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Archive for September, 2008
Deisel drum machineSeptember 30, 2008
Turn it inside outSeptember 30, 2008
Take an old chestnut, any old song you know well, and give it a new twist. There are many ways to do this. We'll get to a few in a minute.
But first, why would you do this? Not to find a creative new way to perform an old song, although there's nothing wrong with that. You do this to warm up your creative muscles, get those creative juices flowing. It's much less intimidating with someone else's material. And once you get going, once you're on a roll, creatively, it's easy to let the old song slip away as you develop your own original ideas. And before you know it, you're working on a completely new and original song.
Here are some ideas to get you started. Think of an old rock standard, but imagine it with a reggae beat. Start to develop that idea. Or convert a Motown hit, making it hip hop. Or find a corny old love song from the 30's, drop the moon/June rhymes, update the language and turn it into a something more current.
Here's another one. Find a song in 4/4 and play it in 3/4 or vice versa. It's amazing how that can transform a song. You'll find yourself automatically getting creative with the phrasing so the song makes sense in the new time signature. You could challenge yourself to keep it as close to the original as possible, except for the new waltz time. Or you could let yourself go, straying as far from the original as much as you want, taking the melody in a totally new direction and letting the chords follow.
The point of this exercise is to get your motor started, jump started, if necessary. Think up some of your own tricks to get your creativity flowing while ostensibly working on existing tunes, all the while knowing it will lead to a new melody, riff or rhythm that you can develop into your own piece.
Let us know if you find this exercise helpful, and if you have any that work for you — we'd love to hear about them!
Staff WriterSeptember 29, 2008
Want to find out what it means to be a staff writer? Read this book. The chapter titles alone are intriguing and the book delivers on its promises. I finished it in about two hours.
If You've Got a Dream, I've Got a Plan by Kelley Lovelace (subtitled How to Get Your Songs Heard by Music Industry Professionals and Get your foot inside a closed door business) is a quick read, but it's so full of practical information that I'm sure I'll keep it close by to read again and again.
The author lays out the nuts and bolts of how it works being a staff writer in Nashville. Although his focus is on Nashville and country music, much of it applies to the music industry in general.
He asks all the right questions and gives straight forward, thought provoking answers. Here are some examples of the questions. I wish I could reprint the entire book here, but I can't.
– Do I have to live in Nashville to make it as a songwriter?
– How do I get the right people to hear my songs?
– What is a demo and how much will it cost?
– How do I prevent someone from stealing my songs?
– What are mechanical royalties and performance royalties?
– What is a Song Plugger?
– What is a single-song contract?
– What are the advantages of cowriting?
Lovelace co-wrote such hits as "He Didn't Have to Be," "Wrapped Around," "Two People Fell in Love," "The Impossible," and "I Just Wanna be Mad." The book's forward was written by Brad Paisley.
I checked on Amazon.com and it looks like you can get it new for $2.99, which is amazing and way less than what I paid.
How to get your song to A&RSeptember 25, 2008
First, what does A&R stand for? Artist & Repertoire. The term was coined to describe the function of people at record labels who are in charge of finding and developing new talent.
Development typically includes finding the right material for the artist to perform if they don't write their own songs, hooking them up with the right producer, engineer, studio, etc., deciding which of their songs are the most viable, and shepherding the making of the record.
After the record is done, it's not unusual for the A&R person to be responsible for getting the other departments such as retail sales and radio promotion excited about the record so that they do their jobs well. If all the parts of the record company "machine" work well together, the act just might have a hit.
Today, A&R people seem to concentrate less on developing artists, and often look for artists that have "developed" themselves. It's not unusual for the boards of directors to look more at the bottom line and less at talent development. Hence, A&R people are under pressure to find hits, rather than finding potential hits and nurturing them until they bear fruit.
How do I get my music to an A&R guy/gal?
The best way to get your music to an A&R person is to cause them to come to you. You can do that by building a fan base through constant touring and relentless self-promotion. Couple that with making, marketing, and selling several thousand of your own CDs, and it's likely that you'll show up on their radar. When you do, they'll call you.
Can you get through to them with an unexpected phone call? Very doubtful. If they took calls from every person who wanted to pitch their music to them they wouldn't have time to do any of their other work.
Can you send an unsolicited demo? Yes, but it will most likely come back to you or end up in the round file. A&R people are extremely busy, and generally listen only to the material that comes to them from a trusted resource such as a high-level manager, a publisher, a music attorney, and if you'll forgive the little plug — TAXI.
What makes an A&R person want to sign you?
Hit songs and "star" quality. Those are requisites. Beyond that, you can increase your odds by doing your own artist development and proving that the public loves you and is willing to plunk money to buy your CD.
© 2006 TAXI. All rights reserved.
Tell a storySeptember 24, 2008
Storytelling is an ancient art form that crosses all cultures. Before the written word, storytelling was the only way to preserve the accumulated knowledge of the tribe. (OK, there were cave drawings, but try putting your kids to sleep with a bedtime cave drawing.)
Despite the invention of the printing press, we still tell stories. Stories are a powerful way for parents to teach children their values. Even in this day of TiVo, DVD, the Internet and other mass media entertainment, we still tell stories. Perhaps that helps to explain the success of the Chicken Soup series.
I suspect the first song was simply somebody putting a melody to a story he or she was telling (maybe with a little prehistoric hip hop). And I contend the best songs are those that tell a story. A song that tells a story draws the listener in and communicates your message with subtlety and power.
Some songs don't lend themselves to a story line however. In this case I would still advise, if not a plot, at least some movement, some change or transition. Another way to think of it is that the lyrics bring the listener to a new point of view by the end of the song, building a case as the song progresses from beginning to end.
Yet another way to create some movement in the 'story' is to think in terms of conflict and resolution. I'm not saying your song should consist of a conflict and a simple happy ending like a fifties sitcom (Father Knows Best comes to mind). I mean conflict and resolution in a more literary sense.
Finally, you don't have to make up your own story. You can base a song on any story that moves you, whether you heard it from a friend or in the news, read it in a book or an email, found it on the web, or remember it from childhood, maybe told at bedtime or around a campfire…
Derek SiversSeptember 23, 2008
Songwriting advice from Derek Sivers, from a talk given to incoming first-year students at Berklee College of Music (September 5, 2008).
If you are a writer, you should not only write a song a week, but spend twice as long improving it as you do writing it.
See the entire talk on YouTube:
BrainsurfingSeptember 22, 2008
This exercise is akin to collaborating on a song, although the other person or persons involved need not be songwriters. The concept of brainstorming is not new. BrainSURFING, however, is a little different. Let me describe what I mean.
There are only 3 rules. To begin, be sure everyone is in agreement on the following intentions:
- Together, we will pull ideas right out of the ether
- We will bring forth everything that comes to mind, no matter how mundane, silly, bizarre, or unmusical they seem, and
- This is going to be fun.
One person will be the designated scribe to write down ideas as they fly. Better yet, turn on a recording device to capture everything.
Now, start talking about any song idea, concept or lyric and the feelings or images that come with these. Strive to play off each other, adding to and enhancing each new idea that emerges. Be conscious of the rising energy within the group and revel in the good feelings as excitement grows. As Jana Stanfield says, 'stay in Yes.'
A sense of humor is definitely welcome here, and, although optional, some people will relax with a sip of wine or tea. It will not detract from this process. (I have personally had a lot of success with Red Bull…) Allow your minds to synchronize and begin to work together.
Feel the rush that comes from connecting and supporting each other with focused communication and keep surfing until the ideas seem to have run their natural course. At this point there will be a wealth of ideas on paper, some useful and some not. But just as important is the exercise of minds linking together in joy and excitement, inviting and nurturing our innate passion and creativity.
Minds working together like this form a MasterMind — a power greater than the sum of the parts — the mind power actually increases exponentially. Be careful…Brainsurfing can become habit forming!
Let us know if you find this exercise helpful, and if you have any that work for you — we'd love to hear about them!
Robert Cote
What's wrong with American idol?September 21, 2008
Bleary eyed and fuzzy headed, I just got back from Sound Connections NT Music Conference in Kansas City. My head is full of songwriting, performing and marketing tips, names, faces, new songs, song ideas, recommended artists, books, recording gear, etc. Once I get some sleep, I will sort it all out for future posts.
Meanwhile, I want to mention one resource that will be instrumental to your marketing efforts – Bob Baker's The Buzz Factor. I've been following Bob for years. His books and articles, his web site, ezine, podcast and blog all focus on innovative, up to the minute information for the self-marketing indie musician, often based on the experiences of real indie bands and singer/songwriters.
Here's an article he wrote.
What's Wrong with American Idol?
Bob Baker's updated manifesto on how the popular show is creating widespread misconceptions about what it takes to succeed as a musical artist today.
It's one of the most popular TV shows of recent years, drawing tens of millions of viewers every week. Even I admit, American Idol is fun to watch. The show provides all the elements of good pop culture entertainment: passion, emotion, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, dreams attained and lost …
So, what's wrong with American Idol?
Considering it's lumped into the "reality" TV category, the show is doing a great disservice to aspiring musicians (and the public at large) by distorting perceptions of how the music business really works. It sends an outdated message of "dependence" on the industry vs. the more realistic "independence" that artists have today to control their own careers.
The Talent Discovery Myth
For instance, the program leads you to believe that there are hundreds of people like Simon, Paula and Randy out there searching for raw talent they can mold into the next big pop star. Not true. Sure, record companies employ A&R people whose job it is to sign and nurture new artists — but as major labels consolidate, cut staffs, and get nervous about the bottom line, they no longer have the time or money to develop new acts.
Instead, labels look for artists who are already developing themselves, attracting fans, and selling CDs on their own. There's less risk with an act that has a track record.
Also, the American Idol auditions, in particular, create the illusion that most aspiring musicians lack talent and are delusional, struggling and starving. In reality, there are thousands of talented performers across the country who make good money, have hundreds of devoted fans, and are steadily building careers.
Here's just one example of this modern reality: Over the past seven years, the web site CD Baby has sold more than $12 million worth of CDs (1.3 million units) by independent, unsigned acts. A tremendous amount of quality music is being produced and sold outside the mainstream.
The Danger of Waiting for Your 'Big Break'
One of the biggest myths American Idol propels is that you need the approval of industry gatekeepers to "make it" in music. Sorry, you don't need Simon's or anyone else's permission to be worthy of a career in music. If you wait for someone to give you the green light to create and perform music, you'll be waiting a long time.
The sweet spotSeptember 16, 2008
When I sing a heart-felt song that I've written, I want to express all the passion I feel. My singing sometimes gets a little too emotional, as if the lyrics and the music don't fully communicate the message.
To prevent this, I use the dial back method. In rehearsal I keep singing it over again, each time making it more emotional until it's clear I've gone over the top, then I dial it back a notch. Taking it over the top in rehearsals is a way to discover just where the sweet spot is.
This tip was provided by Andrew Coupe of eVirtualStudio. Check out his bands – Tyfoo and Chapter Three.
Dial it back for tempoSeptember 13, 2008
This tip was provided by Andrew Coupe of eVirtualStudio. Check out his bands – Tyfoo and Chapter Three.
One way to determine the right tempo for your song is to increase the tempo by a few beats per second and try it out. If it's not too fast at that tempo, increase it a little more and try again. Continue doing this until you feel it's about right, then go up just a bit more. Once you find a tempo that is clearly too fast, dial it back a bit. This is easy to do if you're using a DAW.
Don't worry if you don't use a DAW. The method still works using an old-fashioned, low tech solution: a metronome. Possibly a bit more convenient than an actual metronome are the free metronomes available online. Here's my current favorite, called Metronome Online, powered by emusicinstitute.


text: Xander and his class mates are having a big surprise when the gym trainer is replaced by substitute Diamond Foxx, and sex with teacher is what went trough all boys mind. Today's session is wrestling! The males are thrilled to have a opportunity to deal with this stunning lady and have boobs rub around their bodies. Diamond Foxxx whips the ground with poor Xander and her boobs go all around him. He attempts to avoid, however he's now Diamond's whore and she will only let him out when she is finished with him. Teacher & student sex is what we offer and sure you'll be pleased after this fresh update.

subset: commoncrawl


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450 watt 6m
Figure 3 - The Circuit Diagram
As shown in Figure 3, the two amplifiers use quite conventional low-pass L-matching circuits to match to the 50 Ohm inputs and outputs of the Wilkinson power splitter/combiner. 'the design of these circuits is beyond the scope of this article has been covered elsewhere. What I would like to concentrate on is physical design issues that need to be taken into consideration when building an amplifier of this power. Figure 4 shows the PCB layout at half full size. To reproduce, just pass it through a photocopier on x2 Figure 4 -PCB at 1/2 Full Size magnification. The length of the board should be 27 cm. The PCB uses standard double-sided copperclad board. The cross-hatched areas are cut out holes in the PCB to allow the BLW96s, bias transistors, thermostat, and the power splitter resistors to be bolted to the underlying heatsink. The black areas are not etched but cut out using a sharp knife. and a steel ruler. These gaps provide isolation between the pads and the ground plane Bearing in mind the high voltages in the output circuitry especially, make sure they are not less than 2mm wide. A flashover... well I do not need this further! The PCB is mounted on the heatsink as shown in Figure 5. The BLW96 is bolted to the heatsink using 6BA screws and heatsink compound. In this design especially make sure that the transistors are firmly bolted to the heatsink, and that there are no chamfers on the bolt holes. Going from zero to I kilowatt in less than a microsecond presents a rather high thermal and physical stress to the devices!
The bottom of the printed circuit board
The top of the printed circuit board
The underside of the PCB is left unetched but must be electrically connected to the upper side ground plane over the full extent of the board. This is achieved by drilling ]mm holes about 10mm apart around all the pads carrying RF power. Short pieces of wire are through these passed through the holes and soldered to both sides of the board (Figure 7). It is especially important to put many of these links around and under the emitters of the BLW96s. The second unusual design technique is shown in Figure 7. The upper and lower ground planes are also shorted together all around the edge of the board. The best way of achieving this is to strip the braid from short lengths of UR-58 coaxial cable and fold this over the edge of the board as shown in Figure 8. Because of the high RF currents circulating in the amplifiers, especially in the output combiner, it is imperative that the correct (or equivalent) fixed and tuning capacitors are used. The ones quoted are low-loss types and do not heat up at all at the power levels encountered in this design. The trimmers are 57pf, Phillips foil trimmers type: 200-80908003 and the 47pf chip capacitors are 300V ATC transmitting types. These look like a small 3mm on-a-side cube.
The PCB is mounted within a large Marston heatsink (available from Famell Components) which is ideally shaped for use as an amplifier (figure 9). The heatsink has two side skirts which provide two sides of the enclosure. The heatsink has a thermal resistance of 0.4o/watt, but as the amplifier dissipates 500 watts at maximum power a fan is needed to keep the heatsink cool. The fan is thermostatically controlled by a small 40o closing thermostatic switch (Marston part #147-092) placed in the centre of the PCB and bolted to the heatsink.
Mounting the Transistors
The thermostat controls a small 60mm +48 volt fan which is mounted in Marston heatsink 300mm long, 60DN03000A100, Famell Electronics P148-129 an aluminium enclosure on one end of the heatsink (Figure 10). To force the air through the fins the top of the fins are covered by a piece of aluminium. Two pieces of 10 gauge aluminium sheet are screwed to the ends of the heatsink and an aluminium lid is screwed to the bottom thus fully enclosing the amplifier.
Figure 7 - Wire shorting links
Figure 8 - Edge shorting links
The input to the amplifier is via a chassis mounting BNC socket at one end of the housing, while the output is taken via a N-type socket mounted at the other end. Power, 4 50V @ 20A, + 12V for the fan, and switched +50V for the two bias generators are fed in by multi-pole socket. Because of the high RF field inside of the case, all power supply leads that are greater than 10cm long are screened. In the case of the main +50v supply wires, these are screened using 5mm diameter solid brass tube by feeding the multi-strand cable down the centre as shown in Figure 10. A benefit of using brass tube is that the supply wires are held rigidly and neatly in place.
Figure 11 shows the ancilliary circuits for the amplifier. The two bias circuits are driven from a switched +50V supply. The four transistors are bolted to the heatsink as shown in Figure 6. The other components of the bias circuit are mounted on the PCB above, and beside, the transistors. The two 5-watt 100 Ohm resistors are placed against the side wall of the heatsink and held in place with an aluminium bracket. All of the amplifier ancilliary circuitry is be built into a separate cabinet which is connected to the amplifier by a short umbilical cable.
Figure 9 - Heatsink Cross-section
It is recommended that each amplifier is initially tuned individually by disconnecting each in turn from the Wilkinson splitter and combiner and connecting to a 50 Ohm dummy load. Once each amplifier is working correctly, they should be reconnected to the input/output circuitry and final adjustments made. Be very careful at this stage and or) not detune too much. Just move the trimming capacitor a little bit at a time to achieve the required matching. It is all too easy to seriously detune an output circuit which could cause an explosion. Once aligned, and used with a suitable ALC circuit to prevent overload, the amplifier should provide excellent service with IMD performance at as good, or better, than a valve based design. It is interesting to note that I have never seen a need to use phased switching of the power supplies and changeover relays to prevent hot switching.
Figure 10 - Fan housing assembly
Figure 11 - Screening the 50V supply cables
Figure 11 - Amplifier Ancilliary Circuitry
20amp +50V power supply
|A regular circuit that can be used to create a +50V @ 20 amp power supply.
Having had the time to evaluate it, I find this aerial very useful for both semi-local and sporadic-E on six metres.
The antenna is about 65 feet of ordinary aerial wire, insulated at the far end. The near end connects to a matching unit situated in the loft of the house. The aerial wire enters the loft under a tile near the ridge of the roof of the house, through an insulating sleeve.The theoretical diagram.
The aerial is voltage-fed (high impedance) and the antenna matching unit (AMU) transforms this to match 50 ohm cable. The two trimmers are polycon variables - these are OK up to 50 watts. For operation at higher powers, obviously more substantial trimmers, such as mica compression types, will be needed. Old radio receivers of the 1950 vintage or before are often a source of these types of trimmer. Cirkit can supply them, but they are not cheap! The trimmers are likely to be the only expensive parts required for this antenna, however.
The method of adjustment is to set C2 to half capacity and then adjust C1 for best noise on receive. Then feed in a carrier (or an audio tone on SSB) and adjust C1 for a low SWR reading. 1:1 is achievable at this QTH.
No problems with RF in the shack have been encountered at 50 watts SSB. The counterpoise were effectively earths the bottom end of the parallel-tuned circuit; it hangs from the AMU in the loft. It is 4ft 6in in length.
The AMU is constructed on a tobacco-tin lid. The coil is nine turns of 18 SWG copper wire taken from old coax cable. It is 3/8 inch in diameter, spaced over approximately ¾ inch.
Increasing C2 too much will prevent the tuned circuit from resonating at 50MHz. This, in turn, depends on the capacitance of the whole aerial wire to earth - but no problems were found and it was easy to get unity SWR. Shorting out C2 might be acceptable if a low-capacity system can be constructed, but this did not work at my QTH.
The wire gives a gain of 4 dB in four directions at 35 degrees to the run of the wire. There are also several smaller lobes which are useful. This is a good listening antenna with gain that can be arranged in desired directions.
Copyright © 2000 Whiskey
Whiskey. All
rights reserved.


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Today we have 9 hotels & apartments in Bourgas
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Location: Luxor Hotel is situated downtown Bourgas and some 150 m. away from the beach. Railway and central bus station are very close to it.
Accommodation: The hotel offers 27 twin and double rooms and 9 studios with a bedroom and a single bed. All of them are equiped with bathroom with a shower and hairdryer, air-conditioning, cable TV, direct dial phone, mini bar, internet access and a personal safe box.
Wine & Dine: Luxor hotel disposes of a modern Italian restaurant with capacity of 80 seats and 24/7 lobby bar, where you can use wireless Internet.
Hotel facilities: The hotel provides ironing and dry cleaning, room service, payment by credit/debit card, business services. Luxor Hotel disposes of SPA centre with steam bath and fitness centre.
Conferance hall: For business meetings and seminars at disposal is a conference hall with capacity of 30-35 seats. In the hotel there is also a business centre.
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q)What is your name and what do you do?
a)My name is Jim Darling, and I'm a artist and designer.
q)When did you really get into art?
a)At the end of high school.
q)How did you come to the realization that you should try your luck at art on a more serious level?
a)This is an on going process... At various points you have to take the next jump. I feel like I make the decision to take art more serious every year or so. The first was probably making the decision to apply for the "advanced arts" class for my senior year of high school... Deciding on attending an art school for college was another. This December my wife and fellow artist Tina Darling (tindarling.com) are packing up and moving to a smaller town to concentrate on our upcoming shows without distractions. We plan on being nomadic and focused solely on our art for as long as the bank account will allow... We have been planning and saving for this step as best as we can.
q)How did you discover the particular style that you have?
a)It has evolved into what it is today.
It started as doodling in my room at home and grew from there. Getting to where my style is today was a slow but natural progression.
q)How would you describe your style?
a)Larger ideas that I try to boil down to a more simplistic and clear subject matter, juxtaposed by intricate detail.
q)Who or what influences your art?
a)My wife and other friends that I met in college are my biggest influences. Music is a huge influence on my work. Other than That I have a list of other artists that I admire, but I try to be influenced more by my friends, family and people who are closer to me.
q)How often do you create a new piece?
a)Right now I'm working with newer mediums, so about one or two fully polished pieces a month... But that number will increase largely as I ramp up for upcoming shows. As far as pen pieces... I draw almost every day.
q)What kind of success have you had with your art?
a)I've met a ton of great open minded and hard working people who have the same passion to create as I do.
q)What would be the ultimate goal for you and your art?
a)To financially be unconfined so that I can work freely on my art... That combined with spending time with friends & family and meeting new people.
q)What do you see as an accomplishment in the way of art?
a)Making things you are happy with.
q)What kind of message, if any, do you try to convey through your art?
a)I don't try to have a direct message to often. I am more into setting a tone and showing people places or things living within that tone... Hopefully leaving people to experience the images for what they are... I hope that makes sense.
q)Sum up your art in one word.
q)Any additional comments?
a)Hello, Cheers!
q)Upcomming shows?
a)(Feb. 5th 2009) - Small group show at Carmichael Gallery of Contemporary Art
(April 11th 2009) - Two person show with my wife Tina Darling at Open Space Gallery
(September 2009) - Small group show at TAG Gallery in
q)…your contacts…


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Goodbye to Television
17 Aug
A little more than a month and a half ago, when we moved to our new spot downtown, we got rid of our TV. It was a really big TV, too. Obnoxiously big. We got it at a yard sale, after our first TV (which was given to us by our old church) decided it had put in its share of broadcast time and no longer wanted to work. It was really a last-ditch yard sale trip, because I just couldn't bear to spend money on a new TV before seeing what the driveways of our town had to offer.
At the last sale of the morning, we pulled up to a nondescript house with kids' toys scattered out front. And then we spotted it–a giant silver screen. Mr. Jones was positively giddy. We decided on our price limit before leaving the car, so no hearts would be broken. With each step we took up the driveway, the TV grew larger and larger. It took an extension cord, a search for a remote, and a bit of fumbling, but the picture worked. After a trip to the ATM and a ride with me and the massive electronic box in the back of our pickup truck, it was ours.
Months later, in the middle of watching a random show, one or the other of us would laugh and exclaim, "We have a giant TV!" It felt a little silly, frankly, in our small apartment. But it was cheaper than buying a smaller, new one, and as two people who had grown up with less-than-standard TV sizes, we thoroughly enjoyed it.
As much as we loved watching movies on the big screen, life kept getting busier. The batteries in our remote died, and we never replaced them. When the end of our lease drew near, I started to get in the "uncluttering" zone, eyeing everything in the house with a "do we really need this" laser stare. Caleb was actually the first to suggest leaving without the giant box. Our new place wouldn't have cable (the old one included it with the rent), and the idea of moving the TV wasn't very appealing.
So we sold it. Now, my iMac sits in the living room in our new place, and I haven't missed having a "real" television one bit. Granted, it's not like we're truly roughing it–thanks to fantabulous inventions like Hulu and Netflix, we're still able to enjoy watching our favorite shows now and then. But when we do sit down to "watch TV," it's much more intentional. We know that we'll watch one 20 minute (yay, no commercials) episode of 30 Rock and then move on to something else. Or enjoy a few clips from the previous night's Daily Show, then head out for a walk.
As entertainment continues to appear on more and more platforms, the shared experience of live television is beginning to erode. In a way, it's a little sad–the idea that you are watching something at the exact same time as THE ENTIRE COUNTRY (well, almost) is a fun one. But I don't miss the evenings of looking up at the clock and realizing I just spent three hours watching…what did I just watch? Sometimes the best form of self-control is simply removing the tempting box and it's many channels.
Now you know–I'm one of those crazy people who doesn't have a TV. Or a microwave, but that's another story.


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Family Time Vacation Rentals – Grandma's Cottage
Immerse yourself in comfort while in Grandma's Cottage.Grandma's Cottage offers unparalleled hospitality and comfort in a tranquil setting in one of the largest scenic wonders in America. This private cottage is in harmony with its natural surroundings. In the winter ski or snowboard at Brian Head. The rest of the year you can hike or mountain bike these same trails into hundreds of acres of woodlands.The luxurious 1 bedroom cottage comfortably sleeps two people. This cottage features a queen bed and private bath, and a spacious room with a couch, rocking chair and dining table.
This cozy romantic cottage offers a cozy queen sized bed, small fridge, toaster, microwave, Direct TV, hair dryer, coffee maker and private bathroom and its own private entrance.Grandma's Cottage, like all of our accommodations, is non-smoking. Not pets are allowed at this property.


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Here's a wee round-up of things that might be burning a hole in my wallet sometime soon!
Lynyrd Skynyrd – Last of a Dyin' Breed (Classic Rock Magazine Fan-Pack)
I have always enjoyed Skynyrd in the past and have been pretty keen on the post-crash line-ups too. I really rated The Last Rebel and Edge of Forever especially, both excellent albums. I have to say that they've lost me a bit on the last couple of releases. Didn't rate Vicious Cycle much and didn't even buy Gods and Guns. I am rarely in the mood for this kind of bluesy Rock these days so I think I'm going to have to leave this on the shelf. Pretty surprised to see ex-Black Crowe Johnny Colt popping up here though, when did that happen?!
TEMPTATION RATING: 2 out of 10 Yeeee…..naw.
V/A – Re-Machined: A Tribute to Deep Purple's Machine Head (Classic Rock Magazine Fan-Pack)
Usually these Fan-Packs are new albums packaged with a bonus magazine. This one feels like a magazine with a bonus CD so this is priced way over the mark at £15. Iron Maiden and Metallica's contributions are intriguing but I really don't do tribute albums so I'm going to find this easy to resist I think. Machine Head isn't even Purple's best record! Discuss.
TEMPTATION RATING : 3 out of 10 For Maiden and Metallica.
ZZ Top – La Futura
Saw this in Fopp today for a £10… momentarily tempted but I managed to put it back. I have plenty of ZZ Top as it is, some of it has been underplayed. I know Martin Popoff really rates modern-day Top which is encouraging but I might just leave this until I'm in a genuine mood for it. It's not going anywhere right?
TEMPTATION RATING: 7 out of 10 Not now but I'll probably pick this up in the futura.
Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance 30th Anniversary (CD/DVD)
A great Priest album. The main money shot here is the DVD of their performance at the US Festival. You often see images of Priest performing at this festival in articles and websites about them so this is a pretty iconic show for the band. It is also only £10 which would be an ok price tag for the DVD on its own anyway so it doesn't feel like I'm being totally ripped off. The elephant in the room is the Live Vengeance '82 DVD which has all these songs from the same era, is also pretty iconic and has a longer set-list. I could be swayed either way on this. Maybe I'll hold off until I have a really bad day or something like that.
TEMPTATION RATING: 8 out of 10 Hard to imagine I won't treat myself to this at some point.
Ozzy Osbourne – Speak of the Devil (DVD)
Been a bit of a debate here about the relative merits of Ozzy's live releases. It put me in the mood for this. It's an odd line-up featuring Brad Gillis on guitar, filling in for Randy Rhoads after his tragic and fatal accident. But it's still Diary-era Ozzy and looks pretty entertaining. It also looks like it might keep coming down in price so I might hover around it like a vulture for a while longer.
TEMPTATION RATING: 9 out of 10 This DVD isn't going anywhere and neither am I. See you at the bargain bin.
Rollins Band – The Only Way to Know for Sure
Been on a Rollins kick and this live album comes heavily recommended. It's also a strong contender for the Live After Live After Death column I've been doing (if it's as good as Aaron and Mike say it is!). Going to have a poke around on Discogs and see if I can get this for a good price. Can I also just add that the title is an inspired title for a live album.
TEMPTATION RATING: 10 out of 10 The only way to know is to buy it!


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It's Week 3 of the Joy in 100 Words Guest Series. There has been a great response to these posts. If you're just joining the fun here is what it is; I challenged my fellow writer friends to write about Joy using only 100 Words. They accepted my challenge and came up with some incredible responses. I hope you enjoy their posts this week as much as I did!
Joy All Around Us
Red and gold leaves releasing themselves to the winter.
The wail of an infant at the Christmas Eve service.
Joy is all around us if we slow down enough to hear and see it.
Stephanie Clinton is the creator of Hugs, Kisses and Snot where she is a writer, blogger and doer of mom-things. Online you will find her musing about faith, family, humor and making her home a happy (if not sometimes frantic) place. In real life you will find her volunteering in her children's school, her community and her church.
Joy in your Calling
Have you found your calling?
It's probably right in front of you.
Your calling is what you do well, what others notice you do well, what you enjoy.
Stop waiting.
As soon as I kicked perfectionism and comparison to the curb, I embraced my calling and found my joy.
As soon as I recognized that my gifts were unique and valuable, I started using them for good each day.
I've found my calling in being a wife, mom, writer and advocate.
I've found my joy in being a unique creation of the King.
Where will you find your joy, friend?
Lauren Flake lives near Austin, Texas, with her husband, two little girls and two rowdy Labs. She loves green tea, dark chocolate and cowboy boots and writes about her Christ-filled journey as a wife, mom and Alzheimer's daughter at Love of Dixie.
Joy Is A Bowl Of Pasta
Ask 100 people to define comfort food and you're likely to get 100 different answers. If you hail from the south, it will probably evoke images of biscuits and casseroles. For someone from Delhi, it may be curried fish and naan. My most sentimental meal is angel hair pasta with butter, garlic and cheap parmesan cheese. It was a dish borne out of a deeper poverty than I realized, but it filled our stomachs then, and my feeds my soul now. My mom left this earth too soon, but her recipe continues to feed me – one bowl of pasta at a time.


text: In my other life, I am a Page 1 Editor for a sizeable Midwest daily newspaper. This photo from a high school event ran the other day on the front page. Look closely at the lower left-hand corner. See the bass? Funny how we are such unimportant figures that photographers find it OK to crop us out!


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10 Reasons to Invest in Decorative Outdoor Lighting
Author: Administrator | Category: Home decor, Home Lighting, Lighting Fixtures to Decor, Outdoor Lighting | Tags: benefits of outdoor lighting, decorative outdoor lighting, Outdoor Lighting, Outdoor Lighting Ideas, outdoor lighting ideas for business dwellings, outdoor lighting ideas for home
Outdoor lighting, why must you invest in it! Well, there are several reasons to invest in the outdoor lightning. They help to add beauty and safety to your home. As winter is going to end soon and spring will arrive slowly, it is the right time to start thinking about lawn irrigation system. However, is it possible to complement the natural beauty of your home with the patio lighting for the late night parties? Well, it is possible.
06 Feb 2014


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SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's central bank is changing the way it conducts monetary policy as the world's second-largest economy looks inward for growth, and it is being felt first by people such as Madam Ju, a senior money market trader at a commercial bank in Shanghai.
"It's really a strange feeling that you have to look for the central bank to inject money into the market, after for so many years a flood of liquidity had kept the central bank needing to drain money from the market nearly every week," she said.
Ju and other Chinese traders who are finding it harder to borrow cheap money before holidays or the end of the month are at the sharp end of a big change in policymaking: the shift to a domestic-driven economy where interest rates are the main conduit of monetary policy.
For the People's Bank of China (PBOC), it is focusing less on draining liquidity from the market - which has been a necessary result of its controlling the exchange rate over the past years - and working towards using tools like the repo market to signal its interest rate intentions.
The changes have been facilitated by an easing of heavy capital inflows, once a major problem for policymakers as they sought to protect the growth engine of exports.
Rather than being a temporary response, the steps taken by the PBOC could take on a permanence that suggests it has seized the opportunity of slower inflows to advance its policy restructuring.
"Major changes in the PBOC's market activities are being unveiled as China shifts its economic focus to domestic consumption," said economist Wang Haoyu at First Capital Securities in Shenzhen.
"The PBOC has made itself a supplier of money in its liquidity management, reversing a trend of having to drain money from the market all the time, among other changes."
Indeed, rather than absorbing funds, in 11 of the 16 full weeks so far this year, the PBOC injected cash into the market. In total, it has injected a net 363 billion yuan ($58 billion) so far this year.
The policy shift began after the global financial crisis, when Beijing began weaning the economy off its dependency on exports and promoting greater domestic spending. Like other changes in China, it's a gradual move.
An early signal came in November 2010, when PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China would create "pools" to lock up excess funds, which could then be tapped in times of downturn.
The reserve requirement ratio (RRR) was ratcheted up nine times between November 2010 and July 2011 to a record high of 21.5 percent, draining around 3.5 trillion yuan from the banking system.
As the economy has slowed, the central bank has been less accommodating, cutting the RRR only twice to 20.5 percent and injecting less than 800 billion yuan.
That lack of easy money has kept China's benchmark seven-day repo rate firmly above 3 percent since late 2010, compared with levels of less than 2 percent for years before that. The rate has moved between 3.3 to 3.8 percent this week.
It has also helped curtail inflation pressures and asset price bubbles by making the cost of borrowing for speculation more expensive.
"China has already started a process to adjust its economic structure, making it unnecessary to keep abundant liquidity in the system, which was seen as a must just a few years ago," said a trader at a Chinese commercial bank in Shanghai.
In one big sign of that change, the PBOC late last year suspended weekly issues of central bank bills for the first time since it launched regular open market operations in 2003.
These bills had once been the main means to drain yuan released by its foreign exchange intervention to manage inflows from trade surpluses, foreign investment and speculative funds — a process known as sterilization.
Because the bills release liquidity back into the market on their maturity, the PBOC has over the past several years needed to issue new ones just to keep the cash in the market in check, on top of issuing more to sterilize the forex inflows.
By finding an opportunity to stop issuing bills for a period, the central bank could be paving the way for itself to no longer need to issue them routinely in the future.
Close to 2.7 trillion yuan of the bills matured in 2011. This has fallen by more than two-thirds to 785 billion yuan this year, and at the moment, there are no bills set to mature in 2013. That marks a shift that will give it more control in conducting its market operations in the future.
A slowdown in inflows of foreign cash into the economy requiring sterilization has been helpful in freeing its hand.
Central bank data shows its foreign exchange assets fell over the last three months of 2011, the first such falls in nine years. Assets have risen again this year, but the 238 billion yuan increase in January and February was about one-third of the increase a year earlier.
Similarly, other data shows liquidity created by foreign currency purchases fell for the first time in four years at the end of 2011, and in February it was just 25.1 billion yuan, compared to 214.5 billion a year earlier.
Freed from having to constantly fend off excess liquidity in its open market operations, the central bank has been able to turn its attention towards guiding interbank interest rates.
For example, the central bank has signaled its position on market expectations for an interest rate cut to boost slowing growth by keeping the repo rate largely stable. So far this year, the 91-day repo rate has fallen only once by 2 basis points in mid-March. By holding out, it signaled to the market that it did not intend to cut rates.
And as policymakers strengthen their hold over domestic money markets, they are loosening their grip on the exchange rate.
Last month, China doubled the yuan's trading band to 1 percent and permitted dollar short-selling for the first time, having earlier laid out the case for change.
Premier Wen Jiabao said in March that China would intensify reforms of its currency regime and allow the yuan to float more freely. PBOC governor Zhou also said conditions were ripe for the yuan's exchange rate to float more widely.
Those comments followed a PBOC paper in February that outlined a three-step currency reform process: easing curbs on outbound investments over one to three years, relaxing controls on loans for foreign trade, and then opening its real estate, stock and bond markets over the next five to 10 years.
"The present time is a strategic opportunity for our country to open up the capital account," the report said.
Traders said the PBOC's increased repo market action is a pointer that it will try to guide interest rate expectations in a similar way to how the Federal Reserve and some other central banks in mature economies signal their intentions in their open market operations.
"If you're short you have no choice but borrow at a rate guided by the central bank. If you're flush with funds you can choose not to follow the central bank but look for whatever products have higher returns," said a Chinese bank trader.
"The PBOC can now be more effective in imposing its intention on the interest rates, while letting the exchange rate move more freely, thanks to a slowdown in capital flows and its strategy to have a tight grip on cash flows by high RRR."
Editing by John Mair


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Create an easier, more immersive virtual experience
Learn how OPTIS brings freedom to create an easier, more immersive virtual experience.
May 5th, 2017 | OPTIS group
Come and meet OPTIS booth number #603 to learn more about how our company makes the virtual testing experience possible and easy to implement. During the show, you will also be able to learn about the use of virtual reality to facilitate collaborative review between designers, engineers, and manufacturers. The video above perfectly shows how OPTIS brings freedom to create an easier, more immersive virtual experience.
Connect with OPTIS and other experts and see the latest GPU-powered breakthroughs, on the hottest topics in simulation and computing today.
Scheduled for May 8-11 in San Jose, California, OPTIS at GTC 2017 will feature live demos and presentations on:
- AI and deep learning
- Virtual Reality
- Self-driving cars
- Light, material and human vision simulation
We hope to see many of you there!


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UPLOADa file
To send us a file, simply complete the form below. We accept files from Adobe Creative Suite 6 and older plus the files below.
For file specifications, please refer to the File Spec Sheet listed here: File Spec Sheet
Small 15" Retractable Banner template.
Standard 33" Retractable Banner template
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.


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Welcome To Steel Tree.
Steel Tree @ Settlers opened in August 2006. It was August 2007 when Clint and Charlotte joined together to create what Steel Tree is today.
Our aim was to create a dining experience for you to remember – relaxed atmosphere, excellent service and great food. We feel we have achieved what we set out to do – creating an enjoyable dining experience for you!!
Our staff are the best! They take pride in their work and they actually enjoy being here – you can tell by their smiles. They work hard to maintain the high standard we expect and want you to experience. We are a close group who respect one another and also have fun together – there is never a dull moment here!!
Now we would like you to sit back and relax while we look after you to make this the best dining experience for you!!


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Series: NYPD Blue & Gold #3
Published by Entangled Publishing (Select Suspense) on August 28th 2017
Pages: 363
Buy on Amazon
NYPD Detective Dom Carew can't forget the violent way his lover was killed in Afghanistan fifteen years ago. The pain and trauma of her death still haunt him, and since then he hasn't let a woman under his skin. Until one incredible, hot and steamy night with stunning and sassy Daisy Fowler.
Sexy, gorgeous, and hunky doesn't begin to describe Dom Carew, but Daisy's been burned by Dom before. A year ago, he bolted from her bed in the middle of the night without so much as a gee you were great in the sack, babe. Never laying eyes on his handsome face again is the plan. If only their paths didn't keep crossing. If only she didn't still find him irresistible as sin.
Seeing Daisy again sets Dom's blood on fire, but he's about to embark on the most dangerous undercover op of his life—infiltrate the Pyramid, an international organization of assassins. Love has no place in his heart or his world, but when the dangers of his job threaten Daisy, he'll destroy anyone in his path to protect her.
This is my first Tee O'Fallon read but finding myself cringing and grimacing for most of the book doesn't bode too well. There are times when I can sort of 'ignore' the protagonists and concentrate fully on the suspense and there are others when characters do trump everything else. And when a book—or rather, a main character—annoys you in the first chapter, that just feels like an ominous start.
For 'Disavowed', the latter held true and I found it difficult to get past the idiocy of the male protagonist enough to even enjoy the suspense. My hopes for it getting better waned when it appeared that Dom Carew spoilt it all from the beginning and the journey then on was a torture, at least when it came to the development of the relationship he and Daisy never really had.
I couldn't get past the pure drivel that Dom kept spouting, let alone feel any sympathy for a 'womanising asshole' who, from the very beginning who uses women and leaves them in the middle of the night because of his own self-piteous reasoning that he was no good for anyone after his first and only love died in Afghanistan 15 long years ago.
Oh, boo hoo.
And of course Daisy stayed celibate in this one year and Dom continued going through women, though in his own words, he'd apparently never stopped thinking about her and behaving like he owned her. Adding to the hypocritical attitude is some jealous territorial behaviour that goes into overdrive when Daisy inadvertently gets involved in a case that he's working undercover. That he'd put Daisy in an untenable position by using the excuse of work and his own personal heartbreak to keep her away yet taking every advantage of their sexual chemistry felt beyond unforgivable because she truly deserved better than his cavemannish ways.
Daisy on the other hand, pined a little too much. Though I understood her need to want some belonging, I found myself wishing she'd moved on from Dom as thoroughly as she could have, then flaunting it in his face as much as he used up every excuse in the book to remain an emotional coward. And why, oh why, did Daisy have to justify Dom's behaviour when fifteen years surely must have been long enough even for her to stop making those same excuses for him?
Unfortunately, 'Disavowed' frustrated me to the point where I couldn't read on. It's clearly not the book for me in this case, particularly when I found myself way too annoyed to enjoy anything properly.


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|Product Name
|2013 Bell Beanie (4 Colors)
|Original Price
|Sale Price
(Minimum Order : 1 or more / Maximum Order 0 or less)Size Charts
Select quantity.
To add product, select an option in the above option box.
|2013 Bell Beanie (4 Colors)
|25 ( )
|Total(Quantity) : 0 (0 item)
2013 Winter Collection (New Arrival!!!)
- Product Name: Bell Beanie
- Gender: Unisex
- Color: Charcoal, Mustard, Red, Mint
- Available Size: ONE SIZE
"ROMP" is very popular and well-known brand among snowboarders in Korea and one of the largest snowboard-wear company in Korea. You will be totally satisfied by its great quality, design, and convenient-various features with its affordable and inexpensive price. You can even compare our exceptional quality and great price to major snowboard-wear brands such as Burton and Volcom.
ROMP International Inc. was ranked the first in brand-value among the snowboard-wear companies in Korea. The company was established in year 2,000 and we have our own factory with 1,250 employees. We value every each customer and strive to make better products in quality, function, and design with inexpensive price to fulfill every snowboarder to enjoy their riding without burdensome. This is the reason that our company has been very solid and successful over 12 years and have the largest numbers of enthusiastic fans of snowboarders in Korea.
This item is a brand-new, factory-sealed, quality-checked, and ships directly from the ROMP headquarter office in Seoul, Korea. Each product is extremely well- made with lots of innovative details and features.
- After your complete(clear) payment, we will ship your item within two business days (in Korea time).
- All return and exchange requests must be submitted within 7 days after you receive the item.
- We will double-check your ordered items prior to shipping to make sure that items have no defects.
If somehow, there is a defect with the item, you can return the item to us and get a refund or an exchange
to other item. We will also refund the previous shipping cost and the return-shipping cost by PayPal.
Please contact/consult us first before sending the defect item to us.
- Any return/exchange without a defect, the buyer is responsible for the previous shipping cost and
the return-shipping cost. This includes a 'change of mind' by the buyer and his/her size exchange request.


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Rob Brydon – Presenter, Comedy Actor and Stand-Up Comedian. Entertaining After-Dinner Speaker and Awards Host.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Born in Swansea, South Wales, Rob Brydon studied at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, but left midway to become a radio presenter for BBC Wales.
Whilst at the BBC Rob Brydon joined the Bath based improvisational comedy group More Fool Us, where he met Julia Davis with whom he would go on some years later to make the award winning Human Remains. Leaving Cardiff for London, Rob worked mostly as a voice artist on animations and commercials until his role as the traffic warden in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels prompted him to make a short video of comic characters he had created. The video, Rob Brydon – An Extremely Unlucky Traffic Warden finished with Cardiff cabbie Keith Barret chatting cheerily to a camera fixed to the dashboard
In 2005, Rob Brydon co-starred in Michael Winterbottom's A Cock and Bull Story. His other films include Sean Connery's First Knight (1995); 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Mirror Mask.
As a writer/producer, his comedy series, Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive started in 2006 on BBC3. He co-wrote and starred in the award winning Human Remains (BBC2) and Marion and Geoff, (BBC2); the second series was BAFTA nominated in 2004. His comedy talk show The Keith Barret Show was broadcast on (BBC2)
Rob starred in Kenneth Tynan: In Praise of Hardcore, played the lead in Murder in Mind on BBC1, was seen in BBC1's costume Drama The Way We Live Now and BBC 2's Cruise of the Gods.
Rob Brydon is a regular guest on TV and Radio including: Parkinson, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Top Gear, Richard & Judy, This Morning, Today with Des 'n' Mel, QI, Just a Minute, The Jonathan Ross Radio Show and The Steve Wright Radio Show.
Since 2007 Rob Brydon has played Bryn in the multi-award winning BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacy, and in 2010 Rob appeared alongside Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom's BBC2 sitcom The Trip.


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Lots for Sale: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10
Lots Sold: 3, 5, 6, 11, 12
Select your Homesite
A variety of home site sizes have been created at Red Mountain, with lots ranging from 1+ to 25+ acres, priced from $39,600 and up (prices subject to change and availability). Choose to view the surrounding rolling pastures, lush woodlands, creeks and ponds, or select a landscape of surrounding slopes, valleys and majestic Smoky Mountains capping the horizon. Red Mountain includes underground utilities (city water and power). Each home site will have an individual septic system.This is your opportunity to own a piece of nature, enhanced by the quiet casual lifestyle of small town living.
|Download Full Size Survey as PDF file:Survey for Red Mountain Cove


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The biennial New Zealand Historical Association conference is being held in Dunedin from Wednesday 20 November until Friday 22 November. The conference organizing committee is looking forward to welcoming a large and energetic group of historians, archivists and librarians, teachers, curators, and heritage professionals as well as the historically curious.
We have an excellent line-up of keynote speakers: Professor Elizabeth Elbourne (McGill University), author of Blood Ground: Colonialism, Missions and the Contest for Christianity in the Cape Colony and Britain, 1799-1853; Professor Maya Jasanoff (Harvard University), the author of Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750-1850 and Liberty's Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World; and Professor Henry Yu (University of British Columbia), author of Thinking Orientals: Migration, Contact and Exoticism in Modern America. Associate Professor Damon Salesa (University of Auckland), whose Racial Crossings won the 2012 Ernest Scott Prize, will be the Beaglehole Memorial Lecturer for 2013. Professor Atholl Anderson, noted archaeologist and expert on the history of Ngāi Tahu Whānui, will deliver the Wiremu Maihi Te Rangikaheke Memorial Lecture.
Full story


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BrB…what does it mean? Be right back. Better read Bible. Beach ready babe.
Actually in this case, it means Be Right Burger. Its a littler burger joint on the corner in Reston Town Center. They serve made-to-order burgers, sandwiches, and frozen custard treats. They have a few specials that they've already created for you or you can create your own burger. They also offer veggie burgers and turkey burgers for healthier options and a variety of interesting toppings. Nothing they offer is particularly earth-shattering or unique but all tasty in the right combination.
Hubby took me here on an impromptu lunch date one Friday afternoon. The weather was gorgeous so it was perfect day for lunch outside on the patio. I went for the California burger…topped with guacamole and a chipotle aioli plus traditional lettuce and tomato. A little heavy on the sauce but I'm definitely a sauce girl so I didn't mind too much.
Hubby went for the Wild West burger, topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, and bbq sauce, lettuce and tomato. A little smoky, a little sweet. Yumma! The burgers themselves, while I've had better, much better (i.e. Melt and Five Guys…my two favorite burgers ever), these had a nice char-grilled flavor to them. And the fries that were served with them, while again I've had better, I did like that they had a crispy coating and were dusted with garlic powder.
All in all, it turned out to be a deliciously lovely lunch date!


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Guaranteed shipments by Christmas to Europe for orders received by December 17th
Grappa obtained by distilling the fine pomace obtained from white Chardonnay grapes, which reflect an elegant floral bouquet and aristocratic aroma, with a touch of vanilla.
Alcohol consumption can be harmful. Drink moderately.
Distillati Levi
The Levi Distilled are synonym of high quality and purity, a must have in your collection!


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candy corn and trimmed in chocolate filled cookies
As mentioned in a previous post, rain makes working with fondant a chore and things go much slower than planned. The flowers for the wedding cake for next weekend are taking forever to make because of the high humidity making the petals very slow to dry. So I will be able to share those with you next week on the actual cake. Since I can't share something new with you I thought I'd bring out a cake from last year that is not only a huge hit with the clients but is an easy one for you to make too!
Known as a "barrel cake" this is a crowd pleaser that is quick and simple to do if you know what to do! First bake whatever flavor cake you like. Make two layers, fill them, frost them and don't worry about leveling the top layer or how pretty your frosting is on the outside. At this point, while the frosting is soft, place the cookies around the outside. You will want to measure the first cookie so it is only tall enough to clear about a half inch above the edge of the cake. Then use that measurement to trim the other cookies. Once they are all around the entire cake use a pretty ribbon (wired works best) to tie around the cake and "hold" the cookies into place. Finally, top with whatever candy you'd like. It only takes a thin layer to "fill" the barrel. The really cool thing about this cake is that it's easy to make for any holiday. Use candy corn or halloween colored m&m's for Halloween, red and green m&m's for Christmas, heart shaped candy for Valentine's Day, chocolate eggs for Easter, etc. Just tie with ribbon that fits your theme! You can also use anything long and thin as your trim. Use the pirouette cookies like I did or Twix candy or Lady Finger cookies. Anything long and thin will work to create the "barrel" effect. Take this to a holiday party and see everyone go crazy over it!
Coming up this week is a 3D birthday cake as well as the 2 tier wedding cake to go along with the sugar flowers that I will continue to work on over the next two days. See you next Sunday!


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Chapter 4757-7 License Renewal; Prohibitions
Any license or certificate of registration issued by the board expires two years from the date it is issued or renewed. The provisions of section 4757.32 of the Revised Code shall apply to all applications for renewal of licenses and certificates of registration.
(A) The renewal applicant shall file the required renewal forms in a manner prescribed by the board and shall pay the appropriate renewal fee. For the purposes of renewing online, the applicant shall establish user identification and password. The use of the user identification and password is solely the responsibility of the licensee to be used for all applications within the elicensing system including, but not limited to, an initial licensure application, a renewal application, updating the address, requesting a wall certificate or license verification to another state or entity. The user identification and password shall constitute the legally recognized signature for the purposes of this rule and may not be transferred, distributed or shared with any other person. Any person who knowingly makes a false statement on a renewal application or electronic application may be found guilty of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(B) The renewal applicant shall demonstrate in a manner prescribed by the board that the applicant has met the continuing professional education requirements, unless they are renewing in an inactive status per section 4757.321 of the Revised Code, for any license or certificate of registration completed under rules 4757-9-01, 4757-9-02 and /or 4757-9-03 of the Administrative Code .
(1) The continuing professional education required for renewal shall have been acquired subsequent to the issue of, or the last renewal of, the license or certificate of registration.
(2) Renewal applicants who hold two or more licenses issued by this board shall satisfy the continuing professional education requirements for each license they wish to renew. Continuing professional education used to renew one license or certificate of registration issued by this board may be used to renew another license or certificate of registration if it is approved for that license or certificate of registration.
(3) The board may waive the continuing professional education requirements for persons unable to meet them because of disability, residence abroad, military service, or other reasonable cause. Such requests for waiver shall be accompanied by documentation acceptable to the board per paragraph (D) of this rule.
(C) Except as stated in paragraph (B)(3) of this rule, the licenses or certificates of registration of persons renewing under rules 4757-9-01, 4757-9-02 and 4757-9-03 of the Administrative Code who do not meet their continuing professional requirements shall expire two years from the date of issuance. The board shall restore any license or certificate of registration that has been lapsed for two years or less upon application by the former licensee or registrant, documentation that the continuing professional education requirement for renewal has been met, and payment of the renewal fee. That restoration shall be for the remainder of the two years from the expiration date of that license. Any licensee eligible to restore their license may not apply for a new license. Many licensees may be confused by the term 'restoration' or 'restore', which is often thought of as a late renewal, but is actually a restoration of their license from that day forward for the remainder of the two year original month and day of licensure expiration.
(1) Per section 5903.10 of the Revised Code, a licensee or registrant shall be granted a renewal of the license or certificate by the board at the usual fee without a late fee as required by rule 4757-1-05 of the Administrative Code, if not otherwise disqualified because of mental or physical disability, and if either paragraph (C)(4)(a) or (C)(4)(b) of this rule applies:
(a) The license or registration was not renewed because of the holder's service in the armed forces of the United States or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the Ohio national guard.
(b) The license or certificate was not renewed because the holder's spouse served in the armed forces of the United States or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States, including the Ohio national guard, and the service resulted in the holder's absence from this state.
(c) A renewal shall not be granted under this paragraph unless the holder or the holder's spouse, whichever is applicable, has presented satisfactory evidence of the service member's discharge under honorable conditions or release under honorable conditions from active duty or national guard duty within six months after the discharge or release.
(D) Waiver of continuing education requirements shall be processed as delineated in this rule. Waivers shall be requested using forms delineated by the board. Waiver of continuing education may be for the full thirty hours or any part thereof or a partial waiver of any or all of the hours that shall be completed by a future date per a consent agreement. Waivers should be requested with at least thirty days lead-time to allow processing prior to the expiration of a license for those licensees practicing in Ohio. A licensee whose license renewal date has passed shall not practice until they have renewed or they shall be in violation of section 4757.02 of the Revised Code and subject to administrative action up to and including revocation of their license.
(1) Per section 5903.12 of the Revised Code, a licensee or registrant upon application that is accompanied by proper documentation certifying that the licensee has been called to active duty as described in paragraph (D)(4)(a) and/or (D)(4)(b) of this rule during the current or a prior reporting period and certifying the length of that active duty, shall have the continuing education response time extended for the current reporting period by an amount of time equal to the total number of months that the licensee spent on active duty during the current reporting period. For purposes of this division, any portion of a month served on active duty shall be considered one full month.
(a) The person is a member of the Ohio national guard, the Ohio military reserve, the Ohio naval militia, or a reserve component of the armed forces of the United States.
(b) The person has been called to active duty, whether inside or outside the United States, because of an executive order issued by the president of the United States or an act of congress, or upon the order of the governor, for a period in excess of thirty-one days.
(2) If a waiver is granted, the licensee shall renew immediately, and their file annotated as to the status of their waiver and any due date for completion of additional continuing education hours. Any licensee required to complete future continuing education hours shall complete a consent agreement prior to renewing their license.
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 08/15/2014 and 11/03/2019
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 4757.33
Rule Amplifies: 4757.32, 4757.33 , 5903.10, 5903.12
Prior Effective Dates: 5/22/86, 7/3/97, 2/9/98, 9/20/02, 4/10/04, 1/10/08, 11/2/08, 10/18/09, 6/1/2014
Persons whose licenses or certificates or registration have lapsed or expired and who continue to hold themselves out as counselors, social workers, or marriage and family therapists, or who engage in counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy without a license or certificate of registration, shall be in violation of Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code. Persons who practice counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy while their licenses or certificates of registration are under suspension or revocation shall be in violation of Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code.
119.032 review dates:
09/05/2014 and
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 4757.10
Rule Amplifies: 4757.02 ; 4757.32
Prior Effective Dates: 5/22/86, 7/3/97, 2/9/98, 4/10/04
(A) A counselor, social worker, or marriage and family therapist licensed or registered with the board may, at the time of biennial renewal, apply for inactive-escrow status of his/her license. The application for inactive status shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed by rule 4757-1-05 of the Administrative Code and by a signed statement that the licensee will not engage in the active practice of counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy, as defined respectively by divisions (A), (C) and (H) of section 4757.01 of the Revised Code, while the license is inactive.
(B) A licensee in an inactive status may request a return to active status at any time by submitting a restoration application to the board. Applications shall:
(1) Be submitted electronically via the Ohio e-license system; and
(2) Be signed by the applicant electronically via the Ohio e-license system; and
(3) Be accompanied by the fee prescribed by rule 4757-1-05 of the Administrative Code; and
(4) Contain proof that the applicant completed at least thirty clock hours of continuing education per rule 4757-9-01, 4757-9-02 or 4757-9-03 of the Administrative Code as applicable within the two year period immediately preceding the application for restoration and additionally include six hours of ethics within the thirty hours instead of three required by the rules. Clock hours used to meet the requirements of this paragraph shall not be used to renew the restored license; and
(5) Other minor information required by the board approved form.
(6) Inactive-escrow licenses restored shall be for two years as of the date the applicant has completed all requirements of the restoral process. In most cases that date will not be the same as the original license first issuance date.
(C) In addition to the requirements contained in paragraphs (A) and (B) of this rule, applicants for restoration of an inactive-escrow license who have not engaged in the practice of counseling, social work, or marriage and family therapy for more than five years prior to the date the individual applies to the board for restoration may be subject to additional requirements. Applicants shall propose a professional development plan for the board's consideration and approval, which may include but is not limited to, the following components:
(1) Competency based performance appraisals;
(2) Mentorship;
(3) Additional continuing education;
(4) Extended coursework; and/or
(5) Other learning or training options.
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 11/28/2017 and 02/27/2023
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 4757.321
Rule Amplifies: 4757.321
Prior Effective Dates: 11/03/2014


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What is this?
Decanter, used in USS Constitution's wardroom
When is it from?
About 1820 to 1825
Why is it Important?
Very few items that can be positively associated with Constitution survive. For objects as fragile as this cut glass decanter, the rate of survival is extremely low. And yet, the wardrooms of the early frigates would have abounded with such tablewares. During the War of 1812, USSConstellation's wardroom had six quart-sized "decanturs," six pint decanters, and two water decanters. The form of this example suggests that it was manufactured in the 1820s and may have been on board during the ship's long Mediterranean cruise. What is certain, however, is that many a toast was poured from this dainty appendage of civilized living.
Until the 1780s, vineyards shipped most wine to market in an unfiltered state. Casks and bottles contained a bitter sludge or sediment called the lees. Early decanters tended to be made of dark glass or opaque pottery or metal in order to obscure the sediment. Once merchants regularly filtered the impurities from the wine, glass manufactures began successfully marketing crystal clear decanters for the table. This decanter is a relatively plain example of the glassmaker's art. Elaborate pieces might include deep, complex cut work, gilded emblems, and interesting stoppers.
Physical Characteristics
This clear flint glass decanter in the "Prussian" style stands 9 ½ inches tall and 4 ¼ inches wide at the shoulder. The base is cut round with shallow fluting, and the neck is faceted. Four plain, square rings ornament the neck. The wide pouring lip has been covered with a silver cap, engraved with an inscription: "From the Ward Room of the officers of the U.S. FrigateConstitution." The stopper, most certainly a later replacement, is a multi-faceted ball, with a gilt neck.


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Baked Alaska recipe...Worth every minute.
To make the chocolate sauce: chop the chocolate to a rough consistency.
Heat the cream just to a scald, then pour over the chocolate.
Do not stir.
Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then stir with a whisk until smooth.
Makes about 1 cup.
To make the raspberry sauce: Puree the raspberries in a blender with the remaining ingredients.
Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds.
Refrigerate until needed.
Makes about 1 cup.
To assemble the ice-cream bases: line a baking sheet with parchment.
Using a 3" round cookie cutter (or a glass) cut 6 circles out of the cake, and place them on the parchment.
Place a scoop of ice cream in the center of each piece of cake, making sure you leave a small margin of cake visible all the way around.
Place in the freezer until the meringue is ready.
To prepare the meringue: combine the sugar, corn syrup and water in a heavy, 1-quart saucepan over medium heat.
Bring to a boil, then cook until the syrup reaches 230 degrees F, or if you using a candy thermometer this is called thread stage.
Meanwhile, place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer, and fit the whip attachment to your mixer.
When the syrup reaches the thread stage, start whipping your egg whites on high speed.
When the syrup reaches 245-250 degrees F (firm-ball stage), lower the speed of the mixer to low, and very, very, VERY slowly start pouring the syrup in, in a slow, steady, thin stream until it is all used up.
Immediately return the mixer to high speed and continue whipping until the meringue reaches a very stiff peaked consistency.
Transfer the meringue to a piping bag fit with a plain tip.
Remove the ice cream bases from the freezer.
Now you are going to create a meringue"beehive" around each scoop of ice cream.
To pipe the meringue you need to start at the bottom edge of the cake, pipe a ring of meringue around the icecream so that it completely covers the cake edge.
Then continue to pipe a line of meringue all around the scoop of ice cream, making sure you completely cover the ice cream, and that each line of meringue rests on top of the previous one.
Finish with a small circle at the top.
Repeat with remaining ice cream bases.
Return them to the freezer until ready to serve.
Now- if you don t have a torch, you will need to turn your oven to broil.
If you have a torch, get it ready.
Remove the meringues from the freezer, and dust the top of each one with the confectioners sugar in a fine mesh strainer.
If you are using a broiler, place the baking sheet under the broiler but leave the door open and watch.
You will only need about 30-45 seconds, just enough time for the meringue to turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven, place one in the center of each plate, and serve.
If you are using a torch, turn your torch to a med-low setting, and carefully, gently use the torch to brown the outside of the meringues.
Place one meringue on each plate, and serve.


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This week we had ours installed and connected. The photo below shows the concrete tank going in.
With the risers installed so tank can be accessed at ground level.
Inside the tank.
Starting to install the weeping tiles. (I didn't take photos for several hours and missed the rest of the tiles going in. In the photos below you can see one row. The finished system had 10 rows.)
Installing the pipe that connects the tank to the weeping tiles.
The four posts mark the corners of the tile bed.
Tank connected to house drain from basement.
Backfilled and roughly graded.
A separate drain was also installed to collect any water that collects at the foundation and drains it (far) away from the house.


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IN Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker's ''Rain,'' 10 dancers walk, run and tumble for 70 minutes with hardly a break. Moments after they converge in a cluster -- looking a bit like a school of fish dressed in billowing haute couture -- they part like a ripple in a lake. In this mercurial 2001 dance, which will be presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Wednesday through Saturday, Ms. De Keersmaeker, whose company, Rosas, is based in Brussels, takes inspiration from Kirsty Gunn's haunting novel (also called ''Rain''). In the book, a young child drowns. But it would be out of character for Ms. De Keersmaeker, a revered experimenter, to retell that tale.
''There is one specific section that begins as a very anatomical and technical description of how to save a life through artificial respiration,'' Ms. De Keersmaeker said recently from Brussels. ''From that distance, the writing becomes extremely emotionally layered and dramatic. In that way, it is related to the piece.''
With the help of Steve Reich's driving ''Music for 18 Musicians'' from 1976, Ms. De Keersmaeker mirrors the sensation of how water ebbs and flows. The score, which will be performed by Ictus, a Brussels-based percussion ensemble, is based on a cycle of 11 chords and features female voices, marimbas and xylophones. ''He works with long chords, which are the length of human breathing,'' Ms. De Keersmaeker said of Mr. Reich. ''I think it gives a different layer to his music.''
But there is more to ''Rain'' than the hypnotic pull of the music and the movement. Jan Versweyveld's set features a majestic rope curtain that hangs in a semicircle at the back of the stage. When one rope hits its neighbor, it starts a domino effect that creates a man-made waterfall. ''I wanted to have something that closes in space without cutting it off,'' Ms. De Keersmaeker said.
Dries Van Noten's rose and beige costumes enhance Mr. Versweyveld's lighting design. As in all of Ms. De Keersmaeker's dances, ''Rain'' is distinguished by a particular color: the stage is washed in shades of pink. ''When I think of the music I wouldn't think of pink,'' she said. ''But that's the way it showed itself. Somebody told me that in certain cultures pink is a color of unconditional love. I find that quite beautiful.'' GIA KOURLASContinue reading the main story


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