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Pig & Beer
My great-grandfather worked as a cook on a ship, which is how he wound up in East London, South Africa, a place that impressed him so much he decided to stay.
Back then East London didn't even have a Mercedes Benz factory, and with job prospects even lower than what they are now he decided to open a butchery.
Things were good until WWII where, what with him being a German and everything, he was seen as something of a threat and locked up in a concentration camp.
And so the butchery went bang and what could've been a great family business never happened. Still, the knowledge of this backstory was enough for me to jump at the opportunity of spending the morning in a working butchery.
Bill Riley & Co. is the family business I was robbed of. This third generation butchery started when Bill Riley came over from Yorkshire and was one of the first horse-meat butchers in Cape Town, based in a butchery in Loop Street where Teazers used to be.
Today the butchery is situated in the belly of the beast that is Brooklyn, Rugby to be exact, and if you've never heard of these places then you're in good company.
Arriving late meant that I unfortunately missed the part where Rob Riley band-sawed the porker into pieces. What I did see was a sign showing a pair of hands with the copy 'Your 10 best tools. No spares in stock' something which made me pocket my hands immediately.
The business end of a butchery is also no place to relax. Most surfaces have blood on them and those that don't have some sort of ominous instrument used to draw this blood with.
Then I was offered a beer and all resistance crumbled. The lovely amber lager called Berne went down smoothly – a little bit too smoothly considering that it was only 11:00am – and throughout the course of the day we paired this and other beers from the Brewer's & Union stable with various pork products.
Rob then showed us the different pork cuts, what to look out for, what to avoid, which pieces worked for which dishes, and so on, and by the time that he'd finished he'd put the pig back together again in a neat little porker puzzle.
What else? I learned that Spur's rib burger isn't actually rib but reconstituted meat, which is a fancy way of saying that they take all the scraps, mince them up and then mould them into the shape of a rib. And although 'rib burger' rib is not an actual pig part, there are three other ribs that are: shoulder, belly and loin.
Loin rib is regarded as the best cut and is pretty tough to find as most of the time it's dedicated to chops. However, if you choose to make your own bacon, which I'll get to now, then you can have your loin ribs.
Rob then introduced us to his brother, David, who ushered us towards another glistening stainless steel table where he taught us how to make bacon. This sounds intimidating, but isn't actually that difficult.
Simply ask your butcher for a pork loin and then using a mixture of salt, bay leaves, crushed juniper berries, brown sugar and ground black pepper, massage this into the meat.
Salt is a nitrate and takes all the moisture out of the meat, therefore preserving it, so that when placed in a Tupperware and put it in the fridge all you have to do is empty the water out of the Tupperware every day and in five days time, voila.
Now if you want to get really fancy you can then smoke the loin in a Weber, but even if you don't you'll still have bacon that's far superior to anything you would buy at the Checkers. Not only can you cut yourself thicker slices, but when you fry it you'll notice something. Or the lack of it.
Store bought bacon is injected with a nitrate, which gives off a white effluent when you fry it in the pan. Not so with your homemade bacon.
And so armed with this knowledge, and our very own cuts of meat (I chose a ham hock to make an eisbein with), we then headed out into the world knowing a bit more about the pork on our plate.


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I am an associate professor in Industrial and Systems Engineering at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and the Institute of Data and Decision Analytics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. I received my Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering at Stanford University in 2012. My research interest is in optimization, stochastic modeling and its application in operations management. Specifically, I am interested in revenue management and pricing problems in which firms have to make pricing decisions facing customer choice behavior, competition and demand uncertainty.
Education Background
Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2012
Advisor: Yinyu Ye
Dissertation Title: Dynamic Learning Mechanisms in Revenue Management Problems
M.S. in Mathematical Finance, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2010
B.S. in Mathematical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 2007
Research Interests
Pricing and Revenue Management
Stochastic/Robust Optimization, Applications in Operations Management and Finance
Data-Driven Decision-Making
Internet Economics, Online Auctions, Information Markets
Journal Publications
Constrained Likelihood for Reconstructing a Directed Acyclic Gaussian Graph (with Yiping Yuan, Xiaotong Shen and Wei Pan). Biometrika, 2018.
A Composite Risk Measure Framework for Decision Making under Uncertainty (with Pengyu Qian and Zaiwen Wen). Journal of the Operations Research Society of China, 2018. Link
This paper is in the finalist for 2015 INFORMS Undergraduate Operations Research Prize.
Optimal Worst-Case Pricing for a Logit Demand Model with Network Effects (with Chenhao Du and William Cooper). Operations Research Letters, 2018. Link
On Substitutability and Complementarity of Choice Models (with Guiyun Feng and Xiaobo Li). Operations Research Letters, 2017. Link
Optimal Pricing for Selling to a Multi-Period Newsvendor (with Xiao Chen and Hongsong Yuan). Operations Research Letters, 2017. Link
On the Relationship Between Several Discrete Choice Models (with Xiaobo Li and Guiyun Feng). Operations Research, 2017. Link
Knapsack with Variable Weights Satisfying Linear Constraints (with Kameng Nip and Zhenbo Wang). Journal of Global Optimization, 2017. Link
Consumer Choice Models with Endogenous Network Effects (with Ruxian Wang). Management Science, 2016. Link
Intertemporal Price Discrimination via Reference Price Effects. Operations Research, 2016. Link
Optimal Pricing for a Multinomial Logit Choice Model with Network Effects (with Chenhao Du and William Cooper). Operations Research, 2016. Link
Scheduling under Linear Constraints (with Kameng Nip and Zhengbo Wang). European Journal of Operational Research, 2016. Link
Pricing Personalized Bundles: A New Approach and An Empirical Study (with Markus Ettl and Zhengliang Xue). Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (M&SOM), 2016. Link
This paper is in the finalist of 2015 INFORMS Revenue Management and Pricing Section Practice Award.
Hidden-City Ticketing: The Cause and Impact (with Yinyu Ye). Transportation Science, 2016. Link
An Improved Algorithm for Fixed-Hub Single Allocation Problem (with Dongdong Ge, Lai Wei and Jiawei Zhang), Journal of the Operations Research Society of China, 2016. Link
Likelihood Robust Optimization for Data-Driven Problems (with Peter Glynn and Yinyu Ye). Computational Management Science, 2015. Link
A Dynamic Learning Algorithm for Online Matching Problems with Concave Returns (with Xiao Chen). European Journal of Operational Research, 2015. Link
On Solving Convex Optimization Problems with Linear Ascending Constraints. Optimization Letters, 2015. Link
A Dynamic Near-Optimal Algorithm for Online Linear Programming (with Shipra Agrawal and Yinyu Ye). Operations Research, 2014. Link
Close the Gaps: A Learning-while-Doing Algorithm for Single-Product Revenue Management Problems (with Shiming Deng and Yinyu Ye). Operations Research, 2014. Link
Complexity of Unconstrained L2-Lp Minimization (with Xiaojun Chen, Dongdong Ge and Yinyu Ye). Mathematical Programming, 2014. Link
A Note on Appointment Scheduling with Piecewise Linear Cost Functions (with Dongdong Ge, Guohua Wan and Jiawei Zhang). Mathematics of Operations Research, 2014 Link
Committed versus Contingent Pricing under Competition (with Ming Hu). Production and Operations Management, 2014. Link
A Simple Policy for Multiple Queues with Size-Independent Service Times (with Yuhang Liu). Operations Research Letters, 2013. Link
Non-line-of-sight Node Localization Based on Semi-Definite Programming in Wireless Sensor Networks (with Hongyang Chen, Gang Wang, H.-C. So and Vincent Poor). IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, 2012. Link
A Unified Framework for Dynamic Prediction Market Design (with Shipra Agrawal, Erick Delage, Mark Peters and Yinyu Ye). Operations Research, 2011. Link
Further Relaxation of SDP Approach to Sensor Network Localization (with Song Zheng, Stephen Boyd and Yinyu Ye). SIAM Journal on Optimization, 2008. Link
Conference Proceedings
Strong NP-Hardness for Sparse Optimization with Concave Penalty Functions (with Yichen Chen, Dongdong Ge, Mengdi Wang, Yinyu Ye and Hao Yin). In ICML 17': Proceedings of the 34th International Conference on Machine Learning, 2017. Link
A Unified Framework for Dynamic Pari-mutuel Information Market Design (with Shipra Agrawal, Erick Delage, Mark Peters and Yinyu Ye). In EC 09': Proceedings of the 10th ACM Conference on Electronic Commerce, 2009. Link
Pari-mutual Betting on Permutations (with Shipra Agrawal and Yinyu Ye). In WINE 08:Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Internet and Network Economics, 2008. Link
Real-time Tracking for Sensor Networks via SDP and Gradient Method (with Yichuan Ding). In MELT 08: Proceedings of the First ACM International Workshop on Mobile Entity Localization and Tracking in GPS-less Environments, 2008. Link
Papers under Review
Assortment Optimization under a Multi-Stage Choice Model (with Yunzong Xu), 2018.
Information Provision and Revenue Management in the Presence of Consumer Search Costs (with Yan Liu and William Cooper), 2017. Link
Assortment Optimization under a Single Transition Model (with Kameng Nip and Zhenbo Wang), 2017. Link
We Are On the Way - Analysis of On-Demand Booking System (with Guiyun Feng and Guangwen Kong), 2017. Link
This paper wins the Honorable Mention award for the 2017 Best Paper Award in the 10th Conference of Chinese Scholar Association for Management Science and Engineering (CSAMSE)
Stochastic Optimization via Comparison (with Xi Chen and Qihang Lin), 2016.
Bayesian Dynamic Learning and Pricing with Strategic Customers (with Xi Chen), 2016. Link
Home Care Routing and Appointment Scheduling with Stochastic Service Durations (with Yang Zhan and Guohua Wan), 2015. Link
Secrecy versus Transparency in Sales of Network Goods (with Ming Hu and Yinbo Feng), 2014.Link
- Fall 2012, IE 4521 (Statistics, Quality and Reliability)
- Spring 2013, IE 4521 (Statistics, Quality and Reliability)
- Fall 2013, IE 5531 (Engineering Optimization)
- Spring 2014, IE 3521 (Statistics, Quality and Reliability), IE 8773 (Graduate Seminar Series)
- Fall 2014, IE 5531 (Engineering Optimization), IE 8773 (Graduate Seminar Series)
- Spring 2015, IE 3521 (Statistics, Quality and Reliability), IE 5080 (Topics in Revenue Management) , IE 8773 (Graduate Seminar Series)
- Fall 2015, IE 5531 (Engineering Optimization)
- Fall 2016, IE 5531 (Engineering Optimization)
- Fall 2017, IE 5531 (Engineering Optimization), IE 3521 (Statistics Quality and Reliability).
Research Funding
Adobe Digital Marketing Research Award. Real-Time Learning and Optimization with Applications to Personalized Product/Ad Recommendation (with Xi Chen). Total Amount $50,000. Oct 2017 - Sept 2018.
NSF Research Funding CMMI-1462676. Revenue Management with Network Effects. Co-Principal Investigator (PI: William L. Cooper). Total Amount $269,863. Sept 2015 - Aug 2018.
NSF Research Funding CMMI-1434541. Learning While Doing Algorithms for Online Decision Making Problems. Total Amount $285,599. Sept 2014-Aug 2017.
Curriculum Vitae
- My CV is here.
Other Activities
I am the co-founder and CTO of Cardinal Operations (shanshu.ai), which provides Data-to-Decision solutions to companies. Our company now provides service to more than 20 Chinese companies and has been the leading machine learning/AI/optimization companies in China.
I am a bridge player. I played for the USA Team for the 2012 World Junior Championship and a series of other top-level tournaments. For a list of bridge achievements, click here.
I also enjoy playing Go and traveling. Here is my traveling album.
Here is an FAQ I wrote for those who are interested (or will soon become interested) in Operations Research.

subset: commoncrawl


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Join Perfect Plastic at PayThink – September 18 – 20 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix, AZ.
Visit booth 139 to see how Perfect Plastic can assist with your card program needs. We have more than 50 years of in the card manufacturing experience and have been a leader since the beginning of credit cards. We have a long history of providing the best quality products and services available in the industry. For Credit, Debit and Prepaid card programs, to EMV, personalization and program management, Perfect Plastic has the right solutions.
For more information on PayThink, visit the website


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i developed a cough about a week after starting on it, have now been stopped a week and still have the cough. About a month now all together.
I am diabetic type 2. i am also on throxin for under active thyroid and take blood pressure tablets. I am unable to take statins.
Bendroflumethiazide - can it be the cause of my persistant cough?
- Asked
- 15 Oct 2013 by cazza27
- Updated
- 19 October 2013
- Topics
- high blood pressure, diabetes, type 2, cough, bendroflumethiazide, diabetic
i developed a cough about a week after starting on it, have now been stopped a week and still have the cough. About a month now all together.
Responses (1)
Bendroflumethiazide usually does not cause persistant cough. Some blood pressure medications are known to cause persistant cough. The Blood Pressure medication may be the culprit in your case as you have stopped taking Bendroflumethiazide. Could you please list out the Blood pressure medications you are currently taking?
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Lovely Home Lighting Design Malaysia – Through the thousands of pictures on the internet concerning home lighting design malaysia, we all choices the top series together with best image resolution only for you all, and this photos is actually one of photos libraries in our very best graphics gallery with regards to Lovely Home Lighting Design Malaysia. I'm hoping you may as it. This specific impression (Home Lighting Design Malaysia New Malaysia Interior Design Retail Interior Design) earlier mentioned will be labelled with: home depot quoizel lighting,home depot xmas lighting,home hardware lighting bathroom,home lighting,home lighting nz, put up by simply fashionshomerubizz with 2018-02-18 02:49:38. To find out many pictures within Lovely Home Lighting Design Malaysia pictures gallery you need to comply with this specific link. The Awesome as well as Gorgeous home lighting design malaysia for Inspire Your house Provide Household Warm DesireProperty]@
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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'M3 Adapter' started by teapea, Oct 23, 2006.
does anyone know if it'll take micro flash cards or if it will be on board memory only?
Is m3 making an 1 slot flashcard?? (they probably are) but I mean have they announced anything yet? :S
well i emailed them and they replied saying it's finished they are just waiting for them to come back from whoever is making them. cant find anything on them at all thoguh
Damn! =O And i was just about to get a ds-xtreme...I think i'ma wait another month or two to let the other 1-slot competitors show what they got! =D
though, a Slot one solution could possibly mean a new OS for the Slot 2 ones =)
Hoping it has GBA support, then the DS-X would loose all battle.
Bigger memory and GBA support in a slot-1 card... I think Im drooling.
I think youre dreaming.
well.. theres always that..
would be nice, but Im not gonna wait around for it. Ordereing either DS-X or M3 lite today.. only a few hours left now..
A Slot-1 card playing GBA would either require a software emulator, or some kind of reverse-passme to get the DS to read GBA games from the DS slot. And I don't think that'd even be possible, since I doubt it's even possible to read from the DS slot while in GBA mode. Anyway, there's no reason you'd need Slot 2 free while playing GBA games, so you might as well just hang onto a Slot 2 cart.


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CN Tower x Festival Style
Canadian Ingredients, Canadian Wine, Canadian View
On April 25, 1995, the restaurant at the top of the CN Tower re-opened to critical acclaim with a newly appointed Chef's team who would ensure the quality of the cuisine was every bit as spectacular as the view. And 360 has never looked back.
For over two decades it has been winning awards for its cuisine, wine and ambiance and become a popular fine-dining and special event destination for locals, dignitaries, celebrities and tourists alike. Toronto's sky-high dining experience has celebrated memorable meals, events, occasions, awards and guests.
Located atop Canada's National Tower, 360 provides one of the country's finest dining experiences showcasing Canadian cuisine, and continues to hold its place as one of Toronto's finest restaurants. Always known for an inventive locally sourced menu, Food and Beverage Director Peter George and his team, including Executive Chef John Morris and General Manager, Restaurants Cameron Dryburgh continue to up the ante on Canadian content for 360 The Restaurant at the CN Tower, sourcing local Canadian ingredients and wine, paired with an outstanding revolving view of Toronto more than 1,000 feet below.
360 offers market-fresh cuisine, featuring regional ingredients to ensure an incomparable culinary experience. 360's offers an award-winning wine selection of over 500 International and Canadian wines from its "cellar in the sky" the world's highest wine cellar as designated by Guinness World Records. Menus showcase Canada's best from coast to coast to coast with the freshest seafood selection flown in from both Pacific and Atlantic oceans; and include suggested wine pairings making the perfect selection from the World's Highest Wine Cellar even easier.
Patrons enjoy a panoramic view of the city from the comfort of their table as 360 revolves around the city, once every 72 minutes.
This extensive and carefully maintained wine selection has earned 360 the distinction of a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence (recipient since 1999) and it has also been a DiRoNA recipient since 1997 (Distinguished Restaurants of North America).


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Slideshow: Clackamas runs away from Oregon City, 53-33
Here are a few photos from Saturday night's Clackamas-Oregon City game that decided third place at the Nike Interstate Shootout at Lake Oswego High School.
Alyson Miura led Clackamas with 13 points, Elly Bankofier had 11 points, and Kalani Hayes added 10 points and seven assists to lead the Cavaliers to a 53-33 victory over the Pioneers.
The Cavaliers broke the game open in the first quarter when they hit 11 of 15 shots from the field with six three-pointers and raced to a 30-4 lead.
By Jim Beseda
Sports editor
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Visit Us on Facebook


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Add to Calendar
Sun, Oct 8 @ 11:00am @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
North Prospect Union UCC
144 North Street, Medford, MA 02155
United States
144 North Street, Medford, MA 02155
United States
Second Sunday is "Sandwich Sunday" for our youth and children.
On this special day, our youth make and bless sandwiches for the homeless parishioners of the Outdoor Church, Sanctuary/NPU's longtime mission partner. Youth and Children are encouraged to come to the NPU kitchen at 11:00 am; parents can worship up-stairs during the hour of sandwich making and cookie baking (or help in the kitchen). The youth and kids bring the sandwiches to worship to be blessed by the gathered body—and they are taken to Outdoor Church by Rev. Tom.


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By Eva Goldman | 2 comments
I am still trying and number 3 is in the making. I don't like the face of the horse. Something is missing. it's balance is off. I tried to add a rider and it refused to stand up straight - hence the little pacth on it's tail.
Eva, a great horse! I also liked the dragon!!!)))
Thanks for the comments. It means a lot (as you probably know). I admire all your work. The details and character you put in each piece :)


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Harold Agnew
Director, Core Team Ireland
Harold is an ordained minister with the Methodist Church in Ireland. He is appointed to the churches in Lurgan, County Armagh. He helps to direct the development of the Movement across Ireland.
Ruth Mathews
Chair, Core Team Ireland
More about Ruth coming soon!
Heather Prentice
I am committed to be an Inspire Missioner because I believe I can encourage others to start the journey of deeper discipleship by meeting in bands. I have already found it exciting to see how relationships have developed in our band and we have encouraged each other in our Christian walk in the short time we have met.
Fergus O'Ferrall
More about Fergus coming soon!
Ruth Patterson
More about Ruth coming soon!
Louise Donald
More about Louise coming soon!
John Mbayo
More about John coming soon!
Heather Morris
Secretary, Home Mission Department, MCI
More about Heather coming soon!


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Car Accidents are one of the most commonly occurring accidents than happen every day. In most of the cases, the person who is injured as a result of the accident files a claim with the insurance company. Some of the accidents occur as a result of someone's negligence, while others may happen due to some other reasons. Whatever might be the cause of the accident, it is always wise to talk to a St Louis car accident lawyer to find out your rights and remedies.
Typically, in auto accidents cases the person that is not at fault is entitled to compensation for his or her injuries, pain and suffering, loss of income, etc. The legal process is a complicated journey for those that have never been involved in a lawsuit. Thus, it is advisable to hire an experienced car accident lawyer in St Louis to represent the client effectively through the process and obtain the compensation that the client deserves. Not only that, an efficient car accident lawyer improves your chances of winning the case and obtains compensation for his or her client.
Types of injuries
There are various types of injuries that can happen due to an auto accident. The most commonly occurring injuries include herniated disc and disc bulge, neck injury, bone injury, back injury, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, burns, scars and disfigurement and loss of vision injury. The different kinds of injuries directly lead to mental and physical trauma, loss of wages, probability of loss of future income in case of physical impairedness, and many more of such types. A car accident lawyer is experienced and routinely deals with car accident cases to obtain the compensation that the client deserves.
Medical compensation
They help you to get medical compensation and various other types of compensations involved in such cases. Not only that, they also help you to get out of the mental trauma that may leave you in a state of utter shock after the accident and have a closure. At times, the victim is unable to realize the internal injuries just after the accident occurs; but he or she may not be aware of the after effects of the accident. It might lead to severe injuries which may affect him/ her in the long run. So, it is advisable to seek proper medical attention after the accident.
The other important thing that leaves many accident victims bewildered is the insurance factor. The insurance adjusters usually try to lower the amount of monetary compensation after the accident occurs. They try to be very sweet to you and make you sign such papers that might rob you off the compensation that you deserve. An experienced St Louis car accident lawyer is aware of all such issues. So, in case of auto accidents, hire an experienced car accident lawyer and let them deal with all the legal headache.


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Contact Info and Links
McClelland Hall 430BB
Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems
Ph.D. in EECS, University of California, Berkeley
M.A. in Statistics, University of California, Berkeley
Areas of Expertise
- Statistical machine learning
- Large-scale network analysis
- Nonparametric and high-dimensional statistical inference
- Computational biology, statistical genetics
MIS 301 Data Structures and Algorithms
MIS 596A Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
Refereed Journal Publications
- Q. Ho*, J. Yin* and E. P. Xing (*joint first authors). Latent space inference of Internet-scale networks. Journal of Machine Learning Research, 17(78):1−41, 2016.
- M. Marchetti-Bowick, J. Yin, J. A. Howrylak, and E. P. Xing. A time-varying group sparse additive model for genome-wide association studies of dynamic complex traits. Bioinformatics, Vol. 32, Iss. 19, 2903−2910, 2016.
- L. Zhu, D. Guo, J. Yin, G. Ver Steeg, and A. Galstyan. Scalable temporal latent space inference for link prediction in dynamic social networks. IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, Vol. 28, Iss. 10, 2765−2777, 2016.
- J. Yin. Hypothesis testing of meiotic recombination rates from population genetic data. BMC Genetics, 15:122, 2014.
- E. P. Xing, R. Curtis, G. Schoenherr, S. Lee, J. Yin, K. Puniyani, W. Wu, and P. Kinnaird. GWAS in a Box: statistical and visual analytics of structured associations via GenAMap. PLOS ONE, 2014.
- J. Yin, M. I. Jordan, and Y. S. Song. Joint estimation of gene conversion rates and mean conversion tract lengths from population SNP data. Bioinformatics, Vol. 25, Iss. 12, i231-i239, 2009.
- J. Yin, N. Beerenwinkel, J. Rahnenfuhrer, and T. Lengauer. Model selection for mixtures of mutagenetic trees. Statistical Applications in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Vol. 5, Iss. 1, Article 17, 2006.
Refereed Conference Proceedings
- J. Yin, Q. Ho and E. P. Xing. A scalable approach to probabilistic latent space inference of large-scale networks. Advances in Neural Information Processing (NIPS), 2013.
- Q. Ho, J. Yin and E. P. Xing. On triangular versus edge representations | Towards scalable modeling of networks. Advances in Neural Information Processing (NIPS), 2012.
- J. Yin, X. Chen and E. P. Xing. Group sparse additive models. International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), 2012.
- R. Curtis, J. Yin, P. Kinnaird and E. P. Xing. Finding genome-transcriptome-phenome association with structured association mapping and visualization in GenAMap. Pacific Symposium on Biocomputing (PSB), 2012.
Awards and Honors
- Center for Management Innovations in Health Care (CMIHC) Research Grant
- Ray and Stephanie Lane Post-doctoral Fellowship
- Honors Master's Degree of IMPRS-CS
- Max-Planck Society (IMPRS-CS) Scholarship


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Welcome Empress!
I'm thrilled that you have taken a moment to come and see me here on my website! Get ready to go on a journey of......
If you're made it here then there are probably a few things that you resonate with; you never wanted "just" a business, you've always wanted to serve others and create true change in the world. And there's nothing wrong with a little style, creativity, and fun along the way. You embrace all the parts of who you are though the world around you hasn't always done the same.
You're ready to tell your story and make your message known to the masses. Oh and DEFINITELY make some major coin in the process. Because we all know that wealth is more than money, but money is needed to create not only the major impact in the world you want to make, but also to leave the legacy for your family that you desire. It's time to have a business and life that is ALL you that you LOVE! So come on in and take a look around, enjoy yourself and stay for awhile. If you need assistance that's what I'm here for Empress!


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I met up with Miss A last night for her senior photos. She'll be a senior at Flower Mound High School this year! What a beautiful girl she is…inside and out. Here's a sneak peak from our session. Note to self….when you are 5 feet 1 inches tall and your subject is 5 feet 11...
Monthly Archives: July 2011
This little cutie was so fun to photograph! He was more interested in the grass than my camera, but his big sister was able to get a a few smiles out of him. I love photographing this age because you just never know what you are going to get. But it's always great!
I met up with Mr. P and his family this morning for some 6 month photos. What a cutie he is! I definitely love the baby fat on him. Can't wait to work on the rest of his photos!!
celebrating her Quinceanera! I met up with this beautiful girl and her mom last weekend. This was my first time to photograph a quinceanera dress. How fun it was!


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Marjory Watson
Marjory is a Lecturer in Singing at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland on the Musical Theatre BA and MA courses.
She has her own private teaching practise and is regularly engaged as a vocal coach for several of Scotland's theatres.
She is Musical Director of one of Scotland's leading youth choirs, the Fair City Singers.
An experienced concert artist, she has appeared as a soloist in many of the UK's best concert venues including The Festival Theatre, Edinburgh, The Cadogan Hall, London, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester and The Royal Albert Hall, London. Internationally, she has performed in the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, the Cerritos Performing Arts Centre, LA and the Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto, Canada.
Marjory is also an experienced recording artist and has recorded for many different groups and albums, including her first solo CD, The Spark of Creation. She can also be heard as a singing dolphin on the soundtrack of the motion picture The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Theatre credits include Johanna, Sweeney Todd; Sleeping Beauty, Into the Woods; Mrs Cohen/Ensemble, Rent; Songs for a New World.
Session: With a Song in my Heart
"The only thing better than singing is more singing" Ella Fitzgerald
Would you like to find greater confidence in singing for pleasure?
Are you a singer looking for fresh insight into what you love doing?
Have you a desire to develop your ability to perform as a singer?
Then this course is in perfect harmony with your needs…
This is an opportunity to spend the week singing for the love of singing. It is a course for anyone who loves to sing and is looking for a chance to try an organic approach to develop their passion and their ability.
By the end of the week you will:
- increase your confidence as a singer and a performer
- learn new skills to enhance your singing performance
- work on a range of musical material
- benefit from the positive effects on wellbeing that singing creates
Our experienced and empowering tutor will ensure you have both a rewarding and enjoyable week on this practical and fun course.
Tutor – Marjory Watson
What the students say…
"Have been inspired to sign up for singing this autumn. NODA week always inspires me to do something."


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Frequently asked questions
Get answers to the most commonly asked questions about this product.
Find out more
Operating system: CentOS (enhanced), Debian. Application server: Apache Tomcat, Apache HTTP Server, Apache ServiceMix, GlassFish, Hibernate, JBOpen Source software/Wildfly and Spring.
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Middleware: ActiveMQ, HornetQ, Apache CXF, Apache Camel. Virtualization: Docker, KVM and QEMU.
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Database: PoDatabase: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis. Security: OpenSSL, SELinux, OpenLDAP and 389 Directory Server.


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Quick Reference
n. a swelling in the floor of the lateral ventricle of the brain. It contains complex foldings of cortical tissue and is involved, with other connections of the hippocampal formation, in the workings of the limbic system. —hippocampaladj.
From: hippocampus in Concise Medical Dictionary »
Subjects: Medicine and Health — Psychology.
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|Tom Hanson
|Played by:
|Johnny Depp
|First film:
|21 Jump Street
|Last film:
|21 Jump Street
Tom Hanson is the main protagonist of 21 Jump Street and made a uncredited cameo in 21 Jump Street (film).
Saxophone playing, Bowling lover, Officer Tom Hanson has a baby face that the criminals cant take seriously. After letting four criminals get away, stealing their black and white, and breaking his partner's nose, his captain gives him a choice. He can either stay on desk duty, or go to a new department. Hanson contemplates this idea deciding to hear a little more about the department. It is a new department, only four weeks running. It's about police officers who look too young to be cops, go under cover to high school to stop drugs, alcohol, rape, dealing, prostitution and more. Hanson at first rejects, because he doesn't think that that is being a police officer. The captain explains that this where the real criminals are, and to get them before they turn into adults. The department is called Jumpstreet chapel. Hanson agrees and goes to jumpstreet to see Captain Richard Jenko. He is hired and put on a case that he had happened to be called to. After solving the case in just a matter of days, while Officer Doug Penhall had been working on it for weeks, this strikes some jealousy. Yet the friendship between Hanson and Penhall carries on. Hanson and Penhall usually work together using their most famous disguise "The McQuaid Brothers". Hanson has had a rough life dealing with death and grief. His father died on Valentines day when he was just sixteen. In season two his girlfriend Amy was shot at a robbery at a gas station. This occurred in the episode "Orpheus 3.3" Hanson is fun, kind and hilarious, despite the rough life he has gone through. Later leaving the chapel, with no one knowing why, Hanson lived on...
Hanson is later shown in the episode Back to the Future in season 4 of 21 Jump Street. Both Hanson, Penhall and the rest of the Jump Street crew are shown between the ages of 80 and 90. But, in the 2012 movie 21 Jump Street, Hanson (Johnny Depp) and Penhall (Peter Deluise) make cameos where they reveal themselves as undercover agents and tell Jenko and Schmdit that they used to be Jump Street but are then both shot in the neck and chest multiple times. Tom talks to Penhall before they die.
Behind the Scenes
- 21 Jump Street (First appearance)
- 21 Jump Street (film)


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Want to get more products information?
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At the beginning, I recommend the screw oil press to this customer, while you know single screw oil press do not have filtering system, he intend to buy an automatic oil press equipped with filtering device. As the automatic oil press has the advantage of high oil yield, low noise, this machine has been popular with many customers. Then he let me do PI for him and pay for the oil press.


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Library RFID Solutions
RFID Products
Connectivity and IoT Products
RFID Labels, Inlays and Services
Software and Apps
- Converts RS232 serial to USB keyboard.
- Optional USB power on pin 9 of RS232 end.
- Available in Czech , English, French(France), French(Canada), German, Hungarian, Italian and Spanish keyboard emulations.
- Eliminates the need to install any device driver or keyboard redirector software. Simply plug it in and any serial input will become a keyboard input
- Draws power from USB port. No external power source required.
- Extended Keyboard controls allows the serial device to control PC functions by sending upper ASCII characters into the serial end of the cable. For example sending a character 181 into the serial end of the cable, will invoke function key F1 on the HID keyboard end and so on.
- Limited bidirectional capability allows the use of certain hotkey on host keyboard to send a command string to the RS232 device.
- Cable Length 74in (1880 mm)
- Certifications & Compliance: FCC, ICS, CE and RoHS.
- Connects any serial device to any operating system as a Keyboard. It works on Windows and MAC OS, Linux and Android.
- Converts RS232 port output characters of Scales, Barcode readers, RFID readers, Payment Terminal and etc. to keyboard strokes.


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St. Catherine Hospital - Finney County Community Health Coalition
Garden City, KS
What is it?
The Finney County Community Health Coalition (FCCHC) brings together more than 50 community partners on a regular basis to identify community needs and find funding to support them. The coalition began by framing three major community needs: reducing risky behaviors for young people, including teen pregnancy, smoking and drinking; improving transportation; and supporting families and children through two agendas – literacy training and preventing domestic violence.
Who is it for?
All Finney County community members.
Why do they do it?
A small group of community leaders came together in early 2000 to develop a teen pregnancy-prevention initiative. Its success led to the formation of the coalition.
From its beginning in 2000, the FCCHC has undertaken numerous initiatives such as helping to pass a no-smoking ordinance within the city limits, creating a fixed-route bus service and developing its Center for Children and Families.
Contact: Lee Ann Shrader
Chief Executive Officer, Finney County Community Health Coalition
Telephone: 620-765-1185
Email: email@example.com
Return to search.


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A core aspect of the Buddha's teaching is the importance of living by certain ethical guidelines. At IMS, these guidelines, known as the Five Precepts, form an integral part of daily life, and are adopted by everyone here, from retreatants and visitors to teachers and staff.
All staff practice these precepts. This helps ensure an environment of safety, refuge and non-harming for all who come to IMS.


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Pubs and Clubs welcomes Entertainment Abbotsbury - NSW, find places to dine and relax from our extensive range of listings with Pubs and Clubs. Select a restaurant or expand your search to include pubs in areas around . You can also refine your search by cuisine or price. Find Featured entertainment with some of the best Bars throughout Abbotsbury .
Situated in the dress circle of the harbour, Quay has some of Sydney's most spectacular views, sweeping from the Opera House to the Harbour Bridge.
The food created by chef Peter Gilmore is equally awe-inspiring.
Peter's use of texture and his exploration of nature's diversity are key elements to his continually evolving original style.
In 2012 Quay was voted Number 29 on the coveted S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant's list,
to become the highest ranked Australian restaurant and named The Best Restaurant in Australasia for the third year in a row.


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A DentalSave fee schedule is a list representing the maximum charges participating providers can charge plan members for services. In an instance where a DentalSave published fee is equal or greater than the dentist's normal fee, the participating dentist will provide an extra 25% off their normal fee.
We know that costs vary significantly for dental care services from one region to another. So in order to provide a fair and comprehensive fee schedule, we have created multiple fee schedules based on geographic locations.
Using our extensive network of participating dentists, we have compiled a survey of their normal fees and combined the results with national data from the National Dental Advisory Service. The results are a series of fee schedules, fair and balanced, providing quality care at affordable prices from New York to California.


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Hammeren Lighthouse is situated on the heights of Stejlebjerg on the northwestern tip of the island of Bornholm (Denmark). It surrounded by a very scenic natural area with small coniferous vegetation and many old monuments.
Its lantern, 14 feet (4.3 m) in diameter, is 280 feet (85 m) above sea level. When operational, its fixed lamplight was visible at a distance of 23 miles (37 km) but it is inactive since 1990.


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Akos Chimera Cosmetic Hair Serum - Turkeyprice: 3.70 Dollar US$
Company Contact:
- Posted By: Akos Kozmetik San.Tic.Ltd.Şti.
- Phone: +902126533616
- Address: Çobançeşme Mahallesi Mithatpaşa caddesi Yaprak 1 Sokak No:5 Bahçelievler, Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
- Email:
- Website: http://www.akos.com.tr
Published date: February 3, 2018 -
- Business Description: The name "AKOS", which is a commercial trademark, is taken from the letters found at the beginning of Arslan Cosmetics Industry words. AKOS treadmark was registered in 1988.In 1994, the first domestic product prodused in Turkey which is Akos hair color brand and extended the range of products with the same brand.We produce all of our product with best quality. So our customer prefer our qualified products; jellies, permanants, shampoos, hair creams, hair sprays, cream peroxides, acetones and other cosmetic products.We produced the first domestic cream hair and won the Cosmetic Achievement Award in 2008 by choosing the best hair color of the year in the category of hair coloring which was organized by the Association of Cosmetology Educators.And we continue to produce same quality process.
Related listings
Akos Chimera Hair Care ShampooPersonal care products - Akos Kozmetik San.Tic.Ltd.Şti. - Turkey - February 3, 2018 - 3.50 Dollar US$
Akos / Chimera Hair care shampoo is Chimera hair care shampoo is made from olive oil and the washing agents provide washing by washing without harming the hair The hydrolized keratin and provitamin b5 (panthenol) in the hair moisturize the hair to ma...
Akos Cosmetic Hair BleacherPersonal care products - Akos Kozmetik San.Tic.Ltd.Şti. - Turkey - February 3, 2018 - 11.00 Dollar US$
Hair Wiped Without Wearing. It does not wear your hair and it tilts slowly and to the desired tone. Special formula allows opening without wear and tear. During use, flow, overflow, it does not bubble and clump. 1 + 1, 5 is used. Light - White 1000 g...
Hair Cream DyePersonal care products - Akos Kozmetik San.Tic.Ltd.Şti. - Turkey - February 3, 2018 - 0.95 Dollar US$
All colours that you are looking for are available with AKOS Cream Hair Dye. Special Colour Options features covering white hair. Permanent colours without fading. Special cream formula enables soft, bright and vivid hairs that are easy to comb. We p...
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The "Cold Calling Equation" is a how-to manual for sales people wanting to learn proper cold calling techniques. The book breaks with traditional techniques like the funnel method and looks closely at the process by addressing the different stages of a cold call from start to finish. The book then gives a detailed analysis of common problems at each stage, offering solutions for overcoming each obstacle that may end a cold call before a lead gets generated. If you ever had questions about why cold calling works or doesn't work, this book is for you.
Goals: Getting to the First Conversation
A unique part of Halper's approach to cold calling is setting the goal of the call towards getting leads and a possible first conversation. The first call is not about selling. It's about capturing the interest of the target. The book details how to use the short time of a normal cold call productively to meet this goal. An important idea in the book is the concept of keeping the conversation going long enough to secure an appointment or extended conversation. The best way to meet this goal is to use a value statement.
Value Statement
The value statement is the short sales pitch that helps snag a prospect's interest. Halper gives important information on how to fine tune it so it doesn't sound like a summary description of your company. Instead, he explains how to make the value statement an effective tool for explaining a company's services or products.
Sales is about knowing your target customers, and Halper presents it in an interesting way in chapter four. A general philosophy of his book is that more good leads come from a small group of good prospects than hundreds of bad ones. This involves some pre-screening of potential clients. In the chapter on targets, Halper talks about how to focus your efforts by defining your idea of an "ideal target" and screening your call list accordingly. While everyone wants a luxury car, a luxury dealer focuses on affluent professionals as their target clientele. He goes on to talk more specifically about this in the chapter about qualifying prospects with questions during the call.
Halper continues to expand on the concept of screening possible leads by showing how to use a cold call to qualify clients. According to Halper, there are three benefits to qualifying a possible prospect during a cold call. First, it makes the call more conversational. This makes its easier to keep a client interested as the call is no longer an aggressive sales call, but an exchange of information that puts the prospect on equal footing. This makes them lower their guard. The second benefit is the information gained while asking qualifying questions. You can learn whether the client has a problem, or "pain," as Halper calls it, that your product or service addresses. The final benefit is that it helps improve the quality of sales leads by screening out bad ones. The criteria for screening he uses are if the prospect is someone with the authority, ability, and need to purchase. This information helps sales personnel avoid wasting time and focus on the best sales targets.
While this chapter comes after the Objections chapter, it is really an extension of the chapter on qualifying prospects. It adds the interesting twist of playing hard to get in a cold call. If a person starts losing interest during the call it becomes an effective tool to then say they may not be a good fit for your services. Halper does warn that the technique is tricky and requires skill to use. Two great examples are in business to business sales and prospects that are still indecisive after the first few minutes of the call.
The objections chapter in my opinion is one of the most important chapters in the book. Every sales person will face a situation where a prospect actively tries ending the call. Halper presents strategies for overcoming common responses that prospects use to end conversations. All his strategies focus on engaging the person with questions about their company such as current vendors and command structure. The process extends the conversation and helps the salesperson to better target their pitch and see if the prospect is worth further time and effort.
Pain Is Important
The pain chapter has very important points on how to connect with customers' needs and convince them you can meet them. As Halper says, " No pain, no change." A prospect for whom current systems or products work is less likely to want what you're selling. If you identify a problem that your product or services solve, you have an in that leads to closing the sales call. Halper points out the different types of pain and their impact and how to use them as leverage in the conversation to learn more about the potential client and further gain their interest.
The Rest of The Book
The chapters in the remainder of the book follow good sales practices and expand on them in light of Halper's sales model. The chapters cover important topics such as keeping potential clients interested, building rapport, preparation, and improving credibility. Essentially the second half of the book covers the common sense steps a good sales person needs to follow to keep the call going and make the big close. This involves important people skills like sympathizing, listening for problems, and showing respect to potential leads. For example, in the chapter on building rapport, Halper uses showing humility as a key piece of advice. Of course, a sales person should always show some humility. You call someone you don't have a previous business relationship with and want to convince them to use your company. This approach is important, and this information is something good sales people know. Any sales person that doesn't know this is in trouble already. The main benefit is for first time sales personnel and those wanting to enhance existing skills. The first parts of the book are important because starting and continuing the phone call is the biggest problem that occurs for sales people, old and new.
Personal Thoughts on The Book As a Whole
Personally, I feel the book overall should be a textbook in most marketing classes and must read material for sales personnel during training. The book breaks things down in a way anyone can understand while respecting the intelligence of the reader. You feel informed and not lectured to. The style uses clear everyday English and explains in a short and clear manner new sales terms. The most amazing thing about the book is that it emphasizes effective work over hard work. Too many sales books say that if you put in enough effort, you get success. Halper clearly explains why this attitude causes so many to fail in sales when simply doing the homework of screening and preparation can yield greater results than most conventional methods.
Revelations By Author About Sales
While the book focuses on cold calling, it provides powerful insight into how to make effective sales pitches from start to finish. First off, don't sell to people who aren't interested or can't buy what you sell. It is an exercise in wasted time and effort that leaves new sales personnel frustrated and discouraged. Second, selling is not about talent. It is a learned skill that anyone who takes the time to practice and learn eventually does well. This is a major reason many people don't enter the field as they feel they don't have the "charisma" to convince people to buy from them. Third, there are ways to set real achievable sales goals. Setting goals is important to success in an independent venture like sales. Achieving them is the difficult part. By giving a realistic goal for cold calling such as gaining information and getting a longer conversation, Halper gives sales staff a realistic starting point. Finally, he emphasizes that successful sales come from building relationships. Whether it is gaining the trust of the gatekeeper as mentioned in chapter eight, or finding out the pain and problems of a target, building a relationship during a cold call turns it into warm one.
Key Takeaways
So to sum it up Mike Halper's book gives these important tips.
- Your cold call is about a first conversation and getting information
- A successful cold call involves asking questions along with the sales pitch
- Be friendly and respectful to build the foundations of a relationship with the potential client
- Identify a client need and try to match it to your services or products
Simply "The Cold Calling Equation" is a substantive read that provides sales personnel with the tools for successful cold calling. Any person can read the book and immediately apply the tips and information directly and see fast results. The author doesn't sell the impossible and provides a clear roadmap for successful cold calling. A sales person couldn't ask for anything more from a textbook on sales.


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SSC released the CGL Vacancy 2016 notification on 5th April 2016. Total 4209 posts are going to fulfill with the SSC CGL Recruitment. Staff Selection Commission will be holding Combined Graduate Level Examination – CGLE 2016 (Tier-I) and Tier- II for recruitment to different Group-B& Group-C posts in various Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations.
Staff Selection Commission official website: http://ssc.nic.in
SSC CGL- Combined Graduate Level Examination – 2016 (Tier-I) to be held on 8th& 22May 2016. SSC CGL- Combined Graduate Level (Tier-II) Examination- 2016 to be held on 13.08.2016(Saturday), 14.08.2016 (Sunday).
SSC CGL 2016 Tentative Vacancy
SSC CGL Vacancies include Assistant Section Officer, Assistant / Inspector of Income Tax/ Inspector (Central Excise)/Inspector (Preventive Officer)/ Inspector (Examiner)/ Inspector of Posts/ Inspector (CBN) Compiler/ Divisional Accountant/ Auditors/ UDCs /Tax Assistants/ Junior Accountant & Accountant, Assistant Enforcement Officer/ Sub-Inspector (CBI) /Sub-Inspector (NIA)/ Assistant Audit Officer, Statistical Investigator Gr.II, Tax Assistant (CBEC), Sub-Inspector (CBN) etc., vacancies in Central Vigilance Commission, Intelligence Bureau, Ministry Of Railway, Ministry Of External Affairs, Cag, Central Administrative Tribunal, Department Of Electronics And Information Technology, Department Of Forensic Science Services(M/O Home), Central Bureau Of Investigation, Central Bureau Of Narcotics ETC.
SSC CGL vacancies 2016
Tentative vacancy for the Combined Graduate Level Examination – 2016
SSC CGL Recruitment Notification 2016
Similar Posts:
- SSC CGL 2014 (Tier I) Exam Key held on 19.10.2014
- SSC CGL 2017- LD: 16.06.2017; Online Applications@ www.ssconline.nic.in
- SSC CGL 2013 (Tier I ) Re-Exam Key& Question paper held on 20.07.2014


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Bringing Biodigesters BackPosted by community.manager in Learn! on Apr 30, 2014 11:34:00 AM
There is evidence that biodigesters, which convert organic waste into biogas and fertilizer, date back to the 10th Century BC and were used to heat bathwater. Today, biodigester initiatives like the U.S. program AgSTAR, which started in 1994 to reduce methane emissions from livestock farming, clearly have a positive environmental impact. But biodigesters also create value for farmers by reducing energy and fertilizer costs, which is particularly significant for farmers in the developing world. While there seems to be great promise for this technology in development, experts explain that commercial success of the technology has remained elusive due to insufficient system maintenance and repair.
Sustained use of any technology depends its return on investment. Successful biodigester programs require a source organic waste, a use for the energy and fertilizer, and a dependable conversion system. A dairy farm in the developing world would definitely have a source, a use for the output, and the typical conversion system is a concrete dome. Sistema Biobolsa has developed a different model of the same technology.
Sistema is a business that produces, distributes, installs, and maintains biodigester systems designed for small and medium scale farmers primarily in Mexico. It has updated the conversion process with its prefabricated anaerobic digesters, designed for small and medium-sized farms. Farmers can install the system in a few hours, while concrete dome installation typically takes a few weeks and the work of skilled masons. This quick installation allows Sistema Biobolsa to concentrate on training to help farmers see a return in under two years. The company trains farmers in the proper usage of the biogas and fertilizer to optimize their use of system output. Sistema Biobolsa believes its training program is as important as its technology. Other biodigester programs have focused on training in concrete dome installation, rather than training people to use biodigesters after installation, which may have caused systems to be abandoned over the years.
Justiniano of Puebla, Mexico is a success story: A small dairy farmer with 12 cows and 1.5 hectares of corn and alfalfa, Justiniano purchased a 12 cubic meter Sistema Biobolsa digester in late 2011. With training from Sistema, he was not only able to furnish 10 percent of his gas consumption, but he had enough excess gas that his wife began using it to produce yogurt and soft cheese for local sale. Utilizing the liquid biodigester effluent as a fertilizer, he was able to displace 90 percent of the inorganic fertilizer he was previously using, and began selling this biological fertilizer to his neighbors. The total investment in his 12 cubic meter biodigester was US$1,955, and he achieved a direct economic payback in 16 months. Each year, Justiniano and his family continue to reap US$1,600 in economic benefits from the system.
Biodigesters have been around since the beginning of time but have achieved only varied levels of success in agricultural development. Based on Sistema Biobolsa's experiences, these failures have been due to a lack of post purchase training and follow-up. Sistema Biobolsa's long-term training to each customer minimizes investment risk and seems even more valuable than the innovations they have made to the conversion process. Sistema Biobolsa launched in 2010 and has sold more than 1,200 of its patented biodigester systems in Mexico and five other Latin American countries.
Post note: Alex Eaton, founder of Sistema Biobolsa attended Feed the Future Partnering for Innovation's first AgInvestor Lab in May 2013. The Lab is a workshop that provides coaching on commercialization plans, partnership development, and strategies for attracting investment funding. The workshop culminated in a competition for four $10,000 grants. Sistema Biobolsa received one of the grants and used it to implement four demonstration systems for regional promotion and marketing in Mexico. As a result of this grant, Sistema educated upwards of 172 farmers, which resulted in a number of sales as well as a list of farmers waiting for loan approval who will then purchase the system.
Photos by www.nzdl.org and Buen Manejo del Campo


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Until the 1920's, most women in Ireland did not wear shoes, and, at least according to wikianswers.com, "this provided them with a grace and bearing which is hard to achieve by today's dancers." The Irish dancers who are Classic Cleaners customers would hardly agree.
Ever since Maggie Ramsey's mom spread the word about the excellent care her daughter's Irish Dance Solo Dress received, other
dancers have turned to our professional dry cleaners for help keeping the elaborate solo dance costumes ready for performance time.
Today, of course, female Irish step dancers wear shoes, typically either "Ghillies" (low-cut soft shoes with criss-cross lacing) or hard shoes with fiberglass tips and heels. It's fashionable to wear tightly curled hair (which might be "falls" or even wigs). Unlike early Irish dresses, which featured heavy fabrics with embroidery, solo performance dresses today sparkle and shine with elaborate beading and sequins. In upper competitive ranks, tiaras and cloth "crowns" are popular.
We usually associate Irish with the "wearing of the green", but crimson and saffron and even teal and purple are worn for competition Irish dancing. In dry cleaning these elaborate costumes, the color itself can present a challenge. For example, red dyes lose vibrancy faster than other colors. The under skirts tend to be made of different fabric than the dress, with each fabric needing its own special kind of care. Even steam-cleaning can post risk where sequins are concerned.
Just as solo Irish dancers challenge themselves as they rise through the ranks in competitions, Class Cleaners technicians must rise to the challenge of treating these combinations of colors, sequins, and variety of fabrics. The normal dry cleaning label from the International Association for Textile Care Labeling couldn't begin to cover all the parts of an Irish Dance Solo Dress!
Step dancers and Classic Cleaners – it must have been the luck of the Irish that brought the two together to create such winning results!
by Reb of the Classic Cleaners blog team


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Luxury Carpets are made exclusively in large cities, workshops and ateliers by skilled weavers. They are usually woven entirely of wool or wool mixed silk on even very large fixed steel looms intended to manufacture large-sized pieces suiting royal palaces, consulates, embassies, villas, official residencies and mansions' interiors.
The design of this Luxury Carpets is prepared on specific cartoons by master designers called 'Ustad' and are generally very complex, inspired by major court carpets, from which they directly derive. Thus, Ottoman, Mamaluk and Safavid carpets styles are common. Designs have complex subjects, ranging from hunting scenes to interpretations of the meaning of Allah's paradise. These luxurious and exceedingly elegant carpets may be illustrated with animals, flourishing vines, Herati spirals, Boteh patterns, numerous bunches of flowers inside and outside polylobed niches and intricate central medallions. Sometimes cartouches are woven on these pieces, showing the signature of the artist or the workshop that made them to prove the authenticity of the handicraft.
Weave is always strikingly dense with a very short and compact pile and a remarkably sharp design. Persian carpets are the most popular pieces of this category. However, pure silk Persian specimens contend the record with Herekes from western Turkey, which are renowned as the best silk carpets in the world. They may even be woven with gold and silver silk yarns! Alongside these productions there are some Chinese carpets which boast refined designs and highly accurate workmanship.
All Luxury Carpets are one-of-a-kind pieces with a great market value. This value is bound to constantly increase over time and is determined proportionally to the noble fibres, skill and time required to make them. They are real works of art that stand out among current safe-even assets and investments.
Extra fine Tabriz carpets
Fine Isfahan carpets
Fine Nain 6 La carpets
The main Luxury carpets are: Cina silk, Ghisabad, Goom silk, Nain 6la, Tabriz fine, Lori Fine.
Carpeteden s.r.l. - Piazza Sant'Angelo, 1 20121 Milan Italy - firstname.lastname@example.com - Tel +39 02 84943934 V.A.T. 07600110964 - REA: MI9708228
Do not miss our exclusive weekly and monthly offers about Oriental Carpets, Persian Carpets, Disney Carpets, Antique Carpets, Modern Carpets, Kilim, Kazak, Tribal Carpets, Tibetan Carpets , Shaggy , and many others....
Our staff service will answer at your calls and at your e-mail. We are open from Monday to Friday from 9.00 to 18.00.


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This is how cool I am;
It's my day off, and guess what I'm doing?
I'm sitting on my couch, watching Netflix. Yay!
If you ask me what I'm doing 12 hours from now, I would probably be doing the same thing.
I'm okay with this.
This is how cool I am;
It's my day off, and guess what I'm doing?
I'm sitting on my couch, watching Netflix. Yay!
If you ask me what I'm doing 12 hours from now, I would probably be doing the same thing.
I'm okay with this.
My Tumblr ( inside my head )
I am on this site constantly.
I'm more addicted to this than Facebook.
I have a problem.
Work, I really don't want to go in today.
well said
Seven Cardinal Rules to Life….
1. Make Peace With Your Past – so it does not spoil your present. Your past does not define your future, your actions and beliefs do.
2. What Others Think Of You – is NONE of your business. It's how much you value yourself and how important you think you are.
3. Time Heals Almost Everything – give time, time. Pain will be less hurting. Scars make us who we are; they explain our life and why we are the way we are. They challenge us and force us to be stronger.
4. No One Is The Reason For Your Own Happiness – except YOU, yourself. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside.
5. Do NOT Compare Your Life With Others' – you have NO idea what their journey is all about. If we all…
View original post 102 more words
I'm in need of Dr. Pepper. All that's in the house is what's left of the alcohol.
oh, wait there is some milk. I don't like milk, not to just casually drink.
: a feeling of great happiness
: a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone
: success in doing, finding, or getting something
My Joy comes from my family, without them I am nothing. They bring me happiness. to the point my stomache and head hurt from laughing so much. we can just be making funny faces in my webcam and someone will pee themselves laughing. I am so blessed to have these three in my life, and I'm so excited to see what this new year has in store for us!!
TV News, Previews, Spoilers, Casting Scoop, Interviews
Service Industry Stories and More Since 2012
Author Site for Damyanti Biswas
Just another WordPress.com site
Things my son needs to know before he grows up to be just like me.
A great WordPress.com site
Showing America how to Live
Poems and stories of love & heartbreak.
The Art and Craft of Blogging
Daily Thoughts and Meditations as we journey together with our Lord.
Find the perfect theme for your blog.
life of a globetrotting family of 5 in the US foreign service
Home is where our story begins.
Twentysomething. Annoyed with corporate BS. Obsessed with Gen Y. Not bratty. Just opinionated.
Narrating life's precious moments


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Saturday, 8 September 2018
An evening honoring Veterans at the
VIP Tkt $200 ea
Gen Adm Tkt $100 ea
Space Coast Honor Flight takes WWII and Korean War and Vietnam War Veterans to Washington D.C. (free of charge) for a day of honor to visit their war memorials. This is an all-volunteer, non-profit 501(c)3 organization. We take 7 flights each year to Washington D.C. to honor our American Heroes.
Join us for a fabulous evening - thank you for your support
3500 Sarno Rd., Melbourne FL 32934 (*see map below)
Enter from CLUB 52/Melbourne Greyhound Park Entrance on Sarno Rd. or Wickham Rd.
* Corporate Sponsorships Available *
All proceeds benefit Spacer Coast Honor Flight, Inc. a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation
*Suggested donations are tax deductible
*Business Casual Attire *Museum Campus is Smoke-Free and Vapor-Free *Must be 16 years or older to enter this event
VIP: $200 Donation*
General Admission: $100 Donation*
All tickets also include hors d'oeuvres, beer/wine, and soft drinks
Space Coast Honor Flight
5:00 VIP entry and Private Tour with Museum Owner Mark Pieloch
6:30 General Admission Entry
7:00 Live Auction
7:30-9:00 View one of the largest collections of cars and
the largest 100% solar powered car museum in the world
For reservations and tickets:
On line: w/credit card:
Check: Space Coast Honor Flight
P.O. Box 560975, Rockledge FL 32956
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: 321 759-1063 Teri


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By Brana Hill, Senior, Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12
Brana Hill, a senior at Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, interviews Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save the Children.
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Party Dresses for Any Occasion
Party Dresses for Any Occasion
Have a Good Time With What You Wear
Check your closet for what you already have. You'd be surprised by what seemingly ordinary items can be easily transformed into something party ready. There are several ways to add style to a simple skirt or a classic, shift dress you've worn several times. Adding an embellished jacket, a statement piece of jewelry and definitely gorgeous shoes can really change a look. Keep adding stylish layers until you have a look right for where you're going.
Go metallic. Just like sequined outfits, metallic colors create an insta-party outfit. But with metallics, it's easier to rein in the look in case you're wanting to wear the colors for an office holiday party. You don't necessarily want to wear something you'd wear out in Vegas in front of your boss, but you also want to keep with a festive spirit, and metallics can help you do just that. Gunmetal gray or a dark bronze or trendy updates on classic metallic looks.
Change the cut of your outfit. Cutout sleeves, a deeper v-neck or an open back can amp up the allure of your outfit without being too outlandish. When you dare to bare more skin, make sure you are keeping the other elements of your outfit classy by choosing more neutral makeup and elegant jewelry.
You can stay party friendly without breaking the bank. By having an idea of the style you're looking for before you start to shop, you can be sure to find a better deal. It's fun to get dressed up whether it's for a party or just a night out. Put on your party dress and dancing shoes and get ready to have a good time!
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Forest River No Boundaries travel trailer model NB16.7 highlights:
Planning a little off-road adventure will be easy with this No Boundaries travel trailer in tow! Model NB16.7 offers the added ground clearance you need when the standard campground just won't do! You are sure to love this rear kitchen layout model that includes a nice large roadside slide for extra interior space to move around. There is a wet bath to keep you clean and comfortable no matter where you are camped, and there is ample seating and sleeping space for two to four campers. The kitchen amenities allow you to cook meals and snacks easily, and there is plenty of storage space as well. LED lighting both inside and out makes any task easy, even after dark. An optional TV can be added for late night enjoyment, or when you are hanging out inside on a day where the weather isn't very nice!
No matter what dream or adventure you happen to be chasing, a Forest River No Boundaries travel trailer will help you get there. All units feature industry leading ground clearance along with larger diameter tires and a great suspension which makes it easy for you to go a little further off the beaten path to explore. These units are offered in a variety of layouts and provide loads of adaptable storage for equipment and gear like kayaks, bicycles, fishing gear, surf boards, and so much more! They can also be easily towed by most 4 or 6 cylinder vehicles with models ranging in weight from 2,000 on up to 5,000 lbs. When your adventures push the limits, choose a Forest River No Boundaries travel trailer and explore!
Tremendoulsy helpfulChris is very knowledgeable and was very helpful when we bought our new Patriot.
She knew what our truck could handle and she pointed us to appropriate trailers-- that was a BIG safety issue for us.
I'm glad safety was first on her mind. Thanks Chris
Dan and Joan Trent - Dan from Bellevue, NE
|20 ft
|Ext Width
|7 ft 4 in
|Ext Height
|9 ft 7 in
|Int Height
|0 ft
|Hitch Weight
|355 lbs
|Dry Weight
|3478 lbs
|Cargo Weight
|1277 lbs
|Fresh Water Capacity
|30 gals
|Grey Water Capacity
|30 gals
|Black Water Capacity
|30 gals
|Tire Size
|Available Beds
|Cooktop Burners
|13500 btu
|Cargo Deck Size
|0 ft
|Axle Count
|Shower Type
|Wet/Bath Shower
In 1996, Forest River founder Peter Liegl had a vision. He foresaw an RV company dedicated to helping people experience the joy of the outdoors by building better recreational products. Today that vision is a reality.
Continually growing, Forest River operates multiple manufacturing facilities throughout the midwest and west coast. Our large production capacity enables us to fill our customers' orders promptly without cutting corners or rushing through production procedures. This ensures that each Forest River product is conscientiously built and undergoes thorough, detailed inspection before it's shipped to the customer.
Some RV makes are not available at all locations. For details, contact the AC Nelsen location nearest you. We make every effort to show current and accurate data. Any price/listing may not show the most current transactions or may show an occasional data entry error. Inventory listed is subject to availability and prior sale, and prices are subject to change at any time. All prices plus government fees and taxes, any dealer document preparation charge, any finance charge and any emissions testing charges. Payment amounts *with approved credit. Prices subject to change, only prices that are contracted are final. Every effort is made to ensure accuracy for pricing and and equipment included on the units as the manufacturer has the right to change standard equipment and options at any time.


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Land For Sale In Pima County
Posting ads for 49 years
Keller Williams Realty Southeast Valley
Work: 480-282-2665
Toll-Free: 877-315-8064
Cell: 480-332-5942
Fax: 480-889-5002
Address: 0 E. Pattee Road
Type: Residential
Style: Lot / Land
Suite: No Living Area:
BUY NOW! Great location awaits! 1.4 acre horse priviledged lot ready for your large custom home. Located within 4 miles of City of Coolidge. Within 2.4 miles of highly anticipated NEW Del Webb Anthem at Merrill Ranch master planned community. The surrounding Anthem community zoned for exciting growth. Potential for excellent appreciation value to be found in nicely populated 1.25 minimum lot community. Be part of the fast growing, expanding, Pima county. Wide open spaces, mountain views, lots of horse trails. Save$$!
phoenix, az


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Music & TheatreStone Life
Festive Winter Concert
Saturday 3rd December sees a festive winter concert at Stone's Christ Church, given by Stone Choral Society.
Conductor Harriet Johnson will be joined by Fulford Community Choir, plus Equale Brass Quintet, with accompaniment from Jenny Hames, baritone Peter Taylor and soprano Kate Thompson.
Bob Chilcott's Wenceslas and Ralph Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols will be performed, along with a selection of congregational carols.
Tickets, priced £8, are available from Plants Jewellers and Home and Colour, or on the door, and include wine or a soft drink and mince pies. Admission is free for children under 16.
Tickets can also be purchased by phone on 01889 883878 or via email:firstname.lastname@example.com
The concert gets under way at 7.30pm.


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Keep up with the vast amounts of paperwork in your HR Department
Economic downturn also means high rates of unemployment. Many businesses are being overwhelmed with job applications, putting great pressure on HR professionals, who are often struggling to keep up with the vast amounts of paperwork. Are you an HR professional fighting a losing battle of paper-based processes in your HR department?
Human Resources Automation
As a Human Resources professional, do you often face any of these challenges?
- Lengthy and time-consuming payroll processes
- Sorting through hundreds of applications and resumes
- Limited physical office space due to growing amounts of paper documents
- Disorganized filing systems
- Trouble meeting compliance standards
- Difficulty finding important documents such as holiday requests, expense forms etc.
- Increasingly mobile environments such as, remote offices, mobile employees, and flexible scheduling
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World: African
Listen to the newest African music and sounds.
Listen to all tracks and mixes. You have the choice: Latin, Funk, Balkan, Reggae, Cumbia, Brasil, Samba, House, Gypsy, Remix, World Music, Salsa, Hip Hop, World, African, Electronic, Dancehall, Soca, Pop, Dance are the most common styles where artists uploaded their music and sounds.


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A little more than a year ago, the computer industry came up with a new category of device: the "netbook."
Smaller than an ultra-portable laptop and designed primarily for Web surfing and e-mail, the hope was that these light-duty machines would carve out a new market sector as consumers' second- or even third-tier PCs — the equivalent of the kitchen TV.
Ironically, netbooks sales instead took off, thanks to the sluggish economy, and now threaten to cut into the margins of higher-end laptops. The computer industry may have succeeded in unintentionally cannibalizing its own products.
The day after market-research group NPD announced some of the first blockbuster numbers for netbook sales, I sat next to a college student on the train who was actually using one.
It was the Hewlett-Packard Mini-Note. She'd paid just under $300 for it, had had it for more than a month and was just raving about it.
"I tried them all, and this one had the biggest screen and the best keyboard," she said. "On some of the others, the keyboard was squished."
• Click here for FOXNews.com's Personal Technology Center.
• Got tech questions? Ask our experts at FoxNews.com's Tech Q&A.
Netbooks can best be described as low-priced sub-notebook computers with limited storage, connectivity and functionality. Most of them use Intel's Atom processor and have built-in Wi-Fi but neither CD nor DVD drives.
When they first were unveiled in late 2007, many industry analysts were skeptical, to say the least.
At the low end, the machines were challenged by the expanding functionality of smartphones. At the high end, they were challenged by the shrinking size of full-function notebooks. One colleague even likened the genre to the Pet Rock.
But the new numbers from NPD prove conclusively that if it's a rock, it's getting a great roll.
In the first months of 2008, netbooks were less than two percent of laptop sales. By December, that had shot up to 12 percent of total unit volume — and accounted for almost two-thirds of the sales increase in the entire laptop category.
Now, instead of wondering about whether there's a place for netbooks, analysts worry that they'll make a sizable dent in the overall PC market, and, because of their low price point, also cut into profit margins for computer companies hard-hit by the economic downturn.
So what's in a netbook, and who can really make use of them?
The devices themselves have screen sizes of roughly 7 inches to 10 inches; they have USB ports, multi-card slots and most have an Ethernet port.
Onboard memory generally stops at one gigabyte (GB). Storage starts at a tiny 4 GB Flash-based solid-state-drive (SSD) and goes up as high as 160 GB with a traditional hard drive. Most come loaded with variants of either Windows XP Home or Linux.
Netbooks are making significant inroads in the education market. The student sitting next to me on the train was writing a paper using research and class notes she'd previously entered. She used an external CD/DVD drive to load software like Microsoft Office, and a flash drive to move documents around from her netbook to her desktop.
Netbooks also seem ideal for people whose primary need while traveling is Internet access, which the netbooks handle well. I recommended one to a friend who's never owned a computer but asks her acquaintances to look things up on the Web and admits she'd like to start using e-mail.
Most netbooks are small enough to fit in a big handbag or a small briefcase. They fit comfortably on the tray table of cramped airliners, and will be even more useful now that some airlines are offering onboard wireless Internet service. And they're certainly easier to type on than a smartphone's tiny keyboard.
All Netbooks Are Created Equal ... but Some Are More Equal Than Others
We looked at six different netbook models, though with their nameplates covered you might be hard pressed to tell one from the next.
Most were built around Intel's Atom processor; some used SSDs, others regular hard drives. None came with a CD/DVD drive, though all had slots for SD memory cards, standard USB ports, built-in Webcams and Wi-Fi. Most had Ethernet ports and VGA connections for external monitors.
Here's a brief rundown:
Dell Inspiron Mini 9, $299 and up, depending on configuration
Dell's smallest netbook uses a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor originally designed for smartphones and other portable devices. It weighs a mere 2.3 pounds, has a smallish 8.9 inch screen and a slightly reduced keyboard (about 12 percent smaller than a standard keyboard). It also comes with a rather petite 8 GB SSD rather than a hard disk drive. Ports include a multi-card reader, 3 USB ports and a VGA port.
The unit we looked at came with Windows XP, but you can also get it with a Dell variant of Linux. That may be fine for Web surfing but could create problems if you needed to share it with Windows-configured peripherals.
Battery life is advertised as four hours, not quite the cross-country flight standard, but certainly more than what you'll need to surf at Starbucks. Nevertheless, with a built-in Web cam and Wi-Fi, the Mini 9 could be the perfect solution for inveterate Web surfers.
Asus Eee PC 900, $250 and up
Taiwan's Asus was one of the pioneers in the netbook category. Its Netbook Eee PC 900A-WFBB01, like the Dell, uses a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor (other models come with the older Celeron processor), an 8.9-inch screen, 3 USB ports, a multi-card reader and a VGA port, but is marginally lighter at 2.2 pounds.
It comes preloaded with either Windows XP or a variant of Linux, and has 1 GB of onboard memory, a 4 GB SSD, a Webcam and an Ethernet port. The machine also comes with a foam padded sleeve to protect it from bumps and scratches.
Its major shortcoming was its cramped keyboard, which made it hard to type. The Asus officially comes with a 12-month warranty, but the company claims its real policy is lifetime support on all its products.
Lenovo Ideapad S10, $314 and up
The display on Lenovo's entry, at 10.2 inches, was slightly larger than those of the Asus or the Dell, but the entire machine weighed a modest 2.4 pounds. Like the other two, it uses the Intel Atom processor and has Wi-Fi, a VGA port and a multi-card slot, as well as an Ethernet port, a Webcam and one PCI Express card slot.
Standard internal memory is only 512 MB, but the Ideapad does come with an 80 GB hard drive and a nifty "instant-on" function that allows quick access to the Internet even before a complete Windows boot. The standard operating system is Windows XP Home, and once again, there's no CD/DVD drive.
MSI Wind Megabook U10, $349 and up
The MSI Wind U100 from Taiwan's Micro Star International sports many of the same features as its competition: an Atom processor, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VGA port, 3 USB ports, a multi-card slot and a Webcam.
It also has one of the wider screens, at 10.2 inches, which allows for a more comfortable keyboard. It uses a traditional 80 GB hard drive, which gives it slightly less battery life some of the others in the field, but then again you get a real amount of storage. It comes with Windows XP Home Edition. For the fashion conscious, the machine is available in six different colors.
Acer Aspire One A150-1570, $314 and up
The Acer Aspire One was one of the early entries into the netbook category. Like the Dell and the Asus, it has an 8.9-inch screen, yet the keyboard didn't feel quite as cramped. Our review unit came in a stunning shade of royal blue (pictured here) though it's also available in white.
This model had a 120 GB hard drive, though 160 GB is available. It has a Webcam, Wi-Fi and the usual assortment of ports and connectors: a PCI express slot, a multi-card slot, VGA, Ethernet and 3 USB ports.
One feature of the Aspire that took some getting used to were the buttons for the touchpad, which are on the right- and left-hand sides instead of below it as usual. Our unit came with Windows XP Home, though you can get it with Linux instead. It also comes with a carrying sleeve that will protect it from scratches, but there's no padding.
HP Mini 1000 Series, $329 and up
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month, Hewlett-Packard was running around showing off its special Mini-Note 1000, customized by fashion designer Vivienne Tam and costing $699 — as much as a decent full-featured laptop.
For those willing to forgo style for function, you can also get the Mini 1000 for less than half that price. It has a 10.2-inch screen and lays claim to the biggest keyboard in the genre, about 95 percent of full-sized.
It also claims to be only 0.99 inches thick, though I'm still more comfortable calling that "one inch." As with the Acer, the touchpad buttons are on the side. The ports and connectors vary slightly from the competition: Webcam, Wi-Fi, 2 USB port, a multi-card slot and Ethernet.
There's no VGA connector, though HP does provide a connecting slot for a proprietary port replicator. Like the competition, it uses Intel's Atom processor and comes standard with Windows XP. Finally, it has an attractive metal enclosed speaker grille that runs pretty much the width of the machine.
The Bottom Line
When all is said and done, all six of these machines will get you where you want to go if your goal is Web surfing, note-taking and e-mail. These machines aren't desktop, or even laptop, substitutes, but they can do a great job if you understand their capabilities and limitations.
There's a clear tradeoff between the drive size and battery life, with the smaller capacity SSDs getting more from the battery than the traditional hard drives. I like to move my documents around, so flash memory for my document storage does fine for me.
Do I have preferences? Yes, but they are based on my limitations and not the performance of the machines. I have lousy eyesight, so I prefer the machines with the 10.2-inch screen. I have big hands, so I like the bigger keys.
As with everything else, there's a lot of personal preference in choosing one of these machines. If you decide to go for a netbook, just make sure you're getting one for the limited job they're meant to do.


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Singer Meghan Trainor and actress Julianne Moore are among the stars who have opened up about their body image issues for a new documentary.
The pair joined British pop star Simon Webbe to discuss their fears about weight problems, bad teeth, and skin blemishes for the project, which is aimed at boosting children's confidence.
The short online films will be shown in the U.K. later this month as part of Being Me - A Newsround Special.
Moore says, "When I was growing up in the U.S. it was unusual to have freckles everywhere. Kids didn't know what they were. And it was something I didn't want to have; I wanted to have tanned skin like everybody else.
"But then of course you grow up and realise that everyone has something that makes them feel different... and that those things are less important the older you become once you have a family, friends, a job - you know - and a life... I think that, you know, it's that idea that we're all different. Physically we can all be different but basically we're all the same."
Trainor, who previously addressed body image issues in her hit song All About That Bass, recalls the childhood teasing she received, saying, "I was in middle school, sixth grade and younger, and my best friend was a boy. He looked at me and said you'd be a lot prettier if you were 10 pounds lighter. I cried and felt horrible all day. I went home and told my mum I wasn't gonna eat dinner and she asked me why and I told her I got told if I was 10 pounds lighter I'd be prettier and I still think about it to this day.
"I've moved on from it and have grown because of it but it is still here in my brain. It affected me so much. He was even my best friend and even your best friends can say something that can hurt."
The show will also feature Olympian Louis Smith and professional dancer Kevin Clifton.


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I currently accept payments through PayPal & Google Checkout who takes all major credit and debit cards. With both of these options, you may use your Credit or Debit Card without having a PayPal or Google account. An invoice will be sent to your email.
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I ship the purchased items by USPS mail with delivery confirmation on large orders within 3 business days after receipt of full payment. With exception of custom orders or Holidays. Mostly I ship the same day or the next day. If you have a preference let me know.
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Free Shipping On Orders Over $30
I am happy to ship anywhere in the world. If you send me a request I will figure out the shipping cost and set it up for you. All international customers will be responsible for all customs fees incurred in shipping to their countries. Some Countries do not allow me to
confirm shipping and will be at the risk of the customer. Unless you want to use FedEx or UPS and be charges a bit more for shipping.
I truly charge minimal for shipping cost so the YOU the customer are saving money.
Gift wrapping available for additional $6.50
I want my customers to be completely satisfied with their purchase. If there is any problem, please contact me ASAP. If you are not satisfied with your purchase for some reason, you can return the item in its original condition within 7 days of receipt. Please let me know first so I can expect it. Unfortunately the shipping charges can not be refunded.
Return Shipping AddressRuth Chase @ Sister Made PO Box 2111 Nevada City, CA 95959


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Any real estate agent will tell you that the three things that matter in the buying and selling of property are location, location, location. But tax advisors may need to be more geographically minded, as well.
Because the U.S. has a gift and estate tax with rates as high as 40%, both U.S. citizens and foreigners domiciled in the U.S. are subject to the U.S. gift and estate tax on their worldwide gifts - and, at death, on their worldwide estate.
Even foreigners not domiciled here may be subject to the U.S. estate tax if they own U.S. assets such as real estate and stocks.
As a result, advisors serving a foreign client moving here - even if only for a short two- or three-year stint - must understand the client's domicile and be aware of the basics of the U.S. gift and estate tax, because the rules are quite complex and can be challenging during the planning process.
A foreign person is considered domiciled in the U.S. if he or she is physically present and has the intent to remain in the country indefinitely. In theory, people can attain U.S. domicile the instant they step off a plane onto U.S. soil. Alternately, a foreigner could spend decades here and arguably not have the requisite intent to be considered domiciled in the U.S.
An executive moving to the U.S. on a short-term assignment of three to five years under an appropriate work visa would generally not be considered to be domiciled in the U.S., since the expectation is that they would return home after completion of the assignment. (If, however, the executive extends the term of U.S. residency or acquires a green card, the factors would probably swing in favor of the executive attaining U.S. domicile.)
The IRS and the courts typically look at several factors: visa status, whether a person owns or rents a home, presence of family members, club memberships, location of cemetery plots, location of physicians, statements in legal documents such as wills or trusts concerning domicile status - and whether the person has severed ties to the home country.
A foreign client who is domiciled in the U.S. will be subject to gift tax on any worldwide gifts. Additionally, upon death, the client's worldwide estate would be subject to U.S. estate tax. A domiciled individual will also have the same exemption amount - set at $5 million but indexed for inflation - as a U.S. citizen. During 2013, after inflation adjustments, the exemption amount is $5.25 million.
Given the size of this exemption amount, many foreigners need not be concerned with the U.S. gift or estate tax, but keep in mind that many U.S. states impose an estate or inheritance tax separate from the federal tax - and these state taxes typically have a significantly lower exemption amount. For example, if a foreign person lived in or owned New York real estate, the exemption would only be $1 million.
A foreigner is at a disadvantage under the U.S. gift- and estate-tax system because, unlike U.S. citizens, gifts or bequests to foreign spouses are not eligible for the unlimited U.S. marital deduction. While a U.S. citizen could gift $10 million to a U.S. citizen spouse without using up some of the exemption or paying any tax, a gift from a U.S. citizen or foreigner to a non-citizen spouse would constitute taxable gifts to the extent that they exceed the gift- tax annual exclusion amount.
In 2013, the annual gift-tax exclusion amount was $14,000 per non-spouse recipient; it's $143,000 for gifts to non-citizen spouses. A gift to a non-citizen spouse of $10 million would result in a taxable gift of $9.857 million; it would use up the $5.25 million exemption and result in gift tax of $2.1 million.
Although unavailable for gift-tax purposes, bequests to a non-U.S. citizen spouse can qualify for the U.S. unlimited marital deduction for estate-tax purposes if the bequest is to a qualified domestic trust. In effect, if the deceased spouse's assets are placed in such a trust, the U.S. estate tax will be deferred generally until the death of the surviving spouse - sooner if the surviving spouse receives distribution of principal from the trust.
Often, the qualified domestic trust is established pursuant to the terms of the decedent's last will, but it is also possible for the surviving spouse to fund such a trust, subject to certain time constraints. These trusts need to have a U.S. person serving as trustee, be solely for the benefit of the surviving spouse and require the distribution of income to the surviving spouse on at least an annual basis.
In addition, the executor of the deceased spouse's estate must make an election to qualify the trust as a qualified domestic trust.
The best time for a foreigner intending to permanently move to the U.S. to do estate planning is prior to obtaining domicile in the country. If gift-tax issues can be avoided in the home country - because, say, the country has no gift tax or the person has departed from the country for purposes of application of its gift tax - then the client should decide whether to make gifts prior to arrival in the U.S.
Additionally, a foreign client can decide during the planning stage whether it is appropriate to consider making gifts to either an onshore or offshore irrevocable trust for the benefit of a spouse, descendants and other family members. It may even be possible for the foreign person contributing the assets to the trust to also be a discretionary beneficiary.
If the trust is designed correctly, the assets held within the trust should pass free of U.S. gift tax and estate tax to the discretionary beneficiaries in accordance with the terms of the trust. Foreigners should retain ownership of sufficient assets outside the trust to maintain their standard of living without having to access the trust's assets.
Foreign clients moving to the U.S. on a transitory basis will most likely not be considered domiciled in the country, and therefore should only be subject to the federal gift tax if they transfer tangible personal property in the country. There is no exemption from the gift tax, except for the annual gift-tax exclusion of $14,000 per donee. Examples of gifts that would be subject to the tax include U.S. real estate, cash, art, automobiles, jewelry and valuable personal property in the country.
A non-domiciled foreigner living within or outside of the U.S. will only be subject to the federal estate tax to the extent of U.S. "situs" assets - including U.S. stocks or U.S. real estate - that exceed the exemption amount of $60,000. To not be subject to the estate tax, a foreign client may wish to hold title to those assets within a foreign corporate entity. Another option available to a foreigner is to simply acquire a life insurance policy to cover the U.S. estate-tax costs attributable to the U.S. "situs" assets.
When consulting on estate planning matters, it is always essential to clarify whether your foreign client is a U.S. citizen. The best way to avoid common pitfalls is to ask the right questions - and to make sure your clients provide as much information as they have on assets and their international move.
John Nuckolls, national director of private client services at tax and advisory firm BDO USA, contributed this article to Accounting Today.
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