text:
|Follow PSU Women's Lacrosse:
|Follow @PennStateWLAX
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - The Penn State Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning today recommended approval of the design and an authorization to construct a new lacrosse stadium at the existing lacrosse field adjacent to the Multi-sport Facility on the University Park campus. The full board will vote on the recommendation at its meeting on Friday, July 21.
The team of Moody Nolan of Columbus, Ohio, and APArchitects, LLC of Boalsburg designed the project. PJ Dick of Pittsburgh will construct the estimated $8.4 million project. If approved, the Panzer Stadium project will tentatively begin early phases later this month, with completion slated before the fall 2018 semester.
This past May, Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics announced $3.55 million in gifts for a new lacrosse stadium on the University Park campus. Ken Panzer, a 1982 Penn State graduate, and his long-time business partner at Douglas Emmett, Jordan Kaplan, committed a gift of $3.55 million to launch construction that will transform the current field into a world-class stadium. A former co-captain of the Penn State men's lacrosse team, Panzer has a long-standing history of giving to the Nittany Lions' program.
Additional Penn State lacrosse alumni and donors made gifts for the venue totaling $2 million, bringing the philanthropy total for the project to $5.6 million.
The addition of men's and women's lacrosse to the Big Ten Conference in 2015 has shifted the landscape of Division I lacrosse, elevating the Penn State lacrosse programs' competitiveness and national exposure. Both of the men's and women's programs, led by head coaches Jeff Tambroni and Missy Doherty, respectively, were ranked in the Top 10 nationally this past season and participated in their NCAA championships, with the women's team advancing to the national semifinals for the second consecutive year.
Panzer Stadium will be one of the top lacrosse facilities in the nation and will enable Penn State to host a variety of events, including the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA Championship preliminary rounds and youth lacrosse events.
Panzer Stadium, which will be constructed in the same location as the Penn State Lacrosse Field, will include the following features and capabilities:
- Expanded stadium-style seating for up to 1,300, significantly growing the permanent seating capacity and options available to fans.
- Greater comfort and convenience for fans with permanent concessions, more accessible bathrooms and a ticket office.
- A press box above the new seating with full broadcasting capabilities for television and radio facilitating coverage on the Big Ten Network and ESPN.
- A multi-purpose room overlooking the field to be used for a variety of lacrosse-related events.
Panzer Stadium will help usher in Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics' 20-year Facilities Master Plan, announced this past spring, and will build new, as well as revitalize, selected facilities across the University Park campus.


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Big Data & Analytics
Data Governance
Data Management
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Garrett Schanck
Garrett started in the collection industry while attending high school. While at Florida State University, he completed an internship with Stellar Recovery, attended the Debt Buyer Association retreat in Napa Valley and studied abroad in Florence, Italy. Only days after graduating college with a degree in Applied Economics and a minor in Business, Garrett relocated from Florida to Montana. Garrett has impacted our company�s performance in Q4 of 2010 and 2011 by improving our rankings with a national client by utilizing technology, revising work standards and strategies. Garrett�s efforts took our performance ranking from eight to one. Garrett relocated back to Florida to supervise the office build out in Jacksonville, Florida and recruited 100 employees. Garrett assisted in purchasing one billion dollars in distressed assets. His successful management had a direct impact on top line revenues, which increased from 4.5M to 18M in 2011 and expecting to top 40M in 2012. Garrett received, on behalf of the company, the �Agency Partner of the Year� award. Garrett is now managing the entire operation for the company as Treasurer, CEO, and COO. In 2012, he was selected by the Business Journal as one of the top 40 under 40 professionals. In 2013, he received notification from Florida State University for achieving the nomination of the top 30 graduates under 30 years of age for his personal and professional achievements. With Mr. Schanck�s leadership, he has made Stellar Recovery, one of the top ten companies to work for in the Jacksonville area. Garrett has a unique approach in recruiting staff based on specialized skill sets and utilizing dialer strategy. His main goal is to set Stellar Recovery apart from the others; is by exploring all emerging markets to purchase and service assets. He anticipates adding additional offices inside and outside the United States. Mr. Schanck is currently an active member of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, American Collectors Association, and Debt Buyer Association.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
For the email servers on your network you need to create a sender policy framework (SPF) record. Which of the resource record should be created?
Which of the below IP is of the APIPA range, with subnet mast of 255.255.0.0?
On your network a server has the SNMP Service installed, Now to configure SNMP security settings which of the below tools should be used?
_______________database file is used to map NetBIOS names to IP addresses
In a network containing a server running Windows Server 2008 R2. The requirement is to have a customized script ensuring that each time we run the script; the Application event log has an entry added. Which of the below tool should be used?
On a daily basis you need to capture HTTP traffic to and from a server between 08:00 and 09:00. Which of the below activities should be done?
A server named MyMyServer1 on your network runs Windows Server 2008 R2. The server MyMyServer1 has the Routing and Remote Access service (RRAS) role service installed. Your requirement is to view all inbound VPN packets. Which of the below solutions would minimizes the amount of data collected?
ISATAP is used to allow IPv6 to communicate with IPv4 network. What does ISATAP stand for___________
_____________ command is used to clear DNS client cache using command prompt.
___________ field in the IP header signals others routers in the downstream about congestion on a router.
Question 1 of 10


text:
Why AMX?
Our Mission
At AMX, we are committed to providing seamless freight coordination through proactive communication and a sense of urgency to get the job done the RIGHT way. No shortcuts!
Family Atmosphere
At AMX you are a name not a number! This goes for our Employees & Customers. Once you join our team you are considered a part of our family, and we take great pride in that!
New Equipment
We operate under a 3 year trade cycle, so we are consistently cycling NEW, State of the art equipment into our fleet. Our average tractor fleet age is less than 2 Years Old!
AMX is committed to doing its part for our environment. Through training & investment in new equipment & technology we will continue to be a leader in our industry & evolve our Sustainability Program.


text: Advanced Search Displaying listings from all locations. Use the fields below to filter listings for a particular country, city, or state. Start by selecting the top most region, the other fields will be automatically updated to show available locations. Use the Clear Filter button if you want to start over.CountrySelect a RegionUSA (0)StateCity Measurements and Units No listings found.


text:
In Tom Hanks' words: "It is, in the minds of many (including me), the finest war memoir ever written. It is written with such clarity, candor, and empathy that those of us untested by combat can begin to understand, while those who have been under fire can't help but recognize. Composed some thirty years after the war from notes he kept surreptitiously while in combat, Sledge initially wrote the book to explain to his family as clearly as he could what war was like. He succeeded so well that his wife Jean urged him to publish it. The result is read here by Joe Mazzello, the actor that played Eugene with such heartbreaking honesty for us in The Pacific."
In Tom Hanks' words: "Playtone was fortunate in the casting of James Badge Dale to play Robert Leckie. While making The Pacific, we got to know Robert Leckie's family. They told us to an uncanny degree, James Badge Dale's performance embodied much of what they remembered most about their husband and father. Playtone and Audible are honored that Badge reprises and expands on that role in his reading of Helmet for My Pillow."
In Ken Burns' words: "I love this book. It's one of the most memorable books I've ever read or ever owned...proudly owned. Anyone interested in the how and why of American history should pick up this wonderful book. From its very beginning, the United States has had as a principle subtheme: that of race. And in this masterful work, Isabelle Wilkerson weaves together the intimate stories of three different people and makes them universal. Through oral history, thoughtful analysis, and her own experience, Wilkerson tells one of the great untold stories of American history."
In Ken Burns' words: "One of the most remarkable accounts of history every written. This literary accomplishment may be the finest nonfiction written about the Civil War, the most important event in American history. Shelby Foote saw things with a southern perspective but not a southern bias, and, like the novelist he also was, he inhabited the war. No detail, no character, no moment was too small to benefit from his attention and fierce intelligence."
In Ken Burns' words: "During the Great Depression, many people fled the drought-stricken region that stretched from Nebraska to the Texas panhandle. Drawing on the voices of those who lived through the ordeal, Egan tells remarkable stories of endurance and heroism. Narrator Patrick Lawlor captures the very voice of the time: its grit, pathos, and abiding heroism, solidifying The Worst Hard Time as a lasting and important work of American history."
In Ken Burns' words: "A gripping saga of love, murder, greed, failure, and triumph that vividly portrays the hardships of prairie life. O Pioneers! champions the belief that hard work is the surest path to personal fulfillment and celebrates the men and women who struggled to build a nation. Named AudioFile Magazine's voice of the century, narrator Kate Reading is especially well-cast to bring the words to life and convey the immigrant experience with a mastery not often found in audiobook narration."
In Ken Burns' words: "To add a personal note, I am so fond of Willa Cather's work that one my daughters is named after her. Infused with a gracious passion for the land, My Antonia is a deeply moving portrait of an entire community and its way of life. Antonia lies at the center of almost every human condition that Cather's novel effortlessly untangles: she represents immigrant struggles with a foreign land, the restraints on women at the time, and the more general desires for love and companionship."
In Ken Burns' words: "The second book in Willa Cather's Prairie trilogy is possibly her most autobiographical: it charts the journey of a young artist that eventually leads her from a remote Colorado town to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Your narrator is Pam Ward: her interpretation brings landscapes, events, and more than fifty characters to life with a warm and emotionally rich delivery."
1 of 5
Average Customer Rating


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The South Side Initiative (SSI) brings together Lehigh University faculty, students, and staff with the people of Bethlehem in order to share knowledge, foster democracy, and improve the quality of life in our city.
SSI rests on the proposition that the teaching and research mission of the university – and the quality of life in Bethlehem – will be enhanced by this collaboration. SSI has two principal goals:
1) To foster the exchange of knowledge, enabling students and faculty to share specialized academic expertise with our neighbors to enable community members to share local forms of knowledge, historical memory, and cultural practice with those in the university
2) To address pressing challenges in the life of the city, by creating opportunities for informed democratic deliberation and action.
To achieve those goals, SSI develops courses focused on the past, present, and possible futures of the city; supports working groups to conduct ongoing research; and sponsor events including public forums, visiting lectures, film series, public art and public history projects. In addition, SSI aids to pressing problems facing our community – from air pollution and asthma to poverty, hunger and homelessness. Courses enable students to explore the rich histories of our city and the vibrant cultures of our neighborhoods.
For more information, please visit the SSI webpage here.


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Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
I already have bad memories from high school as the one without penny loafers. And Guess jeans. And a Benetton striped sweater.
So I figured I better just make some pumpkin for her.
I am NOT a cake decorator.
I repeat.
I am NOT a cake decorator.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Cake
Yield: serves 12-15
Prep Time:4 hours
Cook Time:1 hour
For the Pumpkin Cake Layers:
- 1 can (15oz) pure pumpkin puree
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup apple sauce
- 4 eggs
- 2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
For the Cheesecake Layer:
- 2 pkg (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp heavy cream
- 3 Tbsp walnuts, chopped
- 1 Tbsp caramel sauce (Hershey's caramel ice cream topping)
For the Cheesecake Layer:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using a large roasting pan on the lower 2/3 of the oven, preheat the pan too!
- Prepare springform pan by wrapping bottom of pan (outside) with double layer of foil. Spray pan with nonstick baking spray and line bottom (inside) with a circle of parchment paper.
- Meanwhile, boil a kettle of water to use later.
- Beat cream cheese with granulate sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy. Add in salt and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla.
- Pour into prepared 9inch springform pan. Place pan in center of preheated roasting pan in the oven. Pour boiling water slowly into the roasting pan, until there is about an inch of water coming up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake cheesecake for 45 minutes. Turn oven off and let cheesecake sit in oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely on counter.
- When cooled, transfer entire springform pan into the freezer for several hours or overnight. I put it in freezer for about 2 hours. **If using within 24 hours, feel free to just refrigerate cheesecake!
For the Cake Layers:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9inch round cake pans by spraying generously with baking spray. Line bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Beat pumpkin, sugars, applesauce and eggs until fully blended. Add in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and seasonings. Pour batter into prepared pans.
- Bake cakes for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Flip onto wire rack and cool completely. When cooled, wrap each layer in saran wrap and freeze for two hours, or overnight. **If using within 24 hours, just wrap cake in saran wrap and keep on counter.
For the Frosting:
- Beat butter and cream cheese for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Beat in vanilla, powdered sugar and heavy cream.
- To assemble cake, lay one layer of pumpkin cake on cake plate. Top with cheesecake and second layer of pumpkin cake. Frost sides and top with a thin layer of frosting to apply a crumb coat. Refrigerate 30 minutes to an hour. Remove from refrigerator and frost remaining cake, decorating using a tip if deisred. Sprinkle walnuts on top of cake and drizzle with caramel sauce. I keep the cake covered in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Remove and allow to sit about 15 minutes before slicing. ENJOY!
MAKING THIS RECIPE? Share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #ShugarySweets so I can see what you're cooking up in the kitchen!
**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**


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Howard Kurtz's "Media Buzz" program will debut Sunday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. EST.
John Kerry is a far more effective salesman when his heart is in it.
When he did the "full Ginsburg" of Sunday show appearances to defend President Obama's decision to delay action on Syria, Kerry seemed dutiful and workmanlike, repeating the same talking points without much enthusiasm and often averting his gaze from the camera.
People should be "celebrating" Obama's decision to seek congressional approval, said Kerry, who hardly appeared in a celebratory mood.
What a contrast with his command performance less than 48 hours earlier, when the secretary of State urged action against Syria over chemical attacks that he said he shocked the conscience of the world.
In that speech, the 2004 presidential candidate was impassioned, filled with moral fervor about the need to punish the "thug" and "murderer" Bashar Assad for gassing his own people.
This matters, in public relations terms, because the White House has tapped Kerry as the man to make the case for military action, as Colin Powell did in 2002 and 2003.
But when Obama abruptly decided to hold off after discussions with his White House aides, Kerry was informed afterwards with a phone call—and sent out to defend the move on "Meet the Press," "Face the Nation," "This Week," "Fox News Sunday" and "State of the Union."
While the Sunday shows draw a heavily insider audience, they fill a weekend news vacuum (which is why Kerry used them to announce new evidence that the Syrian regime used deadly sarin). They also lay down a marker, as Susan Rice found after being dispatched to the same five shows with Benghazi talking points that turned out to be false. Otherwise she'd probably be running Foggy Bottom now.
Kerry, not surprisingly, ran into a buzzsaw of skeptical questioning.
"Do you feel undermined? Do you feel the United States has undermined its leverage in the world?" David Gregory asked.
"This isn't 'CSI.' This isn't a civics lesson. People's lives are at stake," Chris Wallace said.
"They already declared victory in Syria this morning, the Assad regime," said George Stephanopoulos, who also spoke of the chances of "getting sucked into a wider war."
Kerry was in the awkward position of repeatedly insisting he didn't have to address the possibility of a congressional rejection because that was not going to happen. But the truth is it remains an open question—and Obama has had little success in getting his way on most issues.
It's no surprise the Sunday anchors were skeptical of a cabinet officer who by all appearances was having to squelch his disagreement with the commander-in-chief.
Howard Kurtz is a Fox News analyst and the host of "MediaBuzz" (Sundays 11 a.m.). He is the author of five books and is based in Washington. Follow him at @HowardKurtz. Click here for more information on Howard Kurtz.


text:
First 11 Day Level Design Challenge is completed.
I want to thank everyone who participated. There are some amazing entries.
Please take this 11-Day Challenge Winter Survey and let us know your thoughts on the challenge, on how you think you did and what you could have done better. It is anonymous and it will help us to set up better challenge next time.
Here is a forum thread where it all happened. Feel free to browse through and download some finished entries until the winner is chosen.
Next week the winner and two runner-ups will be announced.
Stay tuned for more Level Design Challenges.


text:
In an interview with FoxNews.com, Vanessa Lachey said she breastfeeds son Camden John, but husband, Nick, takes over once she's through.
"I get to nurse him, but whenever I'm not nursing, Nick wants him," Lachey said. "He just can't get enough. He changes diapers, he does half the chores in the house, (and) he does laundry. I can't complain!"
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, who recently gave birth to baby boy Lorenzo, initially said she wasn't too keen on the idea of breastfeeding - but she's changed her mind.
"I love nursing my little man!" tweeted the 24-year-old Jersey Shore star.
Actress Selma Blair, star of "Anger Management," told People Magazine if her 8-month-old son Arthur Saint is hungry, she will breastfeed him - no matter where she is.
"The only time he cries is if he's hungry," Blair, 39, told the magazine. "We all have nipples. I don't care who I offend; my baby wants to eat. If I can't get a cover over me quick enough, so be it."
After breastfeeding daughter Harper Seven for five weeks, Victoria and David Beckham told People Magazine they are going to start introducing bottles to her.
"It's so important that they have that mother-daughter bond, and breastfeeding, I think, is really an incredible thing," David Beckham said. "We're in the process of putting it in bottles now, so that means I get to feed her."
Mariah Carey, who gave birth to twins Monroe and Moroccan in April 2011, drank a beer while still in the hospital because she thought it would be beneficial to her lactating - prompting the Los Angeles County Dept. of Children and Family Services to pay her a visit.
The Department quickly closed the case when it heard the reason why she was drinking in the hospital, and husband Nick Cannon told reporters that despite being anxious to get back to work, Mariah was "breastfeeding in "tandem - with one baby on each arm."
Does work interfere with breastfeeding? Click here to find out.
Former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star Tori Spelling, who is pregnant with her third child, now has her own reality TV show "Tori and Dean," which features her kids, Liam and Stella.
A few years ago, Tori told Jimmy Kimmel that breastfeeding was not as easy as she had hoped.
"The only trouble I've had (with Liam) has been the breastfeeding thing. It's been a little difficult, cause, I didn't know, but sometimes you don't produce, you'd think these things would produce (pointing to breasts), an abundance of milk! He'd be attached and pounding on the boob (with his fists), and I'm like, 'Don't eat angry little man!' And then he got to the point where he realized, 'Well, no matter what I do she's going to stick me on that thing,' which is literally larger than his head, so now he's learned to pacify me and kinda just sit there making lazy sucking noises."
Actress Salma Hayek, who gave birth to daughter Valentina in 2007, said she was addicted to breastfeeding.
"I'm like an alcoholic," she said. "I don't care if I cry, I don't care if I'm fat, I am just going to do it for more week, one more month, and then when I see how much good it is doing her and I can't stop."
Hayek also made headlines when a picture of her breastfeeding a Sierra Leone baby surfaced. She allowed a camera crew from ABC's "Nightline" to capture the moment on film.
"The baby was perfectly healthy, but the mother didn't have milk," Hayek was quoted as saying. "You should have seen his eyes… When he felt the nourishment, he immediately stopped crying."
When TV host Nancy O'Dell gave birth to daughter Ashby Grace in 2007, she credited her post-pregnancy weight-loss to breastfeeding. O'Dell lost 24 pounds in nine weeks, People Magazine reported.
"Breastfeeding is the best diet," she said. "I want to eat healthy for her, so it's an easy way to say no to pizza."
Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian is a big advocate of breastfeeding her son Mason; she has been filmed pumping on her show "Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami."
"For me, it just felt like the right thing to do, and has been the most amazing bonding experience," she wrote on her baby blog, which appears on People.com.
"I still want to continue breastfeeding for maybe another six months or as long as Mason wants it."
"Gossip Girl" actress Kelly Rutherford made headlines in 2008 when she told OK! Magazine that she was still breastfeeding her son, Hermes, at 2-years-old.
"It's not good for everyone," Rutherford said, "but it's been great for me. Obviously before he goes to college, I'll have to quit breastfeeding. You know when it's right and you feel that."
Kelly also has a daughter, Helena.
Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, seen here with husband Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who gave birth to son Benjamin in December 2009, thinks new mothers should be forced to breastfeed their babies for the first six months.
"Some people here don't think they don't have to breastfeed, and I think, 'Are you going to give chemical food to your child when they are so little?'" she said in the U.K. Harper's Bazaar.
"I think there should be a worldwide law, in my opinion, that mothers should breastfeed their babies for the first six months."
During a recent "National Breastfeeding Week," supermodel Elle McPherson, a real ambassador for the benefits of breastfeeding, went to Oldham, Manchester in England to celebrate the success of UNICEF's 10 years of promoting breastfeeding.
Elle has two sons, Arpad Flynn Alexander and Aurelius Cy Andrea.
Pop singer Christina Aguilera, seen here with ex-husband Jordan Bratman, compared breastfeeding her son Max to working out.
"I think they say when you're breastfeeding, your weight kind of slims down," she told "Access Hollywood."
"It's a little easier. It's like a workout within itself. It's very tiring actually, and you find yourself snacking more often."
Angelina Jolie was seen breastfeeding one of her twins (Knox or Vivienne) on the November 2008 cover of W Magazine, as photographed by her longtime partner Brad Pitt.
These stars may have nannies to help out with their little ones, but when it comes to breastfeeding, they are all about the one-on-one experience


text:
Element 6
A commitment to improving the skills of all practitioners
Any setting must ensure that it complies with the legal requirements relating to appropriate qualifications, training, skills and knowledge of all its practitioners and be committed to improving their understanding, skills, knowledge and attitudes by providing access to effective practice and professional development. This commitment will be evident through the inclusion of training for all practitioners, including managers, and in the setting's strategy for continuing professional development (CPD), which should be based on an audit of the needs of the setting and of individuals.
All practitioners should have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Volunteers and management committee members/governors should also be given full information and guidance on their roles and responsibilities, and should be included in training activities where appropriate.
There should be evidence that regular training opportunities are provided, and that the induction of new practitioners includes guidance and support on the setting's approach to encouraging, developing, supporting and extending the skills of young children.
Regular appraisals and/or supervisory meetings should be carried out to identify training needs of practitioners and a programme of CPD applied so that these needs are met. Evaluation and monitoring of training and its impact on the progress and development of children will contribute to the performance management processes used in the setting.
A range of approaches to CPD is likely to be evident, delivered via courses (external or internal) and through coaching, mentoring, shadowing or sharing best practice.
Where the early years provider is an individual rather than an organisation, e.g. a registered childminder, the criteria for this element should be interpreted to reflect this so that they are not disadvantaged during assessment. The focus should be on how the individual has approached securing their own continuing professional development and how they have made use of appropriate external sources of support and local networks.


text:
Kim Woo Bin makes a surprise appearance at Lee Jong Suk's birthday fan meeting
The epic bromance of Lee Jong Suk and Kim Woo Bin reunited during Lee Jong Suk's fan meeting on September 14th. Kim Woo Bin showed up as a surprise guest, and Lee Jong Suk was so excited and overwhelmed to see his friend that he even shed some tears! Even better, the fan meeting occurred on Lee Jong Suk's actual birthday. What better way to celebrate than with your close friend and thousands of adoring fans?
When Kim Woo Bin arrived on stage, these two actors shared a hug and even held hands for a moment. Their bond of friendship has remained strong since starring together in School 2013.
What's not to love about these two together? They are so adorable!
Can exes sort through old feelings and new relationships to find true love? Find out in Discovery of Romance
It looks like Lee Jong Suk had a wonderful time at his birthday fan meeting. Kim Woo Bin's visit sure helped make the day even more special!
Need more Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jong Suk in your life? Be sure to watch their drama School 2013 here on DramaFever! Also stay tuned for Lee Jong Suk's next role in the drama Pinocchio, where he'll be starring alongside Park Shin Hye!
Rachel's K-drama and K-pop blog MY RARA POP is full of great information for any fan of Korean entertainment. Be sure to follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!


text:
Anonymous Covers Restore the Fourth Rallies in Multiple Cities
Today, July 4 2013, is a national day of action to Restore the 4th Amendment.
The Fourth Amendment reads:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Yet today we are routinely spied on by the police and our government. Nationwide, people will rally and take the streets to demand our basic Constitutional rights back.
Here in Austin, we're gathering at the Texas State Capitol, site of so many recent protests for women's rights. Though not directly related, it was a woman's right to privacy that helped decide Roe V. Wade in favor of abortion access.
Below I am attaching tweets from @YourAnonLive, a group account bringing live news from multiple tweeters. I'll be contributing tweets from Austin (look for the hashtag #RT4ATX), while others will contribute from around the United States.
Is there something a little ironic about Anonymous journalists covering an event like this, given what our country's become? Perhaps, but I'll let you speculate on what in the comments. I've got a rally to cover.


text:
NovaStor's new whitepaper provides IT service providers and channel partners with essential information on how to develop their own managed backup service.
Agoura Hills / (CA) USA, Hamburg / Deutschland, Zug / Schweiz October 1, 2010 – NovaStor, a pioneer in data protection, announced today the release of a new whitepaper titled "Cloud Backup: Getting Started". The whitepaper gives Managed Service Providers, Value Added Resellers, IT Solution Providers and System Integrators valuable information on how to make more money with a managed backup service.
Due to rapid data growth, increasing demand, rising bandwiths and better technology, one area of cloud computing that presents significant opportunity is managed backup and recovery (data protection) as a service. A business currently managing their own backup and recovery processes stands to save considerable money in hardware costs, software costs, and IT overhead by outsourcing this service to a qualified service provider using a cloud based platform. Doing so ultimately allows them to focus on what the service provides (business continuity) without worrying about the infrastructure and resources necessary to provide it.
However, not every business model for data protection services has an equal potential for success. Readers will find detailed information on the four most common business models for delivering a data protection service and which ones have the most profit potential. Also included are the five most important factors to consider when developing a backup business model, the five essential criteria for successful business development, valuable tips for customer acquisition and the importance of choosing a technology partner who offers more than just technology.
"Cloud Backup: Getting Started" is currently available for free on NovaStor's website.
About Novastor
NovaStor (http://www.novastor.com) is a leading international provider of software solutions for data protection and availability. NovaStor provides software, SaaS solutions and services for local and online backup, restore and retention of business-critical data. Clients include home, mobile, and SMB users, service providers as well as international corporations. NovaStor's cost-effective solutions are platform- and hardware-independent and ensure that optimal technological and economical use is gained from the customer's existing and future IT environment. NovaStor is headquartered in Switzerland (Zug), has offices in Germany (Hamburg) and the USA (CA, Agoura Hills), and is represented in numerous other countries through partnerships.
For Further Information:
Mike Andrews
29209 Canwood Street
Agoura Hills, CA 91301
Tel.: +1 (0)805 579 6700
Fax: +1 (0)805 579 6710
E-Mail: email@example.com


text:
- 7
Ticks Ticks Ticks
All about ticks is methods of Identifying various types Of Ticks and their Diseases related to people. How to Treat your Dog or Cat for Ticks. All about Ticks
- 4
Hardwood Floors "The How to install Guide"
This is a how to do guide for installing Prefinished Hardwood Floors 3/4 inch tongue and groove.
- 14
Denzel Washington Review His Top 10 Movies of all Time?
The Equalizer Danzel Washington Latest Movie, a quick Review
- 14
How to Make A Granite/Marble Counter Top For your Kitchen or Bath For Pennies
I hope this has helped you to create a Granite/Marble Kitchen Counter top for your Kitchen.
- 0
How to Repair A Block Retaining Wall
I hope that this will help you to repair Retaining Walls.
- 30
When I was Growing Up
I hope that you enjoy reading this hub about how things have changed and not always for the better.
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Stihl Chainsaw's Why they are the Only Make I Buy
This is the only make of Chainsaw I will buy.Stihl in my book are Number 1.
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How to Pick Black Raspberries
I hope that people learned a little bit about Black Raspberries. Different than Black Berries.
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The Skin Gun, Stem Cell Research that is Working
This has got to be one of the most exciting discoveries made in while.
- 23
How to make a Garden out of used Tires
So if you have limited space and a couple of tires laying around then here is a solution.
- 1
Stihl Weedeaters Why they are the Only Make I Buy
This is the best made Machine that i have ever used. if you are in the market for a grass trimmer this is it.
- 18
Best Casserole Quick and Easy Meatball Dinner
This one is really Quick to Make. My whole family enjoys this one.
- 2
How to Prepare a Bathroom Floor for New Tile and Total Renovation
I hope this this tutorial will help with your Bathroom Renovation Project
- 11
Best Presidential Candidate Running this Year ?
I thought everybody might get a laugh out of this I did....
- 12
How to Remove the old Tub and Tile In Preparation for a New Installation
This is the easiest way to remove an old tub and tile walls.
- 3
Easy Way's to Design Your Dream Deck
I hope that I have helped you on some tips of how to design your deck or Addition
- 2
How to fix a P trap under the Tub or Shower
This DIY Job Is not the easiest around. It take some time and Patience. It is a lot cheaper then getting a Plumber.
- 5
How to Build an Elevated Second Floor Deck
I hope this step by step instruction helps you with your deck project
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Problems With Buying A Repossessed House
The price of buying a Repossessed House may not be worth it in the End.
- 17
How to Make a Gutter Garden
This is a great way to use up a piece of used gutter. Or if you have a limited space to put some small plants in.
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How to Repair or Install New Shower Valves
Replacing or Repairing Your Shower Handles. On a Repossessed House.
- 15
Cheap Planters for Tomatoes
Quick an easy way to plant a Tomato Plant.
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Symbolic Court Whats It Really Mean?
What is a Symbolic court? I know that the flag of the United States is Symbolic. But a court? Is that like a Kangaroo Court? Who knows? You can't even find the word in the dictionary. I am not cutting down this court. But is it some sort of...
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My Carpal Tunnel Surgery
This is my experience with Carpol Tunnel Surgery.
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How To Shorten a Chamberlain Drive Chain Garage Door Opener
So this is an easy guide on how to shorten a Chamberlain Chain Driven Garage door opener.
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How you can Install Soffit and Fascia
I hope this guide will help you in installing Soffit and Fascia.
- 0
How to Install a Water Saver Toilet with Photos
This Energy saver toilet with duel flush. It will save you money on your water in no time. It uses a lot less water to flush and works as good.
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How to Install a Granulated Rolled Roofing
I hop that this help you install a Granulated roof .
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Quick Easy Connection for your water pipe problems
I hope that this was informative to you. I believe that the Shark Bite product is really easy and quick to use.
- 4
How to Solder A Pipe
I hope that this small guide helps you to connect up those copper pipes
- 0
How To Replace an Electrical Outlet
This is an easy job that can be done is 10 min.
- 0
Easy Gutter Instalation
I hope this helps you in how to replace the gutter on your house.
- 0
Replacing the Fill Valve on your toilet
Replacing the fill Valve on your toilet is an easy job . It should only take 30 min to do.
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How To Build a Two Level Above ground Pool Deck Attached to House
This is a great example of how to build a pool deck attached to your house
- 3
How to Repair a Leaking Sink Valve
This Dripping, Leaky faucet repair is easy to do.
- 0
How to install Glass Block Windows in Basement Windows
These window,s make your house stay warmer in the winter and more secure. Easy installation.
- 2
How To Point Brick and Block using Mortar
This is really a good easy fix to Repair the cracked mortar joints in your house or garage walls. I hope that this helps show you how to fix a concrete block wall that has shifted.
- 8
Ham and Potato Soup
If you are looking for a good way to use up that ham left over from a Holiday then here it is.
- 0
How to Repair Plaster With Joint Compound Around Windows
This is an easy D.I.Y. 30 min fix to cracked plaster around your windows or doors. how to put a texture back in and make it match.
- 0
Easy Car Battery Instulation
How to install a Chevy car Battery
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Why should this man be prosecuted for doing the right thing?
Terry P. Fairbanks is walking down the road picking up tin cans to turn in for some extra money. He is presently employed for a T-Shirt company. He finds laying in the weeds A 22 Cal. Handgun. Mr. Fairbanks having been convicted in 2006 of Burglary...
- 4
How to build an above ground Pool Deck Handrails , Fence and Gate Part 3 of 3
This is an easy fence solution for your deck or pool deck
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How to build an Above Ground Pool Deck Steps Part 2 of 3
I hope that this will help you design and build steps on your deck
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How to build an Above Ground Pool Deck Part 1of 3
i hope that you find these picture's and explanations easy to follow and please read part 2 and 3
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How to fix a noisy toilet that runs, stops and keeps filling back up
I hope that this helps you on fixing a noisy Toilet that never stops running and refilling. Thanks
- 2
How to Install a simple exterior door lock
I hope that by writing this hub that you can see how simple it is to install a new door lock
- 4
Cheap and Easy Stink-Bug Soda Bottle Trap
How to make a Inexpensive,quick and simple Stink Bug trap that works.
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Cleaning out Clogged Gutters and Downspouts
I hope that this helps you with your gutter Problems.


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Léon Frédéric
Brussels 1856 - Schaarbeek 1940
oil on canvas
126.5 x 94 x 2.5 cm
Inventory number 1264
Two girls, presumably sisters, are sitting diffidently side by side. The eldest of the two has
her arm protectively around the other's shoulder. They seem to be aware of the viewer's presence
and look out of the canvas with a gaze that is both penetrating and shy.
The Brussels-born painter Léon Frédéric rendered the two girls extremely accurately, with a clarity and on a scale that photography would only be able to emulate much later. As an adherent of Naturalism, a late-19th-century art movement, Frédéric represented the less important elements more sketchily. The area above the two girls' heads, for example, could be either a cloudy sky or a grubby wall in a farmhouse.
Social awareness
According to a 1925 opinion poll, Frédéric was Belgium's most popular artist. In fact, he gained critical acclaim from the start of his career, unlike many of his contemporaries. Despite his instant success, Frédéric kept his feet firmly on the ground. He was touched by the harsh living conditions of the working class and he expressed this social awareness in his art. During a stay in the Ardennes, he was confronted with the poverty of peasants in Wallonia. The painting of these 'boëchelles', a Walloon dialect word for girls, should be seen in this context.


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TOP 3 beard vitamins (summary)
VitaBeard (Check out on Amazon) – (Our Favorite)
Organic Trace Beard Garden (Check out on Amazon)
Centrum Men's Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement (Check out on Amazon)
From popular TV shows and movies to comic books, the most impressive characters sport masculine beards.
A thick growth of facial hair broadcasts authority and experience making the man wearing a beard stand out from the crowd.
But what if you're having trouble covering your face with a virile growth of manly hair? The human body is a complicated affair, and the smallest problem can manifest itself in a big way.
A simple vitamin or mineral deficiency can have a significant effect on your body: brittle nails, bad night vision, and poor hair growth.
That's right – hair growth is affected by certain vitamins and minerals.
So Are There Beard Growing Vitamins?
The short answer is yes. The long answer is more complicated, but still yes. Vitamins (and certain minerals) are essential chemicals that the body needs to perform optimally.
A deficiency in any of these can cause poor health, healing or growth. Healthy levels of vitamins and minerals will let your body work at its best.
Bear in mind that taking a multi-vitamin supplement will only keep you at 100%.
Taking vitamins and minerals beyond your daily requirements won't make you better than you are meant to be.
All the vitamin A in the world can't give you super eyesight, just your best possible eyesight.
A "beard vitamin" supplement will help you grow the hair you were meant to, not more than that.
What Are The Hair Growth Vitamins?
Many beard vitamin brands have ingredients in common that are reputed to optimize your hair growth. Let's examine some of the most popular.
Biotin is also known as vitamin B7, it is a water-soluble vitamin that is responsible for keratin production and skin health.
A deficiency in this vitamin has been shown to cause hair thinning. Research into biotin's hair growing properties has shown weak evidence that it's effective for hair growth.
Since its water soluble, whatever amount you consume over the body's requirements will be expelled in your urine.
Taking high doses of water with soluble vitamins is both unnecessary, and expensive.
Vitamin D and Iron
Research has shown that vitamin D deficiency coupled with low iron levels can cause hair loss.
Taking a supplement with vitamin D and iron will help prevent this from happening, but it won't increase your ability to grow facial hair.
Foods rich in vitamin D:
- Fatty fish, like tuna, mackerel, and salmon.
- Foods fortified with vitamin D, like some dairy products, orange juice, soy milk, and cereals.
- Beef Liver.
- Cheese.
- Egg yolks
Vitamin A
Vitamin A deficiency can cause the hair follicle to form white lumps which can cause hair loss.
Vitamin A is also essential for sebum (hair oil) production that keeps hair from becoming dry and brittle.
Maintaining healthy levels of vitamin A will prevent deficiency-related hair loss and help keep the hair you have healthy.
Vitamin A is fat soluble, so your body will store it. You can overdose on vitamin A, so be careful with how much you take.
Foods rich in vitamin A:
- Carrots
- Iceberg Lettuce
- Sweet Potatoes
- Cod Liver Oil
- Turkey Liver
- Butternut Squash
Vitamin E
Vitamin E maintains healthy blood circulation, which can keep hair follicles healthy.
Pantothenic Acid
Pantothenic acid is thought to help make hair follicles stronger so they function properly.
Foods rich in pantothenic acid:
- Chicken Liver
- Sunflower seeds
- Salmon
- Avocados
- Corn
- Sun-dried tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Mushrooms
Inositol is considered a vitamin-like substance. It has a reputation for preventing hair thinning.
- Food rich in inositol:
- Lecithin granules
- Beef heart
Desiccated Liver
- Wheat germ
- Lecithin oil
- Liver
- Brown rice
How Do The Beard Vitamin Brands Stack Up?
We've looked at the commonly used ingredients in beard growing supplements, and you're aware of what these vitamins can and can't do for your beard growth.
Let's take a look at different brands of beard vitamin supplements and see how they compare cost wise for each pill.
The VitaBeard brand of beard growth vitamins is comparable to many regular multivitamin supplements on the market.
A bottle of 90 capsules is selling for $29.95, for an individual capsule cost of 33 cents.
The recommended serving size on the VitaBeard label is 3 capsules daily.
Reborn Labs Beard Growth
Another multivitamin for beard growth; Reborn labs Beard Growth contains 60 capsules per container and is $19.99. Your cost per pill will be about 58 cents; a little steep for a vitamin pill.
Unlike VitaBeard, they only recommend 2 capsules daily.
Organic Trace Beard Garden
This one contains a massive dose of biotin but fewer actual vitamins compared to other beard supplements. 60 capsules per container at $22.86 will come out to about 41 cents for each pill. The recommended dose is 2 pills per day.
Caveman Hair Nutrients
I've included this brand because the name is awesome. It's a multivitamin like the others with very similar ingredients for $25 containing 60 tablets. Each pill will run you 43 cents, and the recommended dose is 2 per day.
Beard Growing Supplements are Expensive
None of these brands are inexpensive.
Each pill contains a collection of vitamins and minerals in slightly differing amounts and some have additional amino acids and herbal extracts.
They all claim to have 100% natural ingredients, and none of them list any ingredient as being "active."
The price for one pill ranges from 41 cents to a steep 58 cents.
They all provide more than the recommended minimum daily requirements for the vitamins listed on the label. More does not mean it will help grow more beard than you were meant to have.
Are There Other Options?
Using vitamin and mineral content as a guide we can compare the beard supplement brands with popular multivitamins.
One A Day Men's Health Formula
Manufactured by Bayer, this multivitamin provides essential vitamins and minerals in a bottle of 200 tablets.
One bottle will set you back about $13.99, for a cost of just 7 cents per pill. Like the name says, the recommended dose is one pill per day.
One A Day Men's Health Formula
Centrum Men's Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement
Another popular brand of daily multivitamin, Centrum Men's contains 120 tablets and costs only $9.99. The recommended dose is 1 pill per day. Each pill will cost you 8 cents.
Centrum Men's Multivitamin/Mineral Supplement
Are Beard Vitamins Worth It?
Here are some tips to help you decide:
- Start eating a healthy diet to provide you with enough vitamins to keep you healthy.
- Use an inexpensive daily multivitamin can help prevent vitamin or mineral deficiencies that affect hair growth.
- Don't take excessive water-soluble vitamins. They will be removed from the body when you urinate. Excess fat-soluble vitamins in the diet can be dangerous.
Beard vitamins are extremely expensive for the ingredients that they contain compared to regular multivitamins.
All things considered, you'll probably get more for your money buying a good multivitamin instead of "beard vitamins."
Photos from: Vladimirs Poplavskis © 123RF.com and Nadezhda Andriiakhina © 123RF.com.
Articles you may also like:
- TOP 3 beard vitamins (summary)
- So Are There Beard Growing Vitamins?
- What Are The Hair Growth Vitamins?
- Biotin
- Vitamin D and Iron
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin E
- Pantothenic Acid
- Inositol
- How Do The Beard Vitamin Brands Stack Up?
- Beard Growing Supplements are Expensive
- Are There Other Options?
- Are Beard Vitamins Worth It?


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:: fluxmonkey loves beans ::
bean soup recipes, w/ a nod to Alison Knowles... "The US bean crop would make enough bean soup to run Niagara Falls for three hours..."
there's almost always a pot of bean soup at the monkeyhouse. sunday is traditional soup cookin' dayboil up a big vat and the monkeys have sustenance all week. beans, some good bread, a little saladthat's good eatin, and good protein for vegetarian monkeyfolk. there's one general method and endless variationsimprov is usual, but some have been refined over time so they're almost "recipes." here ya go:
green pea
dalindian yellow split pea
cuban black bean


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As you are looking for a photographer, price is probably going to be one of the major factors. Photography is usually one of the biggest investments made in a wedding, and rightfully so! A lot of planning and time goes into getting those perfect shots that you will treasure for years. You want a photographer that you feel comfortable with and whose style you enjoy, so keep that in mind! I am always happy to meet with you and answer any questions you might have as you are deciding on your photographer, and if one of my packages doesn't fit your needs, we can work out something just for you.
All packages include an engraved USB drive with digital files and nestled inside a custom designed case, and an online gallery for sharing. Prices start at $1550 for 2018 weddings. I'd be happy to send you a full price list! Email me and let me know your wedding date to make sure I'm available.
I also have individual prices for all add-ons, if you want to build your own package! Email me for details, or better yet, let's meet in person.
A non-refundable security deposit of 1/4 your package price is required to book your wedding date, and custom payment plans are available if needed. If you're interested in booking me to shoot your wedding, please email me at email@example.com
Prices are subject to change without notice, but if you've already booked me, never fear! Once booked, your price is locked in, and will not be increased. Sales tax is included in your package price, so no extra charges will be added.


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Mash 6 hard-boiled egg yolks, 1/3 cup creme fraiche, 1/4 cup crumbled cooked bacon, 1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot Asian chili sauce), 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon lime zest, 1 teaspoon lime juice and salt. Spoon into the egg whites; top with more lime zest.
Photographs by Levi Brown
Recipe courtesy Michael Symon for Food Network Magazine
Check Out Our
Get a sneak-peek of the new Food Network recipe page and give us your feedback.See it Now!


text: Hello all, I just bricked my 3ds, using a R4i Gold Deluxe setup I of course backed up my original NAND to my pc before bricking. blue screen error on startup: BOOTROM 8046 ERRCODE: 00F800EF FFFFFFFF FFFFFFFF 00000008 00000000 There is so much information about how to fix this, could anyone provide the latest method of unbricking/ reflashing my original backed up NAND to my system. Thank you. Also, I cannot find the soldering tutorial on anywhere , i have opened up my 3ds but cannot see where to solder the wires on the motherboard. I cannot for the life of me find the place on my 3ds to solder these wires, I have looked at all the pictures I can find with this mod and tried to relate it to my 3ds. Only being able to find 3dS XL ones which is a problem because I do not have a XL I have the small 3DS. On opening the back of my 3DS I see the SD card reader port just below the 3ds analog stick , does this have to be removed in order to mod it? (pictures of my 3DS motherboard)


text:
Written byon Sept. 16, 2016 .
Hello Lovelies!
We would like to introduce to you Ella -phant, who moved here from Yorkshire a few years ago, and is now totally converted to London life.
Though hasn't lost the skill of making a really good brew just yet, her puns however - are not so great.
She has worked in Customer Experience for many years, and more recently in start-ups, in technology and events. Therefore, she has a great insight into small businesses, and their needs!
Ella is breakfast food obsessed, and could probably eat poached eggs for every meal if that were possible. She very much ...


text:
NEW YORK — Crude oil rose the most in more than nine weeks Wednesday, after the government reported that inventories of crude oil at a key Oklahoma terminal fell last week. Gas prices at the pump, meanwhile, extended their decline.
The report, from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, showed overall increases in gasoline inventories and refinery utilization, and declines in inventories of crude oil, roughly in line with analysts' expectations.


text:
Friday, June 04, 2004
Alfred Noyes, Horace: A Portrait (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1947), p. ix:Newer› ‹Older
It is said that when Robert Louis Stevenson lay seriously ill at Davos he asked that a Scottish minister who lived in the neighborhood should be summoned to his bedside. It was very early in the morning; but the good divine, fearing the worst, immediately dressed and and hastened to the chalet where his fellow-countryman lodged. He found Stevenson apparently in the article of death; but, as the kindly visitor leaned over the bed to whisper some word of ghostly consolation, the sick man opened his eyes and gasped faintly, "For God's sake, have you a Horace?"


text:
Precision Engineering for sale in Dorset, England
Browse the listings below and refine your search to help you buy Precision Engineering for sale in Dorset. Alternatively, set up email alerts and/or start a new search. Daltonsbusiness.com is the UK's largest online marketplace of businesses and franchises for sale.
Freehold Sheet Metal Fabrication and Powder Coating Business
Gator Business Sales is delighted to be able to offer for sale this profitable well established sheet metal fabrication and powder coating business which has been successfully trading since 1989. The company operates from adjacent freehold...
Search categories: Engineering businesses, Fabrication Businesses, Engineering companies, Precision Engineering, Metal manufacturing companies
- F/H Price £499,950
- Annual T/O £308,000
If you're just interested in Precision Engineering Businesses For Sale in Dorset click here to set up an email alert and we'll notify you as soon as new Precision Engineering Businesses For Sale in Dorset arrive on the market.
Precision & Computerised Cnc Engineering Company (South West U.K. Based)...
Long established • Niche market operation • Comprehensively and expensively equipped • Highly skilled, flexible and loyal workforce • Turnover £1m+ (Adj. Net Profit £575,000) • Genuine scope significant further expansion • Business premises...
Search categories: Precision Engineering, Engineering companies
- L/H Price £1,000,000
ESTABLISHED & REPUTABLE ENGINEERING COMPANY. Oxfordshire based.
ESTABLISHED & REPUTABLE ENGINEERING COMPANY. Oxfordshire based. Three years sales growth with net takings £281,020 in year ended 31.10.2017 generating six figure profits. Well-spread client base with considerable growth potential. 2,230 ft.²...
Location: Oxfordshire, England
Search categories: Electrical Engineering, Engineering businesses, Engineering companies, Mechanical Engineering, Precision Engineering
- L/H Price £225,000
- Annual T/O £281,020
Precision Engineering Business
Gator Business Sales is pleased to offer for sale this unique precision engineering business that has been profitably operating since 1984. The company primarily designs, manufactures and sells photoresist spinners and electronic hotplates...
Location: Salisbury, Wiltshire, England
Search categories: Electrical Engineering, Precision Engineering, Engineering companies, Engineering businesses, Other Manufacturing companies
- L/H Price £145,000
- Annual T/O £156,000
Rare opportunity to acquire exclusive global rights to unique laser-based gyroscope balancing system with satellite/aerospace/oil exploration & military applications and 6-year successful track record of sales . Comes with demonstration...
Location: Gosport, Hampshire, England
Search categories: Precision Engineering
- Asking price £250,000 (Ltd Co sale)
Rare opportunity to acquire 'Pick & Place' automation systems components specialist with valuable exclusive UK-wide product dealership operating from secure freehold lock-up workshop & storage unit with long established reputation & trade...
Location: Waterlooville, Hampshire, England
Search categories: Investment Properties, Other Commercial Property, Engineering companies, Precision Engineering
- F/H Price £129,995 plus SAV
Freehold Heavy Engineering Fabrication Boring Milling Turning Metal Liquid...
AJF Commercial welcome to the market this extremely profitable and well established Freehold engineering and liquid separation business for sale in the busy industrial town of Blackburn, Lancashire. Blackburn is a busy and vibrant town and...
Location: Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Search categories: Engineering businesses, Engineering companies, Mechanical Engineering, Fabrication Businesses, Precision Engineering
- F/H Price £3,300,000
Precision Engineering Products Supplier In Warwickshire
Intelligent Business Transfer are delighted to bring this extremely functional engineering business to the market. Since its inception, the business has grown profitably, and the current owners have invested a great deal of time and effort...
Location: Warwickshire, England
Search categories: Engineering companies, Other Service Businesses, Precision Engineering
- Asking price £149,000
- Annual T/O £194,000
PRECISION ENGINEERING BUSINESS - WEST MIDLANDS Good level of turnover with scope to increase Well reputed with regular and repeat trade Fully equipped to suit trade Situated in Brierley Hill Genuine retirement sale Training provided Low...
Location: Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England
Search categories: Precision Engineering
- L/H Price £99,950
- Price Reduced
Qualitas Engineering Ltd Middlesbrough TS6 6DU
Business Hilton Smythe welcomes to the market this thriving Engineering business. The business itself has been run as a precision engineering company for over 7 years. The business is an established precision company which pride themselves...
Location: Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England
Search categories: Precision Engineering, Engineering companies
- L/H Price £98,995
- Turnover £82,014
Engineering Business, West Midlands
Business Hilton Smythe would like to welcome to the market this engineering company in the West Midlands. The business was established in 1967 and has been in our client`s ownership since 1977. Only now is the business offered to the market...
Location: West Midlands, England
Search categories: Precision Engineering, Civil Engineering Businesses, Engineering businesses, Engineering companies
- L/H Price £349,950
- Turnover £467,282


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re you considering a visit to see and photograph some of North Carolina's wild horses, but don't know which location is best suited for you? If so, then this article should help you decide. Of the four locations - Corolla, Shackleford, Beaufort and Ocracoke - only the first three offer you any real adventure. The Ocracoke wild ponies are penned pretty much as a tourist curiosity alongside Hwy. 12 on Ocracoke Island. If what you need is a quick curiosity stop with a carload of kids, this should do the trick for you. You can climb up on the viewing stand, take a couple of quick photos, and be on your way in ten or fifteen minutes. But, if you are interested in something more adventurous, or wanting more serious photographic opportunities, I must recommend the other three locations.
Photographing on the salt marsh at
Rachel Carson Reserve
he Shackleford Banks wild horses, and the wild horses on the Rachel Carson Reserve at Beaufort, are in close enough proximity that they can both easily be visited on a single trip. In fact, I made such a combined four-day "safari" which I've chronicled in the
article linked here
. It will give you a well rounded introduction to the interesting options in that area for wild horse photography.
he other area to find wild horses in North Carolina is on the northernmost coast of the Outer Banks, between Corolla and Carova. Besides the information here on NCWildHorses.com, there is additional information about the Corolla location on the
section about the wild horses of Corolla.
Stallion and mare on Shackleford Banks
hese two locations of wild horses differ greatly not only in how you go about reaching them and the types of shots and scenery you can get, but also the techniques and equipment you would use for each scenario. Each location has its regulations about how close you are allowed to come to these wild animals (no closer than 50 feet). Very often you can actually get that close, but there are no guarantees.
Lens Choices for the serious photographer:
he long telephotos you use for birds are not always necessary, as a rule, for subjects this large, certainly not for distances of 20 yards. I use a 24-105mm and a 70-200mm to cover the near encounters. However, keep in mind that these are wild horses that go wherever they wish. The terrain can also be challenging, and sometimes you will be unable to get as close as you would like. You may need to resort to your longest bird lens at times. Also remember that these environments can present opportunities for great bird photography, so having along your big glass for birds is a good idea. You will find scenic and landscape opportunities here too. That favorite wide angle in your camera bag could prove handy. What it boils down to is "bring whatever you're willing to carry". Keep in mind though that these locations will require some hoofing it, so keep your total equipment weight to something you can handle.
About Corolla/Carova:
Horse family on the beach
eaching the wild horses north of Corolla on Currituck Banks requires 4-wheel drive, whether you drive your own or ride in someone else's, such as with one of the tour companies out of Corolla. NC Highway 12 dead ends onto the beach at Corolla, and the 11 miles from there to the Virginia border is 4-wheel drive only. Beyond Corolla there are no gas stations, no businesses and no facilities of any kind, just wildlife reserves and small beach communities of homes. You should be aware that sections of this beach are littered with tree stumps from an ancient maritime forest, which most surely can be a serious driving hazard. (See my web pages regarding this phenomenon at this
link.) The Corolla horses are a good bet for visitors with mobility impairments, since it's quite possible for them to see the horses up close without leaving the vehicle.
bout 100 horses are sequestered on the northernmost end of the Currituck barrier island between two fences that stretch from ocean to sound. One fence is just north of Corolla where Hwy. 12 ends onto the beach, and the other is on the North Carolina-Virginia border. The fence crosses the beach here too, which also keeps vehicles from driving into Virginia. The fences keep the horses from wandering south into Corolla and being hit by cars on the highway, and keeps them out of False Cape State Park along the Virginia border.
Galloping down a high dune at Carova
Galloping along the beach at Carova
rguably the best photos of these horses can be obtained on the beach, which is certainly a rather unique backdrop. The beach faces east with generally high dunes on the west side. When the horses venture onto the beach, which they use as a trail between feeding areas, they usually keep near the surf. Photographing early in the day will mean you tend to be shooting into the light with dark subjects backlit against a light sky and shiny water, unless of course, you want to stand waist deep in the ocean and shoot from there. That doesn't make things easy. At high tide you will often have little to no room on the beach in which to work, so being aware of the tide schedule is important. Remember, you must keep 50 feet or more away from the horses. Despite the challenges, it is occasionally possible to get some interesting shots, such as the one at left, where I lucked into a group of horses that decided to move onto the beach from atop a 30-foot high dune.
ometimes all you need is a bean bag in your window or on the hood for shots on the beach, assuming you're parked at a good angle in relation to the horses. You may spend quite some time parked on the beach waiting for action. You can see a couple of miles up and down the beach, so binoculars will help you tell the difference between horses and people when you spot distant figures in the hazy air. Otherwise, getting out for handheld shooting or to use a tripod is necessary. Generally, walking over the dunes to scout for photos requires only short treks lasting a few minutes, so taking a bag or backpack is relatively easy.
ust finding the horses out on the beach is a combination of luck and patience. Do not expect you will be alone either, for much of the year the beach is a busy "highway", not to mention the tourists. (
Note the beach is literally covered with vehicle tracks in the
photo at left
.) The heat of summer and pesky insects helps drive the horses onto the beach or just behind the dunes where the ocean breeze offers some relief. The problem is, they swap the pesky insects for the pesky tourists and traffic that infests the beach. I never bother going between June and September. I recommend avoiding summer altogether .... you're outnumbered, and taking a photo of a horse on the beach is all but impossible without also getting a dozen tourists and/or cars ln the frame. Early spring and late fall are better times, while the weather is still fairly warm. Windy and cold weather keeps the horses sound side among the trees of the maritime forest, and out of the wind. The tourists mostly fade away during October, except for the weekends. The weekends can be nearly as problematic as the tourist season until November rolls around. The same is true during May, which can be suitable during the week, but forget weekends. It is more often than not a complete waste of your time during tourist season, and you will virtually never find horses on the beach in bitter weather.
Horse groups hug the surf line
ou can also drive over the dunes and through the housing areas to find horses wandering about in yards and on the sand paths that serve for roads. While those images may satisfy the tourists' curiosity, they are hardly worth the time of any serious photographer as photos of "wild horses". Compounding the problem is the fact you cannot tell where public "roads" end and private property begins. The "roads" are so narrow and riddled with huge mud holes, they're not safe to drive, and often not passable. After a few such forays, I quickly tired of it.
limbing over the dunes and scouting behind them on foot can provide opportunities in the more open areas between the beach communities.
Case in point:
I was once photographing a stallion and mare grazing behind the dunes when the stallion suddenly took off at a gallop and ran some 300-400 yards from the beach to the distant tree line. Apparently he went to retrieve a wayward mare, and chased her the entire distance back towards me. The sheer terror on that mare's face is unmistakably evident in the series of photos below. I was shooting with a 70-200mm on a full frame body, because I was just there to take some short distance shots of them grazing near the dunes. I had not expected a long distance chase and was unprepared with no long telephoto handy. The moral to the story is....if you think you won't need it, bring it anyway.
y point here is that although the horses tend be somewhat predictable once you are familiar with their habits, they still can and will surprise you. They occasionally provide this sort of surprise action which, along with the classic fights between two (or more) stallions, makes photographing them such a rewarding challenge. You eventually learn to read their body language and therefore are more prepared when such action breaks out. It doesn't mean you will be in the best position for photos when it happens, but sometimes it gives you enough warning that you can at least make the best of it. At other times you have no warning at all.
Charging over the dune
nce I was parked parallel to the beach, up next to the dunes, patiently watching far down the beach when I caught motion in the corner of my vision. A black stallion came charging over the dune right next to me, headed straight for my truck. Out of sheer reflex I grabbed my camera from the seat next to me, blindly pointed it at arms length toward the passenger window and squeezed. A second later he veered around the truck and out onto the beach. The shutter happened to be in continuous mode, and still I only got four frames before he was gone. At left is the first and best frame, an uncropped image. The other three were completely out of focus and useless. It happened so fast it's a wonder I got anything at all.
o sum up the Corolla wild horses, accessing them requires only a 4-wheel drive to get there. It is possible to just park on the beach and wait for a family group to stroll by. You may spot a few grazing behind the dunes, or you might brave the deep sandy paths and huge mud holes to drive around for hours and never see even one. It has happened to me more than once. If you know where to go on foot without trespassing on private land, you can trek out to the sound side maritime forest and marshes to get "natural" photos, but I have not learned those places yet. That will require a local guide who knows the areas off the beaten path and has permission to use private property. But if you have the time, patience, luck and persistence, it's not at all "difficult" to at least get worthwhile photos of the Corolla wild horses on the beach.
About Shackleford Banks:
Oceanside rolling dunes
Sound side maritime forest
hackleford is a completely different situation from Corolla. It's an unpopulated barrier island about a half-mile wide by 9-miles long, with the only access being by boat. Kayaking here is an option, but the distances are much greater than at the Rachel Carson Reserve. I wouldn't recommend kayaking from the mainland without a touring class kayak and experience on open water that can get rough. Passenger ferry service and charter service are available out of Beaufort.
hackleford is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and the island and horses are under the jurisdiction of the Park Service. The same 50-foot approach rule is enforced here. The most often visited area to photograph the wild horses here is the easternmost end of the island, adjacent to Cape Lookout. The ocean side of the barrier island is open, with high and dry undulating dunes of grasses as in the photo at right. The sound side of the island is maritime forest and thickets mixed with tidal marsh wetland, and small grassy islands that may flood at high tide, but be barely above water at low tide.
Wading sound side to reach horses
Sound side island at low tide
t is a good idea to wear boots and clothing suitable for muddy, marshy trekking. Better yet, be prepared to wade through salt or brackish water from 6 inches deep to two or even three feet deep. I have used both calf-high neoprene kayaking boots and knee-high waterproof snake boots. My snake boots are great for hiking, mud, and shallow water, but for the deep wading I recommend something different. I have ankle-high water rescue/first responder type boots with neoprene inserts, the sort of footwear Navy Seals use. These have treaded soles for hiking and mud, but are also designed to be used IN the water of any depth, and seal out water like a neoprene dry suit. I wear a neoprene bootie sock inside them for extra comfort. I also wear thin fast-dry hiking pants with zip off calves, which can also serve as a bathing suit for when the water gets thigh-deep to waist-deep. The same type of fast dry shirt (like a fishing shirt) is a good idea too. If all else fails, bring an old pair of sneakers you don't care about ruining in marsh muck and salt water, but proper hiking footwear is a better idea. You do not want to go barefoot or in flip-flops wading in these areas. Marsh muck will suck off anything not strongly attached to your feet, and beware of shells and other sharp surprises that lurk beneath the water. Be safe and smart. Come prepared.
Short lens shooting on Shackleford
Open spaces on Shackleford
ud, muck and unknown underwater surfaces can be slippery, so you may want to bring a hiking pole for extra stability. Slipping and falling in two feet of salt water with a backpack or handful of expensive camera gear would be a disaster. The extra leg provided by a pole can prove invaluable, not to mention you can use it as a depth finder to test the water depth ahead of you. I use an aluminum ski pole I found at the Goodwill Store for $2.00. I scuffed it with sandpaper and sprayed it with a pattern of camo paint. Then I added three colored stripes across it - a green stripe for ankle depth, yellow for knee depth, and red for crotch depth. It won't rust, and if it gets lost I'm only out $2.00. It's not collapsible, but for a couple of bucks you can't have everything. At least I'm not likely to unexpectedly find a deep hole with my foot before the pole finds it.
Shackleford stallions'
hatever you bring, remember you have to get on and off a boat with your gear. A single backpack of gear and a tripod is enough to carry around, load and unload. The boat rides can be choppy and rough at times, often with salt spray, so provide cover for your gear in transit. Even if the weather is pleasant, the wind can be chilly at boat speeds, so have something warm to wear that's packable when not needed. There are also no facilities on Shackleford. The Park Service does have a couple of compost type toilet buildings on the island, but they're far from the east end. Bring water and snacks with you, and carry off your trash.
hackleford has about 100 horses in residence, but they are spread out across a nine-mile long island. The most common sightings are groups of two to four, though I have seen as many as eight in a group. If you see a dozen wild horses during a single outing on Shackleford you've had a good day. It's not uncommon to hike from one to three miles on an outing here. It's also possible to luck into a couple of family groups in plain sight out among the grassy dunes where you land the boat and you won't have to wade the marshes, streams and sloughs to get your shots.
About The Rachel Carson Reserve:
Horses returning from feeding in
the tidal marsh at Rachel Carson
he Rachel Carson Reserve is similar to Shackleford, requiring a boat to reach it. Passenger ferry and shuttle service is available from the Beaufort waterfront on Taylor Creek, as is charter boat and guide service for small groups. Kayaking is a reasonable option, as the distance between the waterfront and the reserve is just two hundred to three hundred yards. Crossing by kayak and hiking the area is a very practical option.
Stallions test each other
at Rachel Carson
he reserve is part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. [Do not confuse this location with the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge which is in Maine] Unlike the Corolla herd and Shackleford herd, these horses are considered "feral". They originated from Ocracoke and Shackleford horses, which are considered descended from the Spanish Colonial stock brought by early explorers and settlers. However the Rachel Carson herd was mixed with some thoroughbred and farm stock long before the NCNERR became the overseers.
he reserve has maritime forest and brush, and large areas of tidal marsh, but there is much less in dry grassy areas here, and distances are much shorter than at Shackleford. The whole island complex is one-third that of Shackleford, with much more of it being tidal marsh than dry land area. There are only about 35 horses here, but they are generally much easier to find. Unlike the Shackleford horses, which tend to keep their family groups of 3-5 horses mostly isolated from other family groups, the Rachel Carson family groups seem to tolerate other family groups more easily. Thus you will often find several family groups in close proximity while grazing. This provides a better concentration of horses in one area as subjects. It also means you are more likely to encounter interesting action, such as stallions taking exception to each other's presence. I have witnessed only one such encounter on Shackleford, but have seen several at Rachel Carson, some of which were only quick scuffles. They still provided good action for photos though.
Stallions at Rachel Carson
he same sort of footwear and clothing as Shackleford is recommended here also. Something to consider at both locations is the damp, marshy ground of the tidal marsh at low tide. You might bring a large trash bag, a 2x2-foot piece of heavy plastic or other waterproof ground cover to set your backpack or camera bag on when swapping out lenses and bodies. Keep in mind the wind can easily carry off such plastic items if you're not careful. To keep muck off your tripod leg locks, you can extend the smallest leg sections just six inches or so, keeping the lower leg locks away from the ground without adding unnecessary flex to your tripod. Then just get your needed height from the upper leg sections.
Black Skimmers at Rachel Carson
he greater accessibility of the extensive tidal marsh at Rachel Carson will provide more opportunities than Shackleford for some great bird photography. This is especially true when kayaking into the tidal marsh at high tides. Depending on the season, you can get close access to the horses feeding on the marsh, as well as spectacular flocks of Black Skimmers, plenty of White Ibis, and a plethora of peeps, sandpipers, yellowlegs, oystercatchers, and even an occasional loon. Paddling the marsh can be a tricky business though. The good thing is if you get caught with the tide going out, you can just get out and walk..... not that it's much fun having to do that. Hitting the tide just right takes some knowledge and experience, but it can be done with great results. Be warned that the sharp dangers of extensive oyster beds here must not be ignored, whether wading or paddling.
Final Thoughts:
y favorite of the three locations is the Rachel Carson Reserve. It gives me the option of enjoying some kayaking along with my photography, with opportunities to capture both birds and wild horses. What I don't like are the lodging options in the Beaufort/Morehead City area, none of which are very convenient for both distance from the reserve and providing space to park a vehicle pulling a boat trailer. If you're not towing, then nice lodging on the waterfront is available in Beaufort, which makes this a primo site.
Kayak photography on the tidal marsh
View from kayak on Rachel Carson
Reserve tidal marsh
hope this has provided some useful information from a photographer's perspective to help you get a feel for which of these locations might suit your interests as a photographer. Along with the links provided to other of my articles, you should have a better idea of what to expect when visiting each of these wild horse populations on North Carolina's coast. Shackleford Banks, Rachel Carson Reserve and Corolla offer adventuresome opportunities for wild horse and bird photography, making a trip to any of them a worthwhile and rewarding excursion.
All images are copyrighted and may not be copied or used for any purpose.


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Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk
Prices From
$181adult ?
$101child ?
$181concession ? Prices above are for departures between 1 April 2018 - 31 March 2019
Blackwood River Valley
Travel south through Donnybrook, famous for its fruit orchards. Enjoy rolling farmlands of the Blackwood River Valley.
Diamond Tree
Travel through Western Australia's old growth forest to see the 51m tall Diamond Tree bush fire watch tower. Climb it if you dare – the breathtaking views from the top are worth it. Or you can simply enjoy your included lunch in a tranquil setting.
Included Meals: Lunch
Valley of the Giants
Then visit the Valley of the Giants 'Tree Top Walk'. Get up-close and personal with these 400 year old giants of the south west tingle forest region.
Treetop Canopy
Walk through the treetop canopy, along the gradually elevated walkway, suitable for all ages. The highest point of the 600 metre loop is about 40 metres.
Ancient Empire
On the ground walk through the Ancient Empire of wide girthed Tingle trees up to 10 metres in diameter.
Full Day Tour
Approximately 14.5 hours
Tuesday, 8.00am from Perth
10.30pm, Perth
Need Accommodation?
Our special discounted rates make booking accommodation with us during your holiday both easy and affordable at selected AAT Kings hotels and resorts.
Find out more
- Lunch
- Entry Fees
- Experienced Driver Guides
- Detailed and informative commentary
- Travel in an air-conditioned coach
What to bring
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Sunglasses, hat and sunscreen
- Water bottle
- Camera
- Jacket in the cooler months
Fitness requirement
Low level of fitness required.
Valley of the Giants Tree Top Walk (P10L)
Free hotel pick-ups
Hotel pick-ups are available free of charge on selected tours if you do not wish to meet at the main departure point. Hotel pick up times vary so please use the tool below to find your hotel and pick up time. Hotel pick-ups must be requested with your booking.
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Interesting Fact
The land on which Perth lies now was once known as Boorloo.
Western Australia is the largest state in Australia. It amounts to a third of the area of Australia, with a total area of more than 2,500,000 sqkm.
Perth is also known as the 'City of Light'. Astronaut John Glenn orbited above in 1962 and could identify Perth because everyone turned on their lights, making Perth highly visible.
The city has four major streets running east to west - St George's Terrace, Hay Street, Murray Street, and Wellington Street.


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"Increasingly, cities are becoming the province of the rich, the childless, or the poor. I love cities. But America hasn't lived there for a long time ... If you really want to observe entire middle-class multigenerational American families, you have to go to the mall."
But, we might ask the self-described Envirosell "research wonk" Paco Underhill, whose above contention appears in Call of the Mall, do we really want to? Underhill's most recent foray into the rich, potpourri-and-candle-scented field of retail anthropology (his first was Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping, published in 1999) addresses such tough questions as Are we really interested in spending an entire book inside the mall? Why is mall architecture so ugly? and Exactly what is an Aqua Massage? Underhill's answers turn out to be fascinating (mostly), and when they aren't, they're boring in a sort of exquisitely bleak, existential way, just like the mall.
For those who argue that sometimes a Cinnabon is just a Cinnabon, Underhill opens his mall jaunt by invoking the spirit of the French historian Daniel Roche, author of A History of Everyday Things (2000). "It's not as though studying people as they congregate to buy and sell things is a totally frivolous or small-minded endeavor," he writes.
Consider the history of our species, a fair swath of which has been propelled by merchants or their emissaries traveling to the far reaches of the planet, sometimes at great risk, in order to bring back stuff to peddle to the rest of us. As any schoolchild can testify, the romance of the ancient world teems with spice routes and trade winds and trafficking in silks and precious metals, frankincense and myrrh, gunpowder and fur.
For Underhill, the history of retail is a grand adventure that entered a new phase in the glittering emporiums of America's burgeoning cities.
The merchant princes were nineteenth century men, driven by ambition and muscle and determination to succeed in the brick-and-mortar vocabulary of the era. Their stores were their alter egos, and these titans of retailing all had serious edifice complexes. The great department stores of the day bore their owners' names—Gimbel, Macy, Wanamaker, Neiman Marcus, Marshall Field.
At first blush it would appear that the suburban car culture's rise triggered just another exciting phase in the journey. After all, since its inception, in Edina, Minnesota, in 1956, the mall has in many ways proved a wonderfully successful retail invention. In the boom years of the 1970s and 1980s a new mall opened somewhere in the United States every three or four days. Studies suggest that 30 percent of adults living in a county with the kind of mall that Underhill describes in his book will have visited it at least once in a given three months. Malls currently account for 14 percent of all U.S. retailing (excluding cars and gasoline): about $308 billion in annual sales.
More telling than those mere facts and numbers is how the mall has gotten into the very gut, the very psyche, of the American family. What is a family, after all, but a collection of not quite independent, somewhat less than completely ambulatory people? And what safer harbor for families than a big, beige, temperature-controlled box? It's not just the mall-rat teens, marooned at the octoplex on Friday nights because they cannot drive. It's the packs of seniors who began exercise programs of "mall walking" on the advice of doctors who didn't want them to slip in snow and ice. It's the mothers looking to kill time with very small children (because mall customers literally shop slower than their urban counterparts, and are more patient in line, pushing a couple of tots in a stroller to get a new spatula at Lechter's can fill an entire cloud-free afternoon).
The problem, Underhill argues, is that there's rot in the mall's very DNA. Mall owners, far from being merchants who want to creatively engage our acquisitive urges, are simply real-estate developers trying to maximize every rental dollar, mostly by minimizing their overhead. Which is not a good thing. To begin with, the resulting architecture is a horror ("A big wall with a little mouse hole" is the way one top mall designer describes it). And now these blank, lifeless exteriors are gradually decaying, with an almost Michael Jackson-like weirdness. For instance,
Mall of America, the biggest in the United States and the most potent tourist attraction in all of Minnesota, may have looked good on the drawing board. But it has aged badly since it opened in August 1992. You can see stains on the outside of the building, and grass has begun to poke through the asphalt of the parking lots. It is huge and unsightly. You can't imagine Disney World or the Statue of Liberty being allowed to decay this way. Yet this mall has more visitors than Disney World, Graceland, and the Grand Canyon combined.
And further,
Next time you're at a mall, instead of going directly inside, stroll around the perimeter of the place. It will be one of the more joyless promenades you'll ever make. You'll be very alone out there, on a narrow strip of sidewalk, assuming it has a sidewalk—many malls don't—with maybe a security guard or two to keep you company ... There will almost certainly be shrubbery, neatly clipped, but it's greenery of the most generic kind. Nobody thought you'd ever look too closely at it. Its only job is to be green.
And that disorientation, that disconnect in form and space, reaches to the inside of the mall—which Underhill describes as being, like television, a "totally fake environment that attempts to pass itself off as a true reflection of who we are and what we want." There's a video arcade, a rock-climbing wall, a food court, and "a Cinnabon stand, four cookie stands, three pretzel stands, three ice-cream stands, and no place wheresoever to buy an apple." It's a pastel-hued town—or, at least, "town-like"—square that actually resists true civic discourse. (Many states have had to legislate out certain kinds of retail-unfriendly free-speech activity: irritants over the years have included political candidates, Klansmen, and anti-war activists distributing leaflets.) Underhill labors to suggest a connection between malls and racism, because so few of them are near public transportation.
But for this reader, Call of the Mall's unique contribution to the field—if not exactly its pleasure—is less the sociological analysis than the shock of personal recognition Underhill provokes as he lasers in on some unexamined moments in modern life. Only a retail specialist could be so attuned to the human condition in all its shabby, formless boredom. Underhill, again in the spirit of Roche, relentlessly tracks the violent shifts in our emotional landscape as we look for parking and find somewhat better (nearer to the Sears end) or somewhat worse (nearer to the Bloomingdale's) than we had expected. Once inside, he rails,
Do all mall maps stink? In our studies of people in shopping centers, we've timed how long they spend staring at those big, lighted board mall directories. In one study the average was twenty-two seconds. That's a very long time to study a map ... The directories in most malls look like they were designed for electricians—like wiring guides.
Only Underhill would take time to observe,
To the extent that muggings do occur in malls, they may take place in rest rooms, which are usually hidden down some lonesome corridor away from the main thoroughfare. In fact, that's the best way to find the bathroom in an unfamiliar mall—look around for the least inviting hallway, the narrow one where the lighting is dimmest.
See? Here's just such a passage radiating off the promenade. It's gloomy and unwelcoming—if the mall were an urban setting, this would be an alley. Come on, let's go inside.
And finally,
There's something Fellini-esque about a department store cosmetics section. You stand here on a Saturday morning, dressed in the standard mall-casual suburban wardrobe, gazing at a chamber glittering with chandeliers, populated by saleswomen wearing makeup and hair dramatic enough for opening night at La Scala. Their faces are like masks of pale, poreless skin, ruby-red lips, smoldering eye treatments—positively kabuki-like ... The purchase of cosmetics is as public as a private art form gets. It isn't quite a massage, but it is an intimate act between two consenting adults.
It's here that perhaps the most telling bit of retail absurdity lies. Up above the cosmetics counter, Underhill points out, you'll typically find a gigantic image of Elizabeth Hurley, from an ad you saw in Vanity Fair, now blown up and ringed with glowing spotlights. Down below, the rest of the female species shuffles around, barely able to find a decent mirror in decent light to try out the lipstick.
Underhill quotes a fellow retail expert:
"The companies don't design these departments to make the shopper the star. To them, the star of this counter is the supermodel or the celebrity who's in the ad campaign. After all, they paid her a ton of money—she must be the star. After her, the secondary star is the lady who is selling the product. Then, in last place, comes the customer. It's totally wrong."
Ah, the eternal gap between Madison Avenue and, if not Minnesota exactly, the Minnesota that lurks within our souls. Speaking of the Gap, I myself remain haunted by that television commercial several years ago of Gap swing dancers. That was the Gap promise, in thirty seconds: just pull on these magic khaki pants and you'll know freedom from all life's cares—your spirit will be buoyant, gravity-defying, fairy-light! Consider the actual Gap experience: wrestling with too-tight pants in a too-tight dressing room in the middle of a three-hour trip to a stained, aging mall with bleak, gloomy bathrooms and horrible parking.
To say that Underhill is our bard of the suburbs is not to say that The City—or, at least, its image—is absent from Call of the Mall. Indeed, mall landscapes obliquely reflect and refract what seem to be fleeting, romantic, impossibly distant group memories of The City. Witness the pet store, a little area set aside for the rude life forms—and their droppings—that are only too familiar to urban shoppers but otherwise completely absent from the mall. And while teens toss a Frisbee in a lifelike play environment way up on the top floor, one girl yearningly muses: "I don't know if you've ever been to Washington Square in New York ... but it's this park, and they have these tables with like built-in checkerboards on top?"
Then there's the Tiffany store window, tiny and boxlike, which displays just one thing: a beautiful black-and-white photo of a rainy Central Park-like landscape, a miniature diorama capturing part of our—or at least someone's —past life. Underhill says, "It sells the romance of Central Park in the rain, and being very near to Tiffany, to people who are walking around a mall." ("Hey," his shopping companion adds, "there's a smudge on the window.")
And of the mall's future?
Today, when most American malls are over twenty years old, the question of what to do about aging centers will soon be upon us. If the buildings themselves had any intrinsic value, we'd be more likely to restore or salvage ones that need it. We restore and repurpose many public structures, such as former post offices, hotels, libraries, even churches. But most malls are too ugly and banal to warrant such effort. They've been designed to be serviceable, nothing more, and once they no longer can serve they'll have to be razed, and replaced with ... I don't know. Maybe something even worse.
I think of ghosts of retail past and retail future in my own Los Angeles. I think of how our Sherman Oaks Galleria—that's right, the very Galleria made famous in "Valley Girl"—is no more. This makes me remember my own teen life, in the 1970s, in southern California. I can still feel the exciting pulse of nascent adulthood as I and my best friend, Mary Robertson, whizzed along the freeways in her tiny new Chevy Chevette. I can still envision each green-and-white exit sign, each raggedy palm tree, the malls sprawling just beyond like big pink hatboxes of promise. As with Barbie play makeup, the mall offered a vision of glamorous, cosmopolitan adulthood, an adulthood that now lay much nearer at hand. Instead of a real Sin City, Mary and I had impulsive and daring visits to the Cheesecake Factory, where the whole sensual world lay before us in over-twenty-one flavors: Amaretto, Grand Marnier, piña colada.
Today my southern-California retail world is a grid of Target (the standard), Tarjhay (uptown, lattes), and, of course, Targhetto (of the tattered parking lot, where you find yourself thinking, So this is where gang members buy their Tupperware, the better to neatly organize their important gang items). It's a colorful mélange of strip malls that advertise dry-cleaning in five different languages, and almost always feature a "USA #1 DONUTS." I think of my sixty-two-year-old Manchurian stepmother's first trip to the Van Nuys Costco—how her eyes widened in alarm, and excitement, at the sight of a fifty-foot tower of Bounty paper towels, how her white tennies flashed and pattered as she ran. Never mind Christopher Columbus and his precious spices; when it comes to retail excitement, Alice truly was beholding a brave new world.
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