text:
Look no farther than rent prices for a reminder that the housing market is still on the mend.
Several reports suggest that rents have soared so high, that buying a house can be cheaper than renting one in some parts of the country.
Take a look at the chart below from Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Here, the median existing home price assumes a 20 percent down payment and a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at the prevailing average rate for the quarter.
Monthly mortgage payments dipped below rent payments in mid-2008 after the housing meltdown, when high foreclosure rates pushed people into rentals in some areas. They continued to fall through 2011. They've since picked up in many markets as home prices rose and interest rates climbed.
But in several regions, monthly mortgage payments remain below where they should be in relation to rents, said Eric Belsky, managing director of JCHS.
"It means the for-sale market has not rebounded to the levels you would expect it to rebound on price," Belsky said. "Typically what you should see is that renting and owning should be pretty close substitutes for each other, with mortgage payments a somewhat higher than rent because people are betting on price appreciation."
The Washington area has one of the most expensive rental housing markets in the nation's 50 most populous metro areas, secondly only to California's San Jose market. according to a 2013 Census Bureau report that analyzed rents from 2009 through 2011.
The Census Bureau said that when it adjusted for inflation, rents decreased in half of the metro areas, except two: Washington and New York.
RealtyTrac, a housing data firm, offered some insight into how the high rents compare to area mortgage payments. In an analysis last month, it singled out markets with a large population of young adults ages 25 to 34, a sought-after demographic for real estate investors looking to flip a home.
It isolated 20 Zip codes based on various factors. In all of them, the average rent for a three-bedroom home is higher than the estimated mortgage payment for a median-priced home based on a 20 percent down payment and 30-year fixed rate mortgage with an interest rate of 4.5 percent, RealtyTrac said. The Washington area dominated the list.


text:
by Akhu Chingangbam
My Dear Son, Kanhai
You have lived long enough for centuries
In the calendars, in the forms of stones and statues,
And among the Gopis with your bamboo flute
And you must have stopped worrying about death
But I can't stop worrying about you
As I gave birth to you inside the prison
And I remember the day still
You, my own lump of blood, I still see you
As that little boy who steals curd and butter
What makes me worry about you
Is due to the crime rate in the place where you are living
I hardly get news of you and that land
These television networks
And newspapers hardly cover about the place
Is the name of the place "Imphal" or "Nepal" I don't know?
I forget fast as I am getting senile.
Is the place part of our Bharat?
I have never heard people talking about it
Forgive this silly mother for such silly questions
I recently heard that there they even kill fetus
How barbaric is that?
I have always told you not to go to places
where they speak tribal languages.
So the moment you get this letter
Pack your back, stop playing your flute
It might be attractive to those barbaric ears.
And here Radha has been fasting for years
For her deprived past life
The Prime Minister too visited her twice
And Many Human Rights Activists had come.
Many feminist NGOs too are not happy with you
They even harassed me asking such question;
How did I raise you?
They call you a MCP, what does that mean?
And the Gopis are being deported.
Brindavan needs you
Ganga is also running dry with the ashes from the land
We can't milk the cows without the sound of your flute
So come back, leave that land behind
I was even told about a poem written by a young poet sometime in 1969
It was called Hayingkhongyambi* or something (have you ever heard of the poem?)
I talked about the poem to VHP leaders few years back
Before the demolition of Babri Masjid
They believed you must come back soon
Or fight back with your "Chakra"
Forever your mother
Dated 1/06/2009
(* Hayingkhongyambi is a poem by Thangjam Ibopishak)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Zodiac, LEO Print – star sign, horoscope, constellation, printed poster
– in Midnight Blue or Magenta
Star sign, horoscope, zodiac print for LEO. A wonderful gift for the Leo in your life … or for yourself! Available on either a midnight sky or a magenta sky or why not one of each for him and her?
This print is available in a variety of sizes either as a printed item that will be shipped to you to frame yourself, or as a digital file to print & frame yourself. The prints are designed to fit within standard frames sizes.
If purchasing a digital file, your file will be sent to you via Etsy conversation, where you can download and save and then either print at home or via a print outlet. By default digital files size is A1 for Australia and 16×20″ for USA but if you require a specific size please advice in the notes section when you order and I'll be happy to provide.
Sizes very depending on what country you are ordering from. I use printers local to you to produce these prints to cut down on postage and handling time/costs so be sure to choose a size that relates to your country of origin.
Printed sizes are:
A2 – 42cmx59.4cm
A1 – 59.4cm x 84.1cm
B2 – 50cm x 70cm
Digital Size is: A1 for Australia, 16×20″ for USA (or specify in notes if you require a specific size)
Printed on matte paper.
This will be mailed to you direct from the printer to save processing times and postage and handling fees so please ensure that correct mailing address is supplied. I will get the artwork to the printer within 48 hours of payment. Delivery times will vary but usually 5-7 business days.
Frames not included – for demonstration purposes only.


text:
DOWNEY -- Judy Pugach, RN MPH, has been named the Chief Nursing Officer at PIH Health Hospital - Downey, effective Nov. 9.
Pugach brings more than 30 years of nursing experience to the team. She joined PIH Health Hospital - Whittier in 1996 as the nurse manager of the telemetry and respiratory units.
Prior to PIH Health, she spent 20 years caring for patients – first as a staff nurse in a surgical intensive care unit (ICU), and later as the head nurse at a surgical ICU/trauma unit in New York.
She has also worked as a clinical nurse instructor teaching the next generation of nurses.
In addition to her position on PIH Health's leadership team, Pugach has served as chair of the Hospital Association of Southern California's Accreditation and Licensing Committee since 2010. She is a current member of the National Association for Healthcare Quality, and is certified in professional healthcare quality and professional healthcare risk management. Pugach also is a member of The Joint Commission Advisory Council representing the VHA West Coast region.
Pugach obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Long Island University in New York and holds a Master of Public Health degree from Cal State Long Beach.


text:
The Cardinals reportedly have added right-hander Bud Norris to their pitching staff on a one-year free agent deal.
Several outlets reported Tuesday that Norris, 32, will join the team pending the results of a physical Tuesday.
Free-agent right-hander Bud Norris in agreement with #STLCards, pending a physical, sources tell The Athletic. Excelled in first half with #Angels last season, but performance suffered after right knee inflammation twice forced him to DL.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 12, 2018
Sources: Bud Norris deal with #STLCards is one year, $3M, plus significant incentives.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 12, 2018
Updated story on Bud Norris. How #Cardinals are bringing him as a possible starter if one of the young guys needs more seasoning, while team is intrigued by how he did out of the bullpen early last year. Joins ranks of could-be, maybe late-game relievers: https://t.co/PH30ugNYoa
— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) February 12, 2018
The #STLCards added to their pitching depth on Monday by agreeing to terms on a one-year deal with Bud Norris. Yes, that Bud Norris. https://t.co/7tmlmOhtQQ
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) February 12, 2018
Reports indicate that Norris, who made a successful conversion to the closer role with the Angels last season, could be used as a middle reliever, late-inning reliever or even a starter depending on how some of the team's younger potential starters perform in the spring.
Norris was 2-6 with a 4.21 ERA in 60 appearances (all but three out of the bullpen) last season. He had 19 saves in 25 opportunities. He has career marks of 64-84 with a 4.49 ERA in 291 games (188 starts) with the Astros, Orioles, Padres, Braves, Dodgers and Angels from 2009-17.


text:
- Creative
- Animation
- Film Production
- Fine Art
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Music Production
- Photography
- UI/UX Design
- Writing
Dune is a science fiction story that takes places centuries in the future. The book deals with a wide array of themes from ecology and religion to drug addiction and economics. I first discovered this story not by reading it but by watching the 1984 movie adaptation directed by David Lynch. I was 6 years old and it was a mind-blowing experience for me even though the movie was universally panned and is not truly faithful to the book. I later read the books (it is an epic series) during college and found them impossible to put down.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with DUNE, here is what wikipedia has to say about it:
Dune is a 1965 epic science fiction novel by Frank Herbert. It won the Hugo Award in 1966,[1] and the inaugural Nebula Award for Best Novel.[2]Dune is the world's best-selling science fiction novel[3][4] and is the start of the Dune saga.
Set in the far future amidst a feudal interstellar society in which noble houses, in control of individual planets, owe allegiance to the imperial House Corrino, Dune tells the story of young Paul Atreides, the heir apparent to Duke Leto Atreides as his family accepts control of the desert planet Arrakis, the only source of the "spice" melange. Melange is the most important and valuable substance in the universe, increasing Arrakis's value as a fief. The story explores the multi-layered interactions of politics, religion, ecology, technology, and human emotion, as the forces of the empire confront each other in a struggle for the control of Arrakis and its "spice".[5]
Herbert wrote five sequels to the novel Dune: Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. The first novel also inspired a 1984 film adaptation by David Lynch, the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel Frank Herbert's Children of Dune (which combines the events of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune), computer games, at least two board games, songs, and a series of prequels, interquels, and sequels that were co-written by Kevin J. Anderson and the author's son, Brian Herbert, starting in 1999.[6]
So I'm starting this project by collecting some of the past book covers. Many characters in DUNE attain higher states of consciousness through various means and I think some of these coveres reflect that. However, there is a long standing tradition of Science Fiction books having illustrated covers of fantastic environments with epic cities or space ships and teeny tiny people thrown in for scale. This tradition is also present in DUNE.
This is the first cover of the hardback edition of DUNE. Apparently if you can find one it is worth quite a few pennies. First published in 1965 by Chilton (famous for publishing mechanic manuals) the cover was illustrated by John Schoenherr. Schoenherr went on to do several illustrations for different versions DUNE, all of them beautiful and all of them featuring large epic landscapes with teeny tiny people.
This is actually the cover to my copy of DUNE. Again we have the standard Science Fiction Book cover landscape also painted by John Schoenherr. I'm starting to see a theme. This was published by ACE. One of the interesting things about DUNE is that it borrows a lot from Arab/Islamic themes especially when naming characters. I personally think it would be a great opportunity to explore Islamic art and Arabic calligraphy...yet I haven't seen ANY covers explore that.
This is probably the copy of DUNE you will find at your local Barnes and Noble. It is very clean and minimalist yet still works in the illustration of weird epic landscape and teeny tiny people. I noticed on this one that the author's name is the largest piece of type. Perhaps Frank Herbert is now more famous than his creation?
This cover I love. It takes the standard sci-fi illustration and zooms in. Maybe the publisher and illustrator are taking a risk by doing this? Rather than letting the readers imagination paint these pictures they are giving them some concrete visualization. Either way, I love it. This is by New English Library in 1968 and all of the DUNE books in this series has a cover illustration by Bruce Pennington. Pennington is famous for his Sci-Fi covers and this series is considered very collectible. He uses bright colors and repeating patterns and dynamic layouts. His covers are fantastic but I don't feel they necessarily reflect the contents of the book. Although I will admit that I have a very hard time seperating David Lynch's visuals from the movie DUNE to what is in the actual text. These are really cool. These are Russian versions of the book. I especially like the cover on the right because It makes reference to the Kangaroo Rat and the Fremen blue within blue eyes that are big parts of the story, as well as the epic dessert landscape.
Here's a Japanese version of the cover. Looking at it, I would think it is a manga. Do I think it is effective at enticing a reader? Hell no, but I love all things Japanese so it gets a mention. HA!
This is an Italian version of the cover and I have to say it is my least favorite. Other than the title and author's name, nothing about this cover has anything to do with the book. This entire series all share similar cover designs with these weird symbols that don't relate to anything in the book. I feel like it belongs on a book about tribal tattoos not on a science fiction epic.
So those are just some of the covers I found. Again there is a lot of similarity in the covers; epic landscape, teeny tiny people, maybe a spaceship or a sandworm. The type treatments tend to vary a lot but few of them really strike me has being "perfect" for the content. I'm starting to formulate ideas and areas to explore. I probably won't be doing an illustration because I don't have the time and the last time I drew anything remotely good was...well never.
Thus endeth the first entry.


text:
Al Gilman wrote me to ask: >Would you have the time or interest to review this module and see if >they have broken, or failed to add, anything that is needed for >accessibility? I have only a couple of comments, but a few of them are biggies. > 4.4. CSS System Colors > > 4.4.1. CSS2 User preferences for colors I have disputed the need for system colours in the first place (you'll see it in the "Type & Colour" chapter of my upcoming book, _Building Accessible Websites_ <http://joeclark.org/book/>). I am not convinced it is a good idea to make Web sites or Web applications look like native-operating-system applications. I just don't see the need, and I am reminded of designers who make banner ads or even graphical Submit buttons look just like MS Windows or Mac OS X buttons. And Mozilla developers went to extreme lengths to design their own user interface for forms widgets, including menus and buttons, which exactly contradicts the ethos of system colours even though it results in very odd-looking interfaces on Macs. There is no clear need for system colours, and they are poorly implemented. In any event, given the W3C's principle of device independence-- <http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/WD-di-princ-20010918/#section-Goals> >The goal of this document is to suggest that Web content and >applications can be authored, generated or adapted for a better user >experience when interacting with presentations via many different >Web-connectable access mechanisms. The general phrase "device >independence" is used for this, although the access mechanisms may >include a diversity of devices, user agents, channels, modalities, >formats etc. -- there are a few additional forms of system colours that need to be added. I would point out that system colours already defined seem to indicate a narrow focus on application development (e.g., window colours). That is, application developers figure "These are the only system colours anyone could possibly ever need." But we can think of a couple of access-related system colours: * Highlights for low-vision people (screen magnification and/or colour substitution) * Subtitle and caption colours HIGHLIGHT COLOURS You already have ~4 system highlight colours. I could suggest adding: ZoomHighlightForeground Colour for foreground when using display magnification. ZoomHighlightBackground Colour for background when using display magnification. ZoomPerimeter Colour for outside edging of magnified area during display magnification. ReverseColourForeground Foreground colour used during reverse display. ReverseColourBackground Background colour used during reverse display. SubstituteColourForeground Foreground colour used during substituted-colour display. SubstituteColourBackground Background colour used during substituted-colour display. Rationale: Low-vision users can zoom the display on their computers or other devices. They may wish to alter the underlying original colours to make the zoomed version easier to read-- typically there will be a rounding up to simple black-and-white. They may wish to add a different colour around the edge to delineate that edge. Example: ZoomHighlightForeground = white ZoomHighlightBackground = black ZoomHighlightBackground = white This gives you white text (and other content) on a black background with a white border. Or: ZoomHighlightForeground = yellow ZoomHighlightBackground = black ZoomHighlightBackground = gray Now, it is possible that you have a colour deficit but have adequate visual acuity. You may wish to simply invert the colours displayed on your screen. Usually this will mean two steps: (1) simplify colours by reducing the variety of colours and (2) change to white on black (remember, without magnification this time). But you could set any colours you wanted, like white on blue if you remember and liked the old DOS WordPerfect colours. Example: ReverseColourForeground = white ReverseColourBackground = black Or your system may use more complicated logic that will *substitute* specific colours for other colours. If you have a red-green colourblindness (usually protanopia or deuteranopia), you may want everything red to become blue and everything green to become purple. You could then use: SubstituteColourForeground(red) = blue SubstituteColourBackground(green) = purple (In all these examples, exactly how you configure your software or adaptive technology to do this isn't the Working Group's problem. We're just setting variables.) Reversing and substituting colours apply display-wide, hence we don't need an edging colour. CAPTIONS AND SUBTITLES First of all, the two are not the same. <http://joeclark.org/understanding.html#cc> <http://joeclark.org/understanding.html#st> Captions are visible words that transcribe the dialogue and other important sound effects, move to indicate speakers, and use other forms of speaker identification. Intended audience is deaf (though in practice more hearing people watch captions in North America <http://joeclark.org/hearing-maj.html>). Subtitles are visible words that translate dialogue and occasional onscreen type. Intended audience is hearing. I define "accessibility" to include accommodating any characteristic a person cannot change or cannot change easily. I am aware this is a more sweeping definition than disability-obsessed advocates particularly like, but just as you can't stop being deaf when you want to watch _Run Lola Run_, you can't suddenly start to understand German, either. And actually, the W3 definition is compatible with mine: <http://www.w3.org/WAI/GL/Glossary/Overview#A> >>Accessibility >> >The art of ensuring that, to as large an extent as possible, >facilities (such as, for example, Web access) are available to >people whether or not they have impairments of one sort or another. Moreover, it is quite possible to have separate captions and subtitles-- often in the same language-- on a single program or film. So we have to consider them as two peas in a pod. Now, in furtherance of the goal of device independence *while also* providing increased compatibility with devices we already know exist, I am suggesting the addition of a few system colours. They deal with foreground, background, mask (background area extending well beyond the characters themselves), and edging (shadow on characters-- already found in system colours). I'm using the term "character" rather than "display element" here, since the latter is overly general and hard to understand in this context. The "mask" colour would extend well beyond the character bounding box, e.g., the bottom third of the screen could be grey. Device-independent tokens: CaptionForeground Foreground colour for caption characters. CaptionBackground Background colour for caption characters. CaptionMask Colour for large background region behind caption characters. CaptionShadow Colour for edging or shadow on caption characters. SubtitleForeground Foreground colour for subtitle characters. SubtitleBackground Background colour for subtitle characters. SubtitleMask Colour for large background region behind subtitle characters. SubtitleShadow Colour for edging or shadow on subtitle characters. The above tokens provide compatibility with: * Any generic subtitling or captioning system * Analog captioning (Line 21 or 22; World System Teletext), which really only has foreground and background colours (no mask or shadow) You'd use language codes to differentiate captions and subtitles in various languages. No need to reinvent that wheel. Device-specific tokens: Here we provide compatibility with * DVD (four available colours). * U.S. digital television (see notes). There is no compatibility for European digital television because subtitles and captions are sent as bitmaps. Searching the available standards documents <http://pda.etsi.org/pda/home.asp?wki_id=3653> (you need to register; but try <http://pda.etsi.org/exchangefolder/ets_300743e01p.pdf>) shows next to nothing to do with colour. It seems to be unselectable by the viewer. In any event, the generic tokens above could be used. DVDB DVD Background colour. DVDP DVD Pattern colour. DVDE1 DVD Emphasis 1 colour. DVDE2 DVD Emphasis 2 colour. DTVForeground Foreground colour for DTV characters. DTVBackground Background colour for DTV characters. DTVMask Colour for large background region behind DTV characters. DTVShadow Colour for edging or shadow on DTV characters. DTVEasyForeground Foreground colour for easy-reader DTV characters. DTVEasyBackground Background colour for easy-reader DTV characters. DTVEasyMask Colour for large background region behind easy-reader DTV characters. DTVEasyShadow Colour for edging or shadow on easy-reader DTV characters. DTVWideForeground Foreground colour for wide-aspect DTV characters. DTVWideBackground Background colour for wide-aspect DTV characters. DTVWideMask Colour for large background region behind wide-aspect DTV characters. DTVWideShadow Colour for edging or shadow on wide-aspect DTV characters. Notes: DVDs use four colours for subpictures (called B, P, E1, and E2, though the names are not cast in stone). Subpictures are full-screen bitmaps that can be put to any purpose, though usually they're used for subtitles/captions and menu elements. (And karaoke!) <http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.4> (gigantic file) Note that the four transparency values associated with the four DVD colours can already be handled by this proposed CSS3 spec. Even after reading the books _DVD Demystified_ and _DVD Authoring and Production_, the exact role of the colours is unclear to me, and in any event, the subtitler/captioner may provide TIFFs of subpicture bitmaps with certain values for the colours and the authoring house may go in and change them. In any event, if the authoring house can change them, so should the viewer be able to-- it's not unimaginable. Now, in U.S. digital TV, no terminological distinction is given between captions and subtitles. Arguably this is a mistake. There is a reliance on language codes to solve the problem, but all that means is that if you ask for ENG captions, you may end up with ENG subtitles. Or if what you really want are ENG subtitles, you cannot ask for them specifically; you can only ask for ENG captions and hope that the *form* of the visible words is subtitle-like. The DTV spec provides for regular, easy-reader, and letterbox or widescreen captions. The same program can carry all three in each of several languages. The spec documents are Word files available here: <http://www.dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.4>. You want ATSC 65 <http://www.atsc.org/standards/A65-A.doc>. There is no Google HTMLified version. Note that there are no colours defined in the DTV spec. It's left up to the receiver, which really implies a relationship between the receiver and the viewer (e.g., receiver could give you white captions on black *and that's it* or could let you select any colours you like). The same four generic parameters-- foreground, background, mask, and shadow-- are applicable here, so that's what I listed. Remember, the principle here is device-independence (hence the generic tokens) as well as acknowledging the real world, which W3C standards docs are usually not very good at. COLOURBLINDNESS The spec currently says: > 4.5. Notes on using colors > > Although colors can add significant amounts of information to >document and make them more readable, please consider the following >guidelines when including color in your documents: > > * Don't use color combinations that cause problems for people >with color blindness in its various forms. That pretty much tells you nothing. I wrote an entire chapter on the topic; it's hard to sum up. And you *can* use confusable colours in unconfusable ways. > * If you use a background image or set the background color, >then be sure to set the various text colors as well. I wish that advice were fine-tuned. If you have a CSS that does nothing but add a background colour and you assume foreground will inherit (I use these all the time), it is actually better not to set the foreground so that the background-setting style will be more easily applied to a range of entities. The CSS validator warns me all the time about this even though I of all people know what I'm doing. I suppose the validator cannot quite be educated enough to know when the user is smart or stupid. And anyway, they're just warnings, not errors. > * When practical, adopt common conventions to minimize user confusion. Oh, maybe. <http://www.spiked-online.com> uses different colours for each section, and it makes perfect sense to me (and isn't inaccessible). I don't see why this clause is necessary. Now, then. DO WE HAVE TO INCLUDE ALL THIS? I know this is last call for this spec, and I am arriving very late to the party, but if you want to do more than just *say* you're using the CSS3 colour module for accessibility, you have to look after a few details. I don't see any harm in adding a few dozen more system colours, since, as we all know, they will continue to be ignored by most devices. Except, actually, *access-related* devices may *specifically* pay attention to the tokens I suggest we add. Suddenly system colours will actually be used-- just not by IE Version Whatever on Windows, which isn't the be-all and end-all in the first place, but by (for example) software DVD players and Web-enabled DTV receivers. WHAT'S WITH THE Us? I write in Canadian English, which spells "colour" with a U. -- Joe Clark | email@example.com Accessibility <http://joeclark.org/access/> Weblogs and articles <http://joeclark.org/weblogs/> <http://joeclark.org/writing/> | <http://fawny.org/>Received on Wednesday, 15 May 2002 12:24:36 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Monday, 2 May 2016 14:27:01 UTC


text:
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text:
As award season dawns, more Silver and Gold for Zimmerman?
Today marks the opening of baseball's award season, with all the coveted hardware handed out over the next two weeks. It begins at 3:30 this afternoon with the announcement of the AL Gold Glove winners, and ends Nov. 23 with the AL most valuable player award.
For Nationals fans, the day that matters is tomorrow. That's when the the NL Gold Gloves, along with the Silver Slugger Awards for both leagues, are announced. And once again, it stands to be a big day for Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.
A year ago, Zimmerman was doubly rewarded for his breakout 2009 season, earning both the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards for NL third basemen, and joining Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp as the only NL players to win both.
One year later, Zimmerman has cemented his credentials as the premier third baseman in his league, and for that matter, one of the best players in the game. Despite missing a total of 20 games with various ailments, by at least one metric (Fangraphs.com's WAR, or wins above replacement) he actually contributed more to the Nationals' cause than he did in 2009.
On the surface, Zimmerman sure looks like a safe bet to pull off another Silver-and-Gold double-play. In terms of his offense, he led all qualifying NL third basemen in batting average (.307), on-base percentage (.388), slugging percentage (.510) and walks (69). New York's David Wright, who hit more homers and drove in more runs than Zimmerman (and who won the Silver Slugger in 2007 and 2008) represents his primary competition, but Zimmernan's 40-point edge in OPS ought to be enough to carry him.
As for the Gold Glove, Zimmerman's chances may depend on how stat-savvy the voters (NL managers and coaches) were in making their picks. By traditional measures, Zimmerman's defense slipped in 2010. He made the same number of errors (17) as he did in 2009, despite playing in 17 fewer games in the field and handing 115 fewer total chances, resulting in a 12-point drop in fielding percentage (from .963 in 2009 to .951 this season). That fielding percentage, in fact, ranked just 12th in the NL among qualifying third basemen.
But in more advanced metrics, such as Fangraphs.com's UZR (ultimate zone rating), Zimmerman again was ranked as an elite defender. His UZR of 13.9 ranked second among NL third basemen, behind San Diego's Chase Headley (16.5), who in 2010 played his first full season at third base. And in The Fielding Bible Awards, a vote by various sabermetrically inclined journalists and bloggers, Zimmerman narrowly lost out to Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria (voters didn't differentiate between leagues).
Besides, in Gold Glove voting, reputation typically counts more than anything else. And Zimmerman's reputation is pretty much unparalleled.
Dave Sheinin
| November 9, 2010; 2:19 PM ET
Categories: Ryan Zimmerman
Save & Share: Previous: Daubach to manage Class A Hagerstown
Next: Zimmerman loses Gold Glove to Rolen
Mark Zuckerman at Nats Insider made pretty much the same post at 10:30 AM.
Posted by: TimDz | November 9, 2010 2:54 PM | Report abuse
I liked Ozzie's claim that he would have won more Gold Gloves if he had been a better hitter, and his related claim that if Alexi Ramirez doesn't get the Gold Glove he should at least get the Silver Slugger.
Posted by: markfromark | November 9, 2010 2:58 PM | Report abuse
I know some folks here don't like Zim's throwing, but the plays he makes are often breathtaking. I could be wrong, but I don't recall any of his errors costing the Nats a game last season.
Posted by: nats24 | November 9, 2010 3:10 PM | Report abuse
I think that Wright gets the Silver Slugger and in a close call, he deserves it. Much better RBi numbers, socred more, more HR's, more Doubles, stole a bunch of bases. And he had basically no help.
Placido Polanco is going to take the Gold Glove and he deserves it. Zim might not be as high as 4th for the GG. (Rolen and Wrght picked it pretty well too).
Posted by: dfh21 | November 9, 2010 3:32 PM | Report abuse
They should give an award to the guy who is the most better than everybody else on the team.
Posted by: markfromark | November 9, 2010 4:45 PM | Report abuse
dfh21, I'll certainly agree the Silver Slugger is a close call.
But I'll argue Zim.
The easy part.
If you count Wright's 19 SB's, you gotta count his 11 CS's. That's a lame success rate.
Scored more? Wright played 15 more games, had 62 more AB's and scored 2 more runs. Seriously, no advantage to Wright there.
RBI's, granted, advantage Wright.
HR's, not a big difference, but sure, advantage Wright.
More doubles? Now that's just cherry picking stats.
How about strikeouts? Wright had 161, Zim 98.
How about Batting Average? Zim, 24 point advantage.
OBP, advantage Zim.
SLG%? Wright has more HR's (and more doubles), but it's Zim with the higher Slugging percentage.
The 43 point advantage in OPS is fairly significant.
As for Gold Glove, the voters are old school. Zim won it last year. Whatever they saw last year that made them vote Zim has not changed. Zim repeats. (Although not arguing that Polanco is fully deserving)
Posted by: Sunderland | November 9, 2010 4:51 PM | Report abuse
The fact that Derek Jeter just won his fifth(!) Gold Glove makes me wonder how anyone can take the Gold Glove award seriously.
Posted by: NattyFan | November 9, 2010 4:54 PM | Report abuse
I think Zimmerman should win both awards for one simple reason: I'm completely biased 'cuz he plays on my hometown team. Numbers be damned. :-)
Posted by: Juan-John1 | November 9, 2010 4:54 PM | Report abuse
Watching Zim is a reason to go to the park all by itself. Hope he picks up an award or two, but regardless, a pure pleasure to watch.
Posted by: NatsFly | November 9, 2010 4:54 PM | Report abuse
And yeah, Juan-John is exactly right!
Posted by: NatsFly | November 9, 2010 4:57 PM | Report abuse
Watching Zim is a reason to go to the park all by itself.
Sometimes there is not another one.
Posted by: markfromark | November 9, 2010 5:06 PM | Report abuse
Sunderland all good points, but I think that Wright gets it. A coin flip maybe. And should Kung Fu Panda have won it last year? Better OBP, better SLG, hit 40 points better than Zim. No. Zim knocked them in better, hit more HR's and scored more, so he won.
Zim was simply not great with the glove this year -- 17 errors in less than a full season, fielding percentage down to about NL 3B average. Not his year. Polanco caught everything and his psuedo stat defensive metrics are also very good. Rolen may be a dark horse as a former voter favorite.
Posted by: dfh21 | November 9, 2010 6:18 PM | Report abuse
Ok, Jeter just won in the AL with Alexei Ramirez kicking his ass in every category worth considering. Zim will likely win the GG. He is after all very popular and he hits a ton.
Posted by: dfh21 | November 9, 2010 6:37 PM | Report abuse
Not this year for Zim, the 17 errors,season cut short by injury and David Wright out hitting him in hr's and rbi's makes it hard in my mind for Zim to collect the hardware.
Posted by: dargregmag | November 9, 2010 6:53 PM | Report abuse
I hope Zim gets them both. I think he deserves the slugger as best offensive 3B in the NL and while I think he will lose some votes for the glove on his throwing, I think he should get special consideration for his range and acrobatics.
Posted by: natbiscuits | November 9, 2010 10:01 PM | Report abuse
Zim gets it. None of the other contenders had to throw to an Iron Golem at 1b. It's no coincidence that his errors (almost all throws) were an issue. He had almost no errors saved by Dunn. Zimmerman is in a different galaxy than Wright as a fielder and did someone mention Rolen? The guy only has about a foot range on either side anymore. Used to be a great field and has great hands but he's not even close to Zimmerman.
Posted by: ouvan59 | November 9, 2010 10:26 PM | Report abuse
Zim's a good one. He'd get my vote over Wright although I think they're about even. I think Longorian is the best 3B in all baseball though.
Why do you people keep bring up this Zuckerman guy? Who is he and who the heck cares what he says? Weird...
Posted by: Dog-1 | November 10, 2010 6:38 AM | Report abuse
Mark Zuckerman and Ryan Goessling were the two Nats beat writers for the Washington Times. Zuckerman now puts out a web page at natsinsider.blogspot.com. Goessling is with MASN and puts out a column at www.masnsports.com/the_goessling_game.
Posted by: bertbkatz | November 10, 2010 8:19 AM | Report abuse
Last year everyone wanted Zim to get the GG -- and he deserved it -- largely b/c he had the most chances and his UZR rating was off the charts, this year his UZR is below Headley's by a lot and his chances were way down so we'll move on to some other sabermetic numbers that make our boy look good, AK trots out WAR and the foggy celebrity baseball egg-head driven Fielding Bible (with its cloudy Runs Saved category).
Zim has a sterling glove, but he is not hands down the best 3B in baseball, not by a sidearm, off balance throw 3 feet above a 6'6" Adam Dunn's out-stretched glove into the bleachers.
This idea that lateral range is the big winning factor for a 3B is something I do not get. 3B is a reaction position more than anything. SS's need great range, 3B's play closer to the plate than any other infielder and they need to be able to stab the ball, knock it down, charge a bunt, make a throw. It is nice when they can go side to side well, but it's not the primary skill need at the postion.
Scott Rolen out-gloved Zim in 2010. Rolen had more chances, half as many errors and his range factors were considerably better than Zim's. And I don't even think Rolen had the best year, I think Polanco should get the hardware. BUT, Zim will likely get it.
And someone above said Wright is not in the same galaxy as Zim -- wow. Wright has two of those Gold Gloves and though he made even more errors than Zim n 2010 (20 to Zim's 17), he had more than 100 more chances and his range numbers and fielding percentage beat Zim too. Not saying he's a better defender but it is not like Wright is beyond the Milky Way either.
Posted by: dfh21 | November 10, 2010 8:28 AM | Report abuse
That would be *Ben* Goessling.
Posted by: natsfan1a1 | November 10, 2010 8:36 AM | Report abuse
I heard that the Washington Timnes is coming back with new financing and that it will reconstitute the sports department. Wonder if Zuckerman will get his job back? Here's hoping.
Posted by: Natstoyou | November 10, 2010 8:53 AM | Report abuse
I heard Elijah Dukes is back in the clink for failing to pay spousal support, hope he gets out and gets a job (for his kids sake if nothing esle. Here's hoping.
Posted by: dfh21 | November 10, 2010 9:12 AM | Report abuse
Mark Zuckerman had the best Nats coverage all year, no contest. He led in all advanced journometrics stats.
Why do you people keep bring up this Zuckerman guy? Who is he and who the heck cares what he says? Weird...
Posted by: Dog-1 | November 10, 2010 6:38 AM
Posted by: Sec3mysofa | November 10, 2010 9:28 AM | Report abuse
As we saw w/ Jeter in the AL, the GG doesn't always go to the best fielder, so even if you accept all of dfh21's excellent points, Zim could still win, and unlike Jeter, it wouldn't be a travesty.
Posted by: nats24 | November 10, 2010 9:54 AM | Report abuse
Thanks, 1a1. I guess I had Ryan on the brain. It shows that I never read the Times. I only have time for selected SI writers and Washington Post (fishwrap and web) for sports coverage each day.
Posted by: bertbkatz | November 10, 2010 2:31 PM | Report abuse
You're welcome, bertb. It's quite understandable to have Ryan on the brain this week.
Posted by: natsfan1a1 | November 10, 2010 3:32 PM | Report abuse
Rolen wins at 3rd base. Ack!
Posted by: gonatsgo1 | November 10, 2010 3:41 PM | Report abuse
The winners:
Posted by: gonatsgo1 | November 10, 2010 3:45 PM | Report abuse
Great analysis, Sheinin. NOT. You managed to not even include the eventual winner in your story. WTF?
Posted by: berou | November 10, 2010 3:53 PM | Report abuse
2010 National League Gold Gloves
P Bronson Arroyo (CIN-1st)
C Yadier Molina (STL-3rd)
1B Albert Pujols (STL-2nd)
2B Brandon Phillips (CIN-2nd)
3B Scott Rolen (CIN-8th)
SS Troy Tulowitzki (COL-1st)
OF Michael Bourn (HOU-2nd)
OF Carlos Gonzalez (COL-1st)
OF Shane Victorino (PHI-3rd)
Posted by: gonatsgo1 | November 10, 2010 3:54 PM | Report abuse
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Amanda Reeves
Amanda Reeves' colourful yet subtly nuanced abstract paintings challenge the viewer to engage in the contemplation of perception. The desire to secure the paintings in focus is thwarted by their bright colours and tonal shifts; the floating and popping effect of meticulously painted shapes confuses their special relationships and the layers become indistinct.
Reeves' interest in this series of abstractions is rooted in her fascination with colour and pattern. Influenced by her previous studies in marine biology she integrates a rigid sense of shape and form with an intuitive and organic colour palette.
Since graduating with honors from OCADU in 2005, Reeves has participated in numerous exhibitions. Her work is in the collections of the Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Medcan and Cenovus Energy amongst others.


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Hall Rental
Swiss Echoes
Schwingers Club
Club History
Fall Schwingfest
Kids Day
May Birthday Celebration
Swiss Miss
Ripon Swiss Club
The purposes and goals of our club are to unite and strengthen the social ties of the Swiss people, those of Swiss descent and their supporting friends; and to encourage, promote and preserve the culture and traditions of Switzerland. Four membership application classifications are offered.
Regular Membership:
Any Swiss or American of Swiss descent who has reached the age of 16 years is eligible for regular membership. Applications for membership may be approved at any regular meeting (These are held on the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00pm in the Ripon Swiss Hall). 16-17 years of age do not have to pay processing fee.
Social Members:
Any non-Swiss person who is a good citizen and a regular participant and supporter of the club. A social member cannot vote or hold office until he or she has been a member in good standing for five years. After five years of membership, a social member automatically becomes a regular member. Applications must be approved during an Annual General Meeting.
Spousal Members:
The spouse (legal husband or wife) of any of the above members shall be eligible for membership in any of the applicable membership categories by submitting a completed application and receiving approval. There will be no initiation fee or yearly dues required as long as the initial membership is in good standing.
Dues & Fees: For all members excluding spousal membership, the dues are $40.00 per calendar year plus a one time initiation fee of $10.00 (both of which must accompany the application for membership). The initial fee is waived for those joing before reaching the age of 18 years.
Members Benefits:
(1) Members are notified of all club events by mail or email. (2) Upon request with the corresponding secretary members will be notified of deaths and funeral arrangements of deceased members by mail or email. (3) Members, their spouses and their children who have not reached the age of 18, receive a free meal at the Annual Member's Bar-B-Que. A non-married member receives one free meal for their guest. (4) Associating with your Swiss friends & family in a friendly, safe, clean environment. (5) Members can rent the Swiss Hall for their social events at a discounted rate.
For more information on Membership Contact our
Membership Officer, Cathy Quinn
Membership Application


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I never thought I would ever be considered a runner. I will leave it at that because I'm sure the five people reading this know all about how I started running, how I hated running, how I found running buddies, and how I now wake up at an ungodly hour to pound the pavement. In fact, I calculated it all up this morning and I've run 632.6 miles this year. I'm not going to hit my goal of 1,000 miles this year, but that was lofty to begin with. 632.6 miles…that's about as far as Disney is away from my apartment. Crazy, right?!
Anyway, yesterday I got home from work and run club to find a box sitting on the counter waiting for me. I was confused for a moment because I've had this vow to not online shop (that and the things I "accidentally" bought online this week aren't due for another couple of days…). So what was in the box, you ask? This bad boy…errr….girl:
The Danville Half-Marathon was my second half-marathon, and the first of three I had signed up for during October, November, and December. I did not have high expectations and had to be reminded by my mom many times that I was running my own race and it didn't matter what other people were doing. That seems to be the constant battle of mine – I'm too competitive with others and not competitive enough with myself.
It was a really chilly October morning and I was one of two people I saw running with a camelbak on. I was nervous. And scared. "Would I finish?" "Can I actually run 13.1 miles still?" "What if that race in February was just a fluke?" "I'm not cut out for this." It's amazing how much you can doubt yourself before the gun goes off.
Then the gun went off…or rather the guy leading the show yelled, "GO!" and off we went. People passed me. My hands were cold. My earbuds didn't want to sit in my ears right. I was annoyed I didn't have anyone to talk to. Then I remembered that I enjoy running and noticed that I enjoyed running through my hometown. I started trying to find the silver lining.
When I got to the first water station, I ran on by because I had my trusty CamelBak. At this point, I was almost 3 miles in and feeling good. By mile 6, I grabbed a GU but still didn't slow down. At mile 8, I realized I had been running the whole thing with no walk breaks and I would be incredibly mad at myself if I stopped running to walk for a bit with 5 miles left to go.
Long story short, I ran all 13.1 miles to a personal record of 2:11:56 and placed 3rd in my age division. I took 25 minutes off my original half-marathon time from February, and I was seriously in awe of what you can do when you set your mind to it. Oh, and when you're hydrated. 🙂


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The year 2009 has seen some great platform exclusives, many of which saw the light of day on Sony's shiny gaming console. The PS3 itself went through some drastic changes of its own, sporting a slimmer exterior as well as a cheaper price tag. In addition to the long awaited titles, a couple of new IP's also made their way onto the console this year. Sleeper hits like Demon's Souls and inFAMOUS strengthened the PS3's games library and gave people all the more reasons to own one.
Open-world games are a tricky business. Not only can they end up being overwhelming, but the experience can easily get repetitive. Ask anyone about the original Assassin's Creed and they'll give you the whole run down! InFAMOUS, however, stays consistently enjoyable all the way to the end. With some well-placed plot twists, a story driven mission structure, several game changing morality choices, and highly intuitive platforming, there's always much to do in the game. Cole's lightning abilities are somewhat inspired by shooter mechanics, with there being a substitute for almost every traditional weapon type. The end result, however, is an open-world platformer with a fleshed out combat system that always feels solid and accurate.
Demon's Soul's
Quite possibly the sleeper hit of this year, Demon's Souls is a niche offering, evening within the Role Playing Genre. It's a vast and lengthy adventure that gradually grows onto you with its challenging gameplay and skill/weapon customizations. While the somewhat rigid difficulty may have put off the casual crowd, RPG fanatics found all the more reason to dig deeper into the game. Despite its rather detracting nature, Demon's Souls does a fine job of drawing you into its world and setting the mood, with some atmospheric environments and an ambient score. Additionally, the game's unique online offerings help to distinguish it even further from the vast majority of RPGs, and make it worthy of a look from ardent fans of the genre.
Killzone 2
The first thing about Killzone 2 that immediately catches your attention is how impressive it looks. Tons of post-processing, stellar lighting and particle effects alongside many other technical nuances make the game's war-torn setting as believable as possible. Separating the game from traditional FPS games is the unique sense of 'weight' associated with your weapons and movement. Additionally, THE cleverly implemented cover mechanic works really well in context of the AI driven single-player campaign. Considering how engaging the whole experience is, it's a tad bit disappointing to see the absence any kind of Co-op support. KZ2 does, however, feature a robust, deep, and competitively addictive online multiplayer mode that's been a sure shot favorite this year among FPS fanatics.
Assassin's Creed 2
As impressive as the original Assassin's Creed was, the sequel blows it out of the water. Retaining certain likeable aspects from its predecessor, the game has been given a major overhaul in several areas where the original was found to be lacking. Gone are the days of laborious progression and repetitive mission design. With a compelling storyline, methodical gameplay, and an enchanting score, Assassin's Creed 2 is a must have for all.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
When Uncharted: Drake's Fortune was released back in 2007, it received with mixed reactions. Some criticized it for not trying anything new and falling prey to the art of imitation, while others relished in its visual splendor and intricate level design. Developer Naughty Dog surely must have taken all the criticism to heart. While the original was a fine game that could put any of the Tomb Raider games to shame, the sequel blows it out of the water. Yes, it's that good! You could literally pick apart any aspect of the game and still be hard pressed to find any nagging issues. Whether it's the gorgeous scenery, the remarkably natural and intuitive animations, the cleverly thought out level design, the interwoven platforming and shooting, or the jaw-dropping set pieces; ND has left no stone unturned in making Uncharted 2 the masterpiece that it is.
Honorable Mentions: Modern Warfare 2, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, Dragon Age: Origins


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10 Jun Final thoughts from Penn State students!
Our final days were a combination of finishing our projects and spending some quality time with the children, youth and staff at the Centre. Each of the teams completed their objectives for our time here both in terms of projects on the ground and getting their reports written to ensure the Centre will be able to use their work after we're gone.
The Ag team's survey of dairy farmers found a strong demand for quality feed in the region, so the hay team will work on training new youth and buying additional equipment to expand. Our students also taught them how to make silage so they could also start to provide that as an on-site service for farmers.
The business team wrote final versions of their professional skills workshops with the youth, and the business development workshops for the women's group in the informal settlements. They also provided a more comprehensive version of these workshops to be used with new youth who join the Zawadi Youth Enterprise Program.
As you saw, the book-writing was a hit! That team also completed an informal assessment of the peer mentoring program and provided feedback and suggestions to the staff to ensure the program meets the needs of the children and is sustainable.
Now for the fun – we took the staff and youth to dinner Saturday to show our appreciation for all their support while we were here, and Monday morning we made French toast for the children!
On our final full day, we visited a reception centre for children fresh from the streets. Children need some time to adjust to 'normal' living again after being on the streets so while at this centre they learn social skills and become prepared (and willing) to go to school. Many of the children here were quite young…
We also visited a facility the CYEC is developing for their youngest children and saw another potential site they may lease in the future. It is exciting to see their program develop and grow.
Our goals for this program are to both serve as pro-bono consultants to the CYEC and to help our students learn. We think that in order for our students to learn how to be effective professionals in community and/or international development, they need to learn how to have genuine partnerships with community organizations. At the end of our time here I'm pleased with how our students did. They worked hard, took initiative, were flexible and accomplished a great deal for the Centre. Equally importantly, they worked graciously with our hosts and learned from them – they recognized that this is a true partnership and that we take away from this experience more than we give. They formed relationships that I'm sure will last and learned a great deal about themselves in the process. As they return home I'm sure they'll continue to reflect on our time here and grow.


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I'm delighted to report that Prof. Eugene Kontorovich (Northwestern Law School) will be guest-blogging for the next several days about prosecuting pirates and terrorists. Here's his quick summary of his plans:
Many of the issues about the legal regime for responding to and prosecuting pirates that have arisen in the wake of the capture of a U.S. vessel this week are discussed at length in my forthcoming scholarly essay entitled "A Guantanamo on the Sea": The Difficulties of Prosecuting Pirates and Terrorists, to be published in volume 98 of the California Law Review. I wrote it several months ago, before the piracy problem had attracted major attention, but due to the slow production schedules of law reviews, it won't be published for some time, so I thought it would be appropriate to share the central ideas informally now. (For background on the issue, one can consult a short briefing paper I wrote for the American Society of International Law, International Legal Responses to Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.)
The essay explains the legal and practical difficulties to taking both military and criminal approaches to the piracy problem. Because pirates are not combatants but rather civilians -– yet civilians operating in a highly organized armed manner outside the control of any country -– international law and the criminal procedure rights of Western countries make any solution challenging. The Article's principal contention is that many of the difficulties in dealing with pirates are exactly the same ones presented by terrorists and Guantánamo detainees. If anything, prosecuting pirates should be easier because they have no obvious political constituency. Thus, the piracy fiasco has cautionary implications for the idea that terrorists can easily be dealt with through regular civilian law enforcement mechanisms.
(The difficulties of prosecuting pirates are illustrated in a recent Ninth Circuit case last year -– the first universal jurisdiction piracy case decided by America in hundreds of years, and the subject of a short piece of mine forthcoming in the American Journal of International Law. The little noticed case also demonstrates the difficulties involved: The entire crew had to be detained on material witness warrants, translators found for everybody, and more.)
I write on public law generally, including constitutional and public international law. Because of my interest in jurisdiction, I have been studying piracy since the beginning of my scholarly career. Piracy is the first and paradigm universal jurisdiction crime -– one that can be punished by any nation, even without a nexus to the offense. Given the rise in universal jurisdiction over human rights offenses, studying how it worked for hundreds of years in the context of piracy could teach a great deal about modern universal jurisdiction, as I've shown in The Piracy Analogy: Modern Universal Jurisdiction's Hollow Foundation and other articles. I have also followed the current piracy problem closely since it began in 2005, for an ongoing project empirically analyzing universal jurisdiction to see how often nations are willing to exercise it. Unfortunately, this area of knowledge has become too relevant as of late.
I'm much looking forward to seeing the other Eugene's posts.
All Related Posts (on one page) | Some Related Posts:
- The Administration's Pathetic Piracy Policy, or Freezing Asses
- Just an Honest Fisherman
- Why Crews Don't Resist ...
- Piracy Blogging
- Eugene Kontorovich, Guest-Blogging on Prosecuting Pirates and Terrorists:
- Piracy bleg:...
- The Piracy Problem.
- How to Handle Pirates:
- The Somali Pirates:


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The Trade Hub's Enabling Environment component supports a business climate that facilitates local and foreign investment in the Southern Africa region. The component also ensures gender integration and environmental compliance in all Trade Hub activities.
Strengthening Institutional Capacity of Standards Development Organizations: The Trade Hub provides capacity building and technical assistance on standards for Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia to help establish an effective World Trade Organization Technical Barriers to Trade (WTO TBT) National Enquiry Point and Notification Authority for each country. The Hub also works to strengthen the legal and regulatory framework for standards, improve the standards development process, and enhance outreach and communication efforts to ensure the private sector is more involved in standardization activities. In partnership with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the Trade Hub also assists SADC Cooperation in Standardization (SADCSTAN) to further develop the quality infrastructure in the SADC region.
Improving Investment Climate in the SADC Region: The Trade Hub developed Investor Roadmaps for Lesotho and Swaziland detailing the administrative, procedural and regulatory barriers hindering investment into the countries. An Investor Roadmap is a tool designed by the World Bank and USAID to help policy makers and government institutions identify and address administrative barriers to investment. The Trade Hub has annually reviewed progress on implementation of the Investor Roadmaps in Lesotho and Swaziland and provided technical assistance for further improvement. In addition to the above, the Trade Hub is providing support to develop Investor Roadmaps for ten SADC Member States following a request from the SADC Secretariat.
Embedding and Entrenching Gender Integration and Environmental Compliance in Trade Hub Activities: The Enabling Environment component reports on gender initiatives to ensure that gender is adequately integrated in all activities by technical teams and regional implementing partners. The component also reviews the environmental impact of all project activities to ensure that the activities comply with local and USAID Environmental regulations.
Program Objectives:
- Improve Trade and Investment Climate
- Ensure Gender Integration
- Monitor Project Activities Compliance with USAID Environmental Regulations


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Anxiety and Panic Attack
Self Esteem & Redundancy
About Me
About Counselling
Resources Supervision Training
What to expect from counselling
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Recognizing you have a problem is a big step. The next hardest is picking up the phone and asking for help. Don't be concerned, I am here to help you.
These are the most difficult steps in improving your life. Call me now.
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I specialise in just a few subjects.
Bereavement, Depression and Anxiety
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Low self esteem is about lack of personal worth it is about the way you feel about yourself. It usually visible as depression ...
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From my Facebook posts


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Dynafit Low Tech Race 2.0 Auto-Lock Binding
- One Size
Tech Specs
Speed up.
If you thought the Dynafit Low Tech Race binding couldn't get any lighter, you thought wrong. Now checking in at a feathery 110g, the Low Tech Race 2.0 Auto-Lock Binding is lighter than before and maintains the same simple and streamlined design as previous iterations. The Low Tech Race 2.0 gets its low weight and reliable strength through a thoughtful mix of forged 7074 aluminum, titanium, and high-strength plastic. The new mounting pattern utilizes only four screws in the toe piece and three in the heel for further weight savings, and the crampon slot can be removed to shed a few more grams from the binding. The patented toe pins feature snow-shedding grooves to keep them free of snow and ice for reliable boot connections that will save time during transitions. The heel is easily switched from walk with a quick flick of the tab that covers the two heel pins and are just as quickly switched to ski mode with the same motion.
- Forged 7075 aluminum and titanium
- Removable crampon slot
- Snow-repellent toe pins
- Optimized mounting pattern
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Lightest you can buy. No frills.
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Simple, badass, and the lightest binding you can find. I found that I became a better skier with these because they don't release. No bullshit with these babies!
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There's a reason these are the most common bindings you see on the World Cup circuit. Super simple and very easy to use at a light weight. I find the heel lifters a bit sticky to pop up but otherwise love them. Have them on my touring skis and my race skis and have yet to have one break.
Awesome Race Binding!
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
I love this binding. No bells and whistles. Just the necessary simple design to get the job done. Ive used this for two seasons and raced all over the US and Europe with them and they haven't failed me yet. If you are looking for a minimal weight and the right design, look no further.
Lightweight and awesome
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
I have these mounted on my race setup, but these bindings could do it all. Super light, super simple, everything I want in a touring binding. Make sure you have them perfectly mounted because there isn't any room for error. The light weight and simpolicity show no signs of comprimise on durability or security. Really rock solid all around!


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In German mid-sized business, corporate responsibility is a living belief. Ever since its founding, a sustained social commitment has been a matter of personal importance at Psyma. Our responsibility does not cease to exist at our front door. Our corporate commitment covers our business activities (market), as well as the areas of ecology / environment, coworkers / workplace and corporation / community.
Psyma, with over 60 years of expertise and corporate activity, is one of the pioneer companies in German market research, and has always been corporately dedicated. This live responsibility has shaped our actions, day for day.
- Donate instead of Giving/"Gifts of Hope" ("Geschenke der Hoffnung") association
- Rotary Club Social Funds
- Doctors without Borders
- Hammock association (Verein Hängematte e.V. [emergency overnight accommodations for drug addicts])
- Donation to "Professional Tour Guide School", Arusha/Tanzania
- NHTC German Federal Hockey League and junior programs and BHC (Basler Hockey Club) Swiss Premier League Hockey
- TV 1877 Lauf Team Handball Federation League
- Photovoltaic complex with > 10 tons CO2 savings per year
- Combined heat and power plant
- Sustainable use of materials
- Open Door Policy: Flat hierarchy and short paths
- Flexible working hours and promotion of part-time employment
- Flexible options for vacations and working hours
- Numerous voluntary services (company pension plan, business trip and accident insurance, birth and marriage benefit, anniversary payments, paid special vacations)
- Promotion of inclusion and integration
- Accredited IHK internship company
- Compensated student internship and student work placement,no "long-term interns" as a substitute for full-time positions
- Psyma-Wiki as a worldwide exchange platform
- Active support of local sports activities (e.g. company runs / District race)
- Trusting and cordial cooperation with Works Council
- Active participation in the Board of Directors of the industry associations ADM and BVM
- Sponsor member of "Initiative Markt- und Sozialforschung e.V."
- ESOMAR Founding Corporate Member
- Fair dealings with suppliers and freelancers
Responsibility is a deliberate investment in our own competitive position and in a company, where futures generations will also have a chance. When we are talking about the contribution to the economy for a future oriented company, the term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR for short) always comes to mind. Psyma is a member of the Initiative CSR Regio.net Nürnberg to interface with other companies and be able to implant and implement CSR strategies.


text: On Sat, Aug 14, 2004 at 03:46:40PM +0200, wrote: } ... } bash> erl -noshell -run hello run } } which prints the message, but then the process hangs, and I have } to use ^C to end it. ... erl -noshell -run hello run -run erlang halt } ... I wish there would be an (appreciated) -compile flag that let me } do the two lines in one ... erl -noshell -run c c hello -run hello run -run erlang halt } Erlang modules are not organized in a hierarchy, but come in a flat name } space. } Maybe support for hierarchical module names in the language could help } here. ... http://www.erlang.se/publications/packages.html http://www.it.uu.se/research/reports/2000-001 -Vance


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Parking Sensors/Cameras
See our comprehensive range of car parking sensors and parking cameras catering for most requirements. From basic reverse parking sensors such as the Sumex rear parking sensors with audible alert and the number plate parking sensors for easy installation, to more high end systems for both front and rear parking sensors with wireless or wired LED displays. We currently offer car parking sensors by Steelmate, VEBA and Sumex and in most cases, revers parking sensors can either be painted to match bumper colour or system will have a choice of parking sensor colour to choose from. Parking cameras available in 12v or 24v. If you require further assistance, don't hesitate to contact us, otherwise just click on a sub-category below to view our ranges.


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They will replace several alignments of road trees due to their internal affection that had generated structural weaknesses in trunk and branches
The Department of Works and Services to the City will replace several alignments of road trees in the coming weeks due to the internal affection they had as a result of the effect caused by drilling caterpillars, which had generated structural weaknesses in trunk and branches, with wood rot.
According to sources in this department, this situation has forced people to practice pruning or cutting down the shade trees of streets in the urban area, in this case, in the streets of Calasparra and Abarán respectively;
and consequent replacement, in some cases, in these spaces in order to guarantee the safety of the users.
In fact, according to the same sources of the Department, recently a copy of the affected alignments suffered the breakage and subsequent detachment of a branch of large dimensions to the public road, in the area of the Cross of the Mission, which forced the action of maintenance personnel of the Municipal Warehouse and the Local Police.


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This is where all the crazy things in my head are laid to rest, so I can move on to the next obsession!(or back to a previous one)
Friday, 26 October 2012
Breaking Dawn Quotes: Day 11.2
"Renesmee was very real and vital in my life, it was still difficult to think of myself as a mother. I suppose anyone would feel the same, though, without nine months to get used to the idea. And with a child that changed by the hour." ~ Bella chpt 25
2 comments:
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|Karim Belabas on Mon, 06 Aug 2012 12:20:06 +0200
[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]
|Re: Patch: default(sopath), default(outputsp[aces])
* Bill Allombert [2012-08-05 18:32]: >>> 1) have two functions printsep() [ with \n ] and printsep1() [ without ], >>> >>> 3) allow user functions with a variable number of arguments and let the user >>> define his own variant. >>> >>> Allowing "varargs" user functions is obviously very desirable independently of >>> the printsep() feature, but it's currently not available, so not an immediate >>> option. > > Only options 1 and 3 are consistent with the rest of the interface. I'm not so sure: the interface is already inconsistant - print() / write() have a print1() / write1() variant, but printtex() / writetex() do not [ one must use print1(Strtex(...)) ] - printf() doesn't have the trailing \n, like its C counterpart. And nobody complained so far. - since I'm so used to printf, I find myself often mistakenly including a "\n" at the end of character strings output by print() ... [ ugly double carriage return ] I don't see why having a printsep() behave like printf() would be inconsistent, it's a kind of "formatted printing" after all. If we agree that 0) is not inconsistent, then 2) makes sense because it's annoying to be unable to print a \n without an extra separator showing up. In fact, one could also propose never to print a separator before a "\n" element, wherever it might appear in the argument list. > Now, if we allow user functions with a variable number of arguments, what would be the > syntax ? Maybe > > f(a,b,c,v[])= > { > print(a); > for(i=1,#v,print(v[i])) > > } Looks good: Printsep(join, v[]) = { for (i=1,#v, print1(v[i]); if (i < #v, print1(join))); } Would one be able to pass it like va_lists, as in Printsepln(join, v[]) = Printsep(join, v[]); print(); ? (Not a major feature, though.) Cheers, K.B. -- Karim Belabas, IMB (UMR 5251) Tel: (+33) (0)5 40 00 26 17 Universite Bordeaux 1 Fax: (+33) (0)5 40 00 69 50 351, cours de la Liberation http://www.math.u-bordeaux1.fr/~belabas/ F-33405 Talence (France) http://pari.math.u-bordeaux1.fr/ [PARI/GP] `


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Hella's Power Beam 1500 LED work lamp delivers light with less power
Hella's Power Beam 1500 LED work lamp is built to replace the light output of standard 55W halogen lights while using only 22 watts of power. The Power Beam 1500 LED Work Lamp's light output of 1300 lumens is produced by six LEDs, yet the lamp is safe to touch due to over-heating protection and minimal temperature build-up at the lens. The LEDs have a service life of approximately 16,000 hours.
The lamp produces light output at a color temperature of 5,700 degrees Kelvin. The beam is homogeneously distributed through a specially developed multi-faceted reflector to create an excellent lighting pattern for the workspace.
Hella's Power Beam 1500 LED Work is available in several configurations, featuring a choice of either close-range or short-range illumination and stainless steel trunnion bracket or pendant mounting. Designed to handle tough operating conditions and strong vibration, it is also watertight and dust proof sealed to IP 6K7, and able to withstand high-pressure washing.
The Power Beam 1500 LED has an operating voltage of 9-33 V and can be used with both 12 and 24 V systems. It features polarity reversal protection, an LED fault bypass, and protection against EMC interference. The LED fault bypass or LED error recovery ensures the function of the work light even in the unlikely case of an LED failure.


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Recliner Chairs
Hunter Furniture has a new selection of Recliner Chairs, which are available in a wide selection of fabric or leather coverings.
One of our more popular ranges is the Karma Recliners. The Karma Recliner Chair has been designed with a streamlined elegance that moves with you. By simply touching the stylish chrome lever you can adjust the back recline up to 150 degrees, providing the perfect level of comfort to suit you. The Karma Recliner Chair offers perfect comfort with a multi position neck and headrest. This can be adjusted to any angle and any position to fully support your head. The Karma Recliner Chair and matching ottoman have a 360 degree swivel with a sliding bearing system which offers flexibility, stability and safety. The Karma Chairs are available in a variety of different 100% top grain cowhide leather options as well as top quality fabric covering options and a variety of base colours. This means that you have the freedom to choose a style that perfectly suits your home.
Browse our range online or visit your closest Hunter Furniture Store to test drive our recliner chairs and look at the full range of leather & fabric options available.


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|cocoyam peeled and pounded hot
|Pounded Cocoyam (Ede ofe)to be used as a thickener
|cocoyam peeled and pounded hot
|Pounded Cocoyam (Ede ofe)to be used as a thickener
Wow,the recipe looks quite healthy.Thanks for flagging it.I MIGHT try it sometime soon!!!ReplyDelete
This could also be made way ahead of time and frozen, i usually buy a whole lot and process and store in the freezer for up to six months...makes my life so easy as i cant do without ora soup!ReplyDelete
for those that can't pound or do not have access to mortar, you can peel the cocoyam boil until soft, put into a blender add water and then blend. it works like magic and it is stress free.ReplyDelete
this beautiful food thanksReplyDelete
Hello Dobby,
I want to cook oha and ede ofe is one of the main ingredients. I in US, and don't have access to the non-edible cocoyam. Is there an alternative I can use?
Thanks for taking time to comment. Your Feedback & Questions are highly appreciated.
♥ If you've got questions on any recipe or article posted, Please leave it in the comment section and it would be replied as soon as possible. Questions related to any article will not be answered away from the page.
♥ Comments are moderated (Everything constructive is approved), so they may take some time to appear so please check back!


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What happens when the natural growth of weeds and vegetation is excessive and begins to hamper the machinery at your water treatment plants?
Blades and fans in aeration tanks, sluices and pumps can all be hampered or damaged by excessive weed growth, and cause the whole treatment process to grind to a halt.
The longer the vegetation problem is left unchecked, the worse the outcome in terms of time and expense to put things right.
Aquatic Solution's wide range of services mean that we offer efficient, effective and economical ways to deal with any aquatic weed, vegetation or invasive weed problem.
This is how we can help solve problems with weeds and vegetation growth at your water treatment plants:
- Lightweight Truxor amphibious vehicle enables access to difficult areas
- Mechanical removal of the weeds is faster than manual handling, which saves time and money and reduces any "down time"
- Years of experience in invasive and aquatic weed control
- Experience and knowledge of Health and Safety implications of working in water treatment plants
We offer a quick and effective solution to your problem, and at a very competitive rate.
Take a look at case study of work carried out on a Water Treatment Plant here.
If you would like to learn more about how we might be able to help your water treatment plants, please contact us and we can have an informal chat to discuss the areas that interest you.
We utilise Google Earth or you can attach pictures (below) of the area to help discuss any project with us in more clarity and detail.
All of our quotations are provided free of charge and in the case of larger jobs we would undertake a site survey.
Call us now on 01788 810614 or email us at email@example.com, or complete the online form below. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Aquatic Solutions UK – Experts in Water Treatment PlantsTel: 01788 810614
Mike Mobile: 07770 606423 Fax: 01788 519766 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Invoice Address: The Cart Barn, Montilo Lane, Pailton, Rugby, CV23 0QN
Office Address: Lawford Heath Farm, Lawford Heath Lane, Lawford Heath, Rugby, CV23 9EU


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Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Olympic Lifters and Jumping: Pat Mendes
2 comments:
John Broz! Pat Mendes is one SCARY young man.ReplyDelete
- PetersonWednesday, September 14, 2011
So I just talked to Aimee about confusion that I had over this very thing.ReplyDelete
For a push press, I was yelled at (not angrily or anything) for my heels coming off the ground. I don't get why this is an issue since when you jump, you jump from the balls of your feet, with the heal coming off of the ground first.
Isn't it just natural that at lighter weights, your heels will be coming off of the ground?
I'd guess that having your feet coming off of the ground would be wasting the momentum you built up in a way that isn't directly getting more weight overhead, and that if you are truly at your max, all of your effort goes towards getting that weight overhead without any of the waste seen in your heels coming off the ground...


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Welcome to Perfect Power Online
Welcome to Perfect Power Online - our dedicated online store for international Dealers and End Users. All your Perfect Power requirements under one roof. Please use the navigation above or the search option at the top of the screen to browse through our products.
For product returns please complete the Returns Forms.
Please be aware of the below points before starting your purchase :
- Please note that when ordering, if you select the postage option for your order, we would like to make you aware that there is a good chance that your parcel will be delayed up to 6 weeks.
- Please bear in mind too that we are unable to offer insurance on parcels which are posted.
- Parcels sent via postal service to the USA are being held by USB customer and therefore we cannot guarantee that the goods will reach you.
- When making a purchase online, please make sure you select the currency in which you wish to pay, i.e. US Dollars or Euro.
- This site is for our international dealers and end users. Customers who register are automatically signed up as end users. If you are an international dealer please confirm by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.com to confirm. We will manually list you as a registered dealer to qualify for dealer prices.
- For more details on any of our listed products please visit our website at www.perfectpower.com.
- Please note that this site is intended for international customers ONLY. All local (South African) dealers and end users please register on our local website at gngdevelopments.co.za/store/.


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|Family Movie Night-Peter Rabbit
Event Type: Family Program
Age Group(s): Family
Date: 7/20/2018
Start Time: 6:30 PM
End Time: 8:30 PM
The movie this month is Peter Rabbit. All ages are welcome. Children can come in their pj's. Popcorn will be served. Water bottles are recommended. Registration is required.Directions
Contact: Miss Jo Ann
Contact Number: 724-3414
Link: email@example.com
Status: Closed


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GORDON, Jaimey
Kingston, NY: McPherson & Co., 2010. First Edition. 8vo. Fine in like jacket. Bright, sharp, clean, and tight. Unread and as new. 9780929701837 (Item ID: 12831)
True first edition / printing (with full number line and proper endpapers) of this surprise National Book Award winner. From a small press with an equally small initial press run. Quickly went into multiple printings. 294pp.
More: Modern firsts • rss
More: Prize winners • rss
By This Author: GORDON, Jaimey


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Discussion in 'Software' started by fury, Jul 5, 2001.
I don't have any *nix's installed but I do have Redhat 7 cds...
Is the poll, what we like best or what we are using?
I can't vote, I have more than 1 of the choices installed.
added the option... lol, i made the same mistake in the windows poll
Thanks Fury.
wishful voting
I use RedHat. A few months after I used RedHat at home, I started using Debian at work. I quickly figured out that Debian was right for me.
But I'm too lazy to zap RedHat off of my home computer and install Debian. So I use Redhat.
(So I voted for Debian :-)
I wondered if we were gonna see you man. Glad you made it back to the forums.
If you really like debian then you should try
redmond linux
It is a very nice distro still in beta but as usual more stable than any winders...
The only problem with it is it's based on Caldera. However, it's also one of the few that I have gotten to install on a laptop quite easily.
One post is the best you could do? :P
No Susu?
I was still using Redhat 5.2 up until just a few months ago when i finallly upgraded to Mandrake.
I'm a Mandrake user myself.
Right now, it may be a little more blotted than others, like slack,
but it seems to be the most user friendly, and for me has the best/easiest
options for clustering.
I need to get back into linux...
Yeah I've just got it on 1 out of 12 machines right now, but
I'm thinking seriously about switching over on 4 more of them,
including a 3.0gig P4 I about to build, and get more into it.
I'm really growing tired of MS's crap. (keeping tabs, and junk upgrades)
Anyone tried "puppy linux"??
A very small LInux OS but powerful and runs on CD!
Geez! That's a name I haven't seen in ages. Wassup man?
Hello Dudes!
Yep, it's been a while for me hybernating down here. There are a lot of raids down here regarding M$ anti-piracy movement by our government and we have no choice but to use LINUX coz no win95,98, or Me is for sale nowadays. The Business Alliance of M$ is forcing us to buy the expensive XP and I'm still using my k6-II 350 machine!
I'm starting to appreciate LINUX nowadays and I have PC Linux, Mepis Linux and Puppy Linux to look into.
More power and best regards.
I only wish one could run games in that thing. I would surely flush M$hit down the drain
These toys recommend external modem. I'll be trying to use external modem to play with. Most folks down here need only Word processor, Spreadsheet, Internet and Webcam in their PC. If I cud meet their requirements we both are happy flushing out M$hit! LOL.
live cd's
is a nice readable link site for live linux
Separate names with a comma.


text:
Get The Look
5 Funky Haircolors You Should Try This Summer
The weather is heating up! As temperatures rise and summer steps into the spotlight, bold colors and prints begin to emerge to match the electrifying energy this season brings forth. As a result, you may find yourself searching for a new 'do to heat things up this summer. We're here to be your helpful guide and have collected 5 funky hair colors you should try!
Purple Reign
The color of royalty, an electric purple is fit for a quirky queen.
Not So Mellow Yellow
Dope tapered sides and neon yellow strands? Be prepared to have everybody wishing they were as cool as you.
You can find this hair at your local beauty supple store or shop it here.
Cotton Candy Curls
Whoever said three's a crowd never considered this dope style. Mix up your style with a collection of complimentary colors; a perfect solution if you can't decide on just one.
Poppin' In Pink
Seriously OBSESSING over this bubblegum pink pixie with frosted tips. It's a playful blend of sugar and spice.
Not too keen on bleaching your hair but want this look? Beige Ojai reviewed a great wig option here.
That Girl Is Poison
At the risk of sounding cliché, we'll definitely be green with envy over this sick cut and color.
With all of this inspo, we're itching to book an appointment with our stylist ASAP! See a color you're down to try? Already have your funky color for the summer? Let us know if the comments below!
Stay bold,
Victoria W.


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Just picked these down the street and decided to record their beauty before eating or freezing them. Don't you just want to kiss them? Posted on Flickr by Muffet on 2010-07-01 15:20:52Read more
This is not an ant; it's an alydid, and they do a great job of imitating ants. Shot with the Velvet-56 @ f/4.0 As seen on Flickr, by Anne WornerRead more
Briareum sp. under moonlight LED Posted on Flickr by sai_ben89 on 2015-03-09 11:31:29Read more
Briareum sp. under moonlight LED Posted on Flickr by sai_ben89 on 2015-03-09 11:31:30Read more
Euphyllia paraancora – Hammer Coral. One underwater coral which is living in a 20 liter glass cube in someones living room. Who needs fish with such great plants like this corral? Posted on Flickr by sai_ben89 on 2015-01-18 20:29:12Read more
Nature getting ready … Posted on Flickr by ronsaunders47 on 2012-02-23 12:16:24Read more
Posted on Flickr by 360around on 2013-05-19 16:43:46Read more
The Red Powder Puff (Calliandra haematocephala) taken at Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. twitter.com/Fr4sr Posted on Flickr by Fraser Mummery on 2011-12-29 21:29:17Read more


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By Danny O. Calleja
LEGAZPI CITY, Sept. 18 (PNA) The Weather Philippines Foundation (WPF) has provided Bicol with eight more sets of Automated Weather Stations (AWS), this time to an equal number of municipalities in the province of Camarines Norte.
Nong Rangasa, the Local Climate Change Adaptation for Development (LCCAD) executive director, on Thursday here said the new AWS were recently installed in the Camarines Norte municipalities of Basud, Capalonga, Daet, Labo, Mercedes, Paracale, Santa Elena and Talisay.
These municipalities were among the 64 areas in Bicol listed by WPF as meteorological sites that it has included as priority to its support in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation programs that local government units have embraced, Rangasa said.
This number, the LCCAD head said, is part of the roughly 1,000 AWS devices that the foundation is providing across the country to deliver critical and accurate weather forecasts to the Filipino community, in the hope of improving nationwide disaster preparedness, and timely response to variable weather conditions.
LCCAD is a climate change adaptation arm of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) that forged a partnership with the WPF in the implementation of the project across the country.
WPF is a private, non-profit organization that puts together the resources of Aboitiz Group and the technical expertise of Meteomedia, a Swiss company, into this project.
Rangasa said the award of the AWS to Camarines Norte towns held over the week was preceded by a web portal training provided by LCCAD and WPF to Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) and public information officers as well as municipal administrators of the recipient local government units (LGUs).
Using funds secured from AP Renewables Inc. (APRI), through its parent organization Aboitiz Power which allowed it to carry on with its mission to aid in disaster risk reduction for years, Rangasa said WPF plans to finish installing its target number of AWS devices nationwide and to operate its weather forecasting portal for the next ten years.
Chosen as among the priority regions for the installation of these state-of-the-art weather forecasting stations is Bicol, with Albay and Catanduanes as first beneficiarieseach provided three AWS installed in equal number of municipalities that are strategically positioned to cover weather monitoring for the whole of each province.
Rangasa said that for Albay, the municipalities where the weather stations now operate are Libon, Tiwi and Rapu-Rapu while in Catanduanes, the towns are Caramoran, San Andres and San Miguel.
"Since Albay, Catandunes and Camarines Norte are located along the path usually being followed by typhoons emanating from the Pacific Ocean, it is just wise that these provinces are made priority beneficiaries of these weather monitoring equipment from WPF," according to Rangasa.
These equipment, he said, form part of the advocacy being pursued by LCCAD and WPF towards the formulation of Local Climate Change Action Plans (LCCAPs) through complementary partnership with the Local Government Academy of the DILG (LGA-DILG) training workshops that are conducted by batches all over the country.
Rangasa said all municipalities, especially those that have completed their training-workshop for the formulation of LCCAP, are entitled to receive the AWS as an incentive because this plan is a vital capacity-building mandate of the LGA-DILG.
An AWS is a modern, easy-to-operate and maintain weather instrument that senses global radiation (solar), wind direction, wind speed, temperature, pressure, rainfall and precipitation with live computerized real time feed at the WPF website accessible to all.
These instruments are the basis for the forecast of weather conditions wherein super computers at the WPF headquarters in Taguig, Metro Manila, and Switzerland process the information coming from the weather stations.
According to Rangasa, these weather stations are given free to the LGUs in order to prepare them for climate change adaptation-based policies for their respective projects that complete their climate change adaptation on top of Disaster Risk and Vulnerability Reduction (DRVR) response mechanisms. (PNA)


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Book Review: Back On Murder
May 10, 2019 by Nike Chillemi
Filed under Book and Movie Reviews, Books and Movies, Reviews
Written by J. Mark Bertrand
Reviewed by Nike Chillemi –
This is the Christian crime fiction novel I've been waiting for. It's intelligent and well written. Author J. Mark Bertrand knows his police procedure and has got cop culture down.
Main character detective Roland March wants back on murder. He's kind of flushed his career due a dark depression he's been wallowing in which has led to his apathy about the job. As result he's been assigned a string of undesirable cases, none of them homicide. Even his old partner, once a close friend, wants nothing to do with him. Then he notices a detail at a murder scene the other cops have missed and that lands him squarely on the case. This is his last chance to redeem himself and resuscitate his failed career.
Roland's instincts tell him this homicide at a drug house, missing it's female victim's body, is linked to a high profile missing person's case, where the other young female victim is a church going good girl. Sometimes it seems as if he's trying to make the pieces fit. Sometimes he might be hoping they fit to prove a theory of the case that will allow him to exact revenge upon his old nemesis on the police force.
I didn't always like protagonist Roland March. He can be petty, mean, dense, and not above begging. Near the beginning of the story, something snaps inside him and he manhandles a very drunk woman trying to get into her car outside a bar he frequents. He takes her keys away and might've even saved her life, but his behavior was over-the-top. Later, it's revealed what personal demons drove him to conduct himself in so vile a manner.
The novel is definitely edgy. The main character is not saved and doesn't get saved by the end of the book. One of the murders has highly sexual overtones. One of the characters may or may not have date raped a girl and Roland does little to nothing about it. There's tons of violence. More than a few scenes take place in a cop bar. The hero thinks about sex with his wife more in sexual terms than in a romantic manner…or perhaps it's in a habitual way. The autopsy scene is graphic. All this adds up to edgy Christian fiction. But it's a fantastic ride. A detective story reader's dream comes true.
I'm glad this is going to be a series. I don't want to see Roland March go away any time soon. I'll put this book up against any secular crime fiction best seller. Though writing style and hero personality is different, the book is comparable to Michael Connelly's long running Harry Bosch series.
What makes Roland compelling is his cop's sense of righting a wrong on behalf of the victim. He particularly wants justice for the nameless, faceless girl whose body is missing, but who so obviously died in that drug house. While Roland obviously has a gazillion negatives to his personality, he can also be noble, brave, loyal, and doggedly persistent.
Roland March is not a spiritual man, yet he's the perfect one, to objectively show how the secular world views the church. He's saddled with a new female partner, a Christian, who's easy on the eyes and he's ogled her, only to be slapped down. He later comes to respect her as a woman, cop, and valued partner. Through his eyes, we meet the young missing person victim's mother, a church worker who indeed lives her faith. We get to see her at first through his jaded eyes and then slowly see she's the real deal. We marvel at her compassion, just as he does.
I highly recommend this book to crime fiction fanatics of every stripe, or anyone looking for a terrific police procedural/thriller. This is an intelligent, complex, gritty mystery and the writing is excellent. It's a real page turner.