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Minnesota Ethernet Fiber Service Providers from Minnesota Business Ethernet Internet
Research Roseau Business Ethernet Internet Instantly Online!
To obtain a Business Ethernet Internet Quote for your business in Roseau County, give us a call at (888) 765-8301 or use our online quote Minnesota Metro Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet price tool (on the left) to get an initial estimate on Ethernet over Fiber and Ethernet over Copper in Roseau. Once we receive your information we'll give you a call to discuss your individual Ethernet Bandwidth request.
Why use businessethernetinternet.com for your Online Roseau Ethernet Network Research?
- Our Roseau Business Ethernet Internet tool does the shopping for you.
- We give an unbiased opinion on Ethernet Services in Roseau County.
- Choose from over forty telecom service providers
- Get real-time pricing
- Use our quoting tool anytime you like
Business Ethernet Internet Roseau County
Other types of telecommunications services that may be available in your area are Roseau County Ethernet over Copper Broadband, Ethernet over Fiber Internet, Ethernet over Coax, Ethernet Private Lines, Cable Internet, Bonded Cable, ADSL, SDSL, Bonded DSL and traditional DSL Bandwidth service in MN.
We may have a Business Ethernet Internet in the Roseau County Cities:
- Badger
- Greenbush
- Roosevelt
- Roseau
- Salol
- Strathcona
- Swift
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- Warroad
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We provide other services in Roseau County, Minnesota such as:
- Roseau MPLS Service
- Roseau Phone Service
- Roseau T1 Line Service
- Roseau Ethernet Private Line Service
- Roseau Ethernet Fiber Service


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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has expressed concern on Nigeria's annual revenue losses of over N7 trillion due to insecurity in our seas.
Dogara spoke at a two- day public hearing on " A bill for an act to amend the maritime operations coordinating board act, (cap. M4 LFN 2004," organized by the joint committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration & Navy.
This was as the Chairman of the House Committee on Navy, Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki revealed that while the incidence of sea piracy is reducing in other territorial waters due to effective coordination, it is increasing in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea.
Dasuki said it was worrisome that given repeated warnings by the International Bureau (IMB) that attacks by sea -borne bandits off the West African Coast are in the rise in Nigeria
Dogara in his own submission, presented by the Deputy Minority leader, Chukwuka Onyeama said: "It is even more worrisome to note that Nigeria is said to be losing about N7 trillion annually in the Maritime sector due to among other reasons, leakages in revenue generation and insecurity in the water ways.
"Between January and March 2016, several attacks were reported off Nigeria's coast. This was said to involve pirates stealing cargoes of crude oil and petroleum products. Reports had it that, no fewer than 44 ship crew members were abducted.
"In the first half of this year, about over 20 commercial vessels were attacked in Nigerian waters. The increasing level of attacks and violence in the Gulf of Guinea have given Nigeria and other countries in the sub-region very damaging and negative image in addition to an estimated monthly loss of $1.5 billion to the country.
"As I said recently, prevalence of insecurity in our waters resulted in the loss of $1.3 billion annually to illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in West Africa alone yearly. We must tighten the legal and regulatory framework to stop these losses. The only way to promote intra- African trade in our water ways is to ensure safety and security of navigation in our waters."
The Speaker said its disturbing that pirate attacks in West Africa "are said to be occurring in our territorial waters, terminals and harbors and not in the high seas which effectively stopped intervention by international naval forces."
However, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral I.E. Ibas while speaking at the hearing said the Nigerian Navy was responsible for the recovery of stolen Oil estimated at about N420.1 billion or $1.17 billion in 2016 alone,
According to him, between January to June 2017, the Navy had also arrested 17 vessels, 525 surface tankers, 31 tanker trucks, 11 vehicles, 27 speed boats, 28 wooden boats and arrested 150 suspects.
He further said 523 illegal refineries were destroyed as well as 445 storage tanks, 85 wooden boats and 49 barges. The worthy of the illegal oil destroyed was in excess of a total of $18. 770 million.
There was however contention between the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety
Agency, NIMASA over the establishment of Maritime Operations Co-ordinating Board, which was meant to be under the Supervision of the Navy but funded by NIMASA resources.
The Chief of Naval Staff supported the fund, saying the Nigerian Navy and other maritime security agencies will be able to adequately resource the protection of the Nigeria's maritime environment. He also applauded the provision for the establishment of Maritime Safety Trust Fund (MSTF) to be managed by the Board.
But the representative of NIMASA Ali Ndabawa, a Director who represented the Director General, Dakuku Peterside, kicked against it.
He said: "Even the composition of the Board does not reflect the maritime security architecture of the country as presently constituted.
"The primary focus of the Maritime Operations Co-ordinating Board (MOCB) as contained in the principal Act, MOCB Act, 2004 is for the formulation of policies for maritime operations in Nigeria.
"The introduction of Piracy and other maritime related offences under the proposed Section 6 are not policy but operational and enforcement issues which already rest with the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Nigerian Navy, NIMASA and the Marine Police.
"This will no doubt create an unnecessary duplication of already existing functions of maritime enforcement security agencies and undermine the international dimension and importance of the Anti-Piracy draft bill which has covered in detail all the offences proposed under Section 6."

subset: commoncrawl


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On our way home from Acadia, we visited the Maine Folklife Center (MFC) to continue our search for Campfire Stories. We found the entire archive of Northeast Folklore Magazine, and a huge digital archive of interviews and audio recordings of the collected folklore of Maine.
The Folklife Center was founded by Edward "Sandy" Ives in 1992. Sandy was a folklorist and folk singer, collecting and signing local songs and tales from Maine & Canada. Today, the work of collecting and preserving these oral and folk traditions continues at MFC with digitization, ongoing research, and the annual American Folk Festival.


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We empower you with intelligent KPI reporting
Our proprietary business intelligence solution, Phototype BizIQ™, dramatically improves decision-making around your packaging lifecycle and all supporting processes. It's a powerful tool that aggregates data from various sources and generates comprehensive, up-to-the minute dashboard reports featuring stunning visuals that communicate key performance metrics.
Works With Your Existing Data Systems
Importantly, it works with your existing data systems – regardless of the number, format, structure or location. That means no changes to your internal processes, no expensive programming revisions, and no delays. It finds, formats, summarizes, and reports robust data in a way that delivers real-time, actionable insight...anytime and anywhere. Phototype BizIQ™ also offers flexible report content, formats, and delivery options that users can customize with just a few mouse clicks. Backed by a robust security model that requires unique permissions and security login credentials at the individual level, Phototype BizIQ™ always keeps your confidential information secure.
Flexible & Secure
Leverage it to create dashboards that integrate key metrics across all our managed solutions including File Routing & Collaboration and Print Quality Management. Plus, you can incorporate your own internal metrics, such as production KPIs, printer metrics, financial measures, etc. Our technology team will be happy to work with you to create a customized dashboard solution that will help you achieve success.


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I remember having divan growing up with leftover - whatever we had on hand, and it was always so delicious! Turkey, chicken and ham were what we always used. I do not use cream of mushroom or chicken soup in mine, though. I make the filling from scratch, making a Bechamel sauce. Once you see how easy it is to make this sauce, you might find yourself putting it in everything:
- 2 cups leftover turkey
- 2 packages frozen broccoli vegetable medley (frozen kind) cooked and drained
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons flour
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 2 cups heated whole milk (more or less may be needed for Bechamel sauce)
- freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon curry
- salt
- pepper
- 1 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons dry breadcrumbs
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon melted butter
In a medium saucepan melt butter. Whisk in flour and stir until it is smooth. Cook for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk, and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth. Remove from heat and add cheese, nutmeg, curry, salt and pepper. Add leftover turkey (or chicken), mayonnaise and vegetables, then pour into a greased casserole dish. Mix together dry breadcrumbs, garlic powder and 1 Tablespoon melted butter, sprinkle on top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until hot.


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FIRE FINCH ornaments 3pcs
|20,00 €
inc. VAT
Material: Jacaranda tree wood, paint, satin ribbon
Mifuko Fire Finch ornaments are carved out of fallen branches and twigs of jacaranda trees. Each bird is unique. Fire Finches come with a satin ribbon for hanging the ornaments. Birds are handcrafted by Nicodemus, Cecilia, Benjamin and David in a small workshop in the outskirts of Nairobi.
Three pieces for 20 €.
Design: Mifuko
Photos: Uupi Tirronen
When ordering from outside the EU, VAT 0%


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Opening our doors for #SOHTO2016!
Startup Open House 2016 is coming up this Thursday, September 22nd from 3pm to 8pm. We'd love to have you stop by for some hands-on learning!
What is SOH2016?
Startup Open House allows you to select different companies you're interested in, easily plan a route to visit them, and gets you in the door with some of most interesting companies in the city. Map your day and grab your tickets here.
So what are we doing for SOH2016?
During Startup Open House, one of our instructors, Ahmad Kadim, will be running mini UX workshops. In these 20-minute sessions, you'll tackle a small design thinking problem. Come see what design is all about – we'll start every half hour from 5pm to 8pm!
- 5:00pm
- 5:30pm
- 6:00pm
- 6:30pm
- 7:00pm
- 7:30pm
Ahmad is an instructor for Bitmaker's UX & Product Design full-time course, as well as a co-founder of Milni. As both a developer and designer, Ahmad works with startups to help bring their products to life from scratch.
Want to just pop by for a minute and check out the space? We'll be happy to give you the tour. See you Thursday!


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If you like io games, click to Superspin.io
Description: Superspin-io is a game where you use the mouse to control the spin to eat stars to score points. Keep away from the giant spin because you will stop playing here if you are close to the wheel. The higher the difficulty, the higher is the difficulty. Let's play is feel.
Play more attractive games at wingsio


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We can match your ties and/or vests to any color dress. Please bring a swatch into the store when booking the wedding and we will be happy to assist you. If you do not find the color vest and tie to match your swatch on our website please stop in and see our in store selection. If needed we can order any color to match your dress.
Search by Color:
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text: On Mon, 01 Aug 2011 12:45:12 +0200, Alexandre Julliard wrote: > You should not be trying to write a test that proves that Wine > crashes, > that's not interesting. What you should do is demonstrate Windows > behavior for various types of invalid input, and then make Wine > conform > to that. As I understood, I should send a fix and tests (which crash without the fix) in one patch, shouldn't I? And couple of tests should cover all possible variants of invalid input. Then, my second qustion is: I need a big-size pictures (jpg, png, gif, bmp) for my tests. I think I am unable to generate them in the test. Is it normal to add them as files?


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The High Court has frozen the assets of IFA Malcolm Peter Millward of Calverton, Nottingham after proceedings were brought by the FSA.
The injunction also forbids Millward from breaking the Banking Act 1987, and will remain in place until the final hearing of the case.
The FSA alleges Millward between 1994 and this year accepted loans from clients totalling about £150,000. The regulator this amounts to an unauthorised deposit taking business.


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I guess you know I like cookies, hard or soft or crunchy .....
In Sweden, it was common in former times to have coffee party and they had baked seven kinds of cookies.
If you could not manage to eat all at once, so you could take home the cakes
that remained....
Milk Chocolate Cookies
makes about 40
170 g butter, at room temperature
45 g white sugar
45 g raw sugar (or brown sugar)
3 tbsp golden syrup
300 g all-purpose flour
1,5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
150 g milk chocolate, chopped
Whisk the butter with both sugars until pale and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, and then all remaining ingredients. Mix into a supple dough.
Shape logs (in my case, three), that are about 2-3 cm thick. Place on a baking sheet, and bake at 175°C for about 20 minutes. They will start to look cracked on top - this is normal.
Leave to cool for a few minutes, and then cut into 2 cm thick cookies, diagonally.
This is a photo from Ljustorp Local History Society, Medelpad.
This is an old photo with the coffee table in the garden, 1912.
It is from Heda Local History Society,Östergötland


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One of the most common mistakes new exercisers make is not measuring the intensity of their cardio workouts. Guidelines say that aerobic exercise should be "moderate" or "challenging," but what does that feel like? You might make the mistake of working too hard (which can lead to injury and burnout), or not working hard enough (which can lead to frustration from a lack of results).
When following an aerobic exercise program, there are three main ways to measure your exercise intensity: Target Heart Rate (THR), Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and The Talk Test. This guide will examine each of these three measures in detail so you can choose which works best for you.
Target Heart Rate (THR) is the most commonly used method for measuring exercise intensity—mostly because it's easy to do and it's also precise. Your THR is actually a zone or range that your heart rate should fall within to ensure that you are training aerobically. Training below your target zone may not be intense enough to burn sufficient calories or improve your cardiovascular fitness; while training above your zone means you're working anaerobically (without oxygen) and inefficiently, which is also too intense for many people, especially beginners.
A Target Heart Rate range is listed in percentages, typically between about 60% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. But how hard you should work depends on your fitness level. In general, beginners should work at a lower range and advanced exercisers should work at a higher range. Keep in mind that some people have exercise restrictions due to injury, health conditions or medications that will affect your recommended intensity level, so always check with your doctor first.
Use the following as a guide for determining your intensity level:
There are two different formulas you can use to calculate your Target Heart Rate:
1. The Maximal Heart Rate Formula is most commonly used to estimate Target Heart Rate because it's easy to do and easy to remember. This formula does not take into account fitness level, medical conditions, or other things that might affect your heart rate. It is a good estimate but may be less accurate than other methods.
How to Use the Maximal Heart Rate Formula
Calculate your Max Heart Rate: (MHR = 220-age)
2. The Karvonen Formula is one of the most effective ways to estimate your target heart rate, because it takes your Resting Heart Rate (a good indicator of your fitness level) into account. Because it's slightly more involved than other formulas (see #1 above), it isn't used quite as often. But our Target Heart Rate calculator uses this formula and does all the work for you! You can see the details of this formula below, or simply use our calculator to find your target heart rate.
How to Use the Karvonen Formula:
How to Use Your Target Heart Rate Information
Once you have used either formula above to calculate your Target Heart Rate range (in beats per minute), you must try to keep your heart rate within your range during your cardio activity.
Periodically check your heart rate throughout your workout to gauge your intensity level. There are two ways to do this:
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) may be the most versatile method to measure exercise intensity for all age groups. Using this method is simple, because all you have to do is estimate how hard you feel like you're exerting yourself during exercise. RPE is a good measure of intensity because it is individualized—it's based on your current fitness level and overall perception of exercise. The scale ranges from 1 to 10, allowing you to rate how you feel physically and mentally at a given intensity level.
An RPE between 5 and 7 is recommended for most adults. This means that at the height of your workout, you should feel you are working "somewhat hard" to "hard."
Tips for using RPE:
The final method for measuring exercise intensity is the Talk Test. Like the RPE, the talk test is subjective and quite useful in determining your aerobic intensity, especially if you are just beginning an exercise program.
Using this method, the goal is to work at a level where you can answer a question, but not comfortably carry on a conversation. In simple terms, you're working out too hard if you have to take a breath between every word you say. Conversely, you would be exercising too easily if you could sing the chorus of a song without breathing hard.
Work at an intensity that allows you to breathe comfortably and rhythmically throughout all phases of your workout. This will ensure a safe and comfortable level of exercise. If you are breathless, or can't talk, you're working too hard! Lower the resistance level and slow down. If you experience dizziness or lightheadedness, you may be overexerting yourself and should stop.
The Talk Test has been confirmed as a simple and accurate method of gauging intensity that doesn't require any equipment or special training. Try your own Talk Test during your next workout (and compare it to your Target Heart Rate if you're skeptical). You may be able to replace your heart rate monitoring with this simple test during all of your workouts, or at least when counting your pulse is inconvenient.
You may have seen recent talk in the media about the new guidelines for physical activity. The U.S. Government publishes these guidelines which discuss "moderate" and "vigorous" intensity. So what does that mean? Moderate intensity workouts provide health benefits such as reduced risk of high blood pressure, certain cancers, stroke and diabetes. Vigorous intensity workouts provide those benefits, plus aid in weight loss and increased muscle mass. Here is how to distinguish between the two:
Moderate activity ranges from 40-60% of someone's max heart rate. For most people, that would be walking a mile in 14 to 23 minutes. Moderate-intensity activity causes a slightly increased rate of breathing, and it feels "light" to "somewhat hard". Individuals doing this type of activity can easily carry on a conversation.
Vigorous activity elevates heart rate above 60% of your max heart rate. Walking a mile in less than 14 minutes, jogging, cycling, and playing endurance sports are all considered vigorous activity. These activities result in increased rates of breathing and sweating and feel "somewhat hard" to "very hard."
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Communication & Journalism at Anderson University South Carolina
Anderson University South Carolina offers 2 distinct undergraduate degree(s), concentrated into 2 major(s) within the field of Communication & Journalism. Across all specializations under the umbrella of Communication & Journalism, Anderson University South Carolina awarded 26 undergraduate degrees in 2016 - 2017.
|None of the awards was for a degree taken exclusively "on-line".
|None of the awards was for a degree at the associate level (2-Year).
|None of the awards was for a degree given to foreign nationals.
|8 degrees were awarded to men.
Domestic Ethnicity
The following chart and table show how the 26 undergraduate awards given to U.S. citizens in Communication & Journalism were distributed at Anderson University South Carolina.
|White Americans
|African Americans
|Hispanic Americans
|Native Americans
|Other Americans
|Asian Americans
|Pacific Island / Native Hawaiian Americans


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A gelato business has been unexpectedly closed this afternoon after an automatic fire sprinkler activated.
ACT Fire & Rescue was called to the shop at Cooleman Court at 2:44 this afternoon.
Firefighters turned off the sprinkler and are now removing the excess water before handing the premises back to the owner.
It is not known what set off the sprinkler.


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Login to the Jolt Web Portal, from the menu select Supplies.
1. Select the item(s) needed.
2. Delete or Add items from the right side of the page.
3. Select Checkout when the order is ready.
4. Once on the Shipping page, under Order Details select where the invoice will be placed.
a. Ex. Company or Location. This must be selected before moving forward.
5. Select the Shipping Address or add a new one.
6. Add Payment Method or use an Existing Card.
7. Input the necessary information
8. Select Users to give them permission to use this card.
a. Refer to the article, Credit Card Management to learn more.
9. Select Create once all information has been updated.
10. Review the order and change any necessary information, then select Confirm Checkout.
11. An Order Confirmation email will be sent out, and a Shipping Confirmation will follow, allow 24 hours for this to come through.


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Numerous links and information are available at ISACA's home page for Corporate users
Sarbanes-Oxley – COBIT version 5 standards emerge for IT controls
Microsoft MVP blog — Computer news, Security developments, Leadership & Best Practices
Numerous links and information are available at ISACA's home page for Corporate users
Sarbanes-Oxley – COBIT version 5 standards emerge for IT controls
Mozilla Firefox and other products have been revised to remove the hacked DigiNotar Certificate Authority,
Mozilla Firefox 6 – Security release for hacked Certificate Authority
QUOTE: Mozilla has released several new versions of programs in order to remove support for a root certificate from a hacked certificate authority. We reported yesterday about how this root certificate had been used to create a fake google.com certificate, but it turns out that the hack occurred weeks ago and had been used many times. DigiNotar, the hacked certificate authority, is in a desperate struggle to retain their credibility. The newly-updated programs are:
Trend Labs shares good awareness for a variety of threats affecting Facebook and other social networking environments.
Social Networking Threats – Trend Labs report
QUOTE: KOOBFACE is not the only threat that hounds social media. These social networking sites also have features that can become threat vectors. A seemingly harmless wall post from a friend, a video shared by an online contact, or an instant message from a colleague can potentially lead to an attack. These features are meant to make socializing effective and meaningful. However, they have also been used by cybercriminals in their attacks. In Facebook, the wall is the riskiest region of the user interface. Cybercriminals have concocted several threats leveraging popular news items
For tips on how to arm yourself against social media threats, check out our e-book, ".
e-Book – A Guide to Threats on Social Media
Symantec documents an advanced and highly stealth File Infector that can setup a botnet client on an infected PC
Xpaj Botnet Intercepts up to 87 Million Searches per Year
QUOTE: W32.Xpaj.B is one of the most complex and sophisticated file infectors Symantec has encountered. In an older blog post, Piotr Krysiuk calls it an "upper crust file infector." He describes several different approaches that the infector uses to increase the difficulty in detecting infected samples. The techniques W32.Xpaj.B uses to conceal itself within an executable are far beyond the norm.
The analysis revealed IP addresses for the command & control (C&C) servers. Infected W32.Xpaj.B executables send a download request to these C&C servers. Analysis of the threat's backend control infrastructure revealed more than just the data sent from the server to infected clients. The servers contained encrypted binary data, encryption keys, databases, and Web applications. These were all elements of what transpired to be a fraud operation spread over multiple computers hosted in several countries.
As Adobe has improved their automated security updates, please promptly apply changes when prompted to ensure the best levels of protection.
Adobe – Flash and other products patched during August 2011
QUOTE: Adobe released updates to 5 products today fixing a total of 23 vulnerabilities, mostly in Flash Player. At least some of the 13 vulnerabilities fixed in Flash Player affect all versions of it: Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris and Android. All are critical vulnerabilities which can result in remote code execution. None of the vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild, according to Adobe. These changes also affect Adobe AIR for Windows, Mac and Android.
As always, you can get the most current version of Flash Player (10.3.181.36) at http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer. Don't go anywhere else for it, as fake Flash installers are a common method of malware distribution
Webmasters should ensure they apply the forthcoming security patch to protect their web server environments:
Apache Web Server – New DoS Attack Vulnerability
QUOTE: Amidst a lack of fanfare this past weekend on a mailing list, a memory exhaustion hack popped up for the Apache webserver that may result in a Denial-of-Service (DoS) style attack. Since the Apache application serves up north of 65% of the websites on the internet, a plausible attack becomes quite an issue, especially if it gets much traction before a patch can be released.
Still, some Apache web servers have been humming along untouched for years without much oversight, and may not receive patches as quickly as the hack spreads, representing a potentially widespread attack surface in the meantime. The posting says "An attack tool is circulating in the wild. Active use of this tools has been observed." The nice thing is how proactive the Apache Foundation has been since it was brought to their attention.
The FBI warns users to be careful with charitable donations, news reports, and web searches
FBI – Electronic Scam warnings updated for Hurricane Irene
QUOTE: 08/26/11—In light of Hurricane Irene, the public is reminded to beware of fraudulent e-mails and websites claiming to conduct charitable relief efforts.
Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes
Reports can be made to:
F-Secure documents a recent attack for one of the most secure authentication products, which was quickly corrected to resolve security issues
RSA – How SecurID was compromised
QUOTE: RSA was hacked in March. This was one of the biggest hacks in history. The current theory is that a nation-state wanted to break in to Lockheed-Martin and Northrop-Grumman to steal military secrets. They couldn't do it, since these companies were using RSA SecurID tokens for network authentication. So, the hackers broke into RSA with a targeted email attack. They planted a backdoor and eventually were able to gain access to SecurID information that enabled them to go back to their original targets and succesfully break into there. In the aftermath of the attack, RSA was forced to replace SecurID tokens for their customers around the world.
A new scam is circulating on Facebook:
Facebook – Hurricane Irene Scam circulating
QUOTE: Hurricane Irene surely turned New York City to "city that never sleeps" as it brought flood waters, knocked out power to more than 4 million people and was even responsible for at least 15 deaths in six states. What's worse is that cybercriminals are taking advantage of the incident by spamming a fake video on Facebook. The page, which contains the alarming title "VIDEO SHOCK – Hurricane Irene New York" displays a clickable image of a fake video player on the page.
Please be careful when accepting certificate updates as noted in the following security warning
QUOTE: In early July, Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar issued a fraudulent SSL certificate for '*.google.com'. This certificate could allow a malicious web site, in conjunction with certain other techniques, to spoof any domain on google.com including mail.google.com.


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iPhone 4s hangs during restore
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I have an iPhone 4S GSM that I needed to restore to complete an unlock. When I tried to restore, both my Mac and PC gave me an error message that the iOS 7.0.4 download was corrupted and that I needed to download again. I downloaded the IPSW as a separate file and tried to restore directly from the file. The restore hung and I aborted it but I obviously can't use my phone until the phone is restored. I have tried the restore process on both my Mac and PC running the latest version of iTunes on Mac OS Mavericks and Windows 7 respectively and it hangs at the same spot. I have tried the restore with different USB cables and ports. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what else I can try? I am pulling my hair out here because my phone was working perfectly prior to this issue.
Update: Since posting, I have managed to get the restore to a further point the process, at which point it hangs again.


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At Kadampa Meditation Center New York City we host occasional half-day and day-long city retreats which give the participants the opportunity to deepen their familiarity with the practice of meditation. These retreats are mostly suitable for every level of practitioner including newcomers.
By training in retreat in the city, we improve our experience of integrating our spiritual practice into our daily life, which is the very essence of Modern Buddhism. Everyone is welcome.
Our urban retreats are generally held on specified Saturdays and are listed on our Weekend Courses & Retreats page.


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Posts Taggedfinder
After years as Windows only user, I came to the Mac shortly before Lion was released last summer. I was still so new to Mac OS at that time that I failed to notice many of the changes from Snow Leopard to Lion. I did notice the removal color from the icons in the Finder sidebar, however. Like many, I found the loss of color made it more difficult for me to quickly find the icon I wanted. The icons just blended in together more than they did before.
The color is still there. If you look under the Go Menu in Finder, the icons still show in full color. Apple described the change as designed was to reduce emphasis on the interface in favor of content. While effective for that, the loss of contrast didn't seem worth the tradeoff. As usual, developers stepped in to restore what they saw as lost functionality. SideEffects restores color to the icons Finder Sidebar. How well does it work? Let's see. (more…)
We all love our Macs, otherwise we would have opted for a different hardware/OS combo. But that doesn't mean that there aren't great alternatives to some of Apple's apps which are worth considering. The Finder, for example, is great for beginners, but for advanced or power users, it lacks.
Since we are fortunate enough to live in a world filled with creative and imaginative developers, there is an alternative, of course. Many, actually, but one of the best is Path Finder, now available in version 6 and it takes the Finder concept to a whole new level. Read on to find out how.
Over the past week or so we've been on a mission to help you improve the experience of file browsing by introducing you to interesting Finder alternatives. We started with TotalFinder, which boosts your Finder's natural functionality by adding tabs. We then moved on to Raskin, which dramatically redesigns the entire file browsing process.
Today we'll wrap up this series with an incredibly useful and unique utility called Default Folder X, which helps you navigate your file structure at lightning speed when saving or opening files.
Earlier this week we took a look at TotalFinder, a reserved but incredibly useful Finder replacement that uses a tabbed interface to augment your typical file browsing experience.
Today we're going to follow that up with something that's not a subtle change but a completely re-imagined file browser like nothing else you've ever used: Raskin. Intrigued? You should be.
It's coming up on two years since we first took a look at an interesting Finder replacement app called TotalFinder, which was in its initial stages of development at the time. It was a little shaky back then but it has come a long way and is definitely worth another look.
In case you've never used it, we'll walk through what TotalFinder is and why it just might make you leave the normal finder behind for good.
If you're anything like me, your downloads folder is a huge mess of disorganized PDFs, Word documents, Keynote presentations and text files with uninformative names like form.doc and scan0111.pdf.
To clean up this mess, Ironic Software developed Yep, promising iPhoto/iTunes-like management for your documents
I'm a die-hard Alfred fan, and when I'm being good and giving my documents appropriate names, it's a huge help. However, when I'm downloading and reading dozens of documents on a short deadline, all my good habits go out the window with my to-do list.
Yep claims to be the document organizer for the lazy and forgetful among us, find out if it delivers after the jump!
Window management in OS X has come a long way in recent years. Exposé gave us the ability to quickly view or hide our windows, Spaces gave us multiple environments to store and organize our windows, and most recently Dock Exposé has given us even more flexibility.
However, aside from a little AppleScripting, there is still no easy way to manage window sizes with the default OS X tools. Fortunately, a couple of third party options have popped up recently that handle this task with ease. Below we'll take at look at both SizeUp and Divvy to see who reigns supreme as the window management king.
Imagine your files and folders sitting in a Finder window. It's simple, and there's no clutter. The only information you have about them is the name underneath. Of course we both know that there's more to learn about each file. Much more!
Picture that all the "metadata" for a file or folder is engraved on it – unique – just like our finger prints. You'd need a magnifying glass to see it all. Let me introduce you to your magnifying glass: the "Get Info" Pane.
In this article I'll introduce you to it, take you through a tour, and give some helpful hints along the way.
The Apple experience is pretty slick, but one thing that frustrates many users is the Finder. Although it gets the job done, it hasn't evolved a great deal in recent years and is missing a few widely-requested features.
As an integral part of OS X, the aptly named 'Finder' is used to find, move and delete files, install applications and even preview files – but all of this activity leaves us with a lot of windows open. Sure, you can keep pressing 'cmd + w' until they've all gone, or you can download TotalFinder.
The quest for the perfect information store is unending. Many of us long for a single place where we can put everything so that it's easy to find and work with. Of course you could use various folders in a complex directory structure – I did that for years, nesting folders for months within folders for years within folders for particular areas of interest.
Needless to say, this soon became unworkable! So then I broke down my intricate folders and dumped everything into a single big 'Archive' folder, trying to rely on Spotlight to find what I needed. That worked better, but I sometimes found it difficult to track down what I was after.
My system's gone through a few more transformations since then, and I have tried several different apps along the way. Together is one of the best I've used, and it has some features that might make it the ideal solution for many people.


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On 18 January, Tajik Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Aslov met in New York with Mr. Achim Steiner, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
According to the Tajik MFA information department, they discussed issues related to state and prospects of cooperation between Tajikistan and the UNDP, including implementation of the UNDP-supported social and economic development projects in the country and the UNDP assistance for implementation of Tajikistan's sustainable development programs.
UNDP supports countries around the world to eradicate extreme poverty, strengthen good governance and prevent and respond to crises.
UNDP works in Tajikistan in partnership with the Government and plays an active part to harmonize the efforts of all the UN agencies active in the country. The development work of the UN agencies in Tajikistan is regulated by the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).
UNDP's goal is to support the Government of Tajikistan in the coordination of development initiatives, the public finance management, the delivery of core public services and the planning and decision-making.


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Karen is a 15 year veteran of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival. Karen is a lyric soprano, training in classic and operatic styles. She had her introductory solo recital in 2002 at the Twin Cities Vocal Arts Studio while studying under Angela May, and performed in multiple Vocal Arts Players productions. She also plays the piano and trumpet.
Karen works at Wells Fargo Bank in Operational Risk Management and lives in St Louis Park with her husband, David, and daughter, Rose.
Lindsey's musical escapades started at a young age; singing around the piano with her family. At Apple Valley High School she sang with Treble Choir, Valley Select Chorale, and Jazz Singers. She attended a tour of Germany, Austria and Czech Republic in 2000 with the Minnesota State High School Chorale, and sang in the musical revue called "Broadway". She has performed in high school theatre productions and received vocal instruction under Sue Buesgens. She was also involved in community theatre and continued to study music through her college education.
Lindsey began at the Minnesota Renaissance Fesitval with Cromatico in 2010, before joining the Court Revelers in 2011. Her personal interests include sewing and crafting, watching movies and napping.
Margery Fenrix is Adelaide's "little" sister. Margery is in NO HURRY to get married and instead plans to make her fortune by training her legion of plague rats to become Phenomenally Famous Circus Plague Rats throughout the WORLD! Or at least the County. Or at least the Renaissance Festival. The only reason Adelaide disagrees is she likes rabbits better than rats. She is wrong.
Emily has been attending the Minnesota Renaissance Festival since she was five years old and has been performing with The Court Revelers since 2011. It is truly one of her greatest pleasures to sing with such a talented group of charismatic singer/performers.
Emily was trained as a soprano by Dr. Tana Field at Luther College in Decorah, IA. Emily gave a soprano/baritone recital during her junior year at Luther and has sung in three of the seven choirs at Luther College. She sang both soprano and alto in the Pike Kor (Aurora), Cathedral Choir, and Collegiate Chorale. Emily has her Bachelor's degree in music with minors in Education and German. Since leaving Luther College, Emily has sung with her church choir, of which she is an assistant director, the South Metro Chorale, under the directorship of Loren Squires and Tim Malone.
Emily has been in many plays and musicals: HAIR, Show Boat, The Sound of Music, We Are (an original piece created at Luther College), Kabuki Lady Macbeth, and The Importance of Being Earnest, just to name a few.
Emily is a vocal music director and is currently teaching 6-12 choral music in the southwest Metro area.
Gilah Mashaal studied at both the Hartt School of Music and the University of Minnesota. While a student of Richard Cross at Hartt, she performed in Le Nozze di Figaro (as Susanna), Manon (as Manon) and La Traviata. At the University of Minnesota, she was the featured soloist in the world premiere of Libby Larson's And Sparrows Everywhere. Gilah has appeared with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Chorale in performances including La Boheme, Tosca, La Traviata, Verdi's Requiem Mass, Beethoven's 9th symphony, and Mozart's Requiem Mass. While at the University of Minnesota she studied with Barbara Kiering.
Gilah started with DeCantus in their holiday season of 2010 as a soprano and was invited to make her debut at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival with them in 2011 as a mezzo soprano. In 2014, she auditioned for and was accepted as a soprano in the Court Revelers, her new home where she continues to hone her talents and lend her voice in harmony with her fellow singers. She performs as Lady Isabel Villiers, Countess of Coventry.
Nan Miller is the current and founding musical and executive director of The Court Revelers. Although switching to Alto in 2015, she started as a Soprano for TCR. As musical director she guides repertoire choice, musical quality and performance excellence. In 2003 Nan along with two other alumni of The Revelers, who entertained at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and elsewhere for many years, founded TCR and many former Revelers joined the new group. Previous to TCR, Nan sang with The Revelers for three years, two of which serving as the musical director of the group.
Nan began working at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 1989 at "King of the Log" a game that has been the springboard for many performers at the festival. (2016 marks her 28 th year at MRF). Nan has sung with several community singing groups, church choirs, and small ensembles (The Geneva Eschweiler Singers, The Hot Dishes and others) in her many years of performing since leaving the University of Minnesota Chorus. She has also acted, sung and choreographed in community theatre groups over the years, and co-directed the Children's Musical at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in south Minneapolis for over ten years. Her film credit is Midnight Chronicles (2007).
Nan loves singing and working with the ensemble that is The Court Revelers. She's grateful to all the audience members, many of whom have become friends over the years. She says The Court Revelers is a special group, handpicked for a sound quality, a spirit of cooperative work, and a healthy dash of zany…."We make fun, family and music simultaneously!"
Becca Shaffner has been singing seriously nearly her whole life. She has been taking private vocal training since 1985 from Brad Hagen and Randy Johnson. She studied Vocal Arts at the University of Minnesota, Morris with Janet Ahern and Ken Hodgson, and performance training from the Hennepin Center for the Arts with Angela May and the workshop Performance and Movement at the Pangea Theatre with Dipankur Mukurjee.
She has been a Soloist several local churches, and has been a member of the University of MN, Morris Concert Choir; University of MN, Morris Chamber Singers; St. Peter's Womens' Ensemble; St. Peter's Mixed Ensemble; Shakespeare's Lovechild (an a capella trio) and Wrapped in Satin (a jazz/swing ensemble).
She performed in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Delano High School; A Christmas Carol, Morris Community Theatre; Messiah, University of MN; Celebration!, Delano Fine Arts Committee; Hey Big Spender, Morris Park Players; Amahl and the Night Visitors, St. Peter's Church.
On a personal note, Becca's dog thinks she walks entirely too slow and Becca thinks her dog has entirely too much hair. Becca's children, ages 14, 10 and 6, think that she and the dog are nuts but love them anyway. Her husband enjoys the sitcom that has become daily life and looks on in amusement. Life is good.
Jill Kohn, a Wisconsin native, has been with The Court Revelers for over 15 years now. Having only attended a renaissance festival twice before joining the cast, she was immediately drawn to this crazy, lovable, loyal, and stupendously talented family of singers. Jill is bi-sectional (or just indecisive, starting off as an alto in the group, later deciding that she wanted to join the sopranos, and recently rejoining the "dark side" by going back to the alto section.)
In her Wisconsin years Jill was a member of Wausau East High's Concert Choir and Camerata Singers, St. Mary's Church Choir, and the UWSP Choral Union. Her Minnesota vocal experiences include the Macalaster College Festival Choral, Minnesota Revels ,Twin Cities Show Chorus, and various musical productions with Heritage Theatre Co. and Woodbury Community Theater.
Adelaide is the older sister of Margery, who is "Bitsy" to her "Stretch". She's also accepting candidates for a marriage contract with her dear sister (One Sister for Sale!) — Serious inquiries only.
Adelaide loves bubbles, ponies, and small, cute fuzzy things. Jill will not comment on whether or not she shares these interests, though she does frequently cater to the demands of two small rabbits.
Suzy Harris-Ferguson fell in love with performing musically ever since her first starring role in her kindergarten class' production of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus". She fostered her musical education through band and choir classes all the way through her junior high and high school years.
While in college, Suzy moved to musical theater and, later, kept up with her music by spending a summer working on a cruise ship performing in musical acts. She also sings in her church choir and was also involved in Prior Lake Players' 2015 production of "An Enchanted Evening: A Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical Revue".
Suzy fell in love with the Minnesota Renaissance Festival on her first visit as a patron in 2011 and was thrilled to be asked to be a Reveler. She feels that she is "at home" with her musical family and hopes to be a member of the Court Revelers for as long as she is able.
For Rent: 1 Tenor Vocalist.
Well used, but still in great condition. Extensive experience in various school and church choirs including the Edina High School Concert Choir (1998-2000) and Edina High School Chamber Singers (1998-2000). Member of the National Junior High Honor Choir (1996). Involved in many instances of Musical Theater including such shows as The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof, and Beauty and the Beast. Currently in training for his first run at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival with the Court Revelers, and a member of the Wayzata Community Church Chancel Choir, he also has years of experience performing as a small ensemble with his family.
Upgrades on the base (bass) model include tenor range enhancement, 4 years of professional voice lessons, "lady killer eyes", and facial shag carpeting.
Bitten by the performing bug at age 10, Brad began in local children's theaters before progressing to community and professional theaters around the Twin Cities area. He was the top singer for his school at the 2005 Solo/Ensemble Contest, as well as a performer at the 2005 Minnesota Music Educator's Association conference. He began performing at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in 2009, where he was awarded the Cracked Cup Award for Best New Entertainer, as well as the Herald marketing award in 2010 and an award for Best Entertainment by a Group in 2012 with the Mermaid Cove.
He enjoys playing baseball, reading good books, and sailing. (No, really.)
We have ourselves a new tenor, his name is Ken Lauer.
He was getting kindof dirty, so we put him in the shower.
He drank up all the water, and ate up all the soap.
No he's sick at home in bed with bubbles in his throat.
Bubble bubble bubble
Bubble bubble bubble
Bubble bubble bubble
Bubble bubble POP!
Hailing from a family of musicians and performers, Adam feels right at home among his beloved Court Revelers. Ever since his break-out role singing a solo in elementary school about the mosquito being Minnesota's state bird, Adam has been involved with music, theatre, or musical theatre in one capacity or another.
Adam has had the opportunity to perform many diverse roles in the theatre realm, ranging from the suave gangster Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls to Johnnypateenmike, the crazy old town gossip in The Cripple of Inishmaan. Among his favorite roles are Yvan in Yasmina Reza's Art and Macduff in a Kabuki verson of *ahem* "The Scottish Play." Adam has also made appearances acting in the Twin Cities, performing for Bedlam Theatre Company and The Unit Collective.
On the music side of things, Adam has sung with numerous ensembles throughout his high school and collegiate career - most notably, Luther College's flagship vocal ensemble, Nordic Choir. He also played trumpet for 8 years and Cello for 5 years, but is admittedly a bit rusty on both, having shifted his focus to vocal music at Luther and beyond. Adam was also chosen as a featured vocal soloist with the Luther College Concert Band for their late spring tour of Japan in 2010.
Since joining the Court Revelers in 2011, Adam has had a stupendous time and believes The Court Revelers have the best fans in all the kingdom!
A diehard Renaissance fan, David started working at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival as a street performer in 2006. This was all well and good, until one day someone mentioned that a certain singing group was looking to add new male voices. That group was The Court Revelers ("Huzzah!"). The very next week he tracked them down on the streets of the festival and said, "I hear you're looking for male voices!" He had his audition for the group right then and there and began performing with The Court Revelers ("Huzzah!") in the 2007 season. The rest, as they say, is history.
David is a seasoned veteran of theater and music. He has performed in numerous plays and choirs and possesses a bachelor's degree in theater from Augsburg College in Minneapolis. Beyond live performance, David has also dabbled in direction, makeup, stage and lighting design, and even spent a few years as the director of a small film studio.
Alex grew up in Maryland and was a frequent patron at Revel Grove, in the aptly-named town of Crownsville. After moving to Minnesota in 2011 one of his first summer adventures was to discover the local festival.
Deep in the bleak winter of '13-'14 he decided he needed more music in his life and auditioned for The Court Revelers!
His more modern interests include waterskiing and biking.
What's a nerd to do when he wants to get his geek on?
Well in Jacob's case he decided to become a frequent patron of the Minnesota Renaissance festival, quickly falling for all the great people and the magic of the realm. He also got entangled with the Chiennoir clan, after they preyed on Jacob's weakness for bacon and beverage.
Advice from the Chiennor didn't steer him wrong at least once, when Jacob auditioned for The Court Revelers (HUZZAH!) Through dint of hard work and many private concerts in his car Jacob was successful in his audition and joined our number in the 2017 season!


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Quite a lot has happened since the last post, so here it is!
First off, we're entering the demo level in Indiecade, with the deadline for entering being the 20th – only 4 days to go! That's not to say we're not ready, the level is completely playable so I'm down to tightening it up, making tweaks where they're needed and even revising a few elements.
The main cause of the revising is the fact that we now have a dedicated artist working on the graphical assets, Francis Coulombe, and you can find his site here. He has nailed the style and feel we're going for and progress is steady. I can't wait for it to get it all in the game, and the stuff that I've already replaced is looking badass.
Doesn't this rock? This guy replaces the swarming heads, so in the game you'll be seeing big groups of these guys flying at you, trying to smash you to pieces.
I thought what we had looked really great, but Francis is going to boost it all to a whole new level!
Also just finished is a functional main menu, with all the basic options such as control configuration and volume levels. Not a big update, but the main menu is often the first impression of a game, so getting it right is definitely important. The full game will contain more options to customize how you start a game, as well as save file management. You can read a little about the possible customization options in an earlier post here.
That about covers all that's been going on here! More posts to come soon, especially before or around the Indiecade deadline.


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"Power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely," astutely observed Lord Acton.
For this reason, if there's to be a new constitution for Costa Mesa, it should include a court of review — akin to the U.S. and California supreme courts — to provide local checks and balances on the Costa Mesa City Council.
Checks and balances are purposely built into the California and U.S. constitutions by splitting governance into three equal branches: the executive, legislative and judicial branches. They can blow the whistle on each other.
At present, Costa Mesa is a general law city, where the council by itself provides all three functions of government. Any checks and balances are provided by state of California laws and the threat of the next election. This arrangement has generally worked, given the limited amount of power past councils have had.
If voters approve a charter though, Costa Mesa will be making up its own laws for the most part. One effect of this will be to slip the state law restraints from the council's powers.
This will hand an incredible amount of new power to a council, which will not face the usual limitations from state legislation.
To help rein in this concentration of power, the proposed Costa Mesa charter should include a court of review. The court would be part of the new government of Costa Mesa. It would provide judicial review of legislative and executive acts of the council.
The court of review would have jurisdiction only over the council's actions. It would be the arbiter of whether or not those actions comport with the provisions of the charter and the other written laws and policies of the city.
The court could be established, for example, with three judges elected by Costa Mesa residents, and holding office for six years in staggered terms. The court would sit only as needed, when a petition for review is filed.
Suitable compensation could be established for their part-time work. The city would provide a venue, materials and equipment for the court's operation, and fund it as needed.
This court is necessary to supplement the cumbersome and expensive routes of appeal that have been traditionally available — lawsuits and the referendum. A more rapid response is needed, in case a council greatly empowered by a charter succumbs to dangerously unfettered activism, as Lord Acton warned in 1887.
Tom Egan
Costa Mesa
District, prepare for 2017 New Year's Day
An advance reminder to the scheduler for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District who chose to have a school day the same as a nationally observed holiday. In January 2017, New Year's Day again falls on a Sunday. Don't make the same mistake as 2012!!
Steve Tumbarello
Newport Beach


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Sleep Apnea is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a patient has disrupted breathing while sleeping that can cause snoring, or cause you to jolt awake. When your breathing is affected in this way, it causes a lack of continuous oxygen to the brain.
25% of normal adults are habitual snorers, while 45% of people snore at least occasionally. Dr. Kam will be able to detect what is the source of your snoring and provide you with various solutions. There are a wide variety of treatment options for sleep apnea that we are able to offer at Agoura Advanced Dentistry such as:
- CPAP appliances
- Pillar Implants
- Custom designed oral appliance
- Thermal Ablation procedure
- Genioglossus and hyoid advancement
- Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty surgery
Dr. Kam will ensure that you and your loved one would sleep calmly without any disturbing noises throughout all night. It is important to note that sleep apnea treatment is very often covered by health insurance plans. We are able to help both children and adults suffering from this disorder. We aim to improve more restful sleep and improve the airflow for your health sake.
If you suspect that you have sleep apnea, make a consultation with us today. Be prepared to bring some records of your fatigue levels and sleep disruptions. Write down any symptoms that you might have. It would be helpful if your sleeping partner would notice any choking, snoring heavily, gasping or stop breathing during sleep moments. Also it is helpful to provide your doctor with the list of medications that you use every day.
- Heavy snoring
- Sore throat
- Tiredness of disturbing sleep
- Dry mouth
- Headaches
- Sleepiness throughout the day
- Insomnia
- Nighttime awakenings
- Waking up in the middle of the night with shortness of breath
- Fatigue
If you are noticing any of these symptoms, feel free to seek help at Agoura Advanced Dentistry for assistance. Our highly qualified specialists will be happy to help you and provide you with the best options of sleep apnea treatments. Don't wait any longer and schedule your consultation with Dr. Kam today: (818) 874-3533
Schedule your complimentary
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Agoura Advanced Dentistry
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Agoura Hills, CA 91302
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"I was always scared of the dentist, Dr. Kam took that feeling away. I felt right at home as soon as I walked through those doors. It's private and comfortable.
"Marcus GilbertPittsburgh Steelers Offensive Tackle
"Dr. Kam always makes me feel comfortable. I've never been so happy at the Dentist! I recommend
"Sarah StageModel & Actress


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My current workstation is a Dell Dimension 9200 and it has served me well for the past 6 years or so, but it is starting to show its age, so I decided to build myself a new one. The most intensive work I do on my workstation is editing large photos from my DSLR, and editing HD video from the same camera. A nice fast processor and lots of RAM will make a huge difference.
I found that amazon.co.uk had very competitive prices and this has the added advantage of only dealing with one supplier – you may be able to find some of the parts cheaper else where, the prices seem to change daily!
The prices below are correct as of 30/09/2011.
CPU: Intel Sandybridge i7-2600 Core i7 Quad-Core Processor (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache, Socket 1155) £230.04
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
Note: When I received this processor, it came with a small heatsink and fan. The heatsink has thermal compound pre-applied. You can probably save yourself some money by not buying the CPU coolerI have specified below.
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z68X-UD5-B3 (GA-Z68X-UD5-B3) £261.91
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
This motherboard allows overclocking the CPU, and I have read at least one report of the i7 2600 being overclocked to 4GHz, so I may give this a go. If I was more serious about overclocking, I would have gone for the unlocked 2600k which is only a few quid more expensive.
RAM: M4A1600CCorsair CMZ16GX39B 16GB (4x4GB) 1600MHz CL9 DDR3 Vengeance Blu Memory Four Module Kit £90.18
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
Graphics Card: Gigabyte GV-R687OC-1GD; 1024 MB; GDDR5-SDRAM; 256 bit; 4200 MHz; ATI Radeon; Radeon HD 6870 (GV-R687OC-1GD) £219.10
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
Power Supply:
CiT 750W Power Supply Unit with PSU and Dual 12V Rails – Black Edition £27.99
Buy one for yourself at Amazon This is a pretty cheap power supply – I'll see how it holds up and maybe upgrade to something better if necessary.
As expected, this power supply wasn't up to the job. The motherboard needs a 20+4-pin ATX power connecter and an extra 4+4-pin CPU power connector. Additionally, the Graphics card needs 2×6-pin PCI-E power connectors which were not all available on the cheap power supply. I bought an OCZ TECHNOLOGY OCZ-ZS750W-UK OCZ ZS Series 750W Power Supply from the ever helpful Silicon Edinburgh
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
Hard Drive: Seagate ST31000524AS 3.5 inch Barracuda 1TB GB 7200rpm SATA Drive with 32MB Buffer £44.29
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
DVD/CD: Sony AD-7261S-0B 24x Internal DVDRWRAM SATA Black Lightscribe £18.02
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9900-NT CPU Cooler (PC World £29.97)
Buy one for yourself at Amazon (£36.99)
I've heard really good things about this CPU cooler, and it should keep the chip a reasonable temperature if I do decide to overclock – besides, it's got a green LED fan, so it must be good 😉
Note: This cooler comes with a tube of thermal grease, so you don't need to buy any extra unless you have a preferred brand.
Antec Three Hundred Midi Case £49.98
Buy one for yourself at Amazon A nice plain-looking case with plenty of space for expansion, it comes with a 140mm top fan, a 120mm rear fan and has the option of adding two more 120mm fans on the front if I find it is running hot or noisy.
The courier who was delivering this screwed up and did not deliver at the scheduled time, so I have cancelled the order. I bought an Antec VSK-1000 Tower Case from Silicon Edinburgh – the case has plenty of room for the graphics card, is well made and looks great.
Buy one for yourself at Amazon
Monitor: Samsung 2443BW 24 Inch Monitor – Black (already owned)
Buy one for yourself at Amazon(£223.69)
This means I have spent a total of £971.48, and I suppose I'll have about another £20 worth of parts to buy where I can't cannibalize my old PC. So I come in right on my budget of £1000.
The build went really smoothly, nothing complicated when it comes to putting the hardware together – just ensure that you connect the 24-pin and 8-pin power connectors to the motherboard and the two 6-pin power connectors to the graphics card. The cables can all be routed neatly through the cable management system.
I'm happy with the performance too. My Dimension 9200 scored 4889 on a Geekbench test, the new workstation scores 11534 (these are the 32-bit tests done with the free version of Geekbench – I may purchase it and do some more accurate testing.
If you want to build the same system, here are all the parts you need:


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Breno says you don't need to be an expert in Illustrator or Photoshop to follow this tutorial, as long as you have a good eye – and a good amount of patience.
Step 1
First you'll need a good photo reference. For this tutorial, I decided to create a self portrait, so I requested a little help from a friend of mine to get the shots.
Important tips here are to use perspective to show depth, have a good variance of light and shadow, and try to ensure your model has some hard-edged accessories that will contrast with the softness of skin and clothing (such like glasses, jewellery or a starched collar).
From these photos you'll need to choose the best fragments to combine in a single image that will form your main reference. As you can see from this screenshot, I've chosen the face from one, glasses from other, and other details from other shots. Be picky in this stage, it's well worth it.
For each part, roughly crop around the part your want. Then open a new document on Photoshop with a black background, and place each of the elements on separate layers.
Step 2
Now, you'll need to combine them to create your perfect reference. Erase the unnecessary parts and make a collage of the parts you've selected – using masks and blending modes to bring them all together.
You don't have to stick completely to the reality of the photos – you want to create a reference photo that's as handsome as I am. For example, I wasn't liking the way the glasses' arm was sitting on my ear, so I extended it.
I also changed some parts of my hair that weren't very interesting.
Step 3
Now you have the integrated image, adjust the contrast, colour balance, levels and the like to create a more dynamic image.
I shouldn't really say this but I often find using Photoshop's Auto Contrast, Auto Colour and Auto Levels functions (in the Image menu) to be really useful here if you don't want to manually correct your composite.
Step 4
I want the colours of my final artwork to be warmer than the reference photo, so to bring it nearer to what I want, I added a solid layer of purple with a Screen blending mode.
Step 5
Now we come to the time-consuming part of the process: the triangular mesh. There's no secret trick to this – you need to do it by hand. Why? Because your brain is better than any script or automated process at determining the contours of the face.
Here are some guides though. Small parts require small triangles. Never make quadrilaterals – they just look wrong. Stick to triangles. It's easier if your subject has has a straight nose like me. Rounded noses are fiddly.
Create your mesh using a small brush on an empty layer above the image. Use a light colour that contrasts with the portrait. I prefer blue or green, since these are are two colours your subject probably hasn't got in his or her face (unless they have a tattoo of a praying mantis on their neck).
Step 6
If you've got this far, pat yourself on the back – you've done much of the hard work (but not all).
It's now time to refine any mistakes triangles. Hide the image reference, you need to just concentrate on the mesh. Clean it up and look for any triangles you've forgotten to create.
Once you have perfected it, change its colour to white so it contrasts with the black background and save it as a jpg.
Now fire up Illustrator.
If you've got this far, pat yourself on the back – you've done much of the hard work (but not all).
It's now time to refine any mistakes triangles. Hide the image reference, you need to just concentrate on the mesh. Clean it up and look for any triangles you've forgotten to create.
Once you have perfected it, change its colour to white so it contrasts with the black background and save it as a jpg.
Now fire up Illustrator.
Step 7
Place your mesh into your artboard, lock it and it's time to trace a vector mesh of triangles over it in a contrasting colour (I've used as bright purple) using the Pen tool.
Again this will take some time – so put on a nice playlist, your best coffee and let's get going on this long trip.
Here are a few tips to speed up the process.
You don't need to close up your triangles, just use the Pen tool to mark out the three points. This might sound silly, but it'll save you a bunch of time over the hundreds of triangles you're gonna create.
Step 8
You also don't need to be that precise – you'll use a nifty trick to bring them together in the next few steps.
Step 10
Now I'll teach you the trick to make all points align perfectly at the right position. It's a easy procedure – but of course, you'll need to repeat it as times as you have triangles on your portrait.
With the Direct Selection tool, select each group of points that should be at the same place.
Step 12
Then click on Vertical Align Center and all your points in the exactly the same place. Oh yeah!
Step 13
Now move the points around to correct their position if needed.
Then repeat steps 10-12 for all of your vertices.
Step 14
Hide the mesh you created in Photoshop. Again check over your mesh for any missed triangles (I always forgot at least ten triangles per portrait). The best way to do this is to select all of your vectors (Cmd/Ctrl + A) then invert the Fill and Stroke (Shift + X).
If you spot one missing, return the Fill and Stroke to what they should be (Shift + X again), add your triangle and check again. When you've got a complete mesh, move onto the next step.
Step 15
Place your photo reference on a layer below your vector mesh and align them both perfectly. This will allow you to pick out the right colours from your photo for a recognisable portrait. Lock the reference layer.
Step 16
Now the most fun part – let's add colour. Select each triangle in turn, choose the Eyedropper tool (I) and select the colour in the middle of each triangle as fill to it.
- How to Create Brilliant Light Streaks in Photoshop
- Guide to Halftone Pattern
- Advanced Colorization Technique
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Super Bowl 51 tonight! New England Patriots vs. Atlanta Falcons at 6:30 pm
Two teams. One game. It all comes down to this.
On Sunday, February 5, the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons will meet in Super Bowl LI (6:30 PM ET, FOX) at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
"It's an honor to get to go and play in this game," says Patriots wide receiver JULIAN EDELMAN, who is the franchise postseason leader in both catches (84) and receiving yards (937). "This is what you fight for. This is what you train for. It's to get an opportunity to play in this game."
Super Bowl LI will feature the NFL's top-scoring team – Atlanta (540 points, 33.8 points per game) – against the club which allowed the fewest points in the league – New England (250 points, 15.6 points per game). It marks the sixth time since the 1970 merger that the Super Bowl showcases the team that led the NFL in scoring against the club that allowed the fewest points.
"This is a really special team," says Falcons fullback PATRICK DI MARCO. "We have so many playmakers on offense, defense and special teams. This is a special time for this organization. I am super proud and super excited we are going to be playing in Houston. The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl – not just get there – and we still have a game ahead of us. We still have one more game to win."
New England advanced to its NFL-record ninth Super Bowl by defeating Pittsburgh 36-17. Atlanta defeated Green Bay 44-21 to earn its second ever trip to the Super Bowl.
Patriots head coach BILL BELICHICK and quarterback TOM BRADY will be making their seventh Super Bowl appearance together, the most NFL title games for any head coach and starting quarterback duo in league history. Belichick and Brady have won four Super Bowls together, tied with Pittsburgh head coach CHUCK NOLL and quarterback TERRY BRADSHAW for the most by a head coach and starting quarterback combination.
"I'm proud of this team," says Belichick. "They all deserve this. It's a good, hard-working group."
Belichick is tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer Noll for the most Super Bowl victories by a head coach with four. Brady, who is making hisNFL-record seventh career Super Bowl start, is tied with Pro Football Hall of Famers Bradshaw and JOE MONTANA for the most Super Bowl wins by a starting quarterback with four.
"You never know if you'll get these opportunities in life and fortunately this team has got the opportunity," says Brady about advancing to the Super Bowl. "Now we've got to do something and go try and take advantage of it."
Brady and Montana are the only players in NFL history to be named Super Bowl MVP three times. Brady, who was the MVP of Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XLIX, can become the first player ever to win Super Bowl MVP honors four times.
Brady enters Super Bowl LI already holding numerous Super Bowl passing records, including attempts (247), completions (164), yards (1,605) and touchdown passes (13).
"He's the best quarterback to ever play the game," says Patriots running back LE GARRETTE BLOUNT about Brady. "He's obviously, in my opinion, the best ever."
The Patriots have won nine consecutive games and advanced to the Super Bowl with a 36-17 victory over Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium. In that contest, Brady passed for 384 yards and three touchdowns, including two scoring strikes to wide receiver CHRIS HOGAN. Hogan finished the game with nine catches for a franchise postseason-record 180 yards and two touchdowns.
"I'm just happy to take advantage of this opportunity and be a part of this team," says Hogan. "This whole team has worked so hard starting in April in OTAs. We've grinded through this entire year. This is what we worked for and this is what we wanted to get to."
Patriots running back Blount, who led the NFL with a club-record 18 rushing touchdowns, added a rushing TD against the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Including the postseason, Blount's 19 rushing touchdowns are tied with Pro Football Hall of Famer CURTIS MARTIN(1996) for the most by a Patriots player in a single season.
The Falcons advanced to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history (Super Bowl XXXIII, 1998 season) with a 44-21 win over Green Bay in the final game at the Georgia Dome.
Atlanta, which led the NFL with 540 points scored, has won six consecutive games and is averaging 39.0 points per game over that span. The Falcons are the first team ever to advance to the Super Bowl by scoring at least 30 points in each of the club's previous six games.
"I'm happy for everybody in our organization," says Falcons quarterback MATT RYAN. "We've worked hard to get to this point but the challenge is still in front of us. What we set out to accomplish is still in front of us. It's really difficult to get to this point, and we will enjoy the process leading into it, but our ultimate goal is still in front of us."
Falcons head coach DAN QUINN, who is in his second year with the team, will be making his third Super Bowl appearance in the past four seasons. Quinn was Seattle's defensive coordinator in Super Bowls XLVIII (2013 season) and XLIX (2014).
"I am excited for the opportunity, but more importantly, I'm excited for these players," says Quinn. "It'll be a great challenge."
Atlanta quarterback Ryan, who led the league with a franchise-record 117.1 passer rating, has continued his stellar play in the postseason with a 132.6 passer rating. Over the team's six-game winning streak, Ryan has thrown 18 touchdown passes and no interceptions for a 133.3 passer rating.
"MVP," says Falcons wide receiver JULIO JONES when asked how to describe Ryan. "He's a great player. He's a great leader on this team and he's my brother."
Ryan has thrown at least three touchdown passes in four consecutive postseason games, the first player in NFL history to accomplish the feat. In this year's playoffs, Ryan has seven touchdown passes and no interceptions.
The Falcons have spread the ball out as Ryan threw a touchdown pass to 13 different players in the regular season, the most ever in a season in league history. Among his favorite targets is Jones, who led the NFL averaging 100.6 receiving yards per game this season (1,409 yards in 14 games).
"He's a beast," says Ryan about Jones. "He's an absolute stud. I've been so lucky to play with him as long as I have."
Jones had nine catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in the NFC Championship Game against the Packers. It marked his second career postseason game with at least 180 receiving yards and two touchdowns and he is the only player in league history to accomplish that feat in multiple playoff games. In five career postseason games, Jones has 552 receiving yards and five touchdown catches. His average of110.4 receiving yards per game is the highest in NFL postseason history (minimum five games).
Defensively, the Falcons are powered by VIC BEASLEY JR., who led the NFL in sacks (15.5), and a quartet of rookies – safety KEANU NEAL, cornerback BRIAN POOLE and linebackers DEION JONES and DE'VONDRE CAMPBELL. All four rookies started in the NFC Championship Game and Atlanta can become the first team ever to start four rookies on defense in the Super Bowl. Jones (106) and Neal (105) led all NFL rookies in tackles this season.
"Every day, we are just trying to get one percent better for the guy next to us," says Poole. "Every play, we are going to give it all we've got and not let our teammates down. We're going out there trying to play ball and let people know that what we've got is serious."
Beasley, who is in his second year, had a career-high 15.5 sacks and is the first Falcons player to lead the league in sacks. During the team's current six-game winning streak, Atlanta has allowed just 19.3 points per game (27.6 points per game in the team's first 12 games).
"We feel like we have the potential to be a great defense," says Beasley. "Early in the season, we weren't playing as well but we have come a long way and now we're going to the Super Bowl."
|Past 4
|Bill Belichick: 4-1
|Dan Quinn: 0-0
|Bill Belichick: 25-10
|Dan Quinn: 2-0
|NE: 4-1 (Az. 1-0; Den. 1-0; LA 1-0; Sea. 0-1; SF 1-0)
Atl.: 5-1 (Az. 1-0; Den. 1-0; LA 1-0; Sea. 1-1; SF 1-0)
|W 36-17 vs. Pittsburgh
|W 44-21 vs. Green Bay
|9/29/13: Patriots 30 at Falcons 23. New England QB Tom Brady passes for 316 yards & 2 TDs. Patriots WR Kenbrell Thompkins has 127 rec. yards & TD.
|Teams have not met in postseason.
|Carl Cheffers
|FOX (6:30 PM ET): Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Chris Myers (Field reporters). Westwood One: Kevin Harlan, Boomer Esiason, Tony Boselli, James Lofton (Field reporters). SIRIUS: 88 (WW1), 81 (NE), 82 (Atl). XM: 88 (WW1), 225 (NE), 82 (Atl.)
|Tom Brady: 291-432-3554-28-2-112.2 (2L)
|Matt Ryan: 373-534-4944 (2L)-38 (2L)-7-117.1 (1L)
|LeGarrette Blount: 299-1161-3.9-18 (1L)
|Devonta Freeman: 227-1079-4.8-11
|Julian Edelman: 98-1106-11.3-3
|Julio Jones: 83-1409 (2L)-17.0-6
|Trey Flowers: 7
|Vic Beasley Jr.: 15.5 (1L)
|Malcolm Butler: 4
|Deion Jones (R): 3
|Danny Amendola: 6.7
|Eric Weems: 11.4
|Cyrus Jones (R): 22.5
|Eric Weems: 23.0
|Ryan Allen: 44.7
|Matt Bosher: 46.8
|Stephen Gostkowski: 127 (46/49 PAT; 27/32 FG)
|Matt Bryant: 158 (1L) (56/57 PAT; 34/37 FG)
TEAMS MEET for 1st time in postseason. NE leads all-time series 7-6. Patriots defeated Falcons 30-23 in last meeting on 9/29/13.
PATRIOTS: Have 9 Super Bowl berths, most in NFL history. Have won 8 consecutive division titles, longest streak in NFL history. Since 2001, have won 4 Super Bowl titles, most in NFL. Have 31-19 (.620) all-time postseason record, 2nd highest winning pct. in playoff history…Head coach BILL BELICHICK has 25 career postseason wins, most all-time. Has won 4 Super Bowl titles (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX), tied with CHUCK NOLL for most in NFL history…QB TOM BRADY is all-time SB leader in pass att. (247), comp. (164), yards (1,605) & TDs (13). Has won 4 Super Bowls as starting QB & 3 Super Bowl MVPs, both tied for most in NFL history. In Super Bowl XLIX vs. Sea., completed SB record 37 passes for 328 yards & 4 TDs. Ranks 1st all-time in postseason wins (24), passing att. (1,263), comp. (788), yards (8,628) & TDs (61). Has 11 career postseason games with 300+ pass yards, most all-time. Had 14.0 TD/INT ratio (28 pass TDs vs. 2 INTs), highest in NFL history (min. 20 pass TDs)…In Div. Rd. win vs. Hou., RB DION LEWIS became 1st player in postseason history with rush TD, rec. TD & KR-TD in same game. RB LE GARRETTE BLOUNT rushed for TD in AFC CG. Led NFL with franchise-record 18 rush TDs. Has 8 rush TDs in 7 career postseason games. Has rush TD in 6 of past 7 (incl. playoffs). RB JAMES WHITE tied for lead among NFL RBs with 5 TD catches…WR JULIAN EDELMAN had eight catches for 118 yards & TD in AFC CG. Ranks 7th in NFL postseason history with 84 catches. In past 9 playoff games, has 75 catches (8.3 per game) for 862 rec. yards (95.8 per game) & 3 TDs. Had 9 catches for 109 yards & TD in SB XLIX. Is franchise postseason leader with 84 catches & 937 rec. yards. Has 3 seasons with 90+ catches, 2nd most in team history. WR CHRIS HOGAN set franchise record with 180 rec. yards in AFC CG. Ranks 2nd among players in 2016 postseason with 275 rec. yards. WR DANNY AMENDOLA had TD catch in SB XLIX…CB MALCOLM BUTLER had INT with 26 seconds remaining in SB XLIX. Led team with 4 INTs & 17 PD. LB ROB NINKOVICH has 1.5 sacks in past 2 SB appearances. Had FR in AFC CG. Has 6 career postseason sacks. CB LOGAN RYAN has 16 tackles, 4 PD & INT in past 2 postseason games. Was only NFL CB with 90+ tackles (92), 2+ INTs (2), 1+ sack (1) & 1+ FF (1) in 2016. S DEVIN MC COURTY had INT in Div. Rd. CB ERIC ROWE had INT & 2 PD in AFC CG. LB KYLE VAN NOY had FF in AFC CG.
FALCONS: Making 2nd Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. Won NFC South & advanced to postseason for 1st time since 2012. Ranked 1st in NFL in total points (540) & 2nd in total offense (415.8 yards per game). Head coach DAN QUINN is making 3rd Super Bowl appearance in past 4 seasons. Was def. coordinator for Sea. in SB XLVIII & XLIX…QB MATT RYAN passed for 392 yards & 4 TDs for 139.4 rating in NFC CG. Is 1st QB in NFL history with 3+ pass TDs in 4 consecutive playoff games. Set franchise record & ranked 2nd in NFL with 4,944 passing yards. Has 6 consecutive 4,000+ yard seasons, tied for 2nd longest streak in NFL history. Led league with 117.1 rating, 5th highest single-season rating in NFL history. In past 6 (incl. postseason), has 1,861 pass yards (310.2 per game) with 18 TDs vs. 0 INTs for 133.3 rating. In past 3 postseason games, has 1,126 pass yards (375.3 per game) with 10 TDs vs. 1 INT for 126.2 rating…RB DEVONTA FREEMAN has 829 scrimmage yards (497 rush, 332 rec.) & 10 TDs (9 rush, 1 rec.) in past 8 (incl. postseason). Has 209 scrimmage yards (87 rush, 122 rec.) & 2 TDs (1 rush, 1 rec.) in 2 career postseason games. Had 1,079 rush yards, 2nd consecutive 1,000-yard season…WR JULIO JONES had 9 catches for 180 rec. yards & 2 TD catches in NFC CG. Is only player in NFL history with 2 postseason games of 180+ rec. yards & 2 rec. TDs. Averages 110.4 rec. yards per game in postseason, highest avg. in playoff history (min. 5 games). Ranked 2nd in NFL with 1,409 rec. yards, 4th season with 1,000+ rec. yards. Led NFL with 100.6 rec. yards per game avg. Has 26 catches (8.7 per game) for 429 rec. yards (143 per game) & 5 TD catches in past 3 postseason games. WR MOHAMED SANU aims for 4th consecutive game (incl. postseason) with TD catch. Had 5 catches for 52 yards & TD in NFC CG. WR TAYLOR GABRIEL has 5 rec. TDs in past 8 (incl. postseason)…DE DWIGHT FREENEY has 10 career postseason sacks, 4th most among active players. LB VIC BEASLEY JR. led NFL with 15.5 sacks. LB DEION JONES (106) & S KEANU NEAL (105) led NFL rookies in tackles. Neal tied for 3rd in league with 5 FFs. CB ROBERT ALFORD tied for 5th in NFL with 19 PD. CB RICARDO ALLEN aims for 3rd consecutive postseason game with INT. DT RA'SHEDE HAGEMAN had 1st career postseason sack & 3 TFL in NFC CG. Has 3 sacks in past 5 (incl. postseason).DE TYSON JACKSON had sack & TFL in NFC CG.
GAME PREVIEW AND GAME CAPSULES WRITTEN BY NFL COMMUNICATIONS; COURTESY NFLmedia.com


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When the priest asks him why, with his days numbered, he still has not turned to God, Meursault, the death row inmate in Albert Camus's "L'Étranger," exclaims, "I just didn't have the time to interest myself in what didn't interest me." By contrast, a new book introduces us to an array of individuals who, while sharing Meursault's religious nonbelief, most certainly do not share in his insouciance. In The Unbelievers: The Evolution of Modern Atheism, H.P. Lovecraft biographer and "weird fiction" expert S.T. Joshi introduces his text as a "nucleus" for the latest historical phase of religious nonbelief.
5 books about chucking it all for country living
Joshi's book is structured in 14 chapters, each focusing on an individual whom he credits with advancing contemporary atheism (a term to which one must affix countless definitional footnotes; for Joshi's purposes, and ours here, it is used loosely to include "agnostics," "freethinkers," "brights," "de factos," and others). He begins, appropriately, with the British scientist Thomas Henry Huxley, who could fairly be described as Charles Darwin's self-appointed publicist in the later half of the 19th century, and culminates with another Briton, today's well known "anti-theist" journalist and essayist, Christopher Hitchens.
But to describe "The Unbelievers" as a comprehensive history is too generous. The text lacks a unifying historical narrative, and though it presents a select cast of characters, it certainly leaves out some crucial functionaries (glaring examples include but are not limited to Sigmund Freud and John Dewey), while overinflating the impact of others (is Leslie Stephen, largely unknown today, really fitting company for the likes of Bertrand Russell and H.L. Mencken?). Joshi's liberal excerpting of the writers and thinkers that he does include provides for great exposure to the original source material, but this philological exercise begs for a historical exegesis that never comes. What role, exactly, did the trenchant religious satires of Gore Vidal, or the posthumously published letters of H.P. Lovecraft, play in imbuing atheist arguments with the increased intellectual purchase that they enjoy today? Joshi doesn't really say and the reader is left with a peppering of epistolary pearls still waiting to be strung into a necklace.
However, Joshi's abstention from historical trend-spotting may have saved him from some discursive pitfalls. To be sure, prominent atheists of the past century and a half have been inspired and gone public with their criticism – that is to say, they've come out of the closet – for a variety of reasons, oftentimes independently of their like-minded contemporaries. It would be overly simplistic to ascribe to them a homogenous, unifying intent. Most fascinating in the history of atheistic thought is not what these individuals have in common (an outspoken disbelief). It is their differences. Nietzsche's merciless excoriation of Christianity during his lifetime must be considered in a separate light from the sharp but humorous satire of Mark Twain, whose refusal to publish such works as "Reflections on Religion" and "The Mysterious Stranger" during his own lifetime suggests that his motives and reasoning were, in some ways, not comparable to those of his German contemporary. While Twain's writing focuses on the religious hypocrisy that fails to live up to the selfless, charitable values it espouses, Nietzsche would have preferred it if those same "weak" values had never taken hold in the first place. One of the strengths of Joshi's book is that, in aggregate, some of these distinctions are fleshed out.
Equally interesting is the variety of biographical paths whereby these different individuals reached their atheistic worldviews. While Twain is reported to have endured quite a bit of religious inculcation through his childhood, John Stuart Mill, by contrast, was raised by a father who shielded him from any kind of indoctrination whatsoever. In his autobiography, cited by Joshi, Mill writes that: "I am thus one of the very few examples, in this country, of one who has, not thrown off religious belief, but never had it." ("The Unbelievers" also includes a reversal of the Mill scenario, in the story of Bill O'Hair, the pitiable son of bombastic 20th-century atheist icon Madalyn Murray O'Hair who, after being raised with no creed – religious, atheist, or otherwise – eventually turned to evangelical fundamentalism.)
So if there is any definable, encapsulated history of modern atheism, what is it? It is certainly more than an in vacuo mediation on the select few who have publicly challenged a domineering worldview of their time. It must include the history of modern religion itself, which has so consistently provoked a reply to its absolutist claims. But public atheism has always been defined by more than just its sacred target. What matters most is its methodology – a willingness to challenge the status quo. Perhaps its story is really the history of modernity itself.
The evolution of modern atheism cannot possibly be uncoupled from postindustrial advancements in science, social justice, equality, or education. In revisiting the works of "The Unbelievers," it seems clear that these worldviews represent not just the refutation of religion, but the primacy of critical thought and skepticism as valuable intellectual tools in and of themselves; and with countless applications – from journalism to academia to science and technology.
For centuries it was considered profane to question the status quo – religious, political, or otherwise. Now, when Philip Roth's Mickey Sabbath curses "the laudable ideologies," his only profanity is his diction. The history of modern atheism is far more complex than it may first seem, and as a first, cursory primer for the unversed, Joshi's book will do. But a vade mecum it is not.
Stuart Whatley is deputy blog editor in The Huffington Post's Washington, D.C. bureau.


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Selene ChardouCover RevealsPosted by Ellena Jennings Mon, July 15, 2013 18:10:22
Today I have for you a COVER REVEAL for Out From Under a stand alone novel from Selene Chardou.
Title: Out From Under, A Novel (Stand alone, not part of a series)
Author: Selene Chardou
Expected release date: July 31st, 2013
Genre: Romantic Mystery & Suspense / Contemporary Romance
Age Group: New Adult
Cover Designed by: Alicia C. Mattern (https://www.facebook.com/AliciaCMatternCoverArtist) and CL Smith (www.goonwrite.com)
Isn't it GREAT! From experience I know how much love and care goes into producing a book cover for your novel. I want that tattoo!!!
So, what's the book about I hear you say?
Trista Lennon is strong, independent and only desires freedom. Freedom from the control of her parents, freedom from the motorcycle gangs she has had to put up with her whole life and freedom from a relationship that will trap her into the very life she has no wish to ever live.
The day before she's supposed to leave for Stanford University to pursue her dreams, her world is shattered. After a tragedy that tears her family apart, Trey, her cousin, Talia, invites her to L.A. Her life is all the sudden Hollywood stars and sunshine, late nights and wild parties.
And then she meets him.
Linx Carter isn't looking for a relationship. He survived a dysfunctional marriage with his childhood sweetheart, which produced two sons, an inability to trust women and a multitude of lies. He merely wants to recuperate from a rough, six month tour Winter's Regret just completed with superstar band, Scarlet Fever, and enjoy a little peace and quiet.
Until he sees her.
Trista and Linx fight their attraction for one another like war on a battlefield.
She has a closetful of secrets and he would rather be single and pathetic than date a teenage girl who seems older than her years. However the passion between them is too much to resist and they realize in order to heal one another, they must destroy the walls they have constructed so tightly around their hearts.
And who wrote this great book? Well...
Selene Chardou is a world traveler and the alter-ego of Elle Chardou.
Ms. Chardou's writing is all about hot romance and exciting times with the wild, damaged, out of control and/or rich and famous set in the New Adult realm.
She is currently working on Out from Under and The Will to Love, the first novel in the Scarlet Fever Series, which will chronicle the relationship of Will Cullen and Laurel Munsen. She also has a pop stars series planned and an MC series planned that chronicles the issues between Lucifer's Saints and Demon's Bastards motorcycle clubs.
Ms. Chardou has lived abroad in Stockholm (Sweden), Manchester (England), Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area and Portland. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
REMEMBER THIS GREAT BOOK COMES OUT ON 31ST JULY SO GO OUT AND BUY IT!! Links will follow!
You can also contact this Author on the following and add this book to your TBR (to be read) list on Goodreads...
Blog: The Realm of Selene Chardou located http://selenechardou.blogspot.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ellechardou/out-from-under-a-novel/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7025554.Selene_Chardou
Join Selene. Chardou's Mailing List for early notification of New Books HERE!
Follow Selene Chardou on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ellechardou
Like Selene Chardou on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Selene.Chardou.AND.Elle.Chardou
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LeRoc Lounge
Proudly Partnered Lucky Goat Location
When you're looking for a lighter, more casual, or grab-n-go dining experience, LeRoc is the hotel's lobby-level lounge with a coffee house feel.
The name LeRoc Lounge is original to the 1950s hotel lobby-level bistro and bar. Today, Hotel Duval guests and neighbors in the downtown and midtown Tallahassee area can relax with house-made pastries, quiche, and other grab-and-go breakfast and lunch foods. Proudly serving Boar's Head meats and Lucky Goat coffee, it's more than a deli counter or snack bar.
Hours of Operation
Monday – Friday: 6:30 am – 2 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 7 am – 2 pm