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Welcome to the 2019/20 season!
League play for all Gold leagues (Under-14 to Under-18/17) begins the weekend of September 7/8.
All league schedules and contact updates are being posted on the LISA website https://www.lowerislandsoccer.com/ over the course of the long weekend. Go to "Competitions" and in the drop-down box select either "Full Field – Boys" or "Full-Field – Girls" and then click on the schedule for your league.
By clicking on a team name in the standings you will be taken to that team's contact information. Also by clicking on a team name in the standings you will be able to see the league schedule just for that individual team.
It is each team's responsibility to check the website schedule to make sure the contact information for your team is correct. If there are any mistakes or updates please let your club registrar know as soon as possible and have your club registrar inform the LISA office.
While email addresses are included in your team's contact information on the website LISA does not consider the sending of an email an official communication between teams. When exchanging game and field information there must be definite confirmation. "Read Receipts" are not considered definite confirmation. Initial contact with your opponent must be by phone.
If you are not the appropriate person to receive scheduling information and other notices that are sent out from the LISA office throughout the season then make sure you pass this package onto the person who should receive it. And ask that person to provide your club registrar with his or her contact data – and have your club registrar notify the LISA office – in order for future emailings to be sent directly to the correct person. There is important information in here that team officials and club personnel need to know.
In addition other notices are sent out throughout the season, including cup draws, and, when required, scheduling changes so it is important that the LISA office has the correct contacts for each team.
Scores and standings will be posted on the LISA website.
BOTH TEAMS must report to your league's score recorder (listed on your website schedule) by 5 p.m. the day your game is played.
Sometimes it is difficult to do that, especially if you had to travel to an away afternoon game. In such cases submit your score as soon as possible that evening. But, as both teams are responsible for reporting to their score recorder, hopefully the home team was able to make the deadline.
Reporting scores by email is preferred.
When reporting your score you need to include the division and section (i.e. Boys or Girls; age division; your section is either Gold, Silver or Bronze) as well as the name of the clubs and teams involved. All too often score recorders get reports that have important information missing and therefore can not identify the game that was played. Just naming the two clubs is not sufficient as those two clubs could be playing each other in other leagues – and in some cases within that same league as clubs can have more than one team in a schedule.
And remember, you must also report to your score recorder if your game was NOT played and provide the reason why the game did not take place. This includes anytime the fields are closed. Score recorders do not necessarily know when fields are closed or on what field you were scheduled to play.
Once standings and scores are posted if you noticed any mistakes or if there are any missing scores for your games contact your score recorder as soon as possible.
Regarding the website table:
P = number of matches played
W = matches won
D = matches drawn
L = matches lost
F = goals scored
A = goals against
Pts = total points (3 points for a win; 1 point for a draw; 0 points for a loss)
Please note the far left column (Pos = position in the table) is NOT official. It is part of the software program and that program will not give the same position number to teams that are tied on total points. If two or more teams are tied on points the software program separates them randomly and gives them different position numbers.
In order to declare league champions LISA applies Rule 303 Determining League Winners. In the drop-down box for ABOUT go to Rules > and click on LISA Rules & Regulations. Then click on Chapter 3 Rules, Regulations and Policy for Inter-club Competition and scroll through to Rule 303. The team with the most points showing on the website table is not necessarily the league champion as the number of matches played and "completed rounds" (as defined in the rules) are taken into account.
Sometimes different scores are reported for the same game. If the score posted on the website is not what you think it was that is not an issue as long as the result is correct (i.e. the team that won is correctly identified or it was a draw).
While the standings database shows Goals For and Goals Against that data is only there for interest sake. Goal differential, goal ratio, goals for and goals against are NOT used for any official tiebreaking formula, including the determining of league champions.
Please note with the standings and scheduling software system all teams require a nickname and no two teams within the same club can have the same nickname. If no team nickname was supplied when your club declared its teams for scheduling LISA will use the surname of one of the team contacts or assign a nickname. Please contact LISA if you wish to have your team name changed.
League schedules are written in a predetermined sequence, one round at a time. One round is a series of games during which each team is scheduled to play one game (and only one game) against each and every opponent. The last date listed on your schedule only reflects the date of that round's completed numbering sequence. For competitive league play partial rounds are not scheduled; only full rounds.
The last date on your schedule might not be the final day for league play. League play might officially conclude prior to or some time after the last date on your schedule. (NOTE: see the section on League Play further below in this notice for additional information about scheduling changes that take place after the winter break.)
All league winners are declared by applying LISA's rules (see Chapter 3 of the rules on the LISA website). If, as the season progresses, you have any questions or concerns regarding your team's situation in the standings contact the district scheduler or the LISA office.
If a club does not have enough fields to accommodate all its home games the teams without an assigned field should contact their opposition to see if the "visiting" team's club can supply a field in order to play the game. If the teams can not play their game because no field is available at either club they must inform their score recorder and they should try to make it up as soon as possible.
Please note that concerning league games, if a field is offered with a start time different than the standard start time for that division both teams must agree in order for that game to be played at this new time.
LISA does not continue weekly scheduling during the winter break, however that does not mean the season has been shut down. While most of the grass fields are closed during that time by the permit-issuers, some fields, such as the artificial turf fields, remain open.
Teams are expected to make up their outstanding league games during the winter break. Once we return in January there will only be a few weeks left before league play ends and District Cup begins so there will be little time available to make up outstanding league games. In addition field availability can be quite limited during January and February because of field closures and the youth and adult cup play.
Regarding spring break: This year LISA will not continue to schedule regular weekly league games or District Cup matches during the following spring break weekends, March 14/15 and March 21/22 and March 28/29. However that does not mean we are closed. Teams can still play during that time, if both teams agree. In almost every case the deadline for league play will have passed, though, as the semi-finals of the District Cup competition are tentatively scheduled for the weekend of March 7/8.
Please note that this scheduling approach for spring break is for Lower Island's own competitive programs. LISA does not have scheduling control over inter-district programs such as the Coastal 'A' and 'B' Cup competitions. As spring breaks vary throughout the coastal region inter-district cup matches could be scheduled during spring break for some school districts.
The District Cup finals are scheduled to take place over the weekend of April 4/5 (host TBA). The semi-finals will be March 7/8 and the quarter–finals (for District Cup draws of five to eight teams) will take place the February 29/March 1 weekend. If more than eight teams are in a District Cup draw their opening round will take place February 22/23.
Once teams are involved in the District Cup competition they can no longer go back and officially make up any outstanding league games.
All teams need to be aware that there is a limited number of weekends available for full league play, especially during the final few months of the season. Labour Day, the winter break, spring break and Easter can all have an impact upon the length of the league season. In addition some teams will not be available for league play during the BCSA 'B' Cup and LISA Cup playdowns. Teams that advance through these cup competitions will have fewer weekends of league play. Some of these teams could be in contention for league titles or might miss league games against contenders.
Therefore it is important that teams play their league games as scheduled whenever possible (i.e. when fields are open, and not agreeing to postpone). Of course, teams can always make up outstanding games "on their own time" (outside of the time for which LISA schedules) but that can be easier said than done. Teams with outstanding games heading into the winter break should make up those games during the break as once weekly play resumes in mid-January there is very little time left before league play ends and the District Cup playdowns begin. Also in recent years bad weather in February has prevented numerous games from being played.
Please be aware that after the winter break LISA distributes re-scheduling notices on a weekly basis until the end of the Lower Island season. This is done in order to accommodate teams that are involved in cup competitions (e.g. LISA Cup, 'B' Cup, District Cup) and therefore unavailable for league play that weekend. That means your game, opponent and home/away designation might change
It also means that teams that were originally scheduled for a bye could end up with a game and teams that originally had a game scheduled might end up with a bye.
Depending upon the placement of teams in cup draws and the outcome of those cup matches some teams might end up playing the same opponent two or three weeks in a row because of the limited number of available opponents in their league. It could also mean that a team has a bye (no game) two weekends in a row or two out of three weekends.
So please inform your players and their families that their game schedules are likely to change week-by-week throughout the last part of the Lower Island season.
Attached is a handy visual chart of some of the cup competitions your team could play in this season.
'A' and 'B' CUP COMPETITIONS
Lower Island teams that want to enter the B Cup (entering this competition means committing yourself to both the Coastal B Cup and the Provincial B Cup competitions) do so through their clubs. It is assumed all Gold level teams want to enter, if this is not the case speak to your club representatives.
The Provincial B Cup and the Coastal B Cup are two different competitions however in order to compete in the Provincial B Cup you also have to participate in the Coastal B Cup. In other words, if you have entered "the B Cup" your team has entered two B Cup competitions and your team is now committed to following through as far as your team progresses in both competitions. BCSA can issue a fine when a team drops out.
So if you are entering "the B Cup" make sure your team (e.g. players, parents) will be able to meet all the Provincial B Cup and Coastal B Cup commitments which could include travel, overnight stays and the associated costs. It also involves being able to field a team for all your coastal and provincial matches. If your team advances all the way through to the Coastal B Cup final that means your team will be playing through the spring into early May. If your team qualifies for the Provincial B Cup tournament that means your team will also be playing during the summer in early July and that will require travel and hotel/motel accommodation.
The Lower Island competes in the B Cup in the U14 to U18 divisions, both Boys and Girls. Even though U17 and U18 teams compete against each other in a combined U18/17 Lower Island league with only one league champion recognized, U17 and U18 teams have their own separate B Cup divisions.
The dates for our Lower Island B Cup playdowns and the regional final against the Upper Island are tentatively scheduled for: Lower Island quarter-finals January 18/19; Lower Island semi-finals January 25/26; Lower Island finals February 1/2; and Lower Island rep vs. Upper Island rep February 22/23. Field closures and replays (necessitated by successful protests) could cause B Cup matches to be played on other weekends (including the Family Day long weekend) or on other weekdays.
The teams that win the Vancouver Island/Powell River B Cup regional final (Lower Island rep vs. Upper Island rep) automatically qualify for their Provincial B Cup tournament in July.
Both teams that compete in the Island regional final continue on in the Coastal B Cup playdowns. The winning team, known as the Vancouver Island rep, and the losing team, known as the Island runner-up, advance to the quarter-final round of the Coastal B Cup where they will play Lower Mainland teams. If the Island runner-up wins its quarter-final, semi-final and the Coastal B Cup final that team also qualifies for the Provincial B Cup tournament in July.
NOTE: It does not matter if the Vancouver Island rep loses in the Coastal B Cup quarter-finals, semi-finals or finals as that team has already guaranteed itself a berth at the provincial tournament.
The Coastal B Cup finals are tentatively scheduled for May 2/3. All of the coastal finals usually take place on the Lower Mainland (host TBA).
The Boys Provincial B Cup tournament will tentatively take place in early July (host TBA).
The Girls Provincial B Cup tournament will tentatively take place in early July (host TBA).
Teams playing in the VIPL are not eligible for the B Cup. The VIPL teams compete in the Coastal/Provincial A Cup.
The LISA Cup competition is for non-Gold teams (i.e. Silver, Bronze) that do not enter a Provincial Cup competition (i.e. A or B Cup). It is a random-draw single-elimination cup competition for Lower Island teams only that is offered in the following three age groups: U14, U16/15 combined and U18/17 combined, for both girls and boys. The declaration deadline for LISA Cup is October 1.
The LISA Cup will be played throughout the regular league season. The seventh annual edition of the competition will begin with Round 1 the weekend of October 26/27 if more than eight teams are entered. Round 2, the quarter-finals, will be November 23/24. Round 3, the semi-finals, are scheduled for January 18/19. All LISA Cup finals will be played the weekend of February 8/9 at PISE. NOTE: for the finals your match start time and match day will likely not be the same as your weekly league games.
As long as more than eight teams are entered, all teams will be drawn into action for the opening round October 26/27, except if there is an odd number. If there is an odd number entered the "odd team out," based upon the random draw, will receive an opening-round bye. In other words, at most, there will only be one bye in the opening round. Additional byes might be necessary in the quarter-final round in order to reduce the number of teams advancing to the semi-finals to four. If a team received a bye in the opening round it will not be one of the teams receiving a bye in the quarter-finals.
Except for the finals (as explained above) the first three rounds of the LISA Cup will be scheduled for your usual game day. If your team has a league game scheduled for that day your team will play the LISA Cup match instead of the league game. Your league game will then be considered "outstanding" and can be made up "on your own time" (outside of your weekly game day and start time for which LISA schedules) as long as both teams agree. It is also possible that LISA might re-schedule your outstanding league game.
The LISA office will conduct the draw and distribute the schedule for the opening round in early October. In the LISA Cup competition there is a separate draw for each round.
The Island Invitational Cup is also known as the Tournament of Champions and is the official championship for Vancouver Island/Powell River. It is a one-game winner-take-all final between the Upper Island rep and the Lower Island rep. The Lower Island rep for the Island Invitational Cup is the Gold league champion. The host for all the finals in the Island Cup alternates between the Upper and Lower Island.
The 56th annual Island Invitational Cup will be hosted by the Campbell River the weekend of April 4/5.
The Vancouver Island Invitational Cup is not part of the Provincial/Coastal B Cup or associated with it in any way. Even though it might involve some of the same teams it is an entirely separate competition. The winner of the Island Invitational Cup does not advance to any other competition.
Please note that there will be Island Cup finals in both Girls U17 and Girls U18 as well as for both Boys U17 and Boys U18 if both the Upper and Lower Island have a representative that qualifies. So even though in the Lower Island district U17 and U18 teams play in a combined league for which there will only be one official league champion recognized, two teams – one U17 and one U18 – will represent the Lower Island at the Island Invitational Cup. One of those reps will be the U18/17 Gold league champion and the other will be the highest-finishing team (based upon LISA's rules for determining league champions) in the other age group. Games between the two age groups count in determining both the U18/17 league champion and the two (U17 and U18) Island Cup reps.
The District Cup is the final competitive program of the Lower Island in-district season. It is NOT a league playoff.
It is a single-elimination, random draw, cup competition for Lower Island teams that are not Lower Island representatives that go on to play in an inter-district competition (e.g. the B Cup, Island Invitational Cup). The winner of the District Cup does not advance to any other competition.
For the Lower Island District Cup Silver and Bronze league champions are promoted to a higher level of play. The Bronze league champion competes in the Silver District Cup and the Silver league champion competes in the Gold District Cup as those teams have, over the course of the season, proven themselves to be the best team in their league.
The Gold league champion is not eligible for the District Cup. The Gold league champion represents the Lower Island in the Island Invitational Cup and will play against the Upper Island rep for the Island championship.
The start date for the District Cup playdowns depends upon the number of teams in each draw. If there are more than eight teams entered in a draw they will start their playdowns the weekend of February 22/23. Draws with five to eight teams entered will start with the quarter-final round February 29/March 1. The semi-finals (and draws with three or four teams) will take place March 7/8. All District Cup finals will be played the weekend of April 4/5 (host TBA).
When teams lose in the District Cup playdowns they are eliminated from the competition and LISA stops scheduling for them. In other words, their 2019/20 Lower Island season is over.
In regards to outstanding league games, no team once it has played a District Cup match can play any outstanding league game. Once a team is in the District Cup competition their league play has ended – it does not matter how many league games that team has outstanding.
NOTE: In regards to the scores, standings or any other issue concerning league or cup play all questions, concerns or comments are to be submitted by a team official, club rep or club director. If your players and/or parents have any such questions or concerns they are to contact the appropriate team or club official.


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Lemoney Users Can Refer Friends and Play Games to Earn Turbo Credits and Cashback at More Than 1,800 Retailers
Many clients enjoy credit scorecard rewards and learn the artwork of shopping for financial savings. Savvy card customers build on their achievement via using coupons and cashback offers to keep even extra. It's referred to as double-dipping, and it's a fantastic manner to convert routine purchasing into extra money to spend on anything you want. In one survey, respondents even ranked rewards because of a credit card's maximum appealing function, beforehand of hobby price, card emblem, or even customer service. That indicates just how extreme purchasers are approximately getting the maximum out of their purchases.
Lemoney caters to individuals who want to enhance one's rewards. Lemoney and other cashback web sites' difference is that Lemoney is "faster-powered," which means users can improve their profits with Turbo Credits that growth cashback percentages. The extra credit users earn, the more cashback they get hold of. It, without a doubt, units us apart from the opposition. With Turbo Cashback, our users can grow their cashback quotes as much as 5 times," he said.
Lemoney has partnerships with greater than 1,800 U.S.-primarily based outlets in a wide variety of classes, inclusive of travel, leisure, food, apparel, fitness, and splendor, among many others. Users can look for outlets through name or browse them by using class, and when they're in a temper to store even greater, Lemoney has hot deals and bargains from primary retailers. This enterprise model has made Lemoney a famous platform where savvy customers can earn increasing financial savings and rewards through a gamified revel. And, in keeping with Ferrari, all of it comes again to the organization's commitment to giving customers what they need. With Turbo Cashback, it's nearly impossible for a few websites to offer greater cashback than Lemoney," he stated.
Lemoney is loose to join, and there's no duty beyond signing up and putting in a dashboard to keep the music of savings. That's while the rewards start coming in. When you join up, that's while you receive your first Turbo Credit," Ferrari said. For many customers, the savvy play is to earn as many credits as feasible — they could practice up to five on each buy. Applying 5 credits can grow a normal cashback fee of eight.Five%, as an example, to 40%, 50%, or maybe extra. The fastest manner to earn credits is to refer buddies to Lemoney. Each user gets a unique invite code that may be cut and pasted into social media and different applications. Or, they can invite friends through an email from the web page. Friends need to then sign up on Lemoney and make a qualifying buy.
If a user most effectively has one credit and desires to earn extra before they observe it for cashback, they could shop on the ordinary cash back fee. Deciding while to use credits is a part of the platform's laugh. You can store on the ordinary charges— however, it's better to shop thru the Turbo Cashback application," Ferrari said. The Lemoney website capabilities shops, and customers genuinely click on thru to begin purchasing. Before they depart the website, they'll see their Turbo Credits and store-particular cashback rates on a transition web page. Lemoney automatically updates the cashback users have earned, so all they need to do is whole purchase as they normally would, and the platform takes care of the rest.

subset: commoncrawl


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The University of Chicago and Chapin Hall Announce Joint Research Fund Awards
Universal pre-K, parental absence in China, and machine learning in child welfare to be studied
The University of Chicago and Chapin Hall have announced funding for research projects that examine the impact of universal Pre-K in Chicago, parental absence in China, and machine learning on decision-making in child welfare. The three research teams have been awarded a total of $200,000 from the University of Chicago-Chapin Hall Joint Research Fund. This is the sixth year of the Fund.
The awardees and their projects are:
- Dr. Fred Wulczyn, Senior Research Fellow, Chapin Hall and Dr. James Heckman, Director, Center for the Economics of Human Development, who will examine the effect of child neglect on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive skills due to parental absence. Their proposed study– Left behind: The effects of parental absence on human capital formation among Chinese children–will include analysis of a nationally representative, longitudinal dataset of children and their families in China.
- Dr. Brian Chor, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall and Rayid Ghani, Research Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, who will examine the application of machine learning approaches to inform residential placement decision-making in a child welfare system, demonstrating an innovative and important application of machine learning approaches with strong policy relevance.
- Dr. Nicholas Mader, Senior Researcher, Chapin Hall and Dr. Michael Dinerstein, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, who will study how Chicago's coming expansion to Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) will influence accessibility of early childcare and education services. Drs. Dinerstein and Mader will conduct econometric analysis to assess how universal pre-K expansion complements or displaces services provided by community-based organizations and highlight how effects vary by neighborhood.
Joint Research Fund awards foster long-term policy-relevant research collaborations between the University and Chapin Hall. The opportunity provides support for translational research consistent with our shared commitment to rigorous inquiry and transformative impact. Over the past five years, 14 research teams have received awards.
"Projects awarded through the Joint Research Fund look to tackle real-world issues facing decision makers," said Bryan Samuels, Executive Director of Chapin Hall. "This latest round seeks to influence local, state, and international policymaking. Each project is also engaging those closest to the work – a critical element in ensuring the successful implementation of research findings."
The Joint Research Fund Steering Committee, made up of appointees from the University and Chapin Hall, reviewed a number of highly competitive proposals from partnerships of faculty across the University and Chapin Hall research and policy staff. Faculty and staff interested in participating in future years may visit the Joint Research Fund RFP webpage for more information and may also sign up for updates and reminders from the Fund.
"The Joint Research Fund was established to support collaborative research between the University and Chapin Hall, capitalizing on both institution's commitment to impactful and rigorous research," said Daniel Diermeier, Provost at the University of Chicago. "I am pleased to see these projects funded and look forward to hearing of their impact."


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Briar Patch
3807 Atlanta Highway (at the Intersection of Hwy 120 and Business 6)
Hiram, Georgia 30141
Phone: 770-445-3737
Contact: Tony and Tammy Jones
Website: www.briarpatchrestaurant.com
Home Of The Original Hickory Salad - - Stop in and try one of our famous salads ('Hickory', 'Brer Rabbit' or 'Brer Bear') or a 'Hickory Tater' with your choice of our homemade Thousand Island, Bleu Cheese or Ranch dressing. There's delicious hickory smoked Bar-B-Q beef and pork (made with 100% pork ham) by the sandwich, plate or pound as well as Bar-B-Q chicken and ribs. There's also smoked hot wings, Brunswick stew, pit baked beans, slaw, french fries, a variety of homemade desserts, a menu for the kids, a complete dinner menu and much more.
What is known today as 'The Briar Patch' was originally built in 1958 by Odel Vaughn. It was bought by the Wallace family in 1976 who added the barbecue pit. Larry and Chris East bought the restaurant in 1978 and continued to serve delicious food and began serving the famous "Hickory Salad". Tony and Tammy Jones assumed ownership in April 1998 and continue the same tradition of delicious food and quality service in a clean family atmosphere.
Yearly Sponsor since Wed Feb 25 21:59:25 EST 2004


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Auction Details
Contact Information
Deal Hunter Estate Sales
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 571.830.0404
Auction Schedule
Auction Dates
Start Date: Wed, May 23, 2018 10:00AM
End Date: Fri, Jun 1, 2018 11:00AM
Auction Preview Dates
Auction Checkout Dates
Auction Location
Auction Description
PRESENTING DEAL HUNTER AUCTION ONLINE AUCTIONS https://dealhunterauction.hibid.com/catalog/133040/collectible-elvis-coca-cola-train-record--jewelry-and-more/ DEAL HUNTERS have abundance choices of beautiful items from estates in the Washington DC metro area, Virginia and Maryland. Please note that this sale features online bidding only. Items must be picked up the day after bidding ends. Pick-up in our easily accessible 3000 square foot storefront. Thank you and please your experience. HAPPY BIDDING.
Deal Hunters Auctions
5795 Burke Centre Parkway
Suite G
Burke, VA 22015


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Expected to launch in August in Indonesia.
The exterior as well as color options of the Daihatsu Sigra (rebadged Toyota Calya) has leaked online, ahead of its launch in August in Indonesia. Reports suggest that it will make its debut at the 2016 GIIAS (Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show) in the same month.
The front-end of the Sigra appears to be a cross between the Daihatsu Ayla (rebadged Toyota Agya) and the Daihatsu Xenia (rebadged Toyota Avanza). The design was previewed by the Daihatsu UFC-3 concept in 2014, and also draws cues from the newly launched Toyota Innova.
Both the Toyota Calya and Daihatsu Sigra will be positioned under the Avanza and Xenia, and will be marketed as low-cost MPVs (LCGC), and rival the Datsun GO+. Powering the Japanese duo is likely to be an option between a 1.0 1KR-FE engine from the Ayla or the Toyota Etios's 3NR-FE 1.2-liter petrol engine, and transmission choices would include manual and automatic gearboxes (1.2 variant only).
Also Read: Toyota regional head expresses interest for Daihatsu small car in India
The Daihatsu Sigra will launch in the Indonesian market first, and is expected to be priced between 86-106 million IDR, while the Toyota Calya could be priced slightly higher, owing to its higher brand positioning.
[Source: AutoPlusID]


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Cooking Time:6-8 hours
Ingredients1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 medium Onion, chopped
1 medium Green Pepper, chopped
2 T. Chili Powder
2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Minced Garlic
1/2 c. Red Wine
1/2 c. Chicken Broth
32 oz. Great Northern Beans, undrained
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 3/4 ounces) Corn, drained
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
- Place a slow cooker liner in a 6-Quart Crock-Pot® Slow Cooker.
- Place a skillet over medium heat. Add oil and sauté onions & green peppers.
- Add chili powder, cumin and garlic and sauté for an additional minute. (Do not overcook or burn garlic!)
- Place seasoned pepper and onion mixture in the prepared slow cooker and top with chicken.
- Mix in remaining ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours.
NOTE: This is a good one for a brisk afternoon pick-me-up. I like to serve with cheddar biscuits. Sprinkle with a little lime juice!
Happy Crocking!
For over 400 more recipes, click here to get my eBook "Get Crocked: The Definitive Guide to Slow Cooking"


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Get Your Online Shop Busy on the Festive Season
When the festive seasons such as Chinese New Year, Eid, and Deepavali are coming in Malaysia, all business owners regardless online or offline stores will give extra offers, shocking discounts till half-price, free gifts and others.
Competing with all these stores are definitely hard unless you have something bigger to offer. But how? Here are some of the tricks:
1. Operate your shop 24-hours
Most online stores operate 24-hours but of course it does not really work for urgent shopping which are 1-3 days before the festival unless if you have your own dedicated courier service which provides the same-day delivery.
When you are able to operate for 24 hours per day, customers will feel easy to contact you or do the transaction with your online store without any limitations.
Not everyone works in the morning shift or night shift, thus to cater all customers will need you to operate all day.
On the other hand, getting people to browse on your online store is always easy nowadays since everyone nowadays has been into online communication and an increase to 2.87 billion users is expected in 2020.
2. Sell your limited edition / festive edition stuffs
Most importantly, as an owner of the online store, you should be creative in order to remain strong in the industry.
The time of festive season is the time to sell and offer your limited edition stuffs to the customers.
Everyone wants to look their best in the festive season and at the same time, some of them want to avoid looking so typical and do not want to share their looks with others thus offering something special to the customers will automatically attract them if they are pleased with what you are offering.
3. Provide smooth payment process
To be more powerful in the online shop during the festive season, you have to be considerate to your customers in providing smooth payment process. The best online shop provides the best payment process for customers.
Razer Merchant Services now has clients from popular online and offline shops such as Starbucks, Lazada, Grab and others. All these online players put trust on Razer Merchant Services as their payment gateway. The process that Razer Merchant Services takes to clear the transaction from the customer is not too long.
4. Enable cash payment
Even you are doing online shop services, you have to bear in mind that not all your customers have their personal bank accounts. Some of them are unbanked people who have the desire to shop online.
Razer Merchant Services is a payment gateway that provides cash payment method where payment in cash is able to be done at selected 7-Eleven and Petronas. People who feel lack of security in the online system especially during the busy season can already buy anything online with Razer CASH and celebrate their festival with no regret.
As an owner of the online shop, it is important to be more aggressive when the festive season comes since the competition is high likely to be unbeatable. In fact, the competition does not involve only you and other online stores, it also involves shopping malls and other offline shops.
Digital device is your strength, thus understanding the trend during the festive season would be really helpful to your business if you use it wisely.


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BREAKING: Wasserman-Schultz IT Guy ARRESTED TRYING TO FLEE U.S.
Finally we get a Muslim trying to flee the country.
What does it take to make that happen? An investigation that may involve the blackmailing of high-level Democrats like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz.
As it turns out, Wasserman-Schultz' IT guy wishes to leave the hallowed shores of America for some God-forsaken goat-humper country.
The charge doesn't appear to be IT-related yet, as the tweet below suggests.
However, generally speaking, when it comes to espionage and terror, the authorities usually hold people on a lesser charge while they build their case.
Feds/USCP bust Hse IT staffer Imran Awan & charge him with multiple counts of bank fraud as part of Hse IT procurement scandal
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 25, 2017
Feds/USCP picked up Imran Awan at Dulles Aiport last night as he was "trying to leave the country." Has been arraigned. Surrendered passport
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 25, 2017
Only a day ago we reported that this story was due a big break.
This may very well be it.
The Democrats could very well have been blackmailed by the Muslim Brotherhood. Because how else could suspected Islamists have such unfettered access to the Democrats' computer infrastructure?
We reported about the potential shenanigans of the Islamic IT staff that serviced high-ranking Democrats.
Remember that Muslim Spy Ring that Trump broke up? One of the spies still works at the DNC.
As our team reported, three Muslim brothers working for House Democrats accessed congressional computer networks without permission. When their crimes became known, most congressional Democrats fired them.
But a few Democrat holdouts, in the name of political correctness, refused to fire these terror-connected Pakistani brothers.
There is a criminal probe into breaches of congressional security that is exploring the activities of these men. Investigators say Imran Awan, an employee at the Democratic National Committee is their lead suspect.
Over the past six years, these brothers worked for 80 Democrat congress-people, including members of the homeland security, foreign affairs, and intelligence committees.
Consider that in a time when America remains on high alert for the potential of Islamic terrorism, the Democrats employed an IT staff with ties to radical Muslim groups.
And now as if we are watching a scene from a Hillary Clinton soap opera, we learn the following:
FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz's information technology (IT) administrator, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.


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Arts & Entertainment
A holistic approach to COVID-19
By Bella Butler EBS EDITORIAL ASSISTANT
With the physical wellbeing of the global community in jeopardy, the COVID-19 pandemic has instigated many to take an introspective look at personal health, but not everyone is taking the traditional approach.
"I think people are taking a little bit more of an interest in their health, in general, which is exciting," said Dr. Kaley Burns, owner of Big Sky Natural Health. Dr. Burns is a naturopathic doctor, who approaches patient's health with a holistic perspective.
"For naturopaths, we look at the whole person," she said, adding that immunity is a central component to the holistic approach.
On March 16, researchers with the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity published a study in which they examined a 47-year-old Chinese woman who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. After studying the subject's immune responses over the length of her illness, the researchers concluded that "early adaptive immune responses might correlate with better clinical outcomes." One of the researchers later said that although COVID-19 is caused by a novel virus, a robust immune system is associated with recovery, according to their study.
Dr. Burns offered what she dubbed "the big three" tips for supporting immunity from the vantage of a naturopath: hydration, nutrition and rest and relaxation. She added that enjoying the outdoors is a bonus to this trifecta, an especially accessible practice in Big Sky and all of southwestern Montana.
Just as the driving concept behind social distancing is collective cooperation, Dr. Burns added that supporting individual health can have much broader effects. "Each of us focusing on our own health also makes our families and our community healthier," she said. "There's kind of that ripple effect of all of us supporting ourselves to support each other."
Dr. Burns suggested that while she hopes to bolster healthcare options for Big Sky, she believes that naturopathic medicine works really well when paired with conventional medicine. Especially during these times when the healthcare system is overwhelmed, she is hopeful that her clinic as well as other conventional clinics can support the community adequately and collectively.
Using more alternative and homeopathic methods, the Cauldron Apothecary in Big Sky is also tackling COVID-19 from a nonconventional approach. The Cauldron Apothecary's owner, Tara Gale, describes herself as a healer. Having completed various trainings in herb and aromatherapy, nutrition and energy, Gale uses the Cauldron's space for various types of health consultations as well as to sell a wide selection of natural remedies and homeopathic medicine.
Gale does 60 percent of her business with clients outside of the community, from Los Angeles to Thailand. Recently, Gale has worked with three out-of-state clients diagnosed with COVID-19. According to Gale, some of these clients reported experiencing a complete reversal of symptoms within 24 hours of receiving intuitive healing from her.
Gale described intuitive healing as looking into the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical realms of the body collectively to identify imbalances of energy. For one specific client with COVID-19 that reported a complete reversal of symptoms, Gale said she did "heart work," addressing the client's childhood trauma and how it was still affecting her. Results from intuitive healing, including those shared by Gale, are often self-reported.
Dr. Maren Dunn, a physician with the Bozeman Health Big Sky Medical Center added that mental health does correlate in some instances with physical health and that in some cases untreated depression and anxiety can affect the immune system.
She referenced heart disease patients, such as those that have suffered a heart attack and experience depression instigated by that event. When the depression goes untreated, the patient is more likely, according to Dr. Dunn, to suffer a second heart attack.
For those seeking less exploratory holistic approaches, Gale reiterated Dr. Burns' big three, with an emphasis on drinking enough water and eating lots of colorful fruits and vegetables. Gale also suggested diffusing essential oils with antibacterial and antiviral properties.
Despite the current amplified concern for health and wellbeing, Dr. Burns said our bodies are often stronger than we give them credit for, and that an opportunity for empowerment comes when we take our health into our own hands. There are many fundamental things that we can do to feel better, she said, that give us a lot of control. Gale concurred through her own observations, expressing a belief that bodies know what they need, it's just a matter of drawing out those needs.
Dr. Burns hopes that the heightened inspiration people are experiencing to take better care of health survives the COVID-19 pandemic. "One of the things I hope can be a takeaway for us is how we approach our health in general," she said.
"We've got a lot of other chronic diseases in the country and I think it would be a great thing for a lot of people to maybe come to an understanding with themselves of how they might want to feel better on a daily basis."


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After many, many hours of work collaborating, recording, editing and coding, Prolonged Field Care is live to be downloaded and especially subscribed-to from iTunes! This is another huge leap forward for us in reaching medics with the information they will need. With a long drive to work I normally listen to SMACC, EMCrit, or other critical care or emergency medicine podcasts. As a medic many of them are good to hear and have great info but often don't apply to my scope of practice or environment I operate in. These podcasts are hosted by an 18D Medic, interviewing Doctors and nurses of all specialties with the unique challenges we face when taking care of our buddies and partner forces in the worst circumstances with little or no help.
This is exactly what I need as an independent medic in an austere environment.
If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited about this. Subscribe now! Share it with all your medical colleagues and invite them to subscribe also!
Help us get this information to the people who need it.
Right now, before you forget, click the icon below and subscribe or follow the instructions below
Open the iTunes store and type "prolonged field care" in the search bar. It is the only thing that comes up and you will recognize or familiar logo by now.
Click on "Get" on the right side.
Our iTunes page will come up with a subscribe button just below the logo.
Click "subscribe" and each time Justin uploads a new podcast to our libsyn site it will automatically upload to iTunes and what ever device you set it to.


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In this article, I will take you through the sequence of steps required to build a concrete block pillar from start to finish.
Positioning your pillars
The first thing you need to do is mark out the ground where you want your pillars to be – sounds easy but there are a few things you should keep in mind.
If the pillars are close to the roadside – are they back far enough to allow you to pull up in your car so that the back of your car is off the road?
Another thing to keep in mind is the distance apart you will make them, don't have them too far apart and don't have them too close.
Be aware that there may be other vehicles required to enter and exit your premises which are larger than your car – delivery lorries and oil lorries to name a few.
I would advise you to keep them at a minimum of 14 feet apart.
Marking out before digging
When you have decided the width of the pillar and where you will place it – the next thing you need to do is mark it out on the ground – I would advise using a line marker spray can.
Remember to keep the front faces of two pillars in line with each other – otherwise, it will look like a mess botch job.
Mark each pillar on the ground and then make another line 6 to 12″ outside the pillar the whole way around- this is the area you will dig out to put in your foundations.
How will I dig the hole?
You can either use hand tools like a spade and shovel or use a digger to dig out the pillars – depending on how large the foundations are.
If you have never dug out pillar foundations before I would advise you to use a digger as it is quite labour-intensive.
How deep should pillar foundations be?
You should dig the hole for the foundations down to a depth of 2 to 3 feet deep or until you hit hard ground – you should keep the side of the foundations vertical and the hole should have four nice square edges to it.
The reason for wanting a square hole with vertical sides is the pillar foundation will be less likely to move in a neat square hole as opposed to having a rounded bottom hole.
Setting the depth of concrete
When everything is dug out and the base is level and the sides vertical and straight you should hammer in four iron rods into the base – one in each corner of the foundation.
The top of these rods will mark the depth of concrete you will be pouring in. I would recommend pouring 8 to 12″ of a concrete foundation for building on.
Keeping your foundations level
Set a spirit level across the top of the four rods and adjust them until they are level – this means when you pour your concrete into the foundation when you stop at the top of these bars your base will be at the required depth and it should also be level. This will make it much easier to build your blocks on.
Add services first
Next, you can add any services the pillars require – for lights or electric gate controls. I would set a piece of plastic pipe/ducting into the foundations so that you don't have to chisel into the base at a later stage.
Beginning to lay blocks
After two to three days after the concrete has been poured you can not begin to build your blocks on the base.
You should start with the front row of blocks first – using a builders line to keep both rows of blocks in line.
Keep your pillars in line
You can then lay your back row of blocks using the builders line, which you should have set by using a tape measure from the front row to the correct distance to the back row.
You can then lay the sides using a set square against the front and back rows.
When you have the two bottom rows laid out you can then begin to build row upon row until you get to your required height.
What type of gate do you want?
You should know before building your pillars if they will be hung gates or freestanding pillars with sliding gates – this will allow you to add hangers to the block work as you go. I will be having a sliding gate so I do not need to build in hangers
Keep your pillars plumb
Use your spirit level against the sides as you lay each row of blocks to ensure your pillars are plumb, and keep checking they are square using your tape measure and set square.
Before adding your pillar tops you should carry out any wiring or fixing as once the pillar top goes on it is much less convenient to work on.
Adding the pillar top
The pillar top should be fitted square to the top of the blockwork – use a tape measure to check that all sides are sitting an equal distance from the blocks.
Complete with your finish of choice
Finally, you can finish the pillar with whatever you choose – stone facing, smooth plaster or pebbledash.
These will be finished with a white marble chip inside a slurry of white cement known as a wet dash -which will stop at the square ring of stone (granite)
I hope you found my article helpful – how do you think my pillars turned out? Comments below…Thank you!


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Finally, it comes to this: It's nice to be included. It's nice to believe that we matter. That's the sense of worth that so many of us struggle to find throughout our lives–if we didn't get it in early years, it's an uphill climb to claim it later.
This week, I'm aware of many friends who have been at the White House egg roll with their kids. Their beaming photos are posted throughout my facebook page and meetings here in DC are punctuated with adorable tales of things done and said by cute kids on the White House lawn. Everyone who went was delighted to be there, but for the glbt families, being specifically invited was something like breaking a spell. One family I read about at home flew here from Minneapolis just to go! Looking at glbt family photos on the White House lawn brings up both joy and grief for me—my daughter was four years old in 2000, when George W. Bush came into the White House. He immediately eliminated the White House liaison to the glbt community, and told families like ours in every way possible that we weren't welcome as part of his country. (The proposed federal amendment to the Constitution that he advocated, which excluded us from "We the People" was the most direct statement, but all the smaller things hurt, too.)
The reason that I knew my 12 year old could not miss the Inauguration festivities was so that she could see that her country wanted a President who wanted us to matter again. Every family wants that simple acceptance. Now, the egg roll, she would not be caught dead attending, of course. But I'm delighted to see other kids who are the age she was in 2000 having such a different experience of belonging in their country.
Meanwhile, we struggle with a pre-teen issue around exclusion: As I posted recently, ever a counter-cultural family, we are actually acquiring a few items in this "Shopping is Dead" time. Last week, to reward my daughter for making it through a very tough time, we bought her a Kindle, the electronic book created by Amazon. It was her most desired item; she is constantly hauling heavy books in her backpack and who can argue with a kid's love of reading? So when the tax refund arrived, that was our splurge.
I have never shopped at Amazon.com in my life. Ironically, the women's bookstore in Minneapolis is Amazon Books, and I order all of my books through them…support your local bookstore! So, how bizarre that the very week that I give Amazon.com a huge chunk of change, they would publicly act out in a homophobic manner. (NOTE TO UNIVERSE: You think this is funny perhaps?)
I am wrestling with whether or not I even mention this to my daughter. At age 12, here's the deal: If she loses a treasured gift because her parents care about justice, her anger will not be directed at Amazon.com's homophobia. Rather, it will be directed at her lesbian parents, and the fact that once more she doesn't get to have the easy, privileged, life of her friends with straight parents. (Never mind that I will tell her that straight friends who share our values are also telling Amazon.com where to get off—at 12, all anger defers to parents.) And I feel whiney about it myself: Couldn't we just enjoy SOMETHING without homophobia contaminating it?
So this is how family values really sort out. The dozens of conversations we navigate or don't choose to have, products we buy or return, events we get invited to or don't, legal privileges we count on or can never acquire—all of these create meaning out of the otherwise random events in our lives. I suspect I'm going to vent my spleen at Amazon.com and keep my mouth shut about it at home. The mantra of every parent of every sexual orientation: Choose your battles. Meanwhile, how bout those cute kids on the White House lawn?


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African women's football teams to go up against veteran teams at London Olympics
April 25, 2012
The 2012 London Olympics are just a few months away, and the tournament matchups for the competing soccer teams were chosen on Tuesday, April 24. Cameroon's women's team, which qualified for the Olympics following a defeat of Nigeria, was grouped together with Great Britain, New Zealand and Brazil, according to ESPN. This is the first time Cameroon has made it to the Olympic level of competition, and luckily they are not facing reigning champion Japan right off the bat.
South Africa was unlucky enough to be placed in the same pool with the leading team as well as Sweden and Canada, according to AllAfrica.com. However, the South African team is more excited than nervous for now.
"For me this is an historic day in my life because, back in the days of apartheid, when I played football - I only used to dream of playing teams in South Africa because internationally there was nothing," Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza told the BBC. "When I took up coaching I dreamt of coaching at the highest level. And here I am."
The matches are scheduled for early August, and those who want to find out more about the teams' prep leading up to the games can make calls to South Africa to discuss the upcoming tournament with their friends.
You Might Also Like...
- Wednesday, July 18, marked Nelson Mandela's 94th birthday
- Nelson Mandela's last surviving sibling passes away at 81
- Weather forecasters could go to jail for incorrect predictions in South Africa
- South African officials step up rhino-poaching punishments
- Charlize Theron partners with Toms shoes for charity


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- I bought two large bins for the beans. That way, two kids could play in each, and we could keep issues down to a minimum.
- Then I went to the Dollar Store and looked for some fun seasonal items to add to the bins. I wanted Autumn themed bins, but didn't want to spend a ton. The Dollar Store was perfect!
- I also picked up some kitchen implements from the Dollar Store. I needed duplicates of some of the items, and didn't want to look through all of my drawers and cabinets every time we pulled the bins out. So the kids now have their own kitchen items that are just for their bins.
- And then for good measure, I swung through the Dollar Spot at the Target down the road. I found some more fun and cheap items that will work for other bin themes as well.
- The beans came from our local Aldis. Basically, I just bought the cheapest dried pinto beans that I could find. I'm pretty sure that I ended up putting about 14 pounds of beans in each box. For a singleton, you can probably get away with quite a bit less. :)
- And finally, I waited until a friend could come over and help me watch for beans going up the nose. The first time doing an activity is always iffy. We also had their cousin over that day, so our ratio was two adults to five 2-year-olds.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Autumn Sensory Bin Activity
11 comments:
I see some beans straying off the mat! We only do these things outdoors but it is warmer in California. I don't want to be vacuuming beans up 3 months later.ReplyDelete
and I find that if you just bring it out occasionally that it keeps it appeal. We have a rice bin that I use for my triplets and it can get messy but at 3 1/2 they know if they get it off the sheet it gets put away! My kids absolutely love it when I get the rice out and ask for it frequentlyReplyDelete
Oh that looks super super fun! I used to have a bin like that for Brady full of beads :)ReplyDelete
This looks so fun! I think I'll try this with my little one. He's reaching the age where he needs more guided/educational play. Thanks for sharing! :)ReplyDelete
Looks like a success to me! :)ReplyDelete
- Rustie D.November 12, 2013 at 11:34 PM
This is awesome! Looks like the kids had a blast with it! :)ReplyDelete
They look like they are having a fun time! 2 bins are a definite plus sometimes!ReplyDelete
Pinning it!
- AnonymousNovember 13, 2013 at 8:19 PM
This is great sensory bin for autumn. Thank you for sharing and for linking up this week to the Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop.ReplyDelete
I love that the sensory bin isn't limited to the bin. That is a great idea to have a sheet on the floor for them to play on. They look like they had a great time. Thank you for sharing on Artsy Play Wednesday.ReplyDelete
Fantastic sensory bin - I too love how it expands out of thee bin and the clean up.ReplyDelete
Thank you for linking up to Tuesday Tots and just popping by to let you know that I will be featuring this over on Rainy Day Mum this week.
The kids is enjoying the activity so much.ReplyDelete
We would love to hear what you think! Please know that all comments are on a slight delay as we approve them on our end. Thanks for commenting!


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How To Dispute The Work On Your New Roof In Savannah?
So you have just had a new roof put in and are not happy? Please do not disappear this happens very frequently and you are definitely not alone. The number of roof disputes in Savannah grew 6 percent in 2018 making the total of roof disputes on a new roof at a staggering 32% of all new roofs installed. The reason the number is so high is relatively simple, leaking roofs. Leaking roofs account for roughly 80% of all roofing issues with new roofs.
Roofers generally do not show much concern with issues of leakages. Mostly it is a quick 5-minute fix that they can easily fix and repair. At Alpha Omega all roofs we build come with a 20-year warranty, however not all roofers provide a warranty.
If you have had a new roof installed and it is leaking or has another problem and the roofer will not come out and fix it do not disappear. There is regulation that protects you as well as laws. We recommend engaging a lawyer early if the roofing company who built the roof will not come to your residence and repair the issues.
Generally, if the roofer will not honor his warranty or provide alteration to defect work, if the claim does go to court the judge will award you costs against the roofer. It can be a long trip but in 80% of cases, it is quick and painless. Indeed judges are likely to make the roofer pay for any costs associated with having the roofer repair his work in Savannah.


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Daily Archives: September 18, 2020
New Books and ARCs, 9/18/20
Posted on September 18, 2020 17 Comments
This just in: A new stack of books and ARCs that have come to the Scalzi Compound! What here is ringing your proverbial bells? Share in the comments! — JS
Pass the "Ammunition"
Posted on September 18, 2020 30 Comments
I don't always listen to albums, but when I do, there are usually only a couple of songs on it that I enjoy. Usually one or two, sometimes three, and on rare occasion, maybe four or so. But I have never in my life enjoyed an album in its entirety. Until I came across Ammunition […]


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Fatal Fury
Released: 1991
Genre: Beat-'em-up
Format reviewed: Neo Geo
Publisher: SNK
Developer: SNK
Fatal Fury is definitely one of the best-known Nineties fighting franchises, having succeeded in both the arcade and home over the course of ten games. Beyond that, much of the cast has transferred to SNK's crossover spin-off The King Of Fighters, and there were even animated films. Fatal Fury definitely left its mark, then – but time hasn't been too kind to the original game.
Arriving some months after Street Fighter II, Fatal Fury was directed by Takashi Nishiyama – the same man that had directed the original Street Fighter. It's very much a spiritual successor to the original Street Fighter, from the limited character choices to the ability to choose your opponents from different parts of Southtown, the city in which the game is set. However, this means that it's missing some of Street Fighter II's key innovations – forget fluid combos, this game is about landing special moves (and that's tricky). That means that it feels relatively stiff by today's standards.
Of course, back in the day it was still comfortably better than most other fighting games, and it definitely still retains some appeal. The vibrant backgrounds are very cool, and character design is especially notable – you certainly didn't see the likes of Tung Fu Rue's transformations or Billy Kane's unarmed cowardice elsewhere. Additionally, there's one of gaming's greatest final bosses in Geese Howard, a notoriously tough guy with an iconic theme tune and a particularly memorable defeat.
If we're looking to play Fatal Fury today, we'll plump for one of the sequels – but it's still worth recognising where it all started.


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Techniques and tips to promote a bakery.
Before planning to promote a bakery …
When we open a bakery, it is good to have in promoting the technical, planning and investing money to make ourselves known and improve sales. Here we look at some thoughts.
Ideas to promote a bakery
One of the first options is to make flyers to distribute in the area or passersby, where we explain what we sell, with relevant data business (address, email, website and phone number). Try to make attractive flyers that include a photo as a demonstration of the products, as well as offer some temporary promotion to attract new customers
The bakeries are much visited by people who work in offices, and more if there is any room to sit and enjoy a coffee with some pastries. Enjoy your stay to care for them properly, so they are satisfied and tell them all his companions of our excellent service.
Another way to promote our products to offer free taste some visitors, for our customers to check the quality of them. We not necessarily give you a complete piece, but we can cut into small portions so that the majority can try.
A good idea is to have an e-mail to order products in quantity, especially for social or business events.
Depending on the time, as in the case of Christmas, it is good to report that traditional products are prepared. This is also the opportunity to offer new tasting the pastries.
Finally, remember that it is always good to be changing the product in some way to let people know that there is always variety and new things to try. More Tips on http://rockemeet.com/


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Fabulous. You make every note ring beautifully. I like how you pointed out what my teacher calls "technical shifts". Sorry we missed the Lucy lick! She is a beauty.
2 Responses
I love the video!
It made me feel especially good to hear you talk about finding first position. I'm still relatively new at the instrument, having played for about 2 (non-consecutive) years. Until Sunday night, I still had a sticker on the back of my cello's neck, to indicate where my thumb should be for first position. It was pretty, and I never bothered to take it off.
On Sunday it finally fell off. And even though I know very well where first position is, I found myself second guessing everything without that sticker there as a reassurance that I know what I'm doing. It's a shame, because I was so proud of the work I had done that week, and prepared for an awesome lesson on Monday. But the sticker thing threw me off, and I was more distracted than I should have been. Aah, well.
In any case, it's good for my ego to see that it's normal to sometimes work at finding good ol' first position. I think I'm going to mimic your warm up and do tons of fourth to first shifts this week, to prove to myself that I don't need that blasted sticker.


text: A couple of weeks ago I managed to get my first deployment of executables to work with Microsoft Intune. This approach not only allows for deployment of EXE files but also MSI files alongside other files like DLL, CAB and MSP files. Basically building a deployment package that can be distributed by using Microsoft Intune …Continue reading "Deploy EXE file from Microsoft Intune using Azure Blob Storage" »


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04 September 2023
Sucessful companies from the Brainport region: 'We too make mistakes. We call them magnificent failures'
- International talent
- International student
- Blogs work
Demand for bandwidth is enormous. Each device that is connected to the web needs access to a data centre. In addition, the amount of energy needed for these kinds of volumes is huge. Existing semiconductor technology is unable to keep up with this, integrated photonics offers a solution.
Photonic chips can reach a much higher data speed and are much more energy efficient. The European Commission recognized Photonics as one of six Key Enabling Technologies that provide the basis for innovation within the European Union. This fast evolving technology can be used in a wide range of applications and technologies in various markets like health, AgroFood, mobility, aerospace, energy, safety and telecom and therefore has a multi-billion market potential.
Brainport Eindhoven is frontrunner in integrated photonics with a significant advantage over other countries in the world. Our knowledge base is very sound as Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has been doing research into photonics for over two decades now. TU/e has managed to dramatically cut chip development costs and has turned its research intro business. Numerous TU/e spinoffs (Effect and Smart Photonics) have accelerated time to market.
We believe that optical chips await a similar future as microelectronics. A field in which Brainport Eindhoven is key-player. Brainport companies like ASML, BESI, ASMI, and NXP have built a complete industry for next generation chips. It is becoming market-ready at a quick pace, and Brainport Eindhoven is where it happens.
Brainport Eindhoven is an important worldwide hub for integrated photonics. It is mainly embodied by The Photon Delta ecosystem, which is the sum of high-tech companies, knowledge institutions and authorities in Brainport that have joined forces to gain a leading position in the development and commercialization of photonics. It provides a European end-to-end ecosystem of 150 companies with experience that varies from design, production and packaging to assembly and integration.


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Pinpoint« Adds "Fisherman-friendly" GPS Capabilities for Existing Sonar With Easy Upgrade Package
Fishing Gear - Thanks to Pinpoint«, marine GPS just got a whole lot better and easier for fishermen to use. New from Pinpoint is a GPS MapServer that automatically upgrades Pinpoint sonar displays to full GPS capabilities for all navigable U.S. lakes and rivers. Particularly exciting is the fact you don't have to be a computer tech-head to install or use it.
Simply unhook the power cable from the sonar and plug it into the GPS control box that mounts easily underneath the steering console or in the side wall space. Connect the control box to the sonar with the provided cable. Stick the small Pinpoint GPS antennae on an exposed boat surface (no holes to drill), power-up your sonar, follow the menu prompts and you are moments away from full GPS capabilities.
The 64MB SmartMedia« Card that comes with the package contains the most detail available on all U.S. navigable rivers and lakes, waters defined as having at least 10 miles of shoreline. There are no computer downloads necessary, no other accessories required.
Everything that is needed for use with Pinpoint sonar displays comes in the GPS package: MapServer control box, antennae, power cable and 64 MB SmartMedia« Card.
So, once this GPS upgrade is easily installed, what can it do? Everything. That is, everything that GPS is designed to do. But in this case, it applies specifically to boating and fishing.
The Pinpoint GPS system features a 12-parallel channel receiver and antennae, meaning information can be collected from as many as 12 different satellites. There are at least 24 operational GPS satellites in orbit at all times. Four are required for accurate positioning.
Pinpoint uses the newly developed WAAS based system for improved accuracy within 7 meters (23 feet) or less, 95% of the time. The WAAS is based on a network of approximately 25 ground reference stations that covers a very large service area for all the U.S. and parts of Mexico and Canada. The area ground reference stations receive signals from satellites. The WAAS is a safety-critical navigation system that will provide a quality of positioning information never before available to the marine community. Some of the key features of the Pinpoint GPS are:
Ę Easy to use Waypoint Management menus
Ę All U.S. navigable rivers and lakes, plus U.S. federal highways, major state roads and rural roads within one mile of shorelines
Ę Built-in, high-speed GPS MapServer capable of three second updates at any detail level
Ę Internal Flash Memory for easy upgrades and safe memory storage
Ę Graphic icons for every marine or fishing use
Ę Multiple mapping, satellite and navigation screens
Ę High-impact, waterproof case
Ę The GPS MapServer sets aside 5MB of memory of the 64MB card for storage of Waypoints, Plot Trails, Navigation Routes, Bottom Surveys, and Viewsaver screens. For example, the user can store away any combination of this data:
Memory = all Waypoints 5MB / 32bytes = 163,840 waypoints
Memory = all Trails 5MB / 16054bytes = 326 trails, each with 1000 plots.
Memory = all Routes 5MB / 430bytes = 12,192 routes, each with 20 waypoints
Memory = all Surveys 5MB / 16054bytes = 326 Surveys, each with 1000 plots.
Memory = all 7520 Viewsaver screens 5MB / 19200bytes = 273 screen snapshots
Memory = all 7420 Viewsaver screens 5MB / 14400bytes = 364 screen snapshots
Memory = all 7320 Viewsaver screens 5MB / 6400bytes = 819 screen snapshots
Ę Record sonar data (digital depth), along with GPS Plot Trails, Routes and Waypoints
Ę Corrosion-resistant gold pin contacts on card and reader
Ę Survey Mode to collect depth data and convert to "real time" contours
Ę Ability to use a 128MB SmartMedia« Card for even more memory
The Pinpoint sonar display offers easy to follow menu prompts for all GPS functions. There's even a "Lake-Browser" function to make looking up desired lakes fast and easy. Plus, Pinpoint has all the navigational aids for saltwater, too.
The Pinpoint GPS SmartMedia« Card can be used with other Pinpoint GPS units for two-way sharing of information between anglers and boats. According to company officials, Pinpoint GPS is all about being "fisherman-friendly."
"Pinpoint GPS is designed specifically for marine use by fishermen," said Bob Healey, the company's senior engineer. "Fishermen want applications that relate to boating and fishing, not to computers. Ours is a 'plug and fish' strategy, giving us GPS system that is easy to use, processes information faster than anybody else's and provides exceptional detail," he said.
Healey said Pinpoint GPS sonar allows a variety of useful screen and split-screen viewing options, including navigation/sonar, navigation/Flash Chart, map of lake with roads, map of digital depth and many more. Hundreds of individual ōSnapShotsö of screens can be saved for later recall and viewing.
The Pinpoint GPS MapServer automatically upgrades any Pinpoint model 7520, 7420 and 7320 sonar displays manufactured after November 1999, along with earlier versions of these that have been upgraded with the more recent software. To determine current GPS compatibility, Pinpoint owners need only to take a quick look at their start-up screens. For the GPS upgrade to work the sonar start-screen must display the designation "4.0 Rev Code." However, older Pinpoint 7520 models can be upgraded to the 4.0 software, and then further upgraded to GPS with the additional purchase of the GPS MapServer kit.
Pinpoint is the first sonar system to offer total integration between GPS, sonar and trolling motor. Select models of MotorGuide« trolling motors are Pinpoint-Ready, having built-in transducers with water temp sensors with internal wiring for "plug and fish" use with Pinpoint sonar. MotorGuide Pinpoint-Ready trolling motors afford the industry's first true "interference free" sonar readouts.
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The Bluebirds have been around a bit more than usual trying to get a drink. Lately the stupid Starlings have been emptying the bird bath. I got this image the day of the snow of a lovely couple having a drink.
Tuesday, January 7, 2020
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In Big Bend National Park in Texas, Boquillas Canyon lies just a short drive from the campground at Rio Grande Village where we were staying. I love it when such majestic places are so close to the campground. We found an overlook where we stopped and cooked hotdogs on the barbeque before heading down to the canyon to catch the last light. The far side of the canyon is … [Read more...] about Boquillas Canyon, Texas
Antelope Canyons, Arizona
This past spring I decided I needed a change of scenery. To challenge myself photographically I looked for a place that was as different to home as possible. I travelled to a small town named Page in northern Arizona, population 9,000. It was home base for my photographic journey, which included Lake Powell, the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon and the best of all Upper and … [Read more...] about Antelope Canyons, Arizona


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by Pat Hall and Sue Legg
Pat Hall and her League committee have been digging deep. They want to understand where tax money goes when charters are managed by for-profit companies. There is gold in those excavations. Unfortunately, the children are not profiting. This report is detailed and was given to the League Board. For those of you with a head for business, it is worth careful scrutiny. You will see why the League is so concerned about the free wheeling charter industry. Key points follow. Read more to really understand the business process. It is your money, and it is a lot of money, that is not being spent on students.
Florida now educates more than 230,000 students at more than 650 publicly funded charter schools. While many of these schools are providing good educational opportunities, we have found that the fundamental structure of the for-profit management companies, specifically Charter Schools USA, must be questioned. The following outline summarizes a very detailed report given the LWVF Board this past summer.
1. CSUSA has six non-profit school boards that operate 49 schools in 12 urban counties in Florida. Additionally, CSUSA operates 17 schools in 6 other states.
2. The six governing school boards cover the 49 charters and are run by CSUSA; they are not independent of the management companies.
3. Inter related affiliated businesses include Red Apple Development, Ryan Construction Company, the Florida Charter Education Foundation and Connex (curriculum software). Furthermore, we found over 300 limited liability companies (LLCs) initiated by CSUSA.
4. Facilities financing incorporates all aspects of land acquisition, site clearing, construction, bond financing and multimillion dollar lease fees. CSUSA charges the Hillsborough County School district at one of their four schools more than $30/square foot, significantly higher than downtown Tampa skyscrapers!
5. Tracking expenditures of taxpayer monies is impossible due to for-profit business practices which are not transparent.
6. Long term lease agreements, after flipping (changing deeds from one related company to the next) from Ryan Construction to Red Apple Development, are charged out 40 years, and charge rent and interest amounts on top of the lease payments. Most CSUSA lease fees in Hillsborough County take 25% of all taxpayer dollars designated for educating children. Some are even higher.
7. Another 13% to 15% is charged by CSUSA for management fees, hence 40% of public money is not spent instructing children. State auditors have questioned how these costs are reported.
8. Evidence exists of real estate "flipping" by CSUSA in Hillsborough County. This results in new real estate appraisals to increase value. Lease and rent costs use these values to justify cost charged to charter budgets.
By Pat Hall and Sue Legg, LWVF Education Team, June 2016
Introduction. District school boards grant charter school contracts to private entities and monitor their financial balance sheets, but by legislative intent, they do not have responsibility for their management and
operation. Charters have little regulation, and the result has been a continuing saga of scandals. This report goes beyond the mismanagement and corruption issues to the fundamental structure of for-profit management companies, and it questions the accountability of these companies for their use of public funds. Charters may be self-managed or operated by non-profit or for-profit companies. We focus on one for-profit charter management company, Charter Schools, USA (CSUSA). Florida has several others including, Academica which was the focus of a federal investigation, and Newpoint charters which face indictments. A detailed example of the complex facility transactions for CSUSA's Woodmont K-8 school raises the issue of excessive profiteering. We have data that indicate these business practices are not specific to one school or one company. CSUSA organizational structure: CSUSA is owned and operated by the CEO, Jonathan Hage. It has multiple interrelated entities whose operations are difficult to track. CSUSA has created six non-profit charter school boards to operate 49 publically funded, privately managed charter schools in 12 Florida counties. Additionally CSUSA operates 17 schools in 6 other states. These non-profit boards subcontract to the CSUSA for profit educational management firm which founded them.
Non Independent Governing Boards: Basically, the district school board only oversees the charter school board contracts with the charter boards, not the subcontracts with CSUSA. CSUSA charter boards
include: Bay Area Charter Foundation (BACF), Inc. (which serve Hillsborough's Henderson Hammock, Winthrop, Woodmont and Southshore Charter Academy charters), Florida Education Foundation of
Osceola County, Florida Charter Educational Foundation, Inc., Four Corners Charter School, Inc., Southwest Charter Foundation, Inc., and Renaissance Charter School, Inc. These boards subcontract school facilities, personnel and operations to CSUSA. The obligations of the BACF listed in the management contract are as follows "Good faith obligation, Assistance to CSUSA, Unusual events, Retained authority and Food service. As to the building facility—"the board shall lease or otherwise make available a facility to CSUSA".
Determining who is responsible for which function in the subcontracts is difficult. For example, until 2013, the Bay Area Charter Board was run by the head of the Florida Charter Education Foundation, Ken
Haiko. The state's PECO facilities funds justification reports are signed by CSUSA finance staff, not by the charter board as required by Florida law. (From 2012-2015, the 3 schools received $478,322 in PECO
state funds.) Tax exemption affidavits, moreover, allow a 10% reduction for lease payments that must be reported to charter boards. For the Bay Area charter board, this is $580,000 for the three schools.
We find no evidence of such reports. To add to the confusion, John Hage, the CEO of CSUSA's management company, signed a new lease as president of Red Apple real estate in 2011.
Inter related Affiliated Businesses: CSUSA has three affiliated businesses of which we are aware:
–Red Apple Development Co. is CSUSAs real estate business arm, Scott Woodrey is currently President. Red Apple was created as a holding company in 2007 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jonathan
Hage, CEO of CSUSA. It is a co-borrower with some charter schools and manages leases.
–Ryan Companies US, Inc. Minneapolis, MN. acquires the properties, makes necessary improvements (Woodmont) and builds new facilities. It has an office in Florida.
–The Florida Charter Educational Foundation, Inc. applies for revenue bonds as a disregarded entity. The Bay Area Charter Foundation is a subsidiary of FCEF. Ken Haiko is the CEO.
–Woodmont LLC is one of four CSUSA charter schools in Hillsborough County.
–Connex12 software development for CSUSA network and non-CSUSA managed schools
Business Operations. Typically, charter school boards, created by CSUSA, subcontract 95% of all operations to CSUSA including: establishing schools, education delivery, technology, human resource
management, financial management, strategic improvement, facility maintenance etc. Facilities are leased by the charter boards.
—Facilities Financing. Facilities costs for charters run into hundreds of millions of dollars, and payment for these costs are made through state funds and by diverting money from instruction, teacher salaries and benefits. Facilities may be purchased by Red Apple and leased to schools or leases may be arranged with a third party. Loans are often financed through the Florida Development Finance Corporation or through the Church Loans & investments Trust dba CLI Capital which offers loans for churches, charters, and nonprofits. The bond funding history we have found is all from Florida Development Finance Corporation which has a connection with Enterprise Florida. In CSUSA's Investor Presentation, listings were as follows:
–Renaissance Charter School, Inc., Series 2010
–Renaissance Charter School, Inc., Series 2011
–Bay Area Charter Foundation, Inc., Series 2011A
–Lee County Community Charter School, LLC., Series 2012
These bonds were revealed in the newest Woodmont lease. BACF received $30,045,000 in Series 2011A and $7,945,000 in Series 2011B bonds on November 1, 2011. These were in the Investor Presentation.
On November 1, 2012 Regions Bank in Tallahassee issued $55,800,000 in Series 2012A tax exempt bonds and $3,520,000 in Series 2012B in taxable bonds. South Florida Business Journal tracked $95,980,000 to
finance the sale of Renaissance Charter School in Cooper City and four other charter schools for CSUSA.
—Lack of transparency for for-profit companies. Full explanations of leasing and management fees are lacking because for-profit financial disclosure requirements are less stringent than disclosure for nonprofit entities. In a North Carolina Law Review article, Kelly (2014) states that charter school operators including CSUSA, if not engaging in clearly illegal activity, are engaging in deceitful practices. He
explains, "From a non-profit law perspective, the most troubling aspect of CSUSA's relationship with its schools involves real estate. CSUSA's real estate development affiliate, Red Apple Development, owns
the North Carolina charter school facilities, and there is … some evidence to indicate that CSUSA attempted to conceal from state and federal authorities the fact that the schools' EMO (Educational
Management Organization) would also, in effect, be their landlord." Similar actions occur in Florida. At the May 24, 2016 meeting of the Hillsborough County School Board, two CSUSA contracts came up
for extension. They read as follows "Charter school contract – 5/24/16 between the School Board (Sponsor) and BACF, LLC. d/b/a Woodmont Charter School, a Florida limited liability company that is
taxed as a disregarded entity and wholly-owned by the FCEF, Inc. a Florida not for profit corporation (School)." The purpose was a 5 year extension for Woodmont and a 15 year extension for Winthrop,
qualifying as a high performing school, allowing for long term financing.
Lease agreements are signed by the landlord and the chairman of the governing board. The School Board or the School District has no input or refusal ability.
—Long term lease agreements. Baker (2015) in School Finance 101 predicted a charter school finance crash beginning in 2020 due to escalating facility costs and balloon payments. Miron (2015) states
"charter schools themselves typically lack the legal authority to guarantee payment of long term debt, so that a charter school board of directors cannot access municipal bond markets. That said, a once
removed entity, like a non-profit operator of a collection of charter schools in some states, including Florida, can serve as a co-borrower on a revenue bond…as an example, the Preliminary Official
Statement for Renaissance Charter Schools as a co-borrower with Red Apple Development for bonds issued by the Florida Development Finance Corporation. The independent non-profit entity takes on
the bond debt/obligation to repay investors both principal and interest, and guarantees those bond payments with revenue generated from lease payments from the charter operator. That is, the lease
payment is converted into a loan payment toward capital asset acquisition through the third party."
New leases, kept from the district Charter Schools General Director for four and a half years, showed up when Pat Hall requested leases for the second time in May, 2016. The new lease agreement
between Red Apple at Woodmont, LLC. (Landlord) and Bay Area Charter Foundation, LLC. (Tenant) is now a 45 year term-11/1/2011 to 11/1/2056. The term was 20 years on the old lease with Ryan
Construction as landlord. In addition, this new lease reads that both the (Landlord) and (Tenant) share the same address—6245 N. Federal Highway, 5th floor, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308. Jon Hage signed this
lease as President of Red Apple Woodmont, not as CEO of CSUSA. Ken Haiko signed as President of Bay Area Charter Foundation.
—Excessive Lease and Management Payments. Within months after schools are built—the properties are "sold by special warranty deed" by Ryan Construction to Red Apple Development for $1.00 (Woodmont) and $10.00 (Winthrop). These schools are all tax exempt. Lease payments for Woodmont to Red Apple are about $1,325,666 per year. In addition, the charter is required to pay capital lease payments, escalating incrementally, to Red Apple ranging from $9,540 to $135,300 per month through June 2042. Facility costs per student at the three Bay Area charters in 2015 were:
Woodmont: $2262;
Winthrop: $1804;
Henderson Hammock: $1337.
State funding per student was about $7000. Thus, facility costs alone are about 32% of the budget. According to the 2011-12 report by the National Alliance for Charter Schools, facility costs nationally average 13% percent of charter budgets. Management fees at CSUSA Hillsborough charters range from $728,687 to $979,295 per year with a three percent increase and a maximum of 15% of total revenues per year until 2040. Possible 'self-enrichment' Business Practice. The Verizon facility that became Woodmont charter was purchased in September 2009 from Verizon, by an entity address that is the same as Woodmont LLC's address, for $2,600,000. In March 2011, it was sold to Ryan Construction for $3,750,000. In June 2011, Ryan pulled building permits at $2,935,441 and subcontracted renovations totaling $2,110,427. Building permits show renovations for air conditioning, interior painting, electric/plumbing changes, etc. and exterior canopy, door, and paving. Between March and September 2011, the value, based on renovations, increased to $9,700,000, a nearly $6 million increase in six months. The current Property Appraiser, Robert Henriquez, was briefly appointed to the BAFC board but resigned in 2014. The process is described as follows:
–A deed transfer was made in 9/6/2011 from Ryan Construction to Red Apple for $1.00 with a value set at $9,700,000. This is the value on which the lease payments from Red Apple to Bay Area charter board
are made.
–An Appraiser III of the Property Appraiser office, Greg Sobel, reviewed the 2013 and 2015 cost per square foot analysis from Pat Hall for Hillsborough charters schools from and stated that the three Bay Area charters seemed higher than in other schools/properties. A comparison chart of all 48 charters proved the point. Between 2013-15, moreover, costs per square foot at Woodmont rose from $18.16 to $24.85.
–Audit Findings: The Florida Auditor General stated that the audit reports for Woodmont do not clearly identify the different amounts for management and facility costs. Woodmont has a deficit net position of –
$2,113,384 due to lower enrollment than projected. All three Bay Area schools have significant long term debt from over $12 million to $17 million.
Next Steps: The League is still digging. We are asking:
1. What indicators in the data show illegal and/or unethical practices? Which other analyses are needed?
2. Which practices have direct financial consequences for the public e.g. facility leases longer than school
contracts with districts? What fair market value lease comparisons are applicable?
3. What steps are required to make for-profit business transactions available to charter board members and
school districts?
4. Does the debt issued, while tax exempt, qualify as junk bonds or high interest yield because charter schools
can dissolve at will?


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A group of Scottish cyclists have created 'Pedal on Parliament', a social media led campaign to lobby the Scottish Parliament to do more to make conditions safe for cyclists.
The ride takes place in Edinburgh on Saturday 28th April with riders to deliver a manifesto to the Scottish Parliament. Cyclists will gather at the Meadows in Edinburgh from 1pm for a 2pm start on a short journey through the streets of Edinburgh towards the Scottish Parliament.
Kim Harding, one of event organisers, said:
"This is a light-hearted ride with a serious purpose. Two cyclists have been killed in Edinburgh since the start of the year, highlighting the need to make cycling – and any form of active travel – safer for all.
"Making Scotland a place where everyone feels safe to get on two wheels could transform our cities and villages and the lives of the people who live in them. Pedal on Parliament aims to demonstrate to our national and local government that the time has come to make cycling and other forms of active travel safe and enjoyable for everyone."
Pedal on Parliament has created eight pledges for politicians to sign up to:
1) Proper funding for cycling.
2) Design cycling into Scotland's roads.
3) Safer speeds where people live, work and play
4) Integrate cycling into local transport strategies
5) Sensible road traffic law and enforcement
6) Reduce the risk of HGVs to cyclists and pedestrians
7) A strategic and joined-up programme of road user training
8) Solid research on cycling to support policy-making
The Cycling Action Plan for Scotland (CAPS) set the target of having 10% of all journeys in Scotland made by bike by 2020.
Harding said: "We support much of what is in the CAPS but it has been seriously under-funded and even that funding is under threat. On its own the recommendations in CAPS are not enough to raise the share of cycling to the levels envisaged. The history of UK cycling policy is full of cycling strategies which have been quietly shelved when it becomes clear that their targets are not going to be met. We hope the Scottish government will not join the Westminster in this hall of shame."
David Brennan, the originator of Pedal on Parliament, said: "With Westminster now engaging in discussions about the future of cycling and active travel, and the recent cyclist deaths in Scotland, I realised that for real change to occur in Scotland it is our politicians in Holyrood and our local councils that we need to engage with. Thus the idea for Pedal on Parliament was born.
"When I publicised my idea for the event online I had a huge positive response from other cyclists, so with the help of a dedicated group of cycle campaigners we are planning for a day of protest on the 28th of April."


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TO THE AIR FORCE for rushing through with the revamped TSAT program. The Transformational Satellite communications System is a classic example of why Pentagon acquisition reform is essential. Plagued by budget cuts and a lack of faith in its technological readiness, the program was halted in December and replaced by a scaled-down program. Yet the Defense Department and Air Force are hurrying through the revamped TSAT in a manner that invites the same errors made with the original program. Gary Payton, deputy undersecretary of the Air Force for space programs, said the request for proposals will be issued in April, and a winner for the approximately $11 billion contract is scheduled to be selected in about a year. He also said he would like to award a contract earlier, if possible. Though TSAT's ability to get secure information to ground troops is essential, the Air Force has not yet demonstrated it can manage and deliver this huge and complex program. Rushing through the process will not help. "If we do accelerate, I'm going to make sure we don't do something stupid," Payton said. That's a promise AFJ is going to track.
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Archive for June, 2015
AWS FreeBSD instance won't come up. Screams for manual fsck.
This is a short write up if after a reset or a reboot your FreeBSD (or Linux) instance doesn't come online, stalls and "aws ec2 get-console-output" returns something like that among its lines: UNEXPECTED INCONSISTENCY; RUN fsck MANUALLY. Just power-off the faulty instance either from Web interface or using cli: aws ec2 stop-instances –instance your_instance_id […]
Posted on June 27, 2015 at 4:07 pm by sergeyt · Permalink · 7 Comments
In: FreeBSD
In: FreeBSD
How to power off USP-V when it doesn't want to
In the era of VSP G1000 this post may sound dated but I still hope that it would help some poor sole in the same situation I was sometime ago. The task was laughably simple: power off USP-V, power it up just to make sure it still could boot up flawlessly and shut it down […]
Posted on June 3, 2015 at 8:15 pm by sergeyt · Permalink · 2 Comments
In: HDS
In: HDS


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Echeveria Hybrids
Echeveria "Rosy Ghost" is our newest cultivar. We found it among a crop of Echeveria subsessilis, so we think it's a hybrid. But look at that color! Rosy edges, bluish white leaves! This one definitely likes a lot of sun. We think it will get about a 6″ rosette. Hopefully we can keep this in production year after year, but in the meantime we have a first crop ready. Dazzling!
Here's another otherwise unnamed Echeveria Hybrid you can enjoy too. Colorful! Maybe we should figure this one out rather than name it ourselves.