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It is now time for part 4 of my 5-part series where I am walking you through the different Microsoft product and solution pieces to build a Microsoft Cloud BI solution. There are a few parts that I've called out thus far that are "hybrid", i.e. not yet fully cloud-based. But today's installment is going to focus on the presentation layer and we're going to deploy these dashboards solely in the cloud, via Microsoft's Azure platform. First, we're going to use the new CTP (beta) of Azure Reporting Services to host a simple AdventureWorks dashboard that I built using Report Builder 3.0 in part 3 of this series. And, yes, that is currently a client tool that you need to have a local copy of to make this work.
- Part 1: Microsoft Cloud BI Pieces
- Part 2: Microsoft Cloud BI Pieces
- Part 3: Microsoft Cloud BI Pieces
- Part 5: Microsoft Cloud BI Pieces
So we're still quasi-complete in Cloud BI, still somewhat hybrid. But I'll use our local copy of Visual Studio 2010 to build a simple ASP.NET application that will include the ReportViewer control hosting that Azure-based report, deployed in Windows Azure. Then another ASP.NET app will include a very simple, rudimentary example of a Silverlight control to display data from our SQL Azure database. Both of these presentation methods of Cloud BI use the same tools that you use today to build the classic SQL Server based dashboards and reports – Report Builder, Reporting Services, SQL Server, Visual Studio, Silverlight and ASP.NET. Instead, I'm just using SQL Azure, Windows Azure and deploying into the cloud instead of on a local server. Already being familiar with these tools and languages (T-SQL, MDX, .NET and C#), make the transition into cloud with Microsoft's Azure platform quick & quite easy.
Let's start with the ReportViewer control in Visual Studio with SQL Azure. Again, not much different than what you can do today where you host an ASP.NET application that has the ReportViewer control embedded in a form and you point that control to your report. The report is usually best to have hosted in SQL Server 2008 R2's Reporting Services (SSRS). But since we're talking cloud here, we'll need to host the report in Azure Reporting Services using SQL Azure as the database source.
When working with the local emulators for Azure, which I am doing here for these demos, make sure that you are running Visual Studio 2010 with elevated privileges, running as admin. I create a new Windows Azure ASP.NET application from the templates, using C# and now I can edit the app and the forms. I've added 2 Report Viewer ASP controls as you can see below. If you've done this before in Visual Studio to SQL Server and SSRS, then you are familiar with both the screenshot below as well as the ASP code snippet. What it is interesting about this, to me, is that you aren't going to have to learn anything new to migrate to the Azure cloud-based SSRS for Cloud BI.
ProcessingMode="Remote" SizeToReportContent="True" Font-Names="Verdana" Font-Size="8pt" InteractiveDeviceInfos="(Collection)" WaitMessageFont-Names="Verdana" WaitMessageFont-Size="14pt" Width="770px"> ReportServerUrl=https://zzzzzzzzz.ctp.reporting.database.windows.net/ReportServer
When I run this, I get my report from the Azure Reporting Services server, using SQL Azure as the data source and funny looking dashboard, which I'm sure that anyone can make look better than I can:
There are complete examples, demos and hands-on labs that you can run through from the Microsoft DPE team in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer's Training Kit here, just make sure that you are downloading the April update with the newest updates. You can use that code to reproduce what I did here in a step-by-step color-by-numbers fashion.
Lastly, I'm going to give you an example of using the Silverlight data grid control to use data from SQL Azure. To do this, I am going to first create a WCF RIA service that will talk to the SQL Azure database and present the data to my Silverlight control for the presentation in the web page. The service that I am using comes from an excellent example of Silverlight data binding that I have modified for Azure over the past year or so. It is available here and it is by Mahesh Sabnis, so many kudos and thanks again to Mahesh.
This is not a Windows Azure tutorial, this is a Microsoft Cloud BI series based on SQL Server. So I'm going to skip some of the complexities of creating the RIA Services to provide data binding for the Silverlight Chart component. You can find more on the Silverlight Charting Toolkit from this video by Jesse Liberty here.
The Silverlight form will be a regular Windows Azure application and my simple design will look something like this with the charting controls on the MainPage.xaml:
Now, take the WCF service class, which will bridge the Silverlight control to the backend database, and In the connection object in the class definition, you can point your connection to the SQL Azure cloud database:
Conn = new SqlConnection("Data Source=xxxxxxxxx.database.windows.net;Initial Catalog=mark;User Id=xxxxxxx;Password=xxxxxxxx;Pooling=true;Min Pool Size=5;Max Pool Size=100;Connect Timeout=15;");
Now that I have a Windows Azure Silverlight app built as a shell with a WCF service and the MainPage.xaml. I can wire up the service reference and connect it to the chart control to the DataContext. Also, the Silverlight chart series values will need a KeyValuePair mapped to a result array from my RIA service reference:
MyRef.clsSales[] colSalesDetails = e.Result; //KeyValuePair array is the data source used for all chart controls KeyValuePair[] arrSalesDetails = new KeyValuePair[colSalesDetails.Length]; //Store Data from Result to the KeyValePair array int count = 0; foreach (var item in colSalesDetails) { arrSalesDetails[count] = new KeyValuePair(item.CompanyName, item.Sales); count++; } //Display data in Column Chart chartCompanywise.DataContext = arrSalesDetails; PieSeries pieSalesChart = chartCompanywise.Series[0] as PieSeries; pieSalesChart.ItemsSource = arrSalesDetails;
And what does this look like when I run it? Well, I've got a couple of simple charts that are charting data in my Cloud BI dashboard from SQL Azure using Silverlight. Note, though, that this is not data from Analysis Services. This is straight SQL data queried from SQL Azure:
Not too bad and not too difficult. I have 1 more part to go and that will be part 5, where I will focus on the future of Microsoft Cloud BI and take a look at some new, recent announcements, trials and betas that Microsoft has made available. Thanks! Mark


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From Fr. Laurence Freeman ' First Sight (Continum, 2011), pp. 34-35.
Faith is a way – a way of life, a way of behaving over time- by which we give. But if we see it only giving, only as commitment and sacrifice, we will find it hard to grow in the many ways that faith enables us to become more fully human.
We will only see the hard side of faith not the bright side. Because in faith, we also receive. There is mutuality of exchange in faith because it is a personal act that enhances our entire personal experience. It's not just cold objectivity; it's warm inter-subjectivity. It brings us into deeper relationship with others. Part of this mutuality may mean being put to the test. Often we test the faith that we feel has been put in us: How much do you really love me? If you really saw me at my worst you'd withdraw – so here, see the monster I really am.
Perhaps we are only convinced that someone has put their faith in us when they freely lay down their life for us. Maybe – from a psychological point of view – this alsoapplies in the ground of all relationship to God as well. The laying down of our lives for each other in love is the consummation of a significant act of faith. We may believe in God but it's
always harder to believe that God believes in us.
Faith is process and this process comes to shape and give character to the personality. There are people we know whom we recognize as faithful people, faithful in the promises they make and above all remaining faithful to us through difficult times. Such people are usually friendly and well thought of and yet curiously detached and expectant. They are dependable and they keep loving in the midst of conflict or temptation. We feel blessed to have such people in our lives or even to have met them in passing. They are recognizable. But we also know people who are unfaithful, not by malice but because they are simply unable to commit or to be constant.
They are weak and often know that about themselves. They try, but then forget what they promised, or surrender to the latest mood. We are quick to judge others, but who knows what others might think about us? Either way, in faith or in infidelity, by its presence or absence, faith is a moral shaping force in our life; it expresses and determines our moral behavior
After Meditation, Thomas Merton, "Thoughts in Solitude' , 1956-58" Farrar Straus and Giroux
Let this be my only consolation, that wherever I am You, my Lord, are loved and praised.
The trees indeed love You without knowing You. The tiger lilies and corn flowers are there, proclaiming that they love You, without being aware of Your presence. The beautiful dark clouds ride slowly across the sky musing on You like children who do not know what they are
dreaming of, as they play.
But in the midst of them all, I know You, and I know of Your presence. In them and in me I know of the love which they do not know, and, what is greater, I am abashed by the presence of our love in me

subset: commoncrawl


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Never Summer Revolver 4.0 Snowboard 2015
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Orders Placed by 3pm ET Ship Out the Same Day or you get 10% off your Order*
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|FEDEX Next Day or 2nd Day Air
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|Next business day or 2 business days
Shipping rates are displayed in checkout, before you place your order.
Tracking information will be automatically emailed to you after your order ships. If you don't receive tracking information but believe your order should have already shipped, please check your Junk Mail email folder to see if our email to you is there.
You can expect your order to ship out the same day it's placed if ordered by 3pm ET on a Business Day. Orders placed on a Friday after 3pm ET or over the weekend will ship out the following Monday.* Please note: our carriers (USPS and FEDEX) do not consider the day your order leaves our warehouse to be a day in transit. For example, if you order on a Monday morning and we ship it on Monday with FEDEX Ground with delivery in three days, your package will be delivered on Thursday. FEDEX Next Day and 2nd Day Air are exceptions to this rule, where the day your order leaves our warehouse is considered a day in transit by FEDEX.
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Business days exclude Saturdays, Sundays, official US holidays (e.g. Christmas, Labor Day, Memorial Day) and the day before and after official US Holidays (these are often observed by our shipping carriers as holidays).
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I've worked with SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services for several months now, and recently I had the opportunity to talk with Ariel Netz, an Analysis Services Group Program Manager and a core member of the original OLAP Services team. Netz and I discussed some big news that a lot of people don't already know about: the integration of OLAP and reporting.
Traditional ad hoc analysis focuses on OLAP, and reporting targets relational data stores. The two methods can create significantly different results. In Analysis Services 2005, many OLAP constraints have been removed so that you can model many-to-many relationships, multiple fact tables, and dynamic hierarchies--and all using less memory. Those features, in addition to XML for Analysis (XMLA), ADOMD.NET, and advances in the MDX query language, let SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services, Report Builder (the new ad hoc reporting tool for Reporting Services), Microsoft Excel, and other third-party analysis and reporting tools meet various requirements from a single database--with Analysis Services providing that unified view or single version of the truth. It's understandable why the OLAP part of Analysis Services (there's a Data Mining part too) is called the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM).
Netz also talked with me about some lesser-known changes in Analysis Services 2005. Many features that we've come to expect in the SQL Server relational engine are now extending to Analysis Services, such as SQL Server Profiler, the ability to kill queries, support for multi-instancing, clustering, and full backup and restore capabilities. Some tasks that currently require complex workarounds are simpler in SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services. For example, Analysis Services 2005 will automatically process cubes in parallel when possible. Another new feature is the Server Sync feature, which lets one server perform the processing, then distribute its database to other query servers. The new Analysis Services includes declarative MDX scripts, lets you aggregate DISTINCT COUNTS, and has a new CASE statement in MDX. No more of those endless nested IIF statements--hallelujah!
Analysis Services 2005 also includes a lot of highly functional wizards that handle everything from rapidly creating a UDM to generating common-time series, such as moving averages or year-to-date calculations. As an administrator, I like to hear that new administration security roles have been added that let the operations team perform maintenance without letting them see the actual data.
And because I'm a BI developer, I'm impressed by the new features that let development teams collaborate more effectively during projects and the solution-deployment model that the teams are using. Moving BI development into Visual Studio has added rich debugging, easy integration with source control, and the ability to deploy to different servers (i.e., development, staging/test, and production). Please let me know if there's something you like about Analysis Services 2005 that I missed.


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(1) Early in experience, after the attainment of the highest the lower nature has to offer, man begins to meditate. Disorderly at first are his attempts, and sometimes several incarnations may go by in which the Higher Self only forces the man to think, and seriously to meditate at rare and separate intervals. More frequently come the occasions of withdrawing within, until there arises for the man several lives given to mystic meditation and aspiration, culminating usually in a life given entirely to it . . .
Behind each of you who are working definitely under one of the Masters, lie two lives of culmination: the life of worldly apotheosis, and the life of intensest meditation along the mystic or emotional-intuitional line . . .
Now comes to all of you the most important series of lives, to which the previous points of culmination, were but stepping stones. In the lives immediately ahead of those upon the Path, will come final achievement through the instrumentality of the ordered occult meditation, based on law. For some few may come attainment in this life or the next; for others, shortly in other lives. (2 - 12).
(2) The dangers that beset the student of meditation are dependent upon many factors, and it will not be possible to do more than briefly indicate certain menacing conditions, to warn against certain disastrous possibilities, and to caution the pupil against results that are to be reached by undue strain, by over-excess of zeal, and by a one-pointedness that may lead to an unbalanced development. One-pointedness is a virtue, but it should be the one-pointedness of purpose and of aim, and not that which develops one sole line of method, to the exclusion of all others.
The dangers of meditation are largely the dangers of our virtues, and therein lies much of the difficulty. They are largely the dangers of a fine mental concept, that runs ahead of the capacity of the lower vehicles, especially of the dense physical. Aspiration, concentration, and determination are necessary virtues, but if used without discrimination, and without a sense of time in evolution, they may lead to a shattering of the physical vehicle, that will delay all progress for some one particular life. Have I made my point clear? I seek but to bring out the absolute necessity for the [Page 266] occult student to have a virile common sense for one of his basic qualities, coupled with a happy sense of proportion, that leads to due caution, and an approximation of the necessary method to the immediate need. To the man, therefore, who undertakes wholeheartedly the process of occult meditation, I would say with all conciseness:
a. Know thyself.
b. Proceed slowly and with caution.
c. Study effects.
d. Cultivate the realisation that eternity is long, and that which is slowly built up endures forever.
e. Aim at regularity.
f. Realise always that the true spiritual effects are to be seen in the exoteric life of service.
g. Remember likewise, that psychic phenomena are no indication of a successful following of meditation. The world will see the effects, and be a better judge than the student himself. Above all, the Master will know, for the results on causal levels will be apparent to Him long before the man himself is conscious of any progress. (2 - 92/4).
(3) Almost all who undertake meditation, are conscious of an effect in the nervous system; sometimes it takes the form of sleeplessness, of excitability; of a strained energy and restlessness that permit of no relaxation; of an irritability that has been foreign perhaps to the disposition until meditation was pursued; of a nervous reaction - such as a twitching of the limbs, the fingers or the eyes - of depression, or a lowering of the vitality, and of many individual modes of showing tension and nervousness, differing according to nature and temperament. This display of nervousness may be either severe or slight, but I seek earnestly to point out it is quite needless, provided the student adheres to the rules of common-sense, that he studies wisely his own temperament, and that he does not blindly proceed with forms and methods, but insists on knowing the raison d'etre of instituted action. (2 - 104/5).
(4) The aim should be the development of the habit of meditation all the day long, and the living in the higher consciousness till that consciousness is so stable that the lower mind, desire, and the physical elementals, become so atrophied and starved through lack of nourishment, that the threefold lower nature becomes simply the means whereby the Ego contacts the world for purposes of helping the race. (2 - 145).
(5) For all these troubles, forms of meditation may be found, which - if followed in time - will eventually dissipate them. The fundamental fact [Page 267] to be grasped here, is that only when the pupil has an intelligent appreciation of the trouble or troubles affecting him, only when he has the ability to conscientiously follow the imparted formulas, and only when his object is unselfish, will he be trusted with these forms. When his object is to equip himself for service, when he aims only at the acquirement of healthy vehicles for the better carrying out of the plan of the Great Ones, and when he desires not to escape disease for his own personal benefit, only then will the formulas work in connection with the egoic consciousness. (2 - 161).
(6) Meditation . . . is the means of bringing to the unit under development the capacity which will produce:
a. Abstraction, or liberation from form.
b. Creative power.
c. Direction of energy, through an act of the will.
d. Future constructive activity.
By means of meditation, a man finds freedom from the delusion of the senses, and their vibratory lure; he finds his own positive centre of energy and becomes consciously able to use it; he becomes, therefore, aware of his real Self, functioning freely and consciously beyond the planes of sense; he enters into the plans of the greater Entity within Whose radiatory capacity he has a place; he can then consciously proceed to carry out those plans as he can grasp them at varying stages of realisation; and he becomes aware of essential unity . . . Freedom to work on any Path must be gained by occult meditation; freedom to escape beyond the ring-pass-not is also thus attained. (3 - 746/7).
(7) The main function of meditation is to bring the lower instrument into such a condition of receptivity and vibratory response, that the Ego, or Solar Angel, can use it, and produce specific results. (3 - 998).
(8) The white magician, having, through meditation and conscious purpose, formed a focal point of energy upon the mental plane, increases the vibration through strenuous concentration; he begins then to visualise in detail the form he is seeking to build; he pictures it with all its component parts, and sees "before his mind's eye" the consummated product of the egoic meditation as he has succeeded in bringing it through . . . Hence, in all meditation that is
of occult value, the man has to do certain things in order to aid in bringing about results.
He tranquilises his bodies in order that there be no impediment to the egoic intent, and listens for the "Voice of the Silence". He responds then to that Voice consciously, and broods over the imparted plans.
He then sounds the Sacred Word, taking up the note of the Ego as he [Page 268] believes he hears it, and sending it forth to swell the egoic sound, and to set in motion matter on the mental plane. He (synchronously with this sounding) visualises the proposed thought-form which is to embody egoic purposes, and pictures it in detail. (3 - 1000/1).
(9) One of the objectives of the daily meditation, is to enable the brain and mind to vibrate in unison with the soul as it seeks "in meditation deep" to communicate with its reflection. (4 - 74).
(10) The tendency of most aspirants is to be occupied with their deficiencies in the work of meditation, and their inability to control their minds, whereas both those aspects of their endeavour would be aided, if they were to be occupied by the profoundly engrossing work of thought-form building. (4 - 159)
(11) Many forms, thus constructed by an aspirant in his meditation work are lost, and fail in their objective, because of the chaotic and whirling state of the aspirant's emotional body. Thus good intentions come to naught. (4 - 160).
(12) Meditation is dangerous and unprofitable to the man who enters upon it without the basis of a good character and of clean living . . . Meditation is dangerous where there is wrong motive, such as desire for personal growth and for spiritual powers, for it produces, under these conditions only a strengthening of the shadows in the vale of illusion and brings to full growth the serpent of pride, lurking in the valley of selfish desire. Meditation is dangerous when the desire to serve is lacking. (4 - 205).
(13) Man, when meditating, is aiming at two things:
a. At the formation of thoughts, at the bringing down to the concrete levels of the mental plane, of abstract ideas and intuitions. This is what might be termed meditation with seed.
b. At the aligning of the Ego, and at the creation of that vacuum betwixt the physical brain and the Ego, which results in the divine outpouring, and the consequent shattering of the forms, and subsequent liberation. This might be termed meditation without seed. (2 - 58).
(14) Only as the race develops the dynamic powers and attributes of thought - which powers are the product of meditation, rightly used - will the capacity to make use of the laws of vibration be objectively possible. Think not that only the religious devotee or mystic, or the man imbued with what we call higher teaching, is the exponent of the powers attained by meditation. All great capitalists, and the supreme heads of finance, or organised business, are the exponents of similar powers. They are the [Page 269] personifications of one-pointed adherence to one line of thought, and their evolution parallels that of the mystic and occultists. I seek most strongly to emphasise this fact. . . Supreme concentrated attention to the matter in hand, makes them what they are, and in many respects they attain greater results than many a student of meditation. All they need to do is to transmute the motive underlying their work, and their achievement will then outrun that of other students. (2 - 251).
(15) This is the path to be trodden by one and all, and the method is meditation. The goal is perfect love and wisdom; the steps are the surmounting of subplane after subplane, on all three planes; the method is that of occult meditation; the reward is the continuous expansion of consciousness that puts a man eventually en rapport with his own Ego, with other selves, with the waiting eager Master to Whom he is assigned, with fellow disciples and more advanced Initiates whom he may contact in that Master's aura, till he finally contacts the One Initiator, is admitted into the Secret Place, and knows the mystery that underlies consciousness itself. (2 - 258/9).
(16) Meditation is a technique of the mind which eventually produces correct, unimpeded relationship; this is another name for alignment. It is therefore the establishment of a direct channel, not only between the one source, the monad, and its expression, the purified and controlled personality, but also between the seven centres in the human etheric vehicle. (17 - 620).
(17) The Science of Meditation. At present meditation is associated in the minds of men with religious matters. But that relates only to theme. The science can be applied to every possible life process. In reality, this science is a subsidiary branch, preparatory to the Science of the Antahkarana. It is really the true science of occult bridge building or bridging in consciousness. By its means, particularly in the early stages, the building process is facilitated. It is one of the major ways of spiritual functioning; it is one of the many ways to God; it relates the individual mind eventually to the higher mind, and later to the Universal Mind. It is one of the major building techniques and will eventually dominate the new educational methods in schools and colleges. It is intended primarily to:
a. Produce sensitivity to the higher impressions.
b. Build the first half of the antahkarana, that between the personality and the soul.
c. Produce an eventual continuity of consciousness. Meditation is essen- [Page 270] tially the science of light, because it works in the substance of light. (12 - 96).
(18) Meditation involves the living of a one-pointed life always and every day . . . This process of ordered meditation, when carried forward over a period of years, and supplemented by meditative living and one-pointed service, will successfully arouse the entire system, and bring the lower man under the influence and control of the spiritual man.
I cannot too strongly advise students against the following of intensive meditation processes for hours at a time . . . The average aspirant is so sensitive and finely organised that excessive meditation, a fanatical diet, the curtailing of the hours of sleep, or undue interest in and emphasis upon psychic experience, will upset the mental balance and often do irretrievable harm. (13 - 18/9).
(19) The technique of meditation is the outstanding creative agent on our planet. When you, as an individual, are endeavouring to "build the new man in Christ", which will be an expression of your true spiritual self, meditation is, as you well know, your best agent; but the meditation process must be accomplished by creative work, or else it is purely mystical, and though not futile, is nevertheless negative in creative results. (6 - 202).
See also: (6 - 303) and "Teachings on Meditation" (6 - 111/239).
(1) Manas has been defined as mind, or that faculty of logical deduction and reasoning, and of rational activity that distinguishes man from the animals. Yet it is something much more than that, for it underlies all manifestation, and the very shape of an amoeba, and the discriminative faculty of the lowest atom or cell, is actuated by mind of some kind or another . . . The fire of mind is fundamentally electricity, shown in its higher workings. (3 - 310).
(2) Love is the great unifier, the prime attractive impulse, cosmic and microcosmic, but the mind is the main creative factor and the utiliser of the energies of the cosmos. Love attracts, but the mind attracts, repels and coordinates, so that its potency is inconceivable . . . The race is progressing into an era wherein men will function as minds; when intelligence will be stronger than desire, and when thought powers will be used for appeal and for the guidance of the world, as now physical and emotional means are employed. (4 - 125).
[Page 271]
(3) The mind creates or formulates those thought-forms (or embodied energies) which express, upon the mental plane, the measure of the disciple's understanding of the Plan, and his ability to convey the embodied mental energy to the etheric body - unimpeded by the emotional nature or by any lower upsurging desire. (5 - 698/9).
(4) The developed man, with an integrated personality, gradually brings the etheric body under the control of mental energy, and his physical plane activity is not then so much implemented by instinct or desire, as by thought energy, dedicated to and expressing the nature of the man's plan. (5 - 699).
See also: "Thought-Forms".
(1) "The love of money is the root of all evil". This throws us back on the fundamental weakness of humanity - the quality of desire. Of this money is the result and the symbol . . .
Desire demands the satisfaction of sensed need, the desire for goods and possessions, the desire for material comfort, for the acquisition and accumulation of things, the desire for power and the supremacy which money alone can give. This desire controls and dominates human thinking; it is the keynote of our modern civilisation; it is also the octopus which is slowly strangling human life, enterprise, and decency; it is the millstone around the neck of mankind . . .
There are, however, large numbers of people whose lives are not dominated by the love of money, and who can normally think in terms of the higher values. They are the hope of the future but are individually imprisoned in the system which, spiritually, must end. Though they do not love money, they need it, and must have it; the tentacles of the business world surround them; they too must work and earn the wherewithal to live; the work they seek to do to aid humanity, cannot be done without the required funds. (7 - 79/80).
(2) The aspirant has an appreciation of the occult value of money in service. He seeks nothing for himself, save that which may equip him for the work to be done, and he looks upon money and that which money can purchase as something which is to be used for others, and as a means to bring about the fruition of the Master's plans as he senses those plans . . . Only he who desires naught for himself can be a recipient of financial bounty, and a dispenser of the riches of the universe. In other cases where [Page 272] riches increase they bring with them naught but sorrow and distress, discontent, and misuse. (1 - 79), (3 - 866).
(3) In the new age which is upon us, prior to the return of the Christ, the demand for financial support must be for the bringing about of right human relations and goodwill, and not for the growth of any particular organisation. The organisations so demanding, must work with the minimum of overhead and central plant, and the workers for the minimum, yet reasonable, salary. (8 - 179), (13 - 630).
(4) Remember that money is the consolidation of the loving, living energy of divinity, and that the greater the realisation and expression of love, the freer will be the inflow of that which is needed to carry forward the work. You are working with the energy of love and not with the energy of desire, the reflection or distortion of love. (13 - 335).
(5) Just as money has been in the past the instrument of men's selfishness, now it must be the instrument of their goodwill. (5 - 166).
See also: (5 - 271/3), (6 - 221, 225) and "Reflective Meditation on Attracting Money for Hierarchical Purposes." (6 - 228/31).
(1) The internal fires of the moon are practically burnt out, and, therefore, she does not shine save through reflection, having no inner fire to blend and merge with light external. (3 - 60).
(2) What causes the apparent deadness of the moon? . . . Here we touch upon a hidden mystery, of which the solution lies revealed for those who seek, in the fact that human beings and certain groups of devas are no longer found on the moon. Man has not ceased to exist upon the moon because it is dead, and cannot therefore support his life, but the moon is dead because man and these deva groups have been removed from off its surface and from its sphere of influence. Man and the devas act on every planet as intermediaries, or as transmitting agencies. Where they are not found, thencertain great activities become impossible, and disintegration sets in. (3 - 93)
(3) The decay of a moon has as great an evil effect upon all that contacts it as a decaying body on earth has upon its surroundings. It is occultly "offensive" . . . The greatest effect of moon conditions is to be seen working out predominantly in the terror, and present distress in the animal kingdom. (3 - 795).
[Page 273]
(4) Just as the moon is a deterrent or malefic force where the Earth is concerned, and productive of evil "influences", so all such disintegrating bodies are equally destructive. (3 - 837).
(5) I would have you bear definitely in mind, that today the moon is nothing more than a dead form. It has no emanation and no radiation of any kind and, therefore, has no effect of any kind. The moon, from the angle of the esoteric knower, is simply an obstruction in space - an undesirable form which must some day disappear. In esoteric astrology, the effect of the moon is noted as a thought effect, and as the result of a powerful and most ancient thought-form; nevertheless, the moon has no quality of her own, and can transmit nothing to the Earth. (16 - 13).
(6) The moon, as you know, is a shell, an ancient form through which the planetary Logos at one time sought expression. It is slowly disintegrating physically, but not astrally as yet, and is therefore still closely linked with the astral body of the planetary Logos, and therefore with the astral body of all people. Its influence is consequently more potent at the time of the full moon upon all who are unbalanced. (17 - 341).
(7) (The FULL MOON - Meditation and Effects - see (6 - 25/7, -54)).
(1) The development of right motive is a progressive effort, and constantly one shifts the focus of one's incentive when one discovers himself, as the Light shines ever more steadily upon one's way, and constantly a newer and higher motive emerges. Again let me illustrate: An aspirant in the early stages is practically always a devotee. To measure up to the standard set by a beloved friend and teacher, he struggles and strives and gains ground. Later, this object of his devotion and ardent effort is superseded by devotion to one of the Great Ones, the Elder Brothers of the race. He bends all his powers and the forces of his nature to Their service. This incentive is, in its turn, surely and steadily superseded by a vital love for humanity, and love of one individual (be he ever so perfect) is lost sight of in love for the whole brotherhood of men. Unceasingly, as the soul takes more and more control of its instrument, and the soul nature steadily manifests, this too is superseded by love of the ideal, of the Plan, and of the purposes underlying the universe itself. The man comes to know himself as naught but a channel through which spiritual agencies can work, and [Page 274] realises himself as a corporate part of the One Life. Then he sees even humanity as relative and fractional, and becomes immersed in the great Will. (4 - 203/4).
(2) Students would be amazed if they could see their motives as we see them who guide on the subjective side of experience. Mixed motive is universal. Pure motive is rare, and where it exists there is ever success and achievement. Such pure motive can be entirely selfish and personal, or unselfish and spiritual, and in between, where aspirants are concerned, mixed in varying degree. According, however, to the purity of intent and the singleness of purpose, so will be the potency. (4 - 558).
(3) The study and understanding of motives is of . . . value and importance, for such a study determines intellectually (if properly investigated) what factor or factors inspires the daily life. This is a statement worth careful consideration. I would ask you: What is your major actuating motive? For, whatever it may be, it conditions and determines your predominant life tendency.
Many people, particularly the unintelligent masses, are solely inspired by desire - material, physical and temporary. Animal desire for the satisfaction of the animal appetites, material desire for possession and for the luxuries of existence, the longing for "things", for comforts and for security - economic, social and religious - control the majority . . . Others are motivated by some form of aspiration or ambition - aspiration towards some material heaven (and most religions portray heaven in this manner), ambitions for power, desire for the satisfaction of the emotional or aesthetic appetites, and for the possession of the more subtle realities, and the longing for emotional comfort, for mental stability, and assurance that the higher desires will meet with gratification. (10 - 149).
(4) The time has come when men everywhere must realise that entry into a Master's Ashram is dependent upon Intelligence, plus right motive and service. (13 - 666).
(1) When the public mind has apprehended, even cursorily, the following briefly stated facts, the trend of popular education, the object of political science, and the goal of economic and social endeavour will take a new and better direction. These facts might be summed up in the following postulates:
[Page 275]
1. Man is in essence divine. This has ever been enunciated throughout the ages, but remains as yet a beautiful theory or belief, and not a proven scientific fact, nor is it universally held.
2. Man is in fact a fragment of the Universal Mind, or world soul, and as a fragment is thus partaker of the instincts and quality of that soul, as it manifests through the human family . . . It must lead to the education of the public as to the nature of man, and the development of the powers latent within him - powers which will set him free from his present limitations, and which will produce in the human family a collective repudiation of the present conditions. When men everywhere recognise themselves and each other, as divine self-conscious units, functioning primarily in the causal body but utilising the three lower vehicles only as a means of contact with the three lower planes, we will have government, politics, economics and the social order readjusted upon sound, sane and divine lines.
3. Man in his lower nature, and in his three vehicles, is an aggregate of lesser lives, dependent on him for their group nature, for their type of activity, and collective response, and who through the energy of activity of the solar Lord - will themselves later be raised, and developed to the human stage.
When these facts are understood, then and only then will we have a right and just comprehension of the nature of man. (3 - 809/11).
(2) That inner man has ever been known to be there, and the "kingdom within" has ever been proclaimed until H.P.B. came and gave out the same truths from a new angle, giving an occult turn to mystic thought. Now comes the opportunity for man to realise the laws of his own being, and in that realisation those who stand on the verge of intuitional apprehension of knowledge and those of scientific bent who are willing to accept these truths as a working hypothesis to be utilised as a basis for experiment until proven false, will have the chance to solve the world problems from within. Thus will the Christ principle be manifested on earth, and thus will the Christ nature be demonstrated to be a fact in nature itself. (3 - 814/5).
(3) Spirit uses the Soul, or the Ego, as a vehicle of enlightenment, and the Ego uses the lower Quartenary as its medium of expression. (3 - 819).
See also: "The Constitution of Man".


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May 23. 2013 11:50AM
The Millyard Museum
Mill #3
200 Bedford St.
Manchester, NH 03101
Ph: 603-622-7531
Inside of one of the brick Amoskeag Mill buildings in Manchester, NH is a museum that takes visitors back in time through 11,000 years of history in Manchester and the people who inhabited this city by the river.
Beginning with the Native American Indians who fished on the banks of the Merrimack, exhibits focus especially on the workers who made the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company the world's largest manufacturer of cotton textiles.


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Golden ratio dress for any occasion
Added May 20, 2013
by Zooormar
Zagreb, Croatia
I love simple patterns and decent sexy dresses, this is one of those that I think I am going to like a lot! I do not know exactly which fabric this is, but it is some blend of more fabrics (cotton, crepe…)
The pattern is my redone of a Burda Style pattern (opening around the neck is different, there is a belt around waist and not a lace, that way i can adjust color of a belt with a color of a shoes and a patent is longer).
I will wear it in any occasion because material is a bit shiny but not too much.
I have added a leather application of a cute fox as a substitute to a neck jewelry :)
Material Notes
Material was very pliable and easy to sew!
8 Comments Sign in to add a post
May 24, 2013, 11.45 AMby Inga 888
Fab dress, simple but in same time very elegant :)
May 21, 2013, 06.14 PMby Danela Novakovic-Djordjevic
Well done!
May 21, 2013, 11.16 AMby leokadia
Es ist ein sehr schönes Kleid! Ich habe diesen Schnitt auch verwendet und genäht (auch im Atelier zu sehen) und etwas ganz anderes kombiniert.
May 21, 2013, 08.37 AMby Sylvia Romano
This dress is fabulous ! Great !
May 20, 2013, 11.33 PMby Moimisie
Great dress. It looks lovely on you.!
May 20, 2013, 01.44 PMby iewa
I like this your dress very much. I am sewing one like this (same pattern).
May 20, 2013, 11.41 AMby liliv-1
Another lovely leather detailed piece! I love your projects!
May 20, 2013, 11.25 AMby Zooormar
Thank you! :)
Add to Favorites 9 people added it


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The Spare Head 1996
Judy Hill AMGP
The original (vandalised) 19th century pale green tint glass used for this head of St. Peter (W.F.Dixon 1848 1928) was impossible to match precisely; the glass obtainable being either slightly too blue green or too yellow green. As access to the window was both high and tricky I took the precaution of painting copies on the two best matches. A major part of my work is the precise painting of replacement pieces for severely vandalized stained glass. Great care has to be taken to match not only the colour of the glass and pigment but also the style and individual techniques of the original artist.
Tel:01580 891692
- Previous Exhibitor (Rosalind Grimshaw FMGP)
- Back to Exhibitors List
- Next Exhibitor (Douglas Hogg FMGP)


text:
UPDATED: Since the time of the original report, The Los Angeles Times has reported that there isn't a new Predator sequel in the works, but rather that the original Arnold Schwarzenegger film is being converted for Blu-ray 3D. The booth at Comic-Con promoting the new release will both allow fans to pre-order the disk as well as create a likeness of themselves getting their heads ripped off by a Predator - made in a 3D printer. You can find all of the details over at The LA Times site.
The original report is below.
We've been hearing a lot about a new Terminator movie in the works over the last couple months, but today it's a different formerly-Arnold Schwarzenegger-driven franchise that seems to be getting back up on its feet. As discovered by Coming Soon, the Predators Facebook page (the one from the 2010 Robert Rodriguez-produced reboot) has updated itself with an interesting, vague clue about future plans for the series that suggests that there could be some kind of big announcement made at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. The image you see above was posted earlier with the message "Something is coming… ?#HuntthePredator?," while the one you see below was posted with the message "The Predator is coming…?#SDCC?."
Those familiar with the Southern California region will probably recognize that these are satellite images of San Diego's Bayfront area. What you see in the bottom left-hand corner is a piece of the San Diego Convention Center - where SDCC is hosted - while on the bottom right side of the image you can see Petco Park, the baseball stadium that the San Diego Padres call home.


text:
Dow Sinks 353.87
Stocks fell to their biggest-one day slide of the year as anxiety mounted over the potential for the Federal Reserve to pull back its stimulus efforts. Investors also fretted about a slowdown in the Chinese economy.
Worries about the Fed rattled across other markets, with gold dropping and yields on Treasury bonds marching to nearly two-year highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 353.87 points, or 2.3%, to 14758.32, the biggest percentage drop since November 2012 for the blue chips and the largest point drop since November 2011.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 40.74 points, or 2.5%, to 1588.19. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 78.57 points, or 2.3%, to 3364.63.
Stocks began their decline at the opening bell, extending losses first kicked off after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated Wednesday that the central bank could start winding down its $85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program later this year.
Traders said the selling Thursday was being led by short-term investors such as hedge funds and accelerated when the S&P 500 broke through the 1600 level. Some pointed to a single account selling a large number of futures contracts during the afternoon as fueling the decline. Others pointed to heavier-than-usual volume in exchange-traded funds as reflecting aggressive trading by hedge funds.
"Every fast-money [investor] wants out, and we're not seeing any [longer-term] funds saying 'we're buying this dip,' " said Matthew Cheslock, a trader with brokerage firm Virtu Financial.
Despite the upbeat view for the economy, the prospect of the Fed curtailing the bond-buying efforts that have helped the Dow and S&P 500 hit records this year has sent jitters through the market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to its price, reached 2.419%, its highest since August 2011.
Home builders were slammed over concerns that rising bond yields would translate into higher financing rates for buyers. PulteGroup , D.R. Horton and Lennar slumped. All 10 of the S&P 500's sectors fell more than 2%, and every Dow industrial traded in the red.
Gold was hit hard, as its appeal as a hedge against inflation and currency weakness faded. Gold slid 6.4%, to settle at $1,285.90 a troy ounce, dipping below $1,300 for the first time since September 2010.
Traders said the recent market volatility has made tactical traders and hedge funds more comfortable betting on declines in parts of the market. The Dow declined 206 points on Wednesday, and the two-day plunge was its first back-to-back drops of more than 200 points since November 2011.
"In today's market, there's a little bit of fear, and some of these accounts smell blood and are getting a little more courage about getting in," said R.J. Grant, associate director of equity trading at KBW Inc.
Traders said losses were compounded by a week reading from China's manufacturing sector, which hit commodities like crude oil, down 2.9%, to settle at $95.40 a barrel. Late in the day, others said the market's declines accelerated once the S&P 500 broke below its 50-day moving average, a pivot price level where investors often sell.
Stocks also took a hit on the back of news reports suggesting the International Monetary Fund could halt payments to Greece.
Henry Mulholland, head of Americas equities at Bank of America , said long-term-oriented mutual-fund managers appeared to be standing by their stock positions, in some cases viewing the selloff as a chance to buy. Shorter-term traders have become more aggressive, willing in recent weeks to bet against high-dividend-paying stocks and real-estate investment trusts, sectors most sensitive to rising interest rates.
Overseas markets were also pummeled after Mr. Bernanke's comments. In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 slumped 3% as worries about potential Fed moves overshadowed better-than-forecast euro-zone manufacturing data. Germany's DAX index declined 3.3%, while France's CAC-40 index shed 3.7%.
Asian markets fell in response to weak data from China and concerns about the Fed. China's Shanghai Composite Index lost 2.8%, falling to a six-month low after HSBC 's China purchasing managers' index for June came in at a nine-month low. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropped 1.7%.
—Matt Jarzemsky, Alexandra Scaggs and Kaitlyn Kiernan contributed to this article.
Write to Chris Dieterich at email@example.com and Tomi Kilgore at email@example.com


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Stamps are not the only thing about to get canceled by the U.S. Postal Service.
How about post offices at Helix, Drewsey, Juntura, Sunriver, and other remote - and not-so-remote - communities?
Even Post, in Crook County, would have no post office under a list of 41 Oregon locations proposed for closure in 2012.
This does not seem right. Post offices are more than just places to drop a letter or parcel. (Speaking of which, it's still not possible to send a wrapped box via email.)
The impact will be deeply felt as the U.S. Postal Service attempts to stem its budgetary hemorrhage by severing its ties to America's smallest towns.
Post offices are community centers, and while most people in larger communities have little direct contact with their post office, it is the remote rural communities that are about to lose these facilities.
From the USPS's business standpoint, it makes sense, but not from a social one. For medical supplies and many other needs, these offices remain vital parts of these communities - lifelines, even.
Post offices are places common to us all, gathering points in an era that seems to provide fewer and fewer chances for people to connect face to face.
Yet in the face of an $8 billion budget deficit, USPS is considering closing 3,700 of the 31,871 post offices nationwide. Many locations are slated to become part of a "village post office," where local retailers would contract to provide some postal-related services. But the term seems euphemistic, just as what the USPS calls the overall change of locations process: "Expanded Access," apparently because there are now 100,000 locations to purchase products and services - locations such as grocery stores and ATM machines.
But these do not replace the rural post office. This is the rationale of the USPS as stated on its website: "Our customer's habits have made it clear they no longer require a physical post office to conduct most of their postal business.
"More and more (customers) are choosing to conduct their postal business online, on their smart phone and at their shopping destinations. And that means the need for us to maintain nearly 32,000 retail offices has diminished."
Yet, nationwide, 35 percent of urban residents own smartphones, compared to 21 percent of rural residents, and it is rural communities that are most affected under the list of Oregon locations.
The closest such closure to Hood River, under the proposal, will be in Rufus, east of The Dalles.
Rufus is part of a string of small offices in Wasco, Sherman and Gilliam counties slated for closure: nearby Grass Valley, Kent, Shaniko and Antelope are all on the list.
For now, Odell, Parkdale, Mosier and Cascade Locks are safe, but it makes one wonder if, a few years from now, they would become just another cluster of post offices deemed marginal.
The public may comment on all of this, if not to stop the pending round of closures but to let the USPS know how you feel about similar action in the future.
Let the Postal Inspector General know what you think, by email at: usps.com/customerservice
Or, do the Postal Service a favor, and write a letter to the Postmaster General, 475 L'Enfant Plaza S.W., Washington, D.C. 20260-0010.
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text:
Table of contents
All Cheats & Hints
.hack//Akushou Heni Vol. 2 Cheats :
This page contains .hack//Akushou Heni Vol. 2 cheats list for Playstation 2 version. Now we have 3 cheats in our list, which includes 2 unlockables, 1 easter egg. We hope information that you'll find at this page help you in playing .hack//Akushou Heni Vol. 2 on Playstation 2 platform. If you didn't find needed cheats put request or ask question about this at special section of the game. Also you can subscribe on all new cheats that we'll find for you in the future!
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text:
The Emeritaatsfonds was a Dutch fund for pensions of retired ministers. Since the ministers of Dutch Mennonite congregations gave full time to their ministry, provisions were made to grant them a reasonable yearly pension when they retired at the age of 65. These funds served at the same time as Invaliditeitfondsen, i.e., they provided for those who had to leave the ministry before they had reached the age of 65, because of bad health. In 1953 there were four of these superannuation funds in the Netherlands: Friesch Emeritaatsfonds, founded in 1845, Zaansch Emeritaatsfonds since 1848 (see Algemeen Emeritaatsfonds), Groningsch Emeritaatsfonds since 1917, and Pensioenfonds der A.D.S. since 1940.
|Nanne van der Zijpp
|Date Published
Cite This Article
MLA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. "Emeritaatsfonds." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 23 Sep 2018. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emeritaatsfonds&oldid=107604.
APA style
Zijpp, Nanne van der. (1956). Emeritaatsfonds. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 23 September 2018, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Emeritaatsfonds&oldid=107604.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 202. All rights reserved.
©1996-2018 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text: Colin Fogarty Proposed Power Lines Tangle With Native American History By Colin Fogarty • Sep 25, 2013 Imagine running power lines through a cathedral. That's how archaeologists describe what the Bonneville Power Administration proposes doing in the Columbia River Gorge in Washington state. The federal electricity provider is trying to string a new transmission line near a cave that contains ancient paintings, a site considered sacred by Native Americans. States Stake Claim On Sir Francis Drake's Landing By Colin Fogarty • Jun 17, 2012 Oregon and California are locked in a dispute over something that happened 433 years ago, when Sir Francis Drake became the first British explorer to make contact with Native Americans. It happened on what is now the American West Coast. The question is where? Oregon or California? The National Park Service is now poised to officially recognize one state's claim.


text:
Keep up-to-date on the latest news, press releases, events and multimedia highlights from Dell and around the World Wide Web.
|Follow Dell on Social Media
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|Read about Dell in featured stories from around the world wide web.
|Find the latest Dell news, including product launches, green initiatives and technology announcements.
|Your one-stop source for extended press and media coverage of major Dell events.
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|Dell is committed to working with and meeting the needs of our industry analyst community.


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Squatting::Mapper - map requests to session queues
The purpose of this module is to be on the lookout for requests that should get special treatment by Continuity. This is usually done by giving your controller a
continuity attribute and setting it to a true value:
Events => [ '/@events/(\d+)' ],
get => sub {
my ($self, $rand) = @_;
my $cr = $self->cr;
while (1) { # <--- COMET event loops typically loop forever
# broadcasting relevant events
# to long-polling HTTP requests
# as they come in...
continuity => 1, # <--- causes Squatting::Mapper to notice
When it sees that
continuity is true, the request will be given a session id based on: $cookie_session + $app_name + $controller_name + $path. Normally, it's just $cookie_session, but when you get these extra pieces added to your session id, that tells Continuity that you want to have a separate coroutine for this request.
If the user decides to open multiple-tabs to the same COMET-enabled site, each of those tabs needs to be differentiated on the server-side as well. That's when it becomes useful to stick something random in the path. Notice in the example that the path regex is '/@events/(\d+)'.
It would be the job of the JavaScript to append a random string of digits to the end of an '/@events/(\d+)' URL before starting the long-poll request. That'll let Squatting::Mapper give each tab its own coroutine as well.
Squatting::On::Continuity, Continuity::Mapper


text:
Here's Epson's last response. It appears that the LED light does not get adjusted at any time (see earlier post) and during non-ICE operation there is only one scan. If that's the case, I don't see how it makes a difference if you post process the scanned image and skip processing in the scanner. The setting sapplied in the scanner are just changing the scanned image data. There are no hardware changes to the scan process. Alan.---------------------------------------------------------------Dear Alan,Thank you for contacting Epson regarding your Epson Perfection V600 Photo. The scanner reverts to one-pass scanning when Digital ICE is turned off--greatly reducing scanning/processing time. All settings selected in the driver are applied as usual to the scanned image.Jack DCustomer (Alan Klein) - 01/07/2011 07:55 PMDear Michael: If ICE is off, how does the scanning process change as you change the settings for Histogram, or color, or brightness? Alan
I interpreted "speed" to mean the overall scan time because the second part of the sentence refered to multiple passes which only happens in ICE. But you may be right that Epson does change the speed of the scan. If as you say that other programs do that, why can't Epson? How would I test that in my scanner? What setting would I change? I wonder how effective that is? Another forum said that they couldn't see a dfifference. If the shadow area is dark, how is the scanner going to pull more data? Isn't it just doing what PS does with shadow brightness sliders? Have you experimented with this and what's the difference you see? If you take a properly exposed negative, and raise the exposure by slowing the speed, wouldn't you blow the highlight portion? My other question is how does the multiple scan process work with te other programs?
According to Silverfast, multiexposure is achieved by performing a double scan with increased exposure time in the second scan. Not every scanner allow this. Anyway, the epson V600 is supported in this functionality from Silverfast version 6.6.1r4 or newerFor some reason, ICE is not supported by Silverfast for the Epson V600.Here is a description of multiexposure: http://www.silverfast.com/highlights/multi-exposure/en.html
The reason why SilverFast does not include ICE is because it has instead its own, tecvhnically superior "iSRD".
Ok, but you need the HDR version of silverfast to use iSRD on supported Epson scanners. ICE is supported for other Epson scanners (like V700, V750, 4990) in the SE and AI versions.
That's interesting about the shadow areas. I notice in my 35mm Ektachrome scans this problem is more prevalent than in the 120 Velvia, Ektar and Fuji film scans. And more so in positive film than negative whioch probably explains why the new Portra negative films are good for scanning. You can see the shadow differences in my FLickr gallery between 35mm and 120. Too bad about the ICE because I do use it and it helps in PP. What experience have you all had with the double scan? The sample Silverfast showed is nice but it is their web page and I expect them to show their best. I'd be more interested in the results you're getting. For example, on shots that are exposed properly, much difference? On shots that are over or under-exposed, much difference? When do you most need and use it?
Those are interesting. I don't really see more details in the image in the second one but the noise is definitely reduced. Are you Multi Sampling or Multi Exposing? http://www.silverfast.com/highlights/multi-exposure/en.html Could you get rid of the noise PP?The second scanned picture's black area appears blacker which is good but that could because the noise is reduced. The scans might be cancelling the noise in the same way the ICE does in its double scans. Silverfast says noise is reduced because of the multi scans even though it's not operating ICE protocol. Also notice the negative border is very noisy as well; it's not only the picture area that's noisy. Is that normal?I really appreciate you posting these images. My main concern however is for basically normally exposed pictures. I'm not trying to do magic with badly exposed pictures. I'm not going to use those bad shots anyway. When would you use Multi-Exposing on normally exposed pictures and what kind of results can you expect? Can these results be basically duplicated by using lightening shadows feature in PS? I wouldn't want to spend a lot of extra money on Silverfast and spend all that extra time scanning for only marginal improvement over PS. Plus with my V600 I'd lose ICE.


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Bauzi wrote:So generally this has turned into Russian contest with a bit of international support? :>
Would it be possible to give us info about nationality of the voters in percent? :<
Sorry, but a-m-v.org is not the whole center of the amv world anymore. Russians might have a bigger community? Live with it and ask yourself why people are leaving this website! Russians make awesome videos? Cry me a river and make some awesome videos too?
Nya, I'm sorry that I pick on you too, but as you can see Krisqo pissed me off and you're part of the colletaral damage.
I don't care, mainly since you have a point, but still it kinda saddens me that it's so one-sided, more and more every year. But all I can do is blame the others but Russians, mainly, that they don't vote and promote enough...


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Dorothy and Jonnie Palmer had a rushed wedding ceremony in a hotel lobby in 1941, re-dedication vows described by their grandson as "short and sweet" at Atria Bayside Landing on Feb. 14, and in between, more than 71 long years of joyful wedded bliss.
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That's the view of Brian Ezell, managing director of the almond division of Paramount Farming Co. The company, based at Bakersfield, has 24,000 acres of almonds and about 29,000 acres of pistachios, making it the nation's largest grower of the two crops.
"Things are tough in agriculture, but we in the almond industry have a lot of positive factors going for us. One is increasing per capita consumption. We see significant growth in almonds, although growth of walnuts and pistachios is smaller," he said in an analysis of nut crops at the recent Annual Agribusiness Management Conference in Fresno.
Also encouraging, he added, is that despite the west coast ports dispute, almonds "are 3.7 percent ahead of last year's record pace for the first two months of shipments. Opening prices were 20 to 30 cents higher than a year ago, and we believe they will continue to rise during the coming year."
In the United States, almond per capita consumption is approaching one pound, a gain of 0.1 pound since mid-1999, while walnuts are just below a half-pound and pistachios are nearly 0.4 pound.
Health value high
Tree nuts, in general, he said, have market growth potential because their health benefits are supported by recent medical research, they blend well into a variety of native diets, and they are more cost-effective than meat in improving diets of emerging economies.
He said the California industry has stability because the state, with its typical lack of rain during pollination and hot, dry summers, offers a perfect climate for almonds that few other locations can match.
The industry continues to export about 70 percent of its crop. In 1997, 75 percent of the exports went to "mature markets," or those where per capita consumption is traditionally high. Since then, however, 63 percent has gone to mature markets and the balance to emerging markets, including South America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
"The good thing about these emerging markets is they represent 80 percent of the world's population," Ezell said. "We have seen excellent increases in consumption in Japan, which increased 50 percent since 1995. China and India together jumped 425 percent since 1996, from 16.6 million pounds to 70 million pounds last season."
In-shell exports
He said in-shell exports, mainly the less expensive varieties with split shells, are popular in China. There the product is brined, roasted, and packaged like peanuts or pistachios for snacks.
A different practice is common for in-shell product sent to India, where Nonpareils are hand-cracked for perfect meats, which are then packaged.
California dominates world trade in almonds and claims more than 85 percent of the production. Spain is the second largest customer, after the emerging markets, and received 85 million pounds last year, much of it processed and exported.
Almond acreage in California at 530,000 bearing and 75,000 non-bearing acres is up more than 60 percent from a total of about 375,000 acres in 1979.
Many growers switched from Nonpareils to hard-shell varieties having higher yield after short crops and high prices in the mid-1990s. However, prices later slipped downward.
Yield per acre of almonds, at about 1,800 pounds in 2002, has been increasing since the mid-1990s, due to higher yielding varieties and favorable growing weather in recent seasons.
But Ezell said the industry, doubtful of being able to successfully market projected billion-pound crops, actually undervalued its production without realizing that demand for almonds would continue strong.
Costs, returns
Average growing costs have been about $1,500 per acre in recent years and returns in the last three years have trailed the cost of production. This led to a leveling off of acreage in 2001 as growers began to take out orchards.
The 2002 harvest progressed with ideal conditions and the forecast by the California Agricultural Statistics Service is 980 million pounds, up 19 percent from the 824 million pounds of 2001.
Ezell said the crop may exceed the forecast. "In actuality, from a grower-processor point of view, this is probably a billion-pound crop." With carry-over, the marketable supply is just over one billion pounds, or 100 million more than 2001.
Folded into Ezell's optimism is anticipation that the 2003 crop will be significantly less than 2002's record output. He said his company plans to carry-over nearly 25 percent of its 2002 crop in anticipation of a shorter crop in 2003 and Blue Diamond Growers will also hold some of its volume for the 2003 season.
Walnut situation
Turning to the walnut industry, Ezell said acreage in California, around 200,000 acres bearing and 25,000 non-bearing, has remained relatively flat since 1979 and prices during the past decade have been between 40 and 60 cents per pound.
About 40 percent of the crop is exported, mostly in-shell, and U.S. consumption is mainly for kernels. Spain, Germany, and Japan are the main export destinations.
Unlike almonds, walnuts are produced throughout the world, and China is an emerging source. Walnuts are cracked by hand there and yields are much smaller, but massive plantings are under way.
Ezell predicted China will be a "growing challenge for us, particularly in competing with their lower costs, as they continue to plant more trees."
The pistachio industry, this year with 83,000 bearing and 23,000 non-bearing, has been adding about 5,000 acres each year since 1980. The 2002 crop, an "on-year," is expected to be nearly 300 million pounds. Shipments through September were 11 percent ahead of 2001 and prices are 20 to 30 cents per pound higher.
Aside from their alternate-bearing pattern, pistachio orchards are gaining in average yields, from 2,000 pounds per acre in 1985 to nearly 3,500 pounds in 2002, due to improved management and more resistant rootstocks.
Pistachio concern
"Pistachio growers have enjoyed very good profitability over the past few years, because supply and demand have grown in tandem," Ezell said.
However, he also said he has some concern about the future marketing of pistachios because consumption growth is relatively flat and 25 percent more acreage will come into bearing between 2004 to 2007.
"The thing about pistachios is 95 percent of them are sold as snack items, while other nuts are used as ingredients.
We, both growers and marketers, have to focus on how to get pistachios used as ingredients for other products so we can develop a new basis of usage that we don't have now," he said.


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September 2007
Communicating, communicating, communicating!
It goes almost without saying that breakdowns in SES implementation are often the result of breakdowns in communication between districts and providers. With this in mind, it is imperative that districts and providers establish clear lines of communication, communicate with each other on an ongoing basis, and strongly consider setting up regular meetings for the purpose of discussing topics related to SES implementation. In doing so, both parties should recognize and convey to one another that successful implementation is a mutual benefit.
Making it work
Some providers serve many districts, and some serve in multiple states. To ensure that there is effective communication at the local level, districts and providers should work together to establish a designated contact for each district a provider serves who is knowledgeable of SES implementation in the district and can respond quickly to inquiries from the district.
Clarifying policies and expectations up front. Disputes that may arise between a provider and district are often attributable to a lack of clarity from the outset about local SES policies (i.e., policies on the administrative and logistical issues discussed above such as access to school facilities as well as other issues including payment). To prevent such occurrences, districts are well advised to inform providers of local SES policies and expectations prior to the start of services. In doing so, a district should be sure to discuss the procedures through which complaints or grievances by providers may be addressed.
To help providers get acquainted with the various local aspects of SES, some districts have developed SES handbooks or manuals that compile in one source local policies, practices, and timelines for SES implementation. Such handbooks can also be useful tools for other district and school staff involved in SES, including SES site coordinators.
Involving providers in decision making. While districts are expected to set local expectations for SES implementation and convey these to providers, implementation is generally more effective when districts do not make decisions on SES issues unilaterally. Rather, SES works more smoothly in districts that actively seek the input of providers when developing policies affecting SES and give providers equal opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns.


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I would add that you should not count on your spouse either. I don't particularly like dogs. Each time my wife adopted one, I issued the basic "OK, but I don't want to have anything to do with it" disclaimer. We now have four. However as the person who works from home, I end up taking care of them by default. I'm also the budgeter, and we're always going over. We budget $35 a month for four dogs, my parrot, an abandoned bunny we rescued from the park, and eight chickens. It's a rare month I don't have to pull money out of our grocery budget for pet food. I feel bad about that. No one seems to get $35 out of enjoyment from them. I'm still not quite prepared to frugal them onto Ol' Roy dog food though. I love them in spite of my objections.
10 Hidden Costs & Rules of Pet Ownership
Here's my list of what adoption agencies and pet shops don't tell you about your future pet. After we adopted our adorable dog, (that's Scruffy in the main photo), purchased the hamster(s) and accepted the turtles, we discovered these hidden rules & costs of owning pets.
1. Don't rely on the kids
The adoption agency and the pet store will give you the 411 on kids & pets. With over-confidence, you will assume that you know the inside story about families and animals.
Yeah, Yeah! After two weeks, the kids will get tired of the pet and you will be in charge of cleaning out the fish bowl, changing the newspaper in the hamster cage and walking the dog. Duh! You know that already.
And of course, as a responsible adult you will nod and mentally re-organize your agenda.
Here's my warning: You bought it; it's really yours. Really think hard about what pet ownership will mean to the adults in your home.
It's like taking home a new baby. For the next 18 years, you will be responsible for potty duties, burping, early morning wake-up calls, training and other 24/7 duties. And like distant relatives, your kids will occasionally -- maybe often -- drop into to play with this baby, but most of the time, the pet is all yours.
2. A sick dog can be worse than a sick kid
A child with a cold or sore throat will tell you how much it hurts, how long it hurts and where it hurts. You'll have clues about when and if a trip to the doctor's office is really necessary.
But a sick dog can't tell you much. There are no word clues to discover if the pet is deathly ill or just suffering from a minor ache.
Without a clue, you will feel compelled to visit the Vet often, which translates into huge medical bills.
3. Animals complicate vacation plans
Even short-trips can become a planning nightmare when you have a pet. I have traveled with a dog and hamster and it's often difficult to find accommodations for pets. If you're staying in a private home, your friends and family might welcome you, but have doubts about your pets.
There are hotels and motels that accept animals, but you have to do a lot of homework to find a place that's open for pets. What's more, these establishments may also have house rules, restrictions or extra fees for pets. Doggy daycare is expensive. If you leave the pet home, your vacation plans must include pet sitters, walkers, feeders and emergency numbers.
What's more, you'll need a Plan B. For example, a friend of mine with an extensive, expensive fish tank had to rely on a back-up battery-operated lighting and feeding system when the electricity went down in our area.
He was out of town when our neighborhood was dark and his rescue efforts involved phone calls to neighbors and friends.
4. Watch out for odors
Pet owners have to be especially aggressive about animal odors in the home.
Our turtles, for example, did not have much of scent. But when the filter on the turtle tank broke, the odor became overpowering and we had to change the water daily until we could repair the filter and water pump. For a brief period, our home smelled like a water treatment plant on a bad day.
Yuck! Likewise, even slight odors from hamsters, cats, dogs and birds can cling to drapes, carpets and sofa cushions.
5. Be on the alert for allergies
My middle son is allergic to birds; my daughter is allergic to hamsters. We learned the hard way.
For instance, during the two-plus years that we owned a series of hamsters, my daughter was constantly rubbing her nose and sneezing.
We were in denial about the cause. But guess what? My daughter's allergies disappeared when our last hamster was put to rest.
6. Pets bite back
Dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils and hamsters can bite and scratch.
Most pets are excellent around small children, but little kids often pull on pets (tugging on tails, ears, etc).
As part of the family petting zoo, even a patient animal may occasionally bark or nip out of frustration.
7. Guard the home office
Warning: If you have a home office, be prepared to relocate to a bathroom or closet when your dog barks during a telephone interview or sensitive conversation.
Most people will be amused or tolerant of the situation, but some will have doubts about talking with you while a dog barks in the background.
8. Education is a commitment
Even if you pay to have your pet professionally trained, you will have to invest time and energy to educate your dog, cat, bird or hamster about house rules.
Puppies are very hard work, albeit worth the effort.
9. You will become a competitive pet owner
When I had my first child, I secretly compared my baby to others. I was very proud when my baby walked and talked before other babies.
My children are tweens and teens and I have become a competitive pet owner.
I compare my dog's manners, appearance and personality to other dogs on the street.
I'm trying to re-train my Type-A personality. But, honestly, I've had better luck training my dog.
10. You will love, love, love your animal.
Yesterday, a woman in my building was on the verge of tears. She's a grandmother, with an 18-month-old grandson.
"The little one died," she said.
I almost passed out from grief and empathy. But then I realized that she was talking about her little dog. (She had two dogs). Upon learning that her grandson was well, living and healthy, (thank goodness), I felt such relief.
But then I felt another wave of grief and empathy. My neighbor really loved her dog.
Bottom Line: I highly recommend pet ownership. It's a great way to forget yourself and celebrate life. But caring for a pet is a huge responsibility. By the way, this article from MSN Smart Spending has great tips about pets:
The costs of pet ownership (and tips to reduce them)
Editor's note: Sharon Harvey Rosenberg (The Frugal Duchess) will be joining Wise Bread as a full time blogger in August. In the mean time, she'll be dropping by with a few guest posts a week. You can find more great tips from Sharon in her book Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save Money or in Wise Bread's new book 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget.
Can't wait until August? Here are other great posts by Sharon on her blog The Frugal Duchess. Enjoy!
Additional Photo Credit: Dr. Hemmert, Josh, Ricky, Nicholas Wang, Keuynish, bokswagen, Toms Baugis, Bev Sykes, Marianne Perdomo,
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
a very, very good article- anyone who has LOVED and i emphasize
LOVED an animal knows the pain when they die. personally,
i won't print how much i grieved over having to put my best
friend to death-
While I agree it is the age-old story that Mom and Dad end up taking care of whatever critter the junior members of the family decide they want (and therefore has a great deal of truth to it), I do want to point out that you *can* get kids to be responsible pet owners. Yes, it takes some nagging. But pets are a great way to teach kids empathy and responsibility, especially since the costs are so very high when the kids mess up. My daughter was responsible for the cat box and feeding and she learned pretty quickly what was needed and expected - of course, the cat box was in her room at one point.
Kids need and deserve the chance to be responsible and helping them be responsible for a living creature will help them be responsible parents later on.
Pets are great, but so much work. I recommend getting a Chinchilla. Like a rabbit/squirrel, so soft and best of all, nocturnal. When you go to work, he's sleeping. When you come home, he's wide awake and ready to play.
Rich By 30 Retire By 40
I love all my pets, (2 dogs and 12--yes, 12--cats--all of whom are fixed!) especially since I can't have kids. I volunteer at one of our local no-kill shelters, too. I have been blessed that one of my many talents is cleaning out a litter box! Adopt a homeless animal! They are worth every penny!
Great article. I just started budgeting by category 3 months ago and have found we spend much more monthly on our one dog and one cat than we thought.
I haven't made any adjustments in spending for them as I don't think I waste in this area, but it was eye-opening. Having said that, I think the pets add more to our lives than their cost.
Vets have gotten awfully good at guilt-tripping when you don't spend for top-of-the-line tests and treatments.
I am from a small town and had always gone to vets that mostly deal with large animals.
So when we moved to the city I just picked the vet closest to the house, and dealt with being treated like a bad person at every visit (really, do the cats need their teeth cleaned every year? How did they survive their first ten years without that?)
But when my (normally very cheap) boyfriend was going to unquestioningly lay down nearly $4000 for bladder surgery for the cat, I comparison-shopped and found a much cheaper ($1000 total for that specific treatment) and incidentally *much* more compassionate vet, who I can trust to tell me the truth about how beneficial treatments are and respect my budget.
I wish it were so easy to comparison-shop procedures at human doctors.
> 5. Be on the alert for allergies
Allergies were one reason for us to be happy to have two pets already when we got children. Children growing up on farms have significantly fewer allergies than children from cities. The hygenie hypothesis says to this that children's immune systems need activity, e.g. against animal germs; otherwise they might run amok and cause allergies.
If I didn't work out of my office at home I don't know what I would have done. Our really old big dog became very ill, lost weight and basically collapsed. I spent a weekend hand feeding the dog because she could barely lift her head. We eventually figured out what is wrong with her but there is no way I could have given her adequate attention if I was working 50+ hours a week on the other side of town and out of town for meetings. Not to mention getting her in to see the vet.
Too many people discount dog training. It isn't optional. An untrained dog will develop all sorts of bad habits. Like eating the linoleum off your floor, biting the neighbor kids or otherwise trashing your house.
Pets often can be a lot of work but so worth it. Our 2 cats mean the world to us and pretty much run the house. :-) New pet owners though need to be warned of what life changes come with becoming a pet owner. Great article.
"I highly recommend pet ownership. It's a great way to forget yourself and celebrate life." - I love that =)
I love this article! I am owned by one cat and would not have it any other way. I am absolutely guilty of spoiling him rotten, but he adds so much to my life that it does not even matter. I cannot understand how people treat pets as a thing rather than an opportunity to take care of one of God's creatures.
They really do just take over your heart, your life, and your home :)
My puppy saved me money. Coming home every night to a puppy that needed 0:30 walking, 0:15 training, and 0:30 playtime REALLY cut into my hockey-viewing time so I cancelled my Center Ice subscription.
I'd also contend that NOT training your pets is the hidden cost, while training them helps to lower costs. A well-trained pet also helps you out with #9. :-)
Another grat post here. I have 2 Huskies and I totally agree with everything you said here! I experienced "#7. Guard the home office" today: I was in a business meeting over skype when my Husband came home and got the dog all riled up! SO I totally know what you mean! Thanks for the post!
I find that it is appropriate to budget about $1K per dog/cat or large bird per year. Between flea medication, teeth cleanings, shots (parrots need shots, too!), food, toys (for the parrots again -- they need constant mental stimulation), and unplanned health emergencies (especially with older pets), it really adds up.
So when my DH gives me the "googly eyes of love" for a new pet, I squint at him and ask for the $1K up front.
Having a pet isn't just something to sit on your lap at night, it requires some time to do stuff. For example I just got a himalayan cat. Common hygiene tasks include brushing their hair on a daily basis to avoid natting. Also because of their squished face you have to wipe their eyes all the time. These I looked up before hand so I knew what I was getting myself into. A little thing that is also common with kittens is some of the crap (litterally) sticks to the hair on their butt and you have to cut off the hair around there. Oddly this all would seem like work before I had him but really none of it bothers me. He's gotten older and now don't have to worry about seeing surprises on hair by his butt. Also he's used to me wiping his eyes so he's fine with that. Emptying litter box twice a day doesn't bother me as I just worked it into my schedule. But people should understand you are caring for a living thing that depends on you for everything and in the case of dogs and cats can live for a while.
I have two seniors, and I love them tremendously. They are my `kids'. However, not until I began tracking our monthly expenses via Excel a few months back did I realize how much I was spending on food, medicine, treats & toys. They can be extremely expensive.! We're all on a budget, so stuffed toys are now purchased at the thrift store, and treats have been cut back.
However, because mine are geriatrics, there will be no heroic measures when the diagnosis comes. I've made it clear to my vet that there'll be comfort measures only, no surgeries or the like.
It IS very expensive to own pets, especially large dogs. Our annual check up for the two, including a new prescription for arthritis pain and full blood screen, was nearly $600.
I have now set up a monthly auto savings with ING direct dedicated to Vet bills, so that I'll have funds set aside in advance for the next Vet trip. I'd recommend that to all, it's a good way to budget for the Vet bills.
Nice article - I took the photo of the tuxedo and ginger tabby hugging each other. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thippie/2809730386/in/set-72157603544525383/
Pets are a lot of work - but totally worth it!
This is a fantastic article, and I wish more people would read this. I'm fascinated, and disgusted, by how many "College experts" suggest bringing pets to colleges. However small they are, pets require a great deal of responsibility, time, and cash (three things that students often lack). I wish the geniuses at my college would read this article, before adding "small pets" to their "what to bring to college" checklist.


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Front Row at Cali Christmas 2012: Kendrick Lamar, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz & More Go Off
Power 106's annual Cali Christmas concert, held at the Gibson Amphitheatre at LA's Universal Studios, was jam packed with surprises. Lil Wayne, E-40, Too $hort, J. Cole and Problem joined Kendrick Lamar for his closing set along with his other T.D.E. pals Ab-Soul, ScHoolBoyQ and Jay Rock. That was only the closing set.
Earlier in the night, Grammy-nominated rapper 2 Chainz tore up the stage, along with Rick Ross and Meek Mill, The Weeknd, Big Sean, Clyde Carson, Ca$h Out and more.
Check out VIBE's photos from the front row of this rapper-studded show.
All photos by Ryan Spencer


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Assignment: Showbiz 'Avengers' showdown!
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"The Avengers" storms theaters on May 4 and Showbiz Tonight wants to hear from you! We want to know who your favorite superhero is. If you could be any of the Avengers, who would you be and why? (Perhaps even dress the part, like Omekongo Dibinga?)
Which superheroes would you like to see battle each other? Be creative and surprise us! Send us your video and then watch Showbiz Tonight at 11 p.m. ET/PT weeknights on HLN and look for your iReports.