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Or find a doctor at another Johns Hopkins Medicine Member Hospital:
Mohamad Ezzeddine Allaf, M.D.
Vice Chairman, Department of Urology
Professor of Urology
Languages: English, Arabic
Expertise: Adrenal Tumors, Cryosurgery, Kidney Cancer, Kidney Cysts, Kidney Stones, Kidney Transplant, Laparoscopic Kidney Surgery, Pelvic Organ Prolapse, Prostate Cancer, Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection, Robotic Prostatectomy, Testicular Cancer, Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction, Urology, Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) ...read more
Research Interests: Minimally invasive surgery; image guided therapy; nerve preservation after radical prostatectomy; robotic surgery; small kidney tumors ...read more
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Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100
600 N. Wolfe Street
Sheikh Zayed Tower Suite 223
Baltimore, MD 21287 map
Phone: 410-502-7710
Fax: 410-502-7711
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Appointment Phone: 410-955-6100
601 N. Caroline St.
Baltimore, MD 21287 map
Phone: 410-502-7710
Fax: 410-502-7711
Dr. Mohamad Allaf is professor of urology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Director of Minimally Invasive and Robotic Urological Surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is also an associate professor of biomedical engineering.
As a urologic oncologist, his main clinical focus includes the treatment of kidney tumors and prostate cancer. While expert in both open and minimally invasive surgery, he specializes in robotic approaches to these diseases and is amongst the busiest robotic surgeons in the world.
He performs the following robotic procedures on a regular basis: nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy, partial and radical nephrectomy, pyeloplasty, adrenalectomy, and retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (for testicular cancer patients).
He joined the Johns Hopkins staff after receiving his undergraduate and medical degrees from the Johns Hopkins University and completing his residency and advanced training in urology at Johns Hopkins as well.
Dr. Allaf runs a research laboratory aimed at decreasing the morbidity associated with the treatment of urologic cancers. He oversees a large registry of patients who have small kidney tumors and elect for careful and active observation. Additionally, given his background as a biomedical engineer, he is a leader in developing future technological advancements in the field of robotic and minimally invasive surgery.
Dr. Allaf has been the recipient of numerous academic awards and has been invited nationally and internationally to demonstrate robotic surgery and lecture on robotic prostatectomy and kidney surgery. He has written and published numerous research articles, textbook chapters, patents and video presentations in the field of laparoscopic and robotic urologic surgery.
- Vice Chairman, Department of Urology
- Director of Adult Urology
- Director, Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery
- Professor of Urology
- Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Professor of Oncology
Departments / Divisions
Centers & Institutes
- Brady Urological Institute
- Genital and Pelvic Reconstruction
- Robotic and Minimally Invasive Surgery
- The Johns Hopkins Precision Medicine Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer
- Von Hippel-Lindau Clinical Care Center
- MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (2000)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine / Urology (2006)
Board Certifications
- American Board of Urology / Urology (2008)
Research & Publications
Research Summary
Dr. Allaf runs a research laboratory aimed at decreasing the morbidity associated with the treatment of urologic cancers. He oversees a large registry of patients who have small kidney tumors and elect for careful and active observation.
Clinical Trial Keywordssmall renal tumor, ablation, robotics, kidney tumor
Selected PublicationsView all on Pubmed
Allaf ME, Partin AW, Carter HB. The importance of pelvic lymph node dissection in men with clinically localized prostate cancer. Rev Urol. 2006 Summer;8(3):112-9.
Warlick CA, Mouli SK, Allaf ME, Wagner AA, Kavoussi LR. Bladder irrigation using hydrogen peroxide for clot evacuation. Urology. 2006 Dec;68(6):1331-2.
Muntener M, Nielsen ME, Romero FR, Schaeffer EM, Allaf ME, Brito FA, Pavlovich CP, Kavoussi LR, Jarrett TW. Long-Term Oncologic Outcome after Laparoscopic Radical Nephroureterectomy for Upper Tract Transitional Cell Carcinoma. Eur Urol. Jan, 2007.
Warlick CA, Lima GC, Allaf ME, Varkarakis I, Permpongkosol S, Schaeffer EM, Kavoussi LR, Jarrett TW, Solomon SB. Clinical sequelae of radiographic iceball involvement of collecting system during computed tomography-guided percutaneous renal tumor cryoablation. Urology. 2006 May;67(5):918-22.
Warlick CA, Allaf ME, Carter HB. Expectant treatment with curative intent in the prostate-specific antigen era: triggers for definitive therapy. Urol Oncol. 2006 Jan-Feb;24(1):51-7.
Activities & Honors
- American Urological Association Foundation Scholar, 2006
- First Place Clinical Research Annual Essay Contest, AUA, 2005
- First Place Laboratory Research Annual Essay Contest, AUA, 2005
- Lapides Annual Essay Contest on Urodynamic and Neurourology Research, Honorable Mention, 2005
- First Place Mid-Atlantic American Urological Association Research Essay Contest, 2004
- Pfizer Research Scholar Award, 2004
- Outstanding Laparoscopic Surgeon Resident Award, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, 2003
- Harold Lamport Research Award, JHU SOM, 1999
- Chesapeake Education Summer Research Fellowship, JHU SOM, 1997
- Summa Cum Laude, 1996
- Richard J. Johns Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biomedical Engineering, JHU, 1996
- Howard Hughes Summer Research Fellowship, 1995
- Biomedical Engineering Undergraduate Research Award, JHU, 1995
- Tau Beta Pi, Engineering Class Rank=1/200, 1995
- American Urological Association
- Endourological Society
- Sexual Medicine Society of North America
Videos & Media
Mohamad E. Allaf, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Department of Urology
Minimally Invasive Surgery | Eduardo's Story
Robotic Prostate Surgery | Q&A


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Although Merriam-Webster is a dictionary of American English, it contains a range of words rarely heard outside Britain. Here are some of our favourites.
a stupid or foolish person
"Everyone's feeling a bit summery this morning, with a few rays breaking out over Britain and some of you lot daring to break the 'anyone who wears sunglasses in April is a prat' rule that we just made up." - 3am.co.uk, April 6, 2011
About the word:
Prat probably comes from the 16th century slang prat meaning "buttocks." The original pratfall was a fall on the buttocks.
Homepage Image: robmcm / flickr

subset: commoncrawl


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Сheap tickets for flights from Tel Aviv
Flights for the holidays
Flights for May holidays
May holidays
Cheap flights from Tel Aviv for May holidays on Yandex.Flights
29 Apr — 9 May
In 2018, Russians will have 28 public holidays and three working Saturdays. The days of rest for these three Saturdays of April 28, June 9, December 29 will be moved to the Mondays of April 30, June 11 and December 31 respectively. These shifts will slightly lengthen the weekend, meaning you can organize a short trip. For instance, the May Day celebrations last four days from Sunday, April 29 to Wednesday, May 2 inclusive.
© 2009–2018 Yandex
Please connect to the internet to search


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Tom Hardy Explains the Inspiration for His Bane Voice
"It's based on a guy named Bartley Gorman."
The early word on Bane, as played by Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Rises, was that the villain didn't speak too clearly. As in, no one could understand what he was saying, and Nolan adjusted the sound mix in order to make Bane more intelligible. The comprehension issues are all cleared up, but Bane's voice is still unusual, and so when Vulture caught up with Hardy at last night's Dark Knight Rises premiere, we asked him to explain the inspiration. "It's based on a guy named Bartley Gorman," he told us. (So, not Mr. Belevedere?) "He's the king of the gypsies, and he's a boxer, a bare-knuckle boxer, an Irish traveler, a gypsy." If you are unfamiliar with the legend of Bartley Gorman, a clip from his 1995 documentary is below; the accent does not disappoint.


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Charge it: Visa hires Marvel to make comic about 'financial safety'
Comics fans have long been familiar with promotional comics, with everything from last year's General Mills comics to the exultant Meatloaf comic in 1980s Marvel titles. And coming across the Robot 6 news desk is word of a new title aimed at kids and sponsored by the credit card company Visa.
Titled Avengers: Saving The Day,the one-shot title is intended "help introduce children to basic money concepts" according to the press release, which is a valid point considering how expensive it must be to be a super hero.
"In today's increasingly complex financial world, we must find creative ways to help parents and educators teach children the fundamentals of money management," Visa's Jason Alderman is quoted in the press release. "A comic book with Spider-Man and the Avengers is the perfect device for making the sometimes dull subject of financial literacy entertaining and educational."
The 16-page book is written by Generation Hope's James Asmus and illustrated by Andrew Di Vito, depicting the aforementioned Avengers team going after Mole Man during a botched heist attempt. According to that press release, the comic will be supplemented by a "teacher's guide which introduces concepts such as budgeting, saving and banking."
Personally, I'd love to see more about the financial habits and credit card bills someone like Spider-Man might rack up — first off, where would he carry a Visa card in that skintight suit of his?
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|2012-10-03, 12:04
|Link #61
Ninja Emperor
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 33
Now we're getting somewhere.
It looks like one of my predictions came true.
Obito has the ability to see through his Sharingan eye which is possessed by Kakashi. With this ability he could spy on any activity Kakashi happens to be involved in so long as the Sharingan is exposed. It's pretty clear that Kakash killed the real Rin. I'm guessing that some kind of deception or manipulation by the Mist ninja caused this. I wonder what role Obito will take in this situation since he is at the battlefield.
|2012-10-03, 12:13
|Link #62
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
I agree that Kakashi 'letting Rin die' would hold more impact than him just straight up killing her, unless Kakashi's death blow was because he was in an illusion and was cocky in thinking he could beat all his opponents--then I'll let it slide.
But w/ez, looks like we can't take most statements, words and thoughts seriously anymore, they might get changed way later. Still better than itachi's retcon though..
|2012-10-03, 12:29
|Link #63
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
|2012-10-03, 13:28
|Link #64
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Hidden Village of Sake
|2012-10-03, 13:35
|Link #65
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
it's true that we don't know what happened next and that it could all be explained as a zetsu clone of rin or something, but that's the case every week when we talk about the current chapter. that's the whole point of most of these discussions. discussing what might happen and what things might mean. there's no point in discussing facts that everyone knows. like kamui being a MS technique for instance
if it's a mis-translation then its a moot point. i can only talk about what i see. not what the words might mean in their original language
|2012-10-03, 15:35
|Link #67
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
(It's been a while since I looked back that far and read that specific chapter, so maybe I'm wrong, but that's something that stuck with me.) So Kakashi 'killing Rin' like we're seeing now, seems way outta left field...OR....
|2012-10-03, 16:03
|Link #68
Junior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
I think we can say that Obito is able to see through "his" other sharingan. There may be requirements to this, but it seems that is the case.
I also find it strange that Obito says "You let Rin die." but clearly Kakashi chidori'd her.
Madara is likely involved in this incident. Maybe via his control over the Mizukagi, maybe through Zetsu, maybe via controlling Kakashi.
Personally I think Naruto is going to get Sasuke's eyes, and Sasuke's death is also going to trigger the Rinnegan for Naruto... Naruto will have the Kyuubi removed from him, and he'll survive, just like Kushina did but he'll be passed out/weak. Madara will be in control of the 10 tails and all the power that entails, but Sasuke will step in and protect Naruto who was about to be killed by Madara in his fully powered state now that he's got the 10 tails. Madara kicks Sasuke's ass but someone unexpected jumps in long enough for Sakura to implant Sasuke's eyes into Naruto before he dies, so that he can "live on" through Naruto. Naruto awakens to his new eyes(his old ones were probably damaged) and sees Sasuke, assesses what happens, and turns into the Sage of Six Paths. Epic battle between Naruto and Madara ensues.
Pardon the big post.
|2012-10-03, 16:05
|Link #69
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
I really doubt Madara had anything to do with this. He's trying to get Obito to follow his plan, but i don't think he would have to Stage such a play just to convince Obito to join his side. That doesn't seem to be Madara's style, to me anyway. All signs are pointing to it, because, why would Zetsu even tell Obito that they were in danger.
Madara is so confident in his image of the world, I think he would feel that he doesn't NEED to fake this to convince somebody.
|2012-10-03, 16:12
|Link #70
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Hidden Village of Sake
|2012-10-03, 17:44
|Link #72
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
^Jiraiya isn't even close to being a threat to Naruto anymore. He can't use Senjutsu without the aid of the Toads (which they would not give him), and his strongest attacks would be shrugged off or simply avoided with the Kyuubi shroud. A fight with Itachi would have been interesting, but that would require Kishimoto to besmirch Itachi's name.
|2012-10-03, 18:28
|Link #73
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
|2012-10-03, 20:04
|Link #74
Payback is a b*t#8, huh?
Join Date: May 2007
|2012-10-03, 20:10
|Link #75
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
You're talking about the 3rd hokage (Sandaime) and he wasn't killed by Orochimaru, he killed himself to seal Orochimaru's arms, along with the 1st, 2nd, and himself. The Fourth Hokage used the same jutsu when he was sealing the Kyuubi inside Naruto. They've explained that their souls are sealed after using that Jutsu, so Kabuto can't revive them.
|2012-10-03, 20:51
|Link #76
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Here is my guess. Kakashi is under some kind of genjutsu. He still hasn't master the sharingan full potential. What Obito saw was all part of the genjustu. He's seeing what Kakashi is seeing. The mist ninja are probably mind f*cking Kakashi, thus Obito seeing everything.
|2012-10-03, 21:59
|Link #77
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
|2012-10-03, 22:57
|Link #78
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Here, There and right behind you btw I like your house
|2012-10-04, 17:55
|Link #80
Join Date: Dec 2011
Idk why nobody expected kakashi killed rin, i never assumed, anything differently...why else would kakashi and tobi have a ms? Duh..
Anyway this whole tobito thing is still stupid..what's funny is the ppl saying oooh kakashi killed obito's 12 year old crush, now his world domination plans make sense opposed to if she was killed by someone else...uh no, still stupid...
Let's end this, i have a feeling this manga jumped the shark.
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Nice work! Enjoy the show!
Link Copied!
Look up! Mars is putting on a show
Opening Sequence
Trump says 'nothing to hide' from Mueller
Catholics stand by their faith after sex abuse report
Cohen investigated for $20 mln in loans: NYT
Senators demand answers from Army on lead poisoning
EPA ordered to implement chemical safety rule
Afghan leader calls for Taliban ceasefire
Greece exits bailout, but scars remain
Trade tariffs put pressure on 'Made in China'
EXCLUSIVE: U.S. DOJ vs Facebook over wiretaps
A beauty blogger defies discrimination in Myanmar
Closing Sequence


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It is rare today to find a culture living totally in sync with the natural environment, following the seasons, meeting all their human needs with natural materials, and following a complicated religious system passed down orally through the ages. One such culture lives today on the Yamal Peninsula of Siberia. The Yamal also holds what may be the greatest untapped natural gas reserves in the world. This Russian resource is being developed jointly by Amoco Eurasia Corporation and the Russian company Nadym Gazprom (NGP). Can this reserve be developed without destroying the native culture? Amoco hopes so and they have asked the Arctic scientists of the Smithsonian to help.
The Living Yamal Project was created to "promote understanding, preservation, and protection of the cultural and historical legacy of the peoples of the Yamal region" according to William Fitzhugh, who directs the project along with the visiting Russian scientist Igor Krupnik. The scientists conduct research in the Yamal and advise Amoco on ways to develop the area with the least impact on the Yamal peoples.
Follow the team as they encounter a vibrant native culture:
- The Expedition Begins... Meet the team.


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CINCINNATI (AP) Sean Kilpatrick scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half, and No. 11 Cincinnati set a school record with 23 steals Thursday night, emerging from a sloppy start for an 87-53 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.
The Bearcats (8-0) started with eight straight wins for the 15th time in school history and the second time in three seasons.
Playing with their highest ranking since they were No. 11 at end of 2003-04, the Bearcats threw the ball away early, prompting coach Mick Cronin to substitute for all five starters. Cincinnati was coming off attention-getting wins over Iowa State and Oregon followed by a 58-56 victory over Alabama on Cashmere Wright's fadeaway at the buzzer on Saturday.
Despite their early sloppiness, the Bearcats quickly wore down the Trojans (7-4), who had a season-high 32 turnovers, 18 in the opening half alone. Cincinnati's steals topped the previous school record by three.
Cheikh Mbodj had 12 points and seven rebounds for Cincinnati, which finished with four players in double figures. Shaquille Thomas had the record-setting 21st steal and a dunk with 6:11 to go.
Will Neighbour, Ben Dillard and James White scored 10 apiece for Arkansas-Little Rock.
The teams combined for 54 field goals and 49 turnovers.
The Trojans have started freshman John Gillon at point guard the last nine games. He struggled against the unrelenting pressure, turning the ball over eight times. Junior shooting guard Leroy Isler had seven turnovers.
Playing against a badly overmatched opponent for the first time in the last four games, the Bearcats lacked focus at the outset, throwing the ball away five times before the 15:55 mark. Cronin benched all of his starters. At one point, he yelled at one of his players on the court: ``What don't you understand?''
The lineup change got their attention. Cincinnati had only two more turnovers the rest of the half while pulling away to a 42-17 lead. The Bearcats extended their pressure defense full-court and got the Trojans so flustered that they repeatedly threw the ball away on fast-break chances.
Cincinnati's offense finally got going when JaQuon Parker returned and hit two 3s - Cincinnati's first of the game - during a 12-point run that built the lead to 25-8.
The Trojans had trouble getting the ball across midcourt in the closing minutes of the half, fueling another surge. Arkansas-Little Rock had 18 turnovers and was 8 of 25 from the field in the half.
Cronin kept on his players all game, stomping his foot on the court to get their attention and growing angry over every mistake.
Follow Joe Kay on Twitter:http://twitter.com/apjoekay


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Wise Giving Guide
The Wise Giving Guide is published three times a year to help donors make more informed giving decisions. Each issue includes a cover story on a topic related to charity accountability and a compilation of the latest national charity evaluation conclusions completed by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.
Click on the titles below to view the cover stories from the current and previous issues.
Exploring new fundraising methods made possible by advencements in technology and communications including: cryptocurrency, virtual reality, social media and peer-to-peer.
BETTER TOGETHER: Charities and Collaboration
Featuring a summary of an article series developed by BBB WGA in partnership with and hosted by Stanford Social Innovation Review that centers around the theme of collaboration in the nonprofit sector.
In this issue, we offer advice for donors on 7 common topics from opting out of charity solicitations to tips on how to give wisely.
APPEALING TO YOUR BETTER JUDGMENT: Truthfulness in Fundraising
A call to charities to be transparent and truthful in their fundraising appeals. We also review poor fundraising practices, charity scams, and highlight some red flags for donors to be aware of.
THE SUM OF OUR PARTS: Collaboration in the Charitable Sector
Examining the role of collaboration among charities, including barriers and a look at successful examples.
THE CLOTHES OFF YOUR BACK: The Ins and Outs of Donation Bins
Learn what donors should know before giving used clothing to the now commonplace donation bin.
We take the opportunity to celebrate 15 years as the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and a century of trust in charity reporting.
WORKPLACE GIVING: Then and Now
In this edition, we take a look at how things have changed when it comes to workplace giving. The old campaign format is evolving to keep up with today's employees.
REFUSING TO PLAY BALL: When Charities Don't Disclose
By sharing information with us, national charities are helping donors make giving decisions to charities they can trust. In this edition, we look at the reasons charities may not choose to participate in our charity reporting process, and what that means for donors.
THIS IS PERSONAL: Privacy and Security in Online Giving
There is growing concern over the security of donor information collected by charities. In this edition we describe tactics used by cybercriminals, how charities protect themselves, and what you should know as a donor.
FUNDRAISING GOES VIRAL: The Ice Bucket Challenge and Social Media
An overview of the Ice Bucket Challenge video that went viral in 2014 and raised over $100 million for the ALS Association as well as a discussion of other successful social media campaigns involving charity fundraising such as #GivingTuesday.
LEGACY OF AID: Benefit concerts then & now
For over 40 years, the benefit concert has served as one of the most easily recognizable forms of aid for charitable organizations. This article examines some of the most notable events during this time. Beyond describing the circumstances and the dollars raised, there will be an examination of lessons learned and a discussion of the potential future for this fundraising alternative.
How the Millennial generation interacts with charities and what this might mean to the future of charity accountability. Discusses traits of the Millennials such as mobile giving, volunteerism, and crowdfunding. Also includes generational chart that defines, Generation Y, Generation X, Boomers and Matures.
An overview of BBB Wise Giving Alliance subjects from the past year including: Top Five BBB Charity Review Findings, Academic Study Shows Meeting BBB Charity Standards Associated with Greater Fundraising Results, BBB WGA Perspective on The Overhead Myth campaign.
CROWDFUNDING for Charitable Causes
An overview of the use of crowdfunding websites to raise money for charitable purposes. How it all started, growth, how does it work, tax deductibility issues, as well as crowdfunding cautions and risks.
CAN MAIL APPEALS ALSO EDUCATE OR ADVOCATE: The controversy over joint cost allocation
Sometimes a charity is involved with a fundraising activity, such as direct mail, that is requesting contributions, but is also seeking to accomplish something else. The letter may ask you to take a certain action to further the charity's cause such as signing a petition or seeing a doctor if certain warning signs of disease are present. This cover story discusses the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) covering this subject and the controversy over how such expenses are recognized in the financial statements of charitable organizations.
The keynote address delivered by BBB WGA President H. Art Taylor to the 2012 conference of the National Association of Charity Officials (NASCO) in Washington, D.C. This annual meeting is held in conjunction with the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG). The speech covers various issues related to the accuracy and truthfulness of charitable appeals.
FUND RAISING EVENTS: Advice for Donors
Advisories for donors about raising funds through walkathons, marathons, celebrity fund raising events, fund raising dinners, raffles, charity auctions and other events. Tax deductibility of donations is also highlighted.
CAUSE-RELATED MARKETING: Branding, Buying & Donating
An overview of promotions that involve selling a consumer product or service in the context that its purchase will benefit a specified charitable organization. How it works and recommended disclosures for such promotions as described in the BBB Charity Standards.
CHARITY AND SOCIAL MEDIA: Finding What Fits
Charities are using text giving, Facebook, and Twitter for 0fundraising and engagement purposes. What are the opportunities and challenges for both charities and donors?
CHARTING IMPACT: An Additional Tool to Help Make Informed Giving Decisions
More charities are asking not "What did we spend?" but "What was the result of what we spent and did?" This cover story discusses the development of an online tool intended to help nonprofit organizations consider and communicate their progress toward impact. This project was the result of a strategic alliance between BBB WGA, GuideStar USA and Independent Sector. (BBB WGA 2014 Update: Charting Impact reports are now located at the GuideStar.org Webiste.)
REVIEWING CHARITIES: What counts?
An overview of the broad nature of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability and the BBB WGA charity report process. A discussion of how charities change their practices in order to meet these standards.
A discussion of how celebrities help organizations raise funds and engage in the charity's activities.
An overview of the volunteering marketplace: who volunteers, what they do, and starting the search for volunteer openings.
PLANTING A LEGACY – Charitable Bequests
Giving to charities by bequests – motivations, lessons from life and litigation, issues with state officials.
CHARITIES BY THE TRUCKLOAD: Gifts in Kind
Gifts-in-Kind: a discussion of contributing goods to charities in bulk quantities – valuation issues, accounting controversies, and charity programs.
DONOR PRIVACY – Disclosure? Exposure?
What is typically covered in charity privacy policies? Data breaches and other donor cautions.


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NAVIS' outbound call-back program delivers many thousands of dollars in new revenue. NAVIS' growth is a testament to their performance.
Bend, OR (PRWEB) January 28, 2014
NAVIS, the leading reservation sales system, marketing automation, data analysis, and CRM provider for the lodging industry, announced it expanded its RezForce Reservation Call Center. NAVIS added 80 team members to its RezForce® staff to support a 50% increase in call volume in 2013. RezForce responded to nearly half a million calls for more than 125 accounts in the past year. NAVIS now operates the most successful call center in the U.S. with lead conversions that exceed 40% for some clients. Click here to learn more about NAVIS RezForce.
In addition to its sales, marketing, and CRM services, NAVIS provides 24/7 reservation call center services to help operators increase occupancy and ADR, and close more leisure business. RezForce is NAVIS' after hours and overflow professional reservation booking service. RezCast provides voice center services and marketing tracking for all reservation calls for one or multiple properties.
NAVIS adds 80 Reservation Sales Associates to serve growing client list
"NAVIS just wrapped up a very strong year. Our RezForce call center processed nearly half a million calls in 2013 – that is a 50% increase over 2012," said Michelle Marquis, vice president – sales for NAVIS. "Lodging companies rely on our RezForce service for 24-hour reservation assistance, roll-over, and after-hours call response because we deliver very high conversion rates." NAVIS added a total of 69 new clients in 2013.
RezForce delivers 50% reservation conversions for luxury hotel group
Pacific Hospitality Group (PHG) recently implemented NAVIS RezCast call services for its Meritage Collection, a 4-property luxury independent hotel group in California. Dave Gerdes, vice president of sales and marketing, said, "PHG wanted to combine reservations for all 4 properties in one office. We selected NAVIS RezCast to provide our 24-hour call center services because they were delivering significant returns for one of our properties deploying their call back program." Pacific Hospitality Group went live with NAVIS across all its hotels in early January 2014. "Our conversions are nearly 70% at one property, and about 50% for our hotel group with a call abandonment rate of less than 3%. Those results will only improve over time. Plus, NAVIS' outbound call-back program delivers many thousands of dollars in new revenue. NAVIS' growth is a testament to their performance. We are looking to expand our relationship."
NAVIS Tracking Makes Resort Promotions More Successful
Sterling Resorts Senior Vice President of Operations Ron Mote said, "NAVIS managed our roll-over and after-hours calls beginning in 2005. Today their RezForce service handles all our call center reservations and delivers conversions that average 37% in season. We committed to their services with an option to bring the service back in house, but because of YOY increases in both the call center and with outbound sales, we haven't given it a second thought." NAVIS' services also help Sterling's advertising be more effective. "Sterling Resorts is big into doing what closes sales. Our promotions are more successful because NAVIS links every dollar we make in reservations to the campaign that stimulated it. They do an excellent job for Sterling."
About NAVIS
NAVIS is a reservation sales, marketing automation, and CRM company. NAVIS' voice, sales, CRM, database, and email marketing solutions increase bottom-line leisure revenue for resort, hotel, and vacation rental companies. NAVIS provides proven systems, services, database tools, and creates processes that enable clients to strengthen reservation sales and build marketing campaigns on accurate, real-time data. It uncovers previously hidden revenue sources and shows operators 100% of the revenue generated by every marketing campaign, not just online and social media bookings. NAVIS implements powerful outbound leisure sales strategies and accurately measures marketing ROI for each online and offline campaign. NAVIS captures guest and prospect data for future marketing campaigns and provides 24/7 reservation call center services to help operators increase occupancy and ADR, and close more leisure business.
Exchange ideas and connect with NAVIS on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.


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OGDEN — On fall nights past in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, 6-foot-2 quarterback Daniel Robinson could be seen winning games for the gridiron Norsemen.
Now, he's a league-leading hitter with hopes of spending his falls on the diamond.
Baseball was always the top sport for the Ogden Raptors outfielder and, after his 29th-round draft selection by the Los Angeles Dodgers, he's proving it.
Ahead of Tuesday's series opener against Missoula, Robinson led the Raptors (among players with 10 or more games) by hitting .389. He'd also committed zero errors.
"He's a guy that can hit anywhere in the lineup and play anywhere in the outfield," Raptors manager Jeremy Rodriguez said.
Robinson said Central Michigan University talked to him about football — he ran in a last-minute touchdown and a two-point conversion to beat his city rivals as a senior — but he's glad the school instead expanded his baseball opportunities.
"You're probably going to get hurt at some point playing football in college. I'm glad I was fortunate to play baseball ... I always wanted to play Division-I baseball," Robinson said.
He didn't complete his sports management degree at CMU when the pros came calling. After holding his own against top pitchers at the Cape Cod League last summer — a wood-bat league for college players — and hitting .300 as a junior this college season, he felt he was ready.
Robinson leads by example for the rookie-league Ogden club.
"His plate discipline has been outstanding. I can put him in the game late just because I know he'll give me a quality at-bat — whether it's a walk, a long at-bat or a base knock," Rodriguez said. "I have enough confidence with him that he's going to … battle, he's going to compete. He can hit the ball anywhere and has the potential to hit the ball out of the ballpark."
The somewhat quiet locker-room presence trusts his talent even as he continues to learn.
"I think I'm just doing a good job of going up there with a clear head right now," Robinson said. "Just see the ball and hit it, and hopefully it finds a hole."
He's hit four doubles and two triples in 17 games this season — a handful of which have glanced high off outfield walls — but the next step in his evolution is consistent extra-base hitting.
Rodriguez says the name of the game at this level is learning to create quality at-bats. Robinson's doing that, but has raw power the coaches are trying to tap.
Robinson says it will come as he develops his swing through his legs and hits more line drives.
He's developing in the locker room, too.
"He's quiet, he handles his business and takes care of his stuff and is a good teammate," Rodriguez said, " but he'll joke around, he'll get after guys and make fun of guys to loosen up the team. He's definitely opened up a lot and I love it when he talks back and has fun with everything.
"He's definitely been part of our success and we're excited he's on the team."
Contact Brett Hein at firstname.lastname@example.com, follow him on Twitter @bhein3 and at facebook.com/brettheinwrites.


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The mission of the State Attendance Officer is to provide timely information concerning attendance related questions and policies.
- Chronic Absenteeism
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You are invited to join the Attendance Community on the Indiana Department of Education's Learning Connection. Follow these steps to become a member:
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According to the Chicago Tribune, the controversy revolving around Target's $150,000 contribution to a PAC that supported a virulently anti-gay candidate continues.
In West Hollywood, this weekend, activists plan a day of buying and returning items to the local Target. Each return costs the company $3.
Human Rights Campaign is negotiating with the company to make an equal donation to an LGBT group. They are backed by members of the San Francisco city council. Target has proposed building two stores in that city. The commissioners are holding up approval of zoning for the stores.
In July, Target hired Matt Zabel, right-wing Senator John Thune's long-time chief of staff to be their government affairs director. The next week, Target made their donation.
When the LGBT community objected, the company took notice. The Chicago newspaper notes that gays are among Target's most loyal clientele.
Gregg Steinhafel, Target's CEO, has apologized for the donation promoting the candidacy of the anti-gay candidate for governor of Minnesota, the company's home state. He said in the future political donations would be reviewed and approved by their board. But the hiring of a partisan figure like Zabel says more about where the company stands than a make-up donation that HRC might extract from the company.


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Believe it or not, there's a lot of food involved in wet-plate photography. Egg whites (albumen) are used to make the glass plates adhesive to the light-sensitive chemicals. And one way to keep the plates from drying out after processing is to coat them in honey. It's also physically demanding, so you get really hungry.
These are the things I learned in the field with wet-plate photographer Todd Harrington. For the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, we asked him to retrace the steps of Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. We wanted to capture the same scenes with the same equipment — to see how things have changed. (Kind of like the nerd's version of Dear Photograph.)
Turns out, not much has changed. The land surrounding that historic battle site has been beautifully preserved. We arrived early one morning this month as the park staff was pitching tents in preparation of the anniversary festivities. But at some of the peripheral sites where Gardner photographed, a serene quiet fell over the healed landscape.
Of course, there are traces of modernity — like telephone lines, paved roads and Porta-Potties. But the main difference between Gardner's original images and the ones re-created by Harrington is the one thing that made Gardner's so memorable: the bodies of fallen soldiers.
One reason we were so interested in this particular set of images — that is, the ones Gardner took at Antietam — is because in his day, those images were groundbreaking. Up to that time, war photography tended to portray a rosy picture of war, like heroic soldiers posing for portraits after battle.
The day of fighting at Antietam remains the bloodiest in American military history. And for the first time, Gardner turned the lens on the dead soldiers awaiting burial. The photos were displayed in New York City about a month after the battle. As Harrington told me: "It was consternation. No one had ever seen anything like that. It horrified the public."
We also wanted to gain a better appreciation of what Gardner's work entailed. And let me just say: It's crazy difficult. (Meanwhile, I was documenting the whole process on Instagram, and don't even know how to begin reconciling that.)
"It was quite a herculean effort to get up here carrying all your encumbrances," Harrington explained. Just to get to Antietam, Gardner would have packed up all of his equipment, fragile plates and chemicals — plus enough food — into his wagon. He would have made the 70-mile commute from Washington, D.C., along bumpy, unpaved roads, with the threat of Confederate cavalry along the way.
Once at the site, he had to figure out a strategic place to set up his portable darkroom — and then lug his heavy camera around the hilly terrain where bodies had already been sitting out in the sun for days, if you can imagine the smell.
There are more than a dozen steps involved in each exposure — and, therefore, about a dozen variables that could go wrong. It took Harrington a full day's work to get six successful images — a relatively productive day. Granted, his task entailed the additional obstacle of finding the exact spot where Gardner stood, and the exact camera angle, which was no easy feat.
"It seems very, very difficult to work in that kind of environment. But he did — and he did fabulous at it," Harrington concluded at the end of the day.
"Again, you're making your film every time; you're carefully composing; there are so many things that could go wrong," he says. "We're just pleased he was as accomplished as he was to give us a legacy to study."
To mark the 150th anniversary of the battle, Todd Harrington, himself a photographer, set out to recreate some of Gardner's most famous Antietam images, using the same angles and the same technology. Todd Harrington joins us now. Welcome to the program, Todd.
TODD HARRINGTON: Well, thank you for having me.
CORNISH: So before we get to your project, set the scene for us. It's fall of 1862, why did these photos matter?
HARRINGTON: Well, the photographers located near Washington, D.C., Matthew Brady's firm - I think they realized early on in the conflict that to be able to document the Civil War that was taking place was a saleable item to them. I'm not going to make any apologies for them. I think they were very mercenary in their motives. They tried to document the first battle of Manassas. Matthew Brady was not able to get there in time. He sent photographers down to the peninsula with McClellan's army. They weren't able to get close enough to document a fresh battlefield as it appeared immediately after a conflict.
CORNISH: So Todd, tell us more about the technology that Gardner used. What were they using at the time? What are you using now?
HARRINGTON: In 1839, Louis Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype. It allowed the masses to now get a photographic image of themselves. The problem with it was there wasn't any way to make copies of that image. So they were one-offs, essentially. In 1851, Frederick Scott Archer introduced the web plate collodion process and it allowed a reasonable exposure and allowed multiple prints to made of a single collodion negative. By the 1860s, it was the predominant form of photography used by the photographic industry at that time.
CORNISH: Apparently these images were known for their clarity.
HARRINGTON: Absolutely. The web plate collodion negative is phenomenal, the level of detail you can get from these images. Essentially you have to make your film for every image that you take. So you start out from scratch with a raw piece of glass, you flood it with a substance called collodion, the collodion is then sensitized in a silver nitrate bath. You have to make the image, bring it back to your dark box, or dark room, fix the image and then store it, all before it dries.
CORNISH: And they were doing this on the battlefield essentially?
HARRINGTON: They had to do this on the battlefield, which, as you can imagine, was horrendous conditions.
CORNISH: These images also were an early kind of 3D, correct? I mean these were in stereo?
HARRINGTON: Yeah, Gardner set off to do these images using a stereo camera. The stereo camera has two lenses, it sees essentially the way that our eyes would see a scene. And the stereo effect, which is fooling your brain into seeing 3D, is then conveyed. They were extremely popular at the time. People didn't travel very far at that time. So to be able to see a 3D photograph of the Holy Land or the castles in Spain or something of that, was exciting. It was great entertainment.
CORNISH: You were saying that this was very exciting for people but listening to it now, it seems also quite strange because the intensity of the images merge with a kind of popular platform. I mean, selling these images of war seems macabre, I don't know other word.
HARRINGTON: I think that, as now, the public as a rule has a general sense of macabre curiosity. If you have something that is forbidden, you want to see it. There was sort of a lot of people who were shocked by these images but it really took them to a place that went beyond the casualty list that they saw every day in their local town. And it, I think, really put the true face of war in their minds. And from then on, we've had battlefield photographers in every conflict since.
CORNISH: Todd Harrington, thank you so much for talking with me.
HARRINGTON: Thank you very much.
CORNISH: Photographer Todd Harrington. To see his photographs of the Antietam battlefield alongside Alexander Gardner's originals, go to our website npr.org. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Task force meeting re: Transportation Advisory Board
Tulsa City Hall
What lead to this meeting was an email from Paul Tay, stating that the new transportation committee had no cycling representative. I sent an email to all the city councilors saying that with gas prices increasing, and all the usual boilerplate, it would be a good idea to have a cyclist on the board.
One of the councilors said that we need to get more casual, recreational cyclists onto area roadways, but there was no discussion of how to implement this, and that's the hard part. Rich Brierre was generally supportive and gave a balanced view of the conflict between the facilities and education crowds. There was near-universal agreement that more education is desirable, but again, nothing on how to implement that idea. The real nuts-and-bolts will be worked out in the Transportation Advisory Board. We will not have a seat there, though Councilor Bynum said he would be our voice. There was some discussion of a cyclist's right to use the public roads.
So what follows are my rough notes from that meeting. For clarity, I've tried to group comments around common topics, so this is not representative of the actual sequence of events. Each of us spoke in turn, addressing other's comments, so the minute-by-minute version is harder to follow.
One of the first comments was a quote from a previous meeting, where a motorist said, "I don't drive on your bike routes so don't ride on my streets!" There's a lot of ignorance to overcome. Some people really believe that bicycles don't belong.
Paul Tay had a draft resolution declaring all streets and roadways as bicycle routes and all lanes as bike lanes. The intent is to treat cyclists as drivers of vehicles.
Bicyclists have an intense interest in safe streets. In Tulsa, 28% do not have motor vehicles. "Skilled bicyclists have demonstrated the efficacy and the safety of bicycle driving on major roadways and expressways without causing deaths or injuries." He said people are intimidated from using streets and seek safe routes away from traffic. Tay says bikes to be mixed in with traffic and it's necessary to educate motorists who do not know the law.
Councilor Bynum wants to have bikes as official vehicles for trips of less than 5 miles. The draft resolution is an expression of intent. Tulsa's mandatory sidepath ordinance was repealed, yet it's apparent that some officials, law enforcement professionals, cyclists, and motorists are unaware of it.
Tulsa will establish a Transportation Advisory Board as part of the upcoming comprehensive street plan. The city is still interested in getting Bicycling Friendly City status from the League of American Bicyclists. I said that Tulsa is already a bicycling friendly city because most motorists are already very accommodating toward cyclists. One councilor disagreed that Tulsa is a bicycling friendly city. He said that more people would ride if they weren't intimidated by motorists. "We rely too much on the Wheelmen, and not enough on casual bicyclists." When he's been on the road, it's not unusual to get brushed by a mirror. He believes Avery Drive is a decent ride with its wide shoulders. Brian Potter disagreed about Avery due to gravel, debris, and other maintenance issues. Rich Brierre said that the first BFC application was rejected because Tulsa does not have many miles of bike lanes, and he noted that the establishment of such lanes is a controversial issue among cyclists.
I listed improvements on my wish list:
Bicycling master plan. It can be narrow or broad. Models are available from other cities. The usual approach is to bring in a consultant with expertise.
Remove "as far right as practicable" ordinance. I'd like to see it go away, but it's hazardous due to unintended consequences. The "slow vehicles drive in right lane" applies equally to cyclists. "As far right as practicable" leads to harassment and road rage.
BFC. As noted above, Tulsa is already a bicycling friendly city. All we just have to do is say so. There is a small town feel that we should promote.
Acknowledge that cyclists are encouraged and expected to use the streets. We need to get this message out to people.
I used an analogy. "Do you remember learning how to drive and how frightening it was? New cyclists have the same fear, much of it stemming from the unknown. That fear is the biggest element preventing people from riding on the street." We could use more education for both cyclists and motorists.
One councilor noted, "It doesn't matter where you ride (within the lane) someone is going to send you a message - get off my street!"
We can improve the transportation system for casual cyclists. Brian recommended Street Smarts and gave Councilor Bynum a copy. He noted that the Oklahoma Drivers Manual (pdf) has a good section for motorists on how to drive around cyclists.
Another councilor noted that on the city's bike trails, frequent and busy intersections provide interruptions. Some intersections are difficult and hazardous when crossing.
Gary Parker noted, "Things are challenging for both motorists and cyclists, but in a general way, when I ride my bike as a vehicle I get treated pretty much like a vehicle."
Paul Tay noted that a bicycle friendly city like Boulder has bike lanes. We do not have that here.
Paul mentioned the 4 Es: Encouragement, Engineering, Enforcement, and Education. He wants to see this discussion continue in in the Transportation Advisory Board. At present there is no capital spending on part of city on bicycling. There is nothing in the streets package for bicycle facilities. Paul noted that there are no cyclists on the board. Councilor Bynum said that we do have a voice there because he and the other councilors represent us.
Ren Barger talked about the Tulsa Wheelmen's Community Cycling Project and the mention of it in Urban Tulsa. She's working to establish a bicycling 'hub' in the downtown area in order to address problems with gentrification and to maintain a pedestrian perspective. CCP will function to rehab transients in getting jobs. The program has been successful since it's inception under Sandra Crisp. Ren sees the hub providing vehicular cycling classes, instruction in fabrication and repair, information on sustainable lifestyles. She noted that the other E is Example. As more cyclists take to the roads, it's easier to change motorist's attitudes. Knowing cyclist's rights and providing support is a key issue. Ren also noted that the local cycling instructors will assist with the Kid's Challenge events at the Tulsa Tough over the next three years.
Rich Brierre noted that at one time the city had a bicycling ordinance that was contrary to state law. The city's mandatory side path law resulted in TPD issuing tickets to cyclists on adjacent roadways. The law specifically read "bicycle trails" yet no trails for the exclusive use of cyclists existed. All are mixed use or multi use trails. He noted the apparent ignorance of state laws when a Keifer officer stopped a group ride and insisted they ride single file, "according to state law." No such law exists. Tulsa has made significant strides. A comprehensive bicycle master plan a positive idea and it may range from minimal to substantial with costs directly related. Tulsa's on-street routes provide connectivity between neighborhoods and popular destinations. The plan favored neighborhood streets over arterials. He noted that new roadway construction requires a 14 ft wide outer lane, so sharing side by side with motor vehicles is possible. Brian asked about measurements? "Is that from the curb to the lane line? If so, the lane is narrower as the gutter area is unusable due to debris and storm drains." The old standard was much narrower. Some streets were constructed in the 1920s and 30s, and they were 9' or 10'. Rich reiterated that LAB BFC status was denied for bike lanes, and again noted the divide within bike community. The city chose to use designated routes rather than lanes, where promoting road sharing is extremely important. It's critical to educate motorists and get the word out that sharing the road is something they should do. Three-eights of all trips are less than 2 miles so encouraging using a bicycle for those trips is important. The proposed resolution may reference expressways and may be effected by state law or other city ordinances. It must be approached carefully. Better educated cyclists and motorists are important. Rich expressed dismay at encountering cyclists without helmets, or riding against traffic, but he noted that some were told to ride that way years ago.
I invited the councilors to our Road1 Class at end of August, saying that I thought I was a skilled experienced cyclist until I took that course. I learned some new things. Gary said that uncertainty is not desirable. You don't want uncertainty. Be predictable. We teach that. Predictability is the whole point of traffic law. 'Practicable' is ambiguous.
Paul Tay said there no statutory definition of bike route or bike lane in Tulsa. The state does not have such a definition either, though OKC does. This is another subject to address in the master plan.
Brian noted that Rich's account of being pulled over in Keifer happens to bicyclist all the time and they do not differentiate between different communities. This is another application of model cycling laws. Tulsa could be the model for every other community in the state. The patchwork nature of local laws may inhibit people from cycling.
Gary said that INCOG could communicate this to member governments. "Bicyclists are full, taxpaying citizens like anyone else, though we're a little slow. Motorists successfully pass slow or stopped vehicles all the time."
Councilor Gomez, a cyclist, noted that he's had plenty of bottles thrown at him, been doored, etc. "so as far right as practicable makes sense to me, but I'm going to control that lane. We have 3 asphalt overlays, storm grates, so to me as far right as practicable means about 5 feet from the curb." Potholes are significant.
Councilor Bynum said that there seemed to be consensus regarding the resolution clarifying city laws about bike routes and lanes, and that a bicycling master plan should be part of the Transportation Advisory Board.
Councilor Eagleton, a former triathlete, said that bicyclists do not respect rules of the road by impeding traffic. Brian noted that Tulsa spends hundreds of thousands of dollars installing traffic calming to reduce speeds, yet cyclists do that for free.
Labels: bicycling advocacy, tulsa city council, tulsa tough. bicycling education


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Please fill out the following form to contact Chapman Reining Horses. The contents of this form will be submitted to our e-mail address at: email@example.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Chapman Reining Horses specializes in preparing the Non-Pro rider for reining competition.
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- Lil Miss Red Pine
12 August 2017 11:50 AM | No Comments
Brennas Red Pine Jac x Rock N Roll Olena (Chocolate Chic Olena) 2011 Sorrel Mare $7200+ LTE, 5 panel negative, full set clean radiographs available 2016 Carolina Classic Level 1 […]Read More
- Who Whiz Mcmurtry
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Congratulations to Eric Priest showing Who Whiz McMurtry, owned by Holly Bray of Arlington, Va to the 2016 NRHA Reserve World Championship in Rookie Professional! Eric and "Wilson" had an […]Read More
- Legendary Customwhiz – SOLD!
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For Sale: Legendary Customwhiz- 4 yr old, 16.1 hand gelding, sired by Custom Legend. NRHA money earner with very limited showing. Big, pretty, and an outstanding mover! A reiner suitable for […]Read More
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For Sale: 2012 Chestnut Gelding by Lil Ruff Rider out of Chic With Chex. Top derby prospect. He has NRHA earnings of $277 with very limited showing. His dam is an […]Read More
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For Sale: Tinsel and Spark, 2012 Buckskin Mare by Hollywoodstinseltown out of a daughter of Shining Spark. NRHA LTE of $9693.66 with limited showing. ABI and NRBC eligible. Champion of […]Read More
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Control.ControlRemoved Event
.NET Framework (current version)
The .NET API Reference documentation has a new home. Visit the .NET API Browser on docs.microsoft.com to see the new experience.
Namespace: System.Windows.Forms
Occurs when a control is removed from the Control.ControlCollection.
Assembly: System.Windows.Forms (in System.Windows.Forms.dll)
For more information about handling events, see Handling and Raising Events.
The following code example uses ControlRemoved to remove a control from a form and displays the name of the removed control in a MessageBox.
// This example demonstrates the use of the ControlAdded and // ControlRemoved events. This example assumes that two Button controls // are added to the form and connected to the addControl_Click and // removeControl_Click event-handler methods. private void Form1_Load(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { // Connect the ControlRemoved and ControlAdded event handlers // to the event-handler methods. // ControlRemoved and ControlAdded are not available at design time. this.ControlRemoved += new System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventHandler(this.Control_Removed); this.ControlAdded += new System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventHandler(this.Control_Added); } private void Control_Added(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventArgs e) { MessageBox.Show("The control named " + e.Control.Name + " has been added to the form."); } private void Control_Removed(object sender, System.Windows.Forms.ControlEventArgs e) { MessageBox.Show("The control named " + e.Control.Name + " has been removed from the form."); } // Click event handler for a Button control. Adds a TextBox to the form. private void addControl_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { // Create a new TextBox control and add it to the form. TextBox textBox1 = new TextBox(); textBox1.Size = new Size(100,10); textBox1.Location = new Point(10,10); // Name the control in order to remove it later. The name must be specified // if a control is added at run time. textBox1.Name = "textBox1"; // Add the control to the form's control collection. this.Controls.Add(textBox1); } // Click event handler for a Button control. // Removes the previously added TextBox from the form. private void removeControl_Click(object sender, System.EventArgs e) { // Loop through all controls in the form's control collection. foreach (Control tempCtrl in this.Controls) { // Determine whether the control is textBox1, // and if it is, remove it. if (tempCtrl.Name == "textBox1") { this.Controls.Remove(tempCtrl); } } }
.NET Framework
Available since 1.1
Available since 1.1
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It's back to school time, and also time to consider vaccines for our children. Does your school or daycare require vaccinations to be up-to-date? Ours doesn't.
As parents, we make decisions every day by asking ourselves: "Will the benefits of our decision outweigh the risks?".
Since we all…Continue
Added by Katka Konecna-Rivera on August 21, 2013 at 11:16am — No Comments


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Mitt Romney tells voters in small towns that he planted alfalfa on his uncle's farm as a teenager. And Barack Obama doesn't hesitate to remind people in such far-flung places that his mother grew up in Kansas.
So go the nostalgic pitches as each of the presidential candidates tries to connect with rural voters _ and convince them that only he can jump-start a struggling economy.
Both campaigns expect Romney to win the majority of the voters in these reliably Republican places, but Obama's team is trying to keep the margin as narrow as it was in 2008, when he lost rural voters by just 8 percentage points to John McCain. Romney's team, in turn, is looking to run up the score, perhaps as high as the 19 percentage point advantage that George W. Bush enjoyed among rural voters in his 2004 re-election bid.
"Romney's going to win the rurals. The question is by how much," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist who advised McCain's rural outreach. "If Romney cannot boost rural turnout, he's going to lose. If Mitt Romney's going to win the White House, it will be the rural vote that pushes him over the top."
Even the Democratic president's top aides acknowledge the hurdle he faces with these voters.
"Democrats have for some time been challenged in how they communicate directly with rural America," Patrick Gaspard, executive director of the Democratic National Committee, said recently.
And yet, the fight for these voters is close, worrying Republicans and buoying Democrats.
The most recent Associated Press-GfK poll of voters who identified as living in a rural area backed Romney 47 percent to Obama's 45 percent.
That helps explain why Romney had breakfast with farmers in Council Bluffs last week and is heading on a small-town bus tour from New Hampshire to Iowa over the weekend. It also sheds light on why Obama recently gave interviews with local television anchors to highlight a 32-page report on his administration's accomplishments for rural voters.
Rural voters tend to be more socially conservative, more religious and more focused on what strategists call the core values of a candidate than voters who live in urban or suburban regions. They also tend to be overrepresented in the military; the White House says rural America represents 17 percent of the country's population but accounts for 44 percent of those in uniform.
Like everywhere else, the economy is dominating concerns in rural America.
It remains an open question whether Romney's Mormon faith or Obama's race _ he's the first president who is black _ could prove disqualifying for some voters in rural areas.
Sabrina Matthews, 36, is a customer service representative from Marion, Va., population 5,968 in the 2010 census, who supports Obama.
"I feel like he just knows where people like me came from," she said of the president who often talks of humble beginnings. "He started out with nothing. To get where he's at, he didn't start out with an advantage."
That, Matthews says, stands in contrast to Romney, the multimillionaire founder of a venture capital firm.
"I do not like him at all. I don't know him personally but the things that he says, says he's for the big companies and he's not for the little people," she said. "He's always had things handed to him. He started out rich. He is still rich. I'm a middle-class person. I work really hard for what little I have."
Even so, she isn't optimistic about the president's chances in Virginia, which voted for a Democratic presidential candidate four years ago for the first time since 1964.
"It's the Bible Belt. Unfortunately, and I hate to say this _ we should all be above this _ but there are prejudiced people here with him being black," she said. "I see the state going for Romney."
To be sure, it isn't as though voters in rural areas are clamoring for Romney.
"Between the two, neither one of them is a conservative Southern Baptist like we are around here," said Kathy Smith, 58, a home caregiver from LaFollette, Tenn. She plans to vote for Romney.
"I do have some qualms about Mormonism, but I'm concentrating on what Romney can do for our economy," she said. "I don't really trust big business people. But maybe in this economy, it might be what we need."
Both sides have steadily courted rural voters, and the attention to them is certain to ramp up between now and the fall.
Obama routinely taps Vice President Joe Biden, the plain-spoken native of hardscrabble Scranton, Pa., to venture into small towns to talk up the administration's efforts to help the economy rebound.
"This is a make-or-break moment in America for America's middle class. It's been losing ground for the last 15 years. It's been hemorrhaging for the last five," Biden said last week in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Four years ago, McCain carried rural voters in national exit polls, 53 percent to Obama's 45 percent. But Obama carried rural voters over McCain in New Hampshire and Colorado, states that the 2012 campaigns see as lynchpins of their strategies.
Obama essentially split the rural vote with McCain in Virginia, North Carolina and Iowa. But the Democrat lost rural voters in other battlegrounds: Florida, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Ohio. That's why Obama's team is redoubling its rural-voter outreach in those states _ and why Romney is refusing to cede ground.
In western Iowa, Romney sat down with farmers last week to hear about their livelihoods and concerns about Washington. He listened to their complaints about the Endangered Species Act and the Environmental Protection Agency, politely nodding in a diner across from the town square.
"I'm not a farmer myself, as you know," he told his guests. "But as a young guy, as a 15-year-old, I worked on my uncle's ranch in Idaho. We raised corn and alfalfa. Lots of alfalfa."
Just days later, Obama _ he was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia and his mother came from Kansas _ tried to connect with that same constituency.
"This rural strategy that we put forward ... can make a big difference," he told a California television anchor invited to the White House for an interview. "We're going to keep on working steadily to try to bring about the improvements that need to be made."
AP Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.


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The early years, from before birth to age 6, are crucial for a child's healthy development. Children deserve the best possible start in life to help them develop to their full potential.
The Early Years Branch provides a variety of services including programming for regulated child care, administration of the Child Care Subsidy program, oversight of the Early Intervention Program and the establishment of Early Years Centres.
Early Years Centres
A play-based early learning program for children in the year before entering school.
Information for Families
Finding Child Care • Child Care Subsidy • Family Home Day Care • Supported Child Care • Early Intevention
Information for Regulated Child Care Settings
Family Home Day Care • Food and Nutrition • Staff Recruitment & Retention • Supported Child Care Grant • and other resources
Licensing Services
Licensing of Day Cares • Acts and Regulations • Contact Information
Classification, Training, and Professional Development for Child Care Staff
Education Assistance Program • Continuing Education • Classification • Orientation • Professional Development


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Weaving past Boylston Street shoppers, my tour guide Wayne Levy dispenses historical trivia. "Did you know that the Boston Public Library opened in the mid-1800s as the first free, public city library in the US?" he says. "Did you know that Trinity Church is considered one of the 10 most significant buildings in the US by the American Institute of Architects?" No, I didn't. We turn left toward the Public Garden and Levy mentions how Back Bay's cross streets from Arlington to Hereford feature the names of British earldoms. I didn't know that either.
Then, as we move toward the gold-domed Massachusetts State House, Levy poses questions you don't typically hear on city tours. "How's the pace?" he says. "How about a 4-mile route that follows part of the Freedom Trail, then crosses the Charles River for a view of the Boston skyline?" The nine-minutes-per-mile pace is slow, but perfect for easy conversation and sightseeing. The planned course provides a good mix of historical sites and scenery. And that was exactly what I wanted on my first running tour of Boston.
"A lot of visitors have an interest in learning about Boston," said Levy, who owns RunBoston Tours and a 2:34 marathon personal best. "And with all the American history and running history, I think there's no better place to do a running tour than Boston."
With the Charles River, HarborWalk, Boston Marathon course, and famous sites clustered along the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, the city offers runners plenty of options. And routes that stretch three to six miles can encompass a surprising amount of historical ground. My tour covered nearly four centuries and a dozen popular tourist sites from Copley Square to King's Chapel Burying Ground to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Over 45 minutes that included a handful of short stops, I saw Boston from a new perspective, enjoying a welcome change of running scenery along the way. For a regular runner who struggles with sitting through bus and trolley tours, it was the ideal combination of workout, history lesson, and casual conversation.
Running tours let active travelers and Boston-area residents experience the city in a more intimate way. And visitors who have taken running tours say guides eliminate worries about safety and confusing streets and help them explore popular attractions and find off-the beaten-path places.
"I'm preparing for a marathon and the Boston Marathon is an iconic route that you want to do," said Garbi Schmidt, a university professor from Copenhagen who ran the last nine miles of the famed course with Levy. "But if you don't know the city, you might get lost. Wayne has run the marathon several times, so he knew the course and could tell me about the Boston Marathon experience. That's the fun part."
For me, the fun part was learning something new about places I typically hurry past without a second thought. It helped that Levy switched easily between fun facts and important history, all in tidbits easily dispensed and digested while on the move.
After stopping briefly at the State House, Levy and I head toward Park Street Station and pick up the Freedom Trail. As we run past the Omni Parker House, the original Boston Latin School site, and Benjamin Franklin statue, Levy continues his tour guide patter. He mentions that Malcolm X was a busboy at the Omni Parker House and that John F. Kennedy proposed to Jacqueline Kennedy at table 40 in the hotel's restaurant. Levy points out the Beantown Pub across from the Granary Burying Ground and jokes that it's the only pub in America where you can drink a Sam Adams and look at Sam Adams's grave. A nearby group of guidebook-toting tourists lift their heads and laugh, then stare curiously at Levy and me as we run toward Cambridge Street and the Longfellow Bridge.
Given its place in US and running history, it should come as no surprise that three popular running tour companies call Boston home. In addition to RunBoston, visitors can go with City Running Tours and Freedom Trail Run, each with its own approach and personality.
RunBoston (www.runboston.org) gives customized tours for individuals and couples with hotel pickup. Customers choose when and where they want to go and how fast they want to run. Then, Levy pairs them with one of 12 guides. He always tries to accommodate personal interests such as the one woman with a fascination for burying grounds who wanted to linger at gravesites and another woman training for a marathon who wanted to keep up a particular pace throughout the tour. Prices for personalized tours range from $50 to $70 depending on the distance, with discounts offered for additional runners. The last nine miles of the Boston Marathon is one of RunBoston's most popular tours, a close third behind runs along the Freedom Trail and Charles River.
Freedom Trail Run (www.freedomtrailrun.com) takes large groups on a 5K course that covers, yes, the Freedom Trail. The $40 tours start at the corner of Park and Tremont streets and finish at the Charlestown Navy Yard with a ferry ride to Long Wharf. Private group tours are available for $20 to $40 per person.
City Running Tours (www.cityrunningtours.com) draws crowds with its 10K Boston Seaport Beer Run that starts at Fish Pier and finishes with a tour of the Harpoon Brewery. The company, which has outposts in large cities across the country from Philadelphia to Minneapolis-St. Paul to Seattle, also offers a 10K run through the North End and 5K runs through Beacon Hill-Back Bay and Cambridge-MIT. Prices range from $25 for 5K runs to $45 for 10K Beer Runs. Additionally, you can arrange personalized runs that cost $75 for up to 6 miles, with $5 each additional mile.
"I love sharing the city with people," said Brian McCarthy, manager for City Running Tours in Boston and a marathoner. "Half of my clients are local and they have never seen the city this way. They didn't know where Paul Revere was buried or about the Custom House. I'm a history buff and I've turned a lot of my guides into history buffs, too. Plus, a lot of them have their own things to offer, especially the ones that live in the city."
McCarthy admits he sometimes turns people away from his 10K Boston Seaport Beer Runs because he prefers manageable groups of roughly a dozen runners accompanied by a couple of guides. Multiple guides ensure that every runner has a good experience, even if they keep a slower pace. Most guides find that running tours naturally settle into a nine- to 10-minute-per-mile pace. That said, the Freedom Trail Run tour promotes its 16 stops and suitability for beginners, covering 5K in roughly 90 minutes.
The 10K Boston Seaport Beer Run traverses an impressive amount of territory, about 6.8 miles, in 90 minutes. The tour gives runners a look at old and new Boston, heading down Seaport Boulevard to the Rose Kennedy Greenway to Post Office Square to the Boston Common to the Freedom Trail. The route winds its way to the TD Garden for pictures with the Bobby Orr statue and to the North End, coming to a scenic crescendo as runners jump on and off the HarborWalk on the way back to the Seaport District.
"For me, it was absolutely the way to do my first 10K," said Amy Blackwell of Hudson, N.H. "I knew that it would be a run with a twist and that I could finish it. You don't even realize you're running as far as you're going because you're listening to everything Brian is telling you. You get kind of lost in that. I felt we were learning more of the hidden secrets of the city rather than the touristy stuff. Then, to cap it off, doing a tour of the Harpoon Brewery was a blast."
Running tours tend to be particularly popular with women, who face more safety concerns when running in an unfamiliar city. That initially drew Erin Lynch of Halifax, Nova Scotia, to RunBoston.
"I didn't know the city of Boston at all and wanted to run, but I didn't want to go alone," said Lynch, now a repeat customer. "I Googled running Boston. I was flabbergasted that something like running tours existed and got really excited about it. The tours have become highlights of my trips to Boston."
The final leg of my tour stretches over the Longfellow Bridge into Cambridge, then returns to the Back Bay via the Harvard Bridge. It's a section along the Charles River that I run almost every day. But as part of a running tour, it somehow looks different as I learn about the full length of the river and the various nicknames for bridges. With warm weather coming, I expect other familiar routes will look different, at least when they are colored by groups of fleet-footed tourists.Shira Springer can be reached at email@example.com.


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Photos: A look at Sochi
Photos: A look at Sochi
The cost to transform the seaside community of Sochi into the host of the Winter Olympics has been $51 billion, a figure that could climb.
Sochi is a resort town that many vacationers come to for sun and relaxation, but is being transformed into a place that can host the Winter Games using its nearby mountains.
The Russian government convened a celebration marking the one-year countdown to the Sochi Games on Feb. 7.
Less than 30 miles separate the sea from the mountains in Sochi.
The average daytime temperature in Sochi during the winter is 52 degrees.
Many of Sochi's venues offer breathtaking views.
Part of the new infrastructure in Sochi includes new roads, bridges, rails, and an expanded airport.
Sochi has already played host to international winter sporting events, such as this ski-jumping competition in December.
Bobsledders will be sliding down the world's longest sliding track during the Games.
Even a year out from the Games, construction of many buildings was still ongoing.
Construction work remained at the Olympic stadium.
If weather is unpredictable during the Games, organizers have backup plans: mini-mountains of snow in insulated bunkers and snow-making machines.
After the Games, the Russian government envisions Sochi as a magnet for everything from Formula 1 auto racing to a training center for the national soccer team to the G8 summit, which will be held there next year.


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The presence of a left-handed bat proved decisive Friday when the Royals selected George Kottaras over Brett Hayes as the backup to starting catcher Salvy Perez.
"It was a coin flip," manager Ned Yost said. "They both did a nice job behind the plate. Both guys swung the bat really well. It was just the advantage of having an extra left-handed bat on the bench if we need it."
Kottaras has a .220 career average in 249 games over parts of five seasons with Boston, Milwaukee and Oakland. But he also has 24 homers and 84 RBIs in 592 career at-bats.
"It's one of those things," Kottaras said. "They had to make a choice. All I did this spring was try to focus on myself, try to get better and work on some things here and there. It worked out."
The Royals said Hayes, a right-handed hitter, cleared waivers and accepted an outright assignment to Class AAA Omaha. He had the option of choosing free agency because because of his service time in the big leagues.
"The days that Salvy does need days off," Yost said, "will probably be against tough right-handers. That's when you'll want to give him a break. That's where the left-handed bat comes into play."
Keeping Kottaras effectively completes the Royals' 25-man roster for Monday's season opener against the White Sox in Chicago, although veteran infielder Miguel Tejada must still be added.
"He's made our club," Yost confirmed. "He and Elliot Johnson will be our two utility guys. So we are settled and set."
All clubs have until 2 p.m. Central time Sunday to make their decisions official. The Royals are also likely to place left-hander Danny Duffy on the 15-day disabled list as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery.
Kottaras and Hayes, both 29, had similar camps after joining the club as off-season waiver claims. The Royals acquired Hayes on Nov. 2 from Miami and got Kottaras on Jan. 25 from Oakland.
Each entered Friday's spring finale at 11 for 26 for a .306 average. Hayes hit two homers and had a higher slugging percentage, but Kottaras drew 10 walks for a better on-base percentage.
"I felt I swung the bat well," Kottaras said, "even though my power numbers, in general, weren't high. I was just working on some things to try to put good at-bats together. I felt like I saw the ball really well."
By keeping Kottaras and Tejada, the Royals project to open the season with a franchise-record payroll of $77,491,725. That number consists of the 25 active players and Duffy.
Yost said Kottaras will also likely draw duty late in games when the Royals remove Perez for a pinch-runner.
"It could be consecutive days," Yost said. "It could be three (in a row). You don't know how it's going to play out. But if we pinch-run for Salvy late, I wanted a guy who could handle the pitching staff.
"The rap on (Kottaras) coming in, from what I was told, is he's a better offensive player than a defensive player. But that didn't prove to be so true for me. He caught very well. We feel he fits behind Sal."


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Easton brings back vintage baseball
Enjoy a day in the park with America's favorite pastime -- baseball, but only if you play by 1860 rules.
That's right, come experience an era dating back to a time even before such legendary players as Babe Ruth, Joe Jackson and Jackie Robinson stepped onto the playing field.
Lisa Burghardt, the president of the Historical Society of Easton, is teaming up with Karen O'Maxfield from Friends of Vintage Baseball in Hartford to pull together a game on Saturday, July 13, that follows 19th-century rules and have players wear the same type of uniforms worn way back when.
The historical society was particularly enthused to bring this sport to Easton because they had their own 19th-century team -- the Bluebirds. The team name perseveres via a country-style diner in the town.
Not only does Connecticut have the Bluebirds in Easton as part of vintage baseball history, but it also had Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams, who lived in New Haven with his family for some time. He was recognized as contributing to the creation of the shortstop position and was a part of the New York Knickerbockers club, according to O'Maxfield.
Burghardt and the historical society join with other organizations so local residents can find fun in pieces of the past.
"We like to work together with other groups; the willingness to communicate is important for sharing an event, so folks who are far away from Hartford can appreciate the people from Friends of Vintage Baseball and all they do to bring the game to life."
O'Maxfield said vintage baseball is not a new program; it started around the 1980s in Long Island and there are hundreds of teams all around the country who don uniforms like those worn by Civil War-era players.
The reenactment group orders different parts of their uniforms either from Newtown and Orange or from Long Island.
In the vintage game, the rules of play are different, the uniforms are different and, most importantly, the sportsmanship is different than in modern baseball.
"There's not a lot of ego; it's true team work," O'Maxfield said.
She said she believes the old game is really about camaraderie and team spirit, not just about beating the other guys.
There are two games on Saturday and in between them guests are invited onto the field to learn the rules of the past.
There will be vendors at the game, so spectators also can crack open a vintage soda pop to further the historical feel of the game. Guests are asked to bring blankets and chairs to sit on.
"It's a day in the park, watching a very leisurely pastime," O'Maxfield said.
Veterans Park, 360 Sport Hill Road, Easton. Saturday, July 13. Games: 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. $5, under 5 free. www.historicalsocietyofeastonct.org/


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|[This is a MPIWG MPDL language technology service]
Transport (v. t.) To carry or bear from one place to another; to remove; to convey; as, to transport goods; to transport troops.
Transport (v. t.) To carry, or cause to be carried, into banishment, as a criminal; to banish.
Transport (v. t.) To carry away with vehement emotion, as joy, sorrow, complacency, anger, etc.; to ravish with pleasure or ecstasy; as, music transports the soul.
Transport (v.) Transportation; carriage; conveyance.
Transport (v.) A vessel employed for transporting, especially for carrying soldiers, warlike stores, or provisions, from one place to another, or to convey convicts to their destination; -- called also transport ship, transport vessel.
Transport (v.) Vehement emotion; passion; ecstasy; rapture.
Transport (v.) A convict transported, or sentenced to exile.


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In the Qur'an, Allah informs us that the believers' real abode is Paradise. Consequently, the aesthetic understanding of a person who lives by the Qur'an's morality is also shaped according to Paradise's standards. As their real home is Paradise, the way for the believers to beautify this world is to turn it into a place that reminds them of Paradise.
The believers' longing for Paradise urges them to transform their surroundings into Paradise-like places. Paradise, no doubt, abounds with works of art beyond our imagination. It is a place of images and beauties of such perfection that they are unlikely to be attained in this world. Still, the Qur'an's outlook urges us to use all of Earth's available resources to turn our planet into an image of Paradise.
First of all, the believers manifest the Qur'anic understanding of cleanliness in their immediate surroundings. In the Golden Age, all places (e.g., highways, places of worship, recreational places, workplaces, and houses) will be very clean. In one verse, Allah commands them to "purify your clothes. Shun all filth." (Surat al-Muddathtir: 4-5) In compliance with this verse, their clothes will be perfectly clean and the necessary cleansers will be available to everyone so that cleaning one's clothes will become an easy task.
Keeping the environment clean also will be a very important issue. Environmental and air pollution will no longer be a threat to city dwellers. Public places will provide all forms of comfort to people. For example, both hot and cold water will be available in places of worship and everyone will have easy access to public transportation. People will no longer have unpleasant experiences in crowded, airless public places, for innovative systems and technology will make such places only a distant memory.
People will have vivid social lives. Recreational places will be designed to provide comfort and will be very clean. Places where young people gather will be free of harmful foods and drinks, and human health will be the primary concern.
People will be encouraged to love animals, there will be parks in which people can see all sorts of animals. Furthermore, such wild animals as cheetahs, lions, and leopards will be domesticated. Dangerous animals, such as scorpions or snakes, will no longer pose a threat to humanity, for their poisons will be eliminated through biological methods. In one of his sayings, our Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) called attention to this favorable environment:
A person will let his sheep and animals out to pasture. They will go and, being in the midst of crops, will not bite a single ear of corn. Snakes and scorpions will harm no one, and wild animals will be on the doorway, causing no harm.( Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Rasul Barzanji , Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah, p. 245)
People will long for Paradise and hope for Allah's good pleasure, which will enable them to enter Paradise. Consequently, they will do their best to produce works of art similar to those in Paradise or to imitate the beauty and aesthetics of Paradise. Allah depicts Paradise's environment as follows:
And [He] will reward them for their steadfastness with a garden [in Paradise] and with silk. Reclining in it on couches, they will experience there neither burning sun nor bitter cold. Its shading branches will droop down over them, its ripe fruit hanging ready to be picked. Vessels of silver and goblets of pure crystal will be passed round among them, crystalline silver—they have measured them very exactly. They will be given there a cup to drink mixed with the warmth of ginger. In it there is a flowing spring called Salsabil. Ageless youths will circulate among them, serving them. Seeing them, you would think them scattered pearls. And when you look, it is there that you will see a Bliss and a Realm Magnificent. (Surat al-Insan: 12-20)
Allah will present countless blessings and beauties to the believers in Paradise. In return for their moral excellence and efforts to spread the Qur'an's morality, they will be rewarded with a blissful and glorious life. With the verse, "And when you look, it is that there you will see a Bliss and a Realm Magnificent" (Surat al-Insan: 20), Allah informs Muslims about the magnificence of Paradise.
Allah provides a detailed account of Paradise's blessings, such as mansions built in gardens, food, shade, clothes of striking colors, jewels, and thousands of other things of which the believers are unaware. This world's blessings are only imitations of those in Paradise. However, in this world Allah may well present blessings beyond one's imagination. Indeed, Allah informs us that Paradise's blessings are similar to those in this world:
Give the good news to those who believe and do right actions that they will have gardens [in Paradise] with rivers flowing under them. When they are given fruit there as provision, they will say: "This is what we were given before." But they were only given a simulation of it. They will have there spouses of perfect purity and will remain there timelessly, forever. (Surat al-Baqara: 25)
The Golden Age will be the time when Allah will grant the most glorious beauties and blessings to people. To form an accurate image of this period, look at the verses that depict Paradise.
Artistry in Paradise
An image of Paradise that is promised to the righteous: In it there are rivers of water that will never spoil, rivers of milk whose taste will never change, and rivers of wine that are delightful to all who drink it, and rivers of honey of undiluted purity. In it they will have fruit of every kind and forgiveness from their Lord. Is that like those who will be in the Fire timelessly, forever, with boiling water to drink, which lacerates their bowels? (Surah Muhammad: 15)
In them [two other gardens] are two gushing springs. (Surat ar-Rahman: 66)
But those who heed their Lord will have high-ceilinged halls, and more such halls built one above the other, and rivers flowing under them. That is Allah's promise. Allah does not break His promise. (Surat az-Zumar: 20)
Allah has promised male and female believers gardens with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, forever, and fine dwellings in the Gardens of Eden. And Allah's good pleasure is even greater. That is the great victory. (Surat at-Tawba: 72)
Such people will be repaid for their steadfastness with the Highest Paradise, where they will meet with welcome and "Peace." (Surat al-Furqan: 75)
We place in it gardens of dates and grapes, and cause springs to gush out in it, so they may eat its fruits—they did not do it themselves. So will they not be thankful? (Surah Ya Sin: 34-35)
Dark-eyed (women), secluded in cool pavilions. (Surat ar-Rahman: 72)
Reclining in it on couches, they will experience there neither burning sun nor bitter cold. (Surat al-Insan: 13)
The Companions of Paradise are busy enjoying themselves today, they and their wives reclining on couches in the shade. They will have fruits there and whatever they request. (Surah Ya Sin: 55-57)
They will recline on couches ranged in rows, and We will marry them to dark-eyed maidens. (Surat at-Tur: 20)
We will strip away any rancor in their hearts—brothers [and sisters], resting on couches face-to-face. (Surat al-Hijr: 47)
They will have Gardens of Eden with rivers flowing under them. They will be adorned in them with bracelets made of gold and wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful repose! (Surat al-Kahf: 31)
Those are the Ones Brought Near in Gardens of Delight. A large group of the earlier people but few of the later ones. On sumptuous woven couches, reclining on them face to face. (Surat al-Waqi'a: 11-16)
Sweet fruits and high honor in Gardens of Delight on couches face-to-face; a cup from a flowing spring passing round among them, as white as driven snow, delicious to those who drink, which has no headache in it and does not leave them stupefied. (Surat as-Saffat: 42-47)
Platters and cups of gold will be passed around among them, and they will have there all that their hearts desire and all in which their eyes find delight. You will remain in it timelessly, forever. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 71)
Carrying goblets and decanters and a cup from a flowing spring. (Surat al-Waqi'a: 18-19)
Were it not that mankind might all become one community, We would have given those who reject the All-Merciful silver roofs to their houses, silver stairways and silver doors to their houses, silver couches on which to recline, and gold ornaments. All that is merely the trappings of the life of the world. But the Hereafter, with your Lord, is for those who do their duty. (Surat az-Zukhruf: 33-35)
[In them are sweet, lovely maidens] reclining on green quilts and exquisite rugs. (Surat ar-Rahman: 76)
[In them they will] wear green garments made of the finest silk and rich brocade, reclining there on couches under canopies. What an excellent reward! What a wonderful repose! (Surat al-Kahf: 31)
A large group of the earlier people, but few of the later ones. On sumptuous woven couches, reclining on them face-to-face. There will circulate among them ageless youths carrying goblets and decanters and a cup from a flowing spring—it does not give them any headache nor does it leave them stupefied. And any fruit they specify and any bird-meat they desire. And dark-eyed maidens like hidden pearls. As recompense for what they did. They will hear no prattling in it nor any word of wrong. All that is said is: "Peace. Peace." And the Companions of the Right: what of the Companions of the Right? Amid thornless lote-trees, fruit-laden acacias, wide-spreading shade, outpouring water, and fruits in abundance never failing, unrestricted. And on elevated couches. (Surat al-Waqi'a: 13-34)
Wearing fine silk and rich brocade, face-to-face with one another. (Surat ad-Dukhan: 53)
They will enter Gardens of Eden, where they will be adorned with gold bracelets and pearls, and where their clothing will be of silk. (Surah Fatir: 33)
They will wear green garments of fine silk and rich brocade. They will be adorned with silver bracelets. And their Lord will give them a pure draught to drink. (Surat al-Insan: 21)


text: Give Bob Lutz a little bit of time and a big idea, and he will create for the world "the kind of vehicle I would like to own." That's what he called the X-Truck concept – from the Lutz-affiliated Via Motors – which debuted at the Detroit Auto Show. If you're thinking that the X-Truck (and Via's other offerings, the Presidential SUV and the VTRUX Van) looks a little like a Chevrolet vehicle, well, it certainly does. It's a converted 2013 Chevy Silverado, after all. The X-Truck, though