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"The Exchange" Sermon Romans 1:16-23
An episode of Grace Cubed
By Pastor Mike
An ordinary pastor sits down to talk with ordinary people about their extraordinary God.
Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Pocket Casts
Radio Public
"Truth + Dare" Sermon Romans 8
Sermon: Romans 8:28-39
August 12, 2018
"No Condemnation" Episode 8 with Beth Hilton
Pastor Mike sits down with Beth Hilton from the congregation at St. Matthew's UMC in Ypsilanti to discuss the resounding crescendo that is Romans 8.
August 12, 2018
"SIN" Episode 7 Romans 7 with Jim Hunter
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
July 24, 2018
"I Don't Understand" Sermon Romans 7:15-25
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
July 24, 2018
"Baptized into Death" Episode 6 Romans 6 with Laura Bonneville
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
July 15, 2018
"Free to Serve" Sermon Romans 6:12-23
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
July 15, 2018
"Symmetry" Episode 5 Romans 5 with Rev. Katie Waggoner
This week on Grace Cubed Pastor Mike sits down with clergy colleague and friend, Rev. Kattie Waggoner, to discuss Romans 5 and the comparisons made between Adam and Jesus.
July 9, 2018
"Hope, Sow" Sermon Romans 5:1-8
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
July 9, 2018
"The Reckoning" Sermon Romans 4:1-13
Sermon 4 in Pastor Mike's series on Paul's letter to the Church at Rome.
July 2, 2018
"Father Abraham" Episode 4 with Phyllis Bordine: Romans 4
Pastor Mike sits down with Phyllis Bordine to discuss Romans 4 and the implications of being the spiritual children of Abraham.
July 2, 2018
"We All Fall Down" Sermon Romans 3:19-25
Latest episode of Grace Cubed
June 27, 2018
"No One Righteous" Episode 3 with Dan Raglin: Romans 3
Pastor Mike talks with Dan Raglin, Lay Leader at St. Matthew's UMC in Ypsilanti, MI, about sin and how it affects our view of each other.
June 25, 2018
"Do, or Do Not" Sermon Romans 2:12-16
Pastor Mike preaches about being "doers" of the word and not only those who hear. In the wake of a national figure claiming biblical authority to do reprehensible things to children it is very important to know that it is not those who know every word of the law that are righteous, but those who do those words.
June 19, 2018
"Hypocrisy" Episode 2 with Kathy Orscheln: Romans 2
On this episode of the Grace Cubed podcast Pastor Mike sits down with Kathy Orscheln for a conversation about hypocrisy and integrity.
June 18, 2018
"Degrading Passions"
Pastor Mike sits down with Bob Simmons, a member of Cherry Hill United Methodist Church, to discuss Romans 1:26-27. This episode does deal heavily with LGBTQ+ issues and there are references made to the existence of sexual intercourse. Listener discretion is advised.
June 11, 2018
"The Exchange" Sermon Romans 1:16-23
This is the sermon audio from our worship service on June 10, 2018. The companion podcast for this sermon is "Degrading Passions" with Bob Simmons.
June 10, 2018
Historically Speaking
Pastor Mike sits down with Pastor Corey Simon to discuss some of the historical importance of the book of Romans as well as what Grace Cubed means. Pastor Corey is a United Methodist Pastor in the Michigan Area serving two churches near the Ohio border.
June 4, 2018
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Glossary Definition: EveryStep Scripting Tool
For help installing and setting up EveryStep, see the article Getting Started with EveryStep.
Once installed on your machine, the EveryStep Scripting Tool can be found in your start menu under All Programs -> DotCom-Monitor -> EveryStep Scripting Tool.
When you launch the EveryStep Scripting Tool you will be prompted to enter the URL you wish to monitor.
There are three types of monitoring scripts you can create:
UserView: Is the default selection and the most commonly used function of everystep. UserView creates a robust script that can perform complex actions including filling out forms, interacting with multimedia, clicking on different elements of a page, checking to make sure specific text and images have loaded on the page and much more. Read more about how Userview Scripting works.
ServerView: Allows you to click through multiple pages, quickly creating multiple ServerView HTTP tasks that run in sequence under one device. There are several key differences between how ServerView and UserView Scripts work.
LoadView: Allows you to record the actions you would expect an average user of your website to perform, and then run that script on a number of different machines to simulate heavy loads on your website. LoadView is unique among the Dotcom-Monitor platforms in that once you record a script, you must schedule one time tests, while other platforms perform ongoing monitoring.
Keyword Validation
The keyword validation form pops up by default once your target url has loaded.
Checking for a keyword is not a necessary component of creating a script, however, we recommend that you check for at least one word in order to verify that the content on your page has loaded and rendered successfully.
For additional help with keyword validation:
EveryStep Recording
Next you perform "every step" of the web application path that a user would normally take, or that you specifically wish to verify with clicks, posts, hovers etc… The EveryStep Script Tool records each browser interaction.
Once you are done recording the script, the recording is then replayed within EveryStep to confirm that the script works.
Filter out Errors
If any errors are detected in the script, you will be presented with the list of errors and prompted to chose whether you wish to filter out those errors when the script runs. If you do chose to filter out an error, EveryStep will add a filter to the beginning of the script similar to the following:
If at any time the script runs into an error with this element, the error will be ignored and the script will continue to run without reporting the error.
Upload the Script
After creating your first script you want to save it to the Dotcom-Monitor site by pressing the save button. You will then be prompted to enter your Dotcom-Monitor account credentials.
You should enter the same credentials that you use to log in to the Dotcom-Monitor website.
Finally, the EveryStep script is uploaded to the user's Dotcom-Monitor account where alerting and reporting options are configured. Here you will set the final details for your monitoring script including:
- Setting Up Alerts
- Setting-up Scheduled Reports
- Setting Up and Editing Monitoring Agent Locations
- Frequency (Monitoring Algorithm)


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Somewhere out there but far away. Still crying
Loud, now I can hear. A calling of you has saved
Me before I fall. No longer pain, dead empty place.
Beautiful queen still of my dreams. You are the
One who's living under my skin. Queen of my
Dreams, beautiful and silver, queen of my dreams,
Drown in you forever and everlong. You are my
Queen of day and night. Still be my life and
Suicide. Queen of the sun and the light and endless
Dark. Still I'm lying on your grave. No longer life
And no more taste, the evening wind will take me
Home to you. Still I'm lying on your grave. No
Longer life and no more taste, still I lie, still I lie,
On your grave, on your grave
Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/e/end_of_green/queen_of_my_dreams_lyrics.html


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Timbre Morphing Using the Lemur RepresentationSkip other details (including permanent urls, DOI, citation information)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License. Please contact firstname.lastname@example.com to use this work in a way not covered by the license. :
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Page 329 ï~~Timbre Morphing Using The Lemur Representation Edwin Tellman, Lippold Haken, Bryan Holloway CERL Sound Group University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Lemur@uiuc. edu Abstract We present an algorithm for morphing between sounds (timbre interpolation) using Lemur analysis/synthesis. The Lemur representation is made up of amplitude- and frequency-varying sinusoids. Our timbre morphing involves time-scale modification of sounds (to morph between differing attack rates and vibrato rates), as well as amplitude and frequency modification of individual sinusoidal components. Lemur is available via anonymous ftp at unicom.cerl.uiuc.edu in the directory /pub/lemur. 1. Motivation Timbre Morphing is the process of combining two or more sounds to create a new sound with an intermediate timbre. For instance, if a long loud sound with a fast and narrow vibrato is morphed with a short quiet sound with a slow and wide vibrato, the morphed sound should be a medium length, medium loudness sound with an intermediate vibrato speed and width. This process differs from simply mixing the two sounds; only a single sound, with some of the characteristics of each of the original sounds, is audible as the morphed sound. Morphing can be used to create interesting new sounds which have some of the characteristics of familiar, naturally occurring sounds, and to provide more realistic synthesis of natural instrument tones. The latter becomes useful when increasing the loudness of a quiet sound, or artificially adding vibrato by providing the continuous spectral changes that naturally occur. 2. History Previous work in timbre morphing includes Gray[1975], Schindler[1984], and Haken[ 1991 ]. Here we study the morphing of Lemur files describing sounds which may contain an unequal number of features and non-harmonic components. 3. The Lemur Representation An implementation of the McAulay-Quatieri [1986] sinusoidal technique was done by Rob Maher [1989] and James Beauchamp. Our analyses use an extended technique, implemented as Lemur, a program for the Apple Macintosh. The technique models sounds as sinusoids with time-varying amplitudes and frequencies, called partials. Partials have the ability to be "born" and to "die." This implies that a full analysis can have a varying number of partials. A typical Lemur graph shows time along the horizontal axis, frequency along the vertical axis, and different shades of gray to represent amplitude. However, the graphs presented here were created showing detailed amplitude deviation, and no frequency deviation. 4. Our Algorithm We investigated the morphing of pitched sounds with vibrato. This discussion describes the morphing of two sounds. The principles discussed, however, can be applied to any number and proportions (or timevarying proportions) of original sounds. The amplitude envelopes and frequency envelopes of corresponding partials of the two sounds to be morphed are averaged together. Partials are matched by looking for partials in each of the sounds in which the ratio of analyzed frequency to that sound's fundamental frequency is approximately equal. If there is a partial in one sound with no corresponding partial in the other sound, it is morphed with zero magnitude and a frequency determined by the ratio of the fundamentals. Since the analysis frequency cannot be accurate for very quiet partials, the frequency used in morphing may not be exactly the frequency from the Lemur analysis. If a quiet partial with inaccurate frequency information is morphed with a loud partial with accurate frequency information, this results in a medium amplitude partial with audibly inaccurate frequency information. This problem is avoided by using the frequency of the nearest harmonic for very quiet partials and using the analysis frequency for loud partials. As a partial gradually increases in volume, more of the frequency used in morphing is taken from the analysis, so there is no abrupt change between a calculated frequency and an analyzed frequency. Interpolation of both frequency and amplitude is done in a log scale. We considered sounds which had any number of "features." We distinguish between two different types of features: Unique features. Specific points on each sound such as the start of the attack, the peak of the attack, the loudest point, the start of the decay, etc. Each of these points in the original sounds should be algorithmically lined up to create the morphed sound. ICMC Proceedings 1994 329 Audio Signal Processing
Page 330 ï~~Repeatablefeatures Features in one sound which don't necessarily correspond exactly to a specific feature in the other sound. For instance, it is not necessary that the fifth vibrato cycle from one sound is interpolated with the fifth vibrato cycle in the second sound. It is important, however that vibrato peaks in the two sounds match up in the interpolation so the morphed sound has a single vibrato rate. It is assumed that repeatable features may be skipped or repeated as necessary. This implies that the frequency and amplitude at the beginning of each repeatable feature should be approximately equal to the frequency and amplitude at the beginning of adjacent features. When morphing, the length of the current morphed feature is calculated as a weighted average of the length of the current feature in the two original sounds. The partial envelopes for the two original sounds are then stepped through at a rate such that the ends of the current feature in each sound are reached at the same time. The same principle is applied at a larger scale when the end of a repeatable feature is reached. At this point, the number of repeatable features before the next unique feature or the end of the morphed sound is calculated. This number is a weighted average of the number of repeatable features remaining in each of the original sounds before the next unique feature or the end of the sound. If a sound doesn't have enough repeatable features remaining, the most recent feature may be repeated. Conversely, if a sound has too many features, the next feature(s) are skipped. References [Grey, 1975] John M. Grey, "An Exploration of Musical Timbre." Ph.D. Dissertation, CCRMA/Dept. of Music, Stanford University, Stanford, CA., Dept. of Music, Report No. STANM-2, 1975. [Schindler, 1984] Keith W. Schindler. Dynamic Timbre Control for Real-Time Digital Synthesis. Computer Music Journal, 8 (1): pp. 28-42, 1984. [McAulay and Quatieri, 1986] R.J. McAulay and T.F. Quatieri. Speech Analysis/Synthesis Based on a Sinusoidal Representation. IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing, 34 (4): August, 1986. [Maher, 1989] Robert T. Maher. "An Approach For The Separation Of Voices In Composite Musical Signals" Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1989. [Haken, 1992] Lippold Haken. Computational Methods for Real-Time Fourier Synthesis. IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, 40 (9): pp. 2327-2329, Sept. 1992. Figure 1: A morph between two violin sounds which does not take into account the vibratos of the two sounds. The resulting sound has an erratic vibrato which doesn't resemble either of the original sounds e~wa 04M Ism amM Figure 2: A morph between the same two sounds which interpolates between the vibratos of the original sounds. Its vibrato looks very similar to both of the original vibratos, but has an intermediate speed and width. Figure 3: A violin gradually changing to a clarinet and then back to a violin. The clarinet sound has a very small and slow vibrato, so the vibrato gradually decreases in magnitude and increases in width in the middle of the sound and then reverses the process towards the end of the sound. Audio Signal Processing 330 1CMC Proceedings 1994


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Past, Present, and Future of NASA - U.S. Senate Testimony (Video)
Testimony before the U.S. Senate on the past, present, and future of NASA.
Past, Present, and Future of NASA - U.S. Senate Testimony
Testimony before the U.S. Senate on the past, present, and future of NASA.
What NASA Means to America's Future
A speech on the influence of NASA on young people and the future of the United States.
The Future of Space Exploration
An interview about space exploration, Mars, and life on other planets on CBS's Early Show.
Happy Birthday, NASA
Neil deGrasse Tyson is the same age as NASA, and both have come a long way in 50 years.
Telescopes in Space
Neil Tyson describes the uproar in 2004 after NASA announced it had cut funding to repair the Hubble.
Ask Magazine Interview
An interview in NASA's Ask Magazine about the future of NASA, space travel, and space policy.
Planetary Society Radio: Space Exploration
Interview on The Planetary Society Radio podcast on the Future of Space Exploration.
Living On Earth: NASA Pick
Interview about President Bush's new choice to take the helm at NASA, Michael Griffin, and whether he has all the qualifications it takes to lead the nation's space agency through the 21st century.
Goddard Memorial Dinner Keynote
Humorous analysis of the feeble state of science literacy in the United States and the consequences to the future of America's economy, security, and future in space. Containing reflections on education, pop culture, international relations, NASA, and religion.
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Copyright © 2018 Neil deGrasse Tyson. All rights reserved.


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The Dollhouse: A Novel (CD-Audio)
Usually Ships in 1-5 Days
"Rich both in twists and period detail, this tale of big-city ambition is impossible to put down."—People
Fiona Davis's stunning debut novel pulls readers into the lush world of New York City's glamorous Barbizon Hotel for Women, where in the 1950s a generation of aspiring models, secretaries, and editors lived side by side while attempting to claw their way to fairy-tale success, and where a present-day journalist becomes consumed with uncovering a dark secret buried deep within the Barbizon's glitzy past.
When she arrives at the famed Barbizon Hotel in 1952, secretarial school enrollment in hand, Darby McLaughlin is everything her modeling agency hall mates aren't: plain, self-conscious, homesick, and utterly convinced she doesn't belong—a notion the models do nothing to disabuse. Yet when Darby befriends Esme, a Barbizon maid, she's introduced to an entirely new side of New York City: seedy downtown jazz clubs where the music is as addictive as the heroin that's used there, the startling sounds of bebop, and even the possibility of romance.
Over half a century later, the Barbizon's gone condo and most of its long-ago guests are forgotten. But rumors of Darby's involvement in a deadly skirmish with a hotel maid back in 1952 haunt the halls of the building as surely as the melancholy music that floats from the elderly woman's rent-controlled apartment. It's a combination too intoxicating for journalist Rose Lewin, Darby's upstairs neighbor, to resist—not to mention the perfect distraction from her own imploding personal life. Yet as Rose's obsession deepens, the ethics of her investigation become increasingly murky, and neither woman will remain unchanged when the shocking truth is finally revealed.
About the Author
Fiona Davis is the national bestselling author of The Dollhouse, The Address, and The Masterpiece. She lives in New York City and is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in Virginia and the Columbia Journalism School.


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Jeremy Renner Keeps His Action Hero Body in Tip Top Shape!
Jeremy Renner is all about keeping in shape as he leaves his gym on Sunday (March 16) in West Hollywood, Calif.
The 43-year-old action star looks like he wants to stay fit – he has several action hero movies coming up including Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mission: Impossible 5, and the Untitled Jason Bourne Sequel, which are all due to come out next year. We can't wait!
PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Jeremy Renner
Jeremy's film American Hustle is available on DVD this coming Tuesday (March 18) – be sure to grab your copy!
10+ pictures inside of Jeremy Renner leaving his gym after his workout…


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Cyprus to Seek EU Approval to Reduce VAT on Electricity
The Cyprus Ministry of Finance, in an apparent change of heart, has announced that the government plans to seek approval from the European Union to reduce VAT on domestic electricity use. The current rate is 17% and the government would like to reduce that to 8%. 'This would reduce electricity bills for consumers by around 10 per cent," said Commerce Committee chairman Lefteris Christoforou. The EU VAT Committee meets this coming Monday March 26th, so Cyprus has no time to waste if it doesn't want to wait three months for its next chance to request permission to lower the rate.
Source: http://www.cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/cyprus-will-seek-eu-approval-reduce-vat-electricity-bills/20120321


text: Onesies are sensible, cute, and usually quite reasonably-priced. And it was back in 2010 when this trend first started to make the scene, and recently it's cropped back up in a big way. This is a great form of casual wear; they are comfortable and flattering, and can be pulled off effortlessly by anyone. Take an example of Multi stripe from Opening Ceremony, which is not only fashionable but simple and comfortable!


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Anyone who has ever been arrested and booked by law enforcement may have a mugshot published online. Mugshots are part of the public record and not an indication of guilt of a crime.Continue Reading
A mugshot is a photo taken during detention and booking of a person's face and head. It is part of the public record, along with the reason for the arrest. Because they are part of the booking record, a person arrested for any type of crime may have a mugshot released online. Mugshots are not evidence of a crime and each person is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
There are several reasons for publishing mugshots online. One reason is to allow for transparency in the justice system. Family and friends can easily locate the accused; he or she is not hidden in secret. The formal charge is also listed with the photo. According to the 6th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, those accused of a crime have the right to a speedy and public trial and to know what they are charged with, so they may appropriately prepare a defense.
A second reason is to protect the public and support law enforcement. Citizens provide support by identifying criminals who are on the run and individuals of interest in a case. The availability of mugshots online also allows people to know more about those living nearby, working alongside them or teaching their children.Learn more about Crime


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Ways to Improve Your Credit
There are several reliable ways to improve credit. The first step is to check your credit score and try to find out what mistakes you have done so as to get a bad credit rating. Most of the time, it is because of your inability to repay your debts. Maybe, you took a loan or you bought gods on credit and your card did not have enough funds to pay for it within the required time. In this case, you should start working on reversing all these negative credit issues.
One smart way of beginning the credit repair process, it to apply for another loan so that you can consolidate your debts. By obtaining a debt consolidation loan, you give an indication to lenders that even though your current rating is not good enough, you are committed to improving credit. Additionally, and most importantly, you should exam ways of changing your borrowing habits so that you only get into debt when it cannot be avoided. Come up with a good strategy to improve credit and stick to it.
Challenges of Having Poor Credit
Having a bad credit is definitely a huge setback and while everyone would definitely do everything possible to maintain good credit ratings, sometimes this may not be enough. If you have a bad credit, there are a number of challenges you can expect. The biggest one of course is accessing financing. Banks are really taking bad credit seriously and getting a business loan, credit card or even a mortgage and mortgage refinancing can be very difficult.
In addition to this, there are a number of employers who may also not hire people with poor credit. Although you can eventually convince them to give you a job opportunity, the chances are often very slim. Finally, you may also have trouble finding a good insurance cover with bad credit. In most cases, insurance companies would charge high premiums. Whether you are looking for car insurance or life insurance, bad credit will definitely influence the amount of premiums paid each month.
Is It Possible to Get a Loan with Bad Credit?
A lot of people may be under the impression that it is the end of the road for them if they have bad credit. This couldn't be further from the truth because there is light at the end of this seemingly deadly tunnel! In fact, contrary to the popular misconception, it is very much possible for people with bad credit scores to obtain a loan through special lenders. Of course there's no denying the fact that bad credit scores are a stumbling block to obtaining loans but just because you have bad credit doesn't mean that you will not be able to get any loan at all when you're in need of financial assistance!
It is necessary to understand that an individual with a poor credit rating is classified as a high risk customer. Thus, this type of customer would not be able to obtain a loan from traditional sources like banks. After all, people with bad credit scores do not fit the standing lending guidelines and moreover, the bank is concerned that they wouldn't be able to repay the loan they've taken out. Thus, if you have bad credit then you should approach banks for loans as you wouldn't encounter success here. Instead, you should try out alternative sources providing loans, especially to people with poor credit scores such as Financial Lit Now.
Instead of a traditional bank loan, you can also apply for a cash advance loan. This is a type of loan that carries a high interest rate, but is very easy to be approved for, as credit scores are usually not a factor in determining the loan approval. Generally, this loan is approved for amounts less than $2,000 and is normally available to the applicant in just hours. This is an almost sure-fire way to get money quickly if you have a job and a bank account.
Alternatively, you can also approach Financial Lit Now for the purpose of personal loans. You can always apply online at http://www.financiallitnow.org/apply-now.html to receive a quick loan approval. Of course, one's credit score is not disregarded in case of this solution, but one can at least expect the bad credit lender to be more empathetic and lenient than a traditional bank!
Steps to Repairing Your Credit
There is really no easy way to repair credit; repairing credit takes time. There are no shortcuts and you must endure the long way back to achieving a good credit score. In fact, most quick-fix efforts have always backfired.
The best thing to do is to manage your credit responsibly over time. Repair the history of your credit until you notice credit score improvement. Highlighted below are three major steps below that will assist you to do that.
Step 1: Check and Monitor Your Credit Report
Repairing bad credit begins with checking your credit report. This report has all the data that was used in calculating your score. It may contain several errors. You will want to ensure that the owed amounts are correct and that all late payments are correctly listed. If you find any errors, see the credit bureau for corrections.
Step 2: Setup Payment Deadlines
Ensure that your credit payments are done on time. This is one of the major contributing factors towards improving your credit scores.
Step 3: Reduce Your Debt
The foremost thing is to stop using credit for unnecessary purchases. This will improve your credit score. Make timely arrangements to settle all of your debts.


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nello one
nello one connects your intercom with your smartphone and Wi-Fi.
nello one is the smart upgrade for your intercom. The Wi-Fi-enabled chip detects when someone rings your bell, the nello app informs you and nello one can instantly open the front door for you – no matter where you are.
Open your main entrance door without a key.
You can now open your front door from anywhere via app - simply install nello one directly on your existing intercom phone in your apartment.
You can easily install nello one yourself - just connect it to the intercom in your apartment.
We use state-of-the-art encryption algorithms (TLS 1.2 & AES-256) to protect your digital key.
You can install nello one without the permission of your landlord.
nello app
Share virtual keys with people you trust.
With nello you can share access to your main entrance door digitally. Just invite your visitors to the nello app and decide when exactly they are allowed to enter. And of course, you can give your roommates full admin rights, so they can also give restricted access to the cleaning service.
Our best features at a glance
A swipe over your smartphone is enough and nello one opens the door for you.
Thanks to GPS your nello one knows when you come home and opens the main entrance door for you - after a simple ring on your door bell.
The Activity Feed is your logbook - you can check if someone rang your doorbell and who entered.
Let your favorite service providers in.
With the nello app, you can open your front door simply by swiping over your mobile phone. Give access to your parcel or pizza delivery or even your fortune messenger.
Your smart doorman - even smarter.
Now, you can control your nello one via Amazon Alexa's voice control or our Public API.
With nello, you can open your main entrance door for your parcel carriers at any time. Quite handy for all online shoppers who are never at home when their parcels arrive.
Enable complete keyless access - nello one opens your main entrance door and your favorite Smart Lock is taking care of your apartment door.
Complete keyless access for you
nello one opens your main entrance door
A Smart Lock opens your apartment door
What people think about nello
Using nello for work and very happy with the keyless entry. Looking forward to some new smart home features.SeñoreSteve
The app is really well designed - like the style.updata34
Excellent customer service! What are you waiting for? Order yours today!gcousins
I backed this project in 2015 and it finally arrived last week. Although almost a year late, I appreciated the transparency around the issues!The App Master Germany
Clear and concise setup.Espen Medbo
nello one
Our nello 30-Days Satisfaction Guarantee.
If you are not absolutely happy with your nello one, you can return it for a full refund.


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Zachary Fields (layout and design) and Peggy Callahan (business)
To plan, create, sell, and distribute the Aerie, Mt. Ararat's student-run yearbook.
Activities and Pursuits:
The group begins to plan and create the yearbook in early September and needs students who are interested in graphic arts, photography, design,and creative thinking, as well as those who want to help with the business aspects, such as scheduling, sales, and distribution coordination.
Meeting Times:
-Deadline for submissions for Senior portraits and Senior Reflections has been set for November 15, 2017.
-Deadline for Baby Photo Ads is January 10, 2018.
-Deadline for Senior Superlative Survey is February 15, 2018.
Important Links:


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2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 Reviews & Ratings
Read real experiences from 2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430 owners like you.
Find ratings and reviews for any car
Displaying all 3 reviewsFilter
2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430
By on 11/3/11 | Grandview, MO
I have a 2000 ML430 & live in the Midwest this is the best winter vehicle I have ever driven I was low on cash & couldn't afford a new set of rubber before winter of 2010 & it was a bad & snowy/ice-y winter with half bald tires I never once got stuck with the 4wl drive I would drive by new "suvs" with 4-wheel drive stuck in a 1/2 a foot of snow I could go uphills with not problem a little hesitation but never stuck & I'm talking 13' of snow a few times & half bald tires folks....I was amazed I have around 175k miles on it now the engine is a beast and the thirsty V8 moves it quickly when you punch the gas it doesn't hesitate to move. Now the bad no matter what pads I put on it the brakes squeak all the time even if they are new, so many little things go wrong with it like my abs went out for the dealer to replace quoted a price of $2300-engine light comes on all the time for various reasons was told my the dealer it was due to a sensor $750 repair-my heated seat has a spot that feels as if it will burn the skin of my hind parts if on high-my fm radio doesn't work any longer was told my a friend that the fm-doo-hickey mite have gone out I have had to replace the power winder motor 2x on the drivers door. The cheap looking plastic cover on the bottom of the drives seat is cracked & broken the list goes on & on the car is paid for so I plan to keep it running but won't fix anything that is not vital I hate not having ABS but the brakes work good w/o it I really dislike the mpg of 15 city 20hwy premium it kills my wallet but overall I plan to hang on to it for a while
2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430
By on 9/21/10 | Arecibo, PR
i love my ml430 no probs people who dont like ltem should by jap crap or yank junk
2001 Mercedes-Benz ML430
By on 6/29/10 | Poway, CA
Way too many problems for the 50K plus I paid for it brand new in 2001. Two ignition key failures, my cost $800.00, two power window failures, my cost $300.00, Brakes replaced twice in 81K miles, once with all four rotors replaced my cost $500.00 - I purchased Napa pro-Quiet and they outlast Mercedes OEM by three-five time the mileage, Fuel gage has failed and I'm looking forward to spending a Saturday replaced the unit, A/C went out and had it recharged my cost$165.00, Replaced the tires twice at $250.00 a corner with Michelin Latitude and they last approximately 50K miles, bottom line this is my first and last mercedes a Piece of Junk!
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Happy Halloween!
Ok, Halloween was actually yesterday here in Australia - but it's still Halloween for some of my Northern Hemisphere friends.We took Miss 4 trick or treating last night with some friends, but we made the rookie mistake of going after dinner, and everyone was out of lollies! Every year Halloween seems to be getting bigger and bigger here in Oz, and this year the trick or treaters were out in full force - no one expected the numbers they got! So my tips for next year peeps:
1) Stock up. It won't matter if there's some left over :)
2) Trick or Treat early. That is, somewhere between 5:30 - 7pm. Seriously though - some people aren't even home from work at that time? Maybe we should just make it a public holiday.
3) Leave something outside (ie. a balloon, or a jack-o-lantern) to let trick or treaters know they are welcome. Otherwise, if you would prefer not to be disturbed, leave your lights off.
It's lots of fun!
Today I've been working on a painting that I started back in August for the Monthly Painter's Challenge topic "Insect". (My Husband accidentally read the topic as "Incest"...which was a bit of a worry, but that's a whole other story!). Half way through painting it, I got an influx of commissioned paintings and didn't get to finish it until now. So this is what I would've submitted back in August. She is called "Fairy of the Insects"
|"Fairy of the Insects" Original Painting
If the original is sold or out of your budget, there are also 8x10" prints available. :)
I'm very excited to see that I've now reached over 900 Facebook fans! I will be drawing out 3 random fan names to send free prints to. Stay tuned...


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There are many shooters and hunters out there who will often question 'what exactly makes a good stock?'. Well, a good stock must be robust, sturdy, rigid, provides the user a good and solid cheek weld surface that is still comfortable, a simple yet effective locking mechanism and the overall ability to hold up to all the unexpected knocks, bumps, and drops which come with the conditions of the battlefield or on the hunt.
Magpul ACS-L
What makes the perfect stock?
With many stocks, you will often or not hear some form of rattle caused by slight movement within the stock. This small amount of play in your firearm setup is capable of having a negative effect on your overall accuracy when it's time to get serious. Secondly, sling attachment points are incredibly important to any setup and should suit both your shooting and carry style comfortably. Tube tops should also be smooth, comfortable and fit your face accordingly. This applies especially for the users who may particularly have a lot of facial hair. A cheek weld surface that may not be completely smooth and free of surface interruptions will inevitably pull at beards and short facial hair which can cause serious discomfort and also a significant loss of concentration.
A unique design that favours all shooters and hunters.
When it comes down to all things Magpul, there is very little doubt that you are guaranteed anything less than high-quality products, that function well, and also look absolutely fantastic in the process. Magpul were one of the very first companies to begin styling their products and have continued throughout the years to put in real effort when it comes to designing visually appealing accessories for your firearms rather than sticking to the pre-existing and incredibly common military designs that always look so outdated as if they were stuck in the early 80's. While Magpul may have made a well-established name for themselves with many thanks to their bespoke visual style, what has really continued to make them the number one choice is their overall ability to produce innovative and practical designs that are also useful and capable of solving most problems we all encounter on a day to day basis. One of their products in particular that is a great example of this is Magpul's ACS-L carbine stock.
When we take a look at the original and standard carbine stock, there have often been many complaints with regards to how it feels, especially to how unstable it can often feel. The typical and the most common solution to a stock that appears to have too much movement is to replace it, using a fixed length stock. This is where Magpul comes in. Magpul is known to offer only the very best in high-quality fixed length stock in the industry.
A welcomed upgrade in the world of stocks.
The original ACS design from Magpul had initially included two compartments which were situated along the cheek piece that was able to increase the surface area and even allowed for battery storage, but many individuals would often find it far too bulky in order to be useful. The brand new improved ACS-L design from Magpul has removed these compartments but still provides a user-friendly cheek piece that is much more similar to the older Magpul stock designs, which many individuals now prefer. The ACS-L's unique sloping cheek weld plus the combination of its featured rubber butt-pad (stock pad measured in at .30in, but .55in and .70in butt-pads are also available from Magpul for additional recoil reduction). When looking at Magpul's ACS-L' design it appears to have been manufactured in order to withstand and a good old beating. The stock also features a shrouded adjustment lever which means it's far less prone to accidental release, plus a friction lock for added stock stability when out on the range or during a hunt.
The ACS-L stock from Magpul also offers sling mounting solutions for users, which is always great news. This includes an exceptionally generous sized loop for the use with a two point sling system in order to be anchored on the inside curve of Magpul's stock. What's more is that the Magpul ACS-L stock offers multiple holes which have been pre-drilled and tapped in order to accept Magpul's QD cups, which can be used for both single point or two point sling systems.
One particularly great thing about the Magpul's ACS-L stock sling related features is that Magpul has completely eliminated the wobble which was originally associated with it. In addition to that, the stock features an additional button in front of the existing button which is found on the older models. This button allows you to lock the stock solid once you have finished setting everything up properly. This additional button certainly works great, and when it comes to releasing the stock in order to adjust it or remove it, it doesn't require any need for special attention or tools, simply push the same button and everything works as intended. And with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of just $100, it's surprisingly affordable, considering the number of great benefits this revolutionary stock provides.
For individuals looking for the stability and reliability of a fixed stock without being forced to swap out their existing carbine buffer tube, the ACS-L stock from Magpul should certainly be your number one choice.
Magpul ACS-L Stock Features:
- Mounts on regular sized airsoft carbine receiver extension tube (this is not included with the product) in both GBB and AEG respectively.
- Sloping cheek weld which is able to provide users with a wide contact surface, designed for comfort.
- Storage compartment with right-hand side positive latching access door.
- Supplemental friction lock helps to prevent accuracy reducing movement.
- Replaceable 0.30" Rubber Butt-Pad provides users with an anti-slip surface
- Compatible with Magpul ASAP® plus other receiver-mount sling attachments
- Sling Mounts
For the reasonable price of $100, you are guaranteed to receive a sturdy and robust stock that is capable of providing you with a significant balance between functionality and maneuverability. The combination of features and price tag make this affordable stock a number one on our list.


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Fulton, N.Y. - Birds Eye Foods has been an important part of the Niver family for more than 20 years.
Kevin Niver's mother worked at the Fulton plant in the quality assurance department for years. He joined the plant 25 years ago as a sanitation worker, and now helps maintain the refrigeration units.
On Friday, Niver, learned he will be the last person in his family to work at the plant.
Pinnacle Foods, the New Jersey-based owner of the plant, announced it will close its Fulton location at the end of the year. About 280 workers will lose their jobs.
The company will move the work to Darien, Wis. and Waseca, Minn., to lower shipping costs and to be closer to crops it processes, company officials said. Pinnacle stopped using crops from New York in 2007, they said.
Employees learned about the closing Friday morning at a meeting at the Fulton War Memorial. Afterwards, most people walked quietly to their cars. One man yelled "It's over." Another man gave thumbs down.
"There's nothing we can do about it," said David Dellanno , a compressor room operator who has worked at the plant for 12 years. "It's sad but it's a decent place to work. It's the trend in America."
Timeline1902: Plant opens in Fulton as the Fort Stanwix Canning Co.
1938: Plant begins packaging Birds Eye vegetables
1943: Kraft buys plant, makes improvements over the years
1993: Kraft General Foods agrees to sell its Birds Eye vegtable and fruit lines to Dean Foods Co. of Franklin Park, Ill., for $140 million
1998: Agrilink buys the plant
2009: Birds Eye, including the food plant in Fulton, sold to Pinnacle Foods, a private equity company of the Blackstone Group, for $1.3 billion
Compiled by Post-Standard research librarian Bonnie Ross
The closing of the Birds Eye plant, which processes Birds Eye Vegetables and Birds Eye Voila! , is the third major factory closing in the Fulton area since Miller Brewery closed its doors in September 1994.
The Miller had nearly 1,000 workers, some who held some of the highest-paying jobs in Central New York at the time. That was followed in 2003 by the closing of Nestle USA, the oldest chocolate factory in the United States. At it's height, the Fulton plant employed more than 1,500 people; it had about 400 when it closed.
Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward , who was a maintenance manager at Nestle, said the Birds Eye closing could have a similar impact on the city as Nestle did in 2003.
"It's devastating to the community," he said. "I went through it myself at Nestle in 2003 and my heart goes out to all the employees and their families."
The Birds Eye plant opened in 1902 as the Fort Stanwix Canning Co. It went through a number of owners in the last 107 years, including Kraft General Foods, Dean Foods, Agrilink and now, Birds Eye.
Birds Eye employees like Amy LaBeef , a warehouse forklift driver, are unsure of where they will now find work.
"I feel bad for everyone who's been there a long time," said LaBeef, who's worked at the plant for three years. "There's nothing left in Fulton. Nestle's is gone. Now this."
For others, the closing seemed inevitable after the plant was purchased by Pinnacle in 2009.
"I think the writing has been on the wall for a couple of years now," Niver said. "I don't think it comes as any great surprise to the vast majority of people."
About 250 workers at the plant are members of the Workers United Local 1822 union, whose contract expires in 2013. The company will honor the contract through the end of the year and is in the process of putting together a severance package, said Eduardo Jofre , a business representative with the union.
The average worker at the plant makes between $12.90 - $24.57 an hour, Jofre said.
Oswego County's unemployment rate was 12 percent in February. The New York rate is 8.7 percent. The national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent.
Because of the high jobless rate and the lack of high paying jobs, it will be difficult for employees to find work in Fulton, said Lawrence Spizman , a professor of economics at the State University College at Oswego.
"Those people that are the most skilled, and perhaps the most educated at least in their area, will have some mobility if they want to leave the area," Spizman said.
"Those people that are not able to leave the are for multiple reasons — family close by — they're going to be here. And there are no jobs paying $24 an hour, locally, and not many paying $12 an hour," he said. "I think the chances of them getting jobs are going to be not very good, unfortunately."
The closing will also affect more than just the laid off workers, Spizman said.
"Now all those workers that had pretty descent paychecks, in terms of hourly wages and benefits, won't be spending money locally," he said. "They won't have it to spend. So they won't be buying cars or any of the products sold locally in the Fulton area."
According to the plants most recent property tax assessment, Birds Eye paid about $388,800 in taxes to schools and local governments, said Michael Treadwell, executive director of Operation Oswego County and the county Industrial Development Agency. The plant paid $88,179 in school taxes this year, which is less than a half a percent of the entire tax levy for the district.
"It's unfortunate" said school Superintendent William Lynch. "It's the trickle down. It's 300 families and of course, they all might not live here. But look at the impact that has across small businesses in the city."
Another hit will be money to run the Fulton sewage treatment plant. Birds Eye pays about 25 percent, $558,000, of the cost of running the plant.
Pinnacle is willing to sell the plant but could not comment on whether the equipment would be included, said Elizabeth Rowland, a Pinnacle representative.
For now, work at the plant will resume on Monday.
Niver, 54, will be there.
"I had 29 good years here and this place has been pretty good to me," he said. "I understand where they're coming from, as far as the company goes. I understand that's the part of doing business."
Birds Eye Food announcement of closing of Fulton plant
Contact Fernando Alfonso at 470-3039 or email@example.com. Staff writer Debra J. Groom contributed to this report.


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Recent Posts
This video is an experiment as I have never applied highlights and contour like this before and was trying something new. As you can see from the video I am genuinely shocked to see the results and am quite excited that I also learnt something new along with you, my viewers. Here is the product list below:
Mac Studio Fix Fluid – NC15
Mac Studio Fix Fluid – NW45
As the previous video was an experiment I decided to make another video showing you all how I normally do the highlighting and contouring of my own face as well as clients and brides. I felt more confident in this video as I was comfortable with the products I was using and the technique in which I used.
The products used in this video are:
Mac Studio Fix Fluid – NC40
Powder Palette from Ebay
Mac Studio Finish Concealer – NC42
Mac Pro Longwear Concealer – NC35
Mac Iridescent Powder – Silver
Mac Sheertone Blush – Blushbaby
Mac Lip Pencil – Mahogany
Rimmel London Lipstick – Signature Red
Mac Mineralize Skin Finish – Gold Deposit
Thanks again for watching and stay tuned for more videos. Don't forget to subscribe and leave your wonderful comments as I look forward to reading them.
Bye for now!


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Rebellious Holiday Makeup for the Party and the Afterparty
If you still consider a strong eye and strong lip combo "rebellious."
If I ever lost my sense of smell, I feel like I'd lose my mind along with it. Smells are everything to me. And one of my favorite scents? No, not donuts. OK, yes donuts. But seriously: Cologne.
In preparation for this article, I've been wearing cologne on the regular to create a list of my favorite fragrances for all the dudes in your life. Dad, brother, friend, husband, beau, crush. Whatever the case may be, consider gifting one of these scents for the handsome fellas in your life.
John Varvatos Oud
I'm all about visual appeal, and John Varvatos Oud certainly earns high marks with this creation. The packaging makes for a very dramatic visual, but there's something to be said about the scent, too. It's quite commanding and even a little unusual. For those unaware, oud is produced when agarwood becomes infected with a specific mold, and is a coveted fragrance note that's been around for a while. It's certainly seeing more of an uptick these days, and is the star of this fragrance.
English Laundry Notting Hill
This is a contender for my favorite of this list, perhaps because it is such a classic scent. Before sampling it for this story, I'd never smelled Notting Hill. Yet it felt so familiar and warm and comfortable after letting it soak into my skin. Overall, it smells expensive and complex with enough spice to excite and enough sweetness to draw you in. Lots of bergamot topped with pepper and a fresh squeeze of lemon and lime. Note that you can get the 20mL travel spray for $32.
Tommy Bahama Compass
Damn this one's good--it's like a romantic, earthy adventure for your nose. It's really masculine and warm, but never sags into "heavy cologne" territory. It's got top notes of zesty lemon, juicy grapefruit, and violet, which give way to a peppery, herbal heart. It's also got an ever-so-slight smokiness to it, as well, that makes it particularly sensual.
Carthusia Uomo
This is one of the lighter, crisper colognes of today's roundup, making it ideal for the guy who likes to keep things clean and simple. Think khaki-wearing, white-button-up adorned gentleman walking down the shoreline with wind in his hair, a smile on his face, and Fido wagging along next to him. It's got notes of crisp citrus and wafting sea air with a certain sort of cedar bite to keep things interesting.
Gnarly Whale Lumberjack Body Spray
If he's not a cologne kind of guy, give The Gnarly Whale's body spray in Lumberjack a go. This is about as "bare" as you can go when it comes to fragrances, almost to the point that it makes it seem like you're not wearing anything at all and just naturally smell amazing. Basically: it's super fresh and clean. I suspect this is what a lumberjack would smell like if he just rinsed off and then dried himself by rolling around in a sea of warm linens.
Commodity Goods Gin
This xoVain favorite has a truly masculine kick. Its top notes of bergamot and eucalyptus invigorate your nostrils upon impact, but the sweet jasmine, buttery leather and woodiness keep it from overwhelming your senses. Things get even better with the dry down, which brings out warm notes of sandalwood, musk and patchouli. If you're worried about smelling like a drunk, fear not.
Lacoste Eau de Lacoste L.12.12 Noir
This one's for the firecracker-of-a-man in your life; a really sexy scent that's as refreshing as it is sultry. The top note of watermelon contributes a juiciness factor that sets this one apart. Middle notes of basil, lavender and verbena keep things spicy, while chocolate, cashmere, and patchouli provide some weight to the overall whiff factor. A really well-balanced fragrance with a lot of depth.
Vince Camuto Homme
Wrapped in navy blue leather, Vince Camuto Homme is another cologne that makes a great visual statement. I'd qualify this one as "cool and splashy." It's crisp and clean and wonderfully blends icy gin with fresh citrus, powdery lavender, and earthy spruce.
Mercedes-Benz Eau de Toilette Natural
Yup, Mercedes-Benz makes a fragrance, and it's pretty darn good. Created in partnership with master perfumer Olivier Cresp, Mercedes-Benz EDT was "highly inspired by the brand," which has obviously made a serious effort to exude luxury. As for the scent itself, this one's another very light cologne that, in my opinion, works for both sexes. It's bright, vibrant, refined and sophisticated, with just enough spice to intrigue both the wearer and the smeller. Notes include mandarin orange, bergamot, powdery violet, cedar and patchouli.


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Portraiture Unleashed Book Signing
Saturday November 14th
Barnes & Noble
4144 N. College Ave. Fayetteville AR
Join us from 4-7pm to meet local photographer Melanie Myhre and book contributor of Portraiture Unleashed: 60 Powerful Design Ideas For Knockout Images by Travis Gadsby. Five of the books models from Eureka Springs AR will also be on hand for the event. A porttion of the proceeds from the sale of the book to benefit the Eureka Springs High School art department. Melanie will be doing a demo shoot with tips and tricks to help photographers at all levels improve thier images. Melanie specializes in womens portraiture and high school senior portraits. She is known for her creative and artistic images as well as her ability to find real modeling opportunities for her teen portrait clients through an exclusive national modeling program.
MAPSym (Mid America Photography Symposium)
May 16-17th 2015
For registration and details, visit the website
Past events
Holiday Island Photo Guild
Guest speaker
Tuesday February 24th 2015
Holiday Island Country Club
'Making The Most Of Your Gear In Difficult Situations'
Photographic Society Of NW Arkansas
Guest speaker
Tuesday, November 4th
PSNWA Facility
126 W. Emma Ave.
Springdale AR
Building A Successful Career As An Artist
Tuesday November 18th
Eureka Springs School Of The Arts
Melanie Myhre
Zeek Taylor
John Rankine
Janet Alexander
Catered lunch provided
Call 479-253-5384 to register
September 25th-27th
Eureka Springs School Of The Arts, Eureka Springs AR
If you have ever wanted to create dreamy surreal photos, this workshop is for you!
Three days of intensive learning and portfolio building.
Some of the topics we will be covering include:
~Lighting for emotional impact
~Posing that tells your story
~Editing to enhance mood
~Setting the scene on a low budget
Each workshop attendee will receive
a swag bag from our sponsors and have a chance to win great prizes!
Sponsored by Sigma Corporation, Alienskin Software, and Bedfords of Fayettville.
Into The Light: A Creative Photography Retreat
Melanie Myhre Photography
April 10-13
Dragonfly Mountain Lodge Eureka Springs AR
Cost is $825 per person and includes 4 nights lodging and meals.
Contact Melanie Myhre at email@example.com to register
Click Here to download retreat schedule Register via PayPal. I also accept cash and checks. Deadline is April 6th! Email me at firstname.lastname@example.com
The retreat will take place on top of gorgeous Dragonfly Mountain in Eureka Springs AR. Nestled in the Ozark Mountains, Dragonfly Mountain consists of acres of wooded sanctuary in full bloom with wildflowers, redbuds and dogwoods. We are just five minutes from historic Eureka Springs. Eureka is a small town of 2000 people with over 300 artists of all disciplines. It is a melting pot that is known for nurturing creativity. It is also a Victorian village on the historical registry with lots of old stone walls, flowering gardens and natural springs. It is a photographer's paradise of magical proportions!
This retreat is designed for photographers of all levels who want to learn the art of storytelling through photography. We will be doing both outdoor and studio shoots that include a model with elaborate set and wardrobe styling. Participants are encouraged to work together to create their own unique setups. This retreat will stretch your imagination to greater heights, allowing you to create more freely. We will also cover editing techniques and business practices. This retreat is a great opportunity to make new friends and learn together in a supportive environment.
Art has helped me through some of the toughest times of my life. It has always fed my mind and nurtured my soul. I believe in the healing power of creativity. Join me for a workshop and help nurture your own creative process to shine your light into the world. Let imagination and inspiration be your guide!
New workshop schedule coming soon
CLICK HERE to download schedule and registration materials
Saturday, October 26th
OM Sanctuary Eureka Springs AR
Instructor: Melanie Myhre
Model:Skyelar Casada


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3 Facts About Quit smoking weed That'll Blow Your Intellect.
Give Up Smoking This Minute Using These Good Ideas!
There are lots of individuals who know that it is wrong to smoke yet they still get it done. You can actually focus on stop smoking, in fact following through can be hugely difficult. These article will show you how you can finally eliminate this habit.
You can make it rewarding in a variety of ways by joining a gym. You may use time spent smoking for exercising and obtain your overall health back order. Furthermore, exercise relieves anxiety and stress. Take a long walk every single day, or play an activity. Talk with a doctor prior to starting an exercise routine.
Should you not think you can quit cold turkey, try nicotine replacement products, like gum or patches. These kinds of products give your body nicotine without the need to use cigarettes, helping you avoid withdrawal symptoms while breaking the specific practice of smoking.
The first step in quitting cigarettes is to fully commit you to ultimately the endeavor prior to deciding to figure out how you're going to carry out doing the work. Lots of people fail whenever they attempt to quit mainly because which they didn't hold the proper mindset, or they merely gave up too fast. You could possibly stay committed through considering reasons why you would like to quit.
Don't try to get it done by yourself. Ask your loved ones for support as you quit and accept their assistance. Also, try to reach out to a support group for advice and counseling. Speak about your predicament and talk over some of the items you wish to change.
A benefit of stop smoking is in order to improve the health of all those in your area. Secondhand smoke can cause various dangerous health problems, and diseases like cancer. By quitting smoking, you will be reducing your loved ones' being exposed to this dangerous substance, and improving the caliber of the atmosphere they breathe. This means that the entire family will manage to benefit by you quitting.
Consider switching brands when you initially think about quitting smoking. Change to a lighter cigarette or possibly a cigarette whose taste you don't enjoy. This will make it easier to gradually decrease the quantity of cigarettes which you smoke throughout each day. This should help you get started on the path to being a nonsmoker.
Let your family and friends realize that you intend to quit smoking. These are your support system, and so are there to remind you to definitely stay resolute inside your efforts to quit smoking. The complete the easy way enable you to quit is to possess a strong support system. This kind of system can greatly your chances of success.
A good place to get started on when stopping smoking, would be to just stop. To get started your trip, you need to simply stop smoking first. Just stop smoking and do not ever start again. This process might appear somewhat harsh. Time indicates this procedure to be very effective, overall.
You need to now realize that stop smoking is all about yourself-application. The secret is remaining determined and sticking to the plans you will make for yourself. Use what you've just learned to avoid smoking for good and appreciate an extended, healthier life..


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SPECIAL FROM Grandparents.com
By Dawn Wilder
You know it's important to get eight hours of sleep a night, but sometimes it feels like all that time could better be spent doing, well, something. Fortunately, experts say you can multitask—you can get your rest and sneak in some beauty treatments at the same time.
All it takes is a few minutes before bed, and you'll have healthier hair, hydrated skin, and whiter teeth by morning. After all, they don't call it beauty sleep for nothing.
Read more from Grandparents.com:
Best Beauty Advice to Follow After 50
8 Fashion Mistakes That Age You
7 Tips to Lighten Your Dark Spots Fast
Grandparents.com is a lifestyle website, social media community, and peer group that unites and connects America's 70 million grandparents to the best information and premier products and services just for them. Our goal is to promote well-being and give timely information on what really matters, from health and money to family and relationships to travel and retirement.


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Press F5 or Refresh for latest update
Republic of Ireland 0-0 Slovakia, 7:50pm Aviva Stadium
Full time played
Match Commentary
Full time The ref blows the whistle and the game ends with boos for the Irish. A poor result that doesn't help us. The 2nd half was an improvement on the first but two fluffed headers aside Ireland didn't really deserve to win it. Ireland now head to Russia needing a win. Hard for the players and fan tonight, Ireland nil Slovakia nil.
Added time St Ledger and Dunne miss the target with a free header good ball in by Hunt
Added time Another corner
Added time Ireland with a corner, 90 seconds to go
Added time Ireland still trying but they've left it late
90min Ireland looking for a late goal, nothing really happening though. 3 minutes of added time
88min St Ledger has been booked and will miss the trip to Moscow now, its a loss, he's been good this second half
87min Arms around the neck of Andrews, a penalty surely but Slovakia gets away with it.
85min Dunne fouls in the Slovakia box and another chance goes abegging, free out
84min Hunt on for McGeady. Just the man for a final push – crowd like it.
83min Cox shoots wide but Andrews is going mad with him, he was outside him with no one on him
82min St Ledger has had a good second half, does well again there.
80min Free to Ireland in their own half
78min Andrews fouls Stoch.. dangers position for a free
77min Cox caught in two minds and ends with a nothing effort into the arms of Mucha
77min Good night for Brian Kerr his side are giving Italy a hard time, still 1 nil down though at home though. Can they cause a shock?
76min Upates from elsewhere, England won 3-0, Northern Ireland one nil down to Serbia and Wales winning 2-1 at home to Montengro
74min Mucha booked for time wasting.
74min WHAT A CHANCE!! Great ball from Duff but Keane heads with his shoulder I think.. goes over.
72min Very, very poor from Andrews, wasn't sure what to do and goes over the touchline.
70min McGeady with a run and shot, goes wide.
69min Wall does it's job. Cleared to a Slovak though, Slovakia throw. The away side back on top.
68min Given threw the ball then caught it and kicked it, can't do that. Ref calls a free in the box. Dangerous and no need for it.
67min Weiss with a some good feet gets in the box and crosses it across the face of goal, Ward clears
65min Dunne gets a yellow card for dissent
64min Cox is on for Doyle.. change was needed, is this the one to lift Ireland?
63min Nice cross from O'Shea, better build up. Comes out to McGeady but he does nothing with it.
61min Great block by St Ledger – Dunne was found out bad there for pace.
59min Free to Slovakia, dangerous ball all the way across the box. Great ball.
57min Duff with a wild shot, good build up play
53min Andrew's with a shot but its poor and cleared
50min Ball is cleared and Slovakia break – slip by St Ledger but he clears.
49min This is better, a first corner of the game for Ireland.
48min Whelan goes down but NO PENALTY
48min Weiss is tackled just outside the box, no free and Ireland clear.
47min Duff lifts the crowd with a nice run behind the defence. His ball is cleared though and Ireland have a throw
46min Second half underway now, big 2nd half needed for Ireland.
Half time Not sure what to say, its been frustrating. Slovakia have posed the greater threat, Trapattoni will need to earn his euro's with a good half time talk. That said, Duff did have the best chance of the half with good feet in the box and a shot that was saved.
45min One minute of added time
44min Terrible ball from Ward, no one really on him. Good play by McGeady before that.
42min Slovakia to their credit are playing like the home side. No pressure on them.. I remember a certain phrase, "put em under pressure".. not happening here though. Frustrating to watch and I imagine play in.
40min All too easy for Slovakia, three men on McGeady ball back to Dunne's who through ball is cleared by Skertel..
39min Over!! from Slovakia, wild volley
38min Weiss shot's is deflected away, Slovak corner
37min SAVE!! First real chance for Ireland, Duff does well. He gets the shot but Mucha makes the save.
37min McGeady does well under pressure, good defence, doyle win's a free
34min O'Shea with a loose ball this time, throw to Slovakia. Its hard to find the words at the moment. Pre game enthusiasm gone, for now.
33min Doyle does well to break and he links up well with Duff but the pass from Duff is poor and Slovakia have it again
32min Andrew's gives away another free in the middle of the field
31min Ireland look devoid of idea's at the moment, very disjointed last 10 minutes or so.
31min Good run by Cech, but poor control lets him down
30min Freekick is wasted and Ireland get a chance to regroup
28min Doyle gives away a free there, Ireland can't get on the ball at the moment. Wales one up btw.
27min Dangerous free in by there by Weiss, low and hard. Andrews cleared but only to a Slovakian, the ball is is saved by Given, he had to be alert there
25min Good play by Ward there he intercepts the ball well. Slovakia getting the upper hand now
23min Robbie Keane is caught offside after a long ball from Richard Dunne.
22min Free kick from Slovakia is easily cleared by the Irish defence.
20min Weiss hits a poor shot on goal straight into Givens hands, he should of done better.
18min Shot from Slovakia goes fifteen yards wide.
16min Robbie Keane tries an ambitious overhead kick but it is easily cleared.
16min Duffer wins a free on the half way line.
15min First proper attack by Slovakia is cleared by Richard Dunne.
13min Very tight game so far with neither team getting time on the ball.
11min Dangerous ball from Keith Andrews is slightly too long for Robbie Keane.
10min Referee gives a free out against Sean St Ledger.
8min Kevin Doyle wins a free kick, should be dangerous.
7min Its a bright start for Ireland who have plenty of possession.
5min Chance for Robbie Keane, but Slovakia have lots of men behind the ball.
3min Poor cross from a lively Kevin Doyle is easily cleared.
2min Some good play by McGeady down the wing but he runs the ball out for a throw.
1min The match is underway, the Irish supporters are in full voice tonight.
0min Only Kevin Doyle and Glen Whelan on yellow cards. Match looks like it will be five minutes delayed.
0min Great crowd in the Aviva for this must win Euro 2012 qualifying match.
Republic of Ireland: Shay Given, John O'Shea, Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward, Damien Duff, Keith Andrews, Glenn Whelan, Aiden McGeady, Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle.
Slovakia: Mucha, Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Cech, Weiss, Karhan, Stoch, Hamsik, Kucka, Holosko.
Subs: Putnocky, Jez, Sestak, Vittek, Michalik, Jendrisek, Guede.
Staunton would follow up that historic Croke win over Wales with another 1-0 over Slovakia in their first ever meeting. That win was Ireland's fourth successive group victory, a feat achieved on only three previous occasions in their history when they qualified for the 1990, 1994 and 2002 World Cup finals and put Ireland on course for qualification for Euro 2008. We all know what happened after that.
Fast forward 4 years and Ireland's reputation as a footballing nation has been restored after an impressive 2011 which has seen Ireland claim the inaugural Carling cup, beat Italy 2-0 and put themselves in contention for qualification for Poland and the Ukraine with two wins over Macedonia.
Giovanni Trapattoni's men are currently on a fantastic run of form and come into this game having not lost in five internationals, winning four of those games before their winning run was ended by a 0-0 at home to Croatia last month.
The Italian tactician has named an experienced side for Friday's clash with Shay Given, Richard Dunne, John O'Shea, Aiden McGeady and Damian Duff all having played in the win over Slovakia 4 year's again.
Stephen Ward will come in for his competitive debut at left back replacing the injured Kevin Kilbane and will be part of an Irish backline that has kept three consecutive clean sheets at the Aviva Stadium.
However Trapattoni's side haven't managed four successive home clean sheets since March 2005 and face a Slovakian side that have scored in each of their last 13 internationals.
In the middle of the park, in form pair Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews will provide the defensive cover and with both players chipping in with assists and goals of late, don't bet against one of these two to provide a creative spark for Ireland.
Up front Trapattoni has opted to partner inform Shane Long, who has scored 2 goals in his opening three premier league games, with LA Galaxy's new striker Robbie Keane. That means that Kevin Doyle, who grabbed the winning goal in Croke Park the last time the two sides met in Dublin, will start on the bench.
Despite being level on points with Ireland at the top of the table and already beaten Russia away, Slovakia will come into the game as underdogs given Ireland's recent form. Vladimir Weiss's task has been made all the more difficult as he sweats on the fitness of key man Marek Hamsik who is battling to be fit.
The next 5 days will feel like a lifetime for Irish fan's with Russia next up for the boys in green two win's and you'd imagine that Ireland will be almost home and dry while two defeats and well, we all know what two defeats would mean.
Ireland team to play Slovakia: Shay Given, John O'Shea, Ricard Dunne, Sean St Ledger, Stephen Ward , Damien Duff, Glen Whelan, Keith Andrews, Aidan McGeady,Shane Long, Robbie Keane
Recent form:
Ireland DWWWWL
Slovakia WWLWLL
Previous meetings:
Oct 2010 Slovakia 1 Ireland 1
Sept 2007 Slovakia 2 Ireland 2
Mar 2007 Ireland 1 Slovakia 0


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Hornets win at the end
NEW ORLEANS The Trail Blazers suffered their second close loss on a three-game trip, falling 98-96 in the final seconds to the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday.
Ryan Anderson's three-point play with 1.8 seconds left boosted the Hornets to a 98-96 win at New Orleans Arena.
Wesley Matthews of Portland missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer, as the Blazers finished 1-2 on the trip and dropped to 29-33 this season, tied with Dallas for 10th in the NBA Western Conference.
The Blazers and Mavericks are 2 1/2 games in back of No. 9 Utah and three games behind No. 8 Los Angeles Lakers, which sits in what would be the final playoff spot in the West.
All five Blazers starters scored in double figures, with Matthews getting a team-high 24 points.
The New Orleans bench outscored Portland's subs 45-11, and the Hornets had a 23-11 edge in second-chance points to go with a 48-30 rebounding advantage.
Blazers point guard Damian Lillard, who had 20 points and a team-high eight assists, made a 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds remaining to give Portland a 96-95 lead and cap a fourth-quarter rally.
The Hornets had led 87-77 with less than seven minutes to go.
Matthews had 14 points in the fourth quarter, making 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range and 1 of 2 from 2-point territory.
Anderson was 4 of 9 from beyond the arc in the game, as he came off the bench to share team-high scoring honors at 20 points with starting guard Greivis Vasquez.
Anderson had nine points in the final quarter, making both his attempts from 3-point range.
"When 3-point shooters get hot, they create problems," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Ryan Anderson got hot, and he spaces the floor for them really well."
New Orleans, which improved to 22-42, got the game-winning play by Anderson after Vasquez drove the lane, drew the defense and passed the ball to the shooter.
Anderson, who also had a team-high 13 rebounds, also sank a 3 with 15.6 seconds remaining. That basket put New Orleans on top 95-93.
Portland center J.J. Hickson led all rebounders with 14 to match his 14 points.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field, and Nicolas Batum scored 11 points.
The Blazers, who whacked San Antonio 136-106 on Friday after opening the trip with a 91-85 loss at Memphis, will play their next three games at home.
Portland faces Memphis on Tuesday, New York on Thursday and Detroit on Saturday.


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NIANTIC -- Selena Kilpatrick belts out, "Thank you, Lord."
Then she darts from one cluster of young women to the next, directing them to repeat after her.
"Again," she shouts. "Again!"
Someone is off-key. She looks at the young women in their high-top sneakers, T-shirts and dangling gold earrings and calls on them individually.


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Open Thread: Friends and Family and Everyone Else
Here's a place to talk about the relationships in your life whenever you want.
Aside from Shithead and Laos I have nothing in common with Gaz, Jenna or Peaches.
They are my defacto travel posse. A version of how I met them is what always happens when you travel alone in Southeast Asia: The first day you are tired and hot and sit at a restaurant overlooking the flat brown expanse of the Mekong River. You strike up a conversation with the Aussie couple next to you. Then a skinny English guy joins in. Soon you are pulling chairs to their table, you are learning how to play a card game called Shithead. You are going to the bar down the road for more beer and several ill-advised games of pool. You are laughing and drunk. As you stumble back to your rooms you give the Englishman a nickname -- which you hope has the added benefit of showing him that the two of you will not be sleeping together.
The next day you slip your bags onto your shoulders in unison and go together over the border in a bus decorated with fluffy curtains and red fringe that makes you feel like you are trapped inside a piñata.
At our hotel in Vientiane, Peaches comes up to the hotel's shared balcony brandishing a bottle of alcohol containing two oversized scorpion carcasses.
Earlier, Gaz and Peaches had decided they are not in the position to turn down weird food. If it is on the menu, they will order it; in a shop window, they will buy it. This is their version of cultural immersion -- eating insects. It began when Gaz ordered crickets for lunch -- a heaping pile of black wings, feathery legs and ribbed abdomens garnished with chilli and kafir lime leaves. He ordered them, I think, partly to spite Jenna who squirmed uncomfortably next to him, alternately staring in horror at the plate and averting her gaze.
After vigorously consuming nearly half the plate, Gary washed them down with a Beer Lao. He looked down at his plate and a flicker of disgust momentarily clouded his face.
Our empty lunches were cleared away and suddenly we were all gazing in the direction of the crickets. "Eat one," Gary pushed the plate forward and making some of the pile shift as though they might still be alive. "Their little heads," Jenna said mournfully. "What if I take the head off, then will you have one?" Gaz picked up a shiny black cricket, bared his teeth and delicately bit off its head, holding out the decapitated body to Jenna who jerked away, clutching her own head protectively. After several hestitations Peaches picked one up and popped it into his mouth.
"Not bad," he said, picking a leg from between two back teeth. I looked at their limp black insect bodies and before I had the time to think about what I was doing, speared one with a fork and propelled it into my mouth. It tasted like stale potato chip.Now Peaches passes the bottle around the table as though for show and tell. The wax seal is broken and the glass is slick with alcohol. The scorpions are pressed thorax to thorax, their little pincers joined romantically: together even in death. The liquid around them is yellow and flecked with bits of insect dermis."Yeah?" Peaches says excitedly, fiddling with the top."Fuck yeah," Gaz says. He pours the liquid into a glass, which he passes to me. I let a little bit touch my lips and feel a burning there, like I've rubbed chili on them. I imagine the scorpion venom working into my blood stream and traveling to my brain. There are allegiances you form with people when traveling because they keep you from feeling alone, but mostly they are convenient. You have an unspoken pact that you will not check out of your hotel without telling them, that you will watch their bags while one goes to exchange money, that you will not, under any circumstances let the bus pull away from a rest-stop without them. They are also there to prove you are, too.
And to call the hospital if you poison yourself with rice wine.


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1. Introduction to community management
Brilliant and thrilling though it is, managing an online community is a strange and unusual job. Community managers will find they often fluff their words when describing what they do. That's because they do so much.
Sometimes, as a community manager, you will feel like a primary school teacher, despairing at squabbles and laying down the rules. Sometimes you will feel like a grief counsellor, as members lay bare their deepest feelings, and you give them a safe place in which to do it.
Sometimes you will want to join in, but know you need to hold back to retain good, safe boundaries. Community members will enlighten you, amuse you and sometimes drive you a little bit crazy. (Which is why it's great to be able to meet up with other community managers and 'talk shop').
And you will be trying to increase the number of members that you have, and encouraging the right kind of members to get involved and become active.
Maybe they're the right kind of members because they fit a certain demographic, or have an interest in a set niche.
Sometimes they're the right kind of members because they want to engage and they get the rules.
Sometimes they're the right kind of members, because they will use a breadth of features and encourage others to do the same.
In a handful of cases, you will get members that tick all these boxes and more. They're your community champions, they will spread the word about your community and bring in others like themselves – more about them and their fellow members in upcoming blogs.
Community Champions will back you up and support your work and they will make the community their community.
Who can run a community?
When online community forums first arose – perhaps as the natural follow-up to an email list, or face-to-face meetings or even a paper newsletter – naturally a lot of people fell' into running them.
The early community managers tended to be the practical organised ones that had always ensured the newsletter went out on time, or the good Samaritans that always listened to griping, or waded in when emails got personal.
We're several generations' in now, with some of the newest community managers barely old enough to remember a world without mass access to the internet. But the core skills are essentially unchanged, see: The ten commandments of managing online communities.
Humans have always created communities that congregated around a place (such as a school or local pub), around a shared interest (a Bay City Rollers fan club or a football team) or a shared need (new mums, wanting to support each other over coffee and cake or sufferers of the same medical condition).
These communities have either been self-motivated and self-governed (informal but frequent meetings), gently organised and formalised (an unofficial fan club) or rigidly controlled (i.e. school).
The same skill-sets needed to shape, manage and keep-safe these communities (and by keep safe, we mean safe from spats and trouble-makers, just as much as safe from any more serious offences) are displayed by community managers online.
Chris Brogan put together a hard-to-beat list of the essential skills of a community manager.
Lingo and buzzwords
If you're new to social media and community management, some of the language may seem a bit obscure.
Your community members, especially those who engage in social media a lot, will probably use text speak and standard community abbreviations without blinking. You'll quickly get the hang of these, but here is just a tiny sample:
- DH – Dear Husband
- DW – Dear Wife
- DP – Dear Partner
- DS – Dear Son
- DD – Dear Daughter
- BBL – Be Back Later
- ROFL – Rolling on the floor laughing
The full list runs to the hundreds, probably thousands, but as with Twitter hashtags and text-speak, it is usually fairly easy to pick apart the meaning.
You'll find that your community develops its own quirks of language too, for example a pregnancy community will use abbreviations like TTC (trying to conceive) while a niche scientific community will use even more nuanced abbreviations – but as a good community manager, you'll be soaking up the syntax daily and speaking it like a native.
Next week we'll be looking in depth at user type and behaviour.
Read all our posts on Promoting Community Management
Some more reading
- How to Demonstrate the Value of Social Media to Your Boss – Chris Brogan (slideshare.net)
- Top Five Skills a Community Manager Must Have (talkitup.typepad.com)


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FairTax Reform School, KISS by Bob Halliger
The President just announced there'd be no Cost of Living Increase for Social Security Recipients next year. And Congress agrees.
Furthermore, the news media just announced a 53% increase in Medicare Part B premiums for next year.
Did anyone or any organizations tell you they were fighting to stop this?
Who and what represent your best interests in Washington, D.C.?
Not AARP
Not your Political Party
Not your Union
Not your Congressman or Senator
o How did they vote?
o Are they up for re-election next year?
The Kansas Governor proposed the largest tax increase in the State's history.
Who represents you at the Topeka Statehouse...in the Kansas House...in the Kansas Senate?
o How did they vote?
o Are they up for re-election next year?
JOCO County Commissioners passed the largest property tax increase in Johnson County's history.
Who represents you in Olathe, Kansas?
o How did they vote?
o Are they up for re-election next year?
If you don't know the answers to these questions, you really ought to go back to school. Come to "REFORM SCHOOL" on Saturday, October 24, at 9:00 am in Overland Park, Kansas.
Learn what's really going on in three action-packed hours.
Learn what you can do about it.
Join a large group of citizens who care, and an organization that will do something positive about it.
Visit the "REFORM SCHOOL" flyer:
RSVP: www.ksfairtax.org/event-registration.html.


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September 3, 2014: In addition to the growing need for the CSafe RKN, CSafe Global has experienced a significant increase in the demand for their AcuTemp® brand passive packaging, including its industry leading REPAQ program and courier solutions. As a result of this, CSafe has expanded its production facilities with the creation of 30 new jobs in a 38,000 square foot facility several miles from its corporate headquarters. The additional space and equipment will significantly enhance CSafe's production capacity.
CEO Brian Kohr explains: "The expansion of our production capabilities has taken a year from the initial planning meeting through to its completion and it is one of many new investments that we are making this year to enable us to continue to grow the business and better serve existing and new customers. As an example, the demand for the CSafe RKN continues to grow and we've responded in the last 12 months with a 45% increase in the size of our RKN fleet. "
This second production facility will also be ISO certified and represents a high six-figure investment for the company, which also recently announced the opening a new service center in San Francisco and in May, received FAA approval for the use of the CSafe RKN on aircraft upper decks.
Brian continues: "We are very focused on helping drive value within our customer's temperature-controlled supply chain, be that with the superior performance of our RKN, cost initiatives utilizing our AcuTemp passive packaging solutions or with sustainability through REPAQ, the only qualified reuse program in the industry. This is driving new business for CSafe and we are committed to do what it takes to continue to deliver value, quality and efficient temperature-sensitive shipping solutions to our customers and partners."
About CSafe Global:
CSafe Global is the world's largest producer of actively controlled mobile refrigeration units for biopharmaceutical companies, healthcare organizations, global military organizations and international disaster relief agencies. The company manufacturers AcuTemp® brand passive packaging and hand-held mobile carriers, the CSafe® brand of active containers, and is the exclusive manufacturer and provider of ThermoCor® vacuum insulation.
The active solution product assortment includes the industry leading CSafe RKN, which utilizes heating and compressor-driven cooling technology to eliminate the risks associated with extreme ambient conditions as well as the cost, aggravation and environmental challenges associated with dry ice transportation, with additional benefits that include eliminating the need for refrigerated trucking, warehousing and temperature-controlled packaging. The CSafe RKN fleet size has grown 45% in the past 12 months.
CSafe Global's AcuTemp brand has been providing temperature management solutions since its founding more than 25 years ago. The passive solution assortment includes packaging for 2-8°C, CRT and frozen shipments with hold times from 12 to 240 hours and with payload volumes up to 50 litres.


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Open Thread: Everything You're Reading, Watching, Listening To and Looking At
This is your place to talk about the TV, movies, music, books and art that are thoroughly entertaining you.
People in my life are always recommending things to catch on Netflix -- I imagine because anyone who knows me knows how much I love to ingest media through my eyeballs.
But anyone who REALLY knows me knows that I'm a total sucker for anything that features a fat babe, front and center.
Many people suggested I watch "The Bachelorette" when it made an appearance on the Netflix library a while back, which seemed like a pretty good idea because I am obviously ALL ABOUT Rebel Wilson. But SURPRISE -- she's actually the supporting role to an all-thin cast who body-shame her every step of the way.
Not exactly the feel-good fat-friendly experience I was looking forward to.
It's a total shame, really -- the film could have been so much better if it had focused less on the destructively vain, selfish, coke-addicted, conventionally attractive thin characters and focused more on Rebel's character and her husband being in love and kicking ass.
Major bummer, but this is just par for the course for any Hollywood film that features a fat character.
As a rule, fat bodies are only allowed to be made the butt of jokes or the subject of bullying. They most often exist as villains or gluttons, unless the character in question is playing into the "good-fatty" dichotomy by trying to "better" their life through weight loss.
Fat characters reflecting on actual fat experiences are rarities, as the media consistently chooses to focus on the negative aspects of fat dispositions more than anything else, thereby reinforcing the kind of fat-people tropes that condemn us.
Luckily, you have me to weed through the bullshit and find all the precious fat-positive entertainment jewels available for your streaming pleasure, because they DO EXIST -- and maybe if we keep celebrating them, we can continue to create a demand for more.
Straight off: this film has sex, sass, beauty, love, and A FABULOUS FAT DANCE SEQUENCE at the end. Need I go on? (I will anyway.)
As the Netflix summary states:
"When a salon refuses to hire her because of her plump figure, irrepressible hair stylist Kathi plots revenge by opening her own beauty parlor next door. But when she faces a cash-flow problem, Kathi resorts to some creative means of raising capital."
While the storyline is uplifting and the acting is spot-on, I found myself reacting more viscerally to seeing a fat body on screen than I ever had before.
There's this scene within the first 15 minutes, where the fat leading lady wiggles out of a dress after a night of dancing, pulls the tight fabric down to her waist, and collapses back onto the bed with a sigh as her naked breasts wiggle and splay out to the sides.
I had never identified so intimately with a character like that before, portrayed by a woman my size, in such a simple scene.
It made my heart sing.
2) Reggie Watts in Why $#!+ So Crazy? (and Comedy Bang Bang!)
Reggie Watts is a fucking powerhouse of comedic and musical talent; a majestic puffy-haired, fuzzy-bearded beastly beauty wrapped up in vibrant button-downs, bow ties, and suspenders.
To put it frankly: I want to crawl all up in his body-space and get friendly with his mouth-region.
But putting my sexual attraction aside, dude is crazy talented at inciting laughter and hip-swiveling movements from his audience at the same time. And I just love watching a confident, talented fat dude doing his thing with a proud and unapologetic paunch.
You can catch him co-hosting Comedy Bang! Bang! with Scott Auckerman, as well. I've watched the first season at least three times already, due mostly in part to my love for Watts' unique and mostly improvised approach to humor and music. I can't get enough.
I especially recommend catching "Reggie Watts: Why $#!+ So Crazy?" (a Comedy Central showcase) to catch a heavy dose of his immense flavor. He loops and layers his own voice to make stunning compositions on the fly and it's absolutely the coolest thing to watch.
At first, I wasn't sure I'd be too keen on this show, given the state of the Netflix summary:
"Karma catches up with superficial, stick-thin Deb Dobkins in this engaging comedy series when she dies and returns to Earth in the body of smart, plus-sized attorney Jane Bingum, who's just the type of person Deb dismissed in her previous life."
So karma catches up on a woman by putting her in a fat body? Seriously?
Sure, the show is kind of sugary-sweet (I mean, it IS a Lifetime Original), and there are a few low-blow fat-negative instances in the storyline, but I found myself finishing each episode with a sort of light-and-airy feeling about the world and the way Brooke Elliot's fat bod and her character's experiences were represented. So that is definitely something.
Annabel at Feed Me I'm Cranky details the many ways in which DDD addresses fat politics:
"I have to say this show does not shy away from tackling the complex issues related to being a fat woman in America. Instead of focusing on Shallow-Hal-like depictions of fatness that are one-dimensional, offensive and unproductive, Drop Dead Diva tackles things like sizeism, the pitfalls and dangers of dieting, the absurdity of clothing stores like A&F and the popular conflation of thin and healthy."
Also: There is Margaret Cho. Anything can be made 10x more fantastic by the existence of Margaret Cho. It is known.
This pick is less about fat positivity and more about providing good, solid information regarding women, gender equality, and body image across the board.
Miss Representation is a documentary that does a fair job at laying the groundwork for establishing how destructive mainstream media's representation (or under-representation) of women has become.
"The film interweaves stories from teenage girls with provocative interviews from the likes of Condoleezza Rice, Lisa Ling, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Rosario Dawson, Dr. Jackson Katz, Dr. Jean Kilbourne, and Gloria Steinem to give an inside look at the media and its message."
The interviews are pretty great, really (especially due to another Cho appearance!). Some aspects were glossed over that I feel should have been touched on more (especially regarding fat politics, which was only slightly addressed) -- but overall, totally worth a watch.
What have I missed, if anything? What are your favorite on-screen representations of fat bodies and experiences? Is there anything you thought was going to get it right, but instead got it SO, so wrong (i.e., The Bachelorette)? Share your fat-positive entertainment media knowledge in the comments.


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2018 APAC Graduate Programme - Investment Banking - Singapore
Position Purpose
BNP Paribas has a presence in 74 countries with over 190,000 employees. It ranks highly in its two core activities: Retail Banking and Services as well as Corporate & Institutional Banking.
In Asia Pacific, the BNP Paribas Group is a leading employer with more than 15,000 employees* and a presence in 14 markets. Being one of the largest international banking networks, we strive to employ talented and innovative people who are aligned to our vision and culture.
*excluding partnerships
The Graduate Programme is a comprehensive 24-month programme designed to equip graduates with the technical skills and individual competencies to embark upon a successful career within the BNP Paribas Group. This opportunity includes a formal mentoring programme, graduate community initiatives, relevant technical training and on- the- job learning from our senior managers and highly experienced team members.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
The creation of an Investment Banking Division in APAC takes its roots from the APAC Industrial Plan which collectively identified certain important objectives for CIB in Asia Pacific, which include:
− The deepening and strengthening of our client franchise in chosen areas / sectors
− A better nurturing of the strategic dialogue with selected clients
− An integrated client offer combining financing, access to capital markets, advisory and strategic hedging
Investment Banking APAC is an integrated client service model combining:
− General coverage teams, working in close association with Heads of Country
− Product teams including Equity Capital Markets, Debt Capital Markets, M&A, Loan Capital Markets
− Integrated sectors teams for Energy National Resources & Project, Transportation, Real Estate, Telecom, Media, Tech (TMT), Financial Institutions
It is expected that the graduate will acquire knowledge/understanding of institutions and develop the overall skills set required to successfully contribute to the business. Depending on the team you are working in, your responsibilities may include, but is not limited to, the following tasks:
− Assist the team in information collection, due diligence and preparing all necessary documents for internal coordination
− Process data, analyze trends and prepare analysis of sector
− Coordinate the preparation of offers and replies to clients, in liaison with different internal entities and the senior members
− Learning and liaising with middle office on our transactions
− Assist the team in marketing to major clients of the bank in Asia, with active participation to mapping and setting up meetings
− Assist in identifying risks and possible solutions in the course of assignments
− Assist in preparation of necessary liaison documentation, including valuation reports information and presentations.
− Review, develop and utilize financial models and undertake basic credit analysis in close association with experienced team members
− Present output of the analysis written in a coherent manner
− Other duties assigned by management as requested
Technical and Behavioural Competencies
Students who have recently graduated or graduating in 2018 from all areas of disciplines are most welcome to apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
- Takes initiative and is results driven
- Strong decision making and analytical skills
- Act with integrity
- Ability to manage change and complexity with confidence
- Strong team player
- Client focused and commercial thinking
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Self-motivated and genuine interest in Banking and Finance
- Proficiency in Microsoft office (MS Word, Excel & Power point)
- Prior related internship within the banking industry is an advantage
This opportunity is closed to applications.


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December 13th, 2006, 02:24 PM
My dog is a big dog skinny kind dont know the breed but in the last month he has started to not realy eat and push it aside or push stuff on the food. I thoguht he did nto like the food anymore so i got some new food still does it dont know what 2 do any advice. i will tell bout where he stays he is in the back yard he uses a small barn looking house we have straw and blankets in there 2 lay on he pushes the hay ovewr the food when i put the food out there.
Any help anyone cant figure it out
Any help anyone cant figure it out