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Patterns for High-Integrity Data Consumption and Composition
by Dion Hinchcliffe
Summary: The challenge is to consume and manage data from multiple underlying sources in different formats, while participating in a federated information ecosystem, and while maintaining integrity and loose coupling with good performance. Here are some emerging patterns for the growing world of mashups and composition applications.
Forces and Constraints of Consumption and Composition
Patterns of Data Consumption and Composition
A Return to Simplicity
About the Author
These days, the field of software development is just as much about assembly and composition of preexisting services and data as it is about creating brand-new functionality. The world of mashups on the Web and composite applications in the world of service-oriented architecture (SOA) are demanding that data—in very different forms and from virtually any source—be pushed together, interact cleanly, and then go about their separate ways. And these approaches demand that this interaction happens and occurs efficiently, all without losing fidelity or integrity.
The considerable variety of data these days includes an extensive array of XML-based formats, as well as increasingly widespread, lighter-weight data formats such as the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and microformats. Applications also have to increasingly work with rich forms of data such as images, audio, and video, and we can't forget the older, everyday workhorse formats such as text, EDI, and even native objects. All of these formats are increasingly being woven and blended together at the same time systems become more interconnected and integrated into vast supply chains, enterprise service buses (ESBs), SOAs, and Web mashups. Maintaining order in such data chaos is more important than ever. The good news is that first-order rules for handling all of this data heterogeneity are beginning to emerge.
Web services, SOA, and especially the Web itself are made of open standards that make it possible for systems to speak together—the ubiquitous and essential HTTP being a prime example. However, this communication does not allow one to assume what sort of data your software will have to consume in the applications of the future. While it is still a good bet that you will probably be facing some form of XML, it's now just as likely you will be faced with one of the lightweight data formats growing in popularity such as JSON. However, increasingly, it could just as easily be simple, plain text; a tree of native objects; or even a deeply-layered, WS-* style Web services stack that will be provided by the forthcoming Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
Developers are therefore faced with serious challenges in terms of creating good data modeling, architecture, and integration techniques that can encompass this diversity. The heterogeneity of data representation forms can be quite daunting in environments with high levels of system integration. Never mind that in very loosely coupled, highly federated systems, as many applications are increasingly becoming, the likelihood of frequent change is high. Consequently, it is up to the application development community to create a body of knowledge on best practices for the low-barrier consumption of data from many different sources and formats, with matching techniques for integrating, merging, and relating them. The community also needs to ensure that integrity is maintained while remaining highly resilient to change and even the inevitable evolution of the underlying data formats.
While the patterns presented here are not authoritative and intended primarily to be guidance, they are based on the well-accepted concept of the interface contracts. Interface contracts are now common in the Web services world with WSDL as well as in many programming languages but particularly in design by contract. In an interface contract, a provider and a supplier come together and agree on a set of interactions, usually described in terms of methods or services. These interactions will cause data of interest to pass back and forth across the interface boundary.
The exact definition of the interactions, including their locations and protocols, are precisely defined in the contract, which is preferably machine-readable. Of particular interest are the data structures that are passed back and forth between supplier and client as parameters during each interaction. And it is these data structures that are really the center of the mashup/composite application model. Because it is here, when these highly diverse data structures meet, that we need to put principles of data integration and recombination into the sharpest relief.
Forces and Constraints of Consumption and Composition
Along these lines, then, we can get a general sense of the forces that are shaping data consumption and composition in modern distributed software systems. In rough order, these are the following.
Figure 1. Schemas embedded in an interface contract are usually the largest client dependency. (Click on the picture for a larger image.)
The interface contract as driver of data consumption and composition. When using data structures from any external source or service, such as a Web service, data structures must be validated against the interface contract provided by the source service. This validation can often be done at design time for data sources that are known to be highly stable and reliable. But in federated systems, especially those not under the direct control of the consumer, careful consideration must be given to doing contract checking at run time. Run-time contract checking in loosely coupled systems is an emerging technique, and some interesting options are at the disposal of the service consumer to avoid problems up front. The bottom line is that the interface contract is the principal artifact that drives data consumption and composition.
Abstraction impedance disrupts data consumption and composition. The physical point at which data integration occurs is increasingly outside the classic control of databases, and data-access libraries convert everything to a unified data abstraction. Data retrieved from multiple external services and in multiple forms can and do collide within the browser, inside front-end clients, or on the server side's inside code and outside the database. The data structures from these underlying services, depending on the software application, range from native objects, XML, JSON, and SOAP document/fragments to text, binary, and multimedia data. Though abstraction impedance has been a well-known problem in software for a long time, it has only been exacerbated by the proliferation of the growing number of available models for representing information. When consuming and compositing these data structures into usable aggregate representations and then back out to their source services, a number of major problems appear.
- Data format variability. The fundamental formats of the underlying data structures are often highly incompatible, and good local facilities for processing all the forms that might be encountered are not usually at hand. Particularly problematic are extremely complex formats that require sophisticated protocol stacks to handle, such as higher-order Web services with WS-Policy requirements.
- Data identity. Keys and unique object/data identifiers often are not in common formats and are not the facilities available for checking and enforcing them consistently across abstractions.
- Data relationships. Establishing relationships and associations among data structures of highly differing formats can be problematic, both for efficiency and performance, for a number of reasons. Converting all data to a common format can be expensive, both in terms of maintenance and run-time cost. It also introduces the problem of maintaining the provenance of blended data and extracting it back out as it's modified. Keeping data structures in native forms assumes good mechanisms for compositing, relating, and manipulating them.
- Data provenance. Maintaining the originating source service of a chunk of data is essential for maintaining valid context for ongoing conversations with the source and for changes to the data in particular, such as updates, additions, and deletions of the data.
- Data integrity. Modifying source data, ensuring that changes are valid according to the underlying service's interface contract, and not violating schema definitions are important. With well-defined XML documents that are supported by rich XML schemas, these validations are less of an issue. However, lighter weight programming models such as JSON and others like it often do not have any machine-readable schemas. These types of data formats, though often only available from a federated service, are at the highest risk of integrity problems since the rules for changing and otherwise manipulating them are not as well defined as the other formats.
- Data conversion. Often, there are no well-specified conversions between data formats, or, even worse, multiple choices present themselves that alter the data in subtle ways. The most frequently affected data are numeric representations, but these conversions can also affect a data source in multiple character sets, audio/video data, and GIS data almost as often.
Figure 2. Run-time checking of the interface contract on Web services (Click on the picture for a larger image)
Large interface contract surface areas. Extremely complex schemas and interface structures are growing into one of the leading problems in distributed systems data architecture. Experience has shown time and again that simpler is more reliable and of higher quality. Yet distributed services interface contracts often have large and complex XML schemas and WSDL definitions. The likelihood that changes will occur, inadvertently or not, increases with the complexity of an interface contract and its embedded schemas. While simple XML and REST approaches to services tend to encourage the desired simplicity, sometimes certain application domains are not "simple," and these service models are subject to additional problems because of the lack of interface contract standards. The bottom line is that the likelihood that changes to the contract without a remote supplier being aware of the changes increases with the size of the overall contract, because changes to large schemas are more likely to go undetected than changes to a smaller schema.
Implicit version changes. Even in well-controlled environments, changes to services and their interface contracts can happen without notifying all dependent parties. Barring changes to the way data services work currently, this pattern will only become more common in the highly federated environments of the present and those of the future. Without any change, the services you depend on will change without your knowledge or prior notification, and you will have to accept this fact as practical, inevitable, and unfortunate. Consequently, developing conscious strategies to detect version changes and handle them effectively is essential to maintain the quality of a mashup or composite application's data and functionality.
Patterns of Data Consumption and Composition
The patterns described here are intended to present a lightweight stance on data modeling and application architecture. These observations are a result of observing the dynamic world of Web mashups and composition applications that have been thriving on the Web for several years now. The nimble, minimalist approaches used by mashups in particular are an inspiration but in themselves often are not sufficient to create quality software. These patterns are intended to capture the spirit of mashups, put them in context with good software engineering practices, and to start a discussion and debate in the software community about these lean methods for connecting services and data.
Pattern 1: Minimal surface-area dependency on interface contract. This pattern is the front-end aspect of the well-known software design maxim: "Be liberal in what you accept, conservative in what you send." Most Web service toolkits, relational database frameworks, and multimedia libraries encourage dependencies on too much of the interface contract, often the entire contract, regardless of what the software depends on. For a great many of consumption and composition scenarios, a small surface area dependency is really all that is necessary. A full contract dependency introduces a tremendous amount of brittleness because changes that have no relation to the data in the data structure that is depended on will still break the client. While some data consumption toolkits are already forgiving of this dependency, there is often little control over what parts the toolkits care about.
For many applications, only direct dependencies of the needed internal data elements are appropriate. All other dependencies should be actively elided from the dependency relationship within the source data. The upshot here is that changes to the interface contract that are not of importance to the data consumer must not prevent the use of the data. The converse must be true as well; changes to the contract that matter must immediately become apparent to prevent incorrect behavior and use of the data. Examples of minimal dependencies include: XML, key paths through the schemas to data elements; relational data, only the tables, types, columns, and indexes used by the client; and multimedia, only the portions of the media structure that are required such as the specific channels, bit rates, image portion, video segment, and so on.
Pattern 2: Run-time contract checking for changes. The services that mashups and composite applications depend on for data are subject to unexpected change at any time. This change could be because of moving the endpoint to a new location, stopping use of a previously supported protocol, changes to underlying schema, or even just outright deliberate interface changes or internal service failures. The reason leads to the necessity of checking the contract to detect changes to it. It also requires being able to handle many contract changes gracefully since they may very well not affect the part of the contract you care about.
In reality, there are two types of run-time contract check. One is to check the contract specification itself, if one exists. This specification is often the WSDL or other metadata that is officially published in conjunction with the service itself. These can be checked easily and quickly with a variety of programmatic techniques, including XPath queries for XML-based schemas or other relatively lightweight techniques. Hard-coded contract checks in traditional programming languages are not as easy to implement or change and should be a second choice.
The second contract check is to do validation of the contract against the instances of data that the service provides. Interface contracts often have their own abstraction impedance with their delivery mechanisms, and it can be surprising how often inconsistencies will creep in between the data provided and the interface contract, even with otherwise high-quality toolkits.
The biggest dilemma presented by this pattern is how often to check the "check the contract" itself. Checking the contract and the instance data with each retrieval of data from its source can be time-consuming and is usually unnecessary. Ultimately, determining the frequency of contract checking is largely dependent on the application requirements and the nature of the data and its tolerance for inaccuracy and incorrect behavior. For many applications, checking synchronously may not even be an option, and it may make sense to set up an appropriately periodic background process to identify contract changes, which will inevitably occur.
Pattern 3: Reducing structures to a common data-abstraction format. In reality, the carnival of data structures and formats that mashups and composite applications have to work with will only continue to grow. Software can either manipulate them in their native data formats, which means losing opportunities to maintain relationships and enforce business rules, or it can convert all of them to a common abstraction. This conversion is the approach that data libraries like ADO.NET use with its DataSets and XML does with other non-XML data sources. Subsuming the differences in source data by converting them into and out of a common data abstraction that provides a single unified model to work with can be appealing for a number of reasons. First, relationships between the various underlying data sources can be checked and enforced as the data is manipulated and changed. Second, views into the data can take advantage of the abstraction mechanism making it less necessary to build custom Model-View-Controller (MVC) mechanisms and use existing libraries and frameworks that can process the abstraction.
Not all sets of heterogeneously formatted data structures are a good candidate for this pattern, and it may make little sense for some data formats that have dramatic levels of abstraction impedance—image data with non-image data, for example. There is also a potentially nontrivial cost for data transformation and conversion into and out of the common format. For many applications, however, this cost is entirely acceptable.
Within certain data-consumption environments, like the Web browser, there are limited choices for maintaining a common data format, and JSON and the XML DOM tend to be quite popular for browser-based solutions. On the server side the choices are far richer but are often platform dependent. XML structures, O/R libraries like Hibernate, relational databases, and even native object graphs often make excellent common abstraction models depending on the application. But the very different nature of hierarchical data like XML and object graphs is one of the classic impedance problems in computer science, and care must be taken when using this pattern.
The bottom line: if performance is not absolutely critical and the underlying data formats and schemas are amenable, this pattern can be very powerful for working with federated data sources. The disadvantage is that the common abstraction approach can certainly involve more maintenance and take on brittleness because mapping and metadata must be maintained.
Pattern 4: Native structures mediated with Model-View-Controller (MVC). Converting all source data into a common format will not be an option in many situations because 1) the processing overhead is excessive since much of the data might not be used, or 2) duplicating it in the local environment might be prohibitive in terms of resources. Or it could be because there is no common format that makes sense for all the underlying data types. In this case, creating an MVC that mediates the access, translation, and data integrity with the underlying native structures can provide the best options for both performance and data storage.
MVC is a powerful design pattern in its own right that has been proven time and again as an excellent strategy for the separation of the concerns in application software. Its use is particularly appropriate when there are multiple underlying data models in a given application. Good software design dictates that offering a unified view of the source data provides a single, clean, consistent interface that makes it easy to view, interact with, and modify the underlying data. Access to the underlying data with the MVC approach is also relatively efficient since only the data needed must be processed to satisfy most requests.
While there are many advantages with MVC, however, the disadvantages are similar to pattern 3 in that the maintenance of the MVC code can be enormous. Certainly, there are an increasing number of off-the-shelf libraries that can help software designers build MVC on both the client and the server. Be warned, though: mapping code is brittle and tedious.
Table 1. Schemas embedded in an interface contract are usually the largest client dependency.
|Contract standard
|Text, JSON, binary
|Informal, textual
|Relatively efficient
|Not self-describing, not ideally efficient
|Native objects
|Class definition
|Unified behavior and data, encapsulation, high-level abstraction, and composition
|Requires conversion of most data into objects, requiring a mapping technique
|XML schemas (XSD), Relax NG, WSDL, and many others
|Self-describing, rich schema description, and extensible without breaking backward compatibility
|Very size inefficient, no way to distribute behavior, and schema descriptions are limited even with XSD
|Specifications for JPEG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, PNG, and many others
|Specifications for WAV, WMA, MP3, and AAC
|Specifications for AVI, QuickTime, MPEG, and WMF
Pattern 5: Direct native data structure access. For many applications, especially simpler, browser-based ones, converting source data into common formats or building sophisticated MVC architectures just isn't a good option. Direct access to the data makes more sense, and the decision is often a commonsense one, having to do with the libraries at hand. Plus, as mentioned before, simpler is often higher quality and better because there is less to break or maintain.
In this pattern, which works best with less highly structured data, the native data structures are used directly without an intermediary or any data conversion, which means data stores in text, XML, JSON, and so on are manipulated natively. The drawback, of course, is that you cannot rely on the facilities that data abstraction libraries can give you to enforce integrity or track changes. However, this pattern often requires the least amount of processing or learning third-party libraries. It can be easy to develop, and because there is no conversion or data access layers to go through, it's also quite fast.
Pattern 6: All data modification is atomic. More sophisticated views of data and services prescribe properties known as ACID, for atomicity, concurrency, isolation, and durability. Usually ascribed to database systems, ACID is an excellent and practical rule of thumb for almost any concurrent data access system. Unfortunately, almost no one yet in the world of Web services and mashups has the notion of transactions in their protocols, which would confer many of the properties of ACID to the modification of data. Far from ignoring the problem, mashup and composite application developers must be acutely aware of working without a tightrope as they work with their data.
This awareness introduces significant issues with complex data modification scenarios, one being that any data retrieval and storage that is dependent on an extended conversation with underlying services will almost certainly not be protected by the same transaction boundary and related ACID properties. Software code must expect that data integrity problems will occur, especially in an extended conversation that may never finish to completion or fail partway through. Avoiding long-running conversations altogether is one option. Making software operation dependent, as much as is possible, in individual atomic interaction with underlying services is another good way. Each step in the interaction is a discrete, visible success that allows the software to offer its users clear options when a conversation with a supplier data service fails. These two options allow software developers to respect the ACID rule of thumb.
A Return to Simplicity
The Web itself is becoming the most important supplier of highly federated data, a source that will only grow and become more important in the next few years. While XML and lightweight data formats will likely be the dominant data structure that most software will have to work with in the foreseeable future, curve balls are en route. These curve balls include much needed optimizations in XML such as binary XML, advances in microformats, new multimedia codecs that will suddenly change an entire audio/visual landscape, and completely new transport protocols such as Bittorrent, which will make many of the patterns here problematic, to say the least.
A return to simplicity in data design is back in vogue, exemplified by the rise in the interest in formats like JSON, microformats, and dynamic languages like PHP and Ruby. This design simplicity can make data more malleable and easier to connect together. It also allows for less difficulty in writing software to care for and manage it. While the patterns presented here are overarching ones that can lead to less brittle, more loosely coupled, and high-integrity data consumption and composition, the story is really just beginning. As the Web becomes less about visual Web pages and more about services and pure data and content, becoming adept at being a nimble consumer and supplier of the information ecosystem will be an increasingly critical success factor.
About the Author
Dion Hinchcliffe is chief technology officer at Sphere of Influence Inc.
"The Impedance Mismatch Between Conceptual Models and Implementation Environments," Scott N. Woodfield, Computer Science Department, Brigham Young University (ER'97 and Scott N. Woodfield, 1997)
Hewlett-Packard Development Company
Technical Reports
"Rethinking the Java SOAP Stack," Steve Loughran and Edmund Smith
This article was published in the Architecture Journal, a print and online publication produced by Microsoft. For more articles from this publication, please visit the Architecture Journal website.


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Simply complete this form to request your Free Test Soak. Once we receive your request, we'll set aside a private time so that you (and your family) can test soak at a location nearest you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Assumptions, more examples
1) The examples are based on an Ontario resident donor.
2) The lower tax credit rate on the first $200 of annual donations is covered by other donations.
3) Federal and Ontario income tax credits are based on a 46% rate.
4) Tax on capital gains is calculated at highest marginal income tax rate.


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Oct 8, 2014
The Walking Dead Pinball goes to show that two rights can make a wrong.
If you haven't heard of the Walking Dead by now, than it is possible you have been sleeping for the past couple of years. The franchise, once only a comic book and now grown in to a TV series and multiple games, is massive and keeps on going forward. Zen Pinball, creators of my most memorable digital pinball experience to date, created a game I never saw coming: a pinball version of the point-and-click story-driven drama game from Telltale Games. And I'm not sure if I like it.
So on one hand, we've got the best pinball game developer there is and on the other hand we've got Telltale, making sure we get to play the Walking Dead video game out there. But combined… well, let's just say that it isn't a winning formula. This pinball machine (you can download it separately or withing the existing Zen Pinball app) offers story driven gameplay, including making some choices, but it always leads to unnecessary distractions or unclear goals.
But the base of the game, the pinball machine itself, is how it is supposed to be. It is the pinball magic we've come to know and love by now. It man, does the game look great – it has the same graphical appeal of the Walking Dead game bij Telltale, so you're in for a treat. But like I said, the game does offer a great deal of distraction, making you loose a ball when you think your attention is need elsewhere – but the fact is, you always need to focus on the ball, otherwise it is gone.
And another thing I found quite… odd: there is the option to ball an extra pack of pinballs, a dollar per three, when you're game over. I understand Zen Pinball found a extra way to make a quick buck, but it defiles the basic rules of pinball. The rule that game over is game over, that you've just lost your points and that you can always try again, next time. This just feels wrong.


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College Park PTO presents Eyes Wide Open Feb. 7
The Woodlands College Park PTO will present the eighth annual Eyes Wide Open program at 7 p.m. Feb. 7 in the high school auditorium.
The community is invited to the in-depth, informational evening that will bring concerned awareness to the forefront, while opening eyes to the problems and circumstances possibly facing children today or in their immediate futures.
Featured speakers are: Dr. Jennifer Breazeale, M.D., an OB/GYN at Kelsey-Seybold in The Woodlands; Holly Hochhauser, Outreach Education specialist, Montgomery County Women's Center; and Cpl. Ken Rademacher and Cpl. Pat Jolly, CISD Police Department, Narcotics/K-9 handlers.
This program is titled Eyes Wide Open. "The 21st Century Generation of Sex, Drugs and Communicating." It will address the following issues teens may be facing today:
• Problems with medical conditions sexually active teens deal with or need to be aware of. How young is the sexually active child today?
• Types of drugs being distributed in our community
• Where trafficking and transactions are most prevalent
• Who's dealing what to whom? When did our kids start taking drugs
• Actions, offenses, penalties and criminal charges
• Preventive measures being done right now to stop the drugs from entering our school campuses, neighborhood parks and community
• Sexting, cyber bullying and FaceBook harassment. What is it? Is my child the victim/perpetrator? What are my child's rights?
Most importantly, the speakers will be on hand to respond to the "hard to ask" questions with honest and factual answers.
Raise consciousness and become better informed parents, teen advocates and community supporters. Children (13 and younger) should not attend, as some of the content presented may not be appropriate for them.
For more information, contact Deb Stuart, CP PTO VP-Programs, at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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EvFree Fullerton
2801 Brea Blvd
Fullerton, CA 92835
Phone: 714-529-5544
Fax: 714-255-9437
Sunday Service Times
8:30am / 10:00am / 11:30am in the Worship Center
All messages will teach on the same topic/passages.
Reception Hours
Pastor On Call
A pastor or trained member is always on call during non-office hours. If you are in need of pastoral care, either on an emergency basis or in a difficult life situation (death of a family member, divorce, illness) please contact the church office, 714-529-5544, to reach a pastor on call.
From the 57 Freeway, take the Imperial Highway exit and go west.
Turn left (south) on Brea Boulevard.
Our MAIN CAMPUS (Worship Center) is located on the right after crossing Rolling Hills Drive.
Our NORTH CAMPUS (High School, Jr. High, and additional classrooms) is located on the left before crossing Rolling Hills Drive.
View Larger Map
Campus Map


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Phoca Maps is Joomla! CMS component. It displays maps on your site rendered with help of Google Maps API or OpenStreetMap API. It is intended to fast and simple creation of the map on the website.
Just set Google Maps API key in Parameters, go to Extensions » Maps » New, click on Coordinates button, then click on the place in the map you want to display and save it. Finally create menu link to this map.
If you need to set a marker or more markers, just go to Extensions » Markers » New, select map, click on Coordinates button, then click on the place in the map you want the marker will be set. Add description (you can include images too) and save it. Marker will be displayed in the map.
You can enable or disable Get Route form too.
Use Phoca Maps Plugin for displaying map or more maps in the article.
- Joomla! 1.5, 2.5, 3 (stable or any later version)
- PHP 4, 5 (or any later version).
- Google Maps API key (not required since 1.1.0)
While setting map or marker coordinates you can get longitude and latitude values with help of those ways:
- setting it by hand
- clicking on the map into the place you want to display
- searching the place by GoogleBar
- searching the place by Address
Google Maps™ is a trademark of Google Inc.


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How Deadly are Head-on Collision Accidents?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and, as explained by car accident lawyers from the law firm Schuler, Halvorson, Weisser, Zoeller & Overbeck, P.A., car crashes, especially head-on collisions, are one of the most serious forms of auto accidents. It often results in life-altering injuries or even wrongful death.
Causes of head-on collisions include: a driver drifting into oncoming traffic; inattention or driving while distracted; driving at excessive speed; making a dangerous passing maneuver; a driver who, knowingly or unknowingly, drives the wrong way on a highway or residential road; driving while intoxicated; or, falling asleep at the wheel. These, as well as many other possible causes of head-on collisions, are often due to negligence or reckless road behavior, which can easily be corrected.
Of the more than five million motor vehicle crashes in the U.S. annually, only about 2% account for head-on collisions; however, these answer for more than 10% of the 32,000+ driving fatalities. Non-fatal head-on collision accidents can most likely result to severe injuries, like spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, catastrophic injuries, broken bones, and paralysis.
The awareness of many drivers about the possible severe consequences of head-on collisions is the major reason why they avoid this type of crashes. Some local governments, on their part, have installed in large highways stretches of steel wire cable to avoid head-on collisions from ever occurring at freeway speeds.
The driver, whose negligence or recklessness caused the head-on collision accident, should be held liable for the consequences of his/her carelessness. However, one major concern regarding this type of accident is the difficulty in determining who really is at fault since the impact can send both vehicles in positions that are different than during the time of impact. Often, it would necessitate an accident reconstruction specialist to determine who was at fault based on the skid marks on the road. The challenge in determining fault and in claiming compensation during litigation (if ever a lawsuit is filed) plus the need to deal with your car insurance provider are the reasons why it may be necessary to have a highly-competent car accident lawyer fighting for your defense and your rights.


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Shauna Coxsey, aged 15 has won her category (Female 12-15) in the BMC Leading Ladder Finals. She also displayed exceptional potential - our competition source gives more details:
"The really interesting thing is that at the end of the comp, 15 yr old Shauna Coxsey got on the men's route (ok not under stressful comp conditions) and basically would've beaten all the 19-45 yrs men - how good is that?! She's gonna be a star..."
Congratulations to all the competitors and especially to Shauna.
Meet all the winners in our UKC photo-article and interview HERE
Lucy Creamer has a full report on the BMC website HERE


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Adding Layer Styles (Effects) to Multiple Layers in Photoshop CC
To copy and paste Layer Effects (Styles) from one Layer to another, Control (Mac) | right -click (Win) the "fx" icon on the Layers panel and select Copy Layer Style from the context sensitive menu. Then, select the layer(s) that need the Layer Style applied and Control (Mac) | right -click (Win) to the right of the layer name in the Layers panel and select Paste Layer Style.
Or, it might be easier to place all of the layers into a Group and then add the Layer Style to the Group (instead of adding the Layer Style to each layer). That way, if you have to make changes to the Layer Style, you only have to make the change to the Layer Style on the Group.
Any layers that I add to that Group will automatically have the Layer Effect Applied.
One word of caution: if you have layers within the Group that overlap one another, Photoshop is going to act as if all of the layers within the Group are merged and then applies the Layer Style. In the illustration below, see how repositioning the two shapes in the Layer Group so that they overlap creates a very different result than when the Layer effects are added to each individual layer.


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If you would like to have an event included in Religion news, send a press release and photos to email@example.com.
Shepherd's Center South
Adventures in learning: Classes for seniors include The Complete Story of the Wright Brothers, Laughter as Medicine, Avoiding Scams and Frauds, more. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays, April 21-May 26 at St. Stephen United Methodist, 6800 Sardis Road. $25 in advance; $28 at the door. Lunch, $6 in advance; $7 day of class. 704-541-0100; www.shepherdscentersouth.org.
Harrison United Methodist
Weight loss program: "Spiritual Secrets to Weight Loss." 8-week program addresses issues that may be keeping you from the healthy life you desire. $5 includes book. 7:45-9 p.m. Wednesdays starting April 28. 15008 Lancaster Hwy., Pineville. 704-541-3463; www.harrisonumc.org.
St. Matthew Catholic
Newcomer mass: Newcomers will be recognized and receive a blessing. Members of the welcome committee will be available after mass to meet you and answer questions. 12:30 p.m. May 2. 8015 Ballantyne Commons Pkwy. 704-543-7677.
The Well Church and Coffeehouse
Concert of prayer: Music, prayer, praise and worship. 7 p.m. Wednesdays. 220 Main St., Pineville. 704-889-4325; www.the-well.org.
Our Living Saviour Lutheran
Preschool registration: The preschool has ongoing registration. 6817 Carmel Road. 704-542-9110; www.livingsaviourlc.org.
Stough Memorial Baptist
Brunch: Women of Purpose spring brunch with guest speaker Melanie Henderson. $12. 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. May 1. 705 Lakeview Drive, Pineville. 704-889-7665; www.mystough.org.
Calvary Church
Professional development seminar: "A Recruiter's Perspective on Job Search" with Darius Bryant of Schaffer Associates. Presented by the Career Ministry. Free. 7 p.m. May 3. 5801 Pineville-Matthews Road. 704-543-1200; www.calvarychurch.com.
Pineville United Methodist
Exercise classes: Open to community. Walk-ins welcome. Chair Yoga, 10-11 a.m. Mondays; free. Floor yoga, 5:45-6:45 p.m. Mondays; $3 per session. Exercise, 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays; $3 per session.
Parents' morning out: Registration open for fall programs for ages 4 and 6-24 months. 110 S. Polk St., Pineville. 704-889-2022; www.pinevilleumc.org.


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She has told stories about old-time turpentine and phosphate mining – but last week she came to OTOW to talk cattle ranching in Florida, which is part of the Florida History Series at Master the Possibilities. But storyteller Kathy Dobronyi does not simply tell stories of old Florida – she becomes an old Cracker gal – Dolores Cribbs.
Dolores entered the room at Live Oak Hall in a straw hat, long dress and bearing a deep Southern accent. While she puts out her prop, a poster board with photos and captions, she never breaks character.
Dobronyi as Cribbs gives a history lesson in storyteller fashion, always being witty. She took them back to 1520 and Ponce De Leon. "He comes to Florida; he likes what he sees," she said. So De Leon returned to Spain and purchased six heifers and a bull.
"Those are them girl cows," she said of heifers as the crowd chuckles. She explained, in Europe at that time, people ate pigs and chickens, but not cows. The animals were raised for butter and cheese only and the hide was used for leather, after a cow died.
De Leon and his crew returned to Florida with cattle, pigs and horses, but they were not welcome. The explorer and his group were run off by the Timucuan Indian tribe. The cattle, horses and pigs ran loose, began to breed soon "there was cattle all over the place," she said.
Eventually Spanish settlers later moved to the panhandle from St. Augustine and set up ranches. The Spanish "cowboys," who are called vaqueros, did not have lassos to round up the cattle. So, the Spanish used whips to get the cattle in line.
During the 1700s, European settlers came to Georgia, which was a penal colony. The storyteller said if people got in trouble in England, they were sent to Georgia. And while the settlers in Georgia were not having much luck with their cattle ,Florida had plenty.
Meanwhile in Georgia, the Creek Indian nation was not getting along with the new neighbors, which resulted in the Red Sticks War. "Creek leaders such as William Weatherford (Red Eagle), Peter McQueen, and Menawa violently clashed with other chiefs of the Creek Nation over white encroachment on Creek lands and the civilizing programs administered by U.S. Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins," according to www.nps.gov Web site.
After the Red Sticks War, many of the Creeks moved south to Florida. "They hooked up with the Timucuans," she said. And some of them got together with the "runaway slaves" in Georgia. Basically this group of former Creeks became later known as the Seminole nation.
The Seminoles allowed the slaves from Georgia to become "voting members" of the tribe and got into the cattle industry early.
Around the time of the American Revolution, Florida was "raided" of hundreds of thousands of cattle, she said. The cattle were taken back to Georgia, but the people in Florida went to Georgia and returned with some of the cattle. "They kept doing that back and forth," Cribbs said.
During the first Seminole War, President Andrew Jackson and his crew, along with people from Georgia, came to Florida to confront the Spanish about selling "stolen cattle." And Jackson would have to fight with Seminole Indian Chief Cowkeeper over the cattle.
After three Seminole wars, cattle rustling stopped for a while. Alabamians and Georgians started coming to Florida to pick up cattle that were running free. But, they did not know how to round the cattle up. So "they started learning from the Seminoles who were left," after the wars, she said.
To explain the origins of "Cracker" the storyteller referred to her earlier turpentine stories, which she performed in 2007. Barrels of turpentine and pitch were loaded onto wagons, she explained. Then the wagon driver would pull the wagons, with the help of mules, horses or oxen.
To get the animals to move, the driver would "pop" a 10- to 12-ft. long whip, made of rawhide. "They would be called crackers because of the crack of the whip," she said of the wagon drivers.
To help round up cattle, the cowmen used horses called "Cracker ponies." "They were small but they was good cow horses," said the storyteller. The ponies were about five feet tall from the withers, able to run the cattle out the brush and could "out think the cattle." If the cows would not come out of the brush the Cracker ponies would bite the cattle.
In addition to the small ponies getting the cattle in line, dogs were also used and became known as "catch dogs." The storyteller said the dogs would grab the cattle by the nose or lips to get them moving.
Florida has a rich cattle ranching history and is still a major beef producing state. Kathy Dobronyi and Dolores Cribbs will return with more storytelling. She also presents a living history narrative on the Vietnam War.
Contact Amy Ryffel-Kragh at 854-3986 or email@example.com.
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Mamma Maria is a world class restaurant in the North End of Boston. Set in a nineteenth-century brick row house with five private dining rooms, Mamma Maria transports you to la Patria with an old-world intimacy, attention to detail and a warm welcome. The seasonally inspired menu taps into a unique network of local and national purveyors with an emphasis on historical and traditional Italian...
Nationally acclaimed regional Italian Cuisine served in a 19th Century 3 Story Brownstone. Mamma Maria's overlooks America's oldest public square in the heart of Boston's historic North End.
Let Mamma Maria host your bridal luncheon, rehearsal dinner, or small wedding. Overlooking a picturesque cobblestone square in the quaint urban village of Boston's North End, the many charming reception rooms in our three-story brownstone offer unique skyline views and nationally acclaimed regional
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This lovingly restored townhouse on a cobblestone street a few doors down from Paul Revere's abode offers an elegant setting for a night out. Enjoy being pampered by the professional waitstaff in one of five individually themed dining rooms throughout your well-paced meal. Fellow diners consist mainly of suburbanites and businesspeople engaged in subdued conversation, rather than the gawking...
Its "romantic" setting in a "quaint" 19th-century townhouse "off the beaten path" elevates this North End eatery to a higher level of "elegance", but the "amazing" "twists on classic Italian fare" are really "why you should go"; whether you're celebrating an occasion or just "treating yourself", the "polished, professional" staff helps justify the "expense-account" tabs.
My boyfriend and I went for Valentine's Day. The food and wine were delicious and the service was great! A little overpriced because of Valentine's Day (but to be expected). An overall great place!
Excellent meal from start to finish! If there is one criticism I would say cocktail menu could use a bit of an enhancement. Other then that by far one of the most delicious meals I've ever had. 2 for 2 at "Mamma Maria! (Italian accent)"
Let Mamma Maria host your next event. Overlooking a picturesque cobblestone square in the quaint urban village of Boston's North End, the many charming reception rooms in our three-story brownstone offer unique skyline views and nationally acclaimed regional cuisine.
Mamma Maria Restaurant can be found at 3 North Sq . The following is offered: Restaurants: Seafood. The entry is present with us since Sep 10, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 14, 2013. In Boston there are 57 other Restaurants: Seafood. An overview can be found here.
Only those unfamiliar with the area's lack of parking spaces dare try to find a spot at night. Spring for the $12 valet service.
Consider sharing a heaping plate of Mamma's antipasto, possibly the city's best.


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Florida House Democrats demand Rick Scott speak up on CBO's scoring of GOP health care planThursday, March 16th, 2017
Florida House Democrats are now calling him out for his sudden reluctance to weigh in on a subject he's never been shy about talking about before.
The governor has been a major critic of the Affordable Care Act and traveled to Washington last week to meet with President Donald Trump, Sen. Marco Rubio, and House Speaker Paul Ryan to discuss the American Health Care Act.
Scott told reporters later he was "encouraged" about the Act,


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Music producer Afrojack escaped serious injury after crashing his Ferrari on Wednesday (27Feb13).
The dance music superstar was driving his flashy red sports car in bad weather when he was involved in a collision with another vehicle that left the rear of his Ferrari 458 Italia severely damaged.
But the musician, real name Nick van de Wall, wasn't too concerned about smashing up his $240,000 vehicle.
Uploading pictures of the accident on Twitter.com, he tweeted, "Ok that sucks. Good thing we're all ok!!!! Lesson in life: don't drive a Ferrari in s**t weather! For everyone that's asking me why I'm smiling: it's a car."
And the 25 year old has vowed to take specialised driving lessons before getting behind the wheel of his new car again, adding, "Have to take rear wheel drive lessons, 458 is a monster compared to the (Audi) R8!"


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Municipal Code
Municipal CodeBack To Title List | Chapter List | Section List
19.13.060 Development plan requirements for new construction of an undeveloped site of commercial/industrial and multi-family permitted and conditional uses, or remodeling of existing structures
Applications for new construction on an undeveloped site of permitted uses shall be accompanied by the following:
(1) Appropriate application form and fees.
(2) Ten (10) copies of the development plan shall be required and shall include the following:
(a) A site plan which also shows:
(i) The location of neighborhood box units for mail delivery, screened trash receptacles, and loading areas;
(ii) As a minimum, all curb cuts and intersections within one hundred fifty feet (150') of the subject property. A greater distance may be required by the City. Proposed rights-of-way in, and adjacent to, the subject property shall be shown;
(iii) Exterior lighting for structures, walkways, and parking lots. Such lighting shall be directed away from adjacent properties;
(iv) Pedestrian access to all public rights-of-way and between all structures within the development. Access through parking areas shall be separated from vehicular traffic by raised curbing and landscape strips, including trees on thirty foot (30') centers on either side of the walkway. When it is not possible to have raised walkways, pedestrian accesses should be defined. Crossings through parking areas should be minimized. The landscaping shall be counted towards the required landscaping in Subsection 3(e) of this Section. Lighting shall also be provided for pedestrians.
If developments have more than one (1) parcel, an overall pedestrian plan shall be submitted and approved as part of the preliminary approval;
(v) If open space is proposed, show all areas to be reserved or dedicated as common park areas or as sites for schools or other public buildings. Include a statement concerning the development schedule and method by which open space is to be preserved;
(vi) The development phasing and associated schedule, if phasing is anticipated. Phasing shall be carefully developed so that each phase can adequately function on its own;
(vii) The proposed and existing easements and their type, on and adjacent (within fifty feet (50')) to the subject property. Include any solar access easements;
(viii) The site plan shall include a table indicating the total area of the site and the percentage of that total which is occupied by structures, parking, and service areas, and usable open space;
(ix) All existing and proposed fences including type, height, and location; and
(x) Proposed location and size of sewer and water lines as approved by the City Engineer.
(b) A preliminary grading and drainage plan which shall:
(i) Be completed by a professional engineer. Existing and proposed contours at one foot (1') intervals are required unless a variation from the one foot (1') topographic interval is allowed by the City. The final grading plan must be approved by the City prior to the issuance of first building permit;
(ii) Show waterways and ditches on and adjacent to the subject property and within fifty feet (50'). Piping or relocation shall be approved in writing by the appropriate ditch company and/or independent water users before issuance of the building permit; and
(iii) Delineate all areas subject to potential 100 year flood events as designated by FEMA.
(c) A landscape plan shall include plant location, type, size, and quantities.
(d) An architectural plan which shall include appropriate drawings of adequate scale showing building materials, exterior elevations, and proposed colors.
Garish or bright colors (i.e., orange, bright yellow, or fluorescent colors) should only be used as accents and not the main color. In no case shall such coloring exceed five percent (5%) of each wall area.
(e) Include any other information, exhibits, or models that the applicant deems pertinent.
(f) Any other information, plans, or modifications specifically required by the following departments, divisions, or other agencies shall be attached or incorporated in the final development plan:
(i) Layton City:
-- Building Inspection Division
-- Fire Department
-- Public Works Department
-- Police Department
-- Planning & Zoning Division
-- Legal Department
-- Parks & Recreation Department.
(ii) County agencies.
(iii) State agencies.
(iv) Federal and other agencies.
(v) Public Utilities.
(g) A traffic impact study may be required by the City, and must be prepared by a registered traffic engineer. The traffic study shall include an analysis of on-site circulation, capacities of existing streets, number of additional trips which will be generated, origin/destination studies, and peak home traffic generation and movements.
(3) The following design criteria shall be required:
(a) All requirements of Sections 19.13.040 and 19.13.050, unless modified by any of the following items:
(b) Dedication and improvements of streets shall be made in accordance with the Master Street Plan, plus any additional right-of-way or fee as may be determined by the City for special circumstances where it is necessary to serve the vehicular and pedestrian needs of proposed development.
(c) A minimum of ten percent (10%) of any CP-1, CP-2, CP-3, C-H, and PB commercial site, and twenty-five percent (25%) of any B-RP commercial site, and thirty percent (30%) of a multiple family residential site shall be landscaped. The landscaped buffer required along public streets by the Layton Municipal Code may be included in computing the percentage of landscaping. Upon request, landscaping requirements may be reduced by the City when, due to the size of the parcel, the amount of landscaping required is unreasonable and cannot be located in useful locations.
(d) Landscaping shall be distributed throughout the project by placing landscaping along street frontages, throughout parking areas and adjacent to service and delivery areas.
(e) If more than fifty percent (50%) of the required parking for a development is located between the structure and the public right-of-way, then there shall be an eight hundred (800) square foot planter area for every twenty (20) parking stalls. Said planter(s) shall be irrigated and have a minimum of two (2) trees and other horticultural plantings. Said planters shall be dispersed throughout the parking area and not combined. This requirement is in addition to the minimum required landscaping for the underlying zoning district.
Said requirements shall apply to developments with a minimum size of one (1) acre. On lots with more than one (1) frontage, the above requirements shall apply to the street with the highest traffic count, excluding any Interstate Highway.
(f) For the purpose of buffering and site compatibility with surrounding development, commercial and industrial projects may require additional landscaping and architectural integration. Landscaping percentages and buffer strips may be increased to ensure compatibility. Site compatibility is particularly important when commercial or industrial projects are developed adjacent to residential and professional office zones.
(g) Fencing may be required depending on the adjacent land use and the applicant's security needs. Where visual barrier fencing containing wood, metal, plastic, or vinyl strips is either proposed by the applicant or required by the City, such strips shall be properly secured. Screening of any outside storage shall be required if appropriate, with a combination of fencing, walls, live plants, and/or earth berming. Fences shall be constructed so that significant variations in top line, bottom line, and/or height does not occur due to erratic grading of the site.
(h) Exterior masonry. Masonry will be required on the exterior of all developments. The minimum area (A) of masonry required (measured in square feet) will be determined by multiplying the outside perimeter (P) of the foundation (measured in feet), by four feet (4') as follows:
P x 4 = A
The percentage of masonry used can be as a wainscot around the periphery of the building or a higher percentage at the main entrance(s). Corner lots and lots on arterial streets are required to use the majority of the masonry on the front and sides of the building facing streets.
(i) Alternative materials other than masonry may be used with the approval of the Planning Commission only upon the Commission finding that the proposed building design will create a more attractive project.
(j) Facade and lengths must be varied.
Structures greater than sixty feet (60') but less than one hundred twenty feet (120') in length must exhibit a prominent shift in the façade(s) predominantly visible from a public street so that no greater than seventy-five percent (75%) of the length of the building façade appears unbroken. Each shift shall be in the form of either a ten foot (10') change in building facade alignment or a ten foot (10') change in roofline height, or a combined change in facade and roofline totaling ten feet (10'). Structures which exceed one hundred twenty feet (120') in length on any facade shall provide a prominent shift in the mass of the structure at each one hundred twenty foot (120') interval (or less if the developer desires) reflecting a change in the function or scale. The shift shall be the form of either a fifteen foot (15') change in the building facade alignment or fifteen foot (15') change in roofline. A combination of both the roofline and facade change is encouraged. To that end, if the combined change occurs at the same location of the building plane a fifteen foot (15') total change will be considered as full compliance.
(k) A clearly defined entry with consideration to the following items will be required:
(i) Peaked roof forms.
(ii) Arches.
(iii) Canopies or porticos.
(iv) Raised corniced parapets.
(v) Outdoor patios.
(vi) Wing walls with integral planters.
(vii) Overhangs.
(viii) Architectural details which are integrated into the building structure and design.
(l) On commercial/industrial buildings where the Planning Commission determines that an unreasonable hardship is created by compliance with Subsection 19.13.060(j), any two (2) of the following items may be required on at least sixty percent (60%) of the façade(s) predominantly visible from a public street(s): (An unreasonable hardship is considered to be financial, structural, or topographical.)
(i) Arcades.
(ii) Awnings.
(iii) Raised or ground level integral planters.
(iv) Windows.
(v) Reveals projecting ribs, false columns, etc.
In allowing this option, the Planning Commission must find that the proposal will provide a project that will be as, or more aesthetically pleasing, as a proposal required to implement the requirements in Subsection 19.13.060(j). (See Diagram A-12.) For the purposes of this Section, unreasonable hardship may be considered to be significant financial increases, or structural, or topographic difficulties.
Ord. No. 99-29, Amended, 6/17/1999
Ord. No. 00-21, Amended, 5/18/2000
Ord. No. 01-01, Amended, 1/18/2001
Ord. No. 01-14, Amended, 4/5/2001
Ord. No. 97-19, Enacted, 4/17/1997
Ord. No. 04-69, Recodified, 12/16/2004


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Cross the Nile to the West Bank. Today is full of highlights including the Necropolis of Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, where you'll find the tombs of the Theban Rulers including Tutankhamen. Visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and see the famed Colossi of Memmon facing the Nile. This afternoon sail to Esna and cross the lock. (B,L,D)
Today visit Edfu where remains from the Old Kingdom can be viewed as well as the Temple of Horus and houses of the Byzantine period. Sail to Kom Ombo and visit Kom Ombo Temple, which was shared by the two gods Sobek and Haroeris. See the beautiful murals, bas relief and fine views of the river. Continue to Aswan. (B,L,D)
Web design New Zealand by Wolters Kluwer
Copyright - The Innovative Travel Company Limited ©


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This section contains 1,038 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
Chapters 6 through 11 Summary
In Chapter Six, Matthias rushes to hide himself and Alia behind a log. He can barely see but is able to make out men in dark uniforms and knows it's the Population Police. Initially, it seems the police might be shooting at Percy and Matthias but it's then revealed there's actually rebels in a nearby shack, and they are involved in the gunfight. The police kill all the rebels and pile their bodies near the road with a sign that reads, "Enemies of the People."
After the police leave, Percy signals Matthias that the way is clear and Matthias heads down the hill toward the shack. Matthias immediately realizes Percy has been shot in the leg. There's a great deal of blood and then Percy passes out.
In Chapter Seven, Matthias is left to get both Percy and Alia to shelter...
(read more from the Chapters 6 through 11 Summary)
This section contains 1,038 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)


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Georgia must enable access to justice for victims of 2008 war
Human Rights Center (HRIDC), Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) call on the Georgian authorities to take concrete steps towards accountability for crimes committed during 2008 war, including, renew investigative activities, ensure access of victims of the August 2008 war to their national case file and renew communication with the victims in order to respect their rights to effectively participate in national proceedings.
See the full address in the attached file
On 21 December 2016, HRIDC representatives visited Tserovani settlement for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) on the outskirts of Tbilisi where they spoke with the victims of the August 2008 war,including individuals on behalf of whom they sent victims' representation forms to the International Criminal Court in November 2015 with the request to open an investigation.
This visit demonstrated once again that the Georgian authorities have not engaged into significant investigative steps and have no adequate communication with the victims. The investigative bodies communicated with the victims only once in 2008/2009 when the victims filed their initial complaints to the police and prosecution. Since then, the law enforcement bodies never contacted the victims and did not give them any information about the proceedings and the stages of investigation. From the 193 victims represented by HRIDC, only 32 were given official victim status, but even these 32 victims do not have access to their case file.
Most of the victims have never heard about the International Criminal Court and they do not know that the Court opened investigation of 2008 August war in 2015. Our organizations remind the Georgian government that the investigation by ICC does not mean that Georgian government is free from the obligations to investigate the crimes committed on Georgian territory in 2008.
According to Rome Statute, ICC has jurisdiction over "the most serious crimes of international concern", such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Some victims of 2008 August war might not fall within the jurisdiction of ICC, but they have suffered grave losses – deterioration of health, loss of property, valuables and belongings, etc.
Considering the principle of complementarity of International Criminal Court, Georgian government is obliged to implement investigation within its own capacities. The failure of Georgian government to conduct any investigative activities violates this principle, as well as rights of many victims.
Our organizations call upon the Office of Prosecutor of Georgia to take concrete steps for the investigation of crimes committed during the August 2008 war:
- Effectively communicate with the victims, give them information about the proceedings;
- Grant victims with official victim status access to their case files;
- Collect and analyze the evidence;
- Grant status to the victims who do not hold official status;
- Search information about the possible victims and their current location.
These investigative efforts and measures towards effective victims' access to justice at national level are crucial, including for a successful cooperation with the ICC.
Skriv ut


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Meridian Ford
250 E Overland Rd
Meridian, ID 83642
Meridian, ID 83642
No photo available for this business
Business InformationAutomobile Dealers-new Cars, Truck-dealers
Customer Reviews (3 reviews)
Diana K.on Judys Book Jun 12, 2011
Possibly traded at MF in '75 or 6. Looking for the VIN for my car we traded in. Is it possible to locate it? Name was Larry & Diana Christensen; car was my 1968 Camaro. :(You may see that we are NOW divorced! :( I can NOT... (more)
Denise C.on Judys Book May 30, 2011
stopped by on Mermorial day to test drive a truck, around 5:00 and they said all their key were locked up, could not help us out. Had NO idea we just sold our truck and were in the market for a new one! Left and WILL NOT go... (more)
Connie B.on Judys Book Aug 21, 2005
Meridian Ford offers a large selection of vehicles. The lot is very nice and is located right off the freeway. The building and service departments are also in a very nice facility. The salespeople are typical, but... (more)


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There comes a time in life when every man realizes others' and therefore his own vanity, frailty, and insignificance; that he cannot become everything. Mind you, this is not to claim that you cannot improve yourself beyond any expected standard; of that, I'm sure, you can and must.
However, while a man's capability and his choices are limitless, the amount of time given for him to live is not. Since Time only moves in one direction; with every opportunity gained, applied on time, so much is also lost. We can only go on forging on ahead based on what we have learned. No path is the right path but none is in the wrong either, for no one knows the outcome at the point when a decision is being made. The best we can do is to make the decision and embrace the consequences, for better or worse.
"If you begin to regret, you'll dull your future decisions and let others make your choices for you. All that's left for you, then… is to die. Nobody can foretell the outcome; each decision you make holds meaning only by affecting your next decision." Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan Character).
" Every path is the right path. Everything could've been anything else. And it would have just as much meaning." ― Mr. Nobody, 2009 Movie.
"But there's no need for turning back, 'cause all roads lead to where I stand" Crossroads by Don McLean.
There comes a time in life when a man realizes that nobody is better than him and therefore he is no better than anybody. Of all the believes and indoctrination fed upon him since he was born, of all the seemingly kind but false hopes handed to him, he realizes they are full of contradictions and lies.
How many a time when he is in distress and decides, for he is tired of weight of uncertainty, to put forth his faith and therefore his fate in others, only to find that he has been let down, that others were not sincere, or that they were sincerely as clueless as he is. Perhaps that they feel incumbent to express their kindness, or also likely trying best to hide their vanity out of fear of losing face. It matters not. No one is at fault. There is no grudge worth holding once he understands the nature of society. Now he realizes that he is as good as anybody, that nobody is better than him, and alas that he is better than none. He realizes his decision is his own, at each and every successive moment of his life.
God ~ by John Lennon


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Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Whaddya do?
11 comments:
Are you old enough to remember car break downs before smart phones? You waited for a kind passer-by hoping it would not turn out to be a serial killer.ReplyDeleteReplies
I think I've always had a cellphone but not necessarily a smart phone-no phone at all sounds pretty terrible! I wonder if people would've been more prone to stop if they didn't see me wielding my smart phone and assume I was good to go?Delete
Look at you dealing with a crisis and thriving! Yay!ReplyDeleteReplies
Yes! I definitely felt some personal pride today as I rode the waves!Delete
Love your photo, Hannah, and yay! at how you are handling this situation with humour and blogging! :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Linda :o) I was able to be grateful and laugh despite the bumps!Delete
What a day! Love your photo, LOL, it says it all!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks Debra! We made it through with smiles on our faces :o)Delete
Ack. But just look at you!!! Rising above it. High tens.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thanks for the high tens! :o)Delete
HAHA...I love that photo. It says it all. I'm glad you are safe and sound. You handled everything wonderfully. Go, you!ReplyDelete


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Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts puts local insight, usability and social media at the heart of new website.
68 Days of Delight competition launched to celebrate fresh new design.
Zurich, Switzerland (PRWEB UK) 24 October 2012
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is celebrating the launch of its redesigned website with a chance to win an unforgettable two-night break in one of the company's 76 properties.
The fresh new look http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com puts local insight, intuitive usability and social media at the heart of the website allowing visitors to access hotel information quickly and effortlessly.
Choosing from the collection of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is now easier than ever. Home pages are illuminated with atmospheric full-screen images with easy-to-digest overviews of hotel features. Destination guides have been expanded and micro-sites offer insight into specific hotel areas from sport activities and local shopping to restaurant and room experiences.
The site's social media integration also provides endless ways to engage with guests through a stories blog, Youtube player, and new social and media newsrooms. A key source of information will be integrated guest commentary from Trustyou.com, an online reputation management company that condenses web reviews into a verified global 'TrustScore', as well as providing a detailed breakdown of average ratings from sources such as Tripadvisor and travel booking sites.
"80 per cent of our customers go directly to their chosen destination on the website, seeking the information they need to choose or enhance their stay. Our focus has therefore been on understanding our different customer journeys and tailoring our new site usability accordingly," said John Griffin, senior vice president brand and marketing, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. As a result, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has fully 'search optimised' every hotel landing page as well as given special attention to listing features in an easily digestible format.
The new site is available in German, English, Arabic, Russian, Simplified Chinese and French in addition to Korean, Turkish and Dutch at selected hotels. The booking engine of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is available in up to nine languages and offers the option to compare categories to find the best rates. A dedicated restaurant finder provides detailed information about cuisine type and restaurants in every hotel, once again reinforcing the company's commitment to culinary excellence.
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts' website marks years of development and is time well spent. Through 2012 the hotel company has increased the site's conversion ratio by five per cent, and this number is targeted to increase by a further 20 per cent in the next three years.
"By the end of 2012 we will have also introduced more features such as extra customer feedback, condensed reviews from our own guest satisfaction analysis and an improved smart phone website," said Griffin. "The key to any website success is constant improvement," he adds.
As part of these innovations, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has also linked up with some of the most popular bloggers through the hashtag #StayMovenpick to provide fresh insight, traveller tips and reviews from destinations such as Amsterdam, Hamburg, Phuket, Tunisia, Berlin and the Nile.
68 locations, 136 nights, and countless impressions
To celebrate the fresh new design of http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com, the upscale hospitality company of Swiss heritage has launched a competition offering 68 guests who visit the website the chance to win a two-night stay for two in the best room in a Mövenpick hotel.
Every winner will enjoy a "Days of Delight" package including each hotel's highest category suite – such as Presidential Suites where available – complimentary airport transfers, a behind-the-scenes tour with the General Manager and a bespoke dinner prepared by the executive chef, among other features.
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts will draw 68 winners from all website bookers and registered participants to enjoy a "Days of Delight" package in one of the company's participating hotels and resorts around the globe. Site visitors can participate between October 25 and November 25, 2012 at http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/days-of-delight.
About Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts:
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, an international upscale hotel management company with over 16'000 staff members, is represented in 23 countries with 76 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers currently in operation. More than 30 properties are planned or under construction, including Paris (France), Soma Bay (Egypt), Chiang Mai and Koh Samui (Thailand), Palawan (Philippines), Dubai (UAE), Sanya (Hainan Island, China), Djerba and Tozeur (Tunisia).
Focusing on expansion in its core markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts specialises in business and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts, all reflecting a sense of place and respect for their local communities. Of Swiss heritage and headquartered in Zurich, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is passionate about delivering premium service and culinary enjoyment – all with a personal touch. Committed to sustainable environments, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has become the most Green Globe certified hotel company in the world.
The hotel company is owned by the Mövenpick Holding (66.7%) and the Kingdom Group (33.3%). For more information please visit http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/10/prweb10046306.htm


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OFCCP: Ask the Experts
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Ask the Experts
is an online forum where federal contractors and subcontractors are invited to submit questions to industry experts related to OFCCP compliance, affirmative action planning, and equal employment opportunity. Simply register your company on
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Company Questions/Ask a Question
Working with 3rd party recruiters
Asked by Anonymous - Sep 21, 2017
Based on a webinar I sat through on OFCCP compliance, it is my understanding that if a company is using any third party recruiters we need to communicate this information to the state job boards. Is this correct? If so, is it only if we are regularly using third party recruiters? Some companies cover a majority of their recruiting in house but occasionally use outside recruiters and I was wondering if this applied. Thank you!
Answered by
Lisa Kaiser
from The Kaiser Law Group, PLLC - Sep 21, 2017
Yes. All jobs that meet the criteria outlined in Sec. 60-4.3 Equal opportunity clauses (all positions except executive and top management, those positions that will be filled from within the contractor's organization, and positions lasting three days or less) need to be posted with the State Employment Service. That includes any jobs that are filled by referrals from a third party recruiter.
Disposition on canceled requisitions
Asked by Anonymous - Sep 14, 2017
If a requisition has been canceled, do the applicants who have applied need to be dispositioned?
Answered by
Bill Osterndorf
from HR Analytical Services - Sep 14, 2017
Yes. But the job is easy, as they should all be dispositioned as "Requisition cancelled." This may seem totally obvious, but some companies leave candidates in cancelled requisitions with a disposition of "reviewed" or "applied" or something else that suggests they may have been considered or that a selection that occurred. "Requisition cancelled" makes it clear what happened.
Visa Sponsorship Question
Asked by Anonymous - Sep 13, 2017
Can you let me know if the following question is acceptable on an application??
Do you currently or will you in the future require any type of Visa sponsorship or transfer to work in the country for which you are applying?
Answered by
Alissa Horvitz
from Roffman Horvitz, PLC - Sep 14, 2017
It is not clear whether this is a domestic-only application.
This answer is only for Visa sponsorship in the US.
As far as I am aware, the U.S. Department of Justice's 2013 technical assistance letter is still good.
"OSC prefers the question proposed in the 1998 technical assistance letter: 'Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B visa status)?'"
The technical assistance letter continues: "If an employer chooses not to employ persons who require sponsorship for an employment visa, such as an H-1 visa, the employer may state in its job postings that it will not sponsor applicants for work visas." It does not address the issue of transfer to work in the US.
It may be worthwhile to skim the other technical assistance letters on this website:
Multiple Establishments for AAP purposes
Asked by Anonymous - Sep 05, 2017
I'm trying to find guidance on how to determine if we have multiple establishments for our Affirmative Action Program. I've read that any location with 50 or more employees needs its own program, but I've also read that if the locations are in the same labor market or recruiting area that they can be included in the same plan.
Are there any rules that define how a labor market is determined for a location? For example, I assume that if we have multiple physical locations in the same city then it would be appropriate to combine those locations in the same AAP. If we have over 50 employees in both Buffalo, NY and New York, NY could they be considered in the same labor market of New York state, or do we need to go by the metro-areas?
Answered by
Bill Osterndorf
from HR Analytical Services - Sep 05, 2017
In regard to having separate AAPs, the fundamental rules are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 41 CFR 60-2. Those regulations state as follows:
"(d) Who is included in affirmative action programs.
Contractors subject to the affirmative action program requirements must develop and maintain a written affirmative action program for each of their establishments. Each employee in the contractor's workforce must be included in an affirmative action program. Each employee must be included in the affirmative action program of the establishment at which he or she works, except that:
(1) Employees who work at establishments other than that of the manager to whom they report, must be included in the affirmative action program of their manager.
(2) Employees who work at an establishment where the contractor employs fewer than 50 employees, may be included under any of the following three options: In an affirmative action program which covers just that establishment; in the affirmative action program which covers the location of the personnel function which supports the establishment; or, in the affirmative action program which covers the location of the official to whom they report.
(3) Employees for whom selection decisions are made at a higher level establishment within the organization must be included in the affirmative action program of the establishment where the selection decision is made.
(4) If a contractor wishes to establish an affirmative action program other than by establishment, the contractor
may reach agreement with OFCCP on the development and use of affirmative action programs based on functional or business units. The Deputy Assistant Secretary, or his or her designee, must approve such agreements. Agreements allowing the use of functional or business unit affirmative action programs
cannot be construed to limit or restrict how the OFCCP structures its compliance evaluations."
Thus, the simple answer to your question is that every "establishment" of 50 or more employees must have an affirmative action program. There is no exception made for establishments in the same labor market or recruiting area.
OFCCP will, at times, allow organizations to include two establishments in the same city to be combined into one AAP. However, the agency is not required to do so. The agency would unquestionably say that establishments of over 50 employees in Buffalo NY and New York NY would need to be in separate AAPs.
If you want to combine establishments because they are part of a joined business unit or functional area, you could go through the process of reaching a functional AAP agreement with OFCCP. However, there are pros and cons to this approach which are too lengthy to discuss here.
An important consideration is this: organizations are better off having a smaller number of employees in any given AAP. AAPs with larger numbers are more likely to have statistical disparities just because there is more data involved. Thus, having an AAP for each establishment often benefits an organization from a strategic standpoint, even if it creates more administrative work.
A final note: organizations should actually have three AAPs for each establishment. There should be an AAP under the Executive Order, an AAP for individuals with disabilities, and an AAP for protected veterans. The federal regulations regarding individuals with disabilities and protected veterans do not contain the same exact rules regarding who should be included in each AAP like the Executive Order regulations do, but it makes sense that the persons and data in each AAP should be parallel.
Answered by
Lisa Kaiser
from The Kaiser Law Group, PLLC - Sep 05, 2017
This is a very good question. OFCCP does not define "establishment." It often makes sense to break AAPs down by location, but this is not required. It really depends on the company's circumstances. The only "rules" that apply to the plans are the laws enforced by OFCCP (all in the Code of Federal Regulations), so there is not much information on which to base the decision. However, there are some important strategic decisions that help in the event of an audit. This is completely case-specific to each company. The flexibility in the law allows each company to determine how to best map its plans. Satellite or remote employees should be included in the plan of their manager, versus including them in the nearest location. (See number 1, above.)
Post-Offer Self-ID Requirements for Internal Hires
Asked by Heather C. - Aug 30, 2017
Hello -
Currently, our system provides the post-offer self-id forms to new hires via our electronic onboarding system. However, if we hire an internal employee to fill an open position, they do not go through this onboarding system because they are already active in our HRIS. So, internal hires are not being given post-offer self-id forms to complete. Is it a requirement that we ask internal employees to complete paper self-id forms if hired into a new requisition/position?
Thank you,
Answered by
Marilynn L. Schuyler
from Schuyler Affirmative Action Practice - Aug 30, 2017
Excellent question, Heather. There is no requirement to make an additional inquiry at the time a current employee is selected for a new position. This assumes, however, that the other requirements of 41 CFR 60-741.42 and 41 CFR 60-300.42 are being followed. Specifically, we solicit self-ID info pre-offer, post-offer, every five years, and once between the five year intervals. OFCCP has a form that is required for disability self-ID and a compliant sample form for Veteran self-ID on their website.
Answered by
Lisa Kaiser
from The Kaiser Law Group, PLLC - Sep 01, 2017
I receive this question fairly often, so wanted to add one small point. Think about how you are defining these individuals - they are not likely truly hires, but rather promotions or transfers. Therefore, as said above, they are not subject to the same self-identification requirements when onboarding in your example.
Employee Declines to Identify Gender - AAP/EEO-1 Reporting
Asked by Anonymous - Aug 24, 2017
When employees decline to identify as a gender, must a visual be made in order to report these employees for EEO-1 and AAP purposes?
Answered by
Marilynn L. Schuyler
from Schuyler Affirmative Action Practice - Aug 24, 2017
No. The regulations at 41 CFR 60-1.12(c) states "where possible" the contractor must be able to identify gender (see below).
Additionally, OFCCP Directive 283 says a contractor "may" use visual observation for race, but it is not required (see below):
(c) Contractor identification of record. (1) For any record the contractor maintains pursuant to this section, the contractor must be able to identify:
(i) The gender, race, and ethnicity of each employee; and
(ii) Where possible, the gender, race, and ethnicity of each applicant or Internet Applicant as defined in 41 CFR 60-1.3, whichever is applicable to the particular position.
OFCCP Directive 283
FIELD ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE: Compliance Officers should adhere to the following principles when evaluating the use of race and ethnicity categories in the AAPs prepared by federal contractors in accordance with the Executive Order, as amended:
Contractor data tracking responsibilities remain the same.(4) Accordingly, self–identification will remain the preferred method for compiling information about the sex, race or ethnicity of applicants and employees. A contractor's invitation to self–identify race or ethnicity should state that the submission of such information is voluntary. However, contractors may use post–employment records or visual observation when an individual declines to self–identify his or her race or ethnicity.(5)
Answered by
Bill Osterndorf
from HR Analytical Services - Aug 24, 2017
I think Marilyn has provided some useful information. However, there appears to be some divergence in opinion on a question you didn't ask, which is this:
When employees decline to identify a gender, are we allowed to show them as "unknown" in reports to EEOC and OFCCP?
On that point, EEOC has provided the following response regarding race/ethnicity which can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/employers/eeo1survey/sample_self_identification.cfm:
"All employees must be accounted for. There are no "OTHER" or "UNKNOWN" race/ethnicity categories."
It seems clear that if an employee must have a known race/ethnicity, the employee must also have a known gender.
While OFCCP has not provided specific and direct guidance on this issue, there is nothing in the agency's regulations to suggest that "unknown" is a valid option regarding the gender of employees. As Marilyn notes, 41 CFR 60-1.12 clearly suggests that it is permissible to have applicants of unknown race or gender. However, there is no language in any regulations or FAQs that suggest contractors can use "unknown" as a valid race/ethnicity or gender for employees.
We live in a society where EEOC and OFCCP are clearly failing to understand the times we live in. The nice, clean bifurcation that the agencies have adopted for reporting purposes where employees are "male" or "female" does not reflect a world where we have transgender employees and employees who refuse to identify as one gender or another. Oddly enough, both agencies prohibit discrimination based on gender identity, and yet both agencies require employers to report the gender of employees in an either/or fashion.
Thus, I agree with Marilyn that the direct answer to your question is "No, you don't need to do a visual identification." I also believe that EEOC and OFCCP are doing employers a disservice by failing to recognize that there are employees to do not self-identify gender in a traditional sense. However, it seems clear to me that both EEOC and OFCCP require that when employees fail to identify race/ethnicity or gender, that the employer must find a way to provide a race/ethnicity and gender that falls within the traditional race/ethnicity classifications and the traditional male/female boundaries.
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This forum provides information of a general nature. None of the answers or information provided is intended as legal advice or opinion relative to specific matters, facts, situations, or issues. Additional facts and information or future developments may affect the subjects addressed. You should consult with an attorney about your specific circumstance before acting on any of this information since it may not be applicable to your situation. The Local JobNetwork™ and all experts expressly disclaim all liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on any or all of the contents of this forum.
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When they joined forces earlier this year, Microsoft wanted assurances from Nokia that it could deliver inexpensive Windows Phone 7 hardware. Why? Because Nokia still maintains a strong presence in developing markets around the globe where more costly smartphones (like the iPhone and innumerable high-end Android phones) have yet to catch on. Those markets are ripe for the pickin', and Microsoft is counting on Nokia's brand recognition and phone-building knowhow to produce devices that allow Windows Phone to muscle its way to the front of the pack.
Over at WMPowerUser, a leaked slide has surfaced that shows the Nokia 703 — a phone that bears a striking resemblance to the previously-leaked Sea Ray. Originally thought to be little more than the Nokia N9 running Windows Phone 7.5, the story now appears to be a little different. If the Nokia 703 pictured in the slide is, in fact, the Sea Ray, it's not quite in the same league as the N9.
How do the two phones stack up? The 703 slide notes a handful of specs: 3.7″ display, 512MB RAM, 5MP Camera, and 8GB of internal storage. The N9 offers a 3.9″ display, 8MP camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage.
That difference in specs looks like a good indication that the 703 is intended to be a more middle-of-the-road device — and it should hit retail shelves at a fairly modest price as a result. The 703 is actually fairly similar to the Symbian-powered Nokia 700 and 701, which will sell for $390 and $420 off-contract in the U.S. That wouldn't be low enough to make the 703 a real bargain, since current phones with similar specs — like the HTC Trophy from Verizon — can be had for similar prices.
Offering a second-gen phone with first-gen specs and pricing just won't cut it for Nokia's first big Windows Phone release. They're going to have to get aggressive on price if they still want to turn heads with the 703's pictured hardware.
More at WMPower User


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A bachelor's degree in architectural engineering prepares you for these careers:


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Blogging NPR: Wal-Mart to Sell Local Produce
First it was Wal-Mart's venture into the organic produce market that had everyone abuzz.
Now, they're going to save the company around $400 million in shipping costs--by buying from local farmers.
The superstore that we sometimes love to hate is taking the Locavore approach, saying they want to cut food miles and citing the now well-known average mileage food travels (1,500 miles) as a big reason for going local.
Sounds good, right?
NPR's story this morning touched on all the big points, and it seems like there are some flaws to this local food plan.
In a roundabout way, it will affect farmers who ship their goods elsewhere. And "local" to Wal-Mart means within the state--not around the corner. And, of course, it could put farmer's markets in jeopardy if local produce is available at a big-box store.
But...if more people begin buying local, isn't that a step in the right direction?
So who wins here? And is it really a green move? Tell us what you think.
Photo: Danny Johnston