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A payday loan is also considered in Singapore as a type of a Personal loan but with better and shorter loan application process and approval. This type of financial assistance is very much popular in Singapore today because the loan provided is very manageable and is usually guaranteed by your next monthly salary. Payday loans are the easiest and the best way to get cash that you need to cover emergency expenses such as medical or utility bills. There are many benefits in availing this type of loans and one of which is the short processing and approval period. Another is that you only need to prove to have a steady income to apply for this loan. In most cases, money lenders for this type of loans would not require the borrower to undergo a credit check and the main requirement is for the borrower to have a steady job with a reasonable monthly income. Another benefit is the speed by which the approval for the loan is done. Applying for this type of financial assistance is quite easy because most payday loan providers have years of lending experience behind them and can easily help clients in having their loan approved in a matter of days. Once you have submitted this information to the lender, your loan application will be immediately processed. A payday loan in Singapore is perhaps the only type of loan wherein the borrower would apply for a loan today and get the cash two to three days after the loan application have been filed. There is even no collateral required for this type of loans. And the best part of it all is that as long as you have fulfilled your repayment obligations to the lender, you can continue to borrow money provided that the previous loan has already been paid. Head to money lender singapore review to learn more about the set up. The payday loan is usually small loans to be used by the borrowers for themselves or their family to cover emergency financial expenses. Another hidden advantage of a payday loan is that it improves your credit rating because every time you apply for one, credit authorities are notified of the debt and whenever you repay your loan on time or earlier they (credit authorities) are again informed. Settling your loan on time or earlier gives your credit rating a good boost.
14 Nov. 2017
Contrast of a personal loan over credit cards
A personal loan is perhaps one of the most applied for loans in the financial market today. The reason behind this is perhaps the borrower need not specify for what purpose he or she would use the loan for, unlike if one would apply for a home or car loans. Personal loans in a sense are a form of credit whose purpose is general in nature like purchasing appliances, electronic devices, buying women's clothing online stores or to cover vacation costs and/or any other type of expenses that may need to be paid by the borrower. Unlike the credit card, a personal loan will allow you to use the cash provided by the lender to pay whatever expense is needed to be paid instead of using a credit card to cover the cost. However, like in the credit card, payment for the loan shall be amortized on a monthly basis or in whatever repayment terms the lender and borrower have agreed upon. You must understand that unlike other type of financial help, personal loan are usually not as flexible as a credit card and usually do not carry additional benefits such as warranties and purchase protection, rewards, travel benefits and other incentives given by other type of loans. What is beneficial with most of the personal loans offered by financial institutions is that the interest rates charged are usually fixed and reasonably low and most of the time is never covered by collateral. In Singapore, applying and availing for almost all sorts of personal loans is very common among its residents and more often than not used to cover personal expenses or to purchase personal items, gadgets, and appliances. However, lately, Singaporeans have started to discover new ways of using personal loans more constructively. For instance, personal loans are used today to consolidate current debts of an individual. This type of personal loan is usually defined as a debt consolidation loan, usually accomplished by applying for a single type of bank loan or through your credit card company to cover two or more types of debt. In general, Personal loans are availed to cover any kind of personal expense that cannot be met by the borrower's current income status. In some instances, borrowers who are at the same time old and reliable clients of particular financial institutions can even get a large amount of personal loan to cover large expenses such as home renovation or even to use the fund as a down payment for a new vehicle. In olden times financial assistance was given by a loan company such as a conventional bank usually refers to this type of financial help as character loan and this is simply because the borrower's personal character and status are quite well known with the bank or personal loan lending company.
The well and richly developed economic situation that exists in Singapore today have allowed the residents to be secured in applying for financial assistance from both public and private financial institutions. A high percentage of individuals and families here earn enough income to allow them to apply for the type of loans to cover purchases of homes and other properties or to use the funds for additional or unexpected expenses. Because seeking financial assistance from lenders in Singapore has become common, various lending institutions other than banks and conventional lending companies have mushroomed in the country. This situation speaks well of the financial condition of Singapore but like any other well-developed countries, it gave rise to some problems one of which is the presence of unscrupulous lending companies that prey on unsuspecting borrowers. I will try and give you some pointers that will in one way or another tell you the type of lenders you should avoid. However, let me point out that these types of lenders are mostly the unconventional lenders and whose main intentions are to simply lend out money to those in needs.
- First, make sure to avoid unlicensed moneylenders when thinking of applying for even small loans. You may have an easier time applying and having your loan approved from these types of moneylenders but you can bet your life that the interest rate is going to be very high and its repayment options very difficult to comply with. You must understand that a person or entity, whether licensed or not have the right to lend another individual money, but the unlicensed one is not bound by Singaporean laws covering money lending activities. You are therefore a lot safer by borrowing money from licensed lending institutions.
- Second, avoid moneylenders that advertise their services in the form of telemarketing or through SMS marketing. Legal moneylenders in Singapore are never allowed to do this as per instructions of the IPTO rules and privacy acts of the country. Illegal money lender uses these marketing strategies to reach out to clienteles so it would be best to avoid these lenders.
- Third, when applying for a personal loan, avoid moneylenders that claim to have the power to approve your loan and remit the loan amount via bank transfers. Most of these claims are bogus because the moment you have paid the fees and other charges for your loan, in all probability, there will be no cash that will be transferred to any of your bank accounts.
- Finally, avoid money lenders that would require you to disclose personal information over the phone. Some money lenders would trick prospective clients into disclosing personal data when the latter would call for some information relative to applying for a loan. Immediately avoid this type of lenders.
15 Oct. 2017
Not So Hidden Advantages of a small loan
A good credit standing will always be a basis in getting your loans approved (i.e. personal, business, auto, home or bank loan) how to maintain a good credit standing is simple enough by repaying your loans on time and by finishing them at the soonest possible time. The best way to achieve this is not to apply for any type of loan that is beyond your capacity to pay. Another is applying for small loans which are better and easier to manage, provided you had done your research and it is the best deal possible. Small loans are easier to pay off even if there is a higher interest rate, a small amount with a high-interest rate would still end up small. While large sums tend to get mismanaged a small loan tends to go exactly where it should go. While interest rates play a big part on how long a loan get paid, a good deal on a loan gives premium to overpayments and payments made earlier than their due date. Keeping this in mind small loans are easier to pay off so that it would be wiser to pay them off at a shorter time, lesser payment schemes would help allow an earlier renewal date for your loan. Rates play a huge part in applying for a loan, as for small loan better rates can easily help finish loans early and boost a person's credit standing. A person with good credit standing can easily avail of any loan from any creditor. The advantage of small loans as it easier and faster to pay, it would not take long to boost your credit standing. A person's capacity to pay his or her loans duly on time helps that person acquire large loan amounts because of having a good credit rating. Though procuring large loan amounts is harder to pay off it would still be wise to do so only if a loan is badly needed. Small loan amounts lead to lesser payments in lesser time frames which also helps a person to boost his or her spending power and budget. As much as possible it is better to stay liquid rather than spending a long time frame paying off creditors. Loans with small amounts tend to be a better deal in terms of repayment as there is a compressed time frame in which you can pay and as it is easier to add extra payment to finish the loan as soon as possible, and if the said loan amount is not enough through good credit rating even if a person's original loan has not yet matured he or she with good credit rating will be able to acquire a new loan easily with his or her credit status.
14 Sep. 2017
Common types of loans in the market
Type of loans available in the financial market today is many and classified into various categories depending on the loan requirement. I will just try and discuss with you some of the more common loan types that are usually availed by most individuals and businesses here in Asia. Singapore has been known to have one of the most active and well-developed economies in Southeast Asia, and this is perhaps the reason why its population is very active in applying for monetary assistance when it comes to financing purchases of properties, cars and other important necessities such as appliances, and other comforts in life. It's quite common for its citizenry to apply for various kinds of loans and this has become a normal day to day activity between Singaporeans and money lending institutions here. Personal, car, home, Payday, business and surprisingly foreigner loans are some of the most common types of loans being applied for in this country.
- The fastest cash loan is perhaps the most common among the all loans being availed by most individuals here in Singapore. Because borrowers don't need to specify where he's going to use the money for, the financial assistance is also referred to as a multi-purpose loan. The money involved in this transaction is normally small but there are cases wherein large sums are involved, but this is more of an exception to the rule and will depend entirely on the agreement between the lender and the borrower.
- Being a multi-purpose loan, the money is commonly used to add to the borrower's money to buy a car or to purchase appliances, electronic devices, or to cover other small to medium scale expenses. The cash borrowed from this loan can be as much as four months of the borrower's monthly income and the interest rate is usually fixed. Repayment options are usually short-term and the amount of amortization paid each month is fixed.
- The payday loan is a new type of financial assistance and allows the lending of the small amount of money. The interest rate for the loan is unusually high and needs to be paid within thirty days.
- Business loans are usually provided to various types of trades such as corporations or individual businesses. The assistance is usually used to solve business cash flow problems. Repayment terms and interest usually varies for this type of loan.
- A foreigner loan, on the other hand, is provided to expats and legal foreign workers in Singapore. Normally the loan needs to be secured with collateral but the approval of the loan is usually fast and carries a very low-interest rate.
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(BINGHAMTON, NY) Broome County Executive Jason Garnar announced today the retirement of Public Defender Jay Wilber and honored Wilber for his 29 years of service to Broome County.
Wilber last day will be March 30, 2018.
Wilber has worked in the Broome County Public Defender's Office for 29 years. Upon graduation from law school at Nova University Center for the Study of Law, Wilber began his law career in private practice.
He joined the Broome County in 1989 as an Assistant Public Defender. Wilber was appointed Acting Broome County Public Defender in 2001 and appointed Public Defender in 2002.
"Broome County has been lucky to have Jay Wilber as Public Defender for the last 16 years, and many more years before that in the Public Defender's office. I wish Jay the best on his retirement and thank him for his dedicated service," said Jason Garnar, Broome County Executive.
While Public Defender, Wilber worked with numerous administrations to ensure that indigent citizens in Broome County were provided with their constitutional right to counsel and vigorous representation. He was an advocate for his clients in and out of the courts.
Wilber was a longtime member of the Binghamton Adult Treatment Court team.
Also, during his tenure he oversaw and implemented technological advances within the Public Defender's Office increasing productivity and efficiency
Garnar also announced today the appointment of Michael Baker, Chief Assistant Public Defender, as Acting Public Defender.
Per Broome County Charter and Code, the Public Defender is appointed by the County Executive from a list provided by the Merit Selection Committee. The Public Defender is appointed for a term of five years.

subset: commoncrawl


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Press Release No.:
14 December 2010
Geneva - The International Air Transport Association (IATA) revised its industry outlook for 2010 to a net profit of $15.1 billion (up from the $8.9 billion forecast in September). Similarly the Association revised upwards its projections for 2011 to a net industry profit of $9.1 billion (up from the $5.3 billion forecast in September). Net margins remain weak at 2.7% for 2010 and falling to 1.5% in 2011.
"Our profit projections increased for both 2010 and 2011 based on an exceptionally strong third quarter performance. But despite higher profit projections, we still see the recovery pausing next year after a strong post-recession rebound. And the two-speed nature of the recovery is unchanged with European airlines continuing to underperform other regions," said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA's Director General and CEO.
Bisignani also characterized the improvements in terms of profit margins, which continue to disappoint. "Margins remain pathetic. With a 2.7% net margin in 2010 shrinking to 1.5% in 2011, we are nowhere near covering our cost of capital. The industry is fragile and balancing on a knife edge. Any shock could stunt the recovery, as we are seeing with the results of new or increased taxation on airlines and travelers in Europe," said Bisignani.
Shifts in the industry forecasts can appear dramatic in absolute numbers. It is important to relate them to the size of the industry to understand their significance. The $6.2 billion increase in IATA's projection for the 2010 net profit (compared to the September forecast) is equal to just 1.1% of the industry's projected $565 billion in revenues.
"Any increase in profits is a welcome step in the right direction. But the fact that we can increase our profit forecast by 70% and still be left with a net margin of just 2.7% shows just how far this industry has to go to achieve a normal level of profitability," said Bisignani.
Major drivers for the improved 2010 forecast are:
"The third quarter of 2010 was exceptionally positive in terms of passenger traffic volume. Airlines met increased demand by utilizing their fleets more intensely. Fixed costs remained constant, passenger yields firmed and the increased revenues went almost directly to the bottom line," said Bisignani.
In sharp contrast to improved conditions for air travel, the prospects for air cargo deteriorated from the September forecast. Demand is now expected to grow by 18.5% (compared to the previously forecast 19.8%), limiting yield growth to 7.0% (below the previously forecast 7.9%). "The post-recession rebound drove a rapid expansion for cargo earlier in the year but it ran out of steam by the third quarter. Since May, overall volumes fell by 5%. This will only pick-up when consumers have bought the products that are already on the shelves," said Bisignani.
"The recovery cycle will pause in 2011. Although the $9.1 billion profit projection for 2011 is better than we had previously forecast, next year the industry will face tougher conditions than what we are experiencing today," said Bisignani.
The improvement compared to the previous forecast comes from:
The operating environment will become more difficult because of:
All regions are following the global trend of reduced profitability in 2011 compared to 2010.
View Giovanni Bisignani's Speech
Full Financial Forecast
© International Air Transport Association (IATA) 2019. All rights reserved.


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Heath Street Baptist Church have been using VAC's payroll service for quite some time. Here their Treasurer talks to VAC about how using this service ensures they pay their staff the right amount and comply with all legal requirements.
"I got involved with VAC's Salary Administration Service because I am treasurer of a church. Within the last two or three years we took on one paid employee and so I suddenly realised that I had to get to grips with payroll. I am retired and work from home. I was petrified! HMRC has got much tighter, the penalties are higher. If you attempt to do the payroll as a volunteer like me, then it is time consuming and very hard to be sure you have all the details right.
Within our organisation I didn't feel we had the necessary skills or expertise and knowledge to feel confident to run the payroll ourselves. So this seemed like a great opportunity to sign up to the payroll service at VAC. Even with the recent changes to the service where we now have to pay the salary and liabilities to HMRC ourselves, we still get the calculations done for us and the safety net of somebody making sure that we comply with legal requirements.
It saves me a lot of time and hassle as I would have to be trying to keep up to date with anything to do with payroll on my own, and in my own time. I think it's also a safety net that the calculations of National Insurance, tax, student loans, etc. are taken care of by someone who knows what they're doing, and also how to set up the payroll for new employees, which is quite likely for us in the very near future.
If VAC didn't offer this service then I think a lot of organisations would faff around trying to find somewhere else to do it and would end up paying more, or people like me would end up trying to do it themselves, which is a potential risk. Having an external organisation do this for you, it's terribly practical."
Find out more about VAC's payroll and other financial services.


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The International Affairs committee is focused on developing programming and conducting outreach to Afro-decent communities and Afro-diaspora organizations within the Greater Austin region to support the chamber's international programming and to encourage the involvement and participation of international communities within the Chamber's efforts. Click here to sign up.
Ashley Hunter


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The Great Fire
By Shirley Hazzard
Original Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Current Publisher: Picador (Macmillan)
Julie Barer writes:
In a 2004 interview for the Washington Post website, Shirley Hazzard addressed why she was drawn to writing about love:
"It's perhaps the most interesting phenomenon, it's almost like a spell that's cast on us, falling in love, that is. There is nothing else like it in life, and I think it is a central element of existence, either the attaining of it, or the lack of it, because the lack of love is a preoccupation of people. It's very obviously a part of our literary history, it has been a central concern to every writer, and that's because it's a central concern to everyone who lives. Also many things happen because of love, people withdraw from life or become violent for lack of love. And where there is not love, there is nothing."
Hazzard's fascination with love is evident throughout her gorgeously written and mesmerizing novel The Great Fire. Set in 1947, two years after the end of World War Two, Hazzard's fourth book is about the emotional fallout of the war and the struggle by those who survived it to create life out of the ashes of death and devastation. Aldred Leith, a British soldier in his thirties, is a decorated and wounded veteran traveling through Asia attempting to record what he sees as the last days of an ancient culture being swept away by both modernization and the destruction of the war.
At the beginning of the novel Leith arrives at a military outpost near Hiroshima where he meets and promptly falls in love with Helen Driscoll, the seventeen year old daughter of Leith's host, a tyrannical administrator from Australia. Helen's brother Benedict is dying and the siblings immediately enchant Leith with their curiosity and hungry intelligence, their sympathetic natures, and their passion for literature. As Benedict's health deteriorates, Leith and Helen's romance grows, and he finds himself being drawn out of the haunted existence he has been leading. What better way to feel alive, to remember what is good about being alive, than to fall in love?
Thus, at the top of the path, Helen walked on by herself, straight into that other existence where she had less and less place. As she walked, she put her hand to her mouth to hold his kiss, and to her breast to enclose his touch.
The man, instead, went to his own room and to his table – to those papers where the ruined continents and cultures and existences that had consumed his mind and body for years had given place to her story and his. He could not consider this a reduction – the one theme having embroiled the century and the world, and the other recasting his single fleeting miraculous life. Having expected, repeatedly, to die from the great fires into which time had pitched him, he had discovered a desire to live completely, by which he meant, with her.
What makes The Great Fire such a special novel is the lush and palpable desire present in so many of its pages, desire not just for physical consummation but for human connection and hope, made all the more meaningful by the backdrop of the cruelty and violence of war.
Hazzard's elegant and controlled style and careful attention to detail help the story become more than just a novel about the nature of war, but a novel about the nature of love itself. At one point, Hazzard has Leith reflecting on the kind of man his father was:
"Not a great man, but interesting and singular. Not loving, but seized, even grandly, with the phenomenon of love."
And thankfully for us, Shirley Hazzard too is seized with the phenomenon of love. We should all be as lucky.
Julie Barer is a literary agent in New York. One of her clients, Joshua Ferris, was a National Book Award Finalist in 2007 for his first novel, Then We Came to the End. www.barerliterary.com
Cecily Patterson writes:
"Persons of sensibility have enough trouble finding their bearings without being plunged into fires not of their making," writes Shirley Hazzard in The Great Fire. While the Great Fire itself is the conflagration of World War II, it seems there are many lesser fires still burning in the aftermath of the end of the war. Through her hero, Aldred Leith, Ms. Hazzard aims her brilliant prose in an effort to illuminate the center of those burnings. Leith, while indeed a person of sensibility, seems to have the capability of rising above the flames while those around him either catch fire or are the opposite, made of asbestos. Leith seems to be the one who holds the fire extinguisher. The persons of sensibility include the fey young brother and sister Benedict and Helen, who both capture Leith's imagination and ignite romantic love; his friend Peter Exley, who in a moment of extreme shift away from sense changes the path of his life and health, Aurora, Leith's former lover and later his father's lover, Leith's mother, and a Japanese servant who commits hari-kari. The asbestos-clad include Benedict's and Helen's antipodean parents, (who, even though they are horrible petty snobs, I loved to read about) Leith's own father, (a famous writer who writes of love without seeming to succumb to its snares himself) the American Slater, and a large amount of any country's civil servants. While the great fires of World War II burned to ashes an unimaginable number of souls, there were those like Aldred Leith who managed to walk through the fires and emerge, while not unscathed, tempered, and with a grave compassion towards those who have lost their bearings. The book skips backwards and forwards in time and place to show us not only how Leith's personal war unfolded in the greater world of war but also how perhaps Leith's inherent nature was shaped by his path and by his ability to choose sense when sensibility would prevail. When sensibility does overcome him, it comes in the form of love and young Helen, and while loss both informs and moves their romance forward, the flickering between them seems a fire that heals and warms without burning. To not become asbestos-clad seemed to me the message Hazzard sends. To temper oneself without burning up. This is a beautifully written book whose poetic phrases lingered in my head while driving to soccer games or shopping for the chicken. "Translucent structures are not welcoming in the rain." I live in a rainy climate and who would not want a gift of a phrase like that to ponder under a dripping awning? Hazzard's gifts are many.
Cecily Patterson is writer living in Portland, Oregon. Her fiction has been published in Room With A View, the Pennsylvania Quarterly and Critical Quarterly.
Fiction Finalists that Year:
- T.C Boyle for Drop City
- Edward P. Jones for The Known World
- Scott Spencer for A Ship Made of Paper
- Marianne Wiggins for Evidence of Things Unseen: A Novel
Fiction Judges that Year:
Antonya Nelson, Alice Elliot Dark, Peter Cameron, Jay Parini, Jean Thompson
The Year in Literature:
- Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
- J. M. Coetzee won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
More Information:
Shirley Hazzard was born in Sydney, Australia, but left in 1947 to travel through Southeast Asia with her parents. Hazzard's early life "was a carbon copy of Helen Driscoll's"—the heroine of The Great Fire, Hazzard's fourth novel. That book took her twenty years to write, but the effort paid off. In addition to winning the 2003 National Book Award, The Great Fire won the 2004 Miles Franklin Award and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize, and named a 2003 Book of the Year by The Economist.
Suggested Links:
- Shirley Hazzard's 2003 NBA Acceptance Speech
- Shirley Hazzard's Wikipedia Entry
- Shirley Hazzard on the Leonard Lopate Show
Buy the Book:


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The Waterfront House Country Home sits nestled right on the shores of the world-famous fishing grounds - Lough Corrib, surrounded by the Hills of Connemara, just a short stroll from Aughnanure Castle and the lovely Oughterard 18 hole Parkland golf course.
Centrally located to an area from the Cliffs of Moher to the Aran Islands, and Connemara to Westport. In an area of astounding beauty you can enjoy walking, golfing, angling, relaxing, touring, sight-seeing, swimming, horse riding.


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What a decadent life!
Lake Como is a place of breathtaking beauty steeped in elegant history; of grand villas set against an epic mountain range, where romances play out on the deep blue lake, that stretches like an sapphire jewel between Italy and Switzerland.
When Damien and I take a romantic break on a recent work trip to Europe, we decide to return to Lago di Como. We first visited on our honeymoon seven years ago and fell in love with the beauty and history of the place. I'd heard great things about The Grand Hotel Tremezzo – its beauty, warm hospitality and world class amenities. We simply had to check it out.
As soon as we pull up in our chauffer-driven Six Series Mercedes we know we're in fine company. Stretching out along the lake, at the very front of the hotel, is "T Beach". A cool, azure pool floats on the river, along with a private strip of sand and a stylish champagne bar that invites lazy summer indolence and casual reflection. Immaculately dressed Europeans with terracotta tans decorate the daybeds, sipping Pommery and Aperol Spritzers, their white linen and gold jewellery glinting in the sunlight.
Beyond that, an enormous stately villa rises up invitingly, covered in dense ivy, and with an elegant pebbled driveway and uniformed bellboys ready to flag you a taxi or carry your bags. The Art Nouveau-style hotel, which originally opened in 1910, is set on a vast 20,000 square metres of private gardens. It's positioned at the picturesque junction of two branches of the lake, directly across from Bellagio. A hundred windows capture pristine waters framed by the pink-tinged Grigne Massif mountain range.
We check in swiftly and head upstairs. Our 'Prestige Lake View Room", doesn't disappoint. Tranquil, with grey blue walls, it features a gorgeous carved, gilded bed, antique furniture and elegant sea foam drapes complement the lake and pool below.
First things first – we make a booking at the famed T Spa before heading out to explore the lake. The hotel and spa recently enjoyed a multi-million dollar refurbishment that, in partnership with spa brand ESPA, saw the neighbouring 18th Century Villa Emilia overhauled with five treatment rooms, a Hammam and nail bar along with a three-storey gym and private spa suite.
The star of the spa, though, is the 15m heated indoor infinity pool, that enjoys rockstar views of the glittering lake and offers a host of hydrotherapy surprises. A kind of water park for adults, all manner of aquatic pleasures await as you swim through a tunnel into a hidden cavern. There's a cascading waterfall neck massager, a 'bubble bed' (a contoured recliner with hundreds of tiny bubble jets that tantalise your back) and a powerful jet foot massager on the bottom of the pool. Swim through a doorway to an outdoor Jacuzzi or climb out and drip dry on the sundrenched lounges.
After your treatment you can take Moroccan mint tea on daybeds, set before gratuitous view of the lake, as the melodic tinkle of water bubbling over the wet edge pool lulls you into a soporific slumber.
Our three days in Lake Como whizzes by in a kind of dream-like haze. It seems, at times, almost too pinch-myself gorgeous.
In the mornings, we explore postcard-perfect inlets and coves of the famous lake and ambol through villas, like the famous Villa Del Balbianello. One day we hire the hotel's boat, one of those stunning mahogany-clad speedsters fashioned for Sophia Loren, (but this one was owned by a noble Venetian family) and, with the help of our friendly skipper, set course up for Bellagio to wander the hillside laneways filled with quaint shops and restaurants, stopping, or course for a fresh seafood pasta.
Lazy afternoons are spent poolside at T-Beach or the stunning Flower Pool at the back of the hotel, which is fringed by fragrant jasmine, Riviera palms and heaving bushes of hydrangeas in dusty blue, pink, purple and green. The spoils of spring are everywhere and the perfume fills the air.
Decadent days give way to magical nights and we enjoy romantic meals at the hotel's fine dining restaurant La Terrazza (try the Milanese Risotto with gold leaf) and L'Escale Fondue & Wine Bar, where you get to cook Swiss-style at your table. For something a little more casual, head to Pizzeria Balognett in the hills behind the hotel. They make the thinnest, crispiest pizza I've ever tasted featuring star ingredients grown in the owner's garden.
Over breakfast on our last day we meet the hotel's gorgeous CEO Valentina De Santis, whose family has owned the hotel for 40 years. Valentina grew up with the hotel and now lovingly oversees it and the staff, who clearly adore her. In the garden behind the hotel you can climb to the top of the hill and look out over the lake, and there on a rock sits Bobo, Valentina's childhood teddybear, who has become the hotel mascot. He sits watching over the villa and its myriad guests with his calm, immutable gaze. On our last day we hike up to the top and say goodbye to Bobo. A ritualistic farewell seems fitting for what has been such a personal and sentimental stay. He looks kind of sad, so we tell him we'll be back. And with that, it's back into our car for the hour's drive to Milan, and onto France.


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Shekarau, Gaya, Barau clinch APC senatorial tickets in Kano
Former Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has been declared winner of Kano Central senatorial ticket.
Shekarau, who decamped from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) to All Progressives Congress (APC), defeated two aspirants during Tuesday's senatorial primaries.
Similarly, Senator Kabiru Ibrahim Gaya won the Kano-South primary after defeating senior special assistant to President Muhammad Buhari, Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila.
The senator representing Kano-North, Barau Jibril, also clinched the APC ticket.
Details shortly…
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The Februarys (from Vancouver) http://www.myspace.com/thefebruarys
Defect Defect (from Portland) http://www.myspace.com/defectdefect
with local bands
The Lines We Drew
Pox Eclipse http://www.myspace.com/poxeclipse1
Saturday, April 29th (this Saturday!!)
at Sound Entertainment (which is on 3rd ave, past Queensway, in Prince George).
Tickets are $10 at the door, and doors open at 7:30.The show's going to be a lot of fun! If you're bored this Saturday evening come on down and bring your friends. And if you do come, feel free to stop say hello to myself or anyone else in my band. I play bass for Pox Eclipse. Thanks!


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POLICE are warning illegal motorbike riders that they face being prosecuted if caught by police.
In recent weeks officers have received an increase in reports of riders taking their motorbikes to the old coal site in Follingsby Lane and the Follonsby Terrace area.
Police have already stopped a number of people from riding in the area and are issuing a warning to anyone else who is thinking about using the location to ride their bikes.
Neighbourhood Sergeant Sean McGuigan said: "Motorbike disorder causes considerable disruption to the local community and it can be dangerous, especially for pedestrians.
"It is illegal to ride off-road bikes on public land - including roads and in parks. They can only ever be ridden on private land with the landowner's permission.
"The old coal site is private land and the owners have not given any permission for it to be used, so anyone found on the land could be prosecuted.
"Now we are aware that people are using the area to illegally ride their bikes we will have extra patrols there on evenings and weekends to try and catch people doing this.
"We're carrying out enquiries to identify those using the area and would ask anyone who has any information to get in contact with us, if members of the public see a bike being ridden irresponsibly or inconsiderately we want to hear from them.
"Descriptions of bikes and helmets are also useful in helping us to identify the riders."
Anyone with any information about motorbike disorder is asked to contact Northumbria Police on 101 ext 69191 or by email - visit the Northumbria Police website www.northumbria.police.uk for details.


text:
J Boogie's Dubtronic Science Try me
Bay Area don Justin Boland previews his upcoming album, lacing some thumping beats, muted trumpet, buzzy flute and whooshing keys with the dolce vocals of Goapele and suave rhymes of Capital A. Old-school devotees People Under the Stairs's tight and summery hip-hop remix and King Kooba's moist 'n' dubby take round things out. But hold up-our Boogie knows the value of a bonus cut, and delivers with Gina Rene and Crown City Rockers MC Rashaan on the smooth ladies-hop of "Get The Party Started." Too sweet.


text:
Award-winning magician and mentalist Eric Walton has lent his talents to dozens of projects in a wide range of media around the world and has garnered the accolades of the international press along the way.
His one-man show Esoterica enjoyed a seven-month run at the DR2 Theatre in New York City, was a sell-out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and has been produced at the Leicester Square Theatre in London, at the Brighton Fringe Festival in Brighton, England, at the Spiegeltent, and as a part of the River to River Festival in downtown Manhattan.
Eric has been the subject of numerous feature articles in the press, including the Times of London, Zink Magazine, The New York Daily News, and The List, and made numerous appearances on television and radio.
In addition to his various other achievements, he has also memorized pi to three-hundred and sixty decimal places.
He lives in New York City.


text:
Congratulations on your assignment to the finest aircraft carrier in the fleet. The crew and I look forward to your arrival aboard NIMITZ and welcome you to the finest carrier crew in the Navy.
Your assignment onboard NIMITZ will be the most challenging and fulfilling of your Naval career. NIMITZ is the lead ship in her class and also the benchmark for excellence in our Navy's cadre of nuclear powered aircraft carriers.
Named for one of our nation's greatest military leaders, Fleet Admiral Chester W. NIMITZ, your ship has a proud and distinguished history in the service of our nation and the crew prides itself on being ready to rapidly respond to any world crisis.
I look forward to your arrival and the NIMITZ team looks forward to counting you among the greatest team of professionals in our Navy. Welcome aboard!
CAPT Kevin P. Lenox
USS Nimitz (CVN 68)
Commanding Officer


text:
League City police identified high-tech burglary suspects in rash of recent break-ins in a League City subdivision, The Daily News of Galveston reported.
They arrested one man, 56-year-old Alton Anjie Simmons III, and charged him with burglary and obtained warrants for two others, 20-year-old Rebecca Droher and 33-year-old Jason Carswell, both charged with organizing criminal activity.
From the story:
(Sgt. Bryan) Campbell didn't want to give away too much information on the techniques used to target homes in the Magnolia Creek subdivision, but he did provide a bit of insight into the heist that involved mostly jewelry and electronics.
"They used public databases to obtain phone numbers and other databases to find areas that physically matched the type of locations they preferred to hit," Campbell said, noting there was no tie found to the social network Facebook.


text:
Change Location
For more than 25 years, IMC has set the pace for the evolution of market making. When we launched in 1989 in Amsterdam we were quick to recognise the role of technology in making markets more efficient. Today we operate globally from offices in Europe, the US and Asia Pacific. And we continue to invest and grow.
IMC is a technology-driven trading firm. We develop innovative technology and employ advanced trading strategies to make markets on more than 100 of the world's best-regulated trading venues. We are also a Designated Market Maker (DMM) on the New York Stock Exchange.
Besides our on-screen market making in many asset classes globally, our ETF desk in Europe leverages IMC's experience as a market maker, advanced technology and deep liquidity, to offer competitive pricing directly to qualified counterparties.
Cutting-edge technology is at the heart of everything we do. We put it to work in the markets that define our world. Across offices in Amsterdam, Chicago and Sydney, global teams of technologists and traders team up to design and develop the software, hardware, advanced networks and algorithms that drive our trading strategies. They anticipate change and continuously innovate, seeking new ways to sustain our success. At IMC we recognise the best ideas regardless of hierarchy. Anyone can make an impact and everyone is encouraged to do so.
IMC takes its role seriously. Being here to stay is a core value. We manage risk at every level of the business. We are a founding member of FIA European Principal Traders Association and a member of FIA Principal Traders Group, supporting fair, reliable and transparent markets.
From the way we do business, to the way we treat our people, our values are engrained in our global culture, and show in everything we do.
Meet the team who are part of our global success story.


text:
"Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy."
― Warren W. Wiersbe
Diplomacy: 1) The tact or skill in dealing with and handling people and managing negotiations
so that there is little or no ill will and no offense.
2) Approving skill in dealing with people without offending or upsetting them; used in a
positive way to show that you have a good opinion of something or someone
Synonyms: Tact. Subtlety. Finesse. Expedience.
Antonyms: Rudeness. Bad Manners. Impoliteness. Ignorance.
I remember seeing a quote that read – "Diplomacy is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a manner that they actually look forward to the trip" – LOL. It basically is the ability to say the nastiest thing, in the nicest way.
One of my most obvious character/personality traits is that I am a very blunt person. So much that it comes across in just a matter of minutes upon meeting me and it can either endear the newbie to me or completely turn them off, hardly in-between. Now that's not to say I'm walking around guns blazing looking for who to tell share scathing words with, it just means I don't take the time to sugarcoat/rephrase what I mean to say in any conversation.
I can't consciously tell you when I became that way but I know that I always hated when in interacting with people, I'd play blind/obtuse about something and those people will in turn think me a fool for it, so I switched and now it's the only way I know how to be. I tell MY truth as I see it, I never sugarcoat anything, I do not know how to pretend and I completely wear my emotions/thoughts on my face. Being this way translates into my dealings with people and in any situation, you can count on my real talk. I truly am an ALL OR NOTHING person so between that and being true to my TAUREAN/BULL personality, it's a hard mix. I have opinions and I'm not afraid to share/stand by them. Strong opinions.
"People who keep their feelings to themselves tend not to know, after a while, what their feelings are."
― Paul Berman
But I look at it as me being straightforward & honest & a person with integrity [if you will] and in this world full of hypocrites and ass-kissers, it has actually become something I take a lot of pride in – telling my truth the way I see it. HOWEVER, over time, one of the most consistent/recurring feedback/[constructive] criticism I've gotten from within my circle is that I lack diplomacy & tact and that I can sometimes come across as harsh.
Obviously, as expected, I don't like to hear this but as the saying goes… once=happenstance, twice =coincidence and thrice… well! My dad used to say everybody else cannot be the problem, everybody else can't be wrong – per recurring issues. And I agree. As much as I hate to admit it, it's time to step back to re-evaluate for real. Why am I coming across this way, even though I mean well? Why am I always having to regret/be sad about an interaction that was not meant to be regrettable? Let me also point out that I try to never offer unsolicited advice as I hate it myself, it's usually a situation of – you asked, I answered – so I genuinely wonder why anyone ever comes to me expecting I'll rosy it up, I'm just not the one. Also, usually by the time I snap and say something harsh, I most likely have tried many times to say it nicely/sweetly but it probably didn't register so can I really be faulted when it becomes a tad spicier? And because people have selective memories, they conveniently forget all the times I tried to be sensitive but failed. Humans…sigh.
The truth is that I do care how I come across but also on the other hand, I can't help thinking – are people just refusing to be accountable/responsible when they'd rather hang on to the delivery and ignore the actual point? I'm not a bullshitter. A spade is not a cutlass. I don't have patience for people who blatantly refuse to acknowledge/deal with reality because I am the complete opposite way. If there's an issue, I approach it head on and I think it's cowardly to make like an ostrich and hide your head in the face of a problem. And yes, I understand that everyone isn't the same but in that exact vein shouldn't people then at least understand why my approach is the way it is? And I'm not one of those people who can't take what I dish. I'm a big girl, I can handle it. So when someone tells me something I don't want to hear, I still hear it anyway. I take it in and internalize it until I'm ready to do something about. It's not that hard.
I believe everyone needs that one person in their life who doesn't sugarcoat shit, there's a place/need for it; consider it my service to humanity LOL. I kid! But think about it, if all you have are ballons & rainbow type people around you, do you not need a balance in the equation?
However, as I've been told repeatedly, there is always a better way to approach stuff. ALWAYS! And judging by the guilt I tend to feel once I realize I've hurt someone's feelings, I agree that perhaps my approach/delivery can be better. Infact, if I'm being completely honest, even I tend to get defensive when I get this diplomacy criticism so it sort of sheds some understanding on how people must feel when I approach them a certain way, it's hard not to take it that way. Nobody wants to feel like they're being attacked, especially not from a friend/loved one; so perhaps tough love [however well-meaning] can come across as an attack and maybe that's where the fundamental disconnect lies. Sigh.
To be honest, at this point, I don't even know if I'll ever learn this better way of being because I've been consciously working on it for so many years now and STILL get people telling me I was harsh in my delivery; so I don't know if I'm making any progress but I do know that I'm willing to try [HARDER]. Sometimes I want to ask to be taken as I am but then what about self-improvement? If this is something that's really a problem with me then I simply cannot ignore it [anymore]. However, I don't think it's fair to aggravate someone and then turn around and ask them to be sensitive in their response to you. Still, I want to be better at this so tell me…. how can I actively practice tact and diplomacy in my everyday life and interactions? I'm tired of being the wicked witch of Worchester…. Because I usually mean well. I really do.
"Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy."
― Isaac Newton
Interestingly, I have been toying with the idea of a PHD in the field of Arbitration, Conflict & Dispute Resolution and Diplomacy for the longest. So when I get this "you lack tact" feedback, I wonder if I'm on a rollercoaster ride to nowhere. Epp me plix *tears*
Suggestions are welcome but don't be harsh with it 😀


text:
A Las Vegas showgirl emerges from a month lost in the forest - muddy, disheveled and more animal than human. Somebody explains the expenses involved in being authentic. One woman reads pheromones. Another explains her 'instinct for failure'.
In All Natural the stage is home to several odd-bods from the fringes. Armed with excuses, promises and outbursts, they leak and slide into each other. Hoping for a pure and un-corrupted state, they search for limits on behaving with an audience.
McIntosh began All Natural by picking
at the myth of naturalness and our craving for it - in everything from
personality to food. As if our instincts, however deeply buried and warped,
might be trusted to lead us out of trouble.
I have an instinct for failure, I can smell it coming. It's a natural thing. Yeah I can smell it now...
"This is a beautifully strange, unhinged and intimate performance. I think we will be seeing a lot more of Kate here at Tramway in the future." (Steve Slater, senior producer Tramway, programme 05 Tramway).
"Along with the very reduced, effective sound design, Kate McIntosh creates a space of fundamental uncertainty and loss. In All Natural Kate profoundly proves her performance skills, which are very powerful in effect but at no point pretentious or pathetic. Whereas her character on stage suffers the loss of identity and orientation, the performer Kate precisely knows where she is on this sensitive line between illusion and situation on stage." (Thomas Frank - Dramaturg, Sophiensaele Berlin).
"All Natural is built on the simple presence of the performer, and presence is a quality Kate McIntosh has in plenty. She sweeps through her performance, giving out treats and cracking the whip. Sometimes she gets on fine with the audience, sometimes she treats them like lowlife. She changes disposition at the snap of a finger - smiles like Doris Day, throws the look of Charles Bronson about to pull his gun. We feel pulled along by the nose-ring, and it is strangely pleasant." (Frankfurter Rundschau 23/10/04).
Concept / direction / performance by Kate McIntosh
With texts from Jo Randerson
Sound design by Charo Calvo
Production Margarita Production for The Other vzw
Co-producers Plateaux - Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (D), Productiehuis Rotterdam - Rotterdamse Schouwburg (NL), nadine (B)
Thanks to Diederik Peeters
With the support of Kaaitheater (B)


text:
FLAVOUR is a collection of 3 ceramic vases characterised by rounded shapes and natural colours highlighted by the glossy finish. As if they were embellished stones or lucky talismans, combined with each other or as a single decorative object, the ceramic vases from the FLAVOUR collection complete environments with the simplicity of their elegance.
View all the sizes and colours available and choose those best suited to your style!
- Frame Material: Ceramic
W 9¼'' x D 4¼'' x H 9½''
Additional Info
Additional Info
Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
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Curbside Delivery is also known as Threshold Delivery. This is our standard delivery method. During this shipping method your items will arrive unassembled in its factory boxes. The freight company will deliver your items to your carport or entryway, and you will be responsible for getting it into your residence or business. Since furniture is heavy, you may require assistance from a friend or family member. If you have any questions about Curbside Delivery please give us a call at 800-345-7060.
White Glove Delivery.
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Glove Delivery is the delivery and installation of your furniture for extra charge. Please contact us at 800-345-7060 or email firstname.lastname@example.com for White Glove Delivery quote. White Glove Delivery consists of a two-person installation team that will deliver, unpack and install your furniture in your room of choice.
White Glove Delivery is provided only in New York City and the State of New Jersey.
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text:
Delta: writing your first Delta essay
This is a step-by-step guide to writing your first Delta essay. It will take through the process this way:
Choosing your topic
the choices and their implications
Remember that you have to do 4 assignments in all:
- Two assignments focus on language systems. They must be different areas. You can choose from:
- Grammar (i.e., a structure or set of allied structures)
Lexis (with the focus on systems, not reading etc.)
Phonology (with the focus on systems, not speaking skills)
Discourse (again with the focus on systems, not on reading, speaking or writing)
- Two assignments focus on language skills. There must be one of each sort and you can choose from:
- Receptive skills: reading or listening
Productive skills: writing or speaking
Some centres will insist that you do one or the other for your first Language Skills / Systems Assignment (hereinafter, LSA). Usually the choice is systems. Other centres will give you a freer hand.
There are implications because your choice of what to cover in LSA 1 will affect what you can do later.
- If you feel very happy writing about and teaching lexis, for example, and you choose to do that for your first assignment, it means that you can't use that area for the externally assessed assignment (usually the last of the four).
- In the same way, if you focus on a receptive skill for one of your assignments, the second skills assignment will have to be on speaking or writing.
- If you do two systems assignments during your course, the externally assessed assignment must be on skills and, of course, vice versa.
It is important that you think about your choice for the topic of each assignment carefully.
In most centres, you will do an unassessed diagnostic lesson
before you get to LSA 1. That is Stage 1 of Part A of the
Professional Development Assignment.
There is no reason at all for you not to use the same topic for any of the assessed assignments.
You may already have something firmly in mind for your first assignment. If you don't and are staring at a blank word-processing screen, the place to go now is the in-service training index. There you will find well over 60 guides to different facets of the systems of English. Choose one, work through the guide, and you have made a good start. There are also 40 or so less technical guides in the initial plus index that you may want to follow, especially if you are choosing a less familiar area.
OK. Now you have a topic, you need to review the advice in the guide to writing a Delta Background Essay before going on to specifics concerning each section.
The title
The title is the first important decision to make.
Why should the title of the assignment be so important?
Click here when you have made a note of something.
Most people are happier dealing with something non-slippery for the first assignment, so we are going with systems here as our example. In particular, from here on, the example will be based around this title:
Helping learners at B1 level understand and use modality for obligation and lack of obligation.
We have done four things here:
- We have made it clear that we are focused on systems (structures for expressing obligation or its lack)
- We have limited ourselves by level (B1)
- We have said that we will focus on both understanding and using the structures
- We have implied that we won't only be looking at modal auxiliary verbs
The title alone has already got us well on the road to meeting criteria 2a and 2b for the Delta Background Essay. (Now might be a good time to download the guide to the Background Essay criteria.)
Now we have the cover page and footer for our assignment:
and that makes us feel better already.
The introduction
This is the part where we meet criteria 2a, 2b and 2c at Distinction level.
We need to say:
- What we are doing:
- This essay will focus on helping
B1-level learners use and understand deontic modality (i.e., for expressing
obligation or its lack) in English. Explicitly, the essay
will cover the use of common modal auxiliary verbs: have to, must,
ought to and should as well as the use of modal
adverbs and adjectives appropriate to the level.
Because the focus is on B1-level learners, the essay will not look at unusual forms of modal expression for obligation such as Don't you dare do that! and the subtleties of past modal use (e.g., didn't have to vs. needn't have) are also beyond the scope.
- Why we are doing it:
- In my experience, learners at this level often have difficulty with English modal expressions in general and are often particularly confused by the fact that English uses a range of modal expressions to signal obligation or its lack (e.g., the distinctions between must, have to, mustn't and don't have to).
- It is clear from my research that many languages (Korean, Greek etc.) have a much more limited range of modal auxiliary verbs under which the shades of meaning in English are subsumed (Swan and Smith, 2001, passim). It has also been asserted that "Modal auxiliary verbs are, however, very variable across languages." (eltconcourse.com, emphasis in the original).
- Expressing obligation or its lack is a key communicative need for many learners, either when referring to personal motivation or that of people around them. Understanding distinctions between strong advice, obligation and legal, moral or logical compulsion is also important for learners who may come into contact with native or very competent speakers of English in virtually all settings and registers.
Notice that we have
- set out our stall clearly (and avoided accusations of leaving certain important things out)
- drawn on personal experience
- drawn on research
- said why being able to handle the structures is important for learners in general, not just our learners
It's looking like a distinction, already.
The analysis
You will be unsurprised that this section will not tell you
exactly what
to write.
The analysis is contained in the guides on this site, particularly, these guides:
- the modality index
- modal auxiliary verbs one by one
- teaching modal auxiliary verbs
- types of modality
- modality without modal auxiliary verbs
- adverb modifiers
- intensifying adjectives.
The last two are not specifically focused on modality. For that
you'll need to research a bit and focus on expressions such as
It's (very) important to ..., It's (absolutely) vital to ..., It's
not (at all) necessary to ..., It's important not to ... / to avoid
+ -ing etc.)
The first thing to be sure of doing (note that modal adjective, by the way) is to define your key terms.
In this case they are modality and obligation.
The first signals the speaker's perception of events or states.
The second can be roughly paraphrased as I state that it is necessary to do something, not necessary to do something or necessary not to do something.
Now you have to get on and do the analysis:
- Form: the positive, negative and interrogative forms of the selected modal auxiliary verbs and modal adjectives and adverbs used for obligation.
- Meaning: how meaning is expressed using the forms
- Pronunciation: especially common contractions and stress on adjectives and adverbs
Here's an example of parts of an analysis, lifted partially from the guide on this site which is something you can do providing you credit it:
The modal
auxiliary verb must has no
future or past forms for obligation (but it does epistemically in the sense of
deduction where the perfect form is used, e.g., He must have
arrived late) so the use of have to is obligatory in,
e.g., I had to do it, We'll have to see etc.
Lewis suggests that English does not have a past form of must because "The intrinsic meaning of must does not admit the concept of remoteness. This being so, no form exists to express the concept in English." (Lewis, 1986: 111). That is arguable on two grounds.
Firstly, used epistemically (deductively here), the verb does have a past from as in, for example,
"He must have spoken good English because they understood him easily"
which is a past form of
"He must speak / be speaking good English because they are understanding him easily"
although when the verb is used deontically (for obligation, the topic of this essay) the form is not acceptable because
"He must have caught the bus"
is clearly not the past form of
"He must catch the bus"
Secondly, if one takes a related language, such as German, we find that the cognate verb müssen does, in fact, have a past tense as in, e.g., wir mussten (we had to). It does not seem that a German speaker feels that the verb use is somehow more remote or less intrinsic simply because the past tense is used. A similar phenomenon is observable in Dutch (we moeten vs. we moesten).
Learners may be tempted to see the perfect form here as the past of the obligation function rather than the logical deduction function. In some languages, e.g., German, they are, in fact, parallel and imply either the obligation or the deduction functions. We may encounter errors such as *We must have gone to school at 9 (when had to is meant).
When an adjective implying obligation
is used with an intensifying adverb, it is common for either or both to
be stressed as in, e.g.,
It is absolutely vital that the work is done today
or only the adjective may be stressed as in, e.g.,
It is absolutely vital that the work is done today.
and rarely, only the adverb is stressed as in, e.g.,
It is absolutely vital that the work is done today
Another issue for learners at B1 level is
that of gradability in adjectives.
For example, important is gradable so we can have very important, more important etc. but imperative and vital are generally non-gradable so learners, unaware of this, may be tempted to produce, e.g., *very imperative or *very vital. (Note, however, that in negative expressions both are gradable: less imperative, less vital etc. although this somewhat subtle point is one I would probably be unlikely to focus on unless it comes up in another context.)
Some of the above focuses on issues for learners to do with their
first language(s). That is important but you should also
consider issues of style and register and much else.
For more on the levels of depth, detail and precision which are required for a systems-focused essay at this level of analysis, see the separate guide.
For more on the levels of depth, detail and precision which are required for a skills-focused essay at this level of analysis, see the separate guide.
reference materials
Note how, in the example above, it is quite clear from where the
information comes. You are not expected to start language
analysis (or much else) from scratch.
It is also clear, however, that the writer is doing some critical thinking because a serious comment is made on the opinions of authority (Lewis). If you are looking for a Distinction, you must read and write critically and not simply insert citation to prove you have read a book.
This site is, naturally, a very good place to start your research
but you may like to go to
the guide
to reference materials for other ideas.
At Delta level, you need to look beyond grammars designed for learners, excellent though some of them are. You need to look at reference grammars for a fuller picture and then select the parts of the analysis you present bearing your chosen level, focus or type of learners in mind.
Issues for learning and teaching
You might combine this with the analysis (as in the example
above). That's sometimes a good way to make sure that the
issues you identify are closely tied to your analysis and you are
not suddenly introducing a problem with a form or meaning you have
not analysed.
You'll find information on this part in the guide to teaching modal auxiliary verbs (link above) but you must also draw extensively on your own experience.
You need to mention issues for learners and teachers with:
- form
- meaning
- pronunciation
but you absolutely must (modal with an intensifying adverb, by the way) keep your eye firmly fixed on the level of the learners (in this case, B1). Being able to pronounce have is not a problem but being able consistently to use the schwa for to, is a problem, for example.
Examples of the identification of issues for learners are given
above in the integration of issues with the analysis.
You need to remember to include issues for teachers as well as learners so a look through the guide to teacher-induced error may be useful.
You should follow up the identification of issues with an example of what happens when learners make errors.
Suggestions for teaching
Tie these closely to your analysis and identification of issues.
For example, if you have identified that the negative of must comes in two forms (mustn't and don't have to) and that this is a real problem for, e.g., speakers of German and many other languages, then you need to tackle ways to present, practise and reinforce the concepts.
Do not introduce here teaching suggestions or materials which have no relationship to your analysis and identification of issues. That will mean you fail under criteria 2d, 2e and 4c and you do not want to do that.
Make sure you:
- State what issue you are targeting and refer to where you analysed it
- Describe the procedure and or the materials well enough for the reader to understand (don't just bung them in the appendix and make the reader do the work)
- Evaluate the idea stating positive and negative points
You need to outline and evaluate four or five ideas but make sure they attack different targets and are of different kinds (e.g., presentation, practice, consolidation, revision etc.).
For example:
I have successfully introduced and presented
the role of intensifying adverbs with adjectives of obligation using
the dialogue in Appendix 4.
After introducing the characters, their roles and the situation I have played the tape once for general gist understanding. Then I have played it again asking the learners to write down only the words emphasised by the speakers (absolutely vital, very important etc.).
Together, the learners figure out inductively from the examples they now have which of the adjectives are gradable (modifiable with very) and which require intensifying adverbs such as absolutely, wholly, totally etc.).
At this stage, the learners discuss in pairs why the speakers choose to use emphasisers and how they are feeling. I usually give them a worksheet for this stage so that we can check the answers together at the end. It is very important that they grasp the use and meaning here.
Then the class can go on to practise the forms by ...
A logical extension is to apply the intensifiers to the modal auxiliary verbs themselves to make statements stronger as in, e.g., I absolutely have to go before six, I really must get on with some work etc. because here, too, as was noted in Section 3 of the analysis, the modifier is not stressed but the modal is and weak forms (see analysis of phonology) are not deployed.
I have noted, however, that these procedures can sometimes lead to learners overusing intensifiers unless the attitude of the speaker is made very clear from the outset.
Note that the writer draws extensively on personal, practical classroom experience. It is very important to do that.
Help! I'm running out of words
Do not panic.
If you find that you have bitten off more than you can chew in 2500 words you have two choices:
- Go back to the title and introduction and re-write both to leave out some areas and further narrow your focus. Then remove from the rest of the essay any mention of the areas and expand what you do say in the remaining ones.
- Re-read everything you have written and cut anything that is not centrally relevant to the title and scope. Do not remove examples because they are important but you don't need three examples of everything.
You may be able to combine those approaches.
Do I need a conclusion?
For obscure reasons, some centres insist that you have one.
If you do, keep it short and use it to sum up rather than repeat
what you have said. You do not have words to waste on it.
An example might be:
In summary, as my analysis has shown, this is an area replete with problems for students and subtleties of meaning, form and pronunciation which needs handling with care. The central teaching issue is to make the context and the attitudes of speakers clear in any presentation (see the analysis of meaning) and to provide contextualised and personalised practice (see, especially, suggestions 2 and 4 in this respect).
Finally, you may now like to go to the guide on how to get a Distinction grade for a Delta essay.


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- The new esm now works, no more save and load issues or CTD.
- The size of the world is slightly smaller, 14x14 quads compared to the old one that was 16x16 quads. We did not want the files to become to big to run, and this is the reason for the change in size. The side effect is that the land is a bit more dramatic in the elevation changes.
- Sea level and lowest land levels are shifted upwards. Now the sea level is at -6144 units, and the lowest land (sea bottom) at -8192 units. Before the sea level was at -14000 units, and lowest land at -16048. This is because of the way I had to imported the height map using the Height Map editor in the CK.
Future releasesWe will be making several esms containing the populated lands, at least 12 of them. I have tried to divide the world in to meaningful chunks, and not to make any of the planned esm cover a region that is larger than 18 quads in total, some will be smaller. The first esm region we are working on now covers the Hoddminir forest, Seyland and Okolnir kingdoms (the yellow region).
After generating the flora, we will start building the cites, town, farms etc.
Climate ZonesThe world is large enough to include climate zones range from cold to temperate. Generally speaking, there will be early spring in the north, spring/early summer around the middle of the map (cell Y 0), full summer in and below south of Illwadon, Andlang/Svallin (cell Y -128 and below).
In the far north mountains ranges have glaciers, just south there is tundra, this is the region called Hel. In Jotunn (purple) and Hoddminir (yellow) regions there is generally conifer forests or moorland (Scandinavian climate), with the exception of the Ymir river valley (in the Hoddminir region) that has northers type deciduous forests (Aspen, Birches and Alder). South of the Ymir river in Okolnir (yellow), Vidblain/Svallin (darkblue) and Illwadon (pink) the climate is temperate with leaf trees with Oak and Beech forests, similar to the north and mid European continent. In the west, with the high mountain ranges going from north to south there are glacier all the way down. In the south there are two different zones. In Andlang/Surtsland (lightblue) the climate is more Mediterranean like, where as the west of Falarion (brown) is more jungle like.
Seyland and Okolnir
It includes three distinct regions. Hoddminir and Seyland, which both are part of the Seyland kingdom and the Okolnir kingdom. In the map you can see the land controlled by each of the two kingdoms Seyland and Okolnir are represented in black dots. The different colors indicate the approximate biotope types.
- In the north lays the inhospitable moorland called the Jotunn moor (purple). There are some small farms living on sheep herding on the edges of the moor. Some parts of the moor will be included in this first regional esm.
- The dark green region is the largely uninhabited conifer forest of Hoddminir, thick with spruce and pine. The Hoddminir and Ymin mountain region is rich in ore, especially iron.
- Light green represent a more deciduous forest, in seyland this will contain for example Aspen, Birch, Willow and Alder. In Okolnir the deciduous forest also has Beeches, Maple and Oak. The majority of the population in Seyland lives in the valley around the river Ymir and the lake of Sey.
- Yellow has a stormy coast flora, with low and thorny trees and bushes. There are many small fishing villages in the relative shelter of the valleys.
- The reddish brow of Okolnir is a very rich agricultural land and is densely populated with lots of small villages and farms dotting the lands. Most of the original forest is cleared away for fields and pastures, but some small forest crops remain in hilly terrain.


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Pair of Regency White-Painted and Parcel-Gilt Armchairs
Some of the nicest designed interiors base their homes around well chosen antiques that reflect the owners style. Many times these homes let the architecture speak for itself, and the furniture is often showcased.
A kitchen which has beautiful cabinetry doesn't need a dozen accessories, but rather one masterpiece bowl sitting on the counter. A minimal approach to decorating works well.
For the longest time, I gravitated away from white paint on furniture, because I have seen too many times how horrible "shabby" white furniture looks, but on empire or regency furniture, it can look fabulous in a satin sheen. Often times, people can go wrong with choosing the wrong white for a piece of furniture. The style of furniture, determines the finish. Would you ever paint an arts and crafts mission style chair a bright white? Perhaps with a modern twist, but most of the time, country furniture is seen distressed finish.
Brighter whites look very appropriate on Modern Regency styled pieces. Designers such as Draper, Wearstler, and Adler, are designers who showcase glamorous high gloss lacquer in their approach to white furniture.
Off white looks sensational on primitive furniture with a color which has beige or yellow undertones. I remember the first time I tried spray painting a piece of furniture in Heirloom white, I was amazed at how nice my piece of furniture looked in WHITE! The right white can make a piece look terrific. For Colonial pieces, bright white wouldn't look natural. Duller whites, or yellow whites would fit into the period styles better.
Swedish furniture from the 18th century is never a stark white, rather with white with gray or blue undertones. Many times Swedish furniture is seen heavily distressed, in which the wood and the paint combination create a beautiful intrigue.
Empire Mahogany and White Marble Console
Northen Italian Empire Sofa
An Empire white and grey paint and partial gilt boiserie mirror
White in my opinion has never looked better in my opinion on on Empire furniture. The additional furniture mounts or carved details are accented in brass or gold leafed makes the white paint even more special to look at.
In this photo by William Hodgins you can see two terrific chairs, one which I think is actually a very light white- gray, but in the picture they show as white. The one chair is upholstered in a animal print where as the other chair is upholstered in a blue silk dot on white fabric. Both chairs are terrific examples of how a piece of furniture can be the focal point of a room.
Again, a frame is painted in an off white and they chose a butter yellow upholstery fabric for the seats and the back rest. The furniture mounts add an extravagant touch which really makes this chair appear high end. Yellow can be extremely vibrant and a brilliant choice to base an interior around. Not only is it bright but very striking to look at.
Patterned fabric paired with a Regency or Empire chair can look very rich. Choosing something as basic as a white and yellow, or a yellow and gray, or a yellow and black pattern can make a chair look like a piece of art. Adding carved wood appliques which are spray painted in gold and finished off with gold leaf is away of adding extra dimension to your antique chairs.
Here are my top three fabric choices for decorating with yellow against a white frame:
54 Wide Duralee Dalesford Yellow Fabric By The Yard
54 Wide Ticking Stripe Gold Ivory Fabric By The Yard
54′ Wide Premier Prints Chipper Slub Corn Yellow Fabric By The Yard


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THIS DJ, Part 1
This is the normal negotiation process. Oh, the life of a DJ. Here's the meeting with the General Manager of a club.DJ B-Mello speaks truth in these videos that he's created. If you're a DJ yourself and living in Seattle, I'm sure you can relate to these very scenarios. This video series entitled 'This DJ' is something you don't wanna miss every time a new episode drops. Check back frequently.
THIS DJ, Part 2
After the club night. This is what it's like after waiting around 20 minutes. Time to settle up!


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Can Dialysis Reverse Nephrotic Syndrome with Creatinine 3.52015-12-30 14:26
Can dialysis reverse Nephrotic Syndrome with creatinine 3.5? To be frankly, dialysis cannot reverse Nephrotic Syndrome, no matter the creatinine level is high or not. That is because dialysis just can replace the kidneys to dispel certain amount of toxins but cannot protect the kidney from further damage nor repair it. However, as a Nephrotic Syndrome patient you should not give up treatment, that is because there are some other treatments except than dialysis can help the patient reverse their disease in the early stage.
What treatment is helpful for reversing Nephrotic Syndrome?
Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy is helpful for reversing Nephrotic Syndrome, as a kind of innovation of traditional Chinese Herb Medicine, this treatment can improve the kidney function by repairing the damaged kidney tissues and protecting them from further damage.
This treatment can treat the disease from the root it will clean the toxins in your body first to make a good environment for repairing the damaged kidney cells, and then clean the micromolecule toxin, the middle molecule toxin and the macromolecule toxin together. By repairing the damaged kidney cells and improve the kidney function, these complications will disappear soon.
In one word, with the help of Micro-Chinese Medicine Osmotherapy Nephrotic Syndrome patient with creatinine 3.5 can get a chance to reverse their disease. For patient with higher creatinine level, they also can live better and longer by improving their kidney function.
If you want to get Nephrotic Syndrome under control or live a high quality life without dilaysis, you can send email to us or consult our doctor on WhatsApp/Viber directly, we will try our best to help you.
Our email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Our WhatsApp/Viber: +8618395615012
Any kidney problems? Please consult our online doctor. The satisfaction of patient is as high as 93%.
What you also want to know:
How can I get this treatment ?
How can I get this treatment in my country ?
How much is this treatment ?
What is the duration if I receive this treatment in your hospital ?
How can I go to your hospital ?
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You will produce a game in which ball-like particles enter from one side of the screen. You must catch the balls with a collector to get points. The collector position will be controlled by an analog input. There will be a time limit to the game. Display will be on an 320x240 TFT LCD, with sound effects.
The balls will follow standard billards-type dynamics, with zero friction between balls. An example of billard dynamics is shown here and slower.
The sound will be produced through the Vref output using a DMA channel.
In this lab and every lab, make sure you are running Protothreads 1_2_1!
There is fixed point animation example on the Protothreads page, including forces for gravity and drag. But note that the TFT display must be moved from SPI channel 1 to SPI channel 2 so that you can use the Vref output. Tahmid thoughtfully converted the TFT code to work with SPI2. Download tft_master_spi2.c and include it in the project, and, of course, remove the SPI1 master from the project. Move the TFT SCK input from pin 25 to pin 26 on the PIC32. All other TFT connections from lab 2 stay the same.
Use pins:
0 to 0.67*(AVDD–AVSS)
V (where
V is 4 bits) load CVRCON with
The game will be controlled by a trimpot potentiometer hooked
to an ADC input on the PIC32. Use the circuit to the left to
make a user-variable voltage. The Protothreads page shows how to set up the A/D converter to read a voltage in a thread.
Trimpot schematic: bottom view: image:
An example which reads the AN11 analog input and draws the voltage on the TFT using the SPI2 master and Protothreads 1.2 is ZIPPED here.
You are going to be programming in the equations of motion for the balls. Remember that the video coordinate system has x increasing to the right and y increasing downward. We will step the billards system forward in time by calculating the total change in velocity from a collision, without worrying exactly how forces change the velocity.
The change in velocity during impact can be derived for frictionless balls of equal mass by noting that the the impact force must act in a direction parallel to the line connecting the centers of the two impacting balls. The change in velocity must be parallel to the connecting line also, with the velocity component parallel to the line having its sign reversed by the collision and the velocity component perpendicular to the line unchanged. Projecting the initial velocity onto the line connecting the centers, negating the result, and resolving it back into x and y velocity components gives the velocity change. If i and j are the indices of the colliding balls, define:
then delta v for ball i is given by the following where the right-most term represents the projection of the velocity onto the line and the other term converts the projection back to x,y coordinates.
The calculation procedure for each time step is:
For each ball i from 1 to n When I coded this, I did not bother to calculate the square root of the sum of squares when calculating ||
For each ball j from i+1 to n
Compute approximate rij by checking:
if Δx and Δy are both less than 4
if (||rij||2 less than (2*(ballRadius))2 and hitCounteri is zero)
Compute vij
Compute Δvi
Add Δvi to vi
Subtract Δvi from vj
Set hitCounteri big enough to avoid particle capture
elseif (hitCounteri>0)
decrement hitCounteri
rij|| (too slow). Compare the squares.
rij||2 you can use the known value of
(2*ballRadius)2. In the assignment below, I set
ballRadius=2. This is equivalent to a shift-right by 4-bits.
vx(t+dt)=vx(t)-vx*drag and
vy(t+dt)=vy-vy*dragThe drag should be small, perhaps
drag=0.001 ( but converted to fixed notation).
x(t+dt)=x(t)+vx*dt and
Clearly, v and x all need initial conditions, which you will set, according the specifications below. It is doubtful that you will have enough time between frames to do all of the calculations in floating point. I suggest using 32 bit, signed numbers with the binary point set at the 16-bit boundary. I also suggest scaling velocity so that you can make dt=1, thereby avoiding a multiply. You can think of this as: (1) Units of distance are PIXELS, (2) Units of velocity are PIXELS/FRAME. As examples, any of the NTSC particle systems are done with fixed point numbers.
The previous analysis is adapted from: Studies in Molecular Dynamics. I. General Method, by B. Alder and T. Wainwright,
Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol 31 #2, Aug 1959, pp 459-466. See also Hard-Sphere molecular dynamics.
One final project in 2005 used a different scheme to calculate collisions.
You will need your digital camera to document your project.
2011: video
2014: video Shiva Rajagopal and Richard Quan
2016: video
Write a program in C using ProtoThreads with these specifications:
When you demonstrate the program to a staff member, you should play the game.
At no time during the demo should you need to press RESET.
Your written lab report should include the sections mentioned in the policy page, and :


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Real Estate CyberSpace Society
Nine Hawthorne Place, Suite 16L
Boston, MA 02114
Phone: 617-523-4441
The Real Estate CyberSpace Society has announced the opening of its Real Estate On-line Library with the complete text on-line publication of Dr. Mark Lee Levine's latest and most comprehensive 3-volume work "Exchanging Real Estate".
John Peckham, Executive Director, "cut the ribbon" on the library and explained that the full text on-line publication of Dr. Levine's new book is a milestone in on-line publishing. "Exchanging Real Estate" is joined by "Master Guide to Income Property Brokerage" (Prentice-Hall, 14 printings) in the Real Estate Cyberspace Society's Real Estate On-Line Library.
Peckham disclosed that access to the publications in the Society's On-Line Library is available to the public as an industry service and without cost. He stated that the Library joins the Society's Real Estate CyberSpace Radio (RECR) that commenced on-line broadcasting in April 1999 to provide 30-minute briefings and in depth coverage of major industry technology events to Society members and the industry in general. RECR currently broadcasts over 80 briefings selectable and playable at the visitors' direction.
Dr. Levine is the Director of the Burns School of Real Estate, at the University of Denver and has long been in the forefront of Real Estate education. "Dr. Levine's numerous books (22 of them) have helped thousands of practitioners to cope with many issues such as tax deferred exchanging. He has also published over 240 articles and publications and appeared on the platform over 300 times in the United States and internationally. More importantly, perhaps, Levine is a "real" broker and is active in the real estate "real" world as a CCIM, CRE, MAI, CIPS, and RECS plus many additional professional designations. He is also a tax and real estate attorney.
According to Peckham, Levine and his staff have made a giant contribution to real estate professionals operating in cyberspace with his "Global Real Estate Project," a highly usable and valuable reference tool for international Real Estate research." Peckham said "The Society chose to debut its new Real Estate On-Line Library with Dr. Levine's brand new 3 volume leading work on exchanging real estate because of it's in depth information on current exchange cases, revenue rulings, revenue procedures, articles and other authorities in this important tax field."
The Real Estate CyberSpace Society provides its 3000 members in 80 Chapters with information on real estate technology issues and strategies and a networking connection for professionals from all real estate specialties. He invited the real estate community and the public to visit the Real Estate CyberSpace Society at www.REcyber.com where they can access the significant Society recourses, including the Real Estate On-Line Library and Real Estate CyberSpace Radio, without charge.
Information regarding the full interviews in the October release of The Real Estate CyberSpace Alert or membership in the Real Estate CyberSpace Society is available from Society headquarters by calling 617-523-4441, at www.REcyber.com or by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Note: Although access to "Exchanging Real Estate" is available without cost at www.REcyber.com ; the complete 3 volume set in hard copy is available for $152 by contacting email@example.com The cost is $152.00 for all 3 volumes; this includes shipping in the USA, regular mail.


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Ready to start cooking? Jump to the recipe.
Turmeric Latte
(recipe name)
1 Person
Prep Time
5 Minutes
Cook Time
2 Minutes
- 1 cup light coconut milk or other milk of choice
- 1 teaspoon Brandless organic ground turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon Brandless organic ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon Brandless organic ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 tablespoon Brandless organic maple syrup*
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter (can also use coconut oil)
- 1 pinch Brandless organic ground black pepper
*adjust to your taste
- Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.
- Whisk over medium heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Whisk for about 1 minute or until all ingredients are smooth and well incorporated.
- Transfer mixture into a high-power blender.
- Blend for about 1 minute on high.
- Pour into mug of choice and enjoy!


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News Briefs
Digital pedagogy and public history will be a faculty focus at Virginia Wesleyan in the coming year, as two projects involving these areas have been selected for 2014 Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning (INTEL) grants. This is the second year the grants have been awarded, providing up to $1,000 for projects that encourage and advance a culture of innovation and engaged learning. The first grant will provide support for the project, "Advancing Digital Pedagogy at Virginia Wesleyan College," awarded to a multidisciplinary faculty team made up of Associate Professor of History and Director of the General Studies Program Richard Bond, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology Thomas Brown, Associate Professor of Management/Business/Economics Paul Ewell, and Assistant Professor of English Kellie Holzer. The group has designed a symposium on the research and pedagogy of the digital classroom and seeks to foster a campus-wide dialogue about digital learning. A second grant has been awarded to Assistant Professor of History Kathleen Casey for her project, "Making History Matter: Bringing Public History to Virginia Wesleyan College." Casey's proposal sets forth a plan for developing a public history program, affording students new opportunities for active learning by linking the theories and skills taught in the classroom to concrete, transformative experiences beyond campus. In addition to better preparing students for a wider range of careers, the program will foster meaningful relationships between VWC and neighboring institutions. For more information, contact Associate Dean of Innovative Teaching and Engaged Learning Kathy Stolley at 757.233.8768 or firstname.lastname@example.com. More


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Friday, November 7, 2008
Color Study
While visiting in Indiana I was attracted to some ornamental grass by it's great color. I'm not much of a photographer but I think this one will be blown up and framed because I really love it. While I was looking at it on the computer screen I got to wondering just how many colors there actually were so I isolated them using an online palette generator. Imagine the possibilities: decorating a room around the photo, creating an outfit or piece of jewelry using the colors, even using them to choose the mat colors for framing. Here it is:
Posted by Kay at 2:02 PM
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Iran Agrees to New Nuclear Talks
Iran will hold talks in January with six world powers about its nuclear program, the country's top nuclear negotiator said on Friday. The U.S., Russia, France, Britain, Germany, and China have held three rounds of talks with Iran since April, but have not been able to achieve success. The powers want to ensure that Iran's uranium-enrichment program is for clean energy, while Iran denies that the program is for nuclear weapons. Negotiator Saeed Jalil said, "We have accepted that these talks should be held in January, but until now, the details have not been finalized."


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Stand-off Detection of freely released SF6 using FALCON 4G-S
We have conducted trials of FALCON 4G-S developed by SEC Technologies. On December 10th 2015, SF6 was freely released in a field 4 km away from the detector. FALCON 4G-S has successfully detected 100g of SF6 at a distance of 4 km. More details of the trial are shown below.
On the 10th of December 2015, detection of SF6, which was freely released in a field between villages Iľanovo and Z. Poruba. Stand-off detector was placed in SEC Technologies, s.r.o. building on the 5th floor.
Explanations and additional information:
- During the field test air temperature in the target area was 8 – 10 °C (quite hot for December), wind was unsteady, visibility was very good, better than 10 km;
- Target areas were close to wooded area or clearings;
- SF6 was released from a 2 liter pressure bottle; details for each release;
- SF6 was released in upper part of the selected area and up the wind (e.g. the wind was blowing from East, therefore the SF6 bottle was placed at the East edge of the area);
- Effective field of view approximately 1,5 mRad;
- Measurements were done each 10 seconds;


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As I was going through some pictures from my camera tonight to put a post together for my personal family blog, I thought, hey why not give my craft reading friends a little peek into my real life every once in awhile too?! If you hate it, I'll just stick to craft posts-promise!
So today I thought I'd share with you just a little peek into the fun snow day we had today! My husband came home this afternoon for a little 2 hour break between work and school (I know 2 hours may not seem "little", but when he's gone by 8 and not home till midnight 2 hours doesn't feel very long.) It had been snowing ALL day-good sticky, big, chunky flakes of snow (our first REAL snow this winter!) and he walked in the door and announced we were going sledding! (and by "go" I mean walk 30 feet out our front door to our little hill) You'da thought he said Santa Clause was standing outside with presents the way the kids were screaming, and jumping up and down, and running around like crazy trying to gather up all their snow gear, they were SO excited!
I hate the snow. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that before, but since there hasn't really been any this year even I was excited to get out there and have some fun!
One of my absolute FAVORITE things in this world (even more than mint oreo IceCream which is seriously saying something) are rosy, red cheeks. I love them in the summer from a hard day's work of sweat and laughter, and I love them in the winter from meticulous snowman making, and spontaneous sled days.
But I especially love them, because in one moment, mommy's nice glove-warmed hands can warm them instantly upon them rushing up to you, out of breath, saying, "Mom, this was SO fun...but I'm really cold, can you warm me up?". Then I take their sweet, little, rosy-red faces in my hands, and I kiss their red, icy noses, and I look into their eyes full of excitement, and I hear the laughter falling from their lips, and in that moment...everything is perfect.
Have a WONDERFUL weekend friends! Thanks for reading!