text:
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We weren't surprised to find refinement inside the comfortable cabin of the 2004 Volkswagen Touareg. After all, we expect refinement in a Volkswagen, known for tautly finished interiors and keen attention to detail. What surprised and impressed us about the Touareg was its stellar off-road capability. It turns out a Volkswagen Touareg can go pretty much anywhere.
We witnessed this while driving through Hell's Revenge, a trail that weaves through sandy gullies and the not so slick rock near Moab, Utah. With its articulate suspension, sophisticated drive system, and advanced technology, the Touareg gains the respect, if not the appreciation, of veteran off-road enthusiasts. We wouldn't hesitate to follow a Jeep Wrangler or Range Rover anywhere in one of these and the folks from Volkswagen would suggest the Touareg should lead the convoy.
Named after a nomadic tribe from the Sahara, Touareg (pronounced "TOUR-egg" or "TORE-egg") is bound to be the most often mispronounced and misspelled vehicle introduced for the 2004 model year. In spite of this and in spite of its newness, it is instantly recognized as a Volkswagen. It looks just like you'd expect Volkswagen's first modern SUV to look. Touareg boasts a brawny stance, yet shares styling cues with the upcoming Phaeton luxury car and other future Volkswagen models that give it a sophisticated, upscale appearance.
The optional V8 engine, lifted from the superb new Audi A8 L, delivers good acceleration performance, enhanced by a wonderful six-speed automatic transmission that smoothly selects exactly the right gearing for every situation. On the highway, the Touareg provides a fairly smooth ride, though opting for the 19-inch wheels brings in some road vibration and noise. Touareg is no sports sedan, but handling is responsive for a heavy SUV. Off road, the all-wheel-drive and traction-control systems automatically apportion power to the wheels with the best grip, providing better traction and requiring less skill from the driver.
Inside, the Touareg offers comfortable seating for five with rich interior appointments and controls that are easy to use. Indeed, this is among the most comfortable of Volkswagens with firm, supportive seats.
Measured more broadly, the Touareg is among the best of the mid-size luxury SUVs. It offers better off-road capability than the Volvo XC 90, and it seems more comfortable and more practical than the BMW X5 or Mercedes-Benz ML 350. What the Touareg does not offer, however, is a third row of seats. So look elsewhere if you need seating for more than five.
The 2004 Touareg looks like a Volkswagen with its smooth, arched surfaces. It has a Volkswagen face and rear end. Other Volkswagen cues can be seen in the jeweled headlamps, the design of the hood and other features. If that isn't enough, the prominent VW badges leave no doubt.
Touareg looks brawny, though its true off-road capability isn't readily apparent. Its exterior styling is designed to make it look rugged yet refined, practical yet stylish. Its high ground clearance, large wheels, and the robust design of the wheel arches and bumpers are clues to its trail worthiness. Big air intakes in the lower bumper contrast with the upper radiator grille, which is shaped like that of a modern passenger car, contrast that hints at the Touareg's dual role as off-road vehicle and luxury car. In the same theme, smooth, elegant surfaces above the beltline contrast with broad, rugged-looking side sills. Big exterior door handles look functional and are well designed and easy to grab.
Touareg is built on a unit-body chassis, like a car. It was designed to be a highly rigid structure (40 Hz), so that it won't bend or twist even in the most tortuous off-road driving conditions. We were able to open and close the doors when the Touareg was teetering on two or three wheels, an impressive feat considering Volkswagen's tight fitment of body panels. This rigidity contributes to the Touareg's ride comfort and high-speed stability. The doors are completely sealed when closed, providing a quiet cabin and allowing the Touareg to ford up to 22 inches of standing water.
Like many SUVs, the Touareg features a two-stage rear hatch with a glass window that can be raised separately. It has a neat feature that many owners may never discover: The glass hatch can be hard for shorter people to reach when it's open. If this happens, simply raise the rear door. When they reconnect, the window clicks into the door. Rejoined as one unit, the hatch can then be closed as one unit. Tall people have it easier, of course: They simply reach up and close the glass.
Perimeter lights illuminate the area around the Touareg when getting in or out at night, and can be programmed to the driver's preferences.
The Touareg interior is luxurious and attractive. We were impressed with it when we first saw it at the North American International Auto Show at Detroit, and Volkswagen's craftsmanship in wood and leather impressed us again when we examined various models in detail. The interior elegantly combines robust dimensions with delicate details.
Those delicate details include rich materials: Genuine burled walnut wood trim is standard, with vavona or myrtle wood available as an upgrade on the V8. We like both grades of leather, cricket and smooth nappa. Volkswagen officials were enthusiastic about the leatherette (vinyl) that's standard, but we have not seen it. The premium light-colored wood with tan leather is particularly attractive and the dark-colored wood is quite nice. The dash, door panels and other trim offer textures that appeal to the sense of touch. Chrome and brushed aluminum trim add elegance with a hint of technology. Everything seems perfectly tailored and fitted.
The seats are excellent, supportive and comfortable, much better than most. I've found it sometimes takes time to get comfortable in some Volkswagen seats, but I was immediately comfortable in the Touareg. Larger derrieres may find the seats narrow, but they're wider than those in, say, a Land Rover Discovery.
Visibility from the driver's seat is quite good, aided rearward by huge outside mirrors. All controls are easy to reach. The steering column tilts and telescopes manually; optional power adjustments make it easier to fine-tune the adjustments. The switchgear, climate control, audio controls, window lifts all feel smooth and sophisticated. Move the turn signal lever momentarily and the signals flash three times, handy for lane changes. Instruments are attractive and easy to read, big and clearly marked, using white-on-black graphics.
Robust climate controls make adjusting temperature quick and easy. The standard two-zone (with rear A/C) does an excellent job. The optional four-zone system, allowing separate control of each of the four primary seating positions, may be overkill but it works well. Farther down on the center console are big round knobs for controlling the differential locks and air suspension (when equipped). The center armrest features a ring designed to hold large water bottles. Overhead, you'll find a small indigo display with compass and clock along with a pair of nicely designed map lights. The glove box is air-conditioned, so you can store a sandwich or beverage in there.
Touareg's optional Navigation System provides traditional route guidance with mapping and voice announcements. But it also includes a really neat off-road navigation system with compass, altimeter, and GPS coordinates. A tracking mode leaves an electronic trail that can be used to retrace your route.
Automatic wipers respond well to changing conditions. While driving through a squall in the mountains near Park City, they quickly changed the wiper speed from ultra-fast to slow to intermittent, then stopped them altogether when the going got dry.
The rear seats are firm, supportive, and comfortable. The back seat of a Touareg is a pleasant place to be and we spent several hours there, sometimes in extreme terrain. Vents in the B-pillars help direct air back here and the four-zone climate control offers individual temperature controls. A second heat exchanger for the rear seats helps get heat back there quickly on cold mornings.
Fold down the rear seats and Touareg offers 71 cubic feet of cargo space with a nice, flat floor. That's more the BMW X5 offers, less than what's available in the Mercedes M-Class or Lexus RX 330. Folding the seats is a little fussy because the seat bottoms must articulate before folding the seat backs down, but the system works well. Put the rear seats back into place and there's 31 cubic feet of space behind them. There's an optional pass-through for skis available, a car
Our first impression of the Volkswagen Touareg was its relatively quiet cabin. Both engines are smooth and the six-speed automatic transmission is really smooth. Overall, Touareg feels like a well-engineered vehicle carved from a single block.
The top model's V8 engine delivers strong torque around town and the transmission always selects the right gear. So you don't need much throttle pressure to smoothly accelerate to the desired speed. Slam the throttle down and the V8 responds well, but does not deliver breathtaking thrust. Granted, we drove the Touareg at 6000 feet where thinner air reduces the V8's 310 horsepower to something less than 250. But at any altitude, a V8 Touareg weighs about 5,300 pounds when empty. That makes Touareg 400 to 500 pounds heavier than a BMW X5 or Mercedes-Benz M-Class. Still, the V8 Touareg delivers respectable performance. It will accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in about 7.6 seconds, says Volkswagen, which is comparable to the performance of a BMW X5 4.4i or Mercedes ML430.
Touareg's weight does not help in terms of fuel economy, either: The V6 earns an EPA rating of 15/20 mpg City/Highway, while the V8 returns 14/18 mpg. This weight is more noticeable in the less-powerful V6 version. Though 200 pounds lighter than the V8 model, a V6 Touareg takes about 9.4 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 60, slow by anyone's stopwatch. Indeed, the V6 Touareg felt sluggish at altitude, its 220 horsepower reduced to only 175 at 6000 feet. Punch it while going 55 mph on a long grade in the mountains and you'll hear it downshift and you'll hear the engine working harder, but you won't go rocketing past that truck. That's especially true if you happen to be pulling a trailer or have several passengers and their gear aboard. In short, the V8 Touareg delivers decent performance, while the V6 Touareg is merely adequate in this regard. Even so, we were quite happy in the V6 and we wouldn't hesitate to choose it. The V6 engine is smooth and quiet and should offer enough power at lower altitudes.
The transmission is brilliant, a luxury-grade six-speed automatic used in the new Audi A8 L. The transmission uses fuzzy logic to sense the driver's intentions before smoothly selecting the proper gear. After switching from Normal to Sport mode, it automatically selects higher shift points for more aggressive driving. There's also a Tiptronic mode for manual shifting, useful in some situations, but ultimately the transmission will still shift up automatically when redline is reached.
The ride quality of the Touareg is good, though it certainly doesn't ride like an A8 L. And its ride quality varies somewhat according to the suspension and wheel package you've selected. There is some road vibration, which becomes more acute with the larger diameter wheels that are available. The 19-inch wheels transmit more road vibration into the cabin due to the rubber compound and short, stiff sidewalls of the summer performance tires. The 17-inch wheels offer the best ride quality, smoother and quieter, though the aggressive tread pattern of the tires does generate some noise and vibration. Steering responses are sharper with the 19-inch wheels, and more lethargic and mushier with the 17-inch wheels. The 18-inch wheel and tires seem a good compromise between the two. Most of my time with the 18-inch wheels was spent off road, but the ride seemed quite pleasant during the few, short highway sections with them. Overall, I preferred the 17- and 18-inch wheels and tires.
Two suspensions are available for Touareg: a standard suspension with steel springs and an optional air suspension. The standard suspension works very well and we recommend it highly. It might even be our preference. Fully independent, the standard suspension provides a nice ride and does a great job in the handling department as we discovered on some winding mountain roads in Utah. With it, the Touareg boasts an
Though late to the SUV party, Volkswagen has added dimension to the market with its new sport-utility vehicle. While most SUVs have gotten bigger, softer, less rugged, and less capable, the 2004 Volkswagen Touareg delivers the off-road capability that was part of the original sport-utility intent.
Touareg combines luxury and sophistication with impressive off-road capability and highly competent road manners. It's a small, poor man's Range Rover that'll go anywhere you desire in smooth, luxurious comfort. While the V6 Touareg is competent, the V8 is needed for respectable levels of performance.
Arguably, the capability of the Touareg is overkill as few owners are likely to come anywhere close to tapping its full potential. But this capability adds to the Touareg's credibility, demonstrates the high level of engineering that went into it, and distinguishes it among the herds of SUVs that have become nothing more than tall station wagons. Another point of credibility is the Touareg's towing capability: 7,700 pounds. That's more than the big Cadillac Escalade offers.
Buying New?
Build and price your dream Volkswagen Touareg in just a few easy steps.
|Build & Price
2014 Volkswagen Touareg$50,000 | 23,914 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$27,998 | 41,603 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$28,995 | 31,756 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$28,998 | 42,581 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$31,995 | 28,550 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$40,000 | 27,706 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$45,377 | 21,241 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$45,445 | 13,620 mi
2013 Volkswagen Touareg$47,488 | 12,163 mi
2012 Volkswagen Touareg$33,988 | 39,138 mi
2012 Volkswagen Touareg$37,488 | 47,987 mi
2012 Volkswagen Touareg$37,974 | 37,810 mi
2012 Volkswagen Touareg$38,957 | 30,576 mi
2011 Volkswagen Touareg$24,092 | 50,888 mi
2008 Volkswagen Touareg 2$15,995 | 86,925 mi
2006 Volkswagen Touareg$10,995 | 116,538 mi
2006 Volkswagen Touareg$11,495 | 96,290 mi
2006 Volkswagen Touareg$12,701 | 72,356 mi
2005 Volkswagen Touareg$9,996 | 110,653 mi
2005 Volkswagen Touareg$11,495 | 81,000 mi
2005 Volkswagen Touareg$11,938 | 74,702 mi
2004 Volkswagen Touareg$8,995 | 87,701 mi
2004 Volkswagen Touareg$9,845 | 87,288 mi
2004 Volkswagen Touareg$10,402 | 88,121 mi
2004 Volkswagen Touareg$11,997 | no mileage
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3 of the best mutual funds for stingy retirees
Don't get lured into paying steep fees. These top picks have rock-bottom expenses.
By Dan Burrows
Every penny counts in this life, and that's doubly true in retirement -- so please don't waste your hard-earned money on fees.
Interest rates are at historically depressed levels, making it harder than ever to generate a decent stream of income. That makes it all the more imperative to husband your resources and not overpay for performance.
Consider that the average actively managed mutual fund fee comes to 1.07%. That's $107 for every $10,000 invested.
If you give $100,000 to an active manager, your expenses come to $1,070 a year just for the privilege of investing in the fund. That's over $89 a month!
In a time when the average monthly Social Security benefit is only $1,230 a month and one-year CDs pay 0.75%, well, $89 a month is a material amount of money to a retiree.
At what do you get for your $89 a month? About an 80% chance that your mutual fund manager will fail even to keep up with the performance of the market.
When it comes to retirees choosing the best mutual funds, it's a no-brainer to look for as much income as possible with the least amount of risk. Too often, however, investors forget about those fees.
That's why we looked for first-rate mutual funds for retirees that also have rock-bottom expenses. Spoiler alert: They're all from Vanguard, because it's essentially impossible to beat them on pricing.
Here are some of the best mutual funds for stingy retirees that we found:
Vanguard Managed Payout Growth and Distribution Fund
Ticker: VPGDX
Morningstar Rating: 4 Stars
Minimum Investment: $25,000
Expenses: 0.43% ($43 for every $10,000 invested)
Load: None
Yield: 4.43%
Performance Summary: VPGDX's three-year total return of 9.5% outperformed the retirement income mutual fund category by 3.5 percentage points, according to data from Morningstar.
Notes: Designed to generate retirement income, VPGDX invests in other Vanguard stock, bond and commodities funds. VPGDX automatically makes regular monthly payments, which adjust each January depending on the performance of the fund. In early January, VPGDX will be merged with two other Vanguard managed payout funds. This new fund, known simply as the Vanguard Managed Payout Fund, will have an annual distribution target rate of 4%.
Vanguard Target Retirement Income Fund
Ticker: VTINX
Morningstar Rating: 4 Stars
Minimum Investment: $1,000
Expenses: 0.16% ($16 for every $10,000 invested)
Load: None
Yield: 1.98%
Performance Summary: VTINX's three-year total return of 6.4% outperformed the retirement income mutual fund category by 0.3 percentage point, according to data from Morningstar.
Notes: The most conservative of Vanguard's target retirement funds, VTINX automatically rebalances to maintain a steady asset allocation of 65% bonds, 30% stocks and 5% short-term reserves by investing in five other Vanguard index funds. Unlike a managed payout fund, VTINX allows you to set an automatic withdrawal schedule to set your own payout amount.
Vanguard Target Retirement 2015 Fund
Ticker: VTXVX
Morningstar Rating: 4 Stars
Minimum Investment: $1,000
Expenses: 0.16% ($16 for every $10,000 invested)
Load: None
Yield: 2.05%
Performance Summary: VTXVX's three-year total return of 9.1% outperformed the target date mutual fund category by 1.7 percentage points, according to data from Morningstar.
Notes: Don't let then name fool you -- this fund is designed for anyone retiring between 2013 and 2017. VTXVX currently invests in five Vanguard index funds that give it a mix of 55% stocks and 45% bonds. But, as a target-date retirement fund, it will become more conservative over time, automatically increasing its exposure to bonds and decreasing its exposure to stocks. After about seven years, VTXVX's allocation will match that of VTINX.
As of this writing, Dan Burrows did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
More from InvestorPlace
I'll stick with the 25-35% average per year over the last 3...But actually it is closer to 3.5-3.75 years from the second bottom in early 2009....'09 was not a bottom for us we/I had already re-allocated, and re-aligned for a different pursuit of recovery...
That why I'm not fond of Funds or how Mgrs, will push the pencils from year to year or multi-years appearing that you are doing well.. When in fact, I believe most are mediocre..
Occasionally, some will hit home runs but most are base hits.
Like I've stated, we haven't been in any Funds since 2000-2001 ??
Yes we lost like most anyone else in the downturn, we just didn't lose as much..
And we were fully recovered by July 24-26th 2009....Name me ONE (1) Fund that accomplished that if they were diversified in very many stocks or otherwise. Some Sector or Index funds may have came close ??
We have "doubled" since sometime in 2007-2008 before meltdown...And "tripled" since our bottom in late 2008... I will let anyone do the math.
With diversity in about 10 Sectors including commodities...
And an overall average of about 6% in dividends per year...
I can adjust for a much higher div rate average, BUT would not have the diversification over the sectors and possibly face higher risk of depreciation in only 3-4 sectors...Or a downturn.
With varying positions from 22-26 and about 110-130 trades per year...
During the recovery, trades ranged close to 150 per..
Trading in 4 Ports, now 3 ( 1-brokerage 1-IRA an 1-ROTH)
It does take some time and can be learned, but I like it as a hobby, of about 2 hours a day.
I do agree that most retirees should be in fairly safe investments, mixes of Stocks, Bonds and safe cash are recommended by conventional wisdom..
Risk adverse or well managed Portfolios, by a reasonable cost FA, would probably fit the needs of way better then 70% of most investors....You can learn or dabble or pay someone else to do the work.
And I believe everyone should shop for the best deal with tenure and a track record.
And as with most investments, you shouldn't be betting the whole farm or all the grocery money..
The amounts that are laid out, should depend on the capability and risk/reward tolerance.
I find these Funds to be nothing but safe, no-load, fairly cheap expense ratio and ALSO not a very good return for your investment dollar...3 year returns ???
Tell me what the 5-6 year returns are....If they have been around that long?
Any decent fund with returns since 2009-2010 should be in the 25-35% av range at least.
I know we have done much better than that with selected stocks....
And dropped about 20-22% in the meltdown of 2008, beating I believe well over 95% of Mutual's.
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Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Morningstar Inc. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Morningstar Inc. Quotes delayed by up to 15 minutes, except where indicated otherwise. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by Morningstar Inc.
New study finds members of this global elite are stashing an average $600 million each in cash -- 10 times more than a year ago.
Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Journalist Brit Hume
Randolph-Macon College President Robert R. Lindgren has announced that the 2014
Commencement speaker will be journalist
Brit Hume. Hume will also be awarded an
Honorary Doctor of Letters degree.
With more than 43 years of journalism experience to draw from, Hume currently serves
as a senior political analyst for FOX News Channel and contributes to all major
political coverage. Before joining FOX News in 1996, Hume was with ABC News for
23 years, serving as chief White House correspondent from 1989 through 1996. During
his tenure, he contributed to World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, Nightline
and This Week as well as various specials for the news division.
"Brit Hume has been a highly effective and omnipresent reporter and commentator
in the corridors of power of our Nation's Capital and beyond for over four decades,"
says R-MC President Robert R. Lindgren. "We look forward to having him share his
insight and experiences with our graduating seniors and their friends and families."
Hume stepped down as anchor of Special Report in 2008 after more than 10 years at
the helm of the program. Under his leadership, Special Report was the highest-rated
political program on cable television. In this capacity, Hume also served as the
Washington managing editor and was responsible for overseeing news content for FOX
News' Washington bureau. He also anchored all network coverage for every presidential
election from 1996-2008. Most recently, Hume served as a panelist during the 2012
Democratic and Republican Conventions.
Hume joined ABC in 1973 as a consultant for the network's documentary division and
was named a Washington correspondent in 1976. He was later promoted to Capitol Hill
correspondent and reported on Congress until 1988.
Earlier, Hume reported for United Press International, beginning his career as a
newspaper reporter with The Hartford Times and the Baltimore Evening Sun.
He has received numerous honors and awards, including the 2003 Sol Taishoff Award
for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism from the National Press Foundation and a
1991 Emmy Award for his coverage of the Gulf War. The author of the books Inside
Story and Death and the Mines, Hume was named The Best in the
Business by the American Journalism Review for his extensive news coverage
of the White House.
Hume, who earned his B.A. from University of Virginia, lives in Hume, Virginia with
his wife Kim Schiller Hume.
Randolph-Macon College's Commencement
ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at the Frank E.
Brown Fountain Plaza.
For additional information, contact Anne Marie Lauranzon at
firstname.lastname@example.com or (804) 752-7317.


text:
CFO Ruth Fowler: Ready for Anything at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
Resulting from this year's early flu season, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta saw a record 10,000 emergency room visits in December, a clear sign of how the community depends on the hospital.
Good thing the non-profit system has ample cash reserves — a whopping 939 days cash on hand last September, according to Moody's Investors Services. That's due in part to the leadership of CFO Ruth Fowler, a 12-year veteran of CHOA.
Moody's affirmed the "Aa2" ratings on the system's $467 million in outstanding bonds last month, attributable to its "seasoned management" and history of exceptional operating margins. Its operating cash flow margin was 19.6 percent in 2011 and 21.2 percent through the first nine months of fiscal year 2012.
Fowler, a certified public accountant, earned her first business degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her master's of business from Georgia State University.
More Articles on Hospital CFO Profiles:
CFO Paul Pernice: Bringing Beebe Medical Center Back
CFO Diane Blake: Meeting Critical Needs at Cascade Medical Center
CFO Joe Guarracino: Changing the CFO Role at The Brooklyn Hospital Center
© Copyright ASC COMMUNICATIONS 2012. Interested in LINKING to or REPRINTING this content? View our policies by clicking here.


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FamilySearch reached the billionaires club when it uploaded its one billionth digital image online this week. We can't even fathom (or visualise) just how much 1 billion records is. Or even the work involved in getting all 1 billion records from an archive, to being digitised, to being online for us all to use. It takes multiple people to even get even one record online.Full Story »
FamilySearch: One Billion and Counting
Find-A-Record Helps you Find Records
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Australian Records FREE on Ancestry.com.au for Australia Day Weekend
The Australia Day long weekend is almost here, and Ancestry are wanting you to spend at least some of it researching your famly tree, which sounds reasonable to me, don't you think?Full Story »
FamilySearch Adds a Few More Million Records Online
The world biggest genealogy website, just on keeps getting bigger. This month FamilySearch has added more than 3.1 million new records online. These relate to England, New Zealand, Sweden, and the United States, with some being indexed entries, and others images only.Full Story »
Ancestry Offer Free Access to the 1911 English and Welsh Census
Census and Free are two words genealogists love to hear. And both Ancestry.co.uk and Ancestry.com.au are offering you free access to the English and Welsh 1911 Census for a limited time, but rather than their usual weekend or week long offer, this is actually FREE until the 14th October 2013.Full Story »
Free Access to Irish BDM Records from findmypast
To mark the anniversary of the destruction of the Public Records Office of Ireland on June 30, 1922 findmypast (which includes England, Ireland, US and Australia) are giving you FREE access to their Irish Birth, Death & Marriage records from Thursday 27 June through until Sunday 30 June …Full Story »
ANZAC Day 2013: Special Offers and More
ANZAC Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli. It now commemorates all those who served and died in military operations for their countries. I'm just letting you know about some special offers together with ways that you can honour your military ancestors …Full Story »
FamilySearch Adds 19 Million New Indexed Records and Digital Images
The world's best genealogy website FamilySearch, has just added another 19 million, that's right 19 M-I-L-L-I-O-N more indexed records and images to its free online searchable database. Austria, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Italy, Ivory Coast, NZ, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, US, UK, Venezuela and Wales are all coveredFull Story »
New FamilySearch Videos [VIDEO]
FamilySearch is one of the most used websites for genealogy research – and why not, it's got the largest collection of genealogy records online (in the billions), and it is free, so who wouldn't. But do you know just how FamilySearch works? And how best to search their website? FamilySearch has recently released two videos that discuss this massive collection of genealogical records, and will lead you to discover more about FamilySearch and their records.Full Story »
FREE Military Records on Ancestry Until Sunday April 29th
In honour of ANZAC Day, Ancestry.com.au are making it even easier to discover the military heroes in your family. Until Sunday 29th April you can access over 46 million military records from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Canada and the United States for FREE.Full Story »
FamilySearch Starts 2012 by Releasing 119 Million New Records
If your genealogy wish for 2012 was for more new records to be added online, FamilySearch was certainly listening, as they've started the year off with a bang by releasing 119 million new (not-previously-online) records … and of course, being on FamilySearch they are all FREE.Full Story »
FamilySearch.org and FamilySearch Beta Merge
FamilySearch announced several major changes for its family history website, FamilySearch.org. Users will find millions of new records and images, over 40,000 helpful articles, over 100 interactive courses of instruction, and a forum to ask genealogy questions …Full Story »


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Brewfest. No matter how ridiculously frustrating it was trying -- and failing -- to get that kodo, it's still my favorite for everything else. The barking, the ram racing, the fun little rewards, and just the general idea of it are all great. If they would just put the mounts on a token system, it would be perfect.
I'll bet Midsummer Fire Festival would be my second favorite, but I took a month off from WoW when it was running, so I didn't really get to experience. Reading about it makes it sound like a blast, though.
Hallow's End is fun as far as gameplay and gimmicks go, but I get bored to death with the theme. Halloween's just been another day since I quit trick-or-treating in 5th grade, and plastic zombies, witches, and skeletons aren't very interesting to me. To better explain my apathy toward it all, I didn't really mind passing on the Sinister Squashling for a guildie. The whole holiday just isn't a big deal for me.


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What the raw diet can do….I had one woman angry saying I was posting fake BnA's because the people looked obviously younger in the "After" photos. LOL - No!!!! The RAW DIET is seriously rejuvenating!! You can't believe it til you experience it. You'll see: http://28DaysRaw.com — the truth is stranger than fiction!
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Benchmark bods reckon NetApp storage has the edge over Isilon
Analyst outfit DCIG rates NetApp over Isilon for private cloud storage. Which comes as a bit of a surprise to The Register's storage desk. DCIG produces buyers' guides and then sells the rights to distribute these guides to vendors. This raises a suspicion that top-ranked vendors have somehow influenced their position in the …
Practically worthless
These tables hold very little credibility. Practically worthless. There are no apples for apples comparison's here. The are comparing SAN's, NAS's, Unified Solutions, Hyperconverged Platforms, Scale-Out File Systems and Object Stores. All have a different role to play in cloud storage.
Re: Practically worthless
absolutely true! In looking through some of it I couldn't help but think what the criteria was based on.. I can't imagine anyone in their right mind running VMs directly on top of scale out NAS (as much as Isilon and other similar vendors may want you to try to do that). They're pretty good for just bulk file storage operations though.. access them directly from the guest CIFS/NFS .. not through the hypervisor..
Re: Practically worthless
@Nate, Eric from EMC Isilon here. I do agree with your points on this. We don't suggest or even support VMs running directly on the storage nodes.
Re: Practically worthless
Yep i think a lot of the content they review is whats on the vendors website i.e. markitecture
One can only wonder what DCIG's definition of "private cloud" is. Is it VMware? The support of object/REST protocols? When I hear cloud, I think object protocols yet their highest ranked products, the NetApp filers don't support an object/REST interface. Go figure.
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Your October Financial To-Dos
"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter."
Don't judge us for quoting Carol Bishop Hipps–there's something about October. Maybe it's the fact that we're finally, indisputably ensconced in autumn. Maybe it's the fact that we can break out the cable-knit, go apple-picking and pumpkin-gathering, and brew hot chocolate with a clear conscience.
Once you have that hot chocolate firmly in hand, turn your attention to your October financial to-dos: From health insurance to trick-or-treaters, we've got you covered.
Want More?
Want to Set Up a Budget? Start Here
Track Your Spending for Free With the LV My Money Center
Take Advantage of Open Enrollment. Deadline: Wed, Oct. 3
Open enrollment is the period when you're allowed to select your health care plans for the next year. If your health insurance is through your employer, check with HR immediately (seriously: now!) to make sure you know when your employer offers open enrollment. As an example, Medicare is holding open enrollment October 15-December 7th for 2013 benefits. Don't be shy about asking HR or other experts for guidance–refusing to ask is one of the most common and critical mistakes a person can make during open enrollment. We also have information on how to approach open enrollment and what not to miss.
Plan Halloween. Deadline: Wed, Oct. 10
The last-minute hustle for costumes/candy/decorations in the last week of October is a dream come true for retailers, but a nightmare for us ("I'm a … sleepy person in pajamas?"). Take your Halloween plans into account now and start laying the groundwork: Look for sales on candy for trick-or-treaters, figure out exactly what you'll need for a costume if you're wearing one and start hunting down the pieces. And, of course, survey your options to buy the most affordable pumpkin-turned-jack-o-lantern. By getting things under control now, you'll avoid the rush–and the spending!–later.
Assert Yourself. Deadline: Wed, Oct. 17
We all know that we're allowed to negotiate for a raise, or with jewelry vendors on the street. But there are many more opportunities to get the best price. Since we're spending a little more time inside, why not put it to good use? These five surprising things to negotiate (gym memberships!) are a good place to start. For more information on what to negotiate and exactly how to do it, sign up for our free Cut Your Costs Bootcamp, which will help you shrink your bills and find a little money to spare.
Reassess Your Budget. Deadline: Mon, Oct. 22
Go to the LV Money Center to make sure you're sticking to your current budget. You may have readjusted over the summer for vacation spending (this is how not to blow your vacation budget), so make sure you reallocate your funds for fall spending, whether that means textbooks, back-to-school wardrobes (more on back-to-school budgeting) or increased IRA contributions. Adjust your numbers if your income, goals or lifestyle has changed.
Batten Down the Hatches. Deadline: Wed, Oct. 31
By October, you can't deny that winter is coming. Before things get too cold (or wet, depending on where you're living), get your winter chores out of the way. Depending on your situation, you might want to:
- Bring in patio furniture
- Buy or find snow tires
- Try on family winter coats and boots and find rogue gloves, hats and scarves
- Adjust your utilities budget in The Money Center to accommodate heating costs
- Get firewood
And don't forget to look into what you should be buying this month in the guide below:
What To Buy When
- Jan
- Feb
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- Aug
- Sept
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Winter Boots, Clothing and Coats:
Get in on winter sales now for the best selection
Around the new year, stores discount their fall suits
A popular holiday gift, perfume is often on sale after the season
Home Furnishings:
Retailers are making room for new inventory
Just after the new year, prices are drastically reduced
Carpets and Flooring:
Many people spruce up their homes during the holidays, so prices plummet afterwards
Big Appliances:
Stock not sold during the holiday rush is now heavily discounted
Linens and Bedding:
Ever-popular "white sales" make January the best month for these items
Holiday Supplies:
If you're willing and able to store cards and wrapping paper for a year, you can find them now for up to 80% off
Office Furniture:
Retailers cater to home businesses starting around the new year
Video Games:
New games are released for the holidays, but you can get them marked down afterwards
Winter Boots, Clothing and Coats:
The selection is sparser, but the sales are steeper
Score a deal after Valentine's Day
Bad weather keeps buyers at bay, so competition is weak, and sellers are eager
Home Renovations:
You'll pay less and get more attention from contractors, because few people renovate so early in the year
Retailers mark down older models to make room for new inventory in February and March
New models come out in January and February, so buy last year's version at a discount
Home Entertainment Systems:
The best TV and home theater sales come just before the Super Bowl
Video Games:
New games are released for the holidays, so you can get them marked down after the rush
Chocolates and Candy:
Buy after Valentine's Day, of course
Sweaters and Cashmere:
Prices can be reduced by as much as 25% to 40% from the end of March through April
China and Flatware:
Get in on inventory left over from the holidays
Air Conditioners:
Don't wait for the weather to get hot; demand is low now, as are prices
Gas Grills:
As with air conditioners, demand and prices are low
Gardening Tools:
Rakes, hoes, shovels and other gardening implements are as much as 50% off
Frozen Food:
It's National Frozen Food Month, so supermarkets celebrate with sales
Sweaters and Cashmere:
Stock up now on next winter's sweaters with steep sales
In spring, stores entice warm-weather runners with sales
Vacuum Cleaners:
Retailers slash prices now to make room for new models in June
Snow Blowers:
Come April, demand is low, so scoop up one for next year
Office Furniture:
Retailers cater to home businesses starting after tax season
This is the season for repositioning cruises, which have fewer ports of call but are cheaper and of great value
After the Japanese fiscal year closes at the end of March, retailers make room for new models of Japanese electronics
Sweaters and Cashmere:
Prices can be reduced by as much as 25% to 40%
Vacuum Cleaners:
Retailers slash prices now to make room for new models in June
Graduation and wedding promotions mean you should buy pots and pans now
New fridges come out during the summer, so stores are clearing space; negotiate a deal
Big Appliances:
Stock not sold during the holiday rush is now heavily discounted
Patio Furniture:
Warm weather means newer models, so buy last season's styles now
Grilling Supplies:
Get charcoal and lighter fluid before summer kicks into high gear and prices go up
Small Kitchen Appliances:
Get your mixers and blenders now, when there are sales for wedding and graduation season
Party Supplies:
Whether or not you're throwing a graduation party, stock up on disposable plates, cups, etc.
After the Japanese fiscal year closes at the end of March, retailers make room for new models of Japanese electronics
Mattresses and Box Springs:
Stores want to make room for new models, so negotiate a good deal now
Men's Suits:
Father's Day sales mean low prices
Father's Day strikes again
It's not only wedding bells that are ringing—registers are ringing with sales of pots and pans
When it's hot out, no one feels like painting … which is why it's cheap at this time of year
Butter production is at its best in June and July, so prices are accordingly low; freeze for up to six months to make it last
Champagne and Sparkling Wine:
There are usually deals for bubbly during the holidays and before June weddings
Gym Memberships:
The outdoors beckon, so gyms are offering deals
Get a spring suit—in the middle of summer
Retailers are clearing space to make room for new inventory
Big Appliances:
Take advantage of Independence Day sales
When it's hot out, no one feels like painting … which is why it's cheap at this time of year
Butter production is at its best in June and July, so prices are accordingly low; freeze for up to six months to make it last
Ever-useful flip-flops are harder to find later in the year; buy them now when retailers still have them in stock and they're on sale
School Supplies:
Back-to-school sales!
Trees, Shrubs, Plants:
Nab end-of-summer deals late in the month, and store your plants according to instructions until next spring. Alternatively, buy bulbs, which you can plant whenever
Lawn Mowers and Swing Sets:
Stores discount these summer items now to make room for fall products
Capitalize on back-to-school sales
MP3 Players:
Stores want to get rid of old models before October when new styles come out and the holiday rush begins
China and Flatware:
Get in on the inventory left over from wedding season
The harvest is coming in, so you can find eclectic wines from smaller wineries early in the season
Upgrade yours during back-to-school sales
The remainders from back-to-school season are now available inexpensively for kids and adults
MP3 Players:
Stores want to get rid of old models before October, when new styles come out and the holiday rush begins
Next year's models have arrived, so dealers want to sell the current year's leftovers, giving you negotiating leverage
Holiday Airfare:
It's about eight weeks before Thanksgiving, so make travel plans before flights book up and prices skyrocket
The back-to-school sales continue, with sparser selection but steeper discounts
Cash in on swimwear sales now through November
Big Appliances:
Buy last year's models now; shop during Columbus Day weekend, because stores celebrate even small holidays with sales
Air Conditioners:
Temperatures are cooling, and so are prices
Gas Grills:
Pick these up now for next summer
School Supplies:
Back-to-school sales!
Retailers lower prices as early as October in order to maximize holiday sales
Next year's models have arrived, so dealers want to sell the current year's leftovers, giving you negotiating leverage
Health Insurance:
Open enrollment may be your one chance to sign up for insurance for next year
Wedding Dresses:
Wedding fever is at its lowest pitch now
Swimwear is as much as 90% off, but selection is low
Kitchenware becomes cheaper as the holidays approach
Christmas Trees:
For the best selection, get your tree right after Thanksgiving; it'll stay good for at least a month, and trees later in the season have been cut weeks earlier anyway
Frozen Turkeys:
Buy one immediately after Thanksgiving, when grocery stores still have a glut
Retailers are slashing prices to maximize holiday sales
Black Friday and Cyber Monday offer great deals on everything from TVs to computers
Wedding Dresses:
The beginning of December is the slow season, so get in before holiday engagements
In the run up to the holidays, stores have big sales on TVs
Off-season, you'll find the cheapest prices, though maybe not the best inventory
Small Kitchen Appliances:
Get your mixer and blender during holiday sales
Champagne and Sparkling Wine:
Although these are in high demand, prices are also more competitive than usual
Frozen Meat:
Buy this immediately after Christmas, when grocery stores still have a glut


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Through a competitive audition process, four violinists, two violists and two cellists will be selected for this intensive program designed for highly skilled and motivated players in grades 6-9. All advanced string students will study and prepare solo literature for performance, participate in collaborative playing, focus on sonata playing (string/piano), and participate in orchestra. All students are eligible and encouraged to enter the concerto competition and will participate in several performances and master classes.
Summer 2014 programs have concluded, but we'd love to have you join us next year! Join our mailing list, and you'll be among the first to know about summer 2015 programs.
Daily rehearsals are held in a three-hour block, including two sectionals per week.
Collaborative Arts activities consist of the following:
- Chamber Music - string players will collaborate with pianists in the advanced piano program, and/or perform with other strings in duos, trios or quartets.
- Sonata Project - string and piano players will be paired to study collaborative sonata repertoire.
- Participants will receive daily coaching from Interlochen's distinguished faculty and visiting guest artists.
Private lessons are given weekly.
Dedicated practice time is available on days when no lesson is scheduled.
One additional elective (see elective options).
Audition Requirements
Audition recordings should demonstrate both technical and lyrical playing. Piano accompaniment is preferred, but not required.
- Audio or video file #1: A work from the list below
- Audio or video file #2: An additional work of contrasting style
- Audio or video file #3: Two scales
Advanced Strings audition repertoire:
- Lalo Symphonie Espagnole, 1st movement
- Bruch Violin Concerto in G minor, 1st movement
- Mozart violin concerti no. 3 or 4, 1st mvt plus cadenza
- Bach E major Partita, Predudio (1st mvt)
- Hoffmeister Concerto
- Handel Concerto
- Bloch Suite Hebraique
- J. C. Bach Concerto
- Shostakovich Sonata
- Brahms E Minor Sonata
- Saint-Saens Concerto No.1
- Lalo Concerto
Concerto Competition
Interlochen offers a separate concerto competition for High School and Intermediate divisions. Winners in the High School division will perform with one of the division's orchestral or wind ensembles. Concerto competition details >>


text:
My longtime mentor, teacher and friend Professor Craig Thompson, from Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, WY is taking a sabbatical year to research and understand how Global Climate Change is affecting both flora and fauna of Glaciers in the United States (most specifically Wyoming) and Switzerland.
I share here with you what he defines as the science of the intended research:
Our planet is a dynamic system. The earth's geology, chemistry and biology are in constant change.The interactions between these components prescribe the evolutionary boundaries of living systems. In fact, active geo-chemical processes directly influence plant production and the dependent insect community. Research and observation of patterns in the natural world illustrate past events. Often, these patterns can be used to predict future responses to changes in boundary conditions.
Science is, at its heart, a quest for knowledge and understanding of the world around us - in our case an understanding of the alpine boundary conditions.
The purpose of our year long sabbatical is to conduct research in the Swiss Alps to predict impacts of alpine glacier recession on stream macroinvetebrates. In this alpine region, receding glaciers reveal terrain that has not been exposed to the atmosphere for centuries and perhaps longer. Geologic processes expose new rock surfaces, and glacial melt-water dissolves nutrients to supply stream systems with the foundation chemicals for building ecosystems.
I invite you to share this with interested friends, colleagues and peers to likely understand more about our Global Climate Change and how it is affecting us as a whole in a planetary level.
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Leather belt
Item No.58822_7820
This classic leather belt features the iconic Bull branding, antique brass buckle and fine stitching detail. Available in chocolate and black.
- 100% leather
Debenhams is happy to exchange or refund your purchase within 28 days providing the goods are in a fully resaleable condition (including tags) and not within the exclusion policy*. This policy does not affect your statutory rights. You can return unwanted items either by visiting your local store (the fastest way to get a refund), by arranging a courier collection or returning by post. Exclusions apply to selected products. For instructions on how to return products and information on Debenhams refund policy visit the returns and refunds section of the website.


text:
Sentinel Node Biopsy (cont.)
Next Steps
If the sentinel lymph node was not examined during surgery, the pathologist tests it for cancer cells soon afterward. The doctor addresses the findings of the examination during a follow-up visit.
If the pathologist finds cancer cells in the sentinel lymph node, the patient usually undergoes a follow-up surgery to undergo an axillary lymph node biopsy. This involves removing and testing the remaining lymph nodes in the area of the original biopsy for cancer cells. Depending on the findings and the choice of primary breast surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy), women who undergo surgery to stage breast cancer or to remove breast tumors may also be treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Medically Reviewed by a Doctor on 6/20/2014
Medical Author:
Leigh A Neumayer, MD, MS, FACS
Medical Editor:
Must Read Articles Related to Sentinel Node Biopsy
Breast Cancer Breast cancer is cancer arising in breast tissue. Cancer is simply a group of abnormal cells that have abnormal growth patterns. Although breast cancer is...learn more >>
Lumpectomy Lumpectomy is surgery to remove a suspected malignant (cancerous) tumor, or lump, and surrounding tissue from a woman's breast. The size and location of the lum...learn more >>
From WebMD
Cancer Resources
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Read What Your Physician is Reading on Medscape
The Role of Sentinel Node Biopsy in Skin Cancer »
The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing rapidly, at a rate of 4-8% per year. Malignant melanoma typically affects young patients (median age 45 y).


text:
Legal Resources
- Translation:
- 中文
The following is a list of law offices in China which include the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, the provinces, and autonomous regions of Gansu, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi and Xinjiang. The list includes private and quasi-private Chinese law firms as well as private American law firms with a presence in the Consular district. Most of the firms listed specialize in commercial law, but many are qualified to offer advice on a full range of legal issues. Some will provide assistance with adoptions in China.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China assumes no responsibility or liability for the professional ability or reputation of, or the quality of services provided by, the following persons or firms. Inclusion on this list is in no way an endorsement by the Department of State or the U.S. Embassy. Names are listed alphabetically, and the order in which they appear has no other significance. The information in the list on professional credentials, areas of expertise and language ability are provided directly by the lawyers. You may receive additional information about the individuals by contacting the local bar association (or its equivalent) or the local licensing authorities.
Note: China Country Code is +86, if you are calling a law firm in Beijing from The U.S., you need to dial 011-86-10-XXXXXXXX; if you are calling from China but outside Beijing, you need to dial 010-XXXXXXXX.
Click here (PDF 253 KB) to see the full list.
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text:
Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > The Girl With The Cherry Pink Hair.
Chapter 3: She looked like me.7 Reviews
"Who-" Gerard cut me off, taking my hand and pulling me away from the drawing, I was instantly speechless.
I entered the house, still on Franks back and looked around. It was so dark- every surface was covered in candles, each slowly melting onto the already wax covered surface. Little trinkets were scattered everywhere, such as animal skulls, comic book hero figures and drawings pinned all over the walls. I felt strangely at home. It was so warm in here. Frank put me down as the others entered and I could soon feel Gerards presence near me. I turned around to see him standing just behind me, smiling his beautiful crooked smile, I couldn't help but smile back.
"You feeling okay?" Gerard said suddenly, reaching out to wipe something from under my eye. My eyes were watering, I hoped I hadn't started crying at the beauty of Gerards face.
"Yeah. My eyes always do this" I lied, reaching up to catch the next falling tear, but Gerard was too fast for me. Automatically I took a step forward at his touch, he suddenly looked awkward and looked past me, at something behind me. His face looked almost pained. I tilted my head in confusion, I wanted to reach out to him, but he was already pulling me towards the kitchen after his friends. Even though he was holding the sleeve of his jacket, I could still feel his powerful touch.
"What do you fancy eating?" Mikey asked me, grinning his cheeky grin. I could see myself becoming good friends with Mikey.
"Um, what do you have?" I asked, suddenly able to speak now Gerard was across the room. I moved over to stand by Frank. He smiled at me brightly and then turned his attention to Mikey who was looking through the dark wood cupboards.
"I want waffles!!" Frank moaned impatiently.
"Oh yeah that sounds good" I agreed, nudging him in the arm. He began to bounce up and down.
"You heard the woman! Get waffleing!!" Frank beamed.
"Is everyone cool with waffles?" Mikey asked everyone. Everyone didn't dare mess with Frank who was glaring at each one of them and nodded their heads in unison.
"So who's house are we at?" I said leaning over to Ray.
"Oh sorry! This is Gerards place, Mikey only just moved in with him so it's a bit of a mess."
"I think its homey. I like it." I looked up to see Gerard smiling in my direction.
"Want a tour?" He called to me, over everyones sudden outburst- Frank had knocked a jar of jam on the floor and Bob was trying to beat him up by the looks of it.
"Yeah sure!" I replied, maybe a little too happily. For fucksake. Stay cool Tess. I breathed to myself, then giggled at the fact I was talking to myself. I followed Gerard out of the kitchen back into the main room.
"Well this room I use to draw in. The lightings great." He smiled down at me, he was standing beside me and I could hardly breath.
"You did these?" I asked in awe, walking towards the covered walls with my arms reaching out towards the beautiful drawn pictures.
"Yeah, I dropped out of school to pursue my art."
"That's really great" I told him, staring at the one drawing that really caught my eye. It was of a girl with the same colour hair and style as mine- a cherry pink with a tint of purple in long flowing light waves down to her chest, she even had a full fringe like me. She had a blank face and was in a dark room, her legs curled up to her chest. Gerard was soon beside me, looking at the same picture. He shifted uneasily. I looked up at him confused, his eyebrows were pulled together and he was biting his bottom lip uncomfortably.
"Who-" Gerard cut me off, taking my hand and pulling me away from the drawing, I was instantly speechless. I was suddenly climbing the narrow staircase up to the upper floor. We stopped at the top and Gerard dropped my hand, breaking the trance.
"Mikeys room" Gerard said pointing towards a door the words MIKEY'S ROOM etched into the wood. I smiled and ran my hand across it. Gerard made a low chuckle and reached out to touch it too. "He did this when I first moved out of Mums place. This was a empty room and Mikey insisted that I had to keep it for him, I told him I would, but he didn't believe me. So he carved this into the fucking door." He breathed out loudly and then turned around to point at the door opposite Mikeys. "And this is mine." I wanted so badly to see his room all of a sudden.
"Can I have a look?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn red. I don't think I had ever blushed or have been embarrassed by anything I've said or done in a long time. I just stopped caring. Gerard has seemed to have awoken me..
"Well of course! I have a feeling you'll be around here a lot of the time anyway." I stood there confused at what he could mean. Gerard seemed to pick up on it. "I mean, we're friends now. You're not just going to disappear and never talk to us lot again, right?"
"Friends?" I said, looking up at him. His hand was on the door handle ready to open it.
"Well of cour-" Gerard stopped mid sentance at me stepping forward. I reached up on my tip toes so my lips were in line with his, he tilted his head to the left and mine to the right. We were almost touching, I tried to control my breathing but my heart was suddenly beating so fast. Gerard leaned further in and pressed his lips to mine ever so lightly and then quickly pulled back. It wasn't even a kiss, just a touch of the lips.
"Oh sorry, am I interrupting?" Bob said leaning on the stair banisters, grinning darkly. I felt myself becoming very hot again.
"Just showing Tess around." Gerard replied bluntly, scowling at Bob.
"Cool it, Gee! I was just up here to tell you that the grub is ready."
"We'll be down in a minute" I replied for Gerard who looked like he was going to hit Bob. He smiled at me and then jumped down the stairs loudly. I cleared my throat, trying to break the tension filling the hall way. Gerard cleared his throat too and then seemed to return back to his usual self. He opened the door to his room and stepped in. His room was as cluttered as the main room. Candles everywhere, skulls, drawings, trinkets. His bed was pushed against the back wall and covered in black sheets. I fell in love.
"Your room is fucking awesome" I said, stepping further in behind him.
"Thanks, it took me so long to get it how it is now. Y'know, the whole gothic feeling to it. It makes me feel, I dunno.. at home." I nodded my head in response, totally agreeing. I was surprised that the house hadn't triggered another claustrophobic attack in me, I mean the house was so cluttered and full. "Lets get you fed" Gerard said lifting me up in his arms like he had when I almost fainted earlier this evening. I took a deep breath, breathing in his sweet smell. He grinned down at me and carried me down the stairs, through the living room and into the kitchen. He plopped me down at a counter chair around the cluttered counter table which had a embroided black satin cloth over laying ontop, with yet more candles pouring onto in below. He pulled a chair up beside me and handed me a plate of waffles. I looked over to Ray sitting beside me and laughed at the state he was in. Chocolate was all over his face. He frowned and looked up at Frank who was chuckling evily.
"What the fuck have you done this time, Frankie?" Gerard asked, picking up on Franks behaviour without even seeing Ray.
"I accidently got some chocolate sauce on Ray.." He said stepping round to Gerards side. I laughed and took a bite of my waffle.
"You didn't fucking do it by accident, you lying little shit!" Ray shouted at him, wiping his face with his sleeve. Mikey and Bob found Rays anger hilarious.
"I slipped!" Frank exclaimed.
"Dude, uncool." Gerard said to Frank. I noticed Gerard was holding the tube of chocolate sauce by his side. Frank turned around to grin at Bob and when he did Gerard reached up and squirted the sauce all over Franks back. I jumped up quickly to get out of the way incase some might get me. All the boys jumped up at once and threw their waffles at Frank, Ray jumped at him like a lion catching its prey. I soon realised there was no point in cowering from the mess and threw a waffle in Franks face. Gerard turned around and splatted chocolate in my face. The room was filled with screams- girlish screams from Frank.
"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU LIKE YOUR WAFFLES NOW?!" Mikey screamed at Frank dumping the plate on him. Frank was waving his hands infront of him like a little girl. Ray took Frank down on the floor and they rolled about in the mess.
"Oops!" Ray exclaimed. "That was a accident!"
I laughed at scraped the chocolate from my face and rubbed it in Gerards. He pulled me close to him while Mikey and Bob joined in on the fight and licked my cheek.
"You taste sweet" Gerard laughed. I reached up and licked his chin.
"You do too." I laughed, suddenly slipping on something under me and falling ontop of Frank, pulling Gerard down with me. Frank was now laying alone at the side of the kitchen, hiding from the play fight. I burst into a fit of laughter with everyone else and licked the chocolate off of my fingers.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really appreciate your comments and rates! They make me smile!! Keep on reading, something awesome is soon going to happen! Carry on R&R!! xoxoxoxox


text:
This spring, Magnus Midtbø spent a few weeks trying to make the 2nd ascent of Chris Sharma's Neanderthal, 9b, in the huge Santa Linya cave in Catalunya, Spain.
In the video, he says that the route could be described as a ~9a/+ up to a dyno, and then ~8b/+ to the top. This dyno proved very much to be the redpoint crux for Magnus. He fell a total of 26 times there, 6-7 of which he was very close to nailing it.
In the end, he had to return home to Norway when the conditions took a turn for the worse, but not before he went to Rodellar, where he onsighted Cosi fan tutte, 8c+.
Magnus will return to Santa Linya in November to finish the job.
His clothes look super high tech by the way, must be some fabric from outer space...
Magnus Midtbø is sponsored by: Norrøna, Petzl, Beal, Five Ten, Friction Walls, Tyrili Klatring, Varri and Jungle Sports


text: Samsung 10.1″ Galaxy Tablet Coming The Magenta Way? We'll classify this one with the usual "rumor alert" status but if the Samsung 10.1″ Galaxy Tab sign up page is any indication as to which carriers are set to receive the tablet, T-Mobile is on the list. Whether or not this sign in sheet is a glimpse at carriers that will be offering the device or something else is anyones guess at this point. Guess we'll find out soon enough! Samsung Thanks Conan! Tags: 10.1, Galaxy Tab, Samsung Galaxy Tab, Tablet


text:
"Voices on the Wind" book signing
- When: Thursday, August 20, 2009, 7 p.m.
- Where: Bud Werner Memorial Library, Steamboat Springs
- Cost: Free
- Age limit: Not available
- Categories: Literary
"Voices on the Wind" book signing and presentation - Bud Werner Memorial Library, 7 p.m.
Local artist and author Bonnie McGee hosts a presentation and signing for "Voices on the Wind," her book about sailing across the world. The event is part of the Steamboat All Arts Festival. FREE. Call 879-0880.
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text:
The day before Thanksgiving, 18-year-old newlywed, Leslie Rivera started a clinical trial she's hoping will tackle her aggressive form of leukemia. Doctors say it's a ten dose procedure of a drug called Moxitumomab, which targets a molecule found only in leukemia cells.
Dr. Weili Sun from the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles says, "the infusion went in, no problem at all. We're going to do another bone marrow test to see how it stands," after two to three weeks, and "typically we'll know if it's working in one to two months."
Just last month, doctors told Leslie she only had two weeks to live. Faced with the dire news, her one wish was to marry her high school sweetheart, Daniel Mendez, who has not left her side since she was diagnosed.
Mendez says, "she'd tell me, oh I know this is hard and you probably aren't attracted to me anymore, but that wasn't the case."
With Daniel's support, Leslie's spark and inner strength helped her surpass her doctor's prognosis. She walked down the aisle just last week, in a fairytale wedding made possible by Make-a-Wish Foundation. Celebrity wedding planner David Tutera helped plan the event with more than $300,000 in donated goods and services to make Leslie's special day magical.
Click to read FOX 11's original story of Leslie Rivera: Make-a-Wish Wedding Creates Cherished Memories
Now the newlyweds are focusing, once again, on fighting her illness. Leslie says she's never given up hope and says to Daniel, "I hope all our dreams can come true and we can have kids. I'm grateful and thankful you're in my life."
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Frasca sees stable market for FTDs
Urbana, Ill.-based simulator manufacturer Frasca International (Booth No. 1839) has received an order from Purdue University for an Embraer Phenom FAA level-6 flight training device (FTD). It will include the same Garmin Prodigy avionics found in the aircraft and will be used in the university's professional pilot training program. The FTD will also feature a high-fidelity digital sound system, electronic control loading, auto-testing, graphical instructor station and Frasca's TruVision visual with 220-degree display.
"This is our 25th consecutive year as an NBAA exhibitor, Rudy Frasca, founder of Frasca International, told AIN. "Business aviation is an important market for us and we feel the contacts and relationships made during the show are invaluable."
The company, which has been building flight training devices and flight simulators for more than 50 years, continues to do well, said Frasca. "Our diverse product line and geographic market reach help keep our business stable during the ups and downs of the industry," he said. "Since we supply military organizations, commercial ventures, airlines, flight schools, universities and colleges worldwide, we have a wide customer base to draw from."
Frasca also is currently building two Phenom synthetic training devices for the Finnish Aviation Academy. Both are being built in conformance with JAR FSTD level-2 and FNPT II MCC requirements. Each will include a TruVision Global 220-degree visual system.
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Seed Starters
The shells can also be used to plant plants! Half of a clean eggshell is great for a seed starter. Transfer the plants to a larger space when necessary cracking it gently. The plant's roots will grow through the cracks once in the ground, and the shell is biodegradable.


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Home > Post > Post 1 > Post 1 News Release > 2007 News Releases > News Release
News Release
TFC Jay Thomas
Public Affairs Officer
Kentucky State Police
Post 1, Mayfield
(270) 856-3721
Click here to e-mail TFC Jay Thomas
Injury Collision on KY 80 in Carlisle County
Date of News Release: 10/05/2007
(Mayfield, KY) - Mr. Billy N. Britt was traveling east on KY 80 when it is believed he suffered a diabetic episode and lost consciousness. Mr. Britt's vehicle exited the right side of KY 80 and continued approximately 120 yards before striking the residence located at 11483 SR 80E Fancy Farm. Mr. Britt's vehicle came to final rest sitting in the home. Ms. Mary Ruth Hobbs was home at the time of collision and stated she heard "a loud bang" and then woke up lying down and realized she needed to get out of the home and was able to do so. Mr. Britt had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to Jackson Purchase ER for observation and treatment of possible broken ribs, he was not wearing his seat belt. Trooper Clifton was assisted on the scene by Deputy Chris Harper of the Carlisle Sheriff's Office as well as Milburn Fire/Rescue Personnel, and Carlisle County EMS. The investigation is continuing by Tpr. Thomas Clifton.


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Men and Multitasking - WTF???
Momlogic's Melissa: What the f*** is wrong with men that they can't do more than one thing at a time?
When I first had my son there were many a day when you could have found me strolling the aisles of Target, pushing a shopping cart, talking on the phone, following a list I had written, WHILE breastfeeding. Yes folks, WHILE breastfeeding. Now, for all the women (in particular moms) out there this comes as no shock, no surprise and might even elicit a "big deal!" from some. Why? Because we can do more that one goddamned thing at once.
We can drive AND read a map at the same time (and pass snacks into the back seat if needed). We can make sandwiches WHILE we talk to the gas company on the phone and -- miracles of all miracles -- we can actually think AND respond to questions at the same time.
Why is it then that men (my husband in particular) behave as if their heads are going to pop off if they have to do two things at once?
Last night my son's little car rolled under the TV and he asked my husband to get it. Slightly annonyed that he had to get on all fours to get it in the first place, you can imagine his reaction when I dared, deigned, had the sheer audacity to ask him a question when he was "doing something." "WAIT!!!" he half-yelled, "I can't do two things at once!" WTF??? Was he joking? Had the blood rushed to his head while bending down and he no longer knew what he was saying? Sadly the answer was "no."
At first I was mad -- but then I got sad because I realized how far my beloved husband had actually fallen; he could not longer do something AND talk at the same time. In his youth my husband was a male multitasking machine -- he could walk AND talk at the same time, he could have a conversation while watching TV and once in a very blue moon he might even have answered my question WHILE talking to someone else on the phone.
But alas, those days are over and now I quietly dread the day when he announces that he can't answer the question I just asked him because he is too busy breathing!
LMAO!!!!! i love it! SO TRUE! you're not alone honey!
It's pathetic, isn't it? But so true. And not only can my man not multitask, he also can't ever pay attention when we discuss our schedule. I tell him when I have plans, when we have obligations…but then when the day arrives it's as if he's hearing it for the first time. And is my husband the only dude in America who NEVER EVER is capable of buying everything on the grocery store shopping list? It's as if he does it on purpose, but really, I think it's a gene deficiency!
So true! But, maybe we're sort of lame too…putting ourselves on overload with so many tasks. Let's stop and smell the roses, right?
Unfortunately, my husband is nothing like yours. He's the multitasking master! I'm the one who blows a gasket when I have to do more than two things at once. Then he gets upset with me for not being able to multitask better. It's funny and annoying at the same time!
Don't worry, my husband is the same way.. but the strange thing is that he is only that way with some people. when he is around his friends he can do it all.. but around the house, well, its just one thing at a time.. wile i run around like a mad woman. at times it drives me nuts! but other times i just laugh at him.
When I ask my hubby to stop and get a few things at the store, he stops me right there and asks if it is going to be more than three items. If so, then he says wait I got to write this down or i'll forget something. I'm glad he has figured out his limits and is willing to admit that he can't multitask or rememeber ANYTHING, I just wish that I could rememeber that he can't remember :)
So true…I joke with my husband all the time that he's a big wig at work and handles a lot of people under him but the second his key hits the front door, he like "duh". He tells me that it's because I handle everything so well at home that he doesn't have to. I guess that's a compliment.
That is so true and absolutely hilirious!
LOL… I feel your pain. My long time boyfriend is the same way. God forbid I ask him to do something while he is occupied by the tv, computer or other trivial activity his brain seems to shut off and it takes him about 10 mins to ask me what I wanted him to do in the first place. Then he somehow messes that up too. It's kind of funny that if and when he has to take our dog to the vet I have to write a detailed list of instructions plus post-it notes so he remembers what to do and make sure it gets done. It must be a guy thing.
Interesting information! Good to read. There's a thing to submit about tee shirts.


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Welcome to your first big snowfall of the season! Fox 9 has been tracking the totals, conditions and photos all morning.
MSP International Airport: 2.2"
Chanhassen: 1.6"
Chaska: 1.0"
Prior Lake: 1.5"
Watertown: 3.5"
Mound: 1.0"
Richfield: 3.0"
New Prague: 1.0"
Montgomery: 1.5"
Cambridge: 1.8"
St. Cloud: 4.0"
Redwood Falls: 6.2"
Jordan: 1.8"
Goodhue: 1.0"
Maple Grove: 4.2"
Marshall: 8"
Darwin: 2.8"
Lake Benton: 3.8"
Tracy: 3.0"
Kimball: 4.0"
Clouds are already breaking early this morning (after our cool-surface 1"-4" around the area, narrow band of 5"-10" in SW MN!)We'll see plenty of chilly sunshine today, but just warm enough to see a good deal of melting this afternoon with a high of 38. We'll refreeze tonight as we dip to the colder 20s - maybe even some patchy fog toward morning. The sun keeps shining on Thursday as the low 40s return and linger into the weekend with just a slight rain/mix chance Friday into Friday night.
As far as your commute goes, it depends on what surface you're driving on -- many roads in the metro were warm enough to melt the snow but still watch for bridges and overpasses as moisture tends to freeze over when cold air passes by.
Send us your flurry photos to firstname.lastname@example.com, share them with us on our Fox 9 Facebook page or tweet us @myfox9 with the hashtag #fox9flurry.
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PESHTIGO, Wis. (WTAQ) - A 13-year-old boy killed while he was driving his mother's car in Marinette County has been identified as Brandon Sheldon-Kleczka of Peshtigo.
Sheriff's deputies said the boy took the car while his mother was sleeping early Tuesday morning – and he drove it off a dead-end road and hit a tree. The boy was alone in the vehicle, and he died at the scene. Officials said speed was a factor.


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Ikena ISR. Know now.
Current version: 3.4
Product Brochure | Case Study | Example Videos | Release Notes | System Requirements
Current version: 3.4
Product Brochure | Case Study | Example Videos | Release Notes | System Requirements
Inspecting and identifying damage in underwater pipes is time-consuming, and expensive. Pipeline services companies, hired by oil companies, deploy underwater cameras to scan miles of underwater pipe looking for...
The Background:
Inspecting and identifying damage in underwater pipes is time-consuming, and expensive. Pipeline services companies, hired by oil companies, deploy underwater cameras to scan miles of underwater pipe looking for damage. The company doing the inspection needs to detail the damage and its precise location so that they can direct emergency repair teams to the right location. The telemetry data from the underwater cameras is not designed for pinpoint accuracy, and location information can be off by as much as several meters. This can translate to significantly more search time for the repair teams. Accuracy can be greatly improved by relating the location of the damage to the location of the nearest joint or fitting on the pipe, but the cameras pass so close to the pipe that they don't capture a wide enough field of view to provide those visual reference points.
MotionDSP's role:
Solution: Ikena ISR creates a seamless "mosaic" image where every frame of video is stitched with the previous frames to create an image of the entire pipe, such as the one you see here. With this image product, precise measurements can be derived from the position of the damaged area relative to the nearest joints and fittings.
The result:
A far more accurate and clear image of the damage is created and its location is pinpointed to within inches. The emergency repair teams can then be sent to a precise location, and the repairs can be completed more quickly, saving time and thousands of dollars.
Event officials were planning for a their annual two-day festival drawing on average 2,000 people – adults and children. While the festival had never had a serious issue in its 10-year history, the event...
The Background:
Event officials were planning for a their annual two-day festival drawing on average 2,000 people – adults and children. While the festival had never had a serious issue in its 10-year history, the event organizers wanted to be prepared for any contingency.
MotionDSP's role
The event organizers used Ikena ISR to give them a clear picture of the festival grounds so that they could determine the optimal positioning of their security crew and form an efficient evacuation plan. Ikena ISR enabled them to mosaic the multiple images from their overhead cameras into a full picture of the festival grounds so that the event officials could monitor activity across the entire festival in real time.
The Result:
Festival officials were able to identify at all times the chokepoints, areas of congestion, and best routes of egress to ensure the success of the festival and the safety of all those involved.
The Background:
This following describes an experiment done in collaboration with the US Air Force to test an operational scenario.
Preparing an attack may take months of preparation. Before and during the attack, the commander needs real-time information on the situation on the ground. The only source of information may be a small drone that supplies quality-challenged video -- in this case, overexposed, interlaced shaky video. In this example, two men are clearly visible on deck, but are the blurry dark shapes people or objects? Missing an armed person could be a life/death mistake.
MotionDSP's role:
Ikena ISR's proprietary algorithms correct the live video in real-time, stabilizing, reducing overexposure, and eliminating interlacing artifacts to reveal that there is indeed a third person on the deck.
The Result:
The commander is able to launch a successful raid with all threats correctly identified.
With Ikena WAMI, analysts can detect and track the movement of even the smallest objects with very high accuracy; they can identify and analyze, in milliseconds, objects in shadow, through cloud cover and over constrained networks; and they can view and track individuals and assets over large areas of land or sea, seeing traffic patterns, wild fire hotspots, wildlife migrations, disaster sites, and remote areas. With Ikena WAMI, changes in activity can automatically be identified, a task that would take a person many painstaking hours to observe manually.
Full Motion Video (FMV) suffers from a variety of challenges, improving the quality of FMV requires a suite of sophisticated algorithms to address each challenge. Greater stand-off distances require de-hazing to mitigate the atmospheric effects, and super-resolution to extract more fine details. Small drones are buffeted by winds and lack high bitrate communications, requiring robust stabilization and super-resolution to mitigate noise and compression artifacts.
Most important, to know "what is happening, right now," these capabilities need to operate on live feeds, not on recorded data, after the fact. This is where MotionDSP is different than our competitors: Ikena ISR accepts a live, 30 frame per second video feed (SD or HD), whether analog, digital, or IP, processes it in less than 300 milliseconds, and displays it to the analyst's screen. This is how MotionDSP defines real-time.
Ikena ISR is unique for three reasons: the quality and depth of its image processing algorithms, its speed (real-time), and its use of commercial Graphics Processors (GPUs) from NVIDIA which allow Ikena ISR to operate on any commercial workstation or laptop that meets our hardware requirements.
Ikena ISR can easily interoperate any Full Motion Video system that support MISB-standard video. Ikena ISR takes an IP video stream or archive file, processes it (real-time fidelity improvement, analytics, and geospatial, or all three at once), and then re-encodes the "fixed" video and displays it to the screen or streams it out as a new IP video stream. Ikena ISR has been proven to interoperate with Jagwire, MAAS, VIDEX, and UVDS. In recent demonstrations, Ikena ISR has been connected to an FMV system in less than an hour.
Small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS) or "drones" are challenged by their small size, their environment, and their communications links. A 5 lb SUAS doesn't have the payload for a stabilized camera ball, and the video suffers from high frequency jitter, their small aperature cameras suffer from noise, and low bitrate data paths result in compression artifacts.
Hollistic Video Fidelity Improvement
Ikena ISR's suite of real-time image processing algorithms address all these issues at once, and in real-time. MotionDSP's massively multi-frame stabilization algorithm corrects the high frequency jitter, adaptive contrast lets you see into the shadows, super-resolution re-constructs the signal removing noise and compression artifacts. All in real-time, in less than 300ms, running on an inexpensive, off-the-shelf laptop running Windows.


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Amy S. Hilliard
Founder, President and CEO
ComfortCake Company, LLC
Amy S. Hilliard, a member since 2010, is the Founder, President and CEO of the ComfortCake Company, LLC (Chicago, Illinois). Launched in January 2001, the ComfortCake® brand is a nationally registered trademark. Manufactured by three volume plants, ComfortCake® pound cakes are one of the first Southern-style, made from scratch pound cakes in mass distribution. After just two years in business, the ComfortCake Company was selected as the Emerging Minority Enterprise of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
A sought-after speaker worldwide on marketing and entrepreneurship, her first book, TAP INTO YOUR JUICE—Find Your Gifts, Lose Your Fears, and Build Your Dreams, is endorsed by First Lady Michelle Obama. Founded in 1995, The Hilliard Group was her first company. A former senior marketing executive with leading Fortune 500 corporations and entrepreneurial firms including Bloomingdale's, Gillette, and Pillsbury, she was the senior vice president of integrated marketing at Burrell Communications Group.
As senior vice president of marketing for Soft Sheen Products, a division of L'Oreal USA, she directed the marketing activities of the hair care division, managed all new product development, brand management, marketing/sales strategy, advertising, promotion, and public relations. Under her direction, Soft Sheen launched the innovative Breakthru product line, cited as "one of the most creative and cohesive global launches ever" by the Chairman/CEO of L'Oreal Paris.
She is the first African American elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT). Currently, she serves on: the Ethnic Advisory Board of PepsiCo; the Clinton Foundation Economic Initiative/Entrepreneurship Mentor Program; Chicago Urban League; Chicago Chamber of Commerce; and Rainbow Push Coalition.
A community activist, volunteer, and former adjunct professor of Marketing at the DePaul University, she was appointed by Mayor Richard M. Daly as a Commissioner on the Chicago 21st Century Planning Commission and the Chicago Business Economic Roundtable. A native of Detroit, she graduated with honors from both Howard University and the Harvard Business School.


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About the Artist
The paintings of Adam Scott Miller are artifacts excavated from exploring the relationships between mystical personal experience and universally relevant concepts. Art is his tool for discovery, and a by-product of the experience of his consciousness. This integral creative work is how he processes his perceptions of the visible world and the energetic fields from which it blooms forth into new informed and numinously refined visions of symbiosis. The 'numinous' is characterized by the quintessential qualities of the sacred: mystery, awe, fascination, satisfaction, and inspiration. The art serves as a reflection of our context, and achieves its maximum potential in the intention to improve and benefit the whole.
Adam Scott Miller was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during a blizzard at 3am on March 9, 1984. Since childhood, his path as an artist was clear as he spent great spans of time in concentration rendering his imagination into existence, on paper. This road less traveled has become a lifelong adventure of limitless growth and dilating creativity.
He has earned a BFA in Illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore) and a MFA in Painting from the Massachusetts College of Art & Design (Boston) and the Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown).
He is based in Marysville, Pennsylvania and travels extensively. For a decade he has been conducting his visions into books, magazines, documentaries, album covers, galleries, personal commissions, etc.Website: http://www.AdamScottMiller.com


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The 10 Cutest Pictures of Prince George
Those cheeks! In honor of Kate Middleton's exciting baby news, we've rounded up these adorable photos that--warning--will give you baby fever.
By Molly Klinefelter
Back Next
Getty Images
The 1-day-old baby heir waved to the world as he left the hospital with his parents.


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Please note: These links will take you to FPA National's Web site.
Please note: These links will take you to FPA National's Web site.
Choose from 1,000s of financial planners, all of whom adhere to FPA's Code of Ethics.
Welcome to the 2014 Financial Planning Website (FPA) Tulsa Website. I am glad you have taken time to visit and invite you to stay and look around. The Financial Planning Association of Tulsa is composed of professionals dedicated to help navigate the changing landscape of investing. By being a member of FPA Tulsa they are committed to being involved and
· Associate with other financial and allied professionals
· Stay current by attending classes, seminars, and earning continuing education hours
· Help advocate to others the benefit of a professional helping with all aspects of financial planning
· Maintain the highest standards of professional conduct
Too often we focus on things we have no control over. We get anxious over changes in weather, traffic, or worry about the daily changes in the stock market. Doing this we forget the bigger picture. We need to focus on what we have control over and do the necessary items so we are prepared. Do we have good tires on our car, is there an emergency kit on board, do our loved ones know where we are going and when we will return, do I have a weather radio, where will I shelter, or what goal do we have for our investments?
Financial professionals who are members of FPA work with clients to ensure they are looking at the big picture and have in place the critical items for peace of mind. These include a financial plan, an estate plan, proper risk protection and more.
So thank you for stopping by. Do not hesitate to contact any member to discuss your specific situation and how members of FPA can bring clarity to your life.


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Assessing the Impact of Biodiversity on Tourism Flows: A Model for Tourist Behaviour and Its Policy Implications
AbstractThis analysis provides an example of how biodiversity can be measured by means of different indicators, and how the latter can be used to assess the influence of the biodiversity profile of a region on the tourism flows towards it. Previous studies have considered environmental amenities as one of the determinants of tourism destination choice. The central hypothesis of this paper is that the destination's biodiversity profile can be considered as a key component of environmental amenities. The main objective of this study is to propose a different perspective on this topic, considering the role of biodiversity on tourists? choice of destination and duration of stay. Domestic Irish tourist flows have been chosen as a case study. The first step of the analysis required the construction of biodiversity indicators suitable for developing a biodiversity profile of each Irish county. Subsequently, a model was developed so as to explain the total number of nights spent in any location as a function of a set of explanatory variables including information about the sociodemographic characteristics of respondents, biodiversity and the landscape profile of the county of destination and features of the trip. Results show that most of the biodiversity and landscape indicators included in the analysis turn out to be statistically significant in determining tourists? choices regarding the duration of their trip. As a result, policies pursuing biodiversity conservation appear to have a positive impact on the revenue of regional tourism.
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in its series Papers with number WP281.
Length: 40 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2009
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp281
Contact details of provider:
Postal: Whitaker Square, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2
Phone: (353-1) 863 2000
Fax: (353-1) 863 2100
Web page: http://www.esri.ie
More information through EDIRC
Related researchKeywords: species diversity; habitat fragmentation; landscape diversity; trip demand; indicators; ecosystem services; human well-being;
Other versions of this item:
- Giulia Macagno & Maria Loureiro & Paulo A.L.D. Nunes & Richard Tol, 2009. "Assessing the Impact of Biodiversity on Tourism Flows: A model for Tourist Behaviour and its Policy Implications," Working Papers 2009.21, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
- Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2009-02-28 (All new papers)
- NEP-ENV-2009-02-28 (Environmental Economics)
- NEP-TUR-2009-02-28 (Tourism Economics)
ReferencesReferences listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Seán Lyons & Karen Mayor & Richard S.J. Tol, 2008. "Environmental Accounts for the Republic of Ireland: 1990-2005," Papers WP223, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
- Frances Ruane & Xiaoheng Zhang, 2007. "Location Choices of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Europe after 1992," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp220, IIIS.
CitationsCitations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
Cited by:
- Marin, Giovanni, 2009.
"Valutazione economica della biodiversità marina e costiera nel Nord Adriatico: situazione socio-economica dell'area considerata e trasferimento del beneficio
[Economic valuation of marine and co," MPRA Paper 17793, University Library of Munich, Germany.
- Teelucksingh, Sonja S. & Watson, Patrick K., 2013. "Linking tourism flows and biological biodiversity in Small Island Developing States (SIDS): evidence from panel data," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(04), pages 392-404, August.
- Ariane Manuela AMIN, 2012. "What Drives Biodiversity Conservation Effort in the Developing World? An analysis for Sub-Saharan Africa," Working Papers halshs-00722081, HAL.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
MCE, oh man, those are the most of my real life issues when playing WoW, cat barfs on the carpet, cat tweaks out and tries to bite me (I don't even have to spray her now, slamming the spray bottle in front of her scares her out XD) or cat meowing like a child in the bathroom for no reason. Usually though the biggest interuption is when she parks herself inbetween my monitors. [http://pics.livejournal.com/dividebydesu/pic/0003rfw1/g12] highly annoying and caused me to lose a few tickets in ram runs for Brewfest.
Thankfully my roommate and girlfriend are generally okay with my schedule and I typically only play during the evening-night, so most of my real life obligations during the day, I can do and come home and play. Though I have been known to fake a SRLI to get out of a bad PuG. =)