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Forum Replies Created
Hey. Its just a custom page template for the home page.
Its weird it will work if I pass the parameter of type as an empty variable and default to active but wont output anything if its set to newest or online for example.
Its ysed in a custom page tempkate in a sidebar.
Ive looked at those docs and cant see anything im doing wrong nor how to debug.
@noizeburger hey, nice of you to jump in here and I hope Ricoh is of use to you. Feel free to post comments @alistair on my site pixelcoder and i'll try to to help you with your site.
I'm working on something else right now, but I might come back to Ricoh another day.
@naijaping Unfortunately I've decided to knock this theme on the head. Downloads have been made available of both versions that made it to the light of day.
I'm no longer motivated to work on this design and the heavy codebase is getting me down so i've decided to move on.
It probably needs a day or two of solid work to finish off all of the areas that have been built for the theme.
Beyond that, BBPress support could be added. This is something I never got round to.
It's been a good exercise of working with BuddyPress, but I it is a long process when theming for BP.
Anyway… moving on now.
Hi @funmi-omoba I should have a download link available soon but looks like im going to retire from development. Would be nice to see you involved.
I've had a few signups since putting this post out, but no one is active yet.
Would love to get more people involved, I plan to release some BuddyPress tutorials in the future also and maybe build a new theme for the site and record along the way.
Yeah, I was thinking about learning SASS just to use the framework. Claymate looks cool. Also like the bower support it has.
@henrywright Ah that's cool. I thought about using a framework but figured it's much more learning than I wanted to commit to.
The Gumby framework is pretty nice.
I think that's what I'm getting at with this theme.
It's deliberately neutral, which is maybe counter-productive. I feel it could be a catch-all with a neutral design, the content of the demograph would speak for itself.
I don't think there's enough time in the day to build a theme for multiple audiences.
I'd like to get this theme to a stage where it's robust enough to maybe start a community on a whim, but it's not quite there yet.
Ultimately I think I want to retire from theme building, and have this as a going away gift to myself. That all said, it's not very satisfying.
I get what you're saying though and yes the headaches suckkk.
Do you have any audiences in mind? Maybe we could tackle a personal project together @henrywright ?
@buddyboss – Thanks, it's nothing fancy. I keep getting annoyed with the messy code I write.
@henrywright – Yeah it's a little bit tighter but could use some work yet.
I keep getting frustrated with the code I'm writing. It seems verbose and hurts my head. ^^
Can any of you guys envision who would use a theme like this? Feels like i'm building for no one but myself, and that's not too wise.
@bilalvirgo10 I'd love for you to join in, I'll be uploading my theme shortly. You can take a copy and look at the code to help with learning.
@mercime thanks! I got there, it's now on version 0.2 I tighter design, WordPress options and soon BuddyPress support. I despise BBPress theming though, it just aint that much fun.
@buddyboss Thanks man, i'm not looking at it as a paid gig.
The theme is probably going to go through one more complete re-design before I settle on features also and skin BBPress.
I've updated the home page, to outline a little information about this theme.
The blog is a good place to get involved right now, if anyone wishes to.
Why thank you very much!
I just found this function
<?php bp_group_member_joined_since(); ?
It does exactly what I need.
Thanks for the help.

 <?php bp_activity_comments(); ?>
I could just make it a list… Shouldn't be too much trouble.
@hnla I've validated the page but there are 2 niggling malformed markup issues, but it's related to BuddyPress functions.
I looked at the code for bp_activity_comments, which leads to bp_get_activity_comments which leads to bp_activity_recurse_comments, which in turn has 2 filters applied to the template
echo apply_filters( 'bp_activity_recurse_comments_start_ul', '
');
echo apply_filters( 'bp_activity_recurse_comments_end_ul', '
');
I need to remove these as they are messing with the markup.
I've tried the following…
remove_filter('bp_activity_comments', 'bp_activity_recurse_comments_start_ul');
But this doesn't work. Any ideas?
I don't know of any core functions off the top of my head… It's been a while since I've used WPDB but will take a look.
No, how would you debug this loop? The loop finishes and returns nothing.
@hnla @henrywright yeah I whole heartedly agree, although I've began to realise over the past year I'm a bit of a poor coder but have all these huge ambitions. That said, I wanted to finally complete something of relative worth and without re-studying my poor coding this is the way forward. I believe it's not a complete minefield, the markup is tidy and the CSS isn't so bad. The niggling problems can be fixed at the end in a bug fixing cycle.
@ekine thanks for the heads up about that, I'll be focussing my efforts with this theme for now.
1. I'm not sure how to port that functionality to groups.
2. I plan on adding a cookie plugin to remember the various header toggle states also.
3. Yeah, I thought that.
1. Yeah there is a disconnect, you are right. I'll try and think about a way of bringing them together or making them function well independently.
2. Not sure which one you mean here.
Lots of bugs, have never built something like this. It's a big undertaking.
Thanks for posting guys.
Many thanks.
It's me Rick, the phantom.
<?php if(is_user_logged_in()) : ?> <?php bp_get_template_part('members/members-loop'); ?> <?php endif; ?>
This will hide your members directory unless you are logged in to the site.


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This was amazing!!! The hole family loved it so I´ll be making it over and over again
Bev's Famous Meatloaf
Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Missie Neville Crawford
This homestyle meatloaf recipe features both ground beef and ground pork sausage, green bell pepper and onion, and a sweet tomato topping. Serve with mashed potatoes and green peas to round out the meal.
Yield: Makes 10 servings
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Recipe Time
2 Hours, 5 Minutes
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 18 saltine crackers, crushed
- 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 8 ingredients and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a medium bowl just until blended. Place mixture in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish, and shape mixture into a 10- x 5-inch loaf.
- 2. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and drain. Stir together ketchup and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar; pour over meatloaf. Bake 15 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160°. Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Remove from baking dish before slicing.
My Notes
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Bev's Famous Meatloaf Recipe at a Glance
- COURSE: Main Dishes
- CONVENIENCE: Kid-Friendly, Family
- MAIN INGREDIENT: Beef
- COOKING METHOD: Bake
- PUBLICATION: Southern Living
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Monthly Archives: May 2012
Nischala's Blog-o-Rendezvous with SRIRAM SRINIVASAN
Sriram is the Senior Vice President for Banking and Financial Services at Wipro. He is responsible for business from banking customers globally for Wipro and focuses on bringing in non- linearity in the software services industry.
Sriram is Chartered Accountant with broad experience in all aspects of accounting, auditing and financial management and in-depth understanding of information technology as applicable to the Banking and Financial services industry globally.
Currently, he has taken a sabbatical from his close to 25 year IT career to set-up D3T (Dignity and Dreams for Dogs Trust). In this rendezvous, I discussed with Sriram about his new initiative and the future plans
I've personally known Sriram for more than a decade now. Going down memory lane, he was probably one of the first senior business leaders I have interacted with in my professional career. And though we had the opportunity to work closely years back, we lost touch along the way. An occasional mail, greeting or Hello is what we shared for the past few years. Thanks to my blogs, we were able to re-connect. Sriram has been appreciative of my blogging success – with a kind acknowledgement, appreciation and a dash of humor (which is characteristic of him) along the way.
To quote a specific example on his wit and humor – The one that I will always remember is that Sriram mentions with a naughty smile and twinkle in his eye that "His life is driven, controlled and influenced by 9 women – His mother, wife, 2 sisters, 2 nieces and his 3 pet female dogs – All of whom he loves dearly."
Hence I was excited about this rendezvous. One, to speak with Sriram after years and Two, to hear about his new venture. I knew always that Sriram loved dogs, but his current initiative is taking this love to a new level…
Nischala: Thanks for your time Sriram for this Rendezvous.
Sriram: Hi. .. Good Morning! It's my pleasure. Hope all is well
Nischala: Firstly, great to speak with you after so long. And Congratulations on your new initiative. Would like to learn a little about your new initiative… So what is D3T all about?
Sriram: As you know, both my wife and I love dogs and have always been passionate about their welfare. We've had several dogs of our own over the past few years. My fascination for the wide world of dogs started some 30 years back with a gift of a Alsation- German Shepard pup whom we had named Tina ( There is no alternative and we did not know that acronym then). She must have been one of the most travelled dogs in the railways at that time ;).
Over the last 5 years we have adopted three more dogs who stay with us. The first one (Browny) followed us during a walk and we didn't have the heart to let her go. The second one (Wags) walked herself into our compound and stayed on. The third one (Ginger) we again found during a walk. She had been ill-treated and could barely talk. She'd lost her voice and was unwell – So we brought her home and gave her the required care and attention. Today, she's perfectly fine and in fact, makes the most noise at home :). These three have got us to understand loving the world of dogs and their needs.
Over the past few years, the more we observed dogs in our locality and other parts of Bangalore, we felt there was crying need for active work to be done for the welfare of dogs.
Personally, we do our bit and best at every opportunity we get. Every day when we go for our walk, we feed atleast 10 dogs (Langdu, Scruffy, Scratchy, Scardy poo, Tall and lanky, Eager beaver ,Blacky, Lambu, Stripes and Karia) and we have got our domestic help and driver also to adopt two dogs – Scuby and Rocky. And what we realized is that dogs are essentially creatures of habit.
They really need only basics things – 1) food at fixed intervals 2) Love and affection. 3)health care both preventive and reactive.
So this initiative was really born out of personal passion and the current URGENT NEED for ACTION to be done in this space. And D3T was conceptualized to do just that! D3T stands for Dignity and Dreams for Dogs Trust. The idea of the initiative is take a holistic view of all issues that a dog could possibly face from Cradle to Grave; and to provide the required aid / support / assistance to address these issues.
Nischala: That's good to hear. So what are the real goals for this initiative?
Sriram: The ultimate long term goals of D3T are to ensure that every dog in Bangalore:
1) Has a place to live – home / foster home, etc. So, this will include identifying people who would like to adopt a dog and co-ordinate for adoption
2) Is sterilized so that they don't breed excessively / on the road
3) Gets the RIGHT food everyday of their life
4) Has access to preventive healthcare – Gets timely vaccinations so that it leads a healthy life and also does not harm / injure anyone and medical attention in case a dog is injured or infected
4) And really to give a dog a befitting burial
So to summarize, the aim of D3T is:
1) To give Dignity to every Dog – Essentially a home when it is alive so that it does not have to scavenge for food or is not teased, injured or harmed on the streets. And then to bury it with dignity
2) To fulfill the 2 Dreams of a dog – One is really to get the right food during the day. And let me tell you that dogs are hungry all the time. Two, to give and get love and affection
Nischala: OK. It's great that you've taken such a holistic view of the issue itself. Many people I know look at welfare of dogs in a very siloed manner and at a very micro level and one day at a time. So this vision is really very well thought out and strategic if I may say in business terms. So, what is the short term plan?
Sriram: The short term plan is to focus our efforts on the area / locality that we live in – primarily Indira Nagar and C V Raman Nagar. And what we want to achieve is this:
1) No stray puppies on the road – So basically, every new born puppy should have a home
2) All unhealthy / injured dogs in the area should have access to medical care – So basically, they should receive medical attention and care from an agency like CUPA, Blue Cross, etc.
3) All dogs should get the right food – And I emphasize on right food because if they are fed wrong / unhealthy food, the chance that they get infected is high. A lot of people feed dogs with a good intent, but end up doing more harm as they don't know what is good for dogs.
Essentially, dogs need balanced food. Human food may not always be the best for dogs.They should not be given excess salt and sugar in their food. Excess sugar as in humans has the potential to cause diseases in dogs, and also leads to other side effects like hair loss, etc. And excess salt can cause urological problems, etc. Also if you give them stale food – It is unhealthy. So the focus is to ensure that they eat the right food at regular time intervals.
Nischala: OK. Great to hear. And also very informative. Many of us probably are just not aware of such simple things. So what after you've done this?
Sriram: The long term plan is to expand beyond the areas that we live in and ensure that we are able to institutionalize a model in line with our ultimate goals.
Nischala: So moving from the corporate world of 25+ years to starting out on your own. How do you feel? And how difficult was it to make this decision?
Sriram: It was a very difficult decision. Something which I have been thinking about for more than 1.5 years. Let me tell you it's not easy to leave the corporate world, especially if you are doing well.
So, I think looking back there were really a few considerations:
1) Most importantly is the fact that we are deeply passionate about the cause and believed in it
2) There is an URGENT CRYING need for work to be done in this area. So even if you are passionate about something, if there's no BURNING problem to address – There's no compelling need to probably devote your full time and efforts here. But since there is a burning need for action in this cause and we were really passionate about making a difference, we decided to embark on it
3) Also along with me, my wife has taken a sabbatical from work. So in addition to the cause, I think it's a great opportunity for us to also get some personal and family time. The last few years have been invested in our careers. So this is a golden opportunity for us to work together towards a cause we both believe in. Also, in India – Giving up your corporate career for a social cause is still not the norm and probably not so well accepted yet. And so there's the element of societal pressures as well. But I think if you believe in your dreams or a cause, people will eventually support you!
4) The organizational reaction and support – So I've been in discussions for several months now with the Wipro leadership team. And once everyone recognized the need and also realized how passionate we were about the initiative, things became a lot easier. I've received phenomenal support from the entire senior leadership. .
So in the end, the passion, vision and personal commitment to the cause overtook everything else. Also, it needed to be done full time with dedicated effort and commitment and hence the decision to take a break from the corporate world.
Nischala: That's great to hear! So, what are the key challenges you envision here?
Sriram: The first is probably to build the RIGHT team of people – Basically people who are equally passionate about this cause and are willing to work with us. Interestingly, ever since people in my network have heard about this, I've received a lot of calls and messages. Some people who are already doing work towards the welfare of dogs and are willing to extend the intensity and contribution towards our initiative or some who were interested but never really did anything for very many reasons! And so as of date, we have about a dozen people who have expressed keen interest in working with us.
Second is in terms of identification of the right organizations / agencies and teams that we can collaborate with to ensure that we are able to cover all aspects of our goals. So as of today, I don't yet have a sense of how much we'll need to work with the Government and other agencies. But we should be able to figure this with time. Based on our research, we have found that there are some parts (5-6) in Bangalore where there are other agencies who are already doing similar work. We'll need to engage with them and work out a collaborative model for working.
So the point is that during the initial 6 months, the focus will be on ironing out the organizational aspects of the initiative – basically setting up the legal entity through which we can operate, get the paper work done, set up the banking accounts, financial models, commercials, etc.
One of the key aspects obviously would be to identify the funding mechanism. Interestingly, I am not too worried about this as of now as a number of my well wishers have offered to contribute without me reaching out at all.We will cross this bridge when we get to it.
Second is really to figure out the way to institutionalize the model of operation. It cannot be an individual based model for it to survive and sustain.
In other words – The proof of the pudding is in the eating. So really, the yardstick for success is in being able to have a long term sustainable model to achieve the goals we set out for ourselves.
Nischala: Great to hear this Sriram. Also, a great part of your success will be primarily driven by the awareness among people. So, any thoughts on how you plan to generate awareness about this initiative?
Sriram: You are so right! In the long term, awareness is the KEY to our success.
One of the immediate areas that we'd like to focus on is to generate awareness in school-going-kids. So we do intend to collaborate with schools so that there is an awareness session / class as a part of their school curriculum. The biggest benefit here is that we are building this awareness at an impressionable age and stage in their life. So these lessons they will probably carry through life.
Second and also very important is that children are great ambassadors of positive change and are increasingly the key influencers at home. So for e.g.: If your child mentioned this to you over a dinner or when you are driving past an injured dog, chances are you will take note and also probably act on it! (Atleast better chance than if your spouse told you ;).. Something as basic as when you see an injured dog, you can call CUPA or Blue Cross to inform them about the same.
All you need is
1) Awareness that such agencies exist and
2) their contact details stored in your mobile.
Two, is that in terms of a larger reach – we need to figure a way to reach a larger audience to make them aware and also, ensure that they take the right action within their sphere of impact and influence. So, for e.g: May be through your blog we are able to generate some level of awareness and interest in D3T. And hopefully, over a period of time people do take the right actions.
Nischala: Sure Sriram. I'll be personally happy if my blog(s) can make a difference here. So every time I publish my blog, I have no clue on who's reading it from which part of the globe – But do hope that this post can make a positive impact and difference to D3T. So coming to my next question – Given that you have been in the technology world for more than 2 decades, how do you intend to use technology for your initiative?
Sriram: Sure, technology will be an integral part of our initiative. We do plan to have our own web-site / blog, etc. in the next few months. And we also plan to leverage the power of social media – for generating more awareness and for wider audience reach
Nischala: That's excellent Sriram! Thank You for your time! It was an absolute pleasure to talk to you. Best wishes for success. And hope D3T achieves the goals it set out with and every dog has its dreams fulfilled and gets dignity in life and death! Good Luck!
Sriram: Thanks for your time..
A personal request for you.. – Kindly do share this in your network to create awareness about the D3T initiative…
The 6 Must Haves for a Working Mother
The decision to get back to work after becoming a mother is a personal choice. For some women, the decision if out of free-will, to some out of necessity, to some due to lack of choice and to some out of choice. What I've realized based on my own personal experiences and interactions with other mothers are that most working mothers do go through phases in their life when they need to strive extra-hard just to find a balance between their personal and professional priorities. And what clearly sets apart those who somehow manage to make it all work are:
1) Desire to Work
This tops the list. If as a mother, you don't have a desire to work – then no amount of personal support and organization flexibility is ever enough. I've known women who had everything going in their favor BUT had just NO interest in working – That's a personal choice. On the other hand, I've known women who had really all ODDS against them, but their desire to work and carve a meaningful career was so STRONG that they were able to achieve this. And then of course, there are all those in-between.
2) Supportive Spouse
As a women and more importantly, once you become a mother – You realize the difference that a supportive spouse can make. I've known mothers whose life is so easy just because their spouse helps in all possible ways to make a difference. This can be in little things like giving you 10 minutes of ME time every day, to waking up 15 minutes early each morning, to helping with little errands around the house TO larger things like supporting your choice of when you want to get back to full time work after having a child, to decisions related to how to parent your child
3) Reliable Support System
This is one of the key differentiators which have a direct impact on your day-to-day routine. As trivial as it may sound, for a mother knowing that her child is with a support system who she can completely rely on goes a long way in her ability to focus at work and also in her productivity. In the initial few years of a child's growth – at least till a child is able to communicate and express, the support system (can be family or friends or professional help) plays a KEY role in how a working mother's career evolves. As a child starts growing and becomes independent, different support systems are required – Nevertheless, they are vital for a working mother
4) Clarity on Priorities
As a woman, mother and more importantly, a working mother – Your priorities in life have to be CRYSTAL CLEAR in your head. There will be times when work is No.1 priority, times when your baby is No.1 priority and times when YOU will be No.1 priority and times when family will be No.1 priority, etc. And these priorities change with time, based on the need.
But the point is at any given situation your decision making abilities will be so much easy if you have your priorities clear. There will be times when you need to DE-/RE-PRIORITIZE – You need to be flexible to achieve a balance between what you expect of yourself, what your family expects of you & what your workplace expects of you.
And I've personally found that it is useful if you spend time thinking about what your priorities are – Only then you will get clarity. Write it down somewhere and go through it every day in the morning. This will give you the required perspective to handle any kind of situation.
5) Openness
As a working mother, I've found that some women seem to be having things moving in their favor all the time. And when I really analyze what they were doing right, the one thing that STOOD OUT was their OPENNESS.
You need to be open to ideas, thoughts, suggestions, new ways of working, new opportunities, people, situations, learning, technology, future and most importantly CHANGE. And ideas, thoughts and suggestions usually come in abundance to any mother.. And these come from everywhere – friends, family, people at work, and many times your kids themselves. You need to be open to listen, to try, to act, to change, to learn/un-learn/re-learn. This will make a SIGNIFICANT difference in your life
6) Ability to communicate in a clear and precise fashion
From personal experiences and observation, I can vouch that this makes a significant difference if you are a working mother. And to be able to clearly express yourself, you need to be first clear in your mind about what you want to convey – both in the form of oral communication and written communication.
Many women are good in clearly communicating data or what they know, but fall short when it comes to clearly expressing their emotions or thoughts or what they want. For e.g.: Ask the following questions to yourself or to a woman and see the difference in responses:
"How do you make tea?"
"What do you want to achieve in life?"
"3 specific ways your spouse can help you today?"
But the good news is that you can consciously work and improve your communication skills.
Before you speak,
• Think on what message you want to really convey
• Think about who is the listener and the best way you can express
• And then only speak…
Nischala's Blog-o-Rendezvous with Dr. SMITHA RADHAKRISHNAN
About Smitha
Dr. Smitha Radhakrishnan is a sociologist, and dancer, and a mom. Her professional work in and out of the classroom focuses on questions of gender, globalization, nationalism and development. Her newly published book, Appropriately Indian: Gender and Culture in a New Transnational Class (Duke University Press, 2011) examines the culture of Indian IT professionals in urban India, Silicon Valley, and South Africa. She is currently in India conducting research for a new project on educational programs aimed at microfinance borrowers. In her previous research, Smitha has studied meanings of race, ethnicity, and femininity among South African Indians in Durban (South Africa). Her work has appeared in journals such as Qualitative Sociology, Theory and Society, and Gender and Society, among others. A more detailed bio can be found at http://www.wellesley.edu/Sociology/sradhakrishnan.
Smitha has studied Bharatnatyam for most of her life, and has performed in the United States, Canada, India, and South Africa. Since 2008, she has been dancing with Navarasa Dance Theater, based in Boston and directed by Dr. Aparna Sindhoor. Under Dr. Sindhoor's direction, she has expanded her movement vocabulary to include yoga, kallari, modern dance, and theater. Previously, in California, Smitha co-founded NATyA with Vallari Shah, which choreographed and produced original classical dance productions from 2003-2007. Over the years, she has studied dance with Asha Gopal in Arizona, Padmini Ravi in Bangalore, Girija Chandran in Thiruvananthapuram, Prakriti Bhaskar in Mumbai, and Katherine Kunhiraman in California. Currently in Bangalore, she is reconnecting to Bharatnatyam under the tutelage of Chitra Dasarathy. In 2009, Smitha became a mom to Medha, who now takes up more of her time than all her other interests put together. Before Medha, she had time to produce Desi Dilemmas, a popular podcast that ran from 2005-2006, and also blogged occasionally for UCLA's online magazine for Asian-Pacific Arts.
The RENDEZVOUS
Nischala: Smitha – Thank You so much for your time to do this Rendezvous. I really appreciate it.
Smitha: Thank You. It is indeed a pleasure to talk to you
Nischala: Smitha, you have an incredible Bio. One of the most impressive I've read in a while. For many reasons – One I don't know of too many PhD's in my peer group – An abysmally small number of people even tread down that path. Two, A PhD along with a passion and active involvement in performing arts is really commendable – Not to mention, a rare and unique combination. Also, the additional credits you have in terms of your book, research work and your articles that I've read about are impressive. So looking back at your life, how did it all come together for you?
Smitha: I was raised in a fairly traditional Indian family in the US. I enrolled into dance at the age of 5. So dance and performing arts is a part of my identity. To be honest, I can't imagine life without dance. For a long time, I had to internally deal with the what seemed to be the unique difficulties associated with "multiple identities" – Being raised in an Indian home, but also participating in everyday life in the U.S. My experience seemed unique at the time. But as I grew and got more educated, I realized that there's nothing so special about my personal situation. History is filled with examples of people migrating and dealing with multiple cultural affiliations. Cultural change is the norm, not the exception. Embracing this perspective was liberating, and allowed me to do my research and travel with a sense of wonder and humility.
Nischala: That's an interesting way to put it. And from all your travel, research and writing, I'm sure you've had the opportunity to meet and interact with so many people across the globe – which is really exciting and can be a great learning experience in itself. So what has been the real lesson that you've taken away here?
Smitha: What I've realized based on my research, reading, interactions and introspection is that engaging with the personal experiences of others is the key to learning and growth. Shifting the focus away from my own personal issues to a broader world makes you see things differently. I was privileged to be in a position where some of these lessons emerged from my research. What I really learnt is this: Every one of us has a story to share – based on our own personal experiences. So, life is really not so much about me – or my struggles, issues or successes. But it is really about every individual's journey in life. And when you wear that lens, you world view changes. I find it very humbling to engage and connect at a personal level to people from diverse walks of life – and to have the opportunity to listen one-on-one to their life stories. And each person's story is rich – When I say rich, I mean it is rich with their life events, memories, joys, sorrows, achievements, trials, etc. What's important is to step back and listen, to ask the right questions, and to give importance to the insight and wisdom that each person you meet possesses. So it is worthwhile to extend one's point of engagement beyond yourself, to observe and reflect upon the experiences of others as well, so you can frame and re-model your own views and perceptions. At times, I am astonished about the things I don't notice! But these realizations keep me humble and keep me looking to find out more about those things in my environment that are not completely obvious.
Nischala: That's a powerful thought and a very unique way to look at people and life. So, coming back to your PhD. What was the motivation to pursue your doctoral studies?
Smitha: Since high school I had an interest in research, which I pursued through my undergraduate studies. At Berkeley, the exposure to an amazing intellectual and social environment was truly rewarding and satisfying! I learnt so much by being a part of such a great institution, working with some amazing faculty and having wonderful classmates. Coming to the PhD, I think it was just a logical step for me – I was passionate about research and writing, and sociology gave me the opportunity to pursue research and writing on social topics of my choice! So, it's everything that I love – and if someone was going to pay me for this, then how could I turn down the opportunity? The main attraction for sociology was the possibility of doing fieldwork, which would allow me to interact with people I would never otherwise have the chance to engage with.
Nischala: So, what was the topic of your doctoral research?
Smitha: My research was centered around the cultural impact and role of the IT industry on Indian women, and the role of the IT industry in transforming "Indian culture" as a whole. I conducted extensive research over several years across 3 places – US, India and South Africa. The issues which most working women deal with are probably somewhat similar all across the globe. But what I found to be very unique to the women in India who are part of the IT workforce is that there is an "expectation" that women need to preserve the "Indian" character of the home and yet display a "global Indianness" as a part of their professional IT jobs. So this puts them is a difficult position and brings forth several dilemmas for women to deal with. Women find their own ways to deal with their specific situations. Some quit working, some make compromises in their professional life, some let-go of many things in their personal life. So there all combinations, but each of these compromises has to deal with the dilemma of being a professional woman while at the same time feeling a normative pressure to maintain an essentially "Indian" home. And the reality is that although there's a lot of data on the increasing numbers of women in the Indian IT industry which are positive and encouraging – If you look a little closer, the numbers are still abysmally small, especially at the top tiers. Although women enter into the IT industry in equal numbers as men, most women still do opt out of their corporate careers once they become mothers. These decisions are always framed as "choice," but are often not as freely made as we would like to believe.
Nischala: So any specific trends that you have seen in women living in India and part of the Indian IT industry?
Smitha: Throughout the industry, there is a moment of crisis for women when they have a child. This is a point at which many women make difficult decisions in their professional careers in IT. IT companies are still figuring out the ways in which good policy arrangements can allow women to continue their careers and there is a lot of effort in this area. It is still too early to say whether these new policies will prompt women to make different decisions. Men do not face the same dilemma when they have children because even though women have become equal earning members in many cases, men have not had to shoulder an equal burden in the area of childcare.
Nischala: In your personal case, how have you dealt with balancing all your responsibilities and passions?
Smitha: I have a 2.5 year old daughter and I have been able to somehow manage raising her with my work and dance. This is possible because my spouse shares an equal duty with regard to caring for our daughter. Equal responsibility at home has been a fundamental understanding of our relationship. Still, it's difficult for us to manage both our careers, personal interests, and our daughter. Especially after living in India for the past few months, I've realized that we really need to take things one day at a time, it's impossible to plan everything and budget every moment of every day. You have to be open to deal with changes and challenges. But in all this, I've found it most important to be true to myself. In this sense, dance is not a "break" for me, but a part of who I am. I won't be a good mom, a good scholar, or a good partner to my spouse if I don't dance! So, for each person, in whatever way it fits, I think it's important to know who you are, what you need, and be true to yourself.
Nischala: That's such a profound and valuable advice. Thanks for sharing your personal journey and insights on topics close to your heart. This was an absolute pleasure. Thanks again for your time
Smitha: Thank you for this opportunity. Have a great day!
Photo Credit : Ganesh Ramachandran @ Purple Ganesh Photography


text:
Rocco Nacino and Rodjun Cruz in 'I Luv U, Pare Ko'
Rocco Nacino and Rodjun Cruz stars in "I Luv U, Pare Ko," an upcoming 2012 gay-comedy film.
The story is about Sam (Rocco Nacino) who is secretly in love with his bestfriend Carlo (Rodjun Cruz).
Watch the trailer below:
The movie is directed by Neal Tan, and is under Krix Film Productions.
The tentative showing is on November 01, 2012.
PS: I prefer this movie over some horror film on November.
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text:
It's wrong...the 5 star movement gained the 24,8% in the chamber of deputies, that gives them 109 seats.
Graphics from the print edition of March 2nd 2013
Navigate this week's issue of The Economist via the graphics that accompany some articles. A contact sheet of all this week's charts is also available to download.


text:
Mom Trapped in an Elevator with a Toddler ... For 41 Seconds!
A Penn State student was stuck in an elevator for seven hours when the campus suffered a power outage, reports the Post-Gazette. Wow, really? Seven whole hours?! Cry me a freakin' river -- that's NOTHING!
I was once trapped in an elevator with a toddler for 41 grueling seconds. Trust me -- it was hell.
See the terrifying surveillance footage:
2 comments so far | Post a comment now
Mary Ann June 8, 2010, 12:38 PM
Yep. That's scary.
Jillian June 10, 2010, 12:04 PM
Well, I was trapped in an elevator with an infant, toddler and my mother in law. Talk about a good time.


text:
Abu Dhabi Ship Building signs $27 million contract with SwedeShip
The Abu Dhabi Ship Building Company (ADSB) recently signed a 100 million Emirati Dirham ($27 million) contract with SwedeShip, providing for the joint construction of 12 amphibious vessels that will enter service with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) navy. Work is scheduled to begin immediately at ADSB's shipyards in Abu Dhabi.
ADSB was set up in 1996 as a public joint stock company with an initial paid-in capital of Dh178 million ($48.5 million). Its shareholding structure underwent a change in March 2001 and the company is now owned 30 percent by the US' Newport News Shipbuilding, 10 percent by France's Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie (CMN), 18.5 percent by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government, and 41.5 percent by UAE nationals.
ADSB's list of customers includes the UAE Navy and Coast Guards, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its subsidiaries and local operators of tug boats, barges and offshore supply and support vessels. Over the past year, the company has implemented a $50 million expansion scheme to enhance its yard's shipbuilding and repair capabilities. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
Top Headlines
- Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) Signs MoU with Korea Shipbuilders' Association and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding
- Abu Dhabi Ship Building reports record financial results for 2009
- Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to cut production by 10 percent
- Abu Dhabi investors set up new finance company
- Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank profits reach $140 million in 2001


text:
Zeitgeist: The Movie
|Zeitgeist: The Movie
|Directed by
|Peter Joseph
|Produced by
|Peter Joseph
|Written by
|Peter Joseph
|Music by
|Peter Joseph
|Edited by
|Peter Joseph
|Distributed by
|Release dates
|Running time
|122 minutes
|United States
Zeitgeist: The Movie is a 2007 documentary-style film by Peter Joseph. It presents a number of conspiracy theory-based ideas, such as the Christ myth theory and conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and argues that bankers manipulate world events and the international monetary system.[1]
Released online on June 18, 2007, at zeitgeistmovie.com, it became popular among conspiracy theorists.[2][3][4] Some critics have questioned the accuracy of its claims and the quality of its arguments, describing it as "agitprop" and "propaganda."[5][6][7]
- 1 Production history
- 2 Synopsis
- 3 Reception
- 4 Sequels
- 5 Excerpts used in video
- 6 References
- 7 External links
Production history[edit]
Zeitgeist: The Movie originated as a performance art show according to Peter Joseph's Zeitgeist website. "The original Zeitgeist was not a film, but a performance piece, consisting of a vaudevillian, multimedia style event using recorded music, live instruments, and video."[8]
The film opens with animated abstract visualizations, film and stock footage, a cartoon and audio quotes about spirituality by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, followed by clips of war, explosions, and the September 11 attacks. This is followed by the film's title screen. The film's introduction ends with a portion of the late comedian George Carlin's monologue on religion accompanied by an animated cartoon. The rest of the film, divided into three parts, is narrated by Peter Joseph.[9]
Part I: The Greatest Story Ever Told[edit]
Part I questions religions as being god-given stories, stating that the Christian religion specifically is mainly derived from other religions, astronomical assertions, astrological myths and traditions, which in turn were derived from or shared elements with other traditions. In furtherance of the Jesus myth hypothesis this part states that the historical Jesus is a literary and astrological hybrid, nurtured politically.[9]
Part II: All the World's a Stage[edit]
Part II uses integral footage of several 9/11 conspiracy theory films and states that the September 11 attacks were either orchestrated or allowed to happen by elements within the United States government in order to generate mass fear, initiate and justify the War on Terror, provide a pretext for the curtailment of civil liberties, and produce economic gain. These ideas include assertions that the U.S. government had advance knowledge of the attacks, that the military deliberately allowed the planes to reach their targets, and that World Trade Center buildings 1, 2, and 7 underwent a controlled demolition.[9]
Part III: Don't Mind the Men Behind the Curtain[edit]
Part III states that the Federal Reserve System is controlled by a small cabal of international bankers who conspire to create global calamities to enrich themselves.[10] Three wars involving the United States during the twentieth century are highlighted as part of this alleged agenda. Events said to have been engineered as excuses to enter into these wars include the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Gulf of Tonkin Incident. The film asserts that such wars serve to sustain conflict in general and force the U.S. government to borrow money, thereby increasing the profits of the international bankers. The film then goes on to state that the Federal Income Tax is illegal.[9]
This section also says the existence of a secret agreement to merge the United States, Canada and Mexico into a North American Union. The creation of this North American Union is then alleged to be a step towards the creation of a single world government. The film speculates that under such a government every human could be implanted with an RFID chip to monitor individuals and suppress dissent.
The third part of Zeitgeist, according to Paul Constant from the Stranger, is about "how everything has always been a part of a master plan to create a New World Order, and the film's emotional climax involves a documentary filmmaker befriending a loose-lipped Rockefeller family member who blurts out the events of 9/11 . . . nearly one year before they happened!"[11]
Film award[edit]
The film was screened on November 10, 2007, at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood as part of the 4th Annual Artivist Film Festival, where it won the 'best feature' award in the Artivist Spirit category for feature-length documentaries.[12]
Critical response[edit]
Conspiracy theory and propaganda[edit]
The newspaper The Arizona Republic described Zeitgeist: The Movie as "a bramble of conspiracy theories involving Sept. 11, the international monetary system, and Christianity" saying also that the movie trailer states that 'there are people guiding your life and you don't even know it'."[13]
A review in The Irish Times entitled "Zeitgeist: the Nonsense" wrote that "these are surreal perversions of genuine issues and debates, and they tarnish all criticism of faith, the Bush administration, and globalization—there are more than enough factual injustices in this world to be going around without having to invent fictional ones."[14]
Other reviews have characterized the film as "conspiracy crap,"[15] "based solely on anecdotal evidence," and "fiction couched in a few facts,"[16] or they have made disparaging reference to its part in the 9/11 truth movement.[17]
Some journalists have focused on it as an example of how conspiracy theories are promulgated in the Internet age. For example, Ivor Tossell in the Globe and Mail argued that contradictions in the film are overwhelmed by passion and effective use of video editing:
The film is an interesting object lesson on how conspiracy theories get to be so popular.... It's a driven, if uneven, piece of propaganda, a marvel of tight editing and fuzzy thinking. Its on-camera sources are mostly conspiracy theorists, co-mingled with selective eyewitness accounts, drawn from archival footage and often taken out of context. It derides the media as a pawn of the International Bankers, but produces media reports for credibility when convenient. The film ignores expert opinion, except the handful of experts who agree with it. And yet, it's compelling. It shamelessly ploughs forward, connecting dots with an earnest certainty that makes you want to give it an A for effort.[18]
Filipe Feio, reflecting upon the film's Internet popularity in Diário de Notícias, stated that "Fiction or not, Zeitgeist: The Movie threatens to become the champion of conspiracy theories of today."[19]
Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society, mentioned Zeitgeist in an article in Scientific American on skepticism in the age of mass media and the postmodern belief in the relativism of truth. He argues that this belief, coupled with a "clicker culture of mass media," results in a multitude of various truth claims packaged in "infotainment units", in the form of films such as Zeitgeist and Loose Change.[20]
Jane Chapman, a film producer and reader in media studies at the University of Lincoln, called Zeitgeist "a fast-paced assemblage of agitprop," an example of unethical film-making.[21] She accuses Peter Joseph of "implicit deception" through the use of standard film-making propaganda techniques. While parts of the film are, she says, "comically" self-defeating, the nature of "twisted evidence" and use of Madrid bomb footage to imply it is of the London bombings amount to ethical abuse in sourcing. In later versions of the movie a subtitle is added to this footage identifying it as from the Madrid bombings. She finishes her analysis with the comment: "Thus legitimate questions about what happened on 9/11, and about corruption in religious and financial organizations, are all undermined by the film's determined effort to maximize an emotional response at the expense of reasoned argument."
On March 17, 2009, in a New York Times article, Alan Feuer reported that Peter Joseph had indicated that he had "moved away from" his opinion on whether the September 11 attacks were an inside job perpetrated by the U.S. government.[17]
Alex Jones, American radio host, prominent conspiracy theorist and executive producer of Loose Change, stated that film segments of Zeitgeist are taken directly from his documentary Terrorstorm, and that he supports "90 percent" of the film.[22]
Regarding the origins of Christianity[edit]
Skeptic magazine's Tim Callahan, criticizing the first part of the film (on the origins of Christianity), wrote that "some of what it asserts is true. Unfortunately, this material is liberally—and sloppily—mixed with material that is only partially true and much that is plainly and simply bogus."[23]
Chris Forbes, Senior lecturer in Ancient History of Macquarie University and member of the Synod of the Diocese of Sydney, severely criticized Part I of the movie, stating that it has no basis in serious scholarship or ancient sources, and that it relies on amateur sources that recycle frivolous ideas from one another, rather than serious academic sources, commenting, "It is extraordinary how many claims it makes which are simply not true."[24] Similar conclusions were reached by Dr. Mark Foreman of Liberty University.[25]
Paul Constant writing in 'The Stranger' a Seattle newspaper reviewed the religious critique in the film by saying: "First the film destroys the idea of God, and then, through the lens of 9/11, it introduces a sort of new Bizarro God. Instead of an omnipotent, omniscient being who loves you and has inspired a variety of organized religions, there is an omnipotent, omniscient organization of ruthless beings who hate you and want to take your rights away, if not throw you in a work camp forever."[26]
Allegations of veiled anti-semitism[edit]
In Tablet Magazine, journalist Michelle Goldberg criticized Zeitgeist: The Movie as being "steeped in far-right, isolationist, and covertly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories," and called the Zeitgeist Movement "the world's first Internet-based cult, with members who parrot the party line with cheerful, rote fidelity." She went on to write that the film borrows from the work of Eustace Mullins, Lyndon LaRouche, and radio host Alex Jones, saying that Zeitgeist: The Movie portrays a cabal of international bankers purportedly ruling the world.[27] In an interview with TheMarker, Joseph stated that while the film does mention bankers it does not seek to place blame on any individual or group of individuals. He argues they are merely a product of a socioeconomic system in need of change.[28]
Chip Berlet writes that the 9/11 conspiracy theories "are bait used to attract viewers from the 9/11 truth movement and others who embrace conspiracist thinking to the idiosyncratic anti-religion views of the videographer and the world of right-wing antisemitic theories of a global banking conspiracy."[29]
Jared Lee Loughner media association[edit]
Jared Lee Loughner was described in news accounts as "obsessed" with Zeitgeist. Loughner was convicted of the 2011 Tucson shootings in which six people died and U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was permanently injured.[30][31] Joseph criticized the media for making this association, accusing them of using Zeitgeist as a scapegoat to avoid discussing the deeper social issues behind spree shootings.[32]
The sequel, Zeitgeist: Addendum, advocates a resource-based social system. An updated version was produced in 2010 entitled Zeitgeist: Final Edition. A third film called Zeitgeist: Moving Forward was released online on January 25, 2011.
Excerpts used in video[edit]
In June 2013, the band Black Sabbath used extensive imagery from Zeitgeist: The Movie and the Zeitgeist film sequels in their music video "God Is Dead?"[33]
- ^ Ivor Tossell. August 17, 2007. Conspiracy theorists yelling in the echo chamber. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May-09-2014
- ^ Feuer, Alan. "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Constant, Paul (2007-09-06). "Beauty Is Truth". The Stranger. Retrieved 2014-01-19. "The Truth Movement's newest, most popular film…"
- ^ Tossell, Ivor (2007-08-17). "Conspiracy theorists yelling in the echo chamber". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-01-19. "…propelled by recommendations from bloggers whose eyes were opened and lives changed…"
- ^ "Zeitgeist: the nonsense". Irish Times. August 25, 2007 Section: Weekend, page 16
- ^ Constant, Paul. "Beauty Is Truth.". The Stranger. September 5, 2007 Section: Features.
- ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (August 6, 2007). "Jay Kinney reviews Zeitgeist, the Movie.". Boing Boing.
- ^ Goldberg, Michelle (February 2, 2011). "Brave New World". Tablet Magazine. "The documentary that started it all began as an art project. "The original Zeitgeist was not a film, but a performance piece, which consisted of a vaudevillian style multi-media event using recorded music, live instruments and video," the Zeitgeist website explains."
- ^ a b c d Constant, Paul (2007-09-06). "Beauty Is Truth". Features. The Stranger. Retrieved 2014-01-22.
- ^ Tossell, Ivor (August 17, 2007). "Conspiracy theorists yelling in the echo chamber". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ http://www.utne.com/politics/towers-of-babble.aspx#axzz31AflJdAA Retrieved May-9-2014
- ^ "4th Annual Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Awards Announce the Winning Films of This Year's Festival". Artivist Film Festival and Artivist Award press release. November 5, 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- ^ http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/16/20110116gabrielle-giffords-jared-loughner-profile.html Retrieved April-27-2014
- ^ O'Dwyer, Davin (August 8, 2007). "Zeitgeist: the nonsense". The Irish Times. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ Orange, Michelle (September 10, 2008). "Able Danger". The Village Voice.
- ^ "Towers of Babble". Utne Reader. January 1, 2008.
- ^ a b Alan Feuer (March 17, 2009). "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". The New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Tossell, Ivor (August 17, 2007). "Conspiracy theorists yelling in the echo chamber". Globe and Mail. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ Feio, Felipe (February 18, 2008). "Teoria da conspiração no 'top' do Google Video (Conspiracy theory is the 'top' Google Video)". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ Shermer, Michael (July 2009). "What Skepticism Reveals about Science". Scientific American.
- ^ Chapman, Jane (2009). Issues in Contemporary Documentary. Polity Press. pp. 171–173. ISBN 978-0-7456-4009-9.
- ^ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/01/13/zeitgeist-the-documentary-that-may-have-shaped-jared-loughners-worldview.html Retrieved September-09-2013
- ^ Callahan, Tim (2009). "The Greatest Story Ever Garbled". Skeptic 28 (1).
- ^ "Zeitgeist: Time to discard the Christian story?". Interview at the Centre for Public Christianity, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ "Challenging the Zeitgeist Movie: Alleged Parallels between Jesus and Ancient Pagan Religions". Evangelical Philosophical Society. 2011.
- ^ http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=309650
- ^ Goldberg, Michelle (February 2, 2011). "Brave New World". Tablet Magazine. "The first Zeitgeist documentary borrowed from the work of Eustace Mullins, Lyndon LaRouche, and Alex Jones to rail against the cabal of international bankers that purportedly rules the world."
- ^ Discussion of the Zeitgeist Movement with Peter Joseph on YouTube, TheMarkerTV (Israel), Jan. 19, 2012. Interview conducted in English, following a brief introduction to Joseph and the Movement in Hebrew.
- ^ "Loughner, "Zeitgeist - The Movie," and Right-Wing Antisemitic Conspiracism". Retrieved 2012-06-03.
- ^ Goldberg, Michelle (January 13, 2011). "The Cult Web Film that Inspired Loughner". The Daily Beast Company, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
- ^ Herreras, Mari (October 14, 2011). "Occupy Tucson Starts Saturday, 9 a.m., Armory Park | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch". Tucsonweekly.com. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
- ^ http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/tucson.html Retrieved August-18-2014
- ^ "BLACK SABBATH Taps Controversial Filmmaker PETER JOSEPH For 'God Is Dead? Video". BlabberMouth. June 8, 2013.
External links[edit]
- 2007 films
- English-language films
- 2000s documentary films
- 9/11 conspiracy theories
- American documentary films
- American films
- Bible conspiracy theories
- Christ myth
- Documentary films about Jesus
- Documentary films about conspiracy theories
- Documentary films about globalization
- Documentary films about religion
- Documentary films about the September 11 attacks
- Documentary films critical of Christianity
- Independent films
- Internet documentary films
- Propaganda films
- Pseudohistory
- The Zeitgeist Movement


text:
For the North Summit Fire Department it was a case of a supposed false alarm turning into the real thing over the weekend.
Department spokesman Tyler Rowser said Monday that firefighters were rushed to a home at 3145 N. West Henefer Road just after noon Sunday when a "general residential fire alarm" was activated.
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However, the homeowner insisted there was nothing amiss and the call was cancelled.
Ten minutes later, though, the homeowner called 911 to report his home's basement was filling with smoke; a second alarm was issued.
This time, firefighters determined the origin of the smoke was a chimney attached to a wood-pellet burning stove. Crews doused the fire and ventilated the house while clearing the chimney of burning materials.
The homeowner, who had tried to handle the fire himself before the second alarm, sustained minor burns to his hand. He was treated at the scene.
Rowser said it was determined that the cause of the fire was a buildup of soot and creosote inside the chimney.
Twitter: @remims
Copyright 2014 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Rarely-heard music by the Italian composer Niccolo Castiglioni (1932-1996). Four works, variously for piano, choir and orchestra, featuring Sarah Nicolls, Schola Cantorum Stuttgart and the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Oliver Knussen.
Castiglioni's music is influenced by his early fascination with the spare, focused and exquisite works of Anton Webern. His mature works retain an element of transparent purity but there are other influences from the European avant-garde of the 50s and 60s together with a innate Romanticism and lyric sensibility.
Inizio di Movimento, for piano
Hymne, for twelve voices
Dulce Refrigerium, for piano
Apreslude, for orchestra
(see also Hear and Now tonight: Knussen conducts the BBC Symphony in his own music).
BBC © 2014 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
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text:
herp derp. Dramatic lighting is Emperor Gale, who is basically my hyper-overworked all-controlling, gay-as-balls chessmaster. The lady with the long hair is the daughter of one of the characters in Marked, and the girl with the pigtails is the daughter of two others.
And then there is Misou again. Being a mouse boy in a shirt too big for him.
Because I like that. I like little boys in big shirts
dang it's taking me a long time to get to the decent traditional stuff


text:
Name. Email. Password.Three steps and you're ready to save and share your Spoonful favorites! Just click the appropriate link below to log in or create an account.
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Fall in love with everything Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Make original crafts, recipes, printables, and more!
Give each mermaid a craft foam fin and lovely locks using embroidery floss!


text:
The FED performed its annual stress test (required by the Dodd-Frank law) on
15 19 banks and 4 of the banks failed the test. These 4 banks are Citigroup, SunTrust, Ally Financial, and MetLife. The FED stress tests suggest that those banks would not have satisfactory capital buffers if they were to suffer a financial shock. The numbers (Tier 1 common capital ratios):
- Cigitroup: 4.9%
- Ally Financial: 4.4%
- SunTrust Bank: 4.8%
- MetLife: 6%
Citigroup performed the worst in this test. CEO Vikram Pandit is sure to be all stressed out over it, poor guy.
Still, most other banks passed the test, which helped the market (which seems to be made of teflon these days. We're sure that will last…)


text:
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text: The latest proposal to keep the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association fully funded includes tacking on a fee that local drivers would have to pay when they buy auto insurance.It's a proposal that is not sitting well with, well, almost anyone in the Coastal Bend.Local officials have long sought to spread the cost of windstorm insurance to policy holders statewide, but this new proposal will add 20-percent to the cost of all auto insurance policies belonging to coastal residents, and it is angering officials and motorists alike.Next week, there will be a special hearing in Corpus Christi, where decision makers are sure to get an earful.Plagued by insurance losses from hurricanes Rita and Ike, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association has been increasing rates to businesses and homeowners in all 14 coastal counties by as much as 60-percent. The latest proposal to add a surcharge of as much as 20-percent to the auto insurance policies of coastal motorists has prompted Corpus Christi Mayor Nelda Martinez to send a letter of protest to Austin."We're going to have less insured motorists because they can't afford the insurance. Also 10 out of the last 14 years, we've had residential increase on windstorm," Martinez said. "13 out of the last 14 years have had an increase on the commercial side. We're tired of being singled out and not doing this equitably across the whole state."Several motorists said Wednesday that they don't like the idea."I thought that the state of Texas had enough money in their coffers already," motorist Ignacio Lopez said. "I heard that it's one of the richest states in the USA. So I don't know why they have to raise it."The hearing on the proposal will be held at 9 a.m. next Wednesday at the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's ballrooms B and C.State Representative Todd Hunter said he plans to protest in person to the Texas Insurance Commissioner on Monday about this latest proposal.


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Facebook has tripled its advertiser base in the last year. Yes, tripled. Bloomberg reports on the uptick (comparing it to Google's first sequential drop in quarterly sales last quarter), speaking with Tim Kendall, Facebook's director of product marketing for monetization.
In case you're wondering, the specific advertising product that's garnered so much popularity was first unveiled in 2007. Bloomberg describes it thusly:
The automated ad system . . . lets companies make small edits to their ads during campaigns and suggests words for advertisers to target users. The ads, which appear on users' Facebook home pages, allow 25 characters in the title and as many as 135 characters in the body of the text and an optional photo.
And it turns out that Facebook is employing a revolutionary idea to get these and other ad formats (such as their "Engagement ads") out there.
Wait for it.
Wait for it.
A sales staff. I know, seriously, can you believe it?! Aside from selling advertising inventory, this staff also:
The company also has been helping advertisers target users when they become fans of certain products or brands. Users can visit fan pages where they learn more about the products and connect with others.
And if their advertiser base has tripled YOY, it sounds like they're doing their job—especially in light of recent reports of rampant click fraud on the social network's ads.
eMarket Analyst Debra Aho Williamson told Bloomberg, "Everything is starting to solidify for [Facebook]. They're definitely getting the hang of it."
What do you think—is Facebook hitting its stride or does it have a long way to go to catch up?


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Ritalin and ADHD
One mother shares her family's experience with ADHD, Ritalin, and the Multiple Food Elimination Diet.
When my son, Nicholas was four years old, he threatened his preschool classmates with a pair of scissors. Because of this and other behavior problems, his teachers handed me a list of symptoms and asked me identify those that Nicholas had. The teachers and two co-directors at his preschool were convinced Nicholas had Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD).
I read through the list of symptoms. Nicholas had some but not all of them. At four-and-a-half, Nicholas had left his full-time daycare for a half-day preschool. For the first time, Nicholas was expected to quietly sit in a chair as soon as he entered the classroom. Trying to get him to comply with the routine of hanging up his coat, walking into his room, and staying there took five to ten minutes every morning. He wanted to see what everyone else was doing in the other classrooms.
At preschool, Nicholas had enormous difficulty making a successful transition from one activity to the next. He hated to stop playing with something he loved. In his frustration, he sometimes hit, kicked, or ran away from his teachers. When I came to pick him up, I often had to chase him around the school, and sometimes even had to carry him to the car.
Although he had always been an active child, his fourth year was our hardest. I felt worn down by battles with Nicholas. Once after repeated warnings not to stand on the edge of the grocery cart, he did just that. The weight from his extra-tall, four-year-old body caused the cart to topple over, with Nicholas' baby brother still strapped in the baby seat. All three of us cried when that happened, but the next time we went to the store, Nicholas had to be repeatedly warned not to stand on the cart.
Trying to carry the baby and propel Nicholas into and out of the doctor's office often occasioned many stares from other patients. Once I even had to enlist the help of another patient in guiding Nicholas out of the lobby. I couldn't carry his writhing, fighting body and the baby at the same time.
Yet, despite these struggles, I also knew that Nicholas could sit and play quietly with small animals, dinosaurs, or toy cars for an hour at a time. His imaginary games and role plays were often carried out in a whisper. He loved to be read to and enjoyed listening to books written for much older children on topics such as oxygen exchange. While his teachers complained that his fine motor skills weren't strong, Nicholas built elaborate structures with tiny Lego's. Of course, what counted in kindergarten was whether he could write with a pencil, not whether he could design and build his own creation with Lego's.
On the advice of Nicholas' preschool directors, we took him to a neuropsychologist. Nicholas balked at the testing. On the basis of two visits, neuropsychologist said that Nicholas would not be able to function in a mainstream kindergarten. She said she could not complete her evaluation unless Nicholas was placed on a trial of Ritalin.
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[QUOTE=cycleman2;827262]So are you going to test, clean unused oil or used oil from a bike? What everybody seems to worry about is the zinc/phosphorus level in the oils? Wear metals etc are kind of bike specific.[/QUOTE]
I'm only considering new oil. Testing used oil is something that individual owner's would do and each bike will contaminate oil differently. Often times, testing used oil is done for a fleet situation to perform maintenance at an optimum time.
[QUOTE=cycleman2;827262]Something else to consider is that no doubt the company that does the testing keeps a data base. Is there a way, for a fee to do a search for the results from specific oils. It might save time & money.[/QUOTE]
Not sure something like that exists. What you'll probably find is some oils tested at one place and other oils tested at another place. I feel it's best to send oils to one place and get a snapshot in time.
I posted a link to a test performed by AMSOIL documented in 2009. They tested a wide range of factors, more than we would want to do. Probably cost them $25K to get all that done. They didn't test the kind of oils that I think we might be interested in.


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Why lug around a heavy toolbox when you don't have to? Slide Meter is a handy app that acts as a makeshift tape measure and lets you measure the world around you. Whether you want to measure a piece of lumber or a chair, Slide Meter has you covered. Don't let the name fool you – Slide Meter doesn't just provide metric measurements, you can also switch to imperial units if you feel more comfortable working in feet and inches.
This Tape Measure App takes some getting used to, but once you learn how to use the app you'll be measuring accurately like there's no tomorrow. It's recommended and a good idea to watch the app's instruction video on the main screen to learn how to properly use the application. The videos include pop-ups to make learning easier – it can be a bit tricky to learn at first.
Measuring with Slide Meter is easy enough. Start by aligning the left side of your phone to the left side of the thing you'd like to measure. Your phone must be lying on a fl at surface to measure accurately. Press the start button to begin measuring and quickly slide your phone to the opposite side of your object. Once you've reached the right side, wait a second before taking your fi nger off the start button. Voilà, the measurement should appear on screen! Similar to a traffi c light, there are green, yellow and red lights at the top of the app's user interface. These lights are important. If you see a green light everything is good and your measurement should be accurate. If you see a yellow light you almost got it right, but you should try again for amore accurate measurement.
However, if you see a red light you've done something wrong and you'll have to redo your measurement all over again. Use your smartphone as a tape measure? What ever next…
Slide Meter
Price Free
Designed for: Phone and tablet
Requires Android: 2.2 and up
Verdict : It's great for a quick novelty measure, but we can't see it replacing the real thing
This Tape Measure App article is taken from :
Android Magazine UK - Issue 24


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Patterson-UTI Energy to Present at the UBS Global Oil and Gas Conference
HOUSTON, May 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PATTERSON-UTI ENERGY, INC. (NASDAQ: PTEN) today announced that it will make a presentation on May 20, 2014 at the UBS Global Oil and Gas Conference. Representing the Company at the conference will be Andy Hendricks, Chief Executive Officer.
The presentation will be webcast live beginning at approximately 10:00 a.m. Central Time. To access the webcast, go to www.patenergy.com prior to the scheduled start time.
About Patterson-UTI
Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. subsidiaries provide onshore contract drilling and pressure pumping services to exploration and production companies in North America. Patterson-UTI Drilling Company LLC and its subsidiaries have more than 275 marketable land-based drilling rigs and operate primarily in oil and natural gas producing regions in the continental United States, Alaska, and western and northern Canada. Universal Pressure Pumping, Inc. and Universal Well Services, Inc. provide pressure pumping services primarily in Texas and the Appalachian region.
Location information about the Company's drilling rigs and their individual inventories is available through the Company's website at www.patenergy.com.
More by this Source
- Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast
- Sep 24, 2014, 06:00 ET
- Patterson-UTI Energy to Present at the Johnson Rice Energy Conference
- Sep 23, 2014, 06:00 ET
- Patterson-UTI Energy Announces Agreement to Acquire Texas-Based Pressure Pumping Assets
- Sep 19, 2014, 06:00 ET
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An American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials task force has recommended that heavy metals in glass beads for highway markings meet a maximum allowable limit of 200 ppm each for arsenic, lead, and antimony. The group — which has studied heavy metals in glass beads used on highway markings for the past four years — issued the recommendation to its materials committee, which voted unanimously to recommend that all member states adopt limits at least as stringent as these. www.transportation.org
This educational unit takes a look at two specification strategies, method...
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This innovative bridge construction technique is saving time and money.
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Some say Demiel ben Yusef is the world's most dangerous terrorist, personally responsible for bombings and riots that have claimed the lives of thousands. Others insist he is a man of peace, a miracle worker, and possibly even the Son of God. His trial in New York City for crimes against humanity attracts scores of protestors, as well as media and religious leaders from around the world.
Cynical reporter Alessandra Russo heads to the UN hoping for a piece of the action, but soon becomes entangled in controversy and suspicion when ben Yusef singles her out for attention among all other reporters. As Alessandra begins digging into ben Yusef's past, she is already in more danger than she knows—and when she is falsely accused of murder during her investigation, she is forced to flee New York.
On the run from unknown enemies, Alessandra finds herself on the trail of a global conspiracy and a story that could shake the world to its foundations. Is Demiel ben Yusef the Second Coming or the Antichrist? The truth may lie in the secret history of the Holy Family, a group of Templars who defied the church, and a mysterious relic stained with the sacred blood of Christ Himself.
Reporter Allesandra Russo is covering the trial of Demiel ben Yusef, a man called both the world's most dangerous terrorist and a man of peace and miracles. After ben Yusef singles her out, however, Alessandra finds herself drawn into controversy and conspiracy. Soon, the cynical reporter is on the run from a murder charge and on the trail of a story that could shake the world to its foundations. Is Demiel ben Yusef the Second Coming or the Antichrist? The truth may lie in the secret history of the Holy Fam
Linda Stasi


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Don't look now, but France just turned hard to the left and could take the US Dollar down with it.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Video: New French Presidents Wants End to Dollar Era, Will Clash With US
Posted by Bob Reno at 7:38 AM
Labels: decline of dollar, France
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)
Breaking US Dollar Collapse News
What's Behind the Decline of the US Dollar?
This is one the of the best and simplest explanations we have seen:
The U.S. dollar's downward slide is accelerating as low interest rates, inflation concerns and the massive federal budget deficit undermine the currency. - Wall Street Journal, April 23, 2011Interestingly, the Federal Reserve is responsible for, or an active participant in all three of these factors.


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Regarding the future remakes of RSE (because yes, they will happen) I'd love it if they were to integrate some of Tabitha's anime characterization into the games and give him the depth he completely lacked in the original RSE games. I don't watch the anime all that much, but at least they made some effort to make him an individual there. In the games he was just a cookie cutter admin with copypasted dialogue (he and Matt from Aqua had the same freaking lines) and I don't want them to repeat that again.
I'm hoping that they'll go out of their way to give all the Magma and Aqua admins more characterization and individuality, but to be honest… this is Pokemon and I don't want to get my hopes up that high because I know they won't do much. Sigh. I'll still love the characters either way, but it's upsetting.
WELL they did it with HGSS, with the rocket admins, getting their own sprites. So we can all hope.
(I also feel it in my heart)
In the spirit of keeping with the anime and capitalizing off that, I think they will, unless you mean a renaming of the character. I could see them doing that for the American audience, which we often forget is primarily composed of children, specifically little boys. It would royally upset me, but I think the character will remain the same. Same goes for Shelly, though I don't think her name is in danger.
But it would be silly to change it now, the Team Magma fanbase is already there, and Nintendo would have to deal with criticism from groups complaining about them being, I don't know, discriminatory or something.
Overall I have high hopes for the RSE remakes, if Pokemon Company likes money, which I'm pretty sure they do, I'm sure they'll do it. I'm hoping for further design development, since Tabby's game design was actually kind of dull and his script was mundane. Thats one thing the anime had on the game.
Followers, submit your thoughts <3
<3 Oh why thank you
I try and post things as soon as i find them, or heart them so I don't just spam everything fuckyeahpokevillains posts, because that would be somewhat dull.
Remember, if anyone ever has submissions, send them in <3
I see someone wanted to purchase the Evil Team members. This of course leads to my next question—who do you all think would bring in the highest bid in a batchelor/ette auction?
If we go by all members, I would think Brodie because he could enter multiple times and no one would be the wiser. If…
Thank you for my new headcanon that Tabitha is auctioned off every couple months.


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Ft. Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) January 01, 2013
As Power Liens continues to expand its online directory attorneys currently use to find doctors and specialists who work on liens, they are highlighting particular practices as "Preferred Providers." These Preferred Providers are recognized for their particular expertise in the world of personal injury. Attorneys can feel at ease using Power Liens' Preferred Providers as they are trustworthy, thorough, and very knowledgeable in personal injury law.
As of December, Coast Chiropractic Center has been named one of Power Liens' newest Preferred Providers in Florida.
Dr. Troy Lomasky's Wilton Manors practice has been highlighted by Power Liens for a number of reasons. Patients at Coast Chiropractic Center can expect state of the art facilities, short wait times, and same day appointment availability. They will get personalized treatment with Dr. Lomasky directly (not an associate or staff member).
Attorneys will be working with a chiropractor with 20+ years experience working with personal injury patients and attorneys. Dr. Lomasky writes high quality medical reports that make the lawsuit process as seamless as possible. Dr. Lomasky is a Licensed and Board Certified Chiropractor. Dr. Lomasky holds a BA Degree from Brooklyn College and a Doctorate of Chiropractic degree from New York Chiropractic College.
Coast Chiropractic Center is located at 2608 N.E. 16th Ave. Wilton Manors FL, 33304. The office is located in the Wilton Manners neighborhood in Ft. Lauderdale.
Contact information for the Coast Chiropractic Center can be found at
|Source: PRWeb
Copyright©2012 Vocus, Inc.
All rights reserved


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Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS60
Review Date : Mon, 9 Jul 2007
Author : WDC Team
- Sample Photos: View sample shots of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS60
Panasonic's Lumix range is building a good reputation and the LS60 adds to this tradition
|ISO range, Image stabilisation, Easy zoom, Exposure comp
|A bit chunky, No manual option
Panasonic's Lumix range is building a good reputation and the LS60 adds to this tradition. A 6MP sensor and 3x optical zoom was fairly standard for an entry-level compact in 2007, but the wide ISO range of 100-1250 and image stabilisation set this camera apart from the crowd. It has a slightly chunky plastic body but the design and layout of the buttons is good and it feels relatively solid.
A useful feature is the exposure compensation, which allows easy correction for difficult lighting situations. The easy zoom option is a bonus too, allowing you to jump from one end of the zoom to the other with a single button push. On the downside, the 2in LCD screen is fairly small and there is no viewfinder. There is also no manual mode, but the intelligent ISO mode helps produce accurate and consistent exposures. Image quality is good although accuracy improves when using the scene modes and the intelligent ISO setting.
When buying a camera such as the LS60, you need to bear in mind that they are the manufacturers' entry-level models and they will lack certain features available on cameras with a higher price. Having said that, this model offers a good range of options for the price.


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text: This wall plaque is an embodiment of artistic beauty engulfed in the resemblance of mother nature. The color combinations utilized by the artistic has a close relevance to the nature. The portrayal of such a realistic phenomenon is depicted in a way that combines strokes and textures of a painting. The plaque does not contain complex abstractions, instead it emphasis on subtlety and simplicity in terms of designing. This design is crafted for art lovers that prefer uncomplicated art in their homes. It comes with a dimension of 26" H x 15" W.


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As of yesterday, the Skype 3G app for iPhone had been downloaded close to 5m times. As it's now early Thursday morning, that figure must have been surpassed by now—a wondrous feat, given it only launched on Sunday. [Reuters]
Skype 3G iPhone App Downloaded 5m Times
Pending approval Kat Hannaford


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Interaction design is everywhere. This blog is my moderately academic attempt to capture as many instances of interaction design as I possibly can.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
"Poorly designed user interface" will most likely never make it to a cable company's NPS survey, which is a shame, because this is precisely why I opted for no cable television over cable television provided by Comcast.
This UI is poorly designed for several reasons, such as the unnecessary amount of scrolling icons and the lack of important information like the current time. For the sake of this blog, it's important to know that it was about about 9:15am.
As you can see, Comcast's UI has provided the user with infinite scrolling… in both directions. This is problematic for several reasons:
These poor UI design choices combined with the infamously poor customer service provided by Comcast made me reassess my life enough to come to the conclusion that no TV is better than bad TV. I can only imagine how many others have arrived at this same conclusion. When will companies learn that design always matters?


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-4 is probably a very conservative estimate. Realms are most certainly clusters of servers, though they almost certainly are not the rack mount Dell kit you'd look at on their website.
I'd guess they have a mixture of databases for things like auction house transactions, bank contents, persistent character data storage, mailbox functions, etc. Then the live world likely runs on a cluster of machines which handle mob behavior, spawning, resource spawning, arbitrating combat, etc. Its pretty well understood from observation that instances seem to run independently of both Azeroth and Outland which also pretty clearly run independently of each other.
Whether the servers load balance population based on zone location within the larger grouping of Azeroth and Outland is anyones guess, and which zones are grouped together is likely based more on average populations than "geographical proximity" on the map.
The key to running a server farm the size of Blizzards and keeping the most people the most happy the largest percentage of the time is spreading the load evenly.
This brings an interesting question up for those realms currently experiencing queues, namely would logging out in a low population area such as Desolace net you a shorter queue or is population for that controlled on a realm level?


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Full size version is only available to registered users
Please Register as a New User or Login as Existing User to gain full access to all the photos on this site. Registration is quick and completely free.
Unregistered users can only view full size photos that have been added this month.
Steve Ramsden - last route of the day
© raddo, Feb 2008
Problem: Technical Master Left-hand
Camera used: Nikon D40x


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After a bumpy plane ride down to Haiti recently, a team from Covenant Day School arrived in the city of Jérémie to partner with El Shaddai Ministries.
Under the leadership of high school Bible teacher Clifford Chin, they also built an aquaponics system to help feed the hungry.
Last November, Covenant Day's greenhouse project – known as This Green Fish – was flourishing with had 50 tilapia and several varieties of vegetables. To prepare for the possibility of scarce materials in Haiti, Chin's class built a new prototype using whatever materials they had available, like concrete, wood, or barrels.
In Haiti, they found IBC containers, which worked perfectly. After purchasing the tanks, the team found a location and began set-up. They also brought an aquaponics manual that a student had translated into French.
"Most people bring down food, and that's good for five days," said senior Carly Starnes. "But we're trying to give them something that'll sustain them."
Aquaponics technology is alluring. Just up the road, they found a chicken farm that wanted to do aquaponics, too.
"We actually convinced (the farm) to move their prototype down by the school where they could integrate it into the educational system," said Chin, 57, who lives in Monroe with his wife and two children. "We're going to teach them to build one – we're not going to go in there and build them all. We want them to embrace it, see the value of it and then carry on themselves."
During the one-week mission trip in April, Chin's team did as much as possible to get the aquaponics system started. Then in June, a second team from Covenant Day went down to finish the job.
"We were able to get the system up and running with only some minor snags along the way, most of which involved leaks in pipes and tanks," said chemistry teacher Rusty Randles, 36, who lives in Matthews with his wife, Kristen, and three kids. "We added some ammonia to the system to 'jump start' the nitrogen cycle in preparation for adding fish."
They also trained a local man and set him up with an iPad to monitor the system. He plans to email weekly data back so they can help him if problems arise. Then they met with math and science teachers from the local high school, explaining how the system works and how to incorporate aquaponics into their curriculum.
"So far, I would say the reception has been cautiously optimistic," said Randles. "Naturally, they are excited about the prospects of the possibilities of the technology, but they're waiting to see how it works in reality. The teachers that we worked with were very curious and asked great questions."
Because Covenant Day sends a team to Haiti every year, they get to see how their projects impact the people.
"Last year we planted Moringa trees, and they've really embraced them and started a program to grow the trees and take them to about seven other orphanages," said Chin. "We saw one orphanage plucking the leaves and putting them into the food for the orphans."
The mission teams also brought more than 200 shoes for the orphans, purchased more goats, taught Vacation Bible School classes, and trained teachers.
"The people were really excited just having us there," said Chin. "Sometimes you wonder whether it's worth the money to go down there and serve, but it brings them so much encouragement just having people come and work alongside them. That's what our desire is – to teach them things that will make a difference in the way they live."
Serving in Haiti also lets students experience a different culture.
"Everything moves a lot slower there, but in a good way," said senior Drew Pierce. "Being down there, you realize what's actually valuable and not just fluff. It's about how you treat people and interact with people and show love."
With all the attention aquaponics technology is having – and because of the impact they've had so far – Covenant Day could expand their program.
"We could potentially be taking it to a couple different countries," said Megan Holt, the director of communications and marketing.
And that's the hope – to spark interest and partnership with other missions, schools and businesses.
Deanna Morono is a freelance writer. Have a story idea for Deanna? Email her at email@example.com.
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