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Statement of
Sue Suter
Associate Commissioner
Employment Support Programs
Social Security Administration
Testimony before the
Senate Finance Committee
June 21, 2007
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the Social Security Administration's (SSA) efforts to assist beneficiaries with disabilities in addressing the barriers that make it difficult for them to return to work. Providing opportunities for beneficiaries with disabilities to return to work has been part of the disability program since its inception more than 50 years ago. In 1999, Congress expressed its bipartisan support for building on these efforts by passing the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 . This legislation has become an important tool in our ongoing return to work efforts. SSA's programs to reduce employment-related financial disincentives also support The President's New Freedom Initiative, which integrated all federal agencies in a process of including more Americans with disabilities into the workforce, through training, education, and reduction of programmatic barriers. The President and the Administration have put into place an array of supports, of which this program is one.
SSA serves a diverse population of individuals with disabilities through the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. SSDI and SSI beneficiaries represent various age groups and have different impairments, levels of education, work experience, and capacities for working. Assisting beneficiaries with disabilities to return to work has been among one of the most challenging issues facing SSA, and helping individuals with disabilities take advantage of employment opportunities remains one of SSA's highest priorities.
To this end, SSA is working to ensure that all beneficiaries have the opportunity to engage in productive work. Our efforts can generally be placed in two categories— the Ticket to Work Program for those who need help in preparing for employment and Work Incentives for those who are ready for employment and need help transitioning off the disability rolls.
The Ticket to Work Program
First, I would like to briefly outline the Ticket to Work program (Ticket program). The Ticket program is an important part of SSA's comprehensive set of policies designed to assist people with disabilities overcome obstacles to entering the workforce and to return to work. Prior to the Ticket program, State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies were generally the only avenues for beneficiaries to receive services.
The Ticket program, established in December 1999, represented an historic milestone in that it was the first time that Congress explicitly recognized that while many people receiving disability benefits from Social Security want to work, and could become able to work, they face a number of significant barriers that prevent them from reaching their employment goals. Congress established the Ticket program to expand the universe of service providers and to provide Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities choice in obtaining the services and supports they need to find, enter, and maintain employment.
Thanks in large part to the leadership of this Committee, Congress acknowledged with the Ticket legislation that individuals with disabilities face a variety of barriers to returning to work and included provisions specifically designed to address these barriers.
The legislation authorized the Commissioner of Social Security to issue a ticket to SSDI beneficiaries and disabled and blind SSI beneficiaries. In this voluntary program, each beneficiary who receives a Ticket to Work has the option of using his or her ticket to obtain services from a provider known as an employment network (EN) or from a State VR agency.
ENs may choose to whom they provide services. When the beneficiary and a provider agree to work together under the program, the provider will supply, without charge to the beneficiary, various employment support services to assist the beneficiary in obtaining or regaining and ultimately maintaining self-supporting employment. When the beneficiary achieves certain work outcomes, we pay the provider.
Final regulations implementing the Ticket program were published on December 28, 2001. The Ticket program was implemented in phases beginning in February 2002 and, as of September 30, 2004, the Ticket rollout was completed in all 50 States and in the U.S. territories. As of June 1, 2007, approximately 10.2 million beneficiaries have Tickets that are available to be assigned to ENs and State VR agencies.
Although fully available since September 2004, the Ticket program is still evolving. We are seeing success as indicated by modest growth in both the amount and number of financial payments to ENs.
While the Ticket program trends have been modest so far, we are committed to continuing improvement through ongoing program analysis and evaluation so that all beneficiaries who are willing and able to participate in the program can do so. We have learned a number of lessons about the Ticket program over the past few years. For instance, we have heard reports from beneficiaries who have experienced difficulty finding an EN who will help them find a job, and others report that they want to work their way off of SSA benefits incrementally, starting with part-time employment and stepping up to full-time when they have increased their confidence.
We have a number of initiatives underway designed to recruit more ENs and to provide beneficiaries with the information they need to either assign their Ticket or pursue other employment options. Through our marketing contractor, Cherry Engineering Support Services, Inc. (CESSI), we are contacting all ENs that have never had a Ticket assignment or who currently are not actively accepting Tickets to explain the benefits of providing employment-related services to beneficiaries and determine their interest in continuing with the Ticket program. We are also responsible for recruiting new ENs and establishing partnerships, while developing successful business models for ENs and community partners. We have implemented an outreach program for ENs and have developed Ticket program marketing and outreach messages geared to beneficiaries and prospective ENs.
We are also providing information to beneficiaries via Work Incentive Seminar (WISE) events, bringing together beneficiaries, ENs and other partners in their local communities. Ten pilot WISE events will be conducted in FY 2007. The first four have already occurred. After the fifth event tomorrow, we will evaluate the results, make any necessary adjustments, and schedule the second five events. We currently plan to roll out WISE events nationally in the fall. Furthermore, building on earlier mail marketing experience, next month we will mail Ticket marketing materials to 500,000 beneficiaries who are most likely to be interested in assigning their Ticket.
Proposed Changes to the Ticket Program
We recognize that outreach is not enough. Based on our early experience and recommendations received from the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel and other outside organizations, it became apparent that changes are needed to increase participation by both beneficiaries and ENs and to improve outcomes. Accordingly, on September 30, 2005, SSA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. We believe that the kind of proposed changes in the NPRM would significantly enhance beneficiary access to services and choice and improve the likelihood that beneficiaries will return to work.
The changes proposed in the NPRM are intended to improve the program in three areas—EN payment, beneficiary choice, and expanded eligibility. Most notably, the NPRM proposed to increase payment rates to ENs to increase their participation. Next, the NPRM sought to better coordinate services provided by State VR agencies and ENs, allowing State VR agencies to provide initial, intensive rehabilitation services and ENs to follow-up with ongoing support that many individuals need to maintain their work effort. Third, the NPRM proposed to expand eligibility rules to allow more beneficiaries to be eligible for a ticket without first requiring a continuing disability review (CDR) to be conducted. These changes are intended to increase beneficiary access to the employment services and supports they need to return to work and maintain their attachment to the workforce long enough to exit the disability rolls.
Other Work Incentive Improvements Included in the Ticket Legislation
Congress, led by this Committee, included additional work incentive provisions in the 1999 Ticket legislation. Along with our other work incentives, SSA is actively promoting use of these newer work incentives to assist beneficiaries with disabilities return to work:
• Extending Medicare Hospital (Part A) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (Part B) coverage for an additional 4 ½ years for working SSDI beneficiaries (i.e., from 39 months to 93 months);
• Expediting reinstatement so that qualified beneficiaries may request reinstatement of their benefits within 60 months of benefits having stopped, without having to file a new application; and
• Exempting work activity as the basis for a medical CDR for beneficiaries who have received SSDI benefits for at least 24 months.
New Partnerships Established by Ticket Legislation
The Ticket legislation also established an infrastructure that encourages participation and collaboration of various types of public and private organizations in assisting beneficiaries return to work despite barriers.
• ENs are under contract with SSA to deliver rehabilitation and employment support services to beneficiaries. These organizations assist beneficiaries formalize their work goals, develop a plan to achieve them, and over time execute the plan to reach a measure of financial self-sufficiency.
• Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) grantees are community-based organizations that assist beneficiaries understand the work incentives and how they can affect their benefits. WIPAs are available as a resource to ENs and other agencies that assist beneficiaries with disabilities to return to work such as One-Stop Career Centers , School-to-Work programs, and State VR Agencies.
• Protection and advocacy (P&A) grantees provide information, advice, advocacy, and other services to beneficiaries.
• Area Work Incentive Coordinators and Work Incentive Liaisons throughout the SSA field office structure provide return to work information to beneficiaries with disabilities.
Other Work Incentives
In addition to the Ticket program, there are a number of other incentives in place to encourage disability beneficiaries to return to work. The focus for these incentives is to help people who are able to venture into the workforce. Generally, these incentives provide for continued benefits and medical coverage while working or pursuing an employment goal. For example, in the SSDI program, they include the trial work period and the extended period of eligibility (EPE). In the SSI program, examples of work incentives are special rules for earnings after disability is established and the Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS). In addition, special rules about impairment-related work expenses (IRWE), expedited reinstatement (EXR), and medical insurance apply to both SSDI disability beneficiaries and SSI disability beneficiaries.
Trial Work Period
In the SSDI program, the trial work period allows beneficiaries to test their work for at least 9 months. During the trial work period, beneficiaries receive their full benefits regardless of how high their earnings might be so long as their work activity has been reported and they continue to have a disabling impairment. The trial work period continues until the beneficiary accumulates 9 months (not necessarily consecutive) in which he or she performed what we call "services" within a rolling 60-consecutive-month period. We currently consider work to be "services" if the beneficiary earns more than $640 a month, or works more than 80 self-employed hours in a month. The dollar amount is adjusted each year to account for inflation.
Extended Period of Eligibility (EPE)
At the end of the trial work period, a 36-consecutive-month EPE begins for SSDI beneficiaries, unless we review the individual's disability and find that the impairment has medically improved and is no longer disabling. (We do not perform these reviews when individuals are using their Ticket to Work.) During the EPE, full benefits are paid for each month in which the beneficiary's earnings do not exceed the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level, and no benefits are paid for months in which earnings exceed the SGA level. Currently, SGA levels are $900 a month if a beneficiary is not blind and $1,500 if a beneficiary is blind. After the EPE ends, benefits terminate if a beneficiary's earnings exceed the SGA level in any month.
SSI Earned Income Exclusions
The trial work period and EPE provisions do not apply to the SSI program. In the SSI program, a disabled SSI beneficiary's payment is based upon his or her countable earnings. Under SSI rules, SSA excludes the first $65 of earned income (or $85 if there is no un earned income). Then we exclude ½ of the remaining earnings, i.e., we exclude $1 for every $2 earned after the first $65. There are a number of other earned income exclusions such as impairment related work expenses, blind work expenses and the student earned income exclusion which can assist a disabled SSI beneficiary.
In addition, the SSI program allows a disabled beneficiary to establish a Plan to Achieve Self-Support (PASS). Disability beneficiaries can, with the help of SSA, develop a plan which has the goal of reducing or eliminating their dependence on the SSI program. Under the PASS provisions, an individual can set aside monies for specific goals (such as education, establishing a business, etc.) that will not be counted as income and resources for the SSI means test while the PASS is in effect. The PASS contains an occupational goal that is expected to increase the individual's prospect for self-support and specifies beginning and ending dates. It must also specify target dates for reaching milestones that reflect progress towards achievement of the occupational goal.
Impairment Related Work Expenses (IRWEs)
Both SSDI and SSI disability beneficiaries can deduct the cost of impairment-related items and services that they need to work from gross earnings when we determine whether an individual is engaging in SGA. We also exclude IRWEs from earned income when we calculate an individual's monthly SSI payment amount. Examples of deductible IRWEs include, the cost of modifying a vehicle needed to travel to work, assistive devices, and regularly prescribed medical treatment or therapy necessary to control a disabling condition.
Expedited Reinstatement (EXR)
Special rules make it easier for disability beneficiaries who return to work and whose benefits cease due to work activity to receive benefits again if they stop working. In this situation, the EXR provisions of the law allow beneficiaries to have their benefits started again without having to complete a new application. To be eligible for EXR:
• The individual's SSDI or SSI benefits must have stopped due to earnings from work;
• The individual must not be performing SGA in the month he or she requests reinstatement;
• The individual is unable to work or perform SGA because of his or her medical condition;
• The individual has an impairment that is the same as, or related to, an impairment that allowed him or her to get benefits earlier; and
• The request for reinstatement is made within five years from the month his or her previous entitlement or eligibility was terminated.
Medical Benefits
We have been told repeatedly by experts in the field that continued access to quality healthcare is essential to foster sustained return to work.
In the SSDI program, disability beneficiaries generally become entitled to Medicare in their 25 th month of entitlement. Provisions in the law provide immediate coverage to disability beneficiaries entitled to benefits based on end stage renal disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Although cash benefits may cease due to work after the trial work period, most individuals with disabilities who work will continue to receive at least 93 consecutive months of hospital and supplementary medical insurance (Part A and Part B) under Medicare. In addition, after Medicare coverage ends due to work, some individuals who have returned to work may buy continued Medicare coverage, as long as they remain medically disabled. Individuals with low incomes and limited resources may be eligible for State assistance with this cost.
In the SSI program, disabled beneficiaries' Medicaid coverage can continue even if their earnings are too high to allow a SSI payment. Medicaid coverage will continue until an individual's earnings reach an annual "threshold" level. A threshold level is established for each State every year based on several factors including the average per capita Medicaid expenditures in the State, the SSI federal benefit amount, and the State supplementation rate, if applicable. For 2007, the amount ranges from $22,174 to $52,407. In addition if an individual's earnings exceed the State threshold, an individualized threshold can be used based on the individual's actual expenses, thus allowing consideration of case-specific Medicaid costs, living arrangements, and attendant care expenses.
Work Incentive Information and Coordination
The Ticket, SSDI, and SSI work incentive provisions can be complex, and the interaction of the provisions and the ways in which they can affect an individual's benefits can be confusing. Field office personnel are trained in providing information to individuals about work incentives, and SSA publishes information on our website and in pamphlets to help individuals understand the provisions. One such piece of information is A Summary Guide To Employment Support For Individuals With Disabilities Under The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) And Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Programs , often called the Red Book. We also have developed other methods for getting the information to individuals who need it in a way that meets their needs.
Networks of specialists exist within and outside of SSA to help individuals understand and take advantage of the various incentives and provisions. These specialists provide individuals with vital information to navigate the various work incentive provisions.
Within SSA, Work Incentive Liaisons (WILs) work in SSA's field offices and have received special training on SSA's work incentives. The WILs are the first stop within SSA for a personal discussion of how various incentives can work for a specific individual. In turn, the WILs are supported by a network of Area Work Incentive Coordinators (AWICs). AWICs serve as ombudsman and are the focal point of contact for local area advocates. They assist WILs as needed, coordinate employment support outreach activities, monitor related data, and help develop any needed training to maintain the work incentive expertise for all direct contact employees.
Outside of SSA, the WIPA program provides support to individuals through 104 cooperative agreements awarded across the country. WIPA awardees are community-based organizations such as Centers for Independent Living, Goodwill, State agencies, United Cerebral Palsy, and a host of non-profit organizations. Under the WIPA program, awardees are required to work with SSA's beneficiaries with disabilities directly to help them understand how Federal, State, and local work incentives can assist them in their return to work goals, and how work may affect their benefits.
Since 2002, SSA has worked with the Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration on a Disability Program Navigator (DPN) position within the One Stop Career Center system. One of the primary purposes of the DPN initiative is to better inform SSA disability beneficiaries and other people with disabilities about the work support programs and provide effective linkages to the business community to increase employment outcomes. DPNs guide One Stop Career Center staff in helping individuals with disabilities navigate the services and benefits systems which impact their ability to gain and retain employment. The DPN's work closely with the AWICS, WILS, and WIPAs.
As I mentioned at the beginning of my testimony, SSA is committed to assisting beneficiaries with disabilities who want to return to work. Using all of the foregoing enhancements that Congress has provided, we will continue our efforts to grow the Ticket Program and remove barriers within our programs so that every beneficiary with a disability can realize his or her fullest potential. Thank you again for your support and interest in this matter, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.


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Lecture by Dr. Jodi Magness (University of North Carolina) in the Murch Auditorium of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (1 Wade Oval, Cleveland, OH 44106) at 7:30 pm. Lecture is free and open to the public. Reception follows lecture.
How did the Jews of Jerusalem dispose of their dead in the time of Jesus? In this slide-illustrated lecture, we consider the Gospel accounts of Jesus' death and burial in light of archaeological evidence, ending with a discussion of the so-called "Talpiyot tomb" (recently claimed to be the tomb of Jesus and his family) and the "James ossuary" (a stone box claimed to contain the remains of James the Just, the brother of Jesus).
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Cyrille Rose
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Cyrille Rose short biography
An important French clarinetist, composer and pedagogue, Chrysogone Cyrille Rose was principal clarinetist at the Paris Opera. Cyrille Rose's pedagogical material for the clarinet has been widely used, especially his famous 32 études. Cyrille Rose's clarinet teacher was Hyacinthe Klosé at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1847, Cyrille Rose received the Conservatoire's First Prize. Cyrille Rose taught many outstanding clarinetists, among them Louis Cahuzac, Paul Jeanjean, Manuel Gomez, Francisco Gomez, Henri Lefèbvre, Henri Paradis, Henri Selmer, Alexandre Selmer.
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Eva Marie Saint won a supporting actress Oscar for her luminous film debut as Marlon Brando's character's girlfriend in Elia Kazan's landmark 1954 drama,
But she wasn't an overnight sensation. Arriving in New York in the late 1940s, Saint modeled, studied her craft, worked in radio and was an understudy on Broadway in "Mister Roberts." Though she became a mainstay on the small screen during the Golden Age of television in such classic live dramas as Horton Foote's 1953 "The Trip to Bountiful," her TV career began inauspiciously when she was hired to appear off-camera and supply applause.
"It was 'The Borden Show,'" recalled Saint, who at age 89 is lithe, lively and stunningly beautiful.
Saint called her parents to tell them about the job. "I'm on television but not really on television," Saint said, laughing. "After the show, they called me and Mom said, 'Honey, we just love the show, and Dad thinks he heard you applauding.' Next time, I was on the show applauding and sitting at a table."
She relished doing live TV, "but, oh, my God, terrible things happened," Saint noted recently at the Westwood condo she shares with her husband of 62 years, director Jeffrey Hayden.
Like the time she accidentally exposed more than her talent on the soap opera "One Man's Family."
Saint was doing a scene in a small pool with the actor who was playing her brother. "Someone was doing something offstage," said the mother of two and grandmother of three. "You learn not to look away from what you are doing because you can be distracted."
But she finally looked offstage and saw a man pulling his shirt up and down. "I looked down and my boobies were showing coast to cast," Saint said, laughing. "I just kept in the scene and slid under the water. What else could I do? It was live television. To this day, all of these years later, someone will say to me, 'Miss Saint, you were doing "One Man's Family"' ... and I'll say, 'Yes, I remember."'
Six decades after "On the Waterfront," Saint is, as she likes to say, "still in the ballgame."
On March 31, TCM will present an interview she taped with
In the film, adapted from the novel by Mark Helprin and directed by Akiva Goldsman, Saint has a moving cameo as a woman who helps a thief (
"Eva Marie is a legend," said Goldsman. "We sent her the script as sort of a 'Hail, Mary.' I got a phone call that she wanted to have lunch with me. We just talked about life and the screenplay and talked some more about life and at the end, she took my hand and looked at me and said, 'I think this will be fine."'
Saint and Farrell, said Goldsman, "had a really wonderful, very playful, very lively, and at times, flirtatious relationship. The movie is about timelessness, and there was a kind of timeless quality to the way they appreciated each other as if they were both 19 together."
"Colin was so dear," Saint said. "I was in my trailer [before] my last show in the movie and I said, 'What's that?' And it was a bouquet of five dozen pale, pale, pale yellow roses from him with the dearest little card."
Though the actress has starred in countless romantic movies, none of those fictional tales holds a candle to her own love story. Saint and Hayden met in the late 1940s when he was working in radio at
"He saw me on the subway from the back, and he liked the way I walked," she said. He also noticed a big black book of photos she carried as a modeling portfolio. "The book I was carrying said 'Eva Marie Saint' in gold letters," she recalled. "He thought, 'I like that name.'"
Fate intervened shortly thereafter when Hayden saw her at Radio City talking with Arnold Stang, who happened to be the only actor Hayden knew in New York. "So he could go over to Arnold and Arnold would say, 'Hi, Jeff, do you know Eva Marie?'"
Just the other day, Saint said, "I was thinking about life, and I guess I was a little low, and I said, 'Jeffrey, what in today's world inspires you?' He just put his head up and said, 'You.'"


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Category talk:Merit Badge lesson plans
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
| Please familiarize yourself with Help:Talk pages before posting on discussion (a.k.a. talk) pages.
— Use headings, indentations; and please, always sign (~~~~) your posts. (See Help:Talk pages for details.)
— Ask your Scouting/advancement-related questions on our forums... several Scouters will be happy to help you.
Merit Badge lesson plans
Merit badge counselors and/or scout camps could benefit by having a coordinated 'merit badge lesson plans' (aka, syllabuses) to use in teaching. They may not be needed for all merit badges. Thanks. YiS, Tom B —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tom B (talk • contribs) March 12, 2012. (Please, sign and date your posts on talk pages.)
- Tom, based on my experience, I've seen most summer camps develop their own "lesson plans", i.e., day-by-day teaching goals, which they modify over time, based on their camp's scheduling needs.
- That being said, your idea is (still) really interesting. I invite you to register at MeritBadge.Net and start a topic under Merit Badge Counseling. —RWSmith (Bureaucrat), 10:57, March 13, 2012 (EDT)


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By Fran Blinebury, NBA.com
VIDEO: Portland's Nic Batum breaks down what went right for him and his team in Game 4
PORTLAND, Ore. — Pourquoi pas?
Why not?
That was the question that Nicolas Batum floated in the locker room as the rising water reached the Blazers' chins in the last few days. It didn't take a French-English translator to read the numbers. No team in NBA playoff history has ever climbed out of an 0-3 hole to advance. It's just never been done.
Doesn't mean it can't.
Pourquoi pas?
"Like we said, 'Why not us?' " Batum said. "We know it's going to be tough. It won't be easy. Especially against this team, the San Antonio Spurs. Like we always say, just take one game at a time."
For a night, the Blazers were not overcome by the Spurs machine on Monday. For a night, the Blazers were themselves again, streaking from end to end up and down the court, attacking the basket, jumping and scrambling for every ball that was on the floor or up for grabs.
When it was over, 103-92 might have meant nothing more than the Blazers avoiding the indignity of suffering a sweep. Or it could have been the type of effort that starts something special.
This was the kind of game and the kind of situation that Batum has been working toward for six NBA seasons. It is, ironically, the kind of game for which the Spurs' Tony Parker has been helping him prepare.
Parker first saw Batum back in 2007 when he starred at the Nike Hoop Summit for young prospects. He reached out and a relationship began, one that has grown. Like Batum, Parker was a 19-year-old when he entered the NBA and he wanted to pass on his knowledge to his French countryman.
They talked and become close friends. Parker taught. Batum watched and listened.
The knock on the door came late at night on the eve of the EuroBasket finals last summer. Parker came to tell Batum that he needed him to step up for Team France in the championship game against Lithuania. The next day Batum delivered with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals as France won its first title.
The next knock came Monday night with the Blazers at the doorstep of elimination. Parker had dominated the first three games of this series with his shooting, his scoring, his leading of the Spurs. The long and angular Batum drew the assignment of guarding Parker from the opening tip.
Parker didn't own the first quarter and set the pace, as he did in the first three games. He wasn't able to turn every corner easily and get to every spot that he wanted. With Batum all over him, Parker finished with a series low 14 points and one assist on 6-for-12 shooting.
"I tried to slow him down," Batum said. "I was just doing my job."
Meanwhile Batum scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, the first playoff double-double of his career. He also dealt out eight assists.
"I'm happy for him. He's playing great," Parker said. "He's trying to do everything he can out there. I have to great him credit for a great game.
"He did a good job. I had the shots that I wanted. But he was great tonight. He was everywhere."
The plan is for Batum to take over the mantle of leadership on the French national team, a seamless handoff from Parker, who will turn 32 in four days.
"I think he has all the skill-set to become the leader of that team," Parker told The Oregonian. "He's been winning everything with the young generation, the junior national team, under-20, they won everything, same thing we did with Boris (Diaw). The main goal for him has been to do the same thing as our generation, me and Boris and Ronny Turiaf. I think when I retire, he'll be 28, 29, his best years to try to keep winning with the national team. I know he's looking forward to it and I think the next step is to try to be an All-Star in this league and try to be a leader."
Parker knocked one night and told Batum he was needed. Now, Batum is answering again.
No team ever has come back from 0-3.
Pourquoi pas?
VIDEO: Spurs-Blazers Game 4 recap, May 12, 2014


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I read through the thread that was pinned on this forum, and a 1:1:1 ratio is something I will try, but I just wanted to post my particular circumstance in case I'm missing something else.
I have a 5 kb destination vector cleaved with EcoR1 and Xho1
A 700 bp gene, cleaved from a TOPO TA vector with EcoR1 and Xba1
A 1000 bp 3' UTR, cleaved from a TOPO TA vector with Xba1 and Xho1.
I treated the digested destination vector with CIP to prevent self-ligation.
After a 3 hour, room temperature, ligation with NEB T4 ligase, I transformed and plated. ~100 colonies were attained from 5% of the transformation.
I'm certain my restriction enzymes cut my products only once (ran controls); however, when I try to cleave the plasmids, acquired from the colonies, with EcoR1 and Xho1 (theoretically, cutting out the gene and 3'UTR), I get a single band with a lower molecular weight than the destination vector (~3500).
I just don't see how anything could recombine to create an antibiotic resistant construct that is lower than the actual destination vector.
Submit your paper to J Biol Methods today!
Problem with 3 way ligation
Started by Ahrenhase, Mar 27 2013 05:43 PM
2 replies to this topic
Posted 27 March 2013 - 05:43 PM
Posted 27 March 2013 - 07:26 PM
You should not need CIP, and I would avoid using it. If you want to reduce your vector background, then you can amplify the vector with PCR using primers that contain a restriction site of your choice, then cut with DpnI to cut the template. If you use small amounts of template, then background is very low.
Posted 28 March 2013 - 01:53 AM
Thanks, Phage. I know, I shouldn't need CIP because the two sticky ends aren't complementary; however, in every iteration of this procedure I tried the destination vector seems to religate. Something isn't right...
I will look into that Dpn1 method, though.
I will look into that Dpn1 method, though.


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Look, it's cool to get your parents to pay for a silly, overly-produced track by the dudes at ARK Music and then release a laughably simple video in which you sing into a turkey leg, but come on. You do not try to recreate that shit live, even if you are singing right over your own damn voice. It's heartbreaking that someone told tiny seventh grader Nicole Westbrook this would be a good idea. Sure, it seems like she's having fun, but oof. Aural assault.
Nicole Westbrook Is Now America's #1 Tween Artist in Songs Related to Thanksgiving or Poultry
Nicole Westbrook's Epic Thanksgiving Song Puts Rebecca Black to Shame


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Kundalini Shakti Devi - 28th October 2013
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Topic: Kundalini Shakti Devi - 28th October 2013
Posted: October 28 2013 at 18:47
At the beginning of the 70s, Roberto Paramhansa Puddu, a professional musician playing dance music with his saxophone in various bands and clubs, began to notice that many foreign and Italian bands notably E.L.P, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, New Trolls, Le Orme, Garybaldi, Pholas Dactylus and many others stopped writing `simple songs, developing pop and rock `operas that went further than traditional straightforward arrangements. Feeling the need to record the more complicated melodies and harmonic structures in his head, Roberto sought to find capable and eager musicians interested in more adventurous music.
After several unsuccessful attempts, others willing and determined to experiment and realize these new ideas came together. Roberto was joined by Massimilliano Moretti (guitars, vocals), Gianni Lecchi (guitars, vocals), Claudio Capetta (bass, vocals), Enrico Radaelli (keyboards, organ), Tony Ognibene (keyboards, vocals) and Ampelio Biffi (drums, percussion), three lengthy pieces were recorded on a simple Revox recorder and mixer, but these were sadly met with disinterest from Italian music managers unwilling to take a risk.
Almost 40 years later, the self titled debut of Kundalini Shakti Devi is now released for the first time by BTF on CD and vinyl. A somewhat typical RPI work, full of passionate Italian vocals, plenty of flute and saxophone around ambitious, often jazzy arrangements, this hidden gem compliments fellow Italian bands such as Banco del Mutuo Soccorso and St Tropez, while incorporating elements of worldwide prog artists such as Genesis, Van der Graaf Generator, Ange and even the Canterbury musicians. Well worth discovering.
I was kindly given the opportunity to talk to Roberto, these days performing under the name Bob Crystal, and the interview took place by email between the 22nd and 26th of October 2013. Special thanks to his sister Cristina Puddi for the superb translation!
First of all, Bob, congratulations on the band having their debut album released earlier this year on both CD and vinyl after almost 40 years! How does this make you feel?
Roberto: It has been a strong emotion! After so many years now, we hardly remembered Kundalini. In fact, each one of us has gone on to make several different things in music. I for example write and record CD's of smooth jazz and new age as Bob Crystal - www.myspace.com/crysbobcrystal - while my colleagues, with whom I lost contact for almost 40 years, hold concerts playing Chicago. To have been discovered after so much time literally shocked us at first, but then we have thought: Then we were right! We were on the right path! At that time we proposed our music, it was really a large risk!
Lets quickly go back to the beginning! Despite the band you would eventually form playing progressive rock, you first played pop and dance music. Good memories from this time?
Yes, I have some great memories. It was very different, dance music that was nice to play, although I did never do this with my colleagues of Kundalini, because I was the only one who was a professional musician of the band. Each one of them had a different activity, while I had to earn my money playing in the discotheques.
In the written introduction in your album, you mention hearing bands like Genesis, Banco, Le Orme, Yes and others. What sort of effect did this have on you as a musician?
Let me say that especially the undisputed masters as Genesis, Yes and EL&P made me feel the strong desire to realize something belonging to me, more unique, which has ever been my natural attitude since.
Was it difficult to find other musicians interested in playing in a more adventurous and challenging style than the popular pop/rock music of the time?
It has been very difficult, finding artists that believed and trusted in me and what I proposed to them....which was not simple thing to do, because each of them had his own ideas, but I consider myself lucky to have found the right people.
After a while, you found other interested musicians to join you. What sort of musical backgrounds did they have? The album shows a variety of styles, such as jazz, classical, fusion and more, so did they all come from different styles of music?
It was me, who during my career experienced all music genres and therefore I introduced them to the others. Before this time, they just had strong rock influences as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep and so on...
Ampelio Biffi (drums) and Claudio Capetta (bass)
Did the band members ever disagree over which direction or musical styles to play?
Our band was a democratic one; my music was filtered by their artistic characteristics and by their own way to feel it, to execute it and to comprpmise when needed. Therefore automatically we also became the arrangers. And that's why, when I talked about their functions I wrote "Arrangements".
Ampelio Biffi (drums)
When did you decide on the band name, and why did this Italian band have an Indian name? Very confusing! Did this name have great significance or personal importance to you?
When I met the other band, they were already founded as "Iliade". At that time as well as actually I practiced yoga, so it was natural for me to call the band with the name of "Shakti", the dynamic force and mother of the universe, it seemed to me an original name.
Claudio Capetta (bass)
1974 is right in the middle of the progressive rock boom. So many Italian and worldwide bands were putting out great works, yet you still had trouble from managers and labels wanting something more commercial. Did this encourage you even more to work hard, and was it a discouragement?
The disappointments were numerous, because we didn't find the right people, to believe in and invest in us. The art directors were not musicians but managers with just a little knowledge of music, therefore at last our enthusiasm was gone, so Kundalini dissolved.
Gianni Lecchi (guitar) and Massimiliano Moretti (guitar)
Before or after recording the album, did the band play live concerts or tour in any way? If so, did you perhaps play with any of the other Italian progressive bands of the time?
Yes, we made many concerts, also together with other unknown bands like us and I must say that we had great success with the audience, who made us realize that the record manager was still far away from the people.
Tony Ognibene (keyboards)
Italy has a proud tradition of grand progressive music! What are some of your favourite Italian progressive albums?
My favourite albums of Italian progressive rock are several, such as PFM, BANCO, ORME, NEW TROLLS, but most of all I love "PHOLAS DACTYLUS", for me their masterpiece `Concerto delle Menti' (Concert of Minds) is matchless and has an exceptional creative strength!
As you also mentioned enjoying international progressive bands outside of Italy, who were your favourites? Which international albums did you enjoy the most, and what made them stand out to you in the first place?
There are lots of them, but for me Tarkus by EL&P is a real supreme masterpiece, which you never get enough to listen to it, also at the level of instrumental technique, Jethro Tull, featuring histrionic Ian Anderson, Van der Graaf with the atmospheres of `Pawn Hearts, all these ones for me are legendary, mythical.....
Tony Ognibene (keyboards)
Once the album deal didn't come together, how long did the band try to stay together?
The ups and downs of life have brought me away from my companions, therefore I would say that we had been working together for almost 4 years..
Did all the band members remain in the music business afterwards?
My companions had other activities and just occasionally they performed in concerts. They met once a week for rehearsals, while I continued my activity as a professional musician.
Was a reunion of Kundalini Shakti Devi ever talked about or considered among the band members?
No, my colleagues have evermore accepted with pleasure my project and also the band's name and i think that this is the result of the great mutual respect they had.
Roberto in the studio, November 2012
How was your long-lost music rediscovered? Who encouraged you to finally try again to release your work?
As I mentioned earlier, at this current time I don't work anymore in this genre. One of my students, Pier Luigi Caramel, leader of a prog band named EGO knew about Kundalini, so he introduced me to Matthias Schelle, a distributor and producer of prog in Italy and abroad, who was very impressed by listening to the tracks, so he made me the proposal for a contract. The original recording after all this time was left somewhere aside in a corner. A miracle was that it wasn't damaged, so last year, exactly October it has been digitized and so we started working....covers etc, and now here we are....
Now lets talk about the album! Three long tracks, all over ten minutes. At the time you were recording them, did the band consider trying to record shorter pieces to appeal to a more commercial audience?
We were interested in expressing ourselves, in bringing out what we had inside, aware of the fact that the people would have understood and appreciated our music...but unfortunately the record managers were not interested...
The first track `Flash' is almost twenty minutes, with lots of variety and ideas! What incredible lyrics, often about consumerism and celebrity culture, sadly the words are even more relevant in todays society! How do you feel about this?
With FLASH I wanted to express various social situations of that time, so I was thinking by having a sort of camera in my brain to witness and fix all those moments.... as you see, many years have passed but everything has remained the same or has become worse, so I think I may have seen very far away into the future.
Gianni Lecchi (guitar), 2012
`Galactic Museum' seems to be a science-fiction story! Do you remember what inspired or influenced you when you wrote this piece?
I've always been a lover of science fiction, because I think that science fiction of today will be science of tomorrow....my love of fantasy has brought to life in both `Galactic Museum' and `Sensitivity' just for this reason.
`Sensitivity has very dark words, very dream like and disturbing. Do you recall that this piece is about?
`Sensitivity' was created precisely to provoke this sensation which you are talking about and apparently I have been successful!
Massimiliano Moretti (guitar), 2012
Were you happy with the finished result of the album? If you could change or improve anything on it, what would you do differently to it?
The realization of this album has been very hard. It took almost one year. Thanks to our producer Matthias Scheller, in the end everything went smoothly. You have to consider, just to tell you one particular fact, that once I gave the tape to my colleague, who made the mistake to delete the first phrase of `Flash'... "You, who feels so good....", so I sang it once again with the same effects in my recording studio and when the time came to digitalize we have assembled it, in order to replace the missing phrase. I pretended that this album release would be handled with the maximum care as far as lyrics and biography are concerned, as well in both Italian and English. Therefore I am satisfied of the release of the album, even if when we recorded it would have been much better to be provided with a more complete instrumental equipment, like for example the `mini moog'. Besides, in that period I didn't like my voice very much, so I filtered it using a "Flanger", also to make it more mysterious, but maybe today I wouldn't do such a modification anymore.....
Enrico Radaelli (keyboards), 2012
Were there any left-over pieces of music the band had written for this project that was never recorded?
Yes, in fact, at least two tracks have been left out, that we had not been able to record because of lack of time and other means...
Tony Ognibene (keyboards), 2012
Have you had any response or feedback so far about the album?
This album has had great reviews on specialized prog magazines, such as `Arlequins' or `Mat 2020', as well as at interviews on private radio stations etc..... so it seems that this project has started very well.
Other bands, such as Il Cerchio DOro had a long wait before their first album release too. Reunited, they now record modern albums as well! Any plans or possibilities that Kundalini Shakti Devi may record new music?
For now we didn't yet evaluate this possibility.
Is the band performing concerts at this time?
We actually don't hold any concerts, but if we are able to find a serious promotional structure I really do not exclude that this could happen...
Finally, anything you would like to say to progressive rock fans?
We are really very thankful to the fans of prog rock, because only their interest in our music made it possible that we exist artistically. All the good things that happened to Kundalini in the last period we owe it to you! Thanks! We love you!
Thank you so much for your time!
We have to thank you Michael for appreciating our music and for giving us the opportunity, perhaps also to be known in your continent Australia! Therefore, it's a pleasure for us to answer to the questions of your interview!
Very special thanks to Roberto (Bob Crystal) and Cristina Puddi for all their time and co-operation for this interview!
Some further listening: Sensitivita:
My review of the self-titled album - http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=1068145
Prog Archives band page - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7398
Band Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KundaliniShaktiDevi
Buy the album here:
CD: http://www.btf.it/kundalini-shakti-devi.html
LP: http://www.btf.it/kundalini-shakti-devi-1.html
Interview posted 28th October 2013.
Tom Ozric
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|Posted: October 29 2013 at 00:45
Great work, Michael
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|Posted: October 29 2013 at 00:58
Thanks, mate! I think Greg stocked the LP on his previous list, did you snap it up? If not, you should consider it, a very nice album!
By the way, his latest update made it through last night to my email this time! Hooray!
Tom Ozric
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|Posted: November 05 2013 at 02:45
I haven't, but after this fine interview - it'll be in the next lot for sure
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|Posted: November 05 2013 at 03:00
Definately do a quick check of (I think) his previous newsletter, I'm certain the LP version of it is available and was on his list. I bought the Mini LP CD of it, but from the pictures I've seen, the LP looks lovely! Lots of psychedelic colours on the sleeve!
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|Posted: November 05 2013 at 07:47
Very nice interview monsieur Kangaroo
The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.
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|Posted: November 05 2013 at 15:13
Bravissimo Michael! 40 years to be yet another RPI one album band (for now).
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|Posted: January 03 2014 at 16:12
There is an article in italian about the Kundalini band..... i've wrote to the author of that interview to ask him to translate it. Why? Because I think there is a "secret" story behind the Kundalini :-) I've tried to translate that article with google translater and i've read that a member of this group is died, or something like that...
I want to apologize... but I don't understand italian very well
so this is the article... http://vpervimercatese.com/2014/01/03/kundalini-shakti-devi-vita-band-facebook-caponago-ampelio-biffi/
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|Posted: January 03 2014 at 16:15
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The nation's largest automaker also formerly announced the creation of a compensation fund for accident victims. Details of the program will be finalized in the next two weeks.
Speaking to employees at GM's technical center in Warren, Michigan, on Thursday, Barra expressed frustration over the decade-long delay in addressing the safety issue, which can cause vehicles to stall and cut off power to air bags.
Barra, a former human resources executive at GM, told employees they should never forget the contents of the "brutally tough" and "deeply troubling" report. "I want to keep this painful experience permanently in our collective memories."
The probe found no evidence that GM tried to cover up the facts or that any employee made a trade-off between safety and cost, Barra added.
GM has come under sharp criticism over the company's faulty ignition switches used in older-model cars like the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5. After recalling 2.6 million vehicles worldwide, GM provided a timeline that indicated some employees were aware of a potential defect as early as 2001. The issue has been tied to 13 deaths.
It was also revealed that a redesigned version of the ignition switch was approved in 2006. But the part wasn't assigned a new part number, fueling allegations that employees attempted to hide the defect and avoid a recall.
The engineer who approved the change, Ray DeGiorgio, and his supervisor, Gary Altman, were placed on paid leave.
On Thursday, GM executives said the investigation led by former U.S. attorney Anton Valukas found that employees failed to connect failed air-bag deployments to the switch problem. Instead, they treated the defect as a customer satisfaction issue. Changing the fit, form or function of a part without providing a new part number isn't an acceptable process, Barra added.
GM took disciplinary actions against five employees following the ignition-switch investigation, in addition to the 15 employees who are no longer with the company.
"Some were removed because of what we consider misconduct or incompetence. Others have been relieved because they simply didn't do enough: They didn't take responsibility; didn't act with any sense of urgency," Barra explained.
During a press conference held after her remarks to employees, Barra declined to identify any of the employees. However, she said the two engineers placed on leave are among those who are out at GM, and at least 50% can be described as executives or higher.
According to a statement from chairman Tim Solso, the report confirmed that Barra, general counsel Mike Millikin and head of global product development Mark Reuss didn't become aware of the delay until GM initiated the recall earlier this year.
The report makes 90 recommendations in eight major areas, and Barra said she is committing the automaker to act on all of them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posted the full report on the agency's website.
GM retained Ken Feinberg, who led the compensation fund for 9/11 victims, to lead a program that will compensate accident victims and the families of those who died. Feinberg will evaluate all claims and determine how much the company should pay, president Dan Ammann told reporters.
While on a conference call with analysts, chief financial officer Chuck Stevens said he expects to have the cost of the compensation plan by the end of the second quarter. GM will book the charge as a special item.
Earlier this month, GM agreed to pay a maximum $35 million fine to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GM admitted it failed to provide a recall plan within five business days of learning about the safety issue, as required by law.
GM fast-tracked pending safety reviews following the ignition-switch troubles, recalling millions of additional vehicles over the last few months. The manufacturer plans to take a $400 million charge in the second quarter to cover costs tied to repairs.
Barra told analysts that GM may incur a higher charge tied to the recalls, but it's unclear how much that could be. Stevens said the recalls won't impact product rollouts and capital plans.
Presentation slides described GM as being on or ahead of schedule to deliver modestly improved pre-tax earnings in fiscal 2014. GM said it hasn't seen any "meaningful impact" on North American sales in the wake of its switch recall.
The Detroit-based company also expects to return to profitability in Europe, where auto demand has lagged behind, by mid-decade.
Shares closed 27 cents lower at $36.25 on Thursday. GM's stock is down roughly 11.3% since the start of the year.


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Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic Jobs in missouri
What is this job?
Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanics perform preventative maintenance inspections, trouble-shooting, and maintenance on complex systems of mail processing equipment. Specific job descriptions are provided on individual job postings.
Wages can vary by location, but the average salary for a career Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanics is $60,000 per year. Specific information on wages is provided on individual job postings
Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic positions come with the full range of benefits for which the Postal Service is famous. See our Career Benefits page for details.
(You may see a posting for a PSE Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic if they are not prepared to hire a career employee at that particular time or location. This job would perform the same functions, but it is a non-career position that comes with lesser wages that vary geographically and with partial or no benefits. Specific information on wages and benefits are included on individual job postings. PSE is an acronym for Postal Support Employee. When posted as a PSE job, this should be viewed as a starting point for a career Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic position. In such a case, when a career Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic position becomes available, it will be filled by promoting a PSE Mail Processing Equipment Maintenance Mechanic. PSEs are typically hired for 360 day terms and can be reappointed for additional 360 day terms. See our PSE Jobs page for details.)
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A law firm clerk at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and a stockbroker were charged in what U.S. authorities said was an insider-trading scheme that netted more than $5.6 million in illicit profit.
Steven Metro, 40, the managing clerk at Simpson Thacher in New York, was accused of stealing confidential information on mergers, acquisitions, and tender offers and tipping a middleman who passed it to Vladimir Eydelman, 42. Eydelman, a broker, worked at Oppenheimer & Co. and later Morgan Stanley, federal authorities said. The middleman became a cooperating witness.
The men invested more than $33 million over four years to buy securities in 13 transactions, including OfficeMax Inc. and Sirius XM Holdings Inc., authorities said. Eydelman bought securities for himself, family members, friends, and clients, including the cooperating witness, they said. Metro and Eydelman were arrested today and are scheduled to appear in federal court in Newark, New Jersey.
"These defendants are charged with using confidential information that Metro stole from his employer to reap huge illegal profits," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in Newark said in a statement.
In 2012, attorney Matthew Kluger was sentenced in Newark to 12 years in prison, the longest term ever imposed in an insider-trading case, for stealing corporate merger tips from four law firms over 17 years.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also sued Metro and Eydelman today.
"Law firms are sanctuaries for the confidential treatment of client information, and this scheme victimized not only a law firm but also its corporate clients and ultimately the investors in those companies," Daniel Hawke, chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit, said in a statement.


text: Why settle for just one realisation of this year's UEFA Euro when you can let the tournament play out 10,000 times in silico? Since I already had some code lying around from my submission to the Kaggle hosted 2010 Take on the Quants challenge, I figured I'd recycle it for the Euro this year. The


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Follow RFF News on your cell phone. Text follow rff to 40404 you will receive txt messages with RFF News
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shafika khalil @shafkhalil 31 minAwesome lah masuk amazing race ni. Tak pasal pasal boleh diving apa sumeIndonesia maybe?
Arda Setyadi @ardhy_182 55m phil keoghan ? the amazing race? di bandung ? sekarang ?View translation Translated from Indonesian by Bing Translator phil keoghan? the amazing race? in bandung? now
Pit Start.?? Another Leg AGAIN in Indonesia?? Please tell me this isn't happening Harry Anderson @HRY_anderson 13 mWoohoo amazing race in bandung right now this will be 3 consecutive time they visit Indonesia
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Exceptional color intensity, smooth and soft textured, highly lightfast pastels. For fine detail (using their square corners), or for glazing and wash techniques with various oil painting mediums. Unwrapped.
Color Swatches created using heavy to light application and were applied on 100 lb (163 gsm) drawing paper material.
organic synthetic, quinacridone
Quinacridone Red is a high performance, transparent pigment with an average drying time and uneven dispersal. It is another name for Quinacridone Violet (PV19) and Quinacridone Red (PR192). Quinacridone pigments have relatively low tinting strength in general. For this reason, quinacridone colors are often expensive, because more pigment is required in the formulation.
Quinacridone Violet has excellent lightfastness and is considered the most lightfast organic pigment in this shade range.
Quinacridone Violet has no known acute hazards. Overexposure to quinacridone pigments may cause skin irritation. Quinicridone pigments contain a compound found to be a skin, eye, and respiratory irritant.
Although quinacridone compounds became known in the late 19th century, methods of manufacturing so as to make them practical for use as commercial pigments did not begin until the 1950s. Quinacridone pigments were first developed as coatings for the automotive industry, but were quickly adopted by artists.
Quinacridone Red (PR192), Quinacridone Red (PR19).
earth, synthetic
iron oxides (synthetic), iron oxide, silica, alumina, lime, and magnesia or hydrated iron oxide
Fe2O2 or Fe2O3 • H2O
Red iron oxide varies in hue and transparency, depending on hydration and slight impurities. Indian Red is a slightly duller, deep brick hue with a bluish undertone. It is very dense and opaque, with excellent tinting strength and covering power. It is dependable when mixing with all other permanent pigments and yields good flesh tints when mixed with Zinc White. It is the synthetic version of PR102, which is a pigment made from earth reds, or natural red iron oxides, and the names applied to PR101 and PR102 often overlap. The synthetic red iron oxides have mostly replaced natural red iron oxides and are brighter, stronger, finer, and more permanent. Indian Red is the highest grade bluish shade. Light Red, English Red, and Venetian Red are yellowish shades. Mars Violet is a dull and subdued bluish or purplish oxide.
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Wide off-white linen lace.
Off-white linen lace No. 42
Lace width: 9cm (3.54″)
Made from: 100% linen yarns
Latest reviews from our Etsy shop LinenFashionbySiulas
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I have been doing a "big review" of the Best of the Road Travel Channel extravaganza last week in Lewiston NY and realized that my phone died before I could post pictures of the Water Street Landing dessert and "Remember Us" closing celebration.
Brian, Jon DiBernardo (owner of Water Street Landing) and Mike…
You can see that Brian is enjoying Water Street Landing's Banana Cream Puff Pastry. It is puff pastry dough, French vanilla ice cream, hand whipped cream, sliced bananas, baked meringue.
Sound man Tim digging in to the treat…
Lewiston Porter High School's own Notoriety sang their a Capella tunes to an admiring audience.
The lovely and exceedingly talented Anne DiFazio organized all of the entertainment seen here with The Road Bros.


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We round out the fourth round (which I admit we did backwards) with a pair of offensive linemen.
The Packers are well aware that you can never have too many of these guys lying around because there also never seems to be a shortage of injuries along the line.
The key to both of these prospects—and it's a byword in the NFL these days—is versatility. Both can play several positions on the offensive line.
Both men played left tackle at their prospective colleges, but only one has the potential to do so at the pro level, and even then I'm not sold. That's not to say either one was a bad pick though—just that they will probably serve at either right tackle or inside at guard.
So watch the video and get to know Colorado's David Bakhtiari and Cornell's JC Tretter.
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Opinion: Why Cliché RPGs Won't Cut It Anymore
The role-playing game genre's focus on stories has always drawn me. Having a reason to play beyond "let's get to the end" is a powerful lure. For over two decades, I've enjoyed watching characters grow to save the world. The ending credits always matter so much more with the added context of a story I'm invested in. Until recently, RPGs were ahead of the curve in these arenas, while many other games settled for superficial reasons to embark on quests - sometimes simply a single line of text like "Your princess is in another castle."
Today's gaming landscape is a different beast. RPGs now have worthy competition in the story department. Take Bioshock Infinite, with its strong political themes alongside ambiguous moments that leave gamers analyzing their true meanings. Adventures like The Walking Dead are emotionally gripping by necessity: Characters have to matter or the big moments don't hit as hard. To be honest, it's been some time since I've had an RPG strike me that way. If RPGs want to stay on top with the industry's ongoing move toward more complex narrative, writing needs to be the focus - and frankly, it needs to be stronger.
Lately, I'm seeing characters and storylines with wasted potential. How many times are we going to see the same archetypes interjected throughout narratives? The older sibling who needs to protect everyone, the arrogant heartthrob who constantly shows off, the soft-spoken girl who can't stand up for herself, or the (sigh) tomboy who's trying to find her feminine side? These characters continually find their way into RPGs, and their thin personalities fail to add any sort of depth or humanity to the tale. I want my characters to move beyond cliché, to not be boiled down to a single trait. Wild Arms 4's Raquel is refreshingly different not only because of her circumstances (she's sick), but because she is multi-dimensional. I still think about Raquel, because she was a walking contradiction - tough, yet weak, keeping to herself yet dying to let someone in.
Another gripe with many traditional RPGs is their predictability. I've seen my share of save-the-world plots as a seasoned fan, but that isn't the core of the problem. If the heroics are new and exciting each time, I'm game. Having the world's destiny in my hands is always exhilarating. One series that does this well is Persona. Yes, you're technically saving the world, but having it set in the real world with all of its everyday activities brings a new dynamic to the adventure.
Can the same backdrops and settings continue to be interesting? While no two people look at a concept the same way, writers need to challenge themselves to think of new twists they can put on these worlds. Look at the political warfare placed on top of Dragon Age: Origins' fantasy backdrop. Atlus' Radiant Historia took time travel and made it feel new with its concept of intertwined timelines. When you get to see a world not only evolve on its own, but also affect it from a parallel world, the plot is much more engaging.
If RPGs want to stand out in the upcoming generation, the stories and characters need to be stronger and more developed. While some do leave their mark, too many are run-of-the-mill. Sadly, many other genres are starting to outshine RPGs in an area where Final Fantasy once ruled the roost with varied casts, surprising plot twists (cough, cough Final Fantasy VII), and villains who got under our skin. Unfortunately, the progress I desire may never happen; after all, an audience still dotes on these familiar scenarios and character types, but resisting any change or advancements won't help in the long run. Look at Square Enix: it's a shadow of its former self. The genre used to be its bread and butter, but its RPGs are now stagnant and struggling, making the company look elsewhere for its identity and financial security.
To remain relevant, RPGs must once again surpass - or at least measure up to - the creativity the rest of the modern games industry is bringing to the table.


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One Spoke in the Wheel
Southern Baptist Church located in eastern San Diego County, in Santee, CA. From this site you can get a schedule of our service times, request to be contacted, find out what is coming up, or just listen to past sermons.
Carlton Oaks Baptist Church 9225 Carlton Oaks Dr. Santee, CA 92071 (619) 448-4471
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Income Gap Affecting U.S. Economy [AUDIO]
Income inequality has gradually worsened over the past several years, but the trend doesn't only hurt those at the bottom end. The nation's overall economy suffers as well.
Among economists recently surveyed by The Associated Press, the key concern was the fact that more money is flowing to those who are already wealthy, but the higher-income households tend to spend a lesser share of their money on consumer goods, compared to low- and middle-income earners.
Consumer spending makes up the largest segment of economic activity.
"Part of the income problem is really a job creation problem. The total income pool is not growing as fast," James Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers, told Townsquare Media. "And if we don't have income growth, we have a whole series of problems in terms of GDP growth, tax revenue and the like."
Hughes noted the nation has been struggling to create a sufficient number of solid, white-collar jobs since the Great Recession.
New Jersey voters recently approved a referendum to increase the state's minimum wage by a dollar starting Jan. 1. The move also ties the wage to the rate of inflation after 2014.
"Increasing the minimum wage probably will increase consumer spending and help the economy, and help those at the lower end of the income scale," Hughes said.
Opponents of the move have said it could cause a drop in hiring or a spike in layoffs. A counter-argument claimed higher minimum pay could provide more stable employees in high-turnover fields.