School and the Robolopes team 2339 from Antelope Valley High School in Lancaster did not make it past the semi-final rounds, their season isn't entirely over. Both teams will be giving demonstrations of their 2013 robot at community events over the next month or two, including the Lancaster (Calif.) Poppy Festival at which the Robolopes robot, named "Leroy Jenkins" will be showing its stuff.
One of the Cyber Penquins members, THS senior and team vice-president Brooke Neufeld, was named a finalist for one of 10 Dean's List awards to be presented at the FIRST Robotics Competition championships in St. Louis April 26-27. She is the third Tehachapi High School student to be recognized as a Dean's List Finalist since the award's inception in 2010.
Neufeld was nominated for the Dean's List "based on her commitment to community outreach and her passion for engineering and discovery," said the team's faculty mentor Danielle Evansic. "The Dean's List Finalist award is a great recognition of a student's personal growth and commitment to promoting STEM (science, technology, engineering amd math)," she added.
In addition, the Tehachapi High team won another Underwriter's Laboratories Safety Runner-Up award as they had done the week before at the San Bernardino competition.
AVHS Robolopes mentor Merle McLernon said the team was ranked 17th overall out of 48 team s competing at the conclusion of the qualifying matches.
Tehachapi High Cyber Penguins 2013 robot appears to be part of the conversation as team member Andrew Bartels and other team members explain the robot's design to a judge at the Las Vegas FIRST Robotics regional competition. (Contributed)
› View Larger Image "The robot performed well and the students were able to work hard and have fun at the same time," he added.
The third team co-sponsored by NASA Dryden and other community organizations and businesses, the Lancaster High School Eagle Robotics team 399, will compete in the FIRST international robotics championships in St. Louis, after the team received a coveted invitation to participate at the conclusion of the Inland Empire a regional robotics competition in San Bernardino March 30.
The Eagle Robotics team was invited to participate in the championships after winning the Engineering Inspiration Award, the second highest award at the regional competitions, at the conclusion of the San Bernardino meet. The Engineering Inspiration Award signifies a team's outstanding efforts in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering and engineers, both within their school and their community.
The Lancaster High team has either qualified for or received an invitation to participate in the championships every year of its 14-year existence. In addition to students from Lancaster High, the team also includes members from nearby Quartz Hill and SOAR high schools.
FIRST, an acronym denoting For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is an international organization that promotes science and technology education. This year's competition features robots designed to shoot Frisbee-like discs through a series of rectangular slots in walls at each of the competition court, with discs making it through the higher slots scoring more points for the team. Near the end of each match, the robots have a few seconds to attempt to climb pyramid-like racks on the court to score additional points.


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SUP Paddleboard Rentals
BoardStiff SUP Rentals
We have the best of the best in StandUp Paddle Board Rental Program on Cape Cod. Since we use only BIC products, you know that safety and quality are our top priority. At BoardStiff we have just the right equipment and tools to allow you to enjoy our Cape Cod scenery in this fast-growing sport.
- All renters must be at least 18 years of age.
- $25 deposit collected at rental signup
- Can be paid by cash or credit card
- $25/ 2 Hours - Quick Trip SUP
$60/8 hours - Full Day SUP Rental
The shorter trip will allow you to tour the Provincetown harbor from the water point of view...and then you'll still have time to enjoy the water from the beach!
The cost-effective all-day rental allows you to experience many different areas of the Cape. Not only do we have some of the best beaches in the country, we also have stunning lakes, rivers and ponds that give you a whole different view of our precious and beautiful part of the country!
The rental includes BIC Paddle Board, Paddle and Personal Flotation Device. We will help get the board to your car
CALL US For your next rental:
- Falmouth - All Year (508) 540-9555
- Provincetown - In Season (508) 487-2406


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Parisian Macarons
These small, round cookies, crisp on the outside, smooth and soft in the middle, are the perfect gourmet treat. The shells are made from precise measurements of almonds, eggs and sugar, then filled with a variety of chocolates, butter-creams and jam. Our Macarons must rest for 2 days after baking before being ready for sale. Flavors vary often.
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- State of the Art Technology Lab
- Hands on Experience on Latest Tools
- Faculty of Industry Experts
- Inventive & Innovative Opportunities
- Experience Letter and Certificate
- Basic & Advanced Level Programs
My internship has been a great learning experience. The learning has been phenomenal with the privilege...Read More Deepika Ahlawat VLSI Design Enginee
"I have worked withXinoe Systems Pvt Ltd. for over a year now, first as a trainee and now as a "VLSI...Read More Rakhi VLSI Design Lead
The mentor was great and extremely responsive. Not only did I sharpen my technical and problem solving skills...Read More Vradha Embedded Engineer
I would like to thank Mr. Srinath Nudurupati and Team at Xinoe/Inxee for giving an opportunity for an...Read More Yekkati Vishnu Hardware Design Engineer
"At XINOE, I like the fact that batches are small and instructors are friendly.They are always willing to help...Read More Lakhbir Embedded Software Engineer
The internship opportunity I had with XINOE was a great chance for learning and professional development...Read More Mohit TandonSoftware Development Intern
My experience at Xinoe systems has been phenomenal. The learning curve here is steep with extremely supportive ...Read More Prem Ranjan Embedded Systems Intern
I want to thank Mr. Nate Nudurupati sir for the internship opportunity at Xinoe...Read More Vinod Kumar VLSI Design Engineer
Hello future interns and students. Now that my internship has come to end I would like to share some advice...Read More Sangram Udawant Embedded Software Engineer
Xinoe System ltd is a very good VLSI training Company. It is very much keen in training engineering...Read More Ekta DudiVLSI Intern
I enjoyed coming to classes every day. I learned to be more creative, more expressive...Read More PradeepEmbedded Hardware Engineer
I have done both my major and minor training from xinoe system ltd.My internship...Read More Anuja Dhar VLSI Intern
I would like to thank "Xinoe" for helping shape my career. Xinoe provides...Read More Hema Tiwari VLSI Intern
I met Mr. Nate Nudurupati in June 2013 to pursue training in System Verilog. His knowledge and guidance helped...Read More Toshiyanka Goswami VLSI Trainee


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Prerequisite/Corequisite: GE A1 requirement.
Introductory survey of American Political Institutions, politics, and policy, including government and politics in California. Constitutional foundations and current controversies. Satisfies the general education requirement and the California teaching credential requirement.
Prerequisites/Corequisite: ENGL 100 or equivalent.
Introduction to critical thinking through study of philosophical writing, political rhetoric, and political propaganda. Emphasis on distinguishing facts from values, inductive from deductive reasoning, emotional responses from reasoned judgments; relationship between language and logic; the role of inference; intellectual honesty.
Prerequisite: POSC 100.
Introductory survey of California political institutions, politics and policy. Satisfies the general education California state and local government requirement for students who have taken American government without a California component or who have received Advanced Placement credit for American Government. Not open for credit to students with credit in POSC 326.
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Intensive study of issues associated with the concepts of democracy, limited government, federalism, separation of powers, judicial review, and preservation of individual rights.
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Examination of persistent challenges to citizen control of government in the U.S., including growth of executive power; economic inequality; racial inequality; rise of infotainment; decline of political participation and civic engagement.
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Intensive study of issues associated with selected foreign governments, modernization, revolution, political change and world ideological conflict.
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Study issues central to politics in a global context, such as democracy, communism, fascism, democratization, revolution, liberalism, and anti-liberalism. Examine questions of national sovereignty, as well as the relation between nation states and the rise of non-state and trans-state actors.
Prerequisite: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Divergences between nations as they affect political differences between states. The political significance of the encounter of individuals with those of different nationalities.
Prerequisites: GE Foundation requirement; POSC 100.
Study and discussion of issues including revolution, power, justice, alienation, the nature of democracy, and other important political concepts. Views of theorists such as Plato, Hobbes, Rousseau, Mill, and Marx will be examined.


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At a recent baby shower, a pregnant colleague received a pacifier with an attached fuzzy lamb — easier to find and keep in the infants' mouth. We all oohed and ahhed. But perhaps this darling little sucking device should have come with a black box warning: a new study found that every four hours a child is treated in the emergency department for injuries related to her pacifier, sippy cup or baby bottle.
In what's being called the first study of its kind, researchers estimate that on average 2,270 injuries per year in the U.S. are related to mishaps involving these ostensibly soothing devices. Most of the accidents examined here involved falls with the product in the child's mouth.
The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, and conducted by researchers at the Center for Biobehavioral Health and the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital also found (according to the news release):
…that from 1991 to 2010, an estimated 45,398 children younger than three years of age were treated in U.S. emergency departments for injuries related to the use of these products. This equates to an average of 2,270 injuries per year, or one child treated in a hospital emergency department every four hours for these injuries.
The study [released online May 14 and published in the June print issue of Pediatrics] found that baby bottles accounted for 66 percent of injuries, followed by pacifiers at 20 percent and sippy cups at 14 percent. Body regions most commonly injured were the mouth (71 percent) and the head, face or neck (20 percent). Continue reading


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I was raised on a farm and have experienced first-hand the factors that can lead to financial hardship – factors such as unfavourable swings in weather conditions and commodity prices, and production difficulties.
I am keen to assist rural people on the South Coast by applying my extensive financial and business analytical skills and experience. I welcome the opportunity to come up with options to take your business and financial circumstances forward.
I conduct my work in a professional, independent, confidential and understanding way
With his broad experience, Steve is well equipped to assist clients. He has well rounded business and life skills and appropriate qualifications. He is a Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) and has a Commerce Degree. He has specialised in financial and business analysis. He has good experience in dealing with businesses experiencing financial difficulties, especially in primary production, forestry and fishing industries.
Steve worked for a lending institution/business development organisation for 12 years. A key part of his role was to work closely with rural clients, to assist them to be financially viable and to grow their enterprises. He has also assisted many business clients successfully apply for State and Federal government funding under specified grant and concessional loans schemes.
Steve is well versed in being the interface between a client and the client's banker, accountant or other professional adviser. He understands what a client's adviser is looking for and can therefore assist his client provide the appropriate information. He has prepared numerous cash flows, budgets and forecasts, and completed many other financial assignments.


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Going to Bali is a vacation of a lifetime, but there are some things that can make it not so great. If you don't stay at a fantastic hotel in Bali, you might not enjoy yourself as much as you could have, and that would be a shame when you invest in such a trip. Here are some of the top Bali Hotels, the ones that you can trust to make your stay that much better.
10 Best Bali Hotels & Resorts :
Banyan Tree Ungasan
The Banyan Tree Ungasa is one of the most gorgeous resorts with 73 large villas and beautiful ocean views. It is perfect for families of all sizes and offers great amenities, including a kids' club, a library, and plenty of options for dining. Many parents love this hotel because it is very cognizant of different dietary restrictions and allergies.
RIMBA Jimbaran Bali by AYANA
The RIMBA Jimbaran in Bali is a fantastic hotel with everything you could need and more to make your family vacation great. The RIMBA Jimbaran Bali is one of the largest luxury resorts this area with its Unique Rooftop Bar & Restaurant. Amenities include a business center, laundry services, airport shuttles, parking, and room service. It is also at a very convenient location.
The RIMBA Jimbaran Bali is located 18 km from the Seminyak beach, 6 km from the famous Garuda Wisnu Kencana and 15 km from the spectacular Uluwatu Hindu temple, where Kecak and Fire dance is performed every night.
The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud
Another fantastic option is the Chedi Club Tanah Gajah hotel in Ubud, which as 20 separate villas, making it perfect for those who need some peace and quiet. Some of the villas have private pools, and all of them have butlers of your own. The rooms are completely outfitted with luxury amenities, and since it is in a more remote area, there is a free car service available.
Samabe Bali Suites & Villas
The Samabe Bali is one of the most luxurious places you can stay, but that doesn't mean it isn't great for children as well. It is a contemporary hotel that still brings in the culture of Bali. Some of the views are absolutely unmissable and thanks to a private beach, you will feel completely safe allowing your children to have as much fun as they want. When you book here, you get daily spa treatments, fitness classes, and even cultural tours. You get it all! Of course, there is kids' club as well.
Conrad Bali Nusa Dua
One of the most beautiful places for families that love to be active, this resort is one of the most famous places for those who enjoy being active. The white sand beaches constantly have some sort of activity, and the infinity pools are numerous. For those with a family, there are facilities just for children so that everyone can have a great time. The lush tropical gardens make for some great photo opportunities.
The Seminyak Beach Resort, Seminyak
Near many of the popular sights but still quiet and comfortable, The Seminyak Beach Resort is a great place for foodies and families of all kinds. Near Eat Street, The Seminyak is great for pampering, eating, and spending time with your family.
Le Meridien Bali Jimbaran
Kids' clubs and special family packages make Le Meridien Bali Jimbaran a great place to vacation. The saltwater lagoon-style pool is one of the highlighted features, stretching almost all the way around the hotel. For the adults, there is a luxury spa and a few bars to enjoy yourself while your children are off adventuring.
The St. Regis Bali Resort
Probably the most exciting hotel in Bali for children and families, the St. Regis Bali Resort has a children's education center that will not only take your children to some of the most beautiful spaces in Bali, but it will also educate them about the nature and cultures around them. This hotel has beautiful suites and villas, beach access, private pools, and a few great restaurants.
Bali is absolutely brimming with beautiful hotels where you can stay – but these stand out amongst the crowd as some of the best.
Planning for your next holidays in Bali, check these articles
- Bali Places of Interest : What you absolutely have to do
- Hiking the Sacred Mount Agung in Bali : What you need to know
- Bali Nightlife: Bali Party Pub Crawl
- Luwak Coffee from Bali : The most expensive coffee in the world


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Helly Hansen, the most authentic brand in snowsports with its 130-year history, this week signed JP Solberg, one of the world's most authentic and respected riders, to the HH International Snowboard team.
JP has spent the last seven years racking up some of the styliest video parts in the snowboarding world with impactful segments with Robot Food, Mack Dawg, and Absinthe.
"JP has shown progressive riding on every sort of terrain imaginable," said Mike Arzt, Helly team manager. "Solberg's Norwegian heritage, backcountry prowess, and passion for the mountains is a perfect fit for the brand and the rest of the Helly Hansen crew."
Snowboarding icon Shin Campos, who has flown the HH banner for years, added "I'm stoked to have JP on the team. He's got sick style, a big bag of tricks, and brings some fresh blood to HH."
JP was rocking HH for his snow and sailing needs back when he was a tyke and we're more than happy to welcome him back to his roots.
JP already stocked his garage full of new product and just joined Helly on its first big photoshoot of the season to shred at the Helly Hansen outfitted Chatter Creek Lodge in BC last week. JP will spend the rest of his season putting down another mind-blowing segment with the Absinthe crew.
About Helly Hansen
Helly Hansen invented the first supple waterproof fabrics in the 1870s, the first fleece fabrics in the 1960s and the first technical base layers in the '70s. The company has never stopped innovating. The new collection features a wealth of advanced waterproof breathable jackets, pants, softshells, fleeces, sweaters, base layers made with LIFA Stay Dry Technology, accessories and footwear for skiing, snowboarding, climbing, backpacking, sailing, and socializing during the coldest months. To view the collection and find a dealer, visit hellyhansen.com.


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Spray Tan
CT Sunless Airbrush Spray Tans
- Color Perfecting Complex® Natural Colorant Blend matches all skin tones
- Triple Moisture Sensation locks in moisture triggering a deep hydration
- Bronzextend® Blend combines DHA and Erythrulose for flawless color
- Bronzing Power Boost contains specially combined bronzing ingredients
- Both delayed and immediate color to ensure ultra-dark color
- Patent-Pending
Mobile Bronzer (CT Sunless Airbrush) or Mystic Spray Tan Booth
The Mobile Bronzer is a revolutionary, compact, and portable sunless tanning spray unit that delivers customized and flawless body-detailing for that "just from the beach tan". It features high volume, low pressure "soft" air application that delivers the highest level of sunless solution transfer to the skin for minimal overspray and improved coverage. Doctorate Certified Sunless Spray Technicians.
Mystic is the best known and most trusted name in UV-free tanning. The secret to a perfectly smooth, natural looking tan is MagneTan technology, a patented process that uses the body's natural magnetic properties to attract the Mystic tan Myst to every exposed surface of the skin. Smooth, natural and even looking color. Fast and convenient.
Spray Tan Instructions
Before your Spray Tan: Eat a high protein meal before spray tan. Avoid high fat foods. Moisturize days before your spray tan. Day of your Spray Tan: shower, exfoliate and shave. Use only products that are free of mineral oil, sulfates, parabens and perfume. NO shea butter, oils or moisturizers. Wear dark, loose clothing (any product on clothing will wash off).
After your Spray Tan wait 4-5 hours to shower (cool or warm, not hot. Do not use any products with parabens, sulfates as they will remove the spray tan. NO DOVE products. Pat dry, never rub skin.
Please call the Spa with pricing questions 269-982-3800.
Spray Tan Care
The following products can lighten or make a sunless tan blotchy:
- No mineral oils, no sulfates, no perfumes and use paraben free products.
- Wait to shower at least 5 hours after spray (shower with warm or cool water not hot). Just rinse No Soaps, next showers we suggest using CT Sunless Body Wash.
- A woman's tan may develop differently during various hormonal changes such as ovulation, menstruation or pregnancy. It may be streaky, patchy, fade worse, or produce lighter or no color.
- Anti-Acne products that exfoliate or dry the skin. Skin can also peel when using these products. Antibiotics or other medications that affect your skin can also affect your tan.
- Anti- Aging products that "renew" or "refresh" or otherwise exfoliate skin
- Band-Aid or adhesive tape applied to skin will pull tan off.
- Wax or Depilatory hair removal products such as Nair, Veet or Neet.
- Bars soaps, Try CT Sunless Body Wash instead
- Body hair bleaching products
- Adhesive facials strips or peel off masks, waxing or sugaring after spray
- Bug sprays, perfumes, body sprays when sprayed directly onto skin can remove or fade the tan. Instead, spray clothing or spray a cloud of spray that you can walk through.
- All lotions must be approved by tech. Try Step 3 Tan Extend Post Spray or lotion for everyday use
- Dove soap and shower gel will fade tan faster on most people. NO DOVE PRODUCTS!
- If you exercise and sweat heavily, your tan will fade faster. Especially in body fold areas... arm bends, knee bends, and between breasts We suggest CT After Sunless Powder for these areas prior to workout
- During the winter months skin is often very dry and your tan will fade faster. Moisturize more often at least twice a day. Stay away from lotions with MINERAL OIL as its first few ingredients. Mineral oil as well as baby oil is both bad for sunless tanning.
- When using make up remover cleaning products or oils used to clean away makeup. Rub very gently
- Pat dry out of the shower NEVER RUB skin dry.
- People with oily skin tend to develop a lighter tan than people with dry skin. The oils can coat the skin. Dry skin absorbs more products faster so the tan can look darker as well.
- Shaving exfoliates the skin so also fades the tan. Use a sharp, clean razor with hair conditioner instead of shaving cream; or we also suggest Designer Skin No Apologies shaving cream.
- Chlorine, if soaking in hot tubs or swimming, your tan will fade FAST
- Toners containing alcohols in the top three ingredients listed are bad to use before or during the course of your airbrush tan
- Use a soft mesh shower puff for daily washing and scrub gloves or loofas for exfoliating days
- Facial masks and exfoliating. Try CT Body Buffer Exfoliator prior to spray
CT Airbrush Spray Tan Parties!
Get the girls together for a little tanning fun! Perfect for Weddings, formals, prom, girls night out, vacations and special events. Bonus: Organize a party of 8 or more and the host tans for FREE!


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There is much potential for open data to positively affect the future of agriculture. But without a proactive, responsible approach, there is a very real risk of these changes benefiting only the most powerful actors within the sector.
The agriculture sector is creating increasing amounts of data, from many different sources. From tractors equipped with GPS tracking, to open data released by government ministries, data is becoming ever more valuable, as agricultural business development and global food policy decisions are being made based upon data. But the sector is also home to severe resource inequality. The largest agricultural companies make billions of dollars per year, in comparison with subsistence farmers growing just enough to feed themselves, or smallholder farmers who grow enough to sell on a year-by-year basis.
When it comes to data and technology, these differences in resources translate to stark power imbalances in data access and use. The most well-resourced actors are able to delve into new technologies and make the most of those insights, whereas others are unable to take any such risks or divert any of their limited resources. Access to and use of data has radically changed the business models and behaviour of some of those well-resourced actors, but in contrast, those with fewer resources are receiving the same, limited access to information that they always have.
Therefore, it is important also to look at open data trends from a responsible data perspective.
One example of a new trend within the sector which brings these issues to the fore is that of precision agriculture, a farm management concept based on observing and measuring crops, environment variables and management operations with sensors and satellites. At the moment, most precision farming applications are employed in highly capital-intensive farming systems and most of the access to technologies and data remains in the hands of a few, large-scale farmers and service providers.
Responsible data challenges
Data breaches are not uncommon and they are growing in number; the loss of control associated with open data can lead to breaches that may have personal consequences for farmers. For example, SMS services used to reach populations with high mobile penetration bring with them a risk of a personal data breach. Especially with shared mobile phones, there is no way to know who is reading any given SMS message. As a result, it is hard to control who has access to information on a farmer's financials, crops or land if they are sent by SMS.
There is also the need to anonymise or restrict access to sensitive data on human subjects. Sensitive data is more than simply personally identifiable information, and what is deemed sensitive is often contextually specific. For example, great care should be taken with data on community held land, resources and agriculture, especially when it comes to data on water resources and forest rights. Communities can be pushed from their lands or water resources in case official data is inaccurate to identify who depends on lands and other natural resources.
Accessibility and reliability is another challenge that needs to be addressed as more agricultural data is opened up. Large agricultural enterprises have skills and resources in-house to analyse and use data, thus it is very feasible for them to benefit from agricultural open data. However, small-holder farmers often do not have access to the Internet or the skills to use this data. Some might not even know that there is data that they could be using. In order to maximise use by the least powerful actors, open data needs to be communicated in a way that is useful for all actors. This means targeting offline and online communication channels to disseminate information building capacity for analysis and sharing insights rather than raw information.
Data ownership
With increasing amounts of data being created about farming and by farmers, one key issue is around ownership of data. When it comes to ownership of data created by farmers once it is aggregated with other farmers' data – in many cases, this is then considered to be in the ownership of the company responsible. In the current set up, it seems clear that actors with access to more resources are more able to gather data and to understand the legal environment surrounding that data. Farmers are not legally equipped to ensure that they are benefitting from the data and legal mechanisms in place to ensure rights are weak.
This fear of sharing information sits in almost direct contrast to the push for more open data on the sector: in the case of indigenous peoples, knowledge that could then be used against them by malicious actors looking to profit from that knowledge is particularly sensitive information. Traditional seeds and recipes held by indigenous populations need ownership mechanisms to prevent knowledge from falling into commercial hands that may license them and require traditional communities to pay royalties. However, this type of ownership stands in contrast to open data, in which all data should be reusable by anyone for any purpose.
To avoid data to fall in the wrong hands, as part of CGIAR's Open Data and Open Access Initiative, the Systems Office team supports Centers in helping them identify whether the data they are working with falls into exception categories (sensitive information, or information that can identify individuals when combined with other datasets) in order to put data management structures in place at the project planning stage. The Systems Office also works with Centers to ensure that informed consent is an important part of their project framework.
Shared decision-making
Given the huge power disparities present within actors in the agricultural sector, it comes as no surprise that this can increase tensions when it comes to the use, creation and analysis of data.
In order to find solutions for challenges and reduce future tensions, decisions on data should be made in a responsible way. Sharing the decision-making responsibility with people from the communities themselves seems to be the best way of ensuring no harm or negative unintended consequences. Co-design methods and collaboration early on in the data sharing process is also recommended as a way of getting solid buy-in from relevant communities.
Furthermore, there is the need to build capacity among smallholder farmers and less well resourced actors in the sector on how to deal with the growing amounts of data that are becoming available. Simply making data available is not enough to address these differences, and more needs to be done, potentially through providing low-cost advisory services on data use, or more accessible capacity building options. The responsibility for addressing this does not lie solely with the smaller players in the sector, though. Practising responsible data approaches should be a key concern and policy of the larger actors, from Ministries of Agriculture to companies gathering and dealing with large amounts of data on the sector. Developing policies to proactively identify and address these issues will be an important step to making sure data-driven insights can benefit everyone in the sector.
This article is a short version of the GODAN research publication "Responsible Data in Agriculture" (September 2016). You can download the full publication by using this url https://goo.gl/2KVeb6 or via the GODAN website (www.godan.info).


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The Strange Perils of Collective Action
Over at Match Fit USA, Jason posits an intriguing idea, but is it a good one?
"Keep United in DC" Day would work like this: fans attending matches all over MLS, in that aforementioned spirit of solidarity, would display signs or banners showing their support for the march efforts in DC. No matter if you're attending a match in Columbus, Chicago, or Houston, show your support for Barra Brava and all of the other United fans as they rally for their club. If it was your club being threatened, wouldn't you feel better knowing that fans around the league have your back?
Let's be clear: I realize that what people in other cities do will have no effect on DC and their stadium issues. Local politicians aren't really going to care if a few fans in Columbus wave around "Keep United in DC" signs.
But that's not the point. Attention needs to be paid to the United's plight, and the wider the message goes, the better. Don Garber has made statements indicating that the team could be moved, and while many people believe those statements were idle threats (for the time being), the fact remains that United supporters feel the need to rally in support of their club.
Now this tends to be the sort of independent minded call to action I normally would wholeheartedly endorse, but I do have misgivings. As Jason rightly notes, this action would not place any pressure on local leaders, but it might indicate a certain collective voice to MLS and DC ownership. Which is my concern. We've written before that the only real leverage either the league or United ownership has is team relocation. That's it. And so if this action has any positive outcome other than fostering fandom solidarity (which is a useful thing in and of itself), it will be to undercut the bargaining power of V-Mac, Will Chang, and Don Garber. In other words, there's a bit of a zero-sum game at work here. Any power taken away from the owners means that localities have an incentive to be more intransigent, to dare to call a perceived bluff. And I, for one, think that bluff would eventually get called. Maybe not this year, or next, but within five years? Certainly. So the threat of relocation must be real, and perceived as real, a process that Garber just began.
Given that a long term viability plan for United must involve a stadium, we now have a strange paradox: The only way to ensure United's survival is to threaten United's survival.
QUICK UPDATE: This logic, applied the same way, explains why I do support the May 9 rally to keep United in DC. In this case, the pressure would be applied at least to both the ownership and local political power, in a way that a collective league wide action might not.
Labels: Don Garber, Links, Politics, Stadium, Victor MacFarlane


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Have you ever awoken one day and found the things you once fought so hard for, felt so deeply for, and spent so much time dedicated to have changed ever so slightly and affected the entire idea you created?
The world is ever-changing, and you should be ever-changing as well. I've been told 'don't ever stay in one place, one moment or one dream too long or you will lose yourself in the very idea.' It is important for someone of my age to not stop fighting for something better and something MEANINGFUL. Don't get lost in something that's just "okay."
How do you put something so poetic and descriptive into a literal action of a job, a career? How do you create your meaning in the work you do 9-5? Is it possible that every person out there has the hope of making a perfect fit with their happiness and their career?
I will admit, that is my latest challenge, my direct motivation and my overwhelming need. I ache for change. I feel it approaching, as slowly as possible, and I am both fearful and incredibly impatient with the idea. I want to completely flip my career on it's head and change the rules.
It's amazing the power of a dream. I created my position, single-handedly built a career out of something indescribable. A new thing, tried by two or three others without the necessary motivation and who craved more direction. I overcame the directionless, description-less job with a refusal of failure. I wanted more than the title, the money or the status. I wanted respect from myself and for myself and my talents…which I would ultimately discover within the entire process.
It was a learning curve, an honest pain in the ass. But… you overcome your battles. You smile, you reinforce, you go home and vent like hell. Then you feel better. You learn to love yourself because you do not fail, you do not do anything but your best and you appreciate that you have such discipline at a time in your life when not many do. But where does it end?
Sometimes you realize the struggle doesn't just define you, it becomes you. And a constant struggle will wear down the serious respect, motivation and even talents. Soon, your only desire–only need is to feel talented, motivated and respected.
I've spent many days dreaming about my paths. The literal path of my current career, my figurative path of my journalism degree and it's many short-lived jobs, and the dream path which hasn't quite defined itself yet.
Where does this path lead and how exactly do I get there? It's definitely a completely different direction than where I am now. It has to be. I've hit a wall and I've moved past my creative use.
There's a use-it-or-lose-it clause to every talent, every dream and every degree. And I have to take the first step …
Children grow up learning to deal with one another in school, however for some children the experience isn't always pleasant. For one senior at Christiansburg High School it was downright haunting.
Alexandra Wolff moved from Howard County, Maryland after a series of events involving bullying kept her out of school.
"…For a lot of time I kept it to myself cause I felt like I was a target and a victim and it was very embarrassing and I was almost ashamed that this was happening to me," Wolff said. "I felt like why do I have to be the different one?"
Now she's taking a stand to confront bullying and put a stop to it. After being elected to a task force in 2008 aimed at finding an immediate solution to bullying, Wolff speaks to the parents to catch the first signs.
"I was just absent a lot from school," Wolff said. "Nothing was really done, I didn't leave school but I was miserable when I was in school. Every week I would come in to my mom and say 'I have a stomach ache, I can't go to school.'"
She tells parents to watch out for any sign that could point toward bullying. A child's eating and sleeping habits may change or they could develop depression or anxiety.
Wolff, unlike many students had the support of her mother who constantly found herself at odds with the school system.
"…It seemed very obvious to me, when I looked into it. They just would not do anything," said her mother. "…I don't feel–with the exception of that one teacher that they knew how to deal with it as Allie said. And one day I sat in a meeting and I just started crying and I said I can't do it anymore at this school–there's nothing I can do."
Both Wolff and her mother thought the school system needed a change.
"…I don't think the issues handled very well because so many times bullying is overlooked and so many times administrators and teachers think 'kids will be kids, so what, kids have to toughen up.," Wolff said.
The two hope to make a change for the better and give students a comfortable place to learn.
Poll-goers steadily streamed into one of the 3 polling points of Radford City to cast their ballots for a 9th District Candidate.
Outside the Carter Street Methodist Church, students from the local high school gathered handing out pamphlets for Democrat and Incumbent Rick Boucher's cause. They were interested in the election after taking part in their high school government class but were disheartened stating, "We're too young to vote."
Boucher faces hopeful Republican, Morgan Griffith and Independent candidate Jeremiah Heaton
For those that cast their ballots, a lack of interest was obvious on 2nd Street where voters showed up. It was said that the polls at the Radford Fire Department were empty in comparison to the Church.
Jimmy Whalen showed up to the church "just to vote" with a bounce in his step but didn't have many expectations for crowded polls. He didn't feel that there would be a strong voter turnout, stating "It just doesn't seem like voting time." Whalen stuck to his party in the vote.
Others were hopeful that there would be greater involvement in this election. Mary Hill expected a stronger turnout and encourages others to show up and vote on off-year elections, stating voting is "most important."
When asked about her pick of the ballot she simply said her candidate "helped me years ago with a problem. He's a good man and he's helped a lot of other people that I know."
Kay Vyers found herself at the polls in support of the elderly. She said she came to "help the elderly with their taxes." Vyers stated that she didn't pick a specific candidate but let the issues do the talking in this election.
As of 7 p.m. Boucher held an early lead over Griffith with only 3% of precincts reporting.
At 9 p.m. the tide has seemed to turn as 15% of precincts reported Griffith to be ahead with 10,084 votes to Boucher's 8,807. It's still a close call. Jeremiah Heaton raked in 3,937 votes.
Election Information:
CNN's 9th District Coverage
The Roanoke Times – Local Coverage
Fox News 9th District Coverage
The Tartan's Candidate Profiles
Katherine Wilk
On a hill overlooking the New River, a couple of miles from Radford University, are some buildings that used to house troubled minds. Now the abandoned dormitories and offices that used to be the Saint Alban's psychiatric center house rumors and graffiti. The patients are gone but a fascination with the place remains.
Radford University students inside the Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Department are leading interested parties on tours of what some say is a haunted spot. They're hoping to stop the destruction caused by those interested in the building's past while helping new owner, Tim Gregory finance restorations.
The group is eager to remain involved in the project that steals their Saturday mornings, giving enthusiastic visitors a tour of what some describe as the Pulaski haunt. They've memorized the history, reciting dates and plans to any ready to listen. And above all, they see Gregory as nothing more than amazing.
Gregory was once a patient at the hospital when he was 13 years old for treatment of his Asperger's syndrome. He described himself as fortunate and "spoiled rotten" during his stay at the hospital. He has fond memories of the facility and has big plans to preserve the history as well as the buildings.
"Me and my wife got a chance to look at the building and I knew we needed to get it because they wanted to tear it down so I couldn't let that happen," Gregory said. "So it's not exactly like buying the home place but it's as close as you can get."
He purchased the property for $500,000 back in 2008 from an auction of the Radford University Real Estate Foundation. The sale also included the nearby King House, which was the family home of Dr. J. C. King after his family moved out of the center.
Gregory hopes to turn the property into a conference center with 80 guest rooms, several classes devoted to healing, lectures, motivational speakers and offices for those involved in holistic medicine. He anticipates drawing visitors in with the building's rich history.
St. Albans was originally opened between 1892 and 1911 as the St. Albans boy's school. Five years later the hospital opened its doors in 1916 with the help of Dr. J.C. King.
Patients described it as a peaceful place, where they were healed holistically and without medication. Gregory often warns those seeking the ghosts and spirits they've heard rumors about to book a tour and not break into St. Alban's. He occasionally haunts the buildings himself, late at night, protecting his one-time home from vandals and nosey students.
Gregory often catches students creeping into the abandoned building and on occasion has restrained trespassers until the authorities could arrive. Gregory jokes now about the fear he caused one young man who was so frightened by Gregory's appearance in a dark room, long beard and all, that the young man urinated himself.
Catching those who break in is just a hobby but the big picture is a restoration. And that restoration is his dream. The vandals have caused unbelievable damage. After the building sat abandoned for 6 years it undoubtedly needs a great deal of restoration.
"[We're] having these tours so people know what we're doing out here," Gregory said. "Because they go back and tell their friends that we're actually fixing it up, it's not falling down. That's the most important steps we're taking. It's just getting information out to lighten the place up."
During the time when Radford University owned the property, it was left unused and asking for trouble. RU once made use of the property allowing art students to graffiti and damage parts of the building for displays. It still holds the remaining projects inside many of the rooms, however many tour guides point out the destruction is hard to separate from the vandalism that occurred afterwards.
"It's such a historical building and I don't think people realize that, because I didn't realize that until I started getting involved with it," CEO Bobbie Wolfe said. "When you damage it, it just costs more money for Tim to put back into the building and it's just not a good thing to do."
Through the crude spray paint, holes in the walls, broken staircases, uneven floors, shattered windows and overgrown landscapes tour guides, visitors and volunteers see Gregory's dream clearly. The creeping vines even seek solace inside the walls of Saint Alban's.
Grand staircases, square footage and a maze of rooms keep their eye on the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hidden Treasures:
St. Alban's is full of abandoned treasures. Several columns support the roof and balconies of the buildings. During renovations they were covered and protected with Styrofoam keeping many of them in perfect condition today. Only a handful have been lost to age.
Du ring the transformations over the years a set of skylights were also covered up in the main sitting room in one of the buildings. Drop ceilings were installed in most of the buildings, lowering many ceiling heights and covering up the buildings treasures.
The Cage:
What most would assume is a rooftop patio is what tour guides refer to as "The Cage." An area atop on of the buildings of Saint Alban's was caged off to allow patients in the closed wards their daily outdoor time without fear of endangerment.
Gregory plans to remove the cage and replace the broken tile and add planters, giving future visitors a place to drink coffee during the mornings.
Alcohol Unit:
Saint Alban's was constantly referred to as "a place of healing" for those that needed it. It wasn't a stranger to many celebrities; Johnny Cash was rumored to have booked a room in Saint Alban's alcohol unit but later refused his stay.
The unit had it's own personal entrance behind the facility where according to nurses many limousines would drop off patients.
One patient of Saint Alban's who was under the direct care of Dr. King found herself at odds with the hospital's founder. She found herself at the center for anorexia and obsessive compulsive disorder. Before breakfast each day the girl would have her room in order and King would mess it up while she ate. He supposedly did it to keep her on her toes and encourage her to push her anger outside her body.
Tim's Story:
Gregory explained to the tourists his appreciation for Dr. King's facility. He would act up when he learned of his release. The youngest patient, Gregory would pretend to run away from the grounds of St. Albans, however, he would take his time and practically walk just to ensure he would be caught.
After hearing of his release on another occasion, Gregory ran screaming and slammed his head into a hallway vending machine, knocking himself out. His determination to stay within the walls of Saint Alban's is comical to him now.
Gregory's fascination never falters. As the class takes tourists through, Gregory delves into the building, memory first and guides guests through the web of hallways. His paths almost always intersect the students and he won't hesitate to inform visitors of his future plans for each room of the center.
Curious minds aren't the only ones seeking the tours. Nurses and other workers from Saint Alban's past have booked tours with Tim and his guides. One accompanied a tour and did not hesitate to point out flaws in the building's history.
One nurse had tears in her eyes as she noticed the overwhelming amount of destruction within the building.
The rush of a ghost story will still draw in visitors. One couple come to St. Alban's to record their findings as amateur ghost hunters, wande ring from the set path of the tour and taking in every inch of the building.
They aren't the only one looking for ghosts. A small child clung to an Ipod running a ghost finder App into the electroshock therapy room.
Gregory sees a different side of the paranormal aspect of Saint Alban's.
"Do I believe there's a lot of spirits in Saint Alban's? Yeah, I do." Gregory said. "Do I belive there's monsters—reach-out-and-get-you kind of things going on? No, I don't go there too much. But I do believe there's a lot of spirits here… It was a place of healing for a long, long time. If I went to the other side, I'd probably want to go to a place like this and hang out too."
Electroshock Therapy:
One technique that was used on many patients during the operation of Saint Alban's was electroshock therapy. Gregory received 21 shock treatments over the course of his stay. The treatment was said to help Gregory's condition by inducing grand-mal seizures that changed the way his brain processed functions.
Electroshock therapy had been given a bad rap after the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" forced unnecessary shock treatments on patients, one nurse said as she explained the technique and reasons behind the treatment at Saint Albans.
The center will be renamed the St. Albans Center for Research and Enlightenment. As those who ventured into the buildings returned from their journey most felt the need to step in and get involved.
"It's such a historical building and people don't realize that—I didn't until I started getting involved," said CEO Bobbie Wolfe.
After the university failed to do anything with the building, students have stepped in and hope to make St. Albans a vital part of the community once again. They encourage others to help make sure the building is appreciated and preserved, taking the history to heart.
That's exactly what this project is doing as it pulls at the heartstrings of the community.
"[A maintenance man who worked on the property for 30 years] cried so much… because they had to leave the building," Gregory said. "And if it meant that much to the people who worked there you can imagine what it meant to people who came here to heal. And I get stories everywhere you go if you bring up Saint Albans—whether it's WalMart, Lowes, wherever—everybody's got a story—a good story about Saint Alban's."
Get involved:
Friends of Saint Albans on Facebook
Voter Turnout:
2008: Total Registered: 5,034,660 Total Voters: 3,752,858 =74.5%
2006: Total Registered: 4,554,683 Total Voters: 2,398,589 = 52.7%
Rick Boucher (D) *
Raised: $2,338,528
Spent: $2,460,686
PAC contributions $1,332,792 : (57%)
Individual contributions $927,454 : (40%)
Candidate self-financing $0 : (0%)
Other $78,282 : (3%)
Morgan Griffith (R)
Raised: $811,561
Spent: $568,798
PAC contributions $160,717 : (20%)
Individual contributions $648,029 : (80%)
Candidate self-financing $0 : (0%)
Other $2,815 : (0%)
Jeremiah David Heaton (I)
Raised: $23,306
Spent: $22,732
PAC contributions $0 : (0%)
Individual contributions $1,070 : (5%)
Candidate self-financing $22,236 : (95%)
Other $0 : (0%)
Other Candidates Who Ran:
Adam N. Light (R)
David Moore (R)
Jessee Ring (R)
9th District Voter Information:
1. East Ward Precinct
Radford Recreation Building
200 George St
2. West Ward 1
Radford Fire Department
1500 Wadsworth St
3. West 2 Precinct
Carter Street Methodist Church
1212 2nd St
Mr. Tracy D. Howard
General Registrar's Office
519 2nd St
Radford, Va 24141
Whatever–Meg Duerksen
Meg Duerksen is a Kansas native who blogs about her daily life putting her 5 kids through school, donating her time to charities, running a photography business and creating recipes while sharing it all online, without any hesitations. Each blog includes photos of each day and the honest truth about her life.
– Meg's biggest strength is her truth. It's something that is important in all blogs. If you hide the truth or alter it in any way you are not accomplishing anything.
-Whether it's photos or a deep description, Meg gives readers an honest look at her life.
-Meg lists several links she enjoys and runs contests to reward readers who also participate in the charities she does.
The Style Rookie–Tavi Gevinson
Tavi Gevinson is taking the fashion world by storm. She's only 14 years old but she's catching the attention of fashion editors everywhere. Her understanding of fashion and ability to write so well for her age is impressive.
– Tavi's strength is her understanding and dedication of her subject. She attends fashion shows and is also brutally honest.
– Tavi analyzes magazines, records videos and includes her own style choices in her blog.
– Her availability of sources help her blog reliability and understanding of her viewpoint.
Slice – America's Favorite Pizza Weblog
This weblog covers the essentials of pizza: pizza locations, pizza news, recipes and reviews. It goes above and beyond and devotes to the subject.
– Slice covers the depth and analysis of the subject well and is an interesting idea.
– Slice has many critiques and reviews that help readers decide their pizza choices.
– It allows the reader to review restaurants or add their own recipes. It also communicates through Twitter.
As the school year opened, students flocked to find a different kind of book store to fulfill their supply lists. The newly renovated RU Bookstore shows more space than it used to, with fewer fixtures, more browsing space and an updated feel.
Signs directed students to a book pick up path to the right of the entrance hall and found helpful items along the way, including suggested books and items for dorm living.
"I like the bookstore better because it's more organized," said sophomore Kasey Sutphin. "It 's cleaner and easier to get around and shop for what I need."
However, some students, like junior Emerald Lauzon didn't find a large change in the store. The RU Bookstore still catered to students seeking textbooks, had a small section of food items and of course the bookstore necessity, university apparel.
"Something I did notice was the setup for Mac computers," junior Jordan Alexander said. "It's kind of pointless because most students come to college prepared with a computer. If they want a Mac, they can't drop the $1,500 spur of the moment. It seems like a waste for the bookstore."
The new management may have promised "a refined shopping experience" however the Follett Higher Education Group may have missed the mark on their attempt.
"I'd rather go to the off campus book store," Alexander said. "It has more appeal for students. The Book Exchange appeals more to student interests while on campus it's directed more towards alumni and parents."
RU Bookstore can only improve in the eyes of the student body.
"I'm waiting to see what else they do," Sutphin said.
Katherine Wilk
Jeff Alexander
The student food exhibit located in the Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center was not a typical display. In the open lobby of the Bonnie, student's three-dimensional sculptures decorated the tables between sitting areas. The exhibit held only sculptures made by students at Radford University, with the subject of food. Food either acted as a medium or a theme.
The artists were students in Art 205. The overall gallery environment was nothing like a traditional exhibit, knowing the Bonnie is a place students usually go to eat, not look at art. The different direction the artists took drew many students to this exhibit.
While traditional galleries are mainly adorned with paintings with vague descriptions under the pieces, it's sometimes difficult to realize what the painting is depicting. However, when you walk into the Bonnie, the first thing you notice is the sculptures. The descriptions that lay beside the figures give a strong sense of thinking behind the artists' pieces. Next to each work of art, there was a description that explained how it was made, what it was made of, where the idea came from and how the artist felt about the finished product. There wasn't any background information on any of the artists, or their style, but each sculpture displayed aspects of their personalities.
The piece that was most noticeable the huge gummy bear made of, you guessed it, gummy bears. This piece specifically leads you to explore the rest of the sculptures.
Even the food theme was very unique. Most of the sculptures were made out of food while a couple used other items to create a food object.
Another attention-grabbing piece was called La Tour Eiffel de Pretzels, by Katie Franklin. Franklin explained a jewelry holder shaped like the Eiffel Tower was her inspiration. She ran with the idea, using only pretzels and hot glue to create a food replica of the tower. The sculpture was about two feet high and a foot wide. The strong architecture of the piece really had this artwork standing above the rest, literally. It looked like it would have been fun to build.
The third sculpture that stood out was titled Waterfall Landscape, by Latoya Tousant. This clearly had a lot of talented work behind it. It was one of the only pieces in the exhibit that was made mostly of materials outside of the food group. It depicted a waterfall ending in a pond. The waterfall was made out of cream cheese and was falling from mountains made from dough. The pond was made from resin epoxy, which gave it a shinny, rippled and realistic look.
Overall, the Bonnie's student exhibit gave reality and creativity to the classes many students take. Demonstrating the abilities of students and having their work displayed in an atmosphere unlike other art exhibits made this one interesting.
[This article was published in the April 28, 2010 issue of The Tartan. It was also published online April 27.]
Katherine Wilk
Students flocked to Heth Lawn Thursday, April 22 in celebration of Earth Day. The festival had Radford University celebrating the 40th anniversary of the day, recognizing the beauty of the planet and environmental protection.
The RU community, Radford residents and over 40 regional green businesses and organizations gathered in the sunny quad to promote their businesses and exchange conversation with passersby.
RU President Penelope Kyle offered her insight on the celebration and rich history surrounding the 1960s environmental movement. She confirmed the goal for RU to continue with the movement by improving sustainability and encouraging members of RU to keep the planet in mind.
Kyle later helped plant a tree on Heth Lawn in front of Reed-Curie Hall before festivities continued. RU's Sustainability Coordinator, Julio Stephens, shared with attendees the totals for Recylemania, a challenge to produce the most recycled material over the course of the competition. Each member of RU recycled almost 10 pounds of material while producing around 54 pounds of trash over the 10 week period, totaling more than 17 tons of recyclables.
"Obviously we've got some more work to do," Stephens said. "But, it's a great recognition of your efforts and everyone participating."
Stephens continued to give students tips to help the school remain dedicated to sustainability. He reminded everyone to conserve their electricity and water, unplug items after use and easily set computer settings to reduce power consumption.
"We've been having a green party and it's great," Stevens said. "This is the perfect time to celebrate, but we need to take it another step, and what we truly need is a green revolution. We need people to get excited, we need people to demand change and ask questions and get solutions."
The Colin Thompson Band, IMRA and Feel Good Cabbage performed to a crowd on the quad. Other festivities included creative projects inside the "Organic Valley Funzone" like building birdhouses, decorating reusable bags and tossing recycled items in the trash while students took turns enjoying a climbing wall to overlook the festival.
The event was sponsored by the Blue Mountain Organics, Heritage Food USA, the Johnson Ridge Farm and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.
As students hula hooped across the lawn, businesses shared their goods with participants and a tree found its start on campus, the community was able to come together to celebrate and look ahead.
"Take the first step and show others with your leadership what you care about and others will follow you," Stephens said. "There's plenty of work to do… and we'll keep moving forward."
[This article was published in the April 28, 2010 issue of The Tartan. It was also published online April 27.]
Radford always needed a magician. This may seem like an overstatement, but after sitting through the show of Mike Super, the Phenomenon, you'd also realize how true it is.
I'd never seen the Bonnie Hurlburt Student Center Auditorium as full as it was on Wednesday, April 14. The magician captivated his audience with simple rope tricks to complex voodoo magic. He had no trouble inviting students on stage and encouraging them to participate in the experience.
He responded to the crowd as they reacted, pointing out the "child-like wonder" on faces, teasing specific students on their reactions and not hesitating to crack jokes about everyone, including himself. His humor filled the spots between jokes and explained why he's made it so far in magic.
Mike Super, real name unknown, has received many awards and honors. The illusionist has captivated beyond the valley of Radford University, winning a live TV magic competition where he was voted America's Favorite Mystifier on NBC's "Phenomenon."
During the night, Super had the audience gasping as he refilled an empty Coke can with fresh soda, re-attached a cut rope, levitated an audience member and had a student jump out of his seat through voodoo magic. Super had card tricks, pick- up lines and even convinced the audience he could read minds.
Tossing a giant toy die into the audience, Super played Clue. With each catch of the die, a student answered a question concerning a murder. An item: turtle; place: Cancun, Mexico; and a person: Christopher Walken were said to be the murder weapon, place and murderer. Prior to the show's start, Super told the audience he made a prediction and enclosed it in a secure box in plain sight during the show. Near the end he unlocked and showed his prediction. That night and in that auditorium, Christopher Walken did murder someone with a turtle in Cancun, and the audience was even more shocked than before.
Super went on to levitate a napkin, bouncing it around his hand and up his arm before showing his last trick and explaining the dedication of his shows: his mom.
Super had always wanted to be a magician from an early age. His mom pushed him, telling him what most parents do, that you can do anything you put your mind to. He went on to explain that his mom never had the pleasure of seeing him perform a real show. Super's finale created the one thing RU students had seen enough of: snow. However, they gasped and ended the show with a roaring standing ovation.
With each trick dropping jaws further than the one before, RU's Student Programming and Campus Events team did an excellent job with this performer. They brought in someone that had me assuming magic was real, if even for one night.
[This story was published in the April 21, 2010 issue of The Tartan. It was published online April 19.]


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