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Since 1998, Custom Home Exteriors Inc. has been exceeding client expectations. Our story, philosophy, process, and results all set us apart from the typical siding contractor. The difference is that we're committed to honesty, excellence, and your complete satisfaction from the first visit to the final walkthrough.
Custom Home Exteriors: An Inspirational True Story
Over two decades ago, Stephen Scoggins was in a desperate struggle to rebuild his life. At 22 years old, he was living out of his car after a series of poor life choices. Stephen had just managed to get a job with a successful contractor group called Myrick Construction, and his first assignment was to help a work crew put together a garage door jamb. However, Stephen was shocked when he overheard the crew say that they weren't going to come in to work the following Monday in an attempt to lobby for more money.
Infuriated, Stephen went to his boss, Steve Myrick, and offered to take over the job himself. He had no crew, no experience, and no equipment except for his tool belt, but he was determined to follow through for the man who had given him a second chance. Intrigued, Myrick agreed to let Stephen take over, becoming Stephen's first customer. Stephen managed to complete the job on time with excellence, and Custom Home Exteriors, Inc. was born.
We Refuse to Let You Down
Custom Home Exteriors, Inc. began with a simple philosophy: refuse to let the customer down. There's no shortage of dishonesty, exploitation, and price-gouging in the construction and home remodeling industry, and CHE exists to solve that problem. Our founder Stephen Scoggins was determined to serve his first customer in a way that other contractors wouldn't, and that's been CHE's attitude ever since. We emphasize timeliness, customer education, excellence, and follow-through to make sure that our customers get what they pay for. That's why our current customer satisfaction rate is 96%.
A Proven and Consistent Process
So many home exterior contractors rely on keeping their customers in the dark in order to make a profit. Not us. At Custom Home Exteriors, we strive to make sure each and every one of our clients understand exactly what we're doing, why we're doing it, and the results they can expect from our work. We do this through a unique nine-step process:
Free Consultation
First, we will come out to your property and learn about you and your specific needs and goals. We'll ask you a series of questions until we have a thorough understanding of each, and an idea as to how we can make your dream happen. Then, if you'd like to move forward, we can schedule a detailed home assessment.
Detailed Home Assessment
Here we will take a deeper look at your property and evaluate different strategies to help you get the most out of your money. This stage is crucial to determining the best next step and in giving you the deepest understanding of your exterior renovation as possible.
Estimate & Proposal
Here we'll give you an itemized quote that's good for 30 days. Here you'll also get separate sheets for your project scopes, specifications, and planned custom design.
Design & Project Staging
If you decide to move forward with the project, Custom Home Exteriors will work with you to create a digital picture of your finished home exterior before we begin! This will help you choose the best color, texture, and material for your vision.
Pre-Construction Meeting
At this stage you'll be introduced to your personal construction manager. This person will review all of the specifications, timelines, and materials related to your home exterior remodel. Here we will ensure that you have full understanding of your project and that all expectations are understood by both parties.
Project Execution
A.k.a. "Project installations", this is when we do the job. A critical note: we will follow all manufacturer's guidelines during your project installations so that all of your products will be warrantied. This alone sets us apart from most companies, who won't even tell you about these warranties in order to save themselves the time and trouble of following the additional rules attached to them.
Clean Up and Completion
We want your home to look good as new, and that includes being free of debris. You shouldn't have to clean up after your custom home exterior contractor.
Project Closeout
Before we declare the project a success, we will do a final walkthrough. If anything is out of place, we'll fix it. Then we'll give you a book that includes the details of all your warranties. Finally, we'll connect you with someone in our customer care team so that you have someone to call if you ever have a question or service need related to your warranties.
We'll fire up the grill and throw you a block party to celebrate your home's new look! This final stage is optional.
A Stellar Track Record for 20+ Years
If our story, experience, and process don't speak for themselves, consider our track record:
- Continuous operation for over 20 years
- Thousands of projects completed
- Winner of NAHB SAFE Award
- ZERO Complaints with the Better Business Bureau…ever
Need a Siding Contractor?
Custom Home Exteriors is here to give you a free consultation so you can experience for yourself what makes us different. Click the button below to start your home's transformation!


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Welcome to the official Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Foursquare page. Follow us to find tips about Jackson Hole, both on and off the mountain. You can also find us on Twitter @jhski, Facebook, JH Tapped and our mobile site.
Foursquare © 2024 Lovingly made in NYC, CHI, SEA & LA
Download Foursquare for your smart phone and start exploring the world around you!

subset: commoncrawl


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Le Chateau d'Harcourt
The castle was founded in the 10th century soon after the Normans annexed Normandy, the original fortress was constructed of wood. The stone chateau which can be seen today is based on one constructed in the 12th century by Duke Robert II of Normandy. Duke Robert was a companion of Richard the Lionheart. The chateau remains one of the best preserved in Normandy.
The Chateau d'Harcourt is the site of the oldest arboretum in France; today it includes more than 500 species of tree, covering 11 hectares. The arboretum is the heart of extended woodlands covering more than 95 hectares.
Click the link to find out more about the Chateau d'Harcourt
From 1st March to 16th June and from 16th September to 17th November, the chateau is open every day except Tuesday, from 2pm until 6pm.
From 17th June to 15th September, the chateau is open very day from 10:30am until 6:30pm.
Prices are 4.00€ for Adults and 1.50€ for children.


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At present most companies not only produce products and sell them, but switch to consumers to meet their needs and wants. Environmental factors, technological developments and corporate competition will affect the value and consumer satisfaction towards the products offered. Marketing is a social and managerial process whereby individuals and groups get their needs and wants by creating, offering and exchanging something of value to each other. Products are things that can be offered to the market to be noticed, obtained, used or consumed that can meet the wants or needs of consumers.Consumer's age of Shell Helix lubricants varies in meaning that can be used by all ages and the most user of Shell Helix lubricants are aged 26 – 30 years. Consumer perceptions towards product attributes on consumer behaviour towards Shell Helix lubricant oil purchasing turns out to have a significant effect.
Keywords: Consumer Behaviour, Perception, Product, Purchasing, Respondent


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This beginner- friendly tutorial is a for two sided barn door with rustic decorative trim on both sides. Use wood boards from the big box store and birch plywood for a budget friendly project. This project lays out the steps to build a door of any size while still keeping the 1- 3/4″ door width required by standard sliding barn door hardware.
I'm so happy to finally be sitting down to write this tutorial. This project has been in the works for a long time. If you've been wondering whether or not you can build a barn door with beginner woodworking skills, let me tell you. You. Absolutely. Can.
This tiny laundry room has been getting a makeover one project at a time. The faux wainscoating was one of the first things I did over a year ago. I knew back then that a sliding door would be perfect for this small space, but I was nervous about building something bigger than me, so I procrastinated for a while.
Eventually, I got brave enough to do it. I measured and drew it out, then took Duane to the big box store to help me haul the wood into my Jeep. And in two days, I freakin' built a door. I did! And you can, too.
Building this door doesn't necessarily have to take you two days, but I'm slow at building and I need a lot of Popcorn and Coke Zero breaks 🙂
The door isn't perfect, but I'm still SO proud of it! It serves its purpose well and looks good. Best of all, I love not having a door swinging into my laundry room, getting in my way when I'm carrying laundry in and out, or trying to iron. (ok….I don't really iron that much, but when I do….I like having space).
Side note: If you like the ironing board holder, it's a quick scrap wood project. You can find the plans for it here!
A couple of things I did that made process easier: 1. I did not remove the door trim on either side, and 2. I installed the hardware before I built the door.
Hands down, the best part of this build is the two-sided design. This beauty looks good no matter which side you look at it from! I was worried about it looking weird from the opposite side because ya know…the hardware is a big part of what makes a barn door beautiful. And I was concerned I would never want to slide it shut. But, friends I was wrong! It looks just as good from the kitchen side.
The two-sided design was a bit tricky to figure out because the door had to be no thicker than 1- 3/4″ (standard barn door hardware does not allow for thicker doors). So, the decorative trim could not add too much bulk, which is why I chose 1/2″ birch plywood.
Are you ready to get started???! Let's do this!
How to Build a Two Sided Barn Door
Affiliate links included for your convenience. Click here to read the full disclosure.
Materials Needed (36″x 84″door) |
(5) 1″x 8″ straight wood boards
(1) sheet of 1/2″ birch plywood ripped into 6″ planks (I had mine ripped at the store) (50-60) 3/4″ wood screws (I went to a specialty hardware store and got the fattest ones they carried because I wanted them to be chunky and show as part of the design) Miter Saw (only if you want the angled cross pieces) Finish of Choice (See Step 5 for details. This is the stain I used) |
Step 1: Install the Hardware (click here for the tutorial)
This may sound strange, but installing the hardware first helped to get a more accurate idea of the size I needed to build the door. Once the hardware was up, I simply measured the length from the bar to the floor, leaving a little room for floor clearance. My door ended up being 84″ long. I followed the same procedure when I built the sliding window shutter in my son's room and it worked well also.
Step 2: Cut and Glue the 1x8s
Once your hardware is up, figure out the length you want your door to be and cut the 1″x 8″s to size. Then use wood glue at the seams and clamp until the glue dries.
Step 3: Add Plywood Trim
Like I said before, the trim is made from 1/2″ birch plywood ripped into 6″ planks. Using 1/2″ helped to keep the door from going over the 1- 3/4″ width.
Add the vertical plywood pieces first, then measure and cut the three horizontal pieces. My horizontal pieces were 24- 1/2″ long. Adhere with wood glue and reinforce with 3/4″ wood screws. Turn the door over and repeat the process on the other side.
Step 4: Mark and Cut the Diagonal Trim
To figure out the angled cuts, place one of the plywood pieces across and mark your cut. Using a square helps to keep the line straight.
Once you have your line drawn, take the piece to the miter saw and set the miter angle to line up with your mark, and cut. If you don't have a miter saw, or want to keep this project simple, you can leave out the diagonal pieces.
Done and exactly 1- 3/4″. Phew!
Step 5: Sand and Stain
Now that the door is built, it's time to prepare the surface for the finish. The edges of the plywood can be pretty rough, so using a cat sander worked well to get into the small spaces.
Once the door surface is smooth, apply the finish of your choice. I find staining is easier and more forgiving than paint, so I went with this stain for a rustic look. Because I was using 2 types of wood, you may notice that the trim stained darker than the body of the door. Thankfully, I didn't mind the look!
Confession: I initially covered the screws with wood filler and it was a mess! You can see the spots on this photo. That's when I headed to the specialty hardware store and bought some fat and chunky short screws and painted them black. I then chipped the wood filler off and replaced the screws with the fat/chunky ones.
I gave the door 2 coats of stain and 3 coats of top coat. I love this top coat the best because it's water based and doesn't leave a shine or yellow tint like other top coats do.
Step 6: Attach hardware to the door
This part was pretty scary because I was so afraid of ruining my beautiful masterpiece! But I took my time and it turned out well. Be sure and check out my tutorial for installing barn door hardware.
Step 7: Install Finger Pull (if needed) and door handle
Because this is a two-sided barn door, it needed hardware on both sides. I installed a finger pull on the kitchen side. In hindsight, I wish the finger pull was bigger, but it looks alright. It was my first time using a chisel and it was nice not to chip away a large space to fit the pull.
The door handle is from Lowes and you can find it here!.It was super easy to install. I did it when the door was up to make sure the placement made sense.
Step 8: Install the Floor Guide
This is super important, so please don't skip this step. The door needs to have floor guide to be safe. The hardware came with a small floor guide, which required cutting a groove at the bottom of the door using a router. It also required drilling holes on the floor. No thanks.
So, my solution was to buy this floor guide on Amazon. It was super easy to install on the wall (I put mine right on the baseboard). No need to drill on the floor or use a router. The knobs are adjustable to the width of your door and allow the door to glide easily in between. Please DO NOT let your door "just hang" without a floor guide. It is super dangerous!. This was actually the second floor guide I bought. The first one was a royal pain! Beware of cheaper models and flawed designs.
You can see the floor guide on the picture below. So much better than having to drill on the floor! Excuse my messy memo board. I'm working on a solution for that mess as we speak, so stay tuned!
All in all, I am super happy with how this door turned out. It gave my laundry room a rustic touch and so much better flow and function!.
I also love how the stain color ties in with the hardwood floors and barstools on the kitchen side. After painting my cabinets last year, this door provided a wood element the space needed.
If you have questions about this project, don't hesitate to ask in the comments! And if you like beginner-friendly wood projects and budget-friendly home ideas, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on new projects. As a subscriber, you have access to free plans and printables from my resource library. Are you in?
Pin it so you won't forget it!


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YELLOW AREA: FREE delivery on all orders.
Same day delivery - If you are within approx 20 miles of Swindon (our main warehouse) then we may be able to offer Same Day Delivery subject to order value and stock availability, so please enquire.
BLUE AREA: Smaller items such as sofabed mattresses, pillows are free delivery for this blue area (excluding the Islands) it is just the much larger items such as bed frames, divan beds and mattresses that we advise you to enquire with us first. Customers in the blue area please call us on 020 8619 0899 or email email@example.com to discuss the delivery options available.
TR,PL,EX,TQ and some LL, SA and all Scottish postcodes can take a few days longer and there may be an additional delivery fee. If you are in one of these areas please contact us first to discuss the delivery options.


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For mature skin that needs instant lifting.
The intensive concentrate with highly concentrated TENS'UP™ complex which provides perfect smoothing and skin tension. The in vivo tests have shown immediate and long-term lifting and wrinkle reducing effects. The concentrate thanks to the combination of collagen, hyaluronic acid, cera- mides and macadamia oil additionally provides the skin with deep hydration, nutrition, comfort and softness.
Active ingredients:
Complex TENS'UP™ - constitutes crucial, active component with instant and long-term lifting properties, as shown in the test in-vivo. Since, it combines surface activity tensing the skin with anti-ageing activity which is confirmed by the increase in the synthesis of collagen and anti-wrinkle effect.
Hyaluronic acid - a mucopolysaccharide binding elastin and collagenous fibres in the dermis, it is able to bind from one thousand to four thousand times more water than its mass and for this reason is used as one of the most valuable moisturising factors.
Silk proteins - make the skin soft and smooth, have a strong lifting and moisturizing effect.
Ceramides - have a moisturizing, protective and firming effect.
Avocado extract - nourishes and strengthens the skin.
Linseed extract - has softening and soothing effects.
Argan oil - is an elixir of youth with a strong regenerating effect on the skin, protects against premature appearance of wrinkles, soothes the symptoms of acne, allergies and psoriasis.
Sunflower oil - has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It strengthens the natural protective barrier of the skin, softens and regenerates the epidermis.
Shea butter - has nourishing and regenerating effects, protects against UV radiation.


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January 21, 2022
After long vacations or breaks, parents often find it hard to get their children back into the school routine. Many students experience sleep issues, can't finish homework, or can't focus in class. Now that the pandemic has kept most students out of physical school for nearly two years, bringing them back into a routine could be daunting. Here are some ways parents can get kids back on a school schedule.
Let's start by reintroducing appropriate sleep times. Set an early bedtime as the holidays come to a close so that kids will develop the habit of waking up early. This will make the start of school less jarring and more natural. Limiting screen use at night, such as television, video games, and mobile phones, is a great way to encourage early sleeping.
Parents can also encourage their children to catch up on challenging topics before school begins. Have them do some tough mathematical problems and read daily from their literature booklist just before school resumes. This will help keep their mind sharp and prepared for the school term. Get students who are reading for CSEC or CAPE to brush up or even complete the necessary SBAs or IAs before the new school year begins. That can substantially alleviate their workload for the term.
An often-overlooked part of the preparation for a new term is sourcing necessary school supplies. This includes books, pens, texts, uniforms and accessories like pencil cases and lunch pans. After two years of being out of a school uniform children may discover it doesn't fit. And don't forget attention to hair preparation that meets school's guidelines.
Finally, students returning to physical school this semester must safeguard themselves. Although most of them are back in school, the coronavirus is still very much real! We beg you to make sure your child is adequately masked, has their own supply of hand sanitizers, and practice social distancing. Those who are old enough should be vaccinated to lower the chance of transmission.


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This is the Seeds Online Children's Service that aired: March 22nd, 2020
If you have missed any of our services, you can watch them on our Facebook or Youtube page for free. These same services are also for sale here. This is for churches that want to download the service, use it in its entirety for their church, or use any parts of it for your service. If you have any questions about our COVID-19 guidelines, you can see them here.
Kids Worship Videos Used:
Be Strong and Courageous (Joshua 1:9)
Trust (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Let Him Ask God (James 2:4-5)
Message by: Jason Houser
Theme Verse: James 1:2-5
Duration: 18:29
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As per SOLAS chapter III, regulation 31
All cargo ships constructed before 1 July 1986 shall carry:
- one or more liferafts capable of being launched on either side of the ship and of such aggregate capacity as will accommodate the total number of persons on board.
- The liferaft or liferafts shall be equipped with a lashing or an equivalent means of securing the liferaft which will automatically release it from a sinking ship; and
- where the horizontal distance from the extreme end of the stem to the nearest end of the closest survival craft is more than 100 m, in addition to the liferafts required
- A liferaft stowed as far forward , or one as far forward at, as is reasonable and practicable. such liferaft or liferafts may be securely fastened so as to permit manual release.


text: Sections View Full Chapter Figures Tables Videos Annotate Full Chapter Figures Tables Videos Supplementary Content ++ Abbreviations and symbols commonly used in ophthalmology are listed in the accompanying box. ++ Table Graphic Jump Location|Download (.pdf)|Print Abbreviations & Symbols Used in Ophthalmology A or Acc Accommodation Ax or x Axis of cylindric lens BI or BO Base-in or base-out (prism) CF Counting fingers Cyl Cylindric lens or cylinder D Diopter (lens strength) E Esophoria (latent convergent squint) EOG Electro-oculography EOM Extraocular muscles or movements ERG Electroretinography ET Esotropia (manifest convergent squint) H Hyperphoria (latent vertical squint) HM Hand movements HT Hypertropia (manifest vertical squint) IOP Intraocular pressure IPD Interpupillary distance J1–J20 Test types (Jaeger) for testing near vision KP Keratic precipitate LogMAR Logarithm of minimum angle of resolution (scale for testing visual acuity) LP Light perception L Proj Light projection N5-N48 Test types (Faculty of Ophthalmologists) for testing near vision, equivalent to printer's points NLP No light perception NPC Near point of convergence OD (R, or RE) Oculus dexter (right eye) OS (L, or LE) Oculus sinister (left eye) OU Oculi unitas (both eyes) PD Prism diopter (strength) PH Pinhole PRRE Pupils round, regular, and equal S or Sph Spherical lens VA Visual acuity VER Visual evoked response X Exophoria (latent divergent squint) XT Exotropia (manifest divergent squint) + Plus (convex) lens − Minus (concave) lens ∞ Infinity (6 meters [20 feet] or more distance) ° Degree (measurement of strabismus angle) Δ Prism diopter (PD) +++ 1. VISUAL ACUITY (VA) ++ Corrected (with glasses, contact lens, or pinhole) distance visual acuity should be tested for each eye in turn, using a Snellen or logMAR (EDTRS) chart. Snellen visual acuity is traditionally measured at 20 feet (6 meters in Europe) or nearer if vision is poor. LogMAR acuity is tested at 13 feet (4 meters), 10 feet (3 meters), or 3 feet (1 meter) when accuracy of test distance and provision of (1 D) refractive correction for presbyopic patients become important. Snellen visual acuity is expressed as a fraction—the test distance over the figure, determined by the distance at which the respective line can be read by a normal individual, assigned to the lowest line the patient can read. If the patient is unable to read the top line even when standing close to the chart, acuity is categorized as counting fingers (CF), hand movements (HM), perception of light (LP), or no light perception (NLP). In general, corrected acuity less than 20/30 (6/9, 0.67) is abnormal but 20/20 (6/6, 1.0) may be abnormal, especially if reduced in comparison to the other eye. LogMAR acuity, which increases as vision deteriorates, is recorded as the total of the values, determined by their size, of all the letters correctly identified with 0.00 being equivalent to 20/20 (6/6, 1.0) and 1.00 being equivalent to 20/200 (6/60, 0.1). For the Visual Acuity Rating (VAR), which decreases as vision deteriorates, each letter identified correctly scores 1, from a baseline of 20/2000 (6/600, 0.01) such that 50 is equivalent to ... Your Access profile is currently affiliated with '[InstitutionA]' and is in the process of switching affiliations to '[InstitutionB]'. Please click 'Continue' to continue the affiliation switch, otherwise click 'Cancel' to cancel signing in. Get Free Access Through Your Institution Learn how to see if your library subscribes to McGraw Hill Medical products. Subscribe: Institutional or Individual Sign In Username Error: Please enter User Name Password Error: Please enter Password Forgot Password? Forgot Username? Sign in via OpenAthens Sign in via Shibboleth You already have access! Please proceed to your institution's subscription. Create a free a profile for additional features.


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As the amount of housing foreclosures has jumped, the number of individuals who have found them themselves without appropriate, permanent shelter has increased. In addition to the Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) decided this summer to tract homelessness in specific regions quarterly. The new report, The Homelessness Pulse Project is meant to help HUD "gain a better understanding of the impact of the current economic crisis on homelessness." In their 2008 Report to Congress HUD found that "[o]n a single night in January 2008, there were 664,414 sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons nationwide. Nearly 6 in 10 people who were homeless at a single point-in-time were in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs, while 42 percent were unsheltered on the "street" or in other places not meant for human habitation." The Homeless Cost Study, recently released by The United Way of Great Los Angeles, is another report that finds placing chronically homeless people into permanent supportive housing will not only give those without shelter a safe place to live but save metropolitan areas and taxpayers thousands of dollars.
Other recent reports and studies done by organizations share this view. In a 2009 Policy Guide of the National Alliance to End Homelessness found that providing "[a]ffordable housing is the primary solution to ending episodic homelessness" and created a guide about adopting a 'Housing First approach.' Other current studies have focused on the cost of homeless individuals on hospitals. An article about studies conducted in Chicago and Seattle "found that hospitals saved hundreds of thousands of dollars by helping to provide… services together with local advocacy groups."
According to the Great Los Angeles study over $80,000 of tax dollars will be saved if permanent housing is constructed for homeless individuals. The Los Angeles study is based on the "in-debt analysis of the before and after experiences of four chronically homeless people." The individuals were placed in "permanent supportive housing." By placing homeless individuals in these permanent homes, researchers found that participants not only improved their lives and health but that their placement in non-temporary housing decreased the amount of money that would have to be spent on public services such as hospital visits.


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Location: US-30 and L-17B, Potter
Reassurance shield after the Link Highway
Location: US-30 and L-17B, Cheyenne Cty
Alt I-80 Reassurance shield as we head out of Potter
Location: US-30 and L-17C, Cheyenne Cty
Turn right up here for Link 17C which heads to I-80, stay straight for US-30. We're passing under former Link 17A which spurred off L-17C and went to the tiny unincorporated town of Brownson
Location; US-30 and L-17C, Cheyenne Cty
Turn right for Link 17C south to I-80. 17C is only signed along the route itself.


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Like last month's winner, this One-Shot script is a sequel of sorts to a previous one. In that one we saw a variety of characters in the Studio gym, but this time we focus just on A-ko as she pairs with a handful of different characters. Since this was the October script, it was specified that it should be "after hours", hence the darker color palette than last time.
So this commission is a follow-up to last month's featuring Bean on sale, just like the previous Carnal Kingdom commissions I've done. While that pic implied it was demons of the Carnal Kingdom who drunk Bean under the table to capture her, it seems she's lucked out in finding a buyer who is also a prolific drinker, so she'll never have to worry about being sober for too long.
I haven't done much Futurama stuff in the past, but I used to be a really big fan of the show and would like to do more of it in the future. When I first started watching Futurama, I wasn't allowed to see it and had to do so behind my parents' back, so the early seasons of the show held the same thrill for me as porn (there were a few shows like this back then, but this was the only cartoon). Combine that with the amount of sexuality and brief nudity, and it's a wonder I don't do a lot more of it. Part of the problem is the art style which, like the Simpsons, I'm not 100% confident in my ability to translate into something sexy. I'm getting more confident as I do more Groening shows, but I still think I have a ways to go.
Speaking of how Futurama was a show I watched in my formative years, the episode "Roswell That Ends Well" was probably my first exposure to incest. At the very least it was definitely the first time I'd ever seen it depicted on television. I always thought Fry's grandma was super hot, and I blame this episode for a lot of my incestuous tastes in porn. When I saw "Back to the Future" later that year, I kept cheering for Marty McFly to go ahead and bang his mom, but sadly that film had a different moral compass than Futurama.
I somehow found the time to wrap up my WWOEC Woman of the Month pic for December. I went through several ideas for this one, including an incest pic with her son and something involving limbo. In the end I went this route, mainly because I needed to keep it simple in order to complete it on time with all the Christmas fuss distracting me.
Originally Barbados wasn't in this pic. My reference pic and my original sketch neither showed the guy's face. However, after realizing how shocked LaBarbara looked (my intent had been moaning, but she looked shocked to me after I inked it), I decided to add the infidelity angle to pull it together. I think a negative side effect of that decision was Barbados' body not lining up perfectly with his head, but I tweaked the lines some and I don't think it's distracting.
I was really concerned when I started this that I wouldn't be able to adapt the Futurama/Simpsons style well. I've always found porn of those shows very subjective, and I think only very talented artists can successfully pull the style off and keep the picture sexy. While I don't feel I completely nailed it here, I think I did well enough that I'd be comfortable doing other Futurama or Simpsons work in the future. I definitely think there are a few characters I'd like to draw, so if I find the time I may do that.


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Montreal is primarily a French speaking society where any Montreal business manners 9 is always appreciated and welcomed. Montreal is pluralistic, respectful of freedom of conscience in an harmonious environment free of assimilation intent.
In order to improve and nurture the development of each of our interpersonal and professional relationships, we have prepared and put together a total of 60 of our culture issues and culture topics.
In the presence of a person of higher rank:
Montrealers are very sports oriented. Joining a team sport or a sports club is an excellent way to make friends and gain the trust and respect of your team members.
We are very proud of our singers from Céline Dion to Leonard Cohen to Rufus Wainwright, our writers such as Michel Tremblay and Mordacai Richler, our festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and our 24th of June St-Jean-Baptiste day off and parade.
We are also comfortable with our dépanneurs, our bizarre North and South cardinal directions, our cycling lanes, our public transit, our "nid de poules" and, of course, our peculiar and not so peculiar business manners 9.
Disclaimer Keep in Touch! Montreal Tourism
Privacy Policy Rachel Louise Barry Sitemap
Montreal Kits © All Rights Reserved 2018-2024
The information provided by Montreal Kits is informational only and has no legal value.


text: The Low Carb GroceryMembership Rewards Program Earn and redeem points for great savings! Its simple: Earn 10 points per dollar on everyday purchases (excluding taxes, gift card purchases, delivery charges). The more you collect, the more the points are worth at redemption. Redeem Now! Points Required for Credit Redemption Value LAST UPDATED: October 11, 2020 Points Required Redemption Value 5000$5.00 10000$12.00 20000$30.00 25000$50.00 30000$75.00 Click [here] to view full terms and conditions. How to Join You are automatically enrolled into the Low Carb Grocery Rewards Program with your first purchase and associated with your phone number. You can also signup for our Rewards Program in-store. Earn Points The program is simple - Earn 10 points for every whole dollar spent. Redeem Points Redeem points online for discounts (store credits) which can be used immediately on our website. Points can be redeemed in-store for discounts during checkout.


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Weapons in Russian Humanitarian Aid
Ukraine's military intelligence revealed a specially equipped cache filled with weapons and explosives near the strategic port city of Mariupol from a warehouse where the contents of Putin's "humanitarian convoys" are being stored.
Four kilograms of TNT, grenades to antitank grenade launchers, ammunition and thermobaric ammo, and a number of various fuses were discovered in the cache.
"Given the peculiarity of the cache, we can say that it was created recently. Given the set of explosives, we …
Russian mines in Ukraine
Russia puts 1990's markings on its ammunition sent to Donbas
Ukrainian engineers demining mine fields near Mariupol came across brand new mines and shells. The ammunition had the 1990's markings on it to hide their origin, ZIK reports Sept. 15.
Ukrainian engineers found 'black widows' mines banned by international conventions for being especially dangerous.
In a hidden cache of explosives near one of the highways, the engineers also came across anti-tank mines Ukraine never had.
The …
Shimon Peres advises to ukrainians
92-year-old Shimon Peres, the ninth President of Israel, made one of the most motivating speeches, according to participants, at the Yalta European Strategy (YES), which ended in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. He talked about the laziness, courage and audacity of hope. The text of his speech was published by the Ukrainian newspaper New Era.
We have dreamed about our own land, but the land that we got was not a dream. It was a small piece, one-thousandth of the Middle East. This land was not very …
Syrians support Ukraine
Syrian activists who have expressed support to Ukraine during Crimea occupation now have a message to Russian soldiers' mothers: blame Putin for your dead sons, not Syrians.
Ukrainian festival in Toronto
Bloor West Village Ukrainian Festival to open it's 19th year this Friday in Toronto.Below are the highlights of Must-Do Activities at the Bloor West Village Toronto Ukrainian Festival.The Festival is only five days away. Here are some of the can'tmiss activities for the weekend. The Festival runs from September 18 to 20 on Bloor Street West between Jane and Runnymede TTC stations. It's so popular it was named one of the "Top 100 Festivals or Events in Ontario" for 2013, 2014 and 2015. You won't …
US former advisor to Reagan to work with Ukraine's minister of finance
Arthur Laffer, former advisor to President Reagan, has become the advisor on taxation issues to Natalie Jaresko, Ukraine's minister of finance.
"As an advisor to the minister of finance, Laffer will be consulting the minister on issues concerning the implementation of tax reforms in Ukraine, which will allow the creation of a transparent and efficient taxation system that will stimulate investment, economic growth and job creation, as well as improve the quality of public services rendered for …
Senator McCain is not coming to Luhansk Republic.
Senator John McCain declined the invitation of the leader of Pro-Kremlin Luhansk Republic,Igor Plotnitsky, to come to the elections as an observer.
The Communication Director of the Senator, Brian Rogers, confirmed this on Monday.
"Although I don't usually deal with elections monitoring I am grateful for this unique invitation" - said McCain.
"If the so called Luhansk Republic is interested in democratic elections I suggest their proponents to surrender their weapons and take part in the …
Ukrainian President : No elections on occupied territories.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the elections on the occupied territories in Eastern Ukraine can only be held if the conditions for fair and transparent expression of people's will prevail there.
"At the moment we cannot hold elections on the occupied territories" - said the President in his interview to the Ukrainian TV channels on Sunday.
"Our key point is not the fact of simply holding elections as preferred by Russia but ensuring how these elections are held."
The …
EU Extends Sanctions against Russia
The European Union on Monday extended its sanctions against Russia until March of 2016. The sanctions are meant to punish Moscow for its military support for Ukrainian separatists and its annexation of Crimea.
The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans against 149 people and 37 entities, the European Union announced in a statement. Without the EU action the sanctions would have lifted on Tuesday.
A separate set of European economic sanctions against Russia are in place until the end …
Public executions in Donetsk region
As reported by Dmitriy Tymchuk of Information Resistance , Russian troops began to hold public executions in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Gorlovka.
The chief of one of the checkpoints of the local community has been shot by Russian military for attempting an unauthorized firing of artillery.
Also, in the Petrovsky district of Donetsk, 2 militants were sentenced to death for insubordination. The sentence has been carried out by the Russian troops.


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Surrey Hills Chamber Choir
Files for Christmas concert 2018
Here is the list of pieces we are performing in our next concert. Click on an item and it will take you to the page containing the rehearsal files for this piece. You will need to be logged in before you gain access to the soundfiles:
- Fantasia on Christmas Carols (VW)
- Ding Dong Merrily on High (Charles Wood)
- A Hymn to the Virgin (Britten)
- In the bleak midwinter (Darke)
- Christus est stella (Todd)
- Underneath the stars
- Stars
To explore the rest of the site, use the Search Box on the right.


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This Industrial Research project focuses on Human-Robot Collaborative (HRC) applications and advancing their uptake within the Irish Manufacturing ecosystem. The project has 4 primary objectives:
The project is structured into 3 work packages:
By using exact figures and production estimates end-users have historically been able to justify an investment in fixed automation. However, the introduction of new automation paradigms associated with HRC applications such as Collaborative, Adaptive, and Sensitive Robotic systems, has led to further confusion about optimal automation strategies and their respective return on investment.
IMR has developed a framework and assessment methodology aimed at providing clarity on the different automation paradigms and their position within the ecosystem. This Automation Assessment Tool will allow Engineering Managers to have initial feedback on whether different paradigms of automation are suitable or not for their application.
The Automation Assessment Tool has been developed as a responsive webtool. The market-validated algorithm takes as input the ratings of different criteria that are characteristic of the process and yields a recommendation chart, displaying a ranking of the most and least suitable automation paradigms for the rated process.
This tool provides clarity on automation strategies for Engineering Managers, who can use it to select the correct automation paradigm for their application. The correct choice of automation will allow them to leverage cost savings, quality improvements and productivity enhancements in their application which would otherwise have remained manually operation or sub-optimally automated.
While the advantages offered by Collaborative Robots and their applications are widely acknowledged, their uptake in industry is still slow. Less than 4% of the 381,000 industrial robots globally installed in 2017 were Cobots (IFR) and the percentage of these involved in Human-Robot Collaboration applications is still unknown.
In conjunction with a consortium of industrial partners, an industry survey was developed to operate as a primary research on the true reasons Collaborative Robotics Applications are not wide-spread. The objective of the survey is to understand the current state of HRC applications in manufacturing and the concerns which prevent their wider adoption.
The industry survey is available as a digital version for engineers and managers to fill in. An observation report has been extracted from the current set of data and is accessible to the supporting partners.
The information extracted from the survey allows a clearer understanding of where the barriers to the adoption of Human-Robot Collaborative applications lie. This is helping to define our research activities and thus maximise the impact for the Irish manufacturing ecosystem.
Classical industrial robots can operate at high speeds and with excellent precision but require stringent security measures and significant factory floor footprint. An alternative paradigm is human robot collaboration where the robot can carry out the mundane or dangerous portion of the task while the human carries out the complex part. While this presents an attractive model, the lack of clarity about safety requirements is hindering uptake in the Irish manufacturing eco-system.
To de-mystify the safety requirements around HRC, IMR chose to construct, from the bottom up, a fully collaborative demonstrator where human and robot would work together to assemble a medical device. In doing so, IMR would highlight the pain points associated with this process and earn valuable experience which can then be passed on to partner organisations.
The result of this project is a functional and interactive demonstrator showing a human robot assembly task, fully risk assessed by an external partner. Additionally, IMR has developped a fully documented risk assessment procedure with intelligent strategies to mitigate risks related to close collaboration.
This project provided understanding to partner organisations about the advantages and limitations of human robot collaborative applications. (REDF, End users)
Robotics and Automation


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Cognitive Behavioural Theory
by Arni Thoroddur Gudmundsson, january 2013
In Cognitive Behavioural Theory the person is viewed as a survivor. In order to survive the person finds him/herself methods that best fit for his survival, and these methods, if successful, will be strengthened and thereby will be used more often.
The current problems a person finds himself in, is thus due to his survival methods not being optimal or the survival methods give immediate relief from the problem but in the long run they tend to maintain or increase the problems. Common survival methods that have immediate but not longer lasting positive results are, avoiding, being aggressive, drinking alcohol, or making a superhuman effort to either escape from the situation or overcome it.
From birth we learn by experience. Through relations with our parents in the start, and later in life, siblings and friends, peers and colleagues, as well as all the situations we experience and build on our experiences. All these experiences help us formulate basic thoughts about ourselves (if we are good enough or not), the world (if we can count on other people or if they are mean and untrustworthy), and the future (if the future will be bright or that nothing can change in the future). These thoughts will then later become an underlying and influential part of the way we interpret future experiences.
All these basic thoughts will be accompanied by feelings, bodily reactions, and behavior in accordance with the experience, to survive the situation (from now on these will be referred to collectively as reactions). These reactions will then either diminish the thoughts or strengthen the thoughts that will again either diminish or increase the strength of the reactions. With time the thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and our behavioural reactions will be interlinked so that if one of them is activated all the other interlinked reactions will be activated.
To give an example: a young boy is constantly criticized by his parents all through his upbringing. This constant criticism makes him think that he is no good at anything (basic thoughts about self). He will expect people to be mean and critical and therefore he will not trust people (basic thoughts about the world). He expects himself to not succeed in future endeavors and cannot imagine the future to become more enjoyable (basic thoughts about the future). In his upbringing he will experience a lot of anger and sadness over all the criticism and lack of warmth from his parents (feelings). He often experiences a chronic sensation of discomfort in his stomach and is unable to relax in his body (bodily sensations). He develops a method of shouting out in anger and leaving the room every time his parents start criticizing him (behavior). The result of his response being that he escapes from the criticism. Later in life, when the boy has become a grown man he still is affected by his past experiences. Every time he, in his job, is asked to do an assignment he will feel uneasy and lack faith in himself. He will try to avoid the assignment and suggest that other people would be better suited to do the assignment. When he is not successful in that he will try to do the assignment but he is constantly worried about not doing good enough job. When the deadline of the assignment is upon him he is not ready. His boss will ask for explanations but the man will react in anger, shout and leave the premises. He will, as a result of this, lose his job for improper conduct.
This example shows how the basic thoughts learned from childhood influence the current/future situations, how they are interpreted and reacted to in those situations. The boy/man in the example learns that he is no good at anything and will therefore not feel that he is able to do the things he is asked to do. When he gets pressed or even asked about the progress or why there is lack of progress he will immediately associate that with past experiences of criticism from his parents. He learned as a boy that the best way to avoid the criticism was to make a scene (shout and leave the room). This reaction is still the most logical reaction for him because it gives him immediate relief from his discomfort (thoughts and feelings of being a failure). However, this reaction is now a problem because the immediate relief is followed by lost job, thoughts of failure and feelings of anger and disappointment. These function to strengthen his basic belief that he is no good, that other people are mean and not to be trusted, and that in the future he will just experience more of the same. These reactions are so strongly interlinked that it is automatic reaction pattern that gets activated every time he experiences situations that remind him of these past experiences. Thus he is not able to change his reaction pattern even though he knows that it will only make his problem worse.
In Cognitive Behavioural Theory the person is taught to identify these patterns and work with them so that a change in the pattern will be planned and tried and trained until it takes over from the old, unhelpful pattern. The work can be focused on the behavior by planning alternative behaviors in the problem situations. In working with thoughts the person is taught to identify the automatic thoughts that come up in problem situations. When these thoughts are identified the work is focused on finding alternative, more realistic thoughts that can be used to interpret the situation. These alternative thoughts are then trained and tested to increase their believability. Bodily sensations can be identified and worked with by learning to control your bodily sensations through training or by monitoring the bodily sensations and learning to experience them without interpreting them as negative or a precursor to something bad. The feelings are identified and changed by working with the other reactions (see above).
In essence the person is taught to become aware of his patterns so that they will not be allowed to take place automatically. When the automatic reactions have been identified the person is taught to become his own trainer in planning his own change and finding his own more helpful patterns. This will lead to more permanent solution that can help in future problem situations.


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Due out May 22, it feels like we've waited an eternity for a full length trailer of this epic sequel.
And now that wait is finally, thankfully over. An unusual film, a sequel for two seperate movies occurring decades apart (X-Men: First Class and The Last Stand), Days of Future Past unites actors Ian McKellen, and Patrick Stewart with Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy. The extensive cast also includes Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen Page, Nicholas Hoult and Halle Berry, among many others. This inevitable blockbuster, directed by Brian Singer, follows our favorite mutants as they collaborate with their younger selves in the fight to survive across two time periods. Check it out.
"Mutants, we now find ourselves on the edge of extinction."
Time travel? X-men? Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen? Count me in.
Days of Future Past is based on the epic 80's comic book run from Chris Claremont and John Byrne.


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20 Great Books About Music for Young Readers
Great books about music for young readers are certainly not in short supply. If you love music and books, then this post is for you! Although our musical tastes may vary, we can all agree that music is a powerful art form. Music provides the soundtracks for our biggest memories and our everyday moments. Check out these great children's and YA books about music for the tuneful tots, tweens, and teens in your life.
Great Picture Books About Music
The Story of Rock by the Editors of Caterpillar Books
This adorable board book is part of a longer series covering various genres of music. It features a simple rhyme scheme, along with super cute cartoon renderings of some of our favorite rockstars. Introduce your baby to Bowie, the Beatles, and more.
Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
This super fun rhyming story is for the awkward giraffe in all of us. Gerald the giraffe had skinny crooked legs that make dancing a challenge. Nevertheless, he learns to boogie to his own beat. Gerald will inspire you and your kiddos to dance hard and dream big.
Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews and Bryan Collier
This beautiful picture book tells the story of Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews. This true tale follows the musician from a 6-year-old band leader to the Grammy-nominated artist he is today. It's a great lesson in overcoming obstacles and following your dreams.
Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle and Rafael López
Inspired by a true story, Drum Dream Girl follows a Chinese-African-Cuban drummer who broke all of the rules. Long ago, girls couldn't be drummers in Cuba. Consequently, Millo Castro Zalderriaga had to practice in secret. However, when Millo finally shared her talent, everyone agreed it was time for everyone to be free to drum.
The Deaf Musicians by Pete Seeger, Paul Dubois Jacobs, and R. Gregory Christie
After he loses his hearing, jazz musician Lee can no longer play piano with his band. Luckily, he goes to a school for the deaf to learn sign language. There, he meets other former musicians Max and Rose. Soon, the three are making music again!
Great Early Chapter Books about Music
A Horn for Louis by Eric A. Kimmel and James Bernardin
If you're looking for great children's books about music for the more advanced young readers in your life, this early chapter book fits the bill. It tells the story of young Louis Armstrong. At 7 years old, Louis is too poor to even buy a real instrument. Instead of going to school, Louis works all day on a junk wagon to help his mother pay rent. Eventually, Louis sees a trumpet in a pawn shop window. Learn how poor Louis became a legend in this inspiring tale.
Mylo and Max Break the World by Scott Charles
When 10-year-old Max Chu decides his music instructor is evil, he wishes for a way out of performing in his big concert. Unfortunately, Mylo Zapp is the creature who hears Max's wish. Mylo is an aspiring entrepreneur who isn't supposed to grant wishes or even leave his home planet, but he convinces Max that he can help with the evil music teacher. Soon, magical twists are ruining everything and reality is spiraling out of control. Max will have to overcome his fears and face the big stage if he wants to save the world.
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden and Garth Williams
This old favorite follows Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse, and Harry Cat on their adventures in New York City. Chester is from Connecticut and is new to town. Lost and wanting to explore, he meets the others in Times Square and they become friends. Soon, they discover that even though Chester is a country cricket, he has a hidden talent that could teach New Yorkers a thing or two.
The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White and Fred Marcellino
This is one of the great children's books about music that has been around for a long time. The 50-year-old tale introduces us to a family of trumpeter swans. Sadly, Louis is unable to trumpet like the rest of his family. Fortunately, Louis's father finds him a real brass trumpet. Now Louis has a chance to express himself and maybe even find love.
Moonlight on the Magic Flute by Mary Pope Osbourne and Sal Murdocca
As one of the bestselling chapter books series of all time, the Magic Tree House books are familiar to many readers. The series follows Jack and Annie as they travel through time having amazing adventures. This book sends our protagonists to 18th century Austria, where they try to find and help a musician named Mozart. Unfortunately, the hunt isn't easy, especially since a naughty little boy keeps getting in their way. Jack and Annie have to use all of their magic to get out of this mess!
Great Middle Grades Children's Books about Music
Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly
This great children's book about music centers on 12-year-old Apple Yengko. A prevalent theme of this story is cultural identity. Filipino American Apple is too American by her mother's standards, but not American enough in the eyes of others. When Apple's friends abandon her and she feels completely alone, she turns to her guitar. As she learns to play, Apple discovers new friends and new revelations about who she really is.
Amina's Voice by Hena Khan
This is another title that showcases the beauty of #OwnVoices literature. Amina grapples with the challenges of fitting in and making/losing friends in middle school. As a Pakistani American, Amina wonders if she needs to change in order to be accepted. The question takes on greater weight when someone vandalizes her local mosque. Instead of changing, Amina decides to use her beautiful voice to help unite her diverse community. Amina's story continues in Amina's Song.
Genesis Begins Again by Alicia D. Williams
This heart-wrenching story follows 13-year-old Genesis, a girl who is used to starting over. Her family is regularly evicted because of her father's habit of gambling away the rent money. What's worse, her father and others in her family criticize Genesis for her dark skin. Their taunts contribute to Genesis's ever growing list of things she hates about herself. However, when Genesis starts a new school, she finds people that like her — including a choir teacher who sees her talent.
Jake the Fake Keeps it Real by Craig Robinson, Adam Mansbach, and Keith Knight
This book is an absolute laugh riot from actor and comedian Craig Robinson and screenwriter Adam Mansbach. Jake, our protagonist, fakes his way into the Music and Art Academy by playing the only song he knows on the piano. It'll take all his wit to keep people from finding out that he has no idea what he's doing. The fast-paced and funny story is complemented by Keith Knight's hilarious illustrations.
The Sweetest Sound by Sherri Winston
In this list of great children's books about music, this is one of the sweetest. Ten-year-old Cadence is dealing with the aftermath of her mother's desertion. Though Cadence's mother has left to pursue her dreams of being a singing star, Cadence can't deny that she inherited her mother's musical prowess. Unlike her mother, Cadence is shy and reluctant to share her gift — until someone leaks a recording of her singing and her entire church hears it.
Great Young Adult Books about Music
Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson
In a story ripped right from 2019's headlines, 17-year-old aspiring singer Enchanted thinks she's found her golden opportunity. Suddenly, superstar Korey Fields is not only managing Enchanted, but the two are "dating." The nearly 30-year-old singer quickly takes advantage of Enchanted's trust. What follows is a disturbing tale of manipulation, abuse, and a searing critique of rape culture. Like many of Jackson's books, this one isn't for the faint of heart.
Solo by Kwame Alexander
Blade Morrison is nothing like his rock star father. Rutherford is a has-been with a serious drug problem. Conversely, his son wants nothing but a simple life with his girlfriend, Chapel. Unfortunately, fearing Blade's musical talent and his father's reputation, Chapel's parents forbid the relationship. When Blade uncovers a devastating family secret, he is left with questions, a mysterious letter, and a ticket to Ghana.
If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales & Cale Dietrich
In this forthcoming queer YA romance, famous boy-band Saturday delight their fans as only teen heartthrobs can. However, 18-year-old Zach feels trapped by management's demands that he keep his sexuality a secret. Moreover, he and his fellow band member (and best friend) Ruben soon develop feelings for each other. Consequently, they have to face the consequences of being out in the public eye. Preorder this December release now!
Kill the Boy Band by Goldy Moldavsky
Observer.com called this hilarious story "Misery for the Belieber generation." It has even garnered comparisons to the cult classic movie Heathers. So, what happens when a group of best friends and superfans accidentally kidnap a member of their favorite boy band? This darkly humorous tale is full of pop culture references and laugh-out-loud moments.
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
The incomparable Angie Thomas introduces us to another strong, Black girl protagonist in this follow-up to the bestseller The Hate U Give. Bri just wants to be a great rapper. Unfortunately, she has a lot of challenges standing in the way of her dreams. She lives in the shadow of her underground hip-hop legend father, who was murdered right before making it big. Moreover, her mother, who struggles to make ends meet, wants Bri to focus on her education and a more viable career. How will Bri ever find her voice amid all the others trying to tell her who she should be?


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Holiday Traditions
By Alex Seise | December 21, 2011
Previous Article in this Series
Last October, about four months into our journey in the Other Maine, we noticed something quite peculiar taking place all over. Alongside garish Halloween ghouls, people were starting to hang Christmas baubles around their front yards.
At first it wasn't much; a handful of ornaments here, the occasional strand of lights there, a holiday wreath perched next to a sign beckoning trick-or-treaters.
But just hours after the costumed youth stepped back inside their homes to savor their sugary bounties, Santa Claus came to town. Literally, in the case of Madawaska.
Driving down to our native New Jersey for Thanksgiving, we noticed a graying fat man in a sleigh perched high above the road in Madawaska's Four Corners Park. It wasn't a bewildered logger, and it certainly didn't look like a rogue Tim Horton's employee. Sure enough, it was Saint Nick himself.
But the reason for the early season in the Other Maine isn't due to uncontainable exuberance. Rather, it's a sensible, if forced, reaction to the chill of late autumn. In the Saint John Valley, November lows dip down well below freezing. Coupled with the possibility for ice and snow, it's downright unpleasant to string up holiday decorations after Thanksgiving.
Being well-adapted to their environment, the Northern Mainers took this hardship by the horns, wrestled it to the ground and silently declared early decorations to be a clever, acceptable way to cope.
Winter holidays in Aroostook County are quite spectacular. The streets of many mill towns are industrial and unremarkable during the spring, summer and autumn. But during November, mysterious balls of evergreen sprigs held together by bows and strings of sparkling lights appear overnight.
Other towns along the Route 1 corridor deck the highway with colorful light sculptures. Shopkeepers and homeowners alike unite in a frenzy of red, green and gold, transforming windows into beautiful still-life creations.
Shopkeepers in the Other Maine have an especially critical reason for going all out. Captivated by potentially brutal weather, many residents opt to shop locally rather than risk a long drive downstate. But on the occasional fair weekend, exceptions are made.
Two weekends before Thanksgiving, David and I opted to visit Bangor to start our shopping. As we exited I-95 onto Stillwater Avenue, we were greeted by a terribly unfamiliar sight: traffic jams.
As it turned out, the Veterans Day weekend coincided with the Canadian holiday equivalent, Remembrance Day. Friends told us after the fact that many businesses close on the other side of the border in observance of the holiday while their American counterparts stay open. The result is a multinational shopping frenzy that rivals and often tops Black Friday.
As the days grow remarkably short, the holiday season waltzes closer with each encroaching sunset. Though the landscape is barren and gray in late October, most hold off on decorating inside their homes until after Thanksgiving. When they do, many choose colorful decor that amuses the eye and warms the spirit.
It makes perfect sense; compared with the bleak vistas outside, the decorations bring a much-needed burst of vibrancy that won't be seen again until the spring thaw in April.
That doesn't stop residents from hoping for change; last year, I overheard someone at the grocery store dreaming of a rather peculiar "green Christmas." I couldn't help but smile.
Though we haven't spent a Christmas here yet, we've heard stories about all the splendor it brings. There are the usual family gatherings, of course, and the never-ending barrage of food and presents.
But weather permitting, there are also many who take to the great outdoors to enjoy family time with winter sports. From snowshoeing and skiing to sledding and ice hockey on the lakes, it's a tradition that is embraced alongside mugs of hot cocoa and fireside chats.
This year, we are looking forward to spending the last holiday of 2011, New Year's Eve, in the comfort of our own home for the first time. And we already have a plan that lets us ring in 2012 twice, a phenomenon available only to those who straddle two time zones.
At 10:59PM, we'll leave the warmth of the woodstove in our family room to step out onto the deck overlooking Edmundston, New Brunswick. An hour ahead, the city will celebrate the New Year before American countdowns begin. Then, 59 minutes later, we'll repeat it all over again. The winter is long and the bonus celebration is, perhaps, the nicest gift that the Other Maine offers without fail each and every holiday season.


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The Vrsin Silver Peacock Jhumka (Oxidised)
This product is handcrafted on request. Minimum time taken is 3 weeks so please keep this in mind when you place an order. Each product involves at least 5-6 processes which need a different artisan for each process.
The price shown for all pre order products is indicative only, once the design is ready the prices may go up as silver prices keep fluctuating and the weight of the design may also change. Since our products are handcrafted these changes are beyond our control.
To pre-order, please pay a booking amount of Rs 500 by clicking on the correct box . Once product is ready we will contact you and once full payment is recieved product will be despatched. Please mention the correct product variant you want in order notes at checkout.
Note: you are paying an advance for this product and it is not the final cost of the piece.
An ornate jhumka featuring intricate silver work that creates a peacock shape and kempu stones adding to its elegance.Handcrafted from Sterling Silver (92.5%), these jhumkas are a beautiful mix of tradition and Indian craftsmanship. It will look gorgeous with your favourite sari or traditional dress.The jhumka has been oxidised to accentuate the design and comes with a bombay-screw.
Product Details
Measurements: Height of jhumka : 2.25 inches ; Width of jhumka: 0.9 inch.
Gemstones used: kempu stone (also known as spinel or Zircon),natural Pearl.
Made of: Pure Sterling Silver (92.5%)
Gross Weight of product : 24 grams approx.


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Iraq's election commission has annulled results from 227 ballot boxes because of fraud. The final results will be based on a tally of some 31,000 ballot boxes.
Preliminary results suggest that a Shi'ite alliance will have about three-fifths of the seats in parliament. Sunni and Kurdish parties would each have about one-fifth of the total.
(Reuters, AP, AFP)


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The New Hampshire woman who won the $559.7 million Powerball jackpot last month is refusing to claim her prize, saying in court documents that she first wants assurances she can remain anonymous when she collects her winnings.
But state officials say the woman may face even longer odds in her legal battle, because New Hampshire open-records laws mandate that lotto winners publicly disclose their name, town and amount won.
"While we respect this player's desire to remain anonymous, state statutes and lottery rules clearly dictate protocols," New Hampshire lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre said in a statement.
New Hampshire is one of a handful of states that permit lottery winners to form anonymous trusts to shield their newfound riches. But the woman already signed her name to the winning ticket; she cannot alter her signature and hide her identity without voiding the ticket.
Writing her name, as opposed to the name of a trust, was a "huge mistake" based on her interpretation of rules posted on the lottery website, the woman said in her complaint in Hillsborough Superior Court in Nashua.
Her resulting dilemma – forgo either a once-in-a-lifetime payday, or her anonymity – is legally impermissible, according to her attorney.
"She is a longtime resident of New Hampshire and is an engaged community member," the woman's attorney wrote in court documents. "She wishes to continue this work and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars."
Publicity brings significant apparent risk to lottery winners. Two years ago, a Georgia forklift operator who won $434,272 in a lottery was executed in his home by several masked robbers as he pleaded for his life.
In 2012, a 46-year-old Chicago man was poisoned with cyanide the day after he won a $1 million lottery prize. While family members were suspected in the death, none have ever been charged, and the case remains unsolved.
And in 2005, an Illinois jackpot winner who claimed a prize of about $20 million was murdered by his sister-in-law and her boyfriend.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Georgia governor defies party politics with pair of vetoes
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's Republican governor — breaking ranks with the state's GOP-dominated Legislature — has recently wielded his veto in unexpected ways in this deeply red state.
Gov. Nathan Deal — subject to term limits and free of re-election pressure — vetoed a measure intended to protect opponents of gay marriage just days after the close of the legislative session in March. He waited until Tuesday — the last possible day to issue vetoes — to block a bill to allow people over 21 with state permits to carry concealed handguns on college campuses.
While both proposals were popular with the majority of Georgia's Republican lawmakers — and presumably their constituents — Deal will likely never face voters again. The two-term governor is barred by the constitution from a re-election run and has said he plans to retire from political life at the end of his term.
Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Republican from Jasper, sponsored the so-called "campus carry" bill and said he thinks Deal's reputation with conservatives in the Legislature will take a hit, but lawmakers plan to continue working with him.
"The way I look at it, this is a great civics lesson," Jasperse said. "With the legislature, I'm out here listening to the people, then the governor gets to do what he wants. Does he lose credibility? I think maybe a little, but I feel we still have to work with the governor."
Without a doubt, Deal faced aggressive lobbying to block the measures. The state's business community, with help from giants like Apple, the Walt Disney Co. and the NFL, mobilized against the so-called religious exemption bill. The bill would have allowed church-affiliated religious groups to invoke faith reasons when refusing to serve or hire someone and clergy to refuse to perform gay marriages. Deal, in explaining his veto, said no examples had taken place in Georgia.
The campus gun measure was opposed by the state's powerful Board of Regents, which oversees the university system, and all 29 of its campuses' presidents and police chiefs. Deal, referring to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposing guns on the University of Virginia campus, concluded that "no justification exists" to allow firearms into "sanctuaries of learning."
Jasperse, however, said an armed robbery on the Georgia Tech campus on Tuesday highlighted the need for concealed carry legislation for college campuses.
The Legislature already has adjourned for the year and many members face primary elections in May, making override attempts extremely unlikely. However, supporters of both bills already vow to return with similar proposals next year. Deal will lead the state through the end of 2018 and plans to focus on an overhaul of education in Georgia, including the state's method for funding schools.
The National Rifle Association, one of the premier lobbying groups behind the bill, has voiced disapproval of the veto.
"The NRA is thankful to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and the legislators who worked to protect law-abiding citizens' constitutional right to self-defense on campus and we look forward to working with them next session to pass this important safety legislation," NRA spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen said in a statement.
Nine states have laws on the books allowing concealed handguns on campus: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. According the National Conference of State Legislatures, 23 states leave the decision to ban or allow weapons up to the individual colleges and universities, and 19 states — still including Georgia — ban concealed weapons on campuses.
Democrats credited students, faculty and other opponents with helping defeat the "ill-advised" measure.
"Georgians stood together to work toward making our campuses safer environments," said the state Democratic party's executive director, Rebecca DeHart.


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When Luke Gessler and his wife, Elena, were considering buying an acreage near Portland, Maine, one of the first things they noticed was the maple trees.
"The owners had already marked over 40 maple trees throughout the property for sap collection," Luke says.
The Gessler's packed a lot of activity into their previous homestead, a small 1.5-acre farm near Naples, Maine, including making maple syrup, raising pigs and beekeeping. But they needed a bigger property for their future plans to raise more animals – especially sheep. The new, larger acreage checked all their boxes.
Once the family – including their children and pets – unpacked their boxes and settled into their new farm, one of Luke's first priorities was getting a compact tractor to take care of the property.
In addition to equipment for mowing the lawn, he needed a new tractor with a bucket to replace his aging John Deere machine and reduce the manual labor involved with raising animals, creating and maintaining food plots, clearing brush and maintaining woodland. Luke also wanted to flatten the extensive dirt bike trail system the previous owner had created.
Acreage Life is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.


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How to spend a long weekend in Sarajevo
A preserved Ottoman bazaar, a thriving coffee culture, an abandoned bobsled track that's become a dark tourist attraction and a winery that relies on the lunar cycle for production; Sarajevo is embracing its quirk with confidence.
Street in Baščaršija.
Clink clink clink. Clank clank clank. Dozens of coppersmiths handcraft plates, coffee sets and jewellery on a narrow lane in Baščaršija, Sarajevo's 15th-century old town. Around the corner, rows of bazaar-like shops are full of traditional kilim rugs, while a sprawl of slow-paced cafes spill with languid locals sipping strong Bosnian coffee. Towering above it all is a heady cocktail of architecture: Turkish-era minarets, grand Austro-Hungarian mansions and Soviet-style blocks. Yet Sarajevo is cradled within a valley, in the shadow of the Dinaric Alps, so expect green spaces too, with Trebević mountain stealing the show: hop on a recently reopened cable-car, or if you're actively inclined, hike to its summit via hillside villages and cool pine forests. And while the charms of the old town below might hark back to a bygone era, Sarajevo also has a youthful spirit, evident in a thriving craft beer scene, coffee culture and art galleries — the best of both worlds.
Wine down
For oenophiles, a visit to Brkić Winery in the town of Čitluk is a must. Owner Josep Brkić's family opened the biodynamic vineyard in 1979, but communist laws meant independent wineries couldn't sell to the public until after the fall of Yugoslavia in 1994. Using local grapes Blatina and Žilavka, the Brkićs rely on the lunar cycle and force of the moon for production.
Rug life
Ubiquitous in Sarajevo, intricate rugs range from traditional Bosnian designs to carpets from the days of Ottoman rule. Visit Sop Amina in Baščaršija, run by Nira, where all the products are 100% wool and handmade. For Persian rugs, head to Morića Han, a former caravanserai, or Isfahan Gallery, a veritable Aladdin's Cave that also sells ceramics and lamps.
Tunnel vision
The Sarajevo Tunnel was the hand-dug lifeline of Sarajevans when the city was under the siege of Bosnian Serbs from 1992 to 1995. The 800-metre-long underground corridor became the city's only link to the outside world — a secret gateway to transport food, war supplies and humanitarian aid. It opened as a museum after the war and visitors can now walk a 20-metre section of the tunnel.
Three to try… Where to eat
Join the Sarajevans at this gritty sports bar for çevapi, a grilled meat dish with pita bread, raw onion and cream cheese. It's the only dish on the menu, and you can order five, 10 or 15 pieces of the deliciously smoky meat. T: 00 387 33 441-200
Hedona Wine Club
A fine-dining restaurant and winery in the hills of Sarajevo, Hedona offers a rare, modern take on local cuisine. Go for the nine-course tasting menu paired with Bosnian wine. The sea bass with soya mayo, wasabi and polenta is a winner.
Nanina Kuhinja
Meaning 'grandmother's kitchen' in Bosnian, this traditional joint's round wooden tables spill out onto the streets of Baščaršija. Don't leave without trying tufahija — a dessert of walnut-stuffed apple served with syrup and cream.
Eyewitness: To the hills
"Only two types of people go outside when it rains in Sarajevo," jokes my guide, Thierry. "The tourists and the crazy." I feel like both as I peer at the city below from a dizzying height. Hundreds of raindrops trickle down the window of our gondola, while ahead a cluster of dense clouds waits to burst upon the city again. Soft murmurs of the call to prayer grow increasingly faint as we ascend the lush green Trebević mountain.
The Trebević gondola reopened in April 2018 after a 26-year absence from the capital's skyline. The original, built in 1959, was completely destroyed during the 1992-1996 Siege of Sarajevo, when the mountain became a deadly vantage point for snipers. The gondola once shuttled Bosnians from Baščaršija, the city's old town, to these lofty heights, where they'd spend weekends hiking, swimming and enjoying fresh air — hence the mountain's nickname, the 'Lungs of Sarajevo'.
At the top, trees encompass us, and we make our way towards the 1,300-metre bobsleigh track used in the 1984 Winter Olympics, which meanders through dense forest. This derelict track is a ruined reminder of its former glory — so it's no surprise it's become a dark tourist attraction. The entire length of concrete is blanketed in moss and graffiti, and lots of it — mostly loud, colourful illustrations and hopeful political outcries. 'For all kids, give peace a chance' pleads one sign held by a cartoon figure. 'Viva La Balkan!' reads another.
"That's Vučko," says Thierry, drawing my attention to a black-and-white drawing of an impish fox with a cigarette in its mouth. "The mascot of the Olympics." I notice what appears to be a hole drilled into the concrete; Thierry confirms it was made by a sniper's bullet.
Despite the monotonous rain, Thierry and I follow the curves of the track, a bit like the luges that snaked through here three decades ago. At the finish line, we skip the gondola and hike down to the old town instead, passing by Hotel Pino, a four-star 'nature hotel' that opened here two years ago. As we descend, we pass sleepy hillside villages dotted with cherry bushes, scurrying kittens and the odd local hanging up washing.
"This place is great, and the view, well, you'll see," says Thierry as we approach Biban Restaurant, situated high above the city. The coffee here is served just how the Sarajevans like it — in a džezva, a small pot made of copper that dates back to the Ottoman era. Turbo-folk bops in the background, and I notice a family of four gliding up the mountain in a cable-car, laughing and enjoying the view. It feels like a glimpse into a pre-war past. Trebević is slowly becoming somewhere to while away the weekends once again. The crazy and the tourists included.
How to do it
Regent Holidays offers a six-day Sarajevo and Mostar trip from £665 per person. The price is based on two sharing on a B&B basis, including return flights from the UK, airport transfers and travel between the cities by rail.
Follow @FaridaZeynalova
Published in the November 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)
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The MMORPG DOFUS is releasing his new DOFUS client 1.21: the Christmas Client
Have you visited Kwismas Island yet? If your chin is trembling as you mutter a timid "no", well then youre missing out on a lot more than you think. Remember, its closing at the beginning of January!
There will be two new dungeons with hordes of Blops and Fungi ready to strip you of pride and possessions… and over ten new craftable sets!
And please welcome the Livitinem, our brand new equipments which feed on items of lesser intelligence to evolve.
Finally, a clearer, revamped DOFUS game interface frames these new arrivals.


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Goldman Sachs put out a note yesterday suggesting "de risking" of portfolios was nowhere to be seen over the recent 10% slide in the Nasdaq and SP500. As a matter of fact, the crowd doubled down and got even LONGER of US Equities. Whether this is right or wrong, remains to be seen, but what's clear to me is that "something" has changed. The 15% wipe out in crude oil (which we're long of and is clearly a mistake) is in ominous signal for inflation/deflation. What I'd pay very close attention too here is copper prices as well – typically a leading indicator for a healthy vs unhealthy global economy. At the moment, Copper remains steadfast north of 3.00 lb.
Global Equities
USA- Volatile session overnight, SP500 -0.17%, NASDAQ +0.43%, Russell 2000 -0.11%
Europe- GER +0.10%, UK -0.25%, FRA -0.10%, SPA -0.25%
Asia- Shanghai -0.61%, KOSPI +0.81%
Top News and Data
*The ECB left policy unchanged this morning, holding rates at 0.00% and continuing there Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program (PEPP) steady at 1.35B Euro/month. Christine Lagarde's press conference will begin momentarily for more color on the meeting.
*Jobless Claims 884K vs 881K previous
*PPI (USA) 0.6% vs 0.3% Y/Y
Metals: Gold up 0.54% to 1965.00 after the ECB meeting as the USD devalues to 92.86 -0.41%. We think gold has a chance in coming weeks to regain its bullish fervor and make another dash north of 2000oz in our assessment. Silver is also regaining its bullish momentum +1.69%. We remain bullish of metals since we made the call at the end of 2018.
Energy: Natural Gas is approaching our "Buy Zone". Nat Gas -14% over the past 2 weeks, following its 92% !! multi week rally since June. Our traders may be receiving a "Buy Signal" in nat gas today.
*Crude Oil, we're staying with the bullish call for now as oil is immediate oversold and still (albeit by a slim margin) holding its bullish trend.
Treasuries: Yields are bouncing on the PPI data (which came in hotter than expected), and will likely see more heated inflation data tomorrow with the CPI (Consumer) Index. We have no immediate recommendation on in Treasuries (we do still have it on our Core Long Positions List – we have so since Q4 2018) Undoubtedly this "Call" is becoming stale, but we'll stay with it.


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by Peter Nelson
After a brief look around for a place to stay in Hong Kong, we settled into Kowloon's Chungking Mansions, a high-rise building with a varied collection of guest houses on the upper floors, and shops and restaurants on the ground floor. Here's an interesting quote from the Lonely Planet travel guide to Hong Kong: "There is probably no other place in the world like Chungking Mansions, the bottom-end accommodation ghetto of Hong Kong." Further on in the same book, right after the list of the 10 best things to do in Hong Kong, is a list of the 10 things you should avoid. Number one on that list? The elevators in Chungking Mansions!
Having ridden in those lifts half a dozen times a day, every day for 6 weeks, I can see what that writer means. All elevators have signs posted, saying how many persons the elevator can carry safely. The load limit for Chungking Mansions was 18 persons. I remember once counting 34 people riding up with us. Was it crowded in there? You could say that! There were so many people crammed into that tiny steel box that you literally couldn't move a finger. If you had any parcels, to avoid them getting crushed, you had to put them on your shoulders. Being tall was a real blessing in those circumstances. Because my head was above all the other passengers, at least I could breathe!


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For millennia, Tibetan nomads have lived sustainably on the land and are the guardians of Tibet's fragile environment. At least 2.25 million – a third of Tibetans – live nomadic or semi-nomadic life, a way of life that is an intrinsic part of Tibetan society.
In 1998, China declared that an end to the nomadic way of life would be sought by the end of the century. Although China missed this deadline, efforts intensified and by 2010, 200,000 families, or 1.4 million people, had been settled into ghetto-style housing blocks. Resettled nomads are denied the right to freely determine their own future and coesive settlement offers little economic opportunities causing social and economic problems, including unemployment, alcoholism, and suicide.
History has shown the tragic consequences to communities and traditional ways of life when people are forced off their land. Around the world, people have sworn not to let this happen again, yet the policy China is carrying out right now inside Tibet is a death sentence for Tibet's nomadic communities.
Tibetans aren't the only ones being forced into these horrid housing blocks. China is also going after Nomadic Pastoralists in Inner Mongolia and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region. For more information, see our previous story: Inconvenient Truths: De-bunking China's Plan To Settle Nomadic Populations
Indigenous Peoples are putting their bodies on the line and it's our responsibility to make sure you know why. That takes time, expertise and resources - and we're up against a constant tide of misinformation and distorted coverage. By supporting IC you're empowering the kind of journalism we need, at the moment we need it most.


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Your parathyroid glands may be partially or entirely removed during a parathyroidectomy, often known as parathyroid surgery. The parathyroid glands regulate the levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. Parathyroid surgery eliminates the aberrant glands that cause dangerously high blood calcium levels once they stop functioning correctly. Even though a parathyroidectomy may only require minor incisions, it remains a risky procedure—parathyroidectomy is customary. A surgeon makes a four-centimetre incision into the neck muscle to reach your glands.
When is it used?
On either side of the thyroid gland in front of the neck, there seem to be four parathyroid glands.
Hyperparathyroidism is the medical term for the overactivity of a parathyroid gland. The blood's calcium levels increase as a result. You may encounter:
- Muscle sluggishness
- Bones that have thinned too soon
- Kidney stones
- The lower level of alertness
- A lot of urine
- Sporadic joint discomfort
What takes place throughout the process?
You'll typically be given general anaesthesia. General anaesthesia will keep you from feeling any pain during the procedure.
Your parathyroid glands are exposed after the surgeon makes a small incision in your neck for cosmetic purposes. It would eliminate all or a portion of your parathyroid glands based on your health.
Under the epidermis, sutures are used to seal the incision.
Parathyroid Surgery Types
Two types of parathyroid surgery are:
Focused parathyroidectomy –
In this method, the surgeon uses localisation tests to pinpoint the location of the sick parathyroid gland well before the operation and afterwards targets exactly that gland during the procedure.
Bilateral neck exploration –
With this method, the surgeon examines all four parathyroid glands by probing both sides of the neck. The surgeon chooses which parathyroid gland(s) to extract based on the parathyroids' size, colour, and texture.
Both focused parathyroidectomy and bilateral neck exploration have benefits and drawbacks, but they are successful when carried out by a surgeon who is well-versed in both techniques.
Parathyroid Surgery Procedures
Four pea-sized parathyroid glands are situated within the neck next to the thyroid gland.
The parathyroid glands often usually function even when one or several are lodged elsewhere in the neck, like in the thyroid, the thymus, or the chest.
Despite having similar names, the thyroid and parathyroid glands are entirely different. Each produces unique hormones with specialised activities as part of the endocrine system that regulates bodily functions by secreting hormones.
The parathyroid glands' job is to secrete parathyroid hormone (PTH), which enables the body's calcium-to-phosphorus ratio to stay balanced.
When the blood calcium level drops too low, the parathyroid glands produce enough PTH to raise the blood calcium level. PTH regulates several processes related to calcium, including blood calcium levels, bone calcium release, gastrointestinal calcium absorption, and urinary calcium excretion.
Parathyroid Surgery Treatment
The treatment plan for primary hyperparathyroidism is the surgical removal of the enlarged parathyroid gland (or glands), which heals the condition in 95% of patients.
A minimally invasive parathyroidectomy method or an open parathyroidectomy could be used during surgery.
Wrap Up
PTH, produced by the parathyroid glands, controls the amount of calcium in the blood. PTH causes the calcium level in the blood to rise in other body cells, particularly in the bones, kidneys, or small intestines. Generally speaking, this control is exact. In the event that one or more parathyroid glands enlarge and produce excessive PTH, the blood calcium level will increase. Primary hyperparathyroidism is a disorder that develops whenever the blood calcium level is increased above average, and also the parathyroid glands fail to produce PTH as necessary to counter this rise. Surgery is the only treatment for this condition. Only 1% of the time is this condition cancer-related.


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TTAG's Armed Intelligentsia tend to be fatalistic about the fate of gun rights in California, New Jersey, New York, Hawaii and the like. Some consider these "slave states" lost causes and advise gun owners therein to GTFO ASAP. Others say that we must fight for their firearms freedom, lest the infringements spread, virus-like, to other states. As for European gun rights . . .
There's not much debate. Or sympathy. Well, the continent is thousands of miles away. And it's all about America First these days, apparently. But Europeans are people too. I'm sure some of you encounter Europeans who've taken a break from their native statism to visit or work her in The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
What do you tell them when they ask about your guns? Are they hostile or wistful about your ability to keep and bear arms? Is there anything we can do to help Europeans regain their natural right to armed self-defense? Or should be bunker down and tend to our own ballistic garden?


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A State Social Worker is accused of abusing his powers by trading in-home visits with a child for drugs.
Lexington police have arrested and charged 39-year old state social worker Chad Albert Buckley and according to court documents, he used a child as a "bargaining tool". They say Buckley, who is employed by the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services, made a deal to obtain four Oxycontin pills valued at $100 in exchange for an in-home visit. According to the police report, Buckley paid $30 cash, gave a $25 gas gift card and arranged a visit in return for the drugs.
He was arrested last night and charged with conspiracy to traffic a controlled substance, official misconduct and bribery of a public servant.


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This edition includes the second coming of a supergroup, lots of technicality in a variety of form, lots of aggression, whatever Les Claypool is up to, and more! To the metals…
Act Of Defiance – Old Scars, New Wounds
Genre: Thrash
Origin: Los Angeles, California
Label: Metal Blade
Buy now on Amazon.com
Proving that this band wasn't just a one-off project, Shawn Drover (ex-Megadeth), Chris Broderick (ex-Megadeth), Matthew Bachand (ex-Shadows Fall), and Henry Derek Bonner (ex-Scar The Martyr) have returned with Act of Defiance. Once again, the sound is closer to that of mid to late In Flames or a melodic thrash rather than any of their past projects. Shredding is still aplenty here though.
Arkaik – Nemethia
Genre: Technical death metal
Origin: Riverside, California
Label: Unique Leader
Buy now on Amazon.com
Technicality, breakdowns, brutality, and everything else one would expect from a Unique Leader band. This album is a masterclass of quirky guitar tapping. This puppy also features Psycroptic's Joe Haley on a track.
God Mother – Vilseledd
Genre: Extreme metal/Hardcore
Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
Label: Party Smasher
Buy now from Party Smasher
This band is signed to Ben Weinman's (The Dillinger Escape Plan) record label, and I can see why Ben took an interest in them. Vilseledd reminds me of a DEP album that scrapped a majority of the the melodic moments, and was nearly all chaos.
Grave Pleasures – Motherblood
Genre: Post-punk/Atmospheric rock
Origin: Tampere/Helsinki, Finland
Label: Century Media
Buy now on Amazon.com
This is the second album from the Grave Pleasures (fka Beastmilk) chaps, and it's pretty cool. It reminds me a bit of Ghost, Danzig, and The Cult if mixed them together and gave them a good shake. If you liked the last record, Dreamcrash, you'll love this one.
Kadavar – Rough Times
Genre: Stoner/Blues
Origin: Berlin, Germany
Label: Nuclear Blast
Buy now on Amazon.com
By this point, fans of Kadavar know what they're in for with this German trio, and the band has yet to disappoint. Rough Times is more fuzzy rock from fuzzy guys who are obsessed with the 70's both aesthetically and sonically. It sounds both classic and modern.
Primus – The Desaturating Seven
Genre: Primus
Origin: San Francisco, California
Label: ATO
Buy now on Amazon.com
After getting inspiration from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory, Les Claypool and pals are now tapping into the children's story The Rainbow Goblins for inspiration. The result of this inspiration are seven new tracks that are unmistakably Primus. Awkward rhythms, weird guitars, and bass sorcery; it's all here and it's all great.
Unsane – Sterilize
Genre: Noise rock/Hardcore
Origin: New York, New York
Label: Southern Lord
Buy now on Amazon.com
New York's long running noisy hardcore masters have returned with their first album in five years, second since their hiatus, and eight over all (yay for facts!). It will also kick the shit out of you. Chris Spencer is still quite miffed off.
Various Artists – In The Twilight/These Rock Have Teeth
Genre: Post rock/post metal
Origin: Various
Label: Pelagic
Buy now on Amazon.com
This compilation is a great jumping off point for anyone interested in post metal. It features tracks from Mono, The Ocean, Cult of Luna, The Old Wind, Khoma, Abraham, and so many more. So if you like it slow, heavy, and atmospheric, get on this.
Also dropping today..
36 Crazyfists – Lanterns (Spinefarm) – Metalcore/alternative
Airbourne – Diamond Cuts Box Set (Nettwerk) – Hard rock
Awaken I Am – Blind Love (Victory) – Metalcore
Black Stone Cherry – Black To Blues EP (Mascot) – Hard rock
Deadsmoke – Mountain Legacy (Heavy Psych Sounds) – Sludge/doom
Doxa – Lust For Wonder (Pitch Black) – Melodic death metal/gothic metal
Evil Invaders – Feed Me Violence (Napalm) – Speed metal
Heaven and Earth – Hard To Kill (Quarto Valley) – Hard rock
Horrified – Allure Of The Fallen (Shadow Kingdom) – Melodic death metal
Jag Panzer – The Deviant Chord (SPV) – Heavy metal
Kublai Khan – Nomad (Rise) – Metalcore
Monolord – Rust (RidingEasy) – Stoner/doom
Propagandhi – Victory Lap (Epitaph) – Punk
Shrapnel – Raised On Decay (Spinefarm/Candlelight) – Thrash
Sifting – Not From Here (Eclipse) – Hard rock/progressive
Tetrarch – Freak (Self) – Metalcore
W.A.S.P. – Re-Idolized (The Soundtrack To The Crimson Idol) (Napalm) – Hard rock


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ERIC Number: ED415701
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1997
Pages: 14
Abstractor: N/A
Bare Minimum Knowledge for Understanding Statistical Research Studies.
Hiroto, Nagato
Designed for language teachers who find reading statistical research difficult but necessary, this article focuses on the minimal knowledge needed about statistical techniques for interpreting research findings. It first examines the statistical reasoning underlying quantitative, empirical studies, including normal distribution, standard deviation, and three indices of central tendency (mean, median, and mode). It then looks briefly at three kinds of comparisons most frequently reported in quantitative studies: comparisons of means, frequencies, and correlational coefficients. Statistical tools typically used for each comparison are touched upon, and useful checkpoints that readers of statistical studies should be equipped with are also discussed. (Contains six references.) (MSE)
Publication Type: Guides - Non-Classroom
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Practitioners; Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: In: Classroom Teachers and Classroom Research; see FL 024 999.