text:
TH2 Technologies, Inc. has been serving Southern California and beyond for more than 18 years.
Our focus is providing the highest value to our clients using the right solutions for the given application while implementing these solutions using trusted best practice configurations. We go to great lengths to find the best talent and customer focused staff to ensure our clients get the absolute best support possible.
We understand the impact technology has on businesses. TH2 provides pro-active and quick resolutions to avoid technology problems that lead to downtime. We are our client's expert IT department, getting to know their business, providing technical guidance and expertise to help increase productivity and profitability. Our clients have direct access to our senior level Systems Engineers. We are easy to communicate with, responsive, and have a deep respect for our clients.
We measure our success based on our clients' success!
To have a positive IT experience, take us up on our free 1 hour Security Evaluation. (Must have 10 computers or more) We will provide you a free network assessment report whether you choose to engage with us or not. Learn how we can…
- Eliminate Technology Headaches for small and medium sized businesses
- Use cutting edge technology to deliver the best value and options to our clients
- Provide fast and easy access to help when you need it many times within minutes
- Eliminate problems before they happen
- Provide access to Techs who are responsive, polite and easy to communicate with
- Provide Engineers whom are senior level, no greenhorns
- Provide our clients an expert IT department


text:
Masonry for Heritage Cairn honoured at council
Mike de Palma, CEO of Flintstones Masonry, recognized at council for work on Oak Bay cairn
Mike de Palma, CEO of Flintstones Masonry, was recognized at last night's council meeting for his work on an Oak Bay cairn honouring the historical significance of the Trial Island Lighthouse.
The Oak Bay Heritage Foundation proposed Trial Island Lighthouse for protection through the Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act. In May 2015, the Government of Canada announced that Trial Island Lighthouse had been granted heritage status.
The lighthouse that currently stands was constructed in 1970 to replace the original one built in 1906. There are eight other buildings on the site that contribute to the heritage value of the lighthouse including two dwellings (built 1906 and 1957) and a boathouse built in 1965.
The cairn was an initiative of the Oak Bay Heritage Foundation, and Flintstones Masonry volunteered to construct and pay for it as a gift to the community.
The Heritage cairn was completed this spring. It is built out of full dimension salt and pepper granite stones, as opposed to the veneer stones that are commonly used today in construction.
"It feels good to be a part of the community and build monuments that will be here forever," says de Palma.
De Palma has been owner and operator of Flintstones for 10 years, growing it to a staff of 50. They do a lot of work in Oak Bay, as 95 percent of their business is renovating older houses.
Follow us on Instagram
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
TEHERAN (AFP) - Iran plans to tighten spending and raise taxes to help offset the negative impact of sharply lower oil prices and international sanctions on the state budget, its oil minister said.
Opec member Iran, with the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, is heavily reliant on petroleum exports and adopted a budget for the current fiscal year based on a projected price of US$100 per barrel.
But hit by weak demand and increased shale production, global oil prices are now well below US$80 a barrel, having collapsed by some 30 per cent since June, and they are expected to keep sliding well into 2015, the International Energy Agency said Friday.
"Iran intends to adopt a contractionary monetary policy for next year and raise tax revenues to compensate for the affects of the oil price slide," Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, quoted in Saturday's press.
Zanganeh did not provide details on plans for the next fiscal year, which will run from March 21, 2015 through March 20, 2016.
Also, he did not provide any up-to-date information on the state of the budget.
However, a number of MPs have urged the government to set a benchmark price of US$80 a barrel.
At the same time, the government plans to draw on Iran's sovereign development fund to help keep oil development projects on line.
"By drawing upon its National Development Fund to reimburse contractors active in upstream projects, Iran will make up for the impact of oil revenue decline on these projects," Zanganeh was quoted by the ministry's Shana news agency as saying.
Teheran is also studying measures to help stabilise oil prices, to be discussed at the next meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Nov 27, Zanganeh said.
The minister travelled to fellow Opec member Kuwait on Tuesday to discuss the sagging market with the country's emir, Sheikh Sabal al-Ahmed al-Sabah, Shana said.
And Rafael Ramirez, oil minister of Venezuela, is to visit Tehran to discuss a proposed call from Caracas and Ecuador for Opec to cut production.
Iran's finances are being hit not only by the weaker crude market, but also by international sanctions on finance and oil exports imposed over its controversial nuclear energy programme.
Exports have plunged from more than 2.2 million barrels a day in 2011 to a current level of around 1.3 million bpd.


text:
IIoT needs to satisfy several requirements and ICT networks are maybe the most important enabler. They integrate the largely increasing number of assets and and people connected, through ultra broadband and intelligent pipe networks features -required to manage Big Data in near real time and enable new levels of operational performance or many remote service business models.
In this sense 5G is a breakthrough realization designed for the IIoT, facilitating heterogeneous services and high volumes of data traffic with low latency, making possible the deployment of more complex solutions such as closed loop applications (decision making, autonomous cars, safety systems, etc) that are not practicable based on current technology standards.
In the following links you can find interviews and information about 5G vision, expectations and requirements and also pilot initiatives related to this hugely important topic.
- Ericsson CEO interview: link
- The 5G Infrastructure Public Private Partnership (5G-PPP): https://5g-ppp.eu/
- Huawei, "5G: A Technology Vision".
- Aalto University – Industrial Internet Campus
Daniel Rojas Acuña is a Solutions Consultant with GE in Chile focusing on big data analytics and IoT for mining applications. Previously he worked as a project engineer for Andritz and as a specialist for remote diagnostics services for ABB. He holds a Bachelor's in Electronics Engineering from Universidad de la Frontera (Chile) and a Master's in Electrical Engineering, with specialization in control and automation as well as a Dilpoma in Operations Management from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Service in Industry or its owners
If you are a Service professional (manager, practitioner, consultant or academic) in an industrial setting, join our group Service in Industry on Linkedin
Join the Community
We are building a community of service in industry professionals -business leaders, management practitioners, digitization experts, technical experts, innovators, technologists, consultants, academics, and investors.
Join our community to receive articles, briefings, guides, news analysis and more.


text:
Yesterday I had to go to London to go to a meeting at Bloomsbury Publishing by Bedford Square. It's a long way to go from Shrewsbury but I only usually have to make the journey about once a year. I look forward to this trip for weeks. It is a very exciting thing for a freelancer to have to do: travel, attend a meeting, and act important.
While in London yesterday, I came up with Ten Things I love about a day trip to London and some may be a little odd.
The Dirt
Starting with this one. I love the fact that London is grubby. To me the grubbiness is part of its history and tradition. London has been grubby ever since the Romans named it. It was grubby during the dark ages. It was grubby in medieval times. It was grubby when the Victorians were roaming the streets. And it was grubby during the war. It is grey, dark and drab. But that is what makes it so special. It smells of metal and dust. After a day in London I return home feeling as if I am covered in a layer of grime. Have you ever picked your nose after a day in London? You may not be surprised to find that London turns your snot black.
The People
London is a people magnet. It is full of the weirdest and wonderfulist mix of people from all over the world. They are a huge source of inspiration to me. The city is a complete stew pot of the human race. It is a Boxing Day meal of whatever you can find in the fridge. I love it. I love the clothes the people wear, the books they read, the way they walk, the way they talk. I love everything about them. If I were braver, I'd bring my camera with me and take photos of the people. Shrewsbury isn't so cosmopolitan. It is a cheese and ham sandwich. So for this reason London fascinates me.
The Smells
Besides the metallic smell mentioned above, London also smells of food, in a similar way to New York. It smells of pubs, smoke, chips, BBQ sauce, teriyaki sauce, curry, chips and frying.
The Shops
London is dangerous. It is full of shops. Luckily for my bank account, I didn't pass any bookshops yesterday. Unluckily for my bank account, I did pop into the ginormous Top Shop on Oxford Street.
The Art
London is full of art. It is full of art galleries and museums which display art. Besides the famous and the biggies, it also houses many medium-sized ones, little ones and tiny ones. Yesterday I went to exhibition of digital-inspired art at Somerset House called Big Bang Data. The exhibition was very thought-provoking. At home, I'd have to travel to either Liverpool, Manchester or Birmingham to come across an exhibition of that size and scope. Londoners are so lucky. They don't have to go far.
The Art Part Two
London is also full of inspiration for art: mostly because of The People (see above) but also the history, the architecture, and also, to some extent, the smells.
The Chaos
If you were to compare London to Tokyo you would be struck by two major differences: Tokyo is clean and Tokyo runs smoothly. London seems to be quite messy and a little chaotic. Crossing the road is quite scary in London. Everyone else seems to know where they are going. I don't. I feel like the lone lost wonderer when I go to London. I wear my country-bumpkin status on my coat.
The Tube
I love the tube for many of the reasons above – it is dirty, it is full of people, and it is smelly. The tube really is very grimy. But when I think of the London Underground I think of wooshies of warm air, people who don't exchange looks, people on phones, people reading, people kissing around a pole and people slumped in seats looking depressed. All good fodder for an artist like me.
London, despite having such a good underground network, is all about walking. Travelling by the Tube may seem like a way to get to the place you want to get to quicker but actually it isn't. It's a myth. For two reasons. Firstly, the distance you may travel on the Tube around central London isn't that far and wouldn't take you that long to walk. There is this illusion that to get from, say Euston to Leicester Square you must catch the Tube. Secondly, catching the Tube entails a huge amount of walking, to the platform, from the platform, between platforms if you have to change. Walking direct from A to B is often much quicker.
Nowhere else I've ever been to has escalators like London. They are fast and they go on for ages and ages. They could take you up to the top of the Wrekin. If you have a fear of escalators, London is not the city for you. I like to read the posters on the walls as they slowly wizz past me. I also like the fact that the overtaking lane is on the left-hand side whereas on a motorway the overtaking lane is on the right . Why is that?
But would I ever want to live there? I'm not sure. I think New York still wins.


text:
May 7, 2012
Union Agreement Signed
The Social Security Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the union that represents most of its employees, have finally signed a new agreement. This is now subject to ratification by union members.
2 comments:
- 4:49 PM, May 07, 2012
The negotiation teams of labor and management for SSA should be ashamed that it took more than three years to reach a tentative agreement. It's ironic that this agreement came so close to public employee appreciation week. All the ills of the world are blamed on public employees. Why is congress implementing salary freezes, cutting staffs and blaming all agencies for the GSA debacle if it is appreciative of federal employees hard work. This is called giving lip service!
- 8:14 PM, May 07, 2012
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
A second personal announcement: I am now a regular, every-other-week columnist for Media Guardian.
I'm delighted and honored to be there because I've long admired the Guardian's media section and because I think the Guardian is the best-written newspaper in the world (in English, at least). And note that I'm there not thanks to my resume but thanks to my blog. In fact, they say they want me to write for print on themes I've explored here — how shall we say this? — for screen.
It's also cool to be in the first edition of the new, medium-sized, Berliner-format Guardian.
Today's column reiterates and polishes up some of what I've written about news media and Katrina. The Reader's Digest version, just the lead and the kicker:
In less than a day, Hurricane Katrina rendered worthless the printing presses and broadcast towers that made big media big. And that will change news forever….
But journalism's rediscovered courage and newly discovered fallibility are, I will contend, less profound changes than the one brought on by the flooding of presses and the toppling of towers. For at that moment, news was freed from the shackles of media. Now he who controls distribution no longer controls news. And news is no longer shaped by the pipe that carries it. That is what Katrina did to the news.
Rex Hammock, a magazine publisher and fellow blogger at Rexblog.com, wrote that the Times-Picayune and nola.com deserve a Pulitzer for their news blogs. I second that. It doesn't matter whether the work came rolling off a press or a blog: it is journalism of the highest calibre and greatest service. The Pulitzer committee would serve journalism well by separating the content from the container, the medium from the message, and recognising great reporting wherever and however and from whomever it comes, with or without a press.


text:
What a great transition from top to leg in Nicholai Wiig-Hansen's Tablo for Normann Copenhagen. Reminds me a bit of what I was trying to achieve with my sofa Jam.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Nicholai Wiig-Hansen: Tablo
brought to you by fuuugs
1 comment:
- Jack said...
reminds me of your connection from Jam
- April 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
As a Christmas gift to a friend of mine, I undertook the making of my first Jedi cloak, and found it to be a very quick and easy project! I used the measurements and layouts Padawan's Guide as a starting point, but since my friend is 6'2", and the layout is for someone 5'5", I had to make a few adjustments. I was also making Mace Windu's cloak instead of the regular Jedi cloak, which has much longer sleeves, so I had to adjust for that, as well. You can see the difference between the two in the pic below.
The cloak is 100% wool. It's unlined, so I used French seams on everything to keep things tidy.
I don't think I'll be finishing anything else before the end of the year, so look for my 2012 wrap-up post next. :)
Saturday, December 29, 2012
windu cloak
Home windu cloak Jedi Cloak
Jedi Cloak
windu cloak
Labels: windu cloak
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
MacroLife Naturalsintroduces MacroMeal Ultimate Superfood powder drink. MacroMeals are designed for both omnivores and vegans with flavor options of chocolate or vanilla for both. Both options contain 25 g of time released digesting protein, are non-GMO, gluten free and follow GMP. MacroLife Naturals also offer Macro Greens, Miracle Reds, Macro Berri Reds and Macro Coco Greens in its product line.8477 Stellar Drive, Culver City, CA 90232, www.macrolifenaturals.com
Published in WholeFoods Magazine September 2017


text:
Even as President-elect Joe Biden pushes for electric vehicles, the biofuel industry argues he can also make progress on his climate goals by expanding biofuel usage mandates, embracing a low carbon fuel policy and increasing vehicle emissions standards.
Biden has set a climate goal of net zero emissions by no later than 2050. His climate plan calls for deploying over 500,000 new public charging stations for electric vehicles by 2030 as well as producing next-generation biofuels by turning grass, crop residues, and other biomass into fuel.
But American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings said conventional biofuels should be part of the solution, too, when the new administration takes over later this month.
"The RFS has made an important down payment with regard to bringing down greenhouse gas emissions," Jennings told Agri-Pulse. "We plan to be incredibly active in those discussions in pointing out how corn ethanol today reduces greenhouse gases by approximately 50% compared to gasoline."
Jennings was referring to a Department of Agriculture study published in 2019. The study found corn ethanol's greenhouse gas profile was 39% to 43% lower than gasoline and could even be 47% by 2022. The updated study was based off an Environmental Protection Agency analysis in 2010 of GHG emissions associated with corn production.
Kurt Kovarik, vice president of federal affairs at the National Biodiesel Board, said continuing to grow volume requirements in the RFS for biodiesel also will be critical in lowering greenhouse gases.
"Across the board, whether it's produced from soybean oil, animal fats, used cooking oil, or distillers corn oil, (biodiesel) is anywhere from 65% to 85% better than petroleum in terms of reducing carbon emissions," Kovarik told Agri-Pulse.
Kovarik and other industry officials say the Biden administration needs to start off by fully enforcing the existing Renewable Fuel Standard.
"If you look at the first 100 days, there's going to be an opportunity and responsibility on the EPA side, a host of actions around the Renewable Fuel Standard, and we need to restore integrity to the RFS," Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor told Agri-Pulse. Skor said that includes boosting annual volume requirements and denying 66 small refinery petitions pending from compliance years dating as far back as 2011.
But Skor, Kovarik and other biofuel advocates are also pushing for some version of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard to be implemented at a federal level.
The LCFS was created to decrease carbon intensity in the transportation fuel sector and requires several different types of low-carbon and renewable alternatives, according to the California Air Resources Board.
While admitting it would be difficult for the Environmental Protection Agency to enact LCFS on the federal level, Jennings said one small step could be reversing the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards that were rolled back by the Trump administration.
These standards regulate how far passenger cars and light-duty vehicles must travel on a gallon of fuel, according to the National Highway Safety and Traffic Administration.
"As the Biden EPA revises and rewrites those, they could make sure that higher octane fuel plays a role, for example. They could ensure that a higher-octane, low carbon fuel plays a role," Jennings said.
Raising those standards could encourage the sales of more engines that run on higher-octane fuel, which would essentially push refiners to add higher levels of ethanol to gasoline.
"A properly designed fuel economy standard includes incentives or requirements for raising the octane content of our nation's gasoline that then enables automakers to build higher compression ratio engines," Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper told Agri-Pulse.
Cooper said automakers should also be encouraged and incentivized to build internal combustion engines that can get the most fuel economy in terms of emissions reductions. But he noted that only happens if there is an incentive for the right fuels for those vehicles and technologies.
He said it is critical to understand that the auto manufacturing and fuel industries work as a system, not separately.
While high-compression engines may sound like a good solution for the biofuel industry, Tristan Brown, an energy resource economics professor at the State University of New York, is skeptical there will be much progress made in the next decade because of a push for increased electric vehicle use.
Interested in more coverage and insights? Receive a free month of Agri-Pulse West.
"I don't see them pursuing both avenues at the same time," Brown told Agri-Pulse. "A high-compression engine might provide some support over the next five to ten years for climate targets, but are automakers really going to invest in that?"
A key part of Biden's plan to reach net zero emissions in 30 years is by increasing charging station capacity for electric vehicles across the country.
Biden has nominated several officials who have prior government experience serving under former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton and should be able to hit the ground running. In December, Biden announced that he would nominate former Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to return to his post, as well as Michael Regan, the Department of Environmental Quality director in North Carolina, as his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency.
Brown said the Biden administration could focus on using the existing RFS to help meet its climate goals. After 2022, the RFS volume obligations will no longer be specified by Congress and be fully under EPA's discretion.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.


text:
The Choices in Taiwan and Initiating a Cooperative from Nothing
[self-note: this was published using markdown, and is a really good example post using it]
the choices in Taiwan
> > Nor can it be said truly that a pureblooded Chinese could ever quite disagree with Chuangtse's ideas. **Taoism is not a school of thought in China, it is a deep, fundamental trait of Chinese thinking, and of the Chinese attitude toward life and toward society.** It has depth, while Confucianism has only a practical sense of proportions; it enriches Chinese poetry and imagination in an immeasurable manner, and it gives a philosophic sanction to whatever is in the idle, freedomloving, poetic, vagabond Chinese soul. It provides the only safe, romantic release from the severe Confucian classic restraint, and humanizes the very humanists themselves; therefore when a Chinese succeeds, he is always a Confucianist, and when he fails, he is always a Taoist. Yutang Lin (林語堂), _Zhuangzi (莊子)_, Introduction > >
I recently felt that in Taiwan, and this may apply to any single-cultured country, that the choice of cultures is ultimately limited to two: with the society or without.
Taiwan lacks communities with diversity and ideal values. Of my time here, I have only found two places with ideal values but without diversity (of mind), and several with a little more diversity but without ideal values. Furthermore, I felt unable to find or even create a place-based community within Taiwan's society.
That feeling contrasts with the feeling in multiple-cultured societies, where I felt I'm able to manipulate a space to create a place-based community within the existing dense settlement, or simply join one of the existing diverse, ideal-valued communities.
Taiwan has one culture [not including aboriginal cultures], therefore there is only one choice within it. America has several cultures, therefore several choices exist through its cultures: other countries' cultures, capitalism, art life, consumerism, religions, non-culture, media-oriented culture (suburbanism), technological optimism, hippies, small towns, The South, etc.
In Taiwan, the only partially-inclusive spaces I have found with such diverse cultures are places where international people meet: hostels, Chinese class, post-graduate school. I have not found other spaces [within the society] that escape the cultural values of Taiwanese society.
Hostels are where I lived and what I mostly called a home, so the experience was phenomenal: I had a well-valued home, surrounded by a ethically-good culture and infinite nature. Without such places, one finds one's self in a scary singular society, and without willingness to participate in that scary society, one is left with only one choice: to leave it.
It is by far the society I've spent the longest time in, excluding the suburbs where I grew up. But, I can't say I lived in it the entire time. I was in my own world [todo: link a post which exemplifies this], while my body was in Taiwan's world. Perhaps the public spaces were the only Taiwanese places I've spent a lot of time in: the streets, day markets, neighborhoods, parks, nature: you know, the spaces where passion is satisfied capital-free. I'm unsure if that counts as living in it.
Alas, it is time to find that little place next to the mountain, not far from a city, with the best climate (and microclimate!) of the country. Somewhere east of Tainan I believe. And so, like the Trascendentalists who probably had to escape Puritanism, and the Taoists who probably had to escape Confucianism, I must escape Taiwanese culture, or whatever words one uses to describe the values of contemporary Taiwan.
At least, for the moment; Before I re-attempt to create an ideal community within the city[?] again; Or before I re-attempt to cooperate with Taiwanese society again [No! Create your own. Do not join others. Let them join you!].
progeniting an ideal cooperative from nothing, with special guest: Aristotle
[I] Also might need a place in the city too, but hopefully with good weather and easy access to nature to keep me sane [Noooo].
> > The next twelve years Aristotle devoted with extraordinary industry to the establishment of a school, the Lyceum, to the institution and pursuit of a program of investigation, speculation, and teaching in almost every branch of knowledge, and to the composition of all, or most, or at least the more scientific portions, of those of his writings which are now extant. Richard McKeon, _The Basic Works of Aristotle_, Biographical Note > >
This, except for my directions: critical theory, social and urban interventions, civic technology, games, etc.
> > Aristotle began teaching regularly in the morning in the Lyceum and founded an official school called "The Lyceum". After morning lessons, Aristotle would frequently lecture on the grounds for the public and manuscripts of his compiled lectures were eventually circulated. The group of scholars who followed the Aristotelian doctrine came to be known as the Peripatetics due to Aristotle's tendency to walk as he taught. > >
So, I should begin by creating meet-ups in public places: ask a well-located temple; or can alternate places based on weather: hot springs, cold springs, day markets. Whoever comes frequently, may become a friend or associate, but the goal is not to create an organization:
> > Unlike Plato, _Aristotle was not a citizen of Athens and so could not own property; he and his colleagues therefore used the grounds of the Lyceum as a gathering place, just as it had been used by earlier philosophers such as Socrates._ Aristotle and his colleagues first began to use the Lyceum in this way in about 335 BCE., after which **Aristotle left Plato's Academy and Athens, and then returned to Athens from his travels about a dozen years later.** Because of the school's association with the gymnasium, the school also came to be referred to simply as the Lyceum. Some modern scholars argue that **the school did not become formally institutionalized until Theophrastus took it over, at which time there was private property associated with the school.** Wikipedia, Peripatetic school > >
If Aristotle was a citizen and was able to own property, would he have tried to get space? Did he have the money (surely Alexander paid him well. Maybe I'm reading this wrong?)? When such a good space exists, why spend money on another space? Use the public space!
> > _Aristotle's main focus as a teacher was cooperative research_, an idea which he founded through his natural history work and systematic collection of philosophical works to contribute to his _library_. His students were assigned historical or scientific research _projects_ as part of their studies. _The school was also student run._ The students elected a new student administrator to work with the school leadership every ten days, allowing all the students to become involved in turn. Richard McKoen > >
Yes, the program is entirely cooperative, and molded by the people within it. Though, projects shouldn't be assigned by one person, rather, people should assign it to themselves, and be responsible for it, out of intrinsic desire, which is precisely what a good social meet-up conceives in the minds of its participants.
Administration is a pain: setting up meetings, inventory management, etc. The dirty work must be shared, just as cleaning a bathroom in a shared apartment is.
Media can be shared within a physical space. It must be convenient to access to by participants that use it the most. Because one doesn't have a space, one will have to negotiate, in the case of a temple, with the temple's staff. [problem: access limited by time; not 24 hours]
> > The aim of the school, at least in Aristotle's time, was not to further a specific doctrine, but rather _to explore_ philosophical and scientific theories; _those who ran the school worked rather as equal partners._ Wikipedia > >
Everyone has an equal say in the whole of the organization.
The meet-ups ("school") do not have a direction. The direction depends on its constituents, on what's in the mind of the participants at that time. The participants and the directions may change frequently: Directions are temporal as the wandering mind's thoughts. Participants are temporal too, as long as they are wandering too.
re-joining society
[todo: ???
I just had a daydream about restarting Humans of Taiwan, in Tainan, but with a critical theory emphasis. It's still a similar format, but I select topics, questions, to be more critical. Pictures too can be critical, of urban and social problems. With it, people commented, and sometimes it would be civically helpful, and I would be able to solve small problems with the help of commenters. Doing this everyday would provide me organizing experience, networking with organizations, civic discussion through Facebook, and I would provide a model to solve civic problems. It is entirely bottom-up, because I begin with the individual's problem; that is, what the individual thinks is a problem in their mind. By limiting subjects to I individuals' problems, larger solutions, projects, implementations, may develop.


text:
Ames Feather-Lite 10" Blue Steel Knife
Part Number: RK4010
Ames RK4010 Feather-Lite Blue Steel Taping Knife 8", 10" or 12"
- Details and Options
- Leave A Review
Details and Options
Full Description
The Ames Strong Handle Drywall Taping Knife combines a rugged, plastic handle and lightweight backing for superior feel. Ames knives are drywall tools that are built to finish strong. Ames taping knives are available in 8, 10, and 12 inch blue spring steel blades.
- Hard Plastic Textured Handle Grip
- Tapered Blue Steel Blade
- Aluminum Blade Backing
Leave A Review


text: Share LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Recognized as one of the "20 Most Promising Enterprise Security Consulting Companies," Praetorian rises above the rest in an evolving security market. AUSTIN, Texas – April 25, 2014 – Praetorian, a leading information security provider, was named one of this year's "20 Most Promising Enterprise Security Consulting Companies" by CIO Review Magazine. A distinguished panel comprising CIOs and CEOs of public companies, industry analysts and the CIO Review editorial board finalized the selection earlier this year. The annual listing represents not only the leading high-value enterprise security consulting companies in the U.S. but also recognizes companies impacting the information technology marketplace. CIO Review Magazine describes the current enterprise security market as an evolving one, while at the same time one that poses several challenges. Enterprises worldwide are witnessing a transformative phase in terms of technology. It remains a struggle to keep pace with the technological changes, and there are still untapped opportunities in the security sector."It is our goal to be the leading partner in the market for our clients by solving the hard security problems holistically and cost effectively," Paul Jauregui, Praetorian's vice president of marketing, said. "When you're constantly advancing your industry and today's leading organizations actively seek your expertise, people notice," he added. Today, creating a truly secure enterprise requires access to highly specialized knowledge, intelligence and expertise in order to stay at least one step ahead of evolving risks. Because Praetorian is an authority on information security, organizations continue to rely on its subject-matter expertise to solve challenging business problems.


text:
Nelly Script Flourish Includes 1 Font
Sometimes you need to gild the lily, add a little drama. With that in mind we've created a collection of flourishes & embellished letters to enhance Nelly Script's romantic appeal.
Nelly Script Flourish is the jewelry to a beautifully appointed lady, the icing to the wedding cake, the VaVoom! Nelly Script Flourish comes complete with a large variety of alternate upper and lowercase forms in OpenType format.
Additional Purchase Options
Nelly Script Family Complete
from $79.00
Nelly Script
from $39.00
Nelly Frames
from $29.00


text:
Administrators for the Scripps Ranch for Diversity Facebook group are (left to right, top to bottom) Lindsay Hanlon, Sharon Camarillo, Amelia Polheber and JD Ouellette. (photo courtesy Sharon Camarillo)
Facebook group promotes diversity
During a time of unrest and palpable division in the United States, one group in Scripps Ranch is making an effort to help neighbors achieve mutual understanding and find common ground. Scripps Ranch for Diversity and Inclusion is a Facebook group that was created on June 7 by local residents Sharon Camarillo, Lindsay Hanlon and Amelia Polheber.
Although the founders expected some community interest based on conversations in other local Facebook groups, they had no idea that its popularity would grow to attract more than 1,000 members in less than a week.
"I was expecting to get more push back," Polheber said. "It's been amazing to see so many people come forward with support."
According to the description on Facebook, the purpose of the group "is to help foster a community that cultivates an appreciation for diversity and inclusion … Everyone in our community is seen and valued here."
Posts include everything from educational resources to community events to personal reflections from members representing a variety of races and religions.
"The bios are quite vulnerable and quite open," said Lisa Souders, a retired United States Marine Corps military police officer who served for 20 years. "It shows a great deal of trust and also a bit of desperation; we're at a place of disbelief and frustration and we've got to do something, finally. I am grateful for [the group's] stories and their openness … and what we can accomplish together."
While many members have expressed that they are encouraged in knowing that such a large group of like-minded people in favor of social justice exists in Scripps Ranch, the group's administrators are deliberate in stating that the group is not a political platform for any one party.
"This is non-partisan. We don't want to turn anyone off or make them feel like they are not seen, regardless of their political affiliation," Camarillo said. "This is about human compassion and empathy and growing as a society. It's really about core values."
Ken Pearcy, a retired U.S. Navy sailor and Scripps Ranch resident for nearly 20 years, is also a member of the Facebook group.
"For the first time in my life, neighbors are talking to each other about racism in America and what we can do to be a part of the solution," he said. "I think what's exciting about this group is the potential that we can come together and start to make it right – to refuse to tolerate racism in all of its forms."
Some members have shared their personal experiences with overt racism, while others have acknowledged their own biases, and expressed that they joined the group to listen, learn and grow.
Pearcy said that he struggled with the question of whether or not he defined himself as a racist.
"I am guilty of sins of commission and omission. I carry with me the inherited sin of my ancestors, and I now have a responsibility to make that right," he said. "I have to believe that it's possible. I choose to believe that I can change my behaviors. I don't have to be a racist."
Member Erik Strahm also acknowledged past behaviors of which he was not proud.
"I've been the 'good friend' standing next to folks when they've been the recipients of … racist comments and actions. I've been the one standing there, smiling, not knowing how to respond," he commented.
However, he explained that remarks delivered by Camarillo during the George Floyd vigil held near Scripps Ranch High School on June 8 had a tremendous impact, sparking within him a desire for change.
JD Ouellette, a group administrator, said that one of the things that she has enjoyed most about the group is people's lack of defensiveness in their discussions.
"You can tell that people have come with an open heart and an open mind," she said.
Hanlon, a professional in diversity education, said that she enjoys witnessing members' "aha moments" as they learn, and she encourages people to stay the course, even when the work gets hard.
Souders reflected upon a personal circumstance that she defined as "hard," with regard to her own sister who is a police officer.
"She doesn't agree with my beliefs, but she's my blood," she said. "I am not at a place where I am willing to sacrifice my personal beliefs for silence. So, I have to have those difficult conversations because these are the people in my life who I love dearly. And that's hard; it's a hell of a lot of work. But I can do that work."
Visit facebook.com/groups/SR4DI.


text:
Marketing Consulting and Freelance Writing
Put my skills and experience to use for you. Request a quote or contact me for a free introductory chat, and I'll see if I can help you. Low hourly rates or per job rates negotiable.
Areas of expertise:
1. Email Marketing
2. Social Media and Buzzmarketing
3. Search Marketing
4. Writing - blog posts, web content, copywriter
Feel free to contact me using the contact form and let me know exactly what it is that you do and why you are interested in my help. I will do my best to get back to you in a timely manner.
Work Samples
Guest Posts:
- Be Innovation on Toiletpaperentrepreneur.com
- Don't Get Caught in the Recession Trap on Smallbizbee.com
- The Key to the Sale: Readability on Dirtymarketingsecrets.com
"Zach was instrumental in developing Kunsoom Inc. from the ground level. He lead an experimental viral marketing campaign and continues to utilize innovative marketing strategies. Zach assisted in constructing Kunsoom Inc.'s business plan, key metrics, financial projections, business scope, and product development." - Kevin P. - Founder and CEO of Kunsoom Inc.


text:
Tape Term Of The Day: "Creped"
The secret to the performance of good masking tape is a property called "creping". A "creped" tape has minute irregular folds in the tape that allow it to be stretched as it is applied.
By stretching the tape, its adhesion to a surface is improved, allowing it to reject things like flowing tape.
In order to properly apply creped tape, it must be pushed down with enough force to unfold the creping.


text:
Applications are now open for the State Government's new Priority Sector Funding Program.
The McGowan Government established the grant program with the aim of assisting Western Australian companies to engage with and develop international business capabilities in Asia.
The program is open to applications, from industry associations and bilateral businesses, to run projects on behalf of Western Australia's priority trade and investment sectors and markets.
Suitable sectors include mining and energy, education and training, marine and defence, aerospace and aviation, information and communications technology, health care, building and construction, creative industries and consumer goods.
Funding of up to $30,000 is available for outbound projects, such as delegations participating at key international forums or business programs; and $20,000 for inbound projects, showcasing specific Western Australian industries to international delegations.
For more information, visit http://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/PSFP
Read more via the media statement.


text:
I think that I shall never see
A bigger fool be the Stanford Tree.
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- I apologize to Joyce Kilmer for rewriting his verse. And I apologize to all of Stanford-kind for my arrhythmic attempt at being the school's inimitable mascot for half a basketball game last week.
I skipped, sprinted and spun around Maples Pavilion during five timeouts in the first half of Stanford's 82-79 victory over Washington. Mostly I tried to avoid running into courtside fans, officials, players and the Dollies, the five-woman dance group that the tree accompanies onto the floor during every timeout. I strained an Achilles tendon, tweaked a hammy and kinked my neck on behalf of sylvan silliness.
I was a pretty wooden Tree. But after overcoming the initial performance anxiety, it sure was fun.
Pretending to be a foolhardy collegian when you're really a semi-serious, out-of-shape, 43-year-old father of three doesn't come easily. Especially when 7,000 people are watching.
Even while wearing a 25-pound, man-made tree suit with a burka-like green mesh veil covering your face, it's easy to suspect that everyone is looking at you with either disdain or disappointment. After years of Tree watching, you have to figure they know a fraud when they see one.
Why is the Tree off his game tonight? Where's the spunk and the funk?
But the folks in the know -- day-to-day Tree John Whipple and the wonderfully weird people who make up America's most unconventional college band -- showered me with kindness and encouragement. They were great before, during and after this stunt, which became my ultimate be-careful-what-you-wish-for moment.
It started in late January, when in my Forde Minutes column I concocted a basketball Bucket List -- 10 hoops-related things to do before kicking the bucket. No. 3 on the list was being the Stanford Tree. Seemed like it would be a blast to perform as the quirkiest member of the decidedly quirky college mascot species -- not that it would ever happen, of course.
I didn't think much about it until an e-mail arrived later that week. Subject line: "The Stanford band invites you to be Tree for a day."
Uh-oh. It was time to Tree up or shut up.
Lacking a decent excuse for bailing out, I accepted. We agreed on a date, and they sent me video of the Tree for instructional purposes. The only thing left to do was talking myself into showing up.
The closer it got, the more my anxiety escalated. I became acutely aware of the fact that I really don't have a mascot's personality -- no real zest for public zaniness. Didn't have it when I was younger, and sure don't have it now. Could I actually relax enough to be silly?
My family was amused at the idea of my being the Tree, but simultaneously dubious. The night before I flew to California, my 8-year-old daughter said, "You don't seem like the type of person they'd pick for this."
"I'm not," I said.
"Don't they usually pick students?"
"You're a lot older than them."
Thanks for reminding me, hon.
Fortunately, the members of the Leland Stanford Jr. University Marching Band (LSJUMB for, uh, short) do not take themselves or anyone else very seriously. They're not famous just for being run through and over by Cal on the five-lateral touchdown in 1982; they're also famous -- or notorious -- for their raging rebel streak.
The Stanford band has gotten in more trouble than the Deltas from Faber College. They are forever pushing the envelope in matters of taste and decorum, often past the ripping point. At a school with a heavyweight academic reputation, they are the sometimes-lovable, sometimes-irritating problem children.
"'Irreverent' is kind of the buzzword," said band publicist/trumpeter Scott Bland, a history major from Ithaca, N.Y., and the guy who got me into this thing. "It's kind of the whole ethos."
It starts with the uniforms. Most college bands take great pride in their old-school, matching, head-to-toe outfits. Stanford? White bucket hats and red vests (red suit coats for football games) are about as far as it goes. You can wear jeans, shorts, flip-flops or whatever you want to go along with it. Goofball accessories (like buttons on the hats) are strongly encouraged.
Then there's the song list. Any other university bands out there playing "White Punks on Dope"?
And, of course, there is the marching -- the pride and punctilious joy of most college bands. Calling Stanford's crew a marching band is actually a misnomer. They term themselves a "scatter band" -- no real formations at all. Just get out on the football field -- or wherever they play -- and run around pointlessly while playing.
The scatter strategy started in 1963, according to the band. In 1972, Stanford jumped well ahead of the curve and did away with its Indians nickname and Prince Lightfoot mascot. That cleared the path for the Tree.
In the three-plus decades of its existence, it has become the most famous sporting Tree this side of Wayne Rollins.
A few of them were stolen and/or assaulted by rivals, leading to the formation of a security group called Tree Protective Services. (Motto: Don't Touch Our Wood. Mostly it was an excuse to get Tree cronies onto the sidelines for big events.)
Some of them have misbehaved. (One Tree was arrested for public intoxication at a Cal-Stanford basketball game. The soused sapling was seen sipping from a flask during the game and subsequently blew a 0.15. Trees now get a pregame Breathalyzer at all football games.)
Most of them have been breathtakingly ugly. (Each Tree makes his/her own costume. There have been palm trees, conifers and bejeweled deciduous Trees, all with eyes and mouths. One guy even made a reversible Tree, with red leaves on one side for fall.)
All of them have been part of a campus culture that enjoys sports without taking them terribly seriously. Which doesn't mean they don't take the honor of being the Tree seriously. On the contrary, aspiring Trees have been known to do horrifying things to further their chances of one day taking root on the sidelines.
Every spring they conduct Tree Week, which basically consists of contestants' staging bizarre stunts and/or bribing the selection committee, which consists of the incumbent Tree and band leaders. The Stanford Daily student newspaper provides front-page coverage of the week (which actually lasts longer than a week).
There are three basic rules for Tree Week:
Don't light yourself on fire. (There is folklore about one aspiring Tree who -- this being Stanford -- wrote a five-page paper detailing how he could light himself on fire without actually being injured. He didn't win.)
Don't go to jail.
Don't go to the hospital.
Pretty much anything else goes. This year's Tree, Whipple, helped secure the job last spring by affixing leeches in the shape of the Tree on his back. He still has a scar on his lower back from one particularly tenacious leech.
Among this year's aspirants, one actually bit the head off a live, two-foot snake and then swallowed the still-writhing critter. He didn't win, perhaps in part because the tree selectors saw what the wrath of animal-rights activists did to Michael Vick. There are limits, even for Trees.
When I arrived on campus last Thursday, the new Tree had just been picked: Patrick "Patchez" Fortune, a junior from Fresno, Calif. Fortune had staged a public boxing match to further his cause, and he also came through with a big-time bribe by setting up a beer pong game between Whipple and one of the Stanford basketball players.
After the momentous announcement was made, the Daily carried a front-page color photo of Fortune wearing a flaming horned helmet. His facial expression was dead serious.
I didn't come to Stanford to eat snakes or wear a flaming horned helmet. I just wanted to do my Tree thing and escape without injury or indignity.
So I met up with Whipple, band PR man Bland, band manager Liz Schackman and next year's manager, David Borowski, at the Band Shak. They showed me the costume, let me try it on, and then gave me a tour of the band's digs. Some of the band members had fliers on their lockers that read: "There are starving children in Africa. ROCK THE F--- OUT. (For the children.)"
The LSJUMB will congregate about anywhere. They play all over campus at the start of school. They'll play at all manner of nonrevenue sporting events, from water polo to rugby to gymnastics. They've played the Gay Pride march in San Francisco.
"Anybody who asks us, really," said Schackman.
The Tree will usually be there, too. He definitely hits all the home basketball games. And after a pregame meal and a beer at Whipple's Theta Delta Chi fraternity last Thursday before the Washington game, it was time to get on my game leaves.
Whipple's version of the Tree is basically a backpack supporting a series of PVC rings, covered by cloth leaves that were sewn by his grandmother. The fit was tight -- I'm 6-foot-2 and about 200 pounds; he's 5-10 and 165 -- and it's an unwieldy thing to carry around on your shoulders, but it could work for an hour.
It's a short walk from the Band Shak to Maples Pavilion, which is a good thing. We were running late. By the time we wedged my fake fir into the doors and down to floor level, it was just minutes to tip-off.
Stretching? Forget it. Warm-up? Please. Butterflies? Plenty.
The instructions were brute simple: When Schackman -- a biology major outfitted in a red-and-black cocktail dress, rainbow knee socks and furry red high-tops -- starts the band, I run out. The Dollies dance at mid-court, and I dance around them.
First thought: When was the last time I danced?
Second thought: In front of thousands of strangers?
Third thought: If I take this thing off right now, sprint to my rental car and drive to San Francisco, I can get a flight out of here tonight.
Too late. The game had begun. Come the first dead ball after the 16-minute mark, I was on.
At 15:50, Stanford's Fred Washington committed a foul. Schackman blew her whistle and the band cranked up -- I have no idea what it played. I was out there before I knew it, trying to lift my leaden legs off the floor and move around in something that reasonably resembled a skip.
To my immense relief, most of the fans I saw from under the green veil appeared utterly neutral toward my Treeness. No scowls. No guffawing at my clumsiness. No outraged gestures at the impostor.
If they were smart -- and this is Stanford, so they are -- most of them were watching the Dollies. In their cardinal-red dresses and white gloves, they exude all the class that the Tree willfully lacks.
After two circumnavigations of the floor, I heard the Maples homing device calling me back off the court -- the second blast of the horn, signaling that the timeout was ending. It was among the greatest sounds I've ever heard.
I bounced back into the corner area next to the band. Noticed I was out of breath. Noticed that this thing didn't fit well at all around the neck. And noticed that I was relieved as hell.
This wasn't so bad. In fact, it was fun. I might have the dexterity of an Ent, but what the heck. Nobody really cared.
So I toured the floor four more times, loosening up a little more every time. By the time I unclipped at halftime, I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. I was sweaty but happy.
Then it was time for a pro to take over. Whipple, wearing green high-tops with white stars on them, was a whirling, leaping dervish. He was all verve and nerve. He was definitely first-team All-Forest.
When the game was over and Stanford had won, the cheerleaders and the Dollies and the Tree did the darnedest thing. They linked arms on the court as the LSJUMB dutifully played the Stanford alma mater. Everyone swayed and sang along.
Just like a traditional band. At a traditional school. With a traditional mascot.
It was a cute bow toward conformity -- and then it was over. When the alma mater was done, Schackman handed me her conducting stick. (A bear soaked with faux blood is impaled on it, a threatening gesture at archrival Cal.) They let me lead the band in "White Punks On Dope."
I can tell you definitively, they rocked the f--- out.
Pat Forde is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at email@example.com.


text:
Dainty White Buffalo Ring Size 5.5 #609
Product Information:
- White Buffalo
- .925 Sterling Silver
- This babe is 3/8" x 3/8" in size
- Ring Size 5.5
- Hand-stamped with my makers mark - a heart and bee. My family calls me "Bee", so each piece says "Love, Bee"
- Each piece is hand forged in my studio, which is located at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
This is a finished product, so I will be able to send with prompt shipping! Each piece comes with a special cotton drawstring bag with the Rusty Creek Designs logo to store it in, as well as a branded box. Gift wrapping is available upon request!
Please be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram @rustycreekdesigns to stay up to date on what's happening in the studio! Join the VIP team on my website to get exclusive offers, first access to collections AND MORE!


text:
Hilda Tweedy Papers (Irish Housewives Association)
The Irish Housewives Association (IHA) was formed in 1942, with the objective of gaining recognition for the right of housewives to play an active part in all spheres of planning for the community.
Among the organisation's first concerns was the fair distribution of goods at a fair price to both producer and consumer and the provision of nutritious food for children. The IHA was instrumental in setting up the Irish Consumers' Association in 1966. The organisation lobbied and campaigned on issues such as social welfare provision, public health, education and the law, particularly family law.
Following the incorporation of the Irish Women Citizens' Organisation into the IHA in 1947, the IHA became affiliated to the International Alliance of Women in 1948, which involved them in issues such as reproductive rights. A magazine, The Irish Housewife, later The Housewife's Voice, was published from 1946 to 1980. The IHA was involved with many other women's organisations and relevant bodies, including the United Nations, the Council for the Status of Women (Dr. Tweedy was its first chairperson), and the Women's Representative Council.
Evidence of these activities is amply reflected in the records.
The organisation had a powerful impact on the visibility of, and achievement increased rights and status by, women in twentieth century Ireland. Dr. Hilda Tweedy had been custodian of these valuable records for many years. She was viewed as a proper guardian for them due to her status as a founder member, and a lifetime member, of the IHA. Some records of the Association came to her as a result of an appeal made to the members in December
1988, and another was launched in the press in early 1992 when Dr Tweedy was preparing to write the history of the Association, A Link in the Chain (Dublin, 1992).
For more information on this collection see the finding aid to the Hilda Tweedy Papers.


text:
Power Various To Cremation
The Automotive Expertise program provides entry-diploma talents and data for college kids who wish to work in the automotive know-how discipline. If we shift to use energy generated from these sources, then carbon dioxide emission from the conventional energy sources will be tremendously decreased, and the problem of global warming will likely be solved in a couple of years. This information is an introduction for college kids to renewable vitality applied sciences and the political and financial circumstances crucial for their implementation.
Quite a lot of ongoing analysis and improvement focuses on hydrogen fuel cells , but most hydrogen is also presently derived from pure gasoline. Tides are extra predictable than wind power and solar energy. Fashionable photo voltaic applied sciences present heating, lighting, electrical energy and even flight (USDOE).
Butanol will be produced from biomass (as "biobutanol")in addition to fossil fuels (as "petrobutanol"); however biobutanol and petrobutanol have the identical chemical properties. Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electrical energy generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power by means of the use of the gravitational drive of falling or flowing water.
Biomass power is used for heating and cooking in properties and as a fuel in industrial production. Wind power is used as a way of producing electricity by wind generators which are able to harnessing the facility derived from the wind, converting kinetic power into mechanical energy.
The use of wood as a gas supply for heating is way older than civilization and is assumed to have been utilized by Neanderthals Traditionally, it was restricted in use solely by the distribution of technology required to make a spark. Nonetheless, the heavy upfront costs of making geothermal power plants has led to slower adoption than might have been expected for a fuel source with so much promise.…


text:
By visiting The Chaparral Files you agree to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions:
1. Content
The Chaparral Files reserves the right not to be responsible for the topicality, correctness, completeness or quality of the information provided. Liability claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or incorrect, will therefore be rejected. All offers are not-binding and without obligation. Parts of the pages or the complete publication including all offers and information might be extended, changed or partly or completely deleted by The Chaparral Files without separate announcement.
2. Referrals and links
The Chaparral Files works to ensure that the site is accurate. The Chaparral Files is not responsible for any contents linked or referred to from its pages. It's considered third party content beyond our control. Furthermore The Chaparral Files is not liable for any postings or messages published by users of discussion boards, guestbooks or mailinglists provided on this website.
3. Copyright
The Chaparral Files intended not to use any copyrighted material for the publication or, if not possible, to indicate the copyright of the respective object. The copyright for any material created by The Chaparral Files is reserved. Any duplication or use of objects such as images, diagrams, sounds or texts in other electronic or printed publications is not permitted without prior written agreement from The Chaparral Files.
4. Third-party contributions
No further interests can be exercised by the third-party with regard to The Chaparral Files on both submitted and posted photos, texts and/or other (media) contributions.
5. Privacy policy
If the opportunity for the input of personal or business data (for example, but not limited to: email addresses, names) is given, the input of these data takes place voluntarily. The use and payment of all offered services are permitted. The use of published postal addresses, telephone or fax numbers and email addresses for marketing purposes is prohibited.
6. Legal validity
This disclaimer is to be regarded as part of The Chaparral Files. If any provision hereof shall be held illegal, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it legal, valid and enforceable, and the legality, validity and enforceability of all other provisions of this disclaimer shall not be affected thereby.


text:
Bring the outdoors in and fill your home with the sweet smell of millions of tiny tea olive flowers.
Our Southern Sweet Bee candles are double wicked and made from 100% cotton. They are hand poured using the perfect blend of our finest honeycomb and honey capping beeswax from our honey harvesting process and virgin soy wax. Our candles are Petroleum and Dye FREE. Their wrap around labels promote the importance of honeybees in our environment. Using the candle care instructions on the bottom label you should achieve over 40 hours of quality burn time.
A quality product from our Hives to your Home! Thank you so much for supporting our farm from Southern Sweet Bee!


text:
Gun "Silencers" Don't Make Them Anywhere Near Silent
Myth: Gun silencers make guns nearly silent. "Silencers", also known as "suppressors", on guns don't make them anywhere near silent. Silencers primarily only suppress the noise due to the pressure wave from the rapidly expanding propellant gases. This is only a portion of what makes a gunshot loud. The primary other source of noise in a gunshot is the sonic […]Read more


text:
It took eight years to make the Kyoto Protocol legally binding. Ban Ki-moon pressed for the Paris Agreement to become law in less than one. He lobbied for 55 states responsible for at least 55 percent of emissions—the threshold necessary for the agreement to enter into force—to ratify with haste. Time was of the essence, given rising global temperatures. There was also the specter of Donald Trump, a climate change skeptic, winning the U.S. presidency and blocking the world's second-largest polluter from ratifying the pact. Ban's campaign worked: China and the United States ratified in September. Brazil, India, and the European Union followed. The treaty came into force four days before the U.S. election. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
Ban has described his lobbying style as old-school diplomacy. "I am about quietly working the phone, being blunt behind closed doors, to force us out of the status quo," he told the Washington Post.
The U.N. adopted the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, but has yet to come into force because China, the United States, Pakistan, and other key countries have yet to ratify it.


text:
Year Inducted – 1992
Hal started playing ball on the East Akron sandlots as an outfielder and became a pretty fair catcher at East High for four years, where he was a teammate of Gene Woodling, (our 1989 H.O.F.). He later developed his talents at Kent State U as a three year starter and also began A ball with Moore Wrestlers, Havre Chevy, the 1948-50 champion Borden Autos and retired with the Ravenna V.F.W. team. Hal was a .315-.325 hitter and a good RBI man. As a high school teacher and coach, he reinstituted baseball at North High in 1950, after it had been disbanded during the war years. During his own stint in service, Hal was the leading hitter for Abilene, Texas base title team in 1945 after having helped Lincoln, Nebraska win the 1944 2nd Airforce title. Hal was inducted into the 1985 Summit County sports Hall of Fame and served as president and general chairman in 1991.


text:
I use google calendar to remind me of the events in my winemaking life. It reminded me that this past Friday was the day to bottle the sour cherry wine. When I felt I had enough time to tackle the job, I took a deep breath and strode purposefully forward. I went into the basement, gathered the first load of necessary tools, and started to carry them upstairs.
I should explain that I store my winemaking equipment in the basement, as well as the brewing wine itself, and the bottled wine. It is cool and dark down there, and there is more room for things that are irregularly used than in the kitchen.
I was half way across the basement with the box of winemaking tools when I stopped mid stride, my mouth agape.
"Why am I hauling all this stuff up, when I could do the job right here?" I asked myself. I started listing the reasons. I have no drainboard for draining the washed and sanitized bottles. Also, the bottle brush was kept upstairs. That was it.
"So I could either make half a dozen trips loaded with various armfuls, and then carry the bottles wine back down here, or I could do the job down here after I fetch the drainboard and brush?".
So the decision was made to try the project in the basement. As I entered uncharted territory, I discovered there were some advantages to this new technique. The drainboard worked well sitting on the washer and draining into the laundry sink. The sink itself is bigger than the kitchen sink, meaning I can soak more bottles in advance while I'm washing them. And putting the gallon jug on the clothes dryer and the wine bottle on the floor, means the siphon distance is greater than the one in the kitchen, making the fluid flow faster during bottling.
The process went very well this time, I neither made a mess in the kitchen, nor had to clean one up prior to my project this time. And putting the completed bottles away for their year of seasoning was just a walk across the room. I don't understand why I get such a kick out of figuring our new ways to do things, but I really do. Partly, it reinforces the fact that I am still looking at things in new ways, and not getting stuck in ruts… which is something old people do.


text:
Programmatic advertising set to surge, but the industry still lacks skills
Over 90 per cent of advertising executives plan to increase their "programmatic investment", with 40 per cent claiming they will do so by more than a third in the next 12 months, according to research, although the lack of adequately skilled staff is proving a barrier to more rapid adoption.
Research released today (6 August) by the IAB Europe quizzed over 1,000 media professionals on both the buy- and sell-side of the advertising industry, finding the vast majority of respondents planned to significantly boost their investment in automated media trading, or "programmatic advertising".
The main reasons cited for this were the potential efficiencies posed by the technology, such as improving targeting capabilities, increasing operational efficiencies, plus gaining a competitive advantage.
The report surveyed the specific motives for each tier of the advertising industry – brand-side advertisers (139 participated), media buying agencies (517), plus publishers (369) across Europe – with nine-in-ten of all respondents citing improved targeting as the key reason for doing so.
Although, it did note a 53 per cent of brand-side advertisers, and 44 per cent of agencies cited lowering the cost of media as a reason to invest in the technology, this contrasts with 60 per cent of publishers who cited "maximising media value" as their main reason for doing likewise.
In terms of technology, agencies see themselves at the forefront of adoption, with more describing themselves as early adopters (eight-in-ten) of general advertising technology, and nearly three quarters (74 per cent) claiming the same about programmatic advertising technology.
Over three quarters (77 per cent) of agency staff participating in the study also claimed they are investing up to 40 per cent of their digital display advertising spend via programmatic. Additionally, over four-in-ten agency staff state the majority of their programmatic investment is done in-house (as opposed to dealing with external demand-side platforms, ad networks, or trading desks).
However, all tiers of the industry also reported that barriers to continue adopting the technology more rapidly included the lack of staff with the appropriate skill set to implement and oversee trading media in such a manner.
Commenting on the results, Txema Garitano Plágaro, a business analytics and search executive at car marque SEAT said: "As the IAB Europe report demonstrates, further education and clarity on the programmatic ecosystem are needed in order to encourage adoption. It's important for advertisers to be able to define and engage their audience with greater cost efficiency."


text:
Qlik Partner Program
Enable everyone in your customers'
organizations to see the whole story
that lives within their data.
What is the Qlik Partner Program (QPP)?
The Qlik Partner Program (QPP) tracks align to your preference on how to acquire and run your Qlik solution. Invest in different levels of the partner program to unlock new membership tiers.
Qlik has the most extensive Partner Network in the industry — over 1,700 partners serve thousands of customers in over 100 countries around the globe. Qlik partners can help clients create better business solutions, increase efficiency, reduce costs and improve their customer satisfaction.
Why become a Qlik Partner?
Qlik unlocks amazing profit potential while helping customers put an end to analytics blind spots with The Associative Difference™. Their award-winning partner program provides in-depth training, unique specializations, marketing support, and incentives to help partners build a profitable business
- One unified program
- Clear requirements and benefits
- Improved ease of doing business
- Easy to join programs
- Performance-based incentives and recognition for driving value
- Increased profitability with a recurring revenue stream
- Opportunity registration and finders' fee
- Specializations
- Access to MDF and Qlik Partner Marketing Services
- Clear requirements and benefits
- Business planning & review
- Rules of engagement
- Shared roadmap
The Right Partner
The Qlik Partner Program is a great fit for solution providers, consulting and services partners, and Managed Service Providers of all sizes and from any region in the globe.
Who are Qlik's Partners?
- Re-sellers of any size
- Implementation and consulting organizations
- Larger system integrators
- Business consulting firms
- MSPs


text:
New York City
Thank you Mr. President, and thank you to all of our briefers today for your briefings and for your dedicated work advancing peace and development in the Sahel.
We share the Special Advisor's assessment that the Sahel is an important and culturally diverse region filled with potential, but that its people today face a daunting set of challenges.
We also agree that in this region, competition over natural resources exacerbated by natural disasters, including desertification and drought, contribute to the instability that we see today.
We are particularly concerned by the increasing unrest in the central Sahel, driven by the scarcity of resources. These communities are increasingly seeing these disputes through an ethnic lens, and each side brands the other as the enemy.
In the face of all of these challenges, the United States continues its multi-sectoral partnerships with the governments and societies of the G5 countries to bolster stability and security through U.S. humanitarian, health, agriculture, governance, and development assistance. In fiscal year 2017, the United States provided more than $460 million in development and humanitarian assistance to programs in the G5 Sahel countries.
All of our support seeks to complement the United Nations Integrated Sahel Strategy and the creative partnerships envisioned in its support plan. We particularly appreciate the emphasis on unlocking the potential of the private sector in the Sahel, also as a way to harness the power of youth in a positive way.
The United Nations' efforts to attract and align international support for priority challenges in the Sahel is crucial. In particular, we should continue to support priorities and activities that are Africa-driven. Therefore, we commend the recent success of the G5 Sahel Donor and Partner Coordination Conference in Nouakchott on December 6, with its focus on each of the four pillars of the G5 Sahel – security, governance, resilience, and infrastructure – and towards those projects of highest priority, of greatest cross-border impact, and of maximum chance of success.
A key component of U.S. efforts to support resilience in the Sahel is to provide women and youth with access to economic and civic empowerment. Women are the world's safest borrowers, as they pay back microloans at a rate of 97 percent. In addition, women business owners create a multiplier effect in their communities. They are more likely to hire other women, and to reinvest in their families and their communities.
Women and youth often face high barriers to access commercial activities, including access to finance, the legal and regulatory environments, education gaps, and social and cultural norms.
The United States is actively engaged in addressing these issues in the Sahel. For instance, in the Sahel the United States Agency for International Development is working to build stronger connections between the programs it funds in food security, health, microenterprise, and community development.
For example in Niger, USAID is engaging women and young people in the community dialogues and local decision-making to prevent violent extremism from taking root in vulnerable communities. By engaging women across their many roles as mothers, teachers, civil society actors, and business leaders, we can focus resources more constructively to address the drivers of violent extremism, combat radicalization, and keep our communities safe.
On security, the United States commends the G5 Sahel Member States for operationalizing the Joint Force to combat terrorism and transnational organized crime, a primary contributor to regional instability.
The United States strongly supports the G5 Sahel Joint Force and its efforts to establish lasting security. We have and will continue to work closely with all partners to coordinate our contributions of much-needed equipment, training, and technical advice to G5 Sahel Member States to fill prioritized capability gaps of the Joint Force.
But Mr. President, security responses alone will not solve the problem absent progress in addressing the political, environmental, development, and humanitarian challenges in the region.
Only by promotion of good governance, addressing the root causes of instability, creating economic opportunity, respecting human rights, and enhancing security can the states in the region make sustainable progress toward addressing these challenges.
Their progress, combined with the support efforts of bilateral and multilateral partners, all working in a complementary fashion with the UN's Sahel strategy, will be critical to realizing the vast potential of the region and its peoples.
Thank you, Mr. President.


text:
- Update 2022
- Insights
- Engage
- News
- Resources
- About
- Contact
This session examined the capacity of hyper-connected digital technologies to enhance government surveillance and control, alongside the potential impact of these technologies on democratic an authoritarian regimes. Discussion referenced the importance of legally prohibiting governments from demanding other organisations release personal data without due process. The role of online activism in transforming the future landscape of political activity and participation, as well as the impact of open government and transparency initiatives were explored. Consideration was also given to the challenges of multi-jurisdictional Internet regulation and the future role of online privacy and anonymity tools in an environment where sophisticated tracking and data correlation techniques can be used to de-anonymize personal data (and potentially engage in price discrimination). Open government data and services will require more robust and professionalised information management skills – and should be demand-driven as opposed to just supply-driven. Finally, online engagement with the public poses challenges in terms of accurately identifying eligible electors, but also offers benefits through the political empowerment of diaspora communities, support for evidence-based policy making and a mechanism for disseminating authoritative information on climate change, health, welfare and education.
(links take you to the relevant forum subtopic):
Q1: Will a future crisis of trust and confidence in the online world undermine the social, political and economic benefits of the Internet?
Q2: Can governments prevent the private sector from engaging in price discrimination against individuals using advanced commercial profiling techniques?
Q3: Online public engagement with government - more evidence-based policy making - or greater influence for vocal online minorities?
Link to main discussion topic:


text:
WASHINGTON – An internal FEMA review of its flawed response to Hurricane Katrina identifies many of the same failures and fixes that the disaster response agency pledged to reform a year ago, documents show.
Similarities between a March 7, 2005, consultant's report to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and an internal Feb. 13, 2006, analysis raise concerns that few of the lessons learned from Katrina will be heeded.
Both reports concluded the agency:
—Lacked clear leadership between FEMA headquarters and the disaster sites.
—Operated under outdated or inadequate response plans.
—Needed better-trained or more experienced employees.
—Was unable to get a clear picture of emergencies as they as unfolded.
The newest report surfaced as a Senate inquiry wraps up its investigations of the sluggish response to Katrina.
The Senate findings — which have been delayed as investigators conclude their recommendations — will follow separate reports by the House and the White House that both show that FEMA had failed to learn from earlier disasters.
The Associated Press obtained the 2005 report, by the Mitre Corp., which assessed the agency's performance during the 2004 Florida hurricanes. The second report by FEMA, looking at the Katrina disaster, was little noticed when posted on the agency's Web site earlier this year. The agency pulled it from the site after a reporter inquired about it last month.


text:
Once in a blue moon, you will come across a homework assignment that involves evaluating a research paper in terms of statistics. Relax, this is not rocket science. What you have to realize is that you are actually the main focus of any research paper. The author is hoping that his findings will spark someone's intellect in the field. Your job is to determine whether or not the article is transparent and meets it's objectives.
Any research paper will contain an abstract, introduction, methods section, results, and conclusion/discussion. Your abstract is like the crip sheet for the meat of the paper. After reading the abstract you should know the overall premise of the paper. The introduction is really the rationale for why the research was performed – and us statistician appreciate such background information. Good stuff. Next you have the method section. You should familiarize yourself with the statistical procedures and how the data was obtained and from what sample population. If a t-test was performed then you should assume that your outcome measure was continuous. What are your independent and dependent variables? You want to know how the author conducted the experiment. The results section is where the magic happens in terms of statistics. Any tables or graphs should be mentioned in the body of the paper with a reference to the illustration(s). The Conclusions sections are where the results are interpretted by the author.
Okay. You read through an article. Here is the thing that nobody says about reading an article. Vital information can be missing that helps you understand the article. So don't think you are a dummy just because you read it and stuff is not adding up. You should come away with a strong sense of what analysis was performed and the results. If a statistical procedure was performed but the results do not reflect the method section, that's not your problem. So read research papers with an open-mind.
-If you enjoyed this blog there are more to follow-Amy


text:
The National SHRM Conference Recap: Searching the Expo Hall for Talent Acquisition Solutions
In the recruiting world, human resources and talent acquisition managers are always looking for the best resources to make their job of finding the right candidate easier, faster, and above all, successful. Attending conferences is a great way to see and demo the newest tools available, and the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM) holds one of the largest conferences in the industry ever year.
SHRM 2014 was held in our home town of Orlando last month. GreatInsuranceJobs.com joined the fun at our booth in the exhibit hall. Over the last few years, we have been using our famous countdown clock to give away iPads. It is always a crowd favorite. Check out our video below to see the fun in action.
We enjoyed meeting so many insurance human resource and recruiting professionals and showing them how GreatInsuranceJobs.com can help with their talent acquisition plans.
Each year I also take some time to walk the expo hall seeking out the next great recruiting solution to make finding and hiring the best candidates painless. This year this is what I found:
- Where did all the social media recruiting software companies go? In the last few years the expo hall was filled with companies promising they will replace job boards with technology that uses only social profiles for recruiting and referrals. Social has not left the recruiting space. Many of the products that relied 100% on people sharing jobs and referrals via their social networks just haven't worked effectively; especially with companies that are not well known (which are most companies).
- It seems like many companies are developing talent search engines that automatically source social and public information that match jobs you may be recruiting for. One company that was interesting was PangeaConnect. Once you find the candidates, you can video interview them automatically without even having to be involved (pre-recorded). They facilitate the process. It just seemed pretty cool.
- I found AppCast to be an interesting product. It is a "pay per application" business model. They take your jobs and if anyone applies, you pay them from $5.00 to $30.00 per application they deliver to you. You name your price and your budget.
- My favorite discovery was the GratziApp. This is a fantastic mobile-based employment reward tool. It allows a manager to send gift cards or "medals" to their employees for things they do well or want to celebrate. Someone reached a sales goal, send them a Starbucks card to their phone. No more plastic. Best of all, this app is free and a great way to recognize your employees!
Check Out the Photos from the GreatInsuranceJobs.com Booth at SHRM!
One of our happy winners of an iPad Mini!
The last few SHRM attendees register to win the iPad mini before the countdown clock hits 0!
It's time to announce the winner of one of our iPad mini drawings. GreatInsuranceJobs.com did a total of 4 drawings this year at the SHRM 2014 event.
SHRM attendees gathered around the GreatInsuranceJobs.com booth eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winner of the iPad mini.


text:
If you're a Windows Insider on the Fast Ring, you may have noticed a new wave of updates for the MSN UWP apps in the Windows Store today. All four apps have been updated to version 4.20.933.0, and we just noticed that MSN Weather has finally received dark theme support.
MSN News, Sports and Money were all updated with the new dark theme option last year, so it's nice to see that the MSN Weather app is now getting it as well. As usual, you can turn it on in the settings and you can see how it looks in the screenshots below:
For now, Weather is still the only MSN app that has an option for a transparent Live Tile, and it would be nice if Microsoft could it to the three other apps for more consistency. If you use the MSN apps on your Windows 10 devices, let us know if support for dark theme and transparent Live Tiles matter to you.


text:
Brae Burn Golf Course
Plymouth, Michigan
(734) 453-1900
Grade: C
Teacher's Comments: A good basic course.
Brae Burn reminds me a lot of my favorite Uncle. He was never held up as an example for praise in the family, and was a little rough around the edges, but was always a lot of fun.
One of the older courses in Washtenaw County, Brae Burn was built in 1920. As such, it's a little on the short side, clocking in at 6,411 from the blues and plays to a par 70. The rating/slope is 70/120.
Brae Burn's biggest claim to fame is "The Monster", a 617 yard double dogleg par 5. The first bend is left; the second almost 90 degrees right. There is absolutely no way to get to the green in two.
Both the tee shot and your second are constrained by a swamp on the left, and trees on the right. It's those towering trees that prevent you from going for the green in two. The second part of the dogleg simply doesn't leave you with an option. The third shot—hopefully at the green if you have successfully navigated the turns—is more open, although it also has a swamp left and trees right.
For me, this hole played three wood to the corner of the first bend, three wood to the corner of the second and four iron onto the green. I could possibly have hit a lesser club on the second shot if I had hit a draw; I could have a shorter shot to the green with a fade on the second.
The Monster is tough, but surprisingly, it's not the hardest on the course.
That title goes to the par 4 sixth, which clocks in at 422 yards. There is no real trouble with the tee shot, but your second must fly a deep ravine to a green perched precariously on the edge of a hill.
The rest of the holes on the course offer a good mix of challenges. It's a rolling layout, with lots of elevated greens and tee boxes and shots over depressions. Water comes into play on 17 of the 18 holes, but I didn't lose a single ball that day.
There are not a lot of bunkers on the course, but the greens and surrounding areas are treacherous enough without them. There are false fronts, dips right in front of the green, dangerously greens, and on one hole,strange rough covered swales right in the middle of the fairway.
Course conditions on the day I played were pretty good. The fairways were green and the greens verdant. I did think, however, that they were a bit unevenly mowed, giving the course a short of shaggy feel. It was nothing that affected my play though (and I played pretty well on that day).
The immediate rough also was in pretty good shape. Outside of that, though, the ground was bare and hard. You do not want your ball to land between the fairways.
You also don't get a lot of the little details here that you find at more "upscale" courses. Distances are not very well marked (and I question some of the distances that were logged); there are no flowers by the tee boxes, and there is a decided lack of benches ( I guess they assume that people will sit in their carts.).
The course is located across the street from one of the biggest landfills I've ever seen. The thing is a mountain that in a few years will have its own weather patterns. Fortunately, there is no smell, and I only noticed the mountain on two holes.
In all, I'd recommend this course for a visit, if only to experience the Monster.


text:
Worker Killed in Gulf of Mexico Rig Explosion
Posted on
One worker was killed and at least three other workers were injured when an offshore oil rig exploded on Thursday afternoon. The Echo Platform oil rig, which was operated by the Houston-based Fieldwood Energy, exploded around 3pm about 12 miles off the coast of New Orleans. The injured workers are being treated at a nearby medical facility onshore. All of the injured and deceased workers were contractors. Questions remain about the total number of workers who were injured during the blast.
The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, but federal regulators are investigating the incident. According to the Federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the damage was limited to the explosion area. No pollution was reported since the rig was not in production at the time of the catastrophe.
Fieldwood began operating the platform in July of 2014 after purchasing $3.75 billion in assets from Apache Corp.


text: Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid is displaying a classic "emblem" seen of the field of sport. It is seen when there is a loss or a draw and is highly characteristic of a "missed opportunity". It is curious how similar this is to another universal emblem - the "surrender" signal. Most gestures wherein the hands or arms are elevated are positive. These two are notable exceptions.


text:
I'm told that Avenir is the French word for "future." So, how long into the future will it be before we see an Avenir at a collector car auction?
Oh, in case you had not heard, Avenir is a new General Motors' sub-brand, the "highest expression of Buick luxury."
Once upon a time, back in the days when you bought a Chevy but aspired to a Buick, the highest expression of David Dunbar Buick's brand wasn't a Buick at all, but a Cadillac.
But there's a new world order at GM, which pointed out a few things in announcing Buick's new Avenir trim level: The brand has become popular with women buyers, half of Buick buyers are newcomers to the brand, and 90 percent of people buying the Buick Enclave are opting for one of the top two trim levels.
"This year, an unprecedented number of new global products such as the Envision compact SUV and the 2017 LaCrosse sedan offer an elevated luxury experience that's encouraging new car buyers to reassess what they know about Buick," the GM news release proclaimed.
"Through the first half of 2016, Buick has been the industry's fastest-growing major international brand, and Avenir is key to future growth and delivering on the high expectations of new customers coming to our showrooms," Duncan Aldred, vice president of Global Buick Sales, Service and Marketing, was quoted in that release.
Basically, it sounds like Buick wants Avenir, the name of a Buick concept car that dazzled the auto show circuit last year, to do for it what the Denali model designation has done for GMC.
"Avenir will be Buick's signature," he added. "The highest expression of the luxury experiences we're delivering now and in the future."
Focusing here as we do on classic cars, we wonder if Buick suffers from a lack of institutional memory, if it considered or simply overlooked a name that for many years stood as the highest expression of the brand (and some of us still think it does)?
That name that said so much, and still does, was and still is Roadmaster.