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Veterans groups today urged the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to follow the Defense Department's lead in stemming the flow of federal education funds to the University of Phoenix, which was placed on probation this week by the Pentagon after an investigation into Reveal's exposé on the for-profit school's recruiting practices.
The Pentagon has barred the university from recruiting at military installations and indefinitely suspended the school from receiving new money from the Defense Department's tuition assistance programs.
Veterans groups and members of Congress applauded the action but want the Pentagon and VA to do more to defend military personnel and veterans against predatory recruiting practices. They called on the VA to conduct its own investigation.
"The DOD has taken action, and the VA has not. The VA hasn't stepped up yet, as far as we know, to enforce its own rules on this matter," said Carrie Wofford, president of Veterans Education Success, a Washington-based nonprofit that aims to protect veterans from being taken advantage of by for-profit colleges.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America added its voice, saying the VA should restrict the amount of money the University of Phoenix receives through the GI Bill – in the face of growing concerns over the school's recruiting tactics.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who had pushed for the Defense Department investigation, called on the Department of Education and the VA to review the findings. In a letter today to VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald, he wrote that the VA should "take appropriate action to protect veterans and federal taxpayer dollars under the VA's jurisdiction."
Since 2009, the school has received more than $1.2 billion in GI Bill money. Last year alone, it received $345 million to educate Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, along with $20 million in tuition assistance from the Pentagon.
In a statement, the VA said the Pentagon's actions "do not have an immediate effect" on students attending the University of Phoenix on the GI Bill, which is administered through the veterans agency.
VA spokesman James Hutton said his department would work with the DOD and state agencies to evaluate the impact, if any, on GI Bill-approved schools. Hutton declined to comment about whether his agency is in the midst of an investigation of the University of Phoenix or is planning to launch one.
In its statement, the VA invited veterans to visit its website to compare eligible institutions. But listings there for the University of Phoenix make no mention of the Defense Department's action or of any open federal or state investigations of the school.
In its letter to the university placing all of its campuses on probation, the Defense Department acknowledged an investigation by Reveal that showed how the university paid the military for exclusive access to bases – in violation of an executive order restricting access to only sanctioned education events – held recruitment events disguised as job-hunting workshops and improperly used military insignias on "challenge coins" handed out by recruiters.
"Although the University of Phoenix has responded to these infractions with appropriate corrective action at this time, the frequency and scope of these previous violations of the DoD MOU (memorandum of understanding) is disconcerting," Dawn Bilodeau, who leads the Pentagon's voluntary education program, wrote in the letter.
The Defense Department also cited separate investigations into the school's marketing practices by California's attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission.
As disclosed in a July 29 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the FTC probe centers on whether the company engaged "in deceptive or unfair acts or practices … in the advertising, marketing, or sale of secondary or postsecondary educational products or services or educational accreditation products or services."
The SEC filing requires Apollo Education Group Inc., the University of Phoenix's parent company, to hand over documents and other information dating back to Jan. 1, 2011, on "a broad spectrum of the business and practices" at the University of Phoenix, including its military recruitment methods.
In another SEC filing, Apollo revealed in August that California's attorney general launched an investigation and issued a subpoena seeking documents, including those related to the marketing and recruiting of military personnel since July 1, 2010.
The filing said the attorney general was looking into the use of military logos and emblems in the university's marketing, which generally is prohibited by the Pentagon. In response to Reveal's questions about custom-engraved challenge coins handed out by recruiters, which featured logos of all military branches, the school said it had pulled them from circulation.
"The university intends to continue its cooperation with federal and state agencies to respond to their requests," University of Phoenix President Tim Slottow said in a statement today to The Washington Post. "University representatives have been working closely with DoD leaders, and we all expected a different response from DoD."
Slottow said it was troubling that the Defense Department used the investigations by the FTC and California as part of its determination to place the university on probation.
In a new SEC filing about the probation this week, Apollo asserted that "all of the prior sponsored events in question had been approved by base officials and were conducted pursuant to written agreements."
However, as Reveal disclosed in its coverage, those agreements were not made with the military's education wing, but instead through branches that handle entertainment and other kinds of events. Participation in those events precludes recruitment of students, under President Barack Obama's order, but Reveal showed through internal documents, interviews and undercover video that the university hosted those events with the specific intent to recruit.
The university has 14 days to respond to the action. Defense officials then will determine whether to permanently bar the school from the tuition assistance program.
"We're just hoping the pressure stays on," said Matthew Boulay, an Iraq War veteran who leads the Veterans Student Loan Relief Fund. "The DOD needs to think about what comes next, and the VA needs to take the same steps in looking at how these schools are recruiting."
Students who are currently enrolled at the University of Phoenix will be able to continue using military tuition assistance to finish their coursework, but new students will not be able to do so while the institution is on probation.
In her letter, Bilodeau also made it clear that the university "will not be authorized access to DoD installations for the purposes of participating in any recruitment-type activities, including but not limited to job training, and career events and fairs. Further, no new or transfer students at the institution will be permitted to receive DoD tuition assistance."
This story was edited by Amy Pyle and copy edited by Nikki Frick.
Bobby Caina Calvan can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The 5 Proven Steps To "Make Every Sale"
Before you poo-poo the name or the concept and bow up and ask/challenge, "WTH, Man! Nobody can close every sale! All you online snake-oil salesmen are the same!", allow me to explain...
This is not a "magical" system.
This is not a "hack" or a shortcut.
This is not a gimmick.
The concept is actually quite simple and straightforward when you think about it, and it's this...
To make ANY sale, you must make EVERY sale.
To understand this concept, look at the "Dating = Sales Pipeline" below.
(In 1994 I met my wife at a country bar in San Bernardino, CA, and we were married less than a year later, so trust me, this does work! Now, where was I...?)
Assuming you are going out tonight with the goal to find the love of your life and get married, i.e., close the ultimate sale, you must make every smaller sale leading up to the big day.
In 1994, I did exactly that, except I did not start out with the intention to get married, and I didn't have a multi-step program to follow.
I just went out to have fun, and God took care of the rest.
While that might be fine for your love life, hopium is a terrible drug for salespeople who want to live long and prosper in the profession of sales.
You need a system. A proven process to make every sale...
Imagine going to sleep every night knowing you hit your sales goals for the day, your calendar is full for tomorrow, and you wake up excited to hit the ground running in the morning because you know you'll only be speaking to pre-qualified prospects who are ready, willing, and able to buy from you.
It's all possible when you apply this proven system, which has been tested and proven by Your Truly since 1997 when I left the Air Force with that same wife mentioned earlier, an infant son, and another one on the way.
Since 2006, I've taught this same model to thousands of professional salespeople, sales managers, business owners, and entrepreneurs in at least 28 different countries, so we know it works.
What will you get?
The A.B.C.D.E. Sales & Marketing System™
The difference between professional and amateur salespeople is that amateurs think their job is done once they get the order.
Professional salespeople under The A.B.C.D.E. Sales & Marketing System™, which shows how to ensure the sale not only sticks, but that you get both repeat orders, referrals, and testimonials to accelerate future sales and profitability.
The B.E.T.R.™ Prospecting Program
The #1 job of a salesperson is not to sell.
When you understand your real priorities in sales you'll thrive with the Bonding, Empathy, Trust, and Rapport module in this course.
The 7 Sales Success Secrets
I used to call this The 7 Deadly Sins of Selling but I changed it around to be a little more positive.
But there are specific do's and don'ts in sales that you must master to kick your competition in the pants.
This module will help you do just that.
The Agenda
How many times have you gone into a meeting not knowing what to expect?
How many times have you left a meeting and not known what the next steps were?
All of that will fade quickly into the distance as you master this simple yet powerful component of The Make Every Sale Program called "The Agenda."
The Kitchen Sink
Get all the details, tactics, and strategies from my 25+ years of selling so you can master what it takes to make every sale all for a whole lot less than you'd think.
Click the "I Want This" button to claim this limited offer.
It only takes a minute, and your information is 100% secure.
Get these proven sales tools to make all the money you want in sales.

subset: commoncrawl


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Climate Change and Global Health Security: An Overview of the Scope and Issues
Robert L. Ostergard, Jr. and Nicholas Seltzer
Elevating the Status of Health in Global Environmental Politics:
Securitizing the Nexus between Health and Climate Change
Geoffrey B. Cockerham
Is Climate Change Hampering Global Health Security? A Review of the Evidence
Andrew Defor and Theresa Valerie Oheneba-Dornyo
Compartmentalized Crises? Understanding the Relationship Between Climate Change Discourse and Governance of Infectious Disease
Summer Marion
Can We Weather the Health Risks of Climate Change Amidst Political Instability? Evidence and Lessons from Fragile- and Conflict-Affected States
Yara M. Asi
Climate Disasters Contaminate Women: Investigating Cross-National Linkages Between Disasters, Food Insecurity, and Women's HIV in Less-Developed Nations
Kelly F. Austin, Mark D. Noble, and Laura A. McKinney
Cholera, Conflict, Climate Variability and Implications on the Yemen Public Health System
Destini M. Garrison, Radina P. Soebiyanto, Sarah Hutchinson, Assaf Anyamba and Tomoko Y. Steen
Climate Change, International Migration, and Health Security: The Need for Smart and Synergistic Global Health Policies and Programmes in the Solomon Islands
Sebastian Kevany
Beyond the 'ASEAN-Way'? Third-Sector Driven Governance Along SARS and Haze Pollution
Thomas Lange
Rethinking Project Management for Adaptation and Health in Southeast Asia
Daniel Gilfillan


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IF Twitter?
Today I'm going to tell you about a fresh social network for gamebooks I found. A website which allegedly got one million views just in its first week after the public release.
This is StoryMaze, a fresh startup with over 100,000 subscribers in its Vk.com group. That's about one thousand times the size of the whole Russian IF community as of today, and I'm being rather generous about the size of the latter.
It opened in December 2015, and no one in the community knew about it until yesterday. They got about 450 games in December and 700 releases in January, judging by their JSON API. (As opposed to about 100 works in whole 2015 year for Russian IF) The release rate is about one title per hour or faster, depending on the time of the day. That's some massive underground alternate interactive fiction.
That's not the first IF startup to make a stir. You might be familiar with AXMA, they had a good engine and a serious online game catalogue. Their online library (Hyperbook) has nine published works since the New Year, which is perfectly normal for a single-platform Russian IF website. But Axma at least allows the author to make an offline game. The online-only projects (the direct Storymaze competition) are doing much, much worse. Quester has a virus on their front page and is almost dead, while Apero, which opened in January 2015, had their last new game in November.
Gamebook Culture in 60 wordsGamebooks weren't marketed in Russia much. The first Russian "choose-adventure-path" was written in 1991 and the popularity peak dwindled by the new millenium. The last mass-market books came out in 2006, a "Give Yourself Goosebumps" series translation; by that time, kids were playing TES: Oblivion. However, the community is still alive and there is a print-by-demand publisher.
So, why is Storymaze so big and unnaturally healthy? Well, that's the thing: StoryMaze are not IFers or gamedevs. I think they are social media people. They did not push through the IF community, they ignored RuComp (KRIL) completely. As far as I could gather, they had four vectors of promotion:
- They did an internal comp for a three $120 prizes in December
- And they came to VK.com Marvel community (46k subscribers) to make a competition with them for a $60 cash prize.
- And they made an Android app. But it wasn't in the "Text" category or "Games" like your-typical-IF. It was listed as "Social".
- And the rest was word-of-mouth.
This is all my speculation, I have no info on who these people are or what they are doing but I'm amazed. I'm stupefied. This is booming right now like nothing ever before. Let's scrutinize the service closely, shall we?
Remember the social aspect of Fallen London? The bit where you could "invite" your pal to do a quest together and forget about that. Well, by contrast, Storymaze is like an IF Twitter, with all the social bits polished for the audience. Look at that:
Their engine is very plain: a work is divided into storylets named "episodes". That's right, the phrase "This game has 200 episodes" has a new meaning now. I told you I don't think these people are familiar with IF. Anyway, each storylet has three options to end with: an ending, a single choice or a double choice.
That's all, no more than two choices per passage. No variables or state tracking whatsoever. A pure CYOA style. Some authors are brave enough to do RPGs with that, all races, classes and inventory ("do you want to be an elf or.. something else?"), and it involves a lot of copypasting, but most gamebook innovations are left untouched. The experienced authors have to use some external graph app to plot their games.
Storymaze has no pre-moderation, no rules on copyright infringement, illustration credit or questionable content (except for the content warnings). In fact, I did mention they pushed for fanfiction. Encouraged it. The rate of releases is so high they have "Game of the Day" awards (promotional post on the community wall, guaranteed to bring in several hundred players by the next day). Also, there are weekly genre picks.
The work quality surprised me for being rather decent. I don't mean the authors there don't suffer from a typical graphomania, but they are rooting out the typos and their games do have some plots. It is a problem when a writing service invites too much amateur writers, illiterate schoolboys and acquires a poor notoriety for being a garbage dump. The admins are prolific at writing too, though their mazes are not error-free. There is no editor-in-chief or the sort.
The players are very active, commenting on and sharing the works, using the hashtags and likes, writing and discussing walkthroughs. The voiced portion of them demands more choices per text, more text per game - the usual. (I wonder what they would say about ChoiceScript titles, if they could play them.) The comments can be used for reviews but there is no rating system except for the likes.
The authors have no analytics access but the admins do; the site has Yandex.Metrika installed with Webvisor (tracks mouse movement) and clickmap (tracks clicks). It should be possible for them to get a chart down by every storylet, as they all do have a different static URL disguised as an HTML page. They don't acknowledge that feature.
The website is a bit glitchy and still too fresh from the oven. The text editor has no autosave, the image uploading can choke on huge files, the registration did a weird number on me until I switched to Chromium and there are your friendly minor bugs here and there. The search is very clunky, with the infinite scrolling as your only option for browsing old works (as in, older than one week). I sniffed out their API and did a rough count on the games, which you saw earlier.
There is no monetization scheme yet, all games are free to write or to play. The site is not a standalone project, as all the information and communication goes on in the Vk.com group. They also have two additional groups for writing advice and best game picks. There is a Facebook group too, but it's not very active and does not get a mention in the Android app.
That was our local dark horse. It is something right now, it could be anything by the next month, and it's anyone's guess what they would do when they discover our community. In any case, we will definitely learn something new by that time.


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Co. Cork → Barretts → Grenagh Civil Parish → Blackpool Electoral Division → Ballygrogan
Ballygrogan is in the Electoral Division of Blackpool, in Civil Parish of Grenagh, in the Barony of Barretts, in the County of Cork
The Irish name for Ballygrogan is Baile Ghrogáin
Ballygrogan is on Logainm.ie: Ballygrogan.
It is located at 52° 1' 34" N, 8° 34' 58" W.
Ballygrogan has an area of:
Nationwide, it is the 12128th largest townland that we know about
Within Co. Cork, it is the 1157th largest townland
Ballygrogan borders the following other townlands:
We don't know about any subtownlands in Ballygrogan.
Curious to see who lived in Ballygrogan in the past? Maybe even seeing scans of their handwritten census returns?
Ballygrogan was added to OpenStreetMap on 30 Nov 2015 by cliffcake.


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Patrick Molloy RIP
Patrick Molloy
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our staff member Patrick Molloy. Patrick was an integral and highly loved member of our team, working as our maintenance supervisor over the last 13 years. Hailing from Donegal, Eire and living in West London for most of his life Pat was an exceptionally kind, generous, good-humoured and warm man – never failing to offer help to those in need. He will be greatly missed by all here at Gunnersbury.
The mass and funeral arrangements are as follows:
Funeral Mass at 9.30am on Wednesday, 7 February 2018 in the Holy Ghost and St Stephen Church Shepherds Bush, London W12 9BU with cremation at Mortlake cemetery, Richmond TW9 4EN.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Pat's wife and children. May he rest in peace.
Patrick Molloy RIP 25/3/1952 - 20/1/2018


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By Steve Newton
Scream Factory, the horror arm of the Shout! Factory home video and music company, is releasing a collector's edition Blu-ray of terror titan Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs today.
Bonus features include:
- Audio Commentary With Writer/Director Wes Craven
- Audio Commentary With Actors Brandon Adams, A.J. Langer, Sean Whalen And Yan Birch
- House Mother – An Interview With Actress Wendy Robie
- What Lies Beneath – Interviews With Special Make-up Effects Artists Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger And Robert Kurtzman
- House Of Horrors – An Interview With Director Of Photography Sandi Sissel
- Setting The Score – An Interview With Composer Don Peake
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Vintage "Making Of" Featurette
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Still Galleries (Original Storyboards And Official Stills)
When it was first released in theatres 24 years ago I thoughtThe People Under the Stairs was a real hoot. Here's my original review, published in the Georgia Straight on November 7, 1991.
Since blasting onto the horror scene in 1972 with the crude and shocking Last House on the Left, Wes Craven has had a few hits (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Hills Have Eyes), a few misses (Deadly Friend, The Hills Have Eyes Part II), and a few in-betweens (The Serpent and the Rainbow, Shocker). But he appears to be on the upswing with the often scary and hilarious The People Under the Stairs.
In a fine performance, newcomer Brandon Adams stars as a 13-year-old ghetto kid named Fool who—despite his good intentions—gets railroaded into helping his sister's loser boyfriend commit a burglary. Fool needs the money to pay for his mother's cancer treatment, and, besides, the house that's targeted for break-in belongs to the greedy slum lord (Twin Peaks' Everett McGill) who's just evicted Fool's family from its ghetto home for being late with its overpriced rent.
But what Fool isn't counting on is uncovering the secret of the demented landlord's scuzzy mansion—a secret that the owner and his equally callous wife (Wendy Robie) are prepared to keep at all costs.
After a bit of a slow start, The People Under the Stairs takes off when Fool gets trapped in the cavernous mansion and has to use all of his wits and street-smart wiles to survive continuous run-ins with both the cannibalistic couple and the swarm of flesh-eating folk they've imprisoned in the basement.
The movie's funniest moments invariably feature over-the-top performances by McGill and Robie, a couple of real loonies who get madder-by-the-minute as they try to ferret Fool out of the building's walls and crawl-spaces and keep him from rescuing their abused young "daughter" (A.J. Langer).
The performances combine with Craven's witty script and energetic direction to make The People Under the Stairs a spooky, laugh-filled release most horror fans should get a kick out of.


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Perry Automation has over 10 years experience upgrading control systems for grinding machines. Here are several examples of the retrofits that we provide.
Cincinnati / Landis Viking Centerless Grinder Controller and Amplifier Upgrade
Our upgrade package for the Landis Gardner Viking SuperSeries 200 Centerless Grinder replaces the existing Kollmorgan Power Block Amplifiers, which have been discontinued, with Geo Brick Amplifiers from Delta Tau. We also provide a new PMAC2 controller an industrial PC.
This installation is transparent to the operator and can be completed in about two days. If you have a need to upgrade your Viking SS 200 Centerless Grinder, contact us today for a quotation.
Cincinnati / Landis RK Centerless Grinder PMAC-STD Controller Upgrade
Delta Tau no longer sells their older STD bus style motion controllers. The TURBO-PMAC-PCI is a logical replacement. The TURBO-PMAC-PCI offers the advantage of flash RAM instead of the battery backed RAM equiped PMAC-STD. We know of many users that have lost their configuration settings during power loss due to problems with the battery backed RAM (weak battery, etc.).
One application we have witnessed the need for this retrofit is on Cincinnati Milacron 230 RK Centerless Grinders. These machines were originally equiped with Ziatech DSP cards and PMAC axis cards.
We have installed several retrofit packages on these machines.
The installation is transparent to the operator of the machine because we use the same code that was operating on the STD board with some small modifications for the TURBO-PMAC-PCI board.
If you have a need to upgrade your RK Centerless Grinder, or any other PMAC-STD, contact us today for a quotation.
Cincinnati / Landis RK Centerless Grinder SMCC Controller Upgrade
The original control board in the RK Grinder, a Delta Tau SMCC, is obsolete and repair or spares are rare options. We have come up with an upgrade to the control that provides a new Delta Tau UMAC control system that is still being produced. The grinder will operate exactly as before only it will be a little more responsive. The upgrade usually takes about 3 days and provides many more years of useful life for your RK centerless grinder.
The flexibility of Delta Tau's controllers makes them ideally suited for controlling CNC machines of all types. They provide many advanced features that other controllers either don't support or charge extra for. Some examples include:
Fully Customizable G-Code and M-Code Support
3D Compensation Tables
Multiblock Lookahead for Acceleration Control
Forward and Inverse Kinematics


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Opu aims to become the leading digital solutions provider for skincare measurement, management, and monitoring. Opu provides advice and intelligently connects consumers, brands and professionals based on objectivity and trust.
Opu Labs is airdropping 250 OPU tokens to the community members. Create an account at Opu Labs and complete all social media tasks to earn the tokens. Also get 250 OPU for every referred friend.
Step-by-Step Guide:Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Telegram, & Facebook and subscribe our newsletter to receive new airdrops!
- Visit the Opu Labs Registration page.
- Submit your details and signup.
- Verify your mail and log in.
- Scroll down and click on "Social Media Airdrop" from the dashboard.
- Complete all eight tasks mentioned in the airdrop page.
- You will get 250 OPU tokens.
- Also get 250 OPU for every referred friend.
E-Mail required
Report Issue
Estimated Value
$5 + ref
Tokens per Claim
Max. Participants


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Publishers love to talk about the rate card prices, but in reality agencies pay nowhere near the figures listed publicly or fed to the trade press. Everything in the world of online media is open to negotiation, and things like package deals, upfront commitments, and volume discounts help drive the price of digital ads down further.
If a homepage is unsold for the following day, for example, publishers will often drop their prices drastically, especially for new clients.
As one ad buyer described, "Rate cards are a bit of a sham in digital. No one pays the going rate for anything, and sellers try to make every agency believe they have the lowest rate, and that they're the smartest, most strategic and a pleasure to work with."
Digiday asked media buyers and marketers what they actually pay for some of some of the Internet's most prominent ad placements. Prices vary, of course, based on the nature of specific deals and arrangements, but these are the anecdotal figures they reported. They are estimated averages and don't reflect the price of every ad buy.
If you have other tips or suggestions, or have had different experiences with the ad vendors listed below, we'd love hear about them. Please email them to me at firstname.lastname@example.com
Yahoo homepage takeover = $450,000
According to media buyers Yahoo asks for $600,000 for a one-day homepage takeover, but typically sells them for around $450,000.
YouTube homepage takeover = $400,000
To own the large display ad with video on the YouTube homepage, advertisers typically cough up about $400,000. It's usually sold as a package, though, with other media such as in-stream video ads, display ads, or featured video listings.
Facebook log-out screen ad = $100,000
When Facebook launched its log-out screen ads, reports suggested it was charging $700,000 for them, but in reality they came bundled with a homage ad commitment, too. Buyers say they're now selling log-out ads standalone for around $100,000.
Twitter promoted trending topic = $120,000
Promoted trending topics typically sell for around $120,000 but are usually supported by a promoted tweet purchase of around $80,000, too.
Hulu in-stream ads = $30 CPM
Much has been made about Hulu's "sky-high" video CPMs in the years since its launch, but buyers say CPMs currently hover around the $25 or $30 mark.
Foursquare actions = 40 cents
The location-based social network has revealed little about how it's pricing its fledgling promoted updates ad product, but marketers say they typically pay between 30 cents and 50 cents each time someone interacts with one of their updates on the network.
BuzzFeed sponsored article = $20,000
The belle du jour of the "native advertising movement" sells five or six sponsored stories for a $100,000 commitment, buyers say.
AOL homepage takeover = $400,000
Like Yahoo, AOL asks for more, but sells homepage ownership for about $400,000.
Branded mobile app = $125,000
There's been a lot of talk about what a mobile app should cost to produce, but according to one brand marketer, they typically sell for between $100,000 and $150,000, based on functionality. That doesn't include the media to promote or distribute it, though. If an app falls in the woods…
Image via Shutterstock
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War and Culture
As part of my dissertation I have to talk about conscription and how well it functioned in the Ancient Near East, and that turned me to a classic article. As I was searching for it I found another which I want to talk about.
Back in 1999, Norvell Atkine set out to explain to the American imperial elite why the "Arab armies" which they had armed and trained were so reluctant to fight the way that Americans told them to fight. These armies kept losing, so why were they rejecting help from more effective soldiers like him and his friends? "There are many factors—economic, ideological, technical—but perhaps the most important has to do with culture and certain societal attributes which inhibit Arabs from producing an effective military force." When I read it the first time, I took away his lovely anecdotes about the culture clash between American military personnel and the Arab officers which they had been assigned to collaborate with. Atkine focuses on the armies of Mubarak's Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. But a few years ago, Caitlyn Talmadge wrote a scholarly article on one of the Arab armies which he is less interested in: Saddam Hussein's. Her article has an abstract, so I will let her speak for herself:
Saddam's Iraq has become a cliché in the study of military effectiveness—the quintessentially coup-proofed, personalist dictatorship, unable to generate fighting power commensurate with its resources. But evidence from the later years of the Iran-Iraq War actually suggests that the Iraqi military could be quite effective on the battlefield. What explains this puzzling instance of effectiveness, which existing theories predict should not have occurred? Recently declassified documents and new histories of the war show that the Iraqi improvements stemmed from changes in Saddam's perceptions of the threat environment, which resulted in significant shifts in his policies with respect to promotions, training, command arrangements, and information management in the military. Threat perceptions and related changes in these practices also help explain Iraq's return to ineffectiveness after the war, as evident in 1991 and 2003. These findings, conceived as a theory development exercise, suggest that arguments linking regime type and coup-ridden civil-military relations to military performance need to take into account the threat perceptions that drive autocratic leaders' policies toward their militaries.
To put it bluntly, Saddam spent his time in power worried that someone would toss him in his own torture chambers. After all, most of the governments in the region, including his Baˀath party, were descended from a group of soldiers who had overthrown the previous regime. So he set up policies to ensure that the army was not a threat to him: strictly limiting communication between units, requiring minor acts to be authorized from Baghdad, refusing to allow different types of troops to train together, and killing officers who were too popular. This kept him in power for 25 years and able to play warlord, even if it also meant that his adventures cost the lives of too many of his own soldiers for little or no gain. The only time that he relaxed these politics was the late 1980s, when it seemed like if the war continued, his regime might collapse. As soon as he had driven the Iranians back across the border and made peace, he treated the army just like he had before, because once again he was more worried about a coup from within than an invasion from without. And while Saddam was crazy (and perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer), his 25 year rule suggests that he knew how to stay in power.


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When it comes to the numerous lists out there in reference to good eateries to visit in Petaling Street, you'd see several common mentions like Merchant Lane, Leaf & Co.` and Chocha Foodstore. We totally agree that they serve up good food but we thought, why not change it up a lil, why not focus on the lesser mentioned ones?
So, here is a list of our favorite 'lesser mentioned' eateries in and around Petaling Street.
1) Precious Old China @ Central Market (Pork Free)
Popular for: Baba Nyonya Cuisine
This could pass off as a hidden eatery. If you have not been to Central Market, then chances are that you've never heard or visited Precious. I too stumbled on this eatery during one of my 'walking down memory lane' adventures. Having gone to school nearby, this area was literally my playground growing up. I've since visited this eatery a few times and food had been consistently tasty and delicious.
The weird things is that during all my visits, which usually happens on weekends for lunch, the crowd is made up of about 80 % expats, tourists and 20 % locals. Weekdays are usually less busier but even then, locals are a rarity. Why? It certainly is a hidden gem worth visiting. I've tried their fried rice variety, Mee Siam, Chicken Pongteh, Nyonya Rendang Chicken, Bubur Chacha and many more, they've never disappointed. Price wise, given its location and fanciness – it is affordably priced. Parking is easy too, Central Market comes with its own open car park.
Precious is a perfect eatery for date night and a quiet meal for two or perhaps somethings of the bigger variety like family gatherings and get-together among friends. It has a nice, elegance setting, customer service is good and food is delicious.
Blog link : Precious Old China @ Central Market – Simply Delicious
Address: Lot 2, Mezzanine Floor, Central Market.
Opening hours: Everyday, 11 am – 10 pm
2) Kim Lian Kee @ Chinatown
Popular for : Hokkien Mee
If you fancy a lil nostalgia and like taking walks reminiscing along the streets of Chinatown, then do visit Kim Lian Kee. Having been around since the 1920s, the journey to this eatery does invoke some ol' school memories. It used to be well known, once hailed to be serving one of the best hokkien mee in town, it has now been overshadowed by recent additions to the scene. Despite that though, it still is popular. I suppose with the good food it offers as well as the nostalgic ambiance it exudes – ol' school and all, it sure does make all the hassle heading to this eatery worth it. Depending on what mode of transport you use, its location may be a breeze or a hassle …. because it is located right in the middle of busy Chinatown. Let's be honest, how many of us actually visit Chinatown regularly? There is a constant flow of tourist, yes but the locals, not so much .. unless they intend to buy something or works/studies in the area. Right? Don't even get me started on parking, oh the difficulty. Best take the train or GRAB if you intend to head here. Hassle, hassle but its worth it.
Blog link: Kim Lian Kee @ Petaling Street – Hokkien Mee 🙂
Address: No. 49, Jalan Petaling
Opening hours: Everyday, 11 am – 11 pm.
3) Ho Kow Hainanese Kopitiam @ Petaling Street
Popular for: Chinese/ Local Kopitiam Food
This is a well loved kopitiam, that's for sure. A common scene here would be the daily long line outside this eatery for brunch/lunch. Worry not though, they've got it covered. It is organized and the line moves pretty fast. Food is awesome. You'd be able to find a wide range of food – toast, noodles, nasi lemak, dim sum, desserts. All of em taste good. It's certainly worth a visit if you haven't already done so.
Blog link: Ho Kow Hainanese Kopitiam @ Petaling Street – Ol' school awesomeness
Address: No. 1 , Jalan Balai Polis, Kuala Lumpur
Opening hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 7.30 am – 3.30 pm.
Mondays Closed.
4) Kafei Dian @ Petaling Street (Pork free)
Popular for: Local Kopitiam Food
If Ho Kow is full and you do not have the time to wait around, then just walk on over to this new kopitiam, located just down the road less than 5 minutes away. They serve up some decent kopitiam food that ranges from toast, steam buns, noodles, nasi lemak, chicken rendang and many more. The eatery itself looks great, tucked in a corner all by itself – it exudes an awesome ambiance. Size wise, it is accommodating and makes for a good eatery to keep in mind if you are dropping by in a big group, be it with family or friends.
Blog link: Kafei Dian @ Petaling Street – New kopitiam in town 🙂 (Pork Free)
Address: No. 16, Jalan Panggung, Kuala Lumpur.
Opening hours: Everyday. 7 am – 5 pm
5) Urban Artisan @ Petaling Street
Popular for: Dessert – Soft Serve
If you guys are in the area, do drop by. Located barely 5 minutes away from Ho Kow and Kafei Dian, you'd be able to indulge in some rich, creamy, unique flavors like Oceanic Sea Salt, Lychee x Mango, Thai Coconut and Matcha x Hojicha. Depending on the time of your visit, parking may be difficult. What I usually do is park by the road side, in front of the shop, jump out and head in, order, pay and collect my soft serve and head back out.
Blog Post: Urban Artisan @ Petaling Street – Yummy, decadent soft serve !
Address: 149, Jalan Petaling Street. (Down the road from Merchant Lane and a few doors away from Bubble Bee Cafe)
Opening hours: Everyday. Mondays – Thursdays, Sundays, 12 pm – 9 pm. Fridays & Saturdays, 12 pm – 10 pm.


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My Answers to the Slate Politcal Gabfest Conundrum Show 2018
This week's Slate Political Gabfest had their corundum show this week. I thought it would be fun to answer all the questions myself.
Would you rather have the wisdom of a 50 year old when you are 25 year olds, or the body of a 25 year old when you are 50 - Wisdom of a 50 year old when I was 25. I would have wasted less time in my youth. I was in bad shape at age 25.
Waffle or Pancake - Now it is neither for me, Here is my official ranking Great Waffle, Great Pancake, Average Pancake, Average Waffle
Give up an arm or the Internet - The internet
What is a life altering activity that everyone should experience in their lives? - Being on stage in theater.
What fictional news even would I want to cover? - Jurassic Park and Jurassic World
All of your entertainment has to be from one decade, which decade? - The 70s.
Fourth Co-host of the Gabfest - Grover Cleveland
Have a good parent or be a good parent? - Be a good parent
What would you genetically change about humans? - Give us a different mouths for eating and breathing/talking
What genre would you like to live in? Kids picture books, Wacky and fun all the time.
Master one skill without effort - Guitar or one illustration
A washing machine or the right to vote - Washing machine, as long it was not the end of democracy for everyone.
Would you rather life in Anarchy or a Totalitarian gov - We have seen anarchy in the 21 century. If the population stays high, anarchy only last a short time until the rise of the Warlords. Living under the Warlords are not that different than the Totalitarian. Look at the Walking Dead to see what I mean. (This is the reason I made this blog post)
Would you move to Winnipeg because a 20 year future you told you why - Yes, as long as I can take my family.
If you could teach the world one concept for the betterment of the human kind? - Empathy
Which is more important for a partner, Intelligence or Sense of Humor? - Sense of Humor for romantic, Intelligence for business partner
Would you give up 50% of your sense of humor for 10 Million Dollars? - I'll take the 10 Million Dollars.
Would you rather be stuck be listening to one song over and over again or read one book over and over again for the rest of your life? - Reading one book, if I get to pick the book.
Bird or a Mountain - Mountain if I don't have coal in me.
Would you give up one of your five senses to fly one day a month? - Probably, good bye taste.
Would you betray your friend or your country? - This depends on situation
Experience your best memory again or wipe clear your worst memory - Do I get to decide what worst memory that is? Some bad memory are useless and some are important.
Have a Dragon or Be a Dragon - If I am going with D&D rules, Be a dragon, if I am going by How to Train your Dragon Rules, Have a Dragon.


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YaleWomen Ontario Members: Please join our Yale alumnae group walk in the Rosedale/Moore Park ravine on Saturday June 20, at 10:00 am, followed by lunch. Our route will begin and end at the Evergreen Brickworks. This event will be led by Anita Nador. Details:
- Meet at Evergreen Brickworks On Saturday June 20 at 10:00 am, in the area marked "weekday shuttle" on this map: http://www.evergreen.ca/get-involved/evergreen-brick-works/whats-here/
- Accessible by TTC via bus 28A Bayview South departing from Davisville Station at9:15 am (every half hour) OR meet Anita at TTC Broadview Station at 9:30 am for a ride over to the brickworks (please arrange with Anita in advance)
- We will walk for approximately 1.5 hours along ravine trails and end back at Brickworks for lunch/coffee/snacks at Cafe Belong
- Evergreen Farmer's Market will be open for shopping after our walk
- Children and pets are welcome and encouraged!
- Event may be cancelled in case of severe weather
- Please rsvp to [email protected]
550 Bayview Ave
Toronto, ON M4W 3X8
Google map and directions
Showing 2 reactions
Ilene Solomon is hosting. 2015-05-25 19:48:36 -0400
Ilene Solomon published this page in YaleWomen Events 2015-05-25 19:48:36 -0400


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29 Acres believes we are stronger together
We greatly benefit from our many passionate community members, families, business and civic leaders who give their time, talents and resources. Here are some ways you can get involved and help advance our vision.
- Fundraising
- Professional expertise or advisory board
- Community engagement
- Employment opportunities for our residents and
- students
- In-kind contributions


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The Capital Regional District has bought another 15 hectares of parkland for Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park.
The land parcel was purchased for $445,000.
"This land increases the size of the park to 4,113 hectares, which is the largest park in the CRD regional park system," said CRD Board Chair Steve Price. "Adding land to the east boundary of Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park helps complete the park's boundaries."
This parkland addition will protect the environment and conserve the wilderness character of the Sooke Hills, Price added.
The property will create a buffer between the core of the park and Highway 14. These lands also contribute to the protection of important ecosystem services, and support terrestrial carbon sequestration.
The purchase is funded through the CRD's regional parks land acquisition fund. The funds are generated through a levy set at a rate of $20 per average residential household. The fund is projected to generate approximately $3.7 million each year to 2019.
Sooke Hills Wilderness Regional Park is a large wilderness area within the Juan de Fuca Electoral Area, Metchosin and Langford. The area is also within both the T'Sou-ke and Scia'new (Beecher Bay) First Nation's Traditional Territory.
The park provides a buffer to the Greater Victoria Water Supply Area and includes the Sooke Hills Wilderness Trail, which forms part of The Great Trail route (formerly the Trans Canada Trail), a network of multiuse trails that stretches across Canada.


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While shopping for restaurant equipment, knowledge is power. In the course of your search for equipment, you will find NSF® listed, UL® certified and ENERGY STAR® rated items. In many cases, people do not always know what these certifications mean. We've compiled this list based from the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers' CFSP (Certified Foodservice Professional) guide and each of their websites to give you the information you need to make an educated decision on these products.
What is NSF® Certification?
What it stands for: National Sanitation Foundation
Who they are: A non-profit, non-governmental organization, also known as the Public Health and Safety Organization™, who describe themselves as the "world leader in standards development, product certification and risk-management for public health and safety."
Why they are important: The CFSP guide says NSF has the following three purposes for equipment in the foodservice industry:
- Assure all equipment meets health standards and passes critical inspection at the facility
- Allows manufacturers to apply uniform construction methods to all NSF listed equipment
- Provide health authorities throughout the country a "united front or voice" to require basic elements of equipment sanitation
What NSF listed means: In order to obtain the NSF listing, the equipment is reviewed and tested before approval. As there are several types of equipment, NSF says on their website they have developed "over 75 standards and certified thousands of products as safe to use in commercial food settings." They look closely at these standards before granting the NSF listing.
Below is a very brief and general overview from the CFSP guide of some of the things NSF looks into (keep in mind there are different standards more specific to different kinds of equipment):
- Physical design and construction
- Materials (look for corrosion or heat resistance, durability, nontoxic)
- Product Performance
- Ensure that the product is cleanable and is not likely to harbor bacteria
- Accuracy of control systems
What is UL® Certification?
What UL® stands for: Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.
Who they are: UL is an independent, not-for-profit and non-governmental organization who describes themselves as "a global independent safety science company offering expertise across five key strategic businesses: Product Safety, Environment, Life and Health, University and Verification Services."
Why they are important: With over 120 years of experience, the CFSP guide says the UL listing evaluates gas, electrical and sanitation safety on cooking, refrigeration, food processing, and food prep equipment. They look at the most current standards and follow up after approval to ensure standards are maintained. A very brief overview of their mission on their website is below, view their full list here.
- Promote safe working environments
- Support the production and use of physically and environmentally safe products to prevent or reduce loss of life and property
- Advance safety science
What UL listed means: To receive the UL listing, companies will have received the proper testing for a specific product based on their over 20 safety standards. UL has worked with many organizations such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Electrical Code (NEC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to determine and maintain current standards. The CFSP guide also adds the UL listing can also be reviewed for custom built equipment as well.
Are products with the UL Sanitation mark also NSF listed? According to the Underwriters Laboratories, they are accredited by the American National Standards Institute to certify products to NSF standards. This applies to food equipment, drinking water chemicals and products, and swimming pool equipment. For more information on UL products being NSF listed, check out "UL Food Program: Acceptance of the UL Mark" which includes information about the UL sanitation classification mark.
What is ENERGY STAR® Rating?
Who they are: ENERGY STAR® is the government-backed symbol for energy efficiency. They have created a partnership with the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) and the U.S. Department of Energy that uses methods to protect the environment with energy efficient products and practices.
Why they are important: ENERGY STAR® rated products can give a solution to some of the high energy costs and environmental issues that occur with commercial restaurant equipment. "In 2017, more than 2000 manufacturers and 2000 retailers partnered with ENERGY STAR® to make and sell millions of ENERGY STAR® certified products across more than 75 residential and commercial product categories," their website states. They also deliver technical information and tools to help make decisions for energy efficiency and play a key role in the latest technological advances. They have also put together a guide titled "ENERGY STAR® for Small Business: Restaurants" specifically for restaurants.
The ENERGY STAR ® website states their label was created to:
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants caused by the inefficient use of energy
- Make it easy for consumers to identify and purchase energy efficient products that offer savings on energy bills without sacrificing performance, features and comfort
What ENERGY STAR means: ENERGY STAR® says "products can earn the ENERGY STAR® label by meeting the energy efficiency requirements set forth in ENERGY STAR® product specifications." These specifications have been/are established by the EPA, based on key guiding principles on this website. According to the CSFP guide, if a product is ENERGY STAR® rated, a manufacturer must be able to show they meet the minimum energy efficiency criteria for that particular product category.
**Note: Certain ENERGY STAR® products qualify for Federal tax credits, for more information click here.
We offer more than 400 ENERGY STAR® qualified products designed to help your restaurant cut utility costs. Our product consultants can help guide you to the products that are NSF and UL listed to ensure you are meeting health standards in your foodservice establishment. For more details call 800-215-9293 and be sure to visit our website for our entire line of foodservice equipment and supplies.
What is ETL Listed?
Who they are: ETL Intertek is an independent testing laboratory that tests, inspects, and certifies products according to North American safety standards.
Why they are important: The ETL Listed Mark demonstrates the compliance to widely accepted product safety standards. Their mark sets them apart for their quality of customer service and capabilities provided by their testing laboratory.
What the ETL Listed Mark means: This mark means that a product passed the safety certification program at ETL Intertek. The mark shows that the product was tested by Intertek and complied with accepted national safety standards.
Common Questions About NSF:
What does NSF Approved mean?
This approval means that NSF has reviewed and tested a product and approved it for their standards.
Is NSF Certification required?
While NSF does not require certification for you to sell an item, U.S. health departments, end users, and buyers will look for this to ensure that it has gone through the rigorous testing to comply with public health standards.
How do I get my product NSF certified?
The process is specific to the type of product, process, or service getting certified but it generally follows these seven steps:
1. Application/Information submission
2. Product evaluation
3. Product testing in the lab
4. Manufacturing facility inspection, production confirmation, and product sampling.
5. Test results review & acceptance
6. Contract signed, products listed
7. Annual plant inspection & testing
Common Questions About UL:
Is UL Certification required by law?
No, a UL Certification is not required by law. This certification means that your product follows stringent safety and performance standards internationally.
How do I get a UL Certification?
The process to obtain a UL Certification are outlined on their website, but the basic steps are:
1. Request and get a quote from UL
2. Send all product information and samples for testing
3. Product is tested and evaluated
4. UL issues a notice of completion, reports test results
5. Initial production inspection completed at manufacturing locations
6. The authorization is provided for the use of UL Mark
7. Periodic follow-up services
Common Questions About ENERGY STAR®:
How is Energy Star calculated?
This score is calculated using a 1-100 scale that can be applied to a building's energy consumption and how it measures up against similar buildings nationwide. The main three factors considered are:
1. Property type
2. Property use details
3. Energy data
You can find the full list of calculation criteria listed here.
What are Energy Star requirements?
Products earn the ENERGY STAR by meeting strict energy efficiency criteria set by the EPA and US Department of Energy. ENERGY STAR products are similar to their standard versions but use less energy. See the full list of product specifications on the Energy Star website.
Common Questions About ETL Intertek:
Is ETL the same as UL approved?
ETL and UL are both Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratories (NRTL) and comply with national standards for safety and testing. Both certifications demonstrate that a product has been rigorously tested and approved by an NRTL and are subjected to periodic follow-up.
Does ETL meet CSA standards?
The ETL Listed Mark is a known alternative to the CSA Mark (Canadian Standards Association). Both of these marks indicate that a product and manufacturing facility has been tested and met the strict requirements of safety standards. In short, the ETL mark does meet product safety standards in the United States and Canada.
Cody Bell is a content specialist with Central Restaurant Products. With over 7 years of experience in the foodservice industry, Cody has developed knowledge on topics from all aspects of commercial foodservice, from the front of the house to back of the house. He is a NAFEM Certified Foodservice Professional. In his free time, Cody likes to spend time with his wife and puppy.


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Make this beautiful Gingerbread Church complete with steeple and lovely decorations.
Lighting: Cut a hole in the Styrofoam for a light bulb.
Glue your house pieces together with thin consistency royal icing (Thinner icing soaks in and your house lasts longer before it dries out and falls apart. It should last several months.
Windows: Cut windows in your rolled out dough pieces. Add yellow crushed hard butterscotch candies. The candy melts while the gingerbread pieces bake. Continue reading here!


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Interior design kidsroom
As interior architects/ designers, we absolutely love to create the little ones magical spaces. Our vision is to create inspiring rooms to love. We are very happy to use our beautiful wallpapers from Lily and the Wall as a very important detail in each space. And the best of it all, the kids really love it!!


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The Exponential Era
Much of what is driving our emerging future is the exponential pace of science and technology. When combined with the Convergence of building blocks that span multiple domains, it becomes easy to see why the world seems to be moving so quickly. In a recent book titled "The Exponential Era", authors David Espindola and Michael Wright explore this phenomenon and present an approach for surviving in a future that is moving so fast. This story is about an overwhelming number of building blocks and the rate at which they are converging. As this happens, long-standing beliefs and institutions are rendered obsolete. I had the honor of providing a quote for the book jacket:
A century ago, a convergence across domains ushered in unprecedented advancements in human development. A look at history is very instructive, as several dynamics from that period have the potential to emerge once again — the biggest being the opportunity for convergence. In this context, convergence refers to a virtuous cycle where events in one domain spur action in another. As a futurist, focusing on the intersections provides a window into the future. Visualizing the building blocks and how they converge is the most effective way to navigate a very uncertain future. The Exponential Era does a great job of not only describing exponential technologies, but how they likely converge to transform our world. Education and dialog are critical to creating a constructive future, this book contributes to that end.
All of us are struggling with the rapid pace of change and its implications for our future. Understanding this phenomenon is the first order of business. But, learning how to ride this wave versus being knocked over by it determines success versus failure. This book addresses both. I highly recommend it and have added it to my Book Library. The Amazon abstract is included below.
This book introduces the Exponential Era, the extraordinary times we are living where the convergence of technology platforms that grow at exponential rates is creating unprecedented opportunities for companies that know how to benefit from it, and disastrous results for those that don't. In the book you will learn about:
- The megatrends shaping the future of business and society
- The exponential platforms that are creating astonishing opportunities and risks
- The types of companies that thrive in this environment and those that are being destroyed
You will also learn about a robust methodology called SPX that challenges the current thinking in strategic planning and provides an effective playbook for companies to stay ahead of the exponential curve. Finally, the authors provide a thoughtful discussion about the impact of the Exponential Era on humanity, and how the rapid changes we are experiencing challenge our current societal structures, economics, and ethics.


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I've written before that I wouldn't mind meeting the Deschanel sisters. Which is why I started watching a few of Fox's new show New Girl which stars Zooey Deschanel. Which is kinda cool considering her sister Emily is also on the same network (Bones). Anyway, I first saw Zooey on 500 Days of Summer in a communications class and thought she played a great, well, awkward and quirky character. Which I love because that makes her, well, kinda hilarious and super likable.
As a little warning, I'm not such a big fan of all the love/bedroom drama that goes on. But fortunately it's been brief!
2 comments
I'm pretty into New Girl as well. I've loved Zooey since I saw her as the big sister in Almost Famous. I love that she's a quirky teacher, I relate all too well!ReplyDelete
I haven't seen Almost Famous, but I definitely agree with you on everything else. I so want to see an episode with her in the classroom someday!ReplyDelete
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Beauty in Quarantine Times Part 2: Repair & Rebuild
It's time for self-repair, so here is our selection of best products to nourish your hands, hair, lashes and more.
Time to wake up and get ready for your day, but no need to rush as much! It is confinement time, so our entire routine is now adapting to this change of rhythm.
Indoors all day? We have skin saviors for you. Washing your hands every minute? We have the perfect product. No hair dresser? No eyelash extensions? We know exactly what you need. It's time for self-repair, so here is our selection of best products to nourish your hands, hair, lashes and more.
How do I care for my hair at home?
For many women, maintaining their hair without visiting a salon is quite the challenge. Rule number one to at-home hair care is hydration. You have plenty of time now to apply a hydrating mask for an hour before washing your hair!
BWB Team selection: we love two products that can help tide you over until your next appointment.
- Use Color WOW Brush Powder to cover your roots for the day
- Or apply Christophe Robin Temporary Color Gel onto towel-dried hair, leave 40 minutes and rinse. Easy to apply, great results and lasts for 5 to 6 shampoos. Finish off your hair care by holding off on your high-heat tools. Your hair will thank you!
How do I fix my manicure during quarantine?
Now is also the opportunity to nourish your hands and feet! Just take 10 minutes for an at-home manicure/pedicure. Remove your nail polish, cut & file your nails, and use a nail polisher. This will give your nails a shine that not even nail polish can pull off. After the shower, don't forget to apply hydrating cream.
BWB Team selection:
- Revlon nail buffer
- Dior Crème Abricot for nails and cuticles
- Avène Cold Cream for hands and feet
How can I maintain my lashes during confinement?
Our very own BWB team member Alicia got eyelash extensions shortly before NYC started to close inessential businesses. If you're not going back to the salon for your follow-up appointment like Alicia, she recommends ditching the mascara in the meantime and coating your lashes with coconut oil instead. Also, try to avoid sleeping on your face and brush your lashes out regularly with a spoolie. If you're trying to lengthen your natural lashes, brushing them out with some castor oil is a great way to stimulate growth. You'll never need a pair of falsies again!
BWB Team selection:
How can I keep my skin soft and hydrated?
We all are confined at home, and the lack of fresh air may affect the way we are feeling about ourselves. So, I strongly recommend doing every little thing you can to feel good.
It is essential to keep your circulation moving, even at home. Before hopping into your cold shower, dry brush! Always brush to activate the circulation towards the heart. You can use firmer strokes on your thighs and buttocks, but be sure to be more gentle on more delicate spots such as the tummy, chest and neck. After you shower, it is time to hydrate. My go-to products when I need to be uplifted are Clarins body care.
BWB Team selection:
How can I keep my beauty products clean?
Quarantine calls for spring cleaning! Going beyond washing floors and organizing closets, let's dive deep into our medicine cabinets and beauty boudoirs. Get rid of all products that are expired, clean up our brushes & sponges and re-arrange all of them in separate boxes. Keeping your skincare essentials as sanitized and organized as possible has never been more important.
BWB Team selection: Wash makeup sponges with a soft shampoo. You can also wash your hairbrush with shampoo, rinse well and use a comb to remove all hair from it. Remove excess water from both sponges and hairbrush and let it air dry.
These are difficult times, but it does not mean that we should stop self-care. Self-care is about feeling good about yourself, and you'll need to feel your best in order to take better care of others around you.


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1 A Christmas sKroll competition. Tue Dec 15, 2015 4:26 pm
92KK 84WW Olaf
Life time member
Ringfad wrote:If only we had put a GPS on the banner to see how far it has travelled.
Myself and Paul know it had a mind of its own on it's postal trip from the UK to N. Ireland. It took over two weeks to get to me.
Inge mid signature
Thanks again to Inge for his hospitality
If I ever make it to see Inge again I will make sure not to have such an early start.
(so I can savour more of that Norwegian Craft beer )
I like this one, even the part we can see......
Gaz80 in top left.......he came to see all of us.
Just above
Klompy alongside.....
On the right hand side I can make out Will 88KE
To the left 'Gribbs' maybe SidecarPaul had something to do with this one.
On top of the table of course there's RickG SidecarPaul and Gerty.
Yep, every picture tells a story, there's never a dull moment here. Was great the sKroll made the Atlantic crossing to CF too. There's always another country to go to.
No, I wonder who has met as in face to face the highest number of signatories on the sKroll. A Christmas pudding in the mail to whoever has the highest number!!!!
BAE posted a chart of all the names, but it might need some small adding to as it has been signed more since he made that chart.
Last edited by 92KK 84WW Olaf on Wed Dec 16, 2015 5:44 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Corrections made after BAE gently reminded me, apologies to CF and to Inge.)
1992 K100LT 0193214 Bertha Blue 101,000 miles
1984 K100RT 0022575 Brutus Baja Red 578 bought 36,000 now 89,150 miles
1997 K1100LT 0188024 Wotan Mystic Red 689 58,645 now 106,950 miles Deceased.
1983 K100RS 0011157 Fricka 606 Alaska Blue 29,495 miles Damn K Pox Its a Bat outta Hell Now 58,200 miles.
1996 K1100LT 0233004 Lohengrin Mystic Red 38,000 miles currently 45,920 miles.
1983 K100RS 0004449 Odette R100 colours 58,000 miles. Sprint fairing now 61,190 miles
1968 Yamaha 80 YG1
1971 Yamaha 125 YAS-1
1968 Honda 125 SS
1970 Honda CD 175
1973 Honda CB500-4
Honda CX 500


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O.C. Tanner Summer Concert Series
The O.C. Tanner Amphitheater was built in 1976 by a man named O.C. Tanner. His hope was that the amphitheater would help to strengthen the arts and provide high-quality education to all in Southern Utah. This part of Dixie State University has certainly helped to improve the importance of the arts in the area not only for students, but for all who visit the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater.
The amphitheater's location and architecture are just two of the reasons that this amphitheater is so different from any other in the world. The background of the stage is the gorgeous red rock that Zion is famous for. The seating of the amphitheater slopes up against a large hill facing the theater, making every seat the best seat in the house. The red rock not only gives a beautiful look to the area, but also an impressive acoustic quality that cannot be found at many open-air amphitheaters. The large, open stage invites guests to feel as though they are a part of the performance.
This incredible theater hosts many events throughout the year, but none are as exciting as the four-month-long summer concert series. This series, which begins in June and ends in September, includes an incredibly extensive variety of musicians, performers, and activities for every guest to enjoy. Residents and locals alike will appreciate the Zion area even more after a visit to the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater.
Trailblazers Summer Concert Series–2017 Season Performances
July 8th, 2017
Rock Fest Featuring The National Parks with Special Guest Many Miles
The National Parks is a band that draws inspiration for their music from their hometown of Zion. Their sound is incredibly eclectic, with a blend of folk, pop, and electronic music. Their unforgettable vocals and instrumental beauty will leave the audience speechless and yearning for more.
Joining The National Parks is another eclectic group, Many Miles. This local group from Southern Utah has been called a blend of The Police, Amy Winehouse, Adele, and The Dave Matthews Band. Their sound is unique, to say the least. This one-of-a-kind show will be the highlight of a trip to the Zion area.
July 22nd, 2017
Sanctuary: The Story of Zion
The unbelievable talent of Sam Payne, Ryan Tilby, Drew and Lacey Williams, and Nic Chamberlain come together to form an incredible performance that celebrates and explains the development of Zion. Sanctuary celebrates the people, activities, and developments that have made Zion such a beautiful place today. This performance will help to educate guests and residents about Zion while making them appreciate the area at the same time.
July 4th, 2017
Collin Raye
The music of Collin Raye has been celebrated since the early nineties. His soothing voice and heartfelt lyrics have earned him ten nominations for best male vocalist, twenty-four top ten records, and sixteen number one hits. The audience will be able to enjoy this well-known star in the intimate setting of The O.C. Tanner Amphitheater. Guests will experience Collin Raye like never before with the red rocks of Utah as his background.
August 11th, 2017
Nathan Pacheco with the Lyceum Orchestra
Nathan Pacheco uses his incredible voice to sample and perform many popular songs from artists like Aaron Copland, Ennio Morricone, Rossini, Puccini, and many others. This classically-trained, vocally moving singer will transport the audience to the days of golden voices. Joining Pacheco will be the Lyceum Orchestra, which is made up of many talented young student musicians. This breathtaking and emotional show is one that will not soon be forgotten.
September 9th, 2017
Zion Matrix "Love Is the Answer" Featuring Aykanna, Supporting Girls on the Run
Guests to this incredible, multifaceted show will enjoy feeling as though they have been taken back to the era where love was all they needed. The distinct and poignant vocals of Aykanna can be enjoyed by the whole family. This music will help audiences feel a connection to not only the land, but also each other. In addition to Aykanna's music, there will be aerial silk acrobats, a giant, ten-foot dreamcatcher creation, gongs and drums percussion music, and much more. This event will benefit Girls on the Run, which is a non-profit that aims to improve self-esteem in young girls and teach them how to live a happy, healthy lifestyle. This exciting event for a good cause will be one that audiences think about for years to come.
September 29th and 30th, 2017
Zion Canyon Music Festival
For the first time, the Zion Canyon Music Festival will be held at O.C. Tanner Amphitheater. This is the ninth annual Zion Canyon Music Festival, and it has something to offer absolutely everyone. Some of the musical performances will be from funk-rock band Groovement, hip-hop and reggae musician El Dub, The Reals, a group from Southern Utah, country-rock bad boy and Utah local Raven Cain, Utah mixing legend DJ Lex, and more.
As the music plays, guests can enjoy a variety of food vendors, kid's activities, bounce houses, and many other exciting festivities. This all-inclusive music festival will celebrate the joy of music, bring many different people together, and put a spotlight on the beauty of the Zion area.
Music, Beauty, and New Experiences at O.C. Tanner Amphitheater
The O.C. Tanner Amphitheater's Summer Concert Series will include many events that should not be missed. The celebration of music, the arts, and the beauty of Zion during the concert series is sure to be a life changing experience. Whether rocking out to The National Parks or dancing along to gongs and drums, the O.C. Tanner Amphitheater has something for everyone. Visitors and residents alike should be sure to make it to at least one performance during the summer. It is sure to be an unforgettable, exciting, and eye-opening experience.


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X3. A chair in 6 hours….
I sat in my chair at 4 minutes past 7pm and it didn't break!
It was a really good feeling and a great experience pushing my 'bodging' skills to the limit.
The x3 project was curated by CR&D who built a cube located in the corner of the glass fronted Truman Brewery, allowing not only public viewing from within the exhibition but also from Hanbury Street and Brick Lane.
The concept was to ask 3 designer makers, the others being, Sam Weller and Jack Smith, to produce a chair each in 6 hours with limited tools and materials. The Chairs are being auctioned on ebay with proceeds going to UK Youth.
The project reminded me of a lecture I did called Pechakucha where you had 20 images and five minutes to present your work on stage. It makes you aware of the importance of knowing what you are about and being able to tap into that almost objectively. This project was a bit like that where you had a time-limit restricting your process and limiting your options of design and construction.
Instead of calling the chair X3 I will call it 6H (6 hours) to recognise the true reason for its appearance and existence. I'm glad I did this chair it made me appreciate what's possible under pressure.


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Friday, May 07, 2010
NEW MODEL - the "Craftsman" cuckoo
My family and I just had a short trip to California last weekend. While there we visited my aunt and uncle who have a decidedly "California-style" cuckoo clock. It has light-colored wood with a rustic finish... American Bungalow style, but still a cuckoo clock.
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Imam Khomeini through his theological works stresses that the universe and the order of existence is the domain of God.
The late founder of the Islamic Republic also emphasizes that the creatures are all in God, the Almighty's presence.
From his point of view, every individual is connected to his Creator without an intermediary.
According to the Imam's thinking, human beings are obliged to adopt a method in life by which they can feel the presence of the Sacred Truth.
Copyright © 2023 . All Rights Reserved


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This Ocean View Property is located in the Prestigius area of LG Smith Blvd right on the ocean. It is surrounded by the most expensive houses on the Island of Aruba. The price is high on this property due to the location, and also becuase it is the last piece of land available to build on and for sale in that area.
One can truly appreciate the dramatic contrast of nature that defines the island of Aruba. The clear turquoise water splashes against the rugged coastline, white desert sand dunes roll into neatly groomed emerald greens and unusual flowering cacti. A rainbow of colors to accompany the spectacular carribbean Sea. A VIEW TO LIVE FOR!
If You Have the Money & Thinking to Build Yourself a Mansion in Paradise, This Property is For YOU!


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How to Go Zero Trust, Part 5: Migrating Resources Behind an Access Fabric
This is part 5 in a series dedicated to helping companies learn what it takes to achieve a Zero Trust security architecture of their own, much like Google's BeyondCorp.
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My previous post in this series covered how to implement the access controls that make up a real world Zero Trust system, which we are now going to put into action by migrating live resources over. It should go without saying that this is a critical moment on the Zero Trust journey, however, not one to fear. If you've been following this blog series, you'll know to come prepared and take things in stride.
What's an Access Fabric?
Before digging in, if this blog series is the first time you've heard the term Access Fabric, that's expected - we recently introduced the concept. At a high level, it's a globally distributed authentication and authorization engine capable of making lightning fast, intelligent trust decisions based on dynamic user and device conditions. Architecturally, an Access Fabric carries similar properties as a CDN, with a focus on auth processing at the edge. The ScaleFT Platform is backed by an Access Fabric, which we operate as a service on behalf of our customers.
Migrating Your Resources
The workflow that follows is how applications are deployed via ScaleFT Web Access, which is a fully hosted cloud platform. If you are building a Zero Trust system yourself, there will be additional considerations in terms of the deployment makeup, ongoing operations, and the supporting PKI. Make sure you read and fully understand all four BeyondCorp papers from Google before going down the DIY path.
Choosing the Right Application to Start With
Taking the migration process in stride means carefully selecting the right resources to start moving to your new environment, but what are the characteristics one should look for? My view is to stay away from your complex, mission critical apps to start. I recommend beginning with a simple application where coarse-grained rules generally apply, and where the sensitivity of the data is relatively low. A good example might be an internally developed employee directory or company knowledge base.
When done right, the access controls of a Zero Trust will be more secure than traditional perimeter-based methods, however, you want to ensure the proper workflows are in place first and foremost. You wouldn't want to risk leaking customer data while testing the system's resilience. To thwart this risk, Google deployed their BeyondCorp system side-by-side their traditional network, moving applications over gradually as they gained more confidence with the environment.
Moving the Application Behind the Access Fabric
Google placed a lot of emphasis on the fact that all resources backed by the BeyondCorp model are deployed to the public Internet, removing the need for network segmentation. You may not want to be that bold right away – which is okay! We're introducing better access controls at the application layer, but that doesn't necessarily mean you have to rid yourself of your network-based protection methods. Subnets, network ACLs, and firewall rules are a good thing to preserve. Eventually, you will no longer rely on the network as more than pure transport, at which point you can choose to remove VPNs from your architecture entirely.
With fully operational access controls, all you need to do to protect your resources is point your traffic to the Access Fabric. With ScaleFT, enrolling a web app in the platform generates a unique ScaleFT App Name – such as impartial-werewolf-1234.accessfabric.net. We also generate an SSL certificate for the fully qualified domain name using Let's Encrypt. With this, simply set the CNAME record of your domain to the ScaleFT App Name through your DNS provider, which places the access gateway in front of your origin – a web server or a load balancer.
In this environment, all traffic will flow through the Access Fabric, handling the authentication and authorization processes independently, while brokering the encrypted connections between the client and origin.
Securing the Application
With all traffic is flowing through a central gateway, it's important to ensure the connection with the application is secure. Every request must be fully encrypted from end-to-end, which means only allowing traffic over HTTPS from the client to the gateway and the gateway to the origin. This does mean you must trust the gateway to handle TLS termination properly as traffic is intercepted and forwarded. The gateway is the ideal location to perform this handoff, as another key part it plays in the workflow is logging and monitoring for event auditing and traffic inspection purposes.
A secure tunnel is not enough, though. You also want to ensure that all traffic to the application originates from the gateway and that every request is fully authenticated and authorized. There are a few ways to do this independently of an integrated vendor solution – one method would be to sign the request certificate or token along with its associated metadata, and then configure the application to verify. There may also be cases where you want to whitelist all traffic from specific IPs, such as a database server or webhook trigger.
Enrolling Users and Devices
Zero Trust redefines corporate identity as a user plus their device at a point-in-time, which means that we need to be able to get to that data in a streamlined manner to make a valid trust attestation. Static attributes such as the user id and their group membership are extracted from the system of record, but dynamic state such as the device's OS version and whether the disk is encrypted must be captured in real-time. The sum of the user and device attributes and state make up the identity profile that is authenticated and authorized.
To accomplish this, users must run an application on their devices to communicate with the system on every request. The goal of this application isn't necessarily to operate as a full blown endpoint protection service, per se, but rather to provide the appropriate information to make a valid decision, and to enforce the rules inherent in the access policies. Using an example I've used before in this series – if a policy states that a user must have the latest version of their OS to gain access to the company wiki, and theirs is out-of-date, then the request should be blocked and a message should be delivered to the user explaining why. The easier that message is to understand, the more capable the user is of self-remediating versus the status quo - calling IT to complain!
Inspecting the Results
It's critical that you monitor all traffic and capture all events as you migrate resources over to the new environment. This inspection is important to ensure everything is working properly but also provides you with valuable data to tune your access policies according to behavioral patterns.
Aside from network inspection, what you're looking for here is an audit log of all auth events. A proper Zero Trust system will capture every authentication and authorization event, granted or denied, with the referenceable user and device attributes and state. You can compare this data with your policies to see if the results line up with your intentions. For example, if a minor software update policy blocks all requests, it may frustrate your employees, so you may want to consider giving everyone a few days to remediate. I covered policy tuning in more detail with regards to behavioral patterns in the third post in the series.
We've reached the end of this blog series, which is what I hope leads you to begin your Zero Trust journey. You've learned why the architecture matters in Part 1, then what relevant data to collect in Part 2, which led into creating your access policy framework in Part 3. The access controls implemented in Part 4 were put into action with real applications in this post
Zero Trust is a new architecture that introduces a lot of new concepts such as the Access Fabric we designed at ScaleFT.
Published at DZone with permission of Ivan Dwyer, DZone MVB. See the original article here.
Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.


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Eclipse plugin for LESS
Add this URL to your Eclipse Installation to reach this solution's update site.
Mars (4.5)
Luna (4.4)
Kepler (4.3)
Juno (4.2, 3.8)
Previous to Juno (<=4.1)
Neon (4.6)
Oxygen (4.7)
Photon (4.8)
2018-09 (4.9)
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Reviews Sign in to post reviews
Submitted by Thomas \'PointedEars\' Lahn on Sun, 2015-09-13 15:18
I am getting a
NullPointerException from XtextReconcilerJob on every edit and save with syntactically correct LESS code (compiles with lessc 2.5.1) when using
@import url("…"); with full filename. Commenting out the
@import line solves this. The import defines, and the LESS stylesheet uses, parametric mixins that were not introduced before LESS 1.7.2, like
.keyframes (@name, @rules) {
@-moz-keyframes @name {
@-webkit-keyframes @name {
@keyframes @name {
But although I am getting syntax errors in the import from the plugin, that does not appear to be the cause of the problem (it is the same with commented out mixin definitions and calls).
How to avoid the XtextReconcilerJob
Submitted by Pascal Arcandier on Sun, 2014-12-14 09:02
For those of you annoyed by the XtextReconcilerJob bug: it can be avoided by entering full file names in your import directives.
I.e: @import "stylesheet" will trigger the bug, while @import "stylesheet.less" won't.
Old version
Submitted by Rilo Ravestein on Fri, 2014-10-24 05:22
Version number here is 1.0.19
On the website http:// www .normalesup. org/~simonet/soft/ow/eclipse-less.en. html you can download version 1.0.21 (2014-06-01)
Same errors here, very annoying!
Submitted by Mark Van der Werf on Wed, 2014-10-22 11:02
An internal error occurred during: "XtextReconcilerJob".
Same error as others.
Submitted by Rick Yentzer on Fri, 2014-10-17 12:05
An internal error occurred during: "XtextReconcilerJob".
As above, I have to keep closing the warning dialog. I'll be uninstalling until this can be fixed.
Repeated errors since update - possibly due to xtext
Submitted by Eleanor O\'Neill on Thu, 2014-05-29 11:17
An internal error occurred during: "Xtext validation".
This raises an alert that must be clicked repeatedly when looking at any .less file
Also seeing this error:
An internal error occurred during: "XtextReconcilerJob".
Reverting to version 1.0.19 of this plugin doesn't get rid of the problem, which comes from a dependency on Xtext, which was also updated recently.
I recommend not installing either until the problem is resolved.
Note that Eclipse shows a syntax error on a perfectly valid .less snippet that contains a mixin.
I'm getting exactly same
Submitted by Selcuk Mising name on Wed, 2014-08-06 03:00
I'm getting exactly same error
An internal error occurred during: "XtextReconcilerJob".
Has anyone got any solution ? Thanks
Latest update doesn't work
Submitted by Eleanor O\'Neill on Wed, 2014-05-28 11:32
I get repeated errors in latest build, so often I had to uninstall. Can we downgrade?


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Coban Table Runner I
This vintage hand embroidered textile has been repurposed from a Coban huipil into a table runner. The blush and pale gold embroidery done with a fine thread is lovely and soft. An elegant and subtle textile for the discerning eye. Perfect as a table runner or a wall hanging. There is a faint darkening in one section that can be seen in certain lights.
- Size: 47" x 12.5" (including fringe)
Hand wash in room temperature water.
***Stocked in Byron Bay, Australia and ready to Ship***
Embroidered pillows are repurposed from vintage, hand woven and embroidered Guatemalan huipiles - a traditional blouse worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America. They are made on a backstrap loom by artisans who embroider the intricate pattern as they simultaneously weave the base cloth.
Rich with ancient cultural significance, each region, town and village in Guatemala prides itself on designs and colors unique to them.This means every woman's origin can be identified by her huipil regardless of where she travels.
Woven pillows are repurposed from vintage, hand woven Guatemalan cortes - a traditional skirt which is a long rectangular piece of fabric wrapped around the waist and secured with a faja (wide embroidered belt). The seams in a corte are sometimes overlaid by an intricately embroidered randa. Where possible we try to preserve the randa in our corte pillows.
Each hand-embroidered pillow, with its plush texture and exotic use of patterns, has been inspired by rich traditions from the Mayan culture and made using centuries-old techniques. Every one is an original and has a story attached to it.
Please note
* All pillow products are pillow cases only. Inserts are not included.
* We highly recommend buying inserts 1" - 2" larger than the pillow case to achieve the plump look as shown in photos. Minimum 1" larger is necessary but any pillow dimension 14" or larger can accommodate an insert 2" larger.
* No two pillow cases are ever exactly the same. The photos in this website are a very close representation of the pillow, but may not be identical to the one you receive.
* These pillows are hand made from used textiles and as such sizes can vary slightly. We recommend purchasing inserts only after receiving your pillow cases.
* Due to the handwoven and vintage nature of these products, small defects and signs of wear and tear, fading or ageing are not uncommon. We feel this only adds to the unique story behind each pillow.