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Kelsey & Gordon || Country Club of Fairfax Wedding
The weather in the DMV area has been all over the place. We got a very hot spring season back in April and chilly early summer in May. Up until Kelsey and Gordon's wedding, it has been raining and chilly for the whole week! Fortunately, we were so blessed that the forecast was changed the last minute from rainy to cloudy, to partly cloudy, and then to sunny, all within several hours! And because of that, we were able to capture many beautiful and intimate moments of Kelsey and Gordon at the Country Club of Fairfax!
Kelsey and Gordon's wedding was filled with love and laughter, along with many details that are beautiful and precious. From floral design of Stem & Thistle, to the beautiful wood signage by The Blue Haystack, Marquee Letters from Brightly Ever After, escort cards (they are pinwheels made by Kelsey herself!!) and the donuts wall, every element of their wedding day was a joy to experience and enjoy! You could feel and see the sweetness of love that they put into their big day. One of my favorite details was Kelsey's grandmother's brooch on her bouquet, as a way to remember her as she could not be there on Kelsey's wedding day. They also got in the golf cart and drove around the venue, and that was so much fun! In addition, one of their close friends is a band member of The Lone Rangers, and they played all night long to celebrate with them, as their family and friends danced the night away!
Congratulations again Kelsey and Gordon! It was an honor to be part of this beautiful celebration and capturing every moment of your love for each other!
Venue: Country Club of Fairfax
Floral Design: Stem & Thistle
Signage: The Blue Haystack
Marquee Letters: Brightly Ever After
Ceremony Music: Glenn Dewey @ GMU Music Department
Reception Music/Live Band: The Lone Rangers
Donut Wall: DIY
Bridal Gown: Romona Keveza
Bridal Boutique: Say Yes for Less, Alexandria
Groom's Attire: Hugo Boss
Hair: Cheery Blowdry Bar Mosaic
Makeup: DIY
Second Shooter: Jeffrey Cheng


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Beyond the Pitch
STARTUP GRIND HOSTS Joe Anstine (PriorAuthNow)
Joe Anstine is currently the CEO and co-founder of PriorAuthNow. Working full time, he leads the team through each phase of execution, casting a vision for the company, capital raise, while laying out the steps to get to market. Previously Joe was the owner and Senior Managing Partner at B.I. Voyage, a Microsoft data warehouse and business intelligence services organization, where he led, directed and managed strategic and operational aspects of sales and marketing. Joe has always written his own pay check and cashes it in a crew cut and v-neck tshirt.
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As an online platform for fashion, we connect customers, brands and partners.
Enabling brands to accelerate their online business
Central to Zalando's role as a responsible platform for fashion and lifestyle.
Whether you're looking for annual or interim reports, you can download our financial publications here.
Here, you will find press releases, exciting stories and background information from the world of Zalando.
Zalando Director Marketing Strategy and Campaigns, Jonny Ng on rebranding in the digital age
Zalando adds over 15 high-price names such as Victoria Beckham, Philip Lim, Versace Jeans Couture and MM6 to its premium category
Brands including Ecoalf, Mud Jeans, Swe-s, Girlfriend Collective, and Stripe + Stare will launch on Zalando in the coming weeks
What do Swiss buyers prefer when it comes to fashion?
Jonny Ng, Director Marketing Strategy & Campaigns, on the concept and execution of the new beauty campaign
Moin moin! "Small Footprint. Big Benefit." Learn more about #Zalando's e-vehicle delivery pilot in #Hamburg. #ecommerce#sustainability
📝▶ zln.do/35WNvfR
#Zalando calls #Berlin home, and we want to contribute to a lively and integrative #neighborhood. This is why we support the @BerlinSocialAcademy for the third time and support non-profit organizations with know-how in the form of courses and workshops #BSA19
"Learning is an essential part of our company culture." 🤓 See how #Zalando employees stay ahead of the curve in #AI. corporate.zalando.com/en/newsroom/en…#MachineLearning#LifeLongLearning#eCommerce
#Zalando strebt ein ausgewogenes Verhältnis von Männern und Frauen im Management an, inklusive Vorstand und Aufsichtsrat. Hier geht's zur Pressemitteilung: corporate.zalando.com/de/newsroom/de…
New diversity targets shared for top leadership levels at #Zalando. Read more:
Zalando Director Marketing Strategy & Campaigns, Jonny Ng on building a #brand for the #digital age at the @Drapers#fashion forum.👏👏👏 #drapersfashionforum#ecommerce#Zalando
RT @AnneVibeHansen: "90% of all stock in Europe still lies in offline stores. @Zalando's goal is to make the best fashion products availabl…
RT @aricciarelli1: Riccardo Vola, Director Southern Europe & Gift Cards at @Zalando on our strategy - The Starting Point for Fashion - at t…
Today, David Hejgaard, Commercial Lead for #Zalando in the Nordics, held a keynote at #handelskonferansen, arranged by @virke_no. David talked about how we will become the Starting Point for Fashion by connecting different stores and brands with 28 million users in Europe🎉📈


text: That Elvira Grau will provide $100,000 worth of video games from party spot Space Odyssey USA as entertainment at the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund's Super Saturday . . . THAT "The Bachelor" Ben Flajnik hosted a tasting of his Envolve Winery vino at Midway Wine and Liquors . . . THAT Madame Mayhem sang the national anthem at the World Team Tennis match between John McEnroe and Andre Agassi . . . THAT Jean Shafiroff, who's on cover of Hampton Sheet this week, recently helped raise $400,000 for the Southampton Animal Shelter.


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Chased into Anonymity
Welcome to a brand new world of commentary.
If you're familiar with my blog of eleven years and the often provocative nature of it, you will understand the decision to post under a tiny tent of unscrutinized freedom. In today's world, it is no longer accepted to simply go along and voice your opinion as the Neo-McCarthyites are all just waiting to pounce on any seeming insult and mob together to kill the offending beast.
If you were invited, you understand. If you stumbled upon this blog, I hope you read it and seek to engage me in conversation, debate or outright argument. I believe that the only way to hone the sword of communication is to have a clash of ideas, a melee of minds, in order to continually sharpen our abilities to truly get through to the world.
Thus is the point and purpose of this digital publication.


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Client: Megan Chan
The Viscaria Dance Festival is the final thesis of my friend Megan Chan, a Dance Major at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. She commissioned me to do the poster and ticket designs for the event.
Because the theme was "Celebrating Filipino Feminism", I played around with the concept of a woman and flowers to represent femininity.
I also designed the ticket for the event.
Thank you! :)


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Meet Sean
Sean has been making waves since becoming a volunteer with The Sydney Story Factory.
Sean (a keen surfer!) has been volunteering with us for a little over a year now, and in that time has been in every term, in a variety of capacities. His shining strength is a willingness to sign up to the most challenging workshops, which he approaches with patience, enthusiasm and a huge sense of humour that the kids respond really well to. He also recently went above and beyond in helping out with organising some extra funding. Sean, we salute you - may you always surf perfect waves.


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Yesterday Tim and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary of love. I agreed to pick up one patient in the morning but she was such a sweet old lady and her daughter was so appreciative that it was worth doing on a Saturday and our anniversary. And it turned out that she recommended the place where we went to eat lunch which was fabulous. We went to Cave Creek (AZ) and browsed around their shops. It was super hot out but still a lot of fun.
We drove around looking at the different neighborhoods out there. It is an absolutely gorgeous drive and the views are to die for. Mountains everywhere. I felt I was on vacation even though we were only a half an hour from home. We saw some huge deer and I saw a big fat lizard. Not the kind of lizards we have around our place. The buck was so majestic just sitting under a shade tree in someone's front yard while the doe wandered around slowly.
We bought a really sweet old desk for T2's room which is now a second guest room. (Now we just need some guests!) When we got home we both cleaned it up and set it up. It is a smaller desk- perfect for a vanity. All I need to do is put a mirror over it- which I will keep my eye out for now.
The place we ate was a Mexican restaurant. The food was really good. I got a bean burrito and rice- nothing fancy- I don't like too much spice in my food. Tim got grilled fish tacos which he really liked a lot. The restaurant was so quaint. They had a duck pond. The ducks came right up to us and I hand fed this big white goose a few times. It was a very perfect day with the love of my life.


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Police are investigating a serious assault in Cornwall today [19 July] which left an elderly woman with life-threatening injuries.
Officers were called to Pembroke Close in Par at 2.10pm and located an 81-year-old woman who had been assaulted in the street.
She was taken Treliske Hospital with head injuries which are described as life-threatening. She was later transferred to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth where she remains in a critical condition.
A 69-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and he remains in custody.
Police would like to reassure the public that this is an isolated incident.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police via [email protected] or by phone on 101, quoting crime reference CR/065003/18.
Source:: Devon and Cornwall Police News


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Really dislike the "glow" feature on the tabs; I don't want to sound too mean but it's like this "Crystal something" game we had on the computer years ago. Very unprofessional and annoying. Gimmicky. Probably no way to shut this off?
Hi - and welcome to the forums
davelsc:Really dislike the "glow" feature on the tabs
I'm not sure what you mean by this. Please expand / clarify.
And you still running Logos 5? This is no longer supported and I would recommend upgrading to Logos 7.
Are you on High Sierra (macOS 10.13) on a Mac?
This is a bug that came up with High Sierra on Macs. They haven't fixed it yet. So don't worry, it's not a feature!
How To Get Logs
If you are not on High Sierra, there is another thing it could be—Visual Cues. And you can shut these off in the Preferences. It's in the General section and is called "Show Visual Cues."


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Looking for funding? The Jewish Community Foundation of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation manages several funds that provide funding through a competitive grant process. Check below to see if any of our participating funds meet your needs.
Louis Herman Memorial Fund
Currently: Closed
The Louis Herman Memorial Fund, a designated fund of the Jewish Community Foundation of the Minneapolis Jewish Federation, is open to applications for the 2019 grant cycle. The Louis Herman Memorial Fund has been used to support a variety of organizations in the Jewish community. Areas of particular interest to the Fund include:
- Promoting Judaism among children and youth
- Day school education
- Israel experience
- Technology in schools
While the fund does not place a limit on the dollar amount requested, historically most grant recipients have received grants of $5,000 – $20,000.
Special consideration will be given to new and innovative projects. Grants will not generally be awarded for regular operating budgets.
Grant finalists will be invited to give a brief presentation to the Louis Herman Memorial Fund Advisory Committee in June.
Mount Sinai Community Foundation
Currently: Closed
The MSCF funds one-time projects up to $10,000 that fulfill the MSCF's mission to improve health, enhance well-being, or otherwise advance medical care for Minnesota residents. MSCF gives equal consideration to proposals that impact the Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Minnesota. MSCF is especially interested in proposals that provide innovative approaches for addressing health, well-being or medical care that might not be funded by other grant sources. MSCF also gives priority to identifiable, discrete projects that the Foundation may fund alone or with other funding partners.
Through the generosity of the Frances & Samuel Finkelstein/Janice Finkelstein Mattison Memorial Fund, one of the grants funded will be in the area of cancer research and education. Organizations interested in securing the designated Memorial funds, should address the connection to cancer research and education in their application.
The Howard B. & Ruth F. Brin Jewish Arts Endowment Fund
Currently: Closed
The Howard B. & Ruth F. Brin Jewish Arts Endowment Fund is named for the prominent Minneapolis couple Howard B. Brin and Ruth F. Brin who were both community and national leaders. The Fund serves to support artistic creativity with Jewish content. Applications are welcome emphasizing music, dance, literature, theater, visual arts, or film from artists or institutions, Jewish or non-Jewish. Grant awards range from $1,000 to $7,000.
The Toodie and Frank Trestman Special Needs and Collaborative Education Endowment
Currently: Closed
The Toodie and Frank Trestman Special Needs and Collaborative Education Endowment supports local efforts in two areas:
- Collaborative education: formal and informal Jewish education programs that involve collaboration between two or more organizations
- Special needs: increasing the ability of children and adults with special needs to participate in Jewish life and receive a Jewish education.
Women's Endowment Fund
Currently: Open
The Women's Endowment Fund provides grants up to $6,000 to Jewish organizations in the Twin Cities for programs or services that enhance the lives of Jewish women by supporting programs in the areas of education, civic, culture, health or social services.


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Home & Garden
Buying a house with a VA loan
Q: If I were to get a VA loan to buy my girlfriend's home, could she sell it to me for less than the appraised value of the home? And if so, would her income be considered part of my total income on the VA loan?
According to the Veteran's Administration, which backs VA loans, there is nothing in the rules that prohibits a seller from selling a home for less than the VA determined value of the property.
As far as using a girlfriend's income to help qualify for the loan, it is possible to do this, according to a VA spokesperson. "When a veteran obtains a loan with a person who is not his or her spouse, the VA is only authorized to guarantee the veteran's portion of the loan. This sometimes creates a problem for the lender."
It doesn't sound as though your girlfriend is selling you her house. It sounds like she is selling you half of the house, but you are hoping to qualify for the purchase with her. If you buy half of the house from her, and then you refinance the entire purchase, will there be enough money to pay off her old loans on the home?
There are other considerations as well. In some states, your "purchase" of your share of the home will cause you to pay transfer taxes and other costs. Your girlfriend, in some circumstances, may be considered to have sold part of the home to you for federal income tax purposes. If she has a gain from the sale of that share and she has not lived in the home for two of the last five years, she might have to pay capital gains taxes on the sale to you.
There may be other issues for you to consider, and you need to sit down with a good mortgage person to go through them. You may also want to talk to a real estate attorney or estate planner to review your options in moving forward. Since you are not married, you might want an agreement between the two of you to cover the many issues that may arise if you break up – division of the equity in the home, who would get to keep the home, and forcing the person that stays in the home to refinance to pay off the old debt.
Help with down payment
Q: I have a couple who want to buy my house, but they have nothing to put down. Is there a way for me to help them with their down payment? I'd increase the selling price by 10 percent and they could finance the rest. I would get my original sales price. Can I order myself a cashier's check for proof of deposit of the earnest money for their lender? That would show that they put down the 10 percent.
Great idea – but you can't do it this way. The reason lenders want to see evidence of the down payment or earnest money for the purchase of a home is to see that the buyer has some investment in the home. In the past, lenders would finance 100 percent of the purchase price. These days, 100 percent financing is very hard to get.
What you are trying to do would amount to a fraud on the lender. You'd try to deceive the lender into believing that your buyer had put down money that they had not. Then you would participate in the fraud when the buyer applied for a 90 percent mortgage on your home when in fact the mortgage amount would be for the full purchase price of the home.
Finally, if you inflate your sales price, it's possible the property might not appraise in value. That is to say, if you were originally selling the property for $100,000 but inflated the price to $110,000 to "assist" your buyer, the appraiser might still come in and say that the property is only worth $100,000. If the buyer is financing 90 percent of the purchase price, the lender would only loan the buyer $90,000 to buy the home. You would end up in the same place you are now.
Don't attempt to do anything that isn't above board. The lender will want to see the source of the buyers' earnest money and obtain a copy of the cancelled check. Your buyers would not be able to prove that they had the 10 percent down payment or earnest money and the check would have reference that it had come from your account.
There are legitimate ways for you to assist a buyer in the purchase of a home. Some loan programs will allow a seller to contribute 3 percent or even 5 percent of closing costs that might be paid by a buyer. If the buyer can qualify for the loan, your closing cost assistance may be enough. Loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow you to put down 3 percent of the purchase price, as long as the buyers can qualify for a 97 percent loan.
You and your buyers should sit down with a reputable and qualified lender to see if any of these options would work.


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Following on from iPhone Annoyances I decided to investigate the cause of the release jumping that I'm experiencing when scrubbing.
I was puzzled at what causes the jumping so I wrote a little app "TouchTest" which tests the touch actions in IOS. My plan is to attempt to replicate the coordinate changes that occur when I release a touch.
* Cocoa Touch
Cocoa Touch is the application framework used in writing IOS applications. It is part of Apple's SDK. Cocoa Touch follows the concept of Model-View-Controller (MVC) which you should be familiar with as it's the weapon of choice in most UI focused frameworks. Ruby on Rails, Catalyst, ASP.NET MVC, Struts / Spring, Django to name a few.
* The Code
The nuts and bolts of the of the application are in my custom UIView.
Even if you are not familiar with Objective-C I think the code is quite easy to read & understand.
The app displays the X & Y coordinates of the previous and current touches. To accomplish this I define 2 UILabels (previousTouchLabel & currentTouchLabel) for display purposes and 2 CGPoint data structures (previousTouch & currentTouch) which provides X & Y floating point accessors.
drawRect: is the method that is called every time [self setNeedsDisplay] is called. It simply draws a small circle on the display at the coordinates of the current touch. It also messages 'updateLabels'.
updateLabels: does exactly that. Updates the text attributes of both previousTouchLabel & currentTouchLabel. The updated text is immediately displayed on screen.
The real work is being done in the "touches*:withEvent:" methods that are inherited from the UIResponder Class. By overriding these methods I can intercept all beginning, moving and ending touches.
The three touch methods are almost identical. In fact "touchesBegin: withEvent:" & "touchesMoved: withEvent:" are identical.
'touches' contains a collection of up to 5 UITouch objects (one for each finger that touches the screen). I'm only interested in the 1st one ( I'm only going to be touching the display with one finger) so I pop the 1st touch event off the collection and store it in our local variable touch.
Next I make previousTouch equal to the current value of currentTouch before updating currentTouch with the coordinates of our touch object.
Finally I call 'setNeedDisplay' to redraw the display.
touchesEnd: withEvent: has slightly more code as we also perform a rough calculation to find the difference between the 'previousTouch' and 'currentTouch' points. the resulting output goes to our debug window.
* The Test
XCode comes with a brilliant simulator called 'IOS simulator'. It's a software instance of an iPhone or iPad.
Above is TouchTest running on the simulator.
I can move the mouse around the simulated iPhone and click away. I see for the most part the previous & current value remain identical for most clicks. I can get different values if I drag the mouse during a click.
The simulator however is not ideal when testing touch events as the mouse is not a fat finger. It's easy to click on a mouse without moving it.
When I fire up the code on my iPhone (just as easy as running on the simulator) I can immediately simulate the issue I see when I'm scrubbing in the music app. Even when tapping the screen quickly the majority of my touches previous and current are not equal.
* The Solution
WTF! Hmm.. Why are we registering the touch event in the touchesEnd: withEvent: method in any case. There doesn't seem to be a good reason for doing this in most applications?
The solution seems simplez:
to this
By not registering the touch event in my touchesEnd: withEvent: method I would expect to see the annoying jump stop occuring for the most part. Running the code now and that's exactly what I see.
A simple solution! so why isn't Apple doing this. Have I missed something?


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Your home is rising from the ground and you can see what is to come! The dream home you and your designer created is coming to life. At RDS, this is such an exciting time! Your design is literally appearing before your eyes.
Now comes the time to walk your home with your contractor and electrician for the electrical walk-through. Do you know what questions to ask, what to look for, and what to do? Our latest Front Porch Friday Video - The Electrical Walk-Through addressed this very topic.
The Scavenger Hunt:
When you're in the design stage with your architect, builder, or designer, walk through the house in your head. Your designer will make suggestions, and that is a good starting point. However, that's not enough. You need to treat the electrical walk-through as a scavenger hunt. These are the first things you should consider when beginning your walk-through.
What Should You Do and Think About?
- Look at the blueprints while you're walking around and discuss any issues.
- Walk through the home carefully, completely, and with a critical eye.
- Bring furniture measurements, measuring tape, markers, and labels, to mark and draw on the ceilings, walls, and cabinets…everywhere you might be putting something electrical. Use different colors to signify outlets, ceiling fans, recessed lights, and bathroom vent fans. Mark where furniture will be placed so you can plan for lighting needs.
- What needs to be worked around? Are there beams that will interfere with pendant lights or recessed lighting? Will a cabinet or furniture cover an outlet?
- Search for the switch locations. Don't make the mistake of putting one behind a door that isn't in place yet. Is there one available by the doorway into every room?
- How many outlets do you need? Where are they? What do you need them for?
- Ask about the septic system if one is being installed and where the thick wire that goes to the outside will be located (if applicable).
- Don't forget about the basement, especially if you're not finishing it yet. Think about future use.
- Plan for exterior lighting. Walk the perimeter of the outside of your home. What types of lighting, how many outlets and switches do you need for the exterior, patio, walkways, and security?
- Your garage is an area that bears some thought. Do you have tools that require a 220-volt outlet? What about that electric car you're thinking of purchasing? Or maybe just some extra outlets for the electric bike pump, leaf blower, or electric lawn mower? And don't forget about lighting? Is one light enough or do you need to add more?
- What do you want inside your home? Dimmer switches, 3-way switches that work lights independently from one place, and double, triple or quadruple-gang boxes in places where many things will need to be plugged in…like in a bedroom (baby monitor, phone, computer or tablet, etc.) are important considerations to make.
- Outlets, outlets, outlets. Will the placement of them be vertical, horizontal, high on walls t keep them out of little hands, in the floor for a light behind the couch?
- Where is the breaker box?
You're the One Living Here:
You're completing the walk-through, you've looked at the blueprints, you've marked up the walls and ceilings, but is all of the above enough? You're the one living here. So, now go through it again in your head and imagine yourself in the home after it's completed and you've moved in. It's easier and less expensive to make any changes now instead of after the work is completed.
- You've marked all of the switches so now walk through your home and reach for lights going in and out of every room. Did you get them all? Are they accessible for everyone in your family?
- Look at the lighting again. You've got the recessed lighting, chandeliers and pendant lights. But do you have plans for outlets and switches needed for additional floor lamps or table lamps?
- What amps will you need for what appliances? Ask questions. Are you going to want a generator? Extra refrigerator or freezer? Is this in the plan?
- Where do you want cables for TV and the Internet? Now is the time to think beyond the obvious places and really become your family living in the home.
- Think about furniture placement. Will you have nightstands by the bed? Are you using bunk beds and want a switch or outlet by the upper bunk? Where is the furniture? Will there be outlets available nearby or will they get covered up?
- What are your needs in the office area?
- Outlets need to be at the correct height and in a place they aren't obtrusive, like the ones placed by our clients in the video on the back of the cabinet. Some people don't want to place outlets in the middle of backsplashes, so thinking those things through now will save you future headaches!
- Where are you going to put an ironing board? The laundry room is obvious, but many people are putting one inside a large master closet…which is a perfect place to put an outlet, right?
- Where do you need USB ports?
- Do you have an open floor plan? Do you need outlets on the floor to go behind a couch?
- Under or above cabinet lights? Many homeowners want to have soft lighting for evening ambiance, outlets for decorative lighting above cabinets, or directed lighting for prep.
- Do you want to have lights near or on a mantel? You certainly don't want cords hanging off of the mantel. This is a thought for any TVs placed above the mantel, too.
- Do you want some automated lighting, such as in a pantry, closet, or garage?
The electrical walk-through should be detailed, informative, and inspiring for you! Take your time during the walk-through and be sure you, your contractor, and electrician have thought of everything. Our designers at RDS love helping you light up your life when designing the home of your dreams!


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John Quattrone
Central Florida Director
As a registered Florida architect, John Quattrone has excelled in leadership roles for design and management of numerous and significant architectural projects, with most recent focus on K-12 and Higher Education, many during his 7 years with Song + Associates
Mr. Quattrone's focused experience has provided for the supervision and coordination of multi-disciplined project teams, who have performed architecture and interior design, construction documentation, and contract administration for a multitude of educational projects.
John's commitments encompass all aspects of architecture and engineering services, including project management, quality assurance, design direction, scheduling, budget control and resource allocation, in order to provide unsurpassed Client Service.
Bachelor of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University


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Gyan Mudra is a powerful mudra (or hand position) practiced for thousands of years by yogis that brings peace, calm, and spiritual progress. It relates to the planet Jupiter. Artistic depictions of great spiritual masters such as Guru Nanak, Christ, Buddha and Mahavir are all shown regularly with this hand position. In addition to its many spiritual qualities, Gyan Mudra has wide and varied health benefits, making it one of the most practiced mudras of all.
How to do Gyan Mudra:
Connect the thumb and the forefinger (tip to tip, not tip to nail, which is another "active" variation of Gyan Mudra). The other fingers are straight but relaxed. Pressure between the thumb and forefinger is light.
Why do Gyan Mudra?
Gyan Mudra does many things. Stimulating the root chakra, it eases tension and depression. It relates to expansion and knowledge. It is extremely calming and brings the practitioner spiritual openness and ease in meditation. Also known as Vaayu-Vardhak in traditional ayurveda, this mudra boosts the air element (Vaayu), thus stimulating the brain, empowering the mind, nervous system and pituitary gland. It's many benefits also include stimulating the endrocrine system and through the air element it dries out joints and cartilage which might otherwise be full of fluid, causing pain and joint stiffness.
(Note: In Kundalini yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, he said that the Jupiter Finger relates to the element of Ether (Akaash) whereas in many forms of Ayurveda, this finger is said to relate to the element of Air. The science of mudra is somewhat fluid, as there are many traditions. Should Gyan Mudra be seen as relating to the Ether Tattva instead of Air, the benefits would include the sense of hearing. No matter which element this finger represents, the end result of expansion, calm, elevation and receptivity to knowledge stay the same.)
In Kundalini Yoga, Gyan mudra is most often practiced with the hands resting on the knees and the elbows straight, although Yogi Bhajan taught it with many variations. If the palms face down, one is grounding and rooting oneself to the earth. If the palms point out, you are connecting yourself to celestial knowledge. In this position, one of the most common in yoga and meditation, the mudra practitioner becomes detached from worldly affairs.
Variations of this mudra include Abhay Gyan Mudra, which is holding both hands in Gyan Mudra and bringing the arms up, palms facing in front of you (as if you are taking an oath.) In this particular position, the mudra inspires fearlessness. Another variation, known as Dhyan Gyan Mudra keeps the hands in Gyan Mudra and pulls them in resting on the lap, extended fingers facing each other. There are many variations of this mudra, and you will see it pop up again and again inKundalini yoga meditations and kriya.
Traditionally in India, mudras are practiced as distinct meditations. If you choose to practice Gyan Mudra separately from a Kundalini yoga meditation, it is suggested to hold the mudra for at least 30-45 minutes (early morning hours are ideal) to experience health benefits. You can add Gyan Mudra while chanting any mantra in the Kundalini yoga tradition and it serves as a "default" mudra when you don't know what to do with your hands while chanting or meditating.
Method: This Mudra is formed by joining together the tip of the index finger with the tip of the thumb.
Effects : Vaayu-vardhak mudra increases the vaayu (air) element within the body. Thus reinforced, the air Empowers the mind, causing a positive effect on emotions and leading to enlightenment, empowers the nervous system (including the brain), facilitates movements of electrical impulses along nerves, empowers the pituitary gland and, thereby, the entire system of endocrine glands, empowers muscles, both voluntary and involuntary, empowers the vocal cords and the voice, empowers the heart, increasing its efficiency, renders the skin and the mucous membranes dry,renders the joints and the articular cartilage dry.The element Air is also a component of bodily humor Vaata. The increase of air in the body due to Vaayu-vardhak mudra reinforces the Vaata humor. Therefore, this mudra is an excellent mudra to overcome Vaata-deficiency. However, it should be practiced in moderation by people who already have a Vaata constitution (i.e., an excess of Vaata in their bodies).
Benefits of Vaayu-vardhak mudra:
Dullness of mind lack of enthusiasm-initiative-creativity
Recklessness loss of memory
Mental retardation
Disorders of the nervous system:
Cerebral palsy
Alzheimer's disease
Tabes dorsalis
Multiple sclerosis
Motor neurone disease
Degeneration of the retina
Optic atrophy
Endocrine (hormonal) disorders:
hypopituitarism (causing dwarfism Simmond's disease Frohlick's syndrome)
Hypothyroidism (causing cretinism myxoedema)
Hypoadrenalism (causing Addison's disease)
Muscular disorders:
Myesthenia gravis
Paralysis (viz paralytic squint ptosis facial palsy vocal paralysis respiratory paralysis monoplegia paraplegia hemiplegia quadriplegia etc.)
Lost or feeble voice
Bradycardia (slow heart beats)
Weakness or gradual failure of the heart
Formation of excessive mucous in respiratory and/or digestive tracts
Effusion in joints.
Duration : 30 to 45 minutes every day, either at one stretch or in three parts (i.e for 10 to 15 minutes, thrice a day).
Ideal time : Though Vaayu-vardhak mudra can be performed at any time of the day.
Precaution : People with a pronounced Vaata prakruti (constitution) should perform this mudra in moderation, if at all. Given below are some variations of Gyaan mudra, which, apart from yielding the benefits of Gyaan mudra, bestow some additional gains.
(a) Vairaagya mudra This mudra enables the practitioner to gradually develop (1) a sense of detachment from worldly matters and (2) a realization about the futility of material gains.


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The Wind Has Indeed Come Sweepin' Down the Plains: An educated commentary on the widespread teacher walkout
The first time I heard the song "Oklahoma" play over the intercom I was in kindergarten at Northridge Elementary in northwest Oklahoma City. There was something about the brass crescendo that struck me. The way the thunderous beat hit as the word "Oklahoma" was elongated right before the battle cry of "Yeow! A-YIP-I-O-EE-AY!" sent chills through my small body. "We're only say-in you're doing fine Oklahoma, Oklahoma, OK!"
I was educated in a great state, but as I moved on the land of plains and prairies became an embattled state of poor decisions. Its political system turned a blind eye to its constituents. It became a place where education looks like broken chairs, tattered textbooks, overcrowded classrooms, and teachers working for pennies on the dollar. It's a state where funding per child, per year, falls short by over three thousand dollars compared to the median national average. What's worse is Oklahoma inmates have greater funding and resources than the children. Sadly, the dear place I called home, the place my parents still live, is far from doing fine.
My workday consists of bringing awareness to the declining literacy rates in America. Somewhere between writing, radio interviews, and news hits, I find myself researching and seeking resolution. It's my passion—a passion fueled by what I've personally witnessed in our classrooms. As an advocate, I'm here to tell you our current system is in decline. I've listened to our children utter words like, "I don't need to learn how to spell. That is what Siri, Google, and Alexa are for." Or, "I don't like to read. There is nothing good out there." Sadly, these same words have been repeated in the richest districts and the poorest.
Each time I speak I turn to our teachers and ask the same question: "Why?" The answer is always the same. "We don't have resources." "I'm being forced to teach for and to a standardized test." Our teachers want better for their students.
It was only a matter of time before they took to their feet, signs in hand, and feverishly rallied. West Virginia's battle cry, their very own "Yeow! A-YIP-I-O-EE-AY!" stirred educators. I applaud you, West Virginia.
Your victory moved the masses to the Oklahoma State Capitol. Record numbers are still flooding the halls as the days tick away. Children have taken it upon themselves to set up outdoor classrooms on the lawn. Overwhelmed officials have taken to acting badly on social media while chastising the teachers. These hymns and chants of change will carry on until someone folds. I hope it isn't you, dear teachers. You have Arizona and Kentucky hot on your heels, rallying, marching, and gearing up for their showdown.
"Yeow! A-YIP-I-O-EE-AY!"
There is more at stake than pay raises, more than just a need for new textbooks, and new ceiling tiles. This is about tomorrow. Federal budgets and programs concerning education are on the chopping block for 2019. States continue to favor big business and mega-giant corporations, who continue to put their feet to the fire seeking over-the-top tax breaks and incentives to locate new facilities. Seek and you shall receive seems to be an agreeable mantra on the government floors. These and other such baubles are not nearly as good of a state enticement as keeping quality teachers and raising the bar on education. Let's not forget that these breaks are in place for years, which swiftly creates mass deficits.
If we want a future of greatness, our focus must return to creating an atmosphere where our children have a better chance of gaining a great education and succeeding in life. Where we stand now, 19% of seniors are graduating lacking basic reading and writing skills. Most are not prepared for college, and our least educated public is 43% more likely to pull from social services than those above the remedial line. Adults, you aren't doing much better. 44% read and write at a 4th-grade level. That is 30 million people. When does the dam break?
If widespread marches stir this nation, then march. March proud! March strong! It's time to fix our educational system one dollar, one student, one parent, one citizen, one desk, one textbook at a time. Will it happen overnight? No. Can more money make a change? Yes. Will it fix all the problems? No, it will not. But, if we demand change, create change, we've got a fighting chance.
As for my home state, thank you for sweeping the winds right down those plains. As the song says, I sure hope that "soon you'll be livin' in a brand new state." That is my wish, my work, and my focus for every child, in every state, that walk through the school doors each day, all 51 million of you. We're trying to do better, kids. Hang with us. As for you, I have one last question: How can you create change?
About the author: Danielle A. Vann is a former television personality, the author of the sixteen-time international acclaimed "The Whizbang Machine" young adult series of books, and works as a national literacy and education advocate. More information can be found at www.danielleavann.com or on Facebook @AuthorDanielleV
Danielle is available to answer questions from print, broadcast and internet outlets in her effort to help alleviate a growing education crisis in America.