text:
28, 2001
VICA competes in regional competition
last week
Last Thursday, VICA went to the regional competition at Lanier
Tech in Gainesville.
There are many different ways to compete.
The three members who participated were Jennifer Helms, Kimmie
Barrett and Jean Johnson. They all went for different contests.
Jennifer Helms participated in a prepared speech and was awarded
third place.
Kimmie Barrett placed second in Basic Healthcare Skills. She
will also go on to compete in state competition.
In the past, VICA has had two members to win at state.
Jean Johnson was the state parliamentarian and gave out awards
to winners at the competition.
Jonathan Pou - a standout Raider
Meet one of MCHS's standout Raiders - Jonathan Pou. Jonathan,
who is a junior, has an amazing amount of dedication and pride
in his school.
You may recognize Jonathan from his Friday night football games
back in the fall. He starred as #11, our outstanding quarterback,
and also played free-safety.
"It was great. People doubted us, the Journal had us going
5-5, and not having a miracle season, but we played as a team,
had some great coaching, got things done, and we made it 10-0,"
Jonathan commented on the season.
A football jersey is not the only uniform with a number 11 on
it that Jonathan owns. In the spring, he pulls out his baseball
jersey and doesn't put it up until after summer ball season is
over. After being promoted to the Varsity squad his sophomore
year, Jonathan, or "Pou" to close friends, contributes
to the team as second baseman. He was known for his great defense
skills on the field.
"I'm really excited about this year's team. We have a really
good chance of making it to state," he said.
As if Jonathan is not already busy enough with his football and
baseball practices, conditioning and games, there are still the
academics. His morning classes are the ones that have given him
a heavy homework load - ACP U.S. History, and ACP American Literature
and Composition. Jonathan finished the day out with Food Services
and his favorite class - Coach Hybl's weightlifting class.
After school hours, Jonathan participates in NHS and FCA, not
to mention being very active at Moon's Grove Baptist Church.
When all homework, practices, club meetings, and church events
are finished, Jonathan likes to play paint ball with the guys.
He added, "I also enjoy spending time at my second home,
watching TV with my favorite lineman Brandon Hayes and his family."
So what about his real home?
Good question, easy answer.
Jonathan is truly a family man, and it shows. He does what he
can around the house for his mom, and shares his love of sports
with his dad.
"My mom and dad are very supportive with sports and my school
work. Even though my dad travels a lot, he always tries to schedule
his work around my football and baseball schedule so he can make
it to the games. It's very important that he's in the stands
when I play," he said.
His newlywed sister, Ashley, and brother-in-law, Tim Drake, are
also very important in Jonathan's life.
Now that you have met Jonathan, you are sure to agree that he
stands out when taking a look down Raider halls. He has helped
carry our football team to a spectacular undefeated season, has
goals of making state for his baseball team, keeps his academics
high above the rest, and still stays close to the family he loves.
Jonathan has become the definition of an overachiever.
Head football coach Tom Hybl praised Jonathan with words that
are shared with many others who know him, "Jon is a quality
young man, who does well in school and athletics. He is a leader
with good character and solid work ethic, which shows in his
athletic endeavors."
David Vaughn is continuously busy
If a typical high school senior is supposed to slack off and
take it easy all year, then David Vaughn is not your typical
high school senior.
David enjoys keeping busy, and with his fourth year as a varsity
soccer player about to get under way, David knows that maintaining
his already perfect physique will be the key to the team's success
this year and spends some of his free time working out at the
YMCA. In addition to soccer, David is currently pursuing a vocational
diploma as well as taking a Diversified Cooperative Training
class (DCT), where he has to be at the school every morning at
7:25 a.m.
In addition to school, David is employed at R and D Exterior
Products where he operates a forklift and repairs broken toys.
He also takes time during his busy day to teach Tae-Bo and basic
training to all ages at the YMCA and occasionally enters marathons
for competitive reasons. David recently competed in a marathon
in Hawaii where he finished 10,548 in a field of 28,000.
"While I was running, I had to keep reminding myself that
it was all mental and that I could finish," Vaughn said.
After graduation, David plans to attend Emmanuel College and
pursue a career in Exercise Science.
"David is a really great friend. He can always make me smile
and we make a great team at volleyball," said Lori Moon.
Death of a champion
The fatal crash of seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt
on the final lap of the Daytona 500 devastated the world of NASCAR.
Earnhardt died when he crashed his Chevrolet Monte Carlo into
the wall entering turn four at the Daytona International Speedway.
By losing Earnhardt, NASCAR didn't just lose the best driver
stock car racing had ever seen, it also lost its heart and soul.
Earnhardt was more than a racing champion, he was a father, friend
and devoted husband.
Born with a foot of lead and nerves of steel, Earnhardt began
his racing career on the dirt tracks of North Carolina. While
driving on short tracks, he developed his risky and bold style
of racing which defined his career in order to win races and
pay bills with the prize money. At the age of 22, he took over
driving his dad's car and made enough of a name for himself that
he earned a NASCAR ride, and in 1979 was the Winston Cup Rookie
of the Year. The following year he won his first Winston Cup
Championship. Seventy-six wins, 676 races and six championships
later, Earnhardt became a living legend to NASCAR and its fans.
Everyone who knew of the "Intimidator" has a story
to tell. Whether it is of his famous "pass in the grass,"
his numerous victories, or his only trip to victory lane, at
the Daytona 500 after so many second-place finishes and almosts,
each story is unique and cherished.
"My fondest memory was when Earnhardt won the Daytona 500
for the first time. I can remember the joy on his face when he
climbed up on the top of his #3 Chevy," said junior Kelli
A man who walked away from his numerous crashes in his racing
career and who seemed bullet-proof could not walk away from last
Sunday's crash. Earnhardt leaves behind family, adoring fans
and a legacy that will live forever in the hearts of many.
"Dale Earnhardt was truly a competitive spirit that made
racing exciting to watch. He will be sorely missed," said
senior Jonathon Cole.
Celebrating FFA
The week of Feb. 12 -16 was "Celebrate National FFA Week."
All week long there were activities planned to get the students
involved in FFA.
On Monday, students had a chance to guess the weight of a rabbit
during lunch. Tuesday, as you walked down the hall you saw camouflage
- it was camouflage and "guess the weight of the pig"
Overalls were everywhere on Wednesday as students participated
in Overall Day and tried to guess the number of seeds in a jar.
Thursday was FFA jacket and "guess the weight of the calves"
Friday was everybody's favorite day of the week. The annual Milk
Chugging Contest was held during all four lunch shifts.
It was also FFA t-shirt day.
All the winners of the daily contests got prizes and the milk-chugging
winner got a steak dinner provided by the FFA.
It was a fun-filled week for everyone involved.
College without scholarships would be no college
at all
As the end of the year nears, seniors begin the long process
of choosing a postsecondary school. With the decision many students
have to consider how to pay for furthering their education. Financial
aid is an important part of attending college. Some schools have
high tuition, and these fees can be out of reach to the students
who do not have help with the costs. The stress of balancing
full-time college classes and a job to pay for them have considerably
damaged the person's grades and job.
Many scholarships are offered through companies and programs.
Students have access to these scholarships through their school
counselors and Internet connections. High school seniors can
apply for scholarships and by meeting the requirements they can
be rewarded as much money for college as the company or program
sees fit or designates.
Some scholarships are designed for certain colleges or programs
of study. Companies, like Farm Bureau, designate awards for agricultural-bound
students. Other companies, like Jackson EMC, award scholarships
for certain colleges like Gainesville College. Many programs
award students capital for being actively involved in their school
and community. Seniors involved in leadership activities are
eligible for other scholarships and grants.
Web sites such as www.fastweb.com give seniors the opportunity
to receive daily e-mail notices when a scholarship has become
available to them. FastWeb and many other sites offer a form
to fill out based on the student's personal information. This
form allows the company to narrow down the list of available
scholarships to fit each person.
The key to finding the financial help needed is to start early
and find what is best for you. Students should be encouraged
to learn more about the money it takes to attend a post-secondary
school. Applying for scholarships, financial aid, and student
loans can help out with the rising cost of colleges and technical
Y-Club visits pediatrics
Y-Club always stays busy. Every month they have a school and
a community project.
There are chairpersons for each project area. Melissa Austin
is the community project chairperson. This is an important job,
because she is in charge of coming up with ideas for new projects
each month. The January community project was visiting children
in the pediatric ward of St. Mary's Hospital.
Prior to the trip to the hospital, several Y-Club members prepared
goody bags to give to the kids in pediatrics. Y-Club members
then left after school one day to go to the hospital. When they
got to the pediatrics ward there were no kids there, so they
left the goody bags for kids who will be coming into pediatrics
in the future.
"Although we didn't get to talk to any little kids, I am
sure that the goody bags will be a nice welcoming gift for kids
coming into pediatrics, and that in itself gives me an awsome
feeling inside because it will ease their fear of the hospital,"
Melissa said.
If you have any ideas for community projects, or if you have
an organization that could use a little community help, please
contact the Y-Club. All suggestions would be appreciated.
A new addition to MCHS
Mr. Stanley Pruitt is a welcome new addition at MCHS. This is
his first year teaching.
Mr. Pruitt, who worked in his own construction business for the
past 20 years, decided to find more time to spend with his family.
Teaching enables him to share holidays, spring break, and summers
with his wife Kathy, who is the curriculum director for Madison
County Schools, and his children. His son, Thad, is a freshman
at MCHS, and his daughter, Priscilla, is a fourth grader at Danielsville
When asked about how he feels about teaching, Mr. Pruitt said,
"I enjoy my job. I love every minute of it."
A student of Mr. Pruitt's, sophomore Josh Chandler, said, "He's
a cool teacher who enjoys working with his students."
MainStreet Newspapers, Inc.
PO Box 908, 33 Lee Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549
Telephone: (706) 367-5233 Fax: (706) 367-8056
® Copyright 2000 MainStreet Newspapers,
Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright / Terms / Privacy


text:
The 36¾ mile Norwich & Brandon Railway, incorporated in 1844, backed by George & Robert Stephenson and built by Grissell and Peto, opened as the Norfolk Railway with a double track line on 30th July 1845. It made an end-on connection at Brandon with the Eastern Counties Railway, which had extended it's route from Shoreditch to Newport, Essex northwards via Cambridge and Ely on the same day. At Norwich, services terminated at Trowse until the Swingbridge was completed on the 15th December 1845 from when through services commenced between London, Norwich and Great Yarmouth, calling at Wymondham.
For the townsfolk of Wymondham, the coming of the railway was a huge event, coming at the height of the so-called "Railway Mania" (not unlike the dot.com boom of the late 1990s) ending the market towns rural isolation and paving the way for the growth of industry to supplement the predominantly agricultural rural economy. The Railway telegraph arrived - in it's day just as important in the communication of information as the internet has become in recent years. And there was also "Railway Time" as clocks were coordinated across the country.
Growth continued with the opening of the branch line from Wymondham to Dereham - now the 'Mid-Norfolk Railway' - on 15th February 1847, and later with it's extensions to Fakenham and Wells. In 1862, Wymondham became part of the giant Great Eastern Railway Company (which amalgamated many of the smaller companies) and whose initials "GER" can still be seen today in our platform seats and canopy brackets. Wymondham became a railway
crossroads on 2nd May 1881 when the 6¾ mile line to Forncett, on the direct Norwich to London line via Ipswich was opened.
The station building circa.1890 - horse-drawn cabs wait outside
In 1923, in an attempt to stem financial losses, the GER became part of the London and North Eastern Railway (one of the 'Big Four' railway companies covering the whole country) until railway nationalisation in 1948 created "British Railways". And in the 1990s, the railways were privatised once more with the end of "British Rail" and the creation of 25 Train Operating Companies (TOCs) to run trains with Railtrack owning and operating the infrastructure. Now, most of the UKs TOCs are owned by just four big multinational companies. Train services at Wymondham Station are currently provided by Greater Anglia and East Midlands Trains, whilst the track and signalling infrastructure is owned by Network Rail.
At one time, Wymondham was provided with a staff of more than 50 "railway servants". There were station porters, shunters, goods clerks, ticket office staff, signalmen, permanent way (track) men, lampmen, carters, refreshment room staff, locomotive drivers, firemen and guards all based at Wymondham and presided over by the Station Master - at one time one of the most important figures in the town.
The station staff, circa.1890. the young boy in the centre would have been the 'lad porter'
While wages were not that good, the railway was seen as secure employment and for many, working on the railway became a family tradition. For many businesses, the railway opened up new markets with goods being despatched across the country from Wymondham and industries attracted to set up in the town. The railway was then a "common carrier" which meant that it carried anything and everything. If you wanted to send a goat to Inverness you just took it down to the station! And of course, goods arrived into the town too - the price of coal dropped when the railway opened because it was so much easier and cheaper to transport it in a railway wagon than by horse and cart.
The railway become a vital supply line for the town, never more so than in the two world wars, when there was heavy miltary traffic on Wymondham's railways. But after 1945, the inexorable rise of the motor car and improvements in the road system signalled the start of decline of the railways' predominant role in the in the distribution of goods and people. The line from Wymondham to Forncett was closed to passengers in 1939 at the outbreak of war, and goods traffic was withdrawn in 1951 - a short stub remained at Wymondham which was used by Kings Scrap Metal for dismantling and storing redundant railway rolling stock. The decline of the railways' fortunes continued into the 50s and 60s. Despite reduction to single track in June 1965 and economies in train working, the Wymondham-Dereham line closed to passengers in October 1969 although freight traffic continued until June 1989. Through the efforts of dedicated enthusiasts and volunteers, the line was never lifted and survives today as the Mid Norfolk Railway.
A BRCW unit crosses a Cravens DMU on 21st March 1979 Photo © Mark Dufton
Meanwhile, Wymondham station gradually lost most of it's through trains to London over the years and by January 1967 was left with a stopping service between Norwich and Cambridge on a route marketed as "The Breckland Line". As the freight and goods workings disappeared so did the staff required and on 6th March 1967, Wymondham station was destaffed completely (except for the signalman) and the "Paytrain" concept was introduced with tickets being sold on board the trains. Happily, after nearly 40 years, this trend was reversed with the opening of a new ticket sales point at Wymondham station, but was closed again in April 2011.To read a more detailed account of the way train services have changed along the line over the years, especially in more recent times, click here.
A 3 Car Met-Cam DMU Paytrain at Wymondham in 1983. Photo © David & Alan Hook.
W.H. Smiths had a bookstall on Platform 2 at Wymondham (a sub-stall of Norwich) from Great Eastern Railway days up until 7th January 1968. Newspapers printed in London were despatched overnight by dedicated 'Paper Trains', the bundles dropped off for Smiths at the station, and then daily newspaper deliveries were made locally from there. We are indebted to the Archivist at W.H.Smiths for the information and the provision of the photograph of the Wymondham Bookstall, which although undated, seems to be from the early 1950s.
The original 1845 station building on platform one (the Norwich platform) happily survived through all the railways good and bad years, but after destaffing, began to fall into a sad state of disrepair. Fortunately, local businessman David Turner saw it's potential and in the late 1980s negotiated a lease with British Rail's Property Board on the whole station. Gradually, and with a lot of hard work, the building was brought back to life, culminating in the beautifully restored and decorated building housing his Brief Encounter Refreshment Room & Restaurant, David Turner Pianos, and his railwayana collection. The Brief Encounter Restaurant was officially opened in October 1989 by Dad's Army star Bill Pertwee. Ten years later, a large anniversary celebration was held, featuring the famous Flying Scotsman locomotive. All the time and effort put by David Turner into the restoration work, and into the maintenance and upkeep of the buildings and the floral displays were rewarded with the station winning a number of prizes over the years in both regional and national competitions. In 2006, the station was awarded the ultimate accolade, being named "Small Station of the Year" at the National Rail Awards. You can read more about "The Brief Encounter Restaurant" further down this page.
David Turner took a well-earned retirement in February 2011, after 23 years at the Station, and sold his railwayana collection. The catering business continues under new ownership, trading as the Station Bistro.
David Turner tends to spring flowers at Wymondham Station (Picture: EDP)
Wymondham is a growing town these days, and eleven years ago, under sponsorship from the former Strategic Rail Authority and Anglia Railways, the Norwich to Cambridge train service was enhanced to an approximately hourly frequency and with a new 90 space car park to cope with the numbers of commuters travelling daily to Norwich, Cambridge and London, Wymondham station has, happily, undergone a revival in its fortunes. We hope you can visit us very soon and look forward to welcoming you to Wymondham Historic Railway Station.
Click 'Play' above for a 4 minute video history of Wymondham Historic Railway Station
In 1959, British Transport Films produced a series of staff instructional films for British Railways entitled 'Diesel Train Driver' which were shown to rail staff involved with the change from steam to diesel traction. One of these films, focusing on fault-finding on the then still relatively new diesel multiple unit trains, was made, in part, at Wymondham, and some still frames from the film are shown below.
Left: The driver has left his cab to find out what is wrong with the supposedly stricken train. Note the gas lamp and the platform flat trolley, used for parcels and light goods as well as mail bags and newspapers. The wagon in the (still extant) siding in the foreground appears to contain flints, which were still being sent away by rail from local sources at this time. The train is a (built at) Derby unit - ten of this type were based at Norwich in 1959. The train has been cleaned to an exceptionally high standard for the 'filming job'.
Right: A more general view of the platforms. Note that the train doesn't have the so-called speed whiskers on the front, but that the cab roof is painted white - not entirely practical, but it looks good in a black and white film!
Left: A fine study of the driver (in immaculate uniform for the filming of course!), showing the junction for the Dereham line, which was still double track at that time, and Wymondham South Junction signalbox. The line directly behind the signalbox contains the coaling stage and pit - both steam and later diesel locomotives were serviced here, although Wymondham never had an engine shed.
In the film, the driver is required to liase with the signalman and is seen climbing the steps up to the box and then, in this shot, conversing with the signaller - whose uniform buttons are also exceptionally shiny!
Left: The train is shown in the sidings next to the Goods Shed. This bay platform was not generally used for passenger trains, and indeed the rear carriage is not actually adjacent to the platform edge.
Right: The rear carriage is clearly seen on the angled centre road, with the driver climbing into his cab. Immediately on the other side of the train was the wagon turntable, used to turn wagons through 90° to access the goods shed. In the distance, the railway cottages and the former station master's house, behind the buffer stops, are little changed even today.
You can view the complete film on YouTube
Today fast trains take us along the route from
Norwich and Wymondham to Ely,
and beyond.
The village stations with their gated crossings and Victorian signal boxes provide plenty of clues that this is a route with a history. The pine and bracken of Thetford forest and the rich fenland soil have witnessed many changes since 1845.
This is a brief guide to the stations past and present along the route – a mixture of history and obscure trivia.
Click Here
(Information supplied by the Peterborough-Ely-Norwich Rail Users Group)
A vanished scene from Brirtish Rail days 25 years ago. On an early summer day, diesel locomotive 37040 brings the mixed freight from North Elmham and Dereham into Wymondham, stopping outside the signalbox to return the single line token. Note the Guard riding in the brakevan. The train shunts back into the down sidings and deposits the brakevan, before moving out onto the main line and setting back ready to move into the up sidings. Later, having left the Dereham wagons in the up sidings and collected some cement tanks, and then returned to the down sidings to reattach the brakevan, the loco powers out of the yard and away through the station towards Norwich, leaving a trail of exhaust fumes. The video also includes brief shots of the interior of Wymondham Signalbox, and glimpses of Met Cam and Cravens DMUs on local stopping services.
From October 1989 until February 2011, the catering outlet at Wymondham Station traded as 'The Brief Encounter Restaurant', under the ownership of David Turner. With it's wonderful home cooked lunches, morning coffees and afternoon cream teas - all could be enjoyed in the surroundings of the beautifully restored and decorated original station building, built in 1845.
Brief Encounter was voted as one of the UK's Top Ten Station Eateries in May 2009 by The Guardian newspaper.
The Brief Encounter Restaurant and the Wymondham Station Ticket Office were jointly awarded 1st Prize as "Best Station Retail Outlet" at the 2008 Community Rail Awards.
The Restaurant was featured on ITV1s "Tales from the Country" in 2008 - click 'play' below to see a short excerpt from the programme.
The 'Brief Encounter Restaurant' at Wymondham station was shortlisted for the "Best Station Buffet" award at the 2007 Community Rail Awards. Here's what the Judges said:
"The Brief Encounter café at Wymondham Station typifies a fantastic mix of business entrepreneurialism and commitments to the local community. The proprietor David Turner's efforts have been recognised previously for his contribution in the caring for the station, with superb floral displays and the immaculately kept station building. The Brief Encounter is a thriving catering business with an excellent reputation for its food and is the catalyst for everything that is good about the station."
The Restaurant paid homage to one of the most fondly remembered classic British romantic films of all time, Noel Coward's "Brief Encounter".
Released in 1946, and directed by David Lean, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard starred as the two strangers who fall in love after meeting accidentally in the refreshment room at a railway station. Unfortunately, both are already married - but their romance blossoms over the tea and cakes! There were many still photographs from the film on display, together with lots of interesting items connected with it.
The Brief Encounter Restaurant was visited by a number of well-known names from the world of entertainment over the years. The official opening ceremony was performed by Bill Pertwee (Mr. Hodges in "Dads Army") and more recently stars such as Dora Bryan, Su Pollard, Rita Tushingham, Virginia McKenna, Sylvia Syms and Shirley-Anne Field have visited, in connection with personal appearances in Wymondham when their films have been shown at "The Regal Experience". You can find details
here. A guest in April 2008 was the much-loved comedy actress June Whitfield, star of Absolutely Fabulous. In 2010, both former politician and now TV presenter Michael Portillo and the late actress Susannah York visited Wymondham Station.
'Recently I went to a small railway museum at Helensville, New Zealand. The enthusiasm of the man there reminded me of going to your station and refreshment rooms during my visit to Wymondham a year ago. On my return from NZ I decided to look your website up and remember with great joy the lovely time I had in Norfolk. I was taken to your station by a friend from Hethersett. We loved the fresh daffodils on the tables. Thanks for the wonderful memories from your website too'. - Ruth Duncan, Australia by e-mail 17/3/09
'I enjoyed enormously my visit to Wymondham Station on a recent stay with friends near Norwich. I was impressed by the cleanliness and ambience and of course the 'Brief Encounter'. I live in Trowbridge, the county town of Wiltshire, and our main line station is a sorry comparison with your delightful one'. -
Peter Bubb by e-mail 19/11/08
'Just wanted to praise you on an excellent meal that myself and my family enjoyed when visiting you yesterday (table 3); the food was excellent and the atmosphere wonderful.' - Darren Rose by e-mail 13/8/07
'I would just like to add my name to the list of manypeople who have expressed their appreciation of the beautiful andevocative Brief Encounter Restaurant and enjoyed a delicious meal.' -
Virginia McKenna, Actress and Wildlife Campaigner, by e-mail 10/9/07
Actress Virginia McKenna joined David Turner at the Brief Encounter Restaurant on Sunday 9th September 2007.
Return to top of page
www.wymondham-station.com website is operated independantly by Wymondham Station Adopters and not by Abellio Greater Anglia or East Midlands Trains. Information and links are shown for the benefit both of customers using the businesses based at the station and travellers using the train services calling there.
Return to top of page
www.wymondham-station.com website is operated independantly by Wymondham Station Adopters and not by Abellio Greater Anglia or East Midlands Trains. Information and links are shown for the benefit both of customers using the businesses based at the station and travellers using the train services calling there.
Wymondham Station 1910
Shunting a carriage with horses
A GER loco on an up train pulls in past the WH Smith's bookstall
Staff at the Goods Shed
The Annual Outing of The Briton Brush Factory
The WH Smiths Bookstall which was located on Platform Two, probably pictured in the 1950s (Photo: Courtesy of the WH Smith Archive)
Class 31 Diesel loco 31314 heads the 18.10 Norwich to Birmingham through the station on
16th July 1978 (Photo: Courtesy of A. Moore)
Wymondham Station today with a train departing for Norwich
View of the junction and signalbox 20th June 1977. At this time the junction for Dereham was still two tracks, feeding into the single line. (Photo: Courtesy of A. Moore)
The London train - until relatively recently, a lmited through, but not very fast service was maintained from Norwich to Liverpool Street on the original route from Norwich to London via Wymondham and Cambridge. Although this through service no longer exists, ordinary tickets from Norwich to London
still valid via the original 1846 route! Class 47 diesel loco 47003 heads the 18.50 Norwich to Liverpool Street through the station on 16th July 1978. (Photo: Courtesy A Moore)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mara is my go-to when it comes to generating a BIG BUZZ online and then turning it into REAL MONEY in the bank. From just 1 (of the many) simple campaigns Mara helped us engineer, we achieved a whopping 1,551% ROI! Her strategies are HOT, MONETIZABLE, and set up for ROI in every capacity!
Suzanne Evans
Since meeting Mara we've done over $100k in one month from Facebook alone and our opt-in's are going through the roof!
Shanda Sumpter
CEO and Owner / HeartCore Business
Using just several of the strategies Mara shared with us has helped us to exponentially improve our business. Our prospective client pipeline is now constantly and consistently full, and we are now closing on contracts with new clients each and every week!
James Guldan
Mara is wise beyond her years. In just a few short months coaching with her she has made a huge impact on my business. Her "Cut the Crap" approach is refreshingly honest. Other coaches will sugar coat advice or tell you what you want to hear. Not Mara. She asks probing questions to get to the heart of a situation and then BAM, she hits you on the forehead with the solution. Mara's marketing knowledge and experience is exceptional and she has easily redirected some of my efforts to create positive results. She really know how to light a fire under me when needed. If you're considering hiring a Business Coach you must talk to Mara Glazer before making a decision.
Jeff Dettmer
Outrageous Marketing Products
We implemented some things that we learned from Mara and we have landed 2 HUGE Clients for us that will make 2012 our most profitable year ever.
Robert Kraus
President / Express Short Sales
When I launched my business, Lauren David Style, I called Mara because I knew I needed help generating sales from my website. The first offer I made was for a allergen free food survival kit and I created 100 kits that I wanted to sell. Mara told me exactly how to set up my offer page, including what needed to be included on the page and where to put it, and also gave me some tips about how to drive traffic to that page. In under 2 weeks, with a very small list, I SOLD OUT! Thank you Mara for helping me use my website to bring more cash into my business.
Lauren Wuscher
President / Lauren David Style
I really have to thank Mara and her strategies for all of the success that I've seen in my business. Running a videography business isn't easy, especially if you are trying to beat out the competition. But using her sales tactics, I was able to work with the Philadelphia Eagles, Merrell Shoes, AAA and even the White House all within my first 90 days of working with her.
Zephan Blaxberg
Owner / ZMBmedia
Mara and her No BS strategies have change my life. In just two short months after joining her program, I doubled my list, QUADRUPLED my income, made back the entire investment in her program, and had already accomplished the dreams that, previously, seemed so far off. I feel I have a clear path to reach my goals now and am finally confident that I can achieve them. She is a first-class strategist, a bucket full of brilliant ideas, and kick ass coach to boot!
Amanda Goldman-Petri
Owner and founder / www.virtualassistantamanda.com
Mara's been a huge help in growing my bridal store and wedding planning business with online marketing. Her training has helped me increase my online presence which I have been able to track to more sales in my business. What I love is that she's given me great ideas I hadn't ever thought to try that have resulted in us generating more sales. I've been passing her name along to all of my other business friends so they can learn from her too.
Bridgette Nussle Moore
President / K & B Bridal


text:
Castile soap recipes main ingredient is olive oil. These olive oil soap recipes are named 'Castile' for the region in Spain where this type of soap originated from.
We define Castile soap as an olive oil based soap, that is where olive oil is the main ingredient. Certain companies and
soap makers call any soap that has over 40% olive oil a 'Castile' soap.
They are many definitions of what is REAL castile soap and some feel that Castile means it is 100% olive oil. I read that Castile soap (spelled with a capital C) is made with olive oil and castile soap (spelled with a lower case c) adds vegetable fats.
Certain people also call olive oil soaps with a small percentage of other oils bastile soaps.
I am not going to be a purist or share opinions either way!!!
Read the labels of your soaps and they will indicate very
easily if the main ingredient is olive oil or not. Castile soaps with 100% olive oil will not produce fluffy lather or big bubbles. These soaps are super gentle and wonderful for baby soap. Some Castile soaps feel a little slimy and they need to be kept as dry as possible between uses.
For the purpose of talking and learning more about Castile soaps, we wanted to simply share simple recipes that have olive oil as the main ingredient (at least 80%).
Please note that Castile soap should get a longer cure time, 4 to 6 months is suggested and the lather is lower when your main ingredient is olive oil, the longer is cures the better it lathers.
Here is a favorite Castile soap recipe that I use a a facial soap: Charcoal Castile Soap.
I use castor oil to add that extra lathering effect. I also find that Castile soaps are softer so I add a tablespoon of beeswax at trace to harden the bar.
Olive- Coconut
Fats, oils and butters
Lye – Water solution
Fats, oils and butters
Lye – Water solution
Olive - Shortening
Fats, oils and butters
Lye – Water solution
Olive- Castor
Fats, oils and butters
Lye – Water solution
Olive Pomace
Fats, oils and butters
Lye – Water solution
Scent and additives at light trace
These Castile soap recipes makes about 2 pounds of soap which will produce about 6-7 bars of natural soap.
Cold process soap making instructions can be found by clicking here.
Note that your ingredients for this natural soap recipe need to be weighted, not measured.
Leave Castile Soap Recipes and go to Homepage
Go to Soap Recipes


text:
A perfect Sunday at Hampton with good music, good wine and food.
SOUTH-EAST Queensland's very best growers, chefs and artists will be on show this weekend at the annual Hampton Festival to be held this Sunday.
THERE were plenty of delectable delights for the masses as a huge crowd converged on the town of Hampton for the 2014 Hampton Festival.


text:
Building France Paris Center Pompidou Architecture
If it is helpful to you, please share with your friends. Our team was selected carefully before show at here. In addition, you can also thank for them by inviting them one cup of Coffee.
The maximum dimension of picture 4223×2805 pixels, you can download with JPEG format. This image was shooting by Nikon D300 camera with shooting mode 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 - 56.0mm · ƒ/5.6 · 1/125s · ISO 200. Archived in the category "Architecture/Buildings" and our moderator was tagged: Paris, Architecture, France, Center Pompidou, Building.
License to use Creative Commons Zero - CC0. You are free to use for many purposes without worrying issues licenses because this photo is TRUE FREE. We just want you to back a referral link to Max Pixel (optional).
Our team would like to recommend to you a few photos related:
|Image type
Link referral required


text:
Career Center
Job Seekers, Welcome to CVMUFL Career Center
The job you tried to view is no longer active.
See similar jobs below or perform a new job search.
See similar jobs below or perform a new job search.
Sort By
2,465 'relief OR emergency OR veterinarian OR in OR st OR louis OR STATECODE:"MO"' Jobs
St Louis, Missouri
Animal Emergency Clinic
4 Days Ago
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis Veterinary Center
1 Month Ago
Chesterfield, Missouri
BluePearl Veterinary Partners
4 Days Ago
St. Louis, Missouri
Veterinary Specialty Services - St. Louis, MO
1 Month Ago
Columbia, Missouri
My Zoo Animal Hospital c/o Burzenski & Company, P.C.
2 Weeks Ago
Ellisville, Missouri
Manchester West Veterinary Hospital
4 Weeks Ago
St. Louis, Missouri
Yorkshire Animal Hospital
3 Weeks Ago
various locations statewide, Missouri
3 Days Ago
Joplin, Missouri
Emergency Pet Center of the 4 States
2 Months Ago
Independence, Missouri
Jackson County Animal Hospital
2 Months Ago
St. Joseph, Missouri
Twin Pines Animal Clinic
1 Month Ago
Powered By


text:
Return To www.bpclips.com Front Page!
Remember, any credit you buy can be used on all bpclips.com and www.bpclips.com studios!
[*********** -ren series 5-]
a man is captured in mummy sack.
the sack does not let the air through.
he can breathe from 2 tubes.
finally, he is covered with 3 mummy sacks.
the multi layered sack restrains him strict.
ren torments him more with a plastic bag and a vibrator.
he feels ecstasy in airless situation.
this series 'rs' is the consignments from my friend ren.
we have a friendship in 'wabi-sabi-moe' the japanese bondage website.


text: I just ordered a new Air via online store in Spain, and I was supposed to choose international English layout for the keyboard. After placing the order I suddenly forgot if I customised the keyboard or not , but only can see the specification details like: KEYBOARD/USER'S GUIDE-IEA COUNTRY KIT-IEA Starting worrying a bit, so anybody has any experiences on this? and what IEA means? Does it stand for international English or Spanish. HELP~~~


text:
From GIZMODO
"Wooden Train Dining Table Redefines Playing With Your Food"
Wow! These are a LOT of fun!
These track dining tables are amazing. The tiles lay into the table allowing for multiple designs and styles. They come in 4 seat and 6 seat styles and the train track pattern fits the seating for each. Push standard BRIO trains around or use the battery versions and have them tool around the table on their own power.
Very cleaver and a fantastic addition to a rail fan's home for sure. The tables look like they are around $3000 to $4000 dollars, so they are not cheap. Between the standard cost and the shipping, you'd have to have a love of trains AND a lot of disposable income.
They even offer an over-sized table that is perfect for a boardroom. THAT would be a nice little addition to an office. It would sure make meetings a lot more fun...and a lot less productive. ;)


text:
I'm exploring the web to find sites I like
Playa Arena Gorda Punta Cana. Dominican Republic
best hotel i have been too
Posted by: franky on Aug 19, 2014
see all reviews
#26 of 80 Hotels in Punta Cana-Bavaro
based on 17 review(s)
Located on Arena Gorda beach, one of the most beautiful places in the Dominican Republic, with fine white sand and turquoise waters. The ClubHotel Riu Bambu (all inclusive 24 hours) is perfect for your holiday live more intensely funny, always surrounded by great comfort in nature.
Share your experiences with others. Don't forget to send your review to Debbie by using an easy form.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Jean from Saskatchewan on Feb 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Feb, 2009
553 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Febuary 18 - 25
It was a fairly typical arrival....the only small problem is no signs to tell people where the buses are for those that have never been to all-inclusive hotels
adquate ....except for all the live wires that were bare as well as most electrical outlets did not work. Definatly bring an extension cord and your own blow dryer. I would love to say they blow but they dont.
Restaurants and Bars
the food was pretty decent in the buffet...the al a carts was a joke. waste of time. they take your lunch buffet where everyone comes in wet and sandy and turn it into the Italine AND the steak House. It says that they are 24 hr but they are definatly not!!! I have a toddler that was getting up very early and had to wait till 7:00 am to get breakfast..or any food for that matter. They shut down the main bar to clean it between 4-6Am but they dont offer any other place for coffee/cappicino. The service was pretty good at the buffet and the bars.
everything was clean...there was no liter anywhere...really nice to see. My daughter touched a live wire that was sticking out of the ground in the middle of the courtyard...the managers responce was to get it fixed right away and tell me it was from the x-mas ligthts????? at the end of Febuary??? to say the least I was furious!!how many other got hurt and nothing was done??
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
we went on the sunset tour which was great for the money we spent....just so everyone knows...their idea of snacks is chips and peanuts...which we liked!!!LOL! Because of our daughter we packed her life jacket which was a great idea they only had one and it was too big for her....
Over all a great vacation/wedding.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Sarah on Mar 1, 2009 >
5 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Mar, 2009
550 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Jan 10 - 17
Our arrival was a little bit chaotic but I think that was due to travelling with a large group, however the shuttle bus did try to drop us off at the Riu Taino at first. Once that was cleared and we arrived at the right hotel the welcome was great. Refreshing drinks and very friendly staff to explain everything.
Fifty-fifty chance by the sounds of things. Our junior suite (which we had because they do NOT have honey moon suites, nor jaccuzzi suites as advertised) that we booked 5 months prior was not available upon arrival, but was 2 days later, which was extreamly inconvenient considering we had wedding apparel and favours to organize and unpack (I am still fighting with SELLOFFVACATIONS & SUNQUEST VACATIONS for a discount or refund) Once we had our suite we had no problems. Clean and free of any critters, however 3 peopl in our travel group did claim to have ants...
Restaurants and Bars
A la cartes...awful. They transformed the beach restaurant from the day time into a Steak House on one half (amazing food) and the other side was Italian, which consisted of mostly seafood. (awful food) Very interesting. We ended up having our wedding dinner at the steakhouse which I never would have dreamed I would be eating steak for my wedding dinner, however it was the best meal they offered.
The buffet was relatively the same each evening food wise, but did have a theme each nite, with a small table of food serving the featured theme. (mexican, italian, chinese etc)
Beach immaculate and breath taking as always the Punta Cana beaches are. Pool- perfectly shaded from the sizzling sun, friendly energetic staff at all times. Grounds-Consistenly maintained by friendly staff
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
A few of us girls did the catamaran, awesome time, some people in our group did deep sea fishing, motor boating, etc...all were a lot of fun, although the organization from the staff on these activities were a bit scattered.
Other Comments
Over all a great vacation/wedding. The staff made it absalutly perfect with a fwe minor but expected glitches as any vacation has. Perfect for young people or large groups travelling email@example.com
The beach did make our stay almost bearable.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
yzm121 from Pennsylvania on Apr 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) United States of America
Visited on: Apr, 2009
576 people found this review helpful
Let me start by saying that we "won" this trip to the riu bambu punta cana, and even at that price, (trip tax and such), it's still not a bargain. We arrived at 11 am. 4/6/09, with a bus load of other guests and were told that our rooms wouldn't be ready until 3 pm. We were not advised that we could use the facilities which I discovered later in the day, right in the lobby to change, put on swim suits etc. So there we were wondering around until 3 pm. in our travel clothes. Advice: change in the airport! hahaha
Our room was small and old looking, 2 beds pushed together which moved apart during the night, so my husband and I just slept on one full size bed the entire stay, well that wasn't so bad, hehehe. The room had ants and the shower blew at fire hose strength so rinsing was actually painful. The air conditioning in our room fluctuated from cool to hot to humid. Oh and by the way, there are notes in your bathroom asking you to reuse your towels. Free trip right?
Restaurants and Bars
The food was so disgusting that we only ate to survive our trip. The food was all either under or over cooked, everything was mushy and unidentifiable. If you try to use salt or pepper to flavor it forget it, that doesn't have any flavor either, even fruit didn't have any taste. We thought we would be ok with breakfast, nope. Honestly I don't know how and egg that comes out of a shell can be tasteless and bacon is fried all at one time in a deep fryer so it turns into burned to ash bacon balls. The "restaurants" that you have to get up at 7 am, go to the main dining room to make your reservation for were a joke. They turn the snack bar into "the steak house \ Italian restaurant" at night. Then you're served the same uneatable food, but this time by wait staff in suits. How exciting! The drinks were acceptable but in thimble sized plastic cups and the bar was actually a treck from the beach location. no beach service. We were told that we should buy $15 ea. insulated cups.
The beach however did make it almost bearable. Beautiful white sand, crystal clear water, palm trees lots of chairs and shade if you want it. Just be firm with the people trying to sell you pictures, massages, activities unless that's what you're looking for. If you tell them NO 3 or 4 times they will give up only after telling you that they work on comission. The pool is full of screaming, running, jumping right on top of you kids! enough said about that!
Can't wait until next year.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Maureen from Windsor, Ontario on Aug 1, 2009 >
2 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Aug, 2009
609 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Apr - May 2009
When we arrived for our 9-day stay, Manney and Maximo at the front desk had the room we requested reserved for us - Room 308. The remote control was missing and the taps didn't want to shut off but these were dealt with immediately...(Canadian time).
As usual the grounds were finely manicured and the beach exquisite. We had no interest in excursions this time, our goal was to relax and have fun. I'm happy to say we achieved out goal. We had the time of our lives and can't wait to go back ... next time 14 days! The food at the Main Restaurant was exceptional, something for everyone. We ate at the Steakhouse and found their steak to be melt in your mouth delicious.
Being mature ladies we weren't too interested in the disco but the street party on Caribbean Street was a riot...right down to the lap dances I received from P. Ditty, O la la! For the most part we stayed around the pool, partook of the Water aerobics, spent time with Victor at the pool bar went to the ocean, back to the pool bar harassed the Animation Team and by then it was time to get ready for dinner. The staff Esteban, Franklin and Wilkins made sure we wanted for nothing. At one point after dinner I took out a cigarette and all three were there with lighters...haven't experienced that in thirty years!
We attended the show every evening, they are always amusing and entertaining. Francesca from the animation team was finally successful in getting me up on stage to dance who could say no to that charmer. All in all, if you want some privacy you can have it but if you want to have some fun the Animation Team makes sure you do.
Animation Muy Bien, Muy Bien Muy Bien !!! Can't wait until next year.
The Staff at this hotel work harder than anybody i have ever seen.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Ryan and Cheryl from Saskatchewan on Sep 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Sep, 2009
769 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Feb 6th to 20th 2009
Arrival was awesome. The flight was great and there is nothing better than feeling the heat and smelling the smells when you are landing in the D.R. We picked up our bags, walked outside, hopped on a bus right away and were whisked away to our hotel. Apon Arrival at the resort we were handed drinks and waited for our keys. They gave us stickers to put on our bags and we were free to go, the bags would be delivered shortly, and they were.....30 minutes TOPS!
Rooms were great. What do you really need in a room when you are on a hot holiday? if you are looking for jacuzzi's and butlers you are in the wrong place. The rooms were clean, big enough and cold....what more can you ask for? The rooms have a fridge and mini bar that were stocked every second day, or every day if you ask them and leave a little tip. I never thought we would drink very much in the room, but while people were getting ready for dinner, it was nice to have access to cold pepsi, 7-up and beer along with a 4 bottle liquor dispenser for drinks while playing cards out on the patio.
The bed was fine, it was two beds pushed together. I have read a ton of reviews about people complaining about this.....why? Use one bed to store stuff on and sleep in the other. You are on vacation, get close and cuddle a little! and if this is not what you are wanting or you are going with your family, then there ya go, you have 2 beds.
ADVICE: The only thing i can say about the rooms is, if you like fatter pillows, you may need to bring one, or request for more, as the pillows are a little flat. The other thing is, the resort does not use Fitted sheets, so if you want a sheet that will FORSURE not move around under you, you may want to bring one. For us, we don't care, but i mean.....hey, I gotta let you know what we noticed right?
Restaurants and Bars:
AWESOME. The food was unreal. I eat EVERYTHING and my wife is kind of picky. There was not any days or nights that went by that we were hungry. There is a TON of selection and the staff are amazing. Breakfast you can have fresh smoothies and omellets, and tons of other stuff. Ham and cheese sandwiches at the bar at 4:00 am is always nice too. There are ALWAYS snacks and stuff to eat from nacho's and hot dogs, to chicken and beef.
BARS: Well....this was probably the most frequently visited piece of the hotel by us. We travelled with a group of 42, so we spent alot of time at the bars. FORSURE go to the swim up bar and talk to Wilkins....he is awesome and will always help you out with drinks.
An excellent buy at this time of year.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Don from Peterborough, Ont on Nov 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Nov, 2009
1090 people found this review helpful
Arrival: Nov.12-Nov. 19 2009
We have been to the Punta Cana area 5 times. This rates in the middle. However this is the least we have ever spent. It is a 4 star,the 5 is next door at the Palace. Rooms were well a bit dated, the beds hard,and the pillows 1.5" thick and so were the replacements. Housekeeping excellant.Bartenders excellant,Buffet excellant, A la carte's were mediocre(Decor and selection) Good Luck booking as you need to get up and be in line before 7 and he only took 12 bookings?? When we got there there was 24 empty tables at the 7 sitting?? Pools were nice, a tad small,clean,but also dated. The rumour is that this place will be shut down in May 2010 for a make over.The beach as always was clean with lounge chairs available. My attempt at writing this my first review is to inform but not chase anyone away for as I stated earlier For under $600+tax it was an excellant buy at this time of year.
I would not come back to this hotel.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
Sharli from Toronto on Nov 1, 2009 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Nov, 2009
712 people found this review helpful
Arrival: November 5-12/09
Traveled with Sunquest. Departure was ok but arrival, although on time was dissapointing and dissorganized; it appears that Skyservice changed their plane at the last minute and we were not provided with turist cards, so this delayed us by one hour standing on the line in the sweltering humidity with the ceiling fans NOT working. Only when we got a provisional pass (which they collected 100 mtrs. ahead)did the fans starting to work! got to the hotel in 1/2 an hour and stood in line to get the keys to the room. We were the last ones to get a key as the room asigned to us was not ready (it was after 1pm when we arrived)
Spacious, 2 beds joint together, safe, fridge with drinks, etc; maid forgot to supply us with glasses, towells, shower rug and toilette paper. We phoned in and it took them more than an hour to bring us those. The next day she also forgot to leave us somethings. The third day, a glass bottle fell on the floor and smashed into peices. I called the front desk and asked for someone to come and clean and that the bed cover was also wet and that I need a replacement. After half hour I call again as noone came and I didnt want the floor to attract ants....the lady at the desk told me that the girl was cleaning the other floor-so they didnt seem concerned....I saw the girl cleaning the floor when she was doing our room, she took the bed cover but didnt bother to bring a new one!!! grrrrrr...and we were missing towels again...
Restaurants and Bars:
Food was very repetitive; anything involving beef was hard as a sole-we liked the fish, veggies, fruits, desserts but as soon as the desserts or fruits were running low, there was noone to come and replenish them for a while. Some people complained that if they got in for breakfast at 9:00, there was not much left to eat. Some waiters seem to be very attentive.
The beach was the best thing on this trip although it rained a lot and it was very wavy all the days we stayed there. Overall, the beach is very clean and there is lots of shade. I havent been to the pool but it is due for repairs. The whole resort is going under repair in the spring. The bar in the middle of the resort smells of sewage...yuck.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We didnt go on any tours. There was some kind of entertainment during the day but not much. The evening ones were very average and didnt care much for them.
Other Comments:
We felt that this hotel is deffinately a 3- star and NOT a 5 star! I think they dont care much as they are going to be renovated in the spring. From people that were there in the prior year, the service has gone down a lot. I would not come back to this hotel.
The entertainment staff were fun.
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
BJ from Gananoque on Jan 9, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Dec, 2009 | Leisure | With Group
1678 people found this review helpful
This was my first time to the Bambu. I have stayed at the Mambo in Puerto Plata several times and found this hotel comparable to the Mambo and Merengue. Our flight had quite a bit of turbulence so wasn't so pleasant. Skyservice seats on plane feel crowded...especially if people in front of you recline! Arrival in Punta Cana was quick and easy as was the shuttle to the resort. All went well. I had requested rooms side by side with my group of friends and everything worked out very well. There was only one request not correct and the check in guy sorted it out quickly...so off to a great start!
Rooms had two beds pushed together, which seems to be normal for RIU's. Rooms were clean and mini bar stocked every second day. The beds are very hard/uncomfortable and pillows very thin (it was the same at the Mambo so I expected that). The bathtubs need to be renovated but otherwise all was fine.
Restaurants and Bars::
Very clean! Food was buffet with lots of selection for even picky, allergic people like me. The salads were great, always pizza, fish and chicken were good. The beef is usually not great in DR. In the bars, the drinks were plentiful. Bar and restaurant staff were great fun and very friendly. Keimi in the restaurant looked after us well as did the bar staff, Wilkins/Victor/Javier at the pool/beach bar. Always remembered what we liked to drink! We didn't go to the a la cartes.
The beach was absolutely awesome and my favorite part of the trip. It was very clean and spacious. I noticed next door at the Bahia Principe, it was very crowded. We had lots of room. The ocean was rough by times but it was great fun. No rocks, shells or stones so didn't need to wear my water socks. Water was warm too! The pool was beautiful and kept very clean. We went to the swim up bar several times. The grounds are very well maintained and beautiful.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel::
The entertainment staff were fun. They had activities every day posted on the board in the lobby so lots to do if you wanted. The evening entertainment wasn't great. I found the Mambo entertainers more professional. We didn't do any tours on this trip.
Other Comments::
There is a huge flea market down the beach, about a 30 minute walk. We walked through the RIU Taino, Naiboa, and both Palaces to check out their facilities. One of the pools at the Taino is badly run down and needs to be painted and cleaned. I liked the Naiboa rooms, pool. The Naiboa isn't on the beach but it is a very short walk to the beach. Both Palace hotels are beautiful, especially the RIU Palace Punta Cana! Wow! We even walked through the Gran Bahia Principe next door and it was very nice but VERY big...too big. For the price we paid, $525 plus taxes, the Bambu was terrific. Free wireless internet in lobby too. Also found there were no mosquitos, which I found unusual. Front desk staff were friendly and helpful. Had a problem with my safe key and the guy came right over to my room to help. I would definitely go back to the Bambu again.
Big disappontment!
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by:
kelly on Jan 26, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) Canada
Visited on: Jan, 2010 | Leisure | With friend
1680 people found this review helpful
Will never return!
Your Arrival:
went smoothly, although our rooms were not ready for a few hours after our arrival
small, beds uncomfortable, cockroaches, were not even offered to have our room fumigated! We spoke to our travel rep the following day and he had to talk to them!
Restaurants and Bars:
large variety of food, lots of seafood
beach was great, pool was dirty, grounds were kept nice!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
they only played music for a short time each day, shows were good at night but a little late
Much nicer than I expected for the price!
ClubHotel Riu Bambu
Posted by: Janet
on Apr 9, 2010 >
1 contribution(s) United States of America
Visited on: Mar, 2010 | Leisure | Family and Kids
1585 people found this review helpful
We left Boston on a TNT charter flight via Miami Air. Great flight, on time both on departures and arrivals. Good cold meal snacks both ways. Pick up at the airport and arrival at the hotel was prompt.
Your Arrival:
Check in was done immediately on arrival with free in room safes.
Room were clean and maid service throughout the stay was efficient. Free mini- bars were well stocked with water, 4 kinds of alcohol and soft drinks. Staff were friendly!
Restaurants and Bars:
Our family of 4 generations ranging from 3 to 80 years old found plenty of variety and tasty food in the buffets for everyone. We choose not to go a la carte so I can't comment on them. Not ONE person in our party suffered from ANY KIND OF AN INTESTENIAL ailment! Bartenders were eager to please. There was a good choice of domestic alcoholic drinks for everyone. Much better quality than some of the other hotels in Punta Cana. I've been to Punta Cana ten times now.
One of our party left her beach bag with money and an expensive camera in the lady's room. When she realized that it was gone about a half hour after that, she went to the lost and found and it was there!
Pools were nice and clean with plenty of chairs and shade. The beach was beautiful as usual (this is one of the things that keep me going back to Punta Cana). The only shade on the beach was from the palm trees, but there were enough of them to follow the shade and space was ample. The kiddie pool had a nice little playground. We did not take advantage of the structured programs for the kids, but other parents remarked about how much their kids liked them.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Plenty of tours to pick from. If you book on your credit card, make sure you check your billing for duplicate charges.
Other Comments:
We knew when we booked that the hotel was planning on closing in April for renovations and I was a little leery about what we would find. I'm not sure what their renovations will include, but I was happy just the was it was. The only negative thing I would say about this hotel is that the soap bars that they give to you are smaller than what I throw away. If you go here bring your own soap and Kleenex!


text:
Design a Logo
Budget ₹600-1500 INR
need to design logo and labels for shirts and tags
33 freelancers are bidding on average ₹1505 for this job
Hello, Thank you for taking the time to review our bid! I am really eager to work on your project. I believe in ORIGINAL and QUALITY work since Work is my solo identity. I am highly motivated and professional so ca More
Hi, Many thanks for spending your valuable time to review my bid. i assure you with great designs and fast turnaround. Multiple options and unlimited revisions will be provided to you. let me share the best deal w More
Hello! I am really eager to work on your project. I believe in ORIGINAL and QUALITY work since Work is my solo identity. I am a highly motivated logo designer so I can deliver you the work timely..Cri8ive007 produces More
Hey i am a art directer of 15 years of experience, i am new at free lancer but not at my job, you can check my profile here or visit my wix at [login to view URL] i have designed logos for m More
Hi there! I have read your project description. I have few queries before I can begin the work. Can we discuss the same through chat? I shall endeavor to exceed your expectations. I am a qualified Professional Logo More
Dear Client, Thank you for your time in reviewing our proposal and for the opportunity to bid on your project. We would love to take you through the process of designing awe-inspiring designs for your Logo. Our p More
Hi, I am Ankit from Wephics Design. I've got 3 years of experience in graphic design. I assure you that I can do the project with great quality and utmost satisfaction.I can do graphic work for your company. I wo More
Hello, Thanks for taking a minute , I am a creative Graphics & Web Designer having 6 years of experience with proven track record as a successful Freelance designer here on this great online marketplace! I wou More
Lets start with design elegency. We are ready for the project. Please visit our portfolio: https://www.freelancer.com/u/dezinerinsect.html Dezinerinsect is an innovative studio specialize in logo, brochure, fly More
Hello, We are interested in your project. Please check our work samples from here, [login to view URL] Here is our offer included: Revisions >> Unlimited until 100% satisfaction File-for More
Thank you for taking the time to review my bid! I am really eager to work on your project. I believe in ORIGINAL and QUALITY work since Work is my solo identity. I am a highly motivated logo designer so I can deliver More
Thank you for considering for your graphic design needs. After learning more about the project, I'm confident that I can deliver fantastic results on time and within budget.
Hi There, I can design a logo for shirts and..... I will provide: 1-High resolution files and unlimited revisions. 2-Complete LOGO kit including all the files format 3-Extra fast services and prompt response More
i have read your proposal carefully and has bid accordingly you are just one click away from our creativity:- https://www.freelancer.in/u/dicemultimedia.html [login to view URL] o More


text:
Senator Al Franken Weeps
The senator cried over the Violence Against Women Act, which has suddenly become controversial in the Senate.
Republicans denied they tried to block the renewal. They said they wanted to lower the cap for visas of abused immigrants, remove mentions of protecting gays, lesbians and transgender people, and change provisions protecting Native American women.
GOP lawmakers complained the changes were designed to distract voters from issues Democrats would rather not discuss, such as rising gas prices and the struggling economy.Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2012 Liberaland
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
|Job Details
|Job Id/Status:
|Job Posted/Updated:
|Dental Assistant
|Job Type:
|Days of Week:
|Mon, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat
|Frisco, TX 75034
|A great Privately-owned Dental office looking for an enthusiastic person filled with positive attitude and a strong drive to learn. We have a family atmosphere and would like to have someone and would like to have someone that will fit in our office culture. Required: Current RDA License & Active CPR Certification. Flexible to work on Saturdays, 9 - 2pm Skills Required: Basic Computer skills Enthusiasm and a positive attitude Good communication skills (on the phone and in person, both) Ability to follow policy and procedures Ability to multi-task, Attention to Detail Resourceful when given an unfamiliar task Bi-lingual a plus but not required Nitrous Oxide certification Duties: Assisting the doctor with patient treatment, discussing treatment and payment options with patients, taking photos, and taking impressions. Sterilize and disinfect instruments, equipment and operators, Prepare the instruments and materials required to treat each patient, Obtain patients' dental records, Maintain Maintain patient comfort (keep patients' mouths dry and clear), Prepare materials for impressions and restorations, Complete radiographic images and intraoral photos, photos, Communicate effectively with team and patient, Answering phones, taking/c taking/confirming appointments, checking and filing insurance claims (Training will be provided), writing letters, light cleaning duties. Professional attire and etiquette is required. This is an excellent opportunity with room to grow. Please email resume and work history for consideration. Please contact Rabia at xxx-xxx-xxxx. We look forward to hearing from you!


text:
Pictures Of celebrites
Follow us:
Current location :
Male Celebrites
Jim Caviezel's Pictures
Jim Caviezel
James Patrick "Jim" Caviezel (born September 26, 1968) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for portraying Jesus Christ in the 2004 film The Passion of the Christ.
More Photos Of Jim Caviezel
Most Viewed Celebrites
Andrea Barber
Miley Cyrus
Molly Ephraim
Tina Caspary
Camren Bicondova
Daveigh Chase
Milana Vayntrub
Fran Drescher
Megan Fox
O. J. Simpson
Chandler Riggs
Morena Baccarin
Richard Dean Anderson
Alexandra Daddario
Linda Cardellini
Recently Added Celebrites
Chris Zylka
Darrell Zwerling
Alan Zweibel
José Zúñiga
Rick Zumwalt
Jim Zulevic
Albert Zugsmith
Bill Zuckert
Josh Zuckerman (actor)
Michael Zorek
Adam Zolotin
Richard Zobel
Bob Zmuda
Adrian Zmed
Chuck Zito
Random Celebrites
Mare Winningham
Charmin Lee
William Talman (actor)
Georg Stanford Brown
David Koechner
Fred Mace
Taye Diggs
Karen Sharpe
Lindsay Bloom
Zeppo Marx
Alim Kouliev
Guy Kibbee
Clyde Beatty
Jonny Cruz
James Waterston
Mercedes Scelba-Shorte
Mia Sara
Ted DiBiase Jr.
Lou Hirsch
Robert Ellis (actor)
Terms of Service
Privacy Policies
Online Safety
2015-2016 © picsofcelebrities.com


text:
And a wonderful dear lady- Clare Rice Dreyer- who runs a most wonderful program called -Starting Over Success-set a wonderful self talk that reminds me not to "should" myself. You've got to go through her seminar to fully appreciate the impact of that "simple" act.
That being said I have a pile of stuff cut and staged to sew, and the borders are finally on the Row x Row quilt top. With the wider sashings and extra borders she comes out to 97" x 97" My current, and still in use Christmas quilt is 23 years or so old, so I think she could use a bit of respite with the addition of a helper. Our Christmas quilts are also used as "sick day" quilts, because they are tied and have high loft in them for snuggling (and tent building of course.)
The quality control inspector in the back that you can see that was so diligently "helping me lay it out, measure and take pictures is Sushi. The one you can't see is Lilo-she has run off with the tape measure.... Here they were a few hours ago being angels.
Sleeping behind dads recliner on their pillow.
Hope you are all progressing on your Christmas projects, I am not behind (I planned for the expected delay stuff), but I would sure rather have more done. Might help if I quit adding projects, but that just wouldn't fit in my life right. There are 89 days until Christmas!


text:
Jako środek bezpieczeństwa twojego konta, trzeba będzie przyznać dostęp twojej przeglądarce, wpisując specjalny kod. Znajdziesz go w swojej skrzynce odbiorczej poczty e-mail
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel - Lady Hammerlock the Baroness Pack DLC Steam CD Key
Introducing Sir Hammerlock's sister, Lady Aurelia the Baroness! Nobody's as cold as she is, literally, as her "Cold-As-Ice" action skill inflicts tons of cryo damage on the baddies of Elpis. She can also turn any co-op partner into a servant using her Contractual Aristocracy skill tree. Nothing stands a chance against this frozen-hearted aristocrat!
- OS: Windows XP SP3
- Processor: 2.4 GHz Dual Core Processor
- Memory: 2048 MB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8500 / ATI Radeon HD 2600
- DirectX: Version 9.0
- Storage: 13 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX 9 Compliant
- OS: 10.9.5 (Mavericks), 10.10.5 (Yosemite), 10.11.6 (El Capitan), 10.12 (Sierra)
- Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Dual-Core)
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 2600 / NVidia Geforce 8800 / Intel HD 4000
- Storage: 13 GB available space
- Additional Notes: NOTICE: It is possible for Mac and PC to become out of sync during updates or patches. Within this short time period, Mac users will only be able to play other Mac users.
- Notice: This game is not supported on volumes formatted as Mac OS Extended (Case Sensitive)
- OS: SteamOS, Ubuntu 14.04
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad, AMD Phenom II X4
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 260
- Storage: 13 GB available space
- Additional Notes: ATI/AMD and Intel chipsets are NOT supported.
Go to: http://store.steampowered.com/ and download STEAM client
Click "Install Steam" (from the upper right corner)
Install and start application, login with your Account name and Password (create one if you don't have).
Please follow these instructions to activate a new retail purchase on Steam:
- Launch Steam and log into your Steam account.
- Click the Games Menu.
- Choose Activate a Product on Steam...
- Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.
After successful code verification go to the "MY GAMES" tab and start downloading.
Unable to activate even after following the steps above?Report a problem!
Are the instructions not clear? Let us help you!


text: Note that ia64 also suffers from this artificial restriction because the elilo.efi bootloader does not read files from the /boot directory. Rather, these files are read from a separate disk partition - the EFI partition - that is not mounted by the OS by default. The EFI partition is updated by a kernel hook when boot files are changed. In many ways this is similar to the flash-kernel case with the NVRAM replaced by a disk partition. It (perhaps naively) seems to me like the logical place to store this data would be to have the individual bootloader installer packages specify the list of filesystems from which they can boot, and have partman disallow /boot to reside on a filesystem for which no supportable bootloader is available.


text:
yay! I found the EC forum
Looks like we need some stickies explaining what EC is.. :goodvibes:
my DD is 6 1/2 MO, already on potty strike!
Re: yay! I found the EC forum
Maybe we should have a potty strike support group for Mamas:giggle:
Jesse started the back arching and growling at me right at 9 months - he even sat down and peed on the floor yesterday and turned and laughed at me - little bugger::giggle2:
|All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:45 PM.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2018, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.


text:
Nursing Home Abuse Lawsuit Seeks To Bring Attention To Ongoing Problem
The problem many people face
Part of the problem that Christmas describes is the fact that he did not have the resources or time available to narrow down his options when selecting a nursing home for his mother. Most children want to find a clean, safe nursing home, but oftentimes find that they are unable to sort through the countless pieces of information online. Most end up taking the word of the facility.
Digging deeper
Even though the Kingstree Nursing ranking was "above average" by the feds, inspection reports show that the facility had been documented for not implementing neglect / abuse policies at the center and a failure to report a head injury to a patient. Obviously, those types of records would have allowed Christmas to make a better-informed decision. Though the federal website is easy enough to see, the reports from the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) are more difficult to see. You have to file a formal request for specific records; the records are not released online. DHEC Director Catherine Templeton has since made it clear that she wants the records to be published online within the next eight months, which is going to help in any prospective search. Nevertheless, for Christmas this small victory is not going to provide him much solace.
What can you do if you suspect abuse or other issues?
What can you do if you suspect that there might be nursing home abuse or something similar? These steps can help you make the right decision:
- Stay rational – The first notion might be to be protective and become emotional, but losing your temper is not going to help. Try to look for a reasonable resolution to the situation.
- Be willing to document everything – If you have a discussion with someone or if you notice something you believe is out of the ordinary; make a note of it to keep the details available.
- Do not be afraid to contact the authorities – If you believe the bathroom has not been cleaned in a week, the police are not going to be much help. However, if you suspect abuse and/or imminent danger you must contact the authorities. They should at the very least take a written complaint from you.
- Report all suspected elder neglect or abuse – Every state has a form of protective services for adults. You can contact them if you have any questions or concerns. Moreover, every nursing home is required to post the name and number of the local Ombudsman. These people are responsible for making sure that long-term care facilities investigate neglect and abuse.
- Talk to a lawyer – If you feel that your loved one is neglected or abused, they are entitled to protection. They may also be entitled to compensation.
Remember, many practices are not going to change unless you address them with formal, legal action. Even if you believe that something is a minor incident or a careless mistake, make sure that you report it. It may make all the difference in the future.
For more information on nursing homes in Chicago look here. For laws related to Illinois nursing homes, look here.


text:
I don't think that word "tech" means what you think it means. However, I think you're on to something nevertheless. Let me explain.
Every spring, a number of my friends and acquaintances announce something they are giving up for Lent (which runs from Ash Wednesday until Easter). The possibilities of items for denial are almost endless. Food seems to be a popular sacrifice. Aside from the traditional and generic omission of meat for the season, others choose to deprive themselves of food, such as pizza, chocolate, or hamburgers; or beverages, such as coffee, soft drinks, or alcohol. Certain activities or behaviors also commonly make the list, such as profanity, smoking, politics, gossiping, dating, or shopping. The one deprivation that catches my eye the most, however, is giving up technology for Lent.
Giving up technology is not as easy as one might imagine. Technology is really any tool or device designed by people using natural and artificial materials to accomplish a practical goal. Are you ready to walk to work for Lent? Cars, busses, trains, and planes are all examples of technology. Are you ready to spend Lent in the buff? Clothing that is chemically engineered to be stain and wrinkle-resistant and color-fast is technology. Shoes that are mechanically engineered to cushion your step (for hundreds of thousands of steps) and keep your feet warm and dry are technology. It is everywhere, a ubiquitous fact of life, an engrained part of our culture and society. Thus when my friends say they are giving up tech, I suspect they do not mean all technology, but rather some specific technologies. It feels a little like when the pastor says he wants to keep tech out of the sermon and focus on the message. What he means is limiting the use of PowerPoint. I don't think he means no longer using a microphone, electric lights, carpet, heating & air conditioning, piano, reinforced concrete foundations, … you get the idea.
If not all of technology, then what do they really mean to give up for Lent? Sometimes the sacrifice is identified a bit more specifically. I see people giving up Netflix, email, texting, Windows, Instagram, or Facebook. (Wait a minute... I learned they were giving up Facebook by posting it on Facebook. Does that still count?) Regardless, at least these contrite souls are a bit more nuanced about the technology they will forego. Like a foodie who gives up red velvet cake, a techie that gives up Xbox for Lent is sacrificing a certain aspect of their life, not because it is bad, but because it is good – and that good thing could distract from a more spiritual focus, introspection, and reflection as we approach Good Friday and Easter. This approach recognizes that technology, like all of culture, is a good gift from our Creator. Technology is part of who we are as humans, and creating culture is what we do. We create music, legislation, novels, communities, delicious recipes, evolving languages, games, and yes, technology.
I suspect that a few folks really do mean all of technology, considering it inherently evil, putting it in the category of vices we can't entirely shake, so we give up for a time in hopes of ultimately escaping, as they might for profanity, or gluttony. I think this is a foundational mistake. Granted, many societal and personal ills are associated with technology. However, technology itself is not evil, but like other cultural aspects, it can be tainted and corrupted by sin. Just as we, out of love, profess to hate the sin, but not the sinner, we can find the good in technology. We can work to recognize how our fallen nature has turned God's good gift of technology into something warped that we idolize, that we use to our own selfish advantage, or that simply distracts us from our true calling.
With that understanding of technology, I can understand and respect giving up certain technologies for Lent. Lent might be the opportunity to take a break from Facebook to reflect on how we can use it to glorify God and love our neighbor. Perhaps you will give up email for a time to ponder on how communication with friends, family, and colleagues can be a blessing when used properly. Perhaps you will give up texting to consider whether you are prone to spreading gossip via your phone. Stepping back is sometimes the best way to get perspective. Then jump back in and show us how it is done. Demonstrate by example how to use technology appropriately and righteously.


text:
Welcome to Cuitus! Hold your dicks and get ready for myranda shiting, mature people in kinky scatporn, girl shitting in girls mouth, videos of pooping girls, can i eat my own feces, scat it and poop porn movie.
|Image #3976
Gay male scat pics, girl eat scat, desperate shiting, teen scat clips and poop fuck porn.
|Photo #13450
Gay pooping vids, milfs shitting, asian gal in poopsex and i see poop.
|Figure #11456
I need to go to poop more often, flecks in feces, pooping the pants and nurse giving enema picture.
|Figure #4915
Poop in mouth, fucked in poop, girls shitting big, angry poop and girls caught on hidden cam shiting.
|Photo #7176
Eat gay shit, pantie pooping scat, arte my poo and trans kaviar.
|Figure #5122
Teen scat videos, shes used as toilet, erotic shit, poop photo gallery and young poo.
|Pic #7847
Dick nipples shitting, toilet shitting pics, youll shit and nude girls pooping.
|Image #2545
Free scat video stream, shitting in my ass hole, turd monster images and clip shitting video.
|Pic #3472
Da amateur scat, eatting shit, weight of poop and toilet voyeur.
|Figure #3379
Her slave toilet, shit eating grin, toilet sex shit and download face free shitting.
|Pic #5485
What is eat shit, vomiting up poop, shit inside pussy and porno tube scat movie.
|Pic #8921
Shitting a dick, adults shiting in pants, shit festish and anastasia shits.
|Photo #7056
Shitting women vids, nude girls pooping, mfx and scat, panty shit images and mouth shit.
|Pic #8724
Punishment slave toilet, poop on my dink, human feces weight, free girls shit in public videos and poo manga.
|Photo #11261
Pooping in pants, shit meself, the color of poop mean and wouldn t let me poop.
|Image #13423
Poop poop i like lots and lots of poop, chalky white poop, take a big poop, poop in da face and german poop in mouth.
|Image #11855
Shit covered wank, wild porn shit, pc games with poop, gay scat video clip and going to shit.
|Image #8580
Orange roughy poop, free lesbian scat sex, yellow poop means and feces size.
|Photo #6850
Girls toilet voyeur, poop in a car, black poop, my turd and poop hot.
|Pic #5009
Asian scat tgp, sexy girls shiting, video pooping, shitoo pants and anal sex and shit scat.
fetid piles of poo
man poop his pants
girl covered in poop
shit eating whore
straight poop
men s poop
jett scat veronica
women shitting free sample videos
girls eating poop video
face farts girl guy in
shocking tube panty shit
poop smears
japanese shitting mouth
pee shit sex
shit in porn
|Image #4908
Shit on pussy movies, beautiful women shitting, he squatted and poop and what contributes to liquid poop.
|Image #5129
Mucus in human feces, poop tube youtube, japanese scat pic and gaping poo hole.
|Pic #9059
Pants shit yer, photos of womens poop and pee, russian scat slave, girls loving shit and teens in hot poopsex.
|Photo #8171
Xxx shit fucked out of assholes, female pants pooping video, shiting sex tube and flooting poop.
|Pic #2934
Hot shitting girls, cock makes her shit, my poo is and shitting girls hidden camera.
|Pic #10776
Foot poop, girl in pantie shiting their, forced to lesbian poop eating, download face free shitting and poo of japan video.
|Image #7580
Poop girl cam, bdsm toilet training, human poop chart, biggest feces and xxx enema gallery.
|Pic #3640
Shopping for poop, girls shiting in mouth, shit sex eat women girls and both cum shit and piss.
|Image #4590
Poop dicks, sitting on the toilet, enema large video volume and girl shit vids.
|Figure #6611
Woman pooping outdoors, smear shit, enema explusion and naked girl gets shit on.
|Photo #11864
Girls scat toilet, poop eaters videos, scat sex fever free videos, shit out of ass and russian eating poop.
|Pic #10633
Teen pooping smearing, panty poop fanfics, women seeking toilet slaves, shitting boys and shit eaters movies.
|Photo #7771
Woman pooping thier pantys, eat shit tube8, asian girls shitting in public and love turd.
|Photo #9685
Women pooping toilet, defecate in his, huge shit in pussy, gay male scat pics and naughty cum lover shitlovers.
|Pic #12990
Boys shiting their pants, ass eating feces licking, eating shit from a cup, shit fuck ass and asian scat picture.


text:
Archived Content
This page contains information that is no longer current but remains on our site for reference purposes.
USCIS Makes Preparations Ahead of Hurricane Gustav
WASHINGTON—U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is preparing to temporarily close offices, if necessary, along the Gulf of Mexico coastline in the projected path of Hurricane Gustav. If an office is closed, or our customers are evacuated from their homes, USCIS will automatically reschedule all appointments until a time when it is safe to resume operations.
However, if necessary, customers may make an INFOPASS appointment in another USCIS office.
The safety of our customers and employees is first and foremost. Customers are advised to take all necessary actions to protect themselves and their family.
Update: 2:00 PM Eastern Time—The USCIS New Orleans, LA, Field Office is expected to be closed Tuesday September 2, 2008, due to the expected landfall of Tropical Storm or Hurricane Gustav.
Update: 4:00 PM Eastern Time—Revised to reflect announcement that Tropical Storm Gustav is now Hurricane Gustav.
Update: 12:00 Noon Eastern Time, September 1, 2008—The USCIS New Orleans, LA, Field Office will be closed Tuesday September 2, through Wednesday September 3, due to conditions following the landfall of Hurricane Gustav.
Update: 4:00 PM Eastern Time—The USCIS New Orleans, LA, Field Office will remain closed through Sunday September 7, reopening Monday September 8, due to conditions following the landfall of Hurricane Gustav.


text:
TIME has just published their list of the top 10 gadgets of 2009, sitting in first place is the Motorola Droid, with the Apple iPhone 3GS in fourth place, losing out to the Barnes & Noble Nook, and James Dysons Air Multiplyer Fan.
It looks like TIME really liked the Motorla Droid, check out what they had to say about it below.
The Droid is a hefty beast, a metal behemoth without the gloss and finish of the iPhone, but you don't miss it. The Droid's touchscreen is phenomenally sharp and vivid, it has an actual physical (not great, but good enough) keyboard, and best of all, the Droid is on Verizon's best-of-breed 3G network. It's Android's first credible challenge to the iPhone.
I suspect the reason that TIME didn't pick the iPhone 3GS as their number one gadget, was because the 3GS was only a part upgrade from the 3G, adding a faster processor and a video camera.
It will be interesting to see who comes top next year in TIME's Gadget List. Have a look and our article on Android vs iPhone to see which smartphone and mobile platform is best for you.
via Slash GearFiled Under: Gadgets News, Technology News


text:
The other day the new Syriza government in Greece proposed a few very moderate social policies designed to help the poor and the unemployed, but the European Union vetoed the legislation. In office, it is hard to see any difference between the parties which formally represent big business and the social democratic parties which used to represent the common people. Do countries and their governments have any sovereignty today?
The political elite everywhere seems to be firmly on the side of the big international banks and the other financial institutions. In the USA, the Federal Reserve created $4.5 trillion through quantitative easing (printing money) and it all went to the big banks, not to the people losing their homes. The newly created capital also served to push up the stock markets.
The official view of democracy
Our political scientists declare that democracy is giving citizens the right to vote in elections every four years. Governments increasingly declare that democracy exists when there is a free market economy. The Anglo-American version of this liberal version of "representative democracy" normally produces governments which have a majority of seats in the legislature even when they receive less than 40% of the votes. Elections are deemed to be legitimate where voter turnout is less that 50% of the citizens.
What do kids learn in school? How many know that the British parliamentary system, like we have in Canada, was designed for a time in history when the government was run by a very small group of rich white men? How many understand that the US system of government was founded on the liberal model where the goal was to prevent the development of democracy?
|Election day in Greece January 2015
Democracy requires mass, direct participation
Modern democracy first developed in Athens and other Greek city states. If you go back and read some history, you will quickly discover that Greece at this time (500 - 300 B.C.) was characterized by continuous class war between the oligarchs, the large land owners who used slave labour to produce the products and profits, and the democrats, almost all of the rest of the people, the small farmers, serfs, artisans, and the few free labourers. This was a pre-industrial era, with a very small proletariat.
Of course, in a fundamental way these societies were not really democratic. Slaves did not have the status of citizens, but they could buy their freedom, and some were able to do so. The people who were not born in Greece, the metics, were denied citizenship status. Then at the very bottom were women who had no citizenship rights; they were the property of men, and those married to the oligarchs were confined to the house. It appears to be the case that the only prominent women were courtesans.
Nevertheless, Athenian democracy grew as the growing popular classes challenged the oligarchs. Final legal authority rested in the Assembly; its decisions could not be overturned by some non-elected court or high official. It consisted of all the citizens, met 40 times a year, and had a quorum set at 6,000. Decisions were made by a majority vote of all citizens present. When the oligarchs were in power, they tried to change the balance of power by setting property qualifications for citizenship.
There were also the law courts. The judges in the courts were chosen by lot from all the citizens, and they were changed each year. The top ten generals in Athens were elected. The armed forces were a citizens' militia. The oligarchs were able to fill most of the state's administrative positions because most of the popular classes could not take these positions because they had to work for a living. The democrats forming government responded by introducing pay for government work.
As we know, Greek democracy was repressed by the local oligarchs, often with the support of armed forces from other cities or foreign states. Then democracy was suppressed by the Macedonian empire followed by the occupying Roman empire. The first attempt to create a democratic society and state was replaced by various versions of rule by the propertied classes.
What can we do?
This is the big political question. In the January 2015 election Greece became the first major state where the population stood up and said "we have had enough." The turning point, I believe, was when the unionized working class, which had historically supported the social democrats (PASOK), decided to break with tradition and shifted their support to the progressive, democratic left.
Across Europe all of the governments and mainstream political parties, including the social democratic formations, have stood firmly with the capital class. They insist that there is no alternative to the neoliberal model. If this first attempt to move towards a democratic state and society is to survive, it needs strong support from its political and ideological allies, beginning in Europe.


text:
Woza Moya (Come Spirit of Change in IsiZulu language) is the economic empowerment project of Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. Woza Moya's mission is to unearth creativity that creates economic empowerment through traditional quality local crafts made by people in need. Started in 2002 with five beaders making AIDS ribbons at a local church, the project now supports more than 350 crafters, most of whom have 5-10 dependents. Crafters were referred to Woza Moya by other HACT departments, including the respite unit, counselling department and home based care project. Once the men and women are enrolled with Woza Moya they are then trained in a craft, most commonly beadwork or sewing. The crafters are mostly women and are almost all first time money earners, having set up bank accounts for the first time in order to receive they payments from Woza Moya.
Every week the crafters come to HACT to sell their crafts to Woza Moya, everything from beadwork, wirework, woodwork and even crochet. By selling Woza Moya their crafts the crafters become self-empowered and self-employed. We have found that being financially secure gives our crafters hope and the luxury of looking to the future; because of this they take ownership of their disease and fight to stay healthy.
Woza Moya are dedicated to both their crafters and to their customers, and as such are careful to only take in work of a high quality and to give on-going training to the crafters so the standard is met and kept and they can be proud of the work they bring in. Woza Moya encourages the crafters to come up with new, creative ideas and, as much as possible, for the crafters to set their own prices. Woza Moya has a very special relationship with each crafter and takes care of each individual. The sale from their crafts is the only source of income for close to 95% of our 350 crafters. Every item bought from us has already helped to empower, uplift and inspire and to give hope to a family in need.
Woza Moya is an amazing example of an innovative project. It has taken a traditional African craft – beading – and modernized it and made it relevant and appealing to customers both local and international. One of the biggest successes of Woza Moya has been its innovative product creation – from the famous Little Traveller beaded dolls, to the World's First Fully Beaded Suit, to the Dreams for Africa Chair that sold at a record breaking R750,000 to a private Cape Town buyer, the Dreams for Africa coffee table book, to the yarn bombed tree at the front of HACT's property, to the beautiful beaded necklaces in a huge array of colours and design, to gift cards, to the upcycling project that produces beautiful products out of waste – everything that Woza Moya does is innovative. It has popularized African beadwork again and made it appeal not just to African markets but to all South Africans and internationally in countries including Australia, Germany, Holland and the USA.
Woza Moya has received the following public acclaim for their innovative approach to economic empowerment:
- The Dreams for Africa Chair was awarded the World's Most Beautiful Object at the 2010 Design Indaba in Cape Town. This project created income for over 100 women who worked together to bead the chair, which had been pulled out of a dumpster. Beaded wings in the shape of Africa were added to the chair and it became a chair of dreams – people could sit in the chair and have a dream about their future or the future of their community/country/the world. The chair travelled to Germany, Holland and America and all around South Africa, with many famous and regular people sitting in it and enjoying a dream. A coffee table book featuring beautiful images taken of people in the chair was produced and sold in the Woza Moya shops. The chair was sold in 2014 for a whopping R850,000 – money will be used for the building of a new craft shop on the HACT premises in 2017
- Woza Moya was a finalist for the 2016 KZN Exporter of the Year Awards, where we had been nominated as a finalist. The awards are a partnership between Transnet Port Terminals [TPT] and the Durban Chamber of Commerce & Industry [DCCI] that serve to celebrate those local businesses that are contributing positively towards the growth and development of our province's economy
- Woza Moya was nominated at the 2016 BEFA Awards (Business Excellence Forum & Awards) in the "Best Community Impact" category for its exceptional work in empowering and uplifting thousands of crafters and artists from across the Valley of 1000 Hills area over the past 15 years.