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TV midseason forecasts and reflections
A steady stream of bits and tweets came out of the semi-annual Television Critics Association winter press tour this week.
And, if you were a fan of shows on NBC, not much of it was good.
Here's a network-by-network roundup of what was announced, previewed and confessed:
No laughing at ABC
• "Cougar Town" creator Bill Lawrence said his anger at ABC for keeping the show off the midseason schedule was a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10.
"But if they cancel the show," Lawrence said, "it will be an 11."
ABC entertainment chief Paul Lee said he empathized with Lawrence.
"I used to be Bill, when I used to be sort of a pirate show-runner," Lee said. "He does such a good job of getting his audience excited. He's the pirate, and I'm the Navy, in this case. I miss being on the pirate ship."
The show is tentatively scheduled to return in March.
• Nobody misses the comedy laugh track. At least that's the consensus among creators of ABC's "Modern Family," "Suburgatory" and "The Middle," all of which don't have a laugh track.
"There was a time when the laugh track was reassuring and helped people understand when to laugh," said "Suburgatory" creator Emily Kapnek, "and I almost feel the opposite now and it winds up feeling a little bit oppressive."
• "Modern Family" creator Steven Levitan said he has been surprised by how much audiences love Cam and Mitchell (played by Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson).
"When you make it personal and show the people have good hearts and are extremely committed, loving parents, it's hard not to love them," Levitan said.
• With the soap opera "One Life to Live" ending this week, the clock now seems to be ticking on "General Hospital."
"I'm a fan of 'General Hospital,' " Lee said, "but we haven't made a decision, and we don't really have a time frame on it."
• "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry said there will be no rumored movie spin-off.
Fox gets more animated
• While the network has canceled "Allen Gregory," Fox soon will air a block of animated shows against NBC's "Saturday Night Live." It will be available online, through cable on demand, as mobile applications and on game consoles, and it's somewhat experimental, said entertainment president Kevin Reilly.
• No decision has been made on the futures of "House," "Bones," "Terra Nova" and "Fringe."
Reilly praised the producers of "Fringe" for helping Fox drum up some interest in its Friday night schedule. But he noted the show is expensive to produce, and at its current ratings, it's a money-loser for the network.
"Please don't start the letter-writing campaign right now," Reilly said. "I can't take that."
• Ryan Seacrest sort of answered questions of whether he will return to "American Idol" after his contract expires this spring.
"I can't imagine life without 'American Idol,' " he said.
Or, we suppose, the $15 million the Hollywood Reporter says he earns each season from the show.
• "So You Think You Can Dance" will trim back to one two-hour episode once a week, with the results layered within the episode.
• "Glee" will return next year, but there will be no "Glee" spin-off following graduates, said creator Ryan Murphy.
CBS: Too raunchy?
• CBS entertainment president Nina Tassler defended the broad humor and ethnic stereotypes of shows such as "2 Broke Girls."
"Their dialogue is really landing with audiences," she told
. "The shows are laugh-out-loud funny. I laugh out loud. It's not a snicker, it's not a chuckle. They're belly laughs."
• Creator Mark Roberts was asked how "Mike Molly" might change when Billy Gardell's and Melissa McCarthy's characters get hitched this May.
"They're going to start adopting a crazy amount of children of different ethnicities," he joked. "We're going to do a Brad and Angelina."
• Ashton Kutcher's return to "Two and a Half Men" isn't a lock, apparently, though Kutcher said he'd like to return.
• Elisabeth Shue is replacing Marg Helgenberger on "CSI," and Tassler is pleased with what she has seen so far.
"We've seen the early dailies with Elisabeth Shue and Ted Danson," Tassler said. "And they have great chemistry together."
NBC's awful autumn
• NBC entertainment president Bob Greenblatt stated the obvious at the fourth-place network's presentation.
"We had a really bad fall," he said. "Worse than I'd hoped for but actually about what I expected."
Ratings were down 11 percent across the board, but Greenblatt said the low ratings of Maria Bello's "Prime Suspect" were especially disappointing.
Greenblatt said if "Prime" had aired on his former network, Showtime, it would have been picked up and renewed after the third episode and declared a hit, and it would be in production for three or four seasons.
"Maybe I should just blame the hat and move on?" he said.
• "Community" fans can mildly rejoice: The show, which was yanked in the fall, will return, Greenblatt said, though no date was given, and Greenblatt wouldn't commit to a fourth season.
• NBC will start streaming the pilot of its Broadway drama "Smash" on Jan. 23, three weeks before it debuts on the network. It will be available as a download on iTunes, Amazon, XBox Live, the PlayStation Network and Vudu, as well as OnDemand. Fox followed a similar track with its hit "New Girl."
New on HBO
• "Veep," in which Julia-Louis Dreyfus plays the vice president of the United States, is scheduled to start April 22.
• "Game Change," a film starring Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, debuts March 10.
• Danny McBride's "Eastbound Down" returns for its third season Feb. 19.
• The hit "Game of Thrones" is scheduled to start its second season April 15.
Returning to Showtime
• "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan said "it's a real possibility" that the next season, premiering this summer, could be its last.
• "Nurse Jackie," "The Big C" and "The Borgias" all will return April 8.
• Showtime also is working on the documentary "The World According to Dick Cheney," which will cover the former vice president's career, beginning with his days as President Gerald Ford's 34-year-old chief of staff.
Other news
• Starz has ordered a series based on 13th century explorer Marco Polo. Production is set to begin in 2013.
• The team that wrote the baffling "Green Lantern" movie is taking on the DC Universe's Green Arrow as a pilot for the CW. You may remember the emerald archer from the comics or from Justin Hartley's character on "Smallville."


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The Power of Choice
Gregg Whitlock
Gregg is originally from Vancouver BC, Canada. He studied English Literature at Simon Fraser University and is currently doing his Master's in TESOL at Manchester University. In 2007 he moved to Busan, South Korea where he works as a visiting English lecturer at Korea Maritime and Ocean University. He is also the President of Go-Getters Toastmasters, which is a public speaking and leadership club. Gregg enjoys reading, playing the mandolin, and camping.
Where Learning Begins
Robin Abbott
Robin has a bachelor's (Towson University-1997) and a Master's (Virginia Commonwealth University – 2011) in occupational therapy, and is an occupational therapist with 17 years of experience, working with children with special needs and their families for almost 10 years. She is fascinated by the variety of ways the human brain processes information, particularly auditory and vestibular information. In her practice, she uses her knowledge of neurotypical sensory processing to help children who process sensations differently to better understand their world.
She has two unique and fascinating children of her own, ages 10 and 13, and is married to an officer in the US Army.
You are Your Teacher. You are the Impossible. You Create Your World.
Matthew Mangione
Matthew "Chooch" Mangione is a simple man who prefers to not write about himself in the third person.
As a father, a husband, a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, and most recently a teacher, I am just an everyday guy who enjoys finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, the happiness in daily life, and the beauty in simplicity. Although the path I have traveled has lead me to extraordinary places, from the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas to the sacred temple of Burning Man, the most significant place I have ever been is still here and now.
More often than not, when two roads have diverged in the woods, I've taken the one more often traveled by, but I have learned to take the time to smell the roses that have always lined the way, and that has made all the difference.
Beneath Your Skin
Jenni Hsing
My name is Jeni Hsing and I am15 years old. My mother is from Korea and my father is from Taiwan.
I currently attend Busan International Foreign School, and I have since my primary school years. Being in an international school has exposed me to people of different nationalities and backgrounds. It has allowed me to see so many types of appearances, which has brought to my attention the idea of 'beauty standards'. In my country the girls have the same image of what they need to look like to be 'attractive', and even as a child I was constantly told things such as my short height, or my tan skin and I feel as if people that don't fit those conditions are demoralized to dislike their features.
I never had much experience with public speaking but I feel that speaking about a particular topic I have passion would be a good chance for a first time.
Bringing Awareness to Racial and Gender-Based Stereotypes in an Effort to Inspire Change
Zwa Inyoni
My name is Zwa, I am 11 years of age and I am from Los Angeles, CA.
I love things that are related to language, art and sports. My family and I travel a lot so I only go to my birth-place over the holidays. I love the idea of being in a debate club because my sister participated in a debate and It was really interesting. I really like to get my point across when I speak and I enjoy trying to catch people's attention.
I really like, and am influenced by, animation: when I saw the movie Ratatouille I wanted to go to France and after watching Rio I was also keen to travel to Brazil. Did I mention I like books? I think I want to be an author when I grow up. Some of my favorite authors are Michael Morpurgo, Richard Peck and Lemony Snicket.
If I Were a Boy
Rachel Tustin
I am Rachel Tustin, a freshman at Busan International Foreign School. I have attended this school since the age of three.
At a young age, I developed an interest in public speaking. I found - and I still find - the prospect of being able to inspire people with my own words and ideas both exciting as well as fascinating. In Middle School, I joined a variety of different extracurricular activities such as Model United Nations and Debate that allowed me to hone my speech skills and discover various methods of expressing different viewpoints, even though mostly these views didn't match my own. These experiences fueled my passion for speech and I feel that TEDx is a good chance to further develop this enthusiasm as well an opportunity to speak about a topic that I am interested in.
How Kids Can Help
My name is Anna-Marie Guenther and I am 11 years old. I am half German and half Korean and have lived in three different countries but have traveled to over 10. I enjoy sports and writing.
I want to talk on this event because this is my last school year here and I want to make my mark and leave this school knowing I did something important. This subject I am talking about is also something that I really care about.
Is Life Made Up of Coincidences, or of One Destiny
Amelie Balivet
My name is Amelie Balivet. I am 15 years old and in 9th Grade. My native language and nationality is French, but I can speak fluent English as well. My hair is black, my eyes are black and my skin is in between white or tanned. I love spending time with my friends and family and I don't seem to have issues with my social life for now. I also entertain myself with several different hobbies such as: practicing partitions with my flute; reading; singing; jogging, etc.
I have lived in Korea for my entire life. The school I go to is called "Busan International Foreign School". The subjects in this school are usually similar to what other schools have, such as: maths, English, science, etc. My favorite subject in school is Music and English. English has become harder since my elementary years, but I am very self motivated to accomplish my grade goals.
Living Lego
Kenta Barnett
I was born in Melbourne in Australia and lived there for 3 years. I visited Japan to see my grand-pa and grand-ma. I can also speak Japanese quite well too.
I lived in Rotorua New Zealand for 3 years and started school there. In New Zealand I started to know about a toy called LEGO and I liked it. I lived in Japan for one and a half years and went to a school called Tatsuno-dai elementary school. When I lived in Japan is when I really started to like LEGO and my dad would buy these big boxes of random LEGO blocks. I was in the big earthquake that struck Japan in 2011.
I moved to Busan in Korea in 2011 and started to go to a school called BIFS. In Busan I started making Brickfilms, which started to become my hobby since I was 8. Now I have my own YouTube channel called Legoman and my dad and I make videos and put them on a channel called Minifilm333.
Smile or Not
Priyanshu Saha and Chaeri Yoo
Hey, I'm Priyanshu, I am from India but was born in Korea. I have gone to 2 international schools, one in Ulsan and currently Busan. I can speak 3 languages and learning my 4th. English, Bengali, Hindi and learning Spanish. I like to play guitar and violin, but I also Love to design and build my own Robots. I'm fond of computer gaming and cricket. I like Math a lot. I really like to find out new information on science topics that hasn't be researched a lot, hoping one day I will be able to contribute to the Medical World by creating nanotechnology cures. I hate english, one of the subjects I will never gain interest in. I think language is necessary for communication not for learning in school. I have a younger brother named Sid. I like watching movies at home and outside.
Hello! I am Chaeri Yoo and I'm from Korea. I was born in Busan and I moved to Switzerland when I was 10 years old. I was nervous and excited in a way to hear the news that I had to move to Switzerland. But soon I got used to their culture, traditions, etc. After living there, I moved to Singapore. I've been to two different international schools, one in Singapore (German European School Singapore) and one, currently, in Korea (Busan Foreign International School).
I really enjoy studying here, in BIFS! I can speak Korean, English and German. I learned German in Switzerland, but I think I am slowly losing German because I haven't spoken it for a long time. I learned horse riding in Switzerland as well and I think that was one of my favourite things to do when I lived there.
I like to play piano and guitar. I basically like music. I love listening music, singing and playing songs using instruments! Math used to be my favourite subject, but I think now, I like most of the subjects equally. I find all the subjects interesting to learn. Nowadays, I am especially interested in learning about human rights in Social Studies class. Also I am very interested and looking forward to learning different things in the different subjects.
School from a Student's Perspective
Alex Lang and Sung Woo Jho
I am Sung-Woo Jho, I was born in Chicago, and my parents are both Koreans. I am a student from the Busan International Foreign School, half way throughout year 8. I was in this school since playgroup and I am now a normal middle school student, going through procrastination every day.
I went through many years of school and suffered through many different situations such as getting bullied or playing games all day and night. At the very moment, I am balancing out my schedules of not only homework but relationships with teachers or students. I'm going through a very satisfying school life and am trying hard to achieve my goals and dreams.
I have a hobby of playing instruments. I am quite skilled and could play a variety of instruments such as the guitar, cello, piano, etc. I participated in a lot of community services by playing the instruments for the orphans, EU (European Union), school, etc. I also achieved a lot of certificates from it as well.
Hello everyone, my name is Alex Lang. I am 13 years old and I attend at Busan International Foreign School. This is my 2nd year in BIFS. Prior to moving to South Korea, I lived in Singapore for about 3 years. Some of my hobbies are playing the guitar (both electric and acoustic), playing sports, hanging out with friends and listening to music (preferably grunge). My all time favorite movie is Star Wars. One of my favorite books is a series called BSRK. So far, I've done some moving and have lived in many different countries; some of them were Singapore, Holland and Korea. My favorite drink is Ginger ale and I prefer homemade food to eating at a restaurant. Some of the most important things that I have are my Kurt Cobain Fender Mustang and my computer I don't think I could live without them.
What We Can Learn From Competition
Hrishikesh Srinivasan
My name is Hrishikesh Srinivasan and I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I attended elementary school in Houston before moving to South Korea in the summer of 2011.
I have participated in numerous academic competitions including Spelling Bees and Model United Nations conferences. In the spring of 2012 I participated in the South Korean Scripp's National Spelling Bee as a representative of BIFS, but sadly I lost. The next year I participated again and won, and I returned to the USA to compete in the Scripp's National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. and clinched 43rd place out of 281 participants.
In my spare time I like to challenge myself by learning new and advanced things in subjects like Math and Science, and I also like to read, and ride my bike.
An Open-Minded Journey
Beatriz Carvalho
Ideas girl, fashion-lover bookworm and fact machine, Beatriz Carvalho - or better I say Bia - is a traveler with a brain full of curiosities and ideas. Bia started liking to be creative and informed when she went to live in Singapore at age 7. She is actually from Brazil but her dad works for an oil company and that's how she came to South Korea.
Bia has 98 stuffed animals but manages to keep them clean and safe, somehow, from her dog. She also has a super stressed but extremely hilarious older sister. She loves to talk about her past experiences and making her listeners laugh a lot. She has gone to many countries and enjoys learning about their histories and culture to get every new piece of information she can. And if she starts talking, make sure you have time because I can tell you, you will be hanging on her every word!

subset: commoncrawl


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Greysky coffee is giving away a FREE 4oz sample of their newest roast, Sumatra Toba. Sumatra Toba is a medium roast single-origin 100% Arabica coffee that is imported fair-trade from Indonesia, and is roasted in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They say it is perfect for the holidays, and tastes of 70% dark chocolate, cinnamon and pine trees! Sounds good to me! 🙂
Fine print on this freebie:
Offer available to US residents only. Must be 18 years of age or older to apply. Limited quantities available. Only one sample request will be honored per household. Sample includes one 4-oz. packet of medium-roast GreySky Sumatra Toba coffee, accompanied by a coupon code for 15% off your first order of any coffee beans from GreySky Coffee Inc.
You can expect your free sample to arrive in 5 to 6 weeks.


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Contact BT Broadband | 0000 050 5358
If you're looking for the Contact BT Broadband number. Then this is the best direct number to the BT customer services team. We have sourced this number to save you time searching over the internet for the Contact BT Broadband number.
This number will connect you straight through to the Contact BT Broadband number. Calls are charged at just 10 pence per minute from a BT landline (may cost more from mobile and other networks).
You can call this BT Helpline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on: 0000 050 5358. It will get you straight through to the correct team. If for any reason you experience any problems with this Contact BT Broadband Phone Number. Then please drop us an email. So we can look into it, as we want to keep the BT information on this website as up to date as possible. Thank you.


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Publisher: UQP
Release Date: July 23, 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Drama, YA
Pages: 264
Source: Received in exchange for review
Goodreads | Purchase
I have three months left to call Katie my older sister. Then the gap will close and I will pass her. I will get older. But Katie will always be fifteen, eleven months and twenty-one days old.
Hannah's world is in pieces and she doesn't need the school counsellor to tell her she has deep-seated psychological issues. With a seriously depressed mum, an injured dad and a dead sister, who wouldn't have problems?
Hannah should feel terrible but for the first time in ages, she feels a glimmer of hope and isn't afraid anymore. Is it because the elusive Josh is taking an interest in her? Or does it run deeper than that?
In a family torn apart by grief and guilt, one girl's struggle to come to terms with years of torment shows just how long old wounds can take to heal.
Keep a close eye on Claire Zorn, guys, this author is going places. The Protected is my first novel by Claire Zorn, and it blew me away. This story centers around fifteen year old Hannah, whose sister passed away a year ago and is still trying to pick herself and her family up from the wreckage.
Hannah's life has never been easy. Before the accident, she was bullied, treated like nothing different to a toy, just prodded and mocked at. After the accident, the bullying stopped, but Hannah became sisterless, her father was severely injured and her once professional homemaker mother got depressed and hasn't left the house since her sister's funeral. Honestly, I don't know how Hannah does it, how she managed to endure it all. I absolutely adored her narration, it's full of wit and raw emotion, and totally sucked me into her head.
Friendship is such a strong element in Claire Zorn's novel. Josh was the new boy at school and he was so accepting and positive towards Hannah. I don't really see him as a love interest even though he sort of becomes one throughout the novel but his role as a best friend is of utmost importance. I loved how Hannah found hope and saw Josh as a way to rebuild and reorganise her life, Hannah and Josh's friendship was palpable and well developed, and their conversations always left a smile on my face.
The Protected isn't just told in the present. Hannah shows us her past before the accident during the time she was bullied and how she lost her only friend, Charlotte, till the time after her accident when suddenly all the bullies had backed off. I found it truly heart-breaking but interesting to see how one small thing could lead to so much destruction. We also get to see glimpses of Katie and Hannah's sisterly relationship. Not all sister relationships are perfect, and I liked how their relationship was portrayed–their grudges and occasional bitterness towards each other–and soon we begin to understand Hannah's guilt and grief ourselves.
Furthermore, I loved the writing and how beautiful and raw it was. I was completely immersed into Hannah's world, I could feel every emotion, and understand every thought.
Can I talk about the setting for a moment? I loved it. I loved the heat and the setting by the mountains. Something about it just made everything feel more real.
I think Claire Zorn has found a place on my favourite Aussie YA list, the realistic characters and beautiful relationships have all dug under my skin. There's no doubt that I will be picking up The Sky So Heavy sometime soon.
~Thank you UQP Australia for sending me this copy!~
Latest posts by Melanie (see all)
- Giveaway: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare - February 14, 2016
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- Mel's 2016 Resolutions (That Hopefully Will Last the Year) - January 7, 2016


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Another Useless World Record – Human Mattress Dominoes [Video]
Yesterday we posted a video of a guy breaking the world record for distance by throwing a paper airplane more than 200 feet. Well, another record was shattered a couple of days ago thanks to more than 850 people on mattresses lined up as human dominoes. Watching a bunch of dominoes fall is always very cool, but when the dominoes are 850 humans falling onto 850 mattresses set up in dominoes-like fashion is way cool. this event took place in New Orleans and these people set the record....very cool to watch.


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The next time you have a conversation at work, consider what not to do:
1. Don't think about what you are going to say while the other person is talking. Really listen to what they are saying. Don't assume that you know. If you don't listen accurately, you could give the wrong response.
2. Don't interrupt while the person is still talking. People interrupt when they assume they know what the person is going to say. First of all, it is rude. It shows that you consider what you say more important than what the other person is saying. It shows a lack of self-control. Managers are always looking for employees that are mature and can control their impulses. Wait until there is silence and the person has taken more than one breath. It also shows that you have been listening and consider what they have said worth listening to. It shows that you are allowing what they have said to change what you were going to say. That means whatever you say now, they will put more value on it and listen to you with more intensity.
3. Don't work on your computer or check your cell phone while the other person is talking. It shows that you are bored and are not considering what they are saying as important.
4. Don't stare at your shoes when listening. Have regular eye contact with your speaker. It shows that you are interested and involved. It does not show disrespect when you have regular eye contact as it might have been when you were a pupil in school. Show that you are confident.
5. Hearing is not listening. Simply because your ears are in range of the speaker's mouth doesn't meant you are listening. Listening means that you are available for the speaker to change your mind about a certain issue. You are giving him or her the opportunity to present evidence about an issue that deserves your attention.
If you value someone, the one of the greatest ways to show this is to actively listen to them when they talk to you. Even if you are tired or busy, be polite and considerate. It is what separates the employees from the professionals.


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Mindfulness is a means of restraining our minds and reactions so that we might be relieved of suffering. The process often begins with developing a healthy body. Spiritually-minded martial arts training can provide numerous benefits for everyone, including individuals with disabilities who may seek programs with such emphasis.
SOURCE: Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Vol. 18 No. 3 (2009): 10 pages.


text: Advanced biofuels, also referred to as drop-in replacement are renewable fuels, other than ethanol derived from corn starch, that has greenhouse gas emissions that are at least 50% less than baseline (average) lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions. These include renewable diesel, renewable jetfuel, and renewable gasoline. Advanced biofuels can be blended with their petroleum counterparts and can be used and transported in existing infrastructure. Advanced biofuels are not yet commercially produced and in the pilot project stage. The US and Navy signed an MOU (GIFTPAC) to encourage the development of advanced biofuels and selected Hawaii as the first region for the development of the industry.


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Date of Award
Summer 2017
Document type
Degree Name
MSc by research (Master of Science by research)
First Supervisor
Professor Karen Morgan
Second Supervisor
Professor Anne Hickey
Social Relationships, Depression, BMI, Older Adults
Older adults' social relationships influence both mental and physical health outcomes, and reciprocal influences between loneliness and depression have been demonstrated over time. Social and mental health are both important considerations for Ireland's ageing population. Obesity represents another public health concern among the ageing population, and is also associated with depression. 'Social relationships' is an umbrella term that encompasses both subjective relationship measures such as loneliness and relationship quality, and objective relationship measures such as participation and social network connectedness. This thesis aims to describe the prevalence of social relationships, depression and BMI in older Irish adults, and to investigate the interactions and reciprocal influences between these variables. Analysis includes comparison of influences of subjective and objective social relationship measures on depression and BMI, and uses multiple measures from wave 1 and wave 2 of the Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing (TILDA).
Link to this item at
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
File Size
A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Science from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 2016.
Villiers-Tuthill A. Social relationships, depression and BMI in older Irish adults [MSc Thesis]. Dublin: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; 2016.


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YES! Going to play it NOW!
I'll review it after I've finished it.
There was more going on in City 17 than just what Gordon Freeman and Alyx were doing. Follow a new recruit as he struggles to find his place in the movement, and see just how sinister the Combine can be.
Overheid is a single-player Half-Life 2 mod set during the events of Half-Life 2, but starring a new protagonist. This is just the first part of a multi-part mod. Overheid mod version 1.0. Zip archive. REQUIRES Half-Life 2: Episode 2 to play
REQUIRES Half-Life 2: Episode 2 to play
To play:
1. Download the zip archive.
2. Unzip the contents of the archive to \Steam\steamapps\sourcemods
3. Restart Steam
4. Play Overheid!
YES! Going to play it NOW!
I'll review it after I've finished it.
Blah blah blah Mr. Freeman.
FIRST! Nah im jk, i've played about about 30 mins, and i have had multiple orgasmic like reactions to the superior mapping.
as have i HL2 ORGY! NYAhhhhhh *jizzes everywhere*
Thanks! I really appreciate that.
Looks pretty awesome! Will download.
That was really good, all though, it was pretty short, it was still great. Can't wait for the next map.
Not bad my only problem with the 1st part is that it was too short XD but the quality was superb at the very least. I also had a minor issue with frame rate dropping a little bit which concerns me as your larger maps may kill my PC XD Guess its time to upgrade it XD
PS rated it a 10 & added the main page to my book marks :)
Big + to this mod is that all my old HL skins work for it :D I just swapped the HEV hands for Rebel hands :) & changed my crowbar to a pipe wrench >:3 I cant wait for the next part :D
Short and sweet. Can't wait for more.
I have all the require ments and I cant play it D-:
Is it unzipped in the "sourcemods" folder? If so, maybe restart Steam.
I tried playing it but it was very laggy. My computer can handle it. and when I looked at the settings every thing was based on what my computer can handle. I don't know what to do to fix it. Help?
If your computer is on the slow side it might lag. I tried to optimize the map, but it may not have been enough. Try turning your graphics settings down further.
The download seems to be broken for me, I'm getting a 404 error. Is anyone else having this problem, or is it just me?
MORE! This was super cool and the mapping was superior!
Great first map. i not going to complain about the length, but the mapping and story is superb. A+ to you mate.
Excellent, mapping was out of this world!!
Seems interesting!
Only registered members can share their thoughts. So come on! Join the community today (totally free - or sign in with your social account on the right) and join in the conversation.


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AUDI says it had to create a rear-wheel-drive version of its iconic R8 V10 because it was losing sales to rear-drive rivals.
The frank admission, though, doesn't necessarily mean that Audi will expand its rear-drive roll-out, currently limited to the R8 V10 RWS coupe and upcoming R8 V10 RWS Spyder, to more models developed under its Audi Sport performance division.
It also shows that Audi is keeping a close eye on the R8's rear-drive competitors, including the Ferrari 488 GTB, the Lamborghini Huracan LP580-2, the McLaren 540C, the Mercedes-AMG coupe, and even the enemy from within, the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.
Speaking a day after the reveal of the R8 V10 RWS, Audi Sport chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said while the RWS was the first R8 in more than a decade of production to not wear a Quattro badge, marking a clear milestone for the company, it was unlikely any other rear-wheel RS models would join the rear-drive V10.
"The R8 is a car you don't normally use on a daily basis and so there is room, being a super sportscar niche and segment," Winkelmann said. "The rear-wheel drive was necessary because 75 percent of the cars sold in this segment are rear-wheel-drive cars."
Winkelmann said the newest addition to the R8 family was conceived primarily as a coupe, but the opportunity to offer the car as a Spyder was enough to justify its inclusion in the range.
"It's more a coupe style, idea and approach. The mix will be in favour for sure for the coupe, but I think that if you can extend the offer then we should do it. Then it's up to the customers to decide."
"In the future and for the time being, I don't see another one coming up because for me the Quattro is one of the things which made Audi great, and together with the five-cylinder and aluminium chassis. All these features positioned Audi in a different way as a premium manufacturer and this is something we are not going to change."
The transition to rear-drive transmission for the R8 was made simpler after Winkelmann initiated the change of Quattro Gmbh to the new Audi Sport high-performance branch. However, the company's boss said the RWS would have happened with or without the change.
According to Winkelmann, the Quattro name is now more accurately positioned within the company as a technology leader and not as the overarching brand.
"For me, the company name Quattro was wrong, therefore we changed it to Audi Sport. It was wrong because it's a feature, not a company, and for a quarter of a century they never played the brand."


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Arte Moreno would have you think that his Angels are one of the elite clubs in Major League Baseball, but the events of recent days have gone to show that the Halos are merely pretending that they are.
The only thing funny about Moreno's Pretend Time is that he actually thinks the Angels are an elite franchise.
In his tenure as owner, Arte Moreno has done a lot to change the way the Angels are perceived. He's bumped up the payroll, upgraded the stadium and even changed the team's name. His goal: convince everyone that the Angels are one of the best franchises in Major League Baseball.
On the surface, it would seem that Arte has gone a long way towards achieving that goal. That's exactly what he wants you to think, especially since when you take a deeper look, it is painfully obvious that he has a long, long way to go.
I'll be the first to admit that I was drinking the Red Kool-Aid as recently as a week ago. Arte and his front office minions were saying all the right things, convincing me and pretty much every other Angel fan that they would do whatever it takes to right the Halos' ship after their losing 2010 campaign. But then the Carl Crawford Catastrophe happened and, my, how things have changed.
When the Red Sox stole Crawford right out from under Tony Reagins' nose, the Angels were exposed as nothing more than mid-market pretenders to the throne. Had they really been one of the big boys like the Sawx or the Yankees or the Phillies, there is no way they would have let Crawford get away, not when the entire free world assumed that Crawford was going to be an Angel. That kind of thing just doesn't happen to the power franchises, especially in the fashion that the Halos lost out on Crawford.
Arte Moreno really should be embarrassed for himself and his team. They didn't just get outmaneuvered by Boston, they got their pants pulled down in public only to reveal that they've been telling tall tales about the size of the tool they are working with, if you know what I mean. Rather than the big long sledgehammer they claim to swing, the Arte's Angels are endowed with nothing but an ordinary old roofing hammer and that just isn't going to get the job done. Sure, the Angels have a good sized payroll that should check in at $135 million this season and Arte Moreno claims that he would exceed his budget in any scenario where the team can land the kind of player that could take the Angels to the next level, like, for example, CARL CRAWFORD. But when that proclamation was put to the test at the Winter Meetings, Moreno suddenly seemed to be wavering in his bluster.
Depending on who you believe, the Angels either simply cheaped out when it came to getting Crawford or they spent so much time hand-wringing that they couldn't muster up the courage to approve such a big expenditure in time to trump the Red Sox. Actually, there is a third option, that the Angels bought all of their own hype and believed they were such an attractive destination that they didn't need to put their best foot forward to land Crawford, assuming he'd just come to them. No matter what the truth is the Halos have shown themselves to be either cheap, stupid, pompous, ignorant or all of the above.
A real franchise looking to make such an important acquisition would never have even let the Crawford negotiations get to the point that the Angels did. Instead of trying to utilize empty ultimatums and gamesmanship in order to get the object of their desire without overpaying for him, the Angels should have just damned the consequences and blown Crawford out of the water right out of the gates. Not only would it have surely resulted in Crawford patrolling left field in Angels Stadium for the next seven years, but it would have sent a message to the rest of the league that the Halos may have gotten knocked down in 2010, but they are now back up on their feet and ready to fight. That is what champions do when they suffer a setback. The great boxer Muhammad Ali once lost his title and had his jaw broken by Ken Norton. But rather than lick his wounds and slowly work his way back to the top, he instead set up an immediate rematch with Norton and got his title back.
Alas, the Angels are no Ali. In fact, they might be more like Buster Douglas. Much like how Douglas got lucky and knocked out the seeming invincible Mike Tyson, the Angels caught lightning in a bottle back in 2002 to win their lone World Series. Like Douglas, the Angels were suddenly vaulted into the upper echelon of their sport. The Angels have given their best effort to make it seem like they deserve to stay there, but, also like Douglas, they are now being revealed as nothing more than an above average contestant that briefly overachieved.
Perhaps I am just being harsh on the Halos with the bitterness of the Crawford Catastrophe still fresh in my mind. On the other hand, this isn't the Angels' first failed foray into playing Big Boy Free Agency. Once upon a time, the Angels considered Paul Konerko the missing puzzle piece in their quest for a championship. They made their best offer, only to fall short. The same happened with Mark Teixeira a few years later when jumped ship to the Yankees for more money and more prestige (plus, he is totally pussy whipped, but let's not get into that now). Then, after that, the Angels professed a yearning desire to trade for Roy Halladay, only to scoff at the trade package Toronto wanted. Which brings us back to Crawford and the evident trend that the Angels just never seem to be willing to go to the max to make things happen, they just pretend that they would.
Despite the mountain of historical evidence that the Halos just aren't big-time players, we fans were somehow blindsided by their failure. But now we all know what the Angels really are: pretenders and not contenders. They pretend to be big spenders. They pretend to care about winning and not profits. Heck, they even pretend they are from media and culture mecca Los Angeles and not hokey tourist trap Anaheim.
We see who you really are now, Angels. Spend all you want on middle relievers and make a desperation signing of Adrian Beltre, it might perpetuate the contender illusion you have crafted for a little while longer, but we see the man behind the curtain. And Arte, my friend, you are not the great and powerful Oz.


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About Us
Our Services
Our Organization
Our Upcoming Events
Traffic Signal Maintenance
We provide maintenance and repair services for City-owned electrical systems, including street lights and traffic signals. There are over 670 traffic signals and flashing beacons throughout the City of Oakland. The red and green traffic indicators have been converted from incandescent lamps to energy efficient LEDs. The pedestrian signals were also converted to LEDs. Each intersection receives preventative maintenance on the controller once every two years to insure reliability and safe operation.
Report a Problem
The Report a Problem tool enables you to request a public works maintenance service. Please note that this website is for NON-EMERGENCY services only! For potential emergency situations, call the Public Works Call Center at (510) 615-5566.


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Overworlds and Underworlds
From the imaginations of The Quay Brothers
An unreal weekend in Leeds beckoned. The city was the canvas for a remarkable multi-location event curated by internationally acclaimed artist-filmmakers The Quay Brothers. Live performances, installations, light, music, dance, film and singing shops transformed the city's streets and spaces. Performances at County Arcade and the Dark Arches, an eruption on Briggate, everything in between was there to be discovered including fire rituals and walkabouts conceived by Urban Angels Circus with performances from myself, Laura Cork, Emma Harrison and Deborah Sanderson.
Pictures used with permission from and many thanks to Tricky, Lucinda, Chris Turner, Sarah Spearing, Pete Massey, Mark Jaffe, Siobhan aka Jockkkk and Adam Ashley


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Challenge Day March 2017March 17, 2017 4:14 pm
Our second challenge day of the school year took place on Wednesday 15th March, enabling students to encounter learning activities outside of their usual timetables.
Year 7
Superheroes and villains was the theme for Year 7 students on Challenge Day. Visiting authors The Etherington Brothers entertained and educated audiences with their show about how they created their popular graphic novels. They also visited tutor groups to give tips on illustration and bringing characters to life. Founder of the Excelsior Award for graphic novels Paul Register delivered workshops and talks on comic books and how to make the right reading choices for your personal tastes. Throughout the day, students used the information and skills they had learnt to complete tasks, including creating their own superheroes.
Year 8
Year 8 faced a series of five science challenges designed to develop an awareness of science and its place in the world , through interactive tasks and experiments. These involved designing and building land yachts, making a parachute to protect eggs when thrown from a building, building extremely tall lighthouses, heating up water with home-made solar heaters and making and testing wind turbines.
Joshua in year 8 said after the day, 'The best challenge was the egg parachute because it was the most fascinating and exhilarating.' Another Year 8 student took away the message that renewable resources were a better way to make the power we need, stating,'I learnt that we don't need fossil fuels, we can just use wind power and turbines.'
Year 9
The Year 9 students spent the day learning about crime and accident prevention and how the criminal justice system works in the UK. They were involved in workshops from a variety of visitors including police officers, prison wardens, fire safety officers and transport police. Charlotte in Year 9 thought that the most memorable part of the day was a workshop involving prisoners, 'The most eye-opening experience was listening to the prisoners' stories and how much emotion they showed for their past actions.' Students were also shown a replica of the inside of a prison cell and asked lots of questions about life inside prison from a warden.
Year 10
Year 10 students took part in visits to colleges and places of employment to develop their knowledge of post 16 opportunities.
Year 11
The focus for Year 11 was on 'raising the grade'. They took part in workshops and activities that promoted understanding of key Maths and English skills.


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Last year, Spectrecom Films was the video production agency selected by top agency See.Saw to help create a unique project on behalf of the Dogs Trust. The video we produced was recently nominated for a major PR award – and on Wednesday, we found out whether it had won or not.
As we told you right at the tail-end of January, the campaign video we created with See.Saw, entitled 'Hot Cars Kill Dogs', was nominated in the 'Best Use of Video' category at the 2015 PRmoments Awards.
The ceremony took place in London on Wednesday night, and… the Dogs Trust video won! Hurrah!
Well done to the team at See.Saw and those from Spectrecom who worked so hard to make the production such a success: director Peter Ford, producer Laura Merrett, as well as James Adair, Alex Kerr, Laurentiu Maria and Eduardo Vento.
We're delighted but not overly surprised at how strongly the video is performing – it was certainly one of our own favourites from 2014. And, as it happens, it's also currently nominated for an EVCOM Screen Award. The results are to be announced on Friday 27th March.
It's not just at the awards podium where 'Hot Cars Kill Dogs' has been demonstrating its qualities. It's also been seen more than 60,000 times on YouTube and attracted coverage from The Daily Telegraph and other national media outlets.
Spectrecom Films is a London video production company that works extensively with UK charities, agencies, universities and finance firms to craft award-winning content.
To see more of our charity work, take a look at our Charities page. And if you'd like to speak to us about a video project, get in touch with our Client Services Director Christiaan Harden on 0203 405 2274 or email email@example.com


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Forget the Oscars and Baftas, it's the Razzies that really deserve attention.
The Razzies should not be confused with the Razzler, which is a soft porn magazine. Strange how I keep making that mistake.
The Razzies are the awards served up for the worst films of the year, the type of movie you are guaranteed to inadvertently rent at Blockbuster.
The Last Airbender is Sky Bet's 11-8 favourite for worst film, just ahead of Vampires Suck. To be fair to the directors, at least they give you a clue in the title.
The bad news for teen idol Miley Cyrus, worse even than being the nubile daughter of a man named Billy Ray, is that she's 11-4 second favourite with Paddy Power for Worst Actress behind the Sex and the City girls (4-5). The good news is that she's too young for Sex and the City.
But have you noticed how every single bad film is governed by the same set of rules? A single match is sufficient to light up a room the size of Wembley Stadium, all bombs have electric timing devices with large red read-outs telling you exactly when they're going off, and gang members in karate films always wait their turn to attack the hero. Mind you those are also the rules for good films.


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MEA are a firm of chartered surveyors with three offices in the UK. I designed a new logo, colourways and brand look for them, based on a square formed from two arrows. A new font, which I re-drew, complimented the icon to give them a fresh, contemporary look. Then I re-designed their website, very white, clean and minimalist – making the most of the large amount of case study photos they had to hand. Alongside that I also designed them some simple to use MS Word templates and PowerPoint templates so their team could make their own presentations within a strong, typographic design frame.
Powerpoint templates
These pages were part of a set of PowerPoint template brochures, designed so as the team could easily adapt them, and build their own without needing professional software.
The business cards were designed shorter in height than normal cards to give them a unique sleeker, more rectangular, look.
The website was created in WordPress, allowing mea to be in control of all of the content on the site.


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1. hong kong had an election :: of course, there's no reason you need to care about this unless you live in hong kong, or possibly china. who pays attention to state elections like that anyway? well, ok, it turns out china is kind of paying attention, because the election saw pro-democracy parties increase the number of seats it holds, strengthening its power to veto important pieces of legislation. however, that doesn't represent a radical shift. sure, those parties now have 30 out of 70 seats, but they had 27 before, so the increase is pretty marginal. so there's nothing even mildly curious about any of this, with the possible exception that six of the new members of the legislature are younger folk, some of whom are affiliated with the hong kong occupy movement, who don't just advocate democracy, but separatism. for some reason, china seems to take a lot of interest in the idea that their predominant financial and business hub could just decide to sever ties and ride off into the capitalist/ democratic sunset.
2. bolivia's deputy interior minister was murdered :: surely, getting beaten to death by miners is just one of the risks of being a politician in south america, right? well, maybe there's something just a little interesting in this story, because the deputy minister was actually part of the socialist government of evo morales, which came to power through a coalition of miners, coca growers and other workers, promising to reform the country so that the working class and poor could benefit from the country's resource-driven wealth. in fact, morales was part of the "pink tide", a wave of left-wing governments elected across south america, starting with the late hugo chavez. lately, the pink tide seems to have gone out, with protesters crowding the streets of caracas demanding the resignation of chavez's successor and brazil's dilma rousseff impeached and on trial for corruption and also, just possibly, for not being fast or harsh enough in the implementation of austerity measures. and if you're thinking, "sure, but clearly the murder in bolivia, if it was committed by striking miners, was due to a sentiment that morales and his government had abandoned the working man and embraced global capitalism", i have some shocking news: the miners in bolivia are striking for, among other things, reduced regulations on which private companies they can work for and a loosening of environmental regulations that are slowing the development of new mines. but i'm sure that nothing interesting will come of any of this. it's not like big business or western governments have ever meddled in the affairs of sovereign governments in central and south america in order to increase their own profits.
3. the imf made a little austerity goof :: it's not a big deal, but all that stuff where the european central bank and the international monetary fund got greece to do to prove that they could slash government services to the poor and elderly and force the increasingly squeezed middle class there while the robber barons who'd gotten rich exploiting loopholes or just cheating on taxes shrugged their shoulders and moseyed off into the sunset? yeah, turns out the imf did a report on itself and managed to come up with a failing grade. because whoever was writing the report apparently recalled their first year economics course, where they learned tearing away social programs and safeguards like jack the ripper going at a victim's intestines causes people to stop spending money, which in turn brings the economy to a screeching halt. and the report did pose a few rhetorical questions like "if you knew they couldn't pay you back, why did you keep loaning them money?" or ""what did you think was going to happen?" and of course "how did you get your job if you never passed first year economics?" this isn't really interesting, of course, because it's something we've been hearing for a long time from people the imf doesn't like to listen to, like former greek finance minister and thinking girl's man candy yanis varoufakis. since this is clearly of such little interest, the imf has decided to just forget the whole thing ever happened, kind of like it went on a drunken bender, stole and crashed a car, but it wasn't a car belonging to any of their friends, so no harm done.
so there you have it, three things that have happened recently that are totally boring to everyone. there's nothing to worry about. none of this stuff is important.


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It poured late last night and did the same this evening into tonight. On the bring side we have some more rain for the crops on our rain tank. It also means that the town is a mud bowl. Fortunately, I have come to understand that it will only get worse and that the road near the SJC gets to be quite bad when it rains like it has for the past twenty four hours. Since I have already had malaria, the next major watch will be for my first mud spill. I am sure that I will have a glorious wipe out while walking to work one morning. It will have to happen in the morning because then I will have to go home and take a cold shower to clean off. The afternoon would be far too convenient.
Since we decided to venture our in-between the two downpours this evening, I was treated to my second rain shower. The water pressure is the best that Malava has to offer and I can get over the frigid water when I have been thoroughly soaked and wrinkled after a five minute walk. Do not worry, Michael and I were the only people in the streets at this time. Everyone else was under cover, we were walking in the rain. At home I cleaned myself and my clothes.
Esther Mulupi finally came back after a three month absence, bigger and with long hair. However, she did not lose her dancing form. With Bob Marley boping, she broke into dance that incorporated a contagious smile. She is a character and I love to see her dance. In addition, Ruth was back to playing pseudo dodge ball with Nancy. This girl did not smile once until last week when she and Nancy ran about the center throwing soft balls at each other. Needless to say, seeing her laughing made the sitting around a forgotten experience.
At home, the kids came by and the world's most adorable girl, Michelle, hung out with us. Since the kids loving telling us about Obama, we determined that it would be best to call her Michelle Obama (pictured to the left). Do not worry, we also have made friends with Bill Clinton (R). Yes, the Bill Clinton in the flesh right here in Kenya. It turns out that presidential names are not unique here in Kenya. His name is Bill Clinton, but it sounds as if he is called Clinton. Regardless, he will be called by his full presidential name as long as I am around. It turns out that he happens to have a brother named Sam (L) whose overall cuteness rivals that of Michelle Obama. Their mother sells vegetables behind our house and made sure to thank me for allowing the boys to play at our house. Michelle hung around while we had our Swahili lesson and then grabbed Sam to play some soccer in our courtyard while we were finishing up on our class work.


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News & Publications
CLFP Insider
CLFP's monthly e-newsletter is distributed to all active processor and affiliate members and provides updates on CLFP activities and industry issues.
California Food Producer
Formerly called News & Views, CLFP's California Food Producer magazine is published in the spring/summer and fall/winter and distributed to 2,000 plus food processing and allied industry members. Each issue has a specific theme and features interviews, articles and updates on industry issues and CLFP activities. Advertising in the California Food Producer is an excellent way for allied industry members to reach food processors.
Following is pricing for the most commonly purchased ads. Other sizes are available:
Full page, $900 (an additional $200 for prime space)
Half page, $600
Quarter page, $400
Business card, $250
For more information about pricing, click here. To purchase an ad, click here. Questions? Contact Lisa Jager.
Previous Issues
- Edition 1, 2018
- Edition 2, 2017
- Edition 1, 2017
- Edition 2, 2016
- Edition 1, 2016
- Edition 2, 2015
- Edition 1, 2015
- Edition 2, 2014
Food Flash
CLFP's Weekly News BrieF
CLFP's weekly electronic Food Flash includes articles from a wide variety of food processing industry publications and industry news from other sources. Click on the following link to view issues and subscribe.
CLFP Press Releases
CLFP issues press releases to the media about its activities and other industry news. If you would like to receive these releases or are a reporter with questions about CLFP or the food processing industry email CLFP's Lisa Jager at mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com or call (916) 640-8150.
CLFP Has a New Name – California League of Food Producers
The California League of Food Processors has a new name – the California League of Food Producers (CLFP). With the new name comes a new logo and a new website. The organization was originally formed in 1905 as the California Canners League. The recent name change reflects the CLFP board of directors' desire for a […]
CLFP Elects Janet Edwards, Musco Family Olive Company, 2017-18 Chair
Janet Edwards of the California-based Musco Family Olive Company was recently elected the 2017-18 chair of the California League of Food Processors (CLFP). Edwards is only the second woman to serve as CLFP's chair in the organization's 112-year history. She is Musco's vice president of operations and human resources and has worked for Musco for 30 years. […]
Food Processing Expo 2017 Features Expanded Sessions
Food Processing Expo 2017 will be bigger and better than ever with two days of hot topic sessions that will appeal to both large and small food processors, as well as two specialty workshops on human resources and sanitation. The Expo is the largest food processing trade show in California and will be held Feb. […]
Member & Industry News
Media Contacts: CDFA Public Affairs, (916) 654-0462 firstname.lastname@example.com SACRAMENTO, September 21, 2017– California has received $500,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration to increase export activities among small businesses. The funding, part of the State Trade Export Promotion program, will boost trade in foreign markets, – including China, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Mexico, – and […]
June 2017 VOORHEES, NJ –United States Cold Storage (USCS) has purchased approximately 30 acres of land in Laredo, TX, and plans by early 2019 to build a new public refrigerated warehouse—its third in the market—to serve import and exports involving the United States and Mexico. The site is strategically located between Laredo's two most […]
Fremont, California, March 17, 2017…….Nationwide Boiler Inc. is celebrating their fiftieth year in business this year. The company was founded in 1967 by late owner Richard 'Dick' Bliss with the original name of Nationwide Boiler Rentals. They opened their doors in Mountain View, CA on March 28, 1967 and nearly ten years later the company […]


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Dual Credit Programs
What is dual credit?
Currently enrolled and eligible high school students can take dual credit courses with IU Southeast. These classes may count toward their high school diploma while simultaneously earning students college-level credit that may be used toward their future IU Southeast degree.
How can I earn dual credit at IU Southeast?
IU Southeast offers high school students 3 ways to earn dual credit:
Special High School Student Status (HSS)
Eligible high school students must have completed their Junior Year of high school and meet first-year/freshmen admission standards, this includes providing PSAT, SAT, or ACT scores. In addition, students must provide a letter of recommendation from their high school Guidance Counselor or Principal.
HSS FYIs
Special High School Students attend on-campus, IU Southeast courses with our general student population. A semester-by-semester course listing can be found on the Schedule of Classes page. HSS Students are not eligible for Financial Aid, tuition and fees can be calculated by visiting the Tuition and Fees page. Once admitted, HSS students can meet with an Academic Advisor for help scheduling classes. Classes begin in fall, spring, and summer. HSS students adhere to first-year deadlines.
Have more questions?
Speak with one of our Admissions Counselors at (812) 941-2212 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for further details.
Advanced College Project (ACP)
ACP courses are taught by Indiana University certified high school teachers. As a result, only high schools with certified instructors are eligible for this program. Students must have a 2.75 GPA to be considered for admission. Admission and registration is coordinated through the high school's appointed Guidance Counselor. Classes are offered beginning in fall and spring only.
Is my high school an ACP high school?
Contact IU Southeast's Dual Credit Coordinator at (812) 941-2212 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Bridge-to-College courses are taught by IU Southeast faculty members at participating schools only. As a result, only students from participating Bridge-to-College high schools are eligible for this program. Admission and registration is coordinated through the high schools appointed Guidance Counselor. Classes are offered beginning in fall and spring only.
Is my high school a Bridge-to-College high school?
Contact IU Southeast's Dual Credit Coordinator at (812) 941-2212 or email@example.com.
IU High School
IU High School is offered through Indiana University-Bloomington only. It is a distance education (online) program serving the academic needs of high school and adult students who are seeking to earn or complete a high school diploma. For more details, visit IU High School.
I previously earned dual credit through IU Southeast
If you have completed HSS, ACP, or Bridge-to-College dual credit courses with IU Southeast and you are in need of an official transcript, contact the Office of the Registrar at (812) 941-2240.
I am a high school Guidance Counselor
If you are a high school Guidance Counselor interested in arranging ACP or Bridge-to-College courses with IU Southeast, please contact our Dual Credit Coordinator at (812) 941-2212 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Digital transformation is all about providing your teams with technology that ensures productivity and allows for collaboration, without sacrificing security. It's about having an infrastructure that is simpler to manage and is flexible and scalable.
Improving is an award-winning, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, and we've helped businesses of all sizes and industries with their digital transformation journey.
Today's workplace is transforming – employee expectations are changing, teams are becoming more diverse and geographically dispersed, and security is becoming increasingly complex.
With Microsoft 365, we are helping companies empower everyone to be collaborative, creative and work securely from anywhere. With Microsoft 365, you can realize the full potential of the whole suite of products to increase productivity, modernize processes and protect your data.
Connecting your business to how and when you engage with customers is becoming increasingly more important. There is an expectation that technology:
We help our clients build and modernize applications that allow them to manage and run their business by leveraging the right platform while delivering value to their end-users each and every time.
IT teams are being challenged to deliver the agility, reliability and efficiency that help organizations support internal processes – as well as become an engine for growth and innovation.
Companies are turning to us to help them find the right cloud mix based on their specific business needs, while maximizing their existing investments.
"The key to our success is the speed in which our Microsoft cloud-based solutions were implemented. The Improving team understood our requirements and was able to get us up and running in days."
― IT Director, Eagle Foods


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Featured Review
Children With Hair Loss Inc
What a wonderful organization that does not profit from donations of money or hair! Please check our CWHL and watch the videos of these kiddos receiving this precious gift! more
Are you a nonprofit?
Cleburne Nonprofits and Charities
Meals on Wheels of Johnson & Ellis Counties
5 stars 14 reviews
wsklein3422 wrote:
I have been a board member for 2 years and it has been the most rewarding thing i have ever done. This organization has done more... more »
Arts Unlimited Southwest
4.77778 stars 9 reviews
nikki.johnson88 wrote:
Arts unlimited southwest is an excellent place! I began taking my daughter there at 11 months old for storybook and song and then... more »
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Texas Pollinator PowWow
5 stars 1 review
Helix wrote:
The Texas Pollinator Powwow is amazing. I give pollinator talks, have a certified pollinator habitat at home, and I thank the... more »
5 stars 1 review
musicmatters wrote:
Exceptional and outstanding orchestra! The Brazos Chamber Orchestra provides free concerts to the community, strives for excellence... more »
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Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne
5 stars 1 review
martha.twaddell wrote:
My mother was a patient and she was treated very well. more »
Greater Cleburne Carnegie Players I
5 stars 1 review
martha.twaddell wrote:
Carnegie Players is a great non-profit community theatre. A wonderful group of people who are really fun to be around. They... more »
Johnson County Family Crisis Center
1 stars 1 review
lifecoach2013 wrote:
I am a client that WAS NOT SERVED! This place is dangerous, dirty, the people are mean and don't really care about their jobs.... more »
First Christian Church
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Central Texas Youth Rodeo Assn
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The organization conducts rodeos for young people in central texas area. more »
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On this episode of Ignite Your Life LIVE!, Carolin wraps up the 90-day process with a freeing photo shoot with Heartshot Photographer Christina Morassi! Through this shoot, a radiant Carolin is symbolically stepping out of her old life, and into a new one. Check it out!Read more »
"It doesn't matter how long we may have been stuck in a sense of our limitations. If we go into a darkened room and turn on the light, it doesn't matter if the room has been dark for a day, a week, or ten thousand years — we turn on the light and it is […]Read more »
Carolin continues to make enormous strides towards realizing all of the dreams she has for her life and her daughters. With her team of expert coaches on her side she should have no problem realizing all of her dreams! Stay tuned to learn how she does it!Read more »
On this segment of Ignite Your Life LIVE! Carolin learns how to realize that making these changes and transforming her life doesn't mean there is something wrong with her. Watch today's episode and learn how you can acknowledge that you are already perfect, while still improving your life and learning how to bring the authentic YOU to the table!Read more »
On this inspirational segment of Ignite Your Life LIVE! Carolin works to envision the life she's always dreamed of. The problem is – Derek doesn't want many of the things Carolin wants for her life. For example, Carolin dreams of leaving Los Angeles, but Derek loves it here. Will Carolin compromise her dreams for the sake of her relationship?Read more »


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I thought I'd post a "montage" of reader commentary (excerpts) from reviews and emails on the main character, Class 4 Security Specialist Krakista Keesay, and other characters in Relic Tech, and then discuss my thoughts on them at the end.
"The main character is masterfully written, and you care for his success." --Photog
"The story line flowed well, characters weren't superheroes but got the job done
and the tech was interesting to say the least!" --Randy
"Use by the protagonist of an old style handgun for its noise effect reminds me
of Robert A. Heinlein`s BEYOND THIS HORIZON." -- IA Wilhite
"...I liked the action well developed hero I think." --J. Anthony
"I loved the book, the characters, and the action." --Joseph E. Karpinski
"The hero seems to attract action." --David Hughes
"Believable characters." --sig18
"The main character is not a likable person. Most specifically he is an ass. He
is constantly picking fights with the people he encounters and interacts with." --Cary G Anderson
"Quirky unpredictable characters, and a complete story line." --tatemjr
"Loved the hero and aliens and really hated the bad guys." --rog wadkins
"Our hero is obviously the underdog in just about every situation but his
willingness to do what is necessary to extricate himself (and his duty task) is
at times awe inspiring." -- W.L. Hatfield
"A religious killer TSA type among
simplistic bad aliens and corporations." --JL Curtis
"A likeable main character and believable supporting cast with plenty of action
for those who like it fast and furious." --Phillip McGregor
"Kra was a great character who I grew to like through the book. Being a relic
tech gets him looked down on quite a bit, but he just uses that to his advantage
when people underestimate him. He is a smart guy who is extremely combat capable
and a bit lucky as well. He makes himself some fine friends and some terrible
enemies and those characters each have distinct personalities to love or hate as
well." --Bookblogger
"He navigates from one crisis to another, each demanding cunning, toughness, and
skill with ancient weapons." --Dean S. Sault
"...characters you can love (and hate) and a plot that catches you from the
beginning and pulls you through to the end. You'll be cheering for Specialist
Keesay all the way through this thrilling ride!" --Bookylove
I tried not to take any quote out of context. What I find interesting is the varied reactions to the characters, especially Specialist Keesay. He's liked and respected by most readers, while some can take him or leave him and others think he's a jerk, or worse.
Even though this post focuses on reader comments on the characters in Relic Tech, it isn't a character-driven novel. Most of my works balance plot/action and character development. Some might even say it leans more toward plot-driven, and many comments and reviews focus on the action and concept the SF novel contains.
In any case, this reminds me of beta-reader and crit group comments. Nowhere near 100% were happy with all aspects of the characters or storyline, but the trend of comments and views of the quoted readers above reflect what the beta-readers and crit partners had to say. So, I guess there's a lesson there. Listen to readers, both before and after publication, realizing you can't please everyone. Still, learn from what they have to say and, in the end, focus on telling the best story you can.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Relic Tech: Character Commentary
Posted by Terry W. Ervin II at 12:14 PM
Labels: Amazon.com, Characterization, Plot, Relic Tech, Review
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Verweij, Marco, Douglas, Mary, Ellis, Richard, Engel, Christoph, Hendriks, Frank, Lohmann, Susanne, Ney, Steven, Rayner, Steve and Thompson, Michael (2006) Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World. Public Administration, 84 (4). pp. 817-843.
Successful solutions to pressing social ills tend to consist of innovative combinations of a limited set of alternative ways of perceiving and resolving the issues. These contending policy perspectives justify, represent and stem from four different ways of organizing social relations: hierarchy, individualism, egalitarianism and fatalism. Each of these perspectives: (1) distils certain elements of experience and wisdom that are missed by the others; (2) provides a clear expression of the way in which a significant portion of the populace feels we should live with one another and with nature; and (3) needs all of the others in order to be sustainable. 'Clumsy solutions'– policies that creatively combine all opposing perspectives on what the problems are and how they should be resolved – are therefore called for. We illustrate these claims for the issue of global warming.
|Item Type:
|Risk management in business; Social problems; Global warming; Fate and fatalism; Individualism; Hierarchies; Political leadership
|Date Deposited:
|05 Feb 2012 14:53
|Last Modified:
|14 Aug 2015 13:05
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Pet Nutrition
Loyal Biscuit Disclaimer: This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the advice of your own veterinarian or doctor.At Loyal Biscuit Co, your pet's well-being is our top priority, and we believe excellent nutrition is the first step towards better health. Poor quality foods can affect your pets' bodies in a variety of ways, such as:
- Food allergies; biting and chewing at itchy paws; dry, flaky skin; hot spots; chronic ear infections.
- Poor digestion, which can lead to a decrease in a food's nutritional benefits and possible reduced life expectancy; excessive gas and/or loose stools; increased pet waste.
- Weakened immune system which could make your pet susceptible to diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, arthritis, pancreatitis, and urinary tract infections.
We carry a wide array of foods suited for any price range—you can find complete raw diets and raw meaty bones in our freezers, and dry kibble and canned and dehydrated foods on our shelves. See below for more information on the different food types.
- Dry: Dry pet food, or kibble, is not only convenient, but is often the most affordable method of feeding. all our kibble options are completely free of unnecessary fillers like corn, wheat, soy, and animal by-products.
- Canned: A moisture rich diet is a vital part of your pets health and a canned diet provides just that. Canned foods are less processed then dry kibble and retain more of their nutritional value. We have dozens of canned options in nearly every protein imaginable!
- Freeze-Dried Raw: Similar to a traditional frozen raw diet in nutritional value, though the moisture has been removed without the thawing or cooking of the product. This allows the benefits of a raw diet with the convenience of a food that doesn't need to be frozen. Because of the importance of moisture in your pet's diet, it is recommended to re-hydrate any freeze dried raw diets.
- Raw: A raw diet consists of a combination of completely uncooked meat, ground bones, organ meat, and supplemental produce and very few, if any, unnecessary fillers. It is often considered the most biologically and species appropriate diet for dogs and cats and what our pets are truly meant to eat.
Feeding a nutritious food does not always mean spending a lot of money. In fact, natural foods aren't much more expensive than grocery store brands. After factoring in lower feeding amounts (pets eating holistic foods typically require 20-40% less food than pets on economy brands) and fewer vet visits, a healthy diet can actually cost you less in the long run than a pet food offering fewer nutritional benefits.
What To Look For In A Pet Food
Loyal Biscuit Co. is proud to feature holistic, natural, and human-grade pet foods as well as delicious treats and natural supplements with ingredients that promote a healthy diet and vibrant lifestyle. Here are some tips to use when selecting an appropriate food:
Look For…
- Clearly named meat or fish—chicken, lamb, beef, salmon
- Concentrated named meat proteins—chicken meal, turkey meal
- Whole grains and starches—brown rice, barley, sweet potatoes
- Fresh fruits and vegetables—whole potatoes, carrots, apples
- Named fats from quality sources—chicken fat, herring oil, sunflower oil
- Natural preservatives—mixed tocopherols, vitamin C or E
- Non-specific ingredients—poultry by-products, meat and bone meal
- Protein fillers—corn gluten, wheat gluten, egg product meal
- Carbohydrate overload—refined flours, wheat, mill runs
- Processed fruits and vegetables—tomato pomace, dehydrated potatoes
- Fats from non-specific sources—poultry fat, animal fat, vegetable oil
- Artificial preservatives—BHA & BHT
Pet Food FAQs
- How do I transition my pets over to a new food without upsetting their stomachs?
- My pet has a special dietary restriction. Do you offer anything for that?
- Isn't it best for my dog to stay on the same food?
- Is raw food really safe?
- Isn't dry food good for my pet's teeth?
- Doesn't natural food cost a lot more?
More Resources & Education
- Dog Food Advisor
- The Best & Worst Foods For Your Pets, by Dr. Karen Becker
- Foods to Avoid or Restrict
- How to Store & Serve Raw Food
- Transitioning Over to a Raw Food
- Diet and Health Info for Man's Best Friend
Stop in to talk to our pet nutrition experts about your pet's dietary needs, and let us offer recommendations for a great, nutritious food to enhance your pets health.


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Awesome... That inclusion of bare tree branches at the top right adds too much to the otherwise abstract flights of these starlings.
Also, I liked how the birds close to the tree are rendered sharp probably slowing down near the tree compared to those that are far and still flying across.
Beautiful creation, Nirlep. TFS.


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Little White vase 0010
Handmade Little white vase (milky-white) created with original Murano glass and with the help of moulds, in which NasonMoretti's masters blow the molten material, a mixture realized following some ancient recipes that date back to the foundation of the factory.
Little White vase of MiniAntares collection
Since forever NasonMoretti has proved itself attentive towards the evolution of the table and the way of living it, without giving up beauty, creativity and authenticity, which derive from skilled pencils that are always ready to embrace new trends, in full compliance with traditions. Little White vase 0010 is an example of this artistic philosophy. The collection Miniantares takes its name from one of the largest and brightest stars ever known, found in the constellation Scorpius, by which it is inspired for brilliance and chromatic richness. The Miniantares vases, proposed in 4 shapes of small dimensions, are available in 13 colors, matched in an innovative way with just as many shades applied inside the objects. Their essence of handcrafted works of art makes every vase so unique that it contains an ancient Venetian alchemy and the millennial knowledge of the Murano masters, joined with curiosity and the pursuit of a redefined modernity.
Additional information
|7.5 × 14.2 cm
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Broad Jump
The broad jump will give your dog an opportunity to jump a distance hori
zontally rather than the vertical challenge offered by normal hurdles, as Kipp shows us above. We've created a jump with lower boards at either end with a raised center (this allows us to run the dogs in either direction over the jump), but you can put it together so it is approached from one side, with ascending boards the entire way; you can also space the boards differently (see design notes at end of article). Assembling a jump like we've built here will take three to four hours and will cost about $50.
You will need a PVC pipe cutter, a sharpie, a measuring tape and a short length of 4 x 4 or another solid block with a square edge for aligning perpendicular joints.
Below are the pre-cut pieces and connectors (all for 1″ pipe), ready to be assembled. The straight pieces of pipe are about 24 feet in total length, which means you'll need three 10-foot pieces of pipe to construct one broad jump. In addition to the pipe and connectors, you will need to buy one 16′ vinyl ranch fence rail.
1 16′ vinyl rance fence 6″ rail, cut into four 4′ pieces (1)
2 90-degree slip connectors (20)
3 1-¾" pipe stubs (22)
4 slip end caps (4)
5 "T" slip connectors (16)
6 5″ pipe sections (16)
7 4″ pipe sections (12)
8 30″ pipe poles (5)
Note on the fence rail: The trim aisle at Home Depot has a hand saw for cutting long pieces of trim to length; you will probably want to use this facility to cut the fence rail in half to get it home, as 16′ is pretty hard to handle. When you get the two eight foot pieces home, cut them in half; it's more important to get all four pieces the same length than it is to have them be precisely four feet long. If your cut at Home Depot didn't exactly split your rail, you should cut the shorter piece in half at home, and then cut two pieces from the remaining board to match. Bringing a tape measure and a marker to the store will help you cut the rail exactly in half, saving a step.
Please see the tips page for general hints on cutting and assembling PVC pipe. Look for the red glue symbols in the photos to show the freshly glued joints in each step.
On this particular obstacle, you're going to end up doing the same step as many as 16 times, so it's a nice zen activity!
Start by gluing a 7 4″ pipe section to the center connector of a 5 "T" connector.
Do that seven more times, for a total of eight (8) identical assemblies, as shown above. These are the risers for the two high boards in the center of the jump.
Next, glue one of the 3 stubs to the center connector of a 5 "T" connector.
Do that seven more times, for a total of eight (8) identical assemblies, as shown above. These are the risers for the low boards at either end of the jump. (Do you detect a pattern here?)
In the next step, we're going to glue a 90-degree connector to every one of those subassemblies from the prior steps. Above is how we're going to keep the connectors aligned properly. By holding the "T" flat on our work surface, we'll twist the 90-degree connector on and hold it flat against a scrap of 4×4 (you can use anything you want as long at it is perpendicular to your work surface).
Here we've taken a 2 90-degree connector and have glued it to one of the short risers we created in a previous step.
And here are all 16 sub-assemblies, glued and ready to go. Zen, I tell you, zen. Just don't zone out too much!
Next, take your four remaining 7 4″ pipe sections and glue them to the four remaining 2 90-degree connectors. These will hold the guide poles.
Now we're ready to assemble the side rails. Shown above are the components for one of them. We will be using two of the guide pole bases we just assembled, as well as four each of the short and tall risers, arranged short-short-tall-tall-tall-tall-short-short. To join the risers to each other we will use seven 3 pipe stubs. It's important that this entire rail's components are coplanar, but it's not difficult to assemble them as such. Start at one end and work your way down, pushing each new piece flat to the work surface.
Here I've started to assemble a rail. I found it easier to glue the stub to the next riser in line and then glue that to the existing rail.
Here's one rail which has been glued up. Note the double glue symbols, each of which indicates a pipe stub with a glued joint to each riser.
Before setting this rail aside to dry while assembling the other one, take eight of your 6 5″ pipe sections and glue them to the rail as shown. These are the pieces that will slip inside of your boards.
Never before has "repeat for the other side" covered more ground, but, well, use your remaining 3 stubs, riser assemblies and 6 5″ pipes to create a mirror of the rail you just assembled. Our board sequence is symmetrical, so as long as you do exactly what you did the first time, you'll be fine.
Note: If you are making an asymmetrical jump (for example, all of your boards go up like a staircase from low to high) it is critical that you glue your risers into the new rail so they mirror the risers in the rail you've already assembled. If you started with low on the left on the first rail, you will need to start with low on the right on the second rail. Be very careful about this–dry-assemble the second rail and hold it up to the first as they will be used together if you have any doubts at all.
Now comes the fun part. Take one of your boards and slip it over the first two pipes on one of your rails. This is a tight sliding fit and doesn't require any glue (which will also allow you to take it apart in the future, if you want or need to). Starting the board at an angle to go over first one pipe and then the other may make things easier. Note, if your pipes seem to interfere with the ribs inside the board, just gently spread them a bit, they may just be slightly crooked but will not interfere once they've started.
Push the board fully home.
Repeat for the three remaining boards. If your rails came with mounting tabs, a couple of your boards may still have them, as seen on the furthest right board here. Make sure they face down for best appearances.
Lay the rail with four boards so the rail faces down. We will now insert the other rail into the boards. This will require some patience, as there are eight pipes to fit into a fairly tight space. Start with one end with the second rail at an angle to the jump assembly. Put the first pipe a fair ways into the first board, then start bringing the rail towards the jump assembly, starting each pipe as you go. Towards the third or fourth board, you'll need to keep watch that you don't undo your previous work as you try to get each subsequent pipe started as the angle begins to get quite shallow.
Patience is the key, they will all eventually start! Once they do, stand the jump up on the first rail and press them together so that all boards are fully seated on both rails. Shown above are both rails fully inserted into all four boards. All of the hard work is done!
Glue the 4 end caps to the 8 guide poles…
…and then glue the guide pole assemblies to the jump, and you're done!
And there's our finished broad jump!
Alternative Designs
There are a lot of ways to customize this jump to your own purposes:
- You can vary the length of the pipe between the pairs of risers to space the boards further apart
- You can alter the heights of the risers for shorter or taller boards (see note below), or to have the front edge of the board lower than the rear edge.
- You can use a stair-step arrangement, from low to high (which is how I believe most "professional" broad jumps are arranged)
- You could use pairs of pipes four feet long between the risers instead of vinyl fence boards. You will probably need to wrap each pair in a material to mimic a board, though.
- It may be possible to use only a single riser per board, designed to slip into the center opening of the board. This would allow you to swivel the board slightly to have a lower leading edge, and of course would just about halve the connectors needed, cut the pipe down by about a quarter, and cut the cost by perhaps 30%. However, it will not be as sturdy, and I cannot guarantee the boards will stay put despite the tight friction fit. Let me know if you try it!
Note on board height: The lowest board on our jump still has a leading edge top height that is higher (3.5″) than many official dimensions allow. This is because off-the-shelf PVC connectors don't allow for a lower board in this design without modification. You can modify regular PVC connectors and still use this design and get the lowest board to be just a smidge over 2″ high: Cut one leg of a 90-degree connector flush with the bottom of the other leg, and cut a center "T" connector fitting off to be flush with the rest of the connector. Join these to each other with a very small pipe-stub, probably no more than half an inch long. This won't be the strongest joint in the world but there's not much stress on this in any case.


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Plot Summary:"When commercial towing vehicle Nostromo, heading back to Earth, intercepts an SoS signal from a nearby planet, the crew are under obligation to investigate. After a bad landing on the planet, some crew members leave the ship to explore the area. At the same time as they discover a hive colony of some unknown creature, the ship's computer deciphers the message to be a warning, not a call for help. When one of the eggs is disturbed, the crew do not know the danger they are in until it is too late."
Given that it has recently been re-released, I figured I'd give this
Ridley Scott flick another go. I have all of the Alien films on video, but
this has always been my least favourite. I've always viewed it as being a
big-time retread of all the great 50s sci-fi films I love so dearly, only
taking out everything that was 'fun' about them.
I mean really, folks. It's just Plumbers in Space, when you get right down to it (And Harry Dean Stanton really does seem to fit the part if you ask
me, though he and Yaphet Kotto are rays of sunshine here amidst their
grim-looking co-stars). A mining ship full of rather disgruntled and
underpaid folks answers a distress call from an alien planet. There they
find some bizarre creatures, one of whom attaches itself to the face of
poor, unfortunate John Hurt (Looking about 55 with a bad hangover to
boot). Yadda Yadda, it's man vs. alien...well, OK, so there are two women
on board. And a cat.
A great cast, with Sigourney Weaver her usual terrific self, but I still
find the film takes the least interesting elements of science-fiction
(cold, distanced characters, sterile photography, lots of gabbing) and the
least interesting elements of horror (no sense of humour, lots of jump
scenes rather than atmosphere like the great Hammer horror films) and puts
it all together. Add to that actors like Tom Skerritt and Ian Holm, who
whilst fine in certain roles, don't exactly scream 'life of the party' to
me. Sure, they needed to convey a sense of weariness associated with long
space travel, but screenwriter O'Bannon did this much better with John
Carpenter on 'Dark Star', which heightened the absurdity of it all, rather
However, when the film is on target, it's great. The chest-bursting scene
is superb, the scenes set on the alien planet are visually arresting
(whilst the rest looks like leftovers from bland stuff like '2001' or
'THX-1138'), the creature design is superlative. You could probably add an
extra half a star to my rating, because it is certainly watchable, just so
damn overrated.
Now say it with me, people; Get ready for another episode of
Sterile-looking, mostly uneventful for the the first forty minutes, the
film gets better in the latter stages with some fine FX and terrific
performances. But I'd still skip it and move on to the much better
This is one of those classics that remains in the memory a long time after having watched it. It's the type of movie that is a classic not because it was made by a load of 'knowns' (in fact pretty much every single person involved in Alien - from cast to crew - were completely unknown), nor because it had a particularly large budget. It is a classic because it is one of the most remarkable and truly scary movies ever made.
Ridley Scott's slow, disarmingly peaceful direction sets up some great - unxpected - scenes of tension, creating a raw atmosphere of fear and claustraphobia throughout, and Alien is surprisingly post-modern in its plotting. People die who you would never expect to (normally the captain would be the one battling the evil in the final showdown), and characters - who previously had all odds against them - survive. This is just one of Alien's many inspired moments that both shock and manage to scare the audience.
The shabby, tight sets only add to the cloying, uncomfortable feeling that is created while watching Alien, and it seems that behind the scenes the set designers were going for a very dramatic, dark feel for, which comes across well and only heightens the horror that is induced.
Sigourney Weaver in her debut role (of Ripley) is excellent and, in retrospect, her character is far jokier and humorous than in the later Alien installments that were to come (with the possible exception of Alien Resurrection). This is an interesting fact to note from a continuity point of view. The rest of the cast (including Brit veteran Ian Holmes and Cult icon Veronica Cartwright) do well in their roles, and are given quite a lot of screen time considering the movie's genre. This brings me to another unique thing about Alien - the action/violence within it is actually fairly minimal, and most of the screen time is taken up with character interaction and humorous dialect (which helps lighten the opperssively-dark mood). When the action does come, it comes thick and intense and is overpowering in its real-ness.
And then we have the Alien itself. I don't believe that there is a single other film monster out there that is quite so beautifully-realised and completely terrifying. Its quick, calm disposal of its victims is more fright-inducing then a human in a mask, and the creature itself really is something to behold. A sort of human-shaped abomination, this is the Grand-Daddy of all screen nasties, and it knows it!
An enjoyable and thrilling ride with many shocks along the way, Alien is a first-class Sci-Fi Horror with suspense galore and some great effects. Keep away from the big-budget Sci-Fi's of today, this one is still going strong - even after over years!