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March 19, 2018 10:55:09 AM
The contents of this article have been modified since its original posting.
The Partnership and the Mississippi State University Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach are teaming up to give local middle- and high-school students a taste of what it's like to start a business.
The two entities, with sponsorship from International Paper, have partnered to host an Oktibbeha County Innovation Challenge for students from local schools. An interest meeting for the challenge is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Glo office at 419 E. Lampkin St.
Partnership CEO Scott Maynard said the challenge is open to public, private and home-schooled students.
"The program is designed to really introduce students to entrepreneurship and business," he said. "The goal is the students, individually or in teams, will come up with a project that they would like to see brought to market. Then they would participate in some training and seminars to show them how to develop a business plan.
"They will develop either a real prototype or a mocked-up prototype, and they will present in a shark tank environment to a group of people to sell their idea or their product," he added.
Maynard said the program's main idea is to expose students to the process of starting a new business.
The Innovation Challenge is a four-week program. Students will compete for a $500 prize and scholarships for an entrepreneurship summer camp at MSU.
MSU College of Business Director of Outreach Jeffrey Rupp said the university's E-Center has created a strong environment for innovation that has resulted in dozens of successful startups for MSU students. He said it naturally follows to start sharing those concepts with local secondary students.
"Part of the mission of a land grant university like Mississippi State is to reach out and leverage our resources to boost communities," Rupp said. "We are fortunate to have a fantastic relationship with the schools and the Partnership in Starkville."
If the first challenge is successful, Rupp said, it may be replicated in other cities in the Golden Triangle.
"The end result is to instill an entrepreneurial spirit and 'can-do' attitude in our next generation of leaders," he said.
Examples to follow
Maynard said the program fits into The Partnership's mission to foster an entrepreneurial spirit in the community. He said it was fitting that the meeting would be held the offices of Glo, a local startup that has successfully marketed glowing dyes for drinks. He also said former MSU quarterback Tyson Lee, founder of Lovely Rolls, will speak at the interest meeting.
"We have several great examples around town and at the research park (at MSU) of businesses that have started here initially and grown and still established their roots right here," he said. "We want high school students and junior high school students to see the process and understand how that works."
Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Superintendent Eddie Peasant said he is excited for students to have the chance to participate in the program.
"It is important for our students to experience real-world learning," he said. "The Innovation Challenge combined project-based learning, critical thinking, problem solving and creativity with the resources of the E-Center at MSU for a unique hands-on opportunity for our students. It also provides a unique opportunity to work with (The Partnership) to develop future business leaders for our community."
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1. Winning: Love of baseball drives success for MSU head coach Chris Lemonis STARKVILLE & OKTIBBEHA COUNTY
2. Monday profile: Morris finds calling to medicine, Mississippi COLUMBUS & LOWNDES COUNTY
3. County continues seeking easements for Blackjack Road project STARKVILLE & OKTIBBEHA COUNTY
4. Makerspace movement continues to thrive in Starkville STARKVILLE & OKTIBBEHA COUNTY
5. Lowndes County begins summer work program COLUMBUS & LOWNDES COUNTY


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Try a Small Group
People are like puzzle pieces. They come in lots of different shapes and fit better in some places than they do in others. In addition to Sunday gatherings, we offer lots of other ways for people to get together, to learn, to grow, to have fun, and to make some good connections.
Click on any one of the Small Groups listed below to find out more…
Belles of St. Andrew's Fitness Group
Fun and fitness for women, led by qualified instructor, Nicole Jean. Saturdays 9:30 - 10:30 am. (cardio and strength training). Freewill offering ($3-$5 suggested). Bring mats. Contact Lauire White for more details.
Fabric Artists (Quilting & Sewing)
Quilting and sewing.
Bring patterns, batting, scizzors, ideas, machines, forgotten scraps of fabric.
Various Fridays - check calendar 7 p.m.
Contact Margaret Thomas
For beginners or old pros.
Last Wednesday, 1:30 p.m.
Contact: Greg White.
Feast of Fiction (click for booklist)
Reading Group
Third Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
Monday morning crafts, comraderie and outreach projects.
9:15 - 1:15 p.m. Bring your lunch.
In CE hall. Contact: Val Lowrey (905) 383-5237
Talk to Judy Pyke & Donna White for details. Beginning late October.
Noon to 1:30 pm. in CE Hall. Contact Church office: 905-383-7411.
Good food and good friends for $1 or donation. 2nd Wed. of the month.
Noon to 1:30 pm. in CE Hall. Contact Church office: 905-383-7411.
An alternative church experience. All ages celebrate a Bible story together through activities, craft and story-telling, and share a simple meal.
Oct. 5, 2013, Jan. 2, 2014, March Break 2014. All welcome... friends & neighbours.
3rd Thursday. 9 a.m.
At The Egg and I.
Garner Rd. at Wilson (Duff's Corners) Ancaster.
Contact: Leon Mitchell.
Good food and good friends!
Local restaurants. 3rd Wed. at noon.
Contact: Dawn or Jack Mutton
S.A.W.S (St. Andrew's Woodworkers)
One Monday night per month. 7 p.m. CE Hall.
Personal projects or work for the bazaar.
We even built a time machine for church!
Contact: Don Brockway and Norm Jarvis.
Social Club (Bridge & Euchre)
Social bridge and euchre. Refreshments.
Friday at 1 p.m.
SOS (Supporting our Sisters)
All women are invited to gather for dinner and fun at a local restaurant.
Watch for up-coming outings!
Mondays at 7 pm. in the Meeting Rm.
We have 4 units: Unit1, Saints Alive, the 46ers, and The Heather Unit.
2 of the units meet at the church & 2 in homes.
Contact Pat Young (905) 388-9466, for more information.
Monthly 9 a.m. first Saturday of the month (check the Calendar for sure) food and fellowship at Phyl's Restaurant Upper Paradise and Stone Church.
All men are welcome, working or retired.
Contact Bob Thomas.
Mondays from 7-8 pm, in CE Hall.
Suggested donation: $5
All ages and abilities welcome.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cornwall and Truro Staircases from Pear Stairs
Truro, the only city in Cornwall, is renowned for its Georgian architecture and elegant staircases. Georgian stairways can be identified by their turned spindles and carved newel posts. The people of Truro have staircases which fit into the beautiful architecture of the city; a great example of this are the stairs within the mansion house which is believed to have been carved by prisoners during the Seven Years War. Pear Stairs can help you to achieve a Georgian set of stairs, all you need is a set of Georgian spindles and a fluted Georgian newel, which would make any Truro house suit the grandeur of its surroundings.
Cornwall has been called 'the most haunted county in the United Kingdom', which means it even has a ghost story involving Cornwall and staircases! Pendennis Castle, near Falmouth, is known for the death of a kitchen maid who fell down the kitchen stairs whilst carrying a tray of food. Ever since, there have been many reported cases of people hearing someone walking up and down the now redundant set of Cornwall stairs.
Space Saving Stairs for your Cornwall Cottage
|The beautiful beaches of Cornwall, as well as the warm and sunny weather, attract over five million people each year. This has led to an increase in people from outside of Cornwall buying the small fishermen's cottages to create a second home. The small size of the cottages has led to a need for space-saving stairways. The technology Pear Stairs has allows them to create a space-saver staircase with alternate handed steps with part of the tread cut away, much smaller than a regular set of stairs. Using space saving stairs in a small Cornwall cottage allows you to have more floor space, leaving more room for your surfboard! Pear Stairs has a set of space-saver stairs which are available with a rope handrail, fitting in well with the classic fisherman's feel seen throughout the county.
Contact Pear Stairs for your Staircases in Truro
So whichever dwelling you reside in, either a small Cornwall fisherman's cottage, or a Georgian building in Truro, Pear Stairs can make you a beautiful quality staircase. Please contact our friendly team who will be able to help if you have any questions or queries.


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I have the luck to go to the ManageIQ Design Summit 2016 in Mahwah, New Jersey at the beginning of June. And not only that, but also to be able to present there (more about this in a moment).
You may be looking at the web site of ManageIQ or the Design summit and think "why the heck is the Java and JBoss guy talking at a Ruby conference"? And the answer is simple:
Hawkular and ManageIQ are collaborating on the future of Middleware management.
And so I will talk about "Adding middleware to the game", describing the current state of Red Hat middleware and monitoring with RHQ and Hawkular, the integration with ManageIQ that we are already working on. And also the path and vision going forward.
ManageIQ has all the knowledge about the operating system and infrastructure the Middleware servers are running on, where Hawkular only provides some basic information. ManageIQ on the other hand has no notion of applications yet, wich is the domain of Hawkular. ManageIQ can also be used to provision new VMs and containers with Middleware in them, which can then be monitored and managed by Hawkular.
If you are close by, join me :)
NB: while I am there I will try find some of the nearby Geocaches, as New Jersey is still missing on my list (as so many other states in he US :)


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Tri-Cities Excavating (aka: S & S Excavating)
Excavating, Land Leveling, Hauling, Cement / Concrete Work and More
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Tri-Cities Comprehensive Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Excavating Company
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From Sewer and Septic to land clearing to digging culverts and other drainage options, we do it all. Tri-Cities Excavating delivers dependable and quality results at a surprisingly affordable price. Our crew members work quickly and efficiently and they deliver a quality job.
Contact tri-cities excavating today for your Free Estimate:
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Commercial Excavation
Commercial and Business excavation requires special consideration for the business and their customers. We work with each client to determine what is best for them.
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Our Residential Excavation clients are always very happy with the quality of the work we do at such an affordable price. Contact us to find out what we can do for you.
Industrial Excavation and Sub-Contracting
Tri-Cities Excavating is able to handle excavation and cement/concrete work for industrial size companies as large as Eastman Chemical or Food City or one of the local glass plants. We can also be available to sub-contract with another excavation company to help them complete a job.
Ready to find out more? Contact us
Tri-Cities Excavation (S and S Excavation) are in the business of keeping our clients happy because we value your word of mouth referrals. You will be happy with our services and price.


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Why taxation is a good idea for Bahrainنُشر أغسطس 8, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized تعليق واحد
Before closing this page let me first explain that the current political system isn't working with or without taxation, taxation under the current system will only lead to more corruption (e.g. ALBA-ALCOA) and the enrichment of a handful of individuals, but as there is a spectrum of political visions that should put an end to corruption and dictatorship we should also be interested in creating an economic vision that will help us not only in bringing prosperity but prevent the forming of another dictatorship, for that I think taxation is a good idea.
Bahraini author Omar Alshehabi is now preparing his next book about the economics of the rentier state (الدولة الريعية) and how it transformed the society in the gulf region.
The writer describes a rentier state as a state that generates a substantial amount of its revenue from renting natural resources to foreign entities rather than producing consumable products, such system was adopted by oil rich countries at first but it didn't stop there, countries that are not rich in resources used political alliances as a source of income.
The nature of pre-oil economies in the gulf relied on trading, monarchs used to take their percentage from the profit merchants made in order to pay for governing duties, that system created a very influential upper class that had a relatively bigger role in decision making.
With the discovery of oil (Bahrain was the first in GCC 1923) and the demise of pearl trading the monarchs found their new linchpin in oil money, by monopolizing the right to extract oil the merchants class was sidelined and the decision making process became even more exclusive, the general population became majorly employees in "rent maximizing" activities that are ran by the government unopposed thus making the regime the only financially independent entity in Bahrain and removing the role of the elitists families, German sociologist Karl Marx called that state "economic parasitism".
Hussain Mahdavy an Iranian author tried to inspect the rise of rentier economy and how it shaped the political scene in Iran, he concluded that the rentier economic model encourages the establishment of bureaucracy, since the rent money is paid directly to the government the temptation of creating a rentier class that dominates with its own independent source of income is considerable if not inevitable.
Rentier states won't rely on taxes as a source of income because if we excluded the resources the government already rent there isn't much production to tax anyway because industries were marginalized for rent maximizing tasks, the rent revenue compensate for taxes and gives the government the ability to "buy" the consent of the general populace without paying for the unpopular taxes on the long term, for most it will look like the government is giving rather than taking. What we tend to forget is that taxes aren't a way of financing governments only but also a way of redistribution of wealth, the ability to distribute wealth can easily be translated into political influence and can also shape the society by forming classes, which makes any kind of democratic transition at jeopardy.
Another useful feature of taxes is that it serves as a compass for the society, taxes which benefit the society will be unchallenged while unpopular taxes will be contested by participation every once in a while, the very beginnings of the American revolution was after a campaign that used the slogan "No taxation without participation" a slogan that was used in Ireland and which was later on a part of the English bill of rights (forbid taxes without parliament permission), taxes will ultimately set the course of the economy toward fulfilling the most urgent needs of the society and fully utilize its resources, without it popularity rather than performance is what shapes the political elite.
In the run for presidency in the united state this year republican candidate Mitt Romney refused to disclose more of his tax returns, such PR fail will certainly effect his campaign, now I can only imagine what we would discover if we had taxes in Bahrain, with a very small elite owning big shares of the economy the numbers in taxes of those elite will be astronomical, and I would really love to challenge a lot of our politicians to disclose their tax return (that's when we have one).
Now what do you think? isn't that a good idea?


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Basic windows App for setting default preferences in browsers
Budget $30-250 USD
A simple windows app which sets the following preferences into all the browsers present on the system:(Chrome, Firefox, IE)
* Default home page
* Default search engine
* Default new tag page
Two versions will have to delivered. One with the app installation screens using NSIS and the other as a simple exe of the app.
14 freelancers are bidding on average $262 for this job
Hello, I can help with you in your project Basic windows App for setting default preferences in browsers. I have more than 5 years of experience in .NET, C# Programming, Visual Basic. We have worked on several simil More
Hello Sir, I am an expert with windows application and I can provide this application. Thanks Aanvik
Hello sir. I can make your application as per requirements you stated in bid. Regards
Sure I can assist you in creating simple windows Application for setting default preferences in browsers for various pages etc. >> Issue could be in IE due to security. rest we can discuss. I AM AVAILABLE HERE More
I have experience in changing web browser preferences and installers. Installers are main line of work. You asked there should be an installer and a program. However, the installer can change the web browser preference More
As description in your requirement. I'm sure to complete this tool for you. inbox me if you have any question about my skill or this project. Thank for your attention HuyPQ.
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Will offer 111$ for my paycheck and will deliver it in 7 days Relevant Skills and Experience I am a young c# software developer currently taking a course at Galileu.
Hi Team, I'm more interested in developing desktop applications and also i developed more windows services to keep my computer super cool without loading much services and also made online quiz applications


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Monroe-based FEDCO said it intends to invest more than a million in new machinery and testing equipment and will hire more workers after winning a contract to supply energy-recovery equipment for one of the world's largest water desalination facilities.
Monroe-based FEDCO said it intends to invest more than a million in new machinery and testing equipment and will hire more workers after winning a contract to supply energy-recovery equipment for one of the world's largest water desalination facilities.
Doosan Heavy Industries Inc. of Korea has contracted with FEDCO to supply its HPB-2800 energy recovery pressure boosters for the $1.76 billion Ras Azzour power and seawater reverse osmosis project in Saudi Arabia. The plant, on the Arabian Gulf, will produce more than 80 million gallons of pure water from seawater each day.
Scheduled for completion by January, 2014, it will be the largest seawater reverse osmosis plant in Saudi Arabia. Reverse osmosis involves passing water under pressure through a membrane to filter out contaminants.
FEDCO's energy recovery pressure boosters will be the largest and most efficient turbine-based energy recovery units ever deployed in a seawater reserve osmosis system, the company said, enabling the plant to recover hydraulic energy to achieve multi-megawatt savings in electrical energy.
"The competition was tough as this is currently the most prestigious SWRO project in the world," said Eli Oklejas, FEDCO president. "Our track record, advanced product design and talented and experienced sales, engineering and manufacturing teams account for our success."
"On the heels of recent news that a prime competitor is closing its Michigan plant, employees losing jobs, and reported deteriorating market conditions, FEDCO is fortunate to be on the upward move in providing such mega scale equipment," said Lisa Leachman, FEDCO vice president of finance and human resources.. " In the past few years, we have more than doubled our building and manufacturing capacity, significantly expanded our work force and launched a new Middle East sales and service office in Dubai, UAE. In economic times where businesses are outsourcing jobs and money to other countries, FEDCO is proud that it directly exports over 60 percent of its products to over 40 countries worldwide," she said.
"Due to the size of this project and ongoing business demand, FEDCO expects to invest over a million dollars in new machinery and a high-tech test system capable of handling several thousand kilowatts," she said. "More importantly, FEDCO is excited about adding more personnel. Our project workload will create a need for more machinists, testing/assembly personnel, engineering and administrative staff."
FEDCO is a leading developer and manufacturer of high performance pumps and energy recovery devices used in the process of converting seawater into potable water. Its Web site is www.fedco-usa.com.


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UNDER-FIRE organisers of the Brits have apologised to record-breaking star Adele after she was unceremoniously silenced during her acceptance speech for the top gong at last night's awards.
The singer landed two trophies at the glitzy event when she collected the best British female award as well as the big title of the night, best album, for 21.
But a rambling acceptance speech by earlier winner Damon Albarn meant she was barely able to deliver a speech and she gestured with her middle finger in frustration on-stage.
Adele, 23, said the insult was aimed at "the suits", after show host James Corden interrupted her to wind up her words.
Following the ceremony at London's O2 area, the show's organisers released a statement saying: "We regret this happened and we send our deepest apologies to Adele that her big moment was cut short due to the live show over running.
"We don't want this to undermine her incredible achievement in winning our night's biggest award, that tops off what's been an incredible year for her."
Adele's success followed a colossal win at the Grammys a little over a week ago when she was the toast of the music world with six trophies.
As she collected the best album prize for 21 - which has sold almost four million copies in the UK - the breathless star gushed: "Nothing makes me prouder, yeah, than coming home with six Grammys, then coming to the Brits and winning album of the year.
"I am so so proud to be British and to be flying the flag and to be in the same room as all of you."
But seconds later Corden had to apologise as he forced her triumphant speech to end in a whimper. The star - who made a show-stopping comeback performance with hit Rolling In The Deep earlier in the show - then made her rude gesture.
ITV, who broadcast last night's event, also offered its apologies to the British singer after the show.
A spokesman for the network said: "The Brits is a live event. Unfortunately the programme was overrunning and we had to move on. We would like to apologise to Adele for the interruption."
The incident also upset Corden who said afterward: "I just feel bad about having to cut Adele off.
"I don't understand what happened but I'm upset about it. Blur get to play for 11 minutes and she gets to say thank you once."
Black-clad Adele's appearance at the event had been her major UK comeback after undergoing surgery on her vocal cords in November.
Backstage she explained: "I flipped the finger but it wasn't to my fans. I'm sorry if I offended anyone but it was the suits that offended me.
"Thank you all very much and thanks to my fans. I don't want them to think I was swearing at them."
Time appeared to run short when Albarn spent several minutes thanking people who had helped rock act Blur as the band collected their outstanding contribution prize. Adele was forced off to allow the quartet to perform a set of big hits.
The night's other big winner was Ed Sheeran who also collected two awards. He landed best British breakthrough and beat stars such as Professor Green and Noel Gallagher to take best British male.
Sheeran - whose hits have included Lego House and The A Team - thanked his manager Stuart Camp who he said was responsible for turning the "spotty, chubby, ginger teenager into the person up here tonight".
Adele could have had a third prize but was beaten to the title of best single by heartthrob group One Direction for their track What Makes You Beautiful.
The X Factor heartthrobs - who came third in the ITV1 contest - landed the prize in a public vote.
The group dedicated the award to their fans, with singer Harry Styles adding: "Everything we do is for you, and this is yours."
Coldplay took the best British group title for a third time, following wins in 2001 and 2003. It was their seventh Brit in total.
Collecting the prize, Chris Martin said it was "humbling" to win.
And Martin - who performed with his own band and played piano in Noel Gallagher's band at the ceremony - praised the awards themselves: "We've been doing the Brits since before most of you were born. It was terrible then and it's amazing now."
Bruno Mars took the best international male prize, while Rihanna collected the best international female for the second year running.
Lana Del Rey fought back tears and thanked her record label in Germany as she collected her Brit Award for best international breakthrough. Foo Fighters were named best international group.
Dozens of the biggest stars in the music business gathered at the arena in south-east London to celebrate the most important night in the UK music calendar.
Major names who gave spectacular performances included Rihanna and Florence + The Machine. Florence Welch arrived at the bash wearing a glamorous gown created by Sarah Burton, the Alexander McQueen designer who was behind the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress.
When Tottenham-born Adele collected her first award of the night she acknowledged that it had been an astonishing year. "It's been an amazing year. Thank you. I'd like to thank my record company for letting me be the kind of artist I want to be."
But in her heels, she doubted her looks matched up to Kylie Minogue, from whom she accepted the trophy, which was designed by pop artist Sir Peter Blake.
Adele joked to Minogue: "I feel like a drag queen next to you."
BRITISH MALE SOLO ARTIST Ed Sheeran
BRITISH FEMALE SOLO ARTIST Adele
BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH ACT Ed Sheeran
BRITISH GROUP Coldplay
BRITISH SINGLE One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
MASTERCARD BRITISH ALBUM OF THE YEAR Adele - 21
INTERNATIONAL MALE SOLO ARTIST Bruno Mars
INTERNATIONAL FEMALE SOLO ARTIST Rihanna
INTERNATIONAL GROUP Foo Fighters
INTERNATIONAL BREAKTHROUGH ACT Lana Del Rey
CRITICS' CHOICE Emeli Sande
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC Blur


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Jamie Hickman
Albion High Albion, NY Class of 1999
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I realized a few weeks ago that I have finally reached a point in my life as a mother where I don't want to kill myself and actually enjoy my life. I don't think I've felt this happy since Alpha was very little or quite possibly before he was born. It's hard to tell because so much when you're pregnant and after you give birth, which makes it hard to remember how you usually feel. I think that's part of the reason why so many women have issues identifying things like post-partum depression. Even when I was severely depressed, I didn't think I was that bad off. I didn't really think I was depressed. I was just having a rough time. My therapist seemed to disagree since she had me meeting her once a week. But the changes I finally summoned up the courage to make are paying off spades. I'm well rested, I have plenty of time to myself, plenty of time with my husband, and I enjoy the time I spend with my kids. Here are some of the changes I made:
1) Adopting an authoritative role.
People who study parenting styles don't talk about 'Attachment parenting' or 'peaceful parenting,' 'Christian parenting' or anything with a brand name. They talk about authoritarian parenting, authoritative parenting, permissive parenting and neglectful parenting. Attachment parents are always quick to remind people that attachment parenting doesn't mean permissive parenting and I agree. However, the issue is often one of perspective. I came across a blog post where a parent who struck me as rather permissive talked about how she was authoritative and another parent who, in my mind took the authoritative stance, was authoritarian. Many permissive parents might just see themselves as authoritative because they have a different definition of the word.
Key to authoritative parenting is using the authoritative voice. It's stern, but calm. It's not shouting or yelling, but a normal talking voice. I use it to tell my kids when they're behavior is less than ideal and use it for warnings. It works. When my niece was visiting I used it with her and my son to tell them that they were not to slam the doors upstairs because it's loud, can break the doors and someone could get hurt. When I finished and left, I heard her telling Alpha, "Come on, let's do something else." It's amazing how much believing you can change your kids' behavior results in them changing their behavior.
2) Enforcing a Quiet Time and Bedtime.
I didn't used to do a Quiet Time. I assumed that when it became difficult to put my son down when he was around two years old, that meant he was done with naps. When I instituted a quiet time with him on my sister's suggestion, he resisted at first but when he realized that shows didn't get turned on unless quiet time happened, he happily went upstairs to lay down. So everyday, around 1pm, everyone goes upstairs to lie down and I get a minimum of 1 hour to myself. In the evenings, everyone goes to bed around 8:00 to 8:30, giving me another hour to 2 hours to myself.
The best thing about this is that if we are having a rough day, the only thing I have to do is look at the clock and say, it's 10am, only 3 more hours to go and they're down for Quiet Time. Usually after quiet time, they behave much better and so do I.
While my daughter still naps, my son doesn't usually and I give him a lot of leeway in what he's allowed to do during quiet time. The only restriction is that he has to do it in his room and he has to be fairly quiet. He can read a book, listen to an audiobook, and play with some toys. At the moment the kids and I have an understanding that shows don't play until after quiet time. They just don't work unless you do quiet time, you see. This has the added benefit of giving me another hour to myself in addition to quiet time.
3) I take time to myself
I've started taking a German class, going to some German social groups, and joined a gym. For the first two, I leave my kids at home. For the last one, Beta goes to the gym daycare, which she is not a fan of. She would much rather be with me, but I explain to her how long I'll be gone, what she can do while she's there and she copes now. She watches a show and sucks on her pacifier the whole time. As for the other things I do without the kids, they don't even blink an eye anymore. They just say bye to me and then hang out with Dad, who has become very adept at handling the kids and getting them to bed. I wish I had taken this time to myself when Alpha was young, but being an attached parent to me meant that when Alpha started to cry when I left, I had to stay because crying could be damaging to him. In other words, I interpreted his cries as being really upset and meaning he needed me to be there instead of him being upset at me leaving and him not understanding why. With Beta, I know she's sad but I know she'll be okay. I know it's not going to cause her to have an attachment disorder or anything like that.
4) Accepting that much about children is inborn and I can't change that.
This really decreases the amount of pressure I feel to be a 'perfect parent.' I know that for the most part, the only thing I can affect is the quality of my relationship with my children, not their intelligence or their future success in life. As long as my parenting is within the normal range (not bottom 10% and not top 10%), my kids will turn out as they should. So why panic about it?


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About Us
Massage Therapy
Craniosacral Therapy
Thai Massage and Reflexology
Contact And Pricing
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Foundations Complementary Health Centre
Or Call to make your appointment
Book On-line
How to Cope with Change
Finding Balance and Recovery
Take action to improve how you feel.
make CHANGE with
Kate Roach, MA.PSYCH.,
Registered Clinical Counsellor
Learn how to make good transitions
However much we may seek stability, life is a series of interconnected transitions. Sometimes we face complex changes that seem unworkable and challenges that appear impossible. Learning how to deal with the on-going changes of our lives promotes personal growth and deepens our sense of purpose and fulfillment.
With tools and support from CWC you can navigate these changes and establish a sense of safety and stability with a deeper, even more fulfilling sense of personal wholeness. Together, we can activate the internal resources that will help you to move forward with confidence.
You will know when this therapy is successful. You will recognize that you have weathered the storm. You will experience a sense of achievement that comes with working out the unworkable. You will emerge with a fresh new vision, feeling secure in approaching the next phase of your life.
Create a future you want to embrace
The problems we have with the changes happening in our lives are sometimes associated with unresolved emotional wounds, traumas that occurred days, months, or even years ago. These events leave traces in our present lives that can be identified and resolved. In the safe, supportive environment of CWC, you will be guided toward a healthy, actionable resolution.
When past traumas are resolved in a healthy manner, you will feel freer, more authentic, more able to experience your emotions and better equipped to design and live the future you want. As the stresses of life become more manageable, life becomes a future you want to embrace.
That is the ultimate goal.
Use CWC therapy techniques to move through difficult changes,
be comfortable in your own skin and get where you want to go.
And yes, we can help you figure out where that is.
Kate Roach, MA.PSYCH.,
Registered Professional Counsellor
Graduate of Vancouver College of Counsellor Training
Member of the Canadian Professional Counsellors Association
MA in Psychology
Completed a variety of courses in gestalt therapy
Leader and keen observer of groups for 30 years
Counseling of individuals and couples for decades
Constantly pursuing greater understanding of human behavior and motivations
A compassionate person with deep life experience, Kate Roach is a dedicated and energetic psychotherapist who treats a variety of concerns while specializing in helping people who are in transition; people who need to let go of one way and find another. She is driven by an insatiable curiosity about the human condition and a tremendous desire to see people come through the most challenging times in their lives. Kate has extensive experience helping people of diverse age groups, life stages, and cultures.
Kate's initial approach is talk therapy which is often the most effective approach. However, Kate also employs a multi-modal approach as needed, ensuring highly impactful results by utilizing best practices techniques from diverse approaches.


text:
Vehicle Technician
Halifax, West Yorkshire
Experienced vehicle Technician required for car main dealer in the Halifax area of West Yorkshire
£24,000-28,000 per annum
Basic salary, plus bonus and overtime
Our client, a franchised main dealer based in Halifax, are looking to recruit an experienced Technician to join their workshop team.
The successful applicant will have previous experience as a vehicle Technician, and of the duties and processes involved at franchised dealer level. NVQ level 3 or equivalent training is required, with ideally at least 2-3 years on the job experience. A key attribute for my client is a desire to learn and train to progress skills in a manufacturer based training programme.
My client has a stable and skilled workshop team, led by a passionate Workshop Controller. The business offers a positive environment and is attached to one of the world's biggest car manufacturers. The dealer and manufacturer offers a lot of opportunity for career growth for the successful applicant, with ongoing manufacturer training provided and genuine opportunities for progression.
- Basic salary/hourly rate dependent on experience
- Bonus and overtime in addition
- Monday-to Friday working hours, with Saturday morning rota
- Must hold a valid driving licence
- NVQ level 3 or equivalent qualification required
For more information, please use job reference JRSU2419 and contact Just Recruitment Solutions
Just Recruitment Solutions specialise in Automotive Recruitment and recruit for the motor trade all across the UK.
If you haven't been contacted within 7 days, please consider your application unsuccessful.
Key search words;
Motor Trade Jobs | Automotive | Cars and Vehicles | Dealership | Aftersales | Service | Workshop | Technician | Mechanic | Halifax


text:
A preeminent new philosophy journal – now available
The first of four issues of the inaugural volume of the Journal of the American Philosophical Association is now available online. Editor-in-Chief, John Heil reflects on the origins of and future plans for the Journal.
The Journal was inspired by the idea that the time had come for the American Philosophical Association (APA) to sponsor a journal serving the interests of the philosophical community worldwide, a fully generalist journal dedicated to publishing philosophically compelling articles in a timely manner.
The aim was to create a home for work with the greatest potential value and impact across the discipline, a journal defined by its articles' quality, diversity, and liveliness, a journal that could serve as a model of academic publishing.
Thus constituted, the Journal encompasses the aspirations of philosophers from varied philosophical backgrounds that characterize the APA. The Journal has a stellar team of specialist associate editors, and a growing number of consulting editors. This editorial team is dedicated to the idea that the world does not need yet another philosophy journal; the world needs a philosophy journal that serves philosophers by providing a venue for trend-setting – as distinguished from trendy – papers. Think of the Journal as affording the reader a unique opportunity to participate in the establishment of, not simply another philosophy journal, but a preeminent philosophy journal.
Our challenge is to ensure that a journal purporting to represent the full gamut of topics and approaches to philosophy succeeds. We will inevitably make mistakes. We will inevitably offend the easily offended. We believe, however, that we will achieve these goals by offering a vehicle for fresh, accessible scholarship governed by an editorial process designed to expedite decisions and have papers in print quickly.
Please help us. You can do this by submitting your most interesting work to the Journal – think of that paper you've wanted to write but for which the occasion hasn't arisen. Together we stand a chance of overcoming entrenched antipathies, and nurturing fresh approaches to serious philosophical topics.
Read the full first issue of Journal of the American Philosophical Association here.


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Colours Used
I counted up the occurrence of the
colours = ["red","orange","yellow","green","blue","purple","pink","brown","black","gray","white", "grey"]
in Ulysses by James Joyce. I'll post the word count code soon
red 113, orange 12, yellow 50, green 98, blue 82, purple 17, pink 21, brown 59, black 146, gray 2, white 163, grey 68
Turned this count into a barchart with r package ggplot2 graphing package
library(ggplot2) df <- data.frame(colours = factor(c("pink","red","orange","yellow","green","blue","purple", "brown", "black", "white", "grey"), levels=c("pink","red","orange","yellow","green","blue","purple","brown", "black", "white", "grey")), total_counts = c(21.0, 113.0,12.0, 50.0, 98.0, 82.0, 17.0, 59.0, 146.0,163.0,70.0)) colrs = factor(c("pink","red","orange","yellow","green","blue","purple", "brown", "black", "white", "grey")) bp <- ggplot(data=df, aes(x=colours, y=total_counts)) + geom_bar(stat="identity",fill=colrs)+guides(fill=FALSE) bp + theme(axis.title.x = element_blank(), axis.title.y = element_blank())+ ggtitle("Ulysses Color Counts") bp
unweaving the rainbow in just counting the times a colour is mentioned in a book. The program distills "The sea, the snotgreen sea, the scrotumtightening sea." into a single number. Still I think the ability to quickly look at the colour palette of a book is interesting.
The same picture made from the colours in Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Translated by Constance Garnett
Translations produce really funny graphs with this method. According to Jenks@GreekMythComix the ancient Greeks did not really use colours in the same abstract way we did. Things were not 'orange' so much as 'the colour of an orange'. The counts in the Alexander Pope translation of the Iliad are
red 36, yellow 11, green 16, blue 9, purple 43, brown 4, black 69, gray 1, white 25, grey 6
show increased use of these colours overtime.


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The pimp vanishes
I've just finished reading this morning's New York Times story about the Secret Service scandal, and my head is reeling. Buried in the middle of the story is a remarkable sentence:
Eventually, she lowered her demand to $250, which she said was the amount she has to pay the man who helps find her customers.
It's remarkable because "the man who helps find her customers" is mentioned nowhere else in the story. It's remarkable because the chain of events described in the article—how the woman met the Secret Service agent, how the events of the night and following morning went down—nowhere includes any indication whatsoever that "the man who helps find her customers" did, in fact, help her find this customer, much less do anything else that could possibly justify appropriating the woman's fee. Yet the Times reporter does not seem to register this discrepancy.
The man in question is the pimp, of course. Contrary to popular dude imagination, pimps don't actually contribute any value to the prostitution transaction; they're simply parasites. They attach themselves to women and blackmail them for part (or all) of their earnings, with the penalties ranging from beatings to death. They also induct new girls into prostitution by raping them and then putting them to work on the street, appropriating the earnings for themselves. They're like the mafia shaking down the corner store, only less benign.
Let's review the sequence of events in Cartagena as related by the New York Times:
- "Sitting in her living room wearing a short jean skirt, high-heeled espadrilles and a spandex top with a plunging neckline, the prostitute described how she and another woman were approached by a group of American men at a discotheque. In an account consistent with the official version of events coming out of Washington, but could not be independently confirmed, she said the men bought a bottle of Absolut vodka for the table and when that was finished bought a second one."
Are you seeing any role for the pimp here? Did he help the women find the discotheque? Did he draw a street map for them and give them directions? I don't think so.
- "There was a language gap between the woman, 24, who declined to give her full name, and the American man who sat beside her at the bar and eventually invited her to his room. She agreed, stopped on the way to buy condoms but told him he would have to give her a gift. He asked how much. Not knowing he worked for Mr. Obama but figuring he was a well-heeled foreigner, she said, she told him $800."
Is the pimp anywhere in this part of the story? Did he walk with the couple to the drugstore? Did he act as interpreter? No.
- "By 6:30 the next morning, after being awoken by a telephone call from the hotel front desk reminding her that, under the hotel's rules for prostitutes, she had to leave, whatever deal the two had agreed on had broken down. She recalled that the man told her he had been drunk when they discussed the price. He countered with an offer of 50,000 pesos, the equivalent of about $30."
So they go to the hotel, they do whatever, they sleep. Was the pimp there? Did he assist in the activities? Direct events, participate himself, offer up his own ass or mouth for services? Nope.
- "Disgusted with such a low amount, she pressed the matter. He became angry, ordered her out of the room and called her an expletive, she said.
"She said she was crying and went across the hall, where another escort had spent the night with an American man from the same group. Both women began trying to get the money.
"They knocked on the door but got no response. She threatened to call the police, but the man's friend, who appeared on the scene, begged her not to, saying they did not want trouble. Finally, she said, she left to go home but came across a police officer stationed in the hallway, who called in an English-speaking colleague.
"He accompanied her back to the room and the dispute escalated. Two other Americans from the club emerged from their rooms and stood guard in front of their friend's locked door. The two Colombian officers tried to argue the woman's case."
So, we have two Colombian police officers, the woman's friend, and three Americans all involved in this dispute. Is the pimp there? Is he part of this scene? Is he negotiating, contributing, anything? Nope.
But now the killer:
- "A hotel security officer arrived. Eventually, she lowered her demand to $250, which she said was the amount she has to pay the man who helps find her customers. Eager to resolve the matter fast, the American men eventually gave her a combination of dollars and pesos worth about $225, and she left."
So, the one person who had absolutely no part in the proceedings, the one person who did nothing to earn any money, the one person who wasn't even on the scene—he's the one guy who gets paid.
What is remarkable to me here is that the New York Times reporter and apparently everyone else just blips over the existence of this guy—the guy who's getting paid, the guy who is robbing the woman of her earnings.
It's like a story about slavery where there are no slaveowners: just slaves mysteriously working in the fields all on their own.
11 Responses to "The pimp vanishes"
Unree says:
It's hard to believe that the deeply conservative year 1963 yielded more enlightened words about pimps. I am thinking of the song lyric in the musical Irma La Douce:
Every evening, the 'poule' will stroll up and down near the Bridge of Caulaincourt. This is the way the poule will earn money for her boss, or as we say in the milieu, 'grisbi' for her 'mec.' This is the system: Mec sends out poule, poule gets grisbi. Grisbi goes to mec and buys him his hand-made shirts, his painted ties, his drinks, his bets, his crepes suzettes. It's just simple economics.
Violet Socks says:
It is incredible, especially considering that Irma La Douce is firmly in the tradition of bullshit romanticizations of prostitution. Gah, I hate that stuff with a passion—happy hookers with their hearts of gold, and the pimps and johns who love them. I can't tolerate it for even a second.
anna says:
Most prostitutes begin when they are very young homeless street kids and have no legal way to earn money.
I hate this attitude that women become prostitutes because they love sex so much. Because obviously if you loved sex, you'd want to have it with someone who didn't give a shit about your pleasure, who probably wasn't attractive, who required you to perform sex acts that the vast majority of women consider disgusting and painful, etc.
It all comes from this idea that sex is something women provide for men's pleasure. And don't tell me straight women don't have sex drives. They just don't get a chance to express them. It's all "worry about looking good, worry about pleasing your man, give him a chance even though he's hideous or you're a heartless b— " in the media. And don't get me started on porn's influence on sex. Women slaving away to look gorgeous and please their man in bed, and he sits on his fat hairy ass wondering why she doesn't want to have sex, aka poledance for him, let him jackhammer her vagina with no lube or foreplay and then spew semen all over her face, just like his porn idols.
sam says:
It's unlikely you intended it, but your title instantly brings to mind the book The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin's Russia http://www.newseum.org/berlinwall/commissar_vanishes/vanishes.htm
The victors write history, and men are still the only victors allowed.
Interesting use of the word 'demand' in "lowered her demand to $250″
Why not "lowered her fee for services", "lowered the agreed-upon price", "compromised financially to resolve the altercation" or "conceded to a much lower payment than was originally promised"?
My newsfeeds are stuffed with this story from all over the world. Coverage revolves around men and the details of men's rules made (Columbia prostitution is legal) and men's rules broken (Presidential security compromised) while women's lives made or broken are irrelevant.
Men's rules include the caveat that hurting a woman behind closed doors where other men aren't bothered is acceptable, but getting caught if it sneaks out the door is anathema.
The gold digger says:
Does the Times really think that none of their readers will know the word "pimp?"
I feel bad for these women. I wish they had gotten their money up front. I'm glad the guys are being fired.
tinfoil hattie says:
But prostitutes like being prostitutes. They give the pimps their money for "protection." Prostitution is fun, and empowering, and feminist! And a great way to make money.
How dare you imply anything else?
tinfoilhattie says:
anna, your comment is BRILLIANT.
Jay says:
Great commentary. Posts like these are why I hang out here. I was wondering about that when I first read it – I assumed the pimp had arranged things with the agents ahead of time and got them together at the club…… obviously not.
One thing I'm curious as to your thoughts on… I hardly think prostitution is a great thing, but this girl was in a MUCH better position with it being legalized in Colombia. The only reason the agents couldn't stiff her with impunity is because the police were brought in.
She couldn't have done that in the US. She would have had zero recourse. And I don't think that's a good thing.
Violet Socks says:
Right! So, thankfully, the pimp got his money. Excellent result.
Violet Socks says:
The secret service prostitution scandal: it's about more than national security:
Those working against the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children know that "tolerance zones" in countries that have legalized prostitution – which is actually legalization of brothels and pimping – are magnets for traffickers. The "Pley Club" is a strip club and brothel. Worldwide, such clubs provide cover for the recruitment and use of women and girls for commercial sexual exploitation.
The secret service detail didn't simply take a stroll to an isolated brothel. There are rows of sex clubs and brothels in the Cartagena prostitution zone, where many women from different countries also walk the streets in search of "customers" seeking sexual services. The US officials were among the hundreds of US sex tourists who, every year, visit these sex clubs and brothels. Pimps control many of the women in the legal tolerance zones. The woman who set the secret service scandal in motion sought more money from the secret service agent than the puny $30 he'd paid her because she had to pay her (legal) pimp.
Just so we're clear about what exactly is legal here and what is being facilitated.
Sameol says:
The statistics are astronomical, aren't they? What is it, something like 80% of the prostitutes in countries where it's legal are victims of trafficking?


text:
"For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends." Ralph Waldo Emerson
It is amazing how some moments can cause us to be reflective, experiencing epiphanies and viewing life through a different pair of eyes. New Year's resolutions are often made with the best of intentions, only to be abandoned at the first sign of a challenge. We often make promises to each other- but those promises are broken when our lives get in the way. It happens; we try our hardest to keep our word, only to fail time after time.
For me, birthdays are one of those reflective moments that I use to take stock of my life and the changes that I need to make. My recent birthday caused me to make one more attempt to keep a promise that I have made a few times before. I purposed in my heart to develop an "attitude of gratitude." I believe that expressing gratitude is an integral part of the spiritual journey that keeps us connected to God. Whether we accept it or not, there is always something to be grateful for and not expressing gratitude does not negate the fact that God is constantly pouring out immeasurable blessings which we sometimes take for granted.
Expressing our thanks is one way of not only reminding ourselves of the magnitude of God's love but also reminding us that we are part of something so much greater than ourselves and our perceived limitations. I must say that ungratefulness is one of my pet peeves. It is too costless a gesture to not be expressed more abundantly. In spite of the many blessings we receive, it seems that our society is plagued by a spirit of ungraciousness which has even permeated some of our churches. Coupled with a sense of entitlement that is so widespread nowadays, often times we neglect to express gratitude to God and our benefactors.
Frankly, I am guilty of asking for additional blessings without even taking the time to express gratitude for those uncounted blessings that I have already received. I am extending a challenge to all Rhema magazine readers – to join me on this quest to make a concerted effort to develop an "attitude of gratitude." Let us start living our lives with grateful hearts; which will cause us to be constantly cognizant of the boundless blessings that are all around us. Let us use these blessings as a reminder of our need to express gratitude to God for all the provisions He has made.
Psalms 136 V 1 "O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
God bless!


text:
Mal Harford
Mal Harford is a Consulting Partner of Assay Advisory and is based in Perth, Western Australia.
Mal has practised as a lawyer in Western Australia since 1980 and was a Principal/Director of two firms from July 1985 to September 2012. He was the managing principal/director for six years from 2003 until 2009. For the last 18 months Mal has been consulting to one of Perth's leading boutique practices.
Mal's primary practice areas as a lawyer were in Commercial and Property law with a specific emphasis on merger and acquisition transactions for SME businesses. Mal has acted for a number of buyers and sellers (in particular) and dealt with listed overseas entities purchasing client's businesses in Australia and has an extensive understanding of the operations, needs and concerns of SME business proprietors.
Mal's legal practice engaged the services of Shirlaws Business Coaching for a period of five years from 1999 to 2004 and he is familiar with the Shirlaws coaching models. Following from the five year consulting with Shirlaws Business Coaching, Mal negotiated the merger of his then firm with a another firm of similar work type and size to create one of Perth's leading boutique law practices.
Mal was also a member of The Executive Connection (TEC) for a period of 5 years from 2005 to 2009 and during that period shared the trials and tribulations of the other TEC group members who all operated in the SME business space whether as owners or CEOs. The period with TEC gave Mal a good understanding and insight into the issues that SME businesses deal with on a daily basis.
Mal holds Bachelor of Jurisprudence and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of Western Australia.


text:
by Pete
(Los Angeles, CA)
I have a YT Caique and he's had this little pinkish patch on one of his ankles, but not the other. I didn't think much of it because he doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but visually it looks a bit weird because his other ankle isn't like that. It doesn't seem to bug him at all when I rough-house with him and when I touch that spot he doesn't even react.
Comments for Caique with a little redness on ankle
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text:
The only thing I've ever wanted to be is a writer--well, except that brief period when I was 8 and I wanted to be either a tight-rope walker or a bounty hunter. When I was a pre-teen, way back in the eighties, I used to thumb through magazines, and every time I'd see an advertisement for a Danielle Steel novel, I'd cross out "Steel" and write in "Olguin." I've been married for almost sixteen years to a man who just absolutely gets me, and we have a son, who is almost 15. Until this year, I homeschooled him, but he decided he wanted to give public high school a whirl, so I've suddenly found myself with more time than I've ever had to write, which is a dream come true and an absolute privilege. I always thought I'd be a literary or women's fiction author, but it turns out, it's middle grade and young adult fiction that I'm drawn to write.
I'm an active participant in local critique groups and a small handful of social media support and critique groups. I also read as many craft books as I can get my hands on. Bird by Bird, On Writing, and Old Friend from Far Away are among my favorites. Right now, I'm working through Story Genius and I suspect that one will move to the top of my favorites list, too.
If I woke up one day and discovered aliens stole all the brie, I'd be devastated. Also, I once took the watch off a dead man and gave it to my mother. But I promise, no laws were broken, and that story isn't nearly as bad-ass as it sounds.
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/danniemolguin
Twitter: danniemolguin
Facebook: facebook.com/danniemolguin
Google+: plus.google.com/+DannieMOlguin


text:
Meet the experts behind the name
Lischkoff Design is a small Toronto based firm that allows for personalized service, regardless of a project's scope. Lischkoff Build is the sister company of Lischkoff Design specializing in high-end custom homes and lakefront properties in Muskoka. Lischkoff Build has a combined experience of over 50 years in design and construction. Scroll down to learn more about the experts behind the Lischkoff name.


text:
Magura MT-4 Disc Brake
The brake lever of the MT4 is manufactured from Carbotecture. As with the models toward the top end of the range, stability and rigidity are retained by using a greater capacity and wall thickness. Tool-free centre-of-pressure adjustment is also incorporated into the brake lever.
- Stronger, Lighter, Ingenious. The MT lineage of brakes are the ultimate step in Magura's Mission Performance
- Carbotecture Body which is a proprietary carbon weave that is nearly twice as strong as carbon laminates, aluminum or magnesium
- Carbotecture radial design master-cylinder/lever with alloy lever blade and clamp, Flip/Flop design, and EBT or Easy Bleed Technology port on reservoir
- BAT (bite adjust technology) offers pressure point modulation without affecting lever reach
- Double Arch 1-piece monoblock caliper design that features anti-heat, anti-drag and anti-squeal and EPR or Easy Pad Replacement technology
- Full-hydraulic Magura Royal Blood mineral oil system with a 5-year leakproof warranty
- Includes: Flip/Flop front or rear lever, 1650mm pre-bled tubing kit, 74mm post-mount caliper, MC/lever, alloy hardware, tubing shortening bits, and manual
Part Numbers
|Store SKU
|0 141 100


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Bing Search
The Bing team has produced a series of videos showing off their Windows 8 apps which will be installed by default on the new OS.
The team separated out the features of the Bing website into individual apps, such as Search, News, Weather, Maps, Travel and Finance.
The Bing Search app makes heavy use of the Snap feature as demonstrated in the video above.
Travel, Weather and Maps
The Travel app has more than 3,000 destinations, 360 degree panoramas and will allow one to book flights and hotels straight from the app.
The Weather app offers hourly, daily and 10 day forecasts and features rich, engaging imagery.
The Maps app offers traffic information, while the News app is photo-rich.
News, Finance and Sport
The Finance app will offer key market indices via a live tile and rich graphics.
The Sports app will offer top sports headlines, live scores, schedules, standings, extensive statistics and much more across all major sports and also high-resolution pictures to give you an immersive experience.
The News app is another photo-rich immersive app which collate reliable sources from around the world.
While the apps they showed off already appeared polished, they promised to add even more functionality prior to the consumer release of Windows 8 on October 26th.
Via Bing.com


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Strategic Campaigner 20170830
Are you interested in fighting multinational corporations, organising the workers who carry our country and ensuring safer roads and skies for everyone in Australia? Then the TWU needs to hear from you!
The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) is one of Australia's leading campaigning trade unions. Our union fights to give transport workers a powerful voice in support of social and economic justice.
We are seeking an experienced union campaigner to play a key role in Safe Rates, our road transport campaign. It's an exciting year for the campaign, with a strong focus on public campaigning, political lobbying, organising, bargaining and reforming the transport industry by fighting billion dollar corporations. This role is essential to make this reform possible.
The Strategic Campaigner's main focus is to grow union power by assisting with the coordination and implementation of national campaigns around the country through work with organisers and delegates. This is a role for someone who loves campaigning, organising, training, working with delegates and organisers, and putting in the effort to deliver real change.
The successful candidate will:
- Support the coordination and execution of the national campaign plan, including community campaigning and maximising member growth.
- Assist in the implementation of organising strategies, plans and projects across branches and nationally.
- Support the training and development of delegates and members across the campaign.
- Undertake and assist with research, planning, communications, and event management for campaign actions.
- Liaise with staff in other departments of the union to achieve success for the campaign.
- Build and manage relationships with staff in TWU state branches.
The successful applicant will ideally have:
- A proven track record as a union organiser. Experience with supply chain campaigning, training or development a plus.
- The ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
- A willingness to understand and implement union growth strategies.
- Strong communications skills, including demonstrated ability to write reports and draft internal and external communications.
- Good IT communications skills, including experience with Excel and digital communications.
- An interest in learning how to lead other team members.
- A commitment to Labour values.
- The role will be based in our national office in Sydney, with interstate travel.
- Applications welcome from candidates with the required experience and a passion for human rights.
To apply, forward a Cover Letter CV to Emily McMillan, Chief of Campaigns, Transport Workers' Union of Australia by email: firstname.lastname@example.com
For a confidential discussion about this role, please contact Emily McMillan, Tel: 02 8114 6500.


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[21 July 2015]
Could the petrol price be set to fall at the beginning of August?
The oil price has come down over the month so far. This is raising hopes that the petrol price will follow after hikes over the past few months. But the Automobile Association (AA) warns against motorists pinning hopes on the petrol price coming down as the rand continues to trade at weak levels against the dollar. Let's take a closer look at what could lie in store for the price of petrol a...
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[21 July 2015]
Greece agrees to a new bailout deal after teetering on the brink of bankruptcy
Following overnight talks, Greece has reached a deal with its creditors. This follows Greece missing a multibillion euro payment to the International Monetary Fund two weeks ago. This led the country to close its banks and to impose strict controls on bank withdrawals. So what does the new bailout deal entail? And will Greece remain in the Eurozone? Let's take a closer look… Gree...
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[13 July 2015]
Business confidence continues to slide
Earlier today, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) released its business confidence data. The index revealed a hefty slide since last month. This takes business confidence down to levels not seen since 1999. Let's take a closer look at what's going on… The business confidence index fell to 84.6 points The business confidence index slid "to 84.6 points ...
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[07 July 2015]
Markets slide after Greece votes 'no' to a bailout
Yesterday, the people of Greece voted in a referendum to determine whether or not the country should accept the current bailout offer. The resounding 'no' by the Greek people led the country's finance minister to step down from his position. Markets are opening down on the news. Let's take a closer look at what's going on… Greece's finance minister steps down following the '...
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[06 July 2015]
The energy regulator vetoes Eskom's bid to raise tariffs
Yesterday, the National Energy Regulator of SA (NERSA) announced it was rejecting Eskom's application to raise tariffs. Not surprisingly, many have welcomed the regulator's decision. Let's take a closer look at the reasons why NERSA rejected the application… NERSA weren't happy about a number of aspects in Eskom's application NERSA says that Eskom didn't show "the savings ...
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[30 June 2015]
Markets are under pressure as Greece shuts banks and its stock market as default looms
Financial markets are feeling the pressure today as the Greek government announced its decision to close banks and instil capital controls until next Monday. The Greek government has taken this move as the country will vote in a referendum on 5 July. Greece is on the verge of defaulting on a loan to the International Monetary Fund tomorrow. Let's take a closer look at what's going on… ...
››› more
[29 June 2015]
Motorists face another whopping hike to the petrol price this week
After contending with a 49c a litre hike at the start of this month, the beginning of July brings another large petrol price rise. The Department of Energy confirmed the increase on Friday afternoon. Let's take a closer look at what's behind the hike and how much more you'll be paying at the pump… The petrol price is rising between 41c and 44c From Wednesday, the petrol price is r...
››› more
[29 June 2015]
A poultry deal between SA and the US puts 6,500 jobs at risk
Over the weekend, a deal between South Africa and the USA over poultry imports threatens the livelihoods of around 6,500 workers in the South African sector. Whilst the agreement will boost imports of poultry into SA, which is seeing a growth in demand, worries over the effects on the domestic poultry industry are growing. Let's take a closer look at what's going on… The SA poultry i...
››› more
[10 June 2015]
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LONGER BREAKS (Pictured below: Navigating the Sound of Harris)
Many of our customers travel a long way often from Europe and sometimes further afield, to reach this wonderful cruising area and like to spend two weeks or more exploring it. There are many attractive places to visit both North and South of the ones suggested already. Options also include visiting Orkney and/or Shetland and even perhaps going right round through the Pentland Firth, to Inverness then back through the Caledonian Canal. If you are planning this trip you will probably already know the area well and have your own ideas about how to get there. We do allow the yachts to do this trip, length of charter permitting, so if you think that it might be of interest and do need any more information please don't hesitate to ask.
Quite a lot of customers extend their holiday to ten days and for a ten day holiday, the existing Passage Plans on this site could quite easily be slightly extended; North, South, West or even occasionally East to give you a more relaxed view of the area. If St Kilda is your ultimate goal then a few extra days will give you a better chance of getting there, and if the weather is settled, a chance to spend a bit more time enjoying the experience of being there. The Friday changeover boats - details on the price list - generally lend themselves better to ten day bookings.
For those of you coming here for a fortnight or more, who are not familiar with the area there are two general directions in which you could head in addition to Orkney, Shetland and St Kilda which have already been mentioned.
Once again heading North there are many quiet locations waiting to welcome you on the North West coast of Scotland. Two weeks would allow you to head North past Ullapool and, to mention just a few of places you might visit, on to Lochinver, Kylesku, and possibly as far as Kinlochbervie before heading across the Minch to Stornoway and then heading South down the deserted lochs of Lewis. We haven't mentioned Stornoway in any of the other suggested itineraries and it is well worth a visit (although it is still very quiet on a Sunday) having a 70 berth marina and good facilities for yachtsmen. (The facilities include Click and Collect shopping from Tesco, so you can place your mid cruise top up shopping order in advance)! You can then pick up on the one week suggestions on the previous pages for either Skye or the Outer Hebrides and return via the Small Isles.
If the weather is very settled you might prefer to head further West through the Sound of Harris and explore the Monarch Isles, Taransay, Scarp and/or Loch Roag then head back via the Butt of Lewis and Stornoway. This would probably be followed by coming back via the North side of Skye but the opportunities are vast.
For both the above options we will require details of your sailing experience to give you permission to have the Extended Cruising Limits Option and you will need the North/West chart option for which there is a small charge.
Heading South with a longer period there are lots of options. Taking a sail round Mull as well as Skye perhaps going as far south as Colonsay or Islay or Jura and then heading back north via Barra, Eriskay and South Uist gives you a wonderful mix of activity shoreside, good food, historic sites and remote anchorages. Please note that this area does get very busy from mid-July to mid-August so if you would prefer to be in uncrowded anchorages heading North at that time of year gives you more opportunity to do so.
If you wish to head south of anchorages on the south coast of Mull you will require permission for insurance purposes but there is no additional charge .
If these suggestions are of interest to you and you would like some more information about them please get in touch.
(Pictured right : One of the many superb west coast beaches on Harris)


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How do we earn Steem Power and become a witness for Steemit today? What is a witness? Where does mining happen in Steem? Which steps to take to get a witness node online? Why take the time to vote for witnesses? Who are the existing witnesses for Steem? Will we read this guide because it has answers to all these questions which when understood helps us to be of best service here and therefore to get the highest return from our time invested?
What is a Steem witness?
Every account on Steemit has the ability to become a witness by setting up and maintaining a Linux server that is capable of creating new blocks on our blockchain. When we send a notification to the network updating our witness, then we are known as witnesses to the community as seen at https://steemd.com/witnesses which is a very helpful Steemit tool I use every day thanks to witness @roadscape.
Where does mining happen in Steem?
Mining a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin happens when new tokens are created and transactions are verified and added to the public ledger also known as the blockchain. With Steem, what we call the mining process is managed by witnesses. Steem witnesses produce all of the new blocks in the blockchain for Steem on our witness servers through what is known as delegated proof of stake. In DPOS the accounts with Steem choose who gets to make blocks instead of in Proof of Work mining where miners compete to finish a new block without needing to hold any of the cryptocurrency itself. All transactions with Steem and Steem Dollars including the creation of new Steem go through witness servers generally in just a few seconds. While Steem previously allowed proof of work mining alongside this Delegated Proof-of-Stake system, as of August 2, 2017 there is no proof of work mining in Steem but it may be introduced again in exclusively for creating new accounts in the future. We generally use just the term witness to keep it simple talking about mining and explaining our specific system for producing and maintaining our blockchain with DPOS.
Who are the existing witnesses for Steem?
View the list of witnesses today at https://steemdb.com/witnesses available to us because of the service of witness @jesta. The top 20 witnesses online handle the majority of the blocks while witnesses below have the chance to rotate in as a backup.
How much to Steem witness accounts earn?
Witnesses are literally creating the blockchain we are using which powers everything we do with Steem including posting on Steemit and transacting with Steem and SBD. As a reward for this service, witnesses collectively earn about 3% of all the new Steem created each day with top 20 witnesses making around 0.18 Steem Power every 63 seconds and the witnesses below that making a little less than 1 Steem Power per block. Converting the witness earnings in seconds to days shows that the top 20 witnesses earn about 250 Steem Power per day equal to around $300 daily at the current Steem price. Meanwhile, a new witness with just a few votes will be lucky to earn even one block per day! Getting started being a witness is not likely to be profitable in the short term BUT becoming a witness as a part of being an active and dedicated community member can pay very well especially when combined with witness updates, author rewards, and curation rewards.
Where am I in the witness listing and how much do I earn?
At rank 62 today with 10,088 Mega Vests in votes for me which is equal to about 5,000,000 Steem Power or about 2.68% of all Steem Power available in the accounts voting for my witness, I get about 12 blocks a day. At $1.30 Steem price I get around $15 a day or around $450 a month which is about what I pay in server hosting. I am very grateful for the upvotes from those listed at https://steemdb.com/@jerrybanfield/witness especially @hendrikdegrote and @roadscape and @fulltimegeek and @teamsteem and @snowflake because their top 5 upvotes account for the majority of my total approval rating! I consistently check the witness upvotes to help me be available for collaborating and giving back to those giving the most to me! See my daily block history since I launched through August 2, 2017 below with zero misses SO FAR thanks to @someguy123 updating me to 19.1!
Why take the time to vote for witnesses?
With the trust we place in Steem witnesses to literally continue creating our community in real time and receive compensation for it, we have a responsibility to either vote for witnesses ourselves or choose someone to vote on witnesses on our behalf at https://steemit.com/~witnesses. The top 20 witnesses determine which version of Steem to run, maintain the price feed for SBD, adjust the account creation fee, select the interest rate for savings accounts, and are in the best position to communicate with Steemit Inc. That said, given the top 20 witnesses already have a lot of votes, often our best opportunity with our witness votes is to help witnesses not in the top 20 rise up and participate because we need a deep roster of available witnesses in the event of an attack or disaster or challenge that we face together. Just like on a football team, we need to have players ready to substitute in at all times that are ready to play as if they were a starter. The top 20 witnesses are our starting lineup while the rest are on the bench and should especially in the top 30 to 50 be ready to serve at a moments notice as a top 20 witness. Each vote we place helps determine the rankings for all witnesses.
What is the easiest way to handle voting?
Making our votes at https://steemit.com/~witnesses or setting a proxy are the simple ways to participate in witness voting! Setting a proxy is the easiest because we can just trust another user then to handle all the voting for us! For my first month on Steemit, I did not vote or even think almost anything about the witness process. I figured that was too technical for me and better to let people that understood those kinds of things handle the voting. As I continued to participate here and read posts from authors I followed, I realized that each of our votes for a witness is our best chance to have our views and interests about Steem represented as we consider changes and work together to make the best community for everyone. Today I carefully consider my witness votes and work to both help top 20 witnesses doing great service to us to maintain their positions while helping new witnesses and top backups move higher. If you would prefer not to go any deeper into the witness process or think about voting, would you please set me as jerrybanfield as your voting proxy or another user you trust because you will then be contributing your vote fully? We can easily remove a proxy later by typing the name in again in the proxy voting box if we decide we want to start doing it ourselves or change to another user. If you are doing your own witness votes, would you please vote for me because we feel good giving to those that take the time to give to us?
When is the best time to get started becoming a Steem witness?
Today! The biggest challenge for me getting started was that I had no experience with Linux which I assumed was such a large liability I should not even bother. Fortunately, I was able to get my server online after investing an hour daily for two weeks reading guides and learning the basics of Ubuntu Linux. If you have no experience with Linux, I hope my next tutorial which I will link here when it is finished will make it even easier for you because I took note of every single command I used to setup my servers for you to literally copy and paste your way into being online!
Who can become a witness for Steem?
Any Steemit account that can get the server online and update the witness to the network can become a witness! If we are planning to be dedicated members of the Steem community and would like to participate fully, becoming a witness is ideal when combined with authoring posts, curation, and commenting because it provides us with a well rounded investment in our community. Technically you can even completely outsource getting the server setup and maintained preferably to an established witness that has deep skills in maintaining the server. After doing everything to set my server up and get it online, I have now collaborated with top 20 witness @someguy123 to receive help with the management of my server to keep it in top shape for our community through updates and unexpected crashes. If we are already skilled Linux users, it may help to make the opposite collaboration with an existing author if we do not author many posts or have much voting power in our followers. In summary, being a witness is about working together to maximize service to Steem with many possible ways to be a valuable witness!
My Ubuntu Linux server specs for both witness and seed.
2x Intel Xeon E5-2630 V3
2x 240GB SSDs
1Gbit/s connection
How to setup the witness server from zero?
While I was originally going to show every step here, this guide has already gotten so long answering the basics that I am going to make a separate post showing the complete process which I will link to here when it is finished. Until then, here is a post linking all the guides I used to setup my server at https://steemit.com/witness-category/@jerrybanfield/launch-a-steem-witness-today along with understanding the basic steps below!
- Consider whether running the marathon of being a Steem witness and investing in our community here is a goal worth pursuing. Getting votes for most of us is the most challenging part to being a witness because it can take months to just get enough to even pay for the server costs. If we are certain we want to be here indefinitely and contribute the most possible on Steemit, then becoming a witness is definitely worth the effort.
- Rent a Linux server for the witness node and also rent a server for the seed node if we want to be seriously considered ever for a top 20 witness and in the foreseeable future join the top 50. I chose to rent two servers with the specs listed above that could handle a top 20 block load for the foreseeable future because that minimizes my need to upgrade my servers and helps demonstrate my willingness to be a great backup witness. While it is possible to start with less such as just doing the witness node or getting about half the RAM I have plus slower/fewer processors, I believe for getting votes the server specifications make a big difference. My servers are rented from @privex where @someguy123 is the CEO. If you rent a server from @privex would you mention you found them through me because you might feel good about helping me earn a discount on my next invoice?
- Start by setting up the seed node if available and especially if new to Linux. After practicing on the seed node, then do the full witness setup because the seed node has a lot fewer steps to get online. The list of Steem nodes currently online is available at https://status.steemnodes.com/ thanks to the work of top 20 witness @wackou.
- Update the server to get all the available packages such as the nano text editor and secure the server by changing the password and taking additional security measures such as disabling root login, changing the SSH port, using RSA keys instead of a password login, and enabling the firewall.
- Install Steem using @someguy123's Steem Docker at https://github.com/Someguy123/steem-docker.git. If doing the seed, that is it.
- Build the witness server! Do all of the same on the witness and then use the CLI wallet to update the witness and get active on the network! For help, visit use the witness channel on Steemit.chat at https://steemit.chat/channel/witness. Thank you to top 20 witness @riverhead for keeping steemit.chat online for us and making it so easy to ask for help as a witness!
- Setup the price feed with https://github.com/Someguy123/steemfeed-js.git by @someguy123.
- Minimize and track block misses at https://steemdb.com/@jerrybanfield/blocks by switching your username for mine. If a block is missed, try ./run.sh restart and ./run.sh replay to reload because if your server hosting is reliable the most common cause would be Steem crashing which can be fixed by a reload. For further reading, @someguy123 just posted a guide with more depth about restarting the witness server using his setup.
- Start asking for votes. I wrote a full guide on this at https://steemit.com/witness-category/@jerrybanfield/how-to-start-getting-steem-witness-votes which I will summarize quickly here with one major update because getting votes is the most challenging part of becoming a witness. The best place to start is with existing relationships by directly asking for a vote and explaining why. I use the following sentence to ask my top followers to vote for me as a witness because it incorporates the basics of persuasive communication along with making my request clear and allowing for a yes or no answer. "Thank you for voting [insert number] of my posts up recently! Would you please vote for me as a witness at steemit.com/~witnesses because [choose motivation]?" Getting the very first witness votes is critical to help us earn our first blocks as a witness because this provides room for improvement! Choosing a reason based on what the person might respond to best can also help increase the effectiveness of the ask. For example "because I am already upvoting you" is valid to directly ask for a favor while "because you might feel good about helping me" can also work. To communicate this, it is ideal to already have a private messaging channel available such as on steemit.chat or an email address or phone number. If this is not available, responding to a comment on Steemit or asking in a post can work. If this still is not available and the person has already upvoted you several times but you do not know of any other way to contact them, sending a message using the wallet with a transfer and a memo is effective at the risk of annoying the receiver if the amount is very small such as 0.001 SBD or creating resentment in the witness community if the amount is large like 100 Steem. I tried the wallet memo ask because my initial post launching my witness received less than 1% of the total voting power from all of my followers. I then spent about 1000 Steem to send 10 to 100 Steem to my top upvoters in the wallet to thank them for upvoting me and ask for a witness vote. While this was very effective helping followers convert to witness voters, I will not be using this method going forward because of the negative feedback received and because there are better ways to get witness votes going forward such as writing helpful posts about being a witness.
- Post witness updates. Being a witness for Steem is a long term investment of time and money that pays out the most with giving to the community on a consistent basis. Posting witness updates is the best way initially to earn enough to pay for the server and to help get witness votes on an ongoing basis. Use tag "witness-update" and also "witness-category" to share with other witnesses most effectively. Most witness updates earn at least $20 with the best ones often earning $100+. I plan to have this and another post to share in my witness update as proof of my work as a witness which I think is ideal for doing a good witness update. View examples at https://steemit.com/trending/witness-update.
- Make valuable contributions! Each witness has a unique gift to give to our community. Many that I have listed already have built valuable resources for us that make using Steem easier. One I have not mentioned already is @chainsquad.com who runs https://streemian.com/ which is extremely valuable for me in publishing my posts out automatically with RSS to Facebook and Twitter. Another is @teamsteem who has helped me consistently in private chat along with being one of the first to upvote my witness and publishing guides that I read getting started on Steemit. @curie helps hundreds of people vote for the best posts by assisting with curation. @good-karma runs eSteem which I think is the #1 mobile app for using Steemit. @roelandp helps me find my top upvoters fast with steemvp.com. @krnel and @kyle's witness guides were very helpful alongside those by @someguy123 for me to setup my witness. @blocktrades has helped me change thousands of SBD fast into USD. @lukestokes with his witness lukestokes.mhth had the courage to give me an honest, thorough, and helpful reply to my Steem witness voting thread when I was getting overly selfish with my work on Steem. Many of the witnesses ranking below me I am voting for helped me in the witness chat or joined us on Steem and setup a witness after buying one of my video courses. To summarize, each witness I am voting for has done something that has helped me a lot whether it was directly as in a comment or indirectly through service to all of us such as by building a website or publishing posts. Often the service of witnesses goes unnoticed as it took me over two months here to realize @roadscape maintains steemd.com because I thought that was done by Steemit. I just discovered today that @jesta does steemdb which I use daily although I was already voting for him before because of his work on ChainBB. The more we give to our community, the more we will receive. We have the ability to receive a lot as a witness if we give a lot!
Thank you very much for reading this post which will soon be followed by a complete technical setup guide featuring the list of all the commands to get a witness server running in Ubuntu Linux which I hope can be nearly copied and pasted to get the server running.
Would you please vote for me as a witness at https://steemit.com/~witnesses because it feels good to participate in the voting process and to vote for witnesses that are working for us today?
Jerry Banfield